A/N: Sorry for the set-ups. Still a little hectic with work but did want to update before thing get dumped on me. Somehow the chapters feel like my older fics but we'll get to longer ones soon. I promise!

Work just have me a little busy right now, but I won't be getting any lighter schedule anytime soon (I still have a bit of time now so I'm writing :P). So yeah, irregular updates. This chapter is split between Beca and Chloe. The Bellas shall make a comeback in the next chapters, so hang tight! I miss them too :)

Songs featured are 'Everybody's Changing' by Keane and 'Just Give it Time' by Jon McLaughlin.

I don't own pitch perfect.

A month passed like it was nothing, just an endless stream of days filled with wondering, filled with trying to find a way to navigate a world unknown.

You say you wander your own land
But when I think about it
I don't see how you can

Beca adjusted to her work fine, it was all about making music and making music was something that Beca understood. She could make master pieces, mix beats like no one else can, create wonderful rhythms and perfect harmonies in a way you can easily expect.

Work was easy. To her, she was living the dream she had wanted the most from the last thing she could remember. She didn't have to go through the grueling internships and the hardships of other obstacles to get her there. She was technically still not at the top, but she was slowly making her way to the pinnacle, she knew that much.

And it didn't matter, whether she remembered a few tools of the trade she had learned, she didn't have to summon the memory at all. It simply flowed right through her veins as if it never left, never disappeared.

It was because at the very core of things, it was who she was. Like muscle memory taking over completely.

Things were much harder though. Much, much harder when it came to her personal life.

You're aching, you're breaking
And I can see the pain in your eyes
Says everybody's changing
And I don't know why

She does well around Chloe, and if possible, Beca would allow herself to call the redhead her friend. She cared about her, she genuinely did. She loved to see her smile, she loved to see her be happy.

But there was just so much stuff between them that was separating them. So much that she wished she could understand.

They got along fine, Chloe would spend some time with her, slowly coaxing her out of her shell, trying patiently to chip her wall away.

"I've done it before you know." Chloe said with a knowing smile while they were watching the latest episode of Game of Thrones. Chloe had tried to get her interest in it, convincing her that they used to watch the show together, and that Beca eventually let up with Chloe's persistence before. Surely enough she relented again this time, and at least it wasn't a show selling unrealistic happiness and happy-ever-after's that was just too saccharine for her own tastes.

Beca chuckled at Chloe's comment, scratching behind Ghost's ears, the dog happily perched between them in the couch. "Whatever you say Beale." she replied, and it was in those quiet and simple moments like those that she could see Chloe breathe and smile.

Like somehow it was the same as how things used to be, however they were, settling into a routine that was almost normal for them.

But things weren't always like that.

Sometimes things were more difficult than that.

Sometimes Beca would fall to familiar habits and patterns, seeking isolation in her room, the scars that Chloe had healed renewed, because she doesn't remember how they ever disappeared before.

Sometimes Aubrey and Stacie would call and Beca would say hi briefly, a respect she gives for having them visit her in the hospital before, before disappearing in her room. She really didn't know what else to say or have a conversation with them.

Sometimes the other Bellas would call, and Beca would feel a sort of panic taking over her, that she just runs and hide or disappears at Luke's leaving Chloe behind to deal with the video call, because they were all strangers to her, strangers who she didn't know how to talk to. Maybe part of it was fear too, that she might say something wrong or disappoint. A fear of the unknown despite knowing she did know it before.

But she wasn't their Beca, so how can she face them?

You're gone from here
Soon you will disappear
Fading into beautiful light
'Cause everybody's changing
And I don't feel right

And sometimes Beca was just being stubborn, not having lived through memories she couldn't remember, holding onto the pain she has known, keeping her heart as guarded as ever.

"Come on Beca, just give it a chance, please?" Chloe reasoned while she tried her best to get Beca out of the room.

Beca looked at Chloe confused, her brows knitted together, as she tried to convey to Chloe just how much she didn't actually want to go through with this.

"Beca, he's your dad. He's worried about you. It's just dinner out. I know it sounds totally unbelievable to you right now, but you actually get along now. A lot of thing have happened Beca."

"Yeah, Chloe, but to me they didn't happen. They never happened, so how can I know it's real?" Beca snapped back with a bit of a bite. She just really wanted to be alone. She'll wade into the water when she's ready, try to figure out the mess that was her life. Right now she just wanted to be comfortable, to be surrounded by music. She just wanted to lose the world around her, be lost in her own work and not think about it, think about anything at all.

Chloe seemed a little bit taken aback by what she said but she didn't let it get much to her. At least on the surface of things. "Beca…" Chloe said gently, she was being gentle to her, kind, sweet, patient, and it made Beca feel even worse because all she could do was be moody and impatient, and she knew she just kept hurting Chloe even more through simple things that she didn't even mean to do.

It was just all kinds of frustrating, like her brain was a computer overheating, burning up, and crashing.

"Beca." Chloe said again, her voice having a little more of an authority this time, demanding her attention. "Look, I know, it's probably scary right now, confusing, and frustrating, but…"

"But what? Thing's will be better? I don't even know if it will ever come back Chloe." Beca retorted. She didn't mean to, but she couldn't help but say what was exactly on her mind.

Chloe sighed. "I know." she whispered defeated. "But I can't just let you drown in your own fears and uncertainty. I can't let you keep escaping what's happened in your life. Just because you forgot doesn't mean it never happened. And truth is, you're never going to find answers to questions you might have now if you never seek them. You only talk to Luke, you're pushing even Jesse away, and honestly I feel like the only reason you talk to me and give me a chance is because you have no choice. You feel bad about all this. Because you woke up and there's the girl you were supposed to marry but can't even remember and – "

"That's not…" Beca interjected. No, that's not how she feels for Chloe. She genuinely does enjoy spending time with her. She's not completely wrong about a few things though, because Beca felt as if she owed it to Chloe to give her a chance and all, because somehow she felt like she was the wrong Beca that returned to the redhead, and she felt guilty about it.

Which only added to her frustrations.

Especially because she was trying so hard to reconcile how she felt now, what she thinks is true, with everything that had happened in the years missing from her life.

"That's not… I trust you." Beca said, letting go of her exasperation. "I don't know why, and it's all hard to figure out. In my head I'm supposed to be a freshman in college but I… I guess I wanted to just jump on board the LA train from then that with my job it's easy. It's easy to escape in it." Beca said. "I know you're just doing what you think is right Chloe, what could be good for me, but to me all the hurt he's caused is still unforgiven and I need time to processes that. I don't want to go."

Chloe sighed and nodded, it was a losing fight. "Luke and I are still going, they deserve to hear some news about you." she then said, and Beca was trying so hard to figure out what was going through Chloe's mind then, but the redhead had turned around to leave. "Your dad cares about you Beca, and for what it's worth he's been proud of everything you've done so far." she said just before completely disappearing.

But the words felt empty to Beca. She wanted to believe in what Chloe said, but it just…

…she doesn't know how to be who she had become, that person her father had been proud of, the person comfortable in who she was and having fallen in love with Chloe – because in truth, the very fact that she was apparently capable of loving was a distant thought she had buried deep when she was younger – and the person open and vulnerable and trusting.

But it was hard to refit to a mold when you're all broken at the seams.

Somewhere on those lost years, Beca knew she had learned to become all that she was meant to be.

And somehow she feels like that's changed.

Somehow she feels like she's disappointed the people around her because of that, whether it was actually true or not.

And she wasn't sure if it's still ever possible to return to that when change was the only certain thing in this world.

Beca Mitchell felt that she just missed the right turn, completely turned around, and she was afraid that she's forever lost in a new, unfamiliar world.

So what else could Beca do but bury herself in the only thing she knew.

So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody's changing and I don't feel the same

The door to the bedroom was slightly a jar when Chloe got back, it wasn't even that late at night but she felt tired and pretty much ready to just surrender to the night, dream about a future that never came to be, or perhaps sleep a dreamless sleep.

Just anything to escape the pain that burrowed in her heart.

A part of her was tired, desperate, and hopeless. The part that was afraid that she might just lose Beca forever.

Beca had fallen asleep on her computer desk, mixing. That's all she ever did really. "That's how she was before, how I got through to her, sometimes I still wonder. We bonded through music but even then, it was a lot of hard work." Luke had said one afternoon when they ran into each other on the way to the mailbox.

"But sometimes it just feels like I can' even reach her anymore." Chloe had admitted.

And yet again those thoughts take her over. The fear that Beca might never remember her, the fear that she might just drift further away. Sure, Beca allows her in, but it wasn't like the early days of their friendship. She'd always gotten away with hugging her, being near her, invading her space while getting to know her.

This time it wasn't like that. She had shut herself off, and though they talk, and have witty banters from time to time, she could feel the ocean's distance between them, and Chloe was afraid she was drowning.

Because Beca won't let her invade her space, she would tense up when Chloe was near, never really sure what to do.

It was different, because this Beca knew things she didn't feel and experience and she doesn't know where and how she fits in it.

Chloe gently took off Beca's headphones, careful not to wake her. She swiftly lifted her and tucked her in, brushing away some loose strands of her hair falling over her face. One look at her face and Chloe knew, it was perhaps her blessing and her curse, she loves Beca, and she would always love her. Despite the pain she felt now, despite the sadness, despite the unstable grounds.

When she rushed to the hospital the one fear that had possessed Chloe was never seeing Beca's eyes again.

Now it was never seeing the recognition and love she had felt for her in them.

And yet there was that other part of Chloe, the one that said she should never give up, the storms would pass and the sun would shine again.

She stole a light and gentle kiss on Beca's cheeks, wishing her sweet dreams before sneaking out of the room, closing the door just enough to leave a gap so she could check on her at night, if she's well, if she needed anything.

She found herself in the living room, sitting on the edge of the couch, feeling a little lost. That's when she looked up and saw the old piano that Beca had insisted to buy with her first paycheck from the old man who used to live a floor above them before he moved. Beca tuned it, took care of it, and used to play songs that had started to form, while some were collaborations with Emily. Sometimes she'd play songs she liked that she figured Chloe would love too.

Now it was just at the corner of their apartment gathering dust.

Chloe stood up and approached it, running a finger gently on the keys before deciding to play something, one of the last songs Beca played for her. She knew a bit with playing the piano so it wasn't really ahrd to pick it up again when they bought it.

Quiet landslide when nobody knows
Regretted decisions that nobody chose
Under water and sinking fast
No way out, no way to get back
What might have been is lost in the past

Chloe started singing gently, losing herself in whatever was left of the familiar.

Just give it time
It's gonna get better
Now is not forever at all
Just give it time
Everything changes
Tomorrow comes today will be gone
Everything's gonna be fine
Just give it time, give it time

Her voice quaked a little and quivered as she sang, the words somehow fitting, ringing true. So she continued to sing with all her heart, letting her emotions go.

And Chloe realized she hadn't even sang or hummed a song since the accident.

When the world you're in is still again
And it all fades out
You've reached the end, begin again now

She continued playing, her thoughts drifting away with the somewhat lighthearted tune, lifting her own spirits.

Everything's gonna be alright
Just give it time

"Why didn't you sing before? I mean… why'd you stop?" she heard Beca ask, taking her by surprise. Chloe stopped and turned around to see the brunette leaning by the doorway to the bedroom. She smiled uncertainly at Chloe, a mixture of sadness and happiness in her eyes. "You have a beautiful voice." Beca noted, her voice shaky, and all of sudden she was in tears.

Chloe wasted no time to close the distance between them, hesitating only a little before cupping her cheeks, "Beca what's the matter?"

"I don't know." she answered honestly with a chuckle before allowing herself to be wrapped in Chloe's arms, burying her face before she sighed. "Promise me we'll figure it out."

Chloe smiled lightly. "We will Beca. Someway, somehow." she replied with a light sigh, reveling in the simplicity of the moment.

Maybe things have changed, but Chloe was making the most of it. This was the first time she was this close to Beca since she woke up with no memory. She wanted to celebrate the little unexpected triumphs.

Maybe things are different.

But they'll make it through.

She'll reach through Beca again, she'll let her in once again.

No matter how slow it is to get there.

Baby steps.