A/N: Hey guys, here is chapter 20 featuring the return of Beca to America, a tinge of sadness (just a tinge), and good ol' Barden University.
I did say minor character death…. And as for Eli, just a brief mention of his fate.
Songs in this chapter are 'Why Georgia' by John Mayer, 'When We Were Young' and 'Remedy' by Adele, and 'Be Still' by the Fray.
I don't own pitch perfect.
That stupid bastard.
Although technically she shouldn't be calling him that. But Beca was still pissed.
Among other things.
Beca surprised the driver of her car service by lifting her own luggage into the trunk of the car then slamming down the trunk shut before hopping into the back seat with a huff.
"Where to Ms. Mitchell?" the driver asked uncertainly, noting the ill mood that Beca was in.
"The hotel." Beca muttered.
I am driving up 85 in the
Kind of morning that lasts all afternoon
Just stuck inside the gloom
The driver obliged, lowered the volume of the radio, the station was as always, tuned into the Barden radio station. But that was just how things were since she came to Barden. Truthfully, since Luke came to Barden.
4 more exits to my apartment but
I am tempted to keep the car in drive
And leave it all behind
Beca huffed again and asked the driver to turn the volume up and he of course happily obliged.
Cause I wonder sometimes
About the outcome
Of a still verdictless life
Guess this was Beca's homecoming to Barden.
Am I living it right?
Am I living it right?
Am I living it right?
Why, why Georgia, why?
She was in Paris for about a month and a half. The progress she was making was remarkable, as noted by her doctor, Tiffany Deveraux, Luisa's friend. Still holes in the memory, but things were being uncovered rather fast.
Even things she simply thought she had forgotten had been slipping back and coming up front and centered in her head.
And with it came all emotions and understanding and the letting go of resentments she stubbornly held on to.
I rent a room and I fill the spaces with
Wood in places to make it feel like home
But all I feel's alone
It might be a quarter life crisis
Or just the stirring in my soul
She leaned in closer towards the right side of the back seat of the car, looking out the window and sighed.
The first thing she had done the day following Luke's long list of lectures, and her decision of seeking professional help, Beca did what she knew was the right thing to do. Call her dad, tell him everything's good. Tell him her memories were returning.
And of course apologize.
She forgot the whole 'tell him everything' part but she did tell her the gist of it. It was something, at the very least, as noted by Dr. Mitchell himself.
Beca was the one who extended the olive branch, and for a while things were turning for to the Brightside. She was rebuilding bridges she kept on burning down.
Either way I wonder sometimes
About the outcome
Of a still verdictless life
Am I living it right?
Am I living it right?
Am I living it right?
Why, why Georgia, why?
They were patching things up. Aside from Luke, her father was the one person she kept in contact with during her brief sabbatical. She sent Chloe a quick text message or two, saying she's fine, nothing to worry about. That if she ever saw that slimy delusional pathetic excuse of a human man-child she will most certainly painfully rip him into the tiniest bits and shreds until he was fully decimated.
Chloe seemed all up for it with her short reply of 'By all means'.
But that was it really. She wasn't entirely sure how to tell Chloe, break the news and all, that she was fully getting her memories back.
Because Beca felt a little lost with where to begin.
And she wanted to make sure she could make it clear to Chloe that even without her memories returning, falling for her wasn't even a question. It was an absolute.
So what, so I've got a smile on
But it's hiding the quiet superstitions in my head
Don't believe me
Don't believe me
When I say I've got it down
But the thing with Chloe is currently pushed to the back of her mind. That, she can face when she finalizes her move to LA.
Her current focus was on her father. The guy who he's been confiding most of her problems with again, once more opening up to.
Reconnecting and all.
That's the reason why she was going back to Barden in the first place.
Everybody is just a stranger but
That's the danger in going my own way
I guess it's the price I have to pay
Still "everything happens for a reason"
Is no reason not to ask myself
But stupid bastard didn't tell her anything. They were supposed to have an open line of communication. As a matter of fact that was the first things he told her when she reached out with that first call.
And now Beca regrets never finding the chance to say all the things she had decided to shelve then.
Am I living it right?
Am I living it right?
Am I living it right?
Why, why Georgia, why?
Because of course now that her sanity has returned it was time for him to go.
He should have said something.
Instead of quietly going into the night.
With everything that's happened so far, Chloe never thought she'd find herself at Barden again. Much less for the reason that she had. Technically, they were all supposed to meet at Barden in just a matter of a few weeks. For Emily's graduation.
But Chloe's plans were pushed on ahead, being the only one of the Bellas able to come and pay respects to Beca's father.
Luke was there too, the ever absent Beca Mitchell's representative, along with his girlfriend, Kaelyn, Emily and Benji.
"How's Beca?" Chloe asked just after the service, walking back to where she parked her rental car with Luke.
"That's a rather difficult question to ask." Luke replied sounding a little irate. Chloe could guess that something must have happened – because of course there was, especially when Beca suddenly basically dropped out of thin air. Chloe would try to call her, Luke coordinating any updates on Beca's contact details with her, but she was mostly MIA. She'd text back once or twice that she's doing fine and asks about how she was doing, but even when Chloe responds, she never replies. Not after that initially checking in with each other after the whole mess Eli created between them.
She's probably processing the whole Eli thing too, Chloe thought. She still can't think about the bastard without her blood boiling, but at least he wasn't bothering her.
She never saw him again after that confrontation at the bar. She took a week off, mostly for herself, and mostly to avoid murdering her in the halls if she ever saw him. The Bellas helped her move, temporarily staying with Amy and Bumper for about a week and a half before moving to an apartment of her own. New place for a new chapter of her life.
Last she heard at the school after her return, Eli started muttering about ghosts, ninja stalkers, rabid tazmanian devils, woodland creatures, zombies, and a few other random mutterings of things hunting him down every time he heard a few songs. Apparently, a particular song triggered a particular reaction. It got real bad to the point that he wet himself in the cafeteria when one kid started playing one of the songs.
The school thought he was having a nervous breakdown.
Their colleagues had asked Chloe what on earth happened – of course they knew they were dating – and Chloe had to explain that Eli turned out to be a bit unhinged and with his weird behavior and public humiliation, Chloe didn't have to explain further. They were just glad that Chloe was okay.
And Chloe? There was an unwavering knowledge that the Bellas were probably behind it. The dead giveaway was the zombies. Jesse's girlfriend was a costume designer who was currently working on a horror movie. Truthfully, she didn't want to ask the specifics of what they did… or maybe in the near future?
She had been dying on asking Luke what Beca's been up to but the last few times she asked, Luke's answer had always been that she's on sabbatical and was staying in Paris for a while.
But this time was different. Chloe was worried, not in the 'is she in danger' sense of things, bit on how she's processing everything. "She wanted to come Chloe." she then heard Luke say just before Emily rushed to join them. She immediately hugged Luke and buried her tearstained face in his shirt. "Always the emotional one?" Luke then asked with a smile.
"It's just really sa-sa-sad, okay. Even I didn't know he got sick. He didn't… he… he didn't say anything. I kept run-run-running into him this semester and all." Emily replied in between sobs. "I-I just… Beca... you know? Does she know? Like… tha-that he was sick?"
"She only knew when we did Emily. And Beca's strong." Luke reminded her before turning to Luke at Chloe. "You joining us for dinner Beale?"
"I might actually just take the night off. It's been a long day. Maybe grab a quick bite to eat."
"Are you staying 'til the grad or are you traveling back and forth?" Benji asked and Chloe shrugged. She still wasn't sure about her plans. The Bellas would undoubtedly pursue the plans to be here for Emily on her big day. She might actually just stick around.
And again she was tempted to ask about Beca, would she be here? Would she show up and eventually make her way to where her father was?
How's she processing things? The last time they ever talked about him, Beca was still on the fence about trying to open up to her father again.
And the questions she really didn't want to think about because of she wasn't quite sure how to handle them.
Like did Beca finally move on?
Was that the reason why she was in Paris?
Chloe soon parted ways with her friends, finding her way back to Barden.
Boy, did it bring back a lot of memories.
She decided to stick with just driving around campus, there would be more time to explore another day. Nostalgia started hitting her hard until she found herself outside the old diner she used to go to. It was her favorite place ever since her freshman year at Barden, it's always had this homey kind of feeling. She used to bring Aubrey there for late night cravings. And eventually, it was Beca who she dragged.
Thousands upon thousands of conversations. That's what they had here. From the day she promised Beca she would support her dreams and be with her in LA, to that last day they had at Barden before they actually moved.
She's been standing outside for a while before she realized she should probably grab a bite to eat before heading back to her hotel.
Coming inside just turned the nostalgic factor up a notch. The familiar smell of coffee and the mixed scent cinnamon and vanilla greeted her home. They had a little bakery selection just as you enter.
And of course, when in Barden, there was only one radio station that mattered.
Everybody loves the things you do
From the way you talk
To the way you move
Everybody here is watching you
'Cause you feel like home
You're like a dream come true
Chloe made her way further inside, old familiar faces greeting her with warm excited smiles. "Looks like today is the day of familiar faces." Old Ben who manned the register said as Chloe said hello. Chloe gave her a curious look which he returned. That only made Chloe even more confused. She was about to ask him what he meant when he pointed at the booth towards the left end of the diner.
But if by chance you're here alone
Can I have a moment
Before I go?
'Cause I've been by myself all night long
Hoping you're someone I used to know
It was their old booth. The one shared with Beca.
And the brunette girl with her head down resting on her arms on the table currently sitting in their booth and ignoring the cup of coffee to her side? Why of course it was the one and only Beca Mitchell. The sight of it was enough to have Chloe frozen still on the spot where she stood, just really taking in the sight of it.
For some reason it felt like they were back in the old days.
You look like a movie
You sound like a song
My God, this reminds me
Of when we were young
Chloe could feel her heart sway, start skipping beats. Once again she was senior in college Chloe and somehow she couldn't help but think Beca was back to being her old sometimes grumpy and broody Beca. The same girl who got arrested for punching some guy causing trouble with her friends.
Except this time, Chloe's hand was the one still in a cast.
Let me photograph you in this light
In case it is the last time
That we might be exactly like we were
Before we realized
We were sad of getting old
It made us restless
It was just like a movie
It was just like a song
Beca looked up and she seemed surprised to see Chloe but she nevertheless smiled. And Chloe couldn't help herself but smile back.
Beca was finally home and Chloe had been missing her so.
They sat there in silence for a while, just stealing glances at each other even after Chloe's order of a cup of tea had been brought to her.
"So how was Paris?" Chloe finally asked as she took a sip of her drink.
Beca chuckled lightly. "It was okay I guess." she replied, keeping her eyes on her own drink.
"Okay, you guess?" Chloe asked with a bit of laugh forcing Beca to finally look up and wonder what she could be thinking at the moment. "Beca, you were, for some reason, in the city of lights, the city of love, and you think it was just okay, you guess?"
"What would you want me to think of Paris then?" Beca then asked, keeping her eyes on Chloe's. The pair of ocean blue glimmering like they never had before.
Chloe looked away, biting her lip. "I don't know. One would think you would find love in the most romantic places on earth?" she said with a hint of sadness in her tone.
Beca shrugged. "I was there to clear my head of a few things really. I mean, technically I'm out of a job."
"So you went to Paris?" Chloe asked with a chuckle yet again.
"I said I was out of a job, I didn't say I was out of a plan, Beale." Beca then said with smirk on her face. Technically she did get a lot of stuff done, other than make progress with her memory of course.
"But you didn't call." Chloe said in a whisper, before casting her eyes down to her cup of tea, Beca following suit.
Except her eyes didn't land on Chloe's cup of tea. It landed on Chloe's cast.
"You're not allowed to ever punch a guy again Beale, whether they deserve it or not." Beca then said, reaching out to touch Chloe's hands. The tops of their fingers met briefly, before Beca's started tracing the cast on her hand.
Chloe smiled briefly, following the movements of Beca's fingers, before looking up. "It's not my fault I don't know how to make a fist. Besides, who'll punch them for me?"
"Uh, I don't know, me?" Beca deadpanned.
"You live far away." Chloe pointed out.
"Not for long." Beca said, looking up again to meet Chloe's gaze, hands gently resting on Chloe's own. "I promised, didn't I?" she reminded Chloe, her voice soft.
"Yeah, you did." Chloe replied, tearing her eyes away from Beca once more.
And deep down inside, Beca knew she lived for the moments where she could make Chloe Beale smile and blush like she did then. It was enough to make her forget the dozen or so other emotions running through her then. She found a place of peace in Chloe's company.
They stayed in the diner for about an hour before Beca brought up the idea of walking around or a bit. And how on earth could Chloe say no to her? Especially when more and more it felt like Beca was acting like her old self again.
Walking around town, it was no longer a dream, a wishful thought from the past to have Beca there by her side. She was back.
Chloe had about a month and a half to breathe and just be. Something she wasn't able to do before. It felt wonderful, really, clearing the cobwebs that had formed in her mind.
And for some reason, it brought about her feelings for Beca front and center. Even when she focused on herself, she found herself thinking of the DJ every now and then. Missing her company, their conversations…
…what they once had.
But again, Chloe reinforced the idea, whatever Beca wanted, she would respect it. Deep down inside though, Chloe knew, Beca was just something she'll never be able to walk away from.
They made their way through the old college town before Beca stopped just outside an old café that had just been recently closed down. Chloe couldn't help but notice the very visible frown on her face when she saw the sign.
"What?" Beca asked when she finally realized Chloe was looking at her.
Chloe shrugged. Her thoughts asking the same question.
Does she know?
It was an old café where they had frequent dinners at, many date nights were most definitely spent there.
"I'm hungry, aren't you?" Beca quickly replied, snapping Chloe back to reality.
Yes, yes she was. In fact that was the very reason she entered the diner at the first place but she had forgotten about it after seeing Beca.
"There's a pizza place close by. It's where Amy usually goes to get the Bellas pizza." Chloe then said, nodding to the direction across the street where it was.
Beca nodded. "Pizza sounds good."
I remember all of the things that I thought I wanted to be
So desperate to find a way out of my world and finally breathe
Right before my eyes I saw, my heart it came to life
This ain't easy, it's not meant to be
Every story has its scars
There was a little waiting area just by the register counter at the pizza place. Beca looked thoughtful as they waited for their order and Chloe simply couldn't help but just watch her and try to guess what she was thinking. She wanted to have dinner with the redhead and so she invited her back to her hotel room, a more private place to take and just breathe and relax.
"Their keeping a good job at it, don't you think?" Beca then asked and Chloe threw her a questioning glance. "The campus radio. It's been following me since I got here."
"You did do a nice job at handling things when you were working at the station." Chloe commented. "They have a reputation to live up to."
"And I'm glad they are." Beca noted.
No river is too wide or too deep for me to swim to you
Come whatever, I'll be the shelter that won't let the rain come through
Your love, it is my truth
And I will always love you
Love you
A few minutes of silence followed and Chloe figured, she could probably finally ask the question she had asked Luke earlier. "How are you?" Chloe asked, her intention clear in her tone.
And Beca didn't miss it. "I'm hanging in there." she replied simply.
"Beca… I…" Chloe started to say before Beca smiled at her and shook her head. It was a bittersweet smile.
But her eyes, they told her of the storm raging on inside of her. And Chloe knew, it was Beca's way of pleading…
Not here.
Otherwise she was going to cry.
She was most definitely not okay.
When the pain cuts you deep
When the night keeps you from sleeping
Just look and you will see
That I will be your remedy
When the world seems so cruel
And your heart makes you feel like a fool
There order was done. They were free to go.
And on their way back to Beca's hotel Chloe found herself promising that she would be whatever it was that Beca needed her to be during this hard time. She lost her father, and whatever it was that Beca felt for him, Dr. Mitchell was still her father.
I promise you will see
That I will be, I will be your remedy
And she would be there, by her side, as it always had been and as it should be.
Beca was two slices in when Chloe gave her a look. She took a deep breath and tried to control her breathing. Chloe saw there was something going on inside of her and in her usual Chloe fashion figured it out. Also in the usual Chloe fashion, she was silently asking her.
You promised.
Beca smiled awkwardly. They were sat down the middle of the bed, the box of pizza in between them.
"Mitchell?" Chloe pressed on, this time verbally.
"Fine." Beca relented.
"Fine? Why weren't you there?" Chloe asked and Beca didn't have to second guess what she meant by it.
"I wanted to, but… there's just, you know, too much stuff."
"Beca…"
"I'm not mad at him Chloe, not anymore." Beca said rather calmly, interrupting Chloe. "I just, you know?" she continued, trying to fight the tears that were coming. "I figured… ugh, damn it."
The tears started trailing down her cheeks, no matter how hard he tried to fight them. "I called. I called him before going to Paris. We talked and we kept in touch, a whole lot while I was in France. I was trying to rebuild the things we've lost. I was… And the stupid fool didn't say a thing." Beca recounted, the tears continuing to fall.
She was unloading the heaviness of her heart, the one she's been keeping to herself.
Chloe spared no second in moving away the box, and pulling Beca in her arms. She placed a gentle kiss in her hair as she rubbed soothing circles in her back.
And she still held her like that until they both dozed off. Beca finding a shelter to the storm of her emotions in Chloe, once again having the deepest and most profound conversation with her without even saying a single word.
Chloe knew, she understood, and she would listen to her words or silence or whatever means Beca preferred to say what she wanted to say.
Making Beca feel lighter, her resentments on missed chances lifting.
She wanted to say a lot of things.
I'm here Beca. I'll keep the secrets of your heart. I'll share your burden.
But Chloe wasn't sure if she had any right to do so anymore so she held her tongue and simply held Beca in her arms until they both drifted off.
At some point in the early hours of morning, Chloe sat up, the radio continuously playing silently in the background, as if the songs were there to welcome Beca home and soothe her emotions.
Be still and know that I'm with you
Be still and know that I am here
Be still and know that I'm with you
Be still, be still, and know
Chloe tucked away a few loose strands of Beca's hair and gazed at her face. It looked at peace, trouble free and relaxed. She cried her heart out, her cheeks still stained with tears. Chloe traced the lines with one of her fingers, trailing down her cheek.
She's almost forgotten how soft her skin felt.
When darkness comes upon you
And colors you with fear and shame
Be still and know that I'm with you
And I will say your name
Chloe sighed.
She missed Beca, she really did. And this was the first time she'd ever been this close to her again, causing her heart to sway and dance to the rhythmic beating of her chest.
God, she loved her. She really did. And it was probably the oddest of times to think of it now, but seeing Beca without her walls, her masks, her inhibitions… Beca allowing Chloe to see her at her most vulnerable, opening out her emotions, her sadness and heartbreak…
It made her realize the inescapable truth she already knew.
If terror falls upon your bed
And sleep no longer comes
Remember all the words I said
Be still, be still, and know
And no, Chloe doesn't know what will come next. She wasn't sure if Beca will ever feel the same way ever again.
But she'll love her nonetheless.
Friend or something more than that.
But for now, she'll be her friend and confidant. She would push her feelings aside, she can't be selfish, and allow Beca to process everything. Leave her room to breathe with what she was going through.
And when you go through the valley
And the shadow comes down from the hill
If morning never comes to be
Be still, be still, be still
But one thing for sure, even if Beca leaves again, this time she'll have faith.
And for now, for always, she would be there.
If you forget the way to go
And lose where you came from
If no one is standing beside you
Be still and know I am
Chloe placed a soft kiss on her cheek before sliding back down, resting her head on her pillow. Her eyes blinked heavily as her tired mind soon sought its way to find rest in her dreams
Be still and know that I'm with you
Be still and know I am
She didn't even notice Beca smiling.