Suddenly Kimmy Jin's standing up and walking over towards her and whacking her upside the head with a pillow, "Get over yourself and just be you, and girl the hell up and give her the damn memory stick."

Beca tries to defend herself from the onslaught of hits from the pillow, but she's not prepared for it and by the time she's really aware of what's happening, Kimmy Jin stops and folds her arms across her chest.

"It's honestly a miracle the both of you ever even got to be friends. You're so insufferable."

Beca drops her arms from their defensive posture, and rolls her eyes, "I'm not that bad."

Scoffing, Kimmy Jin says, "Yes, that's right. You just prefer not to get anywhere of consequence with Beale-Chloe." She amends after Beca raises an eyebrow at her.

She continues, "You obviously really like her. And don't even give me that 'yeah, we're best friends, of course I really like her,' B.S. you know what I mean. Liking her romantically doesn't negate how much you like your friendship with her."

Beca huffs, but she's smirking a little bit, "Wow Kimmy…I don't think I've ever seen you so passionate, except when you're talking about one of your many OTPs."

Kimmy Jin flips her hair over her shoulder, and goes back to her desk, ignoring what Beca said, "I've done my part. Now it's up to you to stop being so hesitant and just go for it. There's no way she's going to let things get weird between the both of you-whatever her response is. She's so infatuated by you as it is."

Beca hums, shifting so that she's sitting more comfortably as she says, "It's not Chloe that-" she pauses and then starts again, slowly, trying to properly articulate herself, "I know she'll be wonderful, regardless…but a part of me wants her not to misunderstand the meaning behind this, ya know? It's not an, 'oh, you're my best friend, here's some really personal mixes for you,' thing…It's me trying to say, 'you're my best friend and I really like you romantically and this is how I feel in ways I can't express in my own words, so have some personal mixes I've worked on for ages to get perfect for you.'"

Kimmy Jin turns around in her chair and fixes Beca with a look as she nods slowly, "So maybe tell her that. Or write it down if you don't think you can get the words out without fumbling over yourself."

Beca really wants to wipe the smirk off of Kimmy Jin's face for that last barb, but she supposes she had it coming really.

"It's not like I'm not going to give her the memory stick, alright? I just…I need the perfect moment and it just seems like I'm severely lacking in that department."

Beca's almost certain she hears Kimmy Jin say something along the lines of, 'it'd be a perfect moment because it's with Chloe you imbecile,' but she can't be sure because her roommate apparently decides she's had enough of her and has put on her earphones and is back to ignoring her.

Beca rolls her eyes at Kimmy Jin, and takes out her phone.

She can't help that her mind goes back to Chloe and their earlier time together, and she realizes that she may have hurt Chloe's feelings a little bit by not saying goodbye properly and so she hovers over the redhead's name in her phone, a small smile taking over her face as she sees the new picture she has for her, thanks to Aubrey, before finally typing out, 'Im still really sorry bout earlier. I didn't think it was possible for me to be even more of a fumbling idiot. Im also sorry I totally just ran off but uh embarrassment and all that x'

Satisfied that she's managed to do some disaster management she takes a deep breath and pulls out her own laptop and slips in the USB.

There's only one folder and it's labeled 'Chlo' and Beca just smiles dorkily before double clicking and looking at the tracks she's put inside.

She had decided, after the fiasco with Jesse, that simply leaving it named 'for you' wasn't really acceptable if it leaves things up for interpretation. This way, there's no way one can misconstrue her meaning. It's for Chloe, and it was always meant to be for Chloe.

She's made many mixes with the redhead in mind. Not that she'd ever tell anyone that. Except maybe Chloe really.

But Beca has made a lot of mixes with Chloe in mind, either for her or about her or just because she thinks she'd really like it.

One such mix is 'I See Fire' and Beca wants to, above all else, see what Chloe's reaction would be to this song, after Beca's had her way with it.

But it didn't make the cut into this particular USB, because it's not quite right for what Beca's trying to say. And although she's really proud of how it has turned out, she has it saved in a different folder on her desktop to hand over to Chloe some other time. Beca will most probably hand it to her even before she manages to give her the USB.

Sighing, Beca scrolls through the tracks that did make the cut into the memory stick, knowing that these songs all fit perfectly for what she's trying to convey.

'Stay With Me' makes the cut, and really Beca doesn't know how she's gotten up the nerve to even think to put it in and mix it. But she's not going to take it out now. She wants more than, and she's certain she wants it with Chloe.

'You Are The Best Thing' is one of the tracks that she really wasn't sure she was even going to mix because the original already means the world to her and she's sure Chloe would appreciate the beauty of it as well. Beca ends up just adding to the sound, adding conviction and flowing notes and the result is something Beca herself wasn't really expecting when she first started mixing the song.

Beca also places the original song onto the memory stick for good measure. It's a fantastic song and Chloe would probably end up humming it whenever she gets the chance, and that's something Beca honestly would love to bear witness to.

She's about to start re-listening to her mix of 'Love Me Like You Do', wanting to make sure it's up to par with what she remembers it being when she first put it together when she hears her phone chime.

It's a reply from Chloe, 'don't worry about it becs xoxo and id hope you'd learn to stop being embarrassed round me, I don't judge; I happen to love flustered beca ;) xx'

Beca's throat suddenly is very dry and she doesn't know what to do or make of the text.

That's not true though. She knows what she wants it to mean. She wants it to mean exactly what it says, but Beca's got a feeling Chloe means it a lot more innocently than Beca's taking it.

She groans and apparently it was loud enough for Kimmy Jin to hear, because her roommate turns around questioningly but Beca just shakes her head and goes back to her mixes.

Kimmy Jin rolls her eyes before she turns back around to face her laptop, shaking her head and thinking, 'hopeless. She's absolutely hopeless.'

Xoxoxoxo

"Look, I'm sure it's just Beca being weird okay? She'll figure her shit out, and you two will be absolutely fine again and she'll tell you all about it and it'll be something you can laugh about."

Chloe sighs, switching the phone over to her other ear as she says, "I just don't understand why we've suddenly taken a bajillion steps backwards. She tells me everything Aubrey."

"Chloe, sweetheart, listen to me okay? I'm sure everything is fine, and she just needs a little time to figure out how to let you in. You know her better than anyone, and you've said it yourself, she sometimes needs to process things before talking about it." Aubrey says matter-of-factly , trying to soothe Chloe's worries over Beca's decidedly twitchy behavior recently.

Chloe nods to herself, sighing into the phone, "Yeah, you're right, I guess. It still doesn't make it any easier for me though; not when she runs off all helter-skelter, not even giving me a decent hug."

Aubrey chuckles over the phone and Chloe furrows her brow in confusion until the blonde says, "Is that why you're upset right now? Because you haven't gotten your fix yet?"

Chloe blushes but she isn't about to deny it when it's basically the truth, "Maybe. So what if it is?"

"So nothing. I don't have anything to say about that Bug. That's all on you and your feelings."

Clearing her throat, Chloe decides to change the direction of this conversation slightly, "So…the BBQ tomorrow. Do you really have to make it so that it's a birthday thing too?"

Aubrey's eyes widen slightly, having thought she had kept a lid on the surprise rather well, "Well…I mean it's not officially like a surprise party; it's literally just a birthday/BBQ/get together. I can cancel the magician and the bouncy castle." She adds teasingly, to try and garner a laugh out of Chloe.

She succeeds.

Chloe giggles as she lays down across the couch, "It's alright, you can keep the bouncy castle…but exnay on the magician this time."

Aubrey laughs lightly at that and then waits a little before asking, "Why do you want me to cancel the birthday aspect?"

Chloe just shrugs a little, absentmindedly pulling at the loosely woven throw, tugging and running her fingers through the material, "I don't know…I don't want you to cancel it, I guess…I just. I'm not feeling very hyped."

Aubrey smiles sadly, knowing it's this weirdness with Beca that's making her feel this way, "We won't make it a big deal; that's why we're having a day at home, rather than going all out. I know that that's what you'd prefer. A nice intimate time with your friends."

Chloe grins a little, her heart feeling like it's filling to the brim with the amount of love she's feeling towards Aubrey, "You're the absolute best, did you know that?"

Aubrey chuckles, "I've had some idea."

"Thank you Aubrey. Honestly, I don't know who else could make me feel better about this."

"You're very welcome Chloe; it's what I'm here for. Go shower and get ready for bed, alright? We've got a great day ahead of us tomorrow. And don't you worry about Beca, alright?"

Chloe hums, a tiny smile on her face, "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye."

Chloe hangs up and places the phone on her stomach as she continues to lay there on the couch, playing with the throw, contemplating the possible outcomes of tomorrow.

Her phone chimes and she lifts it lazily, half expecting a text from Beca, and the other half of her knowing it's most probably not.

'Shower Chloe. Stop over thinking things. I need you over bright and early. Chop chop Aca-nerd. ~Bree'

Chloe laughs out loud and texts Aubrey back a thumbs up, before getting up and leaving to take her shower, humming Ryn Weaver's Pierre as she does so.

Xoxoxoxoxo

She barely makes out the sound of incessant knocking, but Beca furrows her brow, thinking she must have accidently clicked on a drum loop somehow.

That is, that's what she thought, until her headphones are being lifted and her name is being hissed out at her, "Beca. There's a blonde here for you and she's seriously messing with my nightly routine right now and you need to seriously deal with this cuz I will let her kill you, if need be."

Beca focuses enough to realize the knocking was coming from someone on the other side of the door and Kimmy Jin had answered already and it's someone for her.

"Aubrey?" She asks as she turns around and sees the blonde in question standing in front of her, with her arms crossed, a look of unimpressed nonchalance on her face.

"Very good Beca, yes, that's my name."

Rolling her eyes, Beca gets up off of her bed and puts her laptop and headphones on her desk before turning back around and facing the blonde.

She also sees Kimmy Jin walk out of the room to give them some privacy and Beca can't help but wonder what Aubrey said to her to get her to leave the room.

"What's up?" Beca asks, forcing herself to sound cool, calm and collected.

Aubrey narrows her eyes slightly but then drops her arms and flops onto the bed, "Look, I'm not gonna pretend to know what's going on with you. Or pretend that it's any of my business and demand that you tell me…"

Beca nods her head, appreciating that a lot more than she'll let on, and waits for Aubrey to continue.

"All I'm gonna say is, I hope to God that you figure your shit out soon."

Beca nods slowly, not entirely certain that Aubrey is done with what she came here for.

Aubrey just nods her head once and then very seriously, "You've made sure that the Bellas know that it's just a low-key birthday get together right? Because seriously, Chloe doesn't want a big deal made out of her birthday."

Beca's heart flutters at the mention of Chloe, but she manages not to blush so deeply, "Yeah, you know that they know. And low-key intimate birthdays is so much more her thing, I'm surprised she went so big last year."

Aubrey smirks, "No, you're just still miffed that she got so drunk that she ended up jiggling around that rather spectacular specimen at the club last year."

Beca's cheeks are enflamed, "N-no, no! That's not it at all."

"Uh-huh. Right. And you sulking in the booth and making eyes at her was what? My imagination?" Aubrey asks, arms raising and being placed on her hips.

Beca grumbles, rolling her eyes, "Look, I just worry about Chloe when she's so sweet and open and willing to make new friends, even when she's hammered."

Aubrey laughs, "Beca, stop. You had no problems until she was dancing with that brunette, instead of trying to get you to dance with her."

"Dude, not cool." Beca's eyes narrow as she looks up at the blonde in front of her.

Aubrey shrugs, but puts her hands up in surrender, "I'm just saying."

Rolling her eyes, Beca stands up and folds her arms across her chest, "Uh-huh, and what is it exactly that you're saying?"

Aubrey gives her a small smile, "I'm saying, I think your feelings for Chloe are well placed, and that I just hope you seriously girl the hell up and do something about it."

"Yes! Exactly!"

Both women turn towards the door where Kimmy Jin's voice just came from, and they watch as she sheepishly pokes her head through the door, "Sorry, was that…I shouldn't have done that."

Beca laughs out lout, throwing her head back in disbelief at the situation she finds herself in, "Is this real life? This cant be real life, this is insane."

Kimmy Jin walks into the room and just takes a seat on her bed and thankfully says nothing.

Aubrey raises an eyebrow and looks at Beca pointedly until she stops laughing and sobers up.

"I'm serious Beca."

The brunette hums, arms going back to their defensive position folded across her chest, "What makes you think I haven't done something about it?"

Aubrey snorts, "Because if you had done something about it, I'd have heard from Chloe. Or you'd have said that ages ago instead of letting me talk."

Beca throws her hands up in frustration, "Fine. Fine! You're right, I haven't, but that doesn't mean I'm not planning on it. Or that I haven't tried."

Aubrey nods, impressed, "Good. Now you just have to stop trying and actually do. Because your weird behavior is worrying Chloe and she's starting to think there's something wrong with her. She thinks your pushing her away."

Beca's eyes soften, "She does?"

Aubrey nods, "Yeah, but I told her that you're probably just trying to process things first before opening up your mouth."

Nodding, Beca says, "She knows that though."

"Yeah, except I very seriously doubt that things ever get to this point with you while you're trying to figure out your shit. Don't you usually manage to sit with her and she gives you the silence while you process things, and then you open up and she's there one hundred and fifty percent?"

Beca nods, "Yeah, she's great. She's absolutely wonderful."

Aubrey nods, "Right, so you can see why this new weirdness coming from you is probably worrying her a little?"

The brunette smacks herself in the head, "Oh my God, she thinks I'm a goddamn freak now, who can't even function like a normal human being."

"Pause. No. That's not what I said." Aubrey says, shaking her head, eyes wide as she takes in Beca's forlorn look.

"No, I know, but…seriously, I'm working on not losing my cool around her and I just, lose complete control and I end up runnin' away before making things worse and-I can't help it when she looks at me with her eyes!"

Aubrey just grins at her, because how often does she get to see the infamous hardass Beca Mitchell lose her cool over one of her best friends.

Kimmy Jin sarcastically says, "Yes well, what else is she meant to look at you with?"

Beca fixes her with a deadly glare, not at all appreciating the input, "I really don't need this right now, thanks."

Aubrey steps in-between them, deescalating the situation, "Beca, Chloe doesn't think you're a freak. Now, maybe if you would take the time to actually, oh I don't know, maybe talk to her? That'd probably help too."

Beca sighs, rubbing her eyes before wiping her hands down her face, "That's what I've been trying to do."

Aubrey shakes her head, "No, what you've been doing is psyching yourself up. What you need to do is just be there in the moment with her. She's not some stranger…she's Chloe Beale, and she understands you better than you probably understand yourself. Just talk to her. Tell her what's going on."

A/N: so, this was chapter three, lemme know what you think? comment, like, review, favorite, pm me...just, like any feedback would be wonderful xo