Friends! I'm so sorry it has taken me this long to update this story. I promise I'm not going to let this story go unfinished. I've had a lot going on in my life and to be honest, I kind of lost myself for a little bit. I kind of forgot some of the things that make me feel happy and I'm trying to reclaim it all and figure out what any of the past months mean.
Anyhow, I'm back and we're going to keep moving along. I will sincerely try to keep up with this story better because I'm SO into it. I hope you all are, too. Enjoy!
CHAPTER 4- BACK TO BLACK
Beca was zoned out and focused on her laptop, creating a mix that would work for the Bellas' next tournament competition. She didn't notice when the bedroom door opened and closed behind her. She definitely didn't notice when a certain someone walked across the length of the room and leaned right behind Beca's left shoulder, studying Beca's creation with interest. It wasn't until the person rested her hand on Beca's shoulder that Beca's yelped with surprise and leaped out of her chair, her earphones practically yanking her back in the seat.
"What the fuck, dude?" Beca exclaimed, turning around to face none other than Chloe Beale. "What have I told you about sneaking up on me like that?"
"You're so cute when you're all hard at work," Chloe grinned, booping her finger on the tip of Beca's nose.
"Cute isn't exactly what I'm after, Beale," Beca pointed out, pretending to be frustrated over Chloe's interruption.
Chloe smiled her mega-watt smile. The one that made it impossible for Beca not to smile back. Taking a step closer to Beca, Chloe whispered into Beca's ear, "So what are you after?"
Beca rolled her eyes, trying to hide the blush that was forming on her cheeks. Why was Chloe like this? "Well, I was after a solid set-list for the ICCA's."
"Yeah? Well, what about right now?" Chloe hummed into Beca's ear, causing the hairs on her neck to stand up. Chloe slid her hands up Beca's sides as she fully close the physical distance between their bodies.
"Why are you doing this?" Beca asked through gritted teeth.
"Why aren't you stopping me?" Chloe whispered as her hands roamed freely across Beca's back.
Suddenly, Beca's lips were on Chloe's. She wasn't sure who initiated the kiss, but it didn't matter. She kissed Chloe deeper and deeper, desperate for more, as she pushed the girl back on the bed. Every ounce of suppressed desire for the older girl was flooding and controlling every thought and action. Beca needed Chloe, like right now. Beca gave Chloe another chaste kiss to the lips before pulling back and dropping her eyes to Chloe's skirt.
Chloe, who was now lying with her back on the bed and propped up on her elbows, nodded, giving Beca all the consent she needed to continue. Suddenly, Beca had dropped to her knees and was pushing Chloe's skirt up. Beca used her tongue and swiped across the folds of Chloe's core. After hearing a long, satisfied groan, Beca repeated the action again and again. Chloe's hips began bucking as her body ached for the friction that would bring her release.
As Beca continued licking and sucking at Chloe's center, she felt the older girl begin to tense up. She was close. Beca pulled back, wanting nothing more than to see the look of unbridled ecstasy on Chloe's face. Using her first and middle finger, Beca easily slipped into Chloe's folds and began thrusting, slowly at first until she built up a rhythm. Chloe panted, riding Beca's fingers to release as she moaned loudly.
Just as Chloe was climaxing, a ghost-like figure materialized out of nowhere from the bedroom wall. Beca squinted. The mysterious figure appeared to be a person. The person was wearing a black cloak and the face was concealed. And was that… a knife?
"Chloe!" Beca called out in warning, momentarily forgetting that Chloe was in the throes of an orgasm.
The cloaked figure was creeping closer to Chloe and Beca as it began brandishing its knife.
"Chlo! Chlo!" Beca called out again, over and over as the cloaked figure moved closer. It was useless. Chloe was screaming loudly as she rode out the duration of her orgasm.
The hooded figure, who was now standing inches behind where Chloe sat, raised its knife in the air and brought it down in Chloe's back.
"AH! Beca screamed out loud, jolting awake. "Oh... thank God."
"Were you dreaming there, Becs?" Chloe asked lightly.
Beca had been napping for close to two hours by this point. It was nearly time for the group to leave the Bella house and head over to the quad. Tonight, a vigil was to occur for the two fallen students.
"Yeah. Nightmare," Beca responded gruffly, shaking her head as her mind coalesced with reality. Fuck, that dream had felt really... real.
"Ohhh, scary," Chloe commented with interest, plopping down on the bed next to Beca. "What happened?"
Sitting up in bed, Beca bode her time. There were certainly parts of that dream that Chloe did not need to know about. The fading, yet still-present, throbbing between her thighs was an indication. "Nothing."
"Oh, come on!" Chloe shook Beca's shoulders playfully, looking her squarely in the eyes.
Beca raised her eyebrows at Chloe. Chloe mirrored Beca's actions, raising her eyebrows back at Beca, Beca huffed, realizing that Chloe wasn't going to let this go.
Choosing her words rather carefully, Beca answered, "The two of us were... hanging out... and someone with a knife came up behind you and I tried to tell you but you couldn't hear me over the screaming."
"What screaming?" Chloe questioned, her eyebrows furrowing as she tried to keep up with Beca's recount.
"Your screaming," Beca answered automatically and without thinking.
"Why was I screaming?" Chloe asked with confusion.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Beca ducked her head, unsuccessfully trying to hide the blush forming on her cheeks. Chloe's reaction instantaneously changed from confused to elated as she read straight through Beca's embarrassed reaction. Beca had been dreaming about her. In a sexual way.
"Oh my God! Really?" Chloe was practically dying from excitement.
"I'm not having this conversation with you," Beca answered flatly, standing up and turning away from Chloe. Beca desperately wanted to crawl into a hole and die from embarrassment.
"What? It's perfectly natural to have these kinds of dreams, Becs," Chloe explained evenly, as though Beca's dream were nothing but normal. "We all have needs-"
"No," Beca held her hand up to interrupt Chloe. The last thing she wanted right now was a gateway for Chloe to keep talking about the highly embarrassing and deeply personal dream that Beca had just experienced.
Ignoring Beca, Chloe continued, "And it's not like we can help what, or who, we dream about. I mean, of course, I have to believe this dream means something..." Chloe trailed off thoughtfully. "Maybe that you're in need of a good-"
"Please stop," Beca begged, turning around to face Chloe. Beca did not need to hear the end of that thought.
Chloe sighed, apparently restraining herself from finishing her prior thought. Unable to totally drop the subject, however, Chloe gushed, "Did you like it? In the dream I mean?"
"Dude, no!"
"Come on, you can't possibly tell me that you didn't enjoy... all this," Chloe teased, motioning to her body.
Chloe would be blind not to notice that Beca had definitely checked her out a time or two. And Chloe could easily admit that she loved when she had this effect on Beca. I mean, what was so wrong about admitting your attraction to another person? What was so wrong about wanting to explore someone else's body with your body? Chloe's train of thought screeched to a grinding halt by Beca's next comment.
"A masked person materialized out of our bedroom wall and stabbed you in the back," Beca clarified, effectively putting an end to Chloe's line of questioning. Chloe (rightfully) suspected this was intentional.
"Wow. Mood killer," Chloe mused with a small frown.
"You're telling me."
Neither girl said anything for a few moments, while Beca sat on the other twin bed, putting on her shoes. After she finished tying the laces to her shoes, Beca stole a glance at Chloe, who was gazing directly at Beca, a knowing grin plastered on her face.
"Stop thinking about it," Beca accused.
"What tells you I'm thinking about it?" Chloe answered innocently.
"It's the shit-eating grin, mostly."
Chloe winked, throwing Beca into another internal fit of forcing herself to squelch inappropriate thoughts and feelings.
"God, you're like the weirdest person I've ever met," Beca mumbled grumpily as she left the bedroom, eager to put this conversation fully behind her.
The Bellas soon made their way to the quad, with a grumpy Beca followed closely by an excited Chloe. One week had now passed since the fateful night of the Treble party. After scrupulous investigations, the "killer" had still not been caught. The Barden students continued to be monitored and escorted and by this point, had lost most, if not every bit of their freedom. Tonight was the first night since the Treble party that any of them had been permitted to be outdoors after dark because tonight, a vigil was to be held honoring the lives of Casey Jody and Beck Harris.
"This is John Smith, coming to you live at Barden University," the smug announcer said into the microphone.
The two reporters were made up and dressed in professional attire, standing in the crowded quad of Barden University on a chilly, Saturday evening.
"And this is Gail Abernathy McFadden Feinberger. We want to thank all the viewers out there for making us the most popular YouTube documentary in history," Gail elaborated with a huge grin.
The Barden students slowly filtered in, holding candles and making their ways to the center of the quad where the flagpole stood. Next to the flagpole was a podium, where Beca's dad, interim dean, would be soon delivering a speech.
"That's a big achievement Gail. Our success almost makes up for the embarrassing level of failure you've experienced in your professional career thus far."
"Sure does, John," Gail agreed chirpily. "It does indeed. Who could have predicted that people love true crime?"
John laughed arrogantly. "Literally everyone loves true crime, it seems. I think we're on to something, Gail."
Beca rolled her eyes as she watched the unbearable exchange between the two clueless announcers. Were they just now discovering the true crime craze? Had they not been around for Serial or any of the other podcasts or shows that had elevated true crime into fad-like popularity? These people were quickly becoming the bane of Beca's existence.
"Right again," Gail affirmed. "Well, John, we're here at a vigil for the two murdered Barden students. Before things begin, let's quickly fill our viewers in on what they may have missed in the past week. One week ago today, Barden student Beck Harris, a member of the club swim team and co-captain of BU Harmonics was brutally murdered at a party of the Treblemakers. He appeared to have been impaled by a metal rod and dressed like a swimsuit model."
John interrupted. "He was placed on the front porch of the Treblemaker's house shortly after 12:30 am. During the time 'Barbie Girl' was blaring through the speakers, the front door opened and agony ensued as Barden's collegiate a-capella students were exposed to one of the most horrific sights imaginable."
"A man in a bathing suit?" Gail asked dumbly, but innocently.
"No, an impaled student," John answered gruffly.
"Right, it was a sight for sore eyes," Gail grimaced. "The primary witnesses of the murder were the co-captains of the Barden Bellas, Beca Mitchell and Chloe Beale."
"Interesting fact, Gail," John pointed out. "Did you know that Beca Mitchell is daughter of interim Dean Mitchell?"
"You're kidding!" Gail clamored.
"It's true," John affirmed with a curt nod of his head. "And bad turned to worse for Ms. Mitchell and Ms. Beale when they ran over the dead torso of ex-Bella Casey Jody with their car last Sunday. And again when they inadvertently ate the dead fingers of ex-Bella Casey Jody."
"It seems these two girls have uncovered just about every missing body part of Casey Jody," Gail observed, twisting her mouth into a staged frown.
"That's true," John observed. "Although they are being monitored rather closely these days through both the new campus security escort, Meena Kommissar, and the new house mother, ex-Bella Aubrey Posen."
"Do you find it suspicious that these two escorts have more or less materialized out of thin air to follow the Bellas around?" Gail asked. "What is going on here?" She asked in her most reporter-sounding voice.
"Let's ask Beca Mitchell what she thinks," John decided, pushing through the crowd of students and honing in on Beca Mitchell, who was holding her candle and standing with the other Bellas, waiting for the vigil to begin.
"Ms. Mitchell," Gail called obnoxiously, trailing behind John as he made his way to Beca. "Ms. Mitchell, what can you tell us about the new surveillance that is following the Barden Bellas?"
Beca groaned deeply, her face hardening. "I'm not doing this again. I'm not answering any of your questions if this is for that stupid 'documentary' thing of yours."
"It's called 'Pitch Perfect,'" Gail corrected with bliss, ignorantly unaware of Beca's annoyance.
"Does any part of this situation seem perfect to you?" Beca asked bitingly.
"So far, it's shaping up to be a perfect murder," John observed, shaking his head at Beca. "Women," he muttered to the camera, as if Beca were the stupidest person alive.
"I'll answer questions," Amy piped up, stepping in front of Beca. "Hi, everyone," Amy waved to the camera, aware that she was addressing the millions of documentary viewers.
Amy had no shame when it came to chasing fame, Beca thought with a scowl.
"What, do you want to know about the two scary blondes following us around?" Amy asked with a silly grin. "They're our new security. You see, it takes a lot to scare this fat ass," Amy continued. "I have a black belt. But even I can't scare away the person who is lopping off heads and sticking people on poles. So Beca's dad made us get the scary German lady be our security and to take us everywhere. And when that didn't work, because we broke out of our house and went to a party last week, he made us also get the other scary blonde lady to be our house mom-"
"Wait, wait," Gail interrupted. Amy was dropping so much information, it was difficult to keep up. "You broke out of your house?"
"Amy!" Aubrey yelled harshly, effectively putting an end to Amy's fifteen minutes of fame. "Come here!" She stomped her foot, aggressively motioning Amy away from the camera.
"See what I mean about scary..." Amy muttered to the camera before hurrying over to Aubrey.
Turning and addressing the camera, Aubrey explained, "We can't speak to what may or may not have occurred among the Bellas last week other than to offer our most sincere condolences to the victims of these gruesome attacks."
Aubrey flipped her head over to Amy, squinting her eyes at the younger girl, who cowered behind Beca's back.
"No more interviews, Fat Amy," Aubrey warned.
Beca's eyes widened. Although Aubrey was addressing Amy, the fact that Amy was hiding behind Beca's back gave the effect that Aubrey was also addressing her. And Aubrey in this state was frightening.
Before Aubrey could unleash any additional fury upon Amy, Dean Mitchell took to the podium and began speaking into the microphone. "Good evening, students and faculty. It is with a heavy heart I stand before you tonight."
Beca looked down at the flickering flame of her candle, watching the way the light danced in the overcoming dusk. Holding this vigil, it felt so real. Beca wished that she could go back to last year, before any of this had happened. Back when she was still a loner weirdo stacking records at the campus radio station. Before she cared about anyone else. Instead, here she was, fearing for the lives of the group of girls that had now become her best friends, and Beca was scared to fathom the possibility that any one of them might be in danger. She was too wired to even want to begin thinking about her twentieth birthday, which was the following day.
"We are here to mourn the unfortunate passing of both Casey Jody and Beck Harris," Dean Mitchell continued.
In moments like this, Beca did what she did best. Mask her vulnerability with sarcasm and disdain.
"Passing?" Beca muttered snidely with a grunt. "One's head was chopped off and the other was skewered like a kebab."
Chloe pursed her lips together and with her eyes trained forward, reached her free arm over and patted Beca's shoulder. She could tell that Beca was feeling on edge.
Involuntarily, Beca relaxed into the touch, leaning over and resting her head to rest on Chloe's shoulder while Dean Mitchell continued the vigil service. Chloe bit her lip to stop her growing grin. Over the past week, Beca had become increasingly receptive to Chloe's insatiable need to touch other people, namely Beca. While Chloe could admit that her own behaviors had likely rubbed off on Beca, she couldn't help but feel ecstatic nonetheless. They were growing closer-not only physically, but emotionally.
They were still sharing a bed. Beca was still singing Chloe to sleep each night. They were still waking up in one another's embrace. Beca would still hurl thinly-veiled, teasing insults at Chloe each morning when they got ready for class. Chloe would still embarrass Beca by making flirty and suggestive advances on Beca, particularly if they were within earshot of Amy. It was almost like they were dating. Almost, aside from one key aspect. One very important key aspect, Chloe thought with a frown.
Dean Mitchell finished his speech. "...And with that said, we light these candles tonight to show our unified support for honoring the lives of those who have fallen."
Once Dean Mitchell finished his monologue, the masses slowly walked up to the flagpole, placing the candles in a circle around the flagpole. It did not escape Beca's attention that the flag was flying at half-mast. It was now completely dark outside. Chloe and Beca, along with the other Bellas, delicately placed their candles on the cold grass, and meandered away from the assembly together.
"Long time, no see, losers," came an unfriendly, yet familiar voice, from behind the Bellas.
Beca turned around to face Calamity and the rest of Evermoist. Calamity was grinning with an evil smugness at the Bellas, specifically honing in on Beca.
"Heard you grew an appetite for lady fingers," she continued with a rude laugh. "Not that I'm surprised," Calamity leaned in until she was practically nose to nose with Beca, "I always took you as the type."
"What type is that, exactly?" Beca made the mistake of asking.
"Come back home with me and I'll show you," Calamity suggested with a sinister gleam in her eyes.
"She's not going anywhere with you," Chloe spat out, unable to contain herself. Yes, she could admit, jealousy wasn't a becoming look, but she couldn't bear the thought of Beca doing anything alone with that girl.
"Yeah," Amy added, oblivious to the fact that Chloe's statement had stemmed from pure jealousy, rather than concern or suspicion over Calamity's possibly evil motives. "Beca's not going anywhere with a lady killer."
"Right. You still think we killed people," Calamity rolled her eyes, failing to suppress a grin.
"That and our bodyguard and house mom would never let us out of the house," Flo added, offering her two cents in the matter.
"Been having fun with your babysitters?" She continued, getting perverse enjoyment from the Bella's current status under 'home arrest.'
"Hardly," Beca seethed through clenched teeth. "They aren't our keepers. We're still... free," Beca spit out, lamely failing to combat Calamity's comment with a witty comeback. Beca's responses always fell flat when facing beautiful, strong women. Especially Calamity and Kommissar... and Chloe, Beca added to the bunch.
The girls of Evermoist laughed among themselves at Beca's statement. "If you're so free, why don't you sneak out tonight and have a riff off with us?" Calamity challenged.
"You're on!" Amy fired back, before Beca could say anything to stop her.
"Becs," Chloe whispered into Beca's ear. "I don't think we should."
"Your girlfriend too scared or something?" Calamity cornered Beca.
"No, she's not too scared," Beca replied tersely, forgetting momentarily that Calamity had referred to Chloe as Beca's girlfriend. Dammit, Beca thought, chiding herself. Why was she suddenly losing it? Beca sincerely hoped that Chloe hadn't noticed that Beca had called them girlfriends. Her and Chloe shared a bedroom, for God's sake. The last thing Beca wanted was to creep Chloe out and send her running for the hills.
Chloe , meanwhile, couldn't stop the grin spreading across her face, until Beca quickly corrected herself, making it clear to everyone that Chloe was not her girlfriend.
"So we'll see you at the pool tonight then?" Calamity asked coolly.
Unfortunately, at this moment, Aubrey and Kommissar had realized that three among their flank were missing and the two circled had back to collect the stragglers. It was additionally unfortunate that Calamity's question had been intercepted by Aubrey and Kommissar.
"They will not see you anywhere tonight," Aubrey interjected harshly, grabbing Beca's arm in one hand and Chloe's arm in the other. Yanking the girls hard, Aubrey steered them away from the girls of Evermoist.
"Enjoy your freedom with the babysitters!" Charity called tauntingly as Chloe and Beca were led away.
"Babysitter?" Kommissar asked with confusion, leaning in closely to Calamity. "What is this 'babysitter'?" She asked, grinning as she towered over Calamity. "Does it sit on babies? That sounds... harsh."
Calamity swallowed, failing to hide her intimidation over the taller German woman.
Kommissar continued, correctly interpreting Calamity's silence as submission. "I would not talk to these girls anymore if I were you. You have... what is it called..."
"Tattoos?" Amy supplied loudly.
"No... it is like you are trying to look one way, but that you do not have any talent to prove..." Kommissar trailed off, trying to recall the word to complete her insult.
"Wannabe!" Amy yelled.
"Yes, that is it. Now let's go, Flabby Abby."
"It's Fat Amy... sir," Amy corrected meekly.
"Why would I know your name? It could be anything. Flabby Abby, Lazy Susan, Inflexible Tina..." Kommissar bared her teeth in a horrific smile to Amy.
Amy stared at Kommissar, gauging her courage to respond.
"Now are you ready to go home, Fat Amy?" She asked, unnecessarily emphasizing the last two words.
"Yes," Amy whispered, her eyes staring widely at Kommissar.
"Say goodbye to your little want-to-be's," Kommissar laughed as she led Amy away towards the rest of the Bellas.
The girls made it the rest of the way home without any trouble. Aubrey was only mildly pissed off at Beca, Chloe, and Amy, and the anger quickly subsided. Beca couldn't help but wonder if Stacie's constant presence around Aubrey was softening her edges. I mean, something had to be going on there, right? The two were practically attached at the hip. Once safely inside the Bella house, Kommissar locked the door and left for the evening.
Beca looked around the kitchen and dining room. Somehow, it had initially escaped her notice that the entire downstairs was decorated. There were paper music notes hanging from the walls and the ceilings. Balloons crowded the living room.
"What am I looking at?" Beca asked, utterly perplexed.
"We planned you a birthday party!" Chloe was actually jumping up and down with excitement.
Beca failed to hide a lopsided grin, as she watched the unbridled joy of Chloe Beale. Of course Chloe would plan a birthday party for Beca. And of course it would be themed. Beca couldn't help but feel her heart swell with adoration at the sight of the redhead. For some reason, Chloe's joy had become a little too infectious as of lately.
"Yeah, I uh, see that," Beca tried to bite back her grin, which was rendered impossible when Chloe reached out and swept Beca in a hug.
"It's themed!" Amy exclaimed.
"Yeah?" Beca asked excitedly to Amy, still enveloped in Chloe's constricting embrace.
"It's musical duos," Chloe explained, pulling back from Beca to look the smaller girl in the eye.
"Like as in... two people?"
"That's what duo means." Aubrey rolled her eyes as she answered Beca.
Stacie swatted Aubrey's arm. "Be nice, it's Beca's birthday tomorrow," Stacie admonished.
Everyone stared in stunned silence as they waited for Aubrey to react to Stacie. No one bossed Aubrey around and lived to tell the tale.
Everyone was just as stunned to hear Aubrey apologize, "Sorry, Beca."
Stacie raised her eyebrows at Aubrey, which prompted the older girl to continue by offering, "And Happy Birthday."
"Oh my God," Beca whispered to herself. "Hell has frozen over."
"Shut up," Aubrey answered lightly, pretending to be offended at Beca's comment.
Beca let out a quick bark of laughter. "There's the Aubrey I know and sometimes tolerate."
"Okay," Chloe interrupted quickly, before the almost-friendly exchange between Beca and Aubrey turned sour. It wasn't often that Aubrey and Beca could maintain civility. "So let's meet back down here, in costume, in half an hour!" Chloe squealed, not even trying to mask her excitement.
"I don't have a costume," Beca admitted quietly to Chloe.
"Yes you do," Chloe answered easily, grabbing Beca's hand and yanking her towards the staircase. "So tell me, Becs, would you rather be the Queen or King of Pop?"
"Fuck me," Beca pretended to complain while she allowed Chloe to drag her by the arm up the stairs and to their shared bedroom.
"Don't ask for something you don't want," Chloe shot back with a wink.
After much deliberation, Beca settled on dressing as the King of Pop. Chloe handed Beca glasses, a red leather jacket, and a single bedazzled glove, which Beca paired with some black skinny jeans and ballet flats. Chloe, meanwhile, went the extra mile on her Madonna costume by teasing her hair sky high, dressing in a black tutu, leg warmers, and a large cross necklace. She finished her look by adding a large black bow to her hair.
"How do I look?" Chloe asked, turning around from her mirror to face Beca.
"Like a virgin," Beca deadpanned, not skipping a beat by throwing a Madonna song lyric right in Chloe's face.
Chloe chuckled at Beca's joke.
"And also really good," Beca added. She did look good, Beca noted to herself, noticing that all of a sudden, her palms were sweaty. Chloe looked really good. Her neckline plunged just enough to give her a shot of Chloe's cleavage. Not that Beca was looking because she definitely wasn't.
"Thanks, babe," Chloe shot Beca a wink, taking special notice that Beca's cheeks were turning pink.
Smiling, Chloe added, "Hey, before we go down there. There's something I want to give you." Walking over to Beca, Chloe grabbed Beca's hand to prevent her from walking out of the bedroom.
Beca pursed her lips together, suppressing a smile. "Come on, you really don't need to do that. I mean, you threw me a birthday party, for God's sake," she reasoned. "The last time someone threw me a birthday party, I was... eight, I think."
Chloe's eyes widened and she recoiled in shock. "You haven't had a birthday party since you were eight?"
Beca watched uncomfortably as Chloe's eyes began welling with tears. Shit. There was nothing Beca hated more than seeing Chloe upset. Chloe began sniffing, devastated that no one had bothered to throw Beca a birthday party once in the past twelve years.
Beca's shoulder's slumped as she begged, "Please don't start crying. Please?"
"I'm sorry," Chloe apologized, straightening herself up, and sucking in the tears that were threatening to escape her eyes. "It's just, it makes my heart hurt."
Beca sighed. "If it makes you feel better, I'm not really losing any sleep over it."
"But it's your birthday!" Chloe exclaimed, unable to keep her objections to herself.
"Yeah, I know. It's just... after the divorce, my parents always fought when they were together, so I tried not to do birthday parties or graduations or any of the kind of stuff where they had to be in the same room."
"Becs," Chloe soothed, wrapping her arms tightly around Beca's neck and pulling her as close as humanly possible to her own body. Chloe rested her chin on Beca's shoulder, giving the younger girl an extra squeeze. She knew the divorce was harder on Beca than she ever let on. And she knew that underneath Beca's tough exterior, was a warm, soft, caring friend. Chloe squeezed tightly, wanting to convey to Beca just how important she was to her... and the Bellas.
"Is this my birthday present?" Beca choked out, scarcely able to breathe. "Because it's suffocating."
"Sorry," Chloe apologized hastily, releasing her hold on Beca. She realized that she sometimes got carried away when it came to the personal contact with Beca. "No, that's not... Here," Chloe answered, turning around and picking up a small, gift-wrapped box with a blue ribbon. She handed the box to Beca, waiting with excited anticipation.
"No lady fingers, right?" Beca joked.
"No lady fingers," Chloe agreed.
Beca let out a small chuckle as she looked down at the ornately wrapped gift in her hands. Not that she would admit this willingly, but Beca was moved beyond words. Chloe had gotten her a birthday present. Her Chloe... well, not her Chloe, per say, but yeah. Chloe had taken the time to get her a birthday present and wrap it with such precision and care that embodied the essence of Chloe Beale. Smiling, Beca carefully peeled open the wrapping paper, taking extreme care not to mess up the bow.
Opening the small box, Beca laid eyes on a necklace, with a flat, round pendant about the size of a half-dollar.
"Thanks!" Beca exclaimed in about as enthusiastic a tone as Chloe had ever heard from Beca. "This is... what is it, exactly?" Beca asked, inspecting the necklace carefully.
"It's a necklace!" Chloe answered giddily, practically vibrating with excitement.
"I see that," Beca answered.
"It's also a compass," Chloe explained, opening the lid of the pendant to reveal the face of a small compass.
"Cool!" Beca continued, observing the compass closely. 'I'll have to try this out next time I'm... orienteering. Is that the term?" Beca had to admit, she did not have the faintest clue how to read a compass. She wasn't exactly an outdoor girl.
"I have one, too," Chloe rattled on with cheerful excitement. "Look!"
Chloe pulled a necklace out from her desk drawer. Sure enough, Chloe's necklace matched Beca's exactly.
"Neat. Friendship compass necklaces. Very cool," Beca nodded, laughing to herself. Of course Chloe would get Beca a friendship necklace for her birthday. It was a very... Chloe gift. Not that Beca minded, of course. It was thoughtful.
"Totes cool," Chloe agreed. "Because they aren't really compasses. They're necklaces that always point to the other necklace. See?" Chloe demonstrated, walking in a slow circle around Beca. Beca looked down at her own 'compass,' watching the dial turn in a slow circle to follow the direction of Chloe in relation to Beca.
"Woah, you're totally right." Beca was enthralled. The necklace, indeed, always pointed to the direction of the other necklace. "Now you can effectively stalk me at all times," Beca joked.
"If you're wearing the necklace," Chloe corrected with a wink.
"Trust me, I'll always be wearing the necklace."
Chloe's grin widened into a full-on smile. Beca's sincerity was cute. It was one of the things she loved best about Beca.
"I got it so we could always find the other person," Chloe admitted. "Like we'll always be connected, even when we're apart. It's cheesy, I know."
"It's perfect," Beca replied, locking eyes with Chloe.
Chloe's heart thudded loudly in her chest. Beca's dark blue eyes were mesmerizing. And the quiet look of joy on her face was, well... Chloe would buy Beca a million gifts if it meant getting this reaction. Despite her better judgment, Chloe took a step closer to Beca. Beca mirrored the action by taking a step closer to Chloe.
Before Chloe could make a further move, the loud, unmistaken bellow of Amy pierced through the halls. "BHLOE!"
Beca and Chloe collectively snapped out of their trance. After flinching from the sudden scream, Beca cleared her throat awkwardly, aware that her and Chloe were standing very, very close to one another and aware that her stomach suddenly felt full of nerves.
"Better get down there, huh?" Beca asked, clearing the air.
"Yeah," Chloe agreed reluctantly. She guessed the other girls were more than ready to start the party.
As Beca left the bedroom, she called over her shoulder. "Thanks again, Chlo. Really. This is, um, really great."
"You're welcome," Chloe beamed, quickly checking her phone for missed text messages before sauntering down the stairs to join the other Bellas.
Beca and Chloe made their way downstairs to find the other Bellas already in costume and ready to party. Beca gazed around at the other girls, trying to decipher their various costumes.
Stacie interrupted Beca's train of thought by complimenting, "Looking hot, Mitchell. Or should I say MJ?"
"Right back atcha... Katy Perry?" Beca guessed. Stacie was wearing a bikini top with cotton balls glued around the boobs, meant to resemble whipped cream. One red cotton ball, the 'cherry,' was glued in the center of the 'whipped cream.' Stacie paired the cupcake-themed bikini top with an alarmingly short pair of jean shorts.
"Nailed it!" Stacie replied with excitement.
"Anything that gives her an excuse to wear a bikini as a shirt," Aubrey muttered, rolling her eyes.
Stacie either didn't hear, or chose to ignore Aubrey's comment as she positioned her boobs to make them as perky as possible in her bikini top.
"Wait, so what musical duo are you?" Beca couldn't help but ask. Aubrey's blonde hair fell in loose curls around her face. She was wearing a silver, sparkly dress and carrying an acoustic guitar.
"We're everyone's favorite celebrity feud..." Stacie answered, "Katy Perry and Taylor Swift."
"I totes see it!" Chloe clamored excitedly over Aubrey and Stacie's creative choice for a musical duo costume.
Aubrey smiled, pleased to have pulled off the look so well. Turning the focus away from her, she asked, "So we've got the King and Queen of Pop Music, the best celebrity musician feud, and who have we got over here?" Aubrey pointed over to Flo and CR.
CR, who was wearing a baggy pair of jeans, and a flat-bill hat, answered, "The power couple of the music world. Jay Z and..."
"Beyoncé!" Flo exclaimed, shaking and shimmying in her sparkly dress.
"Oh my God, that's priceless," Stacie gleamed, looking the pair up and down.
"My life has never been better than this moment," Flo admitted happily. "I just wish I could be Beyoncé all the time."
"Don't we all?" Beca asked somewhat rhetorically.
"I thought we were the power couple of music!" Jessica interrupted.
"The power ex-couple of music, babe," Ashley corrected.
"Oh, right."
"We're Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears, in case you didn't know," Ashley clarified. Ashley was clad in a matching jean jacket and jean pant set. Jessica, meanwhile, was wearing a long jean dress and carrying a denim purse.
"Where on earth did you find these...?" Aubrey trailed off, not know how to refer to the pair's costume.
"Matching jean outfits?" Jessica supplied. "Ashley's into sewing."
"And Jessica is into thrift shopping," Ashley elaborated, wrapping her arm around Jessica's waist and giving her a squeeze.
"We're a best-case scenario team," Jessica summed up cheerfully, giving Ashley a quick peck on the cheek.
"This is so cute I wanna throw up," Beca admitted.
"Isn't anybody gonna ask about us?" Amy asked, unhappy to have been forgotten.
"I wanted to but, I was kind of afraid," Chloe admitted, looking up from her cellphone. Beca frowned, lamenting over Chloe's sudden inexplicable attachment to her phone before glancing over to Amy and Lilly, who were both wearing heavy makeup and tight dresses, while adorned black, beehive wigs. Lilly, however, powdered her face in white and wrapped a white sheet around her body. The costume was rather indecipherable.
"We're Amy Winehouse!" Amy informed giddily.
"Both of you?" Beca asked with confusion.
"Yeah," Amy answered, "See, I'm Fat Amy Winehouse and Lilly is Dead Amy Winehouse."
"Post-mortem," Lilly whispered in a quiet tone that was heard by few.
"That's... certainly creative," Aubrey tried to sound impressed, though her facial expression indicated that she was more or less weirded out by Amy and Lilly's costume choice.
"Yeah we figured cause she's dead… RIP," Amy added, kissing her knuckles and raising her fist in the air, "That one of us should dress dead."
"Neat," Flo responded shakily, after several moments of heavy silence filled the air.
Clearing her throat, Chloe shoved her phone into her bra and asked, "Does anyone want a drink? I made jiggle juice, which, full disclosure, is mostly Boone's Farm."
Beca groaned, off-put by the fact that Boone's Farm wine was a featured drink at her birthday party. This did not stop her or anyone else from consuming more than enough to reach a point of comfortable inebriation. After only an hour, music was pounding throughout the halls of the Bella house and the girls were happily and loosely dancing to Chloe's playlist of party jams.
Beca, meanwhile, caught herself zoning out, her mind mentally exerting itself to figure out the answer to Chloe's odd behavior. Chloe appeared to be nervously checking her phone every minute or so, like she was anxiously awaiting to hear from someone. But who? And why?
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Amy asked, approaching Beca.
"Hmm?" Beca responded absentmindedly, only then becoming aware that she had been zoning out again and was, in fact, staring at Amy.
"Like you want to break off a piece of this Fat Amy Winehouse sandwich," Amy elaborated.
Beca rolled her eyes. Why did Amy always assume everyone was obsessed with her?
"I really don't-"
"Okay, okay, I'll sing for you," Amy offered, wrongly assuming that Beca's end game was to get a free Amy Winehouse show.
Beca opened her mouth to protest, but any sound was instantly drowned out by the belting of Amy's rendition of 'Rehab.'
"They tried to make me go to rehab
I said, "no, no, no"
Yes, I been black
But when I come back, you'll know, know, know
I ain't got the time
And if my daddy thinks I'm fine
He's tried to make me go to rehab
I won't go, go, go."
"That was..." Beca trailed off, racking her brain for the correct thing to say.
"Amazing, I know." Amy supplied without bearing much thought.
"I was gonna say loud, but yeah, amazing too."
Amy grew quiet for a second, as an idea formed in her brain. "I should take this act on the road. Like a traveling type of thing. I could go around to different bars."
"You could," Beca agreed hesitantly.
"I'll be a one-hit wonder."
"Mmmmm," Beca hummed in agreement, taking a sip from her drink. Beca strongly suspected that Amy was misusing the term 'one-hit wonder.'
Beca's attention had shifted away from Amy's pipe dream and toward Chloe. Beca watched the redhead intently. Although she was laughing and joking around with Stacie and Aubrey, her phone was clutched tightly in her hand. Every few moments she would glance down at it nervously, almost as if she were waiting on an important message.
"Short Stack?" Amy asked.
"Hm?" Beca snapped out of her trance and turned focus to Amy, yet again.
"Are you okay? Because you're hardly listening to Fat Amy Winehouse right now."
"Yeah, sorry, it's just..." Beca grimaced, not wanting to finish her thought.
Amy plowed through Beca's hesitation with ease. "Madonna?" Amy supplied.
Beca looked at Amy blankly.
"You know, Ginger," she continued, jutting her thumb out to point across the room to Chloe.
"Right. Uh, yeah. I mean, no. Well, sort of." Beca confessed uneasily.
"Ah, I know what this is about," Amy accused knowingly.
At the same time that Beca blurted out, "I'm scared for her," Amy blurted out, "You're in love with her."
"What did you say?" Beca asked, clearly put on the defensive by Amy's words. It had almost sounded like Amy said...
"Uh the thing that you said... that, uh, you're..." Amy trailed off, as she began muttering incoherently.
"Scared for her," Beca corrected, her voice tinged with annoyance.
"Yeah, me too," Amy agreed quickly.
The girls looked at Chloe, watching her as she checked her phone, yet again, for the thousandth time that evening.
"Erm, Beca," Amy asked, leaning over to whisper in Beca's ear. "Why are we scared for her again?"
Beca answered evenly, "Because she's been conspicuously absent until minutes before each of the two murders on campus. And she snuck out the other night when I was asleep and she didn't tell me where she had been. She's been super jumpy and is clinging to that phone like a koala to a tree."
"You think that she knows something we don't?" Amy considered.
"I think it's possible," Beca replied, "And I think that phone is a connection to the killer. I mean, think about it. I got a weird, mysterious text message the day of Casey's murder. And the police took away my phone when I told them about it. So what if..."
"The killer is now contacting Chloe?" Amy finished Beca's thought.
"Exactly."
"So you want to steal the phone?" Amy jumped the gun to get to what Beca was clearly implying.
"I'd prefer to destroy it somehow," Beca answered.
"You came to the right Fat Amy Winehouse."
"Ugh, do you have to call yourself that?" Beca asked with annoyance.
"Do you trust me to take care of this?" Amy replied, ignoring Beca's question.
Beca sighed heavily. "Not really."
"Have I ever let you down?"
"All the time."
"What?" Amy asked, genuinely confused.
Beca paused for a moment, pursing her lips together. "You're very unreliable. It's like one of the hallmarks of your personality."
"You're not remembering all of the times I've been awesome," Amy reminded Beca. Determined not to let her pint-sized friend down, Amy turned her focus to Chloe. "Hey, Madonna!" Amy called loudly across the room.
Chloe swiveled her head just in time to register Amy charging Chloe at full speed. It looked like a linebacker was about to tackle a teddy bear.
"Amy, watch out!" Chloe called out desperately.
Amy plowed straight into Chloe, tackling the smaller girl to the ground. The phone flew out of Chloe's hand and landed straight into the punch bowl. Beca had to hand it to her, Amy had really calculated her momentum well.
Chloe and Amy each lay on the ground for several seconds, rolling around and writhing in pain. Amy muttered several complaints about Chloe's boney twig body jabbing into Amy's ribcage. Chloe, meanwhile, sat up from the floor in disbelief, reorienting herself after Amy's unexpected charge.
"Ames, what the hell?" Chloe asked as kindly as she could muster, despite her current annoyance with Amy.
Chloe's eyes darted around for her phone. It had just been in her hands several seconds ago. Where could it have... the punch bowl. Chloe looked into the punch bowl with abject horror as she noticed her cell phone has sunk to the bottom of the bowl.
"My phone!" Chloe cried out, scurrying to her feet to retrieve the phone.
Despite Amy's size disadvantage compared to Chloe, her reflexes were quicker. "No, erm, I'll get it!" Amy exclaimed, scrambling to her feet and physically pushing Chloe to the floor in order to get to the cell phone first.
With no poise or grace, Amy plunged her hand deep into the red punch bowl and took her sweet time as she slowly fished out Chloe's cell phone.
"Here you go," Amy finally offered, slowly extending her hand, which was dripping with red juice, to Chloe.
There was little doubt about it, Beca could admit, the phone was dead, although Amy's methodology had been less than smooth. In fact, it was one of the more idiotic plans Amy had ever conceived. But hell, it worked. Everyone chalked this up to Amy's ridiculous behavior, which is why no one thought to ask why Amy had tackled Chloe in the first place. Amy's antics, it seemed, were the perfect guise to pull this plan off.
"You should really be more careful," Aubrey warned. "Lucky it was just her phone."
"Yeah, lucky it's her phone that's dead as a doorknob," Amy agreed, turning over her shoulder and shooting Beca a (somewhat) discreet wink.
Chloe's face fell as she realized that Amy was undoubtedly correct. Her phone was beyond repair. But did that mean... what about...
"It's okay, Chlo," Beca piped up, almost as she could read Chloe's thoughts. "It's gonna be okay."
Chloe walked out of the living room and into the kitchen. No one said anything, but flicked their gazes back and forth between Chloe and Amy. What had just happened?
"It was an act of God," Amy explained, filling the silence void.
Beca sighed, her insides twisting into knots as she realized just how upset Chloe appeared to be. She wasn't sure why Chloe's unsettledness suddenly hit her so hard. Beca was used to feeling mostly apathetic about others' feelings. These past few days had been odd, to say the least. For some reason that Beca couldn't figure out, Beca's emotions now largely rose and fell in tandem with Chloe's feelings. And it was really freaking annoying.
"I'll go talk to her," Beca muttered under her breath, unable to live with the thought of an upset Chloe for another moment.
Beca turned on her heels and followed Chloe into the kitchen. Upon entering the kitchen, Beca saw Chloe sitting alone at the kitchen table, her face buried in her hands.
"Hey," Beca greeted gently, taking a seat next to her best friend.
Chloe raised her face to meet Beca's concerned gaze. Fuck, Beca thought to herself. Chloe was crying. Guilty didn't begin to cover the emotions Beca felt in this moment.
"Hey," Chloe responded, barely above a whisper, as she wiped her eyes free of any remaining tears.
"If you want, we can run out and replace the phone tomorrow," Beca offered, hoping to placate her friend, even though secretly, Beca didn't like the idea of Chloe carrying around a cell phone for the time being. Beca had this unconfirmed suspicion that Chloe's cell phone was causing more trouble than good.
Chloe shook her head, realizing just how insane she must seem to Beca and the other girls right now. By all means, she was entitled to feel pissed off at Amy for destroying her cell phone. The sadness and tears, however, seemed to be an objective overreaction.
"I'm sorry, I'm being crazy right now," Chloe apologized to Beca.
"Hey," Beca responded, leaning across the table and carefully placing her hand over Chloe's hand. Chloe latched on to Beca's hand, intertwining their fingers together. Beca smiled gently before continuing, "You aren't acting crazy."
"It's just, what if I need my phone?" Chloe asked, offering as much information as she felt comfortable to offer.
"For what? Is there something imperative happening between now and tomorrow when we replace your phone?"
"No," Chloe answered uneasily, not offering the full truth.
"Who do you need to reach that isn't here in this house right now?" Beca asked.
Chloe said nothing.
"Exactly," Beca continued, taking Chloe's silence as the answer she needed. "We're all here... together. You and I especially. I'm not allowed out of your sight apparently, remember?" Beca asked, her tone flirting on the edge of sarcasm.
A small smile began creeping across Chloe's face as she realized that Beca was right. The lightening of Chloe's mood did wonders for Beca's internal struggle as Beca realized with resigned frustration that Chloe's emotional well-being was altogether too important to Beca's emotional well-being.
"You have to stay with me... no matter what," Chloe reminded in a semi-joking tone, a smirk gracing her face.
Beca rolled her eyes, pretending to be unaffected by Chloe's sudden change in mood. "You say that like it's a threat."
"It could be," Chloe shrugged casually. "I could decide to start testing my pick up lines on you... or maybe start kicking you in my sleep."
"You already do that last one," Beca groaned. Chloe was a very active sleeper.
"Do I?" Chloe asked with shock. "Then why do you still sleep with me?"
"Because I... I... remember? We get scared at night?"
It was not lost on Beca or Chloe that 'we' really meant 'Beca.'
"Hm," Chloe hummed. "Then I guess I'll have to resort to testing my very best pick up lines on you."
"You wouldn't dare," Beca growled. Amy and the other girls already gave them a hard enough time about the nature of their friendship. Beca didn't need grief from Chloe, on top of everything else.
"Are you a photographer, Becs?" Chloe asked, a sly grin gracing her face.
Beca took a deep breath, trying not to think about how Chloe looked right now, with that damn twinkle in her too-blue eyes.
"Because I can picture you and me together," Chloe bantered happily.
Beca's stomach twisted into knots over Chloe's words and the way that Chloe was looking at her right now. I mean, obviously she was joking with Beca. And obviously, Beca didn't see Chloe that way. Instead of dwelling on these thoughts any further, Beca shot back dryly, "Jesus, I hope we catch this fucking serial killer soon."
"Don't like that one?" Chloe asked, goading Beca along.
Beca raised a single eyebrow at Chloe by way of response.
"Right, you're too cool to admit anything," Chloe teased. "Even that you totally loved having sex with me in that dream of yours."
Beca rolled her eyes, standing up. "I'm going back to the party."
Another hour passed and as the girls drank more jiggle juice and got even more inebriated. Beca and Chloe each managed to put the phone incident behind them as they rejoined the other Bellas. In fact, Beca was beginning to forget the whole phone incident in the first place and was finally beginning to have some fun. Currently, Beca was hanging out in the kitchen with Flo, each showing off their best Beyoncé dance moves.
"Damn, Bey, you've got moves!" Beca complimented Flo. Sure, she had known Flo for close to three weeks by this point, but this was the first time she had really seen Flo dance.
"Thanks, it's my inner Beyoncé working," she responded, shimmying her hips.
Beca tilted her head. "We'll have to get you to help with choreography this year," she decided.
"You really think I could?" Flo clapped her hands together, clearly ecstatic.
"Oh, for sure," Beca affirmed. Although Chloe was mostly in charge of the choreography, Beca figured she would appreciate the help.
"Thanks, you know... I was kind of scared of you when I first joined," Flo admitted to Beca. "But you're actually really cool." Were it not for the fact that Flo had consumed two and a half cups of jiggle juice, she probably would not have made such an admission to Beca.
"Why does everyone always say that?" Beca asked, half complaining, half curious.
"Don't worry, I'm not scared anymore," Flo brushed her former statement off with a wave of her hand. "Your girlfriend told me how nice you are even though you pretend like you aren't."
"My who?" Beca asked, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.
Flo looked blankly at Beca, while Beca stared back at her in confusion. Suddenly, Flo was beginning to feel slightly afraid of Beca again, as she realized the error in her statement.
"Uh, you know… Let's just let's pretend that I said nothing at all," Flo trailed off, her face scanning around the room for any possible buffer between her and Beca.
"Yeah, let's just-" Beca began, before the basement door swung open and hit Beca in the back of her head. Half of the red jiggle juice in Beca's cup spilled onto the kitchen floor while Beca clutched the back of her head. Surely this would leave a bump.
"Oof, woah, Amy Winehouse," Beca groaned through gritted teeth as she observed a blatantly unaware Fat Amy ambling from the basement into the kitchen.
"Erm, sorry," Amy apologized before meandering through the kitchen and refilling her red solo cup with more alcohol.
Before Beca could recollect her thoughts, the basement door swung open a second time, hitting Beca in the head a second time.
"Watch it other Amy Winehouse," Beca complained, as the other 'Dead' Amy Winehouse made her way into the kitchen.
Beca took a step forward and turned around just in time to barely avoid being hit by the basement door a third time. "Okay, seriously... guys," Beca yelled.
How many fucking people were in the basement, Beca wondered? Beca watched with awe as another Amy Winehouse entered into the kitchen from the basement door.
"Wait... three Amy Winehouse's?" Beca asked loudly to no one in particular. "I may not be totally sober, but this math isn't adding up."
"Why are there three Amy Winehouses at this party?" Flo asked.
"That ding-a-ling," Aubrey joined the conversation and grimaced, honing in on Bumper Allen from across the room.
"Huh?" Beca asked, acknowledging Aubrey's comment.
"Bumper..." Aubrey seethed with quiet resentment. Suddenly raising her voice to a screeching yell, Aubrey bellowed across the room, "BUMPER!"
"Hey, what's up?" Bumper answered casually, turning around to face Aubrey. Beca noticed with some awe that he did not seem at all ashamed to be wearing a shimmery silver ball gown, a beehive wig, and false eyelashes.
"This is a Bella-only event. What are you doing here?" Aubrey demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Amy invited me," Bumper answered, as if the answer were the most obvious statement in the world.
"Fat Amy?" Aubrey turned on the younger blonde, who was cowering in the corner of the kitchen.
"Uhhhhhhhhh... yeah," Amy explained hesitantly, "I uh, you know, need to clean the pipes, so I invited Bumper to come over and be Dude Amy Winehouse."
"He needs to leave now," Aubrey explained evenly, trying not to dwell on the fact that Amy was using him to 'clean her pipes.'
"Oh, come on Bree, he's not doing any harm," Stacie stepped to Amy's defense, linking her arm with Aubrey's and patting it gently.
"How did he get in anyway?" CR piped in.
"Bree... can't we just, ignore this infraction, just this once? It's Beca's birthday, remember?" Chloe asked. She did not want Beca's birthday party to be derailed by party crashers. Especially after hearing Beca admit that she had not been thrown a birthday party since childhood.
"Well, I'm sure Beca doesn't want him here either," Aubrey scoffed, looking over at Beca for reassurance.
"Yeah, not especially," Beca agreed dryly. It was not often that she agreed with Aubrey, but they could both agree on this. Bumper was an asshole.
"Hey, guys, we brought-" a voice called as more feet could be heard traveling up from the basement stairs into the kitchen.
The entire party stared with curiosity as two more newcomers entered the kitchen.
"More Amy Winehouses?" Aubrey asked in utter disbelief, nearly coughing over her statement.
Jesse offered an easygoing grin, while Benji stood shyly behind him. Benji and Jesse were each wearing Amy Winehouse costumes, one more ridiculously over-the-top than the other.
"Yeah, Amy told us to come over dressed as... oh," Jesse realized, taking in Aubrey's stern glare. Backtracking, Jesse added, "And now I'm realizing this was a bad idea."
"This party doesn't need five Amy Winehouses. Fat Amy, what gives?" Aubrey seethed.
"Dude Amy Winehouse told me he'd only come dressed as Amy Winehouse if he got to bring two other Dude Amy Winehouses," Amy explained with feigned innocence.
Aubrey sighed, burying her face in her hand with exasperation. "Get out. All of you."
"Bree, seriously, I don't think they're doing any harm," Chloe reasoned.
"Yeah, Bree, can't we just... relax?" Stacie asked, resting her chin on Aubrey's shoulder.
Aubrey pursed her lips together, considering Stacie's request. Surprisingly, she relented.
"Fine," Aubrey agreed with annoyance. "But just this once. And only because I don't have the physical manpower to throw three Amy Winehouses out of this-"
"Wine?" Flo supplied, holding a cup of jiggle juice in front of Aubrey's nose.
"-House," Aubrey finished her sentence through gritted teeth, before glancing down at Flo's extended hand. Snatching the cup, Aubrey downed the jiggle juice in a single gulp.
"Welcome to the party, dudes," Beca acquiesced, raising her solo cup in a mock toast before taking a swing.
"Happy Birthday, Be-caw!" Jesse exclaimed, giving his friend a dramatic hug.
"Sorry we made Aubrey mad," Benji apologized, blinking his fake eyelashes several times in the process.
"No worries," Chloe waved it off, "She's already over it. Look."
The small group of friends cut their gazes over to where Aubrey stood. Stacie was nuzzling her neck and whispering something to Aubrey. By the looks of it, Stacie's statement was making Aubrey more than a little embarrassed, as her face was turning crimson red.
"Okay, I don't want to see... whatever that is," Beca grimaced, turning her focus to the drink in her hands.
"Are they a thing?" Jesse asked.
Chloe affirmed his question, with a nod of her head. "Sure are."
"Since when?" Beca asked in disbelief. When had this happened? Why hadn't Beca known about it?
"Since... what day did Aubrey move in?" Chloe asked, furrowing her brows in confusion.
"Seriously?" Beca asked. They had been hooking up for the better part of a week now?
"Well, she is sharing a room with Stacie," Chloe reasoned. "So, Stacie was going to get to her at some point or another."
Beca grunted. "The thing that surprises me is that Stacie is still going after her. She's normally a one and done kind of girl."
"Well, Aubrey's special," Chloe answered with a smile.
"Is that what we're calling Satan now?" Beca asked wryly.
"They're really into each other, I think," Jesse paused with careful consideration.
"I think it's great," Benji shrugged, downing his drink before adjusting his black beehive wig.
"I think it's sweet," Jesse added with a nod.
"Mmm. Speaking of sweet..." Chloe began, bumping shoulders with Beca.
"What?" Beca asked, unaware that she was metaphorically walking straight into a trap.
"You're so sweet, you're giving me cavities," Chloe winked.
"Oh. My God. You seriously have to stop."
"What's going on?" Benji asked with innocence.
"Dude," Jesse harshly whispered to Benji, "They're flirting."
"We're not flirting." Beca jumped to the defensive, her face growing red with a combination of frustration and embarrassment. Seriously, why was Chloe like this?
"We're totally flirting," Chloe answered Jesse, ignoring Beca's protest.
"I'm not flirting with you... I'm not flirting with her," Beca turned to Jesse and Benji, her eyes pleading with them to believe her.
Jesse shrugged. "Whatever you say."
Beca swore under her breath. "I'm going to get a drink," she muttered, stalking away from Chloe and whatever the hell that just was.
"I hate to see you leave, but I love to watch you go!" Chloe called out loudly behind Beca.
Beca didn't dignify Chloe's passing remark with any kind of response, instead trying to shake the inappropriate thoughts that were forming in her mind.
"Short Stack!" Amy called loudly, causing half of her drink to slosh out of her cup.
"What's up?" Beca asked, reluctantly joining the conversation between Amy and Bumper.
"Settle something for us, eh?" Amy asked.
"It's about our relationship," Bumper elaborated.
"Oh, I really don't want to do that," Beca responded as apologetically as she could muster.
"Okay, so hypothetically, say that one of us," Bumper began, turning his gaze pointedly toward Amy, "Was shacking up with other dudes... I mean, people. This is completely hypothetical. So, would you, I don't know, think it was kind of weird. That she... I mean, they, were ignoring the hot piece of man meat right in front of them for other people?" Bumper asked, his voice straining higher and higher as his question wore on.
Beca sighed, turning to Amy. "This isn't hypothetical, is it?"
"Erm... Ermmmmmmmm," Amy trailed off, trying to think of a clever way to answer Beca's question.
"Okay," Beca answered evenly. "So, um, I'm not gonna answer this question because it isn't my place and also, because I can't take anything you're saying seriously when you're dressed like Amy Winehouse."
About half an hour later, Beca found out that Bumper, Jesse, and Benji had left the party. Apparently, Amy's unwillingness to define her relationship with Bumper had created quite the rift and Bumper had stormed out, dragging Jesse and Benji with him.
The rest of the girls, meanwhile, hardly noticed their absence. Jessica and Ashley were nowhere to be seen. CR, Flo, and Amy were having a dance off in the middle of the living room. Lilly was staring at the portrait in the foyer hallway, whispering an indecipherable incantation. Stacie was sitting on the couch with Aubrey, whispering something into the blonde's ear that apparently turned her face scarlet.
Chloe, meanwhile, found a solidly drunk Beca fumbling with the party playlist in the middle of the kitchen. Chloe approached Beca knowingly and leaned heavily into her, requiring Beca to shift her weight to accommodate.
"Baby," she mumbled into Beca's ear.
The hairs on Beca's neck stood straight up. Beca didn't have to be sober to notice the strange tightening in her lower stomach and the heat emanating from her entire body.
"What are you doing?" Beca asked with the kind of tone that hinted annoyance, despite her conflicting feelings over Chloe's sudden closeness.
"Are you tired?" Chloe asked, ignoring Beca's question.
"Sort of?"
"Because you've been running through my mind all night."
"God, can you fucking stop with the pick up lines?" Beca groaned.
Chloe smirked. Beca's face hardened.
"Don't," Beca warned, pointing a finger at Chloe. "Don't you dare."
"I'm not God, but I'm pretty damn close," Chloe sang out teasingly before breaking into a wide grin.
Beca muttered something incoherently to herself that in all likelihood, was a long string of curse words.
Stacie, who had been watching the whole exchange between Beca and Chloe from the living room, had reached the tipping point with her curiosity. They had to be sleeping together, right? The sexual tension between them was hit-you-over-the-head obvious. Stacie and Aubrey exchanged a knowing look before joining Chloe and Beca's conversation.
"Already at each other's throats?" Aubrey asked without amusement.
"Not yet," Chloe answered Aubrey, honing in her gaze on Beca's neck.
Beca inhaled sharply, stepping back a foot as she realized the implication of Chloe's answer to Beca's question. Beca tried to ignore the way Chloe's icy blue eyes lingered over Beca's neck. She looked like she was about to devour Beca.
"Why?" Beca asked, turning on Aubrey. "Why would you set her up for that?" Beca snapped.
Aubrey sighed, biting back a smile. She hated to admit it, but Beca's thinly-veiled and unconvincing annoyance over Chloe's advances was cute, even though Aubrey had just inadvertently lobbed Chloe the perfect pick-up line.
"I take it this week hasn't been easy for you, Beca," Aubrey observed.
"Maybe if someone," Beca began, pointedly staring at Chloe, "Wasn't being annoying as hell and driving me insane."
"Aw, Becs, you know you love it," Chloe replied with a wink, grabbing both of Beca's hands in her own hands and yanking Beca close.
Aubrey and Stacie exchanged another look of bemusement before walking away. It was clear that whatever was going on between Beca and Chloe was a two-person game. Aubrey and Stacie figured it was best to leave the two other girls to their own devices.
Beca stared blankly into Chloe's eyes, trying incredibly hard not to succumb to her infectious happiness. Chloe's face was incredibly close to her own right now. Like, inches away. Dammit. The sparkle in Chloe's eyes was too much. She was too much. Beca bit her inner cheek, biding her time before giving a response.
"Is that a smile I see?" Chloe asked teasingly.
Beca rolled her eyes, failing to suppress her growing grin.
"Dammit, you're really cute." The words tumbled out of Beca's mouth before she could stop them.
"So it's working?" Chloe asked, her face lighting up with pure happiness as she continued unwittingly invading Beca's personal bubble. The girls were practically touching noses. Chloe went the extra inch, bumping her nose into Beca's nose.
"Is what working?" Beca asked uncomfortably, considering pulling away to reclaim some of her personal space. Beca internally lamented as she slowly realized that she didn't want to pull away from Chloe.
"My charm," Chloe answered with a sultry wink.
Beca swallowed. "No, not at all," she answered flatly, trying desperately to deflect. She wasn't sure what Chloe was getting at or why she had been pestering Beca all night, but she was driving Beca crazy.
Chloe, undeterred, took Beca's answer as a challenge. "What about now?" Chloe asked, wrapping her arms around Beca's waist and yanking Beca even closer, if that was even possible.
"You're such a dork," Beca teased dryly, though both girls knew that the pink shade on the tops of Beca's cheeks indicated that Chloe's charm was, in fact, working.
"And now?" Chloe continued, grinning as she pointedly let her gaze drop to Beca's lips.
At this point, all words escaped Beca's vocabulary. Her stomach was in knots and every inch of her body felt like it was on fire. A warm, throbbing sensation pulsated between her legs. Fuck. She was too far gone at this point to think about anything else aside from Chloe's gaze on her lips.
"Wanna know something?" Chloe whispered, her eyes not leaving Beca's lips.
"Hm?" Beca hummed, surprising herself that she was able to make any amount of noise at all. Nothing made sense right now. Why was Chloe looking at her like that? And why did it feel so damn perfect?
"There's something else I want to give you for your birthday." Chloe began running her fingertips up Beca's arm.
"Yeah?" Beca answered unevenly, her heart practically leaping out of her chest.
"Yeah." Chloe affirmed with confidence.
Chloe paused a second, darting her eyes from Beca's lips to Beca's eyes, checking for the nonverbal consent she needed before continuing. Beca didn't pull back, but rather, reciprocated Chloe's actions by dropping her eyes to Chloe's lips. Automatically, Chloe leaned in, delicately closing the distance between the two girls.
The second Chloe's lips touched Beca's lips, Chloe melted as the overwhelming, electric feeling in her chest guided her actions. Beca was kissing her back. Chloe's heart gushed with joy as she pulled Beca even closer, her hands running from Beca's waist up to her neck. Beca's lips were so soft and felt so perfect against her own, as Beca applied the exact right amount of pressure to keep Chloe leaning in for more.
Fuck, if she wasn't a goner for Beca before, she certainly was now. Kissing Beca was about a million times more thrilling than any other kiss had ever been. Beca brought her hand up to Chloe's cheek, cupping it as she leaned in for more. Chloe bit back a satisfied hum, smiling into their shared kisses. Everything about this moment was perfect.
Acting on pure hormones, Chloe ran her tongue along Beca's bottom lip, seeking entrance. Beca responded automatically, opening her mouth and massaging Chloe's tongue with her own. As the two girls continued making out, Beca guided Chloe against the wall, pinning her into one place. Chloe moaned audibly, unable to keep her erupting feelings stifled. God, this was so freaking hot. Chloe couldn't believe it had taken her this long to finally kiss Beca.
While Chloe and Beca continued kissing, a somewhat muffled, but distinct melody began sounding from outside the walls of the Bella house. It was a song. As the intro to the song concluded, it only grew in volume.
"We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to
I go back to us
I love you much
It's not enough
You love blow, and I love puff
And life is like a pipe
And I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside
We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to
We only said goodbye with words
I died…
We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to
We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to…"
"Bellas!" A sharp yell could be heard from the foyer of the Bella house. Aubrey.
Chloe and Beca jerked apart, suddenly coming back to their senses and realizing the magnitude of the boundary they had just crosses. Chloe could swear she sensed a moment of panic on Beca's face, as Beca subconsciously took two steps back from Chloe, clearing her throat before snapping her head down the hall in Aubrey's direction.
Aubrey called the Bellas a second and third time, until all ten girls were assembled in the foyer hallway.
"Someone's just been killed," Aubrey informed the group solemnly.
A hush fell among the girls.
"What?" Beca asked and quickly scanned the room, making sure that each of the nine other Bellas were present. Counting nine girls in the room, Beca sighed with relief.
"Another murder?" Flo asked.
"Someone was strangled and hung up on the flagpole in the quad," Aubrey informed the girls, her eyes purposely trained on the strange portrait that hung in the foyer. She couldn't bear to look them in the eye, especially since Aubrey knew the victim to this third murder.
"Who?" Ashley asked cautiously.
Aubrey shook her head, fighting back tears. She didn't want to say it.
"Who?" Chloe repeated the question gently.
"Bumper," Aubrey whispered.