A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favourite/followed. This chapter is a change of pace after the fluff of last chapter. Still, I hope it's enjoyable, or at least interesting.

Rating: T

Characters: Beca/Jesse, the rest of the Pitch Perfect cast (eventually), plus some other characters.

Warnings: Mature situations referenced and swearing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Perfect or the songs used in this fic in any way. I'm just playing with them.


Hurricanes – Chapter 6 – House, not a Home


"This is cool."

"Stop lying, you're shit at it."

They were standing in the living room of Beca's house, and Jesse was looking around in fascination. He had, of course, said that the house was nice to be polite – and the house was immaculate and tastefully furnished – but Beca was right. He was lying. Because it felt like he was in some show home. Things were very sterile and monochromatic. The thing that was glaringly obvious was the lack of personal keepsakes. No photos, no little mementos of vacation, no dog eared magazines or books on the coffee table. Nothing. No personality at all.

"I was trying to be nice," Jesse said.

"I know. But I could see it in your face," Beca replied, turning away so Jesse couldn't see how embarrassed she was. Of course her house wouldn't meet standards.

Jesse realised the direction Beca's thoughts went and reassured, "It's a lovely place, it is. It's just…well, I can't see any of Beca in here."

Oh. Beca got what Jesse really meant now. She beckoned him to follow, and they went down the hallway to Beca's room. As she flung the door open, she asked, "See a little more of me now?"

Jesse grinned. "Yep. Slightly messy, a framed record and music posters on the wall. I think I found you," he winked.

"Well if you loved the living room, you're gonna just love the guest room," Beca said flatly, opening the door opposite to her own. The guest room was half the size of hers and housed a single dresser and a single bed. Everything was stark white except for the beige carpet.

"Wow. It'll be weird to be the most colourful thing in my environment," he remarked as he entered the room.

"Don't tell me – your room looks like a rainbow vomited on your walls?" Beca asked with a smirk.

"Not quite," replied Jesse, "I have a lot of posters everywhere."

Beca shook her head in amusement. "Your parents are enablers. Do you have a TV in your room as well?"

"No. Mum and dad wouldn't let me, saying that I was in my man cave enough with my laptop, they wouldn't see me for months if I had an actual TV in my room," Jesse admitted bashfully. Beca just snickered, finding it so very Jesse for that to happen. She helped him heft his suitcase on the bed and began to help him to unpack, asking, "So, what's the plan?"

"What plan are you talking about? You need to be specific," replied Jesse cheekily.

"As in the plan of what you want to see while you're here nerd," Beca enunciated.

With a mock gasp of outrage, Jesse exclaimed, "And leave this palace for fresh air? Why, perish the thought."

She threw a pair of his shorts at him in annoyance, which only served to make him laugh. "Be serious," she said.

Jesse shrugged. "I don't really have a plan. Wherever you want to take me, I'll go. I seriously just want you to take the lead," he replied.

With a devious smirk, Beca asked nonchalantly, "So if I wanted to take you to a male strip show, you'd go?"

"If only to shield your young and innocent eyes from things they shouldn't see. And to make sure you don't punch out anyone," Jesse said.

Beca couldn't tell if he was serious and asked, "Would you really?"

He winced and answered, "Well, I would hate it. But if you really, honestly wanted to go, I'd go with you. If not for any reason than to see your expressions when guys try to striptease."

Beca couldn't decide if that was just plan adorable or freakishly weird that Jesse would do that for her, so as she pointed out the door to the closet, she murmured, "You won't get to see my expressions then, because that's definitely not an item on the list of places I'd pick. I was thinking more along the lines of the Science Museum and spending a day in the city just walking around and I can show you the cool places I've found."

"Awesome," replied Jesse contentedly. As he placed the last of his things away, he reached for his backpack and sing-songed, "Guess what I brought?"

As Beca saw the shape of his laptop coming out of the bag, she groaned in irritation. "Moviecation? Still?"

"I am not going to let up and let you go back to your movie hating ways. Did you honestly think I'd go anywhere longer than two days without a movie in some way?"

If Beca was honest with herself, the answer would be no. Jesse wouldn't be Jesse without his movies. He was a walking movie dictionary. Like that website, IMDb.

They were pulled from their light-hearted conversation when the front door opened and closed, Beca's mother calling loud enough to be heard around the house, "Beca and Beca's friend! Please come out here!"

"Oh God," grumbled the petite brunette.

"It'll be fine," Jesse said confidently, quickly rummaging around in his backpack and snatching something out of it Beca couldn't see as he exited the room in front of her. She wished he had his unassuming confidence as she followed, feeling her good mood seep out of her. She saw her mum, looking more imposing as ever in the foyer ahead – hair pulled tightly back in a severe bun, sky high leather stilettos and a crisp grey skirt suit. She looked like she came out of a Vogue business edition. Beca glanced at her own casual outfit and grimaced. Could their differences be any more noticeable than in this moment?

And then there was Jesse, moving towards her, lending his hand out for a handshake. "Hello there, I'm Jesse Swanson," he introduced himself.

Vicki Parting's eyes flashed with surprise for the briefest of moments before she gingerly took his hand, giving it a firm shake. "Hello Jesse, my name is Vicki. You may call me this until you have revoked your privilege to," she replied coolly.

Jesse's friendly smile, miraculously, didn't dim as he said, "Okay, that's cool. I hope I don't revoke this privilege by giving you a little gift of appreciation for letting me stay in this beautiful house." He brought his other hand up, a small clear box on display filled with something pink and white. "I wasn't sure if chocolates were your thing, so I thought Turkish delight would do the trick."

Beca had to bite her tongue to keep from snorting or laughing. Jesse was laying it on thick and it seemed to work as her mother took the sweets from him.

"Unnecessary, but thoughtful." She looked him over appraisingly. "No visible piercings or tattoos, polite, poor fashion taste but overall, you're not what I expected…you'll do," Vicki concluded. Her sharp eyes flashed to Beca and she demanded, "Have you told him the rules?"

"Not yet, we only got back about half an hour ago."

"Tell him now," Vicki said. Jesse felt the blistering heat of her glare pass between him and Beca and was amazed that this was Vicki thinking that he 'would do.' He didn't want to think how she would have acted if he didn't pass her requirements.

Beca rolled her eyes, thinking that this was the stupidest thing she had to say, and recited, "You are to buy your own food and label it. You are to clean up after yourself. And we are to inform her if we go out past 7pm on any night. If we are in the same room together, the door must be halfway open. The door mustn't be closed. If we are in breach of any rules or common notions of propriety, you will not be allowed to stay." She glared at Vicki and growled, "Happy?"

"Extremely," her mother replied sarcastically, turned around dramatically and made her way to her bedroom on the other side of the lounge room.

"Well, shit," Jesse muttered after a minute at staring at Vicki's closed door.

"Yeah."


Vicki was different to how Jesse thought she would be. Sure, he knew that it wasn't going to be sunshine and roses, but this was something else. He had been treated by strangers kinder than Vicki treated Beca. There was just so much disdain in her tone and posture, it was like she couldn't stand seeing Beca (or himself for that matter) in her actual sight.

He simply couldn't fathom it.

Jesse knew it was because his mother and Beca's were total opposites. He knew his mother loved him. It was obvious. She was warm, giving, and downright scary when mad, but not distant, calculating and so unyielding like Vicki. It was like she was a robot.

Another thing he couldn't understand was where Beca had come from. Her father David Mitchell was so softly spoken that even when mad his voice didn't raise above a certain level. He was calm and collected while Vicki was cold. Did Beca's sarcasm and weird way of showing affection (which he loved) stem from a defence to her mother's harsh personality? It would make a lot of sense. One thing was for sure, he only had a week here to try and make Beca's summer brighter if she decided not to move.

"What are you doing?"

Beca's voice shook Jesse from his thoughts. "I'm thinking," he replied.

"By hanging your head upside-down over the bed," Beca said skeptically.

"Oh yeah, really gets the blood flowing," Jesse countered as he righted himself, giving her a tiny grin. "What's up?"

"Well, mum's just left – she's going into the city for tapas with some other lawyers, so it's just us in the house tonight," she announced.

"Awesome!"

"Don't get too excited," Beca warned, coming into the room and mentioning over to the bedside table. "You see that lamp?"

"What about it?" asked Jesse confusedly.

A mirthless smirk appeared on Beca's face. "Don't act surprised but be natural when I tell you – it's not just a lamp. There's a camera in the base of it," she revealed.

Jesse's face fell and his jaw dropped. "A camera…"

"A precaution while she's out to make sure we don't do anything suspicious. It only records video, not sound – I tested it by screaming swear words while I was tidying up yesterday. She usually chews me out for using such filthy language but she didn't mention it," the petite woman explained.

"But…but, isn't that illegal? I'm going to get changed in here, she'll see me almost naked!" Jesse whispered, tripping over his words in his shock.

Beca shook her head. "It's not illegal if you put a hidden cam in your own home for safety precautions. And my mother, being a lawyer, would know all the ins and outs of the legality and the defences and excuses and such. She'd probably say she did it to make sure she wasn't harbouring a drug user or something like that. So good luck with protesting its existence," she murmured angrily.

Jesse frowned and asked, "I guess I'll just change in the bathroom…but where are other cameras and how did you figure it out?"

Beca sat next to him, unable to look at him. "Mum told me she was going to always be watching. I didn't get what she meant until a few days ago she got some electrician in here. There's a camera in the kitchen that looks over the dining and lounge as well." Her voice wavered as she spat, "She's so fucking spiteful it's ridiculous."

"Misery loves company," he observed astutely.

"I don't even know why I try anymore," Beca whispered in a voice almost quieter than Lily.

Jesse was about to wrap his arms around her and then remembered the fact that Big Brother (or Mother in this case) was watching. Hiding his frustration at not being able to comfort this hurt, Jesse just patted Beca's shoulder in what he hoped was a platonic way. "You try because you're the better person, Bec. Because even though she's difficult, Vicki is still your mum and you love her. You may not like her, but you love her," he said.

Beca huffed. But Jesse knew that he had guessed how she had felt correctly. "Come on," he invited quietly, "Let's go and get something to eat and watch a movie."

"Should I order some pizza? There's a place four blocks away that delivers and it's awesome," Beca suggested.

"What better than pizza and When Harry Met Sally on a Monday night?" Jesse asked, nudging her shoulder before he stood, leaving the room.

Beca sighed and hung her head. "Being able to show affection to your boyfriend," she answered quietly.

For once, the distraction of watching a movie sounded like a great idea.


Beca was getting ready for bed when she saw her phone screen lighting up. She tilted her head in confusion. Who would be messaging her this late? She and Jesse had just finished watching When Harry met Sally (which was rather entertaining, especially the 'faked orgasm in public' scene). She grabbed it and unlocked the screen.

She must have accidentally turned her phone on silent because she had six messages waiting for her.

Jesse had been the one to message her then so she opened his first.

Text to: Ear spike girl
From: Capt. Treble
Good night. Consider this my make up kiss for the ones I would have given you if we weren't watched. Xxxxxxxxxxoooxxxxxxx ;D

Beca smiled. She was glad she had a boyfriend who knew how to make her smile. She poked her head out the door and called, "Good night to you too, weirdo!"

Jesse laughter reverberated out from the guest room as she turned away, seeing messages from some of her friends. Beca's expression morphed into one of disbelieving amusement as she read the variety of responses from the Bellas.

Text to: Beca
From: Aubrey
Hope you're having fun. Remember to take Jesse to museums. I've found in my dating experience that it shows off how cultured you are.

Text to: Beca Bestie!
From: Chloe
OMG, it's soooo adorable that Jesse is staying with you for a week. I bet you you're going to do those really cute couple-y things you swore you'd never do. Eeeeee! I'm so excited for you babe! Oh, and just a tip, maybe you two should re-enact how we met. ;) Oh! And when you two are done, you should come visit me in New York! I'd be all too happy to have you! I'll give you an education in girly sleepovers :D. Call me soon babe, I want all the dirt on you and Jesse. Toodles!

Text to: My leader
From: Lily
Boys don't like it when you put snails down their pants. Hope you are well. Got new tunes for me? Dad doesn't like me lighting fires when I'm bored.

Text to: Needs to get laid
From: Sexypot Stacie ;)
Tell me what he's like in bed. And if he's big…but that doesn't always mean anything if they don't know how to use it. Remember to stay safe with protection ;) Oh, and check your e-mail. I sent you some BJ tips off the Cosmo site.

Text to: Shawshank Becanator
From: Sexy Fat Ass xoxo
I kno Stacie probs said it but have fun doin it like horny Tassie Devils XD! Call me so we can have a chat soon.

Beca chuckled and muttered to herself, "I am friends with some of the weirdest people around." A warm glow of happiness washed over her as she re-read their texts. At the same time, a part of her was heavy with the knowledge that these girls (and Jesse) were her true family. Oddballs, weirdos, freaks, but they loved each other more than her mother loved her. They were loyal to her. They believed in her. With those sobering and conflicting emotions, she fell asleep, dreaming of breaking free of her chains.


A/N: I couldn't resist throwing that in at the end. I know it's probably made the chapter a bit disjointed, but I needed some humour and Bellas. How did you like it? Is Vicki still realistic in the situation? What about Jesse and Beca having to control themselves? Reviews are very much appreciated.