Disclaimer: I don't own Pitch Perfect
Let's just say the Bellas performance was the opposite of great.
At least nobody died.
We had taken the Bella bus to what I found out is a senior citizen place. I mean seriously, guys, you couldn't have picked a place with people a little younger?
The group had gotten ready in a room together. They each had on golden track suits and their hair was either braided or teased. I'm pretty sure they haven't realized that Chloe had booked a retirement home just yet.
After gathering in a group huddle, they headed off to the stage, while I sat next to the youngest looking people, a man and a woman, who turned out to be a cappella commentators.
And not very good ones.
Yay me.
The performance starts off pretty well, but once they start using all their different props, I have to stop myself from kneeling on the ground and praying for them.
Both commentators are annoying as hell, and aren't helping my anxiety for the singers on stage.
Someone ends up back-flipping into Cynthia Rose, who gets pushed into the line of fire.
Literally.
Her hair is set on fire, and Fat Amy runs to help her out.
Most of the group, are trying to stop Flo's hamster wheel thing, while Beca is frozen in shock, and Chloe is barely holding it together, fist clenched tightly. Amy finally gets CR's hair situation under control, and Ashley wraps a bandage around the woman's head. Sensing Chloe's fuming glare, they all head to get their stuff.
I go straight to the bus, so I don't have to be yelled at.
When they all board the bus, Beca and Emily sit on either side of me. It's still unsurprisingly quiet and the girls all seem to be doing something to escape the awkward silence.
Emily is writing in her song book, Jessica and Ashley are up front driving, CR has her headphones on, Amy seems to be napping, Flo is on her phone, Stacie is filing her nails, Lilly is playing with a lighter, and Chloe is glaring holes in the ceiling.
I spread my body out along the seat, my back leaning against Emily, while my feet just barely touch Beca's thigh.
"Hey, is that for a class?" Beca looks past me, to get Emily's attention.
I can feel the tall girl freeze and jerk her head to look at her captain. "No, its uh, when I get stressed, words just sort of flow out of me and so I try and channel them into my—"
"—Are we just going to ignore what happened back there?" Chloe interrupts her. "Guys! Hello. The Worlds are right around the corner and you guys are acting like we didn't just eat a big bag of ah!"
I cover my ears as the girls start to blame each other for ruining the song.
What the hell?
"And Grace!" my name coming from the redhead's mouth gets my attention. "Why didn't you tell us the set wasn't good? Did you think it was funny for us to make fools of ourselves?"
The bus is silent as most of the girls gawk at Chloe, usually as sweet as pie, for yelling at me.
Her words hit me hard, and I try to keep the tears forming in my eyes from falling. Usually, I'm pretty much a badass, but hearing from someone I've come to trust that they think I purposely let them fail, really upsets me.
"Chloe, it's not Grace's fault we messed up," Beca pats my leg reassuringly, sending the other woman a warning look. "We should have known it wasn't going to work."
Chloe turns back to me and her eyes soften. "Sorry, Grace," she gives me a small smile. "I shouldn't have blamed you like that. You didn't know any better."
"It's okay," I return her smile.
With that, the tension lessens just a little bit and everyone goes back to what they were doing before the ginger volcano exploded.
Emily and I chat a little for the rest of the ride and make plans to watch a movie when we get back, both of us still a little upset at being blamed for things.
Once we return to the house, some of the girls leave to get away from the tension, while others—namely, Chloe—stalk around the house, adding to the it. Emily goes into the kitchen to make popcorn, and I browse through the selection of movies provided by Netflix.
"What are we watching?" Emily plops down right next to me, the popcorn in the bowl nearly spilling over at the sudden movement.
She leaves no space between us, her thigh, shoulder and hip pressed right up against mine. This, for some reason, causes butterflies to flutter around in my stomach. I shift a little to put my feet underneath me and wipe my clammy hands on the blanket next to me.
This isn't the first time I've gotten this unknown feeling in close proximity to the tall freshman. For the past couple weeks, she's been able to elicit these types of reactions from me, with her very affectionate personality and excitable clinginess. Whenever she had talked Benji, I had gotten a tight feeling in my chest even though I like the magician.
"Grace?" a finger pokes my cheek. "Are you in there?"
Bring myself back with the shake of the head, I turn to the girl, who's grinning at me.
"What movie did you pick?"
I look at the selection in front of me and make a quick decision. "The Cheetah Girls?"
Emily squeals and wraps her arms around me. "I LOVE The Cheetah Girls! They're aca-amazing!" I glare at her. "Or just regular amazing,"
I crack a smile to let her know I'm joking, but her arm that's still around me is distracting.
She passes me the popcorn and presses play on the remote, scooting impossibly closer to me as the opening credits appear on-screen.
The movie is playing, but I'm barely paying my usual favorite Disney movie any attention. I'm too busy being super aware of every shift the girl next to me makes. It feels like I've just been dropped in the Saharan Desert. She's bouncing around singing the songs, and mouthing the lines that some of the actors are saying. I'd usually find that last half really annoying, but the girl next to me is just so cute. She's actually pretty aca-awesome.
Cute?
Aca-awesome.
What the hell is happening to me?
I've never felt this way before, especially about another girl.
My hands are starting to tremble, and my knee bobs up and down. Thankfully, the other girl just seems to think bouncing to the music.
The end credits can't roll soon enough, and Emily jumps up and announces that she's going to bed.
"I'm gonna stay down here for a while," I tell her, my heartbeat slowing down a little now that we aren't touching anymore.
Emily shrugs, gives me a tight hug which makes my heart start beating out of my chest again, and skips up the steps with her blanket.
My lungs feel like they're going to collapse, so I make a quick decision and grab my sweatshirt, heading for the door. If I was in the right state of mind, I'd be afraid of the consequences that there will be when they find out I left without anyone coming with me.
I walk towards the one place I know will be completely vacated.
The auditorium.
Picking the lock on the door is child's play, and when I find the light switch, I head to the beautiful grand piano in the center of the room. When I was in school, I spent lunch in the music room everyday, where I taught myself how to play the piano. Before, I'd taken my GED test, I had been trying to pick up the ukulele.
My fingers glide along the keys to the opening of "Clarity" by Zedd, slowing down the song to add more of a soulful vibe, and pouring into it all the feelings I've had for the last couple of hours. It's so easy to just get lost in the music.
And I do.
I must play through almost all the songs I know, but I save the best for last.
One of my favorite's by John Legend, is "Ordinary People,". The first song I'd ever learned. The song is actually about how relationships are unstable and can fall apart, but it makes me think about the family I never got to have. The family that left me before I could even know who they were.
"Maybe you'll stay,"
They didn't stay.
"Maybe you'll leave,"
They left me.
"Maybe you'll return,"
They never did.
"We're just ordinary people,
We don't know which way to go,
Cause we're ordinary people,
Maybe we should take it slow,"
Tears drip onto the keys, deep, utter sadness consuming me.
"Take it slow, oh oh, this time we'll take it slow,"
"If I wasn't so pissed I'd give you a round of applause," a voice rings out, making me hit the keys wrong, the wrong chord echoing around the room.
I turn around to meet the tall brunette's piercing gaze. She cocks her hand on her hip and purses her lips, looking more annoyed than I've ever seen her. I wipe the stray tears from my cheeks and quickly get to my feet. I try and stutter out a response.
Stacie holds her hand up to stop me. "Get your butt over here so we can get back before the boss calls the cops. She's pulling out her ginger hair, and we don't need a bald captain."
I walk over to her with my head down, unable to meet her eyes.
"I'm sorry," I squeak.
"I'm more angry that I was woken up from my beauty sleep, than because you went missing," she pats me on the shoulder, continuing, "but Chloe's out of her mind with worry and Beca isn't there to calm her down."
Out of her mind is one way to put it.
It's a surprise the cops haven't already been called with the noise I can hear at the end of the street.
"Flo! You were in the kitchen! Didn't you hear her leave?"
Greets us when we open the front door.
"In my country," the foreign girl starts. "We'd send the children out at night to scare away the rats in the streets,"
"Not helping, girl," CR shakes her head. "I'm sure she's fine Chlo. Jessica and Ashley went to the Trebles to see if she went there, you know how she likes to mess with them. And Stacie's checking the auditorium so she should be back any minute."
"Oh, I'm back." Stacie cuts in from behind me. "And I have found our straggler."
Chloe's head turns so fast, she probably got whiplash. She takes four quick strides before she's inches in front of me. Then, she moves towards me fast, and I flinch thinking she's going to hit me.
Arms wrap around me and red hair tickles my nose. "Oh, Grace! I was so worried!"
She pulls back and holds me at arms length. "But now I'm really mad," her relieved smile turns into a frown. "What were you thinking?"
"I just needed some air," I kick my foot, nervously.
"You should have asked someone to go with you! You know the rule!" the crazy look is back in her eyes.
"I know," I hold back tears for the second time today. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again,"
"It better not!"
"I promise," Chloe wraps her arms around me again and squeezes the life out of me.
The front door opens and Jessica, Ashley, and Beca come through, the last looking around wide-eyed.
"Grace! What the hell, dude?" she marches over to stand in front of Chloe and I. "Ashley and Jessica told me you were missing!"
"Well, I did, but I'm back now." I can't believe we're doing this again. I've already been yelled at once, so why is it happening twice?
Beca looks ready to tell me off, but an equally annoyed Chloe steps between the two of us. "Beca, stop. If you were here an hour ago, you would've been allowed to be mad, but you disappeared too, so you don't get to do any yelling. Grace, go upstairs and go to bed."
Wow.
That's the most parent-like phrase I've ever heard come from the redhead. Not wanting to find out what would happen if I didn't, I trudge up the stairs. I'm almost to the top when her voice calls out from behind me.
"Oh and by the way, as punishment you have to participate in all the activities at the retreat this weekend!"
The girls must have been surprised by her words, because they all shout out the same exact thing.
"RETREAT?!"