A/N: Thank you all for your continued support! It really means a lot. I know a few people have been requesting some Steca. I've thought about it. There was even an opportunity in a scene that takes place in the future to possibly include some, but I decided not to. I'm not a big fan of the pairing. Also I think there will already be enough for Chloe to be jealous of and I don't like the complications it could bring to the Bellas as a whole. There will be more Stacie and Amy heavy scenes in the future. It's not likely, but I could always change my mind. I'd be more open to maybe adding some one sided flirting on Stacie's side. With that being said, feel free to send comments, thoughts, and questions. I do read them.

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Chapter 5

Practices started up pretty quickly after the initiation night, like the next day quickly. At the first practice it became pretty clear to Beca that Aubrey would be running the Bellas like a dictatorship. Which was fine, perfectly fine. That was usually how clubs ran, headed by a dictator with some input from other members to appease the masses. Only Aubrey kind of forgot that last part, even failing to take input from her co-captain, Chloe. Which wasn't what was irking Beca so much. No it was the fact that it was a Saturday, a day she was allowed to slack off on and sleep in without being yelled at by her dad, but she was here. In an old gym that smelled like years of old sweat and dust at 10 am. Which really 10 am was not that early, but it was far too many hours before 1 pm for Beca's liking. Add on the fact she disagreed with pretty much everything Aubrey said, Beca was not happy. Especially not when their dictator captain snapped at Chloe when the woman actually had a good idea. That was what was pissing her off. Not that it was Chloe, but that Aubrey so clearly ignored every good idea slung at her as if it was beneath her. Yeah, it had nothing to do with Chloe.

Sure Beca had never led anything, she wasn't even really all that great with talking to people, but she could tell Aubrey's tactics were not conducive to building a team or trust. It was pretty clear when their oh so mighty captain showed them just how expendable they were. The practice started off with the question of whether or not any of them had been 'treble-boned', which really they couldn't come up with a better name, but that wasn't really the point. Not when Aubrey humiliated a girl in front of all of them over the action. Then all that was left was a lone chair awkwardly off to the side and a lot of shocked hungover Bellas.

Then, because Aubrey really read the room correctly, she decided to launch into the usual introductory speech. That's around the time cardio was mentioned and for the first time the Bellas all collectively groaned. Amy was the only one to voice an actual worded opinion, which seemed to mildly annoy Aubrey. The fact was not lost on Beca. She couldn't remember the last time she ran for anything outside of gym class. Well that was a lie. It was kind of hard to forget. Especially when half of the reason was only a few feet away at the front of the room, beaming at Beca whenever their different shade of blue eyes met. Which was really really not appreciated, each glance launching a new mass of butterflies in her stomach. The damn things were getting adventurous too, moving up into her chest.

There was a slight video interlude, involving their oh so perfectly put together captain projectile vomiting onto the first three rows of the audience the last time the Bellas performed. Beca really could have gone without seeing the video. Vomit was gross and she generally did not enjoy other people's misery, but Aubrey was a different case. The blonde had been rude to Beca pretty much from the first time she laid eyes on her for no real reason besides differences in style. She didn't understand it. Being the mature person Beca was, she decided to just give back what Aubrey was giving her. It was not like the captain could really get any worse. She already decided to make her run extra laps just because her pace wasn't quite as fast as everyone else's. Did she make Amy run more after horizontal running for ten minutes? No, but that was okay. Beca was used to being singled out. It wasn't like she was going to pick up her pace. Chloe was at the front of the line and if Beca hung back just enough, Chloe would pass her, giving her a perfect view of the girl's ass, before matching pace with those in the middle of the line. Not that she was hanging back just to stare at their co-captain's ass. Not at all, it was purely to annoy Aubrey. Yep, the view was just an added bonus.

It did not take long for Beca to get bored. After all the music was bad and the choreography was okay, but after hours of singing the same songs and staring at themselves enunciating into a mirror, she wasn't into it. So she did what was going to become her favorite hobby at practices, she did everything she could to annoy Aubrey. She called the captain out on their song choices, calling them outdated. Which was true, everything Beca ever said was true. So no one could actually argue with what she said, only with how she said it. She called her out on their dance moves being old. She made sure to be as unenthused about pretty much everything they did, often rolling her eyes at the blonde, which really seemed to get to Aubrey. It was easiest to slack off during the choreography. She could make a stupid box with fingers in the air. It was a pretty simple shape. She was pretty sure she first drew one in kindergarten after all. Also, she had an ear for beats and counts. So yeah the dancing was easy, making it that much easier to annoy Aubrey by going just off beat or making more of an oval shape with her hands.

The plan to annoy Aubrey through shoddy choreography quickly back fired though. Beca forgot Chloe was in charge of the choreography. She also forgot about her old friend's lack of personal boundaries, which really, given the recent shower encounter, should have been memorable. At any other time Beca would have congratulated herself for being able to put away a thought that she was trying to forget. But for once it was a thought that would have helped her in the situation she found herself in.

After Beca's fifth failed attempt at making squares on beat, Chloe slipped her arms around Beca's. It took the younger woman by surprise, resulting in a mortifying squeak. Then Chloe was eliminating any space left between them, pulling their bodies flush, as Beca tried to escape the embrace half-heartedly. She knew Chloe was laughing, not because she could hear it, but because she could feel the other woman's body vibrating behind her, trying to hold it in. It was as if someone was answering the younger woman's prayers from the previous night to feel Chloe's body shifting against hers. Given it wasn't in the same way, but it sure felt a lot like how Beca imagined it would be only better.

Then Beca actually was messing up making stupid boxes in the air for completely different reasons. To distracted by the warm breath ghosting over her neck, the hands that trailed down her arms before grasping her hands, and then there was the shifting of those curves brushing and pushing into Beca's back. It took all of her concentration to stop the heat she felt at the back of her neck from blossoming into a nice red that would spread to her face. So Beca scowled and looked exasperated, which fit her badass reputations as well as her own personal frustrations. All her protests that she could do it where shoved aside because she really couldn't that close to Chloe and the woman could feel all of Beca's muscles flexing in the wrong direction with their proximity. Just when Beca thought she was going to die, her heart beating way to fast to be considered normal, Aubrey was calling them over to go over the routine as a group. She never thought she would be in anyway grateful to Aubrey, but in that moment she was. Then Chloe was separating their bodies, trailing hands down Beca's upper arms before resting them on Beca's hips. Where she squeezes lightly before pressing her lips to Beca's ear to tell her "You'll get it". Then those lips skim across Beca's neck and Chloe was gone, leaving her feeling cold, a shiver running down her spin, glad Chloe was not still attach to her to feel. It takes Amy nudging her to get her moving towards the other Bellas.

She spends the rest of practice trying not to notice a certain redhead who seems to always be looking at her. She tries not to read too much into it, Tom hovering in the fore front of her mind. Beca just chalks it up to Chloe being Chloe because if the girl wanted a three-some or something she probably would have blurted it out by now. The girl wasn't exactly subtle and really sucked at holding back about things that were on her mind. Then again Beca hadn't known the redhead for a while and she could have changed since she was 15, but that didn't seem likely. There was also the fact that Beca was pretty oblivious at times, never really thinking anyone would ever be interested in her until lip locked. Jesse was usually the one to point out people to her or she would just approach someone that interested her. Although it almost always worked out in Beca's favor, she never thought much of it. She just figured she was lucky. So she was definitely out of her depth. The way Chloe was looking at her it had to be a Chloe-ism though because the only other thing it would read as was lust or adoration. Which was definitely not the correct read because Chloe had a boyfriend. Even if it was Beca would not be down, she had tried it once. Definitely not her thing. She was more of a one person person, even if it was just for a night of fun in the sheets. So, yeah, definitely a Chloe-ism.

That is pretty much how every Bella practice goes. Outside of practice, Beca tries to separate herself as much as possible from a certain bubbly redhead, practically dying each practice during their one on one dance instructions. Which go pretty much how the first one went. Beca conveniently forgetting each time what her mess ups will lead to. But Chloe seems to be hell bent on rekindling the friendship they once had because she starts sending Beca texts. Lots of texts. Texts with emoticons. Emoticons that somehow perfectly fit the redhead's personality in every situation. Beca wants to scoff and ignore them or make some rude comment to make them stop because they come at the most inopportune moments. Like when she is hanging out with Jesse. He pauses whatever he is saying to watch her check her phone because apparently she smiles like an idiot whenever she reads them. Or sometimes she'll have a little tiff with her father and there will be a message. Her anger will subside, replaced by a small smile.

It's not like they are even about anything important. They usually are 'good morning!'s with a sun emoji or 'good nights!'s with a moon, stars, and a little telescope. Other times they are just asking her how she is doing or hoping her day is going well. They make Beca feel really cared for. Eventually she starts looking forward to them, sometimes checking her phone multiple times when bored or when something reminds her of Chloe. She feels like such a sap and tries to fight it, but by the time she does, it's too late. She is falling once again. Beca was pretty sure she always had been, she just never noticed it before. Honestly she doesn't acknowledge it still, but she knows it's there.

The worst part of it all is she finds herself replying to the messages. Then she's going to get coffee with Chloe, they sometimes eat together, and the redhead seems to always have a radar for Beca's location because she can always find her in the library or on the quad. Beca finds herself liking it and then hating that she likes it because it's difficult to interact with her childhood friend, but at the same time perfect. Especially when Chloe leans into her for no reason or wraps her arm around her back or rests her head on Beca's shoulder. All brief, under the need to look at whatever Beca was doing or needing to get her attention. The strangest thing is Beca lets her, all things she didn't even let Jesse do when they were dating. But there she was letting Chloe do whatever she wanted, not really caring, even with all her protests. Chloe seemed to know, but she never mentioned it. The best part was Tom was never spoken of. Beca was left to drift in a world where it was just the two of them. Which was stupid, but for once she was happy.

Then it was time for the Bella's first live performance. It was at some frat house event that Beca was pretty sure more than half the team wouldn't be invited to if they weren't a part of the Bellas's team. It takes Beca all of five minutes to scan the front yard and know it was not going to go well. She really wished she had left her earrings in. At least then she could have felt more menacing as she glared at the crowd and half-heartedly went through the practiced routine. To top it all off, she felt ridiculous wearing the Bella uniform, which basically looked like a flight attendance uniform. It didn't help that when she showed it to Jesse he kept asking her for complementary peanuts and for her to go over where the emergency exits were. That last one won him a hefty punch to the arm.

So really Beca was not at all surprised when the lead meat head of the fraternity stopped their performance, refusing to pay them. Aubrey was quick to place blame on all of them, especially a certain redhead Beca was growing fond of. Really what did Aubrey expect, everything about their set was tired and old. Even the most talented performer couldn't breathe life into it. She was too focused on the technical parts and was completely forgetting the human part, not taking advantage of their strengths. Even Beca could see it, which was saying a lot. It obviously showed as Aubrey laid into them. Even disregarding that one of them was her co-captain and best friend. Beca was just getting ready to fling it all back at Aubrey on Chloe's behalf, when the co-captain spoke up, announcing she had something called 'nodes'. Thankfully, what exactly nodes were was explained.

Beca began calculating just how often Chloe sang every day during practice and in between. It had to be hours upon hours every day that Chloe's vocal chords were rubbing together. Surely she was in pain. Beca started taking note of how many times Chloe winced while singing or randomly through the day while talking. It was a lot more often than seemed tolerable. All the sudden the petite woman seemed to have an endless supply of herbal teas and little travel size packets of honey everywhere she went. Which was strange because Beca hated tea. She brings a thermos to every practice, though. She would only take a few sips at the beginning of practice, making sure everyone saw her drink it. By the end of practice Beca's thermos would be in Chloe's hand. Beca always claimed she had too much to drink on her own before thrusting it into Chloe's hands, along with a packet or two of honey because Chloe liked things sweet. Sometimes Chloe just liked eating the honey from the packets. Once Beca found out just how much Chloe liked honey, she seemed to have an endless supply always on her. She'd randomly throw them at the redhead whenever Chloe started spacing out while working on homework or studying. Beca enjoyed watching the smile that always seemed to immediately blossom. A smile quickly followed by a fond look that caught the younger woman's breathe every time, as Chloe happily munched on honey. The perfect study break.

No one seemed to notice. Chloe always returned the cup by the end of practice with a smile that seemed to be reserved for Beca and Beca alone. There was always a hug and an occasional peck on the cheek that would follow. Beca always tried to act indifferent, but usually failed, becoming a spluttering mess. That was the only acknowledgement of her actions. Even when she stopped drinking the tea and was clearly just bringing it for their co-captain. That was until Jesse decided to invite himself over to her dorm for an impromptu movie-cation.

Jesse had been looking for snacks to eat during their movie marathon, the boy could never just watch one movie, and maybe a drink that was something besides red bull. When he looked to the shelf dedicated to drinks, instead of finding a shelf full of red bull, all perfectly aligned with labels facing out, he found only a half a shelf of red bull. The other half was full of boxes of tea and a few boxes of honey packets. He had frozen at the sight, his hand resting on a pack of twizzlers. Completely taken a back because he knew for a fact that Beca hated the beverage. He had made her a cup once when she was sick when they were still dating, only to have her spit it back out in his face because, quote, 'it's a vile drink. What are you trying to do, kill me? Couldn't you wait? I'm already sick. Isn't that enough.' It was a hard memory to forget.

In a hesitant voice he called out, "Beca?"

The DJ just grunted, in the middle of finishing a mix as Jesse got everything ready for the movie marathon. Jesse kept his eyes fixed on the tea, afraid he was seeing things and they would disappear if he looked away.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah?" Her answer came out as a question, still slightly distracted by her mixes and confused by Jesse's question.

"Did Kimmy Jin commander a part of your snack cabinet because she figured out you're the one putting her video games out of alphabetical order?"

"No, why?"

"Oh, no reason. You just have a crap ton of tea in your cabinet." He finally looked at Beca.

The girl furrowed her brow briefly, as if the question was odd. "So?"

"Well, I don't know if you know this, but you hate tea."

Beca finally looked up at him, going for nonchalance as she easily let out, "Maybe I'm branching out."

"So you don't mind if I have some, right?" He narrowed his eyes at his friend, trying to figure out what she was hiding because a shelf full of tea was definitely not due to Beca 'branching out'. The girl still ate go-gurt over all other types of yogurt because quote 'It was better', which was a lie because once you reached a certain age it tasted like sugar and artificial flavors. This was also the same girl who secretly thought scrunches were cool because she wore them when she was five, not that she would ever admit it. The gleam in her eye when met with one always said differently than her words, though. Jesse wasn't buying her bullshit.

"Yeah, whatever." Beca was going for indifferences, but there was a slight tightness too her shoulders when she shrugged them that was distinctly off to Jesse.

He skimmed the shelf, acutely aware of Beca's eyes boring into the side of his face. There was an overabundance of something called 'Jammin Lemon Ginger' and 'Honey Chamomile'. There was also a few fruity flavors, peppermint, and one called 'Sleepytime tea'. He figured the ones Beca had multiple boxes of were probably the most important ones. Beca had a tendency to buy things in bulk, having an irrational fear she would runout of the item when she most needed it. Hence her shelf solely dedicated to red bull… and now tea.

" Jammin Lemon Ginger sounds good." It was all he had to say. Beca had gotten tired of staring at Jesse and had at some point gone back to mixing. She was in a slight daze, not really focused on what was being said. So instead of censoring herself, she just said the first thing that came to mind.

"That's Chloe's favorite." A small smile came to her lips at just the mention of the redhead's name. She looked up, her whole face softening, almost wistful in nature, which definitely was not for Jesse. Realizing what she had just said, Beca froze, her eyes widening slowly. At the same pace a shit eating grin slithered its way onto Jesse's face.

"Chloe, huh. Does Chloe just store tea in your dorm? Does she have a drawer I don't know about too?"

He had her, he knew he did. It was obvious, Beca's mouth moving open and closed not able to form actually words. Then there was an audible gulp and normal put together Beca was back.

"Whatever."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Beca clearly embarrassed if the red edging its way up her neck and her twitchiness was any indication. Finally Beca spoke again, almost shyly, eyes focused on the edge of her shirt her fingers were toying with.

"She has nodes okay. And I just… I wanted to-I"

Jesse leveled with Beca, a small genuine smile in place. "You wanted to take care of her."

Beca didn't have to say anything, it was clearly their written in her eyes, her smile, and just her very being. Not that she would admit it anyway because that would make her feelings to real. She wasn't ready for that. She couldn't allow herself to free fall again without anyone to catch her at the end. That was how people got severely injured. If she was being honest, she still hadn't quite recovered from her first one. Which really sucked because she was beginning to fall for the same person all over again. She had an idea how it would end.

There was a pause to digest the words spoken before Jesse redirected the conversation about Chloe to a less serious topic, but just as revealing one. "So what are all these for?" He gestured at the tea.

Beca made her way over like a new born deer. All hesitant and shaky legged, eyes slightly bigger than normal, blinking a little too rapidly. She plopped down next to Jesse, quickly losing herself and relaxing as she talked about each tea. First, starting off by explaining that Chloe and her hang out together around campus. Then she starts with 'Jammin Lemon Ginger', explaining that Chloe really likes the name and the animals on the front of the box playing instruments made of lemons. Then going on to say that the teas sharp contrasting flavors mimic the older woman's personality. Then she points to the peppermint tea, explaining it has the same kick. That she gives it to Chloe when she's running a little slow or tired some days. Then there's the fruity flavors for variety and all day drinking. Beca goes into an explanation of Chloe's obsession with honey, which explains all the packets of honey and 'Honey Chamomile' tea. The last one is the 'Sleepytime tea' that Beca almost treats with reverence. Explaining she makes it whenever she thinks she will bump into a certain redhead late at night in the library because sometimes Chloe has trouble getting to sleep and it seems to calm her. She leaves out the part about a sleepy Chloe pressed into her side and the warmth that blossoms in Beca's chest as the redhead dozes.

The whole time Beca was going over each tea, Jesse looked on in awe. The normally broody girl letting small genuine smiles full of something close to adoration come and go from her lips at the mention of each tea, a memory obviously attached to each one. Jesse can't stop the joy that works its way into his own smile at the pure happiness radiating from Beca. He had never seen his friend look so genuinely happy before. Not even at the highest points of their short stint at dating.

There was another pause in the conversation, the actual heaviness of the conversation slowly sinking in. Before it can drown Beca, Jesse tries to make a joke to ease the tension.

"So is that what all the texts are about? Your secret underground tea ring?" He flashes a boyish grin.

Jesse had been trying to guess Beca's mystery texter for the past week or two with little success. He had eventually been so desperate to figure it out, he had resorted to pointing to random people around the quad. All of which Beca replied with a resounding 'No!' With each wrong guess, Jesse reserved himself more to the fact that he might never know. But, for once, his waiting had paid off because apparently Beca had a secret non-love love life that involved tea.

Beca looked down at her shoe, playing with the laces. "Sort of." Her voice sounding slightly vulnerable. "It's not like-like anything-you know-like deep or anything. It's just… It's really nice. To feel… um-you know-thought of… To wake up to a-a… um-good morning or fall asleep to a good night. Someone just-just thinking… wondering, really, how you are."

Jesse lets Beca's words sink in. He lets his eyes skim over the many boxes of tea and honey. Then he finally looked back to his friend and lets the words fall he was trying to make light of, but no matter what he did they remained heavy in nature. "You have it bad."

Instead of running or pushing away the words with sarcasm, like he expected, Beca held Jesse's gaze as she simply stated, "I know."