A/N: I just wanted to thank everyone for their understanding and well wishes at my late posting of this chapter! And apologize for posting this kind of late in the day. I intended in posting it midday, but I woke up really late and still had to proof read. Normally I read over each chapter at least three or four times, but this one has only been read through once. So please excuse any mistakes. It's super long too just because I didn't want to add yet another extra chapter onto what I'm considering "the first half" of this fic. (You'll understand once you get to a certain chapter) I've already added two extra chapters that were not planned. I figure it's fair anyway because I made you all wait and you might have to wait for the next one, depending. Even though finals are over, I'm a grad student in my last year and there is still a decent amount of stuff that needs to be done. With that being said, I hope you enjoy this super long post!
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Chapter 11
Chloe was there the day Jesse and Beca were supposed to fly back out to Seattle for Thanksgiving. She saw Beca off with a long hug and a lingering kiss to the cheek. A kiss that seemed permanently branded into her skin, lasting long after she boarded the plane. She had left Chloe at the door of her dorm room. The situation reminded the younger Bella a lot of the last time she left Chloe behind for Seattle. Chloe's arms sliding back away from around her back once the kiss was planted until the older Bella's hands rested on her shoulders. There was a soft squeeze and then sun kissed hands were sliding down Beca's arms until they met her hands, interlacing. The hands were swung lightly between them. Deep blue eyes were catching her's and although Chloe appeared her usually open and bubbly self, there was a fear there in the recesses of her eyes.
"You're going to call right? ….Well text me?"
Beca knew the significance, still wrought with guilt if she thought to hard about the day she left Chloe behind. If she thought about the paper that held Chloe's phone number and address she threw away at the first pit stop that was made. This was different though. Although her feelings towards Chloe were almost the same, Beca knew she would see the other girl again. Even if she wasn't going to, Beca would still call. At least once. How could she not when Chloe still had not left her. So she just smiled at Chloe like she was silly to think any differently.
"Yeah, of course."
Chloe's smile quickly over took her face. "You better! I'm not going to let you get away with blowing me off like last time. I know where you live Beca Mitchell."
Beca rolled her eyes, but really she was pleased, smitten even, with what Chloe said. With the finality of it all. "You really don't have to go all stalker on me again. One shower incident was enough."
"Maybe for you." Chloe easily slung back with a smirk and tug at the younger girl's hands. Beca could feel her cheeks heating up. Then Jesse appeared at the end of the hall, staying there to give them space. Beca knew they would have to separate.
"Well, I've got to go Chlo."
Chloe quickly pulled Beca into another hug. "Promise, you'll send pictures." Chloe's voice was soft, barely above a whisper.
"I'm only going to be gone for a week."
"I know. Just promise? I'll show you mine if you show me yours." Beca laughed at the come back, but she felt it then. The soft pull at her heart, pushing the air out of her lungs and lodging a lump in her throat. There the hot tears just at the edge as the lump tried to work its self-free. She refused to cry because it was stupid for her to cry over a single week of separation from the girl that was only a friend. Yes, a childhood friend, but still just a friend. Chloe did not hold any other title. Yet, she knew she was going to miss the other girl something awful. And it felt far too much like the last time they separated. All the same feelings bubbling up. Instead of letting the tears fall, Beca held on tighter to Chloe, gripping at her shirt, before abruptly letting go. She looked away to compose herself for a moment before turning back to Chloe, completely at ease again.
"You're so weird."
"Nah, just me. So what do you say Becs? Picture buddy?" Chloe wore one of those smiles reserved for Beca alone. She didn't stand a chance.
Beca rolled her eyes. "I'll see what I can do." All the bite and snark that was supposed to be present was gone. It did not seem to matter. Chloe slid her fingers up Beca's jaw line until she firmly cradled the base of smaller girl's face in her hands. In the moment Beca found herself closing her eyes briefly to better take in the needed contact. It was hard for her to hide her feelings, just how much she would miss Chloe. The older Bella seemed to know what to do though. "Everything will be fine. Okay?" Fell softly from the ginger's lips. Beca simply nodded in response. Chloe ran a thumb over her jaw tenderly, pressing one last lingering kiss to Beca's forehead. Letting the younger girl grasp firmly onto her hands before separating and walking away, whishing her a safe trip. For the moment Beca believed her. Everything would be okay.
Then it was just Jesse and her and the familiar tug at her heart was there, trailing back to a certain redhead. She felt it while going through security, sitting in the food court, on the plane, and when she stumbled into her mom's loft. First thing she did was kick off her shoes before dropping her bags off in her room. She took a moment to take in the loft. Really, Beca did not know why she bothered, she knew her mom wouldn't actually be there to greet her. She was always too busy working. There was a twenty dollar bill on the kitchen counter though and note that simply said, 'For food.' It still bothered her. She pushed it away, plopping down on the couch with Mr. Snuggums under her arm and an order for pizza delivery made.
Beca wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. Normally Chloe would be there to distract her in some way. Or she would just be someone there to keep her company in the large dark empty loft. She pulled Mr. Snuggums closer to her, switching on the TV to a random channel. Then there was the pizza guy at the front door. She quickly paid and then returned to her previous position, eating straight out of the pizza box on her lap. Nothing was really able to distract her from the thought of bright blue eyes and red copper locks. Her fingers began itching to take out her phone, wanting to see if Chloe had texted her yet. She ignored the itch for as long as she could until she finally just snatched her phone from her pocket, unlocking the screen.
Beca let out a huff of frustration, there was nothing. More than ever she wanted to talk to Chloe, but she needed an excuse. Something to talk about, after all she couldn't let Chloe think she was messaging her after only a few hours of separation just because she missed her. That would be sad and ridiculous. She chanced a glance down to Mr. Snuggums, as if he could confirm what she was thinking. She rolled her eyes at herself at her actions. As if an inanimate object could confirm her thoughts, yeah right! After Beca was done judging herself, she had an idea. The perfect way to get under Chloe's skin and get the older girl talking. At the moment, completely forgetting she would be the one initiating first contact.
She quickly went to the camera option. Beca resituated Mr. Snuggums and put on a face of indifference as she took a picture. She quickly typed in a description and sent it before she could rethink her decision.
[Image}
Honey-B: You've been replaced for Netflix and chill.
The reply was almost instant. Beca quickly opened it. Staring back at her was Chloe Beale with the arms of a giant teddy bear wrapped around her. The redhead looked so unbelievably content. She then read the text below.
C-Bear: Totes okay! I got the better deal.
Beca scoffed at the notion that an oversized stuffed teddy bear mutant could be better than Mr. Snuggums clad in butterfly shoes. It took all of one minute for Beca to scramble over the back of the coach and run off to her room to retrieve the items she had in mind. There was no way Chloe was going to show up her and Mr. Snuggums. She came back with two snapbacks and two pairs of shades. Beca crossed Mr. Snuggums's arms before putting a snapback backwards on his head and a pair of shades. He was then placed on Beca's shoulder, who imitated the same look. She threw up some type of sign only seen in hip-hop videos as she took a picture. There were several moments spent scrutinizing every pixel of the picture. Determining it was badass enough Beca sent it to Chloe with an accompanying statement.
[Image]
Honey-B: But we've got swag.
She re-read what she sent before sending out a second text.
Honey-B: OMG! This is so embarrassing. I don't normally say stuff like that. Please never repeat it.
There were a few minutes of nervous nail biting and feelings of stupidity before a reply was sent. Chloe Beale was clad in a pink tutu and t-shirt with a princess tiara on her head. The bear behind her was dressed similarly to Chloe. It looked like she had tried to pose both into a ballet position as she took the picture. There was a message tacked on below.
C-Bear: But we have grace and class.
Another message came right after.
C-Bear: I will never forget! You and Mr. Snuggums look absolutely adorable. ;D
Beca groaned, but she really couldn't be mad at Chloe. After all the girl looked amazingly beautiful and somehow cute at the same time. She didn't know how the other girl did it. It certainly did not stop her from staring at the picture trying to figure out what made Chloe Chloe. All thoughts she was having were cut off by another text notification.
C-Bear: Did you fry your phone with the intensity of your blush?
Honey-B: You think to highly of yourself.
C-Bear: Or you're totally blushing and don't want to admit it. Totes a Beca thing.
Beca found herself growing flustered with the comment.
Honey-B: Am not!
C-Bear: You TOTALLY are. Send me a picture to prove it.
Honey-B: No, perv.
C-Bear: That just means you are. And you can't blame a girl for trying when there's a pretty lady involved. ;)
If Beca wasn't blushing before, she definitely was then. That was how they spent most of Thanksgiving break. One of them would send a picture and the other would return one with a similar theme. Then it would dissolve into flirty banter back and forth until one of them were busy with something else or fell asleep.
The next picture that was sent was from Chloe the following day. The older Bella was lying in a bed of leaves, the biggest smile on her face. Chloe must have taken the picture right before she took her flight back to Miami. The caption attached was, 'The joys of fall!' Beca not really wanting to go outside and cover herself in what would most likely be wet leaves, did the next best thing. She emptied all of her clean laundry onto her bed, not including her underwear, and situated herself so she looked like Chloe in the picture. Her smile was not as enthusiastic. It was there, but it was a small smile. She sent the picture with the caption, 'The joys of Seattle.'
Jesse had noticed Beca's latest obsession with her phone. Only it wasn't surprising. After all it was practically glued to her hand when she wasn't hanging out with Chloe. No, it was the randomly snapped pictures that were surprising. Beca did not do pictures. Then again, she did a lot of things he didn't know about. He always knew Beca never really shared with him. So the secrets weren't that out of character.
So when he noticed Beca had abandoned her phone off to the side when they got to the skate park, he decided to have some fun with it. Beca would do the same thing to him. It was only fair. In a way it was pay back because her non-stop texting did bother him. Beca was his best friend and he wanted equal time with her as a certain redhead was allowed or at least 30 minutes of undisturbed time. It was his right as her best friend. He also just missed hanging out with her and teasing her. It was what they did. They use to spend all of their free time together, but now there was Chloe and Jesse got whatever was left over.
He sometimes wasn't sure if that was a good thing because he didn't trust Chloe. After all, who would trust the girl that was flirting with and stringing along your friend when they had a boyfriend. Who did that? At the same time, Chloe was good for Beca. She made her happy and Jesse recognized that. It was not like it was not mutual attraction either. Chloe did like Beca, he had proven it if Chloe's reaction to his comment about knowing Beca more intimately was any indication. For once his inability to filter his random comments was useful. Maybe Chloe just wasn't ready to recognize it yet. Jesse wasn't lying either. Their moment of intimacy had happened one time. It was more of a last ditch effort on Beca's part to prove their relationship was more than two friends that occasionally heavily made out. It had been extremely awkward for both parties involved. It lasted all of five minutes before they realized they both really did not want to be doing what they were doing and rolled apart. Then it was over and they both silently agreed to never talk about the incident ever again. Soon after their relationship dissolved into a friendship without any benefits. The only positive thing Jesse could say he got out of the event that must not be named was to see a very attractive nude female form in person.
Sure there were moments when Jesse felt more than platonic feelings for Beca and he'd think it meant something. He had pursued Beca for almost six months before she relented and he was the one who was fully invested in the relationship. He had a right to have some residual feelings. Those feelings would evaporate almost as soon as he thought of them. Jesse knew he was never actually in love with Beca, but was in love with the idealized version of Beca he had thought up. The idealized Beca that looked like the Beca he knew without all the piercings and who would be ecstatic to walk with him arm in arm down the beach resembling a southern bell. That definitely wasn't the actual Beca, his best friend, but Jesse's unrealistic movie version of Beca. Still, Jesse would be lying if he said he wasn't mildly jealous of Chloe and the way his friend looked at her. After all, Jesse and Beca had dated for a little over a year and she had never looked at him like that, even at the peak points of their romantic relationship. That jealousy was more so connected to his own masculine pride and vanity. It just further confirmed how not right for each other they were. It made the failed relationship more acceptable. It actually appeased Jesse in a way because it showed that there was nothing actually wrong with him at the time. He just wasn't what Beca needed. Jesse really hoped Chloe wasn't playing with Beca because he could get used to a happy Beca. Even if it meant he saw less of her.
So when Beca put her phone off to the side so it wouldn't break at the skate park they were going to to meet up with old friends, Jesse didn't think twice before swiping it. Really the whole situation was funny because Beca insisted the skaters she knew from middle school up were not her friends. That they were closer to Jesse. Yet whenever they met up with them Jesse received fist bumps, while Beca always had five guys eager to pull her into a group hug. Then they each would take extra time to look her over like they were being reunited with their long lost child they hadn't seen in years. Each slinging their own joke about how much she has grown. Beca would always shove them away accompanying a snarky comment, but she'd always be fighting a big toothy smile by the end of it. They'd all fall easily back into old roles. Each skater would ruffle a peeved Beca's hair for good luck before dropping into a half pipe or another part of the skate park. She'd use one of them as her own personal leaning post as she watched the others. Beca could always get one of them to get her snacks or red bull. By the end of their reunion, someone could always coerce Beca onto a board for a half an hour or full hour. The whole time Beca's mixes would be playing from someone's phone or radio in the background, just like old times.
Jesse, perched off to the side, couldn't stop himself from snapping a few pictures. When he first unlocked the screen, he was not at all surprised to find a text feed labeled "C-Bear" open. The exchanged pictures made him smile, but he did not scroll any further than the last photo sent, out of respect for Beca's privacy. He figured it was the least he could do.
The first two photos he sent were at the beginning of their reunion. The first one of a shocked Beca at the center of a group hug with five guys. All dressed in the more current looking skater clothes seen worn by Tony Hawk or in skating video games. The second picture was of a smiling Beca swatting away one of the guys in the previous picture, Donte, and his twin brother, David, as they preened over her like concerned mother hens. The twins could only be differentiated by their hair styles. David had a mustache curled at the ends and one of those newer haircuts with buzzed sides and longer locks on top gelled to one side. Donte had a full neatly trimmed beard and a mess of short wavy locks on top of his head. The brothers were the closest to Beca out of the group, well minus Jesse. They were at that first table of skaters Beca sat down at in middle school for lunch. They participated in every prank Beca ever planned, no matter the risk involved, and were there at whatever club Beca was Dj-ing at. They were the girl's own super fans. Donte and David were the two who messed with Beca the most, starting the hair ruffle for luck, and would also do the most for Beca when needed. Often, they were the ones buying her snacks. It only seemed fitting that one picture was just of the three of them. After he sent the two pictures, Jesse sent a caption.
[Image]
[Image]
Honey-B: And the Grinch's heart grew three sizes that day- J.
Jesse barely bit back the laughter at his own joke. He made sure to sign it so Chloe would know it wasn't actually Beca who sent the message and pictures, but him. Maybe they could start putting the pizzeria thing behind them. Then again, Chloe would probably know it wasn't Beca who sent it because Beca would never send those pictures. One glance up at the previous picture made Jesse question his thought process. He never thought Beca would send a photo of herself in a laundry pile.
Beca did not notice what Jesse was doing until she finished her half hour skate secession. She had just ollied over a curb to get to where Donte, David and the other guys were waiting when she looked up to see an overly excited Jesse flipping through her phone. She immediately be-lined for the boy, only half-heartedly responding to the high fives thrown her way, knowing whatever he was doing couldn't be good. Then a pissed over Beca was snatching her phone out of a surprised Jesse's hands before smacking him in the head and laying into him.
"OOOOW!" Jesse winced rubbing the side of his head.
"OH! Did that hurt?" Beca stated in a mocking tone. "You deserve a lot more! For-For-" She glanced down at her phone to see exactly what Jesse was doing. There before her was the open text thread belonging to one 'C-Bear'. Her eyes went wide, imagining all of the back and forth texts Jesse could have seen. All the flirting and sappiness that he could use against her for years. Not to mention the possibility that he let slip via text that Beca had a huge crush on Chloe. She looked back to her friend, her voice dropping to a dangerous octave as she got in his face. Her voice scarily smooth as she spoke "What the fuck do you think you were doing? Messaging Chloe, huh? What for? Looking for ways to get back at her because she insulted your movie prowess?" She gave Jesse a moment to reply, but he just blinked at her terrified. "Well? I know you're not that petty. Speak! Explain yourself!"
Jesse knew he had royally fucked up. His intentions were good, well mostly. The main objective was to poke fun at Beca, but the pictures he did send would show Chloe a side of Beca that wasn't often seen. That the redhead would probably never see. A softer side of Beca. Really, knowing Beca and how she felt about being vulnerable, he should have known better. He wasn't exactly thinking though. So he gulped and tried to save himself.
"I-I was just trying to help you with your-your photo project. Look at your pictures." He closed his eyes wincing, expecting another hit to the head or arm, but it never came.
Beca took Jesse's advice and, taking a step back, actually looked at what he had sent and the other pictures he had taken. If she wasn't so mad at him at the moment, Beca would admit his comment sent with the two pictures was actually funny. She liked the pictures sent as well. She might even print them out and hang them up in her dorm when she got back to Barden. She felt herself softening as she flipped through the three other pictures he had taken. All three were of her skating. One was of her doing a nosegrind down a rail, another of a lip trick, and the last one was of her ollieing over the curb. Each one was a great action shot of her in mid trick. Beca's technique was perfect and the angle of each shot was equally as impressive.
Seeing Beca's resolve dropping, he piped in cautiously. "I-I really like the nosegrind. I think it looks the coolest and you can see your whole body really well."
Beca flipped back to the picture he mentioned. She had to agree with him. It was the best one, her arms spread out, flannel billowing behind her, and face wearing an expression of joy. She would probably send it to Chloe later, not wanting for Jesse to feel like he did something right, to show off. No. Instead Beca looked back at Jesse, her express only a twinge cold. She really couldn't be all that mad with him anymore, knowing he hadn't actually done anything to hurt her. Also, if she was being completely honest with herself and their roles were reversed, she would have done the exact same thing he did.
"Dude, it's not cool to look at another person's phone. Especially not when you message someone from their phone! Never do it again, okay?"
Jesse eagerly nodded in response, relieved to know that Beca wasn't mad anymore. Beca looked back at her phone, wondering when Jesse sent the pictures. She was surprised that it had been over two hours and there was no response. That was strange. Maybe Chloe was just busy. She flipped up briefly to look at the last picture sent of Chloe smiling back at her in a pile of leaves. She couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her own face. She didn't notice Donte or David's approach until they were clasping Beca on the shoulder.
"Who's that halfpipe?" Donte spoke first and the David. They traded off speaking. It was their thing.
"New misses?"
They both took in the blush starting to form on Beca's cheeks. They shared a look before continuing.
"Did someone finally tame the lioness?"
"From lioness to kitten." They each made cat noises that had Beca rolling her eyes.
They finished in unison. "She's really pretty. What's her name?"
Beca pushed them away and took a step away. She tried to recompose herself, shoving her phone in her pocket. Beca ran a hand nervously through her hair. "She's-she's just a-a friend."
Donte and David shared a smile before stepping in unison towards Beca. Donte spoke first again.
"Really?"
"I think the lady doth protest too much."
Beca cut in again looking away from them, scuffing her shoe on the ground before meeting their eyes again. "Dude, she's really just-just a friend."
Jesse scoffed off to the side. Beca shot him a glare. Donte and David paid the exchange no mind, use to the exchange between the two friends. Instead, they looked at each other mischievously before launching into their next point.
"Hmmm."
"Really… then."
"Can we have her number?" They finished together, the biggest grins in place.
Beca's eyes went wide. She really wasn't expecting that. She stuttered out nonsense as she tried to come up with a response. There was one word that kept repeating over and over in her head with more intensity as time passed. She couldn't just say that though. She would need an explanation to go with it. The urge became too much to hold in. So she just blurted it out, surprising herself. "No!"
"Why? Do you think she wouldn't like us?"
They looked mildly offended as David spoke. "Are we not handsome enough?"
Donte continued. "If she doesn't like one."
"She'll like the other." David finished.
Beca wasn't sure what to say. She couldn't say that Chloe was taken. That wouldn't be true. She could always just lie, but it was Donte and David, it would be hard to convince them. Especially considering they probably saw the picture of her in a pile of laundry right below the one of Chloe. How could she explain to them that their distant and player of a friend was sending cute pictures to a girl she considered no more than a friend when they were lucky if they received a text once a year. Beca was about to say something juvenile like 'Because I said so' when Jesse saved her.
"What Becs means is No because I like her." Jesse stood solidly next to Beca.
The twins looked quizzically at the two, not believing them for a second, but decided to leave it. They did not want the happy event of their reunion with Beca to end in a fight.
Donte took the lead again. "Congratulations."
"Hope it works out."
Before they could say anything else, Beca quickly announced their departure. A group hug and a round of fist bumps later, Jesse and Beca were back in Jesse's family car in route to Beca's mom's loft. The drive was spent in comfortable silence. Beca was still mildly peeved at Jesse and Jesse knew even though things were okay between them he still needed to let things sit for a while. When they made it to the loft, Beca hopped out throwing out a quick thank you and that she'd text him tomorrow.
Beca came home to a dark empty loft once again, a twenty dollar bill on the counter. She made a quick call out for Chinese food before flopping down onto her bed. Once comfortably situated, Beca took out her phone. She sighed in frustration, there was still no reply from Chloe. A few minutes passed before Beca finally decided to send the picture of her doing a nosegrind down the rail. She typed out a quick comment and sent it, immediately booting up her computer after to play around with a few mash-ups.
[Image]
Honey-B: The grind of the Holidays.
A few minutes later there was a text notification. Beca scrambled for it, nearly hyperventilating when she opened the message. There was Chloe clad in a sports bra running along the beach. A small teasing smile stretched across her lips as wisps of hair escaped from her ponytail and whipped around her face. Sweat made her skin glisten, giving more definition to every sculpted muscle flexing in her abs and arms. Beca was practically salivating as her heart beat frantically in her chest and butterflies ran rampant. The message that came with it was simple.
C-Bear: Keeping up my cardio! ;D
Beca spent several moments wondering how Chloe made sweat and cardio look so good. Too good for this world even. Once her heart rate went down, they both slipped into their usual banter. Beca only abandoned her phone to go get the Chinese she ordered. The rest of the night she spent half waiting for a second picture to be sent while continuing to text Chloe. After all they had a silent agreement that proclaimed they matched each other picture for picture. Finally Beca fell sleep one picture short.
A few days later and a few pictures later it was Thanksgiving Day and Beca was still a picture short. She'd be lying if she wasn't disappointed, even a tad worried. Surely the ray of sunshine that was Chloe had tons of friends she could easily pose with in a picture for Beca. It left the younger girl wondering if there was something wrong with her. If maybe Chloe did not want to tell any of her friends about her. Maybe Beca wasn't worth the effort or worth talking about. She knew Chloe wasn't like that though, but she couldn't think of any other reason for why Chloe wouldn't match the picture. Who wouldn't want to take a picture with Chloe.
The mystery of the lost picture was shoved to the back of Beca's mind as she prepared for a day full of relatives she hadn't seen since the last holiday dinner. All people that spent all of five minutes each year talking to her before moving on to the next person. She threw on a black dress, her usual flannel, and a pair of combat boots before stomping out the door. Her mom was waiting for her in the car. As soon as Beca got in they were headed off to her grandma's house and her mom flung question after question at her, like it wasn't the first time Beca had seen her all week. She replied with as few words as possible, not feeling up to playing happy family. When they finally got to her grandma's house Beca made a beeline for the horderves, stocking up, before slinking off to a corner where she could hide until dinner.
Twenty minutes in her seven year old cousin, Melody, wiggled into her lap in exchange for a new plate of snacks. Beca and the girl spent the rest of the time playing fruit ninja together and eating the snacks. Out of all of her relatives, Beca and Melody got along the best. For whatever reason they had this weird understanding of one another from the time Melody was born. Once the little girl was old enough to walk, she seemed to gravitate to Beca. Which was surprisingly okay with the broody girl, but Melody did not need to chat away about random things. She, like Beca, preferred to sit by herself in pleasant silence glued to a device playing simple games or listening to music. When listening to music they would usually color in a coloring book together. Everyone else thought it was adorable, especially considering Melody was basically an even more miniature version of Beca. They looked almost identical, just at different ages.
They had worked their way through ten levels when a text message from 'C-Bear' filled the screen. Beca didn't think twice before opening it. There was Chloe looking adorable as ever in a sweater dress with a multicolored feather pattern on it. Next to her stood a merry Mrs. Beale with the signature red hair. Both women were beaming at the camera, a big turkey sitting on the counter in front of them.
C-Bear: Happy Thanksgiving Becs!
Was the message that came with the picture, followed by the emoji of a turkey. Beca found herself smiling fondly at the picture, completely forgetting about the seven year old sitting in her lap. The seven year old who was looking up curiously at her older cousin. That is until Melody piped up, "She's pretty. Are you dating?"
Beca had to compose herself before answering. "No."
Melody looks back at the picture again, contemplating it. "You should."
"Why?" A smirk was starting to form at the corner of Beca's mouth. She figured whatever Melody was going to say would be amusing. She was a smart kid.
"I don't know." The little girl shrugged. "You do that weird thing grown-ups do. You smile funny when you look at her." Melody stated it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Beca snorts out a laugh and then asks, punctuating each word with a wiggle of her fingers at Melody's sides, leaving her cousin in a fit of giggles, "Do you want to take a picture with me?"
Beca stopped the assault on her cousin's sides so the girl could respond with an eager nod. As Beca lined up the shot, Melody straightened her back completely before flopping lazily and limply into Beca. The older girl let out a small huff, smiling fondly at her cousin's antics, as she flipped her hair to one side of her head, exposing the piercings that were hidden bellow. Both girls held a small shy smile in place as the picture was taken. Beca added a comment, pressed send, and then Melody and her went back to fruit ninja.
[Image]
Honey-B: Same to you Chlo.
The rest of the day Chloe sent message after message raving about how cute her and Melody looked together. She wanted to know what the girl's name was and how she was related to Beca. If maybe Beca had a secret kid or sibling she didn't know about. Beca had fun making Chloe guess both answers for a whole twenty minutes until dinner was ready and she just gave Chloe the answers, not wanting to make Chloe wait for up to an hour with no response from Beca. Once dinner was done, the on slaughter continued, with question after question about why she never knew Beca had a mini-me version of herself walking around. Melody, having taken up her spot in Beca's lap again, laughed through the whole thing. By the time Beca had to leave Melody had insisted Chloe and Beca date for the fifteenth time. Beca was sure to let Chloe know she had made a new friend, which only resulted in Chloe proclaiming yet again how cute they were.
Beca tried shutting Chloe up once she was back at her mom's loft with a picture of her with an annoyed glare in place, but it did not work. Beca had mistakenly taken the picture in front of a full length mirror, giving Chloe a full look at the back of what she was wearing along with a view of the neckline of the dress, plaid shirt open. Then Beca was left with a Chloe claiming how sexy she looked in a tight black dress with a low V-neck cut and red plaid shirt. She spent the rest of the night trying to coerce Beca into giving her a full shot of the front and back without the flannel shirt on. When Beca refused, her face so red it matched her shirt, claiming she had already changed into Pjs, Chloe just went back to talking about Melody. The last text was Chloe proclaiming the picture of Melody and her was so cute she had made it her phone's background picture. Having no idea how true the statement was, Beca just rolled her eyes and told Chloe she was going to bed.
The next day went quickly, her mom absent once again. Then it was the last day of the week and Jesse and Beca were at the airport again. Beca went to snap off a quick photo of herself waiting to board. Jesse took the moment to quickly stick his head into the shot, leaving his head hovering just over Beca's shoulder as he made a silly face. Beca had that small smile that frequently made an appearance in the photos in place. She shoved him lightly in the arm when the final picture clearly showed an unwanted Jesse in frame.
Jesse just smiled as he defended his actions. "Hey, I'm just lightening it up a bit."
Beca looked back at the picture, finding herself laughing at the stupid expression Jesse was making in it. She was in too good of a mood to be mad over such a small thing. She was going to be in the same state, hell in the same building, as Chloe again and she couldn't wait to see her. Beca had really missed her. "Yeah, whatever." Was her response as she typed out a comment and sent the picture.
[Image]
Honey-B: The idiot and I are on our way back to Barden!
Beca waited a few minutes, but there was no response. Which was strange because the previous day was the day Chloe had went back to Barden. They had even talked about meeting up once Beca got back if she wasn't too tired. So, unless Aubrey had grabbed the redhead for something, she should have been free. Before Beca could give anymore thought to it, they were boarding the plane and taking off.
When they were finally back at Barden, Beca shot off a quick text to Chloe, still finding no replies to her previous one. Jesse followed Beca back to her room so he could rest for a few minutes before making the final trek back to his room. The whole flight he seemed to be puzzling over something, but Beca couldn't get him to talk. So she had left it. As soon as they walked into her empty room, Kimmy Jin still would be gone for a few days, Beca slipped into her desk chair and Jesse sat on her bed. Her fingers ran lovingly over each mixing board laid out on her desk and booted up her computer. She put her headphones on askew, just in case Jesse wanted to finally spit out what was bothering him, and started mixing. Beca had just put together the first two notes of a few songs when the treble spoke up.
"You should ask her out."
"What?"
"Do you ever listen to anything I say? I swear every time I ask you something you respond with 'what'." Beca didn't respond. He just huffed in frustration. "You should ask Chloe out."
"Dude, that's cool and all, but I don't think she's interested. Sorry to disappoint you." She was trying to act indifferent, but Jesse could see it was bothering her, her whole body more slumped than usual. The edges of her eyes holding a resigned sadness as she stared at whatever she was doing.
"But she is."
"What?" Jesse gave out an exasperated sigh. Beca fully turned to him, rolling her eyes. "Sorry… Why do you think she's interested in me? Better?"
"Yes." Beca turned back to her computer, Jesse just told himself small victories, they were important. "One she gets easily jealous." Beca stopped what she was doing to stare her friend down, confused. "Why would you think that?" "I was getting there. It's been there since the initiation night. Why do you think she was so curious about our relationship the first night?"
"Dude, she didn't ask." Beca cut in.
"Ah, ah, ah! She didn't have to ask. Her eyes said it all." He made a motion with his hands.
She scoffed. "Well that just confirms everything."
"Well you can't deny that one time at the pizza shop. She was jealous then!"
"I will admit that was strange, but you also said some weird and embarrassing shit."
"No more than she did." Jesse tried to defend himself, but Beca was already turning back towards her mixing boards. "Okay, so let's move onto point two. The way she touches you."
"That's really not any better. She's a touchy feely person. Has been since we were kids. Bam! That one shot down."
"But not in the same way she touches you."
"That doesn't make any more sense than the jealousy theory. Just because you see it doesn't mean it's real."
"Yeah, but you're oblivious to everything. You forget I'm the Beca whisperer. Getting you laid since summer leading into senior year."
"Eeeew!" She shot him a disgusted look along with a crumpled up piece of paper. He easily swatted both away.
"Well what about the way she looks at you."
Beca shrugs, getting mildly annoyed. "Dude, she looks at me how a normal person looks at a normal person. Nothing weird there."
"Yeah, but there has to be something, all the Bellas have commented on it."
"Wrong, only Amy and Stacie have." Which wasn't a complete lie. The other Bellas didn't say anything, they just implied it. Semantics.
"Soooo you don't believe them?"
"I didn't say that…"
Jesse perked up. "So you do believe them?"
"I never said that."
Jesse let out a groan of frustration. "You're so frustrating!"
"Tell me something I don't know."
He sighed again, "I'm trying." He took a moment thinking about what to use next to persuade her. "What about that shower thing? That was weird?"
Beca quickly shrugged it off. "Eeeh! That's just Chloe being Chloe. Besides Tom was there, not that special."
He let out another frustrated groan. "Is there anything like the shower that you're not telling me about?"
Beca stiffened, thinking about the almost kisses and late night sleepovers. She was trying to be nonchalant about it, but Jesse noticed. "What are you not telling me?"
"Okay, WeAlmostKissedAndSheSleepsOver." She said quickly in one breath.
Jesse looked at her quizzically. "What was that?"
"I said we almost kissed… twice, but I think it was…. You know…. Like one sided. Like it was just-just all me. And she sleeps over when she uh can't uh sleep, but we don't do anything. We just cuddle, drink tea, sometimes watch movies, and sleep."
Jesse looked like he was about to skyrocket through the roof with excitement. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner!? You almost Kissed? WHAT THE FUCK! These are things you tell your best friend. And I knew about the sleep overs."
"You keep forgetting they were one sided. I was always the one leaning forward. And you knew about the sleep overs?"
"Oh yeah, I saw Chloe leaving sometimes in the morning. You think the almost kisses mean nothing. Okay, we'll put them to the side for now, but the sleepovers are something. After all she had to come to you."
"That's not completely-"
Jesse cut her off. "Shut-up let me have this one…. Okay what about the text messages?"
"What about them?"
"Well how frequent are they?"
"I don't know. There's usually a good morning one and a good night one. Then she usually sends another two asking about my day. Sometimes there are three or four."
"So she sends you up to six texts a day, two of which coincide with when you wake up and when you go to bed?"
Beca shrugged, as if it was any other day. "Yeah, so?"
"You think that's normal."
"Yeah, she's sociable and friendly."
"That's definitely not normal. Beca, you see each other multiply times a day and she still texts you that much."
"But-"
"No, totally not normal. She like really likes you."
"That's-"
"No, no, no. Believe me on this one."
Beca waited a moment, making sure she wouldn't be interrupted. "I still think you're wrong."
"Coooooome On!" He whined stomping his foot. "Even if you think all that's wrong, then you can't deny it's weird that the night of the initiation party she's all up on Tom one second and the next asking why you're leaving. That's weird. No one passes up making out with their boyfriend or girlfriend to keep track of their long lost bestie so they can intercept them before they leave."
"She was just being a good hostess." Beca shrugged off.
"EEEEEERGH! It wasn't even her party. It was everyone's party. Every captain and co-captain should have come up to you then and they didn't. Besides, you can't deny the sleep over thing. She has a boyfriend, right? Why doesn't she go to him for snuggles and comfort? Huh?"
Beca turned to him, still looking thoroughly unimpressed. "Well if you must know, she broke with Tom after the riff-off. So, no, no boyfriend. I just found out, like right before Thanksgiving break."
"And you never thought to tell me this!"
Beca looked at his quizzically, "Why would I tell you?"
"Oh, I don't know…. BECAUSE I'M FIGURING OUT YOUR LOVE LIFE FOR YOU! So have you noticed any difference since the riff off. Like did she become more touchy feely with you?"
"Yeah, but-"
"Did she hangout with you more?"
"Yeah, but that's normal, totally-"
"Did the almost kisses happen after?"
"Yeah, but I still-"
"Sleep overs at your dorm room?"
"After, but we never hung out in my room be-"
"See she likes you! All the signs: The texting, increasing touching, jealousy, hanging out with you more, sleep overs, and the almost kisses. All things that point to her liking you. Did you ever think that maybe she broke up with Tom because she realized she had feelings for you and wanted to pursue them?" He paused to let Beca say something, but she was quiet contemplating. So he continued on. "See! Boo-yah! She likes you! And I called it from day one or two… I don't know, I just know I called it! And you say real life movie situations don't exist."
"But they don't Jesse. At least not for me." She looked forlornly at her lap, playing with loose threads at her knee.
Jesse's excitement dropped into a more serious genuine tone. He made his way across to Beca, turning her chair to him, and kneeling down in front of her, trying to get her attention. "Come on Becs, look at me…. Beca?" She obliged, her eyes vulnerable and afraid. "Yeah, what if this is the one time it is like a movie for you?" He could she the skepticism in her eyes. "Hey, just stay with me for a moment. What if you tell her everything and she tells you that she feels the same? How awesome would that be, huh? Now think about that feeling, how it would feel to have Chloe. You got it?" Beca nodded, shyly. "Now hold onto that for a few moments." He paused for a good fifteen seconds. "Now imagine you never had any of that." He could see the pain contorting his friend's face at the prospect. "Now go back to the first feeling of having Chloe. Got it?" Beca nodded, the pain dissipating. "One last question, it's a combo. Would you had rather confessed your feelings to her and know you have a chance at that good feeling? Or never say anything and submit yourself to that pain and guilt that you never did anything?" He was hoping she would just blurt out the answer, but Beca remained silent. "Just think about, okay. If you need anyone to talk to, you know where to find me." He squeeze her knee before leaving Beca to her thoughts, hoping she'd choose the first option.
Beca thought about it, really thought about. The problem was she was still scared that Chloe would leave her. She was afraid that she wouldn't be able to handle it. It didn't help that Chloe still hadn't texted her back or showed up at her room since being back on campus. So she tried to go back to mixing, but Jesse's words kept bubbling up and her phone sat silently next to her, taunting her. Finally she just gave up trying to mix, all of her fears and doubts whirling around in her head. So she put on a pair of plaid pajama pants and a tank top before slipping into bed. A few minutes later she was asleep.
Around 12 am Beca was woken by a knock at her door. She groggily made her way over to her door, stumbeling over the pile of clothes she discarded at the center of the room. When the door was flung open, she had to squint, assaulted by the harsh bright hallway lights, to make out a slightly down bed tousled Chloe in sleeping shorts and t-shirt.
"Oh my god! Beca, I'm so sorry. I woke you up didn't I? I just- I saw your text and I couldn't sleep so I-"
Beca yawned daintily, leaning into the door frame. She put a hand over Chloe's mouth to get the girl to stop talking. "Chlo it's okay really. Just… get in." She dropped her hand from Chloe's mouth once she was done talking, rubbing it over her face.
Chloe didn't need to be told twice before shyly making her way into Beca's room. Once both girl's were inside, Beca closed the door and turned her desk lamp on, which was a dim light and not as painful as the main light. Then she turned to the other girl in the room who was acting like she had never been there before and didn't normally just make herself comfortable where ever. Beca in her sleep daze tried to access the situation as the older girl rung her fingers together.
"Do you want some tea?" Was all Beca could come up with. Chloe just shook her head no. Beca moved onto the next thing.
"Movie?"
Chloe just shook her head no again. Beca was scrambling for something else she could suggest, her brain working at less than half capacity, when Chloe spoke up. "Could we just… Just cuddle…maybe?"
The younger Bella smiled warming at the other Bella as Beca took her hand and pulled her into bed with her. She tucked the covers around both of them, making sure they were both completely covered before reaching up and turning off the light on her desk. Chloe was strangely staying on her side of the bed instead of wrapping herself around Beca like she usually did. Beca, not really thinking in her sleep dazed state, scooted closer to Chloe and pulled the older girl's arm around her waist. She buried her face into Chloe's collar bone, pressing a kiss there before nuzzling in. Chloe slowing softened into her usual self, pulling Beca closer as she stroked the younger girl's hair. She hummed contently at Chloe's administration, feeling the body bellow her shiver at the vibration. Beca was to sleepy to think much of it, just pulling the covers higher to make sure the other girl was covered. The petite woman was just on the cusp of sleep, pulled in further with each stroke of her hair. She snuggled as close as she could into Chloe's front as she mumbled out, "I really missed this."
She barely registered the, "I missed it too." A kiss pressed to the top of her head as she fell into sleep.
+/+/+
A/N: If you wanted to see what Beca's dress looked like, I'm posting a reference picture on my tumblr. (pentopage33). Also, if you are following me on tumblr and you see an extra text/link notification for a bechloe fic, it will most likely be for another fic. It's a fic I've sort of abandoned for a few months and I've been trying to find time to finish the last chapter. So you can just ignore it.