A/N: I am not sure what to do with the musical selections. They go with this chapter and the one that will be posted Thursday. Really they will make more sense as time goes on and you get into the next chapter. So I am just going to post them with this chapter. I am doing the same thing I did as before, one song is for Beca's POV and the other would be for Chloe's POV. The song choices are as follows:

Silver Coin by Angus and Julia Stone

Slow Pony Home by The Weepies

I am going to answer some guest reviews below. Thank you all for continuing reading and sticking with this story! It really means a lot. As always, I hope you enjoy the new chapter!

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Sammi: Thank you! I am glad you get it.

Lucky-pitch: I am glad I have helped further your appreciation for Thursdays and that you are enjoying the story. I hope I don't disappoint.

Guest (The angst one): Oh, yeah! Chloe's backstory and thoughts will be revealed, actually rarely soon.

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Chapter 22

A week or two passes. All full of secret tea deliveries and long nights spent making mash-ups. Blue eyes and red hair vanished to Beca's dreams. She tried to erase them from even there, but can't seem to. So she tries to exhaust herself to the point of dreamless sleeps. She survives. She ignores all things Chloe the best she can. When spring break comes around, Beca was thankful for the extra space. Finally, after weeks, she turns her phone on. It buzzes for at least a solid 10 minutes before finally stopping. She flings it off to the side of her bed, where it bounces to a stop, still buzzing. Normally she would have turned it off right after the first minute, overwhelmed, but she couldn't this time. Everyone important, Stacie, Jesse, Amy, Cynthia Rose, and Lily, knew to e-mail her or where to find her if they wanted to hang out with her. She had to call her mom to let her know she would be coming home for spring break. It was not like by doing so anything grand would be prepared. Her mom would still work her long hours, never home long enough to do anything other than sleep, eat, and prepare for work again. Beca still had to call, though so there would be food in the fridge and a 20 dollar bill on the counter every morning.

When Beca picked her phone up again it let out another buzz, causing her to jump, not expecting the jolt. She recovered and turned the screen on, a notification instantly coming up to inform her that her storage data was almost full. It wasn't that surprising once she took in the over 100 text notifications from 'C-Bear' and the other 20 from the Bellas, Jesse, and her dad. There were also another 20 missed calls from 'C-Bear' and her dad. She sighed, knowing she would have to call her dad soon and come up with some excuse for why she had been aol. She had just seen him the other day briefly though. So it would probably be okay to ignore it for a bit.

First things first, she had to clear some data space and then call her mom. The quickest way to achieve her first goal would be to delete all of the messages from Chloe. So she clicked on the notifications from 'C-Bear' and clicked on the options menu. Her thumb hovered over the selection to 'delete the thread' when her eyes briefly scanned over the last text sent. It was a picture, just sent yesterday. Beca paused, exiting out of the menu to get a better look. There was Chloe sitting on her bed wrapped in a comforter up to her chin as she sipped from one of the thermoses Beca left with Stacie every day. There was just the trace of a smile on her lips, her eyes were so full and blue, and copper locks were twisted into a poof at the top of her head. It had been such a long time since Beca had looked at Chloe. Just fully looked at her and taken her all in. Chloe was somehow both breathe taking and beautiful. Beca felt a soft tug at the tether at her heart. She found her fingers tracing the edge of the picture, Chloe's jaw line. There was something distinctly off about the picture the longer Beca looked at it. The redhead's eyes not quite as bright, her skin lacking a luster it once held, and there was that smile that just didn't seem right. She thought maybe Chloe was sick. It was the only thing that fit in her mind. There was something that settled heavily in her stomach, a need. A need to help or do something to make Chloe feel better. But that was ridiculous and she knew it. Instead she let her eyes drop to the caption below, a simple thank you for the tea.

She was about to click on the menu again to delete it all when another text came through. Another picture of Chloe, looking so beautiful surrounded by the multiple colors of nature. She looked better in this photo, the sun reflecting off her skin, a blue summer scarf that matched her eyes wrapped around her neck, and her bluer than blue eyes peeking out from behind big framed sunglasses playfully. Beca found herself staring at the photo for the longest time with pained fondness and awe. She obviously still had feelings for her old friend if the slight pick-up of her heart and feeling of glee were any indication. There was another caption hoping Beca had a good spring break. Beca felt tears prickling at the edges of her eyes because Chloe still cared, even with everything that happened, and unlike everyone else in her life, minus Jesse, she had chosen to stay. Well come back, if the texts were any indication. Beca couldn't quite handle that, the tug at her heart sharp and unforgiving. So she exited out of the thread and instead deleted some old photos from high school and a bunch of texts from her dad.

Beca took a few moments to calm herself before calling her mom. She wasn't at all surprised when all she reached was her voicemail. She left a quick message about being home for spring break and what day she would be coming in and leaving. That she would be flying in with Jesse so his parents would give her a ride back to the loft. Then she called her dad. He quickly picked up, clearly distressed. Eventually she came up with the excuse that she had broken her phone, and with Bella practices and school, she had just gotten it replaced. They talked for another 10 minutes before Beca was able to get him off the phone. She looked at all the unread messages from 'C-Bear' for a moment, contemplating on reading more, when she finally closed her phone and threw it onto her bed. They could wait. Instead, Beca spent the next several hours packing and making mash-ups. The only break she took was for dinner and to use the bathroom.

Sometime around 1 am Beca becomes so tired she starts to fall asleep in her desk chair. Around the sixth time she nods off, Beca finally gets up and stretches. She then slinks off towards her closet to get a pair of PJs. She makes quick work of putting them on before diving into bed. As her head meets her pillow she lets out a sigh, wiggling beneath her covers. Her body shifts into her normal sleeping position, but quickly jolts back, something digging into her side. Half asleep, she roots around her covers before finding the object of her grief to be her phone. She almost falls off her bed trying to hook her phone up to the charger and putting it on the shelf above her bed. Beca just settles once again when her phone goes off. She blindly fumbles for it, causing it to fall off the shelf onto her face. Letting out an exclamation of pain, Beca grumbles, rubbing her face as she glares at the offending object.

"This better be good…" She mumbles.

She swipes to unlock the screen, clicking on a text notification without looking at who it was from. It's from Chloe. Its contents cause Beca to pause, her breath catching.

C-Bear: I really miss you. 3

Beca doesn't know what to do, suddenly feeling very awake. She can feel her eyes starting to fill with tears, but she quickly blinks them back. Refusing to shed anymore tears for Chloe. Finally she falls back into bed, curled up clutching her phone to her chest, the conversation thread with Chloe still open.

The next day Beca was on a plane with Jesse headed back home. That morning she had a breakfast of red bull and a snickers in the airport food court. After all, what was she supposed to eat when it was 7 am and she was still half asleep. Jesse was as chipper as ever. He even thought it was a good idea to take a picture of her half out of it, black beanie covering her head, and sunglasses in place as she frowned at him. When she asked him about it he claimed it was for a project on capturing moving life or some shit like that. Beca didn't believe him for a second, but when she reached for his phone he quickly swiped it away. Normally she would have wrestled him to the ground for it, but when she was about to spring herself at him she remembered they were in a public place. Instead, she settled for kicking him in the shin. After that Jesse was smart enough to just be quiet and let her come back to the living.

Beca slipped her phone out halfway through her "breakfast" when her phone buzzed in her pocket. A small smile worked its way on to her lips, but sunk just short of a pout when she saw it was just her dad wishing her a safe flight back to Seattle. She didn't know who she was expecting it to be, well that was a lie, but she was looking forward to a certain someone possibly texting her. Beca wasn't hoping for anything big, maybe just a 'good morning!'. If she was being completely honest with herself she really missed Chloe too. Sometimes she wondered if her heartbreak was really worth ignoring her childhood friend completely. She knew it was necessary to at least distance herself from her, but as time passed she was wondering if they could be friends. After all friends could still support each other in the same way as Chloe had her. Then Beca would think of everything that came with being Chloe's friend, the lingering touches and mixed signals. She knew just being friends wouldn't be possible. Especially not when she was still having dreams filled with Chloe's lips on hers, hands gripping hungrily at her waist band, and curves pressed into her. No, friendship wasn't an option.

Instead she sighed, looking at Jesse to make sure he was occupied, before clicking on the contact name 'C-Bear'. She scrolled backwards, reading each text in reverse order. They were interesting to read. Some of them were the ones Beca was used to reading, involving inquiries about her day. Then there were the unfamiliar ones that involved Chloe spouting out random things about her day or mentioning things that reminded her of Beca. There were more pictures as well. They seemed random, but at the same time marked little moments in time that Beca would have been present for if they were still talking. Beca wondered if that was why Chloe had taken and sent them to her. She only read four messages before she had to stop, her mind reeling at all possible reasons and double meanings behind each text. The rest of her time was spent messing around with a DJ simulator app on her phone. It wasn't the greatest thing ever, but it was entertaining.

Roughly an hour later it was time to board the plane. Beca made sure she got the window seat, planning on sleeping through the flight and not wanting some stranger to mess with her. They went through the usual safety checks. Then they were off. Beca found herself looking longing at the ground as it got further and further away until she couldn't see it anymore. She wondered for a moment if Chloe was still on campus or if she was going home for spring break. She shook her head to clear it of those thoughts. Then the flight stewards reminded everyone to turn off their cell phones. Beca, for once, reluctantly turned hers off, still hoping a certain redhead would text her. Soon after, Beca falls asleep. The sound of a phone camera the last thing she hears.

When they land, Jesse's parents are there to greet them, pulling them both into hugs one at a time. Beca stiffens, but eventually reciprocates. Jesse's parents take them both out to lunch at a fast food place. They go through the usual questions about classes, the radio station, and how their acapella teams are going. Jesse is nice enough to gear those last few questions away from Beca, changing the subject before she has to answer. Afterwards, they drop Beca off at her mom's loft. As expected, no one was home. Beca settles in for the night in front of the tv, watching crappy reality shows. It's not until she goes to order Chinese food for dinner that she turns her phone back on. There was one text notification, but not from Chloe. It was from her dad, wanting to know if her plane had landed yet. Beca set off a quick text before flinging her phone to the other end of the couch. Her food comes later and then bed. Before falling asleep Beca pulls out her phone again, curled up in bed. She was still hoping for a new message from 'C-Bear', but there were none. She didn't really know why she wanted one. She just did. So she scrolled through the old ones, reading two or three before falling asleep, phone in hand.

Three days later Jesse picked Beca up and then they were off to the skate park. Donte and David were already there with a few other guys. Jesse watched from the side as they all greeted Beca like they did last time. He had taken note of his friend over the last week or so. Ever since the semifinals Beca had slowly been becoming her usual well-adjusted broody self. Only he had noticed recently that something was bothering her. That she was checking her phone a lot more recently like she used to when Chloe would text her. Only her face would drop after without sending a message. He had been texting Chloe since they had left for spring break. He figured she had stopped texting Beca because she had gone in for vocal nodule removal surgery and was recovering. Knowing Beca, she would be a bundle of worried nerves if she found out. So when Chloe had asked him about the pint sized brunette, he had let her know as much. She probably figured her absence wouldn't be noticed because Beca hadn't responded to any of her messages. In exchange for her silence, he had been sending her pictures and occasional updates about Beca.

He had sent her pictures the day of their departure of a frowning half-awake Beca in a black beanie and sunglasses. Then he had followed it up with a candid picture of a sleeping Beca, her head nestled against the window and feet tucked up into her seat, so her body was curled up on it. He had said something about 'the grump monster has finally been tamed'. Chloe had immediately came back with texts practically cooing over the girl in the pictures before heading off to surgery. He had received a text the next day that said the surgery had gone well. Jesse contemplated sending her a more current picture of Beca leaning against Donte as they laughed at David doing some sort of dance, but before he could they were coming towards him. Then Donte, David, Beca, and Jesse were headed to a local frozen yogurt shop.

Jesse watched Beca and Donte elbowing each other at the toppings bar, trying to block the other from getting one thing or another. David was on the other side putting roughly a cup of gummy bears on his cup of froyo, snacking on random things as he went. He seemed to contemplate each thing he tried, before making a face indicating how much he liked the item. Then he'd go back for more if it was found to be agreeable. Jesse was about to yell something at them about being children when he received a text notification. It was from Chloe. She just found out some information about vocal warm ups that could be used to bring back some of her range. He knew the message wasn't actually about that. She was probably actually fishing for an update on Beca because he hadn't sent anything since the day they left for Seattle. He wanted to roll his eyes at the situation. She should just text Beca if she was so concerned. Beca was checking her messages again after all, but Chloe didn't know that. Then there was the fact that he had sort of encouraged her not to. He sighed and replied with an encouraging congratulatory text.

Beca, Donte, and David came back with heaping cups of froyo. Donte sat down on the other side of the table, on the empty booth bench. Beca slid in next and then David followed, squishing the other two. Donte didn't seem to mind, but Beca grumbled and tried to use her elbows to create more room. It didn't work.

"You do realize there's another seat right over there, right?" She pointed to the empty spot next to Jesse.

"Yeah, but this one is better." He seemed to sink further into the seat for emphasis.

"It's the same exact seat." An annoyed Beca stated.

"But this one has yooou!" David threw his arms around Beca, pressing his cheek into her's. She tried to shrug him off, but there was nowhere to go. So she just sat there and bared it, grumbling as she held back a smile. "No offense Jesse." David quickly threw in.

Jesse just shrugged. "None taken." He spread out more on his empty bench, as if mocking her.

David released Beca as he tacked on, "Besides, you're tiny. I figured you wouldn't notice." Beca glared at him, mumbling under her breath, taking aggressive spoon fulls of her frozen yogurt. David just happily ate his mountain of gummy bears. On the other side of her, Donte was shaking as he tried to hold back his laughter.

Once he felt like he had clamped down on his laughter successfully, Donte looked down at Beca's frozen yogurt drenched in sugary toppings and then back at her. "Do you ever eat anything healthy?" The question effectively distracted Beca from glaring daggers at David. "I'm surprised you are still alive."

"I eat healthy things." Beca weakly protested.

Jesse scoffed. Beca's gaze immediately narrowed on him. "What Swanson?"

"Beca, name one healthy thing you've eaten in the past week." Beca spent several moments contemplating the question, trying to think of something. The first thing that came to mind was the Chinese food she had the other night. There were definitely vegetables in the dish, but the sauce they were swimming in took away all there nutritional value. Jesse had a shit eating grin in place. "You can't think of anything can you?"

"Shut up!"

Then Jesse started laughing at her, which was really annoying. So Beca stared him down, simply stating, "I can still kick you from over here. Do you remember last time?"

The thought of the pizzeria and the giant bruise on his shin he sported for a week shut him up. Beca happily began eating her froyo, trying to nonchalantly check her phone, just in case Chloe texted. There was nothing. She deflated slightly. She really thought it wouldn't be noticeable, but with Donte and David sitting so close it was really hard to hide anything. They just looked at each other conspiratorially and then at Jesse before launching in. Per usual, Donte started and David followed.

"So how's the misses doing?"

Beca tried to act like she didn't know what Donte was talking about. The twins weren't fooled. So David continued.

"Beautiful redhead?"

"Really bright blue eyes?"

"The one we weren't handsome enough for?" David pretended to flick a long mane of hair back dejectedly.

"Anything?" Donte poked her in the side. Beca immediately jumped, swatting his hand away.

"I told you we were just friends." Her voice dropped just above a whisper, playing with her froyo. "Less now."

There was another shared look between the twins before Donte started off again. "But you're Beca Mitchell."

David taking the next part, putting on his most imposing face. "Badass DJ extraordinaire."

Donte puffed out his chest and flexed. "The bravest and strongest."

David pointed a finger up in the air. "Don't forget the most knowledgeable."

"Oh, yes! And a total panty dropper." Donte gave her a sultry look.

"Who could resist her." David pretended to swoon, almost face planting in his gummy bears and froyo.

Beca's face fell, no longer amused, because that was not exactly how things went with Chloe. She twirled her spoon in her froyo. "Well… all accept one." She said rather dejectedly.

Donte and David's faces followed suite all for a second before beginning in unison again. "But it's true! Right?"

They both turned to Jesse, who was trying to hold back a fit of giggles. He just shook his head vigorously, afraid that if he spoke nothing but laughter would come out.

Donte picked up again, slapping Beca on the back. "See you're the total package."

There was a pause before David spoke up. "Besides that girl was hideous."

Donte immediately went with it. "Total wreck!"

"Totally dodged a bullet."

A small smirk was starting to form at the corner of Beca's mouth. "Really?" She started. "This from the guys that weren't handsome enough."

Both twins gasped, Donte speaking first. "Us not handsome enough!? I never said that. Did I David?"

The other half of the duo acted like what they were discussing was the financial decision that would lead to world peace. "No! Never Donte! No, I think you said we were too handsome."

"Yes, that's what I said too handsome." Donte puffed out his chest as he tried to look distinguished.

"Really Beca you shouldn't worry either because you could have anyone in this store right now right here." David hits his fist on the table for emphasis.

"Oh, really?" Beca asked skeptically, arms crossed and smirk on full display.

"Yes!" Donte started.

"Because you are…" David continued. Both twins looked at each other and threw their arms around Beca's shoulders. Beca had no idea how they did it, but they both proclaimed the same thing in unison, word for word. "Beca Mitchell warrior queen of the great Sugar Rush Islands."

Beca snorted, while Jesse finally sircame to his giggles. "Yeah right!" Beca exclaimed.

David continued. "That's just because you don't recognize yourself without your war paint."

Beca rolled her eyes at the boy, not noticing the chocolate syrup in his bowl he dipped his fingers in. He then quickly swiped a line under each one of Beca's eyes. Before she could say anything about it, he stood up on his seat, easily distracting Beca from the chocolate on her face. He proclaimed to the whole store, "We have a great noble in our company. Beca Mitchell, warrior queen of Sugar Rush Island. She is single, ladies only apply. Her number is-"

Beca, snapping out of her temporary daze, yanked David back down into his seat. Her face was bright red and eyes wide, mortified as everyone in the store stared at them. "What are you doing?"

"Announcing your presence to your subjects." He made it sound like it was the most natural thing. Even the right thing to do.

Before Beca could speak up, Donte was already talking, effectively distracting her. "Now, if you're going to be bedding all these maidens, you're going to need your strength." He grabbed Beca's spoon and scooped up some of the froyo from her cup as he spoke. "Now open up. I will feed the royal highness."

Beca's eyes went wide before her face contorted into defiance. "Dude, no!"

Donte just persisted. "Now, now your highness just be compliant." When Beca still wouldn't open her mouth, crossing her arms. Donte stated, diplomatically. "Maybe the royal highness needs the royal brigade." Then he started making airplane noises as he moved the spoon back and forth, his cheeks slightly puffed out. While Donte was doing that, David was on the other side of Beca, head bowed, proclaiming his allegiance, two fingers covered in chocolate syrup raised.

It was around then that Jesse, in between giggles, took a picture of the scene. It was pretty funny. Beca sat in the middle sulking with stripes of chocolate syrup under each eye running a little at the edges, her arms crossed. Then there was a bearded man who looked like a lumber jack, trying to feed her, spoon midair obviously making some sort of noise. Then on the other side was a guy who looked like a stereotypical hipster basically bowing down to Beca. The picture was quickly sent to Chloe with an accompanying message.

The treblemaker: All hail the warrior queen of Sugar Rush Island!

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A/N : The "3" at the end of Chloe's text is supposed to be a heart. For some reason Fanfic doesn't recognize the great than sign.