A/N: Apologies for the delay in this update, am travelling for 3 weeks in Hong Kong, but used whatever spare time I could muster to write this. Great news is, Bellas are back.
The girls were to meet up at Fat Amy's hotel room at 6pm on Monday, including Beca. Prior to that, Fat Amy decided to meet up with the DJ first just to check on her, sensing she might not openly talk to the rest of the Bellas if she didn't get her to open up about herself first.
Beca arrived at around 5pm looking sullen, though she had grabbed enough sleep to not look too haggard. Fat Amy gave her a hearty embrace and quickly let go, knowing how unaccustomed the DJ is to physical contact. Beca looked at her appreciatively and Fat Amy quickly invited her into the room.
The voluptuous Bella had booked an executive suite for herself with separate living and seating areas. A bit too spacious even for Fat Amy's standards, Beca noticed. But the DJ was too wrapped around her own dilemma to make anything of it. Fat Amy, after all, is pretty well-recognized in the States as a cast member in SNL and several Broadway shows; the Aussie could afford the luxury.
Beca took a seat in the living area and rested her head against her fist, as Fat Amy poured themselves a drink from the minibar, glancing occasionally at the DJ who did seem like she could use some advice.
"Cheer up Big BM, Ginger will turn around, she just has this stupid idea in her head that she doesn't belong anymore to the Bellas, and she's not worth anything to you anymore." The Aussie handed Beca a gin and tonic.
"I feel I'm to blame, Amy. Last night, I went through everything we've done together and it's clear it's all my goddamn fault!"
"If you mean for being oblivious to Chloe's feelings for you all this time, like hell yeah it is. Like the rest of us could see it, everyone except you! But come on, Beca, you couldn't blame everything on yourself and think that'd help with anything now."
"So what am I to do?! Chlo's serious about not wanting to see me again. She actually said I'll hurt her more. I don't want that!"
"And you believe her?" Fat Amy rolled her eyes.
"Um…yeah. I dunno, it's hard when she pushed me away and shut me out…and I deserve to be shunned, all of the Bellas knew and I was just living my own stupid world!"
"She planned on shunning the rest of us too, but she's doing it mainly because of you. So you need to decide what you're going to do 'bout it!" Fat Amy downed her drink, letting her words sink in. "You hungry? 'Cause I could probably eat whatever's in the minibar right now?" The Big Bella grabbed a Snickers bar, ripped it opened and devoured it.
"No, don't feel like eating. I can only concentrate on what I could do for Chlo without fucking-up things more."
"Beca. Look here. What exactly do you want? You've got Jesse, and Chloe's been secretly crushing on you all these years."
"Jesse and I are through, it's over…"
"Oh my god…since when?" Fat Amy tried to feign surprise but her voice hinted more at an exasperated sigh of relief.
"For nearly 2 months." Beca didn't elaborate, she felt that she didn't need to. None of the Bellas had been particularly enthused about hearing what's up between her and Jesse, even when they were all at Barden. "I need to be there for her, I can't just leave her alone facing…facing..." Beca couldn't finish her sentence as tears welled up in her eyes, even she had trouble saying the C-word.
"Shh…I know. Yet, the Ginger would be gone in a snap, if you don't do something fast! I'm sure she can have a whole league of suitors lining up outside her door with her looks even if she cannot sing. Once she's off, you can pretty much guarantee she'll settle for whoever comes knocking first just to get her mind off ya. You need to figure out what your heart's telling you, not just what's in your head. We're only able to help if you let loose your own feelings."
"We?" Beca gulped. The large room started to make sense now. The Bellas were involved, they were all coming.
"Beca, don't look so horrified! We're the Bellas, we all need to be here to support Chloe. It's just you especially, who could cheer her up and ensure she does nothing rash or stupid!"
"So when are they coming and how much do they know?"
"Nothing about her condition yet. They'll all be here in a bit, told them to come at 6." Fat Amy proceeded to tell Beca what happened on her last trip to Atlanta, what Chloe had told her, and how she gathered the girls together when the room bell rang.
"Bet that's Aubrey, every Bella meeting she shows up at least 15 minutes early like a rehearsal." She got up to open the door and it was indeed Aubrey, though surprisingly with Stacie who landed an early flight and decided to meet up with Aubrey first. They were followed by Jessica & Ashley 10 minutes later, then Cynthia-Rose, Flo, and finally Lilly. When it comes to Bellas business, everybody's punctual.
Fat Amy decided not to say anything until all of them were there. The girls sensed something was amiss just by seeing Beca, without Chloe, in the room but they were also excited by this ad hoc reunion and were more than happy to see each other again.
Finally, after greetings and hugs, Aubrey raised the question all the other Bellas had been yearning to know since Fat Amy pinged them.
"So Amy, explain to us why you have us all here, and in such haste, and why isn't Chloe here?" She had her hands to her waist, posing the question like a boss, out of habit.
Fat Amy coughed, not sure where to begin but Beca jumped right in; "Chloe's sick. Early-stage vocal cord cancer."
The girls gasped. The giddiness in the room vanished.
"Not life-threatening, at least she told Fat Amy that much," Beca added hoping it would calm down the rising emotions marked on all their faces.
"Oh my god, what?! Why didn't she tell us? Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Aubrey demanded, glaring at the one who just popped open a can of soda from the minibar.
"Yeah and where's Legacy, she should know this too!?" Stacie added.
Fat Amy told them the whole story of how she fatefully found out what's going on with Chloe and of the ginger's plan to leave, and why she didn't say something to the girls immediately. She left out the part about why Emily wasn't told. That part has more to do with Beca and the Brunette could explain it herself. Luckily, the DJ didn't need prompting, she told the girls what happened when she showed up at Chloe's door and why it'd be a better idea to let Emily know after the senior girls dealt with their issues first.
"Amy and I do think it's probably better that we tell her after I patch things up with Chlo. Em's readying the Bellas for ICCA semi-finals and until we get Chlo to let us all back in, I'd say we take baby steps. Right now, the top priority is that I fix things."
"You'd better! We've been waiting for Bloe all this time! You're so damn slow, Mitchell!" Cynthia-Rose rolled her eyes.
"I know, I know. I am a class-A idiot! But I really need all your help now, I don't know how to get Chloe to talk to me."
"Well, do you love her?" Aubrey decided to cut to the chase. The girls all looked at Beca. They all knew Aubrey meant 'love' differently from the 'love' they shared as friends. This was love between couples or soulmates; this was 'love' with ardour and passion.
The DJ hated being cornered, much less confess her feelings to all of the Bellas, but she knew she couldn't escape this, especially when the girls might be her only way to get through to Chloe, and she wouldn't risk losing that, and losing the person she wanted most.
"Let it out, Big BM!" Fat Amy coaxed.
"Y..Yes! God! Yes! I love Chlo!" Beca's face reddened before she even spoke but a sense of relief washed over her the minute she confessed. It wasn't as dreadful as she had thought, but it was still unnerving to let whatever was buried deep in her heart unravelled in an instant like this.
"Finally someone comes to her senses!" Flo chimed in with a smirk.
"Good to know, Beca, that we're not all just fangirling over Bloe, and shipping you two like a bunch of delusional groupies!" Stacie smiled, "Heck, we thought Bloe was over when you moved to LA!"
"So what then with the Jesse-boy?" Cynthia-Rose quickly asked, not exactly certain if she was more concerned about the long-time bet they had going or how Beca and Chloe's relationship would unfold.
"I won't hesitate to put you in a bear trap if you are planning to rock two boats," Aubrey warned at the mention of Jesse, not hiding her disapproval of the Treble, old habits certainly die hard for her. To this day, she hardly warmed to her former arch-nemesis even when it was clear Beca is dating Jesse regardless of what Aubrey thinks.
"Jesse and I broke-up! For nearly 2 months! Cut me some slack, I feel terrible already!" Beca pleaded as she put her face in her hands. Aubrey bit her lip, and went forth to pat the DJ comfortingly, realizing she had been a tad too harsh. "He's a good bloke, to be honest, just a little full of himself, like all the Trebles", Aubrey offered. Everyone remained silent, it was probably the first time she said something nice about a Treblemaker except for Unicycle who she had a long-time crush on.
"That makes the whole patching-up thing easier," Ashley suggested, hoping to break the silence and to also to comfort Beca a little.
"Yeah, so happy Bloe is happening finally! We've already got a "Jesseca" here, hello…" the girls laughed at Jessica's joke but were quickly reminded by the fact that they were all seeing each other after nearly 2 years because of Chloe's condition.
"Chloe won't turn around if she doesn't see Beca is for reals." Fat Amy advised.
"So what's the plan?" Lilly whispered.
"I'd do anything for Chloe to come back to us," Beca blurted, ", to me...", she whispered. That raised several eyebrows, the girls were only getting used to the DJ showing her affectionate side and it was quite adorable if the news of Chloe's cancer wasn't so somber.
"She's for real alright." Cynthia-Rose teased, making Beca blush again.
"I'd say if Chloe still plans to leave after Beca tells her she's got the hots for her, we just put her on house arrest, giving her only coffee and rice, until she starts thinking straight again," Flo suggested.
"She's hardly straight." Aubrey couldn't help exclaiming, now that all the girls knew.
"Flo's right though, we'll all intervene, but only after Beca talks to Chloe." Stacie glanced at Beca to see if she's getting the message, "but we also need to make sure Chloe's physically well to undergo all treatments."
"But she doesn't want to see me or talk to me!" The DJ reminded them.
"Not if you insist and say the right things. Beca, you need to get outta your comfort zone for once, tell her as it is what you're thinking, how you feel! She's going to surgery in less than 2 weeks, you need to act fast and dissuade her from leaving on her own! We'll all be here to support you every step of the way. " Fat Amy reassured.
"But say the right things, Mitchell, think carefully what objections she would raise and counter them gently, I won't have you fucking up again." Aubrey stated sternly, then remembered again that she ought not to be too harsh on the DJ. "I'll keep Chloe under close watch myself and make sure she won't go anywhere until you patch things up." Beca diligently nodded.
Fat Amy stood up, wanting to wrap up the meaningless jabber and reach a decisive plan as her stomach's growling. "Okay, tonight, we'll spend the night thinking what ginger would possibly say and get Beca to rehearse her replies. Good idea to get her off her jitters first as she looks like a scared monkey still! Tomorrow morning, we'll head over to Chloe's, Beca talks to her, we'll watch from afar. Beca, you signal us when you've got Chloe convinced. Sounds like a plan?" The girls all acceded. "That, and some room service. I could literally eat an elephant! " Fat Amy pointed to the leather-bounded room-service menu on the coffee table. The girls picked their order, called for room service, and quickly focused on the work ahead.
The next morning, Jessica and Ashley picked up a rental van to drive the girls to Chloe's, one that reminded them of their Bella's coach only with the windows tainted so they have a bit of privacy. The girls were a little apprehensive about seeing Chloe, especially knowing she's unwell and the ginger didn't exactly hint at wanting to see them, yet they took comfort that they were all in this together. And the Bellas knew they could brace all odds, no matter how impossible it seemed. They've done it so many times before.
Beca felt mostly uneasy, as she tried hard to re-enact all the scenarios she learned the night before in her brain. The Bellas keep reiterating that she only needed to be genuine and be sincere, she wasn't too sure if memorizing things or lines would help. Fat Amy, having not driven for a long time, took to the wheel like old times, and looked at her rear-view to see the DJ furrowing her eyebrows in anticipation. She decided to break into song, picking a song that hopefully will cheer her and the rest of the girls up:
Stand there like a ghost
Shaking from the rain, rain
She'll open up the door
And say, are you insane?
Say it's been a long six months
Jessica and Ashley knew the Taylor Swift song all too well and joined in the singing.
And you were too afraid to tell her what you want
And that's how it works
It's how you get the girl
And then you say
All the other girls joined in, noticing how apt the lyrics were to the situation and as an encouragement to Beca.
I want you for worse or for better
I would wait forever and ever
Broke your heart, I'll put it back together
I would wait forever and ever
And that's how it works
That's how you get the girl, girl, oh
And that's how it works
That's how you get the girl, girl
Remind her how it used to be, be
Yeah, yeah
With pictures in frames, of kisses on cheeks, cheeks
Tell her how you must've lost your mind
When you left her all alone
And never told her why
And that's how it works
That's how you lost the girl
And now you say
I want you for worse or for better
I would wait forever and ever
Broke your heart, I'll put it back together
I would wait forever and ever
Beca smiled, taking in all the lyrics as the girls kept singing. It felt so much like the past when they were off on their Bella ride to competitions. Only this time without Chloe and Emily, Beca wished she had cherished those times more, particularly with Chloe who was always the one to encourage her singing with the rest of the team in spontaneous situations like this.
And that's how it works
It's how you get the girl, girl, oh
And that's how it works
It's how you get the girl, girl
Yeah yeah
And youuuuuu knooooow
That I don't want you to go
Remind me how it used to be
Pictures in frames of kisses on cheeks
And say you want me, yeah, yeah
And then you say
I want you for worse or for better
I would wait for ever and ever
Broke your heart, I'll put it back together
I would wait for ever and ever
And that's how it works
It's how you get the girl, girl, oh
And that's how it works
It's how you get the girl, girl
And that's how it works
It's how you get the girl, girl, oh
And that's how it works
It's how you get the girl, girl
And that's how it works
That's how you got the girl.
The song ended just as Fat Amy pulled near Chloe's place, not too close to her driveway but far enough for them to see what's going on at her porch so that Chloe wouldn't immediately detect they're all there. The rental served as a great cover.
Beca gave the Bellas a longing look as they all showed her individual signs of support and Fat Amy winked at her as she let the van door open for the DJ.
"Be determined, Beca! Go get the girl!".
The DJ hopped off the van as the girls all hunched over the side where they can get a good view of Chloe's house. Little did she know that Emily was already on her way to see the two senior ex-captains of the Bellas having the conversation she too had been praying they'd have over 2 years ago.
A/N: Next update will see the 'showdown' between Beca and Chloe, please stay tuned.