"Okay, no. I'm not spending the day with the two of you. I'm drawing the line right there." Jaiden shook her head and took another bite of her breakfast. Despite her stomach's initial resistance to the idea of eating, she had to admit that she was feeling a little less nauseous now that there was something in it.
"Well neither one of us are going to let you stumble your way across campus. So I think you are." Chloe replied with a shrug, taking a sip of her own coffee.
"Look, you might have Beca wrapped around your finger, but not me. The whole 'sparkly smile, big blue eyes thing' isn't working." The younger girl deadpanned. She crossed her arms in front of herself after setting down her fork and waited for Chloe's response. The redhead took a moment to compose her answer before giving Jaiden another pearly white grin.
"Audition for the Bellas," Jaiden's eyes widened and she scoffed before taking another bite of her breakfast. "I'm serious. I'll back off if you join the Bellas." Chloe's tone was nothing but serious and Beca nearly choked on the scrambled eggs she had been picking out.
"Chloe, lay off." The tiny brunette warned, her eyes flickering towards Jaiden to gauge her younger sister's reaction. Jaiden swallowed the food in her mouth and took her time sipping at her coffee before turning her gaze to Beca.
"Did you tell her I could sing literally right after I asked you not to?" Her voice was laced with irritation and she stared the older Mitchell down questioningly. Beca straightened up immediately and shook her head at the accusation.
"No, I swear I didn't. I didn't ask her to do any of this," Beca whipped around to look at Chloe. "Can you seriously stop?"
"So you can sing!" The redhead exclaimed triumphantly, completely ignoring her girlfriend's request. Both Beca and Jaiden rolled their eyes practically simultaneously.
"Not the point, asshole. You aren't going to back off if I join the acapella thing because then I'll have to hang out with both of you even more." Jaiden huffed. Her frustration was growing more and more by the minute, fueled by Chloe's unwillingness to stop combined with her inability to leave. Beca, picking up on her agitation, stood up from the table and grabbed Chloe by the arm.
"Excuse us for a minute." She nodded at Jaiden before dragging Chloe into their bedroom and shutting the door.
"What are you doing, she was about to give in." Chloe whined, gesturing back towards the kitchen. Beca stared at her incredulously before laughing in stale amusement.
"No, she's about to completely shut down. She and I already talked while you were cooking and she agreed to at least be civil. You're pushing her too much. Please Chloe, just back off." The desperation in her voice was enough for Chloe to realize that Beca was serious and quite possibly about to freak out at the fact she felt like she was about to lose Jaiden for good.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, Beca. What do you want me to do?" Chloe apologized quickly, hoping to avoid the ensuing meltdown. She watched the panic on her girlfriend's face fade as Beca calmed down and got a hold of herself. However, the sound of their door slamming shut broke the two out of their conversation and Beca was immediately caught in a panic once more. Her tiny form bolted back out into the kitchen, down the small hall, and out the front door. Chloe followed close behind, trying to ignore the guilt that she may have been a little too forward, and found Beca hurrying down the hall.
"Jaiden! Jaiden, wait up, please." Beca pleaded, jogging after her younger sister. The 18 year old had gone a surprising distance and was nearly to the stairway door before the DJ caught up to her.
"I said we could be civil. I'm not going to hang out with you today. We're not doing that. I can get back to my dorm by myself. Just lay off." Jaiden whirled around at the door and met her sister face to face. Beca faltered in her steps and froze, paralyzed by an uncertainty about what to do. If she insisted on walking her back, Jaiden might actually get fed up and cut her off again. But if she just let her go, Beca wasn't certain she could make it back to her dorm without either getting lost or falling over. Chloe caught up to them as she was mulling over her options and she quickly read the situation.
"I'll take you back then. Just to make sure you get there safe." The redhead offered. The tension between the two sisters diffused; both of them accepting the option as a compromise.
"Fine. Can we just go?" Jaiden mumbled, pushing on the door to the stairwell. Chloe nodded quickly, gave Beca a kiss on the cheek to calm her nerves, and followed Jaiden down the first flight of stairs. She watched carefully as the younger girl maneuvered her way down, clinging to the railing like a lifeline. The drugs obviously still hadn't worn off yet completely, but Jaiden was trying damn hard to make it seem like they had.
"How long is it going to take you before you ask for a little help?" Chloe asked curiously. Jaiden had paused at the bottom of their second to last flight of stairs and held herself up against the wall unsteadily.
"I'm good." She murmured in a half assed defense. Chloe rolled her eyes, noticing distinct traces of Beca's stubbornness in the younger girl, and stopped next to her.
"Of course, when you fall down this last set of stairs and crack your head open, I'll have to drag your little butt all the way to the hospital. And then I'll have to call Beca, and your dad, and they'll-"
"Oh my God, fine," Jaiden sighed. "Please help me."
"I'd be happy to." Chloe flashed a please smile as she hooked an arm around her girlfriend's younger sister and escorted her over to the top of the stairs. The two of them made their way down them slowly, with Jaiden eventually allowing herself to lean on Chloe with each step. With the biggest obstacle out of the way, they started out of the dorm lobby and out into the late morning sun. Campus was teaming with students, most of which were relaxing on the grassy patches out front. Jaiden squinted against the bright sunlight and fought another wave of sickness as they travelled down the sidewalk.
"So what do I have to do to get you to join the Bellas?" Chloe turned her head to look at the freshman as she led her towards the first year dorms.
"Not happening. Why would I want to put myself in a situation where I had to spend more time with either of you? I mean, you're already stalking me."
"I'm serious. Do you want to fix things with Beca? Because she wants to. And I know you're her sister, but I'm her girlfriend. I love her, and I think somewhere, you do too, but if you really don't want any part of this, then I'm not going to watch her get hurt. So if you really do want to build a relationship with her again, join the Bellas. Get to know her. Get to know me. Watch her do something she loves." Chloe's smile disappeared as her voice took on a solemn note. Jaiden rested in her silence as they entered the freshmen dorms and she fished her ID out of her back pocket. After being cleared for admittance, they barely managed to conquer the one flight of steps to Jaiden's floor.
"When are auditions?" Jaiden asked at last as they came to her door. Chloe's eyebrows rose in surprise and she watched the 18 year old unlock her door.
"Monday at six in the auditorium. The song this year is Proud Mary, so have like 8 bars of that ready." Jaiden suppressed an eye roll and pulled out of Chloe's grasp. The redhead noticed even more of Beca in the younger girl as she pursed her lips and sighed. Before Jaiden could shut the door, Chloe pushed it back open gently and hugged her. The freshmen tensed in surprise and reluctance, but didn't shove her away. Chloe gave her one last squeeze before pulling back and meeting her gaze sincerely.
"Thank you. Feel better." Jaiden nodded again, obviously still uncomfortable, and shut her dorm room door.
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