"Come to karaoke with Beca and I tonight!" Jaiden jumped at the sudden poke in her side and found herself face to face with Chloe. Her request took a few seconds to register, and once it did, Jaiden shook her head immediately.
"No. No thank you. That…that doesn't even sound fun." She answered honestly.
"But I'm cashing my raincheck." Jaiden gritted her teeth and sighed as she remembered that she did in fact grant the redhead a raincheck the other day after she bailed on coffee. Chloe, knowing that she had her trapped, sat down next to her on the grass. Before she had so kindly interrupted, Jaiden had been outlining a section of her overpriced Psych textbook, enjoying the breezy, mid-September day.
"Well I guess if it's a raincheck, I have to go, right? Or else you're going to pout and tell my sister?" Jaiden guessed. Chloe nodded her affirmation and waited patiently for the freshman's decision. "Do you guilt trip Beca like this too?"
"Only when I have to. But she listens to me better than you do." Chloe replied with a shrug. Jaiden begrudgingly shoved her work into her backpack and stood up. Chloe arched an eyebrow and waited on the ground until finally, Jaiden caught on and extended her hand.
"That's better." Chloe noted, bouncing to her feet with Jaiden's help. The two headed onto the sidewalk and started towards the upperclassmen dorms.
"So where's this shit-show going to go down?" The youngest Mitchell sibling asked.
"Just where we rehearse. Cynthia Rose is bringing the equipment and the Treblemakers and the High Notes are coming too."
"I hope somebody's bringing beer." Jaiden huffed. She pulled her backpack strap up onto her shoulder and glanced up at the sky, wondering how on earth she kept getting drug into shit like this.
"Yeah." Chloe's voice trailed off and Jaiden looked over at her.
"Okay, no, you are not allowed to drink. You need, like, a few months before you start that shit again. I'm not letting Beca drink either. You two absolutely suck when you're drunk. She gets all guard-dog and you're just…a hot mess." She warned. Chloe scoffed and rolled her eyes as they approached their building. The younger girl took a few steps ahead and opened the door for her politely. Chloe nodded her thanks, impressed with the shreds of Beca she continued to find in her, and watched as Jaiden hurried to get the stairwell door too.
"Where'd you learn all these manners?" The redhead asked in amusement. Jaiden looked momentarily taken aback by the question and then shrugged.
"My entire childhood wasn't a hell-hole, you know."
"Jaiden, I didn't mean-"
"I know how you meant it. It's surprising that I'm not a little rough around the edges after what Beca told you." Jaiden shot her a knowing glance as they started up the stairs together.
"Honestly, yeah. You're a lot different than I expected you to be." Chloe admitted.
"In a good or bad way?"
"Good. Definitely good. It…it means a lot to Beca and me that you've been so willing to, like, give us a chance. You didn't have to, but you did, and you have no idea how…how happy she gets when you talk to her or God, even smile at her." Jaiden felt her face grow hotter and turned away from the redhead as she continued up the stairs, knowing that her face had to be completely flushed. "She loves you so much. I mean, I've seen Beca around your-Dr. Mitchell," Chloe corrected herself. "And it's not anything like it is with you. She always seems to be putting up with him, and you practically have to hold a gun to her head to get her to say anything about your mother, but she…she brings you up. Beca, I mean, you know her, probably better than I do-"
"That's where you're wrong. I really…she's changed a lot since everything, probably because of what happened and how I dealt with it. I have a lot of catching up to do." Jaiden interjected truthfully. Chloe picked up on the guilt in her voice and frowned, having not meant to give the younger girl anything to feel bad about.
"She feels the same way. It's like she missed you growing up, at least to her. So you can both catch up on each other tonight." Chloe offered, hoping she would cheer up a tad. Jaiden nodded slightly and then opened the door on the stairway landing.
"It's only like, 7:00. Why'd you come get me so early?" Jaiden changed the subject conveniently as Chloe fished her keys out and unlocked her door. The redhead glanced back over her shoulder once before letting them both in.
"We kind of have to convince Beca to come. But that'll be super easy now that you're here." Jaiden sighed in annoyance as she realized that she had been tricked. In all honestly, she knew that she should have been more suspicious to the sudden invitation and where it came from. "She's in our room, so like, go get her." Chloe encouraged. The freshman rolled her eyes before heading down the ever more familiar hallway and knocking on the door.
"I'm working on a mix, babe. I told you I don't want to go anywh-"
"It's Jaiden." Within seconds, the door opened and Beca stood in front of her sister anxiously.
"Hey, um, what are you doing here? Is everything alright?" The smaller brunette looked Jaiden up and down worriedly.
"I'm fine. Chloe said there was some karaoke thing tonight, and I kind of owe her for something, so now I have to get you to come." Jaiden explained. Beca breathed a sigh of relief, quickly followed by an eye roll at her incredibly persistent girlfriend.
"Well then I guess I'm coming. You can, uh, you can stay in here if you want while I get ready. I promise I don't ask as my questions as Chloe." Jaiden considered the option for a few seconds before realizing that it was in fact, her best one.
"Good point. You it is then." She decided. Beca hid a triumphant smile before opening her door wider and letting her younger sister in. Jaiden took in the room around her, considering she hadn't noticed much about it when she woke up the one night she had stayed over. A quiet beat was playing out of the abandoned headphones on what she presumed to be Beca's desk. The wooden stand was loaded with two large speakers, a laptop, and various equipment that the 18 year old had no idea how to use.
"So you still do this?" Jaiden asked, gesturing towards the setup. Beca nodded quickly and hurried to unplug her headphones. The sound filtered out through the speakers and she turned it down a notch after it nearly blew out their eardrums.
"This is just…the start of a mix I've been working on for the Bellas. It's not done yet or anything, but-"
"It's really good. You've gotten a lot better." Jaiden noted, brushing past her sister and sitting down in the desk chair. Beca watched, a bit nervous, as her sister listened to her mash-up and watched the audio waves scroll across the laptop screen.
"Thanks. Your voice has gotten, like, even more amazing, which I didn't really think was possible."
"Beca, relax. You don't always have to be trying to get on my good side. Stop trying so hard," Jaiden deadpanned. The older girl hid her embarrassment, and she nodded on understanding. "We were so casual before all that shit happened. I miss that." The taller of the two admitted.
"I miss it too. I know I need to relax." Beca admitted.
"Let's just chill tonight, okay? I mean I totally told Chloe I wasn't going to let you drink, but screw that. Get drunk with me and maybe things will just work out like old times. Plus the High Notes are going to be there." Jaiden let her voice trail off suggestively and waited for her sister to respond. She had no idea how Beca felt regarding a certain plant, but she guessed that the older girl was laid back enough to permit it.
"Wait, do you smoke?" Beca arched an eyebrow and stared at her sister in surprise.
"Occasionally. Not since I got here, but I used to at home pretty regularly." Jaiden confessed.
"Well, I'm entirely down for it, but don't let Chloe know. She doesn't really approve of the Devil's lettuce."
"Please tell me you called it that as a joke." Jaiden laughed.
"I did, yes. But that's literally what she refers to it as like 90% of the time." Beca cracked a genuine smile and she looked over at the drawer behind Jaiden. Things were going well and she basically needed them to continue, so she crossed over and opened it before pulling out a hidden metal tin. A look of realization crossed Jaiden's face and she scanned her sister up and down, impressed.
"You sneaky bitch. She has no idea?" Beca smirked and shook her head as she produced a neatly rolled joint and a lighter. Offering it to her younger sister, she watched as the brunette lit it and took a long drag. It hit Beca again how…adult her sister was now and she shook the feelings away as Jaiden passed her the joint. It was going to be a good night, dammit. She was going to make sure of it.
Big stuff planned in the next chapter! Lots of angst! Stay tuned and I'll have it up as soon as possible.