"Everyone ready?" Chloe burst her head through the door and was struck with the pungent aroma of smoke. Her excited features quickly shifted to ones of disgust, and she narrowed her eyes at her girlfriend. "You did not!"
"Chloe, chill, it was my idea," Jaiden held her hand up in order to stop the older girl from chewing out her sister and offered a guilty smile. The freshman held the small remaining section of their joint towards Chloe.
"I don't smoke. I never thought you would be the bad influence." Chloe refused sharply. Both Mitchell sisters stared at her in surprise and suppressed amused chuckles. Jaiden slowly got to her feet and opened the door the entire way, letting the smoke that had accumulated drift out.
"What was that think you said about me being a lot different than you expected?" Jaiden arched an eyebrow and brushed past the redhead, out of the room. If there was one thing she had grown good at, it was deferring attention from herself.
"Beca, what the hell?" Chloe crossed her arms and glared at her girlfriend now that they were alone.
"We were just, you know, trying to hangout and stuff. She mentioned that she smokes and I figured-"
"You're supposed to be looking out for her, not helping her do drugs." Chloe cut her off. She was in complete disbelief that Beca would be this irresponsible, especially with something so important. It was like she cared about Jaiden's relationship with Beca more than Beca did.
"It's just some pot."
"You know what that can turn into!" Chloe's voice rose in both volume and exasperation.
"Don't hit me with that gateway bullshit, please babe."
"Fuck you, Beca," The smaller of the two froze as her girlfriend snapped and slammed their bedroom door shut. "You have no idea what you're talking about. You know damn well what happened to my brother." Beca felt her stomach twist in realization as she recalled the one time Chloe had talked about her older brother. He had apparently died of a heroin overdose while Chloe was finishing up high school. The entire family had been caught off guard, thinking he was clean.
"Ryan smoked marijuana all the time, before he got bored. And then it was pills, and then rehab, and then pills again and then God knows what else. But you know how that ended, and I pray to God you want better than that for Jaiden. She went through some hard times and she…what if one day she thinks about that too much and needs to cope?" Chloe's voice softened and she sat down in the chair in front of Beca's desk. She could tell her words had hit the younger girl and watched as Beca rubbed her temples.
"I suck at this so hard." The brunette sighed. Her eyes, which were already tinted red, watered up and she wiped at them quickly. If there was one thing she hated, it was crying in front of Chloe. She knew the redhead got too concerned and she knew that somehow, Chloe felt closer to her when she did. The brunette had always felt uncomfortable giving someone the satisfaction of being vulnerable in front of them.
"You don't suck. You just need to remember that, like, you need to look out for her. Not just try to get on her good side. I don't want you drinking a lot tonight, Becs. I mean, obviously I won't, but just don't get off your ass." Chloe advised seriously. The dazed girl in front of her nodded and stood up from her seat on the edge of the bed.
"You're right. I'm sorry, Chlo." Beca apologized quietly. The redhead leaned down to peck her on the lips gently before wrinkling her nose in distaste.
'You taste like a stoner. Ew." She chuckled, hoping to lighten Beca's mood a bit. She hadn't meant to be as harsh as she had come off, but the girl could just be so damn irresponsible sometimes. "Come on, let's go."
15 minutes later, the two Mitchell sisters and their companion stepped through the doors to the rehearsal hall only to find that the party was well underway. The Treblenotes had supplied their lighting equipment, while the High Notes had managed to bring in several kegs and…other intoxicating substances. And then of course, Cynthia Rose had brought the speakers and set up for the karaoke, which had already gotten started as well.
"No fucking way." Jaiden mumbled as they took a few steps into the building. Both Chloe and Beca turned to look at her questioningly, only to find the younger girl squinting ahead, into the crowd of people. Jaiden walked away from them without a word, pushing her way through the other singers.
"Amber? No," Jaiden shook her head in disbelief. "There's no way you're a High Note." The blonde grinned at her and held her hands up in surrender.
"You got me. To be fair, I said that you didn't seem like the acapella type." Amber grinned. "I, on the other hand, have a deep love for both singing and…the other aspects of the group."
"I'm starting to think that maybe I joined the wrong one." Jaiden sighed, glancing backwards towards the door. Both Beca and Chloe were blatantly watching her and she rolled her eyes. "I'm going to grab a beer. Do you want one?" She asked. Her plan of action was to get out of her sister's, and more importantly Chloe's sights as fast as possible. Amber nodded and the two disappeared into the crowd around them, towards the nearest keg.
Jaiden had just finished pouring Amber's cup of Budweiser when she felt a hug from behind. Turning around, she came face to face with Fat Amy, who already looked well on her way to Drunk Town.
"Little Beca! You made it!" The Australian exclaimed while effectively spilling beer on herself. Jaiden smiled, relieved that it hadn't been either of the two she had come with, and smiled back at the blonde.
"That I did. It's nice to see you, um, Fat Amy. You been hitting up that cardio?"
"Yeah, in case you couldn't tell. I've got a personal trainer named Bumper. Very good." The shorter woman winked. With that subtle statement, she turned and started off towards the group of men that seemed to be waiting for her and threw a piece sign up into the air as she left.
"What a charmer." Amber noted, watching the strangely charismatic Australian strut away.
"It's the self-confidence for sure. Very sexy." Jaiden laughed. Amber giggled in response and the brunette quickly took a drink of her beer, hoping that the other girl hadn't noticed her cheeks reddening.
"How about you get up there and sing? You must be kind of good at it, what with Beca Mitchell being your sister." Amber challenged, very well aware of the effect she had on the slightly younger girl. Jaiden glanced at her out of the corner of her eye and then drained the yellow cup in her hand.
"You better have another one of those waiting for me when I get done." Jaiden grimaced, handing the cup to the blonde and starting towards where Cynthia Rose stood. She skimmed through the booklet the older girl handed her and winked at her before stepping up to the mic. The basic dance beat streaming out of the speakers paused momentarily before being taken over by a new tune, effectively catching the attention of around half the room.
"I see you over there, so hypnotic
Thinking 'bout what I do to that body
I'll get you like ooh baby baby
Ooh baby baby, ah-ooh baby baby ooh baby baby"
Beca poked her head above the crowd around them as she heard a familiar voice and tugged on Chloe's arm. "There she is," she pointed out, spotting Jaiden up at the mic stand.
"Got no drink in my hand,
But I'm wasted
Getting drunk off the thought of you naked
I get you like-"
Jaiden went back into her string of "ooh baby's" again and locked eyes with Beca across the room. The brunette was staring at her questioningly, obviously confused as to why she had suddenly ditched her. Jaiden felt a pang of guilt, but brushed it off and gripped the mic harder.
"And I ain't trying to fight it, to fight it
But you're so magnetic, magnetic
Got one life, just live it, just live it
Now relax, and get on your back"
The singing brunette winked at Amber, who was watching in utter amusement from over by the beer, and pulled the microphone out of the stand.
"If you wanna scream, yeah
Let me know and I'll take you there
Get you going like ah-ooh
Baby baby ooh baby baby
Ah-ooh baby baby ooh baby
If you want it done right
Hope you're ready to go all night
Get you going like ah-ooh
Baby baby ooh baby baby
Ah-ooh baby baby ooh baby
If you wanna scream."
By the time the first chorus ended, most of the room was either watching the impromptu performance or dancing to it. Beca and Chloe had been trying to cut their way towards the speaker set up, but drunk people are practically impossible to move through.
"Woah, dude, look. Stacie," Beca nudged Chloe as she caught sight of the tall brunette walking towards the "stage" area.
Jaiden felt two hands latch onto her lips and turned slightly to find Stacie behind her, dancing. She smirked at the older girl and synchronized her own hips with her's as she moved into the second verse.
"Kill the lights, shut 'em off
you're electric.
Devil eyes telling me come and get it
I have you like ooh
Baby baby ooh baby baby
Ah-ooh baby baby ooh baby baby
Girl tonight you're the prey
I'm the hunter
Take you here, take you there
Take you under
Imagine me whispering in your ear
That I wanna take off your clothes and put something on ya"
Jaiden whirled around so that she was facing Stacie and bit her bottom lip as the taller girl slid her hands down her unabashedly. The rest of the song slipped her mind and she hardly noticed Cynthia Rose taking the microphone out of her hands and pushing the two of them to the side.
"Jay!" The youngest Mitchell forced herself to look away from Stacie as she heard her sister behind her.
"Beca, come on, now really isn't the time." Jaiden suppressed a gasp as she felt Stacie's hand snake its way down her back and grip just below.
"Stacie, can you give us a second? Cynthia Rose looks…bored." Chloe intervened, staring down the tall brunette with a smile that turned the request into a demand. Stacie rolled her eyes, but begrudgingly backed away from Jaiden and went back on the prowl.
"Dude, what the hell? I thought you were going to be cool tonight." Jaiden approached her sister irritably and looked between her and Chloe.
"And I thought you and I were just going to chill, but you ran off pretty damn fast." Beca fired back defensively. The taller brunette's gaze hardened and she scoffed.
"Excuse me for not wanting to be babysat all night. I could hear you're controlling girlfriend giving her little rant earlier and I knew you were both going to be a drag." Jaiden's eyes flickered towards Chloe before locking back on Beca. The two older girls exchanged glances as they realized they had been heard and this really wasn't going to be the night they thought that it would.
"If you call her that one more time, we're going to have a problem." Beca's voice was full of surprising authority and she stepped closer to her younger sister.
"I think we already have a few of those-" Jaiden was cut off by the feeling of her phone vibrating in her pocket. The freshman pulled it out and shot Beca another annoyed look before answering it. It was her mother.
"Jaiden? Hello? What's all that noise? Are you at a party?" As if she needed another irritating family member tonight.
"Yeah. I'm with Beca though, so it's cool."
"I wanted to tell you not to come this weekend. Ted's getting out and he's going to come stay-"
"What the fuck, Mom?" Jaiden felt her heart drop down into her stomach and she could feel Beca and Chloe's eyes on her.
"Please don't swear like that, honey. I went to visit him last Wednesday and he was very apologetic. He'd like another chance, and everyone deserves one. I just think it's best for you to wait until he gets settled until you come back home."
"Are you fucking kidding me? How…how can you do this? He doesn't deserve a second chance-"
"Jaiden, that's enough. All I'm asking is that you stay at the university for a while until Ted is ready to make his apology. I'm sure your father can help if you need anything."
"Fuck you." Jaiden hung up the phone and whirled around. She bolted towards the exit, heart thudding in her ears and mixing with the pounding of the bass from the speakers. The freshman shoved her way out of the party and into the chilly night air, practically gasping for breath by the time she got outside.
"Fuck!" The 18 year old shouted, running her hand through her hair and pushing it back out of her face. Her stomach twisted and she choked down a bout of nausea, oblivious to the fact that Chloe and Beca had followed her outside and were watching her, both concerned and confused. Beca finally stepped forward hesitantly and put a hand on her younger sister's shoulder. Jaiden jumped and spun around, pulling out of her grasp violently.
"Don't touch me," Jaiden backed away from the smaller brunette and shook her head. She wanted to be alone. No, she needed to be alone to process this. Beca couldn't help. She couldn't help the first time and this time was no different.
"Hey, no, I'm sorry. What's going on? What did Mom tell you?" The brunette asked desperately. For every step she took forward, Jaiden took one back. Beca looked to her girlfriend for help and before Jaiden could react, Chloe darted forward and grabbed her hand.
"Just tell us what it is and we can help you. I will help you." The redhead coaxed, keeping a tight grip on Jaiden despite her struggling. She could see fear written all over the younger girl's face. She pulled Jaiden closer and took her other hand, matching her own blue eyes with Jaiden's brown ones.
"She's taking him back," Beca spoke up from behind them and Chloe turned her head. The older Mitchell was staring down at her cellphone with a mixture of awe and disgust. "She just messaged me, saying to make sure Jaiden stays up here this weekend so he can fucking get settled."
"Oh my God." Chloe murmured, turning her attention back to the girl in front of her. Jaiden had fallen silent and still when Beca had started talking and her eyes were downcast towards the ground. Chloe let go of her cautiously and stepped back. Beca took her place, feeling completely out of her element, and uncertainly lifted Jaiden's head by the chin.
"Jay? This is…this is shit. It's not fair. But you aren't going to get hurt-"
"You said that last time." Jaiden whispered. She looked up into the older girl's eyes and sighed shakily. "If..if I ever try to go home again, I know he'll do it. He can't change."
"I'll come with you the next time, I swear to God." Beca promised solemnly. Chloe crossed her arms and came up to stand beside them.
"I will too." The volunteered softly. Jaiden looked towards her in surprise and then back at Beca.
"Do you want to sleep on our couch tonight?" The brunette offered, hoping Jaiden would agree. The last thing she wanted was for the younger girl to be on her own all night, trying to handle things. Jaiden nodded slightly and turned around on her own, starting towards the upperclassmen dorms. Chloe and Beca laced their fingers together solemnly before following her.
Hope you liked it! More to come soon and don't forget to review!