A/N: Hey guys! Here's chapter 2! We already met the roommate, this time we'll meet the girl who leaves across their room ;)

This might take a complete turn away from how Beca ended up joining the Bellas but, you know, that's life and I wanted to write a different story. I'm skipping 'Titanium' for this chapter despite how things start (it might make a comeback later, who knows?) The song featured in this chapter is… well… one of the staples of a pitch perfect fic.

Thanks for all the support! Comments, reviews and suggestions are always appreciated. You can always hit me up at tumblr and twitter (thehypotensivegrad).

I don't own pitch perfect.

Beca was furiously blushing red as soon as she found herself back in her – their – dorm room. Amy and gone out to grab some food, insisting that they have their traditional Thursday night roommate binding dinner.

It was the first week of classes! The tradition wasn't even established yet!

But that was beside the point.

In an attempt to relax herself and avoid her roommate – who also appointed herself as her best friend forever – Beca decided to hit the shower. It was perfect since the place was pretty much empty during that time of the day.

Yeah, Beca's people avoiding skills were top-notch.

Except it wasn't actually empty this time around.

Hence the blushing.

Because of all people she could have ran into the showers and who can harass her into a naked duet it just had to be the redhead. And the song Beca had started to absent-mindedly sing – the stupid song that got her into trouble in the first place – had to be the redhead's 'lady jam'.

And that wasn't even the worst part.

The worst part was the redhead had a boy toy.

And Beca wasn't really sure why she was bothered by it, and why she just really wanted to punch the guy's face. Maybe he just had one of those faces.

Maybe.

But it did feel nice, whether or not Beca wanted to admit it. Being in that vulnerable position, in that moment with someone, and just let go, sing.

No it was definitely not the naked part.

Maybe the naked part?

Focus Mitchell!

Beca had just about finished changing from her towel and into some decent clothes before landing face first on her bed chastising herself for the fact that her mind had started its constant cycle of producing compliments about the mysterious redhead and her hot…

Don't go there Mitchell. You just took an incredibly cold shower for crying out loud, get it together. And you could've at least gotten her name!

But she really couldn't. She was having a hard time chasing away the impure thoughts in her head but nothing was working. She wanted to hum a song – thinking it would get her back on track – but then she stopped as soon as she started because she was humming the redhead's stupid 'lady jam'.

"Damn it!?" Beca screamed into her pillow.

Ugh, why can't she get the redhead out of her mind!

Her stupid pretty smile and her stupid eyes and how they shine… and her stupid body – it's engraved to her memory now – and gah!

It was infuriating.

"Focus Mitchell!" she repeated out loud this time, burying her face deeper into her pillow while she continued her thrashing around.

And it was perfect timing too.

The dorm room opened and in came Amy looking at her with the most curious glance. She probably looked like a cartoon character at that point tossing and turning in her bed. To add to her embarrassment, behind the blonde Australian was a really tall brunette girl who couldn't help but find Beca's supposedly private antics very much amusing.

"Easy Beca. I know you might be hungry but I did text you that the line was long at the place. By the way, it's my treat this time but the next couple of times would totally be on you." Amy then said, setting down a really huge box of pizza on the floor of their dorm room.

"Wait, you texted me? You don't have my number." Beca said matter-of-factly. She rarely even talked with Amy. It was mostly the blonde talking about countless of things and her ignoring it, zoning out while she focused on making a new playlist with her mixes.

Beca Mitchell, friend of the year everyone.

"Anyways, Beca, this Stacie, she leaves across the hall from us." Amy said, settling down on the floor.

Stacie followed suite, smiling a rather flirty smile at Beca but she did recall seeing the brunette a few times the past few days. That was just how she smiled at everyone, so she shrugged it off.

"Nice to meet you." Stacie said before passing a paper plate to Beca. Beca slid down her bed and reluctantly accepted it, the smell of pizza winning over her refusal to form bonds and make any roots. "Amy said you have a Thursday night tradition and since we've chatted a few times already and essentially your neighbor, I might have invited myself over. I hope you don't mind."

Beca shook her head before returning to a more appropriate topic. "Hang on, how do you know my number? I never gave it to you."

"Oh, I gave me your number." Amy replied taking a bite of her slice. "I bumped into your dad the other day, and he seems worried about you or checking in or something. I said I was your BFF, he looked shock. Anyways, I promised to look after you and all and how can I do that if I don't have your number? So I guessed your password and sent a text to my phone from yours."

Beca blinked twice, grabbed her phone, and there it was. Evidence.

"Come on shorty, I can tell you're not keen on the friends making business but we are roommates. Lighten up." Amy said causing Beca to chuckle.

She actually chuckled.

For the most part Beca was just there. Amy and Stacie talked about everything. EVERYTHING. From classes to a few decent guys they met – mostly for potential hook-up purposes – to which clubs they were planning to join. In some ways it made Beca feel normal, which was something she never thought she'd feel again. She had it written in her mind, heart, and soul to never open up to people, to never let them in. There were a few exceptions of course, namely her mom, step-brother, and distant cousin she got along with fine, but that was it.

But it felt nice.

She thought about it, this was probably what she was missing out in her life. But the risks of getting hurt, of people walking out of her life happening again outweighed the promising warmth she felt right then, so she tried to bury her feelings away.

This was just something she'll have to tolerate.

At least that's what she reasoned.

"But yeah, I haven't really thought much about other groups. I was thinking the Bellas might be nice, I like singing so it might be fun." Stacie had said causing Beca to choke on a bite of her fourth slice.

"You okay there shorty?" Amy asked, handing Beca her soda bottle.

"Fine. Just fine." Beca lied. No she wasn't fine. She was far from it. The redhead said she was a member of the Bellas, and Beca was pretty sure she somehow managed to have promised her that she'd show up for auditions. At least that's how she understood the conversation went.

"You sure?" Stacie asked.

"Yeah, certain. Hundred percent." Beca replied.

"Then why are you redder than a tomato Beca?" Amy asked with a wide grin.

"It's nothing." Beca replied as she fumbled with twisting the cap back on the bottle of her drink, still clearly flustered by it. But Beca was thankful, the other two simply nodded and went on with their conversation, with Amy expressing her desires to join the Barden Bellas as well.

Stacie was a little bit on edge, which in itself was saying something. She was never the shy type, never the nervous one. But the audition for the acapella teams were going to be in half an hour, and somehow she couldn't help shake the nerves off.

Maybe it was just bound to happen? Have a perfect run with everything and have that one time when you're just a little off.

Yeah, maybe that was that.

Amy sent her a text about meeting outside the auditorium ten minutes before, go over battle strategies to wow the teams, at least that was what she said. She had been wanting to ask the blonde if her roommate would like to join them, but based on what she gathered the night before, Beca wasn't really much of the talkative type.

She's seen Beca before, slip away through the dorms to get to class, quietly get back to her room without really talking to anyone. Then there was that one time the other day when her dad personally had to come and get her to attend class just after Amy left for her own. That was some serious stuff. Granted Stacie found out that her dad was a professor at school, so really that must suck, but serious nonetheless.

There was something about Beca that made her curious though. Why she would distance herself from the people around her. It seems her sentiments were shared by Amy though and they also seem to have made a silent agreement to pull, not just push, her out of her shell.

The auditions were still twenty minutes away when Stacie found herself outside the auditorium. She saw the Treblemakers going inside followed by the redhead she met at the quad. And of course, with the redheaded girl, she thinks her name is Chloe, was her blonde best friend. Aubrey.

Right. Stacie just remembered why she was feeling a little nervous about this.

Aubrey. She was pretty. Totally her type. It was never really a question of whether she's into boys or girls, Stacie was a believer of you love who you love, or you know, at least in terms of attraction, you like who you like. And she liked the blonde a lot. That's why she may have flirted with her a bit during that time they talked at the booth during activities fair.

And that time they bumped into each other at the library the other day and Aubrey simply ignored her.

Or that time in the coffee shop just yesterday morning.

No one's ever resisted her charms at all – the blonde really put a dent on her confidence there. So just like Beca, she knew that there was something about Aubrey.

Some of the students planning to join the teams had showed up, going through the entrance towards the stage area. Stacie waited patiently for Amy when she realized she actually started pacing. And she wouldn't have really noticed if she hadn't suddenly seen – more like heard a yelp from – Beca who was standing there looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Beca!" Stacie greeted a little too enthusiastically than she had wanted to say. "Oh my God! Are you joining the Bellas too? You should have said something last night. Amy said you seemed to be really into music, she sent me a pic of you really getting into that thing on your computer, what is it again? Mixing!"

Beca looked a little bit speechless. "I… well… maybe I'm considering it…" she said before throwing the attention back. "You ready? You seem nervous."

"Ah, well, sometimes that happens." Stacie replied honestly and for some reason she felt better. Talking about it with someone eased the nerves, especially since Beca looked like she was about to have a stroke herself. "I never heard you sing, but I think you'll do well too."

"Thanks."

"Hang in there Beca. I'll see you inside?"

"Yeah, maybe." Beca replied before sneaking off to the nearest restroom, completely missing her roommate's grand entrance.

"You okay Stacie?" Amy asked and Stacie smiled.

"Perfect. Let's light the stage on fire!"

They called the last person to audition.

And no one showed.

They were about to wrap up when Beca finally made up her mind. She did promise the redhead, and she was in truth entirely curious to give it a shot.

"Oh wait. There's one more." she heard the redhead say as she made her way to the side of the stage. "Hi."

Her smile felt warm enough that it convinced Beca to take the painful few steps forward. "Hello." she said rather awkwardly but it didn't stop her, the redhead waving her forward. "Um, I didn't know we had to prepare that song."

"Oh that's okay. Sing anything you want." she replied, the smile never fading away.

She could feel her nerves getting the best of her, but she pushed the thoughts of fleeing away. She made it this far. She had to stick to it. "Uh, may I?" she asked before the redhead replied something along the lines of sure, she wasn't really paying much attention.

All eyes were on her and she was trying not to shake or fidget much. It was kind of annoying really, Beca thought. She wanted to make it big in LA, mixing music. She loved music. But now, she was going to make music, in terms of singing of course, but the fear and nervousness, and all the things she never thought could stand in her way were standing in her way now. It didn't help that the blonde best friend of the redhead was partly staring at her curiously as she spilled the contents of the yellow cup and partly glaring at her. To one side of the auditorium she could see both Amy and Stacie silently cheering her on.

Beca took a steady breath.

Whatever. Nothing else mattered.

She cleared her throat and started tapping beats with the cup, expertly creating a catchy rhythm with it before she opened her mouth to sing.

She felt small on that stage. But Beca had no idea how big she actually was at that moment, her voice filling the auditorium. Everyone watching her in awe.

She stood out, whether or not Beca would admit it to herself. It was simple, but it was memorable. It was her just being who she was, filling herself with the music she loved.

And it was her singing in front of the crowd. But it was really that. To her she was only singing to the redhead.

I've got my ticket for the long way round
Two bottles of whiskey for the way
And I sure would like some sweet company
I'm leaving tomorrow what do you say

When I'm gone
When I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my hair
You're gonna miss me everywhere, oh
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

The redhead's smile was remarkable as it grew bigger watching her sing.

It felt like in that moment they were the only ones in the room if she was being honest.

And for the first time since school started, Beca thought, maybe, just maybe, being in Barden for the year wasn't so bad after all.