A/N: So... It turns out studying in another country takes up more time than expected. Don't worry though, I'll keep updating, slow and steady!
The next week Beca thought a lot about what Chloe had said. Of course she was right, Beca had been set on going to LA for years. She hadn't even considered exploring her other talents. And although she was not as convinced of her academic skills, she was curious how far she could go in playing hockey. Maybe Chloe was right and if she set her mind to it, she might make it into the national team. She still wanted to produce music, but after looking around she found that there were plenty internships opportunities close to Barden. She also looked into the classes offered at Barden and actually found some that were interesting. She was still not ready to completely give up her dreams of LA, but was starting to see her other options.
Meanwhile, the team was preparing for their next match. Everybody was anxious yet excited, the last time they played this team it was a very close game. They wanted to send a message to all of their future opponents that they belonged at the top of the tables. Beca wanted this just as much, but she didn't expect that she would be able to actually contribute during the game.
As she expected she was put on the bench at the start of the game. She saw her teammates come and go, but the coach never called her over to be put into the field. With just a few minutes left before halftime she had already put on her training jacket, and was trying to keep her muscles warm. The match was very close, as it had been last time, and both teams had had some chances, but the score was still tied at 0-0. Aubrey had missed two penalty corners in the first half, which annoyed Beca, because she was sure that she would have been able to score.
When the half time whistle sounded the Barden team made their way to the changing rooms for the half times speeches of the coaches and captains. Coach Smith was the first to talk to his girls, but he didn't have much refreshing insides to bring to the table. Aubrey was up next and was praising the defense and told the team to keep doing what they were doing. Beca might have said something, had Aubrey not already been pissed of at her, but she decided against it. She didn't want Aubrey to hate her even more.
The second half started and Beca was back on the bench. She felt her body cooling down and was just about to put on her track pants when Dawson called her over. She was told to start warming up on the sideline and get ready to be put in. After she had ran her drills by the sideline, she grabbed her stick, mouthguard and glove and walked towards the midline. Before she reached it, she was called to the side by Dawson.
"Listen Mitchell, I don't like it that you are planning to leave after this season. I don't like it that we have to train a new freshman all over next year to take your spot. Aubrey is pissed off and wants you off the team, but we need you too much for that. I get it if your morale is low, but I'm asking you to go out there and prove everybody that you are the best player on this team. We all want to win today and we need you to help us with that."
Beca was dumbfounded but grateful for the speech from her assistant coach. Dawson was right, she wasn't motivated at all, the only thing that still made her want to win this game was the inevitable smile on her girlfriend's face if they won. There were only ten minutes left for Beca to win this game for her team and she was going to do just that.
The moment she was substituted she saw Aubrey's expression change for the worse, she was obviously still not glad to have Beca playing. Beca shook it off and set up in the field. They currently had a free out. Aubrey didn't have much options at the moment, so Beca starting running to create gaps in the defense. She caught the attention of the central midfielder of the opposition, which freed up Chloe in midfield. Chloe received the ball and turned around. Beca ran along to sideline to give Chloe a passing option. She received the ball and cut inside. She saw Lilly ready to receive the ball in the circle and made the pass, but before the ball reached its target, it found a foot in the circle. The whistle was blown and the umpire pointed two hands at the goal to indicate the penalty corner.
Barden set up at the top of the circle. Aubrey seemed reluctant to let Beca take the shot, but didn't want to ignore the instructions shouted from the sideline. They assumed their usual set-up at the top of the circle. Chloe injected and Stacie stopped. Beca felt the ball on her stick, but somehow it wasn't comfortable. She couldn't give the ball a lot of momentum and it slid off her stick. One of the defenders picked up the ball before it was anywhere near the goal and walked away with it, getting the foul in the process. Barden immediately set up for defense.
The following few minutes the ball didn't make it into either circle. Both teams were fighting as hard as they could to secure the win. With just two minutes to play, Barden finally got another circle penetration, which resulted in another penalty corner. They gathered at the top of the circle and waited for Aubrey to instruct them.
"Are you able to handle this one?" Aubrey asked Beca in a harsh tone. Beca looked at her for a moment before hearing Chloe answer for her. "Yeah Aubrey, she's got this." Aubrey nodded and everybody set up, but Chloe pulled Beca aside.
"Becs, forget everything else. Just focus on this one goal, okay? I know you can do this."
Beca locked eyes with her girlfriend and nodded. She had let things with Aubrey and the coaches get to her the last time. This time there was nothing but the ball, her stick and the goal. She turned her stick around a few times before getting in position a few steps behind Stacie. She saw Chloe inject and she started her movement. As soon as she felt the ball on her stick she knew this was going to be a good one. She released the ball and it flew towards goal. She heard the sound of metal and looked up, fearing she had hit the post. As she looked up she saw her teammates cheering and saw that the ball had in fact gone into the goal and hit the back post.
Beca was allowed to play the remaining two minutes in this game, and she finally felt like she belonged again. She hadn't felt this good about playing hockey since before the winter break. Barden had broken any resistance by scoring the late goal and their opponents didn't break through midfield in the remaining time. When the final whistle blew, Beca stepped off the field with a smile. She received compliments from her teammates and even from the coaches.
After her shower she walked to her dorm together with Chloe to drop off their bags. They agreed to get pancakes after the game, so a while later they entered Chloe's favorite place. Beca knew Chloe's order by now, so she ordered for the both of them when the waiter came around. Chloe looked at her with a big grin on her face.
"What?" Beca asked.
"You were amazing today. I know it must be hard for you to sit on the sideline most of the game, but you really stepped up those last few minutes. That championship is going to be ours!"
Beca now sported a big grin as well. She loved seeing Chloe this happy, especially if she was the cause of it. This one moment everything became clear. She couldn't leave the girl behind. She couldn't just walk away from her team. She had so many opportunities in Barden, there was no necessity to run off to LA.
"I'm going to stay next year," she said. Chloe looked at her surprised, but before she could say anything Beca stopped her. "You got me thinking. I want to keep playing hockey, I want to keep being near you and I can do both those things here in Barden, and I can still mix here and work at the station. There is no hurry for me to get out of here, I can always move to LA later if I still want to."
Chloe's grin became even wider, if that was possible. She stood up and tackled her girlfriend in a big hug. She stayed like that until their food arrived. When she was back at her side of the table she kept looking at Beca.
"Maybe it would be a good idea to let Aubrey know that as soon as possible. She was extremely pissed, as you noticed, and it would make things a whole lot easier."
Beca nodded and swallowed. She wasn't to thrilled to talk to Aubrey, even though she was bringing good news. That woman was seriously scary, but she knew this was important to Chloe, so she would suck it up. What was the worst that good happen?
Beca was standing next to Chloe in front of the apartment the redhead shared with Aubrey. Beca was nervous and it showed, she couldn't keep her hands still for a moment and kept looking down the hallway to the stairs. Chloe kept her hand on her back and rubbed circles in an attempt to calm the brunette down.
Chloe opened the door and Beca's hope that Aubrey might not be home dissipated when she was a head of blonde hair. Aubrey didn't turn around when she heard the door as she was watching something on her computer, but greeted Chloe instead.
"Hey Aubrey," Beca said now to make her presence known. This made Aubrey shot up and turn around. She crossed her arms and her face hardened.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded. Before Beca could say anything Chloe tried to defuse the situation. She walked towards the blonde and pushed her back down onto the couch. She sat down next to her best friend and then gestured for Beca to sit down as well.
"Beca is here because she needs to tell you something," Chloe said before she turned towards Beca, encouraging her to start talking.
"I think I should start to say I'm sorry for everything that has happened." Beca started when everybody was seated. "What I did wasn't cool. However, since then things have changed. I realized that I love playing hockey and I don't want to stop playing. Chloe made me see that I have so many more options than just running off to LA. That's why I decided that I will stay at Barden and finish my education. That way I can be closer to Chloe, keep playing hockey and even get a degree."
Aubrey looked at her incredulously. Beca didn't really know what she expected her captain to say. Everyone was silent for a long time. Beca didn't even dare to breathe too loudly. Finally Chloe turned to Aubrey.
"Aubrey," she started, but she was immediately interrupted by Aubrey, who shot up from the couch.
"You couldn't have gotten your head out off your ass earlier? First you lie to me, then you decide that you don't want to stay next year, and now you are staying? How do I know you are really going to stay and not just saying it so I will stop being mad at you?"
At this, Chloe stood up as well and grabbed Aubrey.
"Aubrey, calm down, Beca is not trying to trick you. You know as well as I how hard it is to decide what you want to do after college. Beca did and she hadn't looked at her other options because of that. Now she sees that there are more ways to get to where she wants to be. She means it when she says she is going to stay. Please just give her one more change."
Aubrey looked at Chloe for a while before nodding slowly. "If you believe her, I will as well, I trust you, Chloe. I know I haven't been the most supportive best friend lately, I'm sorry."
Chloe hugged her best friend. Just now Beca realized how hard this must have been on their friendship. She smiled when she saw her girlfriend relax into the arms of her best friend.