A/N: I know I keep saying this, but you guys really are awesome!
With all other distractions out of the way, Beca could focus on the upcoming match against Naomi's team. Barden was almost sure of their spot in the championship game, but they had some personal business to take care of. Beca talked to Chloe, and even Aubrey, in the week before the game, but still she was nervous. She didn't want to get distracted again and allow Naomi to get in her head. She just needed to focus on her own game, on her own team.
Luckily this time Barden was playing on their home turf and the extra support would do them good. Jesse had promised that he would be cheering at the sidelines and Beca's father would show his support as well. This might even make Beca more nervous, but she was grateful nevertheless.
The night before the big game Beca slept at Chloe's place. The redhead had convinced her that it would help with the nerves. After Aubrey gave her consent, Beca had happily obliged. After she woke up snuggled in Chloe's embrace, she looked at her phone to check the time. It was early enough to still be sleeping, but she knew she would not be able to. She slowly crawled out of Chloe's arms as silent as possible and made her way to the kitchen. For some reason she was not surprised to see Chloe's roommate sitting there.
"Good morning," she greeted. She walked straight to the coffee pot on the counter and helped herself to a cup. She turned around and Aubrey gestured for her to take a seat across from her.
"Good morning, how are you?" Aubrey asked her. In response, Beca shrugged. She didn't really know how she felt. She felt nervous for having to face Naomi today, but she also felt angry at the girl for everything she had done, and motivated to kick her ass.
"You shouldn't worry too much, if that girl comes anywhere near you, she will have to deal with the entire team, including me. And you know how terrifying I can be.
Beca smiled and nodded, she knew that alright, she had been on the receiving end of Aubrey's wrath for a long time.
"Thank you. I thought you hated me," she said slightly confused at Aubrey's protective tone.
"I don't hate you. I don't like how you handled a lot of things this year. I don't like that you hurt my best friend and I don't like that you lied to me and the entire team. But you make Chloe happy and you make this team better, so I guess you're not too bad. And you're my teammate, so that means I stick up for you."
"Thanks," Beca said shyly.
"You guys should hug it out," Chloe said as she walked into the room. Both Aubrey and Beca looked up at her and simultaneously shook their head. Chloe raised one eyebrow and walked towards the counter. "I'm just saying, you guys love each other, just admit it and hug it out."
"I don't think this is a good time. I need to get ready, I want to be on the field early," Aubrey said before she made her way to her bedroom.
Chloe sat down besides Beca and kissed her on the cheek. She then ran a hand over her back and pulled her towards her. Beca rested her head on Chloe's shoulder and sighed. This was perfect, her girlfriend was perfect. She felt calm, there was nothing Naomi could do to take this from her. Win or lose, her girlfriend was still going to be here.
They sat like that in silence until Aubrey emerged from her bedroom wearing her track suit and had her big stick bag slung over her shoulder. She looked at the girls before walking towards the door.
"Don't be late, Chloe, we have the pre-game meeting in less than an hour, you should get ready," she shouted before closing the door behind her. As on cue, both girls got up and started their game day routines. They quickly ate breakfast, got dressed and packed their bags before they got on their way. Although Beca wasn't required to be on the field for another hour, she prefered getting ready with Chloe and was planning to use the time to get some penalty corners in.
In what felt like just a few minutes, Chloe, Aubrey and the coaches arrived at the field. Soon her other teammates were starting to show up as well. Before the other team showed up, all of them made their way to the dressing room to discuss the game plan. Aubrey actually had some good pointers this time and Chloe managed to get everybody pumped for the game. They were all excited to get out there and win this game.
When they stepped out onto the field, Beca immediately saw the familiar brown hair and slender frame near the other dugout. She took a deep breath and turned towards her stick bag. She saw Chloe look over as well from besides her. Her girlfriend looked furious and laid a protective hand on Beca's shoulder. They didn't say anything and they didn't have to, both girls knew what they needed to do.
Beca managed to focus on her own team at warming up this time, which made Aubrey pleasantly surprised. It earned her a starting spot in the field. She lined up on her familiar spot next to Chloe in the field and got ready for the starting signal. She saw Naomi opposite her in midfield. Chloe would be her direct opponent for now. She looked angry, almost menacing, Beca just couldn't understand what the girl's problem was. But that was none of her worries now, she just needed to focus and everything would be alright.
When the game was underway, she did just that. She didn't miss a pass or tackle. Although it was a hard fight, Barden had the upperhand. They had more possession and more circle penetration. They had to wait until halfway deep into the first half for the first real chance, though.
Chloe bypassed Naomi and managed to run into the circle. She was about to shoot the ball, when she was bodychecked from behind. Their entire audience started booing. Naomi had ran the tackleback, but couldn't make it back in time to make a clean tackle, so she just ran straight into Chloe. Chloe fell down onto the turf and the whistle was quickly blown. Barden was awarded a penalty stroke and the culprit got a yellow card. Both Aubrey and Beca made their way over to the redhead, but when they reached her, she was already sitting up. She smiled at both of them and ensured them she was fine.
After a short discussion, it was decided that Beca would take the penalty stroke. Beca didn't hesitate and shot the ball hard into the net. With one extra man, Barden dominated the rest of the first half. Stacie put another one away right before the halftime whistle, so they went into halftime with a comfortable 2-0 lead.
The halftimes speeches were positive and everybody was eager to get out there again. Chloe hadn't made her reappearance in the first half, so when the team made their way back to the field, Beca stopped her to make sure that her girlfriend was okay.
"I'm fine, really, I was just a bit shaken up. Don't worry about me, just focus on the game," Chloe told her and Beca nodded. She pulled her girlfriend in for a hug, which turned into a kiss.
They were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. "You always ruin everything for me," a familiar voice said.
"I think it's time we leave," Beca said just loud enough for Chloe to hear her. She took her hand and made her way to the door. Before she got there, she was stopped.
"You're not going anywhere. You ruined my life. I made captain, I was supposed to be in the spotlight, but you just decide to go ahead and take that from me. Do you know how hard I worked for that? And then you disappeared and we lost the championship game. And now you show up here and do it all over again. Congratulations, you did it, you got me suspended. My coach said it is my fault that we're behind and he benched me for the rest of the game. And it's all your fault"
At that point Naomi stepped forward with a dangerous aggressive look in her eyes. Instinctively Beca tried to get out of her way, but the brunette kept coming at her. She seemed like she would be ready to kill her. Beca looked at the door, but Naomi had that way blocked. She suddenly felt herself being pushed back and fiery red hair appeared in front of her. Just at that moment Naomi threw a punch and hit Chloe hard in the face. She fell sideways and slammed her shoulder into the bench.
The door swung open and Aubrey stormed into the dressing rooms. She was followed closely by Dawson, who ran forward and grabbed the raging brunnette. Naomi tried to fight free, but couldn't do a thing against Dawson. The coach dragged her out of the room, while Aubrey and Beca both tended to Chloe.
Chloe's cheek had sprung open as a result of the blow, but she wasn't too concerned with that. She was holding her shoulder and was grimacing in pain. Beca and Aubrey helped her to get up from the floor and sit on the bench. Both didn't know what to do, but they tried to console her best they could.
Not before long, Dawson made her way back into the room with a first aid kit. She crouched down in front of Chloe and started to clean the gap on her cheek and covered it before attending to her shoulder. She pressed on the shoulder at different points and moved the arm in all directions. The shoulder didn't seem to be dislocated, but it was very tender. Dawson wanted to take Chloe to the hospital to be sure, but Chloe didn't want to leave if the match was still going to be played.
Dawson left to talk to the coaches from both teams. After she left the room, their team entered. All of them started talking at once, most of them enquiring about Chloe's well being, but Beca could swear that she heard at least one or two threats to harm Naomi in between. Chloe ensured them she was fine and everybody slowly started to calm down. They sat down around the room. Everybody went silent and waited.
When Dawson and Coach Smith entered they looked up with a questioning look.
"We talked to the coach from the other team, they have agreed to suspend the player responsible and we will file an official complaint against her. She will most likely also face an academic suspension and will not be allowed near a hockey field anytime soon."
This was met with cheers and a loud 'Suck it!' from Fat Amy. It took the coaches a while to calm them down again.
"We do have to finish the game now. I get it if you're all still a bit shaken up, but it would be really hard to pick another date before the end of the season. Try to calm down a bit, we start in ten minutes."
One by one the girls returned to the field, until just Chloe, Aubrey and Beca were left. Aubrey looked at her watch and stood up. She warned Beca to be there in a minute and left the two girls alone.
"I'm so sorry," Beca started, but she was interrupted by Chloe.
"Don't even start, this is not your fault. I can't believe she accused you of ruining her life and then tried to hurt you. She's insane, none of this is your fault, okay. So don't feel bad for me or for yourself."
"Thank you," Beca said softly. She pulled her girlfriend into a hug, making sure she didn't apply any pressure to the hurt shoulder. "We should get back out there."
Early in the second half it was clear that Barden was missing a valuable force. Beca took over Chloe's position in midfield, but without good wing players, she just couldn't get the ball to their forwards. Aubrey wasn't screaming instructions like she normally did and passes didn't connect. They were fighting, but they couldn't stop their opponents from breaking into their circle again and again.
They stepped off the field with a loss eventually, but everybody seemed to have something else on their mind. They all made their way to the showers in silence. While the other girls watched the men's game, Chloe was taken to the hospital for a checkup. She wasn't an emergency case, so she sat in the waiting room flanked by Aubrey, Beca and Dawson for a long time before she was called in. As they had already feared, Chloe was advised not to play hockey for at least the next four weeks.
Beca and Aubrey looked at each other while they both consoled a devastated Chloe. They knew they had to come up with some kind of plan to win without their favorite redhead, and fast.