A/N - Just a heads up that there are a few 'scene' changes in this chapter. Keep an eye out for the page breaks. :)
Thanks as always to my very patient beta. Wishing you all a happy Sunday xx
.oOo. Chapter Forty One .oOo.
*Two Weeks Later*
"Are you free for lunch?" Luke asked, as he passed Beca in the corridor. He'd just left his office and was heading out to a meeting to finalise the contract for his and Beca's work with Twenty One Pilots.
"Um, not really," Beca paused and checked her watch. "I've got to finish up a couple of music sheets, clear my desk out, and get out of here before lunchtime, as I want to take the girls out for ice cream."
"Clear your desk out?" Luke looked confused.
"Yeah," Beca said with a shrug of her shoulders as if it was no big deal.
"Why are you clearing your desk out?" Luke asked, caught completely off guard by this news.
"Because it's not my desk anymore," Beca explained, her eyes and voice dropping.
"Why?" Luke asked, perplexed. "Do you have a new one? Are you moving out of our office?"
"Your office," Beca said, a little flatly.
"Okay, I'm not following," Luke scratched his head, looking baffled.
Beca sighed, really not wanting to make a fuss out of it all, especially on today of all days. "Remember the big meeting that I had with the Universal Gods and they offered me the World's Best Job Offer?"
"Yes?"
"And remember how I turned it down?" Beca pressed.
"Yes."
"And remember me saying how they told me my days were numbered?" Beca cantered her hip and waited for Luke to catch up.
"Yes, they... wait? Are you leaving?" Luke's eyes went as wide as possible and he stared down at his best friend. "Why the absolute fuck didn't you say anything Rebeca?"
"Because I knew you'd go all high pitched and uptight; exactly as you are right now." Beca waved her right hand, indicating all of Luke.
"Um, well, I've got a good reason to. You can't leave! What about me? What about the projects you are working on? What about the Twenty One Pilots contract I'm literally about to sign, with you working on it as well? What are you going to do for money?"
"All my current projects have either ended or are so near completion that a banana in a thong could finish them. You might struggle but a banana would be okay," Beca quipped.
"Rebeca?"
"Okay, that's two Rebeca's you've sent in my direction in the last thirty seconds," Beca complained.
"You'd better explain yourself!" Luke slotted his hands on his hips in such a way that Beca couldn't help but be reminded of Aubrey. She gave an internal chuckle about how Aubrey was clearly rubbing off on him and forced herself not to smile as she remembered Aubrey using the word trousers when she and Chloe had been discussing something in the kitchen a few days previously.
"They terminated my intern contract last week. No big deal."
"No big deal?" Luke's voice went up several octaves.
"Dude, chill out," Beca hushed, her eyes darting about to see if anyone was paying attention to their discussion.
"Why the effing hell didn't you tell me?" Luke asked in exasperation.
"I was hoping I wouldn't have to," Beca said, a little lamely.
"And you thought I wouldn't notice you not being in the office again?" Luke's voice was now edging to accusatory.
"I was hoping to land something new before I left, so you wouldn't have to worry and make a fuss about it."
"And have you?" Luke asked as he narrowed his eyes.
"No, not yet," Beca sighed as she shook her head.
"Beca...?"
"Sorry dude. But you know that I couldn't leave the girls behind and take that job in New York."
"No, I know but..." Luke paused, and ran his hands through his hair. "... things were going so well. What will Tyler say about you not helping on the next album? I thought the reason they were switching was because of you? Beca, you promised me you'd help me with-"
"-And I will dude. I'll still help you, just not through Universal."
"They've bailed on their promise of you going on Twenty One Pilots new album as co-producer?" Luke demanded.
"Okay, okay, I've had time to digest this over the last couple of weeks and I understand you haven't," Beca sighed, thinking back to the email she'd received in the pool house a few days earlier. "Listen, I'll talk to you about it all soon, I promise. But I've really gotta get out of here. I've got to leave in about half an hour and pick the girls up. I can't be late for them."
"I wish you didn't have to go now."
"I know, but come by the house later if you want to? I'll be back around two and I think Stacie will be there so I'll have time to chat then, okay?"
"Yeah, okay," Luke said, shaking his head and looking anything but okay. A thought struck him, and he asked, "Does Chloe know?"
Beca shook her head, "No, I've hardly seen her the last couple of weeks. She's been so busy filming, we've just about managed a hand over with the girls before she's either off out, or going to read her script somewhere. But I will tell her, please don't do that again."
"I won't. Damn, I've got to get up to this meeting. I'll come by later and we'll figure this mess out, okay?"
"Sure dude," Beca held out her knuckles for Luke to tap. "Look, thanks for everything okay?"
"No, you don't get to do that," Luke said firmly, the British stalwart part of him shining through.
"You're such a jerk sometimes Bryant," Beca laughed at his face good naturedly, as he turned to leave, shaking his head.
"And you are a heathen," Luke called out as he began walking down the corridor. He reached the end and turned left, before pulling out his phone and typing out a message.
.oOo.
"What flavour are you going to get?" Beca asked Kate, as they approached the counter of Salt & Straw on Ventura Boulevard. She'd picked the girls up from the house and had announced that they were going to sneak out for ice cream, which was met with a lot of ear piercing squeals of delight.
She knew that Chloe preferred this particular ice cream shop over any others in the local area; something to do with them donating a lot of free product to a charity event that Chloe had suddenly become quite interested in, and Beca was happy to bring the girls to somewhere their Mom would approve of. She'd not asked Chloe's permission to bring the girls; the reason being one she wanted to keep to herself for fear of the fuss Chloe might make.
She also wanted to do something just for her and the girls. A little bit of her worried that Chloe might want to come along too.
She tried to reason with herself that Chloe tagging along wouldn't be a bad thing, but after something Stacie had said a couple of weeks previously had made her start questioning if she was getting too close to Chloe. Stacie had asked her if she would be sharing a bed with Chloe the night they all went to Avlaon and she had put Chloe to bed, as she was too intoxicated to do it herself.
Beca knew Luke wouldn't have said anything, even to Aubrey, about her feelings towards Chloe. There were things that he knew never to repeat and that was one of them. She liked Chloe, she could admit that, but she didn't want anyone else knowing that she was developing quite a crush on the redhead.
Focussing her attention back on Kate, Beca laid a hand protectively on her shoulder as Kate stood on tiptoes to peer into the frosty cabinet. She was beginning to love the little girl just as much as she loved Jessie and Alex. With Jessie, the feeling was always there, whenever she so much as glanced at her. The same with Alex, it hadn't taken Beca long to feel the exact same way for her natural child.
As Beca spent more time with Kate, the more she learned all her little ways and quirks; like the way she had to hold onto someone the whole time they are out or colour a picture using the blunt end of a crayon. The more she learned the more Beca found Kate was Chloe's absolute double. Beca couldn't deny it, she was using Kate to understand Chloe a little more at the same time.
"Mommy?" Kate tugged on Beca's hand, pulling her out of yet another day dream. Since their night out at the pizza place, they'd taken to calling Beca 'Mommy' and Chloe 'Mama' with such ease, it was as if it had always happened.
"Yes baby?"
"I choseded my ice cream," Kate announced, pointing to one in the front row.
"Yeah?"
"Uh huh, it got them strawbabies I like," Kate nodded proudly.
"Strawberries?"
"Yup, strawbabies."
Beca shook her head lightly, choosing not to get into the right name of things as it didn't seem like the time or place for that kind of conversation and looked up to catch one of the servers attention. She turned around, noting Alex and Jessie were in a deep conversation about unicorns and called them both to come and choose their ice cream.
"Hi, can I help you?" The server, a young girl with a name tag of 'Meredith', smiled politely at them all.
"Yes, hi, um, can we get a scoop of the Roasted Strawberry and Toasted White Chocolate for her please?" Beca said, laying her hand on Kate's head. "And... Jess, what are you having?"
"Dat one." Jessie pointed to the same one as Kate.
"Make that two please," Beca nodded to Meredith. "Big Al, what would you like?"
"Can I has dis one?" Alex asked.
"Peanut butter? Yes, don't see why not. One of those as well please?"
"No problem," Meredith smiled politely. "Can I get you anything?"
"No, thanks, I'm okay," Beca said after a moment or two's pause. She was thinking back to how many dollars she had in her wallet and wasn't sure if she had enough to cover four scoops.
Meredith nodded, "Cones or tubs?"
"Um, tubs please?" Beca answered quickly, thinking... or hoping, there'd be less mess with a tub than a dripping cone. She was still driving one of Chloe's cars and was doing her utmost to keep it clean.
"I can pack them in a freezer pack if you are driving somewhere?" Meredith offered, reaching over for the ice cream scoop.
"Oh, yeah, that'd be great," Beca smiled before turning to the girls. "Shall we take this to the park and eat it there?"
"Yeah!" All three girls chorused together.
"They're really cute," Meredith smiled as she reached under the counter for a freezer box.
"Thanks," Beca said, feeling quite prideful, wanting nothing more in that moment to gather up all three girls and hug them.
"Okay, so that'll be fifteen, eighty when you are ready please?" Meredith said, slipping the box into a plastic bag. Beca nearly swallowed her tongue at the price of the ice cream but dipped her hand into her pocket for her wallet and schooled her features.
She breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled out all the notes she had, thanking her lucky stars that it came to sixteen dollars. She handed over the cash and took the bag from the counter, slotting her hand through the handles. Meredith went to hand Beca the change but Beca nodded towards the tip jar instead.
"Sorry it's not more..." Beca grimaced a little but Meredith smiled as if it wasn't a problem at all and wished the family a good afternoon. "Come on girls, let's go. Jessie, hold Kate's hand. Big Al, you've got me as your buddy."
Alex stopped in her tracks and grabbed Beca's hand as they headed towards the door and out into the bright sunshine. They walked a little way towards the car, the girls talking excitedly about their ice cream and who was going to finish theirs first.
Once everyone was buckled in, Beca drove the short distance over to the rec ground they frequented quite often, finding a parking spot quite close to the entrance. She parked easily and not wanting the ice cream to melt, quickly unloaded the girls and walked over to the shady tree that had quickly become one of her favourite places in the park.
"Why we has ice cream today?" Jessie asked as Beca began to unpack the three small tubs.
"No reason," Beca said, lifting the lid on one of the tubs and handing it to Alex. She passed out the other two to Jessie and Kate before dipping her hand in the box to fish out three small ice cream spoons. Grateful that they were all pink, ensuring there'd be no bickering over who wanted what colour spoon, she passed each girl a spoon.
"We only gets dis for a good today," Kate nodded towards her tub.
"Sometimes a day just calls for ice cream," Beca said simply, grateful she was able to treat the girls to a little something. She tried not to think about the fact that she'd just spent all of her money for the week in one go and instead listened to the girls squeaks of delight as they dug into their cool treat.
"You has some?" Alex offered Beca a spoonful after a couple of minutes.
"No baby, you eat it."
"I share," Alex said, almost shoving the spoon into Beca's mouth. Beca couldn't resist the earnest look on Alex's face and tried not to laugh at the creamy moustache the little girl was currently sporting as she took a bite of Alex's ice cream.
"Oooh, that's lovely!" Beca almost cooed as the flavour rolled round her mouth. Alex grinned triumphantly.
"Taste mine," Jessie said, digging into her tub for some ice cream for Beca to taste.
"Thank you," Beca said, attempting to wrestle the spoon from Jessie's fingers in an effort to not wear half of it. She preferred the taste of the strawberry one but didn't say so in case Alex didn't want to finish hers up. "That's nice too."
"I not sharing," Kate declared, wrapping both hands around her tub and turning away slightly from the others, looking back suspiciously at Beca in case she attempted to steal some. It made Beca laugh out loud, startling Kate a little.
"That's okay baby, you don't have to share," Beca ruffled the little girl's hair and looked out over to the park. It was relatively empty, save for a couple of joggers and someone practising a couple of weird yoga moves.
"I finished!" Alex announced, a couple of minutes later, drawing Beca's attention away from the man making impressive shapes in her peripheral vision.
"Well done, you win the prize for the fastest eater!" Beca grinned, wrestling the tub away from Alex as she attempted to lick the remaining ice cream up, sticking her whole face into the bowl. Alex didn't seem to care one jolt that she was now covered in sticky goodness.
Alex wiped her hands down her shorts and moved over to sit in between Beca's legs. She leaned back against Beca, nestling into her chest and Beca bent down and planted a noisy kiss on the top of her head. A cool breeze swept past them as Jessie and Kate finished their ice cream at the same time and both scooted to tuck themselves into Beca's sides, cuddling up with her and tossing their tubs back into the now empty bag.
Beca wrapped her arms around all three girls as best she could and hugged them to her. Despite the fact that she now had no job, nowhere permanent to live, no car and no money, Beca leant back against the tree and decided it really was a perfect day.
.oOo.
message from chloe.m, to luke.b - 14.06 - Hi! Sorry Luke, was finishing up a shoot for a fight scene. You asked if I'd spoken to Beca today; I haven't yet, is everything okay? Is there a problem with the girls? Chloe xx
message from luke.b, to chloe.m - 14.08 - Hi, yes everything and everyone is fine. I just wondered if you knew what Beca's plans were this afternoon. Luke
message from chloe.m, to luke.b - 14.11 - I thought she was working, like normal?
message from luke.b, to chloe.m - 14.14 - She took the afternoon off, I think
message from chloe.m, to luke.b - 14.15 - Oh okay, that's unusual for her to take time off. I hope she's feeling okay? Should I call her?
message from luke.b, to chloe.m - 14.16 - Not really, she would often take her birthday off to spend with Jessie so it would make sense that she'd do that with the girls.
message from chloe.m, to luke.b - 14.17 - It's her BIRTHDAY?
Luke was about to tap out a response when his phone began to ring. Seeing it was Chloe, he quickly swiped to take the call.
"Chloe, hi..."
"It's her birthday today?" Chloe asked again, sounding out of breath as if she was walking quickly somewhere.
"Yes," Luke frowned, wondering if he shouldn't have mentioned it to Chloe. He didn't recall Beca ever keeping her birthday a secret, but he also knew that she didn't really celebrate it. He was surprised that Chloe didn't know though. "September twenty second."
Luke heard Chloe sigh.
"Oh my goodness, I did know. My alarm code... her birthday. Oh gosh Luke, thank you so much for reminding me."
"Well, I-"
"-I can't believe I forgot. I've been so busy lately."
"I honestly don't think Beca will care. She doesn't really celebrate her birthday."
"Why not?" Chloe almost demanded to know.
"I guess, growing up... I mean, life wasn't easy for her and I would imagine birthdays were forgotten. I know Jesse always tried to do something with her like take her to go and see a film at their local movie theatre but she didn't want to do that once he'd passed. I tried to take her out for dinner once but it just seemed... like she wanted to forget it."
"I understand," Chloe sounded a lot calmer. "But I should have remembered."
"I asked her to go to lunch with me as I was heading off to a meeting but she took the girls out for ice cream instead."
"She took the girls out?"
"Yes, she... didn't she tell you?" It was Luke's turn to be confused.
"No, she didn't," Chloe said, a little firmly.
"I hope I've not spoken out of turn here," Luke spoke gently, testing the waters.
"Oh no, absolutely not. She doesn't have to run anything past me. They are her children too. I'm just surprised she didn't shoot me a text to let me know."
"Do you want me to talk to her?"
"No, honestly, it's okay. I've been so wrapped up lately, she may have said something and I've completely forgotten."
"She'll look after them, don't worry."
"Oh Luke," Chloe breathed out. "I trust Beca completely with the girls. I'm just mad at myself for not even getting her a card. I'll organise something now."
"I wouldn't go too crazy," Luke offered his advice, knowing Chloe's habit of going 'all in'. "She's pretty low key with things."
"Thank you Luke, I agree. I'll pick up some flowers on the way home. What are Beca's favourites, do you know?"
"I'm sorry, I have absolutely no idea. I've never... I wouldn't know." Luke sighed.
"Thank you, no problem. I'd better go, I've still got one more scene to do and I'd like to arrange something for Beca. Would you like to come by for drinks later? I'm sure she wouldn't mind a few friends coming round. Keep it casual though."
"That would be lovely. Shall I call Amy?"
"Yes, please. Shall we say drinks around seven?"
"Perfect," Luke nodded to himself, pleased with the simplicity of the plan. He knew Beca wouldn't mind a small gathering. "I'll see you later Chloe, have a wonderful afternoon."
"And you Luke. Thanks again." Chloe said, hanging up quickly. Luke chuckled to himself and slipped his phone back onto his desk, turning his attention back to his laptop and the email that had come in a few minutes previously. He read the email, his eyes widening as he took in the words in both of the paragraphs.
"What the bloody hell..." he gasped out loud to the empty room.
.oOo.
"Are you hungry Beca?" Stacie yelled from the kitchen just after five. She'd prepared the girls some dinner as Beca was engaged in the serious game of playing princesses with the girls in the playroom.
They'd come back from their time in the park around two and Beca had been persuaded by both Jessie and Kate to play dress up with them. She'd initially joined forces with Alex in protesting but eventually the two redheads had won them over. Alex was currently acting out the part of a hungry bear, chasing the three princesses up into a tall tower - Beca had questioned who was going to rescue them if they got stuck at the top of the tower, which largely resembled the sofa in the playroom but apparently she was thinking too far ahead - and Beca breathed a sigh of relief when Stacie interrupted them.
"No, thanks, I'm good," Beca called back before turning to the girls. "I think dinner is ready ladies."
"Noooo, we're just-" Jessie began to protest.
"-I know, but Mama will be home soon and we want to be ready with our hands washed and full bellies, don't we?" Beca asked, looking at the three disappointed faces. "We can carry on with the game tomorrow?"
That seemed to do the trick as the three little girls scrambled to their feet in unison and ran from the playroom towards the washroom. Beca sighed a little too heavily as she pulled on one of the chairs to stand up.
"You're amazing with them, you know that?" Stacie observed from the doorway where she was leaning, drying her hands on a towel.
"Oh, I don't know about that!" Beca laughed, running her hands through her hair. She glanced down at her watch, wondering what time Luke was coming. He's said he'd be there in the afternoon and she'd not received a call or message from him. Not wanting to disturb him when she knew he'd got an afternoon full of meetings, she'd not texted him either.
"Chloe messaged to say she'd be home around six thirty."
"Okay, thanks. Late one today," Beca stated.
"Yes, it happens sometimes."
Beca nodded her responses and followed Stacie through to the kitchen. "Hey, you mind if I go and finish up some set ideas for my gig on Thursday?
"Not at all, I've got this," Stacie nodded towards the girls as they came piling into the kitchen. "Sneak out while you can, or you'll never get away."
Beca grinned and ducked out of the kitchen, heading towards the patio doors and to the pool house. She'd had a lovely afternoon with the girls but was in desperate need of some rock and roll to tone down all the pink she'd put up with.
Closing the door quietly behind her, she scooped up her laptop off of her bed and rummaged around in her work bag for a set of headphones. She'd been truthful when she said she wanted to finish up some work for her next gig at Avalon but she found herself drawn to a folder on her desktop that was simply labelled 'Chloe'.
Beca didn't like the word muse, but she found when she got stuck for ideas, she'd immediately begin to think of Chloe and a creative awakening would take over. She hated to admit it but some of her best work was inspired by the redhead.
She took a seat on the small sofa, clicked on the folder and scrolled down through the hundred or so pieces until she found one to listen to. Slipping the headphones over her ears, she closed her eyes and leant back into the seat and let the melody begin to restore her soul a little. She didn't even mind that all she saw were images of Chloe, her smile and her eyes as the music filtered through her veins.
Beca really didn't know what to do about her feelings for Chloe. She knew what Luke had said a few weeks previously when he hinted that Chloe might like her too, but Beca couldn't see it. Chloe hadn't said anything to her at all... but then she knew she'd not said anything to Chloe.
She turned the idea around a few times in her mind, mulling it over. Chloe was still married to David and as far as Beca was aware there, they hadn't begun divorce proceedings yet. Beca knew she had little to offer in terms of a relationship and, as she groaned to herself, their life was complicated enough without throwing a romance into the mix.
Hearing her phone buzz on the seat next to her, she glanced down, noticing it was coming up to seven o'clock and couldn't believe she'd been thinking about Chloe for the past couple of hours. Swiping on the screen, she saw a short message from Luke letting her know he'd just arrived.
Knowing Stacie would let him in, she shut her laptop and pulled off her headphones before crossing to the small bathroom in the pool house. She quickly washed her hands and squeezed some toothpaste onto her toothbrush and hurriedly scrubbed her teeth clean. Checking herself in the mirror, she noticed small blobs of dried ice cream stuck to her shirt, and quickly stepped back into the main room to change into a vest and checked shirt, ignoring her mind screaming that she'd picked out the one that Chloe said she looked really good in a few weeks ago.
She locked the pool house door behind her and walked over to the main house, inhaling the light fragrance from the fall flowers that were still in abundance in the yard. This season was her favourite as the temperatures began to dip slightly and a lot of the tourists would go back home.
Shutting the patio doors behind her, she heard Luke talking to Stacie in the kitchen so poked her head around the door, nodding her greeting to him before she stepped into the room. She wasn't surprised to see Aubrey with him, dressed in her usual fitted three piece work pants suit, with her hair twisted back into an elegant knot.
After her initial disgust at Luke and Aubrey being together had worn off, she began to see what they saw in each other. Chloe had always been overly dramatic in her want for someone like a white knight to come and sweep Aubrey off of her feet, and Luke fit that description quite well.
"Hello Beca," Aubrey said politely, snapping Beca out of her thoughts.
"Hey Aubrey," Beca nodded back.
"You okay Becs?" Luke asked, holding out his fist for Beca to bump.
"Yup," she countered before turning to Stacie. "Where are the girls?"
"Chloe's just putting them to bed."
"Oh, right. I'll just pop up and say goodnight then," Beca said, feeling slightly annoyed that no one had come to get her too. But then she remembered that she'd told Stacie she was going to work so that was on her.
She left the kitchen and took the stairs two at a time, reaching the girls bedroom door quickly. She could hear Chloe reading them a bedtime story and held back a laugh as she heard Alex trying to join in when there was a part about a bear. As the story came to an end and Chloe bid the girls goodnight, Beca stuck her head around the door, catching Chloe's eye.
"Hi," Beca said softly, noticing just how tired Chloe looked.
"Hi," the redhead immediately perked up, and beamed her best smile back at Beca.
"Just came up to say goodnight," Beca kept her voice low, noting that the girls had snuggled down into the beds and looked ready for sleep. She gave each girl a kiss and an 'I love you' in turn, before stepping out of the room to give Chloe her turn.
"You look lovely tonight," Chloe winked at Beca as she pulled the girl's door behind her, leaving it open just a crack. "I love that shirt on you. The colour really suits you."
Beca felt her face flush but hoped the darkening light in the hallway would hide it from Chloe.
"Thanks," she mumbled out. "Did you have a good day?"
"It was long, very long. Had to do the same scene like a hundred times and I thought the director was going to lose his mind at one point, but we got there in the end. How about you?"
"Yeah, good. We went out for ice cream. Hope that was okay?"
"Of course it is," Chloe beamed, laying her hand on Beca's arm. "I heard all about it when I got home, believe me!"
Beca chuckled and turned to go back down the stairs. "Oh, sorry, I invited Luke here... I needed to talk to him about some stuff and he was supposed to come this afternoon but he's only just got here."
"That's not a problem."
"Yeah, but you're tired and-"
"-honestly Beca, that's nothing new!"
Thinking that this was the longest conversation they'd had in the last couple of weeks, Beca nodded gently and pulled her arm away from Chloe's grasp, not hearing the disappointed sigh that came from the redhead. She trotted down the stairs with Chloe in tow, just as she heard the front gate rolling back.
"Are you expecting company?" Beca asked as she reached the foot of the stairs.
"Mmm hmm," Chloe responded noncommittally and headed towards the front door. "Go on into the kitchen, I'll be through in a moment or two."
"Okay."
"Drink Beca?" Stacie called out, her impeccable timing in place as usual.
"Uh, yeah, fruit juice would be good."
"A proper drink Bec?" Luke laughed as Beca took up a spot on one of the kitchen stools.
She looked around, noticing the wine glass in Aubrey's hand and the beer in Luke's. "Oh, sure, um, beer would be good."
"Coming right up," Stacie said, busying herself getting the drink organised.
"Happy Birthday Becatron!"
"Amy!" Beca jumped a little as her Australian friend stepped into the kitchen, brandishing her arms wide and nearly taking Stacie's eye out. Stacie just ducked out of the way and carried on, completely unphased. "Who told you it was my birthday? Luke!"
"Guilty!" Luke laughed, seeing the big smile on Beca's face as her friend rushed forward to hug her.
"Couldn't not come and see me bezzie mate on her birthday, could I now! God, you're skinny!" Amy said, throwing her arms around her friend and squeezing her so tightly that Beca felt a rib shift.
"I'm not!" Beca hissed out, trying not to move in case Amy really did break something.
"Where are me girls?" Amy laughed, letting go of Beca.
"In bed, so keep your noise down, Ames," Beca muttered, rubbing her side.
"Aww, Becaloobaloo, it's been ages since I saw 'em last."
"Well, come around a bit more then."
"I would, but you know, me boyfriend Bumper and I, well, we've been getting it-"
"-Nope!" Beca raised her hand in protest. "I do not want to know, thanks."
Amy chuckled before moving away, lightly punching Luke on the arm and saying hello to Aubrey in a manner that surprised Beca as Amy was almost normal.
"Happy Birthday Beca," Chloe said quietly in Beca's ear, making her jump as she hadn't realised she was so close behind her.
"Thanks," Beca blushed, Chloe's breath sending shivers down her spine. She stole a glance at Chloe's face, unable to get a good read if Chloe was upset with Beca for her not telling her that it was her birthday.
"Hope you don't mind that a few friends popped over for a birthday drink?"
"No, it's... thank you for organising," Beca matched Chloe's smile.
"Shall we take this out onto the patio?" Chloe offered, gesturing towards the door, and getting a general murmuring as consent to follow her plan. She stayed back in the kitchen to sort out some music as Stacie carried a couple of trays of nibbles out with her.
"Need a hand?" Beca asked, pausing at the door.
"I got it," Chloe tilted her head in Beca's direction.
"Becs!" Luke called from his spot on the patio. "Come on birthday girl."
Beca shook her head at her best friend and stepped out onto the deck, taking a seat next to Luke.
"I thought you were coming round earlier?" Beca muttered as she sat down.
"Sorry, got caught up with a few things at work."
"Did you get your contract signed?" Beca asked.
"Let's talk about that later..." Luke said, seeing Chloe catch his eye from the kitchen door. She gestured for him to come and help her and Beca watched as he jumped up from his seat and went to assist Chloe with a large and heavy looking box that Luke placed gently in front of Beca.
"What's this?" She looked at Luke as she spoke.
"Nothing to do with me," he said, retaking his seat.
"Chloe?"
"Open it and find out silly. I'm sorry I didn't remember it was your birthday..."
"I don't expect you to remember stuff like that, you've got enough going on."
"Well, I hope this makes up for it," Chloe said lightly.
Beca pulled at the edge of the tape that was holding the box closed, stripping it off completely before lifting up the nearest cardboard flap and peering inside.
"Chloe..." Beca breathed out, reaching into the box. "... what the hell is this?"
"It's a gift for you Beca, for your birthday."
"But this... this is a Gibson Hummingbird..."
"Whoa," Luke said softly, sitting upright in his seat and watching as Beca pulled out a brand new guitar from the box in front of her.
"Chloe, where did you get this?" Beca exclaimed.
"At the Guitar Center in Sherman Oaks," Chloe replied, taking a sip from her glass of wine.
"It's new, isn't it?" Beca narrowed her eyes as she turned the instrument over in her hands.
"Yes, of course," Chloe said carefully. She was getting the sense that something wasn't right by the look on Beca's face. "The owner said it was the best acoustic guitar on the market."
"Exactly," Beca said flatly.
"You mentioned saving up for a guitar a few months back," Chloe remarked.
"Yeah, I know but you didn't have to get me one."
"I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to."
"I can't accept this," Beca said, laying the guitar back down in the box and frowning.
"May I ask why?" Chloe said, doing her best to hide the hurt in her voice. "If I've got you the wrong one, I am sure we can exchange this for something else."
Beca shot her a look that Chloe didn't understand.
"You said you wanted one," Chloe finished quietly.
"Yeah, I was going to save up and get a cheap second hand one, something from Facebook Marketplace or from a junk shop for a few bucks."
"Now you don't have to," Chloe smiled, stepping forward but refraining from reaching out and touching Beca.
Beca scoffed, the sound echoing around the patio.
"Bec," Luke muttered, his tone full of warning. He knew that Chloe couldn't understand what was happening here but he knew exactly what Beca was thinking.
"No Luke, you don't understand," Beca cricked her neck before turning to Chloe. "I'm super grateful Chloe, I really am but I can't accept this. This is a four thousand dollar guitar."
Chloe looked around the group, "Yes, I know."
"Four thousand dollars Chloe," Beca repeated.
"What have I done wrong Beca?" Chloe suddenly looked even more tired than she had before.
"I've got about twelve cents in my bank account right now, I spent my last sixteen dollars taking the girls out for ice cream today and-"
"-I can pay for that," Chloe interjected and drew back as she watched Beca's nostrils flare.
"I don't want your money Chloe! You don't need to buy me expensive presents. I'm not worth it."
"Hey, that's not true," Chloe looked a little shocked at Beca's words. "I just wanted to make your birthday a little special this year. I know it's been a tough year and before you say anything, I know that's also my fault. I wanted to bring a little joy into your life."
"Inviting my friends round for a drink is enough Chloe! Don't you see that?"
"No," Chloe, somewhat mystified, shook her head. "I think you deserve the world Beca. You're amazing, and so talented with music and it hurts me that you don't have the equipment that you need to make your sounds even better. I'm sorry that I've obviously offended you by buying you a simple gift."
"But it's not a simple gift, it's more money than I make in three months... Pfff, it's now more money than I'll make in six months."
"Then pawn it Beca, for all I care!" Chloe raised her voice and gripped the stem of her wine glass so hard, the white of her knuckles showed. "For goodness sake, it's just a gift. Who cares what it costs?"
"I care, I can't do the same for you when it's your birthday!"
"I've not asked you to! You just being here is enough for me at the moment, I don't need gifts and it's ridiculous to-"
"-Chloe..." Aubrey put her hand out, catching Chloe on the arm.
"No, Aubrey, no. She's been part of my family for the last seven months. It's part of my job to take care of her," Chloe bit back at her best friend, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks.
"I'm not your job, Chloe. Your job is to look after the girls. You do that perfectly," Beca said, feeling a little guilty with how upset she'd made Chloe. "I don't want you thinking you have to buy me things."
"I don't. I just wanted you to have a nice gift. I'm sorry that I offended you," Chloe bent down and began straightening the guitar back in the box.
"Beca," Luke lowered his voice as he turned to his best friend. "Make this right and stop being so stubborn."
"But Luke," Beca hissed back in his ear, "It's four thousand dollars."
"Four thousand dollars is a lot of money, I agree. To you, it's more money than you've ever had but to Chloe..." Luke nudged his bottle subtly in Chloe's direction. "... it's almost chump change. Okay, I know that is blunt but it's true. Four thousand dollars to Chloe is about four cents to you, probably so much less. So swallow your pride and thank her for that beautiful instrument."
"But I-"
"-And credit the first song you write on it back to her or pay her out of the royalties but make it right."
Beca sat back and thought about what Luke said, as she watched Chloe begin to fold the flaps of the box shut.
"Wait," she said, putting her hands up. Chloe paused and looked over to her. "I'm sorry, I'm being an ass. Chloe, I'm really sorry, I'm just a bit shocked and overwhelmed by this. I'm not used to birthday gifts, I'm not used to people caring in such an abundant way. Please accept my apology."
Beca stood up and held her arms out towards Chloe, who rushed forward to fall into Beca's embrace.
"I'm sorry," Chloe whispered in Beca's ear. "I didn't mean to offend you."
"I'm sorry too. You didn't offend me, I'm just really surprised you picked such an amazing instrument for me. I'd love to accept it."
They separated but Chloe leant over to plant a kiss on the side of Beca's cheek before pulling on the box flaps again. The redhead reached into the box and pulled out the guitar by its neck, holding it out to Beca.
"Whoa, be careful with it," Beca's hands flew out to catch it. "Can't damage the important bit."
"It's left handed for you," Chloe explained.
"Someone did their research!" Beca laughed. "How did they have one in stock? They usually build the lefties to order."
"I just asked, I guess I got lucky," Chloe smiled, fooling no one but Beca's eyes were drawn back to the instrument and she missed the look that Aubrey shot Chloe. She slipped back into her seat and rested the guitar on her knee before reaching round to play a couple of chords, tightening the tuning pegs and returning her hand around the finger board.
She began to play the opening sequence to Free Fallin by Tom Petty, strumming easily on the strings, losing herself in the music for a moment.
"You must have taken lessons for years, Beca," Aubrey said, impressed as Beca paused to tighten one of the tuning keys again.
"I had one or two, yes."
"One or two hundred?" Aubrey asked, looking at Luke for confirmation.
"Nah, just a couple from this teacher in my high school. He let me use the equipment for a week or two at the end of the school year," Beca explained before turning to Chloe, not seeing the look of astonishment on Aubrey's face. "Thank you Chloe, this really is a beautiful piece of equipment."
"You're welcome Beca, happy birthday," Chloe beamed, their argument already forgotten.
Beca smiled back, holding onto the guitar with everything she had.
"I didn't bring a gift, but I do have something to give you..." Luke said, reaching into the pocket of his sports jacket and pulling out an envelope.
"Luke, I-"
"-No, no, this isn't a gift," Luke stressed. "This had nothing to do with me, and everything to do with you."
He handed Beca an envelope which she took tentatively from him.
"What is it?" She asked suspiciously.
"Something you've always wanted."
"Beach house on Malibu Beach?" Amy quipped.
"Victoria's Secret model on your arm?" Chloe winked.
"A round the world trip?" Stacie offered her suggestion into the mix.
"Designer clothes?" Aubrey shrugged her shoulders. "A Rolex?"
"What have you always wanted, Beca?" Luke asked.
"Luke?" Beca looked confused as she turned the envelope over in her hands.
"Go on, open it," he urged.
"What have you always wanted in life, Beca?" Luke repeated his question.
"A chance," Beca said slowly as she opened the envelope and pulled out two sheets of paper from inside. She opened the letter and read the first few lines, gasping loud enough to make enough sit still in their seats. "What the actual fuck?"
"Is it a Ferrari?" Amy laughed. "Box seats to a Dodger's game?
"No, it's a... Luke, how the hell did you-"
"-I had no hand in this. This is all you," Luke nodded in her direction, his eyes shining and his smile as wide as his face. Beca looked up from the papers in her hands and it was plain to see the tears in her eyes.
"What is it, Bec?" Chloe said, stepping forward quickly and threading her arm round Beca's waist.
"It's a contract," Beca gulped. "From Universal. A permanent freaking contract. I've got a fucking job!"
She squeezed her eyes shut and let the tears fall down her cheeks as she pressed the letter into Chloe's hand for her to read.
"Dear Miss Rebeca Mitchell," Chloe began to read out loud. "After much careful and considerate deliberation, we have come to the conclusion that you are too much of a valuable asset to the company, and to the industry, to lose you as our intern. Wait, when did that stop?"
"Keep reading," Amy called out.
"We would like to offer you a position of Senior Music Producer, based in our Los Angeles office," Chloe continued. "The starting salary is one hundred and eighty five thousand dollars per year, plus five percent commissions with the opportunity to work towards performance bonuses, which are payable on a quarterly basis. You will also have the opportunity to work on your own music or with any of Universal's portfolio and also to bring in new talent. You will be assigned a company vehicle upon acceptance of this offer. There is also a generous benefits package attached which will be discussed at your acceptance interview. We welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss the above in further details on October fifteenth at ten o'clock. We look forward to seeing you then. Best regards, Kirk Beaumont, Director Of Operations, Universal Music Group. Oh my gosh, Beca!"
"Did you do this?" Beca smiled through her tears at Luke.
"No, it's all you," Luke grinned back at his friend.
"How did they-"
"-My meeting today, to sign the Twenty One Pilots contract? Mr Beaumont asked where you were and I explained that you were no longer an intern at Universal. He made a couple of calls and I got an email this afternoon about it. I asked to be the one to tell you."
"You're going to need to fill me in on what's happened today?" Chloe laughed, squeezing Beca into her side. She was surprised when Beca wrapped her arm around Chloe's shoulder and pulled her in for a hug.
"Yeah... I guess, I... wow. A Gibson Hummingbird, and a job offer in one night!"
"Now that's what I call a birthday!" Chloe giggled. "I think this calls for champagne!"
"I agree!" Aubrey called out. "Congratulations Beca."
"Thanks Aubrey."
Beca pulled away from Chloe and flung her arms around Luke. "I don't know what you said or what you did to get me this job but I'm eternally grateful."
"And you're already a senior, how about that?" Luke chuckled into her ear.
"Wait, does that make me your boss now?"
"Don't get any ideas above your station Mitchell."
"I sure won't. My God, I've got a job!"
.oOo.