Hope all is well, keep your head up and we all appreciate you ❤️
Many thanks dude! Hanging in there. Hope you’re doing well too. Have a one shot based on the wonderful movie ‘Yesterday’ 💛
Beca rifles through draws full of clothes trying to find as many items that will suit the warm weather that LA has to offer. Everything has happened so fast. The recording contract. The expectations. The move.
“Will you miss me, Beca?”
The question rings out around Beca’s childhood bedroom - the one she’s been hanging in for the past twenty minutes while she attempts to top up her suitcase with the rest of her belongings that she plans to take over to LA with her. The question is slightly slurred. But heavy. Not heavy in tone but there’s a weight behind it that seems to suggest only one very exact answer.
“Of course I’ll miss you.” Beca mumbles noncelantly, before suddenly pausing and standing upright. She turns to her left and addresses the only other person in the room. The person whose insecurities shine from time to time - this appearing to be one of them. Chloe peers nervously from over the Champagne flute that she holds to her lips, and Beca’s chest tightens at the sight of those bright blue eyes while she insists firmly, “Hey. Of course I’ll miss you.”
Chloe scoffs, and as she sips champagne she resumes her focus on the wall beside her, staring at two very clear columns on a small whiteboard on Beca’s bedroom wall.
“You’re leaving so I can ask you anything, right?” the redhead asks rhetorically, rocking back and forth, one arm crossed protectively over her stomach while her opposite hand holds the glass. She turns to look Beca deftly in the eye, “How did I get missed off?”
Beca’s brow slowly furrows as the room falls silent. She has no idea what her best friend is talking about. Missed off? Missed off what? Chloe seems to take a deep breath through her nose and explains with one long exhale:
“You have two columns here - ‘Friends’ and ‘Family’ - both listing people you want to thank. But I’m not on either. I’m in this corner at the bottom.” Chloe motions in a disappointed tone at the bottom left of the whiteboard and sure enough, in tiny writing, her name is handwritten, “I’m not even in a column. Not in the ‘friends’ column. Not in the ‘family’ column. There’s not even a ‘potential romance’ column...”
Beca swallows loudly at what she realises Chloe is implying. That Chloe is actually implying that she has feelings for her. Romantic feelings. And it’s completely caught her off guard. But as she opens her mouth to respond, her step-mother suddenly knocks loudly on the half open bedroom door and sticks her head in the room.
“Come on Beca if you don’t hurry you’ll miss your father’s speech.” she says with a chuckle, “We need him to get it over with before he gets too drunk.”
Beca watches Sheila leave, then turns back to Chloe who is looking over at her anxiously. Beca can’t help but smile nervously:
“God. There’s columns.” she mutters and Chloe let’s out a light chuckle through her nose, nodding gently.
“There’s definitely columns.” she agrees.
Just as Beca opens her mouth to respond Sheila appears in the door again.
“No seriously, it’s getting a bit hairy down there and your dad’s still drinking. Come on.”
She leaves swiftly once again. Beca turns to Chloe, completely stunned by her best friend’s revelation. After all these years. And she has no idea what to think or say or do.
“Wow Chloe I...” Beca pauses, her voice catching in her throat when she sees tears building in Chloe’s eyes. God she’s always been the worst at words when they’ve really mattered. So all she adds is, “Big news on a big night.” internally cringing while Chloe nods gently. But the room remains silent, neither knowing what to say. And as Beca’s name is called from downstairs by her friends and family, the brunette clears her throat, let’s out a sigh and an apologetic grimace, and makes her way out of the bedroom.
Beca lets out a tired sigh, stepping out of the elevator of her hotel in New York. Being here for only twenty four hours is the worst. And having to work constantly during the daylight hours is also the worst. But the worst thing of all is now - having to find something to do with the rare and precious free time she has this evening.
She has Fat Amy to lean on in the day, having chosen her as her PA in order to keep some sort of familiarity to her mad new life. Not always reliable but at least the Australian has Beca’s best interests at heart. And Amy being Amy, she’s quick to find some guy to take her out on a date while in the city.
So this evening Beca decides quite quickly to find somewhere to grab some takeout to eat in her hotel room before inevitably falling asleep at around eight thirty. She shifts awkwardly on the spot as the elevator descends, clutching to her sunglasses that she plans on wearing despite the time of day. The casual jeans and hooded sweater should hopefully complete the look of someone unapproachable. But just as the elevator doors begin opening, she lets out a choked gasp. There, standing before her, is-
Chloe, with her arms outstretched to her sides and a beaming smile on her face. And all in one swoop Beca feels relieved and stunned and excited and calm and as though she’s home.
“Surprise!” Chloe bursts, letting out a chuckle as Beca strides up to her.
“Wha-?” Beca, stunned, dives forward to pull Chloe into a brief hug, “what are you doing here??” she questions, stepping back a pace with a beaming smile on her face, her mouth hanging open in shock.
“I was in the area and thought I’d track you down!” Chloe begins to explain, her hands flapping while she speaks with an air of excitement mixed with nerves, “See if you wanted to grab some food and catch up?”
“Ye-yeah!” Beca bursts, still beaming, “Yes!”
“Won’t you get in trouble for being out this late?” Chloe asks, her cheeks flushed while they stand at the bar area of a downtown bar. The bar tender slides two double shots of some fruity liquor their way, and both women grab the glasses.
Returning to their old haunts has felt like the most natural thing to do whilst in this city. The numbers of nights they’d meet after work, grab a load of drinks, reminisce about Barden and The Bellas and their achievements in college, end up in a karaoke bar, finish somewhere that sold fries, which they’d share on the journey back to their tiny little apartment in Brooklyn. Beca misses those days. She misses Chloe. And she hopes Chloe misses those days too..
“Probably.” Beca replies with a sloppy smirk. They’ve had dinner and drank a lot of wine. Now they’re on the shots at a new venue. It’ll only be a matter of time before a karaoke bar is suggested.
“Well by all means leave. I don’t wanna get you in trouble.” Chloe slurs with a chuckle, nudging Beca with her elbow, causing the brunette to spill her alcohol slightly. Beca gasps with a huge grin on her face, and the moment she sees Chloe bring a hand to her mouth apologetically, she laughs loudly. She hasn’t laughed like this in months. It feels wholesome to finally be able to do it again. And with such ease.
“I’ll only leave with you.” Beca eventually answers, and with that answer they both fall silent, looking into each other’s eyes.
Beca and Chloe sit side by side on the edge of Beca’s hotel bed, looking down at their own hands that tap anxiously on their own knees. The TV in the hotel room is on, providing low background noise. However, that background noise is joined by the nervous breathing coming from both Beca and Chloe’s noses.
“Wow,” Chloe finally says, glancing at Beca awkwardly, “long pause.” and the two let out a nervous chuckle in time with one another. Things have never felt this nervous between them before. What’s changed?
“Yeah.” Beca replies. The silence resumes while they look into each other’s eyes. She thinks back to Chloe’s revelation earlier in the year. She wonders how long Chloe’s had feelings for her. She wonders how it could feel so natural to glance down at Chloe’s lips and suddenly want to kiss her. It’s the first time she’s truly felt an urge like this towards Chloe. But it feels...right.
“Can I turn the lights off?” she eventually mumbles. She notes the brief hesitation on Chloe’s face, but the redhead simply nods gently.
Beca rises to her feet while exhaling - a feeble attempt to calm her nerves. The light switch is only a few paces away but it feels as though it takes her forever to reach it. The moment she switches the main lights in her hotel room off, she is brought screeching through to reality of the current situation. Of being here with Chloe. Alone. In her hotel room. And it all brings a sober wave hurtling over Beca’s body.
She turns to look at Chloe, and it’s as though she’s seeing her best friend for the first time, the glow of the TV highlighting the woman’s features. Her beautiful red hair. Her hooded blue eyes. A whisper of a smile as Chloe looks back at her both drunk and anxious.
Beca heads slowly over to the bed and within seconds Chloe is stood before her, both with their hands by their sides. Their chests rise and fall as their nerves increase. And Beca swallows loudly as she mumbles:
“Probably.” Chloe replies in the tiniest of voices.
The pause that comes shortly after is joined by the sound of their breathing as both Beca and Chloe slowly lean their faces towards one another and hesitate, their noses nudging slightly against the other’s cheek. They’ve been physically close to one another before, on plenty of occasions. They’d once shared a bed for a couple of years so there’s no real nerves about one another’s personal space being invaded. But they’ve never leant their faces this close to one another before. Have never nudged their noses gently into the nook of each other’s face. Have never felt the others warm breath wash over their skin like this before.
When their lips finally meet, it is a soft and cautious kiss. As though neither is sure that this is still the right decision, though both have wanted to go through with it. Beca wonders if she’s doing enough, after all Chloe has wanted this for a while, right? And Beca is fairly certain that in some sense she’s wanted this for a long time to. It’s just perhaps only now bubbling to the surface of her consciousness for her to make bolder decisions.
Suddenly Chloe breaks the kiss with a chuckle, and Beca’s mouth remains hung open in shock. Chloe’s nervous, Beca knows she is. She knows that Chloe gets flustered like this. She knows Chloe almost as well as she knows herself,
“Oh my god,” Chloe bursts, “you just touched my ass.”
Beca lets out an awkward chuckle, enjoying how adorable her best friend looks in this light while she grins nervously grins at her. Chloe’s hands are currently holding her upper arms, while Beca’s hands have found their way first to Chloe’s hips, then back to her butt.
“You’ve never done that before.” Chloe adds in a slightly flustered manner, and it causes Beca’s heart to warm in adoration for the beautiful redhead.
“I imagine we’re gonna do a lot of things we’ve never done before.” Beca mumbles without really thinking what that might mean. It’s a pretty presumptuous thing to say. To suggest that they’re about to have sex. When really, so far, all they’ve done is share a gentle awkward kiss.
Their smiles subside as they look into each other’s eyes once again, “Are you sure?” Beca checks, and she sees Chloe bite her bottom lip nervously.
“What about you?” Chloe asks, and it’s not exactly the answer Beca’s hoping for. This is such a huge step in their friendship. This is the moment they potentially step away from ‘friendship island’ and swim across to ‘lovers shore’ or even ‘relationship kingdom’. She needs to make sure that they’re on the same page here. And from the looks of Chloe’s expression, they might not be
“I asked first.” Beca replies, her hands still resting on Chloe’s ass without any thought about it.
“I really don’t know.” Chloe quickly replies, shaking her head slowly, as though she’s trying to get her head around all that’s happening right now. She nudges her face forward once more and Beca moves to meet her lips.
“Perhaps Chloe isn’t uncertain?” Beca thinks to herself as her eyes flutter closed and she relishes the feel of Chloe’s lips on hers once again.
After several seconds their gentle second kiss deepens slightly. And the moment Beca’s tongue swipes across Chloe’s bottom lip, the redhead snaps back, breaking the kiss as though she’s been stung.
“Okay, oh.” Chloe cries out quietly, taking a few steps backwards while bringing a hand to her mouth, her fingertips running across her bottom lip thoughtfully, “So...maybe no.”
“No?” Beca asks, confused. Because this is what Chloe’s wanted, right? For them to be together? It’s what Beca is slowly coming to realise too. That she wants Chloe in return.
“No.” Chloe confirms, flapping her hands the more flustered she becomes, explaining, “Coming to the city to see you was definitely not a mistake. Seeing you was not a mistake. Having dinner with you wasn’t a mistake but...it would be a mistake to go further.”
“O-kay?” Beca manages to grunt, her mouth still open in shock at Chloe’s explanation. She’s still confused. They’ve been treading the same waters for most of the evening, enjoying each other’s company. She’s felt more happier and safer tonight than she has done in months. Chloe’s the reason. Chloe’s her person. And yet, Chloe seems to be slipping away. Again.
“-I-I have my own room and...” Chloe pauses to let out a sigh before continuing, “I think a one night stand would be a strange new column for me to be in, Beca.”
The columns. Beca had forgotten about the columns on that whiteboard back at her Dad’s house. That’s how unimportant they’d been to her and clearly how important they’d been to Chloe. How important they still were. The brunette shuffles her weight from one foot to the other, shrugging:
“Maybe it wouldn’t be a one night stand?” she suggests. Because maybe it wouldn’t? She doesn’t want it to be a one night stand. She wants to keep seeing Chloe and discovering how to further whatever this is. She wants to keep laughing and feeling full of life and-
“Well when do you go back to LA?” Chloe quickly counteracts.
“Yeah so that’s one night.” Chloe replies, clearly heartbroken by the situation. Beca sees tears now shining in Chloe’s eyes. She feels tears beginning to build in her own eyes, blurring her vision of her best friend momentarily until she blinks.
“It’s a dictionary definition of a one night stand...” Chloe adds in a disappointed tone, “...a-and that’s not for me.”
The two women stand in silence before one another, upset that after a wonderful evening spent catching up and enjoying one another company, that it end this way. Beca wants to reach out and take Chloe’s hands. To explain to her that she respects her decision and wants her to still stay here overnight so they can still hang out and drink and chat and watch TV before crashing on the massive bed she has in this room.
Chloe reaches for her purse then slowly leaves the room without any more words. And to make matters worse, Beca doesn’t run after her.
Beca wakes with a jolt at the sound of her alarm. She reaches a hand out to grab her phone, turn the alarm off, and check the time. 8.30am. Shit. Her flight leaves in an hour. She launches herself out of bed, feeling fleetingly thankful that she’d been too tired last night to change into her pyjamas. She throws her jacket on, stuffing her feet in her sneakers, then tumbles out of her room and down the hotel hallway.
“Amy get up!” she yells as she bursts into her friend’s hotel room. Launching over to the couch in the suite, she yanks at the Australian’s sleeve while the blonde stirs, hungover, “We have to find Chloe!”
As she turns on her heels ready to dash out of the room, she hears Fat Amy reply in a slurred confused tone:
“Really??” Beca’s mouth hangs open in shock. How does Amy know where Chloe is?! She didn’t think Amy even knew that Chloe was in the city!
Beca rolls her eyes, deciding to continue her quest, and turns to head out of the hotel room whilst yelling, “She’s not there you idiot, she’s here in New York!”
She hears Fat Amy scrambling for her own jacket then dashing behind while responding with a confused, “Really? That’s a coincidence.”
Beca is too far ahead to respond, and within a matter of seconds she can hear Fat Amy’s heavy feet thumping behind hers. Her mind is on nothing but Chloe. Nothing but the image of Chloe getting on the train back to college, as the redhead had mentioned last night (“I’m actually staying at this hotel too. Yeah, I booked a 9am train for tomorrow morning, so I’ve got time to go for drinks.”)
“Excuse me, do you have a guest here?” Beca launches herself at the hotel front desk, her chest heaving with adrenaline and panic. She looks directly at the perplexed young woman behind the desk, adding a little more aggressively than she would’ve liked, “Chloe Beale??”
Flustered, the woman looks down at the computer screen before her, and Beca watches her eyes as she speed read the names on it. Beca feels a body push into her, but the sound of the wheezed breathing notifies her that it’s Amy without even having to turn and check.
“Yes, uh, she just left.” the employee replies, looking up at Beca again, “We booked her a cab to Grand Central Station.”
“Ah shhhit.” Beca mutters, not even waiting long enough to say thank you. Instead she spins on the spot and runs as fast as she can out of the hotel doors.
Amy, meanwhile, hangs back long enough to say a polite, “Thank you.” to the woman, before scrambling after Beca.
Beca and Amy tumble out of a taxi the moment it pulls up to the front of Grand Central Station. Their lungs burning, they run as fast as they can, weaving between people to reach the departure boards. Beca sees Chloe’s departure gate and turns on the spot, dashing for it, desperately hoping she’s not too late. But within seconds, as she watches the train pull out of sight, the reality hits her. She’s missed her chance.
“Hello?” Chloe’s voice sounds curious as it moves from within Beca’s phone, Beca holding the device to her ear while she looks on at the disappearing train in despair, breathing heavily.
“Chloe I just...” Beca bursts, tears filling her eyes, “...I came after you but I missed your train. I-I’m so sorry!” she hangs her head, her eyes squeezing closed while her heart breaks, “We’ve got to talk!” she adds. But talking right now about them feels inappropriate given the unknown amount of time they have stretched ahead of them before they see one another again.
Chloe’s reply surprises her, and Beca furrows her brow. She doesn’t think she can hear Chloe inside a train carriage.
“Where are you?” she asks, just as Amy arrives breathlessly by her side.
“Right behind you.” Chloe replies in an amused tone, and as Beca whips around on the spot, Chloe adds, “Eating a Taco Bell.”
Sure enough, Chloe is a little way away, sat in the seating section of ‘Taco Bell’, holding a hand up to identify herself to the brunette. Beca let’s out a sigh of relief, not waiting to explain anything to Amy and instead heading straight over to her estranged best friend. Chloe appears to be trying to hide her smile.
When Beca finally arrives at her table and takes a seat opposite her, gasping for breath, Chloe finds herself looking at her curiously. Almost hopefully.
Amy drags a seat over to join them but is met with a frustrated expression on Beca’s behalf.
“Amy this is completely not a conversation you’re involved in.” Beca snaps, clearly a bag of nerves. And Amy, ever the faithful friend and assistant, immediately begins backing away.
“Right, no, great.” She replies, “Totally private. I’ll just...” she motions to the table she’s taken the chair from, “...sit over here and watch the time.” And she does exactly that, her phone in her hand.
With a deep shaky nervous breath, Beca turns back to Chloe somewhat desperately, “I wanted to talk to you. About last night.”
“What about it?” Chloe replies, looking back at Beca with her big blue eyes. It causes Beca’s throat to contract slightly while she gulps.
“Well...” she begins, thinking briefly back on the kiss they’d shared, “...it was almost quite a moment and I woke up this morning in a panic and I-I...” Beca let’s put a heavy exhale, “...I just wanted to talk.”
“Okay.” Chloe’s voice is sharp, and it matches her pinched expression. Beca quickly realises that to a certain extent, Chloe might actually be annoyed with her for some reason. “Then talk.”
“-How do you think it’s going so far?” Chloe interrupts Beca’s babbling, knowing just how bad Beca is when it comes to talking about her feelings.
“Not good.” Beca responds with a nervous chuckle, but her coy grin drops the moment Chloe continues for her:
“No. Let me try and help.” Chloe shuffles in her seat and sits forward slightly, looking slightly frustrated with their situation, “You’ve had seven years to make your move-“
“-Well I couldn’t exactly have made a move when I was with Jesse.” Beca attempts, but Chloe just rolls her eyes.
“Okay then...you’ve had three years to make your move.”
“Well...” Beca attempts, scrunching her face up. Because three years feels like a really long time. What excuse has she had to not make a move? “...we’ve been like sisters. It’s weird for sisters to have sex-”
“Except we’re not sisters, Beca.” Chloe finally bursts in an exasperated tone, her eyes shining with tears, “I’ve spent most of my adult life waiting for you to love me. And when you left I realised what a waste of time that had been. To wait. For you. To love me as much as I love you.”
Beca swallows loudly again. To hear it all explained so clearly from Chloe herself makes Beca’s chest hurt. And she isn’t sure why. Though she suspects it’s because she’s loved Chloe for that long too. She’s just never addressed those feelings before.
“Back when we were living together in New York with Amy and we were sharing a bed and laundry credits and food, well we were perfect for each other.” Chloe continues, a brief sweep of a smile appearing the disappearing before she furrows her brow, “But now I’m just a veterinary student and you’re a famous recording artist and-“
“-I’m not famous-” Beca attempts to protest, because she doesn’t feel famous. But Chloe let’s out a tiny whine and Beca knows she’s not winning here.
“-But you are though. You are. And you’ll be getting even more famous in the months to come and-”
Fat Amy forces her way over with her phone clasped to her chest. Beca and Chloe both jump at the intrusion.
“Two minutes ladies. Two minutes.” Amy bursts, looking anxious, “And, Beca, I’ve got Theo on the phone asking why you’re not answering your phone.”
“Tell him to fuck off, Amy.” Beca snaps, her brow furrowed. Because Theo can absolutely fuck off. Chloe’s more important right now.
“Righto.” Amy replies loyally, updating the time that Beca has left before she needs to head for the airport, “One minute fifty four seconds.”
“In the end, to you, I’ll always only ever be Chloe.” Chloe continues where she left off the moment Amy leaves, and it makes Beca’s heart ache, “With the thick red hair and blue eyes. Chloe in the ‘fun friend’ column. Chloe who for reasons nobody understands drove you around in her car to run errands even if it meant driving from my parents state to yours during the holidays.”
Beca thinks back on all those years of Chloe doing things for her. She always thought Chloe had done that because Chloe was kind and generous. Now, she realises, it’s because Chloe has been in love with her.
“So just,” Chloe adds in a defeated tone, “please leave and catch your flight back to LA.”
“But...” Beca never expected Chloe to ask her to leave. She always thought Chloe would fight for them. For their...whatever this is. “...we haven’t finished the conversation.”
“We have.” Chloe nods sadly, “We have. Unless...”
“Unless?” Beca’s ears prick up and she sits up in her seat, looking at Chloe hopefully, “Unless what?”
“Unless, today, right now, you choose to stay.”
Beca’s shoulders slump. Her heart thuds as she hears Theo’s voice sounding from the phone that Amy had placed on loudspeaker on the surface of their table (“Beca. Beca! You have to get on the plane right now!”)
“I-I...” Beca stutters, looking from the phone on the table, back up into Chloe’s bright blue eyes. Her heart breaks as she thinks about the next few days and her impending career launch. So many people depend on her. Chloe’s waited this long. Is it possible she can wait a little longer for her? “...I cant-I have a tv interview on the Late Late show this evening...I-”
“That was your chance.” The words Chloe speaks are laced in bitter disappointment, and her expression matches it. She’s angry, Beca can tell. And upset. Though impressively Chloe holds her nerve without the tears slipping down her cheeks.
“Beca we have to go!” Amy insists. Beca let’s out a huff of air, before quickly rising to her feet.
“I’m sorry.” she mumbles, a tear rolling down her cheek as she sees Chloe turn away from her. Amy drags her away, leaving Chloe to sit alone at the Taco Bell table.
After a couple of moments Chloe let’s out a sob before throwing her face into her hands and bursting into tears...
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