Chapter Text
Chloe had a theory. She believed everybody had some kind of a strange habit that, if they ever turned into a killer, people would use as a justification. Like “Yeah, she always had a bit of crazy in her, did you know she always makes sure to say an odd number of words? Weird”, simple stuff like that.
With the theory came the game she played with herself. Every time she befriended someone she would start searching for that lil something peculiar about them.
Sometimes it took time. For most of the Bellas she couldn’t find the thing until they all moved in together and started hanging out more.
Jessica would every morning, without an exception, tap a lemon three times, cut it in three parts, eat two in the morning and one in the evening, and then finally, before throwing the peel in the trash, tap it three more times.
Stacie would always count the number of cars she’s passed while walking, and then, in the end, check if the total number is divisible by three.
For Aubrey she found out a long time ago, and for Lily she couldn’t even count how many she’s found. The one person she couldn’t crack was Beca, and it drove her nuts. The two of them were constantly together, how couldn’t she discover what strange habit the DJ had?
All through college she was trying and trying, she would count her steps while walking, hoping she maybe tried to take an even or odd number of them, but no, it was always different. She paid attention to how many bites she took, or if she ate the same type of food every day, but no, nothing there either. She even went to every single one of her jobs and internships with her at least once to make sure she didn’t do anything out of the ordinary there, but again, no, nothing found.
Beca did have a habit of buying a Hard Rock Cafe shirt in every city she visited, but Chloe knew one too many people that did that, so she couldn’t count it as something weird.
After college, she didn’t actually stop looking, but she definitely wasn’t obsessed with it like she used to be. The two of them moved together to New York where Chloe had a secured teaching job, and she wasn’t sure what Beca had.
Chloe announced her decision about moving to the girls a few weeks before graduation and she wasn’t really expecting anyone to come with her. Beca has been talking about LA since the beginning of time, so when she came to her a few days before the graduation asking if she could come with it would be an understatement to say that Chloe was shocked.
Delighted, overjoyed, thrilled… some of those would come close. The answer was obviously yes. Beca was Chloe’s best friend, and maybe a bit more. She wouldn’t it call it a crush, those don’t last that long. What she had for Beca was pure admiration you had towards your favorite star, and pure love you had for your significant other. She wouldn’t call Beca her world, but her world always called for Beca. She believes people can get over others, can get used to living without someone, but just because she thinks that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t do anything to keep Beca in her life, in any way possible.
She also knew that she had a special place in Beca’s life, but she was always surprised when the DJ did things as big as that. As big as practically changing her long-lived plans just for her. Okay, she knew she wasn’t totally changing them, you could get big in New York too, but everyone knows that LA is the city of dreams.
That’s why she made sure a hundred times that moving in with her was what Beca surely wanted. She checked so many times that it got to a point where Beca was teasing her that she didn’t want her to come
“Again with the same question, Beale? Is this your way of telling me that you actually don’t want me there?”
“Of course not, Becs. I just don’t want you to regret this in the future”
“Trust me, there’s nothing about this I could ever regret” Beca said with certainty in her voice, so finally, Chloe decided to believe her.
Their life in New York wasn’t perfect, but it would be a lie to say that they didn’t enjoy 90% of it. They shared a double bed in a small, comfy apartment located in Brooklyn. Chloe, as mentioned, had a job as a high school music teacher and she also gave singing lessons on the weekends, both for some extra cash and because of her pure love of singing. Beca, on the other hand, was trying hard to break into the music industry. She had one paid and one unpaid internship, and worked as a waitress from time to time.
Their life was more domestic than anything else. They either had to work all the time or, if they weren’t working, they were napping together. They had mandatory dinners every Monday and Friday, and they had series nights on Saturdays.
Series nights consisted of them binge watching some show. As it was well known Beca hated movies, therefore movie nights weren’t possible. So, this was the next best thing.
Of course, they went clubbing from time to time, they still were in their twenties. But, that happened usually 2-3 times a month. After living so lively in college they didn’t have that big of a need to go out. They also weren’t looking to meet a special someone, both secretly more than satisfied if they just lived together for the rest of their lives.
It was a nice life, sometimes uneventful, but never boring.
And then, seven months into living together, Chloe finally figured it out. Found what she has been looking for since the beginning of college. The long-anticipated weird habit that Beca had.
She first noticed this four months into living together and told herself that if Beca kept doing this for the next three months she could be sure that this is it. And there it is, three months later, Beca did it again. She came home, kissed her on the cheek, filled a 50cent lottery ticket with the same numbers she’s been filling it with since Chloe noticed this, kissed the said ticket and put it in the famous yellow cup.
Literally seven different channels had lottery nights, all of course on a different night, so Beca was able to do this religiously. Now why, Chloe didn’t know. She didn’t know why she became crazy about lottery, if she’s actually been doing this all her life, and why she always chose the same numbers. She didn’t know if those numbers had a special meaning, but she didn’t ask. Now that she’s finally found the habit she didn’t want to make Beca feel embarrassed about it and possibly stop doing it. So, she didn’t ask. She was pleased at last and she didn’t want to ruin it.
She also never thought about the possibility of Beca winning one, she never even checked how much that would be.
A few weeks later, on a lazy Sunday night, she was making a salad for the two of them while Beca was lounging on the couch, looking at her phone and watching the lottery at the same time. She didn’t even have the lottery ticket in her hand, considering she’s put in the same numbers so many times there wasn’t a chance of her not recognizing her combination if she saw it.
So far she got the first four numbers, which happened before, so she wasn’t getting excited. But then the fifth number matched. Then the sixth. Then the seventh. This was it. That was the last number. She could clearly see the combination on TV, but she couldn’t believe it. All her thoughts of her being able to recognize her combination anywhere disappeared and she quickly got up to get her ticket to check if this was really happening.
It was.
She won the effing lottery.
“Chloe, come here please” Beca said slowly, too slowly if you asked Chloe.
The redhead turned around with arched eyebrows and walked over from the kitchen to Beca
“Yeah?”
“Tell me you too see these numbers on the TV” Beca said, looking almost petrified
Chloe slowly took the ticket from the stunned Beca and compared the said numbers with the ones on the big screen. The brunette wasn’t imagining, it definitely was a match.
“Oh my God, Becs! Yes, I see it too! Yay you!” Chloe said with a huge, huge smile
“Chloe, do you realize I’ve just won 500 million dollars?! Oh my God, I can’t believe this! That’s a, ah, that’s a lot” she was still trying to comprehend what is happening
With those words Chloe’s brain started working overdrive. Beca’s rich now, she can move out, probably to LA like she always intended to, she can buy a club and find some rich boyfriend and have rich babies in a rich house, far, far away from her.
She had to stop this train of thoughts. Beca’s not like that, she wouldn’t get that crazy about money to forget her. But she could for sure move now, start a better life.
Chloe was happy for Beca, she really was. She just never expected something as huge as this to happen all of a sudden, she just wasn’t prepared to be hit with these news. She loved their lives as they were and this will change everything.
“What are you going to do with the money?”
“Gosh, I don’t know. Well, first of all, you’ve been paying a bigger part of the bills for so long so I want to pay you back. Oh and now that we have this kind of cash we could move into that apartment in Manhattan you’re in love with, I’ve seen you googling it every other night. I like it too, though I don’t know how big the rent is, but I’m sure we can afford it. I have to think about the future too, maybe buy a club? That would be a dream come true. I know a good one that’s on sale now, its location is really good. I’m sure it would be successful. Maybe buy the club first and see how the business goes and then the apartment? Don’t want us to move in there just to have to move out a few years later. Is there anything you want? I’m sure there are a thousand of things. Chlo, this is really amazing, why are you giving me that strange look?”
Chloe was on a verge of tears because of Beca. Fucking. Mitchell.
The very first thing that came to her best friend’s mind when winning the lottery was to pay her back some stupid bills she’s already told she’s okay with paying? The very second thing was moving into an apartment that she wanted. Beca’s always been someone she considered a good person. A sweetheart in disguise. And she knew Beca cared deeply about her, she wasn’t incompetent to show it to the redhead. But all things considered, she never thought Beca cared, loved or whatever it was, this much.
“I’m just… overwhelmed. And you’re just… amazing. God, you won the lottery and you’re thinking about me? How selfless can you be?”
“Well we’ve been through everything together, of course I’m thinking about you”
“Yeah, but, I don’t know. I wasn’t expecting you to first think about my dreams and then yours. That is much, much more than any one of my boyfriends has ever done for me” And Chloe was 100% honest when saying this. Beca always did a bit more, but this, this was on a whole other level.
“I always did think you could do better” Beca smiled shyly
“It’s not like I haven’t thought this before, but now I’m absolutely sure that I could never do better than you. God you’re wonderful”
Chloe hugged her tightly and Beca was quick to return it “You are too. This is an awesome start to the rest of our lives”
Chloe stopped the hug for a second to look at the DJ “Start of the rest of our lives? In what do you mean that?
Beca smiled “In any way you want me to”