Chapter Text
The Barden Bellas sit together wondering what is going to happen next. Gripping their blankets close to their damp bodies, they listen as Chloe encourages them to move on. Chloe was never one to take the leap. After all, she stayed three extra years in college just so she could remain a Bella. If Chloe Beale says it’s time, then it’s time, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy or any less nerve wracking. The girls wrap their blankets even tighter around themselves, basking in the warmth, safety, and comfort of the wool and each other, not completely willing to let go just yet.
“I got the call that I got into vet school,” Chloe smiles as she says states this. She looks at each girl, but avoids Beca’s gaze. No, she didn’t need to tell her everything right now.
“You got in!” Beca can’t decide if she wants to attach a question mark to what she says.
“Yes I got in… I know,” Chloe pauses as if disbelieving it herself, “I got in. I’m a vet.”
The girls cheer and congratulate Chloe on her accomplishments, stopping only when Fat Amy announces she’s a multi-millionaire and no one knows how to react.
The sound of the waves crashing into the wooden pier fill the silence of the boathouse as the girls look at one another with pride. They each have their own paths to explore and adventures to go on, but they all know what this means. Chloe said it her herself, it’s time to move on. Not move on from each other, no. Like the waves, they’ll come ashore to meet again and then recede back to the vastness of the ocean and beautiful unknown. As long as the Earth continues to rotate and the winds create the currents, they’ll always be the Bellas.
Chloe looks down at her hands as she rubs one thumb over the other. She walks at a slower pace than the rest of the girls who are making their way towards the hotel lobby. Purposely falling to the back of the group, she stops in the hallway as the girls turn the corner towards the elevators. She glances up briefly and catches Aubrey’s paused stare. The blonde smiles slightly, almost sadly, as she continues following the pack and leaving Chloe in front of Beca’s door. Chole faces the door still rubbing one thumb over the other. She doesn’t know how long she stands there. Staring at the door seems so much more desirable than mustering up the courage to tell Beca everything.
“This is ridiculous,” she says to herself before promptly knocking on the door.
“Yeah,” she hears Beca shout, “come in!”
Beca is pacing the room, her hands on her hips and singing under her breath. As Chloe enters the room, Beca paces even faster and shakes her fingers loose hoping it might help her nerves. Dropping her purse on the bed, Chloe immediately walks towards Beca and grabs both her shoulders.
“You have to calm down Beca,” she says before pulling her into a hug.
Chloe smiles at the feeling of hugging Beca. It’s such an interesting sensation to almost feel like you’re hugging yourself since the person you’re hugging is not only incredibly petite, but they’re also not totally comfortable with the affection. Sometimes she finds herself wondering if it is a reflection of how she feels about their entire relationship, friendship, or whatever it is. But even after sensing Beca’s hesitation, as soon as she wrapped her small arms around Chloe’s waist, it didn’t matter if Beca felt anything at all at that particular moment. Chloe fell all over again without a single ounce of regret.
“Maybe I should just stay in here, lock the door, and never show my face again,” Beca looks up at the ceiling trying to find anything to concentrate on but her nerves, until she realizes she’s just standing there, probably awkwardly, in Chloe’s arms. And once she realizes this, she can breathe again and reciprocates the hug.
“You and I both know there’s no way you’re doing that,” Chloe breaks the hug and takes hold of Beca’s gaze, “This is it, Beca. This is where it all starts. You already got through the hardest part and you weren’t even trying.”
She doesn’t take her eyes off Chloe’s.
“I haven’t performed on a stage by myself before. If I fuck up, it’s all on me.”
“Um that’s totally not true. You performed by yourself at auditions,” the redhead pauses to think about what she’s going to say next, “As soon as the music starts, you’ll just do what you do because it’s natural for you. You’re insanely talented and it’s about time that the rest of the world sees it.”
Beca rolls her eyes as she blushes slightly.
“Just remember, I’m the one that discovered you,” Chloe winks at her before turning around and sitting down on the edge of the bed. She interlaces her fingers and begins rubbing one thumb over the other again.
Beca scoffs and turns around to check her appearance in the mirror one last time before she has to head down to the car waiting to take her to the arena.
“Thanks for coming over to talk some sense into me,” Beca turns to see Chloe staring at her hands, “Chloe?”
“Huh? Oh yeah, sure. Anytime. I’m always here,” Chloe snaps out of whatever trance she’s in and stands to leave with Beca. She lets Beca take the lead like she normally does, waiting for her to make the first move towards the door. Just as Beca is about to place her hand on the door knob, Chloe quickly states, “Well, it might not always here physically, like all the time, but you know...”
Beca smirks to herself before turning around to face Chloe. She’s pretty proud of herself having been able to pick up Chloe’s nervous habits over the years. She purposely approached the door slowly to give Chloe a chance to speak her mind.
"What’s going on Chloe,” Beca raises an eyebrow while trying to hide her smirk.
“Well, you know how I got into vet school?” she bites her lip and leaves the distance between them.
“Yeah, look… I didn’t mean to sound like I couldn’t believe it. God, why am I’m such a jerk?” Beca looks at anything, but Chloe, “I’m really proud of you Chlo.”
“What are you talking about? I know you are. I didn’t believe it either. I must have read my acceptance letter like twenty times,” she shakes her head and lets out a short-lived chuckle.
Beca lets out a sigh of relief and motions towards the door.
“Wait, Beca, that’s not everything.”
“Spill it Chlo. I kinda have to perform in front of hundreds of people in less than two hours,” she says jokingly.
Chloe looks at her hands again and Beca’s mind starts racing.
“So you remember when we were sitting on the bed at the apartment and you were helping me fill out my application?”
“Yeah, it was for that community college in the Bronx or something right?” Beca smiles remembering how stressed Chloe had been and how she calmed her down through the entire process just like Chloe had done for her moments ago.
“Yeah that’s right,” Chloe bites her lip a little too hard before continuing, “I didn’t just apply there though.”
“Oh? I thought it was the only place you felt comfortable applying to? Like it was a good starting point so you could take some of the easier classes first and get that certificate or whatever before actually going to vet school…” and that’s when she realizes that Chloe was telling her, “Wait… you got into an actual vet school! Oh my god! Dude, that’s freaking awesome!”
Chloe watches Beca and chuckles softly at her reaction. She’s suddenly and surprisingly overwhelmed with happiness from Beca’s excitement. Both girls feel a type of contentment they haven’t felt before; it’s a kind of happiness that they share with each other and no one else, not even the other Bellas. Everything is falling into place like a Hollywood ending.
“I didn’t think it was going to happen. UGA has such a good vet school. I still can’t believe it.”
“UGA?”
Chloe begins rubbing one thumb over the other again, “University of Georgia.”
“Holy shit!” is all Beca can come up with, “Dude, that’s…. That’s great!”
A familiar tone emits from Beca’s phone and for a few seconds they both ignore it, lost in their own thoughts. Beca looks at her phone and sees Theo’s name followed by a text message to tell Beca the car is waiting for her downstairs. There’s an unfamiliar silence between the girls.
“I’m really happy for you Chloe.”
Beca smiles when she sees Chloe stop rubbing her thumb.
“You’re going to Georgia and gonna do great in vet school,” she pauses for a second clearly debating with herself, “And I’m going to L.A. to record my own music...”
“Beca! Why didn’t you tell me?! You’re finally going to L.A.! It’s been your dream!”
Beca turns the door knob and holds the door open for Chloe.
“I was going to tell you guys after the performance.”
With one gulp, Beca swallows the complicated feelings she has, and hopes she doesn’t get caught in a lie. But was it really a lie if Beca always knew she would eventually go to L.A.? Even if Kahled wasn’t in the picture, it was still true; Beca is going to L.A., no matter what. Now she just needed to make sure it was sooner rather than later.
It was different for Chloe. Unlike Beca, she had no idea where her life was taking her. It was almost like her life controlled her instead of the other way around. The day she realized that she wanted to try becoming a veterinarian was the first time she actually had a plan for herself. And in true Chloe form, she put everything she had into achieving her goal, and she succeeded.
Chloe smiles at Beca as she picks up her purse from the bed. The girls feel like the world is in their hands; Everything and anything is possible if they are both able to get to this point. As Beca thinks through this in her head, she lets go of whatever reservations she has. Because for the first time, she sees ambition in Chloe’s eyes and a desire for something bigger. There’s a skip in Chloe’s step as she walks out of Beca’s room. This time Chloe Beale is taking the lead.
It wasn’t as bad as Beca thought it was going to be. It helped to have the girls by her side for the majority of the performance to make it feel more familiar and comfortable. She isn’t sure if performing is something she wants to continue to do in the future. The studio is where she really sees herself and if she had to admit it, it is honestly where she wants to be. She loves the feeling of twisting the knobs, tapping the buttons, and adjusting the small levers on the controllers and mixers while listening closely at how the music changes around her. It’s such an amazing and satisfying feeling to be able to share with others what she is able to hear and experience.
Having just finished her performance and openly crying on stage with her best friends, Beca leads them off the stage as the applause slowly fades. This is the perfect send off for all the girls; it’s time for them to pack up their things and face the beautiful reality of their future back home. Once offstage, the Bellas continue hugging each other, crying tears of happiness, and congratulating Beca on her performance. Beca wanted to stay celebrating with them forever, but she knew she had to leave them and meet with Theo to discuss what was going to happen next. She excuses herself and starts making her way towards the side of the stage leading to the audience.
She didn’t even notice that Chloe had snuck off until she caught sight of red waves in the corner of her eye. It’s like a scene from a movie; a predictable one that reminds her of how much she hates them. Chloe strides towards Chicago and presses her lips hard against his. She wraps her arms around his neck and he pulls her closer in. For a moment it’s more hilarious than heartbreaking; something blows Chloe’s hair to the side revealing how much both of them are enjoying this kiss. Beca stops in her tracks, watching them for a little while before bringing her arms to her chest and hugging herself from the imaginary wind of this late summer night.
“Hey. You were great,” Theo appears at Beca’s side. While it was the perfect distraction, she couldn’t take her eyes off them until the whole thing became so much more romantic when Chicago dipped Chloe.
“Aww,” is all Beca comes up with because isn’t that what everyone wants to see?
“Oh, that’s nice,” Theo glances at Beca. Leaning in slightly, he quickly realizes that he doesn’t know her well enough to read her just yet.
“So you work for me now,” Beca looks at the floor while changing the subject.
“Yeah, you’re the boss.”
“That’s cool. Yeah...”
“I had some ideas, right?” Theo begins walking towards back stage so they can discuss Beca’s future, wanting himself to get away from the reminder that Chloe and Chicago are happily kissing.
“I’m gonna be a real handful, I gotta tell you,” Beca states as she follows Theo.
“Oh, I realized that from the beginning.”
Beca decides to use this opportunity to bring up L.A. Seeing Chloe’s future falling into place is all the courage she needs to ask for her dream.
“L.A.? I thought you live in New York City?”
“I do, but I want to go to L.A. It’s where all the opportunities are and isn’t it like the right move to go where the majority of the industry is?”
“Right, that’s definitely right. I just didn’t think you wanted to leave New York since it’s closer to the girls.”
“I want to do whatever I need to do to make music and if that’s L.A., then I want to go.”
“Okay, you got it. The label wants you no matter where you are and they want you to start immediately. How soon do you think you can move to L.A.?”
“I don’t know… Like three weeks?”
“I’ll talk to label and see if we can work that out. We might not be able to give you the full three weeks, but you’ll get something.”
“Awesome, thanks. Hey, look, I know you wanted to talk about some ideas you have, but do you think we can talk later? If L.A. is going to happen, I kinda want to spend all the time I have between now and three weeks from now with my family.”
Theo nods, “Sure, no problem. We’ll talk later Beca.”
Without giving herself time to second guess her decision, Beca turns on her heels and heads back to where the Bellas are still happily enjoying each other’s company. As she approaches the girls, she notices Chloe in the middle of the group.
At this point, it doesn’t matter to Beca what Chloe is grinning about. There’s a twinkle in Chloe’s eyes that she’s never seen before. She thought over the years that she would have seen every side of Chloe Beale, but this is something new and it’s new in a really good way. It completely overwhelms her to see how thrilled and ecstatic Chloe is for her future. It’s enough, more than enough, to make Beca solidify her decision to move to L.A. and chase her dreams.