Work Text:
It’s been two days since Chloe has seen Beca. A whole 36 hours and counting. And it’s not because she’s visiting her father or staying with a friend or someone. No. It’s because of everything that happened on Thursday. And Chloe can’t even manage to get out of bed on a Saturday morning.
There’s a soft knock on Chloe’s door disturbing her melancholy entirely ripping her from her thoughts.
“Chlo, I know you’re in there,” a soft voice came. No matter how hard Chloe tried to imagine it still wasn’t Beca’s voice that came through the door. “It’s almost noon on a Saturday.”
“You think I don’t know that,” Chloe snaps at Aubrey before she’s even entered the room. There’s a defeated sigh on the other side soon followed by the shuffling of steps that leave her to dwell in silence again.
--
Aubrey left the redhead to dwell a little longer while she went to go make a meal for the both of them. She knows for a fact that Chloe hasn’t left her room since she came back from work yesterday and even then she hadn’t seen the redhead get dinner. So she was in for a good meal whether she liked it or not. Chloe was her best friend and she wasn’t going to let her deteriorate especially over something that will likely be temporary. She knows Beca well enough by now to know that she’ll realize what she’s done and come back. She knows their relationship well enough to know that this was just something bound to happen. It was their ticking time bomb. Nothing stays in the honeymoon phase forever. There will always be fights that wind up bigger than necessary but they can always be resolved. And resolved they will become. Or at least that’s what Aubrey hopes.
Thursday
Chlo (10:52 am): hey babe we still on for dinner?
Beca (11:34 am): shit Chlo. I’m so sorry. I’m swamped over here. I have to work on a presentation with Amy that’s due tomorrow...I’ll be home around 9 or 10 if you wanna wait up?
Beca (11:37 am): I’m so so sorry
Chlo (11:53 am): I get it...it’s fine
Beca (12:41 pm): I love you xx
“She’s lying to me, I know it,” Chloe admitted pacing across her break room at work with her phone held tightly to her ear.
“C’mon, Chloe. That’s ridiculous,” Aubrey shot back.
“No, it’s not. This is like the third time she’s cancelled on me in the past two weeks. Not to mention the fact that she gets home late almost every single day and has been doing so for almost a month now maybe longer,” Chloe blurts out.
“Alright, maybe it’s a little weird,” Aubrey confesses. “But there’s got to be a reason. It’s her senior year it’s possible that she’s just really busy and trying to make sure she graduates.”
“Usually I help her study or if I can’t she lays with me on the couch to work on her assignments while I read or go over stuff for work. But now, all of a sudden, she can’t even work on anything in the apartment,” Chloe continues. “Something’s wrong.”
“Chloe.”
“Do you think she’s cheating on me?” Chloe asked her voice going small.
“No. Chloe, I think you’re reading into things a little too much,” Aubrey says attempting to ground the other girl.
“Something’s wrong, Bree. I know it.”
“Maybe something is up with her family? You know how she gets with things like that, Aubrey offers.
“I don’t know,” Chloe resigns.
“Don’t drive yourself too crazy over there. You’re making problems where there probably isn’t any. If you think something’s up then just ask her.”
“Okay, okay. You’re right,” Chloe says despite the fact that she’s still pacing around the room with the worst of possibilities running through her head.
“I’m serious, red. Now get back to work. I’ll see you at the apartment later and we can order take out and binge some movies,” Aubrey offers as a way to cheer her up.
“Okay,” Chloe whispers in a agreeance before hanging up the phone.
Chloe paces the room a couple more times while fiddling with her phone. She still hasn’t answered Beca’s text and quite frankly she almost doesn’t want to because then it might make it seem like Chloe wasn’t onto her. And she desperately wanted answers to Beca’s weird behavior over the past month. Chloe types out a quick text and hesitates for a moment before she hits send. She slides her phone back into her pocket with a defeated sigh before making her way back to work.
Chloe (1:13 pm): Hey! I know this is out of the blue but what class do you have with Beca?
Fat Amy (1:16 pm): hey red. I don’t have any classes with dj shrimp
Chloe (1:20 pm): so you don’t have a presentation that’s due tomorrow?
Fat Amy (1:43 pm): nope. why
Chloe (1:45 pm): No reason. thanks tho
Fat Amy (1:56 pm): Anytime
Now Chloe definitely couldn’t focus on her work. There was no way in hell that she was going to be able to work now that she knew that Beca was definitely lying to her. But she still had 2 more hours of work before she got to go home for the day so she just had to suck it up and push through.
“You can do this, Beale. It’s nothing,” Chloe whispered to herself as encouragement. She stuffed her phone into her purse and turned her attention back to what she was supposed to be doing pushing all thoughts of her real life out of mind. It was the only bearable way to make it through this state of unknowing she now found herself in.
--
“Hey, DJ Shrimp!” Fat Amy called out to Beca as she sped across campus.
“Oh, hey Amy,” Beca replied as she continued to walk seemingly out of breath.
“I think your girlfriend’s looking for you,” Amy replied walking along Beca. “And geez are you in a race or something? Slow down.”
“Can’t, running late,” Beca shot back.
“For a date with Chloe,” Amy assumed.
“Oh, um no. I have - a thing.”
“What kind of thing?” Fat Amy questioned wriggling her eyebrows.
“Just a work thing. How did you know Chlo was looking for me?” Beca asked.
“She asked me about our class.”
“Our class? We don’t have any classes together,” Beca said confused.
“Exactly,” Amy responded before she waved Beca off and headed in the other direction.
Beca waved back but was completely confused by the conversation she just had. But she didn’t have any time to figure it out now because she was actually running late.
--
Chloe sped home from work the second she was able to leave all thoughts returning to her now scattered brain. Her mind was elsewhere the entire drive home and on her way up the stairs to her apartment. The only reason she made it home alive at all was because of muscle memory otherwise her thoughts would’ve quite literally killed her.
“She’s lying to me,” Chloe repeats with a slam of the door that startles the blonde sitting on the couch.
“You don’t know that,” Aubrey replies as she collapses next to her and just completely crumbles.
“Yes, I do. She told me she was working with Fat Amy and I asked her about it and she had no idea what I was talking about. She doesn’t even take any classes with Beca,” Chloe admits throwing her unlocked phone into the blonde’s hands.
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. I don’t know what to do, Bree,” Chloe confesses her voice going small again.
“We don’t know much yet. But you’re going to confront her and ask her what’s going on. But for now we’re going to order chinese and sit on this couch and watch some of our favorites,” Aubrey declares as she dials the number to their favorite take out restaurant. Chloe lets out a defeated sigh but moves to the dvd player to start one of their favorite movies.
--
Beca checked her phone again as she made her way to her car to head back to the apartment after a long day of running around from one thing to another. It was just way too much for her and she never expected it to get this complicated. She dropped into her car with a dramatic sigh that was soon followed by a yawn. No text from Chloe.
“Huh, that’s weird,” Beca mumbled to herself as she threw her bag into the passenger seat before reversing her car out of the parking spot.
“Hey, I’m back,” Beca called as she came through the apartment door and closed it quietly.
“Hi,” Aubrey answered. “Do you want to join our movie marathon?”
“Um, no offense or anything but I think I’m gonna pass,” Beca replied as she made her way into the living room to see the two girls watching some rom com. Something was off.
“Got better things to do?”
“I was just going to take a shower and relax,” Beca clarifies waving off towards the bedroom.
“Okay,” Aubrey resigns taking another look at the redhead who still hadn’t taken her eyes off the TV.
“You alright Chlo?” Beca asked concern etched into her face.
“Fine.”
“She’s fine,” Aubrey clarified with a brighter tone than Chloe’s defeated whisper.
“Um, okay I guess,” Beca caved giving Chloe another questioning look to which she got no reply. Not even a glance. So the younger girl turned to make her way into their bedroom to take a shower.
“Chloe,” Aubrey chastised the second the bedroom door shut.
“After,” was the only reply she was willing to give. Aubrey took her hand and squeezed it gently before they drifted off into silence again for the remainder of the movie.
--
“Come on let it go. / Just let it be. / Why don’t you be you and I’ll be me. / Everything that’s broke. / Leave it to the breeze. / Why don’t you be you and I’ll be me. / And I’ll be me,” Beca’s voice drifted and carried it’s way through the bathroom and into the attached bedroom.
She wasn’t exactly singing quietly but whatever she was singing was just absolutely hitting Chloe and just slamming her with doubt after doubt. Chloe didn’t recognize the song either and that was just destroying her mind even more. The thoughts were running through her head so fast that she didn’t know what to do. Aubrey had resigned to bed shortly after their movie finished 15 minutes earlier. So now it was just Chloe waiting for the worst as the younger girl finished her shower. Beca was never one for short showers especially after a long but it was seeming that each minute dragged out for an hour for Chloe and it was absolutely killing her. Suddenly Beca’s voice stopped and just when Chloe was beginning to prep herself for the brunette’s entrance she started singing again.
“I'm halfway gone, sleepless I'm battle-worn / And you're all I want, so bring me the dawn / I need the sun to break, you've woken up my heart / I'm shaking, oh my luck could change / Been in the dark for weeks and I've realized you're all I need / I hope that I'm not too late, and I hope I'm not too late,” Beca’s voice riddled Chloe’s body with shivers. And suddenly she’s brought back to the second time that she met the younger girl in the showers of their dorm singing Titanium of all songs. Her voice was the first thing that made Chloe fall in love with her. Her voice was so beautiful and the way that their voices meshed together in that spontaneous duet of Bulletproof gave her goosebumps. To this day it was a memory that could always make her smile no matter what situation she was in.
Now she’s smiling but there are tears forming in her eyes. She can’t lose Beca. She can’t lose this voice or this person. She was everything that Chloe never knew she needed and then some. And all of a sudden she’s realizing just how scared she is because the thought of something being wrong between them made her sick. She wouldn’t know what to do if she lost Beca. She didn’t care how insane this all sounded or she sounded because she knew that something was wrong but didn’t know what. She was overreacting but she couldn’t stop it because there was something. And that something is absolutely terrifying her.
Chloe sighs and pushes the palms of her hands into her eyes attempting to push away the tears that are threatening to spill at a rapid pace. She can’t be upset now. She needs to talk to Beca and figure out whatever is going on. And before Chloe can really collect herself again the bathroom door opens without any notice and Beca comes out wrapped up in a towel.
Chloe's gaze shifted from the floor back to Beca who's still singing some song in a whisper as she makes her way to the drawer. And before she can think better of it words are rushing out of her mouth in a voice all too small for her liking.
"Are you cheating on me?" Chloe's voice cracks stopping Beca dead in her tracks.
"What? Chloe, no. What are talking about?" Beca replies quickly entirely thrown off by the older girls outburst.
"Then what's going on?" Chloe asks as tears began to fill her eyes again. She used all her will to push them back because she could not let herself cry right now.
"Chloe, nothing's going on. Where is this coming from?" Beca replies as the shock begins to set in she moves over to Chloe despite her lack of clothes and kneels in front of her. "Chlo?"
"I just - you've been so distant lately and then you lied about being with Fat Amy today. And you're always getting back late," Chloe begins to ramble.
"Chlo, I've just been so busy. I'm so sorry that you think something is going on," Beca reassures placing her hand on the older girls cheek and wiping away a stray tear.
"But something is wrong."
"What do you mean?" Beca asks even more confused than before.
"God, stop doing that," Chloe pushes her hands away.
"Doing what? What's going on?"
"Making that scrunched up confused face of yours. It's adorable but I can't have that right now," Chloe says diverting her eyes away from the brunette.
Beca gets off the ground with a grunt and just looks at Chloe for a moment before she moves back the drawer along the wall.
"What are you doing?" Chloe asks without looking at the younger girl.
"Getting dressed. I'm not having this conversation sitting around in a towel," Beca decides but immediately stops digging through the drawer. She definitely shouldn't have worded it like that and she knew it but she hoped that Chloe didn't catch it. Beca resumed rummaging through the drawer for her comfy clothes.
"This conversation? So you admit there's something going on?" Chloe shoots back.
"No, I didn't mean it like that, Chlo. You know I'm terrible at phrasing things the right way," Beca pleas attempting to cover up her mistake.
"I do but I know you well enough to know that something is going on and you're not telling me."
"Okay. Just let me get dressed will you," Beca snaps as she wrenches on a pair of sweatpants and drops the towel entirely. Chloe watches as she pulls over the maroon sweatshirt she bought her a couple months back and almost smiles but hides it immediately.
"Ready now?" Chloe asks her impatience palpable.
"It's nothing major," Beca dead pans trying to beat around the bush a little.
"Just spit it out, Mitchell."
"I have an internship and I've been busting my ass to do that and to graduate and manage the Bellas," Beca begins rattling out all the things that have kept her so occupied these past few weeks since the semester began.
"You have an internship?" Chloe asks completely baffled. "And how do I know you're not lying about that too?"
"Do you really not believe me?"
Chloe returns with a harsh glare, "I thought you were cheating on me Beca. No, I don't fully believe you. Especially if you've been lying to me for the past month or longer. Who knows?"
"I don't like to lie to you, Chlo. You know that. I just - I couldn't figure out how to tell you," Beca admits her gaze casting back to the floor.
"But you still did it," Chloe snaps losing her temper entirely. She'd been lied to. And she doesn't like it one little bit. "You've been lying to me every day for a month. You could have just told me."
"But I couldn't," Beca snaps back. "If I told you I had an internship it'd be all what about the Bellas their your responsibility."
"The Bellas are your responsibility," Chloe retorts.
"I know but they're not my main priority. My main priority is my future," Beca says beginning to raise her voice.
"Your future? The Bellas are a part of your future. If you fail them now then there will be no more Bellas. Doesn't that affect you at all?" Chloe asks incredulously.
"Of course it does. I understand that and I've been managing alright. I'm just tired and tight on time. I've been making it work while also prioritizing my future," Beca clarifies almost proudly.
"And forgetting about me. Ignoring me. Spending so much time away from me that I began to think you were cheating," Chloe shouts looking Beca right in the eyes.
"I - I didn't notice," Beca admits relieving herself from Chloe's harsh gaze.
"Exactly and that is a problem."
"I'm so sorry Chloe. I've just been so busy," Beca begins trying to make amends.
"Of course. Too busy for your own girlfriend. Too busy thinking about and prioritizing your own future instead of our future. What about that Beca?" Chloe asks her voice dropping to a stern but reasonable level.
"I can't even begin to think about that without thinking about getting a steady job for myself. I can't just ignore the fact that I'm graduating and am going to need a job," Beca throws out beginning to get defensive.
"You could have talked to me. You could have told me. And we could have gone about this the right way," Chloe reasons. "But instead you chose to ignore me and lie to me and become distant. Creating a problem for yourself."
Beca's eyes began to cloud with forming tears, "I just -"
"It doesn't matter, Beca. You've successfully run away again. That's all you do when things get to be too much. You run," Chloe interrupts. "So, go Beca. Go run."
"But-"
"No. Just go run away like you always do," Chloe resigns letting a tear slip.
"Chloe." Beca says getting the redhead to meet her eyes. Sky blue eyes locked with stormy blues that were pooling tears but she still couldn't take away the harshness of her glare.
"Just run away like freshman Beca would," Chloe says before turning away from Beca. She can feel her hesitating and unmoving behind her. "Seriously Beca just go. I can't be around you right now."
"O-okay," Beca stuttered out before grabbing her sneakers and rushing out of the room.
Once Chloe heard the click of the door she burst into tears and collapsed onto their bed. She couldn't believe what had just happened.
After running the conversation through her head a couple more times she brushed away a few tears before running out into the living room. She knew she overreacted and she needed to fix this as soon as possible. The redhead frantically looked around the apartment but there was no Beca to be found. Immediately she started to panic. Beca was gone. She was gone and had no idea where she went. Chloe took a deep breath trying to get her grasp on reality but failed for the most part. She ran into the other room to get her phone and immediately dialed Beca's number. She knew it by heart and thank god because right now she couldn't process anything that required the least bit of logical thinking.
Beca's phone rang and rang but eventually went to voicemail. Chloe dialed again and again until on her fifth try it didn't even ring and went straight to voicemail. It broke Chloe. The second she heard Beca's generic voice mailbox directing her to leave a message she fell to the ground and started crying all over again. She didn't bother hanging up because she needed the younger girl to know what she was now thinking.
"Beca, I'm so so sorry. Please come back. I overreacted and I just need you back here," Chloe sobbed before hanging up. She didn't know what to say after all she's the one who told Beca to run and that's exactly what she did.
Chloe dialed her number again fifteen minutes later when she calmed enough to not be absolutely sobbing on the phone. "Bec, I'm sorry. Just please tell me where you are and if you're okay. Please?" Chloe pleaded. There was a long silence before Chloe let out a defeated sigh and hanging up. She had no idea where the brunette could have gone and the thought of her wandering around the street was going to worry her sick. Chloe was already sick enough after everything that has happened over the past couple of hours.
--
Aubrey found her crying on the floor in the middle of their apartment still a half hour later. She was hoping that she could just let Chloe cry it out or that eventually she would go to bed but it seemed to be an impossible fear. Aubrey approached Chloe slowly and quietly offered her a hand. At first the redhead refused until eventually she took the blonde's hand. Aubrey pulled her up slowly and wrapped an arm around her to guide her into her bedroom.
"It's going to be okay," Aubrey whispered as she tucked her into bed. "It'll be okay."
Chloe nodded in response but couldn't quite manage to verbally reply. She let herself be tucked into bed and comforted until she realized the tears had finally stopped flowing. Not too long after that Aubrey got up to leave.
"It's going to be okay. You're gonna be okay and she'll come back. And it'll be okay," Aubrey repeated reassuringly.
Chloe let out a whimper but nodded with a weak smile. Aubrey hugged her once more before quietly leaving the room to go back to her own. She knew there wasn't much she could say or do at the moment and that Chloe was better off to just sleep.
Except there was no way Chloe was going to be able to sleep. Soon after Aubrey left Chloe sat up and pulled her laptop from the bedside table. Chloe began frantically looking up the lyrics of the song Beca had been singing. For some reason they completely compelled her and she needed to know where they came from. Each line she looked up came up with nothing or at least nothing relevant. The redhead was beginning to get more and more frustrated as time went on and each result came up with nothing.
Chloe rubbed her now red eyes letting out an exasperated sigh. She sat there staring at the no results screen from Google tapping her fingers along the side of her laptop.
"Why is nothing coming up?" Chloe asked herself growing extremely tired of not getting any results. "C'mon Google don't fail me now."
Chloe typed away another line and hit enter crossing her fingers hoping for a result. And luckily the first headline seemed to be a reliable lead.
"James Bay to Release Album After Success of Let It Go," Chloe read to herself before clicking the link to read the rest of the article.
She sped through the entire article absorbing each and every line with ease. And suddenly all the pieces began to fall together. Beca wasn't lying about having an internship with a music producer and she's been running ragged trying to make everything work for her. And because of that she grew distant because she felt like she couldn't tell Chloe what was going on. Which still makes Chloe upset because Beca should be able to tell her everything no matter what. But she can understand why Beca was so overwhelmingly busy. And she just wants Beca back. Despite it being nearly 3 am she decided to call Beca again.
It went straight to voicemail just like before so Chloe left yet another message. She didn't care how desperate it seemed she needed Beca to know just how she was feeling and how much she regrets reacting the way she did.
"Beca. I know this is getting my repetitive but I really am sorry. I shouldn't have reacted like that and I should have believed you. I do believe you I was just being stupid and selfish and I just want you back. I want you here and safe with me. Just please call me when you get these, okay? Please," Chloe begged. There wasn't much else she could say to get Beca back so she left it at that. She turned the ringer all the way up before finally putting away all of her electronics to attempt to sleep because missing work wouldn't do her any good.
Friday
The morning came and went with no word from Beca and it was honestly really taking a toll on Chloe. She had woken up at 8 am despite only getting four hours of sleep to head into work. The whole five hours that she has been here she has checked her phone a grand total of 32 times only to be let down each time. And as each hour passed she began to worry far more than she was last night or even when she woke up this morning. It was nearly afternoon now and she knew that Beca had classes to get to and probably her internship as well. You would think that Beca would bother to answer her phone or at least check it but Chloe had no such luck.
--
Beca had been flitting around all morning. Partially because she hadn’t slept well because of everything that happened. And partially because she had so many places to be and couldn’t risk being late for any of them. Beca had to go from one class to yet another class and then to her internship with very little time for breaks in between. She woke up emotionally drained and the constant distraction of school and work was helping but also draining her in every other way as well. She was becoming so tired that she just wanted to crash into her bed and ignore her responsibilities. But she couldn’t do that because that was what got her into this situation in the first place.
When the brunette finally had a break long enough to listen to her voicemails she did but doing so immediately sent her into an emotional tornado. She had been walking to her car before she needed to rush off to her internship and at the moment she was completely incapable of doing anything. And suddenly Chloe’s voice is in her head, “Words of advice: never cry and drive, kids.” The second the memory hits her she’s crying in the front seat of her car and just completely losing all composure in a matter of seconds. Beca had 3 spare minutes before she absolutely had to leave for her internship and she spent 2.5 of them crying her eyes out and the last 30 seconds desperately trying to piece herself together. The tears continued to roll gently down her cheeks as she pulled out of the parking lot.
I know it’s late right now.
Saturday
Beca (1:34 am): i’m at my dads. i’m okay. i’ll give you space
Chlo (1:36 am): I don’t want space
Beca (1:40 am): i think i do…
And the fact that Chloe doesn’t respond is enough to send Beca right back into her desperate state of crying in a ball under her childhood blanket. She didn’t want space but she thought that’s what Chloe needed. She thought that it was what they needed. But she was very very wrong because right now both of them are miserable and completely unable to sleep.
And you’re probably fast asleep. But I really need to talk to you.
Aubrey came into Chloe’s room with a steaming cup of tea just after 2 am. Her best friend was struggling and she also just so happened to be keeping her up. Aubrey knew that was insensitive but she couldn’t help it. She hated having her sleep taken away and she hated that her best friend crying was the reason for it. These were two unacceptable things in her mind; her heartbroken friend and her sleep getting disturbed. Aubrey wanted her friend to be okay. She wanted Beca to get her ass back in this apartment to fix everything. And she wanted her sleep back and undisturbed like normal.
Aubrey (2:32 am): Mitchell…
Aubrey (2:37 am): I wasn’t kidding when I said not to hurt my best friend. Fix this before I drag your sorry ass back here myself
Aubrey (2:41 am): I know you’re awake right now. We both know that you don’t actually want space so stop running and fix it
Beca (2:44 am): you’re right
Aubrey (2:46 am): no shit Mitchell. I know the two of you well enough by now. I don’t know when or how you’re planning to fix this just do it soon
As much as it killed Beca to admit that Aubrey was right she had no choice but to tell the blonde. She could easily blame it on the absolute lack of sleep and the emotional state she is in but the excuse could wait when it comes to haunt her. The brunette already knows that Aubrey is going to use it against her pretty much every single time they have a disagreement from this point forward but it had to be said. Because if she didn’t admit it then she probably wouldn’t have believed it quite as soon.
She threw her blankets aside and immediately started to pace around her childhood bedroom with ideas running through her head.
Everything is running around my head. Nothing is settling; nothing is staying.
Beca paced around her bedroom one thought leading into another and then another until she finally admitted defeat when the sun started to rise. Figuring out just how she was going to fix things with Chloe was going to have to wait for her to get some actual sleep because this whole lack of sleep thing was really deteriorating her thought process. Just the potential of seeing Chloe at some point in the near future was enough to comfort her into a peaceful sleep for the first time in days.
--
“Chloe, I made your favorite,” Aubrey calls from behind the closed door.
“I’m not hungry,” the redhead shoots back.
“That’s too bad because I’m coming in and you’re eating,” Aubrey rolled her eyes before opening the door to let herself in. “Belgian waffles with chocolate chips and powdered sugar for you. And a nice tea on the side.”
Chloe took the offered tray of food with hesitation but a kind smile. She did appreciate her best friend’s effort to cheer her up but there’s really only one thing that could really put a smile on her face. And that one thing is who knows where doing who knows what.
“Thank you,” Chloe whispered appreciatively.
“You’re welcome,” Aubrey said as she sat down carefully next to Chloe to eat her own food. “So any chance I can convince you to get out of bed on this beautiful Saturday?”
“I don’t know,” Chloe answered honestly. She put her full focus on cutting pieces of her waffle and eating them slowly as if each bite had to be carefully considered and precise.
“I don’t even know the last time Chloe Beale has taken an entire Saturday to mope in bed when the weather was this beautiful,” Aubrey confessed watching as she ate.
“I don’t even think I’ve ever felt like this,” Chloe responds.
“Well, it’ll be okay.”
“You don’t know that, Aubrey,” Chloe shot back with a scowl.
“Actually, I do know that. I know you too well enough to know that this will all be okay in the end. It’s a bump in the road, Chloe. All relationships have their fights,” the blonde clarified with a reassuring nudge to the redhead.
“You really think so?”
“I know so,” Aubrey declares.
Chloe lets out a long breath before gently nodding her head. She knew there was something different about her relationship with Beca. She’s known that since day one so of course they would find some way to fix this it was just a matter of when. Chloe just wishes that this didn’t get as big as it did because these past few days have been tearing her up and completely destroying her sleep schedule. Hell, she was still in bed at 1 pm on a Saturday.
“So, how about we get you out of bed? You can have a refreshing shower and we can go shopping or something,” Aubrey offered pushing herself off the redhead’s bed.
“Okay,” Chloe resigned as she finished her waffle.
“Good. I’ll leave you to freshen up just come find me when you’re ready.”
And with that Chloe was alone again but she wasn’t as upset as she was before. Now she was ready to get up, shower, and try to get on with her day and not waste it moping in bed. Moping in bed wouldn’t do her any good after all.
Aubrey (1:13 pm): I’m taking Chloe out for the day
Aubrey (1:13 pm): just so you know before you show up to an empty apt
Aubrey (1:32 pm): are you sleeping or ignoring me mitchell?
Beca (2:51 pm): I was sleeping relax posen
Aubrey (2:54 pm): don’t tell me to relax when my best friend’s heart is at stake
Aubrey (2:57 pm): which reminds me...fix it
Beca (3:12 pm): don’t worry about it
Beca finally rolled out of bed just after 3 pm most of her day completely wasted but she still had time to do what she needed to do. Aubrey’s reminders were just nagging her even more than her brain already was and it was just so irritating. She just wanted to yell at the controlling blonde and tell her that she’s well aware of her mistakes and what needs to be done just to get her to stop reminding her. It makes everything so much more difficult when instead of just her own brain nagging at her she also had this other person adding onto it even more. If she got one more reminder she just might blow up.
Aubrey (3:20 pm): Don’t tell me not to worry, Mitchell. This is my best friend we’re talking about here
Beca (3:24 pm): You think I don’t know that?
Aubrey (3:27 pm): You’ve waited this long…
Beca threw her phone into her bag as a way to not completely lose it on Aubrey. There was no chance in hell she could continue talking to Aubrey without blowing up on her and that shouldn’t be her focus right now. Her focus was Chloe and what she was going to tell her to fix the mess that they’ve put themselves in.
She pulled her car carefully into her designated spot at the apartment complex and took a deep unsure breath before collecting her belongings and making her way inside. Despite knowing that Chloe and Aubrey were out for the day her nerves were on high alert. The second she puts her key in the door she realizes just how tense her body was and desperately tried to loosen up as she made her way into the apartment. Even though she was only gone for just over two days it seemed weird for everything to be just the way she remembered it. It felt a whole lot longer than just two days.
Beca walked around the kitchen running her fingers along the marble countertop having flashbacks of the night they made out on the counter while baking and got busted by Aubrey. Who just scoffed a ‘get a room’ and then proceeded to leave. She smiled as she thought of Chloe’s giggle of enthusiasm and insistence of continuing anyway.
Beca wandered into the living room letting her brain fill with assorted memories of their time in that space. The late night study sessions on the couch, the TV show marathons, throwing popcorn at each other from across the length of the couch during commercials and laughing at the mess they made. The time they got a little distracted from whatever was on TV and wound up heavily making out on the couch without realizing what time it was. Needless to say Aubrey had the joy of walking in on them sans shirts to which she slammed the door and made a ridiculous comment about how that’s not the welcome home she would have liked. Beca laughed at the thought because one of Aubrey’s only conditions to her moving in was that there wouldn’t be too much of that going on outside of their bedroom. And yet the blonde has interrupted them at least ten times by now.
She wandered into their bedroom which was filled with the scent of Chloe so overwhelming it made Beca smile. She could just picture Chloe throughout the room and almost began to think she was actually there. Beca had many fond memories of the events that took place in this room. Like the first time that they slept in bed together cuddled into each other’s sides. Or the first time they had sex. Or their drunken conversations late into the early morning. Or the dreams that they shared with each other in the middle of the night. Or ridiculous late night questions that they both pondered over seriously despite how ridiculous they seemed. There were so many fond memories. Beca could go on for days if she was able to find someone to listen long enough. And she’s pretty sure the only person in the world willing to do that is Chloe herself.
She brushes her fingers across her laptop that sits on top of the dresser. Music used to be her everything. Now Chloe is her everything and music is taking a step back. Chloe comes before anything and then music comes shortly after. She never thought that someone would be able to top music in her life but Chloe did and it makes the DJ smile. No matter how much she works on her mixes to perfect them she already has someone waiting for her at the end of the day. Even if she has to scrap a mix she’s been working on for days she’ll have someone to come home to who makes you forget all the negatives and focus solely on what is positive. Even if Beca doesn’t make it into producing music she will have Chloe to come home to. She’ll have Chloe to cheer her up and push her to do better. She’ll have Chloe and that’s all she really needs.
“Thanks for today,” Chloe admits on their drive back to the apartment.
“No problem, Chlo. Anything to cheer you up,” Aubrey replies with a smile.
“Yeah.”
Aubrey noticed the mood shift and automatically turned to the radio for assistance hoping that a song she knew was on. Luckily for her one of her favorite songs from a couple of years ago began playing on the second station she selected. Immediately causing her to burst into song followed by Chloe smiling and singing along when she knew the lyrics. There’s nothing like a good song to bring back some good vibes.
The good vibes were only interrupted when they finally pulled into the parking lot and saw the oh so familiar car in it’s regular spot again. Chloe let out an audible sigh before getting out of the car Aubrey just parked next to.
“Hey, it’s a good sign. Isn’t it?” Aubrey asked.
“Yeah, I s’pose it is.”
“Do you want me to stay or -? Aubrey questioned not really knowing if her presence would help the situation.
“Whatever you want, Bree,” was the only response Chloe gave before making her way to their apartment with the blonde hesitantly in tow.
Chloe hesitates at the door with her key in hand as tears began to form in her eyes again. Now was not the time to cry.
“You’re being ridiculous,” Aubrey decided a moment later nudging her aside and unlocking the door herself.
“Hey,” Beca’s voice called from where she was sat on the window sill across the apartment.
“I’m just going to leave you two to it,” Aubrey declared rushing off to her room. She meant to stay for support or something but it just didn’t feel right.
“Hey,” Chloe whispered after she shut the door. “So you were at your dad’s?”
“Yeah. He was, uh, happy to see me but not so much under these circumstances,” Beca admits taking a glance at the older girl who was standing hesitantly beside the couch.
“You told him?”
“I kind of had no choice. Considering I showed up at his house in the middle of the night crying” Beca whispers. She’s not usually one to admit that she cried.
“Right, yeah,” Chloe responds.
“I’m sorry,” both girls blurt out at the same time. They give each other a shy smile before Beca motions for Chloe to finish.
“I’m sorry that I told you to leave and that I reacted the way I did. I just didn’t know what to do so I overreacted. I guess you can blame my brain for thinking way too far ahead and coming up with horrible scenarios that weren’t true,” Chloe admits as she leans on the couch for support.
“No, I’m sorry for that even being something you had to consider. I’m sorry I was becoming distant and that I was so busy that it distracted me from what really matters,” Beca musters up the confidence as the words make their way out. “You’re more important than all of those things and it’s awful that it took me ignoring that to admit this to you. But I know now that I made a huge mistake and that you’re my main priority. I just hope that you’ll forgive me for fucking up so miserably.”
“I’m your main priority?” Chloe asks completely thrown off.
“Of course. It’s always been you, Chlo. It will always be you,” Beca reassures making her way over to the older girl who’s frozen in her spot. She places her hand on Chloe’s cheek looking her right in the eyes. “It will always be you.”
“I forgive you,” Chloe whispers shifting her gaze to the dark blues filled with genuity. “Just don’t do that again.”
“I can promise you I’m never going to do something that stupid again. I’m not going to lose you, Chlo. You’re my everything,” Beca admits with a smile.
“I’m not going to lose you either,” Chloe agrees. She pulls the younger girl in for a tight squeeze, “No matter what happens we’ll have each other to figure out everything else with.”
“We’ll have each other and that’s all that matters,” Beca continued melting into the embrace.
“I love you, Beca,” Chloe murmurs into her neck.
“I love you too, Chlo.”
And I need you to know. It’s always been you. It will always be you.