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Beca turned sharply to the audience, her hand feeling sweaty holding the microphone. She was breathing heavily out of exhaustion, but she’d still never felt better. She never knew performing could give her such a rush. Of course music had always filled her with an intense feeling of excitement, but singing with her new found family had brought a new meaning to it altogether.
Perhaps naming them as her family after only a year of knowing them was a little presumptuous, but Beca couldn’t help holding hope that for once she might have found her people. Growing up she had struggled to make and keep friends, they always ended up getting bored with her closed off nature. As a young child, Beca was shy, and she quickly learned that most people don’t want to spend the time bringing her out of her shell. When she progressed to a teenager, that shyness came along with standoffish behaviours which did not aid her plight to make long standing friendships. So, in the end, she resigned to keep to herself - it wasn’t worth the hurt.
Then entered into her life a group of mismatched individuals all with one thing in common: they liked to sing. To some it might seem trivial, but music managed to bond them together in a way Beca hadn’t felt before. This was the feeling of belonging she had been searching for, for all these years. People who understood her, and never scoffed at her awkwardness but instead embraced it as a part of her to be loved too. It felt weird to be loved like this, but it was a good weird and Beca supposed it was only fair as she had come to love all of them too. Even harsh captain Aubrey Posen had wriggled her way into Beca’s impenetrable heart. Not that Beca would ever admit it. Especially not to Aubrey herself.
Beca supposed she had Chloe to thank for leading her to her best friends.
Chloe Beale. Or, as Beca referred to her in her head before knowing her actual name, the redhead who is sunshine in human form. The most beautiful sunshine Beca ever did see, in fact. Beca had been known throughout her life to hide from the bright sun and all things overwhelmingly positive, much preferring the ‘realistic’ side as she called it. However, that all turned upside down when she met Chloe, who seemed to only make Beca fill with joy from her positivity - like it was contagious. Though, Chloe did it in a way where it didn’t feel like it was too much, even if she was actually very over the top at times. Beca had a suspicion that if it came from anybody else, it would irritate her to no end, but Chloe was different. It was simply endearing. That was one of the first of many things that Beca noted was special about the redhead, and her list only continued to grow.
If Aubrey had wriggled her way into Beca’s heart, Chloe had bombarded her way in and become a permanent residence there. Looking back, it was inevitable as soon as she gazed into those bright blue eyes and harmonised with her. There was really no other choice but to fall in love.
Beca looked to her side at Chloe on the stage as they all still relished in the feeling of performing. Chloe must have read her mind because she immediately looked back at her. They had mirrored expressions on their faces: wide grins clearly showing how on top of the world they currently felt.
As always, Beca’s heart lurched as their eyes locked together, feeling that the whole year of Aubrey’s control was worth it for this one moment. Even if nothing else came of the group, or Beca and Chloe, Beca would never forget how she felt in this instant. She was sure she would think back on this for years to come. How could she not? She’d never felt so alive.
Unfortunately, the moment was broken as the competition staff came to the side of the stage, beckoning them off. Being closest to that side, Beca goes first, leading the group off and down the stairs. Despite the moment passing, her body was still filled with adrenaline and vibrancy. She was yet to wipe the grin off of her face and honestly, she didn’t want to.
The end of the year was almost over and Beca knew finding a moment with Chloe was rapidly approaching the point of being too late. However, there was someone she knew she had to fix things with first.
Beca walked up the aisle, smiling when she found his face. It held a lot less frustration than their last few interactions luckily. She only hoped what she had to do wouldn't reverse this progress.
“I told you, endings are the best part.” Jesse said, clearly impressed by Beca’s song choice.
Beca rolled her eyes at him but smiled all the same. “Yeah, you might be right.”
“Told you!” He exclaimed, pointing in Beca’s direction.
“I said might!” Beca retorted, shaking her head.
Beca’s face changed into a more tense one, her furrowed eyebrows displaying her anxiety. “Listen, Jesse, I know we sort of had a moment but…” She trailed off, seemingly trying to find the right words.
“I’m not the ending you want.” Jesse finished for her, surprising Beca. His face didn’t appear to convey malicious feelings, only understanding, as if he expected Beca to say this all along.
“I’m sorry, I-“
“It’s okay Bec, I’m not blind you know.” Jesse stated, cutting her off. Beca raised her eyebrows at him in question, nerves and apprehension coming off of her in waves.
“Trust me. Go get your girl!” He said, giving her a gentle push in the direction of the rest of the bella’s.
Beca gave him a slight nod and wasted no more time. To no one else’s surprise, Chloe was already looking at her. Of course she was . They may have only known each other for a short while in the grand scheme of their lives, but they were as in sync as if they’d known each other for all of it.
As Beca strode over to the redhead, Chloe’s face lit up, her blue eyes sparkling and her cheeks becoming even wider if that was possible. Beca lifted her hand up as she got closer, giving Chloe a shy wave.
“Hey.” Beca said with a smile, a blush creeping on her cheeks.
“Hey, Becs” Chloe replied, taking a step so they were directly opposite each other.
“I can’t believe we won!” Beca declared in disbelief. “I feel amazing.”
Chloe laughed, the exact laugh that has been constantly stuck in Beca’s head all year. It was so breathtakingly beautiful. Sure, music sounded like a million amazing things in one to Beca, but Chloe’s laugh was like magic. A sort of magic that nothing else could have compared to. This was another of the special things about Chloe on her list (the list was never ending).
“And to think you said a capella was lame!” Chloe remarked, giggling and pushing a strand of hair away that had fallen into Becas eyes. She looked down at the tiny brunette, their eyes locking once more. If sparks of chemistry between people were visible, they would be flying everywhere between them. Beca bit her lip nervously, it was now or never.
“Shut up, Chlo.” Beca said. She didn’t give Chloe a chance to reply, instead cupping her cheek with her hand and bringing their lips together. Chloe instantly responded, kissing Beca back softly. They kissed slowly, wanting to savour every second after almost a year of longing glances and daydreaming of this very moment.
Beca pulled back, blushing even more seeing Chloe’s flushed face grinning at her. It was adorable .
“Is now a good time to tell you I failed Russian Lit and will probably have to repeat the year? Looks like you’re not getting rid of me yet.” Chloe revealed to Beca.
The only response to that Chloe got was being drawn into yet another kiss, but she supposed that was a good sign.