Chapter Text
Beca was sitting on the grass under a tree. School had ended half an hour ago, but Beca didn't want to go home. She didn't have the best relationship towards her dad. She tried to avoid being at home as much as she could. So she stayed after school most days, doing her homework in her favorite spot. She could look-over everything from there, yet not everyone could see her.
She had her headphones on with one of her mixes playing and was tapping her pen on the book that was lying on her lap. She tried to focus on her Math homework. She didn't look like it but she was actually a pretty good student. She may barely say anything in class but on tests and exams she mostly got B's and even A's. Not Math though, it was giving her a headache.
Beca leaned back against the tree and closed her eyes, enjoying the music for a while. She loved making mixes and was counting the days till she could finally go to LA and produce music. She knew her dad wouldn't support it so she hadn't told him about her career plans yet. She still had 2 years of high school left anyway.
When she opened her eyes she saw the cheerleaders on the field about to start their practice. She rolled her eyes. They were walking around like they owned the place, winking at the football players who were also practicing. Beca shook her head confused. She could have sworn the ginger winked at her instead of one of the boys.
Beca knew the girl from some of her classes but had never talked to her before. Her name was Chloe. She seemed nice, unlike the other cheerleaders. Beca didn't know if this wasn't just a show though. She had beautiful wavy ginger hair and pretty blue eyes. She wasn't just skinny like most of them; she had abs suggesting that she regularly works out. "Get yourself together, Mitchell." She cursed at herself when she noticed she was staring.
She screamed in surprise when someone tapped her on the shoulder. "Damn it, don't do that!" She yelled at the person and took her headphones off. It was Jesse, a senior and Beca's friend. Her only friend to be exact. She wasn't a very social person and she didn't know why Jesse was still putting up with her. "Sorry, didn't want to interrupt you while staring at your crush." He said and sat next to her.
Beca slapped his shoulder. "Shut up! I'm not gay." she hissed.
Jesse just continued chuckling. "Ok ok. Sorry." He apologized when Beca gave him a warning look. "Wow, you got far with your homework." Jesse said, pointing at her almost empty paper. "I wonder why?" He teased.
"This task is hard, ok? This has nothing to do with the cheerleader practice." She said annoyed and rolled her eyes.
"Let me help you." Jesse said and took the book, knowing Beca would have never asked for help on her own.
Half an hour later they were finished.
"See, it wasn't that hard." Jesse stated and helped Beca get up.
"Thanks." Beca murmured, not looking at him. Jesse just smiled and said "You're welcome." Beca didn't open up easily, they've been friends long enough for him to know this. He still wasn't sure if he had managed to climb over all the walls yet.
"Wanna come with me and watch a movie?" He offered, knowing Beca didn't want to go home.
"Jesse, you know I hate movies. Stop trying." She replied, "besides, I'm not really in the mood to get in a fight about me barely being home today, so I better head home."
"Okay, let me give you a ride home then?" He suggested, handing over her book.
"Yeah, sure." Beca said and followed him to his car.
"You're home early." Beca's dad just stated when she entered the house.
"Hi to you, too." Beca said and made her way to the stairs.
"Dinner is ready in a few minutes." Her stepmother informed her from the kitchen.
"I already ate." She lied and turned around. "I'm gonna work on a mix." Beca just said and walked upstairs.
"DJing is not a profession, Beca!" her dad shouted, making sure she heard him.
"There it is again." Beca thought and closed her door before throwing herself on her bed.
She took her laptop and put her headphones on. The rest of the day was spent working on her latest mix, only taking a break to get something to drink and go to the toilet. She didn't even text Jesse back. Beca didn't like being interrupted while making a mix so she usually turns off her phone. Around 12am she was too frustrated and tired so she saved her project and turned off her laptop.
The next day Beca was relieved when she noticed her dad and stepmother had already left the house. She took the chance and turned on her music on a high volume while getting ready, occasionally singing along. She enjoyed singing just as much as making music, not that anyone knew that one though, not even Jesse.
"I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose, fire away, fire away." She sang along in the shower and searched in her mind for another song she could mix it with. After showering she texted Jesse.
"Get your ass over here, I'm too lazy to walk."
"Being in a good mood today, grumpy? ;)" He texted back, making Beca roll her eyes.
"Just pick me up. Pls."
"Alright, be there in 10."
Beca finished putting her makeup on, which was "way too dark" according to her dad. She didn't care of course, she liked it. It made her look tough and kept people away from her. When she heard a car honk, she got her bag and headed outside.
Their drive to school was quiet.
The first few periods were uneventful, as usual. The only thing that confused Beca was Chloe hesitantly looking over to her several times during their Math class together. After Math class Beca was standing at her locker, putting her Math book inside, when someone tapped on her shoulder.
"Damn it, Jesse. I told you-" Beca stopped when she saw that it wasn't Jesse. "Oh." she then exclaimed.
"Hey, you're Beca, right? I'm Chloe." Chloe introduced herself with a cheerful look on her face.
"Yeah I know." Beca just said, sounding a little more distant than she would have liked. Sure, she didn't like talking to people but Chloe didn't do anything that required such a tone yet.
Chloe looked a little nervous now. "I- umm.. Mr. Harris told me you’re his best student in Biology class, despite not talking in class a lot." she started to explain. "And since I might fail this class if I don't get better, he thought you should be my tutor. " she then added.
Beca looked at her with a shocked expression on her face. "Me? Helping you with Biology?" she asked, not believing what she just heard.
"Yeah, it was just a thought of him, you don't need to. I will find someone else." Chloe said and started to walk away.
Beca felt like slapping herself. She really needed to stop attacking everyone without a reason. "Especially pretty ginger cheerleaders" she thought and immediately told herself "No, hush" and focused back on Chloe.
"No, wait. I'm sorry. I will help you." She said, knowing that she will regret this. "Yay! Thank you so much!" Chloe exclaimed happily. "Here's my number. Text me when you have time." she said with a big smile on her face. "Or if you just want to hang out" she then added and winked at Beca before leaving.
"What did I just get myself into?" Beca asked herself, watching Chloe join the other cheerleaders.