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“Becs, I need your help!” Chloe raced into their tiny apartment and threw herself down onto one of the busted ass chairs around their thrift store reject table. She bumped into the table, which jostled Beca’s bowl of cereal. A wave of milk crashed over the side along with about a spoonful of Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs. Beca scowled at the mess and then swung her judging look at her roommate. “Whoops,” Chloe laughed. “I’ll get that.” She raced into the kitchen and grabbed a paper towel - rushing back to the table to wipe up the mess. Then she sat back down and looked pleadingly at Beca.
This scene had played out countless times over the course of Beca and Chloe’s friendship. The redhead would show up begging Beca to help her out with something - oftentimes bizarre. Beca could never tell Chloe “no,” so she would end up doing it. This had led their friends in the Bellas to relentlessly torment Beca about her “being whipped.” They weren’t entirely wrong. Okay, they weren’t even a little big wrong - although Beca would deny it to her dying breath. The fact that she had been harboring a secret crush (not secret) on Chloe for years only made her more susceptible to the redhead’s begging.
“What are you hoping to sucker me into this time, Beale?” Beca asked, quirking her eyebrow.
“You wound me,” Chloe gasped in faux offense. “You make it seem like I’m constantly … luring you into things you don’t want to do.”
“That is LITERALLY how our friendship started,” Beca deadpanned. “You asked me to join your lame a cappella group. Then you busted into my shower to again ask me to join your lame group.”
“And look how well it all turned out,” Chloe beamed. Beca scoffed. “Don’t get all grumpy, Becs. You know you love me.”
If only you knew how much. Beca dipped her head, hoping to hide the blush she had just felt pop up on her cheeks. She took another big spoonful of cereal. After chewing and swallowing, she figured she had gotten control of herself, so she didn’t say something stupid or ruinous. “So what is it this time?”
Chloe clapped and squealed. “Yay!”
“I didn’t say I’d DO it,” Beca cautioned.
“Right, right,” Chloe nodded, completely ignoring the weak protest. “Ok. You remember, me telling you about my friend growing up Devyn?”
“No,” Beca answered before shoveling more cereal into her mouth.
“Sure you do,” Chloe countered. “I told you all about her. We were inseparable all through school down in Tampa. We were in cheerleading and chorus together.”
“No,” Beca repeated.
“Beca, don’t be silly,” Chloe whined. “We hung out all the time! You met her when we went down there for the Gasparilla Parade. She was going to be part of the Krewe of Venus.”
Beca just stared, completely lost. “Chlo, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve been to Tampa with you several times. I’ve never been to a sarsaparilla parade…”
“Gasparilla…”
“Whatever,” Beca rolled her eyes. “I’ve never been. I don’t know what the fuck ‘Crew of Venus’ even means. And I’ve never met anyone named Devyn except for this one super annoying bitch who worked at a music store back in Portland.”
“You’re just being difficult,” Chloe scowled.
“I promise, Chloe,” Beca argued. “I’m not.”
Chloe pursed her lips and thought. Then recognition hit her eyes. “That was Bree that went with me!” Beca glared.“Sorry,” Chloe said sheepishly. She quickly regained her footing. “Okay, there is this girl Devyn …”
“You were inseparable. In cheer and chorus together. Hung out all the time,” Beca parroted back. “I was here two minutes ago when you said all that.”
“Oh, yeah. Right,” Chloe laughed. “Sorry. I’m a little anxious.”
Beca softened immediately. She loved to give Chloe a hard time, loved to play grumpy, loved to act like she resented all the things Chloe dragged her into. But the truth was that her life was so much better thanks to her redhead friend and crush. Beca only wanted the best things for her. And when Chloe was sad, anxious, worried, scared - that tore Beca’s heart out. She reached her hand out and covered Chloe’s. “What do you need?” she asked softly.
Chloe smiled at the gesture. Then she took a deep breath. “Okay. So Devyn is coming to New York next week. She has some conference to go to for work - she has an MBA and … whatever … doesn’t matter. The point is, she wants to see me.”
“That’s cool,” Beca said, not sure at all why Chloe was so panicked.
“NO it isn’t!” Chloe burst. “Did you not hear the part about her having an MBA?”
Beca barked a laugh. “Chlo, an MBA isn’t that cool, I hate to tell you.”
“That’s not the point,” Chloe groaned as she threw her head back. “She has an MBA. She has a great job down in Tampa. She is engaged to some guy on the Lightning…”
“Football?” Beca asked.
“Hockey,” Chloe responded.
“Hockey?!?” Beca questioned. “Who gives a shit about hockey in Tampa?”
“Beca!” Chloe yelled. “The Lightning are REALLY good. And you’re missing the point. She has all of this great stuff going on. And I … live in a shitty one bedroom apartment, sleep on a pull out couch with you, work as a peon at a vet office. I have no money, no relationship, no prospects.”
“Okay, okay,” Beca said, embracing the redhead and rubbing her back to calm her down. “You may not be in the same place as her, but you are an amazing person. You’re beautiful and brilliant and wonderful. And I’m sure she just wants to see her old friend. She isn’t coming up to compete with you.”
Chloe pulled away and gave Beca a weird look. “Do you even have any female friends, Beca?”
“Rude,” Beca grumbled.
“Of COURSE she is coming to compete with me,” Chloe argued. “That is what women do with each other.”
“The Bellas don’t do that,” Beca replied.
Chloe laughed. “You aren’t seriously gauging all of womankind based on the Bellas, are you?” Beca looked at the redhead with a confused look. “Oh, you are?” Chloe whispered.
“I never really had any female friends until the Bellas,” Beca said quietly.
“Right,” Chloe nodded. “Sorry. I forgot.” She straightened up and started. “So, the Bellas are a very unique group of girls. You’re right; we don’t do all that competition stuff. They used to, when Bree and I first started. And sometimes Aubrey will slip back into it. But as a whole, we don’t do that. BUT… that is not true for most women. There is always this … kind of swirling need for validation and knowing that you are doing better than someone else.”
“What about all of that sisterhood stuff?” Beca asked.
Chloe waved her hand at that. “That’s just some good sounding bullshit for the media to eat up.”
Beca’s mouth fell open. “I think you’re painting a … highly stereotypical picture. I can’t believe all women are like that.”
“No, you’re right, you’re right,” Chloe agreed. “Let me rephrase… women who come from a certain background - one like what Madion and I came from - they will frequently partake of a very destructive approach to things. They can become very catty, very competitive. They’ll cut another woman’s legs out from under them. They will always try to portray themselves as better, healthier, richer, skinnier, more together than all the women they come into contact with.”
“I thought you liked this person,” Beca said.
“Oh I do,” Chloe answered. “She was my best friend … in that world. I would never trade what I have with you … or the Bellas … to go back to that.”
“Ah.”
“But I still don’t want to look pathetic when she shows up,” Chloe explained.
“Fair enough,” Beca answered. “What do you need?”
“I need her to think that I have my life together … to where it is at least on par with hers,” Chloe announced.
“Okaaaaay…” Beca warily replied. “And that means?”
“I want us to pretend to be together … romantically,” Chloe said like it was just the easiest thing in the world.
“WHAT!?!” Beca squawked.
“Don’t you see?” Chloe asked. “Then she will see that I’m also in a relationship. And I’m with a very successful music producer. And I’m on my way to becoming a veterinarian.”
“You’re on the way to the nuthouse,” Beca laughed.
“Becaaaaaa,” Chloe whined. “Do this for me.”
“In what universe do you think this is going to work?” Beca countered. “You’ve been reading too much fan fiction.”
“There’s no such thing as too much fan fiction, Beca,” Chloe interrupted with a very serious look on her face.
“Yes there is!” Beca shouted. “You have read too much when you let fan fiction tropes take over your own. Fake dating in real life is … it is just stupid! It is contrived even in the world of fan fiction. In the real world it is absolutely ridiculous.”
“No, this will work,” Chloe protested. “Just play along please.”
“This is the worst idea you have ever had,” Beca grumbled.
“So that’s a yes, right?” Chloe beamed.
“I feel like an idiot,” Beca grumbled. She kept pulling at her t-shirt as she and Chloe walked to the restaurant to meet Devyn.
“Stop messing with your clothes.” Chloe swatted Beca’s hand. Then she grabbed it and held it. “There. That will stop you from pulling at your shirt. Why does it bother you anyway?”
“It just feels … weird.”
Chloe stopped at took in the shirt. “It’s a Beatles shirt. It looks just like all of the other band shirts you wear.”
“No,” Beca huffed. “It looks like something that someone would wear who WANTS to look like they know about music.”
“That makes no sense,” Chloe laughed. She tugged Beca’s hand and started the two women moving again. “It’s a Beatles shirt. You own like a half dozen Beatles shirts.”
“But those are well-worn. And I actually bought them. This is … an imposter shirt.”
“HAHA,” Chloe couldn’t stop the laughter from exploding out. “You are so weird. ‘Imposter shirt’.”
“I feel like I’m dressed how a producer is supposed to look, not like me,” Beca complained.
“You wore that exact same outfit just the other day!” Chloe exclaimed. “The same black jacket, Beatles shirt, ripped jeans, boots.”
“Again, I wore all of MY stuff. This is all …. new. You should have just left the tags on them. It wouldn’t make a difference with how obviously new this all is. Makes me look like a try-hard.”
“My outfit is new too,” Chloe argued. “Do I look like a try-hard?”
Beca glanced over and scanned Chloe’s cornflower blue sundress. It fell perfectly on her and brought the blue out in her eyes even more than usual. “No, of course not. You look beautiful. Like always.”
“Awww, thanks Becs.”
“How did you afford all this stuff anyway?” Beca asked. “And dinner too?”
Chloe didn’t answer at first but bit at her lip. “Um … I used some … savings.”
Beca stopped and her mouth fell open. “Your vet school savings?!?”
“Yeaaaah?” Chloe looked ashamed.
Beca grabbed Chloe’s hand and pulled her out of the flow of pedestrians and close to a storefront. She tried to catch the redhead’s eyes, but Chloe kept avoiding her glance. Softly, she said, “Chloe, talk to me. Why would you do that?”
“It’s just … I just want this to go perfectly …” Chloe whispered, her eyes tearing up.
Beca pulled Chloe tight to her chest and spoke close to her ear. “I want you to listen to me. You don’t have anything to prove to Devyn or anyone.” Chloe tried to pull back to argue, but Beca held her tight. “Shhhh. You don’t. Like I told you the other day, you are the most incredible person I know. You are worth a thousand Devyns. If it wasn’t true, I wouldn’t be fake dating you.” Chloe chuckled. “Now, we can turn around, go back home, change into sweats, and watch some stupid shit on Netflix. We don’t have to do this. If we do, though, I want it to be because you WANT to do it - not to prove anything to anyone.”
Chloe nodded and wiped her face. She got out her compact and tried to fix her makeup. “Ugh, nothing better than crying right before meeting up with someone.”
“It really isn’t fair, you know,” Beca observed. “Most other people look ugly and gross when the cry. You just look flushed and windswept and rosy-cheeked.” Her eyes flew wide as she realized her mouth had been running without permission.
“Why, Beca,” Chloe breathed, batting her eyelids. “You say the sweetest things. Keep it up, and I’ll show you how good I look when I’m flushed when we get home.”
Beca gulped. She didn’t need that image in her head. She’s trying to kill me. “You … uh … you ready to … keep going?” she stammered. Chloe cackled and grabbed Beca’s hand again, pulling them back into the flow of foot traffic.
The dinner had been a major success in Beca’s opinion. The three women had a great time. The food was delicious - even if it felt like it cost more than their rent. Devyn was incredibly sweet and funny and whip smart. Beca could see why Chloe had been so close to her. And the woman was gorgeous. She had long glossy ebony hair that fell to the middle of her back in waves. She had latte-colored skin, dark brown eyes, and a modelesque body. Her slightly husky voice was mesmerizing, and her robust laugh infected everyone around. Beca actually felt quite inferior to her. More than once she thanked her lucky stars that Devyn lived in Florida and not closer to Chloe. Otherwise, Beca feared that her redheaded friend would upgrade to a much better best friend.
Beca played the devoted girlfriend all night; she actually found it wasn’t that difficult. She always liked bragging on Chloe, so doing that wasn’t a challenge. She and Chloe were very affectionate by this point, so that wasn’t a big stretch either. Beca found that by slightly cracking open the box where she stuffed her feelings for Chloe she could easily look smitten by her friend. (It definitely helped that she WAS smitten. No acting needed.) She and Chloe bickered over their food choices. Chloe stole food off of Beca’s plate, causing the small brunette to dramatically gasp in offense. Chloe even hooked her food around Beca’s ankle throughout dinner. Beca felt that was probably overcommitting to the act, since it was highly unlikely Devyn would check under the table to verify their relationship. But Beca wasn’t complaining.
After the main course was over and they were waiting for dessert, Beca’s phone buzzed. She hadn’t planned on paying it any mind and had set it on “Do Not Disturb.” There were only like three people whose notifications would come through: Chloe, Beca’s mom, and the head of the studio. She peeked down and saw it was her boss. “I’m really sorry, honey,” she said to Chloe. “It’s the boss man. I should take this. I won’t be long.”
“No problem, babe,” After Beca scampered off, Chloe turned to Devyn and smiled widely. “She’s always on call.”
“She seems great, Chloe,” Devyn gushed.
Chloe nodded. “Oh she is. One of the best things to ever happen to me.”
“I’m so happy for you,” the raven haired beauty said. “I can tell how much she loves you. She looks at you like you hung the stars. You deserve someone like that.”
Something painful twisted in Chloe’s chest. She kept her face schooled in a smile, but inside she felt her heart drop. Beca didn’t actually love her like that. As much as Chloe wished she did, this was all pretend. And when the dinner ended, like Cinderella at midnight, Chloe would go back to her regular disappointing life. “She’s a very good actress,” Chloe laughed to stave off the pain clawing at her insides.
“Oh, no,” Devyn replied with a very serious look on her face. “That is not acting. You forget, I’ve had many years observing people who are in love with Chloe Beale. THAT woman is in love with you. No doubt about it.”
Chloe was saved from having to reply when Beca reappeared at the table. “Sorry about that. They had to move one of the artists tomorrow to a different time, and he wanted to make sure I was available.” She looked between the two women. Something seemed off about Chloe, even though she was trying her best to hide it. “What did I miss?” She asked jovially.
“Not much,” Devyn answered. “I was just telling Chloe how happy I am that she has someone who clearly loves her so much. She deserves it.”
Beca nodded sagely. “She does indeed. She deserves the world. And I’m the lucky one to have her in my life.” She met Chloe’s eyes as she said this. On the surface, Chloe looked like she was blushing, but Beca remembered from earlier that Chloe often was able to hide what she was really feeling. And her eyes held sadness. Beca squeezed the redhead’s hand. Dessert arrived, and the strange moment passed thanks to cheesecake, creme brûlée, and rich coffee.
Chloe excused herself to use the restroom after dessert. Beca watched her go, worried about what had caused the sorrow she perceived in her friend. Her attention was brought back to the table when Devyn started talking to her.
“Beca,” the other woman said to get her attention. “I wanted to tell you something.” Beca nodded to indicate that Devyn should continue. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that you have an absolutely incredible woman in Chloe.”
“I am very aware,” Beca answered with a soft smile.
“We were so close for so long,” Devyn continued. “I seriously battled depression the first semester that we were apart for college. I even looked into transferring up to Barden. Then I hung out with Chloe at fall break. She told me about the Bellas and Aubrey and … all the great things happening. I knew that I needed to let her go, as hard as it was.”
Something in the woman’s tone set off an alarm in Beca’s head. She studied Devyn’s face. “Were …. were you … in love with her?” Beca asked anxiously.
Devyn leaned back and took a sip of her coffee. “I didn’t realize it at the time, but I probably was.” Beca’s surprise must have registered on her face because Devyn chuckled and grasped her hand. “Don’t worry, Beca. I’m not trying to steal her from you. I got over her. And I love my fiancé very much.” She looked wistfully towards the restrooms. “Plus, she didn’t feel the same way. She didn’t love me.” She cleared her throat and looked back at Beca. “Certainly not like she loves you. That’s for sure.”
Beca’s head swam at those words. “You can tell that, huh?”
Devyn vigorously nodded. “Remember - years of watching all things Chloe. I’ve seen Chloe in all stages of love. I’ve seen her when she has a crush. When she just is physically attracted to someone. When she is smitten. When she has a deep connection with someone. And when she loves someone. And…” she paused and looked pointedly at Beca “… I’ve seen her when she has all of those things for someone. And that’s what she has for you.”
“Wow,” Beca breathed. Her heart was pounding at this news. She had a hard time believing Devyn. If Chloe was that deeply in love with her, wouldn’t she have known? But she felt that was about Chloe, and the redhead didn’t know. Maybe they were both just idiots. And why would Devyn lie? If anyone COULD read Chloe, it would be her, right? “I’ma very lucky woman,” Beca said.
“You have no idea,” Devyn answered. “You have won the heart of the most amazing person I have ever known. Don’t ever let her go. Fight for her if needs be. You’ll never forgive yourself if you don’t.”
Chloe arrived back at the table right when the check was being dropped off. Devyn’s hand shot like a snake and grabbed the bill folder before the other two women could react. “It’s my treat,” she announced with a smile.
“No, Devyn,” Chloe protested. “That’s too much.”
“I want to,” Devyn replied.
“You don’t have to,” Beca argued (while secretly thrilled they wouldn’t have to give up eating the rest of the month).
“I know I don’t have to,” the black haired woman answered. “I want to.” When the other two started to argue, she held up her hand. “Look, my company pays for my meals anyway when I’m on a trip. And I’m engaged to a professional athlete,” she added with a twinkle in her eyes. “Let me do this for you.” The other two didn’t look convinced. “If you feel like you need to do something, promise me that you’ll come to my wedding. That will more than make up for it.”
“Done,” Chloe said with a broad smile. “Of course, I would have come to your wedding anyway.”
“I know,” Devyn winked. “But I had to give you something, or we would have been here arguing all night.”
“You do know her well,” Beca said with a smirk.
“HEY!” Chloe shot back, smacking Beca’s arm.
“See how mean she is to me?” Beca complained with a laugh. “Has she always been this violent?”
Devyn chuckled. “She has red hair, Beca. What do you think?”
The women all laughed. They said their farewells and went their separate ways.
Beca and Chloe had decided to take a taxi home rather than walk. Since they didn’t have to pay for dinner, they didn’t even feel guilty for splurging. Both women seemed caught up in their thoughts, staring out their own window.
Beca broke the silence. “Devyn was really nice.”
“Hmmm?” Chloe pulled herself out of her own mind. “Oh, yeah. She is super nice.”
“There didn’t seem to be … any of that … comparison, competition stuff … you were worried about.”
“No, there wasn’t,” Chloe said, frowning thoughtfully. Had she really expected Devyn to be catty like that? It would have been so uncharacteristic of her old friend. There were definitely quite a few people they had gone to school with in Tampa who WOULD have been like that. Devyn never struck Chloe as that type. So why was she so adamant that she and Beca pretend to date? Or was it just a way for her to experience something she never thought she would have?
“When is her wedding?” Beca asked.
“I think in like six months,” Chloe answered. “I have a Save the Date card. I’ll check it and put it on our calendar.”
“Cool.”
The awkwardness continued as they made their way up the three flights of stairs to their apartment. And while they moved around each other to get changed, use the bathroom, clean up the kitchen. The further the night went, the more down Chloe seemed. Beca hated watching it. She had no idea if Devyn was right or not, if Chloe had feelings for her. But Beca knew she had feelings for Chloe. And Devyn had made a tremendous point: Chloe was worth fighting for. When it appeared that Chloe was about to get into bed, Beca summoned all the bravery she had. “Hey, Chlo, hold up.” She made her way over from the kitchen and stood right in front of the redhead. She took her hand and held it. Then she put her other hand on Chloe’s hip. The redhead’s breath hitched.
“Beca,” she breathed. Then she cleared her throat. “You don’t have to do this. Devyn’s gone. Our pretend time is up.” The devastation on her face told Beca all she needed to know.
“I want to try something,” Beca whispered. She pulled Chloe tighter to her, still holding her hand. Then she brought her other hand up to Chloe’s cheek.
“Beca, what are you doing?” Chloe asked in hushed voice.
“I told you, I want to try something,” Beca repeated. “Just play along. Please.”
Chloe’s eyes widened as she remembered what she had said at the beginning of this farce. She took a deep breath and waited to see what Beca intended. The brunette leaned in, giving the redhead every change to move away. When she didn’t, Beca captured her mouth in a kiss. It was clumsy at first - both women afraid of being too vulnerable. But then they both realized that it was real. They soon had intensified their kissing. Chloe’s hand pulled Beca tighter against her; Beca’s hand slid into Chloe’s hair. When they finally needed to break apart to catch their breath, they rested their foreheads against each other.
“Wow,” Chloe whispered as she chuckled.
“Yeah, wow,” Beca agreed. She caught Chloe’s eyes. “Chlo, if you’re okay with it, I would like to keep being your girlfriend - except not pretend, but for real.”
“Really?” Chloe asked with, her breath shuddering.
“Well, I don’t make a habit of kissing people like that,” Beca said with a smirk. “Yes, really.” She took a deep breath. Time to lay it all out. “Chloe Marie Beale. I have been in love with you for far too long to have never done anything about it. But after having a taste of being yours, I don’t think I could ever go back to how it was before.”
Chloe grinned. “Smooth, Mitchell.” She pecked Beca’s lips. “Beca Esperanza Mitchell. I have also been in love with you for far too long. And I agree completely. I can’t go back.”
Beca studied the face in front of her, the woman she loved - and who loved her. She smiled and said, “Esperanza?!?Where the hell did you get Esperanza? That’s not my name.”
Chloe giggled. “To be fair, I don’t know your middle name.”
“What?!?” Beca was floored. “How do you not know my middle name? You know everything about me.”
“I didn’t know you were in love with me,” Chloe argued.
“Well I was actively hiding that,” Beca mumbled. She walked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed a stack of letters.“My middle initial is on the mail. And on my checks. And was on years of Bellas’ paperwork. See?” She held the letters up. “No E. You could have at least made a better guess.”
“Is this really how you want to spend our first night after baring our souls to each other?” Chloe stood by the dining room table, her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised.
Beca stood still for a few moment. She set the mail down. Sheepishly, she said, “Now that I think about it, no. That is NOT what I want to do.”
“Oh? What DO you want to do?” Chloe challenged.
“I want to change my clothes, get into bed with you, and show you how much I love you,” Beca stated.
Chloe nodded and smiled. “I like that plan very much.”
Beca stopped on her way to the bathroom and pulled Chloe into a hug. “I really do love you.”
“I really love you too,” Chloe agreed. Beca pulled away and started towards the bathroom. Chloe swatted her ass. Beca squeaked and scowled back. “Get moving, Mitchell. We have years to make up for.”