Meanwhile, Beca was sitting in a Panera with her little sister Emily, not focusing on the trigonometry homework at all. "So you met at the mall?" Emily asked, taking a bite of her blueberry muffin.

"Yeah, she asked me to go to coffee with her after we talked for a few minutes. She's adorable."

"Ooh she seems like really cliche cute! You know what would be really romantic? If you took her to one of those cute French silent movies that they always have at the drive in," Emily said.

"Yeah that won't happen," Beca said, awkwardly laughing. "She's blind."

"What?" Emily asked, almost choking on her green tea."

"Yeah..." Beca started hesitantly. "She can see light and the color red but that's it. She's hoping to regain some more vision though."

"How does she get around?" Emily asked.

"She has a service dog, and her other senses are really strong to make up for the lack of vision. She also has epilepsy so the dog helps with that too."

"Beca are you sure this isn't too much for you? You're just starting work and stuff, do you really have time to deal with all that?"

"I'm fine Em, seriously. You'll love her when you get to meet her on Saturday, she's amazing."

"You're bringing her to lunch with our parents? Why?" Emily asked. "That's just gonna make me look bad."

"Why? Cause you don't have a boyfriend?" Beca joked.

Emily reached across the table and jokingly smacked her on the arm. "Hey, I'm 3 years younger than you, you just got a girlfriend last week."

"But seriously, you'll love her."

"Do you have any pictures of her?" Emily asked, and Beca picked up her phone off the table and entered in her password. "Don't tell her I showed you these because she doesn't feel super comfortable without her sunglasses on, and I took these ones when she was playing the piano."

"Wow, her eyes are amazing," Emily said. "It's hard to even tell she's blind."

"It's cause she wasn't born with it, she got in an accident and ended up with head trauma," Beca explained. "Up close her eyes are really unfocused and it really embarrasses her a lot which makes me sad, but she's so beautiful and so amazing."

"She can play piano?"

"She plays piano, sings, she's a journalist so she can use a computer, she's so talented."

"Right, now how did you really meet?"

"We were at the mall, but she came up to me and was like 'I'm blind and I was hoping you could find me this shirt in a medium,' and my heart just broke for her because I hadn't even realized how much she was struggling. Like I had seen her from a distance and didn't really think anything of it but then I wanted to hang out with her just so she wouldn't be alone. We got to talking and I somehow fell in love with her and awkwardly asked her on a date."

"So you were just being a pity friend and she stole your heart? That's adorable!" Emily squealed. "You said she's trying to regain her vision?"

"Yeah, she goes to laser therapy and it's been successful so far. She can see light and the color red, but no definite shapes yet. Her ophthalmologist said she'll probably get her nearsighted vision back in about 2 years."

"So what are you gonna do with yourself for the next 2 years? I mean it must be hard to date her if she can't do anything."

"She can do a ton of stuff though. She loves to read, so I told her I'd read to her since Braille books are expensive. And then she still likes to go to movies and listen to the tv as long as she has audio descriptions or someone explaining to her what's going on. And I told her I'll sing with her and play guitar so she can sing too."

"How did she even fall in love with you? Your looks are all you have, and the wells even run dry there," Emily said with a laugh.

"Oh my god," Beca said, rolling her eyes. "Let's get back to your trig homework, I've had a long day."

"Bree, I can't do this," Chloe said nervously, the fear of meeting Beca's parents filling her voice. She had called Aubrey in a panic at about 7 that morning expressing her anxiety and nervousness about meeting Beca's family. It wasn't the meeting them that scared her so much. She was more scared of their reaction to her blindness.

"Chloe if Beca's accepting of you, I'm sure her family will be too," Aubrey said gently, trying to relieve her friend. "Do you need me to come over?"

"No, I'll be fine, I'm just really nervous. What should I wear?"

"Well where are you going?"

"This brunch buffet place, which makes me even more nervous before I have to go up and get food."

"I'm sure Beca will get it for you," Aubrey said. "And you know that red dress I bought you for your birthday that's kind of short?"

"Well I knew it was short, I never knew the color," Chloe said with a laugh. "So for tonight, what time do you want me to be there? Beca and I are hanging out all day so we're free anytime."

"The reservations are for 6," Aubrey replied.

"Alright, I'll see you then Bree, thanks for being here." Chloe said gratefully.

"Ok, have fun this afternoon!" Aubrey said happily. She disconnected the call and called Beca, not realizing her best friend's girlfriend didn't get up before 7, especially on Saturdays. "Hey it's Aubrey, call me back when you get this," she said

What she didn't realize was Beca was up and frantically searching through her closet for something red to wear so Chloe would be able to see her. She settled on a red Twenty One Pilots shirt that she rolled the sleeves up on and paired with a black skater skirt. After deciding on her outfit, she went downstairs and made herself a cup of coffee, taking her phone off the charger as she did so. Missed call from Aubrey? She thought to herself. She poured cream and sugar into her coffee and stepped to the back deck to return Aubrey's call. "Hey Aubrey, what's up?" She asked when the blonde answered the phone. She was so nervous to talk to Chloe's best friend for some reason, but she'd never let that show.

"You have told your parents Chloe's blind, right?" Aubrey asked bluntly. "Because she's afraid it's gonna be a surprise to them but she doesn't want to mention it."

"Oh...uh yeah," Beca lied. The truth was, she hadn't really told her parents anything about Chloe but planned on doing that after they woke up. She still lived at home, not by choice, but houses and apartments in downtown Atlanta were expensive and she was just starting out.

"She's really nervous, please do everything you can to make her feel okay about this," Aubrey said with a sigh.

"I will, I promise," Beca said almost immediately. Something about the blonde scared her and she didn't quite know what it was yet.

"I know she's happy with you and that you're treating her amazingly, but Chloe is my best friend, pretty much a little sister to me, and if you do anything to hurt her, even if it's unintentional, I will never let you near her again."

There it is, that was what Beca was so afraid of.

Aubrey paused, taking a deep breath, and a sense of calm came over her voice. "I'm sorry, that probably freaked you out. It's just that I've seen her get hurt by girls before, and she's even more fragile now. She's like a little sister to me, I want her to feel good about herself."

"I know Aubrey," Beca said hesitantly. "What can I do for her? I know we're going to a buffet so that might be a little bit difficult."

"Just offer to get her food for her," Aubrey replied.

"Ok," Beca agreed. "Why did this come up? Is she nervous?"

"Yeah, she's always nervous to meet new people, they tend to be really judgmental." Aubrey paused again, trying to figure out how to make Beca feel a little bit better. "She really likes you, and I'm really happy for both of you."

"Thanks Aubrey," Beca said in relief. "I'm gonna get going, I have to get ready."

"Ok, I'll see you tonight" Aubrey hung up and Beca went back inside to find her parents sitting at the table drinking coffee.

"Hi honey, who was that?" Her stepmom Sheri said as the shorter brunette walked into the kitchen.

"Oh...uhm," Beca started hesitantly. "So that was my girlfriend's friend Aubrey. We kinda became friends when I met her at Chloe's house."

"I haven't heard anything about this Chloe, tell us about her," John, her father, said.

Beca hesitated for a minute and decided to pass the time by pouring herself a bowl of cereal. "Well...she's a journalist, she plays piano, sings-."

"What does she look like?" Sheri asked.

"She's a little taller than me, and she has red hair and the most gorgeous blue eyes I've ever seen." She cringed at herself on the last one. Why had she decided to bring up the eyes. "Oh and she's...blind." Beca let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

"You're dating a blind girl? Why?" John asked.

"Because she's really sweet and beautiful and because I'm not focusing on her disability." Beca could barely keep herself from rolling her eyes at her dad and stepmother.

"You said she has beautiful eyes? Aren't they all clouded over?" Sheri asked.

"No, because she wasn't born blind. She was in an accident and had brain trauma," Beca explained. "She also has epilepsy, but I haven't seen her have any seizures so far."

"She can't see anything?" John asked.

"She can see light and the color red, but no definite shapes or anything," Beca replied.

"How do you want us to talk to her?" Sheri asked gently, trying to make Beca a little less nervous.

"Treat her like a 25 year old," Beca shrugged. "And like if she doesn't look like she's listening to you, don't get offended, because she is. Sometimes it's hard for her to figure out exactly where you're standing, but I promise she's listening. And she probably won't ask for help, but if I'm not around and she's struggling with something, please offer to help her."

"Of course, Beca," Sheri replied. "Does Emily know?"

"Yeah, I talked to her last night." Beca glanced at her father who was still staring at her skeptically. "She's going to laser therapy to regain as much of her vision as possible. Just give it a few years, she'll probably be able to see at some point."

"You're planning on being with her that long?" John asked.

"Yes, dad I wouldn't start a relationship with someone if I didn't plan on it working out," Beca replied. "Can we please just all accept this relationship, I really like her and I think you guys will too. I have to go get ready. I'm picking her up so I'll meet you guys there at 11."

"Ok, we'll see you there honey," Sheri said.

Beca went upstairs showered and blow dried her hair straight. She curled it and put it up in a half bun before putting on her t-shirt and cuffing the sleeves. She put on her skirt and finished up her makeup before picking up her phone and sending a quick text to Chloe

Beca [10:11 am]: hey, I'm about to leave to pick you up. don't worry about replying if you can't get the voice thing to work. xoxo, see you soon!

Chloe [10:12 am:] finally figured it out lol I begged my dad to help me with it when he got home at like 11 last night. You'll get to meet him today!

Beca [10:12 am]: I can't wait, love. See you in a bit.

She found her favorite pair of vans and slipped them on before grabbing her purse and driving to Chloe's. When she got there, it took a minute for the redhead to answer the door but she pulled the shorter girl into a hug the second she did. "Did you wear red just for me?" She asked sweetly.

"Can you see me?" Beca asked excitedly. She was so happy for her girlfriend.

"Sort of!" Chloe said with a huge smile. "What is that? I'll take a guess and assume it's a twenty one pilots shirt?" She was recalling the 2 hour long phone conversation they had had a few nights before, in which Beca had told Chloe all of her favorite bands and what their logos looked like.

"Yeah," Beca said with a laugh.

"Oh my God are you still on the porch? Here come in!" Chloe said, stepping out of Beca's way so she could get inside. "Dad, Beca's here!" Chloe called and she listened for his footsteps so she could know he was in the room.

Beca smiled anxiously at the man as he walked in the room. "Hi Beca, I'm Chloe's dad, Greg."

"Hi," Beca smiled.

Chloe wrapped her arm around Beca's waist. "She's the best, dad, you'll love her."

Greg smiled. "I'm so glad to see you two are happy together."

"Aww thank you," Beca said with a smile.

"Babe what time is the reservation?" Chloe asked.

"It's at 11 so we should probably get going," Beca said, gently linking hands with Chloe.

"Ok dad, we'll be back later," Chloe said. She allowed Storm and Beca to lead her to the car and Beca opened the door for her. "Aubrey called me, she said you were nervous. What can I do to help you relax a little?"

"Does your family know I'm blind?" Chloe asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, I told them, they're cool with it," Beca replied. "My stepmom and Emily are going to be better at it, my dad is just kind of distant from people all together, so don't worry if he's not the most friendly."

"Where are we going?"

"It's a brunch buffet."

"Will you help me?" Chloe asked anxiously.

"Oh my gosh, of course," Beca said, squeezing her hand for reassurance.

"It's gonna be so embarrassing, I'm already mortified," Chloe said sadly.

"Don't worry baby, I explained everything to them, they'll understand."

"I want them to think I'm good enough for you."

"You are Chlo," Beca said softly.

"I don't want to be a burden, I don't want your parents to think I am."

"They're gonna love you," Beca said reassuringly. "And even if they don't, I always will. Nothing's gonna change that."

"Promise?"

"Promise. I love you with everything in me," Beca said softly. She pulled into the parking lot and turned off the car. "You ready?"

"I think so," Chloe said. She found the door handle and got out of the car. She held onto Storm's harness and he and Beca led her inside.

Beca smiled as she walked up to her parents. "Hey guys, this is Chloe," she said, wrapping her arm around the redhead's waist.

"Hi Chloe, it's nice to meet you," Sheri said, smiling at the redhead. "I'm Sheri, and this is my husband John."

"Hi!" Chloe smiled at both of them.

"Should we go sit down?" Beca asked, holding hands with Chloe, and everyone agreed. They sat down at a table and the waitress took their drink orders. "Hey babe, what do you want from the buffet?" Beca asked.

"What do they have?"

"French toast, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, grits. It looks like they have some fruit and muffins too."

"Can you just get me some eggs, bacon, and fruit?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah of course, I'll be back in a minute, my parents are still here," Beca said, taking Chloe's plate and going to get the food.

"Chloe we're both really happy for you and Beca," Sheri said. "I haven't seen Beca this happy with anyone in a long time."

"Aww thank you!" Chloe said. "She's the best girl in the world and one of the only people I've met who treats me normally, it means a lot."

"She said you're trying to get your vision back?" John asked.

"I have been, and it's been successful so far. I can see light and the color red," Chloe replied.

"Aww Beca is that why you wore that shirt?" Sheri asked as her daughter came back with Chloe's plate.

Beca set the plate down and put a hand on Chloe's shoulder. "Yeah, I want her to know I'm here," she put a hand on Chloe's shoulder.

"Should we go get our food?" John asked.

"Yeah sure," Beca replied. "I'll be back in a second, Chlo."

She came back a minute later and sat down next to Chloe. "You good?" Beca asked gently. Chloe was drinking her water and not touching her food.

"It's really hot in here," Chloe replied. "Storm keeps nudging me too, he knows he can't bark in public."

"Are you gonna have a seizure?" Beca whispered.

"I feel like it, can we go to the bathroom please?" Chloe whispered back.

Beca nodded. "Hey Dad, we're gonna run to the bathroom, Sheri can you come?"

"Yeah," the woman replied, standing up and following them to the bathroom.

"Sheri's a nurse, so she'll help me if anything happens," Beca said reassuringly.

"Chloe honey, what types of seizures do you have?" Sheri asked, opening the bathroom door for them.

"Tonic-clonic," Chloe replied.

"Are you pretty sure you're going to have one?" Sheri asked and Chloe nodded.

"Oh thank god there's a couch in here," Beca said. The perks of going to a fancy banquet hall. "Do you need to lay down?"

"Yeah," Chloe replied. She could feel her temperature rising and quickly laid down on the couch with Beca's help. "It's gonna happen any minute." She fell unconscious and Beca could barely keep herself from crying. "What do we do Sheri?"

"As soon as she stops moving around we'll move her to the recovery position, and then she'll probably wake up a few minutes after that."

"Is she gonna remember it?" Beca asked.

"No, she'll be really confused, and since she can't see, it'll be really hard for her. You're going to have to talk really gently and explain everything."

Chloe stopped shaking and Sheri stopped the timer on her phone. "Why did you time it?" Beca asked.

"Because we would've had to call an ambulance if it had gone over 5 minutes," Sheri said. "Roll Chloe over to her side," she instructed her stepdaughter as her phone buzzed in her pocket. "Emily just got here, do you want her to come in here?"

"Sure," Beca shrugged.

"Ok, just rub her back and when she starts to wake up, let her know what happened," Sheri said. "I'm gonna go let Emily know what happened.

Sheri walked out of the bathroom and ran into Emily. "Hey honey, how was class?"

"Fine, where's Beca and Chloe?"

"They're in the bathroom," Sheri replied. "Chloe had a seizure."

"Oh my gosh, is she ok?" Emily asked.

"She's still unconscious, but she'll come round," Sheri replied. "Do you wanna come in?"

"Yeah," Emily shrugged. She walked in the bathroom and gave a hug to Beca, who had started crying. "Hey, you're ok, she's gonna be fine," she said, trying to comfort her older sister.

"I can't stand to see her like this," Beca said, glancing over to Chloe.

The redhead began to slowly move around, trying to sit up. "What happened? Where am I?" She asked as she felt the couch dip when Beca sat down.

"Hey Chlo, it's Beca," Beca said gently. "You had a seizure, we're in the restaurant."

Chloe nodded and sat up, leaning into Beca.

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired, kind of nauseous," Chloe shrugged. "Who's in here?"

"Sheri and my stepsister Emily," Beca said.

"Oh my god Emily, the last thing I wanted was for you to meet me like this," Chloe said, clearly embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it, it's nice to meet you," Emily said.

"You too," Chloe smiled. "Thank you for helping Sheri, it means a lot."

"No problem," the older woman said. "Hey Em, I think we should let them sit for a minute until Chloe's up to going back to the table."

"Ok," Emily said, giving Beca a sympathetic smile before she and her mom left the bathroom.

"Was it weird?" Chloe asked when she was sure they were gone.

"No, it was a little scary," Beca said. "I hate to see you so helpless."

"Are you crying?" Chloe asked softly.

"How can you tell?"

"I can hear it in your voice," Chloe replied. "Don't cry love, I'm ok."

"I know, I just don't like that you have to go through that," Beca replied. "Do you want to go back to the table?"

"I need a minute, I'm feeling really nauseous," Chloe said, taking deep breaths. "This happens every time."

"Do you need some water?"

"I'll be fine," Chloe said. "Be honest with me, is your dad like actually cool with this? Because I'm getting this vibe that he doesn't really like us together, maybe it's just because I can't see."

"Okay, so he may not be super cool with it, but I'm working on it and please don't get stressed because Sheri and Emily love you and I love you more than anything and I want to be with you forever and that's never gonna change and-"

"You're beautiful," Chloe smiled, turning to Beca.

"You don't know that," Beca said with a laugh.

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure," Chloe said with a smile. "And maybe I meant on the inside."

"No you didn't," Beca said with a laugh. "But you're beautiful-er," she said giving her a kiss.

"That's not a word, but I'll give you credit since you're a total sweetheart," Chloe laughed. "Hey Beca?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I can't see you to tell you how beautiful you are. You deserve to be told that. You deserve to have someone kiss you and tell you you have a beautiful smile and the most perfect hair and stuff like that, and I can't do any of it," Chloe said sadly.

"I don't need it, I have you," Beca said with a shrug. "And not being able to see hasn't stopped you from making me feel like the most loved and special girl in the world."

Chloe smiled. "I'm gonna say it again, you're beautiful."

"You too," Beca said, giving her a kiss.

"I don't feel up to going out tonight, I'm just really exhausted now. I mean I can make it through brunch, but I really just want to go home and sleep, I think I'm gonna call Aubrey."

"Ok, baby," Beca said sympathetically.

Chloe called Aubrey and anxiously said hello when the blonde answered. "Can we maybe take a raincheck on dinner with the girls tonight?"

"Is everything ok?" Aubrey asked softly.

"I just had a really bad seizure. Beca's here and everything's fine, but I'm really exhausted and I don't think I can go out again," Chloe said. "I'm so sorry, I know you were looking forward to this, I was too."

"No it's ok, if you need to rest, you should," Aubrey said. "We can reschedule."

"Ok, thanks so much Bree," Chloe said. "I have to get going, me and Beca are still at the restaurant."

"Ok, feel better," Aubrey said.

Chloe hung up and stood up from the couch, grabbing onto Storm's harness. "Alright, I feel a little better now."

"Ok, we'll try to get this over with as quickly as possible," Beca said, kissing Chloe on the cheek as they walked back to the table.

"Hey Ms. Beale," Beca smiled as she and Chloe walked into the house.

"Hi Beca," Cindy replied.

"I'm gonna go upstairs and lay down, my bedroom is the 2nd on the right," Chloe said.

"What's up with her?" Cindy asked as she and the young brunette walked into the living room.

"She had a seizure and she's really exhausted now," Beca said. "Luckily my stepmom was there, she's a nurse so she knows what to do."

"Oh my god, how long was she out?"

"3 minutes," Beca replied. "I'm just glad she's ok."

"How are you holding up?" Cindy asked sympathetically.

"I'm ok, I was just really scared," Beca shrugged.

"The first one is really hard, you'll get used to it," Cindy said.

"Thanks. I'm gonna go upstairs for a little bit if that's ok," Beca replied.

"Yeah, that's totally fine."

Beca went upstairs and knocked on Chloe's door. "Chlo? Can I come in?"

She heard a muffled "yeah" come from the bedroom and she walked inside to see Chloe on her bed crying.

"Baby what's wrong?" She asked softly, laying down next to the redhead and wrapping her in a hug.

"Nothing, it's just-, it's nothing," Chloe shrugged it off.

"It's something, and I want to know so I can make it better," Beca said.

"I want to be normal," Chloe said, bursting into tears. "I'm so done with all of this."

"You are normal," Beca said reassuringly.

"Oh yeah, because a normal girl can't see anything and is collapsing and having seizures everywhere she goes," Chloe said.

"You're normal, you're just-"

"Special needs," Chloe finished. "I literally have to live at home with constant help because I have special needs."

"I wasn't gonna say that, I was gonna say chronically ill. Epilepsy is a chronic illness, right?"

"Yeah, it is," Chloe replied. "I'm sick of all of this. Why are you even with me? I'm a mess."

"Because I don't care about that," Beca replied. "You're smart and kind and passionate and beautiful and I don't care that you're epileptic and blind. Those don't matter to me at all. I think you're just not feeling well and exhausted, try to take a little nap, alright? I'll be right here holding you."

"Alright," Chloe replied with a yawn. "Thank you for everything, I love you."

"I love you too, I always will," Beca whispered. Chloe fell asleep and Beca laid there, wide awake for 2 hours, stroking her hair and holding her because she promised, and it still felt perfect.