The Crush

Beca let out a sigh as she leaned against the counter, one hand gripping an icy bottle of beer and the other resting on the marble behind her. She polished off the liquid and set it in the mess of a sink beside her, her deep blue eyes roaming the crowd before her. People were drunk, loud, and accidentally running into one and other in an attempt to move around the living room. Most of the other rooms in the frat house were the exact same, but the kitchen was less dense than the rest and let her catch her breath.

She wasn't totally sure how she had gotten dragged into this total mess, but she recalled that it had something to do with Stacie hearing that some girl she was hot for would be there with her friend, and then Jesse had wanted to be included. At some point that involved her going with them to make sure neither of them got arrested, yet she had lost both of them in the crowd almost instantly.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched a guy from a different frat stumble towards her until he came to a stop a few feet away, slurring, "Whassup, hawt stuff."

"No," she answered sternly, not bothering to even look in his direction.

"Bitch," he laughed, turning on his heel to leave and tripping over himself.

A smirk found its way onto Beca's face, shaking her head lightly and knowing that he probably wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

"Becaw!" she heard the familiar call of her best friend. Jesse was lightly shuffling towards her from the living room, his shirt being stretched to the left as Stacie clung to him for support.

"Oh my god, Beca," Stacie threw herself off of Jesse and into Beca's arms, holding her close as she took a deep breath. "You smell like vanilla and anger."

"And you smell like pot," Beca chuckled, the scent immediately hitting her once the pair were close enough.

Jesse leaned back on the space beside Beca, whispering, "Those High Notes are so nice, you really need to meet them. Do you know Shelley? She's cool, she was there."

"Do you think that people in Head Shops know that their merchandise isn't being used for tobacco?" Stacie muttered into Beca's arm before she started giggling. "I bet they don't."

"I'm sure they do, Stace," the brunette assured. She glanced between the pair before asking, "Does this mean you're ready to leave?"

"No," Jesse asserted, "We haven't found that blonde girl yet. What's her- Stacie, what's her name?"

The taller girl pushed off against Beca, her hands gripping her upper arms, "I need to see Aubrey."

"I'm not sure you should see anyone while you're high as a kite," the DJ joked.

"We have such a connection, Beca. You know how we have one?" Stacie motioned between her and Beca, "We have such a great connection, we just vibe on this level that I've never known. You're my best friend… What was I saying?"

"Aubrey-"

"-Aubrey and I have a different connection. It is not friendly. It's like fire met gasoline and made an arsonist love baby."

Beca bit her lower lip to stop from laughing at the words falling from the busty girl's lips. "Then you should go find her before that arsonist sets a different fire."

"I should go find her," Stacie repeated. "Jesse, help me find her. We need to find her before she finds someone else."

Jesse immediately grabbed the girl's hand, running back into the crowded living room and screaming, "LOVE ARSON!"

Beca watched in amusement as they left, her stomach hurting from holding in the laughter that was threatening to burst forth. She'd much rather deal with high people than drunk people, but at least they seemed to be fine.

Chloe Beale gripped her best friend's hand, grabbing her attention away from the frat boy she had been pretending to talk to. The blonde whipped her head around to see the redhead, a look of concern crossing her face at the sudden interruption.

"I found him," Chloe informed, nodding towards the corner of the room containing the CDs. Aubrey's gaze followed hers, her eyes settling on the tall, lanky boy with a frown.

The blonde looked him over, from his cargo shorts to the bright polo he was wearing, his entire body screaming douche. Somehow Chloe had set her sights on the boy after running into him a few times and deciding he would be the perfect boyfriend without ever having a real conversation with him. "He looks like a responsible young man with a credit score of gold and bright future ahead of him."

"Maybe if you got to know him you wouldn't be so uptight about him," the redhead grinned, turning to her best friend with a smile that lit up the entire room.

"You realize you've never spoken to him before, don't you?" Aubrey glared at him, watching as he carelessly tossed a CD at his friend.

Chloe giggled, "I feel like I know him. He seems so sweet and kind."

"Where did you get that from?" the blonde asked in confusion, only having watched him for a few seconds and already done with him. The boy, Tom, placed the items in his hand down on the shelf next to him, focusing his attention on the girl in from of him like she was a piece of meat.

"Okay, so that might be a lie," Chloe admitted through clenched teeth. "But that doesn't change the fact that he's attractive and winks at me every time he sees me."

"He might just not be able to blink both eyes at the same time," Aubrey quipped, bringing her cup to her lips before she could say anything else that she really thought.

Chloe bit her lower lip, her mind racing through ideas to get his attention without coming off as desperate. Before she could think too hard on it, her feet were carrying her towards him, leaving her best friend behind her in a wave of confusion. As if right on cue, Tom turned to look at her and managed to send a flirtatious wink her way that only fueled her speed. She came to a stop beside him, a smile firmly in place as she looked up into his brown eyes.

"Hey there," Chloe husked in her sexiest voice. She looked up at him through her lashes, her right hand moving up to grip her left arm.

"Hey..." he pointed at her, his eyes squinting as he searched for a name that would never come to the surface of his brain, "… you."

"It's Tom, right?" she ensured, watching as he mindlessly nodded. "I'm Chloe."

The words didn't seem to register with him, his head just continuing to nod as he motioned to the wall behind him. "I love this song."

The redhead listening to the mindless trap music that was playing, the beat repulsing her on the most basic of levels despite the words that came out of her mouth next, "Oh my god, me too."

"That's so cool," Tom droned, his head bobbing up and down with a lopsided grin on his face.

In that moment, Chloe could feel her smile becoming more and more forced. Maybe Tom wasn't the amazingly interesting guy she had thought he was, but he was still extremely attractive. The girl tossed her red hair over her shoulder, quickly taking scope of the room around her and attempting to find a simple way to excuse herself. She found her moment when her eyes fell back on Tom, his attention now on a tall brunette hanging on to a puppy-like boy.

She backed away with ease, spinning on her heel and scampering back to where she had last left Aubrey. The blonde's eyebrows were pulled together and her lips turned down in a frown, her fingers twirling the cup in her hand.

"'Bree?" Chloe asked, her hand resting on the blonde's shoulder to pull her attention away from whatever she was focusing on. "What's up?"

"Do you see that?" Aubrey murmured, nodding her head towards the corner of the room.

Chloe took note of the sultry brunette Tom had been distracted by along with the same boy, though she felt like she was missing something obvious. The girl had her head tossed back in laughter, her smile so wide that it rivaled that of Chloe, her hands running through the boy's hair repeatedly as he snickered along. "Those two in the corner?"

"I know, for a fact, that he isn't that funny," the blonde said between gritted teeth.

"Wait," the redhead smirked, putting the pieces together. "Is that Stacie?"

Aubrey glared at the pair through furrowed brows, letting out a long sigh, "I don't see what he has that I don't. I'm way more attractive than he is."

"Maybe you should just go over and talk to her," Chloe suggested, taking the cup from her friend's hands for a drink.

Aubrey scoffed, "Like you just went and talked to Tom?"

"She'd be ten times more interesting, I can promise that," the younger of the two shook her head.

The blonde didn't turn her head, her eyes still trained on the pair in the corner as she asked her friend, "Does this mean you've come to your senses?"

"Partially," she chewed the inside of her lip. "Don't get me wrong, he's the dullest person I've ever met, but he's still pretty hot. My plan is to seduce him, give him the night of his life, then leave and never speak to him again."

"As long as he isn't a Treble and you use protection, you can do whatever you want with your body," Aubrey chuckled, reciting her familiar line whenever Chloe brought out this plan.

"I just need to get his attention," the redhead sighed. "Any ideas?"

"I think Stacie and that guy came with the alt-girl," Aubrey mentioned.

"The hot one from the radio station?" Chloe assured, turning to fully face the blonde now that her interest was peaked.

"Sure," the Bella leader mumbled. "Luke told me he watched her break Tom's favorite CD over his head after he tried to get it played on the radio. He hates her. Maybe you could make him jealous by flirting with her."

"I'll be back," Chloe smiled, her blue eyes flashing with a sense of excitement.

Beca had found her way farther into the heart of the party, though it had just been to sit down on the couch that had been recently vacated. She searched the bodies before her for any sign of her friends, her eyes catching sight of Stacie leaning against a wall and speaking to an uptight looking blonde. She wasn't totally sure who the girl was or if that was the Aubrey she had been going on about, but she seemed happy at that moment and so did the blonde. Given, that could be because of the pot, but she wasn't one to judge.

Jesse was nowhere to be found, but she was sure he was fine wherever he was. It probably should have concerned her more, yet she couldn't bring herself to care too much as she laid eyes on an idiotic frat boy and the girl beside him.

He definitely wasn't anything to go on about, Tom being one of the most moronic human beings she had ever met. He had come by the radio station wanting to play a song, but the song was just mindless babble similar to what was playing now. The only difference between the moments being that at least Beca had gotten to shatter his worthless CD against his empty skull the first time. The girl, on the other hand, had flaming red hair and a smile that somehow locked Beca into place. In most cases like this, Beca would have quickly averted her gaze or even looked her over once, but something about her soft features captivated every nerve ending in her brain. The girl tossed her hair over her shoulder, her eyes briefly connected with Beca's before returning to the guy.

They were blue. No, blue was a horrible word to describe them. It didn't do them any justice. Beca was across the room and she felt like she could drown in them. Her eyes were like the Mediterranean Sea in every picture you could find of it, you knew they looked beautiful and wanted to capture them on film, but it would be a fruitless task since nothing could ever recreate the feeling of being there and seeing it first hand.

Maybe she should have thought more on that feeling since she truly wanted to, but in that moment Jesse came into her line of sight, sauntering towards her. He looked forward, hands braced on the arms of the couch, as he said, "I don't know where I put my shoes."

Beca looked at him without blinking, her eyes darting down to his feet and back up to him, "You're wearing them."

"No," Jesse breathed, looking down in surprise and then back at his friend. "I'm wearing them. Oh man, what would I do without you?"

"Look for your shoes," she quipped with a smirk.

Jesse's mouth pulled up at the corners in a goofy grin, pushing off against the couch and shuffling backward, "You're the best."

"Make good choices," Beca called out as he disappeared into the crowd again.

The brunette felt her smirk fall as she discovered the redhead was no longer where she had been before Jesse had arrived. The frat boy was now talking to some other girl, yet he hadn't moved. Beca tried not to dwell on the thought too much, she didn't even know the girl she had seen. She had just been looking at her, that was all.

Beca let her head fall back against the couch, a sigh escaping her lips. She shouldn't be concerned with that random girl or the way that her arms had looked in her shirt or how her jeans fit her body perfectly. No, that was the last thing on her mind.

She kept her eyes closed as she felt a weight settle beside her on the couch. If she ignored them long enough, then maybe they'd move farther away or even leave completely.

"You have a staring problem," a melodic voice came from beside her.

Beca let her cold exterior take over, her head leaning forward. Her mouth fell open to respond when she opened her eyes and saw those bright blue eyes looking directly at her. She felt the heat rise into her face, her heartbeat picking up at the sight and her lungs burning as if she couldn't get enough air. Shaking her head quickly, she stuttered, "I- I what?"

The girl ducked her head down, tossing the flaming red hair over her shoulder as she looked back up at her. She flashed an earth-shattering smile Beca's way, her delicate hand coming up to support the side of her head while her elbow rested on the top of the couch. She swiveled further towards Beca, getting slightly closer, "You were staring at me."

"I'm sorry, I- I didn't mean-" Beca began, stumbling over her own words before she was cut off by the melodic laughter of the other girl.

"Not in a bad way," she assured. "I just- I saw you alone over here and thought you might want some company. Maybe mine since you were staring at me. Unless you were staring at Tom-"

"No, definitely not," Beca chuckled nervously, running a hand through her dark locks.

"Not at me or not at him?"

"I- uh- I was looking at the stereo," the brunette lied.

"The stereo?" she squinted at the words, her lips pursing together. "Why the stereo?"

"I was vividly imagining throwing it in front of a train with all these shitty CDs inside of it," Beca smirked, her normal level of sarcasm returning now that she saw she was getting the girl to smile.

Chloe felt her lips curl up into a grin, "Really? I thought you'd just throw it at Tom."

"Oh, so my heroic act is public knowledge," she stated, moving closer to the girl to the point they appeared to almost be friends.

"You're really cocky for someone sitting in the very fraternity he belongs to," the redhead lifted an eyebrow at her.

"I'm not the one who wanted to come here. I'm babysitting my two friends-"

"Is one of them Stacie?" she interrupted. "Because I was dragged here so that my friend could find an excuse to talk to her."

Beca ran her tongue along the inside of her mouth, thinking through all the puzzle-pieces she had just been handed. "Is your friend Aubrey?"

"How'd you know?" she cocked her head to the side in surprise.

"Stacie came here to hit on her," Beca explained, her smirk widening. "I guess we're both here for the same reason."

"Actually," Chloe's voice had a lilt to it as she corrected, "I agreed to come because a guy I like is here, but he ended up being a dull ass."

Beca's smirk faltered at the admission, "You deserve a lot better than dull."

The redhead felt herself blush at the words she usually only heard come from Aubrey's mouth. "You don't even know me."

"I don't know your name, but I can still tell that you deserve more than a boring frat guy who just wants to bang his way through college until he's in his mid-forties and decides he should settle down with a girl half his age," she explained, her gentle side taking over as she watched the other girl's features soften. Beca wasn't known for being nice, but she had moments like this when she could tell that someone needed to hear something good, an act that she wasn't familiar with throughout her childhood.

"Chloe," she breathed. The Bella could feel a slight burn behind her eyes, the realization that she was originally going to take advantage of this sweet person just to hook up with a frat guy causing her chest to tighten in a way she wasn't used to.

"What?"

"My name is Chloe," the redhead divulged, her voice much softer and her smile somehow even more sincere.

Beca reached her hand out to grasp the other girl's in an introductory handshake, "That's a beautiful name."

"Do I get to know yours?"

"No," she replied with sarcasm weaving seamlessly through her tone. "That's top secret."

"I'll just trust you on that," she giggled. "Do you have an undercover identity that the FBI gave you for being out in public?"

The brunette grinned, the banter making her heart warm and allowing her to almost forget where she was, "The CIA and yes. It's Beca."

"That," the fiery-haired girl shook her head, "is the most ridiculous name I've ever heard."

"That's what I told them. They wanted to call me Chloe, but I said that name was just stupid," Beca explained, her cheeks hurting from smiling this much.

Nodding her head, she responded, "Ya know, you were really funny at first. I almost liked you, but now you've gone too far."

"That's why the CIA picked me," she explained, crossing her arms. "I'm always taking things just a step too far."

Chloe couldn't hold in her laughter anymore, the small amount of alcohol she had somehow still affecting her. She lurched forward in amusement, her hands reaching out to find Beca's hand and arm. The contact felt warm to both of them, but not just in the physical sense. It was like electricity, running through their veins and causing their hearts to pick up speed.

"You have a really cute laugh," Beca admitted to the girl.

The redhead raised back up, tossing her hair back and her eyes roaming the face before her. She saw the way that Beca's eyes crinkled just at the corners, but she was mostly focused on the stormy color of them. Of course, the stranger had made her laugh harder than she had in a long time and sent a jolt of excitement through her, yet she still felt guilty.

"Can I tell you something?" Chloe asked, now realizing that she hadn't removed her hand from Beca's and not wanting to break the contact.

"Sure," Beca leaned forward, bringing them even closer together. "Go for it."

"I lied earlier," the redhead sighed, pausing to think through her words carefully. "I came over here because I wanted to make that frat guy jealous. But…" Beca nodded along, her grin having fallen and leaving behind a look of pain, the brunette's insides twisting at the confession, "I really don't want to take advantage of you like that."

"That was one hell of a confession," the brunette admitted, still feeling hurt. She had only known the other girl for maybe three minutes, yet her words felt like a punch to the gut. "Does this mean you're going to find a different person-"

"No, that's not what I meant," she interjected. "I meant that he's definitely not worth it."

"Not worth what?"

"This is going to sound so weird," Chloe looked at the ceiling for a moment, quickly returning to her new companion. "I wanted to make out with you in front of him, but now I still want to kiss you. Just in private."

Beca's eyes widened in surprise, taken aback by the statement, "Are you always this forward?"

"Alcohol makes it a lot worse."

"I can tell," she chuckled.

"You're a really sweet person," Chloe confessed, a blush creeping up her neck. "I'd much rather spend my night with you than trying to get him to notice me."

"Thanks, I think," she muttered. Her mind was racing. She had come to this party as a babysitter and now an attractive girl was possibly hitting on her. "You're really interesting. You shouldn't have to fight for someone's attention."

Taking a deep breath, the tipsy redhead decided to throw all of her cards on the table. With a gentle demeanor, she moved even closer until they were right next to one and other. Beca appeared startled by the action, but she didn't make an attempt to move away. Chloe leaned forward, her eyes closing the closer she got. The brunette glanced down at the girl's lips, deciding to close the distance in one swift move.

It was short. Something that a ten-year-old would brag about for months, but a sixteen-year-old would be ashamed of. The two pulled away in a flash, neither really expecting to enjoy the brief contact as much as they did. Beca felt her stomach flip, a feeling she wasn't used to and made her more nervous than anything.

"Most of the time, people just thank me on the rare occasion that I'm nice," Beca breathed, still not sure what she was feeling.

"Was that not enough of a 'thank you?'" Chloe smiled, joking with the dark-haired girl.

Beca pretended to mull it over for a few seconds, eventually coming to the conclusion that it was a nice gesture. One that she readily enjoyed. The words left her mouth before she could really think about them, but there was no doubt that they were true, "You could definitely have tried harder."

"Are you always this forward?" Chloe mimicked the brunette's words from earlier, mocking her.

"Not at all," she said with a promise in her tone.

"Wanna go outside?" she asked. "It'll be a lot easier to thank you there."

One corner of Beca's mouth turned up in a grin, her confusion evident at the strange turn of events her night had taken. "Don't you want to make that guy jealous?"

Chloe stood up, her hand gripping Beca's and pulling her up too. She threw a sultry smirk over her shoulder, with a wink she started walking towards the door, "C'mon."

The front porch of the frat house wasn't anything special, the area only having two rickety old chairs, but it was a lot more private than the pool around the back of the house. Beca sat at the top of the steps, one of her arms wrapped around the redhead's waist beside her while Chloe's head rested on her shoulder.

"What's so bad about acapella?" Chloe asked. Though she had originally intended on bringing the brunette out here for less-than-friendly reasons, they had wound up spending the past half-hour talking.

Beca shook her head, "It seems really lame."

"Working in a radio station is lame," the redhead fought back. "Acapella is the tits. We make music with our mouths. You get to stack CDs and have Luke boss you around all day."

"Fair enough," the shorter girl conceded. "Maybe I could come watch you sometime. Prove me wrong."

Chloe lifted her head off of the other girl's shoulder, a smile plastered on her face as she whispered, "I'd like that."

The door swung open, three people stumbling out of the house hanging onto one and other. The pair on the steps turned their heads to see who it was, disappointment running rampant through them when they saw that it was their friends. Jesse was leaning against the wall, his hands grasping for any form of support. Aubrey and Stacie were both holding on to each other, clinging to the other one like they were the only thing keeping them standing, which was probably true.

"Becaw," Jesse mumbled, his head falling against the wall. "I don't know how to get home."

Stacie giggled, pointing at the blonde she was holding on to, "I found her."

The DJ turned to her redheaded companion, melancholy taking over her features. "I think I have to go."

Chloe kept her eyes trained on her best friend, asking, "Aubrey, is your friend coming with us?"

"S-She has to go," a drunk Aubrey informed. She spun towards the busty girl and held her tight.

"Me too," Chloe told the girl beside her, her smile significantly less cheerful than it had been a few moments ago. The redhead got up off the step, holding her hand out for Aubrey to grab. The blonde swung her hand around, missing the redhead a few times before successfully grabbing her outstretched fingers. Aubrey stumbled forward, releasing Stacie and changing over to Chloe.

"I'll see you around?" Beca asked hopefully, Stacie and Jesse now holding each other up.

Chloe made sure Aubrey was fine to stand on her own for a few moments, bending down to place a lingering kiss on the brunette's cheek and whispering in her ear, "We practice tomorrow at 6 in the old auditorium."

The redhead went back to her friend, supporting her as they walked down the steps. Chloe threw a wink over her shoulder, biting her lower lip at the shorter girl. Beca waved, the idea of seeing the girl tomorrow making the fact that she had to take care of her friends worthwhile.

"She was nice," Jesse snickered.

"Really nice," Beca sighed. She pushed off the wooden porch, walking up and wrapping her arms around both of her friends. "Let's go, kids."

A/N: You all know I love reviews! Hit it up!