Author's Note: This chapter is long and weird. Enjoy!
Jesse was refusing to speak to Beca since she told Aubrey that he was into her. He'd gotten a Facebook message from the blonde telling him about the revelation and asking if it was true. The brown eyed boy decided not to reply to her either. He wasn't sure how to respond and just assumed that confirming his feelings to her would ruin any chance he had of being her friend.
As he was walking to Trebles auditions, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw his best friends name flashing on the screen. Now definitely wasn't the time to deal with this, he thought.
Beca noticed that Jesse had declined her call since it only rang twice. She wasn't sure why he didn't answer but she needed his help figuring out what to wear to auditions and what song to sing. She was incredibly nervous about having to get up on stage and sing and most of all she needed her best friend to tell her it was going to be okay.
The brunette hadn't performed in front of anyone since her mother was killed in a car accident on the way to one of her gigs. Although the accident hadn't been Beca's fault, she decided she'd give up on performing live. Instead, she wanted to produce music behind the scenes, where someone else could be centre stage.
Besides, her mother was the only person that had ever been able to calm her nerves before going on stage.
"I've barely seen anyone I like so far" Aubrey grumbled quietly into Chloe's ear.
"Me too. I'm sure a few more talented girls will turn up though" Chloe reassured her best friend. It was getting close to the end of auditions and she was starting to worry that Beca wouldn't show.
She decided to send the girl a quick text to make sure she was on her way.
Chloe: Beca, where are you! Auditions are nearly over.
The brunette replied almost instantly.
Beca: Sorry. I'm nearly there. I couldn't figure out what to wear.
Chloe: I'm sure you look fine. Now hurry!
Beca: I'm outside. I don't know if I can do this, Chloe.
Chloe: Of course you can do this. I'll be right at the front, you have nothing to worry about.
Beca: I don't know, Chloe. I really don't think I can do it.
Chloe could tell Beca was panicking. It wasn't like the younger girl to show any weakness, so she was obviously very worked up. She would have gone out to comfort the younger girl if she was able to, but she needed to stay inside for the rest of the auditions.
Chloe: Don't pressure yourself. It's okay if you don't come in. Just make sure you wait for me outside, okay? We'll go for a coffee or something xx_
After the last few people sang, Tommy called an end to auditions. Just as he was about to leave the stage, Chloe saw Beca appear at the side of the stage. She gave the girl a questioning look and Beca nodded gently, as if to say she was ready.
"Oh, wait! There's one more!" Chloe called out.
Beca walked on stage awkwardly. The redhead waved her over encouragingly and smiled.
"I umm, didn't know we had to prepare that song" Beca spluttered out, suddenly aware that she hadn't paid any attention to the audition guidelines.
"Oh, that's okay. Sing anything you want" Chloe said gently. Normally if someone didn't come prepared, they weren't considered for a spot on the Bella's but she already knew that Beca was reliable, this was just a minor oversight caused by nerves.
Chloe was instantly intrigued by Beca sitting down and using her cup for the audition. She had no idea what the younger girl was about to perform, but she couldn't wait to find out.
Beca looked into the redheads eyes before beginning. She needed to see something familiar to keep her anxiety at bay. As soon as her cup started tapping on the stage, she saw Chloe's eyes light up.
Beca looked at the cup for most of the song, but every so often she lifted her head to see Chloe's reaction. She seemed to be impressed with her performance, judging by her smile. But there was something else in Chloe's face that the brunette couldn't quite read.
At the end, Aubrey scowled at Beca, but she also seemed impressed. Beca probably would have run off stage if she didn't notice Chloe sitting there giving her the proudest grin she'd ever seen.
Chloe had to stay behind with Aubrey to clean up after the auditions finished. It took longer than she expected, so when she left, she expected to be walking to her car by herself. She was surprised, though, when she saw a small brunette figure sitting by her car. She was about to question Beca why she was just sitting there when she realised that the girl had been throwing up.
"Hey, are you okay?" Chloe asked, rushing over to the younger girl.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm alright. Just nerves" the younger girl shrugged, "sorry for puking next to your car."
"Do you want a lift home?" The redhead asked, clearly still concerned.
"Nah, it's okay. I think I'll just hang out around here for a bit until its Kimmi Jin's bed time. I'm not really in the mood to put up with her" Beca laughed lightly.
"Come back to mine?" Chloe saw Beca's face and added, "Don't worry, Aubrey won't be there. She's out for the night"
"Uhh, sure, I guess, if you want me to" Beca smiled shyly.
"Don't be silly! Get in" Chloe laughed, unlocking her car.
On the way back, Chloe decided to stop in to a bottle-o and get some drinks for the two. She decided a celebration was in order for Beca, since she'd most definitely be joining the Bella's.
The brunette was getting comfy on the lounge when Chloe flopped down right beside her and linked their arms. Beca wasn't sure how to react, so she ignored the sudden physical contact.
"I'm not sure why you were so nervous today, you're a great singer!" Chloe chirped excitedly.
"Thanks" Beca blushed, suddenly feeling shy again. She wasn't used to receiving praise, especially when it comes to music.
Chloe untangled herself from the brunette's arms and walked into the kitchen to grab snacks and drinks for the pair. When she came back, she saw that Beca's face had dropped and she looked sad.
"What's wrong?" The redhead asked.
"Got a message from Jesse. He's angry at me" The brunette shrugged, trying to pretend that it wasn't bothering her.
"Here" Chloe said, handing the girl a pre-mixed vodka drink, "why's he angry with you?"
Chloe sat down next to the brunette, linking their arms once again and leaning on her shoulder in a comforting way. Beca leaned into it, which surprised both of them, but neither decided to mention it.
"He's angry that I told Aubrey he's into her" she said quietly, "He also said that even though he's going to give me the silent treatment for a while, he was proud of me for auditioning today. Apparently he was watching from the side of the stage"
"He should be proud," Chloe gently nudged her, "he'll come around though. Just give him a little time. He wasn't angry enough to not say anything about your audition, so I think it'll blow over soon."
"I'd pretty much have to chop off his arms and rip out his tongues for him not to comment on me getting up on stage again" Beca mused to herself.
"What do you mean get on stage again?" Chloe asked, "I thought you said you don't sing at all"
Beca shrugged, deciding not to be any more of a downer on their night than she already was. "Doesn't matter, Red. It was a long time ago."
"The glint in your eyes says it matters" Chloe whispered gently.
Beca simply shrugged again and then changed topic.
"So you said you wanted to watch a movie, right?"
"I mean, only if you want to" The redhead smiled warmly at the younger girl.
"How about we study maths instead? Sounds much more fun" BEca joked.
"Hey! I actually like math." Chloe said.
"Why?" the younger girl pulled a face.
"Because it's the same in every country" The redhead smirked.
"Okay, Ghandi" Beca rolled her eyes.
The older girl just stared at the brunette for a minute, trying to see if she was pulling her leg or really not understanding that she was quoting her all-time favourite movie. Eventually she realised that Beca truly didn't understand.
"I was quoting Mean Girls and you didn't even realise" Chloe huffed playfully.
"Probably because I've never seen it" Beca laughed.
"You haven't seen Mean Girls? What's wrong with you?" Chloe stood up, shocked that there was a college student that had never seen Mean Girls, "That's what we're watching tonight, come on"
The redhead grabbed Beca's hand and started pulling her towards the stairs before she could even work out what was happening.
Chloe kept looking over to see Beca's reaction to the movie. She hadn't heard her laugh once, but she had a slight smirk on her face during some of the good bits, so the redhead assumed she wasn't hating it.
"So, what did you think?" Chloe asked as soon as it was over.
"It was okay" Beca shrugged, deciding to elaborate when she saw Chloe's offended response, "I mean, as far as movies go, that's probably the best I've seen."
"It's my favourite!" Chloe explained.
"I can see that" Beca laughed.
The two talked about school and families until late into the night. Beca didn't notice the time until it was one in the morning.
"Shit! I better get home, I'm keeping you up way past your bedtime" Beca joked, while grabbing her jacket.
"I just assumed you were staying" Chloe shrugged like it was no big deal.
"Oh, you did?" Beca wasn't sure what she was meant to say or do in this kind of conversation. The only friend's place that she'd ever really stayed at was Jesse's and they were basically family.
"Mhmm," Chloe smiled, "I can get you some pyjamas and we can share my bed?"
"Umm, sure" Beca sat back down awkwardly.
"Can you relax?" The redhead laughed, "It's not a big deal. Friends stay over with friends all the time."
Beca nodded and got comfortable on Chloe's bed again.
A few minutes later, Chloe had shorts and a shirt for Beca to sleep in and she was picking out her own pyjamas for the night.
Beca was about to go into the bathroom to get changed when Chloe suddenly took her shirt off and started working on her jeans.
"What are you doing?" Beca screeched, shielding her eyes.
"Getting ready for bed?" Chloe said looking up, clearly confused by the younger girl's reaction.
"I'm still in the room, dude!" The brunette said, her voice still unusually high-pitched.
Chloe suddenly realised that Beca wasn't used to people getting changed in front of her like she was. Changing in front of friends was a normal thing for the redhead, she'd been doing it since kindergarten. She hadn't given it a second thought until Beca nearly died in front of her.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know it was a big deal" Chloe replied awkwardly.
"It's not a big deal," Beca started, "I mean, it's just not what happens when I stay over at Jesse's."
"I can go to the bathroom if you want?" Chloe offered.
"No, no, it's okay. I just won't look" Beca said, turning away.
Beca started to get changed on the other side of the room, assuming that the redhead had also looked the other way. When she turned back to grab her pyjama pants she saw Chloe still facing her direction. She quickly covered up, trying to hide her torso from the older girl.
Chloe realised the younger girl's reaction and turned around suddenly. She wasn't even trying to look at the girl, she just wasn't thinking straight. She'd never had to put this much thought into getting dressed.
When Beca was fully dressed, she crawled under the covers on Chloe's bed. The redhead heard the movement and finally turned back around and got into the bed as well.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you embarrassed" Chloe said quietly, "I wasn't checking you out, either. I'm just used to getting changed in the same room as other people, I never really have to think about it"
"It's okay" Beca replied.
"God, now I can never tell you" Chloe internally beat herself up.
"Tell me what?" Beca queried.
"Nothing, it doesn't matter." Chloe said, desperately trying to change the topic. She hadn't meant to say her last sentence out loud.
"When someone says it doesn't matter, it usually means it matters a lot" the brunette said quietly, staring at the roof.
"Well I let you get away with saying 'it doesn't matter' earlier when it clearly did, so I think we should just let this slide" Chloe shrugged, also staring at the roof.
Beca stayed silent for a moment before quietly saying "I'll tell you my story if you tell me yours"
"Becs, this isn't something little, okay?" Chloe squeezed her eyes shut. She always hated trying to have this conversation.
"Neither is my story," Beca stated.
Chloe didn't say anything, so Beca started to talk.
"When I was sixteen, I was the backup singer in a band. We played a few small gigs here and there, but nothing major. Mum was my biggest fan, she came to every single one. On this one day, the lead singer, got really sick and so I had to take over for her. My mum was so excited that she booked out the table right in front of the stage. The place didn't even take reservations, they just agreed to it so that she'd stop calling. She had to work that morning, so Jesse had to drive me so I could set up with the rest of the band." Beca said, closing her eyes gently, trying to detach herself from the sadness she could feel welling up inside of her.
By this part of the story, Chloe had rolled over to face the younger girl.
"So what happened?" Chloe asked, not quite understanding where the story was going.
"Mum was rushing to get there before we started playing. She was so upset that she wasn't there for the warm-up, she couldn't even imagine missing any of the show. She was speeding like crazy. A motorbike came out of nowhere and she was going too fast to stop, so she swerved. Her car hit a tree. She never made it to the show." Beca finished quietly.
"Oh my god, Beca, I'm so sorry" Chloe said, tears brimming in her eyes, "was your mum okay?"
Beca took a little while to respond, but when she did, her voice sounded different. There was no emotion in what she was saying.
"No. She died on impact."
Chloe didn't know what to say, so she pulled the younger girl closer to her and wrapped her arms around her. Beca wasn't sure why, but she didn't feel the need to get out of the older girl's grasp straight away.
After a few minutes, Beca pulled away slightly.
"So, you owe me your story now" She smiled lightly at the redhead next to her.
Chloe's face instantly showed sheer terror. What she had to say was nothing like what Beca had just told her and she felt ridiculous for being so caught up with it now that the younger girl had bared her sould. But telling her secret still seemed really scary. She didn't even know how to say it.
"Come on, it can't be that bad" Beca nudged her gently with a smile.
Chloe rolled over onto her other side, avoiding the brunette's gaze.
"Beca…" she started, "Beca, I'm gay"
There were a few moments of silence before Beca responded.
"Okay" was all she said.
Chloe peeked a look over at the younger girl, who just gave her a warm smile.
"You aren't freaked out?" Chloe asked, still nervous.
"No, why would I be?" The brunette responded, suddenly unsure if her one word response had given Chloe the impression that she wasn't okay with what she'd just been told.
"Well, I stripped in front of you before and then I didn't turn away when you were getting dressed and I was worried that you'd think I was checking you out when I wasn't. I was just-"Chloe was interrupted.
"Chloe, relax. I'm a socially awkward weirdo. I don't have sleepovers with anyone with Jesse so I'm just not used to that sort of thing. I know you weren't being a creep."
Chloe suddenly burst into tears, which confused Beca. She thought her words had been reassuring, not tear-inducing.
The brunette had no idea how to deal with the situation, so she just copied the older girl's actions from before and wrapped her arms around Chloe.
The pair didn't move for a long time. Beca didn't want to let go in fear of upsetting the older girl, and Chloe was too overwhelmed by the whole situation to do anything.
Chloe had only told a few people that she was gay and she'd cried every time. She was okay with it herself, but she was so scared to tell people that after the words were out, she burst into tears regardless of their reactions. Both girls thought it was weird that they'd shared such private parts of their lives with someone they'd only known for a week, but it didn't feel like a bad decision to either of them.
Eventually Beca fell asleep, still holding the older girl. Chloe felt Beca's breaths even out and she started to relax. It wasn't long before Chloe joined the brunette in peaceful slumber.