MAKE A MOVE

BARDEN VALLEY, GA- 2005

Beca walked briskly down the sidewalk.

Past the playground…past the elementary school…past a bunch of houses she didn't even realize were there before this moment… She had just told her parents about her decision to enlist in the US Army. She was beginning to wonder if it was a mistake…

Sure her parents fought all the time. Hell, it was like they purposely disagreed with each other just to start a fight sometimes. But it was all in good fun…

Nothing like what had just happened …

Or maybe it was. Maybe Beca had just been blind…

She thought about how her father told her she was "signing her death certificate"… how her mother supported her totally… how they got into a yelling match… how her father packed himself a suitcase and dismissed himself without so much as a look back on his way out…she thought of the way Chloe squeezed her hand supportively under the dinner table when the front door slammed behind him…how Chloe called after Beca when she shot up and stormed out of the house.

She eventually found herself approaching the old abandoned tool shed from her younger, seemingly happier days… Next to Chloe's bed, this was the safest place she knew. It was her refuge. THEIR refuge. Beca closed the creaky door behind her and took a seat on the old beat up rolling chair by the workbench. She closed her eyes, smiling softly as she blocked everything out. She only enjoyed being there…remembering all of her adventures with her best friend… how they would "run away from home" until dinner time then go back to Chloe's to watch cartoons.

Beca was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear the door to the shed open behind her… She didn't even notice Chloe was there until she felt a hand on her face, wheeling around. She was met with her best friend's sympathetic blue eyes…they were even more beautiful in this moment however, because they were clouded….something Beca noticed when Chloe was trying to be strong. Those sparkling sky colored eyes would become a light grey, as if they were overcast…

Beca bit her lip as she fought back the tears.

What if she really had just signed her death certificate? Even if she did, why couldn't her father be more supportive? This was just as scary for her as it was for him… Why couldn't he just talk to her?

"Bec…" Chloe started softly. Her thumb caressed Beca's cheek as she leaned forward to plant a kiss on the brunette's forehead.

"I'm…I'm sorry you had to see that, Chlo." Beca stood so she could leave the shed, but Chloe cut her off, pulling her into her arms. She knew Beca was ashamed. She knew she wanted to run off so she could cry, but Chloe needed her to know that it was okay. Chloe would never leave her. She could trust Chloe.

Beca buried her face in the taller teen's bosom. She could feel the tears coming and she didn't want Chloe to see her. Maybe if she closed her eyes, the pain would go away…she wouldn't cry…she'd be strong for Chloe. Because that's how it had always been. That's how it was supposed to be.

Chloe felt tears trickle down her cheeks as her friend began to shake against her. She wrapped her arms tighter around the small brunette and ran her fingers through the girl's chocolate locks knowing how much it comforted her.

"You don't always have to be strong, Bec. Sometimes, you have to let others be strong for you," She whispered against her friend's hair.

"You've been my hero for so long…you'll always be my hero. But, sometimes…you just need to let me be here for you." Hearing this, Beca pulled away slightly so she could look up into her friend's eyes. She found it hard to believe a person as beautiful as Chloe on the outside could be so beautiful on the inside. She found it even harder to believe that she could care about Beca as much as she said she did. Everything Chloe did and said proved it, day after day…year after year…and it scared her. It scared her how much the redhead meant to her. It scared her how much she thought about having Chloe always be a part of her life.

What scared her the most in that moment was that she was looking into Chloe's eyes and there was no question. She was completely and utterly in love with her best friend since elementary school. She always was… Before she knew what was happening, she was kissing her best friend and it was probably the best feeling in the world. It even trumped the feeling Beca got when she worked with music or computers. It was a while before Beca's brain processed the fact that Chloe wasn't pulling away. If anything, Chloe seemed to be pulling her closer. Impossibly closer. Beca knew they would talk about it later, but in that moment she couldn't care less. All that mattered was her, Chloe, and the unspoken conversation between their lips.

After that fateful day, Beca and Chloe managed to continue on as normal. They hung out, went to movies, and even the mall (much to Beca's displeasure)…

It was almost as if the kiss never happened.

Except, it wasn't.

Touches lingered… hugs got longer… and gazes always somehow seemed to drift downward, landing on the others' lips, remembering the way their lips moved together and how right it felt, wondering if they'd ever get to feel that way again.

Nearly two weeks had passed before Chloe decided she would just have to bite the bullet. Beca was leaving for basic training in a few months. She needed to know where they stood. She raised the remote from the nightstand and turned off the television. It wasn't like they were watching it anyway…

"Are we EVER going to talk about what happened?" Chloe asked one day as they lay on her bed mirroring each other.

"What do you mean?" Beca asked, feigning confusion.

"You kissed me." Chloe elaborated, her voice lowering as she spoke.

"I did…"

"Well…," The redhead continued, stretching the word nervously. "What does it mean?"

"What do you want it to mean?" Beca replied, choosing her words carefully.

Chloe rolled her eyes, knowing Beca well enough to realize she was trying to deflect her. "I don't know…do YOU want it to mean something?"

Beca's eyes narrowed. Chloe's face was unreadable. She had to proceed with caution. "I asked you first."

"Okay," Chloe exhaled shakily, feeling heat in her cheeks as she thought of the kiss again. "I…kind of liked it, when you kissed me. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it…"

"Oh?" Beca eyes widened in shock before she grinned, feeling relief wash over her. "You're not, like, freaked out or anything?"

"Not at all. I kind of wish you'd do it again," Chloe blushed, hoping Beca would take the hint.

It was then that Beca realized what was happening and decided to make a move, moving her hand from beneath Chloe's and tenderly sliding it up her arm to cup a freckled cheek. She took a moment to appreciate how soft the skin was as she ran a thumb over Chloe's lips, testing the waters. Dark blue eyes darted between baby blue eyes as Beca searched them, waiting for a sign to either stop or just do it. She took a deep breath and closed the distance between them, her eyes fluttering closed at the first brush of their lips.

They couldn't help but smile as their lips moved together in the sweetest way.

It was what they had been missing all along.

Chloe placed a hand in the small of Beca's back urging her closer, putting her all into the kiss. It was minutes before they pulled apart, foreheads resting against one other as they caught their breath.

They giggled as they pecked occasionally, high on life and on whatever this was between them. It was as if they were in their own bubble.

"We don't have to figure this out all at once," Beca eventually said, brushing her thumb over the outline of Chloe's jaw. "We can just…see where this goes."

Though, there was really nothing left to figure out. Beca knew where she stood. She was so far gone. She was so in love with Chloe, it almost hurt.

Chloe nodded, smiling as she looked into Beca's eyes. There was something different about them in this moment. They were softer…sweeter…deeper… It was as if Beca was finally allowing Chloe to see her fully. It was breathtaking and a bit overwhelming.

No one had ever looked at her the way Beca was looking at her, right now. It made her feel safe. It made her feel loved. Like she was the most beautiful and most precious thing in the world.

She was leaning in again before she could stop herself. Then, she realized she didn't have to stop. She would never have to stop herself again. The thought made her smile even brighter against Beca's lips.