Softball

AU. Beca and Chloe are the same age…story spans several years.

It was the bottom of the seventh inning and the 10-year-old Lady Longhorns were facing off against the 10-year-old Lady Tigers. A petite brunette stepped up to the plate while a perky red-head waited by first base. The pitch, a hit! The ball was recovered quickly and tossed to first base. The brunette increased her speed, determined to hit the base first and then CRASH! The two girls collided with the brunette's elbow jabbing the red-head in the eye.

"OW!" The red-head screamed.

"Runner SAFE!" Called the umpire. "Game over! Longhorns win with the run that just came in!" The girl on third base had taken a chance to come home during the scuffle at first base.

"Oh, my God. Are you okay?" Asked the brunette, standing up and offering a hand to the red-head.

Huffing, the red-head stood up without taking the offered hand, holding her eye. The brunette gasped when she lowered her hand – a bruise was already forming.

"Oh, my God. I am SO sorry. Go get some ice." The red-head just stormed off without a word. Looking baffled, Beca shrugged and joined her team to celebrate their win in the finals.

X

One week later all of the softball teams were at the picnic for the league to celebrate the end of the season. The brunette noticed the red-head standing at one of the tables at the picnic by herself. She walked over to her and stuck her hand out.

"Hi! I'm Beca. I ran into you at the last game last week…I just wanted to apologize again for jabbing you in the eye."

"Well, you should! I had a black eye for four days!" The girl said, indignantly. Beca stepped back by the attitude and the girl noticed. She lowered her eyes for a second before meeting Beca's again. "I'm sorry. I am being rude. My name is Chloe. My best friend, Aubrey, who was captain of my team gave me a hard time for missing the catch to get you out and costing us the finals. I shouldn't be taking it out on you…you are actually very good!"

Beca smiled. "Thanks. For what it's worth, you're really good too. I saw the plays you made all game and that's why I worked my butt off to beat you to the base." The girls laughed. "So, what school do you go to? I've only seen you on the fields."

"Barden West."

"Okay," Beca said. "I am at Barden East. But we'll both be at Barden General for High School! Until then, I guess I'll see you around the softball club." Chloe nodded and Beca gave her a small side hug to say goodbye before she headed back to her team.

X

Over the next few years, the girls indeed kept seeing each other around the local softball club but never ended up on the same team. However, they were now friendly toward each other and on the first day of high school, where the two sides of Barden merged into one school, Beca and Chloe found themselves in many of the same classes and also both joined the fall softball clinics in order to prepare for spring try outs. They became fast friends and discovered they only lived a few blocks from each other, both on the outskirts of their early school's limits. One or two blocks over and they would have been in school together from the beginning. The girls texted all the time, hung out as often and by the spring of freshman year in high school, were inseparable best friends.

"BECS!" Chloe screamed in the locker room after school. "Are you ready for try outs? I am so pumped!"

Beca smiled at her exuberant friend. "We'll do great, Chloe. We've been working hard. Let's go!" The two girls ran out onto the field and went through the rigors of the three day long try outs. Ultimately, they made both the junior varsity team as full players and the varsity team as subs if the older girls were hurt or unable to play. As freshmen, that was a pretty big accomplishment and both girls were thrilled to pieces and decided to go get ice cream to celebrate that night.

"Come on, Beale. Just pick your flavor already!" Beca whined to Chloe when the red-head started taking too long to pick her ice cream.

"It's okay, Chloe," Tom, the senior working behind the counter said, winking at her. "I don't mind, take allll the time you need. Do you want some tastes?"

Chloe giggled slightly, causing Beca to shoot daggers at her. "Thanks, Tom." He nodded at her and very obviously looked her up and down. Beca saw red. She knew her best friend was pretty – very pretty. But having someone flirt openly with her ignited something in Beca that confused her. It felt like jealousy…but she didn't think she had feelings for Chloe in THAT way. Or did she?

All she knew was that Tom was annoying her by flirting with Chloe so she started to walk away from the counter and toward the door.

"Beca! Wait! Where are you going?" Chloe called out. She saw Beca pause and then shrug. She quickly picked a flavor and paid, and hurried after her friend. "What was that about, Becs?"

"Nothing." Beca said sullenly, not wanting to share her feelings about how Tom made her feel.

Chloe gave her a doubtful look but dropped it and bumped Beca's shoulder. "Hmmm okay. Well, Tom asked me to be his date to the senior prom! Can you believe it? I'm just a freshman! Isn't that exciting?"

Beca couldn't think of anything less thrilling. She felt the anger boiling in her blood at Chloe being with Tom. "Cool," she mumbled quietly.

"Aren't you happy for me, Beca?" Chloe asked softly.

"Yeah. Of course." Beca said quickly. She hated lying to her best friend. "Umm… I think we should head back, right, Chlo?"

"Already? It's still early."

"I'm kind of tired from try outs this week. Is that okay?"

"Sure…" Chloe kind of trailed off. She could tell something was wrong but didn't want to push tonight. The two girls walked home in silence and broke off to go to their separate blocks. As they turned from each other Chloe quickly turned back and grabbed Beca's arm, pulling her into a tight hug. "I don't know what's wrong, Beca, but just remember you're my best friend. Okay?"

Beca nodded and gently pulled back. "Night, Chlo."

X

The weeks toward prom passed by. Chloe kept asking Beca to help her pick a dress or get ready but Beca always seemed to have an excuse, and it was starting to really worry Chloe.

"Bree, I don't know what is wrong with Beca," she lamented to her other best friend one night via Facetime. "Any time I bring up Tom or prom or my dress or ANYTHING related to it, she clams up and says she needs to go. It's really upsetting me!"

"It sounds like she likes you," Aubrey stated matter of factly, knowing that Chloe had established she loves who she loves, boy or girl. "Maybe she is jealous?"

Chloe gasped. Beca had never established a stance on her love life to Chloe. It's not something that really came up between them this past year as freshmen, but Chloe could totally see it this way. "Do you think I should confront her?"

Aubrey hmm'd for a moment. "No…you need to be gentle with Beca. Don't scare her off. She gets really squirrely with these conversations and you don't want to lose her friendship either, ya know?" Chloe nodded at her friend and Aubrey could tell she just lost Chloe to her thoughts. "Okay, Chlo – I am hanging up. Talk soon!"

"Bye, Bree. Thanks!" After hanging up she sat and thought about how to talk to Beca about her feelings. Aubrey was right…approaching Beca about this was tricky. Finally, she sent a text to the brunette.

"Doing anything right now? Want to come chill?" It took a few minutes but the chime rang out on her phone.

"Sure."

X

Beca was sitting in her room playing around with a music mixing program her parents had gifted her at Christmas. A text came through from Chloe asking to hang out and she hesitated. Would Chloe just want to talk about prom? Finally, she agreed and made her way the few blocks to Chloe's house. When she was a few houses away she texted to let her know she was close and to meet her in the backyard.

She slipped into Chloe's backyard and saw the red-head swinging on her old tree swing. "Hey." She said simply. Chloe's head shot up and she jumped off the swing to hug Beca. "Woah, dude, what's up?"

"We just haven't spent much time together lately, Beca. I miss you." Chloe watched an expression cross over Beca's face before she masked it and then watched Beca shrug.

"You've been busy getting ready for prom. It's okay."

"No, it's not. You are my best friend and I don't want you to stand back." Chloe decided to test the waters a bit. "Do you…do you want to see if Tom has any friends who need prom dates still so you can come with me?"

Beca's eyes widened before she let out a small chuckle. "No thanks, Chlo. Uh…I don't know those guys very well and it's not really my thing to get all dolled up."

"Not even for me? It would be so much fun to share this with you!"

"Uh… sorry, no thanks, Chlo. Is that why you asked me over here?"

Chloe realized Beca was getting annoyed. "No! No. Sorry. I really just want to hang out with you. I just figured I would ask…consider the subject dropped. Let's go watch a movie in my room." The two girls went inside and spent some time together for a while, watching movies, gossiping about stuff in school, talking softball strategy. Finally, Chloe decided to dare to ask Beca about relationships.

"So, Bec… have your eyes on anyone at school?"

Beca seemed to choke on air for a second. "What? Why do you ask that?" She started turning red.

"Oh, my God! You do! Who?"

"What? Chloe. No. It's… no one. I don't like anyone!" Beca floundered for words and kept turning redder.

"Beeeeecccaaaa. Tell me! Is it… a boy?"

"NO. Chloe, there is… no boy. There is no one." Chloe eyed her doubtfully.

"Is it… a girl?" She asked gently and saw Beca pale slightly now. "You know, if you liked girls I wouldn't judge. You know I see no difference. You love you who love." When Beca remained silent she continued. "Okay, well… just know I am always here for you, Bec. Whenever you might want to talk about it." She placed her hand on top of Beca's but Beca pulled hers away like it was on fire.

"I uh, it's getting late. I should go. Night, Chloe." Beca hastily grabbed her things and practically bolted from the room. Once Chloe heard the front door slam she sighed and picked up her phone.

"I think you are right about Beca," she texted to Aubrey. "What do I do?"

"Only you can answer that, Chlo. Just be careful of her feelings."

X

Over the next few weeks leading to prom, the air was tense between Beca and Chloe. Chloe could tell that Beca got upset any time Tom came around to flirt with her and talk about prom. And Beca remained clammed up about her developing crush on her best friend. Finally, the night of prom came and Beca was mysteriously absent from Chloe's house to help her get ready and take pictures. Chloe was both excited for this opportunity and upset that her best friend wasn't supporting her. But, off she went to prom.

The dance was beautiful and everyone ate and mingled and had fun…until the seniors started sneaking liquor they smuggled in.

Tom brought Chloe outside to a garden and pulled her close, the smell of liquor on his breath. "I'm so glad you came with me, Chloe. You are like one of the hottest freshmen EVER." He leaned over to press a kiss on her lips.

Feeling uncomfortable, Chloe tried to pull away. "Tom," she laughed gently, "let's not get carried away. We're friends."

"Friends? Yeah, no. You're hot. I am hot. Tonight will be a waste if we don't do something about this," he said, gesturing downward toward a developing bulge in his pants.

Chloe had never slept with anyone before and had no intentions of starting tonight with Tom. She didn't care for him in that way. She felt used and slightly afraid. Suddenly she had an idea. "You're right, Tom. It would be such a waste. Can you wait here? I am going to freshen up?"

"Sure, Babe." Tom was slurring his words and his eyes were half open. Chloe ran inside and hid in the bathroom to order an Uber. When it was confirmed, she slipped out the front of the catering hall to wait and directed the Uber to Beca's house, crying the whole way there.

X

Beca heard a pounding on her front door and went to investigate. Opening the door, she was stunned to find a tearful Chloe with makeup running down her face. "CHLOE?! What happened?" She pulled her inside and up to her room quickly.

After calming down, Chloe started to speak. "He only invited me for one reason Bec…" she said sadly.

"Oh, Chloe." Beca lamented. "You deserve SO, so much more than that." She moved to hug her friend, a move that was unlike her. Chloe started gently sobbing onto Beca's shoulder again and all Beca could do was rub her back. "Come on, Chlo. Don't cry. Tom is an idiot senior… you will find someone who treats you like gold."

"You think so?" Chloe said, looking up into Beca's eyes.

"Of course! You are so kind and funny and ridiculously pretty, Chlo. Anyone who is worth it would be lucky to have you."

Beca's words warmed Chloe's heart and made her feel like she was wrapped in a soft blanket. She took a chance and gave Beca a soft kiss on her cheek. "I think you're worth it," she said softly.

Beca blushed and pulled back from the hug awkwardly. Chloe knew she was starting to scare her off so she quickly grabbed Beca's hands. "Thank you Bec. Thank you for always being there." She looked down at her dress and laughed. "Do you have something I can borrow to change into? Let's just watch a movie." Beca quickly grabbed some clothes and the girls snuggled up together in familiar positions as they watched a movie and gorged on junk food. Everything felt right in Chloe's world again.

For weeks after prom night Chloe scrutinized Beca closely. She noticed that the girl always put Chloe's feelings first and really took the time to know what Chloe likes and didn't. She knew Beca had a crush on her but was holding back for some reason. They hung out all summer and soon enough, sophomore year was starting. Chloe had a goal for this year – get Beca to ask her out.

Sophomore year progressed and Beca had yet to ask Chloe out. They hung out constantly and Chloe made it clear to Beca she was only interested in one person and tried to make it really obvious that it was Beca. But still, nothing. Chloe was getting frustrated. One day she snapped. It was during a softball practice and Beca was being extra clueless lately. Beca was practicing her pitching and Chloe happened to be up at bat. Swinging hard, Chloe hit a line drive at Beca's head which surprised the brunette to no end. Beca ducked in time but stared curiously at Chloe. Chloe refused to meet her gaze and the rest of practice was tense between them. As soon as it ended, Chloe stormed off to the locker room. Beca looked at Aubrey and saw Aubrey shaking her head.

"What was that about?" Beca asked her.

"Listen, Beca. I can't beat around the bush anymore. Chloe has tried to make it painfully obvious all year that she LIKES you. She has been trying to get you to ask her out!"

"WHAT?" Beca yelled. "Why didn't she just ask ME?" Aubrey shrugged.

"I don't know but now YOU know. So…I hope you do something about it." Beca nodded and told Aubrey she'd see her later and asked her if she could manage to send Chloe back outside. She jogged back to her softball bag and pulled a few balls out. Asking the coach to borrow his Sharpie marker, she started writing on the balls.

Looking up, she saw Chloe coming back toward the field and she called out, "heads up, Beale!" She threw one of the softballs long and saw Chloe catch it and do a double take as she saw the writing on it.

"I'm sorry, I am an idiot." The ball read. Chloe looked up curiously and started walking slightly closer. Beca got ready to toss another ball her way. She tossed it and Chloe caught it eagerly.

"I really like you too and have for a long time." Chloe started smiling and walking more quickly toward Beca. Beca held her off with a hand gesture and tossed the last ball.

"Will you go out with me?" Chloe grinned widely and ran the rest of the distance toward Beca and pulled her into a hug.

The girls went on their first date the next night and sealed it with a kiss. For the rest of the school year and through the summer their dating went from innocent to serious and by the time their junior year started, they were one of the school's powerhouse couples.

Junior year was a wonderful one for Beca and Chloe and before they knew it, senior year was upon them. They were still going strong… that is…until the topic of senior prom came up. Beca still wasn't much for proms but she knew it was important to her girlfriend that she loved and she was determined to make it special for her since the Tom disaster their freshman year. Beca was trying really hard to think of the perfect promposal for Chloe and was unfortunately taking so long that Chloe thought she was avoiding the subject all together. And that made Chloe really, really angry which lead to another angry softball practice reminiscent of their sophomore year when Chloe was annoyed that Beca hadn't asked her out yet.

However, this time Beca had an idea of why Chloe was so mad and had a plan in place. She had ordered special pink baseballs and wrote messages on them again. She gathered the team sans Chloe and told them her plan. Everyone loved it.

Practice started and the girls added Beca's balls into the mix. After about 15 minutes, one of the pink balls was tossed to Chloe. She stared at it for a second. "Chloe, I love you," it read. She looked up to try and catch Beca's eye but the brunette was focused on her pitching skills to their catcher. Suddenly, another girl tossed Chloe another pink ball. "I'd love nothing more…" this ball read. She started smiling and looking around to see who had the next ball. All of the girls looked like they were doing their normal practice. Chloe sighed and continued to practice as well, hoping the next ball would come soon.

Finally, she heard, "heads up, Beale!" from a familiar voice and she looked up smiling as Beca threw a ball in her direction from across the field. It was pink! Chloe caught it easily and read it. "…than if you would go to prom with me. So, will you?" Chloe squealed and sprinted toward Beca, pulling her into a hug and kiss.

"Yes!" All of the girls on the team started clapping and coach soon resumed regular practice but Beca was happy that her girlfriend was happy again.

Prom came and Beca indeed pulled out all of the stops to make it special for Chloe. The girls were going to different colleges but the schools they each picked were only about 45 minutes from each other and they vowed to keep their relationship going even though everyone kept telling the how hard it was to keep a high school relationship alive. Beca refused to listed because she honestly didn't think she would ever love anyone as much as she loved Chloe. Chloe also refused to listed as Beca treated her like gold and she never wanted to give that up.

College started and while it was difficult, the girls made time to Facetime, e-mail, text and visit over the years. Beca went to an arts school to specialize in music and Chloe was getting a teaching degree. Beca graduated after four years and landed a job as a junior producer in a record label while Chloe had one more year of school for her masters in teaching. Their relationship was still solid and before Chloe graduated, something magical happened to Beca.

Beca had produced a song with one of her friends that was still in college and a major artist really liked it and offered to buy it and record it themselves. They paid Beca and her friend $20,000 each just for the rights to the song. The girls couldn't believe it but Beca now had a solid amount to put down to buy a house as well as an engagement ring. She decided to run the house idea by Chloe.

Calling her girlfriend, she heard the red-head pick up. "Hey, Babe!"

"Hey, Chlo. Listen, I have some amazing news!" Beca told Chloe about selling her song and asked her if she might want to consider buying a house with her and going house hunting.

Chloe was silent for a second. "Really, Beca?"

"Of course,…why wouldn't I want you to be involved in this with me? I mean…we're in this for the long haul, right?" Chloe heard the doubt creep into her girlfriend's voice and she fought back tears. Deep down she had a feeling they were heading in this direction but they hadn't fully talked about it yet.

"I'd love to go house hunting with you, Bec. Congratulations on selling your song." The girls chatted for a few more minutes before Beca confirmed she would be seeing Chloe at her graduation the following week.

"I love you, Chlo. Only good things to come," Beca said resolutely.

"I love you so much, Beca."

X

Beca knew she wanted to propose to Chloe on her graduation day and she once again defaulted to her softball plan. It had worked twice before so why not now? She scoured the internet and found a company that made custom softballs and ordered the prettiest, girliest one on the website and had it engraved with a special message. It arrived safe and sound and Beca had that along with Chloe's ring hidden in her purse as she headed toward Chloe's college for graduation. Meeting up with Chloe's family upon arrival, she showed them the items and everyone was very excited. The ceremony passed uneventfully and Beca headed outside to wait for Chloe as the caps were tossed in the air. She was letting her family greet her inside with congratulations hugs before she proposed.

"Where's Beca?" Chloe asked after finding her family. "Didn't she come?"

"Yes, honey. She just stepped outside to wait for us. Something about needing to make a phone call. Why don't you go find her?" Mrs. Beale urged her daughter.

Chloe chucked. "She's turning into such a workaholic. All right, I'll go find her!" Turning to her family she hugged everyone once more before darting away and shouting that she'd find them shortly. As she walked out of the doors to the building, she scanned the quad to spot her girlfriend. From her right she heard…

"Heads up, Beale!" Grinning, she turned quickly and easily caught the ball that was being lobbed in her direction. As it landed in her hands she realized it felt different and looked down. The ball was pearlized and lacy and was gorgeous! Turning it over in her hands she saw there was a message on it. "Chloe Beale, will you marry me?" Tears sprung to her eyes and she looked up to find Beca standing directly in front of her holding an open ring box.

Putting one hand over her mouth, she gasped quietly, and as tears filled her eyes, she reached out to touch Beca. "Yes. Yes! Oh, my God, Beca. Yes." Beca grinned and pried the softball out of Chloe's hands to slide the ring on and then kiss her. Cheers rang out behind them as Chloe's family celebrated the new engagement. The girls smiled at each other and Beca stepped back slightly.

"I'm glad I ran into you that day when we were 10," she said quietly. "Softball brought me the greatest thing in my life."

Chloe laughed and nodded, too emotional to respond. It was the beginning of the new life, a great life.

Oh, and their daughters learned to love softball just as much too.

The end.

Thank you to everyone who read my stories and left comments! This was my first time doing this challenge and the first time I have written this much in many many years and it felt so good. I hope you all enjoyed! Thanks for being gentle.