Your gonna miss me when I'm gone

Chapter 7

Chloe was so exhausted that she fell asleep almost instantly. Unsurprisingly, she dreamt of Beca. She dreamt of the day that she spent with Beca last week.

They had agreed to go for brunch after their Saturday rehearsal. Chloe was elated that Beca had agreed. The small brunette was slowly coming out of her shell around the redhead and Chloe, being the optimistic person she was, she hoped that this meant that Beca might see her as more than a friend. She had never seen Beca get close with anyone else, not even Jesse, the way that the DJ got with the redhead.

After a particularly arduous rehearsal, one where Beca and Aubrey were at each other's throats again, the two left the auditorium, both hot and only one bothered. Chloe all but skipped over to where the small brunette was walking ahead of her.

Beca was so annoyed at Aubrey that, when she heard someone approach her from behind, she turned to snap at them to go away, only to be confronted by a pair of sparkling blue eyes. Chloe watched as all annoyance left Beca's face. The brunette smiled at Chloe and held her arm out, pretending to be all gentlemanly.

Chloe giggled at Beca's goofiness. She knew that it was only reserved for her. Chloe played along and laced her arm through Beca's. The brunette smirked at Chloe, unknowingly sending hundreds of butterflies off in the redhead's stomach.

The two walked in a comfortable silence to Chloe's car. She had decided to take them to an off-campus diner that she had found in her freshman year.

As they entered the diner, Chloe finally felt herself relax at the familiar smell of the place. She hadn't even realised how stressed she was. Being with Beca helped loads and here, now, with Beca in her favourite place made her feel more at ease than she had in a while.

Beca seemed to have sensed her friend relax and had turned to Chloe. The redhead's bright blue eyes met the steely blue eyes of the DJ and she was ashamed to be thrilled by the concern in her friend's eyes.

"You ok there Red?" she asked quietly.

Chloe nodded and smiled. "I am now." She answered honestly.

The smile that graced the brunette's features after the redhead's answer was one that Chloe knew she would never forget. It was a smile that Beca rarely gave, again showing that she was letting the redhead in. The smile lit up Beca's face and brought an uncharacteristic twinkle to her eyes. Chloe's breath caught as she saw the drastic change in the younger girl's face. She knew then and there that she wanted to be the one person to make Beca look like that.

That meal, the two girls talked about everything and nothing, from favourite food to their childhoods. Chloe had been shocked when Beca opened up about her parents' divorce. She could see the uncertainty in the brunette's eyes as she told her story, obviously uncomfortable with sharing so much information, but Chloe had just reached across the table and gently held her hand to let her know that it was ok. That it would be ok from now on. The redhead had watched as that uncertainty slowly dissolved the more Beca spoke.

The drive back to campus was filled with the sound of the radio. Beca had fiddled with the controls until some random station came on and played decent music. Of course it would play decent music if Beca had picked it. That girl lived and breathed music. Chloe had begun to notice that. The small DJ would tap a beat out with her fingers if she was nervous or waiting, she would occasionally stare off into the distance as if some great idea for a mix had hit her, she often had scribbled on the back of her right arm saying combinations for mixes, and that was when she wasn't even wearing her signature headphones. At the moment, Beca clearly recognised the song that was playing and was humming along. Chloe knew that she wouldn't do this around anyone else and it made her feel truly special. More special than anyone had ever made her feel, and that was without even trying.

Back at Barden, the two had gone back to Beca's room. Luckily her scary roommate, Kimmy-Jin, wasn't in.

"You're a saint, you know." She said as she took a seat on Beca's bed whilst the brunette sat on her swivel desk chair.

The brunette turned to look at her, eyebrow raised in amusement and smirk across her face. Chloe realised she had said what she had thought was a thought out loud and tried to cover for herself. "You know, putting up with Kimmy-Jin and all. I couldn't deal with a roommate who hated me."

The look of amusement still adorned Beca's face. "Uh-huh. Well, if I remember correctly, you were placed in a room with the devil incarnate for your freshman year."

Chloe laughed and playfully smacked the brunette with a pillow. "Aubrey's not that bad. I mean she is my best-friend now. Honestly, I think you two would get along if you didn't constantly fight."

Beca snorted. "Yeah well, I'm too much of an alt-girl for the Bellas. You would think that I was too alt-girl for anyone after what she has said about me."

"You're not to alternative for me." Chloe blurted out. She really didn't understand where her word vomit was coming from all of a sudden. She guesses she just had to go with it and pass it off as part of her personality. "I like all of that about you. It's mysterious and cool." Beca smiled at the redhead's words. And really hot Chloe thought. Eager to change the subject, Chloe asked "can I hear one of your mixes?"

Beca hesitated and Chloe thought that she was about to decline her offer but instead turned to her computer and fiddled for a moment before the opening notes of Titanium came on. Beca looked at Chloe in amusement. The redhead smiled as the song played and her smile widened when the beat of Starships by Nicki Minaj wove through the music expertly. Chloe loved these two songs and got up, pulling Beca with her. Chloe started dancing around the small DJ, finding it incredibly cute how awkward Beca seemed. However, she soon got over that and the two danced around Beca's room like they were crazy. Chloe hadn't had so much fun in a long while.

As the mix finished, both girls fell back onto the bed, slightly breathless but not too so, thanks to all the cardio they had been doing. They were both laughing uncontrollably and Chloe was sure that she had never seen Beca laugh so much before. Finally when they had just been reduced to giggles, they turned to each other.

"You are amazing Beca Mitchell," Chloe said softly, tucking a stray stand of hair behind the other girl's ear. Chloe could have sworn that Beca blushed at either the contact or her words, or both.

Chloe sat up instantly. Something had poked her. Beca stayed frozen as Chloe felt something poke her again.

"Chloe you have to wake up now." Wake up? What?

Chloe's eyes snapped open and saw Aubrey looking down at her. Her green eyes were bloodshot and were glassy with unshed tears. "Chloe..."

Chloe sat up and looked around. The other Bellas were waking up. She turned her eyes back to her blonde best-friend.

"Where's Beca? What happened?"