Meant To Be [COMPLETED]

30.

AUTHOR'S POV

"Uh-mom, Beca invited us to her event tonight", Chloe said when she walked in. "Oh? I didn't know it would be so soon", Cindy replied. Chloe just shrugged it off and scanned the room to see Alice with a cup of coffee at the dining table. "We can't stay for long, we need to pack", was all she said when Chloe looked at her. "I know", Chloe replied. She made her way to her room and locked the door behind her. She thought about what had happened earlier, how Beca's lips felt on her, how she was ready to take Chloe there and then. Just thinking about the brunette made her heart flutter and jump. She can't leave her again, she thought to herself, but at least this time she's saying a proper goodbye, right?

The group has managed to set everything up with time to spare, obviously with Luke and Benji to help them. They managed to get some food for the people coming and they were taking a break before the big event start. "You nervous?", Stacie asked. Beca took a moment to think about what she's doing. Playing her songs, the songs she wrote when she was vulnerable, to everyone she knows. And not just everyone, Chloe would be there too. "Yeah a little, I guess. But I'm just excited to- y'know- actually do this. It took me long enough, no?", Beca replied before taking a bite of the sandwich that they got. Right after that the bell on the door rings, it was a gift from Beca's parents when they first opened the store.

 "Who's that?", Emily looked up to the door to see Chloe with Alice and Cindy. "Oh- hey! You guys are early", Beca wiped her mouth with a tissue before approaching the three women and giving Cindy a hug. "Well, I thought you guys could use a hand", Chloe said and gave Beca a soft smile. "Uh- as much as I would love to give you work to do, because the irony would just be crazy", she chuckled and said sarcastically, earning a nudge from Chloe. "We're actually all set here, just taking a break. Have you guys eaten? We've got some food?", Beca asked and walked towards her friends. "Hey, Cindy", Aubrey stood up and gave the older woman a hug. The three of them sat down at the table and after a few quick 'Hi' and glances, Beca looked at Chloe. "Want me to fix you guys up a plate? We've got some chicken, some beef, some fish?", Beca turned to Emily who just nodded. "Oh, I'm okay, dear. Had a rather big meal earlier", Cindy smiled at her. "I'll go get you something", Alice stood up and place her hand on Chloe's back who just smiled back. Beca stood there awkwardly looking at Chloe before sitting back down.

"Here, chicken and veggies, and some juice", Alice placed a plate on the table and smiled. "Oh- uh- the veggies has pickles", Beca spoke up and lifted her head to face the engaged couple. "Yeah, I know my vegetables", Alice chuckled lightly. "It's just that- Chloe hates pickles", Beca internally cringed at herself for saying that and everyone looked at the the interaction in silence. "She's fine, she's a big girl", Alice replied and sat down, looking at Chloe who forced a smile. "Beca's right, me and pickles do not go well together", Chloe broke the awkwardness. "Well, if you wanna fit in the wedding dress nicely-", Alice was going to continue before she received a few 'Woah' and 'Ooh'. "Okay, come on, be nice to your fiance, would you?", Aubrey said sternly and gave Alice a look. "She's just- she's joking guys", Chloe chuckled out nervously. "Of course I am", Alice shrugged. Chloe looked down at her plate and played with her food when the group moved their attention to Cindy who was catching up with the girls. Beca took this moment to grab Chloe's plate away from her and took out the pickles to place them on her plate which earned her a silent 'thank you' from the redhead. 

The store slowly filled with more and more people, friends, family members, and a few close music industry people that Emily begged Beca to let them come. "Hi, uh- hello!", a voice caught the room's attention and they all turned to the small set up stage to see a tall brunette at the mic. "Hi! I'm Emily! Uh- Beca is too much of a wuss to be the first one to talk- eventhough it's HER event", she said sarcatically and glared to the side of the stage to see an awkward Beca rolling her eyes, "but! I'd just like to welcome everyone to the pre-release party of her EP! Beca, I know that I'm speaking from everyone here when I say that we're very very proud of you for doing this and I personally can't wait to see what the future has in store for you", Emily smiled softly. "Without further ado, let's get the superstar up on here, shall we?!", Emily said into the mic, earning a few claps and cheers. Beca walked up on the stage where a guitar was propped up. "Thanks, Emily for that- whatever that was. Uhm- yeah- again, thank you so much for coming on a very short notice, you guys know me, I'm not that good of a planner", Beca said, making the crowd laugh. "As you guys can probably see from the stage, this will be a very laid-back acoustic set, hence, the mats that we placed, feel free to sit down or lie down, whatever floats your boat", she smiled and took a seat as she grabbed her guitar. "So- a little backstory before I start playing you my silly songs, uhm this EP I guess you can call it a mini-album, it truly means a lot to me. Uh- the songs that I have in here are songs that I wrote in my- uh- vulnerable state, unfortunately", she chuckled nervously. "But, I also like songs that- tells you a story, if you know what I mean, and, this EP, it includes songs that I wrote from years ago to set the- scene? Uh- I'm really not good at this but this EP is called 'CM'", she explained into the microphone and Chloe's eyes lit up. "Uh- yeah, so- this first song- it's called 'not a love song' and I wrote this two years ago when I was truly deeply in love with someone-", she looked up from her guitar to find Chloe's eyes, "and I was- y'know- really in denial about being in love. And dropping the 'L' bomb, so I wrote this 'love song' without dropping the bomb, it's a silly song and I hope you like it", she smiled.