The Right Time

Chapter Twelve

The door to Beca's room creaked open. Beca had her head buried in her pillow and was still crying her eyes out. She was crying so hard that she didn't notice the person entering her room until they tapped her shoulder.

Wiping her eyes, with eyeliner and mascara tracks still staining her cheeks, Beca sat up to face her visitor, expecting it to be Amy or Cynthia Rose. However, she was met with Chloe's sad expression. The brunette immediately attempted to compose herself.

'Are you-', Chloe started. She was interrupted by Beca.

'Please. Let m-me t-talk please. I'm really sorry, I didn't think before I acted and I always do that. I know- I know I n-need to work on that', Beca stuttered through tears.

Chloe wiped the tears from her face and joined her on the mattress.

'I just saw him t-touching you and I heard you say no, and he was being disgusting and I guess I got protective and I just- just want you to know that I'm not l-like this all the time and I'm s-s-sorry', Beca rambled. She was bawling.

Chloe looked at her and sighed.

She hates me, the brunette was sure.

The redhead lay herself down on the bed, then opened her arms, inviting Beca in for a hug.
Beca collapsed into her arms and sobbed into her red hair.

'You probably shouldn't have thrown a drink over him'

'I know, I-'

'Please let me finish, Becs', Chloe said.

Beca was waiting for Chloe to end whatever it was that they had together.

'You probably shouldn't have thrown a drink over him, but I know that you had good intentions. Just let me fight for myself next time, okay?', Chloe told her, 'Or at least just shout at the person instead of wasting your drink', she added on a lighter note.

'Are you angry at me?', Beca asked quietly.

The redhead squeezed her friend tighter.

'I'm not even a little bit angry- I'm glad to know that I've got someone who's there for me. You just scared me; I thought you were going to get hurt'

'It would have been worth it', Beca said, face still buried in hair.

'No one is worth getting seriously hurt for'

'I found someone who's worth it'

Chloe gently pushed Beca away from her shoulder. Beca didn't know what to do- she wanted to kiss her, but couldn't judge whether the mood was right.

Chloe met Beca's lips with a quick kiss. The brunette laughed and wiped her eyes.

'Let's sort out your face', Chloe said, giggling.

The two went to the bathroom to clean up and get ready to go to sleep. Chloe brushed Beca's hair while Beca washed the black marks off her face. Beca brushed Chloe's hair while Chloe cleaned off her makeup. Because she was still upset, the redhead helped her friend into her PJs.

Cynthia Rose knocked on the bathroom door, so Chloe went to speak to her, shutting the door behind her.

'How is she?'

'She's still pretty upset', Chloe answered.

'She was torn up when we were walking her home. She cares about you a lot'

'I care about her a lot too'

'She kept saying that she was going to lose you. I ain't never seen her cry like that!'

'I know. Thank you for taking her home. I'm going to stay with her tonight', Chloe said as she gave Cynthia Rose a thankful smile.

'Look after her', Cynthia replied. She returned to her room.

Beca was finished in the bathroom and headed to her room with Chloe. They held each other all night.
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A week until The Worlds.

Chloe was drinking coffee while running a warm bath. Rehearsals had been tough work, and she was stressed about the upcoming competition. For the last week and a bit, rehearsals had taken up all of her time, so she needed to try and clear her head.

Beca came home from her internship at the same time the bath was running. She greeted the Bellas, then ran upstairs.
Worringly, she peeked inside the bathroom and saw Chloe knelt by the bath, head slumped over the side. Acting fast, she called her name and picked her up by her armpits, sitting her on the toilet.

Embarrassed, Chloe woke up and apologised.

'Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm just really tired and stressed today'

'Wanna talk about it?'

'I'm going to have a bath', Chloe said with a smirk.

'We've shared a shower before. Besides, I need to make sure you don't end up snoozing in there', Beca said as she tested the water temperature and turned off the tap.

So, Chloe took off her robe and stepped into the water. Beca averted her eyes until the bubbles shrouded her body. She had seen it all before, but it was different now that she actually had feelings for her.
She shut the door.

'Tell me about your stress'

'Okay, Dr. Mitchell', Chloe quipped.

Beca pouted at her.

'I feel stressed about The Worlds. I'm worried that we won't win and that we won't get re-instated', Chloe exhaled.

Beca, who was sitting on the toilet, facing Chloe, put a hand on the side of the bath.

'Have you been at our rehearsals lately? We're killing it, Chlo'

'What if it's not enough?'

'Then we look back at all of the memories that we've had and we think about all of the crazy places we've performed at', Beca told her softly, 'And then we shut ourselves away in shame for the rest of our lives', she joked.

'We've had so many good memories', Chloe reminisced.

'I have a feeling that the best ones are yet to come'

Chloe beamed with happiness.

'You always know what to say', she told Beca.

'Ha, that is the total opposite of me'

'No it's not. You're a total softie', Chloe said as she washed herself.

'Maybe when I'm with you, I am. You have this effect on me'

'What kind of effect?'

Chloe knew that she was making Beca uncomfortable, but that was half the fun.

'I dunno...you make me all mushy and...I'm going to let you finish your bath', Beca said, squirming.

Beca left the bathroom.
Chloe looked pleased with herself.