The Right Time

Chapter Fifty Five

Chloe was driving to the wedding party with a drowsy Beca in the passenger seat.

'Want me to turn the radio off, sleepyhead?', she teased.

'I'm n- I'm not asleep', Beca yawned, sounding unconvincing.

'Liar'

An hour away from their destination, and having already been driving for just over an hour, Chloe wanted to liven things up with a game.

'Would you rather...', she started.

'No, Chlo. No games', Beca groaned, leaning her head against the window.

'...Have your laptop stolen, or all of our Bella awards stolen?'

The brunette inhaled sharply in the way people do if they've stubbed their toe or hit their hip on a table corner. The question had definitely woken her up, but only because it pained her to even consider the situation. Her laptop had all the mixes she had ever made saved onto it...the awards were products of the hard work of the Bellas...she couldn't get through the day without her laptop...

'I'd...rather have my laptop stolen', was her final answer.

'Really?', Chloe gasped, her mouth falling wide open.

'Yeah. I mean, we worked so hard to earn those trophies...plus I know it would kill you if they were taken away'

'You've put a lot of time and effort into your mixes though, Becs'

'I've got them saved on like five million memory sticks, so I think I'm cool'

Chloe nodded in understanding while she drove onto the freeway.

'Chloe Beale, would you...'

Beca thought for a minute or so about her question, stroking her chin and gazing out the window pensively for dramatic effect.

A menacing question entered her mind.

'Would you rather have the Bellas never exist, or would you rather have never met me?'

Chloe's face became reminiscent of a deer caught in headlights- how was she supposed to answer that?

'B-But Beca, that- that's an awful question', she stuttered, struggling to comprehend the thought of never knowing the love of her life and never continuing the legacy that was the Barden Bellas.

The brunette laughed cruelly, then placed a hand on Chloe's thigh.

'You don't really have to answer that', she reassured the girl as she cracked herself up.

'Thank god- that was horrible!', Chloe exclaimed, her eyes still wide and shaken up.

Beca stroked her hand comfortingly on the redhead's thigh, then turned to face the window, smirking to herself in an odd sense of satisfaction.

'For the record though', Chloe said quietly, her vision fixed on the road ahead, 'Losing you would be the hardest thing I could ever go through. I couldn't live without my best friend'

And there it was again. Chloe had seamlessly steered a teasing comment of Beca's into a genuine, heartfelt moment. Personally, Beca hated how easy it was for her to do that. Couldn't she look badass or cool for one second without Chloe revealing her soft side?

'Chlo...Stop making me feel things'
---------------------------------------------------------
An hour later, the girls had arrived at their friend's wedding party. They were due to stay at a hotel that night, so the car was parked outside the hotel and they walked the short distance to the venue, which was a modern hall.