Leaves

Chapter One

Okay I don't own anything in this but the plot, and later some OC's.

They split the cleaning between three of the Bellas. Beca, being a neat- freak, surprisingly, Cynthia-Rose, who's pretty neat, and one of the Jashleys. (No one can tell Jessica or Ashley apart anyways.) Each week, one of them cleans. This week, it's Beca, and she does it while the Bellas are shopping. She pops in her earbuds and sings along to the music she plays.

She has a strict schedule, the only structure she uses. One: clean the kitchen.

Scrubbing the counter, she scrapes away dried pancake mix Fat Amy attempted to make.

"It was the fourth of July, you and I were, you and I were fire, fire, fireworks that went off too soon."

She empties the dishwasher, which broke, so she hand washes the dishes. (Seriously did Jessica/Ashley NOT know it broke a month ago?)

"I can't take them on my own, my own, ah I'm not the one you know, you know. I have killed a man and all I know, is I am on the run and go."

She dries her hand and grabs the mop, filling up the bucket, and she starts mopping.

"Don't forget ab-b-b-b-bout me, don't forget ab-b-b-b-bout me, even when I doubt you. I'm no good without you, no, no, no, no, no."

She moves to the laundry room in the basement, and since everyone thinks it's haunted and hates it, she's left to do all the laundry every three weeks. Physically throwing all the clothes in the washer, she sings along to the song.

"I, I did it all, I, I did it all. I owned every second this world could give, I saw so many places with things that I did, and with every broken bone, I swear I lived."

She runs upstairs to the rooms to collect the leftover clothes on the floors and tosses them in a plastic bin to take downstairs.

"She says I smell like safety and home, I named both of her eyes Forever and Please Don't Go. I could be your morning sunrise, all the time, all the time, yeah. This could be good, this could be good."

Yes, she's gay. No, Jesse and her were never actually a thing, or kissed, even. No, the Bellas don't know.

Next, she lugs the vacuum upstairs to do her and Amy's room, and the hallway. The Bellas do their own room. She turns the music up.

"If you're lost and alone, or you're sinking like a stone, carry on."

She goes to the basement, unloading the washer and putting in a new load. She hangs up the wet clothes on the doorways to air-dry.

"Hands, put your empty hands in mine. Scars, show me all the scars you hide, and hey, if your wings are broken, borrow mine so yours can open too. Cause I'm gonna stand by you."

She grabs all the trash from every room, (ew, Stace, dental dams? Throw them away yourself, please!), pulling the trash to the dumpster the Bellas share with the Treblemakers in the shared "driveway."

She goes back in and finishes in the basement, grabbing the last load. She takes it upstairs to fold on the steps, spreading out on the stairs. Stacie's, last step. CR's, second, Em's, 3rd, and so on and so forth. She sings along and drops the dry clothes off at each person's door.

"There's a light in the hallway, so you know I'm near. Count your blessings every day, they make the monsters go away."

Next she goes into the living room, or TV room depending on which Bella you ask. A picture they keep on the mantle is of Beca and Chloe, which she believes shows her love for the redhead.

"I counted the stars tonight, oh how they shined so bright. I gathered them all so they're perfectly aligned while we gaze from far away and separately watch the days."

She picks up the picture. It was taken on Emily's camera. It shows the two under a tree in the fall, and Chloe's pointing up and looking at where she's pointing but Beca's just looking at the redhead herself. She sets the picture down to throw the trash in garbage bags, taking it to the dumpster.

"So raise your glass if you are wrong in all the right ways, all my underdogs. We will never be, never be, anything but loud."

Finally she vacuums and dusts the living room.

"Wait a minute, first things first. Take a second, first things first."

She grabs the picture of her and Chloe, sitting down on the couch and admiring the quality- and Chloe.

"It's ten past two, still up thinking of you. If I showed you all I really want to, would you stay? Then push me away? I just can't pretend anymore. Timid heart, hide my scars, make me stronger."

Beca looks at Chloe's frizzy hair.

"I can't go outside!" Chloe fights when Beca prods her to join her out with the Bellas. "I don't have any anti-frizz gel left over from last week!"

"C'mon, Beale, for me?" Beca pleads, shouting a triumphant "yes!" when Chloe sighs and gets up.

Beca takes out her earbuds and leads a softer version of the continuing PTX song.

"I can't take this any longer, I need, I need you like water. It's on the tip of my tongue, I'm not asking for much."

She looks at Chloe's bright green shoes.

"Dammit!" Chloe sighs.

"What is it, Red?" Beca asks.

"These shoes are awesome, but I've got no money!"

The Bellas move along, no one but Chloe noticing when Beca slips away. At the end of the day, Beca puts a wrapped box on the redhead's car seat. Aubrey, who came down for the day, watches carefully as Chloe tears the paper off to see the shoes.

"Beca got them," Aubrey rejects quietly when Chloe goes to hug the blonde. "Not me."

'Just your love and not another, 'cause your embrace keeps me warmer. But I tell you this time, how I wish you were mine." Beca sings, leaving the song there and setting the frame down. She admires one last thing before she leaves the room- the red, orange, and golden leaves littering the ground, complimenting Chloe's hair and bubbly personality perfectly.

What she doesn't notice is the newest member taking a video of all of her routine cleaning.

And that's a wrap! Songs used in order of appearance:
Fourth of July- Fall Out Boy
The Run and Go- Twenty Øne Piløts
Doubt- Twenty Øne Piløts
I Lived- One Republic
She Keeps Me Warm- Mary Lambert
Carry On- Fun.
Stand By You- Rachel Platten
Light in The Hallway- Pentatonix
Standing By- Pentatonix
Raise Your Glass- P!nk
First Things First- Pentatonix
Water- Pentatonix
There's a lot of PTX because I feel Beca would've researched a capella shit and PTX is pretty famous in the a capella world. Until later,
Park