Senior Year

Skills Assessment

"Okay, we're going to beat DSM at their own game; do what they do, just better." Beca addressed the group. After the car show, it was tough to see how their little group could end up beating such a machine of people. Smiling the worry away, Beca looked over to Chloe who beamed back at her and continued with the plan.

"And we're about to do a full skills assessment to blow out our choreography to match." The redhead had her game face on, the white board behind her displaying 'Das Sound Machine' in blue whiteboard pen. As much as Chloe was quite clearly obsessed with the Bella's situation, Beca was impressed that she was willing to try so hard to see their group prevail.

With Chloe's instruction beginning, Beca headed over to a grand piano to the side of the rehearsal space and opened up her laptop – she needed to crack down on their set. So far, her internship had gotten in the way. With headphones on, the redhead's orders faded into a blur of fuzzy sound and the smooth lyrics of various song matches poured into Beca's ears.

As the girls were setting up the space, tidying away chairs, getting out equipment, Beca could help but look over to Chloe, wondering how she actually felt about their new rival. Chloe always looked pretty confident but sometimes she snapped, like in the dean's office. Maybe she was more fragile than Beca had thought. The image of Chloe crying creeped its way into her mind, causing her ears to go numb. She couldn't hear the music pounding at her ear drums – she could only think of how many times the redhead must have cried about leaving the Bellas, holding on as tight as she could.

Shaking the horrible thought away, Beca returned to her laptop and to the set, trying to ignore whatever the long, silver tunnels we going to be used for. The Bellas begun to practice their ribbon work, Fat Amy flicking her ribbon into Stacie's face, Flo and Lilly were playing with the hoola-hoops, and Chloe was...

Beca felt her jaw drop a little at the redhead dancing up a small flight of stairs. It wasn't what she would have called dancing but then the skills assessment was also about fitness. Either way, Chloe looked mesmerising, especially when she got to the top and smiled towards the moody brunette. A shiver ran down her spine and Beca saw her phone light up beside her.

Hey, it's me. Hope you have a great afternoon at the studio. Remember that they're lucky to have you and you're special. Love you, Jesse x

The brunette pressed the button on the side of her phone and the screen went black; she needed to concentrate on the Bellas before she could think of the internship. One thing at a time.

After Fat Amy had put out a flaming stick, Cynthia Rose had found her way into a giant silver tunnel and Jessica had hit Ashley in the face with a baton, Chloe came over to the grand piano to see how Beca was getting on.

"It's like usual," the brunette explained. "I've got some ideas that I'm trying to work with but they don't quite fit yet. The bits that do fit don't even make sense."

"Have you tried just listening to the songs and seeing what happens?"

"I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at Chlo."

The redhead took Beca's headphones from the piano and put them over her head. She tapped the spacebar and the music began to play. Instantly, she started to dance, letting the music guide her as to where her arms and legs moved. As rare as it was, Beca couldn't help but beam at Chloe; watching her be happy just made her feel happy too. It was kind of infectious, but Chloe seemed to have that effect on people.

"Come on, you try," Chloe said, holding out the headphones to Beca. Rather reluctant, the brunette rolled her eyes and reached out to get the headphones. Just as her fingers touched the last bit of cable, Chloe placed the headphones over Beca's head for her, their eyes meeting in a non-threatening stand-off way. For the first time, Beca realised just how blue the redhead's eyes were.

The spacebar was tapped and music filled Beca's head, Chloe seemingly unaware at the weirdness of the moment. Although the brunette had to admit that Chloe was right; the music washed over her and her feet started to move all over the place in a poor attempt at dancing. Song after song played and soon enough she could see a clear image of how they could fit together.

"Thanks Chloe, you're a life-saver."

"You're very welcome," Chloe beamed, skipping off to bark orders at the other Bellas.

At the end of the session, Beca was half way to a finished set and felt a little bit proud of herself. As she packed up her laptop, Emily came over to the piano, hands shaking.

"Uh, is it weird that we never got round to singing today?" The legacy kept flicking between Beca's face and the piano, quite clearly nervous.

"Well it's uh," Beca mumbled, packing away her laptop. "Kind of hard to start singing without arrangements and that's on me, so, thank you for reminding me."

"Right, yeah. I just wanted to let you know that I've been working really hard on calming my nerves and keeping my eyes open and-"

As the legacy bumbled on, saying word after words about eyes or something, Beca watched as Chloe lead the other girls out of the rehearsal space. Her blue eyes locked onto Beca's and they shared a half-smile. Another shiver ran down the moody brunette's spine until her phone vibrated in her hand.

Event Reminder: Internship – 30 mins

"Don't mean to be rude," she said, wincing a little at having to interrupt Emily. "I just have somewhere that I need to be. Um, you did great today."

"Thanks," Emily muttered, smiling half-heartedly.