More Than an Experiment

Chapter 9: Practice

*Beca's POV*
Thankfully I only woke up with a small headache that I was able to take away with an ibuprofen and my morning coffee. I used to get hung over pretty easily all the time. Work was already a steaming pile of shit today, so I would have been a raging bitch if I was hung over.
Jesse tried flirting with me by telling me I'd be prettier without my piercings. So the asshole basically said I'm ugly with them. I don't think he meant it that way but it still irritated me, so I ignored him for the rest of our shift. I spent the time stacking more god damn CD's and thinking about Chloe.
I can't get last night out of my head. Chloe's kiss was amazing, our lips molded together together perfectly and I felt a spark when our lips touched. It felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest. A kiss has never felt as right as Chloe's did last night, and I hate it. I don't even know if she's gay or what her feelings are towards me.
"Fuck..." I whisper to myself as thoughts raced through my mind. Chloe probably doesn't even like me the way I like her. "Shit dude I like Chloe..." I continued whispering to myself. How did I let someone barge into my life and break down my walls like that? I haven't even been here for a week and I'm already developing feelings for a girl I barely even know.
"What the fuck is wrong with you, Mitchell?" I asked myself as I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed.
Practice is in 30 minutes, so I stopped at my dorm quick after work to make sure I looked okay. It's the first day of Bella's practice, and I have absolutely no clue what to expect. I glanced in the mirror before heading out the door.
As I walked to the auditorium my thoughts continued to race. I'm seeing Chloe for the first time since we kissed. What if she doesn't remember the kiss, and I have to keep a secret like that to myself, even when I'm around her and reminded of it every day? What if she does remember the kiss and things get awkward between us and the Bella's? What if she thinks we're like together now or something? I can't do that, I'm not ready. What if the kiss meant nothing to her? Like, what if I messed it up? Fuck, fuck, fuck! I shouldn't have kissed her!
I don't even know what I'm going to say to her today, if anything at all. I tend to distance myself from people, it's easier that way. I decided on not mentioning it to Chloe unless she initiates it, just in case she doesn't remember.
I shut my eyes and took a deep breath before opening the doors to the auditorium. Aubrey and Chloe were discussing something away from the rest of the girls. There were two empty chairs when I got there, so I assumed we were waiting for the last girl to show up. I sat down and made quick eye contact with Aubrey. She whispered something to Chloe. Chloe smiled and began to turn and look at me, so I quickly locked my gaze on the floor.
"As you can see..." Aubrey sternly began, catching everyone's attention before continuing "Cory is no longer with us. Last night she was Treble-boned. She has been disinvited from the Bella's." She then removed the girls chair.
I was shocked. "That oath was serious?" I asked, scoffing. I quickly glanced at Chloe, and she looked disappointed in my question for some reason.
"Dixie Chick serious." Aubrey insisted, squinting her eyes. "So, does someone have something to confess?" She asked, scanning the room before focusing her eyes on the girl sitting at the end of my row.
The girls eyes widened when she saw Aubrey staring at her. "I- it... it was an accident, I didn't know he was a Tr-" she began before being cut off by Aubrey.
      "Turn in your scarf and go" Aubrey calmly demanded and gestured towards the door. The girl attempted to argue with Aubrey, but she wasn't having it. "Take your chair, too." Aubrey firmly demanded, the vein in her forehead bulging. The girl shamefully dragged her chair to the doors of the auditorium before she ran out crying.
      I shot Aubrey a look. "Was that necessary?" I asked in disbelief. Aubrey was pretty irritated so she ignored me. I looked at Chloe, but she was just staring at the floor. "Aubrey" I said to the blonde, pressing my question.
      She shook her head and barked "This is war, Beca. If you have a problem with how I run the Bella's maybe you should just leave before we waste our time."
      I raised my eyebrows and smirked at her before leaning back in my chair, indicating I was staying. She rolled her eyes.
      "That's what I thought.... alright ladies. Let's get started!" She shouted, clapping her hands.
      We spent the majority of practice learning choreography. I was struggling with a specific move when I was embraced from behind. I got butterflies when I turned to see a familiar red head. She guided my arms, showing me the correct way to do the move, even though I insisted I could do it multiple times. It made me nervous because I still don't exactly know where Chloe is at with last night, if she even remembers it. But at the same time, Chloe's embrace felt so fucking good. As much as I hate to admit it to myself, the girl has really felt most like home here at the college. I slightly leaned into Chloe's embrace when I felt her face next to mine, her lips brushing my ear.
      "I remember." She whispered. It sent chills down my spine as my eyes got wide and my cheeks turned red. Just then she let go. I turned to look at her, but she was already making her way to the next Bella, Stacie. Stacie is super sexual and for some weird fucking reason touches herself when she sings. I laughed as I watched Chloe attempt to get Stacie to stop being so sexual, because she wasn't helping the situation much.
I momentarily spaced out when a thought popped into my head. Chloe remembers last night, but how does she feel about it? We hadn't spoken a single word to each other the whole practice until just a few minutes ago. There's still much more to be discussed, but I still don't want to talk to her unless she initiates it. I know it sounds stupid, but I get anxiety just thinking about the conversation, I can't imagine initiating it.
"That's it! I'm calling it!" Aubrey shouted out. She sounded stressed and exhausted, but I think we all are at this point.
We gathered around Aubrey as she spoke stressfully to us girls. "Today wasn't that great ladies, I'm not impressed. Be ready to work hard tomorrow. We'll start at 4pm sharp." She looked around at all of us, waiting for a response. "Got it, aca-bitches?" She loudly asked, obviously annoyed. We all let out a variety of answers before turning to go. I had started to walk away when Aubrey called out to me.
"Oh, Beca! A word, please?" She asked me.
I turned back around, facing Aubrey, and took a few small steps forward. "What's up?" I asked.
"You know you'll have to take those ear monstrosities out for our performances, right?"
Judgy bitch. I smirked at the tall blonde standing in front of me. "You really don't like me, do you?" I added a small laugh.
She took and deep breath and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't like your attitude." She said harshly. Just then Chloe walked up and joined at Aubrey's side. I glanced at her and we made quick eye contact before I continued my conversation with Aubrey.
"You don't even know me." I said to Aubrey, trying to remain calm.
"I know you have a toner for Jesse." She said confidently.
I laughed. "A what?"
Aubrey rolled her eyes. "A toner. A musical boner. I saw it last night at the party, it's distracting."
Was she being serious? I scoffed at her comments. "Yeah, that's not a thing. Even if it was, my "toner" definitely wasn't for Jesse." I responded, using my fingers to air-quote the word 'toner'. I glanced at Chloe and noticed her eyes light up at my response.
The vein in Aubrey's forehead bulged. "No Treble Makers! Period." Aubrey loudly stated before continuing. "You took an oath."
"Oh my god, Aubrey! Chill the hell out, I'm barely even into dudes anyways. Besides, that stupid oath cost you two people already today, I think you need me more than I need you." I looked at both her and Chloe. I was surprised Chloe was letting Aubrey talk to me the way she was, Chloe was always quick to intervene before. I noticed she looked extremely uncomfortable in the situation, so I looked back at Aubrey who was red in the face. I scoffed.
"I can see your toner through those jeans." She said through her teeth.
I turned around and walked away, yelling "that's just my dick!" At the girl. After grabbing my stuff I glanced at them, nodded, and walked out. "See you tomorrow at 4pm sharp!" I yelled in a smart ass tone just before making my way out of the doors. I honestly don't give a single fuck if Aubrey kicks me off, the bitch is seriously psycho.
A few steps out of the doors, I heard Chloe calling out to me. "Beca, wait!"
This time I stopped and turned to face her, allowing her to catch up quickly. "I'm sorry about Aubrey... she takes some getting used to. You're just a threat to her, that's all. Give it some time, she'll come around."
I paused for a moment. "Why didn't you even try to stop her from talking to me like that?" I asked.
Chloe nervously smiled. "Well... you know Aubrey. She won't listen to anyone. It would have been a waste of breath. I'll talk to her about it later." She slightly shrugged her shoulders.
I nodded my head in agreement and let out a small laugh.
"So..." I hesitantly began before pausing for a couple seconds. Chloe was looking into my eyes, waiting for me to continue. I cleared my throat before shyly asking "you remember?" I wasn't planning on being the one initiating it, but in a way she kind of did, right? I was anxious.
She smiled at me widely and closed the gap between us. "Remember what?" She sarcastically asked and winked at me flirtatiously.
I smirked at her and rolled my eyes. "I'm the one that's supposed to be the sarcastic asshole, Red."
She laughed and leaned in, planting a quick kiss on my cheek. I don't know what it meant or why she did it, but I didn't mind it a single bit. "See you tomorrow!" She said turning around, not giving me a chance to react. She snapped her fingers and smacked her ass as she shook it just the way she did last night.
She took a couple steps before turning around and looking at me. "You better not be staring at my ass, Mitchell." She sarcastically barked before continuing back to the auditorium, purposely shaking her ass as she walked.
I laughed, knowing we both knew I was definitely staring at her ass. She shot me one last glance before entering the auditorium, the smile on her face radiating. I waved to her, saying bye to the beauty one last time. For the first time in a long time, I wasn't okay with someone leaving me. I wanted Chloe to stay with me, everything about her just feels right. I'm starting to think coming to college isn't going to be so awful after all.