Playing in the pool

Chapter 5

It was sort of like an unspoken rule that Chloe Beale and Beca Mitchell hated each other. Nobody really knows the reason why, but nobody has the balls to ask them. In fact, even being in the same room as the two makes everyone uneasy, never knowing when the next verbal slap down might happen. The astronomy class they're currently sitting in is no exception to this rule.

"Alright class, we're going to be starting a project. You will work in groups of two-" The teacher is interrupted by excited chatter as students start working out who's working with who. "Settle down, everybody. I'm picking your partners and your topic." The class collectively groans. "I know I'm terrible. Alright, Amy, you'll be working with Bumper. Aubrey, you'll be with Stacie. Jessica and Ashley, you're together. Cynthia and Denise, Lilly and Donald, Benji and Emily, Jesse and Unicycle, Chloe and Beca-" He's cut of once again by Chloe.

"Mr. Erickson, I can't work with her." She says, glancing back and forth between the teacher and a smirking Beca.

"And why's that, Chloe?" He asks with a bored expression. "And don't tell me it's because you guys don't get along. I don't care."

Not being able to come up with a good enough excuse, Chloe sighed in defeat. Mr. Erickson continued to read off students' names before having them draw a slip of paper out of a bowl. Chloe reaches in and pulls out a slip of paper, reading it before handing it over to Beca.

"Oh, the Jovian moons. Sweet." Beca says, clearly excited.

"Do you even know which ones those are?" Chloe asks doubtfully.

"They're the moons of Jupiter. There are sixty but the four biggest are Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto discovered by Galileo Galilei on January seventh and eighth in sixteen ten." Beca says, finishing with a smirk. "I can go on if you want."

Chloe looks at her in disbelief. "Okay. Well that was unexpected. Anyways, if we're going to do this project, we need to agree to at least be civil with each other. No fighting back and forth. It should only take about two or three days."

"Alright. You want to work on it after school?" Beca asks.

"Yeah. My house? My parents should be gone until late at night, so there won't be any distractions." Chloe says, not quite realising how that could sound to someone with a dirty mind, a.k.a Beca.

"Damn, Beale. If you wanted me all to yourself, you could've just said so." Beca says with a wink and a smirk.

"You're incurable." Chloe says with a scoff.

"Oh how you wound me." Beca says, dramatically clutching her heart.

"Whatever. Just, give me your number so I can text you." Beca looks at her with a smirk and a raised brow. "For the project, Mitchell." Chloe says with narrowed eyes, though a small smile is playing on her lips and shocking everyone who happens to see this interaction.

Beca gives Chloe her number, getting a text from the ginger immediately after. She slips her phone in back in her pocket after saving the number, and begins packing up her belongings. The bell rings shortly after, and the girls go their separate ways.

By the end of the day, the entire school was talking about how Beca Mitchell made Chloe smile, albeit a small one, and many claimed it was witchcraft while others stated it was the end of the world. Everyone watched on with rapt attention as Beca walked up to Chloe's locker, hoping to see another rare sight when it comes to their interactions.

"Hey, sexy lady. You ready to go?" Beca asks, wrapping her arm around Chloe's waist.

Chloe rolls her eyes. "You're an ass." She steps out of Beca's reach and they start walking down the hall.