Bechloe - Like A Record, Baby

Chapter V

Chloe's POV

"Courtney?" My mouth is dry when I see Courtney Edwards standing right in front of me looking beautiful as ever in booty shorts, brown heels, and a blue button-up shirt.

"Chloe!" She pulls me into a hug and I go numb for a moment.

Courtney Edwards has never hugged me before. If only high school me could see me now... When she hugs me, I feel my whole face burn and I feel like I'm going to combust. I'm still confused as to why she's hugging me. We barely talked in high school. She was far more popular than I was. I was just the quiet bookworm while she was the loved-by-all cheerleader.

"It's so good to see you again!" She eventually lets me go and I struggle with words.

"C, Courtney. H, hi."

"I haven't seen you in ages! How have you been?"

"Ah, yeah, good. What about you?"

"I'm doing great! I passed law school and I'm slowly working my way up the ladder with my lawyer work."

I totally forgot that Courtney was intelligent, like, very intelligent. She always got A's or above on her tests. I was always a B student with the occasional A thrown in there but that didn't phase me much. I did well, I graduated, so that's all that matters.

"What are you doing with yourself?" She asks.

"I teach music to underprivileged kids."

"Wow! That's amazing! So, you're like a teacher?"

"Yeah, sort of. It's good."

"That's amazing, Chloe. You always did have such a big heart." She smiles warmly at me and I blush again, not that I ever really stopped blushing.

I take a steadying breath then turn and realise that Beca is still standing next to me. I look at her and for a moment and she doesn't look like she's very happy with me but I could be mistaken. Her face is naturally firm and tough. I hope she's not angry or anything.

"Oh, um, Beca, this is Courtney. I went to high school with her. Courtney, this is Beca - my friend." I introduce the two, not sure if I'm overstepping my boundary by calling Beca my friend but what else am I supposed to call her?

"Nice to meet you!" Courtney shakes Beca's hand softly but Beca only accepts it with a turned-up nose.

"Likewise," Beca's tone is rather cool and I know that something is definitely up. "Anyway, I better go find Jesse. Thanks for inviting me, Chloe."

"Wait, Beca-" I call out but she's already gone.

Dammit, Beale! Get your shit together!

"So, what brings you to this good old-fashioned college party?" Courtney queries.

"My friend invited me to sing with my old singing group," I answer, trying not to get too upset by Beca leaving.

"You sing?" Courtney's eyes light up.

"Yes. I was in an A cappella group in college with Aubrey and a few other girls."

"You're still friends with Aubrey Posen?"

"Yep!"

"That's great! I love it when people stick together after high school."

"What about you? Are you still friends with the girls and guys from your group?"

"Some of them but not all. I'm still pretty close to Shannon, Carley, and Josh. But the others are too busy with their own lives. That's okay though. You find out who your real friends are once you graduate."