The Basketcase and The Princess

Chapter 26

They drove the rest of the way in silence until they were back at the Bella house. Stacie sat in the car. The air growing awkward between her and Beca. Thick. Beca knew why she was there. For Chloe. Could Beca face Chloe? Face heading back up into the Bella house? Face going back up into Chloe's room? Bed.

"I'm gonna go inside. Are you..."

"...I-I need umm... I just like need a minute or like..."

Stacie nodded. Understood. This wasn't easy for Beca. On Beca. Maybe Stacie should be feeling guilty for aiding Beca. But if Beca had wanted to go back to her own place or his she would have dropped her off there. She was certain Beca was right where she wanted to be. And if Beca was with Chloe then that meant Chloe wasn't with Aubrey. Not that Stacie thought that Aubrey would fuck around behind her back, certainly not, she wouldn't even entertain the idea that was ever at all possible. Nope. So why was it so important to keep Chloe distracted with Beca?

"Do you want me to wait with you... Or...?"

"Umm..."

"I could leave the door for you, if you like?"

"Yeah, yeah umm, that-that would be, thanks."

Stacie placed a hand on Beca's knee, squeezed, comforted. Beca appreciated it. Beca needed that small amount of confidence. Beca watched Stacie get out the car, and enter the house, the light go on, then off, a small one replaced it. The lamp by the door, Beca figured. Beca looked up at Chloe's window. Dark.

Beca sat there for, fuck, too long? Not long enough. And then she moved. Climbed over and snapped the case, and struggled but the guitar comes out the car with her. She stumbled but soon she's standing, heart beating, pounding, as she looked up at the dark window of Chloe's room, with her guitar. She started slow, the song being so fucking easy to play as she rang out the first two chords over and over, gaining confidence in her wasted state, even in that state she could easily play it.

"She say it's cold outside and she hands me my raincoat. She's always worried about things like that," Beca feels. Beca fucking feels, its cold as tits and her fingers should be freezing but the alcohol warms her. Spirals out from the pit of her stomach. And she's feeling. Pouring it all into the song. "She says it's all gonna end and it might as well be my fault and she only sleeps when it's raining and she screams and her voice is straining," And she sings increasingly louder, plays increasingly harder, louder. The light goes on above her. Beca smokes into the chorus. "She says 'Baby It's 3 am I must be lonely'. When she says-" Beca continues playing but she stops singing, voice caught in her throat when she sees movement, a shadow, then Chloe's there. Looking down on her, at her. She can't read her expression so she starts to sing again. "She's got a little bit of something, God it's better than nothing and in her color portrait world she believes that she's got it all." Chloe opened her window, she knows she shouldn't but she does and the way Beca smiles up at her, fuck, Beca is her own light source, bright, and Chloe hated the way it twisted into her, Becas darn perfect smile. "She swears the moon don't hang quite as high as it used to," Beca continued and Chloe hates how she's melting at Becas voice. Chloe's not smiling back. "and she only sleeps when it's raining and she screams and her voice is straining-"

"What the shit?" Chloe muttered to herself. Then opened the window fully, called down, "Bec!" in a hushed whisper, then a little louder to try and get Beca to stop. "Bec, are you serious?"

"She believes that life is made up of all that you're used to and the clock on the wall has been stuck at three for days, and days." Beca ignores her. No. She keeps singing because it had gotten Chloe's attention and she wants her attention. On her. Wants her. "She thinks that happiness is a mat that sits on her doorway but outside," And Chloe watched Becas fingers strumming the guitar strings harder and faster and hates that she wishes Beca had used her fingers on her, in her, maybe they wouldn't be here. Now. If Beca could have just shown her. Instead she what? Plays her this cliché song. Beca's voice is a little slurred but still, and this she chides herself over, does things to her. Things it shouldn't. Not when it's this song. There's no significance here. Right? Was she missing something? No, this song literally means nothing. What does she mean to Beca? "...it's stopped raining-"