beauty and the beast / beca x rafe fanfiction

chapter one

a/n: this is for my bestie beca boo, also it's an AU where Rafe is like kind of good xoxo and it's a joke but lowkey good compared to the one i wrote for hannah

p.s. i haven't finished the show so erm don't judge me, i might make mistakes or not know something (bc i'm on episode 5)

p.p.s. THIS IS SO CRINGEEEE but vv fun to write <3

Beca awoke to another beautiful, sunny day. She always tried to start out the morning on a positive note, but this morning she was grumpy because her neck hurt from sleeping on John B's couch. Usually, she would sleep in his dad's bed (since he was missing and obviously didn't need it) but JJ kicked her out last night to sleep with a girl named Hannah that he met the previous day.

She rolled her neck around, trying to ease some of its soreness. She sighed and decided to go make some coffee. John B was already in the kitchen. 

"good morning," he said, giving her a friendly hug. He gave really good hugs. 

"good morning," she responded. JJ walked in and she glared at him. "thanks a lot for making me sleep on the couch JJ. my neck hurts."

"sorry," he grumbled, but he didn't sound too sorry. 

"I think I'm going to go home," Beca said, "I told my parents I'd be home by ten and it's already nine. Besides," she shot a glare at JJ, "my neck hurts and I want some painkillers."

John B and JJ waved goodbye as she left, putting on her small backpack and getting on her bike. It was a beautiful day, and riding through the neighborhood waving at all John B's neighbors made her mood rise. That is, until she pulled off down a secluded trail she used and saw a familiar car pulled over on the dirt road. 

It belonged to Rafe Cameron. Beca hated Rafe. He was rude, selfish, and arrogant, and he always had something to say about the "pogues". Beca liked to see the best in people, but it didn't seem like there was much good in Rafe. She rolled her eyes and attempted to ride past on her bike, but she heard sniffling. 

She stopped next to the rolled-down window of his car and peered in. 

"Rafe?" she asked. He looked up. His eyes were bloodshot and he had clearly been crying. 

"What? Go away," he said, trying to turn away so that she couldn't see his face.

"Why are you crying? Disappoint your dad again?" she asked venomously. It was a low blow, but he had taken the opportunity for plenty of those in the past. 

"Shut the fuck up," he told her and tried to roll up the window. 

"Wait, no, I'm sorry," she said. She didn't know why she was apologizing - Rafe had been nothing but nasty to her and her friends for as long as she'd known him. But there was something about the way he looked in that moment: vulnerable. She'd never seen him show any actual emotion besides anger. "Are you okay?" 

He looked up at her. "Are you serious?" he glared. 

She blinked at him. "Yes?"

"You're seriously asking me if I'm okay?"

"... yes? What do you mean?"

"You've never been nice to me before is all," he scoffed at her. 

"that's rich coming from you," Beca snapped back, "you've beaten up JJ more times than I can count. You hate us because we're not rich. You won't even try to be friends with us-"

"-that's not the way the world works," Rafe interrupted, "mixing pogues and kooks."

"It worked in Romeo and Juliet. And West Side Story. In the end, people are better off together. Fighting only causes pain and suffering."