| When Words Fail | Jesse Swanson x Reader

Frustration [6]

Claire glanced out among the small group of people gathered who watched as the Bellas performed sloppily. They were off tune and out of sync, and Claire could see the disgust in every face that could hear them. A man approached the group as they reached a high note, and he cut them off. Aubrey stepped away from the group, and Beca and Claire glanced at each other as they mumbled amongst themselves.

"I wanted the hot Bellas, not this... barn yard explosion." He sighed as he looked out amongst the group of girls still standing in their uniforms. "I'm not paying for this, let's go, come on." He told Aubrey sternly as he motioned them away from the steps.

"Well, I hope you all remember the way you feel right now so you'll never want to feel this way again." Aubrey snapped as the group left the gates of their first performance. "Chloe, you're voice didn't sound agularian at all." Aubrey scoffed as she approached the ginger, who was staring out into a big lake. "Chloe, for serious, what is wrong with you?" Aubrey pushed, making Chloe spin around.

"I have nodes." She announced as she set her hands on her hips. Her once blue eyes now surrounded in red. "I found out this morning." She told Aubrey as she took her hands in her own.

"What are nodes?" Beca asked, giving Chloe a sympathetic look.

"Vocal nodules. The rubbing together have your vocal chords at above average rates without proper lubrication." Aubrey sighed, looking solemn.

"They sit on your wind pipe and they crush your dreams." Chloe frowned.

"Isn't that painful? Why would you keep performing?" Beca asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, that has to be really hard on you, Chloe." Claire agreed.

"Because I love to sing." Chloe shrugged with a small sniffle.

"Yeah, it's like when my lady doctor told me not to have sex for six weeks, and I did it anyway." A tall girl shrugged with her arms crossed. Claire gave her a puzzled look.

"You should really listen to your doctor." A bigger girl nodded. The girl shrugged.

"Eh."

"The key is early diagnosis. I am living with nodes, but I am a survivor. I just have to pull back. Because I am limited. Because I have nodes. Chloe nodded, looking out among the girls.

"Chloe, this is horrible." Aubrey mumbled.

"Well at least it's not herpes." The bigger girl stated. Aubrey looked over at her with a puzzled expression and was joined by the rest of the girls.

"Or, do you have that as well?" The girl asked.

Claire pushed her way through the door to the Vinyl building and glanced around. The room was a bit dingy and was a bit monochromatic, but it felt old timey, and like Claire could spend hours in there with the music.

"Hey." A voice called, and she looked ahead to see Beca with a cheesy smile. She was holding a CD case with Michael Jackson on the front, and she flashed it towards her.

"Hey." Claire smiled back. "So, this is where you work? Nice, I like the vibe." She nodded in approval as she glanced around again.

"Yeah, but Luke isn't exactly the friendliest." She called back as she continued her rounds throughout the library of CDs.

"Ooh, who's Luke?" Claire teased. "Is he hot?"

"He's in the booth, go see for yourself." Beca called back. Claire continued into the building and noticed a small room attachted to the back wall. Walking over, she looked inside to see a tall blonde guy with broad shoulders. Oh, he is hot. She thought to herself.