bechloe ~ high school

Chapter 14 (Cup-Cup)

Beca came to a stop outside a door she presumed was Chloe's bedroom and watched as the redhead stepped over the threshold. The younger teen followed the senior, casting a curious eye around the room as she closed the door slowly behind her. On one wall was a giant framed poster of Justin Timberlake. On another wall was a giant framed poster for the movie 'Mean Girls'. And on the final wall, opposite the window, was a large wall calendar.

Beca smiled softly. This was exactly how she'd expected Chloe's bedroom to look. On the desk everything was laid out neatly, with every imaginable piece of stationary on its surface. There were words scrawled all over the wall calendar in a variety of sparkly colours thanks to, what Beca could only presume, was the huge pot of glittery gel pens on the windowsill.

The double bed was covered with a very cosy looking floral bedcover and pillows. Crammed on top of those pillows were several cushions of all shapes and sizes. And at the centre of those cushions, propped up perfectly, was a scruffy little teddy. The brunette watched as Chloe lunged for it, hiding it behind her back as she turned to look at Beca, clearing her throat nervously.

Chloe felt her heart thud as she realised that Beca had already spotted 'Cup-Cup', her treasured cuddly toy that she'd been given as a baby. She so desperately wanted Beca to think she was cool, but there was no way any 'cool teen' would have a teddy on her bed.

"Uh..sorry it's a little..messy?" Chloe said nervously, hoping it may detract Beca's attention enough that she would have time to hide her teddy from sight.

But Beca raised her eyebrows, "What're you hiding?" she asked slowly.

Chloe cleared her throat. Beca knew what she was hiding.. so the redhead slowly pulled the old teddy from behind her back then shrugged, "You know, just some dumb old teddy.."

Beca slowly moved towards the girl, smiling gently. She had no idea why Chloe was trying to act as though this teddy wasn't one of her most treasured possessions. Because it was so obvious that it was. It was missing an 'eye' it had been cuddled so many times.

Chloe held her breath as she watched Beca reach out and gently take the teddy. Aubrey had once told her it was too childish to still have a teddy on the bed as a teen, that's why Chloe had always hidden it from her any time the blonde had come round.

"Who's this little guy?" Beca asked kindly, and Chloe was surprised by the girl's reaction. Any time she had brought a boy over to 'study' and they had caught sight of 'Cup-Cup' they had immediately laughed at her. Chloe would be so embarrassed that she would work extra hard to be extra sexy for them so that hopefully they'd forget all about it. But Beca? No, she didn't make Chloe feel embarrassed at all.

So the teen smiled sweetly and said quietly, "This is Cup-Cup.."

"Hey Cup-Cup. Nice to meet you." Beca said politely.

Chloe took a deep calm breath. She couldn't believe how nice Beca was. How little Beca judged her. She just allowed Chloe to be herself all the time. No matter what. Even now, in the privacy of her own bedroom.

"I got him when I was born. According to Mom I used to curl up with him all the time and I could never sleep without him. Then one day..."

And Beca smiled as she listened to Chloe tell her a tale of the time she lost 'Cup-Cup' when they went away on holiday once. The brunette became entranced with how animated the senior was when she spoke. The way she moved her arms about to emphasise certain feelings. The way she skewed and contorted her mouth when she was explaining things. The way she scrunched her nose up as she paused to find the right words she was looking for. Beca was...besotted.

"...and that was when- oh...I'm sorry..." Chloe said, wincing slightly as she threw her hands to her face in embarrassment, peering between her fingers at the teen before her, "I started rambling."