bechloe ~ high school

Chapter 18 (Facing Reality)

The bedroom was still as the two teens stood close in front of one another, face to face, holding each other's hands. Tears were still tainting Chloe's eyes as she looked at the girl who had turned her world upside down these past couple of days.

Beca looked sadly at Chloe. She never wanted to see her upset. But the brunette knew there was no coming back from this. She'd seen the whites of Mr Beale's eyes. He'd been furious. It was more than likely they would never be allowed to see one another again. At least not until they had left home, by which time Chloe would have gone to college, and Beca would have moved to LA to find a job in the music industry like she'd always dreamt of..

"Beca i-if our parents stop us from seeing-" Chloe began, but Beca quickly interrupted the girl.

"-don't. They can't...it..." Beca stumbled to find the words she needed to express what she was feeling. Because she was sad, and scared, but she also wanted to reassure her girlfriend that it didn't matter what the adults thought or did. That they could still be together.

So she squeezed Chloe's hands and tugged gently, drawing their mouths together. And the two shared a soft kiss. One that was tender and filled with all the love and emotion that the two teens were currently feeling at that very moment.

Suddenly they parted their lips as they heard someone clear their throat at Chloe's bedroom door. Beca and Chloe both turned to look at the doorway, their hands still entwined. Beca swallowed loudly while Chloe let out a short small gasp. There stood Robert, Chloe's older brother, looking at them with a small grin.

"I was wondering what all the commotion was about.." the young man said, leaning against the doorframe.

Beca cleared her throat, not really knowing anything about the other Beale enough to know how to react to his sudden appearance. Chloe on the other hand had known her brother her whole life, so when she didn't release the other girl's hands, Beca knew that the two of them being together probably didn't bother Robert in the slightest.

"Dad's mad.." Chloe said quietly, a tear having ran down her cheek.

"Yeah," Robert said with a calm chuckle, leaning his head back against the doorframe and he smiled at his little sister and her girlfriend, "but he'll get over it. You know what he's like. Mom will get home and get him to talk his thought process through and he'll realise he overreacted."

Chloe took a deep breath. Her brother was right. She didn't want to tell him he was right though or he'd gloat. But he was. Their father had overreacted about a few things in the past, but had never yelled and had certainly never sworn like that before. And as such, Chloe hoped that her mother would be able to coax him around to the idea that his daughter was actually pursuing a relationship with another girl.

But then..Chloe had absolutely no idea what her mother thought about Beca. Just as she had no idea what Beca's mother thought about the teens being romantically involved with one another.

"It'll be alright, Chlo." Robert said with a kind smile, "And if it isn't, well..they can't stop you both going to school together, right?" And the two girls watched Rob Beale throw them a wink before swanning back off to his bedroom.

Chloe turned back to Beca.
Beca turned back to Chloe.
And they just looked into one another's eyes, still holding each other's hands. Their thumbs tracing over each other's swapped rings on their index fingers. This was love. Their love. And yeah it may been seen as unconventional, and quick, but it was real. And hell if Romeo & Juliet managed to keep their teen romance secretly going against all odds then why couldn't they?

Their stomachs dropped as they heard two car doors slam heavily. That would be their Mom's. Their fate would potentially be mapped out within the hour, and it was this knowledge that terrified the teens. So they shared one more kiss, this time their arms wrapping around each other, both aware that it was one of the final times they could do it in who knew how long.