Just Friends - Bechloe

Chapter 19: Everglow

A/N: I'm so sorry friends this took way too long to write for reasons you'll find out about when you read it. Also this chapter is a healthy 1000 words longer than my normal chapters so that's one reason.

"Cuz' you're my flashlight

You're getting me through the night."

Emily closed the song and the crowd erupted in cheering. The cheers for the German team seemed like whispers compared to this. They knew immediately that they had indeed won the World Championships of Acapella.

As soon as the stage lights were dim enough so that the audience couldn't see the girls, Emily spun around and was immediately wrapped in a hug from Beca, followed by the rest of the girls, all of them overwhelmed with happiness knowing they were going to be reinstated after their victory.

A/N: I'm really not sure where in the timeline the world championships fall, but I'm assuming that they happened at the end of the year, during perhaps May of the girls' senior year.

After a group hug that could have lasted for years on end, the girls broke apart and began to make their way offstage. Beca and Emily stayed embraced for a little longer, until Beca spotted Chloe slowly walking over to them. Beca released Emily and hurried over to Chloe, quickly pulling the redhead in for a kiss and a hug.

Instead of their lips meeting, Chloe backed out of it and settled her chin on Beca's shoulder instead, much to Beca's confusion. Nevertheless, Beca accepted it and held Chloe a little tighter than she normally would, which she knew Chloe loved so much.

"We did it." Beca said quietly, the excitement still evident in her voice.

Chloe didn't respond verbally, but Beca could feel her gently nod her head in agreement.

"Come on, let's go catch up with the others." Beca said, pulling out of the hug before jogging over to where she saw Emily walking down the stairs at the back of the stage. Chloe quickly followed suit, jogging a little quicker to catch up to Beca.

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Beca and Emily walked together at the back while Chloe hung out with Aubrey at the front of the group. Beca could see Chloe talking, but didn't bother to strain her ears to hear what she was saying.

"Hey Em? Has Chloe seemed a little different over the last few days?" Beca asked, looking over concernedly at Emily.

"Umm... actually, now that I think about it, yes. I think she was just really stressed about worlds and everything." Emily responded with a troubled look on her face, trying to understand why Beca was asking.

"Yea that's what I thought too, but now that we've won, she hasn't gone back to normal. She seems kinda distant, and she's been hesitant to do affectionate things- like she backed out of our kiss after we won- she's never done that before." Beca said, her worried look staying put on her face.

"Oh... well I doubt I'm the best person to offer advice about relationships, but... if I were you... I think I would just talk to her. That always seems to help. I know that, well, for me at least, it's really helpful for me to talk about what is bothering me."

"But what if she doesn't want to talk about it? I don't want to overstep her boundaries and make her uncomfortable."

"Beca- Chloe loves you more than anything. I've seen how she looks at you and I've heard how she talks about you. If she's going to talk to anyone, it would be you." Emily said, placing her hands on Beca's shoulders and turning the shorter girl to face her directly.

"Are- are you sure?" Beca asked, her expression softening after hearing what Emily just said.

"Absolutely. As soon as you get back to the hotel just sit down next to her and ask her if she's ok. That's the best advice I've got."