#fluff ahead!

The speed of the response is shocking and more than a little arousing. It makes Chloe’s grip on the wheel tighten and her foot press more firmly against the accelerator, sending her car zooming forward through traffic and closer to their date destination.

Chloe supposes she should have known better than to goad Beca; over the past week, Beca has become more comfortable with making quips like that. Chloe’s normally the flirty one, but having Beca flirt back has been enthralling.

It’s been a week since their first date. They haven’t kissed. They haven’t told the Bellas, they haven’t had a lot of alone time, they haven’t labeled their relationship, and they haven’t kissed.

To compensate (because sometimes Chloe feels like she’s going to die if she doesn’t touch Beca), she might brush by Beca closer than strictly necessary so their bodies can touch. Or her hand will find Beca’s thigh under the table at dinner and rest there. Or Beca’s head will fit itself against her shoulder while they cuddle under a blanket at Bella Movie Night. They’ve done that before, but now with the added bonus of linking their hands under the blanket.

Touching Beca is intoxicating. She needs it like she needs air to breathe.

Chloe pulls into the parking lot of their date destination, biting her lip to keep herself from squealing in excitement. It’s somewhere Beca never would have gone by herself, and she hopes Beca won’t totally hate her for this, but she knows that they’ll have fun. Once Beca takes a second to process, anyway.

She finds a parking spot between an SUV and a smaller car, then pats Beca on the knee.

“Don’t take off the hood yet,” she warns.

“But –”

“Let me help you out and we’ll take it off outside so you can get the full effect.”

“Oh, joy,” Beca deadpans, but Chloe knows she’s just putting on a show. By the way Beca’s right knee bounces, she can tell Beca’s excited, too.

With a final smile at Beca, even though she can’t see it through the hood, Chloe jumps out of the driver’s side and hurries around to Beca’s passenger door. She takes a quick look around before opening the door – it would put a bit of a damper on their date if some good Samaritan were to call the police on her for hauling around a person with a hood on their head. After making sure they’re relatively alone, Chloe opens Beca’s door and takes her right hand.

“Okay, just climb out,” Chloe says. “I’ll make sure you don’t trip.”

Beca grumbles but unbuckles her seat belt and allows Chloe to guide her slowly out of the car. Chloe is sure to keep her hand protectively between Beca’s hooded head and the frame of the car – Beca getting a concussion would also put a damper on the date.

Once Beca is completely out of the car, Chloe steers her by the shoulders so that she’s facing the building they’re parked in front of.

“Ready?” she asks.

“This is a kidnapping,” Beca complains, but Chloe can hear curiosity in her tone.

“A sexy date-kidnapping,” replies Chloe, grinning when Beca’s shoulder muscles tense under her hands. “Here we go!”

Smoothly, Chloe lifts the hood from Beca’s head and moves so she can see her face. She watches Beca blink, first at the brightness of the day, then in confusion as she registers the letters on the side of the building, proclaiming Ricky’s Roller Rink and Arcade. A symphony of emotions cross Beca’s face: first recognition, then surprise, then horror, which finally eases into exasperation.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Chloe. No way.”

“Yes!”

“I’ll die!”

“I’ll catch you,” Chloe promises, crossing her heart.

“I’ve done this, like. Twice,” Beca groans.

“I know. I’ll hold your hand.”

Beca rolls her eyes, and Chloe already knows she’s won. “I took you on a nice, stable grounded picnic, and you’re doing this to me? Making me rollerblade?”

“Well…” Chloe hedges, taking mercy on Beca. “It’s really more the pizza and arcade that go with the rollerblading. We’ll only do that part if you want to.”

“Oh!” Beca stops, surprised. She seems to think for a second before shrugging, if reluctantly. “Well. In that case, I guess it’s fine. For the pizza.”

“Aca-awesome,” Chloe smiles, then laughs when Beca rolls her eyes.

She reaches down to link their hands together and, pretending she doesn’t notice Beca’s furtive glance around the lot, leads them inside the building.

They’re greeted at the welcome desk inside the front door by a teenage boy, maybe sixteen or seventeen, dressed in the arcade’s brightly-colored polo and wearing a neon orange hat with the name of the rink splashed across the front of it in black text. He has braces and a smattering of acne across his cheeks, but that doesn’t stop him from grinning at them enthusiastically when they walk in.

“Welcome to Ricky’s!” he greets. “What kind of ticket would you like?”

“Um,” Chloe replies, scanning the display behind him. “Let’s go with the couple’s special. That includes laser tag, right?”

Beca’s hand tightens around her own, but the teenager doesn’t even bat an eye.

“Yep, the couple’s special comes with laser tag, a pizza and drinks, five arcade games, and a set of rollerblades. Is that all?”

“Sounds perfect,” Chloe smiles, digging in her purse for her wallet.

“I can –”

“I’ve got this, babe,” Chloe cuts off Beca’s attempt to chip in on the tickets. This is her treat.

“Uh – thanks,” Beca replies, looking at her a little strangely.

Chloe pays for their arcade passes, then they turn to survey the building. It’s massive, set up in a sprawling design that probably only makes sense to the preteens who frequent it on the weekends. The roller rink is on the far side, taking up almost the entire right half of the building. A dining area with a pizza stand and a pop bar separate the rink from the scores of arcade games placed haphazardly in what might be a rectangular pattern. Beyond that, a doorway with a sign proclaiming “Laser Tag” set up above it seems to branch away from the main arcade area. Thankfully, for a Thursday afternoon, the place is relatively empty, with only a few older-looking teenagers running around.

“So,” Chloe breathes, suddenly nervous. “Is this an acceptable second date?”

Beca looks at her, her expression giving nothing away. “Well…” she starts seriously, before her face splits into a wide grin. “Only if you’re ready to have your ass kicked at air hockey!”

“In your dreams,” Chloe scoffs, and then they’re off.

Chloe knows Beca is a competitive person – you don’t co-lead a world-renowned a cappella group with someone and not realize how competitive they are – but she had no idea that competitive spirit bled over into something as simple as arcade games. She soon learns, though.

Because they have five arcade games to play with their tickets, they first decide on air hockey, foosball, Skee-Ball, and Dance Dance Revolution; Chloe is horrible at foosball, but wins the game of Skee-Ball, and they tie at Dance Dance Revolution. That’s when, instead of choosing a game they haven’t played yet, Beca insists on a second round of air hockey because she lost the first time.

“Alright,” she says seriously, cracking her knuckles and rolling out her shoulders while Chloe tries not to giggle at her. “This game is it. This is everything. Whoever wins this becomes Grandmaster Champion of the Universe.”

“Oh?” Chloe asks, arching an eyebrow. “I noticed that rule didn’t apply when you missed all but two cups during Skee-Ball.”

“Didn’t count then,” Beca insists with as much dignity as she can muster. “This is, like, the tie breaker. Of everything.”

“Okay,” Chloe says, deciding not to point out that even if Beca wins this game, they’re still technically tied evenly in arcade game wins.

Beca waggles her eyebrows grandly and, with all the seasoned confidence of an air hockey pro, drops the puck onto the table and nearly knocks it into her own goal.

“I meant to do that,” she insists when Chloe laughs. “Throw you off guard.”

“Mmm.”

Once Beca does successfully start the game, she plays with an intensity that Chloe has only seen her display on stage of their bigger performances. Her eyes are zeroed in on the puck, tracking its every movement, and she moves her paddle with grace and agility, concentrating so hard on the game that Chloe doesn’t think she’s even aware of the way the tip of her tongue pokes out from her mouth.

It’s kind of hot.

That is, until Beca’s fingers, dangling over the edge of the wall and into the “rink” area, are smashed by a poorly-aimed puck from Chloe.

“Fuck! Ouch, shit, dammit –”

“Are you okay?!” Chloe exclaims, running around the table to get to her. “Here, let me see –”

She pulls Beca’s hand into both of her own, examining it for damage, just in time to register the telltale clunk of the puck dropping into her unattended goal.

She looks up from Beca’s (red and bruised-looking) fingers to see a supremely smug look on Beca’s face.

“Shouldn’t have let your guard down,” Beca grins, nodding at the score. She’d won with the last goal.

Chloe huffs in mock annoyance; if Beca can still get a goal with her uninjured hand and brag about it, she’s not badly hurt.

“Cheap move!” Chloe protests. “You distracted me!”

“You’re the one who smashed my fingers!”

“Shouldn’t have dangled them over the edge like that,” Chloe says, then follows with, “I’m starting to care more and more about your fingers lately.”

The shock and understanding that flash across Beca’s face make losing the game totally worth it. With a wink, Chloe leans in and presses her lips against the more bruised-looking fingers on Beca’s right hand.

“Yeah, well,” Beca huffs, apparently recovering. “That helps.”

“I’m glad,” Chloe grins. “So, Grandmaster Champion of the Universe, you wanna get some pizza?”

As if on cue, Beca’s stomach rumbles loudly.

“Great,” Chloe says, taking that as an answer. “Let’s go order.”

They walk over to the dining area and put in the order for a cheese pizza, and while that’s cooking, Chloe manages to talk Beca into trying a couple laps of rollerblading.

The rink is wide open, apart from a couple of teenagers still zooming around it. Chloe leads Beca to the side of the rink, where they pick out their skates. Chloe tries not to laugh when Beca has to hunt for a size small enough to suit her.

When they have the skates in hand, they go to the little outcropping in the blading area and strap them on. Once they’re both ready, they sit, Chloe waiting for the go-ahead from Beca that doesn’t seem like it’s going to come. Beca’s not saying much, which raises a red flag in Chloe’s mind.

“Hey,” she says, resting her hand over Beca’s for a second. “We don’t have to, if you really don’t want to.”

“Hmpf,” Beca grumbles. “First you smash my hand, now you’re gonna strap wheels to my feet and expect me not to die.”

“I won’t let you fall. I promise,” Chloe reassures her quietly.

Beca’s expression softens. “I know you won’t,” she says. “I trust you.”

Chloe isn’t quite prepared for the warmth that washes over her at that simple phrase. It shouldn’t trigger that much emotion, maybe, but the way Beca says it and the way she looks at her makes Chloe think that when Beca said it, she meant a different three-word phrase.

“Okay, right,” Chloe says, trying to shake that from her mind. “Let’s, uh, try it. We’ll go slow.”

And they do go slow. Beca’s left hand never leaves Chloe’s right as they half-skate, half-wobble around the rink two, three, four times, until Beca’s movements smoothen and she becomes more confident with every stroke. By the fifth lap, though, the man working the pizza stand is waving them down, and Beca looks too relieved at the idea of getting the skates off her feet for Chloe to be able to justify continuing.

They wrap up their final lap, find that same outcropping in the rink, and pull the skates off their feet in favor of their regular shoes before heading over to collect their pizza. Beca grabs them a table, across the dining area from a group of four teenage girls, and they sit to eat.

“See?” Chloe can’t resist asking. “That wasn’t so bad.”

Beca shrugs, pizza in hand. “It could have been worse. Thanks for not letting me fall,” she adds more sincerely.

“Of course,” Chloe answers. “We can’t have any more injuries.”

Beca flexes her hand, checking it for damage. “I think I’ll survive,” she grins, then takes another bite of pizza.

Chloe’s just about to reach for her third slice when one of the teenagers from the larger group across the room arrives at their table.

“Uh, hi,” the girl says a little awkwardly. “It’s my friend’s birthday, and we wanted to play laser tag, but we’re two players short. Would you like to…” she trails off, gesturing toward the laser tag area.

Chloe looks beyond the girl at the three others sitting at the table, all watching them carefully. She waves in their general direction, not sure which is the one with the birthday, before checking with Beca.

“I’m okay with that if you are?” she asks. “We have the ticket for it, anyway.”

Beca glances toward the girls, too, then looks down at the pizza.

“After you’re done eating,” the girl says in a rush, turning a little pink. “You don’t have to –”

“No, it’s okay,” Beca interrupts. “We’ll do it on one condition.”

The girl nods enthusiastically and Chloe waits, not sure what Beca’s going to say.

“Take a picture of us?” Beca asks, extending her phone to the girl, whose eyes widen.

“Sure!” she agrees enthusiastically. “Oh, I’m the best with Instagram and finding filters, I’ll make you two look so good…”

She rambles on, but Chloe’s stopped listening. She’s too focused on Beca moving her chair closer to her, pressing into her side. When Beca wraps an arm around her waist, Chloe sinks into it so naturally that it’s like they’ve been doing this for years rather than barely a week. Beca’s hair tickles her cheek, but Chloe refuses to pull away. She just smiles for the camera, already knowing she’s going to make Beca send that to her so she can make it her new lock screen.

The girl takes multiple pictures from multiple angles, all the while assuring them they look “super cute,” and hands Beca back her phone with a smile.

“Thanks,” Beca says, scrolling through the pictures quickly to check them.

Looking over her shoulder, Chloe has to agree with the girl; they look good together.

“So…” the girl prompts, and Chloe stands to get to-go boxes for their pizza. They could have finished the last two slices, but it’s pretty obvious the girls at the table are impatient.

She and Beca join them, make introductions, and file past the arcade games to get to the laser tag area. There, another teenage employee explains the rules and splits them into teams: two of the girls plus Beca on the Blue team, and the other two plus Chloe on the Red team.

“You’re going down, Beale,” Beca hisses under her breath as the clock times down to start.

“Nope,” is all Chloe says, knowing it’ll only make Beca even more competitive. Sure enough, Beca huffs a laugh and starts bouncing in place, full of energy.

The buzzer goes off and Chloe steps inside the dark maze, blinking so her eyes adjust to the blacklight filling the room; she glances down at herself, the whites in her clothing and shoelaces glowing in the semidarkness. It’s confusing, at first; all she can do is keep moving, hearing the five other people with her shuffling along behind the maze walls. At one point, one of the girls on her team flies past in front of her, and Chloe has to stop the knee-jerk reaction to aim and fire at her own teammate.

But then, rounding a corner, she sees a one of the girls on the Blue team crouched and peering around a wall, her back to Chloe. Grinning to herself, Chloe raises her laser gun and aims. Before she can fire, though, something latches onto the back of her vest and tugs, and she’s sent careening backward with an inelegant squawk of surprise.

“Shh!” Beca laughs, her teeth bright in the black light as she pulls Chloe into a corner of the maze. “You’re gonna get their attention!”

“Is this a plot?” Chloe asks suspiciously. “Are you trying to make my team lose?”

Beca grins and shakes her head, looping her arms around Chloe’s waist to pull her closer. “Nah. I just wanted to say hi and didn’t think it was fair to shoot from behind... like you were about to do.”

“Yeah, I’m not above that,” Chloe admits casually, heart fluttering at the proximity to Beca.

“Clearly,” Beca agrees, then speaks even more softly. “Those photos of us are really nice.”

“They are,” Chloe says, hands landing on Beca’s hips. The thought of where this might be going makes her feel like she needs to steady herself.

“And, earlier,” Beca continues, whispering now, their faces only inches apart. “I liked when you called me ‘babe.’”

“When?”

“At the desk. When we came in.”

“I didn’t even notice,” Chloe breathes honestly, her eyes dropping to Beca’s slightly parted lips.

“I liked it.”

Beca’s leaning in then, until she’s so close that Chloe’s not sure if the pounding pulse she hears is her own or Beca’s. Chloe closes her eyes, shivering when she feels Beca’s breath ghosting over her lips. Their noses nudge together, sending a thrill through Chloe’s body. All it would take is one final tilt in from either of them, and the entire world would shift.

With a shaky breath that Chloe can both hear and feel, Beca closes the distance.

Beca’s lips are soft and warm against hers. They’re both still, lips just touching, until Chloe pulls back to lightly rest her forehead against Beca’s.

“Bec…”

Chloe’s not sure who leans forward this time, but then they’re kissing again and everything else is wiped from her mind. Beca’s lips grow more direct and she changes the angle gently, and Chloe can hardly believe that this is Beca, finally kissing her, but when she reaches forward to rest her hands on Beca’s waist, the solid presence reassures her until she’s giving in completely. Chloe tilts her head more into it, parting her lips to make the kiss softer, warmer, and drawn-out, nestling Beca’s bottom lip between hers.

A sound leaves Beca then, just a little hum in the back of her throat, not quite a whimper but almost, and it makes Chloe’s hands tighten on Beca’s waist. She feels Beca’s hands trace up her arms, dancing over her collarbones to rest lightly on either side of her neck. Leaving tingling, twitching skin in its path, Beca’s left thumb traces under her jaw until Chloe’s certain Beca can feel the fluttering of her pulse.

Beca’s lips turn more insistent, pressing even closer. One of Beca’s hands slides into Chloe’s hair, cradling the back of her head. This time, Chloe’s the one to make a noise, a breathy gasp that makes Beca chuckle against her lips. Chloe’s hands slide around Beca’s hips, tracing up her lower back until they encounter the laser tag vest.

Chloe’s not sure how long they kiss. A few seconds, maybe a minute at most, but when the kiss reaches its natural end and she pulls away, her head is spinning and she can’t stop smiling. Beca’s smiling right back, the flush on her cheeks visible even in the semidarkness.

Chloe steps away carefully, her hands dropping from Beca’s sides. Her lips tingle where Beca had kissed them, and she wants more than anything to continue it, but they are still technically in public with a group of teenagers running around somewhere in the laser tag maze.

She feels like she should say something, but doesn’t know what.

That’s when Beca, grinning cheekily, lifts her laser gun and shoots Chloe point-blank, making her vest buzz and light up.

“Gotcha.”

***************

“Wait, why’d you swipe no on him, he was cute!” Stacie protests, peering over Chloe’s shoulder.

“Eh, not my type,” Chloe dismisses, scrolling through some brunette’s profile next.

“Cute isn’t your type?” Stacie asks sarcastically.

“Guess not,” Chloe snaps back. She’s tired of this stupid app. She swipes no again.

“Ooh, her!” This time, Stacie practically pounces on Chloe to get her to swipe yes on an admittedly very attractive blonde woman.

Chloe swipes no and closes the app. “Look, this is stupid. I’m really not into anyone on here.”

“How?” Stacie asks with wide eyes. “Chloe, you’ve been single for as long as I’ve known you. That’s… like three years. That’s insane.”

“I date,” Chloe replies defensively, crossing her arms.

“Okay, you go on dates. That’s different from dating.”

“I – there’s no one I’ve liked.”

That’s only partially true. Yes, she hasn’t really clicked with anyone, but that has nothing to do with their own shortcomings and everything to do with the fact that they aren’t Beca.

“No one?”

“Nope,” Chloe replies, standing from the couch. “Listen, I’m pretty tired, Stace, I’m gonna head up to bed.”

No matter how hard she tries, no matter how many dates she forces herself to go on, Chloe can’t shake her feelings for Beca in favor of a stranger. It’s just not going to happen.

“But –”

“Good night!” she interrupts, heading for the stairs and hearing a soft, “Night,” thrown at her retreating back.

She deletes the app a few days later, despite the large number of unread messages in her inbox from both guys and girls. It doesn’t matter how many of them she could have tried to date; no stranger can replace the increasingly powerful feelings she has for Beca.

***************

“Bye! Happy birthday!” Beca calls, waving after the group of teenage girls. Chloe smiles goodbye at them, though she’s still not entirely sure which of the girls’ birthdays it is. She carries their leftover pizza in her right hand, her left intertwined with Beca’s. Like the boy at the welcome stand, the girls didn’t give them a second glance for holding hands and acting like a couple.

After the girls are gone, Beca looks at her, eyes alight. “Blue team kicked your team’s ass.”

Chloe grins back and replies, “Only because you distracted me.”

“Excuses.”

Chloe bumps her shoulder into Beca’s, both laughing as they make their way to Chloe’s car. Chloe feels like she’s glowing from the inside out; their second date had been just as wonderful as their first, perhaps even more so, with the kiss.

“Beca! Chloe!”

Chloe stops dead in her tracks, dropping Beca’s hand instantly at the familiar voice. A dense dread settling deep in her stomach, she turns in time to see Beca’s dad, Warren, and his wife Sheila climbing out of their car in the row adjacent to where she and Beca are parked. They’re both smiling, not looking at her with anger or suspicion, so they must not have seen her and Beca holding hands.

“Shit, fuck –” Beca swears softly beside her, then, more loudly, “Dad! What are you guys doing here?”

Chloe winces; she hopes the panic in Beca’s voice is only obvious to her.

Warren and Sheila walk over, weaving between a few parked cars to draw closer to them. Beca shifts her weight, putting distance between her and Chloe; Chloe hears the scuff of pebbles under her feet, acutely aware of every inch newly separating them.

“Don’t sound so pleased to see us,” Warren says with a smile when they’re near enough. “We’re here for a Barden faculty event.”

“At a roller rink?”

“Well, Beca, even us old people can have fun sometimes.”

Chloe glances at the ground, the muscles between her shoulders tensing in response to the strain she feels pouring off of Beca in waves. Chloe’s desperate to reach out and touch her, but she knows she can’t.

“How’re you, Chloe?”

Warren’s question startles her. “Good,” she replies hastily. “Great. You guys?”

Sheila nods, looking around the parking lot. “We’re good, all good. Are the rest of the Bellas still inside?”

Chloe’s blood turns to ice. There’s no way they can lie.

She tries to shift even further from Beca without Sheila or Warren noticing.

“Uh, no,” she replies, thinking quickly. “We figured – that is, Beca and I – figured we could use some, uh, captain bonding time. You know, just prepping things for when Emily takes over,” she finishes, gesturing vaguely.

It doesn’t really make sense – there’s no need to bond as captains now that they’ve graduated, and exactly what “prepping” they could do at a roller rink is beyond Chloe – but Warren and Sheila don’t question it.

“Right,” Warren nods grandly. “I suppose Emily will be taking over, now.”

“Yep,” Beca replies, her voice clipped. “It’s all very… is there anything else, or…?”

Warren’s eyebrows draw together and he looks at Beca quizzically. Chloe wishes a hole would open under her feet and drag her down and out of this situation.

There’s a pause, then out of nowhere, Sheila asks, “Have you heard anything from Jesse?”

Chloe’s stomach jolts.

“What do you mean?” Beca asks quickly.

“Well, you know. I mean, he was always such a nice boy.”

“I…”

“It’s just a shame to let the good ones go, you know. I don’t want you to regret anything,” Sheila says, leaning closer to emphasize her point.

Chloe closes her eyes briefly, hoping it looks like she’s shielding them from the sun.

“It’s for the best, the breakup,” Beca replies firmly. Chloe reopens her eyes; from Beca’s tone, she can tell Beca’s struggling to remain calm. “He’s still my friend, but that’s it.”

Sheila purses her lips. “Well. I’m sure if you asked, maybe he’d be willing to be more than friends again. He’s good for you, Beca.”

“I’m really okay.”

Sheila’s eyes narrow at the icy tone, then turn on Chloe. Chloe swallows, hard.

“And what about you, dear?”

“Sheila…” Warren clears his throat, looking embarrassed, but Chloe can tell Sheila still expects an answer.

Chloe forces her face into what she hopes is a polite smile. “What about me?” she asks, nervous.

“Are there any men in your life?”

Pebbles shift again where Beca stands as she moves another inch away. The anger radiating from her small frame tastes sharp and metallic.

“Oh, no, no men for me…” she tries to answer without placing inflection the “men” part.

“Really?” Sheila’s eyebrows lift. “Honey, with your looks, you should be able to get any cute boy you want.”

From the corner of her eye, Chloe sees Beca look down at the ground.

Chloe doesn’t know what to do but try to laugh it off, panic mounting in her chest by the second.

“I guess… just busy, you know,” she says, fighting to keep her tone even. “With Worlds, and... and I’m applying for internships different places around the country,” she replies, hoping Sheila will take the hint and ask where she’s applied.

“Ah,” Sheila nods. “Right, I’m sure once you move on out of this town, get settled, then the dating will pick up for sure. Between you and me,” her voice drops to a stage-whisper and she grins conspiratorially, “they make them better out there than they do here.”

“They make them okay here,” Chloe replies without thinking, feeling Beca’s wide eyes on the side of her face.

“I’m sure,” Sheila nods amicably.

Warren clears his throat more loudly and makes a show of checking his watch. “Well, I think we should let you girls go. I’m sure you’ve got plenty of – um, bonding activities planned,” he smiles at them.

Chloe hopes her answering laugh doesn’t sound as hysterical as she thinks it might.

“Bye, Beca,” Warren nods at his only child, placing his hand on Sheila’s back to steer her toward the entrance to the roller rink. “Chloe, until next time.”

Beca makes a sort of grunting noise, and Chloe tries for a smile, her cheek muscles feeling stiff. They watch Warren and Sheila go. It’s only until they step inside the roller rink that Chloe realizes she’s holding her breath; she lets it out in a whoosh, the start of a headache mounting in her temples.

She turns to Beca, mouth open, though whether to apologize or ask if she’s okay, Chloe isn’t sure. But the look on Beca’s face, equal parts mournful and exhausted, traps Chloe’s voice in her throat. Beca shakes her head, looks at the ground, and without a word, goes to Chloe’s car and climbs into the passenger seat.

Chloe stares at the car dumbly until her body catches up with her brain. She lurches forward, numb inside, and gets into the driver’s seat, closing the door and muting the world outside.

It’s silent in the car. Chloe doesn’t know what to say.

She risks a glance over. Her chest throbs at the sight; Beca’s leaning her head against the glass of the window, eyes locked on something outside.

Have you heard anything from Jesse?

Well. I’m sure if you asked, maybe he’d be willing to be more than friends again. He’s good for you, Beca.

For the first time, Chloe understands what dating Beca might mean for both of them.

Chloe’s hands grip the wheel so hard her knuckles are white. She can’t bear to look at Beca, scared of what she might see, terrified that their first kiss might be their last.