The Right Time

Chapter Three

It was the day of the nationals

Unusually for her, Chloe was nervous. There were butterflies in her stomach and she could feel her muscles tensing.

Beca was nervous too, but she couldn't quite figure out why. She never thought that she'd end up caring about a silly, extra-curricular group so much. Now, she realised that it wasn't so silly after all. She had made friends with a bunch of cool girls, and she knew that it would bring her closer to her dream of moving to LA.
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Slowly but surely, the Bellas made their way into the venue for the nationals. After a brief pep talk from Aubrey, and some encouraging(?) words from Fat Amy, the girls patiently waited backstage.

Beca stood next to Chloe, where she felt most comfortable.

'You've got to be nervous right now', Beca said.

'Yeah, I'm starting to feel it', Chloe told her.

'It will be fine though', Beca said, earning a look of confusion from the ginger. She continued, 'Someone told me that I should relax more'

Chloe smirked at Beca, and soon, the Bellas were called up to perform.

'Stay optimistic, Mitchell', Beca said under her breath.

Suddenly, she reached out to Chloe's hand, gave it a quick squeeze, and then walked onto the stage.
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The lights were intoxicating. Standing there, knowing how hard they had worked for this, Chloe felt proud. She knew that the performance would be faultless- they had been rehearsing non-stop- and she could feel that they were in for a great chance of winning. Thanks to Beca, she thought.

The sound of silence before the singing was to start was deafening. Beca was standing beneath the lights, wondering how she had got there. Thanks to Chloe, she thought.

The feeling of adrenaline was madenning. And it made each Barden Bella glow with anticipation.

The performance of course went without a hitch. At the end of it, audience members were giving a standing ovation, and every Bella swelled with happiness. Excitement-filled hugs were being shared around the a cappella group while applause resounded around them.

Beca ran over to Chloe and threw her arms around her neck. Instinctively, Chloe wrapped hers around the shorter girl's waist.

'This is awesome!', Beca shouted.

'I know! Thank you for everything', Chloe said as she pulled away from Beca.

'There's no need to thank me. You can't do anything without optimism', the brunette replied as she placed a hand on the redhead's shoulder.

Chloe laughed.

Meanwhile, the Bellas around them had started to bow and then leave the stage in various directions.

'Can I talk to you later?', Chloe asked.

'Yeah, sure! I'll meet you in a short while', Beca said.

Then, she made her way over to Jesse.

And kissed him.

The lights were intoxicating.
The sound of silence was deafening.
The feeling of adrenaline was maddening.
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On the bus journey home, Beca and Chloe were sat next to each other, but with earphones plugged in their ears.

Beca felt confused.
Chloe felt heartbroken.

The truth is, the primary reason for Chloe's previous nervousness was that she was finally going to ask Beca out that night. She was finally going to ask what was going on with Jesse, and if she could take her out sometime, (if he wasn't in the picture). But now, it was abundantly clear that he was most definitely in the picture.

What the fuck was that?, Beca thought to herself.

In the moment, it felt right to kiss Jesse. In the movies, a grand gesture would be made, (in this case it involved a song being included in a vocal arrangement), and then the boy and the girl would kiss and make up.
The truth is, Beca was made drunk by the atmosphere of the nationals. She didn't want to kiss him.

The Bella bus was full of joy and screaming a capella singers. The only area of the bus that seemed quiet were the two seats at the front, where Beca and Chloe were sitting. Fat Amy was the first to notice.

'Yo, what's up, aca-bitches? You look like you're in a depressing movie with your earphones in, staring out the window', Fat Amy jeered.

Beca took out an earphone.

'I'm saving all of my excitement for the party tomorrow', she said, with a forced smile.

'That's fair enough. My parties are pretty legendary'

Fat Amy then turned back to face the other girls, and they continued to laugh and chat.

A text message buzzed through on Chloe's phone. It was Aubrey.

-Have you not realised that we just won the nationals?-

-Yeah, it's amazing! I just need to talk to you later if that's okay-

Aubrey shot Chloe a concerned look from the opposite side of the bus.

-Okay. As SOON as we arrive, you are telling me what's going on-

Chloe tucked her phone away. Then, Beca bent over to reach her bag for a pack of gum. As she was grasping, she noticed that she couldn't her her music anymore. Her iPod had died.

'Damn', she said to herself.

Chloe saw Beca wrapping her headphones up and placing them, with her dead iPod, into her backpack. Beca rested her head agaist the seat and her eyes glazed over in boredom. The Bellas had calmed down and were now talking quietly amongst themselves, or attempting to nap.

The redhead took an earphone out, nudged Beca's arm, and offered it to her. The brunette glanced at the earphone, then smiled up at Chloe.

'Thanks. Can I pick a song?'

She scoured Chloe's iPod to find Sisqo's 'Thong Song'. After the first lyric, Chloe burst out laughing.

'It's a classic', Beca said with a wink.
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The bus was pulling up to the university when Beca took Chloe's hand and shook it.

'We're here, Chlo'

The ginger had fallen asleep and had been resting her head on her friend's shoulder.

Each Bella went to their dorm after a succession of hugs and congratulatory words was exchanged.
Chloe was about to walk off to her own dorm when Beca grabbed her arm.

'Hey, didn't you want to talk about something? It's a little late now, but you could text me tomorrow?'

'Umm...It's not important anymore'

'Oh okay. Well, could I talk to you anyway? I could do with having a supercool ginger's advice', Beca said, awkwardly fiddling with the bottom of her shirt.

Great, she wants me to give her advice on making her next move on Jesse, Chloe thought.

She was half right.

'Yeah, of course. Message me tomorrow'

'Thanks', Beca said as she hugged Chloe.

They returned to their rooms.