"Hey how did you know you were into girls?" Stacie asked as she looked up from her homework that she was doing on Beca's bed.
"Dick disgusts me, it always has," Beca shrugged. "Why?"
"Seriously?" The taller girl whined at her best friend.
"Well like I never felt attraction to guys, and then I realized I had similar feelings towards girls that other girls had towards guys," Beca explained. "Again I ask, why?"
"I don't know," Stacie sighed.
"Are you questioning?" Beca wondered as she put down her ukulele and focused all of her attention on Stacie.
Stacie nodded. "It's not just one girl though," she clarified quickly. "I've been noticing for awhile that my sexual attraction isn't exclusively toward guys."
"Well," Beca started. "It sounds like you're bisexual," she shrugged.
"Oh my god," Stacie said, her eyes filling with tears. "What do I do?"
"Nothing, just let it happen," Beca said seriously. "Woah, don't cry," she said anxiously, standing up from her chair to awkwardly comfort the taller girl. "Stace, nothing's gonna change. You're still my best friend."
"What about everyone else?" Stacie wondered as she wiped her eyes.
"They accept me and Chloe, of course they're gonna accept you," Beca said. "And you don't have to tell them until you're ready. I won't say anything."
"Thank you," Stacie said. "I don't know when I'll tell my parents. I know they'll be fine with it but I just don't know when to tell them."
Beca nodded. "I understand. You'll be fine."
"Thanks," Stacie sighed before beginning to put her books away. "I gotta go, my parents are going out so I have to watch the boys."
"Good luck," Beca laughed. "I'll walk you out."
She followed the taller girl downstairs and opened the garage for her. "See you tomorrow!"
"Bye loser," Stacie called as she left.
Beca went back inside and got an iced tea out of the fridge before sitting down on the couch. She dialed Chloe's number and hit the call button before waiting for her to pick up. "You want to come over?" She asked before Chloe could say anything.
"I'm sick," the redhead sighed. "I can't stop coughing and I have such a bad migraine."
"Babe you sound awful," Beca said sympathetically. "Is your mom home?"
"Yeah."
"Will she care if I come over?"
"Probably not," the redhead said.
"Alright, I'll head over there soon. Do you need anything?" Beca wondered.
"No," Chloe said with a cough. "My mom's ordering takeout, want anything specific?"
"Anything you want," Beca replied sweetly. "I'll see you in a bit." She hung up and went upstairs to get her bag before she went back down. She sent a quick text to her dad saying she was going to Chloe's and headed over there.
"Hi honey," Kate said quietly as she opened the door for Beca. "She's just fallen asleep."
"Oh okay," Beca said with a shrug.
"I'm gonna go pick up the food, would you mind staying with her?"
"Of course I'll stay," Beca said immediately. "Does she have a fever or anything?"
Kate nodded. "Stuffy and runny nose, sore throat, cough, and she's got an awful headache."
"My poor girl," Beca said sadly.
"I'm gonna take her to the doctor tomorrow. I'm thinking she might have a sinus infection."
"She won't make it to the sectionals game then," Beca said disappointedly.
"I know," Kate replied. "And she's gonna miss the first day of finals."
"Poor thing," Beca said sadly. "I'll definitely stay."
"Thanks so much hun, I'll be back in a little bit."
After Kate left, Beca went into the living room where Chloe was asleep and sat down on the floor next to the couch. She played around on her phone for a few minutes until the redhead began to wake up. "Hey there," Beca said softly once the girl opened her eyes.
"You came," Chloe smiled as she sat up on the couch.
"Of course I came," Beca said. "How are you feeling?"
"Awful," Chloe admitted as she rubbed her eyes. "Babe I don't want you to get sick," she said as Beca sat down next to her.
"Shhhhh, I'll be fine," Beca said gently. "Just lay down."
Chloe nodded and curled up on Beca's lap. "My head hurts."
"I know love," Beca said sadly. "Just get some rest, it'll help you feel better."
"I love you," Chloe whispered before closing her eyes again.
"I love you too," Beca said softly.
Chloe fell back asleep for a while until her mom came home with food and she sat up so she and Beca could eat. "You're so beautiful," Chloe smiled with her mouth full of pasta.
"Yeah well Stacie insisted on doing my makeup," Beca laughed.
"Not your face, just you in general," Chloe shrugged. "You're beautiful because you make me happy even when I feel like complete shit."
"Aww babe," Beca said sweetly. "Do you need anything, something to drink?"
"I'll make the tea myself," Chloe said with a shrug.
"No I'll do it, you relax," Beca quickly replied, setting her food down as she stood up. "What kind do you want?"
"Constant comment," Chloe said sweetly. "Thank you."
"No problem babe," Beca smiled as she walked into the kitchen.
"How's she feeling?" Kate wondered.
"Not good," Beca said. "She's got a really bad headache."
"I definitely think she's got a sinus infection," Kate said. "She was already coming down with something and then that game you had to play in the freezing rain must have made her sicker."
"I hope she feels better soon, I hate seeing her feel bad," Beca said sadly.
"She will," Kate reassured her.
"Chloe asked me to make her tea, do you know where the constant comment is?" Beca asked as she got a mug out of the cabinet.
"The one on the right," Kate said. "You're so good to her, I'm so glad she found you."
Beca smiled at that as she filled the mug with water and put it in the microwave. "I'm glad I found her, you guys are my second family."
"Speaking of that, Chloe mentioned you're really anxious about coming out to your dad, so I just want you to know that you have a home with us no matter what happens," Kate said seriously.
Beca smiled at that. "It really means a lot, thank you."
"You're so welcome," Kate smiled. "Have you been studying for finals?"
"A little," Beca shrugged. "I'm not too worried this time around."
"That's good," Kate said. "Are you sleeping over tonight?"
"I can't, my dad doesn't let me on school nights," Beca said disappointedly.
"Aww okay. It's probably not a good idea with Chloe being so sick anyway. I don't know what I'll do if Bree comes over."
Beca nodded as she got the mug out of the microwave and put the tea bag in. "Does she take it with sugar?" she wondered.
"Just one Splenda packet," Kate replied. "They're next to the microwave."
Beca poured it into the tea and stirred it up before throwing the empty packet away. "I have to go in a little bit. Thanks so much for dinner."
"No problem," Kate smiled as Beca left the room.
The brunette handed Chloe her cup of tea and gave her a kiss on the forehead before she sat back down. "You feel warm," she said softly.
"I already took ibuprofen," Chloe said with a shrug as she took a sip of tea. "This is perfect babe."
"Is your mom staying home with you tomorrow?" Beca asked as she curled into Chloe's side.
"She's leaving after she take me to the doctor. I'll be fine though," Chloe shrugged.
"I'll stop by after the game to see how you're feeling," the shorter girl said.
"You're sweet," Chloe smiled. "I talked to Syd today. She's coming after softball is over so we'll be able to spend every minute we have together. She wants to hang out with you too."
"I'll make sure I'm free," Beca said. "Baby I have to go, I gotta study some more."
"It's okay," Chloe said. "Thank you so much for coming, you're the greatest ever."
"You need to rest." Beca said as she kissed Chloe on the cheek before standing up. "Keep me updated and let me know if you need anything. I'll be here in a heartbeat."
"I will," Chloe smiled, squeezing Beca's hand before she walked away. "I love you."
"I love you too," Beca smiled as she walked out the door.
**********
"Hey, what's up?" Stacie asked as she answered her phone. She was working on her homework but took a break to answer Aubrey's call.
"Can I sleep over tonight?" The blonde asked immediately, trying not to sound upset.
"Yeah, you okay?" Stacie wondered.
"I'm fine, I just-"
"Of course you can," the brunette replied. "See you in a little bit?"
"Yeah, thanks," Aubrey said in relief before hanging up.
Stacie put her phone down and went downstairs to find her mom. "Aubrey's sleeping over tonight," she said nonchalantly as she walked into the kitchen.
"No, it's a school night," Bridget reminded her.
"She has nowhere else to go, Chloe's sick," Stacie sighed. "I don't know what's up with her Dad but she stays with Chloe a lot."
"She really has nowhere else?" Bridget asked.
Stacie shook her head.
"Alright," the woman sighed.
"Thank you," Stacie said in relief.
She sat down on the couch and waited for Aubrey to get there. When the blonde knocked on the door, Stacie opened it for her before giving her a hug.
"I'm sorry I put you on the spot," Aubrey said anxiously.
"Don't worry about it, I'm here for you," Stacie said. "Did you have dinner yet?"
Aubrey shook her head.
"It's okay, I'll heat up what my mom made tonight. You can put your bags upstairs, it's the second door on the left."
"Thank you," Aubrey said before walking upstairs.
Stacie opened the fridge and got out the spaghetti her mom had made before putting it in a bowl and heating it up. She did the same with the garlic bread before the blonde came back downstairs. "Careful its hot," Stacie laughed as she handed Aubrey the food. "Do you want soda, iced tea, water?"
"Water's fine," Aubrey said as she sat down.
"Are you okay?" Stacie asked hesitantly as she sat down across from the blonde.
"Yeah, uhhh...my dad has a drinking problem and whenever he gets bad he says a lot of stuff-" she started, not wanting to go into too much detail.
"Its okay, I get what you're saying," Stacie said reassuringly. "So that's why you stay with Chloe so much?"
Aubrey nodded. "She's sick so I didn't want to inconvenience her."
Stacie nodded. "You can always come over here if you need to."
"Thank you," Aubrey smiled.
"Do you wanna go do something?" Stacie wondered.
"Like what?"
"I don't know, we could go to 7-11 and get some candy or soda or something," Stacie shrugged.
"Sure," Aubrey replied. "I'm finished anyway."
Stacie smiled softly as she took Aubrey's plate and put it in the sink. "You know, it's nice having someone else around here."
Aubrey smiled at that. "You're sweet," she laughed.
"No I'm serious, you try dealing with my brothers all the time," Stacie asked as she opened the front door and Aubrey followed her out.
"I'd take them over my dad any day," Aubrey shrugged.
Stacie instantly felt bad for saying anything. The last thing she wanted to do was make Aubrey more upset. "Right, sorry," she said hesitantly.
An awkward silence fell over them for a few moments as Aubrey nodded.
"Does he...hurt you?" The brunette asked with hesitance. "You don't have to answer if-"
"Emotionally but not physically...yet," the blonde replied stiffly. "He's been close though so now I lock myself in my room whenever he starts up so he can't do anything. He usually comes home drunk and pissed off at me for some reason and then after yelling for awhile he tells me that I killed my mom, which I know isn't true, and he'll say that he'd rather have me dead and her alive."
"I want you alive. I don't care what the circumstances are, you deserve to be on this planet and to be happy and I'm so fucking sorry you have to deal with that," Stacie said seriously.
"Chloe doesn't even know the extent of what he says, so please don't say anything," the shorter girl said quickly.
"Does her mom know?"
The blonde nodded. "She wants to get me out of there. I don't know when I'll end up cracking but the last thing she needs right now is another kid. She's a single mom, I don't want to force her into working more."
"I get it," Stacie said. "But seriously, if you need to get out of there and have nowhere to go, you have me."
"Beca too," Aubrey smiled. "I was afraid to go there because I don't know how her family feels about me."
"That's understandable too," Stacie said. "We're all here for you Bree."
Aubrey nodded as she linked arms with Stacie. "That means a lot, thank you."
**********
"Mom!" Hailee called from the bathroom anxiously. She had just gotten her first period and of course there was nothing in the bathroom for it.
"She's not home," Beca replied as she walked out of her room toward the bathroom. "What's wrong?"
"Uh.....never mind," Hailee replied.
"No one else is home, now seriously what's up?" Beca asked.
"I...got my period," Hailee rushed out.
"Oh," Beca said with a laugh. "I'll get you a pad, hang on."
She returned a minute later and passed it through the door. "Do you know how to use it."
"Uh huh, thank you." Hailee replied.
She came out of the bathroom a few minutes later and walked into Beca's room. "You okay?" Beca asked the younger girl with an awkward laugh.
"Should I text my mom?" Hailee asked.
"Just wait til she gets home," Beca shrugged. "She was the first one I told about my period. Trust me, it's not a big deal."
Hailee nodded with a sigh. "My stomach hurts," she whined as she sat down on her sister's lap.
"You got cramps, huh," Beca said with a laugh as she lifted the younger girl to the other side of the bed.
Hailee nodded. "What are you working on?"
"My final paper for English," Beca replied. "And I'm looking at softball stats and trying to figure out the strumming pattern for a song I'm working on."
"Cool," Hailee said. "After you get out of school can we work on a song together?"
"After school ends I'll be down state again for the championship," Beca replied. "But after that yeah."
"Are we all going to the championship?"
"JV isn't playing in it aside from pinch running and stuff so I told my dad not to bother," Beca shrugged.
"Aw I want to go!" Hailee protested.
"I'll be gone 2 days maximum," The older girl laughed. "Plus you have lacrosse Camp."
"I guess," Hailee sighed. "When will I make some friends?"
"I don't know kid, maybe at lacrosse camp," Beca shrugged.
"I guess you're right, I don't want to spend the whole summer without any friends."
The older brunette nodded. "It's okay, my friends don't mind you hanging around."
Hailee nodded with a sigh. She so desperately wanted friends as great as Beca's. She just couldn't understand why people wouldn't talk to her.