Chapter Text
The night of the Bellas ICCA win was pretty much the highest point in Beca Mitchell's life so far. She could remember being happy – like when she bought her first deck, mixed her first track, when she first heard her song played on Barden radio. But this was proper happiness, maybe even joy. She'd managed to win the title with her friends, and she and Jesse had finally gotten together.
It marked the beginning of a change in Beca that was bigger than either of those events signified. She was trying to be less closed off – that's what had almost cost her everything with Jesse. And she was allowing herself to be a part of something – the Bellas, which had meant that for the first time she had real friends, not just people she'd say hey to at a party. It was taking some getting used to, but Beca was beginning to feel like what she figured a normal college girl would feel like.
So, happy most of the time. She was spending a lot more of her time socializing with the Bellas, compared to stuck in her laptop. She still worked on her music a lot, but now she realized just how lucky she was to have those girls. She saw Jesse almost every day. They still worked at the radio station, and they navigating the early stages of their relationship. If she was being honest though, Jesse was already way more into it than she was. She liked Jesse, a lot, and he was sweet and he was nothing but good to her. But he was already talking kids and moving to LA together, and Beca had only just managed to admit that she was capable of feeling emotions at all, let alone emotions of that magnitude. Most of her emotion went into her mixes, where she could let whatever was in her head come alive on the monitor.
She was just saving the progress on one of her mixes when her phone buzzed. She pulled her headphones off and read the text. Jesse was waiting downstairs with a surprise. Bring a jacket, it said. They'd scheduled a date in for the night. She shut down her computer and grabbed a Bellas hoodie, and met him downstairs. He kissed her on the lips quickly and gestured that they should walk.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"God, Beca, do you not understand the term 'surprise'?" Jesse said, laughing.
"I do, but I don't much like surprises," she replied. "Too many surprises for me felt like a kick in the face."
"What kind of girl doesn't like surprises? Well, if I promise not to kick you in the face can we keep it a surprise?"
"Fine," Beca said. "But don't be surprised if I cry, run away, or turn violent."
"Oh, so the violence is okay if it comes from you?" he teased. She gave him a light shove and Jesse took her hand. They walked across campus to the arts quad. There was a giant screen up at one end, and Beca could smell the popcorn.
"What's this, a movie night?" she asked.
"Yep," he said excitedly. Beca tried to share his enthusiasm, and hoped her lack of excitement wasn't showing. This was what she didn't get about Jesse. He knew she wasn't really a fan of movies, and here they were. Sure she liked them okay now, but it seemed like half their dates were movies. Any time he planned something, they went to a movie. Or hung out and watched movies. Beca wanted to eat out, see bands, go to an art show, go to parties with their friends, even just hang out and lay on the grass.
"What movie are they showing?" Beca asked.
"Avatar." Beca flinched. "What?"
"Avatar, like that movie that's three hours long and Aubrey swears is just a rehash of Pocahontas and Fern Gully?" Beca said.
"What? She said that? No, there's more to it than that," Jesse said. "I swear, you'll see." He maneuvered them to some seats, and then left to get them popcorn and drinks. Beca put her hoodie on, it was already cool and in three hours she had a feeling it was going to be freezing. Her phone buzzed. Chloe.
Hey DJ. Plans for tonight? Girls wanna hit up live music night at TBC. xo
Beca wrinkled her nose. TBC was The Broken Chandelier, pretty much the only decent live music bar within driving distance. They had good bands most nights, and they were pretty lax on carding. A night out with the Bellas sounded infinitely better than a three hour movie. But Jesse was her boyfriend and she had committed to spending the evening with him.
No can do. I'm about to watch Avatar at open air cinema in the quad. Have fun for me.
Jesse returned and saw her texting. "Who's that?"
"Just Chloe. Nothing important." He handed her a coke that was so big she thought she might be able to drown in it as her phone buzzed again.
Ouch. Don't forget tomorrow, we're all meeting at Amy's friends place at lunchtime for serious sun. xo
She smiled at the text, because it sounded so like Chloe, she could practically see the redheads face as she texted. She put the phone back in her pocket.
"Isn't this movie supposed to be in 3D?" Chloe asked.
"It was released in 2D and 3D," Jesse explained. "Oh, it's starting." Beca watched as Jesse turned his attention to the screen. Beca started by watching the people around them. Couples, mostly. Some groups of guys together. She thought about what they would think of the movie.
"You're missing the setup," Jesse whispered. "It's almost as important as the ending." Beca raised her eyebrows apologetically. He offered her some popcorn. She took a handful and settled down into her seat. It was going to be a long night.
It felt like it dragged on forever. She was bored out of her brain. Something was happening onscreen, some dude was jumping on to a weird bird thing, she had no idea, but her phone buzzed in her pocket. Chloe. It was a picture text of Fat Amy onstage with some college band behind her, and clearly she was entertaining the crowd.
Miss you. Tell you the story behind this tomorrow. xo
She grinned. Amy was without a doubt the funniest, boldest girl she'd ever met. She would be the one to jump up on stage with a band and take over. She couldn't wait to hear the story.
Miss you guys too.
She turned her attention back to the screen and wondered how obvious it would be if she nodded off. Not that she could, it was cold. She pulled her hoodie up over her head. She could see other couples were smart enough to have brought blankets. She stole a look at Jesse, who was enraptured. She wiggled in her chair and Jesse offered her a shoulder to lean on. She accepted, and didn't even pretend to be interested in the rest of the movie, instead giving in to the sleep that had been trying to lure her for the better part of an hour.
Jesse shook her awake when it was done. He had a look on his face that Beca recognized. He was hurt, for some reason, probably because she'd spent an hour asleep instead of being engrossed in what he obviously considered a stellar way to spend a Friday night.
"Sorry," she said. "Like I said, long movie. I liked what I saw, though."
"Don't do that," Jesse said. "You barely paid attention to it. You squirm like a toddler when you're bored."
"Yeah, well I like spending time with you, even if we do spend all our time watching movies."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jesse said.
"Nothing," Beca said. She had no idea how this was turning into a fight.
"No, there was a tone there," Jesse said. He shoved his hands into his pockets. "We don't spend all our time watching movies."
"We do if you plan it," Beca said.
"What about when we went for Thai?"
"That was my idea," Beca said.
"And last weekend we went on a road trip."
"That was me as well," Beca said. "And as I recall, you were pissed because we got back too late to get tickets to Classic Horror night at the cinema. Jesse, you forget I don't even really like movies. But I came and sat through a three hour movie with you anyway. I'm happy to watch a movie now and then with you because you love them, but there are other things we can do."
"I get it," he said flatly. They walked back to Beca's dorm in awkward silence.
"Want me to call you in the morning?" she asked when they got there.
"Golf with the Trebles," he mumbled. "Kolio's idea. We're teeing off at eight. Lunch date?"
"Bellas date at noon," Beca said. "And I've got overnight at the station after that." Jesse kicked at the ground awkwardly. Truthfully, Beca didn't know exactly how Jesse felt about her being offered a regular slot on the roster when he was still stacking CDs of an afternoon.
"So maybe I'll see you Sunday," Jesse said. He didn't kiss her goodbye, just slunk off, despite Beca calling after him. She shook her head and wondered if all relationships were this hard. She got back into the her room and found Kimmy Jin still awake reading. Her relationship with her roommate was getting better, they actually had friendly conversations.
"Hey Beca," she said.
"Hey," Beca replied.
"What have you been up to?"
"Cinema in the quad with Jesse. Avatar," she said dryly.
"You weren't a fan?"
"I fell asleep," Beca admitted. "I think Jesse was mad. What did you get up to?"
"Dinner, some homework. Wanted to get it out of the way so I can have the whole weekend free." Beca's phone buzzed in her pocket again.
AUBREY IS DANCING ON A TABLE. Video being taken. xo
Beca shook her head. It sounded like a fun night, way better than a three hour movie night that ended in her arguing with her brand new boyfriend. She sighed.
Make good choices. :)
She put the phone on her desk and left to take a shower. It was empty in the showers, which was the way she liked it. She often hummed or sang in there, and while she didn't mind doing it while other people were showering, she preferred it empty. Her mind drifted back to the time Chloe had interrupted her shower. It often crept into her mind when she came into the shower room. That had been probably the single most awkward affair of her entire life. But somehow she and Chloe had come out of it good friends. Best friends even. It was a shame the senior would be graduating shortly, Beca didn't know how she would go about leading the Bellas without her, and even Aubrey.
She showered quickly, humming a little Fun as she did. She'd been wondering about their harmonies for a while, and whether or not they could fit into a Bellas song. She hurried back to her room, hoping to find a text from Jesse. She was disappointed though, the screen of her phone showed nothing but the battery icon. Kimmy Jin was asleep now, so she quietly got into bed and tried to erase the memory of a crappy night.