It was at around the one week mark that Beca even considered letting Jesse off the hook. She hadn't been exaggerating or overreacting when she had been in the car. She honestly had never been that angry at him before (hadn't been that angry in a while), and even Beca was surprised at how long it took for the lingering and residual fury to finally die down altogether. Jesse was a good sport about it for about two days before he lost his patience, rolling his eyes at her bitter tone and tightly voicing his frustration when she didn't let him so much as touch her. Beca had to concede, however, that not all of the anger was entirely his fault. At least not directly.

(It was definitely still his fault.)

The thing was, Chloe hadn't texted her yet. Beca spent the first couple days after the reunion pretty much terrified of her phone. Every time it beeped or buzzed or chimed or whatever the right term is for those stupid mini computers, Beca had jumped and her heart had skyrocketed into her throat. Every passing day only wound her tighter and tighter, because she knew Chloe and she knew it was only a matter of time. She was a nervous wreck, and this made her angry, and ultimately it was really easy to just pin all that anger on him, because she was only in that situation to begin with due to his well intentioned, but catastrophically executed intervention.

However, even she couldn't maintain that kind of fury indefinitely, so she had to find something else on which to blame her generally distracted demeanor. Luckily, her boss had recently signed on a new artist, and her work had started to ramp up, so she dove into her work with a devotion and single minded dedication that really would have made college a hell of a lot easier had she managed to chanel it during her finals. Basically, she did everything she could to distract herself, because living on edge like that wasn't healthy.

All in all, it took three and a half weeks. Three and a half weeks to the day turned out to be exactly the right amount of time for Beca's guard to drop. For her to forget that her phone was something to fear. That it had the potential to completely derail her day and hijack her mind.

It was in the afternoon and she was actually on her lunch break when her phone finally turned against her. She knows she was on her lunch break, because she had just taken a rather large bite of her sandwich (roast beef and salami. Don't ask. It was her favorite), when her phone tightly vibrated across the surface of her desk. She didn't think anything of it, flippantly grabbing the device and unlocking the screen.

The sight that met her had ner nearly choking around soggy bread and bargain deal lunch meats.

Chloe (12:17 p.m.)

Hey. I know it's been a

while, but I just wanted to

say that it was really great

seeing you the other night

Beca stared at her phone, heart hammering wildly in her ears. Fuck. How was she supposed to reply to that? Would it be weird to say it back? She tried to turn the flood of emotions into righteous anger at Jesse again, but the feeling was old and tired and her mind didn't cooperate.

"Reggie!"

Beca jumped at her boss's swift appearance. He had this annoying propensity to sneak up on her. It was nerve wracking. It literally seemed like he had the ability to just materialize out of thin air.

"Um. Yeah?"

"You confirm this afternoon's recording schedule yet?"

"I- Yeah. I did first thing this morning."

"Great… Grea- What the hell is that?"

Beca looked down at her desk. "My lunch?"

"What is that smell? Is that… Is that salami?"

"...Yes?"

He stared at her for a moment longer, dipping his head and painstakingly slowly lowered his sunglasses from their permanent perch across his nose. "You people disgust me."

Beca opened her mouth to reply, feeling more than a little insulted when he pushed himself away from the door jamb and was off. "Hey!"

"Studio at 3, Reggie. Don't be late!" He yelled over his shoulder, then swiftly disappeared around a corner.

Beca rolled her eyes with a grumble, shaking her arms out to shuck her irritation away. She was mostly used to the eccentric nature of her office by now. Her label had a reputation for making some great music, but jesus christ they were all batshit crazy.

Beca returned her attention to her phone, tapping her thumbs against the screen a couple times before resolutely pushing it to the side. She would get to it later. She said she would reply to Chloe's texts, and she meant it, but… Well... Chloe didn't know what her schedule was like. For all she knew, Beca had meetings all afternoon. She promised herself she would respond later, and forcibly shoved it out of her mind.

This went on all day. First she was busy in fictitious meetings all afternoon, then once the recording sessions started, she told herself Chloe had no idea of knowing whether or not she was allowed to have her phone on in the studio.

(She was totally allowed to have her phone on in the studio.)

Then she was pretty sure a reasonable amount of time had gone by for her to have forgotten about it when she got off work, then surely Chloe didn't want her to text and drive… right?

Before she knew it, she was eating dinner, and she didn't want to be rude to Jesse. Then it was his turn to pick a show or movie for the evening (she gave him once a month to show her some old favorite of his or whatever. It had started at once a week, but Beca was only human), and Chloe would totally get that Jesse got really annoyed when she was on her phone and not paying attention to whatever he had picked...

The entire time, her phone burned a hole in her pocket, seeming to weigh much more than a tiny sliver of plastic and tech had any business weighing. It was like a black hole, sucking up her thoughts and focus and attention with ceaseless and greedy devotion.

Beca finished brushing her teeth (the clock on her phone proudly displaying that it was 10:02 PM), almost a full day of sufficiently distracting fictitious activities leaving her exhausted. She was also cripplingly aware that she was out of excuses and was running out of time. She spit in the sink and rinsed her mouth, glancing up and quickly dismissing her anxious and drained reflection before resolutely stalking out of the bathroom, grabbing her oldest and favorite hoodie from the corner of her bed. Jesse was still watching something on the TV and didn't notice when she quietly slid the door open to the small balcony and slipped out.

It was almost immediately easier to breathe. The balcony was her space. It was the only place that didn't have Jesse's socks or music books or movies lying around and didn't smell overwhelmingly like popcorn. It was the one space she had that she felt like she could just shut everything out and think.

Beca pulled out her phone and unlocked the screen, navigating her way to her messaging app and stared at Chloe's text, chewing anxiously on the corner of her thumb. She knew she needed to say something. She had promised. Literally anything would be enough. However, even after over ten hours of obsessing and deliberating over it, she was 100%, absolutely and completely drawing a blank.

She had been staring at the phone for almost five minutes when she realized how ridiculous she was being and started to laugh. Holy crap this was stupid. It's just a text. She could reply to a fucking text. Nothing bad was going to happen. Sucking in a breath, Beca held it as she clicked on the offending message and opened the chat box, her thumbs hovering over the screen for almost as long as it took for her to need air before she exhaled in a rush and -fuck it- typed something out and fired it off.

Almost immediately, Beca could see the little dots showing that Chloe was already typing something back. Beca tried to tell her heart to shut up, but it sped up anyways, racing ahead as though it were approaching a finish line.

Chloe (10:13 p.m.)

Seriously?

Beca frowned. That's… not exactly what she had been expecting.

Beca (10:14 p.m.)

?

Chloe (10:14 p.m.)

Ditto?

Beca (10:14 p.m.)

Ya?

Beca was confused. Chloe wasn't texting her back, and she was very confused.

Beca (10:16 p.m.)

Like, I feel the same

Beca (10:17 p.m.)

or whatever

Beca finally saw the little dots dance on the screen again, but the moment stretched for an impossibly long time and she began to legitimately fear the novel Chloe must have been composing. She remembered the texts Chloe was capable of sending. She remembered how Chloe thought it perfectly reasonable to send extensive essays narrating whatever funny thing had happened in class. Or going on an impressively spectacular rant about whatever latest social issue had sparked her passion. Whatever it was she was concocting, Beca wasn't ready. She wasn't ready for this. She wasn't ready for any of this. What if Chloe was bringing everything up again? What if she wanted to get everything out in the open so they could hash everything out? What if she was mad? What if she had changed her mind? What if she had decided she had made a mistake and the reason she had taken three weeks to text her was because she didn't actually want to try and be friends again and-

The phone in her hand abruptly came to life, buzzing in an abrasive and grating sound that made her jump as it pierced the stillness of the night. However, it wasn't a text. Chloe was calling her.

Beca stared stupidly at the screen, letting it ring three and a half times before she finally accepted the call, bringing the phone up to her ear with a shaking hand.

"Um. Hello?"

"Ditto, Beca?"

"...What?"

"Did you seriously just use 'ditto' with me?" "I was-" "After all this time?"

Beca's heart was out of control. Like, just-ran-a-marathon-and-was-about-to-give-out kind of out of control. "I was just telling you I felt the-"

"Oh my god, you're such a dork". Beca cut herself off when she heard a laugh filter through the speakers.

OK. This is what had turned her into such a nervous wreck throughout the day? Beca had been on the verge of a panic attack all day for this?! Beca was irritated. She was irritated at herself and irritated at her phone and at Jesse (This was still his fault) and at Chloe and irritated at this whole situation.

"Ok. I'm gunna go now-"

"No! Wait. I'm-" more laughter "I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself"

Beca frowned down at her phone. She couldn't tell if she was angry or relieved. It was confusing and she was angry but she was also kind of relieved and her heart was still pounding and she didn't really know what any of this meant but she didn't like it.

"You're kind of a jerk. You know that?"

Chloe was still laughing, but then Beca realized it was in that weird way she had of not making Beca feel particularly self conscious or bad. It was like a freakish mutant power of hers. Chloe was literally the only person that Beca knew that could laugh at someone at make them feel totally fine about it in the process.

"No I'm not."

Chloe was still laughing and Beca honestly tried her hardest not to smile at the sound of Chloe's giggles coming through the speakers. Everything was so much easier when she was angry. She really really tried.

"You kinda are"

But this was Chloe, and her laugh had always been the most infectious sound she had ever heard.

"Liar"

Beca wanted to argue, but she knew that if she so much as tried to speak, Chloe would be able to hear the smile in her voice, and she didn't want to encourage her. So she just stood there, mouth awkwardly pinched against the expression fighting to take hold, fidgeting a little against the wall and feeling a little overwhelmed and raw at the reality of the situation as it rushed over her in a sudden wave. She was on the phone. With Chloe Beale. They were talking again. And poor jokes aside, it actually wasn't as life threateningly horrible she had originally assumed it would be. The silence that settled over the moment was drastically different than any they had shared at the reunion, the edges soft and almost comfortable.

"Hey", Chloe finally coo'ed, her voice sweet and gentle, as if she too were aware that they were sharing a rather precious moment that she didn't really want to break.

"Hey", Beca replied, the word coming out a little rough at the raw emotion flooding her chest.

"You answered"

Beca's smile dropped in a wave of guilt and she sucked in a breath, reaching up to scratch at her eyebrow with a hand she had tucked into her sleeves. "Yeah. I know it's late but I was super busy all day with meetings and-"

"I meant your phone. Just now"

"Oh. Well…" She honestly didn't know how she had originally planned to finish the sentence, so Beca kind of just let it die, however the silence only just started to stretch when her curiosity got the better of her. "Why did-" Beca had to clear her throat against the frog that had materialized and made the space its home. "Why did you call?"

"Honestly?"

"...Yeah?"

Beca could hear Chloe take a deep breath. "I kind of just... I wanted to get it over with"

Ooooook? What the hell did that mean?

"Get it over with?"

"Well…" Chloe paused. Beca tried not to hold her breath. Chloe paused and Beca tried not to hold her breath, because she was pretty sure she was on the verge of an anxiety attack; Because it felt like her entire existence relied entirely on the next few words to come out of Chloe's mouth and she didn't have the faintest clue what she was about to say. "Ugh. OK. So the reunion was kinda tense. And I figured all of our milestone in this 'do-over' were probably going to be the same. So I decided I might as well just get the first call out of the way so it wouldn't feel so weird later, you know? And if we have the call out of the way then texting will probably not be so bad either because it definitely feels kind of weird right now, right? And I really just want us to be able to push through this awkward stage as quickly as possible so we can just get back to how it used to be. Does that make sense?"

Beca blinked, struggling to comprehend the wall of words that Chloe had just unleashed. Her mind had gone a little blank, but she latched onto the first thing that she was fairly certain she understood in all that, and that was that Chloe wasn't mad, and wasn't going to bring anything up, and didn't regret suggesting the do-over, so maybe it was ok for her to stop feeling a little bit like she was about to die. Her heart was still racing in her chest, but Beca tried to force it to just shut up and listen for a change and calm the fuck down.

"You seem to have put a lot of thought into this"

"Maybe." Chloe said softly, and Beca could hear the sheepish smile in her voice. "What are you doing?"

Beca scolded her racing heart one last time, then leaned her head back, letting herself slide down the wall until she reached the cold concrete, her knees pulled into her chest. Her legs were still feeling a little shaky from the emotional rollercoaster of the past 5 minutes, so sitting seemed like a really good idea. "I'm outside. I have a balcony"

"Aren't you cold?"

Beca's body chose that exact moment to contract on a shiver, so she wrapped her free arm around her torso, tucking herself a little tighter against the wall.

"It's not so bad. What about you?"

"Am I cold?"

"No. Like…" Beca rolled her eyes. "What are you doing? It's kind of late."

"Oh. Graveyard shift."

"Ah. That's right. At the…" Beca thought back to the reunion, playing through their every interaction for what felt like the thousandth time. "The clinic, right?"

"That's right", Chloe said using her smile voice again. "What about you? Do you have work tomorrow?"

OK. This wasn't so bad. They were just talking. And it was easy. Just easy talking. Easy talking with Chloe.

"I do, but the boss usually doesn't show up until 10:30 at the earliest, so I'm usually fine not getting there until around 10. Sometimes he keeps us pretty late though."

"Hmm. Well, I won't keep you long. I just wanted to-" Chloe cut herself off, and Beca heard her smile fade. Ok, but seriously. It was weird that she could tell when Chloe was or wasn't smiling over the phone, right?

"Did I lose you?"

"No. I'm still here"

"What were you going to say?"

"It's kinda dumb Becs. You don't wanna hear it"

Except she kinda sorta definitely really needed to.

"It's ok. You can tell me."

Chloe was quiet for so long, Beca actually pulled the phone away from her ear to make sure she hadn't dropped the call.

"Chlo?"

"I just… I just wanted to hear your voice."

"Oh."

"I know it's dumb. It's just been-"

"No it's ok. I…" Beca scratched her ear, scrunching her nose and laughing a little bitterly at the sudden re-emergence of nerves fluttering around her stomach. "Ditto"

Chloe's smile was back. She could practically hear it. Beca could picture her in her mind, smile wide around clenched teeth as she tried not to laugh. Not laugh in a mean way. Beca just knew that Chloe sometimes laughed when she was exceptionally happy or particularly excited about something.

(Or when she was upset, or angry or confused or frustrated... OK. She laughed a lot. The trick was being able to tell the difference.)

(This would definitely be a happy laugh.)

There was a strange feeling in her chest, as though a balloon were expanding but didn't really have anywhere to go. "I should… I should probably get going, though. I do need to get some sleep"

"Yeah... Ok yeah. It's definitely kinda late". Except it was only 10:48 p.m. and they both knew that Beca had much more nocturnal habits than would warrant going to sleep any time before midnight.

"Did it work though?"

"Did what work?"

"Can I text you again and it not make you freak out all day before getting back to me?"

Beca felt her cheeks heat in a blush. "Hey! That's not… I didn't-"

"It's ok Becs." Chloe cut her off, her tone almost unbearably soft and gentle. "It took me over three weeks to text you in the first place. I'm not upset."

"You-" There was no way Chloe was freaking out about this as much as Beca was. Not a chance. "It did?"

Unless there was an audience involved or competition on the line, Chloe didn't do 'freak outs'. Chloe was fearless. She had nerves of steel. She was- "Yeah. I was really nervous"- apparently really nervous. Huh.

"Oh"

"It was worth it though. It was... really nice talking to you."

Knowing she wasn't the only one struggling with this whole situation immediately made Beca feel 100% less like an idiot and calmed her down better than any of her previous (admittedly poor) pep talks. If Chloe was nervous, then it wasn't weird that Beca was nervous. If it wasn't weird to be nervous, then she wasn't over reacting. If she wasn't over reacting, then everything she was feeling was totally ok and normal. The thought was ridiculously comforting.

"It… wasn't terrible"

Chloe's eye roll was so impressive, Beca could actually hear it over the phone. "You're terrible".

Beca snorted, only half heartedly fighting off the smile that was trying to stretch its way across her face.

"I'm really glad you answered"

Beca's revelation gave her a surge of bravery, and she didn't even hesitate to reply. "I told you I would"

"I know. I'm just… I'm really glad"

Neither of them said anything for a bit, and Beca started to feel the nerves in her stomach start to kick up again. She felt like she should probably say something; maybe affirm that she was glad Chloe had called, or something else equally reassuring. But she honestly didn't really know how she felt about this whole situation, and Chloe would be able to tell if anything coming out of her mouth wasn't entirely genuine.

"Right. OK. I'm gunna let you go now."

Beca bit her lip, feeling a strange mixture of gratitude and reluctance swirling in her chest, equal parts grateful that Chloe was giving her an out and sad that it was so obviously needed.

"Yeah. Ok. Well enjoy the rest of your shift"

"I will. Goodnight Beca"

Beca tightened her fist around the phone, feeling an unexpected rush of emotion at the delicate and reverent way Chloe spoke her name, sparking echoes of an old but familiar feeling of safety and warmth to radiate through her body.

"Goodnight"

At the mutual silence, Beca found herself holding her breath. She didn't really know if she was supposed to hang up first or not, so she just... sat there and held her breath. Maybe Chloe was feeling the same way, because there was definitely a noticeable pause before the subtle change of sound quality indicated she had disconnect the call.

The phone line going dead was like a trigger for time to start back up, the faint ambient sounds of the streets and city and life picking up and resuming around her. It was cold, but Beca didn't move. She wasn't quite ready to leave yet; Wasn't ready to completely release her hold on the moment that she had just experienced. So she sat there for a while, just… absorbing. She knew what that phone call meant; the doors that were just opened. What was strange, was how calm and OK she felt about it all. This was the person she had spent a year avoiding like the plague. Not just the physical presence of her… literally everything about her; everything that even reminded Beca of her. But she was back now. Beca tried to remember why it had felt so important to stay away, but she was having a hard time really remembering all the specifics right then. Sure, they had history, and yeah, neither of them seemed like they were willing or able to bring anything up anytime soon, so of course, everything would definitely be a little awkward, but... Overall it was just… Chloe. It was nice hearing her voice again; just sharing a space with her that wasn't crowded with the choking presence of a group of big personalities; just the two of them. Beca missed this. All of it; The bad jokes and the teasing and the supernatural run on sentences and the feeling of home.

She missed Chloe.

They started off small. For the first couple weeks, it was just a small spattering of texting conversations here and there. Long enough for the shock of it to wear off and for Beca's heart to stop lodging itself in her throat whenever she saw Chloe's name flash on her screen. The messages were always meaningless. Always full of jokes and small talk that didn't annoy Beca nearly as much as it would have had it been literally anyone else. Always initiated by Chloe.

When they finally did talk on the phone again, it was Beca who made the first move, and it was entirely on accident.

It had been nearly three months since the reunion and she was working on a side project on one of her days off. Since she was only an assistant producer at her work, she still wasn't really getting to make her own music yet, so she generally was always working on something at home. (Just for sanity's sake.)

For the most part, she was usually able to record or create all her own samples, but that afternoon she was getting increasingly frustrated, because there was something just not right about her mix. Vocals. It needed more vocals. And not the high and clear kind that was the only way she really knew how to sing. She needed something more rough and soulful. Beca absently grabbed her phone, only half paying attention as she navigated through her contacts list and pressed send, her other hand flying over the controls of her mixing board as she continued to adjust and tweak the beat.

She tucked the phone between her ear and shoulder while it rang, reaching up to grab her headphones from where they were hanging around her neck. She was in the process of slipping them up and over her head when the line finally picked up.

"Beca?"

What the fuck? Beca's hand slipped from her headphones, causing the tension of the band to snap shut and smack her in the face. Beca almost dropped her phone, scrambling for greater purchase so she could get a look at the screen before jamming it back up against her cheek.

"Um. Hi! Hey!"

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah… Yeah. Everything's fine. I'm… Hi!"

"Are you sure you're ok? You sound a little-"

"Me? Yeah! I'm grool- er. Crate." fuck "I'm great!" Seriously Beca? "How are you?"

Beca shut her eyes and scrunched her face, tapping her forehead a little harder than she meant with her fist. Grool? Crate?! She kind of felt like she wanted to die.

Chloe laughed.

"You didn't mean to call me, did you?"

How did she do that?!

"What? No I-"

"Beca"

Beca exhaled in a rush, and grimaced. "...Ok. Fine. Maybe I thought I was calling CR."

A flash of anxiety zipped up her spine as she realized here was a very good chance that Chloe may get offended or become upset. The idea was, quite frankly, horrifying, "Oh! You working on something that needs her vocals?" -and apparently entirely unwarranted.

Seriously though. How did she just know these things?

"I… yeah. Actually. I'm a little stuck on it."

"Hmmm"

Beca's mind raced, looking for a way to salvage the incredibly awkward situation. "Do you… do you want to hear it?"

"That's a monumentally stupid question Beca. Of course I'd like to hear it."

"Right." Ok yeah. That was a kind of a dumb question. To say Chloe had been obsessed with her music back in college would honestly be an understatement. "Um… OK. One sec."

Beca tucked her phone back between her ear and shoulder and clicked through the controls until she was compressing the file and exporting it into her iTunes folder.

"You still have your old email?"

"Sure"

Beca snorted. "Really? Like… You haven't made a new one yet?"

Chloe laughed. "Why? What's wrong with Acapitch89?"

"You want a list?"

"Ooh! I just got it. K. Hold on one sec. I need to get my headphones."

"Right now? You don't need to… You aren't busy or anything?"

Chloe scoffed, the sound very clearly expressing annoyed indignation. "Too busy to hear a Mitchell original mid mix? It'll be a flat day on broadway before I'm too busy for this, Beca"

"Oh. Well if you're su-"

"Shhh. I'm listening"

Beca rolled her eyes, bouncing her leg nervously from her cross-legged spot on her bed, chewing anxiously on the corner of her thumb. She could hear Chloe's breathing; hear the way her breath occasionally caught in her throat and exhaled in a rush; Hear all the things that had made Chloe her single favorite person to share her work with back in college. She got music. She got it on the same level Beca got it. She appreciated it and respected it and always seemed to understand whatever it was Beca was trying to say.

It was the full 3 minutes and 16 seconds before Chloe exhaled, a little louder than before, and the sound quality of the call shifted as she unplugged her headphones.

"Beca…"

Chloe's voice was too soft; too reverent, and nerves exploded in Beca's stomach.

"It's still a little rough, and it definitely ne-"

"Beca"

"-eeds those vocals, but I'm pretty sure that once I add in some-"

"Beca!"

"...Yeah?"

"You are insanely talented. You know that, right?"

Why was she blushing?! "Dude… it's-"

"But yes. I can see what you mean. It's missing something."

Beca breathed a sigh of relief, extremely grateful to be back on more comfortable ground. Beca knew her music was good. People told her her music was good all the time. But hearing it from Chloe had always made her feel a little nervous and weird about it because the praise always seemed to hit a little harder and closer to home. Beca really didn't know if she was annoyed or grateful that so little had clearly changed over the past year and a half.

"Right? I'm thinking I wanna see if CR will sing some runs for me to replace the piano lick at the top"

"Hmm. Yeah. You could also maybe try pulling back on the mids a little as it ramps up so everything's a bit more transparent before you drop into the chorus"

"That's…" Beca frowned as she thought about it. "actually a really good idea. I'll have to try that."

That was another thing she always loved about showing Chloe her stuff. She always had really good suggestions and ideas. Most people would just blabber about how good it sounded. Chloe was the only one who seemed to understand that she valued constructive criticism above blanket praise.

"You'll let me hear it again once it's finished?"

"Yeah. I'll send it over."

"K. Good. But I actually have to go now. There are a couple people waiting in the reception area, and my boss is starting to give me dirty looks."

"You're at work right now?!"

Just then, Beca heard the sound of a disapproving and exasperated voice in the background. Chloe must have pulled the phone away from her mouth and covered it, because the "I'm coming" she yelled out sounded muffled and far away.

"Yeah. It's normally not a problem, but we just got a random rush"

"Dude I can't believe you answered the phone while you were at work"

The voice in the background filtered through the speakers again and Beca winced.

"Ok. I really gotta go Becs. I'll call you when I get off, K? Bye!"

"OkBye" Beca tried to rush out, but the phone had already gone dead.

Beca slowly lowered her phone from her ear and took a deep breath. She felt kinda like she had just run a marathon.

Shaking her head to clear the fog, she successfully pulled her headphones back over her ears and pressed play on the mix, and yep. She could hear exactly what Chloe had been talking about. She spared a glance at her phone. She really did still want those vocals in there and needed to call CR sooner rather than later but… Well... She wanted to try this first. Chloe's suggestions had never steered her wrong before.

Chloe did call her back. At almost exactly 7:30 PM, Beca's phone buzzed and since she knew it was coming, she was mostly prepared. Also, they had been texting so regularly by this point that Beca was actually pretty proud of herself for the way her heart only raced a little; her stomach only fluttered a little when she saw Chloe's name pop up on her caller ID.

"Hey"

"Hi! I'm sorry I had to get off the phone so quickly"

"No it's ok. Did you get in trouble?"

"Nah. Everyone at the clinic knows about the situation, so they were cool about it. It was mostly just bad timing"

Beca's body went still, a tendril of unease trying to sneak around her defenses and cloud her mind. "The situation?"

"Oh! Yeah. Like… about us?"

Beca's heart hiccuped a little in her chest, valiantly fighting to keep her mind from thinking back to the thing-that-shall-not-be-mentioned. "What did you tell them?"

"Not much. Just that I had a best friend in college and we lost touch but we're in the process of reconnecting"

"Oh." Beca felt her bravado slip a little further, her stomach clenching in a sudden rush of anxiety. Chloe could either tell or was feeling it herself because she swiftly pushed on, steering them blessedly away from potentially turbulent waters.

"So how's the mix coming along?"

Beca let out a breath she hadn't realized she was even holding, beyond grateful for the subject change.

"Um. It's good actually. I tried your suggestion and it definitely helped. It's still a work in progress though. I ended up calling CR, and we're gunna meet up next week so she can record what I need."

"Well I look forward to hearing it when you're done. I really miss getting to hear your stuff"

Beca smirked, thinking about Chloe's earlier eagerness, the final traces of trepidation fading at the memory. "I could tell"

"Oh shush. You know I'm a sucker for your killer beats"

"Don't be a dweeb"

"Whatever Beca. You know I'll always be your number one fan"

"You're making it weird. Don't make it weird"

Chloe laughed. "So how are you? Really?"

It ended up being far easier than Beca had expected. Their conversation was light and easy and it was clear that Chloe hadn't lost whatever gift it was she possessed that was able to ferret Beca out of her awkward and uncomfortable antisocial shell, because before she knew it, she was curling onto her side as she laughed, her computer and headphones long forgotten on the bed beside her. In and of itself, it really shouldn't have been as surprising as it was. While Beca generally hated talking on the phone with a pretty devout passion, Chloe had always been her exception.

So… Life went on. The regular texts from Chloe gradually evolved into semi-regular phone calls, and eventually Beca finally pushed past her own awkwardness and discomfort and started to reach out as well.

(She may or may not have worked herself nearly into an anxiety attack the first time she -intentionally- called.)

(No one was around and had to know.)

Jesse caught her on the phone with Chloe a couple times, and she would just roll her eyes at the knowing smile and twinkle in his eyes whenever he walked in on her laughing or smiling or whatever other physical representation he witnessed of her generally good mood. They didn't hang out though. It wasn't something it felt like either of them were necessarily actively avoiding. It just wasn't a subject either of them felt particularly rushed to broach. Chloe was taking the 'do-over' thing very seriously, and every little milestone they reached together was handled with the utmost care and deliberation.

All in all, Beca was happy. Really truly happy. She felt like she actually had it all. She had a great job, and a great boyfriend who was also her best friend, and Chloe, who was kind of her best friend, but also infinitely more, though she had no idea how to really explain what the hell that really meant. But it was good.

She should have known that it wasn't going to last.

Beca was just leaving work when her phone rang, a number popping up on the screen she definitely didn't recognize. After a quick panic attack and mental scan of the status of her bank account or any possible bill she may have missed, she frowned in confusion, opening her car door and dropping her bag inside as she answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello, I'm looking for Beca Mitchell?"

Beca frowned and took another look at her phone. Nope. She still had no idea what number that was. "You got her"

"Hello. This is Jane Crawford from CSP Music. How are you doing today?"

CSP Music. Did she work with them at some point? The name wasn't ringing any bells.

"I'm good. Thanks?"

"Great. I know this is a little unorthodox, but we actually became aware of you and your work through one of our mutual associates and we were wondering if you would be interested in coming in sometime to discuss a career opportunity."

"I… I'm sorry. Are you sure you have the right number?"

"Beca J. Mitchell? Barden University alumnus and currently employed at Residual Heat?"

"Um. Yeah. Yes. Thats me. I'm-" What was happening?! "I'm sorry. And you want to what now?"

"... To discuss a career opportunity with- I'm sorry. Is this not a good time?"

"No! No that's not-" Can she just be a fucking person? Just this once? "I'm really sorry. You just caught me off guard. So you want to-" Beca cleared her throat as it suddenly seemed to be unnaturally dry. "To meet up?"

"Yes. Now we understand that you probably feel a sense of loyalty and obligation to your current employer, but I think you may be very interested in what we have to say."

Bea closed her eyes, her thoughts racing far too fast for her to catch onto even the tail end of a single one as they flew through her brain. "Actually, can I… Can I have a little time to think about this?"

"Of course! Just give me a call whenever you have a time and date that works for you."

"It would just be a meeting, right?"

"Just a meeting. Do you need me to give you my number? It's the same one that I used to call."

"No. I… I have it."

"Excellent! Well we here at CSP very much hope to hear from you again soon."

"I…" Dude. Get your shit together. "Yeah. Ok. I-" For real though. She's going to think you're an idiot. "I will get back to you as soon as I can."

"Great! Well it was wonderful talking to you, Ms. Mitchell. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day"

"Thank you. I… Yeah. Thanks."

"Bye bye now"

Beca didn't even bother saying goodbye; just looked down at her phone in numb confusion.

What the fuck?

Before Beca could really process what she was doing, she had the phone jammed back against her ear and was anxiously jangling her keyes.

"Hey! I was just thinking about-"

"Something happened"

"Oh. Shit. Um… Was it something with Jesse? Are you ok?"

"I just got a call."

"Ok…" Beca was too busy taking deep gulps of air to elaborate and braced a stiff arm against the roof of her car. "...From who?"

"Another record company. They want to meet."

"Ok?" It was a full three seconds before Chloe managed to grasp the gravity of the situation. "OH! Oh shit!"

"Right?!"

"Well what did they say?"

"Just that." Beca swallowed past the lump in her throat. Water. She needed water. "They want to meet me? Said they want to discuss a 'career opportunity'. I don't… How did they even-"

"Beca. Relax."

"Chloe, I'm freaking the fuck out!"

"I know, but hey. Breathe. This is a good thing."

Beca reached up and threaded her fingers through her hair along the top of her head, squeezing her fist until her scalp stung.

"But… What do they want?"

"Sounds like they want to discuss a career opportunity with-"

"No dude like, what does that even mean?"

"Well… if I had to guess, they probably want to offer you a job."

Beca blinked. She was honestly starting to feel a little dizzy. "But I have a job"

"Maybe they want to offer you a better job"

"Cho…" Beca squeezed her eyes tight and pulled her hand out of her hair to drag it down her face. "This is..."

"Breathe, Ok? All they want to do is talk."

She was breathing. Beca could hear herself breathing. And it was definitely much faster than her current stationary position warranted. A job? They want to offer her a job? What about her current job? And a job doing what?

"Have you ever heard of them before?"

Beca scrunched her face in thought, forcing her mind to slow down and think about the question, bracing her hand against her hip and locking her legs as they wobbled precariously under her. CSP. No. Nothing. She had definitely never heard of them. "Um. No? I don't think?"

"So maybe do some research. Find out more about who they are and if this is even something you want to look into."

"But they want to-"

"It doesn't matter what they want. This is your life and your career. Just look into it. Find out who they are. Maybe they're a crack label and not worth your time and talent. Maybe this will end up being a really great opportunity, and you can think about whatever they throw at you after you know more. But you don't have to DO anything right now. This is a good thing, Beca. A good thing"

"But I-"

"It's going to be ok Becs. Everything is ok. This is a ."

Beca closed her eyes and tried to let Chloe's words sink into her chest and work their magic on her racing heart. This is a good thing. It's going to be ok and this is a good thing. She didn't have to do anything she didn't want to. She didn't have to rush into anything. Everything is fine and this is a GOOD THING. The roar in her ears started to die down, and her pulsed slowed. The edges of her vision that had started to go a little fuzzy cleared up and suddenly she felt as though she could actually maybe breathe again. "Yeah… Yeah ok. You're right"

"Of course I'm right."

Beca rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. Her heart was still racing, and her hands were still a little shaky, but as she continued to calm down, she started to feel a little ridiculous. "Ok. I… Thanks. I was… I was kinda losing my shit there for a second"

"I could tell. Everything is going to be ok though."

"Yeah. Ok yeah. Everything is ok. This is a good thing."

"This is a good thing. Do you feel better?"

"I…" Becaa took one more deep breath. "Yeah. Ok. Yeah I'm better"

They both launched into a silence, Beca's thoughts still racing a little too fast for her to really catch up, but she was getting there. She got a call. Another record label called. Called her. Sought her out. Her. Beca J. Mitchell. Other companies knew her name and her work and were reaching out to her.

Chloe was the one to break the silence, and it sounded as though she had been holding her breath because the words came out in a tumbled rush, her tone high and repressed and choked as though barely holding on to her excitement. "Holy Shit Becs!"

"Right?!" Beca barked, the word exploding out of her in a rush, too giddy and amped to do anything but yell.

"Beca! I'm so proud of you. This is… This is amazing! You're amazing!"

"Dude. I'm still… I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it."

Chloe laughed, her excitement making it sound almost unnaturally bright and immediately brought a smile to Beca's lips. "I'm not. I'm just one day closer to when I get to use you as a name drop."

"Oh my god Chlo. That's-"

"No really! It's going to be awesome. I'm gunna Kill it during those icebreaker things; where you have to go around and say something interesting about yourself? I'll be like 'Hello. My name is Chloe Beale, and my best friend is THE Beca Mitchell'."

Beca groaned, wiping a hand down her face as she choked out another helplessly giddy laugh. Chloe was being totally ridiculous, but Fuck! Another record label reached out and called her and she's pretty sure they want to offer her a job, and she already has a job, but this might be a better job, and-

The sound of a car honking made her jump and she whipped her head up, meeting the impatient glare of an angry driver through his windshield, his arm raised in exasperation as he gestured, clearly asking whether she actually had any plans on leaving anytime soon so he could have her parking spot.

"Shit. Ok. Well I gotta go. I've been standing outside my car for like 20 minutes now, and people are starting to give me weird looks."

"Okok. You'll keep me updated on all this, right?"

"Yes"

"And you'll look more into everything and let me know what you find out?"

"I will"

Beca glared when the driver honked again, clenching her fist against the urge to flip him off.

"Thank you for sharing this with me Beca. This really is super exciting"

"Yeah. I… You're welcome."

"K. I'll talk to you later"

"Thank you." Beca rushed out. "For..."

For a second, she thought she was too late, and Chloe had already hung up. But then she heard Chloe's smile filtering through the line, and was helpless against the way her face stretched and pulled, her own smile so wide it almost hurt.

"Any time Becs."