PART TWO CHAPTER FOUR

THE ONE WITH THE FRUIT LOOPS

Bumper tapped his foot nervously against the table's leg, flicking his wrist to check the time.

23:01

"Why should I be the one nervous? She's the one who wanted to meet, no? Bumper, Bumper, Bumper. You can do this. She's just a woman," he mumbled and clasped his hands together, twiddling the thumbs a little.

23:15

"Hey Luke, she's not here yet. Are you sure-"

"Wha- Hold on," Bumper continued to stare at his watch, willing the digits to jump as he waited for his roommate to head to a quieter corner. "Okay, back. It's only… 1116pm! Why are you so early?"

"Early? Aren't we supposed to meet at 11?"

"Dude. I said 12! She's still at the club now."

"… Oh."

Exasperated yet amused, Luke slid his phone back into his pocket and rubbed his face. It has been a long day and his work was still unfinished. Turning around to head back to his room (and dinner) to look through tomorrow's playlist, he almost crashed into a depressed-looking Jesse Swanson. The brunette, slouched with defeat, mumbled a soft apology and continued his way down the hall towards the bathroom, leaving a confused blonde staring after him.

Meanwhile…

Aubrey cussed as her toe stubbed against the foot of Beca's bed. The brunette was already fast asleep, snoring slightly with drool pooling on her pillow.

"How many times do I have to do this for you, Becs?" she whispered in a singsong, her arms flexed as she pulled the blankets and tucked Beca underneath. She froze when the brunette grunted at this point and turned in the bed to face the other way. Heaving a sigh of relief, Aubrey took a last gander around the room and quietly made her way out.

"Well, at least this time she could wake up to a happy ending," the blonde hummed happily to herself; her heart throbbed excitedly as a smirk made its way across her lips. She jumped a little when her phone rang, vibrating loudly against the tabletop.

['ll reach tomorrow morning. Is she okay?

"Yes, of course." She typed out, her smile freezing when she suddenly caught sight of the stacks of piano sheets on the table next to her.

"Hey you, been waiting long?" Bumper's shoulders froze at her touch; the broad blonde flashed the bartender in front of them a smile and asked coyly for a lychee martini. "Are you alright? I don't mean to be late. I was finishing up my shift back at the club."

He nodded, pushing the finished mug of beer away and finally turning to face her. His insides in disarray as he took her in – brilliant yellow hair tied up in a slack ponytail, her glossy lipstick had lost its shine, her cheeks flushed from the rushing over, her eyes still twinkling despite the long show.

"You looked perfect."

"Pardon?" He opened and closed his mouth twice, mentally kicking himself. Fat Amy giggled at his pained look, patting him softly on the shoulder, "hey, don't worry. You're not wrong. I know I look perfect – probably the best in Tasmania."

He let out an uneasy laughter, taking a quick sip at his still-empty beer mug gratefully for her quick rebound. Fat Amy winked and downed her martini, smacking her lips as she laid the empty glass down.

"That feels so good; I had the longest day ever. Gosh, my boss is the worst! Anyway," she leaned in closer," I suppose Luke's told you about my request?"

Bumper nodded, darting his eyes between the mug and Fat Amy.

"I know you don't do solo singers, but I am a very good soloist and entertainer," he nodded again, "you would not regret this."

"I won't."

"So… How about it? What can I do to make you want me?"

"Woo- Wo- Wa- Want y- y- you?"

"Yeah, as your client."

His breaths were more laborious now as the business part of his mind raced to calculate the benefits of signing Fat Amy. His income would definitely double – what with her potential to both sing and star in comedies. The emotional part of his mind however, kept pulling the reins back.

Are you sure you're signing her because of her talents? Have you forgotten what had happened 5 years ago?

He bit his lips. That was five years ago. Besides, Fat Amy was different from her, right? Bumper threw a nervous glance towards Fat Amy, gulping and darting his eyes back to his beer when he saw her staring at him, waiting for his answer.

You'll regret this. Your dad would not have signed her. He would hav-

"Okay, I'll sign you." The blonde's face lit up at his words. She grabbed him right over by the shoulders, their bodies now in arms' length away from each other.

"Really?!"

Really? Your dad wou-

"Yes, I would love to work with you."

when tomorrow comes / I'll be on my own / feeling frightened of / the things that I don't know / when tomorrow comes

"When tomorrow comes, tomorrow comes…"

She didn't need the flight attendant to remind her as she twirled the cables around her iPod and stashed it away in her bag. Sunrise in L.A. had never looked this frighteningly beautiful and the redhead wished she had returned for different reasons.

(Not this one.)

Her phone beeped with a text from Aubrey the moment captain announced that the passengers were free to alight. Looking around at the crowd rushing to get off the plane, she sighed and reclined in her seat. Her fingers trembled as they hovered over the screen, undecided.

Eyes closed and holding her breath, she quickly slid the phone unlock, cracking just a bit of her eyes to peek at the message. It looked short and there was no accompanying emoji.

(But Aubrey seldom used emoji.)

"Ugh. What are you doing, Chloe?! Man up!" She slapped her forehead and stared deliberately at the phone.

Hey, hope you've touched down. I made breakfast. She's still KO."

Luke Posen was usually smart and alert with tact. His EQ was so high, he'd know exactly what and how the person in front of him was feeling without even asking.

Not this time, he thought as he stared at the two figures with their bowls of fruit loops.

Bumper, with a messy crop of bed hair, was happily slurping the last drop of dyed milk off his bowl. Jesse on the other hand, with the carefully-styled hair, was going through the motion of swallowing his-

Luke's eyes widened at the contents in Jesse's bowl.

"Dude, is that coffee in your cereal bowl?" Jesse threw him a look before peering down at his bowl. Sure enough, the fruit loops, no longer as colorful were floating around in the dark brown liquid.

Bumper placed his bowl down and exchanged glances with Luke.

"What's up?" The former mouthed, wiping his lips with the back of his hand. Luke shrugged, his hands raised.

"Jesse?"

"Uh huh."

"Are you okay?"

"Uh huh."

"Really?"

"Uh huh."

Luke turned back to Bumper, mouthing, "Definitely a girl."

"I'm done," the brunette suddenly stood up and walked towards the sink, dumping his barely-touched bowl of coffee cereal. He then made his way back to his room, slamming the door in the process.

The two remained seated as music sounded through that closed door. Jesse's at it again, transferring whatever's bothering him into the piano. The sounds were delightful like always, but this time they seemed to highlight with a tinge of sadness and dissatisfaction.

Luke swallowed hard at the rest of his cereal and turned to Bumper who's currently glued to his phone. His fingers flying all over the screen while a smile – a very bright one that Luke hadn't seen before, made its way from ear to ear. Luke had to clear his throat a few times to get Bumper's attention. "What?"

The blonde motioned at the phone with a jut of his chin, his face expectant.

"I'm just texting."

"I can see that. The question is, with whom?"

Bumper darted his eyes between the phone and his roommate, feeling both annoyed at having his conversation interrupted and guilty for not wanting to divulge anything.

Not yet.

"Someone-"

"Special?" He shrugged, making an excuse of needing to clear his own work and made his way back to his room after dumping his bowl into the sink.

Luke groaned at the sight of the dishes, crying after the disappearing brunette, "Jerks! I'm not on dish-washing roster this we- Ugh, Bumper! What work would you have to do on a Saturday!?"

Chloe giggled as she stared at the moving shadow under the door. Aubrey was obviously nervous, pacing up and down behind the door, waiting for her. Deciding she'd enough fun, the redhead lifted her hand to the door, angled to knock when her phone started vibrating.

"Hey."

"Where are you? You have landed two hours ago! It only takes 30 minutes for you to cab back! Where are you?!" Aubrey whispered; her tone hurried.

Chloe bit down on her lip to stifle the building laughter, her hand still poised. "Are you that desperate for me?"

"Ugh." The redhead giggled and rapped on the door – which flew open almost instantly revealing an unhappy looking blonde. "You asshole."

Chloe simply smiled, flashing her teeth and quickly engulfed her best friend in a tight embrace. The week had seemed like a forever. "I miss you."

"Don't lie," the blonde teased, pushing her away and quickly grabbed her bags. "I'll settle your things. Now, go."

"What? Dressed like-" Chloe motioned at her outfit, "-this? Don't I need to at least wash up?"

"She is sleeping in her own drool and drunk sweat, you smell and look like heaven next to her. Now, go."

Beca stirred in her bed and caused the blanket to run off, exposing her face to the sunlight, "damned it, Posen. Do you always have to pull my curtains at dawn break?"

Her world spun a little as the brunette struggled to sit up, her arms stretched overhead as she let out a silent yawn. "Shouldn't have drank that much, shouldn't have drank that much," she muttered, throwing her legs over the edge of the bed.

She was rubbing the sleep off her eyes when her ears pricked and peaked at the commotion coming from the living room behind her door. Her heart started to race as she bolted out her room, apprehensive of what she's heard and wondering if it's what she thought she's heard.

It was.

Aubrey was grabbing Chloe by the shoulders and trying to get her to head towards Beca's room when she halted – her lips parted mid-conversation.

The redhead, on the other hand, was still clueless and trying to argue that she wasn't prepared and that she'd need to think through how to approach Beca when she was suddenly thrown forward, almost crashing into Aubrey.

Frozen, she peered down at the arms that were tightly wrapped around her waist; the feeling of heated breath against the back of her neck sent chills – millions of them, racing down her spine. The hair on her arms in full salute as she involuntarily melted into the backhug.

quietly hug me from behind / rest your chin on my shoulder / not too strong but softly / hug me so I can feel your warmth / like warm and comfortable clothes / you've always embraced me / you suit me better than the nice clothes displayed in the shop window / I hope I can wear you every day and spend all our time together / even on days I want to lean on you with tears, always

you cover my heart

Aubrey smiled warmly at the sight, her duty done and the burden on her heart seemingly lifted in that instance. She gently let go of Chloe's shoulders and slowly made her way to the redhead's room with her bags.

The duo didn't even seem to notice.

Hot tears continued their flow down her cheeks as she tightened her grip around the redhead. She leaned in and started to pepper her neck with light kisses. While she's doing that, she could feel her leaning back towards her even more, their bodies now flushed against each other's.

Chloe, on the other hand, had her eyes closed all this while. Holding her breath, she lifted her hands and grabbed on to the brunette's wrists, halting the kisses.

"You have to finish what you said that night."

"What?" Chloe swallowed thickly and slowly turned around so that they're facing each other – mere inches away with their eyes steeled on each other.

"You said you were over me."

"I- I-"

"Are you?"

Beca opened and closed her mouth. What did she wake up to? Was this a dream?

"Do you know what has happened to me after you done said all those things? I ran. For the first time in my life, I fled from a person. I didn't know what to do; I didn't know what I should feel. I ran back home and I had to lie to my family that I just wanted to see them when really, it was because I was so afraid. What have you done to me, Mitchell? What have you done to my heart and my mind! I thought I could, you know, get rid of these feelings- Feelings! Heck, I had to bake a freaking Alaska to realize I had those feelings too. Why, Beca, why! Why have you turned me into this… This…"

"Oh, you think you're the only one dealing with this, really? All this while I had to endure watching you bring different guys back home and then get all cozy with them. Then you'll suddenly turn and give me all these… these… warped moments where I thought I had a shot – I thought we had something special."

"We have something special!"

"No, we don't! I like you since day one, and despite having said all those that night, I am still not over you. What we have, Beale, all we have is pure friendship, okay? That's what you've shown me since the beginning and-"

"How about now? What about now?"

"What about it?"

"After all that I said? And the fact that I am here, standing right in front of you?"

"Chloe…"

"You're making me so confused, Beca. I have been straight my whole life; I had met all the Toms, Dicks and Harrys enough to know I would want to marry one. And then you turned up, turned everything around, and my straight has been preventing me from seeing that. I didn't know I was falling for you. I just thought you were special. Beca, what have you done to me?"

"I did nothing," Beca breathed out, their foreheads now leaning against each other's, tears forming wet stains against their collars, "all I did, was to fall for you."

"Well, I've fallen for you too."

"And I'm still not over you."

"Neither am I."

Beca licked her lips; her eyes roaming from those cerulean eyes down to those lush, pink lips, "and now, now I'm going to kiss you."

"… Well, you'd better."