A/N: Hey everyone! I'm so sorry for the long hiatus. School, you know? Anyway, I wanted to tell you guys that I'm discontinuing Airlines and reverting it back to its original one-shot because I don't feel any ideas coming for that anymore. However! I am still writing Checkerboard and will update it once I've finished writing it! I will also be writing more Hollstein fics (from Carmilla check it out if you haven't). Follow me on both/either my fan fiction tumblr ( xbechloex ) or my main tumblr ( letusgetonethingstraight ) for updates, lesbians, and tons of hot women. Love you awesome nerds!

She's always had a thing with animals.

It's not intentional, no; in fact, it annoys the shit out of her most of the time. There could be a turtle about four feet away, and it would see her and start walking to her. Heck, even a goldfish would turn and follow her hand across the glass. It was a cool superpower to have when she was young, but if animals randomly followed you around for 20 years, don't you thing you would be a little agitated?

Just imagine school. She walked there. Random creatures would just start following her to school, joyfully trotting along. You're probably thinking that they magically stopped at the front entrance or something, right? Wrong. Teachers and other staff would try to persuade her to "leave her pets at home." She doesn't even have any pets. Why would she, Beca "socially impaired" Mitchell, have a pet squirrel or possum? Furthermore, why would she take them to school? Did they honestly think that she believed that taking a pet squirrel to school would be the best idea in the world? In actuality, bringing a squirrel would be the worst idea in the world. The small creature jumped at every little noise, only calming down whenever she touched it.

Not that she cares or anything.

Thankfully, she's in college now, away from the hormonal teenagers calling her names like "Noah" or something less clever like "Animal Girl." Un-thankfully, the creatures have not halted their actions, but, after having a conversation with them (that was a strange day ), only very few small animals decide to take a walk with her whenever she goes outside.

She doesn't really go outside.

Today, however, is one of those very few days she does partake in the beauty and sickening brightness of the sunlight. In fact, she is not only outside, she is at a park with her younger brother, who is half her age, Timothy. He is quite short for a ten-year-old, and has the same navy eyes as his sister and mother. His chocolate hair is horribly messy and short, adding to the charm of his boyish half-smile. Additionally, he is the only one who can drag Beca out of her reclusive state, and he takes pride in that talent, using it whenever he can.

Today, apparently, was one of those times he did.

The two were walking around a large lake when she hears a noise she thought she would never have to hear ever again: the loud, excited barking of a dog. The DJ cursed under her breath, soft enough that her brother couldn't hear it. However, Tommy did hear the approaching canine and excitedly turned around to see it, pulling Beca by the hand to meet the blonde Labrador halfway. Excited squeals left the younger Mitchell's mouth as he started petting the Lab, and the dog's approving sounds did nothing but spur him on.

She couldn't help but smile at the sight before her. She had a soft spot for the kid, even if she wouldn't admit the fact aloud, and loved seeing him smile and laugh along with the dog in his arms.

"Beca, look! He wants you to pet him!" She swears he, as in the canine in front of her, is pouting at her, silently pleasing along with her older brother. They are cheek to cheek, quiet overtaking them both. She sighs in defeat, rolling her eyes as she knelt down in front of the Lab.

"Hey Buddy, what's your name?" He barks as she looks for his name tag. "Dawg? Really?" She asks him incredulously once she finds it. He tilts his head in agreement, "I'm so sorry."

"How do you do that?" She turns away from the dog and looks at her brother who is pouting again.

"Do what?"

"Talk to animals! They get you!" She laughs slightly and ruffles his hair.

"Animals understand us all the time, you just have to learn to understand them as well." He immediately brightens up and turns to the dog.

"You get me?" The Lab barked happily and licked his face, causing him to giggle.

"So where's your owner, huh?" She sits cross-legged on the ground next to the dog and looks throughout the park. Tommy follows suit. She starts to point out random strangers, asking the dog if they're his owner.

"Is it her?" She points to a young black woman with pink hair. The dog huffs through his nose. She hums.

"How about her?" She points to an older-looking brunette carrying a crying child to her car. The dog huffs.

"No again? Hm. What about that one?" A blonde man taking angrily to a phone. A huff. "Are you gonna give me any help here?" He licks her face.

"What about her?" She hears Tommy ask. She lifts her eyes toward the direction of his finger as the dog barks happily. Tommy and Dawg both stand up excitedly on opposite sides of her, but she's frozen. In front of her is a frantic-looking woman with beautiful, fiery red mane. It bounces with every move she makes. She hears the faint sound of the dog barking again, but all she sees are two piercing blue eyes that snap up at that moment, locking with hers. It isn't until she feels Tommy pulling her up that she snaps out of her reverie and stands up as well.

The woman practically runs over to them, and breathlessly thanks them. "Thank god he's okay. He doesn't usually run off like that, thanks so much." Her embarrassed smile captivates Beca in the best of ways. Beca clears her throat before answering her.

"Yeah, he seems pretty well behaved. Though I can see why he would want to wander off from an owner who named him Dawg." She laughs like she's used to hearing people comment on his name.

"Yeah, I know, it's a strange name, but it's funny I swear! Get it? Dawg? Like I can say 'What's up, Dawg?' And it would still be politically correct because it's both his name and his species!" Her contagious giggling transfers to both Tommy and Because alike, but her's stem more from the mere hilarity of the reasoning behind the name than the irony of the name itself.

The giggles die down and Beca is yet again caught in the red head's gaze, a soft smile on both of their faces.

"I'm Beca." She states, holding out her hand. The red head meets her hand with her own, a soft smile still present on her face.

"Chloe."

"Nice you meet you, Chloe." For once, she's actually, genuinely happy an animal decided to thrust itself into her life.

Maybe good things can come from a certain kind of attraction.