Authors Note: This is the final chapter! Sorry it took me so long guys!

This story was really different for me and maybe wasn't my best work but it was fun!

So yes, Beca is on her way to Barden. I'm going do my best though to skip over the parts we already know. No need to replay them yet again!

Hope you guys liked this story! Come track me down on Tumblr or Twitter under the name ioliviajanae!

Chapter Seven:

"Mom?" Beca croaked and then frowned, her hand going from her aching forehead to her throat. "Mom, what are -"

"Beca, oh my god!" Her mother swarmed at her bringing with her a haze of bad perfume and too much makeup as she softly patted every part of her looking for an injury, "Did you fall? Beca, how many times have I told you not to use that chair? Are you hurt? Tell me what hurts, baby!"

Beca cleared her throat. It was overly dry and uncomfortable like she hadn't used it in days. That didn't make any sense. "Mom, can I have a cup of water?"

"Of course, sweetie."

Carefully, because her entire body hurt like freaking hell, she scooted back so she could lean against the counter. She groaned as her head gave a particularly hard throb, letting her eyes close for just a minute.

"DON'T GO TO SLEEP!"

Beca jumped, "I wasn't going to! Shit!" She snapped back, a little overly surly.

There was silence for a few moments before her mother said, "Well. Okay." She dropped back down in front of Beca, smoothing back her hair to look at the spot she hit, "It doesn't look so bad. And don't say 'shit'."

Beca pulled away, wincing, "It's fine. I'm fine." She took another sip of the water and felt a little better, "What are you doing here?" Hadn't her mother been on her way to meet Rudy? She squinted her eyes, trying to remember. It all felt like it was so long ago.

Her mother frowned, her eyes anxious, "I don't know, Beca, I don't know. I got to Rudy's and I got this really funny feeling like I needed to come home or something. I just, I realized that this is your last night here." Startled, Beca just blinked at her, "My little girl's all grown up." Her mother gave her knee a pat, "So I came back home to take you to the movie or, I don't know, whatever you would like to do, penguin."

Beca frowned. She was feeling a bit disoriented and dizzy but she didn't really think that was from the fall.

She had realized that this was her last night in Shermer? That wasn't exactly new information, was it? She winced as her head gave another particularly painful throb and she groaned, rubbing her temples. She needed a minute to herself, she needed to think. "Uh, Mom? Do you think that you can go get me a hoodie? I'm cold."

"Oh." Her mother nodded and with another glance at the newly forming bruise she rose and clacked out of the room.

Beca's head dropped back to the cupboards behind her, feeling too heavy.

So she had woken up then.

She had known that she was going to. Red had told her she would. Red had even told her that they were running out of time.

She took a deep breath and tried to steady her heartbeat.

Why hadn't she told her how little freaking time they had left? Why hadn't she let her at least say goodbye?

It was over.

Whatever that thing was, whatever weird dream I-hit-my-head-Alice-In-Wonderland thing she had been doing - was over now.

Beca reached for the hurt, for the depression and pain, knowing that it was there and that she only had a minute before her mom came back. She was ready to drown in it. She was ready to be miserable.

But Beca was surprised to find that she was sad, yeah, but she wasn't devastated.

She felt...different now.

Was that weird?

She felt...she didn't know...

And as weird as it was, she really did feel different than she had when she had climbed up on that chair to get that Twinkie.

Red had changed her.

And now...she was almost excited to get to Barden.

And she was….grateful.

She smiled - actually smiled as her mom came back in, sans heels and with her fluffy hair pulled back, holding Beca's favorite hoodie.

"Thanks." She pulled it on and glanced at the clock. It was still early-ish in the evening. Which was weird. It was so weird to think that no time had passed. She still had to go to bed in a bit...she still would wake up and get on a plane and go to school.

Nothing had changed while everything had changed.

"Come on." Her mother frowned, "Let's get you to the couch."

Her mom had insisted on helping her up which Beca hadn't really wanted, torn between the mother she had known and the other she had met in her weird dream thing. Her usual mother wouldn't exactly be this helpful - so she didn't know how to react. She settled for heavy snark but also let her help. She didn't want to go to the couch, however, so instead her mother had brought over the traitorous chair and they had stayed in the kitchen while her mother cooked something, both a little uncomfortable with this decided comradery. It wasn't really them anymore.

Once the food was eaten they had made their way upstairs, her mother insisting on following her in case Beca needed anything and they had ended up going over Beca's packed things, double checking that it was ready. As it turned out, her mother had been able to point out a few things that she hadn't thought to pack and had even told Beca a few stories of her college days that Beca hadn't heard.

It had been kind of great.

They argued a little bit later in the evening. Her mother wasn't so sure that Beca should be allowed to go to bed that night.

"What if you wake up dead, Beca? What then?"

Which had made Beca purse her lips and promise that if she woke up dead she would be sure to let her mother know that she had been right.

Eventually Beca won the argument though, because sleeping had to happen and she was able to head to bed. It had been a relief. She had her fill and now she needed some time away from her mom. She appreciated that she had come home to spend time with her and everything; she couldn't remember the last time that had happened. The problem was that Beca just needed a few minutes alone.

Beca stayed up late into the evening that night, thinking. She felt weird now. How did you just go back to life like normal after something like that? Had any of it even been real or was it some kind of crazy dream? It had to be a dream. Right? It didn't make sense for it to be anything else. Plus, Red kept talking about Beca 'waking up', right? So...

What did she do with that?

Still, a little voice in the back of her head kept insisting that she was wrong and that while she couldn't explain it, the whole thing had happened.

She didn't know and she hated that fact.

Red had defended her, had kissed her, had told her that she was beautiful and that she was worth something.

She didn't know if it was real or not.

Either way, she did feel different.

And she kind of liked it.

The next morning Beca woke with the obnoxious sound of her alarm. Still groggy, he touched her head, wincing, but the pills her mother had given her the night before had really helped. It wasn't so bad. She had just a moment to think, a fleeting impression of piercing blue eyes passed through her mind and then they were gone, replaced with other thoughts.

SHIT! SHE HAD TO GO!

"MAAAM!" Beca yelled, throwing off the blankets as one. There wasn't a lot of need to hurry. She had woken up at the right time. Everything was packed. She was good. She was ready. Still when Beca jumped out of bed she was in a blind panic, sure that she had forgotten everything she needed, that the car would break down on the way, that the plane would fall out of the sky...basically sure that everything would turn out horribly. Her luck hadn't changed that much.

"MAM!" She bellowed, running past the door to her mom's room, toothbrush in hand. "WE HAVE TO GO! MAM!" Shit, she wasn't there. Just like before, she wasn't fucking-

"I know, I know, Beca! You don't have to shout!"

Beca stopped, her toothbrush sticking out of the corner of her mouth, "Uh, what's this?"

Her mother was standing beside her bed, a few sweaters in hand and a duffle bag open on her bed.

"Um, Mom?"

"Oh," her mother turned and smiled at her, "do you think I'll really need this much stuff?"

"For what...exactly?"

Her mom let out a long sigh and sat down on the bed, "I don't know Beca, I just can't let you go alone."

"What?" She cried, "Of course you can! Nononono,Mom, you can, you really can!" Flashes of the scene she would probably be seeing if her mother came with her all hit at once and she frowned. She couldn't even imagine how much fighting there would be if her mom just showed up in Georgia with her. She was picturing campus security pulling her mother off campus, she was picturing people standing around and laughing, she was picturing her whole college reputation up in smoke all in one first day swoop. "I'm good, mom, I'm good. You don't need to come with me!"

"Beca, you're my only daughter and you're going off to school. It was stupid that I wasn't thinking about it before but I can't miss this, sugarplum."

Beca's stomach was significantly less steady after that.

Should she call and warn her dad? She hadn't even planned on seeing him that day if she could avoid it. Knowing him, he would know the moment she was on campus but it was her personal mission to avoid him for at least a week.

No way that her Mom would let her do that.

This was a fight that she couldn't win, however. Her mother had bought herself a ticket the night before and there was no going back...apparently. So Beca just ground her teeth and finished up her packing.

The airport was hectic and didn't really help her grumbling panic.

Nor did the fact that her mother somehow got the window and shoved her between herself and a random man who snored and smelled bad.

But whatever, she was on her way.

Holy shit, she was finally leaving for Barden.

She thought of Red as she tried to find a comfortable position, of everything she had told her about school, of all of the things she had hinted at. If Red had been telling the truth then she was on her way to a whole different life - friends, new passions and maybe even the love of her life? She didn't know but she was so excited...and scared.

What if she messed it up?

Had Red thought about that? Had Red taken her Beca-ness into account?

Probably not. Red had been a total freak who actually liked her. Which had probably been the weirdest thing about her creation.

The flight landed and she and her mother grabbed their stuff and a Taxi, Beca holding close to her laptop. She really didn't think she could afford to replace it if it got messed up now.

They found Baker Hall after that creepy ass girl gave her the rape whistle - something that she tried not to wonder about and then found her room.

It was fine. It was all...fine.

Her roommate clearly hated her, which, great, but her Mom helped her set her computer up as well as everything else she needed to do and it wasn't so bad. This room would be livable and her mom didn't even complain or criticize the way she was doing it.

It was kind of nice, even.

That is, until she heard a knock at the door and before he even fucking spoke she knew who it was going to be.

And she was so just not freaking ready!

"Campus police, hide your wine coolers."

She glanced over, her heart plummeting. Did he have some kind of fucking tracking device in her or something? How did he know which room she was in? Stalker much?

Ugh.

Was she really prepared to be at the same school where her father taught? Had she really thought this through?

She glanced at her Mom and saw that signature look, her lips pursed, her nose in the air.

Shit.

Shiiiiitty-shit.

She should totally tell her roommate to leave so she didn't have to be in the middle of this.

"Chris Rock, everybody," she mumbled, turning back to her equipment and praying, fucking praying that it wouldn't be too bad. Maybe she could just slip out, say she was going to the bathroom and instead run away and join the circus. She didn't really have any talents but she was small…maybe they could shoot her out of a cannon or something.

"Oh!" Her dad stopped as soon as he stepped into the room, blinking stupidly at her mother. "I didn't know you were coming."

Her mom gave a nod, "Francis. How are you?"

"Good," her dad shrugged, "It's uh, I just came back to make sure you were settling in, kiddo."

"Kiddo?"

But her dad hadn't even heard her.

"You look, you look good."

Beca blinked, staring between her parents. What?

Last time they had to speak on the phone they had ended up screaming at one another; her mom had hung up on him after calling him a cocksucker.

"You do too. How's Sheila?"

"She's doing well, thank you."

The fuck? She stared some more, remembering Red's words.

Had Red done this? No way, right? There was literally no way. That hadn't been real!

Except her dad was totally inviting her mom to join them for dinner that night and Beca - she had no fucking idea what was happening.

So did this mean it had been real then? Red and - everything? It had been real?

What the fuck was happening right now?

It was freaking her the fuck out.

"Well," her mother stood, "Kitten, I think I'll head back to my hotel and get cleaned up."

"Yes, and I had better head back to my office. I just wanted to make sure you were settled in alright."

And she...yeah, she had to get the fuck out of there because this was weirding her out. So when her new and super freaking friendly (not) roommate rolled her eyes at all of the talking going on around her and informed them that she was going to the activities fair, Beca jumped on the chance to get the fuck out of there.

They couldn't argue, right? Roommate bonding or something. That was what she was supposed to do.

Kimmy Jin showed literally no interest in having Beca tag along though and took off down the hallway at the speed of light, Beca trailing after her.

She lost her as soon as they hit the crowd and Beca, a little annoyed, started off in the opposite direction.

Clearly that was going to be a fun situation.

Whatever.

They were taking her to dinner? This was so weird.

They were going to be nice?

That had been nice - for them. Awkward yeah, but nice.

It was making her head swim.

She didn't get it.

But it was kind of...cool…

Except, as she wandered through the crowd she found herself wondering, what would this be like if Red were here?

She knew that she was headed for great new friends or whatever but she couldn't help but to miss her old friend.

She meandered through a few booths, not really paying a lot of attention as much as just wandering.

When would it happen?

Would she even notice when everything started to change like Red had hinted?

She wished she could just call her. She wished,

"Hi."

Beca jumped, glancing around. She hadn't noticed how close she had gotten to the line of booths, or that she was suddenly in talking-to range. She turned and suddenly stopped dead, her jaw falling open.

"Any interest in joining our a capella group?"

Nine…nine! Nine whole freaking months later

"Shhhhh! You're going to wake up the whole house," Chloe's huge eyes sparkled as she pulled Beca along, "and Aubrey totally flips when anyone wakes her up in the middle of the night."

Beca let out a rude snort, perhaps overcompensating with sarcasm so that it wasn't clear just how tickled she was right now. "This is me shocked." She gave Chloe a blank stare which cracked the moment that Chloe giggled into her free hand. She loved it! She loved it far too much and she suddenly felt the strange want to do something, literally anything, to keep Chloe laughing. She could stand on her head – or – she didn't know, do a tap dance. It didn't matter. She would do anything at all.

This was why Chloe was so addictive, Beca knew it, one laugh, one smile and you were willing to master any feat just to get another one.

Clearly it was going to be the same with Chloe's kisses too. She had only had one, well one kind of long one and already she was pretty sure she was willing to go back out front and try and lift Aubrey's car with her bare hands if it meant she could have another one.

"Hey!" Chloe hissed a moment too late, clearly having forgotten she was supposed to defend her best friend from Beca's sarcasm. She gave the hand that was interlocked with her own a little threatening squeeze, "Be nice." But as she said it Chloe's eyes trailed from Beca's to her lips like a caress, looking at Beca like she was her world and so, Beca wasn't too concerned with the scolding.

Beca just gave her a dry salute as a silent promise not to make fun of Aubrey anymore - which neither of them believed. She wanted to come up with something sarcastic to say or at least something witty, you know, witty and daringly charming, but she couldn't think of anything. Her lips were still a little dry from the way that Chloe had assaulted them on the cab ride back to campus and that was all she could think about. Well, that and what would happen once they got on the other side of Chloe's bedroom door.

That thought was making her hot through the cheeks as well as a little nervous.

This was a first date. What was she supposed to expect? Should she have worn sexy underwear instead of the black cotton pair she was wearing? Or like, maybe it was smarter to insist on taking it slow and just hang out and talk? Did women sneak you past their dictator of a captain to talk? Especially when said dictator had been really nice for like five minutes post I.C.C.A's and then had gone back to being a panicked jerk because she was graduating?

She didn't really know and she wished there was a way of asking that didn't sound like 'so am I about to see you naked? Because it would be really great if I am'.

Chloe glanced back at her again as she pulled her through the dark hallway of the Bellas house and up the stairs.

Beca let out a little squeak as she nearly tripped in the darkness, but before she could hit the floor Chloe gave her a yank. Beca just fell against the wall, her heart in her throat - something that only got worse when, to muffle her own laughter, Chloe pressed into Beca, burying her face in her throat.

Beca's eyes slowly rolled heavenward, silently mouthing an exaggerated, 'oh my god as she felt Chloe's whole body against hers for the first time.

This was the way to go.

Clearly.

Best friends - which they had become very quickly since their friendship had begun with nudity – best friends turned...whatever they were. This was awesome.

She grinned a little and wrapped her arms around Chloe, squeezing her just because she could now; not that she couldn't before.

She felt more than saw Chloe notice their positioning. She felt Chloe's hands wrapped in either side of Beca's lapel, pulling her into her so she could hide and she must have liked it as much as Beca did because suddenly she was placing opened mouth kisses on Beca's throat.

Beca's reaction was fast after nine months of pent up secret desire. Her fingers snaked through her hair, holding her closer, pulling her head up so she could reach for another kiss. She felt Chloe give a shutter and that was too much for Beca to deal with. She pushed her backward so that she was pressed into the banister, nearly tripping on the stairs again in her haste.

This was awesome.

She didn't know exactly why Chloe was taking her to her room or what to expect but she had a feeling that no matter what the answer was, she was about to get so much more.

"I'm so glad we're doing this, Bec," Chloe whispered, kissing her face. "This is making me really happy."

"Mmmm," was all Beca answered, catching her full lips again like someone who was starving.

It had taken Beca the entire school year to ask Chloe out; a full freaking year. And yeah, there had been a few complications. Chloe had already had a boyfriend when they met and they hadn't broken up until just before their last performance.

But really, if Beca were being honest, her hesitation had been about one thing only.

Red.

She still really missed her. How could she not when everything that Red had said was coming true? Her life was so weird now. She still wasn't sure how the hell a capella was a real thing for her now. And she was pretty sure that the girls were crazy for asking her to take over as captain after the summer break but still...life was awesome.

And Red...none of it would have happened without her. Red had basically warned her about everything.

Even Chloe.

And Chloe… If Red had been amazing then Chloe…wow…then it was like Red had been her slightly less counterpart. Chloe somehow laughed harder, sang brighter, danced more...was more….everything. She was more everything to Beca.

But the thing that had really gotten her and had kept Beca from just asking Chloe out once she knew she wanted to was Red's appearance.

Once she had gotten over her shock at seeing Chloe that first day at the fair she had laughed herself; probably making Chloe think that Beca was a total psycho.

Beca had her theories about why, as it had turned out, Red had looked like Chloe. Most of them were so hopeful and so fragile that she never wanted to say them out loud, fuck, she didn't even want to think them too openly just in case they were true…or worse they weren't.

And while she wasn't sure that she was right about the theories, she had known that whatever the reason for Red's look it was probably significant and purposeful; like change my life forever kind of significant. That fact had scared her enough to keep her romantically clear of Chloe for as long as she could manage it.

Okay so maybe she had been a little afraid too. On this side of things she was willing to admit that.

She regretted her hesitation now though.

Beca had finally asked Chloe out the week that she had realized she was now totally and completely unable to hide the fact that Chloe weirdly made her slightly sour and grumpy heart sing.

Chloe had beamed after Beca had done it. She had smiled at her in that special way that only Chloe could do and had launched herself at her, kissing her before Beca had known what was happening as though she didn't care at all that they had been standing in the middle of the quad. Which… she probably didn't.

Chloe then proceeded to give her a huge hug, promise that she would call her after class and had skipped off with a huge grin on her face as though Beca had just made her world a better place.

Beca had watched her go until she had disappeared into the arts building, her heart doing its own little dance.

Chloe. She had a date with Chloe.

Finally.

She hadn't known that her heart could feel this full. She hadn't known that she could feel that hazy and yet totally love it.

Chloe had just kissed her.

Beca remembered thinking to herself in that moment 'this is good. This is a good thing' before, grinning, she turned to leave. She had decided in that moment that whatever reason that Red had looked like Chloe...it didn't matter...Beca was willing to dive in head first. She was willing to embrace her hopes that maybe she had already met the super hot future wife that Red had been talking about…

She had pulled on her headphones and, she didn't know why, but she looked up. No one had called her name and yet she had looked up as though someone had. Beca had been so dizzy with post-Chloe giddiness, so totally stupid happy that at first she thought she had been seeing things. There, maybe ten yards away and standing under the shade of a tree had been Red.

She had been sure of it. Chloe had only just disappeared in the opposite direction and somehow, she couldn't place it, but she looked different than Chloe; somehow less real, more like a figment.

Beca had frozen in place, her eyes trained on her in disbelief. What did that mean? But as she had stared Red's arms had crossed in an entirely self-satisfied kind of way and with a wink, Red had smiled at her. Beca had just laughed, looking away for a second to gain her bearings and then when she had looked up the spot was empty.

And that had been okay.

She wasn't going to see Red again. She was sure of that. But Red, in her own way, had let her know that she was finally on the right path.

"Can I take you to my bedroom?" Chloe asked, her lips only separating from Beca's enough to whisper.

"Isn't that where were we're going?" Beca asked, her voice cracking.

"Mmm." Chloe grinned and gave Beca's bottom lip a lick, turning Beca into mush. "But sooner rather than later, maybe? The banister is starting to hurt my back."

"Oh shit!" Beca cried, a little too loud, her hand, which had somehow ended up under Chloe's shirt, moved to the spot that was pressed against the wood.

"Shhh." Chloe's hand closed on her mouth and laughing, she turned and started to pull her the rest of the way up the stairs.

"'Kay," was all Beca said in response.

"This one is mine." Chloe grinned, pushing open the door, "Up there," she pointed toward the stairs, "will be yours when you move in."

"Great." Beca grinned, not all of that focused on that right now; not when Chloe had a finger hooked under the belt that she was pulling Beca by.

"Great." Chloe grinned and then she was dragging her in and all but throwing her across the bed.

Beca let out a laugh, yelping, "Jesus, with the freaking manhandling!"

"You know you like it."

Beca just laughed because yeah she did.

"Shhhh! I don't want to get interrupted." The gingery woman hissed, kicking off her shoes and climbing over Beca, her mouth on hers before she had even settled.

"Interrupted?" Beca got out between kissed, "Interrupting what exactly?"

"Oh god, I love the way you kiss." Chloe just whimpered, pressing herself into Beca, wrapping her arms and legs around her.

"Hmmm, just wait," Beca mumbled and carefully flipped them so Chloe was on her back. She worked carefully but purposely, the way you pick at threads of stitching you want to remove; a lick here, a nibble there. She felt Chloe's hands settle on her shoulders as Beca's hand went to the thigh of the leg which was still tight around her. Slowly and deliberately her lips turned gentle, whispering over Chloe's, tenderly sucking on her bottom lip, rolling with her tongue. Chloe let out a gasp and her hands slipped from Beca's shoulders to the back of her neck and then down her back, her fingers clawing at her. Beca grinned and without thinking, simply wanting more, she dipped down and carefully sucked on that spot, that little spot just below and to the side of her bottom lip.

Chloe's reaction was a strong one. Her mouth popped open and she let out a small delicate little, "Oooh!"

Beca smirked, her grip on Chloe's thigh tightening as she did it again, loving the reaction and then just for good measure she did it again...you know...for science.

Suddenly she was on her back, Chloe's flushed face hovering just over hers, "You know what is a huge turn on for me?"

Beca smirked and leaning up caught her lip and gave the spot just below her lip a gentle bite.

Chloe's eyes rolled back and with an almost reactionary shove, she slipped her hands under Beca's shirt, her fingers kneading into her stomach. "How did you know?"

Beca just grinned, pushing Chloe back over. She chuckled, kissing her again before her hands started to move on Chloe, wanting to touch everything, to take every part of her in, "A friend taught me."