You've got a hold on me
‘You know, you’re allowed to wallow but there is a thing called ‘too much wallowing’.’ Stacie told Beca helpfully.
‘I’m not wallowing.’ She shrugged, pushing her headphones off of her ears so they rested around her neck.
The taller brunette rolled her eyes. ‘It’s been 3 weeks. Have you two spoken alone since?’
Beca shook her head, not looking up. Her and Chloe had hung out together but with the rest of the girls, they hadn’t spoken properly for a while, not like they used to.
‘Right. Well, you’re coming out with us tonight. Karaoke.’
‘Nuh uh.’
‘Chloe’s coming. Get dressed dork.’ Stacie threw a pillow at her, resulting in getting flipped off immediately.
Later that evening, Amy came into their room, checking Beca was ready.
‘Come on shortstack, we’re going.’ She threw her hands up in the air.
The brunette rolled her eyes and forced herself to leave the room, going downstairs to meet the others.
‘Let’s do this.’ She mumbled, noticing Chloe wasn’t here yet. Probably because she had been staying with Tom, or Aubrey? Not 100% certain, and she definitely didn’t want to think about it.
They found Chloe at the karaoke bar, buying a drink.
‘Hey.’ Beca greeted quietly.
Chloe smiled instantly, turning to look at the brunette. ‘Hey. You ready? I signed you up for after Stacie, and Amy.’
‘Oh wow.’ Beca chuckled. ‘How can I even top that that?’
‘You’ll find a way.’ Chloe grinned.
Beca shook her head in amusement and exasperation, turning back to the bar to grab a drink and join the girls at their table.
The two girls had made it back to the table to see the tail end of Amy’s rendition of a Justin Bieber song.
They clapped, as Amy left the stage with a ‘crushed it’, and let Stacie get on stage to sing ‘Freak like Me’.
‘I suppose I should go pick a song.’ Beca pushed herself out of her seat, going over to the Ipad connected to the karaoke machine where Aubrey was stood.
‘You and Chloe are getting along nicely…’ Aubrey said cautiously.
Beca nodded slowly, glancing over her shoulder at the redhead. ‘Erm, I guess?’
‘Look, just don’t start jumping into things if you’re not going to-‘
‘Wait what?’ Beca looked at her in complete confusion.
‘She didn’t tell you?’ Aubrey bit her lip. ‘Look, don’t worry. Forget what I said.’
The brunette stopped her from walking away. ‘No, what didn’t she tell me?’
‘I broke it off with Tom.’ Chloe appeared next to Beca.
‘Chlo. I-I’m sorry…’ Beca sighed, biting her lip hard enough that it hurt.
Chloe shook her head, and put a small smile on her face. ‘Beca-‘
‘Becs, your turn. Get up there.’ Stacie thrusted the mic into her hand, and pushed her towards the stage.
‘You've got a hold of me
Don't even know your power
I stand a hundred feet
But I fall when I'm around you’ Beca sang, looking straight ahead of her.
It took Chloe a moment to realise what the song was, but once she had, her heart kind of got caught in her throat.
‘Please have mercy on me
Take it easy on my heart
Even though you don't mean to hurt me
You keep tearing me apart
Would you please have mercy on me
I'm a puppet on your strings’ Beca was now looking Chloe straight in the eyes, confidence building as she sang.
The redhead listened to the lyrics being sung at her. She was going to tell her, she was. But she’s scared. What does that mean for her and Beca? They’ve never had good timing, and now they were both here, they both had feelings.
And, well, feelings are dangerous.
Her focus went back on Beca, who was still singing the song, with more emotion than when she first started.
‘Consuming all the air inside my lungs
Ripping all the skin from off my bones
I'm prepared to sacrifice my life
I would gladly do it twice
Consuming all the air inside my lungs
Ripping all the skin from off my bones
I'm prepared to sacrifice my life
I would gladly do it twice’ Beca gripped the microphone, feeling like she was singing for her life. And maybe she was.
The DJ carried on singing, watching Chloe from the stage, wondering why she thought this was a good idea.
She was out of breath, and emotionally drained after the song finished, ignoring the applause as she left the stage and walked towards the redhead.
‘Chlo-‘ Beca started.