Chapter 2
Emily slipped from the makeshift dressing room and into the crowd. They had multiple bars and standing tables set up around the stage for the show, which the guests and performers now crowded around. Most of the guests had been from the army base, though now she noticed many were family and friends.
Emily spotted a blonde wisp of hair through the crowd, a smile growing over her lips. She pushed through the people, not bothering to apologize as she would around the Bellas, making her way to where Yelena leaned over against a table. She was talking to a woman Emily recognized as the lead singer of one of the other bands. She couldn’t quite remember the name, though she remembered it being offputting.
Yelena let the ghost of a smile slip over her lips, nothing more than when she talked to anyone, but the woman with her had a broad, cheek-to-cheek smile, laughing every so often. A pit welled in the bottom of Emily’s stomach, her eyes narrowing as the woman ushered over new drinks for the both of them. The woman leaned just an inch too close when talking to her.
She wasted no time coming up behind Yelena, wrapping her arms around the woman’s torso and resting her chin on her shoulder. The woman stopped talking mid-sentence, holding Emily’s gaze with a shocked and confused grin. Without breaking eye contact, Emily reached out, plucking the drink out of the woman’s hand and taking a long sip.
“You probably shouldn’t have any more of those anyway,” Emily said, laughing intently at her own humor. Right, that was the name of their band. “Wouldn’t want to dehydrate you out of being Evermoist.”
“And here I thought you were supposed to be the sweet one,” Calamity replied, glancing between them.
“She doesn’t ever seem to be what you expect her to be,” Yelena told her, lifting a hand to scratch the side of Emily’s head. A sense of animosity in her voice almost made Emily smile.
Calamity scoffed, crossing her arms. Luckily, she took it as her cue to leave and turned on the ball of her foot, treading back into the crowd.
Kate detangled herself from around Yelena, moving to stand where Calamity once stood and resting her arms on the table. Yelena’s finger itched forward, ghosting against the side of Kate’s hand before speaking. “Your set was decent, though I think you may have been carrying the group. It was nothing like your performance at that aquarium. See, that one I very much enjoyed.”
“I missed you.” Kate let out a breathy laugh, a tinge of pink spreading across her face.
“You make it so obvious,” Yelena muttered, Kate only barely hearing her over the music. “I can smell you.”
Kate’s breath caught in the back of her throat. But of course, Yelena would’ve smelled the perfume on her. Kate did not doubt in her mind that Yelena would have meticulously smelt and chosen one that fit Kate the best.
Yelena reached out, grabbing her hand with a small smile for a moment. Kate frowned slightly as Yelena pulled away. She finished off the drink using her newly free hand before flagging someone down to bring them both another.
“I thought you couldn’t drink with your little college group so close, Kate Bishop,” Yelena said, her smile almost like a cat's. “I think I might like this risky side of you.”
“I doubt they’ll even notice I’m not trailing behind them,” Kate replied, bowing her head.
Yelena placed a hand on the other woman’s shoulder, giving her a light squeeze before downing her drink. Kate’s skin still burned where she touched even after she’d pulled away. “They seemed to care deeply for you the other day.”
Kate shook her head. “I know they do, but it’s not the same as they are with each other. They think I’m so much younger than them and all it does is build a rift between us.”
“You can still tell them who you are. You deserve to be you, Kate.”
Kate’s mind lingered on Yelena’s words, mulling over the light, concerned use of her own name. She liked hearing Yelena say her name like that. She let her eyes flit over the other woman, probably much longer than they should’ve. Probably a lot longer than considered normal, but if Yelena minded, she didn’t say and instead returned a similar gaze. “I think I just need another drink.”
The rest of the Bellas had taken longer than Kate to finish up in the wardrobe, though Amy left soon after, peering around the venue for her father.
“Your little brunette Bella is a firecracker,” Beca heard Calamity say over the music. She was sitting on a large trunk, most likely holding speakers from the performance for transport. “The way you guys presented her, I was under the impression that she was a little angel.”
“Emily? What about her?” Beca asked, furrowing her brows as some of her fellow singers filed out behind her into the crowd.
Calamity’s face flashed with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. “I just watched her claim a girl I was hitting on like a pissed-off dog, get hammered, and then leave with her. It was a real power move, to say the least. Not to say it wasn’t entertaining, but this night would’ve been much well spent if that had been me.”
Beca didn’t reply, her face pale as she listened to the woman across the way. Then, finally, Calamity let out a breathy laugh.
“Some blonde girl, about this tall,” Calamity replied, holding her hand out flat just above her chest when Beca didn’t respond. “I mean, I just assumed you would know who I’m talking about. They definitely seemed like they were dating. If they aren’t, you should’ve been there to tell me that a few dozen minutes ago.”
Beca felt a pit forming in her stomach, knowing exactly who she had been describing. She wasn’t sure how she hadn’t noticed Emily leave so fast or how none of them noticed the younger girl slip from the room. “Did you say she was drinking? She’s only twenty.”
Calamity shrugged, letting out a low sigh. “When in Rome?”
Beca sped towards the exit at a brisk walking pace, passing many people she recognized from seeing on stage.
“Where are you going, Beca?” She heard Chloe shout from one of the bars.
Beca paused for a moment, unsure what to say, and eventually settled on keeping it to herself for the meantime. “I’m just going to pop back to the hotel. I don’t want Emily to feel too lonely while we’re having a good time here.”
Chloe looked for a moment like she was pondering if she should come with her, but Beca was grateful when the woman waved her off instead, turning back to their group of girls.
The walk back to the hotel was quick, and Beca knew that, but this time around, it seemed like it was taking forever. When they asked, the hotel had been kind enough to program the girl’s universal keys for each other’s rooms. Chicago had aparently told them to make the Bellas comfortable in any way they could.
Entering the hotel, she briskly moved up the stairs, swiping her card against Emily’s door before she had even stopped moving.
The first thing that Beca noticed upon entering was Emily curled up around her phone under her sheets. Beca let out a large sum of air she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, a wave of relief flooding her. Despite the sound of the door opening, Emily hadn’t seemed to notice her entry.
“Emily,” Beca started cautiously. She didn’t want to use the nickname the Bellas had all clung to using; the situation was too serious for that.
Emily’s body visibly tensed where she lay before flopping over to face her. It was then that Becca noticed the tall glass of water on the bedside table, along with a small bottle of Tylenol and a note scribbled in a language Beca couldn’t begin to comprehend.
“Hi,” Emily said quietly, though her tone was just as slow.
“Calamity told me about,” Beca paused, unsure what exactly she was supposed to say. “I don’t know what you want me to say. You know what I’m talking about.”
Emily’s face fell slightly. “Oh.”
Beca almost scoffed, wanting to ask her if that was all she had to say for herself, but she knew she shouldn’t. She knew Emily wasn’t in the right state of mind to respond to that kind of aggression in a way that would get them anywhere.
“Are you okay?”
“Course,” she replied, dropping her phone into the sheets and burrowing the side of her face further into her pillow. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Beca sighed, moving further into the room to sit on the edge of Emily’s bed. “She told me you left with that girl. I got worried. The things that she does, that stuff isn’t normal. I thought she might’ve done something to you.”
“She wouldn’t do that, Beca.”
“How would you know for sure?”
Emily looked to the side, staring into the white of her bed, her eyes drooping. “I knew about all the things you guys told me about.”
“And you’re okay with that?” Beca asked, the shock and disgust more than present on her face, though she quickly made her best attempt to conceal it.
“No. Maybe, I don’t know.” Emily flopped onto her back, spreading out like a starfish. “I just find it all… It’s all just so different, and interesting, and… Hot.”
Beca raised a questioning brow.
“Listen. Listen, I know that’s insane, but no one else will ever love me as much as she does,” Emily laughed, still refusing to meet Beca’s eyes. “Fuck, I’m not even out to my family; I am so going to regret saying all of these things to you tomorrow.”
Emily rolled back onto her side, facing away from Beca. She resumed a curled-up position, almost hiding her face into her knees.
“Speaking of doing things you’re going to regret,” Beca began. “Calamity also said you were drinking.”
Emily laughed shyly. “She was being really annoying.”
“Not the point. You’re twenty, Emily.”
“What are you talking about?” Emily asked, turning to finally meet Beca’s gaze.
“You’ve always been too much of a goody-two-shoes, even if the drinking age here is eighteen. Did she ask you to drink with her? I saw her offer you some at her flat.”
“What. What are you talking about?” Emily repeated, looking around the room as if the walls could give her some sort of clue as to what she was missing. “I’m twenty-four. That’s well above the drinking age.”
Beca’s eyes narrowed. “No, you’re not.”
“Oh.” Realization flittered over Emily’s face. “Right, I forgot.”
Beca eyed her with suspicion but, luckily, didn’t press her on it. Unfortunately, though, Emily's remaining buzz was sequestered by the sudden panic. Part of her wished nothing more than for all of this would go away when she awoke.
The following day was nothing but a continued panic. Emily was certain Beca would return to question her about the events that happened the night before, but that time never came. Dreading every moment leading up to the fact, Emily met up with the Bellas and was soon relieved to find Beca had other obligations. What obligations exactly, she didn’t know. None of the other Bellas seemed to truly know where Beca had gone.
They’d met in the middle of the city to, as Chloe said, celebrate them winning her heart. They explored many expensive tourist shops whose merchandise Emily knew you could find cheaper a few miles out. They also passed many cafes and restaurants, but they never once entered. This time around, though, the group had Emily read the map, who had given them directions with shocking ease.
As they walked, the sleeves of Emily’s jacket slipped down every so often to reveal the deep red bralette Yelena had bought for her.
“What are you wearing?” Aubrey asked, wide-eyed.
Emily shot her a strange look, glancing down at her outfit. “Clothes? I think?”
Chloe was glancing over, too, now, staring at the dark red strap across her shoulder. “No, Emily, why are you wearing that?”
Emily glanced around, looking at the other Bellas in some form of confusion until she finally realized what they had been looking at. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, trying her best to devise a solution to her situation. She hadn’t even thought about the others seeing it until this very moment; she’d slipped it on mindlessly.
“I thought we were dropping this,” Emily replied, her tone purposefully light as her character always had. She didn’t want to further the conversation, and most of all, she didn’t want to say something she would regret.
“Just because we went home when you threw us out doesn’t mean we suddenly aren’t worried about your situation-ship, Emily,” Cynthia replied, Aubrey nodding in agreement.
Emily briefly cringed at the wording before her mind was flooded with memories of the previous night. She stalled for a moment, focusing just a bit too much on how she and Yelena had woken up that morning, their legs tangled together. Then, finally, she shook her head, trying her best not to think about it.
“None of this is your business,” Emily whined, hoping the other Bellas wouldn’t think to make something out of the sudden shift in her tone.
Chloe looked pensive for a moment, worrying her lower lip. “We all just want you to be safe.”
Flo looked over in momentary confusion, which received a muttered promise of telling her later from Aubrey.
“Can we please just get lunch and forget about this?” Emily wheezed in exasperation, which was met with tentative agreement from the Bellas. “It’s not like you ever have to see her again.”
Reluctantly, the Bellas agreed, deciding on a small outside dining experience about a block from their hotel.
“Can I just get an espresso?” Emily asked the waiter, folding up her small, thick menu before handing it to him. She rubbed her eyes for a moment, bowing her head as the exhaustion from the previous night finally kicked in. She muttered a thanks as the waiter left with their orders.
Emily listened to the other Bella’s chat, though she didn’t bother to insert herself, instead focusing on the condensation on the glass of water in front of her. Their drinks arrived surprisingly quickly for how busy the place was. At any of the places near my apartment, I’d be waiting at least another fifteen minutes, Emily thought to herself.
“Bellas,” Chloe began, holding up her glass. “A toast.”
Emily let out a light sigh, sounding slightly meaner than she would’ve liked it to be. “A Chloe toast.”
“They say that home is where the heart is, but you guys are the homes that my heart lives in.” Chloe smiled, her eyes beginning to water at the sentiment. “I am inside of all of you.”
The other Bellas looked between each other with odd, perplexing frowns while Emily desperately tried to hold back her laughter, the espresso in her hand almost spilling over as her body shook.
“It feels so good.”
“Cheers,” the girls replied, and while her laughter mostly subsided, a small grin was still plastered across Emily’s face.
“Excuse me,” a man interrupted, coming up next to the table.
A collection of confirmations rang throughout the table.
“My name is Henri. Chicago sends me to take you to the USO reception.”
“Chicago never mentioned any reception,” Aubrey replied, looking around the group in confusion.
“Something about an announcement,” the man replied sweetly.
A large clatter of excitement broke out as the group wondered if they had won, though Chloe was the first to reply to the man. “We need to find our friends, Beca and Fat Amy.”
“Right.” Emily cursed herself at the mention of Beca. She had no idea why she thought for a moment that she could get through the day without seeing that woman.
“Oh, they are already there. With Chicago.”
Flo abruptly stood from her chair, motioning to the man with a broad smile. “Perfect. Let’s not keep this handsome French man waiting.”
Surprisingly, the only person Emily made eye contact with across the table was Cynthia, both of their gazes filled with suspicion. It was incredibly annoying to her that these girls could point out everything odd with her “situation-ship,” as Cynthia said, but couldn’t find anything weird about this situation.
Flo immediately began following behind him, the rest rushing to catch up. Emily glanced around the dark van in front of her, unable to see through the windows. She noticed as they walked past that the van had no branding anywhere in sight. Something in her gut told her that this wasn’t right, but she followed along anyway, telling herself she was thinking too much about her job when she was meant to be having fun. She quickly pulled out her phone, shooting a text to Yelena as she sat to ease her mind, jumping out of her seat slightly as the van doors slammed shut. Damn this anxious gut of mine.