11THANKSGIVING
A/N: Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers. I present to you a Bellas Thanksgiving one-shot. Beca is hosting Thanksgiving at her new house this year, and things leading up to it don't go quite as she had hoped.
Beca and Chloe were Skyping and discussing Thanksgiving dinner that Beca was hosting.
"I've got everything covered, Chloe," Beca said, looking at the screen to smile at her redheaded best friend. "You're still able to bring the pies, right?"
"Of course, Becs," Chloe responded. "I'm making four to bring over. Plus, a special dessert that I know you love."
"Is it pumpkin cheesecake?" Beca asked. "I know you know that's my favorite."
"Of course," Chloe said with a big smile. "What time do you want me to come over?"
"Well, I told everyone dinner was going to be at six," Beca said. "I'll need help with the sides and setting everything up. So, how about you be here by three?"
"Sounds good," Chloe said. "This is so exciting, Becs. Your first Thanksgiving in your new house."
"Yeah, well, it isn't like you and Aubrey gave me much of a choice in the matter," Beca said.
"You could have said no, Becs," Chloe said, staring at Beca with wide eyes.
"Right," Beca said. "I'm supposed to say no when you give me the sad eyes, and Aubrey's yelling at me for making you sad."
"That's because you love me," Chloe said with a smug smile. "Plus, the rest of us live in apartments and don't have space for all the Bellas."
"Remind me again why I took the job at the Atlanta studio instead of the one in L.A.," Beca said.
"Because the Bellas all stayed in the area after graduation," Chloe said. "And you know you'd miss me and the Bellas if we weren't close by."
"You got that half right," Beca mumbled.
"What was that, Beca?" Chloe asked, frowning as she looked at Beca.
"What? Oh, nothing," Beca said. "I just noticed the time. I need to pick up Stacie and go grocery shopping, so I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Okay," Chloe said. "Bye, Becs. Love you!"
"Yeah, you, too," Beca said and ended the call.
Beca let out a sigh and grabbed her shopping list.
~~ Tumultuous Thanksgiving ~~
"How many cans of cranberry sauce do you need?" Stacie asked.
"Um, probably one," Beca said. "You and Amy are the only two eating the canned stuff. Everyone else likes my cranberry and orange relish."
"The canned stuff is what I grew up with," Stacie said, tossing two cans into the cart. "So, have you told Chloe yet?"
"Told her what?" Beca asked, looking at the canned vegetables.
"You know what," Stacie said.
Beca sighed and looked at Stacie. "I wish you girls would realize that Chloe and I are never going to be anything more than friends."
"You know she loves you," Stacie said. "And I don't mean as just a friend."
"Oh, yeah, right," Beca said, sarcasm dripping with every word. "I tend to forget that when she's hooking up with someone every weekend. If I remember correctly her exact words two weekends ago when she went off with that soldier guy were, 'I love you so much, Beca, but I'm going to go fuck GI Joe now.' That right there shows me exactly how much she loves me."
Beca crossed her arms over her stomach and walked away from Stacie. Stacie sighed and watched Beca until she disappeared at the end of the aisle. Stacie pulled out her phone and sent a text to Aubrey.
SxyStacie: We have to get Chloe to admit she loves Beca.
Aubrey responded and agreed. Stacie texted that they'd talk later when she got home. She put her phone away and went looking for Beca.
"Beca?" Stacie called out as she walked, checking the aisles. "Beca!"
"Over here, Stacie!" Beca called, and Stacie followed her voice, finding her in the meat section, looking at turkeys. "Do you think this one is big enough for all of us?"
Stacie looked at the turkey Beca was checking out. "That with the ham should be plenty," Stacie said.
Beca placed the turkey in the cart. Stacie checked everything in the cart against the list Beca had made.
"That's the last thing on your list," Stacie said.
"Good! Let's pay and get out of here," Beca said as she walked toward the checkout.
Beca stood in line without saying anything. Stacie let out a sigh.
"I'm sorry about bringing up Chloe like that," Stacie said. "I just think you two belong together and hurts me that Chloe can't see what a catch you are."
Beca blushed and said, "It's okay, Stace. I'm used to Chloe not seeing me as anything but a friend."
"Well, it's her loss," Stacie said. "If I wasn't in love with Aubrey, I'd be all over you."
"Gee, thanks, Stacie," Beca said with a smirk. "That makes me feel so much better knowing there are two hot Bellas I'll never have."
"More like eight hot Bellas," Stacie said with a mischievous grin. "Aubrey's with me. CR and Denise are still together; Ashley and Jessica are a thing. Emily is with Benji, and Amy is with Bumper. And Lily is with some DJ she met. I guess-"
"Oh, my God!" a voice interrupted Stacie. She looked over to see a young girl giving Beca heart eyes. "You're Beca Mitchell! I love your music. Could I get a picture and an autograph?"
"Sure," Beca said with a smile.
~~ Tumultuous Thanksgiving ~~
The day before Thanksgiving, Stacie was over Beca's early to drop off some folding tables and extra chairs for Thanksgiving.
"I was thinking about the other day and how I sometimes forget that you're famous," Stacie said.
"Should I start carrying around my four Grammys, so you'll remember?" Beca asked with a laugh.
"Haha," Stacie said. "Very funny. I meant that it was weird being with you when you were recognized. How does it feel when that happens?"
"It's weird," Beca said. "It's also nice because they know who I am, and they like my music."
Beca pulled the turkey from the refrigerator and set it on the counter. She then pulled out a small cooler and set it on the counter.
"What are you going to do with that?" Stacie asked as she stared at the cooler sitting on the counter.
"I'm going to use it to make the brine for the turkey," Beca said. "I'll put it all together and let it sit overnight. It will help keep the turkey juicy. I just need to get a big pot to boil some water."
Beca got down on her knees and started looking through the cabinet when her phone pinged with a Skype call.
"Hey, Stacie, can you check that for me?" Beca asked. "It's probably Chloe."
"Why doesn't she call like normal people?" Stacie asked.
"She likes to see me when she talks to me," Beca responded, her voice somewhat muffled from where she was. "At least that's what she tells me."
"Really?" Stacie said, as she opened Beca's laptop and answered the Skype call. "Hey, Chloe."
"Oh, hey, Stacie," Chloe said. "Is Beca there?"
"Yeah," Stacie said. "But she's looking in the cabinet for something. What's up?"
"Oh, I just had a quick question to ask her," Chloe said.
"Ask away," Stacie said, pointing the laptop over to Beca.
"Hey, Chlo," Beca said over her shoulder.
"Hey, Becs," Chloe said. "I invited Chicago to have Thanksgiving with us. You don't mind, do you?"
Beca jerked her head up, hitting it on the cabinet frame and muttered, "Fuck!"
"Oh, my gosh, Becs," Chloe said. "Are you okay?"
"I'm, um, fine," Beca said, rubbing the back of her head. "Who did you say you invited?"
"Chicago," Chloe said with a big smile. "Remember a couple of weeks ago? I met him when we were out."
"Is that the soldier you went home with?"
"Um, yeah," Chloe said, blushing slightly. "We've been talking, and he mentioned that he wasn't able to go home for Thanksgiving, so I invited him to ours."
Stacie was glaring at Beca from behind her laptop and shaking her head while mouthing "No."
"Hmm," Beca said as she stood and walked over to her laptop.
"It's okay, right?" Chloe asked, giving Beca a pout. "I mean, he doesn't have anywhere else to go."
"You mean the army doesn't feed their soldiers on Thanksgiving?" Beca snarked.
"Beca," Chloe whined. "You know it's not the same."
"Beca," Stacie whispered. "Tell her no."
"I don't know, Chloe," Beca said, unsure of what to say. "I mean we don't know him and he doesn't know any of us. It might be awkward for him."
"This will be a chance for everyone to meet him and get to know him," Chloe said. "He's special to me, and I want you all to meet him, Becs."
Beca felt as if she had been hit with a sledgehammer. Her eyes caught Stacie's and saw the anger in them.
"Sure," Beca said. "Why the Hell not? Bring Chattanooga with you. I don't really care."
Beca cringed a bit at the hint of anger that was in her voice.
"It's Chicago," Chloe said defensively. "Plus, he'll be an extra pair of hands to help set up. Trust me; he's really good with his hands."
Chloe threw in a sexy wink, and Beca felt nauseous.
"Oh, um about that," Beca said, unable to look at Chloe through the screen. "I was going to call you. Stacie and Aubrey have to, um, bring some folding tables and chairs, so they agreed to come over early. They're going to help me with everything. You can come later when everyone else does."
Beca looked pleadingly at Stacie, and Stacie nodded that it was okay.
"So, yeah, suck it up, Beale," Stacie said, looking over the top of the laptop. "Brey and I will be here to help Beca set up. We're tired of you monopolizing all her time. We need some Beca time."
"Oh, um, okay," Chloe said, furrowing her brows. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, Becs. Love you."
Beca ended the Skype call without saying anything. She put her hands on the counter and hung her head.
"You okay there, Becs?" Stacie asked.
Beca brought her head up and looked at Stacie with tears in her eyes. "You want to tell me again how much she loves me?"
~~ Tumultuous Thanksgiving ~~
Later, Stacie made it home and walked in the door. She sighed as she flopped down on the sofa.
Aubrey sat next to her. "What's wrong?"
"Chloe is what's wrong," Stacie said.
"Care to elaborate?"
"She's just doing the same thing she always does," Stacie said. "She had the nerve to call Beca and tell her she invited some guy she's been seeing for like two weeks to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow and then asked Beca if that was okay."
"She did what?"
"Yeah," Stacie said. "She said she invited him and then asked Beca if it was okay for him to come. She has some nerve. I swear if she weren't your best friend, I'd go over and kick her ass."
"She's been dating this guy for two weeks?" Aubrey asked. "Why is this the first I've heard of him?"
"I don't know," Stacie said, a bit agitated. "She said he was 'special' to her and wanted everyone to meet him."
"What the Hell?" Aubrey said, grabbing her phone. She found Chloe's contact info and hit call.
"Hey, Brey," Chloe answered.
"Don't 'hey, Brey,' me," Aubrey said. "When were you planning on telling me you were dating someone? Someone you think is so special to you?"
"I, um, was going to introduce him to you tomorrow," Chloe said timidly.
"At Beca's?" Aubrey asked. "You thought that bringing some guy you've known for two weeks to Beca's for Thanksgiving was a good idea?"
"I wanted him to meet all of you," Chloe said.
"What the Hell is wrong with you?" Aubrey asked, her voice tight. "Why does it have to be at Beca's?"
"She's my best friend," Chloe said. "Of course, I want to introduce her to him, and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do it."
"Wow," Aubrey muttered, shaking her head. "You need to un-invite him."
"But, Beca said it was alright if I brought him," Chloe said.
"Yeah, she did because, unlike you, she's kind, so she doesn't hurt your feelings," Aubrey said. "Un. In. Vite. Him."
"You can't tell me to un-invite someone," Chloe said. "It's Beca's house, and she said it was okay."
"Chloe," Stacie said, grabbing the phone from Aubrey. "Aubrey is being nice about this, but now you're going to have to deal with me. I will not stand by and watch as you purposely hurt Beca anymore. I strongly suggest for your own safety and well-being that you make other plans for Thanksgiving. You will not be welcome at Beca's."
"Who the Hell do you think you are?" Chloe asked angrily. "You have no right to tell me whether I can go to Beca's or not. I'm calling Beca, and we'll see if I'm welcome or not."
Before Stacie could say anything more, Chloe ended the call.
"Hey, Beca," Aubrey said into Stacie's phone. Stacie smiled, seeing that Aubrey beat Chloe to the punch. "We need to talk to you about Chloe."
"Hang on," Beca said. "She's trying to Skype."
"Don't answer it," Aubrey said quickly and put her phone on speaker. "Stacie just spoke with her and got angry. She's calling you because Stacie told her to make other plans for Thanksgiving. That she and her boyfriend were not welcome."
"Stacie told her that?" Beca asked.
"Yeah, I did, Becs," Stacie said. "I also told her I wasn't responsible for her safety if she showed up at your house with that guy. I'm sorry, but I couldn't have them there, making you miserable and uncomfortable in your own home."
Beca chuckled. "You really must have riled her up because she's actually tried calling on my cell, and she just texted me."
"I'm really sorry," Stacie said, sincerely. "She just made me so mad."
"Thanks, you guys; I'll take care of it," Beca said. "I'm going to talk to her and tell her she's welcome, but whatever his name is, is not."
"You need to let her know you mean it, Beca," Aubrey said. "Don't let her puppy dog eyes and pout get to you."
"I won't," Beca said. "I promise."
"Call us back after you talk to her," Stacie said.
"I will," Beca said. "Thanks for having my back."
"It's what friends do," Stacie said.
Beca ended the call and pulled up Chloe's text. She gave a humorless laugh when all Chloe wrote was, I need to talk to you. Please call me.
Beca let out a heavy sigh when her phone rang again with a call from Chloe.
"Hey, Chloe," Beca said.
"I am so mad right now," Chloe said, her voice shaking with anger.
"Well, I'm about to make you even madder," Beca said. "I just talked to Stacie and Aubrey."
"What?" Choe said. "Don't tell me you're siding with Stacie on this."
"I am," Beca said. "You are more than welcome to come to my house on Thanksgiving."
"Good," Chloe interrupted, sounding relieved.
"Not so fast," Beca said. "You are welcome, but Chickory is not."
"His name is Chicago," Chloe said, her voice tight.
"As if I care," Beca scoffed. "As I was saying, if you want to spend Thanksgiving with some guy you've known for two weeks, go ahead. BUT, if you want to spend Thanksgiving with your family, you are more than welcome to come alone."
"I'm going to Skype you," Chloe said.
"Don't bother," Beca said. "Seeing me so you can pull the puppy dog eyes and pout is not going to change my mind."
Chloe was quiet, and Beca waited to see what she was going to say. Suddenly, the call was gone. Beca's screen lit up with her usual wallpaper, and Beca frowned.
"I guess she's really pissed at me," Beca mumbled and threw her phone on the counter.
~~ Tumultuous Thanksgiving ~~
"She ended the call and didn't say anything else," Beca told Stacie.
"What do you think she's going to do?" Stacie asked.
"I don't know," Beca said. "I'm almost afraid-"
Beca stopped when she heard a knock at her door. She went to it as she continued to talk to Stacie.
"Sorry, Stace," Beca said. "Someone's at the door. Anyway, I'm afraid of-" Beca opened the door. "Chloe?"
"You're afraid of Chloe?" Stacie asked, confused.
"What? Um, no," Beca said into the phone. "Chloe's here. I'll have to call you back."
Beca ended the call and looked at Chloe. She could tell that Chloe had been crying and that she was also angry.
"Do you want to come in?" Beca asked, moving aside as Chloe made her way in. "So, what's up?"
"What's up?" Chloe asked, turning to face Beca. "I can't believe that you would actually tell me not to come to Thanksgiving tomorrow. I thought I meant more to you than that."
"You do," Beca said, walking past Chloe to walk into the kitchen. Chloe followed behind her. "That's the problem."
"What does that mean?" Chloe asked, a confused look on her face.
Beca got water out of the refrigerator and held one out to Chloe. Chloe shook her head, and Beca took her water and sat at the counter. She ran a hand through her hair and motioned for Chloe to sit; she did.
"You mean a lot to me, Chloe," Beca said. "But I couldn't put myself into the situation where I was going to have to watch you fawning all over some guy you barely know. I'm done with standing idly by and letting you hurt me like that."
"If I hurt you, I'm sorry," Chloe said. "You know that I would never do anything to purposely hurt you, right?"
"Whether on purpose or not, you did hurt me," Beca said. "You know how I feel about you; I've said it enough. But, you just brush it off and go off with someone who could be the one or become someone special. I want to be the one for you. I want to be your someone special. I'm in love with you, Chloe."
Chloe let out a small gasp but didn't say anything. She sat there looking at Beca, her eyes wide.
Beca gave a small laugh. "I'm guessing by your silence you don't feel the same way. That's fine. I'll get over it, but I can't be around you until I do. So, I think it's best if you leave now."
Chloe opened her mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. She snapped her mouth shut and looked at Beca. She reached out a hand to Beca, only to have Beca slide off the stool and move away from Chloe, avoiding her touch.
Chloe wanted to say something, but her mind lost the ability to think. She nodded her head and walked out of the kitchen. A minute later, Beca heard the front door open and close.
Beca threw the unopened water bottle into the sink and sat back down on the stool. She didn't bother to wipe the tears that ran down her face.
~~ Tumultuous Thanksgiving ~~
Thanksgiving morning, Beca was up early. Well, she never went to sleep, having spent most of the night thinking about Chloe.
Beca made coffee and then went on autopilot, getting things ready. She took the turkey out of the brine and rinsed it. She then patted it dry and put butter and oil on it, seasoned it, and set it in the roasting pan. She then prepared the stuffing and put it in the turkey.
Beca had was putting the turkey in the oven when there was a knock at the door. She looked at the time and furrowed her brow. It was rather early for her guests to start arriving.
"Hey," Beca said when she saw Aubrey and Stacie standing at her door.
"Why do you look so surprised?" Stacie asked. "I said we'd come over early to help."
"Yeah, sorry, I forgot about that," Beca said. Noticing Aubrey carrying a box, she asked, "What's that? I told you you didn't have to bring anything."
"We, um, brought some pies," Aubrey said. "I wasn't sure if you had planned on making any."
"Oh, right," Beca said. "I hadn't thought of that. Thanks."
"Can I put this in the guest room?" Stacie asked, holding up a small suitcase. "Brey and I brought a change of clothes for later."
"Yeah, go ahead," Beca told her. "Aubrey, come into the kitchen. I'll show you where to put the pies. Do any of them need to be refrigerated?"
"No," Aubrey said. "They should be fine sitting on the counter."
Aubrey followed Beca into the kitchen. Stacie joined them a few minutes later. The trio worked well together.
"What dishes are we using?" Stacie asked when it was time to set the table
"Um, these," Beca said, pointing to a box. "They were my grandmother's, and she left them to me when she passed."
"Should I set the table, or are you planning to do it buffet style?" Stacie asked.
"Honestly, I hadn't thought about it," Beca said. "Chl-, um, that wasn't part of my duties for today."
"Let's do buffet style," Aubrey quickly suggested. "That will give us more space at the table. We can set the food up on a table off to the side."
"Sounds good," Stacie said and started setting things up.
~~ Tumultuous Thanksgiving ~~
Beca took the turkey out and removed the stuffing. She covered the turkey loosely with foil. Aubrey placed the few side dishes she made in the oven.
Stacie was putting the finishing touches on her table decorations when Beca came into the dining room to check on things.
"Wow, Stacie," Beca said. "The table looks great."
"Thanks," Stacie said with a smile.
Someone knocked on the door. "Someone's early," Beca said as she made her way to answer.
"Hey, you're-. Oh," Beca said as she answered and saw Chloe standing there, holding a box.
"I, um, brought the pies," Chloe said. "I would have been here earlier, but the pumpkin cheesecake took longer than I expected."
"Oh, um, that was nice of you," Beca said. "Thanks."
Chloe stood, holding the box with the pies, looking down at the top of it. Beca stood looking at the box as well.
"I'll take that," Stacie said, reaching for the box and causing Beca to jump.
Chloe handed Stacie the box and looked at Beca. "Can we talk?"
"That's a good idea," Stacie said, looking at Beca. "You two should talk."
Stacie turned and carried the box into the kitchen.
"Right, um," Beca said. "Come on in."
"Thanks," Chloe said quietly and entered.
Beca led Chloe to the sofa, and they both sat, facing each other.
"I'm sorry," two voices rang out at the same time.
"Let me go first, please?" Beca said.
Chloe nodded, and Beca took a breath. She let it out slowly and looked at Chloe.
"I'm sorry if I upset you or made you uncomfortable yesterday," Beca said. "It was not my intention to do either one. I've been in love with you for so long, and I thought I was over it. But, when you wanted to bring some guy here that you've only known for two weeks, I-." Beca stopped and sighed. "It hurt every time I saw you go off with someone else. And then have you say he was so special to you, I couldn't hold it in any longer."
Beca shook her head and wiped the tears that came to her eyes. "I didn't know what to do or think. And, I'm sorry I was so harsh with you by telling you to leave and not to come here today."
Beca took in a shaky breath and looked at Chloe. Chloe's eyes were glistening with tears, but she had a small smile on her face.
"Your turn," Beca said with a chuckle.
"I'm sorry, too," Chloe said. "I have been wanting to hear you say you love me for so long that when you finally did, my brain shut down. My heart started beating faster, I felt like I couldn't breathe, and all I kept thinking was I didn't hear you right."
Chloe took Beca's hands in hers. "I love you so much, Beca. And I am truly sorry for any pain I caused you." Chloe let out a small chuckle. "I'm always talking about how confident I am, but when it comes to you, I become this scared girl who doesn't believe that someone like you could love someone like me. I know I'd leave with someone when we'd go out, but I didn't sleep with any of them, I swear. It wouldn't be fair to them or me when I was in love with you. So, I'd pretend to get sick and have them take me home. And then I'd act as we slept together so you wouldn't know the truth."
"But, what about this Chicago guy?" Beca asked. "He's the first one you wanted to introduce to everyone."
"We're friends," Chloe said. "I made sure you saw me leave with him that night. I asked him if he could take me home because my ride flaked on me. He was sweet about it, and we talked while he drove. I told him about my brother being in the army, and he told me how hard it was to be away from his family. I told him if he needed someone to talk to, he could call me. We exchanged numbers, and he texted one day, and we talked, and that's all. When he said he wasn't able to go home for Thanksgiving, I invited him here without thinking. I should have asked you if it was okay. I should have told you he was just a friend. I should have told you that I love you. I'm sorry."
"I accept your apology," Beca said. "Do you accept mine."
"Of course, I do," Chloe said.
"So, what now?" Beca asked.
"Kiss her, you idiot," Stacie called from the kitchen door.
Beca and Chloe looked back to see Stacie and Aubrey watching them.
"Well?" Chloe asked, bringing Beca's attention back to her.
Beca smiled as she leaned in and kissed Chloe. The kiss was short and sweet; both girls pulled away, smiling.
"About time," Aubrey huffed. "Not get your asses in here. We still have things to do before the guests arrive."
Aubrey and Stacie went back into the kitchen. Beca looked at Chloe.
"What about Chicago?" Beca asked. "What did you tell him about today?"
"Oh," Chloe said with a gasp. "I was so worried about making things up to you, and I forgot to call him. I'll call him now."
"No, you don't have to do that," Beca said, taking Chloe's hand and moving toward the kitchen. "Any friend of yours is welcome in my home."
"I love you," Chloe said as they stopped at the kitchen door.
"I know," Beca said, smiling at Chloe. "Well, I know now. And I love you, too."
