"Coffee Shop"

                                    

                                          
  	 	 	 	
                          
Beca POV
I quickly run into the radio station. Great, first day and I'm late. I walk in and am greeted with rows upon rows of CDs. I wonder down an aisle and look around me. Damn, this place is stacked. I see what I assume is the booth at the end of the aisle. Through the window I see a tall man with sandy blonde hair, looks to be in his twenties. Then again, almost everyone is tall compared to me. I reach the window and have a look at the set up. Neat. The guy notices me and takes off his headphones, getting up. He heads towards the door and I follow his lead.
 "Have you been standing there long?" He asks, lowering the volume of the music.
 "Uh...no...I wasn't...just standing here..." I say awkwardly.
 "Well you must be Becky..." He says but gets interrupted by the door slamming shut. A brunette rushes over.
 "I'm Jesse." He says, coming to a halt.
 "I'm Luke, you're late." Luke says as he heads towards a desk. He dumps some CDs on it. "You will be stacking these CDs. When you're done, there's more." He says before heading back to the booth. So that's it...I get to stack CDs for hours on end, not make music. I quietly go over to the desk and pick up a few, checking them out. I sigh and grab more from the same band, one that I vaguely remember hearing about at some point or another. I head over and start stacking them in alphabetical order. 
 "Hey, don't I know you?" The boy named Jesse asks.
 "Not that I'm aware." I say quietly as I flick through the CD cases.
 "Yeah, I've seen you on campus." He says with a smile, like this is a good thing.
 "Oh goody." I say sarcastically. "Another stalker." I walk back over to the table to repeat the process.
 "Another?" He asks with a smile, raising an eyebrow. I just shake my head. "Who is it? Maybe we can exchange notes." I slam the disks I'm holding down. He's been following me around this whole time and hasn't done a single thing but talk.
 "Are you going to work or am I going to do it for you?" I ask angrily.
 "I wouldn't mind you doing it for me." He says with a teasing grin. I just roll my eyes and go back to stacking. He ends up helping. After a while he asks again. "Who is said stalker?" I sigh.
 "None of your business." I grumble. He stays silent for a while
 "You know, this just made me even more curious which means more stalking." He says. That stupid grin hasn't fallen off his face once.
 "Whatever. Just do your job." I grumble. I don't know why but I've been in a bad mood ever since I left Chloe's house. Well...after I got over the shock of her kissing me while not being drunk. I'm not mad at her. I'm not mad at anything in particular, just the world in general. I rub my temples as I feel a headache coming on. I walk over to my bag and grab some aspirin.
 "Slacker!" I hear Jesse yell from the other side of a row. I hide a small smile.
 "Says you." I yell back.
 "What's that supposed to mean?" I can practically smell the fake innocence from here. I roll my eyes, even if he can't see me.
 "It took you twenty minuets to put away your first CD." I say with a smirk. He was starting to grow on me. I hear him grumble something but I don't catch it. I swallow the aspirin and check my watch. My shifts almost over. "I'm heading out." I call to Jesse and grab my bag. I don't know what I'm going to do now but hopefully I can avoid Chloe for a while.
 --------------------
 I sigh in relief as I sit down across from Amy. We were currently in one of the many Cafes around campus.
 "Where have you been?" Fat Amy asks worriedly. I sigh again.
 "You have no idea. Chloe basically kidnapped me last night and you know how she ends up kissing me almost every time she's drunk?" Fat Amy nods. I'm only this open with her. "Well, she kissed me and she was sober." I say. Fat Amy raises an eyebrow.
 "And?" She asks.
 "I really liked it." I whisper, my cheeks colouring.
 "Beca!" I tense up at that voice, my cheeks going even redder, praying she didn't hear what I said last. "I thought you were working." Chloe says with a smug smirk. How the hell does she always find me?
 "I was working." I mumble and slide against the wall, hoping she'll give me some space. My hopes go to waste as she slides over all the way. I shift uncomfortably with the contact. I've never been comfortable with it.
 "So do you work here?" She asks with mocking innocence. She knows I lied about the coffee shop. I look away from her gaze and to the table.
 "Sure.." I say, hoping it doesn't sound as fake as I think it does. I flick my gaze to her, her smug smirk never fading and then to Fat Amy who has a raised eyebrow. I give her a small shrug. She always manages to find me in my spare time, what would she do if she knew where I worked? I wouldn't be able to run for two hours or more. I return my gaze to the tabletop. I stiffen even more, if that's possible, when I feel her hand on my thigh. She leans down and whispers, 
 "Where do you really work?" In my ear. She gives my thigh a squeeze and my breath hitches. My cheeks become warm again and I know I'm blushing. I look out the window.
 "I..I work here." I manage to mumble.
 "Hmm," Chloe says, her analysing gaze burning a hole through me. "Sure you do." She retracts her hand and I give a sigh of relief. "So, what brings you two here?" I give Amy a warning glance before flicking my gaze to Chloe who was somehow looking innocent.
 "Just a break before my next class." Amy says casually. I give a small nod.
 "When is your next class, Beca?" Chloe asks me, hand returning to my thigh. I gulp and quickly check the time on my phone.
 "Um...30 minutes?" I practically cringe at the squeak that is my voice.
 "Cool, I've got mine in about 40 minutes. I'll walk you...if you want." Chloe adds the last part as an afterthought. I don't answer and look worriedly at Amy. Amy gives me a questioning look. My head nods on of its own accord. I am so screwed. My phone rings and I give a sigh of relief...until I see the call ID.
 "Dad." I groan into the phone.
 "Why aren't you at class yet?" He demands. I groan and rub my face.
 "I have like twenty minutes." I stand up and swing my bag onto my should, making sure not to hit Chloe. "Chlo, move." I say in a strained whisper. Her face softens as I say Chlo. I guess she likes the nickname. Chloe mouths, 'are you okay?'. I nod my head. "Yeah but I really got to go." I whisper, my voice still strained. Chloe nods and stands up. I give Amy a quick wave before hurrying out of the café. 
 "Beca?" My dad asks angrily. 
 "Yeah?" I ask distractedly. I realise I'm being followed. I turn around to see Chloe.
 "Are you even listening?" He demands. I sigh and rub my face. I really can't deal with this right now. 
 "Dad, listen, I'll be there in ten minutes, okay? Plenty of time before class." 
 "Beca..." My dad starts but I hang up. I turn around and hurry off.
 "Everything okay?" Chloe asks as she comes up beside me.
 "Yeah." I mutter. "Dads just being a pain in my arse." Chloe grabs my arm and stops my forward movement. I groan in frustration but turn to her.
 "You're an adult now. You can make your own decisions, whether they be good or bad, without your fathers approval. Plus, you have friends that'll help you and tell you you're being stupid." She adds with a grin. I take a deep breath. She's right and I know she is but it's hard.
 "I..uh..wow, Chlo, thanks but I really gotta go and, you know, face my demons or whatever." I start rambling. Chloe laughs and, again, I notice that her cheeks turn slightly pink when I call her Chlo.
 "Go get 'em." She says and slaps my butt, earning a squeak from me. She laughs again and I walk away quickly, embarrassed. Damn, Chloe does things to me.