Every Day [Bechloe Fan Fiction]

20) The One Where It's Goodbye

A week later, Beca stood in front of Emily, forcing her voice to remain steady. Emily was excited, practically bouncing on the spot, the last thing Beca wanted to do was ruin this for her.

"It's ceremonial," she explained, holding out the drink. "And you should definitely not drink it 'cause it is essentially poison. Terrible for you." She nodded reassuringly. Emily nodded back, very serious.

"Okay," the girl agreed, blindly listening to Beca - as usual.

"Okay. Great." Beca said, anxiously pushing hair out of her eyes. She stepped away, hoping her part in this whole ordeal was over.

"Ooh. It smells like cherries and vanilla," Emily said excitedly, not noticing.

"Okay, repeat after me," Chloe interrupted quietly. Her voice was fragile and she has heavy bags under her eyes. Beca watched her and Emily, feeling sick. "I, sing your name."

"I... Emily..."

"Okay," Chloe took a deep breath "Promise to uphold the ideals of a Bella woman forever."

"Promise to uphold the ideals of a Bella woman forever."

"And that's it. That's the end of the speech," Beca said, cutting Chloe off. She just wanted this to be over with. "It's... Nothing weird happens after that." She handed Emily over the Bellas house keys, still desperately trying to hold it together. It wasn't going well. She could hardly breathe. "These are for you. Don't go in the basement, it's haunted."

Emily grinned, clutching the keys. Chloe forced a tight-lipped smile. Beca tried not to look at her, praying that it was time to leave. For good.

"Wait! One last thing," Fat Amy said, grabbing something blue from behind her. Beca almost groaned.

"Yes, every Bella must christen the house by sliding down the staircase," Chloe explained. Emily went white.

"Seriously?" She asked fearfully.

"It's tradition," Beca shrugged, giving up. The other girls nodded seriously.

"Yeah. Don't worry. I'll show you," Fat Amy said. It would have been much more reassuring, Beca thought, if Amy wasn't in process of finishing the ceremonial position drink.

The Bellas made their way to the bottom of the stairs. Hardly anyone spoke. You could slice the awkwardness open with one of Lily's knifes.

"Behold!" Fat Amy yelled, catching everyone's attention - especially Emily's.

Suddenly Amy was shooting down the staircase, smacking into the wall as she did so. She tumbled head over heels, landing sprawled out at the Bellas' feet. Beca watched, expressionless. Chloe opened her mouth to offer support, but thought better of it. She had nothing to say.

"Crushed it." Fat Amy grinned, standing up. She was panting, but happy enough. No bones broken - yet.

"Good form." Beca nodded, rolling her eyes the second Amy looked away.

"Now I'm ready to move on," Amy insisted. "Legacy, you're up!"

Beca she looked up at Emily, who was cowering at the top of the staircase. The girl looked like Beca felt - like she was about to be sick to her stomach. She peered down at the Bellas; none of them looked optimistic that she'd actually do it.

"All right, I'm ready," she said, faking confidence. "Let's do this!" She pushed off.

Emily's body flew along the stairs, gliding downwards much more gracefully than Fat Amy. She landed with a thump on the floor, but was grinning happily. A cry of excitement erupted from the group. Except Beca, who remained blank faced.