Emily Junk was practically skipping down the walkway as she hummed to herself. She couldn't remember the last time she was this excited. She was getting married in a month to the love of her life Benji Applebaum, two weeks after that they were moving to Atlanta Georgia to attend Barden University, and then there was the best thing of all. The woman who was like a big sister to her, Chloe Beale was hosting her wedding free of charge and helping her with all the planning in true big sister fashion. Chloe had moved to the island when Emily was three after touring Europe following her graduation from college that summer. After falling in love with the place, she decided to stay and open up a hotel. The pair had been practically inseparable ever since.

"I have a dream…" Emily sang softly as made her way through the streets of the little Greek island that she called home, a huge smile on her face, "A song to sing. To help me cope, with anything."

Emily clutched the invitations tight in her hand as she sighed happily. It was a song that Chloe had taught her when she was ten and bed-ridden with measles. Chloe had always been there for her ever since they'd met when she was three years old, no matter what was going on in her own life. It was only right that Emily found something to say thank you for everything she had done, and Chloe had point-blank refused any money.

"If you can see the wonder, of a fairy tale. You can take the future, even if you fail." Emily twirled a little as she sang and then cringed inwardly, thanking anyone who was listening that it was late at night and no-one was around to have seen how cliché that was, "I believe in angels. When I know the time is right for me."

Emily stopped in front of the letter box, grinning as she looked down at the invitations in her hands. This was the perfect way to say thank you to Chloe for everything she'd done; invite her best friends and former college a-cappella group the Barden Bellas to visit Chloe here on the island. Even though she had never met most of them herself, it was like she knew them all personally from Chloe's stories. She could tell by the way that Chloe talked about them, and from the rare visits some of them managed to make out to the island (Jessica and Ashley were the only ones who made it often enough thanks to the fact that they lived on the mainland, both taking jobs as tour reps and loving every minute of it, and Emily knew them well, so well in fact that they were the bridesmaids at her wedding) that Chloe adored them, and not seeing them often enough was harder on her than she might admit. "I'll cross the stream, I have a dream." Emily opened the letter box and posted the invitations one by one, reading off the names as she did, "Aubrey Posen, Cynthia-Rose Adams, Amy Hobart, Stacie Conrad, Lily Onakuramara, Flo Fuentes… and Beca Mitchell."

Emily sighed happily as she dropped the last invitation in the letter box. She hoped this would show Chloe just how much she meant to her. Besides, all the stories Chloe had told her about the Barden Bellas? This was about to be the best wedding ever. What the eighteen-year-old didn't realise though that the last invitation that she had dropped into the letter box would change all of their lives forever.


It was two days before the wedding and Emily was pacing back and forth nervously on the pier as she waited for her bridesmaids to arrive. Was she nervous about her wedding in two days? Of course, but that wasn't the reason she was pacing in this particular moment. No, Emily was pacing because she'd accidently happened upon some potentially earth-shattering information whilst looking in Chloe's closet for some shoes the red-head said she could borrow.

"Emily!"

The delighted squeak of Jessica and Ashley caused Emily to spin on her heel with a gleeful squeal of her own as she briefly forgot the potentially explosive arrival that threatened to throw a wrench in her perfect plan. Jessica and Ashley quickly wrapped Emily in their arms as they hopped off the boat, skipping giddily in a circle as they did so.

"I'm so glad you guys are here!" Emily squealed as she pulled back from the hug, eyes sparkling in delight.

"Are you kidding, like we'd miss your wedding!" Jessica beamed.

"Yeah, we'd be crappy bridesmaids if we did!" Ashley wound her arm around Jessica's waist as she grinned.

"Oh you'd be the worst bridesmaids ever." Emily agreed with a chuckle, "But that's not exactly what I meant… we might have a problem."

"Did Benji call it off? I will kick his ass if you need me to." Ashley bristled as Jessica rolled her eyes.

"What? No, of course not!" Emily shook her head as they walked down the pier with a fond smile on her face, "So you know how Chloe lets me borrow those super cute silver sparkly heels that go great with everything?"

"Oh I love those!" Jessica grinned as they settled on a grassy hill near the ocean, "They look great on you, they really accentuate your legs."

"Right?!" Emily grinned before shaking her head, "Not the point though. See, they were right at the back of the closet for some weird reason, and as I was looking for them I found this." Emily held up a pink notebook that she'd been holding for almost the entire time since she'd found it, biting her lip nervously.

"Chloe's diary?" Ashley raised her eyebrow with a mischievous grin, "She still keeps a diary?"

"No! At least I don't think so…" Emily frowned thoughtfully, pausing for a moment, "No this is from the summer after graduation, y'know the summer before she moved here?"

"Oh my god…" Jessica gasped, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips, "None of us know what happened that summer, one minute she was just travelling for the summer before moving to New York for vet school, the next she was staying here and opening a hotel."

"You read it right?" Ashley asked as Jessica looked at her horrified, "What?! Are you telling me you wouldn't read it? I would!"

"I read it." Emily winced as Jessica's horrified look turned to her, "I feel really bad about it okay, but I couldn't help it! And besides, you would not believe what's in here!"

"Tell us everything!" Ashley leant forward as Jessica rolled her eyes.

"How about I read it to you?" Emily grinned, opening the diary, "Honey honey, how you thrill me, a-ha, honey honey. Honey honey, nearly kill me, a-ha, honey honey. I'd heard about you before. I wanted to know some more. And now I know what they mean, you're a love machine. Oh, you make me dizzy!"

Jessica couldn't help the squeal that came out of her mouth as she leant forward, "Oh my god… sounds like Chloe was getting it. Does it say who it is?"

Emily held up a finger as she continued to read, "I cannot believe how in love I am right now… Beca how has it taken us this long to get here?"

"Beca?!" Jessica squealed even louder, clapping excitedly.

"I knew it!" Ashley cheered, "I knew they were banging! Didn't I tell you?!"

"What else does it say, what else does it say?" Jessica's voice had reached a pitch that only dogs could hear right now, the excitement palpable.

"Honey honey, let me feel it, a-ha, honey honey. Honey honey, don't conceal it, a-ha, honey honey. The way that you kiss good night… The way that you hold me tight… I feel like I wanna sing when you do your thing!" Emily continued to flick through the pages of the diary as Ashley and Jessica squealed again.

"Sounds like Beca was quite the lover girl on the quiet!" Ashley was grinning so wide it almost broke her face in half as she wiggled her eyebrows, "Who knew someone so little could be such a deviant?"

"Oh come on, I don't wanna think about Beca like that!" Jessica pulled her face, shaking her head.

"Well brace yourself…" Emily raised her eyebrow as she continued to read, "Honey honey, touch me, baby, ah-hah, honey honey. Honey honey, hold me, baby, ah-hah, honey honey. You look like a movie star. I know just who you are. Honey, to say the least, you're a dog-gone... beast!"

"Okay, okay, that is officially too much on the Beca-sex-prowess front." Ashley shook her head, "We get it, Beca was dynamite in the sack. But it sounds like they weren't just screwing around…"

"Yeah…" Jessica smiled softly as she took Ashley's hand in hers, "I can't believe we didn't know that Beca went to Europe with Chloe."

"I thought she was interning with that record company in NYC?" Ashley turned to look at her wife with a look of confusion.

"That's what she said… and this was before social media babe, you forget, we're old now…" Jessica teased her gently as Ashley pouted, "Seriously though, why wouldn't they tell us?"

"Maybe this next bit will answer your question." Emily bit her lip as the grin fell from her face, "Honey honey, how you thrill me, ah-hah, honey honey. Honey honey, nearly kill me, ah-hah, honey honey. I'd heard about you before. I wanted to know some more. And now I'm about to see, what you mean to me…"

"Sounds like Chloe was about to say something huge…" Ashley frowned, giving Jessica's hand a gentle squeeze.

"Does it say what happened next?" Jessica frowned, biting her lip a little.

"All it says after that is: This hurts so much… I don't know why this is happening. I thought she loved me. What did I do wrong?" Emily sighed softly as she shut the diary, "It's dated the week before she decided to stay here."

"Oh my god…" Jessica sighed, shaking her head a little, "Beca's always been… emotionally stunted to say the least."

"I can't believe she broke Chloe's heart like that." Ashley ran a hand through her hair, "Not that she'd have meant to, but…"

"So say I invited Beca to the wedding because she used to be a Bella and I didn't know any of this… how bad would it be?" Emily winced, biting her lip nervously as she pulled the diary tight to her chest.

"Oh shit…" Ashley mumbled as she raised her eyebrows, "Well that could be… interesting."

"I mean… we don't know if they've had any contact since then, maybe they've patched things up?" Jessica pointed out hopefully.

"Okay but when was the last time you remember Beca talking about Chloe, or vice versa? You remember how close they were, they were practically joined at the hip, but now? Have you ever met Beca?" Ashley asked Emily who shook her head sadly.

"This is really bad isn't it?" Emily grimaced.

"No, no! Someone just needs to give Chloe a heads up once she knows the Bellas are coming… it should be okay…" Jessica's tone was uncertain as she forced a smile onto her face.

"Okay… but what if Beca gets here before someone can tell Chloe?" Emily raised her eyebrow.

"We'll keep an eye out, don't worry about it." Ashley reached out and gave Emily's hand a reassuring squeeze, "All you have to worry about this weekend is getting married okay?"

"Yeah… okay." Emily nodded, feeling better now that she had talked to her friends, "I'll keep an eye out for Beca, I mean it's been fifteen years surely it won't be as raw as it was then?"

"Exactly!" Jessica grinned, "And it's a Bellas weekend, there's plenty of us to talk to without having to worry about her being one-on-one with Beca."

"Great." Emily beamed, "I just wanted to do something nice for Chloe y'know? Sometimes she seems so lonely…"


Chloe Beale loved to walk down the marina when she needed a break. She'd lived here for fifteen years but the beauty of the landscape around never failed to take her breath away, the sound of the water lapping against the wooden pier soothing the redhead as she took a deep breath and took in the smell of the sea air. Regardless of whatever else was going on in her life, of how hard things were sometimes, Chloe had never regretted moving out here, especially when she stood here and looked out at the ocean.

Sighing softly as she stuck her hands in the pockets of her dungarees Chloe's mind wandered to what still had to be done before the wedding; there were numerous repairs to be done on the hotel, she had to ask Emily who exactly it was that she was getting to do the music so she could make sure they were catered for, she had to finalise the guest list, she had to check the menu with the caterers… the list went on and on, but Chloe didn't mind. Emily was basically her little sister, she'd know her for so long that the idea of her not being around anymore was totally alien. Still, as sad as she was that Emily was leaving the island, she was also bursting with pride that Emily had gotten into Barden and was making such a huge step for her future (sure she was biased with it being Barden University, but she knew Emily would thrive in her alma mater).

"Well, well, well… if it isn't the elusive Chloe Beale!"

Chloe was snapped from her thoughts by the sound of a voice she hadn't heard in far too long. A grin broke out on her face as she looked down the pier, eyes sparkling with emotion as she squealed in excitement. Rushing towards her, bags abandoned on the edge of the pier as they ran to her, were two of her closest friends completely out of the blue; Stacie Conrad and Amy Hobart (affectionately known as Fat Amy).

"Oh my god!" Chloe cried, meeting her friends halfway down the pier trying to hug them both tightly at the same time, "What are you guys doing here?!"

"Little birdy told us there was a wedding and you know me, I'm always a fan of lonely bachelors." Amy winked as she pulled back from the hug, Chloe giggling as she wiped a tear from her cheek.

"And an open bar all weekend, what more can a girl ask for?" Stacie grinned giving Chloe's shoulder a tight squeeze.

"I can't believe you guys are here! Who told you about the wedding?" Chloe was in a state of happy shock as she looked at her friends. She didn't get to seem them very often, maybe once or twice a year if she were lucky, so for them to be here out of the blue was perhaps the best surprise she'd had in far too long.

"The bride herself!" Stacie slung her arm around Chloe's shoulders as they walked down the pier, travel bag clutched in her other hand, "She wanted the Bellas to perform at the wedding, and she wanted us to have a little reunion here off the coast off Greece. Which naturally we couldn't say no to."

"Everyone's coming?" Chloe squealed, tears pricking at the corner of her eyes as she couldn't stop grinning.

"Yep!" Amy beamed, almost skipping down the pier next to her friends, "Free food, free booze and all these beaches? You'd have to be an idiot to say no to that."

Chloe was speechless as she wound her arm around Stacie's waist and gave it a squeeze, doing the same with Amy's hand.

"By the way Beale, the dungarees? Loving it!" Stacie teased as Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Hey they're practical okay!" Chloe protested, pulling away from her friends to give them a twirl so they could see them in all their glory.

"Vey butch." Amy agreed as Chloe rolled her eyes again, "You really do have a hotel though right Red? Because otherwise where are we staying?"

"Yes I do." Chloe beamed proudly, "The best on the island if I do say so myself!"

"Isn't it the only one of the island?" Stacie raised an eyebrow with a smirk as Chloe pouted.

"Yeah… that's what makes it the best!" Chloe protested as her friends laughed.

It was a ten minute walk from the marina to the hotel (to which Amy protested greatly, especially with the hilly landscape) and once they were there Amy and Stacie stood in awe of the place. It was easily thirty to forty rooms in size, a beautiful white and blue building that blended seamlessly with the buildings around them.

"Chlo… it's gorgeous!" Stacie grinned as Chloe's chest swelled with pride.

"Yeah I forget that you two haven't seen it before." Chloe beamed at the fact that her friends seemed to love the place, "I think it's only Jess, Ash and Aubrey that have been here before."

"We would have been out sooner." Stacie smiled softly as she put her arm around Chloe's shoulder's again, "But you're so far away, and with grad school and my job…"

"Hey, it's okay!" Chloe reassured her, wrapping her arms around and giving her a squeeze, "You guys have your own lives, and it's not like I couldn't have come and seen you guys back in the States either! Time just got away from us. I'm glad you're here now though."

"Us too." Amy grinned, punching Chloe's arm affectionately, "Everyone's so excited to see you."

"C'mon." Chloe was determined not to burst into tears as she pulled away, forcing a smile on her face, "Come see the inside."

Stacie and Amy were hot on Chloe's heels as they walked inside. The interior was a little less impressive than the outside, the paint on the wooden stairs and windowpanes peeling a little, the floors old and creaking under foot. It had a dated look, but it felt homely nonetheless and both Amy and Stacie could feel how much love Chloe had poured into the place over the years. Still, as Chloe straightened a curtain here and paused to look at a crack there, both of her friends could feel a low underlying stress beginning to radiate off her.

"It's uh, it's a little less impressive inside unfortunately." Chloe rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, leading her friends upstairs to one of the empty guest rooms that was made up and ready for someone to stay in, "And I don't get the guests I used to, tourists tend to stay on the mainland and the locals don't really need a hotel, so most of these rooms haven't been used in a year or so."

"Chloe it's lovely." Stacie reassured her, "Honestly, you should be really proud of the place!"

"I am." Chloe nodded, sinking onto the edge of the bed in the room she'd led them into, Amy dropping her bags off in the room across the hall, "But… I'm also so tired."

"Are you happy though Chloe?" Stacie asked, leaning forward in the chair she was sat in with a concerned look on her face, arms resting on her thighs.

"Yeah!" Chloe nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat, "I am happy… it's just stressful running this place on my own, and money is a little tight because business is slow." She shrugged as she sniffed slightly, "I don't know, it gets lonely out here sometimes."

"A hot piece of ass like yourself feeling lonely? That's criminal!" Amy exclaimed as she sat next to Chloe on the bed, "There's so many hunky Greek men roaming about, you've never had any offers? Are they blind?!"

Chloe laughed as she wiped at the tears on her cheeks, "I never said that. But there was never anyone that took my fancy."

Stacie was rummaging in her bag for something, calling out a victorious "a-ha!" as she found what she was looking for. She turned to her friends, holding three cans of pre-mixed mojitos and a mischievous grin before handing one to Amy and another to Chloe.

"Here, this will take the edge off that stress!" She winked, sitting on Chloe's other side.

"Stace… I have so much to do!" Chloe protested, adjusting the toolbelt that was slung around her waist, "This wedding is not going to prep itself!"

"We'll help!" Amy offered, taking a large swig from the can as she did so, Chloe rolling her eyes, "Besides, when was the last time you let your hair down?"

"It has been a while…" Chloe mused, looking at the can in her hand, "What the hell, it's just the one drink."

"That's what you think, there's plenty more where that came from." Stacie winked.

"You know what you need Chloe?" Amy mused, leaning back on her arms, "A wealthy man to come in and sweep you off your feet."

"Ha!" Chloe snorted, "That's the dream…"

"There's seriously been nobody in the last fifteen years? The Hunter couldn't withstand a drought like that…" Stacie mused, an eyebrow raised, "Or have you been using… other means. That drill looks powerful." She winked as Chloe blushed.

"Not a soul." Chloe shook her head, "But it's fine, I'm fine." Chloe pulled the drill from her belt, revving it playfully as Amy and Stacie collapsed into a fit of giggles, "Hush boy, it's our little secret." Chloe giggled, pushing it back into her toolbelt, "God, sometimes I just think y'know… I work all night, I work all day to pay the bills I have to pay."

"Ain't it sad." Amy empathised, giving Chloe's shoulder a squeeze.

"And still there never seems to be a single penny left for me…" Chloe sighed getting to her feet, running her free hand through her hair as she turned to her friends.

"That's too bad!" Stacie frowned, watching as Chloe sighed dramatically.

"In my dreams I have a plan, if I got me a wealthy man, I wouldn't have to work at all, I'd fool around and have a ball..." Chloe adjusted her tool belt as she looked off into the distance wistfully.

"Money, money, money… must be funny in the rich man's world!" Chloe seemed to be making up a tune as she went as she flopped onto the seat opposite the bed which seemed to groan in response, "Money, money, money… always sunny in the rich man's world… aha-ahaaa!"

Amy and Stacie giggled as Chloe vocalised dramatically. It wasn't unlike the redhead to turn anything into a song.

"All the things I could do, if I had a little money… it's a rich man's world!" Chloe sang as she got to her feet again, walking over to the window and leaning on the windowsill as she looked out at the ocean, chin resting on her hand, "A man like that is hard to find but I can't get him off my mind…"

"Ain't it sad." Neither Amy nor Stacie was one to ignore a song once it started, even if it was entirely made up on the spot and the result of mojitos on an empty stomach, which is why they responded in tune, joining Chloe at the window.

"And if he happens to be free I bet he wouldn't fancy me!" Chloe sighed again as she pushed the shutter open, wincing as it fell off its hinges and hit the ground below.

"That's too bad!" Amy and Stacie echoed again, following Chloe who hastily scrambled out of the room and down the stairs to recover the broken shutter.

"So I must leave, I'll have to go to Las Vegas or Monaco and win a fortune in a game, my life will never be the same..." Chloe sang as she strode across the courtyard, picking up the shutter as she twirled a little with a soft giggle.

"Money, money, money… must be funny in the rich man's world! Money, money, money… always sunny in the rich man's world… aha-ahaaa! All the things I could do if I had a little money… it's a rich man's world!" Chloe put the shutter under her arm as she started to hand the little money she had to the vendors that had spotted her out in the foyer, Stacie and Amy watching with concern as the cash seemed to vanish so quickly and still left some of the vendors empty handed.

"Money, money, money… must be funny in the rich man's world! Money, money, money… always sunny in the rich man's world!" Amy and Stacie echoed Chloe's song as they tried to press money into Chloe's hands but she shook her head and giving it them back. She wasn't taking charity from them, she didn't need it.

"Aha-ahaaa! All the things I could do, if I had a little money… it's a rich man's world!" Chloe finished her song as a solo, steadying herself with a shaky giggle as the ground underneath them shifted, a crack splitting the dolphin mosaic at their feet clean in half.

"Oops! See, the earth is moving beneath my feet… must be a big change coming my way!" Chloe chuckled as Stacie helped to steady her.

"Chloe, are you sure there's nothing we can do? We are family after all." Stacie frowned with concern as she looked at Chloe who shook her head again.

"No, I appreciate it I really do, but I'm fine!" Chloe forced a grin onto her face as she gave Stacie's hand a grateful squeeze, "I bitch and moan, but I'm surviving Stace… and I do love it here."

Stacie wasn't convinced but kept her mouth shut. She'd talk to the other Bellas later, see if they could all put a plan together to help Chloe and get her to accept it.

"Well as long as the earth seems to be shifting for you!" Stacie grinned with an eyebrow raised, "Who knows, maybe the love of your life has arrived and is ready to sweep you off your feet."

"Ooo, their love shifting the earth! How romantic!" Amy pretended to swoon as Chloe and Stacie laughed.

On the other side of hotel, Emily hummed softly to herself as she headed for the back door. Some of the Bellas would surely be here by now, and she had to tell Chloe about Beca before she accidently bumped into her. She felt a little guilty that she'd invited someone that would upset Chloe, but talking to Jessica and Ashley had helped her feel a little better about it. She was so wrapped in her thoughts that she almost bowled over the short brunette woman heading in the opposite direction.

"Oh, whoops!" Emily chuckled nervously, catching the woman before she fell over, "Sorry, I'm always doing that… I really should watch where I'm going."

"It's fine kid." The stranger grinned, brushing her hair out of her face, "I'm a bit lost actually, can you help me?"

"Sure!" Emily beamed, "What's up?"

"I'm looking for Chloe Beale. I was invited to a wedding?" The woman rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, heart pounding.

"Oh right! You must be one of the Barden Bellas?" Emily was still beaming, unaware of who she was talking to.

"Yeah, I'm Beca. Beca Mitchell."