Pitch Perfect: Chaubrey
Realizations
Aubrey realizes she's jealous under the bright neon lights of a dance floor when she's shaking her hips, vodka haze clouding her mind. Her world is distorted, flipped and swirling around like a rainbow lollipop, but it's like the three shots she'd taken disappear when she watches Chloe smile flirtatiously at Beca, her fingers touching the tiny brunette's arm lightly. Aubrey closes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths, reassuring herself that by tomorrow, Chloe will be her best friend again, instead of the person cuddling up with Beca who barely spares a glance at Aubrey. Pursing her lips once more, she makes her way towards the bartender, dodging throngs of grinding couples, her stomach rolling tumultuously before she orders some tequila and gulps it down. And again and again, until she's completely wasted, turned into a giggling and vomiting drunk in a world of blue, black, and red.
When Aubrey wakes up, she throws her hand over her eyes to shield out the bright light coming from the window. A giggle, then 'oops,' and the room plunges into almost darkness. She clamps her eyes shut again, rubbing them, until she slowly opens them again. She can make out the faint outline of curls.
"Chloe?" she calls out, voice still hoarse and groggy.
A gentle hand smoothes out her hair, brushing her bangs away from Aubrey's face. Chloe's always done this before, when Aubrey parties too hard but this time, it feels awkward, as if forced. It's just different. "Who's that?" She points to the indistinct shape, and hears a laugh. "It's me, Beca."
Aubrey attempts to sit up, wincing as she props herself up on her elbows. "Oh, hey Beca." She tries to smile but her lips feel like dead weights. She flops back, in no way in the mood for socializing, especially with the best-friend stealer. She studies the ceiling, the corners of her mouth twitching when she sees the dirt imprint, remembering when Chloe had freaked over a spider and had slammed a stiletto heel into the wall.
When it's clear Aubrey isn't going to say more – or ask what happened after she got completely wasted like she usually always does – Chloe walks over to Beca and leads her out, before shifting around and saying, "We'll leave you here to sleep."
X
Aubrey doesn't sleep. She closes her eyes, because they're insanely tired, even after an eleven hour rest, and thinks about Chloe and Beca. She knows that she's jealous, but of what? Is she jealous of their sudden romantic (if it could be called that) relationship, jealous of Chloe, or jealous of Beca? It certainly wouldn't be the first time that's happened. She's pretty, gorgeous even, and she has a great personality, and furthermore, she doesn't vomit when stressed or angry. It wouldn't surprise Aubrey if Chloe were to choose Beca over her, because while Beca was like a bottomless well with a surprise up her sleeve everyday, Aubrey was just like cardboard. With puke. Boring, tasteless, and gross. She can't even hate Beca now because she's actually so sweet and kind – it's sickening, sometimes Aubrey just wants to shake the brunette by the shoulders and yell at her to stop being so perfect yet oblivious.
It's nearly two pm when Beca and Chloe return, giggling with Chloe leaning into the brunette as if she needs the support to stand straight. Aubrey, feeling a little better now in terms of her hangover, sits up, and gives them a warm smile that masks the confusion and turmoil she feels inside. She gathers her hair into a messy bun, before ambling into Chloe's bathroom, pulling down the ends of her oversized shirt, ignoring Beca and Chloe's nonsensical chatter. She forgoes her usual makeup, just reaching for concealer to cover the fact that she looks like shit. When she walks out, the two are already up and ready.
"We're going out for lunch!" Chloe chirps, dragging her by one arm.
"Wait!" Aubrey protests. "I have to get dressed."
Chloe rolls her eyes, throwing her a pink hoodie and leggings. Aubrey rolls her eyes, giving her the look of 'I'm not wearing this.' Chloe shrugs and holds her hands out as if giving, but gives her famous 'Chloe Beale' pout, and that does it.
When they arrive at the nearest Taco Bell, Aubrey's already feeling severely underdressed. She's used to being in public all dressed and dolled up, and showing up at this crowded fast food restaurant looking as if she just rolled out of bed (which she technically did) makes her feel awkward and uncomfortable. She fiddles with the sleeves of the hoodie, gnawing on her bottom lip. When she gets to the line, she looks up towards Chloe, surprised to find her already looking at her. "What're you getting?"
Aubrey raises an eyebrow because Chloe knows what she likes. Chloe suddenly looks very flustered and glances away. Aubrey blinks in confusion. She's always done well in academics and sports, but when it came to hints and warning signs, she always couldn't catch them. She wonders if Chloe is trying to send a message to her, and inwardly laughs, because the red-head knows how dense Aubrey is.
They pay for the orders and find a table to sit at. When the food arrives, she picks at the tacos, trying to disguise the little glances at Bhloe, sharing secret little looks and eyebrow raises. When she looks at Chloe, she's taken aback at how she looks at Beca; it's a kind of starry-eyed gaze, the type that you only give to people you love very very much. She's known Chloe for a long time, from the time they were eleven to now, but never has the red-head given her that look. It isn't like a platonic look, it's a 'I'm in love with you so much but you don't see it.' When she realizes that, the few bites she's taken of her tacos gurgle up to her stomach, and she makes a choking sound as Chloe rushes over and pats her back. But even that can't help her now, as she vomits all over the table. Even when Bhloe are both fussing over Aubrey and employees are furiously wiping the table, she can't really focus on them to even be embarrassed, except to muster a half-hearted smile while her eyes are prickling with tears, because she just realized she's in love with her best friend of thirteen years, Chloe Beale, but what's worse, Chloe Beale is in love with Beca Mitchell.