Author's Note: So, I think it's fairly well established that I like classic REAL country right? Not the modern pop stuff that passes for country. Well, the other night I was on my way to a baseball game, and when I was able to switch over to the classic country station, I caught the tail end of the Conway Twitty song Tight Fittin' Jeans. Well, I got listening to it again and it occurs to me, with a few twists, I could fit it to Aubrey. It's slightly AU, because it has to be in order to work. Basically changing a few ages, and who knows who when. I had originally conceived this as a Chaubrey given there's far from enough of it, but changed my mind. Also this was going to be a one shot, but my unbiological sister E convinced me to make it multi-chapter, I've got some stuff plotted out but as always who knows. Thanks to the smeghead for the beta and the ending. Also, Smeg's wife helped with Aubrey's wardrobe. I had been hoping to have the first chapter of The Right Chloe After Dark and the next chapter of The Right Chloe out by now, but this and other distractions sprang up, and now since my best friend is coming to town this weekend, FSM only knows when they'll get done. Regardless, enjoy
Aubrey Posen would never forget the night she met the love of her life. It wasn't the first football game of ninth grade like her parents once thought. She did not love Jesse Swanson, and she never would. She only said yes when he asked her out the first time for two reasons. He was a boy, and he seemed safe. She liked to consider herself a good judge of character, and she turned out to be right. He never, not once, pushed her to do anything she was uncomfortable with. She did feel the occasional twinge of guilt, knowing that she was essentially leading him on, but she knew deep down when he learned the truth, he'd understand. He was a good guy, from a good family. She also felt guilty for keeping him from finding a girl who would actually love him. Or a guy, if that was what he was in to.
The night Aubrey met the love of her life was October 10th, 2010. Two nights after her twenty-first birthday. Her birthday was nothing overly special, she and Jesse saw The Social Network and then went to a nice restaurant and shared a bottle of wine. She could tell he kind of hoped the night would be even more special, but ever the perfect gentleman, he didn't push. They spent the night in their own dorms, just like every other night since coming to college. Saturday night was nothing special, her roommate went out partying somewhere, she stayed home. She found it amusing that the Saturday Night Live host that night was Jane Lynch. It felt appropriate for what she had planned for the next day.
When Sunday came around, she was apprehensive. She knew it was a big risk, but she'd gone long enough hiding who she was. She was ready to open the closet door a little and at least peek out. There were no classes Monday, which was how she was justifying going out on a Sunday. She dressed simply, a light, flowy flower print top with a cardigan, a pair of tight jeans, and a pair of ballet flats. She elected to keep her hair down. She told her roommate she was going out and headed towards her planned destination. She parked in the parking lot across the street from Dana's, the local lesbian bar, and sat there nervously tapping her fingers on the steering wheel along to the beat of the music she can just barely hear coming from the club. It was a little early still, so there wasn't much of a crowd yet. But that was fine, it'd help her ease in.
After getting out of her car, she started towards the building. It wasn't anything outwardly noteworthy, for the most part its brick facade blended with buildings around it. Sure there was a rainbow flag, and the marquee advertising DJ 22 was decorated with various things like two interlocking Venus symbols. She even noted that there were Wonder Woman and Ms. Marvel logos, no doubt a nod to the comic book shop next door. Aubrey smiled as she bobbed her head to the music, what appeared to be a mix of Van Halen's cover of "Pretty Woman" and Nirvana's "About a Girl", but with unfamiliar female voices singing. She nervously walked through the door, taking in the tastefully decorated interior. Her eyes eventually made their way to the DJ booth, and what she saw nearly left her breathless. The DJ was a tiny brunette who looked way too alternative for Aubrey's taste. The taller brunette she was happily talking to though was a different story. She was gorgeous, wearing a black leather miniskirt and a black t-shirt with Dana's blazoned across a magnificent bosom while the skin tight material left the brunette's perfect midriff exposed for every eye to see. Aubrey's eyes did see, and drank in the vision like the desert ground drinking in a sudden rain. Her stomach sank a little, certain they were an item given how close they stood and how they were interacting with each other. Aubrey made her way to the bar, taking one of the empty stools. Almost as soon as she sat down the bartender made her way over.
"Don't think I've seen you in here before." The redhead, Chloe as her nametag revealed, said with a cheery smile. "What can I get you sweetie?"
"I'll have a Cosmo please." Aubrey requested the first thing that came to mind, noting a spark of mirth in the redhead's eyes
"Coming right up, but I really love this place and don't want to get into trouble, so I'm going to need to see some identification first." Chloe informed the blonde.
"Oh, right, sorry." Aubrey responded, handing her driver's license over.
"You just had a birthday the other day." Chloe said as she looked at the card in her hand. "Happy belated birthday Aubrey, first one's on the house."
"Thank you, that's really sweet." Aubrey said with a smile as she accepted the drink.
"You're welcome." Chloe said, smiling back. "So you here to celebrate with your friends or what?"
"No." Aubrey said simply, trying to decide what to say. She saw the way Chloe was watching her and got the feeling she'd see through any lie she tried to give. "I'm here because nobody knows I'm...Nobody knows I like girls."
"Oh, I'm so sorry." Chloe said, reaching out and squeezing Aubrey's hand that was resting on the bar. "Well somebody knows now, and I get a feeling we're going to be fast friends."
"I'd like that." Aubrey said before taking another sip of her drink.
"Know what? I like you, you're drinking on the house tonight." Chloe happily informed the blonde.
"No, you don't have to do that, won't you get in trouble?" Aubrey asked.
"I'll be fine, I know the owner pretty well." Chloe waved it off with a conspiratory wink.
"Well, thank you." Aubrey said. "I'm only planning to have a couple anyway, I just wanted to take a step forward you know?"
"And you did, I'm so proud of you!" Chloe praised the blonde. "You know tomorrow's National Coming Out Day right? Is there anybody you could come out to?"
"Yeah, I knew." Aubrey confirmed with a sigh. "There really isn't anyone I could tell, not right now. I mean, I'd have to deal with my boyfriend first."
"You have a boyfriend?" Chloe asked, curiosity evident in her tone. "Let me guess, he's a beard?"
"Yes he is." the blonde replied with a nod of her head. "I've been leading him on for six years. I'm horrible."
"No, sweetie, no you're not, not everyone's as fortunate as I am. I can't pretend to know your circumstances, but I can certainly tell you're not horrible." Chloe said, noticing someone trying to catch her attention out of the corner of her eye. "I've got to go be responsible, you enjoy your drink and have fun."
"Thank you." Aubrey said again, looking away from Chloe as she walked off back to the girls still talking at the DJ booth. She still couldn't get over how breathtakingly gorgeous the taller one was. She saw her lean in and place a gentle, loving kiss on the shorter girl's forehead before she turned away. Turning away from the sight to watch Chloe work she didn't know why it hurt her so. She didn't know the girl and she certainly had no right to be jealous, but yet she was. As she watched Chloe taking care of customers at the other end of the bar, she couldn't help but get lost in thought. 'Maybe Chloe's single. She's certainly cute, I could see myself with someone like her.'
"What's a pretty girl like you doing drinking alone so early on a Sunday night?" The nearness of the voice caught Aubrey by surprise. She turned toward it to see the taller brunette taking the seat next to her. A momentary flash of panic and nervousness made it difficult for Aubrey to find the right words.
"I'm, I'm…I just turned 21." the blonde explained, knowing she must look completely flustered to the breathtaking woman sitting next to her. "I want to be me."
"You aren't you?" the brunette asked in a concerned tone, trying her best to help soothe the other woman.
"I am." Aubrey confirmed, taking a breath. "It's just, I'm not… I have…"
"She's got a beard." Chloe joined the conversation with a grin. "She can't come out tomorrow till she deals with him. She's here today though taking her first step."
"Awww that's so sweet." the brunette cooed. "And you couldn't have come on a more auspicious day either. Well, maybe March 14th, 2015, but today's still better."
"Why's that?" Aubrey asked, having become enraptured by the brunette.
"Well, March 14th is just Pi Day." the brunette explained.
"Stacie's a math genius." Chloe cut in. "Well, a genius overall, but math especially"
"Math is simple, math follows strict rules that once you understand them, you can figure anything out." Stacie defended herself. "We're getting away from my point. March 14th is Pi Day, but today is 42. October 10th, 2010. 10 10 10. One zero one zero one zero is 42 in binary, and in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything."
"My boyfriend took me to see that movie. I got such a crush on Zooey Deschanel." Aubrey said, causing Chloe and Stacie to look at each other and giggle. "What's so funny?"
"Beca, my girlfriend." Chloe started, pointing towards the DJ who was busy with her equipment. "Her aunt looks just like Zooey Deschanel."
"Oh? That's kind of funny." Aubrey said softly, turning her attention to Chloe after she had seen where she was pointing. "So, the DJ is your girlfriend."
"Yep, four years now, we've been going out since our first year of college." Chloe beamed.
"And the two of you are close too?" Aubrey asked Stacie, remembering the kiss to the forehead she'd seen.
"Yeah, I've known Beca since Kindergarten. She's my best friend, practically my sister." Stacie explained, smiling over at Beca.
"Stacie's awesome, the best friend we could ask for." Chloe said. "She helped us through so much of our math and science classes. She stayed at Barden to get her PhD."
"That's where I go." Aubrey said, though granted its nearness should have made it obvious.
"I'm surprised we haven't seen you around." Chloe said as she started making Aubrey another drink. "What are you going for if you don't mind me asking?"
"I'm prelaw." Aubrey said, smiling before finishing off her first drink. "Thank you."
"No problem, and it explains a lot, I was business and Beca was music, plus I'm guessing you're just a junior?" Chloe asked, receiving a nod from the blonde. "Yeah, so we wouldn't have had much overlap at all."
"Probably not, no." Aubrey said. "Plus, I've been kind of avoiding the LGBT community."
"Our friends Ashley and Jessica are seniors still and they're active in the LGBT alliance." Stacie added. "We could give you their emails if you ever wanted to talk to them. Or they come here a lot, you come back you'll probably end up meeting them."
"Trying to get me to come back? Do you work here too?" Aubrey teased Stacie a little, gesturing to the name of the bar on her shirt.
"I can't just want to see you again?" Stacie asked, winking at Aubrey before looking to Chloe. "I mean, I do pick up a shift now and then when they're shorthanded, the owner is a friend of mine after all."
"Oh, so you're the owner?" Aubrey asked Chloe, finally putting things together.
"Yep, my parents started it for me when I came here, and then it was my 21st birthday present." Chloe nodded proudly.
"So, why Dana's then?" The blonde asked, slightly confused.
"We named it after Dana from The L Word." Stacie explained. "Her being our favorite was one of the things Chloe and I bonded over."
"Oh, I've never seen it." Aubrey apologized with a blush.
"It was mostly good, but Jenny Schecter is like our least favorite character ever from anything." Chloe added. "She was just a horrible person."
"Yeah, her and Andrew from Buffy, and Rachel from Glee we can't stand." Stacie agreed. "Have you seen either of those?"
"Yeah, I've seen them." Aubrey confirmed. "My boyfriend is a bit of geek, he's shown me everything Joss Whedon has done. I really liked Willow and Tara."
"Girl after my own heart." Chloe beamed. "Knew there was a reason I liked you."
"What do you think of Fuffy?" Stacie asked, earning a confused look from Aubrey. "The 'ship of Buffy and Faith."
"Oh, yeah, I don't get it." Aubrey shook her head. "Buffy had a much better relationship with Willow."
"Ok, she's certainly one of us." Chloe grinned at Stacie.
"She really, really is." Stacie agreed. After the bit of ice breaking from bonding over television shows, Aubrey found herself passing a relatively enjoyable evening ensconced on one of the barstools of Dana's. In fact, if the blond was asked, she'd have to say it was possibly one of the best nights she had in a long, long time.
The conversation flowed easily between herself, Stacie, and Chloe without even a lull as the redhead scooted off to serve drinks to someone or other. She always drifted back, when she was done, though and that helped Aubrey out immensely. The redhead hadn't lied when she said that Stacie was really smart, as the brunette proved time and again during their conversation. Aubrey had always accounted herself a fairly intelligent person, but some of the things that Stacie knew, especially where related to math and the sciences, just astounded her.
Despite the calming effect of Chloe and Stacie nearby, however, a small (or maybe not so small) part of Aubrey still shook with nervousness. Every time the door to the bar opened her head spun towards it as though expecting to see Jesse and her father storming in with police to arrest her. She knew she was being silly, even told herself so every time she looked, but it didn't stop her from doing the very same thing the next time the door swung open. The two other girls couldn't help but notice what she was doing, though Aubrey was thankful that neither said anything about it.
A few times throughout the night Aubrey found herself just sitting and listening to the music that Chloe's girlfriend was producing from her position in the DJ booth. While not all of it was from her preferred genres it was all excellent and more than once she found herself bobbing her head or tapping her fingers on the bar to the beat. Twice even Stacie asked if she wanted to get up and dance when one of her favorites came on and the two with her noticed her obvious enthusiasm for the song. She declined each time, nervously. She was barely handling just sitting quietly at a seat in the corner of the bar. She was fairly sure that she'd faint if she actually stepped onto the dance floor. Of course, that was just from where she was and what she was doing, it didn't even take into account how the insanely beautiful brunette beside her was making her feel whenever she smiled or laughed at something Aubrey said.
Feeling her nerves finally bubbling up, along with the feeling in her throat of what that meant, she finished her third drink, as delicious as the first two had been, and explained to Chloe and Stacie that she had to go for the night. Chloe expressed sadness that she was leaving so soon, but also seemed to understand the underlying reason for it. Stacie, on the other hand, reached over the bar and grabbed one of the napkins that sat behind the bar and a pen. Quickly she scribbled something onto it and slipped it into Aubrey's purse. The blond started to reach for it, but Stacie caught her wrist. Looking up, the brunette said, "Look later. It was really great meeting you, Aubrey Posen. I hope to see you back here again, or on campus, who knows?"
On that cryptic note, Aubrey got up and walked out of the bar feeling a slight tension she hadn't noticed in her shoulders lessen as she got into her car. Looking into her rearview mirror she smiled at herself proudly. She had done it. She had taken her first step… The smile slipped towards a frown as she pondered what the second step would be. Reaching for her keys she felt the napkin and pulled it out as well. Scrawled on it in a delicate, feminine hand was Stacie's name and phone number along with a brief message, "Call me if you ever need to talk. About anything."