"Put the heavier ones towards the bottom, babe, it's only common sense."
"You've been backseat decorating from the couch for the best part of an hour now. If you want something done right, do it yourself! Help a girl out here."
"I'm sick."
"You've got a cough, Aub."
"I've got an upper respiratory tract infection, I'll have you know."
"Same thing! Besides, I'm a nodes survivor and you don't hear me whining about it! Mind over matter."
"Chloe, you cried about your nodes last night."
"PMS makes me feel like the world is out to get me."
"I'm here for you."
Chloe tried to mentally distinguish between the sound of a wheezy chest infection sufferer in comparison with a sarcastic bitch who wasn't happy with how her- Chloe corrected herself- their Christmas tree was looking, nodding to herself as she decided there was more than a hint of both in Aubrey's voice at that moment in time.
As much as she didn't like letting it show, Chloe was immensely grateful for what Aubrey was doing for her. The unfortunate chain of events that culminated in Chloe moving in with the blonde in the middle of the Winter had both started and ended after the girls' disastrous regionals performance. It began on stage, when it was announced that the girls had lost and thus would not be continuing in the competition. It ended when her conservative Christian parents found her with her arms around her girlfriend Beca's waist and her tongue halfway down her throat when they went backstage to comfort her and tell her they were proud of her regardless of the result. Yeah. Not the ideal way to come out.
The conversation at dinner the following night had consisted of two halves: Chloe trying to explain to her parents that in this day and age, love is love and should be seen as a right rather than a heterosexual privilege (ignorance breeds hatred, right?), and her parents telling her to get out of their house, that they'd rather have no daughter than be parents to a lesbian, inevitably "destined for hell". When Chloe called Aubrey, sobbing, hyperventilating, an all 'round mess, her best friend hadn't hesitated to drop everything and pick her up. The girls had been close since first grade, so Aubrey's parents had no qualms in letting Chloe move in, at least temporarily, especially considering Aubrey was an only child and could probably use the company over Christmas, anyways.
Chloe intended on sorting herself out with a place to live in the new year, be it on-campus accommodation or a rented apartment in town, but for now, she was perfectly content in the Posen household. According to Aubrey she already felt like part of the furniture, and although Chloe was initially unsure of how to react to that, she was quickly assured that it was a compliment. Chloe was glad of that much. She felt at peace here, like she belonged. I mean, even though her so-called best friend refused to help decorate the tree in their bedroom, she had at least cared enough to buy one- however small- in order to make Chloe feel more at home. Aubrey always had the best of intentions at heart.
"Chloe! Is that.. snow?"
The redhead quickly spun around, sending a bauble flying to the floor in the process. Thank God for shatter-proof ornaments.
"Snow?!", she gasped, stepping over the massive box of decorations at her feet in one swift motion to join Aubrey at the window, which was now wide open as a flurry of tiny snowflakes landed on the windowsill, melting just as they made contact with the wood. The pair smiled at each other, agreeing that the first call of duty the following morning- Christmas Eve- was definitely a snowball fight.
Scratch that, a snowball war.
Chloe had always adored snow. It was the perfect excuse to put comfort above fashion on the clothing front, it was always fun, and it was a hell of a lot safer than icey weather was; at least you could make an attempt to use the roads when it was snowing. Realistically, Aubrey shouldn't have been as shocked as she was when Chloe woke her up at 9am the following morning, insisting that they make use of the woolies Aubrey's grandparents had been knitting for her for the past three months and head outside to make the most of the wonderland that the front garden had been transformed into overnight while it lasted.
9am. Christmas Eve morning. Hoarse throat. Whooping cough. Overexcited best friend trying desperately to get her out of bed. This was Aubrey's life now, and honestly? She couldn't really complain. Hesitant as she was to admit it, she was really enjoying Chloe's constant company, and it was pretty damn amazing that, considering everything she'd been through in the past few weeks, Chloe could still be this happy about the coating of fresh snow on the lawn.
Exactly 34 minutes later (Chloe counted), Aubrey finally decided she had donned enough layers to exit the house without, y'know, dying or anything. The pair made their way into the kitchen- Chloe skipping down the stairs, Aubrey feeling like it was the longest trek of her life but glad that she was at least well enough to leave her bed- and sat down on the wooden stools at each side of the table to grab their respective breakfasts. Porridge for Chloe, cereal (and antibiotics) for Aubrey. Chloe flicked the switch on the kettle, and a warm smile spread across Aubrey's face when Chloe didn't need to be reminded of how many sugars to put in. They worked well as a team, she realized.
Once their brains and bodies sufficiently woken up- thanks for that one, caffeine- the two girls went outside and took their places at either end of the garden. Chloe couldn't help but giggle at the sight of her best friend, red nosed, wearing God-knows how many pairs of socks under those hideous Ugg boots and panicking when her feet sunk too far into the snow to have any hope of salvaging the once pristine appearance of said boots. "Typical", she muttered under her breath, amused.
Bending her knees, Chloe crouched down and scooped up a handful of crisp snow, compacting it in her hands and patting it into a semi-rounded shape. Aubrey was standing about five feet away, obviously chilly and completely oblivious to the fact that Chloe was standing behind her, ready to fire. Chloe hurled the snowball at the blonde's back, laughing loudly as a sharp squeal of indignation pierced the morning air. Aubrey spun on her heels, turning to face Chloe.
"That's not fair! I wasn't ready! I thought we were gonna make piles before we started attacking each other," Aubrey pouted.
"They don't say all's fair in love and war for nothing, Aub," Chloe snorted, sticking out her tongue at the other girl. "Look, I'm just gonna stand here. Totally vulnerable. Feel free to get me back for it."
A few moments of tense silence followed as Aubrey walked forwards, stopping in front of Chloe and bending down to fill her cupped hands with snow, which she proceeded to smear all over Chloe's face, as both girls collapsed into fits of giggles before hugging each other, totally wrapped up in and comfortable in their embrace.
After everything that had happened, Chloe hadn't expected to find another home. She hadn't expected to have a white Christmas with a family who actually wanted her around. And she certainly hadn't expected her best friend to lean in, close her eyes and plant a gentle kiss on her lips while these thoughts were running through her head. But she did.