Returning to Barden after winning ICCAs should have been a huge adrenaline rush for Aubrey. After four years of hard work, the blonde was ecstatic that she was finally being rewarded for it with sweet victory. While in New York, Aubrey made sure to have a good time enjoying the victory with her teammates.
Unfortunately, the excitement vanished the second their bus pulled onto Barden's campus. Aubrey could no longer ignore her everyday stresses and responsibilities on top of all of the catch up work she would have. In a matter of seconds, the blond had gone from an unmatchable high to a ball of stress. Barden had given the Bellas and Trebles a week of excused absences from classes to travel and compete at nationals. All that meant to Aubrey was that she was a week behind her peers. Would this effect her status as top of her class? What if she never closed that gap? What if she didn't graduate?
These were just a few of the worries that were swirling in Aubrey's head by the time she had stepped off the bus and started walking back to her and Chloe's apartment. A block into her pre-occupied walk, the blonde jumped a foot in the air as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Aubrey turned around and was met with Chloe's concerned eyes, "Bree are you ok? You're walking really fast and you're muttering to yourself?"
Aubrey composed herself as much as she could before answering. "Yes I'm fine Chloe. I was deep in thought about what I have to do before we return to classes on Monday."
The redhead's eyes turned stern. "Bree I've known you for too long to know when you're stressed out and lying about being stressed out. You're clearly both right now."
The blonde couldn't help but gulp, knowing that she had been caught. Noticing how much what she had just said added to her friend's stress, Chloe softened her expression. "I'm not going to make you do it now, but when we get home, we're definitely talking about this."
Seeing no way out, Aubrey simply nodded her head in understanding as she and Chloe walked the rest of the way back to their apartment in silence.
When the seniors got back to their apartment, they instinctively walked to the couch and sat down at opposite ends. Since moving into the apartment, the couch had become the place where the girls had all of their important talks, everything from venting about school and the Bellas to how afraid they were for the future.
The redhead gave the blonde a few moments to prepare for the talk they were about to have before asking, "What's wrong Bree?"
Aubrey was unable to stop the tears that came spilling from her eyes. Not missing a beat, Chloe pulled the blonde into her body and began stroking her hair and whispering soothing things into her ear to calm her down.
After five minutes of crying into her roommate's shoulder, Aubrey had calmed down enough to speak. "Chloe, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I'm so far behind. What if I don't catch up and don't graduate? How would I tell my father I failed? I can't be the first person in my family to not have a professional degree. And how can I get a professional degree if I don't have a bachelor's degree? And on top of that, my parents are starting to get suspicious about me never talking about boys. Oh and of course, how can I forget about the fact that I still haven't found an internship for the summer."
Chloe sat stunned. She had no idea that Aubrey was so stressed out about more than the usual pressures of pleasing her father. "Bree, why didn't you tell me about all of this? I'm your best friend and roommate, all I want is to help you and I can't do that if I don't know what's bothering you.
Aubrey took a deep breath to steady herself, "I know, it's just so close to graduation that I figured you'd be busy with your own problems."
This omission broke Chloe's heart. She thought it had been clear from move in day freshman year that she always had time for Aubrey. "Of course I'm busy, but I will always make time for you, no matter how small your problem is. Do you understand?"
The blonde nodded her understanding. The red head smiled at her roommate and pulled her in for another comforting hug. "Good. Now let's get some sleep. We have to get back to the real world tomorrow and start getting ready for school on Monday and then we're taking you to a psychologist."
Chloe could tell that Aubrey was going to try to argue with her and shot the blonde a hardened look that quickly sent Aubrey into submission as she nodded her understanding. The rest of the night, the seniors spent holding each other on the couch.
The next day was a typical Saturday morning. Aubrey was off working out and running errands by the time Chloe got up. Normally, Aubrey beat Chloe home and had homework sprawled out on the kitchen table to stay on top of her schoolwork. Instead, the redhead was greeted to a note in place of her roommate's books. All the note said was, "At the library. Don't wait up."
Knowing her roommate, Chloe knew that Aubrey was stressed about being behind, but that did not excuse her from blowing Chloe off. Before she could even think, the redhead grabbed her keys and started making her way to the library.
With finals just around the corner, the library was busier than usual for a Saturday evening, but Chloe knew Aubrey's favorite study spot and wasn't surprised to see her roommate staring intently at her laptop, headphones in and bottom lip pulled between her teeth. Normally Chloe wouldn't bother Aubrey because she didn't want to invoke Aubrey's wrath, but she knew Aubrey's mental health was more important than whatever she was working on.
The redhead stroke over to Aubrey's table and stood in front of her with her arms crossed for a few moments. When the blonde failed to look up at all, a normally sweet and gentle Chloe walked behind Aubrey and roughly pulled the headphones right out of her hears.
Aubrey's head hot up and looked around to find out what had interrupted her studying. When green eyes finally laid on her roommate, the blonde shrieked, "What the hell Chloe?""
The blonde's outburst was met with a chorus of shushes from other studying students. Aubrey gave a quick, sheepish apology before returning her attention back to Chloe.
"Seriously though, what the hell, Chloe? What could possibly be so important that you had to do something like that?" Aubrey sharply whispered at her roommate.
Chloe was officially pissed off now. "Oh, I don't know Aubrey, maybe the fact that you blew me off to talk about you told me yesterday so we can figure out how to help you cope with it."
Aubrey let out a frustrated sigh and ran her hand through her hair. "Yes Chloe, I believe I've made it extremely clear that I'm stressed, which is why I'm here trying to study so I can feel prepared for my exams. Also, there is no "we" in this whole situation, this is my life and my problems, so while I appreciate the concern, but you being here is causing me more harm than good so would you please just leave?"
Chloe took a few steps back before locking eyes with the blonde, "Fine. I'm going to go back to the apartment. I'll wait half an hour, if you aren't back by then I'll assume you are terminating our friendship. I'll finish out our lease and be friendly, but the second my last final is over I'm moving out and cutting out all contact with you. I don't want to do that, but I can't have you tell me about your problems and not let me help you, it's too much of a burden to know you're hurting but not be able to do anything about it. So I'll be at the apartment. I really hope you make the right decision for yourself, not the one that would please your father."
With that, Chloe left the library. Aubrey watched the redhead walk away until she was completely out of sight. The tone of Chloe's voice told Aubrey that she wasn't bluffing. Aubrey leaned as far back as the uncomfortable chair would allow, closed her eyes and rubbed her temples as she contemplated her options. "You fucked up big time Posen."