Chloe pulled Beca close, pinning her against the wall. "I am so glad that I met you," she whispered, putting their faces close. Without a second's hesitation, Beca closed the distance between them and crashed her lips onto Chloe's.
Chloe was surprised, but she pushed the butterflies away and kissed her back. She leaned her arms against the wall on either side of Beca's head so she had no escape.
When Beca finally pulled away, both of them were breathing hard. "That was… wow," Beca panted. "You're good at that."
Chloe giggled. "I'll see you later." She winked and skipped off.
Aubrey was just about to fall asleep when Chloe came into her room. She groaned and rolled over. "Is it important?"
Chloe nodded.
Aubrey sighed and patted the bed beside her.
Chloe scurried over and lay down, nestled close to Aubrey. "I gotta tell you something," she said. "I like someone. But I don't know if she likes me back and I'm scared to tell her."
Aubrey's breath caught. "Who is it?" she asked, forcing herself to sound casual. Please say me, please say me, Aubrey thought. Tell me you love me and everything will be okay.
Chloe sighed. "Beca."
Aubrey could feel her heart crashing to the floor. She'd loved Chloe for three years, and she and Chloe had always been closer than friends, but not close enough to be girlfriends. She bit back her tears for now. "Well, is Beca like us?"
"I don't think so, but you never know."
"Are you going to tell her?"
Chloe nodded in the dark. "Tomorrow, after rehearsal," she declared.
Aubrey winced. "Just be careful, hon. I don't want to see you get hurt." She gently stroked her friend's back under the blanket.
But Chloe was already asleep. She'd said what she needed to and that was that. Aubrey sighed and let a single tear fall. Stop, she told herself. You're a Posen, and Posens don't cry. She contented herself with wrapping her arms around Chloe and feeling the redhead snuggle closer into her arms. At least in her dreams, she could have Chloe to herself.
Chloe smiled, pushing away her nervousness as the Bellas left the rehearsal room. Aubrey stood loyally by her side. "I'm going to do it," she whispered to Aubrey. "I'm going to tell her."
"I'll wait outside."
Chloe shook her head. "I'll just walk home. I'd rather we be completely alone."
Aubrey hesitated, but Chloe nodded firmly. Aubrey sighed. "I'll see you at home. Good luck." She hugged her friend tightly before walking out the door.
Chloe turned to where Beca's figure was heading toward the door. "Beca," she called. "Could I talk to you?"
Beca sighed and backtracked. "The she-devil sent you to lecture me?" she said expectantly.
Chloe was confused. "Why would you think that?"
Beca rolled her eyes. "I saw you whispering with her before you called me over here. She too busy spitting on puppies to talk to me herself?"
Chloe frowned. "Aubrey's not that bad, Beca. She just really needs to win this year and it's stressing her out bigtime. You'd be the same way if you were going through what she was."
Beca scoffed, but she let it go. "So why did you need to talk to me?"
Chloe sat down in one of the chairs, motioning for Beca to do the same. "For the past few months, I've sort of, um, had inklings of feelings for you," she managed, her face reddening. "And I was wondering if there might be any sort of chance of maybe going out with you?"
Beca wrinkled her nose in that cute way she always did. "No," she said, sounding disgusted. "I like men."
"But what about our kiss?" Chloe pleaded. "You kissed me, remember?"
Beca laughed. "I was drunk. Besides, I'm in college, you're supposed to experiment with kissing girls in college. I'm done with that now."
Chloe could barely see through the tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
Beca scoffed. "I don't know how you thought you had a chance." She grabbed her bag and stormed out, leaving Chloe alone with her tears.
Her phone rang. Aubrey's name came up on the screen, but Chloe ignored it. Aubrey called twice more. Then she texted. I'm coming back for you, be there in five.
Four minutes and fifty-three seconds later, Aubrey burst through the door. She sat beside Chloe and wrapped her arms around the redhead. "What happened?" she murmured.
Chloe sobbed loudly. "She didn't know how I thought I had a chance," she managed.
Aubrey's fists clenched. She helped Chloe to her feet and into the car. "Let's get you home, come on. I'm here, forever and always," she promised. Chloe was in bed with a mug of hot chocolate and Grease, her favorite movie, on the TV. She didn't even notice when Aubrey left the room.
Aubrey drove furiously back to the campus and stormed into Baker Hall. She knocked loudly on Beca's door. Her roommate answered. "What do you want?"
"Where's Beca?" I snapped.
"Radio station," the girl scoffed. "Won't be back for an hour."
"Can I wait inside?"
"Nope." The girl slammed the door in her face.
Aubrey went down to the station, where Jesse was stacking CDs.
He grinned. "Hey, Aubrey, what are you doing here?"
She rolled her eyes, wanting to get out of the filthy place as soon as she could. "Where's Beca?"
Jesse glanced upstairs. "Bec, you have a visitor," he called jokingly.
Beca came downstairs, slowing when she saw Aubrey standing there with her arms folded. She looked at Jesse. "Can you give us a minute?" Jesse nodded and went to the upper level. Beca turned back to Aubrey. "Why are you here?"
"What did you say to her?" Aubrey snapped, ignoring Beca's question.
"What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean. Chloe's at home crying and watching Grease because of what you did to her."
"All I said was I didn't want to go out with her! Hate me for being honest," Beca defended herself.
Aubrey glared daggers at the alt girl, taking a step closer to her. "You led her on for a month before you just let her go. You didn't just break her heart; you shattered it into a million pieces that I now have to pick up."
Beca tilted her head. "You love her." It wasn't a question.
Aubrey paused. "What makes you think that?"
"Because you have the same look in your eyes as Jesse always does when he talks about you."
Aubrey frowned. "Jesse likes me now?"
"Yeah, he's always talking about how great you are. I think he's completely mad."
"And why is that?"
"He's fallen for a monster. All you do is turn the Bellas room into hell on earth, and for some reason, I've become a target."
Aubrey sighed and rubbed at her temples. "Beca, let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, a man named Robert Posen had a baby girl with his wife. Now Robert wanted a boy. He was disgusted with this thing, and he told that baby as much several times as she grew up. He told his wife that she was a disgrace, giving him this useless child. When the baby was three, his wife left them without a reason or a goodbye. As his only child, Robert knew that this little girl somehow had to live up to the Posen name. So he began training her to be perfect. By third grade, the girl knew how to read and write in cursive, she had read Pride and Prejudice and the entire Sherlock Holmes collection, she was the lead dancer in her ballet class, she was a first chair flute player and was playing at a seventh grade level, and she had three solos in the choir concert. But that wasn't good enough for Robert. He pushed his daughter harder and harder as she grew up. By the time the girl was in sixth grade, she had red Les Miserables in the original French, was playing her flute at a college level, had joined the all-state ballet team as lead dancer, leading the choir, was fluent in French, maintained straight As, was attending courses at the university, and had no time for friends. And still, she wasn't good enough. Finally, she graduated high school and came to Barden University. By this time, she'd realized that she was different than the other girls, but she knew she couldn't tell her father. She'd just have to keep any girlfriend she had a secret. She joined the Bellas, met her roommate and best friend, and the two of them worked their way up in the Bellas until finally, in her junior year, she got a solo. She practiced that solo every day until she couldn't sing anymore, and then she kept practicing. But on the day of the show, her old nervous habit came back and her entire world fell down around her. Her father called her as the next Bellas season began and told her that if she didn't win the ICCA's this year he'd cut her off financially and disown her because Posens don't lose. So that girl knew she needed to win. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that she pleases her father, and if that means cracking down on the slacker girls, then so be it. Do I make myself clear?"
Beca was speechless for a moment. "I didn't know he was so hard on you. But that's still no excuse to tear us down."
"I can't get through to you by being nice," Aubrey snapped.
"Have you tried?" the brunette shot back.
Aubrey raised her eyebrows. "Yes, I did. You jumped to some conclusion that I didn't like you."
"Yeah, you never did. You didn't even know me."
"No, I didn't. But I also didn't hate you. You had a terrible attitude, which bothered me. There is a difference, you know."
"That's not-"
"No, you let me finish. You didn't know me either, you still don't. It took everything I had in me and more to convince my father to pay for me to be in the Bellas again this season, because he lives by the Posen motto."
"Which is?"
"If at first you don't succeed, pack your bags," Aubrey recited, bottom lip quivering. "But that's not why I came here. I came here to make sure that you know just what you did. And if you ever try to talk to her again I will personally rip your heart out through your mouth."
Beca swallowed and nodded. "Got it."
Aubrey nodded once and walked swiftly out of the dark, dusty radio station. She drove herself home, where Chloe had her phone in hand. She wasn't doing anything with it, just staring at the screen and wiggling her thumbs above it. She looked up as Aubrey came in. "Should I text her?"
Aubrey took the phone from her. "No. You should forget about her."
"I don't want to forget her," Chloe said.
"She hurt you."
"I still love her!"
"Why would you love someone who hurts you?" Aubrey exclaimed before it sank in. There was a long pause. "Because you can't help it," she said softly.
Chloe bent her head. "I hate loving her… but I just can't stop." A tear fell from her pale blue eyes.
Aubrey sat beside her on the bed. "I know how you feel," she sighed.
Chloe looked into her roommate's eyes. "Who is it?"
Aubrey bit her lip, avoiding Chloe's gaze. She didn't say anything.
The redhead smiled weakly. "You'll tell me when you're ready, and that's just fine." She didn't push it, and for that, Aubrey was thankful.
Chloe yawned. "I'm tired. Let's go to sleep." She flipped the light switch beside her bed and curled up beside Aubrey.
I should tell her, Aubrey thought. She shook her head. Not while she still loves Beca. I can't throw that on her as well. She sighed and nestled close to her ginger. At least I can have this.
It took two months of tequila-soaked nights watching chick flicks and musicals before Chloe finally woke up with a smile on her face. She glanced down at Aubrey's sleeping figure beside her. Aubrey Posen, the fierce, bodacious blonde who'd been her friend from the start, who'd always been there to catch her when she fell, to hold her when she was upset, to love her no matter what. Yet, they were so much more than best friends. They slept in the same bed, they held hands, and there was something between them Chloe couldn't quite place. She'd loved her roommate since last year, although there had been a point where she loved both Aubrey and Beca equally. It confused her, scared her even, and she just wanted to forget it.
"Morning, hon," Aubrey said with a yawn, interrupting Chloe's thoughts.
Chloe smiled. She loved the way Aubrey woke up, all slow-like with her sexy bedhead. "Morning."
Aubrey started to get up, but Chloe caught her wrist. She felt the blonde's heart racing beneath her touch. She smirked. Gotcha. Aubrey turned to her. "What's up?"
Chloe grinned widely. "Remember when I liked the alt girl?"
Aubrey tensed visibly. "Yes," she said, her voice tightening.
"I didn't like her nearly as much or for as long as I like someone else," she whispered.
Aubrey bit her lip. "And who might that be?"
Chloe crawled forward on the bed, not letting go of Aubrey's hand. She leaned close and whispered in her ear. "You."
Aubrey turned to her. "How long?"
"Since last year at regionals. I don't know why it started then, it just… did."
She smiled. "I'm so glad it did." She kissed Chloe long and hard. The two were rolling around in the bed sheets, fighting for dominance. A knock came on the apartment door. Aubrey sighed and padded down the hallway barefoot to answer it, Chloe following behind. Jesse was there. He shuffled his feet on the carpeted hall floor. "Hey," he said when Aubrey opened the door. "Um, Beca told me that you guys talked."
Chloe turned to Aubrey. "Did you talk to the alt girl without telling me?"
Aubrey didn't meet her gaze. "Words were exchanged." She turned back to Jesse. "That was two months ago, Jesse. Why are you here now?"
He blew air through his nose. "She was kind of venting about you today and she let slip that you came to visit back when Chloe was-" he broke off.
Chloe sighed. "I'll just be in the kitchen." She kissed Aubrey on the cheek and went into the kitchen. She pressed her ear against the wall so she could hear them talking.
"So what did you need to talk about?" Aubrey sighed.
"Beca told me that she told you about my… feelings."
"Yeah, and?"
"I came here to ask you out. I figure now that the season's over the oath doesn't really count anymore, right?"
"No, it doesn't."
"So you'll go out with me?"
"I never said that," Aubrey said coolly.
"Why not? Just give it one date. If you don't have a good time I'll never bother you again."
Aubrey sighed in irritation. "Because I'm with someone."
Chloe could hear the disappointment in his voice. "Who?"
Chloe barged out of the kitchen and draped her arms around her girlfriend's shoulder. "Me," she said coldly. "Now if you'd please get the hell out of our apartment building we need to get dressed."
Jesse looked surprised, confused, and hurt as Chloe shut the door in his face. She kissed Aubrey's nose. "I love you," she said with a smile.
Aubrey raised her eyebrows. "You're the jealous type." She sounded amused.
Chloe blushed. "Maybe just a little bit." She paused. "You talked to the alt girl?"
Aubrey sighed and sat on the couch. "You were really broken up over the whole thing. I told her to stay away from us. I'll admit I was kind of jealous, and I didn't want her hurting you again."
Chloe cracked a smile. "Jealous You is adorable," she giggled, going in for a kiss. "So you're finally my girlfriend?"
Aubrey laughed out loud. "Finally," she agreed.
Aubrey was walking across campus to her car when she saw Beca jogging toward her across the quad. She glared at the shorter woman. "What?"
Beca sighed. "How's Chloe?"
"Better," she said curtly.
"Does she ever talk about me?"
"She used to. Before you tore her apart."
Beca shifted her feet. "And now?"
"She won't even refer to you by name," Aubrey said coldly. "And you deserve it."
"Has she moved on?"
"Yes actually, she has a girlfriend now." They'd reach the car. Aubrey got into the driver's side.
"Who?"
"Me." Aubrey slammed the door and drove off without waiting for a reply. She went into Chloe's room when she got home. "Hey, babe," she said, tackling her girlfriend on the bed and tickling her.
Chloe screamed with laughter. She made weak attempts to push Aubrey off of her, to no avail. "Have mercy!"
"Say I'm your favorite girl," Aubrey teased.
"You're my favorite girl!" Chloe shrieked.
Aubrey pulled her hands away and Chloe sat up, her red hair a mess.
"You know I would have said that anyway," she purred, putting her hands on Aubrey's waist. She pulled her girlfriend in for a kiss, smiling and murmuring against her lips. "I love you," she murmured.
"Forever and always," Aubrey finished.