Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of the characters!
Beta'd By: Vanamo!
A/N: I'm not going to lie. I had a blast writing this fic. I think it may be my favorite thing I've ever written.
Sick Day
9:45am
"I don't need a babysitter, Chloe," Aubrey rasped defiantly. She sat cross-legged on the bed they shared with her arms folded petulantly across her chest and unsuccessfully tried to pierce Chloe's bare back with her glare. "I can take care of myself."
"The purple sweater or the blue one?" Chloe asked, purposely ignoring her roommate's complaints. She turned around, holding one color sweater in one hand the other color in the other hand. "I think this one," she added and eyed the blue sweater. She had been listening to Aubrey persistently bitch about the same thing for the past hour and a half, and since arguing with her was futile, she was resorting to outright pretending she wasn't speaking at all. It wasn't hard when Aubrey could barely get her voice to work. Chloe held up the blue sweater higher. "This one?"
Aubrey stared directly at Chloe's face without even a side glance at the sweaters. Her lower lip stuck out in an undeniable pout and her brows were furrowed her irritation. "I don't want them here," she stated firmly then broke into a coughing fit, which she quickly tried to recover from.
Chloe rolled her eyes and tossed the purple sweater back into her drawer. "Aubrey, you're not staying here alone all day," she said simply. She pulled the blue sweater over her head and wrestled her arms through the sleeves. "You can barely even take care of yourself when you have a cold, let alone the flu." She roughly straightened the bottom of her sweater then grabbed her jeans. Aubrey gaped at her in offense. It was funny how much less Chloe cared about pissing Aubrey off when she could barely speak to retaliate. She shook her jeans to straighten them out then worked on pulling them on. "The Bellas are coming whether you like it or not, now stop being a pain in the ass about it."
Aubrey tried to huff in response, but it came out as more of a wheeze and a cough. She jutted out her jaw instead. "I'm going to organize all of your stuff without asking, Chloe," she threatened.
Chloe blinked a few times and looked up from buttoning her pants. "Aubrey, you do that anyway," she reminded her. She bent over and grabbed the pair of pajama pants that Aubrey had shed last night when her fever shot up and she became too hot up off the floor. "Put these on," she suggested and tossed them on the bed beside her, "Cynthia Rose is going to be here any minute."
"Hmph," Aubrey responded in defiance. She readjusted her posture and stared forward at the wall without even glancing at the pants.
Chloe placed her hand on her hip. "Aubrey, I'm letting her in here whether you're wearing pants or not," she informed her. It didn't bother her whether Aubrey wanted to face the Bellas with clothes on or while she was wearing only a baby blue, silk pajama top and pastel pink panties. She dropped her hand back down to the side when Aubrey refused to acknowledge her. "Fine," she said simply and turned around to look for her purse.
"Fine," Aubrey mimicked hoarsely.
Chloe groaned and grabbed her bag. Caring for Aubrey was like babysitting a spoiled toddler sometimes. But that didn't stop her from regretting that she had to go out and didn't get to spend the day curled up with her in bed. There was a knock on the door and she glanced up then looked back over at Aubrey and her pants. "Going once," she said as she straightened up.
Aubrey tightened her arms across her chest and lifted her jaw as she turned to face Chloe.
"Going twice," Chloe continued as she walked over to the door. She placed her hand on the knob.
Aubrey arched her brows.
"Going three times, Bree," Chloe warned her.
"You won't let her in with me looking like this," Aubrey stated confidently.
"I warned you." Chloe pressed down on the handle and opened the door. She stepped out of the way as Cynthia Rose walked inside then turned to look at Aubrey again. Aubrey's jaw dropped and she gaped at Chloe.
Cynthia Rose looked back and forth between them before her gaze settled on Aubrey's panties. "You know, if you're hot, maybe you should take your shirt off too," she broke the silence in all seriousness.
Chloe pressed her lips tightly together and snorted then covered it up with a muffled cough.
Aubrey shot Chloe a death glare then stood up and snatched her pants up off the bed. She spun on her heels and marched straight into the bathroom then slammed the door as lady-like as possible so she could put her clothes on in privacy.
Cynthia Rose shifted her gaze back to Chloe. "Is this going to be worse than Bellas practice?" she inquired.
Chloe plastered on a grin and shook her head. "Not at all," she answered with false enthusiasm. She pursed her lips together and shot a worried look at the floor the moment Cynthia Rose looked away. She twisted her lips back into a grin when Cynthia Rose looked at her once more. She looked over at the bathroom door. How long did it take to put on a pair of pants? "Aubrey, if you don't come out of the bathroom, I'm going to drag you out," she warned her in a forced cheerful, sing-song voice.
The bathroom door swung open a few seconds later and Aubrey, now fully-dressed, refolded her arms across her chest. "I hate you, Chloe," she pouted. She turned and sulked back over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it.
Chloe rolled her eyes and crossed the room to the bed. She placed her hands on Aubrey's legs and leaned forward to whisper in her ear so Cynthia Rose wouldn't hear her using a term of endearment on their Bellas leader. "I'll be back as soon as I can, Baby, okay?" She leaned back to look at her face. Aubrey was sheet white aside from her cheeks, which were flushed from the low fever that she couldn't seem to shake, and there were dark circles under her eyes, but she was still beautiful. Chloe offered her a small smile to which Aubrey responded to with a scowl.
"No, not okay, Chloe," she responded, "You're letting people who can't even sing 'ah' on three look after me."
"Well, I don't think the inability to count ever killed anyone," Chloe assured her in a hushed voice, though regretted it moments after as she feared for their team member's lives. God knew Aubrey would kill them before they killed her. Most of them already had one foot in the grave and the other on Aubrey's very last nerve. The look on her face wasn't very promising either. Chloe squeezed her knees then straightened up and stepped back toward the door.
"I got this," Cynthia Rose assured them both.
"Bye," Chloe said and darted out the door before Aubrey had the chance to stop her.
Cynthia Rose turned to face Aubrey. "Y'know, you look awful," she said and walked over to the chair.
Keeping her arms folded, Aubrey groaned and fell dramatically to her side with her head on the pillow. She stared absently at the wall. This day would not end soon enough.
10:00am
"So, like, what are the rules on, you know, dating another Bella?" Cynthia Rose asked.
"What?" Aubrey deadpanned into her pillow. So far her efforts to pretend she was alone and fall asleep had been futile. It was hard to pretend no one else was around when she felt like she was being interrogated with stupid questions.
"Well, I mean, you said we can't date the Trebles," Cynthia Rose stated, "Not that I'd want to date any of them. But, you know, what about each other?"
Aubrey lifted her head and propped herself up on her arms. She squinted her eyes, her head aching, and turned to look at Cynthia Rose. "Why are you asking?" she replied, "We're all straight."
Cynthia Rose shrugged her shoulders. "I was just wonderin'," she answered. She folded her arms and leaned back against the chair she was sitting in.
Aubrey furrowed her brows in confusion then lowered her face back into her pillow.
"So?" Cynthia Rose asked.
"So what?" Aubrey mumbled.
"Are we allowed to date each other?" Cynthia Rose repeated her question.
"I don't care," Aubrey grumbled.
10:30am
"You sure we all straight?" Cynthia Rose asked.
Aubrey was going to rip out her hair – every last strand. "Do I look like president of the Rainbow club to you?" she asked, still speaking into her pillow.
"Nah," Cynthia Rose answered after a moment of thought, "You a bit more masculine than he is."
I'm going to kill you, Chloe. Aubrey curled her arms up over her head and entangled her fingers in her hair.
"But I mean, you and Chloe got that thing goin' on, so it must be okay for the rest of us too right?" Cynthia Rose kept speaking, "I mean if anyone else in the group might be wantin' to have a thing."
"Chloe and I do not have a thing," Aubrey quickly defended herself, "Whatever a, a thing is."
"Well, you weren't wearing any pants when I got here," Cynthia Rose pointed out, "And you are sleepin' in her bed."
Dead, Chloe, dead. "This isn't Chloe's bed," Aubrey lied.
"Really?" Cynthia Rose asked, "Then why you got them wood letters above it that say 'Chloe'?"
Aubrey turned to the side and lifted her head to look at the wooden letters that spelled Chloe's name on the wall. She scowled flopped back down on her stomach. "We do not have a thing," she muttered.
"Whatever you say," Cynthia Rose humored her, not sounding the slightest bit like she believed her, "Whatever you say."
11:00am
"So you think Stacie might be a little, y'know, bicurious?" Cynthia Rose asked. She had turned so she was sitting sideways on the chair with one leg draped over the arm of it.
"She has sex with like five men a day," Aubrey answered irritably, "So, no, I don't think so."
"Hm," Cynthia Rose grunted. "Maybe she's compensating for something?"
"Maybe you should ask her," Aubrey suggested, "You could go do that now."
"Nice try," Cynthia Rose responded, "But Chloe's got me scheduled here til noon."
Aubrey tilted her head to the side and looked at her out of one eye. "She has you on a schedule?" she inquired in disbelief.
"Yup," Cynthia Rose answered with a short nod. She tapped her watch. "I'm here til noon. That's like my whole mornin' taken up."
Aubrey huffed and yanked the pillow over her head.
11:30am
"Y'know, this is longer than Bella practices," Cynthia Rose pointed out.
"Yeah, I'm getting that feeling too," Aubrey murmured. She scrubbed at her eyes with the palms of her hands. Had Chloe left her alone, she probably could have still been sleeping.
"Can I at least turn on some MTV?" Cynthia Rose asked.
"No," Aubrey muttered.
"Why not?" Cynthia Rose replied.
Aubrey let out a frustrated sigh through her mouth then coughed a few times. She hovered her hand above the pillow covering her face then draped her arm over it. "Because my head hurts," she snapped.
Cynthia Rose huffed. "Fine," she said, "But Chloe's really gonna owe me for this."
12:00pm
There was a knock on the door and Aubrey slowly opened her eyes and pushed the pillow off of her head. Please, be Chloe. She didn't know why Chloe would knock on her own door, but thinking it was her was better than any alternative. Her muscles ached as she maneuvered herself into a sitting position and looked over at Cynthia Rose as she got to her feet.
"I'll get it," Cynthia Rose said as though Aubrey had actually looked like she was going to get the door herself, "That's probably Stacie."
"Stacie?" Aubrey croaked. She groaned and ran her fingers through her hair in a futile attempt to tame it.
"What?" Cynthia Rose inquired, "I told you I was leavin' at noon. I ain't sitting here all day on a Saturday." She pushed down on the door handle then pushed the door open to let the next person on Chloe's babysitting schedule inside the room.
Stacie smiled at Cynthia Rose then strutted inside the room and looked at Aubrey. "Wow," she said in shock, "You look terrible."
Aubrey tried to scoff at her but ended up just coughing into the crook of her arm.
Stacie watched Cynthia Rose as she left then turned to face Aubrey again and waited for her to stop coughing. "So, is it okay with you if I brought Eric with me?" she inquired.
"Who the hell is Eric?" Aubrey asked.
One of the football team's quarterbacks poked his head in the door over Stacie's shoulder. "Hey," he greeted her with a half wave, "I'm Eric."
Aubrey stared at him for a moment as she dropped her hands to the bed in exasperation. "Get out!" she demanded then started coughing again.
"Wow," Stacie said as Eric turned to leave, "That was rude." She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. "I can't believe I'm stuck here alone with you until two o'clock. Chloe owes me for this." She picked up the remote off the desk. "So do you get like porn on here?" she asked and turned on the TV.
12:30pm
"So then, Brandon was like, 'I can't be with you if you're with Eric', but like, I wasn't with Eric," Stacie said and leaned back, completely draped over the chair, "Though now I'm with Eric, because a football quarterback is better than some first baseman from the baseball team. He didn't even go past first base off the baseball team." She scoffed and turned her head to look at Aubrey. "You're not even listening to me, are you?"
Aubrey stared up at the wall clock from where she was slouched against the wall with her arms folded. "Well, maybe if you had something better to talk about than every boy on campus, I would," she answered. She shifted on the mattress and turned her head to the side so her cheek was pressed against the cold wall.
Stacie huffed. "I was talking about two boys," she pointed out. "That's not even close to all of the boys on campus. Thank god."
Aubrey slid sideways down the wall so her head was resting on the mattress near the bottom of the bed.
1:00pm
"So why aren't we allowed to sleep with the Trebles?" Stacie asked.
"I already told you," Aubrey answered. She picked at the threads on Chloe's comforter. "If we let them…"
"Yeah, but that doesn't sound like a good enough reason," Stacie cut her off, "Because when I let someone penetrate me, that gives me the power to decide whether or not they get to penetrate me again. Trust me, when you hold sex over a guy, you have all the power. I mean, not that you'd know, but still."
Aubrey lifted her head. "What is that supposed to mean?" she asked with a frown.
"Well, since you're having sex with Chloe and everything," Stacie replied, "I just assumed it was different for two women."
"I am not having," Aubrey fumbled to defend herself, "…sex with Chloe."
"Right," Stacie replied shortly. "So can we sleep with the Trebles yet?"
"No!" Aubrey snapped. She started coughing and lowered herself back down to the bed, wrapping her arms around her head.
Stacie exhaled a loud sigh and folded her arms.
1:30pm
Stacie sighed and turned off the TV, finally giving Aubrey some relief from E! "I'm really bored, Aubrey," she voiced, immediately replacing the irritating TV with her equally as irritating words.
"Well, I can't help you with that," Aubrey murmured, drifting in and out of sleep. It seemed as though every time she drifted off, either Stacie's voice or the television had snapped her out of her daze.
"This is a really long time to be stuck in the same room alone with you," Stacie complained.
"If you'd shut up and let me sleep, it'd be like I wasn't even here," Aubrey shot. She rolled over onto her side so she was facing the wall.
"Like I said, a really long time," Stacie replied. She sighed and crossed her arms as she sunk further into the chair.
2:00pm
The door slammed shut, snapping Aubrey awake once again. She rolled onto her side as Fat Amy walked inside with a Tupperware container of what Aubrey assumed was soup tucked under her arm. Her stomach rumbled and she slowly pushed herself into a sitting position then propped herself up against the pillows. "Stacie left?" Her voice barely wanted to be audible and speaking seemed to tear her throat to shreds. She rubbed at the front of her neck.
"Yep, it's just you and me," Fat Amy replied with a grin and put the container down on the table. She turned to face Aubrey. "Wow."
Aubrey glanced up at her.
"You look like a tractor-trailer ran you over," Fat Amy stated, "And you got stuck under one of the wheels and were dragged eighty-five miles over rocky terrain." She paused. "Happened to my granddad."
Aubrey made a face because forcing out a noise was impossible.
Fat Amy shrugged. "It could be worse."
Aubrey didn't really see how any of this could possibly get any worse. She rubbed her arm and turned sideways so she was leaning to the side against the headboard of the bed.
"I decided that since you were sick, I'd bring you soup," Fat Amy continued, "And I thought maybe chicken noodle soup, but then I didn't know if you liked that. "
"It's fine," Aubrey murmured, but Fat Amy didn't seem to hear her barely audible voice and continued speaking.
"I went to the grocery store and there are a lot of different soups there." Fat Amy sat down on the chair and began to name them off. "Chicken soup, Tomato soup, Vegetable soup, Bean and Bacon soup, Green Pea soup, Cream of Asparagus soup, Cream of Shrimp soup…"
Aubrey blocked her out.
"…so I just grabbed a handful of cans and mixed them all together," Fat Amy finished, "I added a few special spices and it looks pretty good." She reached behind her and grabbed the container.
Aubrey sighed and hit her head against the sideboard of the bed in frustration. She considered dragging herself to the café to buy her own soup, but she didn't want to know what Chloe had told them to do if she tried to make a break for it.
Fat Amy looked oblivious to Aubrey's disgust. She pulled the lid off the container and drew in a slow breath. "It tastes better than it smells," she stated.
The moment the stench of the soup reached Aubrey's nose, she was no longer hungry. Her stomach lurched up into her throat and she scrambled off the bed then bed a beeline for the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.
Fat Amy sat there in silence for a moment as the sound of retching filled the room. "More for me then!" she called.
2:30pm
Aubrey drew her knees up closer to her chest and pressed the damp washcloth she was holding against her forehead. It did little to ease her shivering. She closed her eyes and leaned against the bathroom wall. Chloe had chosen the worst day to have plans. If she had stayed home, or even just let Aubrey take care of herself alone, she could have been sleeping in bed rather than hiding from Fat Amy in the bathroom. She could at least do a better job taking care of herself than anyone else seemed to be doing. She turned the cloth over and pressed it against her cheeks.
"You've been in there for a really long time!" Fat Amy called, "Chloe's going to be really angry if I let you escape through the bathroom window."
"We don't have a bathroom window!" Aubrey attempted to yell. She choked over the words and lowered the cloth down in front of her mouth to cough into it. She leaned forward against her legs and gasped to catch her breath once the fit was over. Her anger at Chloe was even beginning to dissipate and she really just wanted her to come home and get her out of this. If she got sicker, it was going to be Chloe's fault. She groaned as her chest burned and slowly rested her forehead forward against her knees.
"I don't think I'm supposed to let you out of my sight," Fat Amy informed her.
"Did Chloe tell you that?" Aubrey asked, unable to believe that Chloe would be that strict about the situation. Chloe was being unreasonable about the entire thing, but Aubrey had a hard time thinking that she had crossed the line over into completely crazy.
"Well, no," Fat Amy said slowly, "But she did tell me to keep an eye on you, aaand I can't really do that while you're in the bathroom with the door closed."
Aubrey shook her head. God so help me.
"Don't make me break down the door, Aubrey," Fat Amy warned, "Because I'll do it."
Aubrey lifted her head from her legs and let the cloth fall to the floor. "What?" she croaked, "It's not even locked."
"You better stand back," Fat Amy said, her voice suddenly sounding further away.
"Fat Amy, stop!" Aubrey scrambled to her feet and did her best to ignore the wave of dizziness that suddenly washed over her. She gripped the door handle and pulled the door open just in time.
Fat Amy went running past her and ran straight into the shower, flailing her arms as she got tangled up in the polkadot patterned shower curtain. "Help! It's got me!" she yelled. She accidentally gripped the shower handle and turned on the water, thrashing around and splashing water in every direction.
Aubrey's mouth fell wide open. "Amy, stop!" she panicked. She hurried forward and tried to reach the shower handle while avoiding the spray of water, but Fat Amy smacked her with one of her waving arms and sent her tumbling backward. Aubrey gripped one of the towels as she slipped on a puddle, but it slid off the hook and she fell over onto her back anyway. She gasped and propped herself up with her arms just as Fat Amy managed to turn off the shower.
Fat Amy stood still with the shower curtain draped over her. "Brings me back to my croc-wrestling days," she stated seriously.
Aubrey groaned and let her head fall backward against the floor.
3:00pm
"You should have just let me break the door down," Fat Amy stated. She was sitting on the chair, still soaked from the shower mishap. "This is turning into the worst day ever."
"Tell me about it," Aubrey snapped, sitting on the edge of Chloe's bed. She had changed into an over-sized t-shirt that belonged to Chloe and a pair of her own yoga pants. Her other pair of pajamas were in her dirty laundry hamper. She tried to sniffle but her nose was clogged, and she felt ten times worse than she had when she woke up that morning. She raked her fingers through her damp hair and glared at the floor in frustration.
"I'm really bored," Fat Amy complained.
"Well, then watch some TV," Aubrey replied bitterly. She stopped fussing over her hair and wiped the water droplets on her hands off onto her pants.
"No thanks," Fat Amy replied. She tapped her fingers on the arms of the chair and looked around the room for a moment before she leaned over and grabbed a scrapbook from beside Chloe's bed. She flipped it open. "Is this you and Chloe from your freshman year?" she asked and brought the book up closer to her face. "You look…less uptight."
Aubrey got to her feet and ripped the book out of her hands. "Don't touch our stuff," she snapped, close to her breaking point. She closed the book and marched to her side of the room then placed it on her shelf with her school books.
"You two have been friends for a really long time, huh?" Fat Amy pried and turned to face her, "Best friends. Best buds. Roommates. Sleeping in the same bed together. Probably having sex when one of you is bored." She winked at her.
"I am not having sex with Chloe!" Aubrey insisted and spun around to face her. She coughed once. "Why do you all think I have a, a thing with Chloe?"
"Wow," Fat Amy said, clearly taken aback by her tone, "You're really defensive for not having a thing with Chloe."
Aubrey drew in a breath that both burned and tickled her throat. "I'm not being defensive," she said calmly, "I'm just stating the truth."
"Now you're being defensive about being defensive," Fat Amy pointed out.
"I am not being defensive about being defensive, Amy," Aubrey stated, trying to keep her cool.
Fat Amy raised her eyebrows. "You're even defensive about being defensive about being defensive." She paused. "That's a lot of defensive."
"Enough," Aubrey said sharply. She frowned and sat down on the edge of her own bed.
3:30pm
Aubrey's fingernails dug into her comforter and she glared at the wall.
"You don't have any good snacks in here," Fat Amy said as she raided the mini-fridge and pushed Aubrey's health bars and bottles of water out of the way. "Who even eats this stuff?" She held up a baggy of carrots.
Aubrey glanced at it in silence then turned to look at the wall again. Chloe took full advantage of the cafeteria, so the majority of the items in their fridge belonged to Aubrey – who would rather starve than eat school food, unless it came from the café. She swallowed painfully and tried to push the thought of food from her mind. The smell of Fat Amy's soup still tinged the air and ruined any feelings of hunger she might have. Now she just felt sick.
Fat Amy sat down and got comfortable on the floor. She opened one of the health bars and took a bite then made a face and glanced over at Aubrey to make sure she wasn't watching her. She carefully folded the foil back around the bar then put it back and looked for something else.
4:00pm
"That's gotta be Lilly," Fat Amy stated when there was a knock on the door. She placed a hand on the chair for support as she pushed herself to her feet.
"Did Chloe tell you when she was coming back?" Aubrey asked. She was sure she sounded as exhausted as she felt. She smoothed out her comforter where her hands had been then loosely crossed her arms.
"Yeah," Fat Amy said and walked over to the door, "She said something about later."
Aubrey tightened her arms a bit and looked down at the floor.
Fat Amy pushed the door open and stepped to the side so Lilly could come in. "Hey," she said just as she was about to step out the door, causing Aubrey to look up again. "Feel better." She smiled at her.
Aubrey pressed her lips together in a slight smile that had some sincerity to it and nodded her head. She watched the door close then looked at Lilly.
Lilly's mouth moved in what Aubrey was sure was meant to be, "Wow, you look really awful." But all Aubrey could think was, Thank God for silence.
Maybe she could actually get some sleep. Aubrey got to her feet and walked back over to Chloe's bed. She crawled on top the blankets then flopped down on her back and closed her eyes.
4:30pm
Aubrey must have done something wrong and Chloe had decided to get revenge, she decided as she stared up at the ceiling. Lilly sat on the chair, staring at her intently. Aubrey didn't think the girl had blinked since she arrived, and even turning her back to her didn't get rid of the feeling of Lilly watching her. She closed her eyes and pressed her palms to her forehead, reminding herself that she had lasted through the day this far.
5:30pm
The sound of soft mumbling broke Aubrey from her thoughts – which were drifting from singing to school work to what she needed to put on her next grocery list. She scrubbed at her eyes to stop them from feeling so scratchy then turned her head to the side and squinted at Lilly. "What?" she asked, her voice barely any louder than Lilly's had been.
Lilly mumbled again.
Aubrey gave her a blank stare.
Lilly shifted her gaze between Aubrey and the wall multiple times.
Aubrey glanced at Chloe's stupid wooden letters again. "No, I'm not having sex with Chloe," she growled, "What the heck is wrong with you people?" She roughly turned over onto her side and yanked the pillow over her head.
Lilly blinked then looked at the calendar beside the letters. "I was just saying I have that calendar too," she murmured.
6:00pm
The next knock on the door left Aubrey with no hope that Chloe was ever coming back. She wasn't normally this attached to her best friend, but her head was pounding, her throat was burning, and she hit a level of exhaustion that she never had before. She slowly pushed the pillow away from her face and weakly pushed herself into a sitting position then tried to mentally prepare herself for whoever her next visitor might be. Her eyes stayed glued to the bed as Lilly stood up and went to get the door.
Lilly opened the door and murmured "good luck" to the next person then walked out. Aubrey closed her eyes, beginning to wonder if spending time with her was really that bad.
"You look miserable," Beca broke the silence with a slightly amused smile. She stepped inside and shut the door behind her.
No. Aubrey told herself that she was delirious. Chloe would not have gone as far as to assign Beca to look after her. She opened her eyes to stare at the bed and clenched her jaw. She would not last two hours with Beca. No. She wouldn't. It wouldn't happen. She crossed her arms and tried to swallow. Her throat felt like it had been lit on fire and hot tears stung her eyes. The last person she wanted to see her like this was Beca. She'd never live it down.
"Oh my god," Beca said, watching Aubrey clench her jaw, "Are you so angry that I'm here that you're going to cry?"
Aubrey drew in a breath and tried to refrain from coughing. She lifted her chin and straightened herself up, staring forward at the wall.
"So you're going to give me the silent treatment for this entire two hours?" Beca asked. She laughed in disbelief.
Aubrey snapped her head to the side. "I know you're only here to mock me, Beca," she accused.
Beca raised her brows. She stepped forward and placed the bag she was holding down on the chair. "Actually, I'm here because Chloe said that if I showed up, we wouldn't have Bellas practice night," she explained, "And I have plans later."
"That's not a decision for Chloe to make," Aubrey informed her, "We have Bellas practice at eight."
"Uh huh," Beca said slowly and gave a slight nod, "Well you can barely talk, so I'm going to take it that you can't sing either."
Aubrey pressed her lips together and clenched her jaw tighter.
Beca shook her head and brushed off the topic and the daggers that Aubrey was shooting her. "You really look awful," she pointed out after a moment, "And I'm not saying that to insult you."
Aubrey watched her as she walked across the room and grabbed a packet of Tylenol Cold and Flu that Chloe must have put there that morning. Beca emptied two pills into the palm of her hand then stepped over to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water. She turned and stood straight in front of Aubrey's bed and offered her the items.
Aubrey tried to resist but the pressure on her sinuses and the desire to pluck out her eyeballs to make her head stop aching got the best of her. She looked down and away from Beca as she took the pills and the bottle of water. Beca stepped away to give her some space and turned to rifle through her bag. Aubrey watched her as she placed the pills in her mouth then painfully downed them with the water. She coughed a few times then took another drink.
Beca turned around again, holding a container of soup. "Chloe said that I should probably try to feed you," she stated and placed the container on the stand beside the bed.
Aubrey's stomach sunk as she eyed it. "What is that?" she asked tentatively.
"Don't worry, it's just chicken broth," Beca replied and arched a brow at the way Aubrey was looking at it, "I didn't poison it or anything. It's from a can."
That made her feel a little better. Aubrey reached over to pull the table closer to the bed but stopped when Beca moved to help her. "Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked and looked up at her, searching for some sort of ulterior motive.
Beca rolled her eyes and dragged the table closer to the bed. "Why do you assume I'm such a bitch?" She shook her head, almost amused by how Aubrey was staring at her like she was going to lunge at her throat or something. "I'm not a jerk."
Aubrey wasn't so convinced.
Beca stood up straight and pressed her hands against her thighs. "You're sick," she stated calmly, "And I'm sure you feel even suckier than you look. So why don't you just accept someone taking care of you and trust Chloe that I'm not going to unalphabetize your Dixie Chick album collection or something equally as terrible?"
Aubrey glanced over at her CDs, which, yes, were alphabetized. She sighed and looked down at her hands then licked her lips as she debated speaking. "It's been a long day," she finally admitted. She placed the water bottle next to the soup then adjusted herself back against the pillow.
It only took a glance around for Beca to notice the torn down shower curtain in the bathroom, and she wasn't oblivious to the fact that Aubrey's room smelled like a Campbell's soup factory exploded. "I can imagine," she said slowly, though she didn't even want to imagine that Aubrey's day had been like. She walked over to the window and pushed it open to air out the room for her. "Chloe asked me to stay with you for the entire day, but I had some stupid class trip that I couldn't get out of." She brushed her hands together and leaned back away from the window.
Aubrey stopped prying the lid away from the soup container at Beca's words and looked up at her with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. "You would have stayed with me the whole day?" she asked.
Beca blinked a few times then forced a scoff. "Well, not willingly or anything," she replied. She realized it must have been a long day when Aubrey looked like she actually took offense to her words for a fraction of a second before masking it. She turned and pulled the spoon she had brought out of the bag then placed it on the table once Aubrey got the lid off the container. "I just heated that up before I walked here," she said, trying to change the topic, "It should still be hot."
Aubrey picked up the spoon and slowly poked at the soup. She glanced up at Beca and forcefully took a moment to swallow her pride. "Thanks," she said.
6:30pm
Beca pressed the lid down on the empty soup container with the spoon inside then tossed it into her bag.
"You haven't complained once since you got here," Aubrey pointed out out of nowhere. "Why?"
Beca lifted her head and turned around to face her. "I need a reason for why I haven't complained?" she asked in disbelief, "I thought we just addressed the 'you're sick, let someone take care of you' thing."
"You should be complaining." Aubrey eyed her cautiously. "You hate me."
"Okay." Beca slapped her thighs. "I don't hate you. You hate me." She wanted to diffuse the situation, but she had no idea what she was doing when it came to dealing with Aubrey. "Plus, Chloe asked me to be here and gave me a night off from Bellas practice. I'm not going to stand here whining about it."
"So, it's because of Chloe," Aubrey said.
Those words sounded almost as though they were testing her. Beca just stared at her, taken aback. "Are you suggesting I'm here because I like Chloe?" she inquired with a laugh.
Aubrey paused for a moment then tightened her jaw and shrugged. "Chloe likes you," she said. If Beca wasn't mistaken, there was an undertone of bitterness in her words.
"Or she's projecting," Beca mumbled and shook her head. She didn't like where this conversation was going at all. She turned around and started digging through her bag again.
"What?" Aubrey asked. She was met with silence. "What are you talking about, Beca?" she demanded.
Beca sighed and turned to face her. "Can't you see that she's projecting her feelings, Aubrey?" she asked with a laugh of disbelief, "Are you that blind?"
Aubrey dropped her hands to her lap. "I don't know what you mean by that," she replied.
Beca pursed her lips together and tried to think of a way to put it into simple terms. "Dick likes Jane," she said, "But Jane doesn't like Dick. So Dick goes and flirts with Sally because he doesn't want to admit he likes Jane or because he knows that Sally isn't going to reject him."
Aubrey blinked.
Beca pressed her lips together in an irritated, closed-lipped smile. "Just replace the names," she said, "Eventually, it'll sink in."
7:00pm
"I don't like movies, but I figured that you probably do," Beca said, unable to sit there in silence and watch Aubrey toss her Dick, Jane, and Sally statement around in her head any longer. It was torture. She pulled a laptop out of her bag and opened it up. "Someone let me borrow their computer and their Netflix account." She double clicked on the Netflix icon on the screen.
Aubrey slowly lifted her head away from the where it had been resting against the headboard of the bed. "Who?" she asked curiously.
Beca glanced up, having not expected that question. She shrugged her shoulders. "Just some random person," she lied quickly. She got up and stood next to the bed. "Move over," she demanded before Aubrey found out she had borrowed it from Jesse.
Aubrey's head snapped up to look at her. "What?" she asked and furrowed her brows in confusion.
Beca balanced the computer with one hand and motioned Aubrey out of the way. "Unless you have some sort of projector in here, we're going to have to settle for sitting close enough to both see the laptop screen," she explained.
It seemed to take a moment to sink in. Aubrey rubbed at her drooping eyelids then slowly scooted over so she was pressed against the wall.
Beca took a moment to adjust the pillows then sat down beside her. She balanced the laptop on both of their legs, which wasn't easy seeing as Aubrey was trying to sit as far away from her on the small bed as possible, then dropped her hands to her lap. "Have at it," she said and nodded to the laptop, "Just don't pick something that's going to torture me."
Apparently Beca's last statement had little to no meaning, because Aubrey chose the movie Legally Blonde. "Seriously?" Beca asked and looked over at her, not bothering to hide her disgust.
"You said I could pick the movie," Aubrey reminded her simply and hit play.
"I also said not to torture me," Beca stated.
Aubrey ignored her and settled back against her pillow. She folded her arms and stared intently at the screen.
Beca groaned and regretted telling Aubrey she could pick what they watched. She didn't know what she had expected. She let her head fall back against the pillow and stared up at the ceiling.
7:30pm
About twenty minutes into the movie, Aubrey's struggle to keep her eyes open became impossible. She snapped herself awake multiple times, scaring the shit out of Beca the first time and then making her jump at least twice more after that. She had sunk down into her pillow and her head kept lulling to the side. It seemed as though every time it hit Beca's shoulder, she realized she was falling asleep and woke herself up again. But she seemed oblivious to their close proximity, because she hadn't moved over. Judging by her flushed cheeks, Beca assumed she was just too feverish to notice or care. She considered giving Aubrey more Tylenol, but it was too soon. She doubted Chloe would be happy to come home to Aubrey OD'ing in Cold and Flu meds.
Eventually Aubrey gave into sleep. Her head fell against Beca's shoulder and her hand came to rest against Beca's side. Beca glanced down at her and considered moving, but wasn't sure she wanted to risk waking her. Aubrey was already much more enjoyable when she was sleeping. She was even kind of cute. Beca brushed off the realization. But watching her sleep and look vulnerable made it sink in that she was an actual person and not just some Acapella machine. It made her more tolerable. Beca eased the laptop off of Aubrey's lap and onto her own then turned off the movie. She didn't think she could take any more of that. She tore her eyes away from the sleeping woman beside her when she was sure she wasn't going to jolt awake again then leaned over as far as possible without really moving and pulled her headphones out of her bag.
Beca plugged in the headphones and put them on then turned on some music. She tilted her head back against the pillow and closed her eyes as she waited for Chloe to return.
8:00pm
"Beca," Chloe whispered and gave her a rough shake.
Beca's eyes flew open and she tried to sit up but something had her weighted down. She pulled off her headphones and tossed them to the side then looked up to see Chloe leaning over her with an amused grin plastered across her face. She blinked a few times and lifted her free hand to rub her face then looked down to see Aubrey practically sleeping on top of her. The blonde had rolled over onto her stomach and had an arm draped across Beca's mid-section. Beca was tempted to scowl before she noticed how she herself was positioned. Dear God, did she have an arm wrapped around Aubrey Posen? She lowered her hand from Aubrey's shoulder and tried to ease her arm out from under her, but Aubrey didn't budge.
Chloe muffled a laugh through closed lips. "She does that when she sleeps," she said nonchalantly as Aubrey just snuggled up closer to Beca and remained out like a light.
Beca groaned and picked the laptop up by the top of the screen with the hand that Aubrey wasn't putting to sleep. She lowered it to the ground and shot a glare at Chloe, but she couldn't say she minded too much. It was better than Aubrey yelling at her. But it was a little awkward to be caught cuddling up with her, even as unintentional as it was. Or a lot awkward. She scowled at Chloe when the ginger didn't move. "Well could you," she searched for words, "Undo this?" she asked and motioned toward Aubrey.
"Oh." It seemed to just suddenly strike Chloe that Beca wanted full use of her arm and would like to move. "Sure." She crawled up onto the bed and over Beca, accidentally digging her knee into her stomach and stopping in that position. Beca groaned. "How did you end up in this position anyway?" she inquired, caught up in her own amusement.
"Can you just get her off?" Beca begged, "Preferably while you get off too?"
"That's a little awkward to say with the three of us in bed," Chloe pointed out. She moved her knee and crawled over Beca, who was staring at her in mild disgust.
"Gross," Beca muttered. She sighed and shook her head. "Can you not wake her while you move her?" The last thing she wanted was for Aubrey to be awake and questioning their position.
Chloe snorted and rolled her eyes. "Please, she could sleep through anything," she told Beca. She sat cross-legged beside them and carefully eased Aubrey off of Beca and onto her own lap. Aubrey sniffled and rubbed at her nose then rolled onto her side with her face tucked against Chloe's upper thigh. Chloe wrapped an arm around her then used her other hand to check her temperature and brush her hair away from her face.
Beca got to her feet and studied Chloe's fond expression and the way Aubrey so easily curled up closer to her. "You sleep in the same bed every night, don't you?" she asked with a smirk.
Chloe looked up and fumbled for words. "Some nights," she answered then quickly changed her mind, "Most nights." She paused then nodded her head. "Yeah." Her hand slid absently under the back of Aubrey's shirt and she began to rub small circles on her back.
Beca's smirk grew. "You two are a thing, aren't you?" she asked and began to gather her stuff.
"It's more like friends with benefits," Chloe answered quickly and looked down at Aubrey. "A lot of benefits." Her eyes widened and she looked up at Beca again. "Don't tell her I told you that. She doesn't want anyone to know. We keep it on the DL." Her face fell slightly.
"Your secret's safe with me," Beca replied and zipped up her bag.
"I'm just…" Chloe shrugged. "I'm just biding my time, waiting for her to want us to become a thing."
Beca laughed and shook her head. "You two are so blind," she murmured and lifted her bag up over her shoulder. She straightened up and stepped back toward the door. "See ya, Dick and Jane."
Chloe furrowed her brows and tilted her head in confusion.
11:00pm
Aubrey bolted upright in bed with a loud gasp, followed by coughing. Chloe sat up quickly, dropping the book she was reading onto the bed. "Woah, Bree, hey," she tried calm her down, placing one hand on her arm and the other on her back, "It's okay, you fell asleep."
Aubrey took a breath and scanned the room then looked over at Chloe with wide eyes. She paused. "You're home," she breathed. Too relieved to care about passing on the flu she leaned forward and crashed her lips against Chloe's then pulled back and wrapped her arms tightly around her neck. "I thought you were never coming back."
Chloe blinked a few times then slowly slid her arms around Aubrey's torso. "I missed you too," she said, torn between amusement and confusion. She gave her a light squeeze.
Aubrey pulled away and gripped Chloe by her shoulders. "Chloe," she said firmly and rather dramatically, "I really hate you." She pulled her back into an even tighter hug.
Chloe hugged her back and clenched her teeth in a worried expression. She took in the sight of the broken shower curtain collapsed on the wet bathroom floor, the stench of was that soup?, and the way Aubrey was clinging to her like she was a life raft. Maybe now wasn't the time to tell her she had asked them all to come back tomorrow.