A/N- So I got the idea of Aubrey as a Southern Belle caught in my head and couldn't get it out. So this is an Aubrey head cannon with a Chaubrey second chapter (coming soon).

"She'll get a little hay in her hair, her tires in the mud
She's been caught in the rain, and washed in the blood
Likes cherries in her coke, takes a little sip,
Comes over to me with them sunburned lips"

Tim McGraw, Southern Girl

Aubrey is five years old which is plenty old enough thank you very much, but her grandmother still calls her 'Bug' and treats her like she's just a little kid. That's what's got the blonde's face twisting into a frown today as her grandmother looks over her outfit while the Posen family is assembling in the entryway of her home.

"- should have a longer dress, but I suppose your mother didn't think to get you a plain black." Aubrey tries to tune her out while she watches the movement around her. Her older brothers are all in their best black suits, black ties, black shoes- perfectly buffed to a mirror shine (Colonel Posen may be retired but he has instilled at least this military discipline in his boys). They aren't talking, nobody really is except for her grandmother, and her father outside is talking to some relatives that Aubrey can't quite remember the names of. Most of these people she hasn't seen since a family reunion a couple of years ago when she was too young to really remember.

They all load up in cars and the procession to the graveyard is long and slow. It's the middle of summer, and it's South Carolina so it's hot and sticky, and Aubrey can feel the hair at the back of her neck already curling where the sweat is pooling. She absolutely despises the black shift dress that is a hand-down from one of her cousins in Georgia, and the sun beating down is making it uncomfortably warm and scratchy against her pale skin.

Years later, she won't remember much of the service or the reception following, she won't remember the sympathetic smiles from neighbors, and she won't remember the words that were said when the casket was lowered. She will remember following behind her brothers' footsteps, sitting on the oldest (Dawson's) lap, and clinging to him so he carries her across the grass to the car when it's over. Dawson is fourteen and he's not going to forget any of this, but he's always been strong enough.

That night she has barely fallen into a fitful sleep when a hand on her shoulder wakes her up, it is her second oldest brother, Emmett with a sneaky smile, "Come on, Bug. Let's go chase the lightnin'."

Aubrey follows him downstairs quietly and out to the backyard where the other four Posen boys are already waiting with the dusty old mason jars that they keep on the back porch. They spend all night chasing fireflies in the yard, and capturing them in the jars. When it gets too late, they decide to camp out on the wrap around porch with the jars of bugs acting as night lights.

In the morning the bugs are dead, because they never did remember to punch holes in the metal lids of the mason jars.

…

Aubrey is seven years old and she is falling behind because she can't pedal as quickly as her brothers when she's also carrying her fishing pole. They've already been on the road for two miles, and Aubrey knows it's another two until they get to the reservoir.

She is huffing- in both annoyance and exhaustion- when Brooks circles back.

"Let's go Bug! There's not gonna be any fish left by the time you get there!" He cheers riding a circle around her. He's carrying his pole and a backpack with bait and other essentials.

"Why do we have to bike anyway?" The lone Posen girl complains, "Dawson could just drive us." The oldest boy had just recently gotten his driver's license and was showing off by driving his younger siblings around everywhere.

"Cause the reservoir cost fifteen bucks for cars." Davis answers, joining his twin brother in bugging Aubrey, "Do you have fifteen bucks, Bug?"

"Don't call me Bug." Aubrey huffs, doing her best to pedal faster to get away from the twins. Davis and Brooks just laugh.

Eventually Dawson comes to the rescue, ever the protective oldest brother, and takes Aubrey's fishing pole so she can keep up better. The Posen kids spend most of their summer days biking down to go fish, Aubrey's grandmother absolutely hates the girl spending all her time with her brothers as it was 'ruining her charm'. Davis and Brooks ask what charm she even had to begin with.

The only concession that her grandmother wins is on Sundays. The Posen clan goes from Sunday church service to her grandmother's house where Aubrey is corralled into the kitchen to help with Sunday Brunch. Her grandmother always says, if her father was letting her play like a boy, she would at least learn to cook like a lady.

By ten years old, Aubrey can make collard greens and four different kinds of grits without referring to a recipe.

…

Aubrey is twelve when she accidentally comes out to the twins. It comes from something small, somewhere between listening to the boys talk about girls for years combined with the somewhat oppressive Southern culture she was raised in makes it sort of bubble to the surface when she least expects it.

The twins are sixteen and arguing over which girls they will ask to the Homecoming dance, while Aubrey is working quietly at the coffee table in the living room near them.

"You can't ask Cassandra because she sat next to me in bio last year." Brooks says.

"So you want to ask her?"

"Maybe."

"She wouldn't say yes."

"I've still got dibs on asking her first."

"Just because you sat next to her once?"

"For a whole year!"

"What about Jennifer?" Davis tries.

"Yeah you can ask her."

Aubrey lets out a derisive little laugh from her end of the couch.

"You got something to add, Bug?" Brooks asks.

"You can't have one of you ask Cassandra and the other ask Jennifer if you plan on going with the same group." Aubrey replies like it's the most obvious thing.

"And why is that?"

"Because they hate each other. Cassandra will do something catty like pick orange as her dress color because she knows it will clash with Jennifer's red hair in all the photos." Aubrey explains slowly while the boys exchange confused looks.

"How'd you know all this?" Brooks questions.

"Girls gossip." Aubrey shrugs. The town is relatively small and the high school shares a facility with grades seven and eight so it makes sense that Aubrey is caught up on the older student's gossip, but even so the boys were not prepared for the explanation their little sis delivered.

"So what should we do?"

"If Davis invites Jennifer, you can invite Julie. They get on well, and Jennifer is far prettier than Cassandra anyway."

Davis smirks a small bit, "Really now?"

"Yeah."
"And why is that?" Brooks asks, easily recognizing what his twin is doing.

"Well Jennifer is nicer, and she does her hair better." Aubrey trails off, still not looking up from her math homework.

"So if you had to pick anybody in the entire school to take to the homecoming dance, who would it be?"

"Jennifer." The girl answers quickly.

"No like anybody." Davis pushes.

"Jennifer." Aubrey confirms.

"The redhead?" Brooks asks.

Aubrey has the end of her pencil in her mouth as she stares at a hard math problem, "Yep."

"So you have a thing for cute redheads?" Davis teases.

Instantly Aubrey's head shoots up to level her brother with a glare, "No!"

"You so do!"

"Davis-"
"You like Jenn!"

"Don't you dare tell Dad." Aubrey threatens, her voice low and scary despite her being over a foot shorter than the twins still, "Or any of the other boys."

"Jeez Bug, no need to get so defensive." Brooks relents.

"Yeah, your lady crush is safe with us."

Aubrey sends them a withering glare, but true to their word neither of the twins says anything. Rather when they hear of Aubrey's long term boyfriend in high school after they've left for college, they skype her to make sure everything is alright. Years later they sit back with smug grins when Aubrey brings her first girlfriend home from college to meet the family.

…

Aubrey is eighteen and she's in charge of most of the sides for Thanksgiving dinner. Technically she is in charge of all of Thanksgiving dinner, but Dawson and Emmett's full families are back in town so she is working together with their wives for the holiday. Brooks is also bringing home his girlfriend Rachel- they've been together for nearly two years and this is the first time that she will be exposed to the whole Posen clan.

Aubrey is bouncing Dawson's son Jamison in her arms while his wife Sheila is working on brunch for everyone. She's a Georgia Peach who fits into their Southern family expertly, she cooks with an outrageous amount of butter and knows the perfect ratio of sugar to lemon to make the best sweet tea Aubrey's ever tasted. Emmett's wife, Caroline, sweeps into the kitchen with a wide smile, "My two favorite Posens!" She greets.

Aubrey rolls her eyes at her sister in law's boisterous personality, "Good morning, Caroline."

"Have Brooks and his girl gotten here yet?"

"They're due soon."

Aubrey smiles, she's the only Posen kid still at home and she loves these times when the house fills with warmth and noise. Caroline moves onto more pressing gossip.

"So Bree, you're headed to Barden next year, right?"

"That's the plan." Aubrey confirms, tucking Jamison back into his baby seat so she can help with the cooking.

"It's a great school." The brunette smiles, "My brother Jimmy went there."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, he loved it." Caroline fans herself off for a moment while the other two women work on the food, "I think that deserves a celebratory drink." She finally decides, "Sheila, are you drinking again yet?"

The older woman chuckles, "I am."

"Excellent."

Caroline leaves the kitchen briefly, while she's gone Brooks and Rachel arrive. They're greeted by the whole family loudly before Brooks is swept up in conversation with the boys, and Rachel is away to the kitchen to get to know the girls.

Caroline is pouring them out the 'celebratory drink' while Rachel leans awkwardly against the doorway, "Rachel, we're celebrating Aubrey's decision to commit to Barden University. Have a drink?"

The three watch Rachel smile and her eyes jump to the clock on the stove (it's still hardly nine thirty) before she nods, "Yeah, thanks. Congratulations Aubrey."

Aubrey accepts her glass and sips the bourbon smoothly like she's been doing it for years- which she has- and watches Rachel try to hide her grimace at the burn of the dark liquor. Strike one.

That evening, the younger Posen children sit out on the porch talking. Rachel had held up relatively well through Caroline's scrutiny and was not leaning into Brooks's side. James pulls out a pack of cigarettes, and Aubrey automatically holds her hand out expectantly until she is handed one.

James passes them out to the twins as well before offering one to Rachel, "Oh, I don't smoke." She declines politely.

Strike two.

Despite that, Aubrey watches the brunette interact with her brothers, she teases Davis, and laughs with James. She may not fit the Southern archetype that the rest of the Posens fall into, but she is good for Brooks.

Aubrey smokes on the wrap around porch with the boys, swirls the last of her drink around in the mason jar she's drinking out of. It's one of the same mason jars that they used to catch lightning bugs in, the same ones they forgot to punch holes in the lids of.

It feels similar to that warm summer night thirteen years ago that the Posen kids fell asleep on the porch after their mother's funeral, but now the smoke curling in Aubrey's lungs grounds her to the present. She's going to Barden next year, she's going to leave this all behind.

A/N- Chloe coming up in the second chapter. Drop a review if you feel compelled/ have any Southern-isms you think Aubrey would have!