Title: Replay (or Life is a Setlist, This is on Shuffle) [2/4]

Pairings: Beca/Chloe, Aubrey/Jesse, and a bit of Cynthia/Stacie (might be one-sided, might not ;)

Description: Life is an ever-changing setlist but it's the day before graduation and just this once, Beca wished she could replay it from the start. A look at the changes that go along with the future and the one moment that changed everything for Beca.

AN: thank you all for the favourites, subscriptions and review(s)!

mymindisonyou: Hope this chapter answers your Aubrey/Jesse question... :)

All flashbacks take place during the summer before Beca's Junior year and are italicized.


Beca managed to keep her new secret ninja love attack under a (hopefully) convincing façade of normalcy. At the very least, she managed to hold a conversation with Chloe without sounding like the prepubescent boy that some people accuse her of dressing as. They had just finished eating and once Beca got the grand tour of the small one bedroom apartment with the foldout sofa, they settled on the newly made bed, chatting and snacking while barely paying attention to the TV.

"I'm really glad you're here."

Beca laughed, ignoring the massive butterfly attack and bass thumping in her guts. Instead she settled for throwing a popcorn kernel at the other girl, delightfully inciting a shriek of indignation and amusement. "I know, Chloe. This is like, the twentieth time you've said it since I got in."

More like twelfth but who else besides Beca was reverently keeping count?

"I know. But with Aubrey out east bumping toners with Jesse and you and the Bellas having the time of your lives at Barden," Chloe broke off gloomily and Beca's heart tore in two. "I guess I just feel left behind."

And there it was, Beca thought, the moment in intimate girl talk (the non-sexual kind thank you very much) where a vulnerable confession requires a hug in consolation. But that pout, oh that pout. Beca would give away her record collection to ensure that Chloe had a smile on her face at all times.

It was that pout that usually got Beca to step off when she got too rowdy during the Aubrey Barden Bella era. Usually.

It was that pout that got Beca to try rock climbing even though she was terrified of heights.

That pout even got Beca to wear a dress to Chloe's damn graduation. To this day Beca swore those tears she shed was because of the dress and heels she was made to wear. They weren't because she was going to miss Chloe like crazy (even though she did).

Although things have changed a lot since Beca met Chloe… that pout was always a constant.

And a hug? Though she generally avoided physical displays of affection, a hug was well within the lengths she would go to remove the sadness and replace it with gladness.

"If anything, Chlo…" She whispered into Chloe's sun-kissed auburn hair, "You're the one leaving us behind. You're out here! Making it big. Forgetting about all us little people."

"Becoming a vocal coach to C-list celebrities' kids that think they can sing is far from making it big, Beca." She sobbed out in reply.

Oh no, tears too?

"Chloe, I would never leave you behind. You're my best friend. No matter where I am. No matter where you are… We won't leave each other behind."

It was sappy but true, Beca wouldn't dream of cutting Chloe out because of some DJ gig or a major Barden Bella dilemma. If anything, Chloe was always the first person she would inform, rant to and consult.

Beca wanted to break the hug to look into Chloe's eyes, feeling that eye contact would do a more convincing job but Chloe refused to relinquish her hold and only held her tighter.

"You're my best friend too. I love you so much."

It was equal amounts of uplifting beats and downtrodden ballads, Beca thought, Chloe would never feel the same mix of everything-love that echoed throughout every inch of Beca's soul… Would she?

Because Beca was the best friend.

But the weight on her heart felt lighter with each passing moment that Chloe held on. So Beca would take what she could get.

And then she would try to replay the moment later, hoping it would be enough.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

(Present Day)

"Are you okay in there?"

Beca held her head wearily over the toilet bowl in utter shame. "Leave me alone." She uttered weakly.

"Oh please, you're talking to the queen of shameful stress vomiting." She was right and that just made Beca feel even worse.

"No." She protested again. She'd rather have Amy or Lily come in than have Aubrey help her clean up after vomiting from stress and heartbreaking disappointment.

But then she felt the crumpled up sheets of paper towels being pressed up against her cheek, wiping away the remaining puke from her face. "Like I listen to you anyways."

She helped clean Beca up before helping her off the floor. "Thanks." Beca muttered.

"Sorry, you had to find out like this." Aubrey looked genuinely apologetic and the shorter girl waved it off.

"I don't want apologies." Her tone more petulant than ever, "I want Chloe."

Beca avoided looking her former captain in the eyes because she felt so pathetic. Luckily Aubrey's phone went off and her attention was focused on returning a text message.

"God, you're so whiny without her. Come on, we need to get going."

"Where? Why?"

"Stacie's getting the Captain's Cold Feet Freakout. That was Cynthia Rose, she has a meeting and asked us to intervene before Stacie reverts."

Beca sniffled but didn't protest. Aubrey was right, (She couldn't believe that she would admit it but Aubrey was right). She was whiny with no Chloe. When did that happen?

As much as Beca didn't want to break their moment, she had to for her doomed heart's sake. "Does Aubrey know that I'm your best friend?"

"I'm still alive aren't I?" Chloe replied dryly, "But she's not my best friend."

"She's not?"

"She's my aca-twin. My singing sister-in-arms. She got me to join the Barden Bellas and we've faced so much together since then. Vomiting viral videos and crazy Barden captains."

Beca listened intently as Chloe continued to elaborate the difference in what she felt for both girls. The slight reverence in Chloe's voice made it almost impossible to not be jealous. The only consolation being that Aubrey was a sister, not a best friend. Beca just didn't quite know what it meant… yet.

"But you? You're kind of my music soulmate. Don't get me wrong, Aubrey has good taste in music but anything past the 60's and it's usually Disney and pop songs. And there's nothing wrong with that but… she'd never be caught dead listening to Blackstreet."

That sound that Beca was hearing? It was her heart skipping tracks and going to static.

"But why didn't she tell me?" Beca asked for the hundredth time since they left her dorm room.

"It was last minute and she had an emergency meeting today. I volunteered because I seem to piss you off no matter what I say and my flight was scheduled for today anyways. It seemed better than you yelling at Chloe."

"I wouldn't yell at her…" At Aubrey's pointed look, Beca amended, "…much. I would just be very vocal about the fact that she promised she'd be here for grad."

"Look it's just a day-"

"I haven't seen her in months!" Perhaps Beca was starting to sound hysterical but damn it, she missed her.

"But you guys talked on Skype and you text…"

"You know it's not the same thing."

"You guys did it a lot better than I did with Jesse. I mean look at where we are now?" Aubrey added, self-depreciatingly.

"We're all miserable, Aubrey." Beca wasn't above not giving any sympathy to Aubrey at least not without Chloe there to pout at her.

"Oh please, you'll go all scowl-y at her and she'll shed a tear and pout then you guys'll have Skype sex."

"Aubrey!"

"What? It's me! Chloe tells me everything. No matter how much I tell her not to."

They fell into a weirdly comfortable silence as they crossed the campus.

"Hey," Aubrey nudged her, "At least it took your mind off your impending graduation freak out?"

"Thanks for the reminder." Beca drawled with her usual dose of sarcasm.

And there was the vomiting feeling again. No Chloe and graduation looms ever closer. Instead, Beca chose to go back to another constant: Aubrey drama. "How are you and Darth Douchebag by the way?"

Beca had to admit, the stumble in Aubrey's step and the series of hacking coughs that followed would be worth hashing up this stuff again.

"I see Benji's nickname stuck?" Aubrey mused finally after Beca cleared the way incase chunks came out with the coughs.

"It did." She confirmed.

"And how is Jesse since…"

"Since Daddy Posen ordered you to break up with your liberal hippie boyfriend with no direction and basically signed you away to Darth Douchbag?"

There was a twitch, a slight crack in the Aubrey Posen mask that was born and bred upon her face. Beca ignored it for the sack of her best friend because Aubrey Posen would never change. She would always need her Dad's approval and it didn't matter whose hearts got stepped on to get it. Jesse deserved more but he would never say so. She would have to do it herself.

"That wasn't what happened." Aubrey argued. "And I don't think of Jesse like that!"

"No, but you do think whatever Daddy makes you think!"

"And what the hell do you know!"

"I know that against my better judgement and Jesse's, you ended up being the same uptight bitch with a single-minded agenda that left him high and dry with a broken heart. I know that it was Benji and me that were the ones to pick up the pieces when you dumped him for Darth Douche."

SLAP!

And maybe she had this coming. Maybe they both did. Because they both had extreme Daddy issues that made them both intolerable in certain ways. Because they both had trouble dealing with said issues and emotions in generally. And because this was probably the longest time they've spent together without Chloe, Jesse or the Bellas there to distract them from their antagonistic dynamic. It was bound to blow up sometime.

Beca just wished it didn't happen to her cheek. Ouch.

Another bout of silence followed as Aubrey whimpered in horror at what she had just done but Beca waved it off after the initial shock and they continued on their way to the auditorium. More quickly now because Beca wanted to get to an icepack.

"I'm not with Derek anymore." Aubrey whispered, the murmur echoing out as they walked into the auditorium

Beca stood stark straight, head snapping up like a meerkat. "What?"

"I left him. I left him and the firm… and my Dad."

"What?" And then Beca took notice. Really took notice. She noticed the wrinkled skirt, the slightly messy shirt and the unkempt hair.

Beca was wrong.

Because there it was, the same uptight self-rightious bitch was there crumbling on the floor and breaking because of Jesse. For Jesse. And maybe… she was there crumbling for Aubrey Posen too.

So Beca was wrong. It wasn't the first time.

"You're over Jesse right?"

Beca groaned at the question and turned to lie on her back. For one, she was asked this at least a dozen times before she flew in to LA. Secondly, it was three in the fucking morning in LA, which meant it was 6 in the fucking morning back on the east coast.

"Chloe…"

"Please? I'll leave you alone if you answer."

And then there was Chloe's breath close to Beca's neck and suddenly she didn't mind.

"I've told you a zillion times, Chlo. Jesse's just a friend. A good friend. I got the ews when we kissed. And ews do not make for a good relationship."

Chloe sighed, the feeling sending Beca's nerves on fire. "Okay."

"But you knew this already."

"I just needed to hear you say it again…" There was a pause and for a moment, Beca thought the other girl had fallen asleep. "You know- for uh… for Aubrey."

"For Aubrey?" The smaller girl cringed, taking advantage of the darkness covering her disapproval.

Unfortunately for Beca, Chloe knows her too well. "She really likes him, Beca. He's good for her."

"I don't think she's good for him."

"Come on, Becs. Aubrey's different now."

"She's still the same uppity aca-bitch to me."

"Everyone and everything changes when you're in love."

Does it ever.

But Aubrey? Pfft, Beca doubted it. But when one had Chloe, there was also Aubrey. It was a packaged deal. And with Chloe sleeping so close to Beca, she didn't quite mind the trade-off.

Even if Aubrey was and always will be... well, Aubrey.