A/N: So here's the second chapter of TIA. I've decided to make it a multi-chapter story. Sorry for the delay. Thank you for waiting!
Aubrey's mind is floating. She's supposed to be planning something for the Bellas but her mind is preoccupied by something else, particularly Stacie. It has been 5 days since their talk and it hadn't left her mind.
Aubrey opened the door of her girlfriend's dorm room and found her sitting on the couch with a worried expression. When she closed the door, Stacie snapped out of her thoughts and saw the blond.
"Hey." The older Bella greeted her as she sat down beside her. Stacie remained silent for a moment while staring at her girlfriend. Aubrey felt nervous. Stacie's not like this.
"We need to talk." The brunette sighed and she held her hands together to keep them from shaking. Aubrey noticed this and held her hands and looked back to Stacie's eyes.
"Okay. Let's talk. What's the problem?"
"I-I need to tell you something. But please, promise me you'll stay calm?" Aubrey frowned but she didn't say something and just nodded as a response. She doesn't know what to expect from this talk. She's clueless and she didn't want to assume anything.
Stacie took a deep breath and shut her eyes. She pursed her lips and looked down on her trembling hands. Aubrey tried to calm her but she felt more nervous as she tried to open her mouth. She closed her eyes once again and a tear fell. Aubrey tensed up as Stacie sighed once more and began to speak.
"I... I'm pregnant."
Aubrey felt a pang on her chest as she heard it. Those words kept on echoing inside her head and she didn't know how to respond. She looked away from her girlfriend. Stacie felt Aubrey's hands are not on hers anymore. She started to cry but she kept her eyes closed, trying to stop the tears from flowing. No one spoke and the only thing they can hear are their own fast heart beats and the brunette's heavy breathing. Aubrey's thoughts are all mixed up and she felt her head hurt. The brunette tried to open her eyes that are starting to sting.
"P-please say something… Talk to me." She looked at the blonde beside her, staring straight ahead at the wall, her face showing no emotion at all. She didn't speak and didn't even move. The brunette's eyes are pleading but the blonde didn't even dare to look at her. She waited for her to speak.
"For how long?" Aubrey spoke, still not moving. This broke the brunette's heart more. She doesn't want this to happen.
"T-Three months. It's been three months."
Aubrey tensed more. Was she cheating on me? She thought to herself but she shook it off and tried not to accuse her that. She thought again and realized the changes from her girlfriend. That explains the extreme mood swings and big appetite. She noticed it before but she ignored it, thinking that Stacie's just up to something weird.
A hug from behind her snapped the blonde from her thoughts. She smiled when she smelled the familiar scent.
"Someone's distracted." Stacie kissed her girlfriend's cheek and rested her chin on Aubrey's shoulder. Aubrey put her hand at the brunette's cheek and caressed it. She held the younger Bella's arm and guided her to sit down as she stood up from her chair.
"I'm just planning something for the Bellas but I don't know it yet. Well I'm not really distracted in a bad way."
"Why'd you say so?"
"Because it's you that I'm thinking of." Aubrey smiled at her girlfriend and the brunette smiled back sweetly.
"You're cheesy." She pulled the blond and gave a peck on her lips.
"Hmm.. Yeah. It's your fault." Aubrey smirked and gave Stacie a peck on the lips too. She pulled back and leaned against her study table, still holding her hands.
"Why are you here anyway? We have Bellas rehearsal in 20 minutes and I'll be leaving in 5."
"Nothing. I just want to see you. I always want to see you."
"I see that... Well you could've texted me to come to you. You shouldn't be working yourself up. I'm not requiring you to attend rehearsals anymore."
"Bree, what is a little walk from my dorm to yours? And you may not be requiring me but I'd still go. I don't want to miss anything."
"You'd still find a way or an excuse even if I won't let you, won't you? Okay, you can sit in during rehearsals."
"I'd still be doing cardio, you know."
"Fine. A little cardio. But please let me know if something's not good okay? I don't want you stressed out. And you should have company always. I don't want you going somewhere all alone."
"Yes, captain!" Stacie winked at her and she just shook her head on her girlfriend's stubbornness. Aubrey looked at her watch and it was 15 minutes before practice.
"Come, let's go to practice. I still have work to do." She held out her hand to Stacie and she reached for it. She took her things and they left.
Rehearsal was light which the Bellas noticed and they didn't know if they should be relieved or scared. They just did a run down of the steps and the proper execution of the song and the facial expressions and a 5 lap cardio exercise. Aubrey's been thinking about the same issue. Apparently, she haven't told anyone about Stacie's condition and she kept it to herself ever since their talk. The two of them haven't talked about the reason behind it too yet. Aubrey's thinking if she should bring it up later or wait for Stacie to open it up. But the issue was distracting her and she's dying to know what really happened for her to fully understand. Not that she doubts their relationship. She just wanted confirmation to stop all her thoughts. She glanced at Stacie who was having a chat with Jessica and Ashley.
"Okay, let's call it a day. I want all of you to work on the things I told you. My personal assessment on your performance today would be noted and I expect improvements on our next rehearsal. I hope I made myself clear. See you next meeting." She nodded to the Bellas and turned around to fix her things.
The girls were leaving all at once when Chloe approached the Bella captain.
"Hey Bree, I'm gonna be out tonight. I'll be back tomorrow. Are you gonna be fine all by yourself?"
"Yeah, sure. Go ahead. I'll be staying in and finish what I can do for the night."
"Okay, just text me if you need me." The ginger grinned at her best friend as she grabbed her bag and water bottle and jogged out of the practice hall. Aubrey noticed that she's not alone. She grabbed her bag and walked to Stacie who was busy with her phone, her tongue poked out of her lips.
"Stace, are you ready to go?" The brunette didn't respond right away. Her eyes are focused on the screen, brows furrowed. Aubrey raised a brow. She peeked at Stacie's phone to see what she's doing but before she had the chance to see it, the younger Bella shouted, throwing her fist up.
"Yes!" Aubrey stepped back to dodge and almost knocked a chair over. Stacie snapped her eyes at her and looked at the blond apologetically.
"Sorry, I didn't notice you. Are you alright?" She stood up and went over to her girlfriend who was straightening her posture.
"I'm fine. What were you doing anyway?"
"I was playing 2Fuse, trying to beat my own high score." The brunette grinned at Aubrey and brought her phone in front of Aubrey's face to show her score. She has no idea what she was talking about. She never tried to play games on her phone.
"I don't know that game. I don't have time to play." She told the brunette as she put down Stacie's arm.
"Oh. Well, you should try it and beat my score." She stood beside her and locked their arms together. They walked out of the hall.
"I won't. I have other important things to focus on."
"Aww, come on Bree. At least take a break from studying. You're always ahead anyway."
"Why do I have to try that game?" Aubrey sighed, trying to focus on the path they're walking on.
"Because it's fun! And I thought Posens never back out or lose?" They stopped walking. Aubrey looked at her and her lips twitched. Stacie was smirking and wiggling her eyebrows.
"I know what you're trying to do, Stacie. You're challenging me so that I'll play that game."
"What if I am? Are you gonna accept it?" Stacie raised a brow and smiled smugly at the blond, her face too close, their noses almost touching. Aubrey's breath hitched and she didn't move. She glanced at the brunette's lips and back to the blue-green orbs staring back at her.
"I-I... Of course." She answered absent-mindedly and the brunette grinned at her. Stacie quickly kissed her on the lips and started walking again with Aubrey's eyes following her.
Damn it, Posen. You fell for it! She thought to herself as she was mentally kicking herself and walked after her girlfriend.
The two Bellas are in Aubrey's and Chloe's apartment doing their own thing - Aubrey was proof-reading her essay and Stacie was watching videos on her laptop, eating a pack of candies in her hand. Aubrey was just redoing her tasks, double-checking her works for possible mistakes and revisions. She was done with her papers a couple of days ago. She was almost done re-checking when she heard the younger Bella grunt.
She turned around and glanced at her. "What's wrong?"
Stacie looked at her and she was pouting. "I'm out of candies."
Once she heard this, the creases on her forehead smoothened and her lips formed a smile. She can't help but find this adorable. She was known as the uptight girl who has no time for fun. But when Stacie came around, she loosened up especially just in her girlfriend's presence.
She saved her file and closed her laptop. She stood up and walked to the younger Bella.
"I would get you more of them but I think you had too much already." Stacie sighed, still wearing a pout and a frown. She looked at her side and saw the other two empty packs of candies. She did had too much.
Aubrey picked up the wrappers and threw them. She went back to Stacie and gave her a glass of water. Aubrey watched her as she drank and waited for her to finish her drink before she spoke.
"I want us to talk." The blond looked at the younger Bella calmly.
"About what?"
"About you, about what happened and what you plan to do."
Stacie paused. She knew this was coming and she had to do this. She doesn't have a plan yet. She thought of it but it was not any kind of plan. It was more of a goal for her. She wanted the baby to be born and raise it.
"I'll be listening." Aubrey took her hand and looked at her eyes endearingly. The brunette felt relieved and just looked at their holding hands.
"Okay..." She took a deep breath.
"The thought of cheating may have crossed your mind but I just want to tell you that it's not it. You see, I've liked you even before we started dating. I try to distract myself more with sex, drinking and other things whenever I feel something for anyone. I was never for commitments before so when I started liking you, I frequently go out and party then make out with anyone. I just can't shake the feeling so I tried to take a risk and asked you out. I really don't know who's the father of this baby and I think, even if I knew, he's not gonna take any responsibility for it. I mean, I just meet people and forget them so they might also be like me, right?" Stacie sighed and tried to smile to her girlfriend.
"To be honest, I don't really know what to do. You're the only one who knows about my condition. I'm still trying to have more courage to tell my parents. School's almost over but I've thought of maybe dropping out. But then, where will I go? What if my parents won't accept me? What will happen to me and my baby? It's complicated. I-I just don't know anymore." The brunette took her hand from Aubrey's touch and buried her face in them. Aubrey grabbed them again and rubbed her thumb on the back of the younger Bella's left hand, trying to calm her.
"Hey hey, don't be like that. Don't stress yourself. Even if your parents and the father of your baby won't accept the both of you, I'm still here. You still have me. You're not alone. I'll help you take care of your baby. I won't let you do this by yourself. Now that I care for you so much, I care for your baby too. So be strong okay?" She kissed the brunette's hand and smiled at her. Stacie nodded and smiled back at her.
"We'll figure things together. But for now, the only thing I need for you to do is to take care of yourself for the two of you. I'll take care of the rest." The blond held the brunette's face and kissed her lips softly for a second.
"Thank you Bree. Thank you so much for being here with me." She kissed the older Bella and hugged her. When they broke the hug, Aubrey spoke again.
"Chloe's out for the night and won't be back 'till tomorrow. Stay with me tonight?"
"I'd love that."
"Great. It's almost dinner. Do you want to go out or just stay in and order?"
"Hmm..." Stacie paused and hummed to herself, trying to think.
"You know what? Being pregnant is so crazy sometimes that makes me wanna eat everything..." She looked at Aubrey seductively. The blond felt her cheeks heat up and blush. Stacie went closer to Aubrey's face and stared at the green eyes that are staring back at her. She quickly pecked on the captain's lips and grinned.
"Let's just stay in and order. I want to cuddle." Before Aubrey had the chance to respond, Stacie straddled her and pushed her gently on the bed and kissed her passionately. Aubrey melted in the brunette's touch and let herself get lost in the moment, enjoying every time spent with her girlfriend.
