Author's Note: Really overwhelmed by the response to this, it meant a lot. I'm glad people liked it. This chapter, might be a little sad, and it's inspired by real life events. I had to go a little AU to make it line up, but does anyone really care that much? Smeg's sleeping and won't know of its existence till it's published, so he had no part in this chapter and it's not been betaed. Also, I conferred with him and my plan to kill the Bellas has been put on hold. Since it's unlikely to ever see the light of day, I will just say it was going to be a crossover with The Good Place. If you haven't seen the show, check it out, it was phenomenal. I'd love to see it get some Emmy love. I'm just glad they're over their obsession with the Office clone Modern Family. Yammering again, on with the story that's sort of therapy for me.


"This is a great diner." Stacie said after they were seated at a booth.

"I like their grilled chicken salad. They've got this nice vinegrette." Aubrey stated, not even bothering to look at the menu. She was about to say more, when the speakers started playing what was to her some very familiar music, George Strait's 'Baby Blue'. As soon as Chloe heard the music, a look of concern came to her face and she grabbed the blonde's hand.

"Are you ok sweetie?" Chloe asked, knowing the effect the song had on her girlfriend.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm ok." Aubrey nodded. "It just always gets me a little, you know?"

"I do honey, I do." Chloe confirmed.

"What's going on?" Beca asked as she listened to the words of the song.

"This song reminds me of someone." Aubrey said, taking a breath. She was thankful the waitress came to take their orders, giving her some time to mentally prepare herself. "I was kind of an accident. My sister's 14 years older than I am, my brother 11 years."

"They're really great, I can't wait for the two of you to meet them." Chloe interjected.

"They are." Aubrey agreed, nodding her head and squeezing Chloe's hand. "Anyway, my father died unexpectedly when I was 14."

"That's sad Aubrey, I'm sorry to hear." Stacie reached over the table and took the blonde's other hand.

"Thank you." Aubrey nodded solemnly. "Looking back, I was kind of numb. My mother was finishing nursing school, and I was just kind of left to my own devices. By this time, I had come to realize I was a lesbian, but of course I wasn't out yet, I just wasn't prepared. Anyway, my brother had started seriously seeing this girl who was a few years younger than he was, about seven years older than me who had been in some of mom's classes. She was really, really sweet. At the time, I felt like...like nobody cared about me, but she always went out of her way to do things for me. She took me to the movies once or twice and just made me feel like I was special, like I mattered, when I felt like I didn't."

"That was nice of her." Stacie smiled.

"It really was, like I said, she was great. One time, mom and I went to their place for supper. Mom and I made the meal, she made chocolate chip cheesecake for dessert. I didn't have any because I've never been a cheesecake fan. A couple days later she stopped by the house with a special made cake just for me because she felt so bad I didn't have any dessert because she didn't know I didn't like cheesecake." Aubrey continued. "She was even the first one I came out to. I was just so comfortable with her, I was able to talk with her. She'd always encourage me whenever I talked about the girl I liked at the time. Of course I never made a move because I wasn't ready."

"Was it Chloe?" Beca asked, looking between the redhead and the blonde.

"No, it wasn't Chloe, it was just this girl I was friends with in high school." Aubrey explained. "So yeah, she meant the world to me. And then just like that, she and my brother broke up, and I only saw her like once or twice more."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Stacie said. "No wonder the song gets to you."

"Yeah, usually I'm ok but sometimes if I'm in the right mood, it just devastates me." Aubrey explained. "One thing that kind of sucks. She was a big Clemson fan, and I started liking Clemson because of her. She got me this Clemson sweatshirt for my birthday one year. I loved that thing. But I left it at home when I came to college, and when I came back, my mom had given it to Good Will because she didn't know how much it meant to me. But, anyway, she had a huge impact on me. Part of why I strive to be the best is to try to live up to the person she made feel like I was. I understand she's married with kids now, I just hope she's happy, and if I ever run into her again, that she's still proud of me."

"I'm sure she will be." Chloe said with an encourgaing smile as the waitress brought their food.


Note 2: Thanks for sticking with me. I just needed to get this out. I can't say when more of this will come, but I promise you it will be lighter.