Heyyyyy. I chose to avoid responsibilities for a while but now I am back with a new chapter. I hope you enjoy and comments are always encouraged.

Disclaimer: I own no part of the Pitch Perfect movie franchise or its associated partners and characters.

Presupposition (v.): to suppose or assume beforehand; take for granted in advance.

...

The routine had always stayed the same. Wether it be a wild Saturday night or a tedious Wednesday morning, Chloe had taken to a cycle. Today was no different. A normal Friday afternoon, sitting in an auditorium with loud voices and nervous laughter. She could do it. Go in, sit down, listen, take some notes and leave. The same routine she sat through for 3 years. Today shouldn't be any different.

Except it was.

She had woken up in a foul mood, already dreading the day ahead. It was an unusual sight to see, since she woke up with a fresh face and a new attitude no matter what the day had in store for her. She was sluggish, and in desperate need for coffee.

She all but dragged herself out of bed and into the kitchen, blindly searching for a mug in the many cabinets that never seemed to have any purpose besides looking nice. While most times she appreciated that it made the dorm look cleaner then it actually was, she was tired, and flicking through the almost never ending doors was becoming irritating.

"Fucking doors, what the fuck? Why are there that many? Who put those there, I mean seriously, how ridiculously unnecessary." She huffs out, finally finding a mug with the words 'I'm not santa, but you can sit on my lap' printed on the front. She hears a hushed laugh and turns to see Aubrey, sitting on the couch with a book in her hands.

"While it is amusing to hear you this frustrated over a couple of cabinets, Why are you so grumpy this morning?" She asks, hint of a smile peeking out behind the cover of her law textbook. She sees Aubrey's mug on the table beside her and is grateful she doesn't have to actually make more.

"Bree, can we move?"

"No, and you didn't answer my question."

"If we move I'll answer any question you want."

"How about you answer my question first and then we can move?"

"Really?"

"No."

She sighs and gives up, turning around in search for the coffee pot. She finds it quickly and pours herself a generous cup. She tips the mug back and gladly welcomes the warm liquid and bitter taste in her mouth. She hums contentedly.

"Chlo?"

"Aubrey?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You're lying."

"No i'm not."

"Yes you are."

"Just a little tired is all. Nothing to worry about."

Aubrey gives her a look. She can't quite decipher it, but it's taunting and welcoming all at once and suddenly she can't find it within herself to look at her friend anymore. She takes another sip of her coffee, this one suspiciously longer then the last. Within her first two sips she's almost out of coffee. She refills quickly.

"Are you ready to tell me mow?"

Chloe still hasn't turned around, instead focusing on the slow pour of the caffeinated liquid. It's oddly soothing, and she almost forgets to stop pouring when its filled to the brim. She sets the pot down, and turns slowly, facing her best friend.

"Do you think today will go well?" Theres a hint of worry in her words, and if Aubrey hears it, she pretends to ignore it.

"Yes, today will run according to plan. We've already gone through this."

"But what if no one shows up?" She knows its not if no one shows up, it's if she doesn't show up that fills her with such anxiety.

"People come every single year, its nothing to lose sleep over." Chloe can tell Aubrey is trying her best to console her, but it comes out more stern and commanding then it does warm and comforting. It does nothing to quell the nervous tap of her feet or the slight twitch in her brow. She can't shake the feeling low in her stomach that today will go horribly. She takes a small sip of her now lukewarm coffee.

"I don't know Bree, you saw how the activities fair went. Nobody gave us the time of day." That's not entirely true, but she specifically remembers the short brunette whom quickly disregarded them.

"Please Chloe, we will do just fine. Now, I have class in 10, so i'll meet you here before auditions at 1:00. Promise me you'll quit worrying?" She considers her question for a moment, before giving her a lazy shrug.

"That'll do for now. I've gotta go." And just as fast as the words leave her mouth, Aubrey is out of the door.

Chloe takes a minute to stare at the door, willing it to open and bring Aubrey back. She knows its never going to work (having tried this many times with the T.V remote or her glass of water that is placed just out of reach.) but she hopes a little more and tries a little harder.

(It doesn't work.)

She quickly dumps out the rest of her coffee, not in the mood anymore. The mug is forgotten about in the sink and she turns to the small fridge tucked away in the corner of the kitchen. She sees a yellow sticky note with 'Auditions 1:30' written in green marker across the front. She feels her stomach lurch and she no longer feels like eating anything. She exits the kitchen swiftly, and darts to her room. She quickly glances at her alarm sitting atop her dresser and she's not sure if she wants to throw the clock across the room or give it hug when she sees what time it is. It glares 10:37 at her and it feels like too much and too little and she's not quite sure what to do.

She has a lecture at 11:15, but the overwhelming urge to just skip it and lay down in her bed for a little while longer seems like a great idea. (Chloe knows she won't actually do it, but she entertains the thought for a little while longer.)

She shakes her head and grabs some clothes before making her way to the showers.

(She silently hopes that the brunette will be there again.)

...

Chloe sits in her lecture, glancing around rather uninterestedly as the professor drones on about the phony society as seen in the eyes of Holden Caulfield. She doesn't care too much about his endeavors, he's always been a brat trying so hard to be different and complex that he's ended up being just like everyone else. Although well written, she doesn't believe the book is any special, so she spends her time alternating between looking at the clock every few minutes and watching other people work.

She looks at how the girl 2 rows in front of her clicks her pen exactly 3 times before writing notes down, or how the boy a few seats to the left of her tugs on his ear when the teacher says a particularly difficult word. She watches the teacher take 7 paces forward, turn around and take another 7 paces back. Its melodic, the scratches of pen against paper and the hushed whispers of students. Chloe thinks on any other day, she could fall asleep to the music being created.

(But its not just any other day and the cups of coffee she had are keeping her wide awake.)

She surveys the room one last time and looks at the clock again. 12:15. She's got 20 minutes before the lecture ends.

She huffs silently and pretends to be paying attention.

...

Its 12:45 when Chloe gets back to her dorm. She's surprised to see Aubrey waiting for her in the kitchen, chewing on an apple.

"Aubrey what are you doing here?"

"Class got out a little earlier. We've got a little more time to get ready now."

Aubrey tosses the finished apple into the trash bin and looks to Chloe again. She's wearing the same look from this morning, and Chloe becomes very interested in her shoes in that moment.

"You're still nervous aren't you?"

"No. There's no reason to be." She doesn't like to think she's lying, because she's not. She's just not revealing the entire truth. Aubrey looks at her for a little longer, chewing the side of her lip.

"If you say so. Have you eaten?" Chloe is glad Aubrey decides not to press the topic. Its then when her stomach grumbles, and Aubrey gets the answer to her question.

"Come on, there is some left over Thai from yesterday." Aubrey grabs her hand and leads her through the kitchen. She see's the sticky note again, and the familiar lurch in her stomach returns. Chloe doesn't say anything, and watches Aubrey rifle through the fridge until she finds the take out containers.

"Hey can you grab a bowl for me?" A small, almost unnoticeable smirk crosses her face as she holds the containers in her hand and nudges the door closed with her hip. Chloe doesn't question it, as she knows she wouldn't get an answer.

"Sure."

She can't remember which cabinet the bowls are in.

"Fucking doors."

Aubrey chuckles.

...

Aubrey had been right when she said enough people were going to show up. Chloe's actually surprised to see how many girls had turned in applications. She flicks through some of the sheets quickly, but she can't find the picture of the shower singer in any of them. It relieves her a small bit to have a little more breathing time, but the immense wave of sadness takes her and threatens to drown her. The small breathing time isn't enough to catch her final breath.

Its when Justin gives his infamous belly roll and the first performer gets on stage does she snap out of it and pretend to know what she's doing. Being a leader was never her strongest quality, so she's grateful for Aubrey being able to guide her.

"Whenever your ready dude." Donald, the beatboxing treble calls out, not really seeming to care as he continues to talk to Bumper afterwards. A cap comes off quickly, and a flick of red hair whips on stage.

"Hi, yeah, my name is Cynthia Rose." She's confident when she says it, and Chloe can't help but think she would make a perfect bella, despite not fitting the 'traditional bella mold'.

"Not a dude, she's not a dude."

The newly named Cynthia Rose rolls her eyes, and begins her opening bars of the audition.

...

"Alright, we have reached the end of auditions."

Chloe's head snaps up. She fucking knew it.

"Hey Chlo? What did you think about..." Aubrey grasps gently at her shoulder and shakes a little, seeking her attention. Chloe questions her ability to answer any questions about auditions. She hadn't been paying too much attention, listening to the first 20 seconds and then zoning out. She hadn't meant to, but the voices she was supposed to be listening to hadn't sounded like the brunette's and she couldn't concentrate.

"she was a strong singer but she didn't look up during the set..." Aubrey continued to speak and Chloe continued to ignore.

"Oh, wait, it seems we have one more."

Chloe doesn't bother to look up. A stray Treble wannabe or a stoner high note most likely.

"I didn't know we had to prepare that song."

The voice sounds familiar, and so she picks her head up and looks toward the stage.

She sees the brunette from the shower, standing on stage, shifting from toe to toe, making a point to look anywhere but the Bella table. Aubrey looks at her, scanning her up and down and slowly puts down the audition sheet she had in her hand.

"Sing whatever you want then." Chloe can hear the apprehensive tone, and she already nows the blonde doesn't like the girl on stage.

"Alright, let me just... Yeah ok." The girl makes an awkward move for the plastic yellow cup on the table, lazily dumping out the few pens that were left in it. Chloe doesn't take her eyes off of her.

With the cup firmly in her hold, she sits on the stage and places it upside down. The girl hesitates a bit, holding her hands out. Chloe's not sure what she plans on doing, or why the cup was necessary in all of this, but she doesn't question her, just continues to watch.

The girl on stage begins to tap an unfamiliar beat with the cup, flipping it before slamming it back onto the stage. At first it sounds shaky, uncertain almost, but after the second time the taps become louder and the beat becomes smoother and Chloe thinks maybe she could fall asleep to this too.

(But this isn't her lit class and the brunette on stage doesn't click her pen or pull on her ears and talk about Holden Caulfield. She makes music with cups and sings in the shower.)

I've got my ticket for the long way round... Two bottle' o whiskey for the way.

She sings the words in time with the beat and Chloe definitely thinks she could fall asleep to her gentle voice and the small skips in her throat. Her voice is beautiful, soft as it reverberates against the walls. She likes to think she can feel it against her skin as goosebumps begin to rise.

And I sure would like some sweet company, and I'm leavin' tomorrow what do ya say?

When I'm gone

When I'm gone

You're gonna miss me when i'm gone

You're gonna miss me by my hair

You're gonna miss me everywhere ohh

You're gonna miss me when i'm gone.

Chloe hears the final tap of the cup hit the stage and she briefly worries that when she looks up again, the girl will be gone.

(She doesn't have to worry though, because when she looks up, blue eyes are staring back at her.)

...

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