A/N: Y'all probably already noticed this but the story is a little more drama than my other stories. I'm not apologizing, I love drama. But it's a little more difficult to write, so, the updates on this might take a little longer... hopefully they won't. Oh, and I changed the rating to M because of language.

"We gotta do something," Cynthia Rose said and it wasn't the first time either. The Bellas were sitting around Amy's living room with long faces, they were drinking what Lilly was mixing and it didn't help their mood at all. "We should just go over there and..."

"Nonononono," Amy said. "That's a mistake. You heard Beca, she doesn't want any kind of retaliation."

"But this is not just about her, they whipped our combined asses," Denise piped up and it was such a rare occasion that everybody looked at her. She blushed a little and took another sip from her cup.

"Yeah, but that was the competition. I mean, they were good...," Jessica felt everybody staring at her and before she could receive a verbal bashing she quickly added: "if completely mislead and mean."

"They were fucking assholes," Cynthia Rose corrected the mild-mannered blonde. Lilly leaned over to the African-American and whispered something at her. Cynthia smiled.

"Right you are," she nodded. The other's looked at the duo questioningly but none of them was willing to repeat what Lilly had said. "I think we should go and do some demage. They're pobably still out celebrating. Now or never," Cynthia Rose got up and Lilly was right beside her.

"Cynthia...," but Amy didn't come very far with her protest as most of the Bellas, even the three newbies, stood up as well.

"Are you coming, Amy? Jessica?" And they were indeed the only ones still sitting.

"What if the Trebles are home?" Amy asked.

"That's even better," Cynthia Rose gave back. Amy got up. "You're coming with?"

"Just so I can see that this doesn't escalate. Jess you can stay..."

"If everybody's going I'm going," the blonde said and some of the girls smiled at her. That was the spirit, after all. They had to stand as one Bella, this was what Aubrey had taught them.

And that was who they encountered when Stacie pulled the door open: one Bella. Aubrey looked at them, at their determined expressions, at the fists some of the girls had formed of their hands.

"And where do you think you're going?" She asked sternly before she stepped into Amy's apartment and shut the door forcibly.

Cynthia Rose huffed.

"We're going over to the BTM-house," she said.

"No, you're not. You're staying here. I won't have you destroy what Bellas generations ago have worked so hard to build," Aubrey's voice was steel and many of the girls lost heart over it. Everybody looked to Cynthia Rose.

"Damn it, Aubrey, they humiliated us. And that Jesse-guy hurt Beca! We can't just sit here and do nothing!"

"That's exactly what you're going to do," Aubrey answered back. She looked at each Bella in turn. "Do you think Beca wants this? Her friends getting into trouble over her? You should know her better."

"Beca told us not to do anything about this," Amy said, her voice very quiet.

"That settles it, then," Aubrey said. "Let's go inside, let's sit down." She pointed towards the living room and the recently abandoned seats. They all shuffled back in, Cynthia Rose the most reluctant of them. Aubrey put her hand on the lesbian's back, she could feel that her friend was wound up. Everybody settled down, some picked up their drinks again. Aubrey looked at the disheartened faces and whipped out her phone.

"I think you guys need some cheering up," she said and dialed a number.

"If that's Beca's number you're calling, I don't think there will be much cheering up from her tonight," Amy said. "She was totes..." but the right word wouldn't come to her.

"Depressed," Stacie helped her out. It was the right word but nobody really wanted to hear it. Their small captain's mood had brought them all down another notch during the short drive home.

But it wasn't Beca Aubrey called. While it was still ringing, Aubrey put her phone on speaker and laid it down on the table so everyone could hear.

"Aubrey, hey. I already heard, I'm so sorry," it was Chloe's voice and the tall blonde could see its immediate effect on some of the faces. Jessica smiled outright, Amy grinned, even Lilly leaned forward a little.

"Hey, Chloe, we're all here... that is, except for Beca. You're on speaker."

"Hey, guys, I'm so sorry. I wish I could have been there to cheer you on. I'm sure you were aca-awesome," the redhead enthused.

"They were," Aubrey confirmed.

"But the Trebles were better?" Cynthia Rose huffed at that.

"They were something," she said.

"Have you talked to Beca?" Aubrey asked.

"Yeah, we just got off the phone. She's pretty down but that's understandable. But I mean, we were only placed second last year and then we won the competish, so... I don't think you should be too worried about it," Chloe told them in a cheerful voice.

"Didn't Beca tell you?" Amy wondered aloud.

"Tell me what?" Everybody seemed to be murmuring about something at that and Chloe couldn't get a straight answer out of her friends.

"About what Jesse did," Cynthia Rose made herself heard over the chatter.

"What did Jesse do?" Chloe asked. The room went very quiet all of a sudden and everybody looked up at Aubrey. She was obviously chosen to fill the redhead in.

"Jesse broke up with Beca - via song. The Trebles sang Since U Been Gone and These Boots Are Made For Walking. And Jesse... he looked at Beca the whole time and... even pointed at her on occasion. It was..."

"WHAT! That... What... Damn, why didn't she tell me?" Chloe exploded. "He can't just do that! What do regulations... fuck the regulations, what did you do? You can't just let him get away with that!"

"Damn right!" Cynthia Rose agreed and beat her fist onto the table. Everybody looked up startled.

"Chloe, you're not helping right now," Aubrey informed her friend.

"Helping? I didn't think you need my help to flatten some Treble-tiers or to put some sugar into their tanks... oh, the house... how about some new painting?" Chloe seemed to just warm up. "And if someone can get their hands on Jesse's precious movie collection, I would love to HELP make some scratches."

Cynthia Rose laughed at Chloe's enthusiasm. She hadn't even thought about what they would do once they got to their house but Chloe had some good ideas.

"That's the spirit," she said and pointed at the phone. Some of the others nodded their heads in agreement, Amy looked up at Aubrey in panic.

"Chloe, do you know what's at stake here? The Bellas could be disqualified from the competition," the tall blonde reminded her best friend.

"Fuck the competition! That guy hurt Beca... he's gotta burn for that! And if the other Trebles helped him, they should burn, too," Aubrey was pretty sure Chloe meant it metaphorically but Lilly whispered something about matches and Cynthia's laugh sounded kind of maniacal to her now.

"That's not gonna happen, guys," Aubrey practically yelled and everyone looked up at her. "Chloe, I know how you're feeling. I was angry, too. I still am. But this isn't a solution. The girls could get suspended or even thrown out for this." Everybody was silent once more. "I talked to Jesse..."

But that was all she could get out because everybody, including Chloe over the phone, was asking her questions now. Aubrey put up her hand and finally only Chloe was being heard as she couldn't see the gesture:
"... that scumbag had to say for himself?"

"Well, he didn't say much. He said that he was hurt..." And that was all she could get out before the Bellas interrupted her once again, this time with their outrage. Aubrey sighed, this wasn't really going according to plan. They seemed to get angrier, not calmer.

"I know, okay! And don't think I didn't want to scratch his puppy eyes out for it!" the tall blonde yelled over the ruckus and everyone calmed down again. "Damn it! Beca is a Bella and if somebody hurts a Bella, he should bleed! Metaphorically," she said and looked pointedly at Lilly who pouted. "I'm just as angry as you all are. Seeing those dickheads celebrate their victory, gloating over us... damn! But you can't throw away your futures over those guys, they're not worth it. The Bellas are so much better than the Trebles! And they know that and they took their chance to bring our greatest asset down: Beca. And we have to retaliate, yes! But not at the risk of your futures or the risk of losing the Bellas! Don't you see: the Bellas are a home for all of you. You're happier with them, and we can't let the Trebles take that away from us." Aubrey looked into saddened faces, faces that agreed with her. The Bellas had gone from prom queens to social outsiders in one year, they had changed a lot. But it made them better as a group and as individuals. They would lose more than the chance to compete at the ICCAs if they vandalized the Trebles' club house. The dean's office could disband the Bellas and then they would all lose each other.

"Aubrey's right," Chloe said. Her voice sounded choked. "You need the Bellas, all of you... and me, too. Only... Beca...," and now the redhead was sobbing.

"Chloe, she's gonna be alright. We're all here for her," Aubrey tried to calm her friend down.

"Yeah... only..." The sobbing ceased and there was silence on the other end of the phone. "She needs all of us now. I'm coming down."

"Chloe?"

"No, it's alright. I'm coming down. All I've got to do in the next two weeks is decide where I wanna work and I can do that at Barden. I'm not going to let Beca down. She's my friend," Chloe said with conviction. "I'm taking the first flight out," she informed her friends.

Aubrey looked at the other Bellas, some of them smiled, some seemed a little incredulous but also cheered up. Maybe Chloe coming back to Barden was just what everybody needed.

"Good," Aubrey finally said. "Just text me when you'll arrive and I'll meet you at the airport."

"Will do. I have to go now and see to some reservations. I will see you all... hopefully tomorrow. Keep an eye on Beca for me, will you?"

"Of course we will," Amy said and now everybody was smiling.

"Alright, see you tomorrow, guys. I love you," and that was so Chloe that those who knew had to answer in kind and those who didn't just went along with it.

"We love you," it came back to Chloe in a chorus and she laughed. Then the line disconnected. Aubrey took a deep breath, she was relieved, yes, but it was even better than that. Chloe was coming home.

Beca couldn't sleep. Whenever she closed her eyes, there was Jesse, pointing at her, singing to her. And she knew this shouldn't effect her as much as it did. She should just put her game-face on, say 'fuck you, bitch' and move on. But dammit, it fucking hurt.

Beca rolled onto her back, letting her tears roll from the corners of her eyes into her hair. She bit back a sob, not wanting to wake Gracie Lou to have her gloat over her misery. Damn. This was all so fucked up. Why did Jesse do this? Why did he do it like this? In the open, with everyone watching?

She remembered all the times he had said 'we need to talk.' And how she had answered 'I'm late for practice' or 'I'm meeting Amy, let's talk later.' It had always been the Bellas, as a group or one of her friends. She was always going somewhere, always meeting someone. But she had been so happy... it was strange but the Bellas had made her happier than anything else. Her relationship with Jesse couldn't compete with it, and maybe that had been the problem from the beginning. They had spent a couple of weeks together and things had been good. The semester had been over, Chloe had graduated and gone back to New Hampshire, most of the other girls had visited their families as well. She herself had stayed, safe for a short visit to her mom's. And then Chloe had asked if she would like to come to Martha's Vineyard, and, of course, she had said yes because... she had missed Chloe so much.

Jesse had said he understood but as the planned week had come to an end and he had asked when she would be back, she had said that she would stay a couple of days longer. He was less understanding about that. He knew they would have little time when classes and practices started again. But Beca didn't listen, she wanted more time with Chloe, more time with her friends when she was back. And there never was enough time for Jesse left. She knew this, she had known this... but it hadn't effected her as it had him. He suffered, she just lived like she's always done: to her own rhythm.

Could she really blame him that he's finally had enough? No, she couldn't. She had been selfish, self-centered and, yes, she had closed herself off from him. She didn't know why. She should have been happy just being around him. He was her first real boyfriend, not a summer fling, a relationship. But it wasn't enough, he wasn't enough.

Beca took her phone from the shelf above her and typed a text:

I know it's my fault, Jesse. I wouldn't listen. Let's just say, I got your message now. Beca.

She sent it and put her phone back down. She felt slightly better after sending the text but still lay awake for a couple of hours. Finally, her exhaustion won out over her reproaches and she fell into a dreamless slumber.