Guest: Things will be explained a little more clearly in the future. I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Madzilla1010: I don't know what 'hype' means. And Urban Dictionary was not helpful. I hope it's a good thing! Aubrey/Chloe/Beca will be explained a little more clearly when the time comes.
Sendricamp: I do not offer insurance for broken hearts. There is a disclaimer on my profile page.
PaigeeLee13: Thank you!
TheFutilitarian: Mars 2112 used to be a restaurant in NYC. It's not there anymore. But it was futurey-space themed. I can answer your first question by saying it's a mixture of both. The other answers will come in due time. Your compliments on the emotional complexity and realism of this story mean so much to me. Like, you don't even know. I love to write characters' lives not being a clear journey leading to a perfect ending. I write because I like to portray that life is indeed messy and imperfect, and I love when people point that out in my stories. It makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something. I'm def still waiting for that Beca review, btw.
LilyPotterLove09: Oh, Chloe and your lack of personal boundaries, right? Haha. They are definitely amazing.
A/N: I had to tweak a few things in this story to match the overall plot, so if there are any minor contradictions to anything mentioned in the first two chapts, I'm sorry. I tried to make it flow as smoothly and logically as possible. Everything is on the right path now though. (Sorry for typos. I'm flying un-beta'd.)
Arrhythmia
I know you're thinking I'm heartless;
I know you're thinking I'm cold.
I'm just protecting my innocence;
I'm just protecting my soul.
-Sam Smith
Aubrey drops onto the couch in their suite's living room with heavy limbs and drooping eyelids. She sighs and twists her damp hair up into a messy bun then leans forward and grabs the remote off the coffee table. It's still too early for bed, but any sugar rush that came with eating ice cream for dinner wore off as soon as she changed into her pajamas – a light blue tank and matching blue and white pinstripe shorts. She presses the power button on the remote then studies the other buttons for a moment before navigating to the TV Guide. "Chloe, what are you doing?" she calls impatiently as she scrolls through the channels. She doesn't understand how it takes Chloe so long to get ready for bed – especially considering they stepped out of the shower at exactly the same time. She adjusts one of the couch cushions then leans back and crosses her legs in front of her.
There's silence, but Aubrey is used to Chloe's selective hearing by now. "Your favorite movie is on," she adds as she settles on Tangled on On-Demand. She tosses the remote back on the coffee table and glances up as Chloe walks into the living room in a blue, Old Navy 'New York Yankees' t-shirt and pink underwear. Aubrey looks up at her face. "There's nothing else on." Chloe has to be bored of this movie by now.
"I love this movie," Chloe gushes and glances at the TV before she climbs up onto the couch. She turns and grabs the quilt folded over the back of the couch then works on unfolding it, using both her hands and feet to straighten it out.
Aubrey watches her for a moment then turns her attention to the TV, despite that she's seen Tangled at least five-hundred times already. She sighs and adjusts the cushions again then lies down on her back with her legs stretched out over Chloe's lap. She turns her head in the direction of the TV and reaches her arm out to the side, absently scratching at a dent in the coffee table with her thumbnail. She rubs at the mark she accidentally leaves then looks up at Chloe and waits for her to get situated.
Chloe fixes the blanket and spreads it out over both of them. She shifts onto her side between Aubrey and the back of the couch, propping her head up with her hand. Her other hand rests lightly on Aubrey's chest and she absently traces circles across her collarbone as she settles down and focuses on the TV.
Aubrey's eyes linger on Chloe's face, taking in her sleepy smile and noting the way her eyes light up ever-so-slightly when the movie starts. Chloe must know she's staring at her, but she doesn't look away from the TV. She shifts slightly so one of her legs is half-draped over Aubrey's thigh and continues gliding the tips of her fingers across Aubrey's bare skin. Aubrey hesitates then presses in closer to Chloe for warmth and lulls her head against the cushion, turning to gaze at the television through half-lidded eyes. She lifts a hand and rubs at her face then crosses her arms under the blanket and breathes a quiet sigh. Chloe lowers her head to the space between Aubrey's neck and shoulder and Aubrey tries to readjust herself into a more comfortable position, settling back down again when Chloe wraps an arm around her and switches from drawing circles near her neck to rubbing her thumb soothingly up and down her arm. Her eyelids flutter and she focuses on Chloe's warm breaths against her neck to keep herself awake because she knows she'll have to be the one who drags them to bed when the movie is over.
"You look like Rapunzel," Chloe murmurs, her mouth brushing against Aubrey's neck as she speaks. Aubrey can feel Chloe's lips curling into a smile against her skin. Chloe stops rubbing her arm and reaches up to twist a strand of Aubrey's hair that managed to escape the tie around her finger.
Aubrey stares at Rapunzel then frowns and licks her lips. "Just because I have the same color hair as her doesn't mean I look like her," she argues. The compliment seems too far-fetched. She knows she's not that pretty. Not that she thinks there's anything wrong with how she looks (most of the time); she just doesn't look like that. "You act like Rapunzel," she points out.
Chloe breathes a laugh. "Maybe sometimes," she agrees and stops playing with Aubrey's hair. She rests her hand on Aubrey's shoulder and hugs her close.
"More like all of the time," Aubrey corrects her.
"That's okay." Chloe rolls onto her stomach and props herself up, crossing her arms over Aubrey's chest. She's laying half on top of her, but Aubrey doesn't really mind. It's comfortable. "I like Rapunzel."
Aubrey turns her head. She's not expecting Chloe to be so close to her face and their noses brush against each other. She sighs quietly and looks up into her eyes. She wonders if Chloe is Rapunzel who she is supposed to be. She's no Flynn Rider, that's for sure. No, if anyone was Flynn, it would be Beca. Her gaze falters and she momentarily presses her lips together then breathes out through her mouth and looks off to the side.
Chloe tilts her head to the side, a gentle, yet concerned smile playing on her lips.
Aubrey stares at the TV. The moment Beca stepped into their lives, charming and mysterious like Flynn, Aubrey realized how expendable she was. She wrings her hands together underneath the blanket, pressing her thumbs against her palms. She doesn't match any stereotypical romance story like Chloe and Beca would. She just fills a void in Chloe's life that no one else has stepped up to fill. She knows that one day Chloe will rightfully replace the domesticated life they share with something better. Aubrey gets it. It's obvious whenever Chloe is around Beca that this is all temporary. A dull ache starts in her chest and she forces herself to stop over-thinking.
"Hey," Chloe snaps her out of her thoughts in a soft tone.
Aubrey instinctively turns her head to look back up at her. She swallows thickly and silently meets Chloe's eyes again.
Chloe smiles at her and lowers her head so their foreheads are pressed together. "Whatever you're thinking about, don't," she murmurs warmly. "I don't like when you get that sad look in your eyes." The corner of her lips twist upward into a slight smirk. "You can't tell me you're upset about spending a whole week watching movies with me every night."
Aubrey can't help but smile slightly. "Only if you make me watch this movie every night," she replies dryly.
"Only if it's on On-Demand every night," Chloe teases.
Aubrey groans. She's pretty sure that they could both reenact the entire movie by now.
Chloe breathes a quiet giggle. She presses her lips into a wide, closed-lipped smile and stares at Aubrey for a moment before she tilts her head to the side and presses their mouths together in a tender kiss that tastes like cinnamon toothpaste.
It's hard not to melt underneath Chloe sometimes, especially when she kisses her at random and takes her off-guard. Aubrey's eyes fall shut and she sinks down into the couch as her mind temporarily blanks and blocks out her insecurities. The warmth that engulfs her is so pleasant that she can never even be upset by being taken by surprise. Her lips tingle as Chloe pulls back and she resists the urge to lean forward and draw her back into the kiss.
Chloe looks down and silently plays with the sleeve of Aubrey's shirt for a moment. There's still a hint of a smile on her face even though she suddenly turns serious. "Can we talk about this?" she inquires. Her voice is strained as though she's holding back from the hesitancy she's feeling.
Aubrey's breath catches in her throat and her mouth goes dry. "There's nothing to talk about, Chloe," she replies with forced confidence in her words. She shifts underneath her and refuses to meet her gaze again. It's been months since Chloe has last tried to engage her in a conversation about them. It's not that Aubrey doesn't want to discuss it and know exactly what their actions mean; it's that her chest constricts and tears suddenly start filling her eyes every time she tries. She knows that Chloe doesn't want to pull away. But Aubrey can't establish a relationship and have it all come crashing down around her. She can't lose Chloe if she doesn't really have her, right? Her stomach feels sick.
"I just want to know what we are, Aubrey," Chloe all but pleads. "You can't honestly tell me you think we're just friends." The desperation in her voice gets worse every time she brings up the subject. Aubrey is disgusted with herself for not being able to address it.
"Let's just talk about it when we get home," she snaps and tries to roll slightly to the side. "We're missing the movie."
Chloe stares at her for a moment then nods her head and looks around, adjusting the blanket even though it's covering both of them just fine. "Okay," she whispers. She rolls off of Aubrey and rests her head against the crook of her neck again, loosely draping an arm over her mid-section. She sniffles quietly then breathes a sigh as she gets comfortable.
Aubrey unfolds her arms and lifts a hand to her forehead as she stares through the TV. She inhales slowly as though that will ease the pressure on her lungs then rubs her hand down over her eyes and presses her palms against them as she exhales. She sneaks a glance at Chloe and drops her arm so it's hanging over the side of the couch.
Chloe briefly looks up at her then shifts her gaze to the TV again. She frowns slightly and snuggles in closer to Aubrey, taking to rubbing her fingers up and down her arm again.
Aubrey lifts her hand and interlocks their fingers. The guilt she has for refusing to face their relationship starts to make her want to go to bed, so she tries to focus on quoting the movie in her head in an effort to block it out. Getting up and leaving would just upset them both further.
xxxxx
Aubrey doesn't know whether she's awake and watching the movie or asleep and dreaming about it as she listens to the words. It's most likely a mixture between the two. At some point around thirty minutes in, her eyelids became too heavy to keep open and she just gave up and allowed them to close on their own accord. She's awake enough to feel Chloe's hand beneath her own and a draft where she kicked the blanket off of one of her feet, but it's all foggy and her entire body feels too heavy to move. She can see Flynn and Rapunzel climbing into a boat in her head while focusing on her own steady breaths. She's not sure whether Chloe is asleep or not until she moves to sit up and drapes both of her legs over Aubrey's stomach.
"This is my favorite part," Chloe announces, her voice thick and gravelly.
Aubrey inhales and gets caught in a yawn. She covers her mouth with the back of her hand as she coughs a few times upon exhaling then crosses her arms above her head. She turns her head so her cheek is resting against her arm and looks groggily up at Chloe. They've been awake for so many hours now that she's not sure how Chloe even has the strength to sit up, let alone still be paying actual attention to the movie. She rubs her face with her arm then watches Chloe silently as she stares at the TV while the music to I See The Light starts.
Chloe sits up further and folds one of her legs in front of her, oblivious to how her ankle digs into Aubrey's stomach, even as Aubrey shifts to make the position more comfortable. Chloe leans forward and her eyes light up as she eagerly waits for the lyrics to begin before softly singing along with Rapunzel.
All those days, watching from the windows.
All those years, outside looking in.
All that time, never even knowing just how blind I've been.
Now I'm here, blinking in the starlight.
Now I'm here, suddenly I see.
Standing here, it's oh so clear,
I'm where I'm meant to be.
Aubrey tries to keep her eyelids from permanently drifting shut as Chloe's voice soothes her further toward sleep. The song is the main reason she tolerates watching the movie repeatedly. They don't sing often enough for her to hear Chloe's voice on a regular basis anymore. She feels a small smile creeping onto her face as Chloe's voice picks up intensity.
And at last I see the light.
And it's like the fog has lifted.
And at last I see the light.
And it's like the sky is new.
And it's warm and real and bright.
And the world has somehow shifted.
Chloe smiles rather wearily.
All at once, everything looks different.
Now that I see you.
"One day, I'm going to convince you to duet this song with me," Chloe says confidently. She turns around so she's facing Aubrey, half sitting on her stomach.
The exhausted daze Aubrey is in fades slightly when she realizes that Chloe is talking to her. She lifts her eyebrows and wonders how long Chloe will keeping asking her to sing I See The Light with her. Probably until she caves and does it. "I'm not singing a guy's part," she murmurs, her words slightly slurred. "I don't even know the lyrics." That's a lie, and she knows Chloe knows it.
"There's nothing wrong with singing Zachary Levi's part, Aubrey." Chloe rolls her eyes.
Aubrey makes a humming noise in disagreement as she listens Flynn begin singing. She buries her face against her arm and closes her eyes then lifts her other hand and tugs on Chloe's arm, trying to convince her to stop sitting on her and lay back down.
Chloe concedes and snuggles back into the couch on her side. She wraps her arms around Aubrey's arm and hugs it, burying the lower half of her face against Aubrey's shoulder. It muffles her voice as she continues singing the rest of the song, softer and almost in a whisper.
And at last I see the light.
And it's like the fog has lifted.
And at last I see the light.
And it's like the sky is new.
And it's warm and real and bright.
And the world has somehow shifted.
Aubrey loses her battle with sleep and drifts off further.
All at once, everything is different.
Now that I see you.
Now that I see you.
xxxxx
It takes about twenty minutes of drifting in and out of sleep for Aubrey to figure out why she keeps dreaming about an obnoxiously loud woman reviewing all the movies she can watch On-Demand. She slowly opens her eyes and stares at the TV for a fraction of a second before she lifts her hand and slams it down harder than she means to on the remote's power button, accidentally knocking it on the floor. The television turns off and leaves the dimly lit room silent aside from the sound of Chloe's light snoring. Aubrey turns her head to find her on her side with her face tucked against the back of the couch, clutching the bundled up blanket (which isn't covering either of them anymore). She stares at her for a moment as she tries to come to terms with being awake then reaches over and lightly shakes her shoulder. "Chloe," she mumbles thickly and sits up.
Chloe hunches her shoulders and rolls onto her stomach, burying her face in the blanket. She curls one of her arms up over her head and entangles her fingers in her hair before her limbs fall limp again and her hand drops back down onto the couch.
Aubrey breathes a heavy sigh and stretches out her legs then turns and swings them over the edge of the couch. "Chloe, we have to go to bed," she insists, louder this time. She rubs her eyes then looks over at Chloe and realizes that her words are having no effect. She's tempted to let her sleep on the couch, but her own back is already aching from that. Her legs are cramped as she forces herself to her feet, but she tries to ignore that and turns around to grip Chloe gently by the arm and maneuver her into a sitting position.
Chloe slowly regains some consciousness and supports most of her own weight once she's not lying down anymore. She scrunches her face then scrubs at her eyes before opening them halfway and glancing around the room. She looks up at Aubrey then leans to the side and snuggles into her, resting her head against her abdomen. She folds her arms and pulls her legs up toward her chest as she stares at the floor. Her lower lip sticks out in a tired pout.
Aubrey looks down at her, not really sure what exactly she's doing or if she's even actually awake. She kicks the remote out of the way so it won't get stepped on then wraps an arm around Chloe's shoulders and hoists her the rest of the way up onto her feet. She keeps one arm wrapped around her and her other hand on her shoulder until she's sure she's not going to fall over or try to curl back up on the couch. She looks dazed but sturdy so Aubrey lets her go and looks at the unfolded blanket and then at the remote. She bends over and picks up the remote first then places it on the coffee table.
Chloe rubs her face and takes a step back out of the way. The back of her legs hit the coffee table and she stumbles, latching onto Aubrey's shoulder to keep her balance.
Aubrey quickly straightens up and grabs Chloe's waist to steady her. She slides her hands up to her shoulders and turns her around, directing her away from the coffee table. She's not going to be able to clean up the living room with Chloe waiting for her, and she just wants to get to bed as quickly as possible. "I'll be right there," she mumbles and sets Chloe on the path to the bedroom. She watches her walk down the hall to make sure she gets there alright then turns and grabs the blanket off the couch. Her hands don't want to cooperate but she folds the blanket as neatly as possible and drapes it over the back of the couch.
The rest of the living room looks okay. Aubrey gives it a brief once over then absently scratches her arm and makes her way into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water to take to bed with her. She shivers as her bare feet pad across the cold, tiled floor. She should have known that it would be cold at night and packed warmer pajamas. She glances up and rests her hand on the handle of the refrigerator door then freezes as she sees a picture of Chloe and Beca from graduation staring back at her. Her lips part and her brow creases. She drops her hand from the handle and peels the taped photo off the door then takes a step back toward the living room so she can see it in the light. She recognizes it as a picture she took of them that only Chloe and Beca have a copy of, and her brows furrow further. She looks back up at the refrigerator door then down at the picture again.
The shock makes her mind a little less blurry from sleep, but she still can't make sense of what she's holding. Chloe may be a little obsessed with Beca, but not to the point of taping her picture up in random places. She quickly flips the photo over and looks at the back of it. Chloe had written the date on the back of her copy, but this one is blank. She swallows slowly and glances around the kitchen. Maybe Beca is trying to get back at her for the Luke incident. Her hands are shaking and she tries to reason whether or not Beca would go as far as breaking into her room to tape up some stupid picture and make her paranoid. She connects it to the phone call earlier and a lump forms in the back of her throat. She's not sure whether it's from fear or whether she's upset because she thinks Beca is purposely going out of her way to mock her. She knows Chloe wouldn't do something like this. Her eyes start to sting and she roughly tears the picture in half then spins around and opens the cupboard beneath the sink. She chucks the photo in the trash then slams the cupboard door shut.
Her breaths come in short, angry bursts, and she spins around so her back is against the counter. The room suddenly has an eerie feel to it, and her feet are planted to the floor despite how much she suddenly wants to be beside Chloe. What if it wasn't Beca? Who else could it be? Her head snaps up as she hears footsteps walking down the hallway. Chloe stops in the doorway of the kitchen and the sound of her walking is replaced by the sound of Aubrey's heart thumping in her ears.
"Are you coming to-" Chloe stops talking when she looks up and actually sees Aubrey standing there. "Aubrey, what's wrong?" She suddenly looks more awake and she takes several quick, short steps forward then stops beside the counter. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Aubrey diverts her gaze to the floor. She twists her hands together in front of her and tries to decide what to say. "I think someone was here," she whispers vehemently. She clenches her jaw and tries to subtly glance around for the light switch.
"What? You mean like in our room?" Chloe asks, alarmed. She takes a step closer to Aubrey and places a hand between her shoulder blades. Aubrey jumps. Chloe glances around the kitchen. "Should I call the front desk?" she whispers.
Aubrey looks up in the direction of the living room and roughly shakes her head. "I think it was Beca," she blurts out. She realizes too late that maybe she should have kept that part to herself.
Chloe blinks a few times and looks around then looks back up at Aubrey. "You think Beca broke into our room?" she asks in a completely perplexed tone. "Aubrey that's," she seems to search for a better word than the one she wants to use, but obviously can't find one, "insane."
It sounds crazy now that Aubrey hears Chloe say it out loud. She presses her hands flat against the cupboard doors then lifts one and runs it over her hair, resting it on top of her head. She opens her mouth and tries to think of words to back up her accusation, but the entire thing seems so unlikely that she's tempted to check the trash to make sure she really just threw out a picture. Tears prick her eyes and she suddenly wishes she was climbing into her own bed. She's starting to feel like she's been awake for days. "Chloe, I want to go home," she demands thickly and pulls away from her to face her. Her stomach rolls and she takes multiple deep breaths to calm it.
"Hey," Chloe whispers soothingly and steps forward in front of her. She grabs Aubrey's wrists and moves both of her hands in front of her then slides her hands down so their palms are pressed together and their fingers are interlocked. "You probably just had a weird dream, Bree," she says calmly, and Aubrey knows that she no longer believes that anyone broke in.
"I wasn't dreaming, Chloe!" Aubrey tugs her hands away and shakes her head. Her chin trembles and she quickly clenches her jaw to stop it, but that doesn't keep a few tears from escaping her eyes as exhaustion gets the better of her. She clamps her eyes shut in frustration then opens them again. All she has to do is turn around and check the trashcan for the photograph, but she doesn't know whether she's more afraid that it will be there or that it won't. Because maybe Chloe is right and she was dreaming. It wouldn't be the first time exhaustion has caused her to imagine things. She swallows again and rubs at her face with the back of her hand as her features start to crumple. She already hates the thought of Chloe and Beca without pictures of them being thrown in her face. Not wanting Chloe to see her cry, she draws in a shaky breath and tries to escape to the bedroom, but Chloe catches her by the arm before she can get more than a few steps away.
"You're really tired," Chloe points out and runs her hand lightly up and down her arm. She seems far less bothered than Aubrey thinks she should be. "It's been a long day and I think we're both exhausted and your brain is just imagining weird things."
Aubrey sniffles and stares at the floor. It's becoming impossible to keep her eyes open for longer than a second at a time and Chloe may be right. She wasn't tired when someone played Wedding of the Winds into her phone though. She lifts her hand and rubs at her face again, trying to scrub away the tears.
Chloe is silent for a moment before she steps into Aubrey's line of sight. "If you still want to go home in the morning, let's go home," she says. "I don't want you to cry, Aubrey." She lifts one hand to Aubrey's cheek, wiping tears away with her thumb.
The words should make Aubrey feel better, but they don't. They don't, because she knows that Chloe doesn't want to go home. She lifts her hands to rub her temples.
"Come on," Chloe tugs her forward and toward the doorway. "Come to bed with me and we'll talk about it in the morning."
Aubrey shoots one last glance at the cupboard in drained confusion as she's pulled along. Her head starts to ache and the past fifteen minutes become an exhausted blur that she can't quite place or make sense of. She chokes back her distress and replaces it with her desire for sleep. She can't tell if she believes Chloe or if she just wants to believe her. But if her mind is so intent on screwing with her, she just wishes it would leave Beca out of it.
xxxxx
"I can call the front desk if you want, Aubrey." Chloe pulls down the blankets on her side of the bed.
Aubrey sniffles and shakes her head. She doesn't need the entire hotel thinking she's crazy, or, worse, Beca knowing that she thinks she broke in.
"Are you sure?" Chloe asks.
"Just drop it, Chloe," she whispers and pulls back the blankets on her side halfway. She feels like a paranoid idiot. But she's still tempted to recheck the trashcan for the photo. Instead, she just crawls onto bed and lies down on her back, cringing when something pokes her in the spine. She props herself up with one arm and reaches behind herself to grab whatever she managed to just crush. Her fingers brush something soft and she narrows her eyes in irritation as she holds up Chloe's stuffed bear by the ear. "For serious, Chloe, what is this doing here?" she asks in exasperation.
Chloe freezes halfway into bed with one knee on the mattress and her other foot still on the floor. "I wasn't going to leave him at home all alone," she explains. Her voice is laced with sympathy for the stuffed toy.
Aubrey rubs her free hand down the side of her face. "Well, why is it on my side of the bed under the covers?" she inquires.
Chloe bites her lower lip and looks down at the bed with a small shrug. "He likes being under the blankets," she answers, "It's like a cave."
Aubrey can't find a retort because Chloe might as well be speaking an entirely different language. She thrusts the bear in her direction, still holding its ear between her thumb and pointer finger. The scraggly black bear is filthy and falling apart from over twenty years of excessive cuddling, and Aubrey doesn't dare touch it elsewhere for fear she might get some kind of germs. She'd toss is in the washing machine, but it'd probably come back out in pieces.
Chloe crawls into bed and gets situated under the blankets, still sitting up, then takes the bear from her and places it on her pillow on the other side of her. She lets out a tired breath then looks back and forth between Aubrey and the bear.
Aubrey eyes them both as she lays back down and pulls the blankets up over her.
"Aubrey," Chloe addresses her and lays a hand on her forehead. "Sam," she addresses the bear and places a hand on its head as well. (Aubrey wonders how many times the bear's name has changed since Chloe first received it.) "If either of you need me, you know you can wake me up, okay?"
"If that thing wakes you up, it's not coming back home with us, Chloe," Aubrey warns her. She tries to look at Chloe's hand but fails. She makes a moue and heaves a frustrated sigh.
Chloe removes her hand from the bear's head and turns to face Aubrey, brushing a few loose strands of hair away from her face. "Then I'll just extend the offer to you," she replies. Aubrey looks away from her, unable to meet her eyes. She adjusts herself back against her pillows, uncomfortable with acknowledging she might need anyone. She reminds herself she's just tired and that her mind is playing tricks on her so she shouldn't bother waking Chloe if something else happens.
Chloe leans down and presses a kiss to her forehead. "I love you," she murmurs then pulls back and situates herself against the bed.
Aubrey looks at her in silence and hopes the look in her eyes returns the gesture. Her throat becomes too constricted to respond to those three words. She presses her lips together and tries to return the soft smile that Chloe gives her then rolls over onto her side so her back is to her. She closes her eyes and forces herself to sleep with her last thought being that maybe one night she'll tell Chloe she loves her back. Or that they'll keep seeing other people and eventually move on. Chloe spoons around her and buries her face between her shoulder blades. They're just friends, after all.
I'm never gonna let you close to me,
Even though you mean the most to me,
'Cause every time I open up, it hurts.
So I'm never gonna get too close to you,
Even when I mean the most to you,
In case you go and leave me in the dirt.
-Sam Smith