AND DUN DUN DUN I OWN NOTHING, NOT PITCH PERFECT AND NOT JAY SEAN'S DO YOU REMEMBER.
"Beca?" Aubrey breathed, her words choppy and unsure.
The small brunette smirked crookedly at the blonde and said softly, "Hey, Aubrey." Aubrey opened and closed her mouth several times, unsure of how exactly to respond to that. Her brain had shut down. Like actually shut down. She wasn't even really sure that she was breathing anymore. There was a tight and tense silence as Aubrey just gaped and Beca shifted awkwardly. One had no idea to respond and the other was waiting for the proverbial shit to hit the equally proverbial fan. That or the not-as-proverbial as she would like vomit would spew all over her counters and breakfast. Neither of which was a pleasant option. Like, at all.
"Well this is awkward," Jesse muttered to himself. "I'm just gonna go…over there…now…" With that the almost smooth Treble all but sprinted to the bathroom, tripping slightly as he went. However, Jesse managed to stop himself from face planting by flailing his arms dramatically. Beca chuckled softly at the antics of her friend, grateful for the slight interlude from what no doubt was going to be the worst chewing out since the time her mom caught her sneaking into her bedroom window at four thirty in the morning when she was fifteen.
"Beca…" Aubrey started, her eyes narrowed, though in hate or anger Beca wasn't really sure.
"Beca, I'm…" Oh shit fuck damn here it comes. Words or vomit, Beca wasn't sure what was going to come out of Aubrey's mouth, but she really wasn't prepared for either option.
"Oh my god Beca…" Shit, Aubrey was so pissed she couldn't even get the damn words out of her mouth (but it was words and not puke, so hey silver linings and whatnot).
"Beca I'm so sorry." Aaaaannnnd there it was – wait. What was that?
"Beg pardon?" Beca stuttered, completely baffled about what the hell Aubrey had just said.
"Oh my god Beca, I'm just so sorry! I was such a bitch to you back in college and I had absolutely no right to treat you like that and I totally understand why you left and I should have at least given you a chance and I'm just so fucking sorry!" Aubrey blurted out, all in one breath. If Beca had retained even the smallest amount of cognitive function, she would have been impressed. Instead, Beca's mind was reeling and attempting to keep up with the word vomit that had just spewed out of Aubrey's mouth. (But once again, not actual vomity-vomit. Beggars can't be choosers).
In her slightly altered state of mind, all Beca could think to ask was, "Did you just drop the f-bomb?"
Aubrey's face dropped into a deadpan look and she said drily, "Really? I just unloaded five years of guilt onto you and all you can ask is if I just said fuck?"
Beca couldn't help the snort of laughter as she asked, "Why the hell would you be carrying guilt around for five years Aubrey? I'm the one who left."
"And I'm the one who was the bitch who made you want to leave," Aubrey said with a shake of her head. "As far as captains go, I was incredibly shitty. I never should have said or did the things I did and it kind of took you leaving to give me the kick in the ass I needed to see that. So I'm sorry. And thanks. I think."
"Okay, this is so not how I imagined this conversation going," Beca admitted with a confused look on her face. "There should be more yelling, puking, and loathing going on." Aubrey blushed and looked down at her feet. She knew exactly what Beca meant. The old Aubrey Posen would never be standing in Beca Mitchell's apartment and apologizing shamefully. But then again, the old Aubrey Posen had been a massive bitch with a stick the size of Montana up her ass, so you know, give and take.
"Well I am sorry," Aubrey mumbled in embarrassment, her gaze still on the floor.
"Yeah, well me too," Beca sighed. Aubrey's head snapped up in shock. Beca gave Aubrey a sheepish and crooked smirk, "Not that I don't appreciate the apology, but I had a part in this too. So I'm sorry that I acted the way I did, it was pretty childish and I didn't handle it well. Any of it."
"It's… okay," Aubrey said unsurely, letting the words trail off. Neither woman was really sure how exactly that conversation ended up where it ended up.
Beca shifted a couple more times and said hesitantly, "Soooo... you wanna help with breakfast?"
"You actually want me to help?" Aubrey asked in surprise.
"Hey, if you want to help, go ahead, if not then don't," Beca said with a noncommittal shrug. "It's no skin off my ass." Aubrey couldn't fight the eye roll at the younger woman's crass language, but she moved around the side of the counter nonetheless.
"So what are you making?" she asked as she rolled her sleeves up crisply. Beca quirked an eyebrow at the blonde before moving over and surrendering a knife to the blonde, gesturing to the fruits on the cutting board.
"I thought I'd just keep it simple you know…"
Jesse was going to admit that he eavesdropped on Beca and Aubrey's conversation shamelessly. First he just had to make sure he was out of the vomit-zone (sort of like a demented version of the splash zone at SeaWorld). When he heard Aubrey apologize, Jesse let out the breath he'd been holding in fear and his shoulders sagged in relief.
After all that his best friend had done for him, Jesse felt without a doubt that Beca deserved closure from her time with the Bellas. They didn't have to be friends (although that would be a delightful bonus) but they all certainly needed to end that particular feud. Close a chapter of their past and move on or whatever. Jesse was just glad it didn't end with puke and/or Beca chucking kitchen knives all about the place. That could have gotten rather messy rather quickly.
As it was, Jesse was content. He and Benji's accidentally devious plan had turned out rather well, in the grand scheme of things.
Aubrey and Beca sat at the kitchen counter, all assortment of breakfast foods laid out on the counter and table and two loaded plates in front of them. "So you live up in Seattle now?" Beca asked conversationally as she took a vicious bite out of her omelet.
"Yeah," Aubrey responded after daintily wiping her mouth. "I just finished law school and got a job at a pretty large firm up there. It's not a partnership or anything, but it's certainly a start."
"Cool, cool," Beca nodded, continuing to eat happily. Aubrey took the natural lapse in conversation to look, really look, at the younger woman. LA had treated Beca well, Aubrey noted absently. The apartment was a huge clue as to Beca's success in the monetary definition, but Aubrey noticed the physical differences as well. Beca's previously pale-as-a-ghost skin had actually gained a little bit of color, not a lot, but enough to look like she spent a healthy amount of time outside. She had eased off the 'alternative' eyeliner and instead settled for a more sedate and simple look. She still obviously had a thing for plaid ,however. She looked good, which Aubrey would readily admit.
"So Los Angeles, huh?" Aubrey said with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, Los Angeles," Beca agreed. "It's pretty amazing out here. Weather's nice, people are crazy, and there's music everywhere. Just my kind of place."
Aubrey smirked and couldn't resist the dig, "Yeah, you must fit right in with all the crazies."
"Oi," Beca protested. "No need for that blondie." Aubrey gave Beca a slight smirk, somewhat reminiscent of Beca's own favored facial expression.
"So what exactly do you do out here?" Aubrey asked curiously.
"Little bit of this, little bit of that," Beca answered evasively.
"Uh huh sure," Aubrey snorted in disbelief. "A little bit of this and a little bit of that doesn't get you an apartment like this."
"True," Beca conceded with a bob of her head. "I work downtown at a production studio and occasionally I do a club circuit or two."
"Damn," Aubrey whistled. "That's…. that's really impressive Beca."
"Thanks," Beca said almost shyly, her head ducked.
"She's being modest," a male voice from behind the two said. Both women looked over the shoulders to see Jesse scooping miscellaneous breakfast foods onto a plate and flopping down onto the third stool. "The midget tears it up downtown nearly every weekend. She just got back from a round out in Miami and a few months before that she was in New York. Don't let her awe-shucks routine fool you." Aubrey's eyes had widened considerably and she looked at the small brunette in a new light. Beca had tilted her head back up and was glaring at Jesse with flashing eyes.
"Was that really necessary?" she questioned icily, to which Jesse just grinned around his mouthful of food.
He did shrug, however, and said with a full mouth, "Eh, probably not. But it was pretty fun."
"Bitch," Beca mumbled.
"I might be," Jesse shot back, his mouth even more full than before. Aubrey leaned forward to rest her elbows on the counter and watch the two old friends bicker back and forth. Beca had just started calling Jesse an interesting name that would have a nun washing her mouth out with a power washer, when Aubrey cut back in.
"Jesse, do you work with Beca?" Both Jesse and Beca turned to look at Aubrey, whatever insanely creative name that was about to be unleashed dying on their respective tongues.
"Sometimes," Jesse answered. "It's been a while though. I work with movie producers, Beca works with artists."
Aubrey was about to ask more questions about both Beca and Jesse's lives and jobs when she was interrupted by a voice from the living room shouting, "For god's sake, shut up!" While Aubrey looked on in a completely baffled way, Beca and Jesse exchanged amused looks.
When it became apparent that neither Beca or Jesse was going to explain what was going on, Aubrey asked slowly, "Who was that?" "Just an old friend," Jesse said with a flippant wave of his hand. Aubrey surveyed the two of them with a cocked eyebrow. Oh hell yes, they were both in the mafia. Forget Beca being a producer, she was probably a hit man. Were there height requirements to be a hit man?
"Old? Do I look old to you?" the voice from the living room snapped though it was now noticeably closer now. "Ungrateful swine." Aubrey snorted at the mysterious voice's choice of insult. She turned around to compliment the person and stopped dead in her tracks.
"Now where's the food?" Kat asked through a jaw-popping yawn. Beca gestured behind her and Kat shuffled to the counter and stove. Aubrey followed the black haired beauty that was Kat Daniels with her jaw practically on the ground. "So are you actually planning on going into the studio today?" Kat asked Beca as she loaded up a plate.
"Probably not," Beca replied, getting up off her stool to make room for Kat to sit down and eat. Beca moved to lean back against the counter, her arms folded comfortably over her chest. "Sid's managed to survive two and a half months without me, I'm sure he can last a couple more days."
"That or he'll kill you," Kat pointed out. Beca just shrugged. Aubrey couldn't help but watch the interaction back and forth in absolute awe. Finally, Kat seemed to realize that there was someone sitting at the counter that she didn't know. With no amount of fanfare, Kat pushed Jesse's sputtering face down into his plate of food with one hand and stretched the other out in front of Aubrey. The blonde woman hesitated for a moment before thankfully her business instincts kicked in before she could embarrass herself further and she grasped the proffered hand.
"Kat Daniels," Kat introduced herself.
"Aubrey Posen," Aubrey replied, grateful she was able to withhold most of the awe from her voice.
"Posen?" Kat's brow furrowed at the name. Ignoring Aubrey's quizzical look, she turned to Beca and said pointedly, "She doesn't look nearly as uptight as you described."
Beca chuckled slightly and lazily explained, "Five years does wonders apparently."
"Apparently," Kat mocked with an eye roll. Kat swiveled in the stool until she was once again facing Aubrey.
She pushed Jesse into his plate once again to make eye contact with the other woman and asked bluntly, "Do you have embarrassing stories about the twerp from college?"
"Uh… yeah?" Aubrey answered, unsure how that had become a topic of conversation.
"Good. Spill," Kat demanded. And just like that Aubrey Posen found herself sharing college tales with an international pop star in the apartment of her once-nemesis and now at-least-acquaintance with said acquaintance cooking a mouthwatering breakfast. Yeah, Beca had hit the nail on the head. Five years really did do wonders.
As Aubrey was laughing at a story Kat was telling about a rather drunk Beca and her PR manager, all conversation was suddenly interrupted by a war cry. "UP AND AT 'EM ACA-BITCHES!" reverberated through the apartment.
It would appear that the rest of the Bellas were finally waking up.
Do you remember,
All the fun times we had?
Do you remembered,
All the fun times we had?
Let's bring it back, oh
So long since you've been missing
It's good to see you again
How are you, how you doin?
So yeah, this one is short, but I plan to hopefully get another chapter out at the start of the week, so watch out for that. Thoughts?
