Author's Note - Okay I will give you guys a choice. Either we leave the flashback type chapters and carry on or as long with the next upload I will include Chloe's side of the day out. Your choice. Anyway that should be me uploading more frequently but still no guarantees.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters nor do I have the rights to the franchise. All rights go to Universal Studios. Any Copyright infringement was not intentional, if required then send me a message and the story will be deleted. Sorry for any inconveniences.
If you are going through a hard time or are just needing to talk to someone then PM me. I am here for you even if I don't know personally what you are going through but I know it is easier to talk to a stranger than it is to keep things bottled up.
Chapter 8 - Extension - Another Set of Questions
Chloe ran to her room once she was dropped off by Aubrey, she didn't know why but she couldn't get the pit in her stomach to fade away. It sent shivers throughout her body as if she were seeing a ghost. She could sense danger but she didn't know where it came from. She was happy. She was, but there was still something missing, someone. Despite having been surrounded by friends mere minutes before she had never felt more isolated than she was in that moment.
Everything that had once felt snug was now miles away. She was surrounded by the vast expanse of a desert and there was no-one there to save her. She hated the feeling of her isolation crawling its way through her body but she was powerless to prevent or even slow it down.
Stacie was always able to distract her from her wandering mind. She went through the day not imagining herself with Brett and for once she felt both of her strongest emotions. Love and sorrow. Stacie's distraction prevented her from wallowing in her self pity and she appreciated it. It was a bonus that she bought clothes as well.
She hated that she loved Brett but she dug herself a hole with Tom and she was trying desperately to find a way out that wouldn't end in pain for anyone involved. That was proving itself difficult. Chloe remained hopeful that Tom would mess up somehow and give her the opportunity but that never came. Why would it? The one time she was willing to be seen as an over-reactive bitch there was nothing that could easily justify the reaction. Sure there were times he was late but that wasn't good enough, she needed something bad and she was getting desperate. She needed something to pick the lock that bound her to him. Anything that could free her but not enough to ruin either of them.
Chloe sighed before collapsing yet again on her bed, face down, and trying to prevent the world from seeing into her conflicted soul. She knew she would need to talk to Aubrey. She knew that secrets destroyed friendships. But she knew that Aubrey was not a hundred per cent honest with her and that small spot of fear from losing her just grew and grew until it was consuming her thoughts. She was losing her patience for her friend to come clean.
Her greatest reason for anger didn't come from Brett, or Aubrey for that matter, she knew it came from her internal judgement of her friend even though she was doing the same thing to her. How could Chloe Beale wind up hypocritical? She used to be the one people would go to for a non-bias judgement. Now look at her, she was becoming the very thing she was trying to prevent. She hated herself for it. She remained unmoving as her breathing settled out, a clear sign that she was falling into a deep slumber.
Aubrey remained envious of her friend's relationship, not so much for the reason they were this comfortable, but they would forever be there for each other. She would watch as Stacie comforted Brett and the way that Brett could always give Stacie confidence. She loved having them there, they could always find something fun to do.
The blonde watched as Stacie and Brett slept, she couldn't help it, her fear of their father coming to take them away prevented her from sleeping too long. She would always be the last one asleep and the first one awake. She spent her day cleaning as it was the only thing that managed to distract her from the uncomfortable feeling she had. Only the bright side though the house had never looked better.
The days passed and soon enough it was Sunday. They all dreaded the thought of going to School the next day but they all knew the importance of keeping up appearances. Aubrey now understood the weight that keeping this secret had brought on Brett and Stacie and she was seriously hating the thought of having to lie more to Chloe.
Chloe, she hadn't even talked to Chloe since their day out. The red-head would probably ask so many questions tomorrow that she would die from an aneurysm from all the questions that would enter her head. Don't get her wrong she did love Chloe but even she thought that the girl could get slightly crazy and that was coming from the biggest bitch (as they would call her) in school.
Aubrey was so lost in thought that she hadn't heard the slight creak from the staircase nor the incoming figure in front of her. The figure crept behind her and wrapped their arms around the blonde, breaking her concentration.
"You okay?" Stacie's gentle voice soothed Aubrey's fears.
"Yeah, just thinking I guess."
"That much I could tell. What were you thinking about?"
Aubrey took a deep breath and turned in Stacie's arms looking directly into her eyes. "Everything. I was thinking about school, about Chloe, about you guys." She said the last part with a slight smile tugging at her lips. The smile was soon dropped as she thought about what would happen next. "I was also thinking about my family," This gained Stacie's full attention, the blonde had never spoken about her family other than the fact teat they worked most of the time. Stacie had also never even seen them and she was there for three days. "I think they will be around tonight. Only I haven't told them that you or Brett had been staying here." Aubrey's eyes filled with uncertainty while Stacie smile sadly at her friend.
"Well, then that only leaves you with a handful of options. One, you tell your parents and risk the consequences. Two, we hide upstairs pretending we aren't here." The thought of having her friends pretending that they weren't there made Aubrey unhappy. She didn't want them to feel as if they were preventing her from living her life. If anything they were making it better in a weird way. Stacie so the emotions flow through Aubrey and carried on. "Or you let us wait upstairs while you talk to your parents about the situation, you don't need to let them know about us being here." Aubrey smiled and hugged Stacie tighter as a way of thanking her.
Hours passed and both Aubrey and Stacie were hanging out. Their laughter filled the house, neither wanting the moment to end, but they were interrupted by the screeching sound of car brakes. Stacie tensed while Aubrey stood up abruptly, pulling Stacie along with her. The sounds of footsteps grew louder as they made their way up the stairs eventually taking two steps at a time. The moment they reached the top of the stairs the door opens revealing a man in a well-tailored black suit and a woman in a grey suit, both looking professional and neither speaking a word.
Stacie grabbed Aubrey's hand and snuck the rest of the way to the girl's room. The room opened with Brett in the bay window reading one of Aubrey's books. The brunette looked up briefly to see the relieved look on both of their faces.
"What's up, guys?"
"We are staying here while Bree says hi to her parents." No-one needed to say anything else to Brett. The look in his eyes gave away that he knew the importance of this conversation. Brett remained quiet and only gave a curt nod of understanding to Aubrey before returning to his book deciding not to question anything about it, knowing that she will tell them what they needed to hear. He was grateful for her help, in return, he would respect her boundaries.
Aubrey gave Stacie a quick hug before making her way gracefully down the stairs. Looking up, Aubrey saw both of her parents on their phones making calls neither looking at her. Aubrey made her way to the kitchen to start working on dinner, wishing so much that one of her guests were there with her instead of being stuck up there. Going into the fridge Aubrey pulled out enough ingredients for everyone in the house (even making enough extra for Brett and Stacie).
Half an hour passed and both of her parents made their way into the kitchen, phones down and pulled Aubrey into a brief side hug. The hug was filled with normality and impersonality that made Aubrey's heart shrink slightly knowing she would always come second in their lives.
Three bowls filled and placed on the table while another two remained in the kitchen. Aubrey went back into the kitchen and pulled out her phone letting Stacie know that dinner was ready for them, and pulling a pitcher of water out for the 'family' to have with dinner.
The three sat in silence, Aubrey's parents sat on either end on the table leaving Aubrey sat awkwardly in the middle. Not one word was spoken only the sound of forks and knives clinking against the bowls were heard. Aubrey only picked at her food as her stomach prevented her appetite from emerging with the number of nerves that filled it. Her need to puke was near but she knew she needed to do this. Not only for her but for her friends. Her real family. Clearing her throat to gain her parent's attention, Aubrey started to speak when all eyes were on her.
"Mom, Dad, there is something I need to talk to you about."
"What is it, Aubrey?" Their impersonal tone made Aubrey strangely relax knowing that they weren't thinking of it as their daughter asking more as if they were discussing a business proposal. It wasn't personal if they hurt her, she knew that.
"I was hoping if you would allow me to have friends stay over for a while?" If they could do business talk then so would she.
The Posen's all looked at each other, no-one giving up any information as if they were waiting for someone to play the next hand. Eventually, Mr Posen spoke. "Who are they and why do they want to stay here?"
"They are Brett and Stacie Mitchell. We recently became good friends and I wanted them to know more about me and my family."
Another silence, Aubrey swore that they would be able to hear a fly sneeze if they wanted to. "Very well but I will want to see them before we set them up with a room for Brett. No offence Aubrey but I will not leave you in a room with a boy." Aubrey released a silent breath as her thoughts were brought to her attention. She would now need to sneak them out of the house the next morning so that her parents didn't know they were staying there the whole time.
Regardless of the requirements, Aubrey was over the moon. For the first time in over a year, the blonde pulled her father into a hug, what shocked her, even more, was that he hugged her back. She savoured the moment while she could. The moment that she would pull back she had no idea when the next she would do that would be. She smiled and excused herself from the table to 'phone' her friends the good news.
Making her way up the stairs, Aubrey couldn't help the smile that made its way on her face. Reaching her room she opened the door only to see a sleepy Stacie leaning into Brett as he reads the book to her. They both turn around as they hear a giggle from the doorway.
Stacie wakes up completely when she sees Aubrey nod her head yes. Engulfed in a hug Aubrey couldn't help but laugh at her excitement. Brett stands up slowly, fighting the ache in his muscles, before wrapping the duo in another hug. They continued to talk about what they would do the whole night, not caring for the dishes at the moment. The three of them unaware of the conversation the two patriarchs of the families were talking on the phone together.