A/N: This turned out longer than expected, sorry. I recommend reading in Helvetica or Palatino (for those who read better with serifs) so it's easier to distinguish between normal and italicized text – 'cause Aubrey can get real emphatic when she's shrill haha. Also, the 'PRESENT' towards the end doesn't mean 2016, it means it picks up after Chapter Twelve.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
AUBREY - PART II
Distracted with trying to erase the past five minutes from memory, Aubrey failed to recognize the man in a bathrobe exiting one of the hotel rooms she passed until he called her attention. "Oh—hey, you!"
Aubrey turned her head in surprise to find Jesse grinning at her, but then made the connection that if Bumper were here then Jesse would be, too. She scowled at both the inadvertent reminder of Bumper's escapades as well as her own ignorance for being surprised, which she blamed on the former.
"Whoa, not in the mood?" Jesse said jokingly, reading her expression.
Aubrey rearranged her features and shook her head. "No—I mean… yes. I think?"
Jesse nodded understandingly and reopened his door. "Wanna talk about it?"
"Aren't you, er, busy?" She gestured up and down his robe.
"We just arrived after driving halfway across the country," explained Jesse as he escorted Aubrey inside. "I thought I could sleep it off but I realized what I really needed was a hot tub and some scented candles."
"And here I thought you were made of tougher stuff."
"Hey, even the toughest have their soft spots," grinned Jesse.
His statement left Aubrey wondering if she had any softness left in her, considering how she had been acting. She wasn't angry anymore so she was inclined to believe that she had, but whenever her mind drifted back to the label, Stacie, and their album, her blood just boiled.
It was frustrating, not knowing whether you were the one being unreasonable or if everyone around you wasn't being reasonable. And Aubrey was beginning to worry it was affecting her sanity.
"Sometimes when you act tough for so long, you start to lose that softness," she said.
"What happened?" prodded Jesse, knowing she wasn't talking about him.
She didn't want to bring up Fat Amy and Bumper. On one hand, Jesse probably already knew, being the latter's band mate, and he could help her understand how it might affect their bands; but on the other hand, it wasn't worth Jesse canceling his relaxing evening for her.
As for her bigger problem, Jesse had proven himself to be helpful during the tour—telling her about the industry and helping her refine the song list for the album. He was even reasonable when it came to her frustrations, perhaps more reasonable than her own band mates. In light of everything that happened, Jesse could in fact be the only person truly on her side.
"I sort of… walked out on dinner with the Bellas tonight," she confessed.
"Okay. Why?"
"We met Siler today. Or rather, he met us."
Aubrey recounted bitterly how the president of their label didn't seem all that impressed by meeting the Barden Bellas, how he didn't even know Stacie's name, and how he humiliated Aubrey by dismissing her 'very reasonable' request to talk about their album.
"But the worst thing was that my own band—my own friends didn't back me up!" Aubrey cried, pacing back and forth while Jesse sat on the couch turning his head side to side following her. "They say they're on my side but if they really were they wouldn't be defending the label, would they? And it's just like you said—they're milking our hit for as long as they can! We don't even have a schedule for our recording session yet. All Stacie does is book stupid publicity events."
Jesse looked up at her with a mix of sympathy and admonition. "First of all, I didn't say they were 'milking' it, I just said they were probably going to take advantage—"
"That's the same thing!"
"—but more importantly, I didn't tell you about all of that to cause a rift between you and your friends!" chastised Jesse. "I did it to lower your expectations of what it would be like after the tour. And speaking of," he added in a slightly annoyed tone, "I could've warned you not to take the call as a sign of confidence from Siler if you'd said good-bye before leaving."
Aubrey stopped pacing and shifted her weight guiltily. She supposed Jesse did deserve a good-bye. "Sorry. I guess I didn't really think about it. I was just—"
"So focused on getting to LA?" Jesse finished with a good-natured smile, and then shook his head amusedly. "You are truly the most ambitious woman I have ever met, Aubrey. But you've also got a very one-track mind, you know?"
"So I've been told," she deadpanned. "But isn't it important to have someone focusing on the future while everyone goes off daydreaming about Disneyland and getting caught up in relationships?"
Jesse gave her a funny look, as though he was trying to read which relationship she meant. Again, Aubrey didn't want to discuss Fat Amy and Bumper so she continued quickly, "I'm just saying, I think my actions were justified. As the leader I have the responsibility to keep my eyes on the objective, don't I? If my members stray, it's my job to put them back on the path."
Jesse rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "I guess that makes sense…"
Aubrey narrowed her eyes. "You also think I'm being unreasonable?"
"No!" Jesse insisted at once. "I think you're entitled to feel that way but—and just to play devil's advocate here—is it so wrong to cut Stacie and the label some slack? I mean Stacie is my manager, too, and she hasn't failed us so far—"
"Hang on. Stacie is your manager," Aubrey pondered out loud. "And you're here in LA, which means she pulled you out of the tour, too. Why are the Treblemakers here, Jesse?"
The Treble hesitated before answering. "We're, uh… we're going on tour this fall and releasing our second album so we had to prepare—"
"Seriously?" Aubrey resumed her pacing in anger. "Stacie had time to work that into your schedule the past few days but she can't be bothered to get the Bellas studio time?"
"To be fair," Jesse said carefully, "the Trebles are her responsibility, too, and we've been on the label for over a year. And the Bellas are different—this is a whole new kind of thing for Residual Heat, selling an all-female band. It's not as easy."
Aubrey gave him a few seconds to let him realize the meaning behind what he just said. "So you're basically saying," she said, her voice lowering dangerously, "that because we're women, we're not as bankable are you are?"
Jesse's eyes widened in panic. "I didn't say it like that—"
"Then what are you saying, Jesse?" Aubrey threw up her hands in frustration. "That I should just take it lightly when people don't take me seriously? That I should just make myself pretty and be on every magazine in town so people would like me and buy our record?"
"I'm saying lower your expectations, Aubrey!" Jesse exclaimed almost pleadingly. "Look, I don't doubt that you're going to be great—but for your own sake, lower your expectations. You're on a path to having all your dreams come true but if you keep expecting it to happen right around the corner then you're going to be disappointed at every turn."
Aubrey looked at Jesse. He only wanted to help her, she knew that. They had this thing between them (or at least he thought so) but in spite of that Aubrey knew that his advice always genuinely came from his own experiences in the business. But throughout their arrangement, he would always stop himself from saying certain things out loud because he knew it would upset her, so it only hurt her more to think that what he was saying now was likely true.
"I worked hard for this," she said, short of stamping her foot. "I deserve to be here."
"I know," Jesse responded gently, sincerely. "And it sucks but hard work and talent can only get you so far. The rest is… just business. It's a business that—that revolves around what other people think of you, and where being successful depends on who you know."
Aubrey didn't want to believe it was true that 'hard work and talent can only get you so far'. It was, after all, everything she lived and fought against.
Aubrey was gently shaken from a terrible night's sleep the next morning by Emily, who greeted her awakening with a beaming smile. "Sorry to wake you so early," she said. "You were asleep by the time I got back and I didn't get to tell you—we're going to be on TV tonight!"
Aubrey blinked back at her slowly.
"The Hollywood Television Showcase, remember?" Emily wasn't letting up on her cheerfulness despite Aubrey's unresponsiveness. "Oh, I see. Maybe you'll find this more interesting… We also got studio time!"
Aubrey finally sat up.
"Stacie really cut it close but she got us a schedule, as promised!"
Aubrey turned and set her feet down on the other side of the bed so Emily couldn't see her expression as she struggled to come up with one.
Stacie had cut it close, and if Aubrey hadn't had that conversation with Jesse last night she would have been ecstatic to hear the news. But once beliefs have been shattered, it wasn't easy to put the pieces back together.
Lower your expectations.
"That's great."
"Okay, I'll let you wake up a bit while I take a shower," giggled Emily. "But you better be jumping for joy when I get out!"
Aubrey remained on her bed, staring out the window, while Emily scampered to the bathroom.
Could her nagging have worked?
Thinking it did brought immense satisfaction and relief to Aubrey, for it validated everything she believed in: that hard work, talent, and dedication did equal success no matter what business you were in; and also that Jesse was just being a good guy, thinking that making her more realistic would help her in the long run.
But she didn't need to lower her expectations anymore. Things seemed to be back on track, just the way she planned… right?
As the girls waited for Stacie to arrive in the hotel lobby an hour and a half later, Aubrey was not surprised to see Chloe joining her cautiously by the entrance. She had that look of her face, a look that Aubrey felt suddenly tired of seeing.
"Bree, I'm sorry."
Apologetic.
It was always like that with Chloe. Things would happen, they would disagree and have a big fight. Then Chloe would always come back, apologizing, and things would go back to normal. It didn't matter who was right or wrong, Chloe just wanted the fight to end.
It was tiring, and Aubrey was certain that Chloe was tired of it, too.
"For what?" she asked, keeping any emotion out of her voice.
"For last night," Chloe replied. "For every day since we got to LA. You're my best friend and I—I should have remembered how much this means to you. I should have stuck up for you instead of always asking you to take it easy."
Indeed, it was always like that with Chloe. Granted, their past 'big fights' had always seemed bigger than they were at the time—letting Fat Amy and, later, Beca into the band, or the night Beca changed the tempo of their ballad—but they always ended the same: with Chloe apologizing just after things had fixed themselves.
Aubrey had agreed, out of necessity, to let the rambunctious new foreign exchange student be their lead guitarist despite her apprehensions it would disrupt the group dynamic. But Chloe was just learning to play rhythm guitar back then and no one could carry a melody like Fat Amy. After the fact, Chloe apologized for not seeing it from Aubrey's perspective, and all was well.
And although Beca was an easier choice to make—she was undeniably talented and, personality-wise, didn't seem to be too far out—the same thing happened. When no one turned up to audition, Chloe sat there with her look of quiet vindication. Aubrey acquiesced; Chloe apologized. And when Beca almost ruined their talent show performance, Chloe defended her, Aubrey made Chloe accountable for Beca, and their song became a categorical hit.
It was always like that and now Chloe was apologizing again after learning that they were getting the studio time Aubrey had been clamoring for, hoping things would go back to normal.
"Bree…"
Chloe misconstrued her thoughtful silence as a rejection of her apology but Aubrey was determined to break the cycle this time.
"Why are you here, Chloe?"
As expected, Chloe seemed taken aback by her question. "What do you—?"
"Why did you accept Stacie's offer?" Aubrey said, not wanting to waste time in case Stacie suddenly arrived. "Why did you come along?"
"Do… do you not want me here?"
Aubrey turned to Chloe in surprise. She hadn't realized how those words sounded out loud. "That's not—I didn't mean that." She took a deep breath. "I just wanted to know why because… you never wanted this, did you?"
Chloe frowned. "Well, I never wanted to quit because of my nodes—"
"I mean this whole thing," Aubrey gestured around them. "This life. We've known each other for years, Chloe. I know that this isn't what you planned for your life." She looked at Chloe carefully. "So why are you here?"
It was a crudely executed deflection, in Aubrey's opinion, and if she had been wrong about her suspicions then Chloe would have realized that, too.
But Chloe didn't. Instead, the redhead looked down at her shoes—a move that was very unlike her and one that Aubrey knew from experience Chloe did when she was about to tell a lie.
"I wanted to be here for you," Chloe mumbled, "when your dreams came true." Then, with a little more conviction, "I wanted to be the little piece of home you might have missed as you journeyed through this."
Aubrey softened. She knew that Chloe herself believed it was the truth—and it maybe was, at least for the earlier part of their journey—but she also knew there was a deeper truth that Chloe kept hidden from everyone, even her supposed best friend.
And that was when Aubrey finally realized how much had changed over the last two months. That Chloe felt like she could no longer share the picture of her dreams with her—and vice-versa, if Aubrey's own picture had actually changed—said something about the nature of their relationship. Once upon a time they formed and declared their dreams to each other… and now one was living hers while the other continued to float around, waiting for hers to happen.
Chloe had been there to support Aubrey on her way to her dreams, and if that was the sole basis of their friendship then Aubrey hadn't been a good friend to Chloe all this time.
She reached out to put her hand over Chloe's. "Thank you. I'm glad you were here for that. Our song reaching the top ten, going to LA… You were here when my dreams came true—and I didn't even miss home as much as I thought I would!"
The last part was not Chloe's doing as much as it was her decidedly cutting ties with Barden, but the white lie was intended to soften Aubrey's next words.
"… so if that's truly the reason you're here, Chloe, then you'd have no problem going back to Barden at the end of summer."
It felt like a whole minute had passed since anyone last spoke. Then Chloe pulled her hand away and Aubrey almost saw a fleck of anger flash in Chloe's eyes.
"Wait, so… so you don't want me here? I thought—"
"Think about it," Aubrey said calmly, finding the irony that she was the one asking Chloe to be reasonable very distasteful. "I'd understand if you wanted to stay because you were hoping to rejoin the Bellas but it doesn't seem like you do."
"Bree, I already told you I can't sing—"
"So what's keeping you here?" pushed Aubrey.
"My—I…"
Aubrey took it as a further sign that she was right when Chloe couldn't even mention her supposed 'job' as the Bellas' publicist to be her reason for staying. But even so, it still didn't seem like Chloe was willing to be forthright with the truth.
And if she couldn't even have the audacity to commit to her decisions, then she should be better off not having to make any, in Aubrey's opinion.
It was no secret to either of them that it infuriated Aubrey that Chloe had such blind faith in the universe, thinking it would just bend itself to gift her with her happily-ever-after. Chloe might have thought it was an endearing quality at the time but Aubrey knew better: the only way to achieve your dreams is through hard work, talent, and dedication. Her unwillingness to commit only proved that she was not ready to make her dreams come true.
And rather than have an argument that would end with Chloe apologizing and getting everything she wanted the easy way, Aubrey was going to break the cycle.
"I really think you should consider going home at the end of the summer," Aubrey said with an air of finality, adding the preamble to distinguish her advice from an order. "You've already done your part and been here for me—and I appreciate that. But if whatever it is you're still here for isn't worth your conviction, then it's probably not better than finishing your college degree and actually making the effort to build your dreams."
Aubrey was satisfied but not altogether pleased with the way she ended her conversation with Chloe hours ago. But at least she didn't have yet another apology to look forward to from Chloe; it seemed that this time Aubrey was the one who needed to apologize.
As she trailed behind her band on the way to lunch after hours of production meetings and blocking rehearsals, Aubrey continued to reflect on the end of that conversation, particularly on how casually Chloe seemed to return to her cheerful demeanor as she sat closely beside Beca, who seemed uncharacteristically uncomfortable over the gesture.
Shaking herself out of an issue that she believed only mattered a few weeks down the line, Aubrey refocused her sights on something much more immediate: their album.
"Hey, have you seen Stacie lately?" she asked her band mates as they lined up for the buffet.
Emily turned and handed her a plate before they ran out. All of the Hollywood Television Showcases' guest performers and crew were sharing the same lunchroom, causing a huge scramble to be the first to finish their meal and get back to work. "Mmm, nope," she replied. "Haven't seen her since we did blocking. Why?"
"Just wanted to talk about our studio time tomorrow. I was thinking I should let her know which songs we're doing so the recording can go as smoothly as possible."
Emily nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. I'm sure she'll visit us in our dressing room later to wish us good luck."
Unfortunately, when Stacie did visit them hours later, Aubrey was brushed off and asked to focus on being magic for the cameras, which normally would have triggered a response from her but not when she finally took Jesse's advice and lowered her expectations. It must not have been the response her band mates were expecting from her, Aubrey noticed, given that Beca had been watching her curiously ever since she asked Stacie about their album.
But Aubrey didn't bother herself too much about what Beca was thinking. It was becoming more obvious every passing day that Beca's head was not as into the game as Aubrey had previously thought. But she continued to hope that, once everything was settled and everyone—particularly Beca and Chloe—realized where they stood, she would see how far they've come and how far they still need to go, and revive her dedication.
Not soon after, Aubrey was considering that maybe Beca did see how far they've come, for the drummer was now demanding that she apologize to Chloe for not mentioning her contributions to the band in what Aubrey thought was a rather clever response to the host's unexpected query.
It would have been an incredibly easy thing to do, but Beca just had to demand it in that voice and make that implication.
Aubrey was not one to back down from a fight.
To her credit, Chloe tried to stop Beca from pursuing this—at least she understood the difference between what Aubrey meant on stage and what she felt, right? But Beca was stubborn and kept pressing the non-issue for her own gratification.
It was only when Beca insinuated that she had somehow gravely mistreated Chloe—an act undermined by her obvious affection for her the person she was defending—that Aubrey finally had enough of everyone pinning her as the 'bad guy' just because she was the only one who looked out for the band. In the history of her life, she learned that nobody liked the responsible, hard-working girl; they all flocked to the cheerful, friendly ones.
Jesse had already pointed it out the night before, but the hopeful promise the morning after brought made Aubrey dismiss it: that success in this business depended on being liked and on building connections with people. It clashed against her personality so badly that Aubrey knew it was never going to be possible for her to do it.
And the bitter reminder that hard work, talent, and dedication didn't mean as much as being liked came in the form of Chloe Beale.
Aubrey would be the first to admit that this wasn't how she imagined the evening to end. She regretted saying all those hurtful words to Chloe but, as she told Beca, those words were the truth. Her friendship with Chloe wasn't healthy. It was about time someone broke the cycle and she knew it wasn't going to be Chloe.
The news about Chloe's father upset her, since it put into new light her asking Chloe to go home earlier that day, but Aubrey was confident that things were not truly over for the redhead. Charles and Mary Beale were nowhere close to her own parents; they loved their daughter no matter her indiscretions. Chloe could do as she does best: apologize, and everything will be all right.
Beca, on the other hand, had her own problems to deal with. And seeing Beca disappear through the door only strengthened her resolve that what she did for Chloe would be justified in the end. Neither Chloe nor Beca had any conviction to commit to what they wanted from each other, so they were better off not trying.
"I don't think you're a monster, Aubrey."
Aubrey was brought out of her thoughts by Emily's quiet declaration. Fat Amy made a small gesture that indicated she was on the fence about it but Emily continued, "You're just… sometimes… too single-mindedly ambitious."
Fat Amy nodded. "Nobody here doesn't think you do everything you can for the band," she said. "But sometimes you gotta ask… is it really what's best for the band, or what's best for you?"
All this time Aubrey had held on to the thought the two were the same thing. Now it has become disappointingly clear that they were not. "Maybe you're right," she said. "We're not all here for the same reasons, are we? At least, not anymore."
Without waiting for an answer, Aubrey took her own leave of the dressing room.
Aubrey had hoped to run into Stacie to get the final word of the night—that word being a reminder of their studio time the next day—but instead she found herself on the opposite end of a hallway heading straight into the path of Residual Heat's president. She attempted a quick getaway, knowing that she had displeased him with her interview but the straightforward hallway unfortunately did not permit that.
"Mr. Siler," she greeted tersely, giving the man's bodyguards a quick once-over.
"Aubrey Posen," he said with a swagger, clearly showing that he had made the effort to learn her name in the past half hour. "That was quite an interesting speech you gave."
Aubrey gave a short nod.
"Relax," chuckled Mr. Siler, taking his sunglasses off and hooking them onto the pocket of his jacket. "I'm not mad—though you've certainly made an impression on me." When Aubrey looked confused, he explained. "Look, I know what you're after. It's what every fresh new artist from some backwater town wants, no offense—"
Aubrey folded her arms and glared at him. "I'm not just like every other artist, Mr. Siler—"
"Oh, I know. What I meant was…" He motioned to his entourage to allow them some privacy, put an arm around Aubrey's shoulders and and steered her toward the now empty lunchroom.
"Not a lot of people know this about me—at least, not until I release my memoir," Mr. Siler said in a hushed tone, "but my father left when I was very young. Never knew him. I had three siblings and my mother raised us all on her own. I am telling you this," he said quickly upon seeing Aubrey's continued confusion, "so you'll believe me when I say that despite what all the tabloids say, I do respect women—"
"You don't seem to show it," Aubrey interjected skeptically. "Not to me or to Stacie."
Mr. Siler raised his hands defensively. "I only give Stephie a hard time because I enjoy seeing my younger employees work hard for my approval. See, more than anything, I respect hard-working people. My mother worked hard to get me an education. I worked hard to finish my education. I've always loved music and so I worked hard to get to where I am now.
"So when I said I know what you're after, I didn't just mean the success, the fame and fortune—I meant that as someone who has had to work hard to deserve everything I got. Stacie is a good kid but I don't doubt that her stunning looks got farther than she should be comfortable with—no offense."
"Adding 'no offense' after saying something mean doesn't make it any less offensive," Aubrey chastised, but she took found it surprisingly easy to take his words seriously; they echoed so much of her own beliefs. "So you understand why I had to say what I said on live TV?"
"I do. I've spent twenty-five years of my life working in this industry but there are still some moments, like tonight," he gestured at her, "when I realize I've got caught up in my success and forgotten about the music."
"I'm really glad to hear you say that, Mr. Siler," Aubrey sighed in relief. "I was worried you were only interested in profiting off 'That Thing You Do'."
"Well, after you ambushed me at lunch yesterday I thought I might as well take you seriously," he said in jest. "Anyway, I just wanted to say that I think you are a valuable talent and I look forward to renewing our contract so we can work on those songs you wrote. I'm sure they'll be great."
Mr. Siler clapped her on the shoulder, replaced his sunglasses, and was halfway to the door by the time Aubrey worked out what he meant. "Wait—what?"
The label president turned around slowly, as though he already expected an outburst from her. "Look, Aubrey," he said half apologetically, half firmly. "I respect you as an artist and that stunt you pulled was pretty brilliant, but I can't bend the rules for you."
"What are you talking about?"
At that moment, a green blur flew past the open door followed by Stacie's appearance as she backtracked. "Mr. Siler—" she panted lightly before freezing upon seeing Aubrey in the room with her boss.
"I was just telling your client that I was looking forward to renewing our contract with the Barden Bellas and producing her original songs… in the next album." Mr. Siler folded his arms and peered at Stacie over his sunglasses. "That's not a problem, is it, Stephie?"
Stacie's panicked eyes flitted between his and Aubrey's. She swallowed. "Could Aubrey and I have a minute alone, Mr. Siler?"
PRESENT
Aubrey rested her elbows on the polished wooden bar nervously. Her guitar case was propped between her chair and the empty one she was saving. She didn't expect to be bothered by a random fan this early in the day but she maintained a closed off demeanor nonetheless. Drumming her fingers impatiently on the counter, she glanced at her watch for the nth time before reminding herself that she should be more worried if Stacie arrived early than if she arrived late.
Just as the last ice cube melted in her untouched iced tea, the door swung open and flooded the bar with sunlight. No one but Aubrey bothered to look at the new arrival but heads certainly began to turn once Stacie wafted through on her way to Aubrey.
"A scotch on the rocks for me, please," the brunette ordered before perching herself on the seat beside Aubrey. She turned to the blonde and smirked. "You know, if this music thing doesn't work out for you, you've got a future in show business. Seriously. I thought you were going to toss the piano at my head like you did with that platter last night—"
Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Oh, get over it; it didn't even hit you. So did it work? What did Siler say?"
Stacie heaved a tired but satisfied sigh. "He was definitely upset. He insisted I get you back, especially after I told him you've been fielding calls from Atlantic and Reprise—"
Aubrey frowned. "Have I?"
"Don't worry about it. I know couple of reps there who owe me; they'll back me up." Aubrey raised an eyebrow but Stacie brushed it off. "Anyway, Mr. Siler seemed to take it more seriously after that. He told me to stop you at all costs while he got in touch with the Board. Then I suggested offering the Bellas both deals—give them the tribute album and the debut album?"
"What did he say?"
Stacie rolled her eyes. "As expected, he said it wasn't the way things were done. He hadn't consulted Marketing about releasing an original album yet, not to mention the costs, and with pressure from competition he couldn't afford a mistake—"
"Sounds reasonable," nodded Aubrey. Stacie slammed her palm on the table in surprise after all of Aubrey's griping.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Yes, I am! So just get to the point, please!"
"Fine." The bartender set down her drink and Stacie twisted in her seat and raised the glass to Aubrey. "Congratulations. Our crazy diabolical plan worked. The Bellas won't be recording 'That Thing You Do' in Spanish but, hey, at least they are getting their own album."
"Aubrey, I can explain—"
"Like I would believe any word out of your lying mouth!" Aubrey's hands were shaking in anger. She needed to break something, or throw something—at someone.
"You have every reason not to but I would advise that you do anyway," insisted Stacie, circling the room with her hands up defensively in case Aubrey suddenly jumped at her.
Instead, Aubrey only demanded answers. "It's a tribute album, isn't it?"
"Something like that. You'd record 'That Thing You Do' in Spanish, cover other Residual Heat artists, and collaborate on our yearly Christmas collection—"
Aubrey swore loudly. "Jesse warned me about this. But I trusted you! We trusted you—we thought you were looking out for us!"
"I knew you would react like this, which is precisely why I didn't tell you sooner!" argued Stacie.
"So you waited until we were this close?" Aubrey cried in disbelief. "What, so you could trap us? Leave us no choice? Do you know how much hell you've put us through, playing with our future? Did you not see what just happened tonight because you lied to us?!"
"I didn't know what was going on between you and Chloe! But I did know you would quit as soon as you found out you weren't on your way to an actual album so I made sure to do everything I could to fix it before I absolutely had to tell you," Stacie explained rapidly before Aubrey got the idea that she had led them on intentionally. "I begged the office to hold off taking you to LA until the end of the tour but Mr. Siler was insistent. Why do you think I've been pushing for you to do press all the time once we got to LA?"
"To sell our record, of course," scoffed Aubrey.
"No—to sell you!"
"That's the same thing!" dismissed Aubrey.
"Is it?" Stacie took a step closer, sensing that Aubrey was more receptive to hearing her explanation now. (Also, there was a table between them she could duck behind.) "Sure, the more popular the Bellas are, the more likely your future record will get traction but this is the music industry. But there are such things as one-hit wonders—"
"I worked hard on the song list! My music is good—"
"I know, I know!" Stacie pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "Just hear me out first… You remember your first day here? That radio show I asked you guys to do? Remember what you told the deejay: you wanted to make music that fifty percent of the population could relate to. The execs don't see it yet but the Bellas are a potential gold mine. You reach out to fifty percent of their target demographic just by being women! And the other fifty, too, because, let's face it, you're not so bad to look at."
The cheeky attempt at a compliment did not exactly make Aubrey happy. "So you're exploiting us for our gender?"
"It goes without saying that your music is good," Stacie repeated. "After all, I'd ruin the future of women in music if I didn't believe you had the potential, wouldn't I? But the point is, I needed to get that message out all over LA—I spent tonight talking up media reps in the audience, and most of the talking points I've asked Chloe to write up reference that message."
"What message is that exactly?" Aubrey asked suspiciously.
"That Residual Heat is making a bold statement with the Barden Bellas. With all the popularity second-wave feminism is getting, the Bellas could be the label's flagship feminist symbol and soon, with barely any coaxing, the label will be begging you to release a record instead of the tribute album!"
Stacie splayed out her arms proudly, as though her plan was so great it would induce Aubrey to run up to her and wrap her in a grateful hug. But Aubrey only stared at her with her mouth half-open in disbelief, wondering how on earth Stacie could be so careless and irresponsible as to not tell them her plan—and she let Stacie know that as coherently as she could.
"I had been obsessing—I thought I was the only—you made me think I was crazy for not trusting you! You pinned me as the bad guy!" Aubrey didn't help disprove that when she grabbed a silver platter from the now empty buffet table and flung it at Stacie. Luckily for the manager, physics made it so that the dish clattered uselessly two yards away from its intended target. "Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
"I'm sorry!" said Stacie, her proud smile having been wiped off her face when she dodged the projectile. "I knew you would get obsessed—that bake sale was proof enough—but that's partly why I thought keeping Chloe in would be good for the band! I thought she would balance you out. I didn't expect—"
"That she'd be distracted by Beca?"
Stacie sighed. "I was going to say that you had a complicated friendship with her… but yes, I suppose I didn't expect her to spend most of her time with Beca either. Although, you deserve some of the blame for Chloe's failure," she added with a pointed look at Aubrey. "When I asked her about you back at Barden she made it seem like you were more receptive than you actually are."
Aubrey prickled. "That's because she thinks her apologies fix everything. But my frustrations were justified! I felt like I was the only one who cared. It drove me crazy! And you're not guilt-free, either," she added accusingly. "Why couldn't you just tell me that was your plan in the first place? I wouldn't have had to think you were taking advantage of us all this time."
Stacie raised an eyebrow. "I think you're forgetting how much you despised me back then. Two months ago—would you have agreed to sign if you knew that the ten 'recorded songs' in your contract didn't mean original songs?"
Aubrey thought about it. Considering she had plotted to approach other promoters just days after the Bellas first signed a contract with a then-promoter Stacie, the answer was an unequivocal no. "Obviously not, but what about when we got to LA?"
At this, Stacie finally looked guilty as she confessed, "I knew you'd be excited to head to the coast but meanwhile I just had my deadline pushed up three weeks. I'm not proud of it, but I panicked. Instead of telling you, I tried to get as many press events booked to gain as much leverage against my boss. That's also why I didn't want you talking to Mr. Siler, in case you both found out my plan…"
Aubrey gestured around them sardonically. "Well, look how well that turned out. And now what do you have to show for all your lying?"
When Stacie looked up at Aubrey, there was a gleam in her eye. "I would've liked a few more days to be sure but… I think everything is in place for the Bellas to be put on the spotlight for revolutionizing women in music. I've made friends in the right places and with the right pitch, may be able to convince Mr. Siler to bump up your album."
Aubrey paused, and then shook her head, reminding herself to lower her expectations. "He seemed pretty firm to me. He said he respected me as an artist, but he won't break the rules for me."
Stacie's eyebrows rose. "He said that?"
"Right after he said he looked forward to renewing our contract for our next album. He probably thought that was why I said what I said on the air: to put him in a tight spot and force him into releasing an original album—back when I believed we had an album, that is."
Stacie smirked. "That's what I thought, too. You and your big mouth really choose the wrong times to act out, you know that?"
"I do," Aubrey responded grimly, and she and Stacie were reminded of the true cost of that trait of hers. "You kept telling me, 'that's how the business works!' And I wanted to turn the joke on you—I saw the way the business works and took matters into my own hands. Seeing all those industry suits in the front row, I thought I could get my own leverage. Mr. Siler wasn't going to deny me on camera, would he? But then…" Aubrey felt a tiny burst of annoyance. "I didn't think Beca would flip out about it the way she did!"
"Aubrey, if I knew it would all lead to tonight, I would have risked telling you sooner," Stacie said sincerely before chastising herself. "But either way I shouldn't have had to rely on Chloe to reassure you Residual Heat was taking care of your interests. I'm your manager, that should have been my job. But I was too distracted trying to prove myself to you—no, I'm not trying to blame you," she added quickly in response to Aubrey's frown. "I just hadn't realized how much it bothered me."
"What do you mean?"
With a reluctant sigh, Stacie continued to explain. "You weren't completely off the mark when you accused me of riding on other people's successes. As much as I tried to leave that part of me—leave Ana—behind in Barden, it was just too easy to go back to once I got to LA. When I started out, working here was too hard." She looked down at her high-heeled feet in shame. "You know how I got the Trebles signed? You can probably guess. I 'charmed' my then-boss into agreeing to co-sign their contract."
Aubrey felt an odd emotion wash over her and she hoped that Stacie's confession wasn't a euphemism. The Stacie she had known was every high school boy's dream; it was unpleasant, but not difficult, to imagine what grown men would think of her.
"But then I went back to Barden," Stacie said, her tone brightening, "on a gut feeling that the buzz about this new girl group was worth checking out. And so I met you again." She smirked. "You were as stubborn as you were in high school but somehow that was exactly what gave me the courage to try to be more than just a pretty face. You reminded me that that was what I set out to do when I left town in the first place, back when I was naïve and didn't care how difficult it might be... Do you remember the disaster in Atlanta?"
"How could I forget?" Aubrey said dryly. She had prayed day and night that news of it wouldn't reach Barden and her parents.
"Well, that was probably my fault, too, because for once I tried not doing the easy thing." Then Stacie shook her head. "But even if I did, people still saw me for what I looked like. Nevertheless, I regretted nothing about that night because I saw how determined you were to make it past that and do better on your next show."
Aubrey softened her stance, pleased to hear that Stacie at least acknowledged that she wouldn't back down so easily.
"I think that was when I realized that I really wanted to see you succeed," said Stacie. "You all worked so hard for it and were so talented. It was a refreshing change from what I saw in the mirror. But somewhere along the way—and this is something I wish I'd shared with you earlier—you realize that you have to compromise to get what you want.
"I wanted you to succeed," she repeated, this time with a caveat. "But to get you there, I had to bring out the old me. I had to charm other people, make deals, and ask favors to get the Bellas this far. I kept it from you because Chloe said you'd hate it, but it still happened. Not to blow my own horn but 'That Thing You Do's' rapid rise in the charts was not all thanks to luck, you know. I had to talk it up to a lot of people."
Aubrey bit the inside of her cheek to remind herself, once again, of Jesse's words. Hard work and talent weren't always enough. But Stacie noticed and maybe even expected Aubrey's reaction, and shook her head.
"What I'm trying to say is, working hard is admirable. I know that. But when you're at a point where everyone around you has worked just as hard, or has more resources than you have, working smart is sometimes the better option. I was wrong to mislead you with your contract, but I did what I was best at, and what I thought was best for the Bellas, to get you as far as I could."
Aubrey thought back to her parting words with Emily and Fat Amy. When it came to 'what was best for the Bellas,' it turned out that Stacie and Aubrey were of similar and incorrect mindsets: that it was solely up to them to decide. "You and I both," she muttered. "And look where that's brought us."
"I'm sure if you just talk to them—" Stacie began sympathetically.
"Would you listen to what I have to say, if you were Chloe?"
"You listened to what I had to say," Stacie pointed out but Aubrey shook her head.
"I don't have an explanation, some ulterior motive, in my back pocket, Stacie. What I said to her I said because it was how I felt. Besides, none of this even matters," Aubrey suddenly added, raising her voice.
Stacie noted the obvious change in topic, but waited to hear more.
"Did you really think I was just going to let you off the hook for jerking us around like that?"
"But I just explained—"
"That doesn't change the fact that our studio time tomorrow is meant for us to record songs that are not ours." Aubrey crossed her arms. "So I'm telling you this now: unless you can guarantee that that isn't going to happen, I'm not going to be there."
Stacie waved toward the door. "That was what I was going to talk to Mr. Siler about! I didn't think I'd run into you and have to prematurely reveal my plan."
"And you are sure you can convince him?"
"The numbers add up on the business side of it," Stacie assured her confidently. "Even if, God forbid, your album turns out to be lackluster—I said God forbid!" she defended quickly when Aubrey glared at her again. "It would still give the company plenty of publicity that would be enough to drive album sales above average. He should have no reason not to agree."
"But if he does?" challenged Aubrey. "What then?"
Stacie threw up her hands. "Well, then why don't you try talking to him?" she suggested, though Aubrey could tell it was just to please her. Stacie seemed stubbornly confident that her plan would work. "After all, he said he…" Stacie paused, a light crease forming between her brows. "He approached you tonight? Not the other way around?"
"Neither of us had a choice. It was a hallway."
"But he talked to you—he started the conversation? You didn't start it with an apology or something?"
Aubrey frowned in confusion. "I didn't. Why?"
"It's just unusual," Stacie said thoughtfully. "He doesn't usually go out of his way to talk to artists—I'm sure you got that impression the first time you met him."
"Well, he said it was enough to take me seriously," recalled Aubrey.
"That's good…"
Aubrey detected a hint of jealousy mixed in with Stacie's thoughtful tone, so she offered helpfully, "You know he calls you 'Stephie' as a joke, right? He does it so that you'd work harder."
Stacie looked up in surprise at Aubrey's saying something vaguely nice to her. "Oh, I knew that."
"Then why…?"
Suddenly, the cogs working silently at the back of Aubrey's mind clicked into place and Stacie's fixation on her friendly brush with the label president suddenly shed light on an opportunity she never would have thought possible, much less considered taking. It was extremely risky but, in the grand scheme of things, perhaps important and needed to be done.
Aubrey kept her eyes on Stacie's as she steadily came to her own realization, and it seemed that they were on the same track to arriving at it. Stacie raised an eyebrow at her skeptically, as though to wordlessly ask, "Are you sure?"
"It's what I would do anyway, if your plan failed," said Aubrey, reading her expression perfectly, and Stacie found that easy to believe. "It's go big, or go home. And, believe me, I am not going home."
They clinked their glasses and drank deeply, the stress of pulling off the last sixteen hours finally registering in their bodies and minds. When Aubrey lay her glass down on the coaster she licked her lips dry and shook her head.
"It's not 'the Bellas' anymore though."
Stacie didn't say anything, but traced the rim of her glass with a delicate finger. She hadn't been pretending earlier when she was frantically trying to gather all the Bellas at the studio, and was genuinely surprised not to see Fat Amy present and to learn that Emily was blissfully spending her day with Benji at Disneyland.
"Is that going to be a problem?" Aubrey asked her with a hint of worry.
"Not as much as you'd think," Stacie admitted reluctantly; she didn't want Aubrey getting any ideas that it was okay. "The Trebles actually had a different bassist before Benji, but he went off to join the Marines. Your core fans will be bummed but it won't hurt sales." She paused before saying, "You can still keep the band together for the recording, you know."
Aubrey sighed. "I have a feeling they won't want to."
"Emily is a sweetheart," Stacie said encouragingly. "She'll do it for the band and she'll probably even convince the others to stay, too. It'll be like her farewell celebration before she goes back to Barden."
Aubrey considered it. That certainly did sound like something Emily would do, and Aubrey did enjoy the thought of celebrating the end of the summer and the inevitable departure, instead of marking it as some sort of doomsday. But Stacie either overestimated Emily's infectious enthusiasm, or underestimated how easily repaired the bridges between Aubrey and Chloe were.
"And once the contract is finalized this afternoon, we can work on changing Fat Amy's status—though hopefully she returns from wherever she is," continued Stacie. "And then there's Beca."
Aubrey turned to her expectantly, interested to hear how she planned to salvage that piece of the group. "Yeah?"
"Well, if there's no Chloe, there's no Beca. So…" Stacie shrugged, "maybe you should talk to Chloe?"
Aubrey shook her head, disappointed though not altogether surprised that Stacie hadn't come up with something better. "Even if she forgives me, Chloe still needs to go home—"
"And that's where you're wrong," interjected Stacie. "If it bothers you so much that she lives off my paycheck, I'll find her a real job at the label."
"You're not getting it," Aubrey said firmly. "She needs to go home. This isn't about finding a place for her here. Chloe still has some growing up to do, and it's better and safer for her to do it at Barden than on the other side of the country."
"But she'll have us here. She'll have Beca—"
"Are you delusional?" scoffed Aubrey. "They can't even tell each other how they feel and Beca just flipped out when things between Chloe and her got difficult! No," she shook her head, "they're both better off taking some time apart to grow up."
Stacie narrowed her eyes at her. "For someone who writes pretty good songs about love, you don't know how to handle it when it's right in front of you. But lucky for the rest of us, I took matters into my own hands—"
"Stacie!"
"We admitted it ourselves last night—we only do what's best for the Bellas, right? Beca and Chloe are still Bellas so I'm doing what I can to help them."
"I don't like this side of you," deadpanned Aubrey. "Go back to wanting my approval. And stop trying to do what's best for them! Haven't we already proven it only makes things worse?"
Stacie brushed her comment aside. "Last one, promise. All I did was set up the perfect opportunity for them to talk. I called and left Chloe a message at my apartment telling her that Beca was at the studio waiting for her—right after I reminded Beca how special Chloe is to the group," she added with a pointed look at Aubrey, as though to tell her the same.
"You're not going to get me to change my mind," she said firmly. "And you're not doing Chloe any favors by convincing her to stay."
Stacie rolled her eyes at Aubrey's true-to-form stubbornness and picked up her refilled drink with an air of defiance. "Then I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree."
"It's worked for us so far," responded Aubrey, bringing her own drink to her lips. Stacie gave her a sidelong glance and smirked.
So it has.
Before fully exiting the empty lunchroom and shortly after they had agreed on their borderline-suicide mission, Aubrey turned back and looked at Stacie—really looked at her, not in distrust as she had been doing all summer, but with clear eyes and a clearer head. Stacie had collapsed into the seat she vacated with her neck curled back, breathing a deep sigh of relief over things working out more or less the way she had hoped.
It was an almost absurd process of thinking, Aubrey judged of Stacie's actions over the past two months. Absurd, but executed almost flawlessly, right down to a T. It could have gone horribly wrong and ruined Stacie's career in a heartbeat while keeping theirs relatively unaffected but, with unrelenting determination, she pulled off a miracle—all in the name of doing what was best for the Bellas.
On some other day, in some better light, Aubrey might have found it impressive. Tonight, however, she was satisfied with feeling reassured.
"You're quite obsessive yourself, you know that?" she said, causing Stacie to straighten up and look her way. After a brief pause, Aubrey concluded, "But you've got your own way, and I've got mine. I suppose we have a lot to learn from each other. I look forward to that."
Aubrey was just out earshot when Stacie let out a breathy chuckle, halfway between triumphant and relieved, for it seemed she had finally earned Aubrey's trust—ironically, by embracing everything Aubrey accused her of being.
Response to Reviews:
jalex1 (Nov. 28) - Aubrey wasn't the only one who noticed (Emily and Stacie have more than hinted that they knew) but since she's the one who gets a special inside-look chapter, it may have seemed that way haha.
Guest reader (Nov. 28) - I hope so, too. Fingers crossed!
Big Fan (Nov. 28) - I KNOW. I'M SORRY. But we're one chapter closer! Thanks, I'm glad you felt a bit enlightened seeing Aubrey's side and hopefully this chapter sustains that. Although I don't think it answers your wish for Aubrey to make amends haha. I HOPE I CAN MAKE IT WORTH THE WAIT!
Reader (Nov. 28) - Haha! When I first saw your review I truly wanted to deliver. I appreciate your enthusiasm and faith in my writing prowess but alas I got distracted. And before you ask – no, I cannot possibly update tomorrow haha.
RJRMovieFan (Nov. 29) - Thanks for the review! We are all capable of great evil when the right (or wrong) conditions are met; all I can hope for is that, as the writer, I lay out those conditions sufficiently. I actually intended her parents to have only one 'on-screen' moment to emphasize the concept of 'insignificance' in that scene – not only was Aubrey's departure insignificant to her parents, later, as a result, letters from them were insignificant to her. Also the entire scene was stiff, dull, and, well, bland because that's how Aubrey sees them, too.
- As for Chloe stepping in, I knew I would be facing it eventually so I never made it clear what Chloe was really passionate about. Chloe herself never really expressed a love for making music (she enjoys writing songs, but her desire to make it a career is not on the same level as Beca's or Aubrey's). Aubrey's chapters let us know that Chloe just wanted that 'perfect future' and, in past chapters, it has been suggested by most Bellas that she (a) did it as an act of rebellion and (b) stayed because she likes feeling like she belongs, and simply because it was a fun thing she started with her best friend in high school – she didn't think it would get this big. With that said, and even supposing she gets her range back, Chloe – in her heart of hearts – is indifferent to replacing Emily. Although, if the fight hadn't happened and the time came naturally (note: they have ~3 weeks left before the actual end of summer) she might have said yes because then she wouldn't have to feel guilty.
Thanks! I amused myself in the fact that in PP, Aubrey was stuck on tradition (and 80's music) while in this one she's trying to break the mold. So I used the common denominator, her stubborn obsessiveness, to pivot in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, I ended up being more dramatic with her character than comedic, but I'm happy enough with how she turned out.
Fan (Nov. 29) - I'm glad you did! I've had that scene planned out in my head for months!
A/N: So... you'll probably have a lot of questions after that? (Again, read the italicized R2R up above for insight into a scene in Chapter Thirteen.) But at least you now see why I couldn't just put these scenes in between the main ones.
To be honest, I hesitated putting the twist in, but the alternative would have been a boring, Aubrey-is-a-complex-character-who-gets-what-she-wants-despite-being-a-jerk, which is what happened to Jimmy at the end of TTYD. But then Stacie came up to me and assured me that this was better. (Probably because she has a bigger role in this one, ha!) But after all, when I introduced her I said I wanted to round out Aubrey's character. They both illustrate different philosophies about life and work but unlike Chloe, Stacie has more credibility to teach Aubrey to chill. And now they have their future professional careers to look forward to learning from each other (and to see a more humorous side of Aubrey)!
More importantly, I want to clarify that though this is the end of the Aubrey-centric chapters, this is not the end of Aubrey. Nor is it a way for you to agree with her justification. I wanted to show Aubrey's human perspective. Personally, I find it flawed in some places but a lot of people may agree with her methods/beliefs. But hopefully this also shows that Stacie is flawed, and that Beca and Chloe are flawed, too. None of them did the right thing and even though it seems that things are going to be a-OK from now on, they all still have some growing up to do.
Lastly, the expression 'go big or go home' wasn't around 'til the 90's but I wanted it there anyway. Now on to the Final Chapter (and Epilogue, too, if I can write it in time)!