DISCLAIMER: The "Pitch Perfect" screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The anime "Highschool of the Dead" and the character Saeko Busujima belongs to Madhouse. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
AUTHOR'S NOTES: The search is on!
Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough
"I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet." – Timothy 2:12
At the crack of dawn the next morning, Stacie went to wake Beca and found the tired brunette already sitting at the kitchen table nursing a cup of coffee.
"I didn't get much sleep either," Stacie commiserated and walked over to the coffee pot.
She poured herself a cup and sat across from Beca.
"We have to find her," Beca growled.
"We will. No matter what…we will," Stacie stressed.
"THIS IS SO FUCKED! WHY?" Beca cried out.
While Stacie waited for Beca to elaborate, her thoughts drifted back to last night in bed with Aubrey.
After getting into bed, Stacie spent the better part of the night tossing and turning, internally kicking herself for not physically stopping Chloe from hugging Chicago. Aubrey lay in bed enduring what felt like a boat ride on rough seas. After half an hour, her patience wore out and she decided it was time to assuage her girlfriend's guilt.
"Stacie?" Aubrey softly called.
"Huh?" Stacie stopped tossing and turning.
Aubrey wrapped her arms around Stacie and reminded her, "Remember, we both agreed Chloe is an adult."
"Yes, but…" Stacie protested.
Aubrey cut her off, "No buts. You are not responsible. This fucked up mess is the sole responsibility of those three and bad luck. About a week after that asshole became part of this household, Chloe confided in me she worried that all the attention he paid her, would adversely affect what she was trying to build with Beca. She didn't know how to handle it. Chloe was absolutely certain about being in love with Beca, but she was also very hurt by Beca's request for time to think about how she felt."
"Why couldn't Chloe just reject him right away?" Stacie asked.
"Because of her upbringing, she couldn't outright reject him. Her strict father taught her good girls never talk back, especially to men," Aubrey answered.
"So Chloe is as emotionally scarred as the rest of us," Stacie muttered to herself.
"Yes. When anyone asks about her family, she gushes about them, so they assume she comes from a happy stable home. I thought so too until I spent a week with her at her parents' house. On the surface, they are exactly as she raved. A few days into our vacation, I saw the darkness beneath all the smiles," Aubrey shuddered.
"That bad?" Stacie asked.
"One evening during dinner, her father questioned her about a letter he received from her Russian Lit professor. The old fart wrote to notify her parents Chloe's grades were bordering on failing and was concerned it might be a behavior problem," Aubrey snarled.
Since her girlfriend rarely snarled like Beca, Stacie remained silent.
"Chloe was not having a behavior problem. She was having a professor problem. The old letch was pressuring her to have dinner with him, but she kept refusing. I told Chloe to tell her parents, but she told me she didn't want to "bother them." Back then, I didn't understand her reluctance. That evening, I understood it. The entire time her father spoke, it was in an eerie icy calm tone. Both Chloe and her mother kept their heads bowed and never looked up until he was finished speaking. When he allowed Chloe to answer, she told him the truth. He gave her a harsh look and accused her of lying! When I spoke up to corroborate what she was telling him, he informed me the matter was none of my business and asked me to leave the table," Aubrey shook her head.
"Did you leave?" Stacie asked.
"Yes…reluctantly. I went outside and sat on the porch swing until Chloe came out and joined me. I immediately noticed the angry red finger points on both cheeks from where he probably grabbed her face. When I asked her how she was, she smiled and apologized," Aubrey sadly answered.
Stacie shook her head.
"Like that perverted professor, the guys in Chloe's life always misinterpret her friendliness for more. And just like with her father, she rarely stands up to them. She doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, so she goes along with it and more times than not, ends up over her head. I've had to help her out of a few jams, but most times she just dates them until they get bored or start talking commitment. She told me it was easier that way. Chloe seriously doesn't like to think the worst of anyone, no matter how badly they behave. Personally, I think it keeps her safe from having to take an honest look at her father," Aubrey surmised.
After a few minutes, Beca yelled, "DAMN IT! I SHOULD'VE KEPT HER AWAY FROM HIM!" startling Stacie out of her thoughts.
"Beca, there was nothing either of us could've done, so stop beating yourself up over it. It won't do Chloe any good," Stacie put her hand on Beca's forearm.
"But…but…," Beca sputtered, knowing Stacie was right.
"Come on…it's time to find Chloe," Stacie stood, put her empty cup in the sink, and walked towards the basement without looking at Beca.
As Stacie and Beca were gearing up, Aubrey came downstairs and handed them two bags each, "I packed lunches and dinners for the both of you."
"Thanks…Po…Aubrey," Beca said and packed the food in her backpack.
Stacie kissed Aubrey on the cheek, "Thank you."
Aubrey pulled Stacie aside and softly demanded, "You better come home to me."
"I promise," Stacie smiled and kissed Aubrey on the cheek again.
They searched until sunset. Since the search area was clear of zombies all day, Stacie approved extending the search a couple of hours past sundown. Unfortunately, the search proved fruitless. They returned home exhausted and discouraged. Aubrey was waiting with a hot dinner and no criticism.
Beca and Stacie searched every single day from sunrise to sunset. If conditions were safe, they continued well past sundown. One day during the first week, they found the remnants of a camp. They confirmed Chloe and Chicago were there, because of the provision wrappers left behind. Stacie found a used condom covered with dirt but opted not to tell Beca. When she told Aubrey of her find that night in bed, Stacie held the distraught blonde as she cried herself to sleep.
Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months as the search radius grew wider and wider. During one search very close to a town, Stacie experienced her first close call with a zombie and it shook her confidence. If Beca had not been close by, Stacie knew she would not have been able to fulfill her promise to Aubrey. After that close call, she and Beca began packing assault rifles and pistols. The growing number of zombies alarmed Stacie. She wondered if they were losing the war against the undead.
After every unsuccessful search, Beca sequestered herself in the security room and poured over her maps of the area. She planned their routes and search areas with their safety as first priority. The next search area would take them close to Barden University, so Beca made sure to be extra careful in her planning and gave them more escape routes than usual.
During the search, they came upon a convenience store. Stacie and Beca scouted the building's perimeter as they usually do; each one taking a side and meeting in the back. When they arrived at the rear of the store, they found an electric motorbike leaning against the wall. They immediately went on high alert and scanned the area for the owner. After confirming the owner was not outside, they cautiously entered the store. As Stacie walked up the aisle towards the rear of the store, she grabbed some supplies off the shelves and put them in her backpack. When they reached the rear of the store, they found the owner of the electric motorbike, or what was left of the owner. There was not enough to determine gender. Beca searched the owner's pockets and found a set of keys. After grabbing more supplies, they cautiously exited the store and checked out their new ride. It had a full charge, so they decided to end their search early and ride it home.
When they rode into the basement, they surprised Aubrey, who was doing the laundry.
"Where'd you get that?" Aubrey asked, a bit startled to see them back early.
"We found it near Barden," Beca happily stated.
"You went to Barden?" Aubrey exclaimed.
"No, we went near Barden," Stacie clarified.
Beca was busy checking out their new find when she realized they did not have a charging cable for it and asked, "How are we supposed to charge this?"
Stacie opened her backpack and tossed a charging cable to Beca, "It was in the owner's backpack."
"When did you find the backpack? Was there anything else?" Beca asked.
"I found it on the way out of the store. There were a few candy bars and this," Stacie pulled out a digital music player with earphones wrapped around it and handed it to Beca.
Beca brightly smiled and cupped the digital music player in her hands, looking at it with reverence and exclaimed, "I have tracks again!"
"I thought you brought your portable music studio?" Stacie asked.
Beca looked down at her shoes and dejectedly admitted, "In all the chaos, I forgot to grab it."
Stacie leaned close to Beca and whispered, "Maybe we can get it when we search Barden."
"REALLY?" Beca excitedly asked.
"Really what?" Aubrey asked.
Stacie passed Beca something behind their backs. Beca glanced at it and stifled a laugh.
She held up a black hoodie and happily exclaimed, "It's Saeko Busujima from "High School of the Dead!" and slipped it on.
"How appropriate," Aubrey deadpanned and added, "Give it to me to wash."
"Why?" Beca asked.
Aubrey pointed to the blood on the sleeve. Beca quickly removed it and tossed it to Aubrey, who tossed it in the washing machine.