A/N: Enjoy!

Chapter 21: I Hate It When You See Me Cry

"And that's why I've never been in a relationship."

Stacie chuckled.

"I never thought that actually counted as a reason."

"Oh, shut up." Aubrey nudged her shoulder. "What about your love life?"

"No, we're not going there." She said. "Where are we going? Are we going through here?" She reached over to shove the leaves of the bushes away.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT." Aubrey grabbed her wrist before she did.

"What?"

Aubrey pointed at the thorns on the branches.

"Don't touch that, use a stick if you need to shove plants."

Stacie walked around the bush.

"Geez, I didn't see that."

They walked for a few minutes in silence, looking up to the trees to look for any fruits.

"You didn't answer my question, though." Aubrey said, still looking up.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, now she's being shy!"

"Seriously, zip it!" she laughed.

Aubrey tripped over some roots and landed with her hands in the mud on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Stacie helped her up.

"I'm fine."

"Karma's a bitch." she joked.

Aubrey tried to rub the mud off her hands by rubbing them against the bark of the tree which roots she fell over.

"I find it oddly amusing that it's such a sensitive subject for you." she glanced daring at her.

"Okay, you know what? Fine, I'll tell you."

"Finally! Tell me about how many boyfriends you had."

"No, it's not that, I just…"

"Just what?"

"I have never been in a relationship."

"What?!" Aubrey's eyes were wide.

"It is true!"

"You are totally bullshitting me!"

Stacie shook her head.

"But how?! What about that guy you hooked up with, like, a week ago?"

Stacie remembered the small blonde guy.

"Mike? No, not Mike. What was his name again?" Stacie shrugged and then continued. "He wasn't anything serious. We both were looking for some fun and that was it."

"What?! And what about the guy who picked you up after rehearsals a few weeks ago?"

"No, God, please no, Avery got behind on maths and I'm helping him out."

"Math, seriously?"

"Yeah! It's not that weird!"

Aubrey looked at her unbelievingly.

"And we may or may not have had the occasional hook ups afterwards, but that doesn't mean-"

"You are the worst!" Aubrey cried out but laughed afterwards.

They looked again for a while.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Aren't you already?"

"I'm serious."

"Fine, ask me anything."

"Did you… and Cynthia…?"

Stacie stopped walking and looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"No, it's okay." Stacie took a deep breath. "Cynthia and I have, wait, had a very special relationship. I know she liked me. And she knew that I didn't like her that way. But instead of making things difficult for the both of us, she decided to keep her feelings for herself and to be the best friend I could ever wish for. She was always there for me. She helped me through a lot of tough times, she was there to pick me up after a party when I felt terrible, she was there when I called her in the middle of the night when I felt down. She stood up for me when people called me a whore or bullied me for having so many affairs."

She buried her face in her hands. Aubrey wanted to say something, but Stacie asked her to let her finish first.

"I only take people home when I feel lonely and left out and having sex makes me feel wanted and loved again. She was the one who made me realize that there were people I could talk to so I wouldn't feel alone again."

"She always took care of me. She knew I couldn't ever be for her what she wanted me to be and that was okay with her. She never pushed me or anything, or took advantage of me, she just was there for me."

"Stacie, I didn't know you had to feel this way." Aubrey hugged her. She seemed so small.

"And now she's gone." she cried. "And I'm never going to be able to repay her for what she did for me."

They talked about her. They talked about Stacie. They talked about the life they had and the lives they could have had before they stood up and continued searching. Aubrey didn't dare to ask anymore questions. There was this awkward atmosphere she couldn't put her finger on.

"What's that?"

It looked like a concrete wall, overgrown with mosses and a tall fallen tree that blocked what it seemed the wooden door. The small building was well hidden, and it was unnoticeable if they hadn't almost bumped into it. The building was so small that there was barely room in the building for one person standing straight. They both wondered what it could be and what would be inside.

"Let's check it out!" Stacie spurred towards the door and tried to move the tree from the entrance so they could enter.

"I don't think…"

"You should stop thinking and start helping me."

Aubrey and Stacie tugged and pulled at the fallen tree and tried to shove it away from the door. As they finally had removed the tree, they saw that the wooden door was marked with a large red cross which marked the whole surface.

"A red cross marks the treasure doesn't it?"

"I have a really bad feeling about this."

"I can go alone, you stay here and guard the entrance."

"No! I'm not letting you go alone!" Aubrey protested.

"Then you're coming with me!"

Stacie pulled the door open. A light green snake darted out the crack of the door as she opened it and disappeared into the wild. They stared into the ground, in a large, black hole. The little room was nothing more than a staircase that lead to something underground. Three steps of the staircase where illuminated by the daylight, the others were pitch black as the room they lead to.

"We're so not going in there without a light source."

"But I want to know what's down there!"

"Stacie, you'd probably fall down and break all the bones in your body."

"But-"

"We'll come back tomorrow and bring some light with us."

Stacie sighed. "Fine."

A few miles further...

Beca touched her forehead where the wound was healing.

"You look like Harry Potter when you do that." Chloe giggled.

"You gotta be kidding me, you are such a dork!"

"Seriously though, don't touch it, you might get some bacteria from your hands in your wound."

"Ay, chief." she winked. "Hey, I'm gonna go there and take a leak, be right back."

"I've seen you naked before you know!" she yelled at her while she walked away.

"Don't look Beale!"

"Fine!" she turned around as she grinned. Her grin soon disappeared when she realized she was basically alone again. She looked around her, but there was no sign of Beca. The world became dark as if suddenly the night had fallen or as if somebody had put out the lights. A strong wind arose and played with her hair. She heard a ringing sound in her ears, which caused her head to start pounding. Her heart was in her head and her brains were beating the same way as her heart did.

"Chloe…"

She turned around.

"Who's there!"

Thud, thud, the beating her head answered. She rubbed her temples, trying to understand what was happening.

"It's your fault she doesn't love me!" she heard Jesse's voice shouting in her ear. She screamed and anxiously turned around again, but she didn't see anything. The world became pitch black. She couldn't see a thing. The rushing of the trees was drowned out by whispers. They were everywhere. Everywhere around her, inside her, in her nose and in her mouth, in her arms and in her fingertips. She couldn't make out what they said, but they were whispering to her. Their voices became more violent as the world turned even darker than it was before if that was even possible. The world became more distant and emptier as if she was removed from the earth and lived inside the dark place inside her head.

"IF YOU SCREAM AGAIN I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU HEAR ME?!"

Chloe cried out in fear and pain as she tumbled on the ground. She felt how two strong arms around her tried to stop her from struggling, but in the darkness she couldn't see who it was. It had to be Jesse. Jesse was here to hurt her again. He probably killed Beca as well.

She struggled to break free, but her arms were being held against her torso so she couldn't hit or punch her offender.

"Let me go!" she cried.

"Chloe! Chloe, wake up!" That voice sounded so familiar. "Chloe please wake up, it's me!"

And she did want to wake up. She tried to get rid of the black fog before her eyes and to shut out the whispers who were still laughing at her.

"Chloe!"

Chloe opened her eyes and saw through her tears the small brunette holding her with all her strength to stop her from hurting her or herself.

"Beca?"

They were sitting on the ground. Beca sat on her knees and she held Chloe tight on her lap. She buried her face in the fabric of her shirt as she sobbed uncontrollably. Beca held her and pressed Chloe's head against hers, thinking that she wouldn't ever let her go again.

"What the hell happened Chloe?"

A/N: Thank you for reading and letting me know what you think! See you in the next one! :D

~Blue