+ XXVI +

The house Chloe had found was honestly perfect.

It was right next to this (actually kinda random) lake, enclosed by a bunch of other houses; Beca thought it was a bit funny that, pretty much directly across from their potential house, was the one the Treblemakers had bought at the beginning of the summer.

But, seriously, Beca was just pleasantly surprised by what Chloe showed her and Aubrey the day after their date. The place was spacious, with enough rooms for the nine of them even if some might have to double up or they got more members. It had a big kitchen and dining space and a cozy living room, where the front windows let in a lot of natural light. The front of the house had a green lawn and the back was pretty similar, just with a small deck. It was two floors but the attic had been converted into another bedroom. Beca had initially called dibs before both Chloe and Aubrey had whined about a whole number of reasons why it wasn't "perfect" and "wouldn't it be better if we took the master bedroom" because "who are we kidding if we all start out with relatively separate rooms?" - Chloe's words. She hadn't minced the subject that the three of them were technically, on all counts, together.

And, to quote her again, it "isn't like we've never shared a bed before, Aubrey."

So two weeks before school was to start up again the rest of the Bellas came back a bit early to take a look around for themselves and help make a final decision. It had been a unanimous yes. Beca was currently transporting her stuff (which wasn't much) from Aubrey's car and into the house, following the blonde and Chloe inside.

"This place is seriously the coolest!" Jessica called from the kitchen.

"Man, I can totally see like a nice flat screen right here," Cynthia-Rose said; she was in the living room with Lily. The house was mostly furnished already but it was just the necessities.

"We can worry about that later," Chloe said, not even slowing down on her way to the stairs and to the master bedroom. Beca passed her on the way and sent her a sheepish smile.

In a way they had all gotten what they'd wanted... except not.

Pretty much right before any of the rest of the Bellas had arrived, Aubrey had sat her and Chloe down to discuss how public they were going to be about their relationship. Beca didn't really want to think back on all the details, because she thought it was stupid that they weren't just all going to share a room. Aubrey and Chloe would share the master bedroom since that wouldn't be "suspicious", and Beca was going to stay in the attic room with Fat Amy. Which was cool, but was also going to require a whole lot of unnecessary sneaking around. Seriously, who was Aubrey kidding? Beca shook her head to herself as she stepped up the ladder to the attic; the ladder had been fixed so it was more like a permanent sort of staircase. Amy was already up there. Thankfully there were already two twin beds on either side of the surprisingly spacious room (they could both stand up to their full height, not that that was a super big problem for Beca, as short as she was) so they hadn't had to try to figure out how the hell to get beds up there themselves.

"Short stack!" Amy greeted, raising her hand in the air for a high five. Beca balanced the box she was carrying on her knee so as to not leave her hanging. "This is pretty cool, isn't it? Gotta hand it to ginger for thinking this one up," Amy added, referring of course to Chloe.

"Yeah, it's really awesome," Beca huffed, reminding herself to make it seem like she was maybe slightly winded from carting around all her shit. She set the box down on a desk; it had all her mixing equipment, otherwise she'd already brought up the two suitcases with the rest of her stuff, and her laptop case, which also sort of doubled as a backpack for classes. She plunked down on her bed across from Amy.

The Australian girl was giving her an odd look, lips pursed. "You don't really look all that excited about it, if I'm being honest with you..." she said carefully.

Beca shrugged. "I am, I'm just tired. I've been helping Aubrey and Chloe with a lot of this shit, and, like, most of it has just gone over my head, all that contract stuff and... I dunno, but thankfully Aubrey's basically a lawyer already," she rambled.

Amy nodded in a very slow, exaggerated manner. "You've been spending a lot of time with those two, huh?"

There it was - why they shouldn't have bothered with splitting themselves up, if only vaguely. Beca was not at all surprised that Amy quite possibly knew what was going on, and if that was the case she didn't doubt the rest of the Bellas knew as well. Still, she played it cool, not wanting Aubrey to be able to say she didn't try to keep their relationship on the down-low. "I mean, yeah. We're good friends," she said simply. Amy did not look impressed. "Uh, why don't we go downstairs and see if there's anything else we can help with?" Beca didn't wait for a response before getting up and going to the ladder.

"Right behind you, short stack," Amy said, but she sounded like she was tsking her and laughing at the same time. Beca ignored it. For Aubrey, she reminded herself, rolling her eyes lavishly while no one else was around to see her.

Downstairs, they found everyone in the kitchen, all with their own beverage of choice. It looked like all the moving was done, and just in time for it to start getting late. Chloe was on the phone ordering some pizza, and once she was done everyone drifted into the living room, conversing joyously. Before Beca could join them she heard Chloe come right up behind her, and the redhead's warm breath hit the shell of her ear and made her shiver.

"Can I see you over here for a second, Becs?"

Beca could only nod mutely and allow Chloe to drag her over to a full-sized pantry. She was lightly pushed aside and stumbled directly into Aubrey standing in the very back; the pantry was just barely big enough for the three of them to stand in, and it was only comfortable with the door open - so of course Chloe shut it behind her. She turned on the light and Beca squinted up at it for a second, then smirked at Chloe. She knew what the redhead was doing.

"What are we doing in the pantry?" Aubrey half-snapped, half-hissed in annoyance.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Is it too much to ask for just a second alone with you two?" she growled lowly. "God, Bree, I may never understand why you made Beca stay up in the attic."

"We literally haven't even been here for one night!" Aubrey cried.

"If you don't want anyone out there to possibly hear you, ya might wanna keep your voice down," Beca teased. She was quite enjoying her place between the two of them, with her back pressed right up to Aubrey's front, and Chloe almost just as close but also excruciatingly out of reach. She remembered how, after that first date, they'd agreed to take things slowly. That had worked for about an hour. Chloe was just too affectionate to not pepper Beca's or Aubrey's faces with kisses whenever she wanted to (which was often), or to not want to hold their hands, also whenever she wanted to (which was, again, often). Beca admitted she also struggled with it as well - they'd waited so long and she just really hadn't wanted to wait. She and Chloe had both tried, for Aubrey, and the blonde had caved after holding them both off for about three hours and twenty-two minutes. But she'd remained wary about acting like a couple (or were they a triplet, technically?) in public.

Chloe smirked at Beca and shifted closer the rest of the way so their fronts were pressed together in a really quite intoxicating way; she reached past the brunette to wrap her arms around Aubrey's neck. Sometimes Beca wasn't really sure if she was happy to be shorter than the both of them or not. "Beca's right, Aubrey," Chloe purred. As expected, Aubrey blushed lightly, her lower lip jutting out in a stubborn pout. "We really don't want any of the rest of the Bellas to hear us, because they absolutely don't know already that something's up between us."

Aubrey quirked an eyebrow and her eyes became hooded. "Chloe," she snapped.

"Ugh," the redhead groaned, stepping away and allowing Beca a little room to do the same. Beca begrudgingly shuffled forward a touch, frowning at Aubrey over her shoulder. "I hate your business voice..." Chloe pouted. She even went so far as to stomp her foot. "It always means you're about to tell us not to do something and ruin the fun..."

"Let's just act like adults, okay?" Aubrey sighed tiredly.

"Yeah, and hide our relationship from our friends, who are also adults," Beca snorted.

Aubrey gave her the same look. "Beca."

"Dammit, fine. Whatever. We're trying, but Chlo's got a point."

To her relief, and probably Chloe's as well, Aubrey visibly softened. She bit her lower lip and hesitated only about half a second before giving them both very chaste kisses. "We're going to have plenty of time to be with each other," she murmured. "It's not like we're never going to see each other. Beca just won't be in the same room as us."

Beca placed a hand over her heart, feigning hurt. "Aubrey Posen, do you seriously believe a hooligan like me won't be sneaking out of my room every night to join you and Chloe in yours? Honestly, what do you take me for?"

"Definitely a hooligan," Aubrey agreed without missing a beat. "Now come on, the others are probably wondering where we are. I don't need rumors to start going around before classes even start." She crossed her arms and tilted her chin up; Chloe grumbled something to herself Beca didn't even catch and opened the door, exiting first. Aubrey headed straight for the living room, but Beca hung back with Chloe for a second.

"We gotta get her to rethink these living arragements," Beca muttered, smirking up at Chloe. The redhead grinned back slyly and they shared a quick kiss of their own.

Beca didn't bother to sneak around that night, other than to get out and hunt a little, since she didn't want to upset Aubrey when the blonde was still a little high-strung from all the moving. Once she started to come down from that Beca hoped she wouldn't continue to be as weird, though she did expect that Aubrey would remain steadfast in her conviction that they didn't need to be "so public". Unfortunately, Aubrey's stubbornness was still pretty adorable and Beca loved that about her, even if it also drove her crazy at times.

She liked that the house was pretty spacious and therefore full of shadows, and when it was super early in the morning (aka midnight) the house was pretty much pitch black dark. That made it pretty easy for Beca to slip in through the door and close it silently, then dart swiftly up the stairs and the ladder into the attic. Amy was fast asleep, snoring every once in awhile, and mumbling incoherently. She and Beca had both agreed on buying a lava lamp for their room as a housewarming gift to themselves, and it glowed a soft but also sort of eerie red atop a bookshelf in the center of the back wall. Beca took off her boots, trying valiantly to keep her balance so as to not stomp around and potentially wake Amy, although she was pretty damn sure the Australian girl wouldn't even wake up if a truck drove right past her ear.

As Beca changed into clothes for bed, she felt a jabbing discomfort in her chest and it was so sudden and sharp that she doubled over in pain for a second, grunting. She placed a hand over her heart, digging her fingertips into the flesh. What was that? she wondered, glancing around. She'd never felt anything like it before, and something told her this wasn't going to be the only time she felt it, either. She moved to get into bed.

The stabbing discomfort shot through her again and she stumbled, crashing face first on her bed with a pained groan this time. Her vision went a little blurry and her head swam. It took quite a bit of effort to stand up, and again she looked around the room as if the source for whatever this was could be found in a dark corner. Not surprisingly, there was nothing. She tried to ignore it, but this time there was also a sort of after-hurt; it felt like she'd been kicked in the chest and there was a huge, smarting bruise covering the area, and it hurt to touch. Sighing to herself she carefully made her way down the ladder and slipped into the nearest bathroom.

Closing the door and turning the light off, she pulled her shirt down to look at her chest. There was no literal bruise, but there was still some blood around her mouth that she'd forgotten about, which wasn't a good thing considering she now had a ton of roommates and all of them were a hell of a lot more prying than Kimmy-Jin had been. She cleaned herself off and went back up to the attic. She made it into her bed without feeling another jab, but her chest now felt like it was too tight, like there was an extremely heavy weight on it. It reminded her of suffocation. Screwing her eyes shut, she tried to ignore it and fall asleep.

In the morning her body felt weak, and she was shaking and sweating profusely. Her head pounded like she had a migraine and in the back of her mind she pitied anyone who wanted to try to talk to her in the next hour or so; she was in such a bad mood she felt her fangs come out halfway on instinct. And she hadn't even gotten out of bed.

Luckily Amy was still asleep - it was right before nine - so Beca had no troubles getting downstairs to the kitchen for some water. She longed for the dulling affects of ibuprofen, but since she was an undead being, things like that didn't work on her. She remembered once feeling a bit cheated about all the medical advancements the world made when she'd never had anything like it when she was alive. Then again, that was back in the 1640's-1660's. She leaned against the counter and massaged her temples.

While Amy wasn't alone in sleeping in, a few of the others were up as well. Jessica and Ashley seemed to be outside on the deck, and Lily was playing a Nintendo DS with her headphones on in the dining room. Beca went back upstairs to retrieve her phone, but mostly she just wanted to check if Aubrey or Chloe were up. She could smell Chloe and hear her soft breathing, suggesting she was still asleep. Aubrey, on the other hand, wasn't in their room.

Beca got her phone and went down into the living room to lounge out on the couch, intent on trying to do something that might tone down her headache, shakes, and abnormal sweating. Lying there didn't work and after an hour of what was like napping for her she let out a groan and rolled over onto her side to curl into a ball.

The sound of the door opening got her attention and she looked up in time to see Aubrey walk in; she was wearing running clothes and her skin glistened slightly with sweat. Beca's heart remembered how to skip a beat somehow, and before she really knew what she was doing she was right in front of Aubrey and throwing herself at the blonde, wrapping her arms tightly around her waist. She smelled sweet.

"Beca - I'm all sweaty and gross, come on," Aubrey whined, but Beca was just glad she wasn't still complaining about being inconspicuous. Beca also refused to let go, and after a few more moments Aubrey let out a sharp sigh and returned the embrace. She pressed her nose into Beca's hair and the brunette felt a rush of calm; the shaking of her body reduced a bit. "You're all sweaty, too," Aubrey muttered as she pulled back.

Beca stepped back to give the blonde space and ran a hand through her hair. What was going on with her? She shrugged. "Yeah, apparently," she said uselessly.

Aubrey scowled in confusion. "I seem to recall that you don't sweat, though."

She was probably remembering the day Beca and Chloe had gotten into that strange race of sorts and had almost run the rest of the Bellas over due to their inhuman speed. Beca smirked, recalling how baffled Chloe had been that she couldn't smell her sweat. Now it was a humorous memory even if the situation had been a tad bit tense at the time.

"Beca? Are you okay?" Aubrey asked, concern lacing her tone like thick syrup, ripping Beca from her thoughts. She pressed the back of her hand to Beca's forehead. "You're shaking a lot..." she added almost under her breath.

"I'm fine," Beca assured her, though in all honesty she wasn't exactly sure about that. She reached up to take Aubrey's hand in her own, holding it between them.

Aubrey frowned. It would obviously take a lot more than that to convince her. "Have you eaten lately?" she asked, giving Beca's hand a small tug to indicate she follow her into the kitchen. Beca did just that, feeling a bit like a puppy in the way she trailed after the blonde (the same could be said for Chloe most of the time as well, but that also hit closer to home).

"Yeah, I went out last night," Beca replied.

"You're sure?" Aubrey reiterated slowly, slipping her hand away so she could go over to the cupboard where they'd put mostly just red solo cups until they got more actual dishes. She filled it with water at the sink, keeping an eye on Beca as she did so. "Not that I think you're lying to me, but since I've never seen you like this I'm naturally worried it has something to do with you having not eaten enough," she elaborated, flushing lightly.

Beca shrugged again. "I'm sure, Bree. Besides, this isn't even those kind of symptoms. I have absolutely no idea what this is." She cringed a little at the instantly panicked look that entered Aubrey's eyes. She should have known better than to say something like that. At the very least she could have phrased it a bit better so that she wouldn't create so much worry. But before Aubrey could do much more than open her mouth their attention was pulled to the sound of soft singing; Chloe practically skipped into the kitchen, grinning at them the second she noticed them standing there. Then she seemed to take in the gravity of the room and the grin thinned out to be replaced by an uncertain frown.

"Everything okay?" she asked, drifting closer. Her eyes flicked around very quickly and she ran a hand down one of Beca's arms and one of Aubrey's in a sign of affection.

"Something's wrong with Beca," Aubrey said.

"Hold on - no, that isn't true," Beca half-cried, holding her hands up as Chloe whirled on her with wide eyes. "I'm fine. I'm just-"

"Sweating," Chloe interrupted. Her nose twitched a tiny bit.

Beca let out a short huff and crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, and I'll admit that's pretty weird, but I'm already feeling a lot better than I was this morning," she growled lightly. And it was true - the second Chloe came up to them Beca realized she wasn't shaking anymore, and her headache was much duller. Suddenly, it dawned on her what all this could be. She took a second to glance around as well, making sure Jessica and Ashley were still outside and Lily was still listening to music. "Okay, I think I actually have an explanation, and now that I think about it, this totally makes sense. I'm basically having withdrawal symptoms," she said.

"Withdrawal from what?" Aubrey asked in a slightly higher pitch.

"You two."

Realization lit up Chloe's eyes and she said, "Ohhhhh..."

Aubrey looked back and forth from her to Beca. "What? I don't understand."

"Vampires don't just form relationships with anyone, Bree. If we find someone and develop very strong feelings for them, we start to also feel what we call the 'sire effect'," Beca said, keeping her voice low. "I've mentioned that I can't be too far away from Nadine for super long periods of time, because we're so deeply connected. The same is going to start being true for the three of us - except, like, ten times worse. Or more. What I'm saying is that I'm probably going to start feeling withdrawal if I'm not around the two of you pretty much constantly."

"Werewolves are actually very similar," Chloe tacked on, nodding, and it was one of those rare times wherein she looked completely serious. "It's how we know the relationship is going to be very real, more than just... dating, I guess. But unlike vampires, I'm going to start being able to feel what you two feel. And it'll get really confusing, at least according to my mama. She said this is how she knew my dad was going to be her mate."

Aubrey paled just a fraction, and Chloe looked like she regretted bringing that up, but the blonde swept on. "Okay, so does this mean we literally have to be with each other twenty-four/seven for the rest of our lives?" she asked. To Beca's relief she sounded more curious than freaked out, a good sign if there ever was one.

She shook her head at the same time Chloe did. "I mean, it's going to be difficult when we're not together a ton, but the feelings won't be as strong for very long," she said.

"They start to fade and are really only brought up in pretty specific circumstances, because they will always remain," Chloe added.

"Exactly." Beca found it interesting that they had this in common as creatures.

Aubrey still looked a little confused, though not necessarily in a bad way (not to Beca, anyway). She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Well... what can I do to help those feelings not be so strong? Or awful?"

Chloe immediately snapped into a wolfish grin. "You could-"

"Hey guys," a voice interrupted them, making Chloe jump; Beca had heard the footsteps approaching and figured the redhead had too. They turned to see Stacie enter the kitchen. She smiled at them kindly and said, "Cynthia-Rose and I were thinking we'd go out and do a little shopping. I thought I'd let you guys know since you're basically the ones in charge."

Aubrey waved a hand in dismissal. "I'm sure whatever you two decide to buy will be fine. I trust you to make good enough decisions together."

"Yeah, don't worry about it," Chloe tacked on, looking pretty riled up all of a sudden.

Stacie nodded. "Okay. We'll go after breakfast." She went and got something from the fridge, one of the few things actually in there, and went out to the back deck. Beca could tell, based on her hearing and smell, that Cynthia-Rose was up now as well, but she'd gone straight into the living room instead. That just left Amy still asleep. Beca didn't think she was going to wake up any time soon, and she smirked briefly in amusement.

Chloe growled irritably. "Now that she's gone-"

"Let's go upstairs," Aubrey interrupted gently, and she led the way up to the master bedroom. She shut the door softly and went to her dresser. Their bedroom had its own bathroom, making a total of three bathrooms in the house. A bundle of clothes in her arms, she turned back to them, reaching up to take her hair down from its ponytail. Beside her, Beca felt Chloe's body warm up a notch. She forgot for a second that Aubrey was looking at them expectantly, one eyebrow raised patiently.

"Oh," Chloe croaked, and she cleared her throat, shaking herself in a way reminiscent of a dog. The earlier grin quickly returned and she sauntered up to Aubrey. Beca arched an impressed eyebrow at the way the blonde didn't even blush this time. "I can certainly think of a few ways you can help," Chloe said, and without further ado she pulled Aubrey in for a kiss.

Beca gasped in a mixture of surprise and a feeling that cut deeply through her; part of her body just didn't know how to react to what she was looking at, and the part of her that did pretty much wanted to crumple to the floor. She kept upright, though. Somehow.

The kiss didn't last too long - they still respected Aubrey's wish to not go super fast - and Chloe stepped back. Again she didn't waste any time in crossing back over to Beca, cupping her face with both hands and kissing her hungrily. Beca could feel her body thrumming and her own shivered. She vaguely caught the sound of Aubrey sighing, and once Chloe pulled away she was a little surprised to see the blonde standing a lot closer to them, the clothes she'd grabbed on the floor. She glanced swiftly to Chloe and pulled Beca close, taking her turn in kissing the brunette. This time Beca was a bit more prepared; she exchanged a subtle glance with Chloe, and while Aubrey kissed her she allowed her hands to roam a little, only really up and down her back and arms. Chloe stepped closer and moved Aubrey's hair off her neck - Beca opened her eyes for a second to see her gently bite down on and lightly tug her earlobe.

Aubrey's body reacted instantly. She shuddered violently and made a strangled sort of noise that Beca swallowed, taking the opportunity to deepen the kiss.

After a few more moments Aubrey pulled away a bit jerkily, simultaneously sucking in a heaving breath. She was very flushed and Beca could pretty much feel the coursing of blood in her veins; if she hadn't eaten just last night, the feeling would have driven her right up the wall. Instead she was able to control herself. She leaned back a little but kept her arms wrapped around Aubrey's waist. Chloe's hands were on her hips, and she retreated from Aubrey's neck. There was a small red mark on her flushed skin right where her jaw met her ear.

Aubrey made a nervous sound that very well could have been a laugh. She was smiling, so at least Beca didn't think they'd gone too far too quick.

Chloe nuzzled into the crook of her neck. "Thanks, Bree."

"I-I didn't do anything," Aubrey stammered. Her body trembled a little, and she shook her head as she disentangled herself from the two of them. "I really need to shower before anything like that happens again," she scoffed.

"Again?" Chloe echoed, perking up hopefully.

Aubrey gave her a simpering look and turned back towards the bathroom without a word, retrieving her forgotten clothes on the way. She shut the door and a second later the muffled sound of running water came through.

Beca slinked an arm around Chloe's waist, prompting her closer, and kissed her jaw. "You should probably get something to eat," she murmured.

Chloe smirked down at her. "I don't know if my hunger can be satisfied."

"I know how you feel," Beca chuckled, "but it'll be worth the wait."

Sometime later in the day, Beca sat at the kitchen counter on her laptop, replying to an email Nadine had sent her. Her sire was still knee-deep in the trial concerning Ned and Vivianne - it wasn't surprising that it was taking so long, since they were the prince and princess. For now. The recent development was that Darragh and Hedevi had relinquished their roles in the trial, leaving it up to the Council to decide what happened to their sired. Apparently Beca informing her sire of how Vivianne had Chloe tortured was sort of a breaking point for the king and queen, and they no longer believed they would be able to make a worthy decision without, in layman's terms, getting too emotional over it.

Beca hit send and glanced up at the sound of footsteps approaching, recognizing Aubrey's scent right away - she used a very specific shampoo and body wash. The blonde smiled at her in greeting, but she was also frowning. "What's up?" Beca asked.

"I was looking for Chloe to ask her if she's seen my math textbook from last year. It isn't with the rest of my books," Aubrey said, sounding distracted.

Closing her laptop, Beca hummed, trying to think of where she'd last seen the redhead. She'd mostly been helping Stacie and Cynthia-Rose after they got back with not just some much needed groceries, but also some other common household appliances like actual dishware. And a TV. Beca intended on asking how they paid for it all at some point. Anyway, she recalled that, after hooking the TV up, Chloe and Stacie had gotten pretty wrapped up in some reality show.

"Did you look in the living room?" she said to Aubrey. Based on what she could hear from the room (though she tended to tune most things out, for her own sanity) the same show was still playing. She slipped off her seat and walked up to Aubrey. The blonde still looked really distracted, and didn't even seem to have heard her. "Bree? You okay?" Beca asked gently, resting a hand on her lower back and rubbing it in small circles.

Aubrey smiled at her and sighed lightly. "Sorry. Yes. I was just spacing out. Did you say the living room?" she said.

Beca nodded. "She's watching something with Stacie. What do you need that textbook for, anyway? I mean, you're not taking the class again this year, are you?"

"No, and seeing as I don't need it, I thought I could just sell it," Aubrey replied with a shrug, turning in the direction of the living room. Beca followed her a bit more slowly. There was clearly something on Aubrey's mind, and she could tell it had pretty much nothing to do with the textbook. Perhaps it was just the culmination of stresses over moving and how close their return to classes was.

Chloe looked away from the TV the second Aubrey and Beca walked in. "Hey, what's up?" she asked cheerily. On the screen Beca could see a group of people, split evenly between young men and women, who all appeared to share the same house. It was just one of those typical reality shows with over-exaggerated drama. She could see, though, how it could be addicting. Stacie only spared them a glance before returning her total attention back to the TV. It looked like she was possibly paying special attention to one or two of the young men in particular and the hints of a smug smirk tugged at her lips.

"Have you seen my math textbook from last year?" Aubrey asked.

"Uh," Chloe drawled, brows knitting. "I... don't think so? Why?"

"I just need it."

"Maybe you left it at the old apartment."

Aubrey's scowl returned, harsher than before, and she shook her head briskly. "I don't forget things, Chlo. It was probably just misplaced."

Quirking an eyebrow for about a second, Chloe got up from the couch. "Why don't we just check at the old apartment before you start tearing up the rest of the stuff we haven't dealt with," she suggested kindly.

"But if we look through the boxes first we can just get things out and put them away."

"Aubrey. Come on. It's even more unlikely for you to have disorganized something than it is for you to have forgotten it." Chloe gestured toward the door and herded Aubrey and Beca out, shooting the brunette a questioning glance. Beca nodded to say she would in fact be joining them. "I'll drive," Chloe added, and she grabbed Aubrey's car keys. The blonde rolled her eyes but nevertheless went out to her car. Beca got in the backseat.

It was a really short drive (the campus was damn close), but it took Chloe a little bit longer to get a key back from the dorm supervisor.

"Okay," she half-grunted, unlocking the door to their old place, "we gotta make this quick, 'cause someone's coming by to move in." Aubrey passed her swiftly, making straight for her old bedroom. Chloe gave a light huff and put her hands on her hips; Beca moved to enter, but an awkward feeling coursing through her body made her immobile She stepped back.

"Damn," she hissed.

Chloe practically whipped around, causing her hair to swish. "What's wrong?"

"You guys don't own this place anymore. Unless you can get the dorm supervisor up here to invite me in, I'll have to stay out in the hall."

Chloe laughed and frowned apologetically. "Sorry, Becs. This really shouldn't take too long though. I can wait out there with you, if you want."

Beca shook her head. "Nah, you better help Aubrey find that textbook before she has a stroke." With a quick nod Chloe moved away from the doorway; Beca stuffed her hands in the back pockets of her jeans and turned so she wasn't just staring at the open door, since that would probably seem odd to passerby. She gazed down the hall, first one way, then the other. It was pretty quiet, although with her hearing she could tell that someone else was moving into an apartment in the floor below them somewhere. She shifted so she was leaning against the wall next to the door, hiking a foot up and holding it against the wall as well. Pulling her phone out from her jacket pocket she opened the one game app she had.

Close to a half-hour went by and it didn't sound like Aubrey and Chloe were making any progress; she could hear Aubrey making a snappy comment as she guessed they headed into their living room area. She bit her lip, wondering if there was any way she and Chloe could relieve the blonde of some of the stresses she clearly held. Then again, there really seemed to be something fairly specific that had dampened her mood throughout the day. Beca ran through a mental list of possibilities for what it could be, but the sound of nearing, soft voices interrupted her. She glanced to the side to see a couple in their late forties, perhaps even early fifties. A young man who looked more like he was in his early thirties and who was probably their son trailed after them, a slightly irritated, forced smile on his face. They walked in Beca's direction at a slow pace, the couple talking to each other in hushed whispers. Beca, in respect to their privacy, didn't bother trying to make out what they were saying.

The woman looked up as they got closer and noticed Beca standing there. Both her looks and the way she carried herself were pretty intimidating. She had blonde hair, bangs cut straight across her forehead, the rest of it up in an intricate bun. Her clothes looked expensive and were the style of a comfortably well-off housewife. She had a pearl necklace and matching earrings. She smiled at Beca - it was a bit too patronizing for Beca's liking, and she returned it very quickly, her nose scrunching up in an accidental start to a sneer. Her husband next to her had slightly receding brown hair with a bit of gray in it, and neatly trimmed stubble that was definitely more gray than brown. He wore an immaculate suit and looked perpetually unhappy. Beca noticed a really expensive watch on his left wrist. The young man behind them had platinum blonde hair that was styled in a pretty impressive Mohawk. He wore much more casual clothes - blue cargo shorts and a light gray t-shirt, and sandals - and glasses with rectangular black frames. His features were sharp, resembling his mother's.

"Hello," the woman greeted, and the three of them came to a stop a few paces away. She gestured to the still open door. "Do you live in this apartment?" she asked.

"Uh, no," Beca said. "Sorry, are you who's coming to move in?"

The woman scowled in confusion; beside her, her husband leaned forward a touch. "As far as we're concerned, someone's already living here. Our daughter," he said sharply.

A bit of dread nearly made Beca wince, and she stiffened instinctively. At the same time she moved on autopilot to make herself seem less like a delinquent, although she wasn't entirely sure how she could accomplish that. "You're Aubrey's parents?" she asked. Her voice came out a touch high-pitched and she wanted to kick herself.

"Yes. Is Aubrey here?" Mrs. Posen said.

Beca jabbed a thumb at the open door. "She's - yeah, she's here."

Hardly a second passed after the last word left her mouth and Chloe suddenly appeared, grinning at Beca and not noticing their company. "We found the book! It was under the couch. Probably my fault, in all honesty," she chirped. Her nose gave a little twitch and she turned to see Mr. and Mrs. Posen, and Aubrey's brother (Beca assumed) behind them. To Beca's minute surprise she actually appeared to pale a little, and the smile she offered them was shaky. "Oh," she said, laughing nervously, "h-hi."

Mrs. Posen's eyes narrowed for a second. It was the clearest disapproval Beca had ever seen. She stepped forward, probably to brush Chloe aside and enter the apartment, but thankfully that was the same second Aubrey exited with a textbook in her arms. She noticed her parents and brother a hell of a lot faster than Chloe did, and hesitated in closing the door the rest of the way. Unlike Chloe she didn't pale, nor did she blush - the two reactions that were most typical of her. Instead her expression morphed into something blank that reminded Beca of a mask; she got a bad feeling, and it only increased when Aubrey's lips pulled up into a smile much like her brother's. Slightly irritated, forced, and eerily polite.

Beca and Chloe exchanged a glance, both shifting away from the family. Beca didn't need her heightened senses to be able to tell just how hostile and tense the air had turned the second Aubrey recognized her family standing there. She just wished she and Chloe didn't have to be in the middle of it - she had sorely underestimated not only Aubrey's apparent resistance to seeing her parents, but also how strong her parents control over her was. Hardly even a minute had gone by and Aubrey already looked like an entirely different person. Beca also noted, with a touch of regret, that she understood where Chloe's frustrations with the blonde's parents came from - and they hadn't so much as officially met.

This was definitely going to be interesting.

A/N: We've already spent some time with Nadine and Chloe's family; I thought it might be nice to introduce Aubrey's *cackles maniacally*

But seriously, this was one of the plot points I actually planned on including in this. Hope you all will look forward to how it plays out! Please keep reviewing, favoriting, and following! Your reviews give me life and motivation. Till next time, y'all.