Surprise y'all! Double update! Thank you to everyone who has stuck around, and welcome to any newcomers!

Disclaimer:

Chicago: Hello Bellas! Welcome to Spain! I am Chicago –

Stacie: Like the Broadway show, the movie or the city?

Chicago: uhhh

Aubrey: Why are you here?! We're still years away from you even entering the picture! Just why? *despairs*

Lily: Can we throw him into a bear trap?

*everyone stares at Lily*

Beca (slowly): no Lily. Not Chicago. When we need that, we'll let you know, ok?

*Lily nods*

Chicago (gulps): soooo, may I say the disclaimer?

Aubrey: No!

*silence reigns supreme*

Alice: Starglow21 doesn't own Pitch Perfect, or any of the other films!

Beca: when did you get here?!

Alice (cheery): On with the show!

Chapter 14: Semis and the Desperate Need for A Cry

The Footnotes (despite the corny name) do scarily well. Fat Amy sums it up perfectly well, "We're screwed. There's not way we can beat both the Treblemakers and the Footnotes." "Shh," Aubrey's face is one of fierce determination.

Beca tries to tune it all out, choosing instead to admire Chloe's profile as she does vocal warmups. (Not creepily, mind you. Just little glances here and there.)

"You're up next Bellas."

"Where did he come from?!" Benji's jump scare comes out of no where, pulling chuckles from the depths of Beca's soul. The poor kid. Seriously, Bumper should have given him a chance.

The Bellas congregate on the stage, and prepare of the thousandth round of this song. When the sound system guy pulls out his phone, Beca can't help it, wow, rude. Do your freaking job dude.

The frowns on the judge's faces hits a weird chord in Beca. It stings. Especially the man with the brown hair. Beca takes a sharp breath, and commits the worsts sin in a capella history. She deviates from the Set Aubrey PlanTM.

Mixing in Bulletproof makes the judges smile (seriously, you guys suck. What good judge visibly reveals how they think about your performance?), easing the tightness in Beca's chest.

Then she sees Aubrey's white face. And the strangle hold comes back, Beca just barely pushing through to the end of this section of the song.

Throughout the song, Beca avoids Aubrey's eyes, avoids Chloe's eyes. One is furious, the other, she suspects, disappointed.

To Beca's disappointment, and relief, Fat Amy is not as exuberant during her solo as she had been at Regionals.

Once they're off-stage, Beca tries to flee as fast as she can. Volcano Aubrey is coming for her and she wants to get out of the blast radius. Sadly, another group is getting on the stage (seriously poor coordination that the two groups are bumping into each other like this), and Beca is blocked from freedom.

"What the hell Beca? Were you trying to mess us up?"

Boom goes the shot.

"In case you didn't notice, everyone just about dozed off during our set!"

Boom goes the returning shot.

They argue. Then, blind with rage, Aubrey snarls "And I know you're hooking up with Jesse!"

"Whoa Aubrey, chill. We're not hooking up." oh Jesse. Sweet, kind Jesse, who can't take a hint to save his life (even if makes things both better and worse at the same time), his support is appreciated.

Beca takes a deep breath. She wants to scream, to cry, to punch a wall. She grits out, "We will talk about this later when we are all calmer." Aubrey looks like she'll object, but Beca doesn't give her the opportunity. She leaves. Yeah, Benji calls after her, but she can't right now. If she did, she might snap at the poor boy. Something he does not deserve.

Beca hops on the bus and sits in the very back. Yanking out her earbuds, she blocks out the world. When the other board the bus, she doesn't acknowledge their presence. Even Chloe gets the cold shoulder.

BECHLOE BECHLOE BECHLOE BECHLOE BECHLOE BECHLOE BECHLOE BECHLOE BECHLOE BECHLOE

Beca takes Luke up on his offer to take the night shift. She plays the music she wants to. It's cathartic. She does what she's always done with music. It's how she works through emotions, how she deals with the difficulties in life.

It's how she coped with her father leaving and taking Alice with him. It's how she coped when she found out that he had replaced her and her mom with a blonde stepford wife and an equally blonde outgoing, little miss perfection step daughter.

It's how she dealt with her mother's miscarriage and loosing the brother she never had. It's how she processed her father reaching out to her after ignoring her for 10 years, asking her to attend the university he taught at.

And now? Now she mourns the loss of any semblance of a decent relationship with Aubrey, regrets the loss of a hope for a relationship with Chloe. Just like so many more relationships in her life, Beca looses two more.

As she goes through the many stacks, looking for more songs to play, her eye is caught by the CD soundtrack of Grease. Chloe had told her it was one of her and Aubrey's favourite movies. She stares at it for way too long.

Realizing that dead air was not a good ideal, Beca grabs the CD and plays the songs.

Beca can admit that they're fun, catchy songs, if a bit old. And yet, it inspires her to go to the library and borrow the movie.

For the first time in nearly 11 years, Beca watches a movie from start to end. She cries. She can see why the girl she loves and her step sister love this movie.

Feeling adrift, Beca seeks out one of the last people she though she'd willing contact.

"What do I do?" Alice's gentle brown eyes silently take her in, offering her a drink.

"I… I really liked being Bella. I really liked performing with them. Please Alice, what do I do?"

Alice tilts her head, "What do you want to do Beca?" Apprehension flashes across Beca's face. Alice simply waits.

"I want to sing with them again," Beca whispers. It comes out so soft, yet forcefully. Alice smiles, "Then I think you know what to do." Beca nods. The two sisters embrace, one offering the solace that she had wanted to give for years, the other finally allowing herself to forgive Alice for leaving.

BECHLOE BECHLOE BECHLOE BECHLOE BECHLOE BECHLOE BECHLOE BECHLOE BECHLOE BECHLOE

Chloe flinches at Aubrey's fury. Yet, at the same time, Chloe is also furious with Aubrey. How dare she insinuate that Beca was hooking up with Jesse. Aubrey knew full well that is Beca were to date anyone, she would be dating Chloe. The only things saving Aubrey from getting a massive bruise was the years of friendship between the two of them.

Chloe gave Aubrey the cold shoulder on the ride back to Barden. It hurt that Beca ignored her during that same ride. And yet, she got it. She didn't defend Beca. No matter how impressed with Beca she was, she didn't ever help.

Maybe, in some sick, twisted way, Chloe deserved this. She didn't defend Beca, she didn't force Aubrey to recognize Beca as a contributing member of the group. She allowed Aubrey's bias to rule her interactions with Beca.

Chloe feared their relationship was gone for good.

She could only watch helplessly as Aubrey angrily wiped the white board clean.

#review :)