A/N: Thank you for your patience while I wrote for Bechloe Week. Let's head to the semifinals!

Beca

The groups shuffled into the auditorium, somehow managing not to arrive as close to their performance time as they had to regionals. Beca was relieved that the Trebles had been able to pick them up so quickly.

When they got backstage, however, the entire group was nervous as they watched a group called The Footnotes performing. They were polished and performed "Blame It on the Boogie" by Jackson 5, somehow sounding even more upbeat than the original. They even had performers who could do flips. There was no way they could beat them, and Beca wasn't the only Bella worrying.

"Where'd he come from?" Stacie asked. Aubrey shushed her.

"It's over," said Fat Amy. "There's no way we can beat the Footnotes and the Trebles."

They continued to watch as the group performed. Their moves were far more complicated than anything the Bellas had done, and they looked professional. The audience cheered wildly when they were done, and Beca saw the judges smile.

"Aca-huddle. Now," said Aubrey. "The top two teams go to the finals, so we just have to beat one of them. If we do it exactly as we rehearsed, we'll get there. Okay? Exactly." She very obviously looked at Amy as she said the last word. "Hands in."

"On three, or after three?" asked Stacie.

"Screw it. Let's just do it," said Aubrey.

The announcer introduced them, and they took to the stage.

They began their set, and Beca couldn't help but notice that the audience looked incredibly bored almost as soon as they started. The sound guy was on his phone, and the judges were shaking their heads as they made their notes. She thought of an idea, and she decided to go for it when she glanced backstage to see the Footnotes mocking them. She shut her eyes for a brief moment before layering the chorus of "Bulletproof" in when Aubrey began her solo.

Chloe glanced back at her for a split second, grinning. A few of the others looked a little thrown, but Aubrey seemed to be the only one actually upset with her. Amy flubbed her choreography a little and exchanged a few more confused looks than were probably necessary, but everyone else seemed okay. Aubrey continued her solo, throwing Beca a pointed look several times, but somehow not messing up the choreography. The judges, however, looked impressed.

Aubrey threw her another glance as they ended "The Sign" and Beca chose to just leave the rest of the set alone. She knew Aubrey was probably going to kill her for this, but she thought she'd made a nice improvement.

The rest of the set continued without incident, and Amy managed not to remove any of her clothing at the end of her solo.

Beca wore a big grin as they exited the stage, figuring the group would thank her for improving the set and saving the performance.

"What the hell, Beca?" Aubrey asked. "Were you trying to screw us up?"

Beca chided herself for thinking Aubrey would be proud of her. She must not have noticed the judges' reactions.

"Are you serious?" asked Beca.

"News flash. This isn't the Beca show," said Aubrey.

"Okay, I'm sorry that I messed you up, but, in case you hadn't noticed, everybody had pretty much dozed off during our set," Beca replied.

"It's not your job to decide what we do and when we do it," said Aubrey. "Why don't you ask the rest of the group how they felt about your little improvisation?"

Beca glanced around, noticing none of them would meet her eye - not even Chloe. This hurt far worse than the venom Aubrey was spewing at her.

"Amy?" called Beca, hoping maybe she'd be on her side.

"It was cool," said Fat Amy. "But, it did take us a little bit by surprise."

"Yeah, a lot by surprise," said Aubrey.

"Mmmm, a little," said Fat Amy, quietly.

"I told you she wasn't a Bella!" Aubrey exclaimed to Chloe.

"Aubrey, don't-" Chloe began.

"No," Beca said, cutting her off. "That's okay. You don't have to pretend you're allowed to have a say in the group, right?"

Chloe looked hurt. Beca felt a little bad bringing this up in front of the others, but she was aggravated that her own girlfriend couldn't even come to her defense.

Aubrey continued to yell at her. "Your attitude sucks, you're a Grade-A pain in my ass, and I know you're helping the Trebles."

Just as luck would have it, the Trebles had just come backstage. "Whoa, whoa, Aubrey calm down," said Jesse. "She's not helping us. I swear!"

"Jesus Christ, that's perfect. Of course you're here right now. I don't need your help, okay? Can you back off?" Beca lashed out at Jesse.

"Like we'd want some Bella helping us anyway. We don't want to sing your girly shit!" exclaimed Bumper.

"Trebles, time to bring the pain," Benji called.

"If this is what I get for trying-" Beca said. She stormed off, not even bothering to finish the statement.

"Beca?" called Benji. "Beca, wait."

Beca continued on her way out of the auditorium, hurt that Benji was the only one calling for her.

"Beca!" called Benji.

"What?!" She spun around to see Benji dangling her car keys.

"I thought you might want your car."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"It's okay," said Benji. "I'll take an Uber or something."

"Thanks," said Beca.

"Text me when you're back safely, okay?" he asked.

"Will do," said Beca.

She drove back to her apartment, enjoying being alone with her thoughts for a little while. She knew she'd have to talk things out with Chloe eventually, but, for now, she needed to be away from the Bellas and everything a cappella.

She got back to her apartment, texted both Chloe and Benji to tell them she'd gotten home safely, and then texted Luke. Maybe a night at the club would be just what she needed. He replied, telling her the name and address of the club. He said if she texted when she got there, he'd get her in. Beca didn't have a fake ID, so she hoped he was right.

Beca drove over to The Garage and found Luke standing at the door next to the bouncer. He looked at her and asked, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just done with those girls," Beca said.

"Oh, she's with me," Luke said to the bouncer, jerking his thumb toward the club. The bouncer nodded, and Beca followed Luke into the club.

"I can't believe how much time I wasted on that a cappella shit!" Beca hollered over the music.

"Music is music," said Luke. "But, the a cappella stuff, that's just upsetting."

"Yeah, but, when it's done right, it's actually pretty great," said Beca, surprised to hear herself actually defending a cappella.

"Great is what you're doing," said Luke. He turned to look at her. "Listen, Spring Break in the booth, I want you to do the night shift. Play your own stuff. Do whatever you want, but the place is all yours, Becky."

"It's Beca," she finally corrected Luke.

"What?" asked Luke.

"My name. It's Beca. Not Becky. Well, it's actually Rebecca, but I've never gone by Becky in my life."

"Well, that's weird. Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know," said Beca. "Why did you decide to play my music, anyway?"

"Well, I finally listened to it because Jesse kept bugging me. And, I thought it was solid. He's a relentless kid. Oh, yeah, and Chloe texted me once or twice about it, too." Beca simply nodded, taking all of this in. "So, how do you feel about hanging together again at the club some other time?"

"What?"

"Like, on a date, or whatever?" asked Luke.

"Well...no. I'm flattered, but, I'm gay and dating Chloe." As Beca said this, she realized she wasn't quite sure where she and Chloe stood. This was neither the time nor place to figure this out, so she didn't elaborate.

"I did not know you were a lesbian."

"Well, I don't exactly sky write it," said Beca.

"Weird. Well, anyway, can I count on you for the night shift for Spring Break? I know it's last-minute."

"Yeah, I can do that," said Beca.

"Well, I'm going to go hang for a bit. You're okay to look after yourself?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Beca. She made sure to take small sips of the beer Luke had gotten her. She knew she'd have to drive home, and she didn't want to risk having enough alcohol in her system to get into trouble.

Beca bopped along to the music, lost a bit in her thoughts. It was then that she realized she'd agreed to work at the station when she was supposed to be home in Seattle with her mom. She decided she'd call her mother after she left the club, taking advantage of the three-hour time difference.

Once midnight rolled around, Luke was nowhere to be found. Beca set her beer down by an empty barstool and headed outside. She sent him a quick text to tell him she was heading out and she'd catch him at the station the next day. She called her mother while sitting in her car in the parking lot.

"Hi, Beca. It's late there. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Mom. I was out."

"How did the competition go?"

"It was...I don't want to talk about it."

"That bad?"

"I really don't want to get into that tonight."

"Okay," said her mom.

"So, the station manager at WBUJ offered me a spot to work the night shift during Spring Break."

"And you want to take it, right?"

"I kind of already did," said Beca. "But I can tell him no."

"Go ahead and work during Spring Break. It's okay."

Beca thought of a great idea. "Hey, Mom, do you want to come here and visit me? I bet I could get Dad to transfer my ticket to you."

"Okay, let's do that," said her mom. "I'll let you and your dad work out the details."

"Thanks, Mom," said Beca. She was so excited that she'd get to spend some more time with her mother, and she'd get to finally play her music.

She drove back to her apartment, deciding she'd better head to bed. A part of her was so excited to play her music that she wanted to make a new mix, but another part of her was just exhausted from the night.

Chloe

Beca had just stormed off. Chloe felt so, so guilty. She'd actually been pretty impressed with her girlfriend's "little improvisation." She really should have stood up to Aubrey, and now she'd really messed things up with Beca.

"Aubrey, that actually went really well," Chloe said. Unfortunately, she'd only managed to work up the guts to say something after the door had shut behind Beca.

"Chloe, stop!" Aubrey yelled back at her.

"Oh my god," said Chloe. "Okay." Now she had both her best friend and her girlfriend angry with her.

Aubrey stormed off, Stacie following her. Chloe decided she'd rally the rest of the group.

"Okay, ladies, let's head back to our seats. Now is the time for bathroom breaks if you need them."

"Yes, Mum," said Fat Amy, rolling her eyes.

Chloe sent Beca a text while she waited for the others to use the bathroom.

C: I know you're mad at me but please let me know you got back okay

Chloe decided to let things be. She checked to make sure the rest of the group was ready, and she led everyone to their designated seats in the audience. Stacie and Aubrey were already seated. Aubrey looked like she could throw up at any minute, and Stacie was holding her hand and whispering in her ear. It looked like it was helping a little.

Chloe crossed her fingers when they announced the awards that, maybe, by some miracle, the Bellas had managed to qualify for the finals.

This, however, was not to be. They'd gotten third. Aubrey bolted out the back door of the auditorium, Stacie following. The rest of the group looked dejected. Jessica burst into tears, consoled by Ashley (or, was it the other way around? Chloe couldn't remember whether Jessica or Ashley was the blonde).

Chloe didn't think the group would be able to endure the teasing from the Trebles, so she made the executive decision to order two UberXL's back to Barden. It was pricey for sure, but it was worth it to her. She figured she and Aubrey could split the cost of whatever the joining fees hadn't covered. She'd have to figure out what to do with the bus they rented the next day.

The Bellas split into two groups for the rides back. Chloe rode with Jessica, Ashley, Cynthia Rose, and Denise. Aubrey rode with Stacie, Fat Amy, and Lilly.

Aubrey's group was picked up first, and Chloe only waited a few extra minutes for her driver. The guy asked why they were all dressed alike, and he only snickered a little when they'd replied that they were leaving a collegiate a cappella competition.

The ride back was pretty quiet. Chloe imagined the rest of the group was about as disappointed as she had been. She texted her mother to tell her that the season was over. Her mother told her that she'd scheduled her for nodes surgery during Spring Break, figuring she'd just delay it if the group went to the finals. She said she was sorry things hadn't worked out, but relieved that they'd be correcting the problem sooner rather than later.

Beca texted Chloe to tell her she'd arrived home safely and that she needed some space. Chloe replied that she was glad she was safe and decided to respect her girlfriend's wishes by not commenting any further.

Chloe was relieved that Aubrey and Stacie had waited for her to arrive at Barden. She'd contemplated asking the Uber driver to take her to her apartment after dropping everyone else off.

She got back to the building and saw Beca pull out of the parking lot in her car. Chloe ached to know what she was doing, but she reminded herself that she'd agreed to give her some time to work through her feelings.

She followed Stacie and Aubrey into the apartment, immediately entering her bedroom. Chloe put in a pair of earbuds and listened to some music, wishing she was with Beca.

Chloe decided to take advantage of the laundry facilities usually being available on Saturday nights, figuring she could also take a peek at the parking lot. This ended up making things worse when she saw Beca's car hadn't yet returned.

Chloe ended up watching some reruns of The Bachelor while waiting for her laundry to finish. Each time, she looked for Beca's car, worrying more and more each time she didn't find it.

Once the last bit of her laundry was finished, Chloe went to bed. She spent most of the evening tossing and turning.

Aubrey

Aubrey had been nervous before they'd even walked onstage. She'd tried to act like she thought they had a chance to make it to the finals, but, after she saw the Footnotes, she knew the only way that was happening was if the Trebles messed up.

Still, she was the slightest bit hopeful when they began their set. Chloe sounded great, despite having nodes. Maybe Beca's hot teas were helping. She'd barely had the time for that thought to go through her head when she heard Beca adding her own layer to the set - and during Aubrey's solo! It figured the girl wouldn't mess up Chloe's solo. She managed to shoot her a look after "The Sign." She hadn't added anything else to the set, and the rest of it was performed as originally rehearsed.

After they'd gone off the stage, she'd let Beca have it. Just as Aubrey expected, Beca thought she'd improved things. Beca had said the audience had dozed off during her set, but Aubrey had actually been too nervous to notice. The rest of the group actually hadn't been as upset as Aubrey had been. She reminded Beca that she wasn't in charge. She reminded Chloe that she'd told her Beca wasn't a Bella. Beca had also pointed out that Chloe hadn't been allowed to have a say in the group, something Chloe had been pointing out to Aubrey for months.

The Trebles walked in during the altercation, and Aubrey had accused Beca of helping them. It had actually been a ridiculous accusation. There was no way Bumper would have ever agreed to such a thing - something he'd immediately pointed out.

The next thing she knew, Beca had stormed off. Chloe had tried to tell Aubrey that she'd thought it went well, but that was the last thing she needed to hear at that point. She walked out, making sure to go in a different direction from Beca. She heard footsteps behind her, and was relieved to see Stacie when she whirled around.

"Come here," said Stacie, pulling Aubrey into a hug. "It's okay, Aubrey. It's okay."

"It's all over. The season is over," Aubrey said as she cried into her girlfriend's shoulder.

Stacie simply kissed the top of her head and rubbed soothing circles into her back.

When Aubrey gained a bit of control of herself, Stacie gently said, "Let's go find our seats, okay?"

"Yeah," said Aubrey, dabbing her eyes with the tissue Stacie produced out of her purse.

They sat down, Aubrey trying to slow her breathing and push down the nausea that was threatening to make itself known. Stacie held her hand and murmured calming things in her ear.

The second the announcer called that they'd gotten third place, Aubrey bolted toward the nearest bathroom, knowing she could no longer fight the nausea. She found a trash can just outside the seating area, and she barely made it in time. She glanced over at the ladies' room and saw a long line, so she'd have never made it to a toilet in time.

Stacie produced another tissue from her purse for Aubrey to wipe her mouth as well as an item Aubrey didn't even know existed.

"What's this?" asked Aubrey.

"Travel mouthwash tablet," said Stacie. "Go to the bathroom, put it in your mouth, and swish and spit."

"Where did you…?"

"I bought some a while ago. After I saw what happened last year, I found these and put some in my purse. Just in case."

"You're something else, Stacie."

She left, went to the bathroom, and cleaned out her mouth. She felt better, at least physically.

Chloe met up with her when she left the bathroom. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Not really," said Aubrey.

"Look, I was thinking we should probably split two big Ubers back. I don't think I want to ride the Trebles bus."

"Fine," said Aubrey. They both ordered UberXL on their phones, and Chloe split the group.

The Uber back was quiet, save for the music the driver was playing. She sent the rest of the group back to their dorms, glad when Stacie insisted on staying with her.

Chloe's ride showed up a few minutes later, and she drove the three of them to the apartment. She spotted Beca leaving in her car as they pulled in.

Aubrey and Stacie headed to Aubrey's bedroom once they got in, and Chloe went to hers. Stacie simply held Aubrey as she cried. She'd wanted so badly to redeem herself, and she was heartbroken that it wasn't to be.