Chloe

Chloe smiled as she walked into the rehearsal room on Sunday. She'd just gotten off of the plane and had taken an Uber to her apartment. She'd dropped her bags there and headed directly to campus. She was a little late, but it wasn't her fault her flight had been delayed. The group was excitedly cheering as Aubrey handed out papers.

"The aca-gods have looked down on us, and they have given us a second chance," said Aubrey.

"Shalom!" Fat Amy exclaimed.

"I texted Beca," said Chloe after quickly scanning the bleachers to see if Beca was there.

"You did what?!" Aubrey asked.

"She makes us better."

"That's not an opinion for you to have, Chloe."

"Why? Because it's not yours? You're not always right, you know," said Chloe, proud of herself for finally standing up to Aubrey. She was disappointed that Beca hadn't been there to see her. She supposed her girlfriend had made her choice.

"We will win without her," said Aubrey.

Chloe wished Beca had come to the rehearsal to ask for her spot, but even she couldn't argue when Beca wasn't even there.

"Places, everyone!" called Aubrey, clapping her hands.

The group practiced nearly non-stop for an hour before Aubrey stopped in frustration and lashed out at the group.

"Okay, stop," said Aubrey. "What is happening to us? Chloe, you sound like you smoke three packs a day. Stacie, you're so behind on the choreography. And Jessica and Ashley, it's like you haven't even been around all year!"

"Aubrey, really?" asked Jessica.

"We've literally been here the whole time," said Ashley.

"Aubrey, please, just give us a break. It's kind of not the same without everyone here," said Fat Amy.

"We need Beca," said Cynthia Rose.

"Maybe if Aubrey loosened the reins a little bit-" Chloe began.

"Okay, shut it, Chloe!"

"Whoa," said Stacie.

"Oh, I'm sorry. That was rude," said Aubrey. "Chloe, could you please get your head out of your ass? It's not a hat."

"Aca-awkward," said Fat Amy.

Aubrey clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Again!"

Chloe noticed the sad faces of the group as they half-heartedly started the routine.

Beca

Beca dropped her mom off at the airport on Sunday and headed back to her apartment. She was still trying to decide whether or not to go to practice and ask Aubrey to take her back. She saw Jesse's car in the parking lot, so she grabbed his copy of The Breakfast Club and headed up to his place, figuring he'd at least open his door to get his movie back.

Beca knocked on his door. "Jesse, I know you're in there. I can smell popcorn," she said. "Jesse, come on. Open up. I have your movie."

Jesse opened the door with a sigh and took the DVD from Beca's outstretched hand. "Hey," Beca called as he began to shut the door. "I tried to call you. I left you a bunch of messages." She grabbed the door in hopes that he'd try and listen to her.

"Yeah. I got 'em," replied Jesse.

"I'm sorry that we fought. I was mad and I overreacted. I'm just-Aubrey makes me crazy."

"Seriously? You think I'm mad because you yelled at me?"

"No, I know-"

"No you don't know. You think you know, but you don't. You push away anyone who could possibly care about you. Why is that?"

"I don't know," Beca admitted.

"Well, you better figure it out, because I'm done with our friendship until you do."

"Jesse -"

"I'm done," he repeated, shutting the door.

Beca stood in shock for a beat. She thought for a second before heading to her dad's, knowing it was probably the only place she could go.

Beca was relieved when her dad answered the door.

"Hey, Dad? Can we talk? I need some fatherly advice."

"Of course, Bec. Come in," he said.

Beca looked around as they walked into the kitchen. "Is…?"

"Sheila's not home right now. She should be back shortly, though."

"Good," said Beca, breathing out a sigh of relief. "I mean, I...I just really needed to talk to you, and I'd rather do it alone."

"Okay, what's going on?" he asked, pouring each of them a cup of tea.

Beca told him what had happened at the semifinal competition - her improvisation, Aubrey's reaction, and how she'd stormed off and quit the Bellas. "The week before Spring Break was so lonely," she said. "No one's more surprised than me, but I really liked those weirdos."

"And you thought quitting was the answer? After you made a commitment to them?" he asked.

"Really? You're going to talk to me about the sanctity of commitment?"

"Come on, Bec. That isn't fair."

"You left us," said Beca. "You left me."

"You're right, I did. It was not my finest moment. But I worked so hard to make things right between us. I saw you as much as I could. I called. I learned how to text, but you just shut me out."

"Yeah, well, I shut everybody out. Don't take it personally. It's just easier."

"It's also really lonely," he said. "Look, Bec, your mom and I...we didn't work. So I made a really hard decision. But Beca, leaving you was the saddest day of my life. I should have...Well, I'm still trying to make it up to you. It's probably why I've been so stingy about you going to LA. So if that's what you still want, you go to LA. I'll support you."

Just months ago, Beca would have been thrilled to hear those words out of her dad's mouth. But now, she wasn't so sure.

"What do I do?" asked Beca.

"That's up to you. This is one of those hard decisions. But, speaking from personal experience, if you're going to leave something you care about behind, make sure you do it the right way."

Beca nodded.

"You know I'm proud of you, right? No matter what you decide."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he said.

Beca gave her dad a hug. She sat back down and drank some of her tea, still thinking, when Sheila came in.

"I'm home!" she called.

"Excuse me," said her dad.

She heard him walk out to the foyer and murmur something to his wife. Beca decided to give the woman another chance.

"Hi, Sheila," said Beca.

"Hi, Beca. I owe you an apology. I was brought up believing...well, a lot of things that I don't anymore. I've had several long talks with the pastor at our new church, and I think I understand now. Love is love, right?"

"Yeah, that's a good start. And, I'm sorry for name-calling."

"Apology accepted. So, would you like to stay for dinner?"

"I would, but I think I need to get to Bellas' practice. I'm already late. Can I take a raincheck?" asked Beca.

"Of course," said Sheila.

"Okay, I really need to get going. Thanks for the fatherly advice, Dad!"

"Anytime," he said. "And, Beca?"

"Yes?"

"Bring Chloe when you come over for dinner next time. She's your girlfriend, isn't she?"

"How did you know about that?" she asked.

"I see your face when you talk about her," he said. "I know my little girl, even though you're all grown up now."

"I'll ask, but I'm pretty sure she'll be thrilled to come over."

"She was a joy to have in my class last spring," said her dad.

"Yeah, she said she really liked your class."

"One more thing, Beca?"

"What?"

"Let me know when and where Nationals are. Sheila and I would love to watch."

"I will," said Beca.

As she walked to her car, she got a text that brought a smile to her lips.

BA: Good news! I'm finally a Treble!
BM: Awesome!
BM: How?
BA: Bumper is out, and I'm in
BM: Amazing news, Benji

Aubrey

Aubrey had been thrilled to finally get a chance at redemption. However, after a good hour or so of practice, the group was a mess. They didn't sound good, especially Chloe, and even her own girlfriend was making one mistake after another on the choreography. She'd expected Chloe to complain about Beca not being there, but she'd been a little surprised when several other members of the group agreed.

Beca had made her choice, it seemed. She hadn't come to practice, and Aubrey was absolutely not going to beg her. A Posen didn't beg. Ever. Well, unless Stacie was involved, but that was a different story.

Aubrey had made the group rehearse, over and over, with very few breaks. She was sure that they'd finally get it right if they kept practicing and really tried. However, they somehow seemed to get a little worse with each repetition of the routine.

She was surprised when Chloe actually argued with her in front of the group. She'd told Chloe to get her head out of her ass and had them run the routine again before anyone could say something.

Once they'd completed another run-through that had only been marginally better than their performance at SBT, she'd started to give what she felt was constructive criticism. Chloe went off on her again.

"I have been there for you for so many years, and all you do is treat me like shit!" Chloe yelled.

"All right! Okay! Just, shut up! Everyone!" exclaimed Fat Amy.

The group all turned to look at Amy.

She continued. "Come on. I joined this group so I could hang out with some really cool chicks. And also because I was really sick of all of my boyfriends, and I really need to get away from all of that." The group exchanged looks of surprise. "But...this is some serious horseshit. Stinks everywhere. I don't want to be like the old Bellas, those girls on the wall!"

Cynthia Rose agreed. "I want to be who we are now."

"Me too," said Lilly. She'd been close enough to Aubrey that she'd, for once, been able to understand her.

"We should have listened to Beca," said Chloe. The group began to gather their things, apparently all deciding they were done for the day.

Seeing this happen and hearing Beca's name again only added to her anger and anxiety. She felt her stomach begin to twist as it always did when she was stressed. She hoped she could keep everything down.

"Oh, so it's my fault," Aubrey retorted.

"No, that's not what I'm saying-" Chloe replied.

"No, no, no! That's what you're all thinking, isn't it? That I'm the jerk, the girl obsessed with winning!" Aubrey felt the bile rise, and she had a feeling she wasn't going to be able to stop it.

"Aubrey, you're too controlling, and it's going to ruin all of us!"

Aubrey decided to just own what was about to happen. "Hey, I can lose control if I want to! I can let go! This time I'm not going to choke it down!"

And, Aubrey let it go. She vomited more than she'd probably ever vomited in her life. Most of the girls screamed and headed for the bleachers.

Chloe egged her on. "Come on! Bring it! You can do better than that!"

"Enough! Enough!" Fat Amy screamed as the rest of the group went for higher and higher bleachers to avoid the projectile vomit.

When Aubrey finally stopped, Chloe yelled, "We could have been champions!"

Chloe took off to chase Aubrey. As they ran circles around the puddle, Chloe screamed, "Give me the pitch pipe, you bitch! Give it to me!"

Fat Amy grabbed Aubrey and picked her up in what was probably an attempt to break up the fight. Lilly then grabbed Fat Amy to try and pull her off of Aubrey.

She continued to try to get all of them off of her, yelling, "Never! Never!"

The group finally stopped when they heard Beca walk in, yelling, "Guys! Guys, stop! What is going on?"

Beca

Beca couldn't have predicted what was happening at the Bellas' rehearsal when she finally arrived.

There was a huge puddle of vomit in the middle of the floor, and Lilly was lying in it making "vomit angels." Chloe, Aubrey, and Fat Amy were piled up on the floor, all trying to reach the pitch pipe, and Stacie was blowing her rape whistle while Cynthia Rose groped her ass.

Aubrey snatched the pitch pipe from the floor and stood up, brushing herself off. "Nothing," she said. "Nothing. This is a Bellas' rehearsal."

"I know," said Beca. "I just...wanted to say that I'm sorry. What I did was a really dick move, and I shouldn't have changed the set without asking you guys. And I definitely shouldn't have left. I let you guys down, and I'm really sorry. And...Aubrey, if you would have me, I want back in."

The other Bellas all looked at Aubrey, but the captain of the group didn't speak. Beca waited for a few beats before grabbing the chair by the piano and dragging it out, as Mary Elise had been made to do at the first rehearsal.

She slowly walked toward the door, looking over her shoulder. She really hoped that Aubrey would change her mind or that Chloe would step in if she didn't.

She even heard Fat Amy whisper, "Aubrey…" and she spotted her shooting the captain a pointed look.

She was almost past the bleachers when Aubrey finally called, "Wait!"

"Thank you. That would have been embarrassing," said Beca.

"I know I've been hard on you, Beca. On everybody. But I'm my father's daughter," said Aubrey. "And he always said, 'If at first you don't succeed, pack your bags.'"

The group just looked at each other, a few murmuring, "That's rough" or "That's crazy".

"I get it. Mine gets on me, too. Not like that, but…" Beca looked around. "I guess we really don't know that much about each other. I don't know much about any of you, really, other than Chloe."

Stacie piped up. "Well, I'll confess something that most of you don't know about me." She took a deep breath. "I have a lot of sex."

"Yeah, we know, Stacie," said Fat Amy.

"With Aubrey," she added.

"Stacie!" Aubrey exclaimed.

Most of the group looked back and forth between the two of them. "Stacie, I think maybe you two should have more sex. Aubrey's still awfully uptight," said Fat Amy.

"Wait, this is a good idea. That was a terrible example but a good idea. Let's go around the room. We can all say something about ourselves that no one else knows."

Cynthia Rose stood up. "Okay, I have something. This is hard for me to admit to you guys."

"I think we know where this is going," said Fat Amy. "Lesbi-honest."

"For the last two years, I've had a serious...gambling problem."

"What?" asked several members of the group.

"It started when I broke up with my girlfriend," said Cynthia Rose.

"Whoomp! There it is!" exclaimed Fat Amy.

"I still love you," said Denise, quietly.

"Anyone else?" asked Beca.

Lilly raised her hand. "I ate my twin in the womb," she said. Beca was relieved when she didn't repeat herself, even after several others asked her to.

"Okay," said Beca. "Fat Amy?"

"I'm an open book. For God sake, you all call me Fat Amy. I guess I'm not really living if I'm not being 100% honest. My real name is Fat Patricia."

"I worked spring break at the radio station," said Beca.

"We know!" said everyone except Aubrey.

"Stacie, you didn't tell me?" asked Aubrey.

"Wasn't my news to share, and I've seen enough of the two of you facing off not to want to be involved," said Stacie.

"Fine," said Beca. "I...was nominated for a Tony when I was twelve."

"You were nominated for a Tony for that?" asked Chloe and Aubrey at the same time.

"Yeah," said Beca. "Hold on a minute. You guys knew?"

"I googled everyone's name before sending out invites," said Aubrey. "I don't want anyone with skeletons in their closet." She pulled out her phone and pulled up Beca's old Playbill. She held it out to the group.

Stacie immediately grabbed the phone from her girlfriend. "Oh my god, look at little Beca!"

Before Beca could say or do anything else, the group gathered around Stacie, all remarking at how adorable Beca had been.

"You were twelve?" Fat Amy asked.

"Yeah," said Beca.

"You look like you were eight."

"Shut the fuck up," said Beca.

Fat Amy pulled out her phone.

"What are you doing?" asked Beca.

"Looking to see if this is on YouTube."

"Oh, god, no. Please don't." Beca had found a video of herself on YouTube from the show a few years ago. She was relieved that only two scenes had made their way to the Internet, and that the video was poor quality. There had been a higher quality version of her big musical number, but it was no longer up on YouTube.

"Oh my god! That's you, isn't it?!" exclaimed Fat Amy. She turned her phone to show the video of a tiny Beca, hair in pigtail braids, singing with a group of adults. After that song, it showed her clad in pink, and speaking French. Beca hid her face in her hands while the rest of the Bellas watched the video in awe.

"Do you still speak French?" asked Stacie.

"Fuck, shit…" said Beca. The other Bellas laughed.

Stacie turned to Aubrey. "So, what did you find when you googled my name?"

Aubrey grabbed her phone. "This," she said, pulling up the bikini picture from Stacie's modeling days.

"Nice," said Cynthia Rose. "Aubrey, you are one lucky bitch!"

"You're damn right," she said.

"So, that's me," said Beca. "Someone else please go."

"We're dating," said Jessica and Ashley at the same time.

"Am I the only one here who's straight?" asked Fat Amy. The others exchanged glances.

"Well, that's one way to keep most of us out of the Trebles' pants," said Stacie.

Chloe stood up. "My turn. Over spring break, I made the courageous decision to remove my nodes. The doctors tell me I can't sing above a G-sharp. Maybe ever. I thought the season was over." She burst into tears.

"Come here, Chloe," said Beca, pulling her crying girlfriend in for a hug. "It's okay."

Aubrey stood up. "Beca, what do we do?" She tossed Beca the pitch pipe, which she did not catch because she still had one arm around her girlfriend. Everyone gasped when it rolled in vomit.

"I'm sorry," said Aubrey.

"Maybe not here," said Beca.

"I'll call maintenance about...this," said Aubrey.

"What about the pitch pipe?"

"I've got more," she said.

"Okay, everyone," said Beca. "Let's meet at the empty pool in two hours!"