A/N: I had fun with this chapter. I hope you guys like it. And for everyone who has been asking for more Staubrey for AWHILE now. Your voices have been heard.
Chapter 36: Fearsome Foursome
Stacie knocked on the door to Aubrey and Chloe's room and was a little relieved to find Chloe absent. Aubrey glanced up from her laptop and took off her glasses.
"Oh don't take off the glasses at my expense." Stacie winked unnecessarily flirtatiously. Aubrey just blushed and set the glasses on the desk.
"What can I do for you, Stacie?" Aubrey asked with an air of professionalism.
"I wanted to see if you wanted to come somewhere with me tonight. I have a friend from high school who's having a performance and I'd promise to go and bring a friend." Stacie sat at the foot of Aubrey's bed, making herself comfortable.
"What kind of performance?"
"Well…" Stacie bit her lip. She was hoping Aubrey wouldn't ask that because she knew Aubrey would most likely say no if she knew what it was she was signing up for. "It's um...a strip club." Stacie mumbled nearly inaudible.
"What?"
"A strip club." Stacie sighed and looked at Aubrey pleadingly.
"No." Aubrey scoffed. "No way."
"Please Aubrey!" Stacie put a hand on Aubrey's shin. "I'll make it worth your while." She added a wink on the end and smiled proudly when Aubrey blushed for the second time in two minutes.
"Watching other women dance around half naked is not my idea of fun." Aubrey deadpanned at the brunette.
"Oh, please. It happens at least once a week in this house."
"Not the same."
"Come on, please Aubrey." Stacie let her thumb run over Aubrey's shin back and forth, grinning when she felt goosebumps appear.
"Fine, I'll see if the bellas want to join."
"Oh, all the bellas?" Stacie quickly sat up, trying to hide the disappointment. She really had planned it to just be her and Aubrey and see where the night went.
"We can make it a bella night."
"I think most of them have plans already." Stacie shuffled nervously on the bed, knowing that at least a few of them would be down to join in going to a strip club. Especially Fat Amy. And as much as she loved the hefty Australian, that was not the vibe she was going for for the night.
"Well we can ask. It won't be mandatory or anything." Aubrey shrugged. Stacie sighed and pursed her lips together, trying to think of a different excuse. She reluctantly got up to go ask the bellas, hoping they all had plans already on short notice.
Emily had dinner with her parents. Flo, Jessica and Ashley had movie tickets. Lilly was nowhere to be found. And Stacie thanked her lucky stars that Fat Amy had back to back dates or else she would have been all over it. CR had a date that night, but seriously considered bailing to go to a strip club, but ended up keeping her plans. She was trying to be a better girlfriend. That just left Beca and Chloe. Stacie was pretty sure Chloe wouldn't be on board with going to a strip club with Beca. She nearly had an aneurysm when Stacie had given the brunette a lap dance.
Chloe had gone down a deep and dark rabbit trail of Taylor Swift videos. She was watching some of her performances from music awards or other live venues besides her concerts.
"Becs! Even you have to admit this is really impressive." Chloe tapped Beca's arm repeatedly until Beca finally looked away from her phone.
"You need to stop watching those videos."
"Why? They're fun." Chloe whined.
"I know what you're doing. And you're going to be disappointed." Beca gave her a warning look.
"What am I going to be disappointed about?" Chloe looked genuinely confused and slightly worried.
"You're trying to figure out how to make bella choreography look that awesome and it ain't gonna happen." Beca shook her head with a grin.
"Have you no imaginition?!" Chloe flailed dramatically on the counter, keeping her head pointed at Beca.
"Oh, I do. But I also live in a really cool place called reality."
"I'm too cool for reality." Chloe huffed and flipped her hair over her shoulder pridefully.
"Chlo, I love you, but you are not cool." Beca tried to keep herself from laughing, but when Chloe pouted and lunged at her she couldn't hold it in. Chloe kept swatting at her and trying to tickle her when Stacie came in with raised eyebrows. They both caught their breath and sat back in their regular positions at the counter, greeting Stacie with bashful grins.
"Any plans tonight guys?" Stacie entered the kitchen, disrupting their playful argument.
"Nope. Why?" Beca responded. Stacie hesitated, she really wanted to have the night alone with Aubrey, so she didn't want to even give them the chance to say yes. But she knew Aubrey would double check and she'd get caught.
"Well me and Aubrey were planning to go to a strip club. If you wanted to join." She said the second sentence a little quieter.
"Totes!"
"Hard pass."
Beca and Chloe spoke their answers at the same time and then quickly whipped their heads to look at each other.
"I'm not going to a strip club." Beca scoffed.
"I think it'd be fun!" Chloe smiled excitedly.
"Really?" Stacie asked, looking closely at Chloe. "You freaked when I gave Beca a lap dance. You really want to take her to see professional strippers?"
"That was different." Chloe rolled her eyes. "You had been flirting with her. I think it'll be hilarious watching her squirm for real strippers. Plus, maybe I can learn a few tips." She turned and winked slowly at Beca that instantly made the poor girl blush bright red. Stacie chewed her lip for a minute. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. It could be like a double date, although a secret since Aubrey wouldn't exactly know Stacie was considering it a date. And Aubrey might not be as awkward or uncomfortable being one on one. It was always best to take some of the pressure off.
"So you two are in?" Stacie looked back and forth. Chloe wrapped her hands around Beca's arm and gave her that pleading look.
"Fine. Yeah, we're in." Beca groaned, not sure what she had gotten herself into for the night.
"Cool." Stacie grinned as she went to go tell Aubrey, not before making a whipping noise and gesture towards Beca earning her a not so scary glare.
They entered the club, Stacie clinging to Aubrey's arm almost dragging her along, Chloe doing similarly with Beca. Beca was fairly confident the embarrassed red tint on her cheek was doomed to become permanent with this experience. She kept her eyes down, avoiding any and all eye contact with everyone, trusting Chloe to walk her to wherever they were going.
They found two small tables side by side. Stacie gave Aubrey a nudge to sit in a chair opposite her while Choe dragged Beca down onto her lap. Beca slapped playfully at Chloe who was literally groping her in front of everyone around them.
"Keep it in your pants, woman." Beca fixed her shirt as she slid down into the chair beside Chloe.
"I can't help it." Chloe leaned over to whisper in Beca's ear. "Half naked women really turn me on."
"God." Beca let out a puff of air, getting more and more nervous and they'd only just arrived.
Stacie brought a pitcher of margaritas over to the tables to share. Then she squealed and nearly made everyone spill when she saw her high school friend, Marissa come out on stage. Marissa gave her a quick wink and wave before continuing on with her routine. Beca literally chugged her first margarita and decided she was going to need a lot more where that came from if she was going to survive this night.
As the night went on and they became more buzzed, Chloe and Stacie were getting more and more excited about the prospect of one or more lap dances for at least someone in the group. Chloe also was getting more and more handsy with Beca with each drink. Beca was about to combust with confusion feeling overwhelmingly turned on by her girlfriend beside her yet awkward and nervous with a bunch of half naked female strangers prancing around her.
Marissa came over on one of her breaks, wearing a long coat. Stacie jumped up to give her a hug and introduce her to everyone.
"This your girlfriend?" She nodded at Aubrey, who immediately started choking on her drink that she unfortunately chose to take a sip of in that moment. Stacie just laughed, watching the blonde get flustered. "Or are you back to guys? I can never keep up with you." Marissa giggled as Stacie gave her a friendly slap on the arm.
"Back to guys?" Aubrey could barely contain her surprise. "You...you've dated girls?"
"Uh, yeah." Stacie said like it was obvious before falling back into her seat. Aubrey just gulped, deciding not to say anything else for fear of sticking her foot in her mouth.
"Hey, Marissa, how much for a lap dance for my...not girlfriend." Stacie winked and Aubrey immediately turned bright red.
"First one can be on the house." Marissa also winked at Aubrey making her wonder how many more times this night she would be subjected to a flirtatious wink that made her chest feel weird. It was really annoying.
"Why don't you get the lap dance?" Aubrey huffed at Stacie.
"Please, who do you think she practiced on before she got the job? I've had enough." Stacie waved her hand as Marissa playfully flipped her off.
"Alright, blondie. I'll be back." Marissa let her hand linger on Aubrey's shoulder as she blew her a kiss that might've been just a little too flirty for Stacie's liking. Chloe and Beca exchanged a knowing look accompanied by raised eyebrows, but weren't going to comment on anything just yet.
"Thank you for bringing me here." Aubrey mumbled as she quickly turned to face Stacie. The blonde was clearly flustered and turning a bright shade of red Beca had never seen on her before.
"Oh, calm down." Stacie waved her hand as if nothing mattered, clearly ignoring the irritation that had flashed across her face just moments ago. "You need to loosen up anyway."
"Stop saying I need to loosen up." Aubrey grumbled as she tried to find an area to rest her vision, but everywhere she looked seemed to have some half-dressed woman. She folded her arms and glanced down with a little embarrassed pout.
"You know, you and Aubrey have a lot of similarities." Chloe leaned to say into Beca's ear, making the younger girl gasp in horror.
"If you plan on getting any tonight you take that back!" Beca pointed a threatening finger at Chloe who just pulled her in for a kiss so thorough it made her forget what she had been so affronted about.
"I'll go get another round." Stacie said, close to Aubrey's ear above the music. "I'll be right back."
A few minutes later, just as Stacie returned with another pitcher of margaritas, so did Marissa. Only this time she was dressed more suitable for her job than regular decency. Stacie seemed to tense up when she brought a drink to her lips and watched Marissa give Aubrey a playful nudge to sit back in the chair to let her do her work. Stacie hadn't really thought this through.
Chloe glanced at Beca with wide and excited eyes before turning her attention to her poor blonde best friend who clearly wanted to squirm away from the position she was in. Aubrey kept jolting her head back each time Marissa rolled against her and tried to press her boobs in her face. Stacie was watching with a mix of emotions. She loved seeing Aubrey squirm, but she didn't quite care for the look Marissa was wearing on her face as she grinded against the blonde.
Chloe couldn't really take her eyes off the performance. She wasn't turned on by it necessarily. There might be some thoughts it was stirring inside of her that might be turn ons, but they all included Beca. She was more focused on the performance from a learning perspective. She still owed Beca a lap dance and wanted to make it as memorable as possible. Chloe was really impressed with Marissa's muscle control and voiced as much, shouting praise over the music at the girl. Marissa happily turned to her without missing a step and smiled.
"Thanks! Its a combo of pilates and kegel exercises." She flashed Chloe a wink before returning her gaze down at Aubrey. Chloe then noticed the slight scowl appear on Stacie's face.
"Hey, you okay, Stace?"
"What? Yeah. Fine." Stacie shook off the expression and smiled forcefully. Chloe narrowed her eyes, studying Stacie for a moment.
"Are you...jealous?"
"Ha! No!" Stacie scoffed over dramatically and quickly snatched her drink up to cover most of her face. Chloe looked like she had just discovered some hidden secret and was beaming. She whipped her head around to talk to Beca.
"Becs, I think-" She quickly stopped when she noticed the plate piled high with buffalo wings on the table in front of Beca. Beca looked back with wide, attentive eyes and just a little bit of buffalo sauce below her lip. God, she was adorable, Chloe thought. "When did you get food?!"
"While you were ogling the stripper." Beca nodded her head at Marissa. "Dude, you didn't tell me they had an amazing buffet. We should come to strip clubs all the time!"
"Seriously?" Chloe deadpanned. "Of course you would like a strip club just for the food." She shook her head almost like she was disappointed in her.
"What? I'm a sucker for good buffalo wings." Beca shrugged as she smacked her lips. "And I'm going back for the jumbo shrimp next."
"You are ridiculous." Chloe giggled. "And I wasn't ogling, I was simply admiring a fellow woman who has remarkable control over her body movements."
"Right. Right." Beca nodded her head, unconvinced.
"Shh, just listen, I think Stacie's upset."
"Why?" Beca furrowed her brows and glanced at Stacie.
"Don't look!" Chloe hissed and Beca quickly diverted her gaze to her plate of wings. "I think she really has a crush on Aubrey."
"Oh, not this again." Beca groaned.
"I'm serious! She was totes jealous of the stripper."
"The stripper? Who's her friend? Who she literally asked to give Aubrey a lap dance?" Beca asked as if Chloe had gone crazy.
"Don't appreciate the tone." Chloe raised a finger. "And yes. She is. Its totes how I looked at Stacie when she gave you a lap dance."
"I don't think anyone could look quite that terrifying." Beca smirked and earned a little slap to her arm. Before they could finish their hushed conversation, Marissa was standing back up, running a hand through her hair proudly.
"Thanks, Aubrey. You were one of the nicest bodies I've had the pleasure to rub against." She winked and Aubrey's face was turning a bright shade of red she worried might become permanent. Stacie just rolled her eyes and watched as Marissa sauntered away with a little too much extra sway in her hips.
"I think we should get outta here. I saw Marissa perform like I promised. Let's go." Stacie suggested with an attempt at a casual shrug.
"You were the one that wanted to come tonight." Aubrey looked her her with confusion.
"Yeah and we did. You got a lap dance. And Beca's uncomfortable." Stacie said without a glance to Beca.
"I'm good, actually." Beca chimed in, happily munching on her wings.
"Let's just go get drinks." Stacie said again, the frustration becoming more evident in her voice. Chloe could tell and she felt helpless in trying to help Stacie out.
"We have a whole pitcher here." Aubrey held her hand out at the pitcher of margaritas, still very confused and still not catching on to Stacie's mood. Stacie practically begged her to come here and now she was begging to leave.
"Fine!" Stacie stood up quickly. "We can stay here. Whatever. I'm going to pee." She quickly stepped over Aubrey and started marching to the bathroom. Chloe immediately hopped up to join her, as girls do.
"Did Stacie seem weird to you?" Aubrey asked as she moved two seats over to sit by Beca.
"Nope." Beca shook her head, not wanting to get involved.
"I feel like she and Chloe are conspiring about something." Aubrey glanced over her shoulder towards the restrooms. Beca's attention was piqued as she followed Aubrey's gaze for a moment.
"Eh, I'm sure its nothing." She shrugged and held her plate over to Aubrey. "Buffalo wing?" Aubrey looked at the plate with disgust. She was never a fan of wings. And she certainly never thought she'd be eating in a strip club. But what the hell, she was hungry.
"Sure." She sighed with a hint of disappointment as she grabbed one from Beca's plate.
When Chloe and Stacie returned, Stacie seemed more like her normal self. They sat and drank and watched the performances. Stacie and Aubrey even started playing a game of guessing what the backstories of all the dudes in the place. Chloe really was studying the movements of the strippers. She couldn't help but be impressed. She would offer positive words of encouragement to each stripper that got within ear shot as she would give them tips. Beca would be uncomfortable with it, but she knew Chloe was just being Chloe. It was fine. She might have been less than fine had it not been for the surprisingly good food.
They were just about done with the pitcher when Marissa appeared back on stage. Stacie let out a nearly inaudible groan. Marissa sent a flirtatious wave toward Aubrey before dancing for the crowd and moving toward the best tips. Stacie poured the little that was left in the pitcher into her cup and downed it.
"Alright, pitcher's done, how about we go to that new bar downtown?" Stacie asked with renewed enthusiasm. Marissa kept walking the stage and doing her best moves right in Aubrey's line of vision.
"Sounds good to me." Aubrey shrugged as she grabbed her purse. After all, she didn't want to go to a strip club in the first place.
"We should go to a drag club!" Chloe suggested enthusiastically.
"Now, that sounds like a better idea!" Stacie grinned. Aubrey and Beca both let out groans.
"Come on, it'll be fun. And I won't make you get a lap dance." Stacie linked her arm with Aubrey, leading her out of the club.
"Does this mean I don't get my jumbo shrimp?" Beca looked dejected as she stood from her chair with Chloe.
"We could stay and you could get your jumbo shrimp." Chloe paused, stepping closer. "But you'd have to let me buy you a lap dance from the dancer of my choosing."
Beca groaned and squeezed her eyes shut. She glanced to her left, looking longingly at the buffet. And then she moved her head to the right to see several half-clothed dancers around the stage.
"Fine, fine. To the drag club." She whined as Chloe took her hand to follow the other two.
"I'll get you some jumbo shrimp another day, I promise." Chloe cooed softly in Beca's ear with a little reassuring pat on her back.
The drag show was clearly a much better idea. Stacie actually had Aubrey doubling over with laughter. She was one of the louder audience members, but not obnoxiously so. The performers actually took a liking to Aubrey and would include her in some of their bits. And with the amount of alcohol she had, she was a more than willing participant.
"I can't believe what I'm seeing." Beca shook her head as she watched Aubrey take the hand of Dolly Parton and ungracefully climb up on stage.
"This is going in the bella group chat." Stacie pulled out her phone and happily recorded Aubrey singing and doing her best to keep up with the dancing as they performed Cher's "Believe." She even welcomed an extravagant, glittery silver wig one of the dancers put on her head. Sober Aubrey would be repulsed at the possibility of contracting lice. But loose and drunk Aubrey with Stacie as her influencer for the night? She wore it proudly.
Aubrey returned to the table, slightly breathless wearing one of the biggest smiles Beca had ever seen.
"That was amazing!" She nearly squealed with delight as she grabbed her flushed cheeks.
"You were amazing." Stacie added as she leaned her shoulder against Aubrey before holding her glass up to clink against Aubrey's. Chloe sipped her long island and couldn't wipe the grin off her face watching Aubrey and Stacie.
"Quit staring. You're being creepy." Beca whispered, interrupting Chloe from her trance. "Hey, do you think they have jumbo shrimp here?"
"I don't know. Ask Celine." Chloe shook her head at Beca's sudden obsession with jumbo shrimp.
"Ah! Miss Celine!" Beca raised her hand when she saw Celine Dion walk by. "Or Miss Dion. Which do you prefer?"
"I'm fine with whatever you wanna call me, cutie." Celine winked and gave Beca's cheek a little pinch making the brunette blush redder than a tomato.
"Watch it, Celine, that's my girlfriend." Chloe leaned over and gave the waitress a playful scowl. Celine just giggled and rolled her fingers at Chloe like a gesture of a cat with claws.
"Anyway Miss Dion. Ahem, Celine. Do you have jumbo shrimp here?" Beca did her best to ignore the way Chloe was gripping tightly to her thigh at a dangerous proximity to a very inappropriate place to be touched in public.
"Nope, sorry, hon." Celine gave her a regretful smile before getting their orders for the next round.
"Watch your hands, missy." Beca whispered once the waitress left.
"We're so doing it when we get home." Chloe leaned in to whisper right against Beca's ear, making Beca shiver and practically turn into a puddle. "Or we could make a stop in the bathroom?"
"Chloe Beale." Beca hissed, while being unable to hide the intrigued grin that sprouted on her face. "You behave."
Before Chloe could tease any further, their waitress returned and Beca happily made conversation with her to avoid further embarrassment from Chloe.
"Have you ever been to the strip club a few blocks away?" Beca asked with genuine curiosity.
"No, sugar, I haven't." Celine smiled sweetly at Beca as she lowered their drinks slowly from the tray to set in front of each person.
"They have amazing buffalo wings." Beca said seriously, as if it were an important piece of new she was sharing. Celine chuckled at Beca then looked at Chloe.
"Your girlfriend's cute."
"Oh, I know." Chloe beamed happily before planting a kiss on Beca's cheek and draping an arm around her shoulder.
"You ladies just give me a shout if you need anything else." She left them with a wave and a wink.
"She's nice. Or he's nice. Which one is it?" Beca whispered. "I don't want to be an ignorant asshole."
"She is fine. Just chill." Chloe stroked the back of her neck before downing nearly half her drink.
Beca had a habit of getting chatty when she was drunk. That night she made the mistake of telling their waitress they were in a World Champion acapella group. Celine was over the moon, delighted. She passed on the news and before they knew it, the four of them were being dragged on stage to perform.
There were a few background dancers who looked like they had come off the set of a RuPaul show. They were all goading the girls into singing the next number which happened to be "Lady Marmalade." The crowd all cheered as the four bellas were handed mics and conspired together quickly before they had to start singing. It was really a rush for all of them. They were so used to having weeks and months to prepare and rehearse. So having to get up in front of an audience and sing and dance with no practice got their adrenaline pumping.
They took turns singing each part of the song, seamlessly moving around each other to switch who took center stage. They harmonized nearly flawlessly with each other. When it came time for the Lil Kim interlude, Stacie and Chloe pushed Beca out to the front since she was the best rapper of this group. She begrudgingly stumbled forward and did the rap section earning cheers and whistles from the crowd. They finished the routine with exaggerated dance moves and hitting those high notes like the bellas knew how to do. The Queens and the other customers were thoroughly impressed giving the girls a standing ovation. They graciously accepted the praise with bashful smiles before returning to their table, breathless.
"That was so amazing!" Chloe squealed as they finished their drinks.
"Bellas know how to end a night with a bang that's for sure." Aubrey nodded as she wiped the sweat off her brow. With the alcohol, lights, and exertion, she was worn out.
The girls were on a high as they often were after performing, no matter the venue. But tonight was impromptu and a ton of fun. They wished they had asked someone to record it so they could show the other bellas, but it would be one of those moments that would have to live on through stories which would certainly get more and more embellished each time Chloe or Stacie told it.
They were gathering their things and leaving a generous tip when Celine came back over and wished the luck at Nationals and thanked them for coming.
"And you come back anytime, sweet thing." She gave Beca a soft pat on the cheek.
"Oh, thank you, ma'am. Um, sir. Uh...Celine." Beca smiled bashfully as she did a semi-bow toward their waitress.
"I love her." Celine giggled at Chloe, completely amused by Beca's awkwardness throughout the night.
"Me too!" Chloe chirped as she gave Beca a kiss to the cheek before following Aubrey and Stacie out.
Aside from the little hiccup at the strip club where Stacie got unnecessarily jealous of her old friend giving Aubrey a lap dance, the four bellas had a really fun night. Beca was a well known lightweight and was leaning heavily on Chloe. She stumbled every so often, but Chloe didn't mind picking her up and dragging her on. She was light of actual weight too, so it wasn't difficult.
Stacie wasn't as gone as Beca by any means, but she still took advantage of being drunk to drape her own arm around Aubrey as they walked down the sidewalk. They had decided for a walk over an uber because Chloe said it might help them sober up a little. And Beca really wanted to watch the stars on the walk home.
"When I figure out how, I'm gonna name that star after you." Beca closed one eye and pointed up in the sky. Chloe bit her lip, loving the fact that Beca remembered that Chloe's favorite part of "A Walk to Remember" is when Landon names a star after Jamie.
"That one?" Chloe asks, playing along.
"No." Beca whines. Actually whines. "That one. Its the prettiest and shiniest. And you're super shiny. Not like you-need-to-wash-your-face shiny, but like you brighten up every room and every person around you. No, you brighten the world." Beca's words were slightly slurred, but she was saying them with such conviction.
"You are a sappy dork." Stacie rolled her eyes as Aubrey muttered something in agreement.
"You're sweet." Chloe giggled and leaned in to kiss Beca's cheek.
"My life would be like a nasty black hole that spaceships get lost in." Beca waved her hand around, demonstrating a spaceship getting lost. "But I had star Chloe save me." Beca leaned her head up and smiled with all her teeth, unaware of how cheesy she was being. "I love you."
"I love you too." Chloe took her opportunity to plant a firm kiss on Beca's lips. Despite being drunk, Chloe knew the words Beca was speaking were sincere. She might word them differently sober, but it made Chloe melt knowing that she still meant them, in her own adorable clumsy way.
"Beca Mitchell?" A voice startled the group out of their little bubble. Beca turned her head left and right, trying to find the source of the interruption.
"Oh, hi….um?" Beca looked hard at the girl, knowing she recognized her, but couldn't quite remember the name.
"Camryn. Camryn Reese."
"Oh." Beca said again, but this time her voice laced with disappointment, remembering one of the jerks from high school.
"So the rumors are true." Camryn looked salaciously shocked as she looked between Beca and Chloe. "I always knew you were into girls."
"Yeah, this is my girlfriend." Beca put her arm around Chloe with an air of indifference toward the other girl.
"Wow." Camryn shook her head. "I never thought you would do that to your dad. Do you know how depressed he's been?"
"This has nothing to do with my dad." Beca clenched her jaw. Chloe tensed up beside her as well, worried about where this conversation was going.
"Why don't you just scurry along and let us enjoy the rest of our night." Stacie waved her hand at the girl to try and shoo her away.
"I will. Because I would hate to catch whatever it is floating around here. I have too much pride in my upbringing to spend too much time with someone who turned their back on her family and faith." Camryn gave a pointed look to Beca.
"Yeah, well I'm happier than I've ever been. And I'm in love. So if that's a sin, I'm a big fat sinner. My family turned his back on me, not the other way around." Beca shrugged, pulling Chloe closer.
"You should be ashamed of yourself, Beca." Camryn's light but scornful tone had turned bitter and judgmental. "Your father is a wonderful man and you have destroyed him. You've embarrassed our church and town. And you are living a life that is abhorrent in the eyes of God. You should go back home and get some help like your dad so desperately wants for you."
"You should actually keep walking and leave us alone." Stacie took another step forward, standing a few inches over the girl.
"You know what, Camryn, don't come at me with your high and mighty attitude and judgements." Beca snorted a laugh as she shook her head. "If I recall you got pregnant in high school, and caused your family plenty of shame. And, if my memory serves me, you weren't married at the time. You were also the one who got drunk senior year and puked in the church baptismal. I think I read somewhere that drunkenness is a sin. And didn't you get divorced last year after like three months of marriage. I don't remember the Bible saying divorce was good. Don't act like you're this perfect person living a perfect life."
"I don't claim to be perfect." Camryn breathed out angrily at the mention of her past. "And at least I did the honorable thing and gave that baby up for adoption instead of having an abortion."
"Right, that just makes everything fine and dandy. I don't care how you live your life. I'm just saying you don't follow all the rules of the Bible. So don't talk like you're better than me." Beca shook her head again and turned around to walk with Chloe. "You and everyone in that town are all hypocrites." She added over her shoulder.
"The difference between you and me Beca is I admitted my sins. And I begged forgiveness from God and my family and my church." Camryn's eyes started watering. "You're flaunting your sin everywhere you go as if its perfectly fine. If you'd swallow your pride and repent and stop living this unnatural life you could have hope. But you just choose to live that lifestyle as if its something to be proud of. God gave you everything Beca. A loving family, a nice home, a godly community and you squandered it all. You make me sick."
"Yeah, well the feeling's mutual." Beca said without turning around. Aubrey and Stacie walked a few paces behind them as Camryn followed slightly just so Beca could hear her.
"You and faggy firecrotch there enjoy the time you have because eternity in the lake of fire is waiting for you!" Camryn spat out angrily as the group tried to ignore her and walk away. But Beca couldn't let that kind of language directed at her and especially Chloe slide. She spun around and was about to yell something at the girl. But before she could even open her mouth a fist landed on Camryn's jaw and she stumbled awkwardly, landing on her butt. Beca stood shocked when she realized the fist wasn't hers, but Aubrey's.
"Dude." Beca's mouth dropped open and she nearly laughed as her brain struggled to process the fact that Aubrey Posen just punched a girl in the street.
"Shit." Aubrey hissed as she grabbed her wrist and shook her hand in pain. "I had no idea hitting someone hurt so much!" Stacie quickly wrapped her arms around her and helped her stand up straight.
"Shit, Aubrey." Stacie whispered as she started pulling Aubrey along before Camryn could retaliate. "Your hand okay?"
"I have a feeling it'll hurt worse tomorrow." Aubrey grimaced. "But totally worth it to put that bitch on the ground."
"Look at you with your hidden badass side." Stacie poked her in the ribs before linking an arm with Aubrey's.
"Blessings, bitch." Beca gave Camryn a slight bow and fake smile before turning to keep walking with Chloe a little behind the other two. But she pulled Chloe in for a firm kiss that lasted long enough to make them nearly stumble into the street. When she pulled back she gave a drunken, but reassuring smile to the redhead.
"You okay?" Chloe gave her hand a squeeze.
"Yeah." Beca nodded with a lopsided smile. "See? Star Chloe." She waved her hand in front of Chloe. "Blackhole." She glanced over her shoulder and pointed her thumb at the still stunned Camryn. "Never been better."
They returned home to Jessica and Ashley watching TV on the couch in their PJs, Fat Amy and CR were still gone (presumably because of successful dates), and the rest were asleep. Chloe grabbed them some water from the fridge as they gathered around the kitchen island. Jessica and Ashley joined too, curious how the night went.
They shared about the strip club and the impromptu visit to the drag club. Jessica and Ashley giggled furiously imagining them singing on stage and all the awkwardness of Beca. They became worried when Stacie talked about how Aubrey took down some chick harassing them in the street.
"Okay, it wasn't all that dramatic." Aubrey held a hand up, giving Stacie an eye roll. "She was just being a bigot and wouldn't leave Beca alone. So I punched her." Aubrey shrugged like it was no big deal. Beca had sobered up slightly on the rest of the walk home. And it was a big deal to her.
"I didn't say thanks back there. But that was pretty cool." Beca said. "I know we're not supposed to be condoning violence anymore but it meant a lot for you to stick up for me and Chloe back there."
"Yeah, who knew Aubrey had such a mean right hook?" Chloe added as she leaned against Beca.
"I didn't really even think." Aubrey shrugged again, bashfully.
"Bitch had it coming." Stacie added with a smile of pride toward Aubrey.
"I don't know how you've punched so many people Beca Mitchell. It fucking hurts."
And the mood quickly turned light again as they laughed at Aubrey and her pain. Beca was proud of the bruising she already was getting and gave her props for her first punch. Chloe of course needed to check it out herself before giving Aubrey her blessing of not needing to go to the doctor. After a few quiet moments Jessica and Ashley yawned simultaneously and giggled together how they were such kindred spirits. They said their goodnights and headed off to bed leaving the four standing in the kitchen. Chloe glanced at Stacie, then to Aubrey, and quickly back to Stacie. She hoped Stacie would make a move tonight so she thought she'd give them some privacy to help encourage her. She wanted some privacy of her own, after all.
"Well, tonight was a lot of fun minus the little run-in on the street. Thanks for inviting us out, Stace. We should do it again." Chloe gave Stacie a quick hug and wink that Aubrey couldn't see.
"Of course. It was definitely a memorable night." Stacie smiled wide as she glanced at Aubrey for confirmation who nodded.
"Alright, me and Beca are going to go upstairs." Chloe slipped her hand into Beca's and started pulling her toward the stairs.
"We're gonna have sex!" Beca stage whispered with an excited grin. Chloe just giggled as she pulled Beca along and they stumbled up the stairs.
"They're nauseating." Aubrey shook her head with a smile.
"But they're happy." Stacie added as she watched Aubrey curiously. They stood there quietly for a moment, thankful for the bottles of water to distract them from the slightly awkward silence.
"I want what they have." Aubrey said quietly and sadly. "I mean I love them and I'm so happy for them. But I can't help but be a little jealous. They're so in love. Its disgusting." She laughed a little as she finished the rest of her water. She crunched it up to throw in recycling forgetting about bruises and swelling as she winced in pain.
"Shit. Your hand." Stacie mumbled before she could respond to Aubrey's other comments. She got a ziploc bag and filled it as much as she could with their ice maker before turning to Aubrey. "Here. This might help numb it a little." She took Aubrey's hand in hers and ever so gently placed the bag of ice on the slightly bruised hand.
"I can't believe I punched someone tonight." Aubrey sighed as if she were disappointed in herself.
"You were defending your friend." Stacie said without looking up yet. "If you hadn't, I was a few seconds away from doing it myself."
"After all the grief I've given Beca about fighting." Aubrey let out a chuckle. "I guess I get it now."
"And badass Aubrey was pretty hot." Stacie heard the words come out of her mouth before she even realized she had thought to say them. Her eyes quickly moved up to meet Aubrey's, who looked at her with an expression of surprise. When Aubrey didn't move away or mumble something awkwardly to get her out of the situation, Stacie stepped forward. She softly ran her thumb across Aubrey's bruised knuckle before setting the ice bag aside and wrapping her fingers around Aubrey's hand.
"Stacie?" Aubrey breathed out as Stacie moved close enough to feel her breath against her lips.
Before Stacie could psych herself out, she moved forward and let her lips finally find the blonde's that she's been thinking about kissing since Orlando. They tasted like sweet liquor from the night, but it wasn't a deterrent. When she realized Aubrey hadn't moved away, she leaned back herself to assess the situation.
"I've wanted to do that all night." Stacie grinned as Aubrey seemed to struggle to open her eyes again.
"I…" Aubrey paused. "Me too."
Stacie's lips twitched with a half smile as she glanced at Aubrey's. Aubrey had instinctively licked her own, which distracted Stacie's eyes for long enough that Aubrey moved this time. She captured Stacie's lips with a quick movement. Stacie nearly stumbled backwards, but she let a hand rest against Aubrey's hip to keep her upright. Stacie, although very proud and vocal about her sexual prowess, didn't always share about her experiences with girls. It wasn't that she was ashamed or went to great lengths to keep them a secret, she just never felt the need to tell everyone about her girl on girl experiences.
But wow. She'd never felt like this with a kiss with another girl. She didn't know what she'd been missing. And on the other side of the kiss was Aubrey. She was by no means a prude, but she didn't do much exploration or experimentation when it came to things of a sexual nature. Aubrey never thought she'd be kissing a girl and she'd never been more happy to be more wrong. She relished the way their lips seemed to mesh perfectly together as they moved and then parted.
Stacie brought one hand up to cup Aubrey's cheek as if to keep her in place while her other hand stayed rooted to the counter. Just as Stacie's tongue slowly sneaked into Aubrey's mouth, they heard a thud, followed by a louder thud and giggles that were much louder than necessary from upstairs, knowing it was Beca and Chloe. They pulled apart, both breathing a little heavier than a few moments earlier. They watched each other to see if the other person would give a sign of what they should do next.
"I should...I should go to bed." Aubrey gulped and looked down, away from Stacie. The brunette looked a little nervous and hurt. "That was a good kiss." Aubrey added quickly. "Like really good." She smiled when Stacie visibly relaxed.
"I agree." Stacie nodded as she bit her bottom lip slightly.
"But we should...probably talk tomorrow?"
"Definitely." Stacie nodded and she let out an airy sigh. "But I had a lot of fun tonight. With you."
"Me too." Aubrey shook her head with a grin, feeling shy again. "Night, Stacie."
"Goodnight." Stacie watched Aubrey walk away and accidentally bump into the wall while looking over her shoulder back at Stacie. When Aubrey finally disappeared into her room Stacie let out a long exhale and flopped against the counter, feeling a weird mixture of relief and frustration. That talk couldn't come soon enough.
A/N 2: Staubrey, anyone? lol
Also, I just wanted to say I added the little scene with Camryn for two reasons in case it felt out of place with their good night. 1. Needed an excuse for Aubrey to be a badass and punch someone lol 2. I wanted to show that Beca doesn't let people from her past bother her or drag her down anymore and she's moved on from letting those people affect her so severely.
Let me know your thoughts!