It was weird, being back in Barden. She had been attending the university for two years but this time, her third year, it was like looking at the campus with different eyes. Maybe it was the fact that she was an upperclassman, which meant graduation had become a closer reality than before, or maybe it was due to having spent some time with someone who had left Barden, but Barden University just seemed different, somehow.

And to top it all off, she had arrived back in campus and at the Bella House, only to open the door to her bedroom and found her things gone, replaced by racks filled with clothes, and labeled boxes. "What the fuck?"

Jessica came up behind her, and peered over her shoulder into the room. "Oh, yeah. Didn't anyone tell you? We took a vote and since your room was like the smallest, we decided to turn it into storage for our costumes."

"No, no one told me." Stacie frowned, disgruntled. "Why wasn't I informed earlier?"

Jessica looked at her, amused. "Why weren't you 'informed earlier'? What, you have an internship for a few weeks and now you talk like a mature adult? We gonna talk about taxes now?"

Stacie laughed, mostly to ward off further suspicion. "No, for real, why didn't anyone tell me?"

"I don't know." Jessica shrugged. "Miscommunication? Guess we forgot."

Stacie rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile, because that sounded just like her friends. "I hate all of you."

Jessica laughed. "Oh, hey: how was Philly? Did they ever let you step foot in R&D?"

"No." Stacie made a face. "LA?"

"Fat Amy's insane." Jessica groaned, as though that one statement could sum up the experience. She grinned at Stacie. "Why don't you get settled in, then you, me and Ashley can go get something to eat, and catch up?"

"Yeah!" Stacie nodded, grinning back, before she stopped, her smile fading to a confused one. "Wait, where's my stuff? And where the hell am I supposed to sleep?"

"Chloe's room."

Stacie wondered if this was the universe's revenge for her sleeping with Aubrey without telling her friends – especially Aubrey's best friend – or if this was a result of her neglecting to tell Aubrey something she now realized was pretty vital.

Jessica noticed the frozen smile on Stacie's face. "Is that OK? I mean, I'm sure Lilly or Flo wouldn't mind trading…"

Stacie's smile became more of a grimace, but what was she supposed to say? "No, of course it's OK. Chloe's great."

Yeah, Aubrey was never going to step foot back in Barden if Stacie could help it.

And, yeah, it basically meant the effort she had put in hauling the mattress from that room and exchanging it for the one in her (previous) bedroom had now been for nothing.

But, oh, all the Skype sex she had planned to connive Aubrey into doing was now apparently going to be one of those things that would never come to pass.

Stacie went to the master bedroom, the one usually reserved for the Barden Bellas' team captain, formerly singularly occupied by Chloe, and knocked tentatively, even though Chloe employed an open-door policy with everyone. Whether the act of knocking was out of courtesy, or Stacie simply trying to delay the inevitable, she wasn't sure.

Chloe opened the door, and beamed brightly at Stacie. "Hiya, roomie!"

Stacie kept that frozen grin on, because if and when Aubrey found out that Stacie had (accidentally) kept this piece of information from her, the blonde was probably never going to have sex with her again. "Weren't you supposed to graduate?"

Chloe's smile was completely guileless. "Yeah… remember how I was supposed to take a few make up tests for those I missed when we'd gone on tour?"

"Yes…"

"And I was supposed to attend summer class?"

"Yes…"

"Remember when I didn't do any of that?"

Stacie was beginning to understand what Aubrey meant when nobody ever said no to Chloe, because that kind of wide-eyed Disney princess look rendered Stacie unable to argue against such actions.

But, Aubrey's impending wrath aside, Chloe actually wasn't that bad of a roommate. Sure, the girl wasn't subtle about when she wanted Stacie to leave the room for a while so she could "listen to Titanium" - as if the Bellas didn't already know why Chloe liked the song so much - or the fact that Stacie could no longer hum in the shower because Chloe liked to barge in when she did, talking about harmonizing or whatnot; but all in all, not a bad roommate.

And Chloe's room had its own bathroom, so no longer having to contend with eight other girls was a blessing.

Despite the new rooming assignment, because sharing a room with someone was always an adjustment, everyone fell back on the same rhythm as they had before, falling back on the same chores and habits.

As Barden University's national pride and glory, the Barden Bellas were front and center for the first week of school activities, every welcome ceremony included at least one song performance, and despite Beca's hesitation to make changes to their collective sound, and Chloe's reluctance to the possible changes to their group dynamics, the Bellas were mandated to hold and attend auditions, so they attended the activities fair.

The previous year, fresh off their ICCA victory and tour, they hadn't had any problems getting interested parties to sign up to audition for the Bellas, and at the time, Beca, Chloe, and the rest of the Bellas had been more than willing to grow their ranks to see what they could accomplish musically. But based on their interactions during the activity fair and during auditions, only one person had made enough of an impression to be voted into the group. Flo Fuentes had seamlessly joined the group, and after a year, Stacie understood why Beca was hesitant to include new members: because they all each had their parts down, and Beca, Lilly and Cynthia Rose had mastered how to break down a song into ten parts. Adding a new member could, and most likely would, change that. And after two years together, they all knew each other pretty well, and the smallest change, just the possibility of adding a new member, could mess with the whole dynamic of the group.

And they all knew that, so they could be forgiven if they made up the shallowest of excuses not to take in new members, even though Denise meekly pointed out that she was graduating at the end of the year and would need to be replaced.

Stacie was a little concerned that it had been Chloe who shot down that concern with the dismissive remark that until such time arrived that Denise was no longer with the group, only then would they consider replacing her. She took little comfort in the fact that only she and Beca seemed concerned about Chloe's offensive stance against the mere concept of Denise's graduation.

Because she and Beca have been awkward around each other, and have been avoiding each other since they got back on campus. The fact that they had secrets between them should have been a bonding point, but it wasn't, because Beca was clearly conflicted about something – Stacie wasn't sure if Beca wanted to address her secret, or Stacie's – but Stacie was reluctant to talk about her secret, and if Beca was expecting Stacie to approach her first, the girl was seriously mistaken.

On the surface, everything about Stacie's life in Barden was the same. Stacie went to her classes, hung out with her friends, went to the library to study (because no studying was ever accomplished in the Bella house), and attended the many (many) parties that the Barden Bellas were invited to. The classes were a little harder than before, now that the classes weren't general subjects anymore, but save for a few really boring lectures by monotone-voiced professors, Stacie still enjoyed the process of learning. The Bellas, despite their outrageous behavior and general recklessness, were still the best friends any girl could ask for, who never judged and always encouraged the borderline illegal.

Everything seemed the same, but Stacie knew differently. Life in Barden University's campus, almost overnight, had changed for her.

The coffee cart near the Art building was a godsend, and she eyed the Engineering building with mild trepidation, and there was always the nagging question of where the hell the Music Conservatory was.

And she missed Aubrey.

More than ever, more than before.

Stacie had been too caught up in the rush of the first few weeks of school that she hadn't really had the time or focus to miss Aubrey. She still did, of course, usually while she was walking around campus, remembering comments Aubrey had made about the different landmarks, and even once during auditions when one of the girls looked like she was about ready to throw up when Beca asked her a question before her audition, but it wasn't until the riff-offs that Stacie realized just how much she really missed the blonde.

Before Aubrey left Philadelphia, they had both reluctantly admitted that summer (or February, for that matter) was just too far away. But they still hadn't had any good answers. Aubrey had pointed out that it was easy to promise a commitment while they were still standing face to face, but what about when Stacie got back to campus, and Aubrey was off somewhere for her job? Surrounded by other people, with faces both new and familiar, could either of them honestly say that they would still want the other the way they did while they were together? Aubrey had learned her lesson, but was Stacie willing to make that kind of change?

Stacie hadn't had an answer, while Aubrey had smiled knowingly. Still, though, she offered Stacie an opportunity for their relationship to either move forward, or the both of them to move on. Get used to being back in Georgia, meet her new classmates, get through auditions, and be settled as a college junior. If Stacie still felt the same way after Hood Night, and even more so by riff-offs, Stacie had her number.

And on that very night, Stacie sat at the edge of the empty pool, overlooking the way the different a cappella groups mingled. Since the Bellas and the Treblemakers called a truce, by virtue of their captains dating, riff-offs had become a lot more fun and freewheeling, a lot less competitive and hostile. At the end of it, after the Bellas won it for the second straight year, all the groups freely interacted. Watching Kori and Denise talk to Benji, though, Stacie was suddenly hit by a curious thought, and took her phone out from where it was carefully tucked in her dress.

Aubrey answered on the second ring. "Aubrey Posen's phone."

"Whoa, seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. How may I be of service?"

"Yes, I'd like to be serviced."

"Funny."

Stacie grinned, but then quickly remembered part of the reason why she had called. "Quick question: Why do you hate the Trebles so much?"

"Because they're vile and massive dirtballs, and I stand by the statement that I won't touch you again if you let them touch you."

"Oh, trust me, I like you touching me very much."

There was a pause, and then Aubrey hushed out, "I'm kind of stuck at work, so I can't right now."

"I'm at the pool, surrounded by a cappella geeks, so I really 'can't right now'."

Another pause. "The pool?"

"Riff-offs."

"It's riff-offs already?"

"Yes."

"Huh."

"Yes."

When Stacie wasn't forthcoming about why her call happening on the night of the riff-offs was relevant, and because she wasn't ready to guess at what Stacie had decided about their relationship, Aubrey sighed at the thought of The Treblemakers. "The Treblemakers have a history of sabotaging the Bellas."

"Sabotage?" Which was weird, because the Barden Bellas had only gotten to the ICCA finals for the first time only three years ago.

"Before they started making it to the ICCA finals and winning it, the Bellas were the bigger deal in Barden's a cappella community." Aubrey told her. "When the Trebles started winning, it became really competitive.

"Before my time, one of them dated the two co-captains and told them about what he was doing right before Semis. That was why the rule is in place, just as a blanket rule against that kind of thing happening again." Aubrey continued. "But when we were freshmen, one of the Trebles - not that we'd known it at the time, because Bumper and the rest of his ilk made sure they kept it a secret from us - was dating a Bella, we found out it was because she was our best singer and had a really versatile voice. Around the time of Regionals, he gave her mono, and screwed up our set. And then Bumper gave him a solo during their set in the next round, just to rub it in. And, well, you've met Bumper."

Stacie frowned. "Chloe never told us any of that."

"I don't think Chloe knows."

"And you never told her?"

"Chloe... skipped a lot of rehearsals during freshman and sophomore year."

"So she doesn't know why you hate the Trebles this much?"

"She knows they're massive dirtballs, which is all you really need to know."

"Some of them aren't so bad."

"Yeah, but," Aubrey's voice was tired. "One bad apple, and all that."

"But you liked Unicycle."

"And I have no doubt that Bumper would have used that against the Bellas inevitably." Aubrey admitted. "They're your friends, I get that. Donald was kind of OK when he wasn't around Bumper. But teams take on the character of their leaders, Stacie. And the entire time I've known them, Bumper was their leader. And Bumper Allen is… well…"

"A massive douchebag?" Stacie supplied. She quietly apologized to her friend, who was kind-of/sort-of dating said douchebag: Sorry, Fat Amy.

"He's… Bumper." The way Aubrey said his name dripped with absolute contempt and loathing.

Stacie had to concede that point, and changed the subject. "Why are you at work this late on a Friday?"

"Performance assessment module for the management fast track." Aubrey answered, as if reciting from text, which she probably was.

"And for those of us not paid to make up fancy business terms?"

"I'm somehow supposed to draw up plans on how to predict a person's ability to lead based on their current performance in a non-leadership role."

"How are you supposed to do that?"

"Baby, if I knew, I wouldn't be stuck at work."

Stacie bit her lower lip to keep from grinning. She failed. "You called me 'baby'."

"I'm tired, I don't know what I'm saying." Aubrey grumbled. A beat, and then she added, "Baby."

Stacie laughed. "Such a dork. What are you wearing?"

"Why do you want to know?"

Stacie rolled her eyes, because she just didn't know anymore if Aubrey was purposefully being obtuse, or really just clueless. "Do I need to say it out loud?"

"Maybe," Aubrey's tone turned coy. "Because that question breaches our agreement."

"Mmhmm, yeah, now that you mention it, I'd like to breach something."

"That…" And back to clueless. "That doesn't make sense."

"It's a simple question, Aubrey."

"You're playing with fire, Stacie."

"I already know we're hot together."

Aubrey faltered, because damn it, she wasn't nearly as good at this as Stacie. So instead, she diverted the conversation. "Didn't we make a deal about us and phone calls?"

"About missing out on college fun waiting for my girlfriend to call?"

"Something to that effect, yes."

"You're not my girlfriend." Stacie pointed out. "I'm at the pool. At a party. Having fun. Not missing out. I win. What are you wearing?"

Aubrey grumbled adorably, because Stacie had a point. "Jeans and a button-up."

"Casual." Stacie observed.

"Casual Friday." Aubrey informed her. "What are you wearing?"

"Sundress." Stacie answered, suddenly grinning, because she knew how much Aubrey liked it when she wore a skirt.

"You're killing me."

"So I shouldn't tell you about its thin straps, or the jacket I'm wearing with it?" Even through the line, Stacie could hear the audible whimper, and she smiled in satisfaction. "Or how it's pretty cold out, so the girls up front are kinda—"

Aubrey groaned, cutting her off. "You're terrible."

Stacie laughed. "Still can't right now?"

Aubrey hesitated, and then drew out, "No..?"

Stacie laughed, before letting her voice peter out to light chuckles. "Hey, Aubrey?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to wait for February."

There was a pause, before Aubrey cleared her throat. "Hey Stacie, you wanna see the ball drop in Times Square?"

"You hate crowds."

"We'll tick it off from one of those Things to Do Before You Die lists." Aubrey reasoned.

"You know that means Christmas with my mom." Stacie said jokingly, but also in warning.

"I figured as much."

"And maybe you can get to unwrap this present." Stacie teased, unnecessarily trying to sweeten the deal.

"There's a ban on sex in your house!" Aubrey exclaimed, because, yes, she wasn't living down the mortification of having Stacie's mother telling her about said rule, with a very pointed, very knowing, look in her direction.

Stacie clucked her tongue, amused. "You have a terrible one-track mind, Miss Posen."

"See if you get any presents, Miss Conrad."

"Mmm, I like that. You should call me that some time."

"You're incorrigible."

"Still can't right now?" Stacie teased.

The answer Aubrey gave was surprising, but very much welcome. "I already left the office. Give me ten minutes?"

Stacie glanced around the pool, at the party still going on, and realized that if the Barden Bellas were all at the riff-offs, then that meant the Bella house would be empty. "I'll call you back."