"Aubrey?"

"Hmm?" Aubrey murmured, her head tucked against the crux where Stacie's shoulder met her neck, occasionally pressing her lips on Stacie's pulse point, or taking playful bites against her skin before soothing it with her tongue, an idle seduction that Stacie knew Aubrey had no intentions on pushing far.

Stacie was perfectly content with their current positions, lying together on her bed with Aubrey curled up next to her while Stacie idly ran her fingers through Aubrey's hair, happily ignoring what else was happening within the house after their confrontation with Beca earlier; however she still felt compelled to ask, "A full day ahead of us. What do you want to do?"

Stacie felt, more than saw, the small smile that pulled on Aubrey's lips, ignoring the pleasant chill that ran through her body when Aubrey's amusement expressed itself in a small laugh, her breath warm against her neck made sensitive by Aubrey's attention, and the wry question of: "I don't know, Stacie, what do you want to do?"

Stacie smiled in return, knowing fully well that neither she nor Aubrey had much experience in the awkwardness of high school relationships: Aubrey had been practically betrothed from an early age to the boy who became her boyfriend in high school, gone through the motions of what was expected of them, until they had gone off to separate colleges and quickly realized they weren't actually very well suited for each other, definitely not in the long run; and that was even before Aubrey realized she was attracted to women. And Stacie… well, Stacie hadn't exactly bothered with awkward encounters, much less actual relationships. Still, she played along. "We could watch a movie, or something, I don't know."

Aubrey laughed. "We could put on a movie and not watch it."

Stacie laughed along. "That definitely has my vote."

Their amusement faded somewhat when Aubrey noted, "Your housemates would disagree."

Stacie rolled her eyes. She could already foresee the endless teasing she would be getting from the Bellas once Aubrey left… if they ever got over the part where Stacie was dating Aubrey Posen. "Well, what else are we expected to do if they're going to be weird about having you around?"

"I hate to say it…"

"You love saying it." Stacie corrected.

"But I told you so."

Stacie groaned in exasperation. "You know, when I asked you out for President's Day I just really wanted us to get laid."

Aubrey leaned back slightly, causing Stacie to turn to face her questioningly. "As much as that's a directive I would love for us to pursue, I think we need to start convincing them we do more than just have sex."

Stacie looked at her blankly.

Aubrey paused, and conceded, "Okay, point. But we hang out sometimes, too."

"And then we have sex."

"Well, when the sex is awesome, who are we to stop it?" Aubrey retorted. She sighed, because she knew the thread of conversation was going to end in the likeliest of places. "We need to get out of here."

They had been saying the same thing on and off throughout the morning, but since they haven't seen Chloe, they weren't sure if they were allowed to do that. It was a sentiment shared by some of the other Bellas. Stacie confessed, "Seriously, I'm beginning to understand The Shining now."

"You're in Georgia."

"Cabin fever doesn't care about climate, Aubrey." Stacie pointed out petulantly.

"She let Beca meet her dad." Aubrey observed.

"Babe, I know you've been gone a bit, but we both know that just because Beca was allowed to meet her dad doesn't mean we all get to go out." Stacie reminded, and let out an exaggerated sigh. "We'll have to ask Red."

"Which will be a problem, because Chloe is avoiding me like the plague." Aubrey remarked.

And Chloe really was. Chloe had been inebriated on Friday night, and undoubtedly had missed having Aubrey around, and had her reaction was a dichotomy of her desire to spend time with Aubrey and avoiding her from questions she didn't like to be asked. The next day had started her avoidance campaign, but it was easy to dismiss that as Chloe still being awkward and possibly hungover. It was a lot harder to ignore the avoidance when Chloe had opted to stay in Ashley and Jessica's room the previous night, despite the fact that Aubrey and Stacie were the last ones to head upstairs after their Harry Potter marathon.

Stacie smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry she's being a dick."

"I'm sorry you'll have to live with her for the rest of the school year." Aubrey returned.

They were interrupted by the door to the room swinging open, and Chloe stopped short when she saw there were still other people in the room. "Oh! I… Flo said you were going out."

"It's still Galentine's Weekend." Stacie reminded, noticing how Aubrey had almost immediately turned away from Chloe. "We weren't sure if we're allowed to leave the house."

Chloe exhaled loudly. "I guess. We've ran out of alcohol and Denise has a study group meeting."

"Awes." Stacie tapped Aubrey to indicate they could get up, and Aubrey quickly acquiesced.

Chloe watched them get ready, and maybe as an olive branch to Aubrey, or Stacie, or maybe both, asked, "Where are you going?"

Stacie glanced at Aubrey inquisitively.

Aubrey looked back at her, and then turned to Chloe. "I'm going to take Stacie out on a date."

Stacie's eyes widened, and she felt her lips pull into a broad smile. "Really?"

Aubrey finished putting on her boots, and quickly gathered her purse, her coat, and her phone. "Yes, really."

"I thought, and I'm quoting here, that Barden's a black hole during winter." Stacie reminded.

Aubrey gazed at her with a measured look. "Are you seriously doubting my ability to give you a decent date?"

"Given the short notice, it's winter, and it's a Sunday?" Stacie remarked flatly, even though inwardly she was both excited and curious as to what Aubrey could come up with.

Aubrey rolled her eyes, and pulled on a pair of gloves. "Let's go, skeptic."

"Aubrey." Stacie grabbed her hand and pulled Aubrey back towards her, pulling her into a kiss, just a simple brush of their lips, as if in apology for her attitude, because she knew she tread a thin line between teasing and annoying Aubrey. When they parted, she met Aubrey's gaze, which had softened some. "You know we could grab coffee and sit for hours and it'll still be a great date, right?"

Aubrey smiled softly at her. "It's not movie-burger-backseat, don't worry."

Stacie laughed, and led them out of the door. "You don't have a car here."

"I can fix that." Aubrey told her.

"I have a bed."

Aubrey laughed as they left the room and descended the stairs.

Leaving behind Chloe, who realized belatedly that for all her reservations about having Aubrey around, and whatever her concerns were about what Aubrey's opinions were on some of her recent (and not-so-recent) choices, she couldn't deny she'd never seen either Aubrey or Stacie so happy. She also knew she was probably alienating two of her best friends because she didn't know how to handle a conversation with the girl who knew her best.

For her part, Stacie felt bad about leaving the Bellas to continue Galentine's without her, but she wasn't about to give up a day with Aubrey when Aubrey already had doubts of when she would next get to visit. "So where are we going?"

"Lunch, obviously. Free choice."

Stacie shrugged. "Pizza?"

"You have that all the time." Aubrey reminded. She stopped walking to glance around them to take into consideration where they were in campus. "There's a Greek and Mediterranean diner near here, or a wrap and sandwich bar I used to go to near that same area. If you're willing to walk across campus, there's a small Italian place that has the best herb bread. Everything else is out of the away and we're a little behind schedule."

"Let's try the Greek." Stacie suggested. She paused, and then asked, "We just got permission to go out. How are we behind schedule?"

Aubrey gave her a wry look. "Look at who you're with."

Stacie laughed, and hooked her arm with Aubrey's as Aubrey turned them to walk towards the direction of the diner. "I've never even heard of this Greek place."

"Yeah, Chloe didn't like it much when we tried it as freshmen. You'll find she's very dedicated to the American palate." Aubrey admitted.

"So how come you like it?" Stacie asked.

Aubrey shrugged. "Gave it a second chance."

Because it was a Sunday, and one before a holiday, there weren't a lot of people around campus. They walked together at a leisurely pace, occasionally interrupted either by Aubrey's phone or an anecdote they were inclined to share.

Stacie, whose classes were all in the Science building near the center of campus, didn't even recognize some of the structures around them. She took a particular interest in a four-storey building with a set of picnic tables around it. "What's that?"

To her surprise, Aubrey laughed. "You've never been to the Poisoner Line?"

Stacie gave her a blank look.

Aubrey affected a terrible French accent. "Because you Americans, you butcher the French language."

"The Poissoinnier line?" Stacie questioned. "Like for fish?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "I guess. Nobody knows exactly why it's called that." She grinned. "Anyway. That, is the key to saving up your meal allowance."

Stacie glanced at her questioningly.

"That's the kitchen laboratory. Half part food lab, half part home economics. That's where they teach Culinary Arts and stuff." Aubrey explained.

"And it saves my meal allowance, how?"

"If you're feeling brave, food lab tests the hows and whys of cooking food, figuring out what flavors should and shouldn't go together." Aubrey continued. "The rest of the time, they're just cooking stuff, and the kitchen is open to everyone to eat and judge what they've created for the day. It's a lot like a Top Chef picnic during those days. But if you come in during a six-course meal, you'll need to stay through the whole thing."

"And you just go in?"

"There'll be a sign, whether or not they'll be serving stuff." Aubrey answered. "Just be warned that there's no rhyme or reason for what they'll be serving." Aubrey shrugged. She pointed at another small building, old and dilapidated, to their left. "That's the old Arts building. It's condemned and has been scheduled for demolition forever. And it's mainly being used by the High Notes as their headquarters. Thereby making it useless, basically defining their very existence as an a cappella group."

Stacie regarded her thoughtfully, and mused: "Still bitter that girl interrupted you during Riff-offs?"

Aubrey harrumphed. "We should have won that."

Stacie laughed, and quickly wrapped an arm around Aubrey's shoulders to give her a one-armed hug. "Aww, baby, I know."

Hours later, after lunch and a stop at the school library, Aubrey led Stacie to a different part of campus, away from the main thoroughfare, through an old driveway that was no longer being used; as Aubrey explained it, the property beyond the gate that the driveway led to had been bought out by a private entity, including the very road that led to the gate.

As Aubrey led them up a flight of stairs that appeared off the side of the driveway, Stacie considered the day so far.

After a quick lunch of salad and gyros, Aubrey had pulled Stacie in the direction of the school library, despite it being closed on Sundays, only to be welcomed at the side door and led to the main study area, where the tables had been set aside and a large screen and an old film projector had been set up.

While waiting for the show to start, Aubrey had explained to Stacie that since the Arts and Media building renovated its theater, the old film projector and its reels had been sent to the library for archiving and safekeeping. And while going through the process of digitizing the reels, some enterprising members started to hold screenings while the films were run and recorded. But once all the reels had been digitized, somehow the screenings continued.

The screenings were also by invitation, Aubrey had explained, a token that graduating students were supposed to hand off to someone else. She hadn't gone to a screening her entire senior year, and had actually forgotten about it, except the token was still on her keychain. And then she'd taken Stacie's keys, and placed the silver token among the keys and charms already there.

And now, Aubrey was leading her through a series of stairs and passageways, through a building Stacie wasn't even sure was still part of Barden, until they emerged through a door and onto an empty patio. Stacie drew a blank for a second, since their view was obstructed by a big wall of nothing, probably built on the private property beside Barden. But then she turned, and was greeted by a view of the Barden campus' main square.

Stacie turned to Aubrey, a wide grin on her face. "This is amazing."

Aubrey smiled back, joining Stacie out on the side overlooking Barden, leaning against the steel railing.

"You can see most of Barden from here." Stacie observed in wonderment. She glanced at Aubrey. "Where are we, exactly?"

"The music conservatory." Aubrey answered. "It's uphill and hard to get to without a car, we went through the administrative office shortcut."

Three flights of stairs and labyrinthine corridors were a shortcut? Stacie stared at her.

Aubrey laughed. "There's another shortcut we'll use to get back to the house."

Stacie glanced back out to the view of Barden, and closed her eyes at the light breeze of the late afternoon air. "You win."

Aubrey arched an eyebrow.

"This was a pretty awesome date." Stacie admitted.

"Well, I aim to please."

"I will take you up on that later." Stacie promised. She opened her eyes, and turned to Aubrey, inquisitive. "Okay, you've got to tell me: the kitchen lab, the library, this? How do you know all this? And why doesn't Chloe?"

Aubrey shrugged. "These aren't the places the popular kids go to. The Poisoner is out of the way, and it's a major detour if you don't know if they'll be serving food. The library is for nerds who like old movies. This is out of the way, impossible to get to, and not exactly the best place to hang out in." She indicated the slight slope of the rooftop, and the thin rails that was their only protection from slipping off. "And only the kids in the Conservatory know about the shortcut, from the days before they had a van that brings them from the media building up to here." Aubrey explained.

"So how do you know about it?"

Aubrey smiled faintly. "The first girl I kissed played the cello."

Stacie arched an eyebrow.

Aubrey sighed sadly, and looked away. "If you were going to kiss a Southern, Christian girl having a sexual identity crisis and fearing the hell fire and brimstone she was sure would rain down on her if she even accepted she was attracted to girls, wouldn't you do it where the fallout will happen away from the rest of the campus?"

Stacie moved closer to her, and wrapped an arm around her waist, offering support. "What happened?"

Aubrey turned to her, moving closer into Stacie's loose embrace. "This was safe, right here. I could kiss her and figured it wouldn't matter, that it didn't really count. I liked her, but we didn't really hang out, except when she'd bring me here." Aubrey pointed behind Stacie. "She'd bring me here, and we'd listen to people play."

Considering Aubrey spoke fondly of this girl, but counted Stacie as her first sexual experience with women… "How did it end?"

Aubrey smiled wryly. "My Bella captain asked me if I was attracted to girls. I freaked. I stopped seeing her." She sighed, a slight chuckle escaping her lips. "Laura didn't even really know anything, it was just something she thought I should be able to talk about. By the time I stopped freaking out, the cellist was seeing someone else, and that's when I admitted to it. But sometimes I'd still come here, just to be alone."

"You brought me to the place where you made out with someone else?" Stacie asked teasingly, taking Aubrey's hand and tangling their fingers together. "We need to talk about your kinks, Aubrey Posen."

"You're plenty kinky for both of us, Stacie Conrad." Aubrey returned. She smiled at Stacie. "I brought you to the place where I could sit and just be myself. Whether it was with her or by myself, whether it was to get away from things or for some peace and quiet to figure it out, this is where I felt safest to do that." Her smile grew wry. "Because surprisingly, that fire and brimstone? Never happened."

"You've come a long way, baby." Stacie noted.

Aubrey nodded, and pulled Stacie closer. "So the gym? The library screenings? This? These were my safe places here. And the study hall in Bradford, but you can't enter that unless you're a Business major." She added hastily. "Because I'm sorry I wasn't much of a guide or mentor when you were a freshman, but maybe we can have this instead." She paused, and smiled broadly when the sound of instruments being used to warm up could be heard. She leaned in close, and kissed her softly. "The next few months is going to be difficult, we both know that. You'll be here, and I'll be at work, and I don't know if I'll be around for semis, or finals, or your final exams. There'll be days when I might not even be able to call you up or answer a message, and you're going to hate me for not being around. But you can come here. Or you can go to the library, find Chet, show him your keys, and he'll take you to the private study rooms for faculty and grad students."

Stacie gazed at Aubrey. "And when that's not enough?"

"And then you come and see me and remind me why my job is not as important as my relationship with you." Aubrey replied.

Stacie bit her lip, hesitating, before she asked: " And then what?"

Aubrey smiled. "And then we stick it out, and hope things get easier and better."

"What if they don't?" Even as she asked the question, Stacie wondered what it was about Aubrey that brought out both the optimist and the pessimist in her, when for years she had been someone who took things in stride and didn't let much affect her.

Aubrey sighed, because she knew as well as Stacie did that it was a possibility, and she also knew she didn't have the answer to that option. "If they don't… We'll try harder. We'll figure it out."

Stacie paused, and looked up at her, her eyes burning into Aubrey's with a startling intensity. "You won't choose to leave?"

Aubrey knew it probably wasn't the best response, but she couldn't help but smile. "Did that once. It's long since stopped being an option."