A/N: Ok, this one took forever, and for that I apologize. I've been rather distracted with real life stuff, but it happens. As Zap mentions below, the next chapter might take longer because he's going on a hiatus to focus on other things and I'm going to try as well. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this!
Zap's note: Yay it's finally done! There's some foul language just to give you a heads up, sorry if we offended anyone, we felt it was germane to the situation. FSM only knows when the next chapter will come, we've got the basics of it planned out. However, I'm taking a very brief hiatus on this to work on other projects, namely Six Inches to the Left chapter 4. I don't know when that will come, but as I've said, it will. Sorry it's taken so long. Anyway, enjoy The Shower Curtain Reaction.
"Oh my god Penny I love this place!" Chloe called out as she, Aubrey, and Penny entered Puzzles. The music playing already had Chloe bouncing on her feet as the trio walked around the semi crowded dance floor in search of an empty table. "It kind of reminds me of this place back home."
"Yeah, it's one of the good ones." Penny agreed, moving towards an empty table she spotted. The three girls swooped down on the empty table quickly, and just in the nick of time as they barely beat another group of girls who were angling towards the free table. Making a face at the four girls, who were now scowling at the trio, Penny smiled as she saw Chloe looking like she was itching to get out onto the dance floor.
Though this wasn't quite the evening she had originally planned, Penny realized that she was probably in for a fun time. She had originally planned to spend some quality time with Leonard, but when she entered his apartment, she found that he, Raj, Sheldon, and Wil Wheaton were setting up to play an 'epic game of Risk'. So instead of being a spectator to something she cared little about, she headed out the door and towards the steps to the fifth floor, sending a text to Amy and Bernadette on the way, proposing a girls night out. Not long after the text had been sent, she got a reply from Bernadette saying she was skyping with Howard, and one from the brunette saying she had some very angry monkeys to tend to.
Shrugging her shoulders, she knocked on the door of apartment 5B to see if her new friends were interested. Aubrey jumped at the chance, insisting Chloe needed to find someone to get her mind off Beca. After that one thing had led to another, which had ultimately led to them sitting here at their newly claimed table. Looking out at all the people drinking and dancing the night away, the blond waitress couldn't help saying, "Of course it doesn't take much, good music, alcohol, and perhaps a certain…"
"Je ne sais quoi?" Aubrey suggested as Penny was clearly searching for the right words.
"I don't know what that is." Penny said, giving the blond girl a look that was usually reserved for Leonard, Sheldon and the boys. "I was going to say something that can't be defined."
"We know what you mean." Chloe smiled, not giving Aubrey a chance to say anything. Having seen more than a few interactions with Penny and the guys in 4A, Chloe didn't think she'd appreciate being corrected by Aubrey any more. To help further distract the pair, the redhead smiled brightly and said, "I'm going to go get us drinks, I'll be back."
"You two really are quite the pair." Penny said as she watched Chloe move through the crowd of people. Of course, she saw that Aubrey was watching the redhead walk too, as were a number of other patrons, men and women alike. Leaning in a little closer to Aubrey so she didn't have to shout so loud the blond couldn't help but ask, "You've really never…?"
"Well, we did kiss once." Aubrey confessed as she nodded her head to Rihanna's S&M, still a little miffed at how the Trebles had beaten them at the riff-off. Thinking back, that's where the first cracks in her feelings regarding Bellas tradition had started to show up. Of course, it had taken the events of the semi-finals to make her realize that Chloe had been right the whole year, that they needed something different, something new. Well, the past was the past, and as the redhead had always said, there's no point dwelling on it. Shaking her head at her best friend's eternal optimism, Aubrey elaborated a little, knowing that Penny wouldn't likely be satisfied with the short version."Chloe thought it would be fun to have a Bella slumber party at our dorm as a bonding thing, and after a lot of drinking we played truth or dare and Fat Amy dared Chloe to kiss me."
"So, did you like it?" Penny asked, giggling a little at her reference to Katy Perry's breakthrough.
"You know, I really hate that song." Aubrey said with a roll of her eyes. "I mean, have you ever really listened to the lyrics? As if 'I hope my boyfriend don't mind it' isn't bad enough then there's 'It's not what good girls do, not how they should behave.' I've known I'm gay for like ten years now, but with my family, except for my sister and her boyfriend, I'm still in the closet. How do you think those words sound to an eighteen year old girl that's gay but can't come out because her parents would disown her?"
"I'm sorry, I've never thought of it that way." Penny said with a sheepish look on her face. She had only been joking about the song, and Aubrey seemed to have taken serious offense at the mention of it. With an apologetic look on her face she looked at the blond and said, "I was just trying to be funny."
"I get it, it's just…it's hard. I've never really had a serious girlfriend. There was one girl a couple years back, I thought we might be able to have something, but she couldn't handle me not being out." Aubrey explained. Shaking her head to push the bad memories of the past away, Aubrey felt a smile grow on her lips as she thought back to the past year at Barden and how uncomplicated it had gotten. With thoughts of a certain brunette on her mind, Aubrey waved her hand dismissively and said, "Thankfully this past year there was a girl who was just fine with no strings attached sex"
"We need to get you laid too!" Penny said excitedly as she listened to the blond, before she noticed a guy wearing a blue bowling shirt with a porkpie hat and a soul patch heading their way. She could tell by the way he was strutting across the room that he thought he was hot shit. In fact, he wasn't too far from the kind of guy she had gone out with before she'd gotten together with Leonard the second time.
"Can I buy you ladies a drink?" He asked when he reached their table. Sporting a confident smirk, he nodded to both girls, even going so far as to wink at Aubrey.
"Our friend's off getting our drinks." Penny said, nodding to the bar. The blond was having a hard time not laughing. She felt a bit odd to be realizing how irritating this sort of thing was, but she had to admit, he was quite hilarious. Thankfully she had a great reason to send him away. Hitching a faux disappointed look on her face she said, "Besides, I've got a boyfriend and you're not her type."
"You sure about that?" The guy asked. Putting on his best smile he winked at Penny this time, absolutely sure that he could win the pair over.
"It's one of the things I'm most sure of." Aubrey said curtly. Unlike Penny, Aubrey was usually thoroughly irritated at this sort of behavior, another reason that she was glad her preference ran towards the fairer sex. Not that there weren't some girls like him, but there was definitely a hell of a lot less. Rolling her eyes, she flicked her hand at the guy as though shooing away an annoying bug and said, "Better run on back to the Nineties, I'm sure they're missing you."
"Bitch." The guy said, heading off.
"That guy looked like he was in Smash Mouth." Aubrey said with a laugh as she saw the guy walking back across the room and joining a group of two other guys who also looked like they could have been from the band. She could tell, by the dirty looks he was throwing in their direction that he was no doubt calling them all dykes or some other filthy name to explain to his friends why he got rejected, but she didn't care because she saw Chloe emerging with drinks in her hands.
"What did I miss?" The redhead asked. Seeing Penny laughing at something and by the slightly annoyed, but slightly amused look on Aubrey's face, the redhead had a feeling that her friend was the source of whatever she missed.
"Nothing, just got to see Aubrey rejecting some loser of a guy hitting on us." Penny shrugged it off, though not before throwing a smile at the other blond girl, who returned it. Taking her glass and lifting it into the air, she felt the other girl's glasses clink against hers as she said, "Come on, girl's night! Let's get this party started!"
"What about her?" Penny asked, subtly indicating a brunette not far from where they were sitting. The girl was, as far as Penny could tell, quite attractive. And considering she seemed to spend more time looking at the girls in the club than the guys, the blond waitress took a guess and suggested, "She looks like your kind of girl, and she's looked our way a few times."
"She is cute." Aubrey agreed, turning from watching Chloe to look the girl over. After a bit of time observing the girl, Aubrey came to the conclusion that Penny might be right, as the one time the brunette looked over while Aubrey was checking her out, the brunette smiled at her. Before the blond could say that she was really just here to get Chloe's mind off of another brunette, Penny spoke up again.
"So go talk to her." Penny urged. Practically shooing the other girl off the chair, Penny rolled her eyes when Aubrey seemed reluctant to move and asked, "What's stopping you? When was the last time you got laid?"
"Isn't that kind of personal?" Aubrey asked, turning her attention back to Chloe. Between the stress of competing at the ICCAs, her finals for senior year, and then the move here to LA, well, sex had been the last thing on her mind. When Penny said nothing though, she sighed and answered, "A couple months ago, after the going away party the Bellas threw us."
"Well I'm not even saying you need to do that, just go talk to her, what's the harm? You can still keep an eye on Chloe, she might like that you're looking out for your friend." Penny suggested. The blond waitress wasn't sure why she was pushing so hard for Aubrey to go meet this girl, but her inner matchmaker was telling her that Aubrey needed someone in her life. Finding said someone was a challenge that Penny accepted willingly… Mainly because it meant going out to lots of bars and clubs and getting bought free drinks.
"Fine, fine." Aubrey said, getting up and downing the last of her drink before visibly steeling herself. The walk over was surprisingly short, considering the buildup that the scientist had gotten into her head. Which was how she found herself standing beside the rather attractive brunette, who was looking up at her with a curious look on her face. Realizing that she had better say something, Aubrey gave the seated girl a shy smile and said, "Hi."
"Hi." The brunette said in reply, smiling back at Aubrey, her green eyes twinkling a little. With a nod of her head, the brunette indicated the seat beside her, inviting Aubrey to sit and join her. With another smile that was both shy and brash at the same time, the girl said, "I was hoping you'd make a move, I kind of suck at it."
"That makes two of us actually." Aubrey said, taking the silent offer to sit down. As she sat trying to come up with something clever or funny to say, Aubrey found herself nervously tapping her finger on the bar and forced herself to stop. Deciding to just come straight out, in a manner of speaking, and be forthright with the stranger, Aubrey opened her mouth and simply said, "I've always been too busy with class and the Bellas to get good at this sort of thing. The few girlfriends I've had have come after me."
"What are the Bellas?" The girl asked, looking genuinely interested, though slightly nervous at the same time. Raising a questioning eyebrow at Aubrey, she went on with a slightly worried tone, "Please tell me that's not some Twilight fan club because you're far too pretty for that to be a disqualifier."
"God no. Though it's good to know you have standards, and good taste, I guess…" Aubrey said with a shudder, taking a moment to glance towards Chloe to make sure she was ok. Satisfying herself that the redhead was still doing alright Aubrey turned back to her new friend. Realizing that she still hadn't explained, Aubrey said, "They're a collegiate a capella group I was in back in Atlanta. And let me tell you, competitive a capella can be extremely time consuming."
"Oh, I imagine so. Like with anything competitive I'm sure it requires rigorous practice." The brunette said, humor laced through her tone. Though after a few seconds with Aubrey just nodding in agreement she blinked and said, "Seriously, though? A capella? Huh, I guess that's making a comeback now."
"Yup. It's a big thing now. There actually were four groups at my school." Aubrey said, finding it easier to talk to this stranger than she had expected. Then again, they were only talking about a capella, which was something Aubrey was exceedingly comfortable talking about. The only thing that could have been a better topic would have been astrophysics.
"Wow. I'm guessing you're something of an audiophile then, since you were so into a capella?" The girl asked, gesturing to the bartender to indicate that she wanted another drink.
"I guess you could say that. Our group mainly covered older stuff from the nineties and such. But I'm fairly eclectic in what I listen to personally. For instance, this DJ here is pretty good. So far I haven't been disappointed in his choice of tracks." Aubrey said after taking a moment to pay attention to the loud music playing through the club.
"Yeah, he isn't bad. I'm a bit spoiled though, I think, in terms of club music. Last time I was out I had gone to this place across town, The Zig-Zag Room, and there was this amazing DJ there. Some cute brunette chick, I think her name was something like DJ 42 or something." The girl said, nodding her thanks to the bartender for the new drink.
"Wait, do you mean DJ 22?" Aubrey asked, suddenly more interested in the story now.
"Yeah, that was it. DJ 22. Cute girl, had some great mixes and stuff too." The brunette said, a little surprised that Aubrey had recognized the name.
"That a capella group I was telling you about, the Bellas, well in our last competition at the end of the year we covered one of DJ 22's tracks. My co-captain at the time, and my current roommate, is a huge fan." Aubrey said, gesturing towards Chloe, who was still out on the dance floor.
"Ahhh, is that who she is? I was wondering." The girl asked. She had noticed the blond looking over at the redhead more than once throughout the evening and had been wondering if she was a rival.
"Yeah, that's Chloe." Aubrey said, realizing for the first time that neither she nor the brunette had really introduced themselves yet. Turning her gaze from Chloe back towards the girl she said, "And as long as we're doing names, I'm Aubrey."
"Amber." The brunette said, holding out her hand, which Aubrey took and shook. Amber marveled slightly at the blond's silky smooth skin. Turning to look out towards the dance floor, and Aubrey's exuberantly dancing roommate, she added, "She seems to be having a good time."
"Yeah, well that's why we're here," Aubrey explained. Rolling her eyes a little, she gestured towards Chloe, who was currently surrounded by a group of guys on the dance floor, not really surprising, before adding, "She needed something to get her mind off our neighbor."
"I'm guessing that's going to happen." Amber said as she saw Chloe starting to grind with one of the guys with whom she had been dancing.
Once it had seemed that the redhead had made her choice in guys, most of the others drifted off to find other girls. Chloe and her new friend seemed to take advantage of the extra space as the redhead turned and started kissing the guy. Aubrey chuckled to herself, thinking that hopefully this fling would get Beca off her friend's mind, before turning to take a sip of the water that the bartender had put in front of her. Just as she was about to strike up a conversation with Amber again, though, Aubrey got a good look at the guy with whom Chloe was dancing. As she did, she realized he was the douchy guy who had tried hitting on Penny and her.
"Oh god, that is not good, excuse me." Aubrey said, getting up and heading over to Chloe. She had to fight her way through the crowd a little, side-stepping more than a few guys who tried to start dancing with her. She was bound and determined however, and quickly reached the redhead's side. Taking hold of Chloe's arm she pulled the two apart and spun her friend to face her before saying, "Aca-fuck- no Chloe. He's a douche. You don't want anything to do with this guy."
"Ugh, you again." The guy said dismissively. Waving a hand as though shooing away an annoying insect he reached out and tried to pull Chloe back to him as he said, "Why don't you just go back to trying to find some rug to munch and let me dance with your friend."
"Don't you talk to her like that!" Chloe yelled, shaking off his arm and stepping closer to Aubrey. The guy was lucky she didn't want to start a scene or she might have slapped him.
"Whatever, I don't need this. There are plenty of other girls here tonight." The guy said as he gave the pair of them a dirty look and moved away into the crowd.
"What was that all about?" Chloe asked, her eyes still on the guy as he moved away scanning the crowd.
"That was about me being afraid you'd take things too far with a complete and total tool." Aubrey said. Keeping her grip on her friend she gestured back towards the table Penny was still sitting at and said, "I love you sweetie, but I do not want to be raising a kid with you. Most especially if he's the baby daddy."
"I would never let it go that far." Chloe defended herself. Letting herself get dragged across the dance floor, the redhead looked around, still seeing plenty of guys in the club. She wasn't sure if Aubrey was still bound and determined to get her someone to take home, or go home with, but there were at least plenty of options in the room, even discounting the "douchy guy".
"Yeah well, that's what you said about Tom at first, and look what happened there." Aubrey pointed out. Arriving at the table with Penny, she handed Chloe the new drink that Penny had apparently ordered for the redhead and said, "We're still finding you someone tonight, but I retain veto rights, since I'm the sober one here, alright?"
"I'll help you keep watch too, Aubrey. Since it seems like your friend is missing you…" Penny chimed in, and when Aubrey caught her eye the other girl nodded towards Amber.
"Oooh, did you make a friend too, Bree?" Chloe asked, drinking half of her drink in one go. Turning back to face the dance floor she added, "Ok, you have veto rights, but I'm not promising to be quiet tonight!"
Watching the redhead traipse back out to the dance floor where she was promptly surrounded by guys once more, Aubrey shook her head at Penny, who just smiled and waved her away, indicating that she should go back to Amber. Not needing to be told twice, Aubrey turned and headed back towards the brunette girl.
"Sorry about that…" Aubrey said, taking a seat.
"Don't worry, I get it. Some guys are assholes and you're just looking out for your friend. I think it's sweet." Amber said, deciding to take a chance and putting her hand on Aubrey's. As the blond looked at the small hand covering her own, she heard Amber ask, "So, what else are you in to? I mean, aside from a capella and having your friend's back?"
Aubrey shut off the water with a sigh, rubbing her nose vigorously against her forearm to relieve the itching that had been pestering her for the last ten minutes. She would have stopped to scratch it then, but her hands were covered in soapy water and she was so close to being finished with washing all the dishes. With the dishes finally finished Aubrey turned and grabbed one of the towels from the table and started drying her hands as she looked around the living room.
The place was fairly clean as she usually straightened up at least once a day, but with Chloe as a roommate she sometimes felt like it was a losing battle to fight. Hanging the towel carefully back on the handle for the oven door, the blond scientist walked out into the living room, intending to just go around and give everything another quick cleaning before her sister and her boyfriend showed up. As she rounded the corner of the island in the kitchen however, she found something that had been missed in her daily cleanup of the night before.
"Ow! God damn it, Chloe…" Aubrey muttered, hopping on one foot briefly as she comforted the other, which had just had a violent encounter with one of the redhead's shoes. As the pain in her foot subsided she bent to pick up said committer of violence, and noticed that it was one of the pair that the redhead had worn last weekend, at their "girl's night out" with Penny.
She hadn't realized that the redhead had worn the same pair again since that night, but a quick scan of the living room showed the mate to the shoe in her hand sitting under the coffee table. How they managed to get fifteen feet apart though was a mystery that Aubrey suspected not even physics would be able to explain.
Just seeing the pair of shoes brought Aubrey's thoughts back to that night. She still had a hard time recalling why exactly they both had decided to bring home company that night, but stress relief probably had a great deal to do with her decision. It wasn't that big of a surprise when, with the pair of them having their flings in the apartment at the same time, they had enacted a rule the following day banning them from having "guests" in the apartment at the same time. Aubrey really didn't need to hear Chloe's bed thudding against the wall, not to mention the redhead's shrills moans and screams while she was trying to focus on her own business.
Hearing the aforementioned redhead moving out into the hallway Bree could only assume that Chloe had finished cleaning the bathroom, so she called out to the other girl, hoping to get her attention before she found something else with which to occupy her time.
"Chlo, mind putting away the dishes while I straighten up the living room?" Aubrey asked as she scanned the apartment critically, looking for anything that needed to be done. Looking over the living room, Aubrey went about picking up and moving a few items here and there as she glanced at her cell phone and noticed that Janet and Seth should be around any minute.
"I didn't know you were capable of straightening anything." Chloe joked as she moved to the drainer. She winked over her shoulder towards the blond as Aubrey just scoffed at her joke.
"That joke never gets old." Aubrey said sarcastically as she went about making sure everything was neat and tidy. After adding an eye roll, just to make sure she had gotten her point across, Aubrey glanced down at her phone again before saying, "Janet and Seth should be here soon, we don't want the place looking like a pig sty."
"When has it ever looked like a pig sty?" Chloe asked incredulously as she went about putting the dishes away. From the immaculate living room with each throw pillow on the couch and loveseat placed exactly so, to the kitchen with counters so clean and sparkling that the redhead could see her reflection in them, Chloe was fairly certain that any place the two of them had lived had never, ever, in all the years that she'd known Aubrey, been anywhere near what could be called a "pigsty." Shaking her head at her friend, Chloe spoke up again as she dried off the last of the dishes, "You get so anxious whenever we have guests. The place looks fine."
"They're important to me, they're the only ones I have other than you and your family right now." Aubrey pointed out as she sat on the couch with a huff. Aubrey knew that, deep down, making sure her and Chloe's place was neat and tidy would have no impact on how her father would react when he finally found out that she's a lesbian, but for the moment it was all she could do. Dropping her face into her hands, the blond took a deep breath to try and regain her composure before she added, "You know how we grew up."
"I do, I get it." Chloe said, joining Aubrey on the couch. When the blond finally took her head out of her hands, Chloe slid over next to her best friend and wrapped the taller girl in a comforting hug. Stroking Aubrey's back, Chloe said, quietly but firmly, "But you can get a little over zealous. It probably doesn't help they got delayed two weeks."
"I know, I'm sorry." Aubrey said, leaning into the embrace and letting out a sigh. Drawing comfort from Chloe's stroking hands Aubrey lifted her head up and surveyed the room. Realizing that maybe Chloe was right, Aubrey felt her phone vibrate against her leg to let her know she'd received a text. Pulling it out of her pocket she read her message before typing out a quick reply. Smiling at Chloe she stood up as she said, "That's Jan, they just parked. I sent them the code."
"That's great, can't wait to see them." Chloe said, standing as well. Giving one last smile to Aubrey before moving back towards the kitchen to put away the last of the dishes. As she passed by the door, however, they heard feet outside in the hallway. Looking curiously to Aubrey the redhead said, "That was fast."
"Yeah, too fast I think. That's probably Kate going to Beca's." Aubrey said as they heard footsteps seem to stop at the apartment across the hall. When they heard a muffled knock on Beca's door, Aubrey smiled and said, "Yup, I was right. Oh! Did I tell you that she gave me some good advice the other day for dealing with students if I end up as a TA?"
"Of course she did." Chloe said, rolling her eyes and letting out her breath in a huff as she began drying the next plate, maybe a touch more aggressively than earlier. Setting it onto the drying rack, with perhaps a touch more force than was necessary to ensure that it stayed put, she picked up a bowl and added, "She's just so helpful like that."
"Not this again." Aubrey said, shaking her head and wondering if their dishes would survive the whole "Kate and Beca" thing. This wasn't the first time that Aubrey had been able to witness her roommate's obvious irritation with the situation. Walking over to where Chloe stood in the kitchen, Aubrey went on a little more gently, "Whether you like it or not, she's Beca's girlfriend now. You need to move on. You had fun with Steve, you can have more fun with him."
"Steve was a one night thing, like you and Amber." Chloe brushed it off with a flick of the towel she was using. Turning around she smirked at the blond as she said, "Shame she wasn't more 'intellectually stimulating' to you, she was cute."
"Cute isn't everything, and we're getting away from the point." Aubrey said, bringing the conversation back around before it veered off any further. Taking hold of Chloe's hands, the blond looked at her friend and, in her most sincere and sympathetic tone said, "Beca and Kate are a couple, if you really want to be her friend, you need to accept that. The same thing probably would have happened at Barden if she had went there, she'd have hooked up with someone like Mary Elise or Cynthia or Stacie…"
"Not Stacie, she was your play toy." Chloe teased as they heard muffled voices in the hallway. Thinking of happier times with the Bellas, Chloe felt her smirk turning into a real smile as she turned to the last of the dishes. Looking at Aubrey over her shoulder she couldn't help but asking, "Or were you hers?"
"They're here!" Aubrey called out, choosing to ignore Chloe's question as there was a knock at the door. Taking the opportunity to not discuss Stacie, Aubrey turned and hurried to the door. Flinging it open she saw her sister and Seth for only a moment before pulling Janet in for a hug with an excited, "Hey sis!"
"Hey you!" Janet said, hugging Aubrey back before moving on to Chloe as Seth gave Aubrey a hug. Once Janet had gotten free of Chloe's overly enthusiastic hug, as the redhead's hugs typically were, she looked around the room while Seth was wrapped into a similar embrace by Chloe. As the four of them stepped inside and Aubrey closed the door to the hallway, Janet said, "Nice place."
"Thanks, we're really trying to make it our own." Aubrey said as she looked around the room with a sense of pride. She may be harder on herself at times than she probably needed to be, but hearing her sister's confirmation, and seeing Seth's impressed expression, on top of what Chloe had said a few minutes earlier helped to reassure the blond. Sweeping her arm out in welcome she went on, "It's certainly a lot bigger than anything we ever had at Barden. Come on, let's give you guys the tour."
"It's a great building, we're really loving it, and the people are so great." Chloe added. Walking alongside the other three as they strolled through the living room and kitchen area. "It almost feels strange, having all this space after sharing the dorms at Barden. But my shoes feel much better now that they have their own dedicated space in my own closet."
"Well, most of them are great." Aubrey added, turning to her sister and her boyfriend as they walked down the hall. Gesturing towards the door to the bathroom she said, "So, that's the bathroom. My room is there on the left, Chloe is at the end of the hall. We figured that while you're here, you guys can stay in my room and I'll just bunk with Chloe. Just please, no sex in my bed."
"Same goes for the two of you." Janet teased. Chloe let out a quick laugh before sharing a look with Aubrey. After a second of looking awkward and almost disgusted at the thought, both girls shuddered.
"You know we've never been together." Aubrey pointed out, gesturing between herself and Chloe after the pair recovered. With a smile to the redhead, Aubrey explained further, "Not that you aren't amazing, Chlo, just so not my type. I mean, she's basically like another sister to me, so yeah… You don't need to worry about that, Jan."
"And I remember a phone call almost four years ago where you gushed about how hot your roommate was." Janet added, with a wink to Chloe as Aubrey blushed redder than her friend's hair. The redhead, meanwhile, was bent double in a fit of laughter.
"Well, she's not wrong, I am hot! And, to be fair, Ben actually got a similar call." Chloe said with a shrug after she recovered from her bout of laughter.
"Anyway, why don't you guys get settled in, then I was thinking there's a little Italian place not far from here that we've been wanting to try out." Aubrey suggested, hoping shift the topic of conversation away from her or Chloe's love lives.
"That sounds like a great plan, I don't know about Seth, but I'm starving." Janet said, following behind her sister as Aubrey led the way down the hall towards the bedrooms to drop off their bags.
"I could definitely go for some spaghetti or something." Seth said, walking into the room and looking around. Chuckling he added, "Wow, Bree. This room looks almost like an exact copy of your room back at your parents place. Do you have a place that just manufactures these rooms and ships them across the country?"
"Hey now… Ok, I guess you're right. I just… I have a structure and an order to things. I know where everything is this way, and I don't need to think about it." Aubrey said defensively as she also looked around her perfectly ordered space and thought about the next week of living in Chloe's room. Shuddering she said, "With luck I might even be able to impose some order on Chloe's room. Do you guys remember how there used to be that little line of tape running down the middle of the room? It was where Chloe's mess was supposed to stop. It didn't always work, but it was better than nothing."
"You know, I did always wonder about that…" Janet said after dropping her bags on the floor. "It was like in some cheesy sitcom."
"Come on, I'm not that bad…" Chloe said, a bit indignantly.
"'Not that bad', Chlo? I swear when I was first moving my stuff in freshmen year it seemed like a tornado had hit the room. Your boxes were all over the room. Remember how I had to help you unpack all your stuff so that I could even have room to bring my stuff in from the hallway?" Aubrey asked, leading the group back out into the living room.
"Ummm… No comment." Chloe said, realizing that she was fighting a losing battle in this argument and that it might be better to just cut her loses and accept defeat.
Aubrey started laughing as Chloe accepted the truth with Seth and Janet joining in, which eventually got a few chuckles from the redhead as well. Grabbing her purse, and making sure that she had her keys, Aubrey gestured for everyone to head out into the hall way so they could move on to dinner. Seth started asking Chloe about how her acting was going, which Aubrey knew was a sore point for Chloe as the redhead was still a little disappointed about seemingly not getting that commercial gig earlier in the summer.
Aubrey, as she had said at the time, was kind of happy that they had never offered her a part, as her best friend deserved better than to be pimping a fast food chain in whatever way they asked, but she knew that Chloe would have been happy for anything. Especially something that aired nationally, as the Wendy's commercial would have.
Locking the door to the apartment, Aubrey followed behind the group as they moved downstairs pausing briefly at the top of the steps as she heard faint music coming from Beca's apartment. Aubrey couldn't recognize the tune through the door although it had a familiar feeling to it, and she wondered whether they'd be hearing about it the "infernal racket" the next time they ran into Sheldon. During her last couple years studying astrophysics at Barden, Aubrey had run into a few rather quirky professors, but as Penny accurately described him, there were times when she felt Sheldon was just bat-crap crazy.
Shaking her head, the blond quickly followed her sister, Seth and Chloe down the stairs, catching up with them on the fourth floor landing, and unsurprisingly, hearing Chloe complaining about how "those idiots at the commercial audition" had never called her back. Joining in with Janet, who was telling Chloe that she was better off without that commercial, the group made their way down to Aubrey's car.
The conversation shifted to Janet's residency at Orange Regional Medical Center, a new position that the older Posen daughter had just recently started at. The short trip from the girls' apartment to the restaurant was filled with laughter as Janet and Seth told stories of some of the stupid stuff that they had seen go on in hospitals since the two had started doing their internships. While both Chloe and Aubrey had heard a few of the tales already, they were generally funny enough to keep everyone laughing.
After parking the car, the group walked inside and found the little Italian place to be quite homey, if a little over the top. Soft music was playing over speakers giving the restaurant an almost romantic feel and coupled with the dark lighting and candles set at each table it had the unmistakable air of a "date restaurant". Not that that was bad, however, as Aubrey made a mental of the place as a nice spot to take some theoretical girl that she found here for their first date.
The hostess greeted them pleasantly enough and quickly had the group seated at a booth that was tucked away into a corner of the restaurant. The chatter died out as they all perused the menu, though it started up again as they all found interesting looking dishes. The pros and cons of each were quickly debated, and some negotiation took place, as it usually did whenever Aubrey found herself eating with these two, over who would order what dish in order to make sure that no one ordered the same thing, since everyone wanted a bite of everyone else's food.
While they were debating entrees their waitress came out, and they ordered a bottle of wine to split as well as a couple of appetizers. By the time the waitress had returned with the wine, some bread and the appetizers everyone had settled on their main dish.
"So, how was the drive out?" Aubrey asked as their waitress headed off after taking their orders.
"It was fun, I'd like to have been able to do more than just drive, eat, and sleep, but it was still nice." Janet shrugged after taking a drink from her wine glass. Murmuring appreciatively at the good choice, she grinned at Seth and added, "And the company was fantastic. By the way, this wine is great, good choice Chloe."
"Thanks! It's one of my favorites." Chloe said, smiling at Janet and taking a sip of her own. Sighing at the refreshing bite of the wine, she smirked at the couple and said, "And good company always makes a different in situations like that. Whether it's your boyfriend or your best friend, the right company makes road trips aca-awesome!"
"Wow. I cannot believe you still do that 'aca-' thing. I's so ridiculous…" Janet said, shaking her head.
"You better aca-believe it!" Aubrey jumped in, defending Chloe's and her habit of adding "aca" to words. "I think it's aca-awesome and Chloe and I earned the right to do that after four years of a capella at Barden."
"Sweetie, just because you had to deal with that psychotic bitch Alice who ruled the Bellas with an iron first for the first three years, doesn't give you the right to ruin the English language." Janet said, trying to reason with her sister, though she knew that it was pointless as Bree and Chloe had been adding "aca" to things since their freshmen year. It was a habit they no doubt picked up because of Alice and the others in the Barden Bellas that year.
"In our defense, we have toned it down a lot since leaving Barden." Chloe said, though her words trailed off slightly as her eyes snagged on two young girls just entering the restaurant and following the hostess to a table not far from where the group sat. Watching as Beca and Kate took their seats, and as Kate took Beca's hand as they flipped through their menus, Chloe couldn't help but groan and say, "Oh my god, they have to come HERE of all places?"
"Who's that?" Janet asked, not understanding what was going on. Looking in the direction that Chloe was staring, she saw a cute couple sitting at a table not far away, though the redhead's reaction seemed a bit extreme even still. With them being the only real couple, that she could tell, in that direction, Janet nodded towards them and said, "I take it that you know those two?"
"Oh yeah. The brunette is our neighbor Beca." Aubrey explained. Nudging the redhead with her knee under the table to get Chloe to stop staring at the two, Aubrey rolled her eyes and added, "Oh, and Chloe's got a bit of a crush on her."
"I don't have a crush. I just find her interesting, that's all." Chloe defended herself. Tearing her gaze away from Beca, who was laughing at something Kate said, she turned her attention back to her own table and said, "She's into music, and stuff. I think that's cool. And she's got this mysterious vibe going on. You know, I still haven't been able to figure out what she does for a living."
"Hmmmm, that sounds like a crush to me." Seth said, taking another opportunity to tease the redhead that was almost as much of a sister to him as Aubrey was. Glancing over at the couple in question he nodded appreciatively as he added, "I can see why, she's cute. I mean, not as cute as you are, babe, but still cute in a 'scary, alternative' sort of way."
"Nice save, sweetie. And come on Chloe, that glare you were giving the blond girl kinda makes it obvious that you're a bit jealous of her." Janet said, pointing out what was obvious to herself, Seth and Aubrey at least. Casting one last glance towards Beca and Kate, she said, "It's ok, it's the way you are and we love you for it."
"Seriously, it's not a crush…" Chloe protested again, she was getting tired of having this argument with Aubrey and was seriously hoping that Seth and Janet wouldn't be taking the blond's side on things too.
"Have I mentioned before that the elevator being broke here really annoys me?" Kate asked Beca, tapping the wooden door to the elevator for emphasis as they walked past it on the stairs.
Pausing at the top stair of the first floor landing Beca looked back at the elevator with its yellow caution tape blocking admittance and nodded at her girlfriend. Giving a little tug to straighten out the jacket she was wearing, Beca held out a hand towards Kate, which the other girl took happily, as she answered, "Yeah. It bothers me too. It's just irritating having to walk up and down all these freaking stairs whenever I want to come or go."
"You should, like, call the landlord or something if it bothers you too, babe. I mean, it's their job to fix things that are broken in the apartment building. And that's been broken since we started dating." Kate said. As the pair reached the ground floor Beca could see her girl taking a second to admire her outfit in the glass of the front door. Of course, the brunette couldn't blame her, Kate was looking inordinately hot tonight.
More than likely it was because Beca had told her ahead of time that she had wanted to show the brunette something she'd been working on and then take her out on a true and proper date. They hadn't really gone on many dates since they'd started going out, mostly just to clubs and such. So Beca had made some reservations tonight for the two of them, and was hoping that things turned out well.
Casting a glance back towards the elevator Beca sighed and said, "Actually it's been broken longer than that. It hasn't worked since I moved in over a year ago. Which was an absolute delight because it was just my mom and I moving all my stuff up 5 floors. My sister couldn't be bothered to come out and help us, something about having a job and being responsible, so that lack of an elevator really sucked. Still, we managed, and from the impression I've gotten from the other folks that live here, it's probably been broken longer than that."
"Hmmm, you should definitely call them, then. Or email 'em or something." Kate said again as the pair left the building and Beca turned them towards her car which was parked down the street. As they approached the old Honda Kate spoke up again, "So… Are you gonna tell me where we're going for dinner?"
"Nope. It's a surprise, just like the first part. I hope you liked that, by the way. It's something I've been tinkering with lately, and I think it's finally ready to go." Beca said a bit nervously. Unlocking the doors to her Civic, she held one open for Kate who beamed at her as she climbed in. Quickly walking around to the driver's side, and while making sure not to be run over by crazy drivers on the street, Beca let herself in and started the car up.
"Oh my god, Beca, I loved it. I told you that upstairs. You are adorable when you're nervous about something, have I mentioned that lately?" Kate said after Beca got the car out into traffic. Reaching over she stroked Beca's jean clad thigh affectionately as she went on, "I've told you before, sweetheart, you're amazing at what you do. I never would have expected you to make Call Me Maybe blend so well with Ho Hey, but that was awesome! I'm still shocked that you haven't gotten noticed and picked up for a record deal…"
"Yeah, well, maybe everyone else isn't wearing your rose-colored glasses… But thanks. Like I said, you kind of inspired that mix, so I was hoping you'd like it." Beca said, the reassurance from Kate bolstering her spirit as she continued the drive to the restaurant.
"I do, it really is great, babe. When are you going to play it at the club?" Kate asked, not quite but almost bouncing in her seat in anticipation.
"Ummm, I haven't given it that much thought yet. Like I said, I think it's basically ready to go. I'm gonna give it a once over again tonight, or maybe tomorrow, but then I think it'll be set for public consumption." Beca said thoughtfully, mentally going over the last few things she wanted to tweak. Really the song was most likely in its final form as it was, Beca never played her mixes for anyone unless they were ready to go, but she wasn't about to tell Kate that. It was just a weird quirk and she knew it, but it didn't stop her from only wanting people to see the things she felt were ready to go.
"Well, be sure to let me know when you're going to debut it, I want to be there." Kate asked, before losing track of the subject as Beca pulled the car into a rather full parking lot. She turned her head at the sight of the restaurant to beam at Beca as the DJ found a parking spot. As they were climbing out Kate said, "You are just amazing, you know that? I can't believe you remembered that I said I wanted to come here and try this place out."
"Well, what I can say. I actually do listen to you once in a while when you speak. And besides, I've been wanting pasta myself lately…" Beca said, letting her voice kind of trail off. After a moment of silence as she walked around the car to meet Kate, Beca finally added, "Oh, and there's also that 'one-month' anniversary thing that's tonight too, I guess."
"Ha… And here I was, thinking you'd forgotten about it since you haven't mentioned it. Well played, Mitchell. Well played." Kate said, looping her arm through Beca's to walk across the parking lot. When they entered the brunette told the hostess at the front that they had reservations under Beca's name, and they were thankfully able to skip ahead of the groups waiting.
After the pair had been seated and their drink orders were taken, Kate took a moment to look around the restaurant and take in the atmosphere. The place was pretty crowded, and everyone seemed to be fairly engrossed in their meals. Just before she looked back at her menu, Kate caught sight of a couple familiar faces. Gesturing subtly towards them she said, "Hey, apparently we picked the same night to be here as your neighbors. Those are them, right?"
Beca contained the wince she wanted to let out at the words, she had seen Chloe and her roommate as soon as the hostess had led them into the section, but had hoped that Kate wouldn't. Pretending to look around to find them, Beca said, "Huh? Oh, yeah, I think that's them. Well, I think the stuffed mushrooms sound good for an appetizer."
Thankfully the talk of food brought Kate's attention back to the menu. Looking over it, the blond agreed with the choice and moved on to looking over the entrees. With any luck the subject of her neighbors would be dropped, and they could get back to enjoying their one-month anniversary. Beca took a sip of water, snuck a glance towards the redhead's table, and said a silent prayer to whoever might be listening to make that be the case.
The sound of the tv and an occasional chuckle from Chloe was the evening's background music as Aubrey went about one of her favorite tasks. Balancing the check book. Chloe always called her a weirdo for doing it, but the redhead never complained that Aubrey handled all the financial matters for the both of them.
Having control of the joint bank account that she had set up for the pair of them to manage their joint bills gave Aubrey a sense of having a modicum of control over how well their lives were going. Or, judging by the numbers she was currently looking at, how poorly they were going. Opening up a budget spreadsheet she kept to track her finances, and Chloe's finances since the redhead was next to useless with money, and all the bills that were piling up, Aubrey couldn't help but sigh as she confirmed what she was already suspecting.
"We really need to start watching our spending." Aubrey said, looking up from her laptop screen to catch Chloe's eyes. Shaking her head sadly she added, "We went a bit crazy this last week or so, and I think it's going to bite us in the ass…"
"Well, to be fair we were showing your sister and her boyfriend around Los Angeles." Chloe pointed out, not taking her eyes off her Surface. The redhead was used to dismissing Aubrey's doom and gloom reactions about their budget. She knew that things would pick up once she found a gig. They had to.
"That's very true, but I've been going over the numbers and things are looking kind of grim. Unless you're going to be landing a paying part in something soon, we might want to look at getting some part time jobs." Aubrey added as she looked over the numbers again and saw just how soon the money that she and Chloe had tucked away was dwindling. Tapping her fingers against the keyboard she said, "I'm seriously thinking of looking for something that pays once the semester starts."
"Huh. Well, I have that audition coming up next week for a small part in in one of those law shows, I don't remember which one. My agent sent over the audition material yesterday and I haven't had a chance to check it out. If I can land that, I'm sure it'll help." Chloe suggested as she scrolled through Facebook. Perking up she said, "Hey, you see this post from Stacie? DJ 22 has a new song. Apparently it's a mashup of Call Me Maybe and Ho Hey."
"Nope, I hadn't made it there yet. Work before play, you know that Chlo. And yeah, I guess that would help. I mean, I'm sure those parts don't pay a whole lot, but it's something and could lead to other things, right?" Aubrey asked as she saved all her files and closed things down. Seeing Chloe nodding, the blond opened up Facebook and clicked the link that Stacie had shared. As the video loaded she added, "Oh yeah, I was thinking to Skype with her after we go down to the guys' apartment for Titan-Night. Also, and I think I've mentioned this before, but it still surprises me that we go down to their place to watch that show every week. Unlike Penny we actually have our own cable and could watch it up here…"
"Skyping with Stacie? You're just hoping to see her topless again." Chloe teased, which caused Aubrey to blush a bit. Smiling at her best friend Chloe went on, "And you're right, of course. But you know that if we didn't show up, now that they've gotten used to us, Sheldon would probably freak out."
"You've seen her, can you blame me? Hell you told me you wished I had recorded it that time it did happen." Aubrey replied, her cheeks still a bit red. Turning up the volume a bit she let the song play, nodding her head along to the tune. She burst into laughter as Chloe started to dance as she sat on the couch, but couldn't really blame the redhead. After it finished she said, "Man, whoever that DJ 22 is, they are amazing. I still wonder why they hide behind the obvious pseudonym, why not just come out and take credit for the amazing work they're doing."
"Yeah, they are great, whoever they are. I would love to sit down and pick their brain, you know? Just hang out and talk about music. I'm sure whoever they are, they're aca-awesome!" Chloe said, reaching out to grab her Surface from where it had fallen off her lap during her exuberant dancing.
"Calm down the toner a bit, Chlo. Whoever they may be, they obviously want their privacy, for whatever reason." Aubrey said, throwing a crumpled up napkin at the redhead. Catching sight of the time on her laptop's screen she quickly fired off a message to Stacie, seeing if she would be around in a couple of hours to Skype as she said to Chloe, "Oh crap. We gotta get going or we'll be late. You know how Sheldon reacts when people walk in late."
"Damn, you're right." Chloe said, stopping the show she had been watching and shutting her Surface off before getting up. She climbed off the couch as Aubrey shut off her laptop as well. Grabbing one of the sets of keys that the two girls kept hanging on some small pegs near the door, Chloe held the door open for Aubrey to lead the way.
"I gotta admit, I still think it's odd that we wander downstairs to their apartment when we're perfectly capable of watching it in our own place…" Aubrey grumbled as the pair trudged downstairs.
"We do it for good company, Bree, that's why. You just don't like walking up and down the stairs all the time." Chloe said, bumping her friend's shoulder as they came to the landing. Staring down the last of the stairs Chloe added, "Which I think is pretty hypocritical considering how much cardio you used to make the Bellas do. You know, you haven't been out running with me once since we left Barden."
"Yeah, well, I've been busy…" Aubrey said defensively. As the two girls stepped down onto the landing the door to 4B opened, revealing Penny. Smiling at her Aubrey said, "Hey Penny. It's nearly Titan-time, eh?"
"Yup. And if we're even a minute late, Dr. Wackadoodle will throw a fit, so we better hurry." Penny answered, sharing a smile with the two before they walk across the landing and walk on in to Leonard and Sheldon's apartment. As expected nearly everyone is already there, the only absentees being Amy and Bernadette who were rather expected.
As everyone started taking seats around the room, Aubrey glanced at her watch and noticed she still had a few minutes, which was perfect because she was starting to realize that the three coffees she'd had upstairs might have been a bad idea. Especially right before an hour long, commercial less show.
"Hey Leonard, I'm assuming your layout is the same as ours, so restroom is down at the end of the hall before the bend?" Aubrey asked the short physicist, receiving a nod. Nodding down the hallway she asked, "You don't mind, do you? Long as I got a few minutes before the show starts…"
"Yeah, no problem. Like you said, down the hall, first door. And, uh, don't mind all the tape, on the floor and stuff, it's not for you anyway." Leonard said, pointing in the direction.
"Thanks." Aubrey said, heading for it. After doing her business, she couldn't help but smile as she looked over the periodic table shower curtain. Fond memories of her science classes back at Barden flooded her mind as she looked over the various elements. That is till her eyes fell on the twenty-second element. Titanium.
Like the sounds of giant blocks of wood falling from a leaning Jenga tower, the pieces started clicking into place in Aubrey's head. The vague description of the mysterious DJ she'd gotten from Amber. The fact that Beca apparently loved the song Titanium. The odd hours Beca seemed to keep. And the more she thought about it, the more she realized DJ 22's new Call Me Maybe/Ho Hey mix was the music she had heard coming from Beca's apartment when Janet and Seth had first gotten in. She came to the conclusion that the girl Chloe had been obsessing over was also the source of some of her favorite songs. "Mother fucker!"