A/N Hey guys. So this chapter is basically a warning about lack of communication. It is also the start of Chloe getting what she deserved in the first place. Basically, just remember to communicate with the people you care about. Ok? Ok. Don't worry. I'm still pissed at Chloe, but this chapter is all about what happens when you assume shit. On with the show!
As always. Reviews help. You guys are awesome.
Fat chance
It had been two days since Chloe had spoken to Aubrey. Two days since she found out about Barden. And exactly one hour since she received the cryptic text from Stacie.
Stacie- "We know everything. All of us. Leave Beca alone."
What the hell does that even mean? Without Aubrey answering her phone. She had no way to find out. Chloe started pacing in her living room for the umpteenth time. Finally she decided to call Stacie.
"What the fuck do you want, Chloe?"
"Well." Chloe wrangled in her anger from Stacie's tone. "I'd like to know what that text meant."
"It means exactly what it said. We know, Chloe. We know everything. Beca doesn't need you. Now I'm even more certain about that. She won't be coming to that Barden bullshit, and neither will I or Amy."
"Stacie! I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about! Why don't you just tell me what happened instead of coming at me like that?!"
"We know about that Cole fucker! We know about the fucking relationship you had going on with him, Chloe!"
"Stop! Just stop! What the fuck are you talking about?" Chloe's heart was racing. How did anyone know about her and Cole? She slept with him one time and the fucker turned into a damn stalker. She had to threaten him with calling the cops in order to get him to stop.
"Aubrey told Beca about you and him, Chloe! Why are you denying it! We know that Beca walked in on you and him on your fucking anniversary! We know that Aubrey caught you and him at that party! Why do you keep trying to fucking defend yourself?"
Aubrey? Aubrey told Beca I was seeing someone for six months? She told her it was Cole? What the actual fuck is happening? "Stacie! I wasn't seeing Cole for six fucking months! Yes. I slept with him at the party. Yes. It was wrong. I felt horrible about it. I don't know why the fuck I did it. I felt horrible. I have no idea why Aubrey thinks we were seeing each other. The guy was practically stalking me after that!" Chloe sobbed. "And yes. I cheated on Beca on our anniversary, and she caught me. It wasn't Cole though! I was really depressed that day! Beca left that morning without saying anything to me. I lost it. I went to a bar in the middle of the afternoon and brought some random guy home. I don't even know his fucking name! I just wanted to be close to someone. I fucked up. I know I did. I fucked up with Cole. I fucked up by not telling Beca about it. And then I fucked up by fucking another person. But I wasn't in another relationship with someone else! Stacie, I loved Beca! Shit I still do! I know I have a fucked up way of showing it. And I know I let you girls and Beca down by being selfish and not telling you what happened. The only reason I've made it through everything is because of Aubrey! And now she won't answer me. I don't know what to do! I know that you don't care. And you have every right to feel that way. I'm sorry about everything, Stace. I truly am. So fucking sorry." Chloe continued sobbing.
Chloe heard Stacie sigh through the phone. "Look, Chloe. I get that people fuck up. I'm no angel either. But It's not just about that. You fooled us, Chloe. You fooled all of us. Including Beca. We thought we knew you, and for you to do all this? Well. It's like we didn't know you at all. Yeah, I'll admit, I am relieved that you weren't in a relationship with that Cole guy. But that doesn't really change anything, ya know?"
Chloe wiped her tears and struggled to regain her voice. "Yeah. I know. I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me. I've been so fucking selfish ever since Beca graduated. Fuck! What the hell is the matter with me, Stacie?"
"I don't know, Chloe. I gotta go though." Stacie hung up.
Chloe was pissed. Yeah, she finally let Stacie know everything. But now that she was off the phone, she had time to think about everything that Stacie had said. She thought about Aubrey. Aubrey was supposed to be her best friend, and yet she was off running her mouth about shit she knew nothing about. Why didn't she ask me about it first? Why did she have to go off and tell Beca so much shit? Did she really think that low of me? I know I fucking cheated, but Jesus! Aubrey needs to answer her damn phone! Chloe decided to text Aubrey since she was obviously ignoring the calls.
Chloe- "Aubrey fucking Posen! You better answer your damn phone!"
Aubrey- "Don't take that tone with me, Chloe! I have had a horrible headache the last two days, and I can't handle you right now!"
Chloe- "Can't handle me? You can't handle me?! You lied to Beca about me and then you want to just ignore me?! What kind of shit is that?"
Aubrey- "Lie? What lie? I finally told her the truth, Chloe! I want to help you, but I can't do that without everything being out in the open!"
Chloe- "Don't you think maybe you should've talked to me first? Maybe found out the truth before spouting shit that you knew nothing about!"
Aubrey- "Chloe. I seriously can't handle this right now. I am having a really bad day and I really just need to be alone and figure shit out."
Chloe tried calling Aubrey. Yeah she wanted to yell at her, but she also wanted to figure out what was going on with her. Aubrey didn't answer. Chloe threw her phone across the room and regretted it the moment it left her hand. "Shit! Please don't be broken! Please don't be broken!"
XXXX
Stacie walked back into Beca's house after the phone call with Chloe. Her head was spinning. She knew she needed to tell Beca the truth, but had no idea how to go about doing so. She didn't want Beca to think that she was taking Chloe's side. Or that she forgave her. But she knows that Beca deserves the truth. All Beca has ever wanted is for people to be honest with her. Stacie understood that. She had been lied to and looked down on her whole life. Everyone saw her as a dumb slut. Everyone except Beca. Beca never once judged her for her sexual side. She barely ever mentioned it. Their conversations throughout college were always about the future. Beca never pushed her to slow down on her promiscuity. She always just asked about her hopes and dreams, and in return Stacie asked about Beca's. They knew each others' plans for the future. Stacie was shocked when Beca turned down the opportunity to go to LA because of Chloe.
For a long time, Stacie resented Chloe for it. Finally she realized why Beca did it. Stacie slowed her hunter down. She started trying to find love. She knew Beca was off limits and she was ok with that. She realized that true love was worth changing your dreams for. Stacie would've changed her dreams for Beca if the situation called for it. But she knew Beca would never ask her to do that, even if they were together. Beca knew how much Stacie wanted fer dreams to become a reality, and Stacie knew the same about Beca's. Then once Beca left, she thought Beca had fooled her. Lied to her, like everyone else. She started doubting love again. She set her hunter loose once again. She blamed Beca. And now, everything was turned upside down. She needed Beca to hear the truth. Lies made everything worse, but she was terrified. She knew how much Beca loved Chloe, she was willing to change her dreams for her. Would Beca forgive Chloe? Could she? Would she put her life on hold again for her? Would she give up everything for her? Stacie shook her head. It doesn't matter. No matter what happens, Beca deserves the truth.
"Hey legs, you good? I can hear your wheels turning from over here." Beca called from the kitchen.
"Yeah!" Stacie said with a bit too much squeak in her voice. She coughed to clear it. "Yeah, I'm good. But we should talk."
"Yeah, sure. But it'll have to wait. I'm meeting with Natasha today. Gotta go over her contract with her manager present. Got to get everything finalized before we can proceed to making sweet, sweet music." Beca laughed.
"Oh. Shit that's right. Sorry, I totally spaced. Give me a minute and we can go."
"You don't have to go Stace." Beca said as she stood to put her bowel in the sink. "I can handle it. Seriously. I haven't drank anything. I'm not even sweating today, which is good because I don't need my new client thinking I'm always sick." Beca laughed again.
Stacie loved Beca's real laugh, but that wasn't it. SHe knew Beca wasn't saying something, she just didn't know what. "You know damn well you're not going in alone. Especially since Donald will be there. I don't trust that ass hat."
"Stace, he's not that bad. Yeah, he does shit mainly for himself, but he wants what's best for me. Because what's best for me is what's best for him. He won't try anything. Not as long as I keep working."
"That's not exactly inspiring, Beca. What if you need time off? What if something happens? He needs to know that it's not ok to just give in to your every whim."
"Stace. Calm down. I'll talk to him. Relax. I'm not saying you can't come with me, I'm just saying that you don't have to."
Stacie nodded. "Ok. But I want to. So give me a minute and we'll get going."
XXXX
Stacie and Beca made their way to Beca's office where Natasha, her manager, and Donald were already waiting. "Hey B. Before we go in there, I just wanted to say I'm proud of you. I know you took a little detour, but you did it. You made your dreams come true. No one else did it for you. You don't owe anything to anyone else. You did this."
Beca beamed at Stacie, a true genuine smile. She didn't know why it meant so much to hear that. But no one had actually said that to her before. "I really did huh? Thanks, Stace. Means a lot." Beca then went into her office with Stacie hot on her heels.
"Beca!" Natasha said. "So good to see you again. This is my manager Roger."
Stacie rolled her eyes at Natasha's giddiness.
"Hi, Natasha. Good to see you too." Beca shook her hand then proceeded to shake Roger's. Donald stayed quiet, he was only there as a formality. He really had no say in what was going on here. He just made the initial introduction.
"Please, call me Nat will you?"
"Sure, no problem. Have a seat."
"Wait." Roger said. "Who's your friend?" He was looking directly at Stacie with a glint in his eye. Beca wasn't sure why that pissed her off, but it did.
"This is Stacie. Very good friend of mine. She is just here observing today." Beca said rather coldly.
Stacie gave her an odd look but ignored it for the most part. She had other things to worry about.
Once the meeting was done, Stacie finally tuned back into the conversation.
"Great! This looks awesome Becs!" Nat said.
Beca flinched at the nickname. No one had called her that in a very long time. Not since Chloe. Natasha noticed this and began to ramble. "Sorry. Got a little excited. Not a fan of nicknames I guess?"
"Well. Just not that one." Beca laughed half heartedly. "Technically Beca is a nickname anyways. So kind of a moot point don't you think?"
"True." Nat laughed. "Sorry again. Anyways. We were going to go out for a drink or two to celebrate. Would you and your friend like to join us?"
Stacie went rigid. She turned to Beca and was about to protest when Donald interrupted her. "That sounds great! Doesn't it Beca? Give you a chance to get to know your new talent before all the work begins!" Stacie would've killed Donald then and there if there weren't so many witnesses. Maybe I should ask Lilly for her rates.
"Um." Beca said, looking at Stacie. "Actually guys, I have some work to do here. How about we get together before we start your sessions. Maybe have a cookout or something. Some place a little more comfortable than a bar or club, ya know?"
"Oh yeah! That sounds fun! We can totally do that, right Roger?" Nat said while beaming at Beca. She was bummed that Beca wouldn't be joining them, but she was glad to be offered a alternative.
"Well that depends." Roger said. "Are you going to be there, Stacie?"
"Of course I'll be there." Stacie said while staring at Natasha, who was staring at Beca, while Beca was staring at Roger.
"Great! Then just send Nat here a time and place and we'll be there." Roger said turning back to Beca.
"Yeah sure. I've got your number in the file. I'll shoot you a text so you know it's me." Beca said.
Stacie still didn't have Beca's number so she was kind of irritated by this. All this time and she hadn't even thought about getting it from her. But she was proud that Beca didn't agree to go out with them tonight. That could've been bad.
After Natasha and her manager left, Stacie turned to Donald. "Look you little Abercrombie wanna be, don't put Beca in a position like that again. She's trying to stay sober-"
Donald cut Stacie off. "Don't tell me what's best for my client. I was simply trying to encourage her to get to know Natasha."
"Yeah, around drinking, you asshole! Get it through your skull! She's a recovering alcoholic!"
Donald took a step towards Stacie but Beca jumped in between them. "Enough! Guys stop! Stacie is right, Donald. I don't want to be put in a compromising position. I need to steer clear of that. I've been doing my research and a bar would definitely be a trigger. So just stop. I get that I'm going to have to be around it eventually in my line of work, but it's still too soon. I'm doing the best I can here, but can we not push it?"
Stacie smiled at Beca and threw her arm around her shoulder in a kind of side hug. "I'm proud of you, Beca. Ready to head out?"
"Yeah sure. Just let me grab my stuff."
Donald huffed. "Look. You're right. I'm sorry. I just don't want you pushed to the sidelines. It's easy to get lost in the background in this industry. I just want to help you stay relevant."
"I get that, Donald. But just. Try not to be such a duech ok?" Beca said while patting his shoulder. Donald nodded and apologized again before heading out of the office.
"Hey, Beca?" Stacie said.
"Yeah?"
"Can I see your phone?" Beca handed it over without question and Stacie smiled. "Thanks." She then unlocked the phone, of course Beca hadn't changed it, and then called her own phone from it. She saved her number in Beca's phone then gave it back. "There. Now if you need me and I'm not around, you can just call."
Beca chuckled. "Thanks, weirdo. Let's head out of here."
As Beca and Stacie made their way out of the building, Aubrey jumped in front of them.
"Jesus Christ, blondie! Are you trying to give me a fucking heart attack? WHere the hell have you been?" Beca said.
Stacie just glared at Aubrey. She still didn't have the chance to tell Beca the truth about Chloe, and she wasn't sure if Aubrey had talked to Chloe about everything yet. She just had to let whatever this was unfold.
"Where have I been? You told me to leave. And I'm here to apologize." Aubrey saud.
"Yeah. I meant for the night you asshole! I needed you to just stop so I could think. I didn't mean for you to just disappear on me." Beca said. "You showed up. All of you did. And though your motives may be fucked, you're here. I'm not going to push any of you away any more. Even though you can be a bitch and a royal pain in my ass, you're here. We may not be the best of friends, especially when it comes to the Chloe situation, but still."
Aubrey sighed. "Look. I know I've went about this the wrong way. I've been stewing over everything the last two days. I love Chloe. She's my best friend. And, like I've said, I think you still love her. But I've decided not to mention it any more until you're better. Stacie was right. You need to be in a good place before confronting all that. I really do want to be your friend, Beca. I've just been protecting Chloe for so long that it's hard to shut it off. We've been there for each other for so long that it's hard to put her on the back burner, ya know?"
Beca nodded. "Yeah, I get it Bree. Just. I don't want to hear about the shit right now? I don't want to hear about her or her life. I just want to get back to myself. I can't handle that and Chloe at the same time. She broke me, Aubrey. Not just my heart, my entire being was shattered. I don't need that in my life."
Stacie stood there looking between the two. She couldn't believe Beca was so willing to forgive Aubrey. Like, really? How did she not see how fucked up it was for Aubrey to do what she did, and then to come here and pretend to be Beca's friend while pushing her own agenda all along. Beca might've been buying all the shit Aubrey was saying, but Stacie wasn't. She was going to keep a close eye on Aubrey. She still wasn't sure what to make of this all forgiving Beca though. That concerned her more than anything. Sure, forgiveness is great, but why was she so eager to let it go? It didn't make any sense.
A/N 2: I'm not entirely sure on the end of this chapter. I know what Beca and Aubrey are both thinking and planning, but I'm trying to keep it hidden from you guys for now. Stacie is kind of like you guys for me. On the outside looking in. Wondering what the hell is going on. Just know that I do have a plan.