Chapter 4 – Bachelor(ette) Parties
It's a week before the wedding; Beca and Chloe are throwing a bachelorette party for a reluctant Aubrey, while Jesse and Benji attempt to have a bachelor party.
"It's a good thing you actually like this whole party planning thing, I can't believe there's so much crap you have to do to get ready for a wedding," Beca admitted.
She was getting a little tired of parties, but at least she knew her friends appreciated it. Aubrey had thanked Beca and Chloe profusely after the baby shower, and of course for handling the situation at her engagement party. If it were anyone else Beca probably wouldn't put with the incessant wedding talk, but it was Aubrey and ever since they stopped butting heads at the ICCAs a few years ago they had gotten really close.
Aubrey had been a big factor in helping Beca realize that she and Jesse weren't working and that all along the person she really needed had been right there. She and Jesse fought all the time, and while Chloe was the person she wanted to go to, she was also the person she couldn't go to, not about Jesse. Aubrey was there though, and Aubrey was the person she could cry to, the person who would give her helpful albeit extreme advice, and the person who helped her realize it was over. Beca still remembers the night when Aubrey told her that maybe she'd find what she was looking for if she stopped looking in the wrong places. The next morning she found herself on Chloe's doorstep with a coffee, having spent a terrible night on the phone breaking up with Jesse. Chloe kissed her, invited her in and the rest was history. Spending the afternoon curled up in Chloe's arms watching a movie was much, much better than having another argument with Jesse and missing most of it.
"Do you think hiring a male stripper is too much?" as Chloe asked this Beca's focus snapped back to the party planning she was supposed to be helping with.
"For Aubrey, yes," Chloe snickered, "she'd probably prefer to spend the whole night gushing about McKenzie at this point; a stripper would just distract her."
"Okay so no strippers, what do you suggest we do then?" Chloe asking her opinion must mean she was out of ideas.
"Karaoke?" Beca was just thinking out loud, but this was their standby.
"Actually, Aubrey would probably like a girl's karaoke night. We haven't gone out to karaoke just us girls since her and Benji had gotten serious," Chloe sounded a little sad about not having had a girls night in a while.
"Sounds good to me, I mean it's what we do every Tuesday night but you're right about it not having been just the ladies in a while. We can do Aubrey's favourites; songs made famous by women," Beca and Chloe both laughed, knowing Aubrey would relish the opportunity to belt out her favourite Supremes song.
The night of the bachelorette party arrived and Beca and Chloe drove over to Aubrey's house to pick her up. The rest of the Bellas and Aubrey's friends were going to meet them at the bar. When they got there Benji had already left to go out with Jesse, and the other Treblemakers. The girls found Aubrey sitting on the couch rocking McKenzie.
"Hey Aubrey, are you ready for a night of fun with the ladies?" Chloe asked her in her peppiest voice.
When Aubrey looked up they both knew she had been crying.
"What's wrong, not happy to see us," Beca remarked sarcastically, hoping to cheer Aubrey up.
"I don't want to leave her," Aubrey managed to get out in between sniffing and wiping her tears.
"Awww Aubrey, it's just for a few hours, she'll be fine with her grandma," Chloe said sympathetically sitting down next to Aubrey on the couch.
"but, but she's my baby," Aubrey sniffed, "I just can't leave her, what if she's hungry, or fussy?" Aubrey looked to her friends for some understanding.
"Aubrey, it's okay to be nervous about your first night away from the baby, but you'll have a great time tonight and then you can come home and see McKenzie and tell her all about your night. McKenzie will have a fun night bonding with grandma, and when you get home she'll be so happy to see you again," Chloe didn't know anything about having children, but she did know how to comfort her friends.
Aubrey knew her friends had planned a fun evening for her, and she did want to celebrate with them before her wedding. She also knew Benji's mother would take good care of her sweet little girl.
"Okay, I'll come," Aubrey said getting off the couch.
She kissed McKenzie 10 times before handing her over to Mrs. Applebaum, and waved and blew kisses all the way out the door.
"You're such a dork," Beca teased.
"Hey, you'll know what it's like when you and Chloe finally have a kid," Aubrey told her, "you just fall in love instantly and never want to let go."
Beca liked the idea of her and Chloe having a child, she figured Chloe would be very similar to Aubrey when the time came.
"I'm not the only one either, Benji made Jesse wait for over 20 minutes while he said goodbye to us over and over. He mumbled something about not wanting to leave his family to go see a stripper, but Jesse dragged him out the door. It was sweet really," Aubrey recalled.
She and Benji really were the perfect couple.
Aubrey, Beca and Chloe climbed into Chloe's car, ready for a night of fun with their favourite girls.
"So what are we doing tonight?" Aubrey asked curiously.
"Karaoke, just us girls," Chloe told her, hoping Aubrey would be excited.
A few minutes ago she was still whining about having to leave McKenzie, and telling them a story about the cute noise she made this morning.
"Well that sounds fun; we haven't done that in a while. There won't be any strippers right?" Aubrey's question made Beca snort.
"I like naked men, it's just the only naked guy I really want to see these days is Benji," Aubrey told her friends.
"Fair enough, we already knew you wouldn't want to see sweaty naked dudes in g-strings tonight anyway. Don't think we don't know you girlfriend," Beca assured Aubrey.
As they pulled into the parking lot they could see Fat Amy showing Cynthia how to airplane dance.
"Hey aca-bitches!" Aubrey yelled when she saw her friends.
Beca was glad she was finally excited about the night; she thought she was never going to get over leaving McKenzie at home.
"Finally girl, we thought we'd never see you out again after you had that adorable little muffin," Cynthia Rose said excitedly.
"Yeah, shacking up with Jewfro and popping out a little aca-baby has really made you scarce Aubrey," Fat Amy said in her usual inappropriate way.
Aubrey just laughed, knowing Fat Amy didn't mean anything by it.
"I'm happy to see you girls; shall we get down to the singing?" Aubrey said, wanting to get things rolling.
They found a table at the front, near the stage, their favourite place to sit. Seeing the drunks (who more often than not were her own friends) stumble up and down the stairs after drunken renditions of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry hits was often the highlight of the night for Beca.
The female teachers from Aubrey's school looked a little uncomfortable in the setting; it was obviously none of them had ever been to a karaoke bar.
"It's easier after you have a cosmo, or 4," Chloe told a tall brunette who was sitting near her.
"It's actually easier after you watch a drunken Aubrey butcher a Gloria Estefan song," Beca snorted remembering the time Aubrey had almost fallen off the stage in the middle of "Turn The Beat Around."
"No drinking for me tonight," Aubrey told Beca, "I'm breastfeeding, and besides I don't want to go home to my baby drunk."
"I promise I'll still sing something fun though," Aubrey assured Beca, who she knew looked forward to her drunken escapades on karaoke night.
Sure enough about 20 minutes later Aubrey got up on stage to sing, "Hot and Cold" by Katy Perry. Beca assumed this was dedicated to one of her toolbag exes, and as promised it was almost as fun as when Aubrey had a few margaritas.
"What are you going to sing babe?" Chloe asked as Aubrey was finishing her song.
"Not sure yet, why, do you want to do a duet?" Beca asked, already knowing the answer.
Chloe was always bugging her to do some cutesy duet, the kind Aubrey and Benji treated their friends too every time they failed to cut them off at the bar.
"Yes!" Chloe squealed.
"Oh boy, what do you have in mind," Beca wondered.
"Crusin'?" Chloe said expectantly.
Chloe listened to the Smokey Robinson track incessantly. Beca would feign disinterest every time she put it on it, but secretly kind of loved it.
They got up on stage to the raucous applause of the rest of the patrons, all of whom were probably too wasted at this point to care who was up there or what they were singing.
Chloe: Baby tonight belongs to us
Everything's right, do what you must
And inch by inch we get closer and closer
To every little part of each other ooh baby, yeah So
Beca: And if you want it you got it forever
This is not a one-night stand, baby, yeah so...
When they were done, they walked down the steps hand in hand. Beca was just a little tipsy and Chloe was a designated driver tonight, so they were able to clear the stairs easily.
"Nice job Chloe, you finally convinced her to sing a duet with you, you've been trying for what 2 years now?" Aubrey laughed.
"Yes finally, I don't know why she was reluctant, we all know she secretly thinks it's cute when you and Benji do it," Chloe revealed, causing Beca to turn bright red.
As Fat Amy got up to sing her 3rd Lady Gaga number of the night the discussion turned to Aubrey's feelings about her wedding being so close. Aubrey was visibly excited about the thought of finally getting married. She'd always wanted to find Mr. Right, she'd just taken a ton of wrong turns during her time at Barden dating and sleeping with a slew of douchebags. Chloe was relieved to know she had decided to give a sweet guy like Benji a chance. Chloe herself hadn't always made the right choices when it came to dating, but at least she didn't date guys who treated her crap the way Aubrey did. Chloe had given her friend a stern talking to one night after one of her boyfriends had called her a "dumb slut," at a party the two of them attended. After that incident Aubrey decided it was time to give a different type of guy a chance, so when a visibly nervous Benji bumped into her outside the bar after the ICCAs and asked her out, she said yes immediately and has been glad she did ever since.
Benji wasn't sure what to expect, walking into a strip club for the first time ever. The Trebles had assured him it would be fun, and that he had to experience it in his last week ever as a single man. Still though, Jesse could tell Benji was incredibly uncomfortable around the nearly nude ladies.
"Loosen up buddy, try and have some fun," Jesse said, handing Benji a stack of one dollar bills.
"You don't actually expect me to ummm, put these in those ladies panties do you?" Benji asked hesitantly.
"Well that's kind of the point of a strip club dude," Jesse tried to reassure his friend; "Aubrey knows you're here, and while she is the jealous type, she trusts you."
Jesse could tell Benji still wasn't having any of it. How could he plan his friend such a dumb, typical bachelor party? He would have been better off getting them tickets to see a magic show. Benji was fiercely loyal, and loved Aubrey, plus he was shy so strip clubs weren't really his thing. Benji wasn't the type to think of his wedding as the end of his freedom and really thought it as the start of an awesome new life. Really, it was like the two of them were already married, they had the house, the car, and even a brand new baby. The wedding was more of a formality, and Benji was ready for it.
"Do you wanna leave buddy?" Jesse asked, already knowing what his response would be.
"Yes!" Benji responded without skipping a beat.
The other Trebles were reluctant but also agreed to do something else.
Benji and Jesse got into Jesse's car, and a few minutes later pulled into the lot of a more familiar haunt.
"Karaoke, score!" Benji exclaimed.
"I figured this would be more your speed," Jesse said as they walked into the bar.
"Benji!" Aubrey yelled as she saw the guys walking in.
Benji ran over to his fiancée, she was already standing up to hug him. Aubrey planted a big kiss on her man's lips, it had only been a few hours since she'd seen him but it was clear to Beca that she missed him.
"What are you dudes doing here, shouldn't you be off watching naked ladies shake their boobies?" Chloe asked Jesse.
"Well you know Benji, he's got eyes for no one but Aubrey, the strip club was a bust. Besides, we didn't know you ladies would be here, we figured you'd be off watching a sweaty dude, or talking about lingerie or something," Jesse obviously didn't know these ladies that well, as none of that was really their speed.
"Nope, clearly Benji and Aubrey were made for each other, Aubrey didn't want to see a stripper either," Stacie said, sounding disappointed.
Aubrey was now sitting on Benji's lap and kissing his neck.
"Does this mean we have to listen to another one of Aubrey and Benji's sickeningly sweet duets?" Fat Amy questioned.
"Actually I do have something I'd like to sing to her," Benji revealed, surprising their now much larger group.
Benji normally didn't sing anything romantic unless he was singing with Aubrey. He did a mean Elvis but Beca had never seen him get mushy unless Aubrey was holding his hand, or he'd had about 10 beers.
Benji got up on the stage, and the music started to play. Beca didn't recognize the song but as soon as the lyrics started she looked to Aubrey for her reaction…
'Cause I wanna wrap you up
Wanna kiss your lips
I wanna make you feel wanted
And I wanna call you mine
Wanna hold your hand forever
Never let you forget it
Yeah, I wanna make you feel wanted
To no one's surprise Aubrey was wiping happy tears from her face as Benji serenaded her.
Beca leaned in to Chloe and started whispering in her ear. The song had put Beca in a particularly romantic mood.
"I love you Chloe," Beca cooed.
Chloe turned around and grabbed her fiancée's hands, "I love you too," she said, placing kisses on Beca's lips, and all down her neck.
When the song was finished Fat Amy could be heard yelling "You get it Jewfro," as Benji ran down the stairs to kiss Aubrey.
"You are the sweetest man I've ever known," said Aubrey, "and I'm the luckiest woman alive."
Benji kissed Aubrey said before sitting down and putting his hands around Aubrey's waist.
Truthfully Beca thought she was the luckiest woman alive, but she let Aubrey have this one. Benji's song had put everyone at the table in the mood to discuss romance, as they all recalled their favourite Benji and Aubrey duets, and gave the couple well wishes for their upcoming nuptials.
As the night came to an end the acapella loving friends poured out of the bar. As everyone slipped off to their respective rides, they wished Benji and Aubrey good luck with the last minute planning and promised to see them at the reception.
Benji wished Jesse a good night and told him he'd like to ride home with Aubrey. Beca and Chloe got into the front of Chloe's Chevy, and Benji and Aubrey occupied the back, still holding hands and whispering what Beca could only assume were sweet nothings to each other the whole ride home.
"So I guess we know the two of you are most definitely ready to tie the knot," Chloe mused as Benji and Aubrey got out of the car in their drive way.
"Most definitely indeed," Benji replied.
"Yes!" Aubrey said in a voice that almost mimicked Chloe's signature peppy tone.
Aubrey and Benji thanked their friends for a fun time and told them they'd see them a few days later at the rehearsal dinner.
"Goodnight love birds," Beca called out the window as they walked up the steps.
Aubrey could hardly contain her excitement as Benji opened the door, only to be shushed by Benji's mother as they took off their shoes.
"She's sleeping," Benji's mother informed them.
Aubrey made her way quietly up the stairs and into her bedroom. As much as she wanted to pick up her little girl she bent down slowly and gave her a small kiss on the forehead, letting her sleep was important. She'd be up in a few hours to eat anyway. Benji came up behind her and put his arms around her.
"I can't wait to be your husband Aubrey Posen," Benji whispered in his ear.
"Well I can't wait to be Mrs. Applebaum," Aubrey replied giving her husband a peck on the cheek.
Beca and Chloe climbed into bed as soon as they got into their apartment.
"Well that went well," Chloe said, almost as if she were asking for Beca's opinion.
"I think so, those two are like little love sick puppies though," Beca said, adding "I really can't wait to see them finally married though, they really are meant to be."
"Just like us," Chloe whispered before giving Beca a kiss goodnight.
"Just like us," Beca repeated, "just like us."