Title: Meanwhile - Part One
Author: slacker_d
Pairing/Characters: Aubrey/Beca, OFC, Mr. Posen, Denise, Benji, Jesse
Rating: light R for language
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Word Count: ~2,610
A/N: No Mitchsen in this part, sorry.
Part One
Megan Posen is ecstatic. It's only the second week of her sophomore year and her plan to have an awesome year took a big step in the right direction. Donald Ram asked her out today. He's one of the most popular guys in school and a senior. And since her older sister was allowed to date when she was a sophomore, Megan is confident that she'll be able to as well.
Leaning against Aubrey's car, Megan watches her sister walk with a girl Megan only knows as Headphones, because she always has headphones around her neck. They don't really seem to be talking and Megan wasn't even aware that they knew each other. Maybe they were paired together for a project.
When they reach Headphones' car, a beat up old clunker, they exchange a few words and then Aubrey walks towards Megan.
"Hi Bree."
"You're excited," Aubrey replies.
"I had a good day," Megan smiles.
"Of course you did."
Megan has never really understood her older sister. She could be the most popular girl at school, but instead she's quiet and keeps to herself. She studies, gets straight As and belongs to a few clubs. She doesn't even date and Megan knows that she's been asked out plenty.
What Megan finds even odder is that Aubrey hangs out with Fat Amy (self titled) and Chloe Beale, who are both insanely popular. Megan just doesn't understand it. It's proof that Aubrey could rule the school if she wanted, but when Megan asks, Aubrey tells her that she's just not interested.
Megan really doesn't understand her sister.
…
Megan waits until after dinner to bring up her date. Intentional or not, Megan knows that Aubrey's reaction will most likely negatively affect their dad's reaction, causing him to say no.
So as Aubrey disappears, saying something about homework, Megan approaches their dad who is paying bills at the kitchen table.
"Daddy," Megan says, sitting down across from him. "Can I talk to you about something?"
"Of course honey."
"Thank you, daddy," Megan replies. "Now as you know, I am a sophomore this year."
He nods, looking wary.
"And since Aubrey was allowed to date as a sophomore, I'm assuming I am as well."
"She was?"
Megan nods. "Halloween dance. She went with Josh Sylvester."
"I see."
"So when I was asked out today, I accepted," Megan continues.
Her dad sighs. "Honey, I'm not ready for you to start dating yet."
"That's what every dad says," Megan replies, with a dismissive hand wave.
"True," he allows. "But I just don't feel like you're ready."
"That's not fair," Megan says. "If Aubrey was ready, then I should be too."
"Not necessarily," he replies. "As you have pointed out to me numerous times, you and Aubrey are very different people."
"So?"
"So," he continues. "If I'm not allowed to treat you the same about grades and school, then the same should be said of you dating."
"But that's not fair," Megan whines.
"I never said it was," he replies.
"I'm almost sixteen, daddy," Megan says. "And in high school, I should be able to date."
Her dad is currently giving Megan his "I want to give in, but don't want to look like a pushover" look, so Megan decides it's okay to push a bit more."
"Please?"
He sighs. "I'll make you a deal—"
Megan squeals, clapping her hands, but quickly sobers up at her dad's stern glare.
"You can date when your sister does."
"What?"
"If I remember correctly, Aubrey hasn't gone on a date since that Halloween dance."
Megan nods in agreement.
"So I'm not sure that citing her as an example is your best argument. However, since Aubrey is a senior this year, I suspect that dating may become more of an option for her."
"Okay..."
"So if and only if, your sister starts to date, can you as well."
"Thank you, daddy," Megan exclaims, jumping up to hug him.
"There's more," he says, holding up a hand to stop her.
"Of course," Megan huffs, sitting back down.
"Do you really think now is the time to give me attitude?"
"Sorry," Megan mumbles.
"Now as I was saying," he continues. "You can date if Aubrey does, however, you cannot tell her about this deal."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't want you pushing, bribing or blackmailing your sister into going out with some idiot high school boy, just so you can go to the movies."
"What about college guys?" Megan suggests.
"Don't even joke about that."
"I can't believe that you think I would blackmail my own sister, my own flesh and blood—"
"Need I remind you of the driving lesson last year?"
"Hey, I'm not the one that ran that stop sign," Megan argues.
"Nonetheless, the whole situation was a giant clusterfuck—"
"Daddy," Megan gasps. "Language."
"And even though I'm not sure what strings you pulled to make Aubrey let you drive without a permit, nor do I want to. Instead, I am using it as the reason that you won't be telling Aubrey. If she finds out about this deal, it becomes null and void."
Megan tries her pouting, big eyed pleading, but it doesn't seem to be working.
"Fine," she sighs. "I accept."
"Excellent," he replies. "Anything else I can help you with?"
"No," Megan replies. "I've got homework I should go do."
"All right then, honey," he says, returning to his bill paying.
…
Upstairs, Megan is surprised to find her sister's room empty. Megan had assumed that Aubrey would be holed up, studying. Figuring that Aubrey probably went to the library, Megan heads towards her room. She has to figure out some way to get around her dad's stupid new rule.
…
Megan spends the next day observing her sister. She even takes notes. She has to figure out how she can trick Aubrey into a date so she can go out with Donald.
Unfortunately, Aubrey isn't giving any clues. Megan spends the whole day stalking her and learns nothing. Aubrey goes to class, eats lunch with Fat Amy and Chloe, plus a few of their friends, but doesn't really seem to interact with them. She's polite and talks to people, but at the end of the day, Megan's starting to think that her sister wants to be a nun. Megan even sits close enough to eavesdrop at lunch, becoming annoyed when Aubrey doesn't join in the conversation about who's the most dateable this year.
"It's like she's already an old maid," Megan tells Denise later.
"Your sister takes school very seriously. Everyone knows that."
My sister, the only senior to not suffer from senior-itis."
"Maybe if you find guys to ask her out, she'll say yes," Denise suggests.
"What?"
"Yeah," Dense says, sounding excited. "It's been a while since anyone's gone after her. Maybe all the guys are still interested, but scared to ask her out."
"Maybe," Megan allows.
"So you find a guy, talk Aubrey up and convince him to ask her out."
"I don't know..."
"It's not like you're forcing her to do anything," Denise defends. "You're just letting her know that there are guys out there that are interested."
"I guess."
"Do you have a better idea?" Denise asks.
"No."
"So tomorrow we scope out the school for possibilities."
Megan feels a bit reluctant. "All right."
"Hey, if you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it," Denise says.
"No, you're right," Megan replies. "This is the best possible solution."
"All right. Tomorrow is Operation: Get Aubrey a Date, So You Can Date Too."
"Kinda long," Mega says.
"Yet accurate," Denise replies. "We can abbreviate it."
"No. Not necessary."
"Fine," Denise huffs. "See you tomorrow."
…
The next week or so is spent trying to find guys who would ask Aubrey out and that she'd actually say yes to. It takes just as long as Megan expected. It would probably help if she knew what kind of guys her sister is interested in, but they've never really had that conversation because they don't have that type of relationship. And since Megan can only recall the one guy that Aubrey went out with, it's not a lot to go on. Plus, since it was only one date, Megan's not sure if Josh is even Aubrey's type.
It's immensely frustrating and Megan really wishes she could just say something to Aubrey, especially since sheknows Aubrey probably would go out once or twice to help Megan out. After all, Megan knows that Aubrey sometimes feels guilty because they're not closer. Megan also knows that it's equally her fault as much as Aubrey's, but that doesn't seem to stop her from using it for her own gain when necessary. She could feel guilty about it, but since Aubrey is obviously their dad's favorite, she needs every advantage she can take.
…
The first candidate is Luke Morgan. He's captain of the soccer team, co captain of the swim team and super hot. Megan's noticed him watching Aubrey in the halls with appreciation, so she figures convincing him to ask Aubrey out won't be a tough sell.
Denise is a bit skeptical, mostly because Luke is considered one of the hottest guys in school; whereas while most people know who Aubrey is, she's not considered popular. Megan figures it's because she's friends with such popular people.
Megan approaches Luke right before lunch. It takes a few tries to convince him that she's serious. And not sound like she's pimping her sister out. But when they part company five minutes later, Megan feels confident that Luke will be asking Aubrey out soon.
…
Soon is apparently a loose term because it's two more days before Megan witnesses Luke approach Aubrey during lunch. Megan tries to discretely watch as Luke sits down across from Aubrey and begins chatting. Aubrey looks annoyed at being interrupted, but Megan knows that would be true of anyone interrupting her and doesn't necessarily mean that Luke is out of the running.
But then Aubrey begins shaking her head and Megan knows that Luke struck out. Sighing, she returns to her lunch, trying not to look in Aubrey's direction. She's afraid that if Aubrey happens to catch her gaze, Megan's plan will be obvious.
"Don't look so discouraged," Denise says. "He's just the first one and I didn't really think he'd have a good shot."
"Yeah."
"And neither did you," Denise points out. "You were going off his interest in her, rather than the possibility of Aubrey being interested in him. Right?"
Megan nods because it's true. She'd picked Luke because he actually seemed interested, sort of. In hindsight, his interest had probably been more physical than anything else, which would definitely not appeal to Aubrey.
This idea is proving to be more challenging than Megan expected.
…
It's Denise that suggests Bumper Allen. Megan's not so sure since he kinda seems like a douchebag, but Denise used to date his younger brother, Adam and she says that when he's not at school, Bumper isn't a bad guy.
"What kind of name is Bumper anyway?" Megan asks.
Denise shrugs. "Nickname. Apparently his first name is pretty laughable and Adam's sworn to secrecy."
"Figures," Megan says. "You're not just saying he's a decent guy, right? I mean, Bree might be a pain in the ass, but she's still my sister."
"I promise."
Convincing Bumper takes an entirely different tactic and more time, but eventually he agrees. He's also quicker than Luke, asking Aubrey out the next day instead of three days later.
Megan doesn't witness it, but Bumper does approach her at lunch to complain. Apparently his invitation was turned down flat. Megan mentally crosses him off her quickly shortening list.
…
The next week it's Tom. Aubrey says no. The week after that, it's Mike. Aubrey turns him down as well.
"Maybe she's gay," Denise suggests.
That is something that Megan hadn't considered.
"It would make sense," Denise continues. "As to why she hasn't really dated anyone."
"I guess."
"So we get a girl to ask her out," Denise says.
"Like who?"
It takes some brainstorming, but Denise finally comes up with someone.
…
Approaching Stacie Conrad is actually a bit more nerve wracking than approaching any of the guys. Weirdly it feels even more like she's pimping Aubrey out then the others did. Still Megan is able to convince Stacie that asking Aubrey out would be a good idea. Denise is certain that this will solve Megan's problem, but she's not so sure. Stacie goes out on a lot of dates and Aubrey seems more like she'd prefer monogamy, but Denise just says that it's worth trying since even a couple dates would mean that Megan would be able to date as well.
…
Thankfully Stacie doesn't approach Aubrey in school. Instead as Megan waits by Aubrey's car, she sees Stacie approach Aubrey in the parking lot. Stacie is super animated and Aubrey is smiling, giving Megan hope, especially when the conversation stretches past a couple minutes. But then Aubrey is shaking her head and Stacie is pouting, so Megan assumes that Aubrey turned her down.
It takes every ounce of self control that Megan has to not scream at her sister as they drive home. Megan wonders if Aubrey thinks it's odd that she's being asked out on a regular basis. Megan doesn't usually pay attention to Aubrey's social life, but she's pretty sure that being out on a weekly basis is somewhat unusual.
"You've been awfully quiet lately," Aubrey says.
"Have I?"
"Normally you'd be telling me all your plans to take over the school."
"Oh. Well, I'm working on it."
"Okay," Aubrey says. "It'll be even easier next year when you're a junior."
"Is that when Chloe became super popular?" Megan asks, remembering the year before when it had been her goal to be as popular as Chloe.
Aubrey chuckles. "Chloe's the exception to every rule. She became popular the end of our freshman year."
"Figures," Megan grumbles.
Aubrey nods. "Well there's no one quite like Chloe."
There's no mention of being asked out a lot when Megan inquires about how things are going for Aubrey, leaving Megan feeling even more frustrated than ever.
…
Megan is ecstatic. She's found the perfect guy for Aubrey. He's sweet, good looking, smart and doesn't care about things like popularity. Jesse Swanson seems like the perfect guy for her.
It takes a bit of creative storytelling to convince him to ask Aubrey out, but when he finally agrees, Megan is confident that Aubrey will say yes. If she doesn't, Megan might have to give up because there are no other options.
…
Sitting in the cafeteria during lunch, Megan watches eagerly as Jesse approaches Aubrey's table. He smiles and seems to be asking if he can join her, which is something no one else did. Hopefully that'll work in Jesse's favor. Though Megan kind of wishes she could see Aubrey's face to judge her reaction, she is pleased to see Chloe, who is sitting next to Aubrey, nudge the blonde. Well at least Jesse has Chloe's approval. Maybe that'll help.
Megan watches them chat for a while and judging by the expression on Jesse's face, things are going well. Maybe she finally chose right.
However, a few minutes later, Jesse's expression falls and Megan's heart sinks.
"Seriously?" Denise questions as they watch Jesse stand and walk away. "Maybe she really is going to be a nun."
"It might be time to give up," Megan says.
"Maybe you should start recruiting college guys," Denise suggests.
Megan just groans. This is the worst deal she's ever struck.