El Paso was still visible in the rear view mirror but Chloe was already fast asleep due to her lack of rest at the hotel. Aubrey had remained mute since pulling out of the hotel lot and kept her face straightforward. Beca assumed the blonde's eyes were on the road but couldn't tell because the stone-faced woman was wearing aviators. In reality, Aubrey kept stealing glances back at Beca through the mirror. She still did not trust this petite woman. Initially, Beca had been happy with this setup. No talking was always good in her book. Talking usually led to awkward questions about one thing or another. She hated answering personal questions and preferred to keep to herself. That was why it was odd that she had so easily told Chloe about her musical aspirations yesterday. She chalked it up to being overly tired and somewhat vulnerable. As she pulled her headphones from her neck up to her ears and started listening to mixes on her iPod, she realized that in her haste to charge her phone last night she had forgotten to plug in her iPod. It died thirty minutes later. She couldn't risk running down her phone battery to listen to music so she just sat staring out the window at basically nothing. Nearly two hours into the drive, the pale blue sky began to darken dramatically and ominous clouds developed obscuring any sunlight from reaching the ground. The sound of rain suddenly hitting the windshield broke Chloe out of her deep sleep with a yawn. She stretched her arms up and arched her back before leaning around the seat to see if Beca was awake.
"Good morning again!"
"Are you always so chipper?"
"Yes, she is," Aubrey, replied with a scowl.
"She speaks," Beca spit out sarcastically.
Aubrey huffed. Chloe could sense that nothing had changed between the two since she had fallen asleep. The tension in the car was definitely uncomfortable. She figured the best way to alleviate it was to find things in common for the girls to relate to each other. Music! This was a no-brainer.
"Aubrey, did I tell you that Beca is going to L.A. to pursue music?"
"Yes, Chloe you did."
"Isn't that a-ca-amazing?"
"It's a bit of a pipe dream if you ask me. Just like acting."
Beca rolled her eyes. Another naysayer. This chick hadn't even heard her stuff and she assumed she was no good. Typical. Whatever, at least she wasn't sitting in silence anymore.
"Umm, can one of you please explain this whole "a-ca" thing you keep adding to words?"
"Oh, yeah! So Aubrey and I go to Barden University. We'll be seniors this year and we are captains of the Barden Bellas – an all female, a cappella group. We make music using only our mouths!"
"Oh, right, a cappella, that's like a thing now. Wait. Did you say you go to Barden?"
"Yep!" Chloe responded. Aubrey gulped nervously. Please don't let her recognize that name from the ICCA finals. I cannot deal with talking about it anymore.
"Uh, what are you both majoring in," Beca enquired.
"I'm pre-law and Chloe is pre-med," Aubrey replied haughtily.
Oh good. They probably don't know my father then. Beca sighed in relief.
"So Beca, how old are you? Do you go to college?" Aubrey was looking for some kind of way to turn the attention away from any possibility of talking about the ICCA's.
"I'm nineteen. I just finished a year of community college."
Chloe piped in, "Didn't you say your father wanted you to transfer somewhere to get a degree next year?"
"Uh, yeah. He is a professor so tuition would be free at his school but I figured I'd be wasting someone's money, even if it wasn't his, and that didn't make sense. School's not for everyone."
Aubrey shook her head. She did not understand that mentality. General Posen risked his life for this country and as a result, Aubrey was able to use the G.I. bill to go to college for free. This idiot had a chance to get a degree for free, without it costing her or her father anything at all, and she passed it up. She tried to bite her tongue but she couldn't let this go.
"Well, I think you're a fool."
"Aubrey!"
"Excuse me?" Beca questioned angrily.
"You heard me. You're wasting an opportunity that others would die for. Others have died for. It's being handed to you and you're throwing it away like it's garbage. You're going to regret it someday and it will be too late."
Beca knew she needed to be nice to these girls in order to get to her destination but this blonde was pushing too many of her buttons. "Get off your high horse, you don't know shit about me so stop trying to lecture me."
Aubrey could not stand this obnoxious, ungrateful young woman. She quickly pulled the SUV over to the side of the road and turned around in her seat to face Beca.
"Aubrey, what are you doing? We're going to fall behind schedule," Chloe stated trying to prevent whatever was going to happen from happening.
"Beca, give me your phone."
"What? No!"
Aubrey grabbed the phone out of the brunette's hand before Beca even blinked.
"The fuck are you doing? Give that back!" Beca attempted to reach for her phone but Aubrey's long arms kept her at bay. Chloe just sat there frozen, watching the exchange. She had no idea what to do.
"I'm going to call your father and tell him that you'll gladly go to college. We'll drop you at the next town and you can get a ticket home." Aubrey began scrolling through the contact list, looking for one that said Dad. She looked confused at the phone. Nobody was listed as Dad but there was a Dr. Stanley Mitchell in the phone and it indicated Beca spoke to him often. Oddly enough, that was also the name of her contemporary literature professor at Barden her sophomore year. Beca had had it at this point. She could no longer control her rage. She began yelling over the pouring rain pounding on the roof of the car.
"LOOK, I GET THAT YOU DON'T LIKE ME BUT TRUST ME, CALLING MY FATHER AND TELLING HIM I'LL GO TO COLLEGE IS NOT A GOOD CHOICE. ESPECIALLY IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE ME ANYMORE!"
The older blonde stared back at the brunette and like the strike of lightning, which lit up the sky in the distance, it hit her.
"Beca, is your last name Mitchell?"
See? Talking always led to personal questions. This is exactly what I had been hoping to avoid. Beca thought about lying for a minute but figured it wasn't worth the hassle.
"Yes."
"So, is your dad, Dr. Stanley Mitchell?"
"Yes, so, if you call him and tell him I'll go to college, you'll end up seeing me for the next year at Barden which I think we'd both rather avoid," Beca stated before snatching her phone back from Aubrey.
"Oh my gosh, small world, your Dad taught Aubrey and I in our sophomore year! He seemed like a nice guy," Chloe chimed back into the conversation.
Beca scoffed. Yeah, her dad was a nice guy. He just wasn't a good father. He had left when Beca was eleven years old. There was no affair or scandal of any kind. He just said he wasn't happy anymore and left them. Then, when Beca was fifteen, her mom died in a car accident. Her father showed up and moved her to his home with his new wife. Turned out he had stayed in the area. Four years without a word from him and he was less than thirty minutes away the whole time. Beca swore it didn't bother her and that she didn't care. It allowed her to stay at her high school but everyone treated her differently after her mom died. They were uncomfortable around the brunette. So she reverted into herself and focused solely on making music. Her grades were average but her father was less than impressed. He would constantly harp on her to try harder and to "fulfill her potential." Luckily, Stacie had arrived new to town that year and she was Beca's saving grace. She spent the rest of high school mostly at Stacie's house and moved into an apartment with her quickly after graduation. Aubrey noted Beca's scoff and immediately understood. She too had a hard-to-please father. It was a touchy subject for her and she figured the brunette had something similar going on. The man wasn't even listed as her dad in the phone for god's sake. General Posen was at least in her phone as Father. Aubrey let the conversation go and pulled back onto the road. They were still making pretty good time and she expected they would be in Tucson within an hour.
"Okay ladies, we will take a restroom break in about an hour. We should make it to San Diego by nineteen-thirty."
Chloe grabbed a nearby bottle of water and started chugging it. She had been purposely not hydrating to avoid pissing off Aubrey. She did not want another repeat of yesterday. Thinking back to the conversation, or rather, argument, they just had she thought about the upcoming a cappella season and how much they needed redemption. They needed new talent. Her aquamarine eyes lit up as she turned to the backseat again.
"Beca, I know you said you don't want to go to Barden but if you came you could audition to be a Bella!" Chloe squealed.
"Uh, no thanks. Seems pretty lame," Beca replied.
"We played the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, you bitch!" Aubrey retorted.
Beca raised her eyebrow and smirked. "I would think you wouldn't want me around, Aubrey."
"I don't. I'm just defending the Bellas."
"Beca, it's really cool. We sing all over the world and compete in national championships." Chloe batted her puppy-dog eyes at the small brunette.
"Sorry, I don't even sing," Beca lied. "And besides, I'm not going to Barden."
Aubrey furrowed her brow. "I thought you were going to L.A. to pursue music? And you have a guitar."
"Yeah, I want to be a music producer, not a singer," Beca answered simply. She didn't want fame or to be in the spotlight. For her it was about getting the music inside her soul out into the world. Creating music was the only thing that made her feel fulfilled. Aubrey continued to frown and glanced at the small woman in the back. She knew she heard Beca humming a melody in the car yesterday when she woke up to find her driving. Humming isn't the same as singing of course, but Beca sounded decent and she had figured that the brunette could actually sing pretty well.
KERPLUNK!
The SUV suddenly started pulling hard to the right. Chloe screamed and a loud yelp echoed from the brunette in the backseat. Aubrey remained composed, gripping the wheel and slowing the vehicle down to a stop on the side of the road.
"Everybody okay?" the blonde assessed her passengers.
"Yeah, what happened?" Chloe replied meekly.
"Looks like you hit that gigantic pothole back there. Probably blew out a tire."
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Aubrey bit back at Beca.
She groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. This trip was not relaxing at all so far. This was just perfect – a flat tire in the middle of Arizona during a torrential downpour. Now what would they do? It was highly doubtful that Chloe had any clue about car maintenance. And the general had never taken the time to show her how to change a tire since he was never home. Aubrey pondered if she still had roadside assistance coverage and began digging through the glove box. Suddenly, she heard a door open and shut. She looked up to see that Beca was no longer in the car but rather standing by the rear passenger side of the car in the pouring rain. The brunette walked up to Chloe's window and motioned for her to put it down just enough to talk and not let the rain get in.
"The tire is shot. Do you have a spare?"
"Not a full size. Just a donut."
"Okay, how about a jack?"
Aubrey shrugged. She felt completely unprepared which was uncharacteristic of her. Beca sighed and nodded before walking to the back of the vehicle. She opened the trunk and moved the luggage around before the locating the latch for the tire compartment. The tiny woman easily hauled the donut tire out along with the jack underneath before closing the trunk again. Chloe made to crawl to the back seat in order to get a better view before Aubrey grabbed her arm, pulling her back.
"Typically, no one should be in a car when it's on a jack. Due to the weather, we can stay in here but we need to keep our weight away from the area that's being jacked."
Chloe nodded her understanding and stared into the side mirror to watch through the raindrops. Beca quickly got to work, jacking up the car. She then began removing the lug nuts from the blown tire, her forearm muscles rippling under the tension from twisting the wrench. The strength the small brunette was displaying was impressive and shocking to Aubrey. Chloe appeared to be having a somewhat different reaction to this side of Beca though the blonde didn't take notice. The redhead's respiratory rate increased and she continuously licked her lips. Beca finished removing the trashed tire and held it up so they could see the damage. Aubrey mentally berated herself for losing focus while driving. Beca was right, that pothole was huge. Had she been paying proper attention, she would have been able to avoid it. Instead she was thinking about the Bellas and about Beca's singing. She returned her eyes to the mirror to observe as Beca squinted through the rain while attaching the donut tire. She expertly tightened the lug nuts before lowering the car. The small woman stood up and wiped the rain, or maybe it was sweat, from her brow. With the jack, wrench, and useless tire secured in the trunk Beca trudged through the monsoon back to Chloe's window, again motioning for them to put it down.
"Okay, so the tire is good for speeds of no more than sixty miles per hour and we probably shouldn't travel farther than forty miles on it."
"Beca, get in the car, you look like a wet rat!" Chloe exclaimed.
"I don't want to ruin the upholstery in your car, Aubrey. Do either of you have a towel I could use?"
Aubrey was surprised at the respect the girl was showing. Maybe she had misjudged her.
"Yeah, there are two large beach towels in the tote bag on the floor in the backseat. Get in before you drown out there."
Beca rolled her eyes and opened the door. She pulled out a soft, bright pink, Princess Peach towel and laid it across the seat before settling. That one has to be Chloe's. She quickly grabbed the other towel, black with the motto "An Army of One" and a yellow star in the middle, wiping her face with it. This must belong to Rambo. She looked up to see both girls staring at her.
"What?"
"I can't believe that A) you know how to change a tire and B) that you are physically cable of doing so."
"What Bree is trying to say, is thank you," Chloe cut in, shooting her best friend an admonishing look.
"Yeah, uh," Aubrey cleared her throat. "Thanks."
Beca nodded. "No problem. Like I said, stick to sixty and we need to stop to get a new tire soon. You definitely can't drive on the donut all the way to San Diego."
"We're about forty-five minutes from Tucson. We can get it taken care of there while we grab some food."
Chloe nodded in agreement while Beca wrapped the towel around herself. She was trying not to show how uncomfortable she felt in her wet clothing. She would definitely need to change when they stopped. Chloe however couldn't keep her eyes off the younger brunette and immediately sensed the discomfort from her body movements.
"Beca, I have some dry clothes in the tote as well. You should change into them and get comfortable."
"Uh, thanks, but I'll just wait until we get to Tucson."
"Don't be silly. You're soaked and those wet jeans have to be rough on your skin."
"I'm good. I can wait."
"Beca, stop being stubborn and just change. Chloe won't let this go," Aubrey cut in.
"I can't."
"Why not?"
Beca sighed and ran her fingers through her slick hair. This was so damn awkward. First of all, she hated being vulnerable in front of anyone and changing her clothing definitely fell into that category. She had never changed openly in front of her classmates in the locker room for gym class, preferring to dress in one of the bathroom stalls instead. Go ahead and call her a prude. That's fine. Second of all, that wasn't just a light drizzle she was out in for twenty minutes. She felt like she had jumped into a pool and swam a few laps. She was drenched all the way through – including her underwear and bra. There would be no point in changing clothes only to have her undergarments ruin them as well. This wasn't really a conversation she wanted to have with two people she had only known for less than a day. The redhead was now staring directly into her eyes, waiting for a response. She needed to come up with an excuse.
"I'm not wearing any underwear."
Oh no. What the hell was that, Mitchell? Lying was supposed to make it less awkward not more. Do you have any social skills at all? Good, God. Chloe glanced subconsciously at Beca's waist before gulping out, "Okay, never mind." Aubrey made a disgusted face but chose not to comment any further. Beca slunk down into the seat, trying to hide herself as much as possible.
…
A short time later, the car entered Tucson and they pulled into a tire shop. Aubrey asked Beca for her assistance in talking to the mechanics to make sure they got the right information. They left their numbers with the shop and headed next door to a diner. Beca grabbed her duffel and raced into the bathroom to change. Returning to the table in gray joggers and a black long sleeved Henley, Beca slid into the booth opposite Chloe and Aubrey. She picked up the menu and glanced at the prices. The waitress came by and took their orders. Aubrey went with a salad and Chloe opted for a BLT. Beca decided to stick with a side of fries in order to save money. As the waitress walked away, Aubrey spoke up, "I hope you're wearing underwear now." Beca decided she wasn't going to take any more jabs and figured two could play at this game. She's a badass and needed to start acting like it again. "You wanna check?" Beca got up and acted as though she was going to pull her pants down. Aubrey nearly spit out her water and began choking. Chloe's eyes initially bugged but then she erupted into giggles. Beca smiled cheekily and sat back down. Their food arrived quickly and the girls tucked in. Beca kept looking up to catch Chloe watching her and then avert her eyes to her sandwich. She wasn't sure what that was about. The brunette was stealing glances at the older blonde during their lunch as well. She could see the fatigue in her emerald eyes from driving in the stressful weather conditions. She was concerned with her ability to carry on. They had another six hours of driving to get to San Diego. Just as Beca was about to suggest that Aubrey let Chloe or herself drive the rest of the way, Aubrey's phone rang.
"Hello? Yes, this is she. Wait, I don't understand. Hang on." Aubrey held out the phone to Beca. "It's the mechanic. Can you speak to him? I don't really get what he's saying."
Beca took the phone and asked the mechanic to repeat what he had told Aubrey.
"Okay, I gotcha. How much will that cost? Mmkay. And when will it be done? Alright, we'll be over in a few. Thank you. Bye."
Beca handed the phone back and worried her lip with her teeth. "So umm, bad news and good news. Good news is they can fix the problem. Bad news is it won't be done until nine o'clock tomorrow morning. The pothole not only blew your tire but also cracked your rim so they need to get a replacement. We can go over to talk about the price when we're done here."
Aubrey groaned. Money wasn't an issue. She just hated the fact that they were stuck in Tucson for the night effectively shortening her vacation time in California. They needed to contact the hotel in San Diego and adjust their reservation to be for tomorrow instead. Chloe grabbed her hand and squeezed it for comfort. Aubrey smiled back at the redhead before grabbing the check from the server. Beca tried to offer her share of the bill but Aubrey waved her off. Chloe claimed they owed her for changing the tire and not to worry about it. They walked into the tire shop and Aubrey settled the details of the work with the mechanic before asking about local hotels to stay in. Beca's ears perked up at this. It hadn't crossed her mind that she would need some place to say the night. Maybe she could just stay up in the lobby of whatever hotel the girls chose.
"Alright ladies, Mark here has offered to give us a ride to the nearest hotel so grab what you need from the car and lets go."
There was no way Beca was leaving anything behind to possibly be stolen or damaged. Aubrey looked like she was going to protest when she saw Beca lugging the guitar and equipment case but Chloe nudged her towards Mark's van. When they got to the hotel, Chloe and Aubrey walked up to the desk to ask for a room. Beca just settled her stuff in the lobby and sank into an armchair. Chloe looked behind her and frowned noticing Beca was not standing with them. She left Aubrey to continue booking the room and strode up to younger woman. Beca looked up and began talking.
"Hey, do you think you guys could keep my stuff in your room?"
"Umm sure, but aren't you going to be in there too?"
"I can't afford to split the bill so I'll just stay here. But I'd appreciate it if you could keep my things in there."
"Oh my goodness, Beca! You're staying in our room. Don't worry about the money. We still owe you for the tire thing and a side of fries definitely does not cover that."
Beca didn't know how to react. She felt embarrassed about having no money, guilty about mooching, and thankful for the help, all at once. It was overwhelming. She settled for smiling weakly at Chloe and following her up to the room. Once in the room, she faced a new uncertainty… there were two beds for three girls. Chloe alleviated her concerns immediately by placing her suitcase on the same bed as Aubrey leaving the second bed open for Beca. The brunette carefully set her guitar and equipment bag alongside the wall next to her bed before diving face first into the pillows. "Oh man, this feels good." She really hadn't slept much the night before at the shelter. She had been too worried trying to figure out her next steps to get to L.A. It's funny how much can change in a few hours. Chloe giggled at Beca's dramatics before laying down on her shared bed next to her best friend who was already dozing off. It seemed all three girls were equally exhausted from their day despite it only being late afternoon.
…
Three hours later, a cellphone began blaring in the hotel room. Beca woke with a start and blindly grabbed for her phone on the nightstand to see a certain long-legged woman's face on her screen. Stacie was calling via FaceTime.
"Hello?" Beca said groggily.
"Becs, where the hell are you? You were supposed to call me when you got to L.A. which should have been about two hours ago."
Beca yawned and scratched her head. She looked completely disheveled due to the fact that she was still half asleep. Looking over at the other bed behind her, she could see that Aubrey and Chloe had woken up from the phone call as well.
"Beca! Are you going to answer me? Are you okay?"
"Hey, yeah, I'm sorry. I totally forgot to call you."
"So, you're in L.A.?"
"Uh no, not yet. There was a bit of an issue. I'm in Tucson."
Aubrey had sufficiently woken herself up at this point and turned on a light in the room.
"Tucson? Wait, who's Barbie?"
"Tell me she did not just call me Barbie," Aubrey growled.
"Relax Rambo, she didn't mean it in a bad way."
"Tall, slim, blonde, and gorgeous – definitely not a bad thing," Stacie purred.
Aubrey blushed and headed for the bathroom. Chloe smirked and moved into the camera view.
"Hi! I'm Chloe and that was Aubrey. We're Beca's new friends. I picked her up on the side of the road in Texas yesterday."
"On the side of the road! What happened?"
"I got kicked off the bus."
"Shawshank, you get yourself into trouble again?" A boisterous blonde woman with a large smile pushed her way into the camera frame.
"Hi, Amy. It was not my fault this time. Someone, thought it would be a great idea to put a giant dildo and a remote controlled vibrator in my bag, right Stace?"
"Oh my god, seriously they kicked you off for that? Beca, I am so sorry."
"It's fine. I don't want to rehash the details at the moment. Luckily, Chloe here took pity on me and now we are in Tucson. She and blondie are headed to San Diego for a vacation and are letting me bum a ride. I just need to figure out how to get to L.A. from there."
"Becs, you should call Jesse! He can totally come get you."
"He isn't in Atlanta for the summer this year?"
"Nope. He got an internship in L.A. so he could stay while school's out. I'm sure he'd be pumped to pick you up. I think he's lonely."
"Okay, cool. I'll text him tonight. Hopefully, he'll be able to come get me tomorrow. I'll check in with you guys tomorrow night."
"Bye, Becs!"
"Bye, Shawshank. Don't do anything I wouldn't do – actually don't do anything I would do either. You're not qualified."
Chloe sat there listening to the whole conversation. She didn't understand why, but she felt sad thinking about this Jesse guy picking Beca up tomorrow. It wasn't just sadness though, she couldn't put her finger on the emotion. Aubrey emerged from the bathroom looking refreshed. She peered at the small brunette suspiciously. Beca could feel the jade eyes staring at her.
"What?"
"Why were they calling you Shawshank?"
"No, reason."
"I've seen the movie. Are you a criminal?"
"Aubrey!"
"I'm not a criminal. I've never been to prison. It's just an inside joke," Beca huffed.
"Aubrey, I'm starving. Can we go find someplace to eat?" Chloe attempted to change the subject. Playing mediator between these two was exhausting. Aubrey acquiesced and stated that the concierge had given her a couple names of restaurants within walking distance when checking in earlier. The rainstorm had blown through and it was looking to be a rather pleasant evening, weather-wise, in Tucson. Chloe went into the bathroom to freshen up quickly before putting her shoes on.
"Okay, I'm ready Bree. Becs, you ready?"
Beca quirked her eyebrow at the nickname. Stacie was the only one who called her "Becs." She really didn't want to spend money on a presumably expensive dinner and she didn't want the girls to feel sorry for her anymore so she declined.
"I'm pretty tired, I think I'm just going to stay here."
Aubrey looked up sharply from her phone at this and glanced at her bags. Beca noticed the eye movement and snorted.
"Relax Rambo, I'm not going to touch any of your stuff."
"Stop calling me Rambo, you hobbit!"
Chloe sighed. She put her hand on Aubrey's arm to calm her down and led her out of the room. The two girls had just arrived at the restaurant when Chloe realized she had forgotten her wallet in the room. Aubrey assured her that she could cover the redhead's part of the bill but Chloe felt she desperately needed tequila, and the restaurant was refusing to serve her without seeing her license.
"It's a short walk. I'll be back before you know it. Order me the chicken enchiladas and guac'!"
As Chloe unlocked the hotel door, she was surprised to hear the shower running. She thought Beca would be sleeping. As she got closer to the bathroom she heard what sounded like singing. She slowly opened the bathroom door letting plumes of steam pour out of the room.
"You shout it out, but I can't hear a word you say. I'm talking loud not saying much. I'm criticized but all your bullets ricochet. You shoot me down but I get up."
Chloe was in awe of what she heard and couldn't help but to join in on the chorus, harmonizing with Beca's beautiful voice.
"I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose. Fire away, fire away. Ricochet you take your aim, fire away, fire away."
Beca screamed. "Who's there?"
"It's me, Chloe."
"Dude! What are you doing in here? I'm nude."
"Relax, you're behind the frosted glass doors. I can barely see anything. Why'd you tell me you couldn't sing earlier today?"
"I said I don't sing. Not that I couldn't. I'm surprised you know David Guetta. "
"Of course, that song's my jam… my lady jam."
"Gross."
"Will you sing it with me?"
"Dude, no. Get out!"
"I'm not leaving until you sing."
This girl had serious boundary issues. Beca sighed and began to sing the chorus with Chloe. She had to admit, the redhead had a lovely voice and they sounded pretty amazing together. It's not every day you harmonize that well with another person. Chloe agreed.
"You have a beautiful voice, Becs. You shouldn't hide it. You'd definitely be a great addition to the Bellas if you change your mind about Barden. Bree's waiting at the restaurant for me, I came back to get my wallet. I'll see you later."
Beca blurted a "Thanks" and waited to hear the door click before she began singing again. After she showered, she ate a granola bar from her bag, got into bed, and turned on old re-runs of Friends. It was only about eight at night, but she wasn't lying earlier when she said she was tired in order to skip the dinner.
Around ten o'clock, a tipsy Chloe and a completely sober Aubrey keyed into the room. Chloe had ordered a burrito to go for Beca but they found the brunette fast asleep with the television on in the background. Chloe smiled dreamily at the tiny woman and it did not go unnoticed by Aubrey. She was just pleased to see that the troll hadn't destroyed the room or gone through her things. The blonde turned to see her best friend passed out on top of the covers in her regular clothes still holding onto the burrito. She took it out of her hand and placed it in the mini-fridge before removing the girl's shoes. After changing into her own pajamas and brushing her teeth she crawled into her side of the bed. She set an alarm on her phone for the morning and said a prayer that the car would be ready. Soon, they would be in sunny southern California. She fell asleep with a smile on her face.