"Legacy, would you quit digging your heels into my BACK? I'm not a pony," Amy huffed, visibly frustrated as they finally reached the Bella house.
Emily smirked, perched comfortably as she was carried into the living room by the senior. The smile fell from her face quickly as the older girl practically dumped her on the couch without any hesitation or warning.
"Amy! You need to be more careful," Jessica chastised her teammate, who had already settled herself into an armchair.
Amy used a pillow to fan herself, totally disregarding her teammates. Cynthia Rose helped adjust Emily so that she was sitting upright. Emily winced, feeling the pain in her ankle twinge as she shifted uncomfortably on the cushion. She caught Beca's eye from across the room, but the older girl abruptly looked away. She knew the senior probably had some choice words for Amy, but was trying to retain her self control.
Ashley emerged from the steps of the second floor, carrying a rectangular case that looked like a tackle box.
"Okay, you hypochondriacs, what'll it be? I've got gauze, gloves, tweezers, eye dressings, band-aids, bandages, ibuprofen, cold medicine, the works." Ashley rattled off, taking items out one by one and slapping them on the coffee table. "Pick your poison!"
Lilly tried to reach for the tweezers, thinking no one else was looking, but Ashley deftly swatted at her hands, giving a warning look. The typically silent girl sighed in defeat and slunk away.
"I feel like I'm at an eighth grade play." Stacie sighed, pressing her fingers to her temples, visibly annoyed. "Grab some ice first, but then we'll settle for some bandages and maybe a splint, if you have one."
"Going once, going twice, sold! To the girl with the great legs and bad attitude," Ashley pretended to auction off the items, handing over a bandage and splint. Stacie rolled her eyes, but grinned cheekily and took the items out of Ashley's hands. Meanwhile, Jessica went to locate an ice pack and disappeared into the kitchen.
"Since when do you have enough medical supplies for a small army, Ashley?" Beca asked, surveying the spread of items on the coffee table. "What are we, stocking up for the zombie apocalypse?"
"You literally don't pay attention, do you, Beca?" Ashley crossed her arms, more amused than annoyed. "My mom's a nurse and I'm a physical therapy major. I've had this stuff the whole time we've been at Barden."
Beca felt her cheeks flush, but she tried to shrug off her embarrassment. She couldn't have been the only one who didn't know that about Ashley. What else have I not noticed? Beca mused internally, then cut herself off. No. Your mind is playing tricks on you. You know these girls. Don't let them get in your brain, Mitchell. And quit referring to yourself by your last name. It's weird.
Jessica emerged from the kitchen, an ice pack clutched victoriously in her hands. She tossed the cold pack in Fat Amy's direction, but the Australian promptly ducked, allowing it to collide with Emily's shoulder instead.
"Ow!" Emily exclaimed, rubbing her shoulder. Chloe put a hand on Emily's shoulder reassuringly, but quickly pulled back when she caught Stacie's eye. Flo and Cynthia Rose scowled in Amy's direction, not entertained by her antics.
"Girl, what's your issue?" Cynthia Rose said challenged Amy, towering over her armchair.
"What's my issue? Am I supposed to not dodge objects being hurled at my face and just allow this sabotage to happen?! This is the money maker," Amy protested, pointing to her head emphatically.
"You're supposed to be taking care of Emily. The ice pack was for her. Not everything is about you, Amy." Jessica practically growled, making Amy recoil in surprise. It was unlike Jessica to have outbursts of any kind, she was usually so cheery. Beca and Chloe exchanged smiles from across the room. The Bellas were already cracking under pressure.
"You guys, calm down. Let's not fight," Emily pleaded, while holding the ice against her ankle. "It's not worth getting mad about."
The other Bellas nodded in agreement. The early morning workout had certainly taken its toll on everyone.
"I can't even think straight, I'm so hungry," Flo complained, holding her stomach and sinking into the couch dramatically.
"Then get your butt into the kitchen and make some food," Cynthia Rose shrugged, pushing her off of the couch. Flo dusted herself off and shot an annoyed glance at her roommate.
"Whatever you make, can I have some too? I'm starving," Emily asked brightly.
"Ditto," Stacie chimed in, not looking up from her phone.
"You people," Flo sighed through gritted teeth as she slunk to the kitchen. Ashley jumped up and went to help Flo scavenge through the kitchen for breakfast. Moments later, they reappeared in the doorway, looking disappointed.
"Slight problem, you guys," Ashley mentioned evenly, "All we have left in the kitchen is a bottle of ketchup, a few slices of bread, and a package of Oreos."
"Sounds like a nutritious breakfast to me," Amy clapped a hand to her stomach,"Hustle up, ladies."
"Why don't we have any real food?" Stacie moaned.
"We don't have any real food because I didn't go grocery shopping yesterday," Chloe piped up, smiling slyly. The Bellas turned to look at their former leader. Chloe held up her hands in defense. "I'm off duty. If you want to eat, you'll have to figure it out yourselves."
Stacie locked eyes with Chloe and furrowed her brow. Well played, Red. Well played, she thought. But she was not going to let the Bellas back down over something as stupid as grocery shopping.
"Ay, I'd be happy to do it," Amy offered hastily, and started to get up from her seat. Stacie put a hand on her shoulder and forced her to sit down.
"No. You're staying here with Emily, because apparently you two have a deal to uphold," Stacie shot a pointed look at the younger girl, who tried to smile back innocently. "Everybody else, let's go."
Cynthia Rose grabbed her keys and several of the girls filed out the door behind her. Beca declared that she was going back to bed and disappeared, heading to the second floor. It was just Amy, Chloe, Emily and Stacie left in the living room.
"I'm going to go work on my Russian Lit paper, but I'll be upstairs if anyone needs anything," Chloe excused herself, her voice sweet but eyes serious as she looked at Amy deliberately.
"We won't," Stacie echoed, matching her saccharine tone. Chloe shook her head, amused and frustrated, but opted not to pick a fight with Stacie. Instead, she quickly gave Emily an affectionate squeeze and flounced up the stairs, following Beca's footsteps. As soon as the redhead had vanished from view, Stacie turned to the other two girls. "Amy, promise me you won't kill Emily while we're gone or do anything that will cost us the bet."
"FINE. I promise-"
"Promise without crossing your fingers or any part of your body."
"Yes, Legs, I promise not to harm the aca-child," Amy said, winking mischievously. Emily gulped. Maybe this had not been a great idea after all.
"I'm serious, Amy. We've got to stick together if we're going to crack them. But if this morning is any indication, hopefully it shouldn't take too long," Stacie reasoned, then turned to Emily. "Em, you need anything before we take off?"
"Maybe some water?" Emily asked, looking innocently over at Fat Amy. The blonde begrudgingly left her chair and went to fetch a glass of water for the freshman, muttering angrily to herself as she left. Once Amy had disappeared, Emily felt Stacie grip her hand firmly. "What?"
"You wanna tell me what's going on here?"
"Nothing," Emily lied lamely. Dishonesty had never been her strong suit. She'd spoiled many a surprise party purely because she hated keeping secrets from people. She didn't have it in her.
Stacie simply stared intently at the younger girl, knowing that if she waited long enough, she was likely to crack. Several uncomfortable seconds of silence passed before Emily let out a loud sigh.
"I didn't plan it- I promise," Emily blurted out, holding her hands up in surrender. "She just always picks on me and tries to make my life harder so when I fell this morning I got mad and just-"
"You wanted to get even?" Stacie asked incredulously. Emily nodded sheepishly. Stacie felt a grin break across her face. "Well, well, well, Legacy's got a little fire in her after all. I'm impressed."
"It's not, like, a habit or anything."
"Spoken like a true manipulator in training. Have your fun with Amy today, but next time you decide to pull a fast one, as least give me a warning first. Deal?" Stacie held out her hand to Emily, who considered it for a second, but then shook it firmly.
"Deal."
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Bellas WhatsApp, 8:34 a.m.
Ashley: Flo, where are you?!
Ashley: (has anyone seen Flo?)
Jessica: We've only been here for 10 minutes and we already lost somebody. That has to be a record.
Stacie: Have u checked the multicultural aisle?
Jessica: racist
Cynthia Rose: SMH
Stacie: Not racist! she said she wanted tacos for dinner
Florencia Fuentes shook her head as she read the messages on the group message her teammates had started.
It had all started in the car on the way to the store, when Cynthia Rose insisted that they needed to make a separate group chat so they could discuss plans without Beca and Chloe seeing them. All the other girls had enthusiastically agreed, but Flo already found the first group chat hard enough to follow. She'd grown to love these girls over her time at Barden, but even she had to admit that as a group they could be a little much to handle.
With no list and no plan, grocery shopping had quickly become a free for all. Within minutes of arriving at the store, Jessica had dragged Ashley to look for dinosaur egg oatmeal in the cereal aisle, Cynthia Rose was inspecting produce, Stacie had decided to examine vitamin supplements (something about needing to help the hunter), and Lilly had all but disappeared from view. Now that you mention it, Flo wasn't certain they'd actually brought the soft spoken girl with them. Not like you would hear her, anyway.
So now, she found herself completely abandoned in the middle of Publix, aimlessly steering a shopping cart for the aisles as she searched for her friends. Flo decided to take matters into her own hands. She grabbed a few ingredients from the shelf to make tacos and placed them into the cart. She was about to send a quick text to the group when she felt a hand grip her shoulder. Flo gulped. She panicked and thrust her elbow backwards, making contact. She took a breath and spun to face her attacker.
"Ow! God! What was that for?" Jessica clutched her side in pain, a grimace covering her face. To her right, Ashley took a picture with her phone and sent it to the group chat.
Ashley: False alarm. We found her.
Ashley: Flo just laid a WWE smack down on Ash
Stacie: Dammit. That's 2 injuries in 1 day
CR: So what ur saying is we have a perfect record
Stacie: What I'm saying is we need to be careful
Lilly: :)
Flo: Lilly! You're here!
Lilly: I'm everywhere
Jessica: Thanks for the concern, you guys
Ashley: Pretty sure you'll live, Rocky
Jessica: Why are you texting me right next to me
Ashley: Wow. Not everything's about you!
Flo: Can we PLEASE just meet somewhere and make a plan
CR: Someone's hangry
Lilly: Meet me by the cleaning supplies
Jessica: why
Lilly: less witnesses
Stacie: Ok weirdo
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Emily glanced around the living room, her foot propped up comfortably on a pillow, looking for any sign of her Australian caretaker. It was quiet. Too quiet. The other girls had been gone for about twenty minutes on their grocery run, but she couldn't wait any longer. She was starving.
"Amy," She called out tentatively, half expecting the older girl to pop out from some hidden location to scare her. She paused for a minute, debating her choices. Emily used all of her arm strength to push herself off of the couch. She'd been icing her ankle for a while, it was practically numb. Surely she could put a little weight on it.
The moment Emily placed her right ankle evenly on the floor, pain shot up her leg like a rocket. She quickly fell back on the couch, stretching her ankle back to its original position, hoping for relief.
"Amy!" Emily yelled out, letter her voice ring out louder and louder. "AMY!"
Suddenly the Australian came bounding from around the corner, looking slightly irritated.
"Legacy, would you cool it? I had to see a man about a wallaby," Amy huffed, wiping her hands on her pants.
"I didn't know where you were and you weren't answering any of my texts. If it's too much trouble I'll just get Beca or Chloe-" Emily shrugged, nonchalantly. Amy's eyes widened.
"Alright, alright, what do you need?"
"I'm really hungry."
"They'll be back with groceries soon, squirt." Amy crossed her arms, clearly put out by having to repeat herself.
"I don't think I can wait that long," Emily confessed, hearing her stomach grumble. "I think I might have some snacks in my room. Can you go find them for me?"
"No problem. I'll be back faster than you can say Fat Patricia."
"Fat Patricia."
"You're not actually supposed to say it!" Amy called behind her as she ran up the stairs. Emily chuckled to herself as she watched the girl disappear.
What felt like several minutes passed, and still there was no sign of Amy. Instead, Chloe came through the living room, bopping her head and singing along to a song on her phone. She took out one earbud as she passed Emily and sat gingerly on the arm of the chair next to her.
"You doing okay?" Chloe asked, her eyes wide with worry. "I'm sorry about your ankle. Amy should've never dared you to jump over that table- then again, I probably shouldn't even be saying this right now. You know, not trying to get involved."
"You can do whatever you want," Emily giggled, "For the record, I've never cared when you get involved. Your secret is safe with me."
"Just text if you need something," Chloe winked, and bounced into the kitchen. Moments later, Amy came bounding down the stairs empty handed. Emily frowned, feeling disappointed.
"No luck, squirt. All I found under your bed was your diary. Pretty boring stuff. Although I have to agree, Jesse does kind of look like a puppet from Avenue Q come to life-"
"Amy!" Emily hissed. "I never said anything was under my bed! Quit snooping through all my stuff! And stop calling me names. A deal's a deal."
Emily sent the senior back upstairs with directions that would hopefully lead to food of some kind. She laid back into the couch, waiting for the girl to return. Again, Amy came down the stairs without any food.
"No dice, Legacy. I mean Emma. Emilia? Ernestine?" Amy mused, "Come to think of it, what is your real name?"
"It's Emily."
"Are you sure you wouldn't consider Ernestine as an alternative?"
"Are you sure I shouldn't just get Chloe? She's right around the corner." Emily challenged, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "Hey Chlo?"
"What's up, Em?" Chloe's head peaked out from the doorway of the kitchen. Emily smirked and nodded to Amy, silently challenging her to make her next move. Amy's lips formed a thin line as she glanced from one girl to the other.
"I'm just going to Emily's room to rustle up some snacks," Amy offered, feigning innocence. The younger girl's name felt foreign on her tongue. "You want anything?
"Nope, I'm good, but thanks anyway," Chloe beamed. "You're lucky you have such a good caretaker, Em."
Amy disappeared once more, huffing and stomping angrily as she ascended the stairs. Chloe peaked from around the corner once she was sure the other girl was gone.
"She called you by your name," Chloe laughed, but looked impressed. "Whatever you're doing, keep it up. I approve."
Emily smiled, feeling pleased with herself until Amy once again returned to the living room without any snacks.
"Oh come on, you're just doing this on purpose now!" Emily whined. "They can't be this hard to find."
"You're not the one running up and down the stairs every five seconds- I already did my work out today, thanks."
"I would go up there myself if I could and you know it!" Emily shot back, annoyed. Then she had an idea. "If you can get me up there I'll just look for them myself- or like, tell you where to look."
Amy paused to consider this for a moment.
"I'm not putting you on my back again-"
"I never said you had to. Just, like, carry me or something." Emily reasoned.
"Alright, up you go," Amy said brashly and hoisted Emily into her arms, carrying her bridal style towards the stairs. Amy was surprisingly strong, lifting her with ease as she walked up each step. Emily wondered if all of her stories about wrestling alligators were actually true. Amy turned the corner at the top of the stairs quickly, nearly knocking Emily into the wall.
"Careful!" Emily said, curling herself into a little ball.
Amy simply grunted and continued to carry her down the hallway without any incidents. They were just about to reach Emily's room at the end of the hall when the bathroom door swung open.
"Do I want to know what's going on here?" Beca asked, carefully surveying the situation. She'd seen a lot of weird things already that day, but this had to take the cake. Amy shuffled, trying to reposition herself so she didn't drop Emily. She glanced around the girl's bun so she could actually see Beca.
"Nothing to see here, short stack. Just assisting Emily with finding some snacks."
Beca rolled her eyes.
"You look nice," Emily commented, surveying Beca's outfit. She was wearing a nice black button down shirt, pixie cut slacks and flats. Instead of her usual tousled look, Beca's hair had been curled in soft waves just past her shoulders. "I thought you were going back to bed."
Beca stumbled over her words as she tried to provide a reason for her appearance, when suddenly her phone began ringing loudly. She immediately answered it, her tone sweeter and more polished than usual.
"Hi, yes, I'll be right there. I am so sorry," She rattled off, and quickly flew down the hall and down the stairs.
Amy pushed the door open and set Emily down on her bed.
"That was weird, right?" Emily asked, feeling somewhat nervous.
"Oh she's definitely lying," Amy nodded certainly, tapping her fingers on Emily's desk absentmindedly. "The only question is why."
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"No, Lilly, we are not buying bleach in bulk. Stop trying to slip things into the cart that we don't need!" Ashley chastised the other girl, handing several containers to Jessica and Flo.
"We'll need it soon enough," Lilly mumbled, looking sullen.
Meanwhile, Stacie sat in another cart adjacent to the one being hastily unpacked by Ashley. She kept scrolling aimlessly through her phone, but nothing was distracting enough to keep her from thinking about her hunger.
"Screw it," she muttered, and reached for a box of cookies from the shelf behind her. She ripped to package open, grabbed a cookie and took a bite, feeling relief wash over her. Oreos had never tasted so good. Cynthia Rose saw what she had done and grinned, motioning for her to pass the box. Stacie grabbed a handful of cookies and then happily shared her snack.
"You guys!" Jessica exclaimed, looking horrified. "You can't eat food from the store before we buy it!"
"Sure we can," Cynthia Rose said, popping another cookie into her mouth with a smirk.
"That's stealing!"
"Oh my god, look, we traded one set of moms for another," Stacie remarked sarcastically, eating the inside of her Oreo. Cynthia Rose and Lilly both snickered, but Flo pretended not to hear them.
"Way to be an adult, Stace." Ashley snorted.
"I'm not even capable of being an adult when I'm this hungry. This is taking forever," Stacie whined. "Can we please just make a choice and go home? I want pizza."
"I'm so sick of pizza," Cynthia Rose sighed. "How do we even make sure we have enough food for everybody? How much money do we have to spend?"
"I actually don't know." Ashley shook her head, feeling a little defeated. "Crap. This is harder-"
"Don't say it." Stacie said firmly, sitting up straight in the cart. "Don't you dare say it."
"What if we just get what we need for the next couple of days and then head home? Next time we'll come back with a list. This time let's just get it done," Ashley reasoned, trying to find an option that would work for everyone. The other girls seemed to like this option, so they decided to split up again, but this time with a meeting place in mind.
"Jessica and Ashley, go get the basics like milk, eggs, etc. Everyone else, just go pick three things to eat that we can share with everyone. Frozen food, fruit, whatever, I don't care." Flo took over, relaying her instructions quickly and without any opportunity for questions. "We're checking out in 15 minutes. Go."
The girls split up, each headed to find a few things to bring home. Cynthia Rose headed to the frozen food section to find anything other than pizza. Stacie made a mental note to pick up at least two pizzas to spite her, but decided to check out the deli first. She was surveying the items on sale when a person from behind the counter caught her attention.
"Can I help you with anything?" An older man asked kindly. He was probably in his early sixties, his hair peppered with gray spots.
"No thanks, I'm just looking." Stacie said politely declined, continuing to look around.
"I noticed your shirt says Barden University- are you a current student or an alum? I went there back in the seventies," He said proudly. Stacie bristled uncomfortably. She wasn't one to make small talk with strangers just for the sake of it.
"I'm a current student. I'm graduating in May- I'm actually in an acappella group there, the Barden Bellas?" Stacie heard herself robotically respond, and was surprised by how much information she had offered. His eyes seemed to light up as soon as she mentioned the Bellas.
"Oh, the Bellas! You should've said something earlier. You must know Chloe!" He exclaimed, the smile never leaving his face.
"She's my roommate. How do you know Chloe?" Stacie asked uncertainly.
"She stops to talk to me every time she comes in for groceries. She is so sweet! She always asks about my family, how my week is going- she even brought me a birthday card once."
"That sounds like her," Stacie admitted. Of course Chloe would be so friendly that even employees at the grocery store would know her by name. Stacie gulped. How in the world were they going to topple someone who was literal sunshine?
Stacie quickly steered the conversation back to the products and purchased some lunch meat to take home for the girls. She speed walked away from the counter, feeling as if she was living in some weird dream. She wasn't totally sure that conversation had actually happened. After picking up her pizzas, she raced to meet the girls at the checkout section. Flo seemed to be carrying an entire basket of fruit, Cynthia Rose had found steaks on sale, and Lilly seemed to be trying to smuggle something into the shopping cart behind Ashley's back. Stacie opted not to react. Instead, her eyes fell on Jessica, who was clutching her dinosaur egg oatmeal, dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets, and tater tots.
"Really?" Stacie questioned,
"What can I say? I like what I like." Jessica shrugged. "What took you so long?"
"Saint Chloe strikes again," Stacie shook her head, and recounted her experience at the deli. The other girls had similar reactions to her own. They passed a variety of items across the check out, the items as eclectic as the women who had selected them. Finally, with bags in hand, they were ready to go home.
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Some time later, Emily and Amy were both sprawled across the floor in the living room. They were surrounded with a variety of fruit snacks, juice boxes, and crackers.
"Do you think it's something to do with the bet?" She asked, taking a long sip from her juice box.
"Nah, that only started yesterday. She doesn't think far enough ahead for it to be that."
"Maybe she's in a gang?"
"Not unless it's the lollypop guild." Amy snorted, taking a handful of fruit snacks.
"Who's in the lollypop guild?" Chloe asked curiously as she re-entered the living room, carrying her water bottle and a large textbook. Amy shot Emily a warning look. The freshman gulped, looking from one senior to the other.
"No one," she finally breathed, feeling a little guilty for lying to Chloe. Chloe shrugged and went back up stairs, declaring that she was going to take a power nap.
"We can't tell Chloe." Amy said firmly, reaching for another pack of fruit snacks.
"Agreed. I don't want to them to fight." Emily said earnestly.
"That's where you're wrong. We do want them to fight, but at the right moment." Amy said, tapping her head knowingly. "Wait till we tell the other girls, they're gonna flip."
At that moment, the front door to the house flew open. Ashley and Stacie came bounding in, each carrying multiple bags of groceries. They pumped their arms in the air victoriously, clearly very happy with themselves.
"WE. ARE. CONQUERERS!" Ashley exclaimed triumphantly, swinging her bags around and nearly hitting Amy in the face. Cynthia Rose, Flo, Lilly, and Jessica came in, carrying the rest of the groceries.
"It's fine. We didn't need help with the rest of the bags," Flo said dryly.
"So was the trip successful?" Emily asked, propped up on the couch again.
"See for yourself, girl," Cynthia Rose grinned and dumped the contents from several bags on the coffee table so they could show off their spoils. Emily marveled at the variety of junk food on the table- pizza rolls, regular pizza, chicken nuggets, ice cream sandwiches, taquitos, corn dogs, and more.
"Don't worry, we got real food too. Chloe doesn't need to know that though. This will drive her crazy, she's such a healthy eater." Jessica remarked, plopping on the couch next to Emily.
"Okay, you went grocery shopping, what do you want, a medal?" Amy said, picking up the package of ice cream sandwiches. "I've been working up an appetite keeping the aca-child alive. Let's feast!"
The girls grabbed all of the items and rushed to the kitchen, eagerly prepping their food and planning their next moves. The girls chattered away, recounting their adventures from the morning.
Meanwhile, Chloe had heard some commotion when the girls came in and decided to see what was going on. She walked down the hallway, hearing the noise of her friends voices grow louder and louder as she came closer. Finally, she reached the top of the stairs and was about to walk down when she heard Amy's voice above the rest.
"Just wait till I fill you in on what we found out today," Amy bragged to the other girls. "It's literally the perfect thing to drive a wedge between Beca and Chloe. Once we figure it out, we'll win the bet for sure."
Chloe felt her stomach twist into knots. She immediately turned on her heel and went back to her room. She couldn't let on that she'd overheard anything, and she couldn't even be sure that Amy was telling the truth. She knew one thing for sure: she had some work to do. The battle had only just begun.
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Thanks for reading, and thank you, THANK YOU for all of your kind words about the first two chapters! I'm so glad you are enjoying this story as much as I am. Sorry its been a while since the last update, I hope this longer chapter makes up for the wait.
What does Chloe have up her sleeve? What will the Bellas attempt to conquer next? Stay tuned!