"You and I both know using the same song list can only get us so far," Chloe spoke up from the couch. Aubrey was folding laundry on the chair adjacent from her. "Whether you want to acknowledge Beca's ideas or not, you know we'll have to come up with something new for Nationals."

"No, these songs will be just fine," Aubrey replied bluntly.

"If you would just hear me out and listen to one song Beca made, you can see how aca-amazing we can be."

Aubrey set a pile of folded clothes in the laundry basket resting at her feet. "I can't do that."

"And why not?" Chloe asked defensively. She was getting sick and tired of the way Aubrey was treating her. They were best friends and supposedly equals, but she wasn't being treated as such. "Why won't you consider my opinions? I'm co-captain. I have some say in how we run the Bellas."

"Alice put me in charge. I chose to have you be at my side. I could run them alone if I so choose."

"Aubrey, you are running them alone! You won't let me have a say in anything! You interrupt me when I try to speak! You're being over controlling! Alice only put you in charge because she had a crush on you, and you know that. Once you found out about how she felt, your attitude changed at practice. You used to hate the way she bossed us around. Now look at you, you're just a blonde Alice."

Aubrey gasped at the sudden betrayal. "I did not use Alice!"

"You totally did!" Chloe took a deep breath. "It pains me to say it, but you're turning into your father. You even quote him all the time. I know how much you hate what he's become…and what he's molding you into. Fight it, Aubrey. Break the mold while you still can." Chloe was now sitting on the arm of Aubrey's chair, looking down at her, making sure she understood the reasoning behind her words. Her best friend's father was a military man who strives for perfection, even if he has to reach it by unnecessary means.

Chloe had hated him ever since the first time she saw him hit Aubrey. They were children, and Aubrey had taken a roll from a plate on the counter without asking permission. Her father saw and whacked her in the side, without any warning, sending her crashing to the ground in tears. That just fueled his anger. Crying was one thing he did not allow; it showed weakness. A Posen should never show weakness. Chloe watched with wide eyes, being too young to know what to do and being too shocked to run, as he bent the small blonde over his knee. He was abusive, and Chloe was thankful that Aubrey was kinder than he was in that aspect. She had promised to never hit anyone, unless she was defending herself, at a young age. Aubrey was too much like her mother, in her father's eyes. She was too kind, too soft, too caring. He had tried to roughen her up, change her, mold her. It was taking its toll.

"I don't want to be like my father…" escaped Aubrey's tight lips. She looked up at Chloe with tears stinging the corners of her eyes. Chloe moved down and sat on Aubrey's lap, wrapping her arms around the now crying woman, pulling her into a warm hug. She rubbed the blonde's back as she sobbed into Chloe's chest.

"It'll be okay, Aubrey. I'll help you. We'll take small steps, okay? Small changes. I'm sorry I said what I did, but it was the only way to get you to see what I see."

"I love you," Aubrey wailed through her sobs.

"I love you too." Chloe held her best friend for the next hour.

The next morning, Aubrey woke up to find a note paired with a flashdrive by her bed. The note read: Baby steps. She growled, but shoved the stick in her backpack before she left for class.

"Where's Beca?" Chloe questioned the group. The girl was absent, which was unlike her. She never skipped a practice, no matter how much she hated working out.

"She wasn't in Philosophy."

"Well, that isn't unusual."

"She was texting me earlier and mentioned that she didn't feel well," Fat Amy said. "Lucky bastard…" Aubrey shot Chloe a concerned glance, granting permission for Chloe to leave. She took the opportunity to sneak out after Aubrey started the girls with some cardio.

"Beca? You in there?" Chloe knocked on her dorm door. She could faintly hear the tv. Beca called out for her to come in, and she opened it to find the small girl curled up in a blanket on the couch surrounded by tissues with tears in her eyes. She covered her face when she felt Chloe's gaze on her. "Baby, are you crying?" Chloe walked over and sat down next to Beca, placing a concerned hand on what she imagined was the girl's leg.

"No, I just have something in my eye. Like a twig, or a branch." Chloe looked up at the paused television to find a boy in mid-sentence with subtitles on the screen.

Chloe laughed, "What are you watching?"

"I don't know how to pronounce it, but it was in the DVD player and I didn't feel like changing it."

"You don't like movies."

"I do when I feel ill or if it's something I watch with you," Beca said, uncovering her face and smiling. Chloe giggled and felt her girlfriend's forehead. It wasn't warmer than normal.

"Are you sure you're sick?" she teased.

"I think it's just allergies, but it's a valid excuse to skip practice."

"You're such a turd." Beca lifted the blanket and Chloe slid under, hugging Beca's waist and leaning into her. "So, what's this about anyhow?"

"The guy on the screen right now is in love with this girl, but she doesn't know because she's crushing on his best friend who's gay and is in love with the guy on the screen. It's the worst love triangle ever; nobody can win."

"And that makes you sad?"

"Maybe…" Chloe laughed at her, snuggling closer. "Don't laugh at me!" Beca kissed her forehead.

"Go ahead and hit play, I'll figure it out as it goes along." Beca obeyed and wrapped her around Chloe's back, pulling her in even closer, if at all possible. "Do you want some soup or anything?"

"Nah, Kimmy Jin got me some."

"Really? I'm surprised."

"Yeah, I was too," Beca laughed. "I think she just wants me to not contaminate the room."

"You can contaminate me whenever you like." Beca could feel her smirk.

"You're an idiot."

"But I'm your idiot!"

"Hey, Idiot, how come you aren't at practice?"

"Because you aren't." Beca turned away from Chloe's eyes and felt herself smile wider than she ever had. Chloe brought her hand up to brush Beca's cheek. She whispered, "You're missing the movie." Beca wiped the smile off her face the best she could and turned her head, finding Chloe's bright eyes. She caressed her girlfriend's hand on her cheek with her own free hand.

"How did I get so lucky?"

"Luck had nothing to do with it."