Chapter 9

Beca POV

After the obnoxious burrito incident on the drive to the semi-finals, I sat right behind Fat Amy. I needed to clear my head before the competition and I would never be able to do that with Aubrey and Chloe in my line of sight. The last several weeks had been hell, and I was starting to think that I would either go absolutely insane, or spontaneously combust. During rehearsals, I found myself constantly torn between the two girls. The after rehearsal dinners became a regular occurrence; and I could never seem to find an excuse good enough for Chloe. It was during these dinners that I struggled the most. One minute I would be certain that they were just playing some sick game with me, and the next I would find myself fantasizing about rolling around naked in bed with them both. The worse part of that was I couldn't tell if that's what they wanted from me. Every so often, I'd catch a glimpse of a look shared between them. But I couldn't figure out if that look meant 'Let's take her to bed with us', or if it meant 'How much harder do we have to push before the poor freshman breaks?' or if it meant something else entirely. It was driving me insane.

Jesse wasn't any help either. When I went to talk to him after the first dinner with the girls, his only advice was to "talk to them". Right, cause what if they just laughed at me, and walked away. I would lose them both. I'd die. The small voice in the back of my mind that said "Maybe they're just waiting for you" was easily ignored. I may be acting like a chicken-shit, but I couldn't take the risk.

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair and noticed a bit of the burrito still lodged behind Fat Amy's ear. I stole a glance at Aubrey, who was sitting across the aisle from me. I didn't want to draw attention to myself, but I couldn't let Fat Amy perform without it still there. I sat up so I could speak in her ear. "You got yourself a little something there."

"Just leave it. It fuels my hate-fire." She replied softly.

I had to smile. Amy always made me smile. I sat back in my seat, having no other response to her determination. As I sat back, I could feel Aubrey's eyes on me. I stared out the window, unwilling to meet her gaze. After a moment she turned away and I sighed inwardly. Relieved that she would leave me in peace, hopefully until after we performed. My thoughts had just returned to what I was going to, when Chloe started singing from the seat behind Aubrey.

I hoped off the plane at LAX…

I glanced back at her, seeing Aubrey do the same. I smiled, Chloe was just singing while she looked out the window, oblivious to the rest of us. One by one, the other girls started singing. I tried not to watch, but Chloe just lit up like a Christmas tree when she sang. Aubrey shot a glance over at me before she joined in. I studiously ignored them, trying to maintain my composure. I failed, when I glanced back at Chloe and Aubrey, they were leaning towards me, smiling as they sang.

"Oh, my god!" I said laughing uncomfortably. The other girls noticed and leaned in, staring at me.

And the Jay-Z song was on

And the Jay-Z song was on

They all stopped waiting for me to pick up the next line. I squirmed. Chloe nodded at me with a small little sexy smile on her face and I caved.

So, I put my hands up

I started and everyone joined in. I couldn't help myself, the smiles on Chloe's and Aubrey's faces made my heart skip a beat and I threw myself into the song, dancing in my seat. I just let myself enjoy the moment, knowing that I had been lost the moment Chloe turned those gorgeous blue eyes on me.

Chloe POV

When the Trebles arrived to pick us up after our bus died, I followed Aubrey onto the bus. I knew she was pissed that we had to ask the boys for help, so I did what I could to make the situation easier for her. I sat next to her, and when Beca climbed onto the bus I reached out and pulled her down into the seat next to mine. I didn't want her sitting next to Jesse. I just had to have her next to me. Aubrey twisted to perch awkwardly on the edge of her seat so that she could see both Beca and I, and keep her back to Bumper.

I met her gaze and smiled. She smiled back and said I love you with her eyes. I replied in kind. I shifted so I could thread my arm through Beca's. I felt her stiffen for a moment before relaxing. I glanced over at her and saw her studiously staring down at her feet. I couldn't help but grin. I turned back to Aubrey to see a loving smile on her face.

Can we please tell her tonight? I pleaded with my eyes.

Aubrey lifted an eyebrow, saying Are you sure?

I gave her a small nod in reply. She shrugged, meaning If you think she's ready, then alright, we can tell her. I grinned and sat back to enjoy the rest of the trip, wedged between my two favorite women.

When we got to the Semi-Finals, things were hectic as we checked in and found a place to get warmed up for our performance. Just before it was time to head backstage, I pulled Aubrey aside and nodded at the other girls to go ahead. When we were alone, I pulled Aubrey into a hug.

"Thank you" I said simply.

Aubrey immediately knew I was talking about Beca. She smiled. "You're welcome. I just hope this doesn't backfire. Are you sure she's ready?"

"Totes!" I assured her. "I think we'll all go crazy if we don't act on this soon."

Aubrey smiled. "Alright. I trust you. You're better at gaging this kind of thing. I love you, Chloe."

"I love you too, Bre." I said pulling her in for a light kiss so as to not smear her lipstick. I leaned back, not breaking her hold on me and smiled. "Come on, we've got to go sing."

She smiled and let go. She took a deep breath and put her performance face back on before heading to the stage door.

Beca POV

I got backstage and realized that we were missing our two captains. I looked around and when I didn't see any sign of them, I slipped out into the hallway and went back to the warm up room to find them. When I opened the door my heart plummeted. The two seniors were standing, locked in an embrace.

"I love you, Chloe" Aubrey said with the sweetest voice I'd ever heard come out of her mouth.

"I love you too, Bre." Chloe replied before kissing Aubrey.

I didn't want them to see me watching and I turned around and rushed backstage. Rage started to boil through my system. I finally had my answer. They had just been playing with me all year. They had each other and didn't really want me. I refused to let myself feel my heart breaking. I wouldn't cry in front of them. I steeled my jaw as they finally joined the rest of us in the wings backstage. I refused to look at them; I just kept my gaze locked on the Footnotes.

After they had finished, Aubrey's voice called softly from behind me. I forced a smirk onto my face and joined the huddle.

"The top two teams go to the finals, so we just have to beat one of them. And if we do it exactly how we rehearsed it, we will get there. Ok? Exactly!" Aubrey said in her most commanding voice. "Ok, hands in."

Cynthia Rose asked, "On three, or after three."

Aubrey just looked at her, before dropping her hand. "Screw it, let's just do it."

We filed out onto the stage, and I took a deep breath. I just had to get through tonight and then I'd have spring break to calm myself down and deal with my broken heart before I had to see Aubrey or Chloe again. I could do this.

When Chloe started singing, I found myself watching the crowd. They were all bored and kept looking at their phones. I glanced over into the wings and saw the Footnotes mockingly dancing to our song. Inspiration hit me. I knew away to get back at the seniors for breaking my heart, and I thought, just maybe it would help liven up our performance, too.

I took a deep breath and started singing Bulletproof over Aubrey's solo. I glanced back at the audience. They definitely were enjoying the change to the set. I saw Aubrey shoot a death glare at me, which I ignored. I just kept singing. Chloe glanced over at me and gave me a small pleased smile. I did my best to ignore the warmth that enveloped my shattered heart and kept singing. At the end of Aubrey's solo, I let my impromptu solo fade out with her voice. She glared at me, and I just smirked at her. I had gotten my moment of revenge and I was inordinately pleased with myself.

When our set ended, I bolted off stage. I needed to get away. I knew Aubrey was going to chew me out, but I just didn't feel able to deal with it in that moment.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get away fast enough. Aubrey called out to me and I stopped. "What the hell, Beca? Where you trying to screw us up?"

I forced a smirk and turned to her. "Are you serious?"

"News flash, this isn't the Beca show!" She said patronizingly.

"Ok, I'm sorry if I messed you up, but in case you didn't notice, everyone pretty much dozed off during our set." I insisted.

"It's not your job to decide what we do and when we do it." She said, and sounded like she was about ready to burst into tears. "Why don't you ask the rest of the group how they felt about your little improvisation?" She demanded, trying to maintain control.

I looked over at Chloe but she wouldn't meet my gaze. I turned to the one person who I knew would be honest with me. "Amy?"

"It was cool. But maybe it did take us by surprise a little." She said, in a tone that was obviously trying to placate Aubrey.

"Yeah, a lot by surprise." Aubrey insisted straightening her jacket. And then she twisted the verbal knife. "See, I told you she wasn't a Bella." It was obvious that she was talking to Chloe. My heart shattered a little more. This was just confirmation that everything between the three of us was some cruel joke that Aubrey and Chloe had been playing on me all year.

"Aubrey, don't—" Chloe finally spoke up, looking at Aubrey.

I grimaced. "No, that's ok. You don't have to pretend. You're allowed a say in the group, right?" I asked, meaning more than the Bellas. Chloe just looked at me with this sad, lost look in her eyes.

"Your attitude sucks. You're a grade A pain in my ass. And I know you're hooking up with Jesse." Aubrey stated venomously. A lump formed in my throat and I fought not to let my despair show.

From behind me a familiar voice spoke up. "Whoa, whoa, Aubrey, calm down. We're not hooking up, I swear."

I spun around to see Jesse and the Trebles standing behind us, witnessing my humiliation. I snapped, "Jesus Christ, that's perfect. Of course you're here right now! I don't need your help, ok? Can you just back off?"

Jesse just stared at me dumbfounded. Benji, came up and announced, "Trebles, time to bring the pain."

I spun back to Aubrey and Chloe, looking at them both in turn as I said, "If this is what I get for trying—". I broke off my comment, and turned around and left. I was so fucking done with this shit. My heart was shattered and my best friend had to witness it. I stormed out of the building, never looking back.

Aubrey POV

I seethed as I watched Beca walk away. How could she have done that to us? To me? Didn't she know how much this meant to me?

"Aubrey, it actually went really well—" Chloe started.

"Chloe, stop!" I demanded and had to run for the bathroom. I barely made in to a stall before my lunch gurgled up and splashed into the toilet. I heaved until I had nothing left, then I sat back on the floor and felt tears rolling down my cheeks. What have I done? I asked myself, feeling a piece of my heart break at the memory of the look on Beca's face when I was berating her. The thought made me sob harder. I had ruined everything. I'd finally pushed Beca too hard and lost her.

A soft knock on the stall door made me realize that I wasn't alone in the bathroom. "Aubrey?" Chloe's voice called softly. I quickly pulled myself together and opened the stall door.

Chloe was there, tears running down her cheeks. I pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry." I whispered.

Chloe sighed. "I know, Bre." Her voice was full of regret.

The sound made another sob come choking out of me. "What do I do, Chloe?"

"I don't know. I just don't know."

I nodded into her hair. I finally pulled back and saw Chloe's face was ravaged by tears. I brushed my thumbs over her damp cheeks. "Come on, we've got to go hear the results." I said gently, even though I knew that we wouldn't win. She nodded and we both moved over to the sink to splash water on our faces.

When we rejoined the other Bellas, no one said a word to us. After hearing that we had placed third, we quickly headed back to the bus, which Chloe's parents had gassed up and dropped off for us. The drive home was tense, as none of the girls were willing to break the tense silence.