Author's note: I was up early today, so here you go, the next two chapters. Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it~

Chapter 10

Beca POV

Four days later, I was sitting alone in my dorm room, crying at some lame-ass movie when my phone chimed with a new text. I glanced at it and saw it was from Chloe. I was tempted to delete it without reading it, as I had with the previous 20 texts she'd sent me. But something made me look at it. It read, 'We made it into the finals. Rehearsal tmrrw 3. Miss you.' I sighed. I still felt betrayed by the entire situation, and I was more than a little heartbroken, but damn if I didn't miss them. I let me head fall back on my pillow, ignoring the tears that had once again welled up to spill down my cheeks. What the hell do I do now?

The next afternoon, I still didn't have an answer and I somehow found myself ringing my father's doorbell. Jesse was still pissed at me and wouldn't talk to me, so I turned to the only person I knew wouldn't turn me away. He smiled when he came to the door.

"Beca, I didn't expect to see you today. Come on in." He said, smiling at me. He took one look at my red, puffy eyes and led me back to the kitchen. He started making tea and he asked, "What's going on?"

I sighed. I had come here for this, but it was really hard to open up to my father. I swallowed the lump in my throat and explained what happened to him. I left out the part about me being in love with the two seniors. I really wasn't ready to tell my father about my desire for a threeway. I finished with, "No one was more surprised than me, but I really liked those girls."

"And you thought quitting was the answer?" He asked.

I felt like he's slapped me. "Seriously? You can say that to me?"

"Oh come on, Bec. That's so unfair. Look, your mom and I didn't work. But I tried so hard to make things right between us. But, you just shut me out" He said, sounding offended.

I sighed. I knew he was right. "Yeah, I shut everyone out. Don't take it personally. It's just easier"

"It's also really lonely." He replied.

I sighed. "What do I do?"

"Well, that's up to you." He said simply.

He was right. Damn it. I actually had to figure this out on my own. We finished our tea in silence. For once, my dad actually seemed to understand that I need some space to think. When my tea cup was empty, I stood up and gave Dad a hug. "Thanks for listening." I murmured before heading back to campus. I knew I needed to face Chloe and Aubrey. I had to have them in my life.

It was four o'clock when I walked into the rehearsal studio to be met with pandemonium. "Guys? Guys, stop! Wwhat is going on?" I called out, focusing on the sight of Aubrey and Chloe grappling on the floor with Fat Amy hovering over them. Everyone stopped when I came in. Aubrey was the first to recover. She quickly stood up, grabbing what I recognized as the pitch pipe from the floor and straightened her clothes.

"Nothing, this is a Bellas' rehearsal." She stated accusingly.

"I know." I replied. I took a deep breath. "I just…wanted to say that I'm sorry. What I did was a really dick move, and I shouldn't have changed the set without asking you guys. And I definitely shouldn't have left. I let you guys down and I'm really sorry. And Aubrey, if you'd have me, I want back in."

Aubrey stared at me. I couldn't read her expression. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Chloe shooting glances at me before looking back at Aubrey expectantly. After I long moment, wherein it became clear that Aubrey wouldn't forgive me, I nodded and turned to go. I grabbed the nearest folding chair and dragged it along behind me. The sound grated throughout the room. I paused and glanced backward one last time, hoping that Aubrey would change her mind. She looked away from me and that small bubble of hope burst. I turned back towards the door, desperately trying to keep the tears from filling my eyes.

Finally, just as I reached the edge of the rehearsal floor, Aubrey called out. "Wait! Beca, I know I've been hard on you. Ok? I know that I've been hard on everyone here." She said turning to Chloe. Chloe smiled and gave Aubrey a little nod. Aubrey turned back to me. "But I am my father's daughter. And he always said, 'If at first you don't succeed, pack your bags'."

My heart broke for the girl as I saw tears well up in her eyes and she turned away to go sit in a chair. I followed slowly. "I get it. Mine gets on me, too. Not like that, but…uh, I guess we don't really know a lot about each other. About most of you really." I said trying to comfort the blonde.

Stacie stepped forward. "I'll confess something you guys don't know about me. I have a lot of sex."

I had to hide a smirk. Everyone knew that Stacie was the most promiscuous girl in the Bellas. "This is a good idea. That was a pretty bad example, but this is a good idea. Why don't we all go around the room and say something about ourselves." I said, pulling everyone's focus away from Aubrey.

Cynthia Rose jumped in and told us that she has a gambling problem. Everyone was shocked. Lily spoke next and when no one could understand her, I turned to Fat Amy. She admitted that her name was really Patricia. I gathered up my courage and spoke.

"Ok, I've never been one of those girls who had a lot of friends that were girls. But now I do, and that's pretty cool." I said shyly glancing at first Chloe and then Aubrey. Aubrey gave me a little encouraging smile, which made me feel really self-conscious; so, I hurriedly added "So, that's me. Someone else please go."

Chloe spoke up. "Ok." She took a deep breath to gather up her courage. "During our freshman year, I fell in love with Aubrey. We've been dating ever since." Chloe said, pointedly looking at Aubrey, before locking her eyes on mine. There was something of an apology in that look. I felt my heart break a little at that look, and I glanced over at Aubrey to see the guilt in her eyes, and something else. I wasn't sure exactly what that look meant, but I suddenly felt a stirring of warmth in my chest. I began thinking that all hope wasn't lost. I gave Aubrey a small smile. She looked over at Chloe and reached a hand out to squeeze her arm. They shared a short, intimate smile.

When Aubrey looked away, she stood up and turned to me. "Ok, Beca, what do we do?"

I was surprised. I looked at her and saw the pitch pipe in her hand. I glanced down at it then back up at her eyes and she tossed it to me. I fumbled the catch and the pitch pipe hit the ground and rolled into a puddle of vomit. I shuddered and looked back at Aubrey. "Maybe not here." I said, shaking my head and pointing at the puddle. Everyone let out a nervous laugh and we agreed to let Aubrey and Lily get cleaned up and let everyone get some dinner, before we met back at the abandoned pool. I watched as the girls gathered their things and worked to get up the courage to do what I knew I had to do. Aubrey and Chloe seemed to sense that I wanted to talk to them, so they lingered while the other Bellas filed out of the room.

When we were alone, I took a deep breath. "Can I talk to you guys for a minute?"

Chloe beamed at me. She seemed to sense the reason I needed to talk. "Sure, Becs. Why don't to come over to our place? I'll make dinner while Aubrey gets cleaned up and then we can talk. Is that alright?"

I nodded, somewhat relieved that I would have just a little while longer to figure out exactly how to say what I wanted to say.

Aubrey's smile was relieved at my agreement. "Thanks."

"Sure, " I replied before following them out the door.

Chloe POV

On the walk back home, I found myself walking beside Aubrey with Beca following just a little behind us. She seemed lost in thought. I took the opportunity to jean close to Aubrey and spoke quietly in her ear. "I'm really sorry that we fought."

She sighed and also speaking quietly. "Me too. I'm sorry I was treating you so poorly."

"It's ok. I was egging you on." I sighed. "I was just so mad when Beca didn't show up for rehearsal and I took it out on you."

Aubrey smiled gently. "I was doing the same thing to you. I kinda of just panicked when she wasn't there and let myself pretend that all of my anger and frustration was about the Finals. I'm so sorry, Chloe."

I smiled back at her. "It's ok. You're forgiven, if I'm forgiven."

"Of course you're forgiven. This was entirely my fault. I reacted poorly last week and it drove Beca away." She said and I could tell that she was still beating herself up.

"Shhh, it's ok." I soothed. "She came back. We'll figure it all out. Just promise me one thing."

"Anything" she replied quickly.

"No matter what happens in the next few hours, promise me that we'll be ok."

"I promise. I love you, Chloe."

"I love you too, Bre." I said smiling. I reached down and grabbed Aubrey's hand. She looked down at our clasped hands and lifted an eyebrow. I shrugged, smiling. Then I half turned and grabbed Beca's hand in my free one, tugging her up to walk next to Aubrey and I. She let out a little yelp of surprise, looking first at our joined hands and then at mine and Aubrey's hands and she relaxed. I could tell that something had shifted between us. I just hoped that it was the shift that I wanted.

When we got back to the apartment, Aubrey hurried down the hall to take a quick shower and change. I led Beca into the kitchen. "Do you like mac & cheese?" I asked.

She grinned, "Yeah. Who doesn't like mac & cheese?"

I frowned, thinking. "No one as far as I know. Aubrey even likes it, though she'll complain about the empty calories."

Beca smirked. "Yeah, that doesn't surprise me."

I laughed. "Yeah, I'll get this started. There is some wine in the fridge. Do you want some? Aubrey won't mind if we have one glass before tonight's rehearsal." I asked reaching down to grab the pot from the cabinet.

"Sure. Where are your glasses?" She asked as she opened the fridge and pulled out the white wine.

I pointed her to the cabinet next to the sink before turning on the tap and getting water for the pasta. By the time I had the water heating on the stove, Beca was handing me a wine glass. I smiled at her and let my fingers brush hers as I took the glass. She smiled in return and took a sip of her wine, leaning against the counter.

"I'm really glad you came back, Becs. You make us better." I told her.

She blushed. "Um, I—thanks." She wouldn't meet my gaze, so I decided not to push the issue, yet. I poured the macaroni into the now boiling water and fiddled with the heat, giving her some time. "So, um, how was your spring break so far?" She finally asked.

I sighed. "It was kinda miserable. Aubrey and I had a fight when you didn't return my texts, and I spent the next couple of days at my parents' house." I said honestly.

Beca flinched as though I had slapped her. "I'm sorry about that. I just needed some time to clear my head." She said in a small voice.

I turned around and pulled her into a tight hug. "I know, Becs. I'm so sorry about what happened. I should have spoken up. I should have defended you sooner. I never should have let Aubrey talk to you like that."

"No, Chloe. It's ok. I understand. I wasn't even really upset about what Aubrey said. I knew that I deserved it." She said, running one hand up and down my back in a soothing gesture.

"What do you mean?" I asked pulling back so I could see her eyes.

Beca sighed and let her hands drop. She stepped away and took another sip of her wine. "I'd rather wait for Aubrey to get into it. If that's ok? I just don't think I can say this twice."

I nodded and turned back to the pasta. "Sure, Becs."

"Thanks."

My curiosity was peaked. What was she upset about that night, if it wasn't Aubrey's criticism? I wondered as I drained the macaroni and added the cheese packet, butter and milk. I bit my tongue to keep from saying anything else.