CHAPTER FOUR

Tell Me Your Troubles and Doubts (Don't You (Forget About Me))

Chloe Beale woke up to a series of text messages from her best friend.

Aubrey (12:11am): Where'd u go?

Aubrey (12:42am): Is everything ok? Where r u?

Aubrey (1:23am): What the fuck, Chlo? Are u ok? Please txt me!

Aubrey (1:58am): Call as soon as u get this

Shit. Why didn't I check my phone? Chloe had disappeared from the party rather abruptly, without a word to anyone. Beca had walked her home. The two uncomfortably parted ways and, both dizzy for the booze and mortified from the encounter, she collapsed on her bed as soon as she saw it.

Chloe looked at the clock on her phone. 9:12am. She dialed Aubrey's number.

"What the fuck, Chloe?!" came the furious voice.

"Bree, I'm so, so, so sorry."

"Where'd you go? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah… I'm fine. …But I need to talk to you. Meet me at Drip at ten?"

As Chloe walked into the local coffee shop, she spotted the blonde at a table in the far corner of the room. Two coffees and two scones already sat on the table. That was Aubrey, always punctual and always prepared.

Chloe sat in the chair across from her friend and picked up the coffee and took a large gulp. "Oh, thank you, Bree. God, thank you."

"You're welcome. 2 creams, 3 sugars, right?"

"Oh so right," Chloe said taking another grateful swallow, then breaking off a piece of the blueberry scone in front of her.

"So… how was your night?" Aubrey asked.

The redhead washed down the bite of scone with another sip of coffee and cleared her throat. "Totally… fucking… insane," she answered.

"What does that mean? … Who'd you go home with?!"

"No one! Well, sort of. Beca walked me home."

"Beca? I don't understand. You didn't even come to say that you were heading out. I was totally freaked last night! And you were just with Beca?" Aubrey was a bit exasperated. She was really worried about what became of her friend the night before. How could she not even come say she was leaving? Or at least shoot off a text? "What gives? Why'd you disappear like that, Chlo?"

Chloe bit her lip and worried a nail. She wasn't sure where to start, so she said the obvious thing. "Beca's a lesbian."

If Aubrey was surprised, she didn't show it. She answered placidly. "Okay…? So… what does that have to do with you?"

"Nothing!" Chloe replied too quickly. The blonde stared back at her, face completely blank. "Well…something. I guess. I don't know."

"What are you trying to tell me here?" Aubrey's voice was nothing but supportive. It was calm and it was kind. It was full of love. "Did you… did you sleep with Beca?"

"No! Oh God, no." Again, Chloe's response came too quickly. She picked up her coffee and took another sip, averting her gaze from her friend. Aubrey covered one of Chloe's hands with her own. At the contact, the redhead looked back into the blue eyes across from her.

"But you want to?"

Chloe froze. Her face flushed, but she didn't look away. She opened her mouth to speak, but said nothing. She wasn't sure how to answer the question. Aubrey made it sound so easy. She asked a simple yes or no question. Was Chloe making this more complicated than it was? I mean, if she wanted to have sex with Beca, and Beca was a lesbian, and clearly had some amount of interest in her as well… what was the problem? "Yes," was her calm, though tentative, response. She couldn't help but follow it up with a quick "I mean, maybe. I don't know."

Aubrey tilted her head and gave her friend a comforting smile. "Aw, sweetie. It's okay if you do. More than okay, really. I-I think it's great."

The encouragement lifted a weight from her shoulders and Chloe perked up a bit, her usual chipper voice returning to her. "Really?"

"Oh, absolutely, Chlo. If she makes you happy, then I couldn't be happier. Now, tell me what happened last night."

Chloe grinned. Again she found herself realizing how lucky she was to have such supportive friends. Really, the Bellas were just about the most wonderful women on the planet.

"Nothing really…" Aubrey had put things into perspective for her. Nothing that happened last night was a big deal. She suddenly felt silly for feeling so panicked. "We just, well… Beca and I went outside. She told me she wasn't into dudes. I probably responded idiotically. And then she said that she saw me looking at her earlier… Totally embarrassing! But then she asked if she could kiss me."

"Awww! That's so sweet!"

"Yeah, it really was. Thoughtful, y'know? And adorable. Anyway, then we were kissing. And it was really great. Like, really great. I don't know that I've ever felt like that before… But then I totally freaked out and I pulled away."

"Why?" Aubrey asked, concerned.

"I don't know. I mean, I guess it was just a lot for me to, like, handle in that moment."

Aubrey nodded. "And what did she do?"

"She, um, she calmed me down. She was… really cool about it, actually. And then she walked me home."

"Wow," the blonde said, pausing for a moment to process the story before responding. "Well… it sounds to me like you've got a really great thing here, Chloe. I mean, if she's being that understanding about it and everything… like, you're free to pursue it at a pace that makes you feel comfortable, you know? This is, like, the most ideal situation ever."

The redhead smiled. Aubrey was right. She couldn't have imagined this situation any better. "Um, so… what should I do?"

"Well, what do you want to do?" Again, a very simple question. Chloe really must have been blowing this thing way out of proportion…

"Um, marry her," she joked.

The blonde laughed. "Okay, well, one thing at a time here. Why not start by asking Beca out on a date?"

"A date?"

Aubrey spoke very slowly, "Yes, Chloe. A date."

"Yeah, okay. Yeah. I can do that. I can totally do that!" She paused. "Um, where should I take her?"

"I don't know. Dinner? A movie? Have you heard of a date? Do you know what 'date' means?"

Chloe didn't appreciate her friend's teasing. "Alright, okay, I get it!" There was a pause in the conversation. The blonde studied the other girl carefully. Her eyes narrowed.

"What?!" Chloe said, too loudly.

"Nothing… it's just…" Aubrey spoke softly, sincerely. "I've just… never seen you like this before. You… you really like this girl, don't you?"

"Oh, shit. I'm in trouble here, aren't I?" Chloe asked. When she saw Aubrey's slight nod and half-smile in response, the redhead folded her arms and collapsed on top of them on the table in front of her. "Shit."