Aubrey smiled as her best friend eagerly helped her pick out flowers to set her wedding tables with. "I cant' wait for the girls to get here." She was referring to the Barden Bellas, since Aubrey was inviting all of them to stay over for the bachelor party before her wedding. She was actually looking forward to seeing the old gang again, surprisingly. "What color do you like the best?" Chloe asked her, picking up one of the numerous color swatches on Aubrey's worn down coffee table. She already knew the answer, of course. Aubrey took the color swatch away from her friend and looked at her. "Red, you know that! But red isn't really known for its wedding credentials." She said, teasing Chloe playfully. "Remember the Slushie incident?" The little ginger grinned and grabbed her arm. Aubrey laughed, relishing in the memory that seemed as if it occurred just yesterday.
In the beginning of sophomore year, the campus was abuzz with the arrival of Slushie machines in the cafeteria, complete with do it yourself dispenses of almost any flavor imaginable and customizable cups. It was cheesy as anything, but Aubrey could still feel the excitement in the room as everyone from Barden crowded into the cafeteria, awaiting the big moment when the machine was revealed, like small children waiting for the ice cream truck to make its way up the street. She could still feel Chloe's hand tightly interlocked with hers as the two bounced up and down excitedly. Aubrey fingered the red patch on the color swatch and smiled to herself.
Little did she know, things were about to go downhill very quickly. As soon as the machine was up and running, Chloe made sure she was the first to try it out by pushing and shoving her way through hoards of upperclassman who were too drunk or stoned to care. "Chlo, wait up!" Aubrey remembered herself saying as she ran to catch up to the ginger. But by the time she got to the Slushie machine, it was already too late. In her eagerness, Chloe had pushed down on the nozzle for the Cherry flavor too quickly and the machine malfunctioned. Aubrey watched as the girl tried desperately to fix it, and the crowd of students behind her start to stir. The Cherry mixture built up inside the machine and exploded out all over the floor and onto Chloe and everyone around her. The room went dead silent, and Chloe froze in shock. To this day, the look on her friend's face never failed to bring tears of laughter to Aubrey's eyes. The Slushie machine was immediately sent out for repair and as it turns out, all of the company's products were cheap and never worked, so it wasn't really all Chloe's fault. The first day it was in business was the last time anyone saw that Slushie machine.
Aubrey eyed her friend from under her eyelashes, trying to regain a tone of seriousness. "Yes, I remember. Now can we get back to the flowers, please?" She watched as Chloe uncurled her legs out from under her, rolled her eyes, and went back to flipping through wedding catalogs. There was a brief moment of silence as the two women went back to work. That was the thing about Chloe, you could do and say just about anything with her and not have it be awkward, that's just how free and accepting of a person she was.
"Hey." Chloe crooned softly, taking Aubrey out of her trance. "Yeah?" She noticed that Chloe had moved closer to her while she was flipping through the numerous wedding magazines splayed out in front of her. "What about some gardenia's with light green ribbons? I know how much you like gardenias." Aubrey pushed her light blonde hair back from her face, slightly flustered. How could Chloe have possibly remembered such a minute detail about herself after all these years? She swallowed and sat up. "Yeah, yeah I do love gardenias." She paused. "But the green ribbon…?" Chloe smiled, the skin around her blue eyes crinkling in the way that Aubrey loved. "To match your eyes." Aubrey felt her heart skip a beat and her mind go a million miles an hour. My eyes. Chloe was thinking about it matching my eyes. That's so sweet and thoughtful, almost romantic. Eric would never have considered that. Oh Chlo… She was half aware as Chloe leaned over and held up a light green patch of color to her eyes. It matched her eyes almost perfectly. Chloe's perfume smelled nice and Aubrey could feel her hair brush up against her arms, giving the blonde chills. "See?" She said softly, pulling her hand back. Aubrey's lip trembled slightly, almost unnoticeably, as her best friend sat back in her chair. No wait, that feels nice Chloe. Come back. Aubrey sat up sharply. What am I thinking? She cleared her throat. "Yes, I see. I love that idea Chloe, thank you!" Aubrey flashed her friend her warmest smile, the kind she only used for her. "Yay!" Chloe clapped her hands and held them under her chin, beaming. She's so adorable. "Whaaat's next?" She said, playfully leaning into the bride-to-be.
Aubrey turned to her, still smiling unfalteringly. Convincing? Most certainly not. "Next?" She said, grabbing Chloe's hands tightly. "Next, you are going to help me pick out the perfect wedding dress."