Author's Note: Hey, guys! Here's chapter nine for ya. I figured Aubrey was the next POV we needed. Hopefully I did her justice. The next chapter is going to be filled with angst. But also fluff at the end, so hopefully I'll have that one up, soon. In the meantime, I've made a tumblr where I will accept and write prompts/requests and little oneshots that pop into my head so feel free to follow/send in prompts. the url is incredibeale. Also considering making a playlist for this fic - purely for funzies so if you're interested in that as well, let me know. Let me know your thoughts! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.

Chapter Nine

'I told you she wasn't a Bella'

The words play over and over in her mind like a broken record, along with the hurt look that had flashed across Beca's face. The second those words were uttered, Aubrey regretted it. Because just like that, Beca started to close up, to shut down. The words had clearly stung and Aubrey could see that Beca was trying to hold herself together. But Aubrey couldn't stop. She was angry at Beca for messing with the set and she was angry at herself for losing it on Beca the way she had. And Jesse was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Aubrey was jealous of him, even though she had no right to be (and no reason).

All the Bellas had looked at her like she had grown three heads and Chloe… Chloe just looked so betrayed. She had watched in horror as Beca literally ran out the door. What had she done? God, what had she done? The bus ride home had been silent and Chloe had sat with Stacie. Aubrey had sat alone, worrying over Beca, agonizing over the way it had all played out and wondering if she had messed everything up for good.

Chloe didn't talk to her that night. And that killed Aubrey, because even when the two of them fought, Chloe was always willing to sit and talk it out, to fix things because she hated to fight and she hated to be angry. She had spent that night near the toilet, anyway, worrying and hating herself so much that she had made herself sick. When she wasn't getting sick, she was crying.

It was where Chloe had found her the next morning, on the bathroom floor, eyes red and swollen from tears. "Oh, Bree..." She had said sadly, kneeling and pulling the blonde into her arms.

Aubrey had thought that she had cried herself dry but the second Chloe wrapped her up in her arms, she sobbed. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She'd said it so many times that they didn't sound like words anymore. Chloe had just shushed her and whispered words of comfort in her ear and kissed the top of her head. She was just Chloe - loving and caring and something Aubrey felt she didn't deserved but took anyway.

After that, Chloe apologized for not coming to Aubrey sooner and Aubrey apologized for… well, everything that had happened. They weren't really sure what to do about Beca. The only way they had known that the brunette had made it home okay was that Stacie had told Chloe when she had asked.

Because none of Chloe's texts were ever responded to. And if Beca didn't respond to Chloe, than she certainly wasn't going to respond to Aubrey. And every text that wasn't Beca, Chloe lost that much more hope. It was like Aubrey was watching the light slowly being snuffed out of the redhead, until Chloe stopped trying to text Beca altogether and the light was gone.

It killed Aubrey, because she was apart of the reason that Chloe wasn't as bubbly, or happy - It was like apart of Chloe wasn't there. Her smiles were a little forced, her laughs weren't as boisterous and there was a dullness to the redhead's eyes. And Aubrey understood it, because she felt it too, along with the guilt, even though Chloe wasn't mad at her anymore. But she wasn't happy either.

And on top of it all, Chloe had gone back to the doctor where they suggested surgery to remove her nodes because they had become rather swollen and painful for Chloe. The doctor had explained that she might never have the range she once had again and since they had lost the regionals, Chloe had gone ahead with it.

It was a few days after Chloe's surgery that Aubrey received the call. The Footnotes had been disqualified and they were in. As soon as she had gotten off the phone she had grinned widely at Chloe who wrote a question mark on the dry erase board Aubrey had supplied her with since she wasn't allowed to speak. It was the first genuine smile that Chloe had had in awhile. She was so excited that she nearly jumped out of her hospital bed to throw her arms around Aubrey.

Today is their first practice back and it's all Aubrey can do to keep from losing it. Beca hasn't showed and the disappointment is clear on Chloe's face and it's a painful stab in her own chest, but it comes out in frustrated yells and pointed jabs at the girls.

"Okay, stop! What is happening to us? Chloe, you sound like you smoke three packs a day. Stacie, you are so behind on choreography. And Jessica and Ashley, it's like you haven't been here all year long."

All of the girls look at Aubrey with a mixture of hurt and anger, especially Chloe, who levels a hard glare at the blonde.

"Aubrey, really? We've literally been here the whole time." Ashley… or Jessica(?) says from behind Fat Amy.

"Aubrey, please just give us a break. It's kind of not the same without everyone here." Stacie says in frustration.

Chloe puts her hands on her hips. "We need Beca. She makes us better."

"Maybe if Aubrey loosened the reins a little bit." Chloe says, glancing to the side.

And that's all Aubrey can take. "Okay, shut it Chloe!" She snaps, nostrils flaring in anger.

"Whoa…" CR says, seemingly surprised at the blonde's outburst.

Aubrey ignores the others and glares at Chloe. "Oh, I'm sorry. That was rude. Chloe, could you please get your head out of your ass? It's not a hat."

"Aca-awkward…" Aubrey hears and she shoots a death glare in Fat Amy's direction, causing the Aussie to look anywhere but Aubrey.

Chloe looks at Aubrey as if she's just sprouted wings. "Aca-scuse me? I have been there for you for so many years, and all you do is treat me like shit!"

Aubrey looks away for a split second, heart aching in her chest, but before she can even utter a comeback, Amy is yelling.

"Alright, no, okay, just shut up! Everyone! Come on, I joined this group so I could hang out with a bunch of really cool chicks. And also 'cause I was really sick of all my boyfriends and I need to get away from that. But this is some serious horseshit. I don't wanna be like the old Bellas."

CR nods her agreement. "Yeah, I wanna be how we are now." She moves past Aubrey to the bleachers.

"Me too." Stacie says with a frown, folding her arms over her chest and following CR. Even Lilly mumbles her agreement.

Chloe sighs. "We should have listened to Beca."

Aubrey feels like the walls are closing in on her, each comment like a physical blow. She barely registers the way her voice goes up an octave higher. "Oh, so this is my fault?"

Chloe looks a little apologetic and Aubrey thinks somewhere in the back of her head that Chloe knows that Aubrey has been beating herself up over it all, that the question is about more than just the Bellas. "That's not what I'm saying!" She says in frustration.

But Aubrey is too far gone, now and has reached a level of hysteria. "No, no, no, that's what you're all thinking, isn't it? That I'm the jerk. I am the girl obsessed with winning." She looks around at all of them, throat tight and stomach churning.

Chloe scratches at her forehead and if Aubrey weren't so angry and hurt that she'd notice the signs of Chloe trying to calm down so that she can calm Aubrey down, but the redhead can't seem to get past it as she sighs again. "Aubrey, you're too controlling and it's gonna ruin all of us."

Aubrey blinks back tears and scowls. "You know what, I can lose control if I want to. I can let go. This time I'm not gonna choke it down!" It takes her a moment to stop focussing on keeping the churn of her stomach at bay, to stop swallowing the thick knot in her throat, but then she's stress vomiting everywhere and all of the girls except Chloe look on in horror.

"Come on, bring it! You can do better than that! That's all you got?" Chloe yells, not even the slightest bit bothered by the smell now surrounding them all.

Aubrey finally stops throwing up and wipes away the tears that always come when she does so. Somewhere from the bleachers she can hear Fat Amy screaming, but she ignores her.

It's when Aubrey and Chloe are wrestling for the pitch pipe that a voice cuts through all of the screaming.

"Guys! Guys, stop! What is going on?" Beca looks on in horror.

Aubrey is only stunned for a moment before she's using Chloe's distraction and snatching up the pitch pipe. She and Chloe both scramble to their feet. Aubrey's heart seems to hammer harder in her chest as she stares at Beca, takes in her concerned face. Apart of her wants to hug her but the stubborn part of Aubrey wins over. "Nothing. Nothing. This is a Bella's rehearsal." She says curtly, instead.

Beca glances down and back up, looking sad and apologetic all at once. "I know. 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." She seems to pause, gauging Aubrey's reaction, but the blonde doesn't move. Beca bites her lip before meeting Aubrey's gaze. "And I definitely shouldn't have left. I let you guys down and I'm really sorry. And…Aubrey, if you would have me, I want back in."

She can feel everyone's' eyes on her, burning holes into her skin. She just stares at Beca, still honestly so surprised to see the tiny brunette in front of her, apologizing. She watches as Beca's face drops and she seems to nod to herself before she turns, grabbing the chair from the piano and beginning to slowly drag it away.

Beca stops a few times to look back at her and it isn't until she hears Chloe's insistent harsh whisper, "Aubrey!" That her shoulders drop and she sighs.

"Wait."

Beca sighs in relief and stops dragging the chair. "Thank you. That would have been embarrassing." She smirks a little and Aubrey's insides melt at the sight. She was embarrassed at how much she had seemed to miss the alt-girl.

The blonde sighs and steps forward a little, fingers itching to reach out and just touch Beca, but she crosses them instead. "Beca, I know that I've been hard on you, okay? I know that I've been hard on everyone here. But I am my father's daughter. And he always said, 'if at first you don't succeed, pack your bags.'" She glances away, anxiously.

"Jesus." CR says from behind her, but Aubrey ignores it as Beca takes a step toward Aubrey, giving her a sad, knowing smile.

"I get it. Mine gets on me too. Not like that, but…I guess we don't really know that much about each other. About most of you really." Beca looks around the room at the Bellas and back at Aubrey.

Stacie steps forward, now, eyes looking around the room. "Well, I'll confess something that none of you really know about me." She pauses and takes a breath. "I have a lot of sex."

Fat Amy rolls her eyes. "Yeah, we know, Stacie."

Stacie shoots the aussie a look. "Only because I just told you."

Beca looks like she's trying not to smirk as she shakes her head. "No, 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 we can all say something about ourselves that nobody else knows."

They all agree, but first everyone cleans up themselves a little before coming to sit in the chairs. CR is first to say something, confessing about her gambling problem and then continues down the line until it gets to Beca.

"Okay, I've never really been one of those girls who had a lot of friends who were girls or… friends in general because I had Jonah and no one really wanted to hang out with a teen mom. But, I do now." Beca glances around the room at all of them, smiling softly before she continues. " And that's pretty cool. So, that's me. Someone else please go." She says, looking uncomfortable and anxious.

Chloe stands up now, taking a shuddery breath. "Okay. Over spring break, I made the courageous decision to remove my nodes. I know. The doctor said that I can't sing above a G-sharp, maybe ever. I thought this season was over." The redhead dissolves into a fit of tears and Aubrey quickly stands up to envelop her in a hug, kissing the top of her head affectionately.

"It's okay, it's okay." Aubrey murmurs softly, as they sit down. She feels horrible for all of the things she said to her redheaded counterpart and resolves to make it up to her later. But once the redhead calms, Aubrey stands and takes a breath. "Beca," Beca stands to attention. "What do we do?" Her voice is hoarse suddenly and her eyes are blurry with unshed tears.

Beca smiles softly at Aubrey and it's all she can do to keep it together. She goes to toss the pitch pipe at the brunette but she misses and it lands into the puddle of vomit. Aubrey glances away, ashamed. "Sorry." She looks back up when she feels a hand squeeze her arm in reassurance.

"Maybe not here…" Beca says with a soft chuckle, her fingers leaving a heated trail down Aubrey's arm as she allows them to slowly drag down it until Beca's hand is back at her side. And Aubrey can't help but smile back at her.