Disclaimer: I don't own Pitch Perfect and I don't own Hinder's Lips of an Angel
Five Years Later
In a small apartment in Chicago, the morning sun filtered in through slightly parted curtains and shone down on the occupant of the apartment. Chloe Beale shifted and cracked her eyes open. She grinned brightly and in seconds she was up and out of bed. Chloe all but skipped out of her bedroom and into the bathroom to get started for the day. As she passed by her Irish Setter, Bentley, she paused for a second to give him a vigorous ear scratching.
"Hey buddy," she cooed. "I'm sorry we're not going to have time for our walk today." Bentley seemed to understand that he wasn't getting his five mile morning run and he was going to spend the next however long it took to voice his displeasure. Loudly. "Oh shush Bent," Chloe chided the dog gently as she hopped into the shower. As the water cascaded down, she took the moment to relax and just enjoy whatever stress free time she got.
Chloe was all set to start her first year of residency at Chicago General in a couple of weeks and this vacation she was about to embark on was going to be her last chance to relax in a very long time. Chloe didn't regret any of it though. Not the four years at Barden and four more years at the University of Chicago and not the estimated five years of residency to come. It was the life she had chosen and she was going to see it through till the end. That didn't mean that she didn't have regrets. Nope, Chloe had carried around a handful of those from time to time and some of them had stuck around for just a little bit longer than others. With a shake of her head that had her red hair smacking at her face and water droplets flinging all across the tiled walls, Chloe did her very best to banish the dark memories plaguing her mind.
She sighed dramatically and ran her hands through her soaking wet hair. This shower session, which was supposed to be relaxing her, was instead bringing up unbidden memories and stressing her out. So much for that theory. Giving up on the rest of her shower, Chloe shut off the water and started toweling herself dry. As she wrapped the towel underneath her armpits, she heard her cellphone start ringing from her bedside table. Chloe made a mad dash, scurrying out of the bathroom and all but vaulting over Bentley in her scramble. She dove wildly across the bed, her legs getting twisted up in the sheets as she went, and managed to scoop up her phone and answer it in the same motion.
"Hello?" she asked breathlessly in the receiver.
"Chloe?" she heard Aubrey answer. "Are you alright?"
Chloe moved to sit up and untangle herself, shifting the phone to wedge it between her ear and her shoulder as she responded easily, "Yeah Bree, I'm fine. I was just in the shower and didn't want to miss your call."
"Oh, right," Aubrey's tone was still just as clipped and formal as it was all throughout high school and their undergrad. Going to law school hadn't really done anything to help her best friend loosen up and enjoy life more but she did get the stress vomiting under control, so that was a major plus. "I was just calling to make sure that-"
"That I'm on a plane and out to LA by tomorrow. I got it Bree, I got it. My flight leaves in three hours and I'm leaving my house in about thirty minutes. Relax, okay?" Chloe cut her friend off with a sigh. This was the third time this week that Aubrey had given Chloe the same lecture and Chloe was fairly confident she could rattle it back to her, both sides of the conversation.
Chloe heard a soft exhale from the other end of the line and a much gentler voice asked, "Is everything okay Chlo?"
"Yeah Bree, I'm fine," Chloe trailed off. "I just really, really need this vacation."
There was a pause and then, "You haven't gotten laid yet have you?"
"Noooo," Chloe drew the word out and flopped back dramatically on her bed. "And it's been forever! I'm going crazy in here."
"From what I understand, you're going crazy down there," Aubrey shot back cheekily.
"Oh shut up," Chloe mumbled, but with no real malicious intent behind her words.
"No I'm serious," Aubrey said back, a lilting tone telling Chloe she was laughing, or at the very least smiling. "When's the last time you got yourself some?"
Chloe groaned and admitted sheepishly, "Four months." The bark of laughter on the other end made Chloe wish that she'd lied to Aubrey, not that her best friend of almost ten years wouldn't have been able to tell.
"That long Chloe? Are you going celibate or something?"
"I'm hanging up on you now," Chloe informed the lawyer on the other end drily.
"I'll see you later Chloe," Aubrey said with a chuckle and the line went dead. Chloe rolled her eyes and let the hand holding the cellphone drop onto the bed next to her. Chloe lay there for a bit, just thinking about things.
It was true, she hadn't had any fun in the past four months, but it went farther back than that. She hadn't even had a drunken late night bar run with anyone in over a month and it had been a solid two years since she'd had any semblance of a relationship. Not even a significant relationship, just a relationship in general. Ever since she broke it off with her girlfriend of a year and a half, Janet, Chloe had been in an emotional rut. A really long, really dry, really unsatisfying rut. It had taken Chloe five minutes of hardcore brooding before she remembered that while her dry spell was certainly concerning, it wasn't the most pressing matter at hand. She had a plane to catch.
Fortunately, living as Aubrey's roommate for three years had definitely rubbed off on the redhead and she'd had her bag packed and waiting by the door since yesterday morning. Chloe moved about her apartment, throwing on clothes as she went, making sure that everything was in order, turning off the lights and the air conditioner behind her.
"Come on baby," Chloe murmured to the over-exuberant dog who was practically a living extension of her own personality. Bentley gave a few excited yips and obediently starting trotting after his master. Chloe went three doors down the hall and knocked on the door.
"Hey Chloe," the woman who answered the door was groggy and clearly still in a sleep fog, but the cup of coffee in her hand would probably fix that soon enough.
"Hey Lindsay," Chloe chirped. "I really appreciate you and Trevor watching Bentley while I'm out of town."
"Not a problem Chloe, now get going before you miss your flight," Lindsay all but demanded around a yawn.
Chloe broke into a face-splitting grin and she said, "Thanks again."
"Yeah, yeah, now go!"
"Right," and with that Chloe was all but skipping back to her apartment. She slung her laptop bag over her shoulder and started pulling her suitcase behind her.
Thirty minutes later and Chloe was navigating through the slippery and crowded streets of Chicago. As she was sitting behind a powder blue Prius with 'Save the Whales' and 'Save the Quails' bumper stickers, Chloe felt like pounding her head on the steering wheel. While she was certainly used to Chicago traffic, it certainly didn't mean that she was any more patient with it than anyone else.
"God I hate traffic," she mumbled to herself and as a distraction, switched on the radio.
"And coming at you right now is the newest single from Los Angeles's sweetheart, DJ CC Hale. Last night's release of the Grammy Award nominations revealed that Miss Hale is up for awards in Best Female Artist, Best Electronic Single, Best Pop Single, Hottest Album, and Hottest Single. This next song, Still Into You, is up for Song of the Year, off of her nominated album, See You at Seven, so enjoy and remember to keep an eye on the Awards!"
Chloe was glad when the radio personality finally decided to stop flapping his yap and instead put on the song he'd been blathering about for several minutes. It took Chloe a few beats of being stunned and awed before she started to get really into the song, bobbing her head to the beat and banging her hands on the steering wheel. Some ass shaking was soon in order and Chloe found herself practically ashamed that this was the first time she'd ever even heard of a CC Hale. It really wasn't her fault. Between medical school and attempting to secure a residency, she hadn't had a whole hell of a lot of time to get out and listen to the radio. Chloe made a silent vow to look up this mysterious DJ on her plane ride out to LA.
In the meantime, right there was her exit and if this douche knocker did not get the hell out of her way so help her she was going to cut a bitch. She was going to cut all the bitches.
Five hours of enthusiastic web surfing later and Chloe was feeling sufficiently stunned and in awe of a girl who most of the world was watching and most of the world knew next to nothing about. At first Chloe had just been interested in CC Hale's career from a mildly curious listener's standpoint, but now she was pretty sure she was now bordering on the side of obsessed. She really couldn't help it.
While looking up DJ CC Hale, she'd turned up very little information and even fewer pictures so it's not even like she could put a face with the voice. Sure, there were the generic pictures of press conferences and award shows, but CC Hale had done an amazing job of hiding herself from nearly any and all curious followers, fans and paparazzi alike. All the pictures that Chloe's numerous google searches had turned up depicted a woman of average height with striking facial features, at least what could be seen of them, in various hats and always large-framed sunglasses that covered nearly the entire top half of the woman's face. Even her Wikipedia page was woefully barren, most of the information on her revolving around music releases and awards. There was no background information, no family connections, no relationships, not even rumors; it was like the woman hadn't even existed until five years ago.
And all of this just fueled Chloe's desire to know more about the woman. She'd always been a sucker for the mysterious façade; it was a bit of a weak point honestly. It had been ever since high school and even more so throughout college. She really couldn't help it. Off the top of her head, Chloe could name five girls and boys who had the tattooed, pierced, and all around mysterious aura that Chloe honest to goodness could not get enough of.
One in particular that every time Chloe thought of had her sucking back oxygen because her breath was caught in her throat. It had been a while since Chloe Beale had thought of Beca Mitchell. And by a while, Chloe meant like two weeks. Which, let's be honest, was basically like twelve minutes ago seeing as the last time Chloe had seen the girl was five years ago. Chloe missed Beca, plain and simple. She missed the girl's sharp wit. She missed the girl's melodious voice. She missed Beca's flashing and mischievous eyes. She missed the piercings and the tattoos and the smirk. God, she just missed Beca.
Chloe was jolted out of her thoughts by a flight attendant touching her shoulder and insisting that Chloe turn off all her electronics and return her tray and seat to an upright position. Chloe did as she would bid and waited for the plane to touchdown in LA. God damn it had been too long since she'd gotten out of her city. She really needed this vacation.
Aubrey Posen shifted slightly on her feet and looked at her watch. It was now 11:36 and Chloe was officially twenty two minutes late. She supposed it couldn't really be blamed on the girl. It's not as if she had control over her flight and when it arrived. Still, in true Posen fashion, Aubrey could feel a slight ripple of discomfort at the tardiness. Had she been younger, that ripple would most likely have been accompanied by an overwhelming desire to vomit. However, four years of law school and the stress that came along with it had forced Aubrey to find a less revolting way of handling her stress. It was a largely trial and error process, though she'd discovered considerable success through yogic breathing. Yes, yoga had done wonders for the uptight blond. However, some habits like being perpetually on time had never truly deserted her.
And so Aubrey shifted uncomfortably once again and glanced one more time at her watch. 11:38. Where the hell was Chloe? Aubrey's musings were interrupted by a flying ball of flaming red hair that all but tackled her.
"Oof," was all Aubrey managed to grunt out before all the air in her lungs was squeezed by an overly-exuberant redhead. It took her a few minutes but eventually was able to squeeze out, "Hey Chlo." Chloe's only response was a grunt and to squeeze harder. "Oxygen, Chlo, oxygen dammit," Aubrey gasped through a strangled voice.
"No," Chloe mumbled into wherever the hell her face was pressed up against. Aubrey heaved a resigned sigh and wound her own arms around the redhead and let her cheek fall to rest on top of Chloe's chaotic waves. Finally, a good ten or so minutes later, Chloe sighed in content and loosened her grip on her best friend just long enough to thread her arm through Aubrey's and pull the slightly taller woman flush against her side. "God I missed you Bree."
"I should hope so," Aubrey said drily as the two began to wind their way through the congestion at LAX. "I don't know many other people who can put up with your hugs."
"Shush you," Chloe chastised with a giggle. "You know you love them." Aubrey rolled her eyes but didn't bother correcting her best friend because, yes, she did love Chloe's attack hugs. Even if that one time she ended up with a concussion. Chloe rightfully took Aubrey's silence as her acquiescing and stooped slightly to rub her cheek against the top of Aubrey's shoulder.
Aubrey chuckled at her friend's antics and teased, "Just how in the hell are you not a cat person?" Chloe wrinkled her nose and distaste and shook her head enthusiastically.
"Nooooo thank you," she exclaimed. "Dogs all the way." Aubrey laughed again and they went to go collect Chloe's bag and drive back to the hotel they would be staying in.
"So when does everyone else get here?" Chloe asked curiously as she slid into the front seat of the bright red convertible Aubrey had rented for the duration of their layover in Los Angeles.
Aubrey herself got into the driver's seat and started the engine before replying, "Cynthia-Rose and Stacie will be flying in from Georgia later on today." The two girls had stayed in Georgia together. Eventually, Cynthia-Rose and Denise's relationship had fallen through, at that point Chloe was knee deep in anatomical text books and she never got the full story out of what happened, but they must've ended on good terms because she never sensed any animosity between the two. Regardless, sometime in their senior year, Stacie and Cynthia-Rose had finally cleared the air of all sexual tension and got together. Cynthia-Rose ended up staying at Barden to get her master's in business and Stacie was just an hour away at Northern Stanton for a PhD in psychology. The girl who had a habit of grabbing her own boobs was actually pretty smart, as it turned out.
"Ashley is flying in from Texas tonight, Fat Amy should be getting here in like two hours from New York, and Lily is driving up from Flagstaff tomorrow morning. I think Denise's flight gets in at like one in the morning but I'm not actually sure."
Chloe quirked her eyebrow. She knew, logically, that just because they were all Bellas, it didn't mean that they were best friends or even that they'd all stay in contact because that sure as hell hadn't happened. She just hadn't realized that they had become so scattered. Add in her own place out in Chicago and Aubrey's residency in Seattle and the Bellas were literally stretched from sea to shining sea.
"When do we leave for Hawaii?" Chloe asked in excitement, practically bouncing up and down in her seat. While most days she was exhausted down to her very bones, she refused to let that deter her natural energetic nature.
Aubrey shot a pointed look at her best friend that very clearly read 'Calm your tits before I calm them for you' but she answered nonetheless, "We fly out tomorrow at 1:30 and should arrive in Honolulu by 5. From there we'll depart for the hotel and make sure everything is settled before our week long excursion begins." Chloe blinked twice before bursting out in laughter. The care-free sound reverberated around the car and drifted happily out the window. The sound was so light-hearted and beautiful that Aubrey couldn't find herself capable of doing anything other than shooting a quirked eyebrow at her passenger.
"You sounded like you were a robot reciting an itinerary," Chloe said between snickers. Aubrey chuckled lightly, Chloe's attitude easily contagious. "Whooo!" Chloe threw her hands up in the air joyously, reveling in the feeling of the wind streaming through her spread fingers. "This is going to be the best vacation ever!"
"What the hell do you mean that our flight has been canceled?" Aubrey snarled at the cowering man at the Delta flight information booth. This was usually when Chloe would step and save the poor soul that was facing Aubrey's wrath, but she was too in shock to be of much help to anyone.
"W-w-we-well," the man stuttered out, his eyes downcast as he avoided looking directly at the furious blond in front of him. "There's been a complication with the plane and it's been taken in for repairs. Unfortunately all the other flights out to Honolulu are booked and we can't reschedule your flight until two weeks from now."
"Two weeks!" Aubrey shrieked. She felt the familiar bubble in the back of her throat starting to surface and she had to force herself to step back and take several deep breaths.
When she finally felt she could open her mouth without spewing vomit everywhere, she said in a quiet and tight voice that was ten times as terrifying as when she was yelling, "What do you mean two weeks?"
The man at the desk was by no means stupid and instantly picked up on the threat and danger lying beneath her words, so he sputtered out as quickly as he could, "I'm really sorry ma'am. A full refund will be returned to the credit card used to purchase the seats but there isn't anything we can do about the flights. If you'd like, I can provide you with a list of hotels in the area?"
Aubrey nodded stiffly and the man moved quickly to comply with his offer. As he bustled around in the small space, Aubrey's thoughts were racing on how to fix this. The money really wasn't an issue, as a matter of fact her father had paid for all the girls to fly out to Hawaii and stay in a fabulous resort for a week. What was the problem was this week and a half they had all taken off from their jobs was all of the vacation time that they had. At least, Aubrey knew that personally, she sure as hell wasn't going to be able to find an unoccupied week and a half for another year.
With an aggravated grimace, she snatched the promised list of nearby hotels and stalked back to the Bellas to explain the situation. All of the girls were immediately set a buzz and it took a solid twenty minutes for everyone to calm down and plan what to do next. It finally came down to just getting enough hotel rooms and figure out what the hell they were going to do for the next nine days in LA.
Aubrey Posen was from a long and dignified line of lawyers and as such it was drilled into all Posen children at a young age that a Posen did not just give up. On a completely unrelated note, Aubrey Posen had given up on trying to find a hotel outside of the Motel 6. Apparently the Bellas' wave of bad luck hadn't just stopped with the plane. Oh no. That would be just too easy. Instead, it had extended to all of the hotels in the area being booked, maintenance issues, or not being up to Aubrey Posen's standard. Meaning they received a quarter of a star on Yelp and in the comments, 'cockroach' and 'bedbugs' had appeared more than once.
"No luck?" Chloe murmured sympathetically as she rubbed Aubrey's back. The other woman was currently sitting on a bench in the middle of the Los Angeles airport, her cell phone dangling loosely between her fingertips, and her head bowed in defeat.
"None," Aubrey mumbled. "There is literally not a single room anywhere."
"Alright," Chloe said in a determined voice, refusing to let yet another setback bring down her enthusiasm any. "So we go to Plan D."
"D?" Aubrey questioned curiously.
"Yup, D," Chloe stated with a determined nod. "Hawaii was Plan A, hotels were Plan B, and sleeping on a bench like a hobo was Plan C." Aubrey smiled slightly before following Chloe over to where all the other Bellas were milling about with various coffee products in their hands. "Alright ladies," Chloe said with a grin on her face and a clap of her hands, eerily reminiscent of her senior year of the Barden Bellas. "Does anyone have the phone number of anyone who lives out here in LA?"
All of the other women shifted around, awkwardly looking at each other, waiting for someone else to step up. Finally, Fat Amy broke the silence with, "I miiiiight have the number of someone… maybe."
"Well either you have it or you don't," Aubrey said sharply, nearly barking at the other girl.
"Weeeeelllll," Fat Amy hedged once again, twiddling with her phone in her hands awkwardly and not making eye contact.
"Amy!" Aubrey snapped finally in exasperation. Fat Amy's shoulders slumped ever so slightly as she handed over her phone, a contact already pulled up. Aubrey didn't even look twice at the name; she just hit the call button. With another exasperated look shot in the direction of the large blonde that was promptly ignored, Aubrey held the phone up to her ear and tapped her foot impatiently.
However, Aubrey soon felt her breath hitch and her eyes widen instinctively when a slightly digitized and muffled voice that she hadn't heard in YEARS broke through the line, "Hello?"
"No way," the blonde breathed in disbelief. "There's just no effin' way."
Honey why you calling me so late?
It's kinda hard to talk right now.
Honey why are you crying? Is everything okay?
I gotta whisper 'cause I can't be too loud.
Bwahahaha. That is all.
You all surpassed all of my review expectations with flying colors, so this week's goal is 108. Please and thank you.