Avoidance. It had always been Beca's go to plan and so far, it was working out pretty well for her. She always made sure that she was never the first to arrive for Bellas rehearsal and she wasn't the last to leave. Sure, Aubrey had tried to make her stay behind a few times but Stacie always seemed to need Beca urgently. That girl was a complete and utter godsend and the only reason Beca hadn't become a permanent recluse. After rehearsal Beca would usually lock herself away in her dorm, creating mix after mix until Stacie was able to drag her away. That was the only person Beca really hung out with at the moment, mostly because she understood, she understood that Beca did not want to talk about her issues and she did not want pity. She just wanted...normal. So that's what Stacie gave her. She joked about Beca's height, moaned about assignments, talked about her recent sex-capades while Beca threw pillows to make her stop. Beca thought they made a pretty good team.
'Dude, I've text you like five thousand times. We're already late, Aubrey-' Beca cut herself off as she turned to the taller brunette, who was currently still in bed.
'No.' Beca shook her head, hair crossing her vision. Stacie was deathly pale with a light sheen of sweat covering her face. She was sick, meaning Beca was screwed. She couldn't go to rehearsals alone and she didn't hesitate to voice this.
'Calm down, short stuff. I'm fine.' Stacie said, her voice catching. The taller girl moved to stand but swayed on her feet. Beca stepped forward quickly.
'Sit down Stace. You may be my best friend but if you faint I am not attempting to catch you in any way.' Beca held her hands out warily as Stacie swayed again and then sat back down with a heavy sigh.
'Wow, friend of the year, Becs.' She mumbled, leaning back against her pillows. Beca smirked, knowing Stacie was kidding.
'Says the one constantly reminding me of our hieght difference.' She teased, sitting by the girl's feet. 'If I tried to catch you, do you honestly think you wouldn't just face plant anyway?'
Stacie smiled at her briefly before erupting into a fit of coughing. Beca jumped up to grab the glass of water sitting on Stacie's bedside table, rubbing the girl's back soothingly as she handed it to her. After taking a few small sips, Stacie handed the glass back and lay down.
'You should get going, you're half an hour late. Aubrey is going to kill you...and probably bring you back to life, just so she can kill you again.' Stacie giggled.
Beca rolled her eyes at the other but stood up all the same. However before leaving, She cast a concerned look at her friend.
'You sure you don't want me to stay? We could do something. I may even watch a movie with you, if you promise to give me some of your mom's cookies the next time she sends you a box, that is.' Beca smirked but her eyes were still concerned. Stacie waved it off however.
'You can always have cookies,' She said, yawning. 'But I just wanna get some sleep to be honest. I couldn't have slept for more than four hours last night.'
Beca nodded understanding exactly how crappy that felt. She garbbed her bag and headed towards the door.
'Okay, I'll let the girls know. Oh, and I'll pick up some soothers after practice, if you lose your voice, I won't be the only one Aubrey kills.'
Beca slowly pushed the auditorium door open, just far enough for her to squeeze inside. She could just see the back of the group from where she was standing, meaning the minute she went around that corner, Aubrey was bound to see her. Beca took a deep breath to calm her rising nerves at being confronted by the blonde but before she could even let it out, Fat Amy spotted her.
'Where've you been bitch! You made me vertical run by myself!'
Once again Beca didn't have time to sort herself out, as Aubrey began storming towards her.
'Beca! Where the hell have you been? Practice started forty minutes ago and you know as well as the rest of us that every moment counts right now. We're a month away from our performance and you can't even be bothered to show up on time. I know that you and Stacie have your own thing going on most of the time but it does not give you an excuse to neglect your responsibilities as a Bella.' The blonde paused, seeming to notice for the first time that the other brunette wasn't there. It was all Beca needed to draw her walls up around herself, crossing her arms and letting her eyebrow lift slightly.
She cut Aubrey off before she even asked.
'Stacie can't make it today. She's sick.'
With that, Beca walked casually over to the seats holding everyone's stuff and chucked her bag towards the back. Just as casually she took her place within the group, ignoring the stares of her fellow teammates, especially the ones coming from a certain redhead.
Aubrey, recovering from her shock, moved back to stand in front of the group.
'Okay ladies; let's re-block to cover Stacie's absence. Five, six, seven, eight!'
Beca downed the rest of her water in one go. Practice had been gruelling, more so than usual and Beca couldn't help feeling a bit guilty. It was kind of her fault Aubrey was acting like a drill sergeant. Luckily practice was now over, it had gone on for almost six hours, given that it was Saturday and Aubrey had decided to take advantage of that fact. The other girls began to disperse, everyone calling out their best wishes for Stacie and yelling for Beca to pass them along. Nodding vaguely at each remark, Beca wondered what flavour soothers the other girl would want, deciding to get the blackcurrant ones and possibly some chocolate too. The brunette pulled her bag over her shoulder, still lost in thought. She turned to leave but instead came face to face with a terrifying realisation. There were only two other people left in the auditorium, both of whom were staring directly at her.