Trustworthy

A few of months later Aubrey managed to tell Chloe about her conversation with the desk girl, Prue. Chloe recalled a similar one where she was told that, basically, to conform to the ways of the Bellas. Except in a really nasty way.

"That was when you were thinking about leaving?" Aubrey said tidying her hair into a sophisticated twist.

"Yeah" Chloe hummed from the bedroom. She was sat cross-legged on the bed with half an earphone in.

Really Chloe had ony thought about leaving because conforming sucks and Prue is a real life Cryptonite. She loved singing too much though, aswell as the people she'd grown to love.

The Bellas had so much rehearsal time that without it she would have been completely lost without them. There was also a communal hatred for Prue that brought all the other Bellas together. It was like a family really.

Chloe looked up at Aubrey as she came out of the bathroom. All groomed, pencil skirt and blazer. She had changed so much already. At least she still remembered who she was at this point. Aubrey smiled at Chloe who was still in her jeans and band shirt.

She wasn't letting go, she figured the Bellas needed her voice more than they wanted her to change her shirt. Aubrey really admired that. She let out an exasperated sigh.

"We'd be better wouldn't we Chlo?" She fiddeled with her purse.

"Ofcourse, we've already got a leg up on Prue. We're actually human." She shot a wink at the blonde in front of her. Who answered with a soft smile.

"Yeah. Yeah we are. Coming?" She opens the door slightly, slowing for Chloe to catch up with her.

Chloe slipped into her old sneakers. Those 'I'm definitely having a comfort day# DC's that Prue absolutely hated. She grabbed her bag from the side of her bed along with a packet of M&M's.

She stopped at the door beside Aubrey, and opened her mouth wide.

"Ahhh?"

The blonde smiled following suit. Chloe popped and M&M in her mouth and pecked her on the cheek. Aubrey would've hated that, but it was Chloe. They started making fun of the Senior Bellas and their 'Educated European Greeting" (that was oh-so-aca-fake). Now, it was just a habit, besides Chloe was like that with everyone. Maybe more with Aubrey. They were best friends after all. They'd actually become pretty inseperable.

Troubles

Chloe watched as Aubrey faded into the Bella bitches. They were still best friends, she knew that. Still inseparable. Bree would never betray Chloe either even to the senior Bellas, she always covered for Chlo and backed her up.

They still had their bitching sessions too, whenever Prue made Chloe feel like shit. Chloe was now the only "alternative" person in the group so anything that went wrong? It was Chloe's fault? Obviously.

Chloe's theory had been right though, she hadn't given up her head bands and her band tees or started to wear critical amounts of make-up and she was still in the Bellas. It was now the end of year 2, so for Chloe, that was definitely an achievement.

Maybe she would've stayed that way too.

Her summer, however, didn't go as planned. She went home to find that her father wasn't there. He wasn't just away on a job across country either. He was just gone. He could well have been gone for months. She couldn't tell.

Her mother couldn't talk about it at all. She never mentioned it in a letter or over the phone. Chloe knew it hit her hard. Anyone with eyes knew it hit her hard. She was a ghost of her former self.

Being the oldest in the family, Chloe had to look after her two younger brothers. They needed her. They gushed everything that had happened. How their mom became a shell. They all cried for what seemed like days. Chloe needed it, the boys definitely needed it. They would have been holding it together for their mom.

As soon as she arrived home and started looking after the boys her mother kind of shut down. Maybe she was waiting for the relief, Chloe never found out, but the pressure that landed on Chloe wasn't healthy. Really not healthy.

She called Aubrey a few times, told her what was going on. Her best friend had even offered to come down and help out. Chloe knew that really, Aubrey didn't have the money and staying with her family at the moment was not something anyone would want to endure voluntarily.

So Chloe worked through it, looking after her brothers and sometimes her mother. She even started taking the boys to games. She did all the things moms would do.

Not their mom, she just stayed in her room.

Eventually when it came to the start of her first semester Chloe decided to call her grandmother.

Her mother was practically a zombie and her brothers definitely couldn't be left to care for themselves.

Her grandmother had always been there for Chloe even before her dad left. Since he had, she was up every weekend anyway so she saw this coming. Not that she resented Chloe for it she knew her granddaughter was a good kid, strong. Her young heart should bounce back... Should.