Chloe sat in the car, giggling as Beca recounted the story of their first encounter.
"I thought you were totally insane," the brunette laughed. "I just wanted you to get out of my shower."
"Well, aren't you glad you didn't send me away?" Chloe said with a small smile.
"Yeah, I suppose so. Although you guys need me more than I need you. I mean, come on… The Bellas would suck without me. I'm the force that binds you all together." Chloe rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure we'd manage fine without you, pipsqueak." Beca laughed and turned to look out the window.
"Well, I guess it's pretty late. I should go."
"Yeah, yeah, that's a good idea. Early morning rehearsal tomorrow." Beca groaned and turned to open the door, but Chloe reached out and grabbed her arm.
"Beca?"
"Mmhm?"
"I'm really glad I got to know you this year." Beca smiled.
"Me too, Chlo. See you tomorrow."
Chloe watched Beca walk up the steps to her dorm before turning to drive herself home. She was very grateful to have Beca Mitchell in her life; the spunky little freshman was sassy and bold, and when they hung out together Chloe forgot about school and the Bellas and all the other things in her life that were causing her stress. There was no way she was going to let Aubrey keep her from being friends with Beca. She wasn't going to let the blonde micromanage her life anymore.
Chloe opened the door to their room, throwing her keys on the counter and making her way to the bedroom. She tried to be as quiet as possible; Aubrey would no doubt already be asleep. She sighed… She hadn't meant to lose her temper with Aubrey, although she couldn't help feeling that her friend deserved it. Honestly, she could be so aggravating sometimes.
Chloe was surprised to find Aubrey's bed empty, and her heart squeezed in fear as she caught sight of the blonde curled up into a ball on the bathroom floor.
"Aubrey?" she ran into the bathroom and dropped down onto her knees. "Bree, talk to me. What happened?"
"I c-can't d-d-do it anymore, C-Chloe," Aubrey sobbed from the floor. "I t-tried so hard, but I c-can't do it."
"Can't do what?" Chloe's voice was pleading, oh just please be okay Bree. Aubrey struggled to sit up. Her blonde waves were a tangled mess, her eyes puffy and bloodshot.
"I just wanted to get it right, you know? To prove myself. To prove that I could be deserving of someone's love."
"Bree, I don't understand," Chloe whispered. She reached out to put a hand on Aubrey's shoulder, but the blonde flinched and pulled away.
"My mom left us when I was sixteen. My dad blamed me for it, said that it was my fault she'd gone away… I just wanted someone to love me, Chlo. But to my dad I was a failure, a child undeserving of his love. And my mother… I thought she loved me. But she left me, she left me all alone, and it's not even her fault, it's me, Chloe, it's my fault, b-because…" Aubrey had begun to sob again. "Because I'm a screw-up, Chloe. I screwed up Nationals last year, and I'm screwing up everything with the Bellas this year, and now I've screwed up our relationship and when you walked out that door tonight I was terrified that I'd lost you, that you'd walked out and were never coming back, and it killed me – it killed me – inside because I knew that once again it was my fault."
"Oh, Bree," Chloe whispered. She was at a loss for words. She moved to sit next to Aubrey, who had her face pressed into her knees, and wrapped her arms around her. The blonde turned her face into Chloe's shoulder and wept, her pain and her grief painstakingly evident. And Chloe just sat there and held her; the confident, independent Aubrey Posen a scared, vulnerable child in her arms. "Bree, you're not a failure, do you hear me? You're beautiful and you're strong and you're smart and you're not in the least bit a screw-up. Your mistakes don't define you, Bree. You don't need to always get everything right. You are Aubrey Posen, and you are an amazing person. And I will never, ever leave you." Aubrey sat up slowly and set her blue-green eyes on Chloe's face.
"Promise?" she whispered. Chloe nodded.
"I promise, Bree. I – I love you."
And it was in that moment that Aubrey Posen found the true meaning of love; an affection that cannot be bought or earned, but that develops when two people can be honest and vulnerable and look past each other's weaknesses to find the beauty of human nature. And Aubrey knew, in that moment, that she was loved.