Greetings aca-mortals! King Alex has returned your life's better now, I know. So, It seems like everyone liked the double update! I'm glad you all did. See? Being nice to me has its perks :) For the readers who don't review, you have my reviewers to thank for it. I really should be doing my school work, but y'alls have inspired me to fuck school and write XD

Thank you all so much for all of your support. It means the world guys, really. I love you all so much, and it shocks me how many of you reviewed this time. 16 reviews? Fucking amazing! Don't worry though mortals. We're only around the half way mark. I'm going to draw this shit out for as long as possible.

I own nothing. It sucks but its true, but I say this so mother fuckers can't sue!

Lying in the dark, Aubrey willed the memory of her latest nightmare away. She'd waken up in the middle of the night again, her heart pounding, sheets a mess, and a cold sweat pouring down her face. Jolted awake before the worst came though, Aubrey was thankful she didn't have to see all of that again. She was pretty sure that she screamed in her sleep when she had to see his face and hear everything, and she felt bad that Beca had to deal with her shit.

Taking deep breaths, Aubrey forced the images of her father, the suicide, everything out of her mind. Sitting in the dark, Aubrey calmed her ragged breathing and let the pounding in her chest subside. Clenching her hands, Aubrey tried to stop them from trembling so badly. Even after all this time, all of it still haunted her. She could clearly remember the feelings of hopelessness, the fear, the hate. Those feelings hadn't left her, no matter how badly she wanted them to, and all she had to do was close her eyes, and they were there. She could also remember the freedom she felt when she was dying, the ecstasy, and feeling of floating.

Shaking her head, Aubrey sat up and rubbed her temples. It was nights like this that she really questioned her sanity. Was she really crazy? According to Chloe, she wasn't crazy per say... She just wasn't a hundred percent right up there. Which basically meant she was crazy. She didn't feel crazy though, she didn't feel the urge to suddenly go psychotic and kill a bunch of people, nor did she feel depressed and want to hurt herself. But then again, those were only a few types of crazy. Who knows? Maybe she really was bat fucking shit crazy and should be locked up. Maybe not just to protect others, but to protect her from herself. Perhaps the latter was true. After all, she did try and commit suicide, and while she no longer had a strong urge to do so again, the fact of the matter was that she had attempted to commit suicide and in the back of her mind, the option was still open.

Getting up, Aubrey walked over to the window in the room, careful not to wake Beca up. Looking out, Aubrey sighed. She knew there was no chance of getting back to sleep, and looking at the clock, Aubrey saw she had more then five hours to kill. Fucking lovely. Another long unproductive night. Sinking down into the seat by the window, Aubrey let her head fall into her hands.

Why did everything have to be so hard right now? Why did something simple have to turn so God damn fucking confusing? This was suppose to be a three month R and R session, and then she'd go back to her rightful place as CEO of Posen enterprises and put this entire clusterfuck behind her. At least, that was the original simple plan. Now though, she wasn't so sure what she was going to do. Part of her was still clinging to the original plan, still desperate to get the fuck out of here, but there was now another part of her that wanted different.

This part of her knew that all was not well with her, and this part wanted to actually get better. This part of her was tired of the bullshit that was her life, her father, the family business. This part wanted the freedom to do as she pleased, to be genuinely happy, and never have to meet anyone's expectations but her own. She was just so tired of fighting a losing battle, so tired of trying to be something she wasn't, of not know what was right or what was wrong, that sometimes, it was oh so tempting to just throw in the white towel, raise the flag of surrender. After all, how do you continue to fight when you don't even know what the hell you're fighting for anymore?

But what did surrender mean then? Did it mean giving up on business, all of it, or did it mean just being done with Posen enterprises? Did giving up mean that she wasn't going to fight Chloe anymore and accept help, or was she just going to stop fighting permanently? The latter option shouldn't be an option, but it was on nights like this that Aubrey wasn't so sure about that. With all that she'd been through, could anyone really fault her for wanting to give up, wanting to end it all?

With a sigh, Aubrey stood up and walked back over to her bed. Fucking hell, this was why she hated night like this. Thoughts like those snuck up into her mind, and they offered her an option that she couldn't and wouldn't take. She was better then that, and not just because she was a Posen. What was it Lina said? She was brilliant, powerful, and driven, all in her own right. So what if her father never saw that in her, never took the time to see what she'd done right? She saw it, Lina saw it, and for now, that would be enough.

But there was also another person Aubrey wanted to see the good in her. A person she described as highly irritating, crude, exceedingly rude, and really rather closely resembled a famous hobbit, minus the freaky feet. A person who she thought wore too much eyeliner, had too many piercings and tattoos, but yet still looked absolutely beautiful. A woman that Aubrey couldn't figure out for the life of her and was extremely intrigued by. A woman who went by the name Beca Mitchell.

Smiling, Aubrey looked over to the small slumbering figure of her current thoughts. Letting her eyes trace over the contours of her face, Aubrey silenced the voice in her head that told her this was wrong and allowed herself to do as she pleased for once. Taking in every detail of Beca's face, Aubrey sighed. Was she wrong for liking another girl? Perhaps. Did she have a chance with the cynical alt-girl before her? Probably not. Would she fight for this girl though? Perhaps. She still had to sort out her feelings for this girl, but she definitely knew that what she felt for Beca right now was more then just some casual interest. The girl captured her interest like none before, and Aubrey found herself thinking about Beca at random points in time during the day. She found herself wondering what Beca was doing or thinking when she was in her private session, and now, during practice, she found her eyes drifting over to the petite brunette through out the practice. But what to do about these confusing feelings?

Though Lina had yet to learn of her interest in Beca, she had unwittingly given Aubrey some good advice before she left. Sometimes the danger is worth the risk. You may not always win, but sometimes, failing is better then never trying at all. Sometimes, you can't always let logic and reason dictate everything you do. Sometimes, you should let gut instinct and your heart tell you what's right. When everything is upside down, and the mind cannot male sense of a situation, listen to you're heart and then go from there. A slight bit sappy, and Aubrey was pretty sure Lina had stolen that from a movie, however, Aubrey could definitely see the wisdom in those words. Right now, Aubrey didn't know what the fuck she was going to do, and her head didn't have a clue what the proper course of action would be. She'd never let feeling or gut instinct choose her path, but hey, there was a first for everything, right? The big question though, was Beca Mitchell worth it?

Yawning, Aubrey laid back down and brought the covers up to her chin. Who knew a single visit from an estranged sister could do so much for a girl? It was weird, but Lina's visit was a turning point in Aubrey's mind. Sure she had a nightmare tonight, but she had those every night. But for once, Aubrey wasn't going to wallow in self pity, wasn't going to put herself down. She felt... she felt right, like a veil had been lifted and now Aubrey could see things clearer and see shit for what it really was. Shit. It was like when Dorthy wen to the Emerald city and had to wear those glasses that tinted everything green. While she had them on, everything look like it was made of emerald, and she believed the lie. But when she took the glasses off, when the tint was gone, Dorthy was able to see things for what they were. The lies were cleared, and truth rang out. Alright, so not Aubrey's best metaphor, but hopefully you saw the point.

Aubrey was finally understanding that maybe everything her father told her wasn't exactly true. Sometimes, when you don't succeed at first, the answer isn't always to immediately pack your bags, but to get up brush the dirt off, and try again. Smiling, Aubrey snuggled deeper into the blankets and let herself enjoy this feeling of contentment and happiness for now. Sure the night started off shitty, but right now, Aubrey was feeling alright, a welcome change from the countless miserable sleepless night Aubrey's had before.

Closing her eyes, Aubrey found herself slowly letting herself drift off the sleep once more. As her breathing leveled out and her body relaxed, a small smile made it's way onto Aubrey's face. Tomorrow, she was going to try something new. Tomorrow, she was going to see where her heart would take her.

Aubrey awoke that morning feeling better then she had in... Well actually, she couldn't remember a time she'd woken up and felt better then she did now. She felt refreshed, energized, and ready to go. For once, there wasn't a list of the thousand and one things she had to do today buzzing about in her head, but instead a more manageable list of four. Go through her morning workout, lead a capella practice, private session with Chloe, and work through sorting her feelings about Beca Mitchell.

For once, Aubrey wasn't over thinking every single little thing that each main item would entail, but rather, she was resolved to try and let her heart rather then mind choose how to go about each thing. She was looking at the whole picture rather then each brushstroke, and it felt quite liberating. Who knew? Perhaps letting go a bit would be a good thing. And hell, if it didn't work out, she could always go back to the way she did things before, right? One day trying a new thing wouldn't royally fuck her life up. Barden was a good place to make mistakes at. Nothing done here could permanently effect her life, and nothing here could go seriously wrong. There was an entire, fully equipped staff to make sure of that!

Walking to the campus gym, Aubrey smiled to herself. Now, what did she feel like doing today? According to the well balanced and highly regimented schedule she had made for herself, she had muscular strength to work on today, which meant weight machines for the next two hours, but really, Aubrey wasn't in the mood for that. Today, she felt like just running. For a second, Aubrey glanced at the weight bench before she turned around and walked over to the treadmill. Turning the machine on, Aubrey queued in her usual ruling run before she stopped herself. Setting herself up with a gentle incline and only a speed of 6.5 MPH, Aubrey let herself settle into the gentle jog.

Feeling quite proud of herself, Aubrey let her thoughts wander to wherever they wanted. Which naturally means she began to think of Beca. Thanks to the fact she wasn't running herself into the ground, Aubrey decided to try and unravel some of her complicated feelings for the brunette. How did she even feel about Beca? Honestly, she didn't even know. Beca always managed to get on her last nerve, she was rude, abrasive, and snarky. Aubrey didn't exactly approve of Beca's choice in wardrobe, and she definitely didn't approve of her less then excellent vocabulary.

However, with that said, there were also a number of things that Aubrey liked and admired about Beca. She was outspoken, and stood up for what she believed in. She was witty, intelligent, and beautiful. Because Beca blasted her music so loudly, Aubrey had heard some of Beca's mixes, and from what she'd heard, Beca was extremely talented. She was passionate, strong, caring, and really, Aubrey could go on and on, however, that wouldn't do much to help her figure all this out.

Did Aubrey like Beca? Most days, yes. Did she find the brunette intriguing? Yes, all the time. Did the brunette annoy her to no ends. God yes. So now what? The big question, did Aubrey actually like Beca, remained unanswered. Admittedly Aubrey did think about the hobbit quite often, and when she wasn't being a snarky little bitch, Aubrey really did enjoy Beca's company. That was when she wasn't being a little skitch though. But then again, Beca did comfort her when they were going down to the visitation room, so where did that leave Aubrey?

With a sigh, Aubrey upped the speed on the treadmill and just listened to the pound of her feet on the ground be her only thought. Breathing deeply, Aubrey let the slight burn in her legs and good feeling she got from running be her only feeling. Yeah, enough with the whole Mitchell issue for now. For now, she was going to enjoy her run. Running was good, and something she really enjoyed. For the remaining forty-five minutes, Aubrey just ran, not trying to push herself too much, but rather just relax and get a good start to the day.

As her time wound down, Aubrey slowed to a walk before she finally stopped the treadmill and walked off. Wiping her forehead, Aubrey smiled. Now what? There was half and hour minutes to breakfast, and she only needed five minutes, ten tops to shower. Shrugging her shoulders, Aubrey walked down to the showers. She'd shower first and then she'd worry about what to do next.

Looking around the shower room to make sure no one else was there, Aubrey quickly undressed and then stepped into the end stall. Turning the water on as hot as she could, Aubrey smiled as the hot water poured under the steaming spray, Aubrey began to hum to herself as she showered. Reinsing the shampoo out of her hair, Aubrey turned the water off, grabbed her towel and then dried off. Once she was dressed and ready to go, Aubrey walked out of the shower, with no definitive idea where she was going to go, but also not caring where she went.

Walking at a leisurely pace, rather then her usual quick, determined gait, Aubrey slowly made her way back to her dorm. For a second, Aubrey paused a the door before opening it up and plopping down onto her bed, not caring about appearances. Lina was right. She was in a mental institution. Who gave a shit if she wasn't a perfect lady at all times?

Glancing over at the clock, Aubrey saw that she still had fifteen minutes to kill before practice? What to do, what to do? Normally, she'd be frantically going over her notes from the last practice and readjusting the schedule over and over again until time was up and she'd have to go. Right now though, she really didn't feel like doing that. Walking over to her computer, Aubrey pulled up a tab in youtube before pausing. Normally, she listened to classical music or something similar to that. She did enjoy classical music, however, it just wasn't her first choice in music. Thinking, Aubrey tried to remember the name of the song she'd heard Beca playing a while back. Smiling triumphantly, Aubrey typed in the song and clicked on the first link. As For the First Time by the Script began to play, Aubrey's grin widened. Settling back into her seat, Aubrey let herself just relax and do nothing for the next fifteen minutes.

Fifteen minutes later, Aubrey stretched and got up. Throwing her hair back into a loose ponytail and walking out the door, Aubrey smiled. So far, just doing what she felt like was alright. She was fine, nothing catastrophic had happened yet, and she felt surprisingly good. Going down the first hallway to the room they had group, now practice in, Aubrey took a second to appreciate the fact she was allowed to go about to most places as she pleased without constant supervision. Hey, some good things had come out of her obsessive compulsive need to obey every single rule. Well, she wouldn't go as far as to call it Obsessive Compulsive... more like a strong preference to do things the right way. Rules were there for a reason, right?

Turning the last corner to the group room, Aubrey breezed in, not bothering with her usual quiet entrance. Hell, she was always five minutes ahead of everyone else except for Chloe, so why bother? Smiling at Chloe, Aubrey walked over the the stack of folding chairs in the corner and began to set the room up.

"Someone's chipper today?" Chloe said happily, "I take it things went well with your sister yesterday?"

"Indeed they did," Aubrey said, placing the chairs down, "However, I believe that this conversation would best be had in our private session. There is much I wish to tell you, and with only five minutes to set up, I think it would be more advisable to do this. I promise I'll tell you everything then though, if you could simply curb your curiosity for the next five hours."

"But that's a looooooong time," Chloe pouted, "You should tell me now."

"Later Chloe, I promise," Aubrey laughed, "Learn some patience Chlo. It will serve you well in the future."

"Psh, patience shmatience," Chloe scoffed, "I already have my future... Well, I already have established my career WITHOUT this patience you speak of. But whatever. I'll grill you later."

"You wouldn't be Chloe if you didn't" Aubrey laughed.

For the next couple of minute, the w=two set up the room in silence, the scrape of the metal chairs on the floor being the only sound. Just as Aubrey pulled the last chair out, Fat Amy/Patricia walked in accompanied by her aide.

"What up twig bitches?" Amy bellowed as she walked in, "Dave, you can go now baby. I'll see you later. I have this sexy a capella shit to do, but we'll talk later."

Laughing to herself at Amy's antics and her aide's obvious discomfort, Aubrey settled into one of the chairs as she waited for the rest of the girls to come in. One by one, they trickled in, with Beca being the last to saunter in, Lara closing the doors behind her. Once everyone was situated, Aubrey stood up, and surveyed to room. Cardio today? Nah. She was tired of fighting with everyone to run. Choreo then? Nope. Stacie's constant groping and incessant flirting was annoying. Add in Beca's two left feet and everyone else's lack of ability to learn simply dance moves, and that was enough to convince Aubrey that they shouldn't do that. Perhaps singing then? She'd rather not, She really wasn't in the mood to have her song choices criticized. So now what then? Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck Aubrey. Didn't Chloe say once that the girls needed time to just relax and enjoy themselves? Sure they all knew each other, but really, they didn't work together. They were all individuals rather then a team. She'd seen this exercise on youtube, and right now, that looked like fun. She could go back to being a drill sergeant tomorrow.

"Alright ladies," Aubrey smiled, "Before I hear the complaints, no we are not doing cardio today, we are not doing choreo, and we are not going to practice the routine. Instead, I think we should do a team building activity."

Beca groaned, "Really? Are we going to do some lame ass thing where we all like spill secrets or something? Because I swear to God, those things are fucking stupid."

"Oh I can confess something!" Stacie said standing up before Aubrey had a chance to say anything, "I have a lot of sex. Or at least I use to before Brad sent me here to wait for him."

"That's lovely Stacie," Aubrey sighed "As for you Beca, as tempting as that sounds, no, that is not what we are going to do. I think you'll actually enjoy this. i saw this on youtube-"

"Oh my gosh, Blondzilla knows what youtube is?" Amy shouted, "What the hell?"

"Yes Amy, I-" Aubrey started

"That's FAT Amy" Fat Amy corrected, "Now continue."

"Very well, Fat Amy," Aubrey sighed, doing her best to remain calm and happy, "But what we are going to do now is called a riff off. Basically-"

"What the hell is a riff off?" Beca asked.

"If you all would let me talk, I would explain that," Aubrey sighed, already irked by the constant interruptions, "Basically, we will break into two teams. Chloe choose a category, and then you need to sing song from that category. The other team will have to try and cut you off by matching a word in the song that is being sung. Should one team sing a song in its entriety, or the other team matches a wrong word, then that team wins. Is that understood."

"I think so..." Stacie said, "So we just sing?"

"Yep," Aubrey smiled.

"Any song?" Beca asked suspiciously.

"So long as it fits in the category, then yes." Aubrey smiled, "Any other questions. No? Good. Time to break into teams. Beca, you're going to captain one team, and I another. Pick four and I shall do the same."

"Alright, um CR, Stacie, Denise, and Ashley," Beca said uncertainly.

"Very well," Aubrey nodded, "Jessica, Amy, and Lily you will be on my team."

"Wait, there's less people on your team then on mine," Beca said.

"The it should be even more humiliating when we win," Aubrey smirked, "Chloe, a category if you please?"

"Wait, um what?" Chloe asked, looking up, "Oh umm... How about erm. How about horrible pop songs?"

"Really Chloe?" Aubrey sighed. Lovely. This round would be just lovely.

However, suddenly a brilliant idea struck her. Standing up, Aubrey began to sing Miley Cyrus' Party in the USA. Smirking at the shocked looks she received, she winked at Beca. Immediately, the brunette's face flushed and Aubrey knew she got the message. Hey, because of Beca's obscenely loud music, Aubrey knew a couple shitty songs. However, her smirk was soon wiped away as Beca stepped up and began to sing some song that Aubrey wasn't familiar with. Something about tik tok and a clock. Whatever it was, it was tasteless and awful, though a little bit less so because Beca was singing it. Quickly though, Jessica jumped in with Super Bass. Picking up the bass line, Aubrey smiled. This was going well.

As the girls continued to go around, cutting each other off and backing each other up, Aubrey's smile widened. Everyone was enjoying themselves, and it seemed like everyone was having a great time. Looking over, to Chloe, Aubrey smiled at Chloe's megawatt grin. She did a good thing, and you know what? It felt alright. She was happy, everyone else was happy, and everyone was working together. Yeah, taking a day without logic was going really well so far. Huh. maybe she'd have to do this more often.

Laughing, Aubrey let herself just enjoy this moment and forget about all of her problems.

Fuck it, I'm not even going to ask how this was. I know it was crappy, and I just don't even want to know. Screw it, just on to all of you.

Guest: Ship? What ship? lol, JK the ship has finally been built XD Sailing it though is gonna be fun :)

cxcxcx386: Do you even realize how unbelievably awesome you are? Like for serious? TWO massive reviews? Have a massive fucking hug mate! Seriously, you're the fucking best. And aren't Jesse and Beca awesome though? nd I know... I can see Beca's reputation crumbling around her. But eh. Aubrey's totes worth it. I'd totally turn into a ball of mush for Anna Camp. No shame there. AND HA! I called this crappy not shitty, so you can't stop reading yet :) And Bree is calm and uptight... In her head! lol. Fuck if I fucking want to know how many fucking times I've typed the fucking word fuck XD lol, when I write Beca's parts, I just end up cursing. A lot. And yeah... Beca's haze is kinda like her becoming someone else. It kind of hard to explain, considering I'm going off of a friends explanation. Imagine being so angry you can't control yourself, then multiply that by fifty. And see? I stayed up ate, and now this CRAP is updated XD Lina's cool, isn't she? She's not exactly a Posen though. She'd been disowned by the Posens like ten years ago. lol, and yes, for your awesomeness, new chapter :) Bree's getting there. And I'm the one who says my writing must be dark and depressing! Dammit. This chapter ruined that, didn't it :/ oh wells.

cheekymadom: Thanks for the review :) You know, I'm also looking forwards to what shit I spew next too.

Guest: You know you wrote something half way decent when someone uses that in a review lol Thanks mate :)

Guest: Thanks! I hadn't realized that, but you're right. I'll defs work on that more, and thank you so much for pointing that out :)

makesmesmile98: So did this chapter make you smile? lol, I'm sorry. I can't help myself sometimes XD Lina's a badass who we all will love... I hope! And I don't know. What will Beca do with this info? I'm feeling some overly dramatic and angst filled sort of thing coming :) And long reviews are nice... I write a long chapter so you should write a long review XD

reading-is-my-love: Thanks for the review. It was you're suggestion that made me do a double update :) I'm glad I could make your day better. Least I could do since you're review made my day better :) You should totes write your stuff down! I'd love to see what you come up with. I'm sure its better then this clusterfuck XD I'll keep writing though if you promise to keep leaving nice reviews :) Weird humor is me on a good day mate. Join the club. I'll get t-shirts XD And I hope the military will work out for me. I'm VERY familiar with hard work, and working to get what i want, so I hope I'll do well :)

Rizzlesmylies: Did you know you left the 100th review? Add that to the list of things I love ya for ;) And please, I don't need a soft side to be an awesome cuddler. I'll have you know I'm the best fucking cuddler ever... though typically I only cuddle after I fuck your brains out ;) I AM NOT CUTE! I'm a sexy ass motherfucking badass. Get it right XD

chile101: I'm proud of you're impressive run on mate! And no worries. I'm sure half the known world is in love with me XD Thanks for the review :)

LaraAelric:I'm glad you liked the chapter :) and Beca and Jesse had been writing to each other, they just weren't face to face.

Msweeny1997: Isn't that how people always are though? Lol Lina's such a fun character to write though, so you'll be seeing more of her :)