- Part 1 -


Arrhythmia


Come up to meet you,
Tell you I'm sorry.
You don't know how lovely you are.
I had to find you,
Tell you I need you,
Tell you I set you apart.
- Coldplay


There are two levels on the ferry and Aubrey finds an empty seat on the upper deck once Chloe has bounced back from the whole Beca ordeal. Depending on how she sits, she can see almost the entire ferry and all of the guests from there. She watches everyone else board while Chloe runs around to catch up with the other Bella alumni and introduce herself to all the people she doesn't know. She's somewhere different, talking to someone new every time Aubrey tries to locate her whereabouts. And she still has Aubrey's beer. At one point, she seems to realize that she stole her drink because she gives it a weird look – but rather than returning it, she just tips it back against her lips and takes another swallow before she continues talking. Aubrey just rolls her eyes and takes a sip from the glass of white wine she managed to find. It's the cheap stuff, but she didn't really expect anything fancy. She balances the glass on the arm of the chair and rests her elbow against the railing of the boat. Chloe prefers to talk, whereas Aubrey would rather observe.

On the lower level of the ferry, Beca has situated herself away from everyone else. She's taking up two chairs, sitting on one with her feet propped up on another. No one is approaching her to congratulate her anymore. She has her headphones on and is staring rather intently at her laptop. Jesse keeps glancing at her from where he's standing with a group of Treble alumni. Aubrey catches herself looking for Unicycle among the group, but she quickly stops herself when she realizes what she's doing. Oaths are supposed to be life-long. They don't just disappear when one graduates. She doesn't see him anyway, but she quickly learns he's on the guest list because she can hear another Treble asking where he is. Jesse shrugs and looks around.

Stacie arrives with Donald and their daughter Sophia. She's nearly three years old now. Aubrey briefly wonders just how many Bellas are oath-breakers. She doesn't really care anymore though, so it's a fleeting thought. She's no longer a current Bella, therefor the only person she has to worry about besides herself is Chloe. She seeks Chloe out again to make sure that she's okay. Chloe is oblivious to the Trebles. She's flaunting her now shoulder-length hair to Cynthia-Rose and someone that Aubrey doesn't know while no doubt dramatizing the story about why it's shorter. Aubrey can hear bits and pieces of what she's saying, and Chloe mimics scissors with her fingers. Nearly a week after starting her job at the elementary school, Chloe had come home with rubber cement in her hair. It took nearly two hours of trying to scrub it all out before Aubrey grabbed the scissors and convinced Chloe to let her cut it out. She had to cut it up above her shoulders. Chloe looked adorable though, and developed a fear of getting rubber cement in her hair again, so she doesn't plan to grow it long again.

Aubrey smiles and stares at the back of Chloe's head as her story switches from her hair to her first graders. Anyone who doesn't know Chloe is a teacher probably thinks she has sixteen children. She's always going on and on about her kids. She probably brags about them more than their own parents do. Aubrey only meets Chloe's classes twice a year, during open houses, but she always knows all of her students' names and accomplishments (no matter how miniscule), because Chloe never stops talking about them.

Several more people step onto the boat and Aubrey can see every Bella and Treble alumni from her graduating year other than Unicycle. She doesn't recognize anyone else as being from Barden. Most people are older and she assumes that they're part of either Beca's or Jesse's families. The majority of people seem to know each other, and Aubrey pulls one of her feet up onto the chair with her as she turns sideways and watches them talk. Their conversations, mainly about Beca, Jesse, or the weather, don't interest her much. Chloe catches her eye and mouths 'why aren't you down here?' and Aubrey tilts her head and pretends not to understand what she's saying. She has nothing against reunions, but she's still bitter about this whole trip and would prefer to just keep to herself for the time being. She takes another sip of wine, and Chloe gives up on trying to speak to her when she's dragged away for more beer by Cynthia-Rose and Amy. Aubrey hopes they don't get her drunk, because she's not in the mood to feel like she's facing all of this alone.

There's a tap on her shoulder, and she lowers her leg and abruptly spins around to bluntly dismiss the person trying to talk to her when she's met at eye level by very muscular arms. Her head snaps up to see the attractive face they're attached to, and she quickly straightens up. Is she supposed to say something? She thinks 'hi' might be a good start, but her throat suddenly feels dry. She grips the stem of the wine glass and presses her lips together, lifting her chin and waiting for him to speak first. He did approach her, after all. The only thing she can manage to think is, Please don't be a Treble.

"Aubrey, right?" the man asks, but doesn't wait for a confirmation before introducing himself. "I'm Luke. I've heard of you."

Conversations that start like that never end well. She presses her lips off to the side and raises her eyebrows. "What have you heard?" she inquires curiously. She doesn't really want to know what he's heard as much as she wants to know who said it. She's already prepared to shove her wine glass down the throat of whomever.

Luke seems almost taken aback by her question. "That your name is Aubrey," he says simply. "We were in the same graduating class. I worked at the radio station."

The radio station. That's where Beca worked. She turns her head and glances back over the railing at Beca. Beca glances up, and they accidentally lock eyes. Shit. She expects Beca to scowl at her, but she just looks down at her laptop again. She must recognize this Luke guy though, because her head snaps back up a few seconds later and her eyes widen as she does a double take. It's as much of a confirmation that Luke didn't hear about her from Beca as she needs. Aubrey spins around and smiles at him. "I've heard of you, too," she says confidently. She sneaks a glance back at Beca. Beca is glaring at her from behind her computer screen. Aubrey likes Luke already.

"May I?" Luke asks as he motions to the empty chair beside Aubrey.

"Oh." Aubrey's cheeks flush as she realizes how rude she was not to offer him a seat. "Be my guest." She hooks her foot behind one of the chair legs and drags the chair slightly closer. Luke adjusts it so it's angled toward her as he sits down.

"You don't seem very into this whole wedding thing," Luke comments. He slouches back against the chair with his legs spread out in front of him and his arms relaxed on the arms of the chair.

Aubrey has to bite her tongue to refrain from replying that she doesn't like the bride. "So, what do you do, Luke?" she asks and avoids the topic entirely. There is no use chasing a very attractive guy away with talk of Beca. She smiles and relaxes against the back of her chair.

"I own my own record label," Luke answers. He takes a swig of beer from the bottle he's holding. "I'm actually Becky's boss." He pauses. "Again. Small world, right?" He looks at her hand and Aubrey registers that he's looking for a ring. She pretends not to notices but flexes her fingers to make it clear that there isn't one.

Who the hell is Becky? It takes a moment before Aubrey realizes he must mean Beca. She sneaks another glance back at her. Beca is staring at her and looks like she's about ready to spontaneously combust. There's something about finding a handsome man with a drool-worthy voice who Beca doesn't want her speaking to that makes Aubrey think maybe this whole wedding won't be so bad after all. The boat starts to move away from the dock and she doesn't completely feel the dire need to dive off of it and swim back to the car like she thought she would. There is cheering down below as the boat gets going. Aubrey turns back around with a complacent grin tugging at the corners of her lips.

"What about you?" Luke asks and nods at her.

"I just graduated law school," Aubrey answers proudly. "I'm an intern for an attorney."

Judging by the raised eyebrows and brief nod, Luke is only mildly impressed by that. He taps his bottle against the arm of the chair. "So, how about a drink when we get off this ship?" he bypasses Aubrey's profession completely.

Aubrey gets that law doesn't interest everyone. It doesn't even interest her half the time. But that doesn't stop her from being put off when people completely ignore what she does so they don't have to hear about it. She's tempted to turn him down, and she would if his face wasn't so pretty and she didn't need a distraction this week. She still takes a moment to put some thought into the idea. She has Chloe to hang out with, but Chloe will probably be running around befriending all the locals once she knows everyone in the wedding party. Aubrey thinks Chloe should have gone into Public Relations, because she can't keep up with Chloe's mingling. She thinks a drink with just one person sounds far more enjoyable. "If we happen to have free time, I'd like to meet you for a drink," she accepts his offer.

"Great," Luke says and almost looks shocked that she agreed. "I hear there's a bar on the island called The Cannery or something. We can shoot some pool, play some darts?" He gives her a questioning look.

This doesn't sound like Aubrey's idea of an ideal date at all, but it only takes one more glance at Beca for her to decide to give it a shot. He at least hasn't suggested skipping the date entirely and taking her to his room to get her out of her pants. It's a step up from the last few guys who have tried to ask her out. Her mind wanders; with a face like that and Beca shooting daggers at the back of her head, she can't say she'll mind if the night ends up like that after a few drinks. "So a few rounds then I'll kick your ass at darts," she confirms smugly.

His eyebrows shoot up and he breathes an amused laugh. "You expect me to let you win?" he asks incredulously.

There's something about this guy that Aubrey doesn't like, but Chloe has one-night stands with gorgeous douchebags all the time. It can't hurt. "You won't have to let me win," she replies.

Luke bobs his head up and down. "I like your confidence," he says and lifts his bottle to take another drink. He stops with the rim just in front of his mouth. "We'll just have to see if your skills match up." He takes a drink. "I don't like pretentious."

Aubrey decides he's going to have to talk less if she's going to be able to tolerate sleeping with him. She grits her teeth. She doesn't quite know when or why her brain jumped from a simple date to sex, but it was probably when he suggested downing alcohol over grabbing dinner or coffee. She opens her mouth to retort when she sees Chloe rushing up the stairs with a huge grin on her face. She shoots Chloe a look to go away, but Chloe seems oblivious. It takes a fraction of a second for her to realize this conversation is officially over. Luke turns around to see who she's looking at.

"Rodney brought a karaoke machine," Chloe announces. She's making dramatic motions with her hands, like she always does when she's excited over something. "We have to duet."

"Who's Rodney?" Aubrey asks and scrunches her forehead.

"Some random guy on Jesse's side of the family," Chloe answers and dismisses the topic with her hand. "That's not the point."

There are no more empty chairs, but Aubrey doesn't think it would make a difference if there were. Chloe sits down on her lap and wraps an arm around her. "Come on, Bree, it's been forever since we've sung together."

"Is this your…girlfriend?" Luke cuts in. It's not the first time that Aubrey has been asked this question. Chloe has a habit of wrapping an arm around her and snuggling into her, and people get the wrong impression. He stares at them with a mixture of intrigue and disappointment etched across his features.

Chloe doesn't answer and Aubrey sputters the word, "Roommate." She doesn't have time to think of anything else to say.

"And best friend," Chloe cuts in without missing a beat, slapping Aubrey's arm. "I'm Chloe."

"Luke," he introduces himself and pauses for a moment before slowly getting to his feet. "It was nice to meet you," he tells Aubrey. "I'll get back to you on that drink, yeah?"

Aubrey gapes at his back as he walks away and back toward the lower level of the boat. She drops the hand not holding her drink to her side in exasperation.

Chloe tilts her head and also watches him walk away. "Nice butt," she admires out loud while he's still probably in hearing range. Fortunately, he doesn't look back.

"Chloe!" Aubrey cries out when he's gone.

"Okay, revenge on Beca by getting it on with her boss or not, that guy is not your type," Chloe says matter-of-factly. She smirks. "Though revenge sex is kind of hot." She winks at Aubrey and ignores her scoff. "Maybe next time, invite me."

Aubrey leans forward as best as she can with Chloe on her lap and places her glass on the floor next to the arm of the chair. "I wasn't thinking about having revenge sex with Beca's boss," she denies the entire matter completely. But Chloe looks at her in a way that lets Aubrey know she sees straight through her. "Chloe, I wasn't!" she insists.

"We'll talk about it later," Chloe replies with a knowing smirk. Aubrey prays to the aca-gods that they don't talk about it later. Chloe turns on her lap so one of her feet is on the floor and her knee is between Aubrey's legs. She steals Aubrey's hat so she can see her face better and tucks it between them then grabs her hands and sandwiches them between their chests. Aubrey can smell Tequila on her breath. That's never a good sign. "We have all the Bellas here," Chloe continues with the reason she's on the upper deck to begin with, "We can all sing together again." She grins and presses her forehead against Aubrey's. Their noses are nearly touching. It's no wonder people think they're girlfriends.

Aubrey makes the mistake of locking eyes with her and now she knows she can't say no. Chloe just looks so excited. Aubrey sighs and shakes her head in defeat. "Fine, but you owe me, Chloe," she replies. She loosens one of her hands and grabs her hat then places it back on her head again.

"Deal," Chloe agrees immediately. She grins and pecks Aubrey's lips in appreciation. Kissing is yet another one of those things that has dragged them over the line of friendship, but that they can't seem to stop doing. Aubrey's not sure if either of them wants to stop. Chloe is confident that one day they'll find significant others who are fine with their close relationship. Aubrey isn't so optimistic. She lets Chloe pull her to her feet and lace their fingers as she drags her to the stairs and down to the lower level of the ferry. Their hands stay interlocked, and Chloe places her free hand on Aubrey's arm as they approach where the guy who must be Rodney is setting up the karaoke machine. The Bellas (aside from Beca) and the Trebles are already gathering around it like it's made of gold. Aubrey would be lying if she claimed that a bout of excitement didn't start swelling in her stomach. It has been forever since she's had some fun singing.

xxxxx

Fat Amy is the first to grab a microphone and she sings a song that Aubrey has never heard before and wishes she didn't hear afterwards. Chloe squeezes Aubrey's upper arm and drags her in front of everyone next. They sing that stupid I'm Only Me When I'm With You song that Chloe likes so much. It just fits them, according to Chloe. They've been singing it during karaoke since their sophomore year of college, at Chloe's request. Aubrey keeps her eyes locked on dock as it drifts out of sight, because she can feel Beca glancing at them from time to time and she doesn't want to look at her. Fortunately, Chloe is so wrapped up in singing that she doesn't seem to notice. Aubrey forgets everyone by the middle of the song and is just focused on how much she loves singing with Chloe. Chloe never has any problem with expressing their friendship in public, and singing duets with her is one way Aubrey feels like she can do the same. She's comfortable singing, and she's just completely in her zone when they're doing it together.

The entire group of former Trebles steal the microphone after them. Aubrey steps back into the crowd that has gathered around to watch the singing and it occurs to her how weird it is that the only Bella and Treble alumni there are from her's and Chloe's senior year. She does a quick scan of the area for anyone that may have been in one of the A Cappella groups after she graduated. It really hits her how few people from Barden are on the boat. She shakes it off and leans into Chloe, who has an arm wrapped around her waist.

The Trebles sing several songs using only the microphone and none of the preprogrammed music, and while most people stay entertained, Aubrey can see the Bellas begin to fidget with boredom. She slowly pulls away from Chloe, and Chloe just crosses her arms and keeps watching the Trebles sing. Aubrey knows she has her hopes up that all of the Bellas will sing together again also, and as much as Aubrey hates that that would include Beca, she wants to keep singing too. She tries to focus on the Trebles, which is a terrible idea, because this only makes her want to steal the spotlight from them even more. Chloe is staring longingly at the karaoke machine. She sighs when the Trebles start a new song. Damn it, Chloe. Aubrey glances back at Beca and her laptop then scans the area for the nearest Bella other than Chloe. It's Amy. Perfect. She glances at Chloe to make sure she's not paying attention to her then sidesteps through the crowd and stops beside Amy. "Hey," she whispers.

Amy glances at her then looks at the Trebles again. "I was more entertained by watching us run over that fish when we left the dock," she murmurs. She looks around at all those who have never seen the Trebles sing before and really are entertained by them. "Blood everywhere. We need to get up there."

Aubrey smirks. "You remember that time on the bus?" She keeps her voice low and keeps her eyes on the Trebles. "I think we need to recreate that."

Fat Amy scrunches her face and looks at her. "You want Bumper to throw another burrito at me?" she asks.

Can no one ever be on the same page as her for long? Aubrey scowls. "After that," she hisses, "Before we ran out of gas."

"Oooh." It seems to sink in and Amy nods her head. "You mean when we were singing." She turns her head and looks back at Beca. "She looks like she could use a little motivation."

Aubrey pats Amy's arm so she'll stop staring at Beca and risk attracting her attention. "You get Chloe and the other Bellas," she directs her. She nods toward the Trebles. "I'll take care of them."

"Beca's not going to think it's weird that we're suddenly all surrounding her?" Amy asks.

"Just do it," Aubrey instructs. She looks at Chloe. Chloe stares at her hands for a moment then looks up at the Trebles again. Sometimes Aubrey wishes she'd use some of her outgoing personality to be a little more assertive. She could just step up there and take the microphone. Or Aubrey could just step up there and take the microphone, but she thinks Chloe might like this idea better. Aubrey looks around then slips through the crowd toward Rodney as Amy moves in the other direction to collect the Bellas.

Rodney looks a lot like Jesse, only with less hair. Aubrey guesses that he's probably Jesse's uncle. He glances away from the Trebles as Aubrey approaches. "You have a request for them?" he asks.

Aubrey's nostrils flare in disgust at the thought of requesting a song for them. "Do you have Miley Cyrus in here?" she asks and picks up the book that contains the list of karaoke songs. She flips it open and starts going through it. From the corner of her eye, she can see Chloe looking confused as Amy drags her across the boat.

"Yeah, there's a few of her songs in there," Rodney answered.

Aubrey breathes a sigh because she didn't have a backup plan. "I need Party in the USA," she says and puts the book down. "Start playing it, but as soon as someone starts singing, turn it off."

Rodney looks confused. Aubrey shoots him a look that clearly asks if she stuttered. She steps away from him and moves off to the side so she can see the Bellas gathering around Beca. The Trebles' mic shuts off and they look confused. Beca slowly removes her headphones once she realizes the boat is silent and there is a group of girls making a half circle around her. Chloe and the Bellas look completely lost, but Amy is grinning from ear to ear. Aubrey draws in a breath and just hopes that Chloe picks up quickly on what's happening.

It only takes about two notes before Chloe recognizes the song and realization dawns on her face. She temporarily freezes before a grin spreads across her face and she nearly starts flailing her hands in excitement. The other Bellas look at her like she's completely lost her mind until she starts singing. The music turns off and everyone else begins to pick up on what's happening.

Beca has a perplexed look on her face until multiple people are singing and the memory seems to hit her out of nowhere. She closes her laptop and folds her arms as she fights tooth and nail to hold back a smile. It doesn't last long. Chloe soon has her hands on Beca's legs and is singing about two inches from Beca's face, and Aubrey can see her grin and mouth the words 'oh my god' as she leans back away from Chloe. Chloe locks eyes with Beca, and Aubrey is content that Beca's only two choices seem to be to either sing or be uncomfortably serenaded by a tipsy Chloe. She knows which one she would choose.

Chloe stands up straight as they all go silent and wait for Beca to jump in and sing with them. Chloe offers a hand out to her, and Aubrey finds herself hoping that Beca takes it for once. Chloe has been going on and on about how much fun this trip is going to be for weeks now. Aubrey can be miserable about it all she wants, but there is no way she's going to let Chloe get upset this week when she has been so looking forward to seeing Beca again – even under these circumstances. All eyes are on Beca as she sits there in silence for a second. Much to Aubrey's relief, she caves without too much thought and allows Chloe to tug her to her feet then starts singing. Chloe lets go of her hand as the entire group of girls start to dance. They're joined by several other members of the wedding party. The Trebles are all glaring at them – aside from Jesse who looks thoroughly entertained.

Aubrey realizes that it won't be long until someone notices she's not there – probably Chloe. She offers a brief 'thanks' to Rodney then sneaks back into the group as they continue the song. Chloe finds her within a matter of seconds and presses up against her as she dances with her hands above her head. Aubrey doesn't have to think before joining her. She looks more awkward just standing there than she does dancing in close proximity with Chloe. No one looks at them – aside from Beca, but she looks away as soon as Aubrey catches her eye. Aubrey ignores her and keeps singing.

Chloe finally ends out the song, and the Bellas turn to face the Trebles. Aubrey steps forward. "You are," she starts. The rest of the Bellas end her sentence with, "cut off!"

Beca holds out her hand toward Jesse for the microphone with a smug grin on her face.

"Okay, okay," Jesse concedes with a grin and a nod as he hands it to her.

Aubrey turns to face the Trebles as they trudge out of the limelight. She takes her place beside Beca with Chloe on the other side of her and the rest of the Bellas behind them. She wishes she had the pitch pipe. The nostalgia she feels is almost overwhelming as she leads the Bellas into singing the remix that won them the ICCA finals. She feels at home again with these girls, and no one even mentions anything about how they're singing the same song twice.