- Part 1 -


Arrhythmia


I can feel the flames on my skin,
Crimson red paint on my lips.
If a man talks shit, then I owe him nothing;
I don't regret it one bit, 'cause he had it coming.
-Taylor Swift


Aubrey has no qualms about exercising in public – at the gym, on the deck of her apartment, or sometimes at one of those classes in the park. She's always surrounded by other people doing the same thing – well, minus on the deck, but that's different. She wishes she was on her deck right now – surrounded by potted plants, watching the cars drive by on the street below. There is a Swallows' nest nestled above her patio door and she misses watching the birds, occasionally feeding them pieces of stale bread and cheese. She sighs quietly and stares down at her book, The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean, from a downward dog position, trying to focus on anything but The Bellas staring at her from behind a bush. A literal bush. She flips the page.

Born in Siberia, the youngest of fourteen children, Mendeleev lost his father in 1847, when the boy was thirteen. Boldly for the time, his mother took over a local glass factory to support the family and managed the male craftsmen working there. Then the factory burned down. Pinning her hopes on her sharp-minded son, she bundled him up on horseback and rode twelve hundred miles across the steppes and steep, snowy Ural Mountains to an elite university in Moscow—which rejected Dmitri because he wasn't local stock. Undaunted, Mama Mendeleev bundled him back up and rode four hundred miles farther, to his dead father's alma mater in St. Petersburg. Just after seeing him enrolled, she died.

Aubrey reads the same paragraph three times – partially because she can't concentrate, partially because she decides to try to picture her mother riding sixteen hundred miles on a horse just to make sure she succeeds. It becomes a much more believable picture when she replaces herself with her brothers. She had practically moved herself to Barden University when the time came. Her brothers, on the other hand – well, her parents must be proud, because the last she heard, one of them was stationed in Iraq and the other had just finished basic training. She imagines there are pictures of them in uniform scattered throughout the house – Mom and Dad right at their sides. She blinks a few times, then has to reread the paragraph again.

Born in Siberia, the youngest of fourteen children, Mendeleev lost his father in 1847, when the boy was thirteen.

Aubrey rewords the sentence in her head, making it sound more grammatically correct. How old was he when his mother died? She's suddenly much less focused on The Bellas, making a mental note to read more about Mendeleev's early life when she returns home, including how long it would take to ride sixteen hundred miles on a horse.

"What are you doing?" Beca's sneakers suddenly appear in front of Aubrey's book.

No. Aubrey's head snaps up and she nearly falls over.

"Dude, why are you wearing my bra?!" Beca stares at her incredulously. "Oh my god."

"Are those the only words you know?" Aubrey sputters out, trying to distract her. She scrambles to her feet, picking up her book and using it to cover her chest. She looks at the bush. "Guys!" Both her voice and her hands start to shake. Leave it to those idiots to not think to make sure Beca wasn't coming back. "Get out, Beca!" Is this some kind of harsh joke that doesn't involve Luke at all?

"Shit," someone hisses from behind the bush.

"What?" Beca looks back and forth between the bush and Aubrey. "Are The Bellas in there?" She grins ear to ear, walking a slow circle around Aubrey. "I need a picture of whatever this is." She stuffs her hand in the pocket of her jeans.

Aubrey is going to kill them. All of them. Slowly and painfully. A picture? "I am not an animal at the zoo, Beca!" She tears her eyes away from the bush and does the first thing that comes to mind – raises her book and smacks Beca hard in the shoulder with it.

"Ow, shit!" Beca drops her phone and ducks away from Aubrey's makeshift weapon, grabbing her shoulder. Her grimace doesn't break her grin. "What is going on here?"

"Beca!" Cynthia-Rose yells.

There is a rustle in the bushes as Chloe trips over a root, trying to get out through a weak spot, and lands on her hands and knees on the grass. She quickly pushes herself to her feet and brushes her hands against her shorts as she jogs across the lawn. "You can't be here, Beca."

"This is public property." Beca doesn't even look at her, still staring at Aubrey. "Why is Aubrey wearing my bra? And why did you just crawl out of a bush?" She pauses. "Let's focus on the bra thing first."

Aubrey narrows her eyes and lifts the book again.

"Whoa, okay." Chloe jumps between them, lifting her arm to block Aubrey's book from smashing down against Beca's head. "No more of that." She grabs Beca's arm. "Come with me."

Beca spins in a circle, successfully twisting her arm out of Chloe's grip. "No," she says with a quizzical laugh. "Not until Aubrey takes off my clothes."

Aubrey's heart thuds in her chest as she continues to glare at Beca. What, does she want her to take her bra off right then and there? She opens the book and hugs it against her chest, turning her head to look at the bush. Of course, The Bellas leave her and Chloe to deal with Beca, even though this is all their fault. The air suddenly gets thicker when she realizes she's going to have to manage Chloe's reaction to being this close to Beca later on. "Go, Beca!" She points in the direction Beca had come from.

"To the bush with you," Chloe announces, apparently deciding to take Beca with her. She points at the bush with one hand and jabs Beca in the side with her other.

"To the what?" Beca leans down to grab her phone, simultaneously trying to shove away Chloe's hand, only to be stuck by Chloe's fingers again. She nearly falls over, missing her phone. "What are you...?" She squirms, trying to grab Chloe's hands and get away from her constant prodding. "Chlo, stop!" She shoots a look in the direction of the bush, where none of the rest of The Bellas have bothered to poke their heads out. "I just want my -" Chloe jabs her fingers into Beca's ribs, causing her to step toward the bush. "Can you stop?!" She doubles over, blocking her sides with her arms.

Aubrey decides, despite the tension between them, that Chloe has things under control with Beca – or, as under control as they can be. "I said go, Beca!" she enforces.

"I'm fucking going!" Beca gives in. She raises a hand to block Chloe's fingers and tries to get around her. "Jesus Christ, just let me get my phone."

"I think someone's coming!" Stacie whispers loudly.

Chloe doesn't wait for Beca to grab her phone. "Come on, Beca." She grabs her by the side of the ear and drags her across the lawn.

"It's probably Je-" Beca muffles a yelp and grabs Chloe's hand, trying to pry her fingers away from her ear. She staggers across the grass beside her, making 'ouch' noises.

Aubrey watches, glad she's never irritated Chloe enough to have that happen to her. She finally understands why Chloe's brother always did everything he could to stay on Chloe's good side.

Chloe lets go of Beca's ear. "Get in," she insists and motions toward the bush.

Beca rubs her ear and stares at the bush for a fraction of a second before turning to face Chloe. "Are you insane?"

Two hands pop out of the bush, grabbing for Beca.

"Oh, shit!" Beca jumps and crashes into Chloe. She grabs Chloe's arm with one hand, clutching her chest with the other. "What is wrong with you people?!"

"You're ruining everything!" Chloe exclaims dramatically and tries to pry her off, pushing her forward.

Beca digs her heels into the ground, still gripping her arm, staring at the bush. "How?!"

"We're trying to get back at your boss," Chloe explains, her face suddenly twisting in discomfort. She walks in a circle, ducking under Beca's arm, to try to dislocate her.

"My what?" Beca lets go of her arm. She takes a step further back from the bush and looks around at the corners of either side of the inn. "I thought someone was coming."

Aubrey makes a mental note to send Beca a Dictionary and Thesaurus set for Christmas. "Your boss, Beca," she echoes. "The person you work for. The man who makes sure you receive a paycheck." She steps forward, seeing as though Chloe doesn't have as much control over the situation as she originally thought, and gives Beca a hard shove in between her shoulder blades.

"Mother of..." Beca flails and tries to brace herself against Chloe, who makes a quick decision to stick her foot out and trip Beca face first into the bush where the hands grab her by the shirt.

"Sorry, Becs." Chloe makes what Aubrey has coined as her 'oops' face. "You didn't give us a lot of options."

Beca scoffs as she's half pulled into the bush, doing her best to crawl through the branches and leaves. "I'm supposed to be meeting Jesse!"

Aubrey shrugs, doing her 'very best' to care. She gives Chloe's shoulder a tight, reassuring squeeze then turns and walks back over to the purple yoga mat spread out on the grass, not missing how Chloe's smile flickers before she follows Beca into the foliage. She sighs and drops the book on the mat then gets down on her knees and tries to flip back to the correct page where she knows she was reading something about Mendeleev and horses.

Pinning her hopes on her sharp-minded son, she bundled him up on horseback and rode twelve hundred miles across the steppes and steep, snowy Ural Mountains to an elite university in Moscow -

Beca's phone rings in the grass.

Aubrey grits her teeth and sits back on her heels, tempted to pick it up and throw it into the bush.

"That's probably -" Someone must clamp their hand over Beca's mouth, because her voice is suddenly muffled.

Aubrey gets to her feet again and grabs the phone. Jesse. She turns the device over in her hand, trying to figure out how to turn it off without accidentally answering it. It's no wonder Beca uses chatspeak, Aubrey decides, her phone is a cheap piece of plastic.

"Why do you have Beca's phone?" Jesse asks, walking down the steps of the inn. He holds his own phone away from his ear and looks back and forth between them both.

Aubrey's head snaps up and her breath momentarily catches in her throat. "This is my phone," she blurts out. She looks down at the phone stops ringing and alerts her of one missed call.

Jesse frowns and lowers his phone, walking toward the lawn. "Your ringtone is Gangsta's Paradise?" he asks.

Aubrey manages to exit out of the missed call screen. She clenches her teeth together and nods her head, unable to go back on her story now. "It's my favorite song." She doesn't manage to turn the phone off, but she does figure out how to silence it as Jesse tries calling Beca again. She keeps the screen facing her so he can't see that it's ringing.

Jesse looks at her with a perplexed frown. "Who sings it?" he asks then look at his phone again.

Aubrey blinks. "I'm sorry?"

"Gangsta's Paradise," Jesse says as he tucks his phone in his pocket. "Who sings it?"

Aubrey swallows thickly and racks her brain for some sort of response.

Beca's phone lights up with a message from Chloe.

Aubrey tries to subtly open the text and read it. "Cookio," she states confidently.

"What?" Jesse asks, his forehead creasing.

Another text from Chloe.

'Coolio! Autocorrect! Coolio!' sorry, Bree!'

"Coolio," Aubrey stammers, nearly choking over the word. This is why she always warns Chloe to turn off auto correct. "Coolio sings it." She stands there, resorting to silence, hoping Jesse chooses just to leave. She glances toward the bush, waiting for, at the very least, another Bella to run out and save her.

Jesse stares at her harder, drawing his brows together and pursing his lips. "Are you wearing one of Beca's bras?" He looks up and meets her eyes.

"Aca-scuse me?" Aubrey sputters and covers her chest. Of course Jesse knows what Beca's bras look like. They're getting married. They've had se- Don't think about that. She clamps her mouth shut, two seconds away from vomiting. She's wearing something that Jesse has probably taken off of Beca. Bile rises in her throat, but she manages to swallow it back down. It distresses her that she's bothered by Jesse touching Beca. Beca is a grown woman, who Aubrey happens to hate, and is free to have sex with anyone she wants.

Jesse continues to stare at her, his frown deepening.

"This is my stuff, Jesse!" Aubrey exclaims. She grabs her book, the only thing that does belong to her. "Get out!" She tosses Sam Kean's The Disappearing Spoon at Jesse, its pages flapping as it hits him in the head then bounces off his shoulder.

"Jesus!" Jesse's arms fly to block his head and he ducks away, glancing sideways at the book and then at Aubrey. "Okay." He submissively holds up his hands and takes several steps back. "Okay. Just tell Beca I was here if you see her."

Aubrey nods in agreement. "Go." She points at the inn.

Jesse takes several more steps back before lowering his hands. He frowns at Aubrey, looking almost offended, then turns and treks back toward the inn, taking a seat on the steps once he gets there.

Aubrey resists the urge to announce to the bush that she's done. She can't, not while Jesse is sulking outside still watching her. The last thing she needs between yesterday and today is for him to see her talking to a plant. Instead, she picks up her book, frowning at how Jesse's head bent the pages, and decides to just walk away. Beca will just have to retrieve her phone at a later time. She closes the book, shooting a harsh glare at where the Bellas are watching.

"Aubrey!" Luke's accent is suddenly no longer near as suave as Aubrey previously thought. He jogs down the steps of the inn, slowing down to pat Jesse on the shoulder, then walks toward the lawn. "I got your text."

Her text? Aubrey's arms fall uselessly down at her sides as she turns around again. Chloe must be making use of having her phone. She had told her not to touch it. But since when does Chloe listen when Aubrey tells her not to touch things? She worries her bottom lip between her teeth. What if someone calls it? Beca is there now. Through her irritation comes a barely noticeable sense of relief. After last night, she has little doubt that if someone calls, Beca will take her phone.

"Well?" Luke asks, stopping in front of her.

This would be a lot easier if she knew what the text had said. "Well..." Aubrey hits her arms against her sides, tapping her thigh with the book. She shrugs. Maybe she should have had some time to script what she was supposed to say here.

"You said meet you here," Luke says. "You want to take me up on those free shots?"

"No," Aubrey answers immediately, but the words get stuck after that. It was hard enough asking Chloe on a date, let alone someone she doesn't even like. "We already went on the date of your choice." She clenches her jaw as Luke's eyes travel to her breasts and prays to god that Luke doesn't somehow know what Beca's bras look like. "It's my turn." Beads of sweat are beginning to form on her skin and she hopes Luke assumes it's just because of how hot it is outside or that she's just been exercising for awhile.

"To buy drinks?" Luke asks.

Aubrey bites down too hard on her lip and reminds herself not to say anything that Chloe might slap her on the arm for. "To choose where we go." Her voice is controlled but more tense than she means it to be. "There's a spa, in town..." She pauses when the looks in his eyes tells her he's going to run. "After that, we can go back to my room." She tightens her grip on the spine of the book, waiting for him to suggest they just skip the spa, trying to think of some sort of comeback.

Luke nods. "Yeah." He shrugs. "Sure."

Aubrey opens her mouth to spout out some lame, convincing reasons why he should join her, but, fortunately, stops herself before she can say anything. "I'm sorry?" It's impossible that things were that easy.

"I mean, why not?" Luke says. "We can go to the spa, go back to your place, and then go get those drinks."

Over Aubrey's dead body will either of the last two happen, but she nods her head anyway. "I'll meet you there in forty-five minutes."

"Forty-five minutes?" Luke frowns. "We can't just walk there now?"

"I have to change," Aubrey explains.

Luke arches a brow. "For forty-five minutes? Why can't you just wear that?" He looks her over.

"And shower," Aubrey adds. If she has to wear these clothes any longer, she swears to god... "I have to shower."

"Right." Luke starts to turn around, pausing halfway. "Can I ask you something?"

No. "Anything," Aubrey forces out through clenched teeth.

Luke looks at the phone in her hand. "Isn't that Becky's phone? It looks like the one I picked up at Walmart for her after she left her last one out in the rain."

"I found it in the grass." Aubrey curls her fingers tighter around the phone. No wonder it's a cheap piece of plastic. "Beca needs to learn to keep better track of her stuff."

Beca mumbles something from behind the bush.

Luke looks around. "Did you hear that?" He takes a step toward the sound then stops and looks at Aubrey.

Aubrey clears her throat. "Hear what?" She sighs loudly, hoping to overpower any more noises Beca may make.

Luke looks around one more time. "The spa in town in forty-five minutes?" he confirms with her.

Aubrey nods. "Someone at the front desk can give you the address." Or so she hopes.

Luke looks at the inn. "I'll see you there." He walks back toward the steps.

Aubrey stares at his back with a sick feeling in her stomach as he walks away, hoping he stands her up.