- 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

Aubrey doesn't really expect the room to be completely awful. That would be too predictable. To be honest, she doesn't know what she expects at all. The entire thing has taken her completely off-guard. Maybe that was the point. But whatever she thinks the room is going to be like, she definitely doesn't expect it to be a suite.

Maggie leads the two of them back out through the way they came in and around toward the side of the inn - past a wide array of different foliage. The place is even bigger than Aubrey thought it was when she first saw it from the front. Halfway around, she manages to pry her hand away from Maggie and walk to the side so that she's beside Chloe instead. "Did they say why they thought we needed this room?" she asks. She's starting to think that it's because it's so far away from everyone else. It's a good enough way for Beca to keep Aubrey and Chloe out of her hair all week. Not that Aubrey wants to be close enough to Beca to bother her anyway.

"They didn't give a reason, Dear," Maggie responds. She lets go of Chloe's hand to dig the key out of her pocket.

That's not a good enough answer. If Aubrey doesn't get a reason from Maggie, she's going to have to approach Beca and ask her. There has to be a catch, because a special room didn't just come out of the kindness of Beca's cold, black heart. She stops asking questions and ignores Chloe as she receives a light-hearted elbow to the arm. She'll just pay whatever extra the room is supposed to cost at the end of the week. She has some money, and she wouldn't accept charity from Beca even if she didn't.

"Now, we only have two of these rooms," Maggie says as she stops in front of a door on the side of the building. The walls stick out a little further there than they do elsewhere. "The bride and groom are staying in the one around back near the pool."

Aubrey really wishes she'd stop referring to Beca and Jesse as 'the bride and groom' when their names would suffice just fine. It's just that Chloe's smile gets tighter when she says it. Aubrey knows that Chloe is going to have to face that Beca is getting married during the actual wedding, but that doesn't mean either Aubrey or Chloe have to like that. She knows Chloe's trying her best to be happy for her though. She stops a few inches in front of Chloe and rests her hand on the handle of her bag as she waits for Maggie to unlock the door.

Maggie opens the door then steps to the side as she makes a hand motion to usher both girls in.

Aubrey glances back at Chloe then takes a step closer to the door and peers inside. The place looks only slightly smaller than their apartment does. From where she's standing, she can see the living room and part of a kitchen. Her mouth falls open in confusion and she searches for words. She considers maybe Beca is trying to make up with Chloe, because that's the only thing that would explain this.

Chloe isn't as obsessed with reason. She grins and walks past Aubrey, slapping her ass on her way into the living room. It successfully snaps Aubrey out of her daze and she jumps. "Chloe!" she scolds.

"You weren't moving," Chloe says innocently. She stops in the middle of the living room and turns in a full circle. "Aubrey, look at this place!"

Aubrey steps inside so she can get a good look at where they're going to be staying. The living room is fully furnished, as is the kitchen. There is a hall to the left where she suspects the bedrooms and bathroom are.

Chloe turns to face her. "Beca is totally looking out for you this week."

Aubrey makes a note about how Chloe says 'you' rather than 'us'. She wants to comment, but she can't make sense of anything yet. She's sure she'll have plenty say when all of this sinks in though. For now, she'll just let Chloe enjoy the moment.

"If you girls need anything at all, just call the front desk and someone will be here right away," Maggie tells them from the doorway. Aubrey forgot she was there already. She glances up. "There is always someone at the front desk, day or night," Maggie finishes.

"…thank you," Aubrey says slowly and furrows her brows.

"We really appreciate this," Chloe tells Maggie with more than enough enthusiasm for both of them. Aubrey's pretty sure she's trying to cover for her lack of excitement.

"Oh," Maggie tacks on, "And just so you know, you two are a gorgeous couple. I hope you'll consider letting us host your wedding whenever you're ready to tie the knot." She smiles sweetly at them then shuts the door.

Chloe grins and Aubrey doesn't even bother to correct her. She's gone anyway. "Is it even legal for us to get married in this state?" Aubrey asks. She has no idea.

Chloe shrugs her shoulders and rushes forward. "Who cares," she replies and places her hands on Aubrey's shoulders, their faces only centimeters apart. Aubrey thinks she's going to kiss her, but she doesn't. She's almost disappointed. "We have to see the rest of this place," Chloe says as she spins around and looks to both sides then turns and starts down the hall.

Aubrey heaves a heavy sigh then tugs on the handle of her suitcase and reluctantly follows after her.

xxxxx

There is only one bedroom and it has just one queen sized bed. Aubrey doesn't know why she's surprised. Maggie did think that she and Chloe were a couple after all. She wonders if Beca told her they were over the phone and isn't sure how Beca could possibly think that. But it's not really a big deal. It's not like she and Chloe sleep separately at home. Sure, they have their own rooms with their own beds, but their habit of crawling into bed with one another continued even after they left college. Aubrey ends up in Chloe's bed when she's sick or just stressed, and Chloe falls asleep in Aubrey's bed all the other nights. It's more of a matter of comfort than anything else though. They both just sleep easier when the other is there.

Aubrey kneels on the hardwood floor in the bedroom and begins to unpack her things from her suitcase and place them neatly in the dresser. There are four drawers and she leaves the two on the right side for Chloe. Chloe's bags haven't arrived yet, but she's sure she'll be unpacking those too or else Chloe will just live out of her suitcase for the week. If Aubrey doesn't keep Chloe's things neat, there will just be piles of clothes all over the bedroom. She really doesn't mind picking up after Chloe as much as she claims she does though. She doesn't enjoy it, but it's just one of those things that reminds her how close they are. Nothing screams 'best friends' like finding Chloe's underwear lodged between the couch cushions after Chloe dumps her laundry there to 'fold it'.

"I am so having sex in here!" Chloe announces from somewhere outside the room.

Aubrey's head snaps up. She looks away from the pair of jeans she's refolding and glances toward the doorway then shakes her head and looks back down. Chloe has been trying to lure her into sleeping with her since – well, okay, Chloe is always trying to lure Aubrey into sleeping with her. But Chloe hasn't even been dragging home random people from the bar lately, so she's been rather persistent for the last few weeks. Aubrey thinks she must have slept with all of the regulars and the non-regulars just aren't that good looking. She wonders what the locals look like as she places her jeans in the dresser drawer. Then she wonders where Chloe plans to have sex with these people. Hopefully nowhere Aubrey is going to walk in on it. That happens far too often. She groans and pushes herself to her feet as curiosity gets the best of her.

The hall is empty and Aubrey doesn't see Chloe in the living room. She doubts Chloe would be having sex in the kitchen, but then again who knows with Chloe. She scratches her head and steps toward the living room before she notices the door to what she thought was a closet is open and the light inside is on. She takes a step backward then turns around walks to the room then peers inside. It's definitely not a closet. The room is set up as a walk-in shower.

"Ooh," Aubrey hums in approval and joins Chloe inside. The room is covered in brown and tan ceramic tiles with the front portion set up as a place to keep clothes and towels dry and the back portion set up as the actual shower. There are shower jets sticking out of the wall with buttons for different options and a removable showerhead. Chloe is holding the showerhead and looking it over, and Aubrey doesn't even want to know what she's thinking about using it for. She makes a mental note to only use the jets on the wall and remembers why she's in the room to begin with.

"You are not having sex in our shower where I have to shower too," Aubrey warns her.

Chloe smirks and looks up from the showerhead. She eyes Aubrey and leans in, speaking in that seductive voice of hers that makes all of Aubrey's nerves tingle. "Not even if it's with you?" she asks. She gives Aubrey a once over and winks at her.

"Maybe if it's in your head," Aubrey retorts. Chloe looks like she's actually considering that. Aubrey's cheeks flush and she folds her arms. "That's not what I meant."

There's a sudden knock on the door and Chloe leans back to stare down the hall. "That's probably my bags," she says. She shoves the showerhead into Aubrey's hands. "I'll be right back." She turns and bounces out of the room to get the door.

Aubrey glances down at the showerhead and groans. She puts it back and stalks back to the bedroom, unsure of why she even left to humor Chloe's antics to begin with. As she kneels back down to continue putting away her things, she's just glad their showerhead at home isn't removable.