- Part 1 -

Arrhythmia

On this road to a place that we don't know;
All I know is that we've traveled here so many times before.
Tried my hand with my odds against my will,
And I'm left with so much more to find and half a heart to fill.
-Boyce Avenue

"Remember when we used to make daisy chains?" Chloe asks. "Out on the quad?"

Aubrey looks up from silently stacking their empty plates and cups on top of each other. Chloe has plucked one of the white flowers out of the ground and is twirling it around between her thumb and forefinger. Bittersweet nostalgia replaces most of Aubrey's negative feelings. She's not sure if it makes her feel better or worse. Chloe looks up and fumbles to stick the flower in her hair above her ear. It falls on her lap. She picks it up and tries again.

Aubrey doesn't say anything. She sighs and abandons the dishes then kneels in front of where Chloe is sitting and takes the flower from her hand, tucking it securely into her hair. The white petals contrast against her ginger locks in all the right ways and somehow it makes her eyes look bluer than they already are. She knows it's foolish, but she gets a sense of pride from being able to convince flowers to stay in Chloe's hair. She learned from making daisy chains on the quad that whenever Chloe tries to do it herself, they always fall out within five minutes. She leans back slightly to admire her handiwork. Or possibly to just admire Chloe. She tells herself she's only thinking about the task of making the flower stay in Chloe's hair, because (as minuscule of an achievement as it is), it's what she should be thinking about – as opposed to just Chloe in general.

But Chloe is unfairly beautiful. How she still manages to take Aubrey's breath away, even after years of seeing her face every single day, Aubrey will never figure out. She's just one of those people impossible to stop looking at. Chloe glances up and smiles as she drops her hands down on her lap. Maybe it's her sincerity that adds that extra intensity. Her emotions are always clearly written across her face. Aubrey is still learning how to read some of them even after all this time, and while that should make her feel incompetent (she should be able to read Chloe like a textbook by now), maybe that's what makes Aubrey never want to take her eyes off of her. Chloe is a challenge. Or maybe Chloe is just that pretty. She tells herself to stop thinking.

"It's like we could just forget everything for awhile," Chloe continues. "Classes, our families, just," she pauses and looks up at the sky, "life." She shakes her head and look at the grass. Her smile fades slightly. "I wish it was still that easy. We could just make everything better with a pile of daisies."

"It was never that easy, Chloe," Aubrey points out. Anything they did to take their mind off the real world was just a temporary, senseless distraction.

Chloe is silent for a moment as she picks another daisy. "I know, but I pretend that it was," she admits finally. She glances up at Aubrey and forces a smile.

Aubrey slices a flower at the bottom of its stem with her thumbnail. She puts it down in front of her then picks another one exactly the same way. She tosses it on top of the first. It relaxes her so she continues doing it.

"We could pretend for awhile," Chloe suggests quietly.

Pretend what? Aubrey cuts through another flower. Sometimes she doesn't understand Chloe's thought process. She rarely understands Chloe's thought process. One more flower hits the pile. She feels like she can breathe again.

"I'll race you to pick the most flowers," Chloe offers daringly.

Aubrey glances up at her then looks down at the pile in front of her – having barely realized she was picking them to begin with. "That's not going to fix anything, Chloe," she replies and shakes her head. She looks back down and detaches another flower from the ground. It adds to the pile.

"Aubrey, sometimes just relaxing and having fun can fix things," Chloe argues.

Aubrey stares at her and throws down another flower. "Fun is a senseless distraction from the problem," she bites back.

"Bree, you won't even tell me what the real problem is." Chloe shakes her head. She takes on a lighter, teasing tone. "Except for maybe that you're afraid you're going to lose at picking flowers."

Aubrey's not even sure she knows how to voice what the problem is. She doesn't like where the conversation is going; she's already said enough. She opens her mouth to speak then shuts it again and frowns at Chloe. How do they keep getting back on the topic of flowers? "I would not lose," she snaps before she even knows what she's saying and gives Chloe a look of disbelief. She shakes her head at her. It's not like Chloe to mock her.

"It's okay." Chloe says nonchalantly. She leans forward with her hands flat on the grass. "We can both admit that I'm better at it than you are."

Aubrey holds her tongue. Bites down on it so hard that she almost flinches, really. Her breaths come heavier through her nose. For serious, what is Chloe trying to do? Pick a fight over flowers?

Chloe draws in a heavy breath then sighs it out. "It's good to be better than Aubrey Posen," she muses out loud to herself and nods in satisfaction. She pulls a flower out of the ground and adds it to her own pile.

It's not that Aubrey wants to prove that she's better than Chloe. She doesn't. At all. It's just that she needs to prove that she's better than everyone – that in the grand scheme of things, she matches up to the expectations set in her. She stares at Chloe for a fraction of a second then snaps before she can even process that she's up and moving. The expanse of grass is covered in the white flowers and she tries to pick them as quickly as possible, slicing them all at the bottom of the stem with her nails. It leaves her fingers feeling disgustingly sticky, but she tries to ignore that.

"That's not fair!" Chloe announces way too loudly and scrambles onto her hands and knees to pick flowers as well. "You got a head start!"

Aubrey lifts her head to briefly look up at Chloe. Chloe's not even bothering to neatly slice the flowers. She's just pulling them up roots and all. "Well, you're cheating," she argues back.

Chloe stop flower-picking and gapes at the accusation. "I am not!" She puts her flowers down and crawls over to Aubrey. "Take it back," she demands.

Aubrey presses her lips together in a smug smile and refuses to say anything. She sits upright with her legs curled under her and raises her brows at Chloe, almost daring her to make her take it back.

Chloe shifts so she's kneeling and at the same height as Aubrey. "You know what's cheating?" she asks and leans in so their lips are almost touching. Her breath smells like maple syrup from breakfast. It's distracting. "This." Her lips brush against Aubrey's as she speaks. She cups her hands over top of Aubrey's and, in one swift motion, takes all of her flowers.

Aubrey looks at her as she pulls back and sputters. "Chloe!" She looks down at her empty hands then at all the daisies that Chloe is holding.

Chloe's grin takes up half of her face. She giggles quietly and starts counting the flowers under her breath.

Aubrey's still partly in shock that her hands are empty. She huffs in disbelief then reaches over and pokes Chloe in the side.

Chloe makes a squeaking noise and drops half of the flowers. She falls backward onto her rear end and quickly tries to cover her exposed side. "You did not just do that!" She fights back her smile.

Aubrey tries to hold back the smirk that's threatening to take over her entire expression. "You should give those back, Chloe," she warns her.

Chloe leans forward, her arms still wrapped around herself. "What are you going to do about it?" she questions daringly.

Aubrey shrugs her shoulders and inches closer to her. "I can think of a few things," she muses. She can think of a lot of things. She leans over Chloe and looks her in the eye. Two can play at this game.

Chloe's breath seems to catch in her throat as she looks up at Aubrey. She leans back slightly and her arms slacken. "Are you going to show me what those things are?" she murmurs seductively. Her gaze lowers to Aubrey's lips and she leans forward.

Aubrey doesn't bother to give her a verbal answer. She leans forward as though she's going to kiss her then takes advantage of the moment by slipping her hands under Chloe's arms and tickling her sides.

Chloe shrieks and jolts backward, falling onto the grass. "Aubrey!" She tries to grab Aubrey's hands but can't stop squirming long enough to get a good grip on them. She arches her back up off the ground then tries to roll over, overcome by a never-ending fit of giggles. "Stop! Stop!"

Aubrey swings a leg over Chloe and straddles her to keep her from rolling away. Chloe manages to cover both of her sides and Aubrey moves to tickling her neck. She knows all of Chloe's ticklish areas. Basically every area of Chloe's body is ticklish – except for her feet. Aubrey thinks that's odd. Chloe kicks her feet rather ineffectively and tries to block Aubrey's hands from having access to her neck by tilting her head. She kicks up dirt with the heels of her shoes, and Aubrey briefly realizes they're both going to need showers after this. Leave it to Chloe to convince her that they should both be rolling around on the ground. Aubrey stops tickling her and gives her a chance to breathe.

Chloe's giggles fade out rather than stopping abruptly. She drops the flowers, which are completely squished now, and wipes tears off of her cheeks. She sniffles and grins. "Okay," she rushes to get out. "Okay, I surrender!" She picks up one of the flowers, half of its petals crinkled, and waves it in the air.

Aubrey leans back and looks down at her in satisfaction. She smirks and crawls off of her then offers her a hand. Chloe takes it and lets Aubrey pull her back up into a sitting position. Chloe pants and tries to catch her breath. They both survey the area. Aubrey arches a brow at the ruined flowers and Chloe bites her lower lip.

"Well, at least they're not all ruined." Chloe smiles and picks up one of the flowers that is still in one piece. "I told you having fun was a good idea. I just had to convince you to do it."

Aubrey just puffs out her cheeks and sighs. She needs to learn to see through Chloe's antics. She narrows her eyes at her then grabs a few unhurt daisies.

xxxxx

Cut. Thread. Cut. Thread. Cut. Thread.

The methodic motions take her mind off of the events of earlier that morning. Aubrey can't deny that she enjoys making daisy chains. She doesn't enjoy them because they're pretty – the reason Chloe enjoys them. But because she likes the repetitive motions where she can focus but not think. It numbs her. She slices through another stem then weaves another flower through it. Cut. Thread. It brings a light, relaxed smile to her face.

Chloe leans into Aubrey's side, focused on her own chain. Hers is a little sloppier than Aubrey's is. She has to pull the roots off the ends of some of the stems and it seems to take a little more effort for her to keep her chain from falling apart. "We should live somewhere with flowers someday," she suggests as she threads her last flower through two stems. "I want a garden." She maneuvers herself onto her knees and slips her chain around Aubrey's neck. "We need more than just your flowers on the deck. Maybe we should leave the city. I mean, not, like, too far. Just somewhere with more flowers."

Aubrey glances up at her for a moment then just nods. She likes flowers. But she also likes the city. She looks back down. Cut. Thread. Her flowers stay together with ease. Chloe's chain feels like it's going to fall off her neck at any moment, but somehow her chains are always sturdier than they look. She keeps threading flowers, blocking out her surroundings. Chloe lets her do so in silence. Shockingly.

It takes Aubrey about five more minutes of threading flowers before she finishes her own. Chloe is just staring at Aubrey's hands when Aubrey looks up again. She leans forward and eases her chain over Chloe's head then adjusts it around her neck. She gives it an accomplished smile then subconsciously glances at Chloe for approval.

"I'm going to wear this until it dies," Chloe announces then pauses. "But probably just until it falls apart or I have to shower. Whichever comes first." Considering the dirt on their clothes, Aubrey hopes it's the shower. Chloe leans forward and presses her forehead against Aubrey's, smiling.

Aubrey sighs quietly and holds her gaze.

"Hey, Guys…" The words are drawn out.

Aubrey pulls away from Chloe and looks around her at Amy. She grins without putting much thought into it. "Hi, Amy." Chloe turns around and sits down beside Aubrey.

"I hope I'm not interrupting your you know." Amy makes a face and puts her arms behind her back.

Their what? Aubrey blinks. "Aca-scuse me?" she asks slowly. She's not sure making daisy chains really counts as a private affair.

"No, no, you're fine," Chloe replies without even a hint of confusion. "Did you need something?"

Aubrey glances at Chloe. She hates feeling like she's on a separate page from everyone else. She brushes it off and glances up at Amy again. "Do you want to join us?" she asks.

Amy makes a 'maybe' noise and shrugs her shoulders.

"Did Beca send you out here?" Chloe changes the topic.

Beca? Aubrey's smile becomes more forced.

"Yeah," Amy replies slowly and drops her arms back down to her sides. "About that. You know, if you don't want this job I know someone who might be willing to take it."

Chloe wrinkles her nose and shakes her head with a smile. "It's okay," she replies. She doesn't pay any attention to the fact that Aubrey is now staring at her with furrowed brows. "Aubrey and I got this."

Amy makes a noise of frustration. "That's what Beca said," she replies. She sighs and looks toward the inn for a moment then looks at the two of them again. "If you need help, you have my number. I'd be really good at this, Chloe."

"Need help with what?" Aubrey finally cuts in. She frowns and repeatedly glances between them. "Chloe, stop ignoring me."

"We'll give you a text if we need you," Chloe says. She smiles and gets to her feet then reaches down for Aubrey's hand. "Come on. We have a job. Well, I have a job, but I told Beca you'd help me."

Aubrey gets to her feet without the help of Chloe. "What kind of job, Chloe?" she asks. She knows that Chloe is Beca's maid of honor, but, so far, Beca hasn't asked her for help with anything. Chloe grabs her hand with a tight grip and tugs her arm. Pain ignites around her wrist. Aubrey turns to find Amy walking away from them. "Amy!" she calls for some help. Why does no one ever tell her anything? She huffs and looks at Chloe.

"Would you stop being so suspicious of Beca?" Chloe asks and shakes her head. "She's not even going to be there." She kneels down and picks up the plates with their cups on top with her free hand. "Let's go." She tugs Aubrey again.

It doesn't take rocket science for Aubrey to figure out that she doesn't have a choice unless she puts up a fight. She's not sure she wants to argue with Chloe after everything else that has happened today. "For serious, Chloe, what job?" she asks as Chloe tugs her toward the inn.

"Just relax," Chloe replies. "You'll like it."