- Part 1 -

Arrhythmia

And when she says she wants somebody else,
I hope you know, she doesn't mean you.
And when she breaks down and makes a sound,
You'll never hear her, the way that I do.
And when she says she wants someone to love,
I hope you know, she doesn't mean you.
- Howie Day

Aubrey doesn't know why she's so nervous. She stands in front of the inn where Stacie told her to 'just wait' with no other explanation. It's getting late. Not late enough that the sun has started to set, but late enough that the birds are chirping louder and a stillness has settled over the island. It brings Aubrey a sense of unease. She finds herself digging her nails into the leather fabric of her bag and trying to swallow away the dryness in her throat. What could be taking Stacie so long? She feels like a sitting duck outside alone.

"Don't tell me you're taking Luke on another hot date after earlier."

Aubrey closes her eyes at the sound of Beca's voice behind her.

"I don't think he's going to want to bee yours after that."

Aubrey blows air out her nose, then scowls at the realization Beca almost made her laugh. "What do you want this time?" She isn't sure which part of her telling Beca that she would text her later that Beca didn't understand.

"I'm not allowed to walk down the stairs?" Beca asks.

For someone who is walking down the stairs, Beca's voice doesn't seem to be getting any closer. Aubrey makes sure an irritated frown is etched across her face so Beca doesn't detect any shred of entertainment Aubrey got out of her joke, then turns around to look at her. Beca is loitering halfway down the steps, casually leaning against a guitar she's holding beside her. "If you're going to walk, then walk."

Beca looks her up and down and smirks. "Think he'll let you call him Honey?" She lifts the bottom of the guitar a few inches above the steps and walks down them.

The first joke was almost funny. The second kind of makes Aubrey want to punch her. She folds her arms and watches her walk, waiting for her to keep walking far, far away.

Beca stops beside her and leans against the guitar again, holding it out in front of her this time. "Take a joke, Aubrey." She stares up at Aubrey out of the corner of her eye. "I know you're going out with Chloe." Her smirk grows. "Don't break out in hives on me."

"Oh, hardy har har, quiet in the peanut gallery," Aubrey says with dramatic, fake enthusiasm. It makes Beca laugh, which only irritates Aubrey further. She sighs and tightens her arms against her torso. She thinks maybe if she ignores Beca, she'll go away, but several seconds pass and Beca continues to stare at her. She uncrosses her arms and lifts her hands up beside her head in frustration. "What, Beca?" Aubrey slaps her arms down against her sides and turns her entire body to face Beca.

"That stings." Beca straightens up and picks up the guitar by its leather strap. "I really was just walking down the stairs."

Aubrey has to take a deep breath. "I swear to the aca-gods, Beca, if you make one more bee joke like a bumbling idiot…"

Beca looks taken aback, and then impressed as her smirk forms a grin. She lifts her hand for a high-five.

Aubrey gives her hand a brief glance then wrinkles her nose and looks away.

Beca chuckles and lowers her hand. She adjusts the guitar strap over her shoulder and gives Aubrey a wave. "Later."

Aubrey watches her walk, tensing as her irritation is quickly replaced with another air of trepidation that settles low in her chest. "Wait!" The word comes out in a tone of fear that she immediately tries to replace with anger, her voice cracking somewhere in the middle.

Beca stops and turns her head.

"Why do you have that?" Aubrey grabs the first logical reason for stopping Beca that comes to her mind and looks at the guitar.

Beca just stares at her for a few seconds. "Have what?"

"An affinity for being so dense," Aubrey says dryly.

Beca blinks then presses her lips together and raises her eyebrows.

"The guitar, Beca." Aubrey gestures toward the instrument.

"Oh." Beca looks down at the guitar. "Oh!" She adjusts the strap against her shoulder and gives Aubrey a bemused smile. "So I can play it. Sorry, didn't know you couldn't figure out what a guitar is used for."

Beca might think she's being funny, but Aubrey isn't stupid. "You don't know how to play the guitar," she reminds her. "Or did you forget?"

"I didn't know you keep track of my hobbies, Aubrey." Beca closes the distance between them again, stopping roughly two feet in front of her. "Should I be flattered or start filing for the restraining order now?"

"As if I care about your hobbies." Now that's funny. "Chloe told me she tried to teach you once." Aubrey bites back a smug smirk. "Something about your fingers not being nearly as good as your mou-"

"Oh, okay!" Beca cuts her off and holds up her hand, her cheeks turning a noticeable shade of crimson. "Okay. Aren't you just… You know what, that was uncalled for. I'm going to go with the restraining order."

Aubrey fights tooth and nail to hold back her grin. "I think she said they were too short."

"Okay, goodbye." Beca nods and turns her back to Aubrey. "Nevermind, you know, I'm not really comfortable in a position where I can't see you." She realizes her mistake before Aubrey does and halfway upon turning back around, she closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose, the redness in her cheeks becoming a deeper shade.

Aubrey laughs through clenched teeth. She lifts her fist to her mouth and clears her throat then lowers it and clasps her hands together in front of her, trying to keep her composure. "I grew up playing the piano, so we know how far my fingers can reach."

"Yeah, laugh it up." Beca ducks her head and opens her eyes. "I'm at alto, so at least my mouth can hit all the low notes."

"I also play a variety of woodwind instruments," Aubrey informs her casually, "It takes a lot of skill to be able to focus on using your mouth and fingers at the same time."

Beca chokes. "Dude!" She laughs, her entire face flushing. "Stop!"

Aubrey takes her win before Beca says something else that she might not have a comeback for. "So, what's the guitar for?" she repeats. She doesn't really care much beyond the thought that Chloe would like to see it, but if it means not needing to wait alone for Stacie to come back, she'll take it.

Beca breathes a disbelieving laugh and looks up at the sky. "I already told you," she says, "I'm going to play it. I started taking lessons a few months ago."

"When?" Aubrey asks without missing a beat.

"Had I known you would be interrogating me about it, I would have marked it on my calendar." Beca holds out her hands palms up and shrugs. "If I ever decide to play something else, do you want me to call you?"

"One should always know when they started playing an instrument so they can track their progress," Aubrey says, not believing a word coming out of Beca's mouth. "My dad always says you can't manage what you can't measure. Play something."

Beca lowers her hands, placing one flat over the guitar strings. "When did you start playing piano?"

"April 11, 1992," Aubrey answers. That one was easy. She had received a piano for her third birthday and began taking lessons the next day. "This isn't about me." She nods at the guitar. "Play something," she insists.

Beca taps her fingers on the front of the instrument for a few seconds then roughly strums all of the guitar strings with her thumb. She smiles and shrugs then resumes tapping her fingers.

Aubrey cringes at the sound. "I can see why Chloe was always so frustrated trying to teach you."

"Sorry I'm not Aubrey Posen, musical prodigy." Beca does air quotes.

Aubrey gives her a sympathetic look and reaches over to squeeze her shoulder.

Beca knocks her hand away. "Shut up, Aubrey."

"I didn't say anything, Beca," Aubrey points out condescendingly.

Beca stares straight ahead, silent for a few seconds. "I can literally hear all of your judgmental thoughts."

"Good." Aubrey smiles and faces forward as well. "I can save my mouth energy for better use." Dear God, she sounds like Chloe. She is supposed to rub off on Chloe, not the other way around.

Beca gives her a side glance then they both look sideways toward the sound of one of the golf carts driving their way. "Looks like that's your chariot."

Aubrey looks at Stacie driving the cart and nods. She turns to face Beca, unsure how to go about saying goodbye. It doesn't feel like work or with The Bellas where she would just announce she's leaving then take her stuff and go. But also, there is no way in hell she's going to hug her like she would Chloe. "See you later?" she asks before Stacie can be in earshot.

"Uh, yeah." Beca looks down and nods. "Can't wait to head back to the morgue. My bet is Colonel Mustard with the candlestick." Not even Beca sounds like she thinks that joke is funny. She rubs the back of her neck. "Yeah, good luck with Chloe." She looks up and give Aubrey a sort of forced smile. "You look nice."

Aubrey forces the same smile back. She doesn't know what to say next, but Stacie is pulling up beside them, so she doesn't have to think about it. She gives Beca one last glance then climbs into the back of the golf cart and takes the shoes that Stacie grabbed from her room for her. She sighs and changes her shoes, not saying anything as Stacie begins driving. She'll think about Beca later. Right now is about Chloe.

xxxxx

"Where are we?" Aubrey turns in her seat to look behind them as Stacie pulls down an unfamiliar road lined with closed shops and businesses. The cart hits a pothole and she grabs the back of the seat, nearly flying in the air.

"A little place I like to call Bellas Bistro."

Aubrey turns back in her seat with a bemused frown. "Is Chloe there yet?" She scoots forward and grabs the back of the seat in front of her, leaning over it slightly to get a better look at Stacie.

"Probably." Stacie takes a sharp right. "She was a lot more compliant."

Aubrey lifts one hand and places it flat against the roof of the cart for more balance. She had been compliant enough. She doesn't need to jump into their antics blindly like Chloe does. "Everything looks closed here," she points out. Lights are off. Red 'CLOSED' signs hang in windows. There isn't one sign of any other people around.

Stacie pulls up in front of a tiny two-story café-like restaurant with a balcony that wraps around the entire second floor. The lights inside are on, but, like the rest of the surrounding businesses, a large red sign hangs in the window of the door. 'CLOSED'.

Aubrey looks around for any hint of another place they may be going.

Stacie turns off the golf cart then turns around during in her seat to face Aubrey. "Ignore the sign." She slides out of the golf cart and looks around. "It looks like we are still waiting on Chloe."

Ignore the sign? That doesn't make sense. Aubrey stays seated, staring at the little restaurant. "Is it closed?" She tries to make sense of their surroundings. "Did you rent it out?"

"Something like that." Stacie doesn't seem to being paying her any mind. She pulls her phone from her pocket and begins texting.

Aubrey has roughly 5,000 more questions, but she's distracted by the sound of another golf cart. She turns around to watch Benji pull up to the building, Chloe sitting in the front seat beside him. Her breath catches. She's been more places than she can count with Chloe - dates even – but this feels different. More serious. She draws in a deep breath and decides to keep her composure with Stacie and whatever disaster they're probably going to end up in this time. Because knowing The Bellas, they're most likely mixed up in something Aubrey doesn't want to be part of. It would explain why they're on a deserted street in front of a closed venue.

Chloe steps out of the golf cart and turns in a slow circle. "This is weird." At least they're on the same page. "Are we sure we're in the right place right now?"

"Here's your tip." Stacie walks over to Benji's cart and holds out a dollar bill.

Benji takes the dollar and looks it over and frowns. "You said one-hundred to drive here."

"Pennies." Stacie grins. "I thought the bill might be easier to carry."

Benji looks up from his dollar, realization slowly dawns on him. He doesn't even look angry. Just disappointed.

Chloe's smile softens as she pulls open her handbag then digs around inside. "I have a tip for you." She pulls out two tens and hands them to Benji. " It's not one-hundred, because Aubrey will kill me if I don't buy groceries when we get home, but you were a great cab driver."

Aubrey presses her lips together and looks down as she realizes Chloe is giving money to none other than a Treble. She tells herself it's fine. It's just Benji. It's not like it's Bumper. He did take time out of his evening to help the Bellas and drive her. And it was unscrupulous of Stacie to pay him in pennies. Also, she wants to impress Chloe. She glances up at Chloe then walks swiftly to Benji's cart and rests her bag on the hood, pulling it open.

"Aubrey, what are you doing?" Chloe closes the distance between them and rests her hand on Aubrey's lower back, peering curiously into her bag.

Aubrey better not regret this. She pulls her checkbook and a pen out of her bag and hastily makes out a check for the remaining $79.

Chloe smiles and presses her face against Aubrey's shoulder.

"Here." Aubrey thrusts the check in Benji's direction, frowning so hard that creases form on her forehead when he just looks at it. "Take it before I change my mind. And don't tell anyone or else you'll be paying me back – triple the amount."

Chloe pulls back to look at Aubrey's face, casually rubbing circles on her back. She turns her head to look at Benji, nodding toward the check. "I don't think she's kidding."

Benji leans forward and takes the check from Aubrey.

"Now leave," Aubrey tells him and grabs her bag off the hood of his cart before she has to deal with some sort of heartfelt gratitude or anything else that might keep him around. She tunes out his "thank you" and turns to face Chloe, finally able to really look at her. Her first thought nearly knocks her off her feet. She stares at the way Chloe is smiling at her like they haven't seen each other every day for years, and she wonders how something so good, unrelated to her father, or work, or everything she had been taught held meaning, ever happened to her. She clasps her hands together in front of herself when they start to tremble, pleading with herself to, just this once, not mess things up. "Hi." That seems like a good place to start.

"Hey." Chloe's barely reaches louder than a whisper. She takes Aubrey's hands and priest them apart so she can lace their fingers. "You look beautiful."

Aubrey's entire body feels warm. Chloe seems to shimmer. That's the right word for it. Her dress. Her eyes. Her smile. She reminds Aubrey of what the frost that forms on their balcony looks like at 6am when the sun reflects off it. "You do, too."

"Ladies, hello?" Stacie crosses her arms and taps her foot. "Can we move the verbal copulation inside, please?"

"C'mon." Chloe nods her head in the direction of the door and releases one of Aubrey's hands. "Let's make the Bellas happy and then later we can escape down the balcony." She winks at Aubrey and pulls her toward the restaurant.

Aubrey nods her agreement with that plan and lets Chloe lead her back to Stacie.

"Did you, like, break into this place?" Chloe asks Stacie.

"They wouldn't do that." Aubrey tries to have more faith in The Bellas than that. They're not that stupid. Most of them, at least. She looks at Stacie. "Right?"

"Eh." Stacie shrugs. "I mean, it's not really breaking and entering if you didn't have to break anything to enter."

Aubrey's shoulders stiffen. "I don't think that's how it works," she says, putting all of her focus into keeping her voice calm. She's already had enough run-ins with the island's sheriff, and one had already been specifically about breaking and entering. She wants so badly to believe that none of the wedding party has anything to do with the Maritime Museum's missing head spade, and even if they don't, no one will believe her if she's caught sneaking into this building. Chloe squeezes her hand, breaking her thought process. She can't ruin this. She exhales slowly, silently examining her options – which is really only one option - to be compliant and go inside.

Chloe gives Aubrey's hand a tug, causing Aubrey to snap back to the present moment and look at her. "Do you want to leave?" Chloe mouths.

If only that was one of the options. Aubrey shakes her head. She gives Chloe's hand a reassuring squeeze and steps in front of her to open the door for her. The moment Chloe is no longer looking at her, she shoots Stacie a glare for getting in the way of a date she could have planned herself – legally, at that. She can tell that Stacie pretends not to see her. She shakes her head as she steps inside, stopping behind Chloe and placing her hands on Chloe's shoulders. If Aubrey thought The Bellas couldn't blow her date with Chloe any further out of proportion, she was wrong, because Cynthia-Rose is standing in front of her at the host podium dressed in a suit.

"You got a reservation?" Cynthia-Rose asks.

Chloe looks over her shoulder and cranes her neck to see Aubrey. "Do we?"

"For serious, Chloe?" Aubrey steps in front of her, putting her back to Cynthia-Rose. "Why would we need a reservation? It's The Bellas, and we are the only two people here, because they broke in."

Chloe looks like she's trying to suppress a smirk. "Well, they're telling us we need a reservation, and I wouldn't be the one calling to make reservations. I would just take us to Olive Garden." She peers around Aubrey at Cynthia-Rose. "Try Chloe Beale."

Aubrey turns halfway back around to glower at Cynthia-Rose as she flips through a small, leather bound book.

"Mm." Cynthia-Rose shakes her head. "I ain't got nothin' under that name."

"Okay." Chloe nods. "Sorry for your time." She reaches for Aubrey's hand. "Let's just go to Taco Bell or something."

Taco Bell?! "There's not even a Taco Bell here, Chloe." This is ridiculous. The Bellas can't just drag them around an island and break into someone's restaurant to ruin their date and send them back to their hotel.

"Burger King?" Chloe tries again.

"We're not going somewhere else," Aubrey tells her. She frowns at Cynthia-Rose. "We're not going somewhere else." Not that it would be a bad idea. She and Chloe could go to a restaurant away from the Bellas, one that is legally open.

Chloe slaps Aubrey's side with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry," she apologizes to Cynthia-Rose as she grabs Aubrey by the arm and drags her off to the side. She lowers her voice to a firm, hushed whisper. "They're telling us we need a reservation and you're telling me you didn't make one, so we can't stay."

Aubrey stares. She has no idea where this is going. Is this a ploy somehow created by Chloe to get them out of there? Was she actually supposed to call Cynthia-Rose, because how the hell was she supposed to know that? "I don't know what you want," she whispers back tersely. Don't ruin this.

"Aubrey." Chloe places her hands on Aubrey's shoulders, her brows quirked in, what appears to Aubrey, amusement. "Tell her your name."

"She already knows my name." Aubrey gently pushes Chloe's hands away from her shoulders then folds her arms. "The Bellas don't have brain damage." She pauses. "Except for maybe Beca. Why do I need to tell her my name?"

"Because we're acting, Aubrey." Chloe raises her hand and laughs into her fist. "They're not going to act like I have a reservation here. When have I ever made a reservation for anything?"

Oh. "This is stupid, Chloe," Aubrey tries to cover up her embarrassment. Not that the whole thing isn't stupid. It most definitely is. She rubs her hand up and down the sore part of her arm and glances at Cynthia-Rose.

"I agree. Sort of." Chloe shrugs. "Let's just roll with it and get past this. I'm starving."

"Fine," Aubrey mutters then raises her voice. "But only because you're making a scene." She pauses just long enough for Chloe to think she's serious before carrying on. "Of course, I made a reservation." She all but storms over to Cynthia-Rose and slams her hands down on the table, somewhat for dramatic effect but mostly just because she's getting annoyed. "Look in your little book for Aubrey Posen."

Cynthia-Rose takes a step back. "Ma'am…"

Chloe follows her to the podium. "Oh, I'm making a scene? Aubrey, you're going to get us thrown out."

Cynthia-Rose looks at Chloe. "You know, you can tell a lot about a person by how they treat the wait staff?"

Aubrey swears to the aca-gods… She draws in a deep breath and musters up the most honeyed tone she can manage. "You're not wait staff, and if you don't look in your book and find my name…"

Chloe smacks Aubrey's side again, hard enough to hurt this time.

"Ow." Aubrey pouts and covers her side.

Chloe wraps her arm around Aubrey's waist and gives her a squeeze. "Aubrey is going to try that again." She smiles at Aubrey. "Aren't you, Bree?"

Cynthia-Rose makes a whipping motion, coupled with a corresponding sound.

Aubrey is going to stop talking to them both for the rest of their lives – which should make Chloe's life living with her interesting. She takes a few breaths to gain control over her temper and turns to look at Cynthia-Rose. "The reservation is under Aubrey Bea-" Sweet baby Jesus, she doesn't even know what the hell she's saying anymore. "Posen." Her cheeks flush deep red and she would be ready to bolt out the door if Chloe didn't have such a tight hold on her – physically and otherwise. "Aubrey Posen." She looks straight ahead at a painting of a cat in a teacup on the wall, unable to look at either of them. "Reservation for two under Aubrey Posen."

Cynthia-Rose skims through her book. "Aubrey Posen, reservation for two." She nods. "Right this way." She grabs two menus and starts walking through the restaurant.

"Aubrey Beale, huh?" Chloe whispers playfully as they follow.

Aubrey swallows a bitter taste in the back of her throat, humiliation simmering in her stomach. "Stop, Chloe."

Chloe rubs her hand up and down Aubrey's side. "I was just going to say I like it. It might be a little soon to think about on our first date though."

Aubrey spins to face her, drawing them to a halt. Embarrassment from her misspoken words, the confusion of the past few minutes, the fact that they were breaking and entering which could ruin her entire career…none of these things were what she meant when she asked Chloe on a date. She wanted this to be calm. To be stress-free. To just be nice. She wanted to prove she could do something calm, stress-free, and nice. There still has to be some chance to redeem herself, if she can just get a grasp on the circumstances. "Please, stop, Chloe." She gives her a pleading look.

Chloe's smile changes from amused to something a bit gentler, but it doesn't fade like Aubrey assumed it would. "Okay." She nods and steps forward, wrapping Aubrey in a tender hug. She sighs and presses her mouth close to Aubrey's ear. "I'm not making fun of you, Sweetheart." She gently rubs the space between Aubrey's shoulders with her thumb. "I know how hard dealing with this has to be for you. I'm really proud of how you're pushing through all of this right now. I'm just trying to help. Later, we can get out of here."

"You two lovebirds coming?" Cynthia-Rose calls.

"Yeah," Chloe calls back, "Give us a second." She continues rubbing Aubrey's back, making no effort to pull away. "Talk to me, Aubrey. What's the worst thing that could happen right now?"

"We're going to get caught in here," Aubrey says without even needing to think about it. "I can't have a misdemeanor on my record, Chloe, I just got my degree."

"I don't think anyone is coming around here. This street looks completely empty." Chloe pulls back, keeping her hands on Aubrey's waist. "Be honest with me, do you really care about being a lawyer that much or do you care about your dad caring about you being a lawyer that much?"

Aubrey swallows again. There is nothing wrong with law. She's good at it. She enjoys the feeling of hard work and effort that goes into it. It's rewarding. It's also exhausting. It's hard enough to sleep without thinking about the firm's cases, her to do list, and how she's supposed to function under the stress when her skill at the job determines the rest of someone else's life. She slowly lifts her eyes to meet Chloe's gaze.

"Would getting caught really be that bad?" Chloe asks. "Yeah, it would be years of hard work going to waste, but you could think about doing something you like for once."

Aubrey doesn't know what to say. She tries to brush the conversation under a rug in her head and pretend it's not happening. She's going to be a lawyer. That's all there is to it. She's going to be a lawyer, and her dad is going to pay attention to her, and she's going to make him proud. And maybe she'll just have to be miserable doing it, but that's okay. Law isn't that bad.

"Sometimes you can do the things that you want to do, Aubrey." Chloe takes her hand again and laces their fingers. "Think about it later. Right now, just stay here with me."

Right now, just stay here with me. Aubrey curls her fingers, hyper focusing on the way Chloe's thumb brushes up and down her own rather than on the conversation at hand. "Okay," she mouths the word, barely able to speak it. Chloe herself is a risk. And here she is, asking Aubrey to risk everything she knows on her. But Chloe has always asked that of her since the very beginning.

Chloe takes Aubrey's hand and walks backwards, pulling Aubrey with her in the direction of Cynthia-Rose. "You know, it's been awhile since I've sang to you."

"It was just yesterday," Aubrey reminds her, even though yesterday feels like it was days ago.

"Exactly." Chloe weaves them around tables. It's not the most ideal of routes and Aubrey tries to keep pace, not wanting to walk too fast or too slow and cause Chloe to fall. She's tempted to remind Chloe that they were on an A Capella team, not the cast of High School Musical.

Some people long for a life that is simple and bland,

Tied with a ribbon.

Some people won't sail the sea, 'cause they're safer on land,

To follow what's written.

But I'd follow you to the great unknown,

Off to a world we call our own.

Cynthia-Rose looks back at them and slows her pace, smirking. She turns and begins climbing the stairs. "Careful," she warns them.

Hand in my hand, and we promised to never let go.

We're walking a tightrope.

High in the sky, we can see the whole world down below.

We're walking a tightrope.

Never sure, never know how far we could fall.

But it's all an adventure that comes with a breathtaking view.

Walking the tightrope with you, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh,

With you, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh,

With you.

Aubrey lets her sing, being the one to worry about direction and whether or not they might trip on the stairs. It's hard to stay attentive to where they're going and how they're getting there when Chloe's voice is so distracting. "You're going to fall," she talks over her. The least Chloe could do was wait until they found a table to sit at.

"Hope you two don't mind the balcony," Cynthia-Rose says. "We been tight on space with this kind of crowd."

Right. Aubrey rolls her eyes and follows Chloe around more tables as Cynthia-Rose walks in a straight line on the side of the room.

Mountains and valleys and all that will come in between,

Desert and ocean.

You pulled me in and together we're lost in a dream,

Always in motion.

So, I risk it all just to be with you,

And I risk it all for this life we choose.

Cynthia-Rose holds the balcony door for them and Chloe gracefully drags Aubrey outside.

Hand in my hand, and you promised to never let go.

We're walking a tightrope.

Chloe somehow manages to twist Aubrey's arm up over her head and spin her around before she lets go. She spins herself in a circle then climbs on the balcony rail, peering down below.

High in the sky, we can see the whole world down below.

We're walking a tightrope.

Aubrey groans. "That isn't safe, Chloe," she tries to admonish her, but she's all too aware that Chloe isn't paying her any mind. And Cynthia-Rose is no help, standing in the doorway just watching them. Aubrey quickly walks up behind Chloe, ready to grab her arm if she slips.

Never sure, will you catch me if I should fall?

Chloe allows herself to fall backwards toward Aubrey.

"Chloe!" Aubrey grabs her in a trust fall position, glaring down at her. "Life is not a real musical. You are not being safe right now."

Chloe winks at her.

Well, it's all an adventure that comes with a breathtaking view.

Walking the tightrope…

Chloe stands up straight and turns to face Aubrey, their lips centimeters apart.

With you.