So this is just a triple treble one shot that popped into my head. I'm not really sure what I think of it yet.
"What the hell Beca?" Aubrey says as she pushes through the rest of the Bellas to reach Beca. "Were you trying to screw us up?"
Aubrey's mad. If Beca couldn't hear it in her voice, she could definitely see it in her face.
"Are you serious?" Beca says.
"Newsflash! This isn't the Beca show," Aubrey says.
"Okay," Beca says, trying to get through to Aubrey. "I'm sorry that I messed you up, but in case you hadn't noticed, everybody pretty much dozed off during our set."
"It's not your job to decide what we do and when we do it," Aubrey says. "Why don't you ask the rest of the group how they felt about your little improvisation?"
Beca looks around at the group of girls in front of her. "Amy?" Beca asks. Her voice is now soft and vulnerable.
"It was cool," Fat Amy says. "But it did take us a little bit by surprise."
"Yeah, a lot by surprise," Aubrey says.
Fat Amy stands by her statement of a little, but only quietly.
"I told you she wasn't a Bella," Aubrey says to Chloe
"Aubrey, don't," Chloe starts.
"No," Beca interrupts. "That's okay. You don't have to pretend –"
"No," Chloe says forcefully. "It's not okay. Yes, you surprised us. No, it was not a bad thing. And you." Chloe turns to Aubrey. "How dare you? I know this competition is important to you. I know you want to redeem yourself for last year, and I want those things for you, we want those things, but I will not stand by and watch you hurt and belittle our girlfriend."
Everyone stands around looking at Chloe wide-eyed and slack-jawed, Beca included. To say that Chloe's outburst was unexpected would be an understatement. Chloe doesn't like confrontation. And does she realize she just outed Beca and Aubrey and their relationship? Beca's not sure she's ready for what comes next, even if she does appreciate Chloe standing up for her.
"You know she was just trying to help," Chloe adds on a few moments later.
Beca shoots a grateful smile at Chloe and looks to Aubrey for something, anything. But Aubrey has since picked her jaw up off the floor, and locked it closed. She's looking anywhere but Beca or Chloe, and after a couple minutes of nothing, Beca sighs.
"I can't do this right now," Beca says. She looks at the Bellas. They're all family now, she doesn't know where she would be without them. "I love you guys, but I need to go."
Nobody speaks, but she locks eyes with each of the Bellas, except for Aubrey and Chloe, and they all seem understanding.
Beca walks up to Chloe, kissing her softly. "Thank you," she whispers in Chloe's ear.
"I love you," Chloe says.
"I love you, too," Beca says.
Beca turns her attention to Aubrey. "Bree?" she says. Nothing. Beca sighs again. "I love you, baby," she says. "But I think we need to talk. You know where I'll be whenever you're ready."
She walks up to Aubrey who still won't look at her and kisses her on the cheek.
And then Beca leaves. The room. The building. The city. It takes hours, many hours, but eventually she's made it back to Barden. She sighs in relief as she makes her way onto the grounds.
Walking back to campus wasn't her most brilliant idea, but it definitely gave her time to cool off and think. The thing that keeps plaguing her thoughts are what Aubrey might have said if Chloe hadn't intervened.
Sure, she and Aubrey bicker all the time, but she still loves the older girl. Now, she can't help but question whether or not Aubrey loves her back. She's said she does, but maybe she only loves Chloe and is only being with Beca because it's the only way she knows to keep Chloe?
The thought of Aubrey not loving her is tearing Beca apart. She's in tears by the time she makes it back to her room. Thankfully Kimmy Jin already left for spring break, so she'll have the room to herself. Not that she's planning on staying there long. Just a quick nap and then she's going to her spot. The spot only Aubrey and Chloe know about.
She opens her door and flips the light switch. She jumps when she hears, "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"
It's Chloe. She looks mad. And relieved. And scared.
Beca's nervous. She should have known that they'd have been back for hours now, having taken the bus back with the Trebles. She really should have taken a cab instead of walking.
"I, um, was walking," Beca says.
"All this time?" Chloe yells. "We've been calling you and texting you and you never responded once! I get not answering Aubrey, but the rest of the Bellas? Me!?"
Beca winces. She's never had Chloe yell at her before. She doesn't like it. She also didn't hear her phone go off at all. She furrows her brow at that. She takes her phone from her pocket and frowns when it doesn't turn on.
"It must have died," Beca says. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you."
Chloe sighs, relaxing a little. "Everyone's out looking for you," she says. "Stacie's at the apartment in case you showed up there, and I was clearly waiting for you here. Bree's waiting where you said you'd be. The rest of the Bellas and even the Trebles are out looking for you."
"I'm sorry," Beca says again. "Can you text everyone and let them know I'm okay? I'm going to talk to Bree."
"Yeah," Chloe says. "Of course."
Beca turns to leave again.
"Becs?" Chloe says.
"Yeah?"
"Where did you go?" Chloe asks. "I mean if you were just walking around campus, one of us would have found you hours ago."
Beca can feel herself start to sweat. "I, um, sort of walked home."
"Jesus Christ, Beca!" Chloe says. "You must have been walking for like twenty hours!"
"Yeah, it wasn't one of my better ideas," Beca says.
"Get into bed right now!" Chloe says. "You're not going anywhere. I'm going to tell everyone that we found you and then I'm going to call Bree and tell her to come here. And you're going to get into bed and try to get some rest and I'm going to hold you."
Beca hugs Chloe. "You take such good care of me," she says. "I love you so much, I really didn't mean to worry you."
"I know baby, but please don't ever do that again," Chloe says kissing the top of Beca's head.
Beca cuddles with Chloe, but she knows she can't sleep until she at least sees Aubrey again.
It's a half hour later when Aubrey knocks on the door. "It's open," Chloe calls out.
Aubrey opens the door and Beca can see that she's been crying. She stands in the doorway for a moment before she rushes into Beca's arms. With Chloe's arms around her and Aubrey in her arms Beca feels like she's home, even if she is only in a freshman door room.
Aubrey starts crying silently again. "I thought I lost you," Aubrey says. "I was so scared, and when you weren't there, I thought I'd ruined everything, and then we couldn't find you, I'm just so sorry. I love you so much, Beca. I'm sorry, please don't leave me. Don't leave us."
"I love you, Bree," Beca says softly. "I love you, so much."
"I love you, too," Aubrey says, sniffling into the crook of Beca's neck.
"Do you?" Beca asks. It's a ghost of a whisper, and Beca's not sure if she wants Aubrey to answer that, but when Aubrey stiffens in her arms, she knows she heard it.
Aubrey pulls back and looks into Beca's eyes. "Of course I do," Aubrey says.
Beca can see that Aubrey's being sincere, but this feeling has been building inside her for way too long, and she needs to let it out. She needs to let Aubrey know how she's feeling.
"Are you sure?" Beca asks. "Because sometimes I feel like you're only with me because you love Chloe and she loves me."
Beca feels guilty at the amount of hurt in Aubrey's eyes. She doesn't want to be the cause of that.
"Beca," Aubrey says.
"I get confused," Beca says, "because sometimes it really feels like you love me, and then suddenly it's like you think I'm a nuisance that you're being forced to put up with."
"I love you, Beca, I love you so much. Please believe that. I'm so sorry for what I said, I"
Beca cuts Aubrey off. "It's not even what you said," Beca says. "It's what you might have said if Chloe hadn't intervened. And yeah, what you said stung, especially since you guys know I only joined the Bellas for you guys, you know I only came to Barden for you guys."
Aubrey starts to apologize again, but Beca cuts her off again.
"It was hard," Beca says. "You guys were already in an established relationship when you met me, and sure we had our bumps, but we were really happy together. I dreaded graduation because what did that mean for us? And we worked it out, I mean, here we are, but, you both went off to college together, and I was by myself for three years wishing you were here or I was there. Knowing that the two of you were together like you had been before, and I was alone. And it was always Chloe who called or texted or skyped, and sometimes you were there with her and sometimes you weren't, but it was always Chloe. So it scares me because I'm afraid that one day you'll realize you don't need, me, that you don't want me, and this will all be over."
"I'm sorry," Aubrey says. "I'm sorry, but I need you to know that I will never not need you and I will never not want you. You and Chloe are my world, my everything and I know in my quest for redemption I lost myself along the way, but I'd give it all up for you, Becs. Just say the word, and the Bellas will be a thing of my past."
"You don't need to do that, Bree," Beca says. "I just… I need you, you know?"
Aubrey nods. "You have me, I promise," she says.
"Will you stay?" Beca asks. "Both of you?"
"Of course," Chloe and Aubrey respond.
"Can I be in the middle?" Beca asks. Her voice is small, vulnerable.
Beca looks at Chloe, because in the entirety of their relationship, there's only been a handful of times when Chloe hasn't been in the middle.
Chloe smiles and moves to the other side of Beca, so Aubrey can climb in. Aubrey kicks her shoes off and lets her jacket fall to the floor, a testament to how eager she was to hold Beca because even in Beca's dorm room which is hazardously messy anyway Aubrey is always neat and organized and treats her property (and everyone else's) with respect.
Chloe wraps her arms around Beca, pulling Beca flush to her. Aubrey climbs in too, facing Beca and wraps her arms around her smaller girlfriend. She peppers kisses all over Beca whispering I love yous. They fall asleep tangled together.
What do you think?