The next party Aubrey went too was peaceful, mostly because she spent most of the time talking to Beca about politics. They argued so much that they moved into a room and kept arguing until Chloe forced them to stop and go to bed.

Aubrey thought nothing of being in a closed room alone with Beca until Chloe barged in and shame flood through. She was a stranger, stealing away Beca into a room because she caused a frenzy in Chloe's wife. A passionate frenzy. In front of all their friends.

"Beca, it's nearly one." Chloe said.

They looked at each other, and Aubrey quickly took her leave.

"Good night, I'll see you all later."

She could feel their eyes burning in the back of her head.

There were times when Aubrey ran out of calculated moves, options really, and she ran on her own grit and understanding. That was fine at work and in her dealings with technology, but when it came to people it always fell short.

Minerva didn't matter, the blonde was unphased by anything Aubrey could do. It used to be a blessing, but then it turned into a curse because it left Aubrey unable to cope with normal people.

For instance, with the wife of the only friend Aubrey had in the neighborhood.

She avoided them, the entire place really. It seemed like the most rational move in Aubrey's panicked head. The non-irrational part of her was rolling its eyes and scolding her for being a coward and running away. She could fix her problems, just apologize and never do it again, but the blonde had no clue where to start.

Besides, how do you apologize for something like that?

The bell rang at noon the next Saturday. Aubrey found it odd, she knew Beca and the DJ never rang her bell early on the weekends. Weekends were for Beca to earn a living, and weekdays were for Beca to pester her.

She stopped her stitching, Minerva's lover could only sleep with a specific pillowcase, and since Minerva hadn't had the time to go shopping she needed it repaired.

Just as she feared, it wasn't the brunette but the brunette's excitable wife. In Chloe's arms was a pie, and on her face was a massive smile.

"Hello!" She said cheerfully, as Aubrey looked at her like a deer caught in the high beams of a pickup.

She would rather be that deer if she were being honest. It would be much easier to deal with the consequences of her actions if she were dead or run over.

"Hello." Aubrey whispered her heart rate spiking.

What should she do? She had never had to repair her relationships before. What should she say? What if she drove the ginger away? What if she had to mo...move… go back? The blonde trembled a little if Chloe noticed she didn't react, only smiling more and lifting the pie up.

"I just wanted to bring this pie over, as a truce."

A truce? For what? She was the one overstepping her boundaries!

"I know that you and Beca are just friends," Chloe said, her eyes darting all over the place. "But, I just wanted you to know that I think that's totes awesome! Beca doesn't have that many friends."

"Me either." Aubrey admitted before she pulled back the door. "Come in please."

She guided Chloe to the kitchen, taking the pillowcase and putting it on a chair. In her fridge was a cartoon of Dollar Store ice cream that Minerva bought her as a joke. At the very least she knew that pie was generally eaten with ice cream.

"Ice cream?"

"Yes thanks!"

Aubrey poked her pie, before gathering her will. She looked up at the waiting redhead, and gave her a tight smile.

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be, I should be…"

"No." Aubrey shook her head and laughed. "No, let's eat."

"I've never had friends like that before." Aubrey admitted, the words tumbling out of her faster than she could stop them.

"And I've never been jealous like that before." Chloe said. "I guess we're both learning, but I promise I'd be really happy if we could be friends too."

The ginger smiled, and tentatively raised her fork. "To friends?"

"To friends." Aubrey toasted.

Aubrey groaned when she heard it. She knew she had to have the battery changed on her car, but she didn't expect it to be… now. The car groaned, wheezing until it gave up, it was the third time she had tried starting it.

The white Nissan Versa Note, named Mochi by Minerva's lover, had served her well for the past few years, even taking her from the South all the way across the country. However, she was about to scrape the piece of junk that decided to break down at exactly the day she had to go fight for QuestStar against the government.

Good Lord Above!

There was no time to waste, she would just walk the three miles and hitch a ride from Minerva. Unaware to her, a brunette and a ginger were watching from their window.

When Aubrey learned about Minerva's plans she almost threw a book at the other blonde's head. Minerva sensed the change in mood and quickly moved her away from the books so Aubrey had no choice but to face the taller blonde.

"What in the hell were you thinking?" Aubrey snapped. "Or drinking? Do you want me to tell R…"

Minerva scowled and cut her off.

"No! But we need something, something to throw Woolbright off. Understand this, he still thinks you are on leave. He also thinks that people could never like you after your… stunt. If you look vulnerable he will let down his guard, and that is when we will get him."

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "By looking poor?"

"Yes! It is not that hard," Minerva looked at her and grinned. "Your car is dead, I will send my contact over to fix it."

Of course, Minerva would send her contact out in the middle of the night. Aubrey was a few pages deep into a business contract when her phone lit up.

Recorder : Hey, I'm here. [12:00]

Aubrey groaned and stretched, she had been sitting there since seven that evening. Or was it last evening?

Oubee-bee : Will be there, one moment. [12:01]

Good Lord, if her neighbors in the South ever saw this they would raise hell. Minerva's contact was dressed in all black, sitting in a massive white van. Reyna smiled and waved to Aubrey, completely ignoring the fact it was midnight and they looked as shady as possible.

Of course, Minerva would send the one person who got a kick out of almost going to prison.

Reyna hopped out of the car, and waddled over to Mochi, whipping out her bright-ass flashlight and waving it around.

"Reyna my neighbors!" Aubrey snapped quietly while shielding her eyes.

"Sorry sorry." Said the not sorry hooligan.

Reyna worked quickly, replacing the battery and even checking all her components. While she was double checking her work, Aubrey went back in the house to get the Citric Acid she owed Minerva. Reyna was going back there long before she was anyway, so Aubrey thought it was the best time.

Her neighbors, a DJ and her wife, did not.

"Oh, would you like something to eat?" Aubrey asked, the thought suddenly popping into her head.

It was an hour drive back and Reyna had set up the bed for her before she moved in so Aubrey wanted to return the favor. And Reyna was a nice person, when she didn't have a death wish.

"Sure, yeah, yes please?" Reyna winced at her own words, sometimes the Asian got too excited for her own good. "Oh! I got something to show you!"

She whipped out a pocket knife and pointed the blade towards Aubrey so the blonde could see the blade. Etched into the blade was the ugliest cow Aubrey had ever seen in her life. It almost deserved to be made into burgers.

"It was so ugly I knew I had to take a picture, but I didn't know Minerva was gonna get it etched into a blade for April Fools. It's so ugly I don't want to eat its meat honestly."

Aubrey smiled and lead the shorter woman inside. By one Reyna left full and happy while Aubrey tried to finish up on her paperwork.

"Do you think…"

Beca shook her head. "No, I think it was a misunderstanding. I don't think Aubrey's like that dude."

"I mean, Beca," Beca's full name never came out unless it was serious. "She drives a cheap beater that's falling apart. She lives on disability from the government, and she eats dollar food!"

"Well, I mean…"

"And when do you let people into your house in the middle of the night for a few hours? And did you see that person? They even flipped out a knife to threaten her!"

Beca looked down at her plate, refusing to think about it. Yes, she had been worried and she wanted to march over there to see the man harassing her new blonde friend, but she wasn't a stranger to miscommunication.

"Look, Chloe, I know you're concerned, but just because she drives a cheap car doesn't mean anything. For all we know she could be filthy rich. I'll talk to her about it tomorrow."

Beca never noticed how empty Aubrey's house was until she walked in. There was a lot of empty space, carefully filled so it looked like there was much more than there really was. Instead of a grand living room there really was only two chairs, a rug, a table, and a flat screen. The seemingly busy kitchen counter only had a knife block with three knives, a dishrack with three plates, and the sink.

Aubrey only wore t-shirts and jeans, no jewelry or anything suggesting more than disability. Today was one of the few days when Aubrey wore her knee brace, it had been broken during her Coast Guard service and sometimes flared up causing the blonde to limp.

"Beca could you hand me a water bottle from the fridge?" The blonde asked, grimacing when she tried to stand.

"Yeah." Beca grabbed the requested water, taking a deep calming breath before turning to Aubrey.

"How… do you get through days like this?" Beca asked handing the bottle over. "When you can't walk?"

Aubrey looked at her, face blank and for the first time, Beca felt like she didn't know the woman in front of her. It was a scary feeling, her heart almost jumped. The only other time she ever felt that way was…

Then something gave in Aubrey's face and Beca relaxed. Aubrey was just embarrassed, she told herself. That was all.

"Normally I call a friend over, they're a veteran too so they understand. She brings me MREs and a case of water when she is really busy and can't stay too long."

"MREs?"

"They are basically Lunchables, but slightly more nutritious. You should try one, they are an experience. Three lies from the government all in one brown package."

Aubrey smiled and Beca laughed, she didn't get the joke but the way the blonde said it had her falling to her knees.

"Careful, I'm the one with the broken knee."

The next Bella dinner, after the one Aubrey skipped because of shame, Aubrey helped set up the table. The last dinner she had been to made Aubrey almost vomit, the table should have been set up in neat lines so that way two Bellas could be served at a time. Instead, food was thrown haphazardly into dishes all around the table, creating a mosh pit of sorts.

The strong got food, and the weakest had to lick their wounds over premade cookies.

Once Aubrey got involved she organized everything neatly and efficiently, fruits and appetizers near the beginning, entrees in the middle and desserts at the end of a line of tables.

Both sides could be accessed, so two people could serve themselves from one dish, and she had Chloe put out two to three smaller dishes rather than lump them all together in one big bowl to keep the line flowing.

Sometimes she brought her own contributions, a fruit plate here and a dessert there. The other Bellas did of course, but for some reason, Chloe and Beca were against the idea of her bringing things. She learned to ignore their strange emotions and their weird logic.

The one first time Chloe confronted her, Aubrey spent the entire night folding napkins, keeping the table clean, and talking to Beca about pillows.

Once the Beale-Mitchell's learned to let it go, Aubrey finally started socializing with the other Bellas. Stacie was the first person she talked too, Stacie was an Engineering teacher at the local high school who used to work for Qualcomm but then decided she wanted to push more girls into the field.

She taught alongside Chloe, who taught Music and Dance. Chloe offered to teach her Salsa dancing, which caused Aubrey to almost choke and Beca to gasp. They ruled that out quickly.

Then there was Flo, who introduced herself after Aubrey and Beca started arguing about business practices. Beca, of course, was well out of her league. Aubrey had business laws and practices cemented in her head, she could draft business deals in her dreams.

"Are you a lawyer?" Flo had asked her one night.

Aubrey had panicked if she said yes than Flo would have Googled her and then her secret would leak to the entire neighborhood. But saying no was a lie, and she hated the thought of lying to the people she now considered friends.

"No, I'm studying to become a paralegal." Aubrey stuttered, shaking her head.

"Oh." Flo groaned. "Well, maybe you can help me. I have a Juice Shop, and this guy keeps trying to push me out of business. Buster Woolbright, he's a jerk. Back in my village, we would have beat him with stones."

"I'm sure that's illegal here." Beca laughed.

Aubrey tried not to react, Buster Woolbright was one of her biggest obstacles in getting things done at QuestStar. If she could help Flo take him down she could get enough support in the local government to get certain bills passed.

The next dinner party, her third, Aubrey's knee ached, so Chloe setup while Aubrey directed from the couch. Beca had to hand her drinks and plates, which caused amused looks from the other Bellas.

"What happened to your knee?" Cynthia Rose, an African American woman with a buzz cut asked.

Aubrey had a sneaking suspicion about it.

"My knee was broken in the Coast Guard, a drug smuggler took a cheap shot." Aubrey shrugged, rubbing the aggravated joint.

It was the second most painful experience in her life, the knee pain, the agony as it sank in what had happened to her. Then the rage and depression afterward while she rehabilitated.

"Oh, I was in the Air Force." Cynthia Rose shrugged. "I broke my back after getting run over by a drunk Sergeant."

"Oh."

The silence seemed to stretch on until Cynthia Rose smiled.

"Puddle Guardians."

"Chair Force."

Both grinned at each other before shaking hands, Cynthia Rose was helped by her wife and Beca helped Aubrey up. Chloe almost cried, Aubrey finally found more friends.

"So, we know you were in the Coast Guard, what else?" Stacie asked once all the Bellas introduced themselves.

Again Aubrey froze, she never made a cover story which in hindsight was her fault. She should have seen this day coming, ever since Beca asked for a cup of sugar it was inevitable.

"I went home, tried to get a degree, failed, and then came here to finish up my paralegal studies." Aubrey answered quickly, grateful she didn't stutter though. "I think a change of environment helped with my de… dealing with my knee."

Aubrey took a deep breath, she didn't mean to reveal this much to the girls, but something about their compassion and lack of judgment made Aubrey's walls melt and crumble. Normally she would be far more composed, faking a story quickly and never thinking about it again, but now she wanted to scream for forgiveness after lying to them all.

Chloe saved her, Aubrey hoped on purpose, by screaming "Who's ready for Jiggle Juice?"

A collective groan and a few sighs rose from the aging Bellas who couldn't drink like they used to.

Aubrey was walking through Walmart, not really because she wanted to but it was one of those few places that still sold what she was looking for. A cheap flip phone. There were a few calls she had to make and she didn't want anyone listening in.

Not that she didn't trust Minerva, but in their business not listening meant the difference between life or death. The moment everything was set up she called straight to the burner phone's number Minerva had her contact drop off that morning.

"I don't think you were in the right mind when you told me those numbers," Minerva answered, her voice bleached of emotions, eerily calm.

That meant their fathers were getting involved. Aubrey swallowed, even after all this time the mere thought of General Posen brought her back to a vulnerable state. He could bring her to her knees with a thought of displeasure.

Both Generals, long retired but still proudly holding that rank of a former life, had decided to follow news on the company after Aubrey's incident. Not because they had been disgusted, which should have been the first sign that her family and everyone associated with them was deranged.

No, instead General Posen followed company news because he wanted to make sure Aubrey had continued doing "What was right and just.". General Casimir, Minerva's father, followed the news just to see if Aubrey would pull another stunt like it again.

"I know my math Minerva." Aubrey answered back, getting ready for her drive over to the Beale - Mitchells.

All she heard was Minerva's soft grunt of displeasure before the line died.

It wasn't over.