Day 4 – Oblivious

It all started with the season's a capella auditions. Aubrey was fidgeting as things began. This had been made significantly worse when Bumper, the leader of the rival a capella group The Treblemakers, made fun of Aubrey's humiliation at the previous season's ICCA finals. That was almost as embarrassing as the actual incident had been. It was just like the Treblemakers to make her feel even worse about vomiting all over the place in the middle of her solo.

Aubrey couldn't hide her feelings as she watched the auditions. There didn't seem to be any girls who fit the "Bellas' mold" this year. She might have to forego the previous requirement of "bikini-ready bodies" and just try and find good singers. Some people auditioning barely even fit that.

Just as she thought all hope was lost, a beautiful, dark-haired freshman with legs for days walked onto the stage. Aubrey couldn't keep her mouth from dropping open the second she saw her. She said, "Hi, everybody. My name is Stacie. My hobbies include cuticle care and the E! Network." Aubrey immediately smiled at her. She definitely had a bikini-ready body. Aubrey just hoped she could sing. She was a bit shocked when the woman started to sing and make some rather inappropriate gestures. Aubrey was a mix of turned on by this woman and disturbed by the constant boob and crotch grabbing she was doing. She still thought Stacie would make a great Bella. She and Chloe could get her to stop the gestures, couldn't they? She was almost positive she'd caught Stacie's eye several times during the audition.

After the auditions, Aubrey agreed to meet Chloe at their apartment in an hour to discuss the auditions. She wanted to see if she could find Stacie and get her alone. She was afraid if she didn't just ask her out right then, she'd lose her nerve.

Aubrey checked the audition form and discovered Stacie's dorm room was in Baker Hall like hers had been in her freshman year. She headed in that direction and spotted Stacie walking with a few other girls who had auditioned. "Excuse me, Stacie, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Stacie turned. "Sure. What's up?"

Aubrey looked around at the other girls. "Alone, if you don't mind."

The other girls shot Aubrey dirty looks. "Kori, Mary Elise, I'll catch up with you in a few minutes!" called Stacie.

Aubrey walked Stacie over to an area on the quad that was relatively private. "I hope I wasn't reading the signals wrong. Would you like to go on a date with me?"

Stacie took a few beats to respond. "You sure don't waste time."

"So...is that a yes?"

"Yes. It's a yes. I was just caught off-guard. I thought you wanted to talk about my audition."

"Oh, well, I'm actually about to meet Chloe to discuss auditions. Can I give you my phone number?"

Stacie handed Aubrey her phone. Aubrey added herself to Stacie's contacts and texted herself so she'd have Stacie's number. She handed the phone back to Stacie.

"Thanks," said Stacie. "I'd better get back to Mary Elise and Kori. Text me?"

"Will do," said Aubrey.

She headed back to the apartment, and she and Aubrey discussed who they'd take and who they wouldn't. They agreed on most people. Chloe was adamant they invite Beca while Aubrey was positive she wasn't Bella material. How could she not know the audition song? Aubrey was sure Beca had done her own thing just to annoy her. She could already tell Beca was going to be a thorn in her side. However, Beca was the only person Chloe had insisted they invite, so Aubrey gave in. Chloe hadn't been sure about Stacie, but Aubrey was positive they could get her to stop the gestures. She refrained from telling Chloe that she had asked Stacie out, not wanting her to think Aubrey was biased. Okay, Aubrey was biased, but she could insist on Stacie if Chloe could insist on Beca. Really, was Stacie grabbing her own boobs that different from the amount of cleavage Alice had insisted on showing in their uniforms last year?

Soon enough, they came to an agreement. They'd be inviting Jessica, Mary Elise, and Lilly to the soprano section. The mezzo section would have Cynthia Rose, Stacie, and Kori. The altos would have Fat Amy, Denise, Ashley, and Beca. They split the list of girls and grabbed hoods to put over their heads for initiation. Aubrey made sure Chloe got Stacie's name as she didn't want Stacie to think this was a weird dating ritual of hers.

The two women quickly wrangled their new members into the rehearsal space and began the initiation ritual. Chloe had asked Aubrey to leave the promise never to have sexual relations with a Treblemaker out, but Aubrey refused. She was sure that any of the Bellas sleeping with a Treblemaker would result in disaster.

After the ritual, they all met for the a capella initiation party where all the groups got together to celebrate the beginning of the season.

Aubrey spotted Beca talking to one of the new Trebles, so she resolved to keep an eye on her. She clearly had a toner for him, but she hadn't violated the oath yet. She relaxed a bit when she saw her talking to Chloe shortly afterward. She actually thought Chloe was going to kiss Beca, but she didn't. She figured that explained why Chloe had been so insistent on Beca joining. She obviously had a crush on the alt-girl. She was looking around at all the new members when Fat Amy stopped to chat with her.

She said, "You know, so there's like ten of us?"

Aubrey hummed in agreement. There were twelve including herself and Chloe, but that was close enough.

"That means one of us is probably a lesbian."

"You think?" asked Aubrey. "Which one do you think it is?"

"My money is on Black Beauty," Amy said. The two women looked over at Cynthia Rose, who was talking to Stacie and very obviously staring at her breasts. Aubrey felt a mix of jealousy and relief. Jealousy over someone else looking at Stacie, and relief that Amy was oblivious to the fact that Aubrey was a lesbian. Apparently, she wasn't alone. Chloe was pan, and Stacie obviously liked girls as well. This certainly was an interesting array of women.

Aubrey nodded in agreement. "Don't tell her I said that," said Fat Amy. Aubrey shook her head.

After looking around to make sure all the Bellas were okay, Aubrey joined the dancers in the middle. Stacie quickly joined Aubrey's group, much to her delight.

Unfortunately, before the night was over, she saw Kori had quickly gone from dancing with Donald, a Treble, to leaving the party with him. It looked like she was going to have to throw someone out before the first rehearsal even happened.

After the party broke up, Aubrey texted Kori to ask that she immediately contact her. Kori called back, and Aubrey explained that she'd violated the oath to never have sexual relations with a Treblemaker. She was surprised when Kori informed her she'd seen Mary Elise leave the party with Unicycle, another Treble. Aubrey told Chloe, and the two agreed they'd address that at the next day's rehearsal.

She texted Stacie that night.

A: Hey
S: Hey
A: Fun party, right?
S: Yeah
A: Glad you liked.
A: Would you mind not telling the others about us?
S: Why not?
A: Don't want them thinking you get special treatment.
S: Ok
S: When is our date?
A: After rehearsal tomorrow?
S: Ok
S: What are we doing?
A: It's a surprise
S: Cool

Aubrey hadn't actually planned the date. She'd been so busy with Bella business right after the audition, she hadn't thought of anything. Telling Stacie it was a surprise would give her time to think of one. She'd normally ask Chloe for ideas, but she hadn't yet told her about Stacie.

The next day, the Bellas got together for their first rehearsal. Aubrey said, "Okay, sopranos in the front, and altos in the back. As you can see, Kori is not here. Last night, she was Treble-boned. She has been disinvited from the Bellas."

"That oath was serious?" asked Beca. Aubrey wasn't surprised that Beca was the first to open her mouth.

"Dixie Chicks serious," Aubrey said. "You can fool around with whoever you want to, just not a Treble."

Stacie said, "That's not going to be easy. He's a hunter." She gestured toward her crotch. Didn't expect that, Aubrey thought.

"You call it a dude?" Beca asked with a smirk.

Aubrey immediately tried to take back control of the group. "Stacie, the Trebles don't respect us, and if we let them penetrate us, we are giving them our power."

"Not a good enough reason to use the word 'penetrate,'" said Fat Amy. Aubrey cringed internally at her use of the word, but she couldn't let on that Amy had a point.

"So, does anyone here have anything to confess?" she asked the group, shooting a pointed look at Mary Elise. The group was silent for a few beats, all looking around at each other. Aubrey looked at Mary Elise again, sending a clear message that she was already aware of Mary Elise's transgression.

"It was an accident!" exclaimed Mary Elise.

"Turn in your scarf and go," said Aubrey. She held her hand out for the scarf, hoping her expression meant this was not up for discussion. Once the girl handed in her scarf, Aubrey gestured that she was to stand up and leave the room.

"Slut," Fat Amy said with an ill-disguised cough.

"Take your chair," said Aubrey.

Mary Elise dragged her chair and then ran out crying.

Beca immediately asked, "Was that necessary?"

"This is war, Beca," Aubrey replied. "And it is my job to make sure that my soldiers are prepped at go time with three kick-ass songs, sung and choreographed to perfection. And there are only four months until regionals, so if you have a problem with the way that I run the Bellas, then you should just-" Aubrey had to stop. She was about to stress-vomit. This was not going to go over well. Luckily, Chloe was there to calm her down.

Chloe whispered to her, "Don't stress, Aubrey. Relax. You don't want a repeat of what happened last year."

Lilly's hand went up. Neither Aubrey nor Chloe could hear what she said next. The distraction was enough to snap Aubrey out of what was almost a vomiting situation. "What you are saying?" Chloe asked.

Lilly repeated herself. Nobody was sure what she said. Aubrey was almost certain Lilly had said something about a dead body, so she didn't ask again.

Lilly pulled out a tablet and quickly retrieved a YouTube video of the disastrous performance from the previous ICCA finals.

"Ooo, click on 'guy pukes on cat,'" said Stacie.

"Enough!" exclaimed Aubrey. "It happened. It's over." She took a deep breath. "We will practice every day for at least two hours, seven days a week. I trust you will add your own cardio."

She chose to ignore the complaints about cardio. She passed out a list of all of the songs they'd ever performed, making a point to tell the group that they only do songs made famous by women.

Beca complained that all of the songs were old. Aubrey was liking the girl less and less by the minute. She proudly informed her that they don't stray from tradition. Chloe owes me big time for letting this girl in, Aubrey thought.

She showed the group a flow chart she'd made on how to become champions.

The first rehearsal had gone okay after that. There had been some issues with Fat Amy's refusal to do cardio, and this group was definitely going to need extra help with the choreography. They'd done well learning how to make instrument sounds with their mouths, and Aubrey had taken great pleasure in seeing what Stacie could do with her mouth. She couldn't help but wonder what else she was capable of doing with her mouth. Stacie was a good dancer as well, and Aubrey had been so distracted by her ballet turns that she'd nearly gotten kicked in the face when she'd gotten too close. She caught herself staring at Stacie's ass a few times, but she hoped the other Bellas hadn't noticed. She figured someone would have said something if they had, especially if that someone had been Beca.

She got the group to form a circle and put their hands in for the classic Bella cheer, but they couldn't manage that. She tried to keep a positive attitude and said they'd work on that first at the next rehearsal. She was very worried about how the Sigma Beta Theta performance was going to go, but Chloe told her she thought they'd be aca-awesome. Aubrey wasn't so sure, but she was doing everything she could.

She'd tried to talk with Beca about her ear spike and her obvious toner for Jesse, only to be met with more of her attitude problem.

She checked her phone as rehearsal ended, and saw Stacie had texted her about the date. She replied that she'd meet her in an hour outside Baker Hall. She knew she was a mess from all the cardio, and she wanted to freshen up.

Aubrey decided to simply take Stacie to dinner. It was a pretty normal first date idea, but she figured she likely couldn't go wrong. She chose a place near campus that served a variety of food, figuring Stacie could easily find something. She'd forgotten to ask if Stacie was vegan or anything like that.

Their date was really nice. Aubrey was pleased to hear that Stacie was a very serious student. She came off as being a party girl, and while that was true, she put just as much energy into her studies. She'd had a 4.0 GPA in high school and a near perfect SAT score, earning her a full scholarship to Barden. She hadn't yet chosen a major, but she was leaning toward a science field. She'd joined the Bellas because she'd enjoyed singing and dancing in her younger years. She'd been a competitive dancer as a child, and she'd been a member of the glee club in high school. She'd seen flyers for a capella singing around the school, and she knew she wanted to be a part of it.

Aubrey shared that she'd auditioned for a capella in college because Chloe had done so. She'd been lucky to hit it off with her roommate in her freshman year, and they'd lived together their entire college careers. Chloe had insisted on auditioning for an a capella group, and she'd persuaded Aubrey to audition as well once she'd heard her sing. Aubrey had immediately loved being part of the group, even though performing on stage gave her a tremendous amount of anxiety. She was determined to take the group to the finals and win this time.

As the date ended, Aubrey walked Stacie back to Baker Hall. Before they parted ways, Stacie brought Aubrey to an empty lounge area in the building and kissed her. They agreed to see each other again, and they agreed to keep things quiet as well.

The performance for Sigma Beta Theta had been a disaster. In some ways, it was even worse than the catastrophe that was the ICCA finals. That group had sounded good before the vomiting incident. This group wasn't together, and they were awful despite Aubrey's attempt to improve things by putting even more effort into her singing and dancing. She apologized to the fraternity and took her frustrations out on the Bellas. She told herself it was just tough love. Obviously, they hadn't been working hard enough, and this would motivate them to try harder, right?

Even Chloe didn't sound like she normally did. When Aubrey asked her what was wrong, Chloe revealed she had nodes. Aubrey was horrified! She was also shocked that the others didn't even know what nodes were. Chloe insisted she wanted to keep performing, but she'd have to pull back. Stacie told the entire group that it was like the time she'd been told by her "lady doctor" not to have sex for six weeks, and she'd done it anyway. Aubrey made a mental note to discuss that subject with her as soon as possible. She and Stacie hadn't yet moved past kissing, and she thought that might be a discussion they should have before taking that step. She hoped the look of shock on her face when Stacie said this could be explained as simply being surprised at Stacie's statement.

Aubrey and Stacie were out on another date. This time they'd gone roller skating. After they were done, Stacie asked Aubrey if she wanted to come back to the apartment with her for a bit. Chloe was spending the weekend with her family in Florida, so she wouldn't be around. Stacie agreed. They sat at the kitchen table to talk.

"I have to ask, and I hope I'm not intruding too much. I just feel like I should since we've been on a few dates now."

"Aubrey, just spit it out."

"I wanted to ask about...well..." Aubrey couldn't finish the sentence, but her bright red face gave her away.

"Sex, I take it?"

"Yes," she said quietly. "It's just...the hunter comment and then the lady doctor...I just wanted to talk about things before we take that step."

"It's cool," said Stacie. She took a deep breath. "Here goes. I'm pansexual, which means-"

"I know what it means. Go on."

"Okay. The summer before my senior year of high school, I went through what I guess you could say was a discovery of sorts. I'd slept with my boyfriend I'd had the previous year, but we broke up just as the school year ended."

"That's always rough."

Stacie shrugged. "We wanted different things. He was a year ahead of me and was graduating. We'd started to drift apart anyway, so we made a clean break. Anyway, that summer I was working at a used video game store at the mall, and I started hanging out with my coworkers a lot. I realized quickly I was crushing on one of the few girls who worked with me. She was openly gay, and we ended up sleeping together a few times. We parted ways once the school year began, though. She headed to college out of state, and neither one of us wanted to be tied down.

Anyway, I continued working at the store throughout my senior year of high school. The place was pretty chill about my schedule. They were fine letting me off for school events, and I was allowed to bring homework and stuff to the store as long as I was still helping customers.

There was this one customer, Riley, that came in all the time. Sometimes they wouldn't even have anything to buy or sell. I quickly figured out they were coming in to see me. It was a mutual attraction, and I slept with them a few times. Riley doesn't identify as either gender.

So, that's me."

"That's..more information than I expected. I appreciate you being open and honest with me. My history is much simpler. I'm gay, and I've been aware of it for a long time. I figured it out in middle school. I've had a few girlfriends and slept with a couple of them. It's been years, though, since I've slept with anyone."

"Did you ever sleep with Chloe?"

"Oh, no. We've always just been very good friends. We kissed once when playing Spin the Bottle at last year's hood night, but that's it," she said. "So, where are the comments you've made coming from?"

"Right. I'm just kidding when I say those. I promise I'm a very faithful girlfriend. And I've never actually had a lady doctor tell me not to have sex," she said, laughing.

"Girlfriend? Are we girlfriends?"

"So, you heard that, didn't you?" Stacie's cheeks tinged the slightest shade of pink.

"Does that mean you want to be my girlfriend?"

Stacie looked down at the floor. "Yes," she said quietly.

"Okay," said Aubrey, grinning. "Girlfriends. Unless you're with Riley."

Stacie shook her head. "Riley was more of a friend with benefits. And I haven't seen them since I left for Barden. We still text sometimes, but it's strictly platonic now. It was just something we did a few times."

"Good," said Aubrey. She fidgeted with her fingers a bit before asking, "Do you want to stay the night?"

Stacie chewed on her bottom lip. Noticing her hesitation, Aubrey added, "I'm not asking for sex. I just want to be close to you. I get lonely in the apartment when Chloe's not here. I'm not sure I'm ready to take that step yet, and I want to make sure we're both ready when that happens."

"Okay," said Stacie. "I'll stay. I'd like that."

Aubrey opened one of her drawers and pulled out an oversized Barden tee and some sleep shorts to loan to Stacie to wear to bed. She changed into pajamas in the bathroom to give Stacie some privacy.

"You can come back now," said Stacie. Aubrey walked into her room to see Stacie sitting up in bed, TV remote in hand. "Can we watch something before bed?"

"Sure," said Aubrey. "Your choice. I have basic cable and Netflix."

"Are you caught up on Orange is the New Black?"

"I've never watched it."

"You have no idea what you're missing. It's amazing. It has some really hot women in it."

"All right, you talked me into it."

"Okay, let's start at the first episode. You have to watch these in order or you'll be really confused."

"As long as you don't mind starting over."

"Not at all."

Stacie began the show and Aubrey's eyes nearly popped out of her head within the first thirty seconds of the show. Aubrey knew Stacie had caught her expression when she said, "You okay there?"

"Fine. Just two hot women making out in the shower. Yeah, I'm fine."

Aubrey felt her girlfriend put her arm around her and kiss her on the top of the head. "You're going to love this show."

Aubrey woke up in Stacie's arms the next morning. They were fully clothed, and Aubrey quickly remembered their conversation from the night before about how they were going to wait before having sex. They had stuck with the plan, just cuddling together. It was really nice waking up like this. She hated to disturb her girlfriend, but she really needed to get up. Nature was calling.

She gave Stacie a feather-light kiss on the neck, which was just enough to make her stir. "Morning, honey. I hate to bug you, but I really need to get up."

Stacie gave her a tight squeeze before letting go and rolling over.

Aubrey headed to the bathroom. Once she was done and had run a brush through her hair, she poked her head out of the door and said, "I'm going to take a shower real quick, and then I'll make you breakfast."

"K," mumbled Stacie.

Aubrey was shocked when she heard a knock on the door a minute or two later. "Can I come in? I really need to go."

"Sure, I guess. Just let me know when you're done. And, please don't flush. You'll scald me."

"Got it," said Stacie.

Aubrey finished up her shower and spent some extra time rinsing off while she waited for Stacie to give her the "all clear."

Once Aubrey was dressed, she walked out and asked Stacie what she wanted for breakfast, adding that Stacie was welcome to borrow her clothes. Stacie was taller, but Aubrey figured there had to be something she could borrow. It was warm enough for shorts anyway.

Aubrey made western omelets for them. Stacie walked out of the bedroom in a Bellas tee shirt and a pair of denim shorts. "Breakfast is almost ready. I see you found something that fits."

"I did. Thanks. I'll wash these and have them back to you soon."

"No rush," said Aubrey. She handed Stacie a plate. "Here's your omelet. Coffee?"

"Yes, please. Just black."

Aubrey handed her a cup of coffee and then joined her at the table.

"I have a little confession to make," said Stacie.

Aubrey looked up. "What?"

"I...seriously considered joining you in the shower. I guess that scene in the beginning of Orange is in my head. But, I know we're not ready for that yet. I just...I probably shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry."

"I appreciate you telling me. I can't say I would have kicked you out."

"Wait, what?"

Aubrey shrugged. "I do think we should wait, but I can't say I would have a problem seeing you naked."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Stacie, winking. Aubrey felt herself blush.

They parted ways after breakfast. They both had homework to do, and they agreed that Stacie should be long gone before Chloe returned.

It was time for the riff-off. Aubrey had tried to explain it at the rehearsals that week, but all of the new Bellas were really confused. Aubrey and Chloe settled for just telling the group to follow their lead.

The first category was "Ladies of the '80s." Aubrey confidently ran up to start, only to have Bumper beat her to it. She walked back, and she felt Stacie's hand brush hers. She gave her a subtle nod of encouragement. Once the BU Harmonics cut in with "Like a Virgin," Aubrey knew what to do next. She said, "Okay, guys. Watch and learn." She saw Stacie shoot her a huge smile, boosting her confidence.

Aubrey cut in with the opening line to Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot." Her Bellas joined her with "Put up your dukes, let's get down to it." The group immediately continued the song, and Stacie made her way to dance right next to Aubrey. This seriously helped Aubrey, as did the High Notes disastrous attempt to continue. Aubrey was really happy they'd won the first round.

Aubrey was a little rattled by "Songs About Sex," but that might have been due to her girlfriend's obvious excitement at that category. Everyone was surprised when Cynthia Rose began with "S&M." Aubrey felt super jealous when she saw CR grinding with Stacie. She reminded herself that the Bellas didn't know yet, and tried to make a mental note to talk to Stacie about it later. For now, she had to try and win the riff-off.

Aubrey was further rattled when Donald cut in with "Let's Talk about Sex," and was looking directly at Stacie. She heard Stacie say, "Oh really," but she was still standing in front of Donald with her arms folded. She couldn't help but pull Stacie back. Grinding during a sexy song for a few beats was one thing, but giving that look to a Treble was something she couldn't take. Stacie mumbled an apology as they walked back.

Stacie immediately turned around and started with, "I'll Make Love to You." She was singing directly to Donald. Aubrey thought the jealousy was going to make her crazy. She knew they were trying to hide their relationship, but this was a bit much. Aubrey was relieved when Jesse cut in with "Feels Like the First Time." She wasn't too happy to see Beca blow Jesse a kiss, but she didn't have long to think about that before Beca surprised everyone by cutting in with "No Diggity." Aubrey took quite a few lines to even realize what song she was singing, or, well, rapping. Once she recognized it, she still didn't know the words well enough to participate. Luckily, the rest of the group did, and they had everyone in the empty pool joining in. Surely, they were going to win.

Unfortunately, Justin told them they'd failed to correctly match the words and that they were cut off. Aubrey tried to protest. She knew Justin had likely been bribed by the Trebles to do anything he could to keep the Bellas from winning. It didn't work, and Aubrey was very angry.

"Before everybody goes to bed tonight, I need you to make a list of everything you did wrong," she said.

Beca tried to insist that they'd done a great job, but Aubrey was too focused on the fact that they'd lost to listen to her. Aubrey was further annoyed when she'd told them to put their hands in, and they were still hung up on whether the "Ahhh" came on three or after three.

As they were walking back, Stacie grabbed Aubrey's attention. "Hey, my roommate's away for the weekend. Can we go to my room?" she whispered. Aubrey nodded.

"Hey, Chloe, I'll catch up with you later. I just want to be alone right now."

"Okay, whatever you think is best," said Chloe.