"I don't know why you're making me do this, Chloe. Why do I have to drop this off to Beca? She's your friend."

"Really, Bree? We're still on that?" Chloe scoffed at Aubrey and handed her the CD of songs. "Just go, okay? I need to go to class and Beca needs the music we want to use before the end of the day so she can start working on the mixes."

"Fine" Aubrey sighed, "But you owe me, you know that, right?"

"Yes, yes, I know." Chloe smirked and then winked, "You accept sexual favors, right?"

Aubrey sputtered, "Go to class, Chloe."

Chloe laughed and sauntered out the door. "I'll see you tonight at home, Bree!"

-

Aubrey tightened her grip on her bag and bravely made her way into the dark that was the Barden radio station. "Hello?" She called out, cursing Chloe for making her venture into the recesses of the Barden cesspool.

"Yeah?" A male voice came from the side, startling her.

"Oh, geez!"

"Sorry, about that." The voice said again. A man walked out of the shelves of CDs to meet her. "I'm Luke, how can I help?"

Aubrey swore her jaw almost dropped, he was gorgeous. "I-um- looking for Beca."

He laughed, "Becky? Yeah, she stepped out for lunch, she should be here in a couple minutes."

"I'll wait, if that's alright." Aubrey had managed to gather herself for the moment.

"Sure," he motioned to the desk, "Have a seat. I'll be in the booth if you need me."

Aubrey bit her tongue, briefly wishing that she was more like Chloe in that moment. "Thanks." She sat down and tried to calm her breathing. Wow.

"Hey," Aubrey had finally managed to calm her thoughts down when Luke popped his head out of the studio, "Do you want to see the booth?"

Aubrey jumped, "Sure." She followed him into the booth and looked around, there were posters and CDs everywhere. "Wow," she breathed.

"So," he said, twisting around in his chair to look at her, "How do you know Becky?"

"She's in the Bellas with me."

Aubrey couldn't be certain but it looked as if his smile dropped a little when she said that, "Oh, right, that a cappella group."

She frowned at him slightly. Her argument for the benefits of a cappella on the tip of her tongue, she paused and simply nodded.

"I guess I could see that."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Aubrey couldn't help herself.

"You just kind of look like one of those girls."

Aubrey leveled him with a glare, "I see."

Beca arrived in that moment and froze when she saw Aubrey in the booth, she wasn't even allowed in the booth. "Aubrey?"

Aubrey looked up quickly, "Finally. Beca." She thrust the CD at the girl, "From Chloe. Practice tomorrow at two, don't be late."

As she stormed out of the station she could hear Luke say something to Beca, "What did I say?" She scoffed, the attractive ones were always such assholes.

-

After meeting Luke at the radio station, Aubrey started noticing him everywhere. His presence at the café she liked to frequent, as well as the little diner on the side of campus, debunked her theory that all people who worked in the dingy light of Barden's radio station were clearly people who never saw the light of day or other normal people. Though, Aubrey thought, shaking her head, by Luke's appearance, he definitely saw sun. And she would be completely surprised to hear if he wasn't surrounded by streams of attractive females.

She couldn't help the grimace that appeared when he noticed her at the café. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before walking over to her. She set a mark in her book and placed it on the table. She looked at him expectantly.

"Er, hello there." He said, quirking a small smile her way. "What are you reading?"

Aubrey pursed her lips and lifted the book to show the title.

"Oh awesome, I love The Great Gatsby."

She nodded and then can't help the way her jaw dropped when Luke slid in across from her. "Excuse-" She began before getting cut off.

"Have you read it before?" He leaned forward and she had to pay close attention to not breathing in, he was surrounding her.

She nodded stiffly.

"Who's your favorite character?"

Aubrey gripped the book tightly and forced herself to put it back down on the table. "Nick Carraway," she finally answered. "Yours?"

-

Against her better judgment, Aubrey started looking forward to these, well she wouldn't go as calling them dates, but the idea that they could possibly be more than just friends meeting was almost, invigorating. On the Tuesday after regionals, Aubrey found herself at the café again, this time with The Plague by Albert Camus.

She adjusted her scarf and pulled out her book, she began to read, soon wrapped up in the story of the people in the inflicted French town. Close to an hour later she looked up and realized the time, Luke was nowhere to be found. Sighing, she shut her book and gathered her things, dropping her half filled cup in the trash as she left. Typical.

-

"You know he thinks that a cappella is lame, right?"

Aubrey watched as Beca marched up to her, could someone that small actually march? "Aca-scuse me?"

"And that, that he would think is even worse."

Aubrey looked down on the other girl and tried to keep her slightly violent thoughts at bay, "Who are you talking about?"

"Luke." The tone of Beca's voice let Aubrey know just how stupid Beca thought Aubrey was.

Aubrey gaped at her. Luke thought a cappella was stupid? Well, she would just have to show him how wrong he was.

-

Aubrey seethed. She knew that she had no reason to actually be angry with Luke, but she was a person who appreciated when people were where they said they would be, no matter how unspoken their plans were. The fact that she sat at the same table, if possible, and drank the same drink, and gave him the same look of slight exasperation when he slid across from her every time, should be an indication that she was expecting him to be there.

It was a week after when he first stood her up when he came bumbling into the shop again. She was just setting her things at the table, she hadn't even purchased her coffee yet, when he motioned to the register with a "I got this," on his lips.

She looked back at him, confused before finally nodding. She had brought two books today, she was almost done with the Camus book and she was looking forward to starting The Tipping Point. She looked up when she saw her order set on the table, a slight blush on her cheeks. "Thank you," she said, never one to forget the manners carefully instilled in her as a young child.

He sat across from her and she had to bite her tongue to comment on how he made himself comfortable, shifting until he was positioned just how he liked. He smiled at her brightly, "What are you reading today?"

She spoke before she had the chance to think better of it, "Where were you last week?"

"Oh, right," he had the sense to look a little sheepish. "I was going to call you or something, but I didn't have your number. Some of my mates were here for the week and I had to show them around like the children they are."

Aubrey nodded and took a sip of her coffee, smiling when it was exactly how she liked it, even with the sprinkling of chocolate on top, though how he knew that was beyond her. "I'm almost done with The Plague." Her finger traced around the covered rim of the cup. "How about you?"

"Tuesdays with Morrie."

"I love that book," she admitted. "Have you read any other books by Mitch Albom?" He shook his head. "You should."

-

Next week, Luke was reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven.

When Aubrey quirked her eyebrow at him he just shrugged his shoulders, "I trust your opinion."

If she said that her heart didn't fly a little at that response, she would be lying.

-

"Why do you even like him, Aubrey?" Beca crossed her arms and scowled at Aubrey.

"Why wouldn't I? He's smart, funny and attractive. What's not to like?"

"Not to mention kind of a jerk."

Aubrey threw one of her darkest glares at Beca. "Don't, Beca. Do not test me."

"Or what? You're going to drop me from the Bellas? Chloe would never stand for it. Neither would any of the other girls."

Aubrey took a deep breath, "You have no idea what is going on at all, Beca. So don't pretend like you do." She made a move to leave, not wanting to have this conversation in the middle of the quad where she had, quite literally, ran into Beca.

"No, just-" Beca looked uncertain for a moment and Aubrey couldn't help the smile that broke on her face at the sight, "He's my boss, kind of, and I don't want you messing anything up."

Her smile dropped quickly, "Who knows, Becky, maybe if you were actually nicer to me then he would listen to your music."

Beca's jaw dropped.

"Pick up your jaw, Beca, no one wants to see the inside of your mouth."

-

"I don't know, Bree, I just don't really get it."

Aubrey watched as Chloe paced their living room. "What's to get, Chloe?"

"Why him?"

"Why not him?" Aubrey felt weary. No one was giving her the time of day with her not-quite-a relationship with Luke. "He's a good guy."

"But Beca-"

"I'm going to stop you right there, Chloe. Just because Beca says something doesn't make it true okay? There are two sides to every story. And I like him."

"Oh, Bree," Chloe slid in next to her on the couch. "You really do, don't you?"

Aubrey rested her head on Chloe's shoulder. "I do, but I don't think there is anyway he could possibly like me. I mean, we just read books at the same time at the same table."

"Aubrey, don't you think that means something?"

"No-I don't know, Chloe! That's the problem."

Chloe wrapped her arms around Aubrey, squeezing tightly, "You'll never know unless you try."

-

Aubrey had never wanted so much to punch Beca in the face.

-

Finals was in three weeks and god help her, Aubrey was going to let Beca do their set list for Finals. She barely managed to refrain from hitting her head on the table at the café. Luke noticed. "Are you alright over there?"

She sighed, "Not really."

He set his book down, "What's going on?"

"I don't," Aubrey twisted her fingers, "I don't like not having control over what happens in the Bellas. And for some godforsaken reason I thought it was a good idea to have Beca help out for Finals. It's now or never I guess."

He smiled at her, "Becky's actually talented. You shouldn't be worried."

"Beca," Aubrey corrected.

"Yeah, I know," he smirked. "But I love to see how annoyed she gets when I say it wrong."

Aubrey laughed and couldn't stop laughing for a full minute. She couldn't be certain, but she thought she could see Luke's eyes twinkling in mirth at her reaction.

He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "You okay?"

She squeezed back and wiped her eyes dry with her other hand, "I really needed that."

-

Finals was in a week and Aubrey was having trouble keeping focused on her everyday life, especially any book she was hoping to have read by the weekend before they flew out of state. Aubrey looked up when she heard Luke clear his throat. "Yes?"

He paused and for the first time in however long she had known him, looked nervous, "Would you want to talk about books with me, say, over dinner this Friday night?"

She bit her lip and barely contained her smile, "No." He looked confused for a moment before she continued. "I want to talk about other things over dinner this Friday."

His grin dimpled his cheeks and yeah, she could get used to seeing that. He may still think a cappella was lame, but she could work on that too. They both got up from the table and his hand fell to her lower back to guide her in front of him. He walked her to her car, another one of those moments where she supposed she didn't give him enough credit for noticing the simple things.

She looked back at him before getting into her car. She hesitated for a moment before turning to him and kissing him gently. She pulled back and smiled, "I'll see you on Thursday?"

He ran his fingers through his short hair and smiled at her, "See you then."

She got in the car and started it, waving to him as she pulled out of the parking space and drove away. Maybe she would start reading Gone with the Wind next.