Bechloe: BELONG

Chapter 5: Blue Eyes on Fire

"Let me get this straight…. You showed up at her studio yelling at her?" Aubrey said as she applied her mascara in the mirror of her and Jesse's shared bathroom.

"Yes, Bree. For the last time…. I told you what happened." Chloe said rolling her eyes as she continued curling her hair.

"And you told her you weren't married?" Aubrey added.

"I'm not married." Chloe bit back.

"Yeah, but you're with Brad…. I doubt you mentioned that." Aubrey said pointedly.

"It's not even serious with him and you know that." Chloe said shrugging her shoulders.

"Chloe, what are you expecting from all this? I mean… it's Beca. Did you tell her why you wear that ring?" Aubrey said reaching for the lipstick.

"Well, no… I didn't. I just… I just want my Beca back you know. She was my best friend, and she understood me like no one ever has…" Chloe trailed off, dropping the curling iron to spin the ring on her ring finger nervously.

"Hey now!" Aubrey said lifting her lipstick tube to Chloe with mock offense.

"You know what I mean…" Chloe replied hitting her shoulder and letting out a deep breath. She hopped up on the counter as Aubrey continued to get ready.

"Nervous for tonight?" Aubrey added taking in Chloe's constant movements.

"Very. It's kind of a big deal I guess. I mean… not for you guys. You see her do this all the time. But I've never seen her in action and I'm just…. Well. I'm really nervous." Chloe added as Aubrey turned to face her fully grabbing Chloe's hand from her mouth to get her to stop chewing on her nails.

"Look, you know I used to have an extreme hatred for that little hobbit back at Barden. But, since she's been out here… I don't know. She's really grown on me, and she's grown a lot. She's under a lot of pressure all the time to be perfect. But she's not perfect. She's a human being with feelings, as much as she doesn't like that sometimes. The impression you got of her the other night is totally not an accurate depiction of her life. Beca never drinks." Aubrey added sincerely. "I'm still pissed at her for ruining Jesse and I's night. But she's Jesse's best friend and she would do anything for us, she just gets really stupid sometimes."

"Ha, that's an understatement." Chloe added softly with a grunt.

"Look, Chloe. I'm not condoning what Beca did back then. She fucked up. She definitely fucked up. But as successful as she is… She is so insecure. It baffles me sometimes, I know in that badass exterior she puts off, she never meant to hurt you, and you know it too." Aubrey said.

"I-I know…" Chloe responded going back to focusing her attention on the ring.

"Chloe?" Aubrey said hesitantly to the girl.

"Does she ever….Does she ever talk about it-about me?" Chloe asked. It was a question that constantly plagued her for the past five years, but she'd never once asked Aubrey, no matter how much she wondered. The thought of her not meaning anything to Beca drove her crazy.

"Chlo…." Aubrey said shutting her eyes lightly in defeat. She wished these two would've just talked to each other about what happened instead of putting her in the middle. She wanted to beat some sense into both of them, but these things take time.