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If you ever asked Beca how she became friends with Aubrey Posen she would just shrug her shoulders and claim that it just kind of happened. Which isn’t exactly wrong. One year they were spewing sarcastic remarks to each other in passing and the next they’re hanging out during school and then the year after that they’re practically best friends. Neither of them really like to admit it though and the fact that they still sarcastically make fun of each other kind of confuses a lot of people. At a moment's glance it seems like they hate each other and yet they spend a whole lot of time together. Which makes it all the easier to find out things to bug the other about. Like Aubrey’s ridiculous crush on none other than Stacie Conrad, captain of the cheer squad. But then again there’s also Beca’s painfully obvious crush on Chloe Beale, the co-captain of said cheer squad.
Beca and Aubrey often walk home together after school and pick at each other over their equally ridiculous crushes on the co-captains. Of all the odds of course the two most unlikely of friends have bordering obsessive crushes on the two most likely of friends. This fact is what leads to the majority of their bickering in their junior year of high school. Because honestly they couldn’t help finding something to tease the other about.
“How could you, the most reserved person ever, fall for the most outgoing person in our whole school?” Aubrey questions with a shove to Beca’s shoulder that almost sends her flying into a bank of snow.
“Oh, yeah. And how could you, the most uptight person in existence, fall for the girl who literally will flirt with anyone that breathes,” Beca retorts easily.
“That was rude,” Aubrey defends.
“But true and you know it,” Beca shoots back with a smirk. “She’s the most flirtatious person I’ve ever met.”
“So what?”
“I’m just saying. You’re like polar opposites in that way but whatever floats your boat, Posen,” Beca grumbles as she kicks a ball of snow.
“As if you and Red aren’t polar opposites?” Aubrey scoffs.
“Whatever,” Beca mumbles with another kick to the ball of snow sending it out into the street.
“Hey. Look,” Aubrey whispers harshly with a jab to Beca’s side.
“Dude, what the hell,” Beca whines pushing the other girl’s hand away.
“Look,” Aubrey repeats again.
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh,” Aubrey says.
“Are they together?” Beca questions as she watches the two girls down the road. She can see Chloe’s hair easily against the snow. She can also see her interlocked hands with none other than Stacie.
“I don’t think so,” Aubrey mumbles her gaze fixed on the other two girls who are giggling about something.
“I didn’t either,” Beca responds. “They could just be friends.”
“That hold hands? I doubt it,” Aubrey nearly yells.
“You never know. I wouldn’t put it past them,” Beca says before crossing the street with barely a look to see if it was clear to cross.
“I don’t know, Mitchell,” Aubrey replies as she catches up to the other girl.
“Quit staring,” Beca mutters through gritted teeth as she realizes how close to the co-captains they are.
“You quit staring,” Aubrey replies with a shove that sends Beca flying, literally, into the snowbank.
“What the fuck, dude,” Beca screams the second she hits the white powder. She sits in complete disbelief staring at Aubrey who is now doing nothing helpful and just laughing at her. “Are you kidding me?”
“I’m - I’m sorry,” Aubrey says between laughs.
“You’re so not fucking sorry,” Beca grumbles as she tries to get out of the hole she’s made in the snow. “Maybe you could give me a fucking hand?”
“Are you okay?” a voice that Beca recognizes asks while holding out her hand. Beca stares at it for a moment before looking up at the girl that’s offered help and just continues to stare for a moment.
“Um, yeah. Sorry,” Beca mumbles quickly taking the redhead’s hand. The other girl pulls her out of the snow easily and smiles at her.
“What happened?” Chloe asks her voice as calm as Beca’s ever heard it. “Did you slip on ice?”
“I wish,” Beca laughed. “This one here pushed me.”
“Well that’s not very nice of her,” Chloe replies with a smile that makes Beca’s heart stop for a moment.
“Not at all.”
“Sorry I didn’t mean to,” Aubrey chips in finally having gotten her laughter under control.
“Sure you didn’t,” Stacie speaks up with a smirk. “You live around the corner, don’t you?”
“Um, yeah. Why?” Aubrey asks her face easily giving away her confusion.
“So do I. Walk with me,” Stacie replies smoothly.
“Uh,” Aubrey hesitates looking between Stacie and Beca who chokes back a laugh. “Sure.”
“See you tomorrow,” Stacie calls back to the redhead once she’s a few steps away. “And don’t say I never do you any favors, Red.”
"We both know this works both ways right now," Chloe shouts back only to be ignored by the other girl who was now talking to Aubrey excitedly.
“What does that mean?” Beca asks once the other two are a safe distance away.
“She’s just being typical Stace,” Chloe says with a wave of her hand. “Always trying to intervene.”
“Intervene with what?”
“Um,” Chloe hesitates for a moment as they finally start walking down the street. “Just something. You sure do ask a lot of questions.”
“Sorry. I didn’t notice,” Beca mumbles looking down at the ground.
“It’s cool. Don’t worry about it,” Chloe says with a gentle nudge to Beca’s shoulder. The other girl picks her head up and gives her a gentle smile. “You live close to the train tracks, don’t you?”
“Yeah, it’s like another couple of blocks,” Beca replies easily.
“Right. I’ll walk with you,” Chloe decides with a nod.
“You don’t have to,” Beca mumbles quickly in response.
“Well, I want to,” Chloe says with a smile that makes Beca melt right then and there. “And maybe when we get there you can invite me in for hot chocolate.”
“Sure, yeah.”
“I mean you don’t have to but I wouldn’t say no if you asked,” Chloe clarifies accidentally brushing her hand across Beca’s. Or at least Beca writes that off as an accident.
“Right. Well, in that case, you’re totally welcome for hot chocolate,” Beca stutters slightly causing Chloe to giggle.
“And while we’re at it maybe we can watch a Christmas movie?” Chloe asks with a smile that could get Beca to agree to anything the other girl said.
“Totally.”
“Great,” Chloe cheered. “Let me just text my mom to tell her where I am.”
“Course,” Beca mumbles noticing yet again how Chloe brushed her hand against her own. A smile already pulling at the edge of her lips that she couldn’t quite get under control. Chloe beamed at her when she noticed and that’s when Beca lost all control of the smile she was desperately trying to hold back. The other girl giggled as if she knew what was going through Beca’s mind right then. And maybe just maybe they were thinking the same thing.