A/N: Ok, super sorry about the late update, this was a slow chapter, and with school (-_-) and Thanksgiving, I was super busy. Anyways, here's the chapter! Let's see how the Bellas are doing without Beca! (Sorry if Aubrey is really OOC, I tried.)

Ever since Beca got kicked out, the Bella house has spiralled into disaster. Cynthia Rose, likely the sanest one out of all of them, is partly shocked at how immature and ridiculous at how the other Bellas are acting, and part impressed at the amazing impact Beca had on the group. She misses the short brunette a lot, but the Bellas are still her family. And besides, Beca is happy with DSM. Maybe they're the change of pace that she needs.

The Bellas definitely don't recognize this, and now all they can do is argue and squabble, over anything from choreography ideas and songs suggestions for Worlds to who's turn it is to do the dishes. It's all so stupid, and Cynthia Rose would have left long ago if these bitches weren't her closest friends. At least she has some relaxation and peace in the form of her girlfriend. They actually got together a while ago, but with the whole Worlds drama, and Beca getting kicked off, she just hasn't mentioned it. Cynthia Rose treasures the moments where she can escape the drama of the Bella house and relax or do something fun with Riley. Chloe is stricter and more old-Aubrey-esque than ever, which makes it harder for her to sneak away, but she manages. Fairly easily, in fact, since her room has a perfect way out through the window, and it's also closest to the back door. Which is exactly how Cynthia Rose escapes tonight, since the Bellas are especially loud today, fighting about Legacy's song that she's still writing. The dark-skinned girl rolls her eyes. Unbelievable.

Slipping out the back door, she tugs her jacket closed around her as she heads out to the street, and makes her way to her and Riley's meeting spot: a romantic bench in a public garden. Conveniently, it's close to Bella house, and Riley's dorm, since she lives on campus. Occasionally, CR will spend the night on campus if she and Riley are doing something that ends up going late.

She makes her way to the bench and sits down, leaning back as she checks her phone to text Riley. "Hey, you," an amused voice says from behind her.

"Hey yourself," Cynthia Rose says, turning around to face Riley. She stands and they share a quick, tender kiss before sitting down again, this time with joined hands. It's a stark contrast, the pale white of Riley's skin against the dark brown of Cynthia Rose's, but it works. Just like them. Riley leans her head on Cynthia Rose's shoulder, and CR smiles, brushing the light brown, curly hair out of the other girl's face. "You wanna watch a movie in my dorm?"

"Duh. Bellas still going bat-shit crazy?"

"Yeah." Riley knows that Cynthia Rose likes to watch movies when she needs to unwind, and she figures it's about the Bella drama. She's glad she's not a part of that, but she'll gladly help Cynthia Rose through it, including with her friend getting kicked out and everything. "Here, let's go." Hands still intertwined, they make their way onto Barden campus, and to Cynthia' Roses assigned dorm, and they set up her laptop with the Princess Bride, a classic and generally amazing movie.

The two ladies leans up against the wall, in a similar position as before, holding hands, with Riley's head on Cynthia Rose's shoulder. Cynthia Rose takes this opportunity to just let her mind clear, watch and movie, and focus on being with Riley, instead of whatever the Bellas are doing. She has one last thought before she puts the Bellas out of her mind: I really hope Aubrey doesn't find out.

The next day, after a suitable lecture from Chloe about sneaking out, Cynthia Rose sits down with the other girls around the dining table. Chloe called a Bella meeting, so she has to be here, though she'd rather be upstairs reading the long and informative email that Beca just sent her. Even if she isn't saying it outright, Cynthia Rose can tell that the shortie totally has a toner for tall, blonde, and German. It's really obvious, and Cynthia Rose knows how to read between the lines. The only sad thing is that she doubts Beca will do anything about it unless she grows a pair. The dark-skinned girl has a feeling that Kommissar-Luisa also likes Beca, but then again, Cynthia Rose hasn't seen her since the riff-off, and she'd be too proud to admit it, or at least not want to pressure the tiny DJ or make Beca feel awkward in any way. Ah, young love.

She brings her attention back to Chloe, who's banging the table with a gavel to get everyone's attention. Where the fuck did Red get a gavel? She thinks as everyone else quiets down. "Ok, we're here to talk about Worlds," Chloe starts, and Cynthia Rose internally groans. There's no way this could end well. "We need a set list ASAP so we can choreograph and perfect it. Does anyone have any song suggestions?" she asks in an authoritative tone. She's really taking Aubrey to the next level.

"Ooh, how about Whistle by Flo Rida?" Amy suggests. Stacie nods in agreement, and Cynthia Rose almost face palms. Chloe, on the other hand, is already turning red, ironically.

"NO! Have you not forgotten the basic traditions of the Bellas? Songs sung and or made popular by women. And we're not doing a song that...suggestive at Worlds! We're representing America, here. We need to be professional." She looks at Amy significantly, and the blonde huffs and leans back in her seat.

"Well, I have my original song-" Emily starts in a quiet voice.

"Emily! Smart people are talking here!" Amy exclaims, interrupting her. "You're new, you're not supposed to know anything, so it's ok. But let us talk." Not wanting to cross Amy, Emily nods, and shuts up.

"We could just kill the judges in their sleep," Lilly whispers. Chloe stares at her in confusion for a second before shaking her head.

"Whatever. Now, any serious suggestions?"

Multiple Bellas, including Jessica and Ashley, throw out ideas, and Chloe writes select songs down on her notepad. After she lists down about 20 or so songs, Chloe stops them. "Ok. We'll need to pick maybe three of these songs. But first, we also need to cover roles. Flo, you're on choreo, Stacie, you get costumes, and Cynthia Rose, you get special effects and props. Flo, you get Jessica and Ashley for assistants, and Stacie, take Legacy so she doesn't get in the way and screw stuff up. Lilly can help you, Cynthia Rose, and I'm going to focus on the arrangements."

"Are you replacing Beca?" Ashley asks, then immediately regrets it.

"Maybe!" Chloe splutters. "I know her best! I can do it!" she defends, the topic of Beca clearly being a sore spot.

"But Beca is probably helping that sexy blonde German with their arrangements," Emily says, not knowing when to shut up. "She'll probably up her game to match them and impress the blonde." Chloe's face literally turns the color of a tomato, and Cynthia Rose has to restrain her from lunging at Emily.

"We can win without Beca!" Chloe snaps. "And don't ever bring up that stupid German again!" Yes, Cynthia Rose definitely senses a lot of jealousy on Chloe's part about Beca hanging out and spending so much time with the Kommissar, no, Luisa. Cynthia Rose sighs. She'll never get used to that.

After Chloe's outburst, she reigns in her temper and gives each team some parameters for their group. Some specifications for costumes, some ideas and do-not's for lighting/sounds/effects, things like that. As she's about to adjourn the meeting with the magic gavel that just appeared today, there's a knock at the door. Cynthia Rose, eager to be dismissed from the awkward tension that was the remainder of the meeting, jumps up to answer it. She immediately regrets her decision once she opens the door. Because standing there, eyes narrow, arms crossed, is Aubrey Posen.

The brunette's eyes widen, and Aubrey, not even bothering with formalities, struts past her and straight to the dining room, where the rest of the Bellas are still seated. Cynthia Rose follows her, and everyone, including Chloe, is frozen at the sight of the blonde ex-Captain.

"Anyone want to guess what I just saw?" Aubrey snaps. Smartly, no one answers her. She holds up her phone, displaying Beca's latest post of her and DSM. "Someone explain what the fuck is happening. Now." Her tone is deadly calm, and Cynthia Rose, hoping she isn't risking her safety, speaks up.

"Beca isn't a Bella anymore," she says, wincing at how it sounded. Aubrey turned on her, looking positively murderous. "She's hanging with Das Sound Machine for the rest of their tour."

"Why did Beca get kicked out?" Aubrey seethes. Chloe takes this as her opportunity to convince Aubrey that they're in the right, so she stands.

"Well, she was hooking up with their leader, and she was hiding a music internship from us," Chloe starts. "And she intentionally sabotaged the riff off because she has a huge crush on the DSM lead." As soon as she says them aloud, the weaker and more feeble and stupid they sound. This won't end well. Aubrey narrows her eyes so much they're practically slits, you're hardly able to see her eyes.

"Is that it?" Aubrey asks incredulously. Cynthia Rose internally releases a huge breath. "This is what happens when I leave!" Aubrey exclaims. Everyone can tell she's about to go all bitch mode, so wisely no one speaks. "The one sane person on gets kicked out for something I thought was resolved three years ago! Then everything goes to hell! Someone got a fucking gavel, for God's sake!" She takes a breath, and turns towards the Bellas, who are all shocked. They've never heard Aubrey swear. "Where even is Beca now? Though you all were being absolute bitches, she is not allowed to walk away that easily," Aubrey exclaims. No one answers, and she narrows her eyes even further, if possible, and places her hands on her hips.

"She left with DSM to Seattle," Emily blurts, and all eyes turn to her. Aubrey, somewhat satisfied that some answered her, huffs.

"Of course. That's just perfect. When will she be back?"

"We...we don't know," Chloe admits, looking remotely sorry for the very first time regarding this whole situation.

Aubrey groans. "Of course. Now, your new orders for at least tonight: sit in silence and think about what asses you were to a member of our Bella family, and what Beca might be feeling right now!" she orders. When nobody moves, she snaps "Now!" and everyone hurriedly rushes to their room. "Cynthia Rose!" Said girl flinches and turns slowly towards Aubrey. "Come with me." Walking much more calmly than before, she walks to the door and CR follows her, trailing a little ways behind the scary blonde. Beca may be hanging with a scary blonde, but CR has her own here, and Aubrey frankly seems worse. Shifting her attention back to said woman, Cynthia Rose follows her to a private spot, a rarity in the Bella house.

Aubrey sits, and gestures for Cynthia Rose to follow her lead and she does, slightly worried about what would happen if she refused. "Spill." Cynthia Rose looks up at Aubrey, confused.

"What?"

"I know you two were really close. I'm positive you still have some sort of communication with her. I want the real story, not whatever biased shit Chloe's spewing. So tell me," Aubrey orders calmly.

Cynthia Rose sighs, and then tells Aubrey everything. The real (petty) reason why Chloe and the others kicked Beca out. Her and Beca's correspondence. And she tells Aubrey everything that Beca told her in her impressively long emails. And how she, Chloe, Amy, and Emily ran into Beca and DSM, and how mean the other girls were. She ends up talking more then she wanted to, she tells Aubrey how sad she was that Beca left, how angry but helpless she felt as Beca was leaving, and how she wishes Beca were back with them, but also how happy she is that she's making great friends with DSM.

Aubrey listens in silence until Cynthia Rose gets it all out of her and the dark-skinned girl leans back, out of breath. Aubrey smiles slightly, her passion and ranting is amusing; Aubrey can tell how much she cares. Cynthia Rose still seems intimidated, so Aubrey gives her a kind smile, letting the woman relax. "Good. Thank you for telling me," Aubrey says.

Cynthia Rose can't quite tell where Aubrey stands on this whole thing. She seemed pissed at the Bellas, but also seemed disappointed in Beca for leaving like that. She just doesn't know, but she's still a bit too afraid to ask.

"Call Beca," Aubrey says, breaking the tense silence they had fallen into. Cynthia Rose's head snaps up.

"What?"

"Call Beca," Aubrey repeats calmly.

"But, she's in Seattle. The time difference-"

"Is fine. She's three hours earlier than us. I'm positive she's still awake, as it's only...about 9:00 there."

"O-ok." Cynthia Rose pulls out her phone and dials Beca's number. The phone rings a few times before Beca picks up.

"Hey, CR," Beca says sleepily.

"Did I wake you up?" Cynthia Rose asks quickly.

"Nah. Just lying down. Not used to the time difference yet. How are you?"

"Good. I, um, actually have a few things to update you on, but that's not why I called." With the speaker on, the two women can hear sheets rustling, indicating Beca's sitting up in her bed.

"Did something happen?" she asks, worriedly.

"Not exactly," Cynthia Rose says. She nods to Aubrey.

"Hello, Beca," Aubrey says. Cynthia Rose almost chuckles when she hears Beca freeze. It'd be funny if she wasn't quite so worried about what Aubrey's planning to do to the poor girl.

"A-Aubrey," Beca stutters. "U-um, hey?" she tries.

"Rebecca Mitchell, don't you even think about playing that game with me," Aubrey says at Beca's failed attempt at friendly conversation. Cynthia Rose is a bit confused, she didn't know that the two had a dynamic like that, but ok.

Beca sighs. "Hey, Posen. I assume you heard the Bellas shit about what they think happened, huh."

"Yes, yes I did," Aubrey admits. "But lots of things were off, it didn't sound like you. So, I talked to this one and she told me her side. Now I want to hear yours."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Beca admits. Beca then shares the Cliff's Notes version of her side, which is very similar to Cynthia Rose's. "And I'm assuming CR told you something similar," she finishes.

"Yes, she did," Aubrey admits. After a minute of silence, Aubrey speaks up again. "I believe you."

"Wait what?" Beca says, amazed that Aubrey believed her over Chloe. But to be fair, Aubrey was always pretty level-headed when it came to stuff like this.

"I said I believe you. Your stories seem much more accurate and less biased. Plus, I agree with you. The Bellas are being total bitches," Aubrey says.

"Wow. Ok," Beca says, still getting over what she said, especially since Aubrey isn't one to generally curse. Then she seems to sober up. "I'm really sorry for walking away from the Bellas. But...you both know about my family...I just couldn't stay after that," she says softly.

"It's ok, Beca," Cynthia Rose says. "Neither of us blame you."

Beca sniffles, likely wiping a few tears out of her eyes. "It's so cheesy, but I wish I could be right there and give you dudes a hug," she says, half laughing, half crying. Cynthia Rose and Aubrey both chuckle, Beca will always be sarcastic, no matter which coast she's on.

"Don't worry. I'll see you at Worlds at least," Cynthia Rose says, trying to be the optimist for once.

But Beca catches her move. "Don't play the optimist, CR. It's not a good look on you," Beca deadpans, masking her disappointment, since she doesn't think she will be going to Worlds. "I don't even know if I'm going to Worlds," she admits. "I'm staying with DSM for the rest of their US tour at least, then maybe heading out to my grandparent's house in Germany or something, but that doesn't mean I can get out to Denmark."

"You are going to Worlds, Beca Mitchell, even if I have to drive you there myself," Aubrey says, though even she's getting slightly emotional, which is impressive for the military-raised blonde. "I'm going, and I will drag you there with me if DSM don't do it for me."

"Why would they?" Beca asks, sounding genuinely curious.

"From what Cynthia Rose told me, they love you. They won't want to just leave you at home, especially since you're in the same country."

"Yeah, But DSM don't know that I'm going to Germany, or have family there," Beca admits. "I told them that my entire family lives in Ohio."

"Oh Beca, we really need to teach you how to lie better," Cynthia Rose says. "You know it's practically unheard of for an entire family to live in one state, right?"

Beca sighs. "Yeah, I know, but I panicked. I...I couldn't open the wound with them yet. I don;t need their pity."

"I get that, but at least let them get you out to Germany," Aubrey insists. "There's nothing left for you here, so go to where you have at least your grandparents and your new friends."

"Ok, ok. I'll ask. Oh, and by the way, I did a DSM workout today," Beca says, both women able to hear the amusement on her voice.

"And?" Aubrey asks, hoping to hear what she wants to hear.

"Ours were harder," Beca says.

"Yes!" Aubrey cheers. "There. We already beat DSM at one thing. Did you show all of them up? Please say yes."

"Of course," Beca says. "But everyone advised me against telling Luisa and Pieter about our workouts, since they can't handle anything more."

"Ha! That's great," Aubrey says.

"Oh, and by the way, I got your money from Amy. I'll give it to you at Worlds," Cynthia Rose says randomly.

"Oh, perfect. Now, what time is it for you guys? It's like, 12:30. Y'all go to bed. I can call you again another time. And we should set up a group chat or something," Beca says. Both women agree, and then they hang up, Cynthia Rose tucking her phone back in the pocket of her leather jacket.

They sit in silence for a minute before yelling breaks out from the house. Aubrey sighs, and stands up, smoothing her dark skirt. "Well, I'd better handle that. It was really nice talking to you. Please keep me better updated," Aubrey says. "I'm going to leave after this, so it was really nice seeing you."

"Same," Cynthia Rose agrees. She stands as well, and the two exchange a quick hug before Aubrey heads inside to wrangle the Bellas. Cynthia Rose waits outside for a bit, enjoying the cool night air while the house quiets down. She looks up at the dark sky, speckled with hardly visible stars. Stupid light pollution, she thinks.

She still can't quite believe Aubrey so easily let Beca off the hook for leaving the Bellas. She seems like the type to be all "Once a Bella, always a Bella", but she was totally understanding to Beca. Maybe too understanding…?

So, she fires off a quick text to Beca, knowing that she isn't asleep already.

Hey, do you know why Aubrey was so nice about all of this? It doesn't seem like her…

Beca responds almost immediately, like she assumed. And it's also pretty long, which isn't what Cynthia Rose expected.

Um, IDK if I'm supposed to tell you this, but during our workouts, we kinda bonded over not the best childhoods. Her dad was rarely around, and when he was, well, you know. And her mom was there, but worked a lot, so she had to be really independent. So, she knows what it's like to have trust issues, especially with family. That's why she was so strict about staying a Bella, and all that. She wanted a constant group to be there for her. And I can't say I didn't appreciate that also, which is why it really hurt when I got kicked out. Sorry if I totally talked your ear off.

No, it's totally cool. Thanks for telling me, that makes a lot of sense. I'm really sorry about that, again. :(

It's ok. Night.

Night.

Cynthia Rose turns off her phone, and tucks it in her pocket once more, heading into the now quiet Bella house. She sneaks up to her room, and sheds her jacket and shoes. Slipping into bed, Cynthia Rose prays that everything will turn out ok in the end. Whether that be Beca coming back, or the Bellas disbanding and Cynthia Rose heading to wherever Beca is, maybe with Riley, everything just has to end ok.

A/N: Whew! That was an ordeal. Sorry if the Bellas are totally OOC, I'm not really a writer, and I didn't create these characters. I really hope I can get a new chapter soon, but shit is crazy. I hope I can get DSM to Germany next chapter, but we'll see. OMG thank y'all for the reviews! A lot of you suggested ideas for Aubrey, and I REALLY hope i did them justice! Until next time! - Facade Contessa