5Hello, everyone! And welcome to my FIRST EVER Pitch Perfect fanfiction! Now when I say first Pitch Perfect fanfiction, I'm not talking the crossover I have between Pitch Perfect and Naruto but rather just a plain, straight, non-cross-over fanfiction! XD
This is a promised fic that I promised my good friend goth-albino-angel on tumblr so hopefully she likes it! ^_^
If not evident already, my favorite Pitch Perfect character is Emily and I could NOT STAND the treatment she received in Pitch Perfect 3 from Amy. I'm sorry but it was INFURIATING watching the way just how MEAN and NASTY Amy was to Emily when she did nothing to deserve such treatment. Especially when she was nowhere NEAR that nasty to Emily in Pitch Perfect 2. She was blunt and sarcastic with her sure, but calling her dumb in almost EVERY scene they have together as well as trying to physically fight her. And I am aware that Rebel Wilson and Hailee Steinfeld had an interview together where they said that that it comes from a place of love why Amy acted the way she did to Emily in PP3 and it was hazing. Okay maybe that was believable in PP2 when it was more so teasing since Emily was the new kid but three years later? I'm sorry but the way it came off was that Amy hated her and was bullying her.
But Amy's treatment of Emily wasn't my only gripe with Pitch Perfect 3. I don't like the implication that if Stacie didn't get pregnant, the Bellas would have left Emily behind. Yeah I know the real reason was because Emily was still in school as well as having her own Bellas to look after but the way Beca said it as well as Emily's reaction coupled with everyone immediately jumping in makes it seem like they would have left Emily behind, at least Emily might think so anyways and I wonder if that ever crossed her mind when she was on the USO tour with them….. Now, if you all were to ask me if I think they would leave Emily behind, I don't think they would have given how much they love her but still, think about Emily! Because remember, TO EMILY she will ALWAYS be with the "Original Bellas" first, the "New Bellas" second.
Nor did I like how the Bellas weren't happier for Emily and the good things she had done with her Bellas. Like yeah, their lives sucked at the beginning of the film but c'mon, Emily is leading the Bellas stronger than ever! Truthfully, I found that kind of selfish on the Bellas' part, TBH. Like they weren't being mean or rude to her but I wish they could have been happier. Especially since it was BECAUSE OF EMILY AND HER SONG that the Bellas were even reinstated anyways.
Oh well, mini rant over and let the fanfiction start already before I ramble anymore! ^_^
And P.S: Emily might be a tad bit OOC, hehe. ^_^ Then again it's a vent fic so characters can be OOC all they want! XD Hopefully you all enjoy some good old, Emily gives what Amy deserves fanfic justice! =P (It's honestly surprising there aren't more fics with Emily calling out Amy on her BS, TBH.)
Twenty one year old Emily Junk was definitely freezing cold to say the least. Talk about the adventure of a lifetime.
What was supposed to have been an innocent singing contest literally overnight turned into something out of an action adventure movie like Mission Impossible all thanks to the overzealous father of Amy.
Somehow, it didn't really surprise Emily that her father was a cold-hearted, malevolent criminal given how eccentric and over the top Amy was.
After all, whenever someone called her Patricia, Amy would immediately lose the "badass" edge she tried putting over herself.
However, even the fact that she and her precious friends had nearly died because of Amy's shitty father wasn't the main reason behind this sudden cool feeling inside of her.
"Look, your real family doesn't hold you back, they lift you up." Amy said in a gently tone to Beca who was looking conflicted between the hard decision of either staying with her surrogate family of the Bellas or leaving them to pursue her dreams.
Emily clenched her jaws as she clenched her jeans with her hands, trying to keep this feeling of complete and utter bitterness from clouding her judgement.
As a child, she always held in her whatever negative feelings of anger or disdain she may have had since her teachers always said that lashing out at people regardless if you feel as if you're justified or not makes you know better than the person antagonizing you and she should just be the bigger person and just ignore that.
Just how successful was that advice really?
But the blonde Australian was definitely bringing back those negative feelings and pulling them into overdrive.
However, that wasn't even what was infuriating to her.
What was vexing to the Legacy was that everyone was eating up Amy's BS! Especially when she, herself, had been saying the exact same goddamn thing this whole trip. But was anyone listening to her when she said it?
No.
"...Kind of feels like I've been saying something to that effect the entire time." Emily muttered bitterly through clenched teeth not even bothering to acknowledge the empathetic looks Ashley and Jessica were sending her. After all, they knew more than anyone how it felt for your friends to treat you as if you were invisible. But Emily was so caught up in her inner angst to notice.
Just what the hell was she to these Bellas? Just the leftover tag along? Did she even matter to them?
Years ago, she had no doubts these girls loved her and thought of her like a sister.
But over the course of this trip, she was actually starting to wonder if they actually considered her an actual Bella like the rest of them or rather just someone they felt obligated to take in just because of her birthright.
Especially with-
Though Amy's loud voice snapped Emily from her thoughts.
"Oh my god, Emily! Smart people are talking right now!" Amy snapped in the mean, judgmental voice she seemed to have seemingly only for Emily.
If Emily was feeling bitter before, she was practically seeing red right now.
The fact that Cynthia Rose had her mouth gaping in shock at Amy's tactless outburst as well as Jessica and Ashley sending her empathetic looks didn't even occur to the Barden senior.
Or rather, she didn't care about them.
Normally she would either shrug off, ignore or laugh off Amy's cracks to her.
But over the course of this trip, Amy's constant attacks and insults of her intelligence coupled with the fact that she was nearly killing by her asshole of a dad were finally pushing her to the end of her fuse.
For god's sake, she was the captain of the new Bellas and had led them as the victors through several competitions as a senior for crying out loud and she was graduating with honors and was gonna kick ass in graduate school after kicking that GRE right in the ass.
And what has Amy done? Just become some street performer while she's too lazy to get off her ass and get a real job.
And she's gonna try to bully Emily just because she's doing better than her?
Well screw that and screw all the stuff her teachers instilled to her as a kid about "be the bigger person".
She was gonna fight fire with fire since it was about time that Amy got a taste of her own medicine.
"Shut up!" Emily's voice suddenly rang through the room all eleven Bellas were sitting in.
The Bellas all stared at her in shock as very, seldom did Emily Junk ever raise her voice in an angered and flustered tone. And never did Emily ever fire back whenever Amy had her usual bravado for her, especially on this trip. So to see her fight back was definitely something shocking.
The most shocked of the women was Amy who started at the Legacy child with raised eyebrows before her expression mutated from that of shock to one of being flustered.
"Excuse me?" Amy asked as Emily's patience had finally reached its boiling point.
After all the shit she had said and did to her on this trip, she wants to act offended? Screw that. No, she was gonna let her have it because for once, Amy's feelings didn't matter to her.
"Why is it that every goddamn thing I do, everything I fucking do, you always have to degrade and demean me!? Do you not realize I've been working my ass off because I want to actually prove my worth to you all in that I'm not just a Legacy but an actual fucking Bella!? Damn it, I'm not that same naïve girl on a sugar rush you met three years ago! I'm someone about to graduate with honors as well as the leader of the Barden fucking Bellas!" Emily yelled as Amy was left utterly speechless as she was utterly humbled.
The rest of the Bellas were shocked but not surprised at how Emily was acting. They would often send glares or disapproving stares whenever Amy insulted Emily on this tour, trying to let her know in a subtle way that it wasn't cool but the woman seemed to not get the message.
After all, all people reach their boiling point and it seemed as if the daughter of Katherine Junk had finally reached hers.
"Oh shit, girl fight!" Cynthia Rose smirked as Aubrey, Beca and Chloe all sent her looks as if to tell her to "Shut it".
Well Beca was actually deciding to verbalize her words.
"Time and place!" Beca snapped at Cynthia Rose as this all felt like Déjà vu to the fight she had with Chloe at Aubrey's retreat all those years ago.
"And you always shit talk me but at least I do my fair share of work and work my ass off while you just sit on your ass and expect everyone to do everything for you since 'Amy always comes first'! That irritating egotism of yours is seriously coming off in waves. Can you think of someone else than yourself for five minutes of your fucking life!?" Emily continued to vent as Amy's jaw clenched as she started getting angry at thoroughly being put on blast by Emily. She tried looking around for support but found the Bellas were actually looking down. Then again, typically whenever she tried pulling in the Bellas into one of her schemes, she was met with negative reception but were they actually agreeing with her? Did they honestly see her as some ungrateful, self-centered sponge?
Before Amy could say anything, Emily continued her rant which the child found was long overdue.
"And you have the balls to call me stupid and dumb when I've led my own group of Bellas through several different competitions and knocked the socks off them as well as about to graduate with honors in my classes and am all set on going to Graduate School but what have you done? Sponge off Beca and Chloe since you're too lazy to get a job. Here's something, get off your lazy ass, get a goddamn job and quit being a damn bum!" Emily snapped as Amy looked close to snapping. Especially as she noticed Beca and Chloe look to the side. Did they see her as just some mooching bum?
"You…" If Amy was pissed, what Emily would say next would definitely send her over the edge.
"Especially when it was all because of you that the Bellas were suspended from competing back in 2014 all thanks to your Muffgate scandal. And I'm the stupid one?" Emily snorted as Amy sent the Barden senior a deadly glare as all the Bellas looked first at Emily then at Amy in stunned shock.
The incident with Muffgate was still a very touchy subject, even to this day, with Amy.
Could the other Bellas be mad at Emily for bringing that up? When they thought about Emily's perspective, no, but they knew how Amy could be.
Emily noticed how Amy looked ready to try to charge her and beat her up just like all those days ago when all she did was try to give her good advice about her messed up situation with her dad but unlike then, she would stand her ground. And besides, she had no doubt she could whip the blonde's ass in a fight if she could so choose.
Emily snorted, "And now you wanna fight me? That's the problem with actual idiots like you. They hate being put in their place and they want to resort to violence. And I'm the stupid one?" Emily rolled her eyes as Amy looked close to getting out of her seat while the other Bellas looked worriedly between Amy and Emily.
"Now you listen to me, Legacy. And you listen good…." Amy warned in a dangerously low voice as Emily was undeterred in her stance.
"No you shut up and listen to me! You always cut people off so they can listen to your attention-seeking bullshit, so it's finally high time you get a taste of your medicine and see how it tastes!" Emily immediately cut Amy off, effectively silencing her, as she began her ranting again.
"For someone who claims to be smart, I think it's hilarious that you can't remember my name. Well newsflash, I'm Emily NOT Legacy! I'm more than just my mother which is something neither you nor anyone else in this room seems to understand!" Emily spat to the Australian before turning to everyone else in the room as they realized it was then that Emily decided to focus her rage on the other Bellas in the room.
Just because most of her anger was geared at Amy didn't mean she didn't have some gripes with the other Bellas.
The other Bellas couldn't believe she had negative feelings towards them since they had treated her a lot better than Amy did they had thought.
"Wait, why are you turning on us? We weren't name calling you or insulting you every five minutes like Fat Amy was." Flo was quick to remind Emily as Emily exhaled.
"Why? Because let's face it, you guys might not have been bullying me every second of the hour but that doesn't mean I don't have my fair share of bones to pick with you guys." Emily said as Aubrey and the other Bellas looked at her incredulously.
"Us? What the hell did we do?" Aubrey asked as Emily turned her head with an irritated eye roll.
Chloe, sensing the tension and her being the peacekeeping mediator she was, tried to defuse the situation.
"Em, Brey, Amy, let's all calm down." Chloe tried saying as Emily couldn't believe what Chloe was doing. She could blow up on everyone and have her constant meltdowns but she couldn't do the same? She just had to calm down? No way, this was something that was overdue ever since all those weeks ago when they reunited and she was going to get everything off of her chest.
"Oh shut up." Emily said as Chloe's eyes widened in surprise. Never had Emily ever said one bad thing or acted nasty to her. Even when she was unnecessarily harsh to her when she accidentally flubbed the Riff Off, Emily was quite forgiving to Chloe when she apologized.
"Holy…" Jessica began.
"Shit…" Ashley finished as the other Bellas, sans Amy who was still fuming with rage, stared at Emily in shock as the other Bellas couldn't believe just how much of darkness that a sweet, kind-hearted girl like Emily Junk had.
Beca, understandably shot Emily a stern glare.
"Look Emily, I know you're mad and understand but do not talk to Chloe like that, especially when she's doing nothing but trying to help." Beca scolded Emily who scoffed.
"I think I can talk anyway I want when you all clearly don't care about me!" Emily yelled as all the Bellas turned to the youngest member of the group with shocked eyes.
Did Emily really think that? How could they think something so…ridiculous after all they had been through together?
"What!? Not care about you!? You're being ridiculous, Em!" Jessica and Ashley practically said in unison with all the other Bellas nodding in agreement even Amy who had lost her anger with Emily as she left completely and utterly humbled. Despite her shit starting with her, Amy truly did love her as a little sister and she had meant her teasing from a place of love. At least one that made sense to Fat Amy but she felt numb now since Emily's earlier words, while harsh, were true.
"Of course we care about you, Em!" Aubrey added for support.
"Yeah, we wouldn't have had you with us on this trip if we didn't care about you otherwise." Cynthia Rose stated with the other Bellas nodding their agreement. Although…if they thought her words would calm down Emily, they were sadly mistaken.
If anything, they seemed to set her off even more.
"Yeah, ONLY because Stacie couldn't make it! If she wasn't pregnant and could make it, you guys would've taken her, partied it up and left me in the dust…." Emily's anger was replaced with another powerful emotion, sadness, as tears started to build in Emily's eyes as the Bellas' eyes widened at Emily's revelation before they all looked down in shame, immediately felt high levels of guilt as they remembered how hurt she was when she thought she wasn't going to be included in their USO tour.
"Em, I-We-"Chloe was about to apologize on behalf on the Barden Bellas as Emily wanted to hear none of it.
"Don't act like you all care now. After all, none of you all could have cared less when I and my Bellas showed you all our show back at the Aquarium…." Emily's voice was breaking as the Bellas felt even more guilty, some of the softer ones actually having tears in their eyes as they realized just how selfish and inconsiderate of Emily's feelings that night. She had looked so happy while they couldn't reciprocate her happiness.
Jessica and Ashley frowned in sadness as they immediately thought to comfort the young Bella since they were the ones closest to her especially since they had gone out of their way to ensure that she didn't feel the same way they felt in the Bellas and it was them that had done the most looking out for Emily during her freshman year coupled with Emily being the one who kept in touch with the iconic duo the most after graduating.
As they moved to hug Emily, she immediately scooted away from the blonde and brunette combo as she still had some more stuff to get off her chest.
"Do you guys know how much it burned me with how apathetic you all acted with my performance!? Just when I thought it was my chance to show you all how much I've grown, you all basically gave me the middle finger!? Do you know how it feels to have your so called friends' just freeze off your performance and treat it like it's nothing!? Even during this tour, every suggestion I gave to just forget about winning and to enjoy this tour for what it is, you all just ignored me and treated my opinion like it didn't even matter! Well this tour has shown me one thing….maybe my dream of getting accepted by you all is one big failure!" Emily said with tears falling down her eyes this time, as the other Bellas were in tears.
"Em….I…" Chloe hated this. This was just like how the Old Bellas were and she had tried everything to not to go back to those days.
"Quit being silly, of course we accept you!" Aubrey said, getting head nods from though Emily shook her head.
"Years ago at your retreat, you all said that I wasn't a Legacy and a real Bella but now…maybe…..you all said that because you all pitied me. At least…at least with my Bellas, I'm accepted and my words actually matter!" Emily was practically sobbing before she quickly ran out of the room.
"Em! Come back!" Chloe tried yelling though to no avail as Emily was out in a flash.
The rest of the Bellas felt nothing short of shitty.
They never realized Emily had felt so strongly. But…she was right….They had spent all of her Freshman year treating her like a little sister and always looking out for her. Sure they had their ups and downs but they all made it through Worlds and came out stronger than ever.
And through that whole time, she never asked for anything and always kept her head high and strong.
And the one time she asked them for something, to simply be proud and marvel of how she and her Bellas had become, what did they do?
Not even have the common courtesy of being happy and getting over their own self-pity. While they may have stayed the whole performance and clapped for her, they were too busy thinking of their hides to consider Emily.
"This is all your fault!" Cynthia Rose snapped at Amy as the blonde glared at her.
"My fault!? Don't put this all on me!" Amy glared as Flo seemed to agree with Cynthia Rose.
"If you hadn't been messing with her every one second, maybe this wouldn't have happened." Flo said.
"Enough!" Ashley snapped, her voice full of both anger and shame.
"Actually if you were listening, we're all at fault here!" Jessica said, heat in her voice, something that came off as a shock to some of the other Bellas since she was usually so cheery. Well everyone except for Ashley for obvious reasons.
"Jess is right. We all were shitty to Em on this tour…." Beca looked down, sighing sadly. How did this group of girls end up meaning so much to her?
"…We were so caught up in winning…" Aubrey frowned.
"We never took into account how it was affecting Emily…She just wanted us to enjoy ourselves…and we just ignored her…." Chloe looked down, her face nothing short of remorse and guilt. Ever since she found her as the eccentric, kind-hearted eighteen year old all those years ago, she made it a goal of hers to always take her under her wing and protect her like the little sister she never had. She had thought she did a good job but over the course of this tour, it seemed she was lacking in that area. Especially with how obsessed over Worlds she was.
"And we're supposed to be like her big sisters…" Cynthia Rose sighed as everyone else looked just as sad.
"…Some big sisters we are…." Flo looked at her sisters, hoping someone would correct her and say how they were being good big sisters to her on this tour but to her not surprise, no one did so.
"We should've been happier for her when she performed for us…but we just acted crappy…" Ashley shook her head as Jessica leaned onto her shoulder for comfort.
"And she actually thought we were just gonna up and abandon her…" Jessica frowned in sadness. She and Ashley had taken a personal liking to the girl when she first auditioned and made it a point that she wouldn't feel as invisible as they felt. Looks like over the course of this tour that maybe they had failed?
"I didn't realize how personal Em took it….I just wasn't sure if she was gonna make the tour since she's still in school and has her own Bellas to lead….I love her but I want her to do better than us." Beca said with everyone nodding their agreement.
"Of course. We've always looked out for her so it must've hurt her when she thought we were gonna leave without her…." Chloe desperately wanted to make things right with their Legacy, their baby Bella.
"…I…didn't realize I had hurt her so much…" Amy decided to speak up for the first time since Emily had left.
"Well when you degrade a person and call them stupid twenty four-seven, of course it'll get to them eventually." Flo dryly noted as Amy rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, thanks for stating the obvious." Amy deadpanned.
"Say why did you call Em stupid so much and mess with her so much during this tour?" Ashley asked Amy who looked down.
"Yeah at first years ago, I thought it was hazing because you weren't nearly as catty with Emily when we met her all those years ago even if you were sarcastic with her and called her dumb during that one rehearsal we had. You don't…hate her do you? You're not even that offensive with the rest of us so…why single her out so much out of the rest of us?" Beca asked as everyone turned to Amy, wondering the same thing. If she actually did, they would ask why since they couldn't imagine anyone hating someone as sweet-tempered as Emily Junk.
Was she a goofball and too energetic? Yes but she was a good person at the end of the day.
Amy sighed before giving her answer.
"Of course not. I've loved her like a little sister always since the day I've met her. I was only joking with her and I didn't mean to hurt her that much…" Amy admitted though she averted her eyes from everyone.
"But there's something else, isn't there?" Beca asked.
"What?" Chloe pressed on, not about to let Amy drop this. Her precious Barden Bellas were in shambles and she would be damned if she lost this family too…After all….her parents and family died when she was young and she had found a place in these eleven women. Even Denise. Though Chloe hadn't spoken to her in quite a while, once this USO tour was over, she'd talk with her again.
"Maybe…I was harsher of Emily than normal…but I admit because…I'm jealous of her…" Amy closed her eyes as the Bellas could see that Amy sounded dangerously close to tears.
"Jealous?" Ashley and Jessica asked in unison.
"Yeah….she's right….I call her dumb and degrade her but she's about to graduate with honors and led the Bellas through several competitions and kicked their asses and what have I done? Just sponge off Beca and Chloe….." Amy looked down as Beca and Chloe were immediately at her side.
"Ames…" Beca frowned as even though Emily was right, she didn't want to see her friend sad. Even if she deserved it, in her eyes.
"Just look at her…she's bright and stunning and beautiful while me…I'm just seen as the comic relief between you all…..when people see her, they see a bright, dazzling star while I'm just the comedic roly poly that's seen as a joke. She gets a sweet guy while I dated a tool…And she has a father that's actually there, someone that loves her unconditionally and supports her no matter what while my dad couldn't give any less of a damn about me…." Amy admitted as tears flew freely down her eyes as her fellow Bella sisters' hearts all went out to her.
Immediately Chloe and Beca embraced their roommate in a tight hug.
"Oh Amy…that's why…." Beca held her as Amy frowned.
"I was jealous because Emily has a much better life than me….she had a better boyfriend than I had and a way better father than me….she's at the top of the world while I'm just shit….I never should've taken my own insecurities out on her…but…because she's so sweet and can overlook anything, I took advantage of that…" Amy admitted.
"Be that as it may, that still gives you no right to treat her like that. She's supposed to be your friend, your fellow Bella sister, not your punching bag." Chloe sternly scolded Amy.
"We have no right to be scolding Amy when we should have said something to her but…we were too busy thinking of ourselves…" Aubrey said.
And surprisingly at that time, a cell phone decided to go off at that exact time.
"Who's phone?" Cynthia Rose asked.
"Em's. She must've forgotten it when she stormed off." Ashley said as she tapped the answer Facetime option on her phone to find none other than Stacie Conrad on the other line.
"Hey guys!" Stacie brightly greeted her friends.
"Hey!" All of her friends greeted Stacie back though Stacie was quick to note that the greeting wasn't in its usual energetic way.
"Uh…what's wrong?" Stacie asked, not expecting all her friends to be looking overwrought.
"Also, where's Em? Why'd Ashley answer her phone?" Stacie asked before her friends explained the whole spiel to Stacie. Upon finishing the recap, Stacie sighed sadly.
"I see…that Emily….sometimes I swear she's too sweet for her own good…" Stacie shook her head.
"No bad bone in her body at all unlike the people in my country." Flo said though like always no one really dignified her comment.
"We really gotta make things up to Em. Now I really feel bad for not being more supportive all those weeks ago…We practically just spat on her back then." Stacie frowned as everyone nodded.
"Of course. Because if it wasn't for her, we wouldn't have even been reinstated." Beca said as everyone felt even more guilty now. Was it not for Emily joining them and giving them her song, they never would have even won worlds, forget deciding to go on the USO tour.
"Right. Let's go find our little flashlight." Chloe said as everyone smiled at Chloe's words.
"Hehe, that's the perfect word for Emily." Amy smiled, wiping her eyes, intent on righting all the wrongs with her Aca-sister.
That was the right word to describe Emily Junk. When the Bellas were all lost in their darkness, Emily appeared like a flashlight that helped the Bellas find their sound again.
And with that, the Bellas left to find their little lost Flashlight.
Even though the Bellas were in higher spirits following Amy's, Emily was feeling nothing short of anxiety and horror as she sat coincidently in the same café the Bellas, sans Amy and Beca, were at mere hours ago before they were kidnapped.
Back then, they were enjoying each other as friends and now they were now broken up, all potentially thanks to her.
"What have I done? I'm such an idiot…" Emily lamented through her tears. Yes she felt like she was justified in pouring out all the feelings that were practically constricting her over the last couple of weeks but she was never an angry person nor did she like getting angry.
And now…they all probably hated her for lashing out at them.
But at the same time, she felt like a weight had finally gotten off of her chest. Had she kept it on any longer, she probably would've gone mad.
"I wonder why I haven't gotten any calls…" Emily felt her pockets before her eyes widened.
"Damn, that's right! I left my phone behind! Ugh…" Emily groaned as this was just great. She knew sooner or later she would have to face her Bella sisters but at the very least she could have put it off with old cartoons on her phone.
"I might as well go back…" Emily muttered, dreading how everything would go when she went back.
Would they yell at her?
Or worse…what if they told her they didn't want her a part of the Bellas anymore?
No….she stood her ground now and she'd stand it again.
And besides…when she thought about it…this trip wasn't all bad…..
They had bonded after seeing Stacie's baby girl, Bella. They had also bonded through the songs they made and even the night when they got all tarted up was memorable even if Aubrey caused a fire. They had also had tons of fluffy, tender moments together like sharing candy snacks together and even eating out and sightseeing the various sights together.
It was then that Emily started to think about her words and whether her feelings were founded on any basis of reality….
"…Despite all that…we had fun on this trip…didn't we?" Emily felt her eyes twinge with tears as she couldn't believe what she was thinking.
How could she think that they didn't care about her? Even when she felt hurt about seemingly feeling left out of the trip, the Bellas were quick to reassure her and let her know she was definitely in the trip and did their best to make sure she had as much fun with them when they weren't obsessing over winning.
Although…given her childhood of being bullied and excluded by the "cool" girls at school, it would make sense she wouldn't want to repeat the same cliquish exclusion as a grown up. The Bellas were never cliquish, especially to her, but her insecurities spoke to her….
"I'll go back and try to make some peace…" Emily smiled softly to herself.
Although before she could get up….
"EM!"
Emily turned to see all the Bellas running up to the table she was sitting at before sitting down right at her table.
"You guys?" Emily asked, blinking in shock as she was slightly surprised they didn't have anger on their faces but rather…concern and regret?
The Bellas all looked to each other somberly before Beca decided to speak up.
"Em, we just wanted to say that we're all sorry…" Beca frowned, looking Emily directly at the eyes as she raised an eyebrow.
"What're you-"Emily asked, noting that all of the Bellas were giving her sad frowns.
"Emily, we're sorry we made you believe we were just going to leave without you and we're sorry we just shoved all your suggestions to the side. It was selfish and you didn't deserve that. Especially after everything you've done for us." Chloe apologized with Beca deciding to add onto the redhead's apology.
"Chloe's right. If it wasn't for you, the Bellas wouldn't have been reinstated. You've reinvigorated and made the Bellas even better and we should've been happier for you when we reunited but we acted shitty to you and on behalf of all of us, we're sorry." Beca apologized sincerely with a small smile with everyone else smiling and nodding at Emily as Emily was just left speechless at just what was happening.
"U-uh…." Emily just blinked, not at all expecting this. Though she was about to definitely get the shock of a lifetime with what happened next.
"Emily…I'm sorry for everything I put you through on this tour….You've been nothing but a good friend to me…even though after everything I did to you over the last couple of weeks, I definitely don't deserve it." Amy sadly frowned though she made sure to look the daughter of Katherine Junk dead in the eye with nothing but the utmost sincerity in her voice.
"…T-thanks…but why…" Emily asked, feeling a bit awkward though Amy couldn't blame her. She had been so crummy to her over the last couple of weeks that Emily did have a reasonable alibi in being uncomfortable.
"I can't blame you for being uncomfortable with my sudden change in tune after being bitchy to you for the last couple of weeks….and the reason…is because….I envy you…" Amy admitted as Emily could hardly believe her ears. If Amy flashed her or stripped down naked right now, it couldn't have produced any more of a shocked reaction from the young Legacy.
"…You…envy me?" Emily asked as Amy wouldn't look down or look away from Emily despite the sheepish feeling inside of her. She needed Emily to know that she genuinely meant her apology.
"…Yeah….it's just…..you're so confident and take the world by storm. All those weeks ago at the Aquarium, you kicked the ass out of that performance and you're gonna graduate kicking ass in school and I know you'll do great things in Graduate School while I'm just someone who was sponging off her friends' good graces…." Amy sadly admitted as Emily looked away.
"Amy…I…" Emily was about to apologize before Amy cut her off.
"Don't you even say it. You did nothing wrong. I had it coming for how I was treating you. Even if I was jealous of you, you didn't deserve the shit I put you through. But you had a great guy in Benji while my guy was just some tool and you actually have a dad who cares for you while my dad is a worthless piece of shit….And you're someone that people look at as a flaming inspiration while I'm just seen as an over glorified comic strip." Amy sighed before feeling a pair of arms wrap around her. She looked up to see it was none other than Emily giving her a very kind smile.
"Amy…thank you so much for the apology…I really appreciate it…" Emily smiled as Amy was a bit surprised at how quickly Emily had forgiven her but that was just Emily Junk for you. Never one to hold grudges.
"Such a cinnamon roll…" Cynthia Rose crossed her arms with a smile as all the other Bellas all smiled at Emily, grateful that she came to them all those years ago. She was a bit awkward at first but her golden heart made up for it in the long run.
"…So…we're good?" Amy asked, grateful that Emily didn't hate her.
"We are but I want to say one last thing….." Emily said as Amy cocked an eyebrow.
"I never thought you hated me but it did bother me on how just abrasive you were to me this whole trip when even though you called me dumb that one time during rehearsals three years ago, you were nowhere near as catty to me like you were on this trip." Emily said as Amy sighed.
"Like I said….with my daddy issues….I decided to take it all out on you because you're the most level-headed one out of all of us." Amy said as Emily frowned at that admission before Amy continued.
"I treated you like a punching bag when in reality, you're the little sister I never had. Especially since my family looked down on me….I know I called you stupid and dumb this whole trip but the truth is…you're the smartest one out of all of us." Amy admitted with a smile as Emily blinked.
"H-huh?" Emily asked, looking to the other Bellas as their smiles at her were just affirmations of Amy's statement. She knew that none of the Bellas, except for Amy, thought she was intellectually challenged. At least until now when it seems like Amy thought of her as the smartest the most out of them.
"...I…uh….I mean I'm smart but…" Emily stammered as the Bellas all giggled at the youngest member. She was too modest.
"We mean it. You're able to adapt and find solutions out of anything. Heck, you managed to calm down Stacie's crying baby with a song you thought of on the spot while we just stood there like idiots. So yeah, I'm tough but it's because…I want you to do well and I know you can do well. Not just me, but all of us. We believe in you, Emily Junk." Amy smiled as Emily felt tears come to her eyes as everyone smiled their approval of Amy's statement.
She never doubted that the Bellas had her back but to this much of an extent? This was the reason why, despite how much she loved the Bellas that she had under her wing, she would always consider these Bellas number one in her book.
"Amy…I…" Emily smiled before Amy pulled her into a hug.
"Now don't start crying on us." Amy teased as Emily hugged the Austrailian tightly as she felt tears leave her eyes as the earlier tension had clearly dissipated into nothing…Almost as if it had never happened at all.
The other Bellas all smiled and cheered as Emily and Amy had made up.
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Cynthia Rose smirked.
"I agree! This is what the Bellas is all about, unconditional love and female friendship!" Chloe smiled before walking over to Emily and sweeping her in a hug.
Emily smiled as she held the ginger back. Chloe had always been her biggest supporter and it was always nice to receive hugs from her. After all, if it wasn't for Chloe, she wouldn't have even been in the Bellas in the first place.
"Heh, you know something? This reminds me of the end of our first year." Beca smirked.
"It sure does." Ashley agreed as Emily raised an eyebrow.
"What happened at the end of your first year?" Emily asked as the Bellas all smiled at Emily. She really was the young buck out of their group.
"Basically we went around apologizing to each other if we wronged them and tried making peace with them. And that's what we're gonna do here." Aubrey smiled as the Bellas all cheered at that idea.
Well, everyone except for Emily who blushed before frantically shaking her hands.
"Oh no, you guys don't have to do that!" Emily said though no one would hear it.
"Tough shit, cause we're doing it anyways." Beca spat, albeit good-naturedly as they all started their Emily session before Emily could get out two words in.
"Emily, I want to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything you've done for us. You've always worked hard and given it your all and if it wasn't for you, the Bellas wouldn't have even been reinstated. And how did we thank you? Ignoring your suggestions and not even bothering to be happier for you during one of the biggest moments in your Acapella career and we're sorry. And I'm sorry again for being so harsh to you after that Riff-Off incident all those years ago…I had assumed because you were the daughter of Katherine Junk that you could have handled that Riff Off with no problem and I should have realized you weren't all perfect." Chloe said as Beca was quick to attend onto Chloe's statement.
"Chloe's right. It was a dick move on our part and we were being selfish and we made you think we were gonna leave on this trip without you so we're sorry." Beca said seriously.
"…You guys…" Emily felt tears prick her eyes as the other Bellas decided to speak their pieces with Emily.
"Beca and Chloe are right. The new Bellas are Aca-Amazing under your leadership and we've always supported you since we graduated all except for when we reunited yet we couldn't even pay your words any mind during this trip and I even snapped at you when you said you weren't writing when I should've been more respectful of your wishes and I'm sorry." Aubrey apologized before smiling, "Especially since you seem to fear me the least out of the other Bellas" Aubrey snorted as everyone shared a good laugh, especially Emily.
"Well the most intimidating Bella will always be my mom." Emily giggled as everyone shared another laugh Aubrey smiled warmly at Emily.
"Yeah but I should have been more supportive because when I really think about it, you embody what it is to really be a Bella." Aubrey said as Emily looked at the older woman in surprise.
"….What it really means?" Emily asked as Aubrey nodded.
"Yes. Even back when we first met, the other Bellas had lost their sound….all except you who kept your head high with that never ending optimism and positivity." Aubrey said with everyone nodded their heads as Emily couldn't believe what she was hearing.
To think she was that valued in their eyes?
Although Emily didn't have much time to dwell on this as everyone else decided to speak to Emily.
"Yo, Em! We've always been there for you until recently when we reunited and we just shoved your ideas to the side when it was only cause of you we're still a thing so I'm sorry. Hopefully you can forgive us. You help keep the sanity and peace within our crazy ass group and we're all happy you joined." Cynthia Rose apologized as Emily smiled, remembering the special handshake Cynthia Rose had shown her all those years ago.
"Of course I can. Especially with the special handshake you showed me, remember?" Emily asked as Cynthia Rose snickered.
"Damn right." Cynthia Rose grinned as the two shared the official handshake of the Bellas as everyone smiled at the two.
"Now this is nice." Chloe smiled.
"Totally." Ashley and Jessica replied just as happily in unison.
As Emily continued listening to each Bella apologize to her, she felt her heart become lighter. She had definitely found the group of friends that she had been waiting her own life for. A group of friends that accepted her for her.
"When I was nine years old, my brother sold me for a chicken and I never got a chance to have a little sister before you came. I'm glad you came around and we had a hell of a good time together and I'm sorry for not being better on this tour to you. Especially since you're the only one of the Bellas who entertain my stories the most." Flo apologized as Emily and everyone else giggled at the ending of Flo's words. Emily definitely had a better tolerance for them than they did.
"Hehe, we definitely did." Emily giggled, remembering when she turned twenty one, Flo was quick to give Emily tequila, though this was mainly for her own amusement as she assumed Emily was a light-weight.
…How she was proven wrong….
"Hey Em!" The voice of Stacie said to Emily as she realized in Ashley's hands were her leftover phone.
"Oh Stacie…uh…" Emily blinked as Stacie smiled kindly to her.
"Em…before I met you, I was insecure in how tall and gangly I was…but then you came along and helped me realize that being a tall girl wasn't something to be ashamed of…and how did I thank you in the end? Not being supportive in one of the biggest moments of your life and I'm sorry." Stacie frowned as Emily smiled at Stacie.
"Of course I forgive you, fellow tall girl." Emily giggled as Stacie smiled, happy to have met someone like Emily Junk. At that, Ashley and Jessica decided to speak up.
"Em, you've always been the one to pay us the most attention yet we couldn't return the favor for you during this trip and we were too obsessed with winning to listen to you and we're sorry." Ashley frowned sadly as Jessica added onto her best friend's statement.
"Yeah you actually know where our room is and actually pay attention to us unlike the others." Jessica said as everyone else sans Emily looked sheepish and regretful.
"…We never realized you felt that way, Jess…Ash…" Chloe frowned before remembering her earlier comment about not even knowing why Jessica and Ashley were even there with them on the USO tour in the first place. That really was tactless and cold.
"Yeah…we're sorry we didn't pay you more attention." Beca added though team Jessley were quick to wave them off.
"It's fine…but we need to focus on Emily right now." Jessica said.
"Yeah I'm sorry too, Emily." Lilly surprisingly spoke up as everyone stared at the usual quiet girl wide-eyed with expressions full of shock.
"Wait, you can talk!?" Beca, Chloe, Emily and even Stacie on the phone, all exclaimed.
"Satan has finally left my body! Nice to meet you all, I'm Ester." Lilly or Ester greeted her friends as they all just blinked and stared at Lilly in stunned silence.
"T-thanks….I think?" Emily blinked as everyone was stumped on what to call to call her. For sake of convenience, they were just gonna stick with Lilly. They had done it for nearly seven years after all.
"Now do you see, Em. You're someone really valued to us. We appreciate everything that you've done with us." Chloe took Emily's hands in her own.
"Yeah…you're like our Flashlight…when we were all lost in the darkness, you helped lighten us up again." Beca smiled, slightly surprised by her own words.
Through the reassurance of all of her friends, Emily felt tears stream down her face despite her efforts.
"You guys…" Emily smiled through her tears as all the Bellas all hugged the girl they all collectively looked at as a little sister.
"We're sorry, we really are…" Aubrey smiled in the hug.
As Emily broke the hug, Beca decided to ask the question that was nagging her mind.
"Although how long have you been feeling like this Em?" Beca asked as Emily sighed before looking away.
"…Ever since we reunited all those weeks ago when I was wondering if I was actually 'in'." Emily sighed as everyone immediately felt bad for how they handled that situation as Beca just stared at her like she had decided to strip in front of her.
"Em…why didn't you tell us this if this started from such a while ago? We could've prevented what happened this morning." Beca asked, with some heat in her voice as Emily sighed.
"Because…..I was afraid I would have caused some tension…and I don't like causing any tension….and besides…it's not like I probably would have been listened to if it wasn't about winning…" Emily admitted as everyone's feeling of regret were slowly coming back.
"We're sorry Emily that we made you feel that way and we're sorry we made you think we were just gonna up and leave without you." Aubrey said.
"It's just that you're in charge of your own Bellas so it's not like you could just have a bunch of free time of your hands like the rest of us and we were just unsure if you could make the tour with us. Not to mention you still have college and we don't want you failing out of college just to be with us. You're our baby sister and as your older sisters, it's our job to look out for you and make sure you turn out better than us." Chloe smiled warmly at Emily as she felt like face-palming.
"Of course…how could I be so stupid? You guys have always been there for me so I should've never assumed you would just leave me behind just because of spite…..it's just…" Emily looked down.
"But what?" Stacie asked through her Facetime App on her phone as she wouldn't let Emily drop this along with the other Bellas.
"I understand where you guys are coming from but I will always consider myself a part of you guys. Don't get me wrong, it's nice being in charge and having my own batch of Aca-Sisters to look after and I love all those girls to death but you all will always come number one to me. It's because of you all that I'm ever where I am today." Emily admitted from the bottom of her heart as all Bellas, even Stacie over the phone, was silent.
"…We had no idea we were that valued to you in your eyes…." Amy frowned as Emily sighed.
"Of course you are…Before you all, I didn't have many friends…I either had people who would try to get close to me because of my mother's 'celebrity' status or people would make fun of me because of my 'giraffe legs'. You all were the first people to ever accept and show me genuine kindness so in my mind when it seemed like you all didn't care for my performance or were gonna leave me behind, it really hurt me…." Emily admitted as the other Bellas were speechless before looking at each other before Emily sadly.
"Emily…we're sorry again…but please…please let us try to make it up to you with whatever we have left of our tour…" Chloe said as Emily smiled, relieved that all bad air between her and her friends that was caused this morning was finally evaporated.
"I would like that." Emily beamed as Beca looked at each of the Bellas as they processed Emily's words.
"In a way, it's kind of like the rest of us. We were all basically outcasts…before we found ourselves and each other in this group. We've all supported each other forever and let's support each other tonight! Only this time, let's focus on what Emily said and just enjoying this tour for what it is." Beca smiled.
"After all, the smartest one of us knows what she's saying." Amy beamed at Emily as Emily was silent.
"What do you say, Em?" Stacie asked as Emily suddenly smiled again.
"Who feels like a winner now!?" Emily grinned as everyone shared a hearty good laugh with the youngest and purest of their Bella group.
"Now group hug with our little flashlight!" Amy grinned as all the Bellas hugged their youngest member.
It was right then and there that Emily was definitely filled with a feeling of reassurance. Sure her Aca-Family was a bit dysfunctional and sure they weren't perfect but they were still her sisters who had always supported and looked out for her and they would always look out for her and be there for her whenever she would need it.
As Emily and her sisters broke their hug and sung an amazing song of freedom the following night time, Emily's heart felt lighter as life continued on with her Bellas winning whatever competitions they had along with her finally graduating Barden University.
And through it all, her sisters were there, supporting and guiding her through it all as they had always then.
After all, like her mother promised her years ago, her days with the Barden Bellas would definitely be the best days of her life.
And Katherine Junk was right, Emily's days as a Barden Bella would be days that she would never ever forget, no matter how much time passed.
They were days that forever stayed with her even as she passed away from old age and reunited with her best friends in the afterlife continuing to be the best Acapella group from this life to the next.
After all, she was the Flashlight of the Barden Bellas.
Don't you all just love happy endings!? ^_^
Yeah sure the topic of the story was a bit angsty but if you all know me, you all know that I always love to end stories on a high note! ^_^
Now I want to be clear, this is NOT meant to be a bashing fic as those fics are just wrong in nature but rather just a call out in character's BS sort of fic.
I LOVE Fat Amy but she was AWFUL in Pitch Perfect 3.
And I LOVE the Bellas and I know they're all flawed weirdos but I wish they could've been happier and heeded Emily's words a bit more. Yeah I know they've always been like that but still! XD
Once again no bashing! XD
Like I know they all care about Emily even if they're all crazy. After all she's their (unofficial) little sister! XD
Hopefully goth-albino-angel loves this fic! ^_^
I have other Pitch Perfect fanfictions planned that are of lighter-hearted quality and if you all want I can write more Pitch Perfect fanfictions! BUT that's only up to you guys!
Please let me know your thoughts and see you all in the next fanfiction I write! ^_^
