Hiya guys! Welcome to my fourth fanfic!

So I'd like to take a second to say happy belated birthday to blossom2012! This is a birthday gift and a 'thank you' gift I decided to write to say thanks and happy birthday (even though I'm a tad late! I'm really sorry about that!) and thank you for helping me out by reading my story Stained Glass. I appreciate it!

So this one's got a little Alvittany and Simonette, but mostly it's a story centered around Theonor. (I'm a huge Theonor fan!)

**Important: Keep in mind this is cartoon-verse and takes place around the early 1990's. They're all about 13.

I hope you all like it! :)

-Blythe

Saturday:

The roaring adulation of the audience was still at its loudest even a few minutes after the Chipettes exited the stage. As the stage lights began to dim, so did the volume of the room. After two hours of performing on their feet, the three girls were as exhausted as can be, each of them kicking off their shoes as soon as they stepped out of the spotlights. It had been a successful evening and a satisfactory performance, but they could barely wait to sneak backstage and change into their housecoats.

The girls had just done several numbers by the Supremes that Jeanette suggested weeks earlier combined with Brittany's signature choreography and costumes by Eleanor's own creation - they were a self-made show of their own. Of course, it took them over a month's worth of planning to decide to have a concert. They were still getting used to the idea that they were going to represent themselves without the aid of the chipmunks or Dave Seville. Also, they had to take several months off of performing because of their hectic school schedules. They sure were much busier than other twelve year-old girls!

Two Chipmunks were there waiting for them outside their rooms after the girls changed out of their costumes, outstretching their arms to congratulate their friends on their outstanding stage presences.

"You girls were amazing!" praised Theodore, embracing Eleanor.

"I agree!" concurred Simon, "You girls sure do put on an excellent show! It was hard to look away!"

"Thank you! W-we wanted to try something a bit more old school - something to bring the audience that would enlighten them on the excitement of music from a past generation." Responded Jeanette, taking down her hair.

"Well it was certainly a smart move! I think you girls are going to have plenty of audience members next time you all decide to do a concert," said Simon.

"Y-yeah! You'll have to invite us again for sure!" Theodore chimed in.

The four of them continued to speak about what would be a good idea for the next concert until Eleanor noticed that Brittany was silent. It wasn't like Brittany to keep her ideas and opinions to herself - she was the most outspoken one of the three. Eleanor went and stood by Brittany's side.

"What's wrong, Brittany? Is something wrong?"

"No," sighed Brittany. She leaned against her makeup desk and brushed her hair, peering into her vanity mirror, "it's just that...I miss Alvin, that's all."

"Oh. W-well he should be back really soon! I'm sure the interview is over by now!"

Brittany sighed.

Alvin had been asked to come in for an interview for a talent agency in order to break into the film business. Since it was scheduled for the same day of the concert, he expressed his apologies in advance for missing their performance. Of course, Brittany was not happy with him. The two had a heated dispute on what was more important: the Chipettes' concert, or his talent agency appointment. And as usual, Alvin chose the interview over the concert. The two hadn't spoken since then.

"Really, Brittany! Maybe he'll come by to say congratulations...o-or maybe he'll even repay you somehow for missing!"

"He's not going to come visit us... he's doing more important things, remember? Like that oh-so important interview!"

"Now that's not fair, Brittany! You know he wanted to be here-"

"I can't believe he just decided he wasn't coming! After all the times we came to their shows and-" Brittany began to weep.

"Brittany, you knew how important this was for him!" Interjected Eleanor, "I'm sure he feels really bad about missing our concert, but he scheduled the interview months before we even decided to have this concert!"

"Well he could've told us his interview was tonight!"

Brittany was now crying, putting her hands up to her face to catch her tears.

"Brittany," said Eleanor calmly, "Brittany, listen to me. I don't want you to think Alvin doesn't care about you because he couldn't make it to our concert. It was really something he couldn't control!"

Brittany cried even harder, drying her tears with the sleeve of her shirt as Eleanor wrapped her arms around Brittany's shoulders, comforting her while she sobbed. Even though Brittany seemed like the toughest Chipette, she was actually the most sensitive of them all. It didn't take much to make Brittany feel hurt or let down - especially when Alvin provoked it.

"But we worked so hard on it! He could've at least warned us sooner than he wasn't coming! He even missed our tech rehearsal last week to go film that stupid commercial!" Blubbered Brittany.

Theodore peered through the doorway, watching somberly as the eldest chipmunk wept.

"He probably won't even mention it tomorrow at school. He doesn't even care...!"

"Now that's not true, Brittany!" Said Eleanor sternly, "you know he does! He cares a lot about you! Just give him a chance to-"

Brittany was now in fits. Eleanor sighed.

"Brittany, why don't you just think about what a successful night we had instead of outlining the downsides? On the bright side, everything happened the way we'd planned it to! A-and we even got a standing ovation! Isn't that great?"

The pink-clad Chipette was silent, sniffing back tears as they crowded her eyes. She nodded slightly, "m-mhm..."

"And don't even get me started on that dancing of yours, Brittany!" Praised Eleanor, "I'm so amazed at what a stage presence you have! And your voice doesn't even waver while you're dancing! It's fantastic! You should be very proud of yourself after tonight, Brit!"

Theodore smiled at his female counterpart as she lifted her sister's spirits; it was always like Eleanor to be a cheerleader for the rest of her sisters when they were discouraged. Eleanor was always so thoughtful, so caring and considerate. She was always building everyone up. Like the time Jeanette got a B+ on her book report and was disappointed in herself, Eleanor spent her entire lunch time telling her older sister how much her writing was awe-inspiring and how gifted Jeanette was and how getting a B+ wasn't bad at all. She'd even missed out on actually eating her own lunch to cheer up Jeanette. And knowing Eleanor, she seldom skipped out on eating her lunch for anything!

Sometimes Eleanor even would take time to try cheering up random strangers she didn't know - it was just who she was! She was Eleanor Miller: the girl who put other people before herself no matter what the situation.

"Y-you really think so, Ellie?" sniveled Brittany.

"I know so. I wouldn't be surprised if Alvin came rushing through that door right now, frantically apologizing for-"

"SORRY I'M LATE!" Yelled a familiar voice, rapidly approaching the dressing rooms.

Theodore turned to the source of the outburst - it was his eldest brother rushing down the hall toward them, a few bouquets of flowers in his arms.
"Alvin!" Everyone exclaimed in tandem. He stopped before them and caught his breath.

"You girls were amazing! I watched the whole show! Unfortunately, I was in the very back of the concert hall and was stopped by a few fans on my way here, but I just wanted to give you girls these!"

Alvin gave Jeanette a bouquet of six freshly cut blue roses bound together with a purple ribbon. Jeanette was elated.

"Oh, they're beautiful! Thank you, Alvin!"

Eleanor went to the doorway toward the hall and was handed a bouquet of six yellow roses bound with a green ribbon.

"For you, Eleanor!" He said.

"Thank you so much! How nice!" She chirped, delighted at the assortment before her.

Alvin then moved into Brittany's dressing room, holding her flowers behind his back.

"H-hey there, Brittany..." He said slowly, noticing that she'd just been crying. He carefully stepped in toward her, "Listen... I just wanted to apologize for last week... and just say that I... I really enjoyed the show! I cut the interview short and ran over here as fast as I could. You were fantastic, Brit! I'm sure glad I didn't miss-"

Before he could finish, Brittany ran over to him and clobbered him with a tight embrace.

"Oh, Alvin! You came to the show!"

"U-uh huh! Of course! I know how much it meant to you, s-so..." He revealed the bouquet of flowers from behind his back, "...I wanted you...to have these. You were truly fantastic tonight...!"

Brittany gasped, gazing in wonder of the magnificent assortment before her; a dozen freshly cut pink and red roses with baby's breath lining bound together with a white ribbon. Every petal on each of the roses was untouched and perfect. Brittany's eyes were sparkling.

"Alvin...they're beautiful!" She said breathlessly, taking them from him carefully, "H-how did you...?"

"The commercial I filmed last week provided me with enough money to get these for you... D-do you like them, Brittany?"

"Do I like them?! I love them! I don't know what to say!"

Alvin looked at the ground bashfully, "Good. I'd hoped you'd like them..."

Without warning, Brittany leaned over and kissed Alvin sweetly on the cheek, causing his face to turn as red as Brittany's rose bouquet. The four younger Chipmunks and Chipettes cooed their 'aw's' as Alvin tried to maintain his composure without letting them see his sheepishness.

Eleanor snuck up behind Brittany while she marvelled at her glorious bunch of roses.

"I told you he cares!"

Monday:

It was 7:30am and the Miller girls were leaving their house for school. It was no earlier or later than their usual time of departure, but this morning was certainly quieter than others; Brittany was excessively chatting about her morning and her schedule, and Alvin, as usual... but among her oldest sister's incessant chatter, Eleanor began to notice a different kind of silence. Jeanette hadn't spoken a word since they'd gone to bed the night before. During breakfast, she barely touched her oatmeal, and last night, Eleanor never saw her once take out a book to read as she usually does. If anyone knew Jeanette like Eleanor did and knew her daily routine, there was something definitely wrong with how she was acting.

Eleanor halted Brittany's speech about her new hairspray and slowed down her walking pace. She walked beside Jeanette, carefully reaching up and wrapping her arm around her shoulders.

"Jeanette, what's wrong?" Inquired Eleanor, "You haven't been acting like yourself recently... is something wrong? You look sad!"

Jeanette cast her gaze downward to silently watching each sidewalk crack pass under her feet. Eleanor persevered.

"Really, Jeanette...you can tell me! Whatever it is, I'm sure we can help you..."

"Yeah!" Chimed Brittany, who just noticed Jeanette's unusual behavior.

"I-it's nothing, really..." mumbled Jeanette, not looking up from the ground.

"Well something's obviously wrong! You went to sleep extra early last night... and you barely ate your breakfast this morning! Something's definitely up." Pressed Eleanor, "Really Jeanette... what's bothering you?"

Jeanette's face was flushed. She fiddled with her fingers and sighed, shaking her head.

"I-it's just that... Simon was supposed to send invites to the Young Engineers' Formal last week and I really want to attend... but I didn't receive an invitation. I-i don't know if he forgot about me o-or if he just doesn't feel comfortable with me attending it, but I was really looking forward to it and now I can't go unless I receive an invite."

"Have you told him you wanted to go to the convention? Maybe he misplaced your invitation!" Reassured Eleanor, "You know Simon! Why would he forget about you? You're his best friend!"

"That's why I'm upset!" whimpered Jeanette, "N-now I don't know if I can face him today! I even considered missing school today!"

The other two Chipettes gasped. Never had Jeanette wanted to miss school in her life. It went completely against Jeanette's character to want to ruin her perfect attendance record!"

"Have you spoken to Simon about this, Jeanette?" asked Eleanor.

"N-no...a-and I don't think I'm going to."

"Why not? If it's bothering you, you should tell him!"

Jeanette was silent, adjusting her backpack as they passed the boys' house. She looked over at the front door, hoping that it wouldn't open. She began to walk faster in hopes of dropping the subject.

"I don't want him to think that I'm being desperate or needy o-or something... Besides, he has a right not to invite me if he chooses to. I'm not going to fuss if he doesn't."

"But Jeanette, you're missing the point!" said Eleanor, "You wanna go to that formal, don't you?"

"Well...y-yes..."

"And you're confused as to why your best friend invited the rest of the honor society but didn't invite you it, right?"

"Right...?"

"So...? What are you going to do about it? You're just going to let it flow? You're going to let him send out those invites to everyone else and you're not even going to question why he didn't give one to you?"

"It's...I just..." stuttered Jeanette, begin to regret she even mentioned it.

"Well I think you should tell him. You never know! Maybe he has your invite and wants to give it to you himself! Or maybe he wants you to be his date! Maybe he's just being shy!" suggested Eleanor.

"Yeah!" agreed Brittany, "Ellie's right! Maybe he's waiting for the right time to ask you to be his date!"

Jeanette smiled at the thought of being Simon's date. The word 'date' seemed to be avoided at all costs with the two of them; they'd always call it a 'mutual agreement'. Saying 'date' made it sound like their relationship was something more than what it was.

There was a distant sound of a door closing in the distance. Following it was the sound of footsteps drawing nearer.

"Hey, girls! Wait up!" Yelled Alvin.

Jeanette sighed, moving faster to avoid being caught with Simon. The last thing she wanted him to to see was how uncomfortable she was feeling; it was best not to bring up the subject. She found a rock on the sidewalk and began kicking it to distract herself. Simon caught up to her from the back of the group, immediately joining her by her side.

"Hey, Jeanette!" Simon greeted. As he looked closer at Jeanette, he realized she was acting a bit differently than usual. She looked distraught.

"Jeanette? What's the matter? You look sad."

The purple-clad chipette remained silent, silently kicking the pebble on the ground.

"Jeanette...? Are you mad about something?"

After a few minutes of trying to get her to speak, Simon sighed, giving up. It was never like Jeanette to be ignoring him like this; she was always alert and prepared for whatever he wanted to say to her. But today, it was like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. As they neared the school, Jeanette thought about what Eleanor said.

'If it's bothering you, you should tell him!'

Jeanette was never the type who got bothered by situations like these, but this time, Simon had a right to know that what she was feeling right now was disappointment. The fact that her best friend had forgotten about her made her feel like it was personal - she wanted to know why he decided against inviting her to the formal. Was it because he was more interested in pursuing a career in science than she was? Was she too hard to be seen with in public? Had he grown tired of hanging out with her? Eleanor was right: it was bothering her, so she should let him know. When the six entered the school, Jeanette turned to Simon and pulled him aside.

"H-hey Simon?" Jeanette began apprehensively, "There's something...that's been bothering me..."

"I figured... well what is it?" He asked, relieved that she was finally speaking.

"Well... it's about the Young Engineer's Formal this week..."

Simon cheeks seemed to be turning a slight pink as she continued.

"I was...just wondering... Why wasn't I invited to go? I-i mean, I'm not trying to sound like I was expected to be invited-! It's just that...I know you were the one responsible for handing out the invitations and you invited the rest of the honor society, but not me... s-so I was just curious...as to why...?"

There was silence between them as kids began to fill the hallways to prepare for their 8am classes. Simon stared down at his feet, suddenly becoming diffident and flustered.

"U-um... well actually, Jeanette..." he fidgeted nervously, "I'm glad you told me! I was under the impression that you didn't want to go!"

"Oh! R-really?"

"Yeah! B-but... there's a reason why I didn't send one out for you..." He reached into his backpack and pulled out a blue envelope with an old-fashioned wax seal, handing it to her, "I wanted to give it to you personally because...well... I-i was going to ask you if you wanted to be...m-my date?"

Jeanette immediately lit up, her frown immediately blooming into a bright smile, "R-really? Oh, I'd love to, Simon!"

"You will? Great!" He said, his entire body seeming to loosen up, "I didn't know you liked formals! I was planning to ask you earlier, but I'm ashamed to admit that I'd lost my nerve!"

"That's okay, Simon! At least one of us brought it up!" She laughed. As she walked with Simon to their first class, she felt like several weights had been lifted off of her shoulders. It was a relief to know that she was strong enough to say what was on her mind, but she definitely wouldn't have done it without her younger sister's encouragement and advice.

Thank you, Ellie, she thought.

Wednesday:

It wasn't even a week after their concert when the three girls decided to plan for another one a month later. The only difference this one was going to have from their last one was that they wanted to be joined this time around by none other than their male counterparts, the Chipmunks! It had been a while since the six of them did a concert together and Dave had suspended their concerts until they were adjusted to the school year. (Naturally, Alvin was not in favor of that.)

"Okay, so what's our theme this time around?" asked Brittany, leaning on her kitchen counter, "what songs should we plan on doing?"

"Are we doing more Rock and Roll originals? The crowd loves those!" Suggested Jeanette, writing down suggestions on her lined notebook paper.

"Is that really a good idea to do again?" said Simon, "It seems like we always do Rock and Roll classics... Maybe we should go back into the musical era of the 1950's!"

Jeanette wrote that down, then began clicking her pen as she thought, "Hmmm... what songs in particular from the 1950's, Simon?"

"Well, was thinking-"

"Would you guys keep it down? I'm trying to watch some TV over here!" yelled Alvin, turning up the volume of the TV in the living room, "The game's almost on!"

Brittany leapt from her seat and snatched the remote away from Alvin, "No way you're watching the game! Celebrity Scoop is almost on! Don't you know what that means? It means we might be featured on there tonight!"

Alvin scoffed, "Yeah right. If they wanted to put you on Celebrity Scoop, they would've already featured you earlier this week!"

"Well, of course it takes a few days for them to put it on TV, Alvin!"

"That's not true!"

The two began tugging on the remote, pulling it back and forth between themselves and changing the channel with every pull.

"Yes, it is!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Y-you guys! Look!" Interjected Theodore, pointing to the TV screen.

"This week on Celebrity Scoop, we're interviewing the audience of the latest concert performed by Los Angeles's own little sweetheart singing sensations, the Chipettes!" announced the TV host.

Everyone flooded to the living room, immediately taking a seat directly in front of the screen.

"Brittany! You're in my way!" complained Alvin.

"Shhhh! I'm on TV!" she replied, turning the volume of the TV up unnaturally loud.

"Last Saturday night, a few reporters from our crew went into the crowd after a Chipette concert and asked around about their favorite parts of the performance! Let's see what they said!"

The camera focus cut to the concert hall as it was filming the finale of the Chipettes' concert. The clamors of the crowd seemed to swallow up any chance of hearing the music, but it could vaguely see the outlined figures of the Chipettes on the stage through the bright stage lights.

"Look! It's us!" Exclaimed Eleanor. The whole room was silent as each of the six watched eagerly. The camera was now capturing the Celebrity Scoop field reporter, a tall, blonde, skinny man wearing a purple button-down and holding a bulky camera mic.

"I'm travelling the concert hall space in search of Chipette fans who care to share their favorite part of the Chipette concerts! Let's see what we find, shall we?"

The cameraman and the field reporter travelled through the dispersing audience: members and found a couple of people willing to share their favorite part of the Chipette concert:

"I loved the choreography! It's so well done and fun to watch!"

"I liked the dancing! It makes you want to get up there and dance with them!"

"I think the music choices were awesome! I always like it when the Chipettes choose songs that I remember hearing as a kid!"

"The songs were well-sung and exciting! They look like they're having so much fun on the stage!"

"The costumes were beautiful! I especially liked Jeanette's costume!"

"I liked the costumes! They all seemed to fit the girls' personalities!"

The three girls were on cloud nine! They'd always gotten praise from people backstage and from friends and family, but when it came to finding what the audience enjoyed the most, they never really knew! It was safe to say that the girls hadn't really had the chance to get to know their audience, so hearing the compliments they were getting over the TV was a huge confidence booster.
Everything was going swell until the field reporter began asking the audience members who their favorite Chipette was.

"Oh that's easy! I like Brittany! She's so talented!"
"I like Jeanette! She's so shy and soft-spoken, but whenever she gets a solo, she knocks it outta the park!"
"My favorite's Brittany!"
"Jeanette! She seems like she'd be nice in person!"
"Brittany!"
"Brittany! She's so cool!"
"Jeanette's my favorite. She's like that great friend you have at one part of your life!"
"Brittany's totally hot. And she's also a great singer!"
"I LOVE YOU BRITTANY!"
"Brittany! I wanna be her!"
"I wish I knew Jeanette! She seems like she's really nice in person!"
"MARRY ME, BRITTANY!"
"Jeanette, I love you!"
"I like them all! Brittany and Jeanette!"
"Jeanette is so pretty! And I hear she's really smart, too!"
"Jeanette's voice is so pretty!"
"Brittany! I'm her biggest fan!"

After several more fan comments, Eleanor began to notice something: she wasn't hearing anybody saying her name at all. All they seemed to care about was Brittany and Jeanette. Theodore noticed it too while the others were hypnotized by the screen. He looked over at his female counterpart and noticed how dejected she looked as she stared down at the carpet. The list of admirers continued, but not a single one of them said her name. It was like nobody even knew she existed! ...Or cared, for that matter.

"Um, Eleanor?" Whispered Theodore, "A-are you okay?"

She didn't respond for a moment as she tugged at carpet fuzz under her feet. She turned her head and nodded, her eyes turning a vibrant mahogany color as they filled with tears. Eleanor was never one to lie to Theodore, nor was she the type to get upset over not being the favorite.

Something was definitely wrong.

The long list of spectator compliments continued until Eleanor had finally had enough. She picked herself up from her place on the ground and quickly disappeared into the kitchen, tears overflowing from her eyes and spilling in little rivulets down her cheeks. Theodore immediately followed her and stood in the doorway as his best friend sat at the kitchen table, burying her head in her arms and beginning to weep.

"Why don't they like me, Theodore?" She cried into her hands, "I-is it because I'm not pretty like Brittany? O-or sweet like Jeanette?"

"Oh, Ellie!" said Theodore, rushing to her side and sitting with her by the kitchen table, "Don't say that! You are very pretty! A-and you're sweeter than anyone I know!"
She sniffled, taking a few shaky breaths and looking up from her hands, "R-really?"
"Of course!" He put his arm around her and pulled her close, "Don't listen to those people! Their opinions don't matter!"
"Then why didn't at least one person mention me? It's like they all forgot I exist! They always do!"

She immediately began to burst into tears, crying harder than before. Theodore pulled her closer and let her cry into his shirt.
"Ellie, some people just don't see how special you are. It's nothing you did, really! I'll bet you have plenty of fans!"

Eleanor was now taking in short, stifled breaths. Theodore began to get worried about her; she never acted this broken up about anything! Eleanor was always strong even when everyone else wasn't. She was the beacon of light in the darkest situations. She was inventive, selfless, calm and collected, and took care of anyone who needed her like a mother would for her child.
But who would hold her and take care of her when she needed to be held and cared for herself?
The answer was immediate for Theodore: he would take care of her. He wanted to.

"Listen, Ellie," murmured Theodore softly, "you are very special. You shouldn't want to be like you sisters!"
"And why not?" Sniveled Eleanor, "our fans obviously like them more and always have! What am I doing wrong?"
"Nothing! They just don't see what I see-"
"You're supposed to say that, Theodore!" She cried, pulling away from him, "you're my friend! Of course you'd say that!"
Theodore hardly recognized this new Eleanor. It bewildered him to see her beat up on herself - it was out of character. He tried to move closer to her.
"B-but Ellie!"
She moved away from him, balling her hands into frustrated fists, "I just don't wanna do this anymore, Teddy!" She cried, "I'm sick of being the forgettable Chipette; the chubby one; the expendable one!"
"Ellie-"
"Maybe I should just quit the group!" she said, wiping the remaining tears away. She pushed away from the table and stood up, taking her breathing gradually returning to normal.
"no one would miss me anyway!"
With that, Eleanor grabbed her coat and exited the kitchen through the back door. Theodore leapt from his seat and chased after her as she ran home.
"Eleanor, please wait!" He begged. He shuffled through the grass after her.
"Just leave me alone, Theodore!" she yelled back, disappearing into the shadows of the trees.

Theodore stood there in the darkness, hearing the sound of the Miller house back door slamming shut. He could hardly believe that Eleanor, his best friend had just told him to leave her alone. He would expect that from Brittany, Alvin, or Simon...but Eleanor? Never in a hundred years! Had he done something wrong by telling her that she was special when she believed she wasn't?

Theodore had to do something for her. This wasn't going to go away if he sat back and let herself believe she didn't belong! He couldn't let her quit being a Chipette!
Something had to be done... and fast.

Thanks for reading! I'll be posting the second part very soon!

So what will Theodore do? Will Ellie actually quit?

Stick around till next time!

Reviews are helpful and greatly appreciated!

-Blythe