CAN WE TALK?

A/N: This story picks up from the end of Ted's Teepee, in which Theodore and Eleanor are hanging out in the Chipmunks' teepee that they always played in when they were younger. Special thanks goes to the story's author, LoaTurtle00. And FYI, I own noth-ing.

"Because I have a brother, I'll always have a friend."

—ANONYMOUS

Wind. That was the first thing Theodore Seville heard as he awoke from a sound sleep. He looked at the digital alarm clock on his nightstand, and saw that it was 1:47 a.m. Normally, the young Chipmunk seldom had trouble sleeping, and he wasn't what you would consider a night owl. The only times that he actually couldn't sleep were when he was sick, worried, or just had a lot on his mind—which, tonight, he sure did: school, rehearsals for the upcoming summer tour, finals, and soccer, among other things. But more than anything else, the one thing that he couldn't stop thinking about was Eleanor.

Eleanor.

Ellie, for short; or, as he once nicknamed her, Ellie-Belle.

Theodore (or Theo, for short) and his brothers Alvin and Simon had known the Chipettes—Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor—practically forever. They were so much fun to be with, they could sing, dance, and blow people's minds like nobody's business, and at their first performance, they definitely gave the Chipmunks a run for their mon-ey. But what was really amazing was how much each Chipmunk had in common with their Chipette counterpart. Alvin and Brittany, for starters. They both loved being the center of attention, and more often than not, they would butt heads over almost everything, but they still liked each other for the most part. Theo often suspected that they liked each other as more than just friends, but neither of them would admit it. Either way, in his book, they were a perfect match.

Simon and Jeanette were what most kids their age would call nerds. They both wore glasses, they were both older, taller and skinnier than the others, and they were both exceptionally smart. They also felt like the voices of reason in their respective groups, and that it was their job to watch out for them and make sure they didn't get in too much trouble. The only difference between them was that Jeanette didn't have Si-mon's sarcastic sense of humor.

Theo and Ellie were unquestionably two peas in a pod: both younger and shorter than their siblings, both amateur cooks, and both on the school soccer team. Theo especially enjoyed playing soccer, and thanks to Ellie's encouragement, he was getting pretty good at it, too. He'd always been on the chubby side, and the other kids taunted him mercilessly over it, which is why he tried out for the team in the first place. He was determined to get in shape, and if this was how he was going to pull it off, so be it. Besides his brothers, the only one who ever went out of their way to stick up for him was Ellie. Sure, she was a total sweetheart, but if anyone got her upset, she'd rip them to shreds. Even Brittany knew better than to get on her bad side. Of all the Chipettes, he enjoyed her company most of all.

In fact, one could even say that he loved Ellie.

And that was a large part of the reason why he couldn't get back to sleep.

With a sigh, he slid out of bed and pulled on his favorite olive-green T-shirt. Un-til recently, he'd always slept in regular pajamas. But now that he was starting to lose some weight, not to mention the fact that he was almost 10, he decided they were too babyish, so he switched to T-shirts and boxers. Even in the coldest weather, that's what he wore to bed. He then crept to the bedroom door—being careful not to wake his snoring brothers—and quietly slipped downstairs to the kitchen.

The moonlight was shining through the curtains in the window over the sink, so Theo didn't have to turn on the light. Glass in hand, he opened the refrigerator and saw the pitcher of homemade almond milk that Ellie had brought them. She always cooked from scratch, and for the milk, she'd used fresh almonds, water, honey, and pears. Theo didn't think he'd like it at first, but she'd convinced him to try some. And needless to say, he loved it.

He was just now closing the refrigerator when he heard a voice whisper, "Theo?"

He turned, and coming into the kitchen, in red plaid pajama pants, was Alvin.

"Oh, hi, Alvin," Theo said. "I didn't hear you come down."

"Yeah, that new carpeting on the stairs sure works wonders, doesn't it?" Alvin commented. "You could tap-dance your way down here and Dave wouldn't hear a thing."

"Just as long as you don't trip and break your neck."

"Point taken. So, what are you doing up?"

"I couldn't get back to sleep, so I thought I'd come down and get something to drink," Theo answered as he poured himself a glass of milk. "Want some?"

Alvin looked at his brother as if he'd just offered him a plate of raw squid. "Are you kidding?" he asked incredulously. "Drink that nasty sludge that you call milk? Yecch!"

"It's not that bad, is it?"

"No offense, but I prefer the real moo juice myself. Preferably chocolate."

"Okay, but you don't know what you're missing."

Alvin shook his head and sat down at the table as Theo put the milk back. He had no problem with trying new things, but the idea of drinking milk that wasn't store-bought didn't really appeal to him.

"So what's up?" Alvin asked as Theo joined him at the table.

Theo took a sip of milk. "Not much," he said. "Just a lot on my mind."

"Like what?"

"Well—like Eleanor."

Alvin couldn't help feeling amused, and also slightly triumphant. All through dinner yesterday, he'd had a gut-feeling that the two of them were doing just a little more than talking and hanging out. If Dave hadn't told him to lay off, who knows how much more razzing he would've subjected them to.

"I see," he grinned slyly as he rubbed his chin. "This is turning out to be quite an interesting conversation."

"You're not gonna start that 'protection' crap again, are you?" Theo suspiciously inquired. He didn't mind Alvin's jokes, and he could take it just as much as the next guy. But sometimes, Alvin had a tendency to be a little too mean-spirited or raunchy, especially when he made Theo the butt of the joke. And he certainly didn't app-reciate the way he targeted Brittany.

"Oh, no, of course not," Alvin told him. "I think it's great that you and Ellie are such good buddies and get along so well."

"So why were you making fun of us at dinner?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just messing around."

"Well—okay," Theo agreed. Alvin could be a schmuck sometimes, but he still looked up to him. "But, uh—if I were to tell you something, could it stay just between us?"

"Sure."

Theo cleared his throat a couple times before continuing, which wasn't unusual for him. Every time he had to talk about something personal, his throat would dry up like sandpaper. It was then that he wished he was drinking water instead.

"Well, it's like this," he began. "Yesterday, when you and Brittany were playing video games, and Simon and Jeanette were working in the basement, Ellie and I were upstairs in the teepee, talking about how we sometimes feel left out of whatever you guys are doing and stuff like that."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Anyway, I showed her this journal of mine that I keep in there. It's got drawings, poetry, ideas for song lyrics, and I even use it to write about all of you. And yes, it's all good things."

"Glad to hear it. For a minute there, I was afraid you'd written about the time somebody let 'er rip in the teepee and we had to air out the whole room for the next two days."

"No, it's not in there. And just for the record, it was not me."

"Uh-huh."

"So anyway, I let Ellie read some of the stuff I'd written. And that's when she found out how I felt about her."

For a moment, Alvin was silent. It was extremely rare that Alvin Seville, the wisecracking jokester of the group who couldn't keep his trap shut if his life depended on it, was at a loss for words. And here he was, sitting at the table with his kid brother, his mouth agape and his wide-open cerulean blue eyes filled with shock and awe. It was as if Theo had just told him that the moon really was made of cheese.

"What'd she say?" he asked, once he found his voice.

Theo put his elbows on the table and rested his chin in both hands with a pleas-ed sigh. "She was so happy, Alvin," he smiled dreamily. "She said she loved me, too. And then—then she kissed me."

"Whoa!" Alvin exclaimed. To say that he was impressed was a huge understate-ment. "That's my little bro! You know, I thought you two were getting a little, uh—what's the word?—cozy at dinner. Way. To. Go." And he gave him an affectionate shoulder-punch.

"Alvin," Theo said warningly.

"Theo," Alvin mocked, then the two burst into muffled giggles. In retrospect, it was a wonder they didn't wake Simon or Dave.

"But seriously, though," Alvin continued as they calmed down, "I really do think it's cool that she kissed you."

"Thanks," Theo said gratefully. "It was pretty cool. You know, I was just think-ing about the time you and Brittany kissed."

"Oh, no, not that," Alvin groaned, smacking his forehead. If there was one mo-ment he wished he could forget, that was definitely the one. "Boy, you try to give your brother some pointers on impressing the girls, and look what it gets you! If that ever gets out, I'll never hear the end of it!"

"Oh, come on, Alvin," Theo laughed. "It wasn't that terrible. In fact, I thought that was the coolest thing I ever saw, even if it was by accident."

"You—you did?" Alvin asked in surprise. For the second time, Theo had caught him off-guard.

"Well, yeah! Ever since then, I've been wanting to kiss Ellie more than anything else in the world."

Alvin took a quick glance at the kitchen entryway to make sure no one was com-ing downstairs, then whispered, "Did you?"

A proud, brash grin slowly spread across Theo's face. And that was all it took for Alvin to realize that the answer was yes.

"Wow," Alvin murmured. "That's, uh—that's just—wow!"

"Yeah, I know."

"Wow!"

"You can stop saying 'wow'," Theo pointed out as he finished his milk.

"Oh. Right. So, uh—that's how it all went down, huh?"

"Yup," Theo answered, smiling away like the cat that just ate the canary. "It was amazing."

Alvin put his arm around Theo. "I'm really happy for you," he said solemnly as he gave him a hug.

"Thanks, Alvin," Theo said as he hugged him back. "You know, if you ask me, I think Brittany really likes you. And by that, I mean she likes you, likes you."

"You do?"

"Yeah. Okay, she can fly off the handle sometimes and be a real pain, but she's not so bad."

"Yeah, she's okay, I guess."

"You guess?" Now it was Theo's turn to be surprised.

Alvin clutched his knees against his bare chest and turned his back, in a futile at-tempt to hide the fact that he was blushing something fierce. But Theo was no dummy. Even though he was the baby of the Seville family, he could read Alvin like a book.

"All right, you got me," Alvin confessed. "I'm crazy about her."

"I thought you were. So why do you tease her so much and act like such an igno-ramus?"

"You're starting to sound just like Simon."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Theo said, then thought, Note to self: thank Simon for letting you borrow his thesaurus.

"Well, it wasn't intended to be one, but okay. Anyway, I—I guess I'm just afraid of telling her how I feel, and then being shot down."

Theo put a sympathetic hand on Alvin's arm. It wasn't like him to be so open and honest with his feelings. Usually, he just let his bravado and hey-look-at-me atti-tude do the talking, even though it got him in trouble more times than he could count.

"Don't sell yourself short, Alvin," Theo reassured him. "I'm sure Brittany thinks very highly of you. We all do."

"Yeah, sure you do."

"No, I mean it. I dunno what I'd do without you. If it wasn't for you, I'd be so lost. I wouldn't have even had the guts to tell Ellie how I felt."

Alvin turned to face his brother. "Really?"

"Really."

"Thanks, buddy," Alvin smiled softly.

"You bet."

After they shared another hug, Theo said, "I'll tell you what: I won't tell anyone about this if you try to be nicer to Brittany. I don't mean grand gestures, like mopping their kitchen floor after they wax it or leaving little Mr. Goodbars in their mailbox. Just—try not to brag so much and don't be such a jerk to her, you know?"

"Yeah, I get you. And I promise not to tell Dave or Simon—and especially the Chipettes—what you told me. Deal?"

"Deal," Theo nodded. And they bump-bombed on it.

On the way back upstairs, Theo felt like a huge weight had just been lifted off his shoulders. It was nice to see this side of Alvin for a change, as opposed to seeing him acting like—well, Alvin. And he hoped to see it more often.

When he was back in bed, he found that sleep was coming a lot easier than he thought it would. As he drifted off, a wonderful scenario began entering his thoughts: the sun setting on an empty beach with foamy auburn waves gently lapping across the shoreline. A soft, soothing summer breeze. And there he was, standing under a palm tree by some rocks and a patch of chrysanthemums as he watched a brilliant, eye-dazzling sky in every shade of red, orange and gold, with Eleanor—his beloved Ellie-Belle—in his arms.

THE END