Hi! I present to you - my first AATC oneshot! Hope you enjoy :)
P.S. - I own nothing, except for the story plot :)
High school. Full of memorable experiences – such as your first day, your first swirly, your first enemy... the list is endless. But, it's not these experiences that are the most prominent for some. For some, it's their first love. Now, high school love sounds clichéd, and it can make many cringe at the thought. Why? Well, as memorable as high school love is, and no matter how much we see it played out to perfection in movies... it always has the slight tendency to... not work out. High school sweethearts. Sounds cute, right? Two starry eyed souls, finding each other in a public building filled with many other bodies, "loving" each other in a way they could never imagine. They call it love. Love. But, as their senior year approaches, do they still call it love when they graduate, and move to different parts of the world? Is it still that "eternal love" when they suddenly lose contact and find other people to love, never daring to approach each other again? High school love – such a fickle thing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it won't.
This was always the theory she followed. She figured that never in a million years would she find love in high school. It was too... cheesy for her. If she found that infamous "love" thing, she would just look like another Mary-Sue, destined for failure. No, her studies were more important to her. Those were her priorities. Every night, instead of making out with the man of her dreams, she would be perched upon her chair, gazing intently at her math textbooks, or burying her nose in a novel as an English assignment. There was just no time for a boyfriend. Besides, she wasn't interested. That would be something that her sister would be more likely inclined to do. Every time she thinks of her sister, she shudders. Just thinking of her redhead sibling making out passionately with some jock sent cold chills up her spine. She grew up too fast – that's what she thinks of her sister. Too consumed in finding a date for the dance and flouncing around in short thigh-high skirts to be interested in her studies.
Her other sister wasn't too bad, although she could already tell that her younger sibling was beginning to feign interest in boys. Every day, more and more lipgloss is plastered on her lips, the clothes become tighter and tighter. It's like her sisters have become obsessed with them. Why on earth would her sisters be so fascinated with this alien species they call boys? Unfortunately, the innocent bookworm was soon to find out... from an unlikely source... rather close to home...
Friday morning. The alarm clock droned out its awakening songs as the sun shone through a small opening in the curtains. The usual smell of burnt toast crept up the stairs and into the girls' bedroom, waking them up in the process. The blonde one was the first to speak. She yawned.
"Good morning! It's time to get up for school!" She leapt out of bed and sorted the duvet. Her oldest sister groaned and sank deeper into her bed sheets.
"Geez, thanks for sharing, Eleanor. Like we don't already know that."
"Oh come on Brittany, only one day left and we're off for the weekend. Surely that can't be a bad thing?" Eleanor chimed as she got her clothes out of the drawers – tight green t-shirt, tight blue jeans, and sneakers. Brittany rolled herself out of bed.
"I suppose you're right. Hey, where's Jeanette?" The eldest chipette stretched out her arms and made her way over to her dressing table to apply her many layers of makeup.
Both chipettes looked over at the purple bed. It was empty, and the duvet was made. "That's strange, normally she's here..." Eleanor frowned.
"Oh please Eleanor, she probably went to school early. You know how much of a nerd she is." Brittany replied, applying a thick layer of eyeshadow on her eyelids. Eleanor shook her head and silently sighed, watching her sister apply her makeup.
"Will you hurry up? You always take forever getting ready!"
"Beauty takes time, Eleanor. You'll learn this someday. When you're getting ready for school you want to look your best, not like something the cat dragged in... Like our sister Jeanette..." Brittany scoffed, carefully putting on a pair of pink earrings.
"Brittany! That's a mean thing to say!" Eleanor exclaimed, grabbing her lipgloss and quickly shoving it in her bag.
"What? Eleanor, it's not like she's gonna hear me is it! I just think Jeanette needs to make more of an effort, that's all."
"Yeah well you make too much of an effort I think, who're you trying to please, Alvin?"
Brittany pretended to vomit as she heard his name. "Alvin? Are you serious? Get real!"
Eleanor smirked to herself and grabbed her belongings. "Well, I'm going downstairs. No more than ten minutes, you hear?"
"Yes, mother! Geez, and I'm supposed to be the oldest... Guess I got that wrong too."
The green-clad chipette ambled out of the bedroom - which now smelled of perfume and hairspray – and down to the kitchen. There, she found a plate of black toast and Jeanette burying her little nose in a book.
"Hey Jeanette! What're you doing?" The purple-clad chipette jumped and quickly crammed her book into her bag. She furtively looked up to see Eleanor, standing by the kitchen door. "Hey, why so jumpy? What's the matter?"
"O-oh... sorry Eleanor. I-I was doing an assignment last night for physics that had to be completed for today and I took some caffeine... which sort of made me wake up earlier than intentionally planned... and it also explains why I'm sorta jumpy today." Jeanette squeaked, adjusting her glasses. Eleanor laughed and took a seat next to her.
"Jeanette, you're always jumpy! So, what's the assignment?" Eleanor asked, taking a sip from her glass of orange juice.
"The assignment? Oh, it's about magnetism. I'm working on it with Simon."
"Oh, cool. Hey, where's Miss Miller?"
"She left early; she's meeting up with a friend. Where's Brittany?"
"Getting ready, where'd you think?"
Jeanette looked down at her toast. She didn't really want to eat anything, especially the cold, burnt toast Miss Miller left for them. Her little trance was interrupted by the sound of her older sister coming down the stairs. She waited for her to appear, mainly just to see what she was wearing, any other day she would just ignore her sister. There she was. Auburn hair tied up into a messy ponytail, makeup plastered on her face, tight pink clothing right down to the pink ballet pumps. Jeanette rolled her eyes.
"Hey! I'm ready for another day of school, oh how fun!"
Jeanette groaned in despair – Brittany didn't actually enjoy school, she just enjoyed the boys inside the school.
"Come get breakfast Britt," Eleanor mumbled, chewing on a piece of toast. The pink-clad chipette looked down at the table, recoiling in disgust.
"What the hell is that?" She asked, pointing in distaste at the black toast.
"It's toast, Brittany." Eleanor replied, finishing off her breakfast. Brittany stared at the toast. It looked horrible! It was rock solid, and just plain unnatural looking. She refused to touch it. Instead, she just took a seat across from her sisters.
"Oh hey, did you hear? I was thinking of asking Jack to the prom. Oh he's so dreamy! But then again, Max is pretty hot too..."
Oh here we go – Brittany's aimless ramblings about boys. God, she makes it seem like all the boys she meets are so very unique, but in all honesty, they all sound the same. Jeanette slumped into her chair and stared at the wall. It was going to be a while before Brittany stopped talking about her boyfriends. Oh well, this gave her time to think about her project. So, she got the research and the statistics, all she had to do was present it in front of the class on a poster. That should be rather easy, plus with Simon helping her, she really had nothing to lose-
"Jeanette! Where the hell were you?" The purple-clad chipette jumped and searched the room frantically, only to realise that Brittany was talking to her. So she finally acknowledges her. She furrowed her brow.
"Like I was saying to Eleanor, I was working on my project last night and I got up early this morning." Jeanette protested, clearly annoyed at her sister.
"Oh, right. I kinda guessed you'd be doing something like that." Brittany looked Jeanette up and down. "Jeanette, are you wearing any makeup today?"
"N-no... why?"
"Oh nothing. Just thought you'd make the effort you know..."
Jeanette silently muttered to herself and looked down at the table. She hated it when Brittany insulted her – especially when the pair had obvious disagreements over what to wear to school. Of course, she knew that Brittany wouldn't intentionally hurt her feelings; she just couldn't understand why Brittany wouldn't accept that they are two completely different people. Ever since the pair hit their teenage years, her older sister had become somewhat obsessed with beauty and looking good - mainly so that finding a date for the prom was easier. This was exactly why she didn't delve into the love game. It would only end in heartache.
One the idle chatter was finished, the girls gathered their belongings and made their way out the house, locking the door behind them. It was once they were outside that they met up with the boys and walked to school together. Theodore and Eleanor got talking about food and cookery, Alvin and Brittany argued, as per usual and Simon and Jeanette tagged along at the back. It was just an average walk to school. Nothing exciting. Well... that was until the bespectacled pair started talking to each other.
"H-hey Jeanette!" Simon said, edging closer to Jeanette in order to talk to her. The chipette flushed pink and looked down at the ground. She was always shy, even if it was her best friend. "D-did you... get the pictures for the poster?" Simon asked, adjusting his blue frames.
Jeanette stopped short. How could she forget the pictures? She spent a whole caffeine filled night preparing for this project and she goes and does something stupid like forget the pictures? She rubbed at her temples and sighed.
"Oh, Simon... I-I'm really sorry... I didn't mean to forget the pictures... It's just that I-I was so b-busy and my mind slipped and I-"
"Jeanette," Simon soothed, placing a hand on her shoulder, smiling. "It's okay. We'll do fine without the pictures, w-we can just draw the pictures... or trace some out of a textbook... It's fine!"
Jeanette looked up at the boy comforting her. He was smiling, and his eyes were shining brightly. Steel-grey orbs that were physically pulling Jeanette closer in. Little did she know, this would be her downfall. His lips were curved into a smile. Jeanette was taken aback – he never usually smiles, normally he just smirks (sometimes she wondered if that was all he could ever achieve). No, he was smiling. He only ever smiled if he was truly content, for example – science. When Jeanette was younger, and the Chipettes weren't very close to the Chipmunks, she always reckoned that "the boy with the glasses" would get married to science. It was the one thing that made him happy. But this time it was different, he was smiling... at her. What was she to do? She wasn't exactly science... God, what was she doing? She was staring at Simon – her best friend, probably creeping him out in the process.
"Jen, are you alright?" The blue-clad chipmunk's smile faded into a concerned frown as he saw that his friend was looking a little blank. The chipette cocked her head up in surprise and rubbed at her eyes.
"W-wha?" Jeanette went scarlet. Simon laughed, letting a smirk form on his face. Oh, there it was – the smirk. It was like everything suddenly went back to normal. The pair, who were a little pink in the cheeks, were abruptly interrupted by the calls from their older siblings.
"Hey! Come on you two! Some of us have school to go to!"
"Yeah! What she said...!"
The bespectacled pair both rolled their eyes and retreated back to their families. While the group was walking, Jeanette couldn't help but stare at Simon. There was something about the way he looked at her... No. She was being stupid. That wouldn't make any sense at all. All she had to do was go to school, get through the day... and never have to worry about this ever again. After all, it was Friday.
The first lesson of the day was P.E. This was Eleanor's favourite subject, but Jeanette hated it. Brittany on her other hand took it as an opportunity to... flaunt her wares. It all started in the changing room. There was a thick scent of deodorant and hairspray lingering, and all the girls were changing into their kit... well, except for Jeanette, who was rather shy about exposing her body. All the other girls were pretty, and had beautiful figures, but Jeanette had a rather lean figure. She read in an article that men actually prefer curvy women opposed to skinny girls. This knocked her confidence, big-time. How was she supposed to feel confident in herself with articles like that circulating. She wore glasses too, which was a disadvantage when it came to P.E. Her teacher would always tell her to take the glasses off, but she couldn't see without them. Last week, she "tried" to play football without her glasses. Of course, it ended in disaster... because Jeanette Miller is a klutz. Her classmates never did actually talk to her after that incident.
So there she sat, tugging at the hem of her skirt, slowly pulling it down her legs. Brittany watched her sister with distaste.
"Jeanette, what on earth are you doing?" She folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.
"G-getting changed." Jeanette squeaked, feeling nervous.
"At that pace? Miss Edwards is going to really lose the plot with you." Jeanette looked down shamefully. "What's the problem anyway? What takes you so long?"
Jeanette stared intensely at her sister. Surely Brittany would know that she has self-confidence issues. Was their relationship really that strained? Gosh, boys really did change her didn't they? She frowned. "I-I don't feel comfortable here."
The pink-clad chipette rolled her ice blue eyes. "Jeanette, you're overreacting. Why wouldn't you feel comfortable here? We won't bite, you know."
Brittany left the room in a whirl of perfume and giggling girls, leaving only Jeanette and Eleanor. Jeanette knew that Brittany was only trying to show off in front of her friends, she knew that deep inside she cared, but God it hurt. A tear formed in the corner of her eye. Eleanor wrapped an arm around her older sister.
"H-hey, don't let her get to you. She's just showing off again." Eleanor smiled and dabbed lightly at the little tears forming in Jeanette's eyes. As nice as it was of Eleanor to say it, why didn't she feel secure with those words of encouragement? Oh, what's the point? She was just being stupid again. Trying to shrug off the situation, she rose to her feet and followed Eleanor to the gym.
The tallest chipette's heart started to pound in her chest. All the boys would be in there, and Brittany. It was like hell for her. She gingerly stepped through the tall wooden doors and into the godforsaken hellhole. A big group of boys were standing against the wall, flexing and warming up. A little posse of girls were chatting and staring in awe at the boys. Jeanette didn't know where to go, because as soon as she knew it, Eleanor started running and so did the rest of the class. She stumbled a little as she tried to dodge the people running towards her. The next thing she knew her glasses were thrown away from her face. This was where it got difficult. Clumsily, she kept turning around, extending her arms out in front of her, trying to find her glasses. Bang! Some big, stupid jock crashed into her, laughing in the process. Jeanette yelled as she felt herself falling backwards. Oh no, it was happening again! She felt everybody's eyes on her as she fell back. It felt as though she was falling in slow-motion. Everybody's laughing was slow, and getting louder and louder. All eyes her fixated on her – glaring into her soul. It stopped. Jeanette opened her eyes. The eyes disappeared, the laughing faded away. Everyone was running again. A pair of arms were holding the shaking chipette. They lifted her up into a standing position. She turned. It was him.
"You okay?" He asked, smiling. Jeanette furrowed her brow. The smile. She nodded and brushed herself down. With that, her rescuer suddenly disappeared into the running crowd. The chipette was very confused. He was smiling again. He doesn't usually smile like this. Rubbing her temples, she leaned against the wall. She couldn't shake him out of her head. Then she saw him talking to his older brother in the crowd. He was smirking, and had one eyebrow risen. But it wasn't just his facial expressions that captivated her. His torso, when he wore the blue sweater, would always look rather lean, and shapeless. But, when he was wearing his polo shirt, she could make out some of his muscles. She really wasn't expecting that. Fine toned muscles on Simon Seville. He looked rather... attractive. It was making her feel all warm and gooey on the inside. Looking at Simon right now was like... looking at a pin-up. No, why was she doing this? This was her best friend! She couldn't think of him like that. It would put things on a weird level. She couldn't risk that.
Soon after, the lesson ended, and everyone went back to get changed. Jeanette of course took her time, especially after what happened earlier. She would carefully pull down her shorts while sitting, then wait till nobody was looking her way until she could grab her purple skirt and slide her legs through it. Then while nobody was looking, she would shimmy out of her shirt and pull her baggy sweater over her head. Physics next. Oh good God... anything but physics!
Anxiously, she walked down the science corridor, hoping that she wouldn't bump into him. Once she arrived, she took her seat and got out her books. Jeanette casually flicked through the pages of one of her textbooks. She didn't really have an interest for electrical circuits, but she was reading it to pass time. Just as she was about to turn another page, a hand tapped her on the shoulder. She turned her head slightly to see who it was. Not that she needed to...
"Hey Jeanette, you got that stuff ready?" He was making a curve with his lips to make a smile, but he wasn't actually smiling this time. He was a little red in the face after running in P.E.
"Y-yeah, it's here." Jeanette replied, avoiding eye contact. She gathered a few pieces of paper and handed them to Simon. Both waited for class to begin. While they were doing so, Simon decided to make small talk.
"So... how are you?" He took his glasses off and wiped them on his shirt. Jeanette's heart skipped a beat.
"Uh... um... I'm fine, y-you?" God, she probably sounded so stupid. Oh how she hates being socially inept.
"Yeah, I'm good too." Phew. Jeanette exhaled, without even noticing that she had held her breath. The blue-clad chipmunk looked at Jeanette's table. "Electrical circuits? Jeanette, I had no idea that you feigned interest in that particular subject."
Jeanette's eyes went wide as she stared at the textbook lying on the table. "I-I-I don't! I-I was j-just reading to pass the... time." She stammered, cheeks going crimson. Simon laughed.
"Okay, okay! If you really say so!" As Simon had spoke, the teacher – Mr Peterson – walked in and silenced the class.
"Okay class, let's see these projects." He looked at a piece of paper lying on his desk, then looked at Simon and Jeanette. "Let's see Simon and Jeanette's work first."
"Oh no, Si! What are we going to do? We have no pictures!" Jeanette whispered to her partner, feeling her stomach twist into a thousand knots.
"I got this, we'll be fine." Simon whispered back, carrying the imageless poster to the front of the lab. Jeanette, who was almost literally shaking, took her place next to Simon and helped him to hold up the poster by taking one end of it. Simon began. Jeanette watched him speak.
"Ah, hello... everybody. Today, Jeanette and I are going to be discussing magnetism with you all. N-now, first of all, we would like to point out that we were going to include pictures in this presentation but we eventually decided to do the presentation without the pictures. Instead, we will just use our descriptive skills to clearly convey to you..."
Jeanette looked over to the class, who were yawning and resting their heads on their tables. Once again, Simon was boring everybody with his long lectures, but it never seemed to bother her. In fact, she was always intrigued with whatever he had to say. Whether that be physics, or even just how tired he is of Alvin and his schemes. No matter what he talked about, he always had Jeanette's full attention, but today was an exception. The chipette would rather focus on... other things. She wouldn't allow herself to do it, but she couldn't help but know that the boy that was boring the class has an exceptionally wonderful body. And of course, along with these muscles there were his beautiful steel-grey orbs that put her under a magic spell of some sort. A small bit of drool escaped from her mouth and stopped at the edge of her pink lips. Oh no, she was doing it again! She was fantasizing! Her brain was having a conflict with itself. The left side was telling her not to let her mind wander into unfamiliar, dangerous zones but the right side was dragging her to these foreign thoughts. Jeanette looked up at the clock and swiped her drool away. Oh, this lesson had to end sometime soon. She had to get away from him...
After what seemed like an eternity, physics ended and so did the rest of the classes. It was time for lunch. Everybody was seated at a table in the cafeteria. Theodore and Eleanor were sitting next to each other, happily munching on their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Alvin was sitting on the end, next to Theodore and Brittany was sitting across from him. Jeanette was sitting two seats away from Brittany, as she was clearly still mad at her for her "outburst" in P.E. The purple-clad chipette didn't have anything to eat; instead she twirled a pink straw around in a tall glass of strawberry milkshake. Her mind was too busy for her to be eating. She was wondering why Simon wasn't with them for lunch. Sure, it was helping, what with her situation, but he always sits with them. What if he was in trouble? Jeanette couldn't bear the thought.
"Jeanette? Why aren't you eating anything?" It was Eleanor. Jeanette shrugged her shoulders and continued to twirl the plastic straw. Brittany sighed.
"Because eating nothing is really going to help you."
Jeanette gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. She didn't know why Brittany was acting like this, but she didn't like it. She pushed forward her glass of milkshake and stood up.
"Where're you going?" Eleanor asked, looking up doubtfully at her sister.
"Magazine club." Jeanette replied monotonously, walking away. That's where Simon would be. At least there she wouldn't have to put up with her moodier-than-usual sister. As she walked away from the table, she heard muttering and a whole lot of whispering. She didn't care, as long as she was away from it all.
Magazine club was always the pinnacle of the week for Jeanette. It was where she could escape and write whatever she chose. What made it better was that Simon was in the school magazine too. Both could talk to each other freely with no interruptions and help write articles together. But never had she intended on gaining a crush on him. They were best friends, and that's where the line was to be drawn. Pity she couldn't tell herself that now. As she was walking down the corridors, something caught her eye. Two figures were standing together, laughing and joking. One had their hand rested on the other's chest, the other has smirking. Jeanette froze. No, it was them! Simon and Jillian. Oh how she hated Jillian. She completely envied her, from her beautiful looks, to her relationship with Simon. For some reason, Simon just seemed to connect more with Jillian plus he once had a crush on her. What if he still did? The books that were being held against the chipette's chest suddenly dropped to the marble floor, making a crashing sound. Panicking, Jeanette quickly bent down to pick up the books and scurried around the corner. She prayed that they didn't see her. Jeanette leaned against the wall, tears falling down her cheeks. Why was she feeling like this? Why did she feel so strongly about Simon right now?
Jeanette was sitting on a table, watching the others write their articles. Her mind was too occupied right now. If she even attempted to write an article, she would probably just make a mess of it. It would be the one thing she hates – a piece of text littered with grammatical errors, lack of good vocabulary, and several punctuation mistakes. No, she couldn't risk that. Still no sign of Simon. Perhaps he ventured off somewhere with Jillian, seeing as she's so special. It was useless, what was the point in thinking this much about somebody if they weren't even thinking as much about you? The purple-clad chipette picked up the magazine from last month and flicked through. She saw her article on Global Warming. She was rather impressed with that one, probably one of her best. On the next page was an article about Thomas Edison. Unsurprisingly, this was written by Simon. Near the back of magazine, there was a new feature that the team had been working on. Aunt Mabel. They all figured that the school needed some sort of agony aunt to help solve people's problems. A month ago, all members had to pick a piece of paper out of a hat, whoever got the piece of paper with "Aunt" written on it, was to become Aunt Mabel. Jeanette wasn't Aunt Mabel. She didn't know who Aunt Mabel was. There were quite a few people on the team; it could be any one of them.
She read the advice column from last month.
Dear Aunt Mabel, please help! My boyfriend hasn't been talking to me very much lately. He doesn't answer my calls or texts. I'm not sure why he's acting like this. Can you please help? From Katie.
Dear Katie, your boyfriend may be going through a hard time at the moment. Have you considered perhaps talking to him? Maybe if he has a problem (for example at home) he doesn't want to confront you about it because he's scared to. I know this may be hard for you just now but the best you could do is play it out a little longer and see if things improve. Don't panic! Love, Aunt Mabel.
Well, it seemed successful enough. All you had to do was e-mail your problems to Aunt Mabel's email address and she would reply within two days. And her advice was helpful too. Jeanette had a brainstorm. There was so much going on in her head she couldn't handle any more. What if she got advice from Aunt Mabel? Sure, she would have to change her name in order to protect her identity but all in all it could actually work. Yeah, nobody had to know it was her, and nobody could judge her. It was perfect! Excitedly, Jeanette grabbed herself a chair and pushed it towards a computer. She started typing away.
Dear Aunt Mabel, you have to help me. I was always sure of what I wanted. I was never interested in boys or love – studying was what I preferred. But recently, I've been seeing someone in a new light. My best friend. We've been friends for as long as I can remember, and we share so much in common, but now it's become difficult for me to be around him. Whenever he's happy, he never smiles, he smirks... but lately he's been smiling, but only at me. His eyes have been shining a lot brighter than usual and I can't help but feel nervous and sweaty around him. When he wears tight clothing, I can see his... muscles... and I feel all tingly inside when I see them. Am I attracted to him? Today, I saw him talking to his former crush. I couldn't help but feel upset and a little jealous. I can't stop thinking about him! So, my question to you is, I think I'm developing a crush on my best friend, what do I do? From Olivia.
Jeanette clicked the send button and smiled in satisfaction. All she had to do now was wait. The bell rang at the end of lunchtime, and it was time for English. She was happy. Her mind could be put at ease, her problem was going to be solved. Well, not until Monday... but surely waiting wouldn't be that bad?
The weekend went slower than she thought. She spent hours, just gazing carelessly out of her bedroom window, hoping that Aunt Mabel could instantly just reply but no, she had to wait till Monday. It was Sunday, when the doubt started to creep in. Thousands of different worries clouded Jeanette's vision. What if Aunt Mabel didn't respond? What if she was laughing down her nose at her problems? Jeanette felt ill, she wasn't sure if she could attend school anymore. Oh God, everyone in school is going to read that article! The magazine gets published on Monday. But it was the only hope she had. If it turns out that she really does have a crush on Simon, then maybe things will be different, and she could learn how to live with it.
Monday arrived. The sun rose from behind the hills and lit up the town, and the Chipettes' bedroom. They went about their daily getting ready routine and went downstairs for breakfast. While the girls were eating, Jeanette kept looking at the clock in anticipation. Tick...tock...tick...tock. The minutes just wouldn't pass any quicker. She was literally bouncing in her seat!
"Jeanette, what's gotten into you? You're jumping in your seat!" Brittany asked, dangling a spoonful of cereal in front of her mouth.
"W-what? Oh, n-nothing Brittany." Jeanette replied, smiling. She couldn't believe how excited she was to go to school.
"Geez, calm down! Hasn't anybody told you it's Monday?" The pink-clad chipette asked, resting her head on her hand. As always, she looked miserable.
"Brittany, who peed in your cornflakes? You're being very grumpy this morning." Eleanor said, washing up her plate. Brittany sighed and let her head fall onto the table.
"Mmmmph mmmph mmmph" The grumpy chipette mumbled. Eleanor and Jeanette both shook their heads and headed for the front door.
"Have a nice day girls!" Their guardian called from the living room. Brittany groaned and dragged herself to the front door.
The Chipmunks and Chipettes met up and started walking to school. Jeanette took this as an opportunity to think, but one person was going to prevent her from doing so.
"Hey Jeanette!" Jeanette silently cursed to herself. Why did this have to happen to her? She forced a weak smile on her face. "How are you?"
"I...I'm fine, y-you?" She tried to avoid eye contact.
"Yeah I'm good." Simon kept his gaze fixed on the road ahead of him. He paused for a second. "I was talking to Jillian the other day. Apparently she got herself a boyfriend. Could you imagine? Ah, I think it'll be a while before I find myself a girlfriend. I like to put my studies first, do you?"
Jeanette's heart stopped beating. Why were they having this conversation? Didn't he know what was going through her mind? Was he deliberately trying to put her on the spot? Was he suspecting something? Did he see her yesterday? Jeanette drew in a sharp breath of air.
"W-well, I can't say that boys are the first thing on my mind. I mean, I just don't have the time to worry about things like that!" She looked over to Simon. He had some sort of knowing look in his eyes. This couldn't be good. Suddenly, she really didn't want to go to school, but... her response was waiting for her. So they continued down the road, not saying any more to each other.
Jeanette couldn't feel more relieved to be in school. The smell of books and floor cleaner as she strolled down the corridor felt like heaven. The sight of lockers and students chattering were soothing to her. She didn't care where she was, as long as she was away from Simon. As she was ambling down the corridor, she caught sight of the school magazine stand. The new copies were out. Discreetly, she crept up to the stand, making sure none of her friends could catch a glimpse of her and laid a quarter on the desk. In return, she was handed a fresh copy of the magazine. She brushed her fingertips against the smooth texture of the glossy paper then held it up against her nose. It had that new book smell to it, a smell that Jeanette absolutely adored. Gingerly, she opened up the magazine and flipped to the back page. There it was: Aunt Mabel. The chipette could feel her heart beating fast now. Taking a deep breath, she adjusted her glasses and read the reply.
Dear Olivia, it seems a lot like you have developed a crush on this boy. It's good that you value your education and strive to put that first, but sometimes you have to follow your heart. Does he put his education first? How much does he talk about girls? Who knows, maybe he's waiting for you; it would certainly seem so, with all the signals he's giving. The first is the smiles; you told me that he only smiles around you. I would take this is a sign, because if he never smiles like that around anyone else, surely he's trying extra hard for you? As for the other things, like the sweatiness when you see his *ahem* assets, it's a sign that you're obviously attracted to him and maybe you should act on it (he'd probably be flattered if you told him this!)You also told me that you caught him talking to his former crush. Well, they call it "former crush" for a reason. He doesn't feel anything for this girl any more. Has he told you what they were talking about? Don't worry! He is not attracted to this other girl. Chances are, he's in love with you... The decision is yours, stay best friends... or take the chance. Love, Aunt Mabel. X
Jeanette stared at the paper, wide eyed and shaking. She wasn't expecting an answer like that! But, Aunt Mabel was right – she had to talk to Simon... she had to do it now! Just before she moved, she heard someone clear their throat. Slowly, she glanced up from the magazine only to be shocked by the sight. There stood a boy, smiling at her. His eyes were sparkling behind blue frames. Jeanette stuttered.
"I-I... u-uh... um..." She gradually closed the magazine shut, a pink blush forming on her cheeks. She didn't know what to say. Her sudden burst of confidence was washed away.
"H-hi... I see you got a copy of the magazine." He was scratching the back of his head.
Jeanette looked down shyly. "Y-yeah... I did. Y-your article on volcanoes was very good!"
"Yeah? I didn't get a chance to read it myself. I should maybe read it later."
Jeanette remembered the wise words of Aunt Mabel. "Simon..."
He gazed into her eyes. "Y-yeah?"
"I... need to ask you something..." She was going scarlet. "W-would you... go with your head, or go with your heart...?"
He hesitated. "Well, it all depends on what the situation is. They say that, sometimes you have to follow your heart. You need to take the chance."
Jeanette furrowed her brow. These words sounded so familiar. They sounded like Aunt Mabel's. Maybe he read the article, but he said he hasn't had a chance to look at the magazine yet... "D-do you... put your education first?"
Simon laughed to himself. "Um... well, as much as I value my education, there's always a part of me that's waiting for something..."
"Waiting for what?"
He smirked, and then leaned in closer. "This..." He rested his forehead on Jeanette's and pressed his lips against hers. She tasted of cinnamon and strawberry. Jeanette was taken aback; she moaned in surprise then melted into the kiss. She closed her eyes and let herself embrace the moment. Powerful surges of electricity shot through their veins and nothing else existed in that moment of time. Both felt like they were in heaven. Simon pulled away, leaving Jeanette panting for air.
"S...Si... w-what..."
He took her hand. "I love you Jeanette, I always have. Please say this doesn't put us on a weird level."
"N-no! Of course not! I-I love you too, Simon."
The blue-clad chipmunk wrapped his arms around Jeanette and pulled her into a warm embrace. He was smiling, as was Jeanette. But she couldn't help but feel that it was all a dream. It was like Simon had actually read her mind. Who knows, maybe he did. Jeanette rested her head on his shoulder and muttered to herself: "Thank you, Aunt Mabel."
Simon, who was holding Jeanette close to him, closed his eyes. It worked. "You're welcome..." He whispered softly in her ear.
All the theories of high school love not working suddenly didn't matter to Jeanette, for she knew that this one... was definitely going to last.
Hooray! I got it finished! Well, what did you think? Thank you for reading, and feel free to leave a review!
Peace, love, and COOKIES! ~ MissSteph22 x :)