Author's Note: This story takes place somewhere in The Squeakquel.

He had never walked the streets alone; it wasn't deemed safe for a creature his size, but it was beyond necessary. Memories of earlier events stormed through his mind; he could still hear the words of his classmates replaying in his head, relentlessly mocking him for what he was. Some teased him about how he didn't have a soul, others about how he'd burn in hell for being an abomination; this type of thinking could overwhelm almost anyone. The best effort the teacher could do was tell them that he couldn't help it.

As he walked along the sidewalk he saw a chipmunk climb onto a nearby tree. It had been years since he'd interacted with his own kind beside his brothers, so he curiously went up to it. It came down holding an acorn and handed it to him.

"For me?" Alvin asked.

The other chipmunk did not have the ability to talk, so it just stared at him.

"Thanks," Alvin said in a humble tone, "but I don't have anything for you."

The chipmunk walked along the sidewalk and looked back at Alvin.

"You want me to follow you?"

Alvin thought about it for a while. He was already gonna be in trouble for leaving school early and following a stranger would only make things worse, but in the end he decided to go with his gut instinct and follow it. As the chipmunk made a turn to cross the street Alvin came to a stop, making sure to look both ways, but the chipmunk was already half way across and there were cars coming.

"Wait!" Alvin yelled in reaction as he saw it happen.

And in a second, the chipmunk was gone. A car had run it over. Alvin stared at it in shock.

When cars stopped coming, he went over to the body and dragged it to the side of the road.

A school bus came to a stop next to them.

"Look, there he is!" some of the bullies shouted from inside the bus.

Simon looked out the window, relieved to find Alvin after hours of looking for him.

Simon jumped out of the bus and walked towards him.

"Alvin, what are you doing here?" Alvin just stood there. He turned to meet his brother's eyes, acknowledging his presence, but soon turned back at the decomposing cadaver. Rolling his eyes, Simon insisted they leave, "Come on, let's go. It's getting late."

Simon turned back and found that Alvin hadn't listened to him, so he took him by the paw and continued walking.

Alvin shook away from his brother, a depressed look on his face as he did so. He stared at the carcass, feeling somewhat responsible for its death. Recalling his classmate's despicable words he wondered if they would share the same fate. He simply stared at it, contemplating death, life's purpose, and the afterlife.

"Aww, look the bus left without us." Simon groaned. He turned to look at Alvin, who hadn't moved a muscle.

Thinking Alvin was just being stubborn, Simon took Alvin by the hood of his hoodie and proceeded to walk. Alvin fell backwards on the floor as Simon dragged him to their house, Alvin's tail dragging across the pavement.

Along the way Simon grew tired of Alvin's weight, so he turned to him and saw a pitiful expression on his face.

"Alvin?" he asked with concern, waving his paw in front of Alvin's face, hoping to get a reaction. "I'm not gonna drag you all the way back."

Alvin's expression looked just as blank and miserable as before. Simon didn't want to be rude, but he knew he wouldn't get anywhere by being nice to him.

"Fine, if you want to stay here so be it." he said as he began to walk away.

Alvin sat there for a few seconds, slowly snapping out of his trance. He placed his hand into the pocket of his hoodie and took out the acorn the chipmunk had handed him and stared at it. Sighing, he turned to face Simon who was gone from his side. He could see him at a distance, so he tried to catch up with him.

"Wait up, Si!" Alvin yelled as he neared his brother.

Simon stopped as he turned to face him. When he caught up, they walked together, but neither of them spoke the rest of the way.

Once home, Alvin didn't say a word and went straight to bed. When dinner time came, he didn't show up at the table.

It was then when Simon noticed something was wrong, so he went to check on him.

"Alvin?" Simon asked as he entered the room. "I know you well enough to know when something's wrong, what is it?"

Alvin turned away from Simon, doing his best to pretend to be asleep.

"Is it what those bullies said to you?" Simon asked with concern.

Alvin could feel tears swelling up in his eyes.

"Don't worry, remember what Toby said? If we become more popular, we won't get picked on anymore." Simon said reassuringly. "Alvin?" he asked. Unsure if Alvin was asleep or not, he sighed and left.

"I wish Ryan wasn't so hard on me sometimes." Alvin whispered to himself.

Unexpectedly, sometime around the middle of the night, Alvin sneaked over to Simon's bed and cuddled with him.

"Thanks for cheering me up, Si."

"I'd never seen you act like that before, I thought you were being a jerk, I didn't think you'd let the bullies get to you since you seem confident most of the time."

Alvin stared at Simon; he placed both of his paws on Simon's cheeks, shaping his face to a funny one. Alvin chuckled.

"What?" Simon asked with concern.

"It's a sin to have those eyes. They make you look good no matter what."

Author's Note: If Alvin seems out of character, he's supposed to be. He's usually very cheerful and happy, but I tried to search deep within him and see what he would do under the circumstances. If you like the concept, please review and tell me what you liked, and what you think needs improvement. I cannot guarantee a second chapter, but I can guarantee a perfected one-shot.

The Image used is by deviantART user: duiker.