Simon: Who am I?

Written by: Brittany R./FoxieSango

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan-fiction. This was NOT written for profit. I do NOT own any elements of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Alvin and the Chipmunks was created by/are currently owned by Ross Bagdasarian Jr. & Janice Karman/Bagdasarian Productions.

Thank you.

A/N: The concept of "Simone" has fascinated me ever since Chipwrecked. After being an Inuyasha fan for so long, a VERY strong part of me has felt that Simone is merely a small part of Simon: the bold/passionate/daring part. Maybe he's the part that allowed Simon to shoot himself out of the Nerf cannon in movie 1, or allowed him to scrap with Alvin and attack Theodore's bullies in movie 2. Maybe he's the part of Simon that allowed him to be a bit more flirty than usual, with his 'purr' and everything. (lol)

I say that the anime Inuyasha partly influenced this notion for me, because the protagonist of the series has 3 parts/sides of himself: human, demon, and half demon. But ALL THREE parts are essential to his being, and the female protagonist loves and accepts all of him. So for the longest time, I've liked the idea that maybe Jeanette liked Simone because he was a PART of Simon.

~The "Simone is a part of Simon" concept, for me, is also attributed to what Brittany said to Simon near the end of the movie, "But Simone is you, he's in there, you just have to find him." Another aspect from the movie that was significant to me, was Simon telling Jeanette that "No gem could compare to her beauty," which is similar to something Simone said to her earlier in the film. Finally, I like the idea that Simone's attraction to Jeanette greatly stemmed from the attraction that was already present within Simon.

So I'm still a bit strongly rooted in that idea.

~Then recently I began to think: "What about Multiple Personality Disorder/Dissociative Identity Disorder?" What about those people who have other personalities that take them over completely, and they're unaware of it? Would you say that personality is a part of them, or simply another being in the hosts' body for a period of time the host has no control over? Is that what Simone is? Is he a completely separate being that took over Simon's body for a while?

After all, sharing your body with another being is different than an unknown part of your core-self rising to the surface.

~I think both ideas are a strong possibility for Simone. Essentially we've got something similar to Captain Chipmunk from the old Chipmunk Valentine Special (an alter-ego whose actions Alvin had no recollection of when he awoke), vs Mr. Heartthrob in Dr. Simon, Mr. Heartthrob (whom Simon was aware of so much that he'd consciously drink his potion to purposely turn himself into his suave alter-ego).

Then I thought...imagine what Simon must have been going through after Chipwrecked's end. It all must've been IMMENSELY confusing for him.

And so this little number was born.

Do enjoy!

(Takes place RIGHT after "Chipwrecked").

It had been one heck of a journey. All of the chipmunks were tired and worn out, but none more than Simon. Currently, the intellectual munk was lying on his bed in their bedroom. He was on his back, not moving.

"Is he dead?" a tiny voice asked.

"Don't be ridiculous, Theodore! Of course he's not dead!" Brittany said.

"But…he's not moving like he's dead…"

"He's not dead!"

"Do you think he's alright?" Eleanor asked. She, Theodore, and Brittany were peering around the corner of the doorway into their bedroom.

"Well, he's been through quite an ordeal. It's probably best not to disturb him for a while," a shy voice said. It was Jeanette, and she approached the other munks with Alvin alongside her.

"Yeah, what are you guys doing here?! Move along and let my brother get some sleep!" he said. Brittany stood straight with one paw on her hip. She gave Alvin an incredulous look.

"Please, don't tell me you're still playing this 'responsible' card," she said, making the hand-quote signals as she spoke. Alvin folded his arms,

"Are you kiddin'? I'm totally on Dave's good side right now! I'm going to ride this out as long as I can!" he said. Brittany rolled her eyes,

"You're unbelievable," she said, turning and walking away.

"I'm unbelievable?! Oh, this coming from Miss, 'I'm Pretty AND Smart now. I'm a double threat!' You're calling ME unbelievable?!"

"The difference between you and me is, I can be smart when I WANT to be. But I'm not going to be something I'm not ALL the time," she said.

"Oh haha, that's a real laugh coming from you!" Alvin said, walking after her.

"C-Could you guys not fight, please?" Theodore asked.

"Yeah, it's getting old!" Eleanor said, as she and Theodore followed their siblings. This left Jeanette alone in the doorway of their bedroom. She looked towards their bunk beds again, a paw coming up to her heart. She wondered if Simon was really okay. He had been through so much. She trekked lightly into the room on paws softly, as to not disturb him. She then made her way up the bunk bed to his mattress. Simon had his glasses off to the side, and one arm thrown over his eyes. Jeanette approached him quietly.

"Simon?" she whispered.

"I'm not going to be something I'm not ALL the time," her voice rang in his head, like an echo; bouncing off the walls of his brain. He had heard Brittany speak from their doorway, but wish that he hadn't.

"I don't remember," he breathed.

"Um…?"

"I don't remember, any of it. …After the spider bite… it's all blank. All of it," he said. He then took in a shuddering breath. There was silence.

"Simon…"

"I-I was really different, wasn't I?" he asked. Jeanette's ears and tail drooped in dismay. Everyone had been so worried about Simon being physically drained, but they hadn't considered the mental toll this excursion had on him. Simon moved his arm off of his eyes so both limbs were on either side of him, lifelessly. He stared at the ceiling.

"I don't know who I was. …What I did. Heh…but apparently everyone thought I…or Simone was it? ..That he was cool. But that's just it…it was him wasn't it? …not me. I mean…it was me but…not… ME…wasn't it? That's why I don't remember… I think….because…I can't…" he squinted his eyes in confusion before closing them tightly and shaking his head. Jeanette said nothing as she sat next to Simon, knowing that he needed to talk this out. He was trying to process all of this; that's what intellects did. She knew that better than anyone. And frankly, the whole thing was pretty discombobulating for all of them.

He glanced over at her. She was so soft spoken and shy; but also so caring and sweet. It made his heart pound and he felt himself flush. He cared about her so much, more than just as a friend, he was starting to conclude. …And yet, he couldn't seem to tell her this as himself. …But Simone could.

That bothered him.

"You liked him didn't you?" he asked. She gasped, her ears perking up at his quiet question. She glanced at him.

"What?"

"You…you don't have to cover it up or anything, Jeanette. I know you liked him. Heck, everyone did…heh. Well…except Alvin but…I dunno," Simon looked at the ceiling again.

"I just…I mean…I know he had to have been amazing but…. I can't…..BE… like that …I-agh!" He put his paws to his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath.

He had tried holding this in for so long, but it was unnerving to him. His head was spinning. Jeanette's eyes grew wide at this. She reached her paws over and removed his own from his face. Simon's eyes were clenched shut, and tears dusted his cheeks. His ears were laid back, pressed firmly against his head in distress. His breathing was rapid.

"Oh Simon…" she breathed. She then slowly, and carefully, lay down alongside him, cautiously placing her head on his chest. He stiffened as she snuggled close. Her arms encircled him.

"Simon, it's alright," she said, calmly. But this just make the lump in his throat grow bigger.

"But I can't…"

"You don't have to. You don't need too. You're fine as you are Simon. No one wants you to change."

"But Simone…"

"You're not Simone," she said. There was a pause, but Simon was still stiff in her embrace. She sighed, and closed her eyes.

"Simon, did you know….that the Chinese Zodiac serves as a representation of our multiple selves: Our outer selves, our inner selves, and our secret selves? The 12 animal signs of the Chinese Zodiac… are associated with a person's birth year. The inner animals are associated with one's birth month. The secret animals, they are associated with one's hour of birth (1)." She paused, to let that linger in the air. Simon said nothing, but relaxed a bit. She continued.

"When combined, the animals, the elements, the birth months, and the birth hours create 8,640 different personality combinations (1)." Simon remained quiet. Jeanette loosed her embrace and brought one arm up to just rest her paw against Simons chest as she continued,

"Now, that probably has absolutely nothing to do with Simone…but you know what? Whether it does or not…whether he's a part of you or not…he…Simone, does NOT encompass all of who you are. He's not YOU. He's not your cautious side, your intellectual side, your calming and sweet side, your responsible side, all of those sides that, as a whole, make up SIMON. ….The Simon that I….that we all care about so much," she said. With that, she closed her eyes.

"The whole time Simone was here, yes he was fun. But I couldn't help but worry about you; worry that somehow you were buried deep in your subconscious or something…and…and couldn't escape. I was… worried that we'd never see you again. The truth is… if he had overtaken you completely I….I'd be d-devastated," she said, hiccupping a bit as she clenched the fabric of his shirt in her fist. Simon's eyes grew wide as he glanced down at Jeanette's hair, just under his chin.

She had missed him.

They all had.

"Jeanette," he whispered. She hiccupped again and sniffled.

"I'm sorry," she said, burying her face in his shirt.

"No, no it's fine. I-I'm sorry I…I didn't mean to make you cry," he said, placing one paw on her back. Jeanette felt him press upwards, forcing her to sit up as he did. He looked at her and gave a soft smile.

"Jeanette," he reached out and wiped her tears.

"Gosh. You….you always know just what to say," he chuckled. She let out a dry laugh and sniffled again. She gave him a watery smile. He beamed at her, then wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.

"Thank you," he said. She nodded, and returned the embrace. Simon felt his heart flutter. She really did care very deeply about him.

Just as much as he did, her.

(1) About the Chinese Zodiac: w w w .chinesezodiac chinesezodiacchart .php

Reviews are Welcome!