Munkin' To The Extreme
About This Story: Alvin is healing in the aftermath of a skateboarding accident. He also has trouble dealing with growing up, and with realizing he has changing feelings for his friend, Brittany. Age-wise they are 12. Contains awkward adolescent angst & drama, as well as mentions of puberty-related stuff throughout. I don't own any part of the Chipmunk franchise, just borrowing them from Nickelodeon, Janice Karman, & Ross Bagdasarian, their family, & their company.
About This Chapter: Rated PG-13 (T) for some mentions of (male) anatomy and puberty.
Pairings: Alvin/Brittany
2. Tell It Like It Is
A few hours later that same Tuesday afternoon, the Chipettes all anxiously watched the front door. They heard the car pull into the driveway, and some footsteps outside, and now the doorknob turned. They had heard from Jeanette that Alvin was in some kind of skateboarding accident. They had even seen Dave leave the house in a rush. He had texted them once he had arrived at the ER, that he had to drive Alvin there, that it would be at least a few hours before they came home, and that he would be OK with them starting on getting dinner ready in the main house without him. Without hearing many details, the girls did not know what happened or what to expect as the front door opened.
Dave walked in first, carrying a blanket bundled up in his left arm.
"DAVE!" They shouted in unison. But they then started bombarding him with questions all at once. "Are you OK? Is Alvin OK? What happened?"
"It's OK, girls." Dave reassured them. "I'm just gonna take Alvin up to his room." He motioned to the bundle in his arms. It was just now obvious to them that the bundle was Alvin, whose hand came up to give a weak wave. "He needs to rest and take it easy, but I'll let Simon and Theodore fill you in." With that, he headed upstairs. As one last thing, he turned on the landing of the stairs to say to Simon and Theodore. "Oh, and could one of you boys get an extra ice pack, please?"
"Sure, Dave!" Theodore volunteered as he headed to the kitchen, carrying the video camera, tripod, and his own skateboard.
"Do you need any help carrying anything?" Eleanor asked him.
"Uh...sure, thanks, Ellie." He transferred the stuff into her arms. "I guess you could just set this by the coffee table for now, while I get the ice pack for Alvin."
"OK, sure." She still seemed confused, but took the stuff to the coffee table.
"Theodore, are you gonna tell us what happened?" Brittany asked him.
"Simon can, while I retrieve and deliver the ice pack." Theodore called from the kitchen.
"Just a moment..." Simon said while carrying Alvin's skateboard and broken-off wheel, and what looked like a bundle of Alvin's clothes and shoes. "Could someone please get the basement door for me?"
"Here." Jeanette volunteered.
"Thanks, Jeanette." He smiled at her while he headed down the steps. "I can tell you all about what happened once I put Alvin's clothes in the washer, and put his skateboard on my work table so I can fix it."
Theodore was now on his way out of the kitchen with the ice pack in hand. Brittany blocked his path to the stairs. "OK, quit avoiding us, Theo, and tell us what happened. We will not be left in the dark forever."
"Fine..." Theodore paused and sighed. Even though all the girls were bigger and taller than him, he feared confrontation with Brittany the most, since she could sport such an intimidating attitude. "Alvin was in the skatepark, grinding on the stair railing, when the wheel broke off, and he hit the railing and then fell off. Simon and I didn't see it happen, but Simon played back the video clip of it, and I threw up everything else I ate today after watching it, so I'm hungry now."
"Uh...OK..." Brittany shook her head. "I still don't understand exactly what happened to Alvin. Did he break any bones? Did he have a concussion?"
"Well..." Theodore started rubbing the back of his neck, while avoiding eye contact with her. "...he didn't exactly break any bones...but he did kinda break something." Before she could ask the next question he was really dreading, he added, "Oh, but don't worry, he didn't have a concussion, either. He just passed out a few times because he was in pain. But he got some kinda shot in the ER that pretty much numbed half of him. So, he's gotta rest now."
Eleanor came up beside him with a plate of some peanut butter dip and some fruit. She also had a bottle of water. "Here, Theo, if you're still hungry, take a bite before taking this up to Alvin."
"Thanks, Eleanor." He smiled at her while accepting the plate from her. He then turned to see Simon entering the living room from the basement stairs. "Oh, thank goodness, Simon's here to tell the story better than I can!"
As Simon walked in, he saw that all eyes were on him, hoping for an explanation. "Oh no, Theodore, I already served my time by undressing Alvin in the ER. I'll take the ice pack, the water bottle, and the plate of goodies to him. You tell the girls what happened."
"Thanks a lot, Simon." Theodore said sarcastically as Simon took the stuff from him, while swiping a slice of an apple dipped in peanut butter from the plate. "I guess I'll take one for the team..." He munched on it, trying to savor it as he watched Simon ascend the stairs.
"What's wrong, Theodore?" Jeanette asked with concern. "You know you can tell us anything, but I get the impression you don't want to be the one to tell us what happened to Alvin."
"Yeah..." He nodded while rubbing the back of his neck. "Simon could do a better job of explaining it. I mean, I could barely look at Alvin's...injury without getting nauseated. And this is not exactly the conversation I always dreamed of having with three other people, much less three girls. It's just kinda embarrassing..."
The three girls all gave each other questioning looks, before Eleanor placed a hand on his shoulder. "Would you rather tell us one at a time? Or if you want to tell just me, and then I could tell Jeanette and Brittany?"
"Well," Theo thought for a moment. "I could just play the video clip for you. That will explain a lot."
"That works!" The girls all nodded as they followed him to the couch.
Simon knocked on the bedroom door, even though it was partly his room too.
"Come in." He heard Dave reply.
Simon approached the accordion fold-out partition separating the beds from the rest of the room. They added that for extra privacy, since the Chipettes usually entered from the window and hung out with the boys in the other half of the room. Dave even added a small balcony area or a fire escape around that window, as well as a porch door for easier access. The Chipettes also no longer had to zip-line through the open window, either, for Dave had replaced the zip-line with a sturdy rope foot-bridge.
"Dave? Alvin?" Simon asked upon entering the partitioned area. "I've got the ice pack, as well as a water bottle and a plate of snacks."
"Thank you, Simon." Dave accepted the stuff from Simon, placing the plate and bottle on the nightstand and handing Alvin the ice pack.
"Yeah, thanks, Simon." Alvin said groggily, but managed a weak smile at his brother. He was reclining against two pillows, with the blanket up to his chest.
"How are you doing, Alvin?" Simon stood next to Alvin's right side. "Better, now that you have the ice pack?"
Alvin weakly chuckled. "I don't know yet, since I can't feel anything from the waist down. That shot numbed me pretty good. But I at least feel better now than...you know, when it happened."
"Hang in there, Tough Guy." Simon patted his right shoulder. "I put your clothes in the wash. Are you cold? Would you like me to get your pajamas, or something to wear?"
"I'm OK for now, but thanks, Simon." He smiled. "Right now, clothes may be too much trouble to wear, since I'm warm enough under my bed covers, and I still can't feel my own butt."
Dave explained, "The doctor told us to put an ice pack on top of a towel wrapped around his injury, loosely, but like bandages, and to change them out at least daily, since Alvin's boy parts might still bleed."
Alvin slapped a hand over his face in embarrassment. "Dave! Really? Do you have to call it that? I'm not five years old anymore."
"Sorry, Alvin." Dave sighed. "I'm your father. I'm also a grown adult male. And I used to give all three of you boys baths, so your anatomy doesn't surprise me. What else do you want me to call it?"
Alvin rolled his eyes. "I prefer to call it my 'munk-hood', thank you very much."
"OK," Dave continued. "The doctor ran some other tests while you were passed out, Alvin. He wanted to know the extent of the injury. While you broke a lot of blood vessels throughout your...munk-hood, thankfully you didn't do any permanent damage to your testicles - "
"My 'acorns'." Alvin interrupted him, rolling his eyes.
Dave sighed again. "Very well, since your acorns haven't fully descended yet. But the doctor said they are starting to descend, and that your injury shouldn't interrupt puberty. Or do you have a fancy term for that in 'Alvin-ese' as well? Like 'you are about to go from a chipmunk to a squirrel' or something like that?"
It was Alvin's turn to sigh. "Dave, first of all, I thought you agreed to never call us squirrels or compare us to squirrels. Second, I'm familiar with the concept of puberty. And third, I'm done with it, and I'm already a mature adult chipmunk." His voice slightly cracked while he said the last few words, but he just tried his best to ignore it.
Simon pretended to cough. "Denial! Denial!"
Dave chuckled and shook his head. "Alvin, that's not what the doctor said."
"Did you get a second opinion?" Alvin asked through another awkward voice crack.
Dave laughed as he affectionately rubbed the top of Alvin's auburn-brown head. "I don't need a 'second opinion' to tell me that you're twelve going on twenty-one. Your voice is starting to change, son."
"But I'm already a rockstar. I don't need a different voice!" Alvin lamented. "I'm also a professional heartthrob and I have a skateboarding career. No!" He looked like he was about to cry.
"In that case, maybe workers' comp could help with the medical expenses incurred from your recent injury." Simon smirked. "Or, they may only do that if you were wearing the proper protective equipment - like a cup."
Dave smiled over at Simon. "He's right, Alvin. I'll get you a cup for your skateboarding career 'protective equipment', but you should take it easy and rest for a while. The doctor says you should wait a few weeks before playing any contact sports, longer for any extreme sports like skateboarding."
"So I'm grounded, huh?" Alvin groaned dramatically. "Talk about adding insult to injury!" He acted like he might cry again.
Dave sighed and smiled over at Simon. "Simon, I can't thank you enough for not being this difficult when you entered puberty."
"I just learned to roll with it." Simon shrugged.
Dave stroked Alvin's hair. "It's OK, Alvin. You're not being punished or grounded as usual - you were in an accident. And it's hard for me to tell whether you are just being your overly dramatic self, or if it's the painkillers making you that way, or if your adolescent hormones are just going haywire. But rest assured that I still love you no matter what, and I'm here for you if you need me, Alvin Michael Seville." He lightly kissed Alvin on top of his head, and rubbed his shoulder.
"Dave..." Alvin blinked away a few tears. "Thanks, Dave, you're the best. Not just for your unconditional love, but for using my full name in a loving way, rather than just saving it for when I'm in trouble like what most parents usually do. I wouldn't mind having more talks with you like this, but I could wait until I'm not naked, or hopped up on painkillers to the point where I'm kinda tired." He yawned as he reclined resting his head on the pillow.
Dave smiled at Alvin one last brief moment. "Well, if I used your full name only when you were in trouble, I would overuse it. Simon and I will let you take a nap while we go downstairs to help the others with dinner."
"Enjoy your nap, Bro." Simon waved as he followed Dave out the bedroom.
A/N: In my story "Ted's Teepee", I went out on a limb & speculated on their middle names, then wrote about it in the "A/N" of the 2nd chapter. But he's named after Michael Bagdasarian, the son of Ross Jr and Janice Karman. And it was from the scene in "Chipwrecked" where I first heard Alvin refer to to his "acorns". It's funny how parents can manage to embarrass you at that age, even when there aren't any witnesses.