Author's Note: So, Theodore didn't get the chance to ask her before school, but will he be able to this time? Let's find out, shall we? Don't forget my disclaimer. Here's chapter two. Enjoy!

For Theodore, the day was going by way too slowly. He sat in his algebra class, anxiously waiting for the bell to ring for lunch. His legs began to shake as well as his hands as he waited. He looked at the clock above his teacher's chalkboard for the twentieth time and watched as the hands ticked by loudly and gradually. As a new tick ticked by, Theodore felt his heart begin to race even more. In a matter of minutes, he would be asking out the most amazing girl in the world. He was both excited and nervous all at the same time. Butterflies began to fill his stomach as he continued to watch the clock.

Only five more minutes, he thought. Then, I get to see her.

To pass the agonizing five minutes, Theodore decided to doodle on his math notebook. All over the page, he drew little hearts, and on the middle of the page was a big heart with an arrow going through it. Inside the heart, there were words. They said: Theodore and Eleanor Forever.

Theodore sighed deeply as he gazed at his creation. All he ever wanted was for Eleanor to be his girlfriend. He wanted to hold her in his arms, he wanted her to be there to make him smile, and he wanted to be with her because he knew she would never betray him. Eleanor was all he could have asked for and more. He knew he had fallen in love with her from the moment they met, and since then, he did whatever he could to make her happy. Now, he wanted to show her how much she meant to him.

All of a sudden, the bell for lunch finally rang. Everyone quickly got out their seats and ran out of the room, all except for Theodore. Though he was excited to see Eleanor, he was also nervous. He wanted to go out with her so badly, but he didn't know if that's what she wanted.

It can't hurt to try, he thought. Who knows? Maybe Simon's right, and maybe she does like me that way.

Theodore swiftly packed up his back pack, stood up, and slung it over his shoulders. He looked towards the doorway, and the butterflies in his stomach began flying faster as sweat began forming on his brow.

"Well, here goes nothing," he said to himself as he began walking out of the room.

Eleanor briskly walked down the hallways towards the cafeteria. She had forgotten to eat breakfast and she was absolutely ravenous. When she made it to the white, spacious cafeteria, it was already half way full of students. She grabbed a tray and waited in line to get some food.

"Hello there, honey," said a voice behind her.

Eleanor turned around and glared. It was Jason Dawson, the most obnoxious boy in her English class. For the past few weeks, he has been trying to get Eleanor to go out with him, but apparently, Jason had a thick head. Eleanor would say no to him every single time he asked, but he just kept coming back, like a boomerang.

"What do you want, Jason?" she asked as she handed her tray to the lunch lady.

"You know what I want, sweetie," he said cockily. "You, me, together this Saturday night at eight. What do you say?"

Eleanor scoffed silently as her tray was handed back to her.

"For the last time, Jason," she began. "I don't want to go out with you."

"Come on," he whined as he followed her down the line. "Why not?"

Once Eleanor made it to the end of the line, she paid for her food and began walking away in search of a table. Before she could even take a few steps, Jason stepped in front of her with a slightly annoyed look on his face.

"Well? Why not?" he asked again.

"Well," she began as glared at him. "For starters, you're really obnoxious. You're lazy and messy. The only reason you want to go out with me is because you think I'm pretty. You know nothing about me. And finally, you are not my type. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Eleanor walked passed Jason, shoving his arm as she did so. She found a clear table, took a seat, and began eating her lunch, but before she could even take one bite, she felt something grab her arm. Then, she was pulled up from her seat, and her eyes came into contact with Jason's. His eyes were dark and filled with anger. She tried desperately to get out of his grip, but he was too strong for her.

"Now, you listen here, missy!" he yelled. "No one turns down Jason Dawson! You will go out with me, and you will like it!"

As Theodore walked closer to the cafeteria, his stomach began doing flips flops as the butterflies fluttered faster. He clenched his stomach tightly. He knew his stomach wasn't suffering from food deprivation. It was suffering from nervousness and fear.

You can do this, he thought.

Theodore took in a deep breath as he walked into the cafeteria. The cafeteria was almost completely full as he made his way toward the line. Then, he looked at the end of the line to see something that broke his heart. Eleanor was talking to some other guy.

Oh, no, he thought. I'm too late.

His heart sank as he slowly walked out of the line. He wasn't hungry anymore. He began to walk down the line, and he could hear some of the conversation between Eleanor and the boy, and he focused his ears so he could hear more.

"Well?" the boy asked. "Why not?"

Theodore really focused on Eleanor's response.

"Well," he heard her say. "For starters, you're really obnoxious. You're lazy and messy. The only reason you want to go out with me is because you think I'm pretty. You know nothing about me. And finally, you are not my type. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Theodore smiled as he watched Eleanor shoved the boy out of her way and sat down to eat.

So I'm not too late, he thought. I still have a chance.

He began walking over towards Eleanor's table slowly. Then, his eyes caught movement, and before Theodore knew it, the boy talking to Eleanor walked briskly over to her table, grabbed her arm, and pulled her out of her seat. He could feel his face burn with fury as he watched the scene.

How could anyone touch Eleanor like that?! He thought.

Theodore quickened his pace as he made his way towards the table.

"Now, you listen here, missy!" the boy yelled. "No one turns down Jason Dawson! You will go out with me, and you will like it!"

That remark only increased Theodore's anger even more. Soon, he made it to the table, but Eleanor and Jason hadn't noticed him yet.

"Ow! Let go!" Eleanor screamed. "You're hurting me!"

"Not until you agree!" Jason shouted.

Suddenly, a wave of courage washed over Theodore, and before he could stop himself, he said, "She said let her go."

Jason and Eleanor, as well as everyone else in the cafeteria, turned their heads to look at Theodore. Jason glared at him but continued to hold onto Eleanor's arm. Theodore knew he wouldn't be able to fight him, but at that moment he didn't care. The jerk was hurting Eleanor, and he wasn't going to stand by and watch him torture her.

Eleanor was completely surprised to see Theodore standing up for her. He has never done anything like this before, but she was really glad he did. Then, she felt Jason tighten his grip on her arm. She winced slightly as a new wave a pain came through her arm.

"This your boyfriend or something?" Jason asked as he turned back to Eleanor.

Eleanor didn't respond. All she did was glare at him. Jason turned back to look at Theodore.

"Look, shrimp," Jason said. "She doesn't need a weak link like you. What she needs is a man."

"Well, then I suggest you let go of her," Theodore sarcastically said. "She doesn't need to be hanging around apes either."

Jason's eyes widened slightly from Theodore's remark, and his face began to turn red. Eleanor couldn't help but admire Theodore's sudden bravery.

"What did you call me?" Jason asked through clenched teeth.

"Did I stutter?" Theodore asked. "I called you an ape, a big, hairy, smelly and ugly primate."

That statement was the last straw for Jason. He quickly let go of Eleanor's arm and walked over to Theodore. Theodore knew what was coming, but he didn't run away. He stood his ground not for himself, but for Eleanor. Then, Jason grabbed Theodore's collar and picked him up off the ground. His eyes looked almost fiery, but Theodore wasn't scared. He was just relieved that Eleanor was safe from Jason's clutches.

Eleanor watched in horror as Jason picked up Theodore. She couldn't believe Theodore was doing this, and the thought of Theodore getting hurt scared her, especially since she was the one who caused the problem. She wanted desperately to stop them, but she knew she wouldn't be able to. All she could do was watch.

"That's it, shrimp!" Jason screamed as he pulled his fist back. "You're dead meat!"

Theodore braised himself for the pain Jason was about to afflict on him. But then, a familiar voice sounded from across the cafeteria.

"Hey!" Alvin called as he made his way toward Jason and Theodore. "What's the big idea, Jason? I thought I made it clear when you picked on Simon that no one is allowed to pick on my brothers. Are you asking for another swirly?"

Everyone in the whole cafeteria began to laugh as they recalled Jason's last swirly. Jason's cheeks were still red, but this time from embarrassment. Alvin crossed his arms and smirked at him, and Jason knew as long as Alvin was around, he couldn't touch his kid brother. With a huff of his breath, he placed Theodore back on his feet and began walking angrily out of the room.

Both Theodore and Eleanor both let out a sigh of relief. Theodore walked over to Eleanor, and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly. "Did that jerk hurt you?"

Eleanor looked into his bright green eyes. She could see the agony in them.

He truly does care, she thought.

"I'm fine, Theodore," she said reassuringly. "I was just worried you were going to get hurt."

At that moment, Theodore felt someone slap him on the back. He turned his head to see Alvin standing beside him.

"Way to go, little bro," he appraisingly said. "I saw the whole thing, and I'm glad you stood your ground. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Alvin," Theodore said as he smiled at his older brother.

"Hey, if anyone's going to pick on you, it's going to be me."

Both Theodore and Eleanor laughed at Alvin's joke. Then, the bell to end lunch rang.

"Guess I'll see you guys later," Alvin said as he made his way out of the cafeteria.

"Okay, bye, Al," Theodore called as he watched Alvin disappear.

He turned his attention back to Eleanor and gave her a warm smile. She returned the smile without hesitation and looked deeply into his soft, bright green eyes.

"Thank you, Theodore, for standing up for me like that," she said admiringly. "No one's done that for me before."

Theodore's smile grew wider as he continued to look into the chocolate brown eyes of the chipette he secretly loved.

"You're welcome, Ellie," he said.

The two chipmunks continued to stare at each other for a few more minutes before they noticed they were the only ones left in the cafeteria. Theodore took his arm off Eleanor's shoulders and took her hand.

"Come on," he said. "I'll walk you to your class."

Eleanor continued to smile at him as she grabbed her back pack.

"Okay," she said as they began to walk out of the cafeteria.

They walked down the hallways in silence, but they each took a few glances at each other. Theodore couldn't help but admire her poised walk. She reminded him of a ballerina, dancing gracefully down the hall.

She's so beautiful, he thought. I would be so lucky if she were mine.

Eleanor looked at Theodore and noticed his body. He wasn't the chubby chipmunk he used to be, and she couldn't help but stare at his well muscled arms.

Wow, he's so cute, she thought. If he were mine, I would never let him go.

Before either of them knew it, they had made it to Eleanor's Biology class.

"I guess this is it for me," Eleanor said forlornly.

"Yeah," said Theodore also sadly.

They stood in front of the classroom door for a few moments before Eleanor remembered something.

"Weren't you going to ask me something, Theodore?" she asked curiously, hoping to keep the conversation going.

Theodore looked at her for a moment. He finally had a chance to ask her out, but for some reason, his gut told him that now wasn't the time to ask her. He gave a small smile.

"Yeah, but it can wait," he said.

Eleanor looked almost sad when Theodore said that. She didn't want to say goodbye to him yet.

"Oh, well, okay," she said. "I guess I'll see you in Home Ec. then."

Theodore continued to smile at her.

"Alright, bye, Ellie," he said solemnly.

"Bye, Theodore," she said as she walked into the classroom and closed the door behind her.

Theodore stood there for a few moments contemplating his past actions. Though his gut told him not to ask, he couldn't help but think that he should have.

She just got out of a threatening situation, he thought. It wasn't the right time.

Then, Theodore began walking down the hallway to his next class.

I'll ask her in Home Ec., he thought.

Darn that Jason Dawson!! He ruined everything! Well, maybe Theodore will get a chance next time. You'll just have to wait and see. Hope you guys liked it!