The Missed Adventure
About This Story: Takes place in "The Chipmunk Adventure", after the Chipettes rescued the Chipmunks from being sacrificed in Fiji. Alvin and Brittany get a chance to talk about the trip. Even though the movie came out in 1987, some references are made to technology, events, and other things that didn't exist until the 21st century. Just for consistency, I'm going to write it (and imagine it) as if "The Chipmunk Adventure" happened in my current favorite upgraded and present Chipmunk "universe" (which is the 2015 Nickelodeon cartoon) - "The Chipmunk Adventure 2.0", if you will. Age-wise, I'll say they are 8 years old. 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, since there is mention of a mild injury involving blood, and some allusions to courser language.
Pairings: Alvin/Brittany
A Chance To Talk
Brittany just sat there silently watching the fire. She watched as Alvin walked over to the balloon basket in silence to pull out some of the spears that were lodged in the basket. She also realized it was the longest she had spent alone with Alvin while he wasn't talking, so it was kinda eerie.
He walked back over to the campfire with his armful of spears, and sat in the spot he had earlier vacated across the flames from Brittany. He extended a spear out to her. "Would you like one?"
"Huh?" Brittany just looked at Alvin.
Alvin shrugged, "You know, in case we need to defend ourselves, if those natives come after us." He started sharpening the tips against the rocks surrounding the campfire. His concentration was clearly on the spearheads, and he seemed so serious.
"OK." Brittany picked up the offered spear, examining it for a moment. She then started giggling.
"What?" Alvin stated without smiling or even looking up.
Brittany jabbed the spear into the air, "Check it out, Alvin..." Once he glanced up, she continued, "I'm 'Brittany Spears'! Ha, ha!"
Alvin just slightly chuckled and shook his head. At least that made him smile for a few seconds, before he returned to being serious and silent, almost broody."
"Alvin, are you OK?" Brittany asked, concerned.
"Why would I not be OK?" He replied without looking up. "You just saved my life, and I'm still alive. Isn't that what matters?" He actually glanced over at Brittany at the last question, to see the concern in her bright blue eyes. His gaze fell to the ground, and he corrected himself, "Sorry if that response seemed kinda short-tempered."
"Yeah..." Began Brittany. "We've known each other since Kindergarten, Alvin. I know you and I haven't always been the best of friends, but I don't think I've ever seen you like this. It's like, 'Who are you, and what have you done with Alvin?' I don't know, maybe we're both just tired right now, but you just don't seem like your usual squirrelly self."
Alvin finally smiled, and rolled his eyes in mock outrage. "Britt, I find that last statement very offensive as I am a chipmunk and not a squirrel."
Brittany giggled.
In order to add more dramatic effect, Alvin stomped his feet and waved his fists in the air, accidentally knocking over some spears that he had already sharpened. One of them mildly lacerated his right forearm in the falling process. "Oww!" He cried out in pain.
Brittany immediately stopped her laughing. "Oh, Alvin! Let me get the first aid kit." She went into a "mom mode" she didn't know she even possessed, scrambling to find the first aid kit that Eleanor had almost put away, wetting a washcloth with some bottled water and disinfectant. She was soon tenderly attending Alvin's wound.
Once Alvin's arm was properly bandaged, he heaved a sigh of relief. "Wow. I've never seen that side of you before, Britt. I guess I always thought you were too afraid of blood to do anything like that. How did you know how to do all that?"
"I guess I've learned some of it from babysitting." Brittany gently stroked Alvin's newly bandaged forearm. "And my sisters occasionally teach me a thing or two. Eleanor would've been proud of me, and Jeanette would probably say that you might still want a tetanus shot when we get back."
"Yes, Miss Nurse Brittany." Alvin laughed. Then he stopped and smiled at her, now sitting beside him, "Thanks, Britt, you did great. I'm really impressed. Not only that you could do that, but that you would do that. Like you said earlier, we haven't always been the best of friends. But that's the second time you've helped me tonight."
"You're very welcome, Alvin." Brittany patted him on the shoulder. "And now that it's just the two of us, not trying to one-up each other, would you mind talking friend-to-friend? I mean, you've seemed so quiet here, while in Athens you were the competitive bad-boy that I remember. Is it because you realize the competition is bogus? Or is something else on your mind? That is, if you don't mind me asking."
Alvin sighed and stared at the campfire. "No, I don't mind you asking me about this. You know how competitive I can be, and how Alvin Seville always likes to be the champion, the hero. I guess it was just more humbling to me than I thought, since I not only lost the race to you - if there were still a race, anyways - but you saved my life, and the lives of my brothers. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful to you especially for that. I guess in some ways I feel like the world revolves less around me than I act like it does sometimes. I'm just not the hero who rescues the damsel in distress I thought I was, especially if the damsel is rescuing me. I'm probably boring you by now, Britt."
"Not at all." Brittany shook her head empathetically. "And of course the world revolves less around you, since it revolves more around me."
Alvin had to laugh at her remark.
"I'm kidding, Alvin." She sighed. "Remember when we first made friends back in Kindergarten? I know back then we would sometimes pretend I was the princess and you were my knight in shining armor. But that wasn't far from the truth. You and your brothers actually saved the lives of myself and my sisters. Our other manager and guardian didn't love us like Dave. He even locked us in a cage." She shuddered remembering this. "You were definitely the hero the time you helped us out of that cage. And now, we have a better life with Dave. I know I act like I don't like you most of the time, and there are even sometimes when I actually convince myself that I hate you, but the truth is that you never stopped being that hero to me." She placed a hand on his right shoulder. "Alvin, you don't have to keep being the hero for the rest of the world in order for me to still think of you as my hero."
"Brittany, wow! That was just beautiful." Alvin stammered. He placed his left hand on top of Brittany's hand on his shoulder. "Much like you don't always have to keep trying to be the princess of everything, because you're already my princess. And I'll keep rescuing you, as I'm your knight in charming iron - er, knight in sharming arnamor - uh, as your hero."
"Awww," Brittany giggled, "Look at us being all sweet to each other. Wouldn't our siblings be impressed?"
Alvin sighed, "I'm sure they would. But that makes me think of something else that's on my mind." He looked at the flames in the campfire again.
"And what's that?" Brittany asked.
Alvin continued, "Well, Simon hasn't been too crazy about me dragging him into this race from the beginning. He's been even more upset with me since I talked Theodore into tricking Miss Miller into letting us go on this trip. And all because I hate to lose, especially to you of all people, I nearly got all three of us killed. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if Simon wants to kill me, like a real 'Cain-and-Abel' situation."
Brittany chuckled, "I could talk to him later, to see if he would forgive you for that. But if my sisters can forgive me for being a real jerk to them sometimes, I'm sure your brothers still love you and would easily forgive you. They all have big hearts, you know. And you aren't the only one who has been learning a hard lesson in humility during this whole trip."
"Oh yeah?" Alvin glanced over at her.
"Yeah," Brittany nodded, "In Bermuda, my sisters actually saved me from getting eaten by a great white shark, I kid you not." When she saw Alvin's jaw drop, she continued, "My scuba tank was stuck in its mouth, and they pulled me away without a scratch, sharing their air with me on the way up. It was one of the most terrifying moments of my life! But they were so amazing at saving me, I realized I'm so lucky to have the best sisters ever! I hope I can be at least half the sister to them that they are to me. As much as my sisters fight with me, I know they'll fight for me any day." She gently nudged Alvin. "And I know your brothers feel the same about you."
Alvin gasped, "Sounds like my competitive streak almost got you killed, too. I'm sorry, Brittany."
She laughed, "Trust me, Alvin, I can be as much of an alpha-dog as you can. It wasn't just your competitive streak this time. I contributed plenty of it, myself. My sisters have even said in front of me that I am 'difficult', 'demanding', 'high-maintenance', and that I throw fits when I 'don't get my way'. It wasn't easy for me to hear, even though they are mostly right. I don't like to lose, either."
"Ouch." Alvin grimaced. "I didn't realize your sisters would actually tell you off like that to your face."
"Well..." Brittany chuckled awkwardly, "In the most recent time they said all of this, they were trying to talk the pharaoh out of marrying me. Even though it sounded so mean at the time, raking me over the coals seemed like the best way they could try to save me - again. I realize that not only do they love me, but they tough-love me. I don't know how they can keep on loving me, even when that 'B' on my favorite sweater doesn't stand for 'Brittany' as much as it stands for...something that rhymes with 'witch'."
Alvin laughed. "I guess my fear of Simon trying to kill me is completely as bogus as this balloon race. If he really wanted to kill me, he's smart enough he would've done it by now, and he could make it look like an accident. Both of my brothers do a great deal of putting up with me that it could even be called love. And I'm floored by how they can still love me even when the 'A' on most of my other clothes doesn't stand for 'Alvin' as much as it stands for...something that ends in '-hole'."
Brittany giggled, "I get the picture. Glad to see you are feeling better, at least emotionally."
Alvin nervously rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand, but managed to smile. "Yeah, thanks, Britt. This 'friend-to-friend talk' has really helped."
"But..." Prodded Brittany, "Is there something else?"
Alvin paused for a moment, staring at the campfire. He then looked back over at Brittany. "It's just that... I realize I never really congratulated you for getting engaged. So, congrats!"
"What?" She looked shocked. "Oh, thanks, I guess. But I don't think it's gonna work out."
"Really? What's this 'pharaoh' like? And you don't wanna be 'Mrs Pharaoh'? I'm a little surprised you would turn down a chance to be queen of your own country." He winked at her.
Brittany laughed, "I'm already 'Queen Of The World', so being 'Queen Of The Nile' would be more like a demotion. Ha! I never really considered that at best, if anything happened to the pharaoh, I would be queen. But it seemed more like I was just gonna be one of the pharaoh's wives in his harem. I wouldn't want to share the throne - or a husband, for that matter - with anyone. Come to think of it, he really wasn't my type. Even though he was super-rich and powerful..." She made a sideways-glance at Alvin, who was sighing and looking at the campfire. "...He was no rock star."
Alvin's eyes widened at this. He looked over at Brittany, who was sending him a quick wink while drinking out of a water bottle. He chuckled to himself while she was getting a drink.
When she finished, she held out and lightly jostled her bottle. "Thirsty?"
"A little, I guess." He shrugged.
A/N: I mentioned the Kindergarten thing again, along with the fact that the Chipette's former manager locked them in a cage (like Ian Hawke did in "The Squeakquel"). Maybe I should write another fanfic about that. Sorry if this chapter is full of cheap clichés. The one about "...sisters fighting with me...they'll fight for me..."? Paraphrased from the 2003-ish movie "Cheaper By The Dozen", where Hillary Duff's character Loraine says something similar about her younger sister Sarah. And in one part when Alvin says, "Oh yeah?" Then Brittany says, "Yeah" was kinda playing with the fact that they had a similar argument at the end of the movie, before Dave had a "long talk" with them. And the "knight in sharming iron..." is from the 2015 Nick cartoon episode "Mister Manners".
I think it's cute how it's obvious that Alvin and Brittany care about each other (as friends, and as "more–than-friends") more than either cares to admit, and they end up fighting like brother and sister (or sometimes like an old married couple). But then they can surprise everyone by setting their rivalry aside and really being there for each other (like in "Chipwrecked", after they built the shelter). If Alvin and Brittany can work things out, then maybe there is hope for the Middle East. And I believe that the only clear-cut winner in the "rock-off" of "The Chipmunk Adventure" (when they sang "The Girls And Boys Of Rock-N-Roll") was really the "Alvittany" fans, since making it a friendly competition was what it took to make Alvin and Brittany dance together!
