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 mentions of both male and female puberty issues, bordering on middle-school "locker room talk".

Pairings: Alvin/Brittany

10. Well...

As soon as Theodore and Simon returned to their beds wearing their pajamas a little later that same night, Dave stood up, kissed Alvin's forehead, and rubbed his bare chest. "Rest now, Alvin, I'll see what we can do for you tomorrow, if you're feeling better in the morning. OK? Goodnight, son." He helped his other two boys get into bed, tucking them in with a goodnight kiss to their little heads. He turned before leaving the bedroom area partition to say, "Goodnight, fellas!" And he left the room as soon as he heard the resounding chorus of "Goodnight, Dave!"

When he heard the door gently shut, Alvin glanced to his right and left. "OK, he's gone now, and I've missed you guys!"

"Alvin! You're OK!" Theodore shot out of his own bed, and went to join Alvin, giving him a gentle hug around the shoulders as he sat down.

"Shhh!" Alvin reminded him, but returned the hug.

"Oh, sorry. I'm just so relieved you're OK." Theodore whispered before Simon joined them on the other side of Alvin's bed. Theo continued, "And I'm a little excited that you're still awake. I hope you aren't too 'hugged out' from Brittany for a few hugs from me."

"What?" Alvin shot both his brothers a puzzled look.

Simon explained while patting Alvin's back, "Brittany said she may have squeezed you too tightly while she hugged you, and that she forgot about your injury."

"Well...I suppose that's partly true." Alvin started rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"What do you mean?" They asked him in unison.

Alvin continued as he bit his lower lip. "Look, I didn't want to tell Dave about this. He would probably kill me if he knew...but Brittany and I were enjoying the sunset and dancing together. We were kinda having a romantic moment, and we just hugged and rubbed each other's backs. We weren't squeezing too hard, but we were really leaning into each other. It felt awesome! But oh, during that amazing full-body hug, I guess the whole...uh...male and female differences really started to hit me. The one that came to mind first was the fact that I could feel through the back of her shirt, that Brittany was wearing a...a..." He started smiling wistfully into space.

"A bra?" Simon finished. When Theo and Alvin gave him a questioning look, he continued, "What? We are mammals. And development of mammary glands is a mammalian female secondary sex characteristic. The Chipettes have been wearing bras for at least two years, whether they have really needed them or not."

Alvin sighed, "Whatever, Simon. Anyway, I guess I just realized tonight that Brittany even actually needed one, since she has such perfectly-formed curves... Oh..." He gushed wistfully.

Simon snapped him out of his daydream. "Alvin, when you realized this, about Brittany's bra, did that give you another erection?"

"I thought our code-word for that was 'chill'." Theodore added.

"It's OK, Theo, it's just the three of us, and we can be honest about it. We've all been there." Simon explained.

"Speak for yourself." Theodore groaned. "I haven't 'been there' yet."

Alvin patted Theodore's back and smiled at him. "Don't worry too much, Teddy-Boy, you will be there soon enough." He turned back to Simon. "OK, I admit it. I had a sudden painful erection, and I couldn't help it or control it. Please don't tell Dave."

"OK, I won't tell Dave about this." Simon patted Alvin's shoulder.

"Thank you!" Alvin hugged Simon's shoulders.

Simon cleared his throat, "But, Alvin, please..." Simon looked his impetuous brother in the eye, while placing his hands square on Alvin's shoulders. "Please promise me you will be more careful with Brittany from now on. Please try not to spend too much time off alone with her, unchaperoned. I'm really not ready to be an uncle just yet, and I'm sure Dave isn't ready to be a grandpa, either. OK, Bro? I'm only saying this because I love you, and I feel responsible towards you and Theodore...as well as Brittany and the other girls. And you know that Theodore is looking up to you as an example."

"No I'm not. Except as maybe what not to do." Theodore interrupted.

"Just shut up and bear with me for now, Theodore." Simon chuckled and rolled his eyes, but whispered to Alvin, "He does look up to you more than he will ever admit."

Alvin smiled at how his big brother was looking out for him. He nodded while looking into Simon's eyes. "OK, I understand. I'll do it for you and for Theo. Thanks, Simon. I love you, too." He wrapped his arms around Simon's neck in a brotherly hug.

Simon lightly returned Alvin's hug with a few pats on the back. "Oh, Alvin, even though I'm not the hugging type, I'd be much happier to give you a better hug sometime after your bathrobe gets out of the dryer."

Alvin laughed and put an arm around each brother, pulling them both into a hug. "You said so yourself, Si, 'What happens with the brothers stays with the brothers'. And I like to be hugged without the risk of another painful erection interrupting everything, unless..." He gasped and pointed back and forth between his brothers. "Are either of you guys wearing a bra, by any chance?"

Simon rolled his eyes, but chuckled and shook his head.

Theodore stated sarcastically, "Oh, I forgot to wear mine."

The others laughed and pulled him into a hug.

Alvin was lying on his back, with an arm around each brother, pulling them down with him. The three of them stared at the ceiling and enjoyed some brotherly - but still manly - cuddling for a few moments.

Theodore broke the silence by rolling his head towards his left to look at the others. "OK, stupid question from the brother who hasn't 'been there' yet, but...does it always hurt like that when you get an erection?" He shuddered. "Puberty just sounds painful! I don't know if I should count my blessings that I'm not there yet, or if I should want to just get it over with."

Alvin and Simon glanced quickly at each other, before Simon explained, "It's not supposed to be painful, even though it is awkward and weird, and even embarrassing at times, since you can't control it. But it's just painful for Alvin right now in light of his recent injury."

"Oh..." Theodore shrugged. "Well, that answers that question. But I just thought of another. Does the fact that Alvin had an erection while he was with Brittany mean that he has feelings for her?"

"Uhh..." Alvin stammered and glanced over at Simon, since he seemed to have an answer for just about everything else.

"Maybe, maybe not." Simon replied. "All it really means is that Alvin was sexually aroused by something about Brittany at that time - like for instance, thinking about her bra. It's like how your stomach growls and your mouth salivates just because you smell food. It doesn't mean you'll starve if you don't eat right away. But you will eventually starve if you do not act on your appetite and eat, while people can live years or even an entire lifetime without ever acting on satisfying their libido - or their sexual desire. The stomach wants what the stomach wants, just like in this case Alvin's penis wants what Alvin's penis wants."

"OK, Simon!" Alvin groaned. "You're getting to be as bad as Dave. And I suppose you are just a perfect saint and 'holier than thou', and your penis has never wanted anything or anyone."

"Quite the contrary, my friend." Simon chuckled. "I've been doing this for almost a year before you got into this. I've had many a long shower, and needed to change my sheets many times this past year. But it's nothing alarming, Dave and the book both say that it's all just a part of growing up. All perfectly normal and natural."

"Thanks, Simon." Theodore smiled. "That answers all but the original question I asked."

"And what was your original question, again, Theo?" Simon asked.

Theodore turned to face his brothers again. "It was more a personal question for Alvin than one that Simon can answer because he's read the book. I've read the book too, you know, and I know the answer isn't gonna be found there."

Simon groaned, "Just spit it out, Theodore! What was the question?"

Theodore looked at Alvin. "Alvin, do you have feelings for Brittany? And not just the 'lusty' feelings 'South of the Equator'," he motioned towards the ice pack and towel in Alvin's lap, "But I mean like, the 'love' feelings in here." He tapped over Alvin's heart.

"Excellent question, Theodore!" Simon smiled at him before looking at Alvin. "Do you, Alvin?..."

In the Chipettes' treehouse that same time on Thursday night, Jeanette was combing and French-braiding Eleanor's wet hair, while both of them sat in their pajamas on Eleanor's bed.

"Hey, Britt, come join us!" Eleanor welcomed her sister, who was walking up the stairs wrapped in a hot pink towel with white polka-dotted hearts on it, her hair wrapped turban-style in another identical towel.

"Huh? Oh, thanks, Ellie, maybe later." Brittany seemed a little absent-minded and emotionally down as she headed towards her own bed, to get some pajamas from the drawers in her wardrobe.

Eleanor and Jeanette just looked at each other, then back at Brittany. They knew when something was wrong with one of them. Jeanette said with concern, "If you're still worried about Alvin, Simon texted me that he's OK. No one blames you for his relapse, it may have happened anyway, even if you weren't squeezing him in too hard a hug at the time. We're actually grateful that you were there with him, so that you could get help in time. But maybe it'll help you to hang out and have some girl time with us for a while?"

"Thanks, Jeanette." Brittany actually smiled, before she stepped over to Eleanor's bed and removed the turban from her head. "I suppose I could use some time with you guys, since I've been spending so much time with Alvin lately." She sat down on Eleanor's bed, trying to keep to the edge in case her towel was still wet. "And as long as you don't yank too hard on my hair, Ellie, I'll let you comb out my hair."

"Yay!" Eleanor squealed as she sat behind Brittany, with Jeanette seated behind her. She started gently combing a section of Brittany's golden strawberry-blonde locks. "I promise I'll be gentle. Now, if you don't mind me asking, just what exactly happened between you and Alvin right before he relapsed? I thought you guys were getting along. Did you have an argument or something? I still have a hard time understanding how you just 'hugged him too hard'."

Brittany chuckled awkwardly before she sighed. "Can I tell you guys something? I also don't want it to leave the room, so I would even like to invoke our 'Sister Secrecy Pact'."

"Sure, anything." Her sisters replied in unison as they adjusted their seating positions so that Jeanette now sat on Brittany's left and Eleanor now sat on her right. Eleanor only had the left side of her own hair finished in a French-braided pigtail, but she continued to comb the right side of Brittany's hair.

"Alright, here's the real deal..." Brittany began, "I wasn't exactly hugging Alvin 'too tight', but we were both hugging and even cuddling each other in a kinda romantic way. It was almost like a steamy make-out session, only with hugging instead of kissing. We were really leaning into each other with a full-body hug. At one point, I think he was even trying to unhook my bra like they do on TV, so I tried something else I've seen on TV - I stepped out of my shoe and started using my barefoot to rub the side of his leg. Before Alvin had his relapse, I could even feel him getting a hard-on." She chuckled again, "I even thought it was kinda cute! I mean, it was nice to know that part of him was happy again, after it looked like it was about to turn black and fall off on Tuesday night, when I helped him change out his towel. I was glad he couldn't feel it at that time."

"Wait a minute..." Jeanette pushed her glasses back up on her nose. "So you did do something to Alvin after all, it just wasn't hugging him too tight or kicking him in the groin after an argument. And just what kinda late-night TV have you been watching, Britt?"

Eleanor blinked with her mouth agape, "Whoa...are you telling us that you actually saw Alvin's thing?"

Brittany nervously shrugged. "Sorry I didn't tell you about that sooner, but I was kinda worried that if word of that reached Dave, he would either kill me or put me to work as Alvin's full-time nurse. That night I helped him change his towel, it was more like looking at a-a-a serious bruise than it was like looking at Alvin's...anatomy. It started where I just felt sorry for him in light of his injury, but after a while it's like I've gotten that 'Nightingale Complex' for him. I've just spent so much time with him, become so comfortable with him, and gotten so close to him that he's all I can think about."

Eleanor finished combing the right side of Brittany's hair, and she handed off the comb to Jeanette to finish the left side. She leaned her cheek against Brittany's right shoulder as she wrapped her left arm around to rest on Brittany's left shoulder. "So, you love him, huh?"

Brittany used her right hand to pat and squeeze Eleanor's right hand. "Yeah...and tonight right after Alvin relapsed, but before he passed out, he said he loved me. Can you believe it? I wasn't the one to say it first! I've even held his hand a few times, and it felt so good!"

"Aww..." Eleanor squealed. "You're in love, Britt!" She then started singing, "Brittany and Alvin, sitting in a tree...H-U-G-G-I-N-G...First comes love, then comes marriage..." She paused the singing for a moment to turn to Brittany. "Or, wait...are you guys gonna wait until after you're married to make love, you know, like you're supposed to, or like Dave would want you to? And do you think Alvin can still have kids after his injury?"

"Calm down, Ellie!" Brittany rolled her eyes and playfully nudged Eleanor. "We just barely started a new relationship, if you can call it that. And we're only twelve, so I doubt we'll be wanting kids anytime within the next ten years. Hopefully Alvin will recover from his injury long before then. It seemed like he was getting a little better before he relapsed tonight. But he still seems tired when he talks to the point where I sometimes forget he's rehabilitating from an injury to his crotch rather than recovering from bronchitis or something to his respiratory system or throat. Poor guy..."

"Oh, I know why he sounds like that." Jeanette spoke up. "Simon told me that his metabolism is starting to speed up, which makes him seem tired, even if he weren't drugged sluggish from his pain meds. His voice is also starting to change as he's starting to hit puberty. It's a textbook-case of it, all there in the book we read this past year."

"Oh..." Brittany blinked. "Alvin's going through puberty? I guess that does explain a lot..."

"Aww, man!" Eleanor snapped her fingers in disappointment. "I can't believe even Alvin has reached puberty before me. I thought girls were supposed to mature faster than boys."

"Ellie, you did reach puberty before Alvin." Jeanette rolled her eyes. "Remember how you were the first of us to graduate from a training bra to a real bra? You're already more endowed than me. You're even starting to pop out of your current bra and needing an upgrade to a bigger one. It reminds me of a joke: Why do mermaids wear seashells?"

"Why do they, Jen?" Brittany smiled.

Jeanette continued. "Because B-shells are too small, and D-shells are too big."

Her sisters both laughed.

Eleanor sighed, "Oh, who cares if I actually might need to upgrade to a C-cup. Both of you started menstruating last year, but not me - I'm still just the little girl living with two grown women."

Jeanette walked across the bed on her knees to put her right arm around Eleanor. "It's alright, Ellie. It's not like Brittany and I chose to reach menarche at eleven. It may not always seem like it to you, but all three of us are still adolescents, and we won't be legally adults for six more years. Hey, why don't the three of us go shopping in town tomorrow sometime? We could pick out new outfits for our upcoming concert on Saturday night, and maybe get some better bras for you, and we could even pick up some feminine items and put an 'emergency kit' together for when you do start. How does that sound?" She patted Eleanor's right cheek with her right hand, as Eleanor smiled and nodded at her. "Oh, and I should probably finish braiding the rest of your hair while it's still wet."

Brittany stood up. "You can do that while I finish getting dressed." As she walked over to her own bed to find the pajamas she set aside, she shot her sisters a puzzled look. "Oh, speaking of our upcoming concert - Alvin's voice changing would also explain why Dave asked us to sing lead while the boys are to play the instruments and sing in the background. It makes me feel kinda bad for him now, like I'm stealing his spotlight. I know I used to fantasize about upstaging Alvin, but I don't actually want to go through with it. It's like adding insult to his injury."

"We're not upstaging the boys, we're just covering for them until their voices stop changing." Jeanette clarified. "Just like they've covered for us a few times in the past, for various reasons."

Eleanor nodded. "Yeah, we've got their backs, like they've got ours. That's what sisters - and brothers - are for."

Jeanette smiled. "I'm OK if we change the subject so the last thing we talk about before bed isn't the fact that Alvin is going through puberty and Eleanor still thinks she isn't there yet."

"What, me?" Eleanor looked puzzled.

Once Brittany pulled on her night shirt, she giggled. "Yes, you, Eleanor, the curvaceous and perky platinum-blonde with the big boobs." She walked back over to join her sisters on Eleanor's bed.

Eleanor slightly blushed as she folded her arms across her chest. Brittany continued, placing a hand on Eleanor's left shoulder. "Hey, don't try to hide it, Ellie, Jeanette and I would kill for curves like yours. You're the only one of us who never had to stuff your bra. Maybe we can find some outfits to really play this up to your advantage. No one will care that you haven't gotten your period yet, because your clothes will already make you feel like a new woman. Get my drift?" She even applied a series of gentle pinches to her sister's arm to tickle her into smiling.

Eleanor giggled as she hugged Brittany. "Thanks, Britt! Somehow you really can seem to solve all of my problems by taking me shopping for a new outfit or a new pair of shoes. You rock!"

"As a way of sort-of changing the subject," Jeanette began, "Have you guys ever played the game 'Marry/Kiss/Kill'?"

Her sisters glanced at each other before shaking their heads.

"I've heard of it, though." Brittany shrugged. "Why don't you start, Jen, while Ellie and I braid your hair?"

"Sure!" Jeanette sat flat on the bed to give both of her shorter sisters easier access to her hair. "Let's see...if we play 'Marry/Kiss/Kill' using the boys...I think I would marry...Simon, kiss...Theodore, but that means I would have to kill Alvin. Gee, I'm not exactly the killing-type, but could I just leave Alvin for dead? I think he's resourceful enough that he could save himself."

"And it looks like you have a head start in 'leaving him for dead' because of his injury." Brittany chuckled.

"I think I know how I would play that game." Eleanor began with less hesitation than Jeanette. "I would marry Theodore...kiss Alvin..." She smiled, slightly swooning. As the others glanced at her, she continued, "What? Alvin's cute! And kissable! And I'm with Jeanette in that I'm not the killing-type either. I guess that means I would have to leave Simon for dead. He's smart enough, he could still save himself. What about you, Britt?"

Brittany chuckled again. "Talk about saving the best for last... Come to think of it, I agree with Jeanette's answer of marry Simon, kiss Theodore, and kill - I mean, 'leave for dead' - Alvin." Her sisters stared at her in shock. "What? That's more truthful than the boring answer you left me with by default to marry Alvin, kiss Simon, and kill Theodore. I know Ellie would turn into the 'killing-type' and kill me if I killed Theo or even 'left him for dead'. Jeanette's answer is also much less complicated than the other answer I thought of, which is admitting that there have been times when I have really wanted to marry, kiss, and kill all three of them. On second thought, I haven't really wanted to kill Theodore, he's been nothing but sweet to me. I know several years ago I freaked out after the 'Mystic Mate' quiz at the thought of marrying Alvin, but lately he's been kinda sweet, and fun to be around. I've enjoyed getting to know and spend time with his more vulnerable side and his more sensitive side."

"Wow..." Eleanor marveled. "It's just a game, and I don't know how it's scored, but I think Brittany just won with her answer."

"Yep!" Jeanette nodded in agreement. "So, Britt, if you don't mind...since you've been spending a lot of time with Alvin lately, paint a mental picture for us, and tell us what all you've begun to notice and like about this new side of Alvin. And we'll still keep all of your answers as well as the 'Marry/Kiss/Kill Game' as part of our 'Sister Secrecy Pact'. OK?"

"You guys are the best!" Brittany smiled. "I've actually been wanting to talk to you guys for a while about this, and it sure is nice to get that chance. So lately, I would have to say my favorite thing about Alvin is...his laugh."

"Really? He does have a cute laugh." Eleanor agreed.

Brittany went on, "Not like when he's laughing at someone's expense, after playing a cruel joke on them, but, you know, when he's really happy and wanting to share the joy with everyone else. And I also like his eyes. It makes me rethink the whole thing about the color blue being the color of depression. Especially when he gets that cute, mischievous twinkle in them. It almost makes me wanna forgive him ahead of time for whatever trouble he's about to cause."

"Almost!" Eleanor chimed in as she and Jeanette laughed.

Brittany chuckled and sighed. "And as much as he just doesn't look like himself without his red cap, I like his hair when he just removes his cap. Sometimes I even think he tries too hard with the hair gel and having his hair all slicked back. Sure he looks like a suave and debonair gentleman like that. But I mean, I like his hair better when he just removes his cap, and his bangs in the front have that cute cowlick that I wanna fluff with my fingers. It's like his hair is saying 'I am a rebel and an animal, and will not be conformed or combed back with hair gel'!" She paused to giggle along with her sisters. "Alvin is just his own confident and lovable person, and so fun to be around..."

"Oooooh..." Both sisters glanced over at her before Jeanette stated, "If it wasn't as obvious before, it sure is now - you have the hots for Alvin!"

Eleanor giggled, "Yeah, you are one smitten kitten, Britten." She paused as if thinking about her words. "Wait, or is it 'Breton'? I guess I was trying to work your name into that saying, but either way sounds weird..." She laughed at herself, and her sisters joined her.

When they stopped giggling, Jeanette asked, "So, Brittany, now that you know you have feelings for Alvin, what do you want to do about them? And is there anything Eleanor and I can do to help?" She placed her left arm around Brittany's shoulders, pulling her into a hug.

"Britt, you know we are here for you and would gladly do anything to help you." Eleanor smiled supportively at her sister. "We can be in your corner as your 'wing-women' - or, you know, your 'wing-woman' and your 'wing-girl'."

Jeanette shook her head, "Ellie, something tells me your self-esteem needs an upgrade, just like your bra does. We can take care of that tomorrow. But please stop letting your menstrual cycle - or lack thereof - define you."

"Sorry I seem to obsess about that a lot." Eleanor apologized as she leaned against Jeanette's right shoulder in a hug. "It shouldn't always be about me." She reached her free right hand across Jeanette to squeeze Brittany's free left hand. "Right now I'd rather talk about what we're gonna do for Britt, since she found out she has feelings for Alvin. What are your thoughts, Brittany?..."

A/N: Wow! This story's chapter count has reached double digits! I don't mean to make Simon sound too cold, especially toward Theodore, he's just tired and a little frustrated that Alvin still won't listen to him. I hope his speech about "libido" isn't too preachy. But it is a tribute to my dad, and a family friend named Judy, who do "abstinence education" for the Life Center in Midland, Texas. One of their educational speeches is related to that. They say, "How often do you turn on the news & hear 'Person found dead from lack of having sex...'?" The class usually laughs! It's so true, though, just ask people in monasteries and convents! In the episode "Clowning Around", when they dress catatonic Theo in a toga & say "He's doing a study on the Himalayan monks...who have taken a vow of silence...and stillness...and not-eating - fasting!" I thought of a line from the movie "Hot Shots Part Deaux", which my family likes to quote, when Charlie Sheen's character talks about some monks and says, "These men have taken a vow of celibacy - just like their fathers and their fathers before them." It would've been a funny line to add in "Clowning Around", but it would've also changed the show's rating.

When Brittany says "...he's all I can think about" is from the Nickelodeon episode "Brittany The Body-Snatcher". When my sister was little (4-5 yrs old) & would sing the "Sitting In A Tree" song & accidentally mix it up by saying "...first comes marriage, then comes love..." We thought, "Whoa, she's already learning abstinence education in preschool?" (Eleanor singing that is like a previous chapter where Theo sings it, from "The Road Chip".) The mermaid joke is one that my dad tells, not sure where he originally heard it.

I wanted to include a sister-bonding part, as well as a brother-bonding part, including some similarities between the two, but without it being too cliche (like a cheap remake of the "Summer Lovin'" song on "Grease").