Old Flame

Chapter 12

Memories Never Fade

XOXOXOXOXO

ALVIN

It was Monday. Today was the day they would finally finish their project! Alvin couldn't be happier, for more reasons than one.

Firstly, he hated any kind of schoolwork. While he honestly enjoyed working on his project, he could always think of better things to occupy his time. More importantly, this would mean that Brittany and Charlene didn't have to tolerate each other any longer. This meant that there would be no more awkward tension, and he didn't have to hurt his head trying to come up with ways to appease them both. That's exhausting!

"I'm all done with pasting the photos in," Brittany announced cheerfully, showing off her handiwork. Alvin smiled at it while Charlene looked on with disinterest.

"Wow, that looks great! Doesn't it, Charlene?" Alvin said. Charlene immediately brightened up, giving him her best smile.

"Yeah, it does! Good job, Brittany," Charlene congratulated, looking like it pained her to do so.

Brittany smirked at her. "Thanks, Charlene."

"So, Alvin," Charlene said, batting her blue eyes at Alvin. Alvin gulped and pulled at his collar. It was getting awfully hot, all of a sudden. "What are you doing this weekend? You free?"

"Er, actually, me and the family were planning to go out for dinner," Alvin said, giving her a small smile. "Sorry. Can't cancel that. You understand, right?"

"Uh, sure," Charlene said, pouting slightly. "Can I come along?"

"Sorry, we have reservations already," Brittany answered. Charlene glared at her, but Brittany simply shrugged. "Not my fault."

"Yeah, Dave reserved it a month ago," Alvin explained. Charlene sighed deeply and folded her arms. What was her problem today? "Hey, maybe next time."

Charlene just rolled her eyes. She watched as Alvin turned back to Brittany, chatting excitedly. Just what in the world was going on between them? Thing were... different. While Alvin definitely wasn't ignoring her, he wasn't giving her more attention than Brittany, and this pissed her off royally. Even worse, she couldn't get Brittany riled up. No matter how many times she flirted openly with Alvin in front of her, Brittany would only smirk and easily redirect Alvin's attention. That bitch.

Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. What had happened between them over the weekend?

"So, did anything interesting happen over the weekend?" Charlene asked coolly.

To her horror, Alvin and Brittany smiled at each other. Something definitely happened.

"Yeah, you could say that," Alvin replied, giving her none of the details she desperately needed. She frowned and he shrugged. "What can I say, a normal weekend."

"Yeah, I see," Charlene said, raising a brow.

Time to step in before things go too far.

XOXOXOXOXO

The rest of the class time went by rather quickly. Alvin was greatly enjoying talking to Brittany, but he made sure to give plenty of attention to Charlene as well. After all, she was still his friend. He didn't want her to feel left out, especially since she was still relatively new to West Eastman.

Alvin waved goodbye to Brittany as she walked away to join Kayla by the lockers. Charlene walked outside of the classroom with her purse slung over an arm. He walked over to her, smiling.

"Want me to walk you to class?" he offered.

"Oh, so you want to walk me to class, huh? I'm surprised you're not walking her to class instead," Charlene said nastily. She shook her head in disgust. "It's pretty obvious that the two of you are just so close now."

Alvin's jaw dropped, completely caught off guard. He looked at her with a slightly hurt expression. But then, he became furious with her. What did he do wrong this time? He was eager to bring both girls into his conversations, and he made sure not to exclude either of them! Seriously, what is up with girls these days? They're never satisfied!

"Look. Brittany and I are close, that's true. But it's nothing serious," Alvin explained as calmly as possible. Charlene looked at him doubtfully. He sighed deeply, sensing a headache coming on. "And why do you care so much? Why are you suddenly so interested in my love life anyway?"

"I don't!" Charlene snapped. Alvin took a step back as she leaned into him angrily, her cheeks a deep red. She huffed and folded her arms, giving him a cold look. "I could care less who you go with. I don't give a crap who you date! I'm just looking out for you, that's all. I don't want you to get hurt," she added quickly.

"I can look after myself," Alvin said, rolling his eyes. "Besides, Brittany wouldn't ever do anything to hurt me. I know you might not like her much," he said. Charlene snapped around and looked at him, shocked. She tried to deny this, but Alvin wasn't an idiot. "It's no big deal if you don't. That's your business. That's between you and her. But Brittany's been a great friend to me for months now, and I'm not going to let whatever beef you have with her ruin that. I'm not getting involved. You hear me?" Alvin finished, looking her in the eye.

Charlene grew silent. She pursed her lips and stared back at Alvin, her expression unreadable. Finally, she smiled.

"That fair," Charlene said, shrugging her shoulders. She then frowned. "Sorry. It's just that I wanted to spend more time with you – and Simon and Theodore. I haven't seen you all in so long, and I came all this way to do just that."

"Wait, what? I thought you mainly came here to start your singing career," Alvin said, raising a brow.

"That's part of the reason, yes," Charlene said, smirking. "But, you know... you've never left my mind. Even after all this time."

Alvin looked away, blushing slightly. How was he supposed to react to that? Granted, Charlene could be considered his best friend from when he was younger. And, maybe, he might have had a small, kiddie crush on her at one point. But that was a long time ago, and he had grown out of it. That, he was certain of. But what if Charlene had felt the same way all those years ago? What if those feelings only deepened over time? Alvin winced at the thought. What if she had real, genuine feelings for him? For a moment, he wondered how things would have turned out if they did get together...

Alvin shook his head, ashamed and disgusted with himself. What the hell is wrong with me? That's all in the past.

"I can't deny that I missed you too," Alvin smiled. Charlene smiled back brightly. "It's good to have you back. I hope things can go back to normal now."

"I'm not even sure if that's possible at this point," Charlene grumbled.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Alvin asked.

"Things are not the same, Alvin!" Charlene snapped, throwing her paws in the air. Alvin looked at her as if she was completely insane. "Look at it: we're going to school, working on our singing careers, you and your brothers are adopted by a human," she ranted. Alvin took slight offense to this. Where did she get off talking down to humans? Especially his Dad. "Oh, and let's not forget about the Chipettes," she said bitterly.

"Stop right there. There are loads of female chipmunks in the wild. So don't even go there," Alvin cut in. "That's nothing new."

"Shut up, Alvin. I know damn well that there were always floozies that chased you around, even before you got big," Charlene scoffed, disgusted with his arrogance. "But none of them lived under the same roof as you, did they? How close are you to them, hm? Heck, even I never lived with you guys before, and I've known you all longer than any of them! Now, all of a sudden, three random chicks just move in with you all? This must be a dream come true for you, huh?" she said icily.

"I do not look at her sisters that way. What the hell do you think I am? Do you think that little of me to think I'd hit on Brittany's sisters? Or even think about it?" Alvin snapped, losing his temper. Sure, he admitted that he was a flirt. But he was a flirt with morals. And strict ones. Hitting on Brittany's sisters, not to mention his little brothers' love interests, was a line he never wanted to cross. It sickened him to think that Charlene would think that way about him. "Eleanor's like a little sister to me, and I know Theo has a huge crush on her. And Jeanette? She's like a carbon-copy of Simon! She's nice too, though, but come on. They're my friends. Always have, always will. So you can just drop that idea right now."

Charlene raised a brow. "What about Brittany? I didn't hear you say she was above your flirtations."

"W-What? Huh?" Alvin gaped. He blushed and tried his best to come up with an explanation. "I told you, she's just a really great friend of mine! We haven't done anything together!"

He stopped. Why do I owe her an explanation? Since when did I have to explain anything to her?

"I'm getting tired of all this questioning, Charlene," Alvin said, glaring at her. "Seriously, why should I have to tell you all of my business?"

"You've really let your career go to that fat head of yours," Charlene sneered. "No matter what, you'll always be that scruffy, annoying chipmunk I always knew from back in the forest."

"Thanks for the passive-aggressive comment," Alvin said sarcastically. He sighed, rubbing at his temple. Honestly, he was beginning to tire of her company. Fast. But he forced himself to try and understand where she was coming from. She just missed him, right? "Listen, do you want me to sit with you at lunch? If you wanted more time to talk to me, you could've just said so instead of arguing with me."

"You should have known to do that anyway!" Charlene said, blushing slightly. She put a hand on her hip, giving him a look. "Instead of putting me through all this grief!"

"What grief?" Alvin laughed. He put and arm around her as he started to walk her to her next class. Charlene smirked, rolling her eyes at him. "Don't pout. I'm more than happy to spend time with my old friend."

And I'll make sure to let her know that she's just that.