Old Flame

Chapter 14

Two Surprises

XOXOXOXOXO

ALVIN

Alvin leaned against the bench, wiping some sweat from his forehead. I swear, I'm happy to be the first chipmunk football player. But this sport is going to be the death of me one day.

Hopping down onto the warm grass, Alvin looked over at his friends out on the field. Ryan was bragging (as usual) to a few of their teammates. Something about Ray, and how they were totally right for each other.

Yeah, right! Alvin smirked, laughing softly. A match made in hell, if I ever saw one.

"Alvin! Alvinnnn!"

Alvin started slightly and barely had time to look around when Brittany nearly bowled him over as she jumped into his arms. He fell back, looking up in shock at an ecstatic Brittany.

"What was that for?" Alvin asked incredulously. "What's up?"

"I made it on the squad!" Brittany beamed, bouncing slightly in his lap. "Oh. Em. Gee. Can you believe I actually made it, Alvin?"

Alvin grinned brightly, giving her a hug. "That's great, Britt! I'm proud of you."

Brittany smiled and stood up, extending a hand to Alvin. Alvin took it and let her pull him to his feet.

"Thanks, Alvin. It means a lot to have you supporting me," Brittany blushed. Alvin brightened up. It was always cute when she blushed, since she was normally so confident. She then looked at him, slightly flirtatious. "So, I guess I'll be cheering you on when you're in a game. You better make mama proud," she teased.

He grinned at her flirtation. He was happy to know that their back-and-forth banter had returned. "Oh, you know I will."

Ryan waltzed over, looking at the pair with a smirk. Alvin groaned inwardly. God, Ryan, not now.

"Aw, isn't that cute?" Ryan said, poking out his lip childishly. "Did you propose to your little girlfriend, Alvin?"

Alvin and Brittany blushed a bright red. He did not just go there! How could he say something so embarrassing, and right to their faces?

"Shut up, Ryan!" Brittany snapped, folding her arms. Ryan snickered in response. "What we do is none of your business, thank you very much."

Alvin couldn't help but smile. She didn't seem repulsed by the idea of them hitching...

"Whatever. You guys aren't fooling anyone," Ryan said, giving Brittany a wink. Brittany huffed and waved him off. He looked over at Alvin, tapping his foot. "You need to move your butt and get back to practice."

Annoyed that Ryan had managed to ruin his time with Brittany, he reluctantly gave in. "Yeah, Ryan's right. Sorry, Britt. I promise we'll celebrate later, okay?" he added hopefully.

Brittany smiled warmly. "I'd like that."

With that, Brittany waved at the two boys before scurrying back towards the main building of the school. Alvin waved back, smiling dreamily. She's just, wow...

Ryan started to make kissy faces. Alvin gritted his teeth and snapped out of his thoughts, punching his friend in the ankle.

"Ow!" Ryan stepped back, laughing. "Dude, you are so sprung."

"Iamnotshutup," Alvin said in one breath, shoving his hands into his jeans. "Come on, let's get back to practice."

Trent smiled as his two friends walked over to him. He caught the football and stowed it under his arm. "What are you two fighting about now?"

"Genius here thinks that Brittany and I are dating or something," Alvin said, rolling his eyes. "Stupid, right?"

"I don't know, Alvin," Trent said, shrugging his shoulders. "What wrong with you and Brittany dating? I think it could work, actually."

"We're taking things slow!" Alvin said, laughing awkwardly. He then held out his hands, shaking his head. "N-Not that I'm planning on dating her, or anything! Er..."

"He's totally sprung," Trent and Ryan said at the same time, roaring in laughter. Alvin sneered at them, quickly tiring of their company.

Alvin was suddenly knocked back and tackled into the grass below. Trent and Ryan stopped laughing and looked down at the male chipmunk with wide, questioning eyes. Alvin rubbed at his head, his golden eyes spinning around from the unforeseen blow. After recovering, he looked up at the chipmunk who was lying on top of him. He paled when he saw it was Charlene. Oh come ON. I do not need people to get any ideas about us because of this!

"C-Charlene, what are you doing out here?" Alvin asked, quickly sitting up. He glanced around nervously, but was relieved to find that they didn't attract much attention. "What's up?"

Charlene giggled and got up, pulling Alvin to his feet for the second time that day. Alvin brushed off his clothes and looked down at her curiously.

"I have a big surprise for you this afternoon!" Charlene said, hopping up and down with uncontainable excitement. She then bit her lip coyly. "That is, if I can come over? I don't want to impose."

"Well, sure!" Alvin said, smiling. He was more than interested in whatever surprise she had in store for him. What could it be? "I'll let my Dad and the others know you'll be stopping by."

"Awesome," Charlene said. She turned and waved goodbye to him as she started to scamper back to class. "I'll see you after school!"

"What was that all about?" Ryan asked, watching as Alvin waved back.

Alvin could only shrug. His guess was as good as his.

But one thing's for sure, I can't wait to see what it is!

XOXOXOXOXO

Later that evening, the Chipmunks and Chipettes walked back home from school. The group of six were excitedly chatting about what had gone on in their school lives, while Alvin bit his lip.

I better bring this up now.

"Hey, er..." Alvin started, choosing his words very carefully. "Charlene wants to visit this afternoon. Only a visit!" he added quickly when Brittany snapped her head around to stare at him. "She says she has some kind of surprise. Is that cool with you guys?"

"Sounds fine to me," Simon said, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Sure," Theodore said, nodding.

"Yeah! I can't wait to have her over," Jeanette said happily. Apparently, Charlene and her were becoming BFFs or something. "I hope we'll have time to talk."

Alvin reluctantly looked over at Brittany. To his surprise, both Brittany and Eleanor glanced at each other with less than thrilled expressions. While he was pretty sure Eleanor wasn't really friends with Charlene, she seemed to share the same distaste for her as Brittany did. He briefly wondered if something happened between them. However, he forgot all about it when Brittany nodded at him, giving him a small smile.

"Sure, that's fine," Brittany said. It sounded forced, but Alvin wasn't complaining.

"Yeah," Eleanor said, nodding her head several times. "As long as it's just a visit! We have lots of studying to do for our exams next week."

Alvin sighed in relief. He had come out of it alive.

Soon, the group arrived at home. They went about their evenings normally: doing homework, Alvin slacking off, Dave yelling at him, and then the family settling down to have dinner together. Just as they were about to dig in, the front doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Alvin offered, quickly jumping off the table and running over to the front door. He climbed up the nearby coat rack and opened the door. He jumped back down and smiled, expecting to see Charlene standing in the doorway. However, Ian was standing right behind her. "What the! Ian? What are you doing here!"

"I was –"

Alvin didn't care for his answer. He quickly pushed the door closed, crunching Ian's foot in the process. Alvin smirked as he roared in pain from outside.

"Alvin!" Charlene snapped. Alvin opened the door, watching as Ian hopped up and down as he clutched his injured foot. Charlene glared at him. "What are you doing? He's my manager, don't you remember?"

"Sorry. Reflexes," Alvin smirked. Ian glared down at him. "My bad."

Alvin turned around as he heard his brothers and the Chipettes scurry over to see what all the commotion was about. The Chipettes gasped in surprise while his brothers immediately went on the defensive. What was he doing here? What did he want this time? He already had his star.

"Can we come in already?" Charlene snapped, pushing open the door. "How rude."

"Not so fast. What is he doing here?" Jeanette asked, looking up at her former manager cautiously.

"I was invited," Ian said, rolling his eyes at the small brunette.

The six chipmunks looked at Ian like he had lost his mind. It was entirely possible, after all. He was always off.

"What are you talking about?" Simon snapped, folding his arms. "Who invited you, then?"

"I did," Dave said, walking into the foyer. The Chipmunks and Chipettes spun around and stared up at him with mouths agape. What was he thinking? "I was the one who suggested we set a meeting up tonight."

"Why, Dave? What could we possibly have to talk about with him?" Simon asked, pointing an accusatory finger at their enemy. "The man put us in cages, for God's sake!"

"Exactly!" Jeanette agreed, shooting a cold glare at him. "And he threatened to hurt me and my sisters!"

"I wasn't seriously about to barbeque you guys," Ian coughed. The Chipettes gave him a doubtful stare. "What? I'm serious! I was only bluffing!"

"Oh, that makes it so much better," Eleanor said sarcastically, paws on her hips. Ian and Charlene just glared at her.

"Believe me, I understand more than anyone what Ian's done," Dave said, shaking his head at his former friend. "But I just think it's about time we move on. Water under the bridge. Having this silly war with him is tiring, don't you think?" he asked. The Chipmunks and Chipettes just stared back at him. "Come on, guys. You all have to agree that it's beginning to get old fast."

"Besides, more importantly, David and I have come up with a great business venture," Ian chimed in.

"That's the surprise," Charlene said, smiling brightly. "Dave and Ian want us to team up for a future contest at the next Music Awards! Isn't that great?"

Alvin's jaw dropped open. Was this the big surprise she was talking about? If so, why did she think this was a good thing? Sure, he expressed interest in wanting to sing with her, but why did Ian have to be dragged into this? And this wasn't only about him: certainly, his brothers and the Chipettes would have something to say about this. Especially Brittany.

"What? Are you kidding me?" Brittany yelled, outraged. Alvin honestly couldn't blame her. Sure, he understood Dave's train of thought, but why didn't he run it by them first? "When were the two of you going to tell us of this little surprise?:"

"Honestly? I didn't think it was that big of a deal," Dave said, shrugging. His six, furry charges looked at him in complete disbelief. "Look, guys. I didn't want to upset you. And it's not like this is a permanent thing. Just one concert. I thought it would be a nice change of pace, and for you guys to spend more time with Charlene. She came over a few times, and it seems like you all got along well."

Brittany narrowed her eyes. Alvin gulped, pulling at his collar. Oh boy.

Charlene ran over and hugged Alvin and Jeanette's arms. "Good surprise, huh?"

Brittany looked over at them, crossing her arms. Alvin sighed deeply.

"Yeah. It's a real surprise alright..."