Chapter Twenty/How Jeanette Found Out:
It was a normal day for Jeanette Miller, everything was okay in her life. She still hadn't built up the courage to tell Simon how she felt about him. She was very shy, but she didn't let that stop her from trying. This was a very special day because two new kids showed up at school today. Noah Roan and Austin Keith. Noah was an Irish chipmunk, and Austin was his best friend who was also a chipmunk. He and Noah have been friends for years, and Austin had been Noah's care taker after a serious accident. Jeanette accidentally bumped into Noah.
"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry." Jeanette said.
"It's okay..." Noah said looking up at Jeanette.
"Are you okay, did I hurt you?" Jeanette asked.
Noah couldn't respond, he was amazed by the beauty that stood before him.
"No, I'm fine. I'm just fine." Noah said love struck.
"Okay, sorry again." Jeanette said walking away.
Noah's friend Austin approached him.
"Who is that?" Noah asked.
"That is Jeanette Miller, of the Chipettes." Austin said.
"Wow, she's so beautiful. Angelic even." Noah said.
Austin looked over at the right moment to see a young chipmunk with blue glasses. It was Simon Seville. Austin noticed that tears were falling from his cheeks.
"Isn't that Simon?" Noah asked.
"Yeah, and he's crying." Austin said.
"Poor guy, I wonder what's got him down." Noah said.
Later at the Seville house, Jeanette walked through the front door at the worst possible time. She opened the door to see Simon on the couch crying next to Dave.
"Simon, please don't be upset at yourself. I'm not upset with you, you're still my boy and I love you." Dave said.
"I thought my friends would be more accepting." Simon said.
"Well, if they were your friends they would have." Dave said.
He stopped because he saw Jeanette enter.
"What happened?" Jeanette asked.
"Simon, do you want to tell her or should I?" Dave asked.
"No, I can tell her. Jeanette... I'm gay." Simon said.
Jeanette's heart shattered.
"Really?" Jeanette asked.
Simon nodded. Trying to hold in the tears...
"That's wonderful!" She said.
"You think so?" Simon asked.
"Absolutely, I'm happy for you Simon." Jeanette said hugging him.
"Thanks Jean, I'm glad I have such a good friend like you." Simon said.
The next day, Simon returned to school with his composure in tact. He knew he'd receive criticism, but he just grazed over it. Once he got to his locker, he heard the voice of a young male call out to him.
"Excuse me..."
It was Austin.
"...Are you okay?" Austin asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I've just been having a rough time." Simon said.
"I'm sorry. I know it's not my place to ask, but what happened?" Austin asked.
"Well, I'm not sure I'm brave enough to talk about it yet, but let's just say I revealed something about myself and I've been getting mocked for it." Simon explained.
"I'm sorry Simon." Austin said.
"How do you know my name?" Simon asked.
"You're in a famous band, silly." Austin said.
"Oh, right." Simon chuckled.
Simon felt comfortable around Austin, and vice versa.
Later that day, the Irish history class started and it was Noah's first day in that class. He was very excited. The teacher started calling roll.
"Jeanette Miller?" She said.
Noah looked around, and didn't hear anyone respond.
"Oh silly me, I forgot she called in today." She said.
Noah felt a little concerned.
At the end of the day, Noah and Austin met up.
"Hey Austin, do you know where..."
Noah stopped because Austin seemed too distracted.
"Austin?" Noah asked.
Austin then snapped out of it.
"Oh, sorry Noah. I was just thinking about the amazing person I met today." Austin said.
"Awww, what's their name?" Noah asked.
Austin pointed across the way to Simon who was on the other side of the sidewalk.
"Simon?" Noah asked.
"Yeah." Austin said dreamily.
"Wait, how do you know he's..."
"He apparently came out yesterday, unfortunately he's been judged harshly." Austin said.
"Poor guy." Noah said.
"I'm sorry Noah, what were you going to ask me?" Austin said.
"Oh right, I was gonna ask you if you knew where the Chipmunks lived? I'm getting a little concerned about Jeanette." Noah said.
"I don't know right now, but I could find out." Austin said walking towards Simon.
Austin decided to spend as much time as possible with Simon, help feel better. Noah was walking home, when he spotted Jeanette outside in a field crying her eyes out. Noah decided to talk to her, hopefully cheer her up.
"Hi." Noah said. "I hope I'm not bugging you."
"No, it's okay Noah." Jeanette said wiping her tears away.
"How do you know my name?" Noah asked.
"I've seen you around the school, your friend told me about you." Jeanette said.
"Austin?" Noah asked.
"No, the one with the brown hair. You know, the one obsessed with Jim Carrey." Jeanette said.
"Oh, him." Noah said.
"What are you doing out here?" Jeanette asked.
"I was worried about you." Noah said.
"Don't be, I'm used to being alone." Jeanette said.
Noah felt so bad for Jeanette. He took a leap of faith, and sat next to her.
"Jean, I know it hurts to lose someone you care so much about. I should know." Noah said thinking about his past.
A tear fell from his eye.
"What's wrong?" Jeanette asked.
"When I was much younger, my family was caught in a forest fire. They saved me, and I was the only one who survived." Noah said.
Jeanette hugged him.
"I'm so sorry, that's horrible." She said.
Noah felt comforted, as did Jeanette.
"I know it seems hopeless now, but I promise you it will get better." Noah said.
Jeanette allowed a smile.
"Thank you Noah." She said.
"No prob. I also wanted to ask you something." Noah said.
"Okay, what is it?" Jeanette said.
Noah knew what he wanted to ask, but he couldn't get the words out. Instead...
"Can I meet your siblings? I'm a big fan of your band." Noah said.
"Oh sure." Jeanette said enthusiastically.
Noah and Jeanette walked home.
"I'm going to guess and say Eleanor is your favorite?" Jeanette asked.
"She's adorable, but no. My favorite is you." Noah said.
Jeanette blushed. They didn't notice it at the time, but they began to hold hands.