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Zen Hugs!
Pyxelle
Chapter 4Simon was nearly back to the ICU when he realized that Alvin hadn't followed him. He turned, eyes searching down the clinically white hallway, but didn't see his brother anywhere. Only nurses, doctors, and antiseptic white walls.
Maybe it was better he wasn't here right now. Simon still felt a lingering anger, but already his short walk was starting to help it dissipate. Alvin had only been being Alvin. Rude, yes, and selfish – but Alvin would have never hurt his little brother intentionally. The driver who had gotten behind the wheel of that car under the influence had done that. Fatigue, worry and shock had made Simon react the way that he had, and he was already starting to feel uneasy stirrings of worry about how his brother was going to react to what he had said.
He had been cruel, he knew. Also, honest. But...it still wasn't fair of him to attack Alvin like he had. Alvin was obviously doing a good enough job of that for the both of them. He hadn't meant to hurt Theodore by leaving him behind. It had been one of those vintage Alvin moments when his mind would blank out all distractions from his current escapade, and he would act – just as he said – totally without thinking. Alvin never meant to hurt anyone else. It was just as if he were surrounded by some sort of mystical force field that protected him from any harm that would come from his harebrained ideas. Unfortunately, the force field didn't seem to extend to anyone else.
Simon sighed deeply, turning around and going back the way he had come. He had to make things right with Alvin. Theodore needed them to be strong for him right now. They had always been at their best when it had been the three of them, and now that Theodore was fighting for his life, they needed that strength more than ever before.
He searched the hospital for almost an hour before he realized Alvin must have left the building after their fight. Maybe he needed to be alone. Simon debated for a moment, glancing up towards the flickering Intensive Care Unit sign, then the exit.
It was only a moment before he started back up towards the ICU. Alvin would come back, and he could fix things with his younger brother then. They, at least, had time.
Right now, Theodore needed him.
OoooOoooO
Alvin ran blindly out of the hospital and into the street. A car swerved, horns blaring, as it narrowly avoided him in his furious race away from the hospital. He barely noticed. There was no thought in his mind, not even as to where he was headed. The chipmunk just ran, heedless of the rain that had started to fall, fleeing the words that his surviving brother had thrown at him.
He didn't know where he was going until he saw his house coming up on him quickly, and he skidded to a sudden stop. The hospital was five miles away. Had he really run all that far?
The water that streamed down his soaked body attested that he had. He finished the rest of the walk slowly, figuring he couldn't get much wetter, and entered his house in a mechanical manner. He glanced around, memories flooding him with their bitter sweetness, and climbed the stairs to his room with his eyes almost closed.
OoooOoooO
"Alvin? Can I sleep with you, tonight?"
Alvin groaned. "Theodore! No, not again!" He rolled over and clutched his blanket protectively, glaring at the little chipmunk in the green pajamas. "This is three nights in a row, and you always steal the covers."
"Oh," Theodore said, face falling. "Then maybe Simon-"
"Oh, no. I warned you about watching that zombie movie with Alvin, Theodore." Simon shook his head from his bed, squinting at his little brother. "Next time you should listen to me."
"Simon..." Theodore said plaintively. The older chipmunk shook his head again and dove under the covers.
"Alvin, please?"
Alvin looked at the forlorn look in his baby brother's eyes and against his will felt himself relent. "All right, all right!" He said, pulling the covers aside just enough to let Theodore, his pillow, his bunny rabbit, and his blankie into the bed – which left very little room for him. "But tonight is the last night, you understand? No more!"
"Okay, Alvin." Theodore looked at him, eyes sleepy already, as if he hadn't heard this threat for the last two days. "Thanks."
"You're welcome, Theodore." Theodore snuggled against him, and Alvin couldn't help but smile.
"Oh, Alvin?"
"Yes, Theodore?"
"I love you."
Alvin gave his little brother a hug. "I love you too."
OoooOoooO
"I love you too." Alvin whispered into the empty house. His eyes opened, staring into the room where he and his brothers had grown up. It didn't seem welcoming anymore. Instead it seemed like a dim memory of his faults, a physical catalogue of how he had failed his family. He couldn't bring himself to even look at Theodore's side of the room as he went over to his closet and roughly pulled a suitcase out of it. There was nothing for him there. Not anymore.
He only threw a few outfits into the suitcase and his bankbook. Luckily, Dave had allowed the Chipmunks each to get their own checking account when they had turned sixteen, and although he had quite brilliantly handled the rest of their finances, he had allowed each brother a substantial allowance from each record and tour they made. Alvin's account was undoubtedly less full than his brothers, on account of the Miata, but he still had a decent amount in there. At least enough to get him through the next couple months. He just had to get it out of the banks before Dave realized what he was doing – but that was easily done. ATM machines abounded in Hollywood. He could clean out the remains of his account before dawn was even there.
Sometimes others would be surprised at the modest life he and his famous brothers led, but Dave had never felt the need for any home but this, and honestly, neither had him or his brothers. This had always been home.
But it wasn't anymore, not for him.
As he ran down the stairs, not even bothering to change his soaked outfit, he briefly remembered the promise he had made to his brother only a day ago, and halted at the door. Hesitation. Was he going to abandon Theodore again?
Alvin steeled himself. Simon had been right. Theodore didn't need a brother like him. All he had brought him was pain. Theodore would die in peace – without Alvin.
He grabbed the handle of the suitcase again firmly, and threw open the door.
OoooOoooO
Brittany stared out the window, watching the street shine silver below her under the magic of the rainfall. Normally, she would have loved the beauty of this night. Tonight, though, its loveliness escaped her, and she simply stared down the empty street.
Behind her, Eleanor whimpered in her sleep. For a moment, Brittany considered checking on her, and then decided against it. This was the first time Eleanor had slept from the moment they had heard the news of Theodore's accident. She wasn't going to risk her little sister's wakening.
She wished she could sleep as well, but she had nightmares plaguing her from the moment her eyes had closed. What if it had been Alvin? True, they were no longer officially together, but she didn't think either of them could deny the fact that they loved each other. It was just so hard, them both being the way they were – overconfident, stubborn, brilliant, each in their own right – of course the sparks would fly, both romantic and furious. But since the news, she had realized that those sparks were with which both Alvin and Brittany would shine. Together.
Gavin had been understandably upset when she had phoned him and told him she couldn't see him anymore. It had only been three dates, anyways. It wasn't like she had been serious about him. In fact, part of the reason – a large part – that she had been attracted to him was that he reminded her of Alvin. Even his name sounded similar. She hoped Alvin would understand. Gavin had never been important to her, not like Alvin was. Maybe it would make him feel better, if only a little bit.
Brittany straightened as she saw a slight form running along the rain-slicked road under her window. A familiar red cap blew back from the figure's head, unheeded.
"Alvin?" She knew it had been him. Brittany glanced around the room furtively, afraid she had wakened one of her sisters. Both of them slept on.
Eleanor had tears on her cheeks.
"I'm sorry, Eleanor." She whispered before slipping out of the room.
Brittany didn't even bother with putting real clothing on, figuring that her somewhat demure nightgown and raincoat would suffice. A pair of sandals completed the ridiculous outfit, and she paused briefly at the mirror as she caught a glimpse of herself before running out the door.
Her hair was in complete disarray. Her pajamas were wrinkled from tossing and turning during her nightmares, and a smudge of mascara that hadn't been entirely washed off during her evening routine last night made her look a bit more like a raccoon than a chipmunk. To top it all off, the sandals she had thrown on weren't hers. They were Jeannette's.
Jeannette wore shoes two sizes larger than hers.
"Maybe some more mascara?" She mused for about a third of a second before dismissing it. What was she thinking? She needed to be there for Alvin!
Brittany was out the door in a shot, going as fast as her little legs and oversized shoes would allow. Alvin lived only one block over, but she swore she could feel every drop of rain that fell on that block before she reached him. She was glad of the raincoat as she approached his door, but definitely regretted the sandals. Oh, well. Next time she went out to declare her love for a grieving chipmunk, she would wear tennis.
"Oh!" She said, as her fist struck Alvin. She had been meaning to bang on the door, but just as she had brought her hands down he had opened it and started out. "Alvin?"
"Brittany?" Alvin took her in, dropping something heavily beside him. His face was incredulous. "What are doing here?"
"I needed to talk to you." She said, acutely aware that she was dripping all over his foyer.
"At three in the morning?" He asked, again his eyes traveling over her in amazement. "And in a...a...what is that, anyways? A bag lady costume?"
"No, you twi-"she stopped herself in the middle of the insult. Why did they always do this to each other? "I needed to tell you about Gavin."
"Great." He rolled his eyes. "That's all I need. A talk about lover boy."
"He's not-okay, Alvin, I need your help on this. Can we please have a conversation with no attacking for a change?"
Alvin looked surprised, and then his expression changed to one almost of illness. "I'm sorry, Brittany. I really am."
Brittany blinked, not used to this sudden apologizing. "Er, its fine, Alvin. You've been through a lot lately. I understand."
"No, really, that wasn't fair." He grinned sickly. "I'm glad you found someone, Brittany. You deserve happiness."
"Okay, yeah." She said slowly, looking at him with some trepidation. This was not the Alvin she knew. But considering the events of the last few days, perhaps that wasn't surprising. "I just needed to let you know...I broke up with Gavin tonight."
He looked startled. "You did?"
"Yeah." Brittany rushed on, not understanding the look in his eyes. "It wasn't serious, Alvin, really. Just three dates. I really barely knew him – in fact, I only agreed to go out with him because he reminded me so much of you. It didn't mean anything. But that's not important, really, I just-"she suddenly realized that the sick look on his face had become frozen. "Alvin? I'm sorry I babbled on like that. Are you..." she realized how ridiculous the question really was, but asked it anyways. "okay?"
"Three dates?" He asked in amazement. "That's it?"
Of course! He wanted to be sure that Gavin had really meant that little to her. "Only three dates, Alvin." She halted, and then added, almost as an afterthought, "and I think I would've broken up with him soon anyways. He was a little too...goody-goody for my taste, anyways. Even with the motorcycle."
Alvin didn't say anything to that. "Three dates." He repeated again. "Didn't mean anything."
"Alvin?"
He picked up the thing he had dropped earlier. It was a suitcase emblazoned with the initials AS. "Alvin? Where are you going?"
"Away." He said, pushing past her, and under his breath she could hear him whispering, "didn't mean anything."
"Away? How far away?" She asked, running after him, as oblivious to the pouring rain as he was.
"I don't know, Brittany!" Alvin shook her off his arm, and Brittany stumbled. She looked up at him in wonderment and no little fear. Something was so wrong here...she wasn't afraid for herself, but Alvin...
"Alvin, what is going on?"
"Call Gavin back, Brittany. He seemed like a nice guy. You deserve a nice guy." Alvin strode off into the night, leaving Brittany gazing at him in utter confusion. Where was he going?
"Alvin, wait!" She shouted, running a few steps towards him. He turned, and the complete look of defeat in his eyes stopped her utterly. She gathered her courage.
"I love you!"
Alvin closed his eyes as if in pain. She waited breathlessly.
"I love you too."
And then he walked off into the waiting darkness.
End of Chapter 4
Okay. I know. More angst. But this story is taking me along with it. I hope that everyone is at least, er, enjoying the story. Please, please review!
Zen Hugs,
Pyxelle