Where is the moment when we needed the most?

You kick up the leaves, and the magic is lost.

They tell me your blue skies fade to grey,

They tell me your passion's gone away,

and I don't need no carrying on…

Because you had a bad day

You're taking one down

You sing a sad song just to turn it around

You say you don't know

You tell me don't lie

You work at a smile, and you go for a ride

You had a bad day

The camera don't lie

You're coming back down, and you really don't mind

You had a bad day

You had a bad day!"

While we all sang the latest song we heard from the old cabin's radio, I was attempting to stuff the acorn Simon handed me into our very crowded tree. "Grrrah, it's going! It's going! It's...WHOA!". Annd, there it goes! Into the tree. And out. Ugh! Simon mumbled something similar as my frustration flared up. "THAT'S IT! I'm so tired of this! I'm tired of fighting to stay alive, I'm tired of competing for food, I'm tired of fighting off that loser sparrow that ALWAYS steals my nuts! And I'm tired of this stupid, STUPID tree!" I jumped on one of the branches to blow off some steam. Simon's hands on my shoulders is what managed to calm me down. "Alvin…" I shot my angry eyes at him, knowing he couldn't see my frustration. But he didn't get to finish what he was going to tell me. The tree began trembling, along with this horrible buzzing noise. My hands shot to my mate in panic. That's when it stopped. "Uh, guys? I think he made it angry!" Theodore cried, climbing his way back up the tree to us. Just as fast as it stopped, it started again, and our tree began to tip back.

"Go! Get inside!" Simon yelled, shoving me and Theodore to the nearest hole. Fear and adrenaline spiked through me when Theodore got stuck. Too late, as the tree was already crashing down. I snatched Simon's arm and grabbed the nearest branch and locked my arms. Thinking the tree we picked to grow up in would soon smash us like bugs, I clenched my eyes shut. When the tree hit the ground, I swear my arm was about to come off my body from the impact. Simon's weight didn't help. When I thought it was over, I peeked an eye open. The ground was inches from Simon and my feet. Theodore was still stuck, thankfully. I wouldn't have been able to catch him if he fell. I took a moment to breathe, not realizing I had stopped.

I was about to set Simon down when the tree jerked again. All of us went silent when we heard the deep voices of humans. Simon made a silent effort to climb up my body and grab the same twig I was holding onto. My arm screamed with relief as both Simon's and my weight left it. Simon wrapped an arm around me, his protective nature kicking in. We stayed frozen and silent as our home was thrown into the back of a yellow truck, covered in ropes, and trapped. "Alvin, what's going on?" my mate vaguely whispered in my ear. He was born with bad eyes, and he can't see well, so he relies on me to be his eyes. "They put us in some sort of truck and threw some rope over the tree" I whispered just as quietly. Finally, the humans went into the front of the truck. Just in time, because Theodore became unstuck, falling onto both me and Simon.

"Ow"

"Ouch!"

Simon tried to help us both up as much as he could, but with his eyesight, he wasn't getting very far. I ended up helping him up, but he shoved me off. Like usual. The three of us were unharmed. Not including my sore arm, which I rubbed. I looked up just in time to feel the truck jerk forward, and move. I lurched into a nearby branch with the truck's movement. I was a little bewildered at the fast speed we were moving at, yet it gave me a sense of excitement. Where I was enjoying the foreign feeling, Simon didn't like it. "Come on guys, we should hide". Theodore followed Simon, as usual. I stayed for a second, a little mesmerized by the passing forest. I was a little disappointed when Simon wrapped an arm around my chest and dragged me back into the tree. Yet it wasn't that surprising. I mean, he's my mate. Us talking animals only get one, and Simon likes to take the role of 'protector' between us two, despite his eyesight.

"Ow!" I hissed quietly as he pulled my sore arm. Now, where Simon lacked in sight, he definitely made up in smell and hearing. So while Theodore was oblivious and climbing into the tree, Simon's unfocused blue eyes snapped back to me. He lightly pulled on my arm again, eliciting another hiss. "Would you stop that!" I whispered, as not to alert Theodore. He sniffed my arm, then began poking it. "Si…"

"Where are you hurt?"

"I'm not hurt, my arm is just sore"

"Alvin…"

"I'm serious!"

His eyes looked around at my face, like he was looking for my eyes. While I never like the fact my mate can't see properly, a part of me is glad he can't see my eyes. He already knows me so well, I can only imagine how easily he could read me if he could focus on my eyes. I sighed and gave him a gentle kiss. "I'm fine. There's nothing you could do to help anyways. Come on Mr. Paranoid". He rolled his eyes. "Do you even know what that word means?". I pulled his arm in silence. He 'tch'ed with a chuckle and followed me into the tree, bumping our heads together. I wanted to stay at the entrance to watch where we were going, but once again, Simon didn't like it. He pulled me into his lap and ran his fingers through my fur. Theodore sat next to us, trembling a little.

"It's ok Theo. I'm sure they're just...relocating us. Yeah!"

I could feel Simon huff behind me.

I met my baby brother's worried green eyes. "You think so?" he replied, hope lining in his voice. I stood, puffing my chest out. "Uh, duh! This is me we're talking about! When have I ever been wrong?". They both gave me a look. "Uh, actually, don't answer that". That elicted a laugh from both my brothers. I could only guess my grin was sheepish to them. Simon yanked me back into his arms. Theodore wasn't scared anymore, but no one spoke up. I watched all manners of green pass by until I started to hear strange noises. Honking, screeching, talking. I was beginning to feel nervous now. Simon held me and Theodore closer, probably hearing more than we could. Suddenly with a jolt, the truck our tree was on came to a halt. Us three flew forward. I glanced at my brothers to see if they were ok before I went to the entrance to get a better look at what was going on. My heart fell when I didn't see anymore trees.

Large buildings and a cloudy sky. My eyes jerked at a part of the truck that fell down with a 'clunk', and a human wearing a flannel with gloves was removing the rope on the tree. "Alvin!" my mate snapped, practically throwing me away from the entrance. What happened next was just a bunch of jerking of the tree, us trying not to make any noise, and a little bit of a stomach ache. Up was down, left was right, ect. We were just thrown around like rag dolls for who knows how long. When we finally came to a stop, I was laying on top of Theodore, trying to get my stomach to stop moving. I concentrated on breathing so I didn't throw up my breakfast. "Um, Alvin. C..can you get off me? Please?". Not wanting to move too much, I just rolled off of him. He gasped in some air. I wanted to complain that I didn't weigh that much, but I was still feeling sick. Looking on my left, my mate was upside down against the wall. He looked just as dazed as I felt.

Deciding it would help if I closed my eyes, I rolled on my left and just tried to sleep. I didn't hear anyone move, except for the humans outside, so I assumed my brothers did the same.

When we all decided to come out of the tree, we were obviously in a building. Strange lights covered our tree and people were hanging shiny circles on it. My childish side kicked in. "Wow, I think they remodeled our forest. I like it! Stylish, yet functional…". I couldn't tell if Theodore knew it was a building or not, but it was funny how he played along. He tugged my arm a little. "Um, well where did the mountains go?".

"Oh give me a break, we're in a building Theodore".

Count on my mate to ruin my fun fantasy world.

"We need to get out of here. We aren't safe in the human community" he continued.

"Well, smart guy, how do we get out?"

"I...can't see a way out from here. But…" he cut me off. Stupid Simon. "...we should start by getting down". I stuck my tongue out at him, even if he couldn't see it. Anxious to get out of here, I tried to push Theodore along. It was always this way climbing up or down anything. Theo in front, me in the middle, Simon in the back.

"Out of the way" I said.

"Alvin! Slow down!"

"Move your butt Theodore!"

"Ouch! You stepped on my tail!" Theo complained, falling to the carpeted floor. I fell on him by accident, him cushioning my fall. Simon was right behind me on instinct. I glanced back at my brothers. Deciding to keep the mood up, "Last one to the door is road kill!" I said, running forward. "I'm in!" my mate replied. Up for a challenge, as usual. I stopped when I couldn't hear Simon and Theo behind me. Theodore must have gotten distracted. As per usual. I waited a few seconds for them to catch up. I skidded to a halt when obstacle after obstacle came in our way. "Ok, not my best idea" I stated out loud as some sort of scooter flew past us. "Look out!" Simon called. "Maniac!" I shouted, throwing a fist. That's when a dog began to bark. That sent a shot of adrenaline threw me.

"Yikes!"

"Back to the tree, back to the tree!" I called.

Another scooter with some boxes on it.

"Back to the dog, back to the dog!" Simon called.

That's when I spotted the basket. "Basket! 3 o'clock" I pointed, even if Simon couldn't see it. He knew me well enough to know I wouldn't steer him wrong. "Which way is 3 o'clock?" Theo questioned behind me. I went ahead, knowing Simon could take care of him. I took a few jumps, but made it in. To my delight, it was filled with fresh muffins. "Guys! Wait for me! Wait up! I still have baby fat you know!". I leaned down and Simon held my tail as my legs were propped against the side of the basket. "Jump Theodore! You've got to really want it!"

"I want it, I want it!"

"Theo, I can't hang like this all day!"

"Will you jump already?" Simon called behind me. Finally I caught his arms and Simon pulled us both up.

"Ooo, muffins!"

Of course Theodore would care about that. Me and Simon watched the human who was carrying the basket we were in warily. Strangely enough he didn't hear us. Or even notice we were in his basket of goods. Thankfully he got us out of the building, but there were a lot, and I mean A LOT of other humans around. I looked to Simon nervously. "Si, there's a lot of humans around. And I don't see any forest". He wrapped his arms around me, succeeding in calming me down before I knew I was panicking. "I know. For now we should just stay in the basket. Maybe he lives near one we can live in". I nodded, still silently staring at this stranger. He took us to a small, rusting red vehicle. 'How has this guy not noticed us yet? I mean, talking chipmunks aren't hard to miss. And we aren't very common'. When he started his car, it was even noisier than the truck we were in! Loud noise tends to throw Simon off so I pulled him in for a hug, rubbing his back. Theodore joined, seemingly also terrified.

Wherever he was taking us wasn't very far. When he took our basket out of the car, we were in a very small, yet stunning neighborhood. It had lots of flowers and plants. Thankfully, there were also trees. Sadly in our awe, we missed our chance at getting out. The human was already walking through a door. I watched as he carelessly tossed one of his bags on the floor. He walked into a room that smelled heavenly! It smelled spicy and sweet! That's when he looked down. Huddled in our hug, we froze. It was tense and silent and it felt like it lasted forever. Somehow, he still didn't see us! And he threw us into a smelly tin bin.

"Gross! Is this his house?" Theodore asked.

"No Theodore. It's his garbage can" Simon replied.

"Ooh. Oh."

What happened next was a bunch of shuffling noises and crashes from outside. Despite how putrid this place smelled, we decided to wait a while before coming out. Better to be safe than sorry. When all was quiet, we peeked out of the lid.

"This must be where he stores his food for winter". I just nodded as that sweet smell hit my nose again. From the other room, it sounded like the human turned on their radio or TV. We decided to leave and explore the place. There were a ton of glass bottles full of dried plants or liquids. Some looked tasty, some looked gross. I hopped off a shelf, slid in a bowl and came to a stop. Whatever we were doing gave me a dangerous excitement. It was fun exploring in enemy territory while trying not to be caught. I don't think my grin could come off if I taped a frown on my face. I sniffed around and that sweet smell of spices led me to what looked like a white door.

I tried to pull it open, but it was too heavy. "Grr, come on! Come on baby, come...to...papa!" Finally, it swung open. Simon and Theo must have been behind me, because we all gave our own expressions of awe at what we saw.

"Hello gorgeous…"

"Wow…"

"We hit the motherload!"

Inside was all sorts of snacks! While none were any we've eaten before or even seen, it all looked delicious. We dug in. Theodore went for a colorful box with a weird guy in green on it. "This is the greatest *munch* day of my life!" he exclaimed. "Eureka! Si, I found the cheeseballs!" I called down quietly. We found a bag of them at the road near our tree once and it was the best thing we've ever eaten! I didn't wait a second before dumping the bag. Thankfully it was already open. Below me my mate dragged the bowl I slid into earlier below the waterfall of cheeseballs. "Alvin what are you doing?! Don't make a mess!" He was being paranoid again. I jumped. "Cannonball!"

While I began chowing down, Simon was jerking his head around for any movement. We saw the human sit up, and I immediately ditched anything in my hands. "Hide!". We chose the same doors I opened to hide behind, slamming closed. It was louder than we expected and both of us flinched. We heard him get up, and I dragged Theodore behind some boxes, in case the human opened the doors. While he was distracted with the cheeseballs, I opened another door behind him, and motioned Simon and Theo out. This time, I closed the small door slowly and quietly. Simon had jumped to another counter and was waving me over. 'We might get out of this thing!'

We found some upside down cups to hide under. When we thought he was walking away, we moved. But his heavy footsteps stopped. I froze, hearing my brothers do the same. These cups are heavy and make a dragging noise when we move. 'This won't end well'. The human took a step and we moved again. He stopped and we followed in suit. He began walking back over to us. In a panic, I froze, locking my arms and legs to the side of the cup. 'Please don't find us, please don't find us, please don't find us…'. In a second he jerked my cup up. Simon was next to me, clinging onto the orange cup he was under. 'He thinks we were under them, not in!'. I smiled as he was fooled so easily. 'Ha, stupid human'. He set our cups down again and left. We all took the time to get the heck out of there!

We shot back behind the white doors. Just in time, because he came back. 'Dang it Theodore!' I mentally cursed. He didn't close the door. I rushed to close it, and sadly it slammed. Again. That's when the human opened the door with some sort of flat weapon and tried to get at me. I pushed my brothers in front of me. He opened door after door, knocking things over and out. Theodore stopped in front of me and began eating something that smelled sweet. "Theodore!" I snapped, trying to get him moving again. Too late. The door snapped open and the human stood in all his size. Theodore gave a nervous chuckle as the human froze. Tired of being chased, I charged at his face. "AHHH!" "ALVIN!" I heard behind me. I clung on, trying to spook him away from my family. He began stepping back until he fell. I took the chance of climbing to his head, where he couldn't see me. The problem was, I couldn't see him. Or more importantly what he had grabbed.

He slowly stood, and as he did, I tried to get a peek at what he was doing. That's when something dark pinned me to his head, cutting off my air and sight. "Grrr!" I tried to scare him, clawing his head again and again, tearing out some of his hair. I internally cheered as he began 'ow!'ing and hissing. That's when he slammed me and whatever was covering me onto a counter. Thankfully, I didn't get hurt. Who knows what Simon would have done to the guy if I got hurt. He then peeked open an end to look at me. I took the chance to nip his finger. He flinched back, pulling back whatever sack was in his hand, freeing me. I shot off. He cornered me behind a black box and tried to get at me with his weapon. 'So this is the end. Oh well, what a way to go' I thought. That's when I heard a scraping sound, and something big fell, and broke on the human's head. He fell to the floor, knocked out.

One of my brothers jumped down and ran to me. Low and behold, my mate was the one to knock the human out. 'Who knew he had that in him'. "Alvin! Are you hurt? Please tell me you're not hurt! I swear if you're hurt, that human's going to get it!". I took a deep breath and threw my arms around him. "No Si, I'm fine. A little breathy, but fine". His arms were so tight around me, I almost thought he was trying to choke me instead of hug. Pulling back, he cupped my cheek and kissed me deeply. He actually found my lips for once instead of almost. Enjoying the rare moment of intimacy, Theodore had to ruin it. Me and Simon don't get enough alone time. "Are you two done?".

I blew him a raspberry. He did the same. I blew mine harder when Simon pulled me back. "Ok, ok, break it up you two. We aren't five anymore". He held my paw as we crept back out. When his back was turned, I stuck my tongue back out at Theodore. Simon jerked my attention back; he knew me too well for anyone's own good. We waited for the human to get up, but he never did. It was dark out by the time we decided to investigate up close.

"He's been out for quite a while" Simon mumbled.

Theo gasped. "You guys he's DEAD!"

Thinking Simon would flip out, I took charge. I shot back around to him and shouted "DON'T PANIC! Wipe everything down! I'll need three garbage bags, a shovel, some latex gloves, disinfectant, and oregano. Go!" I struck a pose, feeling as awesome as I was when Simon nipped my ear, shoving me back. "Hold on sherlock. He's coming too". I blushed as he did such an intimate gesture in front of Theodore. The human began moving below us. Oh, did I mention we were on his chest?.

"Oh, I must be hearing things…" he mumbled. He lifted his head, and I realized how close Theodore was to him. "Man, this is trippy" he said while looking at us. I got on all fours as Theodore asked him shyly if he was ok. That's when the dam broke. "GAH! Get back!" he cried, shaking us off. My brothers shot right, while I shot left. "What the...squirrels can't talk!". Ok, I can take this guy attacking us for being in his house. But comparing us to those lowlife creatures? I don't take that crap.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Watch it! We're chipmunks! Say it with me, chip-munks!" Simon grabbed my arm, pulling me back. More like holding me back.

"Chipmunks can't talk either!" He said, standing and switching on the lights.

Simon gave his explanation as I kept my arms crossed, glaring as hard as I could at this guy. He went into a small trance, mumbling about how we don't exist. Deciding I didn't like how he was sizing us up, I jumped on the counter, followed shortly by my brothers. "I am not talking to chipmunks, I am not talking to chipmunks!". He seemed to start to believe that, so I broke his happy little world. "So, how's that working for ya Dave?" Simon whacked my shoulder and I swatt his hand away. "H..how do..do you know my name?"

"I'll fill that one!" I said, hopping over to some weird bowl contraption. "We read your mail. By accident".

"You really should pay that utility bill Dave" Simon criticized in a 'matter-of-fact' voice. I noticed the human give my mate a funny look. Something between a 'stop' and a 'you don't know what you're talking about' look. "Ever heard of a credit rating?". Where he gets this stuff, I have no idea. But I admire how he knows it and it's one of his traits I find adorable. No matter how annoying it can get. Theodore began playing with a machine while I explored the counter more. I sniffed around, smelling some sour and chemical smells. Must be some of his weird human cleaning things. "Hey! Stop playing with...turn that off!" Dave said. I only half listened.

"Heh, sorry. He fell out of the tree at birth". Typical Theodore, from day one.

"Can all animals speak, or talk, or whatever?" he asked warily. It's honestly amusing. His reaction.

"Um, well I think fish have a sort of sign language. If that counts?"

I was standing on some weird long tube that went down with my weight. Some sort of smelling chemical stuff came out. It was pretty cool, if I say so myself. Deciding to get him back for calling us squirrels, I came up with my own insult. "Hey Dave! Do all humans have houses that smell like sweatsocks? Dave likes to wear, dirty underwear! With little hairs!" I sang while squirting some of his chemical liquid stuff around. Simon shot past me, giving a warning glare. "Uh, we're getting off on the wrong foot. Allow us to introduce ourselves! I'm Simon. The, uh, smart one. He's Alvin, the…"

"Thee awesomest one!" I butt in. Simon pulled me in, proudly showing I was his.

"And I'm Theodore!"

He gave fake cheer. "Oh, nice to meet you. Now get out of my house!" Yep, typical.

"But...we talk" my baby brother tried.

"Which makes me want you out of my house even more! It's unnatural, somewhat evil!". I huffed, nudging my mate. "I kind of liked him better when we thought he was dead". That's when he slammed a metal bowl over us and picked up the board we were on. "AHA!" his muffled cry was heard. Before we knew it, he tossed us outside like animals. While it was cold and rainy. I was up and charging the door before my brothers, but it was like head-butting a brick wall. "Don't do this Dave! I can gnaw right through this door! I have teeth of steel!". Deciding my methods of persuasion would work better if I could see him, I found a window.

"Hi!" Theodore chirped.

He closed the blinds.

Both of them.

I felt like crying. I hate rejection. Of any kind. Simon pulled me into a hug, kissing my cheek. That's when I noticed some instruments in his bushes. 'Wait…' I jerked out of his hold. "Guys! I have an idea!"

Only, You!

Can make, this world feel right!

But, only you! Can make, the darkness bright!

'Yes! He fell for it' I thought as he opened his window to us singing. 'Time for my supreme acting skills'.

"Oh, sorry. Were we disturbing you?" I asked, giving my best innocent face.

"Wait...you three can sing too?".

"Sing you say? Oh no, that wasn't singing. This is singing!" I motioned for my brothers to get into place.

Oh-wha-oh, oh, oh, oh, Oh-wha-oh-oh!

Talk about it, talk about it, talk about Movin'!

Oh, won't you take me to? Funky town!

Won't you take me to? Funky town.

Won't you take me to? Funky town!

Won't you take me to? Funky town-Ohhhh…

We sang and danced, and I could see how impressed Dave was. Even though we were soaked to the bone and cold, there was no better rush than performing for an audience. No matter how small. "Wow, this...is amazing" the human said with a smile. I felt pride and something foreign well up inside of me. A boom of thunder rang over out heads and he ushered us inside. I gave my brothers high fives as we all hopped inside. As we entered, a threshold of warmth washed over me. I've never felt so warm in my life! Simon slipped, and the human actually helped him out. Okay, so I'll give him that. Simon slipped his hand into mine. The human gave us a look, but went on to say what he needed.

"Ok. Here's the deal: You guys sing my songs, you get to stay here". Already having this planned, I pretended to think it over. "Hmm, no. WAIT! Is breakfast included?". He actually thought it over and nodded. "I can live with that". "How about TV privileges, hm?" Simon added his own. "Ok, but not after seven" "Eight!" Theodore piped. "Deal!" I did a backflip, happy one of my plans finally worked. "Just don't tell all your animal pals, because I don't want to come home to a ton of badgers and birds in my living room". I wrapped my arms around Theodore happily, scratching his head lightly. "Filthy creatures Dave, never associate with them".

"Yeah, you're our only friend!"

He didn't seem to like that, deflating that strange feeling inside me. "Hold on, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's start with me being you're songwriter". That reminded me of something.

"Um, let me ask you. Have you ever written a song before?"

"Yep"

"And...is that your music stuff outside?"

"Yep…"

…...

"...Oh no!"

Yeah, that's what I thought he should react like. He rushed out. Theodore followed to watch while I took the time to shake the water from my fur. Simon stood there for a second, watching Theodore go before he tackled me down. "Whoa! Hey!" I laughed. He began littering my face with kisses. The fact he was still wet after I just dried myself bugged me a little, but we didn't get enough alone time. Finally he kissed me dead on. He was close this time, capturing half my mouth. I chuckled and fixed his mistake. He pulled me up and held me. "Great idea. It seems we have a home for a while". I nuzzled him while we watched from afar as Dave logged all his wet equipment inside. Simon kept kissing between my neck and cheek. I purred a little.

When Dave was done, me and Simon split up. Us talking animals have certain traditions that humans would frown upon. He stole a deep kiss before I ran off to a different counter. He started making paper airplanes and throwing them around. Not sure where Theo ran off too, but he knew to call for help if he needs it. "So fellas. All we've got to do is find the right song, rehearse it, and-ow!" Simon threw another paper airplane and narrowly missed Dave. "Simon, this is my sheet music". Deciding to get Dave's attention off my mate, as well as give him something to look at, I used some sort of ring as a hula hoop. "La da da da! La da da da! La da da da da da..hey!" Dave slammed the ring down. "Alvin, this is not a hula hoop!". I noticed Simon giving me a lovey-dovey look. I hope I was far enough for him to see me. "This is a towel rack!" he snapped at me again. I hopped down. "Killjoy" I mumbled. While Dave's attention went to Theodore who had gotten into some toys, I winked at Simon.

"Are you three always like this?" he finally asked. Simon hopped over to me, arm encircling my waist. "We're kids Dave". Dave's eyes went to Simon's arm, but once again ignored it. "Where are your parents?". I sighed, hating this reminder. "When you're a chipmunk Dave, you're parents take care of you for a week. Then they take off". I huffed. "Our parents were hippies. They left early to join a commune". Sadly, that made me feel even more rejected. Simon could tell and gave me a head-butt. This time Dave spoke up. "Why do you two keep doing that?". I decided to play dumb, hoping he'd take a hint. "Doing what?".

"Like, holding hands or nuzzling each other".

"Oh boy" Theo mumbled.

"You can explain this one Si" I said, patting his back.

"Gee Alvin, really feeling the love".

"Anytime" I smiled.

He groaned and dragged a hand down his face. This was never easy to explain to any other animal we meet. "You see Dave, normal chipmunks have very good birthing rates each year wouldn't you agree?" He raised an eyebrow. "Yet do you wonder why you don't see any talking chipmunks around?". He gave us a very confused look. "Well, not everyday. But now I know they exist, sure. What does that have to do with you two?" He sighed again. "Well, a long, long time ago, before technology existed, our kind lived in peace with humans. They worshiped us as godly creatures of nature. I believe you would refer to them as Native Americans. Anyways one day some new humans showed up and began attacking both the humans who were friendly to us and our kind as well. These new humans were Europeans. They began hunting our kind for sport, thinking we were demons or something. Our kind was near extinction.

That's when all the remaining talking chipmunks...our ancestors if you will, all joined together and created a rule for all families to follow. They believed the only way to keep our species alive was to go into hiding. And because our kind can have so many children in their lifetime, the rule was for the two firstborns to become mates. But if the two firstborns were opposite genders, then the two of the litter who are would become mates. That way only one or two per litter would carry the bloodline, while the others have their mate from birth. It's a way to cut our population in half, keeping our kind safe from being hunted".

"So wait a minute. Are you telling me that you two are mates? Like married in the chipmunk world or something?".

"Yes Dave, that's exactly what we're telling you. And yes, before you ask, we are brothers as well".

"You guys, that's incest. It's illegal. You can't be a couple or anything". I sighed, knowing humans wouldn't like it. "Well, it's illegal for you humans because it's harmful to any of your offspring. For us chipmunks, it's normal. Especially for us talking chipmunks. This is how it's been for a few hundred years and how it is for us now. Me and Alvin are lucky we get along well. Even if we didn't, we'd still technically be mates. It's just how we were raised". Dave just rubbed his face. "Ok, you know what? It's none of my business. But, for you two, no funny business in my house ok? I don't care what you two do, just don't do anything on my furniture or where I can hear or see it. Ok?".

Half of me was elated he was just letting it go. The other half was causing me to turn beet red under my fur. Me and Simon haven't done it yet, but I think we both have reached that part of our relationship where it's possible. The thought of us actually mating hadn't crossed my mind before. Stupid human, getting me all worked up for nothing. I looked at Simon. He seemed surprised, but was giving me a predator look. I looked away quickly, then scolded myself for doing it. He can't see my face in detail this close, but he would have seen that. Dave looked away as Theodore turned his robot on again and was being chased by it. While they were distracted, Simon purred deeply into my ear, nipping it a few times. That just brought my blush back tenfold. He chuckled and hopped past me while I was fighting my blush back.

"Hey, be careful with that! It's a collectible. I got it for Christmas last year"

Christmas? Now that got my attention away from intimate thoughts. I hopped onto the couch where Dave was at. Simon and Theodore followed suit. "Christmas!" we all cried. "We love Christmas!". Simon chuckled and said "Even though we've never actually celebrated it".

"But we want too!"

"Yeah, you can never go wrong with Christmas" Dave replied.

"Oo, maybe we can celebrate it with you!" Theodore piped up. I looked at Dave hopefully.

"Um, maybe. Look, I've had a long and incredibly weird day. So, off to bed".

He's right. I have no idea how late it is, but I was wiped and ready to curl up against my mate. Dave picked up a pillow that was next to us and walked over to a chair. There was a blanket there already and Dave patt the pillow in a 'come lay here' motion. "We start work tomorrow". I laid right next to my mate. "I want you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed by eight". I gave him a mischievous look. "My tail isn't bushy till nine!". He covered us with the blanket. "Not my problem". 'Touche' I thought. I adjusted myself so my head was on top of Simon's chest. He pecked my cheek like he always did before bed. Still on the topic of Christmas, I mumbled "I hope Christmas comes fast". Theo echoed me with a "Me too".

I closed my eyes and was asleep in seconds. When we were in a warm home, safe from any danger, and with my mate next to me, I've never slept sounder.

When I woke up, Dave was passed out on his piano. Simon woke up when I did, mainly from how much I moved. He's not a very deep sleeper. "Morning Si" I said mid yawn. He reached forward and pulled me down into a kiss. Ended up on the corner of my mouth this time. "Morning" he mumbled, stretching. Feeling bored, I found something for us to color. Theodore joined us for a little bit. "Not sure about you, but I'm kind of hungry" I spoke up. The word hungry was enough to wake Theodore completely. So we made our way back into the kitchen and started making food to store for winter. Simon also turned on some Spongebob. What it was, we had no idea, but it sounded funny. As our latest batch of toaster waffles started to burn, Dave got up and was walking into the kitchen.

"Here's trouble. FIRE IN THE HOLE!" I shouted, hopping back to take cover behind a rolling pin. Simon and Theodore were already there. "What are you guys doing?" he asked, super confused. "Nothing. What are you doing?" I replied, waiting for the toaster to explode. That or shoot out the burning waffles. "Stand back Dave. SHE'S GONNA BLOW!" Simon cried. I covered my head as the toaster popped, to my dismay. I thought it would explode. "I got it!" Simon cried again, walking backwards trying to catch the two black waffles. I huffed. He wasn't going to get it. "I got it! I got it guys! Come to papa!" He said. One fell on the floor. The other landed right in front of him. "What? Where'd it go?"

I chuckled a little. He sniffed, looking around. "It landed right in front of you Si". I hopped over to him. "Yeah, he's right. You didn't see it?" Dave asked. Simon's shoulders slumped. I know his eyesight was a tough subject for him, so I gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Yeah, he was born with bad eyes. He can only see things really far away". I hopped down to grab the other waffle. "Hang on a second, I might have something for that". I thought he was talking about the waffles. When I hopped back up, Simon had some small glasses on. He looked really cute. "Wow...someone trashed your house!" he said. He was looking around with wide eyes.

"Wow, so this is what it's like to see". I only half heard what he said, preoccupied with the black waffle. "Ouch!" I said, tossing the burning hot waffle to the side. "Nice look Si, those suit you". He looked at me when I said ouch, but now he just looked like he was seeing me for the first time. I wiped my hands on my fur. When I looked up again, Simon was walking towards me very slowly. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" It was strange, it was like he was actually seeing me. His eyes weren't unfocused anymore. "Hey Dave, can you turn the TV back on?" Theodore asked behind me. I couldn't really concentrate on it, as Simon's look was very intense. "What? Si, are you o…" I didn't finish as he slowly locked his lips with mine. Perfectly. That's never happened before, he was always guessing. This seemed like he knew exactly where my lips were. When he pulled away, he looked at me up and down. Then grabbed my waist and spun me around. "Wha! S..Simon?!" He was laughing.

"Ok, you're freaking me out. How are you doing that?". He rubbed our noses together. "I can see! These glasses actually work!". My eyes widened, finally realizing. "Wait, you can see me? Right here?". He laughed and kissed me perfectly, again. I laughed happily and threw my arms around him. "Are you two finished?" someone asked from behind us. "Nope, not even close" Simon said, twirling me for a split second. "Whoa! Dave, what have you created?!" I cried while being spun. Everyone laughed a little. "But seriously, my house was clean when I went to bed" Dave continued.

"Well, we colored for awhile. Then we got hungry. Want to see what we colored?" Theo spoke. I looked at him, wanting to show him the embarrassing pictures we drew. "Actually, I wrote something for you to sing, so lets…" we all hear a loud 'squash' sound. Dave reached down and picked up one of our stored waffles with syrup. "We've put aside a few toaster waffles for the winter". I pushed Simon behind me. "AND! We're not sharing!". The last time we shared our stored food, we had to relocate our home. And stash. "Guys, we're gonna have food all winter. So if you start storing it, it's going to get bad and we'll have roden…" I narrowed my eyes at him. "Bad, non-talking rodents. You know" I smiled. 'That's what I thought'.

"Lets go get to work"

We followed him to the area where he has his instruments. He set down a few drums for us to stand on. Me and Simon got on fine, though Theodore had some trouble. As Dave began to play his piano, I looked to the music sheet where the words and notes were. If I was reading it correctly, it should sound pretty cheerful.

"Alright you chipmunks, you ready to sing your song?" Dave asked.

At that moment, I saw what looked like a reverse hamster wheel. I just had to try it out!

"I'll say we are!"

"Yeah, let's sing it now Dave!"

I hopped on the wheel and began running, vaguely aware of the conversation behind me.

"Ready Simon?"

"Ok!"

"Ready Theodore?"

"Ok!"

"Ready Alvin? Alvin?"

Dave turned towards me as I was running on two legs.

"Whoa! This kicks a hamster wheel's butt!" I said between breaths.

"ALVIN!" He shouted.

I tripped and fell, but just as easily got back up again.

"OK!"

We all began swaying to the soft tune.

Christmas, Christmas time is near!

Time for toys and time for cheer.

We've been good, but we can't last,

Hurry Christmas, hurry fast.

Want a plane that loops the loop.

"Me I want a hula hoop!" I sang

We can't hardly stand the wait!

Please Christmas don't be late!

We all shared a laugh. I can't say for sure, but that strange feeling grew inside me again. All of us together just made me feel warm and happy. Not the kind of warm I get around Simon. This one felt more open and just as powerful. I looked to Dave to see if he liked how we sang, hoping he approved of it. His smile was amazed and proud. That made me feel all the more better. "Alright, how fast do you think you can memorize this?" he asked. I tapped my foot in question. "Hm, considering the time and the tune… twenty minutes!" I shouted. Simon chuckled. "Less. If there's something you need to do, you can go do it".

He nodded. "Well, I was going to shower and get dressed. I hope I can trust you not to make any more messes?" I saluted him. "Ay Ay captain!". Dave's smile didn't change as he left. Theodore snuggled between me and Simon. Yeah, they definitely felt what I was feeling. "So, shall we start?" my mate asked. The way he was looking at me was so different, yet it made me feel even more loved. He could see me now. Not just a blurred figure, like actually see me. I don't need to be at least ten feet away anymore. I gave him a headbutt. "Of course!".

Dave brought us back to the place where our old tree ended up. I felt a little nervous, seeing all the humans around. I just hope Dave doesn't double back on us and ditch us here. He put us in what looked like a Christmas present that had a Christmas decoration on the inside. It was dark in here, but we could breathe. I wonder who we were going to be meeting. We're supposed to sing for this guy Ian who produces songs. When we heard introductions, we knew it was time. Yet when the box opened up, and music began playing, a lump formed in my throat. I couldn't sing.

I looked around at all the humans around. 'Dave wants us to sing in front of everyone?'. Simon and Theodore were no different. The music had already started and none of us sang. We just were too scared. "Um, come on guys!" Dave snapped quietly. The fact this guy Ian was bald, scary, and with uneven teeth didn't help. "Ok Dave, I'm going to pretend I have a lunch to go to. 'Oh look at the time, I have a lunch to go to'". He walked off after and Dave didn't look at us. That happy, open, warm feeling I had when we first sang this song had been shot down and killed. Dave was quiet until we got to the car.

"What was that?" he snapped. I flinched and grabbed Simon's hand. He held it just as tight as me. "Oh, uh, n..nothing. Just a little stage fright" he replied to Dave. He was trembling a little. "I thought my heart was going to explode!" Theo exclaimed. The pressure he was giving me caused me to go on the defense. "We aren't performing monkeys Dave. Why do we have to sing for that guy anyway?". I thought my argument was just.

"Well, how's this: pretend I need the money, I hate my job, and you are staying at my house! So you owe me".

I looked away, shame hitting me wave after wave. "We're sorry Dave…" Theodore mumbled. The hurt in his voice broke my heart. "Yeah, that helps" Dave snapped again. I think we all flinched. "Ugh, never mind. I'm late for work". How that gave Theodore hope, I have no idea. "Oo! Oo! Can we go with you?!". "What, so you can mess that up too? Uh uh, no way. You're going home". I can't tell if that hurt more than his initial blow. I watched as he drove and wanted to try and lift the mood. "Hey Dave, can I stand in your lap and steer?". Theodore piped up again, trying to help lift the mood. "Oh, can I beep...the...horn...never mind". The stern look he gave killed both of our hope. I just let my head fall onto Simon's shoulder and tried to will the disappointment from my soul.

When Dave dropped us off, he grabbed a few things and then left. Not before tasking us with cleaning up. I groaned and decided I needed a hug. Simon didn't deny me that. Theodore joined in too. 'There goes that' I thought. I received a kiss on my head. "Come on. The sooner we clean up, the sooner we can make him happy again". I nodded. "Ok, so where's his vacuum? I want to start on the carpet". We all looked around until Theodore found it. "Ok, Si, how do we turn it on?"

Something about Simon I could always appreciate was how he liked to describe what he was doing. So as he taught us, he did it for us as well. Me and Theo shared a look. "Ok, if I am correct, you plug this thing into the wall which should give it power. And if I press this, it should start...Aha!" he said, pressing a button. The crumbs near the tube began disappearing. We all had our own small celebrations. I hopped over and pecked Simon on the cheek and got to work sweeping all the crumbs into one pile. Theodore worked on moving the vacuum tube. "While you guys clean the floor, I'll get the dishes".

I nodded and continued my job. When this room had one pile, I motioned for Theodore to come closer. I was sweeping some rogue crumbs in when my tail felt like it was being pulled. "What the...AHHH!" I screamed as I was suctioned into the vacuum. It was stuffy and hard to breathe in here. "HELP!" I cried. I heard a few muffled voices outside. One thing I picked up on was Simon telling me he was going to call Dave. "DAVE HELP!" I cried again. It was getting harder to breathe. Theodore called me from outside the vacuum. Not only was it stuffy in here and hard to breathe, but air was constantly being sucked in. My face was beginning to sting from it. "Just stay calmAHHH!" Theodore cried before being slammed into me.

Now that there were two of us in here, air was precious. "SIMON! HELP US!" I shouted. "SIMON!" Theodore joined in. "IT'S GETTING HARD TO BREATHE!". It felt like forever we were stuck in there. My breathing was becoming wheezy when light and fresh air flooded in here. Theodore didn't wait before jumping out. I moved a little slower. I gasped in fresh air and just fell to the floor. Simon's paws were next to my head as he sniffed me. "You smell like toaster waffles" he said. It made sense, most of the crumbs were from the copious amount we made. He licked my cheek while giving a low purr. I was sure my blush was visible through my fur. My mate just laughed and helped me up, picking a few crumbs out of my fur.

Looking back, Simon somehow found a way to take the vacuum tube off the actual vacuum. "Maybe we should wait until Dave gets home to really start cleaning" Theodore asked warily. I nodded in agreement. That vacuum was really dirty, making me feel dirty. "I think I'm going to take a shower" I said, clearing my throat. "Not to burst your bubble or anything, but we can't work a shower" my mate said, still picking crumbs off me. My foot tapped as I thought again. That's when I spotted the dishwasher. "Would that work?" I asked, pointing to said machine. Minutes later, Simon had loaded the dishwasher with dishes and I stepped in. Theo migrated to the living room with some food. He liked the show Spongebob and decided to watch that.

Despite being dirty with dust and crumbs, Simon pulled me in for a deep kiss. A very deep kiss. I actually became lightheaded from it! "Have a nice shower" he mumbled lowly. That's when he hopped out, closing the door, leaving me stunned. I gripped one of the racks behind me and tried to steady my racing heart. I bit my lip as the dishwasher began to humm and spray water everywhere. I shivered as I imagined Simon doing more then kissing me deeply. Trying to distract myself, I decided to sing and clean my fur.

Don't ya?

Yeah! Come on! Yeah, Yeah, Come on, Come on,

Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?

Don't you wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?

Suddenly the dishwasher jerked open. I screamed, covering my crotch on instinct. "AHHHH! Hey, there's this new thing. It's called, knocking!" Dave stood there, still in his work outfit. "Get out!" he said. I crossed my arms, not wanting to. "Uh, I'm waiting for the rinse cycle!". He didn't like that and picked me up, dropping me on the table above. "Come on, I'm taking a showere here!" I complained. I started to shake the soap and water from my fur as Dave ranted. "You know, if I made a list of my worst days ever, today would be at the top of that list!".

"And it's still early!" I replied.

"Clam it sudsy!" he snapped again.

I heard Simon and Theodore jump up behind me and I remembered I was supposed to be feeling shame. Even though I was still wet and soapy, Simon pulled me into his side. I could feel him sniff me and wondered if I still smelt like toaster waffles. "Listen guys, let me put it to you this way. I have no job, no career, my house is always a mess…" Simon pulled me back, feeling threatened when we heard a beep from behind us. Theodore had stepped onto a button. A woman began speaking.

"Hi Dave, it's Clare Wilson, and...wait, why did I just say my last name? That was weird. Anyways, I guess I'm just nervous about dinner tonight."

I saw the lovey-dovey smile that came on his face. He must have his own mate. "Dinner!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm going to hang up now. I'll be there at seven. Uh, ok, bye!"

The machine beeped as Dave looked around his house. "Seven?! That's half an hour!" he exclaimed again. I looked around too. I suppose we could find a better way to clean up, without a sink or bathroom. Dave got to work, picking up his wet clothes and throwing them away. "Who's Clare?" Theodore asked curiously. He must not have seen the look on Dave's face. "Clare is Dave's mate. Oolala!" he ended in my ear, tightening his arms around my waist. My breath hitched as my eyes went wide. Simon's been acting weird since he got his glasses. More...predatory. I wasn't used to it, but I liked it too.

"No, she is not my mate! She's my uh...ex-mate" he stuttered. I covered my mouth as he got a light blush. "Sure Dave" I said, fighting my mate off and jumping forward into his living room. "This is great" he said, trying to clean everything up. "Dave listen. You just go get the food, we'll take care of the rest" Simon said.

"Oh, why am I having a hard time believing you?" he replied, still trying to clean. I expected a response like that. Didn't mean it hurt any less.

"That hurts Dave. That really…" I mocked being stabbed in the heart. "...hurts!" I ended. My mate put a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, we're all in this together"

"Like a family!"

Ok, Theodore was overstepping a bit. It still sounded nice though, for us to be a family.

"No, not like a family!" he snapped.

"Tick tock Dave. Better bust a move!" I said, striking a running pose.

"Right" he said, refocused. He paused before leaving, giving a 'you better follow through' look. Then he was off.

"Ok, showtime boys!" I called.

It grew dark out quickly when Dave walked back through the door. Thankfully, we had just finished. Simon and Theodore were adjusting the flowers on the table as he looked around. I wanted to look for pride in his face. Then remembered we just ruined his life in a day. The three of us were still on our own. "Wow" he said. I picked at my claws, acting bored even though I was exhausted. "We also do offices and recreational vehicles". He nodded and sniffed. "What's that smell?". I was especially proud of this, as it was my idea to scent the area.

"Your cologne. Tre masculine, awee?" I asked in mock french.

"What, did you dump the whole thing on the floor?" he asked in confusion as he set his grocery bags down. "We call it 'scenting the area'" Simon replied, rubbing my side as to prove a point. I shoved him off playfully and followed Dave across the kitchen. "I've got to admit, I'm impressed". He went to open the fridge where we stored some things. Ironically Simon went to explain how 'tidy' we chipmunks are. "Yeah, I can see that". As he moved, I caught a wiff of garlic bread sticks. "Oh, those bread sticks smell great!" I practically moaned. Unlike my brothers, I hadn't eaten since breakfast. Not healthy for a chipmunk, I know. It kind of just slipped my mind.

We all jumped to our spots on the table, each having a small glass of milk. "So when is dinner?" Theo asked. I looked on hopefully. I was literally starving. My heart dropped when he started speaking. "Um, I don't know how to tell you this, but...it's just going to be me and Clare tonight". My shoulders fell. "Whoa, hold the phone Dave! You mean we can't have.."

"No."

"Even if we…"

"Nope."

"But we thought it would be…"

"And no. In the other room"

"Geeze" Theo mumbled.

"Awe, what a buzzkill man" I whined. But, followed anyways.

When 'Clare' showed up, I peeked out the door. She had long blond hair and light blue eyes. She seemed nice, but they weren't acting like mates. More like friends. And their conversation was just as bland as their relationship looked. They were going on about slow roasting and pictures. Why not talk about each other? I mean, relationships are about two individuals. Not about what they do. I would know, Simon doesn't ask me what I do that often. Of course I tell him anyways because I like to talk, but that's beside the point. Theodore appeared under me and Simon over me. Simon made his position much more sensual then it needed to be by slightly grinding on my back.

"How do you think it's going?" Theodore questioned.

"Horrible! They're not even sniffing each other yet!"

Contact between Simon and me got so intense, I needed to hope forward to breathe. And to stop the trainwreck that Dave was heading into. Simon tried to stop me. "Alvin, don't! Dave said.." he warned. "Dave need a little help from the love-doctor" I purred. Behind me I heard "And his assistant!", but Simon also stopped him. "Get back here!". I hopped off, knowing Theodore will keep my mate occupied enough not to try and stop me. I hopped onto his shelf where I spotted a radio earlier and located some romance music. I placed the disk in and hopped away. I heard how Clare didn't think this was a date, so I lowered the lights.

Dave spotted me and said a little too loud "I don't need anyone to fix anything!" I winced. So he knew this was going bad too. He should learn not to take it out on someone who was trying to help. I ran over to the fireplace and turn on the fire. Dave made an excuse to get up and walked over to the room Simon and Theodore were in while turning the radio off. Not sure what they did, but all you could hear was an 'Ah!' and a few bangs. Clare looked worried and called out to him. That's not what a mate should do! She should run to check on him and overreact! "Dave? Are you ok?"

"Just fine!"

When he came out, his eye was red and watery. 'Hope he's ok'. That's when she got up to check on him and I internally cheered. That's when Dave saw me again. He picked up something and threw it at me. I only had seconds to dodge it. He made the excuse that he 'saw a rat'. Offended was too kind a word for what I was feeling. I decided to throw the cheese he threw at me in his face. Bullseye! "Bow-chick-a-wow-wow, chick-a-wow-wow!" I sang. He pulled her into a hug and I whispered to him "Tell her she completes you! It works, trust me!" I was referring to the time I told my mate that and it had worked out in the end. He motioned for me to get out. I gave him a thumbs up and cheered him on while hopping away.

That's when he told her about us. I face palmed. Not the right time. She reacted like anyone who just became uninterested and walked out. Dave followed her out, but was back in in seconds. He completely ignored us and locked himself in his room. I decided to scold him on courting. Simon and me might have been mates since birth, but that doesn't mean we haven't courted each other. "You should have kissed her Dave! She wanted you!" Simon pulled me back a little roughly. "Alvin, you're not helping!" he slightly snapped at me. "Ah, don't give up Dave!" I shouted at the door again. "Go away, leave me alone!" he shouted through the door. Theodore offered him a cookie, but he just yelled the same thing.

The three of us finally decided to call it a night. "Was it just me, or was he a little mad". This time Simon actually snapped at me, something he rarely does. It always shoots spikes through me when he does. "Oh, um, hm, I wonder, is Dave ma..YES he's mad!" I almost flinched. Not only was Dave mad at me, my own mate was. I needed to fix this, fast. "He really did have garlic breath" Theo tried. What that was about, I had no idea, but I had a genius idea. Dave said we owed him, right? "Yeah, well played guys!".

"Idea! Ding, ding, ding, ding!" I sang. "Who has cab fare?" I didn't wait for an answer before I hopped off our makeshift bed. "Cab fare? We don't even have pockets!" my mate mumbled. I ran over to the phone and phone book and looked up a cab service. Thankfully I didn't have to look hard. I also looked up that guy Ian Hawk Dave wanted us to sing for. "Alvin, what are you up to?" Simon asked. I expected him to hold my hand, or nuzzle me, or do something mate like. But he was mad at me, so he did none of the above. "We owe Dave. You all remember our song, right?" Simon's eyes softened with understanding. Theodore still didn't get it.

We rang the doorbell of this giant house. The same scary guy answered right after the cab left. We snuck inside as he mumbled something about kids. That's when we sang.

Christmas, Christmas time is near,

Time for toys and time for cheers,

We can't hardly stand to wait,

Please Christmas don't be late!

He gave us a wide grin and said four words: "Welcome to Jett Records". We all high fived.

It was early in the morning when we got home. Ian was nice and let us sleep in his mansion after we recorded our song. I was kind of bored, but Simon seemed to have forgiven me for last night. He was back to being intimate with me at any chance he got. Theodore turned on some Spongebob and went to make toaster waffles. "Dave's going to be so excited when he finds out. When did Ian say it will be out?" I asked. Simon didn't reply, just started to kiss and nip my neck. I nearly lurched forward from the shock of pleasure that struck me when he nipped me there. Something he's never done before. Sadly, Dave had to ruin our fun. "Fellas?" he asked walking in the room. I ran my hand over my neck where I was nipped as I felt Simon's sigh of dismay. "Morning Dave! We're out of toaster waffles, can we go get more?" Theodore asked from the counter.

Dave had the biggest look of relief and shock as he nodded. "Yeah, just...let me get dressed". He blinked, then walked out of the room. "Way to kill the mood" I mumbled. "Mood you say?" I heard behind me. Before I knew it, Simon shoved me down and was kissing me. He's been doing that a lot since he could see again. Theodore cleared his throat and said rather loudly. "Excuse me! There is still one more person here who doesn't need to see his siblings make out in public!". Both me and Simon cracked up mid kiss. I had to hold my stomach because I couldn't stop laughing. Dave appeared out of his room and ushered us to follow him. He drove us to a local store. The amount of food there got all three of us drooling.

"Ok new rule: No going out after nine, and not at all unless I know where you're going" Dave said when passing the cheese. So he did notice we left. Darn, it would have been better if not.

"Were you worried about us Dave?" Theo asked between the bananas.

"No, I just need to know" he replied.

"If you weren't worried, then why do you need to know?" I asked purposely, knowing it would get on his nerves.

"I need to know, ok!?" he nearly shouted. I held in my laughter.

We were all looking around when a small human in a nearby cart threw something at Dave. "Ow! Alvin…" he said back at me. All three of us shook our heads and pointed at the little girl. Thank god for my brothers. They always had my back. He went to talk to the woman who was apologising when I noticed the toaster waffles were right next to the cart. "Come on boys, let's stock up!". We managed to get more boxes in than I thought before Dave came back. I dropped the one in my hand and hid back in the cart. "Guys, what's all this?" We all shared a look before we cheered "Toaster Waffles!". He just rolled his eyes and began putting some boxes back. "I can't afford all these Toaster Waffles".

"Awe"

"What?!"

"Well if you hadn't noticed, I don't have a job anym…" he stopped mid-sentence as our song played over the store's radio. He looked confused before he said "My song…" I cheered quietly with my brothers. That's when his phone went off. It sounded like Ian from what I heard. We just listened into the conversation. "Ian? Yeah, I'm listening to it right now, but how did you, when did….." he closed his phone after a few seconds. That's when he looked down at us in awe. Simon wrapped an arm around my shoulder while Theodore leaned against my side. "We owed ya Dave. So, we're good on the Toaster Waffles, right?" He just smiled and pushed the cart. "Dave?" I called again.

PART I

Author's Note: Let me know what you think. If you like the ship, I hope you enjoyed. I know the fact they're brothers is very weird, but I had the idea from how little we see talking animals and wanted to see how it went. Comment if you liked it.