A/N: Normally this would be the part where I'd apologize about the chapter be uploaded so late. But I actually spent quite some time working on this; it's pretty long, and I actually took my time editing (well, more than usual). I've had this chapter in my head for a while and I wanted to get it right. I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys think of it (unless you think it sucks… but I guess I can respect honesty). Anyway, hope you guys like this one!
But if you kissed me now
I know you'd fool me again
Brittany spun around in front of her mirror, making her skirt swirl around her slender thighs. She inspected each area of her body from head-to-toe, the way she always did while testing an outfit before a date. In the mirror, she could see the pile of blouses, skirts, and pants piled on her bed and floor. She had spent the last half hour trying to decide on the perfect ensemble for her date with Simon; something that said, "I like and respect you, but let's not forget that we're only doing this to make Alvin jealous."
She knew that sounded terrible, but it was the truth. She wanted to look good, but not good enough to make Simon think this was anything more than a friendly get-together.
But Simon was a smart guy. He would understand that this wasn't a real date.
Right?
Brittany glanced at her digital clock and realized that she had to make a clothing decision. Glancing over the clothes littering her bedroom, she grabbed a tight, black turtleneck sweater and jeans. After quickly changing into the outfit, she looked at her reflection. Satisfied, Brittany smiled as she admired how nicely the jeans made her butt look.
Perfect, she thought. The top looked classy, but the jeans made her look casual too.
After straightening her hair and retouching her make-up, Brittany went to her jewelry box for accessories. Unfortunately, almost all of her jewelry had been gifts from Alvin when they had been dating. She dug through the box for a while until she finally came across a gold locket Miss Miller had given to her years ago. Brittany opened the locket to find a tiny picture of her, Jeanette, and Eleanor when they were ten years old. She was about to put it back in the box (she didn't really feel like being reminded of Eleanor at the moment) but the doorbell rang and Brittany made the decision to wear the necklace.
She fastened the clasp around her neck and sprayed some perfume on herself.
"Not too much," she said, squirting the bottle. Brittany coughed as the perfume cloud lingered around her face and got into her mouth.
"Brittany!" she heard Jeanette call from downstairs. "Simon is here to see you!"
"Coming!" Brittany yelled back. She hadn't mentioned her Simon date to Jeanette. She imagined her sister was probably very confused at the moment.
After one more glance in the mirror, Brittany grabbed her gold-colored Kate Spade hand bag and made her way downstairs.
She saw Jeanette and Simon sitting on the couch in the living room. Simon stood up when he saw her. He was wearing jeans and a light blue sweater, which brought out the grey shades in his eyes.
Oh my God, Brittany thought. Why am I looking at his eyes? Remember: This isn't a real date!
"I'll be in my room," Jeanette announced, walking toward the stairs. She looked uncertainly at the odd couple. "You two have… fun."
"Hi," Simon said after Jeanette had left. Brittany noticed he was holding a yellow rose.
"Hi," she said curiously, unable to take her eyes off the flower.
"This is for you." Simon handed her the rose.
"Uh, thanks," Brittany said. She took the rose, but couldn't hide her confused expression. "Simon, you know this isn't a real date, right?"
"I know," Simon confirmed. "But the all day yesterday Alvin kept asking me why I hadn't gotten you anything for our date. He didn't believe that we were going to go out. So I picked this up at the flower shop today to shut him up." Simon grinned. "Don't worry. Yellow just represents friendship. Think of it as a friendly gesture."
"Okay," Brittany said. That was surprisingly thoughtful of Simon; getting her a gift, but a gift that strictly meant friendship only; because that's all Simon and Brittany would ever be: Friends.
Brittany went to the kitchen to find a vase to put the rose in. As she was filling up the vase with water, Eleanor strolled in.
"What is Simon doing here?" Eleanor asked.
Brittany rolled her eyes. Ever since she had found out about Eleanor hooking up with Alvin, she found every single little thing Eleanor did to be annoying. Every time her sister talked it was like nails on a chalkboard.
"We're going out," Brittany said, not bothering to even look at the blond.
Eleanor didn't say anything as Brittany placed the bright yellow flower in the vase. Brittany could tell that Eleanor was at a loss for words.
"Oh," Eleanor finally said. "I didn't know you liked Simon."
Brittany turned toward her sister and narrowed her eyes. "I don't like Simon. We're just friends."
"But you said it was a date," Eleanor pointed out.
Brittany exhaled sharply through her nose. "Look, it's none of your business, okay?"
Eleanor scoffed and muttered, "Fine."
Brittany quickly walked past her sister and grabbed her coat from the closet.
"Let's go," she said to Simon, sliding into her black ballet flats.
Simon nodded and led the way out the door. Brittany had a feeling that this was going to be a mistake the second she stepped outside. What was she thinking, going out with Simon just to spite Alvin? How pathetic was that?
Suck it up, Brittany told herself. She tried to channel the mature New Brittany. You got yourself into this. This will teach you to think about what you say before you blurt something out.
She took a deep breath as she got into the car. She just knew that this night was going to make things even more complicated. She wasn't sure how, but she knew it was bound to happen by the way her luck had been going lately.
Oh well, she thought. Things can't get any worse than they already are.
Can they?
…
Two hours later, Brittany and Simon found themselves laughing in the food court at the local mall. Simon had just brought their food over, and they couldn't get over the movie they had just seen.
"That has got to be the most unintentionally funny horror movie I've ever seen," Simon said. "It was even worse than those corny made-for-TV movies."
"It was so clique," Brittany agreed, dipping her French fry into some ketchup. She usually didn't eat fast food, but she figured she'd give in tonight. "I mean, come on, it was so predictable! The people who have sex always die…"
"And of course they decide to go in the scariest looking house when their car breaks down," Simon finished.
Brittany giggled at the memory. "Remember when that girl screamed for like ten minutes when the she saw the killer?"
Simon rolled his eyes. "How could I forget? My ears are still ringing."
"No kidding," Brittany said. "Oh, and remember when the skinny guy went into the…"
Brittany's voice trailed off when she saw a familiar red sweatshirt in the crowd.
"Brittany?" Simon said, noticing his date suddenly seemed very consumed by something. "What's the matter?"
He followed Brittany's gaze and sighed when he saw Alvin, who was now making his way toward the pair.
"You've got to be kidding me," Simon sighed.
"Hi lovebirds," Alvin said loudly. He crossed his arms across his chest. His figure created a dark shadow over the little table. "Wow, I can't believe you guys actually went through with this."
"What are you doing here?" Brittany asked, clearly not amused by his presence.
Alvin shrugged innocently. "Isn't a guy entitled to enjoy a little evening shopping at the mall?"
"Not when he's snooping," Brittany snapped.
Alvin laughed. "Snooping? Don't flatter yourself, Brittany. I'm just here to buy new shoes." He looked at Simon and shook his head sympathetically. "Simon, you can do better than this. We both know that Brittany is just using you to make me jealous. Don't let yourself be used, man."
"That's enough, Alvin," Simon said through clenched teeth. Brittany noticed that he didn't deny that he was being used, which made her feel like a jerk.
"Well," Alvin said. "I guess I'll leave you two alone. Have fun." From his tone, it was obvious that he didn't really want them to have fun.
Even after Alvin had walked away, Brittany still felt angry.
"He was spying on us," she said. "He wanted to make sure we went through with it. He thought we were bluffing." Brittany forced a smile. "We sure fooled him."
"Yeah," Simon said flatly. He was staring at his cheeseburger in front of him. "We showed him."
"Don't let what he said get to you," Brittany said before taking a long sip of Coke.
Simon's eyes met hers. "Why not?" he asked. "It's true." He sighed. "Well, you got what you wanted. He saw us together; he thinks you'd rather date me than him. I guess we don't have a reason to be here anymore."
Simon stood up to leave, but Brittany did something that surprised even herself. She grabbed Simon's arm and blurted, "Wait!"
Simon paused and looked at her curiously.
"We don't have to go yet," Brittany said, releasing his arm. She forced herself to calm down. "I mean, I'm not ready to go yet. I'm having a good time."
Simon's blue-grey eyes widened. "You are?"
Brittany smiled and nodded. "I am. Seriously."
Simon eased himself back into his chair. "You aren't just saying this because you feel guilty."
"No," Brittany said, truly meaning it. "I'm having fun. No offense, but I didn't realize how funny you are. You know, in a sarcastic, I-hate-the-world sort of way."
"Oh," Simon said. "Well, thanks, I guess."
He and Brittany continued their conversation. They talked about the movie a little more, but also about other things, like music and TV. They didn't always agree on everything, but they didn't argue to the point of anger, like Alvin and Brittany always used to do. They were able to have civil debates, and even laugh a few times. Brittany had never been able to have these types of conversation with people.
They ended up buying desert and talking even longer. In the middle of talking about corny music videos from the 1980s, Simon glanced at his watch and said, "Wow. We've been talking for three hours."
Brittany's blue eyes widened. "What? No way."
Simon held up his wrist to show Brittany the digital numbers. It was almost midnight.
Brittany looked around and noticed that people working behind counters in the food court were shutting their restaurants down. A tired-looking janitor mopped the floor nearby.
"I didn't even know the mall was open this long," Brittany said.
"Neither did I," Simon admitted. He grabbed his coat that was hanging from the back of his chair. "I suppose we should be getting home."
"Yeah," Brittany said. She surprisingly felt very reluctant to leave. She was actually having fun... talking to Simon of all people. Who would have seen that coming?
Brittany and Simon carried on the conversation in the car, and talked the whole way home. Brittany couldn't believe she had absolutely nothing to talk to Simon a week ago, and suddenly they were chatting like they had been friends forever. She just couldn't understand it.
Simon pulled into the Seville's driveway and the two got out.
"I can walk you over to your house if you want," Simon offered.
"That's okay," Brittany said. She smiled. "How about I walk you to your porch?"
"That really isn't necessary," Simon said, sounding a little puzzled.
"Oh, but I insist!" Brittany said teasingly. She climbed the stairs to the porch and Simon followed her. She turned toward Simon, so her back was to the door.
"Thanks for a great night, Simon," Brittany said. "I had a good time."
"You did?" For a second, Simon looked grateful. He quickly added, "I mean, I'm glad you did," in a calmer voice.
Brittany grinned and Simon smiled back. Usually this would be the part of the date when the girl kissed the boy; but since this wasn't a real date, Brittany wasn't expecting anything more than a friendly "Good night."
Needless to say, Brittany was more than surprised when Simon bent down slightly and gave her a quick, feather-light kiss on the cheek.
"Simon!" Brittany gasped. Her face flushed. "What was that?"
Simon stood up straighter and nodded toward the window behind Brittany.
"Alvin was looking at us through the living room window," he said as his face turned slightly pink. "I figured I had to do something."
"Oh," Brittany said, feeling relief. That made Simon's action acceptable; he had a good reason. "Good thinking. Thanks."
Simon nodded and said, "You're welcome."
"So," Brittany said after a few beats of silence. "I guess I'll see you later."
"Right," Simon said, putting his hands in his pocket. Brittany started to walk away, but Simon said, "Hey Brittany."
Brittany turned around and said, "Yes?"
Simon smiled at her. He no longer looked uncomfortable about the awkward moment they had just endured. Instead, he looked very satisfied. "I'm glad you had a good time tonight."
Brittany grinned and nodded. "Me too."
Simon gave her a shy wave good-bye and quietly slipped inside his house. Brittany watched as Simon turned the living room light on. She noticed that no one was else was in the living room, despite that Simon had claimed Alvin had been watching them on the porch.
Brittany took a few steps back and looked up at the upper level of the house. She saw the light was on in one of the front windows. She looked a little closer and saw Alvin sitting at the computer desk, typing away at his laptop, his back facing the window. He was singing along to the iPod that he was listening to through headphones. It was a little hard to see, but it was definitely Alvin. And he wasn't paying any attention to anything else but his music and computer.
A chilly wind swept past Brittany, making her hug herself for warmth. She realized that Simon had probably lied to her about Alvin spying on them. He didn't kiss her because he wanted Alvin to be jealous of him; Simon wasn't the type of guy to pull that stunt, even if it meant helping Brittany out. Brittany seriously doubted that Simon would let himself be "used" for something like that again.
So that meant that Simon had kissed her simply because he wanted to kiss her.
No! Brittany thought. There was no way. He was probably just caught up in the moment. Or maybe he was just desperate; Simon probably had trouble finding dates at the library, so he took whatever he could get.
But what if Simon just wanted to kiss her? What if he… liked Brittany?
Brittany expected her stomach to churn at this thought, but it didn't. In fact, she didn't think the idea of Simon liking her was so terrible. It wasn't a good thing, by all means, but it could be worse.
So maybe he has a little crush, Brittany thought as she crossed the street. Big deal. Brittany actually felt a little flattered; as long as this didn't go any farther than what had just happened.
And it wouldn't. Because as much fun as Brittany had on her "date" with Simon, they both knew that it wasn't a real date to begin with. It was just a dumb little ploy to ruffle Alvin's feathers.
Brittany opened the front door to her house feeling a little sad that the night had come to an end. She really enjoyed tonight; it was the best time she'd had in months. She wanted to do it again.
No, Brittany scolded herself. This was just a one-and-done deal, and you know it. Things will get complicated if you try to turn it into anything more than that.
Brittany tip-toed into the house, grateful that everyone else was in bed. She knew she would have to come up with some kind of explanation to her sisters tomorrow… well, to Jeanette at least. She still wasn't on speaking terms with her other sister.
Her gaze shifted toward the kitchen and she spotted the yellow rose in the vase. She was drawn toward the lovely flower, and couldn't help but walk over to it. It was so thoughtful, one of the most thoughtful gifts she had gotten in recent memory.
"Maybe I would go out with him again," Brittany whispered, lightly touching the bright petals. The color reminded her of Simon's meaning behind the flower. "Just as friends, of course."
She couldn't help but smile as she quietly made her way upstairs to her bedroom.
…
The next morning, Brittany walked into the kitchen hoping none of her sisters were present. She sighed when she saw Jeanette sitting at the table, sipping orange juice and reading the morning paper.
Brittany quietly made herself a bowl of cereal and sat at the table. Jeanette looked up from the paper and gave her sister a curious look. It seemed like she wanted to say something, but she couldn't think of the right way to bring it up. Unfortunately, Brittany knew exactly what Jeanette was about to ask.
"So what's going on with you and Simon?" Jeanette finally asked, right before taking a sip of juice.
Brittany took a deep breath before saying, "I know all about Alvin and Eleanor."
Jeanette's eyes widened and she began to choke on her orange juice. As Brittany patiently waited for Jeanette to stop coughing, she felt a slight sense of relief. She was eager to discuss this with someone; and she knew that, unlike Simon, Jeanette would probably have more details on this.
Although the more she thought about it, she wondered if she even wanted details. After all, she was trying to get over Alvin, and wouldn't finding out more information about his fling with her sister just make it more difficult?
Yet the curiosity was killing her. She wasn't sure she could let it go.
Of course maybe she wasn't trying hard enough to let it go. She had been constantly thinking about it, not to mention how she practically interrogated Simon about it earlier that week.
Suddenly Jeanette's coughing came to a stop. She looked at Brittany with watery eyes and weakly said, "Y-you know?"
"Yes," Brittany said confidently. She was not ready to discuss the Simon date with anyone yet, so she had to come up with a way to change the subject. "I know."
"But how did you…" Jeanette stumbled for the right words. "I mean, what did… who… who told you?"
Brittany took a bite of cereal. "Tessa Chandler."
Jeanette frowned. "Tessa Chandler? How could she have known?"
"I think the better question is why didn't I know?" Brittany said, narrowing her eyes at her sister. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"We thought you'd be upset," Jeanette answered automatically.
"The fact that you didn't tell me makes me more upset," Brittany said.
Jeanette stared at her lap. She obviously felt bad about this mess.
"Have you talked to Eleanor yet?" Jeanette asked, still not looking at Brittany.
"No," Brittany replied. "She doesn't know that I know. Don't say anything to her, okay? This is between me and her, and I'll talk to her about it when I'm ready."
Jeanette nodded. "I'm sorry, Brittany," she said softly. "I guess I just thought it would be best for you if you didn't find out. You had already been through a lot with Alvin, and I didn't want to hurt you even more."
"What hurts me is that you didn't tell me," Brittany pointed out. She looked at Jeanette carefully, not sure if she wanted to ask this next question. But she had to know. "She still likes him, doesn't she?"
Jeanette bit her lower lip.
"Jeanette," Brittany said in a warning tone. "Tell me the truth."
Jeanette swallowed hard and slowly nodded. "Yeah," she said quietly. "I think she does."
Brittany leaned back in her chair, processing the information she just heard. So it was official: Eleanor still liked Alvin, despite everything he had done to Brittany, her own sister. And her sisters had lied to her about.
For a second, she wondered if Alvin still liked Eleanor. Brittany quickly shook that thought out of her mind. She had to remember that she didn't care what Alvin did anymore.
"Okay," Brittany said, simply. "Thanks for finally being honest with me." She went back to eating her cereal.
A few minutes went by, and the only sounds in the kitchen were Brittany crunching her cereal and the rustling of the newspaper Jeanette was flipping through.
Finally Jeanette spoke up: "So are you going to tell me about Simon?"
Brittany rolled her eyes. "There's nothing to talk about."
"Brittany," Jeanette said. "He got you flowers and took you to a movie. It sure seemed like a date to me."
"Nope," Brittany insisted. "Just a friendly get-together. You and I used to go to the movies together all the time. Did that mean we were on a date?"
"No," Jeanette said. "But I'm not a guy."
Brittany sighed. "Look, we're just friends, okay? We just hung out together. I'm not interested in Simon, if that's what you're thinking."
"Is he interested in you?" Jeanette asked.
Brittany instantly thought of the night before when Simon had kissed her. At first she thought he just did it because Alvin was watching, but she realized that Alvin hadn't been paying attention to them. Simon had kissed her, and he did it simply because he wanted to. Or maybe he was just caught up in the moment. Brittany chose to believe that latter.
"He doesn't like me," Brittany said. "At least not in that way. Believe it or not, Jeanette, but it is possible for a girl and a boy to be just friends."
"Okay," Jeanette said, still looking unconvinced. "Forget that I brought it up."
"Already forgotten," Brittany said, standing up to put her bowl in the sink.
And that was the last time either of them brought up it up. Well, at least for the time being.
A few days passed, and while Alvin had tried calling Brittany a few times, she proudly ignored him. She knew he just wanted to pester her about Simon, and she wasn't going to let him have the satisfaction.
On Wednesday, December 22, Brittany was e-mailing her friends at UCLA when her cell phone rang. At first she thought it was Alvin, and considered not even checking the caller ID to confirm it. But she looked at her phone and saw Simon's name flash on the screen. Her heart did a little flip in her chest.
What was that all about? She wondered as she answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hello Brittany," Simon said.
Brittany grinned and leaned back in her desk chair. "Hey Simon. What's up?"
"Nothing much," Simon said. He sounded nervous. "How are you?"
"Fine," Brittany said, trying not to giggle at his obvious stalling.
"Good," Simon said.
A few seconds of silence went by. Finally Brittany asked, "So why did you call?"
"Oh," Simon said. She heard him clear his throat. "Uh, no reason. Well, actually there is a reason. I was wondering… well… I was hoping that perhaps we could hang out again."
"Like on a date?" Brittany asked.
"Sure," Simon said. "I mean, if you want to call it that. We just had such a good time last weekend; I thought it would be fun to do it again."
Brittany couldn't believe her ears. "Is Alvin putting you up to this?"
"No," Simon said firmly. "Alvin has nothing to do with this."
Brittany stared straight ahead at her computer screen. So maybe Simon did like her. This was not part of the plan… not that she really had a "plan" to begin with. But she hadn't been expecting this.
She tried telling herself that he just thought of her as a friend, but she knew he wouldn't have sounded so nervous if he was simply asking her to hang out. Simon wanted to go on a date with Brittany, and Alvin wasn't pressuring him into doing it; Simon actually wanted to go out with her.
"If you don't want to, I understand," Simon said after Brittany didn't give an answer. "I just thought I'd ask. I mean, we had fun and…"
"I'll go," Brittany interrupted.
"You will?" Simon sounded just as confused as she felt.
"Yeah," Brittany decided. After all, it wasn't like she had any plans in the next few days… besides Christmas. "I mean, we had fun, so why not do it again?"
"Of course," Simon agreed. "I was thinking we could do something tomorrow night."
"Sounds good to me," Brittany said. "Around seven?"
"Perfect," Simon said. "I'll see you then, Brittany."
"Okay," Brittany replied. "Bye, Simon."
"Good bye," Simon said. Brittany smiled when he said "good bye." Nobody talked like that anymore. It was just another Simon quirk that she was amused by.
Brittany hung up the phone and realized that she had just scheduled a date with Simon Seville. Simon freakin' Seville. And surprisingly, she wasn't even upset about it. In fact, she was looking forward to it; and she didn't feel ashamed of looking forward to it.
She briefly wondered what exactly that meant. Did she have feelings for Simon? Did this mean she didn't care about Alvin anymore? Many thoughts went through her mind, but Brittany dismissed them. This was the happiest she had felt since she came home; and she wasn't about to let that feeling get lost in a tangle of unnecessary theories.
Things were finally going well, and she wasn't going to let anything get in the way.
…
Later that night, Brittany fell asleep almost instantly. She wasn't sure when the last time she dozed off so quickly had been. She had been getting used to endless nights of tossing and turning, wondering what tomorrow would bring and thinking of Alvin.
But not that night. Brittany snuggled under the covers, closed her eyes, and that was that.
Unfortunately, her slumber wouldn't last long. She was awakened from her dreamless sleep when she felt extra weight on her bed. The springs in her mattress squeaked and Brittany's eyes popped open. She saw a dark, shadowy figure climbing on to the bed. As the person straddled her, Brittany broke into a cold sweat and laid paralyzed in fear.
Oh my God, she thought. Her heart pounded hard and fast. There's someone in my bed! He's going to kill me! Oh my God!
Brittany felt dizzy with fright, but she knew what she had to do if she even wanted a chance at surviving.
She opened her mouth to scream, but it was instantly covered by a cold hand.
"Shhh!" The intruder reached toward her nightstand and turned on her lamp. "It's just me."
Brittany's whole body instantly relaxed when the light revealed who was there.
It was Alvin.
Brittany laid quietly for a few seconds, letting her heart beat return to normal. Then she grabbed Alvin's wrist as hard as she could and jerked his hand away from her mouth.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded, sitting up. She glanced at the digital clock and noted that it was almost three o'clock in the morning.
"It was the only way I could think of to get your attention," Alvin said with a shrug, as if he hadn't just given Brittany the scare of her life.
"Yeah, this makes me really want to talk to you, Alvin," Brittany said. Alvin's wandering eyes reminded her that she wasn't wearing a bra underneath her thin, silk top. She quickly crossed her arms over her chest. "Just get out of here."
"Not until you talk to me," Alvin said.
"I'll call the police," Brittany threatened, her determined look matching Alvin's.
Alvin smirked. "Oh come on, Brittany. We both know you wouldn't do that."
"Just watch me," Brittany said, narrowing her eyes.
Alvin just shook his head. His stupid, smug smile never left his face. Brittany didn't know it was possible to go from extremely scared to extremely angry in less than one minute, but she was experiencing the dramatic mood shift.
"How did you get in here anyway?" she asked, wiping her damp forehead with the back of her hand.
Alvin gave her that boyish, mischievous look that she used to find irresistible. "It wasn't that long ago when I was sneaking in here every summer night. Remember?"
Brittany looked away and couldn't help but blush. She immediately thought of the last time she and Alvin had been in her bedroom alone; they definitely hadn't been arguing.
"I just want you to forgive me, Brittany," Alvin said. "I miss you."
Brittany scoffed. "Really? You missed me? I heard that you've been getting along quite well."
"What do you mean?" Alvin asked.
"What I mean is that it seems you've had plenty of girls to sample after we broke up," Brittany said. "So I don't know why you suddenly miss me so much."
"Those girls didn't mean anything," Alvin said. "Not compared to you."
"Oh yeah?" Brittany sat up straighter. "So Eleanor didn't mean anything either?"
Alvin blinked in surprise. His lips parted and he stared at his ex-girlfriend.
"Don't even try to deny it," Brittany warned. "I know it's true."
"Who told you?" Alvin asked, sounding more curious than upset.
"That doesn't matter," Brittany said. "I just can't believe you went for my own sister after everything that's happened."
"She was just a fling," Alvin insisted. "I mean, I liked her, but we were the only ones who weren't away for school and it just sort of… happened. Besides, we haven't hooked up in months. Eleanor is cool, but I never felt the same way about her as I do about you."
"She's lucky you didn't feel the same way about her as you felt about me," Brittany said quietly. "I bet that means you didn't cheat on her."
"We were never in a relationship, Brittany," Alvin pointed out. "We never dated. We were just…"
"Friends with benefits," Brittany finished.
"Well, yeah," Alvin said, his shoulders slumping a little.
"Eleanor doesn't see it that way," Brittany told him. "It's obvious she still likes you."
Alvin raised his eyebrows. "Did she tell you that?"
"No," Brittany admitted. "But I can tell."
Alvin sighed. "Well there's nothing I can do about that." He looked at Brittany, his blue eyes bright in the dimly lit room. "I'm still in love with you."
Brittany's heart fluttered. He loved her; well, he said that he loved her. Brittany hadn't heard those words in a long time. After all this time, the one person she secretly hoped to hear it from had said it.
"Are you still in love with me?" Alvin asked in a low voice. His piercing blue eyes and expectant look made her mind go hazy. "Don't lie."
"I… I don't know," Brittany said softly. She wanted to regret those words, but she didn't. It felt so good to be honest for a change; she really didn't know if she still loved Alvin. She wanted so badly to say no, but it was as if Alvin had put her under a spell. She couldn't lie to him.
"I think you are," Alvin said. Brittany noticed that his face had suddenly gotten closer to hers.
"Maybe," Brittany said breathlessly. Strong, confident Brittany had completely disappeared. She desperately tried to get some control back, but she couldn't. The fact that Alvin was sweet-talking her in her bedroom in the middle of the night had made her go weak. Deep down, this is what she had wanted for months. She pretended to hate him, and tried so hard to convince herself to get over him. However, as much as she didn't want to admit it, this is what she wanted: for Alvin and her to have a moment when everything would be resolved and they would reunite.
"Don't fight it," she heard Alvin say, the exact same thing he had said in her dream a few weeks earlier.
Brittany stared at him, and they both knew that he had her exactly where he wanted her. He suddenly had all the power, just the way he liked it. This had probably been his plan all along.
"Let me kiss you," Alvin whispered.
And she did. Alvin's lips crashed against hers, and she wasted no time kissing him back. The kiss started furiously, but got even more heated after a few minutes. Brittany's fingers tangled in Alvin's hair as she kissed him as hard as she could. She knew it was wrong, but somehow everything felt so right.
Brittany hadn't had any alcohol, but she felt drunk. Her whole body had been taken over by lust and desire. Every action was done before her mind could make a reasonable decision, and before she knew it, she was yanking Alvin's shirt up over his head.
She knew she would hate herself in the morning, but she didn't care. She knew she was throwing away everything she had tried so hard to accomplish, but she didn't care. All Brittany could think about was how much she wanted Alvin at that very moment.
And to her delight and dismay, Alvin was exactly what she got.
A/N: Uh oh! Where did that come from? Brittany sure is fickle about those Seville boys (and I know that scene was starting to go into "lemon" territory, but I wanted to keep my T rating. Sorry!). Okay, to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure where the story is going after this. I have a few scenes in mind, but let's just say the next chapter may be a little delayed. Like I've said before, I'm totally open to anyone's ideas, so suggestions are always welcome. Plus I love hearing from you guys because, well, you're the people reading this! Hope ya liked it!