Hello again! Sorry for the long wait, I had to get back into the flow of this story. I've been spending a lot of time on fantasy, so I had to think a while to get back on the lines of realistic fiction.

But anyway, here's chapter 2! Enjoy!

Theodore hummed to himself as he mixed cake batter. He was wearing a white apron and stirring the batter in a large bowl with a wooden spoon. He only looked up when Alvin came into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

"Hi, Alvin!" the green-clad chipmunk said cheerfully. Alvin looked up, then ducked into the fridge again.

"Oh, hey Theo."

"Do you think Ivy, Avery and Christina like chocolate or vanilla?" Theodore said, holding up a bottle of vanilla and a bag of chocolate chips.

Alvin shrugged.

"I dunno. See ya later." The red-clad chipmunk closed the fridge with a soda in hand. He went back to the den, leaving Theodore to puzzle over the preferences of his cousins.

Theodore eventually decided on chocolate, and melted them in the microwave. Once they were done, he added them to the batter. He hoped his cousins would like it. Dave had told them that they would be visiting their cousins this afternoon, around 2:00. He couldn't wait!

Chrissa laid on her bed, reading her favorite book, Nim's Island. Well, she was trying to read it. She had been on the same page for ten minutes, looking up at her alarm clock every few seconds. She eventually gave up on trying to read, and instead hung upside down from the side of her bed. She could hear her brother and sister downstairs playing the Wii. Chrissa looked back at her clock. The neon numbers read 11:45.

The young girl sighed and sat up again. She got off her bed and paced around her room. Today was the day she would finally meet her Uncle Dave and her cousins Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. She felt so aggravated that she couldn't just sit still! Yet, time seemed to be moving so slowly. She looked at her clock again. It was now 11:47. Chrissa sighed.

She kept pacing for a while. Then, she headed for the stairs. She could play with her siblings to pass the time. Even as she went against her siblings on Just Dance, her mind was on this afternoon. 2:00 couldn't come fast enough!

Theodore finished with the cake at 1:15. Dave came into the kitchen and breathed deeply.

"Mmm, that smells great, Theodore," he complimented his youngest son. Theodore smiled.

"Thanks, Dave. Are we leaving soon?"

"Not yet. It doesn't take long to reach the house, it's really only a couple blocks away."

"Oh, okay."

Dave left the kitchen, and Theodore set to work on wrapping up the cake and cleaning the kitchen.

At 1:47, Dave called everyone downstairs and told them it was time to go. Theodore carried his cake out to the car, followed by Simon and Alvin. They sat in the back, and Simon held Theodore's cake while his younger brother buckled his seatbelt. Dave pulled off, and they drove to another part of the neighborhood. After a couple minutes, they came to a yellow Victorian house with a blue roof. They parked on the street. Simon once again held Theodore's cake while he unbuckled. Once they were all out of the car, they approached the door.

Ivy gasped and dropped her Wii remote when the doorbell rang. She sprinted to the door and opened it with an expectant grin. She bit back a squeal when she saw her Uncle for the first time in years.

"Uncle Dave!" she exclaimed. Dave gave her a big hug. "Omigosh, I haven't seen you in years!"

"I haven't seen you in ever!" Chrissa appeared behind her. Dave smiled at his young niece.

"Ivy! Chrissa! Gosh, you sure have grown," he said.

"Dave!" William approached the front door and hugged his brother. "Man, how long has it been?"

"Ten years," Dave replied. "Man, it feels like forever." William chuckled, and noticed the chipmunks.

"And these must be the Chipmunks I've heard so much about," he smiled. The boys introduced themselves to William.

"I trust you've been looking after my brother?" he said, slinging an arm around Dave. "If he gives you any trouble, just call ol' Uncle Willie!"

Alvin laughed at this, and his brothers couldn't help but smile. Willie beckoned them inside, where they were met with Natalie's joyful smile. Avery came last, offering greetings and a brief smile. Theodore presented his cake, and it was decided that it would be cut at dinner. The adults went into the kitchen to catch up, leaving the kids in the living room. There was a bit of awkward silence, but Alvin eventually broke it.

"So…how do you like California?" he asked. Ivy launched into the conversation.

"It's amazing. So much to see, and it's so warm here…Maine is like, freezing compared to this." she said. Simon raised his eyebrow.

"What was it like in Maine?"

"Well, we lived in Beaver Cove, which only had an elementary school. Lucky for us, Avery and I aren't in middle school yet."

"Oh? How old are you?" Alvin asked.

"Alvin," Simon warned. "Remember Dave said it's rude to ask a woman that."

"Aww, you're such a gentleman," Ivy giggled. "It's okay, though. I'm twelve, and so is Avery. We're twins," she explained, tugging Avery toward her. The annoyed boy yelped and jerked away.

"But you look nothing alike," Alvin said. Simon rolled his eyes.

"That's because they're fraternal twins, Alvin."

"Fra-what-al?"

"Fraternal. It means we don't look alike," Avery finished. Ivy pulled Chrissa over as well.

"And here's the baby of the family!" she said with a smile. Chrissa frowned.

"I'm not a baby! I'm seven. You're only older than me by four years." Ivy shrugged.

"Just messin' with ya, Chris. So, what do you guys like to do for fun?" Ivy changed the subject.

"Video games and football all the way!" Alvin said happily. Avery whooped and high-fived him in agreement.

"I normally pass the time reading or conducting science experiments," Simon stated.

"I like cooking, especially desserts," Theodore added. Ivy nodded in agreement.

"That chocolate cake does look delicious. You seriously baked it yourself?"

"Yep," Theodore said, feeling a little proud of himself.

"So, what about you guys? What do you like to do?"

"Video games forever!" Avery said. Ivy rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, locking yourself in your room with the shades drawn and exercising your thumbs sounds SO fun," she commented.

"Oh, like you don't spend every spare second on the computer!" Avery retorted.

"At least I'M doing something constructive! I write stories all the time! You just go pew-pew-pew all day!" Ivy snapped, imitating her brother playing video games with her thumbs.

"Hah, you sound like our cousin Toby!" Alvin joked. Chrissa sighed.

"Do you guys have to fight so much? It's annoying," she pouted. Her older siblings shot her an apologetic glance.

"Aww, sorry Chrissa. You didn't tell us what you like to do," Ivy said. Chrissa suddenly blushed and looked away.

"Well…I like reading…and drawing is fun, too."

"You draw?" Alvin asked.

"Yeah. D-Do you want to see some? I'll go get my sketchbook," she said, then walked toward the stairs. A few moments later she came back with a yellow sketchpad. She handed it to Alvin, who opened it and gave an impressed whistle.

"These are pretty good, Chrissa," Alvin said. His brothers, who were looking over his shoulder, nodded in agreement.

"T-Thanks," Chrissa said, her cheeks rosy. She wasn't used to getting so much attention. Even though she was the youngest of the family, she tended to keep to herself.

"I think this is the start of a beautiful cousinship," Ivy stated. Avery raised his eyebrow.

"Cousinship?"

"Yes, cousinship. We're cousins, and we're hitting it off well, so, cousinship."

"…Okay…"

Ivy laughed. The third day, and they were already finding fast friends in the Chipmunks. She was definitely going to like living in California.

There you have it! I know it might not seem like much, but hopefully as the plot advances it'll get more interesting. BTW, there is a poll up on my profile. Please vote if you want a sequel to my story Shimmer Tail!

~Smiley :)