Getting to Know You
The Chipmunks and Chipettes story
Part X
Britney was getting worried. It had been ten minutes and she had sent the others ahead of them to go home and get some rest. Alvin had said that he would be back in a few minutes, but surely it didn't take this long to check with the security guy. Did it? After a few more minutes of silence in the car, she decided to ignore Alvin's instruction and got out to go find him. It wasn't exactly hard to spot him, he was sitting, just sitting with his head in his hands, when she came upon him outside the studio doors.
"Alvin? Hun? Are you okay?" she asked gently, putting her hand on his back and felt tremors running up and down his back. Was he crying?
"I'm fine babe, come here." He said, quietly through his fingers.
Brit sat down on the concrete steps and tried to get closer to him, but he shrunk away from her touch as though her very presence was acid in a wound, "Alvin, tell me what happened." She coaxed softly, "Did you find out if she was here tonight?"
This question and her tone opened up a new wound in Alvin's soul as he started to weep openly, finally leaning on Britney's shoulder for support. She was stunned to see the usually confident leader of the group shaken so deeply. She wasn't sure what had hurt him so much, but she silently vowed to fix whatever it was.
"What happened sweetie?" she continued to ask tenderly, "She was here wasn't she?"
"Yes." Alvin croaked hoarsely, "And as if that wasn't bad enough, she has pictures Brit."
"What pictures?" she asked, scared of what the answer would be.
"She followed us somehow. Last week when we were at the drive-in, she got pictures of us, together." He said, a hollow, defeated, sound in his throat.
"Well, we'll just tell the cops, they'll get the pictures and everything will be alright." Britney said, trying to comfort her suddenly fragile boyfriend.
"No, if we do that, she says she has some doctored photos that will put me away in jail long before they get to the pictures she got of us." He replied, beginning to calm down and get a rein in on his emotions.
"So she has pictures of us, what's she going to do? Post them?" Britney questioned, beginning to freak out herself.
Alvin stared out into the darkness around them that had suddenly gotten so much colder. "She said she'd post them online and at school if I didn't do what she said." he said robotically.
"What did she say to do?" Britney asked, this time hitting full on panic mode.
"She gave us two choices, either we break up and I go out with her, or the photos go public."
When she heard those words, her emotional dam broke and she felt completely washed out as her world with Alvin began to slowly unravel inside her mind.
"I don't know what to do Brit, I don't want to lose you. And at the same time, I don't want those pictures to get out, they could ruin your reputation, not to mention your life." He summed up quietly, speaking more to himself than her.
"Did you already give her an answer?" she asked desperately, hoping for at least a sliver of hope.
"No, she gave us until Thursday to make a decision. But what good does that do other than give us time to wallow in hopelessness?" he responded, sounding as dead to the world as she felt inside.
"There has to be another way." Britney stated, sounding so confident that no one other than her family or Alvin would have been able to tell that she was actually terrified.
They sat in silence before Alvin got up, dusted himself off, held his hand out to Britney to help her up, and started to walk back to the car thinking hard about their situation. As they drove home through the darkness of the night, Alvin was thinking hard about something Simon had told him once. Something about there always being a loophole. He couldn't go to Simon and ask him for help though or else he would know for sure that him and Britney were involved, and he didn't trust him with that information lest he go to Dave.
When they pulled up to the Chipettes house, Alvin still hadn't thought of an idea that could help them out. Suddenly, as he walked Britney up to her front door, an idea hit like him like a bolt of lightning. Turning suddenly to Brit, he asked her if she trusted him.
"Of course I trust you Alvin, why?" she responded
"Because I have an idea that just may help us both out of this and still let us stay together." He said as he kissed her quickly on the lips and ran back to the car as he shouted back, "I'll call you tomorrow and tell you all about it, now get some sleep. I'LL handle Susan."
As he pulled away from her house, she couldn't help but feel a certain pride at the fact that he was once again on top of things. And while she was sure that his plan would work, she had a personal score to settle with Susan. With that last bitter thought, she went inside and up to her room to make some calls to a few friends.
The next day, as Theo and Simon climbed out of bed and went downstairs to get some breakfast. When they walked into the kitchen though, they were shocked to see Alvin up and staring at the phone he had in his hand like he expected it to catch on fire or worst. Not only that, but he was also in the same clothes he had worn the day before.
"Alvin, are you alright?" Simon asked.
"You know something, that's the fourth time I've been asked that in 24 hours. Once form you, once from Britney, and twice from Dave before he went to bed last night." He replied sarcastically, although he never did answer the question.
Theodore got the impression that Alvin had never gone to bed the night before. His hunch was verified as they got closer and saw the purple circles under his eyes, "Oh my god Alvin, sis you ever sleep when you came home?"
"Nope, been up all night trying to get myself to dial this damn number." He replied, glaring angrily at his forearm.
"Uh, do we want to know?" Simon questioned, not wanting to get pulled into another one of Alvin's schemes or pranks.
"Do either of you remember a girl from eighth grade, named Susan?" Alvin asked, ignoring Simon's sarcastic question.
"Yes, she was the first majorly psycho girl you dated for a week right?" Theo guessed, remembering all too well just how mean she had been to him and his weight four years ago.
"Well, as it turns out, she remembered me, a little too well in fact. She is currently trying to blackmail me and Brit into breaking up. I'm going to call her and try and resolve this, but first I have to get my fingers to HIT the FUCKING BUTTONS!" he said, screaming the last few words in a frustrated and sleep deprived state his brothers had never seen him in before.
"Well, is there anything we can do to help?" Theo volunteered.
"Yeah Alvin, are you sure you can do something like this by yourself?" Simon asked, finally sounding concerned.
"I need to do the talking myself, but can one of you help me dial?" Alvin begged, sounding to the world like an infant that had just realized that it couldn't reach the top shelf itself.
So Simon reached over, took the phone, and took a glance at the number written on Alvin's arm to dial. When the dial tone started in, he handed the phone to Alvin and left the room, wanting to give him privacy to do whatever it was he had to do. Theo soon followed as Alvin started to pace around the room, his fingers frantically twitching at his side as he walked in circles, waiting for the ringing to give way to the voice he had come to loathe.
"Hello?" the voice at the other end answered, "Can I help you?"
"I guess you could say that." Alvin responded, seething.
"Ah Alvin, I was wondering when you'd call." Susan answered, her voice dripping like poisoned honey.
"Yeah, big surprise there, listen, I want to make you a deal, for old time's sake." He began, trying to keep in control lest all his planning go south and he was forced to drastic measures.
"Hmmm, maybe, what did you have in mind? Remember though, I am NOT going to give you those pictures." She said, tauntingly.
"Okay then, how about this. You think I've been seduced by Britney, I think you're a psychotic bitch, so why don't we just meet up somewhere and see if we can work something out?" he offered.
"No deal, even if you hadn't insulted me, I don't deal except in one thing and one thing only. And since you obviously don't want to go out with me, then I guess I have no choice but to release those pictures." She replied as her voice got fainter, giving the impression that she was hanging up.
"WAIT!" Alvin shouted, "Wait. Are you still there?"
"Yes I'm still here. Now what do you want?" Susan asked.
"Since you don't want to talk this out, how about this; we make a bet." Alvin suggested.
"What kind of bet?" Susan asked, intrigued.
"One date of your choice. Just you and me, however long you want it to last. And if you get me to kiss you by the end, you can do what you want with the pictures. If not, you have to destroy them, master copies and all." He offered.
"Hmmm, that is interesting, but I still like my choices better, and it's not like you're in any position to negotiate." She answered coldly.
"Oh yeah?" he asked incredulously, "I seem to remember that you were quite the romantic four years ago. Or at least, part of you was. I think that deep down, you'd much rather prefer my approach to your desires rather than the whole blackmail game." He taunted.
Susan couldn't believe what she was hearing. He remembered stuff about her; that clinched it, he was destined to be hers. She would be crazy not to take the offer. But part of her was still unsure about the whole deal of blackmail, even if it got her a kiss from Alvin.
"Susan? Are you still there?" Alvin asked again.
"Yes I am, and you know what, I feel like I can easily get you to see things my way. Next Friday night, you and I are going to go for a little trip and I'm going to say that it will last until midnight. If I can get you to kiss me then I WILL publish those pictures, if not, then I'll give you the master copies as well as all the hard copies." She answered, sounding callous even to herself. She didn't hate Britney; she just had to be destroyed for Susan and Alvin to be happy.
"Done" Alvin answered, and hung up.
She could not believe that she actually had a date with Alvin! Her dream was coming true. Sure she felt bad for Britney, but only in so much as you feel bad for a stray dog. When she had put her own phone back on its jack, she went up to her room and pulled out the collection of pictures she had snapped of them together. There were only about ten altogether that she could release that would have the desired effect, but there were many more that were just moments of time when they had been looking at each other.
Her favorite was the one she had taken when they were at the overhang on the side of the mountain. Alvin looked so at peace with the world, so unlike when he was at school. She found herself wondering not for the first time if maybe he WAS happier with Britney? Then she pushed the thought out of her head. Surely he would be happier with her than he was with Britney. Wouldn't he?
"Maybe I should just destroy the pictures." She said to the empty room. She only wanted him to be happy, if being with someone other than her made him happy, maybe she should just leave him alone. He had after all, looked completely broken up when he had seen some of the pictures she had. Or had that been guilt? It was a good thing that she had until Friday to figure out her own emotions before she tried to tackle his.
He couldn't believe that he had just agreed to go on a date with that bitch. But if it saved Britney's reputation, he'd go through a lot worse. All he had to do was keep from kissing her and they would be home free, not that that would be challenging in the slightest, but he didn't trust her at all. But when it was over, he could try and talk things over with Susan so that this sort of thing would never happen again. Now all he had left to do was try and explain all this to Britney. Before that though, he had to get some sleep. The night of no sleep was starting to get to him. But before he passed out on his comforter, he called her phone and left a message to call im or come to the house when she got it.
12 HOURS EARLIER:
When Britney walked in the door, she was confronted by her sisters in the hall about why she was so late following them home.
"Britney, if Theo and I can from fooling around on our anniversary, I'm pretty sure that you and Alvin can show some restraint." Eleanor chided.
"I'm sorry that I'm so late guys, but I wasn't "fooling" around with Alvin" Britney retorted, still upset from what had happened at the studio just minutes ago.
"Well then, why are you late?" Jeanette asked concerned, Britney was after all, only ever late because of something bad or something involving a guy.
"I'm late because of that bitch Susan." Britney said, her eyes getting red from the effort of holding back the tears.
By this time, she had already told her sisters about Susan, and they figured that something serious had gone down at the studio, so they instantly changed their tone to a gentler one.
"What did she do Britney?" Eleanor asked, sounding just like a mother with an injured child.
"She…" Britney started, choking up a little and sitting down on the steps in the hall, "She got some pictures."
"Not the kind of pictures we had to deal with last year, right?" Jeanette asked hesitantly, hoping that they would not have a repeat of their US tour.
"No, those were fake. These are ones she took of me and Alvin on our date." She answered quietly.
"Were they that bad?" Eleanor pried, trying to get her usually in control sister to open up to them.
"Kind of, I never saw them myself, but Alvin was pretty shaken up. She wants him to either…to…" and she degenerated into a fit of weeping into the arms of her sisters who had helped her with so much.
"It's okay, it's okay…" Jeanette comforted as Eleanor got up to make Britney a cup of tea.
When she had taken a sip of the tea and calmed down a little bit more, Britney continued, "she says that if Alvin doesn't break up with me to go out with her, that she'll post the pictures on the internet and at school. So now if he stays with me, I know he loves me no matter what happens, but my reputation is ruined."
"And if he breaks up with you, it shows that he'll do anything to protect you." Jeanette finished, "No matter what he chooses, you both lose." She summed up quietly.
"That BITCH!" Eleanor raged on the other side of the kitchen, "Why don't we go to the police? They'll definitely help with something like this."
"We can't, she says that she has some shopped photos that will put Alvin in jail before the cops even get to questioning her." Britney answered miserably.
"Well, what's Alvin going to do?" Jeanette asked hoping to hear at least a sliver of good news.
"When he drove me home, he was silent the entire time, then when he was walking me up to the front door, he suddenly asked me if I trusted him." Britney stated, thinking back to just moments ago.
"Well, do you trust him?" Eleanor inquired.
"Of course I do, but I also know what kinds of trouble his plans can cause." She said, laughing bitterly at all the trouble Alvin's schemes had caused over the years.
"So what are YOU going to do?" Eleanor responded.
"I'm going to call some friends and see what they say. I know a few of them have had issues with her in the past, maybe I can learn something about her." She responded, sounding remarkably calm given the circumstances and her very recent meltdown.
"Well, just be careful if you decide to do anything okay?" Eleanor cautioned as Britney walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs robotically.
Beth couldn't wait for tonight to start for her. She had a date with her girlfriend and her friends had all had huge days that week, now it was her time. Britney, her best friend in the world, had even gotten on TV and done an excellent performance on one of their favorite shows. It was actually while she was thinking back to the show when her phone rang and the caller ID told her it was none other than Britney.
"Hey there hun, how are you? I saw you on TV and was going to call tomorrow to let you know how things had gone on my date tonight. What's up?" Beth asked excitedly spilling four different thoughts in about ten seconds.
"Hey Beth, I'm not doing so good, do you have a minute?" Britney responded on her end sounding absolutely miserable.
"Sure I have some time, Jesse isn't supposed to get here for another half hour anyway, now tell me what happened. Does it involve Alvin?" she guessed.
"Kind of," Britney said quietly, "I'm getting really worried, you remember that creepy girl in gym class a few weeks ago?"
"She was that bitch who switched your shirt right? Yeah, I remember her. Don't tell me he's cheating on you with her." She assumed, having heard the rumors about him from some of the other girls.
"No! No, why would you say that?" Britney answered, sounding personally offended.
"Well, you know those rumors about him, and you know my history, however short it was, with guys. I always assume the worst of most of them." Beth confessed awkwardly.
"Well, just so you know, he has never cheated on anyone, I also know for a fact that he's a virgin, despite our attempts otherwise." Britney said, thinking momentarily that if her and Alvin's problem wasn't fixed soon; they would never hear the end of the cruel rumors.
"Well, then what's happened sweetie?" Beth asked, confused about why she was calling.
"Susan, the girl who switched my shirt, she went too far. After the show tonight, she got Alvin alone and she ended up blackmailing both of us." Britney said, choking up a little as she spoke.
"How the hell did she blackmail both of you?!" Beth asked shocked.
"She got pictures of us, I don't know how, and I never even saw what they were of, but they scared the hell out of Alvin and he said he had a plan. I just need someone to talk to." Brit poured out.
"Well, you can talk to me all night if you need to sweetie, just give me a second to text Jesse and let her know that we'll wait till tomorrow night ok?" Beth responded sympathetically.
"Okay, and Beth, thanks." She answered, sounding absolutely pitiful.
"No problem hun, now I'll be right back and then we'll keep talking." She promised.
And so it passed that Britney and Beth talked for over three hours and early into the morning hours. When they finally stopped talking, it was only because Britney couldn't stay awake and promised Beth that if anything else came up that she would call. The next morning, when she woke up, she looked at the time and saw that it was almost noon. Not only that, but when she turned on her phone, she saw that she had a message from Alvin. It was short and to the point.
"Brit, it's me Alvin, listen I need you to call me as soon as you get this, I need to talk to you. If I don't answer, come to my house. I love you."
Britney immediately called his cell number, and when it didn't answer, she called his house number and got the answering machine. She hung up and tried again only to get the machine a second time. By this point she was panicking a little, Alvin always had his phone on and there was always someone at their house to answer the phone. So she rushed out to her car and drove over to the Seville's house a few miles away.
There was no answer when she knocked, and the lights were off inside, nevertheless, she knew where they stored their spare key and walked inside to the quiet of the abandoned front hall. When she looked around, she saw a note on the table in the kitchen, it read, "Alvin, me and Theo went out to see the girls at the park, and Dave is out at the food store picking up some stuff and will be back around 1:30. Hope you got some sleep. Simon"
When she was done reading the note, she looked up the stairs and saw a light coming from one of the boys rooms. That could only mean that Alvin was here by himself and Theo and Simon had left him in his room. She rushed up the stairs and down the hall to the room with the red A on it. Seeing that it was cracked slightly, she peeked in and saw that Alvin was stretched out on his bed in the same outfit he had performed in the night before. She didn't know what had gone through his head last night to put him in a situation like this but she knew she wasn't going to like it.
As she advanced on the bed with her boyfriend passed out on it, she debated whether or not to wake him up. Then she remembered how urgent he had sounded in his message and decided that she had to do it. So she reached out a hand and gently shook him. As he stirred, he muttered, "No, leave us alone". But she continued to revive him and as his eyes flew open in surprise, he sat up and grabbed hold of her as whatever he had been dreaming about faded from his sight.
Alvin had just had the worst dream he could ever remember, he had been in a room with two doors and no way out except to choose one. There had been a voice taunting him as he agonized over which to open. The voice had told him that one revealed the way out, and the other way opened to a creature that would devour him whole. After freaking out for what felt like an eternity, he eventually roared in frustration and fury and broke through the wall between the doors to stumble into a small, dark room with a lone figure sitting tied to a chair in the center. As he grew closer to the captive, he saw the sad and weary face of none other than Britney, her mouth gagged and fear lit in her eyes with the intensity of a lighthouse. When he saw her sitting there, looking for all intents on the brink of death, he tried to run forward to free her but found his feet stuck up to the calf in the solid concrete of the floor. When he panicked and thrashed, trying to undo his feet from the rock, he looked in defeat at the frail form of his girlfriend and watched in horror as yet another figure stepped forth from the shadows and joined the macabre situation unfolding. After looking at Alvin and Britney slowly and seeing that he was trying to reach her, the shade grinned maliciously and drew what appeared to be a long sliver of light from it's side. Alvin realized too late that it was not light that the demon drew, it was in fact, a long silver blade that it now held to Britney's throat and looked once more into Alvin's eyes as it flicked it's wrist and the blade bit into the skin of her throat and her blood fell to the ground in rich crimson drops. All he could do was stare in shock and grief as her life slowly ebbed from her slumped frame with neither of them able to speak final words of goodbye or comfort. As the flow of ruby life slowed and finally stopped, the shade drew closer to Alvin, it's blade still out and deadly in its hand. Alvin waited patiently for its bittersweet bite that would at least reunite him and Britney, but it was not to be. For as the demon drew closer, it also sheathed the knife and advanced on him, a crueler fate hinted at him through the soulless black pits that served as the creatures eyes. Just as the shadowy demon was about to embrace him and pull him onto the cold darkness that was the epitome of it's being and permanently destroy any hope he had of seeing Britney again in this life or the next, he became aware of a warmth growing out of the abyss of the room. The warmth spread and soon encompassed the entirety of his being and he began to hear a sweet, melodious voice calling out to him. He found that his legs were freed and the demon could not approach him. As it gnashed its teeth at him from outside the ring of comfort that had enveloped him, he began to rise out of the room and into the ring of light seemingly miles away. As he entered the light, his whole world solidified and he opened his eyes to see Britney leaning over him, concern in her features as she continued to revive him.
Alvin shot up in his bed and grabbed hold of Britney by the shoulders as he fought back tears and stared at her as though she would disappear again into his dreams if he relinquished his grip. Eventually, he realized that he was now awake and that Britney would not evaporate into oblivion. Furthermore, he saw to his immense relief that she was not harmed in the slightest from the condition he had left her in since the night before.
"Oh my god," he gasped, grinning, "Britney." Was all he said as he pulled her in closer and kissed her deeply as the sensation of warmth and comfort flooded his being and he was pleased to feel that she was taken by surprise and slowly melted in his sudden onslaught of emotion and began to reciprocate the intense kiss.
"Alvin," Britney said when they finally came up for air, "I hate to stop, but your message said to come here and that it was important. Was this what I had to come here for? You just wanted to fool around?"
"No, unfortunately, and I doubt you'll be in the mood for that anyway when I tell you this." He preceded, building up his courage to try and convince her that this was the only safe way to proceed with their problem, "I found a way to get the pictures and I think to get through to Susan." He stated, looking for her reaction.
Britney was shocked to hear that he had a plan already, "Well? What is it Alvin?" she asked, anxious to hear what his plan was.
"I want you to promise first that you won't get mad." Alvin asked
"Why would I get mad? Alvin, am I going to like this?" Brit questioned, getting more and more apprehensive of the plan by the minute.
"Probably not, but I want you to know first that this is the only way that I can protect you and still be with you." He admitted ashamed of what he was about to say.
"Well, as long as I know you love me, and as long as we can stay together, I don't see a down side." Britney told him, the fear subsiding slightly.
"I made a bet with Susan, this morning, she said that she'd let me and you personally destroy the pictures, hard copies and digital, if I go out with her on a date and can keep from kissing her before midnight." He said in a flood of confusion that left Britney washed away for a minute as she processed everything.
When she had put everything he had just said into order in her mind, she turned to him angrily, "So let me get this straight, you expect me to let you go off on a date with this bitch and just hope that you don't kiss her so we can destroy those pictures. What the hell do you expect to accomplish by doing this Alvin? Why the hell would you make this fucking bet without asking me first?" she asked him, getting red in the eyes as she now fought back tears of frustration and hurt.
"Baby, believe me, if there was another way, I would take it, but if I go along with this, you stay safe, I can easily keep from getting physical with her, and this way, I can talk to her and try and figure out why she's doing this and I can convince her to move on, leaving us alone forever." He tried to justify.
"And if she kisses you when you're not expecting it?" she asked, at least partially satisfied as to his motives.
"That won't happen, I remember her from eighth grade. She never makes the first move. All I have to do is zone out and she'll never get that kiss and you and I will be free from her forever." He answered triumphantly.
"Are you sure this is the best idea?" Britney asked, her anger having finally subsided into concern, "Have you talked about this with anyone else?"
"Not yet, but I will." He promised, "As soon as Simon and Theo get home from their dates, I'm going to go over everything with them and see if they can help.
Just then, there came a sound from the front hall of the house as the door swung open and two familiar voices called in, "Alvin? Are you up yet?"
"Showtime." Alvin said as he slid off of the bed and helped Britney up off as well. They stared into each other's eyes for a second as they gathered their courage and walked towards the door and opened it to the scene of Alvin's brothers standing in the entrance looking expectantly in.
"Did you get a good nap Alvin?" Theo asked concernedly.
"Jeanette said to ask you if you needed to talk to us about anything." Simon said, trying to look unsurprised to find Britney and Alvin in the same room together with the door shut.
"Yeah, come in guys, there are some things we need to tell you." Alvin answered as the door open and invited them in. when they were all in, he shut the door and started the story from the beginning.
This concludes chapter ten of "Getting to Know You" I hope you enjoyed the trip and want you all to know that as soon as it is written, chapter 11 will be posted. It will pick up after the brothers are informed of the whole Susan mess and will also feature Simon and Jeanette as well as some Theo and Ellie. I hope you will leave me a message or some feedback in the reviews section.
Happy Reading
musicalreader :D