Ok, I updated early again!! :D But... before you read... you should know... I got kind of lazy. It's still pretty good... but around the middle of the chapter. I'm sure you'll be able to spot it. It gets better after that point though. Promise.

Brittany sighed softly, watching Stephen out of the corner of her eye. They were lying side by side in the grassy meadow field of Hayden Park. Her back was warm against the soft lawn, the sun hot on her face. Her long auburn hair was spread out around her like a blanket. The ends stretched forward, reaching out in all directions, brushing against his folded arms resting behind his head.

She watched Stephen for a moment. He had this far off gaze in his eye, as if he was on another universe. A part of her wanted to nudge, hit, kick… do something to him to remind him that he was with her. That she was the center of his attention at the moment. But on the other hand… he looked so… so peaceful like that…

"What do you see when you look up?" He whispered.

Brittany blinked, rapidly shaking the thoughts from her mind.

"The sky I guess…" she answered slowly. "What do you mean? I never really thought about it."

"Like when we were kids… and always saw clouds shaped like ice cream cones and castles…" he murmured. Stephen sat up on his elbows to look at her. "Remember?"

Brittany turned to look at him. "Yeah… sure" she shrugged.

"Look" he said, scooting closer to her. "Let me show you."

Brittany swallowed, a warm pleasant feeling taking over her as his shoulder fell against hers. Their heads just inches apart now as he leaned over her, his eyes scanning the sky. His face looked so delicate like a rose bundled in a bouquet of flowers… so soft like a pillow wrapped in silk… she bit her lip, fighting to resist the urge to reach out and touch him.

"Like you see that bird?" He asked her, pointing his finger up in the air.

Her eyes slowly drifted from his face, trailing across his arm… tracing his biceps… before working their way to his fingertips… then finally she tilted her head up at the sky… focusing at what he was pointing at.

She shrugged. It was just a bird… nothing special about it… she'd seen a million of them. Jeanette could probably take one look at it and tell you exactly what type it, its gender, and where it was probably going depending on the time of year… but to Brittany. It was just a bird. She swallowed, praying he wasn't some nerdy science geek.

"What about it?" Brittany asked.

"Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like to be one?" he asked her.

Brittany tilted her head to the side. "I never really thought about it before…" she admitted.

"Just think about it." Stephen whispered, turning to look at her in the eye. "Flying like that… swooping through the air… not a worry in the world… able to go wherever you wanted in the entire universe by just flapping your wings…"

Brittany closed her eyes. Traveling to Paris for a quick cup of tea or some of that fancy coffee? A crisp croissant? Biting down on a REAL English muffin… the edges of her lips slowly rounded up in a smile.

"Hmm Hmm…" Brittany sighed.

"See?" Stephen told her. "The sky is like… an unanswered question, endless dreams… something that you can never reach but for some reason… you want to try anyway…"

"I-" She breathed, slowly opening her eyes. "I never really thought of it like that."

Stephen nodded.

He turned his head to look down at her. The sides of their faces all but inches apart… neither of them moved for almost ten seconds. He finally blinked and her eyes widened… mentally praying that the coat of lip gloss she's put on an hour ago was still there… This was it.

And then…

His lips parted… and he spoke…

Brittany's heart skipped a beat.

"So…" Stephen said "You hungry?"

Brittany lay there, feeling something like a mixture of confusion, astonishment, and wonder.

Stephen pulled away from her and stood. She watched him shake the grass from his hair golden hair and then brush off the backs off his old Levi's that were already littered with grass stains.

"Come on…" he said, reaching out for her hand.

Brittany looked up at Stephen, her eyes squinting at the sun hovering behind him "Where are we going?" Brittany asked.

"Do you trust me?" he asked her.

"What?"

Stephen reached out his hand again. "Do you trust me?" he repeated.

Brittany sighed, inhaling sharply before slowing letting it out again. She stuck her hand out searching for his and he grasped it, slowly pulling her up.

"Alright." he said. "Now come on."

They turned walking side by side down the cemented sidewalk to the edge of the park. He stuffed his hands his back pockets, his head tilted up; focusing on the sunlight peeking out from in between the trees' huge green leaves.

"Where are we going?" She asked him.

"Hasn't someone ever told you it's not where you winded up that's important… it's how you got there." Stephen asked her "You know… it's not the destination, it's the journey?"

"No," Brittany snorted.

"Well then I'll be the first." Stephen told her. "It means… to take your time… and pay attention to what's around you."

"Well you here that?" Brittany asked.

Stephen turned to her. "What?"

"The sound of my stomach growling" Brittany said.

Stephen grinned. "Then let's get something to eat."

"I'm picking the place." Brittany told him.

Stephen turned to look down at her. "Then I'm picking the food." He immediately responded.

"What?!" Brittany exclaimed. "Why?"

He shrugged. "It's only fair."

"How do you figure that?" she asked. "You don't know what I like."

Stephen grinned. "Which is what makes it fun" He told her with quirk of his eyebrow.

"But-"

"Alright… "Stephen said cutting her off. "Where do you want to eat?"

Brittany grinned. "Follow me." she said, taking off in a run.

Stephen burst into a jog, quickly following after her. "You're not going to pick some high class restaurant are you?"

Brittany laughed.

"You realize this is a first date right?!" Stephen yelled after her. "Isn't like one of the rules of a first date to go somewhere inexpensive? Don't most girls live on those rules?"

Brittany snorted. "Who told you that?!" she asked.

"Don't forget." He reminded her. "I get to pick the food."

"I haven't forgotten." She told him.

She stopped in front of a little boutique. She twisted around to face him, her hands drawn back, and lightly clutching the metal knob.

"And you have to eat it." He continued.

Brittany rolled her eyes. "ok."

"No matter what it is…" he added.

"Fine" Brittany said with a nod. "But you have to eat it too."

Stephen grinned, letting his arms drop to his sides. "Fine with me." he shrugged.

********

"Are you scared?"

"No!" Brittany exclaimed. "Why would I be scared?"

"Because you should be…" He whispered in her ear.

Brittany couldn't help but laugh.

"Now close your eyes." Stephen ordered.

Brittany grinned, letting her eyelids slowly fall.

"Do you trust me?"Stephen asked.

"What?"

"Do you trust me?" He repeated.

Brittany swallowed. She nodded.

"Then open up" He ordered.

Brittany felt the smooth, rounded edge of a spoon poke at the front of her mouth and obediently let her jaw drop. She felt something slid into her mouth and paused… taking it in for a moment before snapping her eyes open and quickly swallowing.

"What was that?!" she demanded.

Stephen grinned. "Lemon meringue pie. You like?"

Brittany furrowed her brow. She brought her hands back, giving him a light shove.

"Jerk. I thought you were giving me some kind of alien food." She exclaimed.

He laughed. "Why would I do that?"

"Shut. Up." Brittany ordered, a grin slowly slipping across her face.

He laughed again, almost falling back in his chair this time. Brittany's smirk grew and grew until she could hold it back no longer and found herself laughing right beside him… about what, she wasn't sure. She giggled, rocking back and forth holding her stomach… and then suddenly … he wasn't laughing anymore… she looked up and he was watching her, a look of bewilderment written on his face.

Brittany blinked, her head tilted in confusion. "Wha-What's wrong?" she asked him.

He reached out, lightly tracing her cheek. "You're amazing, Brittany." Stephen whispered. "Absolutely… amazing…"

Brittany laughed. "And you're just now noticing this?" She asked him.

She felt his fingers as they ran through her smooth auburn hair, his hand stopping at her forehead… then the softness of his lips as they kissed the bridge of her hairline. She melted into him. Her head fell against his shoulder… her eyes closed as she felt his arms circle her back…

But then there was something… a voice in the back of her head that just refused to stop talking. Her mind warped for a minute… and she couldn't help but think… would Alvin have done that? If she was with him right now what would he say… what would he be thinking…?

Later....

Brittany inhaled sharply, brushing her palms across her face and through her hair. She let her head fall, burring it deep within her pillow. Tears gently fell from her eyes, soaking heavily into the cushion. She was fine. She had been fine.

Brittany had rolled her eyes whenever anyone asked about him as if she was actually annoyed by the sound of his name. Brittany would shrug, casually explaining to them that they weren't together anymore… that they… they weren't even friends anymore. They'd been growing apart for some time now, she'd say. She felt it coming a mile away… it wasn't really a big shock.

"And you're really just over him?"

That's what the other person would ask.

"You're actually ok with it?"

Brittany would carelessly lift an eyebrow, her face never faltering. "Why wouldn't I be ok with it?"

"If my boyfriend broke up with me I'd die! I don't know how you do it."

Brittany would laugh. "Well that's the difference between you and me"

She had been fine. FINE. And now…

Brittany knew people were talking about her. There was always that eerie silence when she entered a room or walked up to a certain group… where conversation just stopped and everything became weird and awkward. She ignored those eyes that watched her as she filtered through her locker… The whispers that brushed pass her throughout the hall… The gossip traded and swapped like bagged lunches during class.

And Brittany had been fine with it all.

Why would she care what they thought anyway? Because she didn't.

What she cared about was seeing him by his locker every day and remembering how she used to walk with him to gym class. What she cared about was seeing couples kiss in the hallway and remembering how that could never be them again. What she cared about was eating lunch with her friends and knowing that this time he wasn't going to be there.

She had been fine. But now…

She couldn't catch her breath no matter how hard she tried. Something inside of her was aching that she just couldn't pin point. Brittany pierced her lips and clenched her eyes shut. How was she supposed to do anything without him? It wasn't like she relied on him or anything but… she relied on him.

He was one of the only people ever to see her cry. He was one of the only people ever to really understand her. He was the only one (other than her sisters) she felt she could really be herself around. The only one she called when she was down, the only one Alvin enough to bring her back up. He made her laugh so hard she cried. He made her cry so hard she laughed.

And now he was gone.

That's what hurt. The fact that he wasn't there to comfort her ate at her soul. He wasn't there… and she couldn't call him because he was the one who was causing it… and the cherry topper? He didn't even know it.

He didn't know it because Brittany never told him.

And she never told him… because she was afraid he wouldn't care that she was hurting.

They were broken up… so why would he care?

Every year her school hosted a fair to raise money for a charity and invited the whole town. This time Chrissie Lavender was in charge of the entertainment. She had just visited her dad in New York who was friends with someone whose cousin was a record producer. There were a lot of details but somehow Chrissie had arranged for The Flying Raccoons to host a concert at the fair and donate all the proceeds.

No one could talk about anything else for weeks leading up to the day of the event. There wasn't one person left out. Alvin convinced her it would be more romantic if they went there alone together. Neither of them could drive and it was across town but he had it all planned out. They'd walk to the bus station and then ride the bus to another stop, make a few transfers… she hadn't been listening when he explained it. Normally she would have objected but Brittany finally agreed. It would be nice to be alone for awhile. But things didn't go as planned.

They winded up getting off at the wrong stop then walking around aimlessly for hours. Brittany remembered that she had been so angry and frustrated. And she was screaming at him… telling him that they had missed the entire thing and it was his fault… that she never should have trusted him…

"How could things possibly be worse!" she'd cried.

And then… just like in the movies… it started to rain…

She was so mad… crying about her hair… aggravated about missing out… her clothes were drenched … and then… they were laughing. It was crazy. All the effort that went into planning everything… and they had still missed out. The whole thing was ruined, there was nothing else to do BUT laugh.

They ended up having their own concert. Dancing together in the middle of the street… soaked to the bone… singing the bands hit songs at the tops of their lungs…

She remembered kissing him just as the sky cleared; their fingers intertwined… her hair sticking to the sides of her face. He loved her. That's what he said. Brittany remembered him caressing her cheek, holding her close and whispering that in her ear.

Everything was so perfect then. So what happened?

Brittany shut her eyes.

She thought she'd done everything right. She'd thought… she'd thought she'd been perfect with him. How could it actually be… over? How could HE not be there? He was always there… always… She couldn't do it anymore. Seeing him everyday didn't make it any better. And how could he look at her like that… like… like he didn't know what this was doing to her. She was tired of answering questions about the two of them. She was tired of being comforted. She was tired of lying… she was just … tired.

Brittany inhaled deeply, biting back a soft cry.

He was her first everything. Her first friend… her first rival… the first guy she danced with… her first kiss… her first… love… And now like a stack of cards, it had all came crashing down on her.

He knew her better than anybody and he had this was of getting in her head. He made her cheeks burn and her eyelashes flutter. Her heart pounded when he drew near and she couldn't stand when he was away. And then he frustrated the mess out of her, knowing exactly what buttons to press to get her going. He drove her nuts! She wanted to scream sometimes. But then somehow… that's what exactly what lured her in.

She didn't want to remember anymore. If this is what all those memories brought… maybe she never should have fallen for him… maybe she never should have even met him.

But then…

How could she picture her life without him? All those memories… holding hands under the sunset, kissing underneath the stars, his hands in her hair, the smell of him lingering on her clothes… the feeling of her head against his chest… His nose lightly touching hers… his arms wrapped around her back, pulling her close.

She wanted to feel him. She wanted to touch him. She wanted to cry into his shoulder. She wanted to whisper in his ear… feel his lips against hers… dance with him in the middle of the street… sing with him in the middle of his room. She needed someone to tell her it was going to be alright.

She had Stephen.

Stephen who seemed so amazing… so… perfect.

But… he wasn't Alvin.

Then again… who could compare to Alvin… except well…

Alvin.

Alright, Did that answer any questions for you? Did it build more?

I'm so excited. I cannot wait till you guys figure out how I'm going to do this. The whole Alvin/Britt pairing. lol. Few more chapters...

One more thing. For those wondering where Alvin is through all this... well this story's not about him. Everything's going to be told from Brittany's point of view. She hasn't really talked to Alvin so we don't hear about Alvin. And until he actually opens his mouth and tells BRITTANY we have no idea what's going on in his head.