I told you the story wasn't over yet! XD Alright so this update is WAAAY later than it usual is XD. SORRY! But something came up... and then something else... and then something else... and then it took a while to get all my ideas straight.
Anxious doesn't even BEGIN to describe how I feel about this chapter... I'm nervous as heck so PLEASE don't forget to review!
You can't control love. It grabs a hold of you like a strong rope and pulls you under. It sucks the life out of you and leaves you gasping for air. It's hot as the sun and burns you with its touch. It melts your heart and dives right into your soul. A powerful… unbreakable… bond… leaving a scar forever sketched across your chest. It's a soft sunrise in the darkest of nights, never letting go. And Brittany awoke that morning feeling its tight pull wrapping her in an embrace.
The sun cascaded through her open window, casting blinding rays of light across the room. The chipette slowly stirred in her bed, twisting her body to the side before letting out a loud yawn. Her dreams had ended, nonetheless; Brittany could still feel his touch worming its way through her subconscious, surging through her body. She somehow found a soft tune drifting through her mind. Brittany hummed a few bars, wondering where it had come from before quickly dismissing it.
"I love you"
The words…so plain and simply on their own, meaning almost nothing… but together… The boy in her dream had spoken this to her as he ran his hands through her sandy blonde hair. She had still been laughing at something he had said early on… the words catching her off guard for a moment. Maybe because… she could understand them…
In the dream… this boy spoke strangely. His speech was slurred and most of it incoherent as it were a different language all together… but for some reason that didn't matter. She just seemed to get the gist of what he was saying. She was walking with him on a beach as he told her a joke, which she laughed wildly at. He was tossing a basketball towards her, as they played together on the open court. The entire time he spoke in a weird tongue that she couldn't place in any category. But those words came in clear English.
"I love you"
Brittany couldn't recognize him by the sound of his voice and his face was always covered up by something but even so…she felt like she knew him from somewhere. It was just like that familiar feeling, like when you pass someone on the street and you do a double take… wondering where you saw them before. But you can't put your finger on it so you just keep walking.
Walking…
That's what Brittany found herself doing that morning. She'd said goodbye to her sisters early on shrugging off any of their persistent questions. She had decided to be alone, perhaps to gather her thoughts… to finally make a decision.
It had been weeks since she'd spoken to neither Stephen nor Alvin. Weeks, without any boy in sight… Weekends packed with movie nights and shopping trips with just the girls. She'd made a least a dozen lists, a hundred different fortune tellers or cootie catchers, and plucked all the flowers she could find but none of them gave her a clear answer.
Christmas had come and went, school starting abruptly without warning. She thought of Stephen, and actually went in search for him several times but she'd always changed her mind at the last minute. She knew he didn't want to see her.
When her sisters and friends had questioned her actions she'd simply shrugged and responded; "Maybe it's good to be single for a while."
And the longer she thought about it… maybe it was true.
"What!" Brittany exclaimed. "Are you doing?"
She and Alvin were sitting together at a booth with smooth black leather upholstery and a clean white table. The black and white checkered flooring, lights hanging above, and the occasion waitress rushing by with a pen tucked behind her ear; symbolizing they were in a restaurant of some kind. Alvin looked up from his plate, meeting her cool blue eyes. A golden French fry was perched in his left hand, half of it covered in a creamy white sauce, speckled with black dots.
"Huh?" He asked her, obviously perplexed.
"What are you doing?" Brittany asked again. Alvin raised an eyebrow and she pointed a long manicured finger at his meal. "Who dips their fries in… ranch dressing?"
He shrugged. "It's good." He responded. "You wanna try?" He stuck out his hand, the French fry pointed directly at her.
Brittany almost turned green in the face at the offering. "Ew" She muttered. "No way"
Alvin shrugged again as he pulled away from her, sticking the fry into his open mouth. The chipette made a gagging noise.
"Just try it." He told her. "How can you say that about something you've never tried before?" He exclaimed.
Brittany turned her noise up. "Like this," She declared. " ELLLWW!"
Alvin laughed.
She watched him for a minute more as he devoured another handful. "Seriously?" She groaned. "That's disgusting… and I'm sure gives you bad breathe! Who does that?"
"Lots of people" He answered.
"Name five" Brittany said, firmly crossing her arms over her chest.
Alvin's mouth twisted as he searched his mind for an answer.
Brittany grinned, taking in his silence. "EXACTLY! You can't think of any!"
"Well… it's not like I've watched that many people eat fries!" Alvin exclaimed after awhile. "That's stupid!"
"Or you're just gross!"
"They're obviously lots of people who do it because they gave us both ranch and ketchup with them!" Alvin retorted.
"But most people choose the ketchup!" Brittany exclaimed.
"Ha!" Alvin declared, pointing at her. "You just said MOST as in there are SOME people who don't."
"No!" Brittany exclaimed. "The others eat them plain."
"Who eats their fries plain?"
"Lots of people!" Brittany declared.
"Name five." Alvin ordered, mimicking her answer from before.
Brittany smirked, drawing out her fingers as she named them off."Christina Applegate, MaryKate Olsen, Brittany Spears has done it before, Shawn Michaels, and Bridget Medler. That's five."
"Whatever." Alvin snorted.
The two fell into silence, tossing death glares across the table. Alvin finally sighed, his eyes drifting down. He picked up a French fry, twiddling it between his fingers three times before plunging it down into the cup of ranch on the side of his plate. The fry was moving fast-forward, plunging towards his mouth when Brittany grabbed his wrist.
He looked up at her and she answered his questioning glare with a furious one of her own.
"I swear," Brittany said. "Stick that fry in your mouth and you're not kissing me for a week."
She released his hand and Alvin stared at her for several moments before abruptly dropping the fry onto his plate.
Being single and oh-so available was nice but that didn't mean she didn't miss… not being single. Not being alone. Not being with someone. But then that left one question baring its teeth at her.
Who?
When she closed her eyes who did she see?
Brittany tried right then, carefully shutting her eyes but was only faced with empty darkness. Frustrated, she let out a loud sigh, blinking her eyes open. Why couldn't this be simple? Like in the movies?
If this were a movie she'd know exactly what to do. Brittany would wake up one morning and walk straight over to his house. He'd answer his door, a little bit shocked to see her standing there. And before he could even get the words out to ask her what she was doing there… she'd reach out and pull him to her, laying a kiss on his lips.
Then as the light shone past her, casting a sweet glow around them she'd declare her love for him. He'd say it back, brushing the hair out of her eyes. He'd take her hand in his… and they'd walk off into the sunset.
Movies made everything so simple… so easy…
How unfortunate real life couldn't be as such.
Brittany sighed, falling back into a slow walk.
Stephen was gone.
Had been gone for weeks…
And she loved him…
So why wasn't she upset? Why wasn't she crying? Why hadn't she called him and begged him to forgive her? Why hadn't she begged him to keep her? When he left why didn't she go after him? She should at least be sad, right? She should at least feel a fragment of the loss she felt with Alvin.
With Alvin… She remembered crying her eyes anytime she ever thought of him. Falling apart and unraveling like a piece of yarn anytime she heard his voice… And now Stephen was gone too…
So what should she do?
"How do I look in this?" Brittany asked aloud.
She'd just stepped out of a dressing room; her bare feet even on the soft blue carpeting of the department store. The dress was short and strapless, flowing seamlessly down her waist, hitting just above her knee. Brittany twirled in a short circle, liking the feeling of the dress' skirt as it flared up around her. She grinned at her reflection in the mirror opposite to her, thinking the rosy peachy color made her skin glow.
"Fine" Brittany heard Alvin grumble from his position in the a chair that sat around the corner.
Brittany turned to him. "You're not even looking at me."
The chipmunk briefly looked up from the magazine he appeared to be reading, however without even meeting her eye… Alvin abruptly dropped his gaze.
"You look fine." He repeated. "Just like you were in the other five."
"How can you say that?" Brittany demanded. "This is COMPLETELY and TOTALLY different from ANYTHING I've tried on."
"You look great then." Alvin offered. "Can we go now?"
"Are you saying you don't want to be here with me?" Brittany asked.
"That's exactly what I'm saying" Alvin replied with a grunt.
Brittany huffed. "Then leave! Who's asked you to stay?"
"You" Alvin answered.
Brittany let out a loud groan. "I'll be done in a second."
"Right…" Alvin mumbled. "Now how long are we talking." His eyes drifted back up and he suddenly stopped… everything.
His baby blue eyes were wide when she caught them. He didn't even blink or respond when she called his name. Brittany snapped her strawberry gum in-between her teeth and snarled at him.
"What are staring at?" She demanded. Brittany snapped her fingers in front of him, quickly drawing Alvin out of whatever trance he'd been trapped in. "What are you staring at?" she asked again.
He blinked. "I-"Alvin said slowly. "I guess… you should get that one… the dress I mean."
Brittany cocked an eyebrow, watching him curiously.
"You really don't look completely horrible." He finally finished.
Brittany smiled. "It's ABOUT time you noticed."
Brittany didn't really know where she was headed… and at the point she didn't care. She allowed her mind to drift, allowing her feet to guild her. Stephen was so… so nice. She closed her eyes briefly at the words and Alvin's face flashed before her. She could see him clearly rolling his eyes at her comment.
"Hasn't anyone ever told you? Nice guys ALWAYS finish last" He remarked with wink.
Brittany laughed.
But still. Stephen was always there when she needed him. ALWAYS. And he never seemed to give up on her… even when she gave up on herself… How could she just forget that? Forget… everything he'd done for her? He deserved someone who appreciated him.
A firefly drifted past her ear, the soft glow of its taillight illuminating the night. It landed in the grass next to Theodore, sifting through the soft blades before taking off again. It was a hot summer and they'd stopped for ice cream after a baseball game at the park.
The Goody Shop was cute little stop right off Clint Road. The clean white, 'g' shaped building was just big enough to hold, several ice cream machines, a slushie maker, a few hotdog cookers, a freezer, and a cluster of picnic tables out on the deck. It was surrounded by a paved parking lot, wide enough to hold two dozen cars. To order, you either walked up to one of the windows in the front or drove up to the newly installed drive-thru. And beyond all that, one or two more picnic tables strew in the grass.
All the chipmunks had gathered that night to have some fun. But the summer's end was drawing near… and as they devoured their ice cream, each couldn't help but think… they wouldn't be together like this for much longer. They were each so different in their own ways… they each had their own things to attend to… their own band of friends. And speaking of band, what of that? Sure they could try to set a date every week to meet up and practice but things would be constantly coming up, just as they had every year since middle school. There were parties to go to, games to be at, worlds to explore, and deadlines to meet.
Brittany Miller sat at the picnic table beside Jeanette. Alvin was on her other side; perched on the table top, his feet dangled beside her thigh. Simon was on the other side of Jeanette; and Theodore and Eleanor sat on the grassy floor in front of them.
"We can't stay kids forever." Simon voiced.
Brittany couldn't see his face but knew he wasn't speaking directly to any of them. He was talking about their senior year… even if that seemed lightyears away. He'd already started looking into colleges, as had Jeanette, encouraging their siblings to do the same.
"Maybe… we should take a break from music this year…" Jeanette proposed. "And focus on school."
The group silently nodded in agreement.
"Things are going to change soon…" Eleanor told them.
"Not everything." Theodore commented.
"But most things" Brittany snorted.
Alvin stared at his melting ice cream cone… for once not saying a word. Anger fuelled him, frustration. He leapt to his feet abruptly throwing it to the ground. The group eye's fell upon him as he stood up, waving his arms around; his melting ice cream at his feet, flooding the earth's floor.
"Why is everyone being SO serious!" Alvin exclaimed. "We're not going to be kids forever… we need to stay focused… we need to this… we have to do this… Well do want to know what I think?"
Brittany coughed. "Not really." She replied rolling her eyes.
He turned to glare at her and she replied with a quick smile.
"I think we need to just CHILL for second. I'm not going to spend my last years as freedom acting like a stupid adult!" Alvin cried.
Simon sighed. "Because we all know your WAY too mature for that."
Brittany watched him as he continued to speak, the smile still playing lightly on her face.
How much time had she wasted this year? She'd been too fixated with stupid daydreams that would never come true. She spent too much time working on stupid songs that would never be recorded. She'd thought took much of stupid guys who'd she never really have a future with.
But she'd loved him.
Maybe… maybe she'd just THOUGHT she loved him. He was the kind of guy who you couldn't help but love… that is unless he was just plain annoying. But now here she was, stuck on the crossroads. Looking into the horizon at the different paths, ready for her choosing… Ha. It sounded like she was making this life changing decision… not just choosing which boy she liked better.
Brittany found herself softly humming the song she'd awakened to. Where had she heard it from? It was getting to the point where the song had just become annoying. The worst part was that she COULDN'T GET IT OUT OF HER HEAD. The same verse, not even the verse… the same beat just kept echoing through her brain. And although she tried her hardest to dismiss it, it refused to budge.
It was time to focus. Banishing all thoughts from her mind, Brittany shut her eyes again. What was her heart desperately trying to tell her? At first all she saw was darkness… but slowly a picture began to merge. Rushing colors of red and brown, blue and rusty gold swam together… and she knew.
"Have you ever noticed that they're no teams named after rodents?"
Brittany frowned. "What do mean?"
"There's the Lions, the Bears, the Snakes but no mice… or rats… or…" Alvin's voice trailed off.
"Chipmunks?" Brittany finished.
"Yeah," Alvin agreed. "I get the Squirrel thing. I mean who wants to be a SQUIRREL? But why not chipmunks?"
Brittany laughed. "Probably because most of them are short, small and-"
"AWESOME!" Alvin declared. "I don't even see how we fall into the same group with rats! I mean RATS!"
"Yeah!"
"They're stinky… and freaky… those beady red eyes FREAK ME OUT!" Alvin exclaimed.
"Me too!" Brittany agreed. "And they're disgusting!"
"Exactly!" Alvin cried. "And mice are just as bad!"
"Well, I think mice are cute! Little white ones…." Brittany decided.
"Oh. Like Pinky and the Brain?" Alvin asked. "Now THAT was an awesome cartoon" **
"More like STUPID." Brittany declared.
"But you see what I mean right? Mice don't get sports teams… but instead they get cartoons. How come there's no shows about chipmunks!" Alvin asked.
Brittany shrugged.
"I mean… there's even Tom and Jerry! A cat and a mouse! But no chipmunks!" He continued.
"Wait. What about Chip and Dale?" Brittany asked him.
Alvin snorted. "An insult to rodents everywhere. Now if we had our own show… can you imagine that?" Alvin asked her.
"What? You and me?" Brittany rolled her eyes. "And call it what? Beauty and the FREAK?"
Alvin glared at her. "Well we all know which one you'd be!"
She couldn't picture her life without him. Or rather… she didn't want to. She tried several times… closing her eyes… imagining what it would be like if he simply moved away… if he was just gone… And… she couldn't even fathom it. That's how she knew. He was… the one.
Maybe that was hard to call at such an age but… she was almost certain. He was her perfect match… in every single way imaginable. It's almost funny how utterly clueless she'd been. It was ridiculous that it had taken her this much time to realize… how much he meant to her. She'd been SO stupid. That was the only word for it.
Why did it take her this long to see what was right in front of her eyes? She knew it. She knew it in her heart the entire time… but refused to listen. Why was she always so stubborn?
And now… she was going to go tell him. And… if she had to tie him down, he would listen to EVERY word she had to say.
She was going to tell him.
Excitement was building now. She kept thinking about what his reaction would be. She could already see that knowing grin, the words "I-told-you-so" written all over his face. She could see him rolling his eyes, telling her "There's not a single girl in the world… no, THE UNIVERSE… that can resist The Magnet" or "You do know I was voted Heartthrob of the Year FIVE times in a row!"
She missed him.
She was just about to turn a corner when that song came back, and this time with vengeance. It became so loud that… it was as if she could actually hear it and- wait. She COULD actually hear it. This time it was accompanied with an electric guitar and… actual lyrics. Brittany took a step back… and choose instead to cross the street.
She continued down the boulevard, searching for the source of the music that had haunted her dreams and drifted in and out of her subconscious all day. The music brought her even further down the street and pass a housing complex before she realized she'd gone too far and doubled back. Then finally… she saw the source.
A video game shop was having a sidewalk sale… she remembered there had been a paper that came in the mail just last week advertising the thing. And now… as she approached the store she could make out one familiar figure standing by the window. His back was to her, but his red hoodie told her all she needed to know.
Before she could stop her feet, Brittany was running... no… quickly walking towards the shop. Just because she was anxious, didn't mean she wanted HIM to know it. No, she had to act as if this was simply a spur of the moment type thing. As if… she hadn't even been thinking about him at all.
She watched Alvin as he sifted through a something on a shelf, before turning to look at someone to his left. A girl with dark hair, wearing a purple shirt or dress… Brittany couldn't quite make it out. Brittany smiled. Alvin was at a video game store, that she just so happened to be walking by… If she believed in signs… then this was defiantly one of them.
Yes, without a doubt.
Brittany quickly ran her fingers through her hair, smoothing out any locks that had been cast astray by the wind, which was slowly picking up. If she let her gaze fall away from Alvin for a moment she'd notice the sky overhead looming with dark clouds. Dark clouds that were just threatening to ruin her perfect mane.
Brittany reached for the handle of the door, and the bell overhead made a chiming noise, signaling her entrance. Alvin was directly in front of her now, just a few yards away. He hadn't seemed to notice her yet. He was still talking to that girl. Who was she anyway? Brittany was about to march right over and demand just this when-
The girl reached out, touching Alvin's shoulder. Brittany watched as they pulled closer as if the girl had to whisper something- some secret in his ear. But… no… it wasn't his ear she was aiming for. Brittany Miller froze in place as she realized what was happening. She clamped her eyes shut, but only moments too late. The picture of them kissing permanently burned into her mind.
She slowly backed away; shaking her head… her hands were trembling…
Then finally she turned away and darted for the door.
By the time Alvin looked up, the bell was chiming again… this time signaling her sudden and abrupt exit. She thought she heard someone calling her name… but she ignored it and continued to run… her footsteps pounding against the pavement.
And that's all she wrote!
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