AN: Thanks to all who reviewed… you inspire me ;) Anyway I apologize in advance for the short chap, but I thought this would be the perfect point to break… please r/r!
While their siblings are… occupied, Simon and Jeanette are walking through the school halls, talking… sort of. They chat amiably about class, their teachers, classmates and projects, but occasionally fall silent. It's pretty evident that both have quite a bit on their minds. The silence is companionable, however, and as they walk, Jeannette's swinging hand sometimes bumps into Simon's. Each time this happens, they stop walking, blush, and stammer a random statement about school or homework.
"S-s-so… I heard you're well on your way to becoming valedictorian…"
'W-well… my only competition DID move away for awhile…' Jeanette looks at Simon timidly as she talks, her cheeks burning.
"Does that mean you want me to move back?"
'NO… I mean… no… I welcome healthy competition… it's not such a big deal to me, anyway…'
"Really?" Simon's piercing stare is unnerving, as he looks at her with an unreadable expression.
'Y-yes… you know I never was that competitive…'
"Says the girl who won the Miss Wonderful pageant in elementary school…"
'With Alvin's help!' Jeanette is blushing furiously now. Of course Simon would remember THAT…
"Jeannette…" Simon suddenly stops walking and turns to face her, "You won because you were you… never forget that…"
'W-w-why would I forget that?'
Shrugging, Simon quickens his pace slightly, forcing her to hurry a little to catch up to him.
'Simon…'
"Yeah?"
'H-how did you know?' Jeanette's cheeks are burning again, this time with shame.
"I have my sources…" Simon's kind smile seems to put her at ease, as they carry on walking through the hall, stopping to peer into empty classrooms. They walk in silence for awhile, until Jeanette bursts out, "You weren't there…"
Stopping in his tracks, Simon turns to face his companion. The expression of sadness, defiance and hurt on his supposed best friend's face tugs at his heart. Opening the door of an empty classroom, he leads her by the hand to the teacher's desk, where they hop up and sit side by side. When she finally speaks, Jeanette's voice is low, and she looks at her feet while talking.
'I'd lost my best friend… and I didn't know why… Brittany and Eleanor were so upset in their own way… I couldn't go to them and tell them I was hurting too... and you know I was never the most popular girl in school- Miss Wonderful notwithstanding…' Jeanette breaks off with a wry smile, while Simon, who had been looking at her with an unreadable expression, offers a tentative smile in return.
'I guess… school was the only thing I had… the only thing I was good at. The only thing I could control… I had to be the best… because I didn't really have anything else to look forward to… Competition kept my mind off… things…'
"There's nothing wrong with competition, Jeanette… but you didn't have to let it take over your life like you did… you didn't have any friends, you were pushing your sisters away… and even when I moved back, you wanted nothing to do with me…"
'You wanted nothing to do with ME while you were gone… why didn't you call, Simon? Even a random email talking about how you'd met the girl of your dreams over there and planned on living happily ever after would have been better… why did you guys just shut us out so completely?'
Simon looks cornered. Looking into Jeanette's tear filled eyes, he let out a long, shuddering sigh. "I wish I could tell you… you don't know how badly I wanted you there… how badly I needed you at that point… but it just isn't my story to tell…"
His pained expression moves her and Jeanette's lips curve into one of the few genuine smiles to grace her face in the last few years. Taking his hand, she gently laces their fingers, bringing his hand to her lips softly.
'I don't know what happened, Si… and I don't know what you went through, but I hate the thought of you having to go through what you did alone… You have your reasons for not being able to talk to me… and for now, I'll accept that… but I'm your best friend, and if there's anything you need to talk about, I'm here. Best friends always are…'
Simon looks up at her, grateful. Taking in her beautiful, sympathetic eyes, her messy braid and her preppy lavender sweater, he feels a familiar thudding in his chest. "Jeanette…" he finally says, " you were never my best friend…"
Disappointed, Jeanette looks at the ground, only to have Simon cup her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him.
"You were always FAR more…"
Leaning forward, he kisses her briefly on the lips, before pulling back and looking at her with a frightened expression on his reddened face.
"I'M SORRY… I mean… I only… and I always wanted… and you were being so understanding… and… and - " Simon is silenced by Jeanette's lips on his. After a few minutes, they break apart, goofy expressions on their faces.
'That was…'
"Wow…"
Blushing, they simultaneously look down at their hands, before snapping to attention with twin expressions of horror.
"THEODORE!!!"
Scrambling to their feet, the chipmunk and chipette race down the hall, hand in hand.