Chapter 3- I Can't Believe it's Snowing

The fall semester ended without consequence. Theodore and Eleanor seemed to be the only two who were still on good terms with each other, which made it undeniably difficult for everyone to be together. The wind seemed to howl every night and it seemed to get worse leading up to Christmas Day.

"Merry Christmas everyone," Alvin said as he came down the stairs. He was the last one to wake up, as he usually was on Christmas morning. It was noon, but it was dark due to the snow. Alvin opened the door to let their dog, Lilly, in after she had been out. The breeze was crisp and unforgiving.

"Glad you could join us, Alvin," Simon said in this usual crass tone that he took when he was annoyed with Alvin.

"I thought I ought to grace everyone with my presence," Alvin sat down and grabbed a present from Theodore.

Dave came in from the kitchen, where he and Theodore were preparing dinner, "Will Miss Miller and the girls be joining us tonight?"

"I'm not sure what their plans are," Simon said quickly.

"Oh well, I guess it's just us," Dave turned into the kitchen, "Theodore, do you know anything about this."

"Alvin and Brittney are going through something weird right now and Simon and Jeanette are on odd terms," Theodore told Dave, and then continued to beat the potatoes into a fine crème.

"But you and Eleanor are fine I'm assuming."

"Oh yeah things are going great; I'm just worried for Alvin and Brittney. Simon and Jeanette's situation is understood by everyone although we don't like it. Something happened between Alvin and Brittney that nobody knows about."

Alvin walked into the kitchen and the two went silent, "Geez, you two talking about me or something?" he grabbed a drink and left laughing. Someone put on a Decemberists CD in the other room.

"Good song," Dave said.

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?"

The afternoon continued slowly. They opened presents and ate dinner. The conversation was little and long in between. There was no energy in the room. The three brothers went up into their old room after dinner, the room that they had so many happy memories in. For the three, it just didn't seem like the same room without the same emotions. Al l three of them were troubled; now, it seemed that it wasn't going to be the same until everything was fixed. Theodore left to go be with Eleanor for the holidays, leaving Alvin and Simon alone.

The two hadn't been very close over the years. They loved each other as people and brothers, but they were always at each other throats over idealistic differences. Alvin's scheming and Simon's morality clashed frequently.

"Did you hear that Emily and I broke up?"

"Yes, I heard that from Jeanette. Oddly I didn't hear it from you," Simon continued to read an arduous magazine article about genocide.

"Yeah sorry about that, I had to get a little caught up before finals so I spent most of my time in the Library."

"It's not a problem, can you put in that new CD you got?"

"Of course, it's a great album," There was a long silence after that as Simon continued to read and Alvin got on the computer. The two didn't talk for about an hour after that.

"What does this break up mean for you and Brittney?" Simon asked Alvin.

"I'm not sure yet. It might mean we get back together or it might not. I just hope we could be on talking terms again here soon. It's not fun just hanging out with you and Theo all day, no offense."

"None taken, I know what you mean."

"Well, allow me to turn the camera around on you. Why aren't you and Jeanette together again?"

"It's complicated."

"It's not complicated, you're just scared."

"Scared of what? What could I possibly be afraid of?"

"Being tied down at a young age, finding happiness, something of that nature."

"That makes absolutely no sense Alvin. Why would I avoid any of those things?"

Alvin didn't answer; he didn't have one that made any sense. He was just sure that Simon didn't have a reason to not be with her.

"It's not like you should have any right to lecture me, Alvin. Since when are you the master of relationships? It's ridiculous how many girlfriends you've had over the years."

"That was then, this is now. Yeah, I've seen my fair share of women, but that's taught me a great deal about how relationships can be good or bad. What I know for sure is that yours will work if you give it a chance."

"That's not what I'm concerned about. It's just that, she deserves to be given all the attention in the world. She deserves more than I can give her right now. I need to be focus on my future in order to provide the lifestyle she deserves, and, if that means sacrificing my happiness now, I'll do it."

Alvin didn't know what to say. They sat in their room in silence for a while until Simon opted to leave.

Eleanor and Theodore had met up after the girls had dinner with Miss Miller and the two had gone into town to try to get some privacy. Since the others had started fighting, Eleanor and Theodore couldn't get a moment alone, but now that they were back in Hollywood, they could walk around more without being burdened by the cold. It was starting to get dark out as they got to the cross streets of Silverlake boulevard and Sunset Boulevard.

"Weren't you and Vapours going to play a show here?" Eleanor remembered Theodore's band's flirtation with a record contract last year. They got big in LA's Indie scene for a while, playing shows with Elliot Smith and the Silversun Pickups.

"Yeah, we were going to play at some lounge," Theodore usually didn't like to talk about his band because of his almost success. They all were trying to escape their past image as an international pop sensation in years past, but they've come to terms with it. They would always be The Chipmunks.

"Are you guys going to play any shows coming up?"

"We have one we're playing after we get back from break. Hopefully I'll be done mixing the new CD by then," Theodore wasn't paying much attention. Being back in the Silver Lake district brought up too many bad memories, he was close back then to being a legitimate artist. It was one year ago, but it couldn't have seemed like a decade had passed since then.

Eleanor grabbed his arm and held on to it tightly. She had an innate ability to sense when Theodore was distraught. They walked in silence for a while until she broke the silence, "Do you want to go to the Mix Lounge? Maybe some good bands will be there."

"Do you think that they will be having a show on Christmas Day?"

"Maybe it will be a Jewish band," Eleanor smirked and Theodore laughed. She always knew how to make him feel better.

By the next day, Theodore hadn't come home. This wasn't something completely out of the ordinary; they've been known to wander about town until the early hours of the morning. Simon and Alvin went downstairs to find breakfast already made but Dave was nowhere to be found.

"Where is everyone today" Alvin sat down at the table next to his brother.

Simon gave him the orange juice as he sat down, "Theo didn't come home last night and I'm not rightly sure where Dave is."

"He probably just went into town to grab something," Alvin wasn't sure where Dave was, but he guessed he had shopping to do considering there was very little food left in the house after Christmas.

"You think I should call Theo?"

Alvin stopped eating for a second, "Well there are two possibilities of where he is. He can be asleep at the girls' house or he can still be wandering the town with Eleanor. I don't think that we need to call him in either instance."

"You're probably right, as much as I hate to admit it," Alvin laughed at this response. They continued eating and about five minutes later they heard the front door open.

Alvin looked up, "Dave?"

"No, it's Theo."

"Oh hey Theo, it's nice to see you again," Simon sounded very dry. Theodore sat down at the table with them and grabbed some of the breakfast previous laid out.

"What did you two do last night?"

"Me and Ellie? We went to Silver Lake and checked out some of the new bands on the scene. It was surprising to see that anyone was playing on Christmas Day. Oh yeah, while we were there we got invited to a party downtown on New Year's Eve."

"Do we know who's throwing it?" Simon looked skeptical, but Alvin looked excited.

"The lead singer from Leon Goes to the Grocery Store is throwing it but it's not at his place. Remember him? We played at the same venues for a while."

Alvin got up and grabbed the newspaper, "That sounds like a good time. Where is it at?"

"It's being held at some guy's house. I have the address of the place it's at; it's somewhere in Silver Lake."

Alvin was now thoroughly entrenched in the newspaper," Silver lake it is then! Who all is going to be there? Anyone we know?"

"Just people on the music scene, there will be a live band playing and we're now officially on the list."

"Who's all included in 'we'?" Alvin said as he put down the paper.

"It really depends on who all wants to go. We and the girls all have invites available, but Eleanor and I are the only ones on the list."

"What's the cover then?"

"Eh, it's like ten bucks."

Simon got up and put his dishes away, "Well, if I have nothing else to do on NYE then I'll go, but I'm not as well versed in the music scene here in Hollywood. I just won't know anybody outside of you two and the girls if they go," he walked into the other room.

"Well Simon might be less than enthused, but I'm really excited," Alvin stood up and put his dishes away. Theodore finished as well and followed his lead.

"Alvin, are you sure you will be able to go if Brittney goes?"

Alvin contemplated this for a while, "I… yes I can. We worked things out and we're both ready to move on."

"Really?" Theodore looked at him skeptically, "You worked out all of your issues?"

Alvin looked away, then back at him, "Absolutely!" He started to step away, "Everything's good between us now."

"Then why don't you too ever talk anymore?" Theodore started to walk with him.

"It's just better to separate for a while afterwards so we can give each other space."

"I guess that's completely reasonable," Theodore looked at him, "You want to go into the city tonight with me and Ellie? We're going to see a show at The Underground, it should be fun."

"That sounds fun, but didn't you two see a show last night?"

"Only like ten minutes of it. There was a reason they were playing on Christmas Day; they sucked."

Alvin laughed, "Cool, I'll be upstairs, and I'll see you tonight."

That night, Theodore and Alvin drove over to the Miller's house to pick up Eleanor. They approached their old Victorian home, which was in a similar style to their house. It creaked when the wind blew, the ceilings leaked in hard rains regardless of how many times they had it repaired, but they stayed in it regardless of what happened. As they approached the old house, they could feel it breathe in and out with the swaying of the wind. It was as if it was alive.

"I'll give Ellie a call." Theodore grabbed his phone and started to call her.

Alvin closed his phone, "Is there really any need? We're already here; we'll just knock on the door," Theodore reached out to stop Alvin from knocking on the door, but the door opened before he had the chance to knock.

"Hey Theo, and Alvin? I wasn't expecting you tonight." Eleanor had opened the door and began to walk out.

"I hope it's alright that I invited him," Eleanor grabbed him and pulled him aside.

"It's fine, but-"she was interrupted by someone coming outside.

"Ellie, I'm ready to go," Brittney paused for a second, "Hey Theo, Alvin, you two ready for a cool show?"

Theodore got a text from Eleanor, I'm sorry; I didn't think you were inviting Alvin.

Alvin and Brittney continued to converse about the show, yeah, we probably should have talked it over, but it seems like they're getting along well enough.

It looks like everything will be fine, after that text, Eleanor put her phone away and she said, "Who's playing tonight, do we know?" She was fully aware of who was playing that night considering her and Theodore organized this whole thing.

Theodore grabbed a flyer out of his pocket, "Hmm, I've never heard of any of these bands," he handed the flyer to Eleanor.

"Let me see," Alvin grabbed it.

"Since when have you been into the Indie scene around here, Alvin?" Brittney was quick to call Alvin on his obvious bluff. It had always been Theodore who was into Indie, especially around Hollywood. It trickled down to Eleanor in a big way until they were both Hipsters, which Brittney always thought was funny.

"I love Indie, Brittney. It's my favorite kind of music," Alvin continued to read the flyer, examining the bands names very carefully.

"Oh really, well then name one band that Theodore didn't play with that's big from this area."

"Uhh, Devendra Banhart, that's one." He barely hesitated, where did all of this knowledge come from? Brittney looked to Theodore, waiting for confirmation. Theodore picked up on this and started to talk.

"Well, technically he's Venezuelan and from Colorado, but he did played here to get his big break," Brittney was pacified by this.

The ride down to Silver Lake, but it seemed to be the longest trip of any of their lives. There wasn't tension; it was an odd feeling that none of them could put their finger on. It was colder than it should be in Southern California. They had just been on the East Coast, so the change to bitter temperatures here really irked Brittney. She made it well known in the car how she felt.

They arrived at the venue to see a huge crowd waiting on the outside. Roughly 200 people were trying to get in; seeing their first born, giving watches and jewelry, begging, pleading, and hoping for a chance to get in. When they saw this riot scene, they were understandably confused.

"Theo, I thought that you didn't know any of these bands," Brittney said as they got out of the car, "Why would people be clamoring to get in?"

"Maybe it's like a 'Where's Fluffy' kind of thing," Eleanor retorted. Theodore sighed, but then gave a weak smile. He couldn't imagine why he didn't know this band. He had been such a big player on the scene for a long time, and being gone for half a year hurt his knowledge of the local scene.

"It could be, I guess it would have to be. I just can't wait until 'Are you Randy?' shows up instead," they all had a good laugh and walked to the front of the crowd. They were on the list after all; they should have been able to get in. The bouncer looked intimidating; a product of throwing out drunken people and breaking up good times.

"Names?" He was much calmer than he seemed.

"Theo and Alvin Seville, and Brittney and Ellie Miler. We should be on the list."

"Theo and Eleanor, I'm assuming, yeah you two can get in. The other two, you're not on the list."

"They're not on the list, but you should let them in," Eleanor was flirting with disaster with this comment.

"I could, or I could not let any of you in."

Alvin held Eleanor back, "It's alright L, we'll just go do something else. Theo, can you give me the keys?" Theodore threw him the keys, "We can go to another show or something."

"Alvin-," Theodore was stopped by Brittney.

"It's fine, this seems lame anyway," The bouncer laughed at this. Brittney and Alvin got in the car, "Try not to get into too much trouble tonight you two!"

"I could say the same for you two," Eleanor responded. The two went inside, and Alvin and Brittney left.

"Where exactly are we headed, Alvin?" Brittney asked him as she changed the radio station.

"I'm not exactly sure at this point, we could go into Silver Lake, or we could go to a bar or something."

"Oh, we could go to the 4100!"

"That place is a total dive, and I don't really want any PBR tonight."

"Well, it's really cheap. Do you plan on having any money anytime soon because I seem to recall us both being broke."

Alvin paused, "I forgot how stubborn you can be."

"I could say the same about you."

It took them no time to get to the 4100. It was a dive, but it had hipster charm. They stood out like sore thumbs; no scarves, pea coats or parliament cigarettes. They wandered into the hazy scene, hitting the bar first. It was cheap beer night.

"Pabst Blue Ribbon, so good," Alvin said with a sarcastic tone.

"It's 25 cent beer night, don't be mad at what kind it is," Brittney leaned in and talk softly to the bartender, "Two PBRs please."

"Right away, miss."

Alvin looked away, "Wow, Brittney, try not to flirt too hard."

"Oh shut up, it's not like it should matter to you."

Alvin went silent after that. It shouldn't have mattered to him, but it did. The rest of the night went that way. Most of the time, they were separate from each other, talking to the local twenty somethings and slowly forgetting the other one was there. The cheap beer flowed like water, and it was the Nile River that night at the 4100.

"How do you hipsters like PBR? It's way to hoppy," Alvin said as he finished another.

A nameless hipster replied, "I just like it, it's good, man." He paused for a second, "Wait, aren't you Alvin, of The Chipmunks?"

Alvin was taken aback, but he stood up and announced to the bar, "Indeed, I am Alvin of The Chipmunks," He was instantly surrounded by old fans. He was the toast of the bar.

Brittney saw him from the other side of the bar, I can't believe he would just whore himself out like that, he's been running from his past for years now, but know he embraces it? How ludicrous. She finished her last beer, We ought to go before it gets too late, Ellie and Theo will need to get home too. She sent Eleanor a text asking when they want to get picked up, then she approached Alvin.

"Alvin, we should get a cab and get out of here."

"I don't know, the people love me here. Why would I leave that?"

"Come on, we both need some rest, let's get back home."

"No Brittney," Alvin stood up and confronted her, "Why would I want to go with you when I can be with people that adore me? You would probably just cast me aside like before."

"It's not like that, I didn't cast you aside."

"You didn't? I remember being dumped for… hmm, the reason has escaped me. What was the reason again?"

She smacked him and walked away in tears, "Are you being serious right now? What gives you any right for you to be mad with me? You reaped the consequences of the seeds you sowed."

He stood in shock, and then sat back down, "I guess I'll stay,"

She walked back to the venue that Theodore and Eleanor were at. The night was cold and silent; she felt something cold and wet on her cheek. She looked up, into the night's sky.

"I can't believe it's snowing."

Theodore and Eleanor made their way through the streaming crowd to get to the bar area, which is vacant enough for them to breathe.

"I wonder why it's so packed today for a show with just local bands. It's never like this," He turned to Eleanor, whose mind was wandering. She looked over to him and smiled.

"What was that?" She had to yell, it was much too loud.

"Just thinking aloud," He started to yell too. The bartender was standing behind them, waiting for orders but not getting any.

"Hey, buddy. If you aren't going to order anything, vacate the bar," the bartender was acting rather unpleasant.

"Alright, but one thing before we go, who's playing here tonight?"

"You don't know? Islands showed up and decided to play a cheap show."

Eleanor turned around, "That's why it's so crazy here tonight."

"Thanks man," Theodore turned to Eleanor, "Do you want anything to drink before we get in that crowd?"

"Sure, Gin and tonic I guess," she smiled and lit a cigarette.

"Interesting choice," he laughed, "Gin and Tonic and a Tecate."

"Interesting choice? You're the one that only drinks Mexican beer."

"I don't only drink Mexican beer. It's just the one you see me drink the most."

The opening band came onto stage and the lights got dim. They were about what would be expected from an opening band, they were good but nobody cared. Islands were what people were here and Eleanor stayed near the back and finished their drinks before getting closer. Theodore led the way through the crowd until they settled in the middle, stage left. Islands came on stage, and they started with some of their older stuff. Eleanor wasn't a big fan, she liked The Unicorns more, but Theodore adored Islands. After the first intermission, the frontman Nick Thornburn, approached the audience.

"How is everyone doing tonight?" He said in a slight French accent. The crowd responded with an amorphous cheer, "Well that's fantastic. I heard that someone from a local band is here tonight. I band that used our most recent album's namesake for their name. When we heard that, we were ecstatic. It's very humbling to have someone respect us by naming themselves after something we made. Is he actually here? If you are just respond at any time."

"Yeah, I'm here," The crowd looked around for a while, trying to put a face to the words spoken. Theodore started to make his way to the stage with Eleanor.

"Ah this is the guy. I give you, the drummer for local favorite Vapours, Theo Seville," Theodore climbed onto the stage and received warm recognition, "He's a pretty good drummer and if J'aime T wasn't here, he would probably tear it up with us."

Theodore was a little embarrassed and he said, "Wow, it's a real honor to be up here, it's kinda surreal in a way."

Nick responded, "it's nice to have you here. I've heard you have a new album coming out?"

"Yeah, I've actually finished mixing it and it drops next week."

"Do you have any copies with you?

"I do actually have two copies here in my coat. One is for someone already so I can't give that away, but I'll give this other one to the first person that asks for it once I get off stage," the venue erupted in cheers and Theodore jumped off stage. As soon as he got off, someone had the album. It was taken, passed or otherwise until most everyone had seen it by the end of the show.

Eleanor helped him down, "Who's the other copy for?" The show began again.

Theodore smiled, "It's for you of course," He pulled it out of the interior pocket of him pea coat.

She laughed, "It's quite an honor to get something from the famous Theodore Seville."

He blushed faintly and then laughed, "enough with that, I'm not famous."

"Just don't forget me when you get big, okay."

He brushed the golden hair from her face, "Never." Time seemed to slow around them as they came together. The heat from the crowd seemed like nothing compared to their love. She pulled away.

"One second, I have a text," She flipped open her phone and read it.

"Who's it from?"

"Brittney, she says they're ready to go when we are," she laughed, "They went to the 4100."

"We'll take a cab there then drive back."

The moved their way through the crowd, the band was just finishing up when they got out of the door. The bracing cold hit them like a wall, something unusual for southern California.

Theodore hailed a cab and helped Eleanor in, "I can't believe it's snowing," she said as they drove off.