Hello, Readers! I'm talking to you hear and now. I would like to start off with (since I didn't earlier) that I do not own the Chipmunks or the Chipettes (They belong to Bagdasarian Productions) and the respective songs mentioned belong to their respective domains (singers/songwriters). I only own the story. Happy reading and happy writing!
Simon's Point of View
Jeanette's breakdown worried me, she never broke down like that and she didn't speak, she only sobbed. I could never take it when a girl cried, let alone Jeanette and although I only whispered the same sentence to her, I held her close. It took Dave to break us apart; we were stuck like glue and at first I held on to her for dear life.
"Simon?" Dave had said, "It's okay; you're both okay." His words were not convincing and not knowing if I'd comforted Jeanette or not, I sat by her during breakfast and worried even more when I saw that she wouldn't eat anything; she was never one to skip a meal, she knew how important breakfast was. Instead of eating, she just played with the cut up pieces of toaster waffles with her small fork. Had I given her the same flu that I had? I quickly panicked and shuffled away slightly only to be pulled back by her hand. I could feel her trembling, sensed her fear and there was nothing I could about it. I asked her multiple times what was wrong, but she just sat with her lip quivering.
I had to convince her to take a walk with me, saying it wouldn't be enjoyable otherwise, even if it was just out back. She obliged to my request, but without a smile or any sign of happiness. Her tail hung limp and her ears dropped down against her head.
The walk had no particular destination, Alvin had people setting up the stage at the edge of The Gardens and school had a long half-hour before starting. Dave had no problem with the walk as long as we were back soon so he could drive us to school.
"Would you like to rehearse?" I asked after having no success of getting her to talk. I stared at her, eye to eye, whatever she felt right now, it wasn't eagerness.
"No," She spoke softly, like she would get in trouble otherwise, "if I sing a duet with you, it's going to be in a concert." That meant I had to wait until tomorrow; the agonizing wait was killing me. Though disappointed, I still smiled. Jeanette spoke for the first time today and my day was made.
"I missed hearing your voice this morning." I said, making her smirk lightly.
"Simon, it was just a bad dream. No reason to be concerned." The truth was, I'd passed concerned a long time ago, she was upset and that broke my heart, shattered my thoughts; instincts had to take over and that was the only time I started to act like we were in a relationship. I had no right to do that, to come out of my shell only when she was hurt or sad. Our relationship was only a dream, our kiss probably an accident and our hugs were only to comfort each other; she was affectionate, but she often stuck to her thoughts, leaving me in the dark. Of course, there was always that little part of me that thought and hoped that she liked me and actually wanted to kiss me. No matter what, I wouldn't stop looking out for her. She was still, in my head, mine. Have I dreamed about her? Yes, she appeared to me often, but it wasn't real though, and real Jeanette meant everything more to me than dream Jeanette. I was not at all reassured.
The bell for lunch rang and rather than eating for the hour given, I decided to visit The Gardens and see how the stage was looking. Luckily West Eastman was close, only a block away; I would surely make it back before the bell.
"You going to The Gardens?" Alvin questioned me as I stepped outside.
"Where else?" I answered back.
"Hmph, okay, but be careful, the stage might have some pieces flying around." Alvin winked at me with an evil grin. I hated when he played these kinds of jokes.
I immediately hopped as fast as my legs and paws would take me, too tired to worry about what further damage had been done and taking Alvin's joke to heart. I wish I'd given it more thought. What I first saw was horrifying; the fifteen acre land that was once blooming with flowers was now swarmed by weeds. Fallen leaves from the dying trees fed the plants on the ground and death waited for the remaining flowers.
I completely forgot about the stage and dashed for the lone violet, praying it was still alive. Weeds grew fast and killed faster, I didn't like the violets odds.
The rare flower was found surrounded by a patch of weeds, alive, but surely in need of rescue. What else was I supposed to do other than disobey Dave and save it? I was told to rest, but the flower was more important; I broke my promise to Dave out of my own consciousness. After picking the weeds around the violet and even singing to it, my head broke out into a burst of dizziness.
"I am not sick." I screamed in my head, "I will not succumb to a simple sickness."
Looking around, I didn't know what to think. The memory of the beautiful time I had with the beautiful Jeanette at this beautiful place not too long ago was beginning to fade, as did my hope that this plan would work. My, how things change so quickly. Everything so beautiful was dying and the effect it was having on Jeanette made The Gardens current state only a small part of what occupied my mind. I glared up at the large stage that Alvin's people were setting up at the edge of The Gardens. Where Alvin found people to tolerate working for him I'll never know, but I guess anyone would want to work for a celebrity.
The stage was pretty much set up; huge steel columns held up the bright lights, a red curtain separated the performing area with the back room, and the performing platform was two feet off the ground, the platform I would perform my first duet with Jeanette.
"This is going to work." I whispered to myself.
I rushed back to school minutes before the bell that would signal the ending of lunch. The cafeteria was nearly empty, save for a few students sitting at the closest table to the exit. I noticed Jeanette sitting at the back table alone with paper that I assumed had the song we were to perform on it.
"Be cool, Simon." I thought, "Talk to her, small talk first, then move on to serious." When I thought serious, I knew that meant The Gardens and her bad dream. I couldn't believe I still had trouble talking to her, but I could see her smile from all the way across the room as she saw me, and that always made me giddy; or nauseous, whatever the feeling was, I liked it. "Hi, Jeanette." I said calmly. She smiled when I walked up to her. She crossed her arms shyly, the sign of insecurity. I hoped that one day soon she wouldn't do that when I was nearby. I wanted her and I wanted to feel that she wanted me. I had the urge to greet her with a hug, but it passed as she spoke.
"Hi, Simon." Her smile made me rethink why I was talking to her, why I would bring up a serious and sad topic rather than enjoy the conversation we could have. Today, we could talk comfortably to each other, no sorrow in our voices, no danger in our thoughts. I secretly hoped that I wouldn't start stuttering again, I wanted to talk with her. I wanted to cherish this rare moment.
"Why are you here alone?" I asked and looked around for her sisters who usually sat and ate with her.
"Brittany ran off with Alvin," Jeanette giggled, "and Eleanor has cooking club." That left us alone. A minute of awkward silence passed before she said anything else, "I can't wait to perform."
"Me either," I agreed, "It'll be really fun."
"And special." I heard her whisper.
"Special?"
She nodded, "We're saving the violet."
"Your violet." I corrected.
"My violet…" Her eyes lowered to the ground, "A really special concert for my sister and my violet." She took my hand shakily and my cheeks flushed. "And I get to perform with you." I smiled brightly, but I was also confused. Was she flirting with me or was I just imagining it? Either way, I took the chance to flirt back out of the confidence she gave me.
"You're what makes the concert special for Brittany, the violet… and me." Her face lit up and her soft, bushy tail curled back and forth. I couldn't tell whether the sweat in our joined palms was from her or me, but I really didn't care. "I'm scared and happy to sing with you, Jeanette; scared that my voice will crack, knowing how amazing you'll be." Her hand burned and her cheeks puffed in a huge smile.
"Aah… You're making me blush…" She purred quietly. This was the first time she admit to being embarrassed at something I said. Hopefully I wasn't taking things too far. The bell rang before I could say anymore so instead of saying more, I walked her to class, unsure as to whether we were still only friends.
"Okay, guys, I hope you're ready for tomorrow." Dave said on the ride home, "I STILL can't believe that ALVIN organized this whole concert!"
"You know, that hurts, Dave." Alvin frowned, forcing a giggle from Brittany.
"I'm really proud of you, Alvin. You did all this fro Brittany and The Gardens; you're really acting mature."
"Yeah, yeah, I know I'm awesome." Alvin boasted, "Just don't hug me." He crossed his arms and smirked at me, rolling his eyes towards Jeanette. I shook my own head and he gave me a questionable look.
"So what's the plan, Alvin?" Dave asked, "Who's singing what?" Alvin took in a long, deep breath.
"Me, Simon and Theodore open with "We're The Chipmunks," then Jean and El perform "Put Your Records On" by Corinne Bailey Rae, next I'll go up and sing my song and after that, we'll all sing "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO, Theodore wants to sing "Fireflies" by Owl City and finally Simon and Jeanette will sing their song." Alvin was panting as if he'd run a marathon, gasping for air.
"Well, alright then," Dave replied simply, looking surprised through the mirror, "good luck, Fellas."
Jeanette's Point of View
The rest of the afternoon Dave wanted us to rehearse the songs we were going to perform. Eventually after hours of rehearsal with Eleanor and the Chipmunks we decided to relax the rest of the night; everyone other than Theodore, who continued to hum "Fireflies" as we all sat lazily in the living room.
"That was so much fun!" Eleanor chanted, "It's nice to rehearse again, la la laaa!" I laughed as my baby sister held the note before losing breath. She had a strong voice, but whenever she, Brittany and I performed, Brittany often took the lead role, however for Brittany's concert we decided to share the lead vocals in the song we were singing, the song that remained to this date to be one of Brittany's favorites and the minute Alvin announced the concert I knew that this was the song we would perform.
Theodore fell asleep next to Eleanor, making me a little jealous. Although they weren't in a relationship, they were still so comfortable around each other; something me and Simon weren't. Alvin was playing video games with Brittany, who looked bored out of her mind and Simon yawned as he was forced to watch.
"Guess now's as good a time as ever." I thought and scooted closer to Simon, my hand next to his. Brittany noticed me do this and quickly took interest in my attempted flirt.
"Aww, look at you two!" She teased and shoved Alvin, who pretended not to care about the game enough to look over and smirk at Simon, who looked lost. He quickly caught on and blushed at Brittany's comment. I shot her a look saying "Stop!" but she ignored it; I had second thoughts about what she knew about relationships. "Kiss!" Alvin paused his game and took real interest when he heard this, joining my sister's chant.
"Alvin…" Simon grumbled, "I am going to kill you."
"What's wrong, Si?" Alvin grinned, "Afraid to kiss your girlfriend?" Simon opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off from Brittany.
"They already have!" she told Alvin, "They just only kiss in privacy." Alvin whistled towards Simon who turned beet red out of anger. How could Brittany, my own sister blurt everything like this?! If I ever got my hands on her…
"Way to go, Si!" Alvin hopped on the couch and slapped Simon on the shoulder playfully. "Finally getting some action!" I knew Simon would burst any moment. Our siblings were getting this all wrong and both Simon and I knew this. "When did you make your move, huh?" Alvin pestered his older brother, ignoring the grumbles from him. That pushed Simon over the edge; he pushed Alvin as hard as he could. I watched a fight break out as the two brothers shoved and eventually tackled each other into the chords of the gaming system.
"Great." I muttered. The brothers didn't fight often, but this certainly wouldn't be the first time they attacked one another. I turned my attention to Brittany, knowing that once they started, I wouldn't be able to stop them, "Why did you tell him everything?" I scolded.
"I was helping you make your move!" She smiled.
"I didn't need your help! Stop meddling in my business."
"Why, you love him, don't you?" My heart sank, I didn't know if I loved Simon or not, no matter how much thinking, I wouldn't know… Ever.
"I do not!" I answered.
"Well you like him!"
"No!" I screamed without thinking and shut my mouth immediately. "Idiot!" Brittany looked tacken aback and I saw Simon's ears prick up then lower before Alvin tackled him off the TV holder. They hung, tied up in the chords and unable to move.
"Oh, great." Alvin exasperated, "A little help?" He looked at Theodore and Eleanor who woke up during the fighting and failed at being the peacemakers. Simon continued to shoot each other looks as they slowly got untied; both fell as the last chord was loosened and both tried to go at it again.
"Hey, Fellas, stop it!" Dave boomed from behind me, "Go to your room and get to sleep." Everyone started, their heads lowered, ashamed of what happened and I fell behind and hoped Simon would look back, acknowledge me, anything! Brittany slowed down and walked beside me.
"I'm sorry." She whispered.
"Why couldn't you just leave it?" I whimpered, "I was doing fine on my own."
"I thought I knew how I to speed things up for you two." I wasn't sure if I should say anything, she made me lie out loud just to get her to stop bothering me about my romance.
"It's not all her fault." I thought, I should have handled this better; think before you speak, isn't that what they teach you in school?" It took me a minute before responding, but her sad, blue eyes said she was truly sorry. "It's okay." I whispered and she pulled me into a side hug.
"I shouldn't try to control your relationships," She said, "I know you really like him and he really likes you. I should let you take it's course."She looked at Simon who was on Theodore's left side, apart from Alvin.
"Mind telling him that?" I joked, but couldn't even force a smile.
"I think he knows." Brittany replied. As much as I wanted to be with Simon, I knew that I blew it tonight.
"I can kiss my hope of any relationship with him goodbye after tonight." I said sadly, my thoughts and emotions were pouring out now and I couldn't stop them, "I wish I could tell him everything, all I want is for him to care and to know I care." I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, "He's so… great and I do nothing but weep and cry and… and…"
"Hey, don't say that!" Brittany pulled me into a tighter hug and looked me in the eyes, "You are beautiful and the smartest person I know. You'll get him, I'm telling you, he can't pass the chance to go out with you."
"I think I really hurt him…" Brittany seemed to have the answer to every problem I brought up.
"Well, tomorrow you're performing a duet with him; that's the perfect time to sing your heart out. That's your time to be with him and to show him you care!"
"You really think he'd forgive me just because we're singing together?" I asked. Brittany nodded.
"He's wanted to sing with you for a long time; he'll forget all about tonight the moment the music starts playing." Brittany sounded so sure, so confident that things would turn around.
"I hope you're right." I said, dreading what would happen if he didn't.
The loud rumble of a bulldozer shattered my eardrums and I could see Simon sitting in the graveyard of flowers glaring at me.
"I did everything I could." He said coldly, "This is because of you. More than The Gardens died tonight." He held up the dead violet as it evaporated into dust; he turned to leave the ruins of The Gardens.
"Please don't leave!" I called after him; he didn't stop, he continued to move away as if he never heard me which, with the bulldozer, wasn't a surprise.
"Your concert failed!" A rough voice screeched drowning out the rumble. "It didn't end with a bang or a lasting cheer! You failed and it cost you everything!"
I woke, gasping for air and something real to grab onto. Another dream, another nightmare.
"Are you okay, Jeanette?" Simon asked from across the room. No light shone through the small window, it was still either really late or early morning.
"Oh, um, yeah…" I was scared to say anything to him, fear of his reaction, "I'm sorry." That was all I could manage. Understanding what I was talking about, he replied in a soft voice.
"It hurt," He admitted, "It made me wonder what our friendship means to you." Was he accepting my apology or not?
"Please tell me," I begged to myself, "I want to make things right." Every second he stalled pained me ever more.
"But I knew you were mad at Brittany; we say things we sometimes don't mean when we're mad, I'm the same way with Alvin. A weight was lifted off my shoulders and I made a powerful jump across the room over to Simon's bed. He helped me up as I slipped off the edge and I threw my arms around him and he replied by doing the same. This chipmunk that held me in his arms; he still gave me his warmth, he still cared.
There was already a crowd waiting for the performance as we pulled up to The Gardens, which was being admired by many who looked over and noticed them for probably the first time in their lives. The stage was set and kids were lifted by parents to get a better view. Even though it was broad daylight the lights shone on the stage, waiting to be filled by the Chipmunks and me and Eleanor.
"Wow." I whispered as the stage glowered over me and the crowds cheers and clapping rang through my ears… But over everything I still heard the feint rumble of the bulldozer from my dream as it stuck inside my ears.