Time continued to crawl by. Every day had been pretty much the same since the very first time Brittany had purged.

She had to change her morning routine up quite a bit to accommodate herself. She would now wake up and go eat breakfast with Jeanette and Eleanor first. She needed to eat in front of her sisters so that they wouldn't grow suspicious again.

But she told them she would now be eating breakfast earlier, so she could shower afterward and avoid being super late again. She felt fortunate that they seemed to believe it this time.

So Brittany would have her breakfast and then go "take her shower". She would then run the water and the whole vicious pattern would repeat itself. She didn't even bother fighting the urge to purge anymore. It was better than allowing herself to get fat from all the food she had consumed.

She would brush her teeth and use the mouthwash. Then she would finally get into the shower that was still running and allow the smells of the body wash, shampoo and conditioner she was using to help mask any sign of what she had been doing. Then she would finally be dressed, made up and ready for school.

This worked out better because now she would end up leaving after both her sisters most of the time. Of course, the plan still wasn't perfect. She still physically felt like crap immediately after purging every single time. And sometimes, she would have to sit there for a while to recover as a result.

This led to Brittany calling the school a few times to say she wasn't coming in because she wasn't feeling well. At least she was being honest this time. But there were still a couple of times she was late to school. This time, she couldn't avoid detention because of it.

And to make things worse, Alvin was in one of the detentions with her. Things were just as awkward as ever between them. They both said hi and that was pretty much it. Alvin tried to talk more to her and even asked her what she was in for.

But the Chipette simply turned up her nose in an attempt to give off the air of confidence everyone expected of her. Even though she knew deep down she was faking it at this point. Brittany desperately needed to keep up appearances.

She simply told him it should be of no concern to him now that they were no longer together and he should be keeping tabs on his new girlfriend, Lindsay, instead. She was gonna need it with that reputation she had.

Brittany then turned her head away. She refused to look at her ex-boyfriend. More to the point, she refused to look into his eyes. Those mesmerizing ocean blue eyes of his. Every time she gazed into Alvin's eyes, she felt like she was falling in love with him all over again. Doing so would hurt way too much now.

Throughout that particular detention, Brittany couldn't fight the feeling that the red-clad Chipmunk had wanted to tell her something. But for some reason, wouldn't just spit it out.

Whatever! She didn't care. Alvin had left her when she needed him the most. So she wasn't interested in anything he had to say.

The holidays had been particularly hard on Brittany this year too, with this secret she had been trying to keep hidden. First there was Halloween.

Pretty much every year in the past, Brittany would go to a costume party all the popular kids were invited to. She was actually invited this year as well and was planning on going at first. But then she backed out at the last minute.

First of all, she didn't even have a costume. She went to the local party store to try a few on. She wanted to get a sexy costume. But with every single one she tried on, all she could think about was how fat each one made her look.

Brittany couldn't believe it. She had never had this problem before. Ever. If anything, most people accused her of being vain and full of herself. So why was she no longer happy with her body? Why couldn't she just go back to being the way she was before?

The other reason was that she really didn't want to be around her old cheer squad friends. She knew that if she even tried to approach Erika or Shelby or anyone else on the squad, Missy was going to intervene to tell the other girl she shouldn't be associating with Brittany Miller anymore. Then she would get into it with Brittany about how she shouldn't have even showed up at all.

She would tell Brittany this was supposed to be a party for cool people. And since she was no longer a cheerleader, she was no longer cool.

Brittany actually would've really loved to tell Missy off on this one. She would've told her that if she was really so "uncool" now, she wouldn't have been invited in the first place. But at the same time, she really didn't have the energy to get into it with Missy anymore.

But the most major reason of all that Brittany chose not to go to the party was because of the food. The last thing her reputation needed was for her to be seen stuffing her face in front of half the school, with everyone focusing on what her body looks like now.

Plus, the party was going to be packed. Which meant there was likely going to be a long wait to get into a bathroom. Not exactly ideal conditions for her. It was just better that she not be tempted by the junk food there at all.

So Brittany spent Halloween just basically locked up in her bedroom. She spent her time painting her fingernails and toenails and looking at a bunch of magazines she had. Jeanette was downstairs handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters the entire time. But what was most concerning was Brittany's behavior that night.

It happened just a little bit after midnight, when Jeanette and Eleanor had gone to sleep. Brittany was actually having trouble sleeping, so she went downstairs and was going to watch tv for a bit. That was when she passed the orange bowl of candy that was sitting right on the kitchen table in plain sight.

Without even thinking about it, the teenage Chipette pulled out a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and started munching on it. The next thing she knew, she was pulling out more candy. Various types. She wasn't even really tasting any of the candy at this point, just opening the wrappers and scarfing it all down. Soon enough, all the candy that didn't get handed out to the trick-or-treaters was gone.

Brittany went back up the her room, carrying the open, empty candy wrappers with her. She shoved them all underneath her bed. She didn't want anyone to find them.

The Chipette then immediately went into the bathroom to get rid of all the candy she had just consumed. And as was starting to become routine for her, she sat there crying after purging when the feeling of relief faded away. Feeling like she was in Hell and wondering when this was going to finally stop.

On top of feelings of guilt and shame over that night's binge and purge, Brittany had to deal with her sisters noticing there was no candy left. Eleanor was going to bring some to Theodore and noticed the bowl was empty.

Jeanette commented on how strange that was. After all, there had still been plenty of candy left over when she handed out a piece to the last trick or treater for the night. The bespectacled Chipette decided to ask her older sister if she knew what had happened to the rest of the candy.

Brittany made up a story about how after Jeanette and Eleanor had gone to bed, she was having trouble sleeping. So she went downstairs to watch tv. And while she was in the middle of a movie she found during channel surfing, some late night trick-or-treaters came by. They seemed sad that nobody was answering the door this late. So she gave them all the candy the Millers had to make up for it.

"Well, that was - that was awfully nice of you, Brittany." Jeanette commented, trying very hard to keep the skepticism she felt from coming out in her voice.

"Yeah well, you know how generous I am. Especially when it comes to little kids." Brittany replied with a smirk.

She was actually really proud of herself for being so quick on her feet. And the best part was, she was actually telling a half truth this time!

But the middle Miller sister was still left with some serious doubts in her mind that she decided not to tell Brittany about. She really wanted to believe her big sister. But there was something about her story that didn't add up.

It's not that Brittany was incapable of being nurturing when it came to children or anything. After all, Jeanette did remember the time when the three of them had volunteered as candy stripers at the children's hospital. She recalled how Brittany had comforted little Bobby right before his tonsillectomy.

But what Jeanette couldn't help wondering was why anybody would be out trick-or-treating that late at night. Especially children who were as young as Brittany seemed to imply they were. It just didn't make any sense to the purple-clad Chipette.

But she decided not to push Brittany any further about it. Jeanette really hated confrontation. Especially when it came to her sisters. And she was even a little scared of Brittany's temper at times.

Thanksgiving and Christmas proved to be even bigger challenges for the auburn-haired Chipette. For Thanksgiving, Dave invited the girls over to have dinner with the Sevilles. He knew how hard the holidays had been for them ever since Miss Miller passed away last year.

Brittany really didn't want to go. She hated the idea of being surrounded by all that food. However, she realized everyone would be suspicious if she stayed home.

The pink-clad Chipette was internally freaking out at the Thanksgiving dinner. There was no way she could do what she normally did during meals with her sisters here. Especially not in front of Alvin.

She refused to pig out in front of her ex-boyfriend. She needed to look fabulous in front of him at all times, so that he would realize what he had given up.

Brittany looked down at her plate of turkey, sweet potatoes and cranberries. She decided she would take small bites here and there. She would also cut the turkey up into tiny pieces and push all the food on her plate around to make it look like she was eating more than she truly was.

Luckily for her, nobody was really paying much attention to Brittany anyway. Theodore and Eleanor were both busy running back and forth to the kitchen as they got out several of the dishes they had prepared. Simon and Jeanette were busy trying to figure out a studying schedule for midterms.

Alvin had apparently been grounded for the next two weeks. Brittany wasn't sure exactly what he did this time, but he was busy pleading with Dave to try to get his sentence reduced. But the boys' father refused to back down.

So for once in her life, Brittany Miller was genuinely very happy not to be the center of attention this time. That made this whole event she had been dreading just a little easier for her.

When the pie came out, Brittany declined and said she was full. This wasn't really unusual. The blue-eyed Chipette had often turned down sweets in the past anyway. Still, leaving her plate mostly untouched didn't go totally unnoticed here.

Brittany had gone to sit on the living room couch, while everyone else was eating pumpkin pie in order to avoid temptation. As she was sitting on the couch, someone approached her.

"Brittany, is everything ok?"

The pony-tailed Chipette looked up. It was Dave. He knew Brittany and Alvin had broken up and that Alvin was with Lindsay now. But he didn't know any of the other details. Dave continued to speak.

"I know it's probably not easy being around Alvin after everything that's happened. But I just noticed it looked like you didn't eat very much."

"Yeah, my stomach is bothering me." Brittany responded quickly. "I think I'm coming down with that stomach virus that's been going around school."

"Oh, that's a shame that you're getting sick during the Thanksgiving break. I hope you feel better soon."

"Thanks." The auburn-haired Chipette replied, as she smiled weakly.

And with that, Brittany had made it through Thanksgiving. But soon enough, Christmas Eve had arrived. This time, the Miller sisters were invited over to the Seville house for Christmas Eve dinner.

Brittany did the same thing for this dinner that she had done on Thanksgiving. Once again, Theodore and Eleanor had been preoccupied with bringing out all the food they made. Simon and Jeanette were busy chatting, discussing how great they both did on their midterms, and how they looked forward to a new semester.

Brittany picked at a few of the vegetables while also pushing the slices of ham (which she had cut into small slices) and mashed potatoes around on her plate. At some point during dinner, Dave had left the room to take a phone call. He apologized and said it was for work, so he had to. This meant that currently, there was only one other person at the table who wasn't busy talking to somebody else.

"Hey, I know that trick!"

The young Chipette looked up to see a certain red-capped Chipmunk staring right at her. Alvin had previously been sitting right across from her. But at some point, he must have moved over to Dave's chair while he was out of the room. This put him right next to Brittany, much to her displeasure.

"What do you mean?" Brittany asked nervously, while blinking in confusion.

"Pushing the food on your plate around to make it look like you're eating. I used to do that when Dave would try to make me eat vegetables I didn't want."

Alvin had a look of pride on his face, clearly proud that he knew how to deceive Dave at such a young age. His proud expression then quickly changed to one of concern.

"But why are you doing it? You've barely touched your food."

Brittany rolled her eyes and huffed.

"Well obviously, I'm not some five year old trying to get out of eating my vegetables." She snapped at her ex-boyfriend. "So maybe I'm just not hungry! Did you ever consider that? Do I really have to sit here stuffing my face to convince you I'm ok?"

"Well... no ... it's just..."

"I don't know who you think you are, sticking your nose in my personal business, anyway! You lost that right the moment you decided to bail on our relationship."

"Brittany, I just..."

The oldest Chipette shook her head and pushed her plate back.

"You know what? Now I really have lost my appetite. I'm leaving. Just tell Dave I was too tired to stay because of all the last minute Christmas shopping I did earlier."

The eldest Chipmunk watched as his ex-girlfriend grabbed her jacket from the living room and walked out the door, heading back to the Miller house next door.

The red-clad Chipmunk was left sitting there with a confused look on his face. Granted, Brittany had always had a temper. And this was definitely not the first time she's yelled at him since he's known her.

She wasn't normally this touchy though. All he did was ask her why she wasn't eating much. That shouldn't have caused her to freak out the way that she did.

Alvin continued looking at the door after Brittany had left. He was becoming worried about his ex-girlfriend. She just hadn't been acting like herself lately. He knew her knee was doing a little better now. She should be able to go to all the hottest parties being thrown again.

Alvin always knew about all the parties that were held, because his friends from all the sports teams he was on hosted a lot of them. So he knew for a fact that Brittany had been getting invited. Yet, she hadn't been showing up.

Not even to the Halloween party, which was one of the biggest events of the year. Alvin had really been looking forward to seeing what costume she chose. He knew she would look hot, no matter what she wore.

Normally, a huge fight between him and Brittany would take place right before the costume party. She would always want to do some kind of couples costume with him. But he would always refuse.

He would dress up as one of the monsters from his favorite monster movies instead, while Brittany went as the female character of whatever couple costume she wanted by herself. They would stay mad at each other until they actually got to the party and started having fun.

He knew about Brittany's fall out with the rest of the cheerleaders. But that shouldn't have been enough to stop such a determined, headstrong girl like Brittany from going to all these parties. It's not like she had ever been afraid to put girls like Missy Snootson in their place before.

Meanwhile, Brittany had just returned to her own place with tears in her eyes. She knew she was being rude. Not only did she leave before the gift exchange, she didn't even say goodbye to anyone.

However, she didn't care at this moment. She just couldn't take being confronted by Alvin about the way she was eating. She felt so cornered! She had no choice but to leave.

The teen Chipette threw her jacket onto a kitchen chair and made her way over to the refrigerator. She found some mac and cheese left over from last night's dinner. She popped it into the microwave, inhaling the cheesy aroma of cheddar sauce while it was cooking.

When the mac and cheese was ready, Brittany grabbed a fork from the drawer. She started digging in, straight out of the bowl. She devoured the whole portion of mac and cheese that was in the large ceramic bowl. She put the bowl and fork in the dishwasher when she was done.

With her brain on autopilot, Brittany headed straight to the bathroom to purge and followed it with a nice, warm bubble bath. She was actually looking forward to this bath because she got to try out some new Christmas-themed scented products.

Just a little something she decided to pick up for herself while she did her Christmas shopping this morning. She enjoyed taking in the smell of cinnamon, gingerbread and peppermint.

Brittany sighed. She normally loved Christmas. So many amazing memories with Miss Miller and her sisters there.

Picking out a Christmas tree, decorating the tree and house, performing in Christmas plays, caroling and singing Christmas songs with the school choir. And the best parts of all, Christmas shopping and opening presents! What wasn't there to love about Christmas?

But this year, she just couldn't get into the spirit. It felt stressful and depressing to her, instead of joyous like it should. But at least it was almost over for the year. In fact, this whole horrible year was almost over. Brittany was so grateful for that! Although she didn't exactly have high hopes for next year either.

Soon enough, it was New Year's Eve. The Chipettes went over to the Seville home for a small New Year's Eve get-together. Brittany originally thought this gathering would be a little bit easier, since it was late and nobody was really going to expect her to eat this time. All that was being served were tiny appetizers.

The tv was on the channel with the Times Square ball drop. As scenes of New York City were flashing on the tv just minutes before midnight, all the chipmunks got into place. Simon and Jeanette stood to the left side of the tv with their arms wrapped around each other, while Theodore and Eleanor did the same on the right.

Brittany and Alvin sat on opposite ends of the couch, barely looking at each other. She just thanked God Lindsay wasn't there. She didn't think she could take seeing those two lovebirds locking lips at midnight.

The countdown from 10 started on the tv as the ball began falling. When the shouts of Happy New Year! started roaring from the tv, Simon and Jeanette kissed, as did Theodore and Eleanor. Then suddenly, Brittany felt an all too familiar pair of lips pressed against her own.

Instinctively, she closed her eyes and accepted the kiss. For a moment, it felt like she and Alvin were still together and had never broken up. But then the kiss broke apart.

All Brittany could do after that was stare right into the red-clad Chipmunk's terrified blue eyes. What the hell was that about?

"Brittany, I'm sorry." The Chipmunk started to say. "I shouldn't have..."

Brittany wanted to slap him across his face right then and there. And if she wasn't so busy trying to fight back the tears that were stinging her eyes at the moment, she probably would have.

She still refused to let Alvin see her cry. That much hadn't changed, at least.

The pink-clad Chipette stood up.

"I have to go." Was all she said.

But before she grabbed her jacket, she went into the kitchen. All the appetizers were lying out on the table. Brittany looked around carefully. Nobody was watching. Alvin did not even bother chasing after her. But why would he?

Brittany grabbed a festive napkin from the table, spread it out and opened up her pink purse. Without even thinking much about what she was doing, she just started grabbing a bunch of appetizers. Slices of fruit, crackers, shrimp, pizza bites, pigs in a blanket, whatever she could get her hands on. She stuffed a bunch of the little foods into napkins, not really leaving much behind.

Once done, Brittany went back to her own house. She barely even shut the door behind her when she started opening her purse and eating all the tiny snacks packed in there. She cried as she bit into every single morsel.

She could barely even process what had just happened back at the Seville house. Alvin had kissed her and then apologized for it! Of all the things to say he's sorry over! How could he play with her emotions like that?

Once Brittany ate all the food she had brought back with her, she went to the bathroom to purge again, used to the whole routine by now. Yeah, the new year was starting off great!


A/N: Ok, I know I said we'd find out Brittany's future in performing in this chapter. So apologies for that. I ended up spending a lot more time on the holidays than I expected to and it was starting to run long. This just felt like the right spot to end it in. I felt it was important to show how Brittany makes it through the holidays in this story.

But at least there was plenty of interaction between Alvin and Brittany, just like I promised! Pretty intense, huh? What did you think of Alvin confronting Brittany over her new eating habits? And what do you think about the way Brittany reacted to it? Think he'll figure out what's wrong anytime soon?

And how about the kiss between Alvin and Brittany? Were you expecting that? Why do you think he did it?

This chapter was a roller coaster ride! Honestly, it ended up taking a lot of surprise turns even I wasn't expecting. I never really know what direction these characters will have me take things in when I write out each chapter. But that's a huge part of what makes it so fun!

But I will get to the part where Brittany finds out what will happen as far as performing goes very soon!

So I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! I definitely look forward to hearing what you thought in the reviews! Thank you again for all your support, everyone!