Next thing Brittany knew, she felt a pair of strong, muscular arms wrapped around her. She immediately recognized them as Alvin's arms. But she was not sure why he was holding her. The last thing she remembered was starting the steps for her new dance routine to The Boys and Girls of Rock N Roll. She remembered the song starting, but not much after that.

Was the song over already? She then noticed her sisters and friends all gathered around her and Alvin. Everyone seemed so worried. What exactly had happened?

"Brittany!" Jeanette shrieked in a panic-stricken voice. "Are you all right?"

"Mmm... yeah... I think so." The eldest Chipette replied in a weak voice, as if struggling to get the words out. "I guess I just got a little dizzy. No big deal."

She was starting to snap back to reality, much to her relief.

"That looked like more than a little dizziness..." Simon cautiously commented.

"How many times do I have to tell you guys I'm fine?" Brittany huffed, still sounding a little weak. "I think I was just dehydrated or something."

Jeanette gazed directly into the eyes of the Chipmunk who was still holding her older sister.

"She should be sitting down." The middle sister informed the red-clad Chipmunk.

Alvin nodded his head and motioned for Jeanette to come over opposite of the side where he was holding onto Brittany. Together, the two of them helped the pink-clad Chipette over to a nearby chair as Alvin put one of her arms around him, while Jeanette placed Brittany's other arm around her and then both walked the fallen Chipette over to the chair. Brittany was literally leaning on her younger sister and ex-boyfriend for support.

The rest of the group had followed as Alvin and Jeanette both eased Brittany down into the chair. She still seemed very out of it and was significantly much paler than anyone had ever seen her before.

Simon then glanced at Theodore, who was standing right next to him.

"We should get some fluids in her if she thinks dehydration is the cause. Do you have a water bottle you can spare?" The bespeckled Chipmunk asked his younger brother.

The green-clad Chipmunk nodded his head and raced over to his green backpack that was sitting right near the door to the music room. He pulled out a fresh, unopened bottle of Aquafina water. Fortunately, Theodore always carried at least two extra water bottles in his backpack with him in addition to the two in his lunchbox.

The youngest Seville brother then made his way back to the now seated Brittany and handed her the water bottle, sincerely hoping it would help her. Brittany gingerly took the bottle of water, twisted the cap off and slowly took small sips.

As Brittany sat in the silver metal folding chair while taking sips of water periodically, the five standing chipmunks all exchanged concerned glances with one another. They had all seen what happened. Right in the middle of working on her choreography, Brittany started to dangerously sway during what should've been a simple move for her. It was painfully obvious she was about to collapse.

Luckily, Alvin had instinctively caught his former girlfriend right before she hit the ground. Thank God the oldest Chipmunk had such fast reflexes! At least they didn't have to worry about her hitting her head and getting a concussion on top of her already fragile state.

By this point, they all knew that something was definitely off about Brittany. Even Simon and Theodore could see it. When they would go over to the Miller house to spend time with their own girlfriends, Brittany was nowhere to be seen these days.

It seemed she would always be hiding in her room, away from the rest of the world now. Not rushing off to some party or the mall. In fact, none of them could even remember the last time they had seen her return home with about a million shopping bags from all the various stores she just HAD to buy something from. Very clearly having spent way more money than she actually had. Brittany had been a shopaholic her whole life, so it was strange not to even hear her talking about a sale or some new outfit she just HAS to have anymore.

It was also hard to ignore the fact that she always seemed so exhausted anytime anyone interacted with her. And then of course, there were her rapid mood swings. Even taking the normal diva behavior she was known for into consideration, this seemed highly unusual for her.

Eventually, the youngest Miller sister spoke up.

"Have you eaten anything recently, Brittany?"

The auburn-haired Chipette nearly choked on the water she was still taking sips from.

"WHAT?" She managed to yell out in response.

"I asked if you had something to eat recently." Eleanor had firmly repeated her previous question.

There was dead silence for a few seconds. The four other Chipmunks all stared at Eleanor as she asked the question for a second time, then at Brittany as they waited for her response. All eyes were now on the eldest Miller sister and she hated it. It was crazy considering how much she used to love being the center of attention. But right now, it was absolutely the last thing she wanted.

"Of course I have!" Brittany shot back defensively. "I had breakfast with you and Jeanette this morning. Didn't you notice how I ate literally everything that was on my plate?"

"And that was all?" The blonde Chipette continued with her inquiry. "Just breakfast in the morning? You didn't eat lunch at all?"

"Yes, I had lunch today!" The blue-eyed Chipette fibbed. She then looked at both Simon and Theodore, then gestured her hand towards them. "Come on, you guys saw me in the cafeteria earlier. Right?

The two younger Seville brothers both seriously thought about Brittany's question. Had either of them seen her in the cafeteria today? Finally, the blue-clad Chipmunk spoke.

"I don't recall." He answered honestly.

"Yeah." His younger brother hesitantly agreed."In fact, I don't even remember when the last time I saw you in the cafeteria was. I... actually wasn't even sure if we had the same lunch period anymore."

"Well... that's just because we all run in different crowds!" Brittany quickly tried to cover. "Like, no offense, Simon. But I don't exactly think I'd get along with your nerdy science friends. I'd be so bored at your table. And Theo, I don't really think I'd have much to talk about with any of your friends either. Besides, I've been eating off campus most of the time this year. You know, ever since Missy convinced the other cheerleaders to turn their backs on me."

"We're just worried about you, Brittany." Jeanette chimed in. "You haven't seemed like yourself lately."

The red-capped Chipmunk jumped into the conversation as well.

"Look, if you think performing at the spring dance will be too much for you right now... maybe we could put off our big joint performance comeback. I can talk to Dave and..."

The reluctance in his voice was obvious as he said this. They all knew the situation was serious if Alvin Seville was willing to cancel a show.

But Brittany cut her ex-boyfriend off before he could even finish that last sentence. Him suggesting they cancel her big comeback was enough to push her over the edge. She started shouting at her sisters and friends

"I can't believe you guys! Why is literally every single one of you ganging up on me? You're all overreacting! So I lost my balance during practice! So what? You guys know I haven't danced like that since I hurt my knee. I just need to get used to it again. That's all! No big deal! Now can we drop it already?"

The rest of the chipmunks all exchanged glances with each other. It was obvious they were all concerned for Brittany.

"Brittany..." Jeanette began gently, as she walked over to her older sister and started to kneel so she could get down to Brittany's level in the chair. She reached her arms out to give the older Chipette a comforting hug. However, Brittany quickly pulled away and got up from her chair.

"I can't take this anymore!" The pink-clad teenager continued to shout. She was still holding the water bottle, but had put the cap back on it at some point.

"I need some air." Brittany said, as she slowly walked out the door with her head held high.

The remaining chipmunks all stood there in shock as they watched their friend leave the music room. Nobody knew what to say or do next. It was obvious that Brittany wanted and needed some space right now. So following her out of the room would only be counterproductive.

However, they also realized this conversation was far from over. If Brittany really was going through something, there was no way any of them could let her suffer in silence.

Brittany had just made it out to the hall, needing to stop and catch her breath once again. She unscrewed the cap of her water bottle to take a few more sips. The water was making her feel a little bit better.

However, she was more worried about how alarmingly close her sisters and friends had come to discovering the truth. She was just going to have to figure out how to come up with better ways to cover it up.

Soon enough, the day of the Spring Dance had arrived. As expected, Simon and Jeanette were going together, just like Theodore was going with Eleanor. Alvin had agreed to go with Lindsay.

Brittany had been asked by a few guys too. However, the young Chipette had surprisingly turned every single one of them down. She didn't want to have to stick around after her performance to dance with anyone or have to chat with someone beforehand. She just wanted to go to the dance, perform, and then hurry back home.

Hell, she wouldn't even be going to this dance at all if she and the other chipmunks weren't the talent for the evening. If this wasn't supposed to be her comeback as a star. She had been waiting for this moment for over a year now. So why was she dreading it so much?

The more she thought about it, the more she hated the idea of standing in that gym in front of the entire student body of their school. This former attention-seeking Chipette, who used to take so much pride in her appearance, now hated the idea of being stared at by all of her classmates. She felt incredibly paranoid that all any of them were going to see was how fat she had gotten.

But the biggest part of the dance she was dreading was trying to avoid being tempted by any food that would be lying out on the snack table. She knew it would all be junk food and mostly sugary drinks. And she was so scared she was going to lose control in front of everybody at the dance.

The last thing she needed was all those judgmental eyes on her while she pigged out on all those snacks. And worse, what if someone followed her to the bathroom after a binge? What if Jeanette or Eleanor did? It would all be over then.

Shopping for a dress was another part of this whole thing Brittany despised. She almost considered simply wearing a dress she already had to save herself from this kind of torture. After all, she did have plenty of gorgeous dresses from previous high school dances that were still hanging in her closet.

But Brittany still had an image to maintain. She knew Missy Snootson would never let her live it down if she realized Brittany Miller wore the same dress to two different dances. The last thing the auburn-haired Chipette's reputation needed was for it to get around the school that she was an outfit repeater. Cheerleader or not.

So, Brittany had no choice. She had to go out and buy a new dress. Which also involved going into the dressing rooms and trying them all on, so she wouldn't get stuck with something super unflattering that she couldn't return.

This sucked so much. Shopping for a new dress used to be her favorite part about high school dances. And trying on different dresses was the best part of shopping for a dance. Honestly, trying on clothes was previously the best part of any shopping trip for her.

She had so many memories of going into stores, picking out as many articles of clothing as she could carry, bringing them into the fitting room and then standing in front of the mirror and admiring how each outfit looked on her for several minutes. And her heart would break when she was finished and realized she had limited funds, so she wasn't going to be able to buy everything she had just tried on.

So the issue the teen Chipette usually had in the past with trying on clothes was being indecisive about what to get because she loved the way everything looked on her. But today, she was having the exact opposite problem. She hated the way all the dresses she had been trying on made her look. She felt like every single one of them clung to her and just showed off every roll of fat she didn't want sticking out.

At one point, Brittany had to take a break in the middle of trying on dresses due to feeling emotionally overwhelmed. She sat on the built-in bench inside that tiny fitting room of Forever 21, crying quietly. Why was this so hard for a fashionista like herself? Why couldn't she find one dress in this whole store that looked even halfway decent on her?

After shedding a few more tears and trying on several more dresses, Brittany finally settled on a long, pink spaghetti-strapped dress. It was her signature color, yet somehow very different from the kind of dress she would normally wear to a dance.

The dresses she had worn in the past were typically short, tight, low-cut, sometimes strapless or backless. And she knew Alvin loved the way every single one looked on her, judging by how his jaw would drop and his eyes would practically pop out of their sockets whenever she'd reveal her new dress to him.

The oldest Chipette would usually end up leaving for the dances wearing a long jacket or sweater over her dress to sneak it past Miss Miller. No way she would have been allowed to leave the house dressed like that otherwise. She felt another tear escape as she thought about her late adoptive mother.

After Brittany had chosen her dress, she picked out a new pair of shoes to match it. This was the easy part. She got a pair of open-toed white kitten-heeled shoes (which she had now been cleared to wear). She decided she would paint her toenails with her favorite glittery pink polish. She got a pink teardrop pendant necklace to match her lucky earrings she always wore for performances as well.

The Chipette was super relieved when she got on line at the checkout. Her relief grew even more as the cashier started ringing up her items and putting them into the yellow shopping bag. After paying, the teenager let out a huge sigh as she finally left Forever 21.

She was so happy to have this over with. She decided from the beginning she would only shop at one store today and not go into several of them to try on about a million different dresses. Why make the experience any more painful than it already was?

It did make her sad though, because she would often go into many different stores after she already picked out her dress. This would be just to get even more clothes. The way she saw it, there was no such thing as owning too many clothes and accessories (even though her wallet would always beg to differ). But that was the old Brittany, of course. The one who actually liked the way most stuff looked on her.

She still didn't like the dress she picked out that much. Not just the dress itself, but she felt as though it still clung to her body and accentuated all the wrong parts. But whatever. It was done and over. Now she had a performance to get ready for at home.

After returning home from the mall, Brittany applied her makeup the way she normally did. She decided she would style her hair in her signature ponytail instead of trying out numerous other hairstyles, which would involve spending hours getting it in and out of complicated updos until she found the right one. And then she would have to spend time restoring it to the desired hairstyle, making sure she got it exactly the way she had it before.

She didn't exactly have the extra time to spare today since she went shopping for her outfit at the last minute. But that wasn't unexpected, given her current aversion to trying on clothes. And she knew it was going to be even more challenging for her to find a satisfactory hairstyle that didn't highlight how chubby her face was now.

Besides, it was not like this was the prom. It was just the spring dance, which students from every grade got to attend. The only thing different about this one was that she wouldn't be spending it with Alvin. Well, not as her date at least. Now she had no date and Alvin's date was Lindsay.

She had to try to come up with some strategies for when she felt tempted to binge on the food at the snack table. She knew seeing Alvin and Lindsay together would be a significant trigger for her, as well as seeing all the other happy couples at the dance. And it really stung knowing that she and Alvin were one of those happy couples just a year ago.

So for now, the plan was to walk into the gym and perform with the Chipmunks and Chipettes. During the break between sets, she would hide out in the bathroom. She'd just tell everyone she was in there fixing her hair and touching up her makeup. An excuse that was totally believable for her. Then when it was over, she was going to head straight home.

It all seemed simple enough. What could possibly go wrong tonight?

With that, the Chipette took one last look at herself in the mirror. She couldn't even force herself to smile anymore. Not when all she could see were problem areas staring right back at her.

There was also the fact that her hair was struggling to even stay in the ponytail she had put it in. It felt like it was threatening to slide out of place. She didn't understand. She wore her hair like that every day. When exactly did this become an issue?

However, there was really nothing more she could do. So she turned off the lights in her room, closed the door behind her, and prepared to leave for the dance with the rest of the group.

When the Chipmunks and Chipettes entered the school gym where the dance was being held, they were greeted by an explosion of colors. Pastel-colored streamers and balloons were hanging from the walls and ceilings. There were also tissue paper flowers and butterflies scattered throughout the walls of the gym. And right in the middle of the snack table was a vase with artificial flowers.

As the eldest Chipette took in all the decorations, she couldn't help but roll her eyes and turn up her nose. A springtime theme for a spring dance? How unoriginal! If she had been on the dance committee this year, she would've insisted on a more creative theme than that. Something glamorous, like the Hollywood theme she actually came up with herself for the winter dance freshman year.

Once the six of them took their spots in the gym to perform, that was when the tension really started to rise. They started off with The Girls N Boys of Rock N Roll, with each Chipmunk and Chipette dancing next to their respective counterparts. Though none of them were entirely focused on their own performance. This was because all sets of eyes within the group were on a certain pink-clad Chipette.

They all remembered that this was the exact song they had all been dancing to when Brittany collapsed during rehearsal that day. And now they were all just hoping she was gonna be ok not just for this song, but for the whole time they had to perform.

Eleanor and Theodore (who were right behind Brittany and Alvin for this routine) kept looking over at Brittany, then exchanging concerned glances with each other. Jeanette and Simon were doing the same from their position in front of them. But Alvin was the one who's attention kept being redirected over to his counterpart next to him the most. His eyes were clouded with concern and uncertainty over his ex-girlfriend.

Not only was he worried she was going to faint again, but something Eleanor had said at that fateful rehearsal kept echoing through his mind. He recalled her question to Brittany that day, asking her if she had anything to eat recently. And he remembered all those times that he himself had noticed her barely eating whenever she was over at the Seville house. He knew Brittany was more stressed out than ever now. But still, what could all these issues she seemed to be having with food lately mean?

Of course, all this tension was not too obvious to any casual observer who had no idea what was going on behind the scenes. After all, the Chipmunks and Chipettes were professionals, having been performers since childhood. But within their own small group, they knew everyone had the same thing on their minds.

Then Brittany herself also couldn't keep her focus on her own routine. Not only due to her issues with concentration in general lately. But also because she, too, was worried about collapsing again. She would die if that happened in front of the whole school! And what if her secret got out as a result? She knew she could never live it down!

She did make sure to drink plenty of water before the dance in an effort to prevent it from happening. But still. What if that was not enough?

And then she tensed up even more as she could feel the eyes of everyone in the crowd staring at her. What if it was for the wrong reasons this time? Suddenly, she became very aware of how tight her dress was on her. How it was accentuating her stomach and hips, showing off how huge they were. How the dress being sleeveless made her arms look so chubby.

There was some press at the dance as well. They were eager to get pictures and write about the Chipmunks and Chipettes' big reunion performance and the Chipettes comeback to performing in general. Principal Talbot had agreed to let them in, figuring it would be good publicity for the school.

And what if they published stories all over the tabloids tomorrow about how fat Brittany had become since The Chipettes' last show? And if she fainted again, were they going to write all about that? Oh, of course they would! What if this ended her career? That was a scenario she couldn't even bear to think of!

They finished off the first set with the song Love Shack from their Club Chipmunk album. Now it was time for a twenty minute break. Although the girls got to take a little bit longer since the first two songs for the next set were just The Chipmunks singing. Then after that, Brittany and her sisters would have the chance to perform two songs featuring just The Chipettes.

As Brittany walked off, she tried to stick to her plan of heading straight for the bathroom. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not stop her eyes from wandering around the room. She saw Theodore and Eleanor. They had already gotten food from the snack table and were now sitting down at a table with several plates of food and cups of fruit punch. They were smiling at each other and laughing as they enjoyed eating together.

Then she spotted Simon and Jeanette, who had their arms wrapped around each other. They weren't even talking much, but you could tell they were content to merely be together. They were both beaming and had serene looks on their faces, simply enjoying each other's company.

After watching the two middle chipmunks, the ponytailed Chipette then noticed Alvin with Lindsay. Lindsay had her arm slung over his shoulder and they were with a group of students Brittany had recognized from working on previous plays with them. Another group she sadly had nothing in common with anymore, since she would not be in this semester's play.

The annoying blonde girl was giggling about something in that grating high pitched giggle of hers, her arm still on the red-clad Chipmunk's shoulder. There was something strange that Brittany had actually noticed about this situation though. Alvin did not look particularly happy.

In fact, he seemed downright miserable. His gaze was focused on the floor and he had a frown on his face. Instead of questioning it too much, the Chipette simply rolled her eyes. She figured it was because he was not the center of attention at the moment.

The next thing she knew, she was looking all around the gym and seeing blissful couples every direction she turned to. Some of them she had known personally, others she had not. But the point was, seeing all these couples having a good time at what was supposed to be a fun high school event was making Brittany feel lonelier than ever.

The Chipette sighed as she clutched her arms around herself. That was when she saw Missy, Erika, Shelby, and the rest of the girls from her former squad. They all appeared to have dates and were hanging out in a large group together. That was where she and Alvin belonged!

The teen Chipette used to live for school dances and performances. And here she was in the presence of both, yet not enjoying a single second of it. This was too much for her to handle. She tried to make her way to her desired destination. Despite her efforts, she could not resist peering over at the snack table.

That was when she noticed nobody was there. No one was even looking in that direction because they all were busy enjoying the dance and spending time with other people. If she was going to binge tonight, now was her chance to do so.

No! She had to be stronger than that. She promised herself. Though the promises she made to herself didn't seem to mean much anymore.

She started to slowly walk away, But then, it was as if some force was pulling her over to the table like one magnet to another. Before she even realized what was happening, she was standing right in front of it.

First, she observed the color scheme. The table was covered with a plastic peach-colored table cloth. The plates, cups, napkins, and cutlery were in assorted soft shades of yellow, light blue, lavender, and pink. Just like the decorations.

Again, she found herself scoffing at the dance committee's lack of imagination this year. She was gonna have to find the students who were on it and have a talk with them to make sure this kind of thing did not happen again.

Next, she scoped out what kind of snacks were being offered. There was a glass bowl filled with popcorn, plates of chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies, various fruits, and mini cupcakes with frosting in the same pastel colors as the decorations and utensils. The cupcakes were also coated with tiny rainbow sprinkles, making them appear even more festive.

Once again, the ponytailed teenager looked in all corners of the room. The coast was clear. Or at least, that's what she thought. So she grabbed a bunch of the colorful napkins off the table.

She spread out each napkin and proceeded to stuff them with several of the mini cupcakes, popcorn, fruit, and cookies, swiftly cramming them into her oversized satin pink purse. She then raced out of the gym and into the hallway.

Brittany searched for a secluded corner. She eventually found one right next to the vending machine. It was likely abandoned over there due to all the snacks and drinks that were available in the gym right now.

It was the perfect spot to hide out too. She'd simply stand against the wall and the huge machine next to her would stick out so much, nobody would even notice she was there.

As the teenager settled into her spot, she started pulling all the small snacks out of her purse and shoving them into her mouth. She spent this whole period of binging thinking about how lonely and empty she felt merely being at this dance. How everything felt so wrong with her being so disconnected from the cheer squad and her drama friends and choir. How much she missed Alvin and being just as happy with him as her sisters were with their boyfriends tonight. And how much it hurt to see her ex-boyfriend with Lindsay.

Brittany let a few tears escape from her eyes as she continued to have these unwelcome thoughts while eating. She was so thankful nobody could see her right now. She let the tears roll down her cheeks while she persisted in stuffing her face, not even looking at or tasting what she was eating.

When Brittany finished eating all the snacks she had, her stomach was left feeling bloated and full. Yet her heart felt so empty. But most of all, she felt guilty.

Guilty for breaking her promise to herself again. Guilty for having no self control whatsoever. Guilty for having the kind of thoughts she did and letting them get to her this much. And guilty for not being able to suck it up and be happy again.

Now that she was all done, it was time for some damage control. After shoving all the napkins back into her purse, she ran as quickly as she could to the girls bathroom. When she got there, she saw two girls leaving as they were talking with each other and laughing. When they were both out of sight, she peeked into the bathroom and was relieved to find it empty.

The distressed Chipette walked into the cleanest looking empty stall she could find. She locked the white-painted door of the tiny stall behind her once she got in. Then the auburn-haired teen kneeled down as she went on with her routine of purging all that junk food out of her stomach.

Once she was finished, she flushed the toilet. Then she ripped off some toilet paper and started to wipe her mouth, until she suddenly heard footsteps. Crap! She was not in here alone. At least not anymore. She had no idea how long the other person had been there, whoever it was.

"Brittany?" She heard a familiar voice call out.

Oh no! This was definitely the last thing she needed...


A/N: So, that was chapter 13! Took me long enough, right? I apologize for leaving the last chapter off on such a major cliffhanger. The past month has just been extremely hectic for me and it was difficult to find time to sit down and write. But this has been my longest chapter yet, so I hope it was worth the wait!

Things are probably going to be very busy for me again with Thanksgiving being tomorrow and then Christmas coming up after that. Especially since I'll be running around everywhere with my toddler for the next month. But I'll try to squeeze in at least one more chapter before the new year. I know this one left off on a cliffhanger too, so I'll try my best not to leave you hanging for too long.

Don't worry, guys! Even if updates may be a little slow right now, I have not given up on this story! I have every intention of finishing this one and even have a few more stories in the works for after this fic is completed. When things start to slow down for me (hopefully after the holidays), updates will become more frequent again.

I want to give a special shoutout to my friend, AmbitiousAlvin, for giving me ideas on parts of this chapter I was stuck on. The Chipmunks/Chipettes performance at the dance in particular. Thank you for the inspiration, my friend! Hope you enjoyed seeing the way the scene played out here.

To my guest reviewer (who I can't PM): You are never bothering me by leaving a review! I appreciate every single review I get! Especially when they're as sweet as the one you left me. I hope you enjoyed this long awaited chapter!

And a huge thank you to everyone else who has reviewed this fic! As always, I'd love to hear your feedback on this chapter as well. Looking forward to hearing what you think!

Who do you think it was who called out Brittany's name in the bathroom? And do you think they've figured out her secret? Will they tell someone else?

To anybody who caught it, yes. I did borrow the term "outfit repeater" from Lizzie McGuire! Another show I grew up with that I miss.

I also want to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to anyone who's celebrating it tomorrow! Hope you enjoy the holiday, however you spend it.