The front door to the Seville household opened to only darkness as two entered, breaking the interiors silence with their laughter. One, a taller human, reached for the nearby light switch on the wall and flipped it up to illuminate the entryway showing him and a shorter female chipmunk. Household patriarch Dave, dressed in his normal business casual outfit and sports coat, and the chipmunk mother Vinny who dressed in a dark toned dress and older styled overcoat, her hair tied and draped over her shoulder.
"So Vinny," Dave spoke aloud as Vinny clung to his arm nervously, though she kept most of her composure with a smile. "How was your first time going to a movie theater?"
"Oh David," Vinny replied, trying to contain her nervous stutter. "It-It was such a thrill! The movie was so real I thought I was going to lose my head! And even though my ears felt like they were stung by a bee, it only lasted a few minutes!"
"Sorry, they're really loud in there. But I'm glad you liked it. Movies these days are just getting so wild with their CGI."
"It was far different than watching a movie here. The television is quieter and the movies look a lot more like the ones they used to play at the Ranger station."
"Well, the movies here are what we call, 'The Classics'. From around the time we were kids."
"I… I think I like those better."
"Me too." Vinny and Dave smiled at each other, making her cheeks grow a faint rose tint, then she let go of his arm.
"I'll go turn on the kettle David," Vinny said as she grinned and headed towards the kitchen while Dave put their coats away.
"I'm always going to be David, huh," Dave snarked. "After how many times I keep saying it's okay to call me 'Dave'?"
"No can do," Vinny teased as she walked ahead.
"Thought not," Dave said with a smirk. To his surprise, Vinny suddenly peaked her head playfully from the kitchen, her cheeks still red.
"But I CAN do 'Davey'," she coyly responded. "Davey." Dave blushed and cleared his throat as he made his way towards the living room. "Boys," Vinny called out as she filled the kettle with water from the kitchen sink. She carried it over to the stove with both her hands but was cut off by Dave calling for her from the other room.
"Vinny, don't forget that the stove ignites itself. Just wait for the clicking!" Vinny shot up and giggled.
"Thank you Davey!" She turned the stove on, hearing the clicking sound and soon the flame erupted from the burner. She moved the kettle closer, but was once again interrupted by Dave.
"Oh, Vinny! Don't forget that the blue kettle is electric! We got rid of the other one!" Vinny stopped herself right before the blue plastic touched the fire, blushing in embarrassment.
"Th-Thank you Davey!" Once the water was settled, Vinny stepped out of the kitchen as Dave waited for her on the couch. "Where are the boys? It's getting awful late."
"They had plans tonight with the girls," Dave smiled and brought out his phone to show her. "Take a look." Vinny adjusted her glasses and squinted to take a better look at the bright screen. Then her face beamed and she smiled.
"How wonderful! My little Theodore, all grown up," Vinny cooed. Eleanor is such a sweet young lady. I'm so happy that they found each other."
"You and me both. It's been a long time coming but I'm glad they finally sealed the deal. They've been inseparable since they were kids."
"I'm so proud of them. Er-" Vinny changed subject. "And the other two?" Dave chuckled.
"Give them a little more time. They're a lot more stubborn than Theodore. But, they're in good hands."
"Mm, I agree," Vinny giggled as she sat next to Dave while he turned on the television. "Where are they now?"
"See for yourself," Dave teased. "You can hear them out from the kitchen window."
Alvin leaned back on the patio chair of the Chipettes Treehouse as he strummed along on his guitar. Though he had his jacket on, he sat in front of a portable heater that the Chipettes use for just such a winter night. He played a directionless melody, letting his hands make music for a song that didn't exist yet. He sat alone until the treehouse door creaked open and Brittany walked out, wearing an extra layer of designer winter wear. He stopped playing to look at her. She met his eyes and gave him a pure smile to which he reciprocated and nodded for her to head over to the larger seat nearby. Brittany grinned and nodded. He stood up and walked over with her to sit together. Once he plopped down with his guitar, he took her by the hand and helped her sit down beside him, then began to play again.
With impeccable timing, as he strummed again the two heard and felt two more sets of footsteps come up from the staircase. Jeanette walked ahead of Simon and once she nodded to both Alvin and Brittany, she headed towards the patio chairs with Simon not far behind, acknowledging them with a bothered, pensive nod. He offered Jeanette the seat closer to the heater where Alvin once sat, but with a huff Jeanette sat in the chair next to it. Simon sighed and sat down in the first chair, shifting the heater to aim towards Jeanette anyways. Alvin and Brittany looked at each other with a raised eyebrow and catty grin while he strummed away. They managed to catch Simon's attention while Jeanette was distracted and silently encouraged him. He sighed and shrugged his shoulders, bewildered about what to do. Alvin rolled his eyes and kept playing as Brittany teased him.
They sat around for a little longer, enjoying the night time air and Alvin's playing, before the last two of their group arrived. Theodore and Eleanor walked up together, each with a basket around their arms, and Theodore holding a ukulele but the both of them holding hands. Theodore had a large smile across his face while Eleanor grinned with her cheeks red. The rest of the group smiled at them, causing the two to blush even brighter. Eleanor took the other basket from Theodore and placed them both on the table while he sat down at the bench under the treehouse window. Within the two baskets, Eleanor revealed sandwiches and drinks to everyone's excitement. Simon grabbed an extra drink and offered it to Jeanette. Jeanette looked at him, still annoyed, but when she saw how desperate his eyes were when they made contact, she sighed and with a tired smile, she accepted. Simon lit up with a newfound spirit and went on to help pass around the food and drinks to everyone. Alvin made him put a sandwich into his mouth in order to still play, which Simon obliged, too spirited to fight him on it. Brittany kept her head down and refused Simon's offer as she tried to avoid Eleanor's sight. Eleanor smirked, then grabbed a sandwich, a drink and approached her sister. Brittany raised her head then lit up when seeing her sister's offer to which she accepted. With a smug air to her, Eleanor patted Brittany on the head as she passed by to sit with Theodore. Brittany said nothing and blushed. They ate but remained quiet to listen to their personal concert, and once everyone settled, Brittany joined in with Alvin. They paused, then changed from an aimless melody into purposeful song.
I took my love, I took it down
Climbed a mountain and I turned around
The rest of the group immediately took notice and turned to pay more attention. Whether in the studio or now on their porch, Brittany's singing was pitch perfect.
And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills
'Til the landslide brought me down
As she sang, Jeanette looked down to her drink, then shyly wandered over to Simon who sat in his chair with his attention on the performance. She sighed underneath her breath as she took a sip then placed the drink on the table. She wanted to look towards Brittany and Alvin but then groaned to herself. Theodore waited for his opportunity then jumped into the session with his ukulele. Eleanor felt him move around on the bench, then laid down on the bench and rested her head on his lap. They shared a quick loving gaze as he played, then they both looked back to Alvin and Brittany. Then to all of their surprise, they heard Jeanette join in and sing the next verse.
Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?
Simon whipped his head over to Jeanette in awe. Brittany stopped for just a moment as she noticed Jeanette became more involved and confident in the song. Eleanor lifted her head then grinned as she put her head back down.
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
Eleanor smiled from Theodore's lap as she rested her eyes, then hummed along with Brittany and Jeanette. Even the boys joined in too for a brief moment, until it was time to sing again and they kept quiet for the three sisters to sing as one in perfect harmony, the same harmony that made them stars in what felt like another life.
Well, I've been 'fraid of changin'
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I'm gettin' older, too
As they sang, Brittany inched closer to Alvin until the two were physically touching. They both turned red but didn't move apart and the Chipette leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder. Her hands moved through the gap between his arm and his chest and held onto him tightly. Simon's eyes wandered over to see Jeanette look back at him. They stared at each other longer than before as Jeanette sang along. Their cheeks turned red, and Jeanette could see that Simon wanted to say something as he started to mouth the words. Yet nothing came out and he looked down with a sigh. Jeanette frowned and looked away as well, but it didn't disrupt her singing. In shame, Simon picked up his sandwich and shoved it into his mouth, but continued to listen.
Well, I've been 'fraid of changin'
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I'm gettin' older, too
I'm gettin' older, too
Ah, take my love, take it down
Oh, climb a mountain and turn around
And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well, the landslide will bring it down
And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well, the landslide will bring it down
Oh, the landslide will bring it down
The girls ended their song as Alvin and Theodore let the strings of their instruments resonate until completely silent. The sisters smiled at one another and giggled as the boys clapped for them.
"Simply astonishing," Simon praised, though he was looking in one particular direction from the corner of his eye.
"Yeah! You guys sounded great," Theodore added with enthusiasm. "Like you didn't stop performing!"
"Well, some of us never did," Brittany boasted. They all shared another laugh, all except for Alvin who interrupted with an obnoxious groan. "What's your problem," Brittany pushed herself off of Alvin and asked with a change in her tone. "That was perfect! And spontaneous too, you couldn't write that better!"
"I know! That's why I should have been recording! It would have blown up!" They all groaned back and rolled their eyes at Alvin as he asked if they were willing to perform one more time while he bringing out his phone.
Eleanor fluttered her eyes awake. It had been several hours if she remembered correctly once she had collected what little consciousness she had. It was dark in the room she found herself in, with the only trace of light coming from a faint glow around the window curtains. She was in the treehouse, of that much she could tell. Part of her had this feeling that her sisters weren't around, but when she stretched to yawn, she did feel another presence close by. She heard breathing and that her bed was weighed down away from her. She looked over and smiled innocently. Theodore slept soundly, still in his hoodie and jeans with his back facing her. She playfully flipped his hood up and down before laying back down. She pulled herself closer to sleep with him. Her arms wrapped around him and she rested her head on his back, falling back asleep to the quiet open air.
Editor's Note: Be sure to listen to "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac, otherwise this one might be a little confusing. This was originally 2 interludes but I figured it would be better for one big epilogue. Still though I hope to include one more interlude before going to the next arc in the story. I hope you enjoy.