Alvin Two Point Oh and the Chipmunks: Mini Tales!

by AmbitiousAlvin

A collection of fun and short stories that are easy and fast to read. Imagine them like episodes of Alvinnn, but for my alternative universe instead. There will be comedy, drama, and plenty of heart! I hope this will gather some new readers who may not feel they have time in their busy schedules for my longer stories. Each chapter will be a different story with an "episode" title.

15. Cheer Up, Sleepy Jeanie

This took a lot of willpower to write. It's heavy, so so heavy. But it's real.

I don't have much of an outline for this. I decided that detailed outlines for mini tales are kind of a lost cause, because a lot of times improv is just as good, if not BETTER.

This fic will have some funny moments, but they're few and far between. It's different from my usual writing. Something like this fits better in a multi chapter fic.

The multi chapter fic with Alvin Vs his Medication will be coming, eventually. I hope. I have sooo much dialogue and a nice outline. That story is actually set before this one, and before a chunk of mini tales actually. It takes place in September so it takes place right before The Special Avocado story. As such, this story has hints to events that occur in it.

But enough about Alvin for now. This story is Simon's to tell. He is the one who can get the most serious and solemn. I feel like anyone else wouldn't hit quite all the same emotional beats we're going for. Good work, Simon.

Please enjoy this vent fic! I'm sure if you'll know me, you'll know what's really got my Jeanette-side feeling this way. The parallels! Hehe!

CHEER UP, SLEEPY JEANIE

Simon's POV

Grief. It's an emotion that can sure pack a punch. It hits everyone differently. It can make you do some very out of character things. Or it can make you clingy, angry, sad, and confused. I don't often enjoy talking about such a sensitive subject. Sadness can turn incredibly serious and all encompassing for me in an instant. Still, I feel it's important to discuss.

Most people think of grief only existing when someone passes away. However, people can grieve all sorts of things. Grief starts, in a sense, with the absence of hope. In order to grieve, and really process your feelings without letting them destroy you, you must teach yourself how to hope again. It can be excruciating.

I regret to inform you, but you probably have already caught on, that our story today is about grief. It's about a complicated form of grief, a kind that can halt the hopes and dreams of even the most sweet and tender soul. This story…is about her.

"Has anyone heard from Jeanette?" I asked, walking into our bedroom.

Theodore looked up from scrolling through his phone. "No, not much." He replied. "Why?"

"Because I just realized she's been…incredibly quiet lately. More than usual." I paced the floor anxiously. "I'm afraid something's wrong."

"Oh no!" Theodore's ears drooped. "I hope she's okay."

I noticed that Alvin was also in the room. He was seated at his mini-desk, hunched over his laptop.

"Alvin, have you talked to Jeanette lately?" I tensed up and then forced myself to breathe naturally again.

My brother didn't take his eyes from the computer screen. "Can't talk. Coding."

"This is important." I insisted. "I think the coding can wait." I nibbled my lip.

"Can't talk. Coding." His fingers flew over the keys, writing line after line of code.

"Alvin!" I tried to wave my hand in front of his face.

The hyperfocus couldn't be stopped. "Can't talk. Coding." There was only one explanation for this behavior.

I turned around to face Theodore again.

"He took his meds, didn't he?" I groaned.

Theodore nodded. "Big Computer Science project due in three days. Candy wasn't enough." He explained. "I'm worried about him."

I sighed and rubbed my nose. "Short release or extended?"

"Extended." My younger brother's lower lip stuck out.

You see, ADHD meds made for 100% human brains have adverse effects on a chipmunk-human mutant. I specifically made some medication that's suited to Alvin's brain. The adverse effects are supposed to be minimal, but the medication heightens his already terrible anxiety and workaholic tendencies. Especially extended release, which he agreed to reserve only for emergencies.

"Due in three days is an emergency?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Theodore nodded. "He says it is, yeah."

"Fantastic." I grumbled sarcastically. "So the one person who might know what's going on with Jeanette is out of commission."

"Uh huh." Theodore scampered over to me.

"I think…" I rubbed my chin. "We should pay Jeanette a visit."

I heard mechanical clanking and turned to see Geizmo standing near Theodore's bed. "Geizmo visit too? Maybe I see Zeela!" I did think it was adorable that he enjoyed spending time with Zeela. The same couldn't be said for Alvin's son Warbie.

"Sure." I smiled. "Come on."

Theodore picked up Lilly from her dog bed.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"Well, uh, maybe she needs a therapy dog. Lilly is a really good therapy dog." The dirty blonde boy in the green sweater with a Teddy bear face said kindly.

"Ah. Good thinking." I patted his head. "Bring her along."

We made our way over to the treehouse and knocked on the door. I stopped Geizmo from pulling at the flowers decorating our neighbor's extravagant home.

Theodore petted Lilly's head as we waited for someone to answer.

Eventually, Eleanor opened the door. She was wearing her usual green apron with the strawberry design on it. "Hey, boys."

"Hey." Theodore waved. "How's Jeanette doing?"

Eleanor blinked. "How should I know?"

I folded my arms. "Because she's your sister." I said with a hint of irritation. I was trying to keep myself composed.

"She's been in her room all day. Probably writing." Eleanor invited us into the house with a sweep of her arm.

Geizmo toddled into the kitchen on his mechanical robot legs. "I help!" He declared, grabbing Eleanor's mixing spoon.

"Oh no no no." The blonde pigtailed girl squeaked. "I've got everything handled."

"Are you making stuff for Thanksgiving dinner?" Theodore sniffed the air, probably trying to figure out what exactly Eleanor was cooking up.

"Yeah. Miss. Miller and I are in charge of hosting it this year." The girl in the apron groaned.

"And you're sure you don't want help?" Theodore asked.

Lilly wiggled out of Theodore's arms and almost jumped up onto the countertop, but I stopped her before she could make a mess.

Eleanor twirled the spoon that she'd taken back from my robotic son. "I'm sure. I have EVERYTHING under control." Then, she frowned. "Maybe…Maybe I could use some help tomorrow." She admitted.

"URGH!" A groan came from the couch in the Chipettes' living room area. "He cannot possibly STILL be busy."

I walked over to find exactly who I expected to find. Brittany Miller.

She was looking at her phone with a despondent expression.

"If you're waiting on a text from Alvin, you'll be waiting for ages." I told her sadly. "He took the 12 hour meds today."

She sighed. "Of course he did."

"I need to teach him to be less school and chore focused." I rubbed my arm absentmindedly. "But, truthfully, I'm…not the best teacher for that particular subject."

I had workaholic tendencies and so did Dave. The only person spared of the curse was Theodore. When the tendencies first revealed themselves in Alvin, I hoped it would be a phase. And, well, I certainly wasn't EXPECTING the ADHD meds to make him worse. Thank heavens he doesn't take them often. I probably should lock the cabinet in my lab where they're located, now that I think about it.

"Yeah, I understand." Brittany frowned and sat up. "Do you wanna do something today?" She looked hopeful.

I shook my head. "Not really." Was that too harsh? "Not YET." Okay, that was the right amount of tenderness. "I want to check on Jeanette first. She's been awfully quiet this past week."

Brittany nodded subtly. "Now that you mention it, she was really quiet." The Chipette in the pink jacket and white shirt looked worried. "She wasn't even looking out the window and daydreaming like she usually does."

"Yeah." Theodore came to join us. He must have finished speaking with Eleanor. "And she didn't draw either."

"If she upset, why she not tell us?" Geizmo tapped his foot. "Very very un-nice of her."

I walked toward the stairs that led to the Chipettes' bedroom. "Perhaps she isn't sure how. Perhaps she doesn't even know she's feeling out of sorts."

"Do you think it's burnout?" Brittany followed me up the stairs.

"That's more an Alvin thing." I cringed. "And a me thing." I put my hand on the doorknob in front of me. "I'm not sure WHAT this is. I just have a feeling it's something. She's my friend. I can sense these sorts of things."

"I hope we're wrong." Theodore whimpered, petting his puppy as he cradled her in his arms. "And Jeanette's just tired."

"Only one way to find out." Brittany noticed that I hadn't opened the door yet. She shoved me aside, turned the knob, and swung the door open.

Jeanette was curled up on her bed wearing a purple nightgown. She held a fluffy pink bunny plush in her arms, squeezing it tightly. She stared off into the distance, right past us, as if we weren't even there.

I awkwardly approached. "Jeanette, is everything okay?"

No answer. Not even a blink. The poor girl was going to get dry eyes if she kept this up.

"Poke poke poke." Geizmo tapped on Jeanette's back with his extendo arm. "Tickle tickle!" Then, he tried to tickle her under the chin.

She remained motionless, aside from the occasional shiver. A single tear streaked down her cheek.

"Sis?" Brittany touched Jeanette's hair.

Her sister's messy bun was much messier than usual.

"What happened, Jeanette?" Theodore whimpered. He set Lilly on the bed next to the uncomfortably still Chipette.

A small choked up sob came from Jeanette's lips. "I...I…" She couldn't get the words out, so she just hugged the plush bunny tighter.

"Did anyone hurt you?" Brittany asked, getting angry. "Was it Alvin? Is he ignoring you too? Did he blow you off to focus on his coding or his studies or anything else his crazy "genius" cooked up?"

Jeanette shook her head no.

"Did something happen at school?" I inquired, staying beside her bed.

She turned her head side to side again. Then, she burst into more tears.

"Jeanie,…" I used my pet name for her. "We can't help you if you don't tell us what's wrong."

Between her sobs, she managed to get out some words. "You….You….can't help me….if I do…either, so what's….the point?" She rolled over and buried her face in the pillow.

"Poor poor nettie." Geizmo climbed onto her bed and patted her on the back.

"I'm sure we can help you." Theodore cheerfully forced a grin.

"Uh uh." Jeanette said into the pillow.

"This isn't like you, Sis." Brittany leaned against the windowsill. "Don't tell me you're going through an identity crisis."

"Brittany, with all due respect…" I told my crush turned kind-of sort of girlfriend. (We're still testing things out) "…Your comments are unnecessary and quite frankly inappropriate."

"Yeah." Theodore added. "Your sister is in a lot of pain."

"Sorry sorry." Brittany looked embarrassed and sounded sincere.

"Do you want a hug, Jeanette?" Theodore offered, placing both his hands palm down on the bed.

"No thanks." Came the still-muffled reply.

Lilly licked Jeanette's hand, causing her to roll back over. She stared up at the ceiling lifelessly, not even making eye contact with the canine companion.

"This is so serious!" The little boy in green gasped. "She doesn't even want hugs!"

I was getting extremely worried. Fortunately, I am a pro at managing my anxiety…by shoving it aside to be dealt with later. I never claimed it was a good management system.

"Please, please tell us what's going on." I begged.

"Yeah!" Brittany, Theodore, and Geizmo all said at the same time.

Jeanette just burst into sobs again.

"You really should drink some water." Theodore suggested. "It must be really hard to think when you're all dehydrated from crying." He whimpered again. "You're gonna make me cry too. I just wanna help you."

Then, both Theo and Jeanette were sobbing uncontrollably.

Eleanor poked her head into the room. "What is with all the crying? Can you guys keep it down?" She grumbled. "It's like Niagra Falls in here."

"Something is wrong with Jeanette." Brittany snapped. "Not that YOU care. Apparently."

That caused the grouchy Chipette to soften. "Oh." Suddenly, Eleanor's priorities had shifted.

I assumed she wasn't happy about the shift, but she kept it together for Jeanette's sake. And Theodore's sake.

"Are you sick or something? Do you need some soup? I can make soup." The youngest Miller sister offered.

"Not sick…..physically." Jeanette choked out. "Just….emotionally."

"Oh no." Eleanor nibbled her lip.

"Yep." Brittany murmured. "I guess sometimes even the family therapist needs some therapy."

Theodore blew his nose on a tissue. "I guess I gotta…fill in for Jeanette."

I felt confused. How could I possibly get to the bottom of what was going on with Jeanette? What was so bad that it couldn't be fixed? She's JEANETTE! She thought every dark cloud had a silver lining. She served as a walking talking anti-depressant. I wasn't so sure I could serve the same purpose for her, but I had to try.

If I chose not to try, I'd regret it the rest of my life. So, I did something incredibly hard for me to do. I turned myself into a temporary optimist.

"I'm sure there's….some positive to whatever…situation caused this." I blurted out.

Everyone in the room stared at me like I'd just announced I was giving up science and starting my own lawn care business or something along those lines.

Oh, oh, I wonder if this is how Alvin feels every time he does something wildly out of character and everyone notices.

"Since when are you the upbeat and chill one?" Eleanor asked me with a sneaky grin.

I pointed at Jeanette, who was still trembling and softly sobbing. "Since she can't be."

"No positives." The girl in purple whispered in a hushed tone, barely audible. "It's not worth it. Thinking….positive…only….hurts."

Brittany and Eleanor exchanged horrified looks and Theodore visibly became even sadder.

Geizmo was currently distracted. He was pulling on the ears of Jeanette's bunny plush. "Where Zeela?" He asked when he finished tying the ears in a knot. Jeanette didn't even stop him.

Eleanor took the robot's hand and led him away from the bed. "Zeela and Pippi are upstairs. I'll take you to them, okay?"

"Okay!" My son's electronic face morphed into a big grin.

"I hope you guys figure out what's got her so down." The Chipette in the apron said to us, before leaving.

Lilly pressed her wet nose against Jeanette's shoulder.

I took Theodore and Brittany aside and got them into a huddle. "What do we do? What's our next plan? I believe we need a different approach, because this isn't working."

"Do I look like a plan maker to you?" Brittany huffed. "We need Two Point Weirdo. Tell him to get his furry tail over here."

I shook my head. "Alvin won't be able to make a plan at the moment. He has tunnel vision." I explained. Honestly, I was regretting making those meds. But, well, live and learn.

Theodore frowned. "Yeah. Plus, the long release meds make him less creative and interested in other people's feelings…and his own feelings. The short ones don't, but the long ones do."

"Super." Brittany spat with sarcasm, rolling her stunning ice blue eyes.

"Perhaps Jeanette needs one of her favorite books to cheer her up." I rubbed my chin. "A good book always cheers me up."

"Good thinking." My little brother squeaked. "But, I don't think she can read through the tears." His ears drooped.

I reached up to touch mine and realized they were doing the same. As they should, because I was fighting the urge to spin out into a depressive thought whirlwind. Depression management through physical activity and distraction helped, but it could only do so much.

"What if we…" Brittany tapped her head and then gave up with a frustrated sigh. "Sometimes, I wish I could come up with more than just fashion ideas."

"You've come up with…some ideas that aren't fashion related." I reminded her. "Just, well, not often."

"I've got it!" Theodore exclaimed suddenly. His brown eyes lit up with excitement. He was thrilled to use his enhanced emotional intelligence to accurately assess the situation.

"What's your idea?" The Chipette in pink flicked a small clump of fuzz from Lilly's fur off her skirt.

I stood motionless, prepared to listen intently to my brother.

"Well…" The boy in green clasped his hands together in front of him. "Jeanette doesn't get as chatty around lots of people. Maybe she'd talk if there was only one of us in here. She's already overwhelmed. I think so much attention is making it worse."

"He's right." Brittany agreed. "When Jeanette and I are together, she rambles on and on about everything from flowers to stars. In a group, she still talks, but a LOT less. And her rambles go away, mostly."

"I have noticed this as well." I leaned against Jeanette's nightstand. "Theodore, since it's your idea, I think you should be the one to stay."

"And we can go out for dinner together!" Brittany squealed. "And take a romantic walk downtown. They probably have the Christmas lights up already."

Theodore looked up at me. "No." He stated firmly. "Simon, I think you should stay."

"Me?" I almost laughed at the sheer absurdity of the thought. "Theo, Theo, I'm not….I can't…Do I seem like the cheering up type!?"

"You can." He gave me a gentle push toward the bed. "You can do it. It'll be good for you."

"No!" I objected once more. "I can't. Really. This is much more your speed."

I tried to shove Theodore toward the bed, but he ran away.

I chased him.

"She's your friend too. And what if whatever is going wrong is something really complicated? Too complicated for me to understand?" He asked, pushing me back toward the bed.

"What if I make it worse?" I turned around and picked Theodore up.

Brittany laughed, so I stared at her.

"What's so funny?" I clenched my jaw.

"Oh nothing." She giggled again. "Just watching your antics."

"Brittany, you're the deciding vote." Theodore announced. "You get to pick which one of us stays."

"Phew." I sighed, feeling relieved. "She's going to pick you." I set him down on the ground again.

There was no way Brittany could resist dinner with me and a walk downtown.

"Simon." The girl's voice responded, almost instantly.

"HUH!?" I stared at her in disbelief. "But…you….I…HUH!?"

"As much as I would love to spend time with you,…" Brittany sighed. "My sister's crisis comes first. And Theodore's right. She could be upset over some science journal she read." The Chipette put a firm hand on my shoulder. "It's up to you, Simon."

Well, isn't that just fine and dandy. (Sarcasm)

Theodore smiled proudly at me.

I gulped and sat at the end of Jeanette's bed as Theodore and Brittany left the premises.

Here goes nothing. How do I even start?

I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Hello, again. It's me, Simon. Obviously you can see that. I am not sure why I felt the need to say it." Goodness, I was rambling as much as Alvin. "Anyway, uh, you and I are…alone now…and…I would love to hear about anything that may be bothering you."

Jeanette grumbled, which is very out of character for her. "You're not going to stop asking until I say it, are you?" She sat up and wiped her tears.

"I have to know." I said with sincerity. "I can't stand to see you so…so…" My mind couldn't locate the word I was looking for. So many words, but none that could describe the misery except one. One that Jeanette would never utter to describe herself. Until now.

"Hopeless." She filled in. Untying the ears of her rabbit plush. "I'm hopeless, Simon. The whole…" She sniffled. "The whole world is."

I froze and blinked. "It was….THAT bad?"

"People don't care about each other enough. They don't care about the planet." She was off on an angry rant, whilst still sobbing. "All they care about is following trends and being greedy and…and…hiding behind their stupid life philosophies." She rubbed the fur on her plush's head. "I'm sick of it! Whatever happened to kindness? And understanding? And science?"

Aha! We were getting somewhere. "Well, some people, unfortunately." I told her. "But not everyone."

"Too many." She frowned. "Global Warming is a fact and not only do they act like it doesn't exist, they're speeding it up by refusing to change their lifestyle even SLIGHTLY!" Her deep blue eyes stared at me, duller than I'd ever seen them and flooding with tears. "And there's so many of them. The ones who support Mother Earth are outnumbered. We…We can't save the planet. All we can do, is be the ones who say "I told you so" and watch the world…die."

I felt a pang of sadness in my chest, more powerful than before. This wouldn't be an easy fix. It wasn't like a broken toy that could be glued or a lost necklace that could be found. Jeanette's eyes had been opened to the dreadful truth, to MY cynical view of humanity. She couldn't go back to being oblivious and naive. Could she even go back to being hopeful?

"So that's what this is about." I frowned, moving closer to her on the bed.

She nodded and tucked her head down so that it touched her plush. "Uh huh."

"What exactly made you…" Realize? No, not that word. "..Think this way?" I questioned her, calmly. "Did you read something on the internet?"

She wiped her eyes with the sleeves of her nightgown. "No. It was my proposal." She explained, before blowing her nose on a Kleenex.

If Theodore were here, he would ask Jeanette if Alvin rejected her marriage proposal. They did have plans to get married at some point, in the Sims 4 videogame. Knuckleheads.

However, I was not Theodore and thus I knew EXACTLY which sort of proposal she was referring to. I suppose this proves Theo's decision to leave me alone with Jeanette was indeed the correct one.

"The Clean Energy Proposal?" I took her tissue and threw it away for her. It landed directly into the trash can…on the other side of the room. I had skills!

"Yeah." She sighed. "They voted on it Monday. I didn't get enough votes. I didn't even get half the votes. I got a tenth of the votes."

"Oh….Jeanie." I felt my eyes begin to water. It takes quite a bit to make me cry. This…this was A LOT. "I'm so sorry."

"I don't know what to do." She reached out to hug me. "I've never been truly hopeless before. It's so…exhausting."

"Yes." I felt heavier. Like I could fall right through the floor with the way the weight the world was pressing on my shoulders. "Yes. It is."

"I don't think I'll ever….enjoy things again." She murmured. "It's like someone muted all the color in the world."

OUCH! I needed to snap her out of this.

"Of course you will. You just need time to grieve and time to reflect and process everything." I told her, rubbing her back.

"It feels like…it's been months." The brunette girl whimpered.

I smiled through my pain. "Jeanie, it's been a week. Not even a week. 4 days."

"Oh." She slumped her shoulders.

"You have to give yourself time." I looked around the room for something to occupy her. Redirect her mind before it can continue its frightening rumination. "How about we color together? Would you like that?"

I held up one of her favorite coloring books with a bunch of intricate stained-glass-style flower designs.

"That just makes me think more about nature." She took off her purple glasses and covered her eyes. "Oh, Simon. I'm such a mess."

"Hey, you are NOT a mess." I squeezed her shoulder and put my arm around her. "You are having a perfectly natural reaction."

"Nature." She blubbered again. "Nature."

And then the floodgates burst. Tears were pouring and I was completely unsure what else to offer.

So, I just held her close as she cried. And cried. And cried some more.

Eventually, the tears on her face were all dried up. And her tear ducts couldn't produce anymore. She was too tired to even cry.

"Let's get you something to drink. And something to eat." I helped her walk downstairs carefully.

"I want to write poetry." Jeanette whimpered. "Bleak poetry….I want to write about the way I feel."

"After you eat." I said strictly. "No big decisions on an empty stomach."

She pouted at me. "Okay."

"Hey, how's it going? Eleanor asked, as we entered the kitchen.

"It's….going." I responded, frowning and resisting the urge to clench my jaw. "She needs nutrients."

"Duh." The Chipette dusted her hands off on her apron. "What can I getcha?"

"Rice." Jeanette said. "And maybe a banana. Please."

"And to drink?" I nudged the sleepy girl.

"Just water. While there's still water to drink…which there may not be for much longer." She started to cry again.

"Oof." Eleanor met my blue eyes with her green ones. "So, did ya figure out what's wrong with her?"

"Her Clean Energy Proposal didn't pass." I whispered. "I'm doing what I can, but I fear she needs to see a professional."

"Eh, she'll live. She's just gotta get her mind off it." The tough-as-nails girl said cheerfully.

"That's not healthy. She needs to process it first. Her entire worldview has been flipped in reverse." I explained. "This isn't something she CAN get her mind off of." Then, another thought hit me. "Where's Geizmo? Weren't you watching him?"

"I couldn't stand him." The pigtailed girl confessed, while cooking the rice for Jeanette. "So I let Theo and Brittany entertain the kids."

Phew. Crisis averted. I trusted Brittany and Theodore.

"They're playing fashion show." Eleanor added, while grabbing a banana and tossing it at Jeanette. Then, she went back to tending the rice on the stove. "I'm sure you'll hear all about it later."

I caught the banana since Jeanette was just staring off into space again. Her usual smile still replaced with an expression of misery. Whatever she was daydreaming about, was not a happy thing.

"Jeanette the space cadet returns." Her sister squeaked, piling the rice onto a plate.

I rubbed my forehead. Exasperated. I feel that emotion a lot. Interacting with people who cannot be serious is exhausting.

"Eleanor, you're not making this any better." I clenched my fist under the table.

"Chill out. She can't even hear me." The feisty blonde set the plate in front of the tallest Chipette. "Eat up, buttercup. And cheer up, buttercup."

Jeanette didn't move.

"Jeanie, your food is ready." I gently touched her arm.

She blinked and then turned her head toward me. She started to nibble the rice slowly. "Thank…you."

I watched her eat as I thought about possible ways to help her out of the funk. She'd be back in it by tomorrow, but she needed a bit of relief before it was time for bed. I'm not sure how frequent her nightmares are, but her imagination can rival Alvin's, so I assume they're a common occurrence.

When she finished eating, and sipping her water, she seemed a bit more…level, emotionally. That was a good sign. Or so I thought.

"What would you like to do now?" I asked, gently.

She pouted. "Write." She answered. "I want to write poetry."

"Then,…grab a pencil or your laptop and…" The girl with the purple glasses that matched the shape of my own, cut me off before I could finish.

"I can't." She laid her head on the table. "I can't write. I can't even brainstorm."

"You're tired. That's why. We'll do something less mentally taxing." I offered. "By morning, maybe your feelings will be ready to come out on paper."

"M…Maybe." The thin girl pushed herself up from the table with all her might.

"You guys could do Sudoku or word searches." Eleanor suggested, thinking she was helpful.

I gave her a glare. "I said LESS mentally taxing."

"Sor-ry." She returned to working on Thanksgiving dinner prep. "Just tryin' to help."

Since Eleanor had excused herself from the conversation, I took Jeanette into the living room. I sorted through the Chipettes' collection of DVDs.

"Would you like to watch a movie?" I asked.

Jeanette curled up on the couch like a cat. Her head tilted down slightly. Was that a nod?

"Yes or no?" I asked again. I needed to be certain.

This time, I could see her nod.

"One of your favorites?" I held up a movie about wizards who live on a street called Waverly place.

Her frown deepened and her eyes narrowed.

"Not feeling that one? Okay, how about….Inside Out? Very emotional. It teaches us that sadness is good and healthy, but the problem is with an overabundance of sadness that drowns out every other emotion." I held up another DVD.

This went on for a while, I held up each of Jeanette's favorite films. Every single one was rejected. Every. Single. One.

I was stumped. What to do next? How could I help? Wait a second…

"Would you like to watch a sad movie?" I suggested, sitting next to her.

Another subtle nod. The narrowed eyes relaxed and her scowl softened to a thin line.

"Alright." I started to look through the piles of DVDs again.

Meanwhile, Jeanette slowly grabbed the remote for the TV. She started flipping channels until she came to a documentary called Extinct Animals We Barely Got To Meet.

I gasped. "I don't think you want to watch this."

When I reached for the remote, she clutched it tighter. Her tail fur bristled and her ears flattened to the side.

"You DO want to watch it?" I pondered aloud. The idea made no sense. Logically, this would make her feel worse. But, who was I to argue with someone grieving?

I got up and brought her a warm blanket to wrap around her. We watched the movie in total silence. I watched as some tears trickled down her cheeks again. I had no idea if this was helping or not.

Also, I certainly didn't want to watch this movie. I liked a sad film now and then, but I was having a good day…mental health wise. I worried this might ruin it.

So, halfway through the film, I got up to pace around. Jeanette didn't notice. She was immersed in the film. What to do now? I could go upstairs and check on Geizmo. Yeah, you know what, that's a good idea.

I climbed the stairs all the way up to the girls' attic. I laughed when I saw the fashion show taking place. Theodore and Brittany were teaching Geizmo and Zeela how to strut. Pippi, was apparently already an expert on the technique.

The little white mouse sashayed like a diva. I could tell that Brittany had likely taught her those moves previously. She wore a sequined reddish-purple sleeveless dress.

"Oh yeah, Pippi! Work that runway, girl!" Brittany cheered.

"You got da moves." Theodore squeaked.

"What about Geizmo's moves?" My son's electronic face formed a frown.

The Chipette in pink giggled. "You'll get there."

"Yaaay! I be a pwetty model!" He twirled around.

Geizmo and Zeela were dressed in matching princess dresses with floofy sleeves, and very wide layered skirts. Geizmo's was a pale blue and Zeela's was pale yellow.

Did I object to my son wearing that? No. Only if Brittany forced him into it. It seemed he was enjoying himself, which indicated she hadn't.

"I wook pwetty too!" Zeela copied Geizmo and then laughed.

"Yes, you both look exquisite." I agreed. "Very…royal." I was at a loss for compliments to add.

"Dance with me, daddy!" Geizmo tugged at my arm.

"Yeah, Simon." Theodore added, clapping his hands. "Dance with him."

"I'm a bit tired." I tried to get out of it.

"Pweeeease?" Oh how could I resist my own creation? I programmed him. I programmed him to be a toddler.

And so, I engaged in the fatherly duties of…playing along with your child's imaginary games.

I shuffled my feet and danced around the attic with my son and Jeanette's daughter. My moves were stiff, at first. Then, Theodore eventually convinced me to loosen up. What would I do without him?

When we finished, the models or contestants (or whatever they were called) lined up in a single file row.

"You're the judge, Simon." Brittany grabbed me and pulled me closer to her. "Who's Santa Barbara's Next Top Model?"

I folded my arms. There was no way in heck I was going to pick only ONE. I'd hear about it from the other contestants for DAYS.

"They're all winners in my book. Pippi has the best moves. Geizmo has the best smile. And Zeela has the most compassion for her fellow competitors." I finished.

"Yooou whooo." Eleanor called.

The girl in pigtails had arrived like a specter in the doorway. Shadows obscured her until she stepped into the room.

"Eleanor! Eleanor!" Theodore greeted her immediately. "Would you like to be a model too?"

"Eh, not really my speed." She responded. Then, she looked directly at me with a worried look. "How's Jeanette?"

I felt the tug of sadness trying to pull me to the abyss and quickly pulled in the opposite direction against it. No depressive spirals. Not today. NOT TODAY.

I fidgeted with my fingers ever so slightly. "She's doing…as well….as she can be….you know…doing."

"What is THAT supposed to mean?" Brittany asked, running her fingers through her yellow-orange hair.

"She has to feel her sadness, a lot, in order to process it." I explained. "So…this may get worse before it gets better."

"WORSE!?" Brittany and Eleanor chorused as a duo.

Geizmo, Zeela, and Pippi had thankfully gone to the other side of the attic to play with Jeanette's doll collection. They were not privy to this conversation. Zeela was teaching Geizmo not to throw the dolls. Precious. Utterly precious.

"Give her a break, guys." I advised. "This can't be fixed overnight. It's like she's lost her innocence."

Theodore scrunched his tiny nose, deep in thought. "If you lose your innocence, can you find it again?"

I was compelled to be honest. "Rarely." I answered in a melancholy way. "Very rarely. Usually,…no."

Brittany and Eleanor exchanged equally sad and worried expressions.

My little brother continued to try and get a feel for the situation at hand. "Oh, do you feel it when you lose your innocence?"

"Some people feel it more than others." I said bleak-ly.

"I'm questioning if I was even born with childlike innocence." Eleanor quipped, interrupting my train of thought.

I grimaced. "So are the rest of us." I said, trying to sound less serious and more like I was joking. I'm not sure if it registered that way to the others.

Theo tapped his finger on his cheek. "I see….Well, Eleanor's a nice person, even without her innocence." He concluded.

Awww. He never ceases to be sweet. Although, Eleanor didn't blush, her face lit up with a huge smile.

"I fear don't have any either." I mentioned. "I know far too much."

The little boy in green scrunched his nose again. "But if you lose your innocence, you don't die." He said, like he knew that was fact.

"Part of you does." Eleanor set a hand on his shoulder, as she "joked" to lighten the mood.

My brother gasped so loudly it's as if the air had been sucked from the room.

Brittany took pity on him. It was clear he wanted to know, but the struggle to understand the complexity of it all was REAL.

"It's…hard to explain, Theo." She said in a surprisingly gentle voice.

Theodore shuffled his feet as he walked in a circle, scratching his head. Then, he stopped. "I'm starting to think I haven't lost my innocence yet." He squeaked.

I didn't want him to feel left out. "Parts of it you have, actually." I explained. "Other parts, thank goodness no." Oof. This was likely only going to confuse him more. I should have kept my mouth shut.

"Oh….well….I still feel like me even without those parts, so maybe innocence isn't as important as I thought." The little boy put his hands on his hips and forced a grin.

I gulped. "Uh…I'd say the parts you still have are…very important considering we can't age."

My brother let out a pained sigh. "I'm never gonna understand this." He sat down on the floor.

Eleanor sat down beside him. "Theo, it's not a REQUIREMENT." She stressed.

"But I wanna understand it more." He pouted.

Brittany shook her head forcefully, swinging her obnoxiously large ponytail from side to side. "No, trust us. You don't."

"Yeah." Eleanor hugged him and squeezed tightly. "Protect the innocence you've still got."

That made Theo a little happier. He smiled and nodded. "Okay!"

We chatted for a bit longer and then I excused myself from the room. I went back to check on Jeanette. She was still watching the extinct animals program on TV. She was laying on the whole couch now. I assume she noticed I left.

"How are you doing, Jeanie?" The gratuitous use of her pet name was surprising me. Though I suppose it made sense to treat her softer…much softer than normal.

She yawned. "Tired." She squeaked out.

"I bet you are." I placed a hand on hed forehead. "Would you like to go up to bed?"

She shook her head. Then, she slowly sat up and handed me the channel changer that she'd been cuddling like a plushie.

"Can….Can you find me…something new to watch?" She asked, blinking her deep blue eyes. "Something a little, just a little, less sad."

I nodded and skimmed through the channels until I found a tragedy and comedy movie about two people suffering from a terrible illness, living their best life until the eventually happy ending where they learn they're not going to die. I don't know the name of it, but I believe it was inspired by the plot of The Last Holiday.

I watched a little of that and then asked Jeanette if she'd be alright if I left. She said yes, as long as I'd return later. I texted the others and told them to check on her now and then.

I decided to take a short break and return home. I could feel the sadness and despair creeping in. If I was going to continue to assist Jeanette with her healing process, I needed to step away and recalibrate. The others would pitch in to cheer her up in the meantime.

I took a deep breath and opened the door. Walking inside, I removed my indigo colored hooded jacket that I'd been wearing over a solid royal-blue shirt. I heard some noise and turned my head to watch Alvin carefully and SLOWLY walking down the stairs. This was abnormal behavior, but that was to be expected.

"What are you doing? Practicing to enter in the Snail Grand Prix?" I teased.

"No. That sounds ridiculous." He answered.

His voice, while not entirely an emotionless monotone, was very…stilted. It was like his esteemed scholar voice, but with something missing. I just couldn't put my finger on what.

I put my hand on my hip and narrowed my eyes at him. "Then, what exactly ARE you doing?"

"Are you aware that there are over 100 stair related injuries per minute?" My brother responded, matter-of-factly.

I rolled my eyes.

Alvin reached the bottom of the stairs and approached me, at a nice even pace instead of like a speed demon. I took note of his appearance. His messy, shoulder-length hair was tied back in a tiny ponytail. He wore a cyan T-shirt that said "I'm Quarky. Deal with it." in rainbow letters. There were designs of quarks themselves on it too, each labeled with a letter.

In addition to that, he wore a red long-sleeved shirt underneath and a pair of galaxy patterned leggings. He tends to always dress more for comfort when he's overstimulated. He also finds that he needs less of the color red, because it's such a powerful color.

"I see you finished your coding project." I commented.

He wasn't even fidgeting as he talked. "Indeed."

"How did it go?" I was interested. I hoped he wasn't STILL stressing about it.

The awkward boy shrugged. "I have no idea. It is done. It is satisfactory, I suppose. I am not pleased with it."

I noticed that his face appeared to be fixed in a neutral and oddly pensive expression. His mouth was a thin and nearly perfectly straight line. He appeared to be so focused elsewhere, he was forgetting to emote. At all.

It was so creepy. I wasn't sure where to take this conversation next. "Okay…"

"I also deep cleaned the kitchen." Alvin went on. "The floors have been scrubbed to perfection. Then, I helped Dave re-organize his sock drawer."

"And how did that go?" I walked with him, into our living room.

My medicated brother blinked twice and then responded. "A fantastic father son bonding activity, if I do say so myself. Boring tasks? I don't believe I know them anymore."

I nibbled my lip. "Must have felt good."

His face was still blank. His voice still didn't sound quite like his own. "I wasn't aware how it felt. Irrelevant stimuli ceases to entertain me."

"Cut the robot act." I rubbed my temples. "Please." This was getting on my nerves. "I know my meds were NOT designed to cause this."

Alvin delivered the bad news, still barely fidgeting at all, aside from his finger tapping at his thigh. "It is not an act. I really haven't a clue how to stop it." He frowned, but then his smile went back to being a flatline in seconds. "If I had one, I would take these more often." He told me sharply.

I sighed heavily. "Oh, Alvin, I'm sorry I did this to you."

He shook his head. "No no. I did it to myself. As we have established I do not take well to significant shifts in my perception."

No, you don't say? That's so unexpected. (Sarcasm.)

I adjusted my glasses and tried to set aside my guilt. I noticed that Alvin's tail was EXTRA bushy. The fur was spiked up on end. That, told me that he was extremely anxious, even though his face couldn't tip me off. If only I hadn't convinced Alvin he needed to try medication. I opened a frightening can of worms.

"So what are you going to do now?" I inquired

"My mind is alternating between things to accomplish and complete static. I suppose I shall just pick one. What is priority?" Alvin quipped.

I got visibly frustrated with him. "I don't know. I can't see the list IN YOUR HEAD." I stressed the last three words.

Alvin didn't seem to react at all to my frustration. "I know. I shall watch an informative documentary about geology." He declared.

"Fun." What else could I say to that?

"No. But useful." He corrected, raising his pointer finger in the air. "Nothing feels fun. I cannot focus on my feelings, a fact we previously have established."

I was sick of talking to him. It felt like getting nowhere, more than usual. His over-response to most attempts at ADHD management is frightening.

I folded my arms and resisted the urge to roll my eyes again. "How long until this wears off?"

Alvin walked over to grab the TV remote. "I took the meds after eating my lunch, so that was noon." He stated. "By midnight, I will once again be my loveable and humorous self."

"Midnight. Great." I mumbled sarcastically under my breath. It seemed I'd need a nap if I was going to deal with his antics late at night.

As I strode out of the room, my chemically altered sibling followed.

"Would you like to watch the documentary with me?" He asked, without a HINT of excitement present in his delivery.

That sounded like an even more unpleasant experience than watching my good friend Jeanette sob repeatedly.

I shook my head. "No, no. I think I'll pass." I shoved my hands in the pockets of my jeans.

"Suit yourself. I cannot wait until I am back to being Alvin 2.0 again. I am certain he will be enthralled by all the knowledge I have gained." The boy in mostly cyan replied.

"Yep, Shelvin Cooper. I'm sure he will." I muttered dryly, but loud enough that he could hear me.

The similarities between him and the popular character from the hit show The Big Bang Theory were impossible to ignore. It still wasn't an exact match. I could see hints of Alvin's signature brand of insanity, at times. It was a close enough match though.

"His name is Sheldon." The Chipmunk in the cyan T-shirt corrected me.

I purposefully relaxed my jaw, before I started grinding my teeth. "It was a pun." I reminded him.

"Oh. Right. I usually make those as jokes." Alvin laughed the most dry and forced sounding laugh. "What a complete waste of mental resources. Such a foolish child I can be."

That's it. I couldn't listen to him anymore. My stretched patience was about to SNAP. So, I did the only thing I could do at a time like this.

I walked away.

Then, I felt bad, so I returned, peering around the corner to keep an eye on my brother. Alvin stood nearly motionless for about 30 seconds.

Finally, he rubbed his chin. "I guess that is my cue to leave as well." It took him FAR too long to realize that.

I watched as he headed into the living room. His pace was still too slow and calm for my liking.

But I couldn't get swept up in Alvin's issues NOW. I needed my break!

"He's fine. He'll be fine. It'll wear off and then I am DEFINITELY locking up the meds." I said aloud quietly to myself. "They're not supposed to be addictive, but at this point I think Alvin can become addicted to ANYTHING."

With that settled, it was time to tire myself out with some basketball and then take a well deserved power nap. I needed a reset, before the pessimist in me bubbled to the surface and made everything worse.

I returned to the treehouse later and Jeanette informed me that she didn't want to sleep in her own room tonight. She wanted to go to Miss. Miller's. That would be a much MUCH better and quieter place for her to process. Her sisters' arguments can get very overwhelming for her. Best to avoid them.

I walked with Jeanette down the treehouse steps, keeping her steady so she didn't fall. She still seemed spaced out in the worst way possible. She had changed out of her nightgown and into her favorite pajama top with a cat-eared hoodie and striped pajama bottoms.

A bit later, as we entered Miss. Miller's house, the elderly woman could IMMEDIATELY sense something was up with her daughter.

"What's the matter, dear?" She knelt down, despite the crack that came from one of her knees.

Jeanette squeezed her bunny plush tightly. I noticed it had a name tag that read Presto. Oh yes, I do remember her introducing me to that plush toy a while ago.

"I've lost all hope and the universe feels empty and colorless." The girl in purple complained with a weepy sigh.

"Well, that's not good." Miss. Miller stood up and led Jeanette to the kitchen. "We need to do something to get your mind off all that."

"I can't." The Chipette whimpered. "I am a…void. My creativity is nonexistent." She murmured in a daze. "I've cried so much that I'm numb. I don't like feeling numb."

OUCH OUCH OUCH! A pain I knew all too well.

"Oh my. Oh my stars." Thr elderly woman placed her hands on her cheeks. "Simon, what do we do?"

"If I knew, I would have done it already." I said bitterly. No, that was too pessimistic. I corrected myself seconds later. "I'm sure we'll think of…something."

I wouldn't stop until I did.

Miss. Miller offered Jeanette her favorite vegan desserts. Tofu chocolate chip cookies, rice cream, oatmeal raisin cookies, and even a one of the tooth cleaning vegan lollipops she'd saved from Halloween.

The grieving girl refused them all politely. She just wanted to get to bed.

Miss. Miller and I set up the bedroom for her. Extra fluffy pillows, nice cozy blankets, the works.

I even tucked her in and helped her let her hair down. She'd been struggling to remove her hair-tie.

"Thank you for everything, Simon." She whispered hoarsely. "And you too, mom."

"I hope you sleep well, dear. I'll be right by your side if you have nightmares." The elderly woman had changed into her white and pink flower pattered nightgown. She climbed into the bed next to Jeanette.

"And I'll be back tomorrow." I swore. "I promise."

"Yay." She murmured softly, with sincerity.

I retucked her covers to make sure they were perfect. "Now, cheer up, sleepy Jeanie." I told her in a playful manner. "No thoughts of doom tonight."

She yawned. "Okay."

I removed her glasses and put them on the nightstand.

"Simon,…can you sing to me?" She asked softly, rubbing her tired eyes. "I don't think I can fall asleep…without a lullaby."

Miss. Miller had fallen asleep already, snoozing with her sleep mask over her eyes.

I didn't particularly feel like singing, but this was for Jeanette. I would do anything for my good friend.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah I can." I thought about a perfect song for that moment.

Then, I began to lull her with the dulcet tones of a haunting melody by Adele. The song was named Remedy.

"I remember all of the things that I thought I wanted to be

So desperate to find a way out of my world and finally breathe

Right before my eyes, I saw that my heart, it came to life

This ain't easy, it's not meant to be

Every story has its scars"

I watched as my friend's eyes fluttered closed. Her lips turned their corners upward into a VERY slight smile. It was working! I continued to sing softly.

"But when the pain cuts you deep

When the night keeps you from sleeping

Just look and you will see

That I will be your remedy

When the world seems so cruel

And your heart makes you feel like a fool

I promise you will see

That I will be, I will be your remedy"

Her shallow and panicked breaths fell slowly back to an even, steady pace. I started the second verse.

"No river is too wide or too deep for me to swim to you

Come whatever, I'll be the shelter that won't let the rain come through"

I heard soft purring and wondered if Miss. Miller's cat had joined us. I realized I was now sitting on the bed instead of standing beside it. No clue how I'd gotten there. My body reacted automatically I suppose.

Where was that purring coming from? I looked around for Duchess, but the fluffy feline wasn't in this room. That meant the purring must be coming from….Jeanette?

Of course! Chipmunks CAN purr. I always temporarily forget that because I rarely do it. I know Alvin's mentioned he loves listening to his girlfriend purr.

With that mystery solved, I returned to the chorus.

"When the pain cuts you deep

When the night keeps you from sleeping

Just look and you will see

That I will be your remedy

Your remedy ooooh."

The purring grew louder and eventually Jeanette was entirely asleep. I patted the fur on her cheek.

"Goodnight, sleepy Jeanie."

I returned home and checked on Alvin. He had his nose in a geology book he'd borrowed from the library. It was 10:00pm. I had time to chill and meditate a little before my usual brother returned.

After my meditative session, I did some yoga stretches. That was followed by a nice simple chat with my friend Dexter. Lastly, I entered the dining room and pulled out my own book to read. Stress Management Skills And How To Use Them was the title. A very useful source of information.

I was interrupted from my reading at 12:06am. A furry hand tapped my shoulder.

"Brittany texted me." It was Alvin. And his voice had expression again!

All of the personality and hyperactivity that had drained from him, had returned as if it never left. I knew that must be very jarring for my brother to experience, but he seemed to be handling it alright.

I put the book away, delighted to see the brother I was used to dealing with once more. "Was it about Jeanette?" I inquired curiously.

He nodded his head REALLY quickly. I noticed his tail fur was no longer bushed out everywhere. "Yeah. Something's going on with Netta? I can't believe I didn't know about this!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah, you picked a great day to get lost in a task saliency fueled coding rabbit hole." I responded sarcastically.

He jumped onto the table and pouted. "I hate those meds."

I groaned. We'd rehashed this conversation so many times I was sick of it. "If you hated them, you wouldn't continue to take them." I pointed out.

He paced up and down the table, gesturing wildly with his hands. His movements were so much more lively.

"Okay, fine. I love-hate those meds. I love the intense focus! I love the follow through! My reliability skyrockets!" He rambled. "But I hate what they do to me. I hate that work and fun feel exactly the same on them, so I always pick work. There's no urges to goof off or entertain on them, so I just…don't. There's no excitement from learning on them. It's more of a compulsion to learn. I feel stable, but by my standards, it's very robotic. And not the Geizmo sort of robotic. The emotionless kind. It's not even the meds' fault. It's ME. I could have emotions on them, but for whatever reason I just choose never to focus on my emotions." He rubbed his head in frustration. I assume he had a massive headache from the sudden flip in brain chemistry.

"It does sound awfully rough." I agreed.

"I blame Dave." He went on, still pacing with a confident vigor. "He cursed me with workaholic syndrome! Dave's always like, "get your priorities straight." I can't get them straight! Even on meds! They're always zig-zagged. I'm either not focused enough or too focused. There's no inbetween. ARRRRGH!" He paused to sniff the air. "I smell waffles? Is someone making waffles?"

I chuckled lightly and got out of the chair. "Well, thankfully it appears the medication has worn off now."

He stared at me with a confused face. "How can you tell?" Okay, so a bit of the Sheldon-ness was still making its way out of his system.

I blinked at him in surprise.

The sudden realization smacked him seconds later. "Ohhh, the rambles….yeah."

He jumped off the table.

"Not just the rambles." I clarified. "Everything. It's good to have…this side of you back." I smiled warmly.

He clenched his fists as he jogged around the dining room table. "It is, but…I'm still mad. Takes me longer to do homework on medication because my cognitive processing is SLOWER and the work is less enjoyable. Takes me longer to start homework off medication, but IF it's something I'm interested in, I zip through it." The long ramble continued. "Basically, I'm screwed. Because either way I'm looking at 6-8 hours a day on homework and I simply have no school-life balance." He pushed his red glasses up on his nose and folded his arms. "I'm totally wired right now and mentally tired and I just….I hate it."

I stopped him before he accidentally ran into a table leg. "We'll figure something out. Two AP classes was too much. You could handle one, but two was pushing it. You knew this." I reminded my older bro wisely.

He sighed, because he knew I was correct. "I did. Just a glutton for punishment I guess. And for waffles." He raised his voice and ran into the kitchen, while I followed. "Theo, are you making waffles?"

The chubby boy beamed as he presented Alvin and I with a plate of mouth watering treats. "Hot off the waffle iron! It's midnight waffle time!" He announced, with a wag of his tail.

"WAFFLES!" Alvin shouted excitedly.

"Waffles do sound pretty good." I agreed.

The red capped boy grabbed one and shoved it into his mouth. "Oh yeah. That's the stuff. Those particular meds blunt the taste of everything. I still eat, but I can't ENJOY it." He rambled.

"Yeah. You say that a lot." Theodore mentioned sympathetically. "It sounds terrible."

"The worst!" He finished the waffle and grabbed another. "So, what's going on with my girlfriend?" He asked between bites.

We all sat at the counter to enjoy our waffles.

I had to break the bad news to him. "She's become disillusioned with life." I said, sadly. "Devoid of faith."

"Jeanette's sad and hopeless?" Alvin washed the waffle down with a swig of orange juice. "Jeanette?"

Theo nibbled his waffle with a suddenly sad face. "Uh huh."

Alvin dropped his half eaten waffle and gasped. "We can't have that."

"I don't know what to do to help her." The younger boy whimpered. He wiped away a tear with his napkin.

Alvin leapt onto the counter again. "Neither do I, but I can't stand by and let the world crush her spirit!" He raised his fist toward the ceiling. "It's already taken a chunk out of mine, and I won't let it take hers too!" He declared confidently.

"It's okay, for now." Theodore stuck his finger in the syrup and licked it off. "Simon took care of it and she's asleep. You can help her in the morning."

Alvin grabbed his belly and let out a genuine laugh, instead of a dry and throat-y half-laugh. "I'm sorry, SIMON took care of it? Simon!? Help Jeanette think positive?" He climbed back down to his seat to finish the half-eaten waffle. "Why didn't ya just shoot her in the foot too, while you're at it?" He asked me with an eyebrow wiggle.

I glared at him, quite annoyed. "I think I did a…a decent job at mitigating her grief…a little." I responded.

"He did wonderful." Theo added with a grin.

"Yeah. A little." Alvin, jumped off the seat, cracked his knuckles and raised his arms above his head. "Step aside, and watch the master of entertainment at work!"

I climbed down from my chair and the stack of books beneath me. I clamped a firm hand on Alvin's arm. "AGAIN, She's sleeping. You can see her in the morning."

The exuberant red-capped boy pouted again. "Aww, but I want my chance to cheer up sleepy Netta."

"And you'll get your chance, tomorrow." Theodore assured him.

Alvin sulked back to his seat and ate his waffle, ears and tail drooping. He felt guilty, I assume. Guilty for not being there when his girlfriend needed him most. Nevertheless, he'd get his chance to make up for it. I was…positive.

We let the waffles digest and then made it to bed. Alvin was restless, because he had his energy back and hadn't been able to burn any off during the day.

"Alvin, you need sleep. It's late." Theodore said with a rub of his eyes.

"I will sleep. I'm just gonna do some light reading first." Alvin pulled a thick (heckin' chonker, as some may say) of a physics textbook out from under his pillow. Why he had it under his pillow, I may never understand.

I raised an eyebrow. "Light reading?"

"Yes." He opened the book and smiled widely.

I playfully teased him with a smug grin. "Your Simon is showing."

His smile faded momentarily, before returning less intensely. "Yeah."

"And the meds aren't even in your system, so you can't blame them." I reminded him, turning on my side to both face him and get comfortable.

"I know…" He was clearly annoyed, but trying to stay calm. "And I accept and embrace this part of myself, as frustrating and difficult as it may be….he is a good kid. I think all of us are, including Classic Alvin." He finished, smiling whistfully.

"That's what I like to hear." I replied, giving him a wink.

Theodore clapped his hands. "Yeah! We are!"

I gave Alvin 15 minutes to enjoy his physics book before turning out the light.

"Hey!" He snapped out of his hyperfocus.

"The sooner you go to sleep, the sooner you can help Jeanette." I stated wisely.

He groaned. "Okay okay. I'll sleep."

The next day, we all met up at Miss. Miller's and then took Jeanette on a walk through our town. We constantly took turns suggesting ways to cheer her up.

"Would you like to go to that smoothie place you love?" Brittany wondered, hopefully.

"Not really." Jeanette slumped her shoulders and looked at the ground. Her bun was hastily done up, and half falling apart. She wasn't even wearing a ribbon dangling from it like she does frequently. All bad signs.

"What about the park?" Theodore offered.

The girl in the light lilac sweater with the kitty cat face on it just shook her head and sighed.

"Netta, I am so SORRY! I should have been here for you sooner!" Alvin was frantic. "I'll help you, I swear. I can make it up to you!"

"It's okay." Jeanette told him with a frown. "I didn't….really want to tell anyone about it." She explained. "Or I would have told you."

"Oh." Alvin's reddish brown eyebrows raised. His hair was out of the ponytail now, hanging around his neck like a lion's mane. "Still! There's gotta be, you know, SOMETHING I can do to fix this! I'm not gonna stop tryin' 'til you're happy again!"

"For what it's worth." I interjected, sticking my hands in the pockets of my blue hooded sweatshirt. "It is possible to have fun without being happy."

"That makes no sense." Theodore wrinkled his nose.

"It's true." Eleanor added. "I have fun, even when I'm REALLY upset and angry. I do stuff that I love. I'm still angry afterwards, just less angry. And I'm still angry while having the fun, but the fun like…takes priority."

"I'm always slightly sad." I admitted, though I didn't relish mentioning my ongoing depression struggle. "But, I'm way less sad than I used to be."

"Do you love it? Do you love it? No, I ain't happy yet, but I'm way less sa-aad." Alvin sang to himself while bobbing his head. That was an AJR song. One of MY favorites, actually. The message was right on the nose.

When you heal from depression, you don't suddenly find yourself happy about things and satisfied with your life entirely. But you do learn to be a lot less sad and focus a lot less on being sad. You get Way Less Sad, like the name of the song states.

I can never become a Theodore-like person, who looks for the good in things first. That's never going to feel natural. However, the more I practice, the easier it becomes to work a little Theodore-ness into myself now and then. And it helps. It helps A LOT.

As for Alvin, he can never learn what it feels like to live without his combo pack of neurodivergence. The most he can get is adaptations that help him succeed and the occasional chemicals that flip his brain so far in reverse that it's foreign to him. (Due to his extreme hypersensitivity, unfortunately.)

As for Jeanette, to go from being a Theodore like person, to suffering something that could eventually result in depression if she couldn't find ways to cope…That would be the worst thing ever. None of us would stop helping her, until we were sure she was okay again.

"Urgh!" Brittany picked at her polished nails. "We are running out of places to take you." She snapped at Jeanette.

I squeezed her hand tightly. "Calm down." I said, gently.

"I know!" Theodore waved his hand. "We can go to the soup kitchen and help out!"

"I can start my own recycling business!" Alvin declared.

"With your busy schedule?" Eleanor raised an eyebrow. "You must be joking."

"Aw nuts. You're right. I barely have time to do the things I love, let alone anything new." He grumbled.

"What do you think about the soup kitchen, Jeanette? Jeanette?" Theodore looked around and then gasped. "She's gone, guys."

"Wow." Brittany teased. "She pulled an Eleanor."

"And you better stop it." Eleanor threatened. "Unless you want your hair pulled."

I frantically began to search for my friend, turning around in a circle. I spotted her across the street, staring in the window of a building and looking even more miserable.

"There she is." I said.

The others flocked around her.

"Is there something special about this place?" Theodore asked, tugging on the brunette girl's sweater.

Jeanette didn't answer. She just burst into tears again.

"This is the election office." Eleanor pointed to a sign in the window. "It's where her proposal was voted on."

"Ohoho, it is?" Alvin rubbed his hands together. "I have an idea!"

"Which side of you has the idea?" I teased.

"The blended side." He scrunched his nose and adjusted his glasses. "I think. Me. Good ol' Alvin 2.0. The combo!"

Eleanor rolled her eyes.

Theodore wagged his tail and looked up at Alvin. "What're you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna demand a recount!" And before any of us could stop him, Alvin went into the building and let his rebellious spirit go wild.

A little while later, he was thrown out of the place, and a big sign with his face on it that said BANNED was hung up in the window.

Alvin got up and rubbed his back, brushing the dirt off his jeans too. He looked annoyed and a little bit bummed out. "Well, that didn't work."

"I'm shocked." I stated, with my usual signature sarcasm.

"In fact, they probably never wanna see my face again." He rubbed the sleeve of his cyan jacket and then tugged at the hem of his red T-shirt.

Eleanor chuckled. "Pretty much, yeah." She grabbed a hold of Alvin and turned him to face the poster.

As soon as he saw it, his eyes lit up and he smiled. "Look! 2.0's first banned poster!" He pointed upwards. "Aren't I adorable? My glasses really look good in poster form, as does the rest of me…"

Brittany cut him off, giggling. "That's enough bragging for now."

Jeanette moved from her spot by the window and tapped Alvin's arm gently. "Thank you….for trying."

"I tried so hard, Netta." He frowned again. "I wish it worked." His ears drooped and his voice lowered. "What do we do now?"

As it got closer and closer to Thanksgiving Day, we continued our quest to show Jeanette there was still a chance to help slow down, and possibly even prevent the demise of planet Earth. We did so much volunteer work that I can't even begin to list the sheer amount of things we accomplished.

At most, it made Jeanette feel a tiny bit better. She started wearing her hair in her usual way again, and added her ribbon and bow on a dangly string. She would fidget with it again and chew on it and twist it constantly.

But, she was still missing her creative drive and her joyful faith. A far cry from her usual self, but slowly SLOWLY making her way back.

I tried to schedule an art day for her, so that she and I could draw together. I hated the process of producing art. I was still so nitpicky and finicky over every little detail. It drove me crazy, but I would do it…for her.

We sat in the living room at my house, gathered round the coffee table. Geizmo and Zeela colored with us and then I had to clean doodles off the table because apparently Geizmo STILL cannot grasp the concept of keeping the markers and crayons on the PAPER.

"How are you doing, Jeanette?" I asked, after making peace with the gears I had drawn and the imperfect freehanded circles I was making. (VERY DIFFICULT!)

She'd drawn a single flower, very small and neatly in the center of the page. She handed it to me with a heavy sigh.

"Okay, okay, not bad. What else can you add?" I tried to compliment her and encourage the process.

She shrugged.

"What if you drew me?" I suggested.

She put a pencil to the paper, but before she could make a single line, she burst into tears again. "Simon, I can't! I can't create anything! It's not….It's not coming to me like it usually does."

"It will come back." I promised her.

"I want to write." She stood up and started stimming by flapping her hands. "I want to write! I want to write! I want to draw! I want to sing! And dance! And be happy! I want to feel…I want to feel okay again."

"There there, mommy." Zeela hugged Jeanette's thin legs. "It okay. You be okay."

Geizmo ignored what was going on, wrapped up in drawing a mustache on himself with a marker.

I looked at him and coughed loudly. Then, I pointed to Jeanette.

He blinked his electronic eyes and then finally realized what was going on. Then, he joined Zeela and hugged the sad Chipette.

"Geizmo make you feel better." He promised.

"I make you feel better too." Zeela added.

Jeanette eventually sat down at the coffee table again. "Being creative is…" She sniffled again. "It's such a big part of me. What if it never comes back? I'm not sure I know who I am without it." She frowned. "I sound like Alvin, don't I?"

I nodded sadly. "Little bit."

She looked at one of the crayons, a red one. Then, she picked it up and sighed.

And, in an instant, I knew exactly how to get her creative juices flowing again.

"Wait here." I instructed. "I'll be right back."

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I ran over to the room under the stairs and typed in the passcode. Then, I ventured into Alvin's lab.

He was there, sitting at one of the lab tables, typing more endless strings of code into his laptop. Nooooo! If he'd taken the extended release meds again, he'd be no help at all.

"Do you…have a minute?" I called out softly, expecting a stilted and concise reply.

Fortunately, Alvin saved his progress, and then closed the laptop. He groaned loudly. "I HATE IT! I HATE IT! I HATE CODING! I HATE IT! I just can't understand it like other stuff! No matter how hard I try, I make like 300 bugs! Then, I patch those, and they somehow turn into 500 bugs!" He opened the laptop and started up the program again, as if on autopilot. "I'm not cut out for this! STUPID STUPID STUPID!"

"If you hate it so much, why are you taking the class?" I came closer to him.

He turned his swivel chair to face me. "I DON'T EVEN KNOW ANYMORE!" He exclaimed. "I guess, because Nerdy Me thinks it's a good idea. Well, I don't think he was prepared for how much we genuinely SUCK at it." He ranted.

"Then just….stop." I told him with an exasperated frown.

"I can't." He muttered. "I wanna be a software engineer so frackin' bad."

I raised an eyebrow. "I thought you wanted to be a physicist."

He jumped out of the chair and threw his hands up with a shout. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT! I NEVER KNOW WHAT I WANT!" He complained. "I think that's why I keep taking the meds sometimes even though I hate it. When I'm that guy, I just….know exactly what I want to do and I DO IT. No fighting with myself. No having to psyche out my brain or bargain or trick myself into boring stuff. I just DO IT. But some of the stuff on meds that I do, is stuff I don't WANT to do. Random stuff I feel obligated to do. Most of it, most of it is actually."

"Like organizing a sock drawer?" I teased with genuine concern.

"YEAH!" He collapsed into the cyan bean bag chair with a heavy sigh. "Urgh! I'm such a mess. How do you put up with me!?"

I chuckled. "Not sure, but I manage."

"I just….I can't stay on top of everything. I got a taste of what that felt like. IT WAS INCREDIBLE! Then, I took Halloween as a vacation day and suddenly I'm behind again!" A tear rolled down his freckled cheek. "I'm behind again."

I pulled him up out of the beanbag chair. "Alvin, you don't have to stay on top of everything." I said firmly. "You CAN'T stay on top of everything."

"But I gotta!" He blubbered. "I owe it to myself! I can't waste my limitless potential!"

I thought about all the stress, all the obligations Alvin took on, in addition to his homework, when he didn't HAVE to. It wasn't even about teachers, or students, or even Dave anymore. Sure, Alvin still blamed them. But he had learned he didn't have to fit other people's expectations entirely. This was about Alvin's own ridiculously high, unattainable expectations for HIMSELF.

But why did he have such high expectations? What drove him? What fueled his descent into madness? Why did he have such a twisted view of the things he was capable of? How could I snap him out of it?

I stared at the book sitting on Alvin's lab table. It was a book he'd written, in a single night, while procrastinating on a history project that he'd been partnered with me to complete.

"Alvin's Guide To Leveling Up In Life" the title said.

And that's when it hit me. Everything suddenly made sense! Why hadn't I seen it before? Alvin was fine taking on things at first, but he kept adding and adding to them. The more he accomplished, the more he sought out to do. And why?

Because he was treating life….like a videogame! He was going for the high score! He was trying to beat his own high score! That's why he kept returning to the extended release meds despite hating the way they alter his personality. That's why he jumped right into another AP class. And that, if I didn't talk him out of it, was going to leave the poor kid so burned out that he wouldn't HAVE a sense of self left to worry about.

I grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Life is NOT a videogame, Alvin!" I yelled.

He paused, then looked confused. "What…?"

"You can't beat your high score." I went on, letting go of him. "You won the game. You're on the daily quests and side quests now. You have done amazing things, you'll continue to do amazing things. But you can't do everything at once. You can't. It is KILLING you." I stressed that word, because I needed him to let some things go. I missed when he was HAPPY being Alvin 2.0. I'm sure he did too.

"I know….I know….but I don't know how to stop." His voice shook as much as his trembling body.

"Pick and choose what to get into." I advised. "I know that's hard for you, so I'll do what I can to help. But, you HAVE to quit Computer Science next semester. Or you have to quit AP Science."

He walked over and closed the laptop once more. "And what do I do about this semester?"

"It's almost over, Alvin." I replied.

His ears twitched and he seemed more alert. "What? Really? Where did all the time go?"

I rolled my eyes. "You spent 80% of it obsessing over chores and homework and studying."

"You're right, Si. You're right." He forced a sad smile. "Guess you and the others are gonna have to force me to have fun more often."

"I think Jeanette would like to do something fun with you today." I told him. Never once having forgotten why I came into his lab. "I think BOTH of you need it."

Alvin sighed whistfully and took off his cyan jacket, tying it around his waist. "I miss having fun…without feeling like the fun is a waste of time in the grand scheme of things." He groaned again. "Urgh. I need to drop Computer Science. Coding has messed me up far more than the meds did. I'm not cut out to write code for a videogame."

I put an arm around him as I led him out of the lab. "No. You aren't cut out for this class. But, I think, if you really committed to it, you could learn to code a videogame. Bit by bit. No rushing. Just set aside a little time each week to code."

"That….seems do-able." The awkward boy squeaked.

I smiled encouragingly. "Or, you know, you could always…have help."

"You'd code it with me?" His tail twitched and wagged like that of an excited puppy.

"I would." I responded sincerely, before giving him a gentle shove into the living room. "Now, go brighten Jeanette's day with your spontaneity."

Alvin wasted no time joining us and fidgeted with the markers as he drew Jeanette a wonderful masterpiece. It was a picture of her, some stars, the earth, music notes, recycling signs, and flowers.

He wrote words on it too, in bright, eye-popping cyan letters.

"You saved my world! Pretty sure you can save the universe! It's alright to cry, just don't give up!"

He handed her the picture and gave her a very wide and genuine smile. "I, uh, I made this for ya." He spoke abnormally softly. "I hope ya like it."

Jeanette took the picture in her hands. Then she cried, and cried, and cried some more.

"Are those sad tears or happy tears?" Alvin asked with a nervous chuckle. "Please tell me I didn't make it worse."

"Happy tears!" Jeanette squealed. "So happy! I'm happy again! I'm still sad, but I'm also happy too!"

"Maybe you're finally ready to write some poetry." I commented.

She smiled and spoke between choked sobs. "I am! But, maybe tomorrow. Right now…" She dried her eyes. "I wanna sing."

"OH GOOD!" Zeela exclaimed, the little antennas on her robot head bobbling. "Mommy's back!"

"She sure is." Alvin and I said at the same time.

Jeanette started singing a song from her favorite Rapunzel show. The one by Natasha Bedingfield that provides the show's end credits. I confess, I have seen at least a few episodes.

She danced around the room and everything was right in the world again. As right as it ever could be.

"Now I got my eyes, opening wider

My heart, burning like fire

Feels like I'm so alive

I'm never going back

Whatever I want now, I'm gonna chase

Who I am, I can't contain it

I'm not gonna hold it in

'Cause there's more of me to give."

Alvin and I exchanged relieved expressions as the weight was lifted off both our shoulders. It was good to have Jeanie back to her joyful self. I really hoped it would last.

On Thanksgiving, we all gathered around Miss. Miller's dining room table to enjoy the turkey and tofurkey and all the other Thanksgiving staples. There were sweet potatoes and cranberry jam. There was also pumpkin pie and pecan pie for dessert.

As we sat down to dig in, Dave started to speak. "Alright, everyone, before we have dinner, let's all go around the table and say what we're thankful for."

Brittany stood up in her chair. "I'll go first. I'm thankful for this lovely meal that Miss. Miller, Eleanor, and Theodore have generously prepared. And…I'm thankful I don't have to eat anything green."

We all chuckled at that last part.

Eleanor beamed at her sister, green eyes shining. "Thanks for not saying my name last." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, I'm thankful for all of you guys, and thankful that I can be anything I want to be. Chef. Super Athlete. Detective. Spy."

"Don't forget knight in shining armor!" Theodore quipped. "I'm thankful that Jeanette's feeling more like herself again. Plus, I'm thankful that there ARE lots of people who DO want to make the world a better place."

He discreetly fed Lilly some scraps of turkey under the table. He took such good care of that puppy.

"I'm thankful for a secure and stable job, and I'm thankful I get the opportunity to focus less on work to spend time with you kids during the holidays." Dave announced.

"Maybe that'll cure my workaholic syndrome too, daddy-o." Alvin teased.

"I'm thankful for my cousin Geizmo." Warbie chirped. The little bird rolled his eyes. "Because Alvin said I have to be."

Alvin gave a nervous titter and handed Warbie a gummy worm to shut him up.

"I thankful for music and dancing!" Geizmo shouted happily.

"And I thankful for a nice home and lots of toys." Zeela quipped politely.

Pippi squeaked something completely unintelligible that only Jeanette understood.

"Pippi says she's thankful to be Santa Barbara's Next Top Model." The girl in purple looked lost. "I'm not sure what that means, but I'm glad she's happy."

"I'm thankful for my girls." Miss. Miller added. "And for these nifty things called hearing aids. What an invention."

"Can I go yet?" Alvin picked at his sweet potato casserole, looking bored.

"After me." I stood up in my chair, as Brittany had done. "I'm thankful for so many things, but one that stands out to me is….finally getting a good handle on my depression this year. It's been a long haul. I know I don't always talk about it, but I suffered a lot. I'm grateful that lately, the suffering has been significantly reduced."

"Whooooo!" Eleanor cheered.

"Way to go, Simon!" Brittany exclaimed.

"So proud of ya, little bro!" Alvin gushed.

Jeanette gave me a thumbs up.

I sat down in my chair, feeling good, but very light headed. I took a long sip of my grape juice.

"Okay, my turn. My turn!" Alvin stood up in his chair put his hands on his hips. "I'm thankful for teachers like Dr. Wilson! And my awesome girlfriend! Who is an awesome teacher too! I'm thankful that I've got the COOLEST family ever! And a rockin' music career! You know, I have like twenty new ideas for songs that I've gotta write down so that someone can help me turn them into reality. But, I digress. I'm thankful for the trees, and the sky, and the grass, and nature walks and learning how to do imagination meditation instead of the boring Simon kind. No offense, bro. It doesn't work on me. But I digress, you know, again. Sorry, bear with me. I'm super duper self aware of my rambles now. I know you're all waiting for me to shut up, but I just gotta get this all out. Which reminds me, I'm thankful that I have meds that can help me manage my anxiety and release Classic Alvin and meds that can help me manage my ADHD, even though the side effects are laaaaame and make me boring. I'm thankful I don't have to take them ALL THE TIME! I didn't, like, realize that was an option with ADHD meds, so it's kind of…cool." He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "But I digress a third and final time…."

"Oh my gosh, wrap it up already." I thought, inside my head. I didn't want to say it out loud, but I was ready to eat!

Alvin finished his ramble on a high note. "I'm thankful that Simon taught me that life is NOT supposed to feel like a videogame. That I've been chasing an impossible high that I'd never actually reach. I gotta slow down more. Just like Jeanette said too. I had learned that before, but I forgot it when I started that coding class because lately my brain just feels like a mess of coding stuff. I'm going to quit Computer Science, everyone! Now, I'm done. Thank you."

He FINALLY took his seat.

Eleanor snickered under her breath. "Yeesh. Someone should have given him his meds before he came here."

Brittany slapped Eleanor's hand and glared at her sternly. "Not funny, sis."

Alvin glared at her too, before looking at the Chipette sitting next to him with a lovestruck grin. "Netta, you're up!"

"I….I have a poem…I've written." Jeanette stood up and unfolded a piece of paper that had been tucked behind her ear. "And I'd like to share it with all of you."

Everyone was silent and attentive, including Alvin.

The girl in the lilac sweater and long blue skirt with flowers embroidered on it began to read her words aloud.

"When troubles come and make you doubt

The best of friends can help you out

When things get dark and times are tough

You begin to think you're not enough

The sadness creeps around every corner

You cry, you sigh, you don't want to have to say goodbye

Then, someone comes along and lifts you up

They mend your soul and fill your cup

You realize you're safer than you thought

You don't have to be distraught

Things bounce back to their natural order

You cry, you sigh, you no longer want to lay down and die.

The world is once again a beautiful place

You can't keep the smile from your face

Your friends arrived, just out of the blue

They showed you how much you can do"

She finished and we all clapped.

"I need that printed on a T-shirt." Alvin exclaimed.

"Okay, okay, settle down." Dave said. "That was a lovely poem, Jeanette."

Her face turned pink and she fidgeted with her hair ribbon. "Thank you."

"Let's eat!" Theodore cheered.

And so, we all ate a lovely Thanksgiving dinner together. Our giant, dysfunctional, crazy, unique, wonderful family. Whether or not you celebrate, I hope that you remember to tell the people you love how thankful you are that they exist. Take time each day to appreciate the things you love about life.

You may not think there's anything, I know I used to have a mindset like that. Occasionally, I slip back into it. But, I guarantee that no matter how tough things get, no matter how many horrible, horrible things happen, there's ALWAYS something to be thankful for. You just might have to look a little harder to find it.

YOU GUYS, GIVE SIMON SEVILLE A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR EVERYTHING HE DID IN THIS FIC BECAUSE HOLY NUTS HE WAS IN A ROUGH SPOT!

This fic has really REALLY helped me, and all of us cope with some horrible news. I hope that it helps you cope with whatever extremely depressing things might be happening in your life.

The Alvin meds subplot kind of went on too long. You can tell I had fun writing it. The multi-fic explaining some of this better is COMING but I obviously have to have the motivation to start.

Anyway, AMAZING NEWS! I GOT THE JOB AT THE LIBRARY! I'M GOING TO BE A PAGE AND SHELVE AND SORT BOOKS! It's so easy and quiet and most importantly NOT RETAIL! I'm so excited! I love organizing things!

Alvin's experience on meds to help with his ADHD mirrors mine as a kid, but exaggerated because he's Alvin. Apparently, when you're also autistic, the meds sometimes over-correct your ADHD symptoms, nearly erasing any dopamine seeking behavior…and with it…half of who you are. They also amplify your autistic-ness and you struggle in a lot of areas you only half-struggled and compensated for using your quick, multi-layered thinking previously.

Alvin 2.0 will be learning, and I'm telling you this because I cannot avoid spoiling my own multi fic, that he is ALSO autistic.

And now, he and Jeanette in my fics make even more sense together than they used to. Both are AuDHD, but Jeanette's autistic side is more noticeable and Alvin's ADHD side is more noticeable.

But, even though Alvin 2.0 and I have lots in common, we aren't the same person entirely. I promise ya. I'm more like a mix of…ALL of them, with a heavy Alvin and Jeanette lean. (Kinda like writing for them taught me to love and embrace my neurodivergence in a way)

Last thing I wanna say is that THANK GOODNESS JEANETTE IS HAPPY AGAIN! It's hard when the character you look for to guidance and hope needs guidance and becomes hopeless herself. But, this made for a very interesting and deep story!

Simon was the perfect narrator for it. He treated the subject seriously and the story might have been THE HARDEST to write, but it's beautiful.

I'll be back again soon, though probably with the multi-fic next. Or I'll surprise you with another mini fic! Who knows! I like to keep you on your toes when I'm not spoiling my own fics. Haha!

P. S. Yes, the title is a reference to the song Daydream Believer and the previous title for this fic was Daydream Non-Believer before I had a brain blast and changed it.