The Monday morning after Easter, Alvin was pacing around the Seville living room. His fingers were also absentmindedly drumming on the tv, couch, coffee table, banister, anything he crossed the path of, really. He was like the Energizer Bunny as he bounced from spot to spot, unable to quit going and going.
This had seriously felt like the longest Easter ever to the eldest Chipmunk. All he wanted to do was carry on with planning out the whole intervention for Brittany. But he kept getting pulled into one family obligation after another by Dave.
First, he made them attend the Easter vigil on Saturday. He pretty much rushed them right out of the house to go to the Holy Saturday Mass as soon as Simon got back from the library with Jeanette. Not that Alvin particularly liked doing anything where he was forced to sit or stand still for long periods of time while he had to listen to someone else talk, but he really didn't feel like going to church this weekend. Easter or not.
And on top of that, they had to go to church again for Easter Sunday. Of course, Alvin found himself unable to focus during either Mass. His brothers didn't seem to have the same problem. Despite also being worried about Brittany, Theodore was still able to focus on singing every hymn as enthusiastically as he always did at every Mass the Sevilles attended.
Normally, Alvin would be using this opportunity to outshine him and everyone else singing in the church. After all, he knew he was always the best singer there each and every time. And he could never resist any chance he got to show off, even if it was just church. But this time, he just wasn't feeling it. He didn't even try, just stared down at the words without even opening his mouth.
Why try if he knew there was no way he was going to be the best one there? Not with all that was consuming his mind. He would never be able to focus on the lyrics or what notes he was supposed to be singing. He refused to try or even pretend to participate by mouthing it. He just wanted it to be over so he could get back to saving Brittany's life.
That was what he needed to be doing. Helping his ex-girlfriend. Not being cooped up in some church.
Hell, he had barely even been aware of his surroundings as it was. Not the music being played, prayers being said, the smell of incense, the words being spoken by those standing at the altar, not even the splash from the holy water being sprinkled on him and the rest of the congregation. He could barely even taste the bread or wine when he went up to take communion.
And to make matters worse, Alvin was fidgeting and shifting in his pew the entire time. And any time they were told to stand, he was practically ready to bolt from the building. And he probably would have if there wasn't a whole crowd of people blocking his path out of there.
He had been squeezed right between Simon and Dave during the Easter Sunday Mass. Simon was able to maintain his composure and listen intently to the priest talking, just as he was always able to do in school during any lesson. But since Alvin was unable to do the same, he had earned himself nudges, stern looks, exasperated sighs, and glares from his father. It seemed Dave had assumed Alvin was simply being his typical hyperactive and inattentive self.
In a way, Alvin guessed he couldn't totally blame his adoptive dad in this case. After all, Alvin still had not told him anything about Brittany. So he had no idea what was going on with the pink-clad Chipette and how much his own son had played a role in her downward spiral. He did not know how much danger Alvin's ex-girlfriend was in right now and it was all thanks to the oldest Seville boy's own recklessness.
It was so messed up how this must have looked to an outsider. For once in Alvin's life, he was not trying to cause trouble. No, he was desperate to fix it this time. On one hand, he wished Dave could see that. But on the other hand, he really didn't want his dad to know he was even more of a screw-up than he already thought he was.
But he should've told Dave before Sunday's Mass. Both of his younger brothers had urged him to do so after they got home from church Saturday night and were all settling in their shared bedroom while getting ready for bed. They even offered to go with Alvin so that all three of them could talk to their guardian about Brittany together. But Alvin had turned the offer from his brothers down and insisted that this was something he needed to do alone.
The thing was, Alvin was not sure he fully believed that himself. He wondered if it was his dumb pride that was refusing to allow him to accept help from his brothers. He was supposed to be the leader and capable of managing anything and everything on his own. How would it look to his little brothers, who were supposed to be following his lead instead of the other way around, if he could not even handle doing something as simple as talking to Dave about his own ex-girlfriend without their help?
When they had been walking into the church on Sunday morning, Theodore had whispered into Alvin's ear before they took their seats. The youngest Seville had suggested that maybe his eldest brother should talk to Father John about the guilt he was feeling. Or maybe even try to set up a confession with him. Even though Alvin realized his baby brother was only trying to help, he had to shut that idea down immediately.
And honestly, what would he even say to the priest?
"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I broke my ex-girlfriend's heart right after sleeping with her, and now she's making herself throw up."
Yeah, right. Like that would go over well. He was one hundred percent certain Father John was going to judge him too. And he really didn't want to even know what God must think about him now. He was absolutely sure there were not enough Our Fathers or Hail Marys he could possibly say to be let off the hook for this one.
His pacing grew even more frantic as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. While he could vaguely hear the ruffling of a newspaper page being turned in the kitchen adjacent to the living room, realizing it must have been Dave reading his morning paper, he paid no mind to it. The next thing the red-capped teenager knew, he randomly punched one of the soft red cushions on the living room couch, causing a loud thud as he did so.
Of course, he did not give this particular action a single thought as he acted on it. He just knew he needed to release all the pent-up rage and stress he was feeling and instinctively felt the need to take it out on an inanimate object. Hey, at least it wasn't something that was living and breathing! Not like Scott Fallon (who he still kind of wished Andrew had not stopped him from giving this well-deserved beating to instead).
But then the red-clad Chipmunk froze in his tracks when he heard a soft voice call out his name.
"Alvin?"
He knew it was Dave. But what truly confused him was the unusually soft tone of his guardian's voice as he heard his name being said by him. Where was the loud, drawn out ALVINNN! shout he was so used to hearing echo throughout the house whenever his father was pissed at him over his antics? This certainly did not sound like the Dave he had always known.
His first instinct was to run back upstairs and pretend he never heard his dad. However, he was painfully aware that if he did that, he would be in even more trouble than he already was. He had been in this situation enough times to know that. So he reluctantly decided it was best to find out whatever Dave was mad at him for this time.
"Yeah?" Alvin answered back in the least guilty-sounding tone he could.
"Would you mind coming in here for a minute?"
"Ok..." The teenage boy answered with a sigh.
Alvin walked away from the couch, still feeling a slight sensation in his fist from having just been introduced to it. He made his way over to the kitchen, dragging his feet all the way there the entire time. When he made it to the entrance, he exhaled deeply and reminded himself to stay cool. He had been in this situation a million times before.
Whatever he was in trouble for this time, he was sure he would be able to talk himself out of it. Worst case scenario, he would be grounded for another few weeks. And even then, he was usually able to negotiate with Dave to have his sentence reduced. Besides, Dave should really be thanking him right now anyway. Punching the couch probably fixed that lumpy old cushion.
He stayed stationed at the entrance of the kitchen for about a minute, until he saw his adoptive father gesture with his hand for him to come further in and then point to the chair right across from him. The teenager slowly obliged as he made it to the chair, adjusted his hat, and sat down in the brown plywood chair as the morning sunlight poured in under the blinds that were halfway up.
Dave was drinking his morning coffee, the smell of the freshly brewed pot lingering throughout the kitchen. The newspaper Alvin had heard his father turning the pages of was sitting right in front of him on the table, open to the sports section. His cereal bowl was empty, and he was already dressed for work in a crisp white button-down shirt and black dress pants.
"Is there a reason you're making such a racket in there? And why are you up so early? There's no school today, and your brothers are still sleeping. I thought for sure you'd be doing the same."
It was true. It was barely even seven in the morning yet. Simon and Theodore had both chosen to sleep in today, and Alvin would have normally been upstairs snuggled under the covers of his own bed on a day off from school too. Even right now, he was still in his red pajama pants and matching t-shirt with a yellow "A" on the front (but still had his signature red baseball cap on top of his head, naturally).
But the truth was, he had not gotten much sleep at all ever since Eleanor broke the news about Brittany's bulimia to him. How could he when his mind would not stop nagging him about how someone he cared about could be dying and it was all his fault?
"I was just busy thinking. About... stuff..."
"I see..." Dave replied with one eyebrow raised as he slowly nodded his head.
This exchange was then followed by a few minutes of silence with the two of them just sitting there while Dave would take small sips of coffee from his ceramic white mug that said "World's Best Dad" in big black letters that he, Simon, and Theodore had gotten him for Father's Day back in the fourth grade. Finally, Dave spoke up again after clearing his throat.
"So I couldn't help but notice you seemed a little off during Mass yesterday. During both Masses, actually. Is everything ok?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Alvin abruptly asked as he tried to play dumb while also avoiding eye contact, choosing to focus on the table below instead.
"Usually, you always feel the need to jump in and show everyone how it's done. You can never resist any chance to prove you're the star, even though I'm always telling you that's not what church is about."
The father of the Chipmunks actually let out a faint smile despite himself and shook his head slightly before continuing.
"And while it was nice that you weren't causing your usual disruptions, I started to realize that what I initially interpreted as boredom felt like it could be a little more than that. You seemed very distracted. But not in a bored way. You seem more troubled lately. Like maybe there's something you need to get off your chest? I wanted to try talking to you about it after church yesterday, but you ran out of there so fast and were already up in your room by the time I got home."
The teen in red continued to look down at the wooden table and started making circular motions on it with his index finger. Was he really ready to tell Dave now? He definitely didn't feel ready. But would he ever? Maybe his brothers were right in telling him it was best to just get it over with.
After another minute of radio silence between the father and son, Dave continued.
"You know you boys can talk to me about anything, right? I've always told you about my open door policy. And I'm always here to listen. No judgment either. I promise."
Alvin's head jerked up as his curiosity was piqued. No judgment? Really? This sounded very different from the Dave who was always yelling at him, and often assumed that anytime something went wrong, his eldest son must have been the ringleader. Still, something was holding him back. There was a reason he had been avoiding Dave.
"I-I'm just not sure you'd understand..."
"Try me." Dave responded in a tone that almost sounded like he was challenging him.
Alvin let out a deep, long breath as he ran his fingers across the brim of his baseball cap. He could feel his stomach twisting. Where would he even begin? There was so much to explain.
"So... uh, you remember how me and Brittany broke up over the summer?" The teen started out as he carefully looked at his father's face to see if this got any kind of reaction out of him.
"Right," Dave replied as he slowly nodded and took another sip of coffee. "I was aware of that. And then you started dating someone else. That girl you've been starring in all the school musicals with. Lindsay, right?"
Alvin nodded back to confirm his dad got the details and Lindsay's name right. The truth was, Dave had only spoken to Lindsay on two separate occasions. The first was after the school's winter production of A Christmas Carol (he was Ebenezer Scrooge and Lindsay was Belle, though he once again found himself wishing it was Brittany playing his love interest), when the two were properly introduced to each other. Dave had only really heard about Lindsay being Alvin's new girlfriend in passing before that.
The second time was after the school's holiday concert that took place a week later, where he and Lindsay both sang in the choir (again, Brittany's presence was missed, in addition to the competitions he would have with her where they would always try to outsing each other). He had been wondering if Dave found it strange that he never once brought her over to the Seville residence. They exclusively hung out at Lindsay's house since her parents were rarely home and she also had no siblings who could interrupt their makeout sessions.
"And are you still seeing Lindsay?"
"Yeah, yeah I am. But what I don't think you know is just how... messy things got when we broke up."
"What do you mean by that?" Dave asked with a mix of curiosity and concern in his voice, as he put his mug down and really focused on what his son was telling him now.
This was it. Now or never. Then without even really thinking much about it, Alvin started spilling the details about the breakup little by little.
He started with how after Brittany hurt her knee last year, it felt like all she could talk about from that point on were all of the problems she had in her life. And how it became super overwhelming for him and he felt he couldn't give Brittany the support she needed. He thought he was doing the right thing at the time, he really did.
Alvin had paused his speech to think about the night he almost broke up with before he actually did. About how he had even gone up to her room with that specific intention in mind. But before he could carry out that plan, he saw Brittany in lingerie that was his own signature color and she was looking sexier than ever. And then when she said she was ready to take their relationship to the next level... well... his sixteen year old hormones took over.
A part of him even thought that maybe it would fix things between them. Only, it didn't. And it might have even made the breakup hit harder. He could never forget how she had accused him of using her for sex.
But he decided it would be best not to tell Dave about losing his virginity a week before the big breakup. That just seemed like way too awkward of a conversation for a teenage boy to be having with his father. There was no reason he needed to know that part of the story, anyway. Right?
"Well..." The red-capped boy responded with uncharacteristic nervousness in his voice. "She... it's just... I never thought she'd take me breaking up with her this hard."
"And how exactly is she taking it too hard?" Dave leaned in closer, the look on his face indicating that he was deeply concerned now.
Alvin swallowed a huge lump in his throat. Brittany was going to hate him forever for this. There was no way Dave was going to let her perform once he knew the truth. At least until she got helped and started showing signs of getting better.
Then again, she seemed to already hate his guts. Especially after he confronted her about her eating disorder. How much worse could it really get?
"On the last day of school... you know, before spring break, Eleanor told me something about Brittany. Something really serious. Eleanor says she's... bulimic. And after talking with the rest of our group yesterday, it seems to be true. Plus, have you seen her lately?"
Dave's expression became even more serious as he processed what Alvin had just said to him. He then set his mug down completely with a soft clink and put a finger up to his chin as all the puzzle pieces started to fall into place. The morning light showed every worry line forming on his forehead, in addition to the frown he was now wearing on his face and even a slightly paler complexion.
"Oh my God..." He whispered as he ran a hand through his dark hair, guilt evident on his face. "I... I feel terrible for not seeing this sooner myself. There were plenty of signs of an eating disorder, but I guess maybe I wasn't looking at them closely enough. I noticed she barely ate every time we had the girls over here for meals."
Dave stood up from the table as he picked his mug up too. He then continued to note his observations.
"And when I picked her up from school on Friday after she passed out, I could tell something wasn't right. She was so pale and fragile looking. And yeah, I've noticed the weight loss myself. But she seemed so exhausted, I didn't want to ask her too many questions at the time. Plus, I know she's had a lot on her plate ever since Miss Miller passed away. So I guess I just chalked most of it up to extreme stress."
"Yeah, I saw some red flags too. But I didn't really understand what they meant until Eleanor told me Brittany was bulimic. And then I had to ask Simon for more information about bulimia to even grasp exactly how much danger Brittany's in."
"You're right. Eating disorders are absolutely dangerous. I've actually worked with a few singers with eating disorders, which is part of why I feel bad for not noticing sooner. There was a particularly famous one I never got the chance to work with, though a few of my colleagues have. Karen Carpenter. Beautiful voice and one half of The Carpenters. She suffered from anorexia nervosa. A different disorder from what Brittany has, but still very dangerous."
Alvin tried to remember if he had heard Karen Carpenter's music before. Her name sounded familiar. Dave had probably mentioned her a few times. And Alvin might recognize some of her songs if they were played for him. He did have a surprisingly vast knowledge of music from all eras, old and new.
Wait, was Karen Carpenter mentioned in his middle school health class when they covered this topic? Was one of the movies they had to watch about her? Man, he REALLY wished he paid more attention in that class now!
"And what happened to her?" Alvin hesitantly asked as he felt a knot form in his stomach, somehow getting the feeling he wasn't going to like the answer.
"She died due to complications with her anorexia. Very sad. That was when people finally started taking eating disorders seriously."
Alvin gulped once again. Another reminder that Brittany's life truly was at risk here. And for once in his life, he truly felt like he wanted some fatherly advice. Maybe he could benefit with having guidance from someone a little older this time.
"You know," Alvin started out. " I think I still love Brittany. Breaking up with her was probably the dumbest thing ever. Sure, Lindsay's pretty and fun to hang out with and everything. But... I don't know. Thing is, I don't think I love Lindsay. When I'm with her, I just keep thinking about Brittany the whole time. What am I supposed to do?"
Dave walked over to the coffee pot on the counter and poured another cup as he thought about his teenage son's question for a minute. When he finished pouring his cup, he turned around, leaned against the counter, and put a hand on his chin, while he held his mug with the other. Finally, he gave the advice he had for his son.
"I think you're gonna have to decide for yourself on this one. Really think about how you feel about both Brittany and Lindsay, and then decide for yourself. I'm afraid the answer isn't so simple there."
"Oh..." Alvin dejectedly responded as his face fell and he slumped in his chair.
It figured. The one time he actually needed Dave to tell him what to do, Hell, practically begged him to, he was telling him to make his own decision now? What kind of fatherly advice was this?
"But," Dave continued. "I think if you really still have feelings for Brittany, and you don't have those same feelings for Lindsay... Is it really fair to lead Lindsay on by staying in a relationship with her when your heart belongs to someone else? Ask yourself that. You owe it to both Brittany and Lindsay to be honest with them. And you owe it to yourself to be honest with yourself too."
"Man, I really screwed up with Brittany, didn't I? She probably hates me now. Like, even if I dump Lindsay and tell Brittany how I feel... she's not gonna want anything to do with me. She'll never take me back."
"Maybe not." Dave replied as he shrugged his shoulders and took another sip of coffee. "But you'll never know if you never try. Of course, I think it would be best if you waited for her to get some help first. Then maybe when she's doing better, you can try talking to her if you feel it's right."
"Yeah, about her getting help..." Alvin said as his fingers made their way to the short sleeve on his pajama t-shirt. "I tried talking to her about it Saturday morning. But she just shut me down completely. Pretty sure I just made everything worse."
Alvin then hung his head, lowering his hat as he was staring down at the table again. It was as if he was trying to hide under his hat.
"Bet you're super disappointed in me, huh?"
Dave's brow furrowed as he studied his eldest son with a puzzled expression on his face.
"Disappointed in you for what, exactly? For not being able to convince Brittany to get help? Listen, people with eating disorders tend to be in denial about their problem. It's very difficult to..."
"No, not for that." The red-capped boy disputed as his head snapped back up and he shook it. "For what I did to Brittany. I mean, it's basically my fault. She's bulimic because of me. Pretty sure this is the worst thing I've ever done. And yeah, that's saying something..."
The dark-haired man walked over to his son at the kitchen table.
"Listen," He began as he put a hand on the teen's shoulder, bent down a little to get to his level, and stared right into his eyes. "This isn't your fault, ok? Bulimia is very complicated, and it's not caused by a single event or person. Nothing you did caused Brittany to become bulimic and there's nothing you could've done to prevent it."
"And you don't think I'm an assh-" Alvin stopped himself from cursing, not wanting to be scolded about his language by Dave when he was attempting to have a serious conversation for once. "Um... a bad person for what I did to Brittany? Ditching her when she really needed me?"
"Well," Dave cautiously stated. "I don't agree with the way you handled it. But I also understand you believed you were doing what was best for both of you at the time. It might've been misguided, but you're just a kid yourself. I was sixteen once myself, you know. I'm aware it's a tough age. So no, this doesn't make you a bad person. It makes you human."
"I'm not technically human, you know." The boy with the red hat remarked.
"You know what I mean." Dave answered back as he playfully nudged his son's arm and chuckled a little.
Leave it to Alvin to crack a joke, even in a serious conversation like this one.
"So you're not gonna ground me or anything?"
"No, not this time." Dave answered as he patted Alvin on the back and gave him a small smile.
"Actually," The man in the white shirt started out sincerely as his voice softened. "I'm proud of you for coming to me with this. You absolutely did the right thing by telling me about Brittany. I think this is the most mature and responsible thing you've ever done in your life so far."
For some reason, this was actually making Alvin a little uncomfortable. Mature and responsible were definitely not words he was used to hearing describe him. Especially not by Dave. He seriously hoped this was not going to damage the cool and badass image he had tried so hard to maintain since he was a kid.
"As her manager and also someone who cares very much about her, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to pull her from any upcoming performances I've lined up for you guys until she gets professional treatment. Granted, there aren't that many planned so far. But she's obviously in no condition to perform right now."
"Do you really have to do that?" Alvin desperately blurted out. "You know not being able to perform was part of what broke her in the first place, right? She was finally getting back to something that actually made her happy again. If you take that away from her..."
"I'm not just acting as a manager, but as a father figure as well." Dave explained. "I would never let you, Simon, or Theodore perform if you were in the kind of condition Brittany was in when I saw her on Friday. The same rules apply to The Chipettes."
Of course, Alvin knew this would happen. This was the same Dave who made Brittany give him a clearance letter from her doctor to let him know her knee was ok for performances again. There was no way he would let Brittany go on stage while she was struggling with an eating disorder.
"Great, now she's gonna hate me even more..."
"Look, I'll talk to her about it, ok? I'll just let her know that we all only want what's best for her and..."
"Yeah, about that..." The blue-eyed boy cut his father off. "We were kinda planning on doing that already. Me, Simon, Theodore, Jeanette, and Eleanor, that is. We're actually gonna do this whole intervention thing with all of us. We wanna show Brittany we care and get her to get help, you know? I was thinking maybe today since there's no school. Can't exactly wait around on this."
"Today, huh?" Dave pondered this as he scratched his head with his free hand. "I'm actually going to be at work until about eleven tonight. Possibly even midnight if we can't wrap things up fast enough. We're swamped today since we were closed all weekend for Easter, and they're gonna need all hands on deck."
Dave then put a hand behind his neck as he tried to think of a solution.
"I mean, I could possibly try to slip out for a couple of hours to help you guys out with the intervention. I can tell them it's a family emergency. Just let me know when-"
"No," Alvin stopped his dad from finishing that idea. "You don't need to do that. I got this. I'll handle the intervention. That was the plan anyway. It's probably better if you're not there. No offense, but she might freak out more if she thinks you're in on it too. You know, since you're the one who gets to decide if she can perform and everything. We'll be fine."
Dave gave an understanding nod.
"All right, I'll let you manage this one on your own. But if you guys need me, I'm only a phone call away. So don't hesitate to call me if you need backup, ok?"
"Thanks, Dave." Alvin replied, managing a small smile.
For what felt like the millionth time, the blue-eyed Chipmunk found himself sitting there quietly yet again. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat beneath him. He was feeling incredibly uneasy right now. Not just about the whole group intervention later that he still had no idea how would turn out. But there was something unsettling about the conversation he had just had with his guardian as well.
He had literally just shared more with his father than he ever had in the sixteen years he had been alive for. And he was not used to feeling so... vulnerable. And all the praise Dave had just given him? Had he just stepped into some kind of alternate reality? Especially considering he still was not so sure he deserved to be let off the hook over Brittany, despite Dave's reassurances.
Wanting to do something instead of just sitting there all alone with his thoughts for another second, he walked over to the coffee pot that was now a little less than half full. He also opened up the cupboard and pulled out the Santa-shaped mug. Sure, Christmas had been long over for months now. But it was the first one he had pulled without looking and didn't feel like searching for something more seasonally appropriate. He had to get the last of the coffee before it turned cold and was never one to really be concerned with whether or not whatever he was drinking out of matched the season anyway. Not like Brittany or Simon, who would have each rolled their eyes at him over this and made some snarky comment (which he would've happily given a snarky response back to under normal circumstances).
Alvin then took the pot and poured it into his festive mug, taking in the rich aroma of coffee beans that were still fresh. After this, he set the mug down on the counter and reached behind the coffee maker for the box of sugar packets. He proceeded to pull out twelve packets, which he had set down on the counter next to his mug. He casually tore open five packets and poured each one into the dark liquid in rapid succession.
When Alvin went for his sixth sugar packet, he noticed they were all suddenly gone. He then looked up and noticed Dave had already grabbed them and was putting the packets back in the box. Alvin was about to protest until Dave interrupted him.
"Yeah, I'm cutting you off." Dave lectured him as he put the sugar box back behind the coffee maker. "I don't mind you drinking coffee at your age. But you already have way too much sugar in there. Trust me, I'm doing you a favor."
Alvin groaned as he shook his head in frustration. Just when he thought Dave was finally starting to think of him as an adult (or at least almost an adult), it was like he was eight years old again and being told not to pour all that sugar into his cereal that was already loaded with it.
"I meant what I said about being proud of you before, though." Dave informed him in a warm, genuine voice. "Don't let anyone tell you you're not capable of growth. Not even yourself."
Alvin felt his face burn and yanked his hat down so that the brim would cover his face in an attempt to hide it. God, he was seriously beginning to regret sharing all this emotional crap with his dad.
"Ok, ok. Enough with the mushy stuff already. I think you've been spending way too much time around Theodore lately."
"All right, you." Dave countered with a laugh as he shook his head. "Get out of here. I need to get to work before I'm late."
With that, Alvin finished his lukewarm sugary coffee with one big gulp, put the mug in the sink, and started to bounce out of the kitchen. That is, until he paused at the entrance, though not turning around as he did so.
"Hey, Dave?" He muttered quietly.
"Yes, Alvin?" Dave responded as he was loading the dishwasher with his own dishes from the kitchen table, as well as Alvin's mug that was now in the sink.
"Thanks for listening. And... you know... everything else."
Before Dave had a chance to respond, Alvin dashed to the stairs and then darted up the steps. This led to the father chuckling to himself as he finished cleaning up and prepared for the long day of work at the studio he had ahead of him. Sometimes it was hard to believe how much his boys had grown up. Especially Alvin. But moments like these reminded him that underneath all that teenage bravado, his oldest son was turning into someone he could truly be proud of.
Later that day, the afternoon sun was casting a glow that reflected on the tv screen in the Chipettes' old treehouse where Brittany had been staying since the night Jeanette and Eleanor confronted her about her bulimia. Feeling sleepy again, she was already dressed in her pink spaghetti-strapped pajama top with matching shorts. She still had her makeup on from the walk she had taken earlier that day. Now that her knee was starting to do a little better, she felt that maybe it was time she started going for short walks to help her get back into shape. Of course, the walk was even shorter than she had planned for it to be when she started feeling dizzy and weak again, forcing her back into the treehouse.
The teenage girl fluffed up her white pillow, then burrowed deeper into the blue waffle blanket she found with the laundry Eleanor had taken care of there. The warm blanket still carried the scent of detergent. The tv was playing in the background. Brittany could vaguely hear the voices of the familiar characters on Days Of Our Lives as she was starting to doze off.
"Oh come on, Sami." She murmured, her throat still feeling rough from her last purge. "You don't think Lucas is gonna figure out you're lying to him? It's so obvious."
The teen rolled her ice blue eyes as they started getting heavier. As she started drifting in and out of consciousness, memories of watching this show with Theodore throughout the year resurfaced. It was funny because Brittany and Theodore didn't really have anything else in common other than being into daytime soap operas. And since no one else in the group really enjoyed them, this led to Brittany and Theodore becoming soap opera buddies.
She remembered sitting in either the Seville living room or Miller living room to watch with him. They would be sitting next to each other on the couch while Theodore would be munching on the cookies he made (and sometimes Brittany would even sneak one when nobody was looking, the difference being she didn't feel guilty about it back then like she did now) while they discussed how soon each of them thought it would be before Jennifer found out Jack wasn't really dead.
She could still hear the sound of Theodore's voice from a couple of years ago, when he would go on and on during their debates about whether or not Carrie should forgive Austin over everything that had happened. For Theodore, the answer was always yes since he was a big believer in second chances. Brittany was a little harder to convince, though. But at the same time, she was also a sucker for romance and loved the drama.
She wondered if Theodore had known about her problem by now? Probably. She knew there was a good chance Eleanor told him since those two seemed to tell each other everything. Or Alvin since he had a tendency to run his mouth.
It was strange how she was only just catching up on her soaps now, not having had much time or energy to watch them (or much else) after everything went to Hell in a handbasket after Miss Miller's death. What she never expected was that her own life would basically end up mirroring all these daytime soaps eventually. Almost made it hard to watch them now. And she suddenly found herself relating a lot more to Sami than she could've ever imagined.
Just as the Chipette was finally beginning to fall asleep on that ugly green couch, she was rudely awakened by the sound of the knob on the front door jingling. This caused her to immediately jump from her spot on the couch as she felt her heart leap into her throat. Adrenaline now overpowering her grogginess, she rushed into the bedroom she used to share with her sisters back when they all lived there.
Once in there, she moved toward the back of the room in hopes that this intruder would think nobody was home and she could stay safe. She simply tried to keep quiet and perfectly still as she pressed her back against the wall. But wait. She had left the tv on! What intruder was going to believe someone had just walked out without turning the lights and tv off?
She had also left the bedroom door open, like an idiot. She tried to make her way over there to shut the door quietly before realizing she was already too late and would only risk drawing more attention to herself if she closed it now. The footsteps she could hear in the living room made it clear that the intruder was already in the house. Probably planning to rob her. Or possibly worse.
Wait, make that intruders. She could now hear multiple footsteps. There was definitely more than one person out there. God, this was horrifying. There was no way out for her.
Brittany scanned their old room for some kind of weapon she could use against her potential attackers. She felt like she hit the jackpot when she eyed the box full of Eleanor's old sports equipment. The pink-clad girl hastily reached for the old bat Eleanor played softball with in elementary school that was sticking out from the middle of all the other equipment. She pulled it out, various other equipment falling from the box in the process. It made more noise than she was hoping for, but she didn't have time to think about that right now.
She stayed in her spot with her feet firmly planted on the ground and held the bat in her hands the same way she would if she were to hit a ball at home plate, ready to swing at anyone who came near her if needed. While standing there, she desperately tried to remember all the moves she learned during that self-defense class she and her sisters had taken their freshman year. Of course, she wasn't really sure how successful she would be at fighting off a whole army of people considering how small she was and her current weakened state. But still, she had to at least try to defend herself.
Brittany tightly gripped the softball bat as if it were her lifeline, her knuckles turning white against the worn-out wood. The footsteps edged closer, followed by a few muffled voices that sent chills down her spine. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but assumed this was not a good sign. She felt every muscle in her body tighten and her throat felt painful as she gulped.
Suddenly, one of the voices became loud enough for her to hear. It cut through her panic like a knife. She very nearly dropped the bat from her shaky hands as a result.
A/N: Finally got chapter 26 done! As I promised, I managed to get one more update in there before the end of the year. And I seriously can't believe this is literally the last day of 2024 I'm posting this chapter on! This year went by way too fast (and I think even more about that when I see how much my son has grown since I published chapter 15 back in January).
I know I strongly implied in my last update that I would have the intervention in this chapter. Unfortunately, that didn't happen and I apologize. The scene with Dave and Alvin ended up taking up way more time than expected.
I originally wasn't gonna get that deep into it and was planning on simply mentioning their heart-to-heart in passing. But as I started writing the first few words of this chapter, I thought about how wrong it felt to do that. I just felt like it would be such a missed storytelling opportunity to not show Alvin's growth and character development since the beginning of this story. And at the same time, I believed we all deserved to see how Dave would react to seeing how much his mischievous son was maturing. Especially considering their history in the show.
Admittedly, I was a little hesitant about writing that out as I've always found writing Dave to be a bit of a challenge. But I was actually really pleased with how that scene turned out! I hope you guys enjoyed it too.
The good news is, I do already have a rough draft for the intervention written out and it just needs a few things reworked/edited before I'm ready to share. It was one of the scenes I've had planned out for a long time before I even published this story.
The other thing is, I'm still recovering from a stomach virus that hit our home on Christmas Day (and caused Santa to visit us a couple of days late). So I'd rather just post what I have of this chapter now and focus on fixing the intervention scene (which is super important to me and the story) when I'm back to feeling 100%. I promise, I'll make it worth the wait!
For those of you who have seen enough of the 80s cartoon, you might've caught that Theodore watches soap operas in Whatever Happened To Dave Seville?. I expanded on that here and had Brittany watching them with him since Brittany reminds me a bit of Rachel on Friends, who's a self-proclaimed soap opera nut. The idea might've also been inspired by my friend Jenna (aka AmbitiousAlvin), who's version of Brittany and Theodore do the same thing (even though she writes for the 2015 series instead of the 80s).
Funny thing is, I was originally going to reference General Hospital as the soap Brittany was watching since I'm a bit more familiar with that one (used to watch soaps with my mom and GH just happens to be the one I've seen most of) and also not really go into details about what was happening. However, the character Sami on Days Of Our Lives is another one that reminds me of 80s Brittany (even though Sami's done way worse things than anything Brittany's ever done) and the Lucas/Sami relationship reminds me of Alvittany with the whole love/hate angle and both couples having scheming in common.
Interestingly enough, Sami also struggled with bulimia on the show, just like Brittany does in this story. Hence the line about Brittany feeling like her life strongly parallels Sami's now. I've also always enjoyed watching Sami and feel she's highly misunderstood, like Brittany. Used to ship Lumi back when I watched as well.
And the great thing is, the characters mentioned have been on and off the show throughout the last few decades and the storylines (Jack returning from the dead, Lucas/Sami and Carrie/Austin relationship drama) have happened so many times, it can basically set this story at any point in time! Just thought I'd share this little tidbit. I'm sure a lot of people didn't get the DOOL references (though feel free to let me know if you did!), so I thought it was worth explaining what inspired them.
As this year comes to an end, I want to thank everyone who's supported this story throughout 2024! Every read, review, favorite, follow, and PM I've received for this fic has meant the world to me! This story wouldn't have made it as far as it did without you guys, so thank you so much! I look forward to reading your feedback on this chapter too.
So as you can see, this chapter ended on a major cliffhanger! Who do you think just entered the treehouse? A bunch of intruders Brittany should rightfully be scared of? Or people more familiar to her? All will be answered soon. Chapter 27 is coming in January 2025!
Happy New Year, everyone! Hope 2025 brings good things for all of you.