AATC Eastwood pt.8

Alvin and the Chipmunks; "Eastwood Academy"
PART EIGHT (whoo hoo!)

    "July 4th, 6:46 PM: BRITT
               where are u?"

    Alvin squinted to read the text as the bulging crown of the California sun was beaming down upon him and every individual at the local Independence Day fair. Alvin retreated from the center of a massive crowd of people and leaned on a low, temporary fence that parted a bumper cars track from the scene of the fair.

    "Im next 2 the bumper cars," he texted back, rolling on his tip toes to search over caps and cow boy hats, berets and bald heads. He felt a slight panic pang when she didn't show herself for several minutes. He crossed his arms uneasily and tapped his sandaled feet.

    "Alvin!" Brittney exclaimed, pushing past a cluster of excited preteens with tickets over flowing from their hands, "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

    "Likewise," although he seemed agitated on the outside and greeted her indifferently, he felt a world of relief on the inside and his heart softened, "it seems like there are more and more people at this event every year."

    "I guess so," Brittney retorted with an unbiased opinion, "I'm out of tickets anyways ... maybe we should head back to the cars?"

    "Yeah, I feel like I've been here all day," Alvin was no fan of being surrounded by the thick smell of caked on sun screen and perfumes. At times he felt claustrophobic, and nearly losing Brittney to the crowd tipped him right over the edge. He sheepishly intertwined his bare arm around hers and tugged her forward, "just so we don't lose one another," he mumbled.

    Brittney smirked and obediently followed against the crowd towards the exit. Her spirit did a little flutter and she felt color rise in her cheeks. Quite suddenly she was sent spiraling into a reverie of remembrance. Her heart thrust her into a moment of warning as to just what it was that broke up both bands to begin with;

    Five years ago, both the Chipmunks and Chipettes were at the height of careers musically. And being as such, there were constantly cameras and rumors - there were always flashes and tackles. There was never a moments peace if one was a star. They all knew this very well and they all managed to get by by keeping their personal lives just as such - personal. Alvin was the exception. He thrived in the lime light. He would pose for paparazzi and say outlandish things for interviews.  At the fresh age of fifteen, he was sent through the age of uncertainty of oneself and hormonal storms. He and Brittney were a pair openly - but always to an extent. The public thought it was outrageous for the two so young to be openly obsessive about their relationship. And rumors had floated about that other risky business was going on behind the scenes. Although David denied it every time and publically apologized for Alvin on several occasions, their public image was at terrible stake and so was their career.

    Five years ago, Brittney, contrary to the truth, turned into the years worst role model for young women and Alvin was the talk of the town. It was a hot, hot summer evening and the preparations for a duel concert were underway. Both the Chipmunks and Chipettes were to perform that night for an enormous crowd of over 400,000 fans and spectators. Earlier that day, Alvin and Brittney had gotten into an extremely heated argument that sent tension between both groups. They stalked about back stage sulkily with chins held high. They would simply act through duets, Alvin had proposed. However, it wasn't more than fifteen minutes later, he and Brittney were arguing once more.

    "I saw you with him!" Alvin exclaimed, pacing behind the heavy black curtain that separated them from the curious eyes of the crowd, "you were with him at the cafe."

    "You spied on me!?" Brittney inquired incredulously.

    "I wasn't spying on you. ... I just ... happened to see you two together. You were flirting with him," Alvin argued waving his hands about furiously.

    "I wasn't flirting with him," she was close to tears, "we were discussing something very important."

    "How important is he, huh?"

    Brittney paused dimunitively with shoulders slumped and mumbled, "He was an event planner ... he was helping me plan a surprise birthday party for you."

    Alvin tilted his head sideways with sudden realization and self anger, "... oh," he stopped his pace. Brittney slowly walked towards him, with salty beads of tears rolling down her cheeks.

    "No one's more important to me than you," she sniffled dismally, grasping his hands.

    "Brittney ..." Alvin stared with gaping disbelief from one pleading, angel eye to the other, "I'm so sorry," softly he wrapped both arms around her waist and rested his chin in her hair. Beyond the curtain, chaos. The crowd kept growing and the fans thronged against the stage in massive waves. No matter the sound and trembling, nothing could calm the growing, teenage passion between Alvin and Brittney.

     "I just ..." Brittney sobbed, "I wanted to do something really special for you."

    He lifted her chin gently with his warm hand, "you're everything special in this world that I need," he stately suavely sweeping a tear away with his thumb. She melted away in his hand like a candle that's wick wasn't cut short enough. The fire burning in the pit of her soul was waving about madly with obsession. Their lips met once, then twice.

    "Testing curtains!" a stage hand called from stage right.

    But with the roar of the crowd outside, they were deaf. Alvin leaned in for a third kiss. A fourth kiss ... open mouthed they writhed with arms around one another clueless of the world around them.

    "Camera's on four screens," the stage manager shouted.

    The heavy, black velvet curtain rose slowly, validating every floating rumor and giving the paparazzi a life-time chance. There stood Alvin, center stage in the blinding white of the stage lights with one hand high up Brittney's sparkling pink shirt, and the other in her hair. They stood frozen like frightened deer in headlights. The next morning they lost nearly all their sponsors. Parents refused to allow their children to take part at all in anything that had anything to do with them. And David, tired, simply gave up. The six of them hardly communicated until their Junior year.

                            **     **     **     **     **    **     **

    "Simon," Jeanette called to Simon who was rummaging through the back of Brittney's little gold Ford Taurus for Jeanette's purse.

    "Yes?" Simon bumped his head on the ceiling to answer her.

    "Uhm ..." she paused, "maybe it's in the front seat with Eleanor's purse."

    "Oh ... right," Simon shut the back door, it squealed violently on its hinges.

    Jeanette sat cross legged on one of Miss Miller's home-made quilts with her head in her hands, avoiding the agitating, fading sun light. After strolling around the festival with Simon, Theodore and Eleanor, she started to feel light-headed. The crowd of middle-aged women drowned in cheap perfumes sent her allergies into a tickling frenzy. Simon counted her sneezes. Once they came in dozens. After taking a ride on the "Snow Sleighs" around and around and around and up, up, and around, she had had enough. Her nose was running at a record breaking pace and her temples pulsed like bass drums. She sat wuzzily there on the quilt as Simon rushed over with her purse.

    "Thankyou, Simon," she sniffled with squinted eyes and unzipped her brown messenger bag. She fished around at the bottom of the bag amidst stray crumbs and old receipts until she grasp a small, plastic pill bottle that read, "Benedryl." She popped two into her mouth without a drink and plopped on her back with one arm over her eyes, "I'm sorry we can't be at the fair," she said weakly, slipping her flip flops off that were moist on there bottoms from her sweating, hot feet.

    "That's alright," Simon replied honestly, taking a seat at her side, "I'm not a big fair guy anyways. Every year I usually stay back to watch our sight and read or something."

    It was a truthful answer. Every year the Sevilles attended their local 4th of July festival. They payed five dollars to park in a church parking lot across the street from the fair grounds. While the majority scampered off to the festival, Simon stayed behind, unpacking the car of everyone's quad chairs, the cooler, and other picnic-y items onto a field of grass that sat just beyond the parking lot - giving them a clear view of where the fire works would shoot high, high up.

    "Now that I've got the company of a beautiful woman with me, I won't be so lonely," he chuckled, hoping to cheer her.

    Jeanette smirked with slight apprehension and worry that someone near by would hear him. She didn't remove her arms from her eyes to see. The strength of passing day light was burning over them and when she had headaches, she felt that she was nearly blind. She jumped slightly with shock as she felt a cool hand in her hair, then breathed easily when Simon said, "just relax. There are so many people here. And I'm sure Alvin is still off somewhere dragging Brittney from ride to ride."

    "I would bank on it being the other way around," Jeanette replied returning to her cheerful sentiment. She scooted closer to Simon, set her messenger bag in his lap as a pillow and snuggled cozily close to him.

    Simon sighed, enraptured with happiness and delicately rubbed her forehead to help soothe the pain. He was no stranger to severe head aches. Having sensitive eyes, migraines came with the package. He leaned carefully to the left and pulled his cardigan down from his quad chair and covered her shoulders, "why don't you take a nap? That way you can see the fireworks in a couple of hours?"

    "That won't be hard," she replied dazidly. The effects of the antihistamine were raining down on her like a heavy, sleepy blanket. She felt tingly and airy and that she could dream up any world she liked. Merrily she drifted off, relishing in the very near warmth of his body - safe, and still.

                                        **    **    **    **    **
    "Two snow cones, please," Alvin requested over the sound of a live band in the background. He reached into the pocket of his khaki, cargo shorts and pulled out five singles. On their way out of the festival grounds, Brittney's thirst had gotten the better of them and she insisted that they got something cool and refreshing. He looked over his shoulder as the woman in the brightly, spray painted trailer prepared their snow cones. He watched Brittney whom sat by herself at an empty, old picnic table, tapping her foot to the beat of the present alternative rock song. She waited patiently beneath the wavering shade of a tree with her sun glasses on the top of her head. Alvin turned back to the woman with a pleasant smile and paid her, taking the two bright blue snow cones in either hands. But when he looked back over his shoulder, Brittney was gone.

    The hodgepodge of fair-goers blurred before him as anxiety wrought down in his mind. He stretched his neck to look over the indifferent clusters of people but saw Brittney no where in sight. His ears rung and heart pounded. He could only hear the sudden rush of blood in his head. Panic-stricken and uncaringly he tossed both snow cones in the trash and whipped out his cell phone to see if she had texted him - nothing. He circled the snack trailer three times, pushing through the long lines and bumping past anyone in his way. He climbed atop the picnic table and shielded his eyes from the fading sun to gaze further out.

    "ALVIN!" Brittney's voice was timid crying amongst the throng of people. There she was, being dragged towards the entrance by Jason Little. He put one large hand over her mouth the quiet her and dragged her on. The cruel, uncaring reality of the world payed no mind to her trouble.

    Alvin hopped down in a snap from the table with a warm rush of adrenalin. Parting the crowds of people, he lost his favorite red hat, but continued with such fierceness he never knew he could harbor. Once Jason was in clear view and they had passed the worst of the crowds, Alvin shouted, "Let her go, Jason!"

    Brittney with wild tears glossing her cheeks was shaking her head, voice muffled in Jason's dirty, tan hand. She wriggled in his massive left arm to break free, then loosened helplessly, unsuccessful.

    "You again!" Jason laughed cynically, "is this who you left me for?" he asked Brittney, amused, tightening his grip across her chest.

    Alvin snarled - he had never quite snarled like that before, "let her go, or there'll be hell to pay."

    Jason dropped Brittney from his arm. She feebly fell to the pebbled concrete then scrambled over to Alvin's side.

    "There'll be hell to pay?" Jason chuckled, "Brittney's gotten me into a lot of trouble and she owes me more than you can pay. So just leave the two of us alone and go take a ride of the Ferris wheel."

    "Brittney's not going with anyone she doesn't want to," Alvin spat back, puffing his chest out. The shouting had caused the crowd of people to stand clear and left a wide open space between the three of them.

    "Listen, kid, I don't want to fight you," Jason replied earnestly reaching out for Brittney's arm, "we need to get going anyhow."

    Before Jason could grasp onto Brittney's pale, thin wrist, Alvin popped him on the side of his face with an energetic little punch. Jason shook his head, surprised and regained his composure. Alvin stood below in his shadow. He was perhaps half a foot shorter than Jason, but all the more brave. The sun was now well below the horizon and the glittering lights of the fair sparkled in his hero eyes. He clenched his fists, preparing himself and growled between grit teeth.

    "Alvin, it's not worth it," Brittney whispered imploringly, let's just run."

    Disregarding Brittney's advice, he squinted his eyes and egged Jason on with a wave of one hand, "come on, ass hole. Fight me like a man.

    Jason grimaced, curling his lips around a set of impossibly pearly, white teeth. With quicker reflexes he shuffled to the left and punched Alvin square in the nose. Alvin felt an explosion of pain and he blacked out momentarily. He swung away blindly and tasted as warm, thick blood trickled onto his lips. Jason struck again. It felt as though his cheek bone shattered. Between the ringing in his ears, he could hear Brittney's shouts and cries to stop. He jolted himself back to consciousness with one side of his face throbbing and twitching. Before him, the street lights had turned on and Jason stood in clear view beneath the light with the purple of the darkening sky behind him. Alvin took three heavy breaths and watched uncertainly as Jason pulled a silver, shining sort of object from his pocket. Alvin shook his head once more to gain a better view for his left eye lid hung heavily and his vision was blurred by blood and pain. He took two unsteady steps forward with his fists raised and was instantly in a lock between Jason's arms, with a cold six inch, stainless steel blade against the skin of his neck.

    "Jason! Don't!" Brittney pleaded, tugging at Jason's two, heavy arms.

    "Let off Brittney!" Jason shouted angrily with blood shot eyes.

    "You're out of control!" she cried slapping him. However, her light slap made no difference.

    "You're pissing me off!" he replied tightening his grip around Alvin's neck with one arm. He released the other and raised his knife to back Brittney away, "just go stay out of it. Does he know!?"

    "No he doesn't know!"

    Alvin gasped for air between their arguing and attempted to pry himself from Jason's arm with the glare of the knife in the corner of his eyes.

    "He does know, doesn't he!?" he pushed the edge of the knife into the soft of Alvin's arm, "how are you going to manage, Brittney? You can't hide from all this. They're going to come after you some day if you don't come up with the money," the tip of the knife pierced his skin and small, bright red beads of blood drizzled out and trickled to the cement. Brittney was in hysterics.

    "Somebody help!" Brittney plead outloud.

    "Better keep it in a hush," Jason snarled pushing the knife deeper into Alvin's arm. Alvin cried in agony and collapsed feebly, "now, I'm gonna let your little boy friend go and you're going to come quietly with me -"

    Before Jason could continue, someone snuck up from behind and completely knocked him out with a heavy blow to the head.

    "That'll teach you to mess with my family!" Eleanor shouted triumphantly as Jason dropped out unconscious. Alvin heaved a heavy breath and put pressure to the wound in his arm.

    "Eleanor!" Brittney threw her arms around her sister with joy.

     Theodore put an arm around his brother to prop him up, "are you alright?" he inquired with dark brows furrowed.

    Alvin nodded slowly, "lets get going before this big boy wakes up," he suggested gesturing with his good arm that they hurry.

    The four of them quickly left the scene and got lost in the crowd. In a rush they pushed across the road from the fair grounds and met Simon and Jeanette where the cars were parked.

    "What happened!?" Simon inquired gently setting Jeanette's head on the quilt and rushing to Alvin's side.
    
     "He got into a fight," Theodore answered for his dazed brother, "helping him to sit down on the quilt.

    "A FIGHT?" Simon bent down and inspected each and every single one of Alvin's wounds, "is this a KNIFE wounds? What kind of freak did you piss off, Alvin?"

    "My ex-boyfriend," Brittney confessed, sitting beside Alvin, "Eleanor, if you open the cooler, there's ice and paper towel. Hand me some paper towel."

    "Ex-boyfriend?" Simon looked with disbelief from Alvin to Brittney, "he had a knife on him?"

    "It's a long story," Alvin professed flinching as Brittney tended to the wound below his left eye. Eleanor pulled out a plastic baggy from the cooler, removed the sandwich, ate it, and filled the bag with ice for Brittney to hold over Alvin's purpling cheek.

    "This might need stitches," Simon stated grimly, observing the deep cut in his brother's arm. He left the spot on the quilt for his Wrangler and pulled a first aid kit from his glove box, "I've got some butter-fly bandages, but ... if it doesn't heal soon or if it looks worse in the morning, you're going to have to go to the ER."

    "Who's going to the ER?" Jeanette inquired dreamily, stirring from her heavy nap.

    "Alvin got into a fight," he replied simply, gently cleansing the cut with a disinfectant pad.

    Never in his life had Alvin been tended to by so many people unless it was for stage make up before a concert years ago. Brittney tenderly iced his cheek while Theodore prepared Neosporin for a cut above his lip. The rest of the evening Simon and Theodore kept both eyes open for suspicious persons. Jeanette could help no one, dazidly lying on the quilt, simply cheerful that her headache had gone away. She asked Simon to sing to her her favorite songs and every now and then Eleanor or Brittney would chime in. Theodore passed around .25 cent bag of chips and bottles of off-brand soda.

    Brittney put an arm around Alvin's shoulder and beckoned him to rest on her chest. He did so willingly and wearily, "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," he cooed apologetically as Brittney tickled her fingers in his hair.

    "You shouldn't have even tried, Alvin," she nodded her head ruefully, "It's my fault anyways ... I should've never got involved with him."

    "Did he ever kiss you?" Alvin asked suddenly as the first firework of the evening shot up into the slightly clouded sky.

    "Why do you ask that?" Brittney giggled, holding him close to her body like a child.
      
    "Just answer my question," he raised his head to her eye level.

    "Well, of course he did. He was my boyfriend," her words slightly faultered.

    "But he's not your boyfriend anymore, right?"

     "Right ..."

     Alvin paused, he too remembered the events of the past and how everyone was separated because of his carelessness. His feelings had never faded for Brittney. They only swelled and bloomed like seasons. Now there was nothing for them to lose, "maybe we could fall in love again," he proposed in a whisper as the other four sang aloud in harmony.

    Brittney's cheeks flushed, "maybe ...."

    " - just like nothing happened ... "

    " ... like nothing happened ..." their noses touched. Alvin flinched, then smirked. Four more dazzling explosions of light and color reflected in her eyes - he worshipped her eyes . If only she would be with him, he would learn to protect her. He would be a better person, he was sure.

    "GLOW STICKS!" a young, tall man came bounding through the field of grass, waving glow sticks and necklaces about, interrupting their moment of eye love.

    "I LOVE glow sticks!" Theodore exclaimed, clambering up from his spot on the blanket to pay the man.

    Alvin sighed and propped himself up on his elbows to watch the rest of the fireworks romance-less, with one black eyes, and a knife wound.

    Simon on the other side of the blanket with Jeanette returned innocently to his lap - for her sisters never took her seriously when she had one of her migrains - had seen how near Alvin was to kissing Brittney and wondered to himself if what was happening between he and Jeanette was happening between the two of them. He contemplated this with happiness parting his lips and fireworks on his specs. How wonderful if the six of them would just be three.

TBC - srsly.