Hey! What's up?! I won't even start on how long it's been since I've actually updated a single thing, but I will say I started this specific story earlier in the year and never really bothered finishing until now.

This part of the story is mainly focused on Theodore & Eleanor's relationship. Originally, I was just going to do a Simon & Jeanette One-shot-thingy, but then I got an idea for an Alvin & Brittany, then one thing lead to another and yeah...

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in Alvin and the Chipmunks.

"Alright, class," the bald haired man, dressed in a suit, lamely said. Pointing to the whiteboard at the front of the classroom, indicating to a complicated math problem, he explained, "You see, so after you take the square root of twenty-five, as you all should know, it's five, what do we do after this?"

In the back of the classroom, a blonde-haired girl, known as Eleanor Miller, let a small yawn escape her lips. Propping her right elbow on the top of her desk, she rested her cheek in the palm of her hand, lazily staring across the room at her current teacher for her third period of the day. It's not that she was tired or anything, it was simply because the man teaching up front had no sense in what the word "fun", or "entertaining" meant. Sure, yeah, he was a great teacher…the only problem was: he was boring. Not even that, insanely boring. The man had no sense in anything other than math.

Slowly beginning to close her eyes, Eleanor blinked a couple times, trying to widen her brown gleaming eyes; she just had to stay awake…but it was just so hard…

"Anybody?" the math teacher, also known as Mr. Kruetz, asked, glancing around the room. "C'mon, I know you guys know this…" He challenged, scanning the room once more with his dull gray eyes. "Eleanor," he hollered, catching the blonde-haired girl falling asleep.

Jolting awake, Eleanor straightened her posture. "Wha—yeah, Mr. Kruetz?" she called, twiddling her thumbs together.

"Can you tell the class what the answer to this problem is?" Mr. Kruetz questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh," Eleanor began slowly, pursing her lips, taking a quick glance around the room, all her classmate's eyes on her. "Well, umm, I—"

Ding. Ding. Ding.

Saved by the bell.

Letting out a sigh of relief at the sudden bell indicating the class period was over, Eleanor quickly gathered all her things, and slipped past all the students in her way, and rushed out of the room before anything more humiliating could happen.

Making it to the exit, she shook her head disappointed, yet letting out another sigh. She nearly fell asleep in that class…again. Now she's practically fallen asleep in that class more than a dozen times by now. Maybe she should start bringing gum to that class or something, because she couldn't bear to have another scene like that to happen to her again.

Biting her bottom lip, she headed down the hallway and stopped at her locker. Putting the combination in, she unlocked it and set her binder and textbook in, grabbing her sack lunch out in exchange.

At least it was lunchtime, that was a good thing, wasn't it? It was an hour long, so she had plenty of time to get herself together.

Slamming her locker shut, she turned on her heel and headed to the lunch room.

"Whoa, wait—you what?!" Alvin exclaimed, coughing on his drink of water, from laughter.

Grimacing at his reaction, Eleanor took a bite from her homemade peanut-butter and jelly sandwich, chewing slowly. She decided she'd tell her sisters and friends that she nearly fell asleep, again, in class that day, just to hear their advice on what she could do to possibly stay awake, but evidently it wasn't a good idea…

"Alvin," Brittany began, slapping him in the back of his head, "you spit some water on me! And Eleanor's told us about this problem centuries ago—haven't you been paying attention? Oh wait, you've been sitting over with your stupid jock friends for the past couple of months, so, duh—of course NOT!"

"Have not—what about you, huh?" Alvin shot back, rubbing the back of his head, eyeing his counterpart with slit eyes.

Examining her pink, glazed, perfectly manicured nails, Brittany crossed her legs and simply countered, "I have been visiting at least once, every week, so I don't miss out on family talk too much—and have TOO!"

Eleanor let out a sigh, with the roll of her eyes, at her older sister and friends' argument. "Oh boy," she muttered, "here we go again."

"Tell me about it," Simon suddenly said, coming up from behind her, sack lunch in hand. Taking a seat next to her, he let out a sigh, adjusting his black framed glasses, shaking his head. "Sometimes I wonder if Alvin and I are even blood related."

"Yeah, well, it'll surprise you to how much you two are actually alike, just like me and Brittany." Eleanor mumbled, staring at her sandwich in her hands.

"Hey, don't worry about those two—they're just being Alvin and Brittany—we're talking about you right now." Theodore suddenly said, catching Eleanor off guard.

Flicking her head to the side, she smiled brightly. "Theodore! Didn't see you there—how long were you there?" she asked all attention on him.

"Well, I've been here the whole time…at least I'm pretty sure I've been here the whole time…" He answered slowly, thinking it through carefully.

"Oh—right! You have, oh my, I'm so sorry, Theodore!" Eleanor apologized sincerely. How'd she forget he was sitting right next to her? He was right next to her… How did that happen? Feeling terrible, Eleanor slumped her shoulders. She was a terrible friend. How did she even have friends?

"It's fine, Eleanor. We all forget things sometimes, don't worry about it," Theodore chirped, pulling a bag of cookies out of his sack lunch. "Oh, here," he said, handing the cookies to her. "I made these the other night, but I've been forgetting to bring them over to your place, so..."

Brightening up, Eleanor took the bag. "Aww, you shouldn't have," she grinned, but then frowned. "But I don't deserve these, not after what I just did…"

"No, it's fine—these are yours now. It's a new recipe." Theodore insisted, gleaming brightly.

Still feeling it wasn't right, she started, "But—"

"Jeanette," Simon suddenly half greeted and half exclaimed. Scooting down a little, he pulled the seat next to him out and beckoned for the shy girl to sit.

"Hi, Jeanette!" Eleanor waved enthusiastically.

Slightly waving back, Jeanette smiled, "Hey." She then took her seat next to Simon.

"Where have you been?" Eleanor questioned, once again, forgetting about the sweet boy next to her.

"Yeah," Simon joined in, "I was looking for you, but since I couldn't find you, I came here hoping you were already here…which, you weren't…" He ended, slightly trailing off.

Widening her emerald green eyes, Jeanette gasped. "Oh my gosh—I'm so sorry, Simon!" she immediately apologized, for she always met up with Simon by her locker during lunch hours. "It's just, there was this person, and I told Brittany I'd check up on—"

"Whoa, whoa, wait…" Eleanor cut in, perking up at hearing her oldest sister's name. "'Brittany'?" She quoted quizzically. "Did she ask you to do something? Like, maybe did she ask you to go report to her on a guy? Jeanette, is Brittany using you again?" she questioned, locking eyes with purple clad sister.

"W-well, not exactly..." She replied, disconnecting her gaze.

"Hey, Simon, Jeanette," Alvin suddenly called out, breaking the conversation, and getting everyone's attention who was sitting at that lunch table. "Does Brittany really, honestly come and sit with you guys during lunch on a somewhat daily basis?"

Simon began, "Well—"

"I do, don't I?!" Brittany exclaimed, slamming both her hands down on the table, almost in desperation.

"Well, yeah, you do—she does actually come, Alvin." Simon answered as matter-of-factly, while Jeanette merely nodded her head in agreement.

"Snap," Alvin muttered, snapping his fingers in defeat. "Dang it…I swear I was right—I'm always right…" He continued to mumble under his breath in disbelief.

Eleanor merely rolled her eyes, when she turned to Brittany in remembrance, question lingering in her mind. "So, Brittany, what exactly is it as to why you're having Jeanette do your dirty work? Can't you just talk to the boy yourself?"

"Eleanor, I can't—wait, did you just say 'boy'?" Brittany exclaimed, a smug smile appearing on her face. "Honey, I don't know what you mean when you say 'boy' 'cause you know I can handle myself perfectly when it comes to that subject," she scoffed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I think you mean: girl. You know, G-I-R-L, the opposite of a male: female?" she questioned, examining her nails.

Furrowing her eyebrows, Eleanor just stared. "Wait, what? You were having Jeanette spy on a girl for you? Why?"

Glancing up from her nails, Brittany stared back at Eleanor, but in disbelief. "Uh, there's a new girl to this school! Don't you know? I need to know about this girl so I know who I'm going up against, and not to mention whether or not I'll have to step things up a bit. There's no way I'll ever allow some 'new girl' to come ruin my parade." Brittany ended, going back to examining her nails. "Oh, and Jeanette?" she called, getting her bespectacled sister's attention. "Be sure to report to me about this girl when we get home, okay? We can't do it here because walls have ears, and so do people."

Jeanette nodded her head in response and went to eating her lunch.

Eleanor, on the other hand, couldn't help but gawk at the whole entire situation. Some days, she just couldn't get her two sisters. She loved them dearly, and she's known them her whole life, but, some days, she just didn't get them. She just didn't.

Letting out a sigh, Eleanor grimaced down at her now half eaten sandwich. Her appetite wasn't being too friendly with her that day because she wasn't feeling so hungry anymore…and lunch time was her favorite time—not only because of the food and the fact that she got a break—but it was because she got to spend time with her family. The Sevilles weren't blood related, but they were close enough to anything she could ever ask for when it came to being a brother. Alvin and Simon were, naturally, like older brothers to her. Simon sometimes would help her with her homework when Jeanette wasn't able to, and Alvin would compete against with her in soccer just for the fun of it. Now when it came to Theodore, though, it was a complete different story.

Theodore. He was different for her. He wasn't like any boy she'd met. He wasn't like an older brother to her. And it wasn't because he wasn't older brother material—because he definitely was—it was just he was something more than an older brother. He was her friend, not brother, and not only her friend—but her best friend. He was the most, best friend she ever could ask for. And if there was a word to describe their friendship, there wouldn't be one because one wasn't needed.

"Umm, Eleanor?" Simon began, adjusting his black framed glasses.

Eleanor flicked her head to the voice with bright, brown eyes and a wide cheery smile. "Yes, Simon…?"

"Theodore, here, was telling me you were having some troubles staying awake in class, again…?"

"Uh," the blond-haired girl pursed her lips. "Yes. So it seems…" Sighing, she shook her head, but managed a smile. "Have any, so called, tips?" she perked up.

Simon clasped his hands. "As a matter of fact I do," he enlightened. Wiping his hands on his napkin from the prepackaged bundle of a white plastic fork, spoon, knife, and straw, he sat up straight in his chair while scooting closer in to the table. "Well, I'm actually not sure how much this is actually a tip, for it doesn't work for everyone, but it helps me out quite a bit so…" He looked at Eleanor willingly.

Eleanor smiled, "Simon, if it's coming from you, then more likely it will certainly be a tip. And probably even better than what a tip is even supposed to be."

Simon chuckled, and said, "Well, this really isn't much of a 'tip'—but it may help you."

"Alright, Simon," Eleanor grinned wider, "tell me what it is already."

"Okay—I chew gum."

Eleanor nodded her head, taking in his words. So she really should start bringing gum. If it helps Simon, it will more likely help her.

"Well, anything sugary, really," he inserted in, thinking things through.

"So now I'm going to have to go out and buy something sweet…" She mumbled considering her choices.

"Like my cookies I gave you! You can munch on those!" Theodore chirped brightly.

Eleanor eyed the bag of cookies and immediately smiled. "Yeah! That's a great idea, Theodore! But I'm still going to have to go buy something—I'm afraid these cookies won't last forever—I'd probably eat them all in one class!"

"Oh," Theodore cocked his head to the side, but then grinned brightly. "Then I'll just make you cookies every day! And I can even make it a variety—I can make you homemade taffy, chocolate clusters with almonds and cashews—this will be great!"

Eleanor giggled, "Theodore, you really don't have to—"

"But don't you need—"

"Theodore, be reasonable here," Simon joined in. "You can make her sweets if you like, but every day? I think she'll be fine with twice or thrice a week." Simon calculated thoughtfully.

Theodore blinked. "Oh… Is that so?" he asked, turning to the brown-eyed girl.

Eleanor smiled and opened her mouth, yet not sure of what to say. Sighing, she shook her head. "Theodore, it's really fine. You don't have to…"

"But I want to. Plus, it will help me come up with new recipes!"

She couldn't help but giggle and grin wider than she already was. "Alright, Theodore, if you really want to—but the limit is three times a week if you're seriously planning on making me something sweet." He was such a sweetheart! Whoever girl he would end up with in the future definitely was a lucky one, without a doubt. She was sure of it.

Finding her appetite come back to her with sudden haste, she finished her sandwich and went on to her small container of yogurt.

It amazed her as to how much everyone has changed. It was all so new, and strange, and…sad. It made her sad to think of how much her and her sisters have grown. They were already sophomores this year. They were already halfway through the school year. They were actually surviving with passing grades and all the drama that had happened so far. They were growing up so fast… Time was passing them by so quickly! She just couldn't believe it! The next thing she knew, Theodore would already have a girlfriend, or Alvin would actually act his age!

Suddenly Alvin exclaimed, "Oh! The-o-dore! Am I seeing what I am seeing?!" The eldest of the Seville brothers got of his seat with such an excitement.

"Since when did Alvin and Brittany stop their fighting?" Eleanor leaned over to Jeanette, who was sipping out of her water-bottle.

"Well, i-if I am correct, I believe they stopped their quarrelling when Brittany caught Theodore staring at Olivia Jenson… Which that was just barely…" Jeanette bit her bottom lip, glancing at her youngest sister hesitantly.

"Correction, Jeanette," Brittany cut in, suddenly in the seat on the other side of Eleanor. "He was drooling. You're glad you didn't see it either. It wasn't the cutest sight. And that's a lot, saying that about Theodore." She crossed her arms across her stomach, eyeing the youngest of the Sevilles.

"Theodore?" Eleanor questioned more to herself then to her sisters. "'Drooling'?"

"That's my queue," Simon sighed, wiping his mouth with his napkin. Standing up, he dusted himself down, and began to walk off.

Brittany scoffed. "Simon, really? Just because a bunch of girls are over here doesn't mean you have to leave. You know, it's kind of cool to hang out with girls at this age—we're not kindergarteners anymore," she glared at the bespectacled boy in annoyance as he slowed in his walk at the call of his name. "Plus we're your friends, Simon. It's not like it's going to be awkward or anything. Even if you are a bit socially awkward," she added with a shrug. "You don't need your brothers around to be around us, and around other girls, too."

"Brittany!" Eleanor gave said sister a look.

Brittany rolled her eyes and paid no attention to Eleanor's face expression. "I'm talking to someone, Eleanor—don't you know it's considered rude to not look the person you're talking to in the eye?"

"Wait, what?" Eleanor looked at Brittany confused. Since when did she care about common courtesy?

"Lesson number one in getting a boy's attention: always keep a strong connection with the eyes. It draws their attention to you like a rabbit and a misleading fat, juicy, orange carrot. Once you get the eye connection you've got them trapped." Brittany quickly spoke in a low voice, not taking a single breath, so that her sisters were the only ones to hear her words of wisdom. "And that, my girls, is how you get to stage one: having your first introduction with names. Catch that?"

"A 'fat, juicy, orange carrot'?" Eleanor quoted with her right eyebrow cocked.

Jeanette, on the other hand, took in the words with deep thought. "Is that so…?" she mumbled under her breath with no contentions.

Simon grinned, deaf to the current conversation amongst the sisters, and said, "It's fine Eleanor—that coming from Brittany is actually considered somewhat of a…" He searched for the right word and ended with, "compliment."

"See? Nothin' to worry to it! Oh, and yeah, it was a compliment—see! Simon even knows what I'm talkin' about!" Brittany slapped her hand down on the table causing her two sisters to slightly jump.

Eleanor, once again, eyed Brittany with such a look that was, once again, completely ignored. Huffing out a sigh, the blonde furrowed her eyebrows in realization. Flicking her head in her oldest sister's direction, she eyed the chair, this time, instead of her sister.

Brittany, noticing Eleanor's confused stare, let out an exasperated sigh, "What now?!"

"Where is exactly Theodore?" she asked. Theodore was sitting right there—he was sitting right next to her a moment ago… Wasn't he? Why did she keep forgetting where he was?

"Well, if you ladies will excuse me," Simon began heading on his way, "I have some brotherly problems to deal with." With that said, he walked off to where his two brothers were standing.

Eleanor's gaze flickered up to where Simon was and caught sight of the two missing Seville brothers standing right next to the bespectacled boy. So many questions were on her mind. What were they doing over there? What made them go over there in the first place? She knew why Simon was over there…sort of… But she couldn't quite catch on to as to why Alvin and Theodore were over there. Wait, but Alvin exclaimed over something with Theodore. "Wait, what's going on, again?" she blurted out totally lost and confused.

"Oh, umm—well, Theodore caught sight of Olivia Jenson—" Jeanette began.

"Drooling," Brittany added in admiring her nails.

"Right, and, uh, well," Jeanette sighed, pulling a loose strand of brown hair behind her ear, "Theodore ran off like a lovesick puppy…" She blinked, stunned by her own words.

"A 'lovesick puppy'?" Eleanor gaped, in disbelief. "I have to see this for myself." With that said, she emerged from her seat and went to go stand by the Seville brothers.

Finding a spot right next to Alvin, who had his right arm around Theodore's shoulders, Eleanor spoke up, "What's the lineup?"

"Well, you see it's—" Alvin paused. "Wait a minute—Eleanor? What are you doing here? Go back to sitting with Brittany and Jeanette. This is a conversation meant for boys, and boys ears only."

Eleanor tilted her head, catching sight of Olivia Jenson and said, "O-kay… Your point?"

Alvin sighed. "My point is: go away." He raised his eyebrows expectantly at the youngest of the Miller sisters. "Go on, shoo—this is guy-talk," he pushed once more. Seeing that she wasn't moving, he snapped his fingers in front of her face, snapping her back into reality. "Eleanor, did ya hear me? Hello?"

Eleanor blinked, and shook her head, "Sorry, uh, what?"

"Go," Alvin ordered with strict, sky blue eyes, and a pointed finger in the direction of their lunch table.

"Oh… Alright. It's not hard to tell when I'm not wanted around," she muttered, turning on her heel back to where her sisters sat.

"So," Jeanette slowly began.

"Is he still drooling?" Brittany scrunched her nose in disgust.

"I got sent in the doghouse," Eleanor slumped down in her seat.

"I don't—I don't get you," Jeanette stated with confused green eyes.

"You got sent home? Wait, what? Who sent you back here?" Brittany interrogated immediately with firm blue eyes.

"Alvin did," Eleanor stated, bummed out.

Brittany flicked her head to where the three boys stood. "Why that little twerp!" she slammed her hands down on the tabletop as she stood abruptly, catching a few eyes. "Oh how he will SO get a piece of my mind when I am through with him!" she marched off with clenched fists.

Eleanor pursed her lips while she watched her eldest sister go off. She watched while Brittany tapped Alvin on the shoulder and ended up dragging him a few distances by the ear. It wasn't hard to tell they were fighting. Their hand actions and furious eyes said it all. Eleanor sighed and muttered, "At least she's not making a big scene."

"I-I-I wouldn't be too sure about that…" Jeanette shook her head in fear.

Eleanor rubbed her temples in a massaging manner not even bothering to look. The least she could do was try and not stress herself out too much. But then again, what exactly was she stressing over?

"Hey, yo! Eleanor!" Alvin hollered, rolling his eyes while Brittany supervised with her arms crossed and her foot tapping.

Perking up, the blonde raised her eyebrows looking in the caller's direction.

Sighing, obviously annoyed, Alvin lamely said with no heartfelt meaning, "I'm sorry—ow! Brittany! What'd you do that for?!"

With hands on her hips, Brittany merely stated, "You don't sound like you mean it."

"Well that's because I—"

Brittany lifted up her foot ready to stomp down hard in a threatening manner.

"—don't know why I planted bananas in your garden this morning and I—"

"Wait—what…?!"

"What?"

"You planted bananas in my garden, Alvin?" Brittany raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"I did what?!" Alvin acted out, confused.

"Alvin, I don't have a garden and I never will because dirt is dirty and we're getting off subject!" Brittany growled, stomping her foot down on Alvin's feet.

"Whoa! Hey!" he jumped back, hands up in defense. "Watch the shoes! They're new!"

Eleanor blinked. Maybe it would've been best if she just kept her rump glued on her seat, eyes on her food, and ears zipped up tight. Then she would never have had such a problem with anything. Sighing, she stood from her seat and headed on her way. "C'mon, Jeanette," she beckoned for her sister to follow.

"But I thought it wasn't okay to go over there," Jeanette hesitated.

"It wasn't, but now it is, but because of the fact that Alvin isn't doing too well with his deep 'apology' that's probably why you haven't caught on to the 'okay' sign," she shrugged.

Slowly nodding her head, Jeanette arose from her seat and trailed slowly behind her youngest sister.

As Eleanor and Jeanette made their way to where Simon and Theodore stood, the first thing Eleanor did was check Theodore's face. He honestly wouldn't be drooling over a girl, now would he? It was one thing for him to drool over cake, and it was a whole different thing for him to drool over some girl. Even if she was his crush…

Theodore twiddled his thumbs together, chewing his bottom lip nervously, evergreen eyes locked, as if stuck in a trance. Eleanor sighed, slightly rolling her eyes, but relaxed a little. So Brittany was merely exaggerating…

Suddenly Jeanette gasped, "Theodore! He-here, use this." She hastily pulled out a bright violet handkerchief from her pocket and held it out for the now drooling boy to use.

Eleanor immediately snapped all of her attention on Theodore with a look of terror. With her mouth slightly agape, she blinked, stunned.

As the seconds passed, and Jeanette still had her arm stretched out, handkerchief still in hand, she glanced side to side at Simon and Eleanor questioningly. "Umm…"

Simon sighed and crossed his arms, shaking his head. "Theodore—someone is talking to you…"

Theodore merely blinked a couple of times, utterly oblivious to his surroundings.

Simon raised his eyebrows realizing his words were completely disregarded. "Theodore…?"

Eleanor gritted her teeth and stepped in front of her dazed friend. "Theodore, Simon's talking to you… Theodore…?" she smiled enthusiastically. In response, he blinked again, still stuck in a daydream. Huffing, Eleanor crossed her arms, and forced her smile to stay. "Theodore...?" she said through clenched teeth about ready to lose it. The blonde-haired girl glanced timidly at her audience of two and rolled her shoulders like she normally did when prepping herself for the final kick-off in soccer; rolling her shoulders usually helped eased her adrenaline.

Sighing deeply, she gave it another shot. "Theodore…? I'm going to throw away your lunch if you don't respond…"

"You know, Theodore, I don't think she's kidding," Simon stated, pushing his black framed glasses up the bridge of his nose.

To Eleanor's dismay, Theodore didn't budge, and that wasn't going to be acceptable—at least not when she was around. She could never let him humiliate himself, not like this. And if it meant she had to be harsh with him, then she'd give him harsh…well, not too harsh, but firm.

"Theodore!" She grabbed hold of his shoulders and jerked him firmly.

Theodore's far-off look faded as he finally gave Eleanor the attention she'd been trying to get. "W-w-what?! What's going on? W-where am I? Simon?" he frantically questioned.

Simon chuckled, "Right here, Theodore." Theodore glanced to his left. Simon chuckled once more and cleared his throat, "Your, um, left…"

Theodore looked to his right and let out a relieved sigh, "Oh, there you are—I-I was just, umm, I was just…"

"Staring at Olivia Jenson," Eleanor sneered bitterly. Once her words were said, she put her hand over her mouth. She nearly sounded like Brittany a second ago. Brittany of all the people in the world!

"Wait, no…I was talking to her," he glanced around. "I was talking to…" He stopped looking when he saw the reality.

Simon placed his hand on Theodore's shoulder and explained, "I believe the correct term is: you were imagining you were talking to her—um, Olivia Jenson. I think you wanted to talk to her so badly, that it caused your brain to believe you actually were doing what you wanted it to do, so it did the closest thing it could do to make you get what you wanted…"

"So…I never did talk to her…" Theodore frowned.

Jeanette, seeing her opportunity to give Theodore her handkerchief, spoke up, "Umm, here, Theodore. You were, uh, drooling."

"Oh," Theodore touched his mouth and took the violet handkerchief, "thanks, Jeanette."

Eleanor crossed her arms and sighed. Turning her head, she spotted Olivia with her group of friends. It wasn't like Eleanor had a problem with Theodore having crushes—it was just she didn't like Olivia as much as she tried to—or at least wanted to—or at least wished she could. She really didn't want to plan on hating anybody at her school—this was her first year! It was a fresh start! She didn't want to make any enemies, but if there was anyone she could ever hate, which she didn't, it was Olivia Jenson. She knew plenty of girls named Olivia in the past, and they were great, wonderful, strong girls…but this Olivia, where could she even start! This Olivia was worse than Brittany—she was an infinite more times worse!

Olivia Jenson had an attitude that was heightened on steroids and a mind mixed with pure evil and sass with a dash of drama-queen-freak-out-when-someone-"nasty"-waves-t o-you. If you were let into Olivia Jenson's posse, that meant she thought of you as a worthy apprentice or, worse, slave.

When it came to girls, Olivia's mind would immediately judge and downsize on the girl in sight, and she would treat her like some rat. If you were her friend, you merely got the honors of hanging out with her. But if you were a boy, you were treated with a little more respect, and of course, if you were the most attractive boy that ever walked the planet, then you were treated like a dog which was, in most cases, the kindest she'd ever get to anyone except herself and girls in higher grades that she treated like Greek Goddesses.

Eleanor knew this much about Olivia, and so did everyone else in her same grade that ever got close as to twenty yards. Even when Eleanor did try and stand up against Olivia, for she teased Jeanette for no good reason, she ended up with eggs and cake batter blowing up in her face, literally. That was a terrible day for her…and no one—meaning, the Sevilles and everyone else that went to her school excluding her sisters—knew about what happened to her. All people know is the lie of: she tripped, and fell, and that she hit a table, which just so happened to have the eggs tipping off the edge along with the cake batter, and that they fell on her. Period. End of humiliating but "true" story of Eleanor Miller and her "amazing" cooking skills.

Sighing, Eleanor fixed her focus back on Theodore. If she wanted to protect Theodore from Olivia, she would have to be upfront about it. "Theodore, tell me, what is it that you see in Olivia? Really? Aren't there plenty of other pretty, and nice girls that you can, you know…like?" Okay, maybe she wasn't exactly being too upfront about it, but this was the most she could push. Theodore may have been the "man" between their friendship, but that didn't mean his heart was the armored, rock-solid heart and hers the fragile, frail one.

"Olivia is nice to me—she's beautiful on the inside and out—" Theodore guarded, defending his dignity.

"Whoa, whoa, wait—let me get this straight—you've actually talked to Olivia Jenson?" Simon crossed his arms with much skepticism.

"W-well, yeah," Theodore shrugged, "in my foods class…"

Simon raised his eyebrows with much shock. "Foods class?" Turning to Eleanor and Jeanette, he questioned, "Have you seen or, heard of this…?"

Eleanor, about ready to shake her head in rejection, got cut-off by Jeanette, "Well, actually, yes…"

Eleanor snapped her head over in Jeanette's direction with a confused look.

Jeanette gave her little sister the same look in return. "We're all in the same class…aren't we…? You know this, Eleanor—y-you don't…remember…?" she questioned, doubt clouding her clear mind.

With wide, brown, glistening eyes, Eleanor's jaw dropped. "Oh…right…that's right—you're right… Sorry…Jeanette…" She blinked, glancing over at the two Seville's still standing close by.

"Are you okay, Eleanor? You seem sort of…bewildered—out of it, today…?" Simon interrogated with concerned eyes.

"N-no—y-yeah—wait—sorry, I'm just—I've been—I think, I'm just tired…really, really, tired…" She trailed off, mentally hitting herself. Tired? She wasn't even close to that. Focus. You need to focus. She grinned at her audience to try and show that she was perfectly normal and fine…and not to mention okay. Who knows what was running through Simon's, or Jeanette's, or, especially, Theodore's brain; but Theodore wasn't one to think weirdly…well, rudely, was the right word. But then again, neither were Simon and Jeanette ones to think judgmentally without solid information, either.

"Umm, Eleanor," Theodore hesitantly began, "y-you're not…mad, at me, now…are you?"

Eleanor opened her mouth to respond, but immediately froze once the words got processed through her mind. She gazed into Theodore's evergreen eyes, taken back. Why would he think she was mad at him? "Theodore," she began, the gears turning in her mind on overdrive, "why would—why do you—I'm sorry, I don't understand. Why do you think I'm 'mad'?"

Theodore scratched the back of his neck, and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, earlier at lunch, you didn't notice me—well, forgot about me—and right now, you just forgot we were in the same foods class—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa—Theodore, I don't think Eleanor is actually mad at you—in fact, I don't even know why you're jumping to conclusions like that." Simon stated. "True, I probably don't know Eleanor half as well as you do, and especially as you, do," he gestured to Jeanette, "for you're her sister, so, of course you know her fairly well, and I'm getting off topic—what I'm trying to say is: how are you sure she's upset with you?"

"Well, I don't—"

"Then why are you –"

"Guys," Eleanor cut in. Both Simon and Theodore froze and set their gaze on the blonde-haired girl with mouths still agape. Looking down, feeling the slightest amount of awkward creep up her spine, Eleanor peeled her gaze back up to the two Seville brothers and grinned, "It's fine, really. Theodore has every right to feel the way he does—it's my fault—I'm just out of it today…"

"W-wait, no—Eleanor, it's my fault. I'm sorry—I-I shouldn't have—"

"Theodore!" Eleanor smiled, placing two fingers over his lips. "It's fine," she soothed. He really was the sweetest boy! She was definitely lucky to be friends with him. Friends… That was all they would ever come to be…right? She sighed softly to herself.

Theodore smiled and shrugged his shoulders, but his smile slowly faded into a frown. "So, what was it you were exactly asking about Olivia, again? It seems to have slipped my mind," he smiled timidly.

Eleanor opened her mouth but paused. What should she say? What could she even say? She couldn't harass him about liking Olivia… If he has a crush on Olivia, then he has a crush on Olivia. What more was she expected to do? Show him Olivia's true colors? Not likely. Theodore was fragile. If anyone knew that, it was her.

"You know what? I don't even know what I was thinking or saying—just don't worry about it," Eleanor smiled

"Oh, okay…if you say so…" Theodore pursed his lips. Flickering his eyes back over in Eleanor's direction, he immediately asked, "You didn't throw away my lunch, right?"

"Throw away your lunch…?" Jeanette jumped in confused.

"Well, I thought I heard you say…"

"You did…" Eleanor slowly stated. "I did say that I was going to throw away your lunch..." Theodore bit his bottom lip. "But I didn't," she confirmed, to which Theodore smiled with much relief.

"Oh, great! Because I'm starving! I've got to brush up on my appetite if I'm going to ask Olivia out on a date!"

"Wait…" Eleanor processed Theodore's words.

"What?!" Simon and Jeanette exclaimed in unison.

"Yup!" Theodore marched off with much joy displayed on his face. "I'm thinking of asking her to go on a picnic this coming Saturday."

Simon whistled his breath of air out. "Wow…"

"Did you," Jeanette began hesitantly, "did you know he…umm…"

Simon shook his head in response, already connecting with Jeanette's unsaid words. "I will be honest, I didn't know he had it in him, and that he was even going to ask for this matter."

"Had what in him?" Alvin suddenly asked, wrapping his arm around Simon's shoulder in a brotherly manner.

Grunting, Simon readjusted his glasses and sighed, irked. "Alvin," his annoyance melted away with a smirk, "it seems to me, if I am correct, our little brother is going to ask a girl out on a date, and you know what that means? That means Theodore is going to be the first one out of us that asks a girl out for this sophomore year." Alvin froze. "And I thought you said you'd be the first to get a date before I, or Theodore, get one, for this year." Patting Alvin on the back, Simon said before walking away, "Well, I guess this year you won't be the first to get a date for a change."

"Ha!—guess what, Simon?" Alvin hollered. "I'm already the first to even date out of us, so I don't care!" he stated plainly, hinting a discomfort tone. Sighing with much less cockiness he usually carried in his voice, he trailed after his bespectacled brother in attempt to "prove" how much he really didn't "care."

Eleanor sighed and rolled her eyes at Alvin's behavior. He could be such a terrible liar, some days. Why bother lying when the answer is so plainly obvious, smacked right in front of everyone? He almost was as bad as Brittany—no, they were actually the same; what was she thinking overweighing one while the two were, obviously, perfectly balanced?

"C'mon, Jean," the blonde beckoned, "let's go join the fray."

Jeanette nodded her head and gave Eleanor a small smile, following closely behind.

Eleanor abruptly stopped in her tracks. "Where's Brittany?" She gave Jeanette a look of wonder. She could've sworn Brittany went to go "deal" with Alvin. How come Alvin came back alone? Shrugging her shoulders, she sighed and walked on. Brittany probably found some cute boy to flirt with…

"What about Brittany?" Jeanette asked, hesitantly trailing behind.

Eleanor shrugged, "She's probably off doing her own thing…"

"Oh," was all Jeanette could say in response.

By the time the two sisters got back to their lunch table, the bell rang. Eleanor let out an exhilarated sigh. At least there was only one more period of the day…

All through fourth period class, all Eleanor could think about was Theodore. She didn't have too much to worry about him—it was mainly his upcoming "date" that was bothering her. Olivia Jenson. Why? Why did it have to be her? Of all of his crushes, this girl had to be the worse. And she knew that it was terrible of her to even think this way, but she couldn't help it.

Even when she was at home her mind was compiled with Theodore and his date. She tried to watch a movie, tried to cook something nice, tried to do some extra chores—all of this just to get her mind off of Theodore and Olivia—but to her disappointment, none of these options she usually enjoyed helped. None of them saved her frying mind. If there was one thing she knew, it was that this was crazy. All of it. This sort of thing shouldn't bother her. She should be happy for Theodore. And she was…she was…sort of.

Eleanor really knew she was actually, literally going crazy by the time she started having a countdown to when Theodore would have his picnic. She even was counting down the hours. Gosh, it wasn't like this was Christmas coming up!—but that was all she could do: count. How annoying…

When Monday finally ended for her, it was hardly the end of all of her troubles. By the time Tuesday came, her mind was just getting warmed up. When Wednesday passed on by—oh boy, she could barely even think! Thursday, she was seriously considering going to the doctor. For Friday, her brain was officially fried; she could barely function. Finally, when it was Saturday, she'd gone brain-dead.

Saturday. It was no big problem. She was, in fact, now glad it was Saturday. Why? Because once the day was officially over, she would gain her mind back. She couldn't even remember the day Theodore asked Olivia out. Was it Wednesday? Or maybe it was Tuesday…? Great, now she was getting short-term memory—or at least something of the sort.

"Jeanette," Eleanor lamely called, lounging on the couch staring at the blank television screen, aimlessly. It was currently nine in the morning…which that meant three hours 'til Theodore's picnic.

"Yeah," Jeanette replied back, coming from out of the kitchen, still dressed in her pajamas.

"Do you need any help?" she desperately asked, wanting to have something to keep her busy. She felt so useless if she just sat around acting like a couch-potato or lazy-bum. That just wasn't her.

"Umm, well, not at the mom—"

"Please? Anything?! I'll clean your room—do your laundry—give you a massage…?" Eleanor pressed, sitting straight up with much hope.

Jeanette crossed her arms and leaned against the closest wall to her with much thought. "Uh…well…" She adjusted her glasses, and gazed over into Eleanor's anxious brown eyes. She bit her bottom lip and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't—I'm sorry—I don't know—umm, why don't you—oh!" she lit up. "I actually might have something for you to do—that is, if you even want to, you know, do it…?"

Eleanor popped right out of her seat, blonde hair bouncing. "Yeah! I'll do it!" she practically cheered.

"Well, alright—I-I just need you to go get me some supplies I'm running short on…if that's okay—"

"Yup! Just give me the list, or tell me," Eleanor grinned, reaching for the car keys, to the car she and her sisters shared, resting on the lampstand next to the couch.

Jeanette blinked. "Uh…y-yeah, I actually do have a list written down…" Jeanette, still trying to progress what was going on in her head, ushered herself to grab the list on the kitchen countertop. Once she returned, she scanned quickly over the notebook paper with frayed torn edges.

Eleanor snatched the paper out of her sister's hand and began heading towards the exit saying, "Great! Thanks Jean! I'll be back—"

"Wait!" Jeanette scrambled after her blonde sister. "I forgot to put something on the list!" she panicked, snatching the paper out of Eleanor's hands and running into the kitchen. Seconds later, she returned with a pen in her hand and she was double-checking her writing. "Alright—I think this is it…"

Eleanor had her hand reaching out patiently.

"Okay, yeah, this is it," Jeanette smiled, handing Eleanor the paper, but quickly retracting and scribbling down a few more things she just remembered. "Sorry, I forgot I really needed baking soda," she stated, timidly grinning.

"No, no, it's fine," Eleanor giggled, ready to grab Jeanette's list.

Looking over the paper one last time, Jeanette slowly began to hand it over, but quickly brought the paper back up to her face as she wrote one more thing down.

"Jeanette!" Eleanor whined, not realizing how anxious she had gotten. But the paper was so close to being in her hands, and she would have been on her "jolly" way to possibly forgetting about Theodore for the morning.

"Okay, okay—sorry!" she quickly handed the paper over, putting her hands behind her back, clutching onto her pen feeling slightly guilty.

Eleanor shook her head, "No, it's fine—it's my fault—I'm just getting really antsy…" She brought the paper into view and scanned over the items while heading towards the front door. After reading the last thing scribbled down on the list, she stopped in her tracks. "'Cashews'?" she turned slightly towards her older sister, who was shrugging, cheeks tinting a light pink.

"For when I get hungry," Jeanette smiled slightly, readjusting her glasses. Her hand began to consciously touch her long brown, messy hair; her hair probably would've looked a little bit nicer if she had brushed it out, but she hadn't yet.

Eleanor shook her head but laughed, "I see, I see…" With that said, she waved goodbye and walked out the door.

She wasn't sure what she was doing when she found herself parked in front of the local park. She tapped her fingers against the steering wheel debating whether or not she should leave. It wasn't like this was even her business. Gosh, what was she doing? She was starting to act like her oldest sister! This wasn't her; she would never do such a thing she was actually doing now! Why? Why was she doing this to herself?

Her soft brown eyes scanned the park. There was still no sign of Theodore—or his, ugh, date, for this matter.

Eleanor sighed and looked at the clock in her car. There was still a minute before noon. Okay, she either had the choice of leaving, and ending her creeper-stakeout, or, staying, and officially becoming the worst friend ever and not to mention a stalker.

After a few momentarily seconds passed on by, she shook her head and started the ignition in her car, setting her car into reverse to back out of her front row parking spot. But before she pressed her foot on the gas, she paused and thought about it. She really wanted to see how Theodore's date would go, though… She bit her bottom lip and stared straight ahead, watching as a few kids chased each other, yelling and screaming at each other in a playful way. Now what? Stay or go?

A car soon pulled up next to her, and from her peripheral vision, she could see it as an old-fashioned white, rectangle-nosed car. Which was funny to her. She could've sworn that car looked familiar, even though she wasn't even looking at it all the way. Looking to her side to see who had pulled up next to her, she saw two boys about her age, in the front seat, wearing…wigs… Disregarding them, she faced her view back to the now laughing kids. "I hope they know their 'disguises' look pretty dang pathetic…" She hummed, voice edging in irritation at how dumb some people shamelessly could be; pausing, she slowly turned her head back to the two boys, and her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Instinctively, her hand switched her car into reverse and she drove out of her parking space and sped away to the exit like it was a race. What are they doing here? She thought to herself, having a panic-attack. There was NO way she was even going to bother staking out and watching for Theodore like some over obsessed girlfriend if they were going to be there. Was this supposed to be some sick joke?! Well, now that she thought about it, this was a good thing; in fact, it was a very good thing.

Instead of her being the one watching Theodore off in the distance like some lost ghost, she would simply just let Alvin and Simon do the job. After all, it did make sense that Alvin and Simon were there—they're his brothers!—they want to see how their youngest brother does on his very FIRST date…in reality Alvin undoubtedly must've begged Simon to "come along for the show." With the popcorn they had brought—Alvin probably did say those exact words. She couldn't help but feel a little pity towards Simon—he looked miserable in his…long-haired wig (another "brilliant" idea of Alvin's; but Theodore being as naïve as he was, he wouldn't even blink twice to immediately think "What are two girls doing in their car eating popcorn?")… She should take his spot and relieve him of his duties… She shook her head. No. She didn't need to spy on Theodore, no! He needs personal space. As his best friend, she should honor that—and she was going to honor that.

Her heart nagged at her brain, begging it to tell her body to turn back around; it wanted to see this. She bit her bottom lip while her heart literally screamed at her, pulsing and pumping her blood throughout her body vigorously while she pressed on the gas and turned to the right out onto the main streets, away from where Theodore would be.

She sighed, rolling her eyes. She'll hear the whole entire story from the eldest Seville brothers in full graphic detail—so why was she dreading leaving the parking lot? She actually has a life—why did she need to go off and watch someone else's life? Because it wasn't just someone it was THEODORE. She wanted to scream and rip her head off. Why was this so complicated? She's not this problematic about his life…at least she thought she wasn't. What was wrong with her? Something must've been wrong. Either she's really actually a lunatic in some mental hospital having some crazy, creepy fantasy daydream about how she wished life would be—doing the only thing she could to get what she wanted, or this was real life playing a stupid joke on her. Which one to choose? She almost wished it was the latter. Being some mental patient sounded better than having to be normal—no not even close to normal—to being some dramatic freak who's getting a terrible, unhealthy obsession over their best friend.

She was like a predator taking great pride in her kill, not wanting to share it with anyone, even her dear sisters. But who was she kidding? Her sisters didn't care about Theodore as much as she did…

Eleanor shook her head. She was just going to go to the local store, get what she came to get—maybe throw in a few comfort foods—then she'd be gone, and arrive safely at her home, tucked away under her covers while she watched some sappy, dramatic chic-flick with Brittany. Or, of course help Jeanette with whatever she was working on.

Letting out a sharp breath, she nodded her head. "You're a brilliant genius, Eleanor," she told herself, eager to get to her destination.

"What is up with this?!" Her bright, brown eyes scanned the aisle of Snacks for the millionth time. Choppily walking, puffing each breath out, she stopped, scanned her list, then scanned the shelves, and marched back to the start of the aisle. She either was blind, or the store was actually out of what she wanted… Giving another hard glare at her list, she shot a ray of death at the shelves. Stomping to the middle, she huffed, turned robotically to face the shelves, gritted her teeth, and carefully, with wide open eyes, slowly searched the shelves once more.

Almonds..… Peanuts….walnuts….soy nuts.…Brazil nuts...hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios, honey roasted peanuts smoked almonds coconut toasted almonds dryroastedseasaltedhoneyroastedchocolatecoveredove nroastedfruitflavoredmixedslicedcrushed… She was as the end of the shelves before it cascaded off into dozens of different branded crackers and cookies that mostly were all the same in appearance, but not quality. She blinked more than a dozen times, staring aimlessly at where the last nut containers and bags ended. "What is this—?" she hissed, through forced teeth. Screaming and yelling weren't necessary—she didn't need to waste her voice over not being able to find a certain kind of nut over a variety of others drenched in a vast flavorful compilation with all sorts of spices and added condiments. Nope. She definitely wasn't going to scream like any normal person would when every other time they visited the store they'd always see the item that wasn't of interest until the day they actually want and need it it's completely disappeared off the face of the earth.

Nope. She was different. She was simply going to go…scream at the manager of the store. Clenching her fists, she walked to the end of the aisle, grabbed her cart, and pushed with raven eyes. Someone with a nametag that says manager...someone with a nametag…bingo. She stormed over to the worker talking in a slick black walkie-talkie. She read their nametag with slit eyes and pressed her cart with all of her fury. By the time she made it to the man, all prepared, voice ready, she started, "Um, excuse me, Jeff, hi…"

The worker stopped talking on his walkie-talkie and smiled, "Yes…?"

"Yeah, uh, do you know where all the cashews are? I was looking for them down in the Snack aisle, where the nuts are all placed, but," she snickered lightly in sarcasm, "I can't seem to find them." She smiled a friendly smile, shrugging her shoulders lightly.

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that, follow me," Jeff ran his fingers down his jawline where he had a light scruff beard. "So, we had a big shipment come in full of Winter and Christmas edition foods, and every year we have to switch the store up just to fit all of our products, and normally we have enough room for all of the nuts to fit in their own section, but this year, we had too much, so we had to move some of the products, and I believe cashews was one of them…" He went on, explaining apologetically.

Eleanor smiled and nodded. "Oh, is that so…?"

By the time Jeff had led Eleanor to her target, she nearly snatched the container of cashews holding and rubbing it close to her with an insane look of obsession—but, she didn't. She only did half of that and left out the creepy part.

"Again, sorry about the inconvenience and, ask me if you have any more questions," Jeff smiled before walking off and speaking in his walkie-talkie.

As soon as the manager left, her plastered smile she wore immediately reshaped itself into a frown and she eyed the manager with such a burning look of pure loathing that it would scar anyone that walked in her view.

Sighing, she released her fire and stared at the container of cashews. She was so ready to yell at the guy but then couldn't even bring her voice to hit such levels. Instead she gave him everything she thought she threw out the door… She shook her head. Wow. She wanted to go yell at someone because she couldn't find what she wanted? That wasn't right. It'd make more sense if it was someone like her oldest sister, but other than that—how could she let herself be like that? That wasn't her at all.

"Well," she exhaled, "at least I didn't scream at the manager." Clicking her tongue, she set the container of nuts in her cart and scanned her list. Jeff was actually nice to her. Imagine what he would've been like if she went and "screamed" at him… She probably would've gotten herself kicked out of the store! Checking the cart, counting the items, then counting how many items were on her list, she grinned in satisfaction. Perfect. She had an exact count which meant she was ready to go.

Turning on her heal, she looked up at the broad signs indicating what each aisle contained and she shook her head for what must've been at least the zillionth time that day. The Snacks aisle was at the far opposite end to where she stood near the Produce section. Her eyebrow twitched slightly, and she pursed her lightly tinted lips. While she was over down in South Africa, the cashews were over here in Europe. Lovely. And now she wanted to return home to North America. It was time for her to go; she wanted to go. What time was it? It just barely dawned on her that it probably took her a good hundred years to find the last item on the list—ha, not even that—a millennium!

She inhaled the cool freshness form the food around her and exhaled out deeply while heaving her body to turn. Staring out the clear automatic sliding doors not too far off from where she stood, she studied the coloring the sky shaded the world outside of the store. It was a misty gray, and everything was getting drenched. It was raining. That's funny, she didn't remember hearing about any rain on the forecast…but then, did she even listen to the forecast that morning? No, she was too busy pouting about Theodore! The ends of her lips tugged slightly down into a frown. She was doing so well keeping him off of her mind for the past couple hours! Why?!

As her eyes continued to stare at the glass sliding doors, a couple walked in that attracted her eye—well, it wasn't the two that caught her eye, it was actually just the one. The one girl. And not just any girl, it was Olivia Jenson. Eleanor furrowed her eyebrows while her eyes immediately scanned her surroundings in search of the face with two hands pointing out the time.

Biting her bottom lip, she snapped her head down to passing people's wrists, keeping a firm lookout for someone with a watch. Seeing the opportunity come by looking down at some catalog, she spoke, "Uh, excuse me, Sir? Hi, um, I seem to be absent of some sort of clock—do you think you can tell me the time?"

The elder man she had asked glanced down at his wristwatch and grinned, "It's half past one, Miss."

"Great, thanks so much!" she smiled off.

Her head snapped towards Olivia. So…the date was already over? Done? Really? She crossed her arms and eyed Olivia. She then eyed the boy standing next to her. She recognized the kid as one of the football "stars" and also one of the only two sophomores that made it onto the varsity team. This boy was fairly good friends with Alvin… Brittany had a crush on this guy for like five seconds before he totally screwed up by tripping and dumping all of his lunch food on her in their freshmen year (which is what triggered the wicked friendship of Alvin and him)… Simon had to tutor him for a whole year in math… Jeanette was partnered with him for a science project… Theodore was bullied by this guy in elementary school… This boy was all up in their—the Sevilles' and her sisters'—lives. How come she couldn't seem to remember his name…? She never had to have any encounter with him of any sort—thank goodness!—but what was his name? She remembered it was something goofy and strange…

Terry Glitz! That's right… Well, now that she thought about it, it wasn't that strange, really… Maybe she was thinking of someone else… She could've sworn he was named after a flower…or maybe it was his younger brother she was thinking of? She shook her head; why was she stressing over some boy's name whom she didn't even care much for?

Her gaze caught back in full focus on Olivia. She continued to stare at the couple, almost in pure disgust when their pale skins clutched on to each other, keeping them linked. She watched as Olivia's hazel eyes batted a thousand times into Terry's dirt brown eyes. Eleanor couldn't hold back an eye roll. Why do some girls bat their eyelashes? Seriously, though, why?—it's not cute or anything—it's not even that great of a flirtatious method!—in fact, it's corny. Really, corny…

Eleanor gritted her teeth deciding what she should do. Either she goes off on her merry way, or asks Ms. Jenson about how her date went…? The blonde blinked her eyes. What was Terry doing with Olivia anyway? They weren't on a date…now were they? She snickered. Olivia wouldn't honestly go on a date to the store now would she? But, then again, Olivia was many things Eleanor couldn't even describe with decent words. Shrugging her shoulders, she pushed her cart towards the closest register. As she strolled on over to check out her items, she couldn't help but feel an urge to go talk with Olivia…and she didn't know why either. For once, out of all the impulses she's had since she woke up, this urge wasn't about wanting to know how "the date" went; it was about Theodore.

Before she knew it, her feet were leading her in a whole new direction and the next thing she knew, her mouth was running hallway across China. "Hey, Olivia! What's up?!" she greeted like an old friend. "Terry," she acknowledged with a fixed grin.

"S'up, Baby Miller," Terry nodded his head, hands in pockets. Eleanor stitched her smile in place. Why did he always call her "Baby Miller"? She had a real actual name… Just because she's the youngest out of her sisters doesn't necessarily mean she can be referred in the term as "baby." But then again, any other girl would just die to have the "amazing" Terry Glitz actually acknowledge them—and with a nickname! In all honesty, she didn't even know the guy that well… The only time she actually spoke to him was when she was being highlighted over some soccer game…

Olivia struggled to pull up a real genuine smile. "Oh, uh, hello…Eleanor… What are you doing, um, here?" she asked with no interest, touching the tips of her curled amber hair.

Eleanor wanted to punch this girl. At least Olivia could try to pretend she was interested in talking to her. She held her muscles in place. "I'd like to ask you the same…?" She leaned against her cart.

"Terry, tell her," Olivia spoke, continuing to find more interest in her hair than the conversation.

"What?—Right, right, um we are here to buy a movie to watch and some, uh, snacks," he paused, shrugging, "some popcorn—and then we'll just, uh, I guess crash at my place."

"Oh, fun..." She glanced down at her items in the cart. "Yeah, I'm just here to buy some supplies for my sister...Jeanette…"

Terry nodded his head. "Cool."

Eleanor smiled and nodded her head, "Yeah… So, Olivia, I heard you had a date with, um, my friend…Theodore Seville…?"

As if "Pause" was pressed on a movie, Olivia froze. "Wait…the chubby short blonde boy?" she nearly sneered. Eleanor nodded. A small wicked grin curled lightly across her red lips. "Yes, I did have a 'date' with Theodore today…didn't I?"

"Wait, are we talking about Seville? Like, Alvin Seville?" Terry smirked in realization. "Theodore was the low-time guy you told me already asked you out on a date for today? He's the guy you told me you ditched to come along with the real party?" He cocked an eyebrow, folding his arms.

Eleanor looked at the boy in horror but quickly composed her features when he looked back at her with such a smugness she would never be able to even stand to wear as a mask. "What do you mean, 'ditch'?" She could hide her outside expression, but not her inside.

Olivia, catching on, smiled coolly, "Oh, you know 'ditch'—not actually show up…?" She smiled innocently, batting her frosted black eyelashes. Now Eleanor finally understood what her oldest sister meant when she stated "She has spidery legs guarding the gates to a burning acidic black hole."

"Whoa, whoa, wait…do you mean to say you actually never showed up…?"

Simply smiling, Olivia laughed with a passing air that was smoother than it should've been. "What do you think?"

"So, he might still be waiting there?" Eleanor could feel her heart ache.

"Let's face it, Eleanor, girls like me, don't even have the time of day to bother with boys like, uh, Theodore. You see, we're just too different. Boys like Theodore are—err, difficult to, you know, look at. True beauty can't be seen."

Eleanor blinked, shaking her head in small, slow movements. "I can't believe it…" She mumbled…

"Oh, you better believe it. Now, as much as I'd love to explain to you the difference between Theodore and me, I'm not because that's not what I came here to do. So if you'll excuse us…" Olivia flashed a smile pulled Terry along with her. "See you Monday, Eleanor. Well, more like, you'll see me Monday…" She dismissed, chatting and giggling off with her date.

As the couple passed, the fresh smell of rain breezed past her. "I can't believe it…" She mumbled once more. She couldn't believe. It was true. She couldn't believe she actually believed Olivia would show up. She couldn't believe she actually thought this.

Taking in a deep breath to help her take in this horrible new information, she pushed her cart to the cash register, face blank. When she finally paid the cashier after the lady called her out for at least seven times, she gave a dead "Thank you" and headed on her way.

She stopped when she found herself standing at the doors, staring aimlessly at the outside world. The soft patter of the rain slid against the glass sliding doors. The words Olivia said kept repeating itself in her brain. The expression plastered on Olivia's and even Terry's face, haunted her. They were smiling and laughing at the wrong things; she didn't understand how they functioned that way…

That's when it finally hit her. Theodore. He's the sweetest boy ever, and he'll wait forever to get what he wants (especially when it came to food). He really liked Olivia…well, he still likes her…how long would he wait for her to arrive? What if he's still waiting? She shook her head. You're silly. She told herself with a halfhearted grin. He's not that naïve to wait out in this rain just for Olivia... Her lips curved into a frown. Yes, he is… She shook her head and took off in a light jog. The automatic doors slid open at her presence and her plastic bags swung in her arms while she ran across the street and to her car.

As soon as she threw her newly bought things in the back seat of her car, and slid her body into the front seat, she jammed the key in the ignition, bringing the car to life. "Please don't be there…please don't be there…" She chanted, biting her bottom lip. The last thing she wanted to see was Theodore soaking wet, waiting for something that would never become a reality—at least not now, not today, and as far as she knew, ever.

The chill of her breath fogged up her passenger window and she unbuckled herself, breaking out of the car as fast as she could when she saw him standing beneath a fair tree, hands clutching onto a summer picnic basket. His face expression was of hope; well, it once was, but it was slowly fading as the rain ran down his face.

Eleanor called out to him like he was a lost fawn just barely found. Theodore, hearing her call, snapped his head in her direction and just like the flip of a switch, his face brightened.

"Hi, Eleanor!" he chirped, hands rewrapping onto his baskets handles.

By the time Eleanor had ran her way over to him, in the lightly drizzling rain, she smiled, but her heart sank down. His smile wouldn't last long…

He gave her a friendly, welcoming hug and went ahead and asked his first thoughts of seeing her: "What are you doing here?"

The two friends pulled away from their embrace, and Eleanor's face loosened slightly from her cheerful expression. She shuffled her feet, trying to decide how to break it to him. Would it be easier to just spit it out, or take it slowly as she told him in the gentlest way she knew he would be able to handle? Either way, he'd be heartbroken, and she'd feel miserable for him.

"What?" Theodore cocked his head slightly, blinking innocently with his large comforting green eyes. "What is it?"

"Theodore…" Eleanor began, not knowing how to continue from there.

Theodore gave her a contented look slowly fading into the opposite. Almost, hesitantly, he slowly spoke, leaving a huge gap before the words fully came in full volume, "Is it…is it, about Olivia…?" He asked, as if he was scared of the question.

Eleanor sighed. He knew, didn't he?

"It is, isn't it…?" he flashed her a halfhearted smile. She bowed her head, wishing she knew how to look him in the eyes and heal all that was hurt. "That's what I thought," he knowingly exhaled. "By the time I arrived, and she never arrived within thirty minutes time, I guess you could say I started seeing clearly. There were two options. Either, one: she was terribly late… Or, two: she was never going to show up…" He shrugged, dropping his gaze down to his hands. "I hoped it was the first option…but, now I see...it's not so much anymore."

She felt his misery. And it hurt her more than it should've; inside wounds were the worst…especially when they came from the heart. Finding her voice, she softly spoke, "You knew you didn't have to stay…" She finally brought her gaze up, giving him the best smile she could perform for him.

"I know… I guess I had too much hope…" He slightly laughed and joked, "And I couldn't return home to my brothers empty-handed. I guess, I'm more like my brothers than people say I am, huh?"

Eleanor shook her head and exhaled out deeply. "What am I going to do with you?" Theodore smiled as best as he could his most genuine smile. "C'mon, buddy—we wouldn't want the cold to catch you—especially at a time like this. You're still in the game. The only one who got eliminated is Olivia. She's losing a great prize, you know that?"

The youngest Seville nodded his head, keeping his head held as tall as he could. Eleanor beckoned for him to follow her to her car.

The car ride back to their familiar neighborhood was in silence, but a comfortable one. Eleanor always, here and then, would steel a glance at his face. Usually he let his expressions show, but he wasn't making it so easy for her to read this time. She sighed. He wasn't going to stay the same forever. He was already changing so much this year…

The rhythm of the rain patting on her windshield like a steady beating drum hypnotized her thoughts, keeping her heartbeat intact to the same tempo.

Every now and then, when Eleanor would steal a glance at her best friend, he'd catch her staring at him and she'd barely manage to cover up by smiling with true honesty. She wanted to do something for him…to somehow make it up to him, even though it wasn't her mess to clean up.

As she stared at the road ahead, it finally hit her. A smile crept its way from her heart, to her face. She knew what she was going to do…how she would mend the situation for him…

It was almost time.

Eleanor pursed her thin, pale, rosy lips as she glanced at the clock on the oven. Wiping her hands on her white apron, she slipped the extra material off and headed towards the front living room, the sweet smell of a warm bakery filling her nose.

"Hey, um—uh, Eleanor?" Jeanette called timidly. "Is this the game you were asking for?" she questioned, gradually coming down the stairs holding a long rectangle box. Small specks of dust swept and stuck to the brunette's glasses, hazing her view.

Eleanor spun around and grinned widely when she saw the game her sister held. "Yeah! You guys found it! Yay! You can just put it over by the other games…" She directed, pointing to the corner where a mini tower of games held each other up. "Thanks so much, Jean!" she sighed with much relief. "You are a life saver! Thank you for helping me out with this!"

"Oh, well, it's nothing really," the bespectacled girl brightened with a shrug. "After all, why wouldn't I do this? Anything to help a friend out."

Suddenly, the door swung open with much force, the harsh, wet, wind soaring throughout the house of the Miller's, refreshing the room temperature. As soon as the door burst, Brittany stormed in, her cashmere and milky pink chevron rain coat floating on the cool breeze dancing with the swirling curled orange leaves inviting themselves in. "Catch, Jean," the auburn haired girl hollered, tossing the thick blanket in her hands to the said sister. Swiftly clutching onto the edge of the swinging door, she huffed while she pushed her energy against the resistant howling wind, fighting against her from closing the door.

"I've got your back," Eleanor assured, ushering over to aid her puffing sister.

Brittany's glazing ice eyes melted Eleanor's chocolate brown with such a burning sensation. "Well it's about time," she exasperated, struggling against her rival for the way of the door in what looked much like an arm-wrestling match. "My arms are about ready to break off!"

"Well, you're arms seem perfectly fine to me," Eleanor grunted as she assisted her sister's side.

Brittany scoffed, "Well, what do you plan on doing if they do break off, huh?"

"Stitch them back on," came her simple reply.

"Ew! No! There's no way! No! Uh-uh! You are not sticking a needle in my arm like some old granny-crazy-stitching-blanket-lady!" Brittany shrieked, scrunching her nose in pure agony and disgust.

Sighing, Eleanor rolled her eyes. "What do you want me to do? Glue them on instead? I'll more than gladly do that…" She grumbled fighting against her will to say anything that would turn her sister in a complete new direction.

"Oh, and this is where I save the two sisters from clawing each other's eyeballs out!" a voice full of pride and confidence chanted, coming from atop of the stairs.

Brittany growled, "I think it's you who needs the saving, Mister!"

Eleanor grinned, turning her head, "What took you boys so long?"

"Well," another voice echoed from atop the stairs, and down the hallway with a clatter, "we were waiting for Jeanette to come notify us if we completed our task, but she never came, so…" Simon appeared in the place Alvin once stood.

Jeanette gasped from across the room. "Oh my, gosh—I'm so sorry boys!" Her emerald green eyes bulged with sincerity. "I totally forgot!"

Simon shook his head and smiled, "It's fine Jea—"

"Gah! YES! Finally!" Brittany cheered, once the final sound of the slam of the door bounced throughout the house like lost echoes in the dark.

"You know you couldn't have done that without me," Alvin boasted, leaning against the door on his shoulder, folding his arms.

Brittany shot a glare at the Seville brother next to her to her dismay. "Why you—"

Eleanor exhaled out getting irritated more and more by the second, "Guys, you-know-who will be here any second now; could you please save the fight for tomorrow?" Usually she was able to keep a fairly controlled attitude, but for some odd reason she just couldn't keep in command over her feelings.

Suddenly the doorbell sounded off, about stopping her heart from pulsing.

The youngest of the Miller sisters composed herself, setting her hand on the doorknob.

"We just—are you crazy?!—we just conquered the darn beast out there! Now you're making us fight it again?!" Brittany screeched, placing her hands on her hips, her hair pulled back in a frizzing, wavy ponytail. "That thing gave my poor hair a heart attack!"

Ignoring her sister's complaint, she breathed in and opened the door with a bright smile. Theodore stood out there in a thick sweater, hands in pockets, grinning back at her.

"Can I come in?" he asked, a wave of rain rushing towards him.

"Of course!" Eleanor motioned him in. "You're always welcome here, you know that."

"Simon! Alvin!" Theodore exclaimed. "You guys are here?!" he brightened.

"Yup," Alvin huffed, smugly smiling in reply to his little brother's smile, as he helped Brittany, who growled in frustration but managed to pull a smile catching glances with the sweet boy.

"Hey, Theo," Simon grinned, coming down the stairs.

"Yup! They're here!" Eleanor chirped, getting excited. He's here! She thought, her heart exploding with fireworks.

Jeanette slowly stepped forward and smiled sweetly, "Hi, Theodore."

"Hi!" Theodore happily responded. Turning to the one reason he was there, he asked, "So, you said you had something you wanted to show me…?" Like a puppy, his head cocked innocently to the side.

Eleanor merely grinned and led him to the living room. Immediately, the room engulfed Theodore in a warm hug. The sight that beheld his eyes was more than he ever expected or imagined. A big blanket covered the floor in a pool of red and white checkered squares while foods of all sorts that appeared as something seen in magazines and TV shows were neatly displayed. The dim yellow lights that lit up the room in a warm marmalade made him feel at home.

"Did you…" He slowly turned to Eleanor. "Did you guys do this? For…me…?" His face softened in a warm, melting smile as he gazed around at all the people in the room.

Simon spoke up saying, "This was all actually Eleanor's idea… She's the one you should really be giving gratitude for."

Theodore looked to Eleanor. "You, did this…?"

"Of course I did, silly… Why wouldn't I?"

The next thing Eleanor knew, she was being squeezed in a warm bear hug. When Theodore pulled back, he was glowing.

"You know," he softly began, "after this afternoon, I thought that the rest of my life was completely hopeless…" Taking a look around, he continued quietly, "Now, I see how wrong I was…" He gazed into her eyes. "I have everything I could ever need." Her heart melted into his hands. "You know though, there's only one thing that I'm really disappointed in today…" Her face dropped a little, and her pulse stopped beating in her ears. "A perfectly good lunch had to go to waste," he grinned.

She giggled, opening her mouth to speak but not getting the chance, for his stomach spoke first.

Theodore laughed, his cheeks lightly getting over coated in a soft pink. "C-can we eat…?"

Eleanor laughed once more and announced, "Alright everybody! Let's feast! I didn't make all of this food just to stand and look at!"

Voices filled the air in laughter and enjoyment and everyone dove right in.

Yup. She did it. Well, really it was all him. He was the one who fixed his day. She was only there to help him stitch the torn rips that pulled at his heart. Even though he was the "man" of their friendship, he still needed help getting back on his feet. And that's what she loved about him. She didn't love his weakness; she loved how strong his humility was. He accepted his life in the most humblest way. He didn't need to be fearless and tough to be considered a man—the world didn't have to bow down to his every step. He was who he was, and he carried that without any vanity.

He was still weak, sure—he may or may not have needed her help, sure—but either way, no matter what happened, she would always be there for him. And whether he made the biggest fool of himself, or didn't make the best choices in his future, he would always, forever and to the end, be her best friend.

I hope you enjoyed this!

So, this is a three-pieced-one-shot. The next "Chapter" is just the next one-shot, and it will be focused on Simon & Jeanette.

*I know this is insanely long, (and this turned out longer than I expected), but I for some reason I like to aim for a 5000+ word range when it comes to writing.*

Please review and tell me what you think! I'd really like to know you're guy's thoughts on this piece... Thanks so much for reading!