No excuses.
Only the continuation.
Yes, things are/will be retconned.
This is a continuation on from Drive by Love: Book I: Everyone Makes Mistakes.
The cliffhanger of the epilogue did not happen.
PS: I apologize for the formatting.

Driven by Love
Book II: Whitewashed Promises
MadFCaliburn

Chapter I: The Perfect Fit

~Brittany~

The air around her was stale and humid. She looked around and recognized the street that she was on and the houses around her—she was no more than a few blocks from her home. She looked down at herself and noticed that she was wearing a red dress. The dress was a bit tacky but conformed well to her curves—well, what curves that her small 8-year old body did have. She'd be lying if she said that she didn't like wearing it for the attention that it gave her, but why was she wearing it now and why was she so out of breath?

BANG

The sound violated her ears and seemed to shake the very fathom of her being. She lost her ability to think clearly and immediately clutched her head with her hands. She tried to open her eyes but the ringing in her ears was too painful. She felt her trembling knees give out as she fell to the cold pavement. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to open her eyes once again. Her vision was blurry but she could make out a red object in front of her.

Her immediate memories were starting to come back to her.

Her voice trembled and her throat was stuck closed, "A…" She now recognized the red-clad figure in front of her. They had been planning on a date. There was a miscommunication and she ran away. And then—

"A-Alvin?" She softly called out again. There was no answer. She lowered her eyes and could see his red outline start to grow.

Blood.

She felt the tears in her eyes pool and she crawled to him as fast as she could. He was lying on his side with his front and face away from her. She placed her hands on his shoulders and gently shook him.

"Alvin!" Her voice was louder this time but still, she received no answer.

She shook harder and his body shifted until he was lying on his back. Her eyes widened as she gasped and held back the urge to vomit. His mouth was slightly agape but his eyes were open and lifeless.

No, this isn't right. This isn't what she wanted but she knew that it was her fault. It was she that ran away instead of listening to his explanation. He was just trying to protect her but they wouldn't have been in this situation if it wasn't for her. She felt the tears stream down her face as she closed her eyes as tight as she possibly could. This had to be a bad dream.

"Alvin!" She cried. It was a heartbreaking shriek that echoed through the night air.

She suddenly felt a hand grab her hair from behind and yank her backwards violently as she let out a painful yelp. Her body was pulled by its hair for what seemed like an eternity before she felt the hand release her auburn locks. Before she could even think about running, she felt the same hand wrap around her throat and pick her up into the air.

She was suddenly face-to-face with the assailant and she wanted to scream out in terror but the pressure on her throat made it impossible. She stared into the figure's eyes as her own vision started to darken. The creature's face was grotesque and disfigured and sported a toothy grin.

"Why couldn't you just cooperate, you bitch?" It snarled. With its other hand, it flung the door of the nearby van open before throwing her inside, "Now be a good little girl and stay put."

Her eyes widened as she struggled to catch her breath. Her survival instincts kicked in and she lunged towards the door—towards freedom, but it was too late. The door slammed shut in front of her and she now found herself in complete darkness.

"Help…"

She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve to spend eternity in this hell.

"Please," Her voice broke. She didn't have much strength left, but gathered all that remained in one final act of desperation. "Somebody help me!"

"Brittany!"

Her tear-filled eyes shot open and took in their surroundings as she shot upwards to a sitting position. After a moment, she recognized that she was in her home and in her own bed. She glanced around herself to see her two sisters; Jeanette and Eleanor standing next to her bed. While the room was dark, she could make out the terrified expression on both of their faces.

Jeanette quickly put on her own glasses before placing a warm hand on her sister's shoulder, "Brittany, it's okay. You were having a nightmare."

Brittany sat silently, her heart seemingly pulsing at a thousand beats-per-minute. She felt wetness drip down her face—she couldn't tell whether it was her tears or her ice-cold sweat. With one hand, she wiped her eyes and forehead dry before using the other hand to brush her soaked bangs upward and out of her face. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could feel her heart beating so hard that it hurt. She needed to calm down.

It was just a dream. You're safe.

She repeated those words in her head for a few seconds before she started to feel her heartbeat slow down. She took another deep breath before opening her eyes and looking back up at her older sister, "Thank you, Jeanette." She shifted her gaze to her younger sister standing near the foot of her bed, "You, too, Eleanor."

Jeanette and Eleanor shared a concerned glance before turning back towards her. It was silent for a few moments before Eleanor spoke up, "Are you sure you're…okay, Brittany?"

She felt a sharp beat from her heart. She used the composure she had built up over the last minute to force a smile on her face, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry I woke you two up."

Jeanette sighed, "Don't do that, Brittany."

She felt her smile start to fade as she stumbled on her words, "D-Do what? I told you…I'm fine. It was just a bad dream."

She looked back to her sisters; Jeanette was standing there with her arms crossed and her signature all-knowing expression on her face. Eleanor was standing with her hands resting on the footboard of the bed. It was dark in the room but she was sure she could see the tears building in her younger sister's eyes. She looked back down towards her lap and her own hands; she could feel them trembling. She clenched her fists in an effort to calm herself but after a few seconds, she realized it wasn't working. She hadn't had a nightmare like that in a few years but even looking bad, most of them weren't that vicious—except, maybe for the first few months after the incident. "The incident." She hated when people called it that. At first, it made her feel like people were trying to normalize the terrifying situation that her life—everyone's lives had been put through. Later on, years after she starting recovering, she felt as though calling it "the incident" meant that she could never escape it—that it defined her. So many years were spent trying to recover from all of it; both mentally and physically.

The first year was by far the worst. Justice seemed to have been served, at least as far as the law was concerned, but you try telling a traumatized child that the boogeyman in her dreams—the same one that stole her innocence and nearly killed her and her closest friend—is gone for good. For the first year, Brittany hardly slept, she hardly ate—she became a shadow of her former self. Her social life, her grades and attendance in school; all of it just sunk. Try as they might, her sisters and Ms. Miller couldn't get through to her. She spent most of her time alone in her bed. She didn't talk, she didn't cry; she just wanted to be alone. She didn't truly understand why she felt the way that she did. She appreciated their effort and deep down, she knew that she wasn't going through the recovery alone but something within her just pushed everyone else away. Even Alvin.

It wasn't right—she knew it wasn't. But the fear and guilt that she felt over the whole ordeal pushed even him away. She couldn't even begin to count how many times she heard "it's not your fault" but it was surely in the thousands. But why did it have to happen to her? To her family, to her friends—to Alvin? It didn't make any sense to her at the time. She was afraid; afraid that she was somehow bad luck, afraid that something else bad would happen to those around her if she didn't push them away, and she was absolutely terrified that her boogeyman would come back to finish what he had started. The fact that she had never interacted with her boogeyman before he attacked was something that kept her wary around every stranger she came in contact with. Every day, Ms. Miller, her sisters, Alvin, Dave, or someone would try to talk to her—to get her to open up, but it was useless. She would either lie and tell them that she was fine or just brush them off. This behavior persisted for months and it seemed like there was truly no light at the end of the tunnel.

But then, one day, Alvin forced her to talk. She was resilient at first; determined to keep him at bay. She could tell that he was angry—hurt at the way that she had been treating him and everyone else. It made her feel even worse than she already did. When she tried again to push him away, he grabbed her and held her close. While holding her, he whispered three words that she would never forget: "I'm scared, too." While she knew that he was the only person that knew exactly what she was going through, she didn't realize that he was just as afraid as she was. Afraid that things would never go back to normal, afraid of letting people in again, and of course, afraid that their boogeyman would return. She saw through his tough exterior and could see the truth; that he needed her help—that she needed to be strong for him. And right then and there, Brittany felt the cold walls that she been building over the past few months start crumbling before the young red-clad chipmunk. That's when she realized that the only way they could hope to overcome the damage that had done to them, was to let their families and friends help.

After breaking down with Alvin, her condition improved slightly. Though conversations with her family over the past months had been kept at simple one or two-word sentences, she started to open up more. It wasn't long after that Ms. Miller suggested to Dave that both Brittany and Alvin enter into therapy. Both were apprehensive at first—still afraid to let any strangers close to them. It took dozens of sessions before they were ready to start opening up. It was rocky at first as one would expect but after about a year or so of therapy, she could finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

"Brittany."

She snapped out of her thoughts and looked back to her speckled sister. She knew better than to hide everything away—she wouldn't do that to her friends and family again. She felt her eyes start to fill with tears as she cupped her hands around her face.

Her voice broke as she choked back tears, "I'm sorry."

She didn't just want the support of those who loved her, she needed it. She felt the pressure shift on the bed before two pairs of loving arms wrapped themselves around her.

Jeanette softly brushed the back of Brittany's hair as she held her sister's head against her chest, "Hey, you're not alone. We're here for you."

Eleanor strengthened her grip around her two sisters, "Yeah, Brittany. Everything is okay."

She could feel her heartbeat slow down to its regular pace as a few tears streamed down her face. This is what she needed.

"What would I ever do without you two?" Brittany cooed as she wrapped her own arms around her loving sisters.

After a silent moment between them, they separated and Brittany wiped her damp eyes with the left sleeve of her pajama top. Eleanor's eyes widened as she caught something sparkle in the air for a split moment, giggling gleefully not even a second later.

"And you know who is here for you as well!"

Brittany blushed as she lowered her left hand into her lap and gazed at the stones on her hand which were sparkling in the sliver of moonlight that penetrated the curtains and into the room. Her engagement ring.

Her engagement ring.

Repeating those words in her mind merely deepened the warmness of her face as a bright smile crept to her lips. Even in the dark room, she was sure that her face was as red as her fiancé's signature color.

"Oh, my god! Look how red she is!" Jeanette squealed.

"Ha-ha, very funny, guys," Brittany mocked which prompted a snickering rebuttal from her sisters. "Now, thank you both for everything but I'm going to get some more sleep. Feel free to stay up giggling if you want."

Their laughter died down and Eleanor was the first to speak up, "Are you sure you're okay, Brittany?"

Jeanette was next, "Yeah, do you need anything?"

She gave them both another quick hug before shooing them off of her bed, "I'm fine! Seriously, thank you. It was a bad dream and blah-blah we can talk about it in the morning when it's not—" She glanced to the alarm clock besides her bed before groaning, "1:37 in the morning."

Her two sisters chuckled again before heading to their own beds. Brittany watched them for a moment before lying back down and finding another comfortable position in her bed.

Jeanette straightened the blankets of her bed before climbing in, "Just let us know if you need anything."

"Anything." Eleanor chimed in as she jumped into her own bed.

Brittany couldn't help but let out a soft giggle of her own, "I got it! Goodnight."

"Goodnight!" They answered in unison.

She poked her left hand out of her warm covers until her fingers grazed the moonlight that had crept into the room. Her eyes lit up as the ring on her ringer caught the moonlight just right enough to take her breath away. While Alvin sometimes lacked a feminine touch, he had great taste. Even if he had help picking it out, she was sure that he wouldn't have gotten it if he didn't feel right about it, himself. It was beautiful—almost beyond words. It was a while gold band that went from being solid at the bottom to splitting off into two bands and twisting up the sides towards the top. One band on each side was lined with diamonds while a larger diamond sat triumphantly on top. She had never seen a more beautiful ring in her life. She could hardly believe that she was engaged. Of course the expectance was always in the back of her mind, but she was so young. They were so young. She figured that they would have at least a few more years until marriage would happen. She couldn't lie to herself—it scared her a little. Not the fact that she would be spending the rest of her life together with him—no, that she had been hoping for as long as she could remember. But they were so young. They had the rest of their lives to spend together before thinking about settling down.

Settling down.

That sent an uncomfortable shiver down her spine. Settle down? What are they, like 40 years old? They were finally 18—finally high school graduates. They should be out celebrating, out partying, and out applying to fun colleges.

College.

That was another word that sent a shiver down her spine. She was happy for Jeanette and Simon for being accepted into their dream college—Harvard. They deserved it; they were the two smartest people she knew. But while she was happy for them, she was also jealous and she was also worried. Jealous that her "older-by-five-minutes" sibling would be off exploring a new place, having new adventures, and really being an adult. With her boyfriend, no less! Brittany badly wanted that for herself and Alvin. But college? Of course she had given it some thought, what with all of the mandatory guidance counselor meetings since junior year that focused on the topic. So many meetings that ultimately led to one realization: that she wasn't good enough. Well, those were her words, not anyone else's. She'd be lying if she said that she kept her grades up throughout high school. While they weren't terrible, they were somehow below Alvin's. Okay, maybe if this would've been a few years ago, she would've actually been surprised. While it irked her, after the whole debacle of junior year, Alvin tried much harder at school. It impressed just about everyone from his family, to his friends—even his teachers were impressed. It was like a light switch had been turned on in his head and it made him realize that there was a life past high school that he was doing absolutely nothing to prepare for. So with an almost annoying amount of tutoring from Simon, Alvin's grades climbed and climbed until he became a solid A-student. While not as high as his older brother's, Alvin was satisfied.

While she was impressed and happy that Alvin was turning his grades around, she couldn't quite figure out why he was doing it. She was almost positive that he was going to be applying for colleges—that was the logical move, wasn't it? But as time went on, he never mentioned it to her. She asked his brothers, she asked Dave; she even asked his friends but Alvin never mentioned college to anyone. So it begged the question: why would Alvin work so hard to bring his grades up if his job as an auto mechanic was all he had in mind? In the pit of her stomach, she blamed herself. Even though she had no solid plans of applying to colleges herself, her grades had fallen to the low B's. While they weren't awful, if her and Alvin had planned to cross-apply to Colleges together, she was sure that she would hold him back to some degree. Could she get into a respectable college if she wanted to? She was afraid of rejection—that was no secret. And if she never applied, she could never be denied, right? But every time she thought about Jeanette and Simon leaving or Eleanor and Theodore searching for their own culinary school, she thought about the possibilities.

Her eyes focused back to the dazzling jewels around her finger. But was it too late? Did getting engaged this young force them to settle down? It was a raging battle between her mind and her heart. Her mind longed for new experiences, more thrills. But her heart wanted nothing more than Alvin by her side forever. She wasn't sure which side would ultimately win but what she did know; was that while looking at the ring snuggly around her finger, that big, stupid grin on her face was unyielding.

~Alvin~

BEEP…BEEP…BEEP

He groaned defiantly as he covered his head with his blanket.

BEEP…BEEP…BEEP

Persistent, his hand stabbed outwards through his blanket and to the obnoxious device next to his bed to quiet it.

Alarm clocks.

Whose evil idea was it to make a device that woke people up? Whatever the reason was; sleep was important. Who cares that he generally needed—well, wanted twelve hours of it. He felt himself slowly drift back asleep before hearing gentle tapping.

Something going on outside? No.

Someone knocking on the door downstairs? No, too quiet.

The tapping grew ever-so-louder before he heard an almost inaudible giggle.

Oh. Footsteps.

BEEP…BEEP…BEEP

The sound violated his ears as his eyes shot open underneath his blanket. In one swift motion; he sat up, the blanket falling off of him, and pounded his hand down on the top of the device to silence it again. His eyes took a moment to adjust to the light entering through the window before seeing a familiar face.

"Theodore," He hissed. "Why. Why would you do that?"

Theodore giggled again, this time louder than before, "Because Alvin; if I didn't, you wouldn't wake up."

Alvin groaned and plopped his head back onto his pillow before covering his head with his blanket, "God forbid that I would want to sleep in on my day off."

"Alvin," Alvin could feel his younger brother cross his arms, "You did sleep in. It's almost noon."

He sat up again and glanced towards his alarm clock: 11:47AM. "Huh…just five more minutes?" He chuckled.

"I know that it's your day off, Alvin, but don't you have something to do?"

He thought for a minute, "I do have lunch with Britt at 1:00 but that's still not for another hour."

"So? Shouldn't you, like, shower? Get dressed? Get ready?"

"Relax," He scoffed. "I'm having lunch with Brittany, I'm not actually her. It takes me ten minutes to get ready. Tops."

Theodore sighed before turning and walking towards the door of their bedroom, "Whatever you say, Alvin. Just remember, things are different now."

"Oh?" Alvin's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

It was Theodore's turn to scoff as he turned back towards his brother, "What do I mean? You guys are engaged! She's not your girlfriend anymore, Alvin. She's your fiancé!"

His eyes widened and his face lit up as he remembered his proposal the day before.

Theodore chuckled at his grinning brother before walking out of the door, "Come on, Romeo, get out of bed!"

He had finally done it. He had proposed. It was a lot more planning than he thought it would be. First it was trying to pick out the right restaurant. The French Laundry was expensive but perfect. Okay, that's an understatement. It was stupidly expensive but completely perfect. Over three-hundred-dollars per person—he felt the hole left in his wallet burn a hole into his soul. And that was merely a fraction of the cost of the engagement ring. Growing up, it was no secret that he had never been great with money. If he wanted something and could afford it, why wouldn't he get it? He had no concept of saving until the past year when he started considering marriage. A six-hundred-dollar dinner is bad but forgivable. Especially for a very important occasion like his and Brittany's ten-year anniversary. But the thousands of dollars that the ring cost? The payment plan for the next several years to pay it off? He wanted to push it into the back of his mind. He made decent money for his job. He wished that he could've gotten a raise when he asked yesterday but he was confident that he was hardest mechanic at the auto shop. He was denied a raise yesterday, but he would keep working hard and try again next month and repeat. He would show his boss, that Alvin Seville was the one mechanic that he didn't want to lose.

With a huff, he flung the sheets off of his lower body and let out a groan as he stretched his arms upwards. He briefly contemplated laying back down and closing his eyes before sighing and swinging his feet around to the side of his bed to stand up. He walked over to his designated wardrobe closet in the room and swung the doors open. He glanced over his hanging shirts; the amount of red clothing that he owned sometimes surprised even him. Though in the more recent years, he seemingly discovered that there was a whole color spectrum that he had been ignoring. White, black, even green and blue—although wearing those two colors did make him feel a little weird initially—were all part of his wardrobe now. But even with his new tastes, he usually found a way to sneak red in somehow. It was his signature color, after all. He softly hummed to himself as he looked over his available options. But what did he want to wear today? With it being mid-August and generally pretty warm most days, he decided on a simple white t-shirt that he'd be able to put a light jacket over if needed. He reached in and grabbed a clean pair of boxers and his selected shirt before closing the wardrobe.

He turned his body and started to head towards the door so he could shower before another wardrobe caught his eye—Simon's. He stopped in his tracks and stared at it for a few moments. He hesitantly walked over to the wardrobe before opening both doors and felt a deep pain in his chest as his eyes glanced over the interior. It still had clothes in it but it was undoubtedly emptier than it normally would be. Simon had kept most of his Summer-type clothes in his wardrobe but Alvin could immediately notice the absence of almost all heavier clothes.

I guess he probably packed them already.

While Alvin had learned to express his feelings more openly as a young adult compared to his younger self, he still didn't consider himself overly emotional. But even with that fact, he couldn't deny the pain he felt in his chest every time he thought about his older brother leaving for college. He figured it was a mix between pride, anxiety, and everything in-between. Simon was following his dreams and Alvin was proud of his older brother for doing it. But with Simon getting ready to leave for Harvard with Jeanette and even Theodore and Eleanor looking for their own dream school, Alvin couldn't help but wonder what was in store for himself. He was anxious because he never really thought about plans for the future—at least in terms of school. He was able to bring up his grades during the last year or so of high school but would it be enough to be accepted into a decent college? He didn't mind working as an auto mechanic; it was decent money and he was good at his job but he knew that he didn't want to be one forever. He always figured he would have bigger plans for his future but as the end of high school approached, he had no drive towards any specific fields. Simon was great at science which would make sense why he would move towards becoming a chemist. Theodore was great at cooking so becoming a chef was his natural dream.

But what am I good at?

It was a question that Alvin had been asking himself constantly for well over a year. Music? Sure, he had talent but he had decided long ago that the music industry just wasn't for him. Sports? Sure, he could play football, basketball, and—well, just about any sport that he really tried to play—but was that his passion? He wasn't so sure. He kept good grades in all major subjects in his senior year of high school but none of them drew him into thoughts of a major. It was frustrating to say the least. He felt as if he had no future and was afraid that he would always feel this way. The one thing he knew is that he wanted Brittany by his side. He shook the negative thoughts out of his mind before closing his older brother's wardrobe. He returned to his original path and destination: the bathroom so he could shower and get ready. As he crossed the threshold of their room and stepped into the hallway, he could gradually hear more of what was happening downstairs. The sounds of chatter and laughter coming from four different people—one of which was female: Jeanette. She had been spending a lot of time at their house, helping Simon pack. Alvin didn't mind, though. While she was still the lovable dork that she had always been, she made his older brother happy and that was enough.

Well, maybe "dork" wasn't entirely accurate anymore. On the inside, yes, Jeanette was still the same super smart girl that she had always been; but on the outside? A lot of people would describe her as a late bloomer. It was a gradual transformation. As the first three years of high school came and went, she made relatively small changes to her appearance. It started with a new, smaller pair of glasses which helped accentuate her whole face rather than just her eyes. The next small change was her hairstyle. Instead of the messy bangs and top bun that she wore throughout most of her childhood, she chose a shoulder-length style that removed the bangs and instead, focused on her natural curls that framed her face. And finally, she changed her wardrobe. Instead of the baggy shirts and sweatshirts that she had always worn, she decided on more form-fitting clothing that helped compliment the new curves that her body had developed. While the changes seemed subtle to her at first, it wasn't long before she found herself at the center of a lot more attention. For the first time in her life, boys at school would come up to talk to her instead of Brittany. It was a new feeling that Jeanette had never experienced before but she liked it—especially because it also drew the attention of Simon.

Simon, too, had changed considerably in recent years. He was still the tallest of his brothers but had put on a bit of muscle which helped round out his overall physique. Rather than the generally lanky body he had while growing up, he now had more of a lean and toned body. He often wore button ups, polo shirts, or sweaters over khakis with nice casual shoes. He often kept his hair short and groomed and like Jeanette, had opted for smaller-framed glasses. The changes to his appearance kept his trademark "sophisticated" look that Simon had always been known for but made him—what most people would consider—very attractive. But even with both of them changing and received more attention for it, Simon and Jeanette never strayed far from each other. Though they hadn't started dating until their junior year of high school, most people had known that there was a mutual attraction between the two long before that. No one knew exactly what had changed but Alvin suspected that it was the increased attention from others that finally drew them close enough for their feelings to come to light. His favorite part of the two finally beginning their relationship was helping his older brother with getting ready for his first date. It only took Alvin a few hours to go through the dozens of tips and tricks to woo girls with Simon but it seemingly worked when there were many dates after that. Of course, Simon didn't use most of them but he'd never tell his younger brother that.

Alvin could hear the sound of glass breaking downstairs followed by the growl of his older brother.

"Theodore! Be careful with that!"

"Sorry, Simon…" There was a soft, nervous chuckle in Theodore's voice. "Was that something important?"

Alvin could hear Simon's exasperated sigh from upstairs and heard Jeanette giggle in response.

"It's okay, Theodore. Simon has plenty of beakers and test tubes…don't you, Simon?"

Alvin could hear Simon sigh again.

"That's right, Theodore. Don't worry about it."

Alvin felt a smile creep onto his face as he continued to listen to the commotion from downstairs.

"Oh, what am I going to do without you two?"

Alvin could hear the sadness in Dave's voice and before he knew it, the smile that had been on his lips just a few moments ago had now faded.

I don't know either, Dave.

He continued his journey across the hallways to the bathroom and closed the door behind him after walking in. He sighed deeply to himself as he leaned over the sink and looked at his own reflection. Dave's words resonated with him more than he cared to admit. Throughout his entire life, his two brothers were beside him—always. Of course, all three knew that the day would come where they'd split temporarily. The three of them had such different interests that there was nearly no way that they'd all attend the same college. But even with that realization in his mind, there was nothing to prepare him for the day when it would actually happen. He wondered if Simon and Theodore felt the same way that he did. They all knew that Dave was struggling with the idea of "losing" his sons ever since Simon announced his acceptance to Harvard but even with the pain that he must be going through, he was there to help Simon with every single step along the way and Alvin was sure he would do the same with Theodore. In a way, he was sort of glad that he wasn't going to college—he wasn't sure what Dave would do if all three of them had left at the same time. He was proud that his relationship with his father was much better than it had been in the past. Sure, they still butted heads from time to time, but that was just their personalities clashing. Deep down, they loved and respected each other and they were able to do some bonding occasionally.

He stripped his old shirt and sweatpants off and started to run the shower to let the water warm up. He ran his hand through his slightly-greasy hair; he still kept his typical haircut with his messy bags but kept it a bit shorter than he used to. He looked at his reflection again and noticed a few bruises and cuts on his arms and torso—consequences of his "dangerous" job as Brittany likes to put it. No matter how many times he would assure her that they looked worse than they actually were—which, mind you, they were light scratches and small bruises—she would still freak out over every minor injury he received. He pressed lightly on a bruise on the side of his ribcage; it didn't even hurt. He gazed at his reflection again and smirked to himself. Working on cars and heavy machinery definitely had its advantages; he put on quite a bit of muscle. He wouldn't really consider himself jacked or anything, but he was definitely well-toned—bigger than his older brother. While Simon still had about an inch or two on him in height, Alvin hit his growth spurt in sophomore year of high school. While tooting his own horn was something that he did often, the general consensus was that Alvin was extremely attractive. Besides his toned body, his face was more chiseled which helped accentuate his golden-amber eyes.

He turned back to the shower and reached his hand in to test the temperature of the water. Satisfied, he slid the shower curtain open and stepped in and closed it behind him. He took a deep breath as the hot water hit his body before groaning softly in pleasure as he let the water soak into his hair and wash over his body. There were only a handful of things that Alvin loved more than a nice, relaxing shower. He went through his normal ritual of shampoo, conditioner, and body soap—making sure to take his sweet time and enjoy the time he had in the heavenly falling water. Once he finished washing the conditioner out of his hair and soap off of his body, he sighed before turning the faucet off. He slid the shower curtain back open and was immediately greeted with the now seemingly ice-cold air that stabbed his skin like daggers. He quickly reached for his towel and began drying himself off. Once dry and slightly more comfortable with the ambient air outside of the shower, he stepped onto the bathmat and headed back to the sink. He slid on his clean pair of boxers and began brushing his teeth. Once done, he applied his deodorant and slid on his selected t-shirt. Gathering his dirty clothes, he exited the bathroom to head towards his room to continue getting ready.

As he opened the door, he was greeted by Dave.

"Well I was coming to see if you were awake, but I guess I just got my answer."

Alvin rolled his eyes, "C'mon Dave, it's not like I usually sleep past noon."

"Oh?" Dave raised an eyebrow in response before looking down and shaking his head. "Can't you at least wear pants, Alvin?"

Alvin chuckled, "Well you did catch me on my way back to my room to get changed."

"Yeah, yeah," It was Dave's turn to chuckle. "And it was Brittany who wanted me to make sure that you were awake—she called a few minutes ago since you weren't answering your phone."

"Thanks for the message, Dave," Alvin said as he turned and started walking towards his room. "I'll give her a call when I'm done getting ready."

He walked in his room and noticed Dave following him. He figured Dave probably had something to say so he continued to get dressed by fetching a clean pair of pants and socks.

"So, Alvin…"

Alvin chuckled to himself as he started to put on his pants, "Yes, Dave?"

"How are you feeling? You know, with the whole proposal and everything?"

Alvin was silent for a moment as he walked across the room and sat down on his bed to put on his socks, "I don't know exactly. Happy, excited, nervous…all of the appropriate feelings, I guess."

"Any second guesses?"

"No," Alvin chuckled again—this time loud enough for Dave to hear. "I think that's the one thing that I don't feel."

"I'm glad to hear that. I know how long you've been planning this," Dave walked further into the room and sat on the edge of Theodore's bed, across from Alvin. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Alvin sat still, pondering for a moment, "Why didn't you ever get married, Dave?"

Alvin could see that Dave was taken aback by the sudden question. The question of whether or not Dave had ever married anyone prior to him adopting the triplets had come up and of course, there were a few girlfriends that Dave saw throughout their childhood but this direct, blunt question had never been asked before. He knew it was a personal question and while Dave was usually an open book, Alvin figured it might be too personal.

"Well, Alvin," Dave sighed. "I suppose I just never found the right person."

Alvin furrowed his brow in response, "You can't tell me that you've never fallen in love, Dave."

"Well, of course I have," Dave laughed. "But it's not always that simple."

"What do you mean?"

Dave noticed the legitimate puzzled look on Alvin's face and collected himself, "Well, sometimes even though two people love each other, there are things that stop them from being able to be with each other."

"But isn't that what love is? Being with someone no matter what?"

"Not exactly," Dave shook his head. "Sometimes, even though two people love each other and want to be together, it just isn't possible. Marriage is a very tricky thing, Alvin, especially for people who get together later in life. When there are two people who already have stable lives separate from each other, there's a lot of things that may not mesh together well."

Alvin was silent for a moment, "Is that what happened with you?"

Again, Alvin saw Dave caught off-guard. Things were silent between the two for what seemed like an eternity and Alvin was about to dismiss the subject when Dave finally spoke up.

"Kind of," Dave sighed as he shifted his weight on the bed. "See, there was this girl that I dated in high school. We were in love and I could tell that I'd be able to spend the rest of my life with her. But when college came around, I went to pursue music and she went to pursue theater. We stayed in touch but by the time we reconnected after college, we were just different people than who we were."

Alvin gulped as he saw the pain on Dave's face, "And what happened to her?"

"We broke up at that point. It wasn't until several years later that we found each other again."

"…and?"

"By then, she was living in New York and was in town for a few nights to perform in a play. We reconnected and hit it off but both of our lives were just too busy for me to consider moving to New York or her to consider moving here in Atlanta."

"Oh," Alvin replied quietly, avoiding eye contact with Dave. "I'm sorry, Dave, I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories…"

Dave placed a comforting hand on Alvin's shoulder, "Alvin, you don't need to apologize."

Alvin looked up at Dave as he continued.

"It was a long time ago; and sometimes, bad things just happen."

Alvin gazed back towards his hands, "Do you think that would happen to Brittany and me?"

"Hey," Dave moved his hand from Alvin's shoulder and placed in on top of Alvin's still slightly-damp head. "No, I don't. It's still going to take work between the two of you for everything to go smoothly, but you guys are strong. Plus, you have more advantages than I did back then with today's cell phones and everything."

"Thanks, Dave," Alvin smiled back at his father. "I know that marrying Brittany isn't a mistake, but I just don't want to screw anything up."

Dave chuckled in response, "Alvin, if Brittany loves you nearly as much as I think she does, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Just keep being you."

It was Alvin's turn to laugh, "Wow, Dave, I never expected that to come out of your mouth."

Dave stood up from the bed with Alvin following suit, "I don't think I ever expected to say that, either." Dave placed both of his hands on Alvin's shoulders once they had both stood up, "Even though we have our differences and we fight sometimes, I love you, Alvin and I am so proud of you."

And with that, Dave pulled Alvin into his embrace.

~Brittany~

She looked down at her cell phone: 12:57PM. She let out a heavy sigh as she exited the gate of her front yard. She wasn't exactly surprised that he was running late—even though he worked on a lot of the negative character traits that he had, attendance was never one of them. Sure, he could be on time if he really needed to be, but generally, being fashionably late was a staple of his personality—or at least, that's how Alvin put it. But even with the faults that he had, she still loved him with all of her heart. Ten years they had been together—ten. Part of her felt that the number ten was almost cheating in a way. While they had been by each other's side since the incident ten years ago, they didn't consider themselves officially dating until they were in high school. While they were very close when they were younger, they still butted heads often. Sure, they loved each other since they were kids, it was more a pure love rather than the mature and passionate love that it grew into. But ten years ago yesterday, they shared their first kiss and from that one moment, part of her just knew that she was destined to be with him.

She paused and looked up towards the blue sky and closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. It was an absolutely beautiful day. The sky had a handful of fluffy clouds in the sky, curiously shaped but lacking any darkness. The sun was out but was not aggressive. If she remembered the weather forecast correctly, it was predicted to be 75°F which, in her opinion, was perfect. Today and yesterday's weather had been a welcome break from the few weeks of near-constant rainfall. While she appreciated rain for certain days and moods, she wanted as many warm days as possible before summer ended.

She walked the few feet down the sidewalk and then turned to start walking down the Seville walkway next door. The fact that they all lived next to each other always amused her for some reason. She continued walking towards the front door, ringing the bell once she reached her destination. While she waited for a response, she took notice of her reflection in the windowed portion of their front door. She was wearing a pink t-shirt and dark blue jeans—a rather cute combination if she did say so herself. She took a quick moment to touch up her hair which, these days, she generally kept in a ponytail with wavy front and side bangs which framed her face. While she was generally considered to be one of the prettiest girls in school while growing up, alterations here and there with her appearance have made her into what most people would call stunning. Like Alvin, she started to change her wardrobe to include other colors than her signature color. For the past two or so years, she had been going the gym a few days a week and the results were definitely visible. Her normally petite frame turned more and more tone as she was able to slowly build muscle. After two years, she had abs and other muscle that she could be proud of. While it was just an attempt to keep up with Alvin's changing physique as a result of his job, it soon became one of her favorite hobbies.

She snapped back to reality as she noticed the front door swing open to reveal a familiar green-clad chipmunk on the other side.

"Hiya, Brittany!"

Theodore, much like Eleanor, hadn't changed too much since their childhood. They had both become more active physically which helped them lose the few unhealthy pounds that they had but they were still the "larger" of their siblings. Both had grown taller but still stood at about five or so inches shorter than their middle siblings. Theodore kept his hair cut into messy bangs like he was younger but shortened the overall length to keep it more manageable. Eleanor kept her blonde hair shoulder length and usually sported a ponytail or her signature pigtails. Both chipmunks still almost always wore green in at least some capacity. But it was their personality changes that surprised Brittany the most. Both young chipmunks were bullied to some degree through their grade school and early high school years. But even with the abuse, both Theodore and Eleanor grew even more confident in themselves as the years passed. The two youngest chipmunks were the first couple to "officially" start dating which brought two people going through similar circumstances closer. Together, they helped each other learn to passively deal with the abuse that they were receiving. With each other, they never acted out and never grew any aggressive tendencies. And then, in sophomore year of high school, during a much more appropriate school play of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, their popularity rose and almost all of the bullying stopped.

"Hi, Theo," She smiled in response to his bubbliness that he was known for. "How are you?"

He opened the door wider behind him and stepped to the side so that she could enter, "Not too bad—I'm trying to help Simon pack."

"He's still packing?" She chuckled. "Jeanette was done a while ago."

He laughed and leaned in towards her to whisper, "You didn't hear this from me, but I think some of Alvin's laziness has rubbed off on him over the years."

"I feel like that's happened to all of us." She giggled.

He started walking back towards the living room, "Well I'm going to get back to work. It's me, Dave, Simon, and Jeanette if you want to join us."

"No Alvin?"

Theodore sighed in response, "Last I heard, he's still getting ready upstairs."

She smiled and rolled her eyes, "Well let me go make sure he didn't fall back asleep. We'll join you guys in a few."

Theodore nodded before disappearing from her vision. Instead of following him towards the living room, she turned her attention to the stairs which led to the second floor. She hummed lightly to herself as she ascended the stairs and reached her destination: the boys' room. She knocked on the closed door and waited for a response.

A few second later, she heard a familiar voice call out from within the closed room, "Come in!"

She turned the knob of the door and swung it open; her eyes scanning the room once they gained vision. To the left of the doorway—across from the three beds to the right, were three matching wardrobe closets standing in a row against the left wall. Standing in front of his mirror attached to the center wardrobe, no doubt making sure that his appearance was absolutely perfect, was the chipmunk that she had been searching for. She waited in the doorway for a few moments; waiting for him to notice her. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, she rolled her eyes and began walking into the room—eventually stopping once behind him. Once behind him, she could see her own reflection behind his and crossed her arms—a small smirk placed on her lips.

"Don't you think you should be ready by now?" She said with the same smirk. "And you say I take a while to get ready."

He turned to face her and flashed his signature smirk of his own—something that never failed to make her heart melt, "It takes a lot of work to compete with you, gorgeous."

She giggled at the compliment, "Well, aren't you cute."

He leaned in a placed a soft kiss on her lips before placing both of his hands on her waist, "So what's up?"

A slight moment passed as she collected herself, a wide smile still on her face, "I do believe that we planned for lunch."

"Hmm, did we?" He hummed in a teasing tone. "I'll have to see if my schedule is free."

In response, she lightly jabbed him in the ribs, "I am your schedule, Seville."

"Oh, my mistake Mrs. Seville." He laughed.

She felt her face warm and a big smile take control of her lips as those two words resonated in her mind.

Mrs. Seville.

She could get used to that.

He must have noticed her blush and her smile because he giggled and kissed her again, "Earth to Britt."

She looked up into his amber eyes before pulling him into a tight hug, "I love you, Alvin."

He smiled and tightened his own grip around her in response, "I love you more."

Her smile widened as she kissed him again before pulling away, "Equal."

"Okay, fine," He laughed. "Now, what do you want to get for lunch?"

She thought for a moment, "I don't know…what do you want?"

"Oh, geez," He groaned playfully. "Here we go."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh," He chuckled softly in response, bending down to gather his shoes. "Nothing."

"Mhmm," She rolled her eyes. "Want to go to the pizza place down the street?"

"Domenico's?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he walked to his bed and sat down with his shoes. "You don't want to go to somewhere fancier?"

Brittany placed a hand on her hip, "What? We love Domenico's! They're the best pizza place around." A sly smirk formed on her lips, "Unless, of course, you want to take me back to The French Laundry."

"N-No," He stammered, making Brittany giggle. "Domenico's is perfectly fine."

She moved in and kissed his cheek quickly, "Good. While the dinner last night was amazing, I'm a bit fancied-out right now." She watched as he started to tie his shoes, "Besides, since the place is only a few blocks away, we can walk."

"Still trying to burn off the food from last night?" He chuckled.

She clicked her tongue aggressively, "Maybe." She paused and glanced out of the window. "Maybe I just want to enjoy the weather while it lasts."

"Okay, okay," He lulled as he finished tying his shoes. He stood up from the bed and held out his arm towards the door, "After you, beautiful."

She rolled her eyes playfully before accepting his direction.

They exited the boys' room together and began heading back down the stairs. Before leaving, they stopped into the living room to see Alvin's brothers, Dave, and Jeanette before leaving. Brittany hadn't been over Alvin's house in a few weeks as Alvin generally came over her house instead but from what she could tell, not much had changed. As they entered the living room, her eyes scanned the room. Theodore was sitting on the couch with David while Simon and Jeanette stood in front of a mountain of boxes. She felt her jaw drop—she could hardly believe that Simon even owned this much stuff, let alone needed to take it all with him on campus. Since Jeanette and Simon were both going to the same school and the same campus, Dave and Ms. Miller figured it would be easier to pack all of their belongings and have a moving company move everything together. But while Jeanette packed rather conservatively, Simon was the exact opposite. Brittany wouldn't have been surprised to count and see that Simon had three or four times as many boxes as Jeanette.

"Holy—" Brittany gasped, earning a chuckle from Alvin. "No wonder you're still packing."

Simon rolled his eyes, "Ha-ha. I know what it looks like, but this is mostly lab equipment."

"Si," Alvin scoffed. "You're going to Harvard to become a scientist. I'm pretty sure they're going to have their own equipment you can use."

"Chemist." Simon corrected.

Alvin groaned in response, "Same thing."

"To be fair," Jeanette interjected. "Having his own equipment readily available will help Simon with any experiments he's researching so he's not restricted to the campus' labs."

"It does seem a bit excessive…" David hummed before turning to his eldest son. "Besides, would the school even let you do experiments in your dorm room?"

Simon chuckled nervously, "Oh, I'm sure they won't mind."

"Simon, don't get in trouble as soon as you get there. Find out if it's against the rules or not before doing anything."

"Sure thing, Dave." Simon nodded sheepishly.

Alvin chuckled at his older brother's defeat and punched him lightly in the shoulder, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Si."

"P-lease," Simon scoffed. "I won't get in remotely as much trouble as you would."

Alvin grabbed his heart dramatically, "Si, that hurts. I'm a great role model."

"You're a something." Simon sighed.

Brittany giggled at Simon's retort before grabbing Alvin's hand and pulling him towards her, "Well, everyone, we're actually late for lunch."

Dave cleared his throat, "Where are you two heading?"

"Domenico's down the street," Brittany answered. "Does anyone want anything?"

Theodore smiled, "Actually, that's where we were thinking about getting lunch from."

Dave walked to Alvin before reaching into his back pocket to retrieve his wallet. He unfolded the leather pouch before reaching in and pulling out a $20 bill and handing it to Alvin, "This should cover a large pie."

Alvin put the bill into his own pocket, "Any toppings?"

Dave, Theodore, Simon and Jeanette looked at each other questioningly but no one immediately spoke up.

After a moment, Simon answered, "I think plain is fine."

"Got it." Alvin confirmed before turning towards the direction of the front door. "We're walking there so we'll be back a little later."

Alvin heard David call out as they reached the front door.

"Be safe, you two!"

"We will!" Alvin shouted back. He looked back towards the Chipette besides him, "Ready to go?"

She smiled and grabbed his hand, "Yep, let's go—I'm hungry."

He chuckled softly and opened the front door. His eyes squinted and his hand raised to shield himself as warm sunlight poured over his face. After a few seconds, he took a deep breath similar to her own earlier, "Okay, maybe it is pretty nice out."

"Perfect walking weather," She giggled.

They took a few steps out of the house, hand-in-hand, before she intertwined her own fingers with his. As they started walking down the street towards their destination, she looked up towards and sky and smiled to herself before tightening her grip around his. It never ceased to amaze her just how perfectly their hands fit each other's.

There is the first chapter.
Note: This chapter will most likely be longer than most.
For those who are new, I hope you liked it.
For those who returned, you have my apologies.
When I have time, I will be re-writing Book I to include some of the planned retcons as well as give it a much needed quality improvement.
Please review!
Till next time~