Disclaimer: I don't own any characters/songs in this story

A/N: I'm probably going to regret doing this, but I'm starting another story... a Christmas story! I know I have lots of other stories, and don't worry, I haven't forgotten them. I just wanted to get this out by Christmas... I've never done a holiday-themed story, and I thought it might be fun. And to be honest, I have no idea where this story is going right now. Well, I have an idea, but it's not set in stone yet. So who knows how this thing will end up? Let's just roll with it and see where it takes us. Let me know what you think. ;)

Last Christmas I gave you my heart

But the very next day, you gave it away

This year, to save me from tears

I'll give it to someone special.

Christmas Eve, One Year Ago

Brittany's winter boots crushed through the white snow as she across the street to the Seville's house. She usually hated running (or any physical activity really), but she was so anxious to give Alvin his Christmas present.

The Chipette clutched the small silver box close to her chest as she finally reached the front door. Inside the box were two courtside tickets to a Los Angeles Lakers basketball game. Alvin had been wanted to go to a game for weeks now; and after pulling some strings and saving up baby-sitting money, Brittany had finally purchased the tickets.

Technically, Brittany and Alvin had decided to exchange Christmas day, since Brittany, her sisters, and Miss Miller always spent Christmas at the Seville's house. But Brittany couldn't wait to give Alvin his present, so she decided to bring them over Christmas Eve evening.

Brittany hadn't bothered calling Alvin before coming over; they had been entering each other's houses unannounced since they were kids, so she didn't think it was a big deal to let herself inside the Seville home. Besides, it just added more to the surprise.

Brittany looked around the large foyer, but didn't see anyone, which she found sort of strange. Where else would everyone be on the night of Christmas Eve? But the front door was unlocked, so she figured someone had to be home. She decided to look for Alvin upstairs.

As she climbed the stairs, Brittany couldn't help but smile. Things weren't always easy in her and Alvin's relationship; she was a freshman at UCLA, while Alvin was spending his first year at USC. They only saw each other twice since the summer, and it wasn't near as much time as they wanted to spend together. Brittany had tried to hang out with him more over winter break, but Alvin always seemed to be busy buying Christmas presents.

When Brittany reached the top step, she heard a faint giggle. The teen stopped in her tracks and listened closely. She heard the laugh again. It was a female laugh.

Brittany's eyebrows knitted together in confusion when she heard the girl's voice clearly coming from Alvin's bedroom.

She quietly crept toward Alvin's room, her heart pounding in her chest.

Maybe he's just watching TV, Brittany thought.

She took a deep breath and pressed her ear to the wooden door.

"Oh Alvin!" someone laughed.

Brittany gasped and dropped Alvin's present. He wasn't watching TV. And that meant…

Brittany slowly opened the door. The second Alvin's room came into view, her whole world shattered.

Alvin was lying in his bed, shirtless. A pretty blonde girl was sitting on top of him, clad in nothing but a red and white striped bra with matching panties. Alvin was looking up at the girl, grinning the way he had at Brittany so many times. The mystery girl returned his smile and leaned in for a kiss.

Brittany's knees went weak and she grabbed on to the door frame for support. Alvin and the blonde instantly turned their heads to the door. Alvin's blue eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"Brittany!" Alvin exclaimed. "It's not what it looks like! I mean, I know this looks bad but… aw, crap."

The girl straddling Alvin blinked in confusion. "Who's Brittany?" she asked.

Brittany swallowed hard, trying to keep down vomit. Her head started spinning; things became foggy. This was not happening.

Alvin pushed Blondie off of him, making her yelp.

"Britt," Alvin said. "We need to talk."

Brittany stared straight ahead. It felt like she was having an out-of-body experience, almost like a dream. This was not happening.

She glanced at the girl behind Alvin. She had obviously sensed something was wrong by this point, and was scrambling to dress herself.

Okay. This was happening.

Brittany looked straight at Alvin and asked, "How could you?" It came out in a whisper.

She turned around and stepped on a piece of paper on the floor. Brittany looked down and saw it was the card she had taped on Alvin's gift. She had written I LOVE YOU in big, capital letters on the back, and those were the words that faced her. A huge lump formed in her throat.

Hot tears formed in Brittany's eyes as mustered up all the strength she had left to walk down the hall, toward the stairs.

"Brittany!" she heard Alvin call. "Wait!"

This only made Brittany run faster, as the tears spilled down her face. She hurried down the stairs and out the door, never slowing down. She ran as fast as she could to her house, then hurried up to her bedroom, ignoring her sisters' curious looks.

Then she slammed her door shut, through herself on the bed, and cried. She cried until she was too tired to cry anymore, and fell asleep.

…

"Is this it, little lady?"

"Huh?" Brittany flinched as she was interrupted from her flashback. She was so deep in thought that she hadn't noticed the car had stopped.

The cab driver turned around in his seat and pointed toward the familiar mustard-colored house on the left.

"Is this the place?" he asked.

"Yes," Brittany answered, slowly coming out of her daze. "This is it."

My home, she thought.

Brittany climbed out of the cab and got her heavy suitcases out of the back. She had never been known for her light packing.

She handed the driver a wad of cash and said, "Thank you."

The man smiled and looked her up and down. She noticed he was missing many teeth.

"Thank you," he said, giving Brittany a creepy grin.

Brittany rolled her eyes, but she couldn't blame the guy for checking her out. She was wearing her favorite winter outfit she had purchased in London; her warm, charcoal-colored wool coat covered her to mid-thigh, and was tied tightly across her slim waist. She wore knee-high brown leather boots over black leggings that showed off her shapely legs. Her long brown hair fell in soft waves down her back, and her smoky eye make-up brought out her bright blue irises. Yes, Brittany would be the first to admit she looked pretty damn good that day.

The car drove away and Brittany took a deep breath as she faced her home. Well, technically it was her home; she had grown up in that house. But it didn't feel like her home anymore, most likely because she hadn't been there in almost a year.

The day after Christmas, Brittany had left and went back to UCLA early. Her family begged her to stay longer, but she couldn't. Alvin cheating on her had hurt her more than she ever thought was possible; she didn't want to be anywhere near him. She didn't want to be near anyone. So she returned to an almost-empty college campus, and spent the New Year wallowing in self-pity.

Brittany tried to forget about the affair, but she struggled. Things got easier, but she didn't forget. She couldn't forget, no matter how hard she tried (the endless texts and voicemails from Alvin didn't help either, although all of them went unanswered). She managed to stay at the University for Spring break, but she dreaded coming home for the summer. So she got into a student-exchange program and spent her summer in London, England, where she decided to transform her look as well as her attitude. No longer was she Girly, Bossy Brittany; she was now Beautiful, Sophisticated Brittany. And she was hoping to stay that way.

She had gotten away not coming home for Thanksgiving by faking an illness, but she couldn't find a way out of Christmas Break. Brittany figured she owed it to her sisters and Miss Miller to at least show up for a week or two, since they hadn't seen her in a year. She had been dreading the event for months, but it was something she just couldn't avoid.

Brittany gathered her things and walked up to the door. The old Brittany would have burst into the house and yelled, "I'm home!" but the new Brittany politely knocked on the door.

Brittany held her breath as she heard excited footsteps make their way to the door.

Here we go, she thought. I'm home.