In Days Past
Fandom: Alvin and the Chipmunks
Ship: Brittney/Alvin
Word Count: 1,574
Warnings: It's not explicit but there's insinuation of an abortion via lyrics.
Brittany sighed as she stirred her coffee slowly and stared across the table at her sisters. Jeanette was reading some book or other as she ate. She was quite the expert at doing pretty much anything while she read. Brittany had come to think she could even play her various instruments while indulging in the world of some fantasy book from a century ago. Eleanor's main focus in the morning was always on her cooking. She ate more than the other two but seemed to enjoy the cooking itself as much as the eating. Despite this love of food she'd actually managed to develop a figure over the years. Though Brittany couldn't quite say the same thing for her brainy sister who still seemed to have the chest of a ten year old boy.
She decided to change her gaze and as she spotted the piano across the room she got the urge to sing. Singing hit her that way. She didn't think about it at all until she wanted to do it. And then it didn't matter what Jeanette was doing because nothing was more important to Brittany than satisfying that urge to sing. Therefore Jeanette wasn't too surprised to find herself being dragged into the living room with a suddenly enthusiastic Brittany instructing her on what tune to play. The song was a new one and when Eleanor noticed she took the liberty of jotting the lyrics down on the notepad by the refrigerator used for shopping lists. If Brittany hadn't already written it down it was always best that one of the others did it before she forgot what she had just sung. Jeanette luckily never had a problem remembering the music she played.
They had all grown older and their success far more prominent than it had once been. They were often compared to the similar band of the Chipmunks but neither group had felt the need to speak to the other in a long time. It wasn't really Jeanette, Eleanor, Simon or Theodore's idea to break ties. It was - as many people had foreseen - Brittany and Alvin's fight that had separated them all. Besides that both musical trios were constantly on tour. When they weren't being pressured for a new album. They were in such a predicament at the moment which was why no one denied Brittany her urge to sing when it hit her.
Jeanette played and Eleanor wrote. Lonely, lonely, lonely. Lonely, lonely, lonely. I am alone. Surrounded by the color blue. Inside a poem. The only words I ever knew. Washing my hands of the many years untold for now I am banned. My future is to unfold. Would you take my candlelight? Would you take my candlelight? Would you take my candlelight away from me? I am blind. My eyes are covered from the outside for I have lied. Now all there is for me to do is hide.
Brittany's voice echoed through the home they had decided to share together during their time off from touring. It was strong and steady yet held a sad, quiet tone. It wasn't hard for either sister to know who the song was about. Brittany hadn't had a normal relationship since she and Alvin had parted ways in high school. The songs that Brittany had produced afterwards were angry and bitter. These were the songs that had gotten them noticed by the larger percentage of listeners. The fans they weren't reaching with their generic pop tunes. When all was said and done it was best for their career that she and Alvin had broken up once and for all. That was how Brittany had managed to justify it when the past came back to haunt her. When she felt regret and remorse for her actions. It was still best for her career in the end. That fact could not be denied.
She would have sighed at her own denial if she had not still been singing, She wouldn't let the others know but she had regretted that single day every moment of her life since. She didn't think she had to let others know anyways. She knew she wasn't the hardest person in the world to read. However, her pride had never allowed her to apologize to him and now it was far too late to even think about it. She couldn't just track Alvin down and call him up one day. These things didn't work like that. So she continued to use her regret for her music as often as she could. Sometimes she found herself wondering if she was wrong for this but if she didn't release them she would have nothing else to record.
Alvin sat on his bed and tuned his guitar lazily, turning his head to stare out his window from time to time. He watched a cloud drift over the sun and could feel the world around him darken as it did so. Those brief moments when a cloud would linger over the sun were so palpable to him. He wasn't sure if it was the same for others but he always stopped what he was doing to take notice of the action. It had once inspired a song of his. He strummed the first half of the six minute tune as he watched the cloud move on but once it had he ceased. He didn't often go back to songs that old. His guitar wasn't tuned quite right anyways. He resumed the daily ritual with his eyes focused on what he was doing for once.
It wasn't long before Simon entered the room with his own guitar but Theodore was nowhere to be seen. He skipped practice more often than the other two which surprised Simon since Alvin still possessed a lazy streak even when it came to his music. Theodore was often going off on his own now but he still managed to keep up with his brothers when it came to their music. A long career in the business had obviously made him adaptable musically speaking. Even if he didn't know what was going on he still managed to beat out a good substitute. Sometimes they added those substitutes in or even ended up changing a song all together. Who knew what he did when he was away but as long as it didn't get in the way of the music Alvin didn't much care.
Simon waited until Alvin had finished tuning his guitar and began to play along with the song he had chosen to practice for the moment. Simon knew this song would be one of many that Alvin didn't release to the public. He had enough unreleased songs to fill ten new albums but he kept them to himself. He had once told Simon that they were too soft and their normal audience wouldn't like them. Simon could pretend to overlook the fact that they were all love songs for the sake of his brother's pride. He knew they were therapeutic for their leader. Alvin had never let himself talk about Brittany and he wouldn't allow his fans to see how it had changed his music either. That's why this song would not be on their new album.
"She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly. Off the coast and I'm heading nowhere. She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly. As weeks went by it showed that she was not fine. They told me son it's time to tell the truth. And she broke down and I broke down. Down. Cause I was tired of lying. Driving back to her apartment. For the moment we're alone. She's alone. And I'm alone. Now I know it."
Simon let Alvin play off the last few notes and watched him carefully. Sometimes he wondered if they should try to find out what Brittany was up to these days. He saw her on entertainment news shows and in tabloids. She had been "pregnant" at least eleven times since she'd come of what might be considered an appropriate age. Simon couldn't tell what she was up to from such things though. And finding out what Jeanette was doing was nearly impossible. Brittany overshadowed her sisters and the attention was usually on her. Simon doubted that bothered the other two. It had very rarely bothered him that Alvin assumed the same spotlight in their own group. Both were born leaders. Maybe that was why it had ended the way it did. The clash of two egos so horribly inflated had been inevitable.
Alvin picked random note after random note even after the song had officially ended. He wasn't playing anything in particular but somehow the random notes streamed together in a sad, melodic way that made sense when Simon knew it shouldn't. It was things like this that forced Simon to admit that Alvin was a genius in his own way. Everything he played turned to gold. Or would platinum be more appropriate? He leaned his guitar against the dresser and stood to leave, realizing that practice was over. It seemed to end earlier and earlier everyday either due to Theodore's absence or Alvin's listless behavior. If they didn't pick up the pace soon the producers and managers would be all over them again. But Simon couldn't bring himself to scold his brothers when Alvin was in such states. He would just have to hope that he broke out of his funk soon.