#game:hss

Chapter 9

“Bree, I think there’s something here for you.”

Amy flips through the mail as they’re all lounging at Kane’s place, sitting next to Bree and handing her an envelope with her name in bright pink calligraphy.

Bree blinks and takes it. "For me? What is it?" She opens the envelope slowly.

Harrison’s eyes widen. “Holy cow, it’s an invite to Victoria’s annual Women’s Empowerment Dinner!” He smiles as he reads the letter quickly over Bree’s shoulder. “And you’re the guest of honor this year, Bree!”

Bree looks at him in disbelief, the letter not registering fast enough. "W-What?"

Amy takes a look at the letter for herself. “Remember that photo shoot we did for the Femme Fatale issue of Seventeen Magazine? It’s in honor of that, and Victoria picked you for Woman of the Year!”

Bree blushes and rereads the letter. "But why me?"

“God only knows,” Harrison replies before looking at Amy.

“Must’ve been Cass, I think,” Amy replies. “You’ve had such a huge year this year, Bree. I don’t think any of us are surprised.”

Bree blushes again. "Wow I-I can't believe it..."

Amy and Harrison kiss Bree on the cheeks. After pulling away, they both realize something.

“Isn’t that… tonight?” Amy asks.

Harrison visibly panics. “Oh crap!”

“Language!” Thomas yells from the other room.

“Sorry… but yeah, we better get our butts in gear if you’re gonna be there tonight!” Harrison smiles. “Good thing Caesar always has a back-up wardrobe in his car.”

As the hustle starts to pick up, Brittany goes over to Karlie. “Hiya, Karlie. Can we talk to you for a minute?”

Karlie sets down her book and teddy bear she was reading to and nods, smiling. "Otay!"

Brittany grabs Karlie’s hand and leads her into another room, where all of the other chipmunks are sitting around sheet music on the floor. “We all talked, and we want you to sing our new song with us.”

Karlie looks at them confused. "Sing?"

“Yeah!” Alvin responds. “We want to surprise your mom, and what better way than have you sing our new song with us on stage?”

Eleanor stands up. “You don’t have to sing lines all by yourself if you don’t want to, but we want you up there with us.”

“We wanna make you an honorary Chipette,” Brittany adds.

Karlie giggles. "I don't know how! Never tried...."

Theodore frowns. “Maybe you can play the maracas or something?”

Simon chuckles and pats Theodore’s head. “There’s no maracas in the song, Theodore, but nice try.” He looks at Karlie. “How about you dance with us instead?”

Karlie giggles and nods. "I wanna try singing and dancing!"

“Awesome!” Alvin cheers and goes over to hug Karlie. “Who do you wanna dance with?”

Karlie smiles. "You, Alwin!"

Simon chuckles as he watches Alvin hold Karlie.

“Okay! We’ll teach you the song!” Alvin looks to the group. “Places, everybody!”

Thomas slowly fixes the cuff on his suit later that night before the dinner, checking himself once over in the mirror.

Bree pats down her long black dress and looks up nervously. "Do I look okay?”

Slowly turning around, Thomas pauses as he looks at Bree for a moment. “You look… beautiful.”

Bree blushes. "Thank you."

Thomas walks over and wraps his arms around Bree’s waist. “Are you okay?”

Bree nods and leans her head on his chest. "J-Just nervous."

“Don’t be. Everything is going to be okay. You don’t have to make a speech or anything, so try not to be nervous, okay?”

Bree nods and cups his cheek, kissing his other cheek softly. "Thank you."

Thomas smiles. “Of course.” He brushes back Bree’s hair. “Now, go ahead - Amy and Harrison are waiting on you.”

Bree smiles and lets go of him, walking over to the two.

"You still love her." Kane stands behind him after watching the exchange.

Thomas nods nervously. "Of course I do." He sighs. "I always will even though I'm not with her... but she's better off with Amy."

Kane raises an eyebrow. "Why'd you let her go?"

"Because I thought I wasn't good enough for her." Thomas closes his eyes for a second. "I thought that once she realized that, she'd leave me for someone better. She has everything going for her, and I didn't want to screw that up."

Kane sighs. "You screwed up you know."

Thomas nods slowly. "I know..."

Kane touches his shoulder. "She's talking to you. It's a start. We can't tell where it'll go from here."

Letting out a deep breath, Thomas turns to face Kane. "What about you...?"

Kane raises an eyebrow. "Me?"

Thomas sighs. "Well, there's always a chance she'll go back to you, right? I mean, you do have Karlie together... and I don't want either of you alone. You both deserve to be happy, and if the person you're both happy with isn't me... then so be it. I won't stand in your way..."

Kane sighs and rubs a hand over his neck. "I love her; always will and we have Karlie together; she's the mother of my child… hell, I'd have more children with her. It's up to her. She knows if she ever wants me, I'm here for here; and like I said at the music video shoot, until she speaks up, I don't think she'd mind too much of the small things."

Nodding, Thomas adjusts his cuff links nervously. "I just... I don't know what to do right now. I love Bree, and I... I really like you too, but I'm not going to stand in either of your ways for you both to be happy."

Kane leans down and kisses Thomas softly. "I like you too. C’mon. We've got to get going. "

Thomas nods again. "Right, of course."

Kane grabs his hand, tugging him to the car.

The bus finally pulls up to Victoria Swenson’s mansion, completely lit up in bright neon lights.

Amy leads Bree and Harrison out of the bus, dressed in a silver dress and matching flats. “Doesn’t this place look awesome?”

Bree takes a deep breath. "It's beautiful..."

Harrison looks at Bree, fixing one of the flowers in her hair. “Are you okay?”

Bree nods and bites her lip. "I'm alright..."

Amy looks at her curiously. “Are you sure, love…? You don’t seem okay...”

Bree blushes. "Nervous..."

“Don’t be!” Brittany says cheerfully. “You look fabulous!”

“She’s right,” Theodore adds. “You look so pretty, Miss Bree.”

Bree smiles. "Thank you."

Amy giggles. “Hey, look at Karlie!” She points to the little girl, who’s wearing the same matching outfit as the Chipettes except with a red rose in her hair.

Bree beams proudly and leans down, holding her arms out and scooping Karlie up when she runs into them, standing up tall in her six inch heels. "Ooh, Mommy's baby girl looks so beautiful!" She kisses her nose gently.

Karlie giggles and hugs Bree closely. "You look pretty to momma!!"

Caesar quickly picks Theodore up. “Good luck tonight, you guys. We actually get to hear the song this time.”

“I know,” Amy replies as she pats Alvin’s head.

Kane chuckles. "You guys will do amazing."

Alvin smiles. “You know it!”

“Save the ego for the stage, Alvin,” Simon replies. “We need to set up.”

“Last one to the backstage door is a rotten egg!” Alvin yells before he goes off running.

Sighing in frustration, Simon watches as the others rush inside. He offers his hand out to Karlie. “We need you, remember?”

Karlie nods excitedly and kisses Bree's cheek before wiggling out of her arms, grabbing Simon's hand and waving at her. "Bye, Mama! C’mon, Si Si."

Latching his arm around Karlie’s, Simon leads her backstage.

Amy takes a look around the extensive foyer, leading them to the table meant for Bree to sit at, along with anyone else she brought along.

Cass and Victoria wave from the stage, both dressed in matching suits.

Quietly, Amy waves back as they all sit down.

Bree sits down, looking around in awe. "This is amazing..."

“Well, it is for you,” Thomas replies as he sits down. “Of course they’d pull out all the stops.”

Bree blushes and grabs his hand under the table, squeezing it.

Thomas rubs his thumb over Bree’s fingers. “Do you need to talk to me?” he mouths to her.

Bree shakes her head and squeezes his hand again, mouthing back. "I'm nervous."

“Do you want to go somewhere for a minute and talk about it?”

Bree takes a deep breath and nods.

Thomas excuses himself, latching his arm onto Bree’s as he leads her out into a hallway. “What are you nervous about, Bree...?”

Bree curls into his body, pressing her face to his chest and her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. "I-I'm scared. Why me?"

“What do you mean ‘why you’?” Thomas sits Bree down. “Bree, you’ve done so many amazing things since you’ve moved here. Hell, you’ve done more things in the past few years than I’ve done in my lifetime so far.” He sits down next to her. “What’s wrong?”

Bree sighs and looks at her hands. "W-Why did they pick me? I'm scared that once I get up there and accept the award everyone will realize I don't deserve it."

Thomas sighs, wrapping an arm around her. “Bree, you deserve this. I… I wouldn’t have submitted your name if I didn’t think you deserved it.” He blushes slightly. “You deserve the world, and even if I’m not with you, I’m going to spend the rest of my life proving it to you.” He tilts her head up so their eyes lock. “Please believe me.”

Bree gasps, her breath catching. "Y-You set this up?"

“I sent in your name, but I wasn’t part of the final decision.” Thomas feels tears threaten to fill his eyes. “And I would do it all again if I could.”

Bree strokes his cheek gently before pulling him in for a kiss.

Thomas kisses her back softly, wrapping both of his arms around her waist.

Bree pulls away slowly after a while and takes a deep breath.

“Are you feeling any better?” Thomas asks, not moving his arms from around Bree’s waist.

Bree nods and blushes. "Much. C'mon." She stands up and grabs his hand.

Thomas takes a deep breath. “Wait.” He sighs. “I need to talk to you about something.” He gently pulls Bree back into his arms. “Are we… What exactly is going on between us? It’s been on my mind a lot lately, and I’m not pushing you or anything, but… the sooner I know, the sooner we can do what we have to do.”

Bree looks up at the taller male she had fallen in love with two years ago. "I am in love with you Thomas Hunt." She grabs his hands. "I never stopped loving you, I-I just don't know where we stand;" She takes a deep breath, closing her eyes. "When you told me you didn't want me anymore, I-I was crushed. It took me back to all those times in high school and I felt like a child again." She looks up at him, small tears in her eyes. "But throughout the last two years since our breakup, I never stopped loving you."

“I never stopped loving you either.” Thomas leans his forehead on hers, wiping away her tears. “And I’m so sorry.” He sighs, tears in his own eyes now. “I-I don’t want to take you away from Amy and Harrison i-if you’re happy with them.”

Bree wipes his tears away and kisses him again, slowly molding herself against his chest.

Thomas kisses Bree back softly, feeling the warmth of her body against his before slowly and reluctantly pulling away. “So… what exactly is going to happen with us… between all of us...?”

Bree takes a deep breath. "I-I'm not sure."

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Thomas kisses Bree’s forehead. “Are you happy with Amy and Harrison?”

Bree nods and takes another deep breath. "I am. I am very happy with them... but I miss Kane and I miss you."

Thomas nods. “I understand.” He holds Bree in his arms. “Maybe… Maybe all of us can stay at Kane’s place? I can give my apartment to Miss Miller and we can all stay with him.” He takes a deep breath. “I-I know it’s only been a couple of weeks, but I’ve known most of you for years already. It... It won’t be too much, would it?”

Bree smiles and shakes her head. "Of course not. We'll mention it to him afterwards."

“Sounds good to me.” Thomas pulls Bree in for one last quick kiss before they head back to the table.

Bree giggles, and as they reached the door, she pulls him into a long sensual kiss.

Thomas wraps his arms around Bree, kissing her back and gently leaning her against the door.

Bree gasps and bites her lip, pulling away and panting.

"S-sorry, was that too much...?" Thomas blushes, his eyes full of concern.

Bree shakes her head. "Not at all."

Thomas smiles softly as his hand reaches for the door. "I love you, Bree."

Bree squeezes his hand and walks out with him, smiling.

As soon as they both sit down, Victoria and Cass walk up to the podium on the stage. They both start to talk about the recent projects that Bree has done and go on for about five minutes before they finally announce Bree as the recipient of the Woman of the Year Award.

Just before Bree can stand up, a small voice cries out, "Wait!" From behind the curtain, Karlie runs out. "I get for you, Momma!" She rushes over and reaches out for the small statue. After Victoria kneels down and hands it to her, she starts to wobble a little. "Bit Bit, help me!"

Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor come rushing out and all help Karlie bring the trophy to Bree.

Bree giggles and bends down, scooping Karlie into her arms and kissing her nose affectionately. "Thank you, princess."

Harrison high-fives Brittany under the table.

Victoria announces for the Chipmunks and Chipettes to come on stage, and both groups come up and sit on the stools on stage.

Alvin stands on his stool, a wide smirk on his face as he waves.

Simon has Karlie sit with him on his stool, holding her so she's comfortable.

Theodore and Eleanor sit next to each other, holding each other's hand and gently swinging their arms.

Brittany sits with her legs crossed, fluffing her ponytail.

Jeanette fiddles with her fingers as she gives a soft smile to the crowd.

"So," Cass begins from the other side of the stage, "you guys have a new single, right?"

"Heck yeah!" Alvin answers. "We just filmed the music video last week!"

"When is the new album coming out?" Victoria inquires.

"Honestly, we don't know yet," Brittany replies. "It's not completely done yet, so we have no idea."

Cass nods. "Let's talk about the new single itself - how did you guys come up with the idea for the song exactly?"

The group quickly looks between each other before Eleanor chimes up. "Well, usually Alvin or Brittany have the ability to write the lyrics for a song idea one of us may have and the rest of us sort of make up the beat for it. This time, Simon actually came up with the lyrics."

Victoria looks at Simon. "You wrote this song by yourself?"

Simon nods. "It's very strange because despite being the budding writer of the group, I've never really come up with any song lyrics of my own before. After some recent events, though, the process has just been sort of... effortless."

"What kind of recent events?"

Looking right at Thomas, Simon takes a deep breath. "I'd rather not say. It's a private matter, and I don't want to embarrass anyone."

Thomas doesn't know what to say, watching them in awe.

Cass smiles. "Well, let's hear this song, then."

All six chipmunks and Karlie stand up and move the stools aside. Brittany gives the count in for the music as Alvin holds Karlie's hand and starts dancing with her when the music starts. After a few counts, the singing starts.

[Alvin (with Brittany):] Some days are tough (And you just can't take it)

[(Simon) with Jeanette and Karlie:] (You wanna give up) Because you just don't think That you can make it

[Theodore (with Eleanor):] But everyone knows (That in the end, you'll be okay)

[Brittany (with Jeanette and Eleanor):] These things come and go (Tomorrow's always gonna be a better day)

[All 7:] Hang tight, just hold on Get up, you know you gotta push on Just know tomorrow You will see it'll be so much easier So, be strong - yeah, move on Chin up, bad things won't be there for long So say "it's okay" 'Cause tomorrow the shadow will go away

[Simon:] So why does it seem Like everything inside you hurts?

[Jeanette (with the Chipmunks):] You just can't believe (How it always goes from bad to worse)

[Eleanor (with Theodore):] And just when you think (That you've had all you can take)

[The Chipmunks (with Karlie and the Chipettes):] Just pick up your head (Tomorrow's always gonna be a better day)

[All 7:] Hang tight, just hold on Get up, you know you gotta push on Just know tomorrow You will see it'll be so much easier So, be strong - yeah, move on Chin up, bad things won't be there for long So say "it's okay" 'Cause tomorrow the shadow will go away

Hang tight, just hold on Get up, you know you gotta push on Just know tomorrow You will see it'll be so much easier So, be strong - yeah, move on Chin up, bad things won't be there for long So say "it's okay" 'Cause tomorrow the shadow will go away

Bree smiles and cheers for them; and when they come off stage, she gives them a hug. "I'm so proud of all of you."

“Thank you!” Brittany replies.

Eleanor and Theodore cling to Bree’s legs.

Bree smiles and looks at them.

“W-We wanted to spend tonight with you…” Theodore tells her as Caesar picks Eleanor up.

Bree smiles and nods. "I'd love that."

Thomas feels a tug on his pant leg and looks down to see Simon looking up at him with wide eyes, blushing a bit.

“Simon, what’s wrong?” Thomas whispers, turning to face him.

At first, Simon doesn’t reply to the question and glances down at his feet.

“I-I... “ Simon begins after a while, still sheepish. “I hope I didn’t upset you by making the song. I-I honestly couldn’t help it… I wasn’t gonna publish it at first, b-but Alvin saw it on accident and thought it was a hit. He insisted on using it for the album, and-”

“Simon,” Thomas interrupts, adjusting the chipmunk’s glasses, “it’s okay. I’m not upset.” He lifts Simon up into his arms. “In fact, I’m really proud of you. You… You turned what I went through when we first met into something positive.” He hugs Simon to his chest. “I couldn’t be any happier with you than I am right now.”

“You’ve said that before, you know,” Simon says with a chuckle.

Thomas smiles and shakes his head, whispering, “Don’t be a smartass.”

Both of them laugh a little harder at that.

Amy elbows Harrison, nodding subtly toward Simon and Thomas. “Look.”

Harrison smiles and nods. "Seems they've hit it off."

Thomas slowly holds Simon to his chest again and takes off his glasses. He latches the glasses onto his dress shirt as Simon closes his eyes.

For the first time since the Chipmunks arrived, Thomas is completely speechless for at least a moment. He feels Simon relax warmly into his chest, and… were there tears starting to form in his eyes? He kisses Simon on the top of of his head as he hears the chipmunk’s breathing start to even out.

Bree smiles. "C’mon. Let's go home early."

Thomas smiles in return, picking Simon up in his arms as he stands up. “Good idea.” He looks around. “Where’d Karlie go?”

Kane walks up, carrying the small sleeping child in his arms, and smiles. "She's right here. She's quite sleepy; she's had a very exciting day."

Chuckling, Thomas brushes the hair on Simon’s head back. “He has too, apparently. I think we all have.”

Chapter 8

"So... Where are you taking us exactly?" Simon asks as Thomas drives his car with the Chipmunks in the back seat and Dave in the front passenger's seat. "Yeah, I'm wondering that myself," Dave adds as he goes over files in his hands. "We're all taking a pit stop at Hollywood University," Thomas replies as they pull into the parking lot. He parks in front of the directing major building. "I'm only heading there to pick up a few files of my own while all of you are going to the main conference room. You guys were in need of a director for your first music video, right?" The three chipmunks in the back seat nod. "I found two that will hopefully work together and will listen to any ideas you have, okay?" Thomas opens his car door as the others exit the car. "The others will be here within moments. Once we all get inside the building, the conference room is right across the hall from the entrance. Wait for me there."

Dave nods. "Okay, will do." Thomas goes off on his own path and heads up to his office. Leading the six chipmunks into the conference room, Dave realizes there's two familiar faces in there already. "Danny? Ethan? What are you two doing here?" Dave asks. "Well, if my calculations are correct," Simon quickly starts to answer, "Danny has to be one of our directors." "But Ethan's not a director, though," Jeanette interjects. "He's here for moral support." "Wow, I've never been in here before," Amy says quietly, Bree and Karlie behind her. Bree nods as she looked around in awe picking Karlie up in her arms. Ethan chuckles. "Hey, Red. Hey, Lil' Red." Karlie smiles and waves at him. "Hi, Ewin!" The six chipmunks are talking hushedly in the corner about their ideas as Thomas returns into the conference room. "Sorry about that, everyone." Harrison nods. "What's going on?" Thomas sighs, putting the files down on the table as he sits down. Dave turns to Harrison. "The Chipmunks and Chipettes are filming their first music video.” Harrison nods. "Ahh alright. Who's directing it?" Ethan chuckles. "Well, I'm dating one of the directors." Danny playfully shoves Ethan. "Hush." Thomas takes a deep breath. "Archie is directing as well." He sighs. "And he's late." As if on cue, Archie walks in, a plate covered in aluminum foil in his hands. He waves. "Hiya, so sorry I'm late." He puts down the plate. "I heard I was working with children, so I always try and bake something before directors' meetings." He pulls away the tin foil to reveal chocolate chip cookies. Theodore's eyes light up. Karlie blinks. "Cookies!" Archie slides a cookie over to each of them. Thomas chuckles. "Okay, now that everyone is here, we can start the meeting." He turns to Dave. "Now, what was the plan for the setting of the video?" Dave smiles. "We were actually thinking about maybe doing this at an orphanage. If we brought a surprise party to all of the kids, we'd just film all of them enjoying themselves." Unable to contain his wide smile, Thomas nods. "I like that a lot." Kane nods in agreement. "That sounds like a great idea." Thomas nods again. "Then it's settled. Next stop: Hollywood Hills Orphanage."

"Wow, for an orphanage, this place looks a little high-class," Brittany says in surprise. "A little high-class?" Alvin retorts. "Calm down, both of you," Thomas says sternly, leading the group up the walkway to find another familiar face. Theodore and Eleanor gasp. "Payton!" They both rush up to give the girl a hug. Payton looks over and giggles. "Hi guys!" Letting out a soft smile as Payton joins the group, Thomas leads the group inside the orphanage. All of the kids - there's about one hundred of them - sit on the main foyer stairs and cheer as soon as they see the Chipmunks. Thomas is suddenly a little overwhelmed. "Holy..." "Relax," Amy says, putting a hand on Thomas's shoulder as they both watch Alvin start to schmooze with the kids. Kane walked up to the two and nodded. "You'll be okay." Suddenly, the owner of the orphanage steps down after the sea of children parts for him. Someone is walking next to him - someone all too familiar. Thomas scowls. "And to what, exactly, do I owe the pleasure of finding you here, Anders?" Anders lets out a slightly distorted laugh. "Oh, Thomas, it's quite simple really," the drunken patriarch replies. "My daughter and her friends must be in the music video, or I can promise that all of your careers are ruined." His face hardening, Thomas successfully hides his scared gulp. "Fine." He crosses his arms. Amy, Archie, Danny and Ethan visibly gulp. Bree looks worried, cradling Karlie to her chest. "Why? This is for kids..." Thomas sighs. "Honestly, we have no choice... Anders has enough power to ruin the career of everyone in this room... We have to do it." "Glad you see things Daddy's way," Bianca says as she enters the room, Lance's arm wrapped around her stiff one and Shae and Jenni flanking them - all of them wearing somewhat nostalgic childhood outfits. Amy takes a deep breath, suddenly getting an idea. "I'll be right back. I have to make a phone call." She walks out of the room, dialing a number. Thomas sighs to himself. "We're doomed..."

About two hours later, while the party is finishing its setup phase, Thomas paces the inside of the tour bus and taking deep breaths trying to keep himself calm. Bree sits on the couch, watching him as Karlie is sleeping in a playpen set up a few inches away from her. "Please stop pacing." Thomas sighs, finally sitting down next to Bree. "Why does Anders have to ruin this for them...?" "I wouldn't count us all out just yet, you two," Amy says as she gets onto the bus. "Let's just say... Simon and I talked, and we put together a little something I like to call a 'Permanent Wound' reunion.” Just outside the bus, Chris Winters and Zoe are chatting over something, each having a water bottle in one hand and nothing in the other. Thomas's jaw drops. "How-" "Let's just say they both owe Desiree a favor," Amy explains. Bree smiles. "Go out there, Thomas." Thomas smiles and offers out his hand. “Come with me?” Bree nods and blushes softly, grabbing his hand. Amy smiles. “Come on, we have a music video to shoot.” She leads them outside, quickly shaking Zoe’s hand and giving Chris a hug. “Thank you guys so much for doing this.” Zoe nods. “Of course. Anything to get Bree’s ass out of a bind like having Bianca in a music video.” Bree blushes. "Shut up, Zoe..." Chris waves Zoe off. “She’s just joking, Bree.” Zoe chuckles and winks at Bree. Thomas shakes his head. “So, what are we doing to save this video?” “One word,” Zoe replies, pulling something out of her pocket. “Paintball.” Bree raises an eyebrow. "Not another bridal party paintball fight..." “You won’t be in it unless you want to. It’s mainly the kids that are old enough to do it.” Zoe smiles. “Besides, I remember how your sweet little ass did at the last game.” “Zoe…” Chris says with a sigh. Thomas looks at Chris and shakes his head in slight frustration. Bree blushes again and stutters out, "I-I think Karlie's waking up!" She quickly goes into the bus. Amy sighs. “Wait for me, love.” Right when both women are gone, Thomas glares at Zoe. “Happy?” Zoe quickly holds up her hands in defense. “I-” “Leave,” Thomas tells her sharply. “You really want me to-” Thomas folds his arms. “I said go. Don’t leave the premises, but just don’t bother Bree.” Zoe sighs. “Fine, if that’s what you want.” She backs away before turning and heading over to go and find the Chipettes. Calming down, Thomas looks to Chris. “Has this… happened before?” Chris nods. "Yeah, of course it has; Zoe means no harm by it, though." Thomas sighs deeply. “I know she does, but if she’s going to do it, she needs to tone it down a few levels…” He motions toward the bus. “C’mon, let’s go check on her.” Chris nods, following Thomas in. "Invite Zoe in... It'll be okay. I'll keep her in check." “If you insist…” Thomas turns to Zoe. “Come in here!” Zoe turns around quickly; nodding, she runs over, following Thomas and Chris inside. Bree paces the bus, taking deep breaths and trying to calm her blushing. Amy looks to her, concerned. “It’s going to be okay, love.” Thomas goes to the back area where Bree is pacing. “Bree, I’m sorry she’s… doing what she’s doing.” He sighs. “Are you going to do the paintball challenge?” Seeing a confused look on Bree’s face, he explains. “Basically the kids are split into two teams: boys versus girls. Whomever gets more of Bianca’s entourage wins first dibs at the pizza party later.” His eyes soften. “Are you interested...?” Bree bites her lip before nodding slowly. "Well, alright..." She looks at the four of them. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. We’ll understand if you would rather spend time with Karlie.” Bree shakes her head and gives a small smile. "It's okay. I'll do it." She slowly looks at Zoe. Zoe sighs. “I’ll calm down with the… you know…” She sighs again, her eyes sad. “I promise.” Bree shakes her head and frowns. "You don't have to, Zoe. Go ahead. I don't want you to be sad because of me being flustered. It's just how we click." Zoe shakes her head. “I’m not sad. I just… I know that I pushed you. I won’t stop, but I’ll tone it down. We have bigger fish to fry than each other.” Thomas nods. “Like Bianca and Anders.” Bree walks over and hugs Zoe around the waist, looking up at the taller girl. "I'm alright. I'm not fragile. I get flustered, but I'll be okay." She gives her a smile before letting go. "Alright, what do I do?" Zoe smiles. “Well first, you need to suit up.” She hands Bree a vest. “Put this on. We’re using much softer paint stuff for the kids.” Bree smiles. "Tie me up?" She slides the vest on. “Of course.” Zoe ties Bree’s vest up in the back before tossing her a helmet. “You’ll need that, arm pads, and knee pads.” Bree nods before chuckling, whispering under her breath. "Kinky Zoe." She winks and ties her hair up, loosely putting the helmet on. Zoe laughs. Thomas gulps visibly. “Am… Am I going to have to do that...?” "Do what, Thomas?" Bree looked over at him. “The paintball challenge… When they brought up the idea, I wasn’t sure if I had to do it…” Chris shakes his head, putting his helmet on. "Not at all. You can sit this one out, Thomas." Smiling, Thomas lets out a sigh. “I’ll watch Karlie for now. You guys go have fun.” He chuckles. “I’m getting live-feeds from Archie and Danny’s cameras anyway, so there’s not much for me to do.” Bree nods and kisses his cheek. "See you soon!" Bree grabs Amy's hand. "Ready?" Amy nods. “Hell yeah!” Bree giggles and looks at Zoe. "Ready? I'm on your team, right? You could probably kick my ass if I wasn't." Zoe nods. “Well, it is boys versus girls.” Chris laughs nervously, turning to Thomas. “Are ya sure you can’t join me…?” Thomas chuckles and shakes his head, picking Karlie up slowly. “Not a chance.” “Damn…” Karlie rubs her eyes and yawn, laying her head on Thomas' shoulder. "Good morning!" She yawns again, slowly falling back to sleep. Thomas chuckles, sitting down with Karlie’s head on his shoulder as the others leave the tour bus. He’s not really sure what to do. He knows he has to keep a close watch over Karlie, but he’s unsure whether to wake her up. Karlie rubs her eyes again a little while later. "Momma?" Thomas shakes his head. “She’s with Amy right now. She’ll be back soon.” Karlie yawns and looks up at him. "Mommy Amy gone too? Daddy and Daddy Warbucks?" “All of them are right outside, sweetheart,” Thomas replies. Karlie nods and yawns again. "You Tom and Jerry?" She looks up at him again. Thomas chuckles. “Tom, yes. Jerry, no.” He sits her on his leg. “Are you okay?” Karlie nods and gives him a smile. "Sippy? Juice, Tom and Jerry?" She points towards the cup sitting on the small table. “Oh! Of course.” Thomas carries Karlie over and sits her on the table, handing her the cup. “Better?” She giggles and nods, taking it slowly in her hands and taking a sip. "Mmm, yummy apples... Watch Universe, Tom and Jerry!" She tries getting off the table. Thomas looks at her confused before he realizes what she’s talking about, picking her up. “Don’t try to get off the table without me to hold you.” He takes her over to the couch, turning the television to the channel showing Steven Universe. She claps, crawling over to the edge of the couch and sitting there, sipping her juice with eyes locked on the television. "Yay! Tank you, Tom and Jerry!" “Of course.” Thomas sits and watches her for a few moments, mostly in awe that a little girl as young as Karlie could be so smart. She was already talking  - uncommon but not unheard of for a one-and-a-half-year-old. Karlie looks over at Thomas and grinned. "Me gustas! You're really nice, Tom and Jerry." She turns back to the screen. Thomas pulls Karlie into his lap. “So are you.” Karlie giggles and kisses his cheek. "Can we go find Momma, Mommy Amy, and Daddies?" Not really knowing how to tell her about the possibility that she could get hurt, Thomas takes a deep breath. “Have you heard of paintball, Karlie?” Karlies eyes widen in excitement. "Yeah huh! Daddy took me once!" She stands up in his lap putting her hands over his mouth. "Shhhhh, I wasn't suppose to say! Don't tell Mommy!" Thomas chuckles. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell. But if we go, they’ll figure out you told me. So if you don’t want to disappoint your parents, we can’t go, okay?” She pouts. "But I wanna see Mommy and Daddy...." Both of them hear a knock at the door. Thomas immediately pulls Karlie into his arms and stands up, going over to open the door. Bree smiles. "There's my little girl!" Karlie giggles. "Momma!" She reaches out excitedly for Bree while Thomas holds her. "Tom and Jerry, let me go!" Thomas sighs at the nickname, handing Karlie over to Bree. "D'you get eliminated?" Bree laughs and cradles Karlie to her, kissing her head and nodding. "Unfortunately. Tom and Jerry?" She raises an eyebrow at Thomas. "Don't ask," is all Thomas can reply. "I don't know where it came from." Karlie giggles. "Momma said his name Thomas... Uncle Tom and Jerry, like the show, Momma!" Thomas blushes softly. "She gets really creative with these names..." Bree giggles. "That's true; she does call Harri 'Daddy Warbucks'. " She kisses her head gently. "But you're Mommy's baby. And I love you." She kisses her nose. Karlie giggles. "I love you too, Momma." Thomas sits down on the couch, looking at Bree. "How much longer before Kane's done, do you think?" "About fifteen more minutes?" She sits next to him, handing Karlie her sippy cup and shifting her so her back rested against her chest. "He takes this seriously." "I bet he does." Thomas closes his eyes and leans back on the couch. "I... actually need to talk to him." Bree nods and yawns. "Text him. My phone is on the couch. C'mon, baby. Nap time." Karlie nods and snuggles into Bree. "Okay, Momma. Bye, Uncle Tom and Jerry." She yawns as Bree carried her to the back room where there happened to be a bed, cuddling into the blanket and Bree's chest as they drifted to sleep. Thomas smiles at the two as they enter the back room, picking Bree's phone up and gingerly holding it in his hand as he texted Kane: Hi. I hope you're not cornered somewhere where someone can find you and shoot you. I was hoping to talk to you if you weren't busy. --Thomas Kane feels his phone buzz and quickly ducks behind something, pulling it out. Hey. Yeah, I'm fine. What's wrong? Is something wrong with Karlie and Bree? Both? Thomas quickly types back.

No, nothing is wrong. I do need to talk to you, but if you're busy, I can wait. Although delayed, he gets a reply.

No, no, I'm fine. I'm already jogging back to the bus, haha. Thomas chuckles.

Did you lose? An answer comes quicker this time.

Come and Get It

“What’s got your neurons in a tizzy?”

Atlas Seville is frantically pacing the Nerd Hangout’s lobby when Nishan enters and asks his friend the above question. He sighs the moment he sees his best friend and races over to him. “Nishan, the weirdest thing just happened to me!”

Nishan looks at Atlas worriedly. "Did you get contacted by aliens?"

"Okay, Nish, why on Earth would they contact me?" Atlas replies quickly. "If anybody, they'd contact you." He sighs again in slight frustration. "Anyway, that's not the point - Max showed up at my locker this morning."

"The real Max or a clone?"

"Nishan!"

"Okay, I'll assume it's the real one." Nishan arches an eyebrow. "Why did he come?"

Atlas blushes, hanging his head just a bit. "He... He asked me out on a date."

Nishan's eyes widen. "Max 'Hearst High shark' Warren asked you out on a date...? Have you been near any harmful chemicals lately, Atlas?"

Huffing, Atlas shakes his head. "No, Nishan... Max asked me out for real." He sighs. "It was bizarre and kind of creepy, yet at the same time... alluring."

Placing a hand on Atlas's shoulder, Nishan shrugs. "I don't know much about this stuff, so you're better off asking someone else what to do. Just... whatever you do, don't let Julian know yet. He'll go AWOL."

Atlas nods. "Right." He sighs. "Walk with me to go see the Preps?"

Nishan gives a smile and nods in return. "Absolutely."

"He WHAT?!" Payton outbursts as soon as Atlas tells her what happened.

Atlas cringes at her response. "I know - it freaked me out when it happened too, Payton."

"What did you say?"

"I..." Atlas blushes. "I never gave him a straight answer... but he gave me his number for when I knew." He blushes. "I-I kinda need your help with this because... Part of me wants to tell him yes. And the other part knows that it's a bad idea..."

Payton is dumbfounded. "You WANT to go out with him?"

"Y-Yes..." Atlas stammers out meekly.

"Are you sure about this, Atlas? You know that he's-"

"I know, but he broke up with Lacey on the phone in front of my face! If that's not a sign that he's actually SLIGHTLY interested, I don't know what is, Payton."

Payton bites her lip, thinking the situation over. "I don't know what to say. I don't know enough about Max lately to know whether you should say yes or no to his offer... but Wes will. So I suggest you see him before you decide.

Atlas nods. "Thanks, Payton."

"So, Max Warren asked YOU out on a date," Wes says the question like it's a statement, tossing a hacky-sack up in the air from his right hand.

"Yeah..." Atlas replies. "He's not with Lacey anymore; he broke up with her in front of me."

Wes quickly raises an eyebrow. "Wait, he's that serious?"

Atlas nods, a blush creeping onto his cheeks.

"Okay, listen to me, Atlas... I know he's kind of a doofus, but if you really want this..."

"I do want this."

Wes nods. "Then I have information for you."

Atlas gives Wes five dollars. "Will this cover it?"

"Yeah, I'd say so." Wes stashes the five-dollar bill in his wallet. "Max has a track meet tomorow against Central City. If you get to him after the meet by sneaking into Hearst's mens' locker room, you're golden." He sighs. "We just have to okay this with Mia."

"Right..."

Wes stands up. "Don't worry, I'll help. Just let me do the talking."

"Mia?"

Wes knocks on the Jock Hangout's door. "It's me and Atlas. Let us in."

"Door's unlocked, dumbass!" Mia quickly shouts from the other side of the door.

"Sorry!" Atlas apologizes as Wes opens the door and both he and Atlas enter the hangout.

Mia is sitting on an exercise ball and watching a Jillian Michaels workout video on the small television. "What's up, you two?"

Wes sighs. "Atlas is in a bit of a pickle... Your brother asked him out."

Frozen for a moment, Mia pauses the video. "Wh-What?"

"Max asked Atlas here out on a date."

Quickly, Mia stands up, turning to the both of them and sees the bright blush on Atlas's face. "You for real?"

Wes nods quickly. "Yeah... Atlas didn't answer him yet, but... he kinda wants to say yes."

Mia raises her eyebrows in surprise. "Okay, then... Wes, can Atlas and I get a moment alone please?"

"Yeah, 'f course." Wes exits the Jock Hangout.

Once Wes was gone, Mia moves closer to Atlas and her expression softens. "Listen, Atlas... To be perfectly honest, I've sorta been waiting for someone to start a positive change in my brother. The fact that he asked you of all people out, I just... wow..." She smiles. "I think if anybody can change Max for the better, it's definitely you." She claps Atlas's shoulder. "You have my blessing."

Atlas smiles. "Awesome."

"I have something to help you out."

Nishan had brought Atlas into his private lab on campus. Things are quiet until Nishan says the above when they go to Nishan's project chamber.

"What is it?" Atlas asks.

"It's... sort of a little potion I concocted."

Atlas sighs. "Please tell me this is legal, Nishan."

Nishan laughs in response. "Of course!" He pulls out a water bottle. "Now, this may look like any other plain water bottle to anyone else, but it's actually got a stimulant dissolved into it that just might help both of you out here."

"You sure this is legal?"

"Positive."

Atlas nods in approval as Nishan hands him the bottle. "Thanks."

The track meet went exactly how Max imagined it would go.

He dominated as per usual, and Central City's runners were nowhere near what they used to be at the beginning of the season.

Max is standing in front of a mirror in the locker room, shirtless and washing his face with a cloth after dampening it in the sink as sweat makes his orange athletic shorts stick to his legs more than he'd like to admit. He hears footsteps coming up behind him, and he turns around to see Atlas dressed in a light blue dress shirt, a pair of blue jeans, a pair of blue Converse sneakers. He's holding a rose in one hand and the bottle of stimulant water in the other.

"Nice job out there," Atlas says softly.

Stunned, Max takes a breath. "You were there the whole meet?"

Atlas nods. "Every second." He walks closer. "I, um... I brought these for you - the water because you'd need it, and the rose... well..." He sits down on the closest bench to Max. "Let's just say I'm interested on that date offer you gave me yesterday."

Max smirks at the brunet. "I knew you couldn't resist me." He sits down, taking the de-thorned rose from Atlas and putting it beside him.

"Hope you don't mind if I take a sip of this first."

"No problem."

Atlas slowly opens the bottle. To be honest, Atlas wanted to feel the rush that Max would get from the stimulant - just to know what it was like. He took a sip, closing his eyes for a moment as he feels his senses start to heighten before he opens his eyes and hands the bottle off to Max.

Max smiles and downs a good third of the bottle, clearly thirsty, before he places the bottle down on the floor. His eyes are brighter than before they each took a drink, he noticed.

Getting lost in the blonde's ocean blue eyes, Atlas smiles softly. "You... You actually like me, don't you?" He scoots closer to Max. "This isn't some stunt to become the power couple of both of our schools, is it?"

A little uncomfortable but unable to say anything, Max gulps and locks eyes with Atlas. "Y-Yeah... but don't you tell anybody around here, or I swear to God I'll kick your ass the next time I see you here."

"Scout's honor."

Max chuckles at the phrase. "You're such a nerd."

Atlas smiles and blushes a deep red. "That's kind of my thing..."

Pulling the brunet closer, Max feels his heart start to pound out of his chest. He reaches for the water at the same Atlas does, and their hands brush. Max playfully swats Atlas's hand away and takes another sip of the water before handing the bottle to the brunet.

The second the water touches his tongue a second time, an energy Atlas had never felt before surges throughout his body. He notices that the same thing happened to Max, who looks at him with a widened smile.

Both of them stare into each other's eyes again for a moment before Max pulls Atlas into his lap and kisses him.

Atlas surrenders to Max almost immediately, his eyes closing as he melts in the blond's arms and weakly drapes his arms over Max's shoulders.

Max quickly slides his tongue over Atlas's lips, practically begging him to let him in. When the brunet opens his mouth, they both let out satisfied moans as their tongues collide.

Feeling one of Max's calloused hands run through his hair and his nails gently massaging his scalp, Atlas melts further into the jock's hold, molding to his chest and his mind completely vacant as he feels his dress shirt slowly being unbuttoned.

Pulling away, Max tries to catch his breath for a second before whispering, "I want you to stay here in my arms like this." His voice is gruff, and it holds Atlas's undivided attention. "Forever."

Atlas whimpers in pleasure just before Max pulls him in for another kiss and slides off the brunet's now completely unbuttoned dress shirt.

"Maxwell!" shouts a firm older man's voice at the locker room entrance. "What are you doing with him?"

Startled, Max pushes Atlas off of him and onto the tile floor. "Dad?"

"Answer the question, young man!" Principal Warren replies even louder than his question.

Max panics. "H-He forced himself onto me, Dad! I wasn't cool with it, but he just wouldn't let it go!"

Principal Warren scowls. "Why do I not believe that...?"

Atlas closes his eyes, scared of what would happen.

Max sighs, knowing that he can't lie to his father about this. "You know what, Dad? Fine. We were kissing, alright? And I was the one who started it." He curls his hand into a fist. "And you know what? I liked it. Just like Mia enjoyed being with that girl from Central City two years, and how she likes being in a relationship with Katherine now." He scowled. "So fuck you, Dad. Fuck you and your homophobia and everything you fucking stand for! You bullied me, Mom, and Mia for years. And I've had enough. We all have." He gets up in his father's face. "So if you want to bully us, fine. Just don't expect to be called my father anymore. By this time next week, I'll be at Briar-Snowcrest Academy, and there's absolutely NOTHING you can do to stop me from leaving your sorry ass in this rat's nest of a school." He picks Atlas up from off the ground. "I hope you spend the rest of your life in hell." Wrapping an arm around Atlas, Max leads him away from the locker room.

Eventually, they end up at Atlas's dormitory room in the Nerd hangout.

"That was... That was awesome the way you stood up to your dad like that, Max," Atlas finally says after a while.

Max nods curtly as he lays down on Atlas's bed. "Are you hurt?"

Atlas shakes his head, sitting on the bed next to Max. "Nah, I'm fine. Are you okay?"

Nodding again, Max takes a deep breath. "Yeah... My mom will bring all my stuff here in the morning, so as long as I don't go home, I'm fine." He slowly sits up before cupping Atlas's cheek and looking into his green eyes. "I have you to replace him as the main man in my life."

"You... You mean that?"

Max nods, pulling Atlas into his arms and hugging him firmly. "Hell yeah, I do."

Atlas lifts his head up, looking at Max with a bright smile before the blond pins him tightly against the wall for another kiss. He immediately kisses back, melting between the wall and Max's body.

Their tongues begin their elaborate dance again as Max weaves his hand into Atlas's hair and massages the nerd's scalp again, causing the brunet to let out a moan.

Suddenly, Max pulls away and leans down to kiss Atlas's neck.

"O-Oh, Max..." Atlas lets out softly, closing his eyes again as he collapses weakly in the jock's arms again.

Max chuckles, and Atlas can feel his body shudder as Max's breath dances on his neck between kisses. "You like that, babe?"

Atlas whimpers as Max lays him down, hovering over him as the blond continues to kiss his neck.

They stay in this position for a while before Max pulls up from Atlas's neck, giving him a long and sweet kiss before falling next to him. "I really like you."

"I-I really like you too, Max."

Max smiles and kisses Atlas's cheek, pulling a blanket over them. "G'night, babe."

Fame and Fortune: Chapter 6

Thomas downs his second small bottle of schnapps almost as fast as he downed his first, laying down on the couch and putting the empty bottle down on the coffee table. He’s the only one left in the apartment.

“I thought you promised to slow on the drinking, Thomas...” Bree’s voice is quiet and timid as she stands in the hallway with the rest of the group.

Freezing in his tracks, Thomas stops mid-drink before putting the bottle of schnapps down and looking at Bree, something indecipherable yet noticeably negative in his eyes.

Bree bites her lip, tears in her eyes. She squeezes Amy’s hand tightly. “You promised you’d slow on the drinking and take care of yourself. It’s going to kill you one day, Thomas…”

Simon sighs. “Well, this changes my plan…” he whispers to himself. He nods to Amy, who leads Bree inside. “The rest of you stay out here.”

Ethan nods, handing Simon something before he closes the door.

Thomas sighs as tears well up in his eyes, putting his head in his hands after he tosses the schnapps bottles in the trash.

Simon doesn’t know what to do with himself in the current situation, speechless.

Bree sniffles before she looked at Simon. “Why am I here?” She runs her fingers through her hair.

Simon swallows hard before sitting down on the recliner. “I… I brought you here because he doesn’t have closure. With any of you out there. I couldn’t watch him self-destruct like he was doing last night…” He sighs softly. “I may not have known him for that long, but I knew that I had to do something to make this right… I’m not mad at any of you and neither is he, but… I can’t stand seeing him like this. I had to make this right.”

Bree sighs and walks up looking at Thomas face to face.

Thomas looks up slowly, vulnerability emanating from his blue-gray eyes. “I’m so sorry…” he whispers, swallowing hard as he lets tears fall from his eyes. “I-I just… I couldn’t take all of you being gone from my life… After last semester, I thought none of you would come back to me…”

Bree sighs. “No one is angry with you, Thomas.  I-I know you hurt me really badly… but we forgive you.. A-At least I do.”

“So do I,” Caesar adds as he steps inside. “And Danny is sorry about what he did to you. He’d say that himself… but he’s sort of in tears in Ethan’s arms right now.”

Thomas stands up, looking at Bree. “What I did to you… that itself was killing me on the inside… and I’m sorry, Bree.”

Bree takes a deep breath and her voice cracks. “T-Then why did you?”

Simon bites his lip, leaving and going into the spare bedroom, crouching down in front of the door.

Thomas hangs his head, letting more tears slip out. “Because I was being an asshole that didn’t have his priorities straight… I cared about my career - or better, what I had left of it - over the people I loved… That’s the reason why I haven’t met Amy formally before yesterday. That’s the reason I haven’t seen my cousin Dave and his kids until yesterday when they flew in from New York… and that’s the reason why I stupidly let each and every one of you get pushed away from me by my own hands…” He sits down back on the couch, sobbing.

Bree sits down next to him and rubs his back. “Hey, it’s okay.”

“N-No, it’s not…” Thomas manages to say between sobs, feeling Caesar’s arms wrap around him and Amy rubbing his back. “I treated all of you like shit… and I can’t hurt anyone else anymore… I’m better off alone for the rest of my life...”

"No, you aren't Thomas. I forgive you." Bree leans her head on his shoulder gently.

Thomas takes a deep breath, wiping the tears from his eyes but barely able to do anything else. “Where is Danny?”

Ethan pokes his head inside the room. “He’s out here.”

“And what on Earth are all of you doing out here?” Dave asks, carrying Theodore and Eleanor inside the apartment as Miss Miller follows with the other chipmunks.

“I-I can explain,” Simon answers as he exits the bedroom. “...They’re all here because of me.” He sighs. “Uncle Thomas was too heartbroken to function last night and this morning… so I got a few of his… past significant others to come here for closure. After this was done, they were going to leave.”

Dave sighs. “Well, they can’t leave now. Not with the rain that’s coming down out there right now...”

Bree blinks. "R-Rain?" She bit her lip gently.  

Dave nods in response. "We'll all have to stay here for the next day or two."

Simon lets out a soft breath. "I'm sorry, Dave. I-I didn't know this would happen..."

Bree looks to Amy. "What about Harri? He'll be all alone tonight and tomorrow..."

"If I tell him the address, he'll be able to get here sooner than the dorm," Amy responds.

Thomas sits in the midst of the group, unsure what to do with himself.

Simon looks up at Dave with scared and sad eyes.

Bree sighs and looked around the room. "I know this isn't... ideal for us." She looks at Thomas specifically. "I know you think we hate you, but we don't; and this can be the start of getting over that."

Thomas gives a short nod as Dave cleans off the coffee table. "I have a few spare cots in the closet from my army days if anyone needs those."

Ethan nods, pulling Danny inside so they're not in the way of people in the hallway.

Simon sits in a corner of the room, keeping to himself.

Bree walks over and sits in front of him. "You alright?"

Taking a deep breath, Simon shakes his head. "I-I had no idea I'd bring you guys here and make you get stuck here overnight. I just... I wanted Uncle Thomas to-"

"Feel better?" Thomas finishes. "I do." He slowly walks over and sits next to Bree. "I feel more at peace than I did before, which is a start."

Bree nods and looks at Simon. "You did a good thing today."

Simon takes another breath to calm himself down, getting up after a minute and hugging Thomas tightly.

Thomas smiles softly, picking Simon up. "Thank you."

"O-of course," Simon replies. "A-Anything for family."

Bree smiles before sighing and standing up looking at Thomas. "We need to talk."

Thomas nods, placing Simon down and escorting her out into the kitchen. "What is it?" he asks softly.

"I stood by you when you told me it was only a one night stand. The time you promised it would get better but broke it off because you were afraid of what people would think the time you left for Caesar, I-I stuck by you. I just want to know why." She looks up at him teary eyed.

Swallowing hard, Thomas tries to fight back his tears. "Because I thought I wasn't good enough for you... I'm not good enough for anyone, so I figured that if I didn't break up with you before you found out I was a total piece of shit, you'd eventually break up with me once you realized that..."

Bree, without almost no hesitation, pulls Thomas by the collar down to her height and kisses him passionately.

Thomas wraps his arms around Bree, kissing her back and relaxing somewhat into her touch.

Bree pulls away after a long moment. "It's been almost a year and a half. And yet I'm still here." She kisses his head gently before heading out of the room, going over to Amy and curling up in her arms.

"Wait..." Thomas says quietly to Bree. "I have something I need to say to you in private."

Bree nods and kisses Amy's cheek before going back over to him.

Thomas takes a deep breath, wrapping a blanket that he grabbed around Bree. "I hope this doesn't make things awkward, but yesterday... I found out that Amy is my niece. Dave is her father." He wraps his arms around Bree's waist. "I know this might be hard to take... but you have my blessing if you want to stay with her. And Harrison, from what I hear. I won't be upset if you decide to stay with them long-term. I have the closure with you that I needed." He chuckles. "And either way, I get to see more of you anyway, so... This is a good thing."

Bree reaches up and strokes his cheek. "I love Amy and Harri both, but we talked; she always knew I wasn't completely over you…I won't leave her but I will be here for you."

“I know that… I’d never ask you to leave her or Harrison.” Thomas kisses her forehead gently. “I’m just… I’m happy to have you back in my life regardless, even if it’s more of a family case.”

Bree smiles slightly and reaches up on her toes, kissing him softly before pulling away and pulling the blanket around her tighter.

Thomas smiles softly in return, keeping his arms wrapped around Bree. “Are you okay?”

Bree nods. "A little cold; the rain is starting."

“Let’s get back out there, okay? We’ll be warmer out there with everyone else.”

Bree nods again, heading back in the living room and sitting next to Amy.

Amy smiles and wraps her arms around Bree.

The doorbell rings, and Dave goes over to open the door.

Harrison stands at the doorway, a bouquet in one hand and a closed umbrella in the other. “Are Amy and Bree here?”

“We’re back here, Harri!” Amy shouts from the couch.

Dave smiles at the blond man. “Come on in.”

Bree smiles once Harrison walked back and kisses his cheek. "Hi, Harri."

Harrison sits on the back of the couch, wrapping his arms around Amy and Bree. “Hey, yourselves,” he replies, adjusting the blanket wrapped around Bree. “Place is a little crowded, eh?”

Bree nods and laughs a little. "Maybe just a little."

Thomas smiles. “But if we’re all going to be here for a little while, I promise to make this place home… It’s the least that I can do.”

Bree gives a small smile. "Thank you."

Dave closes the blinds and shuts the curtains. “It’s getting close to sunset. All of you should make yourselves as comfortable as you can. We’ll be here a while…”

Thomas nods in agreement, turning to the Chipmunks and Chipettes. “You kids need anything?”

All six chipmunks shake their heads.

Fame and Fortune: Chapter 5

“Remind me again what it is we’re doing again?”

Ezra asks this as he, Simon and Wes and all pile into Wes’s van.

“It’s actually quite simple, Ezra,” Simon begins to explain. “We’re going on a reconnaissance mission.”

“What for?”

Simon takes a deep breath. “I have to help make something right. And I think I know someone who can help us out.”

Ezra gives Simon a look, his eyebrow arched. “And that would be…?”

“Your brother Ethan.”

Wes’s eyes widen. “Uh, Simon… where the hell are we supposed to find him?” he asks.

Simon takes another deep breath. “Well, if there’s one place that an agent likes to schmooze around here, it’s Freddy’s.”

“And how the hell do you know he’s gonna be there right now?” Ezra asks, a bit annoyed.

Wes grabs Ezra’s hand. “Just trust him. He’s never been wrong about something like this before.”

Ezra calms himself with a soft exhale as he intertwines his fingers with Wes’s. “I guess you’re right… What’s the address?”

Minutes later, Wes pulls into a spot right in front of Freddy’s Diner.

“Looks like Lady Luck is with us today,” Wes remarks.

Simon nods. “Let’s hope that continues for us, anyway…” He hops on Wes’s shoulders as Ezra looks through the windows for any sign of his brother.

“I think I see him,” Ezra says after a moment, covertly pointing to a booth where Ethan is sitting with one of the people that he has a file for.

“Good,” Simon replies, hopping off Wes’s shoulders. “I’m going in.”

“Not without us, you’re not,” Wes quickly tells him before he can get in the door. “Ezra is the perfect excuse to distract Ethan so you can get in for the info.”

Simon nods. “Alright.” He turns to Ethan. “He’s your brother. Lead the way.”

Ezra takes a deep breath and opens the door to the diner. The smell of chicken and waffles immediately hits his nose as the three of them enter, making their way over to the booth where Ethan is sitting with whom they assume is a client.

“Yo, Ethan!” Ezra says excitedly.

Looking away from the other person in the booth, Ethan looks to his brother. “Ezra!” He gets up and hugs Ezra. “What the hell are you doing in town?”

Ezra chuckles as he hugs his brother back. “Class trip for the semester.”

“Holy shit, this is awesome! Eddie and Easton are gonna be so excited you’re here!” Ethan turns to Wes. “And who’s this?”

“That’s my boyfriend Wes.”

Wes gives a small wave to Ethan. “Hey. Nice to meet you.”

Ethan smiles. “Oh, believe me, the pleasure’s mine.” He chuckles. “Speaking of boyfriends, the looker across the booth from me is Danny.”

The other man - Danny - gives a wave.

Simon, who’s underneath all of them practically, is sizing Danny up with his eyes.

Wes pats Simon on the head. “Calm down, Si.”

Ethan gives Wes a curious look before looking down to see Simon, arms crossed and looking between the four of them with the tiniest hint of impatience.

“Hey there, little guy,” Ethan says. “Didn’t see you there.”

Simon stands up on their table. “If that’s supposed to be a short joke, I’m not impressed.”

Wes looks to Ezra, quietly whispering, “I hate when he gets like this…”

Ethan quickly holds up his hands in defense. “I meant no harm to you, I swear.”

Simon lets out a breath. “Wes, take Ezra out to the van. I don’t want either of you seeing me angry.”

Wes nods after a few seconds, grabbing Ezra’s hand tightly and walking him out to the van.

“Okay, what the hell is going on?” Danny finally speaks up.

“Yeah, what’s this about?” Ethan asks immediately after his boyfriend’s question.

Simon takes a deep breath and sits on the window sill right in between the two of them. “Well… let’s just say that I’m here because I’m trying to fix something.”

Ethan raises an eyebrow. “Please tell me you’re not here in Bianca Stone’s defense.”

“Who?”

Danny and Ethan both let out sighs of relief. “Oh thank God.”

Simon crosses his arms again. “I can assure you that I’m not here in anyone else’s defense but my uncle’s.”

Ethan’s eyebrows arch. “Brian Ratzik?”

“No.”

“Richard Sheridan?”

Simon shakes his head. “Again, no.” He sighs. “Think a little closer to home.”

Danny looks at Simon confused. “But there’s nobody else that could-”

Ethan gives Danny a look. “Think a bit back in that little black book of yours, sugar.”

Simon glances between the two men.

After a moment, Danny still doesn’t come up with an answer.

Ethan sighs before handing Simon a few dollars. “Why don’t you get something for yourself while you’re here? I’m sure the trip here has made you hungry.”

Simon nods as he takes the bills gently from Ethan’s hand and hops off the table. “I need a drink…”

At that second, something dawns in Danny’s eyes, clarity coming from the once-vague signs that Simon was giving him.

“Wait,” Danny says to catch Simon’s attention.

Simon turns on his heel, his posture and facial expression reminding him of-

“Professor Hunt?” Danny asks.

“No offense to you, but… took you long enough,” Simon replies.

Ethan gets up from the booth, fixing his suit blazer. “What about Hunt?”

Simon sighs. “I’m going to ask that you help me out finding two other people that have kind of… broken my Uncle Thomas, for lack of a better term.”

“Why… Why do you need my help?”

“They’re your clients.”

Ethan blinks. “Oh.” He sighs. “Please tell me Hunt isn’t gonna snap on them if they’re all in the same room...”

Simon shakes his head. “I assure you that he won’t. He’s… a little too depressed to do that…”

Danny sighs. “Damn it, this is my fault… I have to go with you too, right?”

Nodding, Simon lets out a deep breath as his facial expression softens. “If you want to make this right for both of you, then yes.”

Ethan grabs Danny’s hand carefully. “Okay, we’ll go with you.”

Simon gets off the stool, handing Ethan his money back. “I knew both of you would make the right choice when someone’s heart is at stake here.” He sighs again. “Take me to Caesar first.”

Nodding, Ethan lets Simon climb onto his shoulder. “What about Wes and Ezra?”

“They’ll follow us in Wes’s van.” Simon pulls out his phone to text Ezra to follow Ethan’s car - a red Porsche, when he asks Ethan what the car looks like so Wes can follow - and quickly takes shotgun while Danny takes the back seat.

Ethan puts the keys in the ignition and sighs. “If I know Caesar well enough, he should be with-”

“He’s with Bree, actually,” Danny interrupts his boyfriend. “I heard him say he was going to watch her do some boxing at Crash’s gym today.”

Simon nods. “That makes this so much easier.”

Danny gives Simon a confused look. “Why would- Oh… They’re the other two people you’re looking for, right?”

“They have to be,” Ethan answers quickly before looking to Simon. “Right?”

Simon nods again in response. “So, to this gym, then?”

Ethan quickly nods and pulls out of the parking spot he was in. “Let’s go.”

About fifteen minutes later, Ethan pulls into a space at the local gym, Wes’s van pulling up beside them.

Simon hops out of the Porsche. “Ethan, you’re coming with me. The rest of you are staying out here.”

Wes frowns. “Bummer…”

Ethan leads the way for Simon as they enter the gym, going back to a boxing ring area.

Caesar is sitting off in one corner of the room outside of the ring, sketching designs for a piece of athletic wear, when he notices Ethan.

“Hey, I got your text,” Caesar says in greeting. “What’s going on?”

Ethan sighs. “This is probably the last thing you and Bree want to hear right now, but…”

“My uncle Thomas is… not doing so well…” Simon finishes for Ethan.

Caesar looks at them confused. “Wait, you mean-”

“Hunt,” Ethan clarifies.

Immediately, Caesar frowns with concern in his eyes. “Aw jeez…”

Simon sighs as he looks up at Caesar. “We need Bree too.”

Caesar nods. “Give her just a few minutes… She’s in the middle of a match.”

Ethan and Simon turn around to see Bree in a boxing match with Zoe Rodriguez. They’re in the heat of the fight, giving each other a good set of swings before Bree gives Zoe a pretty good uppercut. Zoe drops to the floor, panting.

“Damn, Red,” Zoe says after a minute of letting her jaw try to heal. “You’re getting good at this.”

Bree smiles softly.

Zoe turns to Ethan slowly. “It looks like you’ve got more company.”

Ethan waves at Bree. “Hey, Red!”

Bree sighs. “Looks like this session’s getting cut short. This is probably important.”

Zoe nods in reply. “It’s fine. I gotta go ice this jaw anyway...” She stands up. “Good fight, though.”

Giving a nod, Bree exits the ring , sweat pouring from her forehead. “What’s going on?”

Ethan gives a small sigh, pointing down to Simon. “It’s better if he explains.”

Bree looks down at Simon perplexed.

Simon lets out a deep breath. “My uncle… he’s not doing so great… I was told by Ethan not to say his name around you, but… I’m here because I’m hell-bent on closure for him.”

Caesar looks over at Bree, a frown still on his face and sadness in his eyes.

Bree’s eyes widen. “I-I can’t… There’s no way I can go back to-”

“Look, I know this isn’t going to be easy,” Ethan interrupts, “but you’re not the only one doing that’s going to be doing this, okay?”

Simon nods. “Caesar and Danny are coming with us too. It won’t be just-”

“Hi, love, I’m- Oh...”

All four of them turn to see Amy walking in.

Simon sighs.

Walking towards Bree, Amy wraps her arms around the redhead and kissing her on the cheek. “Love, what’s going on?”

Bree doesn’t answer, frozen.

Simon clears his throat softly and looks up at Amy. “Let’s just say I’m here to right a few wrongs with…”

Amy understands what’s going on without Simon finishing his sentence, nodding and grabbing Bree’s hand. “I take it we’re all going back to his apartment?”

Ethan nods. “Why don’t you take Bree back? We’ve got the others covered.”

Nodding again and latching her arm around Bree’s, Amy takes a deep breath and looks to her girlfriend. “It’s going to be okay, I promise.”

Biting her lip and tightening her grip on Amy, Bree takes a deep breath, holding back tears as Amy leads her out.

Fame and Fortune: Chapter 4

“So…” Thomas begins as he opens the door to his apartment, “…this is where I’ve been living for the past couple of years.”

“Thomas…” Dave lets out, “…your place is a mess.”

“Jeez, Uncle Thomas,” Alvin adds. “No wonder you’re lonely.”

Keeping his mouth shut about that comment, Thomas makes sure everyone is inside before he closes the door. “I’ll, um… I’ll start cleaning up in here while you lay ground rules, Dave. I just have one to add before that: no one is allowed in the cabinet right next to the fridge except for me and you.”

Dave gives Thomas a skeptical look as he follows his cousin with his eyes. “If you say so, Thomas… Just make sure that we’ll all have a place to sleep tonight.”

Thomas nods, Alvin’s earlier words still floating around in his head as he puts earbuds in and turns on his iPod.

Sadly, Dave knows the look on Thomas’s face all too well, the memory still etched in his mind from when they were kids. He starts to talk to his kids as Thomas begins to clean.

A few seconds into the lecture, Simon overhears a soft voice singing along to a song.

Everyone's around No words are coming now And I can't find my breath Can we just say the rest with no sound?

Simon immediately recognizes the song as one that Alvin and Brittany had covered once before at one of their free choice concerts, keeping one ear focused on Dave and the other on the voice.

The origin of the voice is Thomas, who’s finished cleaning off the floor as much as he possibly can before he starts dusting off a few shelves on the wall, still singing along.

And I know this isn't enough I still don't measure up And I'm not prepared Sorry is never there when you need it

Dave takes a shorter time than expected to get the lecture out of his mouth, although he assumes it’s because of the eerie atmosphere in the apartment.

“Come on, everyone,” Dave says quickly. “Let’s go help Miss Miller unpack in the guest room.” He leads everyone – well, almost everyone – into the guest bedroom and shuts the door behind as soon as they all enter.

The only person to stay behind other than Thomas is Simon, who watches Thomas for a few moments, trying to analyze him and see what’s wrong.

And I do, I want you to know I’ll hold you up above everyone And I do want you to know I think that you'd be good to me And I'd be so good to you I would

Simon quickly moves to the other side of the room, grabbing a duster as he goes to clean the other shelves.

At this rate, he’ll never finish by the end of the song, he thinks as he starts mouthing the words while Thomas sings along.

I thought I saw a sign Somewhere between the lines And maybe it's me Maybe I only see what I want

After speedily dusting off the rest of the shelves, Simon comes across a few framed photographs that are put face-down on the black wood. Carefully and one by one, he props them back up, revealing pictures of Thomas with a couple different people – six different people, to be exact. The first is a slender Spanish woman, the second is a muscular bodyguard with tattoo sleeves, the third is an Indian woman, the fourth is a petite redhead, the fifth has a pale and boyish look to him, and the sixth is a much younger man. The last three people are not much older than Amy is.

And I still have your letter Just got caught between Someone I just invented Who I really am And who I've become

And now I do, I want you to know I’ll hold you up above everyone And I do, I want you to know I think that you'd be good to me And I'd be so good to you

Whoa, whoa, whoa Oh, oh, whoa, oh

Thomas takes a breath, looking around to see what else of the living room he still has to clean and realizing that someone has been helping him.

I would

Simon ducks behind the couch, trying to get out of Thomas’s line of sight as he continues to clean and finishes out the song.

I do want you to know I’ll hold you up above everyone And I do want you to know I think that you'd be good to me And I'd be so good to you

Thomas walks over to the now-upright pictures, taking two and running his finger over the glass.

I'd be good to you, I'd be good to you I'd be good to you, I'd be so good to you

I'd be good to you, whoa, whoa Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa So good to you

Slowly, Simon looks out from behind the couch, seeing Thomas in a vulnerable state. Biting his lip subtly, he looks up at Thomas and fully steps out from behind the soft couch.

“Which… Which one of them broke your heart?” Simon asks bluntly.

Thomas is easily startled by hearing Simon’s voice, looking down at him after the irregular heartbeat subsides. “Excuse me?”

Simon looks up at Thomas with curious and concerned eyes. “I wondered why you had so many pictures of different people at first that didn’t look like you… but then the only thing that I could think of was they were all… yours at one point.” He lets out a long and deep breath. “They all did date you, yes…?”

Nodding, Thomas moves over to sit on the couch, the picture frames still in his hands. “They each did date me at one point, yes.”

“And I’m assuming the ones you’re holding in your hand are the ones that broke your heart the most, correct?” Simon sits next to Thomas and tries to get a good look at the pictures.

Thomas gives Simon another nod. “You’d be half-right.” He sets one of the pictures down on the coffee table, this one of the tanner young man. “He’s the only person that ever broke up with me instead of the other way around.” He places down the other picture, this one of the redhead. "And I... I can't even start to explain how badly I treated her..." He sighs, for a split second wondering why he’s talking to a thirteen-year-old about this. “I’m not over either of them. Not at all.”

Simon quickly looks over at the picture before he looks up at Thomas with sympathetic eyes. “Why don’t… Why don’t you talk to them?”

“It’s not quite that easy, Simon,” Thomas answers, his blue-gray eyes darting to the floor as he folds his hands. “There are some things when you get to be an adult… that can’t always be resolved.” He sighs again and closes his eyes. “I might never see them again because if they absolutely hate my guts… they're never coming back to me or to my class.” A tear rolls down his cheek. “Ever…”

"Never say never," Simon responds. "M-Maybe we should change the subject... I've made you too uncomfortable..."

Thomas looks up, wiping the fallen tear from his face before he faces Simon. "Don't be sorry. You were curious. And what kind of professor would I be if I turned away a curious mind?"

Simon gives a soft smile before promptly changing the subject. "You must have a lot of good stories about being a professor, don't you?"

"Not necessarily all of them are 'good' stories... but yes." Thomas lets out a breath as he soon gets an idea. "That reminds me... I have these files of all my incoming students for the semester in my office. Do you think you could organize them for me? I have to start making dinner for you guys but I have to get that done. Do you think you can do that for me, Simon?"

Excited, Simon nods. "Sure. Just by last name, right?"

Thomas gives a slight nod.

Simon gives a small salute. "You can count on me!" He scampers off to Thomas's office, keeping the door slightly ajar as Thomas goes to try to cook dinner.

As soon as he enters the office and makes sure that it's private enough for him to work, Simon begins organizing the files. He eventually comes across three files that fall under C, N, and W and realizes that upon inspection of them, they seem awfully familiar…