Simon's POV

Everything froze. Silence. That's what all of us downstairs were met with, for the first time in an hour. It stopped so suddenly that none of us knew what to do. Alvin and Brittany always fought, just as much as me and Alvin did. But their fights usually ended with a frustrated Brittany running into her room and slamming the door. Jeanette told me Brittany usually cries dramatically over one thing Alvin would say. Of course while Alvin can say things in a bratty tone, he's not wrong over what Brittany's obsessing over. Not that I'd ever say that to his face. But today was different.

Their arguing could be heard down here where me and Jeanette were studying, and where Theodore and Eleanor were baking. Normally it would be around this time their arguing reached its peak and Brittany would slam her and her sister's shared room door on Alvin's face. But that didn't happen like it would've. There was a loud 'BAM' and the house went silent. We all flinched as, that wasn't a door slam. Me and Jeanette shared a look. Theo and Ellie looked at us, nervous. Time froze as we all waited for something to happen. I sat up, taking the liberty of going to see what's going on. Dave ran to the studio, leaving me in charge.

My gut had a sinking feeling, something I've rarely had before. Time sped back up, and we heard Brittany shouting. But unlike before, she wasn't shouting in anger or defiance. She sounded worried and kind of scared. "Alvin? Alvin, wait!" I heard. The four of us shared a nervous glance of our own. The two showed up downstairs, Alvin first with Brittany on his heels. I couldn't see my brother's face as his hood was up, but he had a tense air around him. "Alvin wait, I'm sorry! I didn't mean…" Brittany looked about ready to cry.

Alvin stayed silent. Maybe it was the fact Alvin's never been voluntarily silent before. Maybe it was the fact he didn't argue back to her, or react other then putting a hand up to silence her, but a sick feeling settled in my stomach. He grabbed his house key and pocket knife and hastily left the house. I didn't bother to see who followed me; I didn't wait a second before running out of the house after him. I remembered one of my cardinal rules about Alvin, one that always frightened me to think about. A quiet Alvin was a good one. A dead silent Alvin was a bad one.

I caught up to him quickly. He didn't look at me. He didn't react when I set a hand on his arm, or when I asked him what happened. Theodore appeared a minute later and hugged Alvin's side as we walked. Alvin continued to look straight. "Alvin, say something" I said. Whether it was a comment or a question, I couldn't answer. My brother was always so bubbly, excited, cheerful, and wild. To see him silent and non-responsive freaked me out. He remained silent until we got to a nearby park. Finally he relaxed enough to wrap an arm around me and Theo and rest his head on my shoulder.

I could feel through his hoodie how much his heart began to race, and could hear how quick his breathing became. "Hey" I said. Then he did the very last thing I ever thought he would. He began crying. Now, I've said some nasty things to him before. Called him every name under the sun, ignored him, and even made him feel bad about himself. But I've never made him cry. And the fact Brittany did something horrible enough to make Alvin out of all of us cry? I began to get angry for whatever she did that managed to make him this upset, my older brother instincts kicking in. Theodore and I wrapped our arms around him, having long since stopped walking.

He didn't cry much, as Alvin liked to dub himself as the strongest brother, but he cried enough to leave a wet stain on my hoodie. I noted how silent Alvin was when he cried, sending a spike of fear through my spine for all the times I might have missed him crying.

"Alvin, please…" I started.

He pulled away from me, but kept his head hanging, looking to his left.

"...what happened?"

He stayed silent for another minute, leaving me and Theodore in suspense. While his face was shadowed by his hood, I could see him bite his lip. My hand ran up and down his arm in a comforting manner, something I hoped would soothe him enough to talk. He didn't, but he also didn't leave us in the dark about what happened. His hands moved slowly to his hood, and he looked at me with his honey-brown eyes, like he was scared to do something. I nodded in encouragement, a little confused at what he was doing. My heart stopped when he took the red hood off, revealing dark bruising around his left eye.

I gasped at how heartbreaking he looked. Theodore's hands flew to his mouth out of the corner of my eye, but my own were stuck on the obvious black eye my brother bore. His eyes couldn't meet mine, shame obvious in them. I cupped his face, turning it to get a better look at the purple surrounding his eye. My thumb ran over the lower bruise, causing Alvin to flinch from the pain from his eye. My mind went through all possible scenarios, but they all led back to the obvious. Brittany punching my brother. My hands clenched into fists and my shoulders went tense. "I'm going to kill her when I get back" I spoke lowly.

Now, I'm not the violent type, about as far as I could get from it. But my biggest pet peeve is when people mess with my things. When Ryan cornered Theodore and was poking him, I had a similar reaction. I absolutely hate it when people hurt my younger brothers. While Ryan didn't actually hurt Theodore on the outside, I made sure he regretted picking on him. The fact that Alvin was actually hurt on the outside, and clearly the inside, pissed. me. off! I snatched Alvin's hand and began to drag him back the way we came. I was so lost in my anger I missed Alvin calling out to me. "Simon? Simon wait!"

He pulled my arm back in an attempt to release my grip. He only succeeded in catching my attention. "Just let it go. I'm...I'm fine" he said in a quiet, and pathetic attempt to try and stop me. "Alvin, she hurt you. I don't care what you were even arguing about, but believe me the very last thing I'm going to do is 'let it go'". He still didn't meet my eyes, but remained quiet. I caught a glance at Theodore, and to my surprise he looked angry as well. Not as much as I me most likely, but Theodore was always the peaceful one. It wasn't a very long walk back, me dragging Alvin, but when we got home Brittany was bawling on the couch with Jeanette and Eleanor calming her down. None of them had realized we were back.

"Theodore? Can you take Alvin into the kitchen and get him an ice pack?" I asked, eyes not moving from the couch. "But, what about…" he was about to argue, but I shot him a look. He might be angry, but he certainly wasn't angry enough to defy me. "Simon, please, just…" My glare went to Alvin, but softened at the black eye. I cupped his cheek again, then moved it to the back of his head where I pulled him in for a hug. "Just...go put some ice on it. I'll call you over if I need you, alright?" He nodded against my shoulder. Theodore pulled him into the kitchen, and my anger flooded back in me with a vengeance.

I made my way onto the couch were Brittany was still crying. Jeanette and Eleanor glanced at me, and I can tell my anger scared them a little. "S..S...Simon?" Jeanette said, but I put my finger up in a 'give me a minute' sign. Brittany looked up and me, flinched, and looked down. I took a deep breath to calm the part of me that said she didn't even have the courage to look me in the eye. "Look, Brittany…" I began "I know Alvin can say some pretty mean stuff. He can sometimes be selfish, egotistical, and inconsiderate. He can say that you shouldn't do something for a stupid reason, or try to make you look less of something so he can look better. But Alvin's never said anything out of true harm or hate. So…" I continued, kneeling down to make her look at me "...tell me what possible, stupid thing my brother could've ever said to possess you to hit him".

Jeanette and Eleanor shared a collective gasp. Brittany just flinched, looking away. "You didn't!" "Brittany, how could you?". She shed a few more tears and let out a couple more sobs. I didn't soften or slacken my glare. In any other case I would. I would've soothed her and told her not to worry, and that yes, Alvin could be a jerk sometimes. But Alvin's not mean on purpose. And when he is, he goes to the moon and back to make up for it. And Alvin has never, in his life, said or done anything that would made one of his closest friends turn on him. So I want to know who's at fault. Every fiber in me screams to tear her to shreds for so much as touching one of my brothers in a violent way. But I'm also not going to eliminate the possibility that Alvin could've said something by accident to set her off.

"It was just an accident" she mumbled almost inaudibly. "What was an accident?" I repeated. Even if Alvin might have said something mean, punching him wasn't the answer. "He pranked me, wh..which sparked the argument" she started.

Brittany's POV

"ALVIN!" I screamed. My new, custom made pink jacket was doused in some sort of juice. Apple maybe. The red cladded chipmunk was currently on the floor laughing, making my blood boil in anger. "This is my brand new jacket! Now you ruined it!" Between his laughing he said "But..hehehe...I...Ha! Didn't ruin it". "Are you kidding me? You just poured juice all over it! Of course it's ruined!". Alvin pulled himself back up, the light humor in his eyes driving me mad. Didn't he get it? This is my new favorite jacket that makes me look all the celebrity I am. "It's just water Brittany!". In my despair, I checked, but sadly it was still sweet smelling and sticky. "This isn't water Alvin, it's…" I stopped to sniff it. "it's apple juice!" I shouted, throwing the jacket at him.

I waited for him to tell me I was wrong. That I had a cold and it was making things smell sweet, or I just had something in my fur to make it feel sticky. I wanted him to tell me that. But he didn't. He replied with an "Oh, what? I used a water bottle, how did...Oh, well, oops. It'll still wash out though, Britt". He tossed me the jacket again, but I threw it on my bed. "oops? Oops? That's all you have to say is OOPS?!" he flinched at my tone, giving me the smallest amount of satisfaction. "Relax Britt! It's just a joke, it's not the end of the world. Besides, I didn't even know how I used apple juice, I poured water into the cup".

"Well, clearly you didn't! Otherwise there wouldn't be apple juice on my jacket! Geez you're such a pain Alvin! All you do is cause trouble, you jerk!" My satisfaction grew when I saw a flash of hurt go in his brown eyes. But only for a second before it was masked with anger. "Well at least I'm not some over dramatic chipette who can't take a joke!". I argued back, my pride now taking over. "Oh no, I can take a joke...WHEN IT'S ACTUALLY FUNNY!" I screamed at him. He laughed in a fake way. "Oh no, that was hilarious Brittany, when you screamed in surprise, or the face you made. I'll record it next time so you can see HOW FUNNY IT REALLY WAS!" My pride grew as I new he only fought back at me like this out of hurt. But I wasn't finished yet.

"You just say that because you know I'm right! As usual!"

"Come on Brittany! You're just as right about things as I am!

"I am not! Name one time I was wrong and you were right!"

"Alright fine! There's the time where you thought I couldn't make shuffleboard fun for us!"

"Ha! Yeah, but we ended up stuck on a volcanic island for three days! We almost died from that volcano!"

"But I was still right, wasn't I? Or the time where you said I couldn't be quiet for a whole day!"

"We ended up missing the last episode of our favorite show because of that!"

"Still proved you wrong, didn't I?"

My anger was reaching its boiling point. Not because he was wrong. Because he was right, and I couldn't prove him wrong. He was right about it all, but my pride wouldn't let me accept defeat.

"Or how about the time I told you Ian was the devil and you didn't believe me, huh?"

The rage of him mentioning the one major mistake I lead my sisters into, almost leading us into enslavement hit me so hard and so fast, I hadn't realized what I did until pain shot through my right fist and Alvin laid on the wall, holding his eye in pain. My mouth fell open and the rage and anger drained out of me, quickly being replaced with fear and shock over what I had just done to my best friend. Alvin didn't make a sound. Not when I punched him. Not when he looked at me, fear and pain in his eyes, and not when we both were frozen in place over what had just happened.

Finally, he scrambled to open the door, running off in a tense silence that scared me more than Ian had. "Alvin?" I whispered, finally lifting my feet off the ground to follow him. "Alvin? Alvin wait!" I shouted, now in a panic. Before I knew it we were downstairs, and Alvin had his hood up. He was collecting his key and pocket knife. I was vaguely aware of my sisters and his brothers watching us, raising my anxiety through the roof. "Alvin wait, I'm sorry! I didn't mean…" I tried, but he was out the door before I could say anything else, Simon and Theodore trailing him not seconds later.

The minute the door slammed, I let the tears I was holding fall, creating the mess that was me for my sisters to clean up.

"I...I didn't mean to hit him, I really didn't. It...it just...happened" Brittany finished. In all honesty I believed her. I was still pissed, mind you, but she didn't sound over dramatic when telling it, and I could see the genuine guilt she had in her eyes over it. It might have been an accident, but she needs to learn to control her anger so this doesn't happen again. Sure, Alvin might need to be more considerate, especially when it comes to his pranks, but it was meant to be an innocent joke that lead to something else entirely. I sighed, anger still present, but not overbearing like before.

"Ok fine, we'll call it an accident on both parts. But, you need to learn to control yourself when you're angry. This time you might have just punched him, but what about next time he says something he couldn't have known would set you off? You might do worse than give him a black eye". She gasped when I said black eye. "I...I gave him a black eye?" I nodded stiffly. "It's not a horrible one, thank god, but it's still noticeable under his fur". She sniffed and looked away. I left the girls on the couch to hear what Alvin had to say on the matter. I might believe her story, but that doesn't mean she might not have left out a few things.

When I got to the kitchen, Alvin was resting his head in his arms, crying again, with Theodore rubbing his back. It seems he just got done telling Theodore his side. He had an ice pack in his left hand, currently laying on the table. I wrapped an arm around his back and pulled him into my arms. While this was partly his fault, he didn't do anything major to deserve getting punched. Me and Theodore calmed him down, and I was again reminded how silent Alvin cried. It's been so long since I've been able to comfort him like this, that actually helping him reminds me that while he is a pain, he's still my younger brother. And like Theodore, needs just as much of my comfort.

He stopped crying, but didn't let go. I didn't really want him to either, enjoying the rare moment my stubborn brother let me help him instead of shutting me out. "It was an accident" he mumbled out. "I know" I responded. Theodore laid on top of Alvin's back, reminding me of some of the winters we had before Dave and the girls. The ones where we only had each other to keep warm and happy. I huffed, getting an idea on how to cheer my brother up. "Hey, remember that one winter when we still lived in our tree, that Theodore got so cold his singing sounded like a banshee?" Alvin cracked a smile on my shoulder, while Theodore whined. "Heey!".

"Or that following spring where I fell through some thin ice that I didn't see and winded up jumping around like a maniac?". Alvin began to cheer up, laughing, while Theo got the hint. "Oh! Remember when we ran into that plastic bottle and thought it was part of a spaceship?" We all laughed at how innocent we were back then. Alvin threw in a memory of his own. "Or better yet, when we ran into that singing turkey who thought he was in Russia". We all cracked up at that. That turkey must have hit his head or something. We laughed about it for weeks after it.

Alvin threw an arm around us both, pulling us in for a hug. "Thanks guys, I needed that". We all held close for a moment, soaking up the love. "Anytime Alvin" I said. I laughed a little when pulling away, grabbing the abandoned ice pack and handing it to him. "Now keep this on there, it'll help with the pain". Alvin shoved me lightly with a chuckle. While I could still he was hurt from what Brittany had done, Alvin was no longer dead silent like before. And while I was still angry at Brittany for hitting my brother, I know she's learned her lesson. But it wasn't until Alvin brought up a point that I internally groaned.

"So, um, how are we going to explain this to Dave?"

Author's Note: Hope you liked the first chapter of a few One-Shots about Alvin and sides of him we as viewers don't typically see. Let me know if you like this chapter and if you want more :)