I just had to do that last part. Three teenage boys in the room of three teenage girls that they are close friends with…yea, there just had to be something like that thrown into the mix. And I think that Alvin had to have something to make him smile a bit. He's had a rough day. Too bad it isn't over yet.

Time was just flying by now that there was an actual deadline. Before it was some sort of vague outline for when they needed to change Simon back, and it wasn't really set in stone. It was just to avoid Dave finding out. But now, there was no going back if they missed that deadline. At four o'clock or so, since Alvin had no way of telling exactly when Simon had changed himself, Simon would be a rabbit forever. There would be a huge change in the Seville household. And that was what the four friends were talking about.

The heads needed to come together again. Jeanette wasn't home and the only thing that they had all found out by even going over to the Miller's house was that she wasn't home. That was agreed on rather quickly. What was now up for a heated debate was Alvin's avid accusation. He was convinced that Jeanette had caused this whole thing and as he snooped a little bit more, he was even more certain of his conclusion. He had found a photo in a heart-shaped picture frame of Simon, a few more diary entries that showed that she was feeling a little defeated towards Simon, a jacket of Simon's that Alvin was told was lent to Jeanette a few days ago and she just hadn't returned it yet, and one of Simon's pens.

Actually, Alvin wasn't really sure that the pen did belong to Simon. It was a basic blue BIC pen with some teeth marks on the end of it. But when Alvin asked if that pen was Simon's, Simon nibbled on it. Yep, that settled it. That was Simon's pen and Jeanette was starting to collect a weird Simon shrine in her room. When Brittany dismissed him as being crazy, Alvin had to scoff. He stated confidently that with two sisters in the room, Jeanette could only make her weird shrine out of everyday items that no one would think twice about. But not Alvin. He knew.

Needless to say, the last hour or so was one that was not used to its potential. The girls didn't believe that Jeanette had anything to do with the rabbit thing, and Theodore was actually starting to believe in what Alvin was saying. Alvin was, after all, very persuasive. And he did have an idea to what it was like to really, really, like-like someone but not be able to say so. The more he sided with Alvin about the whole thing, the more he became a little bit shyer with Eleanor.

Alvin was on the floor, Simon plopped right in front of him. With nothing settled about his theory, Alvin had become a little bored. With one floppy ear in one hand, and the other floppy ear in the other, Alvin was wiggling them back and forth. He would gently throw one away from him and watch in land on the floor, then he would try and blindfold the poor rabbit with his own ears. Simon would try to escape, but Alvin would hold on to him again and then flop the ears around before trying to tie them in a knot. The eldest Seville had to admit that this was amusing. Especially since Simon seemed to be forced to put up with it.

"Alvin, leave Simon alone and just talk with us!"

He hummed back and then tried to tuck the ears under Simon's front paws. He moved his head back a little to look happily on his accomplishment and smile about the possible irritation he was causing. He couldn't smile too happily, though. At some point, the girls got a hold of Simon and tied a pink ribbon around his neck. They had tried to tie one of Jeanette's ribbons on him, but there was no way that Alvin would allow Jeanette to mark his brother as her property. That caused a bit of a spat between Brittany and Alvin and left Eleanor trying to patch things up. Stupid, girly rabbit.

"You really are a child, Alvin. If you can't get things your way, you just pout. But you have to face it! You have no proof about Jeanette!"

He pulled out the ears again and held them straight up above Simon's head, still humming.

Brittany and Eleanor both sighed, glancing to each other. They had just decided that they wouldn't abandoned Simon with his brothers and that they would try to clear Jeanette's name. The poor girl was now guilty of just having a crush and it was up to her sisters to show that Alvin was off his rocker about the whole situation now. "Okay. On the off chance that you are right and Jeanette turned Simon into a rabbit just so she can have him as a boyfriend, what would you want to do?"

Alvin jumped up, scaring Simon away from him, and stood in front of Brittany with a triumphant smile. He was just going to ignore the fact that he was talking to Eleanor. "Glad to hear you've seen the light. Here's what we need to do. We still got to find Jeanette. Her diary has given us a couple of other places to look."

"It's eight o'clock at night, Alvin. She wouldn't be at those places anymore." Eleanor had to keep up the idea that she and Brittany believed Alvin, since Alvin was getting proactive again. And she never actually said she believed him.

"She's lying low, remember? She won't be coming home until tomorrow, after it's too late. And it's still light outside. So we've got to find her. Okay, so if we follow what we got from the diary, she could be at the park, her friend's house, or at this 'favorite place', wherever that is."

"Alvin what if she isn't at the park or Annie's house? What if she's at that place? She didn't mention where it was." Theodore now had Simon, looking at Alvin with wide eyes.

Alvin had to sigh and look away, shoving his hands into his pockets. Theodore was absolutely right. They had no idea where or what that place was. The diary had just mentioned that the place was by far her favorite and that something completely and utterly wonderful happened there. But it didn't go into any details. Brittany had actually exclaimed about it, and Eleanor had to figure that this was what Jeanette was hiding from them. And the thing was, it was mentioned in her last entry. "We'll just have to hope that she's not there."

"Why don't we just go back to your house and try to make the antidote, Alvin? Instead of wasting time looking for Jeanette, we should just be making the stupid thing!" Brittany was getting a little annoyed and she had a right to be. Alvin was being a huge thorn in her side, and no amount of his charming side was going to change it. He was downright stubborn and she was beginning to wonder how Simon and Theodore even put up with it.

Alvin shook his head slowly, showing his fatigue at having to explain everything to Brittany repeatedly. "We need Jeanette. She knows exactly what happened. Following those notes aren't going to be the quickest way."

"Yea, quick question about the notes, Sherlock. How are they Jeanette's? They are in Simon's handwriting." Eleanor crossed her arms.

Silence.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" two girls cried back at him.

"Okay, okay. Jeanette probably used Simon to help with this." Once again, Alvin's voice was becoming distant and dark. "To spend time with the nerd and to keep her motivation up, she would come over to the house to work on a project with him. She never told Simon what it was or who it was for, but she asked for his assistance. Him, being the weirdo that he was, could never turn down a chance to fiddle with chemicals. She would watch him, with wide eyes, giving him one piece of information, never the whole picture. She would smirk to herself. She probably thought, in her own sick and twisted mind, that he looked…cute…slumped over a test tube, none-the-wiser that the problem he was putting his heart and soul into was destined for…"

"Just…just stop. I get it. You have some sort of explanation for it. I'll pay you to just stop."

"How much?"

"Alvin! If you're so dead set on this, then let's get going! It's getting late." Brittany stood up in a huff, adjusting her clothing and staring at him with her ice blue eyes. This was just getting weird and things were beginning to click with her as to why Alvin was as dirty and beat up as he was. She stared at him for a moment. "Alvin, before we go, go wash up." She pointed towards the bathroom.

"Yea," Theodore nodded and Eleanor moved to him to push him out of the room. "You're starting to smell."

"And I am not going to dash all over the stupid town with a rag-a-muffin like you!"

Alvin was obeying, having to agree with everyone and kind of remembering his ordeals when he popped back into the room. "Rag-a-muffin!? Who are you calling a rag-a-muffin? I'll have you know that I am the most wanted rock star in all the world. Woman worship the ground I walk on. You should count yourself lucky that I'm even your friend." Alvin nodded with certainty before walking out of the room with his head held high. He turned back to peak back into the room. "What's a rag-a-muffin?"

He got back two glares and a wide-eyed stare and a small towel thrown in his face. He shrugged, took the little washcloth in his hand and went to the bathroom. It wasn't as if he had never been in the Miller bathroom before. It had just been a while. It just reeked of girl. There were perfumes, little bottles of cosmetics, hairbrushes, hair spray and other little bottles. He assumed most of it was Brittany's. He picked up a bottle of perfume and sprayed it liberally. It smelled pretty good.

The day was long enough and he moved to turn on the faucet when a little white bottle caught his eye. He looked at it and smiled, peaking back over his shoulder and out into the hallway. He could hear the girls and Theodore talking with each other from the other room. He looked back at the bottle. Then he glanced back over to the door again. This would really make Brittany mad. But he needed her help. One the other hand, this would be so great. Yet, she probably wouldn't want to have anything to do with Alvin for the rest of the night. And she kind of had a point. They actually got something accomplished after the girls showed up.

It was a long, inside conversation he had. He knew he shouldn't try to fight a helping hand, but he had a rough day. He glanced into the mirror to see his bruised cheek. He touched it tenderly. Scratch that, it was a very rough day. He needed something to lighten things up and that smell, now wafting around the room, just edged him on. With a nod of his head, he had decided. That bewitching woman had been too kind for too long. She was way too sympathetic with their plight. He was going for it. He'd deal with the repercussions afterwards. Besides, even if she did toss them out, they would still have all of the next morning to figure out the Simon thing with her help.

He picked up the bottle that he sprayed and with quick steps, trying to hide the smile on his face, he peaked into the girl's room. "Brittany, what's this?" He showed Brittany's perfume.

Brittany looked at him angry. "Why are you nosing around in the bathroom? Just wash your hands and face so we can get going!"

He nodded and shook the bottle out in front of him. "I know, I know. But seriously, what is this?"

Brittany sighed and put her head in her hand. "It's perfume, Alvin."

Alvin uncapped it and sprayed it again. "Ah," he said as Brittany called after him in anger at wasting her perfume. He smiled. This was going to be good. He went back into the bathroom and then grabbed another random bottle. He looked at it and nodded. He went back into the bedroom.

"Hey, what's this?" he showed the next bottle.

"Will you just get cleaned up!?" Alvin just shook the bottle at her. She sighed.

"Waterless shampoo." He nodded his head, opened the cap, and smelled it before walking back out of the room. He went and grabbed the next bottle. He thought about washing his hands at least, but that was giving in, and it was too early to give her anything that she wanted just yet. She just knew her too well.

"And this?"

"Now I'm getting annoyed!" Eleanor cried out. Theodore was just watching Alvin with curious eyes. But Alvin seemed legitimately sincere about his curiosity. Brittany glanced at the bottle.

"Apple Raspberry body spray. And before you say anything, yes, it's different from perfume."

Alvin uncapped it and sprayed it liberally again before walking out, hearing Brittany yell at him again. Her tone was getting up there. It was a mixture between annoyance and fatigue. She was almost there. She was almost to the point he needed her to be at. Just a few more visits, and he should have his results.

"Brittany?"

"It's eyeliner, Alvin! Eyeliner!"

"Ah."

He disappeared into the bathroom and reached for the next random thing. It wasn't important what he was reaching for now. At the fourth visit, he barely had to open his mouth. Brittany spat out the answer and then demanded him to just wash his hands if he was just going to goof off.

"Yo, what is…."

"Hairspray!"

This was it. She was ready. He had to think about what he was doing again as we went into the bathroom for the last time for his little prank. This was really going to get Brittany mad. But this was so much fun. And the climax was coming up. He reached for the little white bottle with a smirk, adjusted his hat, finally, and returned back into the room.

"Zit cream!"

There it was. Alvin smirked at her and she just looked at him with the most interesting angry/humiliated face. She was pinned. All that was left was the final blow. "Bottle's almost empty. You must use a lot of it."

Priceless. Simply priceless. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius was absolutely child's play compared to the eruption of Brittany Miller. In a whirlwind of screams, insults, and shoving, both boys and a rabbit quickly found themselves standing on the Miller front porch, looking at the street ahead of them. Alvin had the most satisfied smile on his face. Theodore was just plan confused. One moment they were talking about what to do with Simon, and the next Brittany went into one of her moods, there was a lot of fear, and they were standing on the porch with no chipettes. All that Theodore could manage to know was that Alvin had done it.

"Why did you do that, Alvin?"

"Hm? What did you say?" Alvin was lost in his moment and wasn't really paying attention to anything at all. He was replaying the whole thing in his mind. The way that Brittany looked, the actions that she took, how he managed to control her every emotion with every one of his actions. He could see her eyes flare with the fire that just made her Brittany. Her hair just moved so elegantly with her body as she was storming against whatever was in her path. And he just loved being in that path. It honestly felt like all of his tension left his body in one quick moment, and everything in the world was sunshine and lollipops. So he didn't really hear Theodore.

"Why did you do that to Brittany, Alvin? That was mean." Theodore hugged Simon and looked down at the bunny. "And you have the same thing at home."

Alvin sighed. His moment was gone and reality came crashing back on him. He told himself that he would deal with whatever came of it, but when he actually had to deal with it, he was now pretty sorry. He didn't actually believe that Brittany would abandon them. It was a chance, but not that much of one. And now, here they were. They had three places that Jeanette could be at, one that was completely unknown to all of them, and the other only the chipette's knew about, and Simon was still a rabbit. With a pink ribbon.

Slowly, Alvin moved forward and sat on the steps, not wanting to look at his brothers. Theodore just followed. "Theo, to tell you the truth, I knew that was a bad idea. But you have no idea how Britt makes me feel! Don't get me wrong, I like seeing her happy. She…well, she has a great smile and she is really a caring person. The more that goes on today, the more that I'm beginning to see that…I guess that I don't deserve to be with the people that I'm with. Everyone is so great and nice…and I'm, well, I'm not. I like knowing that I can get under her skin like that. I can get her so angry with me so easily, and, man, if you only saw what I could see when she does get mad, then you'd know exactly why I do what I do. Besides, having it and using it are two different things."

"You do use it, Alvin."

Alvin chuckled a little. "No I don't."

"Yea, you kind of do."

"Whatever. She's just to set on her looks that she flares up so easily! That makes me happy. Period."

"So you pick on her because you like her."

Alvin had to stop. Yea, he liked her. They shared a lot of things with each other. They were each other's Valentine's every year. They had plays with each other. They shared a very special kiss. But was his like really the cause of his teasing? He had to admit, all the other girls just didn't interest him like she did. And she was really the only girl out there that knew him as well as she did. And that didn't bother him.

"Yea. I guess I do." He relied quietly, looking deep.

"Kindergarteners do that."

Alvin turned his head and glared at his younger brother. "This is why I don't have heart-to-hearts with you guys. I open up and you ridicule me." Theodore just shrank back. He thought it was kind of cute that Alvin really liked Brittany, even after all the years that they knew each other and even when Brittany was frighteningly mad and the two were fighting. He also couldn't help but smile at how Alvin said about a year ago that he had no time for just one girl when he obviously always had time for Brittany.

Just then, the door opened up behind them and a still angry Brittany and a happy Eleanor came out of the house, wearing heavier jackets and holding a cord. She looked at Alvin with sharp eyes, and he just looked back at her, basking in the glow of her anger, wondering what she was going to say. "I'm not heartless and I can't stand to leave Simon in your hands. So we're coming with you. But don't you dare speak to me, Seville, you got that?"

Theodore got up and went over to Eleanor. Apparently, at some point during the visit, she had done some research and found out that there were leashes for rabbits. She did a little work and was able to fashion a make-shift one for Simon. She and Theodore had concluded that Simon needed something else if they were going to take him anywhere. A shopping bag, alone, wasn't going to cut it.

Brittany just watched as Alvin seemed to put on a charming smile, feeling the warmth in his heart from her never-ending forgiveness. Even while being furious with Alvin, she still wanted to help and nothing that she said would convince him that it was just for Simon. It was for him, too. She truly was a really great friend to put up with his antics. He nodded to her, but had to put in one last thing. "Hide them with concealer, too?"

And the whole neighborhood lost its peace for a moment or two.