Thanks for all the reviews; they've really helped me assess the story and are spurring me on.

Simon and Jeanette don't seem to be getting along. With Jeremy getting involved in Alvin and Brittany's relationship issues, it can only get tougher for the six of them.


School had ended for the day, the assembly was a success for the team; they had gotten the events that they had all voted for. But the assembly was accompanied by an unwelcome sight for Alvin; Brittany was becoming close friends with Jeremy, and this was almost heartbreaking to see.

On arriving home, Alvin headed for the bedroom and closed the door behind him for privacy. The others saw this and had mixed emotions on the matter. Brittany was completely unsympathetic as she walked into the living room to watch television. Theodore and Eleanor looked concerned as usual, as they stood with Simon and Jeanette in the hallway near the front door.

"Poor Alvin." Jeanette said.

"I hope he's okay." Eleanor added.

"He'll be okay," Simon said, "This is Alvin we're talking about."

"But he's never been this upset before." Theodore reasoned.

"I'll go and see if he's okay in there." Jeanette decided.

"Thanks Jeanette." Theodore said, relieved that someone was trying to keep the situation under control.

Jeanette knocked on the bedroom door, before entering and closing it behind her. Looking around the room appeared empty, but she had a hunch that Alvin would be sat on his bed. Jeanette climbed up the bunk beds and hopped onto Alvin's bed, and just as she had thought; he was lay down staring up at the ceiling. Jeanette's presence startled him, as she approached; he sat up to see what she wanted.

"Hi Alvin." Jeanette greeted friendly, sitting down next to him. He smiled back, happy to see that she was still on his side of the issue. "I came to see if you were okay, Theo and Elle are worried about you." She explained.

"I'm okay." Alvin replied looking and sounding deflated. She sat and looked at him for a second before replying.

"You definitely don't look okay." She analysed.

"I'm glad that somebody cares." Alvin said. "It's not like I deserve it though." He returned to his despairing mood, looking down at the bed, not wanting to make eye contact with Jeanette.

She was looking at him, concerned at his outbreak of depression that was beginning to set in. Jeanette knew that depression could be hard to shake off, from reading about it in a book, and didn't want Alvin to proceed into its spiral.

"Don't be so hard on yourself." She comforted.

Simon was not as sympathetic as Jeanette, and was not feeling much compassion for his older brother, after all Alvin was the one who started the whole ordeal. Theodore and Eleanor were determined to get him to help, they knew that Simon was their only chance of reuniting Alvin and Brittany, as Jeanette was already trying her best.

"We need Alvin and Brittany back together for the team." Theodore said.

"Jeremy is trying to outsmart us by luring Britt away from the team." Eleanor reasoned, attempting to pressure Simon into helping them. "I didn't think he was that smart, we won't stand a chance in the competition."

"He isn't that smart." Simon disagreed.

"Well he's breaking up our team," Theodore pointed out, "So he must be clever."

"I can see what you two are trying to do," Simon replied, "I don't want to be dragged into this mess."

Theodore and Eleanor stood looking at him with their sad faces on, after frowning at the two of them for a few seconds Simon gave in.

"Okay fine. I'll help, but I'm not doing it on my own." Simon reasoned. "We'll go talk to Brittany and find out why she's hanging around with Jeremy. Okay?"

The two of them nodded, putting on a smile of approval, Simon headed for Brittany in the living room. Theodore and Eleanor gave each other a high-five, while Simon wasn't looking, before heading for the living room as well.

The three of them sat on the sofa across from Brittany, who was sat on a chair happily watching television.

"Hi Brittany," Eleanor greeted as she made herself comfortable.

"Hi," Brittany replied, "What's up?"

"Nothing." Theodore said.

"I can tell that you three want something, because you are acting suspicious." Brittany explained.

"To tell you the truth," Simon confessed, "We were a little curious about you and Jeremy." Brittany frowned at the three of them.

"What of it?" She asked.

"Well, how come he's being friendly towards you all of a sudden?" Simon enquired.

"He just wanted to make sure that I was okay, unlike other people I know." Brittany answered, referring to Alvin.

"It seems as if Jeremy has had an eye on you ever since the break up. Don't you think it's more than a coincidence that this is happening right before the competition?" Simon interrogated.

"No. For your information; Jeremy is kind and caring, and he understands what I'm going through." Brittany replied with an air of frustration.

"Sorry Britt. We just wondered what was going on between you and Jeremy." Eleanor explained.

"It's okay, we're just friends, that's all." Brittany replied.

"It's just that he is on the jocks team, and he might be planning something." Theodore reasoned.

"Don't worry, he's just being friendly, he's not plotting anything." Brittany reassured, laughing off the thought of Jeremy trying to trick her.

Simon, Theodore and Eleanor looked at each other uneasily, Brittany was acting much happier than she was this morning, and she didn't even consider that Jeremy could be using her as part of a plan to win the competition.

Later that evening, at the dinner table, the six of them were sat with Dave and had just finished their dinners. Well everyone except Alvin, who had hardly eaten a thing. It was clear that he was upset; his plate was usually empty, but lately he had lost his appetite. Brittany, on the other hand, was happier and acting all upbeat, a complete transformation from her mood earlier in the day. Dave was keeping an eye on the two of them as he began to collect all the dishes from the table. He was curious as to why Brittany was so happy all of a sudden, and why Alvin was looking even more downtrodden than the last time he saw him. But he knew that it would be best for him to keep out of the matter, as it could have more disastrous effects.

Dave took all the dishes into the kitchen and cleared the table, Theodore and Eleanor went into the kitchen to help him.

Alvin returned to the bedroom, Jeanette soon followed, and Brittany returned to the living room to watch some more television. Simon was left to his own devises, and decided to go see what Theodore and Eleanor were up to in the kitchen.

"Thanks for the help you two." Dave said appreciatively as he loaded up the dishwasher. "Do you know what's up with Alvin and Brittany?"

"Brittany is friends with one of the boys on the jock team." Eleanor answered.

"So that's why she seemed happier." Dave said.

"But we think that he is being friends with Brittany because of the competition." Theodore explained. At that moment in time, Simon entered the kitchen and jumped up onto the counter.

"Does Simon agree with you two?" Dave quizzed.

"Yes." Theodore replied. "Right Simon?"

"It is suspicious that he's decided to make such a move with the competition approaching." Simon summarised.

"What does Brittany think?" Dave asked curiously, as he finished loading the dishwasher and turned it on.

"She doesn't believe us." Eleanor said, "She's too stubborn to listen."

"Maybe you should approach the situation from a different angle." Dave suggested. Theodore and Eleanor were confused, they didn't understand what he was talking about.

"I suppose you mean to say that we shouldn't gang up and interrogate her," Simon said, deciphering Dave's advice so that Theodore and Eleanor could understand.

"You're the smartest out of all of us, Simon." Eleanor said, "Maybe you could talk to her."

"Don't go dragging me into this alone." Simon protested.

"But you are the only one that Brittany will listen to seriously." Theodore reasoned.

"We really need to work as a team on this one, it's for the best." Dave encouraged.

At hearing Dave side with Theodore and Eleanor, Simon knew that he would have to agree.

"Okay, I suppose you're right, I'll go talk to Brittany, alone." Simon said, emphasising the word 'alone'.

"Thanks for helping, Simon." Dave acknowledged, "We need all the help we can get."

In the bedroom, Alvin was sat on the edge of his bunk bed staring at the floor. Jeanette was sat on the edge of her own bunk, looking up at him whilst trying to figure out her next step. She suddenly remembered about the night at the fast food restaurant, and how Alvin and Brittany were really close.

"Alvin?" Jeanette said getting his attention; he looked up from the floor.

"Yes," He replied flatly.

"Do you remember the night that we went to the diner?" Jeanette enquired.

"Sure. Why?" Alvin answered.

"Well, how did you feel?" She asked.

"Great. We were getting along so well, I was so happy." Alvin said smiling, reliving the memories in his mind, giving him a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

"I remember seeing you two acting all cute, and I was talking to the rest of the guys." Jeanette said recalling the memory. "I remember saying that you two were 'taking a leaf out of Theo and Elle's book', because you were getting along."

"You were all watching?" Alvin asked, embarrassed at the prospect.

"Yes, and I think that the whole diner experience holds the key to your relationship." Jeanette explained.

"Really?" Alvin asked, suddenly all enthusiastic at the chance of reigniting his relationship with Brittany.

"If you try to act as you did at the diner, then Britt might reconsider her stance on the matter." Jeanette proposed.

"It's worth a shot." Alvin agreed.

Back in the living room, Simon approached the sofa and sat next to Brittany, who was still watching television.

"Brittany?" Simon asked, trying to get her attention.

"Yes." She replied happily.

"I want to talk to you seriously for a moment." Simon said.

"About what?" She asked.

"About this whole ordeal over the last few days and your friendship with Jeremy," Simon outlined.

"What of it?" Brittany said.

"I don't think that Jeremy is being as honest as he is leading you to believe." Simon explained.

"And what makes you say that?" Brittany asked, becoming quite defensive on the matter.

"He is befriending you just before the competition, and he hasn't approached or even met you before." Simon answered.

"He's just really friendly, that's all, it's just a coincidence that it's nearly competition time." Brittany protested.

"Or, he has cleverly plotted it with the jock team and is trying to stir the competition up in their favour." Simon replied. "I have experienced Jeremy's friendly facade, and unfortunately fallen for his deviance."

"He wouldn't do that." Brittany answered.

"Well he did. I was humiliated by his antics with the jocks, and I don't want you to suffer the same fate." Simon explained thoughtfully.

This gave Brittany something to think about, she didn't want to believe that she was part of a big scheme of the jocks, but Simon had already experienced one of Jeremy's cunning plans and she didn't want to be made a fool of.

"I just thought that he was trying to be friendly, and caring." Brittany explained protesting her innocence.

"Well, there's someone in there trying to do the same." Simon answered, pointing in the direction of the bedroom.

"Alvin?" Brittany asked curiously.

"Yes." Simon answered bluntly.

"Really?" Brittany questioned suspiciously.

"Really." Simon replied seriously.

Brittany was taken aback by this, she hadn't realised that Alvin had been trying to patch things up between them. She had been too preoccupied with the prospect of his continuous neglect, to notice his efforts to make amends for his earlier mistakes.

"I think you should give him another chance." Simon suggested.

"I have been harsh on him lately," Brittany agreed, realising what she had been doing. "You're right; I should try and give him another chance."

The two of them got up from the sofa and headed for the bedroom.

"Thanks for all the advice, Jeanette," Alvin said, as he jumped down of his bed, in the direction of the door.

"I just think that you two should be together, and it's for the good of the team." Jeanette explained, as she carefully climbed down the ladders from her bunk bed, and walked to join him.

"These last few days, you've been the only one who's stood by me." Alvin said appreciatively. "Unlike Simon."

"Simon just knows you too well to believe otherwise." Jeanette defended.

"Thank you for being such a caring friend," Alvin said, turning and approaching with a small tear in the corner of his eye.

Alvin leaned in and hugged her, putting his arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder. Jeanette didn't know how to react to this unexpected turn of events, Alvin was visibly upset and was probably flooding with emotions; causing him to break down. All she could do was comfort him by putting a reassuring arm around him. Jeanette had never known Alvin to be this fragile, his true feelings were surfacing through pure desperation. He wanted to make up with Brittany and was so lonely without her.

Jeanette heard the sound of the bedroom door opening, and looked up to see Simon and Brittany stood in the doorway, speechless. Jeanette gasped in surprise and immediately let go of Alvin, who continued to hug her. Simon and Brittany's reactions were identical; they both took in what was in front of them before their shocked expressions turned to anger. Jeanette didn't know what to do, she was in an uncomfortable situation and froze to the spot out of pure fright. Simon and Brittany both stormed out of the room, leaving Alvin and Jeanette alone in the bedroom. Jeanette knew that this wasn't going to go down well with the two of them.


Things aren't looking good for their relationships, and with less than a week until the competition starts, they have it all to do.

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Thanks for reading.