Chapter as promised, a bit late but hey life is life and I forgot :p

I will keep you no longer! Enjoy!

A

So Simon was once again off the trail.

Alvin could continue his usual nightmares in… peace.

He could also be quite proud of Theodore, which was a relief and a calming thought. The youngest, naivest of the three was doing okay – especially if Simon had decided to come to Alvin about it rather than Theodore.

And, through it all, Alvin managed to share a tender moment with Simon. Even if it wasn't the kind of affection Alvin really hoped for… it was still nice.

That had been a week ago now, though. Not much had happened between them since. Not… not much at all, actually. It was both a shame and a relief. Alvin shrugged it off as Simon trusting him about what he and Theodore were hiding from him.

So he should: it was for his own good.

There was no way Simon could gain any pros from knowing his older brother thought of him the way he did. Alvin was doing him the biggest favour in the world.

And hats off to Theodore, who was acting less weird about it, therefore keeping the secret well concealed. He barely came across as awkward, now, during family meals or movies. The only time he was a little off was when the three brothers were alone, and he regularly excused himself from the room with ridiculous little excuses like "I need some fresh air" or "I'm hungry, so I'm going to go watch TV".

That was his latest one, that afternoon, as he moved out.

Unusually, Simon didn't follow him.

Simon had been doing that each time, but it didn't seem very suspicious. More that, once Theodore found something to do, he did as well. Like the calm in the room had been stirred. Even Alvin stopped doing what he had been doing, finding something else to think about or do.

But, no, this time Simon was staying put.

Alvin glanced as inconspicuously as he could at his younger brother, taking every opportunity he could just to look at him. As was the norm.

He blushed and turned back to his comic when Simon caught him looking. He didn't see that Simon was blushing just as hard.

'So, Simon,' Alvin piped up, going through a routine casual tone. 'What are you working on these days?' He faked focus by flipping his page over. 'You're down in your basement a lot more than usual…'

'Not really,' Simon insisted in an odd curt voice. 'I've been working as much as I usually do.'

Alvin frowned at the tone, it threw him off a bit. 'Alright…' he tried to stop feeling awkward. It'd never really been this hard before. 'What are you working on?'

Simon was staring hard at his textbook. 'A… i-it's a surprise.' He insisted. 'For… the Science Fair.' He hadn't been working on anything, to be honest. Just minor little things, like school assignments or homework. Not like the usual projects.

'The Science Fair…' Alvin repeated, getting slightly sceptical. 'You mean the one that was two months ago? Unless it's a time machine, Si, I'd say you're way too eager.'

'I like science.' Simon pointed out. It was amazing how these two could converse without even taking their eyes of their books. 'I thought you would have picked up on that by now.' He added with a small double-meaning.

Alvin nodded. 'Yeah, but… you're working on something for next year?'

Simon blew out a breath. 'Why do you care so much?' He returned, staring even harder at his book, hoping that sentence had come out with more bite than desperation.

'I was just trying to have a conversation.' Alvin replied evenly. 'Since we've hardly spoken since last week.' He shifted his sapphire eyes to Simon again. 'Are you still mad at me for that secret Theo and I were keeping from you?' He felt his stomach flip just thinking about the way Simon had forced the small confession from him. He knew Simon could get the whole thing out of him if the intellectual boy tried hard enough.

'No.' Simon promised. 'You're obviously doing it for my own good.' He bit his lip, trying so hard not to break cover by sounding bitter. In a way, Alvin had been doing him a favour. But he stood by that he should have known from the start.

Alvin closed the comic he was reading gently and placed it down, curiosity getting the better of him – too much, he knew. He could make Simon pry again by interrogating his younger brother. 'Why are you acting so passive?'

Simon turned his page, but Alvin could see that his grey eyes weren't travelling. 'I'm trying to do some research.' He insisted. 'Is that a problem?'

'Oh, come on, Si,' Alvin scoffed, 'we both know you don't need to do any research. You know everything. Especially in Physics.'

'I have a question,' Simon piped up, the bitter tone slightly seeping out. 'Might I ask why you're calling me "Si" even though you're annoyed at me?'

Alvin flushed, glad Simon still wasn't looking at him. 'I guess I'm trying not to be annoyed.'

Simon saw the blush out of the corner of his eye. 'I didn't realise reading a textbook was a crime, now.' He went on regardless, still in that eerily civil voice.

'Si, I –' Alvin cursed himself. 'Simon… what are you trying to do?' He questioned, pressing for this despite his brain warning him not to. 'Are you trying to trick me into telling you about that secret again?'

'That secret…' Simon let out a slight, hostile chuckle. 'You're bringing it up more than I thought you would. Do you want me to keep trying? You know I could find out eventually.'

Alvin quickly told himself to shut up. 'You're just acting… off.' He insisted.

Simon nodded down to his book. 'Because you're an expert on how I act, now. Aren't you?' He allowed the knowing tone.

'What's that supposed to mean?' Alvin felt his heartbeat quicken, but he wasn't sure why.

'It's called a sarcastic insult, Alvin.' Simon turned the page again, still not actually reading it. 'It's not unusual from me.'

Alvin found himself glaring at Simon. It was either this or desperation, and he knew where desperation was going to lead him. He just felt so angry – he knew Simon was up to something with that tone, the way he didn't look at Alvin, the way he seemed to be mocking his older brother.

Simon blew out a breath. 'I take it you're done harassing me?'

'Why aren't you looking at me, Simon?' Alvin demanded in a scarily even tone.

'Aw, what happened to "Si"?'

Alvin stood from his bed, his hands clenching into fists. 'I'm not joking, Simon, stop pretending to read and look me in the eye for once.'

Simon chuckled. 'Why should I?'

'I thought you said that's how we can trust each other.' Alvin stated.

'Yeah… that was nice, for you, wasn't it?' Simon went on. 'Just you and I alone in your room… admitting we love each other…'

Alvin suddenly wrenched the textbook from Simon's hands, tossing it behind him and glaring dangerously at his brother. 'Why did you say it like that?' He demanded, his voice raising. 'What has that got to do with anything? Simon, what do you know?'

Simon casually met Alvin's gaze, the slightest trace of a smile over his lips. 'I told you, Alvin: I trust that it's a secret for my own good.'

'What do you know?!' Alvin exclaimed, his arms on either side of Simon, pinning him to the bed.

'Get off me.' Simon said evenly, containing the fear he was beginning to feel at Alvin's trap. His eyes kept a lock with Alvin's. 'Now.'

Alvin did so almost immediately, backing away from Simon and shaking his head. 'You don't know anything.' He "realised". 'You're just doing it again, aren't you? Tricking me, so I'll tell you. You're making me think I need to start explaining myself. Well, I'm not falling for it.'

Simon sat up again, narrowing his eyes at his brother. 'You've got me all figured out, haven't you?'

'If you really knew what it was about, th-then…' Alvin shook his head again. 'Then you'd understand. I don't have you figured out. At all. As far as I know, you might already know what's going on. You might have known it for months, that's why our fighting has been so bad…' his words softened. 'If you really knew what was going on… you would… you'd know that… I'm sorry.' He felt his eyes gloss, and he hesitated before bolting out of the room.

S

Simon was cursing himself for being that close to a confrontation.

Alvin was actually more right that the alleged intellectual brother liked to admit: Simon didn't understand. And not just in the "why the heck does he have feelings for me" way, but he didn't even know the details, what started it, how long it had been going on for, what Alvin's intentions or feelings about it were.

He'd have to know these things before pelting Alvin with scathing remarks, as he had that afternoon.

So now, two days later, after rejecting the invitation to watch Alvin's basketball game, Simon was quite free to start doing some more tactical prodding. This time: on inanimate objects.

Like a diary.

That would have been the best way. But Simon should have expected Alvin not to keep one, when he wound up empty-handed after searching Alvin's nightstand.

Simon sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He wondered if being this obsessed was healthy, if he should in fact just let it be. Alvin certainly seemed to be able to do it, and he was the one in lo – with feelings…

'He had to have written something about it somewhere…' Simon murmured to himself as he scanned Alvin's niche of the room. It's not exactly easy to deal with… maybe now, but I imagine he would have had to confide in something at first…

He pursed his lips before kneeling down to peer under Alvin's bed.

'Into the abyss…' he scoffed, noting all the strewn schoolbooks, the stack of Math books –

Hang on.

'Why does he have so many?' Simon pulled out the pile of three 96-page workbooks. He figured the one on the bottom was the oldest and slid that one onto his lap first, opening it carefully, a little scared of what he'd find.

Ah, I forgot this was a mild cliffhanger... maybe I'll post the next chapter tomorrow if I find the time :)

Until then, my friends - if you haven't watched the leaked episodes of the new show, you should get on that because Simon's sass is on-point and he and Alvin fight like they're a married couple again XD

I'll stop ranting now...