As Theodore and Eleanor make their way back to the detention room, hand in hand, Eleanor stresses about her sisters.

"What if they get mad?"

'Why would they, Ellie… they know how much we care about each other, and they'll be happy for us…you know how Brittany's been hinting that I should ask you out since the sixth grade…'

"That was BEFORE you and your brothers became public enemies number 1, 2 and 3…"

'I thought Brittany was the dramatic sister…'

"She is… but it's in the genes…"

'Ellie… you don't regret kissing me?' Theodore looks dismayed at the sudden thought. Stopping short, Eleanor looks into his eyes and squeezes his hand gently.

"Of course not… Theo, you have no idea how much I needed that kiss…"

'I think I have a pretty good idea…' Theodore looks seriously into her big brown eyes, smiling slightly. Despite the tension he knows they're about to experience with her sisters, he's never been happier. His brothers, he knew would be supportive of their relationship, and with Eleanor by his side, he could face almost anything, even Brittany's wrath. They catch up as they walk, giggling and cooing and hardly taking note of their surroundings when…

SMACK!

Four confused chipmunks are lying on the ground. Eleanor gapes at the entwined hands of the couple she has just bumped into; if she's not very much mistaken, she's not the only sister whose 'betrayed' Brittany.

"I see you're over your anti-chipmunk phase…" Eleanor teases Jeanette with an uncharacteristic smirk.

'I- I… oh ok… I am…' Jeanette looks at her sister and Simon with burning cheeks, and a smile that Eleanor hasn't seen in years.

"You realize Britt is going to kill us… you in particular as she thought you were on her side…"

'Ellie… we CAN'T tell her… she'll have another breakdown…' Jeanette's dreamy stupor seems to have lifted, as she looks at her sister with horror. Theodore squeezes Eleanor's hand in reassurance, while Simon is simply surprised; he doesn't see what business it was of Brittany's who her sisters chose to date. When he says as much, the chipettes look at him in horror.

"Simon… do you KNOW what she went through when Alvin left…"

'She was a mess! Right before she started dating Reuben, there was a period of time when she completely lost it… she would just break down into sobs in the middle of the school hall…'

"After she got together with Reuben… she was a little better… on the outside…"

'But she STILL cried herself to sleep at night…'

"You KNEW about that?" Eleanor is surprised; she'd thought Jeanette had been too wrapped up in her quest to become the top student in the world to notice her sisters' obvious anguish…

'Yeah… I may have been… preoccupied… but that never meant I stopped caring, Ellie…about you AND Brittany…' Jeanette looks at her sister apologetically. 'I was just trying to keep afloat myself… and I didn't know what I could do for anyone else… I'm so sorry, Ellie…' Jeanette looks at her shoes, while Simon puts his arm around her, giving her shoulders a reassuring squeeze. Jeanette is surprised when she suddenly feels her sister's arms around her, gripping her in a bear hug.

"You're back…" Eleanor says simply when she pulls away, smiling as brightly as she had a few moments ago after her first kiss with Theodore. Seeing her sister smile, Jeanette feels a lump forming in her throat, as she reaches out and gives her baby sister another hug.

'I don't even care what Britt says… I'm just happy to have my little sister back…' Jeanette and Eleanor are about to give each other a third hug when Simon clears his throat to get their attention.

"I SERIOUSLY doubt Brittany is going to have a problem with you two making up with us…considering her tongue is practically jammed down my brother's throat as we speak…" Simon gestures towards the glass pane on the door of the detention room. Jeanette and Eleanor practically knock him over as they jostle to see for themselves.

'I knew Alvin was charming but I had no idea he was a miracle worker.' Jeanette deadpans, secretly thrilled at the rare opportunity to tease her sister.

"Do you REALLY think we should go in there and interrupt?" Theodore is reluctant. He knows how much his brother had missed Brittany while they were away, and after Eleanor's account, he's aware that Brittany had probably missed him just as much, if not more. Besides, if anyone had interrupted his first kiss with Eleanor earlier, he knew he would have been upset, and Alvin Seville was not known for being able to control his temper.

"It's either that or a month of Saturday detentions for all of us, if Talbot catches us out here…" Simon is, as usual, the rational one. Stealthily, Jeanette opens the door, the creak of the doorknob turning unnoticed by the couple in the room. The four chipmunks tiptoe into the room and close the door, before Simon coughs loudly, causing their older siblings to break apart, blushing furiously.

'Took you guys long enough… man Britt and I would have found her and brought her back ages ago…' Alvin grins at his brothers, noticing Theodore's tearstained shirt, and casting a reassuring smile at Eleanor.

"It looks like you managed to entertain yourself while we were gone, anyway…" Simon's voice is dry.

'You were probably doing the same thing…' Alvin grins mischievously as his brother begins to turn red and stammer.

"What… h-how did you know… I mean… ahem…" Simon is flustered, and inexplicably shy.

'I just don't think cherry pink lip gloss is your color…' Alvin points to his brother's lips cheekily as Theodore starts to laugh, and Simon looks mortified. Brittany, meanwhile, has adjusted her hair and primly made her way towards her sisters, giggling with Eleanor as Jeanette blushes furiously.

"I take it you two are officially together?" Brittany asks her sister who blushes harder in confusion – nothing had actually been said about them being a couple.

"Yes, we are… that is… if Jeanette wants it…" Simon smoothly answers, earning a shy smile from Jeanette that makes his heart thump wildly.

'Not going to seal it with a kiss?' Alvin looks at the new couple in question cheekily, watching their cheeks redden further.

"What about you… are you and Brittany going out now?" Simon is desperate to change the subject. It isn't that he wasn't secretly dying for another kiss from Jeanette; he was just a very private person and knew Jeanette to be the same.

'hmmm… I'm not sure if she'd want to go out with an ugly mug that lowers the school property value, right Britt?' Alvin looks at her with a lopsided grin, his heart rate accelerating as her eyes flash.

"Alvin Seville you BETTER ask me out RIGHT NOW or- " Brittany is unable to complete her threat, as she is interrupted by the booming voice of their principal.