In Their Hearts

Alright, people...

Here's the chapter that you've been waiting for...

Enjoy! ^^

Chapter 4: The Truth

"Theodore," Eleanor began as the three walked over to him. "You need to tell us what the fight was about…"

"I-I can't…" Theodore answered quietly.

"Why, Theodore?" Brittany asked.

"Because… this whole thing started because I told something that I shouldn't have…" Theodore cried.

"But, Theodore," Eleanor began. "This is starting to get dangerous… who knows what those two will do to each other if they meet again… maybe if you tell us, we can help…"

"But…" Theodore stammered, but sighed in defeat. "I guess that I have no choice…"

Theodore took a deep breath before continuing.

"It all started ten years ago in our senior year…" Theodore began, taking a long breath.

The three chipettes knew that it was going to be a long story, so they picked up three of the chairs that were scattered around the room and placed them around Theodore before sitting down, ready and eager for Theodore to continue.

-Flashback- Theodore's P.O.V

It was during our last week… it like any other day, the sun was out, kids were anxious to get out of school, everything seemed peaceful…

All except for one thing… Alvin and Simon were fighting, yet again. At the time, I didn't think much of it. In fact, I was pretty used to it at that point. They had been fighting all through senior year, and it didn't come as much of a surprise to me that they were up to it again. But something was different… this fight seemed a bit more dangerous than the others… but, even so, I didn't try to get in-between them. I just stood on the sidelines and let them dispute with each other.

I may not have all of the details right, but it seems as if their latest fight had started with a simple argument on who was going to do more with their lives… and that tension eventually grew with more and more petty arguments between them. It would be the same each time… as soon as they were about to apologize to each other, something or someone would spark another argument and it would seem as if that apology became more and more out of reach.

But, as I said, I tried my hardest to not get involved. I learned my lesson. Every other time that I would try to stop them or get involved, I was always sucked into the middle of their arguments, and eventually, I got sick of it. They'd always try to make me choose their side and they would stop at nothing to do it, even if it came down to bribery.

So, I watched their fight and as the weeks flew by and our graduation came closer and closer, their argument was as kept strong as ever. Many different arguments erupted between the two in the weeks, but the last little one that I remember was that they were competing over who had the better girlfriend. But, during our last week, two days before the actual last day of school, I created a problem of my own.

Every since our freshman year, I've been dating Eleanor, and ever since my freshman year, I've known and I've constantly been reminded of the huge graduation party that the seniors are being thrown the actual night of graduation. We both discussed it plenty of times, and we both agreed that we didn't want to go to a huge party and that we'd rather go on a date with each other, alone.

But one day, I over-hear one of Eleanor's friends talking about how Eleanor really wants to go to the party even though I don't and how she's upset because of it. So, I started thinking of a way that I could ask Eleanor to the party without making it seem obvious that I knew that she wanted to go.

At the time, Eleanor and I had a good relationship; it was a strong, but shy. At that point, we hadn't even shared our first true kiss and I didn't want it to be in large group of people, but I was willing to do it to make her happy. But, I was obviously nervous about the whole subject. So, I decided to go to Dave after my brothers and I got home from school.

As Alvin parked our family car in the driveway, I literally had two books in my hands and pressed against my ears in a futile attempt to drown out the sound of Alvin and Simon's constant bickering. As soon as the car stopped moving, I quickly opened the door of the car, got out, and closed it afterwards. As I walked up the porch stairs of our house, I took a glance behind me and noticed that my brothers hadn't even noticed that I had left. Aggravation now fueling me, I opened the front door and dropped my backpack on the living room couch.

"Dave?" I called out.

I didn't see his personal car in the driveway, so I wasn't sure if he was home, or not. I needed someone to talk to. Someone to discuss my feelings about Eleanor with, and while I'd rather talk to either Alvin or Simon about the issue, I decided that they probably wouldn't be able to keep calm long enough to talk to me. So, with all other options out, I decided to seek Dave out.

"Dave?" I called out again, slightly louder than the first.

I took a few steps into the kitchen and saw it empty. Whenever we'd get home, he'd usually be in the kitchen or living room reading the newspaper, eating, watching television, or writing new songs. But as I scouted his two usual locations only to find nothing, my hope that he was home and available started to die down and I felt disappointment engulf me. But, I decided to continue my search.

I slowly made my way up the stairs and to the second floor. Once in the corridor, I looked to my left and saw that the bathroom door was open and that he wasn't in either of our rooms. Still determined, I walked up to Dave's own bedroom door and gently knocked on it.

"Dave?" I repeated for the third time.

After a few seconds, I was about to knock again but I suddenly heard footsteps approach the door before it quickly swung open. I took a glance in the, now opened, room and saw Dave walking back towards his bed with a phone pressed against his ear.

"Alright," Dave said quietly. "I'll be sure to do that. Bye Mr. Harris…"

Now I knew why Dave wasn't answering me, he was on the phone with, what seemed like, his boss. I quietly entered the room and took a seat on his bed and waited for him to finish his phone call. After a few minutes, Dave finally said his true 'goodbyes' and dropped the phone from his ear, letting out a small sigh in the process.

"Everything okay, Dave?" I asked innocently.

"Yeah, everything's fine, Theodore." Dave answered. "That was just my boss, he wanted to tell me that loved my latest song and he couldn't wait to hear more like it."

"Well, that's a good thing…" I smiled weakly.

It was silent for a few minutes and even though I hadn't looked up and away from the floor, I could tell that Dave was staring at me, waiting for me to say something.

"Alright, now it's my turn to ask." Dave chuckled quietly. "Is everything okay, Theodore?"

I turned my head to face him immediately and struggled to find an answer.

"Yeah… I mean, maybe… I mean, no…" I sighed.

"Well," Dave began as he took a seat next to me. "Would you like to talk about it?"

I smiled as I realized that Dave was always and will always be there for me.

"It's about Eleanor…" I explained briefly.

"You two didn't get into a fight, did you?" Dave asked as he placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

I could tell why Dave would be surprised. Over all of the years that Eleanor had been dating, even over all of the years that we had known each other, we've only gotten into a few small arguments.

"No, it's nothing really like that…" I sighed. "The thing is… Eleanor and I already discussed that we didn't really want to go to the graduation party and that we'd rather go on a date, instead…"

"And now it seems like Eleanor wants to go to the party?" Dave suggested.

I sighed once more and wordlessly nodded my head.

"I can see why you'd be a little concerned," Dave began. "But I don't think it's anything to worry about."

"But Dave, I don't really want to go to the party…" I admitted.

"I understand that." Dave replied. "And I also understand that you're probably planning on going with her regardless of that, just because you want to make her happy…"

I was amazed on how much Dave had already known about the problem and how he could truly read my mind, but I wanted to let him finish, so I silently waited for him to continue.

"But, you shouldn't do that." Dave finished quietly. "I know that you and Eleanor don't have much of a history of arguing and fighting like… let's say, Alvin and Brittany… but, that doesn't mean that you should be afraid to stick up to her. Remember, Theodore, it takes two people to make a relationship work…"

And with that last sentence, Dave stood up from the bed and exited the room, purposely giving me time to think about the advice he had given to me.

So, after a few hours of thinking, I decided that Dave was right. While I was afraid of getting into a fight with Eleanor, I knew that I needed to tell her how I felt, and that's what I did.

The next day in school, I approached Eleanor no differently than I would any other day, and pulled her into a generally secluded part of the school so that we could talk privately. That's when I told her how I knew that she truly wanted to go to the graduation party and even how I didn't want to go, myself. My fears were realized and the conversation did spark into a small argument between us, but we cooled down quickly and started to actually discuss it.

We both decided that we would go back to our original plan and have a nice and romantic date instead of going to the party. This time, I was sure that Eleanor truly agreed with it. But, just as my first problem was resolved, another one came… preparing for the date.

Eleanor and I would regularly hang out, we would take each other everywhere, but we never really had gone out on dates. So, while I was nervous that this may actually be my first real date, my fears were doubled as I realized that it was also going to be my first truly romantic date with Eleanor.

I knew that I couldn't go to Dave with this problem; I doubted that even he would know how to handle it. I noticed that Alvin and Simon's argument had finally started dying down, so I thought that I might be able to go to them for advice.

The same day, Alvin, Simon, and I got home from school just like normal, and just as I expected, they were still arguing. Still, I could tell that it was starting to fade. Personally, I don't even think they remembered what they had originally fighting about. As I headed into the house, I unintentionally eavesdropped on their argument and learned two things: one, they were still arguing over who had a better girlfriend, and two, Alvin was going over the Miller's house to hand out with Brittany.

Personally, I wanted to talk with Alvin. I thought that he would have more experience in the topic that I was trying to deal with, and that he could offer me a solution more easily.

I walked into the house and looked out the window to see Alvin drive off in the family car, and Simon walking up the porch steps. I acted casually and headed into the kitchen, hoping that he'd follow me. However, instead, he headed up the stairs and into his bedroom. I let out a gentle sigh as I realized that this whole problem wasn't going to be fixed as easily as I expected and hoped.

But, regardless of my thoughts, I found myself walking up the stairs and up to Simon's bedroom door. I stood there for a moment, questioning myself whether I should really go to him for advice, or not. And I don't know why, but I pushed my thoughts aside and quietly tapped my fist on the door.

"Who is it?" I heard Simon's voice call out from inside the room.

"It's me, Theodore…" I replied.

I stood there for a few seconds before I heard the door's lock open and the actual door itself swing open.

"What's up, Theodore?" Simon asked as he stood in the doorway.

"Uh, could I… you know, talk to you?" I asked nervously.

I could sense that Simon was trying to guess what I wanted to talk to him about, but I suppose he couldn't because he stepped aside and let me in. After walking a few steps into the room, I turned around to see the door locked again and Simon now sitting in his desk chair, staring at me.

"So," He began as he motioned for me to take a seat on his bed. "What do you want to talk about?"

I sat on his bed and took a few seconds to put my words together correctly in my head.

"I need advice…" I answered. "About Eleanor…"

I saw that Simon's expression immediately changed.

"What do you need?" He asked. "Are you two having problems?"

"No…" I sighed. "It's just that Eleanor and I aren't going to the graduation party Friday night, instead, we're going to have a date…"

I didn't continue, and after a few seconds, I felt like that entire situation had turned completely awkward.

"And…" Simon began for me.

"And, I just need some advice…" I shrugged. "This is going to be one of my first real dates with Eleanor… and the first truly romantic date…"

"Ah," Simon chuckled. "Now I understand your problem…"

"Yeah," I sighed. "I was originally going to go to Alvin, but…"

"Oh, really?" Simon questioned. "Why would you go to Alvin?"

I could see that I hit a nerve in Simon's pride, and now he demanded an answer that I didn't really want to give him.

"I-I don't know…" I stammered.

"There must be a reason, Theodore." Simon argued. "Just say it."

"Well," I began awkwardly. "I just thought that Alvin would have more experience with this problem…"

"And why's that?" Simon asked as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Well… Alvin's been with a lot of girls… and, you've only been with one…"

"That's not exactly true…" Simon said quietly.

It seemed as if Simon was thinking out loud when he said that, but it was too late. Curiosity had already overcome me and I wanted to know what he was talking about.

"Really?" I asked as innocently as I could.

"Just drop it…" Simon muttered.

"No, come on… tell me…" I persisted.

"Alright, just promise me that you won't tell anyone, okay?" Simon asked in a hushed tone.

"I promise." I said reassuringly.

"You know Sarah Housel?" Simon questioned.

I felt my jaw literally drop. Sarah Housel was one of the most beautiful, or in Alvin's words, hottest girls in the entire school. Her looks rivaled even Brittany's and as a result, the two didn't get along too much.

"You got together with Sarah Housel?" I exclaimed.

"Sort of," Simon sighed. "She has a crush on me, and one day, she just walked up to me and forced me into a kiss…"

I could see that Simon's face was starting to turn a bright shade of red.

"Wait, does Jeanette know?" I questioned.

"No, and she won't find out as long as you keep your promise." Simon explained.

"Don't worry, Simon," I smiled. "I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks, Theo." He smiled back. "Now, let's talk about your problem."

"Okay," I agreed. "Like I said, this'll be my first real romantic date with Eleanor."

"Have you two had your first real kiss yet?" Simon asked me.

"Um… no…" I replied quietly.

"Really?" Simon asked.

I could tell that he was shocked. I could also tell that I was blushing because my felt face felt like it was on fire.

"No… is it really bad?" I asked honestly.

"No it's not, Theodore." Simon reassured me. "Your first kiss with Eleanor should be special, and it'll happen when the time's right."

"Thanks, Simon." I smiled as I stood up and headed for the door.

"Wait," Simon called out. "Don't you need any more help?"

"No, I think I'll be fine."

And with that, I left the room and headed into my own.

Simon's advice really did help. I knew he was right. My first kiss with Eleanor should be special, and I was convinced that it was going to happen on our date the following day.

For the rest of that day, I merely sat in my room. I got up only to eat or to go to the bathroom. I sat and thought about what might and what should happen on the date and what I should to and shouldn't do.

Between both Dave's and Simon's advice, I thought that I'd be fine, but I felt as if getting one more opinion couldn't hurt. So, I waited for Alvin to return. I waited for hours and hours, but I eventually fell asleep.

The next morning, I woke up, immediately took a shower, and headed downstairs to find Alvin eating breakfast at the kitchen table alone.

"Good morning, Alvin." I greeted as I walked into the kitchen and joined him at the table.

"What's up, Theo?" Alvin replied.

"Alvin, I was wondering if I could talk to you…" I began.

"Sure, what do you need?" Alvin asked as he placed the cup of coffee he was drinking back onto the table and giving me his full attention.

I tried coming up with the perfect way to explain my situation to Alvin that couldn't give him the opportunity to crack jokes or laugh, but I knew that it wasn't going to happen.

"Eleanor and I have a date tonight… and I was wondering if you could give me some advice?" I blurted out.

I looked up and saw Alvin grinning at me.

"Well, bring plenty of 'packages'…" He laughed.

"Alvin!" I exclaimed. "I don't mean that kind of help!"

"Well, you're going to need it eventually…" He chuckled as he took a sip from his coffee.

"Not any time soon!" I practically shouted. "How would you even know about this stuff, anyway?"

As soon as I asked him the question, I felt like slapping myself because I realized that I really didn't want to hear his answer.

"Can you keep a secret?" Alvin asked me, a serious look appearing on his face for the moment.

I simply nodded in response.

"Well, Brittany and I aren't really shy in bed…" He grinned.

I felt my eyes widen as I realized what Alvin had just told me.

"What?" I shouted.

"Oh, calm down, Theodore." Alvin sighed. "It's not that big of a deal."

"It's a huge deal!" I argued. "Don't you ever think of the consequences before you do something?"

"Not really," He shrugged. "Besides, nothing's happened. We've been safe."

"That's not the point, Alvin…" I sighed.

"What?" Alvin scoffed. "Can I help it if I'm the 'Seville Ladies Man'? Maybe you or Simon should try to get more than one girl…"

"Wait," I shook my head. "You've done… 'it'… with more than one girl?"

I could see Alvin's grin drop.

"Well, no…" Alvin said as he nervously scratched at the back of his head. "But I've dated more than one girl… and that's saying more than you two"

"Hey, speak for yourself…" I rolled my eyes.

Alvin gave me an expression that I could tell was full of confusion and surprise.

"Not me, but Simon's kissed Sarah Housel…" I shrugged, acting like it was no big deal.

As soon as I realized what I had just said, I immediately slapped my hand over my mouth, hoping that Alvin hadn't heard what I had just said. But as Alvin's grin returned bigger than ever, I could tell that my hopes were in vain.

"Really?" Alvin asked, his grin staying on his face as his lips moved. "Well, that's an interesting discovery… well; see you in school, Theo."

Before I could say anything, Alvin left the table and I could hear a car drive off from our driveway. For a moment, I was confused. Why would Alvin just leave as soon as I accidently told Simon's secret? My eyes widened as I realized the reason and I quickly ran up the stairs.

As I ran through the house, I only had two things on my mind. One, that I needed to find Simon as quickly as possible, and two, that he was going to kill me when I did find him.

I eventually ran through every room other than his own room. I went up to his door and pressed my ear against it. All I could hear were the faint sounds of footsteps roaming the floor. I concluded that it must've been Simon and barged into the room, surprising myself that the door wasn't locked.

Once on the other side, I saw Simon walking to his clothes hamper with a pile of dirty clothes.

"I thought that you were my brother than did knock…" Simon sighed as he placed the pile of clothes into the hamper.

"Simon…" I began nervously as I pulled at the neck of my shirt. "We may have a problem…"

Simon's eyes narrowed at me as he waited for me to continue.

"I… a-accidently told Alvin…" I said quietly.

I could tell that I didn't need to explain any further because before I could blink, Simon had me pinned against the floor.

"You what?" He shouted. "Theodore, how could you?"

"I'm sorry!" I cried. "I didn't mean to!"

"How could you 'not mean to'?" Simon continued to shout.

"I was asking him for advice like I did to you yesterday and it just… came out?" I tried to explain.

"What kind of conversation could you have been having with Alvin that would've led you into telling him that I kissed Sarah Housel?" Simon questioned.

"Alvin was bragging about how he's dated so many more girls than us and I was just trying to stick up for you!" I explained.

"I thought you were asking him for advice, how did that conversation start?" Simon shouted as he kept me pinned against the floor.

"It started because Alvin told me that he's had sex with Brittany and-"

I cut myself off as my eyes widened after what I had just said. Simon looked at me for a few seconds before getting off of me and running out of the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked as I followed him.

"I need to get to Alvin before he gets to Jeanette!" Simon said as he grabbed Dave's car keys off of the kitchen table and headed out of the door.

In the distance, I heard the second and last car in our driveway leave. I knew that I needed to follow them, so I did the only thing that I still had left… I ran.

It was the fastest that I had ever run in my life. I literally thought that either my lungs were going to die of exhaustion or that my heart was going to fail from beating too fast, but I kept pushing myself and I eventually made it to the school.

As soon as I ran inside, I started running through the halls, trying to find either of my brothers. Eventually, I caught a glimpse of Simon who was running down the halls as well, trying to find Alvin I presumed. I quickly followed him as we finally found Alvin hanging out with a group of his friends.

Our paces slowed down as we finally saw Alvin, but Simon did not stop walking towards him.

"Simon, just… calm down…" I suggested. "Take deep breathes…"

My efforts were in vain. By the time that Alvin had actually realized that Simon was near him, it was too late and Simon had Alvin already pinned to the wall behind him.

"Oh, what's up, Si?" Alvin smirked as Simon continued to hold him against the wall.

Simon didn't answer, making Alvin smirk even more.

"What?" Alvin asked, trying to sound innocent. "Are you mad because I told Jeanette your little secret?"

"You what?" Simon growled.

"Oh yeah," Alvin grinned. "I told her… don't you know that you're not supposed to keep big secrets from people?"

Before Simon could answer, Alvin quickly lifted his arms and pushed Simon off of him and onto the floor. While Simon might have always won fights when they were kids, all of the sports training had made Alvin much stronger than Simon, now.

"Really?" Simon asked as he picked himself off of the floor. "You're one to talk, maybe you should tell your secret…"

"What are you talking about?" Alvin scoffed.

"Attention everyone," Simon called out, getting just about everyone that was either watching the slight fight or just passing by to look at him. "I would just like to say, that my brother, Alvin Seville has had sex with Brittany Miller."

I visibly flinched as Simon finished his announcement because Alvin immediately turned towards me and shot me a death-glare.

"Theodore! Why the hell would you tell him?" Alvin yelled as he started to approach me.

I took a few steps backwards and noticed that a large crowd of people were now watching us.

"Why are you mad at him?" Simon smirked. "Just because he told me that you slept with a bitch?"

Everyone who had heard Simon froze.

"What did you say?" Alvin asked threateningly as he turned around to face Simon.

"Isn't it obvious? Well, for everyone else besides you, maybe…" Simon chuckled coldly.

"Oh, please explain it…" Alvin replied.

"Well, I think it's obvious that the only reason that you were able to have sex with Brittany is because either A, she's a whore, or B, she's just too stupid to know anything…" Simon explained.

Everyone stood in silence. I knew that Simon had gone too far. He knew that Alvin was extremely overprotective of Brittany, and I knew that Simon just said that because he knew that it was the only thing that could truly get to Alvin's heart.

'Never… ever… say that again!" Alvin threatened as he and Simon circled each other.

I knew that this was going to end ugly. Thinking fast, I tried to make my way in-between them but a think circle of people shielded their fight.

'FIGHT!'

'FIGHT!'

'FIGHT!'

That was the only thing that could be heard as the students continued to try and encourage the fight. I watched my two brothers as best as I could through the people and when I saw Alvin throw the first punch, I felt my heart skip a beat.

"STOP!" I screamed as I pushed through the people and pulled Alvin off of Simon's body.

"What the hell!" Alvin replied.

"Stop it, Alvin!" I cried as I ran over to Simon.

"Stop what, Theodore?" Alvin asked. "You have as much to do with this as that asshole!"

"I-I never meant for this to happen!" I cried.

"Maybe you should've thought of that before you ran your big mouth…" Simon said as he picked himself off of the floor.

"But… Simon…" I tried to argue.

"No 'buts' Theodore…" Simon hissed.

In a quick second, the fight continued and Simon tackled Alvin into the same wall as before. In a flash, all I heard was Simon yelp in pain and take a few steps back as he held his head in his hands. I could see Alvin was about to throw another punch, but his hand was grabbed by Brittany's in her attempt to stop the fight. Eleanor came up to my side and Jeanette went straight to Simon's side.

"I'm not going to forgive you…" Simon muttered as he glanced towards me. "Either of you…"

"Neither am I…" Alvin declared. "From this point on… we're not brothers anymore…"

I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces as my two brothers walked off, leaving only Eleanor to comfort me as I silently cried into her blouse.

Over the next few days, Dave tried to get us to talk about what had happened, but all three of us refused. By the end of the weekend, both Alvin and Simon had moved out of Dave's house and I moved out shortly after, moving in with Eleanor.

For the next ten years, it didn't seem like this fight was going to get any better and I eventually gave up hope of reviving our brotherly bond.

-End of flashback- No one's P.O.V

"And, that's how it happened…" Theodore sighed as Eleanor stood up and gave him a gentle hug.

Before anyone else could say anything, Alvin and Simon came barging through the doors which they left through.

"Come on, Brittany, we're leaving." Alvin declared.

"Come on, Jeanette." Simon said as he held open the door.

The two chipettes looked at each other before looking back at their counterparts.

"No."

And, that's it!

Well, I hope that you understood WHY the fight was so serious...

And, if not, PM me and I'll be glad to explain it as best as I can!

Anyway, next chapter will be the last...

But don't worry, I'm going to need my readers' help on something soon...

I'll be posting a vote in the form of a preview/story.

It'll have mulitple ideas and previews for stories and I want to know which one YOU GUYS think I should write next...

Anyway, REVIEW! ^^