Hey all!

It's been a while because I've been working on two chapters to post on the same day, one after the other, and it took me a while.

Anyways, this chapter and next will be a good response to the questions you all might have, and have asked me about, so this chapter and the next one explains what's going on with Theodore and Eleanor, and also what exactly "broke" in the last chapter. Also, a lot more of Cruise, which has been requested numerously :D and, of course, Alvin and Simon.

Enjoy!

Brittany Miller was in half-shock, half-denial.

As soon as Alvin left, she half expected him to come back in, yell "kidding!" and ask her out, but it didn't happen. What was worse, was that she felt so stupid.

Alvin had thrown himself onto her, and she had completely accepted it and knew that Alvin had finally got over Simon and the whole charade, but no. No, Alvin left without asking her out, without so much as a confession! He didn't even stop to say how he enjoyed it, or how he was happy he did it.

Brittany just set herself, unmoving, on the couch and thought about it all. Maybe Alvin had been testing her, or maybe he wanted to humiliate her and make her feel what rejection felt like as a payback from those times ages ago when he did ask her out and she said no. Or, maybe Alvin just felt like kissing someone, and of course, Brittany was the main target for all male attention. Or so she thought.

Logically, Brittany finally accepted the fact that it may have been Alvin's heat, or something, and that's why he didn't explain why he'd come and done everything so suddenly.

Maybe... Alvin... doesn't actually like me like that... Brittany was shocked at the thought of giving in, but she found she was kind of okay with it. She definitely felt some attraction to Alvin, but it was no longer an obsession, and she had no idea why.

Eventually, Brittany decided that thinking about it wasn't doing her any good, and stood up; making her way to the bathroom for a long, relaxing, well-deserved bath.

'''''''''''''''

Alvin was still standing, weak-kneed, in front of Simon, who was twirling the rose in his hands. He knew Simon had appreciated it, but it didn't mean that Simon had completely taken him back. Though, Alvin had the feeling he was forgiven.

The eldest was still red enough to match his signature colour, waiting for some kind of response from Simon.

'Forgive you?' Simon finally spoke, remembering what Alvin had said last. Alvin slowly nodded, unsure where this was going, as Simon's tone of voice hadn't given away anything.

'Th-that's what it said.' Alvin smiled a bit, unsure. 'N-not that I'm not sorry!' He added quickly, 'Because I really am! I should never have broken up with you, and I regretted it almost as soon as the words came out of my mouth! What I mean is, that it symbolises... it... I...' Alvin sighed and sat beside Simon. 'I'm really sorry, Simon, because I know that I hurt you, and hardly put up a good fight against my bond with Brittany... and I'm hoping you'll forgive me.'

Simon raised a brow inquisitively. 'Well, let's consider this:' he began slowly, still moving the rose in his hands. 'You broke up with me because you were no longer attracted to me... then you went to Brittany's and she relieved your heat... then you came back and bought me... this...' Simon smiled at the small flower, 'and told me you want me to be your first sexual partner. And now you're asking for forgiveness?' Simon pondered the thought slowly, unsure if he wanted to do this again. He'd forgiven Alvin with the love potion fiasco, and then not two weeks later, Alvin dumped him because he couldn't take touching Simon anymore.

Alvin bit his lip nervously, looking at the floor.

'I have a few questions.' Simon admitted. Alvin looked up hopefully.

'Yeah?' He replied, eager to explain anything he did.

'One: why a rose?' Simon looked down at it. 'I am... incredibly flattered, but what made you pick this?'

Alvin blushed. 'Well, I walked into the general store and there was a sale on –'

Simon rolled his eyes. 'Are you saying you got me something cheep?' He half teased, but was also half serious.

Alvin realised his mistake with a look of shock. 'Oh, gosh, Simon, I didn't mean that –' he groaned at his slip-up: this day would never go as he planned. 'The sale was on books.' He finally cleared up. 'And, I thought that that's what I would get you, but I was walking through the isles, and nothing made me feel like you'd really appreciate it. I wanted you to see that I loved you, not that I knew you were literate.'

Simon chuckled a bit. 'I'm sorry I made it so hard on you.' He joked. 'So you got me a rose instead?'

'I saw the flower section, and I knew that if you were a girl, it would be proper to get you some flowers.' Alvin shrugged. 'I mean, you're not a girl, but I still thought it would be proper, and then I found a red rose. It was the last one, and I just...' he smiled. 'It sounds weird, but it just felt right. I never really thought how hard it was gonna be to actually give it to you. I was worried you'd just throw it away, especially when I got here and you were mad at me.'

Simon smiled at the rich red rose in his hand that really did mean a lot to him. 'I'm sorry for making you feel worse.' He admitted. Alvin shook his head.

'I did deserve it.' He insisted.

Simon sighed. 'Okay, two: what do you mean "something broke" while you were with Brittany?'

Alvin blinked; it was one thing he had no idea how to answer himself. 'I don't know. It was like some dead weight lifted, or something snapped. I just felt free, I guess.' He tried to explain.

Simon frowned in thought. 'Alvin, you really need to remember; have you felt something like that before?' He enquired rather urgently.

Alvin considered it. 'I... I felt something like it when...' he frowned, trying to remember, 'when... oh. When Brittany kissed me for the first time, but it was only there for like a second before it was replaced.' He looked up. 'But that was the bonds leaving and replacing, wasn't it?'

Simon nodded. 'It has to be.' He agreed.

'So, then...' Alvin couldn't help but feel proud, if he'd done what he thought he'd done.

'Y-your bond with Brittany broke.' Simon deduced slowly. 'How is that possible..?' he murmured the question more to himself, but Alvin answered it anyway.

'It's probably because I actually did refuse to really love Brittany, and I remained defiant for you, and it broke.' He smiled. 'In other words: love conquers all..?' He was hopeful this was the answer, because it was that much more romantic than saying "my body malfunctioned and the bond broke".

Simon chuckled, still thoughtful, but willing to break his concentration for that small statement. 'Do you just enjoy telling me you love me?' He mused.

Alvin shrugged. 'I think that I should say it whenever necessary.' He then saddened. 'Don't you want me to love you?'

In truth, Simon didn't hear the comment, but to Alvin, it seemed like he just ignored it, not wanting to answer. 'Alvin, number three: what if I do take you back?'

With wide eyes, Alvin was officially nervous. This was scarily like an exam question, although there was only a pass or a fail.

'W-what exactly do you mean?' Alvin stammered.

'I mean will you and I just break up again?' Simon explained. 'It's in our nature to fight, and we've broken up now twice, basically... what if we just hurt each other too bad all the time? Plus, our relationship could never really go anywhere, because we could never go public or... so what if I take you back? Could you deal with all of that?'

Alvin kept Simon's gaze, this time. He knew what to say. 'I've said it before, Simon.' He stated calmly and confidently. 'You are worth every second of the teasing we might get, and every disapproving glance. I would never hurt you intentionally, and I don't care if you hurt me, because I will never... stop... loving you.' He slowly took Simon's free hand and laced their fingers together. 'We're brothers, so we should stick with each other; we're animals, so we should like the wild and unexplainable; and I love you, so I don't want anything else to get in the way.' Alvin finished slowly, still looking calmly confident, like each word had been mentally planned for months. Alvin let Simon take a moment.

Simon was in awe. Who knew Alvin felt that way? I mean, maybe once or twice he'd mentioned some things singularly, but together, like that... it was inspiring.

All those times Alvin had been asking Simon for them to mate; Simon had thought it was just for Alvin's desire, but it was that and more. Alvin was ready to be completely bound to Simon, no half-bonds, and no other people. With shocking revelation, Simon wondered if he was ready like that, too.

Slowly, Simon felt he might have to respond to Alvin's speech. 'Y-you should h-have saved that for when you c-claim me.' He stumbled over his words, blushing. He seemed to only just realise what he'd suggested and he went on: 'That is, i-if you claim me.'

Alvin smiled slowly in a sweet suggestive way. 'I like "when" I claim you, better.' He decided. 'Simon... will you take me back?' He tilted his head.

Simon inhaled deeply. 'I think I already accidentally gave you the answer.' He said, smiling. 'Yeah, Alvin. I'll take you back.'

Alvin beamed at Simon.

'Is it safe to kiss you?' Simon asked sceptically, as he'd leant in again.

Alvin chuckled lightly. 'Well, I have no more roses to give you.' He replied.

Still smiling, Simon captured Alvin's lips with his own, immediately embracing him.

Brittany's got nothing on Simon... I have to tell her that, one day. Alvin thought with a smirk against his brothers' lips. And it feels damn good to know I no longer like thinking about her instead.

Instead of overflowing with thoughts of Brittany, Alvin simply smiled, blocked her out easily, and let himself drown in Simon's kiss.

"""""""""""""""'

A week later, Simon hadn't been away from his family for one moment, and it was starting to really irritate Cruise.

He didn't understand what had happened. The last time they talked was a week ago, and Simon hadn't even explained why he didn't come back the next day, like he said he would.

And it wasn't so much that Cruise was attached to him, or anything, but the new boy did need company. Still, he was having immense trouble with his feelings for the pink-clad Chipette down the road, and not having Simon's, rather, counselling advice was a real drop in support. He had thought about what Simon said: "be persistent", and he seriously wanted to be, but when he'd gone over there last, Brittany had been expecting Alvin. Not just that, but Alvin coming "to confess his love", as she'd put it, and she sounded like she hoped for it.

Cruise simply refused to crash a relationship between two people he hardly knew, but he couldn't help but feel jealous of Alvin. The guy had called him "hot" the first day Cruise met him (that's right, he'd heard them talking while he went to his kitchen), and that was a sure sign that he was a little weird: calling another boy hot.

But that aside, Cruise was dumbfounded about his situation with Brittany. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't muster the courage to go over there and just –

'Hello?'

At first, Cruise suspected the voice to belong to his half-sister, Thalia, playing a joke on him by mocking his voice.

'Cruise? It's Brittany!'

Then he suspected otherwise.

'Coming!' He yelled in response, officially panicked. He jumped over the couch with one hand and bolted to the door, skidding a little on the tiled floor. He ruffled his hair back in order and opened the door. 'Hi.' He replied, exhaling.

Brittany studied him curiously, and with a slight amused smile.

'Just wanted to let you know, Jeanette, Eleanor, Alvin, Theodore, Simon and I are all going to the beach today, and I was wondering if you wanted to come.' Brittany folded her arms with a smile, subtly daring him to refuse.

'O-oh, sure, I'll be there.' Cruise smiled a bit. 'What time?'

'Great!' Brittany beamed at Cruise, 'one o'clock, we'll meet at the corner of the street.' She turned. 'See you there.' And she walked away.

Cruise was still smiling, and closed the door, walked up to his room and started rummaging through his things for swimwear. He couldn't believe that Brittany had thought of inviting him, or that they'd all agreed: he was just the new kid. It felt so good to finally have real friends, who actually wanted to spend time with him.

And this way, Cruise could talk to Simon again, and he could talk to Brittany.

""""""""""""""'

'Alvin! Have you seen my –'

'Swimming trunks?' Alvin cut through his brother. Simon nodded. Alvin contemplated whether to give them to him or not. He sighed, remembering they had to be there on time. 'Here.' He threw them at Simon's face.

'Thanks, Alvin.' Simon said, rolling his eyes at Alvin's childish behaviour. 'Looking forward to swimming?' He mused.

Alvin shrugged. 'I guess. It is one of the hottest spring days we've had, so it should be perfect.' He quickly took off his shirt and replaced it with a red, loose shirt. 'I'm looking forward to seeing you topless.' He informed casually.

Simon chuckled. 'I'm looking forward to the fact that you can't do anything to me, and I'll be teasing you the whole time.' He did the same as Alvin and replaced his shirt. Alvin almost dutifully looked away when Simon took off his pants, something Simon really admired in Alvin. And only because it was now curtesy, Simon looked away from Alvin just the same.

'Ready?' Theodore asked as he peeked his head through the door, already dressed and ready himself.

'Just about.' Simon answered. Theodore smiled eagerly and left quickly.

'D'you want me to get your towel for you?' Alvin asked Simon casually. Simon raised a brow.

'Should I be suspicious?' He mused. Alvin rolled his eyes and fit a pair of sunglasses on. He pulled over his cap, walked over to Simon and let himself be tempted into a short kiss.

'Am I not allowed to help out my boyfriend?' He demanded playfully, tilting the sunglasses down to show his inquisitive look. Simon just smiled and folded his arms.

'You just love saying that word, don't you?' He noticed.

Alvin grinned and pushed the sunglasses up. 'But you are my boyfriend,' he insisted, turning and walking out of the room, giving Simon a good look at the yellow-and-red board-shorts Alvin was wearing in contrast to his blue and white ones.

Simon rolled his eyes and followed him. Before he left the room, he eyed the single rose in a vase on his bedside table and beamed at how well everything seemed to be turning out. A day at the beach was just another perfect way to spend the day.

'''''''''''''''''''''

'Alvin! Don't forget your sunscreen!'

Dave lightly threw the white bottle at Alvin, who caught it easily and turned, quickly getting out the front door.

'Thanks, Dave! Bye!' He yelled, closing the door behind him and catching up with Simon and Theodore, who had given up on waiting for him after he'd forgotten his towel and his sandals. 'Thanks for waiting, guys.' Alvin greeted sarcastically.

Simon rolled his eyes. 'Well, you know where the beach is,' he defended, 'plus, I'm sure Brittany and the others wouldn't have left without you.' He smiled at Alvin as he came up beside him. 'And I wouldn't have let them,' he added.

Since Theodore was there, all Alvin could do was smile and blush at Simon's promise.

Up ahead, the three spotted Cruise waiting alone at the corner, looking somewhat lost.

'Hey, Cruise!' Simon called.

Cruise turned and smiled at Simon with relief. 'Simon! Where have you been for the past week?'

The three boys finally reached the new boy and stood with him. Simon replied with a smile. 'I've been a little distracted.' He insisted. 'Something really good happened and I wanted to enjoy every minute of it.' He gave Alvin a sly smile here, which Alvin blushed at.

Theodore stood on the curb, looking around as far as he could, without falling forwards, towards the Chipettes' house. 'Where's Ellie? What if she doesn't come?'

Simon turned to his younger brother. Interesting... he thought slowly. 'I'm sure they're all just waiting for Brittany to finish some amazing hairstyle.' He promised.

'Wait a second,' Alvin studied Cruise's attire: the same red, loose shirt that Alvin was wearing, over – well – the same board-shorts. 'Do we have the same personal shopper?' He mused.

Simon frowned at Alvin. 'We don't have a personal shopper.' He corrected.

Cruise just chuckled. 'I guess we have the same taste.' He insisted, shrugging. 'Anyway, Simon,' he called him over. Alvin frowned at this, as he was left alone with Theodore, who was much too distracted on the street ahead of him.

After about five minutes, Theodore yelled out "Ellie!" and ran a little way down the road to meet with his counterpart, all dressed up in emerald and turquoise. Jeanette was a little bit behind her, wearing a purple one-piece with a short purple skirt, and behind her, folding her arms in what seemed to be annoyance, was Brittany in a soft pink polka-dotted bikini and sarong wrapped around her waist. Her slightly narrowed crystal-blue eyes were almost hidden underneath a wide-brimmed sunhat with pink sunglasses on top of them.

Alvin sighed in regret. He hadn't spoken to Brittany since he'd kissed her, and he knew she wouldn't be happy with that, and the fact that he'd rejected her in the middle of a kinda heated moment.

He turned away from her and watched Simon instead, still talking to Cruise. Cruise noticed the girls walking up out of the corner of his eye and stepped away from Simon a little, smiling as they approached.

Simon turned to see what Cruise was looking at, found the Chipettes and smiled in greeting at them, then saw Alvin's inquisitive look and walked over to his brother, feeling he owed him a fair explanation.

'So...' Alvin began in a conversational voice, 'how come you and Cruise are such good friends all of a sudden?'

Simon chuckled a bit. 'I'm sorry, Alvin, but when you all thought I was being anti-social and at the park the time we weren't getting along so well, I was actually at his house.' He leaned in and whispered slowly. 'He's got a crush on Brittany.'

Brittany noticed Simon's subtle lean-in-and-whisper and rolled her eyes in annoyance. So Alvin had come onto her, then left without a word, and now here he was, still involved with Simon? Typical. Her day couldn't get any worse.

Alvin gave a light chuckle at the information. 'I hope he knows what he's dealing with.' He replied in equal whisper. Any other time, he would have taken this position to his advantage, leant in and kissed Simon, but he knew that wasn't an option with everyone else around. And Cruise had no clue that they were involved; he didn't even know about spring.

Instead, Alvin backed away from Simon, smiling.

Theodore was walking over again, hand-in-hand with Eleanor, chatting happily while she smiled earnestly and listened. Brittany was standing alone with her arms folded, Cruise called Simon back over, and this left Jeanette standing next to Alvin with (in her mind) an awkward silence around them. Alvin didn't really feel anything awkward against Jeanette, only that his reputation was ruined by her.

But he truly had moved past that.

'Shall we go?' Simon announced suddenly. Alvin nodded eagerly and all seven of them set off.

Next chapter's up soon, 'cause there was nothing eventful to end this chapter and there's lots of stuff going on in the next, so I split them here. So, I hope the next chapter will be up in about an hour XD

Also, I'm introducing two more OC's into this story, but they'll be spread-out. Next chapter, one of them is coming in.