Last chapter! This particular story is about to end after 26 long (or short..?) chapters :') I'm stoked at how far this story's come.

Just like last time, I'll get straight into the next "book" after this one's done :)

So, things are about to go down with the love potion… Cruise had just asked to stay at the Seville's for the night… what will happen at the end of this story? – cue dramatic music –

Enjoy!

'Of course you can.' Dave insisted once the twins had let Cruise in and brought Dave up to speed on what went on.

'I'll only be one night…' Cruise promised. 'I don't want to be a bother – I'm sorry for how last-minute this is –'

'Don't be silly, Cruise,' Dave smiled, 'you have to stay as long as you need to work out everything.' He made his way upstairs to prepare a bed for Cruise.

'I-I'm really sorry, guys…' he said softly to the three boys. 'I don't mean to… intrude or –'

'Don't say that,' Simon chided, 'it's not your fault Hailey kicked you out.'

'Yeah, you're welcome here.' Alvin agreed. He smiled mischievously. 'We won't bite.'

Cruise grinned. 'Thank you.' He said earnestly.

'Have you had dinner?' Theodore asked. Cruise nodded.

'Yeah,' he said, 'you don't need to waste food on me…' he put his hands in his pockets and looked down. 'I really am sorry…'

Simon shook his head. 'Will you stop apologizing?' He mused, smiling. 'It's not your fault and we're happy to have you here.' He started upstairs and motioned for Cruise to follow. He did so sheepishly, the plastic bag swinging at his side as he climbed the stairs.

Cruise smiled in thankfulness as he saw Dave working on his temporary bed (one of the air-mattresses from the sleepover) and placing sheets and warm-looking blankets on it. He still couldn't believe what had taken place. Fifteen minutes ago, he was a part of the William's household, now he was homeless. Well, almost homeless.

He still worried about what he planned to do to get by on his own, but tonight, he just wanted to enjoy the fact that he was accepted into this household, and had good friends and a warm bed.

""""""

The next three days, Cruise was still with the Seville's. Dave refused to let him leave if he didn't have a home, and he insisted it would help them with their preparations for the concert to go much quicker.

That third day, Cruise decided he'd go see Brittany and tell her about what had happened. He'd been putting it off, so far, but she deserved to know. He just hoped she wouldn't think any less of him.

He knocked on the door and Brittany answered it. She grinned at Cruise and leaned in, kissing him quickly.

'Hey,' She said as she pulled back.

Cruise smiled his greeting. 'I have something to tell you.' He admitted. Brittany titled her head in confusion, but she stood aside to let Cruise in.

"

'So, where are you staying?' Brittany asked with an eyebrow raised. They were sitting on the living room floor's rug, comfortably talking about Cruise's situation. So far, Brittany was taking it well.

'With the Seville's.' Cruise told her.

Brittany smirked a little. 'With Alvin and Simon.' She gathered. 'How's that going for you?'

Cruise smiled. 'Well, it's much better than being with Hailey.' He told her. 'Besides, Alvin and Simon keep anything they might do in private. I haven't heard or seen anything other than k-kissing.' He looked down for a moment to gather his thoughts. 'Brittany…' he began, 'y-you don't think… any less of me for being…' he looked up at her worriedly. 'H-homeless?'

Brittany chuckled. 'You're kidding right?' She mused. 'I was hoping you'd be out of that house – it's good for you to be away from your so-called "family".' She shrugged. 'I guess it's great that you're with Dave, I mean: he's a really great dad.'

'I-I'm not really a part of his family,' Cruise pointed out. 'I don't know if I want to be. See, Chris hated me for all these years because I ruined his family. I just came into it expecting to be treated the same; but they weren't my siblings, Hailey and Arthur weren't my parents – I just don't want the same thing to happen with the Seville's.' He blew out a breath. 'I don't want to ruin their family.'

'So what's your plan?' Brittany asked. 'If you don't plan to stay with them, where will you go?'

'I don't know, yet.' Cruise shrugged. 'I need to find a job, find a house…' he shook his head. 'I wish I had more time to prepare.'

'You can always stay here if you get tired of the Seville's.' Brittany offered (rather hopefully). 'I have a big room.'

Cruise grinned. 'I'll keep that in mind.'

Brittany sighed and stood. 'Do you want to go for a walk?' She asked.

Cruise stood as well. 'Sure.' He eyed her. 'Might I ask why the sudden idea..?' He mused.

Brittany smiled conspicuously. 'Well, Miss Miller told me to run down to the shops right about now… and…' she bit her lip. 'I don't really want to say goodbye to you just yet.' She held out a hand and Cruise took it as they began to walk.

Eleanor passed them on her way to the kitchen; she was holding a plate full of cookies she'd just baked. She eyed their joined hands and smiled, shook her head and kept walking.

As she placed down the plate, she heard an exclamation from upstairs and narrowed her eyes at the ceiling suspiciously. Jeanette I hope you know what you're doing… she thought sadly.

""""

Brittany smoothed out her skirt as she scanned herself in the mirror, the next morning. She was smiling pleasantly: her first date with Cruise was this afternoon. Eleanor passed her and scanned her bright smile.

'Somebody's in love.' She commented.

Brittany frowned. 'I'm not in love, Ellie.' She remarked.

Eleanor chuckled. 'Whatever you say.' She continued to her room.

Brittany's frown dropped to worry as she looked back at her reflection. 'Am I in love..?'

"""

'So back to our idea of telling Dave.' Alvin stated as he and Simon were finally alone in the living room downstairs, next to each other on the couch.

'It's that important to you?' Simon asked, amused.

'Well, no,' Alvin folded his arms, 'but we've had Cruise as a distraction, and while Dave's still in a good mood, it might be the best time to tell him.'

'Well, what's your plan?' Simon asked with a smile.

Alvin frowned. 'I don't know!' He accused. 'You're the smart one!' He glared at Simon when he laughed at him. 'Why are you laughing at me?' he pouted.

'You're so cute when you're angry at me,' Simon insisted.

Alvin struggled to remain annoyed. 'Don't call me "cute"…' he said. Simon chuckled and Alvin smiled despite himself. 'And no, I do not have a plan. Any of mine you always prove it wrong.'

Simon cupped Alvin's cheek. 'Alvin… "just going with it" is not a plan…' he said in sarcastic seriousness, unable to keep the smile off his lips. 'That's just lazy.' He grinned when Alvin narrowed his eyes into a glare and he kissed Alvin softly.

Carried away, Simon shifted their positions and he lay on top of Alvin, their kiss becoming deeper.

'Ah –'

Simon stopped and pulled back, looking over his shoulder to Cruise standing at the doorway. He looked back at Alvin for a moment before he got off him and stood, facing Cruise. 'Hi.' He said shortly, knowing they were sprung.

Cruise nodded. 'Am I interrupting something..?' He asked, eyes shifting from Simon to Alvin.

'Of course not.' Simon insisted, ignoring Alvin nodding out of the corner of his eye. 'D-did you need something?'

Cruise pointed in front of him. 'Just going through to the kitchen.' He told them, briskly walking to his destination.

Simon heard Alvin break out in small sniggers and he turned with a smile. 'What's so funny?' He asked.

Alvin shook his head. 'His expression when he saw us,' he explained, chuckling. 'He was all like "wha-?"' Alvin widened his eyes to mock Cruise's reaction and pointed in front of him. He laughed a bit before he stood and made his way over to Simon. Simon eyed Alvin with an amused smile.

'You've taken to Cruise really well, haven't you?' He mused. Alvin shifted his gaze.

'I never said I hated him.' He defended weakly. '…I guess he's nice to have around…'

'Admit it, Alvin, he's a good friend.' Simon smiled.

'He's okay…' Alvin folded his arms.

'Alright, don't strain yourself.' Simon smirked and placed a small kiss on Alvin's lips. The eldest made a protesting sound when Simon pulled back. He smirked at Alvin's protesting, open lips. He leaned in and whispered softly in Alvin's ear. 'How about meeting me in the basement and we'll see where that kiss takes us..?'

Alvin went crimson at the suggestion and nodded when Simon stood back, still smirking.

""""

Brittany paced her room, still thinking about what Eleanor said. She couldn't be in love: she barely knew Cruise two months! Love! That was ridiculous!

Besides… she thought proudly love is much too overrated. Even if I was in love, I don't want to be. Heartbreak is something I want to avoid for as long as possible. I like him. He's great to talk to, shy but fun… but I don't… love… him… does he think I do? Is he in love with me? I hope not. If so, I might have to set him straight.

She jumped when the doorbell rang. That would be Cruise.

""

'Yes!' Jeanette exclaimed. Eleanor leaned against her sister's door curiously. 'Yes, it's ready!'

Eleanor's eyes widened and she shook her head. 'No,' she shook her head, turning and making her way down to the front door. I'll have to warn Alvin and Simon…

She ran down the street and around the corner, cursing Jeanette for being so selfish. What is that girl thinking? She's so paranoid! They're in love, not under some sort of spell!

She reached their house and knocked on the door hurriedly.

Theodore opened it and smiled at her brightly. 'Ellie!' He hugged her quickly.

'Hey, Theo…' Eleanor smiled and pulled back. 'I can't talk right now, where's Alvin or Simon? I have to talk to him.'

Theodore shrugged. 'Well, they were in the basement, but I'm pretty sure Alvin's upstairs now.'

Eleanor blew out a breath. 'Thanks, Theo.'

She made her way quickly to the basement and knocked loudly. There was a slight pause, then the sound of footsteps, then Simon opened the door. His cheeks were flushed and he was smiling, but he managed a curious look when he saw Eleanor.

'What's going on, Ellie?' He mused.

'I need to talk to you,' she insisted. Simon let her in and closed the door a little. The youngest Chipette eyed Simon's bench and the amount of items on the floor and frowned. 'What in the world have you been doing down here?'

'Uh –'

'No – never mind, Simon,' Eleanor took a deep breath and told the bespectacled boy what exactly was going on. He listened well, but he kept a sort of amused smile on the whole time. '– and just now, she finished and was really happy.' Eleanor ended. 'And she'll be on her way over. Simon, you have to make sure she doesn't come near you or Alvin.'

Simon folded his arms. 'Eleanor, what you're saying can't be right.' He reasoned. 'I've been working on this "love potion" idea for a long while, and it hasn't worked for me.' He shrugged. 'Why should it work for Jeanette?'

Eleanor's argument blanked. Why should it work for Jeanette and not Simon? They were both equally good in science and equally clever… 'I…' Eleanor looked down. 'Simon, she's really determined to split you and Alvin up, so…' Eleanor shrugged. 'Just… I heard how excited she was – it sounds like this thing is really going to work.'

Simon shook his head. 'It can't, Ellie.' He told her. 'If it could work, I would have done it by now.'

Eleanor then remembered the piece of paper. 'But, she's got this paper telling her how it works, and you're creating yours from scratch –'

'Even more reason why it won't work.' Simon interrupted. 'Some old theory written down to trick someone desperate is sure to fail. It's like witchcraft: it doesn't actually exist.'

Eleanor was at a loss for words. She knew in her heart what Simon was denying was the complete opposite of what she believed, but it was impossible to argue with the blue-clad boy. She didn't know anymore why she was so convinced.

'Just, please, be careful…' She gave in. 'She'll keep trying, no matter what this potion does or doesn't do.'

Simon smiled. 'Sure.' He agreed. 'But only because you seem really shaken up about this.'

Eleanor nodded and she made her way out. With a hopeful leap in her heart, she remembered that she could still tell Alvin. He might believe her a lot better than Simon.

As she began to head to the stairs, Theodore called her back.

'Eleanor!' He smiled as she turned to him with a weak smile. 'Wanna go for a walk?'

Eleanor looked up at the stairs, then back at Theodore. Maybe Simon's right… she thought. 'Sure, Theo.' She smiled and they both left, Eleanor looking back at the stairs with a reluctant feeling ebbing away at her. She couldn't help but wonder if she should have said no.

"""

Alvin blew out a breath as he scanned his comics. Needless to say, his mind was on other things. Simon, to be precise. He couldn't get those amazing grey eyes out of his mind, that small "I know everything" smirk and his smooth, seductive voice. A smile crawled across Alvin's lips as the eldest thought of what he and Simon just did in the basement. Leaving it to the basics: Alvin was sore. Blissfully, sore.

Before he could begin concocting a plan for the same activity to happen again, a small knock on the door dragged him back to reality.

He briefly looked up, then smiled in excitement – assuming it was Simon – and got up, walking briskly to the door and turning the knob. 'Geeze, twenty meters away and I still can't stop thinking about –' he stopped talking when he was met with Jeanette's green eyes. 'Oh.' He said, not really meaning to sound blunt or disappointed. Jeanette smiled a little.

'Sorry if I'm interrupting something,' she began politely, 'but I wanted to talk to you. And apologize.' She held up a small mug filled with coffee. Alvin stood to the side, allowing her in and eyeing the coffee.

She passed it to him once he'd set himself on his bed and offered her a seat on Simon's desk chair, which she moved closer to Alvin. She took it with a murmur of thanks.

'I'm not entirely sure what you're apologizing for.' Alvin admitted, taking a sip of the coffee. He almost sighed at the perfect flavor and temperature, and gratefully took another mouthful.

Jeanette smiled a little apologetically. 'I'm afraid I was judging you a little too harshly. For being with Simon.'

Alvin nodded knowingly and swallowed his third rinse of coffee. 'I'm sure it takes some time to warm up to.' He agreed. 'And I'm sorry that you and Simon don't spend time together like you used to.' He took another sip.

Jeanette shrugged. 'I'm coping with that.' She insisted, eyeing Alvin as he drank. Halfway there… she thought. 'Besides,' she continued, 'I want you both to be happy.'

Alvin smiled and swirled the coffee in his hand before going for another mouthful. He swallowed. 'I'm really glad we're back on speaking terms, too.' He said.

Jeanette nodded. 'Well, I guess I'd better get going.' She stated.

Alvin swallowed a large mouthful. 'A-are you sure?' He asked politely.

'Yeah,' Jeanette insisted. 'Enjoy the coffee, Alvin.' While it lasts… she thought guiltily.

Alvin nodded and held it up. 'It's great.' He agreed. He looked down at it. 'What'd you put in it? He took another swing.

'Just… a home-brand brew.' She smiled as Alvin sculled the last of it. 'With some milk… oh, and five drops of a love potion.'

Alvin almost choked. 'W-what?!' He demanded, standing and letting the mug fall to the floor. He looked frantically at Jeanette with a hand at his throat.

Jeanette nodded. 'Five drops of love potion,' she repeated. 'Oh, but don't panic: it's not me you'll fall for.' She insisted.

Alvin held his head in panic. 'Jeanette, why?' He asked desperately.

'Because, Alvin, don't you see?' Jeanette motioned to the mug. 'Simon's been drugging you with his own love potion. Once mine has worn off, you'll be back to normal, and any love potion he's given you before will be ineffective.' She shrugged with a pleasant smile. 'You're welcome.'

'No,' Alvin shook his head, getting slightly dizzy, 'Jeanette, you don't understand – Simon hasn't been able to get an actual love potion to work – I love him; we –'

'Simon's potion was strong enough to make you believe anything.' Jeanette noticed. 'Tell me, Alvin: if Simon can't get it to work, then why is he still working on it? Six months is an awfully long time to be working on a failing project, isn't it?'

Alvin was starting to feel woozy. He tried to feel where his bed was, but his hand kept missing. 'N-no, he's just d-determined, that's all,' he insisted, holding onto his bedpost for support after his hand found the contact. 'J-Jeanette, I can't d-do this to Simon,' he felt his legs weaken and he let himself collapse on the floor. 'How c-could you..?' He felt his eyes gloss.

Jeanette crouched beside Alvin as he arched his back in attempt to rid the weak feeling, lying now on his side. 'It's for your own good, Alvin, it really is.' She told him.

Alvin groaned, shaking. 'I-I'll never l-leave him… I promised him b-before we m-mated…' he tried to find the strength to get up, but it failed him and he remained where he was.

Jeanette's eyes flashed with shock. 'You mated?' She demanded. Alvin nodded.

'Twice.' He managed a smile.

'No, no, no. If you were under an outside influence, like a love potion, you actually haven't.' Jeanette chided. She shook her head. 'He made you mate with him…'

'I… love… him.' Alvin groaned. 'D-don't you get that? I love him,' he screwed his eyes shut as he felt even his vocal chords weakening.

'No.' Jeanette stood over him. 'You hate Simon Seville. You love Brittany Miller.'

Alvin's shaking slowly resided to a shiver, then stopped completely. He opened his eyes. 'I know.'

Well, well, well!

I hope that it's obvious to everyone that Jeanette's potion did work, if not – the potion worked.

I'll get stuck into the next story, but please be patient – school calls for four assignments that I need to get done in the next two weeks :D

Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! See you when Spring 3 makes its appearance on

Thank you for all your support!