We have made it to the FINAL chapter of Geeks In Love! Are you ready to see Jeanette and Alvin finally talk things out? BECAUSE I SURE AM! They've gotta wrap up some loose ends and make plans for the future.

Sorry again, Alvittany fans, but Brittany's gotta learn that sometimes you can't have everything you feel like you deserve. She'll be okay in the end. I promise. She has a good support system in her family and the Chipmunks.

This chapter shouldn't be AS dramatic as the last one, but Alvin and Britt are in it, so there's gonna be some inevitable drama.

When we last left Jeanette, she was wondering how on earth to break the news of her crush to Alvin. She came up with some good ideas, but let's see how long it takes her to follow through on them.

Also, this is the last summer chapter, so soak it up, because in our final story of this fic, they're all headed back to school.

Let us begin!

Jeanette's POV

After a couple more hours of staying in my room, processing things, I finally ventured downstairs. I couldn't keep holding back. The longer I avoided the issue, the worse it'd likely become. If I avoided it too long, I would break both my heart and Alvin's. I didn't want that to happen!

I reached the kitchen and found Eleanor already there, sitting at the table.

"Want me to make you some lunch?" My younger sister offered.

I rubbed my stomach. It felt very twisty and turny. I didn't know if I could manage to digest food at the moment. "No thank you."

"Jeanette." She looked at me sternly. "You haven't eaten since dinner last night."

"Well…" I fidgeted with my fingers and sat down. "Some soup would be nice."

Eleanor grabbed a can of vegetable broth and started making me a hearty barley and assorted veggie soup.

"So,…" My sister tried to make small talk. "Any plans today?"

"I'm going to see Pamela and Patrick." I squeaked softly.

"That sounds fun." Eleanor slipped her green colored apron with pink strawberry designs on.

I nodded. I was getting a bit more comfortable talking out loud again, if only with my sister. "Yeah. We're going to check on the trees we planted near the school." I continued. "And I'm going to ask them…things."

"What sort of things?" Eleanor stirred the soup on the stove.

I felt my cheeks warming up again. "Things about…Alvin."

"DON'T MENTION HIS NAME!" Brittany strolled into the kitchen wearing her favorite light pink summer dress with dark pink flowers. She looked very angry.

"Sorry!" I covered my mouth.

"Brittany!" Eleanor scolded. "She is allowed to talk about him."

"N..No, no, i..it's o..okay." I stammered. "We d…don't have to t…t…talk about him."

"Good." Brittany folded her arms and sat beside me. "He's a heartbreaker, sis. You can do so much better than him. And, just because he loves you, doesn't mean you have to love him back."

But I DID love him back.

"Y…Yeah. I know." I murmured.

"What if she did?" Eleanor proposed, as she served me the barley and veggie soup. "Just, hypothetically."

"She doesn't, so it doesn't matter." Brittany huffed. She grabbed herself a bagel and some mixed berry cream cheese.

"Well…" I itched at my arms. If this kept up, I'd break out in hives for sure.

Brittany looked at me, with a horrified expression. "Well, what!? Do you actually love that obnoxious freak?"

I gulped. "No, no….I don't." I fibbed. "At least…I don't love it when he's acting obnoxious." I couldn't lie anymore. Not to my sister. "But I do love…him."

"Ew. Ew ew ew ewwww." Brittany pushed her half eaten bagel away. "I've lost my appetite."

My youngest sister glared at her. "Oh stop being such a drama queen." She scolded.

"I'm sorry, Britt." I said in barely a whisper.

"You cannot date Alvin. I forbid it." The girl in pink snapped. "If I can't have him, then neither of you can. I think that's fair."

"It's…It's not…" I began, before just shutting my mouth and slurping my scrumptious soup. Gosh, I was hungry.

"How on Earth is that fair?" Eleanor put a hand on her hip. "Jeanette can date whoever she wants."

"Not. Him." Brittany repeated. "NOT. HIM."

Eleanor went nose to nose with Britt. "Yeah. Even him."

"I can't believe both of you are against me on this." My oldest sister fumed. "After EVERYTHING he's done."

"The publicity dates didn't count in his eyes." Eleanor reminded our angry sister. "He didn't realize he was doing anything wrong."

Brittany scowled. "He should have known. It was so obvious."

"Britt, look…" Eleanor slipped off the apron and poured herself a bowl of soup. "I get that you need time to grieve the end of your relationship, I totally get it." She explained. "But, do you REALLY want this to drive a wedge between you and Jeanette?"

I blinked at her as I struggled to decide what to say. "S…S…Sisters stick together." I murmured. "Besides…you said I could d..d..do whatever I wanted."

"That was BEFORE I knew you want to be his girlfriend." Brittany muttered darkly.

"So y…you t…take it b…back?" I stuttered.

Eleanor folded her arms and gave Brittany what is known as "the stinkeye."

"No…" Brittany pulled her half eaten bagel back toward her. "It's just…really hard for me, Jeanette. Really hard."

"I'm sorry things turned out this way." I said quickly and nervously.

Brittany took another bite of the bagel. "Can I tell you a secret?" She asked.

"Of course." I answered.

"Getting over Alvin is probably going to be the hardest thing I've ever done." My sister's ice blue eyes watered.

"Nooo, really?" Eleanor looked up at the ceiling. "Who would have guessed?"

I rubbed Britt's shoulder in a way that I hoped was comforting. "It'll be alright."

"Please don't tell Alvin or his brothers I said that." The pink clad girl stuck the last bite of bagel in her mouth.

"Your secret's safe with me, Britt." I promised.

For some reason, that made Eleanor laugh. "Your secret's never safe with her. How do you not know this?"

"Huh?" I tilted my head, dropping my spoon into the soup bowl suddenly.

"You break out in hives when you keep secrets." My youngest sister pointed out.

I felt my cheeks warm up, though not as much as when I was thinking of my crush. "Oh…. Right."

"Dang it!" Brittany cursed.

"Relax, Britt." Eleanor smiled at her with a hint of devious energy. "It's not like they don't already know."

"How would they already know?" My oldest sister asked stubbornly.

The pigtailed Chipette smiled wider. "You're not good with change."

"Hmph…you're right." Brittany relented. She looked at the clock. "I've gotta go to cheer practice now. I'm really not in the mood."

I patted her shoulder again. "M…M…Maybe it'll take your mind off everything."

My older sister brightened a bit at that. "Maybe."

Once Brittany had left for cheer practice, I helped Eleanor clean the kitchen. With Brittany gone, I finally had the courage to talk without stuttering so much. And so, I did.

"Do you think that it's ethical for me to tell Alvin I love him?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah." Eleanor squeezed a dirty rag out in the sink. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, uh, I did a lot of research on concussions and I'm worried that I re-programmed Alvin's brain while it was vulnerable and that's why his changes were so drastic." I confessed. "What if that's why he's in love with me too?"

She laughed. "Jeanette, you're overthinking it."

"Am I though?" I wondered aloud, wiping a soup stain off my purple overalls. "Alvin's brain was healing itself from the head trauma, during our lessons. It made him more susceptible to taking in new information and incorporating my teachings into the structure of his brain. That's why it's so hard for him to go into Classic Alvin mode. Because the increase in neuroplasticity caused his connections to be "rewired" in a way that made him grow away from Classic Alvin."

"Yeah, but he seems fine with it." Eleanor shrugged.

I frowned. "But what if he's only acting like he's fine? What if I caused him too much turmoil? What if I made him into someone he's not?"

"Jeanette, stop." My sister held up a hand. "You're letting Brittany get into your head. Alvin couldn't have changed this much if he didn't want to."

"But what if he only changed because he had a secret subconscious crush on me?" I murmured. "That would be awful."

"Maybe that's something you guys should talk about?" Eleanor sighed.

I started to feel the tears rolling down my cheeks. "But I can't even talk to him."

"Sure you can." My sister smiled. "You'll find a way."

"O…Okay." I finished washing the table off.

"Hey, one more question about him." Eleanor leaned against the counter. "What's with the split personality and the hallucinations of his old self?"

"Oh, that's an easy answer." I gushed. "I have a theory that Alvin has personified his Id, his Ego, and his Superego, to make them more simple for him to comprehend. He's learned that his impulses aren't always what he actually wants in the long run, and that his conscience has a more moral and responsible outlook on life. But, Alvin couldn't initially reconcile his wild side with his responsible side at first, so he made them two separate people."

"Interesting." My sister murmured.

I continued talking. "Then, he, the mixture of the two, became the third person. But, he kept the other two around, because if they were absorbed back into his main persona, he would miss them terribly. Although, recently, he may actually have absorbed his responsible side into his main 2.0 persona and only left Classic separate. I don't know for sure."

"Okay…that sorta makes sense." Eleanor admitted. "But why would he WANT extra people inside his head?"

I smiled. "That's the simplest answer of all." I told her. "He can't stand being alone. He's afraid of it. With two extra people in his head, or even just one, then he doesn't ever have to be alone."

Eleanor mimed an explosion with her hands. "Mind. Blown." She said in awe. "You're definitely onto something."

"Well, I have done a LOT of research." I admitted with a small half smile.

"Have you tried explaining this to Brittany?" The pigtailed girl led me to our living room.

I nodded. "She doesn't understand it and interprets it more as Classic Alvin is being pushed aside and forgotten about. Which, understandably, causes her a great deal of grief."

"She'll get it eventually." Eleanor assured me.

"I hope so." I murmured. I knew it might take Brittany at least a year of mourning to truly accept everything.

After our talk, I watched a little TV with Eleanor. It was a show about unsolved mysteries and ghost sightings. Very freaky, but at least it temporarily got the Alvin situation out of my head.

I decided that before I met up with my Green Living Club friends, I would stop by Miss. Miller's and check up on Pippi and Zeela. I knocked gently at the door and then waited for an answer. And waited, and waited, and waited some more.

I checked the driveway to make sure that Miss. Miller's car was there. It was. They HAD to be home. I'm not proud of what I did next. I climbed up onto the roof and jumped inside the chimney. Ordinarily, that's not something I would do, but I needed to check on my mom and my kids.

I climbed out of the fireplace, which thankfully wasn't on. Miss. Miller only runs it in the wintertime, and it was summer after all. I coughed and looked down at my soot covered overalls. They weren't too bad. The soot stains paired with the dirt stains well, but they'd certainly need a wash tonight.

"Pippi!" I called out. "Zeela! Miss. Miller!" I heard some classical music coming from the kitchen. They must be in there!

When I entered, I was not prepared for what I saw. The place was a mess. Some half wet and half dry clay was coating the walls. Paint splatters were everywhere. Zeela sat in front of a canvas with a wonderful abstract rainbow painting on it. Miss. Miller was working on a pottery wheel, that had been dragged in to replace her dining room table. And Pippi? My tiny mouse was making a giant clay sculpture of our treehouse. It was incredible! So much detail! She was so talented! They all were! None of them heard me enter, because they were all caught up in the music.

"These look beautiful!" I exclaimed.

Miss. Miller stopped her pottery wheel and looked up. Pippi set down the ball of clay she was squeezing in her paws. Zeela turned her head away from the easel, but kept the brush against the canvas.

"Hello, dear!" Miss. Miller waved a clay covered hand.

Pippi squeaked angrily. I translated her squeaks into approximate words in my head. "You ruined the surprise!"

"Sur-pise" Zeela set the paintbrush down and held up her painting in her extendable arms. "I make this for you!" The little robot smiled. "Happy early birthday!"

My hands flew to my cheeks. "Awww. You did all this for my birthday? You know it's not until September 17th, right? The same as my sisters' birthday."

"Oh, we know." Miss. Miller washed her hands off in the kitchen sink. "But they both wanted to surprise you ahead of time."

Pippi's ears drooped. "And now the surprise is wrecked." She squeaked. "We were so close to being finished too."

I couldn't believe it. "So, this is why you wanted to come to Miss. Miller's?" I asked Pippi sweetly.

She nodded.

"Oh thank goodness." I let the clay covered mouse race up my arm and nuzzle my cheek. "I thought you didn't want to hang out with me anymore."

"She just not want you to see sur-pise." Zeela explained. "Because then it not be as special."

I tickled Pippi's head. "Awww. Any gift from you guys will always be special." I promised them.

"Well, I do still want a little more independence." Pippi squeaked. "But, that doesn't mean I don't wanna hang out with you at all." She nuzzled my cheek again.

I understood that. It made perfect sense. Much more sense than what I had been fearing. "I've missed you guys so much." I gushed.

Zeela hugged me with her extendable robot arms. "I miss you too."

"Yeah. It was really hard keeping this a secret." Pippi agreed. "And sorry I worried you."

"It's okay. It's okay." I patted her head again.

"Say Family Photo!" Miss. Miller held up an old fashioned instant camera and snapped a picture of us.

We all smiled for the picture.

With everything settled between me and my kids, I left them with Miss. Miller to continue finishing their art projects. I felt so blessed. Today was turning out to be a much better day than I thought.

I decided to shower and change my clothes before meeting up with the Green Living Club. I looked an unsightly mess, and I was leaving a sooty trail everywhere. I tossed my tie dye shirt and overalls in the laundry and put on a lilac T-shirt with a picture of Earth on it and the words Eco Girl. I paired it with some denim shorts with fake rhinestones decorating their cuffs.

I grabbed my bike and peddled to the school. When I arrived, Pamela G. and Patrick were already there waiting for me.

"Am I late?" I asked, dismounting my bike.

Pamela G. shook her head, causing her honey brown curly ponytail to swish. "No later than usual. This meetup was informal anyway."

Patrick pointed to all the saplings growing behind the school. "Look at them." He said proudly. "They'll be full size in no time."

He was right. They did appear to be growing very quickly.

"Summer's been good to them." Pamela adjusted her black cat's eye glasses. "Plenty of sunlight."

"And rain too." I added. Remembering the pouring rain we'd been having on and off throughout this month.

"So much rain." Patrick laughed. "I was playing in the backyard with my brother a couple days ago. We got soaked with BUCKETS of rain. Just came out of nowhere."

"I prefer rain to thunderstorms." I commented. I wondered when would be an appropriate time to ask what I came here to ask.

Pamela sighed. "At least my house didn't get flooded like last year."

"Oh I remember that." Patrick said. "It was crazy."

"So much water damage." She sat down in the grass. "Took us forever to replace everything."

"And here I thought the phrase is April showers." I said awkwardly. "Not August showers."

That got a small chuckle out of both of them.

Finally, Pamela gave me an indication that I could lead the conversation. "So, what's on your mind, Jeanette?"

Patrick sat down in the grass with us, his strawberry blonde hair falling over one of his eyes. He pushed it back and then looked directly at me.

I swallowed and mustered up my courage to speak about things. Thank goodness there were only two people around. "I know, uh,….we don't usually meet outside of school, but I have called you here today because I have…a really big problem."

"And that is?" Patrick asked.

I gulped. "I'm in l…l…love."

"Oh wow! You've finally fallen for Simon?" Pamela clapped her hands. "Good for you."

"N…N…Not Simon." I stuttered.

Patrick seemed confused. "Theodore?"

I shook my head. "A…A…lvin." I revealed, hoping that wouldn't change how they felt about me. Alvin had a reputation that was difficult to overcome.

Pamela's eyes were wide. "Stop the press. Are you serious right now?"

"Please don't try to talk me out of it." I politely begged "I came to you for advice on….telling him how I feel. You see, I know he loves me because he sang me a love song while we were at a restaurant together. But Brittany seems convinced he's supposed to be with her. Everything is so stressful and I never got a chance to really tell Alvin that I do love him back." I confessed.

"Well, then what are you waiting for? Tell the guy." Patrick exclaimed.

I rubbed the fur on my legs. It helped me stay relatively calm. "I can't! I get so nervous that I can't even speak to him."

The teen girl in the green shirt frowned. "Are you sure you want to date Alvin? The guy's an unstable basket case."

"I said, please don't try and talk me out of it." I repeated. "I already have Brittany telling me it's not a good idea."

Patrick put a finger on his chin. "Could you text him or something?"

"No way." Pamela interrupted. "She is not doing that. It's too informal."

"Sing him a song?" The boy suggested.

I sighed. They didn't have very good ideas. "I get so nervous when I think of him….My brain just refuses to cooperate." If I couldn't talk to him, singing was definitely out of the question.

The two teenagers continued to argue about what advice I should use.

"Maybe you should write a note to him?" Pamela suggested.

Patrick groaned. "How is that any different than texting?"

"It's a LOT more personal and takes more effort." The girl in green replied.

The shorter boy scoffed. "I'm not sure Alvin cares that much about effort. Have you seen his schoolwork?"

Okay, now I was feeling a bit cross. Why does everyone have such a poor opinion of that boy?

"Alvin's changed a lot in the past year and a half." I reminded them.

Pamela laughed in a dry and cough-like way. "I'm sure that's what he wants you to think."

I let out a heavy sigh. "I thought as my friends, you would support me."

"We do, we just wanna make sure you're thinking everything through." Patrick reasoned.

Pamela nudged him. "That's ironic coming from you."

The teen boy looked offended. "Hey, SOMETIMES I think." He protested.

I didn't want them to argue again, so I tried to get the conversation back on a more positive note.

"What would I even say in a note to Alvin?" I asked, sticking my hands in the pockets of my jean shorts.

Patrick shrugged. "Whatever's on your mind."

I tried to recall what exactly WAS on my mind. "Hi, sorry for bringing Brittany to the restaurant. My feelings are mutual and I would like to talk about them with you?"

"That works." Pamela handed me a small notepad and a pen. "Can you write that?"

I attempted to write, but my hands wouldn't stop shaking. I had too much nervous energy. "N…N….No. I think I need something pre-written."

The girl frowned. "I don't suppose you have anything."

"There's…one thing, but…. I'm not sure Alvin will like it." I told them.

Patrick looked eager. "Show us." He demanded.

I shook my head. "It's very personal."

"It's alright. You don't have to show us." Pamela sent Patrick a glare. "Just tell us." She urged me.

I felt my cheeks heat up to the point where it felt like I was burning alive. "It's a p…poem…about my feelings. I wrote it the day I discovered them." I said quietly. "It was supposed to help me get over him, but it didn't work."

"That's perfect!" The girl in green exclaimed.

Patrick didn't look so sure. "Is it sappy?"

"It's a love poem. Of course it's sappy." Pamela stared up at the clouds above us.

I was beginning to second guess myself again. "Maybe it's too sappy."

"Hey, if it's all you got, then it's worth a try. Right?" Patrick said.

Pamela nodded as she stood up. "You already know he loves you." She pointed out. "So there's no rejection to fear."

I hadn't thought about it that way. I stood up confidently. "Hmmm. Okay….I'll, I'll do it." I agreed.

We chatted a bit about some other things after that, but my mind was focused on sending Alvin the poem. When I finally left, I rode my bike home and ran upstairs to my bedroom. I fished the poem out of the secret hiding spot inside a drawer of my bookcase.

I sealed it up in a red envelope and put a purple flower sticker on it. Then, I took a deep breath and walked over to knock on the door of the Seville house.

Simon answered it. "Oh, hello, Jeanette. I've been expecting you."

I held out the envelope for him. "C…Can y…you givethistoAlvin?" I asked, beginning with a stutter and ending with a rush.

"Absolutely." Simon responded, holding the envelope close to his chest.

"Thankyou." I squeaked in a rush again.

The Chipmunk in the blue shirt smiled at me sympathetically. "No problem."

I gulped and then gave him an awkward smile. I ran away from the house as fast as I could and took refuge back in my bedroom. The deed was done. The poem would be in Alvin's hands soon. There was no turning back now.

JEANETTE: Alvin, the time has come for you to take it from here.

ALVIN: Cool! But, don't run off too far. I'll need you again this chapter.

JEANETTE: I'll just be working on some doodles in the meantime.

ALVIN: I bet they'll look amazing. Any doodles of us?

JEANETTE: (giggles) Perhaps a few.

ALVIN: I look forward to seein' 'em.

JEANETTE: Have fun on this section.

ALVIN: I'll do my best.

Alvin 2.0's POV

It was the day after the horrible incident at the Applebees. I was feeling bored, humiliated, lovesick, and a slew of other very complex emotions. I was angry at Brittany, but I also felt bad for her. I had tried to communicate with Jeanette by putting signs in the window. That was her idea, btw.

It had been fun for a little while, but then I decided to write "I love you" to her and she stopped responding. I guess I came on too strong. I have a bad habit of doing that.

I thought I could focus on physics to get my mind off the pain in my heart. Unfortunately, when I opened the physics book to do some light reading, nothing made sense to me. Of course my stupid lovesick brain was gonna play keep away with my genius.

Fine. If it was gonna be that way, I had other things that could easily fill my time. I took the 1989 Gameboy that my 80s self had given me out of my nightstand and began to play on it. I spent at least an hour fully immersed in it.

"Not in the mood for modern games, huh?" Simon's voice startled me.

"They're so complex." I said, not looking away from the screen. "My life is already super complex at the moment, so I wanted something more simple."

My brother in the blue T shirt with his name spelled out in periodic table elements, furrowed his eyebrows. "Interesting." He commented.

"Plus, I really like the sounds this thing makes." I added.

"They are quite annoying." Simon replied dryly.

I smiled. "Maybe to you. They soothe me."

He didn't seem to believe that one bit. "…Right." He rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I'm just here to remind you that you're meeting Brittany later today to discuss "you know what" with management."

Our impending break up. That is, if management allowed us to do such a thing. I didn't have high hopes.

"Great. Cool. Won't forget." I responded, still paying more attention to the game than my brother.

"You better not." He warned. "Brittany is already mad enough."

I used the sounds of the gameboy to drown him out. I didn't want to think about Brittany. I wanted to think about her even less than Jeanette.

But, eventually, I couldn't distract myself any longer. The feelings bubbled up again and I found myself wondering what life as Jeanette's boyfriend would look like. We definitely wouldn't be a popular couple, that's for sure.

"You'd be the lamest couple in town." Classic Alvin reminded me, as he manifested, sitting on my bed.

Nerdy Alvin sat beside him, dressed in full 2.0 getup. I hadn't seen him in a while. "No, they wouldn't. They'd be unique and daring and a couple that other couples would look up to."

"You don't know ANYTHING." Classic argued.

I lifted up the letter A T-shirt I was wearing to look at the long sleeved shirt underneath. It was the one Jeanette had bought me. The words were still clear as ever next to the design of the solar system.

"If the universe didn't need you, you wouldn't be here." It proclaimed.

I smiled, then frowned. "I love her, you guys. I really love her."

"And there's nothing wrong with that." Nerdy Alvin assured me. "It means you've grown enough to recognize someone who's a good match for you."

"A good match!?" Classic was still being his stubborn self. "A GOOD MATCH!? Ha!"

"Okay, mister." Nerdy me crossed his arms. "Have you got any evidence that she ISN'T a good match?"

"She's too much of a goody goody." Classic rolled his eyes. "She's boring."

"No she isn't!" I gushed happily. "She's one of the most interesting people on the whole planet." I insisted. "I need to be with her."

"You just think that because she's got you all twisted." Classic argued.

"Not twisted. Matured." Nerdy Alvin did a spin in midair. "It's personal growth."

"He's virtually unrecognizable!" Classic Alvin pointed his finger at me.

I twisted a strand of my shoulder length hair. "He's right about that." I admitted.

"That doesn't have to be a bad thing." Nerdy Alvin reminded my fun side.

Classic folded his arms and pouted. "I guess not. But still. It's JEANETTE. He'll never live this down."

"I'll be okay." I murmured. "As long as she likes me back."

"Well, she CLEARLY doesn't." My old self huffed. "Otherwise, she'd be here talking to ya."

I shook my head and paced the floor. "She's too nervous. I really shocked her with that song."

"I know you know what's best." Nerdy me said with a wink, before vanishing. "Trust your heart."

"His heart is malfunctioning!" Classic grumbled.

"Or does it just SEEM that way?" I wondered out loud.

My fun side rolled his eyes and vanished as well. "I hope, whatever happens, that you make a decision you can LIVE with."

Gulp. Yeah. I hoped that too. This crush had come out of nowhere and changed the course of my life. But had it changed for the worse? Or the better? Would I ever really know?

I needed someone to talk to outside of my own brain. So, I called up one of the Chipettes using my cell phone. Hopefully, they could give me advice on how to handle this possibly unrequited crush.

"Hello?" Eleanor answered, just as I'd expected her to.

I jumped right into my predicament. "Jeanette's stolen my heart and turned me into a freak!" I moaned. "How can I survive like this?"

I received a heavy sigh in response. "Why are you asking me?"

"Because I can't ask Jeanette and I sure as heck can't ask Brittany!" I reasoned.

Eleanor sounded aggravated. "So I'm the last resort?"

"Yes, but…." I didn't even get to finish my thought.

The line went dead.

"Hello? Hello? HELLO!?" I continued to shout into the phone.

Did she hang up on me? But why? Was she as mad at me as Brittany? Or did she just hate being the last resort?

I slumped my way downstairs to find Dave and Theodore working on a song together in the music room.

"The Chipettes all hate me now." I sputtered while tears gathered in my eyes. "I didn't realize I screwed up THIS bad."

"I'm sure they don't hate you, Alvin." Theodore responded, looking up from the sheet music he was adding notes to. "They're just figuring out what to do next."

"What exactly went on last night?" Dave stood up from his piano and looked at me, expecting a truthful answer.

"Uhhhh….just stuff." I fumbled out, awkwardly shuffling my feet.

My dad got suspicious. "What did you do?"

"Nothing bad on purpose." I answered honestly. "But, well,…."

I caught him up on everything. My new crush, Brittany thinking the publicity dates were real, getting banned from Applebees following my little dancing across the table stunt, and then the fact that Eleanor just hung up on me with no warning.

"I think you should apologize to Brittany, for starters." My dad said firmly.

I groaned. "Yeah, uh, already tried that. She didn't accept it and banned me from the treehouse."

"Then you need to give her time and apologize again. And apologize to Jeanette too. That was probably a very stressful experience for her. You know she doesn't like being the center of attention." He went on.

"Dave's right, Alvin." Theodore added.

"How come I have to apologize for that!? Brittany never apologized for pushing me into accepting the publicity dates and then purposely keeping me hooked with the promise of lavish gifts and a mystery bag full of secret prizes!" I complained.

Theodore just shrugged. "Maybe she will if you apologize first."

I growled. "I always apologize first! If I do it first this time, she's gonna guilt trip me into dating her again! I just know it!"

Dave rubbed his forehead. "Alvin, she's going through a lot. She's not as bad as you make her out to be."

"She's going through a lot!? What about me!? I'm the one who changed so much that she can't stand me and she says she wants to be my friend, but then treats me like garbage and makes me feel guilty for liking who I am! She's the one who constantly picks on me and pushes my triggers, but when I call her out on it, she claims she was just joking around. And, on top of everything else, she SAID she accepted me, but it was just another lie to try and force me to be her glorified dress up doll. Well, I've HAD IT!"

"But you don't have her side of the story." Dave pointed out.

"Dave, the whole publicity dating thing was HER idea. She literally told me it was. She ASKED management. She set the whole thing up." I insisted, recalling the conversation I had with Brittany in the hot air balloon.

Dave just shook his head. "If that's true, then I don't know what to think."

There were a few moments of silence before Theodore spoke up. "But I do."

I turned my attention toward him. "You do?"

"Yeah." He frowned. "Brittany thinks you died. Nobody can seem to get that thought out of her head. She's acting crazy and desperate because she's grieving."

"Oh…" I didn't like thinking about that. "Well, that still doesn't give her the right to treat me like this."

"I know." My baby bro went on. "I'm not saying it does. But, well, think about all the times you've interacted with Brittany…" His lip quivered. "Have you ever acted like Classic Alvin around her when you weren't feeling forced?"

I thought about that for a moment. "No. I guess not. My fun side only comes out when I'm relaxed. When I'm around Britt, I feel like I can't relax."

"That makes a lot of sense." Dave noted.

Theodore continued making me feel even guiltier than I already felt. "So while you've been getting mad at Brittany for thinking that Classic Alvin's gone forever, you haven't considered that from what she's seen…it FEELS like he isn't part of you anymore."

"So I have to apologize for that too?" I asked, looking at my shoes.

"Yeah. Probably." My little bro said softly. "Because it might be the only way to stay her friend."

I sighed. "I feel like all I do is apologize and nothing ever gets any better."

"Brittany just needs time." Dave reminded me. "She's losing a relationship that she feels she put a lot of effort into. Her feelings are just as important as yours."

I crossed my arms. "I don't feel like my feelings are very important to her."

"Just apologize to her and then we'll go from there." Theodore patted my back.

I frowned. "I will think about how to apologize, but right now I'm gonna focus on what to do about my own feelings. Which, is NOT selfish. It's self care." I reminded them, and myself too.

Dave and Theodore exchanged worried glances, but ultimately let me be.

"Alright." My dad said finally. "Just don't wait too long."

I scampered out of the music room and then decided that if Eleanor refused to talk to me on the phone, I'd find another way to get to her. Who cares that Brittany "banned" me from the treehouse? I had every right to be there. And, if I saw Jeanette, then that was a delightful bonus.

I climbed the staircase and knocked at the locked door. I paced back and forth in front of it, waiting for someone to answer.

The door swung open and an angry Eleanor stepped outside wearing a dark teal tank top.

"What are you doing here?" She grumbled.

I fell to my knees. "Ells, I really really really need your advice!"

The pigtailed girl huffed. "Why does EVERYONE come to me for romance advice!?"

"Because you think of it logically! And we can't! Because we're emotional messes!"

She sighed. "Fair enough."

"Great!" I followed her into the treehouse.

"Just so you know, Jeanette's not home right now." The youngest Chipette said, sitting down at the table and putting her feet on it.

"That's fine." I replied. "I want to talk to you."

"Yeah." She scowled. "The last resort."

I frowned apologetically. "A terrible way to have phrased that. I know. Sorry."

"So, what exactly did you wanna ask me?" The green eyed girl put her hands behind her head. "Because I have a question for you too."

"I just wanna know if you think that Jeanette and I would make a good couple or if I'm wasting my time." I blurted out.

She let out a short whistle.

"Personally, why do you care what I think? This is between you and Jeanette." The blonde Chipette responded.

I sat down and rested my chin in my hands. "Because I'm an impulsive idiot, that's why." I admitted. "I'm worried I might do something I regret."

"There it is." Eleanor laughed. "Didn't take you as long to confess as I thought."

"What if Jeanette and I aren't as compatible as I think we are? What if we're better off friends? I should have never told her I loved her. I ruined EVERYTHING!" I started hitting Eleanor with rapid fire questions.

"Calm down, dude." She got up and poured us both some fruit punch. "Here, have a drink. When was the last time you drank anything?"

"Uhhh…probably 4 or 5 hours ago." I realized. "I was playing my gameboy and lost track of time."

"My god. It's summer, man. How are you not completely dehydrated?" She set the cup of fruit punch down in front of me. "DRINK!" She ordered.

I let the refreshing taste of the punch quench my thirst. Hey, maybe now I could focus on reading physics again! Urgh, stop getting distracted, brain!

"Better?" Eleanor asked.

I nodded. "So, can you help with my dilemma or not?"

She nodded. "In my opinion, if you're both super close best friends, then there's no reason to think you wouldn't make a good couple."

I felt my ears perk up. "Really?"

"Yes." The youngest Chipette replied. "However, if you want the relationship to last, you also have to be sure that you're being true to yourself."

"I AM!" I insisted. "Why does everyone think I'm not?"

The pigtailed girl in the teal outfit sighed. "Sometimes, when you act so out of character to please others, eventually you just…become the person you're pretending to be. Do you think that's what happened? Is that what created Alvin 2.0?" She took a long sip of her fruit punch.

I had been considering that a little lately, ever since Theo had said I changed for Jeanette as much as I had for physics. But were ALL the changes for her? Were MOST of them?

I didn't have an answer. "….I don't know. There were a lot of factors."

"And the biggest one was Jeanette." The green eyed Chipette insisted.

I got defensive immediately. "Not necessarily!"

Eleanor narrowed her eyes. "Don't lie to me, Alvin."

"I'm not LYING!" I protested. Why does everyone always accuse me of not knowing my own feelings?

She sighed once again. "I think you have to consider whether or not you've always liked

Jeanette. Because, if you had a soft spot for her before, then great." She frowned. "But, if you only like her because you changed, maybe it's time to re-evaluate those changes and decide once and for all how many of them are what you truly want….for yourself."

I groaned. This was no help. I was more confused than I had been before talking to her. "I feel like all I do is re-evaluate!"

"Yep. It's a pain in the butt." She took another sip of fruit punch. "But you'll thank me later."

I grumbled sarcastically. "Thanks for making this SO MUCH MORE COMPLICATED!" I stood up and pushed my chair in.

"You're welcome." She beamed. She was having fun toying with my head.

"You know, THIS is the reason you're always people's last resort." I snapped.

"I gave you good advice." Eleanor assured me. "You just haven't caught onto it because you're too busy freaking out."

"Whatever you say, Elignored." I retorted coldly. I was so mad. And scared.

"At least I didn't get my tushie wedged in a window." She taunted back.

My eyes widened. "How did you know about that?"

She finished her fruit punch and smirked. "We have security cameras."

"Aw nuts!" I exclaimed. That implied Brittany had seen my epic fail too. I had to get out of there.

Not long after leaving the treehouse, I grabbed myself an (exceptionally late) lunch. I chose a hot dog and added a ton of relish and ketchup to it. Fun fact: I hate tomatoes, but I love ketchup, which is made from tomatoes. Go figure.

After I finished that, I watched some Johnny Test episodes and then I got ready to give the management team a piece of my mind. I dressed up as my classic self, but I kept my glasses on and slid the contact lens case into my jean pocket.

I hopped in my hot rod and texted Brittany to say I was ready to go. She climbed down the treehouse steps and sulked as she got into the passenger seat. "At least you didn't honk this time." She mumbled.

"Hey, uh, about yesterday…I'm sorry. I really, honestly, thought the dates were just for show." I told her. "And I didn't mean to break your heart."

"It's fine." She muttered. "Let's just get this done and over with."

I nudged her. "Is there anything you'd like to apologize for?"

She rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "I'm sorry I pushed you into publicity dating when you weren't ready."

"Thank you." I breathed a sigh of relief. "I forgive you."

She looked at me with a face full of misery. "Do we still have to break up?"

I gripped the steering wheel of my toy hot rod tighter. "Yes, Britt. We do. It'll be better in the long run, for both of us."

She didn't respond. She just slumped down in her seat. Theo was right. The grief was strong.

The two of us arrived at the company and took a very quiet and tense elevator ride all the way to the 12th floor.

I barged into the meeting room and shouted. "We want to break up!"

The shorter management guy gasped. "What? I thought you were doing so well!"

"We weren't." Brittany said, standing beside me looking like her entire life was over. "He was pretending."

"Come on, Alvin." The blonde guy brought out the shimmering rainbow gift bag. "You only have to last three more days and you can have this. Don't you want to see what's inside it?"

"No." I held my ground firmly. "I'm interested in getting my freedom back. I'm onto your little game." I hissed. "I bet there's nothing in that gift bag except tissue paper!"

The shorter guy reached into the gift bag and pulled out a videogame. But not just any videogame, Masters Of Zolinda Vol 6! I'd wanted that game for ages! Nohoho! Don't give in! Don't give in!

"Just think. Only three more days and this could be all yours." The tan skinned dude said with a devious smirk.

"I'm not going to continue to let you profit off of my personal life." I told them sharply. "Keep your stupid handouts. I have enough videogames at home."

The two men looked shocked.

"Brittany, what are your thoughts on this?" The blonde man asked her sympathetically. "Are you just going to let him walk away? After all you've done for him?"

The girl in the pink sundress sighed. "Yes. Yes I am. I don't own him. He is free to live his own life." She recited rather robotically.

"Hmmm. Alright." The tan skinned dude frowned.

The blonde guy adjusted his tie. "Your fighting is very entertaining. I'm sure the fans have missed it."

I exchanged glances with Brittany. "You ready for this?"

"Let's do it." She wiped away a tear.

A few minutes later, we were both watching the breakup video we'd recorded together. We both gave it our all. I slipped my contacts out and glasses back on, so I could fully enjoy it.

"YOU ARE THE WORST BOYFRIEND EVER!" Brittany yelled at me in the video.

"WELL, YOU'RE NOT GREAT EITHER!" I shouted back.

"I knew this wouldn't work!" Brittany fumed. "You only care about yourself!"

"And you only care about pretty dresses and pink bows!" I sassed.

"You take that back!" The diva growled.

"Oh you'd like that, wouldn't ya?" I taunted.

"That's it!" Brittany clenched her fists and stomped her foot. "We are officially DONE! Get out of my face!"

"You get out of mine!" I replied angrily.

Brittany paused the video. "Think that's enough footage?"

I nodded. "Yeah." I mumbled. "It's plenty." I knew most people would take Britt's side and I'd be painted as a villain, as usual. But right now, I just wanted us officially broken up by whatever means necessary.

On the drive back home, I smiled at Brittany. "Thanks for letting me go."

She frowned. "It's whatever."

"It took a lot of self control." I said, revving up the engine of my hot rod.

"I don't suppose we can date outside of publicity dates." She said sadly. "Just to try it out?"

Gosh, she was NEVER going to give up. "Britt, if Jeanette wants to date me, then I'm going to be her boyfriend."

That made Brittany aggravated again. She tried everything she could to talk me out of it.

"Your feelings for Jeanette aren't real. Like Simon said, you only fell in love with her helping you. You don't love her romantically. You love her as a therapist! Someone to share your emotions with. I could share emotions with you too. We could share them together. Please, don't throw this all away and date my sister!" She begged.

"But…but I love her!" I said truthfully. "It's not fake! It's not transference or misplaced affection…it's genuine love! I want Jeanette Miller to be my Mystic Mate!"

"Well, unfortunately, you don't get to choose." Here Brittany went with the mind games again.

"Who says?" I argued.

She scoffed. "Uh, Karma's daughter named Destiny or whoever."

"Screw Destiny." I said forcefully. "I want Jeanette!"

"You can't date my sister!" Brittany repeated for the zillionth time. "She belongs with Simon!"

"Simon doesn't like her that way!" I repeated for the zillionth time. Look, I know, I'm exaggerating, but this is how it feels!

"That's what he told you! It doesn't mean that's true!" Brittany argued again.

"I'm still asking Jeanette out." I told her angrily.

She frowned and held back tears. "You'll regret it."

"No, I won't." I clenched my jaw. "We have great chemistry! I just have to talk to her. Please!"

I just couldn't talk any sense into this girl. She was stuck in her ways. Traditional pairs or nothing.

"Alvin, give it up. You can't make a love triangle. This isn't that kind of TV show." The ice blue eyed Chipette warned me.

I thought about all the people who tried to talk me into dating Brittany, even though we were wrong for each other. I thought about Eleanor and Theo discouraging me from dating Jeanette, at least until Simon and I talked sense into Theo. I thought about my changes and how I'd ASKED Jeanette to help me be a better person. I WANTED these changes for myself. If I hadn't wanted them, I wouldn't have fought so hard to keep them.

"Too late." I snarled at Brittany. "I've made up my mind. I've spent a lot of time trusting my brain. Now, I gotta trust my heart."

"You won't be happy with my sister." She claimed once again. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

I parked my hot rod in our driveway. "You don't know me at all." I said, getting out and slamming the car door.

Brittany got out behind me and took one last look of yearning. Yearning for something she couldn't have. At least, not the way she wanted it.

We both split paths and headed into our houses. I was stopped at the door by Simon.

"Thank goodness you're home." He smiled like he knew something I didn't.

I yawned. "I'm exhausted and it's only dinnertime."

"Was it bad?" My blue clad brother asked.

I threw my hands in the air. "She doesn't understand! Every time I think she's making progress, she goes back to trying to convince me not to ask her sister out." I hastily changed into my crimson and gold letter A shirt with cyan accents on the collar and sleeves and let my hair down from under the baseball cap.

"Oof." Was all Simon had to say to that.

I rubbed the side of my head. "Look, if Jeanette doesn't love me and isn't interested in dating, then I'll be fine. But, I have to hear it from HER, not her bratty sister." I continued to get more and more annoyed.

"Yeah, uh, about that." Simon pulled out a red envelope from behind his back. "This came for you while you were gone. It's from Jeanette."

My eyes widened and I took the letter from Simon. "Oh gosh. What do you think is inside?"

"There's only one way to find out." He led me to the table.

Theodore joined us. "What's that?" He asked, pointing to the envelope.

"A letter from Jeanette." I carefully pried the flower sticker up.

"Oooh what does it say? What does it say?" Theodore jumped up on the dining room table excitedly.

I read through the words written on the sheet of paper. My heartbeat sped up to the point where it was far beyond a constant vibration.

"It's a poem." I breathed in disbelief. "And it says that she's in love with me too!"

We all smiled wide together, celebrating the note and what it meant for me.

Simon let out a breath that he'd been holding in, but that wasn't the only thing he'd been holding in.

"Finally!" He was gasping for air. "I've known for a few days." He confessed. "But I didn't want to tell you FOR her, you know."

"Wait, you knew!? She told you?" I thought about it for a few seconds. "Of course she told you. What about Theo?"

My baby bro looked confused. "I didn't know she liked you back."

"It was just me." Simon flopped his head on the table. "I'm going to sleep well tonight."

"Now what do I do?" I asked.

"Are you kidding!?" Simon flicked my forehead with his finger. "You TALK to her at last."

"After dinner though." I rubbed my stomach. "Because I gotta nourish the ol brainy brain."

Simon chuckled. "But of course."

"Yaaaay!" Theodore jumped on the table. "The Alvinette ship is sailing!"

I put the poem back in the envelope and then sent Jeanette a text letting her know I received it.

[I loved your poem.]

She sent back her signature smiling kitty face.

I couldn't wipe the stupid lovestruck grin off mine.

ALVIN: Netta, you're up again!

JEANETTE: Hooray! How close are we to the end of this story?

ALVIN: No idea. It's looking to be pretty long again.

JEANETTE: Is this the part where we discuss the future of our relationship?

ALVIN: Yep.

JEANETTE: Oh super! I've been really excited for this part!

ALVIN: Me too!

Jeanette's POV

I got a text from Alvin while I was having some spaghetti with veggie balls for dinner. He'd read my poem! And he liked it! Oh my gosh! He liked it! This was happening! This was happening too fast!

I finished my dinner and checked on my sisters. Eleanor was in the attic running on a treadmill and Brittany was on the couch mindlessly flipping through TV stations to find something that wasn't about romance.

I sat down beside her. "Are you okay?" I asked tenderly.

"I'll never be okay again." She said with a venomous tone.

I frowned. "Come on now, Britt." I urged her. "It'll be alright. You'll see."

"Leave me alone, sis." She grumbled.

I gulped. "Britt, I'll go, but…c…c…can I ask one more question?"

"Sure." She flipped through more TV stations.

"Do you still like me?" I put my hands behind my back.

Brittany smiled just a little. "Of course. You're my sister. This won't come between us, I promise." She found one of our home movies sitting on the end table next to the couch. The title on it was Royal Pain. She looked at the DVD case sadly. "Just let me have time to grieve."

I nodded to show that I understood and respected my sister. Then, I slipped away to the kitchen again. I was almost finished cleaning my spot when I heard a knock at the door.

Now who could that be!? Gasp, what if it was Alvin!? Was I ready to see him!? What if he wanted to get too serious!? Could I bring myself to even speak to him yet?

I took a few deep breaths to calm my nerves. He's seen the poem. It's okay. And no matter what, Alvin isn't going to push me into something I'm not comfortable doing. He's not that kind of guy. At least, not since the lessons were so effective.

I opened the door and smiled at him. I decided to let him talk first, because I had absolutely no clue how to start a conversation about our future together.

"Hey, Netta." Alvin waved at me quickly. "It's been a wild week, hasn't it?"

I nodded. "Yes. Extremely."

"So, uh, are you free tonight? I wanna make up for the whole restaurant disaster." The red capped boy rubbed his neck.

"I am." I frowned. "But Brittany's downstairs so maybe we should go to your house to talk."

Alvin got visibly tense from just the mention of my sister's name. "Good idea."

I extended my hand, so that he could take it. It was a gesture we'd done as friends many times. Did it mean something more now? Had it always meant something more? Would I ever know exactly when I fell for him?

Alvin took my hand and squeezed it gently. We both stepped carefully down the winding staircase. It felt good to be in contact with Alvin again, after spending nearly an entire day without talking to him.

"After you, babe." He said, holding open the doggy door in the front door of his house for me. Then, he made a disgusted face. "I am so sorry you had to hear that. Babe doesn't really suit you as a nickname, does it?"

I couldn't help but giggle. "I prefer Netta." I replied.

"Then Netta it shall be for eternity." He said gallantly. "Unless you decide that you don't like it in the future."

I smiled even wider. "I think I'll always like it." I looked around his house and then spotted the stairs. "Shall we hide out in your lab?" I asked. "So that we have some privacy?"

He nodded. "Took the words right outta my mouth."

"That's physically impossible…" I responded. "Oh, wait, is that an expression?"

He chuckled. "Yeah. Pretty much. Ya know, maybe I could give you some lessons on those. If you're up to it."

"Sounds like fun!" My tail began to wag as I followed him into the lab under the stairs.

"So,…" Alvin 2.0 began once he'd closed the lab door and made sure that we were both alone in here. "I said I loved your poem, but I don't believe you ever got to tell me if you loved my song or not." He looked at me sheepishly. "Was it too much? Did it embarrass you? Brittany said it embarrassed you, but I am done believing her without a second opinion."

I twisted the friendship bracelets on my wrist and noticed that Alvin was wearing matching ones. Ones that he'd made with me on a lazy summer day in the treehouse.

"It was surprising." I answered honestly. "But I enjoyed it. You're a fantastic singer, but you probably already knew that." I felt my cheeks heat up.

"You're a fantastic singer AND dancer AND writer." He squeaked.

I felt myself start to hyperventilate. "Oh, you…" I murmured in a way that may have been flirtatious, but I'm not sure if it was or not.

"I never thought I'd fall this hard for anyone." Alvin went on, grabbing hold of my hand again. "And you know how many girls I've had crushes on." He smiled. "This feels different than those crushes." He said softly. "It feels right…so right that nothing can come between us."

"I feel that way too!" I answered automatically.

"So it's official then?" Alvin asked, his crystal blue eyes wide. "We're gonna start dating?"

I let go of his hand. "Oh I dunno. It's a huge commitment, and I like you, but I think that we both need more time to get accustomed to this. To, well, uh, see if the feelings last." I rambled. "So let's not make it official just yet. Call it, uh, an experiment."

"You know how much I love experiments." He winked at me, which sent shivers up my spine. "I'm totally cool with waiting."

"So, I was thinking we could maybe intersperse all the friend stuff we do, with some more romantic stuff every now and then." I told him as I sat down in his yellow beanbag chair.

"Like kissing?" Alvin tilted his head as he sat down in the red beanbag chair. His cheeks were turning as pink as mine must have been.

"Uhhhh…." I fumbled out. "I'm not sure about kissing."

"It doesn't have to be on the lips." Alvin clarified in a rush. "Permission to kiss your cheek?"

I felt even more nervous all of a sudden. "Oh, I dunno, Alvin. Maybe that's a little too fast." I answered. I had the right to set boundaries for myself.

And, Alvin respected my boundaries, like a good half friend and half boyfriend should. "Yeah. Heh heh. Dumb idea. Forget I said that." He chuckled nervously.

Suddenly, I had an idea. You see, I thought I might do something embarrassing or react too badly if he kissed me. But if I were to take the lead, then it's less scary because Alvin's gonna be the one having the utterly lovestruck reaction. Plus, he's USED to girls kissing him.

"Wait,…uh, oh, I still don't know." I shook my hands to wick away the sweat. It was a good thing that only my hands were sweaty. Poor Alvin was sweating from everywhere.

"Netta, I promise, it's fine." He repeated. "I shouldn't have tried to rush ya."

I smiled at him sweetly. "What if….What if I kiss yours instead?"

"Oh!" His blue eyes sparkled. "Okay!"

I closed my eyes and planted my lips ever so softly on Alvin's cheek for a total of about two or three seconds.

His face turned a lot redder. He looked dazed for a moment and then shook himself back to reality.

"So….how was it?" He asked, brushing his furry fingers across the spot I'd just kissed.

"Well, my lips taste all tangy and strange now, but….I liked it." I responded, trying to decipher what flavor was now on my lips.

"Tangy?" Alvin looked confused, before arriving at the answer. "Ohhh….that would be the cheeseball residue."

I laughed and blushed even harder. "Of course." I frowned as another thought crossed my mind. "Alvin, maybe…maybe this experiment isn't such a good idea."

"What?" He looked confused. "Why not? Is this about Britt? She can't tell us what to do, Netta."

I started to cry. "I'm not ready for a boyfriend, Alvin. I'm not ready for a romantic relationship at all."

He reached out and patted my shoulder. "Hey, hey, don't cry. It's okay. Are you trying to say you're not emotionally there yet?"

"Oh, no, Because I'm too….young." I answered, feeling puzzled. Why didn't I want to do this? Had the kiss still flustered me that badly?

"But, Netta, we….we don't age." He reminded me with a playful grin.

"Oh, I forgot that." I rubbed my chin. "Hmmm. Maybe, uh, maybe we'll have to work up to that!" I decided.

Alvin 2.0 let out a heavy sigh. "I just dunno what to do. If we DO date, it'll shake up, you know, EVERYTHING."

"And if we don't, I feel like we'll always wonder what it would be like if we did." I nibbled my lip.

"Exactly!" Alvin looked into my eyes. "So what do we do? Do we take the leap? Do we stay friends? I'm really good either way, as long as I still get to spend time with you."

I pushed my round glasses up because they were sliding down my nose again. "Perhaps…we can wait a little longer…before becoming official. But we can still do things like hold hands and cuddle." I offered.

"Sounds good to me." Alvin agreed. "Wait, Does this make things weird between us?" He asked awkwardly.

I smiled. "It does." I told him excitedly. "But I love weird!"

"Ohoho! Then it's settled!" He jumped up from his bean bag chair. "Whenever you're ready, I want YOU to be the one to ask me out."

I hesitated. "Oh, that seems…like a lot of pressure."

He helped me up out of the beanbag chair I was sinking into. "Well, you know, I don't want to wind up pestering you over and over by asking for updates on how you're feeling about it. If that makes sense. Does it make sense? I'm rambling, I'm sorry. I'll shut up now." He squeaked.

Ohhh! I understood now. I'm glad he explained it like that.

"Yes. It does." I pulled him closer, into a warm embrace. "It makes perfect sense. I…I can do that for you."

"Stupendous." He blushed so hard that his freckles almost disappeared. "I will wait for you, Jeanette. As long as it takes."

I nodded. "And until then, we're inseparable friends!"

We both high fived each other.

"Totally!" Alvin quipped.

I giggled. "Maybe we aren't so bad at this romance thing after all."

"Yeah. I mean, we know how to make compromises." He said sweetly. "And we know each other's rhythms. And I love the person I am when I'm with you."

"I love the person I am with you as well!" I gushed.

"We just make sense together." He finished proudly. "It's you and me, two weirdos ready to take on the world."

I frowned again. The anxious thoughts were clouding my mind.

"Netta? What's wrong? Did I make it overly weird? Like have I crossed the weird threshold too far?" Alvin noticed my shift in mood immediately.

"Oh, no no. Nothing of a sort." I fidgeted with my hands. "Sometimes, I just wonder if my lessons actually helped you, or if they made you more unstable and turned you into someone you're not comfortable being."

"Netta, come on!" He smiled even wider. "Of course they helped! They did exactly what you said they would! So what if I turned into an even bigger nerd? Being open-minded can do that to you and I wanted to be open-minded!" He put an arm around me. "Bottom line is, I fought to keep this new me. I chose that. You never made me choose that. It was MY decision."

"Are you sure?" I asked softly. "I didn't ruin you."

"No, you didn't. We worked together to hack my ADHD brain and unleash my full potential." He insisted. "And guess what?"

"W…What?" I wondered aloud.

"I wouldn't trade my new brain for anything." He smiled so wide that I could make out a bit of the retainer.

I was honestly surprised he hadn't lost it yet, but I would never mention that to him. It's a thought that belongs with me only.

I breathed a sigh of relief. He was alright. He didn't mind the alterations and he didn't resent me for them. Everything was okay. We were both going to be okay.

"Oh thank goodness." I squeaked.

We walked hand in hand together toward the door, when Alvin suddenly broke out into song again. It was the second verse of Someday, from Zombies. He sang it faster than the ballad version we'd sung for ballet practice.

"Girl, you look stupendous

Oh, I mean gorgeous"

"Well, now you're getting fearless" I sang along.

Alvin shuffled across the lab floor. "No, I'm just rooting for us"

I leapt onto one of the bean bags.

"If different was a super power,

We'd be so flawless"

"Yeah, we could make these two worlds ours

I'm rooting for us!"

We both chorused together.

"Two lonely hearts meet in the dark

Imagine it now they start a spark"

Alvin grabbed my hand and led me to his desk and lab table.

I sat down in the seat with my hands in my lap.

"You got my attention.

What happens next, then?"

"Movies and long walks in the park.

Hanging out anywhere we want"

Alvin waved his arms around as he sang. I love it when he does that.

"I like the way you're thinking

I can almost see it"

I nodded my head and then jumped up out of the chair to join him.

"Someday

This could be, this could be ordinary

Someday

Could we be something extraordinary?"

We leaned in close to each other, and our noses touched as we sang together in harmony. Sweet harmony.

"You and me side by side"

Alvin twirled me closer to him.

"Out in the broad daylight"

I almost tripped, but Alvin caught me.

"If they laugh, we'll say

We're gonna be someday"

I hugged him tightly and then we broke apart, both running toward the lab exit.

"Someday, someday

We're gonna be someday."

"I can't wait for someday." I said with a small giggle.

Alvin giggled too. "Me either." He opened the lab door. "Me either."

We walked out of the lab side by side, and I knew for a fact that Alvin and I were the perfect match. Maybe not soulmates? I wouldn't go that far, but definitely a good couple that could hopefully withstand the test of time.

The next day, Alvin and I had our first date…or, well, it wasn't REALLY a date. It was just a friendship hangout like we usually had. A nice picnic in the park. What made it so significant was that it was the first one we'd had after realizing that we're head over heels for each other.

Oh, and Warbie, Pippi, and Zeela joined us. Having them there was helpful. It took some of the awkwardness away from Alvin and I. We were still learning to navigate this slightly altered friendship. Plus, I loved spending time with my kids…and Alvin's kid.

"Do you wanna see how many cheeseballs I can fit in my cheeks?" The red capped boy asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"HECK YEAH!" Warbie cheered.

I tilted my head quizzically. "Only if you promise you won't choke."

Pippi squeaked in agreement with Warbie.

Zeela just lined up the silverware on our picnic blanket.

"I'm not gonna choke." Alvin assured me. "Chipmunk cheeks can stretch." He stretched his cheeks out by pulling at them with his hands. "See?"

I giggled. "Okay, okay." I replied. "As long as you're aware there's still a level of risk."

"I am." He started shoving the orange spheres into his mouth.

"Go Alvin! Go!" Warbie cheered again.

Pippi put her tiny paw in her mouth and whistled at him. It was adorable.

Turns out, his record was about 50 cheeseballs. 25 in each cheek pouch. I don't know why anyone would try to do that, but at least he was making use of his unique chipmunk abilities.

After he finished, and finished slowly eating every one of those cheeseballs without choking, we gazed up at the clouds.

"Check it out!" Warbie pointed as well as someone with a wing instead of a hand could. "That one looks like a bird."

Alvin cocked his head to the side. "Looks more like a banana to me."

"Nuh uh. It's totally a bird." Argued the yellow warbler.

"Fine. Sure. It's a bird." Alvin said in defeat.

Zeela pointed up at one of the clouds. "That one look like a ferocious dragon."

Pippi located one that she claimed looked like a flower, but personally I didn't see it.

As we were all cloudgazing, Theodore and Simon strolled by with Geizmo.

"Hi, Zeela!" Geizmo waved at her.

"Hi!" My robot daughter waved back. "Do you want to join our picnic?"

"Yaaay! Picnic!" Geizmo ran over and made himself at home on the picnic blanket beside Zeela.

"Isn't that cute?" Theodore squeaked. "You're like one big happy family."

Simon muffled his laughs.

Alvin and I looked at each other in shock.

"I guess we are…kinda." I admitted, my cheeks warming up again.

"Y…Yeah." Alvin smirked. "A really weird family."

"Well, weirdness does run in the Seville gene pool." Simon quipped with a relaxed smile.

I grinned at him. "And the Miller gene pool too."

"So what brings you guys out here?" Alvin asked his brothers. "Did you come to spy on us?"

"Funny you should mention that." Simon held out a ziploc bag containing a familiar cyan and silver colored object. Alvin's retainer. "You left something very important behind at breakfast today."

Alvin took the bag, looking embarrassed. "Thanks, bro."

Simon grinned wider. "What would you do without me?"

I closed my eyes and felt the warm summer breeze brush against my cheeks, cooling them down after my blushing from earlier. This was the way life was meant to be. I wished Brittany and Eleanor had stopped here too to say hi, but I'm sure there will be other times. Brittany will come to terms with things in her own way. And Eleanor, well, she could be watching us from a tree right now and we'd never know.

It was nice to finally have that confusing mess of uncertainty behind us. Alvin and I were taking things slowly, just a day at a time. It was a pace we were both comfortable with. Romance did change things for us, but it didn't change them too much. And eventually, we both got less blushy and nervous around each other too. The relationship stabilized into the strongest bond I've ever felt with anyone in my life.

I think this is my last time narrating this fic. I would like to say it has been a marvelous experience. I am so glad that I could share my interpretation of events. I will definitely miss this, but I am super excited to write more on different stories. Preferably, ones with a lot less drama. Take care, everyone. Remember to be kind to each other and our planet!

JEANETTE: Your turn again, bring us to the conclusion, Alvin!

ALVIN: Here goes!

JEANETTE: And when you finish, Simon wanted you to know he bought you some gummy Nerds candies.

ALVIN: OH BOY OH BOY! YESSS! Okay, uh, where are we now?

JEANETTE: The final scenes.

ALVIN: Oh brother. (Nervous laugh) Here we go.

Alvin 2.0's POV

Things went so well during the picnic, but I was in for a shock when I got home. We all were. You see, while we were out enjoying the day, some stuff had been happening in our backyard…and it was…interesting to say the least.

Nothing seemed amiss at first, but then Simon spotted something that concerned him a lot.

He walked up to me with a serious look on his face. "You have to talk to Brittany." He told me sadly.

"I said, I'll get to it." I muttered. "I'm still figuring out exactly what to say."

"Alvin, I don't think you realize how serious this is." Simon started to pull me into the backyard. "She is not well."

"What are you talking abou…." I entered the backyard to find Brittany sitting there, sobbing. But that wasn't the concerning part.

She was sitting in front of four medium sized tombstones.

Eleanor was with her, watching from a spot in a lawn chair. "Oh, hey guys." The youngest Chipette said with a hint of mirth. "Are you here for the funeral?"

"Eleanor, this isn't funny." Simon snapped.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm sad for her." Eleanor told us. "But I also find this hysterical."

"Brittany, are you alright?" Theodore sat down next to her.

Jeanette followed him. "What is…what is all this for?"

Brittany didn't respond, she just kept crying. "This wasn't supposed to happen. It wasn't supposed to end this way. Whyyy!? Why, cruel world, why!?"

I inched closer to the gravestones, until I was close enough to read what was written on them….and see that they were made of plastic instead of stone. They had flowers placed in front of them too. a pink tulip, a purple violet, a red rose, and a white daisy.

Wanna know what they said?

"Here lies Alvin's confidence."

"Here lies Alvin's charisma."

"Here lies Alvin's popularity."

And finally

"Here lies Alvin's dignity."

"Oh man." I said softly to Simon. "This is so sad. I didn't wanna do this to her."

My brother let out a heavy sigh. "She's mourning the parts of you that "died" rather than the entire individual. I think that's progress."

"We can't just leave her like this." I had an idea. It was a long shot, but maybe, just maybe it could work.

"She won't talk to us." Theodore whimpered.

"Oh, Brittany." Jeanette cried a little with her.

"Just let her be." Eleanor instructed. "She's mourning in her own way. This is ridiculous as heck, but it's also good for her."

I didn't want to leave her like this. The old Alvin might have. He might have made jokes about it. Or maybe not? Maybe, I was beginning to view the old Alvin the way others did. He wasn't that bad. If he saw his friend in need, you can bet he'd be there to help.

"Simon, is my old hoodie clean?" I asked.

He nodded. "I think so. Why?"

"Because I have a plan." I forced a sad smile.

"Alvin, if you pop up and pretend to be a zombie, you will make this whole situation a thousand times worse." He warned.

I chuckled. "Good thing that's not my plan then."

Behind his blue glasses, Simon's eyes went wide. He was surprised. I guess I'd never stop surprising him. That was the nature of 2.0.

It didn't take me long to discard the cyan undershirt and crimson T-shirt with my signature golden A on top of my bed and exchange them for my old hoodie with the rip on the sleeve and the torn up bottom hem. I even switched my baseball cap out for the one that didn't have a glitter glue atom on it, as I did for concerts and for all those fake publicity dates. Despite all this, I kept my long hair down and my glasses on.

Then, I strolled back into the backyard and found Brittany, still in the same spot as before. I tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

"Britt, I'm still here." I smiled at her sadly. "I know you don't believe me, but it's true."

"No, you're not." She argued. At least she was talking to me. "But it's okay. I'll get used to it. I don't….I don't get a choice."

"You don't understand." I motioned for her to stand. "I can still act like classic Alvin outside of concerts and stuff. I can. It's not gone. HE'S not gone."

"You LIAR!" She hissed.

"Can you let me explain?" I noticed the others were watching us. "The reason that you barely got to see Classic Alvin is because…I felt forced to try and BE him around you, rather than letting it all come naturally. I panicked around you." I slumped my shoulders, feeling guilty. "I even, on occasion, acted super nerdy to spite you. Because I knew you hated it. Maybe also because I thought that it would make you accept me faster." I admitted.

Brittany wiped her eyes. "You…You did?"

I nodded. "Please don't be mad. I just wanted you to get to know me, every part of me. But, I neglected some parts of me…without meaning to."

"What are you saying?" She asked, too sad to be angry at the moment. That was a lucky break.

I sighed. "I know I've been really upset that you took so long to accept me. But, I realized I haven't always done the best job showing you that I'm still here. So, uh, I promise I'm gonna work on that. It won't always be easy, and you can't try and force it, but…I'll let you see my fun side."

"Promise?" Her pupils got all dilated. Dang it. The puppy face. Boo hoo eyes galore.

"I promise. It's probably still not going to be as much as you want. And in order to see him, you do still have to at least tolerate the nerd." I went on.

"Okay." She murmured. "Okay, I can, I can do that."

"Are you up for an arcade trip tomorrow? Just like old times?" I asked.

"I am!" Eleanor answered.

"Me too!" Theodore agreed.

"I wouldn't mind." Simon quipped.

"Absolutely!" Jeanette added.

I chuckled at their enthusiasm. "I was asking Brittany."

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" She exclaimed. "Oh my gosh, YES!"

She reached out for me and I pushed her back.

"No kisses." I reminded her. "But hugs are okay."

She nodded. "That's fair." Then, she squeezed me in the tightest bear hug known to munk-kind.

When I finally broke away, I couldn't resist making a joke with some truth to it. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go mourn my dignity as well."

Simon rolled his eyes and Theodore, Jeanette, and Eleanor laughed.

Brittany patted the spot beside her and I sat down in the grass.

The next day, Dave took us all to the arcade at the mall. And I mean ALL of us. Warbie, Geizmo, Zeela, and Pippi included. Boy, did they have fun collecting tickets. Warbie even wrapped Geizmo up in tickets at one point. But, I'm getting off topic.

While Eleanor played one of the wrestling games, Theodore and Simon played some Deal Or No Deal. Zeela played a virtual tic tac toe game against Geizmo and Geizmo threw a fit when he lost. Like father, like son, am I right? Haha.

Brittany and I played ski ball, and eventually Jeanette came over to join us.

"Can I play too?" She asked shyly.

"Britt? You good with that? Because I obviously have no problem with it." I flashed a smile.

Brittany groaned. "Yeah, I'm good with it. Just don't let her being here make you go all dork-mode on me." She teased.

"I can't help it. Jeanette finds my brain fascinating." I bragged. Despite being dressed like 2.0 again, I was channeling as much of Classic Alvin as I could get. The extreme fun of the local arcade helped bring him out of hiding.

"It's true." Jeanette backed me up. "I do."

"What's your tagline? Everything you love about Simon in an Alvin shaped package?" Brittany teased.

Ouch. She went right for the trigger again. "No! Shut up!" I snapped.

Apparently she didn't get the message. "Why else would Jeanette be into you?"

"Guys…" Jeanette tried to stop the impending argument, but it was too late. Britt and I were once again locked in a duel of words.

"I…..uh….um…..maybe you're right." I tried to back out.

"I know I'm right." Brittany touched the heart necklace around her neck.

I groaned loudly. "That's not the ONLY reason I like her."

"Why would you pick Jeanette over me!? Brittany asked again.

I tossed the ski ball I was holding and it landed in one of the targets.

"Why would I pick the girl who supports me over the one who argues with everything I say and constantly tells me I can't trust my own feelings?" I quipped. "Gee, I guess it's a mystery." I tossed out the sarcasm.

"Can we just focus on the game?" Jeanette begged.

But her pink clad sister still wanted closure. "Alvie, I'm…I'm here to support you. I've always been here to support you."

"Yeah, but your ideas of "support" weren't what I needed." I told her with a frown.

"But they could be!" She batted her eyelashes.

"No. Britt, no. I'm done." I replied forcefully. "We are NEVER going to be more than friends. I might not wind up dating your sister in the end, but…I know for a fact that our dates are over. They honestly should have never happened, but I made another stupid decision."

"The only stupid decision you made was getting a crush on my sister." Brittany mumbled.

"Now, now, that was uncalled for, Brittany." Jeanette scolded.

"I can't control my feelings!" I reminded her.

"I can't control mine either!" She shouted back.

"I'm going to the claw machine." Jeanette sighed. "Let me know when you finish fighting."

I wanted to go with her, but there would still be time for that after I solved EVERYTHING with Brittany.

"Come on! We can fix this if we work together!" The girl in pink begged.

Oh shoot! Had telling her Classic still exists propelled her right back into denial mode?

"It doesn't NEED to be corrected!" I snapped. "I'm sick of people telling me everything I do is wrong, everything I am is wrong, who I love is wrong! That I'm some MISTAKE!"

"Alvin, please!" Brittany clasped her hands together.

"No, Britt." I folded my arms and took a stand. "I'm done being manipulated into your schemes. I'm done playing along for the marketing team. If you really accept me, like you say you're trying to, then you gotta accept that I LOVE YOUR SISTER!"

She bowed her head in defeat. The denial had passed and she was back to grieving the loss of our romance. "…Okay."

I was taken by surprise. "What?"

"I don't like it. I don't understand it. But, go ahead and date Jeanette." She grumbled.

"Well, we aren't ready yet…" I explained. "…but someday we will be."

"Or maybe not, right?" She crossed her fingers.

I facepalmed. "Again, Even if I don't end up with her, I still won't end up with you."

Brittany tried her best not to cry. "That's….That's fine. I'll get over it. I'll do my best to get over it."

Jeanette noticed that we'd stopped arguing and had gone back to playing the game. She joined us again.

"Is it safe?" She tentatively stepped over.

"I think so." I replied. "Britt?"

"Yeah. It's safe." Her sister replied.

After a few more rounds of ski ball, where I did not tell anyone about the physics of ski ball and how I kept making such awesome and consistent shots, I realized there was something I'd been meaning to ask Britt that had slipped my mind until now.

"We're still friends, right?" This…I know this changes things, but….we're still friends?"

She looked guilty. "Why do you even want to be my friend after everything I've put you through?"

I reached out to pat her shoulder. "Because I love you, and sure, it's a different kind of love than I feel for Jeanette, but it's still love."

"Awwww!" Jeanette squeezed my hand tight. "I think she needed to hear that."

Brittany burst into tears and we both had to give her napkins to dry them.

"I love you too, best friend. Thank you for not giving up on me." She said, once she was more composed.

I winked. "Alvins never give up."

A while later, Jeanette, Brittany, and I approached Eleanor, who was using a fake gun attached to an arcade game to shoot at some virtual bad guys. I must confess, I don't even remember which game she was playing.

All I know is that I interrupted her in the middle of a boss fight. "Hey, Ells."

She growled VERY loudly.

I slowly reached out a hand to pat her head. "Niiice, Demon."

The growls got louder.

"You're up, Jeanette." I hid behind my crush.

"Whenever you have a break, uh, Alvin has something he'd like to tell you." The girl in the light purple sundress covered in bug designs said rather loudly, by her standards.

"Give me two minutes to send this dude six feet under." Eleanor replied.

When she finished the game, she turned to glare at me. "Now, what's so important that it just can't wait?"

"I like the changes." I blurted out.

"What?" The pigtailed girl asked.

"What?" Brittany echoed.

I could tell I once again had to explain further. I was getting tired of all this constant explaining. "You asked me to re-evaluate all my changes and see if I liked them. I like them. I want them. Most of them. And someday, I AM going to date your sister."

"Fine by me." The girl in the mint T-shirt and dark teal shorts with lavender stripes, responded with a shrug. "Just don't get annoying about it."

"And the nerd spell has fully claimed its victim." The oldest Chipette teased.

"Brittany!" Jeanette and I shouted, sounding equally irritated.

"Like I said, I will try to handle it…whenever it happens. IF it happens." Brittany swore.

"It's going to happen." I put my arm around Jeanette protectively.

"Things can always change." The pink clad girl winked. "You're living proof of that."

Suddenly, a foam arrow shot across the room and hit Brittany in the head.

"YES! Bullseye!" Eleanor shouted. "Best ticket purchase EVER!"

Boy, that girl was fast. She turned in her tickets already? I never even noticed her leave our side.

Brittany groaned and rubbed her head. "And then again…some things never change."

Jeanette shook her head. "Eleanor, don't be so violent."

"It's FOAM." The Chipette in mint re-loaded her arrow launcher. "And you aren't the boss of me."

Later, as we left the arcade, I took one more dig at Brittany. She wanted this from me. She said she missed our arguments.

"Hey, when Jeanette and I get married, you'll be my sister in law." I nudged Britt as we entered the car.

She scoffed. "You can't get married! You're indefinitely 9 years old!"

"Maybe Jeanette and I will get paired up for an economics wedding project some day." I laughed, remembering the agonizing economics project I suffered with Britt last school year.

"Over my dead body." The ornery girl huffed.

I smiled wide. "You never know."

"It'll never happen." She vowed.

"You never know." I repeated, to get under her skin.

"Will you two cut that out?" Dave asked sharply. "It's great that you're friends again, but seriously, knock it off."

"Sorry, Dave." I gulped. I didn't wanna stray too far from my new 2.0 impulses.

"We're continuing this when we get home, right?" Brittany whispered.

I grinned. "Most definitely." I whispered back.

Then, I fell asleep with my head on Jeanette's shoulder for the rest of the car ride.

The rest of the summer passed without many more issues. Jeanette and I absolutely killed it at our ballet recital, even though we were merely backup dancers. I gotta say, Jesse and Max played Addison and Zed like pros, even though I still think that I totally should have been cast as Zed.

Eventually, Netta and I paid off all of the money we owed Simon. He said that's the last time he's bailing us out on overdue or lost library books. You know what? I'm okay with that. He shouldn't really have to. I'm glad he did, but I'm working on being more responsible. Paying fines is part of that.

The last day before school started, Dave took us all out to see a 3D movie. It was the newest installment in the Brothers Of Dagarack series. Everyone wore 3D glasses, except me. Simon and Jeanette wore the 3D glasses over their regular glasses. I wondered how that was possible, but it's probably more cartoon logic.

As for me, I had upgraded my glasses with a 3D glasses mode. One lens was red and the other cyan. Of course.

"You know,…" I started to say as the previews began. "I think I might actually be looking forward to going back to school tomorrow."

Jeanette looked very pleased to hear that. "Really?"

"Yeah." I sighed happily. "I got my love life figured out, I've had one of the most awesome summers ever, and I'm way more content with my 2.0-ness than I was last year."

"It has been a really fun summer!" Theodore agreed.

"For you guys, maybe." Brittany sulked.

"Oh, I dunno. Weren't the pool parties fun?" I nudged her. I was sitting between her and Jeanette.

Britt leaned back in her seat. "I guess they were pretty fun."

"It's certainly been a summer to remember." Simon added.

"So are you guys dating yet, or what?" Eleanor asked Jeanette and I.

We both had our arms around each other and were leaning our heads together.

"Relax." I told the nosy girl. "This is platonic friend cuddling." Well, more like half-romantic and half-platonic, but are the particulars necessary?

"Not yet." Jeanette squeaked. "But I'm thinking sometime next school year. I would love a date for a dance."

"Sounds nice." Brittany snarked. "You both could trip over each other's feet."

Simon reached over and flicked her in the ear.

"Ow!" She yelped. "I was being supportive."

"You were not." Simon rested his arm on the cupholder.

"Shhhh!" Theodore scolded us. "The movie's starting!"

"What is this about again?" Dave asked.

Nobody wanted to explain it, except me. I went into total geek mode.

"It's about two brothers who travel the galaxy with their alien rabbit pal. They risk their lives to protect their home planet from the evil forces trying to destroy it. Plus, well, there's all sorts of drama."

"At least there's drama." I heard Brittany comment.

"Oh, and in this one, Zargo and Dargo have to rescue a princess who's been kidnapped by the enemy…" I rambled on and on as the opening credits played.

You see, while I had transformed into a nerd, I was starting to suspect that the geek part of me had always been present. And that, that's the glue that bonded me to Jeanette. We were both geeky weirdos. We ran on the power of imagination. If we could dream it, we could do it. We were two geeks in love.

What did you think of this chapter? Once again, a lot happened.

Are you rooting for Alvin and Jeanette to finally get together? Then, check out Alvinette Sunset! That continues the story of their romance.

The next story will have a bit of Alvinette moments in it, such is the nature of my alternative universe, but they won't be the main focus.

What were your favorite scenes this time around? Did I make sure that the loose ends were tied up? I think my favorite scene is when Alvin and Jeanette finally get to communicate like they should have done a while ago.

Poor Britt. She's still got a long road to acceptance ahead, but she is making progress. It's just slow progress. The scene with the tombstones was based on a doodle I drew around the time season 4 had come out. I'm glad I could work that in.

Are you ready to see Alvin 2.0 go back to school? I sure am! There's some surprises still to come as I write the LAST story of this compilation.

The status quo isn't done shifting just yet. You'll wanna stay tuned. (I hope anyway)

I shall post Part 1 of the next story in a few days, or possibly a week. Until then, see ya later!