It was a beautiful day at the Royal Woods. The Loud family was having lunch and every member of the group was gathered around the table except there were two unoccupied chairs.
"Uh, where are Lana and Lola?" the father, Lynn Sr., asked.
The others shrugged. They don't know the whereabouts of the twins. "Maybe in their room? I guess they didn't hear the call." Lori said while she was texting on her phone.
"Can someone check their room to see if they are there and tell them that the food will be cold if they don't eat!" the father announced.
"Lincoln, can you check their room?" the mother, Rita, ordered.
"Uh, yeah-yeah, sure." Lincoln nodded.
Lincoln didn't like being in charge of calling the others for lunch. It was for the sake of filling his stomach with food that he carried on upstairs. When he arrived at their door, he noticed that it was slightly ajar. Lincoln assumed they heard the announcement downstairs but chose to ignore it. He pushed the door wide open to reveal Lana and Lola sitting on their respective beds with their arms crossed and their backs turned against each other.
"Hey, guys! Lunch is ready! The food's gonna be cold if you—"
"NO!" the twins yelled in unison. Lincoln scratched the back of his head in confusion. He can tell that the duo was not getting along again. Totally normal. Mr. Man with a plan steps further into their room and started asking questions.
"Hey, Lola…" Lincoln said nicely. "What's the problem this time?"
Lola suddenly turns around and leaps from her position, growling like a grouchy tiger. Lincoln quickly grabs the mad girl. Lincoln pulls her away from Lana before she could scratch her.
"What the- Lola! What is wrong with you!?" Lincoln stammered out as she restrained her sister.
"Hurt her?" Lola snaps, "I will do more than just hurt her!"
"Lola! Will you stop saying like that? That would—"
"What?! Are you gonna defend her like you always do?" Lola erupts.
"No, I'm not here to defend her! I'm trying to settle this down immediately!"
"Settle? How do I settle if my one and only golden tiara just broke by that stupid idiot over there who only bought carelessness in this room?!" she glares at Lana.
"I-It was just an accident! I never thought you would overreact to that golden junk!"
"Junk? Junk!? Do you think that was just junk? You spoiled brat! I'll turn you into junk!"
The unstable princess tried to escape Lincoln's hold but it was no use as he was somewhat stronger than her. "Lola you're going to get yourself grounded!" He reasoned.
"I don't care! I just wanted to get her grounded too!"
Lola managed to get out of Lincoln's grip and jump on Lincoln's shoulder to leap at Lana. Lola launches a wild haymaker only for it to be blocked by Lana's hand. Lana pushed Lola off of her. Lola lost her balance and stumbles back to the arch of the prim girl's bed, hitting her back hard with an audible thud. The pain was visible on her face.
"H-Hey! Lola! Are you okay?" Lincoln said.
"Now what Lincoln? Are you trying to help this doofus? She only cares about her diamonds and those pageant things! She only cares about herself!"
"I'm going to get you for this!" she groans.
"Stop it. Can't you see she's hurt bad?" Lincoln said.
"Blah! Blah! Blah! You're gonna get that if you keep acting obnoxious to me!"
"Lana! Will you stop that?" he barks.
"Stop? How-how can I stop this? How can I stop this…" Lana paused as she was starting tearing up. "…how can I stop this pain that I always get all the time?" She started sobbing. "I-I wanna be free from anything, I-I wanna be myself, I always get the bad things and I always get hurt. I-I-I wish I was born without her! She's causing my pain all of my life…"
Lana continued weeping on her lap and turns back to the wall, while Lola started breaking down and her waterworks started to fill her eyes after those words.
"If I wish I could erase memories from the past, how I wish I could forget her. From when we were born until-until now…" Lola breathed.
Lincoln didn't know what to say. Hearing this from her was way harsher than a breakup. He didn't want to see these two get hurt but it was already happening in front of him. Since he's always the one who mend all the broken things in the family, it falls solely to him to fix this roller coaster of a situation. With great resolve, he stood up with a plan in mind.
"Be right back. Don't do anything while I'm away," Lincoln quickly exited the room to go to his room to grab a large book in his bookshelf. It was a big collection of family photos. He went straight back to the twins' room and saw that they were still crying where he left them.
Lincoln sat down on the floor between the two beds as he coughs hardly to gain the attention of the duo.
"Guys… I know the words that you both said are mean but, you shouldn't say those things. Memories have a bigger impact than arguments,"
Lola looked back and snorted, "W-what do you mean by that, Lincoln?"
"If the two of you keep fighting over and over again, mom and dad are going to ban you from doing any more pageants. You wouldn't like that, no?"
"N-no, she shook her head.
"Lana…" he looks at her sister, "do you want mom and dad to discontinue your dirty hobbies and get rid of your pets?"
Lana shakes his head.
"Good, because I'm going to share something with you both,"
From that, the pair looked to Lincoln and somehow became interested as they saw that he was holding a big album and both of them came and sat down beside Lincoln. Lincoln opened the album and quickly finds a picture where Lola was on her pink princess ride-on car, holding the steering wheel ecstatically.
"Remember when you were so excited when mom and dad bought you the car?"
Lola nodded and wiped a tear. "Y-Yeah, I remember."
"You drove it a lot when you were younger. Lori was impressed that you managed to drive without crashing,"
"R-really?" Lola smiled a bit.
"Of course. And because you use the car more than ever, it broke down for some reason. You know who fix your car at that time?"
"W-who? I-Is it dad?"
"Nope." Lincoln chuckled, "It was Lana!"
18 months ago
A four-year-old Lola can be seen driving her jeep all around the house until it unexpectedly broke down. The smoke seeped out from underneath the car's hood. Lola became extremely unhappy. She covered her face with her hands and cried.
"Hey Lola, are you okay?"
Lola looked to see her twin sister, Lana was trying to comfort her.
"My car broke down! I will never ever get to drive it again!" Lola sobbed.
"Don't worry. I have the perfect solution,"
Lana ran and came back with a toolbox in her hands as she went to the stalled vehicle. She opened the hood and examined the parts.
"L-Lana! What are you doing?"
"Hold on, Lola. I got this!"
Her sister passionately started fixing the car's engine and even replaced the oil. By the time she was done, Lana was covered with oil stains. "It's done!" she happily exclaimed.
"R-Really?" Lola was unsure.
"Yeah, just turn on the car and it's ready to go!"
Lola went to her car and started the engine, and noticed that it wasn't turning off so suddenly. She tried moving it and took a test spin. Lola was amazed that her car was working again.
"Hey, Lana! Thank you so much!"
"Heh, it was my job." Lana removed her cap and scratched her head.
"Lana, wanna ride with my car?" Lola offered her sister.
"Really?" Lana went wide-eyed as she heard the offer.
Lola nodded and hummed.
With no hesitation, Lana rocketed off into the car as Lola started her car and moved around in circles. The both of them were laughing in joy and having a blast with one of their best moments as twins.
"Really? It was Lana who fixed my car? Not dad?" Lola was still dumbfounded.
"Yeah, since Dad was on his work at that time. So luckily, Lana did the job and is now the resident repairman of the family."
Lola looked at her opposite worriedly. "Lana, t-thanks for that! I really owe you for that."
Lana nodded in nervousness. "Yeah, and I don't need that owing thing. I-I just did my job there."
"Yeah, I agree. Just doing the job," Lincoln only chuckled due to his younger sister's sheepishly emotion. He turns the page of the album to find a picture where Lana was being drenched by a water hose courtesy of Lola.
"Hey! Is that Lola drenching me with water?" Lana asked curiously.
"Well…" Lincoln tried to remember the situation. "Aha! I remember!"
18 months ago
It was a sunny morning at their backyard. There's one kid who was covered with dirt and mud. It was, of course, Lana. There were swarms of all manners of insects all over her body but, she didn't mind one bit as she continued playing with Charles.
Lola was busy cleaning her princess car with a watering hose.
"Hey, Lola!"
The busy queen of clean got startled, dropped the cleaning equipment and turned back to see her twin covered in muck.
Lola covered her nose, "Ew! What's that smell?" she said in a funny tone.
"What? It isn't that bad." Lana protested.
"No! It's that bad, go clean yourselves up in the bathroom! You dirty poop!"
"I can't go inside, mom and dad will be mad at me! Anyway…"
While Lana was talking to her continuously, Lola thought of something and looked down to see the fallen watering tool. She smirks and grabs the hose.
"…Hey, why are you holding tha— AAAAHHHH!"
Lana flew up high for a few feet, landing on her butt with much pressure of a water coming from the hose, which earned a laugh from the princess.
"Lola!" Lana felt a little bit of embarrassment. Lola continues to laugh causing her to fall back down and spasm unexpectedly.
"Oh, you wanna play the game, huh?"
Lana then grabbed the hose and turns on the pressure, Lola didn't saw the water coming as her body was splattered with water; getting her dress and hair soaked.
"Take that!" Lana was the one laughing now. Lola looked at herself. She was soaked from head to toe with water. Lana quickly stood up to grab the hose only to be met with resistance resulting in a tug-of-war.
"Give me that thing!"
"No, I'll keep it!"
"It's mine!"
"No, it's mine!"
Due to their excessive pulling on the poor hose, its skin got peeled, making the water leak before bursting in a huge splash. The two sisters fell on their backs. They held a long pause as they looked at each other who were drenched to the bone with water before laughing at one another.
"Oh, wow. That's a little overboard. Don't you think so, Lincoln?" Lana asked.
"I don't know, ask Lola for that," Lincoln said.
Lana looked at Lana to look for an answer.
"Yeah, you might get germs or virus from that. You really don't care about getting sick, don't you?"
"Yeah, yeah, I guess. But I always get down from the sickness! I like it though."
"No, no, Lana! You still have to clean yourself too, you know?"
"Well, yeah." Lana sheepishly rubbing her temple.
Lincoln chuckled. "You felt better now? You can talk to each other now!"
The twins came to a realization that they were interacting normally again after what just happened. Gone was the anger that permeated them earlier. They felt something else. It was pure bliss. "Well… Lana… I-I'm really, really sorry for earlier… and everything that I had done for you badly. I was just trying to defend myself," she said and bowed her head in shame.
"I-I'm sorry too, Lola. I hurt you earlier and I'm sorry for making your life worse," Lana said.
"No-No! Don't say that Lana! You are my twin; you are different from me. We should love each other equally! You know that!"
Lana cannot show the smile that she expressed in her face as they jumped onto Lincoln's lap and embraced each other. While Lincoln was just sitting there, experiencing another great image to be developed soon.
"Hey! I have one more picture and this could be a cuter one than the other two!" Lincoln announced. Both girls break the hug and looked at the picture, they seemed to be astonished of the image there. The image was Lincoln and the twins in their cutest form as babies. Lincoln had mud on his face but still smiling widely.
"Wow, that's actually nice!" Lola said.
"How did this happen, Lincoln? Tell us!" Lana pulls Lincoln's shirt due to exaggeration.
"Okay, okay… Here it is…"
5 years ago
Outside, Lincoln was with the twins who were both nestled comfortably inside the baby strollers. He was told to look out for them as his parents and his other siblings went to the mall. Everything was peaceful until one of them started crying. Lincoln pulled out the baby bottle with baby formula.
"There you go, Lana!" he said as he nursed her with the bottle. "That was easy—"
This time, the other baby started crying.
"Hey, hey, Lola! Here comes the delivery!" Lincoln imitating a delivery truck and sends the bottle into the baby's mouth. "That was—"
Another cry was rising up again, he looked back to Lana, who was crying and emptied the contents of the bottle.
"Wow, Lana. You're too fast and I—"
Lincoln got interrupted again by another high-pitched cry from Lola, he looked over to the other side and also saw that the bottle was empty too. This made Lincoln panic. The ear piercing cries were painful to him and he desperately thought of a way to fix the situation. "Ah! I hate this!" he groaned.
He involuntarily took a step back, only to slip on a pebble and fall to the ground. Just like magic, the cry stopped for a bit. Lincoln opened his eyes to see that he splashed into a small mud pit. His face was covered in dirt and mud.
"Ah! My face!" he spits out some of the mud in his mouth. He stood up in disgust only to notice that the babies were staring at him with innocent eyes. One of them cutely giggled and the other began crying once more. Lincoln was confused for a second. "What?"
He looked first at Lana who was babbling and giggling innocently, this made him happy. While on the other side, Lola was crying. This made Lincoln think for a bit.
"Wait a minute…" Lincoln wiped his face clean with his shirt. Now Lana was crying, and Lola is now giggling. And then it hit him. He assembled the pieces of the puzzle needed to solve this mystery. The mystery as to how to make them stop crying.
He grabbed a handful of mud from the pit and wiped half his face with it. "How's that for you, cuties?"
The babies looked at him inquisitively until his face was near them. After a few seconds of silence, the babies giggled and babbled as if they were enjoying the entertainment Lincoln was providing them.
"Looks like I know their favorites..." He grinned and continued playing with them.
"So you are the first one to know our likes and dislikes?" Lola tries to understand the story.
"Yep, I am."
"Wow, I can't believe you did that. You are an awesome brother, Lincoln." Lana praises her brother.
"Thanks, guys, I know you needed this. But in my mind and in my heart, I know you needed me and I need you the most. Whatever it takes. Thank you too and I love you both so very much." Lincoln confessed.
Both girls almost teared up at the remark as they both hugged their big brother, while Lincoln embraced them back.
"We love you too, Linky!" Both of them greeted back.
"Thank you so much for comforting us, we never knew how bad could be if you weren't around." Lola felt guilt by her side.
"Yeah, we owe you really, really big time," Lana added.
"That's okay, guys. You know I owe you every one of you every single time." Lincoln said.
The twins groaned in joy as they hugged Lincoln once again.
"Okay. Wow. Just because I was comforting the two of you doesn't mean I forgot just how hungry I am when we started this," Lincoln said.
"Oh geez, I'm hungry too." Lana rubs her stomach.
"Me too! Come on, guys!" Lola offered them as they gladly accepted.
The trio went out of the twin's room and got their lunch peacefully as usual.
From Lincoln's perspective, it was so common these days to stop an altercation or a fight. But for him, it was his thing from the start. It helped himself boost his confidence, and especially his love and respect for his family. Even in the darkest days, the fire burns hot as always. They carried on with their lunch and continued the conversation at the dining table.
The end.