Lori Loud stretched out her arms as she walked through the door of the Loud House. She and her sisters had just returned from a rejuvenating trip to the spa, and they were eager to simply veg out for the rest of the night doing their own things. But there was one individual who chose not to partake in their excursion. That person was their only brother, Lincoln. He simply brushed off going to the spa as something that wasn't suited for a quote un quote "muscular manly man" like him, and so proceeded to hold himself in his room to read comics in his underwear.

Perfectly satisfied with his answer, and coupled with the fact that they originally believed he wouldn't have wanted to go anyway, they went to go on their trip and, to put it mildly, had the time of their lives. All over the urban oasis, there were mud baths perfectly suited for Lana, Lynn, and Luna, mani-pedis that Leni and Lola desperately needed, and simple Jacuzzis suited for…everyone else. Needless to say, the girls were immensely satisfied with their trip. However, amongst their party, there was one sister who wasn't completely focused on letting loose from their makeshift luxury paradise.

While Lori was laying on a board with a muscular man massaging her tenderly and blissfully, a certain big sister instinct kept nipping at the back of her head about how Lincoln didn't want to come with them. Had she not had her sweet spots continuously nourished by strong and gentle hands for 45 minutes straight, those thought would've most likely driven her insane. But now that she was back home, devoid of such relief, the sense within her had returned, and it wasn't going anywhere. She knew just how to take care of her current dilemma, however.

In the midst of her fellow siblings' boisterous talking, the oldest found herself a small opportunity to slip away from the group. She knew her sisters like the back of her hand, as well as all of their blind spots, Achilles's heals, and just about everything one would need to survive even half an hour around them. With her stealth maintained, Lori crept her way up the stairs and turned towards her brother's sanctuary. And with a tip toe to the door, she gave it a healthy three knocks.

"Oh, Lincoln," she said, with a sing-song tone added for charm. "We're back from the spa! How's our favorite brother doing?"

As a response, she heard a bit of rummaging coming from the other side that immediately occurred the moment she asked her query. Confused, she gave another three knocks. "Linc? What's happening in there?"

This time, the door swung wide open, revealing its only occupant with a big smile on his face and his arms stretched out wide.

"Lori!" Lincoln exuberantly said. "How are you doing today? How's Bobby doing for ya? What's new with your gal pals?"

Lori found herself reeling back at her brother's barrage of questions. "U-Uh…they're all doing fine. Why do you-"

"Great! That was a nice talk! Well, I better get going to bed. BYE!" the boy almost sputtered before reaching to the door in a quick attempt to close it shut. But just as his hand reached the wood, he found that Lori's hand had placed right on top of his.

"Not so fast there, Linky boy," the phone addict spoke with a smug tone. "You aren't getting out of talking to me that easily."

Lori knew her brother like an open book. She could tell when he'd get extremely talkative and social whenever he wanted to get on someone's good side. But she had a mission to make sure her brother was doing fine in their absence, and she wasn't going to let a maneuver like that get in her way.

"W-Well, what is there to talk about?" Lincoln stammered out, beginning to form sweat on the side of his head.

"Hey, can't a girl be interested in the life of her brother for once?" Lori said. She then stepped forward into Lincoln's domain, causing the boy to sweat even more profusely.

As Lori entered the room, the first thing that caught her attention was an overnight bag sprawled onto the floor with a plethora of Lincoln's belongings pouring out of it.

"Wh-what in the…? Lincoln!" Lori sternly spoke in a commanding tone. "Were you literally going to just leave your room in a mess the whole night? We raised you better than that!"

In response, Lincoln scrambled to rearrange the floor to be spic and spiffy. To that end, he grabbed his bag, pushed all of the items back within it, closed the zippers—with some of them having been forced closed—and looked back towards his elder sister. "There you go! All cleaned up!"

On the inside, Lori cockily smiled. The first step of her trap had been achieved. Now to go in for the kill.

"Well, thanks for the quick work. But I do have to ask you something." And with that line, Lori began to lean over Lincoln, making him shake a little in his legs. "What exactly are you doing with an overnight bag anyways?"

The white haired boy darted his eyes around the room. "W-Well…it…uuhhhh," he whispered, even more beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. But then, his eyes lit up as he said: "Oh! That's right! I'm going to an overnight field trip!"

"A field trip? …Really?" Lori inquired with a slow raise of her eyebrow.

"Yeah!" Lincoln exclaimed. "We're going to this mountaintop to view the stars. It's gonna be a blast!"

A moment of silence passed, and Lincoln thought himself to be in the clear. Until Lori spoke up to him, hardly heading his words. "Uh huh. So tell me, Lincoln, why exactly did none of us hear anything about this supposed field trip?"

Lincoln felt his stomach churn with fear once more. "It…it was short notice. Yeah, Mrs. Johnson called it in just recently and I scrambled to-"

"Then how come Mom and Dad literally never got a call asking for their permission for this "last minute" trip?" Lori pressed, subconsciously chuckling to herself.

"Nnggghh," the middle child groaned. "M-Maybe she never got around to asking them…"

"Oh? And why do you believe that?" the 17-year-old pursued.

"It's...That's…I…I…" Lincoln stammered. He then began to sport an uncharacteristically spiteful scowl before spewing out: "Oh, what do you care?! Shouldn't I be able to run a-" That's when he suddenly clamped his mouth shut, fearful of the consequences of what he just revealed.

Lori felt a chill go down her spine at his sudden outburst. "Wait, what? What did you just say?" she found herself blurting out as a kneejerk reaction.

From his sister's inquiries, Lincoln found his mind reeling backwards. "N-Nothing! Forget I said that, please."

"Oh, no you don't," she fired back. "What. Did. You. Say?"

Lincoln found himself darting his eyes all across the hallway, as if he was on his last legs and looking for straws to grasp. At the sight of this, Lori knew that this situation was far more serious than she'd originally thought. 'Hmmm…I don't think old-sister mode is gonna cut it,' she thought to herself. 'Maybe I should try a gentler approach.' And with that in mind, she bent a knee and brought herself towards eye level with him.

"Lincoln," she whispered. "You don't have to be ashamed of anything. No matter what you did, I will always, ALWAYS love you. So can you tell me why you're so upset?"

Lincoln looked into his sister's eyes, sensing a sense of warmth and comfort radiating from them. But even so, he still looked away. "I…I can't tell you."

"Why not?" Lori replied with a deep frown.

"You'd…you'd…" he answered, or at least tried to. In his soul, he was at war with his own emotions, tearing himself apart whether or not to come clean. In the end, he simply said: "You'd hate me forever."

But Lori didn't listen to him. "Did you not hear me? I said I'd love you no matter what you did." She then cupped his cheeks and pulled his attention towards her. "Do you not believe me?"

A tense silence then grew between the two, neither one of them daring to make the next move. Lori's concern had reached its peak; her heart was begging her mind to act and do something, anything.

…That was when an idea popped in the back of her head. There was something that could be done in a situation like this, but it'd be pretty underhanded, at least from her perspective.

But this wasn't about being morally good.

"Lincoln. If you're not going to come clean about your troubles…then you leave me with no choice."

It was about making sure her siblings were at their happiest.

"What-what are you…" Lincoln started before gasping in shock. "N-No…y-you don't mean…"

Lori only nodded as she stood up once more. "I do." And with that, she waved her hand out in front of her and decreed: "Stand aside, Lincoln Loud. It's time for a senior sibling room inspection!"

Lincoln felt his eyes bulge out from his sockets, as he rapidly shook his hands in front of his quavering body. "W-WAIT!" he found himself screaming, causing the remaining sisters downstairs to momentarily look up towards the staircase.

"I'm sorry, Lincoln, but you know the rules. When you act suspicious towards your family, that means you've got something to hide. And if you've got something to hide, your older sisters get to take action," Lori proclaimed as she made her way into the converted linen closet.

"Stop! I beg of you! There's nothing-"

That was all Lincoln could muster the will to speak before Lori spotted his pillows. On the front, they were completely dampened, with its sides looking hardly crushed.

"Lincoln…" Lori said, looking back towards her brother. "Were you…crying?"

Lincoln felt his heart begin to beat out of his chest, as his mind desperately tried to figure out an answer. But he hadn't the time for that either, for Lori had also begun to lay her eyes on the second place of interest: the overflowing piles upon piles of white paper in the trash.

"And what's with all of this paper?" Lori questioned, beginning to reach towards one of the sheets. But not before he heard a pair of legs hit the floor with a thud, as she turned around to Lincoln on his knees and his hands clasped at his torso.

"No! You-you can't! There's nothing in that pile! I swear!"

But she paid him no heed, as she began to unfold one of the pieces to examine them. What she found was, to put it mildly, revealing.

"Dear Loud Sisters," she read aloud. "I realize that this may have been a stupid choice on my part, and I want you to know that I'm sorry I'm being so selfish with this, but-" That was all she could discern as she began to see the rest of the writing having been scribbled over with an excessive amount of lead. But from the few words that she could pick out, she felt her heart stop when she began reading them.

"'Shadow.' 'Nothing for myself.'

…'R…Run away'….?!"

Lori's eyes widened as she jolted her head back towards Lincoln. She could see that his hands had fallen to the floor, and his expression looked like he was utterly…defeated.

"Oh, man… You weren't supposed to…to… Ngggghhh," Lincoln muttered as his limbs stopped shaking.

So much had happened in that room at that moment. The solemn brother was unable to comprehend his surroundings as his grieving soul consumed him from the inside out. He simply laid on the ground, his eyes staring at it heavily. But then he looked at a pair of shoes appearing in his sights, as he looked up to see his eldest sister looking straight down towards him.

"Lincoln. Talk. Now."