Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Awkward Hero
Chapter one: A break from hell
A punch in the gut. An elbow to the side of the face. A backhanded fist slam to the eye. She was outnumbered two to one, but she wasn't taking any hits at all. These cowardly girls-she hesitated referring to them as such-were the ones on the receiving end of her Odin-blessed fury. How dare they pick on an innocent fellow student! She would show them better! She would personally bring Ragnarok down upon them!
The two sixth-grade girls stumbled back a few steps, putting them both a few feet away from Allison Ace, feared as the toughest girl not just in Royal Wood Middle School's sixth-grade year, but throughout all of Royal Woods Middle School. And these two bullies would be given a good amount of first-hand experience on why crossing the Ace girl was a terrible idea if one's main goal was to make sure that they didn't get torn to shreds.
Allison herself was unmistakable throughout the halls of RWMS; yellow-blonde hair that was long enough to be bound in twin pigtails that fell down the back of her head, a dark green and somewhat baggy t-shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers with a red stripe on them. To round out her outfit, she wore a red Sherpa hat with tassels hanging down from the earflaps. Allison was also known as the Viking of RWMS, and not without reason.
When someone crossed Allison Ace, they faced a Viking's fury for their troubles.
"I would be hearing your explanation!" Allison shouted at the two bullies, both of which working together was still not a challenge to her. Pointing an accusing finger at the two mean girls, the kind of middle school girl bullies that got into fights rather than be petty vain jerks who relied mainly on talking down to others, Allison continued, "What in the name of Odin entitles you to treat Loud as a cursed pariah from the pits of Hel?!"
"She's a total dweeb, Allison," the first girl bully spat bitterly, "I don't even see why you've taken to acting as her bodyguard! A nerdy-looking loser like her is so not worth the effort of someone of your standing! If anything, you should be joining Reggie and I in shoving Loud into a locker, or head-first into a nearly full trash can!"
"Yeah, Gilda's got a point," the second girl bully, apparently named Reggie, remarked to the Ace girl, "You're the toughest girl in school, and you're just a sixth-grader! Even kids in the seventh and eighth grades fear ticking you off! You could own this place if you didn't let Loud weigh you down!"
Allison gave the girls bullies Gilda and Reggie an unamused scowl. "…You dare suggest that I abandon my warrior's honor?! Have you two no shame?!" Allison took a step towards Gilda and Reggie, making both girl bullies flinch somewhat out of alarm, but everything came to a screeching halt when a boy's voice called out, "Allison, will you quit trying to get yourself into trouble? For crying out loud, it's the last day of the school year!" Allison and the two girl bullies looked over and saw two boys in the same grade as Allison run up.
The first boy had long, pale blonde hair tied back in a single men's ponytail that fell down his back, save for his bangs which were allowed to frame his face. The boy wore a light gray long-sleeved shirt (the sleeve ends hung loosely around the wrists, not cling tightly to them) under a seafoam green men's tank top, a pair of light gray cargo shorts held up with a belt, and a pair of men's sandals. He also had hints of having some sort of Asian heritage.
The second boy was about as tall as the first; he wore a somewhat baggy cream-colored t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans held up with a belt, and a pair of brown shoes. The second boy was also clearly of Hispanic heritage.
Pointing an accusing finger at Allison, the first boy said, "Seriously, Allison. It's the last day of school before we're off for the summer. Can't you behave yourself just for once?"
"These dishonorable trolls are the ones who started it, brother!" Allison responded to the first boy, who was apparently her brother, "They both thought that it would be in good fun to pick on Loud, so I decided to show them what happens when one of evil inclination crosses the path of a true warrior that has been blessed by Odin!" Upon hearing Allison's explanation, the second boy immediately became concerned.
"Wait a minute," the second boy began, "They were picking on Lori?"
"And they'll be picking themselves up by the time I am done with them, Bobby," Allison replied to the second boy, apparently named Bobby. As Allison was explaining herself to the boys that had shown up, Gilda and Reggie were carefully weighing their options; even on her own, Allison was more than holding her own against them. And now two other kids that know Allison has just shown up?
And worse yet, Allison identified the first boy as her brother. That had to mean that she was talking to her younger twin brother Aggro, the boy at school that close to every girl at school had a crush on! If word spread that they got into a scuffle with Aggro Ace, Gilda and Reggie would be singled out by the rest of RWMS's female student population. As tough as they were, Gilda and Reggie did not need to deal with roughly half of the school's student population turned against them.
"Hey, look," Reggie began, getting the attention of Allison, Aggro and that Bobby guy who showed up with Aggro, "You got a point about how it's the last day before summer break. That being said, the more time we waste on this fight, the longer it will take all of us to get out of here so we can all enjoy roughly three months of no school. What do you all say that we back off from each other and get the hell out of here?"
"You shall first return the bag that you stole from Loud," Allison said as she scowled at the two girl bullies, "Then I shall allow the both of you to flee like the mewling cowards that you are." Straightening up somewhat, Allison added, "There is no honor to be gained in trying to attack a foe who has already surrendered."
"I…threw it up into that tree over there," Gilda replied somewhat sheepishly, pointing to a nearby tree. Luckily it wasn't all that tall of a tree; two middle schoolers working together should be able to get one of them up into the tree.
"Then get climbing," Allison snarled at the two girl bullies, making them both flinch.
Allison, Aggro and Bobby, with the last of that number holding a girl's backpack by one of it's straps, watched as the two girl bullies ran as fast as they could into the horizon. "…I still would have liked to have brought Ragnarok down upon them," Allison commented.
"Allison, no," Aggro replied, "You need to refrain from getting into any and every possible fight you come across. You'll be a bad influence on our younger siblings, not to mention our younger cousins Amy and Alphonse."
"They're just lucky I can't bring Yonfour with me to school," Allison remarked.
"Allison, don't even think about it," Aggro scolded, knowing full well what his older twin sister was talking about when she mentioned Yonfour.
"Umm, Aggro, Aggro's sis," Bobby interrupted, "I hate to interrupt your little sibling chat, but we got to find Lori so we can return her backpack to her."
"She's hiding behind that set of bleachers over there, Bobby," Allison explained as she pointed to a set of metal bleachers that sat on the grass on RWMS property.
…
The three sixth-graders ran over to the bleachers, then walked around to go behind it. There, Bobby and the Ace twins found a girl in their class standing there, shuddering as if she were frightened. She had fair skin and yellow-blonde hair that reached roughly halfway down her neck. This girl also wore a light blue sleeveless top with a white collar, white heart-shaped stud earrings (one in each ear lobe), a pair of glasses, brown cargo shorts, and light blue shoes. This girl also had red hairclips in her hair, was somewhat close to having a unibrow, and…admittedly could do with some anti-acne medicine.
Handing the backpack over to the girl, Bobby said, "We got your backpack back for you, Lori."
Somewhat bashfully, the girl, identified as Lori, received her backpack from the Hispanic boy. "Umm…thank you, Bobby," Lori replied, her voice barely loud enough for Bobby and the Ace twins to hear what she said. Walking up to Lori with a prideful stride, Allison stood next to Lori as she gave her a friendly, if rather powerful, clap on the back that made Lori lurch forward a bit.
"You need not fear, Loud," Allison remarked, "I sent those dishonorable trolls running to their cave with their tails between their legs! Anyway, you should come to me and Aggro's place! The summer is ours, and what better way to kick it off than to consume our fill of good drink? We have plenty of cola, and fighting those bullies gave me a warrior's thirst!" Lori did not know what to make of Allison's invitation. She also did not know what to make of the fact that a girl like Allison wanted to be friends with her at all. Still, Allison was sincere, so Lori figured that if her parents were okay with it, she could go over to the Ace family's place.
Allison was also Lori's only friend, and she didn't want to be rude to her.
"If my parents are okay with me going over to your place, then I'd be glad to come by," Lori replied to Allison's invitation.
"Aha, that's the spirit!" Allison said in a somewhat boastful kind of tone as she gave Lori another powerful clap on the back, "I've been wanting to see if you yourself also have a warrior's thirst!"
"Lori?!" an adult woman's voice called out, "Lori, where are you? Come on, I'm here to pick you up!"
"Dudes, that's Mrs. Loud," Bobby remarked as he recognized the voice.
"Yeah, I have to go over to my mom," Lori said to the others. Looking a little flustered, Lori said, "Umm, thanks again for the help."
"We shall be seeing each other soon, Lori," Allison remarked, "Until then, may Odin keep your way clear."
Lori gave a small but appreciative smile as she nodded in acknowledgement to Allison before turning around and making a dash over to where her mom was calling her from. After Lori took her leave, Allison said, "I know not what manner of sorcery compels others at our school to treat Lori without mercy, but it fills me with disgust." Crossing her arms over her chest, the female Ace twin continued, "If only I knew how to break the curse, then I would-"
"Allison! Aggro!" an adult male voice called out, "Come on! I'm here to pick you up! You two do want to get started on summer break, don't you?"
"Allison, our father's here," Aggro pointed out.
"…Very well," Allison remarked as she turned in the direction the call from her and Aggro's father came from, "I shall contemplate on this matter on the ride home." Allison then proceeded to walk in the direction that the call came from, with Aggro moving to follow his older twin sister. However, before he got a few feet away, Bobby placed a hand on his shoulder, getting him to stop and turn to face him.
"…Yes, Bobby?" Aggro replied, wondering why his best friend stopped him.
"Dude, I…" Bobby began, seemingly nervous, "…You're good with girls around school, aren't you?"
"I am on the receiving end of admiration from most of our school's female student population, if that's what you mean," Aggro said, "But I have no idea why that is. Why are you asking about my confusing popularity with girls?"
"What…what would you do if there was a girl that you had feelings for?" Bobby asked. In response to Bobby's question, Aggro gave his best friend a knowing smile.
"…This is about Lori again, isn't it?" Aggro asked.
"I still have no idea how I can tell her that I like her," Bobby explained, "I mean, what if she rejects me? That would break me, dude!"
"I doubt that Lori would outright reject you," Aggro said, "Given the kind of girl that she is, if you were to confess to her how you felt, she would undoubtedly be overwhelmed by the fact that a boy has a crush on her. But only at first, Bobby. Once she recovers from the shock, however, you having confessed your feelings to Lori would be the best thing to ever happen to her."
"You…you really think so, dude?" Bobby asked.
"I have every reason to believe so, Bobby," Aggro replied, "You just need to have faith in yourself on this one."
"Alright, but I still don't want to take any chances," Bobby remarked, "Can you give me any tips on not screwing up confessing to Lori that I like her?"
"Well I would first start by-" Aggro began, but he was cut off by another call from where his father was at. "…I'm afraid that we'll have to go over this later, Bobby," Aggro remarked, "Until next time, my good man." The male Ace twin then turned around and ran in the direction his father was calling from, leaving the twelve-year-old Santiago boy alone.
"…Yeah…" Bobby said to himself quietly.
Later, an old looking family van pulled into the driveway of a two-story house that was white with a black roof. Climbing out of the van once it shut off was an adult woman with blonde hair, and coming out of the shotgun seat was Lori. "So, Lori," the adult woman began in an attempt to make conversation with Lori, "How was your last day of school?"
"Let's just say that I'm glad to be home now, mom," Lori replied to the woman, revealed to be her mother Rita. The two women walked to the front door, which Rita opened, then they entered the house.
As soon as they did, a young boy's voice called, "Mom! Lori!" The Loud matriarch and her oldest daughter were soon tackle-hugged by a small white-haired boy wearing an orange shirt and a pair of overalls. "Hey Lori, I'm going to be in the first-grade next school year," the boy said as he looked up at Lori, clearly excited by the prospect of going up a grade, "I'm going to learn so much stuff, and become super-smart, and-"
"Lincoln, sweetie, relax," Rita said to her excited son as she gently laid a hand on his head, getting him to stop, "I know that you're excited to be going into the next grade next year, but you need to relax. You have an entire summer ahead of you, and you ought to enjoy it to the fullest." Turning to face Lori, Rita said, "Would you mind keeping an eye on your younger brother while I'm in the kitchen? Your father is still at his I.T job, so I need to get dinner started."
"Okay, mom," Lori replied, leaving Rita free to head into the kitchen. Once Rita was gone, Lori looked down to Lincoln, and saw that he was looking up at her.
"…Is middle school fun?" Lincoln asked his older sister in a curious tone.
Sighing, Lori replied, "Let's just say that summer break is more fun, Lincoln."
"I'm…still not sure about summer break," Lincoln admitted, sounding mildly confused.
With a mildly amused chuckle, Lori said, "Well this is your first summer break, Lincoln." Gesturing for Lincoln to follow her, Lori said as she proceeded to walk up the stairs to the second floor, "Come on, Lincoln. I'll show you how I made that beaded necklace I was wearing a few days ago."
"Okay!" the young Loud boy replied dutifully as he proceeded to follow his older sister, happy that she was wanting to spend time with him. She was the best big sister in the world, after all.
END, AWKWARD HERO CHAPTER ONE
Author's notes:
So yeah, the idea for this story was milling about my head while I was working on 'Restored Image', another one of my Loud House stories that I have up. This story, in case you can't tell, is set roughly five years in the past, which would make Lori twelve, putting her right back in her tween years. Back during her 'awkward phase', as she called it in the episode 'Anti-Social'. Anywho, more of the Louds will be showing up in the next chapter, and since this story is set five years in the past, that means that Leni is eleven, Luna is ten, Luan is nine, Lynn is eight, Lincoln is six, Lucy is three, Lola and Lana are both one, Lisa is…hey, wait a minute…
This is just the first chapter of this story. If I get enough feedback on it, I'll know if continuing it or not would be a good idea, depending on the kind of feedback that I get.