Royal Woods Middle School
It was lunch time and the students were gathered in the cafeteria, being served what most perceived as less than pleasant dinning experiences.
Lynn Loud was a freshman at her new school, having only been here for about a month. She, along with her siblings, had experienced quite a few changes in their everyday lives these past two months, and surprisingly, switching schools turned out to be the most minor one for her. Not that this new environment intimidated here in any way, she was always up for a new exiting challenge and there was little reason to fear anybody here since, beside her status as an athlete and her being anything but the shy, introverted type in general, most knew that she could pummel them without breaking a sweat if they got on her bad side.
If anything, Lynn`s biggest concern was being there to support her older sister Luan, who, as the jock found out this summer, needed all the support she could get at this place, especially if the schools vile, resident queen bitch, Kathleen, went after her, which was a constant looming problem her sister had to watch out for.
Lynn was sitting together with several friends, all from her softball team called the Royal Woods Squirrels, all of whom were talking amongst themselves over their various plans for the weekend, most involving sport. It was Friday and like most kids, Lynn was eagerly, and impatiently, waiting to hear that final bell ring for the day and enjoy her freedom for the next two days. Right now, she and her friend Margo were unenthusiastically poking the schlock on their trays which had quickly made them lose their appetites. Lynn yawned before commenting on the food.
"And you say this stuff is supposed to be mashed potatoes?" Lynn questioned drearily, ready to dump her tray in the garbage bin.
"That`s what the lunch lady said, though if you ask me I`d sooner say this was expired oatmeal." Margo replied while resting her head in her hand.
"Yeah that's it, from now on I`ll be bringin` my own lunch from home, just like in elementary school." Lynn declared to her friend.
"Ditto." Margo agreed, lighting up. "Hey, do you believe those rumors that the cafeteria staff just hobbles together a bunch of random stuff together on a whim and call it whatever they want, just so it could pass as food?" she jokingly asked.
Lynn shuddered before laughing. "I do not want to think about it. Either way those people could seriously take some tips from my dad. If there ever was a perk to bein` in his custody then it's the fact that he's a great chef..." she said proudly "...when we can afford it at least." she mentally added.
Then Lynn felt another strong yawn. Margo saw it and already knew why her friend seemed so sleepy today during classes, it wasn't the first time it had occurred this month.
"Lynn did you get any sleep last night?"
"Sure I did..." Lynn got interrupted by another yawn "...well mostly."
"Did one of your siblings have night terrors again?" her friend asked with concern, not beating around the bush with it. She pretty much knew the answer already.
Lynn sighed and looked away. "It was Lucy...again, you know the goth one. It took a lot to finally calm her down. I don't even know if she got any sleep last night..." Lynn explained dejectevly while rubbing her head "...I dozed off somewhere at 4 a.m."
She didn't need to go into any more details. Margo, and most of her friends, knew the story and the reasons behind it at this point. In a relatively small and often quiet town like theirs any news traveled fast, and news of the Louds camping incident spread quickly.
"Poor kid, you guys just can't seem to catch a break these days..." Margo said sympathetically "...and how has Lincoln been doing?"
"Better than Lucy I suppose, he hasn't had any nigmares lately and he has made a full recovery, last week he at last had all those damn stitches taken out of him." Lynn told her, thankful that her brother could finally go back to living a normal life after his near death experience just a month prior.
It was definitely a major step in helping the family move away from the memory of that dreaded camping trip. Despite how much time had passed, its effects still haunted the siblings, especially Lucy and Lincolnm, who had suffered the worst in that attack and had been repeatedly reliviving those moments in their dreams for the following weeks, but Lynn`s other siblings and herself weren't spared from their own occasional nightmares either.
" Good for him..." Margo smiled at her friend before starting to shift her eyes, observing the cafeteria. There was someone missing from their table, someone most of them wouldn't have wanted to be there in the first place, but who would constantly join their group at Lynn`s insistence and none of them were in a position to do anything about it, partially out of fear, but also out of what was essentially guilt tripping.
The incident was quite a shock to most people who heard about it. The only bigger shock, at least to the local kids, was the news of the unexpected hero who came to the siblings aid in their most dire moment. For the kids inbetween Lincoln`s and Luan`s age group it was especially hard to believe that this person was the reviled bully that some had started calling "Taylor the Tyrant". And now he and Lynn were apparently friends!
The group suddenly heard footsteps, followed by most of the other students going quiet or starting to murmur uneasily. They knew who was coming.
"And speak of the devil." Margo mused bitterly as she saw someone standing behind Lynn, holding his own tray. The other kids at the table immediately stopped talking and shrank back with unnerved expressions. Wondering what was going on, Lynn turned around, but unlike the rest of them, she seemed happy to see the new arrival.
"Bout time you showed up Ryan, where were ya durin` history class anyway?" she asked him in a friendly tone.
Taylor wore an uncharacteristically joyous smile on his face, looking rather sinister and creepy to the onlookers, but then again looking scary was his default expression given his less than appealing complexion, only adaided now by the scars that were edged across his left cheek.
"Tryin` to find a more comfortable pillow to help me sleep." he quipped casually, and Lynn actually found herself laughing at his remark, Margo looked on annoyed at their casual chatter, while the others remained scared and withdrawn.
Lynn elbowed him in the side. "Can't blame ya for needing it, but seriously now? Where were you?"
Putting his tray down but not sitting himself, Taylor smirked "Oh I just had to make a quick visit to the doctor to remove my cast..." he paused and lifted his left hand up in full view, making everyone else gasp and cringe.
A prominent scar was running down his arm towards his hand which was half way covered in mangled scar tissue and of course he was missing one finger. Even Lynn was shocked by the sight but tried not show it. She knew what to expect and didn't want to make him feel anymore self-conscious about it.
Her friends meanwhile kept quiet, it was a good thing that they, as athletes, were used to seeing injuries and the fact that Taylor had made them repeatedly listen to the story of his "heroic act" before, mainly to stroke his ego as most of them thought, and gave detailed description of his injuries, otherwise some fainting and vomiting would have been going on right now.
"...and now I`m free from visiting those needle wielding quacks ." he beamed. Lynn tried not to look or think too much about his hand, so she tried to change the subject.
"So, you won't have to worry about seein` the big, scary doctor anymore, huh?" she teased him as she sat back down. The boy didn't bite.
"Pffff that's just the icing on the cake Lynn." he replied amusingly before looking at the rest of the kids, his eyes scanning them like a lion trying to spot the weakest zebra in the herd. Their obvious fear and discomfort still made him feel a sense of superiority. He may have sworn off bullying, but he still very much enjoyed the sensation of being top dog, sometimes ones reputation was more valuable than ones actions.
His lip curved into a smile, showing his crooked teeth. "How good it is to see ya all again, how about we play a little game. I propose a quiz." he said in a superficially affable tone and clasped his hands. Lynn rolled her eyes and rested her head in her hand, Ryan still couldn't resist to scare the shit out of people, not that he had to put much effort into it.
"This should be fun?" she mused. Taylor folded his arms behind his back and started circling the table.
"Now. Can anyone guess why I`m in such a good mood today?" he asked them all out loud.
Everyone he passed by remained eerily quiet and cowered as Taylor walked by them, seemingly expecting a punch to the face if they spoke up and gave the wrong answer. Knowing that only made the raven haired boy more amused.
"Here`s a hint, today`s a very special today! Now don't be shy. How about-YOU!" Taylor pointed at one of the boys who jumped in fear and surprise.
"Can you guess?" Taylor sneered.
Sweating nervously, the other boy struggled to find an answer. "Eh...because it's Friday?" he said cluelessly.
"Wrong answer Francis." Taylor chortled and moved on. The Hispanic kid looked on.
"Actually.." he stuttered "..my name`s Francisco, but you were close man, very close, no hard feelings!" he said hastily.
"Yeah...whatever..." Taylor waived in disinterest, surveying for his next target.
Margo rolled her eyes. She had been one of the first in the group to learn about Lynn`s and Taylor`s change in relationship, and was therefore one of the first to get used to the latter enough to view him as more of a nuisance than someone she should be afraid of. Or maybe she was just one of the few courageous enough not to be intimidated by him, at least that's what she tried to show on the outside.
"How bou-YOU!" Taylor asked some girl, who's name he couldn't bother to remember.
"Ehhhhh...it`s September 25th?" she answered meekly.
"Warmer, but not quite there..." he shook his head before shifting his gaze towards Margo. She glared at him which he returned with a smirk.
"You wanna try Maggie?" he asked. She narrowed her eyes.
"Maggie? That's the weird emo girl, you dolt! I`m Margo!" she became enraged.
At that remark some of the kids turned to see said emo girl sitting and eating alone at a nearby table. They quickly turned back and shuddered once she shot them one creepy and lifeless stare upon hearing her name being mentioned.
"Take it easy tutz, you know am not good with names?" Taylor shrugged carelessly. Margo balled her fist.
"You`ve known me for three weeks now and you still can't be bothered to remember my name?!" she growled. She felt Lynn hand on her shoulder.
"Well..." Taylor rubbed his chin, not seeming to care if he offended the girl.
"Relax Marg, you know he`s just trying to tick you off." Lynn assured her friend before suddenly grabbing and pulling Taylor down, forcing him to sit down between her and Margo.
"Alright you had your fun Ryan. Game`s over." Lynn told him, her tone underlying the message that he better behave himself. Of course Taylor wasn't so easily intimidated.
"But Lynn, nobody got my question right." he replied in a mock hurt tone. The jock rolled her eyes.
"I can, it`s September 25th, meanin` you have served your time." she answered. Taylor smiled at her.
"You got it, speaking of that..." he got cut off when both heard Margo mutter.
"And how are those joyous news?" she snarked quietly. Taylor gave her a deadpan glare.
Lynn`s team mates were whispering to themselves at her odd choice of words. It was Francisco who dared to speak to the former bully.
"Wait? Were you actually in jail?" he asked cluelessly, to which the other kids exchanged perplexed glances.
Taylor hollered with laughter at their stupidity on the inside. But then again, those dopes weren't too far off from reality.
"Eh I suppose you could say that Bushel Brows." Taylor answered offhandedly.
"Ugh, no Einstein! He was grounded for a month cuz he had the briliant idea of lyin` to his parents and running off to the middle of nowhere to go camping..." an annoyed Margo told the others.
Taylor glared at her, her mouthing off was starting to get on his nerve. She glared back at him "...and we all know how that bit him in the ass later." she finished with a hint of glee in her tone and expression. It quickly went away once Lynn shot her a disapproving look.
"Margo, that`s enough. Don't you think he feels bad enough about it as it is." Lynn defended him.
"If I were you, I`d dial back the lip, you don't wanna get on my bad side, Pinocchio... ." Taylor sneered at Margo, the remark actually made her look uncomfortable, and cover her nose ashamedly and avoid eye contact with him.
Some of the other kids snickered lightly at his remark. "Oh no he didn't..." Lynn heard Francisco whisper to another boy. Their snickering only made Margo shrink even more.
Seeing her friend hurt, Lynn kicked Taylor in his shin.
"AH! What was that for?!" Taylor complained while clutching his leg.
"Apologize. Now!" she ordered him. Taylor smirked.
"Why? I just said it as I saw it-AH!" his snide remark resulted in a painful stomp on the foot. He heard some of the kids snickering at him now. The snickering ceased abruptly once Taylor shot them a vicious glare.
"Oh, did you guys see something funny?" he asked coldly and threateningly. The kids all shrank back with fear.
"Cuz I`d love to have good laugh too, so please clue me in on the jok-WOW!" he was cut off when Lynn grabbed his arm and started dragging him out of the cafeteria.
"You. Me. The Hallway!" Lynn barked at him angrily. The other students heard the commotion and stared at the pair. Taylor did not take kindly to the unwanted attention.
"What are you bozos lookin` at?" Taylor snapped, prompting every other students to instantly and obediently look away in fear at his threat. Taylor smirked with satisfaction.
Lynn, meanwhile, sighed inwardly, she knew Margo wasn't the forgiving type and still had a lot of bottled up disdain for Taylor, most kids at this school still did. She knew Margo was worried that Taylor would snap again and hurt her, like he did during summer, all her team mates still remembered the way she looked when she came to that one game following her less than pleasant first run in with Taylor.
Taylor wasn't helping matters by still acting the way he always did when interacting with people, nore were the various rumors surrounding him and his overall bad reputation, which Taylor would often publicly support just for kicks or to maintain his image as a tough guy, no matter how false or exaggerated the various notions about him where.
She was really trying to help him shed that image and integrate him as a normal kid among their peers, but clearly neither side was going to make this easy. But Lynn was never the kind of person to give up easily.
Once the pair had exited trough the door, the rest of the students quickly started chattering to each other about what they just seen. Seeing Taylor letting himself be dragged away by Lynn certainly added more fuel to the rumors about just how close those two were, even amongst Lynn`s own friends, and Margo, now feeling completely alone and still hurt, tried hard not to listen to their snide remarks about the matter.
Elsewhere, Maggie had also taken notice of the scene that had just unfolded, though her empty expression didn't betray any inherent interest in what she had seen.
"And people are afraid of that guy? Pathetic..." she noted apathetically.
...
Royal Woods Elementary School
Lucy, as always, remained quiet during her classes, not talking to anyone and listening carefully to her respective teachers lecturers.
School was something Lucy has ever been ecstatic about, not because she was a poor student, quite the contrary. While not necessarily a model scholar, the young goth generally got good grades, being an introvert and having had a lot time to herself (whether she wanted it or not) gave her plenty of opportunity to dive her nose deep into various books, whether they were for her studies or some horror related novel she would immerse herself into.
It was the fact that she would be subjected to the cruel scorn, scrutiny and outright mockery and bullying from her peers that made her dread this place. For nearly two years she had endured this treatment and kept it quiet from her family, who didn't pay her much attention and she asumed wouldn't want to be bothered with her problems, leaving her to bottle up her feelings of pain, which only helped craft her goth persona more, the quiet, emotionless little girl with a seemingly apathetic outlook on life.
But things had recently changed quite a bit for her and her family. They now knew what she went trough on a daily bases and contrary to what her younger self would have assumed, they were willing to do whatever they could to help her, giving the goth some newfound hope whenever she entered the otherwise bleak and merciless learning facility.
Lincoln, her only brother, had always been the one sibling she felt the closet to, he was the only one who would listen to her and willing sacrifice his spare time for her, granted he did that with all nine of his sister, but he gave the goth a sense of comfort, a place (or rather a person) that showed her compassion and allowed her to be herself while showing her acceptance and understanding, despite her weird appearance and interests.
More recently she found someone else like that in the most unlikely of places, her teen sister Luan, the comedian who by all means should have been her exact opposite, yet she turned out to understand her better and have more in common with the little goth than anyone else in their big family, as she had faced and still faces the same ostracizing and scorn as Lucy does simply for being weird in the eyes of her peers.
Luan couldn't be there for her little sister while they were in school, but Lincoln could and ever since he was able to return to school after his accident, he tried everything he could to make her time here easier, from keeping her close to him during recess to outright threatening her tormentors with physical retribution, which almost got him into trouble a few times. Lincoln was anything but tough, but he did have the advantage of being bigger and up to three years older than the oposition, which was usually enough to make them back off.
During class Lucy had few opportunities to shine, bragging about her better grades towards the lazy lackwitts she went to class with she knew wouldn't faze them much, but the one place where she could truly shine and stand tall was when her class would be presenting the poems they had written.
Poetry was her passion and while the other kids didn't care much about it, her teacher saw her hard work and the potential she exhibited, she praised her work and advised her to nurture her talent, but also suggested to the young goth to try and use lighter and more hopeful themes, like something or someone that was near and dear to her. Lucy had taken that advice with todays poem.
She laughs, Lucy frowns, but she knew they were the same deep down. Facing danger wasn't something he usually dared, but when she needed him he was instantly prepared. Her little sister could be loud and gross, but her compassion and their mutual fondness for animals Lucy valued the most.
Those are some of the things she told her class today and for once Lucy couldn't care less about their sneering and apathetic looks.
...
It was soon time for recess and unlike most kids Lucy wasn't stampeding out. She returned some of her books to her locker following English class, when she heard some mocking voices behind her. Hearing those annoying voices, the goth quietly slipped something out of her locker and into her palm.
"Hey Ghoul Gal, why where you yawning so much today? Too busy haunting your house last night?" said a boy from her class. He and his friend snickered cruelly at her.
Lucy clenched her fist, but also remembered images from her nightmare. She had been the most psychologically scarred out of all the siblings from the attack. The monster that had terrorized them during their camping trip was dead, she saw him die, yet it was like its spirit haunted her dreams almost every night. After closing her eyes Lucy would find herself reliving events from that terrible day, the fear, the terror, the beast would return to pursue her, she saw its yellow eyes, she saw its grinning maw, she felt the sharp pain in her waste when it snatched her. Those night terrors wouldn't leave her, they kept tormenting her.
And how did the kids react to finding out that she had been mauled by a wild animal, did they finally show her any sympathy? No, apparently a "freak" like her wasn't worthy of even basic human compassion, at most they remained withdrawn and awkward around her at first, but once those stitches were removed things were back to normal, some even mocked her for the attack and her trauma, like when they noticed her freaking out in the presence of dogs or taking her novels to play "keep away" and noticing that she stopped reading anything werewolf related.
"Yeah, you look even paler than usual!" the other one mocked her too. The two high fived at the formers "brilliant" zinger. Lucy didn't bother facing them.
"Don`t you idiots have anything better to do?" she asked them coldly and emotionlessly.
"Oh look, it talks!" they snickered again. Lucy remained quite in tranquil anger, facing away from them.
"And what was up with that sappy song about loving your family..." one of them snickered obnoxiously while pocking her in the side, pass her backpack.
"Yeah, usually you just mope and drabble on about how dark and miserable the world is, you freak!"
"You`re acting like it's wrong to care about your family." the goth asked coldly. The boys huffed and chuckled.
"Like you actually care for your stupid sisters and brother? You don't care about anything, you're just a sad, lifeless weirdo who hides behind dumbsters, mopes about looking like a zombie and makes out with her precious vampire statue."
As their cruel laughter echoed in her ears, Lucy narrowed her eyes. Enough was enough.
"Sigh. You're right, I don't care about my family, never did. Emotions are a weaknesses and I can't afford weakness where I`m heading..." The boys stopped giggling and looked at her oddly.
"As for my poem, I just thought it would be common decency to give my family one last farewell letter, before I end their miserable lives in order to complete my transformation." she continued in a haunting tone. The boys became confused and a bit disturbed.
"Trans-Wut trasformation?" one of them drawled dumbly.
"Why do you think I have been so sleepy lately. I`ve spent weeks stalking the night, draining the blood out of any expendable mortal I came across, all to further my transformation into a pureblooded vampire. My family should provide enough of the red nectar to complete my transformation. But maybe they won't be enough..."
Lucy abruptly turned and hissed at the boys. They gasped and yelped when they saw two large fang protruding from her gaping mouth and ran away screaming.
Once they were gone Lucy let the tiniest bit of a smirk appear on her face before taking out the fake Dracula fangs and tucking them into her backpack.
"I`ll have to thank Luan for the idea". She felt proud of herself as she went down the hallway towards the main entrance. She's been called a monster, ghoul, ghost, zombie, vampire countless times, so if the kids insisted that she was a monster, why not make them happy she thought.
There was always a way to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. If they wouldn't respect or accept her, she could at least make them too scared of her to bully her.
Once outside, Lucy tried to find her brother. He insisted that she stay close to him as much as she could, to the point of being overprotective, not that she necessarily minded it.
Suddenly she was tripped and hit the payvment. A familiar cruel laughter loomed over her as as an arm pinned her down and grabbed something out of her backpack.
"Watch your footing vampire, don't wanna be the klutz of the underworld." Chandler laughed before examining the book he took from her.
Looking up, Lucy felt fear as the redhead glared down at her, his smile twisting into a vicious grin. "What`s this, another vampire soap opera? . And I thought you had some taste." he shook his head disapprovingly.
"Give it back!" Lucy cried and tried to stand up, only for Chandler to forcefully push her down.
"Don`t interrupt me you little rat!" he snapped at her, before adopting a more superficially friendly expression.
"Why are you readin` such shit now? What ever happened to those books of yours about vampires facing off against werewolves-Oh right!" he slapped himself on the head comically before sneering at the goth.
"You don't like wolves anymore. Not after one tried takin` a few nips out of you." he snickered.
To emphasize his point, Chandler formed his hand like a puppet and started nipping with it at Lucy.
"Stop it..." Lucy cried and tried to push his arm from pinching her "... and give me back my book?"
"Sorry, can't do. I`ll need it to make some confetti!" Chandler quipped before someone suddenly snatched the book from his grasp.
"Leave her alone!" Lincoln yelled as he pushed the bully away from Lucy and helped her get up. Seeing her brother, Lucy felt relieved and instantly hung on to him for protection.
Getting his footing, Chandler glared at his long time rival, before smirking. "Ah still playin` white knight for the princess of gloom, eh?" he asked mockingly.
"I told you to leave her alone! Now piss off!" Lincoln threatened. Chandler laughed.
"Uhh, don't use such bad words Lincoln, your momma might spank you for it-oh wait, you don't have a momma anymore!" Lincoln fumed inwardly, but kept his composer.
"I`m not in the mood for your stupid games Chandler! Now beat it!" Lincoln tried to leave with his sister, but Chandler started following them.
"Or what dorko?" the redhead mocked "...are you gonna get rough with me?"
Lincoln glared back at him."Don`t test my patience you idiot!" he threatened. Chandler tilted his head with an amused expression.
"Don`t push your luck loser!" he replied in a cocky tone. Suddenly Lincoln charged at him, making Chandler jump back a few steps when Lincoln stopped in his track. Seeing Chandler`s scared expression, Lincoln turned around without another word and led Lucy away, leaving Chandler stunned.
"When the hell did Lincoln grow a backbone?" he wondered angrily.
Once they were far away from the bully, Lucy sighed with relief and smiled at her brother.
"Thank you Lincoln." she said in a small voice.
Seeing his sister safe made Lincoln`s features soften up.
"It was nothing Luce, I`d do anything for you." he replied humbly.
"Still...that was pretty brave of you."
"Lucy, I didn't survive a wolf attack and the terror of Lyle and Taylor just so I could go back to being intimidated by a playground meanies like him..." Lincoln joked before growing a slightly more serious tone "...things will be different now, Chandler`s fun time is over."
He smiled at his sister. "Now come on Lucy. Dad has packed our lunch and we can eat together."
"That...would be nice." Lucy agreed, genuine happiness forming in her usually stoic tone...
...
"You know you`re not makin` this easy?" an annoyed Lynn crossed her arms and sported a disapproving scowl in front of Taylor, while he grabbed a book from his locker. Not looking at her, he sighed.
"Can you please drop it Lynn, we're gonna have to shlog trough algebra now, I don't need two headache inducin` lecturers at the same time." he snarked flatly.
"No, I won't drop it! Those are my friends and you think it's funny to mock them and threaten them?" she retorted, raising her voice.
Taylor looked at her, his lip started curling upward. "Lynn, come on, you know I was just messin` around. You people should lighten up and learn to take a joke."
"Well it wasn't funny to them." she told him bluntly.
"Hey, I can't help it if those wusses wet their pants at the sight of me, that's their fault. I just try to make the most of it. Besides I never hurt any one of them." he shrugged.
"And makin` fun of Margo`s nose doesn't count? You do know she's sensitive about it?"
Taylor scoffed. "You`re bein` overdramatic, people should learn that's it's okay to make fun of your own peculiarities." he reasoned.
It was Lynn`s time to scoff. "Right.." she stated sarcastically "...and if I made cracks about your appearance, and I can think of ten of the top of my head, you'd be okay with it?"
Taylor`s face dropped. "Touche." he uttered dryly and suddenly passed by Lynn.
"What do you-HEY where are you goin`?" she caught up to him and they walked down the hall.
"To math class, don't wanna be late." he answered plainly.
"Yeah right, since when did you care about being punctual?" Lynn snarked with a deadpan look.
"You know me too well." he smirked at her.
"Don`t change the subject." she snapped. "I`ve been tryin` to help you fit in for weeks, but you keep actin` like a jerk to my friends."
"Well they didn't exactly accept me with open arms." Taylor droned.
"Of course they wouldn't, you've terrorized the whole neighborhood for 3 months..." Lynn pointed out the obvious, but slowly calmed down "... but we could change that you know? If you would just show them your nicer side...the side I have seen?"
"I don't think that`s an option." Taylor replied
"Why?" Lynn looked puzzled.
The boy took a serious expression."I`ve told you before, if they don't fear me, all the kids would tear me apart. Don't act like it isn't true, if you hadn't insisted upon it and if they didn't worry that I would pummel them, they never would have wanted anything to do with me, bully or not. It has always been that way for me."
Lynn shot him a "don`t give me that shit" look.
"And I`ve told you before to quit being such a pessimist, why can't you act around other people the way you act around me? I would bet all my sports attire that if you just acted nicer people would accept you sooner than you would think."
"Bein` nice? Like that has worked out for Luan?" the boy scoffed. Lynn froze, he had her.
As much as she didn't want to buy into his bleak views on the world, the mere mentioning of Luan or Lucy and the ostracizing they have endured would crush any optimism about acceptance she had tried to hammer into him.
Taylor didn't feel any glory about beating her argument, it just reinforced the fact that he was viewed as a monster by his peers for years and seeing one of the few people he cared about looking dishearteningly away from him wasn't pleasant either.
He sighed. "Lynn, I know what you're tryin` to do, I appreciate it, but it won't work. You know that they all hate or fear me, which I`m used to, as does everyone else..."
As they passed trough the hallway various kids either cowered, moved out of the way or just ran in fear of him, further cementing his point.
"They don't hate you, they're..." her voice trailed off "...they just don`t understand you, Ryan."
"There`s a difference?" the boy quipped dryly.
"Yes, you just have to show everyone that they have no reason to fear you."
Taylor snickered."I don't see how we could possibly accomplish that, unless we invite all our classmates to a weekend trip to an abandoned cabin in the Rocky Mountains and we fight off marauding wolves and mountain lions. That seems to be the only way to get me and others closer."
Lynn chuckled lightly and brightened up. "Or, the next time me and the guys come together for somethin`, like a friendly soccer match, just come along, join us and show them that you're no different than anyone else."
"I doubt that will do much." he dismissed the idea. Lynn grew tired of his pessimism and frowned.
"Will you at least give it a try? Do it for me if for nothing else."
Taylor didn't answer, he was hesitant and seemed to be trying to find a way to weasel his way out of it. Noticing this, Lynn decided to use a tactic she would seldom use, unless she was trying to persuave her brother, she looked at Taylor with pleading puppy dog eyes. It worked and Taylor started to crumble.
"Alright, I`ll try..." he groaned begrudgingly. She smiled towards him.
"Thanks Ryan, I promise you it will work...maybe not right of the bat, but it will in do time."
Taylor felt conflicted, he really hadn't enjoyed being forced to have lunch or socialize with people he knew didn't want him around them and whom didn't give a crap about, but up until now that was the only way he could be with Lynn, the only real friend he had in quiet some time, but now that was no longer needed.
"Kay, now that we have settled that, there's somethin` I was trying to ask you all day..." he started.
"What`s that?" Lynn wondered.
"Well, since it's Saturday tomorrow and I'm finally free, I thought you and I could, you know, hang out together, just the two of us." he asked casually.
Lynn felt stunned for a second.
"Wait are you...askin` me out? Lynn asked him suspiciously, starting to feel nervous, though she wasn't quite sure why.
Taylor felt flustered after hearing her response, his palms were sweating and his heart was pounding. But on the outside he kept his cool.
"Huh? Eh? No I was just wonderin` if you wanted to hang out with me, you know as friends. We didn't get the chance to do that so far, to have fun and spend time together, alone." he clarified with a calm exterior.
"Oh...I see." Lynn replied, trying to hide her blush, feeling stupid and wanting to kick herself for even asking such a question. "Sure, I would love to. What did you have in mind?"
"Cool, and well nothing specific, maybe get a bite to it, stroll around in the park, and you could come home with me to shoot some hoops. I know you miss havin` your own backyard to play in."
"Heh, I do, it sucks not bein` able to play sports in private when I want to..." Lynn reminiscent about the time she and her family had better living conditions. Getting some space for the weekend out of her dingy apartment cramped with 5 siblings and her father sounded pretty tempting.
"So where should I meet you?" she asked.
"I dunno, I still got no phone to call you if somethin` comes up, so how about I just drop at your place, you know this town better than me anyway..."
Suddenly they both felt an arm being thrown over their shoulders, followed by an annoying and familiar giggle.
"Hey guys!"
"Luan..." they both groaned, seemingly annoyed to see her. The comedian let go and turned to face her younger sister. Lynn looked at her oddly.
"Luan...are you feelin` alright?" Lynn was already feeling dread from the giddy look that was plastered on the comedian`s face.
"I`m sorry if I was interrupting anything..." Luan snickered suggestively.
"You weren't, we were headin` to math class..." Taylor answered dryly.
"Really? Well I just hope you two don't get divided." Luan chuckled, but Taylor just looked at her with confusion.
"Wut?" he cocked his brow.
Luan deflated, her atemp at making a joke fell flat as usual. But she quickly perked up.
"Oh, it's just that I couldn't help but overhear you asking Lynn out on a date." Luan told him nonchalantly before looking back at Lynn.
"Hihihi, dad`s not gonna be happy if he hears about it, but don't worry, me and the others won't tell anyone sis."
Lynn was slowly turning red from anger and embarrassment. "This is not a date you numbskull..." she flailed her arms angrily "...it`s-WAIT A MINUTE, have you`ve been spying on us!" Lynn pointed an accusing finger at the comedian.
"Maybe..." Luan chuckled sneakily while fiddling her fingers. As Lynn trembled with anger, Taylor, meanwhile, rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance.
Luan was the only one of Lynn`s siblings with whom he has had any interaction since the camping trip and so far he had learned three major things about her : she sucked at comedy, she was perhaps the most unpopular kids at school, and she couldn't keep her nose out of other peoples business.
"Well if you were spyin` on us Funny Girl, and I use that nickname very loosely, then you must have heard the part where I specifically said that I wasn't askin` Lynn out, so please do us a favor and take your second rate attempt to get a rise out of people somewhere else, I am the master of annoying people..." he finished with a smirk.
Luan pffed and waved her hand dismissively "Oh don't use that ol` excuse on me pal, all guys and girls say that about their first date, before the "acciental" kiss happens that is." she winked at him smugly.
Taylor stood unfazed.
"And you know about these kind of things...how?" Taylor smirked as Luan`s cocky expression dropped like a boulder.
"Oh that was low, even for you Ryan." she said coldly while pointing her finger at Taylor.
"Thanks, I always try." he shrugged.
Lynn, who had managed to cool down, suddenly grabbed Luan by both arms and pulled her face to face, staring her right in the eye. "Listen to me and listen very carefully." she told her slowly and sternly, like if she was trying to talk to a toddler.
"It not a date, we`re just two friends hanging out together. There's nothin` else goin` on. You're not goin` to tell anybody that I have a date since I DON'T. And under no circumstances, any circumstances are you or the others goin` to stalk me tomorrow tryin` to "help me", since no helpin` will be required, since this is NOT a date. Do? You? Understand?"
Luan blinked for a few seconds, then looked at Taylor, then back at her sister. She suddenly smiled. "Oh I get!" she answered in an understanding tone.
"Good." Lynn sighed with relief and let her go.
"Well it was nice seeing you again Ryan, but I have to go." she exclaimed and went her own way..
But before she left, Luan stopped and whispered something into Lynn`s ear.
"I get ya. You and I will talk about this in private. I`ll help ya get pretty. By!" and with that the comedian was gone.
Lynn groaned desperately and covered her face. She and Taylor entered the classroom and sat together at a desk.
Lynn still looked irked from her sisters remarks, Taylor not so much. Though one thing that Luan mentioned did peek his curiosity.
"Say, what was that about your siblings stalkin` you?" the boy inquired.
Lynn felt embarrassed to explain it to him, especially since she was a part of it. She sighed.
"Well...me and my sisters kind of had a bad habit in the past to stalk Lincoln when he met a girl, tryin` to help him not to screw up and such. Usually it ended with the girl bein` scared away by us instead." Lynn explained, feeling embarrassed of her involvement.
Taylor`s jaw dropped."Wow! Wow! Hold it there..." he looked at her with a dumbfounded expression.
"...the pipsqueak had dates!? More than one!?"
...
And that's it for the first chapter, I wrote it to show how the characters have been doing since the last story. Obviously, being friends with the former terror of the neighborhood has placed Lynn in an awkward position, for more reasons than one, while Lincoln is more determined than ever to keep Lucy safe after their last excursion. Originally I thought about showing more with the Lincoln and Lucy part, but I didn't want to have this first chapter go on for too long so I decided to save the rest for the next chapter. Spoilers, Chandler isn't done picking on Lucy...
I have never actually seen the one episode from the show featuring Chandler, but that isn't necessary cuz as far as my experience with LH fics has taught me, the only requirement for his character in fan works is "be a dick to Lincoln...and possibly his little sisters", and I think I delivered on that very minimal requirement. XD