Greetings and Salutations! Before this chapter commences, I wanted to give Weavillian on Wikipedia a big thank you for reviewing this fanfiction and saying amazing things about it. Weavillian's new wiki series about reviewing Loud House fanfics that aren't famous is amazing. As someone that's been reviewed by him, I can safely say that his series makes authors more motivated to write and feel awesome about themselves. So, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I can't send a link to his wiki, but searching 'Weavillian wiki' will do. Obviously he has a too, check him outttt.
And without further ado, here's the next chapter! It's even longer than the first one. Please enjoy :)
Silence covered the room like a thick heavy blanket as both Lori and Leni soaked in the idea the latter had presented. Leni was confident in her idea at first. She knew communication was key, it was what made her become so close with Lori. They confided in each other, they gossiped with each other, and they screamed at each other almost every day! In the end, that actually strengthened their everlasting bond. Yet after one glance at Lori, she was no longer sure whether she presented an intelligent idea or not. While she was not wearing her infamous scowl, Lori's scrunched up eyebrows revealed uncertainty. Or was it annoyance? Leni could no longer tell, only that Lori was definitely not sending her positive vibes. Finally, Lori broke the silence by laughing in her face.
"No way!" Lori said between cackles, "Good one though, you're really funny!" Lori knew Leni long enough to know she wasn't being facetious, but passed her suggestion off as a joke to stay in denial. She just wished Leni would stop trying to be such a Mother Teresa about all her problems when it was not necessary. Lori admired her roomie's caring nature, but just once she wished she could rip off Leni's glowing halo and smash it into a million pieces.
"I don't always know when I have a good idea," Leni admitted, "But I have a feeling that my idea was amazing!" She tried to convince the stubborn girl, knowing she was one of the only people that could get Lori to crack. Leni wished Lori wouldn't act like being vulnerable in front of Lincoln was worse slamming her tongue on the car door. God, what she wouldn't do to rip off Lori's scowling mask and replace it with a glowing smile.
"Well, you're wrong," Lori said impatiently, her laughter disappearing. Any other sibling would've listened to Lori before she got angry and bounced. But not Leni. Like a persistent fly, Leni was impossible to shoo away.
Leni shook her head, "I don't believe you. My idea is good. You of all people should recognize that. Talking to Lincoln is key!"
"Leni, it's OVER!" The eldest Loud snapped, her expression hardening, "I got what I wanted off my chest, can't we let it go?" Lori pleaded.
"You have to go talk to Linky!" Leni insisted, "You'll feel so much better after you do."
"Oh, what do you know?" Lori asked, coming off harsher than she meant to. She winced, afraid she had hurt her sister's feelings with her comment. She looked up at her, preparing for the worst.
Leni didn't look hurt, like Lori imagined. In fact, she hardly looked fazed at all. She just gave Lori a stern glare and answered, "Clearly more than you if you think that running away will help you. You have to listen to me!"
Lori had to resist the urge to raise her eyebrows at Leni's comment. On a normal day, Leni treated life like a bouquet of flowers. She was always skipping through all her problems, flashing a blinding smile. Now, she was almost cross. Not cross over something petty this time, like Lori stealing her dress. Something serious, something that actually mattered! She was putting up a fight, meaning Lori had to up her game.
"No," Lori replied with one short word and a huff, crossing both her arms and legs and turning away from Leni like a pouty toddler.
"Yes!" Leni marched in front of Lori's face, only to have Lori snap her eyes shut and face the opposite direction.
"No!" Lori was now shaking her head rapidly.
"Yes!" Leni put her hands together in prayer, begging Lori to cooperate.
The two went back and forth for a few tedious minutes, until Lori decided she needed a way to confuse her roommate.
"Yes..." Lori finally faced Leni, giving her a mischievous grin and an eyebrow arch.
"No!" Leni said, falling for Lori's trick.
Lori sucked her teeth, pretending to be disappointed, "Aw man! Really? I wanted to do it, but if you insist on 'no' then I guess I can't argue with you," Lori gave an exaggerated phony sigh and rested her head on her fist. "Oh well, nothing I can do to change your mind," She pulled a '16 and a half' magazine out from under Leni's bed and began flipping through pages.
"Haha! I win!" Leni jumped up and down, oblivious to the fact that she had fallen right into Lori's trap. She erupted into a victory dance, whooping and cheering like she had won the lottery. Sure, Lori felt a bit guilty manipulating Leni. However, desperate times call for desperate measures...
Ten minutes went by with the two eldest Louds doing their preferred activities on Leni's bed. Lori was taking a magazine quiz, while Leni was finishing up her yarn stuffed bunny. It wasn't until Leni happened to look at the floor and take a glance at Lincoln's hateful letter that she was jolted back to reality.
"WAIT A MINUTE!" Leni erupted, the pieces of the puzzle finally coming together in her feeble mind, "You tricked me!"
"Dang it," Lori winced, so close.
Leni snatched Lincoln's letter up off the floor and stuffed it in her bra, where she normally kept candy and various cheeses. Leni stood up and shook her head with dismay, "I don't know what's the matter with you, Lori. You refuse, you pout, and you even trick me! Which is insane because I am, like, soooo hard to trick!"
"Yup, nothing gets passed you," Lori said, her voice soaked in sarcasm.
Leni's expression darkened as she walked up to Lori. Her shadow blocked Lori's light as the fashionista towered over her. Leni clenched her fists, her glare hardening until Lori actually became frightened. This is what Lori usually did when she was mad. Leni was stealing her methods, and it was working. The eldest did not know whether or not she should be scared, or proud.
"What are you going to do to me?" Lori asked. What was supposed to be a challenging question came out as timid and frightened.
Before Lori had time to react, Leni pounced. All Lori could remember was erupting into a blood curdling scream before Leni had grabbed her torso and lifted her upwards with Lori draped over her shoulder. Leni kept one hand on Lori's back to keep from dropping her, and walked out of the room.
"LENI LOUD, PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!" Lori screamed, dangling as Leni carried her. Her plea fell upon deaf ears, as Leni trudged down the hall to Lincoln's room.
Luan Loud then appeared from her room as Lori and Leni passed, "Woah, Lori! Don't get carried away!" she chuckled at her own joke, "Get it?"
Lori groaned, "Leni, let me down! People are looking. I have a reputation around these halls, I will not let you ruin that!" After noticing more Louds had their eyes on her, she grew embarrassed, banging her fists on Leni's back as a way to get her down.
Finally, Leni kicked open Lincoln's door. The eleven year old fell off his bed in shock. "GET READY LINCOLN, YOU'RE ABOUT TO HAVE A TALK!" Leni announced like she was a gameshow host. She let go of Lori, and with a final yelp she hit the ground.
Lori, face down on the ground with her body sprawled across the floor, groaned, "Just drag my body back to my room."
Lincoln grabbed the edge of his mattress and pulled himself upwards, "Hi, Leni," he said, slightly overwhelmed, "What brings you here?"
"Well, long story short, Lori was super hurt by your letter on why she sucks. We talked about it, and we agreed that she needed to talk to you." Leni explained. Lori rolled her eyes at how bluntly she phrased it.
"WE DID NOT AGREE ON ANYTHING!" Lori erupted, "You kidnapped me!"
"You say tomato, I say apple," Leni said with a shrug. "Linky, here's your mean note!" She said with a smile, pulling it out of her brassiere and handing the paper over. Lincoln accepted it. He frowned as he skimmed it over, as if he had forgotten what he wrote. "Read it, and discuss."
Lori pulled herself upwards by his doorknob. After Leni proved it was impossible, Lori was no longer trying to fight her crazy plan.
"Fine, I'll talk to him," Lori grumbled, taking a seat at the edge of the bed and bracing for the worst. It was one thing to open up to a boyfriend or closest sibling, Lori could handle that. But pouring emotions out to a little brother would be much harder for her, especially since they hardly had serious talks.
"Okay, I'm going to go," Leni announced as if it were nothing.
"Wait, what?" Lori raised her voice. When she envisioned Leni's crazy plan coming together, she imagined Leni being there with her, "You're leaving me?"
Leni gave her an apologetic smile, "Sorry. I have to put Lily down."
Lori waved her off, "Don't bother, that's my job." As she raised herself up, Leni put her hands on her shoulders to lower her back down.
"Yeah, but you're busy. Plus, I can handle it. Remember our deal, I'm going to be the fourth mommy!" Leni assured.
"Fourth mommy?" Lincoln asked.
"Yeah, our parents, Lori, and now me." Leni chirped.
"But, that would be three moms, because our dad is not a mommy." Lincoln brought up.
Leni's smile slowly morphed into a disturbed expression, as if all her innocence had been sucked away at that very moment, "This changes everything," she whispered. After what seemed to be staring into the void for a few seconds, the fashionista perked up, "Well, bye bye!"
"But Leni, what if I need you when things go wrong?" Lori inquired. She tugged on Leni's arm like it was her first day of kindergarten and she didn't want her mommy to leave. At first Leni found her childish behavior peculiar, but then she finally realized something. She was nervous. Lori could be described in many many ways, but 'nervous' usually wasn't one of them. Leni found it to be cute. Adorable as she was, mentioning it would make Lori turn her into a human pretzel, so she decided not to bring it up.
"Easy, just ask Lucy to summon me with her witchcraft. It's the fastest way!" Leni chirped her resolution.
"I have better idea," Lori offered, "When I need you to come, I'll scream your name at the top of my lungs. That'll be your cue."
Leni nodded, "Good plan. After all, you are quite the screamer," she raised her eyebrows up and down.
Lincoln buried his face in his hands, while Lori cringed, "Ew, don't say it like that!" They said simultaneously.
"Say it like what?" Leni tilted her head in confusion.
"Never mind. Good luck, Leni!" Lincoln waved goodbye.
Once the door closed behind Leni, Lori's anxiety spread through her body like a virus. For a moment, a brief moment, Lori was convinced this plan could work. But as Lincoln looked at his knees with discomfort, the ridiculousness of Leni's idea finally settled in. She couldn't do this! As she was about to call it quits, Lincoln cleared his throat.
"According to Leni, this is about the note. Is that true, or is that just Leni being Leni?" Lincoln asked. Geez, he looked almost as nervous as she did.
Lori exhaled deeply, "I guess that's part of it. I just wish I wasn't so oblivious to you hating me so much."
Lincoln widened his eyes, "I know we've been tense, but I don't hate you. I was just so furious that you broke my game, I had to get it out. When I read it aloud on your voicemail, I worked so hard trying to delete it after you bought me a new one. I didn't intend for it to be found, honest!"
Lori opened her mouth, about to say 'you could have just talked to me about it!' Then it came upon her that she didn't exactly come off as approachable towards her siblings.
"But since it made you feel this way, I regret ever making it." Lincoln admitted. He gazed at his sister, waiting for a response. Her dark brown eyes were glazed over, deep in thought and staring at Lincoln's wall. Lincoln cleared his throat, hoping to break Lori out of her trance. When his attempt failed, he whistled loud enough to jolt her.
"I'm glad you wrote that letter about me." She revealed, finally making eye contact with her brother. She knew Lincoln would ask her to explain, so to save Lincoln's breath she continued. "I spent the last three days wishing I never found it. I hated the way you made me feel about myself in that note, and I just wished you had never thought those things about me," she faltered, her mind juggling with ways to express her tangled thoughts, "But now that I'm sitting here, I wish you had written me a thousand mean notes. I wish you had given me enough notes to drown in," pausing once more, she felt she had to make one thing clear, "I don't think I'm a bad sister. Not even a little bit. But I know I have flaws that I can work on. Your letter, in a way, helped me out. It gave me a chance to talk one-on-one with you, something I never get to do. So, thanks."
Lincoln felt himself sink in his mattress, as if Lori's speech had weighed him down. He knew Lori wasn't mad at him anymore, but in a way it made him feel even more guilty. Trying to steer away from the serious tone he asked, "So...I can send you nasty messages whenever I want?"
Lori elbowed his side, "Don't push it, twerp."
Lincoln released a small chuckle, relieving their anxiety for just a moment. He elbowed her back, sticking his tongue out playfully. Lori returned the gesture, until they were both fighting off giggles.
"I do wish things were different with us," Lincoln confessed, grabbing Bun-Bun from under his pillow and hugging him against his chest.
"Don't worry, it will be," Lori assured.
"How so?"
"I know I've been biting everyone's heads off lately. But, I'm trying to fix it. Leni has helped me find a way to reduce my stress. So I'll have a much better temper soon." Lori promised. She looked at her little brother, trying to find signs of if she was doing a good job with her apology. The eldest assumed Lincoln would at least be smiling, or nodding his head with understanding as she spoke. However, the only boy's expression was hard to read. He wasn't smiling at all. Did that mean he wasn't buying it, or he was just listening carefully to her words? Lori couldn't tell, she had never been in a situation like this with him. When she apologized to Bobby after a big fight, he usually wore the dopiest grin she loved so much. However, when her mother forced her to apologize to Luna and vice versa after a fight, Luna usually kept the same scowl on the entire time. Lori wished everyone could just be the same so it wouldn't be so difficult!
"Thanks, but it's not just that," Lincoln finally said.
Lori's eyes widened and her body tensed. It wasn't working! She knew this was a bad idea, and she could not believe she let Leni talk her into this. She certainly was never listening to her roommate ever again. Lori's body began to fester with panic and she felt like she was going to erupt. Not knowing what else to do, she screamed at the top of her lungs, "LENI!"
After hearing a pair of footsteps running across the hall getting louder and louder, Leni kicked open the door. In her arms was a giant pair of cushiony headphones attached to her phone, "I'm here, I'm here!" she swiftly turned her head looking at both Lori and Lincoln, "What's the problem?"
"Lincoln isn't participating the way I want him to!" Lori fussed, sticking her bottom lip out at her younger sister.
Leni gave Lori a sympathetic smile, "Let's take a whale noise break." She took the headphones and placed them over Lori's ears like earmuffs, selecting the most calming whale noises she could find on her white noise machine app.
While Lori could no longer hear, Leni devoted her attention to Lincoln, "What did you do?"
Lincoln raised his hands up in the air, as if to surrender, "Nothing! Lori was telling me that she was going to be less angry. I said thanks, but that wasn't the only thing I wanted to change."
The two looked over at Lori, who was now scrolling through Leni's phone. "Why do you have Bobby's number?" Lori asked, her voice raised because she couldn't hear herself over the whales.
Leni snatched her phone and whale sounds away, "Just listen to what Linky has to say, okay?"
Lori looked down at her knees, a small blush forming on her cheeks, "Okay," she promised, her voice no higher than a whisper.
Leni gave her an encouraging smile, "Good. And if you need more whale sounds, I can imitate whales pretty well," she cleared her throat, "AwwwOOOO-WEEEEEE-OOOO! awooOOEE-ooooo! wOOOOOAHooooWeEoooooo" When Leni finished her terrible impersonation of whales, she smiled, "See? I'm good." After giving her siblings a small wave, she skipped out of the room.
After Leni was absent for about ten seconds, Lori cleared her throat, "What were you going to say, Lincoln?"
Lincoln shrugged, "I just feel like it's not just you being mad at us. I noticed that when you're not 'babysitting' us, you isolate yourself. The only person you hang out with one-on-one in this family is Leni," Lincoln looked down at his big feet, "You're a senior. Soon you'll be leaving, and we'll hardly ever see you. I just think it would be nice if you hung out with us more without feeling like it's a chore. The year will be over before you know it, we have to take advantage of the time we have left with you."
Lori raised her eyebrows, and the boulder on her chest disappeared. Never in a million years did she expect Lincoln Loud to actually want to hang out with her. Though, she did suppose it was true that she isolated herself from the Louds unless she had to meet with them. Her shock turned into guilt as she realized she had so much time to make up for with her siblings. "Linky," she began, using Leni's nickname for him, "I'd love to hang out with you."
"Not just me, silly. Everyone! Even the littlest Loud!" Lincoln said.
Lori's shoulders slumped. That would be even more difficult. "Even Luna?" She asked.
Lincoln laughed, "Of course! Even the Louds you don't normally get along with."
"What about Lisa? I have to avoid Lisa. She might do an experiment on me when I have my back turned and ruin my body!" Lori exclaimed.
Lincoln tapped his chin, "I see your point. Baby steps, y'know?"
Lori smiled, "Yep, baby steps. And I'll start with you, Lincoln Loud."
Lincoln returned the smile, and the two just looked at each other. Both had entered the conversation apprehensive on what was to come. But as it progressed, the first and sixth Louds had grown confident and helped find the perfect solution. However, there was still one thing left to say.
"I'm sorry," the two said simultaneously. They both laughed, weight being taken off their shoulders.
Lincoln sighed, "Welp, I feel mushy and awkward," he confessed.
"As a tweenage boy, that's exactly how you should always feel," Lori teased, "But I feel the exact same way. Good talk."
"Friendly reminder, I do not, under any circumstances, hate you. Even when you're difficult." Lincoln said.
"If I'm difficult, you're impossible" Lori smirked.
Lincoln extended his fist, offering the eldest a fist pump. Lori bumped her clenched fist against his. On impact, the two retracted them while making explosion noises with their mouths and wiggling their fingers.
Lori rubbed the back of her neck, "So yeah, just dropped by to see if we were cool. Whatever, y'know?"
"Totally."
After sharing a laugh, Lori decided she was satisfied. She cleared her throat and screamed louder than she ever had, "LENI!"
Three seconds later, Leni had burst through the door, "What is it now? Do you need whale sounds?"
"Our conversation went well," Lori proudly stated, glancing at Lincoln with a grin.
Leni clapped her hands, "YAY!" she exclaimed, giddy, "My idea worked. I am a genius! WOO!" She paused, her smile disappearing. "If everything went well, why did you call me up here?"
Lori stood up, "Well, I wanted you to carry me down the hall again."
Leni scrunched up her eyebrows, "But you were complaining the entire time when I did it before."
"I know. But now that I think about it, it was super fun. Please please please?" Lori rose her hands up in the air.
Erupting into a smile, Leni grabbed Lori's torso and lifted her sister over her shoulder. "Bye, Linky!" she waved at her little brother, before walking back down the hall with Lori draped over her shoulder.
"Weirdos," Lincoln grinned. When the two goofy girls were no longer present, Lincoln Loud looked at the wrinkled piece of paper sitting next to him. 'Why Lori Is The Worst Sister Ever' it read. Lincoln scoffed at his own work. What seemed accurate then no longer applied. Lori wasn't the worst sister ever, far from it. With that, he took the piece of paper and tore it in two. Then four, then eight, and continued until the tiny ripped up pieces rained down like confetti. While the destruction of his letter was satisfying, there was still one thing he had to do...
Did you think it was over? If you did, you're WRONG. One more chapter left! There's still some unfinished business that needs to be attended to.
Thanks for reading :)
