A/N: Here's the second chapter rewritten, hopefully better. There's T.V. Tropes page for this Fanfiction, check it out sometime if you guys get the chance, it's pretty cool and really motivated me to not let this story go on hiatus again. Be sure to review, it helps me write better and motivates me to write this story. I know it took awhile but i got a new computer so things should go faster. I'm going to start responding to last chapter reviews at the end of the chapters from now on. Ask any questions or comments you have and i'll respond. Sorry for the wait.

-December 10th-

It was almost eleven o'clock when Leni got home that night; she stumbled blindly up the stairs to her house under the moonless darkness that wrapped itself around Royal Woods.

After the going to the café, they talked about Carol's student Council duties for a bit before deciding to go watch a movie, but Leni didn't really watch it. It was some scary movie about a clown that hid in sewers or something, and scary movies weren't quite her things. Only when Carol put an arm around her did Leni calm (even if it were only a small amount)...

There were two things on her mind though, that a simple arm around the shoulders couldn't fix. The first of the two things being that Bobby and Lori had a level of trust that no one else in the world could ever hope to have. Leni couldn't stop herself from thinking that Bobby told Lori, and her older sister was waiting in their room for her to walk in. All Leni wanted was to hang out with her friend in peace.

Leni didn't know exactly what Lori would do to prevent her from hanging out with Carol, however Leni knew that if Lori would convince their parents Carol was a bad influence, then they'd certainly ban Leni from ever going out with Carol. Lori didn't even need a reason, she could probably make her stop seeing Carol just because it was Carol, regardless of how Leni felt. The thought of losing her only friend was scarier than the movie they had seen. Leni's hands trembled, it might have been easier at that point to just stay out of the house all night, but who knew what creeps were out at this time.

The second thing was how long she could keep it hidden. This first slip up with Lincoln was risky. The second slip up with Bobby was nearly social suicide. Maybe Bobby thought telling Lori of Leni's betrayal would hurt her, so he stayed quiet? The thing is that there were so many possibilities (more negatives than there were positives) that Leni couldn't figure out which was the most likely.

Her world was a glass jar on the edge, Lori learning about Carol would be the last nudge to send it over. Then Lori would confront Carol, then Carol would let something slip, and at that point then the jar would break, letting everything it contained spill out for everyone to see.

She went inside, and all was calm and dark; everyone had retired for the night, giving the usually loud house an unusually eerie feeling. Leni could imagine what it would look like on a normal day. Lana would sitting on the couch watching some T.V. show and playing with some mud she kept in a bucket under her bed. Lola would take the spot on the other side of the couch, beautifying her already beautiful self for no other reason than vanity. Luna's music would resound from upstairs, shattering Leni's ear drums. Lynn would be running around with a football playing some made-up game she just created. The others were doing who knows what.

It gave her a sense of nostalgia; even though she considered herself to be the black sheep of the family (the others didn't have to say it out loud, it was the unspoken belief), Leni still had a place for them in her heart and loved them for who they were; sometimes she just wished for some peace and quiet in the house. She had thought that was what she was getting now but as she walked to the bottom step to upstairs, she found out she was wrong yet again.

Regardless them having school tomorrow, they were still rambunctious, just in the confines of their rooms now… Her stress caused her major headaches every so often and the noise levels did nothing to help that, this was one of those situations. It was time for past time for bed, any moment now one if her parents would scold the kids and tell them to get to bed.

She made her way up the stairs, so far none of the siblings came out to ask her where she had been, not that any of them probably even questioned her whereabouts while she was gone to be curious… as long as she didn't have to divulge anything to anyone, she was fine.

She continued down the hallway, stopping as she passed Lincoln's door. Leni remembered promising to help him with his costume. She peaked in to his room to see if he was even still awake, and found that he was. He looked up from his comic as she opened the door.

"Hey Leni. Need something?" He asked her. Did he really forget? Leni thought about using the opportunity to go to bed, but she couldn't let him down even if it was an hour to midnight.

"I'm doing this cause I promised," Leni thought. "Not because I'm avoiding Lori."

Leni had thought of several ways to take her life since that fateful day at the bridge, in fact it was what Leni often spending most of her time doing even though she didn't have enough energy to go through with any of them. If she had gone through in the original attempt, Lincoln would probably be the most devastated out of them all and Leni felt bad for even potentially making him feel that way.

But at least she would've been dead by time the aftermath rolled around. Lincoln did have a small share of things he'd done to lower Leni's esteem before, but in the end he was still the most sympathetic out of every one. At least now she could make it up even a little.

"Leni, are you alright?" Lincoln spoke up when the silence got too awkward.

"Oh yeah, do you still want me to, like, help you with your costume?" Leni asked while she shook the thoughts from her head, wondering where they even came from. His eyes lit up when he remembered the promise made not even five hours ago, though his expression then changed to a curious one.

"It's time for bed, do you think we'll have time? We do have school tomorrow afterall…" He asked worriedly, rubbing his hands together in nervousness.

Leni inwardly grimaced. She believed in peace and calmness, but she hated school with each and every particle of her being except for anytime she got to see Carol - which was still never - but at least for now she could use this as an excuse to stay up a little longer and postpone waking up to school a little bit longer. "I promised you didn't I?"

Leni looked around the hall, motioning to the other siblings who were still wide awake and noisy.

His face brightened again, it was enough for Leni to allow a small smile to grace her own lips. She didn't want to keep him up long enough that he would be tired tomorrow but at the same time she didn't want to fall asleep only to wake up to an impending school day. If Lincoln was going to be staying up anyways then she might as well fulfil her promise.

"Alright," He began, and reached under his bed, pulling out an aged folder. "I've had some ideas for a while, what do you think of these?"

He thrusted the folder into Leni's hand. She looked through some of the papers which were mostly composed of notes on the fabrics should be used and where each piece went. She saw her brother's design, and glanced at him to see him smiling so pridefully in his handiwork. Leni looked back at the papers in her hands and her shoulders sagged. It was exactly like his current Ace costume.

"What's the difference?" Leni asked with uncertainty.

"Nothing." He said smugly. "Ace Savvy needs no change, he's the perfect hero. My current costume is just getting a bit too tight."

Leeni resisted the urge to roll her eyes as Lincoln put on his costume, showing the sleeves and pant legs were about an inch or two short, and the neck of the costume gripped Lincoln, strangling the young boy to the point that his face turned red.

"S-See?" Lincoln barely managed to stutter. He tried to take the costume off but managed to get further tangled up in it. He pointed to his neck. "A… little... help?"

Leni became alarmed when he wasn't joking about it choking him. She jumped over to him, slipping her slender fingers in between his neck and the costume. Leni ripped the costume more easily than she thought, causing Lincoln to stumble backwards. Leni was horrified at the sight, but Lincoln caught himself before he could get hurt.

"Oh my gosh Linky, are you ok?" Leni asked. Her brother's well being was the first thing on her mind but Leni's very close second thought she had was how much trouble she would be in once her parents saw their only son hurt. Leni couldn't cope with any more scorn from her parents right now.

"Where are you hurt? Do I need to get the first aid kit?" Leni worried.

"Aww, it sucks it ripped, I remember when you made that for me, what, five years ago now?" Lincoln reminisced, picking himself and the ripped cloth off the floor. "So what did you think? About the designs?"

The white haired boy continued on as if nothing ever happened but Leni's heart didn't stop thumping in her chest. He folded the old costume and tucked it beneath his bed.

"They're good, right?" He asked.

Leni nodded slowly. She thought they would be more drastic changes, which in turn would have given her more time to spend with one of the only siblings who would spare her even a minute of their day. This wasn't a bonding experience, it was at most an hour long project for Leni.

"Wouldn't it like, be cool to create your own hero costume? Your own comic?" Leni suggested. She herself didn't know much about comic heroes, yet she found Ace Savvy's costume rather bland, and his backstory even more mundane.

"Yeah, but I can't make a hero that measures up to Ace. He's too great, literally. The latest comic sold a hundred thousand copies." Lincoln reasoned.

"How long has it been out?" Leni chuckled. Her magazine subscription was a pretty famous on and usually sold a million or maybe more every month, Lincoln's comics released less often and it only had a tenth of the sales.

"Its been out thirty minutes, and it's a monthly series. I mean, I want to make my own comic series but I think I'll have to wait until Ace Savvy hype calms down. Right now it's impossible to stand up to him." Lincoln explained.

Leni chuckled, these were the same thoughts she had everytime someone compared her to Lori. She didn't want Lincoln (or any of her sisters for that matter) to follow the same path she was taking of self-doubt, even if the opponent was a long standing multi-million dollar comic series. At least they would try.

"Why not, like, be your own hero? You could have like, any power in the universe. It's about doing what you think is fun, not trying to beat Ace at the start of the series or impress others, that's just like a bonus." Leni said, hoping to convince Lincoln to be his own person. Leni realized she was trying to help Lincoln when she was still trying to live in the expectations of others while finding out who she was, and was failing horrendously at both.

'You're situation is different.' Leni thought to herself.

"Well I guess you're right, but still, i'm not great a designing comic characters yet." he replied, showing Leni one of his designs. One look at her expression was all he needed. "Exactly, you can barely tell what it is."

"That's why i'm here, silly, to help you make those things, right?" Leni patted his head.

"You mean you'd help me create my comic? I mean, aren't you just in to fashion, can you even draw good- actually, forget that, like you said we should just make something that's fun for us." Lincoln said. She nodded her head and Lincoln smiled up at her.

"Thanks Leni, you're the best, with your designs and my story skills, it'll be great." He told her, and gave her a quick one-armed hug.

Did he know how she really felt depressed and was acting nice just to make her happy? Of course not, she had been good at hiding her true feelings but Leni still couldn't accept the hug without feeling like she didn't deserve it, not with what she almost did on the bridge.

Compliments like the one he gave towards Leni were out of character. Only when Lincoln pulled away did she realize she had not hugged him in return. Hugs were foreign, she couldn't blame herself.

"I'm going to work on the story of the comic, and I'll get you in a few days when I need your help with costumes." He said, not noticing that he didn't get a hug back - if he did he didn't say anything. When Lincoln yawned and stretched his limbs Leni said her goodbyes.

"Alright, everyone else is being pretty loud, mom or Dad might come to yell at them so i'm going to go get ready for bed. 'Night Linc, Love you." She added that last part on for no other reason than she wanted to see his reaction and it was the start of her attempt to try and rebuild a connection in her family.

It was a risky move though. Telling someone you loved the. wasn't a common parting remark used in the household, but it was something that Leni just wished was said more in general between all of them. Leni wouldn't have minded if she were on the receiving end too, but this time wasn't an exception. She only received a questioning look in return from Lincoln; the look was a testament to how out of whack some things in this household were. Leni left his room, and headed towards her own.

She spontaneously remembered the whole Bobby and Carol thing as her hand touched the cold door knob and hesitated for only a moment, but decided to go in. If Lori had found out, then it was out of Leni's control anyways.

Entering the dark and chilly room she found Lori laying on her bed, illuminated solely by the glow of her phone screen. The agitation of the eldest Loud was visible with every letter she was more or less punching into her phone, the fragile device shaking in Lori's hands.

"Are you alright?" Leni asked gently. She could feel the room temperature rising with each step towards her sister

'Why couldn't she be sleeping already?' Leni thought to herself. Bobby must not have told her, or else Lori would have already been hounding Leni with questions… unless she was so angered she couldn't speak right now.

"No." The oldest Loud said. Lori took a few second to send another text before continuing her rant. "So get this, Bobby called me after his shift, and you know what? Carol was there with a certain someone."

Instantly, a feeling of ice filled Leni's chest, and it wasn't from the cold room. How was Lori going to react; like the kids at school? Leni wouldn't be able to handle it, maybe she should just rip off the bandaid and confess right now. "Lori, I w-"

"Bobby knew her, but you know how Booboo Bear gets under stress, he forgets important things like the other girl's name, but she was blonde. It wasn't a coincidence that on his very first day at a new job, Carol is there. Maybe she was meeting with one of my friends, trying to get dirt on me, oh no is one of my friends a mole?" Lori was grasping at straws and it made Leni cringe. Literally.

Leni couldn't understand why she hated Carol so much, nevertheless, she knew the two girls had been friends at one point so it must have something major. Lori was always loyal to her friends "She's been trying to drive a wedge in between me and him for a while now, I just know she's up to something."

Leni cringed even harder so her teeth felt like they'd crack. At least Bobby hadn't told Lori that Leni was the one who was at the coffee shop with Carol. "Why not try and talk to her like, in a nice way? Maybe she would understand and it would mean a lot to me. Stress creates totes bad acne."

"No." Lori stated flatly. "I've tried that before, and there's nothing that will kick that woman down a notc-"

"GET TO BED, YOU GUYS HAVE SCHOOL IN THE MORNING!" Leni could hear her dad yelling up from downstairs. In an instant the rowdy kids silenced.

Lori grumbled and sat her phone on the nightstand beside her bed. "You would hate her, you're on complete opposites. Heh, maybe you could rub some personality off on her."

"I could try!" Leni chirped. "You know what I say, Yo-"

"NO!" Lori snapped. Sometimes her little sister was too naive for her to handle. "That was rhetorical… just forget it, get to bed before dad hears us talking."

She glanced to see if Lori was looking before stripping her clothes and changing in to her night gown. Even in the low light she didn't want to risk Lori seeing some peculiar scars where they were not supposed to be.

Leni wrapped herself up in her blankets; who would have thought such an anxiety inducing feud stemmed from two highschool girls. Leni preferred to stay neutral but the middleground was rapidly shrinking and it would not be there forever, she would have to make things good between the two enemies or be forced to choose one of them - - somehow Leni knew choosing one over the other would make things worse no matter who she chose.

Leni was hoping that Lori would take up the responsible decision and try and make peace, but she ended up being worse - - at least Carol didn't give her a straight up no.

Leni stared at the dark ceiling, her mind as active as ever. Why couldn't it be anyone else in the family, like Luna? If she was Carol's friend, she wouldn't be afraid of Lori. Luan would probably threaten Lori with an extra harsh April Fools. Lynn was the strongest in the house, it would be easy for her to stand her ground. Lincoln, Lucy, the rest of the siblings, they could all stand up to Lori so why couldn't she?

Something was missing from Leni, and that missing component made her stand out from her siblings. Leni hated it, she was angry that she had no control over anything. Leni was the sole passenger of a rundown raft, in the middle of a vast and raging ocean. They only thing she could do was take the force of the waves beating against her, trying to over turn her boat.

Leni pressed her hands against her face. Her head felt stuffy, it made Leni want to rage, to scream and throw something - - to go absolutely berserk. Instead she suppressed her urge to breakdown and calmly set her hands by her side. She could just internalize it for now and hold on just a little bit longer without losing her mind.

Leni took a deep breath and looked at her alarm clock only to see it was after two in the morning. She was losing her sense of time, had that much time passed already?

Leni let out a deep sigh - - this happened most nights when school followed the next morning but even then she would be somewhat tired right about now, instead a nervous energy coursing through her body kept her wide awake.

School was number one on the list of things Leni hate; it wasn't a place where she could learn, things just didn't sink in like it did for other students. Nor was it a safe haven like all the teacher said it was, it was a place where her intelligence was mocked by students and teachers alike.

She didn't know know how mean students could be until the ninth grade, when seemingly her whole entire grade had it out for her. It seemed like there was no one who stood out as the worst bully, it was all of them whom she had shared classes with for going on four years now, maybe longer. She could think of other instances of bully before high school if she wanted too but tried not to.

Leni tossed and turned over in an attempt to get into a more comfortable resting position but it was to no avail. She tried closing her eyes for several minutes, trying to think of pure nothingness in order to trick her mind in to going to bed. None of it worked with. Leni eased herself out of bed, pulled up by her racing thoughts.

The school administration had been visited by her so many times that at one point last year her guidance counselor told her that whatever it was Leni was going through was the way life goes, that she would have to deal with these things eventually and would have to find out how to deal with it on her own.

Leni found it ironic how the counselor said that, because the time that she decided to deal with it on her own she stood up to some of the kids and her parents got called, and then she was the one getting in trouble. Her parents managed to talk the school down from suspending her but the fact that they agreed with the school that she was at fault offended her. The only punishment she faces was having her phone taken for a week but it was still a punishment.

Leni only wished she had hit that kid harder.

Leni padded over to the door and snuck out. She couldn't stay in here, she had to occupy herself.

The whole ordeal angered her. They were assholes, how could they single her out like that? Maybe she just had the wrong guidance counselor or maybe it really wasn't the whole class bullying her, but still their silence and lack of action hurt. Even if Leni didnt make her suffering apparent, it's not like it was unknown. Anyone could have have stood up for her at any time. Leni could imagine standing up for herself again, just getting one good hit on the next person to annoy her and show the whole class she wasn't to be messed with.

Leni snapped out of her thoughts when her arm muscles twitched at the thought of hitting someone. She unballed the fist she had unknowingly made and tiptoed down the stairs.

'You can't hit anyone because then you'll be a bad person too, you have to stop thinking about it cause negative thoughts are totes not healthy!' Leni scolded herself. She needed to relax, she always heard that warm milk helps with sleep though as far as she remembered there wasn't actually anyone who really drank warm milk.. Just try it and relax.'

Once she entered in to the kitchen, she went over to the fridge and got the milk and a glass from the cabinet. It was hard to see in the low light but Leni managed to find a glass. Pouring herself a cup, Leni then put the glass in the microwave and put it on for two minute regardless of the fact she had been told not to use it unsupervised for fear of burning the house down. That rule offended Leni but she supposed that it's what she deserved for always pretending she was stupid. She sat down at the table, and waited for the milk to heat.

Glancing up at the clock on the stove, Leni saw the time nearly reaching three. If she didn't go back to sleep soon it wouldn't be worth it to keep trying to sleep, she would be better off making some caffeinated smoothies to stay up all day. The others got up in between five and six which meant if Leni did fall asleep, she would only get three hours at most...

'Maybe I can just skip school,' She thought. It was something she often thought of doing but she could count on a single hand how many times she went through with it. A break was something she needed dearly even if it was just for a day (though Christmas break was right around the corner).

All she would have to do was convince Lori she was sick, and then wait in her room until her parents left. She rested her head on her hands and closed her eyes. Her eyes felt heavy and soon she felt as though she might fall to sleep.

The sudden and loud beeping of the microwave startled Leni awake. She listened for a moment, wondering if someone had be woke by the sound; when no sounds indicating movement came she relaxed.

Using the edge of her blouse to keep from burning her hands, Leni slowly grabbed the cup and instead of going back to the table she carried it into the living room, and relaxed on the couch. She sipped on it carefully to not burn her tongue.

Carol wouldn't be too appreciative of Leni skipping. The older girl was trying to help Leni do better and scolded Leni about how important school and grades were, today however it would be a battle that was lost for Carol. Leni didn't care if Carol was annoyed anyway, a day off school wouldn't hurt her already fucked up grade point average. Leni sat her cup on the coffee table and laid down on the couch.

Leni closed her eyes before once again losing track of time all together. She only became aware she had fallen asleep when she was shaken awake.

"Leni?" The oldest Loud questioned. "What are you doing down here? You're still in your nightgown?"

A confused Leni stared for a moment before remembering where she was. "What time is it?"

"It's six-thirty and we're about to leave for school... did you sleep down here? You look pretty sick." Lori placed a hand on Leni's forehead. "You feel a little warm."

"I couldn't sleep, i just haven't been feeling well for a while and... I tried making some milk to relax but…" Leni curled herself on the couch, closing her eyes to prevent rising tears from falling.

"Maybe you should stay home from school, you might have a cold." Lori said.

"Not that kind of sick Lori, why can't you just read my mind?" Leni thought.

"Ok." Was Leni's simple outward response.

"I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone when you're sick." Lori said. Leni almost took her tone for genuine concern.

The keyword being 'almost' Leni didn't actually believe it for one second. But an act was an act. "Want me to come back after dropping the kids off at school?"

"I would totes love your company …" Leni muttered. She didn't want Lori to miss out on school just to keep watch on her, but Leni was worried she might get too anxious if left in the house alone. "I think I'll be sleeping most of the day but this house is totes spooky when its empty."

Lori looked pretty pleased with Leni's response. "I'll let mom and dad know. You should go lay down in the room."

Leni got up slowly and made her way to her room. She passed the rest of the siblings on the way their way to school, each of them glancing at her.

"You're not going to school?"

"That's not fair, I want to stay home too dude!"

"If we gotta go to school she should too!"

Leni tried to ignore them but she could still feel her heart rate picking up as it suddenly felt like she was taking a horrible walk of shame.

She could still hear them as they went downstairs even behind her closed bedroom door, arguing about how they should be able to take a sick day too. Leni scrunched herself in her bed, pessing her hands against her ears and clenching her eyes closed.

'Just a day of peace, PLEASE!' Leni yelled in her mind. They other kids still had not calmed down, until suddenly she heard Lori yell and all fell silent. Leni feared they might have annoyed Lori enough to let them stay home. She almost found a tear ready to fall from her eye but it disappeared just as quickly as it came when she heard the door to Vanzilla slam shut.

Minutes passed and there was still no sound. No creaking stairs, no slamming doors, and most importantly no Loud kids.

Leni felt her body shudder as her muscles untensed. She was glad she would get a day of peace at home. She laid back in bed, and threw the covers over herself.

She laid there for a moment before getting up and taking her blanket with her, going downstairs back to the living room. She plopped herself down on the couch and turned on the T.V. and flipped through the channels. Nothing interested her anymore, it was all so boring, in the end she just left it on the cartoon channel. Her phone vibrated.

'You're not at school today.'

It was Carol, Leni knew she would probably tell Carol she missed school later but didn't expect the blonde to figure out so fast on her own.

'No, wasn't feeling well.'

Leni wished she had just left her phone on silent and went to bed. She was sure she was going to get an ear full from Carol now.

'Do you want me to come over?'

Carol sent next. Was leaving school something friends did for each other? Leni didn't know; she was told that people who skipped out on attending school would ruin their future. Plus it was Carol of all people.

'No, don't ruin your future by missing class.'

The last message was marked as seen yet Carol hadn't responded. Leni wouldn't have minded, but she didn't want to admit she was self conscious about the house. Carol was rich, she probably lived in a mansion and the Loud House was far below her standards - - of course Carol had seen the messy outside but so did many other passer byers, the inside was personal and messy.

Besides, Lori was gonna be back any moment which Leni also texted to her friend and the message was subsequently marked read.

She put her phone back down, and went back to doing nothing. The droning of the T.V. was eventually interrupted by a knock at the door, causing Leni's heart rate to pick up. What if someone found out Leni was skipping and came to take her to school?

"Jesus am i really that paranoid?" Leni thought. Yes, she was.

Lori couldn't have forgotten her key to the house, and of she did she would have called. Leni got up an inconspicuously looked through the window. She couldn't quite see who it was at the door, nor any car parked in the driveway.

She put on her best 'sick face' and opened the door, her face brightening up when she saw who it was.

"I was already on my way over here as soon as first period ended." Carol said while pushing the door open and forcing her way inside. "Usually i see you and your sisters getting out the van every morning before school."

"But aren't you missing school, like, what if you get caught?" Leni asked, worried Carol might get in trouble because of her.

"I'm pretty sure I told you before, I don't have a second or third period, I left right after first like I said." Carol stated matter-of-factly. Leni did remember her saying something like that before. "Technically i should still be at school but that's besides the point, anyways I saw the rest of highschool Louds apart from you."

"Lori was just dropping them off, she is probably on her way back, you're going to get caught!" Leni stepped outside and did a quick look around the peaceful neighborhood. "Where's your car?"

"I parked it in your neighbor's driveway." Carol plainly stated, as if there was nothing wrong with the fact that it was Mr. Grouse's driveway. Leni was more worried about getting caught by him.

Carol grabbed Leni by her shirt and pulled her back inside the house.

"Its cold out there sick girl, on the couch you go." Carol said.

Carol let go of Leni's clothing, causing the younger girl to stumble back on the couch. Carol jumped up and landed down right next to Leni.

"Wow your house is interesting." The older girl admired. Leni blushed in embarrassment, the house was clearly a mess.

"Yeah, its totes messy, nobody really likes to clean up after themselves. I,like, totes hate it…"

"I think it's cute. It makes the house feel… lived in? Cozy? I don't know, if you saw my house you'd understand, I like the aesthetic your family has going on." Carol said while stretching over the couch, she then ran her fingers through her hair while staring at Leni "So how are you feeling? What makes you sick enough to miss school?"

"I couldn't sleep. Totes bad headache. And like, i feel like throwing up." Leni shrugged.

"Nice, crippling depression isn't enough to put you out of school but a stomach bug has. You should get some rest. Lay down and get some rest." Carol suggested. She pulled Leni close, and guided the fashionista's head to her lap. By now Leni could feel tiredness setting in quickly before long blacking out.

. . . .

The sound of stone smashing against stone, grinding against each other as a massive rubbery force pressed down on it, the sound of gravel and a car driving over it.

The sound was faint, as there was only a tiny amount of pebbles and stones had collected at the bottom of the driveway but after years Leni could distinguish the sound even in a sleep, and it forced her back to a wide awake state of panic.

It was the horrifying sound of Vanzilla turning into the driveway.

"Lori's back!" Leni shrieked, yanking Carol of the couch.

Carol had met a lot of strong people, but the way Leni effortlessly pulled her off the couch had left Carol feeling shook to her bone.

Leni shoved Carol into a supply closet down the hall before literally running back to the couch and under the covers as fast as possible right as Lori opened the door. Leni was sure her thumping heart was so loud that it would draw Lori's suspicion.

"Did you see that Mr. Grouse has a visitor? Must be his daughter or something." Lori said. "I stopped by the store to get some stuff."

'Please don't go into the closet,' Leni repeated in her mind. Lori held the front door open for a moment longer and in came Bobby carrying all sorts of grocery bags. 'There's no way she just got some soup and medicine. Did she use me as an excuse to go shopping?'

The thought of being used left a sour taste in Leni's mouth, but if Lori did indeed get some stuff to make Leni feel better (regardless of getting additional stuff for herself), then technically Lori did what she said she was… Leni still didn't like it.

"Hey Leni!" The young man said, clearly in a good mood. "Long time no see. My mom taught me the family soup recipie for healing sickness, me and Lori are going to make it for you. Its been passed down for generations, since my ancestors lived in mexico ages ago."

Bobby was an extra risk, the more people in the house the more likely Leni would get caught red handed with Carol. The couple walked in to the kitchen, talking about what they planned on doing later in the day.

"That's like, totes nice of you." Leni called. "I'm going like, sleep upstairs. The couch is too creaky. Will you please stay down here?"

"Alright, I'll get you when the soup is done. Try getting some rest." Lori responded.

Leni got up and immediately went to the hallway closet, her heart skipping a beat. Carol was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest, playing a game on her phone. Leni offered her a hand.

"We're going to my room. Its like, super totes not safe to keep you downstairs." Leni whispered. She guided her best friend upstairs, coughing loudly to cover the sounds of two people walking up stairs instead of one.

This was scary, she was one mistake away from creating the biggest fight in Royal Woods history. She didn't know why they hated each other so much, but there was no way that the animosity between them should be so bad. It almost pissed her off as much as it stressed her out.

Once they were upstairs and behind closed doors, Leni paced the perimeter of the room, thinking of a solution.

"Sorry for showing up, I should've asked if Lori was gonna be here or your parents or anything. I honestly it would be funny to play hoomie with you…" Carol apologized. She put her hands on Leni's shoulds to stop the designer in her tracks. "You're overthinking this. Len, i'm going to walk out the front door, and head straight to my car. When the time is right, you distract Lori, and I'll walk straight out. Alright?"

"But what about Bobby? Or the sound of the front door opening and closing?" Leni asked. The plan was frail, just one slip up…

"Bobby? You know how he is, not a problem at all. Just make sure you cause a big distraction, or even a loud conversation with them. Your problem is you always over think things. Relax a bit or you'll give it away." Carol peeked out the doorway of the room. "Lead the way downstairs."

Leni did as she was instructed, slowly guiding Carol down the stairs and to the living room. She could hear Bobby and Lori laughing in the kitchen, the sound gradually growing louder as the two girls moved closer to the front door.

Leni peaked around the doorway to the kitchen to see Bobby and Lori making a mess with the ingredients. Bobby had apparently spilled spices all over himself, and for some reason Lori thought it was so funny that she started snorting. The oldest Loud hugged her boyfriend anyways causing her own clothing to be soiled too.

Even if Leni was a professional at keeping her outwards emotion sunny, internally she was becoming increasingly melancholy - - and it was beginning to show too. It was almost like, Leni realized, she was feeling jealous.

Leni often wished she had a boyfriend, or wished she knew what it was like to have one at least. How happy it would make her to have physical and emotional support. Leni couldn't even remember how it felt to be hugged, really, genuinely hugged. It made her eyes water, salty tears leaving streaks down her face that Leni didn't even notice. Seeing them so happy highlighted her miserable life.

"Leni, you alright?" Bobby asked, setting down a measuring cup. Lori's giggling died i'm her throat once she saw Leni crying.

"Totes, why do you ask?" Leni questioned, plastering a wide smile on her face. The smiling made her realize the wetness that was tears on her face.

"I probably look insane." Leni thought, just as Lori spoke.

"You look kinda insane right now, what's got you crying?" Lori asked as she walked over to put an arm around her sister.

"Yeah, I was practicing my fake crying just because… plus i'm like sick and my head hurts totes bad." Leni said. Lori pulled leni over to the couch, reminding Leni that she never caused a distraction for a certain friend.

As Lori was saying something that Leni wasn't really listening too, the fashionista threw a glance at Mr. Grouse's driveway. She did a double take when Carol's car wasn't even there.

"Carol you sly girl." Leni thought, and suddenly the weight of overwhelming boredom was back on her shoulders.

If there was one thing that Leni knew for sure, Carol sure made her feel alive.

Review Response:

Hollowfied Otaku- Sorry it took me so long to update, things have got in the way but i really want to update ot on a regular basis so new and returning readers don't have to wait so long. Thank you for the support.

CDAC95- sorry for leaving you hanging, but i'm back up and running and i have renewed interest in the story. I'm glad you put in all of the work in to the T.V. Tropes page and i hope you are reaching a better place and even if somehow no one else enjoys this story in the end, i'll finish it for you. This version is going to be more interestimg hopefully than the lrrvious version, but still just as angsty.

See you guys sooner than last time.