Glad to see the attention that this story has gotten so far. Let's see if I can keep this going. Also a thank you to zardX for the music recommendation. Music has always been my go to when I find myself stuck or simply just trying to think up new stuff. I strongly recommend it to other writers. With the right music and a good imagination, who knows what you could think up?
Beating the Blues part 2)
Disclaimer: I don't own the Loud House and make no money from this story.
Luna turned over in her bed, getting slightly tangled in her sheets. She slowly opened her eyes, grumbling a little as she left the realm of sleep and returned to the waking world. The thought to remain in bed for a while longer crossed her mind, but she knew that she would have to get up eventually. School wasn't going to be canceled just because she had been rejected by her crush.
The idea of having to go to school made Luna groan. Now it was even more tempting to just curl up in her sheets again and close her eyes. She was not looking forward to having to go, knowing that she would almost certainly see Sam there. It was too soon for her to confront the girl for the things she had written. And it would be weird to just be near her, even if neither of them said anything to one another. At least she only had to get through the one day before the weekend finally started. Then she could just stay at home until Monday.
Climbing down from her bunk, Luna stepped over to the nightstand by Luan's lower bunk. The rejection letter was sitting by the lamp, folded neatly. Luna picked it up and opened it, smoothing out the wrinkles from when Luan had crushed it in her grip the preceding day. She looked over it again, feeling a pang in her heart as she reached the end of it.
'Way harsh, Sam.' Luna thought. 'I still can't believe that you actually feel that way. You think you know a girl. Wish I hadn't signed my name on that stupid love letter.'
Luna shook her head, trying to banish the regretful thoughts trying to cloud her mind. She folded the letter in half and then tore it right down the middle. Then she stacked the two halves and tore them again and again, tossing the pieces into the air. As they fell to the floor, Luna went back to getting ready for the day. But as she made her way to get a change of clothes, she noticed something. The clock in her room...it showed that it was nearly nine in the morning.
"Oh crap!" Luna exclaimed in a panic. "I am gonna be so late for school! Why didn't anybody wake me up?!"
Rushing out of the room, Luna quickly noticed that none of her other siblings were in sight. And it was eerily quiet too, which made sense considering the time it was on a school day. But she just couldn't believe that they had ditched her like that! She was about to rush downstairs to check and see if at least one of her parents was home when she spotted movement from inside of Leni and Lori's room. To her relief, she saw Lori coming out into the hallway.
"Dude, am I glad to see you! I'm not gonna ask why you aren't at school, but please tell me that you can give me a ride!"
"Nope." Lori said. "You aren't going to school today, and besides, Dad has the van."
"Dang it! This sucks so hard! I'm gonna totally get it from my...wait. What?"
"Surprise! It took some convincing, but I got Mom and Dad to agree to let you stay home today. And I'm here to 'keep an eye on you'." Lori said, using her fingers to make air quotes. "And since we're both here, Lily doesn't need to be in daycare today. So she gets to hang out with her big sisters. Isn't that right, Lily?"
Luna then noticed that their infant sister was crawling on the floor by Lori's feet. The little blonde sat down and waved up at Luna, a big, bright smile on her face. Lori picked the baby girl up and she began heading towards the stairs, motioning for Luna to follow.
"Go and make yourself comfortable on the couch. I'll get your breakfast for you. A certain someone, and I think you can guess who, got up extra early this morning so he could make you some strawberry muffins. The twins nearly tore him apart when they saw what he had. Luckily for him, Dad stepped in and stopped them before they ate any."
A small smile came to Luna's face at the thought of her little brother going through all that trouble just for her. And on a school day too. She made a mental note to give him a proper thank you later on when he got home. But for now, crashing on the couch with Lily and taking it easy for the day was her only objective.
Grabbing hold of the remote, Luna turned on the t.v. and flipped through the channels until she found a music channel that featured rock music, rock music videos and recordings of rock concerts dating back to the genre's beginnings. She was particularly pleased that there was currently a Mick Swagger song playing. One of her favorites too. But just as she was beginning to feel the music and start singing along with the lyrics, she had a moment of realization. And then her good mood died and she felt bitter melancholy take over.
"Alright, sorry I took so long." Lori said as she entered the room with a plate of pink, fluffy muffins and a tall glass of chocolate milk. "But I thought you might want them warm, so I popped them into the microwave. I also got you something to wash them down."
Lori set the plate and the glass down on the coffee table in front of Luna. She looked at the t.v., smiling as she saw what was on the screen. It was good to see her sister already finding something to take her mind off of things. Although she found it odd that Luna wasn't singing and it was even more odd that the volume wasn't raised to the max yet. That was when she looked at her sister and noticed that she was looking glum instead of glad.
"Luna, what's wrong? Why do you look so down when Mick Swagger is on?"
"It's nothing, sis."
Lori stood between the couch and the t.v., blocking the screen from view. She placed her hands on her hips and looked down at Luna with one eyebrow raised in question. Luna sat up and set the remote down on the table. A sigh passed through her lips before she met Lori's gaze, knowing that it was better to just come out and say what was bothering her. She knew that Lori was there to help, and for that to happen she would need to be able to communicate with her. Even if it was just about the little things.
"The first time I talked with Sam, she overheard me talking about my favorite Mick Swagger songs. Turns out that she likes the same ones as me, and the one that's on right now is her most favorite. When she told me, she started to sing it and I just joined in with her. After that we became friends and eventually I started to realize that I liked her. You know, as in I liked her liked her."
"Oh, Luna...I'm so sorry." Lori said, taking a seat next to her sister. She placed an arm around her and gave her a quick hug. "Maybe it would be a good idea to just find something else to watch for now."
She picked the remote up and shut the t.v. off. After setting it back down she got up and began to make her way to the stairs. As she passed by Lily, the infant raised her arms, signaling that she wanted to be picked up. Lori complied with the little girl's desires and started to head up the stairs, telling Luna that she would be right back down.
While she waited for Lori to do whatever it is that she was doing, Luna started to eat one of the muffins on her plate. The moment the warm, sweet, moist treat met her tongue she suddenly felt a little better. She finished off the rest of the baked good and then took a couple sips from her glass of chocolate milk, grabbing a second muffin to eat. By the time she was halfway done with it, Lori had returned from upstairs.
"So, what did you need to get, sis?" Luna asked.
"My laptop. Dad wrote down a list of his favorite cat videos that he recommended for you to watch. He said that when he needs a reason to smile, they always do the trick. And Luan picked out a bunch of favorite comedy dvds too. Plus, Lily wanted her blankie."
Lori set Lily back down onto the couch with Luna and then set up her laptop. She opened up the internet and had Luna pick out which cat vidoe on the list she wanted to start with. As the first video started, Lori went back into the kitchen. In exchange for being allowed to stay home for the day, she was expected to do some chores as well as keep an eye on Lily. So while Luna lounged, snacked and watched internet videos, Lori would do the dishes and clean the stove, among other things.
She heard a burst of laughter from the living room, accompanied by childish giggling. A smile came to Lori's face as she listened to the noise. It was nice to know that the ideas she and all of the others had come up with were working so far. And there was still plenty left on the list along with more than enough time to execute them all. It was simply a matter of whether or not Luna was up for them.
By the time she had finished all of the kitchen related chores she had been asked to do, Luna had gone through a considerable number of cat videos and all of the strawberry muffins. Although when Lori went in to check on the two, she saw a few crumbs around Lily's mouth as well, which she gently wiped away. She then picked up the empty plate and glass, offering Luna a refill which she politely declined.
"Okay, but if you change your mind, just let me know. What about you Lily? Would you like some chocolate milk?"
No sooner had Lori made the offer than Lily's eyes lit up in excitement and she began to bounce restlessly on the couch. Lori giggled at the cute response, taking it as an obvious 'yes'. She went back into the kitchen to prepare the promised beverage to her littlest sister, as well as grab a few other things. Meanwhile, Luna made herself more comfortable on the couch by laying down as a somewhat longer cat video started up. And just as Luna finished readjusting herself, Lily shakily stood up on the couch and then draped her blankie over Luna's upper body.
"Aww, you're gonna share your blankie with me? Thanks little dudette."
Lily leaned over, giving Luna as big a hug as her small body would allow and kissed her on her cheek.
"Ah bedder" she said.
Luna's eyes moistened with joy from the simple gesture. She hugged her baby sister back and nuzzled her affectionately.
"You are totally awesome, little sis! Thank you so much! I feel loads better now!"
Lily giggled and sank into her sister's embrace, making herself cozy. The two watched the cat video together, Luna now enjoying it more with Lily cuddling with her. Lori reentered the room a couple minutes later with Lily's bottle and a new plate with some microwavable french toast sticks, topped with powdered sugar and maple syrup. Luna was able to smell the delicious breakfast food before Lori was able to set it down on the table in front of her. She looked at the plate and then up at her sister in complete surprise.
"Dude, where were those? I thought we ran out of those a couple days ago!"
"We did. But I know how much you like them so I went out and got some from Flip's. They cost a little more, but no biggie. I also picked up your favorite brand of root beer and your favorite frozen treat too."
Luna's eyes widened, as did the smile on her face. "You got me some 'Gwen and Terry's'?"
Lori nodded, "Marshmallow-Cookie Mosh-Pit."
The thought of her favorite type of ice cream made Luna's mouth water. It was a rich, creamy, chocolate flavor with mini marshmallows and globs of chocolate chip cookie dough mixed into it. Every bite was packed with the triple tasty goodness that made her taste buds dance with delight. She'd easily gobble the whole container down in mere minutes, regardless of having to deal with any brain freeze afterwards. It was a sacrifice well worth the reward.
"Thanks, Lori. You didn't have to."
"You're right. I didn't have to. But I wanted to. Trust me when I say that comfort foods can make a world of difference when dealing with a broken heart. And a good movie too. Especially something that makes me cry. It helps to get all the sadness out of my system."
"Whatever works for you, sis." Luna said, "But I think that I did enough crying yesterday. Don't really want to get the water works started again."
"That's alright. That's why Luan and Dad wrote down all of those suggestions for you. So, how are they working?"
"Let's put it this way; if I watch just one more cat video, I think I might die from cuteness overload. Might be time to put in one of Luan's comedy movies."
"Okay, which one would you like to watch?" Lori asked as she went to a stack of Dvds Luan had set aside that morning.
"Hmmm, surprise me."
Lori looked through the options and picked out one that looked suitable to Luna's taste. She turned the t.v. back on and then the Dvd player, putting the disc into the tray. As the movie started, Luna sat back up so she could eat her french toast sticks while she watched. She passed Lily's bottle to her, which the infant began to greedily drink from. Lori then left the two again, as she needed to continue with her list of chores which included washing everyone's bed sheets and then making the beds for them. And while they were in the wash, she would be taking over Luna's chore of vacuuming, starting with all of the upstairs bedrooms.
As the movie progressed, Luna resumed lounging on the couch with Lily at her side. After a short while, Lori had to come downstairs to check on the first load of sheets and then she returned to vacuuming. Luna paused the movie so Lori could take care of the living room really quick and then she moved on, allowing Luna to resume watching the comedy.
A short while later, once she had finished with the floors and gotten the next load of sheets started, Lori joined Luna on the couch. The first movie was nearly over, but Lori didn't mind. She was more interested in her phone's screen. Her thumbs began to tap the screen repeatedly as she succumbed to her daily habit.
"Dude, who are you texting?" Luna asked. "Shouldn't everyone be in school? You know, in class?"
"Yep. But just because they can't reply doesn't mean I can't text them. Besides, I need to make sure Leni doesn't forget to pick up your homework from your teachers. Sorry about that, by the way. Another of Mom and Dad's conditions."
"It's cool." Luna said with a shrug. "I kinda expected that anyway. Thanks again for talking the 'rents into letting me stay home today."
Lori smiled and wrapped her arm around Luna in another hug. Luna sank into the embrace and just stayed there, leaning against her older sister and holding Lily in her lap. The movie ended and Lori set down her phone in favor of the remote, switching it back to the selection of t.v. channels. She channel surfed for a while until she found something for them to watch, trying to stick with Luna's preferences.
The morning soon came to an end and the afternoon began, the three sisters still idly relaxing on the couch and watching whatever they found on that seemed worth viewing. Around half past noon, the front door opened and Lynn Sr. walked into the house. In one hand he held a beverage tray with two large sodas and a small bottle of juice. His other hand held a large brown paper bag and a smaller paper bag with colorful designs on it. Both bags and both cups had the logo of the Burpin' Burger on them, which immediately caught the attention of the two teens on the couch.
"Hey pops!" Luna greeted. "Those for us?"
"You know it." he answered. "I thought I'd use my lunch hour today to get a little something for you three. You seem to be in a good mood, Luna. Feeling better?"
Luna nodded. "Yeah, thanks. Getting to take it easy today was a huge help."
"Well I hope you thanked your sister. She just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer when she told us about this idea of hers. Anyway, I can' t stay long. I need to get back to work before my hour is up and my ride is waiting outside. I'll see you later, okay? Love you!"
Lynn Sr. left as quickly as he arrived, leaving his girls to enjoy their meals. Lori fetched Lily's high chair from the dining room and set her into it, making sure to also get a bib for her. She opened up the bag containing Lily's Junior Burpee meal and took out everything aside of the toy which she would get after she ate. And as Lily began to eat and play with her food, Luna reached into the other bag to get her own meal.
"Hey, Lori?"
"Yes?"
"Dad said he had a ride waiting. But earlier, you said that he had Vanzilla, right?"
"That's right. He left Vanzilla behind so we can use it this afternoon. You didn't think that all you would be doing today was laze around the house, did you? We came up with a bunch of other ideas. Just you wait, little sister. You'll see once the school day is over. Then your day will officially begin"
End of Part 2.