It all exploded. Luan was questioned, but she had no answers. Luan was taken to therapy, but didn't cooperate. Luan was in another state, in a women's boarding school, but she couldn't communicate. And soon, only Lincoln could remember her. The twins had never developed any deep relationship with her and Lucy didn't like her happy lifestyle. This, and the strict nature over the topic of Luan, kept the comic from those younger sibling's minds. When Lisa came home, she did not want to touch the subject, as by the time she arrived, Luan was gone, and she trusted the adults around her as the entire hing seemed cut and dry. Lisa, too, knew of the varying ages of pubescence in the Loud children and it fell in line. Anyone, regardless of their race, sex, or age, is bound to be explorative and can develop unhealthy mechanisms. Lisa was neutral, but the parents, and especially the older siblings, were harsh on the thoughts of the boarded lass.
Lincoln kicked a ball back to Lynn. The speed at which it came back and hit the net behind him was almost as fast as Luan had disappeared. He, and his younger siblings knew little to nothing about why she was removed from the family. Lincoln could barely piece together that he had some part in it. Since this discovery, he'd slouch a lot more as if tired, despite being less active. When he did get out, it was because his best friend took him out to play soccer, a sport he recently found he liked. The reason he liked it was because of his best friend, a person who was there immediately when he was sad Luan left. Since then, the red blur had done a great deal to help him cope.
He couldn't tell if it was possibly this "puberty" thing he'd heard around his fellow sixth graders, or if it was the dedicated exercise Lynn put him through weekly, but Lincoln had discovered a lot of the fat and flab on his body had disappeared. He wasn't defined at all, but he is what Lynn described as "slim thick". It was kind of awkward to be around her recently, as more and more, when they exercised, Lynn accidentally pushed into him, falling on top of him. One time the two knocked heads and he felt so dizzy that he couldn't tell if Lynn was rubbing his chest or if he had gotten a major concussion.
Other than those things, his life was pretty good. Middleschool wasn't too much of a bother. He felt like the same person he was in fifth grade. Clyde was still there with him, but his nerdy friend had grown a little distant, seeking other gangly types of friends. His siter Lynn was in school with him, but this was her last year. Everyone had moved up and on. Lucy was in third grade, the twins were in second, Lisa had garnered more renown, and Lily knew twenty-seven more words! He felt fine and fresh, but Lynn seemed a little sad that next year she'd be in a different school than him. Everyone in the Loud House was sad, too; Lori had left for business school. She had gone out of state with her funds, and voice-chatted with them whenever she could. Leni, whenever Lincoln found her, always seemed distressed still of Lori's leave. Recently, Luna, who'd gotten so lonely that Lincoln had heard her crying once, had decided to coop with Leni, thus her room had been emptied out. Lynn had taken it up recently, with Lucy experiencing mixed feelings. But knowing her roommate was only next door assured her things could be a lot worse.
Worse, as in, your parents expect you to handle everything your out of state sister did while coping with the loss of your old roommate being gone for an undetermineable amount of time. Luna Loud had not played guitar for two full months. She had not played drums for four and a half months. And any other instrument was in Lori's old closet, dust caked over it. If observed by any passerby, they would say Luna has exceptional grades and a strong, compassionate heart. Even most of her siblings couldn't see farther than that. But Lincoln could, and although he was happy, there was some wistful entity flushing his heart. Everyday Luna cooked food, cleaned messes, diffused arguments, and helped with homework for her siblings. Sometimes she had to help Leni with her homework. Her peers and teachers found that she was beyond a Junior level of education, and praised her forwuch. And everytime they did, she shrugged into her hoodie, her eyes glinting dully to the floor. Lincoln didn't want to force a conversation with her about it, but her could tell Luna felt she was finally being respected, taken seriously, and appreciated for being someone who she was forced to be, and abandoning who she thought she was to do so.
So, yes, the Loud House was a happy and playful as ever. But very few people other than the Louds enter the home nowadays. It looked great from outside. Mr. Loud had gotten the help of his most "esteemed" children (Luna, Lynn, Lincoln, and Lucy) to help him repaint the outside. Very few things laid outside it and little noise emanated from it. People seemed to hate it originally, for what it was, and when it seemed in its prime.
Lincoln felt the same way as his home, in a way. He hadn't changed, but it seemed people wanted him to. Eyes after lunch followed him, expecting something of a character that he wasn't. Down the halls he heard clamour that he never really engaged in. And there were very few times in which he'd talk to himself, as he'd come to learn and accept that he was doing. Lincoln wondered if people changed so much outside all throughout their lives, but stayed the same from within. When he looked upon his new house-head sister, he couldn't help but feel that people change on the inside too, whether they want to or not. Maybe he would droop as sullenly as her when people weren't around, like she did. Heck, he'd already began losing interest in his comics and games. After so many important people in your life leave, the things you did when they were around lose their importance. Maybe it was that, or maybe it was an uncontrollable change surging through him. Either way, it all scared him to death.
Lynn kicked the ball back after him, but when he gave a poor push of the ball with his foot over to his sister, she stopped it. She approached him, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I guess I'm a little tired." Truthfully, his throat was a bit parched.
"Really? It isn't that hot." Lynn spoke of the weather, which was cloudy with a small breeze. The brown and orange leaves of their rake piles began dashing on the wind. "Oh, sh-... I mean shoot. We we're s'posed to bag those. Wait here a sec, I'll go get a bag."
Left to his own devices, Lincoln decided to be away the ball and nets. While he was dismantling the first, Lynn reappeared with a yard-bag. "What are you doing?" She inquired discontently of his actions.
"I'm putting up the evidence before someone notices." Lincoln answered, pulling two of the pvc tubes apart.
"Oh, don't worry. We can leave them out if we stuff the piles fast enough," she commented, flapping the bag open. They restarted on their duties and soon, other than a few small brown spots, the yard was cleared. And not a moment too soon, as Luna came out from the kitchen. Seeing her baggy eyes, Lincoln swalloed his spit not to say anything.
"How are yous guys comin' along?" Luna asked in a quiet, tired, almost hoarse voice.
"We just finished," Lincoln admitted with Lynn giving him a few quick daggers from her eyes, "But, how are you? Your voice sounds a little off."
"Yeah," his head sister stretched a little, "The twins were not too cooperative today." By now, Luna had noticed the nets that were out, one that looked half broken as it wasn't fully pieced together. To her, it was too much of a fuss to whine about, and she had just dealt with the twins on top of having returned from work. "Listen, Lynn, and Linc, can you guys hold down the fort, I'm gonna go take a nap." As Luna went back inside, Lincoln couldn't help but feel sorry for her. It was Saturday morning, and Luna had to work a long night shift every Friday. Lynn was just annoyed that she had to be responsible for once. She had planned to further her time with Lincoln today. Having more likeness to flame than a moth, the sports-fan would like to turn the light of her life to ultra-bright. But she had to boil these feelings in her pot so that no one noticed the shadows she casts.
Once the nets were put up, the siblings went inside. Lucy was in the fireplace, writing in one of her notebooks, Lincoln noticed. He got some water like Lynn did, but his sister hydrated faster than him, having been used to being put on the spot. When Lincoln exited the kitchen the twins ran past him, one chasing after the other. Before he could sit down they ran the circumference of the room and exited to the dining-room. There came a cry and a continued wailing. The male unit of siblings immediately ran, with Lynn kicking up dust behind him. Somehow, when it came to his siblings, Lincoln was faster than everyone else to help. In the dining-room, he saw Lana and Lola screaming at each other, Lola having a bite mark on her arm and Lana holding a snake.
He separated them and grabbed Lana, who looked unharmed, by he shoulder and pushed her onto Lynn. Lana was rubbing her cheek with a fist with one arm while the other dangled at her side, two small pools of red builing on her elbow area. Knowing what happened already, he began assessing the damage, "Lana, was that snake poisonous at all?"
"His name is Knievel!" the pig-tailed twin screeched back, her face completely flushed. Lincoln gave a grevious sign and asked again slowly. Lana didn't answer as she tried to pet her reptile while pushing into Lynn, who was out of zone as she stared at her squatting brother.
"Lana, I need to know!" she didn't respond, "Now!" he said loud enough to reverberate across the entire house.
"No, I'm sorry, I'm sor..." Lincoln released the breath he didn't know he was holding. He was looking for Lynn when he saw her just standing there, staring in shock he thought. He couldn't make out the reason for her dazed expression. She'd seen and felt plenty of sports related injuries, some of which he witnesses.
"Lynn! Can you take her into another room, please?" Lincoln said interrupting Lana's stammering. Lynn made he stupidest expression in her life as she tried to nod, but bit her tongue that she didn't realize was pressing at her teeth. She quickly followed his orders, picking up her little sister and going into the living-room. As she left, Lincoln cooled off and thought of Lana's safety, so he hollered, "Check her for any wounds, too." Lola then gave him a dirty look, for saying such a thing and for picking her up and taking her upstairs to Lisa's room.
As he neared the top of the stairwell, Luna approached, drousy but with a concerned frown. "Just follow, okay." he said to her, brushing past. Lisa's door was closed, and he had Lola in his arms, so he spoke aloud for his scientific sister. The door was quickly opened by a stout little girl with large glasses.
"Venomous one?" She asked immediately as she rushed them in. He shook his head, sitting the blonde on one of Lisa's tables. "Still, there is bacteria," the girl said she laid out supplies for Lincoln to work with. "I heard you shout but I didn't think anything of it, I apolo..."
"Nw, prblum," Lincoln interrupted with a mouthfull of medical packaging. He applied an anti-bacterial wipe to the area of trauma, then applied a little packing as he began wrapping bandages around it. Lisa smiled at her semi-prodigy.
"Isn't there something you can do to numb it?" Lola asked desperstely, a few tears still left rolling down.
"There's a few things we need to check," Lincoln responded softly. He pushed slightly on her fore-arm lower from the area of the bite. "Can you feel that? I'm sorry if it hurts." his sister nodded. "Okay, Lola, I need you to grab my hand, tight as you can." She did so, and he almost flinched at how strong she could grip. It was the adrenalin, probably. But he smiled at the pain. It seemed like there'd be no lasting damage. "Looks good," he began as he turned to face Lisa; however, she was with Luna, making sure the sleepy head-sibling didn't drop Lily, whom she was playing with. He turned back to Lola and slipping a numbing agent between her bite marks and the bandage wrappings.
"Am I okay to go?" Lola asked. There was bitter tone in her voice, and Lincoln could guess that she was eager to do something to a certain someone.
"Yes," she tried to leave, but he intercepted her, "but you can't be around Lana until we get Mom and Dad, okay?" Lola pouted at him, crossing her arms almost, before putting them down as the agent hadn't kicked in completely yet. "Okay?" Lincoln repeated, a bit stern this time.
"Okay." Lola replied. She ran off towards Leni's room.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Lincoln called. Lola gave a sigh audible enough for him to hear before she returned.
"Thank you, Lincoln." Her face fell plainly as the last of the negativity in her left. Lincoln chuckled as he gestured her to wait a moment as he took a few steps toward's his room, picked something from it, then came back.
"You're welcome, but that isn't what I meant," he said as he held up a lollipop. Lola giggled greedily as she continued thanking him sweetly, before running back to Leni's.
"You should a total doctor, bro." Luna said from behind, nearly startling him.
"Ha, I honestly have no clue what I want to become." He said. She ruffled his hair as he tried to push her off. "Okay, okay, shesh it's almost like fighting with Lynn." He then remembered the other half to this situation.
"Dude, what's wrong?" his eldest sister asked, detecting a small frown growing on him.
"I gotta set something right," he said as he walked off down the stairs. Luna was left there for a second too tired to know what to do. But Lincoln peaked his head back around the corner of the stairs. "You can use my bed since Lola just went into your guys' room." And like that he was gone.
Rita looked upon five of her children. As did Lynn Sr. The two were somewhat uncomfortable when confronting their children. This was because one of their offspring was in another state, and that wasn't from success. They had had so many arguments over the topic that they'd chosen to not talk about it at all. It was just easier to ignore the reason why they had to work extra hours to pay for their perverted daughter's room and board. So, when some of their other children messed up or got hurt, they became much more tense than they would have if it were before Luan's leave.
Luna was there as an extra authority figure, as Lori would have been. But Luna wasn't too familiar with how to work with controversial situations and what parties to support like Lori did. The parents didn't blame her for this situation, notwithstanding what she thought of it herself when she had gotten enough rest to function. They were proud of their daughter being able to keep up with so much responsibility despite her personality.
Lincoln and Lynn were there as witnesses. They attested to what they themselves did in response to alleviate the situation from worsening. And the other two Loud children in the living-room were Lana and Lola. It took a couple minutes of bickering and interruptions, but the Loud parents ultimately got the meat and potatos of what had happened. It was a typical story of the twins' day. This fight was just one of the ones that resulted in more than negligible damage. Lincoln then stated his part, and Lynn soon followed, "I got Lana into the living-room to get her away, then I saw Lincoln carry Lola upstairs to Lisa's room as I tried to calm down Lana." That was strange, Lincoln thought as Lynn continued to answer questions of their parents. Lynn didn't tell them about how she was in the bathroom by the time he went to relieve Lana. He guessed it was an irrelevant detail, as Lana herself didn't speak up about it.
When everyone had spoken, the parents laid down their hand for the punishment of the twins, who made up. It wasn't a horrible punishment, but its effects would accomplish what the parents intended. There was just one thing that worried Lincoln: the slight glib and deceptiveness through the entire conversation. He decided he would talk about it with her later, as there were a few other things about her that seemed off recently.
It was 5:36 in the morning by the time Lincoln had left the restroom. Every day seemed to take a few more seconds to get himself fully awake. He waited the four minutes it would take before Lynn woke up for her weekly run. He sat on the couch downstairs thinking to himself about some things from yesterday. Not just about how eccentric Lynn had been, but something another one of his sisters said. Putting his hands into someones body and acting like he didn't sweat the fact that they unconsciously trusted him with their life, that was something uncomfortable to think about. Machines had never imbued him with any excitement, nor did arts of any kind. He didn't awknoledge it, maybe because a small part of him that could break the entire body knrw it, but ever since Luan left every interest of video games and comics just faded.
He sat there thinking over his paths and options when a creaking of the stairs alerted him. Whenever he heard it, it made him laugh because once he accepted that the creak wasn't real, it actually became real. But this time it made him jump a little. "Lincy, what are you doing up?"
"I-I wanted to talk to you- with you about some... things," he replied, picking at his clothes in the dark. He couldn't make out her exact expression, but he assumed she was offput.
"How long have you been awake?" Lynn asked him after a few seconds of the timid breath of both parties.
"Just, like, a few minutes." He saw her form shift onto one side. As his eyes adjusted he could see that she was ready to head out, with a sports hoodie on. He must have been deep in his thoughts not to have heard her use the washroom.
"Well, I gotta do my run, wanna come along?" she asked. He couldn't see her eyes, as her hair fell a little over them, blocking off the light, but if he had, then he might not have accepted as he did that day. It wasn't that the darkness hid the corrupted soul in her eyes. That soul simply absorbed the light, destroying it utterly in its endless consumption.