Six days had passed since the last video chat. Lincoln didn't feel any better. Well at least he got an average grade on that science test he was worried about the previous week, better than he anticipated. Unfortunately, that won't even make up half of the situation that he was in with Ronnie Anne.
"Hey, Linc." Luan noticed the mirror reflection of Lincoln come in the bathroom as she was brushing her teeth. "I'm almost done here."
"I don't mind waiting." His voice was quieter, gloomier, almost like his sister Lucy's voice.
She shrugged as she rinsed the toothbrush in the water that was coming from the faucet, although Luan was concerned about her little brother. He was less social than usual. "It's all yours. Hopefully." She walked out and went into the room she shared with her older sister. Luna was at the vanity-like dresser putting on her everyday makeup to get ready for school. Luan went over to the closet to pick out her clothes.
"Have you noticed Lincoln acting different lately?" Luan asked her sister as she was buttoning up her sleeveless white collared shirt.
"Oh yeah, dude. He's been harshing my mellow. Had to stay away from him for a minute." Luna got up from the vanity and grabbed her backpack, was about ready to take the siblings to school, now that she had the keys to Vanzilla, and was on her way out of her room.
Meanwhile Luan was still trying to get dressed, pulling the plaid skirt up to her waist, but the waistline started to bunch up, causing her to consume more time. "Wait! Don't leave me in bunches!" She giggles. "Get it?"
"Please stop." Luna replies as she was now in the hallway still able to hear her sister. She decided to make it useful and knock on her other sisters and Lincoln's door. "You guys have five more minutes to get ready or you're getting left."
During school, after the second period to be exact, the current two oldest sisters in the household were at Luna's locker, were discussing a sibling meeting for Lincoln's sudden depressing mood the past six days.
"We're doing this in our room right?" Luan presumed for clarification.
"Yeah, dude. I asked Lori to get on Skype at 7pm tonight, because in case this has something to do with a relationship, which it probably does nine times out of ten. She can lead the rest of us. Just like the old times, bro." Luan grabbed her younger sister by the neck with her arm, as if she was gonna put her in a headlock. "Well minus Leni because she'll be in a class at that time but yeah. We have to get to the bottom of this."
"For sure. I'm worried about our little brother." Soon after the bell rung for third period. Luna closed her locker when she got her textbook out for a history class. "Okay, See you at home." Luan walked the opposite direction towards her next class.
An hour passes after the family ate dinner, at five minutes until seven, the remaining siblings sat criss-crossed in a circle except Lynn, because she was holding three year old Lily on her lap, who happens to be on the tablet; and Luna, who was standing near the doorway, arms crossed, because she was going to check on Lincoln.
"Lu, get my laptop and put Lori on for me please." The younger sister nodded and did what Luna told her to do, meanwhile Luna has already walked her way towards her brother's room on the other end of the hall. She stood in front of his door, took a deep breath before she knocked softly.
"Hey, bro...can I...talk to you for a minute?"
Lincoln, meanwhile, was reading an Ace Savvy comic in his underwear. Old habits don't go away evidently. The last thing he wanted was his sisters poking their noses in the Ronnie Anne situation.
"I'm not in a mood for talking right now."
Luna sighed, as she had trouble thinking about a way to lure him out of his room. "Dude, I'm worried about you. Can you just come out for like five minutes for your chill, laid back sister please?" Luna cuffed her fingers together as if she practically begged her little brother to come out. She heard clothes ruffling at first then she heard the knob turn and saw the door being opened. "Okay, fine. I'll give you five minutes."
Lincoln followed his sister into her room, coming to find out that the rest of them were in the room, their attention went from what they were doing to Lincoln once he got through the doorway.
"Lori wanted to speak to you too." Luan explained. "She's too busy for FaceTime but she's right here on speaker." She held her cellphone up above her head.
"Hey, Lincoln, I heard you've been down lately." The familiar voice of his oldest sister came through.
"Come and sit." Luan patted the space next to her with a sly grin.
Lincoln looked at the sisters making eye contact with him, then shook his head. "Okay, I already know I'm gonna waste my time. I'm out." He turns around to leave, then Luna leans forward to grab his forearm. "Nope. You promised me you were gonna stay."
He rubbed his face and sighed after. "Fine." He walked over to where Luan was at and sat down on the floor criss-crossed as well, with his hands supporting his head.
"So, Lincoln, mind telling us why you've been down in the dumps? Only Lucy is supposed to be down all the time, not you." Lori said.
"I'm supposed to be the depressed one." Lucy repeated.
The white haired boy sighed once more. "It's about Ronnie Anne. Okay? That's why I've been sad. Can I go now?"
"No." All the sisters said at once.
"What did she do?" Lynn asked. "Do I have to go over there to beat some ass? You know me, I can do some serious ass-kicking."
"Try to refrain from the swearing, Lynn. We have a three year old in the room." Lisa scolded her big sister. Lynn simply shrugged it off.
"You guys don't have to worry about it." Lincoln still attempted to get his sisters off his back, but no such luck.
"Lincoln, I don't know if you know, but I'm literally still dating Ronnie Anne's brother, so it's basically my business too. And since all of us are related, Ronnie Anne is our business as well, but especially mine." Lori stated over the phone.
He threw his head back. "Alright. Fine. If you guys shut the hell up for a second, I'll tell you what happened." Lincoln paused for a moment. "Last week, Ronnie Anne and I were having a good- awesome conversation, you know. But shit hit the fan when she said that she was into a guy at her school. All week I've been seeing her and this guy on Snapchat and the more she posted, the more pissed off I was getting. Like how can she just have a crush on a guy, I mean she's Ronnie Anne. She would never say that she had a crush on a guy. Do you know why she wouldn't say that? Because-"
"Actions speak louder than words." Him and Lori said it simultaneously.
The rest of the sisters' eyebrows rose in surprise, or just blankly stared at him. "Wow, I didn't even realize, dude..." Luna said. "Me neither." Luan sat the phone down next to her and hugged her only brother, then followed the twins and the rest of the sisters squatting to hug him from one side, and Lily even gave him a peck on his cheek.
"I'm sorry I was so distant for the past few days" Lincoln's voice was a slight muffle from his sisters hugging him, before pulling away. "But now, I feel so much better now that I told him.
"Lincoln, you're our only brother, we want you to be happy." Lori spoke. "But you know me when it comes to things like this. I have a plan handy."