The weekend was a lonely one to be sure. Lucy knew that she didn't exactly have busy social life given how it mainly resolved around her own family, and without them there was very little for her to do to kill time. In some ways, having a fever proved to have its benefits during the long weekend, as it allowed her to sleep through half of it. The little goth was eagerly anticipating to reunite with her siblings on Sunday evening but things once again things didn't go as planned.

Stirring in bed, Lucy opened her eyes and realized that it was already morning.

She hummed weakly out of annoyance. She had been waiting for her siblings to return last night, but must have dozed off. She recalled lying on the couch and watching TV before things went black, her father must have carried her back to bed.

"Just my luck…." She grumbled inwardly, realizing what had happened.

Lucy tried not to think about the family reunion. It was over now, the window of disappointment had passed and she should move on. No use crying over spilled milk, at least her family was back, and now she could spend time with them again.

"Where are they now?" the goth wondered. It was Monday, so they would have to attend school, except for Luan. Lucy smiled at little. She certainly relished spending time alone with Luan. Along with Lincoln, Luan was defiantly her favorite sibling and the one she could relate and open up to the most.

That might seem odd given how at first glance they were literally as different as night and day, but following the divorce the two had come to learn how they were more alike than they thought, especially how Luan knew full well how it felt to be picked on and treated like an outcast by your peers just for being weird and eccentric. Whenever Lucy talked about her troubles at school Luan would not only listen to her but also relate to all of her problems on the basis of personal experience. She didn't merely sympathize with her, Luan understood her pain on a very deep and personal level.

It also helped that once you looked past the eye roll inducing puns and cringeworthy jokes, Luan was a pretty friendly, affable and caring girl who was surprisingly good around children and enjoyed making people smile, even if her sense of humor left things to be desired. Ignoring their respective clown and goth personas the two simply got each other, and had forged a pretty healthy and solid big sister/little sister bond.

There was no doubt in Lucy's opinion regarding who the better big sister in this home was. She never understood how Lincoln could ever tolerate and let alone willingly spend time with Lynn despite her abrasive and boorish attitude. Lucy supposed that being Lynn's roommate for years helped him develop the right strategies to reach out to and form some sort of understanding with the impulsive jock, for whatever that was worth. Lincoln simply had a knack for improvising, and finding elaborate solutions for difficult problems.

Lucy had little desire to try the same, she and Lynn were as different and incompatible as siblings could possibly be, and she was content with simply minding her own business and letting Lynn do the same. She and Lynn had only been forced to share a room for less than two years, and the goth wasn't complaining about those days being over. Having Lynn Loud for a roommate was not for the faint of heart.

She gravitated more towards Luan, while Lana gravitated more towards Lynn. It was simply natural. Both of the younger sisters had a big sister to look up to. It was apparent that Lynn favored Lana over her other younger sisters, and it wasn't hard to see why. She was practically Lynn's little protégé, a hardcore, shamelessly unfeminine tomboy, making it easy for the two to find common ground.

But even with her gross tendencies, it was hard for anyone to dislike Lana. Her cheerful and optimistic disposition simply brought out the best in people, even a jerk like Ryan would show a softer side when interacting with her. It helped that Lana was by far the most innocent of the siblings, who wasn't jaded in any way or too self-aware or savvy to pay much attention to the darker side of life.

Lisa wasn't the nicest person to be around, but Lucy much preferred her over Lynn. At least Lisa respected other peoples' privacy more and she and Lucy could agree that a healthy daily dose of peace and quiet was good for the soul and mind. And despite Lisa being unsubtly smug about it, Lucy had to respect another introvert who favored intelligence and maturity over roughhousing and unruly buffoonery.

Lucy suddenly felt something tickling her ear and turned her head around to find a small gremlin-like face just inches away from her eye. The creature chirped, revealing his small fangs.

Lucy cracked a weak smile and giggled as the bat climbed up her face. "Stop it, Fang. That tickles." She giggled.

She sat up, still feeling a bit woozy but nowhere near as hot as before. It was a good sign, showing that her fever was fading away.

Fang was clinging to her hair and Lucy gently picked him up and held him in one hand, while scratching him against the ear with her finger, a gesture he seemed to like.

"Where have you been?" Lucy asked, not having seen him for days. Her choice of a pet defiantly hadn't earned her any friends, not that she was popular with her classmates to begin with. Lucy never did understand why so many kids were scared of bats. They seemed to like small fur balls like hamsters and guinea pigs and they seemed to like small cute birds, so a flying mammal should be the coolest pet imaginable by that logic.

Lucy certainly thought so. Despite being a connoisseur of the macabre, Lucy hardly thought of bats as scary, given that they were as harmless as an animal could get. She found them rather adorable, in their own mysterious and dark way. It was a pity that she could never find a vampire bat for a pet unless her family somehow scrapped together the money for a vacation to the Amazon.

Lucy always imagined what it would be like to have a bat that could stay fed by simply drinking her blood while she was asleep. It sounded pretty awesome and much easier than constantly searching and filling a jar with bugs. She also heard that it tickled when they lapped up the blood from the bite wound with their tongue.

"A kid can dream…." She thought before glancing at the alarm clock. It was already 9.30 am; her siblings were undoubtedly at school by now.

Though Luan should still be at home, assuming she didn't have a birthday party to attend to or babysit someone, and maybe Lisa, if she had managed to convince their father to let her teach Lucy and Luan. The thought of seeing Luan again defiantly lifted Lucy's spirit.

"Come on, Fang." She placed the bat on her shoulder and got out of bed, still a bit wobbly on her legs but otherwise feeling well. Quite by accident, she noticed something sticking out from beneath her pillow. Curious, she picked it up and saw that it was a folded piece of paper.

She opened it and saw a simple crayon drawing of her and Lisa holding hands. It read "Get wel soon. Love Lisa".

Lucy felt a strange mixture of warmth and confusion. On one hand, it was a nice gesture and especially coming from Lisa. On the other hand, this was made by Lisa? Why would Lisa leave her a get-well card? Wouldn't that be something Lana would do? When did Lisa get this sentimental?

And most bizarre of all, how did Lisa manage to misspell "well"? Or forget to put a comma in front of her name? Did the child prodigy's seemingly endless résumé of knowledge beyond any normal 4-year olds capacity not include literacy?

"Strange…" Lucy mused as she placed the card on the dresser and left the room. But then again, her first guess could be correct. Lisa was a lot of things; an inventor, an engineer, a chemist, but Lucy had never seen her engage in anything involving literature, beyond reading insanely long and overly elaborate encyclopedias and scientific papers.

Given how small their apartment was, it didn't take long to find Luan sitting on the table with a mug of steaming hot chocolate.

Lucy was overjoyed to see her but then noticed how the comedian was resting her head in her hand and looked forlorn. Was something bothering her?

"Hey, Luan…good morning." she approached her. Her voice was still a bit sore, making it hard to vocally express her joy, but she did cast Luan a warm smile.

Luan glanced at her and sighed, "Hello, Lucy…." Before noticing Fang perched on the goth's shoulder "…and Fang."

Her tone was rather blank and hollow. But Lucy didn't notice it as she hugged the teen by her waste.

"I missed you." She said simply. Luan simply patted her back, not returning the gesture.

"And here I thought you would miss Lynn instead."

Lucy released her and glanced at her oddly, before releasing a small snigger. It was rare to see Luan express some dry wit, instead of her usual corny puns and jokes.

Luan looked at her, apparently not understanding what was so funny and sighed again. "So, are you feeling any better?" she asked blandly.

"Uh, yeah. I do feel better, actually." Lucy answered before growing confused as she studied her sister's demeanor.

It wasn't like Luan to be this blasé when talking to someone, let alone her little sister, especially considering that she and Lucy hadn't seen each another in over two days. She had expected a great big, joyous hug from her and felt a bit hurt by her indifferent reaction.

"Are you okay? You seem…eh tired." Lucy spoke up. Luan was probably just grouchy from the long journey. "Is it because of the flight?"

"Meh…." Luan shrugged and took a sip "…the flight wasn't that bad."

She didn't say anything more and an awkward silence ensued. Lucy was still confused. Luan? In a non-talkative mood?

Okay, so maybe being separated for just a weekend wasn't that big of a deal for Luan given how much time they spend together otherwise, but still, her demeanor seemed…off. Maybe the journey back home did tire her out and she just didn't want to admit it?

Lucy took a seat next to her. "Um…? Eh….so how was it in Appleton?" she asked, trying to strike up a conversation. Usually Luan would be the one to do it, given how Lucy tended to remain quiet unless spoken to.

"Eh….it was nothing special?" Luan said blandly. "We went sightseeing, watched a magic show, visited a carnival, nothing really special. Same for the summer house, just some boring lake side house. It was all pretty lame."

Lucy had not expected that response. Luan usually found at least something humorous or enjoyable out of any given situation. She was a self-proclaimed clown after all.

"I see…." Lucy shifted. "So…I take it you didn't enjoy it there?"

"Meh…..it was just lame. Nothing too bad, nothing all that good…." Luan replied apathetically.

"And did anyone ask about me?"

That was what Lucy wanted to ask next but didn't have the courage to do so, as she felt scared at the mere thought of getting an answer. Even asking Luan herself if she had missed her, felt oddly scary to her. Even though by all logic, Luan would have missed her, if no one else.

"And did the others have fun while there?" she continued, hoping to find some clue about what was bugging her sister.

"I guess some of them did." Luan shrugged, paying more attention to her mug than the goth. "We did a lot of things, most of them just to make one of us happy. You know how most of us have nothing in common and all. Lynn made us play a game of baseball and, of course, she became overzealous and you can guess what happened next."

"I can believe that." Lucy smiled, hoping to share a small laugh, but Luan just kept her blasé demeanor.

"…Luna played her guitar and sang a new song of hers to us, they seemed to like it. Lola showed off her new ribbon dancing skills and the two new pageant badges she won for it. Lisa insisted that we play a super difficult quiz which she, big shock, won by a landslide, Leni gave us all some new sweaters she made to remember that weekend, the usual really. Nothing interesting happened. You didn't miss anything."

"And did they do something for you?" Lucy asked, genuinely curious.

"They did agree to sit down and watch me do standup once. But no one laughed; they just stared blankly with some awkward throat clearing here and there. And Lana coincidently found a cricket that night and brought it along." Luan muttered. "They obviously didn't even want to do it, they just did it to make me happy. I would have preferred it if they had just been honest with me and had sparred me the embarrassment."

That had to be it, Lucy thought. Luan was miserable after being reminded how no one in the family liked her comedy?

Lucy shifted awkwardly. She wanted to cheer her big sister up, but couldn't exactly say that she found her funny, because comedy in general wasn't her thing, let alone laughing at puns, and she and Luan were usually honest with each other. But she wanted to do something to lift her spirit.

"Well, you can't please everyone, Luan. Don't let that discourage you. You just need the right audience. Grandfather and his friends seem to like your comedy, and obviously a lot of kids like it too seeing as you have been doing well as a birthday entertainer."

"Meh….little kids and old people will laugh at anything. What do I care…."

Lucy's face fell and she scratched her neck. She didn't know how to counter that.

After a brief silence Luan straightened herself and exhaled. "I dunno, maybe it's time I ditched that whole comedy crap?"

Lucy's eyes widened. "Luan? You can't be serious?" Was she having a fever dream? What she had just heard simply felt surreal.

"I'm not in a joking mood." Luan shook her head, baring a serious expression. "That stuff has done nothing but give me grief for years."

Lucy understood what she meant. Being herself and doing what she loved the most hadn't earned her the most favorable reputation at school.

"Luan…" Lucy began softly "…I…I know what you mean. My classmates treated me badly for being different too. But we can't let the bullies get to us. They are just jerks who relish in browbeating people and making them feel bad about themselves."

"Well, maybe it's just better to simply give into the pressure. Spares you years of misery." Luan muttered cynically.

Lucy blinked, letting her big sister's words sink in. This wasn't the kind of stuff a person would just casually talk about, even to family. This only further proved to her that something was seriously troubling Luan.

"I know it's hard but didn't you tell me once that we shouldn't compromise who we are just to please some judgmental, ignorant people we don't care about?" Lucy said innocently. "How can one be happy if they shun away their own passions?"

"Passions are just meaningless pastimes someone indulges in until they grow tired of them and move on." Luan replied indifferently.

Lucy frowned and braced herself. "Okay, Luan? What's bothering you?" she said with uncharacteristic sternness.

"It's nothing…" Luan replied blandly, seemingly not noticing the goth's change in tone. "I'm just growing tired of this comedy stuff."

Lucy's confidence quickly faltered.

"Luan, please..." she continued more softly "….you know you can tell me anything. I though you and I trusted each other with everything?"

That finally caused a slight change in Luan's demeanor. Lucy's word seemed to have hit her hard and her face grew slightly somber.

"I told you, it's nothing…" she replied dejectedly."It's just that, I don't know if I really want to continue with this comedy stuff, it just doesn't feel as enjoyable as it used to."

"But why? You always enjoyed making people laugh. You did it for as long as I can remember." Lucy stated, still failing to understand why Luan was saying these things.

The young teen sighed. "I'm not sure myself. Maybe it's just cuz I'm fourteen now, things are different."

"It's just part of growing up I guess." She stood up and gave Lucy a pat on the shoulder, and then left for the living room. "Let's just go and study, Lucy. It's not like we have anything better to do."

"What's wrong with her?" Lucy watched her go, feeling increasingly worried. Was Luan being serious? Or was she just going through some mood swing and would later laugh about this? Lucy heard that teen girls, especially at the age of fourteen, could be like that, overreacting over minor things before finding clarity later.

Perhaps that was it, but Lucy couldn't help but remain concerned.

"I should just keep an eye on her; maybe she'll open up about her problems later. She wouldn't hide anything from me. Would she?"

With that she let Fang out from the window and followed the teen, hoping that she was right about the latter just having a mood swing.


The halls of Royal Wood's Middle School were as loud and bustling as ever until a certain student entered the building and everything went quiet, as everyone else nervously watched him walk by them, avoiding eye contact the moment he shot them a passing glance and moved out of his way, much to his pleasure.

"Bully or not, these punks know when to show respect and to whom." Ryan thought with self-satisfaction.

If there was one thing Ryan took pride in, besides being insanely funny and charismatic, it was his cred as the toughest kid on campus. Everyone knew that he could kick their asses with ease, or give them the most painful wedgie imaginable while suspending them from the flag pole.

And he soaked in every second of it as he occasionally gave random kids a glare as if he was angry at them, and watched them sweating like they were stuck in a sauna and moving off into the opposite direction.

He spotted a boy at a drinking fountain just in front of Ryan's locker and Ryan took his sweat time waiting until the boy noticed him and froze. Ryan let out a light grunt and curled his lip, which sent the other boy packing.

"What a bunch of pussies…." Ryan chuckled and went to his locker to retrieve a book.

"What's first today? Oh right, history class…." Ryan snorted sarcastically as he closed the locker "…lucky me. And to think that I had to do the bulk of the homework, all thanks to my partner and her lazy, unfocused ass."

Ryan never thought he would be wound up in a situation where he was the dutiful student, but working with Lynn somehow made that a reality. It just goes to show you that no matter how badly you could do at something, there was always going to be someone worse than you.

"Look on the bright side, it's your birthday and you have Lynn booked for the entire afternoon. It will be worth grueling through a bunch of boring classes." He reminded himself and went searching for Lynn.

Her poor academic performance aside, Lynn defiantly made up for it by being very fun to hang out with. Ryan wouldn't have thought he would do such crazy and brutal stuff like hockey, lucha libre, not to mention all the activities they were planning to do at the local adventure park with a girl, yet Lynn not only excelled at those things, she was the one who actively goaded him into doing most of them. She was more manly than any boy Ryan had ever known. Sometimes she was too masculine even for his licking, especially with her penchant for flatulence and belching.

Being the long-time loner that he was, Ryan didn't take a friendship like that for granted, especially with someone as awesome as her. Such a person would only come once in a life time. Without her his life simply felt monotonous and empty, so he was eager to reunite with her.

However, once he found her locker, she wasn't there. Ryan looked around, wondering where she was. Then again, it wasn't unusual for Lynn to be fashionably late for school, though not as frequently as him.

He couldn't find her but he did find Margo chatting with that blonde girl who was always walking on crutches and sporting a leg cast, whose name Ryan couldn't bother to remember.

"Might as well have some fun." Ryan thought deviously. Margo looked way too chipper, and he had to fix that.

"And so I veered past the defense and scored the winning goal, and everyone-"

"Hey, Pinocchio! Got a sec!" came Ryan's curt call. Margo cringed at his voice and seethed silently.

"What do you want?" she turned towards him, her tone venomous.

"A lovely morning to you too." Ryan grinned cheekily, dripping with faux-affability.

Margo knew better than to play his little games. "If you've come here to insult me you can blab on as much as you want. I ain't dignifying your dumb hackling with a response."

Ryan smirked. "Why, Nosy, I'm crushed." He placed his hand on his chest, feigning being hurt. "Why would you think that I want to insult you?"

"Because you and Margo don't get along, but both of you get along with Lynn, but not with each other. It's very weird?" Paula spoke up, acting as if she had just made an unexpected observation.

Ryan shot her a snide glance and snorted. "Nice cast, how did ya get it this time?" From the first time he had met her, the tall blonde chick always seemed to have a broken leg for one reason or another. Ryan wondered how such a klutz could be on the same soccer and baseball team as Lynn? Let alone how she was even allowed to play in her condition?

Paula hung her head. "I tripped on the school stairs last Friday." She answered sadly.

"Wowzy, well…..I'm sorry that I missed that." Ryan snarked. Margo shot him as disdainful glare.

"Maybe you wouldn't have missed it if you weren't skipping school." She snarked back, knowing by now that scolding him would just encourage him to be even more of a prick.

Ryan considered telling them that he had been babysitting Lynn's little sister, but why make people think that he had gone soft?

"What can I say? I'm a rebel." He shrugged his shoulders, showing nothing but smug pride at his deed.

Margo rolled her eyes. "Gee, I never would have guessed that from that ugly jacket."

Margo was so mouthy, Ryan hated that about her. But he was pretty certain that the only reason she was that bold when talking to him, was because she knew that he couldn't teach her some manners without jeopardizing his friendship with Lynn. And he was not one to be triggered easily. He was the heckler, not the heckled.

"Actually, I like to think this baby is the real clincher." He smirked as he pulled out and presented a switchblade from his leather jacket.

Margo didn't even flinch and scoffed. "Am I supposed to be scared?" was her dry response.

"Of course not, only a smart person would." Ryan smirked and savored the clear irritation she was desperately trying to hide.

"But enough chitachat." He cut to the chase. "Have you seen ol' Lynnsanity anywhere?" he finally asked, trying not to snicker at that nickname.

"No I haven't, I thought she would be with you. You never do seem to leave her side." Margo replied with a small mocking edged to her voice.

"Yeah, it's strange to see Ryan without Lynn. They are usually together, and without her he just looks incomplete, like a duet without the other person. Don't you find that weird, Ryan?"

Ryan rolled his eyes, trying not show annoyance at Paula's stupid questions. And that airhead still didn't get the memo not to call him by his first name, what did she think? That they were chums or something?

"Whateves, if you see her, tell her to meet me at the cafeteria. We have some plans for today that we need to discuss." Ryan told the girls aloofly and was ready to leave, only to be stopped by Margo's question.

"What plans?"

He looked over his shoulder and shot her a smirk. "Not your concern. This is something between me and her. Three's a crowd."

"And why is that so? I'm her friend too ya know." Margo said irritably.

"I don't know, Margo. Him and her want to spend the afternoon together without any friends, and are being secretive about what they intend to do?" Paula mused in a tone that Ryan couldn't tell if she was genuinely bewildered or if she was implying something.

"Do you feel left out?" she turned to Margo. "You and Lynn used to spend more time together, but then Ryan came and she started spending more time him. It's pretty weird."

"As if." Margo scoffed. "If they're planning to do what anyone with half a brain cell would figure they were planning to do I'd rather give them some privacy, and keep my lunch."

Ryan couldn't resist. "Awww, don't go all green-eyed, Nosy. If Lynn wants to be my girlfriend instead of yours, we should both respect her wishes."

"Ha, ha, did you spend all night coming up with that zinger." Margo retorted dryly as Ryan walked on.

"Instead of quipping, how about you go search for a good nose surgeon to fix that honker of yours?" Ryan laughed, not caring to look back.

Margo silently fumed and urged Paula to go. "Let's get to Spanish class." Her friend was the first to move as Margo, still irate, glared at their not-so-friendly acquaintance before following her.

"Move it, you crippled dweeb!" Paula was suddenly pushed to the floor by a girl in a white and red cheerleading uniform.

"Paula!" Margo gasped and rushed to her aid, as the school's head cheerleader apathetically strolled past them. Ryan heard the commotion and stopped to see a regular foe of his, one that was as beautiful a she was cruel, Kathleen Tisdale.

"What was that for, you bitch!" Margo yelled angrily at her while helping Paula up.

Kathleen looked down at them. "Watch your tongue there. Your crotchety companion failed to move out of the way." She huffed snootily while admiring her own fingernails.

"I'm so sorry for her insolence, Kathy." Ryan walked up to her. "People always forget to pave way for the Queen of Mean."

Kathleen shot him a disgusted glare but slowly grew a smug smile. "All of you losers are here then, how droll."

"What do you want, you spoiled skank?" Margo glared at her.

"I just wanted to announce that I'm holding a party this Wednesday in honor of our school winning last week's cheerleading completion, thanks, in no small part, to my brilliant leadership and unmatched acrobatic skills. And I came to inform you three losers that you are formally uninvited." Kathleen declared snottily.

Ryan smirked and pretended to be flattered. "And you came all this way to personally tell us that? How thoughtful of you. And to think, people say that you have no heart."

Paula hung her head. "Man, everyone's gonna think of us as the biggest losers ever. Kathleen always invites the entire school to one of her parties except for a select few students she despises the most. It's really harsh."

"Serves you dweebs right." Kathleen shrugged. "Nobody forced you to fraternize with Lynn Loud."

"Piss off! You thought we would come?" Margo huffed. "I'd rather lick the backside of a bus."

"Oh, clever comeback. You picked that line up from all the boys you tried asking out?" Kathleen sneered maliciously, making Margo shrink.

"Wow, don't crush her completely, Kat. The Kangaroos still need their number two striker." Ryan quipped.

"Oh did you say something, gruesome?" Kathleen snipped at him. "I was distracted trying not to hurl at the sight of that pile of expired burger meat you call your face."

"Aw, you act all mean and nasty, but I know that you secretly think I'm a stud." Ryan replied coolly.

Kathleen scoffed. "Whatever delusions keep you from slitting your wrists, I suppose…"

While they were distracted, Margo took her chance to leave. "C'mon, let the assholes duke it out…" she whispered and pulled Paula along.

"Not everyone can be as talented as me, as my most recent trophy proves." Kathleen continued smugly.

"Talent? Why bother coming up with over elaborate stunts and training your squad to the bone when you could easily have won by just wearing a shorter skirt." Ryan told her with a wolfish grin.

He could see the anger flaring up inside the cheerleader. It was no secret that setting off Kathleen's temper was equal to a death wish, and only the most daring people would try it. And Ryan was one of the brave few.

"You are so vile, it's so pathetic." Kathleen narrowed her eyes with contempt.

"Moi?" Ryan pointed at himself. "Oh no, I can be pretty sweet and affectionate. If you're interested to ditch school together and find a cozy, secluded spot I could show you just how sweet and affectionate I can be." Ryan replied leisurely with a wink.

"In your dreams, Freakazoid!" Kathleen scoffed with disgust and pushed past him, holding her nose high. "If you'll excuse me, I have cheerleading practice and I wouldn't want to infect my squad with your loser germs."

Ryan watched her go. "Cheerleaders…." he snorted as he headed off for history class. "So evil, yet always so hot."

Caught up in his thoughts, he accidently bumped into someone and stumbled back.

"Hey, watch where you're going, idiot!"

"I'm sorry. No need to get rude though." The brunet apologized as she picked up her book from the floor. Upon seeing her face, Ryan's eyes widened.

"Lynn?" he blurted in surprise. He didn't recognize her, her hair was down and she was wearing plain jeans and a grayish-blue blouson jacket.

"Ryan. Sup?" she smiled. Ryan's surprise faded and he scoffed.

"What's with the casual wardrobe?" he teased her with a cheeky smile. "You aren't concerned that you might have to jump into an unexpected, emergency football match today?"

Lynn cocked an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, is today casual Monday for you Louds or something? You're not sporting any sports wardrobe?" Ryan quipped before stopping with realization. "Damn, I just went full Luan there."

Lynn looked puzzled and a little annoyed. "What's wrong with the way I dressed? I can have a change of wardrobe, can't I?"

"Sure ya can, Lynn. I always said that you should loosen up on the whole sports fanatic thing." Ryan shrugged. "Where have you been anyway?"

"I was running a bit late cuz I had trouble deciding what to wear?" Lynn admitted. "I should have picked something last night, but I was too tired after the flight."

Ryan froze for a second before erupting with laughter and punching her in the arm. Lynn flinched and rubbed her sore bicep.

"Good one, Lynn!" Ryan hollered.

"What's so funny?"

"You? Trying to find the perfect "dress" to wear to school? Get real?" Ryan teased her playfully. "Only a girl would do that."

"I am a girl, in case you haven't noticed, Einstein." Lynn retorted, looking insulted by his comment. "And I just wanted to change things up and not wear something that was linked with sports for once."

"Really, you couldn't have had a long list of options then." Ryan sniggered. He stopped upon noticing his friend giving him a dirty glare.

"Wow, chill. I was just messing with ya." He added awkwardly, surprised that Lynn would actually be irked by something like that.

"Well, you ain't very funny with it, as usual." She scoffed sarcastically.

Now there was the Lynn he knew.

"Oh, is that any way to treat your best bud on his birthday." Ryan feigned being hurt.

"I dunno, is that any way to treat your friends on your birthday?" Lynn retorted before slowly smiling. "Happy birthday. Looks like you've officially joined the adolescent league."

"Thanks. But we should get to class. You know how Mr. Sherman likes to play "get some obscure date or name right or get detention" if you're tardy." Ryan told her and two went off.

"We're still going to the adventure park after school, right?" Lynn asked.

"Of course, you've been itching to do that all weekend, eh?" Ryan teased her.

"I've been there plenty, but not with someone who can keep up with me. And to be honest, yeah, the family reunion was a bit of a snoozer. But it was nice seeing my sisters again, we caught up on stuff, and we had some girl talk."

"Girl talk?" Ryan quipped.

"Yes, the kind of stuff your testosterone-filled cranium could never comprehend." Lynn snarked.

"Did they encourage the new hairstyle?" Ryan inquired.

"What about it?" Lynn asked suspiciously.

"Nothing really, Lynn. It works for you to be honest." Ryan smiled sincerely.

Lynn went quiet and tried to hide her blush. "Thanks…"

"Of course, anything is an improvement over having your head look like a pony's bottom." Ryan teased her, causing him to shield himself as Lynn slapped his arm.

"Shut up!"


"So Charlie and his dad want to build a house and needs some wood." Luan drearily read another math problem on the couch. "Charlie bought 8 planks, while his dad received a crate filled with 20 planks, and Charlie's friend came asking for 7 planks to fix his bed. How many planks will Charlie be left with? You got that, Lucy?"

Not receiving an answer, Luan looked up. "Lucy?" Her sister was nowhere in sight.

"Does that equation involve the square root of pi?" the goth suddenly appeared next to her. Luan, surprisingly, did not jolt.

"What are you talking about?" Luan sent her an odd look before Lucy suddenly presented her a pie.

"Get it?" she asked hoarsely.

"Get what?" Luan asked back, mildly annoyed. Lucy shrank a bit.

"Eh….I was talking about the square root of pi while holding an actual pie. It's a pun, isn't it? Like…wordplay and such?" she said shyly, being grossly out of her comfort zone with this.

Luan rolled her eyes. "Can we just finish your homework?" the not-so-comedic comedian requested simply.

"Well, that didn't work." Lucy knew it was a bad idea to try and be funny.

"Well...sure…but…" she continued tentatively "…do you want to save this pie to pelt someone in the face with it when they open the door?"

"Like Lynn?" she asked a little too eagerly and shrank again. "Or maybe Lisa? Well, actually not her. She kinda left me a nice-"

"Lucy, c'mon. I don't have time for that childish nonsense. Let's just get this over with…." Luan groaned and gestured for her to sit down.

Lucy's face fell. "Well….okay, but do you want to eat this pie after that? We can share it, it's banana cream. You know, your favorite."

"I'm not in the mood for sweets…" Luan replied simply. Lucy left the pie on the living room table before sitting down in front of Luan.

"And please, stay focused. You're almost finished, and I need to get my own homework done fast. I've got a job to do later."

"A job? You mean to babysit someone again?" Lucy asked out of curiosity.

"What else? We have to make money somehow if we want to stay in this dump." Luan grumbled.

Lucy understood where she was coming from, but was disappointed that Luan would be absent again for the majority of the day. She could always come with her, but Lucy felt uncomfortable around other kids knowing they would probably mock her.

"Maybe that's it? She has to babysit some insufferable brats and is grouchy because of it?" the goth speculated, still trying to find the cause of the teen's foul mood.

After finishing their homework, Luan went to grab her jacket, only waiting for her siblings to return from school so Lucy wouldn't be left alone.

She asked Lucy to retrieve her phone while she dressed herself for the cold weather but once the goth brought her the phone, the latter noticed something else off about Luan.

"Luan?"

"Yes?"

"You didn't pin your hair up?" Lucy noticed how she wasn't wearing her usual ponytail; her hair was just hanging loose, as it had been all morning.

"Yeah. So what?" Luan asked blandly, not seeing what the big deal was.

"Well….it's just…don't you prefer wearing it like that?"

"Nah…ponytails are stupid." Luan brushed her off, with a vacant, tired look in her eye. "And I'm too old for that."

Lucy blinked but before she could respond they heard the doorknob moving. The door opened and Lisa came in, looking oddly happy if not even a bit excited.

"Lucy?" Lisa beamed upon seeing her and the goth froze with shook as the genius rushed at her and gave her a big hug.

A bewildered Lucy glanced down at Lisa snuggling her face into her chest. "What are you doing?" she asked in a stunned tone.

"Embracing you to show how much I've missed you?" Lisa answered casually. "Was my card to your liking?

"Eh….? Yes…eh…..thanks for that." Lucy said tentatively.

"Awesome! Say, are you done with your homework?"

"Yes?"

"Great! So would you like to assist me with some architectural design? Pretty please!" Lisa begged her.

Lucy didn't know what to say while Luan observed them and sighed. "At least someone's happy here." She said quietly, referring to their youngest sister.

"Eh..sure.." the confused Lucy replied to the genius. "But….are you feeling alright, Lisa?"

"Never better." Lisa laughed. Lisa laughed? Lucy felt more confused by the second.

"You wait here. I'll assemble our building material." Lisa told her before making a mad dash for their room, leaving Lucy speechless.

"Well, I guess you found something to do, Lucy." Luan shrugged before turning to the door. "Where are the others?"

A sly chuckle came from the doorway before Lincoln entered, distracted by his phone. "Now that's the stuff."

"Lincoln?"

The boy froze and blushed as he hastily pushed his phone into his pocket. "What is it, Luan?" he asked impatiently before suddenly getting hugged by Lucy.

Lucy took her sweet time embracing him, enjoying the warmth of his body. She failed to notice that he too didn't return the gesture.

"Wow! What's with the hugging?" he asked her before she finally released him and looked at him strangely.

"I missed you, Lincoln." She said the blatantly obvious.

"Oh, right, that thing." He snapped his fingers, looking rather aloof. "But let's not get so touchy-feely over every little thing, kay Luce?"

"But I didn't see you for two days?"

"Yeah I know, but it's not like we were gonna abandon you, and it was just a weekend." Lincoln shrugged.

"Well…I guess…" Lucy looked down and rubbed her arm, feeling somewhat embarrassed. She wasn't usually the sibling who got overly emotional.

"Where's Lana?" Luan asked her brother.

"She went off with some girl from her class to a slumber party." Lincoln shrugged.

"Girl?" Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Since when did Lana have friends who are…well… girls?"

Then it hit her and she grew sad. Lana didn't even bother to see her after returning and just ran off to a slumber party?

"Beats me, I think she asked that classmate of hers if she could join." Lincoln responded idly. "Dunno why?"

"Terrific…" Luan said with disinterest "…but, Lincoln? You'll watch the others while I'm away, okay? I have another babysitting gig."

"Hey, don't sweat it, Luan. I got this." Lincoln said with a cocky look. "You just go on your merry way. Just one question; what's up with her?" he pointed at Lucy, noticing her somber demeanor.

"Why so glum, chum?" he asked her casually.

"It's nothing." Lucy looked aside. It wasn't nothing, all her siblings, except for Lisa of all people, were acting with apparent indifference after being reunited with her, one didn't even bother to say hi to her before going away again.

"I dunno, it's almost like she had a fever all weekend." Luan said with heavy sarcasm.

"Pffft…oh that?" Lincoln scoffed. "Why? She has obviously recovered?"

Then he put two and two together and scoffed again.

"Oh, the trip? Don't be such a downer about it, Luce. That whole trip was pretty lame. I didn't see even one bat there while star gazing."

"I told her the same thing." Luan shrugged. "But I guess it's not our right to judge things for her."

"Guys, it's okay. I've come to terms with it. There will be other trips…." Lucy said in resignation.

"Lucy, we mean it. You didn't miss much." Lincoln wrapped his arm around her and patted her shoulder. "If anything, that trip reminded us how little we have in common with those girly girls. You should have seen the icy reception Luan's standup got." He laughed.

"Thanks for the reminder, Lincoln." A sardonic Luan rolled her eyes.

"I…eh…heard about that." Lucy replied. "I'm sorry, Luan-"

"Lucy, I told you it's no big deal."

"That's my point. I just wanna stop Lucy from being all sulky over nothing; I doubt her poetry would have been received any better by those prima donnas." Lincoln shrugged. "And we both gotta admit that this trip was pretty lame."

"You have a point there. Given how much the twins were whining and moaning while we were exploring the town, it was hardly an exciting journey." Luan shrugged. Lincoln suddenly came closer to her and whispered.

"Yeah, it's sad when the highpoint of that reunion was Luna telling you, me and Lynn that she's a big, fat lesbo." Lincoln couldn't help himself and started sniggering, only to be elbowed in the ribs by Luan.

"Not in front of Lucy, you idiot." She warned him harshly.

"Alright, yeesh." Lincoln rolled his eyes.

"What did Luna say?" the goth asked curiously.

Knowing he spoke out of line, Lincoln sent her a nervous smile. "Eh…sorry, Lucy. But you're too young to discuss that kind of stuff. It's nothing important though."

Lucy felt irritated. She hated it when Luan, Lincoln or Lynn told her that. She hated being left out of the loop just because they pegged her as too young or naïve to understand something.

Luan looked at her wristwatch. "I gotta go now." She grumbled and cast her brother a stern look. "And you watch your tongue, Lincoln. "

"Alright, teach. I'll behave." Lincoln retorted petulantly.

"Fine then. See ya guys." Luan said blandly and walked out of the apartment without another glance. After she closed the door, Lincoln turned to Lucy.

"I thought she would never leave. Sheesh! Who took a leak in her cup this morning?" He snorted while pointing his thumb at the door, before walking past Lucy to drop his backpack on the couch.

"Lincoln? Can I ask you something?" Lucy followed him as he went into the kitchen.

"Shoot, Luce." Lincoln said in a chill tone as he grabbed a small bottle of cola from the fridge.

"Luan's been acting forlorn all morning. She didn't smile once, she never said a joke. I worry that she might be battling some inner demons." Lucy hung her head while Lincoln stuffed the bottle in his backpack after he took out his books and carelessly tossed them on the couch.

"Yeah, I've noticed it too." He duly noted. "And it ain't no mystery why she has turned her trademark smile upside down. She's probably still bitter over no one laughing at that standup routine of hers, as always."

"But, wouldn't she be used to that by now?"

"Yeah, but she's also a teenager, you know how they are. They're natural born drama queens." Lincoln told her mischievously.

"You remember how Leni and especially Lori would throw hissy fits over little things, like some guy they were crushing on for the week not noticing them? Make mountains out of mole hills? That's just some teen angst, Luce. They are prone to mood swings like that. You're worrying about nothing." He reassured her.

"Are you sure, Lincoln? I'm still worried about her."

"Luce, when's your big brother ever been wrong?" Lincoln sported a cocky grin.

"I know, but-"

"Exactly! I've had an ample amount of time and opportunity to study girls of all ages. I tell ya, it's nothing serious. Luan's just sore after being reminded how her sisters don't find her funny and she'll get over it in no time. Playing with some random ankle-bitters ought to lift her spirit."

Lucy supposed that Lincoln had a point. Of course, he did, Lucy always looked up to him as someone with lots of wisdom who always knew how to give her the right advice, from writing tips when she was working on her poems to simple advice on how to deal with life's problems.

She herself had the same theory about the cause of Luan's grouchy disposition and she had no reason to doubt her brother. Perhaps she should just let things run their course.

"You're right, Lincoln. Taking care of little kids always brings her joy." Lucy cracked a small smile.

"Of course I am. I know what I'm talking about." Lincoln pointed at himself with unbridled confidence.

Feeling some sense of closure, Lucy's mind wandered towards other things. Lincoln was back and they were by themselves.

"So, you want to do something together?" Lucy asked him, eager to spend some quality time with her sole brother again. "If you want to plug in one of your video games I'd be glad to join you. I still have trouble with the controller but I can learn as we go along."

Lincoln looked nervous for a second before smiling sheepishly. "Eh….that's great, Lucy? But unfortunately, I have other plans."

Lucy couldn't hide her look of disappointment. "Wait a minute?"

"Plans?" she made a face.

"Yeah, I've promised some friends in class today that I would meet up with them after school."

"You mean Clyde? And Rusty, and the others?"

Lincoln blinked for a second but then nodded affirmatively. "Yes, of course. It's been hard for us to plan a get together like we used to, y'know, with me living on the other side of town and such. So I agreed to met Rusty and Liam at the park, and Liam's mom is gonna drive us to Gus' Games and Grub. We've all chimed in to collect enough money to make sure that this visit will be the one we're gonna remember."

"But, Lincoln? You're supposed to babysit me and Lisa? You said so to Luan."

"I know, but I can't just bail on the guys. C'mon, Luce, just do me a solid and let's keep this between us, kay? It would mean a lot to me."

Lucy didn't know what to say to this. It wasn't like Lincoln to casually turn a blind eye on a promise he made. But on the other hand, she understood that he was missing his friends.

"But…..me and Lisa are just supposed to stay here alone?"

"Pfff…Lisa doesn't need a babysitter. She's pretty much an adult trapped in a little stinker's body." Lincoln brushed her off. "And you, Lucy? You can take care of yourself. It's not like you'll be going anywhere anyway."

"But you guys always say that I'm too little." Lucy responded with surprise.

Lincoln smiled. "Sure, you're still a little girl and there are things you don't understand and need guidance for. But you're also very smart and mature for your age."

Lucy grew a faint blush and rubbed her arm. "I…I wouldn't say…."

"Don't be modest, sis. We both know it's true. You may only be eight but you're pretty responsible for an 8-year old. You're not some out-of-control jumping bean, like Luan or Lynn when they were your age. We never had to worry about you burning down the house if we looked away for a second."

"You…you really think so?" Lucy asked hopefully.

"I know so." Lincoln came closer. "So, how about it? Keep your lips sealed, and just in case I don't make it back in time, you'll cover for me?"

The goth seemed unsure. "But what am I supposed to say to Luan?"

"I dunno, you'll think of something. And Lynn should be back before her, and I know she'll back me up too."

Lucy had to agree there. Her issues with Lynn aside, she knew the jock wouldn't snitch on her siblings, unless they did something to truly anger here. Learning that Lincoln was showing his sneaky side would probably make Lynn proud of her younger brother anyway.

But that reminded Lucy. "Where is Lynn anyway? Is she practicing for another big game?"

"Not at all." Lincoln grew a mirthful smile and tried not to snicker. "Oh, you're gonna love this. She said something about how she promised Taylor that she would spend the afternoon with him. She was being very secretive about what exactly they were planning to do."

Lucy didn't need any more info to realize what Lincoln was getting at. "Gross." She shuddered.

"Tell me about it. Ghoul Face doesn't take "no" for an answer, I give him that." Lincoln shook his head. "But hey, at least that means we can make fun of the lovebirds behind their backs. If they turn out even half as bad as Lori and Bobby, this will undoubtedly be a riot."

Lucy smile widened, imagining Lynn going all lovey-dovey sickening sweethearts with Ryan. It was simultaneously disgusting but also extremely funny.

"Hmmm….there are things that are too unsettling even for someone like me to conceive. But icky teen romance is something that always walks the delicate tightrope of being both nauseating yet somehow oddly hilarious."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Luce. It's classic cringe comedy." Lincoln agreed and they shared a laugh.

Lucy started feeling better, hearing firsthand from her brother how he held her in high regards, enough so to think that she deserved more independence.

"Okay, Lincoln. You're secret's safe with me." She agreed to his terms. "You deserve to have some fun for being such a great brother."

"I'm the only brother you have." He joked in response.

"I know, that's why cherish having you." Lucy smiled.

Lincoln snickered. "Alright, don't overblow it, sis. But…thanks."


After saying goodbye to Lincoln, Lucy remembered about Lisa and came looking for her in their room. It was still strange that Lisa would invite her to do something together, and Lucy wondered what the genius meant with "architectural design", worrying the latter was trying once again to build some kind of invention, a potentially dangerous one at that.

What she saw instead made her jaw hit the floor. The floor of their room was littered with lego bricks and in the middle of it she spotted Lisa constructing a little building out of them.

Lisa glanced up and grew an annoyed look. "What took you so long? You said you would assist me?"

"Lisa? Are those lego bricks?" a perplexed Lucy asked while picking some of them up.

Lisa gave her an odd look. "What else could they be? I require these pastel-colored plastic blocks in order to construct an accurate miniature replica of the Taj Mahal to the best of my abilities."

"So…you're playing with legos?"

"If you want to paraphrase it, then yes." Lisa shrugged. "So, would you care to join me? Architectural design isn't as enjoyable if you can't share the experience with a companion."

"Lisa, since when do you…eh…play with toys?" Lucy kneeled down next to her. "I thought you despised it."

"True…I have been admittedly a bit of stiff in the past. Which is why I have made the decision to try and….how do you put it? "Loosen up a bit and try to have fun"."

Lucy's eyes widened, thinking she had misheard the toddler.

"You want to have fun? As in; play like other kids?"

"Affirmative." Lisa nodded while continuing with her construction work.

Lucy tried to processes that. "Is this why you left me that get-well card?"

"Pardon?"

"It's just..eh…it's not like you. I mean…" Lucy's voice trailed off and she shifted awkwardly.

"I suppose that is true. I did not have a lot of interest in arts and crafts in the past." Lisa admitted. "And I know I wasn't too keen on expressing emotion either, especially affection for others."

"Lisa, none of us ever thought that you didn't care for us. It's just…"

"You misunderstand, Lucy." Lisa reassured her. "I was referring to my past workaholic nature and penchant for stoicism. I thought about our elder brother's advice that such habits weren't recommendable for a young child like me, and I'm starting to consider that he has a valid point."

"You mean you want to change?" Lucy listened carefully.

"Precisely, I have decided to make an effort to be more affable and extroverted. And a good start was showing my concern and affection to an ill family member when she needed it the most. And I must say, making that small token of my appreciation was really….fulfilling. It compelled me to continue on trying to "loosen up", which is why I wanted to share the makings of this creatively-stimulating project with you, dear sister."

"Oh…thanks, Lisa." Lucy smiled, having just experienced an unexpectedly tender moment with the last sibling she had expected to have one with.

"No problem, Lucy. We're sisters, and family should always find the time to spend quality time together."

"You're right. But some of just don't have anything in common." Lucy said sadly.

"Maybe, but if I'm not mistaken, despite your affinity for the macabre you still enjoy some basic juvenile recreational activities, like arts and crafts." Lisa told her knowingly. "Mainly when you are allowed to express your creativity, and turn your vision into a reality."

"I do." Lucy agreed. It was strange, but she was enjoying this new affable and casual demeanor that Lisa was adopting. It was hard to imagine Lisa going down a path like that, but she didn't see a downside to it. Lisa was just a toddler and toddlers should enjoy their youth while they could.

"So would you like to join me with the construction work?"

"Sure, Lisa." Lucy smiled and took her position in building their lego Taj Mahal. She quickly noticed something hanging from Lisa's wrist.

"Are those friendship bracelets?" she pointed at them.

"Of course they are, Darcy made them for me."

"Darcy? You mean that girl at daycare that's been trying to befriend you?"

"Yes, I've realized that my attitude towards her may have been too harsh and that I should consider accepting her offer of friendship."

"Oh...well good for you. It's always good to have a friend." Lucy smiled warmly, feeling happy for her sister.

"Naturally, would you want one of these?" Lisa offered her a bracelet.

"Sure, but do you have any black ones? Or one made up of tiny skulls?"


The Louds are acting a bit OOC here, aren't they? Luan being moody and withdrawn? Lisa being cheerful and willing to play like a toddler? Lynn showing a hint of a girly side? And is it me or is Lincoln acting oddly….Ryan-ish today?

Well, that's just the start.

And it would seem that Ryan has no clue how to treat the girl that obviously has feelings for him in any other way than as if she was one of his rowdy guy friends XD That won't do him any favors if Lynn continues getting in touch with her girly side.