The gang was on its way. The van zipped past the neighborhoods when the girls had enough of getting squished with Carlota and opened the windows. From then onward, while they were coasting down the lonely highway, they were enjoying the refreshingly cool breeze of the dawning summer night.
"Man, I love this!" Paula said, "The wind in your hair, the fresh in your lungs...I've never felt so alive!"
"And that tingling feeling all over your skin!" Beatrix agreed, "While I'm out volunteering, this is what I wanna drive to every day!"
"Well, it's better than right before we started, Yeah?" Maggie popped out of the roof's open window, "That girl is cellulite incarnate!"
"I've tried everything to get her to slim down," Ronnie Anne said, "She'd rather go down on fake eyebrows than go down to the local track!"
"Ugh," Maggie continued the conversation, "What is in that butt of hers to make her grow? I can't even hear myself think, she squished me so hard!"
"Better than the pile driver she gave me when she tried to get past the door," Kat groaned.
"Seriously," Beck popped up, "Next time we go out, we're avoiding the restaurants and walking until our butts hurt."
"Ooh!" Beatrix pointed, "Mall town dead ahead!"
The van pulled over into the parking lot.
"We're here!" Carol turned off the engine, "Everyone, time to-ahahahahaha!" She saw Whitney on Lincoln's lap, with her back against the window, "How? You were on her lap when we left!"
"It's a long story," Lincoln snuck another quarter in his SURROUNDINGS jar.
"Right. Whitney, go easy on them," Carol left the wheel to pry the other door open.
"I think it's comfy like this," Nikki wagged her arms and legs.
"Speak for yourself," Jordan wound up getting Whitney's hair in her face, "Hey, Whitney-PTUI! Why's your hair so puffy?"
"Well, I'd like to say that it's naturally puffy, but I keep getting-"
Renee rolled her eyes, which got a laugh from Lincoln and Nikki.
"Droning on, as usual?" Lincoln joked.
"Tell me about it," Renee groaned.
"Well, at least we can't hear the roars of the monster," Nikki got another laugh out of him.
But Renee's eyes were on another woman on the opposite side of the street. She tapped Whitney's elbow, "Well, at least you're not anything like that girl..."
"Huh? I can't see where you-Whoa..." Whitney found the woman she was talking about. Soon, Jordan, Lincoln, and Nikki has their eyes on the woman as well.
The woman had curly hair like Whitney, except bigger, like a 6-foot beach ball. She walked to her apartment door, but when she tried to get inside, her hair got jammed in the doorway. It was a good minute before she managed to get her hair fully inside.
"Yep," Whitney said, "I'm getting a haircut."
"I think Leni might be able to help with that," Lincoln muttered.
"There's a stylist inside, I'm sure..." Renee covered her hair.
"My hair hurts just watching that," Jordan said.
"How did she survive with that hair for so long?..." Cristina questioned.
"Mayhap she has received otherworldly assistance," Haiku popped in.
"Anyone wanna borrow my hoodie?" Nikki pulled down her hood and got a chuckle out of the front seat.
Carol then knocked on the door, which scared everyone on the seat.
"Hello?" She said, "Wanna get out some time tonight?"
"Hold up," Lincoln reached out and grabbed Whitney's back to make sure no one fell over, "Ok! Open!"
Carol opened and eased Lincoln's group out.
"Oh!" Whitney stretched her legs out and bowed to him, "Why thank you, kind sir!"
Lincoln got in his French accent, "Not at all, mademoiselle."
He got a flirty squeal from most of the girls in the group. Most of the girls stepped out to see Lincoln try to woo them with his French demeanor.
Except Carlota, who was one step away from leaving the van until she noticed her nails got scratched, "Hmm...maybe I should get a quick manicure before-OOF!" She was interrupted by someone shoving the lower of her...lower.
"Hey, Carlota?" Mollie said slightly irritated, "You mind getting off before we suffocate under your...you know?"
"Your unnecessarily soft plumper?" Paula nagged.
"Yeah, look," Mollie gave one more shove, "Ugh...really soft..."
"Ok, ok," Carlota stepped off, allowing the last of the group to disembark.
"Phew... is that the last we'll ever hear of Butt-Zilla?" Mollie couldn't help but ask.
"I hope so..." Paula said.
Five minutes later, the gang stepped one foot into the enormous shopping town, and immediately became entranced by the colorful lights and the hustle and bustle of the many outlet stores that lined the streets.
"Feast your eyes, gang," Lincoln took point, "For this one night only, the whole world is at our fingertips!"
"We shall conquer all we set our feet upon," Haiku walked to his side, "None will withstand our wrath."
"That's a little harsh..."
"But we're ready to stamp out our mark!" Renee punched the air.
"And I'm gonna make some noise!" Mandee said.
"Gear up, guys!" Jordan said, "This is gonna be the best day ever!"
"So," Ronnie Anne took his hand, "Ready to get it on?"
"You know it," Lincoln winked at her before striking a commander pose, "Everyone follow my lead!"
What followed was definitely something for the memory books. Lincoln and the gang led the charge into the night. Their first target was a beauty salon, where everyone felt like a real beauty, except Lincoln who passed on everything but a hair styling. Whitney was thinking about getting rid of her big puffy hair, but Lincoln convinced her to give it another chance, and Jackie convinced a stylist to help bring out the fullness of the hair.
Then came the string of clothing stores. Everyone bought something for themselves but...the older girls were having fun trying on various outfits, and having a ball with Carlota's fleshy overstretching every set of leggings she tried; Lincoln and the younger girls were going nuts, as with each piece of clothing they donned, they changed their personalities to fit the piece they wore...including underwear.
The next target was a game store, where Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were playing a demo for a fighting game, and somehow the girls' took sides on a best of five. They cheered so much that the shop owner got sucked into the vibe and handed Lincoln a free copy of the game.
Then, they went to a toy store, where the older girls had fun reliving some of their childhood memories, and the younger kids were busy building new ones, including a full sized Ace Savvy built by Lincoln, Ronnie, Renee, Paula, and Kat.
The last stop on the first half of their adventure was a full on arcade, where they all partied as hard as they possibly could. Laser tag, dance games, races, shooters n' smashers, and everything in between. There wasn't a single game and activity left untouched when it was over.
Throughout the adventure, Ronnie Anne took special notice of Lincoln and how well he got along with so many girls of varying ages. She was astounded by how he was able to adapt to each girl's personality. That, in turn, made them want to stay by his side and have him lead them into more adventures and tell more stories. She got a little jealous of just how many girls he was able to charm, but then again she's one of them. Plus, she's made memories with the girls as well. She just kept close to Lincoln and enjoyed the ride.
After all that heckle and speckle, they finally decided to rest at a food court, where they talked about everything they did in the past few hours, and everything they wanted to do in the next few hours.
Everyone grabbed a bite to eat, but Carlota was stopped by Becky, "Uh-uh. Salad bar."
"What?! I'm just gonna grab a couple fr-"
"Salad. Now."
Everyone else was eating a small meal. Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were cracking jokes with everyone else, Lincoln more so because he was more knowledgeable in girl stuff. Ronnie Anne just watched as some of the girls listened in on his imitation French man accent.
"Oyblo?" Stella interrupted her train of thought.
"Hey!" Ronnie Anne snapped out of it.
"It's not like you to just zone out like that. What's going through your mind?"
"Well-"
"Is it about Lincoln?" Haiku butted in.
"How did you manage to snag an adorable little guy?" Cici asked.
"I don't know. I just did it," Ronnie was quick to answer, "I thought he looked cute with that white hair, but that was it. We just had it."
"Aw, it's an instant connection!" Mollie swooned
Cici nudged, "They're one of a kind!"
"One of a Huh?" Ronnie almost didn't catch that last phrase.
"I think you might have rubbed off on him," Stella said, "look what he's doing now!"
Lincoln rambled, "And then, she just gloated her gut over the high flying sky and slammed down the moon like a giant dragon that popped into the door of the water tower! AAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Three of the older girls joined him in howling at the moon.
"Whoa...where did he get that from, I wonder?" Stella said.
"It was not made aware to you because it never need to be," Haiku said, "He's always had that in him, and you two always shared it."
Ronnie Anne took another look at him. He didn't notice how any of the girls were joining in on his antics; he was just having fun.
"Heheheh, I wish you hadn't told me that now," she blushed a little.
"Well, now that you know what he can do," Stella grinned, "what are you gonna do about it?"
"Oh, you better not!" Ronnie Anne poked her shoulder.
"Go on, Ron!" Stella urged, "Get up there!"
Mollie wrapped herself around Ronnie's arm, "Else someone snatch him awaaaaay," she teased.
"Oh, get off!" Ronnie laughed and went over to Lincoln, who got himself caught in a singing moment with the others, "Yo, Lame-o!"
"Oh! Hey, Ronnie Anne!" He stopped, "What's up?"
"So, I see you're having a ball with us girls, yeah?"
"Yeah, I didn't think it was possible I could let loose like this!" Lincoln wiggled his arms, "I could never get out the cramps around my sisters."
"Huh..." Ronnie Anne then turned to the girls standing next to him, "So, he gets along swimmingly with you all, huh?"
"I know," Mandee caught on to her act and- "He even said that he loved us..." -said the beloved...
"Mandee, SHH!" Lincoln, Carol, Beatrix, Kat, Whitney, Dana, and Becky were too late.
"Oh, really..." Ronnie Anne and Mandee shared a wink, and Ronnie allowed the candle of jealousy to ignite her...playful side? "Ok, then riddle me this."
"Uh, riddle who now?" Lincoln started to sweat as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and got very close.
She stared at her nails for a little bit, "How come a prepubescent 12 year old hot rod could easily say that line to a group of teenagers who are way out of his league," then she smirked at him, "but he couldn't say it to his own girlfriend of his age, hm?"
"Well, it's not like I couldn't say it-"
"Wait, waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait..." Maggie butted in, "You two never ONCE said it to each other?"
"I like to think that actions speak louder than words?" Lincoln said.
"True," suddenly Cristina, "but did you know that actions speak loudest with words?"
"Is this that rare one-of-a-kind playmate/soulmate love?" Jordan's interest peaked.
"There's way more than meets the eye, you know?!" Lincoln got flustered, "it's not like no one knows, so...wait, what did you just call me?"
That got a big laugh out of the whole group. And it made his cheeks turn beet red, "*SIGH...* I warned me..." he dumped whatever loose change he had left into his SURROUNDINGS jar.
"Oh, Lincoln, you're such a cute little yutz," Paula hugged him.
"But in a good way," Kat added.
"I hate to admit it," Maggie said, "but your simple straightforward nature's kind of endearing..."
"Heck, it's even rubbed off on me a little," Renee said.
"Oh, I might have overloaded that part a bit," Ronnie Anne sneaked in a kiss.
"OH-Uh...Heheheh," Lincoln had to catch his breath on the seat, "I just forgot what we were doing..."
Then, all the girls started to take turns sitting on his lap.
Ronnie Anne saw Carlota walking beside her, "Ok, I admit it. You were right. He is adorable."
"Lighten up, Ron!" Carlota said, "It's ok to feel a little bubbly every now and then!"
"Bubbbbb..." Ronnie Anne's eyes widened in horror when she saw her sister's backside.
"Ok, you've made your point!" Lincoln escaped the girls' seat, "Now, let's get back on track before-"
"Oh, there's my little plush chipmunk!" Carlota knelt down and hugged him.
"Oh! Haven't seen you since-" Lincoln stopped short of seeing her butt somehow slightly swollen, "Butt-Zilla 3...The Thighfecta..."
"Oh, no," Carlota pushed him away, "Not you, too."
"Uh...you didn't eat anything else, did you?" Ronnie slowly approached with caution, using Carol as a human shield.
"All I had was a salad," Carlota responded.
"Ah, it's actually the crud way before the salad," Carol smirked.
"Oh, we really don't need to-"
—(TOO LATE: TWO HOURS AGO)—
Carlota was holding a pair of leggings, "Hey, Carol? Do you think these will fit?"
"Dunno," Carol said, "Let's get you a fitting room..."
Five minutes later, Carlota struggled with her pair of leggings, "Rrrgh! Come on...GET IIIIIIIIIIIIIIN..."
"Need help?" Kat popped in.
"Huh? What are you doing here?" Carlota asked.
"Carol said you needed help," Kat went in and grabbed the leggings, "Ok...just get it...oveeeeerrrrrRRRRRRRRR..."
"Maybe if I..." Carlota tried to stuff some of her flesh into the leggings, but they only stretched out even further.
"GET OVERRRRRR..." Kat kept pulling the leggings, but she couldn't get through the giant butt.
Girl Jordan, and Cristina just took a small peek through a crack in the door. They slowly whispered, "Butt-Zilla 3...The Thighfecta..."
They were jolted back by Carlota throwing the leggings at the door.
"You know what?! I'm gonna go with my original plan!" Carlota shouted, "I'm just gonna stay in my swimsuit!"
"Yeah, Carol said she thought you'd say that," Kat dragged her out and into the women's summer wear section.
Leaving Girl Jordan and Cristina behind.
"I have discovered all that is abominable..."
"Maybe we should do a sports day instead..."
—(FLASHBACK END)—
Everyone got out a big laugh,
except Carlota, "You know, I am appalled that leggings don't come in a bigger size."
and Jordan and Cristina, who hugged Ronnie Anne.
"Psst..." Ronnie whispered, "Got a couple more."
"Right," Lincoln took their three quarters and deposited them in his SURROUNDINGS jar.
"Ahhhhhh, I needed that..." Dana stretched, "So, where to next?"
"You know what?" Lincoln said, "Let's let Maggie decide."
"Huh?" Almost everyone seemed surprised. But Ronnie Anne was touched. For all the little details he seemed to constantly miss, he never once stopped thinking about how people interacted with each other. And he was spot on this time, seeing how Maggie was in the background this whole adventure. Maybe she should do the same for Carlota.
"Maggie?" Mollie and Mandee muttered, "Really?"
"Why her?..." Renee and Cici asked.
"Uh, question?" For now, Ronnie butted in, "Did anyone hear Maggie say anything outside of a simple greeting?"
Maggie didn't mind being in the background, but she never expected him to help her onto the high road. She was...ever so slightly softened by his gesture. Everyone gave it a quick thought, then realized that he was right.
"Thank you for your patronage," Lincoln quirked as he and Ronnie Anne took quarters from them and tossed them in his jar, "Your generous contributions will go directly towards the next hangout."
"Dude, come on," Maggie said, "You have to lump me in with these preps..."
"I know, but I figured you should get the spotlight once in a while," Lincoln smiled at her.
"Grrr..." Maggie walked away and motioned the crowd to follow her, "Alright, fine. I will take them away to somewhere truly special."
As Maggie led the gang out of the food court...
"Lincoln, no offense, but are you sure about this?" Jackie asked him.
"For all we know, we could go down some back alleyway..." Beatrix said.
"Hey, relax. Let's have a little fun with it," Lincoln assured them, "I mean, we already basically went everywhere. What could surprise us this time?"