You know, I didn't realize I was using the word "love" so much in my titles at first. I was going to try and change it once I noticed, but then I thought about it. Four-letter word starting with L, and it can be used to represent the bond felt by family. That was too perfect to get rid of. Although now it's actually tricky to think of titles that fit the scheme.
Just a little bit about my insane thought process. Now, I'm sure you're here about Lola…
Lola: Nobody Loves Me…
It's been nearly 2 months since Hops' death. For a majority of the family, it was mostly pushed to the back of their memory. However, for three of them, the incident was still stuck in their thoughts.
Lana had accepted the loss with the support of her family, especially her brother Lincoln. But of course, she still mourned. She visited Hops' grave daily if she could, every other day at minimum. But after a few days, the crying during her visits stopped. She instead talked to Hops about positive things.
Lincoln's thoughts still lingered on it. He'd occasionally go with Lana to visit Hops' grave. He'd find himself reminiscing about how he and Lana helped to save a bunch of frogs from his science class. Hops was actually an invaluable ally in that cause. And in some other animal rescues he and Lana perpetrated afterwards. But most of all, he was worried about the lingering impact that his all had on…
Lola. She had been grounded for a month after the incident. No pageants, no mob movies, no tea parties, no Bluebell meetings, no NOTHING. She couldn't even wear tiaras or make-up until her time was up. Her life for the next 30 days was pretty much breakfast, driven to school and back by Lori, dinner, sleep, repeat.
Of course, this was terrible. Lola Loud isn't Lola Loud when her wardrobe is limited to hand-me-down shirts and pants from Lori and Leni. (the only two who's fashion was acceptable enough for Lola to accept hand-me-downs from)
But really this was nothing compared to what she overheard on that crazy day…
58 days ago…
Her mind was still reeling over what just happened. She had been sitting there, simply drinking some apple juice (her favorite fake tea), when she appeared.
Even though they were the same size, Lana seemed twice as large and twice as strong when the attack happened. Lola had grown afraid when Lana grabbed her arm, but nothing prepared her for the first punch. Right in her eye, and it knocked her to the floor. She remembered screaming and raising her arms in self-defense, but nothing stopped Lana. She jumped down on her, pinning her arms down, striking her in the face repeatedly. She even began CHOKING her. But thankfully, several of Lola's siblings came to her defense.
She remembered Lincoln telling her why it happened. How could she know Hops would get out and be hit by a car!? Lola was mean, sure, but she was no killer!
After their mom came home, Lola went to upstairs, half-dragging herself up them. Her face was bruised. She had a nasty black eye. There was a red stain from her nostrils to her chin. And one of her teeth chipped (thankfully she still had all baby teeth). She went to the bathroom, hoping to clean herself up as best she could.
But as she did, she could hear words rising from the bathroom vent. They had to be coming from her parents' room…
"…hurting Lola won't make you feel better. It'll just make things even harder on us."
She heard her mother's voice. Lola could guess that she was trying to talk to Lana. There was a small pause. Lola hoped Lana would be calmed down and accept her mother's point.
"No, it wouldn't..."
Lola froze when she heard that voice. What did Lana mean by that?
"Lola never does anything good here. She hurts us, she takes from us, she uses us…"
Lola was absolutely stunned. Is that… what Lana thinks about her?
"All she cares about are her stupid pageants , her dresses, and her crowns."
That's not true… is it? Is that was Lola makes her family think about her? That she doesn't care?
"She's nothing but a burden on our family…"
A burden?
"…and we'd all be better off if that stupid BITCH would just DROP DEAD!"
Lola covered her mouth. Her wounded eye began to sting badly. She wondered why, before she could feel something wet underneath it. Tears…
How could Lana say all of that? How could she use THAT word? Lola only ever heard that word on television, and people only said that about the worst women they knew. Was Lola really that bad?
Lola looked back. She bought Lincoln his gross underpants. That was a good thing, right? ...Well, that was only because she unfairly forced him to bet against all 10 of his sisters…
She covered for all her siblings' secret wrongdoings. That got her in a lot of trouble! But… that wasn't just a good deed. She just wanted to know more of their secrets, but they stopped trusting her. She traded some secrets for many more…
Oh God… is Lana right? Is Lola really that selfish? Is she only good for pageant winnings and looking good in public?
The tears kept flowing… She didn't even pay attention to the rest of the conversation after hearing the B-word. She couldn't believe she was acting this way. She couldn't believe she did this to Lana. She couldn't believe she's been… yes. She decided she was, in fact, a bitch.
The next few days were a blur. Lana had stopped sleeping in the bedroom, and she moved her pets to the basement. She'd either sleep in Lincoln's room, or sometimes in Lynn and Lucy's, since Lana just about idolized Lynn. While not every Loud sister was particularly feminine, Lynn and Lana bonded over being the two true tomboys of the group, and Lana looked up to her for being so strong and athletic that even all-boys teams begged her to play for them.
At first, the twins would both avoid each other. Sister Fight Protocol was still in effect, although they weren't really fighting. After a while, Lana entered the bedroom and went to return Lola's formal black dress to the closet. But Lola's reaction surprised herself.
She hadn't really paid much mind to it, since it was just like any other time they had an arugment or fought. But as soon as she saw Lana, and was paralyzed and unable to move, like she'd watched a burglar walk in, she knew...
Lola was deathly afraid of her.
After that, the protocol ended, but neither made any effort to communicate. Lana still slept elsewhere, but no longer actively avoided Lola. She was willing to go into a room she was in.
Lola, however, was the opposite. Having realized her fear, she'd leave the room whenever her twin sister entered, and she'd avoid being near her or crossing her path whenever possible. The only times this was impossible was at school and during dinner, but in both cases Lola would sit as far from her sister as possible.
Eventually, a month had passed. The grounding was lifted, and the first thing Lola did was find a pageant to enter. There was one in a few weeks. Plenty of time to prepare herself. And over time, Lola began to act like herself a bit more, though something was still off. She rarely yelled at or threatened her siblings, and she spent more time than usual alone in her room practicing.
Nobody else in the family particularly seemed to notice or care. Nobody except one, of course. The one person who could always tell when something was wrong.
And so, at the Loud siblings' normal weekly meeting...
"Guys, there's something I need to ask you about..."
Lincoln stood up, facing nine of his ten sisters. Lola being the only absence, as had been the norm lately.
"...It's about Lola." Lincoln immediately looked to Lana, but didn't really notice a reaction. He'd expected to see a twinge of anger or disappointment.
"Yeah, what about her?" said Lori, the leader of the group (by her own demand, as always when a leader is needed).
"Hasn't anyone else felt that she's been acting weird lately? I mean, she hasn't been quite as angry as usual. I can't remember the last time I heard her yell."
"I'm literally failing to see the issue here, Linc." Lori replied impatiently.
"Ok, I know it SOUNDS good, but Lola isn't being... well, Lola. I think something's up with her." Lincoln stated. "Shouldn't we check up on her or something?"
Unfortunately, he was met with silence.
"Look, Lincoln." Lori continued. "She kille-" she stopped as she looked over at Lana, though the younger girl didn't seem to notice anything. "She did something bad, she was grounded for a month… it's a lot she's had to deal with. All she needs is time to recover, and she'll be fine."
"…I guess you might be right." Lincoln replied, although it was clear to all of them that he wasn't mentally dropping it. He sat back down, and they continued their discussions.
Present day…
It was the day of the pageant. Lola had gotten up early, gotten dressed, had breakfast, and then put on her make-up.
"You ready for your big return?" her father asked, as he was getting ready to drive her there.
"I was born ready." Lola said in her trademark arrogant tone. Her father smiled, though. That was a sign that she was getting better.
As the two walked to the front door, Lynn Sr. turned around, addressing the family, who were dispersed around the house, though all in earshot.
"Everyone wish your sister good luck!"
"Good luck, Lola!" several voices shouted back, though some of them didn't sound genuine. Not everyone was over what Lola did. And of course, Lana's voice was not heard at all.
Normally, Lola would remark with something smug like "Luck? I don't need luck when I look this good!"
But all that was heard from the girl was a rather shy "Th-thanks, everyone…"
With that, Lola and Lynn Sr. left the house and got into Vanzilla. Lola was about to get into the 2nd row, the "Sweet Spot", when her father's voice interrupted her.
"Hey, why don't you get in the front seat next to me?"
She was confused. Usually, the Loud parents preferred that the youngest children always take a back seat. Lincoln was the oldest child permitted to sit up front, and even that wasn't very common.
"Don't worry. I haven't had an issue in over 30 years of driving. You're perfectly safe. I just enforce that rule to calm your mother down." He said with a smile.
Nodding, Lola closed the back door to the van, and instead went around to the other side, getting into the passenger seat. After she buckled her seat belt, her father started the van and began driving.
They drove for a few moments before Lynn Sr. spoke up.
"So, how are you feeling today, Lola? Everything ok?"
"Yeah, everything's alright, Dad. Why?"
"Well, it's just that you haven't seemed to be acting like yourself lately. Some of us are a little worried for you."
"Umm..." Lynnard raised an eyebrow upon hearing that moment of hesitation. "I mean, I'm ok. Really. Nothing's wrong."
"Lola... I've been at this parenting gig for a little over 18 years now. Maybe I'm thinking a little highly of myself, but I like to think that I can tell that something's wrong." Lynn turned to Lola, and could see a bit of hesitation on her face.
"It's Lana, isn't it?" he said. "Still haven't made up, yet?"
Lola didn't respond for a moment.
"N-no, we haven't..." she finally said.
"Well, don't worry, kiddo. You'll both come around. This is just gonna take some time, y'know?"
"I guess..."
Lynnard pulled into the driveway of the building in which the pageant was taking place. He got out and opened the door for Lola. After she got out, he helped her unwrinkle her dress from the seatbelt, and they both headed in.
Now, Lola's father had taken her to a few pageants. However, he never quite figured everything out. All he could see were little girls running around, wearing enough make-up to give that Burpin' Burger clown a run for his money, making their hair giant and wearing glittery clothes. Quite honestly, he thought half of them looked like creepy supermodels that were shrunk down like those voodoo heads, and standing around among them and all the stuffy pageant moms made him uncomfortable.
However, this was what Lola loved. And if it made one of his children happy, he'd do it a hundred times without a single complaint.
Holding Lola's hand to ensure she didn't get lost in the swarm just yet, Lynnard went to the dressing room with her to help her get ready.
Meanwhile, at the Loud House…
"Mom, we still have the Princess Channel, right?" Lincoln's voice could be heard from the living room
"Yes, I believe we do… Wait… why?" Rita didn't quite expect to hear Lincoln ever ask about the Princess Channel. She peeked into the living room, watching her son surf through channels.
"Well, Lola's pageant is supposed to be televised on it, and I want to watch."
Finally, the TV stopped on a channel with a big, sparkly pink logo in the corner, and it was showing the opening credits for the "Little Miss Lake Michigan" pageant. This must be it, Lincoln and Rita both thought.
"So, why are you watching Lola's pageant?" Rita asked as she sat on the couch with Lincoln. "I didn't think you'd care to watch a couple hours of this sort of thing, especially after you pulled that 'bad luck' stunt a while back."
"…Well, truthfully, Mom..." Lincoln said. "I'm still worried about Lola. She hasn't been herself ever since Hopsageddon… that's what Lynn and I call it, anyway."
"Yeah, I know what you mean…" Rita added. "I've been worried too. But I'm hoping that maybe after winning another pageant, she might return to her old self again… may God have mercy on our souls."
"Oh hey, is that Lola's pageant?" Luna's voice came from behind them.
"Yeah, we're watching it to see if she's alright."
"Mind if I join? I'm worried about her too. Plus I've always kinda wondered what these things are like." After receiving a nod of approval from the other two, Luna hopped over the back of the couch and landed next to Lincoln. (although Rita hates when the older kids do that).
As is normal when three or more Louds are doing something together, the rest of the family was drawn like a magnet. Five minutes passed, and now there were ten bodies gathered in front of the TV, watching the beginning of the pageant. The girls (and Lincoln) on the couch tried to get comfortable, while those seated on the rest of the furniture and on the floor tried to find the optimal view of the television.
Eventually, the final Loud, Lana, descended from the stairs, wondering where her family was. She stood, looking at the TV, until Rita turned around and noticed her.
"Oh, there you are, Lana. Do you want to watch Lola's pageant with us?"
Most of the Loud kids looked like they were ready to run, like their mother's words might've set off a bomb. However, all Lana said was…
"Ok." And she found herself a spot on the floor, between Lisa and Luan, who was holding Lily.
A few more moments of chatter was interrupted by Lincoln, who pointed out that the show was starting.
"HELLO EVERYONE, AND WELCOME TO THE 2017 LITTLE MISS LAKE MICHIGAN BEAUTY PAGEANT!" a very over-enthusiastic young woman's voice shouted. "We've got a lot of lovely young ladies lined up, all waiting to show themselves off to you! Without further ado, let's begin!"
The beginning of the pageant basically composed of all the girls coming out in order, doing a brief introduction, and then walking back off stage. For the most part, the family only paid half-attention, until they heard some girl named Cookie Lo-something or other, signaling that the name "Loud" would be soon. After listening to her brief introduction, a familiar blonde girl walked onto stage.
"My name's Lola Loud, and I love tea parties and all of my siblings!" she yelled her usual introduction, seemingly showing her usual confidence. The entire family cheered for her.
The show went on, with different portions that seemed random. First there was the straight-up beauty section, where the girls wore sparkly dresses and piles of make-up. Lola, of course, looked right at home here, wearing her blinding pink dress.
Next was a talent portion. Some girls sang, some danced, some did gymnastics of some variety. Lola did an elegant ribbon dance, using some choreography that Lincoln remembered helping her (and Lana) learn.
Next was a swimwear section. Much to Lynnard's relief, nothing the girls wore was revealing. Most of the swimwear was pretty much the same as any other clothes they were wearing. Lola wore her swimming dress, which she ironically never permitted to touch water. Luan brought up the idea of Lola wearing her ACTUAL swimwear, which was basically a large plastic wrapping that kept any of her skin from getting wet. The idea of her wobbling out on stage in that got a good chuckle from most of the family.
Then came the charisma portion. The girls came out, talked about themselves, what they would do for the world, all of that stuff. After a long speech from the previous girl about world peace, it was Lola's turn.
"Alright, Lola, tell us a little bit about yourself." One of the judges said.
Lola seemingly retained her confident demeanor. However, two people, one young man and one little girl, could take notice of Lola's eyes. They didn't display that same confidence.
"Well... I'm 6 years old, and I'm the the 9th of 11 siblings. I also have a twin sister who is two minutes older than me. I'm a member of the Bluebell Scouts, and..."
Lola froze up. That never happened before. She looked around nervously for a moment, but then let out a large fake sneeze.
"Uhh, sorry. Must've tickled my nose." she said shyly.
The judges were silent for a moment, before the one from before spoke up again.
"So, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
Silence. Normally, Lola could shoot out an answer immediately. But her tongue seemed tied tonight. She seemed trapped in her own thoughts.
"Umm... Lola?"
"Wha-? Oh, I'm sorry!" Lola jumped, before beginning to give an answer that seemed rehearsed. "W-Well, I've thought about it a lot. There's so much to do out there. Recently I thought about running a hotel when I grow up!"
"That sounds lovely." the judge said. "Now, if you could do one thing to make the world a better place, what would you do?"
"APOLOGIZE!"
Hearing Lola shout so suddenly made the judges and the Louds jump.
"Apologize? For what?"
Lola stood there, her eyes wide. Inside, she was pondering why exactly she yelled that.
"Apologize... apolo... to all the starving children in the world! Yeah." she sighed with relief. "It's terrible that in this day and age, we still have people who go to bed at night without a good meal. Especially poor little kids!"
The audience seemed hesitant to clap for a moment. Likely they were just as shocked by the earlier outburst as everybody else. But they gave Lola the same applause that every contestant was given.
The head judge's eyes were still wide, but she continued. "Thank you very much, Lola. You can go backstage now."
As Lola nodded and walked off stage, back at the Loud house, Lynn looked at her family.
"Uhhh ok, what was THAT all about?"
"I told you guys there was something up with Lola!" Lincoln said.
Lori chimed in. "Yeah, there's definitely something weird going on with her. We should've listened to Lincoln."
Lincoln took this chance to look over at Lana. Normally, if something was wrong with Lola, Lana would have the answer. But the girl was just looking at the TV. She wasn't really displaying any emotion Lincoln could easily pick up on.
Eventually, they went through the rest of the girls, and ending of the pageant was approaching.
"OK EVERYBODY, IT'S TIME FOR PLACEMENTS!" the exessively peppy announcer yelled.
On stage, all of the girls were lined up. The family found Lola, who was still wearing a mask of confidence.
"In 4th place... Bunny Boo-Boo!" a girl stepped forward to collect her reward and blow kisses to the crowd.
"In 3rd place... Brianna Buttowski!" again, a girl from the crowd stepped forward.
"in 2nd place..."
The Loud family all kneeled closer to the TV.
"Mushi Sanban!"
The family sighed with relief.
"Phew. That means Lola won!" Lori said.
The family began cheering.
"And our Little Miss Lake Michigan is..."
"LINDSEY SWEETWATER!"
And with those words, everything froze. For Lola, for Lynnard, and for the entire Loud House.
"L... Lola didn't win?" Leni asked.
"No, Leni... she didn't even place..." Lincoln replied, still frozen.
"Not good! NOT GOOD!" Leni shouted
"RED ALERT, PEOPLE! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!" Lisa yelled, with an uncharacteristic amount of fear.
"I MIGHT JUST DISAPPEAR, DUDES!" Luna joined them.
The entire Loud House was in a panic. For any other family, their child losing a pageant would be sad, but not a cause to freak out. But this was LOLA. Just forgetting to say "bless you" when she sneezes was enough to set her off. And this was the first time she ever lost a pageant. She even managed to win one dressed as Luna, so who knows how she'll react to this!
Back at the pageant, Lola was still frozen. Lindsey had stepped forward to claim her prize. All the other girls were cheering, some genuinely, and some obviously weren't happy but did so for appearances. But Lola just stood there, eyes wide.
Eventually, the pageant was ended and the girls began to move backstage. Lola still stood there, though, facing forward. That is, until Lindsey Sweetwater walked by and gave her a smug grin.
"Well, well. Guess the amazing Lola's luck finally ran out, huh?" the girl said, looking Lola dead in the eyes. "It's about time the public sees a REAL beauty queen for once."
Normally, the destructive force unleashed after someone talks to Lola like that would rate a 7.5 on the Richter scale. But Lola just... looked down.
"Heh, don't even have anything to say? I always knew you were a loser." Lindsey remarked as she walked away.
"Lola! Are you alright?"
Lynnard shouted out to her as he ran onto the stage. He reached his daughter, but she didn't look up to acknowledge him.
"I'm really sorry, princess... Umm... why don't we head home now, alright?"
She still didn't say anything, but she didn't resist when her father took her hand, and walked with him out to the car.
The drive home was silent. Lynnard didn't know what to do. He, too, expected to be dealing with a more... violent reaction to Lola's first lost pageant. But he wasn't prepared for a total shutdown. The fact that he didn't know how to help his daughter was painful.
Eventually, they got back to the house. Lola silently unbuckled her seatbelt, opened the door, and began to walk inside. Lynnard rushed to her side, to walk in with her. Opening the door, he saw Rita and Lincoln standing nearby.
"Oh, sweetie!" Rita yelled out, rushing over to Lola. "We saw on TV. I'm so sorry you didn't win."
Rita kneeled down and gave Lola a hug. As usual since the loss, Lola didn't seem to react at all. When Lincoln walked over, though, Lola looked up to him.
Her expression was... blank. It was like somebody had switched Lola's face with Lucy's, Lincoln thought. She looked... broken.
"Where are all the girls?" Lynnard asked his wife.
She got up and talked quietly. "They're all hiding. They were worried that Lola would be a bi angry about the loss."
"Yeah, I can understand that. I was surprised that she didn't explode after the pageant ended..."
As the parents continued talking, Lola started to walk upstairs. Lincoln noticed, and tried to follow her.
"Lola, are you alright?" he shouted from behind her.
She remained silent.
"Lola!"
"...Please, just leave me alone for a while..."
She spoke softly, and Lincoln almost couldn't hear her. But he stopped and let her walk into her room alone. As she closed her door, the other doors on that floor opened up, and heads peeked out.
"Was that Lola? Is she freaking out?" Lynn's voice asked.
"No..." Lincoln responded "She's... I don't know how to explain it... depressed. She wanted to be left alone for a while."
"Well, we should probably leave her alone like she wants, then." Luan chimed in.
"Yeah. We'll see how she feels at dinner." Lori added. Most of the sisters mumbled in agreement, and then returned to their rooms. Lincoln eventually went to his as well.
Although none of them really noticed, one sister didn't go back to what they were doing. Lana stood outside the bedroom door for a while, listening to the muffled sobbing coming from within...
A few hours later...
"Kids! Dinner!"
Hearing their father's shouting, the Loud children slowly stopped what they were doing, and gathered in the dining room.
Previously, Lincoln and the youngest half of the Loud siblings would go to the kitchen, to the "kiddy table". But a while back, after it became apparent that the separation and differing rules weren't enjoyed by the children, Rita and Lynnard had a discussion, and opted to do away with it. They bought a slightly larger dining room table, and although still cramped, it could fit all of them. They also started permitting dessert and less "adult" meals like chicken nuggets for the older children again (although they didn't mind having it again themselves).
As usual, the children started showing up one or two at a time. Once Luna and Lucy showed up, after finishing their poetry/songwriting meet-up, Lynn Sr. began serving dinner. He stopped, however, when he came to an empty seat.
"Who's not here?" he said quietly to himself as he counted out his children. With 11 of them to keep track of, sometimes it took a second to realize who exactly was missing.
"Where's Lola?" Rita asked. Sure enough, it was she who was absent.
"I'll go get her." Lincoln said as he got up. He walked to the stairway and started to climb up. But as he reached the top and turned to his right, Lola's door slowly opened, and he could see eyes peeking out.
"Lola? Are you alright? Dinner is ready, and we're waiting for you."
Lincoln watched as Lola's eyes looked down, and the door was closed a bit.
"I-I'm not sure if I'm hungry..." came a meek voice. Lincoln was a bit stunned to hear Lola sound so... small.
"Come on. We all want to see you and make sure you're alright. At least sit with us."
"...O-ok..."
The door opened up, and Lola walked out. But she didn't look like Lola. She wore a plain white t-shirt and some saggy grey sweatpants, and her feet were bare. No tiara, no make-up, no glitter. Her hair wasn't brushed, and her eyes showed evidence of recent crying. Lola hadn't been allowed to dress up during her grounding, but she still never looked THIS bad. Even when she wore a dress of toilet paper and a banana peel on her head, she was still fashionable.
"You're not wearing a dress?" Lincoln asked. As a reply, Lola simply shook her head. "That's alright. Let's head down to eat." He decided not to ask too many questions or be too pushy, or else he may risk Lola retreating back into her room.
The two descended the stairs. Lola moved fairly slowly, only just beginning to go down the staircase when Lincoln was already halfway down. He looked back and slowed a bit, waiting to reach the bottom with her. After that, he went into the dining room at normal pace.
"Umm, guys." he said quietly to the family. "Lola's still a bit shaken from earlier, so we shouldn't push her too much."
"Yeah, Lincoln's right. Everyone please be gentle and considerate with her." Lynnard added.
Everyone nodded in agreement, but as Lola walked in and everyone saw how unkempt she was, a few couldn't help but gasp.
Rita stood up. "Hey, sweetie. You feeling better?"
Lola nodded shyly. "A-a little..."
"That's good. Why don't you sit down and have some dinner with us?"
Lola slowly walked to her seat. Normally, she'd be seated next to Lana, but since the incident, she'd been sitting next to either Leni or Lincoln, the two she felt closest to besides her twin sister. Leni because she admired her fashion sense and they could bond over their love of dressing up (although their contrasting personalities otherwise could cause issues), and Lincoln because she felt Lincoln was the most trustworthy of all her siblings, even despite his occasional selfishness.
Taking the seat between Leni and Lisa this time, she nervously looked down at her plate until Lynnard served her dinner. Meat loaf, mashed potatoes, and peas. Normally, a perfectly good food fight meal, although those had become far less common since the kiddy table was abolished (until the parents left the room for whatever reason, that is).
As dinner went on, nothing really abnormal happened. The family talked among themselves, discussing their day, how school was going, what big event/game/etc. one of the kids had coming up, things like that. Thankfully, Lola thought, nobody really pestered her. She could notice some looks pointed her way, though. Some, like from Lynn and Lori, showed a twinge of fear, like they were waiting for an explosion of rage to be set off any moment. From Luna and Lincoln, she'd catch looks of concern, which were both relieving and worrying to see.
However, the most perplexing looks came from Lana, who sat across and two seats to Lola's left. When Lola could work up the courage to look her twin's way, she could see a look that seemed almost a combination of the other two types. Was Lana really worried about her? Was she afraid of her? Both? It was difficult to figure out. Lana would look away quickly when she noticed her gaze being met, though.
"-ould you pass the potatoes, please?"
Lola jumped from her thoughts as she heard that. It sounded like her mother's voice.
"Sure." she could hear Lucy say. Lucy was down near the other end of the table. Next to her was Lisa, then Lola, Leni, Luan, and then Rita at the end.
Lucy grabbed the large bowl of mashed potatoes and handed it to Lisa. Lisa was small, but was able to hold it without issue.
"...Lola?" Lisa said. "Could you please take the bowl of crushed tuber and pass it down to our maternal parent?"
Lola looked at her for a second, before responding "Uhh, yeah, sure."
Lola took the bowl, and looked down the line. Rita and Luan were watching patiently, while Leni held her hands out, ready to take the bowl. She had an innocent, genuine smile on her face.
Slowly, Lola reached her arms out to pass the bowl forward. But her arms were shaking, and she was feeling weak. In almost slow-motion, she watched the bowl jump from her hands, turning as it went into the air, with the open side now facing Leni. Lola watched Leni's smile vanish and turn into a look of fear. And then with a loud SPLAT, the bowl landed on the older girl's chest, with potatoes running down her body, and some flying out and hitting her face.
"AAGH! MY FAVORITE DRESS!" Leni tried to yell, though some potatoes covered her mouth and muffled her voice.
"Well, now that's a STICKY situation, hahaha!" Luan giggled.
Lola jumped up, shaking more visibly now.
"I-I-I-I didn't mean to! I-I'm s-s-s-sorry!"
By now, half the family was on their feet. Most were going over to help Leni, who was still trying to shake the potatoes off. Lori, Luna, and Lincoln were watching Lola, who was very obviously disturbed by this. Lana was still in her seat, but her eyes were wide as she took in everything.
"I-it was an accident. S-stop looking at m-me!" Lola screamed as she ran away, heading back upstairs.
"LOLA! WAIT!" Lincoln yelled as he ran after her, though he stopped at the doorway. He wasn't sure if it would be best to try and catch her now, or wait.
Most of the attention was now on Lola's freakout. Leni had cleaned her face off and was trying to clean her dress with napkins.
"Way to go, Leni. You literally didn't have to yell like that! You scared her!" Lori said.
"I didn't mean to do that to her!" Leni replied, with a look of guilt on her face.
"Now, now, girls." Lynnard added himself in. "This isn't anyone's fault. Lola's been having some problems. We should give her a moment to calm down, and then me and your mother will try to talk to her."
Upstairs, Lola had ran into her room and slammed the door shut. She sat on the floor, rocking back and forth, trying not to cry.
"It was just an accident... I-I didn't mean to do that to Leni... I really am g-good for nothing..."
Lola leaned over and lied on the floor, trying to calm down. After a moment, the shaking started to settle. But before it went all the way away, something caught her eye.
"Wh-what's that?" she said as she got up, and walked over to Lana's bed.
After about 15 minutes, dinner had been wrapped up. Lori, Luna, and Luan went with Leni to help her pick out a look for school tomorrow while her dress was in the wash. Lynn, Lucy, Lana and Lisa went to their rooms (or in Lana's case, Lynn and Lucy's room). Lincoln walked with is parents over to Lola's door. He was heading to his room, but wanted to see how Lola was doing.
"Lola, sweetie? Are you feeling alright?" Rita asked as she knocked on the door. There was no response.
"Lola? Please don't ignore us. We're worried about you." Lynnard added.
Again, nothing. The two parents decided to open the door and walk in.
The light was off, and in Lola's bed, the could see a large, child-sized lump under the blanket, with an arm sticking out.
"Must've fallen asleep already." Lynnard said. "Well, we shouldn't wake her. Let's check back in the morning."
The two parents exited the room, closed the door, and went back downstairs. Lincoln lingered for a moment, before going into his room. He agreed with them. Best check on her after she sleeps it off.
The Loud family thought about that whole incident all evening, until bedtime.
About 11:30 PM
Lana heard odd sounds from out the door. Thumping, like something heavy falling down or being dragged down the stairs. She sat up and looked around. She was laying in Lynn's bed with her. The older girl was still asleep, snoring more lightly than usual, which is what permitted Lana to hear those noises. Across the room, Lucy lied stiff in her bed, arms crossed over her chest. Every so often, Lana could hear a faint sigh (Lucy literally sighing the word "Sigh"). She was still asleep too.
Slowly getting up, Lana walked over to the door and opened it. Looking around, she didn't really see anything. But then she looked towards the door of her and Lola's room.
The door was opened slightly. Lana wondered why that would be, before deciding to go check it. She wondered whether she should wake Lynn to go with her just in case, but decided against it. Lynn would be too noisy of a companion, and may insist on waking Lucy and the rest of the siblings, which would get them all mad at Lana if it was nothing.
Tiptoeing out of the room, Lana quietly shut the door. She noted that it creaked a bit, and mentally noted to oil Lynn and Lucy's door hinges for them later. But for now, she crept quitely to the open door, and peeked inside.
The room was fairly messy. It looked like someone dug through everything in the closet and strewn it about. Lana almost thought to run back for Lynn and tell her there was a robbery, but then she looked to the right.
The trash can was stuffed with glittery clothing, jewelry, and sashes. Walking over to it, Lana reached in and pulled out a very familiar pink dress. Putting it aside, she began to dig through the entire contents of the bin. All of it was Lola's clothes. Or at least, her dresses. By now, Lana realized that this was definitely something connected to Lola. She opted to take her chances, and go wake her twin sister up...
...Except Lola wasn't there. Her bed was empty, and most of the stuffed animals that usually rested there were gone. Lana frantically ran over to the bed, digging around for clues. As she lifted Lola's blanket, a loud "thud" could be heard on the floor.
Looking down, Lana found what had fallen off the bed. It almost looked like a camera, with a long handle at the bottom to hold it by, and a crank on the side.
"Oh no..." Lana said to herself. "I thought I hid this..."
Reluctantly, Lana looked into the lens of the "camera", and began turning the crank.
A video was playing. However, it was already at the end point, suggesting that it had been watched, but not finished and rewound.
She saw an image of her bedroom. Lana could see herself standing at the terrarium next to her bed, and holding a frog.
"Hops..."
"Nighty-night, buddy." Lana's voice came from the projector's speaker as the Lana in the video said it. She kissed Hops, put him in the tank, and lied in bed. Hops croaked, jumped out of the tank and onto the bed, cuddling closely with Lana.
"I can't imagine what life would be like without my best friend Hops."
Lana teared up a bit. She remembered every moment in that video. She remembered making it, and then showing it to Lincoln, and later his teacher and principal at the elementary school.
She also remembered stuffing it under her bed the day Hops died. She found it too unbearable to think about.
But wait, if it was under her bed, why was it now on top of Lola's be-
"Lola!"
Lana bolted from the bedroom and into the hall. She ran to the stairs before stopping. She looked around at the bedroom doors, all still closed tight with sleeping residents.
"...No time. If I wake them up, Lola might get too far!"
Lola ran downstairs. Being careful not to wake her parents, she put on her jacket, and went out the front door.
Before yelling for Lola or doing anything else, Lana ran behind the garage. Lola's car was usually parked there. Lana had no idea where she got that thing, but it was way more advanced than a toy Jeep should be. It was really just a miniature REAL car.
Nothing. The car was gone, and there were fresh tracks in the grass. Lana immediately felt her heart sink. Lola must've driven off. Who knows where she could be going? Or how far she is?
She turned around, ready to go wake everyone up and start a full search of Royal Woods, when she took notice of the tracks. They didn't go to the front yard and then the sidewalk. They went... to the backyard?
Lana followed them. As she approached the backyard, she could hear the faint noise of a small engine. And surely enough, she looked up, and saw the pink vehicle there. And behind it...
Lana could see Lola. The girl was facing away, and hadn't noticed anything. She was wearing the same clothes from earlier that night, but now with light-pink sneakers and her car's helmet.
Lana quietly approached, wondering what Lola was doing. But once she got right behind her, she realized where they were.
In front of Lola was a wooden cross, sticking out of the ground. At the bottom of it was a small wooden sign. Lana didn't need to read it. She'd read it several times, every day she'd been out here to visit.
It said "Here lies Hops."
"Lola?"
The girl jumped upon hearing that voice. She turned around, eyes wide, and backed up, now standing against the tree behind the grave.
"Wh-wh-what are you doing here?" Lola replied, with what sounded like fear in her voice.
"I was going to ask you that. Are... are you trying to run away? Why are you at Hops' grave?"
There was silence for a moment. Lola stilled stared at Lana, eyes wide, until she seemed to settle.
"Y-yeah, I'm running away... I just wanted to stop here first and tell Hops... tell him I'm so-... Nothing important, really." she tried to change the topic.
"Why on Earth are you trying to run away!? Is it because of the pageant?"
"No... well, yes... a little bit." Lana had to struggle to hear Lola's voice, as it was weak and quiet.
"It's ok, Lola. It doesn't matter if you lose one silly show."
"It does matter!" Lola suddenly yelled, although not violently! "It's all that matters! What good is Lola Loud if she doesn't win!?"
"Winning isn't everyth-"
"Yes it is! You said so yourself! That I'm only good for pageants and beauty. That that's all I contribute to this family!"
"Lola... I never said that!"
"YES YOU DID! ON THAT DAY, IN MOM AND DAD'S BEDROOM, AFTER YOU ATTACKED ME! I HEARD YOU!"
"What are you talking ab-"
Lola started yelling louder. "STOP LYING! I HEARD IT ALL! HOW LOLA IS USELESS, HOW SHE ONLY CARES ABOUT PAGEANTS AND DRESSES, HOW I'M JUST A STUCK-UP..."
Lana's eyes grew wide as the memories came back. On the day Hops died. Lana had been furious. She remembered saying all those things, and how she called Lola a...
"I-I did say that, didn't I..."
"What did you say, Lana!?" Lola looked at her angrily.
"I'm not gonna repeat it."
"SAY IT!" Lola screamed.
"A b-b-bitch! I called you a bitch..." Lana was now beginning to cry.
"Yes. You did. And do you know the worst part, sister?" Lola walked up to her.
"Wh-what?" Lana backed up. The tables had now turned, with Lana being the one in fear of her sister.
Lola's anger seemed to die down suddenly.
"...You're right."
"What?"
"You were right! I am a horrible person. I didn't care about you, or anyone or anything else, just me and my stupid pageants!"
"L-Lola... I didn't mean-"
"Yes you did! You were right! I'm nothing but a stuck-up BITCH, and this family is better off withou-"
THWAP!
Lola stopped. She could barely register what just happened. She was looking to her side now, her cheek stinging. She turned, and looked at Lana, who was still crying, and was now holding her hand in pain.
"Stop it, Lola!" she yelled. "Those things I said... I didn't mean them. I was just so angry, and I was saying things I didn't mean!"
"But you were right..."
"No, I wasn't!" Lana was now the one raising her voice a bit. "Lola... I was furious... I wasn't thinking clearly... I know we disagree and fight a lot, but I NEVER thought that you were useless..."
"In fact, I'm kind of jealous of you..."
Lola's eyes grew wide when she heard that.
"J-jealous? Of me?"
"Yeah... You're so strong, so confident... And you're so beautiful. I've always felt like the useless one. I just play in the mud, but you... You're perfect..."
Lola was now beginning to cry too.
"L-Lana... You're not useless... I've actually always been jealous of you, too. You're strong, you're confident, and you don't care how you look, you don't let that get in your way like I do... But to be honest, even with gross clothes, and when you're all muddy... I always thought you were pretty, too."
Lana raised an eyebrow and looked at Lola with confusion. But then... they both began laughing. it was the first time either of them could remember laughing since Hopsageddon.
As their laughter died down, Lola ran forward and hugged Lana. The tomboy was caught off guard by it, but then returned the hug.
"Lana... I'm so sorry... For the fight, for Hops, for everything!"
"I'm sorry too... for hurting you, and for saying those mean things, and for not apologizing sooner..."
The two stood there for a few minutes, just enjoying the hug. But after a moment, they let go.
"So... does this mean you're not running away?"
"Yeah, I don't think I want to run away anymore..."
Lana smiled. "Do you wanna go back to bed, then? In OUR bedroom?"
"Sure... but first..."
Lola reached down. At first, Lana wasn't sure what was going on, but then Lola stood back up, with a fine blob of mud in her hands.
"Lola... what are you-"
THWAP! The mud was thrown, and hit Lana right in the face, nearly making her lose balance. Lana stood there for a moment, barely able to process what happened. But then she let out another laugh.
"Oh, it is ON, princess!"
And even though it was almost midnight, it was quite a while before the girls went to bed. They had plenty of time to reconnect in the week they were grounded for leaving the house so late, tracking mud in the house, and laying in their beds without washing it off.
The End.
Sorry I take so bloody long, but here it is. I don't hate Lola (honestly, she ended up being one of my favorites without me even realizing it), but with characters like her, sometimes growth has to happen by knocking them down a peg, and then helping them climb up two.
I hope you enjoyed what I affectionally call the "Twin Saga", though. I didn't intend to have two characters' stories connect, but with Lola and Lana, I simply couldn't ignore the strong bond they have as twins.
I hope the next story I do is a bit more upbeat. Somebody predicted "Cerebus Syndrome" would happen to my story, and that seems to have be right. I don't really intend to get any darker than this, though, but let's see what happens next. :D
