A/N Man, this week has been frustrating for multiple reasons you guys. Though, I'll talk about that in the 2nd PM. I hope you guys enjoy the next chapter! Also, I did my best to fix any mistakes, my old writing tablet doesn't have proper correcting.
R&R!
Chapter Seven: Finding A Laugh
Calm afternoon twilight radiates over the quiet town of Royal Woods, illuminating the uneven path for two young women, both returning from their day with a certain orphan boy.
"So like, I thought, 'What if I gave him a cute dress'?" Leni naïvely rolls her eyes away and lazily waves her hand, while she continues to speak with a child-like joy, "But then I saw that cute shirt and pants and I just couldn't help myself!" She turns towards her younger sister, "And then I-"
Though instead of listening to her ramble on, Luna decides to shuffle along in silence, allowing miscellaneous thoughts to cloud her mind, "What happened back there? And why'd Lincoln sing that song… And why didn't he tell me he was an orphan? Ugh, why doesn't this make any sense?! One minute he's just coming along because he's hungry and the next… he's singing his heart out!"
The brunette grabs at her hair, "Ugh, why is this so confusing?!"
"Like what is?" Leni asks with a hopeful tone, "It's not modeling is it?" Her voice fills with despair, "I thought, like, trying on clothes would be easy…" she then looks away and begins to cry.
"Huh?" Luna turns towards her sister in surprise, before shaking herself back to her senses, "No Leni… modeling isn't too hard. You'll be great at it."
Leni's defeated frown immediately turns back into a joy-filled smile, "Great! For a second there, I thought I was gonna have to put my puzzle on hold to work on my modeling career!"
The younger girl can't help but give a soft chuckle at the notion. A few months prior, the fifteen-year-old had decided to finally learn the alphabet and the first ten numbers… by using a toddler's puzzle for the basics.
"Leni's managed to get three of the six pieces together already… she'll probably be done with it soon." She can't help but crack a small smile at her sister's naivety, "No Leni, I'm just trying to figure out Lincoln, that's all.
"Why?" She tilts her head in curiosity.
"Because he decided to sing all of a sudden." Luna looks at the damaged sidewalk ahead, "For some reason, I feel like there's more to it than it just being some song."
"It's probably nothing!" The older girl waves her off, "I mean, you sing in the shower all the time!"
Luna sighs, before looking up at the path ahead, "It's not that. It's just... he seemed so… passionate about what he was saying." While another thought enters her mind, "Maybe it has something to do with his sister…"
Yet, the older girl simply chuckles, "Well maybe he just really liked that song! I mean, I've seen Lola get emotional over seeing the 'perfect dress' for her pageants!"
"I wish it were that easy Leni… but from what I've seen, there's something Lincoln's not telling us." Suddenly, the memory of the night they had spent together re-enters her mind. "Maybe something he told me could help…" the thoughts remain blurred however; save for one sign of affection he had given.
With that, the duo turns onto a familiar street and continues to walk along, allowing a small home to come into view.
"Well whatever that was, I'm sure mom and dad will know something… I hope." Luna mentally sighs, before she declares, "Anyways, we're home Leni."
"Great!" Leni cheerfully shouts, "I can't wait to tell dad what we did today!" She then cheerfully skips into their home.
"I hope dad won't mind…" Luna quietly thinks, while she simply walks in. "Especially after what he said about him..."
A few moments later…
"You did what?!" Lynn Sr.'s voice echoes through the home while he slams his hands on the kitchen table, startling the two young women sitting across from him as well as his wife.
"We bought him some food and the cutest little clothes!" Leni cheerfully responds, not noticing her father's anger as she does so. "You should've seen how adorable he looked in them!"
The man leans back in his chair and pinches the bridge of his nose, "And right after I told you girls about just how tight our finances are? What were you thinking?!" His voice fills with annoyance. "Did you even listen to a single word I was saying?!"
Yet, luckily for the two girls, Luna is able to pick up the cues, and holds her arms down in shame, "Sorry dad… but if it makes it better, we only bought him a burger and fries from Burpin' Burger, and the clothes we got him we're on sale from Grand Army."
The man then takes a deep breath to calm himself down, though he holds his sturdy demeanor and crossed arms.
"Girls, I'm not angry at you." The man slowly takes another deep breath, before looking at the young women with sincere and caring eyes, "I'm annoyed because of the principle of your actions." He adjusts his posture and continues with a serious voice, "I know you two meant well, and I'm glad you followed my orders by not bringing the younger girls along…"
Though Luna can't help but think, "Wait… dangit, we forgot Lucy!"
"But I really don't want you to spend your money like that." He gazes into his young daughter's eyes, "Like I said, your mother and I have a hard enough time taking care of all of you girls. Giving a random orphan what money you're able to save up might cause him to start relying on us." He then sighs, before grabbing their hands, and glancing at his quiet wife, the woman holding a regretful posture. "Girls, I love you all, but we're not ready to raise another child yet."
Rita, despite her silence during her husband's rant, speaks up, "Do you girls understand?"
The two young women nod.
"Good." The woman takes a deep breath; "Now with that out of the way," She looks at her husband, with the man nodding, "How did your day with him go?"
Leni immediately answers with a joy-filled tone, "It was, like, totes awesome!" she waves her hand naïvely, before beginning to count on her fingers, "We, like, went to the best burger place ever!" She then holds up three fingers, "Then we went to the mall!"
Rita cuts her daughter off, "Leni, we know that already." She looks on with an understanding gaze, "We just wanna know what else you guys did."
"The only other thing we did we visit the music store." Luna's voice goes low as the memory of their jam session rushes back to the forefront of her thoughts. "We played some music and stuff. After that, he decided that he just wanted to go home." Though even she can't help but think, "He sung his heart out too…"
"Yeah, like he even sung for us!" Leni goes, flaring her arms as she does, "It was amazing what he could do!"
"Oh?" Rita raises an eyebrow in surprise, while her husband's expression remains as deadpan, "And how was his singing?"
"It was nice. I'd like him in my band when I start one." The younger girl goes, "It was like he had practiced that…"
Lynn Sr. crosses his arms, "Look, I know you girls really like singing and stuff." He then mutters, "I mean, you girls do it a lot in the morning." He then looks at them, "But I'm more concerned about his behavior around my daughters rather than what you girls did with him."
"Of course…" Rita looks at her daughters, "Of course Lynn, of course." She speaks with a soft tone, "So, how was he? Just as good as he was when he was here, am I right?"
"He was like, totally cute and nice!" Leni throws her arms out for emphasis.
Luna nods in agreement, "He was reluctant at first, but besides that, he was like a little angel."
"Is there anything we should be worried about? Rita nervously holds her hands close, "Like, did he threaten or try to hurt either of you?"
"No." Luna shakes her head, "He was a bit hard-headed, but I think he's safe to be around." Though she can't help but think, "Though… he's really introverted… like he really doesn't want to talk to us…"
"So what do you think we should do, dear?" Rita turns to her husband with a hope-filled voice.
The man hesitates for a moment, "I don't think this is a good idea…" He looks at the two girls sitting across from him, "But they're all right, and they say he's safe to be around…" And so, he sighs, "All right then. I'll allow the younger girls to visit him."
"Really?!" A young voice shouts, as Lana slides down the nearby stairs and hops off, landing right at the entrance to the kitchen as she does so. "Does that mean I can go see him?!" Then, before anyone can react, the young girl rushes in and jumps into her father's arms. "Can I?! Can I, please?!"
"Calm down Lana, calm down." Lynn Sr. puts the young girl back on the floor and affectionately rubs her head, "I'm ok with you and the others going to go see that boy."
"Yay!" Lana cheers, though her father squats down to her height, "However… I'm still hesitant on you girls going alone, so…" He glances at his wife, "How about you girls go in pairs when you go to meet him? So if anything bad happens, there will be someone to call us, is that fair?"
Rita nods in agreement, "I think so."
"Good." The man then stands up, "If you wanna go see Lincoln again, you have my permission. Just make sure one of your sisters, besides Lily, is going with you, ok?"
Lana nods, "Got it." Before she turns around and runs back up the stairs. No doubt to find someone to go with her… only for her to slide down the stairs again and run back up to the four, "How about you two?!"
Leni shakes her head, before raising her shopping bag, "Sorry, I gotta try my new dress on! It's gonna make all my friends so jealous!"
"Aww." Lana pouts, before perking up and looking at Luna, "What about you?"
Luna shakes her head, "Sorry… I got some music stuff to do." While she thinks, "And I gotta find out what the name of that song was. Maybe I'll be able to find something out about him if I do."
"Dangit." Lana mutters, before turning around and rushing back up the stairs… again."
"Well, I guess we're done here." Luna stands up, and follows, with Leni following her soon after.
"So what do you think Lynn?" Rita turns to her husband and asks with another hopeful tone.
"Not sure." The man calmly answers, "But if what the girls are saying is true… I'm willing to give the boy a chance." Yet, even he can't help but think, "I wonder what having a son would be like…"
Meanwhile…
"Welcome home!" Mrs. Sherman greets with a raised right hand, while the other holds onto Stacy. "How was your day?"
Lincoln mentally sighs, "It was fine. Those girls were nice..." he walks over to the duo, and takes Stacy in his left arm, "Did you put the others to sleep Ms. Sherman?"
"Of course I did!" Mrs. Sherman smiles, as she lets the boy take the young girl, "But you know how Stacy is, she always has trouble going to bed unless you give her one of your bedtime stories."
Stacy follows along quietly, clutching her stuffed animal as she does so.
"Ok then..." Lincoln then walks away, guiding the young girl upstairs.
"Oh, and one more thing." The old woman goes, causing the young boy to look back at her, "After you put her to bed, why don't you come downstairs? I'd love to hear about what you did today."
Lincoln simply nods, before continuing on his way. And a few moments later, he is tucking the young girl in, just as he had done for years prior.
"Where'd you go Linky? We were wondering if you left like Libby..." Stacy whispers as the young boy pushes the covers over the girl.
"Don't worry Stacy... I'm not going any time soon. I just went out for a bit is all." He then takes a seat by her bed, "Though... those girls..."
"Are you gonna read me a bedtime story?" The young girl quietly asks, silently hoping that the boy had not forgotten their nightly tradition.
"Dangit." The young boy thinks, "I haven't written a story in days..." he quickly pulls out a small notebook and nods, "Of course I haven't." He then rubs her head, "now close your eyes and I'll start."
"Ok..." She meekly responds.
"Well... let's see if she doesn't remember this..." he the takes a deep breath and begins, "There once were two children..."
"Aww, haven't you said this one before?" The young girl whines, turning towards the boy as she does so.
"Dangit Lincoln, think fast!" He chuckles, "Heh, you almost got me, but the difference is, these two children lived with their parents and two siblings in a nice home..."
Stacy listens intently, her interest beginning to peak.
"But one day, an evil man came and broke into their home!" Lincoln goes, his voice filling with painful weakness, "He stole their parents and brother and sister, hoping to have his way and gain the wealth they sought to protect!"
"And so, the two kids went out to save their family." He pushes onward, noticing that Stacy's soft brown eyes were slowly beginning to close. "Just gotta go a bit further..."
"Along the way, they met a man of the stars." Lincoln motions out the window with that. The soft sunset had slowly faded away, allowing cool moonlight to begin entering the room, "He promised them the world and their family back... so long as they went after the staff of ages."
Excitement begins to fill the boy's voice, "And so, they followed the path he had set for them, collecting the four fragments of he rod, facing the dangerous trials that protected each!" Stacy then snuggles herself close, allowing her blacker to envelop her. Though, Lincoln doesn't notice, "Finally, they presented the competed staff to the being, and demanded their payment." His voice goes low, "The man denied them however, and chose instead to attempt to banish them. However, to save their family, they fought back." More joy fills his voice, "And after they fought, they received their reward; their family back." He closes the notebook.
And with that, Lincoln pulls the covers over the now sleeping young girl, "It is done." Lincoln then turns and walks out of the room, before heading downstairs and walking into the orphanage dining room.
"Ok Ms. Sherman, I put her to sleep..." he calmly goes.
"How are you feeling Lincoln?" The woman asks, while motioning for the boy to sit down across from her, "And why don't you take a seat?"
Lincoln complies and shrugs, "I feel fine I guess..." the young boy's gaze immediately starts to wander.
"Oh? Did going out with those girls help at all?" She tilts her head in curiosity.
The boy shrugs again, "Not really. I mean, they were nice, gave me food and I thanked them." His eyes then fall out a nearby window, while his thoughts catch up, "To be honest... they almost remind me of, her..."
She then motions towards the bag he had left by the door, "And what's in there?"
"Oh, the blonde one decided that I looked cute in these, so she decided the buy me a week's worth of orange polo's and blue jeans…" He quickly grabs the bag and brings it over, allowing the woman to look inside.
"Wow… these are really nice!" She quips, a soft smile forming on her lips, "I take it you left a good impression on them huh?"
Lincoln shrugs, "I guess… I mean we didn't do much together."
"Still… it's something." She hands the bag back to the boy, before running her hand through his soft, white hair, "I'm proud of you Lincoln. Those girls really seem to care about you."
"Thanks…" The boy looks away, hops to his feet, and begins to walk away. "Anyways, it's getting late. I'm gonna go to sleep. Goodnight."
"Goodnight Lincoln." Mrs. Sherman then watches as the young boy simply walks up the stairs, "I hope he's all right…"
And yet, Lincoln can't help but let his mind fall into thought, "Those girls… they really seemed to care about me, didn't they… yeah, they didn't really leave much of an impression on me but…" His thoughts trail off as he walks into his bedroom. He stands in the doorway for a moment, half-expecting Lucy to suddenly appear and startle him, though after a minute passes, he quietly walks inside.
He drops the bag of clothes on his old bed and crawls into Liberty's, "Maybe I should give those girls more credit… they didn't have to take me out for the day…" He begins to close his eyes with that, "A trip to Burpin' Burger… clothes shopping… and then the music store."
Immediately, the thought of him losing control begins to fill his mind, and he mentally kicks himself for it. "Dangit, why the heck did I sing that song?!" The boy forces himself up and lets out a deep breath, "That was the last song…" wordless and thoughtlessly, he sits up. Slowly, his hand goes into his shirt and pulls out a small, brass, heart-shaped locket.
*Click* A soft sound emanates from the worn switch, before the two halves part, allowing a familiar image to glow in the milky moonlight.
Soft tears begin to fall down the boy's cheeks, as he clutches it close to his chest, "Those girls…"
Back at the Loud House…
"Lola!" Lana shouts as she rushes into her shared bedroom, "Are you busy any time tomorrow?! There's something we gotta do!"
*Groan* "Lana?" Lola tiredly gets up, "What is it? I'm trying to get my beauty sleep!"
The older twin looks at her sister in confusion, "Uhh, Lola, it's only nine o'clock?"
Lola scoffs at her, "Lana, you gotta go to sleep early if you wanna look as good as I do." She then motions towards her pristine hair and perfect skin.
"Whatever sis." Lana simply shakes her head, "I just wanted to know if you were busy tomorrow."
"And why's that?" Lola throws her bed sheets over herself, before rolling away.
Lana then flares her arms up in excitement, "Dad said we could go visit Lincoln!"
"And?" Lola goes, motioning for Lana to go on.
She responds by rubbing the back of her head, "And well, dad won't let us go unless two of us go together." She then looks at her twin with hope-filled eyes, "So will ya come with me sis? Pretty please?"
The princess rolls back and gets up on her feet, "So, you're telling me that dad will let us go visit that dirty boy that spent the night yesterday?"
"Yeah! Wanna come with me?!" Excitement builds in Lana's body; while she holds her hands close, ready to burst from the anticipation.
Lola simply begins to laugh, "No! I don't wanna."
"What? Why?" Lana whines, disappointment filling her voice.
"Because he said my tantrums weren't effective at all!" Lola turns and faces her mirror, "He said I was getting too angry and he wasn't scared at all!" She motions towards herself, "He insulted me, and you know how much I hate being insulted, Lana!"
"So? You know you can't always get your way Lola." Lana crosses her arms, "Plus, you insult people all the time! Why's it such a bad thing when someone else does it back to ya?!"
Lola leans back, before scoffing at her twin, "I know that!" her voice trails off, "He just made me feel like I had no control…"
"So why does it bother you so much?" Lana calmly asks.
"Because, why do you care?" Lola holds her arms flung back and her voice nears the verge of screaming, "I don't wanna visit him and that's final."
"Grr." Lana growls, before turning around and crossing her arms, "Fine, I'm sure someone else would love to visit him!" And with that, the older twin walks out of the room, while the younger simply begins to admire herself in the mirror.
"Man, what's got up her tushie?" Lana angrily thinks, "She usually loves hanging out with me!" The young girl then turns and looks around the loud upstairs hallway. "Dangit, now who am I gonna ask?!" She quickly steps into the room across from hers… only to find Lisa busy working on one of her experiments, with Lily sleeping soundly in her bed. "Ok they're definitely off the table…"
She sighs and turns around.
"What's wrong Lana?" a voice calls, causing the young girl to look up in surprise. "What's with the frog face?!" The young woman then throws her head back in laughter.
"It's nothing Luan…" She looks away and grabs her arm, "I just wanted to go visit Lincoln tomorrow and well…I don't know who to ask!"
"Same here." Luan laughs, "I've been meaning to go visit a white-haired orphan boy, but I just don't know who to ask!"
Lana's eyes go wide in shock, "You wanna go tomorrow too?!"
"Heh, yeah." The older sister takes the younger girl in her arms; "I'll take ya tomorrow. I wanna make some orphans laugh after all!"
"That's great! Thanks!" The young girl's voice fills with joy!
"But you gotta get some sleep first, all right?" The older girl holds her finger out, as if jokingly scolding her.
Lana then throws her arms around her sister, "Thank you!" Before jumping from her arms and running into her room, "Goodnight Luan!"
"Heh, goodnight Lana." Luan chuckles, before she does the same.
The next day…
"So you're gonna show him the pipe you've been working on, huh?" Luan tilts her head in curiosity, while the duo walks along the old stone path leading towards the orphanage.
"Yeah!" Lana holds up a small section of piping, no doubt held tightly together but whatever welding work the five-year-old could take advantage of.
"Heh." Luan chuckles, "Well I guess that's some hot stuff!" She then throws her head back in laughter, "Get it?"
Lana nods, "Yeah, I get it. What about you?"
The comedian pats her backpack, "I'm making it my mission to make those orphans laugh, and everything in this bag is gonna help me do it!"
And with that, the duo comes across the orphanage's gate.
"Ms. Paradigm's Home For Children?" The younger girl looks up at the sign, before turning to her sister, "What's a paradigm?"
"Well a paradigm is…" She thinks for a moment, "I think it means…" beforr quickly pulling out and checking her phone, only to immediately shove it back in her pocket. All before Lana can notice, "It means 'an example or something to follow'."
"Huh… cool." Lana shrugs and walks up to the front door, with Luan following close behind. And when the older girl steps onto the raised entrance, she rings the doorbell.
*Ding* *Dong*
A moment of silence passes, before the elderly director comes along and answers the door with, "Hello there!"
"Uhh, hey." Luan nervously greets, "Are you Mrs. Sherman?"
"Why yes, yes I am." The woman calmly responds.
"Great!" Lana flares her arms up in excitement, "We're here cause we wanna see Lincoln!"
The woman's hopeful gaze immediately fades, "Oh… did your parents send you this time?" She sighs, "I suspected people would start getting bored of having to come here…" She stands up as straight as she can, "I promise, I'll reimburse-"
"We have no idea what you're talking about." Luan politely cuts her off, "We just wanted to meet him and the other orphans is all."
"Oh, you must be the daughters of that nice man and woman that came in yesterday." She steps aside and motions for them to enter, "Please, come in, come in. Lincoln is in the backyard with the children. Though, from how quiet it is, please don't make too much noise."
"No promises!" Lana goes, "Our last name is 'Loud' after all!"
"Thank you Mrs. Sherman." Luan takes Lana's hand in her own, "We'll do our best." And with that, the duo simply steps inside.
She softly chuckles, "Very well. Still, it'd be nice if you respect him as it stands. The children love it when Lincoln tells them one of his stories. They really help keep things calm around here."
"What are you talking about?" Lana tilts her head in curiosity.
"Oh nothing. I'll leave you two be for now. If you need me, please, come to my office." And with that, the director walks back into her abode, leaving the two girls to look around the old orphanage foyer.
"So this is where Lincoln lives?" Lana looks around in awe. Her gaze slowly falls upon the faced photos of children, posing with miscellaneous adults- no doubt those that had adopted the child- as well as oversized group photos. Those have the children all awkwardly standing in a line, with two adults at both ends- no doubt younger versions of the orphanage directors. "Creepy…"
"Don't say that Lana." Luan speaks with an uncharacteristic seriousness, "Just because this place is dark and quiet doesn't mean you can say it aloud! People live here ya know!"
Lana immediately flinches.
"Just because I make jokes about everything doesn't mean I don't know how to show restraint… there is only one day for that…"
Both girls shiver at the idea of the events of April First.
And so, Luan guides Lana over to the backyard door, before saying, "Remember, we gotta take this slow. We don't wanna scare him and the kids, ok?"
Lana nods in understanding, "I thought humor had to be quick to work though?" before she tilts her head in confusion.
"While I don't act like it, I can tell when someone is in need of a laugh." Luan rubs the back of her head, "And well, I kinda felt that Lincoln really needs one." She then slowly pushes the door open, allowing a soft voice to enter the room.
"And then, the young girl took the staff from its seal, causing the nearby lost souls to crowd around the clearing." The boy's voice goes low, as if trying to build suspense for what was to come next. "And yet, Mabel did not back down. She stood atop the seal, clutching the mystical staff, prepared to fight for her hope." The voice pauses for a moment, "And yet, a single lost soul stepped forward. Upon seeing who it was, she fell to her knees and whispered, 'D-Dipper?!' before tears flowed down her cheeks."
"Here we go." The older girl takes a deep breath, before carefully pushing into the backyard. Causing the children's eyes to fall upon both her and her sister. "Hi there."
"Hey." Lincoln stands up, and turns to the children, "Why don't you guys go play?"
"Aww!" The group of children groans in unison, before a boy speaks up, "We wanna hear what happens next!"
"I promise I'll tell more later, Big brother Linky's got something to deal with right now though, ok?" His voice softens as he finishes, "So please, go play."
"Fine…" A girl responds, before the children then get up and begin to run around the yard.
With that done, Lincoln turns to his two visitors with a serious gaze, "Now then, why are you two here?"
Lana responds with a smile, "I wanted to know what you thought of my welding work!" She then holds up the segment of piping with pride in her face.
Immediately, Lincoln's harsh gaze softens into a kind smile, "Heh, sure." He then takes the object in his hands, "Hmm, this is pretty nice for something your age."
"Thanks!" Lana cheerfully responds, "It took me an entire week of work to get it done!"
"She must really like this stuff..." Lincoln then takes a knee in front of her and motions towards a small opening in the metal, "But you gotta make it air tight." He then stands up and walks over to a nearby hose, before plugging the darn thing in, "Or else…" he then turns the valve, causing water to rush through the unsealed joints, creating a mini sprinkler, "This happens."
"Oh… ok…" Lana goes in defeat.
"Don't be so hard on yourself. He unhooks the pipe and hands the pipe back to the girl, "Your welding work is all right for a… how old are you anyways?"
"I'm five!" Lana softly holds her arm I'm embarrassment.
"For a five-year-old." He then affectionately rubs her head.
"Thanks Lincoln!" Lana throws her arms around the boy.
"No problem." The boy returns the hug, before looking at the girl's sister with a protective gaze. "Now what about you?"
Luan points to herself, "I wanna turn your frown upside-down!" She quips with a smile, "It's my job to make even the saddest people smile!"
Lincoln pinches the bridge of his nose. "So you came here to annoy me with more bad puns?"
"Nope!" Luan goes into her bag and pulls out her rubber chicken. "I've got a whole bag of goodies to help me out today!"
"No." Lincoln crosses his arms with that, "Your jokes are just gonna-"
"Come on Lincoln, why don't you give her a chance?" Cristina walks over, "I just checked the schedule, and because you did all the chores already, there is literally nothing left I can give you." She puts her clipboard at her side, "You deserve a break."
"I'm fine." The boy scoffs, "I need to take care of these guys." He then motions towards the nearby children.
Cristina shakes her head, "Do it, or else I'll give you even more menial jobs I can find."
Lincoln shakes his head, "I already do the menial jobs."
"Then I'll..." Cristina hesitates for a moment, "Whatever, just do it, please. It's unhealthy for you to be working all the time." She motions towards the children playing nearby, "I'll watch them for now. You don't wanna leave a bad example for them after all."
"I don't need to... I need to make sure these kids..." the boy hesitated for a moment, before letting out a deep breath, "Ugh fine, but let's do it somewhere else. I'd rather the kids not see whatever you have in mind. Come up to my room."
"Can I come?!" Lana cheerfully asks, eliciting a nod from the boy, while Luna responds, "You got it!" Luan goes cheerfully. And with that, the trio walks upstairs, with Cristina following behind a few moments later.
"Well, here's my humble abode I guess." Lincoln lazily motions to the room around him.
"Well it looks like you've got a twin room!" Luan puns.
Lincoln can't help but feel a sharp pain in his chest at that joke.
"No laugh?" Luan shrugs, before pulling a puppet out of her bag, "Maybe Mr. Coconuts will get something out of ya!" Then, she secures the man to her hand and speaks through him, "I can't believe I finally found a human to help me!"
Though, this time Lincoln's expression remains emotionless, "The only person who ever got me to laugh was my sister..."
"Tough crowd!" Mr. Coconuts goes, before turning to his partner, "What do you think we should do, Luan?!"
"I know!" She then tosses the doll away, "How about-"
"Ooo!" Lana goes as she pulls a strange comic from a nearby drawer, "Look at what I found!"
"Hey! Put that back!" Lincoln shouts, before snatching the book, "That's mine and I hid it for a reason!"
"Ooo why?!" Lana shouts in excitement, "I wanna know!"
"Yeah, tell us!" Luan joins in.
"No!" Lincoln shouts, before pointing at the door, "Now get out!" Then, he shoves the duo out of his room and slams the door behind him.
"Well… I guess we didn't leave the best impression huh?" Lana quips.
Her sister shakes her head, "Yeah… I think we should try again later…"
"What happened you two?!" Cristina shouts in surprise, "When Mrs. Sherman told me girls would be coming by to spend time with Lincoln, I thought he wouldn't end up slamming the door in their faces!"
"We sorta went digging a bit much..." Luan awkwardly rubs the back of her head, "And he got mad, so he kicked us out."
Cristina then facepalms, "Dangit, ugh, I'll talk to him. Try not to get into trouble you two."
The two girls remain silent as they watch her walk inside.
"Does Lincoln hate us?" Lana asks with a childish hope.
"I don't know..." Luan puts on a reassuring smile, "Don't worry Lana, he's probably just tired and stuff. He'll be better when he walks out."
"Dangit!" A voice cries out, before Chandler walks out of the bathroom, "Mrs. Sherman! Bathroom's clogged again!"
"Step aside! This is my specialty!" Lana shouts, before bolting into the bathroom, much to Chandler's surprise, "What the?!"
Luan shrugs, "Heh, well if Lana's gonna be doing that, I might as well go help the orphans. I'm sure they'd love to have some laughs!" And with that, the comedian walks away.
"Lincoln, what just happened?!" Cristina calmly greets as she steps into the room, bringing along an annoyed air with her.
"Those girls started messing with my stuff, so I kicked them out of my room." Lincoln clutches the comic tightly.
Cristina stares at the boy for a moment, before shaking her head, "What's going on with you?"
"What's going on with me? My sister just got adopted and I'm getting annoyed by random girls coming along to visit!" He turns around and flares his arms up in frustration, "All I want to do is be left alone!"
"Lincoln, those girls care for you." Cristina remains calm; her demeanor exuding her years of experience, "I mean seriously, those girls don't have to come by, but they chose to do so." Then, with a low voice, she finishes, "Liberty wouldn't wanna see you like this."
"Don't talk about Liberty! She was my sister!" Lincoln counters, annoyance filling his voice. "She was perfect, and I'm just the leftovers!"
The red-haired girl hesitates for a moment, carefully making sure that she would word her next line properly. "You know... I've always known how close you were to Liberty, and jokingly, I wondered if you were something more." She takes a deep breath, "But Lincoln... you know that's not true."
"Yes it is!" Lincoln snaps back, "I don't deserve this!"
"You know that's not true and you know it." Cristina goes, her voice filling with a commanding care, "You need to move on. Liberty would want you to."
"No… she'd want me to go and look for her!" Lincoln turns away from her and crosses his arms.
"Liberty was far from perfect, but even she would want you to help these girls..." Cristina sighs, "Look, I'm only saying this because we're worried about you. The kids are starting to get worried that you won't come home one night, and these girls really seem to wanna help you out. Why don't you at least give them that chance?"
"Whatever, just get out of my room." Lincoln responds, and Cristina complies.
After that, Lincoln sits down and stares at the comic for a moment, "Liberty was perfect... and these girls are just trying to make me forget about her..."
"Why do you like those stupid things so much?!" A young Liberty crosses her arms in annoyance, "I mean, all you do is sit around and read those things!"
"Well it could be worse Libby." Lincoln closes the comic with a shrug, "I mean, all I'm doing is reading. It's not like we're playing one of your crazy games and stuff."
Liberty rubs her chin for a moment, "That gives me an idea!"
"For what?" The slightly older boy raises an eyebrow in interest.
"A game!" Liberty flares her arms in excitement.
Lincoln turns back to the comic and continues to read, "Uh-huh, ok then? What game is it?"
"Lincoln ball." The girl crosses her arms with a sinister smile.
"And how do you play?" Lincoln nonchalantly asks. Yet, before he can react, Liberty snatches the comic from his hands, "Like this!" She then skips over to the door; "You gotta catch me if you can!"
Lincoln's eyes go wide in shock as his sister rushes out of their shared room. "Liberty! Get back here!" The boy then hops to his feet and gives chase.
The duo rushes down their old home's stairs, before turning and running into the back yard. The female twin makes good ground, though the male twin quickly closes the gap, "Give me back my stuff Liberty!"
"Come on Lincoln! You gotta chill out!" The girl then jumps over a rather large rock, before banking right.
Lincoln, however, can't react fast enough, causing him to trip on the rock. Immediately, he falls with that, before skidding through a pile of dried mud.
"Haha!" Liberty laughs, and holds the comic up victoriously, "I win!"
*Whimper* the young boy responds.
Yet, the girl doesn't notice, "Haha! Now come on Lincoln, now it's your turn to chase me!" She steps over to her brother, allowing his soft sobs to become more audible.
"Liberty... why?" Lincoln looks at his twin with begging eyes.
"What's wrong Linky?" The young girl tilts her head in confusion, "We're just playing a game..."
*Whimper* "No we're not!" Lincoln cries, before rolling over, revealing a scraped knee.
Shock overcomes the young girl "Wha- I'm sorry Linky…"
"Why'd you hurt me Libby?" Tears flow down the young boy's eyes.
Liberty quietly tears up as well, "I just thought you wanted to play…"
"That was the first time Liberty got grounded..." A moment passes, before the boy shakes his head, stands up and shoves the comic book back where it was, "Maybe I should give those girls another chance… they did seem to wanna actually spend time with me after all…" He takes a deep breath and walks out of his room… only to come face-to-face with Lana.
"Lincoln! You feelin' better?" She cheerfully asks, while rubbing whatever miscellaneous dirt she had managed to get on herself off; as well as she could at least.
"Yeah, I am." He carefully picks the girl up and hoists her on his shoulder, "What about you?"
"I just remodeled the bathroom!" The young girl goes in excitement.
"Really?!" He affectionate walks over, "Heh, a guy can dream." He then walks over and opens it up… only to find a surprising site. The decrepit walls and broken toilet glowed with shine, as if they were as good as new!
"Wow! Thanks Lana!" Lincoln affectionately rubs the girl's head, "Now let's go find Luan."
And then they go downstairs.
"So how do you stop a rhino from charging?!" Luan asks while standing in front of the orphans, "You take away its credit card!"
Lincoln can't help but look at the group of laughing children, before looking at the smiling Lana, "These girls might not be so bad after all..."
"So a doctor walks into a room." Luan starts, looking at Lincoln as she does so. "And his patient asked, 'How long do I have doc?'."
"And what'd he say?" Lincoln softly asks.
"Five."
Lincoln tilts his head in confusion, "Five what?"
With the biggest grin she can muster, Luan responds, "Four, three, two!"
And despite what most of his senses were shouting at that moment, Lincoln can't help, but break out in laughter.
"Awesome." Luan smiles at the white-haired boy.
"Maybe these girls aren't so bad after all..."
8-5'19 12-1-21-7-8-9-14-7! 20-8-1-20'19 1 7-15-15-4 19-9-7-14! 9 23-15-14-4-5-18 8-15-23 20-8-5 15-20-8-5-18 19-9-19-20-5-18-19 23-9-12-12 20-1-11-5 20-8-9-19 4-5-22-5-12-15-16-13-5-14-20
A/N And that was chapter 7! I hope you guys enjoyed! I apologize if this seemed rushed/short in any way. My mother is in the hospital as I write this and I just spent the entire day using my original writing tablet (The thing I started writing on) to complete this as it can easily be decontaminated. A severe case of Writer's Block didn't help this chapter's progress. Also, I start summer classes this week, however, since it's only twice a week, they shouldn't impact the update schedule.
As always, please suggest ways on how I can improve!
As always, I thank: Wolvenstrom, Insane Master Writer Studio, and Exotos135 for all of their help!
Guest Replies (C6):
C6 Guest 1: Thanks mate! I wanted to get passed the annoying part of the reveal by having it be debated on as Lincoln's behavior is brought into question. And Adoption will definitely be difficult to pull off. As for your second point, I hope this chapter did a good job addressing it!
Help: If you're worried that I'll just up and quit writing cause I get hate, (Which I don't get any of by the way) or legitimate criticism, you have nothing to worry about. The only thing that'll get me to quit is me finally cracking from pressure.
C1 Guest: Yes, that was a shout out, and thanks!
C2 Guest: Because things like that happen in real life, and sometimes it is for the best.
Yolo: Thanks! I update every other week on Saturdays!
C6 Guest 2: Here's the update mate.
