"He was seeing someone else?!" Lori shouted. "And he didn't tell you?!"
"What a jerk!" Luna fumed. "Who does he think he is?!"
"If I ever see him here, I'll hit him so hard, that country boy will be seeing stars!" Lynn threatened.
"How did you find out?" Lana asked.
"Well, I saw him with some girl in my class," Tabby explained, her arms crossed. "He was giving her chocolates, and they were walking with their arms around each other."
Lola scoffed. "Well, THAT is just inexcusable!" She yelled.
"Yeah, seems he is just choc full of it!" Luan joked, accompanying it with her laugh, before she frowned. "Seriously, though, that's not fair." She looked over at Tabby. "Sorry I asked. I can see why you were uncomfortable with that question."
The British-voiced girl waved it off. "You didn't know, it's fine."
"So, did you say anything to him about it?" Sam asked.
"Nah, sis. I decided then and there that he wasn't worth it, so I just ignore both of them."
"Too right," Leni said. "If he doesn't, like, get how great you are, that's his loss."
The other girls voiced their agreement with that, making Tabby smile. "Thanks, guys."
Luna stood up and began walking away. "Where you going?" Sam asked, grabbing her hand.
"I wanna know if Lincoln knows anything about this," she explained. "After all, Liam is a good friend of his, and it's him who set them up at the dance."
"No, don't do that!" Tabby argued. "Lincoln has nothing to do with it, I don't want to drag him into that mess!"
"You sure, dudette? It's no problem, I can just pop up real quick and-"
"Nah. It's cool."
Luna shrugged as she sat back down. "Well, if you're sure. You change your mind, and I'll do it if you want."
"Appreciate it, Luna."
"So, Tabby," Lisa interrupted, "I believe it is your turn to pick someone."
So, for the next twenty plus minutes, they continued playing truth or dare, each getting a go at each, with Lola being forced to allow Lucy to apply gothic makeup and keep it on for the remainder of the game, Lisa confessing to telling a colleague that she 'had to go potty', and Luna having to sit through a Boys Will Be Boys song with headphones in. The last go was for Lana, who had to allow her sisters to remove her pigtails and braid her hair. She frowned throughout, occasionally whining when Lori pulled too hard.
"All done!" Lori said, showing off her finished product, whilst Lana blushed out of embarrassment. "Now, for the photo."
"Why me?" Lana grumbled as Lori took a few quick pictures with her phone.
"Don't be so pouty, you look cute like that. I'm sure Skippy would like to see you like this." Lana's face blushed as much as physically possible, furthered only by the giggling of the other girls. Lori looked at the time on her phone. "Well, it's currently five to ten. We'll take five minutes before the movie so I can pop the popcorn. If any of you need the bathroom, now's the time to use it."
"Shotgun!" Tabby shouted, before leaping off the sofa arm and running up the stairs.
"She better not take too long," Lola pouted, "I NEED to get this stuff off my face."
The girls all rolled their eyes. "Lori, you remembered to get low fat popcorn, right?" Leni asked.
"Don't worry, Leni, I did. Just like the cookies and your shakes, the popcorn is low fat, low sugar and low salt."
"Good. Whenever we watch films, I eat SO much popcorn. I'd get fat so quickly if it was the regular stuff."
Upstairs, Tabby was finishing up in the bathroom. After shutting the lid and flushing the toilet, she washed her hands, before drying them with a towel and walking out. She walked towards the stairs, but before she could go down, she heard something from the other end of the landing.
"Hey, darling.
I hope you're good tonight"
She realised that it was someone singing. "Is that… Lincoln?" She asked herself as she found herself approaching the door.
"And I know you don't feel right when I'm leaving
Yeah, I want it, but no, I don't need it
Tell me something sweet to get me by
Cause I can't come back home 'til their singing la, la la la, la la la
'Til everyone is singing"
"Woah," she whispered as quietly as possible, just inches from the door. "He's… amazing!"
"If you can wait 'til I get home
Then I swear to you, that we can make this last
La, la, la
If you can wait 'til I get home
Then I swear, come tomorrow, this will all be in our past
Well, it might be for the best"
Tabby quickly but quietly walked away and downstairs. "Guys!" She said excitedly to the other girls. "You've got to check this!"
"What's happening, sis?" Sam asked, getting to her feet.
"You've got to hear for yourself! Follow me, and keep quiet!"
Everyone shrugged to each other, before following the fifth-grade girl upstairs. As they approached Lincoln's room, they could all hear him singing. All their faces showed that they were both impressed and stunned.
"And hey, sweetie
But I need you hear tonight"
"Is that really Lincoln?" Lola asked, keeping her voice down.
"I think it is!" Lana answered, her voice just as quiet.
"And I know that you don't wanna be leaving me
Yeah, you want it, but I can't help it
I just feel complete when you're by my side
But I know you can't come home, 'til they're singing la
La la la, la la la"
"Did you know he could sing?" Sam whispered to Luna, who shook her head.
"No, but I wish I did!" She whispered back, smiling widely. "My bro sounds awesome!"
"'Til everyone is singing la
La la la, la la la
If you can wait 'til I get home
Then I swear to you, that we can make this last
La, la, la
If you can wait 'til I get home
Then I swear, come tomorrow, this will all be in our past
Well, it might be for the best
You know you can't give me what I need
And even though you mean so much to me
I can wait through everything
Is this really happening?
I swear I'll never be happy again
And don't you dare say we can just be friends
I'm not some boy that you can sway
We knew we'd happen eventually
La, la la la, la la la
Now everyone is singing la
La la la, la la la
Now everyone is singing
If you can wait 'til I get home
Then I swear we can make this last
If you can wait 'til I get home
Then I swear we can make this last
Now everyone is singing la"
Lincoln smiled as the song finished, but immediately shot up in his bed when he heard cheering and applause from outside his room. Shocked and confused, he got to his feet and opened the door, only to be more shocked when he saw his sisters, Sam and Tabby were responsible for the ovation he heard.
"Uh… what's going on?" He asked once the applause died down.
"Dude! That was incredible!" Luna clamoured, nearly lifting him off his feet when she hugged him.
"How long were you guys standing there?"
"Just for that one song, I swear. Why didn't you tell me you could sing?!"
He blushed a little, scratching the back of his head. "Well, I… I don't do it often, to be honest. I only ever do it when I'm by myself, which is very rare in this house."
"Lincoln, you've got a really good singing voice!" Sam complimented. "A little unpolished, sure, but that's something that can easily be worked at."
"Yeah, mate!" Tabby jumped in, still buzzing from his 'performance'. "You were rocking that song!"
His blush grew. "Thanks…"
"You know, on Wednesday lunches, the music room's usually free. You should totally swing by so we can rock out together."
Luna and Sam looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. 'Is that all they'll be doing?'
"Maybe. If I'm not busy, that is."
"Okay! Popcorn is done!" They heard Lori shout from downstairs, followed a moment later by "where is everybody?" Everyone turned as they saw the eldest Loud walk upstairs and look in their direction. "What's everyone doing up here?"
"We were just hearing Linky sing!" Leni answered.
"Yeah, Lincoln was really getting into it," Lola added. "We could hear him through his door!"
Lori smirked as she looked at her brother. "Is that so, Lincoln?" Still blushing heavily, he nodded. "Well, well! I never would have taken you for a singer! We might just have to have you perform for us sometime."
He laughed dryly. "Yeah, that's not gonna happen any time soon."
"We'll see." She turned to the girls. "So, popcorn is ready. Who's ready for the movie?"
The girls all cheered. "Well, enjoy your night, guys," Lincoln told them, as he began to close the door, but couldn't because a foot was in the way. Opening it up further, he saw it was Tabby's foot.
"You wanna join us, mate?" She asked, surprising him and the others just as much.
"Really?" She nodded. "Uh, thanks," he looked at the others, "but it's girls' night. They only have this once a month, and I don't want to ruin it for them."
"Oh, nonsense, Lincoln," Sam argued. "Why would you think you would ruin it for us?"
"Look, it's fine. Besides, I need to get back to work on my project. I was only taking a short break, and I-"
"Wait a second, bro," Luna spoke up, something catching her eye. "What's that?"
She began walking into Lincoln's room, looking at what was on his desk under a black cloth. "That?!" He said, panicked. "Uh, that's nothing, you don't need to touch that, it's nothing. Just part of my science project."
She smirked at him. "Oh really?" She grabbed the corner of the cloth. "Well, if it's nothing…"
She whipped off the cloth and was surprised to see the guitar Lincoln had spent the last few hours working on repairing. "So, this is your project, huh?" Her eyes widened in realisation. "Wait a minute. This is the guitar I handed down to you a while back!" She gently lifted it up, surprised at how the guitar maintained its shape when she did. "When I gave it to you, the neck was snapped off." She put it back down how it was and turned to her brother. "Have you been fixing it?"
Smiling meekly, he nodded. "Yeah. I'm not sure why, but I just felt like seeing if I could."
"So that's why you asked for the strings from me."
"Is that why you borrowed my tools?" Lana asked.
"Yeah," he replied.
"Why didn't you ask me to help?" Luna inquired.
"Well, you had guests over, and I wanted to see if I could do it by myself, you know?"
She smiled. "I understand." She then pulled her little brother into a hug. "Now I can turn my little bro into a rocker!"
The others giggled while Lincoln blushed. Once Luna released the hug, he turned to the others. "Listen, thanks for the offer, but I'm gonna call it a night."
Tabby frowned. "You sure you won't join us, mate?" She asked once more.
"I'm sure. I'm kind of tired, anyway." Luna nodded to him before stepping out of the room. "Good night."
The girls returned the sentiment to him, before he shut the door. "Well, girls, let's get this show back on the road!" Lori announced, before she led the way downstairs.
As the others followed her downstairs, Luna and Sam looked back and saw Tabby, still looking at the shut door. Sam looked at Luna, who nodded as she understood what the look she gave meant. Whilst Luna went downstairs, Sam walked over to Tabby and placed a hand on her shoulder. "For what it's worth," she told her, "it was kind of you to ask." Tabby nodded. "Now, c'mon. Let's not let this ruin the night, huh?"
Tabby nodded again, putting on a smile. "You're right. Let's go join the others."
They began walking downstairs, not knowing that Lincoln had heard them. He slumped onto the bed, throwing his head against the pillow. "I'm an idiot."
After a two-hour long movie, they called it a night, with everyone saying goodnight before retiring to their rooms. Tabby, as Luna had offered, slept on the top bunk whilst her sister and her girlfriend took sleeping bags on the floor. Half an hour later, though, Tabby found herself still awake, a lot on her mind. She sighed as she sat up, before grabbing her phone.
"Might as well get a drink of water," she decided, whispering to avoid waking the others. She swung her legs over and carefully descended the ladder. She crept around the two girls sleeping on the floor, reaching the door and carefully opening it. Looking back, she smirked at the sight she saw- her sister and Luna, both in their own sleeping bags, cuddled up together. She pulled up the camera app on her phone and took a picture, making sure there was no flash or sound. "That's a keeper."
She began walking across the landing towards the staircase, heading down it, then turning into the dining room. As she walked around the dining table towards the kitchen, she was surprised when she saw Lincoln was also awake, pulling out a Tupperware container with his portion of dessert from dinner, a delicious slice of chocolate cake, and a can of lemonade. Closing the fridge, he turned around and flinched upon seeing Tabby.
"Oh," he spoke. "Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."
"It's fine, mate," she replied, "I was awake anyway and decided to get a drink. I actually didn't know you were down here."
"Oh." The two stood there, awkwardly silent, before Lincoln spoke again. "Well, I'll, uh, take this to my room, then."
"Y'don't have to do that! It's your house, after all."
"No, no, it's fine. Really."
"Oh. Okay, then." The two silently walked past each other, before Tabby stopped. 'No,' she mentally told herself. 'No more waiting. If I'm going to speak to him about this, then I'm going to do it now.' She turned on the ball of her foot so she was facing the retreating boy. "Wait."
