A/N: Yes, Chapter 10. We've made it. To celebrate this occasion, my computer thought it would be funny to shut down while I had this chapter and some other stories open. And it didn't AutoRecover.
I think I almost cried when I realized I'd have to retype everything, both for this story and others. Oh, well. Hope you enjoy.
It was a regular day at the Loud House. Most of the sibling were enjoying the activities that they usually did. Lincoln read his comics, Lola practiced her ribbon dance, and Lisa was in the living room, tiredly arguing with two of her older sisters.
"Look, I'm just saying," said an exasperated Lisa, "that it's been a handful of April Fool's and birthdays, but no one had aged at all. Lily has been a baby for years at this point. Are you seriously telling me neither of you have noticed at all?"
If Lisa had chosen which siblings to share her findings with more wisely, she may have gotten a reaction. She may have convinced someone, gotten them to think, and even gained an ally in her search for the answers.
Unfortunately, she chose Lynn and Leni.
"Yeah, yeah, that's fascinating, Lisa," said Lynn inattentively, as she and Leni moved around in their seat, trying to view the TV screen behind Lisa's head. The young genius noticed the lack of interest her older sisters had, and sighed, disappointed.
"Alright, fine, I'll let you two get back to watching your oh-so-important satellite dish."
"Lisa, we're not washing dishes. We're watching TV," said Leni, confused why her normally genius sister would make such a mistake.
Lisa rolled her eyes and left, leaving Lynn and Leni to enjoy their time watching Operation: Dessert Storm. However, after five minutes, the TV suddenly shut down, as the images of the sweet, lovingly-crafted red velvet cheesecake were replaced with pure static. "Hey, what the hell?" asked Lynn annoyed, with her question being answered by a quick "Ha" from upstairs.
Lynn slumped back into her seat, arms crossed and eyebrows as angry as could be. "Great, the TV's been busted by Lisa," she said as she turned back to her older sister, "So Leni, what should we do now?"
Before Leni could answer, Lori came down the stairs, happily talking on the phone with a smile on her face.
"Yeah… yeah… totally… I'll literally be at the mall A-SAP."
When the eldest sister mentioned the word "mall," Leni's eyes brightened up with an idea. She looked back to Lynn and studied her carefully, grabbing her face and analyzing every part of her head and hair without saying a word, making the tomboy a bit confused.
"Leni, what are you doing?" Lynn asked to no response, as her blonde sister continued looking over her with an unusually serious look on her face, until she finally gave a big smile and let go. Leni then turned to her roommate.
"Hey Lori, are you going to the mall?" she asked. Lori looked back to her and nodded, "Yes. Do you want to come with me?"
"Nope," Leni chirped cheerfully as she wrapped her arm around Lynn and drew her closer, "We both want to come with you."
"Hey, hey, speak for yourself," responded Lynn as she struggled to pull herself out of Leni's grasp, "I was just going to go outside and shoot some hoops."
Leni gasped. 'Lynn… why would you want to shoot Lana's frog?" she asked as her eyes began to water.
"Hoops, Leni. Not Hops," said Lori, rolling her eyes. She then turned to her sporty sister. "Not that I care either way, but why don't you come with us? The more the merrier, I guess."
Lynn thought about it. Normally she wouldn't have given it a second thought before getting up and running outside to play with her basketball. But she felt that she could use some more time with Leni. Aside from their brief stint as roommates, in which she had made use of Leni as a dumbbell, the two didn't spend that much time together.
Plus, Lynn remembered how she and her friends would write on the bathroom walls. She did need to catch up with Margo's graffiti jokes…
"Fine. Let's go."
Leni beamed, while Lori just rolled her eyes with apathy. The trio got in the car; Lori in the driver seat, Leni in passenger, as Lynn just behind Lori. As they drove to their destination, Lori and Leni mostly talked about what clothes they could afford, so Lynn couldn't help but feel like she was getting bored.
"Hey," she interrupted her older sisters' conversation, "Let's play a game. Every time we see an out-of-state license plate, I punch Lori."
The death glare Lynn received from her sister in the mirror was all she needed to stop.
"So I'm going to meet up with my friend. I want you two to stick together, and meet me back here in about three hours. You got that?"
Leni and Lynn nodded their heads.
"Good," said Lori, "Normally I would say that you two are responsible for one another, but…" she paused, as she took another quick glance at her siblings, "…I don't think that applies to you two."
She then gave a special look at Lynn. "And you're just not responsible in general, so please be on your best behavior."
Lynn scoffed. "When have I not been responsible in the mall?"
"Did you forget about that time you taught all the parrots at the pet store swear words?"
"That's not fair, Luan did it too."
"Yes… but at least she didn't trip over her untied shoelaces and then try to cover up her actions by claiming she was a National Geographic correspondent exploring the fascinating world of those macaws or whatever the hell."
"But…"
Another powerful death glare. It appears that Lori had been practicing.
After the eldest Loud sister walked off, Lynn and Leni looked at each other with amused smiles on their faces. "So, Leni, what do you want to do now?"
"I totes have the perfect idea for what we should do together," Leni said as she barely contained her excitement, "We're going to give you a complete, 100% makeover."
…
"Wh-what?" asked Lynn.
"Oh sorry. I guess I should have known you wouldn't know about that. See, a makeover is when…"
"I know what they are," snapped Lynn, "I just want to know why you want to give me one?"
Leni gave her a smile, and Lynn felt a bit… unnerved by that smile. It wasn't a normal happy smile. It was a… special smile. She had seen it before. After thinking about it for a few seconds, Lynn gasped as she realized where she had seen it before. It was the smile Leni gave Lincoln as he prepared to go out with Ronnie-Anne. It was the smile she gave Luna whenever she brought Sam over for a jam session. It was the smile she used to give Lori when she and Bobby first started dating. It was…
The shipping smile.
"Oh no," said Lynn in horror as she slowly backed away, "no, no, no. I can't believe that you dragged me down here just to try to help my love life. Its fine, you can walk away…"
"Oh really?" said Leni, still with the shipping smile etched onto her face, "Then tell me: When was the last time you spoke to Francisco after the Love Letter incident?"
"Well, I, um…" Lynn stammered as her face went redder and redder, "I've been busy with my tennis, and he's also been busy with… stuff…"
"Like, what stuff?"
"Busy looking good in uniform…" Lynn said with a dreamy look and a bit of drool escaping her mouth.
Leni grabbed her brown-haired sister by the shoulders, pulling her out of her daydreams. "Lynn, just admit it. You're strong on the field, but you're, like, too shy to approach your dream guy."
"Yeah, but… No… I…"
Lynn sighed in defeat. Her older sister had her.
"Can you… can you help me?" she genuinely asked her sister.
Leni gave her a pinch on her cheeks. "Of course, silly. I'd totes be happy to."
"The first step to looking your best is with new clothes."
"What's wrong with my clothes?" asked Lynn, visibly offended.
"Well, red is your color, so how about this dress?" Leni asked as she held up a very fashionable red dress. Evidently, she did not hear, or care for, Lynn's outburst.
"I do not wear dresses."
"You do sometimes."
"Does it look like someone is graduating?"
Leni gave her puppy dog eyes, something she had trained Lynn to do at one point. Still, the master does have certain sway over the student, and Lynn found herself a few moments later in the red dress.
"Okay, I wore it, and I don't like it. Can I take it off now and leave?"
Leni shook her head. "Don't bother. I already bought it and four others like it when you were in the changing room."
"You didn't even wait for me to finish?"
Leni clapped her hands. "Come on, Lynn. Chop, chop. We got other things to do."
Then she paused. "Chop, chop? Is there a cut in prices somewhere?"
Lynn groaned.
The next place that Lynn was dragged to was a smoothie place. "Great, finally, something good to see," said Lynn as she sat on the stool next to the counter, "One orange soda, please."
The girl behind the counter scoffed. "We don't, like, serve those drinks around here. There's so filled with, like, sugars and caffienes and bubbles. They are really, like, bad for you."
"Exactly," said Leni, "so we'll have to double kelp-asparagus smoothies with extra ground-up peach pit."
"So gross… and I'm saying that," remarked Lynn.
After they emptied their cups (Leni actually drinking it and Lynn just sneaking spills onto the floor 'Maybe they'll get a lawsuit when someone slips. Serve them right') Leni excitedly grabbed her sisters hand and pulled her over to what she was most excited for.
"Here we are," Leni said with pure, unbridled glee, "The greatest place in this mall, hosted by one of the greatest people in this country…"
"Are you talking about little old me?" said Morris as he literally slid across the floor to them.
"Lynn, this is Morris," Leni introduced, "He is literally a genius when it comes to… well, everything."
"Oh stop Leni, you're making me blush," Morris responded with a laugh, as he turned to get a good look at Lynn, studying and analyzing her, "Yes, yes, I can work with this. Of course, the last time I performed a miracle for one of Leni's siblings, it didn't turn out so well."
Lynn looked at Leni. "He's talking about that time me and Lincoln were working on the podcast."
"Oh, I see. Speaking of which, when am I going to get my tur…"
"MAKEOVER TIME!" exclaimed Morris with a burst of energy. He grabbed tape measures and strings and began to take every small measurement possible. "Yes, yes, a bit short, but I can find the perfect outfit."
"I thought we already went clothes shopping?" Lynn asked Leni. The older girl smiled. "I know, but Morris is way better at it than I could ever be."
"Oh, stop it, Leni."
"Ok."
"Actually, never mind. Keep going."
And that was how it was for the next half hour. Morris presenting ridiculous outfit after ridiculous outfit, Lynn feebly protesting the madman's choices, as Leni sat in background, singing praises to his fashion genius, much to Morris' occasional encouragement. Many people who walked by would have found this scene to be utterly comical and unbelievable, until they realized that two out of three of the participants were Loud sisters. Then everything made sense.
"Well, I'm done," proclaimed Morris as she showed Lynn to the mirror. When she saw how she looked, Lynn could say nothing. She looked back and forth, between the mirror and Morris and Leni, expecting one of them to proclaim that the crimson-and-violet scarf, the heart-shaped sunglasses, the far too long dress, and the weird conical straw hat were a funny prank or joke they were playing. But no, the two kept smiling at the tomboy, and waited patiently for her reaction.
"Are... are you serious?"
"Oh my God, you're right. This is horrible," exclaimed Morris as he slapped his forehead.
"Thank you, now..."
Morris grabbed a small bottle of perfume and sprayed Lynn with it. No, sprayed wasn't the right word. Drowned... yes, drowned is a better word.
"There. Now its perfect," said a prideful Morris to the gagging Lynn. The scent was repulsive. It was like the scent of a billion skunk releases, with a drop of lemon to trick people into thinking it was not the stench that killed the dinosaurs.
"You know what? THAT IS IT!" yelled Lynn as she ripped the hat off her head and crushed it.
"I have tried your ways Leni. I tried those horrible clothes, I tried those horrible drinks, and now I stink of... whatever this is."
"Its called... 'art.'"
"Shut it, Morris."
Lynn turned back to her sister. "You've done a horrible job of helping me. And I'm done."
Before Leni could even muster a defense, Lynn rushed out of the store, still in the long dress. After wandering aimlessly for a while, Lynn started turning her thoughts away from her anger to something else. Something a bit unrecognizable at first, but as Lynn continued to walk, she came to slowly realize what it was:
Guilt.
"What do I have to feel guilty for? Leni and Morris were the ones who waterboarded me with that stench."
She tried to ignore her feelings, but found that, after a while, it wouldn't go away. In fact, it only seemed to get stronger and stronger. Eventually, she sighed. Lynn knew she didn't have the best 'emotional intelligence' but she knew someone who did...
Lynn rushed over to the bathroom on the first floor. She and her friends had made a fun game out of writing whatever insane jokes came to their minds on the stalls. It was a contest, mostly to outdo each other. But for whatever reason, Lynn decided that this was where she needed to find guidance.
"Margo, you're usually the voice of reason in my hectic life, but since I can't talk to you now, I can only hope your bathroom writings will contain the same wisdom that you do," Lynn rubbed her hands and grabbed the cold metal handle of the door, "Please don't let me down."
She entered the stall and searched amongst the various messages and one-liners written by her, Polly Pain, the Turkey Jerkies, and some of her sisters before coming to Margo's latest gem:
This bathroom sux There are no boys :(
Lynn rubbed her chin as she read that over and over. "I see what you're saying Margo."
She sat on the toilet seat and sighed. "Leni wasn't doing anything bad. She just wanted to help me in her own way. If I just approached the boys I like, then maybe she wouldn't have felt like she had to get involved. If only I could have been 'on the field' like I am on the field."
Her eyes steeled with resolve. "I need to make things right with Leni. Thank you, Margo. Your wisdom never ceases to impress me."
Lynn rushed out of the bathroom and ran all over the mall, searching for her older sister. She checked the salon, the clothing stores, the vegan food chains ("No meatballs; no thanks").
Finally, she decided to head over to a fountain that was located near the middle of the building. She found Leni there, head hanging, sipping from a small cup of coffee, then chewing. It appears she forgot the difference between food and drink again.
"Leni."
The fashion-obsessed girl turned to see her tomboyish sister standing there, with a very apologetic look on her face.
"Leni, I am so sorry…" started Lynn before Leni cut her off with a wave of her hand.
"Lynn, do you know why I brought you here today?"
Lynn nodded. "To get me a new look."
"No. It was to give you confidence," said Leni in a strange tone, almost like she… really thought about it.
"Like, makeup doesn't last forever. You're not always going to be wearing your best clothes. But, like, what it's really about is one thing…"
Leni got up from her seat and stood in front on Lynn, then pointed at Lynn's heart.
"Confidence. That burst of confidence you get; that's what sticks with you."
Lynn looked between her sister and herself. Leni's words surprised her, but what surprised her more was that it was Leni that was saying this.
"But I have a lot of confi…"
"When you chase after a football or a baseball bat, then yes. But when you chase after love, then no. I just wanted to give you the strength to find who you love. You don't need new clothes or hair dye," she gave Lynn a small smile before saying, "You're beautiful the way you are."
"Leni, I…"
Lynn had to take a second to gulp. Leni's unusual, but not unwelcome, display of maturity had really hit her.
"Leni, I… I'm really sorry. I should have known you just had my best interests at heart. I was wrong to get angry with you, and... and I can't apologize enough."
"Apology not accepted."
Lynn swore her heart stopped for a second. "Wh… what?"
Then Leni gave her… the shipping smile. "Not until you call Francisco and tell him how you feel."
Lynn felt her face go completely red. "Ok, no. I promise to give you manicures for the rest of the month."
"No thank you," Leni said with a sweet smile.
"Give you whatever massage you want, whenever."
Leni shook her head.
"Bathroom time. I'll go in the bushes, and you can have my spot in the bathroom line…"
"Lynn… just call him already."
Lynn sighed in defeat. "Ok," she muttered, "Can I have your phone? I forgot mine."
Leni gave Lynn her phone, and the sporty girl scrolled through her contacts until she got to F.
Francisco. It appears Leni had his number saved for just such an occasion. She took a deep breath before opening his contact info.
"Can you at least hit the call button with me?"
Leni nodded. "Totes."
She put her finger next to Lynn's. "Ready?" she asked.
Lynn nodded with coolness. Though she was still a little worried, she didn't let it show.
"Alright… 3… 2…1!"
The two hit the call button at the same time.
Honestly, I think this is my favorite chapter so far.
So this isn't going to turn into a shipping fic, but I would like to throw in a bit more Francisco, and make him just a bit more important in story. Of course, if the show decides to break out someone else, well that would be embarrassing for me, but I'd still like to have him as an important character.
Speaking of important characters, the reason Tanya didn't appear in this chapter is because she was making a small cameo in "Carol Likes Luna" by JamesSunderlandsPillow, a fantastic story that I cannot recommend enough, with its mix of sweet moments, dynamic characters, drama and humor.
If Tanya ever did become cemented in the fandom, I would squeal of happiness. I can already see it now: Lynn-centric fics where Tanya pops up as an adversary, NSL fics where Tanya is good because Lynn is evil, perhaps even TanyaXLynn ;)
Come on, guys, let's make Tanya the next Liberty.
Of course, thank you all for reading, and stick around for the chapter(s) about the twins.