Lynn and Luan had been grounded for two days, and Lincoln missed them. Sitting alone in his room and trying to focus on a comic, he pictured Luan's sunny smile, and his heartbeat quickened. He remembered running his fingers through Lynn's soft, silky hair, and his breath caught in his throat. Why couldn't he get them out of his mind? And why did he feel like he felt when he was around Cristina, the girl he had a crush on at school? Did he...?

No, he thought, shoving that thought away and flipping to the next page. That was impossible. They were his sisters! Why would he...like...them?

He thought of Lynn, then Luan. His stomach rumbled. He tossed the comic aside and looked up at the ceiling. He was restless, sick. He got up, went to his door, then came back and sat on the bed.

Where was he going?

He ran his hands through his hair. Nowhere. He didn't want to go outside, he didn't want to go down to the living room, he didn't want to read a comic or ride a bike or play a video game or any of the other things he liked.

He wanted to see his sisters.

He picked up his phone and sat it back down again. He took a deep breath and looked around the room. It was cramped, the walls were closing. It was too warm. He picked his phone back up and drew up his contacts list.

LYNN

LUAN

Which one did he want to see? Both, but, for some reason, he knew that he couldn't see both.

Finally, he tapped LUAN and sent her a text: "Can u come here? Make sure no1 sees you."

He sat the phone down and laid back in bed, tenting his hands on his chest. He was reaching for the phone when the door opened and Luan slipped in, closing it quickly behind her.

"Perfect timing," she said, turning around. "Luna just left. What's up?"

What was up?

"The sky, airplanes," he said.

Luan giggled like that was the funniest thing she had ever heard. "Nice one, but I mean what's you with you? Why'd you want to see me?"

Lincoln sat up. "I just miss you. I really haven't seen you or Lynn much over the last couple of days."

"Yeah," Luan said, sitting on the edge of the bed, "being grounded sure is the pits. It's a pain in the grass. Get it? Ground, grass?"

It was Lincoln's turn to laugh too long and too loud. She smiled at looked down at her lap.

"Were those really your cigarettes?" he asked.

Luan shook her head. "No. Someone put them in my bag."

"Who?"

Luan looked at her brother, then back at her lap. "Lynn."

"Why?" he asked. "What's the deal with you two?"

Luan's face turned a bright scarlet. She looked at Lincoln, at her lap, and at Lincoln again.

Lincoln scooted closer. "You can tell me," he said, "I'm your brother. You can tell me anything."

She looked at him, her face turning scarlet. Her heart was crashing, her stomach in knots. Lincoln could sense her distress, so he reached out and touched her cheek. She looked at him again, her eyes shining. She leaned closer, and he met her lips with his. Her tongue darted coyly into his mouth, and his eyes opened wide. Was...was that supposed to happen?

He quickly realized that he didn't care. The taste of her cherry lip balm and the warm, wet feeling of her mouth was intoxicating. He stroked her face, and he felt her tremble. The kiss broke, and they both panted for air. She smiled at him.

"I love you, Lincoln," Luan said, then sighed and looked away. "And so does Lynn."

Lincoln blinked.

"That's why we've been fighting lately."

He sat back and tried to process what his sister had just told him. As he thought, he absently licked his lips, thrilling at the taste of Luan's mouth. They both loved him.

In that moment, he realized that he loved them both back.

"Lincoln?" Luan asked, leaning forward, "are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said, "I just...I don't know how to take that."

"We were going to wait a week and tell you so you could decide, but she started a fight with Lucy just so she could come sleep in here, and I yelled 'fire' because I was watching you guys and you looked like you were about to..."

"Kiss?"

Luan nodded.

Lincoln sighed.

"I...I'll understand if you need some time to wrap your head around this." She stood up. "I should go."

"Wait," he said, grabbing her by the wrist. "I..." he stopped. What? He couldn't love both of his sisters.

He stood up, wrapped his arm around Luan's waist, and kissed her again. She melted into him, her knees shaking. Their hearts pounded in time.

Lincoln pulled away. "See you at dinner," he said, and flashed a wan smile.

"I hope," she smiled.

She left, closing the door behind her, and Lincoln sat heavily on the edge of the bed, putting his head in his hands.

In her room, Lisa leaned back from the monitor and thoughtfully bit the inside of her lip. Watching the scene unfold, she knew what was going to happen probably before they did, but instead of calling Lori or rushing in to diffuse the situation herself, she leaned closer, adjusting her glasses. When their lips locked, she pressed her face to the screen. Fascinating. Sweet, too, she hated to admit. She assumed that this was Lincoln's first kiss, given his age; she highly doubted he and Ronnie Anne had gotten that far into their blossoming relationship. With Luan, it was a toss-up. As far as Lisa could remember, there had never been a boy in her life. Quite possible they had shared their first kiss together. Sociologically speaking, one's first kiss one of the primary introductions to adulthood. Interesting to watch it happen.

She sighed and looked at the screen. Lincoln looked despondent, and she pitied him. She looked over her shoulder, made sure no one was watching, and rewound the video. After ten minutes, the kiss, and indeed Luan's very presence, had been erased. To any but the most trained eye, it seemed as if Lincoln had simply sat up and put his face in his hands.

She then exited out of the computer and got up. She had a poop study that needed to be finished...