Chapter 14: Are You Ready?

Saturday evening had finally arrived, and it had not come fast enough for Lynn. Sure she was excited to go on her date with Cory, that was the main reason she was happy for Saturday. The other reason was that she had finally passed her sisters dating boot camp. Four days of training, modeling, and being corrected on every little detail. It was hell. Thankfully now it was over. No more working with Luan and Lucy on what to say on the date and when to laugh at jokes that were not funny. Though that part would be easy since she lived with Luan. Lola had taught her how to act like a proper lady, so that meant no cutting one loose to make room for desert. That was going to be difficult. Luna had made reservations at a nice restaurant, one that was not too high in the price range. Lisa and Lana had come through on the perfume, finding the right combination of flowers to make a scent that was indeed unique to her. That just left Leni and Lori, both of whom worked on Lynn's appearance.

Though Lynn did take note of just how difficult it was for some of her sisters to do what Lori asked them to do. Both Luan and Lucy looked like they were in hell trying to hold back adding conversations about death or tacking on a terrible pun. At one point Luan had actually had to tape her mouth shut and write everything down.

Poor Lana came back from flower hunting with a handful of wildflowers that even Lynn had to admit smelled amazing. Lana looked like she had picked a fight with a wild bear after a rough night drinking at a frat house. Vomit stained her overalls and her eyes were red and puffy. It almost looked as though Lana was allergic to all the cute crap.

Lola managed to demonstrate just how bad her temper was, and why she would make a terrible coach in the world of beauty contests. She managed to abuse both the walls and her various stuffed animals while coaching Lynn in the art of being a proper lady. At one point the tiny temperamental tot had tossed her tea party table, flipping it in a fit of anger, and flinging tea cups and imaginary cookies around the room. Lynn also managed to learn just what swear words her little sister knew, some of them even new to Lynn herself.

Yet when it was all said and done, the girls had managed to get Lynn prepared for her date with Cory. Though now Lynn was left to wonder about it all. Despite the chat that she had with her sister a few days ago, Lori was now trying to change everything about her. She set the girls on a mission to make Lynn into something she was not, like putting lipstick on a pig. A small smile crept across her face as she compared herself to a barnyard animal. The little devil on her shoulder could not help itself in poking the sad and broken part of her soul, hoping it was wake up and show her it's variation of the truth. She let out a breath and sighed. She would not go down that road again. Or would she? Wasn't that sort of what she was doing now? Hiding the true Lynn Loud behind a fake ass plastic doll copy of what a girl should be. When she asked Lori why she was doing all of this her sister simply replied with "That's how dating is." Making Lynn wonder if dating was indeed something she wanted to do or not. Maybe all of this was not her thing after all. Maybe she was the girl who was better off just hanging out with boys and not dating them. Maybe that was just her nerves getting the better of her again. God I wish I could drink, Lynn thought to herself.

Lynn sat in front of Lori's mirror and looked at the smokey eye shadow and crimson color of her lips. Her hair was cut short towards the top of her neck, with her bangs hanging just above he eyes, so that her hair almost seemed like an auburn frame around her face. She had on the outfit that Leni had designed and made for her. Looking at the reflection staring back at her she could not help but think that she did indeed look kind of sexy. So why did she feel like a fool? Was it because she was not used to dressing up? Or was if because she knew that this was not her? The girl looking back at her was not the real Lynn Loud. Not the Lynn Loud that could kick ass on any court or field she found herself on. Not the Lynn Loud that had taken the fight to many bullies, sending them crying home to their mommas. No, this was the Lynn Loud that let her own personal insecurities get the better of her. This was that fake plastic copy of Lynn Loud that bought into the whole charade of make up, pretty dresses, and fake smiles. And why was she changing into that fake girl? To impress a boy who already said he liked her the way that she was. The her that wore gym cloths even when she wasn't in a gym. The her that only wore make up on Halloween. Her stomach growled at her. Normally she knew it would be the five spicy meatball subs that she would eat for lunch, barking to let her know they were working their way back out. This time it was her gut warning her about something. Her spider sense so to speak.

"If you gotta fart, go to the bathroom and let it out now." Lori said as she came up behind her. "Last thing you need is to clear the restaurant with one of those stink bombs."

"For once it's not gas." Lynn said. "I'm nervous."

"You nervous?" Lori scoffed. "I have literally seen you charge head first into three opposing players on a football field. Why are you nervous about a date with a guy that already said he likes you?"

"I'm worried that I am going to screw this up." She said. "This is not me. I'm not the cute girl. I'm the girl who would rather knock the cute girl upside the head."

"Lynn you have always been cute." Lori told her. "You were just too stupid to see that. Just like the boys were too stupid to see it. This guy is smart, you have no reason to be nervous."

Lynn smiled at her sister.

"So you know the plan?" Lori asked, making sure Lynn remembered what to do.

"Yeah." Lynn said. "We meet at the restaurant at seven. I let him order for me."

"Because it makes them feel important." Lori said.

The first time Lori told her that it made her laugh. Lynn had not realized just how fragile the male ego could be. Sure she had bruised a few during her marital arts competitions, and on the basketball court, and with pretty much any other sport she played. But to have a man bruise his ego with the way a woman acted on date or in a relationship, well that one was a surprise to her. It just seemed silly.

"Then?" Lori asked.

"Then we have some light conversation while we wait for our food." Lynn said.

"And no sports talk or inappropriate discussions. A few flirtatious jokes here and there are fine."

The amount of rules was making Lynn feel like she was about to meet the queen or the president. The list of what not to do was ten times longer than the list was what she could do.

"And what happens when dinner arrives?" Lori asked.

"When dinner arrives I take only small bites." Lynn said.

"That's right. No wolfing the food down." Lori reminded her.

Judging by what she had seen on the restaurants online menu she was not sure there would be enough food on the plate to wolf down anyways. Everything looked like it came out of a fancy ass lunchable pack. She was not sure the food would be worth the amount of money they were going to pay.

"Very good." Lori said. "What about the end of the date?"

"Then at the end of the date we kiss." Lynn said.

"And nothing else." Lori added.

"Well you're no fun." Lynn joked.

"Trust me, it's better to wait on some things." Lori remarked, remembering a certain mistake she had made before Bobby. "Well I think you are ready sis."

"Thanks again Lori." Lynn said, hugging her sister.

They walked downstairs to the living room where all the siblings and her parents were waiting to get a glimpse of Lynn dressed for her date. It was rare to see Lynn dress up at all for any occasion, let alone to actually where a dress and make up. Her mom wiped away a tear, as did her dad. The girls all ran over hugging her and whispering words of encouragement in her ear. Even Lincoln smiled, walking over and kissing her on the cheek.

"You look beautiful sis." He told her.

"Thanks bro." Lynn said.

The over whelming amount of support was nice. Unnecessary but nice. She thanked and kissed everyone for their help with getting ready. As the time was getting closer, Lori motioned for her to get in Vanzilla so they could be on their way. Lori was nice enough to offer to drive her to her date. Lynn told everyone that she would give details when she got home, though she doubted she would actually follow through on that. They went out and got in Vanzilla and drove off. Soon Lynn would meet Cory at the restaurant and the date would begin.

Cory stood in his bedroom looking down at the cloths he had laid out for the evenings date. He wanted to go for a more casual look, but when Lynn sent him the text that they were meeting at La Mensa's for dinner, he figured he should look a little nicer than jeans and a flannel.

Before him was a pair of ash gray slacks, a black dress shirt with an ash gray sports coat. It was an outfit he wore to a Christmas party that his father's company held the previous year. That was a night he would have rather forgotten. It was the first time he saw his parents drunk, as they dipped a little too heavily into the eggnog. He had learned that night that his parents were the flirty and handsy kind of drunks, who were so not shy when it came to public displays of affection. And not the simple kisses and hand holding kind of stuff, he saw open mouth teenager like make out sessions. Not what you wanted to see your parents doing.

Cory checked the time on his phone, it was five forty-five, and he lived within walking distance of the restaurant. This left him with plenty of time to kill, or in his case stress about the date. Cory was of course looking forward to it, though he had to admit there was now added pressure as they were going to a fancy restaurant, something he was not aware that Lynn was into doing. He thought she was more the burger and fries kind of girl, not the fine food and candles kind. He was not going to complain, as long as he got to spend some time with the girl that knocked him around on the mat, the one that starred in all of his favorite late night dreams. Still, he wished he did not have to wear that damn suit. No matter how many times his mother told him he was adorable in it, he hated it. Dressing up was not something he liked to do.

His mother would get off work at seven, so again he had the whole apartment to himself. He walked out to the kitchen in his shorts and socks to get a drink and to clear his head. The few dates he had been on in the past had come to mind, and how much he always hated those last few hours before the date. It was during this time that his mind would over analyze every little detail with a micron microscope. He really did not care about the details all that much, it was just his nerves kicking in and looking for something to stress over. Most of the time he was as laid back as a person could get. What else was he supposed to do, stress about the fact that his parents were hardly ever home? Worry about how TV shows and books were starting to teach him more life lessons than the people that brought him into the world? That would just lead him down a stress filled road that came out at heart attack avenue. He did not want to have heart troubles and ulcers at an early age. So he rolled with the punches that life threw at him.

Filling a glass with some water he took a sip and watched as the sun was just now barely peeking above the horizon. The bright orange and red was giving way to the purple and black of a twilight sky. It was a very relaxing image, something that made him push the thoughts and building pressure of this date out his mind. Two years of planing had led to this, and he should have been relieved to be where he was. Yet something was just not sitting right with him. And he could not figure out what it was.

Cory went back to his room and got dresses. He combed his hair and put on deodorant and splashed a bit of cologne on. He wanted to smell good. Finally, he checked himself in the mirror. God he hated that suit.

"Well laddie, this is it." He said to his reflection. "Two years in th' making, 'n' ye finally made it. Now lets hae a go nae tae screw it up."

Well there we go, they are off on their first date. Wonder how things will go? Sad to say you are going to have to wait until next year to find out. Yeah ok that was a crappy joke, but what do you expect from a guy who has been working on a Luan Loud story? (Prankmas and she is one of the main focuses of the next Katverse story)

Since this is the last post of the year I want to take a second to thank some people. I want to thank Underrated Hero. His story Requiem for a Loud was what inspired me to start writing fan fiction in the first place. I also want to thank Fallen Pens for being the first person to chat with me on here. Omega Ultra and TakeBackTheFalls for being cool people that write awesome stories that also help inspire me. cabgrant for calling me out on something and giving me the idea to make Lincoln older (seriously that is why I am pushing all these characters into the future). I want to thank some of the people I am reading on here, for helping me to try and be better by putting out stories that I am just loving, and am trying to live up to (Witch-King Angmar, Stall Walt, SoI'llKillYou, AberrantScript, Flagg1991). Codymitchell1 for saying he is my number one fan (thanks buddy). Mike The Red Engine for letting me use Cory and for always commenting on my stuff. TheWhiplashEffect for talking with me, and just being an awesome person. J-Russ for helping to remember shit that I forgot, and always helping to fuel my creativity.

Last but certainly not lest, I want to thank all of you who have written to me and all of you who are reading and commenting (or not). I have not been on this site long, at least not writing on here long, but this has just been a kick ass few months and a hell of good end to the year. You all brought the joy or writing back into my life, and I just hope that I have entertained a few of you as well. So thank you again, and I hope everyone has a safe and happy new year.

Ok I have droned on long enough.

Peace