A/N Hi guys, I'm back from taking my MCAT. I won't find out the results until the 14th… of April. I hope I did well. Anyways, here's the next chapter! I thank Foolsgold Fenrir for looking this over! And I thank Renteka-Bond for their assistance! I hope you guys enjoy!
R&R!
Chapter Sixteen: Working Together
"So, you really managed to get everyone to your side, huh?" Lincoln held his arms behind his head and looked up, towards the blackening sky. At this point, the sun was blinking over the horizon, its light dying with the end of the day. Though it had only been a few minutes since they met each other in that hospital bedroom, time seemed to slow down for them, their minds too focused on the matter at hand to notice anything else. "You're really serious about doing this, huh?"
"Of course I am, Lincoln," Lana spoke softly, her eyes falling upon the damaged Michigan sidewalk. "Yeah… Lola could be loud and annoying… but she's my twin. And I know that as much as she'd hate to say so, she'd do the same thing for me."
Lincoln cracked a small smile. "Well that's good, I guess. Still I'm surprised everyone was just so willing to go along with ya."
"Not gonna lie, a part of me was surprised too. Lori and mom didn't really seem like they wanted to, but said yes anyways. Leni jumped at the idea of making a new dress," She chuckled. "Luna wanted to, though…"
Her brother raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Though what?"
She shook her head. "After a song she kicked me out of her room."
"You might've just hit a nerve or something… how about we talk to her later about it?" He motioned with his hand.
"I think I'd like that," The young girl gave a small nod. "Luan, Lynn and Lisa needed some convincing, but they all came on board eventually. Really… the only one I haven't asked to help out is dad and Lily…" She scratched the back of her head.
"Why's that?" Lincoln raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
Lana immediately turned to her brother. "Well… because Lily's a baby," She rubbed the back of her head. "As for dad… well, it's not that I don't want him to help, it's just… I just haven't gotten around to asking, ya know?" She looked forward. "Especially with trying to get everyone else and stuff."
The boy shrugged. "All right then I guess. But if we're gonna have you enter that big pageant, we're gonna need dad's permission. While Lola was the one who actually applied and made sure she would qualify, dad did all the behind-the-scenes stuff for her."
She raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"
"Paperwork. Lots and lots of paperwork," Lincoln simply shook his head. "I never thought that much work would have to go into these things! Though, now that I think about it, it makes sense."
"Well then, I guess I'll have to cross that bridge later then… there's not much I can do about it at the moment," She let out a breath. "Well all right then, Lincoln. Thanks for tellin' me."
With that, they turned and stepped into their house, allowing a certain rocker to react.
"Oh! There you are, Lana!" She cheered.
"Yeah, what's up Luna?" Lana looked on in confusion.
She scratched the back of her head, closed her eyes and gave an embarrassed smile. "Sorry about kicking you out earlier, I was just thinking through some stuff," She held up her guitar. "But, I'm back and I'm willing to help out too!"
Immediately, Lana threw her arms around her older sister. "Really?! Thank you Luna! Thank you!"
"Well, now that it looks like all are sibs are on board after all. So what's next?" Lincoln leaned in and tilted his head in curiosity.
The Next Day…
"All right, now that we're all here, it's time to get to work!" Lana cheerfully stepped forward, before turning towards her siblings. "Does everyone know what they're doin'? Any questions?"
"Yes," Lynn raised her hand, before pointing at a certain young girl standing next her brother. "Why's she here?! It's her fault that Lola's knocked out in the first place!"
Lindsey glared at the athlete, though one glance from Lana was enough to make her look away.
"If anything, we should-" She tried to continue, yet, Lana violently shook her head. "No, no, no Lynn! That's not what Lola would want!" She turned to Lindsey. "She always said that she wanted to beat her opponents, not that she hated any of them. And I think that still applies to her."
"Are you sure though?" Lori scratched the back of her head. "I mean…"
"Yeah," Lana stared into her eyes, her gaze softening. "Lindsey and I talked and she wants to help Lola too," She stepped over to the red-haired girl. "Plus, she's competed side-by-side with Lola for years. If anyone knows how she behaves and reacts on stage it's her."
Lindsey gave a small smile at that. As much as her bruises hurt still, it was still nice to hear the one who dealt them speak so highly of her.
Lori turned to the duo, before glancing away and taking a defeated breath. "All right then, fine," She crossed her arms. "I'm willing to let her help out as long as she behaves herself."
"What?!" Lynn outstretched her arms in surprise. "Why Lori?!" Before pointing. "This whole mess is her fault! If she hadn't-"
"Enough!" She glared at Lynn. "Lana trusts her, and as much as I really don't want to, if she says she's doing this to help Lola, and Lana went out of her way to get her on board, then there's no reason I see to say no."
Lynn huffed and crossed her arms.
"Don't worry," Lindsey went. "If I do anything you don't like, you can beat me up too…" She rubbed her arm and bowed her head.
"Too?" Luna raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Yeah…" Lindsey's voice fell quiet. Before she rolled up her sleeves and gloves- both placed so perfectly as to hide the black marks. "Lana beat me up for what I did…"
Lynn raised an eyebrow in surprise, before turning towards her sister. "I didn't know you had it in ya…"
"And you're still willing to help her?" Leni's voice filled with surprise.
Lindsey nodded. "I deserved it," She looked into Leni's eyes. "Lola saved me from the chandelier that crushed her, so the least I can do is try to wake her up!" She then looked to Lynn, her voice picking up as a begging hope filled her gaze. "Please… I wanna make things right!"
As much as Lynn wanted to say no. As uncomfortable it made the Loud sisters to have her helping, given the circumstances, to decline the offer would be to harm Lola's chances. And so, Lynn nodded. "Fine, but I still don't trust you," before she turned and crossed her arms.
"All right then, anything else?" Lana glanced at her siblings and newfound friend.
No reply. Aside from that conflict, everyone on else was already on board.
And so, Lana turned and climbed on the makeshift stage Lola used to use for her own practice. "So, where do we start?"
"First, with this!" Leni pulled out a light blue pageant. "While Lola was getting used to pageant stuff, I made her a bunch of dresses for her to pick out. She hated this one, but I think it goes well with you!"
A hint of dread overtook the young girl. Ever since she was young, she swore off wearing anything that would even remotely resemble a dress- it was just not in her nature! And yet, if she was going to wake up her twin, she had to sacrifice some of her pride to do so.
And so, she nodded and donned the dress. It fit her well enough- though given its age it was tight in some ways. "I guess this works out."
"Next, think fast!" Lindsey shouted, before pulling out an egg and lobbing it at the young girl, who could only reply by holding up her hands as it nailed her in the head. "Ooo, not quite, Lana."
"What the heck?!" Lynn flared her arms, before pushing up her sleeve.
"Lynn, no," Lincoln raised a hand to her.
The athlete instantly, pointed at her freshly egged sister. "But she just-"
"It's fine, Lynn," Lana wiped it off. "I wasn't expecting it is all."
"You sure?" She glared at Lindsey, while giving her little sister a concerned look.
Lana nodded. "Yeah."
"Well, I guess that was an egg-cellent start to this training! Haha!" Luan punned, eliciting a groan from her siblings, but a chuckle from Lindsey.
With that, the young girl stood up straight. "Let's go!"
"Not with the egg," Lincoln replied. "That was to get you prepped for what we're about to do."
The young girl tilted her head in confusion.
"Err, what?"
"Keep yourself steady!" Lincoln commanded. "Keep that tushie in! Pageant girls keep their heads up high!"
Nearby, Lana held her arms out, desperate to keep herself stable as she balanced a stack of books.
"Plus, remember, you have no shame! You're going to be out there doing your best!" Luan raised a fist for emphasis. "If you have nothing to be ashamed of, then you can keep your head up high!"
"Keep my head up," She took a breath as she stepped along the stage, Her goal: Lori, holding a paper Mache trophy. "I have to keep myself-"
Yet, before she could even finish her thought, Lindsey pulled out her next prop, a potato, which she tossed on the stage in front of Lana. Of course, being so focused on keeping herself balanced, she easily stepped on the vegetable, causing her to foot to roll and send her falling back as well as the books to fall on top of her. "Welp, that could've gone better."
"Still not paying attention," Lindsey climbed on stage and pulled her onto her feet. "I remember the time that happened to me. Worst failure of my enter career right there."
"It was?"
"Heh, I remember that one, Lola wouldn't stop talking about it for weeks!" Lucy cracked a smile. "She asked if some sort of spirit did that to you too, though she was disappointed when I told her no."
Lana nodded. "I have to pay attention…" She rubbed her arm and took another breath. "All right then, what's next?"
"Back to the beginning, and be ready for anything this time around!" She pointed at the edge of the stage.
And in reply, Lana nodded. "Got it!"
"Easy," Lana tried to zig zag along the stage. "I can do this!"
Lindsey turned to Lynn. "Hey… you're the sporty one, right?"
The athlete glared at the pageant girl. "Yeah? Why?"
She leaned down, and pulled out a small ball. "Because, I want you to know those books off her head."
Instantly, Lynn's eyes went wide. "You want me to do what?!" She grabbed for Lindsey and held her up by her collar. "Why I outta-"
"Lynn, please, listen," She went, doing her best to look the young woman in the eyes.
She answered by staring at her.
"Lana's too focused on keeping them on her head," Her voice fell meek. "We have to remind her that her goal isn't to keep them on her head, it's to stand up straight and keep moving."
Lynn stared into Lindsey's eyes, before taking hold of the ball and lobbing it at her sister.
In an instant, the books fell to the ground and Lana fell forward, un able to compensate for the sudden surprise.
"Dangit!"
Lindsey sighed. "You have to remember to focus on the goal! You're too focused on balance."
Lana nodded. "Don't focus on balancing the books, just focus on the end!"
"I never wanna be, another gear in this world's machine, so promise me that we will be happy and free!" Luna sung off key, doing her best to mess with the young girl on stage.
"Ugh!" Lori covered her ears. "Lincoln, why the heck are we putting ourselves through this?!"
"Because one time, Lola had to! Some butt competitor decided to leave her little sisters behind the curtain, so that when everyone else went to perform, they'd scream and cry, throwing off the act! We need Lana to be ready for something like that too!"
Nearby, the girl-in-training winced, closing her eyes, but holding her arms outstretched. "Come on! I need to focus. It doesn't matter what everything sounds like! We're going to succeed!"
Nearby, Luan grabbed a banana and peeled it, before stuffing her ears full of the fruit while tossing the peel on the stage… which Lana proceeded to step on and slip, causing her to fall.
"Dangit…"
The next run failed because she didn't realize that there was an edge, and in her attempt to dodge the traps set, ended up falling off stage.
Another failed due to her growing hunger causing her to turn towards lunch… and subsequently slip on a piece of bread.
Then when she wasn't looking, Leni cleaned the surface of the stage, causing her to slip again and get caught in the curtains.
Hours passed with these, failure after failure filling her time. "I knew practice would be hard, but this is… well, ridiculous! How am I supposed to do this?!" Her mind began to hum with the thought as she continued to fail. Seemingly despite everything she did, she still couldn't cross that first threshold. How could a task seemingly so simple be so difficult to pull off?!
"This is hopeless!" Lana laid on her knees in exhaustion. "This whole day passed and I still haven't been able to get across this stupid stage!" Tears began to form in her eyes. Though Lynn cheered.
"Come on Lana!" She punched the air. "You have to keep going!"
"But how?!" She forced herself up, her body stiffening in exhaustion. "Every time I try something trips me up!"
Lincoln chuckled, before nudging Lindsey. "Did you really think that Lola was able to pull off everything she did without falling on her face a few times? No, she had to fail a lot before she could win as much as she did!"
Lindsey followed that up with. "Trust me! Keep going! If you keep trying, you'll succeed eventually!"
"Come on! Try again!" Lori went. "We believe in you! Lola's counting on you!"
"Lola's counting on me…" She forced herself up. "I'm doing this for her, that means I can't give up yet," She took a breath and held out her arms, readying herself for the next run. "If I fail, Lola won't wake up and all of this would've been for nothing!" Then, she took a step forward. "When we get to the real deal, then I'm not gonna get any redo's! I have to get through this now!" Luan then tossed a banana in her way.
Calmly, Lana took her step, feeling the object, before tapping it aside and taking the step.
The air filled with tension as she pressed onward.
Lindsey threw another potato in her way, which she simply stepped over. Lucy followed it up by sending her bats in order to trip her up.
Yet, did not relent. Though the idea of getting bit by a bat scared her, and yet she would not give up. "I have to reach the end. Lola's counting on me!"
And so, Lynn lobbed a football, it's rubber flying so close she could feel the soft breeze it made as it passed her face. Yet she didn't flinch.
"She's really gonna do it!" Luna cheered, raising her fist in excitement. "Go Lana!" Before sending a shockwave with her guitar, which didn't phase the girl
Her heart raced as she stepped. "One, two, one, two."
Lori outstretched her hands, ready to receive her sister.
And then.
"Ouch!" Lana fried, a sharp pain rushing through her foot. Despite the practice she had gone through. Despite all the struggle she endured, this was too much for her. She fell back, her butt hitting the stage as the books fell on top of her, signaling her defeat. "Dangit!"
Lindsey stepped over and let out a disappointed sigh. "Well Lana, that was pretty good of an attempt, stopped short by you just not expecting a low down trick like that."
"What are you talking about?!" She pushed herself up. "Who puts a tac out like that?!"
"Pageant girls do," Lincoln stepped over and shook his head. "Lana, throughout her years of practice, Lola was never afraid of the big things. Big things lead to someone getting caught easier."
"It was always small things that people would use," Lindsey continued. "During practice is where I'd use big things..."
Yet, as they spoke, Lana's mind tuned them out. This was the same lesson they had gone over before. "I have to pay attention. Lola was able to and so I should be too!"
She slowly pulled herself back onto her feet. "It doesn't matter, I get it," she shook her head. "Again! I have to go again"
"Actually, it's getting late right now," Lincoln rubbed the back of his head. "You've been working on this all day ya know."
"Dangit, wasted a whole day then! Why am I so worthless! I should've learned it quicker!" She grimaced before letting a breath out in defeat. "Fine then I guess."
"Hey, Sis, don't worry," Luan places and hand on her shoulder. "I know it's hard getting used to this stuff, but it'll all pay off in the end, all right?"
Lana hesitated, and feigned a smile, before shaking her head. "All right then I guess, we'll just have to get back to it tomorrow.
Lindsey nodded. "You got it!" Before she turned and began to make her way home, leaving the Louds to return to their home as well.
"Day one of practice and I couldn't cross a single stupid stage!" Anger rushed through Lana's body as she kicked her bedframe, instantly causing her to reel back and hold herself. "Dangit. Why am I so useless?! Lola would do everything and anything she could to help me and I can't even get across a makeshift stage for her! What kind of sister am I?!"
"A terrible… useless one that is," She looked aside, her gaze falling on her computer.
*Ring!* It went, prompting her to hop in the chair and answer. "Skippy?"
"Hey Lana, what's up?" he asked, curiosity filling his voice. "You've kinda been giving me the cold shoulder at school and stuff…"
"Yeah, because if I'm gonna be a pageant girl, I have to live the pageant life…" She hesitated, "Sorry about that, but I'm busy ya know."
He looked at her in confusion. "Busy? Doing what?"
"Stuff," She calmly answered. "Yeah, like being a terrible sister."
"Oh…" His gaze faltered. Despite his young age, he still understood what it meant when someone didn't give a straight answer. He quickly perked up. "Well, if you're not gonna be busy soon, I was thinking that we could go bike riding with the others! It's gonna get too cold to splash around in the mud and stuff, and I wanna try out those rockets you gave me. I'm sure that I'll be able to handle 'em this time!"
For a moment, Lana considered the idea, to relent and have some fun with one of her best friends. And yet, she found herself closing her eyes and shaking her head. "If Lola had to get down and dirty to help me, she would. I'm not doing this for myself, I'm doing this for her."
And so she shook her head once more. "No Skippy, sorry."
"Aww, come on! You haven't hung out with us in so long! Everyone always loved the crazy messes we'd make and fix after."
"Perfect, prime and proper girls don't get themselves dirty and associate with those that do," The thought crossed her mind. Lola always complained about how she would mess up their room- about all the dirt she would track as she tried to get her pets in line.
"No Skippy, I'm sorry," She spoke in a solemn voice. "Maybe some other time!"
With that, she ended the call, leaving her room in silence. "I never thought I'd ever do that to him…" Her chest panged at the feeling. She had had a crush on him for years at this point, and yet she pushed him away, keeping him at a distance so that his ways wouldn't tempt her. "Lola's more important right now. My sister first, then I can try to patch things up with him… hopefully."
And so she leaned back in her chair and let out a defeated breath. "I don't get it! I'm doing everything I can. I got everyone to help me! Even Lincoln! And yet I can't do anything right…" She bowed her head. "Why am I always the screw up? I just… I'm nothing like you Lola, and if today's anything… I might not even be able to win a single contest for you!"
With that, she rested her weary head in her arms. "I need to get across that stage…" She closed her eyes trying to rest, and yet found herself unable. Her mind kept wandering back to the stage. She was so close! So what if it was late? They didn't have that much time before the contest, right? So what if it was a few months away! There wasn't any time to waste!"
"Light's out everyone!" Lynn Sr. declared, before killing the lights to the upstairs.
Normally, she'd comply with the order and head to bed. After all, tomorrow would be a new day, and with it, she'd have the ability to do whatever she needed. But, it just wasn't right. She didn't finish anything today! She had to at least get across that stage!
And so, she took a breath and grabbed a random bag filled to the brim with random toys, tacks and lego bricks, before she climbed out the window and dropped into the front yard. At this point, everyone had turned into their room for the night, leaving the only lights being the moon and the streetlights.
"Perfect, that means I can do this all without worrying that someone's gonna be going to be watching me," With that, she grabbed the bag and tossed it, sending all the random toys and implements scattering across the stage, and in the darkness of the night, she couldn't see where they landed. "This is exactly what I need." With that, she grabbed a pile of books and dropped them on her head… only to immediately trip and fall on her face. "Dangit!"
Unbeknownst to her, someone else had a similar idea.
"Come on…" She went, her mind rushing in nervousness. "I have to-"
"Lana?"
Instantly she turned around. She never expected to hear anyone at this time of night, let alone him. "S-Skippy?! What are you doing here?! Don't you know how late it is?!"
"I could say the same thing to you," He chuckled. "I wanted to see you after you… ya know…" He motioned in the air. "Hung up on me… again."
She looked away.
"What's with the dress? It's not like you," He tilted his head as his eyes took in her soft, moonlit features.
Lana hesitated her answer. She refused to tell him for so long because she was worried about what he'd say. He never seemed like the type to wanna hang out with the pageant type. And yet, he still came out in the dead of night because of his worry for her. And so, she took a breath. "Skippy… I'm trying to win a beauty pageant."
For a moment, the young boy took in the news, before giving a small chuckle. "Well that explains why you were sitting with Lindsey and stuff."
"You're not mad?"
"Course I'm not," He shook his head. "Just surprised," He went, before offering a hand to her. "But, hey, we all have our secrets, right?"
"Sorry for giving you the cold shoulder, a part of the training is to avoid dirty things like… well what we used to do…" Shame filled her voice.
Skippy nodded. "Well then, if you're serious, let me help ya, after all, it's not like we haven't hung out like this before!"
For a moment, she thought of denying the idea, after all, it was so late! They had school in the morning! And yet, he smiled, urging her to accept.
And so, she shrugged. "Well… I guess it beats staying up alone. All right."
With that, he held her hand and nodded, before they got to work.
20-9-13-5 6-15-18 19-15-13-5 1-12-12 14-9-7-8-20 16-18-5-16 12-9-11-5 9-14 11-1-18-1-20-5 11-9-4
A/N And there we go! With all this COVID-19 stuff, I expect to be able to update more often now, hopefully. I hope you guys enjoyed!
