CHAPTER 27: DOUBLE DATE

The love life of Lincoln Loud has never been a simplistic one; going through many twists and turns, mostly leading to dead ends. While no stranger to the concept of crushes and having a few of his own, the very first girl to show any sort of reciprocating interest was Ronnie Anne Santiago. The many sisters in his family, always bringing themselves into his life to change it for what they perceived to be the better, helped this relationship build.

Lincoln may have held some degree of uncertainty about his sisters interfering in his life, especially in the areas of his most personal relationships, but his attitude towards the influence put in this instance has warmed considerably since the beginning. Ronnie Anne might have been a tad crude and crass, but ultimately was a deeply caring individual and extremely loyal; traits many find to be positive in a potential romantic partner.

Relationships between pre-teens and children, commonly called 'puppy love', has somewhat of a negative connotation behind it; most being moved on from as each individual ages. As most children do not have any true sort of concept of love or deeper emotions such as these, many of these relationships die off as quickly as they began; gone, but not quite forgotten, still existing to serve as an lesson towards future experiences.

This proved not to be the case with Lincoln and Ronnie Anne. Just as Lori and Bobby proved to be strong in their own relationship, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne still held their own strong bond. Neither might have been willing to admit it to be a full romantic relationship, but there was always room for more as time went on.

Unfortunately, with the financial situation of her mother forcing a move for her family, the relationship had been placed into a strain. As common with many school friendships and relationships, one factor that will always bring ruin to these connections is the threat of family needing to relocate. With the age of technology, however, the strain was not as heavy as they had feared; making sure to contact each other at least once every week.

While the ability to see and speak to Ronnie Anne filled one need of his vice, it did not satisfy the need for the physical presence of a friend; a gap he found filled with Stella. Having an eye on this girl for some time, keeping her close within his group of friends, the time finally came for him to begin something closer with her, but not taking the time to work anything out with Ronnie Anne before doing so.

Now, having made a date with Stella, and having a date with Ronnie Anne unwittingly made for him, Lincoln has been left with the challenge of dealing with both of these dates at the same time. In the backseat of Vanzilla, he is driven off to the first of his dates, accompanied by Ronnie Anne in the back and being driven by the team of Lori and Bobby.

Where he would love nothing more than to vent out his own problems to the viewer/reader (A.K.A. you), having the ears of Ronnie Anne next to him would seriously endanger exposing this information to her; the absolute last thing he wanted to do. Not knowing what to do, Lincoln sat in pure silence, hoping that his problems would simply go away in pure childlike manner.

Of course, as hopeful as Lincoln is, he is not stupid, and he soon realizes this with Ronnie Anne provoking him for attention.

"Hey, Lame-O, you gonna say something yet?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"Huh?" Lincoln asked.

"You haven't spoken this whole drive, or even said what you wanted to say before we left. What were you gonna say?"

"Uh... It's kind of a long story, Ronnie Anne, we're probably better off waiting until we get to the restaurant. You might wanna sit down for it."

"Is that so? You hiding something from me, Lame-O?"

"Hiding? What? I'm not hiding anything! Why would I be hiding anything?"

"Okay, you're hiding something. That's fine, I can wait until we get there."

"Crap."

With Lincoln never taking the opportunity to address the viewer/reader, Ronnie Anne, also aware of the 4th wall as he was, took it upon herself to do it for him.

"Well, looks like Lincoln here's getting awfully awkward for no reason. I'm guessing that you know what's going on right about now, and you can't tell me. Figures. So much for Lame-O here letting me be able to talk to you, right? That's fine, I'm sure that it won't end badly in some way. The writers and producers usually figure it all out." Ronnie Anne said.

"Oh, yeah, about that, Ronnie Anne..." Lincoln said.

"What?"

"Well, that's one of the things going on, I should tell you that this isn't an official episode of the show. What we're doing isn't canon."

"It isn't? So, what's the deal, are we in some promotional skit or rough draft or what?"

"Uh, no, that's the thing, we're-"

"Here! Jean Juan's French Mex. Where it all started for you two." Bobby said.

"And don't forget that it started for us here, too. Right, Bobby Boo-Boo-Bear?" Lori said.

"Of course, babe, I wouldn't forget something like that."

As Lori and Bobby shared their sappy moment, Ronnie Anne took to mocking the two in their act, lampooning on their over-the-top emotion being displayed for the two.

"Oh, Bobby Boo-Boo-Bear, I just couldn't ever live without you. I think this calls for a selfie, don't you?" Ronnie Anne mocked.

Ronnie Anne got a few chuckles out of her own joke, even managing to get the nervous Lincoln Loud to let out some laughs of his own, albeit quiet ones.

"There's the laughs I was looking for. But, it really is like old times, isn't it?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"Yeah, heh-heh. I guess so." Lincoln said.

Now having arrived at the restaurant, the group stepped out of Vanzilla, preparing themselves to get inside the restaurant and get their tables. Before they could move inside, however, Ronnie Anne stopped the group for one last question.

"Hey, guys, it might be a little late to ask now, but, you sure you wanna eat here?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"Uh, yeah, we all literally had our first double-date here." Lori said.

"Yeah, yeah, but doesn't your dad have his own restaurant now? Thought you might wanna eat there instead."

"Maybe next time. This is literally too important a date to spend elsewhere."

"Really? Well, then, I doubt you'd care to know what Carol Pingrey's doing at your dad's place."

"Carol Pingrey? At my dad's restaurant?"

"Yeah, I heard that she's spending her first date with her new boyfriend there. She said that she wanted to spend it there because you spent your first date with Bobby here, and it was some way to get back at you. Now, I know you're probably past all that crap, so let's go in and-"

Before Ronnie Anne could finish her sentence, Lori grabbed Bobby by the arm, dragging him back inside Vanzilla.

"Come on, Bobby. We are literally going to get that blonde bimbo bitch back for this. Nobody spends a first date at my dad's restaurant but me." Lori said.

"Uh, babe, don't a lot of people probably have their first dates at your dad's restaurant? I mean, I hear it's pretty popular." Bobby reasoned.

"Not Carol Pingrey. You two have some fun on your own, we'll pick you up later."

"What?! Lori, you can't seriously just leave them here!"

"They can take care of themselves, they're 12. Now get your little skinny butt in the car!"

Acting as fast as possible to react to Carol Pingrey's act of revenge, Lori tossed Bobby in Vanzilla, flooring the gas pedal the instant they were both inside, not even waiting for basic seatbelt safety. Now, with Lori and Bobby gone, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were left on their own, able to continue their date in peace.

"I knew it would work." Ronnie Anne said.

With the young adults out of sight and mind, Ronnie Anne tore off her dress and tossed it aside, revealing her normal street clothes underneath; dressed back in her purple hoodie and short jeans.

"Wait... You just made that up?" Lincoln asked.

"Of course I did. How else was I supposed to get rid of them?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"But why get rid of them?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe I was more interested in hearing you talk instead of having to listen to it underneath their babbling over each other. Besides, if I didn't get rid of that dress somehow, I was going to kill somebody, most likely Lori. The dress was her idea."

"Well, you can probably guess what I planned, too."

Lincoln tossed off his own suit, but taking care to fold it properly and neatly to preserve it. Underneath, Lincoln followed Ronnie Anne's line of thinking; dressed in his regular orange polo and jeans underneath his suit.

"Heh. Great minds think alike. You gonna toss the suit?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"No way, I like this suit. I stitched it myself, you know." Lincoln said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Well, I did sort of cut up my dad's best suit to make it, but, still."

"Ha. That sounds more like it. Now, how about you and me get ourselves some cognac shrimp tacos?"

"With a dulce de leche cheesecake?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth."

Before stepping inside the restaurant, Lincoln took a peek at his watch, taking notice of the time reaching 7:05 PM. With one date set on its course, Lincoln needed to get the other one on its way as well, hoping to balance both properly.

"Oh, uh, can you get us the tables? I need to find somewhere to stash my suit so I can pick it up later." Lincoln said.

"Oh, yeah, sure. Go ahead." Ronnie Anne said.

"Thanks. Be right back."

Rather than actually try to hide the suit, Lincoln immediately began putting it back on, needing to look nice for his second date, taking the advice of The Guy to make the date as good as possible to let down his news. While the concept of running back and forth between the restaurants was going to be a heavy challenge, having the other date set right next to this restaurant was going to be a shred of luck in his unlucky situation.

Running next door to Jean Juan's, Lincoln approached the entrance of Anna Anong's Swedish-Thai Restaurant, seeking out his date for the evening. With his suit put back on and buttoned up nicely, Lincoln was all but ready to begin his second date; needing only the date itself.

"Okay, that's date number one set up. Now, where, oh, where, is Stella? I hope she didn't ditch me for being late." Lincoln said.

"Hey, Lincoln! Over here!" A voice called.

Looking to the voice calling out to him, Lincoln found Stella standing outside the restaurant; dressed in a sleek black, sparkly dress with her hair tied back in a bun. Already holding some physical attraction to Stella, seeing her dressed in such a debonair manner only served to add to the attraction, far worsening his problem of needing to separate from her.

Sheepishly approaching the eager Stella, Lincoln made his first greetings towards his soon-to-be dumped girlfriend, waving back at her with a friendly but nervous smile.

"Oh, uh, hi, Stella. Sorry I'm late." Lincoln said.

"Oh, that's okay. We actually just got here seconds ago, so, good timing on your part." Stella said.

"'We'?"

"Yeah, my mom dropped me off. Speaking of which..."

Stella turned to the woman standing beside her, formally introducing her mother. Her mother bore much resemblance to her daughter, as one would expect, but also bore a significantly darker skin tone than her daughter, implying some mixed racial descent on her part.

"Hi. You must be Lincoln. Stella's said a whole lot about you. Just call me Mrs. Saetang." Stella's mom said.

"Saetang?" Lincoln asked.

"It's Thai. I'm guessing that's why you picked this place?" Stella asked.

"Oh, uh, I actually didn't know. I just picked it because they have good curry meatballs."

"I agree, really good food."

"Well, you two have some fun, now. Your father's had a long day of work, and I'll be needing to give him some help at home after he's through." Mrs. Saetang said.

"Okay, mom, see you later."

As Mrs. Saetang began moving back to her car, Lincoln and Stella began entering the restaurant, with the former growing extremely nervous under the pressure of the actions he would inevitably have to take within.

Crap. Oh, crap. Oh, crap. She introduced me to her mom. How am I gonna do this? Okay, okay, you can do this, you can do this- Oh, no, it's already been a few minutes. I've got to get back to Ronnie Anne. Lincoln thought.

"Oh, uh, you think you could get our tables? I forgot something." Lincoln said.

"What'd you forget?" Stella asked.

"I, uh... left my cell phone in Vanzilla. I need to call my sister to pick me up when it's over."

"Oh, right, meet you inside."

"Thanks, be right back."

With the second date now set up for its own course, Lincoln began darting across the street back to Jean Juan's, needing to continue the date he started first. Throwing off his suit and haphazardly stashing behind a set of plants, Lincoln ran back into the restaurant, meeting back up with Ronnie Anne.

After a quick scan of the tables, Lincoln located Ronnie Anne's table, quickly meeting back up and taking a seat for himself.

"Took you long enough, Lame-O. I ordered you a Yahoo Soda." Ronnie Anne said.

"Sorry, it was harder to find a good spot than you think. I put it near the trash, it'd just get dirty." Lincoln said.

"Right. So, what did you want to tell me?"

"Oh, yeah, that, I... Well... You see..."

Needing something to take the edge off his mind, Lincoln took a sip from his his Yahoo soda, letting the sugar and caffeine work its way to his mind and give it more drive to do what it had to do.

"Uh... I wanted to ask... Have you been... seeing anybody... since you moved?" Lincoln asked.

"Uh, of course not, Lame-O. I mean, we still had our relationship going, even if it was behind everybody's backs. I wouldn't cheat on you, was that your concern?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"Well, no, no, but... I mean... It's really okay if you did, I mean... We were apart for a while, never really had someone to hang with, nobody you-"

"Lincoln. I. Did. Not. Cheat. On. You. Okay?"

"Right, I'm sorry. Just... I've been having a weird time lately."

"How so? Was it because of that Ace Savvy guy and all those villains he's been fighting?"

"Heh-heh, you could say that. No, look, uh... You know how ever since I gave you that 4th wall awareness, you knew we were a kid's show, and people were watching us for entertainment?"

"Yeah?"

"And, well, you know, some people like to make their own versions of things they like? You know, add a lot of weird stuff and change the story around?"

"Uh... yeah, where's this going?"

"Well, would you believe me if I told you that we somehow ended up in a fanfiction of the show?"

"Uh... Actually, no, I would not. What gives you that idea?"

"Think about it. I mean, despite the fact that you're supposed to have a spin-off show in another city, you moved back here, doesn't that seem counteractive to that concept?"

"Huh... I guess so, if you put it that way."

"And, like you said, there's a bunch of weird superheroes and supervillains popping up all over the city, and there's been talk of people like the Green Eye and Rocket Power, right?"

"Yeah, I thought there was something weird about them."

"Well, I found out that this isn't the original show at all. We're in some guy's fanfiction, but it's way worse than that."

"How?"

"The guy writing us, the guy controlling everything around us, it a complete maniac."

"Oh, come on, we're a kid's show. What kind of weird stuff would he put in the story?"

"I can't say it out loud for these people to hear, but..."

Lincoln leaned in and whispered the rest in Ronnie Anne's ear, giving her a summary of some of the torturous events that The Guy had put him through. Naturally, Ronnie Anne covered her mouth in disgust, holding back a heaving groan of nausea.

"Jesus Christ, what the hell kind of person would write that?!" Ronnie Anne asked.

"This guy would. He's gonna keep doing it to me if I don't follow his plan." Lincoln said.

"And what's his grand plan? What kind of a story is this? A comedy or a tragedy? Something experimental?"

"Uh... I can't really say. I'll be right back, okay?"

"What? Now where do you have to go?"

"Uh... Remembering all that stuff made me feel really queasy. I think I need to throw up."

"Oh, yeah. Fair enough. Go ahead."

Excusing himself to go to the bathroom, Lincoln began making his way out of the restaurant altogether, trying in actuality to get to his second date. Picking up his suit from its hiding place and subsequently throwing it on, also fixing up his hair nicely in the window, Lincoln made his way across the street to meet up with his second date.

Heading inside the door, Lincoln quickly scanned for Stella and their table, finding it within a few seconds' time. Making an official start to his second date, Lincoln sat down, preparing a nice conversation with Stella.

"Hey, sorry I took so long. Lori wanted to take a while to make sure I looked real nice, even took a few pictures. Do I still look okay?" Lincoln asked.

"You're fine, you look fine, Lincoln. So, what's the big occasion?" Stella asked.

"Big occasion?"

"Yeah, you said you were planning something special, what's up?"

"Uh... Well... I have to admit, it's not exactly good news."

"Why? What's the matter? Are you in trouble or something?"

"Heh-heh, you could say that... No, look, uh... Ugh... Listen, you know I like you, right? Like, I... 'like you' like you?"

"Yeah, Linc. I got that idea right from the start. I remember back when you and all the guys were all trying to fight over me or something."

"Yeah, yeah, but... Look, I really do like you, Stella, I won't lie about that. But... There's..."

"What?"

"Uh... I mean... Stella, you're a great person, you really are, but... This... I don't think it's going to work."

"What are you saying?"

"Well... You know how some people are different in a lot of ways? You know, like saying: I'm a 'classical', you're a 'jazz'; nothing wrong with either, but they don't mix?"

"Uh, no, I'm not following you."

"Look... I-"

Before Lincoln could make any further attempts to say what he was trying to say, the waiter returned with some drinks for the two; placing them on the table.

"Here you are: 2 Yahoo Sodas, each with a slice of lime. Now, are we ready to order yet?" The waiter asked.

"Uh, I don't know, you ready, Stella?" Lincoln asked.

"Oh, yeah, actually. I'll have the coconut chicken tunnbrödsrulle with some brunkål pad thai. Lincoln?" Stella asked.

"Uh... Yeah, I'll take the same."

"Very well, I'll go place your order now." The waiter said.

As the waiter departed to take their orders, Lincoln found himself unable to continue this particular conversation comfortably; needing to take a temporary break. With the first of the two dates needing to be tended to, Lincoln decided to take the opportunity to handle the other date to compose himself.

"Uh, I'll be right back. I, uh... have to go to the bathroom." Lincoln said.

"Oh, sure, sure. Go ahead." Stella said.

Rushing out the door to head across the street, Lincoln once again shed his suit, taking care to fold it nicely for its next usage. Putting it back behind the plant and heading back inside, Lincoln met back with Ronnie Anne. Having sprinted from one restaurant to another, the rush had caused Lincoln to run short of breath, leaving concern for Ronnie Anne.

"Jesus, you look like hell. How much were you puking up in there?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"Well... Let's just say I made plenty of room for dinner." Lincoln said.

"Ha, at least there's that. Speaking of which, hope you don't mind, I ordered us both the cognac shrimp tacos, like I mentioned."

"Perfect. I was just about to bring that up."

"Now, speaking of things you brought up, what was that whole deal earlier?"

"What whole deal earlier?"

"You know, how you were all concerned that I was cheating on me? You don't think I would seriously do that, would you?"

"Oh, no, no, of course not! I mean, I never doubted you for a second."

"Really? Because asking 'Did you cheat on me?' is pretty much the quintessential definition of doubt."

"Uh... Okay, okay, maybe a little, but, I'm only human, right?"

"Hey, cool it, Lame-O, I'm just messing with ya. I haven't had the opportunity to screw with you for months now."

"Oh, uh, ha-ha. Right."

"Lincoln, you really seem nervous. What's the matter?"

"What? No, nothing's the matter, why would anything be the matter?"

"Well, first, you act totally nervous when I finally get back to Royal Woods, then, you tell me that we're not in the original show anymore, but in somebody's fanfiction, then, you start going off on this tangent over if I cheated or not. What are you up to?"

"Uh, I'm not up to anything, what are you talking about?"

"Lincoln, you're always up to something. What's going on here?"

"Well... It's just..."

Needing to compose himself once again for the task at hand, Lincoln took in a deep breath and let it back out, mentally preparing himself for the next sentence to be said.

"Look, about this whole fanfiction thing, it's got me thinking. You and me, as a... you know, couple, or whatever... Is it really you and me who like each other, or is it just... imagination?" Lincoln asked.

"What does that mean?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"Well, I mean, think about it. In the regular show, sure we really liked each other, and we were each other's first kiss, but... Are we really together of our own volition? I mean, practically everybody wants us to be together, but neither of us had really any say in the matter. Are we really just destined to be together whether we want to be or not?"

"So, you're saying you don't want us to be together? Is that what this is all about?"

"No, no, I do... love you, Ronnie Anne, and... I guess I'd like us to be together, but... I want to want it and choose it myself, and not have anybody force me into that decision. You know how Lori is with me and you; she's practically arranged our marriage. But I want some kind of control in my life, don't you? And, being under something outside the original show, that means whoever's in charge can only further that all he wants. Is our love... actually real, or is it just some kind of fantasy?"

"But we both do like each other a lot, Linc. I know that and you know that."

"But you and I can see outside the story itself. We know there are other forces at work that want us to control our lives. Haven't you ever wanted some kind of freedom of your own?"

"Of course I do, Lincoln. That's called growing up. You and I are both 12 now, so we're no stranger to that concept at all. And, if you and I actually want... you know, this, then it shouldn't matter or not who wants us to be together and who doesn't, right? The only other alternative is that we'd be apart again. Is that what you want?"

"No, but... Like I said, maybe I don't like it being controlled by someone else. I want to control my own story."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't try to control your own story, Lincoln. Nobody really ever plans out their life; they just go with the flow and see what happens. Maybe they could wake up one day and become a millionaire, maybe they could never wake up at all the next day. Maybe... it wasn't our place to look outside the story. Maybe our place is to just... live."

"Live for what? Just be somebody's entertainment? Is that really all we're meant to be? I might not know how I grew aware of the viewers, but I never thought about it too much until recently. I just now got to realize it further being turned to a fanfiction, but it's really messed with my head."

"Why not? Where's the dishonor in that? You and I've known we're being watched by others for a long time now, we've only just thought about it more growing up. Maybe the people watching us look for us for some life lessons to grow as people. Maybe they watch us to get a little laugh and be a little happier through their day. Maybe it's so somebody can make us to pay their bills and provide for themselves and their family; who knows? What matters is what we can do with our lives. Wouldn't you agree with that?"

Beginning to see the line of reasoning in Ronnie Anne's points, Lincoln found himself swaying to her position further; realizing the facts in the statements she was making. In the midst of his confusion and uncertainty around the story and where he fit within, Lincoln found the answer to his troubles growing clearer.

"You know... I think you're right. I never really thought about it that way before." Lincoln said.

"Well, duh, you didn't have me to think of it then." Ronnie Anne teased.

The two shared a brief but genuine laugh, giving some levity to the heavy topics the two were discussing. With that inch of levity, Lincoln had finally found the last of the courage to work up for what he had to do with Stella; knowing now what he had to do to finish the story properly.

"Uh, can you excuse me real quick? I gotta use the bathroom." Lincoln said.

"I think they're gonna bring our food out any second now, you don't wanna hold it?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"It's that Yahoo Soda. I really gotta tinkle."

"Not exactly a camel, huh? Just kidding, go ahead, I'll be right here."

"Right. Thanks."

Excusing himself to use the restroom, Lincoln instead moved out the door, proceeding to head across the street to the Anna Anong's, finally ready to end his affair with Stella. Picking up his suit from its hiding spot, Lincoln buttoned the suit up one last time, ready at last to say what needed to be said.

Entering the restaurant and seating himself back down across from Stella, Lincoln prepared himself for the last thing to say to her during their new relationship; ready mentally for the task, but never physically at ease for what was to happen next.

"Took you a while. Think you might wanna lay off on all those exotic toppings?" Stella joked.

"Listen, Stella, uh... The reason I made this a whole thing tonight is because, I, uh... I need to tell you something." Lincoln said.

"What do you need to tell me? We're in the middle of a fancy restaurant- Wait, you're not seriously going to propose or something, are you? We're both 12."

"No, no, far from that. Look. I haven't been totally honest with you. I tried to tell you this back at the mall back when those supervillains attacked, but I didn't have the heart for it then. The thing is... we're both good... friends, but... I..."

"Wait a minute. Are you saying that you want to break up?"

"I... I wouldn't say I want to break up, but... There's somebody else. I mean, there was before I met you."

"Before?"

"Before you moved in, before I even started this in the first place. We were still technically... together... when you and I went on our first date. She's been really loyal to me, and I haven't been loyal to her. This... this was just me being a dumb kid, thinking I could just swap things around. I'm sorry to have messed up your life like this, Stella, but I can't keep this up."

"Says who?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"I mean, we're both just kids, we all make some mistakes. Maybe she wasn't the one for you after all. You and I could still be a thing."

"But what about Ronnie Anne? Her and I were... We were each other's first date and even first kiss. I wasn't sure about it all at first, but... It all makes more and more sense when I think about it all."

"Just because she was your first doesn't necessarily make her your best fit, Linc. You and I have a lot in common, don't we? We both like Ace Savvy, Burpin' Burger, video games; a lot of stuff. People who love each other should have a lot in common, shouldn't they?"

"Maybe... But Ronnie Anne just moved back into Royal Woods and she's been more than eager to get back together. It'd just... It'd just all feel wrong."

"Nobody can tell you how to live your life, Lincoln. You have to make decisions for yourself, lead your life as you see fit."

"But there's only so far I can take that. And-"

"Lincoln Loud. Do you love me, or not?"

While he did genuinely care for Stella and did carry some affection towards her, Lincoln could not bring himself to answer 'yes'. The troubles of starting his affair were all finally catching up with him, and his young mind was just barely able to handle the full consequences of his own actions.

Moving whatever motor skills he could muster to his mouth, Lincoln tried to stumble upon an answer to speak in his mind, not sure which answer to give.

"I... I... I..." Lincoln stammered.

Before any sort of answer could be given, Lincoln heard a call being placed in his ear; the call coming from Lisa, regarding a new supervillain attack.

"Lincoln, come in, Lincoln. We have a shupervillain threat. Come in, over." Lisa said.

With the threat of a supervillain attack superseding all thoughts regarding either of his dates, Lincoln picked himself out of his chair, readying himself for the battle to be fought.

"I'm sorry. I have to go." Lincoln said.

"Look, just think about it, okay? You and I could still be a thing, I'll leave it to you to think about. I'll have your food ordered to-go." Stella said.

Without saying any more words regarding the conversation, Lincoln ended his date with an uncomfortable silence, heading out the door to face off against whatever supervillain threat would be waiting for him.

Walking down the street, leaving both restaurants behind, Lincoln placed on his harlequin mask, pulling off his suit one last time to give way to his super-suit. Giving way to the persona of the spade-spannered hero, Lincoln put his own troubles and thoughts away to face against the villains to come, bringing forth the persona of Ace Savvy.

Now, after two more dates with two different girls, he has a date with one more girl: A blind woman named justice.

Is it just me or is that one of the most cliche lines ever written or spoken?