A/N Ahh, here we are! The 10 day mark! I hope you guys enjoy this! I know that things are weird given what's going on IRL, but please, all support helps! I hope you guys enjoy!

R&R!

Chapter 10: How We Ended Up Here

We met a few years ago, back when we were still kids…

"Haha! You're funny!" A young girl Jordan whispered, while giggling.

Lincoln pulled out the pens from his nose and smiled. "Thanks! I'm Lincoln! What's your name?"

"I'm Jordan," She rubbed her arm.

"Jordan huh?" The young boy rubbed his chin. "But there's a boy Jordan already…" He paused, before raising his finger. "I know! I'll call you girl Jordan!"

She shook her head. "Please don't."

But he did, and that name stuck.

I would always be competitive around him, I could never say why though.

"Girl Jordan! Stop!" Lincoln shouted as he ducked and weaved, dodging every single dodgeball she threw at him. "This is supposed to just be a game!"

"Haha! I don't care!" She kept attacking, sending her ordinance at him.

In reply, he smiled, before grabbing a ball and raising it as a shield. "Not gonna beat me that easily!"

Jordan smiled, before spinning and sending another two flying. In reply, Lincoln jumped and sent his own.

And in a moment, they blasted each other, sending them flying in defeat.

"Haha!" They laughed in unison afterwards.

"Hey, I'm sorry about Ronnie Anne," Jordan held him.

"Thanks… Girl Jordan," He went. "I just…" He looked away. "I don't know why…"

"Why what?" She leaned in, wrapping her arm around him.

"What's wrong with me? Why'd she leave me for Sid?" He turned to her, tears making their way down his cheeks.

For a moment, she paused, thinking through her answer, before placing a soft hand to wipe his cheek. "Lincoln, there's nothing wrong with you. Sometimes people just move on."

"But… she said she loved me…" He whispered. "She wanted to spend her life with me…"

"Hey, things change," She looked into his eyes with a soft, caring gaze. "But… things can change for the better."

His eyes softened. "Do… do you like me, Jordan?"

She leaned in and placed a soft kiss upon his cheek. "I always have."

And with that, Lincoln turned and wrapped his arms around her.

"Lincoln, I'm pregnant," those words hung in the air, as Lincoln stood by, unsure of how to react.

Soft tears began to stream down Jordan's cheeks. "I… I'm pregnant," She repeated, before turning and dropping on the couch.

Slowly, Lincoln began to move, taking short steps to place himself next to Jordan. "A-are you sure?"

She looked up at him, her eyes now red and puffy, before she gave a small nod and proceeded to bury her face in her arms. "What are we going to do? We're sixteen! That's not old enough to start a family!"

"I… I don't know…" Lincoln rubbed his arm, his gaze breaking from his girlfriend.

"H-how can you not know?!" She snapped at him. "You're the man with the plan, right?! You- you have plans for everything! You had to know this was gonna happen, right? You had to know!" She then turned and clawed at him with her hands, while more and more panic filled her voice.

Lincoln tried to answer, searching for a solution to their problem, and yet… he found nothing. What was he supposed to do? He was going to be a father! He tried to speak, yet the words simply wouldn't come out. He was stunned and there wasn't much he could do to change that.

Jordan turned and clutched one of the pillows, before curling up into a ball beside him. "I'm pregnant. But I'm not ready to be a mom. Why'd we do that? We didn't have condoms! You're a Loud for crying out loud and I knew that! But… I was still ok with sleeping with you!"

For a moment, he paused. He had to do something, but what? Everything she was saying was true. Neither of them were ready to be parents, but… they were going to be in just a few short months.

"We don't have jobs… mom and dad are probably gonna make me get rid of it…" Pain filled her voice, while a shiver ran up their spines.

Get rid of it…

"No," Lincoln pushed himself to his feet and shook his head. "No matter what, we can't let that happen."

Jordan looked up. *Sniffle* "We can't?"

Lincoln couldn't tell what was coming over him, whether it be the fatherly desire to protect his child or his own feelings towards the matter, he just couldn't let it sit. He had to do something, anything! "Jordan, our parents… what have they said about us having a kid?"

"That we'd have to leave and learn how to live on our own if I got pregnant, and that we'd have to get married," Her voice softened, while she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Well then," Lincoln gulped. "Jordan… I know this is a longshot, but… I might have an idea."

She pushed herself up, hope filling her eyes. "What?"

Slowly, Lincoln reached into his shirt and pulled out the small key. "Jordan, when I was a kid, my grandpa would always tell me about a buried treasure my ancestor stowed away somewhere far, far away. And that this would be what we'd need to unlock it."

Jordan stared at him, before bursting out laughing, wiping a tear from her eye. "Y-you're kidding me right? We don't even know if it's real. Are you really suggesting we go on a wild goose chase to try and find some mythical treasure or something?"

The young man looked away and let out a breath. "Jordan… I don't know," he turned back and looked into her eyes. "But… how will our parents react? They've always wanted to see us together, I know. But… can we really trust them not to go ballistic? And what about my sisters? They'll chastise us for getting you pregnant before Lori. I remember… mom and dad said we'd be out on the streets, with our children forced to eat rocks if this happened…"

Jordan replied by rubbing her arm. "My parents said we'd be eating grass like cows… That only a whore would let it happen to themself…"

Lincoln turned and stepped over to the nearby bookshelf. "So… what do you wanna do, Jordan? I know it's a longshot but, I really do think that we have a chance of actually finding this treasure! We can do it if we work hard enough."

She hesitated. What was she supposed to do next? She was pregnant, and neither of them wanted to give up their child. Could they tell their parents? Maybe… but from what it sounded like, neither of them were truly sure of how they would react to the news. Then again… maybe it would be for the best.

Slowly, she turned and leaned in, with Lincoln replying by doing the same. And for a moment, their lips brushed against each other, before pulling back. "Lincoln, you said you'd always love me, did you mean that?"

He nodded. "Of course, I always do."

"All right then," She let out a breath and steeled her nerves. "Then I'm in. We can do this, right?"

Lincoln nodded. "Yeah, we just have to find the creator of this key… and his name I remember Grandpa mentioned was in this book…"

With that, Jordan turned. "I'll go pack our things… I just hope that we do find this treasure in the end…

Back In The Present…

"And that's how we ended up leaving and going on this trip," Lincoln rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry we worried you."

"You're dang right you worried us! For the past week we were trying find you two, but until yesterday, something was messing with her tracker!" Lola flared her arms. "Heck, why the heck did you two leave anyways?! We would've been happy to hear that you're pregnant!"

Jordan looked away in shame. "It's because… we weren't supposed to be, we love each other… but we just…" her voice trailed off, while Lincoln wrapped an arm around her.

"Hey, don't worry," He let out a breath. "We'll talk about it later, ok guys? Right now, we have to continue the treasure hunt."

"Uhh, why?" Lana tilted her head. "Didn't you see where it's gotten you? I mean, guys with guns aren't fun to play with."

For a moment, Lincoln thought his argument through, before shaking his head and pulling out the key. "Even if we were to go home, that man is still after us. If what we learned from visiting the first point is right-"

"Hmm, point doesn't seem right," Jordan cut in. "How about 'seal' after all, when you unlocked it, it released a lot of power or something."

"Ok, first seal, this treasure is real. There's something to this all," He waved the key. "And it has to do with this. We need this to open the seals."

"And what'll happen when you open all of them?" Lily leaned up and tilted her head.

"I… don't know…" Lincoln let his head down in defeat.

"Well… I suppose there's only one way to find out then," Lisa stepped over with the orb, allowing the map to come into view. "From what it seems, there are three points remaining, one in South America, Europe and Africa. Once we find the remainder, you can open them and see what treasure lies on the other side."

"You're seriously not considering going after this random treasure, are you?" Luna tilted her head in surprise.

Yet, it was Lori who answered. "Truthfully, I'd say no, but they just got attacked by some goons… if we're gonna be safe again, we need to find out what this is hiding and put a stop to it before those crazy guys do… whatever."

Luna groaned. "Fine, I'll have Chuck pull more strings!" She bowed her head before pulling out her phone.

"One more thing," Lynn stepped over and punched Jordan's arm. "Welcome to the family!"

Leni squealed. "Yay! I'm gonna make so many clothes for them! They're gonna be the most adorable little baby ever!"

Lincoln and Jordan turned to each other and nodded, before the Loud family turned off and made their way into the evening light.

Meanwhile…

"Sir… they got away," Alex slowly pushed himself up. "How the heck did they manage that?"

"I don't know, nor do I really care," The old man stepped forward and leaned down, picking up a small piece of crystal off the floor. "I want the lab boys to make me a new key. If it's necessary to open the seals then I will do whatever I must to get the necessary supplies."

"Yes, sir!" The man took the shard and ran off, leaving the old man alone in the empty hangar.

"The race has begun, I must consult the notebook for more information," before he too turned and made his way out.

20-9-13-5-19 1-18-5 1-12-23-1-25-19 3-8-1-14-7-9-14-7, 2-21-20 8-5-25, 1 19-8-9-16 9-19 1 19-8-9-16!

A/N And there we go! 1/3rd of this challenge is complete! I know it's hard, but I'm gonna keep going and I won't give up! Also, keep your eyes peeled! I worked on a fic in the TLH discord today and I'm planning on editing and posting it tomorrow!