Seven Ways I Could Fall for You

1st Way: Lola, Break-Up

The sound of a locker door slamming shut rang clear throughout the halls of Royal Woods elementary. It may have been the start of her summer, the last day of a school year, but all that was coursing through Mollie's veins was ice.

That, that jerk! She grumbled as she grimaced and stalked, teeth clenched, down the hallway, heedless of any kid calling out to her or even trying to make eye contact. The start of summer vacation, and he seriously just… a growl caused two boys to jump, one landing square inside a trashcan.

It would have been funny, possibly, if Mollie was in the mood to laugh. Of course, if she'd been in the mood to laugh, then it wouldn't have happened.

Ah, paradox. She tried to smile, but it faltered.

'Huh? What did I have planned?' the boy had asked, giving her a lazy shrug. 'I 'unno, you think of something. Besides, if you decide, then I know you'll be happy-

"That's not the freaking point!" she finally burst out as she neared the school exit, not so much a screech as a strangled cry. "That idiot! You're supposed to show a girl how much she means to you! Not treat her like a… a… a little kid," her reflection in the door's glass stared back at her, and not for the first time did she think the world – or someone, at least – was trying to tell her something.

Another growl, this one a bit weaker, then she blew a stray strand of hair from her face as she pushed the door open. "I get it, I get it… still-"

"Lola!" her thoughts came to an abrupt end when a familiar voice reached her ears. She stopped, turned toward the playground and saw-

"Lemme at 'em!" the little pink terror growled, her eyes flaming as the objects of her ire laughed and fled the playground. "I'll rip 'em a new one, Lincoln, just-"

"And that's why I'm not letting you go, Lola!" her older brother strained and pulled the girl back, her wrath rather stronger than normal. "Just let them go, they're just doing that to get you in trouble-"

"Then let 'em!" his little sister wriggled, nearly broke free before Lincoln threw the two down onto the grass and used his weight to hold her while he adjusted his grip. Then, the little girl looked down, stopped, gasped, "Lincoln! You got grass stains on my pageant gown!"

The boy considered his situation, noticed where his arms and hands were, then redoubled his efforts to wrap his arms tightly around her form as he whipped his head back and away from his little sister.

Lola, meanwhile, now had two things to growl about.

"Hey, Lincoln," Mollie called out, her arms crossed as she covered the distance between the exit and the two siblings. "Having trouble?"

Lincoln looked around, doing his best to keep Lola away from his head. "Oh, hey, Mollie! Yeah," he laughed nervously as Lola began to struggle, "You could… kind of say that."

"Tell me," Mollie asked when she got closer, "are you normally so skilled in handling wild animals?"

Before Lincoln could warn Mollie to watch what she says near Lola, the little girl looked at her and groused, "Oh, perfect, another who thinks she's a laugh riot. Just what I need in my life."

Lincoln sighed, grateful Lola didn't seem too insulted. Then considered that a bit more carefully and worried even more.

But Mollie took no notice. "Let me guess, kids teasing you?"

Lola just grumbled something under her breath what sounded like, "None of your business," but Lincoln explained more thoroughly with, "Some boys called her dress stupid, and Lola figured tearing an eyeball out was a great response."

"Fair trade," Mollie had to agree, to which Lola gave her a look, her mouth forming an 'o' before breaking into a devilish smile and nodding. "That said, I don't think you could rock prison orange, Lola."

"I can agree," Lincoln nodded.

Both girls looked at each other, then at Lincoln. "Nobody can really rock orange, Lincoln," they both said at the same time, earning each other another look, a grin, and a thumbs up (admittedly, Lola could only extend her thumb, her arms currently restrained as they were. But the thought was there).

Realizing what he'd walked into, Lincoln now growled in frustration now.

"So, what brings you over here?" Lincoln asked after recovering, Lola still in his arms as she seemed to stare in the direction the boys had left in.

Mollie shrugged. "Eh, just overheard you two, so I figured-"

"Er," Lincoln interrupted, considered how to say what was on his mind, "I mean, shouldn't you be with-"

"Say his name and I free Lola," Mollie stared hard into Lincoln's eyes then.

The boy, having ten sisters, understood completely and wisely avoided that nuclear landmine. "I take it, you broke up?"

Mollie sighed. "Yeah, we did."

It surprised Mollie when Lincoln said, "Want to talk about it?" though it really shouldn't have, she chided herself immediately after. Ten sisters, or so she'd heard, and the guy didn't pick up on things like that? Sure, he may be a guy, but even if for survival's sake he-

"You just want someone to carry your bag, don't you?" Mollie asked as the possibility hit her just then.

Lincoln gulped, looked down at Lola then back at Mollie, "If I let her go now, there's gonna be a murder on the news tonight. And I don't wanna play the accessory, OR the victim." Then, after a moment, he smiled sheepishly and said, "Please? Trade for trade?"

Mollie considered this.

A few minutes later, she and Lincoln were on their way, his other younger sisters having waited for him and Lola by the front entrance while the latter was hugged tightly in front of him, her eyes glaring daggers into all who happened to make eye contact with her in such a humiliating situation.

"-and then, the jerk had the temerity to say, '-besides, you didn't really like when I took you on that tour of the museum'," Mollie groused as they walked side by side, Lincoln's bag carried over her shoulder. "Maybe I would have liked it if the museum wasn't all about stupid yarn!"

"I didn't even know Royal Woods has a yarn museum," Lincoln raised an eyebrow.

Mollie huffed, sighed, nodded her head. "Yeah, my thoughts exactly. And I could have gone without knowing, trust me. I was so bored, I saw my grandma."

Lincoln considered this. "I don't see-"

"My dead grandma," Mollie stated flatly.

Lucy turned to her, grinned. "Really? What did she say, anything interesting-"

"Anyways!" Lincoln interrupted before Lucy could really get morbid. "I guess it is pretty bad you broke up, but look on the bright side," he offered with a shrug, smiling now despite being so near his own death in the form of a little sister's wrath, "at least now you don't have to worry you'll be taken to an earwax museum next time, right?"

Everyone paused, looked at him for even thinking of such a thing. But it was Lisa who finally said, "I didn't know you even knew there was an earwax museum in Royal Woods, Lincoln."

Again, everyone paused. Then, a chorus of disgusted, "There is?" followed by Lana saying, "Cool! I wanna go!" rang clear through the air.

Lisa, realizing just what she'd done, smacked herself and said, "Dang it!"

As Mollie wound down, Lucy piped up with, "Hey, Lincoln?" when the boy looked her way, she asked, "Do you have time to help me with my poetry tonight?"

"Sure, Luce. You know that," Lincoln answered.

Lola, again, growled, "You'll have all the time in the world once I'm done with you for ruining my dress!" then she murmured, "Of course, you probably won't be of much help then-"

"I said I was sorry, Lola!" Lincoln griped. "Trust me, I didn't mean to get your dress dirty, and I promise you," he finally set her down, looked her in the eye – surprising all of his sisters, though Mollie wasn't sure exactly why – and said, "I will personally clean your dress tonight after helping Lucy, and if it can't be cleaned I will make sure you get a new one, okay? I am sorry," he continued, "but I can't do much more than that. Okay?"

After a moment's thought, Lola finally relented, sagged her shoulders and let a long, "Fine," drag out of her.

The sisters, sans Lola, released the collective breath they'd all been holding. A moment later the twins were gabbing and Lincoln, his arms now free, offered to take his bag back from Mollie as they started walking again.

"Thanks for carrying it," he said after taking it back. "You really helped me out back there."

Mollie smiled, shrugged. "No prob. Though, I gotta say," she leaned over slightly, smiled as she spoke lowly, "you really know how to handle them, don't you?"

Lincoln smiled, laughed, then leaned in and said, "With as many sisters as I have, you either learn fast or become roadkill."

Mollie, being an only child, didn't quite know the feeling, but she tried to sympathize.

Then, Lincoln said, "Still, are you gonna be okay?" Mollie was surprised by this. "I mean, you looked pretty rough here and there-"

"Yeah, I will," Mollie waved it off, shrugged. "Besides, all boys are just jerks-" she gulped, then corrected herself with, "-present company excluded. And anyways, I'll probably get another boyfriend before the end of summer, so who cares about ol' what's his name, anyways?" she laughed then, earning a few concerned looks from the sisters nearby.

Lincoln, still smarting about Mollie's comment, let it go and chuckled softly. "Well, that's good. Guess it was a fair trade, then?" when the girl gave him a look, he explained, "Your venting for carrying my bag."

Mollie considered this, then nodded. "Yeah, fair trade."

The two smiled, laughed lightly, then continued walking.

But while it might have been lost on Lincoln, it wasn't on any of the sisters walking near them as Mollie continued right alongside their older brother, both chatting away.

When finally they reached 1214 Franklin Ave, Lincoln realized just how long they'd been walking together. "Oh, geez!" he slapped his forehead, "Sorry about that-"

"About what?" Mollie was genuinely oblivious to what Lincoln was referring to.

The boy just smiled sheepishly and said, "I didn't even realize we were walking—I mean, you live in the opposite direction, so if you wait a moment while I do my chores, I'd walk you back to your place-"

He was lucky – or possibly not – that he didn't see the looks on his sisters' faces as Lucy opened the front door and Luan and Lynn Jr. appeared on the other side.

Mollie also seemed oblivious. "Oh, that? Don't worry, Lincoln, I can-"

"Well, you wouldn't be so far away if you weren't helping me-"

"But I offered-"

"Well, I can-"

As the two talked past one another, Luan and Lynn Jr. looked at each other. Then, Luan leaned down and asked Lucy, "What's going on? Who's she?"

Lucy told her, then explained quietly as Lincoln and Mollie persisted. When she was finished, Luan and Lynn Jr. looked at one another, grinned toothily, then looked back at Lincoln. It was Lynn who finally spoke up with, "Hey, Stinkoln, great timing!" and before he could recover, she thrust a piece of paper into his hands. "You go and pick the circled things up, Mom said she forgot them when she went shopping earlier this week and didn't notice it! And-"

"You can walk her home while you're at it!" Luan finished, quickly ushering the kids into the house as she did so.

Lincoln just blinked, spluttered, then said, "But what about-"

"Chores can wait, just go, Stinkoln!" and, with only the briefest moment to pass him the money, Lynn Jr. grinned widely and pulled back into the house, the door quickly slamming shut behind her before her brother could argue.

Lincoln just stood there, speechless. Then, realization dawning, his mouth turned into a frown as he looked to Mollie and said, "We should probably hurry. Now."

Mollie just said, "Wait, why?" as he dragged her down off the porch and hurried her along the sidewalk.

As if to answer her question, a chorus of squeals whipped through the neighborhood, causing dogs to bark, cats to hiss, and property values all across the town to plummet in real time.

"That's why."

Though Lincoln had offered to walk Mollie home first, the girl didn't know exactly why she chose instead to accompany Lincoln on his errand. Of course, it helped that it wasn't anything perishable he needed to pick up, but still…

"Thanks, Lincoln," Mollie said as she slipped the key into the lock.

Lincoln just looked at her questioningly. "Why? I didn't-"

"No," she smiled. "You did. Really. I'd have just been moping if not for you today. So," she smiled, a bit of a blush forming on her cheeks, "thanks," she chided herself that that one single word almost sounded like a squeak.

Now blushing himself, Lincoln shook his head. "N-no problem, Mollie. Really." Then, he decided to say, "Actually, if you wanted… maybe we could t-talk again… sometime? Soon?" he offered, hopefully.

Grinning sheepishly as she opened the door, she nodded her head. "Y-yeah, I'd like that."

The two stood there, facing each other for longer than they expected before-

"Well, we should-"

"I should probably-"

They both laughed as they talked over each other. Then, after they both calmed down, Lincoln rubbed the back of his head and said, "I should probably get this back or my sisters will whine that dinner's late."

"Gotcha," Mollie grinned. But as Lincoln turned away, Mollie slipped halfway into the house and turned to face Lincoln. "Hey, Lincoln?"

"Yeah-"

His mind went blank when a pair of soft lips pressed against his cheek. When Mollie pulled away, she swept her hair out of her eyes and said, "Soon?" as she showed him her phone's number.

He grinned, nodded slowly as he pulled his own phone out. "Soon."

Then, after quickly exchanging numbers, he was off, smiling the whole way home.

Mollie, however, walked up to her room, put her own bag down, then flopped onto the bed and smiled to herself as she started texting Girl Jordan.

Definitely not all boys.

End of 1st Way

A/N: These seven one-shots are the result of simply drawing up a table of twenty different themes, settings, events, etc, giving each sister a number, and then letting a random number generator create a pair that would influence, directly or indirectly, a Lincoln and Mollie/Mollie and Lincoln story. Each one is self-contained, so don't bother looking for continuity. That said, I hope you enjoy them!