Chapter 12 Part 3: Backstage Deal

Our story resumes in Lincoln's bedroom. At this moment, he was getting dressed. For what? His date with Mazzy. Three nights ago if you could recall, Mazzy asked Lincoln out on a date over text. The question is, how did Luna and Rita react to the news? To get the answers for that we'll have to go back to three nights ago.

Flashback

We are now in his room the night Mazzy asked him out.

" Hey Snowball, u free Saturday night?"

"Yeah. Why?" Lincoln answered.

"Well, since we're official now, I thought we could have our first official date."

"Sounds good to me. Did you talk to Luna about it?"

"No. Why?"

"She's apart of this relationship too. I don't want her to feel like we're going behind her back."

"Yeah, you got a point. She can get uber jealous."

"Then it's settled. I'll run it by Luna and we'll have the whole night to ourselves."

"And I'll have you all to myself. ;)"

"Easy Mazz, it's only 3 nights from now."

"I know, but I just can't wait see your face again."

"You will. I'll see you then. Goodnight."

"Goodnight. "

End of Flashback

Now we're left with two unanswered questions: how will Lincoln address this and how will the family take the news? For those answers, we'll have to go to Friday night's dinner; one night away from the date.

Flashback

The Loud family were at the dining table enjoying the Friday night Fish Fry. Rita decided to strike up a conversation with the family.

"So how's everyone been? Any plans this weekend?" Rita asked.

"Actually, me and Chaz are going on a date tomorrow night." Leni announced.

"That's great sweety! Hope you two have fun."

"But not too much fun. I don't wanna end up in prison yet." Lynn Sr. said with a scowl.

"Dad you have like no reason to worry. Chaz is totes a true gentleman."

"For his sake he better be."

" So does anyone else have any weekend plans?" Rita asked.

"Actually yeah. I'm going on a date with Mazzy tomorrow night too." Lincoln said as if it wasn't a big deal.

A 3 second moment of silence filled the room before being broken by the collective shriek of the Loud family ladies. At least all but two of them: Luna and Rita. They were more in shock than elation.

"Guys, guys, take it easy. It's not that big of a deal." Lincoln said.

"Not that big of a deal? How is it not?" Lori asked.

"Well she's already my girlfriend, so going on a date is expected."

"True, but it's your first date with an older girl." Luan said causing Rita to clench her fist hard enough to bend her fork.

"So? Age is just a number. Besides, we already have everything planned out."

"Well look at you kiddo. Making plans like a mature man. You're doing your old man proud." Lynn Sr. said with pride.

"What about you mom?" Lynn asked. "You're ok with this right?"

Rita hesitated for a bit, trying not to let her disapproval come out causing her left eye to twitch. Eventually she answered through a pained grin.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be? He's a responsible young man, he can handle himself." Rita answered trying to hold back her true feelings.

"Ok then, it's settled. Have fun kiddo." Lynn Sr. said.

"But not too much. I'm not ready to go to jail again. Not yet." Rita said with a scowl.

Now that he got approval from his mom, there's one more person he has to talk things over with. The one that mattered the most. While he made his announcement, he was watching Luna; looking to see how she'd react. From what he saw, he could tell she was sorting her feelings. He knew they needed to talk. But not now, later when everyone's asleep.

After everyone got ready for bed, Luna was lying in her bed doing the worst thing she could do: talk with her insecurity.

"Well that was a shocker. Lincoln and Mazzy going on a date, and you were none the wiser." Said Luna's inner voice.

" So? They are dating, so it's bound to happen." Luna thought.

"But they didn't get you involved. They planned this behind your back. They're trying to leave you out."

" No! That's not true. Lincoln loves me. He wouldn't just run off with someone else."

"But what about Mazzy? She's had her eye on Lincoln. She set up this whole love triangle. She's just trying to get close enough to swipe him from you."

" You're wrong!!"

"I would be if Lincoln told you about it, but here we are."

" Shut up."

"He's getting bored of you."

" Shut up!"

"He prefers Mazzy; not a clingy-"

" No!"

"Paranoid-"

" NO!"

"FREAK!!"

" SHUT UP!!!"

ding ding*

The notification tone from her phone broke her out of her self loathing trace. She checked her phone and saw that she got a text. From Lincoln. Without hesitation, she opened it and read it.

" Hey Luna, could you come to my room please? We need to talk."

Taking good care not to wake anyone, she made her way to Lincoln's door. She knocked the door lightly, then heard Lincoln's voice usher her in. When she entered, she noticed Lincoln sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Have a seat." Lincoln said patting the space next to him.

Luna did just that. As she sat, a wave of anxiety washed over her. The internal battle she had a few moments ago left her with wounds that hadn't fully healed. Like an abused child, she shook in anticipation of bad news.

"Luna, I've been watching you." Lincoln said. "I made the announcement for two reasons: to let you and everyone know and to see your reaction. And you reacted just the way I expected."

"W-what?" Luna asked in surprise.

"Yeah. I wanted to see how you'd handle the news."

"W-why!?" Luna asked. "Why didn't you talk to me about it earlier?"

"Because I wanted to see how well you could keep up appearances about our relationship." Lincoln explained causing Luna to pause. "Remember, you agreed that Mazzy would be my poster girlfriend to hide our relationship. In order to make this work, I have to act as if it's the order of the day. I understand that how I went about made you think we're leaving you out of our lives, and I'm sorry for that. I'm just trying to keep up appearances for our sake. If mom and dad found out, we might never see each other again, and that's the last thing I'd want. And heaven forbid any strangers hear about us and plasters us all over the internet. So please understand that this is all for our sake."

Luna sat there in revelation. It made sense. He wasn't trying to leave her out, he just wanted to throw the family off their trail. All this time she was selfishly tearing herself apart from the inside in fear, jealousy and self loathing; and for what? Something she didn't have to worry about. At least that's what she wants to think.

"*sigh* You're right luv. I'm sorry for getting moody about it." Luna apologized. "It's just that, it felt like your heart might be beating drums for someone else's song, know what I mean?"

"Luna, let me make one thing clear. What Mazzy and I have is great, but remember this." Lincoln said as he got face to face with Luna. "You are the one song my heart can't quit."

As he ended his sentence, he locked Luna in a deep passionate kiss. Luna was left stunned. The sensations Luna felt from Lincoln's tongue and hand getting a nice handful of her plump little ass made her pull Lincoln in deeper. Her nether region started getting wet in anticipation for what she hoped would lead to a wild night on late night bareback riding. Just as Luna felt like she was about to lose control, Lincoln ended the kiss leaving Luna feeling starved.

"Did that prove who my heart belongs to?" Lincoln asked with a smirk.

Luna gave a breathless nod, being in a total daze.

"Good. Now I think you should get to bed. Don't want to raise suspicion."

Luna got up and headed out as Lincoln slapped her tight ass, soliciting a naughty giggle from her before she closed the door behind her. She was about to have the best sleep in her life.

Now we fast forward to Lincoln getting ready for his date. He wanted to look real good for his date, so he went all out. He had his hair combed back, wore a blue denim fleece jacket over a white t-shirt, blue jeans, blue and white suede shoes, a gold watch he won at a science fair with Lisa, magnetic faux diamond ear studs and finally, a silver necklace that Pop Pop gifted him. Pop Pop told him to wear it anytime he goes on a date for good luck. Lincoln made his way to the living room to wait for Mazzy to pick him up. While waiting, someone else came down to wait for their date. It was Leni. She was dressed to impress, as usual. She wore a sea foam maxi dress with silver cone heel shoes and pearl earrings.

"Wow Leni, you look drop dead gorgeous." Lincoln said in awe.

"Awwww, thanks Lincy. You're looking quite cool yourself." Leni replied.

Lincoln was Leni's favorite sibling. Anytime Lincoln complimented her, it meant more to her than anyone else's. She loved him; not as much as Luna did but she loved him the most. They both sat in the living chatting until Leni's date Chaz came. This alerted the family, causing them to flood the living room as they welcomed Chaz inside. Rita took photos of the two to commemorate the moment while Lynn Sr. was mean mugging Chaz. Soon Lynn Sr. walked up to him.

"Remember this punk; you hurt my daughter, you end up on a t-shirt. Got it?" Lynn Sr. said with a scowl.

"Y-y-yes sir. I'll treat Leni like the queen she is." Chaz said nervously.

On that note, the young couple took their leave. Now everyone else was in the living room waiting for Mazzy to arrive, which didn't take long. Mazzy knocked on the door and Lincoln went to open. When he opened it, he along with everyone else were left gobsmacked. She was dressed in a black Rolling Stones t-shirt, leather jacket, plaid short skirt over ripped jeggings, leather biker boots, black lipstick and eyeshadow, diamond stud earrings and purple and pink streaks in her hair. Basically, she looked like a punk rock goddess.

"Wow Mazz, you look cooler than usual." Lincoln complimented.

"You're looking pretty frosty yourself, Snowball." Mazzy replied stroking his hair.

" *clears throat* So, what do you two have planned tonight?" Rita asked.

"Just something simple. A movie, dinner, stroll through the park. Basic date stuff." Mazzy replied.

"Well then, I hope you two have fun. And you better not break my boy's heart."

"Relax Mrs. Loud, he has more of a chance of breaking mine." Mazzy said, taking the opportunity to hold his hand.

"Well then that's settled. Have fun kiddo, but not too much fun." Lynn Sr. said with a wink.

"Don't worry dad, we won't." Lincoln replied as they both left.

" Oh I know you won't. I'll make sure of it." Rita thought.

Lincoln and Mazzy were on their way to the movie theater. It didn't take too long for them to reach and even less to get their ticket, snacks and seats. They went to watch a B-list horror movie; their favorite type of horror movies. Mostly because they loved to make fun of the poor acting, predictable plot and hilariously bad jump scares. They got in about 15 minutes before the movie started. The room was not very crowded so they had the choice of the best seats. While they were focused on each other, they failed to notice a certain hooded, mature blond woman taking her seat 3 rows behind them. Nor they notice a hooded, late teen brunette seated at the back row. That's right, both Rita and Luna were stalking them. Even though Luna understood she wasn't being pushed away, her jealously prevailed. She just couldn't stand the idea of Mazzy having Lincoln all to herself; and it was worse seeing them have so much fun. However, here jealousy had to wait. The movie was about to end and she couldn't afford to get caught; so she slipped out of the theater and made it to the bike she stashed in a nearby bush. Rita decided to play an opposite game and waited for the couple to leave first. Once they left, she followed a safe 20ft behind all the way outside and made her way to Vanzilla, which was parked on the other side of the theater. This set up miraculously ensured that Luna and Rita didn't see each other.

The young couple got into the car and went to their next destination: Giovanni Chang's Italian Chinese Bistro. Luna biked an alternative route which made it easy to follow them unseen, while Rita was driving 4 cars behind them. Luna made it to the restaurant about 10 minutes after the couple. Rita made it a few minutes later due to traffic. They both staked out in bushes separated far enough from each other not to arouse suspicion in the other. There they were, a young happy looking couple laughing, locking eyes, holding hands across the table, and the most romantically cringe worthy part of all: the lady and the tramp noodle kiss. Those two were enjoying their plate of yao mein-ghetti and lion's head meatballs to the fullest extent. (This version of Lion's head is a large pork meatball that's stuffed with cheese and tomato sauce, braised in soy sauce and chicken broth.) Watching this gave Luna a twinge of jealousy, but Rita was almost steaming.

" That little tramp! That succubus! Trying to corrupt my sweet white haired angel! I should go in there and kick her ass!" Rita angrily thought.

" That should be me in there. I never got to do anything that lovey-dovey yet." Luna thought in jealousy.

They stayed there for another 30 minutes until they finished their meal. Once the couple made it to their car, they snuck their way out of the bushes and to their awaiting vehicles. They followed them to their final destination: The Royal Woods Public Park. Since Lincoln wanted to have a simple romantic date, he opted for a night time stroll through the park to a secluded area, where they'd be covered by a blanket of stars. Luna lagged behind in the chase due to hitting a stray rock, knocking her off the bike. Rita parked on the street at an angle that they wouldn't notice the car.

" I might get a ticket, but it's worth it for my baby." Rita thought as she continued her pursuit.

Luna arrived, but lost site of them. She had to think. What was the most romantic part of the park? Then as it hit her, she ran with gusto to said place, even beating them there. It was called "God's Window", and right next to it was the area that made her worry the most: "Paradise Bush". Rita figured out their destination based on their path. It made her furious and made her feel her suspicions were justified. But she wasn't going to act until she saw proof. Luna already stashed herself in a tree near a park bench. Rita did the same in a tree on the opposite side, but a bit further away. By about 8 feet further from the bench than Luna's was. It's a miracle at this point that those two didn't bump into each other.

There the two lovebirds sat; gazing at the beautiful starry sky while embracing each other. The chatted for a while, talking about some very deep topics. In fact, Luna and Rita almost got lost in thought as they processed the conversation. But then their minds came back on track when they heard the two exchange "I love you"s. And their fury (on Rita's part) and jealous (on Luna's part) flared up as the shared a passionate kiss. After 5 minutes, Mazzy broke the kiss to ask a question.

"Hey, you wanna go into Paradise Bush?" Mazzy asked.

"Isn't that where couples go to 'do the dirty deed'?" Lincoln asked.

"Yeah. To be honest, I've been holding back so much I can't take it. I want to experience this with you."

"Well, when you say it like that it's hard to say no. Let's go."

They paused for a moment, then Lincoln spoke loudly.

"OK FUN'S OVER. MOM, LUNA, COME OUT."

Needless to say both Rita and Luna were shocked. Not only by the fact that Lincoln knew they were there, but also the fact there was someone else on the same mission as the other. They climbed down their respective trees. When Luna and Rita finally saw each other they could only ask each other the same questions.

" What are you doing here? I'm watching over Lincoln. Why? I wanted to make sure he didn't get hurt. You too?" They both spoke in unison before Lincoln broke the conversation with the sound of him clearing his throat.

"Right. How did you know we were here?" Rita asked.

"We saw Vanzilla trail behind us ever since we left the theater." Lincoln said.

"And I saw your head poke out the bushes at the restaurant. And that major wipeout you had." Mazzy said causing Luna to feel super embarrassed.

"So mom, care to explain yourself?" Lincoln said.

"*sigh* I just wanted to make sure she didn't take advantage of you and break your heart, sweetie. I mean she's a year away from college and you're not even in high school yet. I'm just looking out for my sweet baby boy." Rita answered with a hint of shame.

"Mom, I'm not a baby anymore. I'm old enough to make decisions for myself. I understand and appreciate your concern but tell me, which would you prefer: me taking risks by building relationships with others freely, or me no longer having a desire to find someone to be happy with because you keep scaring them away?"

It finally hit her. What she was doing wasn't helping, it was making things worse. Her overprotective and hostile personality made Lincoln's romantic life a burden. She didn't want that, she just wanted to make sure her baby was safe. But that was the problem, she treated him like a baby instead of the intelligent young man he was. She needed to learn to trust his judgment more.

"You're right Lincoln. I'm sorry. I should learn how to trust you more. And I guess I should've given you a chance Mazzy. Could you ever forgive me?" Rita asked the young couple.

"Sure mom." Lincoln replied.

"It's all good Mrs. L." Mazzy replied.

"Then I guess we better get out of your hair."

"Actually, I think I'll call it a night here. I've had a lot of fun tonight, so why not end it on a high note?" Mazzy said.

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly." Lincoln replied.

"I text you later, Snowball." Mazzy told Lincoln as she kissed him and made her way to her car.

Lincoln and Luna got a ride back home with their mom. When they got home and Rita retired to her room and they were alone in the living room, Luna tried to apologize.

"Lincoln. I'm s-" was all she could say before Lincoln silenced her with a finger before leaning toward her right ear.

"If you want to apologize, come to my room in 15 minutes. You're gonna apologize with everything you got." Lincoln whispered in Luna's ear before nibbling her earlobe, soliciting an ecstatic cry from her.

Luna started steaming in anticipation of what was to happen later. She was going to apologize all night.

Author's Note:

Here it is after months of painstaking brainstorming. Sorry it took so long. One more chapter and this story comes to an end. I've enjoyed the ride so far but every journey must come to an end. Until the next chapter, I'll see you guys next time.