The Loud House/Casagrandes FanFiction
A Rough Phase - ACT II
Later, the two girls were sitting in Ronnie Anne's bedroom. Sid was still visibly surprised by what she had been told.
"I'm still finding this so hard to believe! I never would have thought that you of all people would be a no-good bully!"
"Believe me, it's not something I'm proud of. It's why I've never told you about it before, it's a part of my life I just like to put behind me."
"Why did you do it? I mean, you just don't seem the type! Even when you tried to act like a violent punk to make your dad think you were troubled so that he would stick around that one time, you couldn't pull it off convincingly. I just don't see… well, you, as that kind of person." Sid pointed out.
"Honestly, I think it was down to anger more than anything else. It made me want to take out all my frustrations on the other kids." Ronnie Anne clarified.
"Anger? What anger?" Sid asked.
"Well, I'd say the reason I'm so nice and friendly now is because I'm actually happy. Back in Royal Woods… not so much. "
"Huh?"
"You see, now I live in the city, I'm surrounded by tons of new friends, including you… you're awesome, by the way. But also, I have so much family around me all the time, too! Even if some of their antics can drive me a little crazy at times, I still loving having them in my life. It was a good move my mom taking me and Bobby to live here, it stopped me from being so lonely."
"Wait, you were lonely?" a curious Sid asked.
"Yep. Back when I lived in Royal Woods, it was just me, mom, and Bobby. Mom was always working endless shifts at the hospital, just like she does now, while Bobby was always out moving from one job to another. Sure, it was fun having a house all to myself sometimes. I mean, I basically turned the place into my own personal skatepark…" Ronnie Anne joked.
Sid let out an amused chuckle in response, before letting her friend continue…
"…but it did get a bit lonely sometimes. Maybe that's why I picked on Lincoln so much, I felt a little jealous because he had such a big family and so many people he could depend on. I didn't have anybody…" Ronnie Anne sadly recollected, causing Sid to place a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Aww, I had no idea. That's so sad."
"Of course, I know this doesn't make what I did to him okay, or how I treated any of the other kids, for that matter. But it's an explanation for my behaviour back then as much as anything else. Well, that and the fact that once I was laughed at and humiliated in a school play, and that made me want to appear tough in front of all the other kids, I guess. I know I certainly didn't want to go through that again!"
"Wow! This is a lot to take in! It's kind of jarring for me to find out that I actually know so little about you…" Sid reflected.
"You know tons about me, Sid! You know my favourite band, you know all my favourite hobbies, you know my embarrassing nickname my family gives me…" Ronnie Anne tried to reassure her.
"Oh yeah, Nini…" Sid said as she laughed.
"Yeah, and you even know my brother's full name!"
"Yep! Roberto Alejandro Martínez-Millán Luis Santiago, Jr." Sid impressively remembered without pause or restraint.
"See?! It's been years for me, and I still occasionally miss out one of his middle names! You know everything you need to know about me, Sid. The only reason you didn't know about my past life as a bully is because… well, I didn't want you to."
"Why?"
Ronnie Anne then stood up, paced across the bedroom, and then finally turned back around to face her best friend and try to answer her question.
"I dunno… It's just that… I guess I felt if you knew the kind of jerk I was back then, you probably wouldn't like me anymore." Ronnie Anne uneasily admitted, her insecurities and regrets now raising to the surface as she said those words.
Sid then jumped off the bed and made clear her stance on the situation…
"Look, Ronnie Anne! As far as I'm concerned, you're without a doubt the coolest kid I know, and nothing could ever change that! You're the best friend I could ever ask for! I don't care who you were, the person you are now is a cool, awesome, kind, great gal! You don't have to hide anything from me, I'm here for you."
Ronnie Anne then reached over and hugged her best friend, with Sid almost immediately returning the favour.
"Thanks, Sid. That means a lot."
After releasing the embrace, Sid asked her another question…
"Did you ever tell your family about this?"
"Well, uh… not really." Ronnie Anne awkwardly admitted as she rubbed the back of her head.
"What? Not even Bobby? Or your mom?!" a surprised Sid blurted out in response.
"Well, I didn't actually need to tell Bobby. He kinda heard about what was going on between me and Lincoln after I came home crying to him about the time Lincoln said a few harsh things about me. In hindsight, I probably deserved it, but he still acted all defensive, as big brothers do. It ended up with the four of us all going on a date. Me, Lincoln, Bobby, and Lori. Let me tell you, awkward was NOT the word! Although saying that, it wasn't all bad. I mean, that was the night Lincoln and I really started to become friends." Ronnie Anne then explained.
"And what about your mother? Did she ever find out?"
"No, not really. I always put on a friendly face at home. She was none the wiser to all that stuff."
"I think you should tell her, it's only fair that she knows." Sid insisted.
"What? Why?! There's no point in bothering her with all those details now, it's all in the past! Besides, she's got enough stress on her mind with all her work and stuff!" Ronnie Anne tried to argue.
"It's just that I know my mom would feel pretty upset if she found out I was keeping something this big from her for a long time…"
Ronnie Anne then pondered to herself for a brief moment. After a little bit of internal debating, she came to her conclusion.
"Maybe you're right, Sid. I guess it's time I decided to come clean and tell mom about who I really was back in Royal Woods!"
Ronnie Anne and Sid waited in the living room for the former's mother to return home from work. The two were watching the Dream Boat with the rest of the family as they tried to pass the time…
"Ugh! When is Karen gonna wake up and smell the aftershave?! Brock is not the right guy for her!" Bobby brought up.
"Eh, I'd rather she chose him than that poser David. He's such a wet cheese ball!" Carlota then said.
"She should go with Mike, because he's got the coolest moustache! When I grow up, I'm gonna have a moustache just like that! Then people will see me for what I am…" Carl began to rant.
"A little dork with way too much product in his hair?" Carlota teasingly ripped on him.
"HEY!" he objected as the family began to engage in a heated debate over which of the contestants Karen should pick.
Just then, the door flung open as a tired Maria walked in. She had very exhausted eye bags, even more so than usual, and she was slouching quite a bit.
"Hi, I'm home." she said with as much energy as she could muster.
But most of the family was too busy debating to notice she had walked in, except for Ronnie Anne and Sid, of course…
"Hey, mom! Good to see you back so early! Can I get you a drink or anything while you sit down and rest?" Ronnie Anne kindly offered as she walked her over to the sofa.
"Oh, that's nice of you, Ronnie Anne. Sure, I could do with a nice hot coffee." Maria accepted.
Ronnie Anne then rushed over to the kitchen as her friend Sid followed her…
"What are you doing?" Sid asked.
"Just buttering her up before I tell her the bad news."
"She's your mom! I'm sure she'll be understanding about the whole thing. Just tell her to talk to you in your room and have it out!"
"*Sigh* You're right, Sid. I guess now is as good a time as ever."
Ronnie Anne then walked back into the living room with her mother's cup of coffee as promised.
"Thank you, you don't know how much I need this right now! Those shifts at work really are exhausting!" Maria said.
Ronnie Anne then turned to her friend and quietly whispered in her ear…
"I'm not sure now is a good time for me to load all that stuff on her, Sid. She seems like she's had enough for one day."
But Sid just responded with a silent yet clear and effective stern expression on her face, making it clear she wasn't going to give in to any of her bestie's excuses.
"*Sigh* Fine, you win."
She then turned back around to face her mother.
"Mom, can you come to my room? I need a little talk with you."
"Sure, let me just finish this coffee.
Author's Footnote:
Well, that's two thirds of the story over. Like I said, this is a very short story compared to my previous ones. I must say, after doing a huge project like It's a Kid's World or even The Quest for Glory, little stories like this are incredibly quick and easy to do. Of course, the challenge with shorter stories is including all the details in a more concise and straight to the point kind of way.
This is a little tale I've wanted to tell for a while now. For those of you who want to know my opinion on Ronnie Anne's character and how it has changed over time, let's just say my views are a little mixed up. On the one hand, her current spin-off self is very likable in an adorkable kind of way. However, I'd be lying if I said that her change from her character in seasons 1-3 of The Loud House into the current version of her (Loud House season 4 and the spin-off) wasn't a tad jarring. Compare to season two of the parent show, where Ronnie Anne became more likable and a little softer towards Lincoln (relatively speaking) but was still the same surly, tough girl that made her debut in the first season. The character development that took place there made the change feel more believable and organic.
But in the transition from season 3 to 4, just as the spin-off was starting up, and just when Ronnie Anne received a new voice actor, the character changed drastically. The tough, snarky, surly girl from before just transformed off-screen into this happy, energetic, somewhat dork-ish, far softer and more mellowed out character. Now some people might say this is a good thing, and let me make this clear, I'm not against how her character has changed in theory, but I still think the change was too drastic and all of a sudden. Maybe if there was an episode in season 4 or the spin-off series that showed her changes play out, or at least something that addressed why she had such a major personality change in that time, then this transformation from tough tomboy to happy-go-lucky girl would have been more plausible. As it stands, while I do like the current version of Ronnie Anne quite a lot, I see Izabella's Ronnie Anne as pretty much a separate character entirely from Breanna's.
This is why I'm doing this story. You could argue that it makes sense for Ronnie Anne to be a lot nicer and friendlier and less of an abrasive jerk now because of the fact that she's less lonely and got tons of new friends and family in her life. Unfortunately, the writers have never taken the opportunity to connect the dots and make this the official reason for Ronnie Anne's character changes in the show's canon. So, in the words of Thanos... "Fine, I'll do it myself."
Also, the next chapter will reveal my head canon for Maria and the reason as to why she became a nurse. Act III should be uploaded during the weekend.