Act I
It was the day of the Royal Woods Delightful Duo Pageant Competition. Lola had just arrived in the building, with Lincoln also present as her assistant. Needless to say, he was doing all the heavy lifting.
"Come on, Lincoln! The pageant starts in 30 minutes and we're so not ready! We need to get to the dressing room, quick!" Lola said as she rushed through the place.
"Ugh! Why did I agree to be your pageant coach again?" he asked.
"Because I offered to save up my money and buy that rare edition Ace Savvy comic book for you if we win. Besides, I need you, Lincoln! You're the only one in the family besides me who has all the expert knowledge on heat styling, skincare, and general pageant mannerisms that we need to win!"
"Yeah yeah, let's just find your room already."
After a few minutes of searching, Lola found her designated room, kicked the door open, and stood aside to allow Lincoln to struggle through the doorway and dump her belongings on the ground in exhaustion.
"Okay, let me see… eyeliner? Check. Spare gown? Check. Diamond tiara? Check." Lola said aloud as she searched through and mentally ticked off her accessories.
"Don't worry, Lola. *Pant* I made sure you had everything you need before we set out. You'll be fine." Lincoln then reassured her, prompting the little sister to turn around.
"Really…? Did you remember my pink ribbon?"
"Yes."
"And my peach scent?"
"Yuh-huh."
"And my special deluxe shiny glass high heels?"
Lincoln's eyes then widened in fear and panic as he realised the error he had made…
"Uh-oh." he muttered.
"LINCOLN?! They were the most important thing of all! I planned on using those for a special Stiletto dance in the competition!" Lola shouted.
"Lola, it will be fine. You can still win without them."
"Thanks a lot, Lincoln! You can forget that Ace Savvy comic book!"
"Hey, we had a deal! Besides, the contest hasn't even started yet. You could still win."
"*Hmpf* Not likely!" Lola replied with a pouty tone of voice and facial expression.
"Lola, don't be like that. It was just one simple mistake, I'm sorry. Anyway, it won't be the end of the world if you don't…" Lincoln went to say, but was cut off.
"Don't say it!" she warned him.
"…you know." he then finished.
Lola then sighed and sat down on a chair, before negatively reflecting on the situation…
"*Sigh* I guess there's always the next pageant…"
"Don't give up just yet! We've prepared so much for this, and we still have every chance in the world of winning first place!" Lincoln then reassured his sister as he walked over and put his hand on her shoulder in an effort to comfort her.
Lola then looked up at her brother and smiled softly, realising he was making sense…
"You're right, Lincoln. I'm sorry I'm getting so worked up, I know I shouldn't let my competitive streak get to my head. It's just that I take pageants very seriously, you know?"
"I know what this means to you, Lols. Don't worry, I'm your big brother, and I'll have your back all the way."
"Thanks, Lincoln!" she then said as she stood up and hugged him.
"Anyway, let's finish styling your hair before you go out for your introduction. First impressions count, after all. Besides, there's no way of knowing that you would have been able to perform your Stiletto dance anyway, since your partner might not want to do that." Lincoln reminded her.
"Oh yeah, that's right… this is the 'delightful duo' pageant." Lola then remembered.
"I guess with all the clawing and fighting you girls do to get to the top in this business, this event is just a nice way to remind you all that life is about co-operation as much as competition. Probably a good thing to teach you, actually." Lincoln said.
"Yeah, I just hope I don't get stuck with Lindsay Sweetwater! That girl really rubs me the wrong way!" Lola then remarked through gritted teeth.
"Yeah, I know you two don't really get along."
"I just don't trust that two-faced jerk! I've especially had it out for her ever since she sabotaged my ribbon dance one time by…" she then whispered what Lindsay had done into her brother's ear, with his visible reaction being a shocked and slightly disturbed wince.
"Welcome to the Royal Woods Delightful Duo Pageant! For the first time ever, the competing pageant girls of Royal Woods, as well as several other away contestants, will all be participating in a special pageant competition where they must work together with a partner!" Cheryl began to announce, much like she typically would do for most of the other local pageant contests…
Lola and the other contestants all stood together on stage as Cheryl continued to ramble on. Lola looked around at the competition, and a strong sense of nervousness and intimidation began to set in. She noticed that there were many non-local competitors present to give her a run for her money.
"*Gasp* Chinah!? And Claudette!? And Jackie?! But they're regional champions?! What are they doing here?!" Lola quietly but nervously whispered to herself.
She then looked around some more and noticed someone even more unexpected, the esteemed graceful girl in blue herself…
"What?! Cricket is here too?! She's an international pageant legend, why would she be competing in Royal Woods?!"
As it became clear the competition was going to be no cake walk, the young blonde's body began to shake and shiver, while her teeth began to wildly chatter. Her body was sweating as Cheryl concluded her introductory speech.
"Also, before we continue, I would just like to say that I and everyone involved in running this event couldn't be more overjoyed in the turnout we've had! Not only do we have prestigious local veterans of the profession such as Lola Loud and Lindsay Sweetwater competing, but we've also found ourselves graced with several regional, national, and even global champions taking part. This pageant is sure to be a blast! Now onto the partner selections…"
"Hmm, maybe this could work out in my favour, actually. If I could get someone really prestigious like Jackie or Cricket as my partner, that would be swell…" Lola told herself as she tried to tame her nerves.
Her worrisome thoughts were in fact then tamed as she was suddenly distracted by her hostile rival, Lindsay, who she noticed was starting to glare intensely at her with a disapproving frown.
In retaliation, Lola then silently gave her rival the 'I'm watching you' finger gesture as Cheryl began announcing the teams.
"First up, Jackie, who by the way has starred in tons of lovely toothpaste commercials, will be teaming with local rookie Patricia."
Lindsay then responded to Lola's gesture by silently scoffing at her…
"Secondly, Claudette, who wears glamorous gowns that come all the way from Paris, will go with Penelope." Cheryl then continued, completely oblivious to the silent battle of rude gestures that was occurring between the two young girls.
Lola then responded by sticking her tongue out at Lindsay before Cheryl announced the next pairing.
"Thirdly, international pageant legend Cricket, who has achieved success in every continent on the planet, will be paired with Jessica."
Lindsay then answered back with the classic demeaning googly eyes expression towards her rival.
"Also, we have Sally paired with Roxanne…" Cheryl continued.
Lola then rammed her fist into her other hand, her fiery passion and violent temper now starting to force its way through her classy and elegant front…
"…Blossom will go with Lacy…"
Lindsay answered by angrily issuing a silent 'come at me' gesture at Lola, showing she was not intimidated by her nemesis.
"…Rachel will be with Hilary…"
Lola then removed her pink gloves and slowly marched forwards as she prepared to have it out with Lindsay on stage. Lindsay raised her fists as she too was now riled up for a physical confrontation. Fortunately, their attention was diverted before either girl's anger could tempt them into doing something so self-sabotaging.
"And of course, Chinah, that's with two H's by the way, will be partnered up with our own Lindsay Sweetwater!" Cheryl then announced.
Lindsay then turned to face the redhead in green that she had met once before…
"Oh, great. You again?!" she moaned.
"You weren't exactly my ideal choice for a partner either, Sweetwater." Chinah replied with an audible amount of snark.
"You better not let me down again like you did in the Astonishing Quest, missy!" Lindsay threatened as the two walked off.
"Hey, what about me?!" Lola then asked.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot. Our very own home champion, Lola Loud herself, will be paired up with first time competitor, Elizabeth!" Cheryl then declared.
"Huh? Who's Elizabeth?" Lola then curiously asked herself.
She looked around and saw that most of the other girls had already walked off the stage with their designated partners. She then turned to see a red-haired girl standing in front of her. It appeared she was going to be Lola's partner.
She had long and wavy, glamourous red hair that reached down to her shoulders, as well as a noticeable amount of purple eyeshadow and red lipstick. She appeared to favour a lot of blues and purples in her dress sense, as she was wearing a blue formal tight shirt with a yellow flower on one side, along with a fancy purple skirt and purple high heels. She certainly looked the part of a classy and elegant young lady, but would she be able to deliver in the world of pageanting?
"Hello, my name is Elizabeth, but you can just call me Beth if you like. It's a pleasure to meet you." the girl then kindly greeted her, even performing a curtsy as she did so.
"Hi, the name's Lola Loud. Of course, if you're a local girl, I can only assume you've already heard of me." Lola then bragged.
"Oh, I've heard a lot about you, Lola. In fact, I've heard a lot about your family in general." Beth confirmed.
At that point, Lincoln walked over and joined the two girls as they walked off stage and back to their dressing room.
"So, you're my sister's partner?" he asked.
"It would seem so. My name is Elizabeth, or just Beth if you prefer. Greetings." she said as she kindly offered him a handshake.
"Well, you certainly seem like you know how to be a lady." Lincoln complimented as he accepted the handshake.
"Cheryl said this is your first time, right?" Lola asked.
"Yes, that's correct. But don't worry, I will do everything I can to make our partnership a success. I promise I won't let you down." Beth assured her.
"Good…" a sceptical Lola replied, but it wasn't just her partner's lack of experience that she was concerned with.
Something seemed a little familiar about her new partner. Something felt a little off. Lola then looked at her brother, and could tell that he shared the same feeling…
Who exactly was this Beth girl? And could the two little ladies find a way to achieve victory in this tough pageant competition?
Author's Footnote:
I surprisingly made some good progress with this one sooner than I expected. Then again, this is a fairly short FanFic. In fact, it's the shortest one I've done so far. Though in that respect, this will probably also be the closest to a completely canon-like story I've done so far as well, since the actual script length of an episode of the show is only a few thousand words or so.
This story will be 3 chapters in length just like the last one. Expect it to be uploaded at some point within the next week. I can't be sure how many days it will be exactly. It just depends on when exactly I get around to it (honestly, proof-reading is always the most tedious part of the process XD).
In the meantime, let me know your thoughts. I know this my not be the most exciting or innovative story premise in the world, but they say there's no such thing as a bad idea, only bad execution. So I guess it all just comes down to the writing (then again, doesn't it always...?)
Also, for anyone who has only just recently started reading and following my FanFiction works, be sure to check out some of my previous larger stories, such as It's a Kid's World and The Quest for Glory (the latter especially will be useful in this case given that all my stories since then have followed within the same shared continuity). That's all I'll say for now…