It was a beautiful day at Aloha Beach, the golden sand and the deep blue waters glistening under the clear, sunny sky. Many beach goers were taking advantage of the beautiful weather, with kids building sandcastles, people playing volleyball, friends swimming in the water and adults of just about every age working on their tans.
On the road near the beach, the Loud family were getting out of Vanzilla, all wearing their beach outfits. "Okay, Loud fam!" Lynn Sr announced, making his kids cringe at his use of 'fam'. "We're here! We're gonna be here for most of the day, and grab dinner on the way home, so I want you to be on your best behaviour."
"And if I get any complaints, then I will take you away from whatever you are doing and make you sit with your father and me," Rita warned. "That means no asking people for samples, no chicken fights if they don't agree, no asking about death to strangers, and no pranks. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, mom!" Her kids replied, with Lily giving a happy giggle in agreement.
"That's good. In that case, while your father and I set up camp, you go and have fun, but don't go too far!"
The kids all voiced their agreement, before grabbing their beach things and running onto the sandy surface. Turning to her husband, Rita asked, "you brought everything, right?"
"Yep! I've got the towels, the umbrellas, the food's in the hamper, the drinks are in the cooler, I've got spare sunscreen, diapers and everything else we could need."
"Rita? Rita Loud?" They heard a woman call to them. Turning in the direction the voice came from, they saw a woman in her early forties with short brown hair, wearing a white t-shirt with a pink summer skirt, pink sandals, a brown sun hat and sunglasses. Stood next to her was a man with lighter brown hair, wearing a red t-shirt and black shorts, plus sunglasses propped on his head. "I thought I recognised you!"
"Sarah, hi!" Rita greeted, walking up to give the woman a hug.
"Hey there," the man greeted to Lynn, "I'm Brad."
"Lynn Sr," the Loud father responded, shaking his hand.
"So, your family are here too, huh?" Rita asked the other woman.
"Yeah, we got here with Jordan about ten minutes ago."
"Seems we had the same idea, huh?"
"Looks that way. Your son's name is Lincoln, right? I think I remember Jordan mentioning him."
Rita nodded. "Yeah, I think they're in the same homeroom."
"Well, hey," Brad spoke up, "since we're all here with our kids, why don't you set your camp up near ours? We've got plenty of room!"
"Well, that sounds like a great idea!" Lynn replied. "We'd love to!"
So, the Loud parents made their way onto the beach as they began to carry their stuff to set up camp. Meanwhile, Lincoln, in his orange trunks, decided to go straight toward the water, testing the temperature. "Ooh… that's refreshing!" He sighed as the water flowed around his tootsies, before he turned to the viewer. "Well, it's another Loud family outing to Aloha Beach, and thankfully, I don't have to wear a mascot outfit this time." He frowned and shuddered at the memory. "Yeah, that was one of our family's… darker times…" He shook his head clear of these depressing thoughts. "Still, I'm looking forward to having fun with my family." As he said this, he felt a splash of water hit him, and turned to see that a beach ball had landed in the water near him. Picking it up, he looked around until he saw a familiar face. "Jordan?"
"Hey, Lincoln!" She greeted, wading through the water to get closer to him. He saw that she was wearing a one piece swimsuit the same shade of yellow as her usual shirt. "Funny seeing you here. I'm guessing you came with your family?"
"Yeah, they're… well, look anywhere and you'll likely find one of them." She giggled at his joke. "So, how long have you been here?"
"My parents and I only got here about ten, fifteen minutes ago. We got lucky and beat the traffic."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. As much as I love my sisters, being stuck in traffic with them can be a nightmare."
She laughed harder this time, making him laugh with her. "I'll bet. Since it looks like we're all gonna be spending the day here, mind if I join you guys?"
"Sure! Just to let you know, when it comes to me and other girls, my sisters tend to come to the assumption that we're… well, I think you can guess."
Though she blushed a little at the suggestion, she rolled her eyes. "Really? Well, I think I can tolerate that, even if I have to set them straight about it."
"If you can throw this beach ball like you can a dodgeball, I think they'll get the message."
Once again, she laughed, before following the boy towards the others. Of his sisters, Lynn was the first one to see the two of them coming towards them. "Hey, Stinkoln!" She called, getting their attention as she jogged over, volleyball under her arm. "You up for some volleyball?"
"I dunno, Lynn," he replied. "You know how competitive you get."
"Ah, come on, it'll be fun! I promise, I won't school you too bad in front of your girlfriend."
"First of all, he's not my boyfriend," Jordan insisted, donning a cocky grin. "Besides, if we do it two on two, then you've got no chance of beating me and Lincoln."
Just like that, the fire in Lynn's eyes was lit. "Is that a challenge?"
Jordan stepped forward, the jock now toe-to-toe with her. "You bet it is."
Lynn locked eyes with her challenger for a few seconds, then smirked. "Alright, you're on." She turned her head and looked at the rocker. "Hey, Luna! Volleyball, two versus two, you and me versus these two! You in?"
"Sure thing, brah!" She called back, running over to where there was a spare volleyball net, with her and Lynn standing on one side of the net, and Lincoln and Jordan on the other. "Alright, so what we playing to?"
"I don't wanna crush the kids too bad," Lynn taunted. "Let's do one set, first to eleven."
"Lynn, you're two years older than us," Lincoln pointed out.
"No matter," Jordan told him. "That just means we'll beat her in even less time. We'll even give you the first serve, Lynn."
"Oh, ho, it is ON!"
Lynn took her position, held the ball in one hand and served it to the other team. Jordan was the first one to get to it, hitting it up for Lincoln, who hit it up for her to send back to the other side. Lynn got to the ball, hitting it to Luna who sent it up for Lynn to smash down, but Jordan was quick enough to block it, meaning the ball fell down by Luna's feet. As Jordan celebrated by giving Lincoln a high five, Lynn simply scoffed. "Okay. You wanna play for real, we can play for real."
So, the four of them kept playing for a good fifteen minutes, with the score going back and forth in favour of either team. It was mostly Jordan and Lynn seeing who would beat the other, with Luna and Lincoln mostly being the supporting players for their teams. After the scores reached 10-9 in favour of Lynn and Luna, Jordan would get a drop shot to tie things up.
"Alright, rather than do the whole 'win by two' deal, let's make this match point," Jordan suggested. "Otherwise, we could be hear for ages."
"You know, you can call it quits if you like," Lynn taunted again, to which Jordan scoffed and shook her head. "Suit yourself."
She served up the ball once more, sending it right to Jordan. She hit it to Lincoln, who knocked it up for her to spike over the net. Lynn was quick to reach it, hitting it to Luna, who served it up, and Lynn faked her direction, sending it to Lincoln instead. The startled boy got his hands up, knocking it far to the side. Jordan dove for it, knocking the ball up and shouting "GO FOR IT" to the boy, who leapt and sent the ball flying towards Luna with surprising force. The rocker tried to control it, but she only succeeded in sending it further away, and when Lynn tried to dive for it, she was only able to get fingertips to it before it fell to the floor.
"We did it…" Lincoln said out of shock, and when he turned to Jordan, his grin mirrored her own. "We did it!"
She ran up to him and threw her arms around him, the two celebrating with a hug. "Lincoln, you were awesome!" She told him.
"Hey, you were the awesome one! I just helped."
She let go of the hug and lightly slapped him on the chest. "Come on, I could never have made that last shot."
The two went back and forth with their compliments, until Luna approached them. "Hey, dudes!" She said, getting them to look as she held a hand out. "Good game, bruh."
Lincoln and Jordan smiled, taking it in turn to shake the high schooler's hand. When Jordan saw Lynn approaching, she held her hand out to the jock. "Good game, Lynn."
Lynn looked at the hand, then back at Jordan, before grinning and shaking the hand. "Good game," she replied. "You've got game, I'll give you that. Maybe now you're around, my brother might actually get off his butt once in a while and do some exercise."
"You do know we're not-" Lynn didn't let her finish, walking away. Jordan merely shrugged. "Guess she had something else to do."
From there, she and Lincoln spent more time with the rest of his sisters, first working with the twins to build sandcastles- while Jordan and Lola's had a better design, Lana and Lincoln's turned out to be more structurally sound when one of Lola's spires fell down and brought the whole castle down with it, meaning that Lana and Lincoln were the winners. After that, the two of them went swimming in the water for a bit, tossing the beach ball back and forth between them until Lynn came in for a chicken fight, which ended with Lana pushing Jordan off of Lincoln's shoulders, much to everyone's amusement.
After that, they returned to shore for lunch, which was shared between the two families. When Lily proved to be fussy, it was Jordan who was able to get her to eat, which looked adorable to both her parents and the Louds. Once everyone had eaten, Lincoln helped with burying Lucy in the sand, the goth enjoying it as stoically as one would expect, before he, Jordan and the rest of his sisters began playing with the beach ball again, this time on the sand rather than in the water.
After that, Lincoln and Jordan decided to surf for a bit, the two just sat on their boards next to each other for the moment. "I don't think I've ever had this much fun at the beach," Jordan told her friend.
"Really?" He asked, to which she nodded.
"You're lucky, you know. I can imagine having that many sisters would be a hassle at times, but at the same time, you've got ten sisters who love you."
"Yeah… don't get me wrong, sometimes it's hard being the only boy in the house. But, at the same time, I never get lonely, and as much trouble as they can cause, I wouldn't trade it for anything."
"That's sweet, Lincoln. You really do care about them." He smiled back at her, before she looked her head and her eyes showed her excitement. "Okay, this is the one! Let's go for it!"
He looked ahead and saw that there was a wave coming towards them. "You sure?" She nodded, so he relented. "Alright. Let's do it."
The two began to paddle their way towards the wave, then started to get up on their boards. Lincoln wobbled a bit as he went from his knee to his feet, but he was able to stand up, while Jordan smoothly transitioned to a standing position. The two prepared themselves as the wave reached them, and when they hit it, Lincoln was sent straight off his board, holding his breath until he resurfaced a couple of seconds later with a gasp. He swam over to his board and held onto it for a second while he steadied his breathing, but when he saw Jordan's board a little bit further ahead, he became worried when he didn't see her. "Jordan?" He called out, trying to see if she was around. When he saw her bow floating in the water a small distance from her board, his worry grew. 'Oh no!'
Taking a deep breath, he dove under the water, trying to ignore the saltiness of the water stinging his eyes. When he saw her, she was struggling to free herself from what looked to be some seaweed that had trapped itself around her ankle, putting him on alert. Knowing there was no time to waste, he swam over, grabbed her leg and pulled it free, before grabbing her and bringing them both to the surface. She began to splutter and cough as she tried to refill her lungs, so he waded over to their boards and helped her onto it, laying her back onto it. "Let's get back to shore," he told her, before beginning to push her board back towards shore.
As they neared the beach, Lori looked up from her book and saw the two, takin her sunglasses away from her eyes. "Something's wrong," she realised, putting her tanning mirror down next to her beach towel and getting to her feet. As she ran over to them, most of her sisters saw this and decided to follow her. When they neared the shoreline, the sisters saw Jordan on her board and began talking over each other, asking what had happened. "Guys, stop!" Lori ordered. "Don't overwhelm them!" Once they were quiet, Lori walked up to Lincoln. "What happened?"
"We were surfing, and when we hit the wave, I don't know what happened, but Jordan got her ankle caught," he explained, still a bit emotional after what happened. "Had to try and get her free or she would have drowned."
"Jordan? Jordan!" They heard someone yell, and turned to see Jordan's parents rushing towards them with a lifeguard. "Oh, my sweet baby, are you okay?"
Jordan coughed out a little bit more water as the lifeguard helped her off the board. "I'm… okay, mom," she weakly replied, before coughing a bit more.
"Take it easy, Miss," the lifeguard suggested, helping her to her feet. "We're gonna get you checked out just to be sure, okay?"
She nodded, before the lifeguard led her and her mother toward the lifeguard outpost. Brad, meanwhile, turned to Lincoln and asked, "Lincoln, I have to know… what happened out there?"
"We were… were just surfing, and the wave… it must have pulled her under, because her foot got… trapped on something."
The man knelt down, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder just as he was getting worked up. "Young man, you saved my daughter's life. My wife and I, we owe you."
Lincoln shook his head. "No… if I hadn't suggested we go surfing, this wouldn't have happened."
"No, Lincoln. This is not your fault. Were it not for you, my daughter… she might have…" He had to take a deep breath to prevent himself for crying. "Thank you."
With that, he walked away to check on his daughter. While Lincoln didn't say anything, Lori could hear a small sniffling emanating from her brother, and when she bent down to his height, she could see tears coming from her eyes. "Lincoln? Are you okay?"
"… that was… the scariest moment of my life…" Her heart broke at his sad voice, urging her to wrap her arms around him and pull him towards her chest, feeling his body shake with every sniffle as her sisters joined in.
"It's okay, Lincoln," she whispered soothingly. "It was scary, but it's over now. You pulled through, and you saved her. She's okay."
"But… she almost wasn't… and it would have been my fault."
"Linky, don't say that," he heard Leni tell him.
"Yeah, big brother," Lana said optimistically. "You're a hero!"
"I don't feel like one…"
Hearing him mutter this, Luna reached over and gently petted his head. "I doubt she thinks so, dude," she reminded him. "I think she's so glad you were there for her, when she needed you most."
"You think?"
"Uh Huh."
He couldn't help but smile, his sisters knowing just what to say to cheer him up. "Thanks, girls." As they released the group hug, Lincoln realised that there was something by his foot, and upon further inspection, he realised what it was. "That's Jordan's bow. How did that get here?" He reached down and picked it up- it was completely soaked, but other than that, it was fine. "I must have got it caught on me or something when bringing her to shore."
"You should go return it to her," Lori suggested. "Plus, I'm sure she'll want to thank you."
"Are you sure?" She nodded. "Well… I guess you're right."
"Hey, bro, I'm gonna swim out and grab your board," Lynn told her brother, making him smile.
"Thanks, Lynn," he replied, to which she nodded before heading to the water. While his sisters went back to doing their thing (or, in Lori's case, letting their parents know what had happened), Lincoln turned his sights to the lifeguard outpost and headed towards it. When he reached it, the lifeguard came out, smiling when he saw the boy.
"Hey, it's the man of the hour," he greeted. "Good job with the rescue, kid. We were about to send someone out when we saw you dive under."
"Is, um… is Jordan okay?" Lincoln timidly asked.
"Yeah, she's doing okay, bud. She's a little startled, but that's natural. Fortunately, you got to her before she started actually drowning, so there's nothing serious."
Lincoln gave out a sigh of relief upon hearing this. "Thank goodness… is it okay if I see her?"
"Go for it, bud. She's in there with her parents."
"Thank you." So, while the lifeguard went on patrol, Lincoln walked up the ramp of the outpost and entered, where he saw Jordan sat in a chair with a towel wrapped around her, while her parents stood either side of her. "Hey, Jordan."
She looked up when she heard the boy, and gave him a small smile. "Lincoln… hey," she greeted.
"How are you feeling?"
"Not great, but a little better."
"Do you want us to get you anything, sweetie?" Sarah asked.
"Just a water."
"Okay. We'll be right back."
The two adults left the outpost, though not without giving Lincoln an appreciative smile. Once they were alone, Lincoln sat down next to Jordan, neither knowing what to say until Lincoln eventually spoke up. "I, uh, I managed to get your bow," he told her, holding it up for her. Upon seeing it, she reached up to her head, and realised that it was indeed her bow.
"Oh! Thank you, Lincoln," she replied, taking the bow. "Honestly, I didn't even think about that."
"Yeah…"
She could tell from how quickly he went silent again that he was feeling guilty. "Lincoln?" He looked at her again, and she took her towel to wrap it around them both, making both kids blush. "Y-you looked like you could use it too."
"T-thanks…"
She shook her head. "No, Lincoln. Thank you." She wrapped her arms around his chest and rested her head under his chin while he held her close. "You saved me."
He was initially going to argue, say that it was his fault for suggesting they go surfing, and that she wouldn't have almost drowned… but he couldn't bring himself to say that. While he hadn't believed that he was a hero before, and he didn't still think he was a hero, but having Jordan there as he held her in his arms, knowing she was safe… It just made that guilt melt away, because he knew that everything was okay.
"Lincoln?" He heard Jordan ask. "You okay?"
"Me?" He asked out of surprise. "Yeah, why?"
"Because you're hugging me a bit too tightly."
He instantly let go, looking away in shame. "Sorry…"
She immediately regretted what she said upon seeing his downcast expression. "Linc… I didn't mean to upset you."
He shook his head away, sniffling to hold back the tears. "Don't be… it's not your fault."
She frowned even deeper. "Lincoln… you know it's not your fault, right?" This got him to look at her, allowing her to see the tears beginning to brim in his eyes. "What happened out there… it was just an accident, neither of us could have known that was going to happen."
"I know that… but it was my idea to go surfing. Had I not suggested it-"
"Then I probably would have," she interrupted, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Lincoln, we could talk endlessly about how, if I didn't say this, or if I didn't do this, then things would be different, but it doesn't matter. What matters is that it happened, and if it weren't for you, then…" She couldn't even bring herself to finish that thought, so she shook her head to clear her head of it. "So, please, Lincoln. Don't blame yourself for this."
He was going to argue it, but the look in her eyes told him that she wouldn't let him, so he gave a small smile. "Okay."
Feeling thankful for this, she hugged him once again, a happy smile on her face. The two held it for a few seconds, before they heard someone approaching, and when they turned their heads, they saw Lori had entered the outpost. "Hey, everything okay here?" She asked, to which they both nodded. "Well, if you're feeling up for it, we're gonna head over and grab some ice cream."
"That sounds great! We'll be right there," Jordan told her, waiting for Lori to leave before she stood up. "You okay?"
"As long as you are, I am," he told her, making her giggle. So, after he gave the towel back to Jordan, the two of them left to find the others, with Lincoln not realising that Jordan hand taken hold of his hand.
