A Love Labor Lost with the Gal Pals – Part Three
(Story Summary: Lincoln and Luna make their return back to the house, after their mission proved successful. But while Luna is overjoyed in the fact that her Valentine's Day turned out well; Lincoln, on the other hand doesn't feel quite so lucky. With the day now half over and so little time to make or buy a gift for the Gal Pals, he feels as though he's failed.
Will yet another piece of advice from his sister, Lori be enough to help brighten Lincoln's day and help him out?)
Hours later, back at the Loud House; Lori and Bobby were still at home, enjoying their time with the Loud Family in the living room. Speaking of which, several of the other Loud Sisters had returned home earlier on and wasted no time in telling their parents in what they've been doing. The most interesting tale was that of Lynn Jr., who was simply glowing with joy.
"I'm so happy for you, Sis" Lori said warmly, "it's literally heartwarming to hear that Francisco decided to give you another chance." Upon saying this, she immediately compared Lynn's situation to that of hers and Bobby's; which actually wasn't really that much of a stretch. "Just promise us one thing, honey" Lynn Sr. said firmly, "try to do your best not to lose him again, third chances are always rare; especially where love is concerned."
In response to this, not only did Lynn Jr. give the "cross my heart gesture;" she also puffed out her chest slightly with determination, showing just a little of her classic spunk. "It sounds like everyone here had a wonderful Valentine's Day" Rita sighed happily, "except...I wish Luna and your brother were here to share this moment with us."
While cradling Lily tenderly in her arms, Lori said that she was in no rush to meet and greet everyone. "Besides, Luna's probably still busy with...you know what" she said while adding a sly wink, "all we can do now is hope and pray everything goes alright before they..." Just as Lori was about to finish her sentence, Charles suddenly started barking loudly and rushed towards the door.
Of course, everyone came to the same conclusion and assumed he needed to either go for a walk or to be let out into the yard. But Lana quickly pointed out that she'd already taken him for a walk an hour ago. "That must mean somebody's outside" Lisa stated, "though, their identity is currently a mystery...obviously."
Feeling curious, Lily looked over Lori's shoulder and out the window. That was when she spotted another van parked in the driveway. At the same time, she also saw Luna and Lincoln coming out of it; which caused her to giggle excitedly.
When the rest of the family caught sight of the duo approaching; they, too became quite anxious to see them. Before long, the front door open and Luna was the first to enter; greeting the family with her famous "Goat Horns" salute. But right away, they immediately sensed that it lacked the usually oomph and spirit that Luna usually exhibited.
"OMG...I sense some bad mojo afoot" Lori murmured, "I'm guessing that your plan was literally a bust." In the blink of an eye, Luna's earlier gloom immediately gave way to joy and she wasted no time in giving Lori the biggest hug ever. "No way, Brah; it went awesomely" she said with unbridled joy, "not only did my song...or rather, Sam's song got her attention but we're officially a couple again!"
In response to this, not only did the Loud Sisters squeal with joy (including Lucy...surprisingly.) But Lynn Sr. and Rita were immediately overcome with tears of joy and started sobbing happily in each other's arms. "I'm...I'm really happy things worked out for you, Luna" Bobby said happily, "but if that's not the reason you look so sad, what is?"
Without missing a beat, the family's resident rock star sighed and gestured for Lincoln to step forward. "It's my bro, dude" Luna murmured, "he spent so much time helping me with my Valentine's problems...that he didn't have time to fix his own." Now, this statement created a bit of a...mixed response from everyone.
The parents and half of the Loud Sisters were quite distressed by this dilemma, which felt natural. But one or two of them felt relatively confused by what Luna had said. "Wait, back it up a little here" Bobby interjected, "Linc doesn't have a girlfriend, right...so, why would he be stressing out?" While this question wasn't spoken out of spite, bitterness or sarcasm; Lori still lightly scolded her boo for asking it.
"I'm afraid I must agree with Bobby on this" Lisa said suddenly, "I truly love you, dear Brother...but only those who have a significant other or dislike being single would feel so vexed by this holiday." Now, just as Lori did earlier; Rita was prepared to scold the wee genius for her words...until Lincoln suddenly stopped her. "You're right, I don't have a girlfriend to share Valentine's Day with" he said matter-of-factly, "but that doesn't mean that I don't have someone I care about...even if they're just my friends!"
The instant he said this, Lori finally understood the real issue and gasped in surprise. "I see...This is about your Gal Pals, isn't it" she asked, "you wanted to think of something special for them, even if it's not romantic." Without pause, Lincoln nodded slightly in response; explaining how he spent so much time trying to help Luna that he didn't have a chance to think of ideas to help himself.
"I know, I know it all sounds selfish and I'm sorry" he grumbled, "but...I just don't know what to do and the holiday's almost over." After saying all this, Lincoln felt as though he was on the verge of a panic attack. Upon seeing this, Luna rubbed his back soothingly and urged him to breathe; while also offering to finish the story for him.
"Anywho...long story short; the only reason my V-Day situation turned out so well was because of some advice you once gave Lincoln, Lori" Luna stated, "remember...'actions speak louder than words?'" While this reveal didn't really upset them, just yet; Lynn and Rita were still quite eager to hear the meaning this advice of Lori's. "It has something to do with Linc and my sister, Ronnie Anne" Bobby said suddenly, "after she pranked him and drove Lincoln to say something that made her cry, I broke up with Lori and she...kinda forced him to go on a double date with me and Ronnie Anne."
Both Loud Parents nodded slightly in silence; having already heard about this story in the courtroom, last year...they knew quite a bit about the situation in question. "At first, Lincoln thought about just texting an apology to Ronnie Anne" Lori explained, "but I told him...I told him that wasn't enough, that she had to see him be nice to her." With this simple statement, the Loud Parents felt like they've heard all that they needed and gestured for Lori to stop.
Afterwards, they called Lincoln over and each gave him a loving hug; which managed to help settle his mood a little. "To an extent, honey; your sister is right" Rita stated, "sometimes...actions do speak louder than words can." Upon hearing this, Lincoln came close to questioning his mother's words, until Lynn Sr. urged him to let her finish.
"But truthfully, you don't need to do anything really big or buy something flashy for your friends on Valentine's Day" Rita stated, "just tell them you love them in the best and most meaningful way you know." After letting his mother's words sink in for a bit, Lincoln found himself at a bit of an emotional quandary. Not only did he find himself mentally contradicting his mother's words, in spite of the ring of truth they carried; he, once again felt a sense of déjà vu rush through him.
In a flash, Lincoln suddenly found himself thinking back to around Christmastime; where he was in a situation near similar to the one he faced now. This time, however; he wasn't wearing a dumb elf costume nor was he being forced to endure the harassment of others to earn some cash. More to the point; during this particular moment in his life, Lincoln recalled how a simple act of love felt more meaningful than any sort of flashy gift he could find.
But while knew this was the truth, Lincoln still felt that such an idea wasn't enough to repay all the kindness the Gals had shown him. "Yeah...I wish things could be that easy" he grumbled while sitting down on the armchair, "but Mom...just saying something to the Gals just feels so small, compared to everything they've done for me." Feeling mildly shocked by her brother's words, Lori proceeded to ask if he still cared about the girls.
"No disrespect meant, Lori...but what kind of stupid question is that" Lincoln said bluntly, "of course I love the Gals...I adore each and every one of them with all my heart." With this statement, the boy soon went on a passionate soliloquy about how much he cared for each member of his friend group. "I love how I can feel more like myself when I'm with ladies like Jordan, Stella, Paige and Kat" he stated, "I love Cristina for her unyielding sweetness, I love Cici's playfully tough demeanor, I adore Phoebe's ability to find beauty anywhere around her, I love Haiku's hauntingly charming personality, her passion for poetry and individualism...and since the day we've all met, I love Carol and her crew like the older sisters I never had."
In addition to the names he just referenced, Lincoln also included those of the "honorary members" of their group; like Ronnie Anne, Carlota, both of their mothers, Rosa Casagrande, Sid...even his godmothers (Officer Higgins, Simmons and Campos) and their daughters. By the end of his tirade/speech, the family sat quietly in a sort of awed silence; feeling incredibly moved by Lincoln's words. "Wow, Linky...t-that was (sniffle) that was beautiful" Leni murmured happily while drying some tears away, "and in my opinion, it's totes the best kind of thing your lady friends could ever want for a Valentine's Day gift or gesture."
A split-second later, the rest of the family sounded off in agreement...after they dried away their tears, of course. Meanwhile; Lincoln, even after hearing his family's positive affirmations, still felt that his words alone weren't enough of a loving gesture. "Yeah, like that could actually work" Lincoln grumbled sarcastically, "I'm supposed to just...tell the Gals how wonderful they all are, that they've made every day of my life since we became friends/family so meaningful because of their love and support...I'm supposed to tell the ladies I love them all more than life itself, of course I do...more than anything but I don't have anything to show that."
After finishing his statement; at first, Lincoln half expected to hear either one of his sisters or his parents make some form of a retort. But what he saw instead was Bobby, Lori and Leni presumably "playing" with their cellphones. At the same time, he also saw that his parents were doing the same thing; which made Lincoln feel even more confused.
Alas, his concerns grew even higher; when he suddenly heard everybody chattering amongst themselves while "texting." "Okay, everybody; I think I got all that" chuckled the eldest Loud Sister, "so...should we post this online first or e-mail it?" Without a second thought, Leni suggested the idea of doing them both at once; which the others happily agreed to.
The whole time they did all this, Lincoln simply stared at them with a wide-eyed look of shock and irritation. "What the...you were all on your phones at a time like this" he cried in disbelief, "weren't you listening to anything I just said?!" After she had finished typing away on her phone; Lori approached her frazzled brother, took a knee before him, smiled and patted his head affectionately.
"Of course we did, Silly Billy" she said with a giggle, "we were just making a bit of a recording of your speech...which we then decided to share with the Gals and post online." Upon hearing these words, Lincoln's jaw dropped so low it almost went straight through the floor. Then, just as he was about to scold everyone for their videos of him; Lincoln suddenly heard his cellphone chiming, which led him to believe he might've been getting a call.
What he found instead was a notification from his Social Media page...or rather, several notifications. After accessing his profile, he took a few moments to look up everyone else's and noticed that the video received many likes and hearts. When he went back to his own profile and took a glance down at the comment section beneath the video; Lincoln was utterly flabbergasted by the amount of happy crying emojis, heart icons, lipstick kiss emojis and comments that were posted.
Among them were small yet rather positive messages like "tell it like it is," "preach it" or "that hit me in the feels, bro." He also noticed a collection of comments that were posted by his Guy Squad friends; most of which were from Rusty. These statements said things like "that was beautiful," "you're a good dude" and those like Kaito and Elliot were even asking him for advice on the best kind of sweet talk.
But what really got his attention were some of the messages left by the Gal Pals themselves.
Jordan: "Lincoln...what you said in your video was just about the sweetest thing ever! Thank you so much!"
Stella: "That is one of the sweetest things I've heard anyone say in my entire life...I can't stop myself from crying."
Kat: "Aww...now look what you made me do, ya goofball; your sappy talk is making me shed tears all over my keyboard. I've got a bear hug with your name on it to get you back for that, next time I see ya."
Paige: "Lincoln, that was the most beautifully sappy thing I've ever heard you say...and I loved all of it. But not as much as I love you, though."
Ellie: "Lincoln, honey; if you was any sweeter...I'd get cavities every time I smiled at you."
Dolores: "Te Amo Tambien, Lincoln...Te Amo Tambien."
Phoebe: "Dude...I wish I could reach my hands through this screen and hug you right now, that video was so sweet!"
Cici: "Aww! I love ya, too; bud"
Cristina: "Lincoln...this is the sweetest thing I've ever heard anyone say. You really are a good guy and I'm glad we became friends again. Happy Valentine's Day; Love, Cristina"
Haiku: "Normally, I seldom become overly emotional about these sort of things. But..."
Just when Lincoln thought the message had ended abruptly, he looked underneath it and spotted an image of Haiku; smiling softly with a waterfall of tears flowing down from her one visible eye. Below this image were the words "Happy Valentine's Day from Haiku" and then, Lincoln spotted a small midnight blue heart icon posted after the message. Of course, these comments were only from his Gal Pals friends or his guy friends.
Other one beneath the video were from guys and girls in his grade at the middle school; many of the latter comments appeared...quite saucy, to say the least. Then, at that moment; Lynn Sr. heard his phone going off and he saw that it was a group call from the "Babes in Blue" (as the Gal Pals decided to call them.) Upon answering, Lynn was about to greet the officers with the traditional Valentine's blessing but Simmons quickly stopped him.
"We can talk about that later, Lynn" she said abruptly, "but right now...just...just lemme see Lincoln for a minute." Not needing to be told twice, Lynn Sr. answered her request and turned his phone towards Lincoln. When everyone got a look at Officer Simmons, her cheeks were saturated with joyful tears and she did her best to clean them with a tissue.
"Baby...Tonya showed us your video just now and...aw, dang it; I love ya too" the officer laughed happily, "the next time I see ya; I'm gonna hug you so hard, I don't plan on lettin' you go for a looong time! HA-HA-HA!" Not long after she said this; Tonya popped into the video along with her second mother, Donna. "Now, I see why my girls like ya so much, kid" the biker babe commented, "you know how to tell it like it is...I respect that."
Tonya nodded in agreement and not only wished Lincoln a Happy Valentine's Day, she also thanked him for being such a good friend. "Think nothing of it, T" Lincoln said shyly while blushing, "I'm just...being me in the best way I can." No sooner had he said this, Officer Higgins's face appeared in another chat window and she started blowing kisses straight at Lincoln.
"Sugar...you are one of the good ones, I swear" she chuckled happily, "don't you dare lose sight of that part of you...or my baby girl here will let me know." No sooner had she said all this, Ellie popped up from behind her mother and kissed the camera lens; leaving a lipstick smudge on it. "That was for you, lil' man" she cooed sweetly, "Happy Valentine's Day.
After that, yet another video chat screen appeared; revealing the face of Officer Campos. "In my family, we have a saying for people who speak so kindly to us" she murmured while wiping some tears away, "'incluso después del día en que morimos; nuestro vínculo de amor y amistad será eterno.'" As expected, neither Lincoln nor anyone else in the family knew what she said; even Lisa (which was surprising.)
As if sensing this; Bobby, being bilingual himself (thanks in part to him being around his extended family,) volunteered to offer up a translation. "What she said was...'even after the day we die, our bonds of love and friendship shall remain everlasting'" he said eloquently, "in short; she's saying she'll always love you too, Lincoln...even after the day she passes on." After taking a moment to let the translation sink in, Lincoln looked at each of his godmothers on the phone screens and gave them a heart-shaped hand gesture.
"You just keep doin' what you're doin', honey and keep that nose of yours clean" Simmons ordered, "that's as great of a gift anyone can give me." The instant the officer said this, she suddenly felt her wife lightly shove her from behind; while she asked how much her gift measured up in her eyes. "C'mon Donna, honey; you know what I mean" Simmons giggled, "gotta go, Linc; have a good one."
After that, Tonya and Donna extended the same best wishes before the line went disconnected. After the other two officers and their daughters said goodbye, Bobby suddenly got a call on his phone and saw that it was from someone back at the apartment building. When he answered, the screen revealed the face of Ronnie Anne; whose cheeks looked as bright as stoplights.
"Nice work, lame-o" she murmured in mild annoyance towards Lincoln while swiping some tears away, "thanks to your little speech in that video, my family's been going nuts...see!" Upon saying this; Ronnie Anne moved the phone behind her to reveal her mother, Abuela, Tia Frieda and Carlota all crying together on the sofa. At first, Lincoln thought he said something wrong about them in his video statement earlier.
But Carlota managed to calm herself down just enough to approach her cousin, take her phone from her and speak to him directly. "No, dude...it's okay, we're fine" she assured with a smile, "your message was just so sweet, we all got...a little emotional, even Ronnie Anne." Eventually, the three elder females caught sight of who Carlota was speaking to and proceeded to wave happily at Lincoln; who answered back with a shy wave of his own.
"As for the others, my Mom was the first to start crying from your video" Carlota giggled, "Tia Maria and Abuela, on the other hand...it was the speech as a whole that broke them." In time, Mrs. Santiago became calm enough to approach the girls and speak into the camera; expressing her deepest thanks to Lincoln for his kind words. "You are a good boy, Lincoln" Rosa said fondly from the sofa, "don't you ever forget that...comprende?"
With a soft smile on his face, the young Loud boy nodded slightly and vowed to never stop being himself. All that remained was to hear Ronnie Anne's feelings about his message...but she appeared stone-faced as ever, in spite of the blush still lingering on her cheeks. "Look, dude; don't expect the same level of sappiness from me...okay" she murmured, "I mean...just because the message reminded me of how much I missed your cheesy optimism and how reprehensibly sentimental you can be, it doesn't mean I don't still think you're a dork!"
Rather than be offended by her statement, like Louds and Casagrande Families expected; Lincoln simply gave a loud laugh and said "I miss you too, ya doofus." After that, the two of them placed their hands upon their phone screens and smiled softly at one another. Everyone took this gesture as their way of saying "I miss you" and "hope to see you again soon."
Now, it seemed as though that all of this was the last of the responses to Lincoln's Valentine speech. But then, everyone suddenly realized that he had yet to see or hear back from one other source...or four other sources, as it were. No sooner had they thought all this, there came a sudden knocking from outside the front door.
"Hang tight, everybody" Lincoln stated, "I'll get the door this time." After receiving some thanks for this gesture, he made a beeline for the door and pulled it open. The next thing Lincoln knew, he was plucked up off the ground and crushed by a pair of long arms; ones that belonged to a familiar blonde teenager.
Not long after that, whatever air that may have been left in Lincoln's lungs was suddenly squeezed out of him by three other young ladies. At first, when they caught sight of what was happening; the Loud Sisters found the scene to be rather humorous. But when they saw their brother's face turning blue, Lori politely urged for her besties to give him some air...after fighting back a few giggles.
"Oh, yeah...sorry about that, Linky" Carol murmured sheepishly, "it's just...I just checked out your video after I got the e-mail notification and...it was just so beautiful!" Not long after this, the other Gals sounded off in agreement with their "leader;" all while showering Lincoln with affection. "Wow...thanks, ladies" he muttered bashfully, "did you all really like what I said?"
Without hesitation, Dana planted a big kiss on Lincoln's cheek and proclaimed that they absolutely loved his speech...but not as much as they loved him specifically. "Seriously, dude; after playing over the video twice...we came right over just to tell you how much we appreciated it" Becky said while ruffling Lincoln's hair, "we even paused our own Valentine's Day date plans to do it."
To say that Lincoln was surprised that each of the teens were each on a date with someone would be a gross understatement. But before he could say anything, Carol kissed his forehead and proclaimed that it was no trouble coming to see her second favorite guy in the world. "Wait...second favorite" Lincoln exclaimed in confusion, "not to sound jealous or anything but...who's the first?"
In response to this inquiry, there suddenly came a loud honking from the curb; which almost made everyone jump out of their skins. When they looked outside, the family could see a pair of cars seated outside. They spotted a pair of teenage boys as well, one standing beside each car.
One was a slim young man with gray hair wearing a cherry jacket, a white shirt underneath it, grey pants, white shoes and black earrings. The other lad had a dark-tan skin tone, long brown hair, thick eyebrows and appeared to have early signs of a mustache growing on his top lip. He was dressed in a turquoise t-shirt that had white edges on the neck and sleeves, dark blue pants and white sandals.
When Lincoln saw the alien logo on the latter boy's shirt, he immediately wondered if he was as into aliens as Zach was. Meanwhile, after she took a moment to dry away her tears; Carol looked over her shoulder and called the boys over. Without hesitation, both boys made their way into the house and hugged their girls lovingly.
"We have someone very special we'd like you to meet, guys" Becky said warmly, "this is Lincoln, Lori's lil' Bro...you might remember him from the 'sophisticated party' she tried to put on here a long time ago?" After taking a moment to search their brains for the memory in question, as well as study Lincoln intently, the two teens immediately recognized him and smiled. "Yeah, I remember this lil' dude" the mustachioed teen chuckled, "but...should I call him Lincoln or 'Lincolnovich'?"
This statement caused everyone to bust out in a light fit of laughter. Even Lincoln couldn't help but chuckle at the little reference. "Seriously, though; nice to see ya again, dude" the teen said while giving Lincoln a high-five, "but I gotta say...I'm a bit jealous." Not long after this, the grey-haired teen echoed the same statement; even going as far as to ask Lincoln if he intended to "steal his girl from him."
"Errol, don't tease Linky like that" Carol said in a playfully scolding tone, "that's my job." After everyone had a brief laugh at the Loud Boy's expense, the time came for him to meet the two "mystery teens." "Lincoln, this is my sweetheart; Errol" Carol cooed softly while squeezing her boyfriend's arm, "in some ways...he's a bit like you."
This revelation came as a surprise to not only Lincoln but his parents as well. When asked how he and Errol were alike, Carol wasted no time in listing his interests. "He's not only into enjoying great parties and seeing plays like you do" she began, "but...he's also crazy about stuff like ARRGH, Rip Hardcore and Ace Savvy!"
At first, Lincoln stared at his guardian with a dumbfounded look on his face; as if doubting her. But then, Errol pulled out his wallet and presented one of the cards he kept inside; specifically, a membership card to the Ace Savvy Fan Club. "I showed him the comic you made where me and the Gals were Alternate Universe versions of the Full House Gang, long ago" Carol explained, "and he loved the idea!"
Soon after she said this, Errol walked up to Lincoln and shook his hand happily in greeting. "Thanks for keeping my girl so happy, lil' dude" he said gratefully, "and...any chance I can snag an advance copy of the next Double Draw book, I've just got done finishing the part where they met the La Familia Loteria hero group in the other world." With a bright smile on his face, Lincoln answered his request with one simple statement; "ring me up on the fansite chat room, we'll talk there."
After that, Becky had the floor and she introduced Lincoln to her boyfriend; Tad. "Nice to see ya again, lil' man" the teen greeted pleasantly, "Becky told me about the tricks you did for a school talent show...mind giving me a sample?" At first, Lincoln seemed to hesitate in accepting the request...but only because he was being playful.
Then, he gave a snap of his fingers; which caused a second Lincoln to suddenly appear beside him. "What do you think, dude" he asked the double, "should we show our friends one of our new tricks?" While the Lincoln clone tapped his chin in thought, everyone else was staring at them in both confusion and amazement.
"I think this needs a second opinion" the clone stated, "give me a sec." After this, the clone snapped its fingers and a third Lincoln suddenly appeared. "What'cha think, buddy" asked the second Lincoln, "should we show these dudes one of our tricks?"
In response to this, the third clone rolled its eyes and proclaimed "I think we just did." No sooner had he said this, the two doubles disappeared in a puff of smoke; leaving only the original behind. While his family and the Gals clapped wildly with joy, both Errol and Tad had difficulty in comprehending on what they'd just witnessed.
"Dude...how'd you do all that" questioned the latter boy, "did you use one of your genius sister's science gizmos or something?" With a coy grin upon his face, Lincoln shook his head and responded with the traditional magician's creed; "a magician never reveals his secrets." "But...if you really want to know, let's just say I learned a little something from a penpal of mine" he chuckled, "Carol or Becky may have told you about them."
Upon hearing the mention of a pen pal, the truth finally clicked for the boys; which also seemed to make them feel even more impressed. "You were right about him, hon" Errol chuckled happily to Carol, "he really is something else." The young blonde nodded in agreement and swiftly enveloped Lincoln into a warm embrace.
"I guess my mom was right" Lincoln murmured softly while Carol nuzzled his cheek, "saying I love you is as great as giving someone a present on Valentine's Day." While she didn't question nor doubt Mrs. Loud's words, both Carol and her crew proclaimed that he did give them a gift. "From the day we all met to all the things we did together, that...all of that was a gift in itself" Dana sniffled happily, "just having you in our lives, Linky...means more to us than a thousand bouquets of roses or a lifetime supply of Valentine's candy."
These words touched Lincoln deeply, to say the least; so much so that his eyes immediately overflowed with tears of joy. After taking a moment to calm down, he wasted no time and giving each of the teen girls the biggest hug he could muster. He also made certain to sneak a quick kiss on each of their cheeks as well, which Carol and Dana playfully counted as "naughty" behavior.
Of course, this prompted Errol into protesting the scene; claiming that Carol was trying to make him jealous. "Oh stop it, you silly" she said playfully, "there's room in my heart for both of you...and besides, you started getting along very well." Upon remembering his earlier talks with Lincoln mere moments ago, Errol chuckled heartily and ruffled Lincoln's hair.
"When my girl's right, she's right" he stated, "so, since we're buds now...I'm counting on you to keep Carol happy, when I'm not around; you think you can do that, Linc?" Without hesitation, Lincoln answered him with a series of...rather odd handshakes and high-fives; which he explained was how Ace Savvy fans often greeted each other.
"It was nice meeting you and your family, dude" Tad said while high-fiving Lincoln, "but...we've gotta amscray before we lose our dinner reservations." Carol and Becky gasped softly at this and quickly looked at their clocks, which revealed that the time was almost 5 PM. "Go on ahead, lovebirds" Lynn Sr. chuckled, "have fun and Carol...thanks for you and your friends popping by to say hello."
The four teen girls bowed their heads in response to Mr. Loud's thank you and were prepared to head back to the cars. But before they left, they shared one final group hug with their favorite boy. "Happy Valentine's Day, Linky...and thank you" Carol murmured sweetly, "we all love you so much."
After wiping a stray tear from his eye, Lincoln repeated the words back to the ladies and hugged them back. "There's just one thing that puzzles me" he asked, "I get that you and Becky have dates, Carol...but what about Whitney and Dana?" Without pause, the two aforementioned teens smiled and said they didn't have any dates for V-Day.
"We're going with Carol and Becky as their wingmen...or rather, wing-women" Whitney stated, "plus, who'd want to pass up on a fun night of dinner and dancing?" With that said, the group said their final good-byes to Lincoln and went off on their way; while also shouting out one final "Happy Valentine's Day to the Loud Family.
As everyone watched the two cars disappear down the down the road; Lincoln couldn't help but sigh happily; feeling more sure of his friends' love than ever. "Guess all my fears were for nothing" Lincoln chuckled ironically to the viewer, "gift or no gift; as long as I perform a meaningful gesture for the people I care about...that's truly all that matters." Just as he was about to say his goodbyes to everyone "watching" him, he suddenly got an idea and took out his cellphone from his pocket.
"Who are you callin' now, Lil Bro" Luna asked, "got someone else to wish a Happy V-Day?" Lincoln winked at his elder sister with a smile and said he was planning on ringing up Clyde, wondering if he would like a wingman to come with him on his date with Chloe. "It's like Whitney said, being someone's wingman is a good way to meet people" he stated, "plus...he might need me, if he gets anxious around Chloe."
As if on cue, the phone screen suddenly turned on and everyone could hear the young couple's playful cry of "we heard that, dude!"
(First AN: And so, both the Valentine's Multi-Parter and the Winter Arc of this anthology ends; not with a bang or a whimper but with many joyful tears from all sides. Luna and Sam are back together, Lynn and Francisco have rekindled their spark and Lincoln learned that the best gift you can give a woman is to simply show someone you love them; gift or no gift. What does the future hold for the upcoming Spring Arc?
Find out next time, as the adventures of Lincoln and his Gal Pals continues)
(Second AN: Some might look at this as a repeat scenario of what Lincoln faced in the Christmas multi-parter...and you're probably right. But here's the thing; whether you have one friend, a few friends or even a very special someone in your life...it can get difficult to find the right present for them, regardless of the occasion.
In Lincoln's case, he loves the Gal Pals all so dearly that he didn't want to risk disappointing them. I hope you'll understand where I'm coming from here)
(Third AN: On the note regarding the Gal Pals, both those stationed in Royal Woods and those living in Great Lakes City, I did my best to make sure Lincoln expressed how much each one of them meant to him in their own way. I hope I did well in that regard)
(Final AN: The characters of Errol and Tad are ones that have appeared before in past Loud House episodes. For Errol; such appearances include ARRGH You For Real, Party Down, Selfie Improvement and others. Tad has also appeared within Party Down and Selfie Improvement.
But he's made more solo appearances *by which, I mean without Errol beside him* in episodes like Mall of Duty, Shop Girl and Senior Moment. As for the bonding moment they shared with Lincoln, Errol is in fact a fan of some of the things Lincoln enjoys; like Ace Savvy, ARRGH and Rip Hardcore. For proof, you can check out his bio on the Loud House Wiki.
Meanwhile, Tad felt drawn to Lincoln by his unique tricks; both those he performed in Party Down and the ones he learned from Miss Grimwood *as referenced in Take the Stage.* Some people might look at this as me trying to "force" older kids to like a little dude like Lincoln. But much of my inspiration comes from the original show, where the aforementioned characters genuinely liked his company.
So, whatever other issues you might have with this bond; it's your own thing. Thank you, I just thought I'd get that off my chest)
