Author Notes - Not gonna lie, I'm a little surprised that this story has already garnered a little bit of attention. It's still not exactly the most popular thing in the world (I try not to be egotistical here), but I'm still happy with it!

CHAPTER TWO - THE ROCKIEST OF STARTS

Lincoln winced as he stepped out of his classroom chair. He scanned the cafeteria seat before sitting down. He braced for impact when he opened his locker. But nothing happened. No matter what he did, nothing snapped, or fell, or smacked. Once he was heading out after school had ended, he breathed a sigh of relief. His sisters were right; she wasn't bullying him anymore after he accepted her feelings!

And, today, it would be their first date. He sighed with bliss as he thought about doing whatever it was people in relationships did, not that he would admit that to anyone.

'Hey Lincoln! You ready to go to Gus's Games and Grub?'

His happy moment came to a swift stop, and he cringed. That was Clyde's voice, coming from behind, and upon hearing it the promise he made to his friend group came back to him. He bit his bottom lip, unable to turn around to look at the guys, and he trembled just a little when he heard their footsteps getting closer and closer to him.

'When we get there,' Rusty said, in a somewhat cocky voice. 'I'm gonna win back my crown and once again be the Dancing King!'

'You sure about that?' Zach remarked. 'Last time we were there, you lost that game by three rounds.'

'It took me a while to get back into the groove, okay?'

Liam chuckled. 'It's always some sorta excuse with ya, ain't it?'

Lincoln took a deep breath, and adopted a confident smile as he turned around. Already, his mind was churning out a clever way to explain the situation to his friends, in a way that either worked a little too well or led to an inevitable 'liar revealed' story.

'Hey, Linky!'

Only for that confidence to crumble away when he saw a certain brunette making her way over to him from the sidewalk. There was something about her overly-cheerful smile that rubbed him the wrong way.

Play it cool, Lincoln. It's fine. Remember what your sisters said…

'Hi Bella!' He said, like he had a gun pointed at him.

If he had no self-control, he would've punched himself in the face for that horrid performance. Bella, without asking for permission, jumped into a hug so intense it nearly knocked him to the ground. Every one of 'the guys' gave the newly-made couple odd looks, each a little different and more confused than the last.

'Uh, Lincoln, who's this?' Clyde asked.

'I know you've got a looot of sisters,' Rusty said. 'But I'm, like, ninety percent certain I don't know her.'

Bella giggled. 'Oh, you silly boys. I'm his new girlfriend!'

Lincoln grinned sheepishly, only hoping she would back away long enough for him to get some much-needed oxygen back.

'Ooooooooh!' Most of the boys responded, much like a studio audience; how odd it seemed how often that descriptor could work.

Clyde gasped. 'She's your girlfriend now? Lincoln, that's awesome! And you look so cute together!'

The redheaded boys now gave him the odd look instead, to which he put his hands on his hips and stood his ground.

'What?' He said. 'Dr Lopez told me there's nothing wrong with a guy squealing over something cute.'

Lincoln opened his mouth to say something, but Bella broke up the hug and tugged him along so harshly that he almost got whiplash.

'B-Bella,' He said, getting his head straight. 'What are you doing?'

'I'm afraid I don't understand the question, Linky.' She replied, in a tone he read as completely fake. 'You said we were going on a date right after school.'

She did not murmur such a sentence so they could discuss it between just the two of them, but loudly enough that his friends could hear her even if they were listening to music through headphones. Lincoln cringed as he cranked his head around, and was greeted with all five of the guys giving him 'what the heck?' faces.

'A date?' Zach repeated. 'Wait, you were gonna go on a date without telling us? After you said we were going to Gus's Games and Grub today?'

'Now that ain't right.' Liam said. 'It'd be like me promisin' ta gather tha eggs, and instead Ah went ta buy a Flippie!'

'I-I can explain!' Lincoln said. 'I-It's just, something came up a little short notice, and I…'

He turned to Bella, and saw her tapping her foot from a lack of patience. This was not, as you may think, like being trapped behind a rock and a hard place. It was more like being trapped between molten lava and a building set to be demolished.

With a sigh, he said in a murmur, 'What are you doing? I told you I would work something out! At least give me some time to think about something.'

She frowned. 'But… I'm your girlfriend now! Are your friends really more important than me?'

It was unbelievable how badly he wanted to scream 'yes they are!' at the top of his lungs, but he managed to reign in his anger. If only his sisters were here… they'd know what to do. But the only girl nearby was Bella, and he sure as heck wasn't asking his own girlfriend how to treat a girl.

'L-Look,' He said. 'When I said I would work something out, I meant that I could plan something after my time with the guys. We could do something late afternoon, or right after dinner… I could even invite you over to my place, if you can cope with a bunch of crazy sisters.'

Bella grumbled. 'I can't believe you! Putting some random guys over your own girlfriend. You don't know how to treat a lady at all, do you?'

He clenched his teeth in a panic. 'N-No, I-I can make this better! I just-'

She grinned. 'Of course, if you come with me on a date right now, then I'll forgive you for this little mistake. Won't that be fun?'

He cocked an eyebrow; calling this a 'mistake' on his part didn't seem right, seeing as she was the one barging in without warning. Still, he knew that relationships required at least a little give-and-take, so he looked back to the guys and sighed.

'Sorry, guys.' He said. 'But this is gonna be our first date together, and it is kinda my fault for not telling any of you about this. Is it okay if I don't come along on the playdate today?'

To his surprise, the boys smiled.

'S-Sure!' Clyde said, sounding as if he was rather close to spiralling. 'I-I don't mind! It's not like I've been looking forward to playing games with you for the past week or anything! I-I can cope!'

'Hey, it happens all the time.' Rusty said. 'It's a date with your new special someone, after all. Wouldn't want to get in the way of that!'

'As long as this doesn't become a regular thing.' Zach said, moving around his arms to emphasise his point. 'Missing one date is just an accident. Missing five is just being a jerk.'

'Don't worry!' Lincoln said, regaining just a little bit of his confidence. 'I'll be more on top of it now, or I'm not the man with the plan!'

Bella rolled her eyes at such a 'title', but no one had noticed. By the time Lincoln looked back to her, she was already smiling again.

'That's wonderful, Linky!' She said. 'Come on! I know a great place we could go.'

'Well, that-'

Whatever Lincoln was about to say didn't matter to Bella, since she dragged him away down the road before he could say anything. In fact, he only had enough time to wave to the guys and rush out a 'goodbye' before he was taken away from them.

Lincoln had no idea where his new girlfriend was planning on taking him. She just dragged him away from other people, refusing to say where on earth they were going. The park? The movies? Dairyland? Heck, even Flip's? But she hadn't said a word. Being dragged behind as he was, he had a hard time getting a good look at her face. When he did, though, he noticed that the happy smile had faded away to a frown.

I haven't screwed up already, have I?

After a lot of being dragged around, she took him to a quiet part of the neighbourhood whereupon she finally stopped walking about.

'Okay,' Lincoln said. 'Do you wanna tell me where-? WOAH!'

Without a warning, she shoved him behind a bush and brought him to the ground. Before he could even get to his hands, she knelt to his level and glared down upon him. It was similar to the kind of look Rita would give him when he was lying on the floor for no good reason, the kind of expression that said simply 'get up'. Except when Rita did it, it still had a little loving vibe to it. Also, a girlfriend's expression reminding someone of their mother seemed very strange.

'What is wrong with you?' She demanded.

He got up to his hands and knees. 'Uh, what?'

She groaned. 'I told you we had a date today! Why were you about to run off with your annoying guy friends instead?'

He frowned. 'Okay, first, they're my friends. And you just met them. At least give them some time before you declare them as annoying. Second, I told you that I had something already planned! Even if you're my girlfriend now, you can't just expect me to throw away plans I made before we were even in a relationship together.'

Suddenly, he trembled. Bella's eyes were practically on fire, like they were trying to burn up his very soul. He gulped, and froze when she grabbed him by his shirt collar.

'Listen, Linky.' She said. 'You're mine now. You know what that means? If I say that it's time for us to have a date, then we're having a date. That's how relationships work. If you run off with your friends instead of me, then…' She whimpered. 'Then it's like you don't really care about your own girlfriend!'

Lincoln gasped. 'B-But I do! I would always try to make sure that my girlfriend was loved. I really would! What's the point of a relationship without that? But you can't storm in and prevent me from playing with my own friends!'

Her eyes narrowed. 'They're your friends, Lincoln. Just friends. They're not on the same level as I am, wouldn't you agree?'

He opened his mouth. Whether it was to agree or disagree with such a sentiment didn't matter to her, for she tugged on his shirt collar a little bit harder.

'Wouldn't you?' She repeated.

He tried his hardest to give her a real smile, which was never easy for him and looked more like the last face you see someone make before they snap and hurt you.

'Y-Yeah!' He said, speaking just as confidently as he looked. 'I-I should put you above my friends, shouldn't I? That's the right thing to do, I-I guess.'

In an instant, her angry expression disappeared and she let go of his collar. She had such a tight grip on him that letting go sent him falling back to the ground.

'Aw, you're such a nice boyfriend!' She said. 'Now that we've had this little misunderstanding sorted out, let's go have a bite to eat! You okay with a simple trip to Burpin' Burger, or do you need something more extravagant or something?'

Lincoln (slowly and slightly painfully) got back up to his feet, and gave his new girlfriend a mighty confused and incredulous expression.

'Wait, wait, wait…' He said, before taking a deep breath. 'You wanna go to Burpin' Burger?'

She cocked an eyebrow. 'What, don't you like that place? Cos we're going either way.'

'I love Burpin' Burger! But that place is on the other side of town. If you wanted to go there, why did you take me here?'

Bella paid this question no time at all, and simply returned to the sidewalk with a smile on her face. It left Lincoln even more confused than he was before asking the question - did that entire conversation just not happen or something?

'What are you doing standing around, Linky?' She asked. 'We won't get to the Burpin' Burger if we just stand around in the wrong part of the neighbourhood!'

'But… you brought me here.' He said.

'Hey, I know a shortcut to the place. Let's go!'

She skipped along down the path for a few seconds, until she realised that Lincoln wasn't moving. The boy stood in place, too confused to really do much of anything.

Why is she acting like that entire conversation never happened?

'Why did you bring me here?!' He asked again, with a bit more punch.

Bella scratched her head. 'Huh? I don't remember doing that…'

He blinked once, twice, thrice. 'W-What? But you-?'

She giggled. 'Your blood sugar must be low. Let's fix that by getting some food!'

Lincoln was still confused, since he knew he had that conversation, and he knew that Bella was the one who brought him here. So why did her words sound so convincing?

Well, can't complain, I guess. It's nice to have a good excuse to go to the Burpin' Burger without my sisters making everything go crazy.

Aside from Bella demanding that 'the boy' do all the paying, Lincoln didn't see much wrong with this date. Sure, a fast-food restaurant wasn't exactly the most extravagant place for a first date, but they both seemed to enjoy it and that was all that mattered.

Lincoln swallowed the last bit of his burger. 'Hey, I think this might work out! I mean, enjoying the same restaurant is a start, right?'

Bella finished her meal, and tossed the wrapper onto his side of the table. 'Yeah, sure. Oh, I think I dropped some paper. Gimme a moment.'

She disappeared under the table for a few seconds, and returned with the leftover paper bag her fries came in. That got tossed over to his side of the table too.

'Uh, why are you tossing your papers over to me?' He asked.

'Because you're a boy.' She replied. 'And a good gentleman cleans up his girl's trash.'

'Um, alright then.'

He, keeping up an incredulous look, gathered up the discarded paper into his arms.

I'm starting to see a bit of a trend here…

But he wouldn't complain; that wasn't exactly chivalrous. The moment he took the first step out of the seat…

'WOAH!'

*THUD*

He tripped over seemingly nothing and fell flat on his face upon the polished floor. His chin hit the ground first, and his jaw quickly began to ache. If he had hit the floor any harder - or wasn't so used to punishment, thanks to his sisters - he was certain he would have broken something.

And then everyone else in the place laughed. The other kids and teenagers pointed and jeered, and Lincoln could feel himself flashbacking to those times in the school hallway or classroom. In fact, for just a moment, he was certain he was back at school. While the other kids laughed at him, he glanced back at his feet.

His shoelaces had been tied together again. And Bella was laughing even harder than everyone else was.

'Bella!' He yelled. 'Why did you do that? I thought you would've stopped this by now!'

Bella stopped laughing. 'Huh? What are you talking about?'

'You know what I'm talking about. You tied my laces together while you were under the table!'

'Really? I can't remember doing that. Are you sure I did that? You didn't see me do that, did you?'

He opened his mouth to retort, only to realise that her rhetorical question caught him up. It took him a few seconds to admit the truth.

'Well, I-I… no.' He furrowed his brow. 'But you-!'

'Then it must've been you who did that!' Bella said, giggling all the while. 'You must've forgotten it or something. Oh Linky, you're so silly!'

While people were already taking photos of him, he went through the time and effort to untie his laces before doing as he was told and dumping the trash. It was more of a struggle than he would care to admit, since they were tied together really tight.

It must've been her. I didn't do this. I would remember if I did that… right?

He looked back at Bella for a moment. She had a look of innocence to her, and he had to peer a little closer. With Lola for a little sister, he had gotten used to fake looks of innocence, but he couldn't tell if Bella's look was real or not. Either she was an even better actor than his pageant princess sister, or… she really was innocent.

But… she can't be. Unless I did it. But, that doesn't make any sense. … Does it?

Author Notes - I'm going to be open with you guys. Inspiration from actual abusive relationships was taken in the process of writing this story. For instance, many abusers will restrict their partner's ability to be hang out with literally anyone else. Also a little bit of gaslighting...

BY THE WAY, since I always like to make sure it's clear whenever I write about topics like this, I AM NOT BEING ABUSED IN REAL LIFE. You might not have been worried about that, but I wanna make that clear. After all, authors often put their reality into their writing, and it's easy to think 'are you alright, author?' whenever you read something about, say, depression or something to that effect. But I'm fine, so don't worry.