As they do, the classes were a slog to get through. By the time launch break came, it was like days had passed.

Lincoln sat with Ronnie's friends and the group exchanged the usual stories. Winter watched them from a different table. She wondered what they were planning. She knew it couldn't be good. Ronnie Anne was known to get into many shenanigans, and she doubted Lincoln would do something to stop her. He lived with ten sisters; trouble is a way of life for him. So, when Ronnie suggests something, like skipping class and making up stupid excuses, he won't do anything. Jammed locker, who does Lincoln take her for? No one with half a brain would fall for that.

Though she has to admit, that is the boldest excuse she has heard. To walk in and say it to a teacher, with a straight face, is something she didn't think Lincoln was capable of.

"Hi Winter." Summer sat by her friend.

"Oh, hi." Winter responded.

"So..." Summer barely got out from the excitement.

Winter only gave her a confused look.

"Did you ask him?" Summer said, hushing her tone.

"Oh..." Even though they shared all of the classes, Winter hadn't said a word to Lincoln. She could tell the truth, but that would make her look like a bad friend. It was a simple thing and she had plenty of opportunities to do it. Then again, it's something she really doesn't want to do. Her parents love him, the school loves him, and even her best friend loves him. Is there someone she's forgetting? No. Everyone loves Lincoln, he won't suffer without Summer and she'll find someone better.

"I did..." Winter said with worry.

"And..." Summer waited for Winter to continue.

"They are a thing." Winter said.

"Oh..." Summer's smile dropped.

"I'm sorry..." Winter said.

"No, it's okay. It's probably for the best." Summer's comment made Winter slightly happier. "It would have been a bit weird if I dated your brother."

"Probably..." Winter said. It wouldn't, but she'll take the win.

When school finished, Winter exited and waited for Lincoln. She almost expected an anvil to fall on her head before school was over, but no. As it seems, it can't get worse. Then again, never say never.

Seeing that her parents had already arrived, she did her best to stay by the side and not get seen. Where was he? They'll think she abandoned him if she returns without him. Luckily, Lincoln exited with Ronnie and her group shortly after.

"So, I go down the boulevard, take the second left, then a right, then a left, then the third right, then another left, and just follow the street until I see it?" Lincoln asked Ronnie.

"No, it's right, left, right, right, left, Lame-o." Ronnie corrected him. "Oh, forget it, I'll come by to pick you up later."

"Great idea, then I can show you my new room." Lincoln said.

"Where did they put you this time?" Ronnie chuckled. "Let me guess, now you're sleeping on the couch."

Lincoln got slightly offended. "No! I have my own room, and it's bigger than yours, just so you know."

"My room isn't small; it's just filled out." Ronnie said defensively.

"You mean cluttered?" Sid laughed.

"You have no right to talk about room organization." Ronnie shot back.

"Fair point." Sid admitted.

"Lincoln, mom and dad are here." Winter said.

Lincoln looked around, they stood out like two trees in a field. "Oh, okay. See you later Ronnie."

"Bye Lame-o!" Ronnie said. She and her friends stuck around for a while longer while Lincoln and Winter went to the car.

"I see you are already making friends, Lincoln." Walter said once the kids were close enough.

"That was Ronnie Anne, I knew her from Royal Woods." Lincoln said as the family packed into the car.

"So, how was your first day?" Sophia asked.

"Good." Lincoln said.

"Did something happen?" Sophia asked.

"Not really." Lincoln thought. It was a pretty average school day all things considered.

"Okay." Sophia answered.

The rest of the ride was silent. After dropping the kids at the building, the parents returned to work. The school wasn't far enough to justify them picking up the kids. Lincoln thought it was because it was his first day. He doesn't want to bother them with something as simple as going to school.

I'm just overthinking it, Lincoln thought. Tomorrow, it will be normal.

The two went up to their apartment and into their rooms, neither saying a word.

Did he do something? It seems she's angry, but she could also just be shy. Either way, this would be a lot for anyone to digest. It is for him. Talking to her would help. She would see he feels the same and they would both grow closer. Then again, it could also come off the wrong way. He might scare her, and that wouldn't be good no matter how she feels about him right now.

While thinking about what to do, he spun in his new chair. It will probably get old fast, but he didn't care, it's fun while it lasts. Oh, nope, now he feels sick.

Lincoln got off the chair and walked over to the bed and laid down.

He will talk to Winter later, after dinner maybe. She shouldn't be doing anything important then. What to do until then?

Ronnie Anne invited him to the park, but he didn't ask his parents for permission. He can't walk off without saying something and calling them now would anger them. They need to be working, he can't call them now. There is no homework, not that he would want to do it. He knows; he'll call Lisa. She was always busy for almost a week now. He still had to tell her about everything, and he wanted to do it in person. She probably knew, either because someone else told her or she found out on her own, but still.

He turned his computer on and navigated to the messaging app. He sent a message to check if she was available to chat and waited. He gave up quickly, however. He went through his enough times to know when she's busy. Since the rest of his sisters were likely just returning from school, he decided to play some games instead. He tested the computer here and there, but other things took always took president. However, now he had nothing to do.

"Let's see what this baby can do." Lincoln said before putting all of the graphics to the highest quality.


Winter was in her room, scrolling on her phone. What a boring day, she thought. She knew well that most days were like that. But, for some reason, she thought Lincoln would change that. She didn't know if it would be for the better or worse, she just thought he would shake things up. But apparently he changed very little. Her father isn't home and she got a ride back, that's all that Lincoln changed. She might be overreacting to him.

However, something kept bugging the back of her head. Her parents had to leave work to come and pick them up. A lunch break wouldn't cover the time it would take for Walter to pick up Sophia, drive to school, wait for them, drive home, take Sophia back to her work, and then go back himself; especially if they got stuck in a traffic jam or got to school early. They took an extra mile to do it, a mile that was, in all likelihood, more trouble than it was worth.

It's a fifteen-minute walk - fifteen minutes and nineteen seconds, she timed it. She makes that same journey every day. It's not like those stories where the kids have to walk for miles up the hill both ways. She can understand it in the morning. They have to drive to work anyways, so dropping them off isn't such an issue. Add to that that it's Lincoln's first day, and she can see why they would do it. But back? If school ended at the same time as their work, then sure. But like this?

Do they think she can't lead him back? She might be a bit jealous of him, just slightly, but she won't do anything to him. If she could walk to school and back, why couldn't she do it now? Or is it about Lincoln? That's it, they are spoiling him. Why should their son walk when they have a car? Because he has legs of his own. But the streets are dangerous, she imagined her mother say. And he just got here, he needs some time to adjust.

Sure he does. Their precious little Lincoln is too fragile for the streets of the big and scary city, sure. Who would believe that? He lived with ten practical demons, he could wrestle a horde of street cats and come out on top.

Is it some sort of compensation? They weren't there for him for almost twelve years, so now they are trying to make up for it. And because of something they couldn't control, or someone, he was hurt, and now they are giving him the long-overdue hug. But who will hug her? Who will tell her that everything will be okay? Where are her parents? Right...

It's not fair, she almost screamed. Instead, only a small tear left her eye. It couldn't be like in those stories where they both get an extension to their family. No. Instead, he gets a new life and what he liked from his old one, and she gets to make the best of what she was given.

Why do they care about him so much? They didn't know him for twelve seconds and they were willing to adopt him. Is that the problem? Do they think he doesn't care about them? Lincoln met them two weeks ago, they might as well be strangers. Like that, it makes more sense. They don't fear she'll get him lost; they fear he will get himself "lost". And it's not just that he might run away. In all likelihood, he will move out in six years. Now it seems like a lot, it's half of her life after all, but the day ahead always seems infinite, and the one before so short.

What does he think of them? Does he see Walter and Sophia as his real parents, only parents, surrogates? What does he think of her? Is she his sister or just some kid he lives with? Does he like it here, in the city, in this apartment, in his room? Would he even want to leave?

Winter put her phone down and walked over to the door.

She needs to talk to him. She needs to tell him not to leave. They love him, right? They don't want him gone; her parents don't want him gone. Or does she just want him to talk to her? She needs someone to tell her all those things, that she should stay, that she is wanted, that she is loved.

Her hand hovered over the door handle before ultimately falling by her side. Winter sighed and returned to the bed.

What would she even tell him? They haven't spoken two full sentences since he moved in. If she hadn't said anything before, she can stay silent now; it's not like she would tell him something useful anyways.


Lincoln was in the middle of an online match when a message popped up on the side of his screen. As soon as he saw who it was from, he dropped the game and let himself lose, something that made the teammates not so happy. Despite the usual insults hurled his way, he dismissed them. The message was from Lisa, the game can wait.

"Dear brother, I apologize but I am unable to speak today. However, given that our schedules have conflicted for some time now, I will put some time aside for us to properly catch up. Is tomorrow at 8 pm okay?" Lincoln read quietly. Immediately, he answered yes.

Lisa responded with a thumbs-up emoji, something he found incredibly amusing. She may be a human after all, he thought. With a smile stretching from one ear to the other, Lincoln returned to the match just in time to stop the team from voting to kick him out.

As soon as he did so, however, his phone rang. He muted himself in-game before answering. "Hey Ronnie Anne."

"Hi Lame-o. You didn't tell me where to come and pick you up." Ronnie said.

"About that... I didn't ask my parents if I could go and they are at work so..." Lincoln said awkwardly.

"Oh, well that stinks." Ronnie said. "You want me to drop by and keep you company while they come back?"

"I don't know if I can invite people over." If his hands weren't occupied, he would have facepalmed for not asking them something like that.

"It will be just me..." Ronnie stopped and a second voice said something. "...me and Sid." she corrected herself.

"I don't know..."

"Is Lame-o there, I mean Winter? Ask her if she's allowed." Ronnie suggested.

"But I'm not Winter." Lincoln pointed out. Though, it shouldn't change anything. He didn't see a reason why she would be allowed to do something he can't.

"And I'm not Bobby, so?" Ronnie said somewhat annoyedly.

"Yeah, but Bobby is older than you." Lincoln said. He wondered if he was older than Winter. It couldn't be by much, but he was still curious.

"Geez, you can just tell me if you don't want me to come." Ronnie said. Lincoln could feel her eyes rolling.

"No, it's not like that. I don't want to upset my parents." Lincoln said.

"Okay." Ronnie said in a calmer tone. "Ring me up when you ask them."

"I will, bye." Lincoln said but Ronnie beat him to end the call.

They wouldn't mind if he invited a friend, or two, over. They would stay in his room and they wouldn't cause havoc. But doing so without asking would be disrespectful. Who does he think he is to call people to come to their house? Now it's two, tomorrow it's three, and before you know it it's a party. Better safe than sorry, he always said. And it wasn't like he would have to wait much longer.

It's approaching five. His parents will be home any minute now. He should probably wrap up the games, he was losing anyway. Maybe he should read a comic while he waits. No, a book! Lynn and Rita were always happier when they saw one of them reading a book, rather than a comic or staring at their phone. Though him being in his underwear likely played a part in that. He has some books he had never touched; he can give them a try. It won't kill him, and it will make his parents happier, making it all the more likely they would let him go out.

If only the stupid pants weren't so tight. No Lincoln, focus, he told himself. You are a big boy now, and big boys wear pants. Big boys don't call themselves that, but he will deal with that later. Everyone does it like this, you can do it too.

With that reassurance, the white-haired boy got out of the chair and picked out a book, before laying on the bed and making himself as comfortable as he could be.