A/N: OK, so right away I want to explain a few things. I actually don't watch The Loud House. I may have seen bits of only one or two episodes, but my biggest exposure to this series is all the fanfiction I have read. However, I have had this idea for a long time and it has evolved into a full-on story and is so far the ONLY one I have been working on. I really needed a way to share it somehow and I felt doing on here would be the best option. But, because I have very little exposure to TLH in canon, I have been having a lot of trouble with this story. Specifically, I don't know enough about the characters to fully capture the "essence" of how I want to write about them. This is because I want to have many, if not all of them, to have parts of their own spread out in the story. I have written 14 chapters, which are in some state of incompletion, as well as ideas for more. However, the only chapter I feel the most satisfied with is the first chapter. I feel that there are still some improvements that can be made but right now I can't think of any. Which is why I decided to post it here. I think it's likely this will be removed some time in the future, but for now I'll leave it for you to read. If those of you would like to collaborate with me on this story, I would be happy to do that. So for now, here is the first chapter of my Loud House story. I also gave it the rating I did for swearing, but I think that can be changed as well. Please leave a review and I look forward to hear what you think.

Ch. 1 – How Can This Get Any Worse?

It was just another day in rural Michigan. It was sunny, and everyone was enjoying the pleasant weather; well almost everyone.

The people who lived on Franklin Avenue in the town of Royal Woods had to contend with the residents of a certain house of that street. This was the house everyone collectively knew as "the Loud House." Those who were particularly unfortunate enough to live next door to this house were forced to listen to the frequent noise and chaos coming from within its walls; making them complain about it to no end (some more so than others).

The reason for this constant racket was because the family living inside was a big one; a REALLY big one. Living in this small, somewhat run-down abode were the parents and eleven, yes eleven, children, whom so happened to be called the Louds. So anyone can see the nickname for their house was very appropriate, and no one can attest to it more than the only son of the family, Lincoln.

It was the beginning of summer, and all the schools in the area had let out a few days ago (and that included the colleges, as the eldest, Lori, came home for the break.) Everyone was looking forward to the days of summer fun, and the Louds were no exception. Today, Lincoln was in his bedroom. As usual he was lying on his bed reading one of the many Ace Savvy comic books he owned. As he read, he would often pause to think about what the days of summer would bring, as a typical twelve-year-old would. In his case, Lincoln would rather do nothing more than read comics and play video games, alone or with his best friend Clyde McBride. All ten of his sisters never shared any of his interests, as previous events have proven.

Previous events; those thoughts slowly crept into Lincoln's mind. Try as he might, he couldn't concentrate on his comic as memories of the past took over his thoughts. Putting his comic down next to him, Lincoln began to think back to those days in detail; his thoughts leading to times where undesirable things happened. Suddenly, a strange feeling came over Lincoln. Breaking his train of thought for a moment, he listened carefully. The house was somewhat quiet; too quiet. It was then Lincoln realized.

All those bad days he thought of actually started like this, the entire house being quiet. The quiet before the storm, as it were. And when these "storms" came, they almost always involved Lincoln's sisters. At some point their actions would lead to events which resulted in HIM receiving the short end.

Of course, some of them were entirely his fault, and he admitted to them. However, there were other times where these events were well and truly beyond his control. Lincoln hoped that today would not lead to such events occurring. Unfortunately, today would be one of those days when something would happen, and it would be another one of those days when the Loud House would be louder than normal.

"LANA!"

Lincoln sat up when he heard Lola's shrill voice shout out the name of her twin. "Aw shit," he muttered to himself. "Here it goes." As the sound of twins' voices drifted into his room, Lincoln got off the bed and walked to his door. A sudden rise in one of the twins' voices startled him, stopping him in his tracks before he could open the door. Whatever it was, it sounded serious. Very carefully, Lincoln slightly cracked open his door to listen.

The voices were coming from the twins' room. There, Lincoln could hear Lola shouting at Lana over something. At first, it seemed like one of their many points of contention, until one of them suddenly raised her voice. Lincoln started to feel nervous; this was getting serious. But before he could make the decision to intervene, Lisa came from her room across the hall to the twins' to do just that. About a moment later, all three of them were shouting.

This new shouting match got the attention of one of the other girls, whom tried to stop the argument until she was angered by some choice words from the arguing sisters and joined in on the argument. This pattern repeated until all of the girls were engaged in a large shouting match.

Inside his room, Lincoln realized this argument could reach the point of his sisters initiating their "Sister Fight Protocol." He can still remember the events of what happened last time. He remembered how every attempt he made to help only made it worse, and his sisters eventually threw him out of the house until they settled things on their own. Unfortunately, they started their argument again thanks to his poor choice of words. Lincoln decided, this time, he was not going to get involved at all. But he still didn't feel safe in the house.

Since all his sisters were still in the twins' room, he knew they would stay there for a little longer before dispersing. Lincoln took advantage of what little time he had. He grabbed his wallet, cell phone and keys and put them in his pockets as he peeked outside his door. Seeing nobody in the hall, Lincoln listened carefully. He could still hear the voices of all of his sisters. They were still arguing.

Lincoln realized he had to be quick with his departure. Slowly, he left his room and quietly closed the door. As he did so, he saw the door to the twins' room was only slightly ajar, enough so it blocked the view of the hallway. Lincoln saw his chance.

He quickly ran past the twins' room to the stairs. To prevent any suspicion, he slid down the banister and jumped down as quietly as he could. After reaching the floor Lincoln ran through the dining room and out the back door in the kitchen. With all their shouting, none of the girls realized Lincoln had gone.

Lincoln was glad the back door led to the driveway. After quietly closing the door, he ran across the driveway and down the sidewalk away from the house. He didn't slow down until he was a few blocks away, but he kept walking in the same direction. Now that he was out of the house, Lincoln wanted to stay out as long as possible. But he decided it would be a good idea if he was with someone else. So, he decided to call Clyde.

"Hello." "Hey Clyde, what's up?" "Oh hey buddy! How's it going?" "Ugh, not as well as I hoped it would be." "Uh-oh; what's going on?"

Lincoln explained to Clyde what was happening at the house and his "daring" escape.

"Dang. Sounds like it's going to be one of those days, isn't it?" "You're telling me. So, since I'm going to be out of the house for a while, I was wondering if you wanted to do something." "Gee, I'd love to Link, but my dads made another one of their sudden family vacations. We're actually on the road now."

"Oh really," Lincoln asked, slightly disappointed. But then he realized what Clyde had said. "'On the road' you said? So you guys are driving?" "Yeah, I was just as surprised. Turns out we're not going too far." "Really? Where are you going?" "Chicago. We should be back by next week, so we can do something then."

"Sure, I'd like that," Lincoln said, still walking as he talked. Off in the distance he could see a bus stop. That would be a good place to catch his breath after all the running and talking. "OK buddy, I'll talk to you later. Let me know how it goes in Chicago, all right?" "Will do; and Lincoln, good luck." Lincoln noticed the tone in Clyde's voice. He knew exactly what his friend was talking about. "Yeah, thanks," he said. "All right, talk to you later bud." "You too, bye." "Bye."

Lincoln ended the call just as he arrived at the bus stop. He was a bit bummed he wouldn't get to hang out with his best friend today, but he didn't really mind. Since he was at a bus stop, Lincoln decided to go with his back-up plan; to wait for a bus to catch a ride to the Royal Woods Mall. Luckily, he didn't have to wait too long; the bus arrived a few minutes later. After climbing aboard and paying the fare, he took a seat near the door. Right after he sat down, Lincoln realized it wouldn't be fair if he didn't tell somebody where he was going. Both of his parents were at work, but Lincoln knew his mom shouldn't be too busy at this time of day. He scrolled through his phone until he found his mom's number.

But before he called her, the memories of the Sister Fight Protocol came back to him. He also remembered what his sisters said to him regarding his help and he realized two could play that game. Only this time, he decided to kick it up a few notches. Since he was out of the house, he had no choice but to use a messenger. It may be wrong for him to ask her to do this, but then again, what choice did he have? After thinking over what he wanted to say to her for a few minutes, Lincoln finally calls his mother.

"Hi Lincoln."

"Hey mom, you got a minute to talk?" "Of course, sweetie. What's going on?" "I wanted to tell you I'm on my way to the mall." "You are? Are you with the girls?" Lincoln took a sharp breath when Rita mentioned his sisters. "No, I'm alone. I'm actually riding the bus there now." "Really? How come you're taking the bus?"

Lincoln sighed before answering. "The girls are arguing again; all of them." "Oh no; what is it this time?" "I don't know. All I know is the twins started it. The others tried to control them, but one thing led to another and now they're all arguing. I decided to get out of the house before they decided to initiate their… protocol," Lincoln said; adding emphasis on "protocol." He heard his mother groan on the other end.

"I see. Thanks for telling me Lincoln. I'll talk to them about it later. If you want, I can call or text you to let you know when you can go home." "Thanks mom; by the way before you go can you do me a favor?" "Sure sweetie; what is it?"

"Well, because of what happened last time, I really don't want to talk to the girls right now; so would you mind giving them a message?" "All right, what do you want me to tell them?" As Lincoln paused to gather his thoughts, he suddenly thought of something. Something that might be important for what he wanted to tell Rita. After taking a breath, he turned back to his phone.

"Actually before I do, there's something I need to ask you." "What would that be?" Lincoln could almost feel the look his mother made through the phone. "Well, did anybody tell you what exactly happened the last time they used their protocol?" "Not really; what happened?"

Lincoln started feeling irritated when his mother revealed she didn't know everything about what his sisters did to him. He went back to his phone and explained.

"The last time I tried to help them with something like this, they told me I would only make things worse and that they can resolve their issues just fine without me," Lincoln said, clearly frustrated. "Not only that, they even threw me out of the house!"

He paused when he realized his raised voice would have gotten unwanted attention from the other passengers. After catching his breath, Lincoln relayed his message; laying it thicker and heavier as he went.

"As for that message, I want you to tell them I decided to take their advice this time, and if they can work out this problem just like last time, fine. But, if by some chance they actually wanted my help this time, tell them they are out of their minds; and if something like this happens again, they're on their own. Tell them they don't need my help anymore."

There was a pause on the other end. After a minute, Lincoln heard Rita speak up. "Lincoln, I understand you're frustrated, but don't you think that's a bit harsh? I mean, you always helped your sisters with their problems."

"Yeah, but sometimes it wasn't really my choice." "What do you mean?" "Mom, listen, I really don't want to talk about that right now. Let me just say I'm making it my choice now; and right now, I don't want anything to do with them. Please, just tell them what I said. And please, tell them word-for-word; I want to get my point across."

Lincoln heard his mother sigh on the other end. "All right Lincoln, I'll tell them. I'll be busy soon, but I'll give them the message as soon as I can. But, your father and I will be having a talk with the girls, and you, later tonight, got it?" Lincoln sighed after hearing his mother's tone changed. He had a feeling something like this was going to happen. "OK mom." "All right Lincoln; thanks again. I'll talk to you soon. Love you." "Love you too," Lincoln replied as they hung up.

Lincoln sat in his seat in silence for a while. While he was glad his mother was going to do something about it, he was still a bit annoyed he was going to get an earful when he got home. Hopefully he wouldn't receive too harsh a punishment. Lincoln also realized she was going to let his father know about what was happening. No doubt he will be having a few words of his own.

Lincoln figured he should get word to him first. Looking out the window, he could see the mall in the distance. There was no time to have another phone call, so Lincoln decided to just text his father.

-Sisters having one of their group arguments-

-Left the house. Taking the bus to the mall-

-I called mom. She knows what's going on-

-She'll probably tell you everything later-

-See you when I get home-

The bus pulled up by the mall's entrance not long after Lincoln sent the last text to his father. After getting off the bus, he put his phone on silent. Satisfied his sisters wouldn't be able to reach him via cell phone, Lincoln felt a sense of relief wash over him. 'All right,' he thought to himself as he walked into the mall. 'Now to enjoy the day.'

Lincoln stayed at the mall for the rest of the morning, spending most of his time at the stores which sold comic books and video games, and browsing around a few others. However, despite his earlier self-reassurance, Lincoln found enjoying his day was easier said than done. He couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for leaving his sisters behind without even trying to help them despite what he said to his mother earlier. But those thoughts disappeared as he began to feel hungry.

At this point, it was early afternoon, right around lunchtime, so he decided to grab a bite at one of the mall's restaurants. As Lincoln was alone, the host led him to a small table at the rear of the restaurant. After ordering his drink, Lincoln contemplated his earlier thoughts. He usually did try to help his sisters whenever they had problems. Sometimes it worked, other times it made things worse. He thought about those worse events, which of course led back to the Sister Fight Protocol.

Lincoln sighed. He really didn't know how to feel about this. He already made his choice to stay out of his sisters' way (which would hopefully defuse things early), but still. Would that make a difference?

Hoping to find some sort of distraction, Lincoln glanced around the restaurant. As he did so, he saw a figure walking past him. It was a little girl with blonde hair. Lincoln was taken off guard. He could have sworn she looked familiar. Was she one of his sisters? He watched the girl closely, only to see two adults close behind her walking to a table in front of him. Lincoln sighed in relief as he realized it was just a small family being led to their table by the host. After the family sat down, the host started taking their orders. She was standing in front of the family so Lincoln couldn't see what they looked like. Then, as the host walked away, Lincoln caught a glimpse of the girl's face.

His jaw dropped. The girl actually did look like she could be his sister. He had to take a closer look. At first, she looked like a missing triplet to Lana and Lola. But as Lincoln looked more carefully, he realized that couldn't be the case. While the girl looked to be around the twins' age, her hair was a different shade and she appeared to have ALL of her teeth. Speaking of her hair, it looked to be a similar shade to that of Leni's and Lily's. Moreover, Lincoln believed she was shorter than the twins yet taller than Lisa; although he wasn't completely sure about that.

As Lincoln looked on, the girl and her father noticed him staring. Lincoln snapped out of his trance, giving an awkward smile and waved an apology to them. The father waved back, forgiving him. Still, Lincoln decided to switch seats to face away from them. He was now facing towards the restaurant's mall entrance, which had a glass panel door. After Lincoln shook off the awkward feeling from the encounter with that family, his earlier thoughts came back to him. His frustration returned with a vengeance.

Lincoln started rubbing his temples to relieve the mental stress, to no avail. He sighed. 'This is just fucking great,' he thought to himself. 'My goddamn sisters start another huge argument which would've no doubt gotten ME in trouble when I didn't even DO ANYTHING! I leave the house since they told me before they don't need my help, but I still feel bad for not even trying?!'

Lincoln put his face in his hands and groaned, frustrated at his emotional turmoil. "How can this get any worse," he asked himself.

At that very moment, a series of loud popping sounds echoed outside the restaurant, which was quickly followed by the sounds of people screaming. The sudden noise made everybody inside the restaurant immediately fall silent. Everyone looked towards the direction of the noise, murmuring amongst themselves over what the noise could be.

Startled, Lincoln looked up to the door and saw people running past the window. Judging by their speed, and screaming, it was clear they were all running for their lives. An overwhelming sense of dread came over Lincoln.

"Sorry I asked," he said; to no one in particular.