"Sorry about the tough guy act back there," Chandler tossed Lincoln a small bag of chips, which lightly landed in Lincoln's fumbling fingers. "Me and McBride don't exactly get along."

The two were in a large room, one of the club-assigned ones Lincoln guessed- but the door hadn't had any sign on it like the others. There was a table in the middle with some beanbags, and some pieces of furniture pushed up on the sides while to the immediate south there was a tv with some more beanbags in front of it.

Chandler closed up a little cupboard filled with snacks and opened up a bag of his own. Lincoln looked between him and the cupboard quizzically.

"Most of this stuff is from my house," Chandler nodded to one of the chairs for Lincoln to sit on. "My family's pretty well off so we donate some things now and then- helps everyone out y'know?"

"Yeah, t-thanks…" Lincoln grasped the bag but didn't open it yet.

Chandler shrugged, then leaned back in the chair opposite to Lincoln. "It's just something we do here, Royal Woods isn't like Hazeltucky. Don't get me wrong, we've got jerks and bullies, but no real gangs and stuff like back in your town- no offense."

The memory of the boy's goon loomed large in Lincoln's memory, and his expression must have given something away.

"Hey, like I said; me and McBride don't get along." Chandler looked away in memory. "Not sure if he's said anything already, but we've have had a few tussles before- and I'm not the one who started stuff. Long story short, he's the teacher's pet so he got off and well- now if I have to deal with him, I bring some friends along. That's all it is."

Chandler crunched down a chip while Lincoln tried to read him as surreptitiously as he could.

Chandler's body language oozed casual confidence, but from the way he sat he wasn't trying to project dominance. There also wasn't any clear sign of him lying, as well as Lincoln could read a boy he'd never spoken to.

But Clyde and 'Tussling'?

He'd only known him for a short time, but The McBride boy seemed to be anything but a fighter.

" 'Course, I can see why you might have a hard time believing that." Chandler spoke up. "McBride is good at making people think he's harmless. Teachers and other kids don't really look twice at Mr Honour student, but let me tell you; him and his friends get into weird stuff like…"

The other boy's eyebrows furrowed for a moment, then he looked Lincoln in the eyes properly. "Look, if I go on about what he's pulled here you're not gonna believe me. But do us both a favour and ask him about Lori Loud and let him prattle on for a bit, you'll see what he's about then."

"Lori?" Lincoln's mouth went dry as the memory of the tall teenager loomed over him. "W-what does Clyde want with her?"

Chandler shook his head. "Trust me, you'll know if you ask McBride, and it'll be crystal clear coming from him. He might even ask you to do some stuff and well… if you and I have a talk after that you'll understand some things better. For now, let's just say that he has his reasons for trying to get close to you."

"To me?" The sheer absurdity of someone wanting to get close to him nearly made Lincoln snort despite himself. "Why?"

" 'Cause you're living in the Loud House now." Chandler bluntly responded. "Heck, your mom's gonna marry Mr Loud so the word around was that you're gonna be one of them-"

"I'm not." Lincoln's voice was calm this time, maybe he was getting used to the misconception. "I'm just living with them."

"Right, sorry about that." Chandler raised his hands in placation. "But the thing is, around here the Louds are basically Royal Woods' own celebrities so-"

"Celebrities?" A memory of Stella's words from yesterday tugged at him. "I-I think I heard something about that, but I'd never heard of them before a few weeks ago."

"Really?" Chandler seemed surprised for the first time since they'd walked into the room. "Not even Lynn? And your mom never told you?"

Lincoln shook his head. "I didn't even know Lynn's name for a long time."

"Wow…" Chandler whistled. "Your Mom just dropped you in the deep end.

Oh well, I'll try to keep things quick since we could be here for ages, but the short story is that each of the Loud sisters has some weird 'thing' that they do really well. Lisa Loud even teaches at the University 'cause she's that smart- but the thing is though; they're all kinda crazy."

"Crazy?" Lincoln asked doubtfully.

"Yep, I don't know if they're behaving themselves or something right now since you're new but trust me." Chandler became serious. "Those girls all have moments where they do things that get them in the news." He relaxed a little. "Don't get me wrong, most of it's pretty cool; but sometimes it's downright scary- especially Luan."

Lincoln felt a flicker of scepticism cross his face.

"No, no seriously," Chandler insisted. "Luan Loud is the scariest woman in Royal Woods- ask anyone. Hell; ask Clyde, he'll tell you what Ms April Fools is capable of. And the rest? Well, they're not as bad, but they swing between going on weird 'adventures' that everyone talks about and raising hell that no one can forget."

Lincoln couldn't help but let his full doubt display. "I… I don't know about that. They've been mostly normal around me."

Chandler looked him over, then his eyes flicked to the side for a moment. "… Okay, you'll find out either way. But my point is; the Loud Sisters are kind of a hot commodity around here, and since you're connected to them now, so are you."

"Me?" Lincoln flushed at the idea, then shrank a bit as the memory of hundreds of eyes staring at him flashed again. "I-I'm not special."

The other boy examined him again, and Lincoln shifted as Chandler's green eyes rested on his beanie for moment. "Maybe not before you came here.

But now? You might've been some nobody in Hazeltucky, but in Royal Woods you're the new Loud kid-"

"Alvarsson." Lincoln felt another spike of uncharacteristic spite snap through his mouth. "My Mom's the one taking the name, I'm staying me."

Chandler's eyes flickered, but his expression returned to his usual casual confidence before Lincoln could read him. "That's fine, but believe you me; as long as you're living in their house, it's not gonna matter what you call yourself. You're the newest Loud kid as far as most of the school's concerned and you're new with no friends here- no offense. That means that for anyone who wants to get close to them, or just get some gossip about whatever the Louds are gonna do next- you're their best option.

And just a heads up," he leaned forward and looked Lincoln right in the eye. "Clyde and his friends definitely have an interest in the Loud Sisters."

Lincoln was doubtful, even if he wouldn't say as much to the popular boy's face. But before his scepticism could solidify, Chandler's words again tugged at the memory of Stella's eager expression the day before;

"Yeah, they're all super talented and have adventures every week! When word got around that it would be 'The Loud Siblings' from now it was the talk of the school!"

Chandler seemed to notice Lincoln hesitation, and coolly continued. "To be fair though, so do a lot of other people. It's just that Clyde is obses-" Chandler caught himself. "… Well, you'll see what he's like."

Lincoln remained silent for a moment while he measured Chandlers words against what he'd seen so far.

Clyde had been nothing but friendly with him, at least so far, and even if Stella was curious about his soon-to-be sisters, she hadn't done anything besides gush about them.

But at the same time, Lincoln had experience with 'friends' pretending to be that, only to find out later exactly how fast that 'friendship' could be dropped. He'd seen it happen too, mostly to kids shy but desperate for attention and security but not sharp enough to know how to swim with the sharks and when those sharks were pushing them into a trap.

Lincoln was pretty sure he knew the difference between another kid trying to get by and a predator though, and even if Stella's words were a little suspicious now- Lincoln's long-honed senses told him that *something* was off with the popular boy.

And right now, Chandler was clearly interested in him for something and it didn't take much for him to guess why that might be.

"W-what about you?" Lincoln finally asked, his nerves thickening his tongue in his mouth. "Are you one of those people?"

If Chandler was surprised at his directness, he didn't show it.

"Nah," He leant back and looked away in memory. "It's not like the sisters aren't fun to watch, and I'd be lying if they didn't liven up the place. But me and them have different circles, and I'm not really into celebrities so I don't have a personal interest y'know?"

His pose was calm, confident and casual. The same as it had been throughout their conversation really, and Lincoln couldn't see any signs of tension or forced relaxation to indicate deception.

But then there was another obvious question.

"… Why me then?"

"Why you?" Chandler seemed confused.

"W-why did you want to talk to me then?" Lincoln swallowed, "i-if it's not about the sisters?"

Chandler shrugged.

"Hey, it's just what I said; I wanna get to know the new kid. Just go clearing up some things like the whole 'Loud' stuff, and maybe get my own words in on whatever McBride might've said about me 'cause I know it's gonna be nothing good."

Lincoln was taken aback for a moment, and Chandler evidently noticed.

"Yeah, just what I thought right? It's not exactly the first time he's pulled that trick y'know? Getting friendly with the new kid so they see his side first. 'Course, since he's the 'Junior Administrator'," Chandler air quoted the title, " it's not hard for him to get the first say anyway.

Anytime some new kid comes along McBride's gets to show 'em around, and while he's doing that, he'll tell them all sorts of stories, some of which are true, but most are only kind of true." Chandler gave him a meaningful look as he emphasised. "He'll put on his best face and by the end of the tour half the time the kid's ready to join his group there and then, and from then on they'll get sucked into whatever stuff he gets up to."

Chandler scrunched up his bag of chips, and then tossed it into an open bin nearby. "Stella was one of those kids, the newest one before you actually. She showed up and McBride and his 'friends' got up right near her for the entire first week she was here, they got real weird about it too- they even started coming to school in costumes and tried keeping other guys away from her like she was theirs or something.

Don't know how or why she stuck around them after that, either way, she's part of his little gang now so it doesn't matter." Chandler nodded to himself, "but that's another thing you can ask about, along with Lori Loud, and trust me; you'll understand McBride and his friends a heck of a lot better than if I said it."

That caught Lincoln's attention, and the way the boy's eyes seemed to look through him suddenly threw him off balance. "W-why? You're already telling me about them anyway."

"Yeah, a little." Chandler held up his finger and thumb to demonstrate. "But that's not really what's goin' on here. See, I've told you my side of things- at least the important stuff. But you're the kind of kid who knows how easy words are aren't you?"

Chandler's grin seemed to gain an edge, and bead of sweat formed on Lincoln's temple as the sensation of being read intensified.

"All this?" Chandler indicated to the room around him, "this could be just presentation, right? McBride warned you all about me, and hey; you're a smart kid. No way you're gonna just swallow some story about the 'Teachers Pet' manipulating people into some kind of gang of misfits with him in charge!"

Chandler snorted at his own word before resting his eyes upon Lincoln once more, "nah, I could tell from the moment I saw you that you were smart, even if McBride's pulling his best innocent impression on you. What this is?

This's context," Chandler lingered on the word as his eyes narrowed. "And the bits about Lori Loud and Stella are the right questions to ask for that context. 'Cause otherwise you might not find out until McBride's your 'friend', and even if you found out then you'd probably let a lot of it go 'cause people do stuff like that for friends."

There was a slight curl to Chandler's lip with the last words, but it vanished as he continued.

"But if you ask those questions now, a smart guy like you'll put the pieces together easy enough." Chandler sighed and leant back. "You're not like the other transfers we get from Hazeltucky- you're the kind who reads people right? Well; read McBride and his friends, just like you're reading me now and it'll be a million times better than if I tried to tell you when you're still suss on me."

Maybe that was the truth, maybe it wasn't.

But in an instant, all other thoughts vanished from Lincoln's mind. His mouth dried out his lips cooled as a single line from Chandler echoed through his mind like a siren.

"-other transfers we get from Hazeltucky-"

"There's people from Hazeltucky here!?" Lincoln's voice cracked. "I-where?"

"Jeeze, relax." If Chandler shifted with ease, and raise his hands in placation. "We just sometimes get people from your old school, but most of the time they don't really get along with everyone else 'cause they're too… 'rough'." Lincoln winced at memories started to boil over, but the other boy continued on. "Basically, they all get put in a special class with all the troublemakers until they either shape up or screw up enough for them to be sent someplace else. It's not really a class though, it's more or a less just a pen if you ask me with just one of the tougher teachers goin' through the motions…"

Classes that were just pens with teachers going through the motions?

Lincoln knew those all too well.

"…The matter whitetop? You ran good before!"

"…I'm sorry…"

"Make his teeth match this time!"

Lincoln's fingers twitched as they reached for his beanie.

"… Rikkie seems okay though," Chandler's musings caught Lincoln's attention. "A bit like you actually-"

"W-what did you just say?" Lincoln's demand left his lips before he could think.

"… She's a bit like you?" Chandler raised an eyebrow at his tone.

"W-who?" Lincoln insisted despite himself.

"Rikkie," Chandler repeated. "Rikkie Simmons. Came just before Stella, quiet kid mostly but…" Chandler voice trailed off as Lincoln felt the blood drain from his face. "You two have history?"

He tried to say something, but nothing escaped. Miserable months flashed by in his mind's eye, those bitter days when he went from being one of many trampled faces to the target of Hazeltucky.

"… ey, hey!" Chandler's voice drew him out of his daze. The red-haired boy looked slightly worried, but sat back down upon seeing Lincoln refocus. "I don't know what happened at Hazeltucky, but most of the time transfers from there don't last 'cause they do something that gets them kicked out. Rikkie's behaved herself though, so the chances are if you two had beef or something back there it probably won't turn into something big here if you don't wanna make something out of it.

And if she does?" Chandler shook his head, "well Royal Woods doesn't let things get too bad, not Hazeltucky bad anyway. And if some guys from your old school try and start something, either the teachers'll step in or me and the guys'll."

"T-those boys from before you mean?" The fresh memory of the stocky boys loomed at Chandler's words.

"Sometimes," Chandler shrugged. "But most times it's just some kids having beef over something stupid, and they need to talk it out with someone a little less involved. But sometimes…" Chandler's voice gained an edge. "Sometimes things do go bad, and the boys'll finish what someone else starts.

Don't go thinkin' they're thugs mind you," Chandler insisted. "They're not like Ronnie-Anne, just throwin' their weight around and starting trouble when someone pushes back. Even McBride should be able to tell you that."

The name of the girl drew up yet another bitter memory, not anything like he'd suffered at Hazeltucky but fresher. And an obvious hole in Chandler's words raised itself. "… So you step in when Ronnie-Anne gets bad?"

"Sometimes." Chandler raised a finger. "Look; I try and stay away from McBride 'cause we don't get along. And that stuff with you and Ronnie-Anne yesterday? Well, we're not going to just start stuff for her talking to someone new, and right after she pulled that stuff with you I pointed it out and we nearly got involved then.

But then you ran off and the bell started," Chandler shrugged. "Nothing we could do then besides tell a teacher, and you know how that goes. Ronnie-Anne probably just got a lecture and skipped out like usual."

The image of the purple-clad girl flicked in his mind again. Her bearing, her attitude and how easily the other kids had parted before her with submission.

"S-she's one of the kids in The Pen- The Special class isn't she?" Lincoln guessed.

To his surprise, Chandler snorted at his words. "Ha, 'The Pen'! I like that but…

Nah, not anymore. but she was. She got real bad for a while but she's mostly cleared up her act for the teachers, she mostly just talks big and hits back harder than people do with her in school now than starting things, and that's good enough for the grown-ups.

Now she mostly goes to the same classes as everyone else and stays out of trouble enough not to get expelled or get put back with the bad kids." Chandler rolled his eyes, but then grew serious again, "at least most of the time. Heads up by the way; she and McBride's friends don't get along- at all.

I don't know exactly what went down, but at some point, she and his group got into a real fight over something." The other boy emphasised. "From what I heard; one of Clyde's creepier friends tried something on one of her bad days and he had to go to hospital afterwards, but it could've been anything with them and her.

Bottom line is that she and McBride's group got in a fight, Ronnie-Anne won of course- but 'cause McBride's the teacher's pet he and his friends got off easy while Ronnie-Anne got put in The Special Class for a while.

Now she and him are sort of in a cold war or something," Chandler frowned. "At least most of the time. I guess she wanted to get the look of the new kid yesterday. Anyway, if you're hang around McBride you'd best stay clear of her or-"

WHRRNNNG

The bell signalled the end of recess.

"Shoot, I thought we had more time." Chandler drew himself up with slight annoyance. "Look; do what you want but part of the reason I wanted to talk to you is 'cause I'm having a party this Saturday. Basically, anyone's invited, 'cept Ronnie-Anne and Clyde for obvious reasons.

You wanna come, you can come. You don't, no hard feelings." Chandler picked stretched to work any kinks out of his body. "But hey, could be a good way of meeting new people."

"Umm…." Lincoln blinked, still processing the weight of all the information he'd been handed. And that was before the fact the no one invited him to parties. "I…"

"It's cool either way," Chandler walked past the table and Lincoln both, then opened the door for him to leave. "Just keep it in mind would you?"

"Uh- okay." Lincoln agreed, and awkwardly started past Chandler into the increasingly bustling hall.

"Oh," he froze as Chandler's hand suddenly rested on his shoulder to stop him. "And do me a favour; remember to ask McBride about Lori Loud okay?"

Lincoln almost stumbled away as the hand gently released him.

A/N:

Special thanks to Nuuo and Blaze1 for beta-reading.

Sorry about the horrific hiatus;

Real life, plotting the various arcs for the sisters in this story, writing myself into a corner with Chandler's characterisation and all the frustrations those brought took quite the toll in terms of scheduling.

Suffice it to say, how I first presented Chandler and how I actually wanted him to act in the story was quite different, and it took a while to work out exactly how to reconcile that. Hopefully the conversation between him and Lincoln did that well enough, since this version isn't a simple bully.

The chapter's also smaller than usual, but given the size was the better half of a regular chapter how long it had been since an update, I decided that the next chapter could be larger to compensate for simply getting something substantial out now.

No promises for how soon that next chapter will be, but I'm hoping to get it out by the end of the month, and then return to a regular schedule after that.