Disclaimer: I don't own The Loud House, the brand, as well as all of its characters and settings belong to Chris Savino and Nickelodeon, all rights reserved.

Chapter 61: Mall.

- Lincoln! Where do you think you are going? - The blonde girl in pink angrily shouted at her brother, who was now trying to slip away from her side to direct his attention to the arcade section of the generically named Royal Woods Mall.

- Well, you know, I have to take care of some necessities first? - The white haired boy responded with a not very convincing disposition.

- Do you think I'm dumb? You already did that 10 minutes ago and I can clearly see where you're trying to go - Lola crossed her arms with an unamused expression.

- Oh come on Lols, just 10 minutes, I gotta check if someone already beat my record at the mansion of the undead - Lincoln pleaded with hopeful eyes.

- Na-ah! You're not going anywhere mister - Lola ordered while approaching the boy, before locking his arm with her own - Without inviting me in ~ - Her serious demeanor was instantly replaced with a sultry look, making the albino blush in response - But seriously Linky, mom's list is kind of big, we have to make this quick - She nonetheless insisted with a concerned look.

With a big mission in hand, Lincoln and Lola's "second official date" was filled with more chores and responsibility than a moment for themselves to enjoy their company, Lori's long awaited weeding with her high school sweetheart, Roberto "Bobby" Santiago, was quickly approaching, expecting to hit by the 30th with a two-day plan to also spend and celebrate New Years eve on a set of two rented cottages near a shore at Miami, Florida.

Suffice to say, a LOT of preparations had to be made, and given the fact that both the Casagrandes and the Louds were big families, the jobs had to be split between the many members, Lola was chosen to complement Leni's choice for outfits to wear for the attendees of the Loud family, as she was busy with the design of the bride and the groom's outfits, while Carlota was choosing the costumes for the other family. Lincoln, of course, offered himself to accompany her for "security reasons" and because he "also had an acute sense of fashion", which ended up working conveniently for them.

- Ok, my princess, allow me to take the lead here - Lincoln played along and lead her by their connected arm to the arcade zone, he remembered the many times that he and his now girlfriend used to go there for the prices at the arcade booth, he knew that once initiated, there was nothing that would stop Lola from getting the cute plushies, he could only look back fondly at the memories.

The pair approached the glass automated doors leading to the entertainment center, they were about to get in.

But Lincoln took a quick glimpse at the inside, and scorned visibly, halting their entrance.

- As I was sayin' y'all need to remember I don't fully get this jun-

- … -

- Uh, Liam? Are you ok, you look like you've seen a ghost or somethi-

Time was halted to an irreversible degree, the people at the mall had stopped moving, the lights suddenly turned off, at least in his eyes, he could only focus his sight on the heart-wrenching sight before him.

His "friends", all of them, oh, and Liam, Clyde hadn't even finished his sentence before stopping mid-track as well, their eyes were all focused on him, except for Stella's, who was intently watching the compromising "connection" that he had with Lola's arm.

- … Lincoln - Surprisingly, the first voice to speak was from none other than the girl by his side, he could not turn his head to watch her, but he was paying attention - It's time, you promised - She said with no emotion whatsoever, but the Albino remained in his stasis, unsure of what to do.

These dudes were his friends, the ones that would always back him up.

These dudes betrayed him, they never stood up by his side.

He was an asshole to them, he didn't deserve their backing on what he did.

But still, They were seeing him at his back, that's another betrayal…

But he was unfairly judged, he can't blame him anymore for liking Lana, he loves Lola after all.

The whole "pedo" angle that he had used to justify his hatred towards him had been nothing but a hard projection of his own, forbidden desire, in truth, he had nothing to justify himself on attacking Liam, and Lana was well within her right to feel offended at him infantilizing her, feeling entitled to control her life, he learned that the hard way with his own girlfriend.

Plus, there was the fact that if he chose to remain against it, Lana would tell on them…

Yet… Lana chose to hurt his princess, how could he forgive that?

Lincoln clenched his fist, before looking directly now at the face of the first guy in the group that he officially unfriended, he looked terrified, like if Lincoln could hurt him at any moment.

- … Liam - Lincoln retained his stern look.

- … - The red haired country boy remained still.

- Let's go Liam, we don't associate with him anymore - Stella pushed the petrified farmer as she skipped to the side of her ex-boyfriend, avoiding all eye-contact with him.

Lincoln, too, was unable to look back, for he himself felt unable to move, he saw how Rusty and Zach also passed through without any interactions.

But Clyde stood there for a little longer, he was watching the face of his former best friend with absolute sorrow, the contact lasted for almost a minute, in which not even Lola was able to move a muscle, then, without any additional words, Clyde too passed by his side, putting his hand in his shoulder for one second before letting go.

Lincoln could only hear the sounds of their footsteps as they became more distant, his eyes remained unfocused on the now empty entry to the arcade section.

The footsteps were almost out of hearing range, he finally moved his eyes to focus on the closest person right now, he saw her expression, a mix of disappointment and sadness, he remembered something even more important.

"Please Linky, if you love me that much, then just forgive him already!"

This memory actually served to return his muscular functions, Lincoln used this brief spark of energy to turn around, dropping Lola's hold for a moment, he focused on the almost fading silhouette of his former friends and clenched his fist once again.

…maybe this would also earn… his… and… her… forgiveness?

- LIAM! - He screamed, Loud enough for his "friends" to hear, loud enough for everyone else in the mall to hear.

His former friends all turned around.

- I… - Lincoln hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say - …I, -

His friends resumed their way out of the mall.

- I'M SORRY OK!? - Lincoln screamed again - IT WAS WRONG TO TREAT YOU LIKE THAT! Lana misses you, y-you, you can visit her again if you want to… - He took a small breath, then failed at pouring his energy in his next words - C-clyde, Stella, Everyone, I'm… s-sorry, too… I was a bad friend and… - He used all of his remaining lung power to finish his "apology", but couldn't even find the right words to express it.

Not that it had mattered, Liam only watched with disdain as he resumed his walk out of the mall, alongside his friends, the rest of the people in the mall looked weirdly at the scene and some scoffed at the infamous figure that had dared to show his face at a public place.

Lincoln stood there, in disbelief, the people around him resumed their activities as if nothing had happened.

As if he hadn't just exposed his deepest insecurity, only for his "friends" to walk away, just like that, he was being sincere, for once, he apologized for real.

Why didn't it work? Why aren't they running after him to give him a friendly hug, why aren't they just laughing away the misunderstanding like how they used to?

His train of thoughts was stopped by a small, delicate hand grabbing his.

He looked to his side.

- Hmm… does that zombie game of yours have multiplayer? - Lola looked at him with a genuine, supporting smile, pulling him back at the game corner.

- Uh… yes, actually, it does! - Lincoln replied with an immediately improved mood, as he followed his girlfriend to relax and have fun, suddenly, he wasn't feeling that bad anymore, having her presence around was feeling more than enough.

Did he really need…Friends?

- Ronalda mija, help me here one moment with packing the tamales - Rosa, the grandmother of the Casagrande family ordered her granddaughter through the door, the family were now on their way to packing everything needed with a minimum one day of anticipation before their flight to the south.

- Ugh, ya voy abuela! - Ronnie Anne, the adventurous teenager answered with wild annoyance, she was currently busy video-chatting with her best friend, Sid Chang.

- So, dude, I don't want to get like really personal with that, but is everything ok with you two? - The asian-descendant girl asked with concern.

- Well, I haven't really seen him in a really long time, stuff happened and we just kind of drifted apart, but we weren't in bad terms, I think? - Ronnie answered through her phone.

- Gosh, so it's like a fated reunion!? - Sid excitedly cooed.

- Wow dude, I thought we agreed to drop that "destiny" crap! - Ronnie replied with annoyance.

- Yeah haha I know, just messing with ya - Sid cheekily showed her tongue.

- Haha, very funny, anyway, gotta got Sid, you know how abuela gets if you don't help her, I hope Sergio and Lalo don't cause you that much trouble! - The hispanic girl answered back before hanging the call, she turned to exit her room to reveal the entangled mess that was her family in their rush.

- This is going to be a looong holiday - She thought with disdain.

- So, how do I look?~ - Lola came out of the dressing room with a radiant white bride costume, one specifically suited for her height, which left her boyfriend in a daze.

- You… look, amazing - Lincoln fixated his eyes on the shape of her dress, and how it perfectly fitted her curves, he could only imagine getting to marry that one day!

Oh right…

- Wow, eyes are up here handsome~ - Lola didn't fail to notice the specific stare of her boyfriend, but it was only really obvious by seeing the drool escape his mouth.

That gave her an idea.

- You know Linky - Lola approached the flustered boy - I realize how hard it was to see your friends react like that - She had a sympathetic look while saying that - So I'm really happy that you gathered the courage to apologize to him in front of everyone - She held his hands - And I'm thinking that you… - She stood on her tiptoes to reach his ear - … deserve a reward~ - She whispered huskily.

- mmm, but I thought we didn't have much time? - Lincoln replied with evident arousal.

- hehe, I think we already have all the costumes, so… - Lola began pulling on her boyfriend to approach the dressing room - Let me try out this swimsuit, I'll be quick ~ - She closed the door behind, locking her brother in with her.