I apologize severely for the delay. Last chapter, I was in a dark spot and this story hurt to remember. Now, I'm back, and hopefully I can keep it up.
Chapter 13
Plain old Luna
What felt like an ordeal months in the making finally came to an end, as all the Loud siblings rushed up to the front of the store, nearly stampeding over their mother in the process. Always good to have years of experience under the belt. Her hand was more than enough to stop their trek.
"Guys, guys! Jeez, I wish you were this excited over school shopping!" She lamented, holding Lily tight against the horde. Will she be just like them? Why even hypothesize? She was already hopping about in her grasp. That's what to expect when you take the surname Loud.
Even still, at least the day was done. Well, almost done. Leni looked about, before noticing a rather unfortunate scene playing out by a display for ties. "Woah, that creepy, angry guy looks like Dad! Oh, and I think he's about to eat that employee. Wow, shopping is so exciting!"
Lynn smacked her own forehead, before forcing Leni to blink a few times. "So Leni, remember that talk we had about people wearing ugly green sweaters?"
"Uh, yeah!"
"And who is the only one who would?"
"Clyde's parents?"
"God... and the other one, Leni?"
"Dad!"
Indeed, their father found himself in a row, perhaps angrier than ever before in his life. Rita turned pale as she saw her husband holding four ties high in the air. "Do... Do you know how much you're making us pay? This is a robbery!"
"Sir, with all due respect, they're always crazy expensive. They're just small lines of fabric!"
"Small lines of fabric that tell a tale, buddy! Oh, a tale bigger than your paycheck!"
"Well maybe I'd be willing to lower the price if you tell your 'Glittery' daughter to stop messing up our signs!"
"Gah, how dare you accuse my family of that heinous crime!"
Lola hid behind Luan as Rita walked right on over, grabbing Lynn Sr. by the collar. "So sorry, sir. We'll just take the sophisticated one." She glared at her husband. "Seriously? In front of our kids?"
"Hey, you told me to stand up for myself more!"
"For causes that are worth more than a freaking tie, Lynn!"
"Well excuse me for defending my passion!"
Always amazing how the family kept themselves sane. At least the old man dialed down on the anger, and each Loud brought their items and money to the disgruntled cashier. Overall, they did a rather fantastic job. Lincoln got some nice duds for the concert coming up quickly, and behind him Luan found a suit that looked rather classy (even still, the employee hid behind a layer of plastic, just in case).
Leni found a shirt that said "shirt," and Lucy, feeling bad, found a dress that said "dress" to show support, while Lynn found yet another team to support. The twins were bizarre, with Lana getting the best overall... overalls in town, and Lola... well, she was weird. A pretty gown fit for a princess like her, but strangely the text on the front had a modification that seemed rather unnatural.
"Too pretty, it must be criminal!" It should read, and yet "Criminal" was scratched out. The employee shook his head.
After the parents did their stuff and Lisa proved she was secretly a fashionista, it was time for Luna to prove herself. Strangely, everyone was excited to see what she got. A concert coming up, and her strange depression seemingly gone, she must've gone all out.
And smiles beamed bright against the rocker's face, all while sister sighed in guilt, hiding her outfit snug beneath her grasp. With a wince, she brought the plain shirt against the counter. For a moment, the cashier stared confused. It looked more of a rag than an outfit.
The family faded down into confusion, with Luan and Lincoln looking at one another uncomfortably. Luna scratched her arm, before handing her wad of cash. "Is... this enough, brah? I, uh... I can find something cheaper, if it helps."
Lincoln rarely went that far, but he couldn't help nearly crying. "L-Luna..."
The cashier scanned the code, and simply shook his head. "Cheaper?" He glared at her with faded interest, holding the white rag disguised as a shirt. "This barely costs a buck! You might as well just take it, girl. Be doing us a favor getting rid of it!"
Luna was shocked, and a little disgusted. What was it? Worthless? She held it up to her face, its plain white design barely constituting any form of imagination. Behind her, she felt her family staring her down, all looking distraught.
Oh no, she thought, did she ruin their day? What was the rest of the plan? Eating out? Would that work out now?
Luna gulped as she felt a presence approach from behind. "Well?" it spoke in that demonic tone, "What're you waiting for? Unless you're also a colossal waste of time!"
Luna closed her eyes. She made her choice, and going back for that awesome shirt would make her look too suspicious. Shaking her head, she hesitantly brought up two dollars, handing it over to the cashier. The man once again sighed. "Uh, like I said, it's practically worthless! Heck, you do realize you gave me two bucks, right? At that point, I'm stealing!"
"Just... keep the change, brah..."
She wrapped the shirt up in the bag, and quickly approached her family. Even to the siblings still confused on everything going on, they couldn't help but look on scared. Luan looked down to her shoes, much like her brother trying to hold back her own despair. "Um... Lunes?" She asked.
Luna knew where this was going, and tried to change the subject. "So, uh... here, Popstar. Didn't... Didn't have to spend that much!"
Lynn looked down at the cash. He honestly forgot how many the kids were given, but with this amount, she could still afford something nice. Maybe even a tie! "Uh, honey, you sure about this? I mean..."
"Are you happy with that?" Luan admittedly snapped a little too hard. Everyone flinched, causing the comedian to dial it back a notch. "Luna, if we leave, are you sure you're gonna be happy?"
If she turned to face her, who knows what would've happened. Both Luan and Lincoln were a little too important to her, and seeing those broken expressions would have sent her over the edge.
The demon laughed. "Then again, falling over the edge would be rather good for you, wouldn't it? Hm?"
And with that, Luna nearly snapped herself. So what's next on the agenda? A restaurant? A nice walk in the park? What's going down?"
Her father looked to his wife for guidance. Rita was unsure what to do herself. If it wasn't for Lola slowly pushing them all towards the door, perhaps they would've continued this argument. At the same time, no sense in ruining the day further. Maybe... maybe this was just a freak accident or something.
Her daughter was fine, right? She had to be.
"Well, uh... I mean... hey, how about we head to the park! Got a lot of the day left, right?"
Her husband randomly saluted. "And with gas prices at least normal for the next hour, hey, sounds like an awesome idea! Kids, get dressed again! Time to show off this new family in a whole new way!"
"Um... how do we change if we're not going home first?" Lucy asked a perfectly logical question.
Lynn senior gave a horrific answer. "By being extremely careful and vigilant, like a superhero!"
"Sigh," was the only affordable response.
But while the rest of the family seemed prepared to enjoy the rest of the day, Lincoln and Luan weren't ready to leave just yet. Luna, however, was prepared to sprint. Sadly, her roommate had a surprisingly fast hand. "Luna, wait!"
Her shout froze everybody down. Luna couldn't wrestle her hand free, and she was forced to stare into Luan's eyes. They weren't filled with rage. Why, it almost looked like the rocker's own: scared, frightened, and... worthless?
"Worthless? Like someone we know, huh babe," the demon chuckled.
Luan shook her head. "Get something else! Please! I... I know you don't want that..."
Fight it. Just get to the park. Everything is better at the park. "I'm... I'm happy, Luan."
"Then why aren't you smiling? Why do you look like you'll cry any second? And..."
She didn't have to finish. Lincoln did it for her. "Why... why is your hand bleeding?"
Luna nearly forgot about that wound. Where did she get it? She recalled slapping the mirror, but this didn't seem like a wound caused by accident. Should be a little bit more if that was the case.
But... if she didn't punch the mirror by accident, then what... oh god, she thought, as her eyes grew wide.
The demon laughed harder. "Wow, reduced to hurting yourself? What, you trying to make me fall in love?"
Lincoln let a tear slip. "Lunes, just... tell me..."
Luckily the rest of the family was too distracted by that employee trying to grab Lola. "It's her! She's that glittery monster!"
"You can't prove that! Anybody could throw glitter about!"
"And the fact that it's signed 'It was me, Lola, and no one else?'"
"That... you smell! You smell like a sofa!"
Everyone was horrified by that statement, and it provided the perfect escape. Luna wrestled her way out of Luan's grip, and made sure not to look at her again.
"I'm... I'm happy, okay? You don't have to worry about me..."
"Luna, we're always gonna worry about you!" Lincoln stood his ground.
Don't cry. Don't break. "Find something valuable to worry about then!"
In the end, Luna was the first to charge towards the van. Her family quickly followed behind, with Luan and Lincoln, feeling like they got punched hard in the gut, sunk deep into the back, barely noticeable against the chaos of the unknown glitter monster that somehow sprayed the headlights.
As Luna sunk in her own chair, glad that Lynn was far more bombastic to take up all the attention, she saw her reflection grin. "Wow, smooth. You can't even go one family hangout without bothering your family. Guess we now know the weakest link, huh?"
Luna looked down at her rag, suddenly feeling hunger take over her nerves again. "I... I screwed up..."
"As always. Them, and yourself. Heh, now what about Sam, hm?"
While the rest argued, Luna cried, with her reflection sitting confidently in the reflection, laughing at a job well done.
