Disclaimer: I own NOTHING from the Loud House.
Ronnie Anne winced as she felt pressure being applied on her bruised arm. "Hey, watch where you're grabbing."
"S-Sorry!" Lincoln replied, shifting his grasp. "You sure got hit all over."
"Nah, just the front and sides." She replied. "Plus, it was your idea to carry me up here; even though I can walk just fine."
"After seeing Lucy helping you walk straight, I doubt it."
"Playing the prince was just too good to pass up, huh?" Sid nudged Lincoln in his shoulder with her elbow.
"S-Shut up Sid." Ronnie ordered with a chortle, showing no malice in her tone.
Sid only gave a shrug. "If you say so princess." She stuck her tongue out at her bestie.
Lincoln walked into Luna and Luan's room, sliding the door open further with his foot. After a few more steps, he gently placed Ronnie on the lower bed. She sat up as he gave her a water bottle in one hand and a couple pain pills in the other.
A frow adorned her faces she inspected the size of the capsule. "Ugh...I wish these were chewable..."
"And deal with the weird taste? No thanks." Lincoln stuck his tongue out in disgust, placing another ice pack on the desk next to the bed. "They're the same ones I used when my nose got fixed."
Ronalda rolled her eyes with a hum before placing the medicine in her mouth. She took in a large sip of water before swallowing it all, shuddering a little as the after taste from the pills was still left on her tongue. "Phew, today was tiring..." The tomboy screwed the cap back on before dropping the bottle on the floor. She promptly fell back on the mattress seconds later.
"Need me to get you anything?" Lincoln asked.
Ronalda couldn't help but chortle, not bothering to lift herself up. "Link, I know you're my boyfriend and all; but you don't need to wait on me like the time I was sick. Besides," She turned slightly on her side, pressing the ice pack strapped there to press further on the bruise it covered. "If you think all this is bad, just imagine what I did to the trinity of perras."
Sid chuckled. "Don't know what that last word was, but I bet it wasn't anything nice. Though not much room for imagination since you told us already."
"True." The Santiago girl gave a yawn. "Either it's the meds or I'm tired as hell from that brawl..."
"Probably both." Lincoln leaned over and gave a light kiss to the raven-haired girl's forehead. "Thanks for looking out for Lucy by the way."
A faint blush coated Ronalda's cheeks. "She's just as much my sister as she is yours." She glanced at the floor and noticed his shoes were on. "What are you about to do?"
"Welp," Lincoln started walking to the door. "I already promised to meet some of the guys at the arcade. Was gonna ask if you wanted to join, buuuuut..."
Ronalda rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah. Go ahead; at least you won't suffer from me kicking your butts again."
"Hah, you wish!" Lincoln scoffed with amusement, waving goodbye as he exited the door.
Sid grinned at her bestie as she sat on the bed. "Feels nice having a great guy like him huh?"
Ronnie nodded. "Sometimes still I wonder if its luck that he gave me a chance, given how we first met."
Sid raised a brow. "Is it any different than what I already know? I mean," She shrugged. "You said you used to bully him to get his attention."
"Yeaaah, though there's more to it." Ronnie stated, grabbing the ice pack and placing it on her forehead. "Now, don't let this getting around..." She made a quick glance at the door. "But...I was actually jealous of Cristina back then..."
Sid tapped her chin. "Cristiiiina...hmmm..." She pouted her lips slightly. "Isn't she one of Lincoln's friend's girl?"
"She is now. But a couple years ago she was single." Ronnie pointed out. "Honestly, she wasn't much aside from being a pretty face and just being shy. But a quarter of the boys in our grade flocked to her like she was a mini Ms. DiMartino. I mean, they weren't as obvious about it like they were with our substitute teacher, but still." The Santiago girl pressed her head back onto the pillow. "...Lincoln was one of the boys who grew interested. Though honestly, I didn't know about it until our school was doing this film contest and he posted a video of his embarrassing moments. Before then, he had different video of his sisters' embarrassing themselves." Her eyes closed slightly. "We never did go over that, but I think something happened at home that made him swap it out." An annoyed frown began to form as she recalled what happened two years ago. "It wouldn't be the first time..."
"Soooo, you were jealous of Cristina, so you wanted to do whatever it took to get his attention?" Sid asked.
"Yeah...and I didn't go about it the right way..." Ronnie huffed, her chest feeling heavy as guilt sunk in. "I mean, looking between me and Crissy, she dresses nice all the time and has good hair while I'm sitting here with a hoodie, average hair, and semi-crooked teeth." Her tongue grazed the buckteeth sticking through her lips. "Mom said I'll likely get braces for these soon; but back then, I felt like there was no easy way to get Lincoln's attention."
"Well, you were only 11." Sid pointed out. "Besides, you know those preppy girls in our school who try to get all the boys ended up being flat as boards anyway."
"Well, yeah...but-"
"Plus, you're already growing a nice set of buns. If you're worried about looks, you got nothing to fear girl!" Sid began to count on her fingers. "You got the hair, you got the personality, you're tough, and you'll probably get a butt all the girls want!" Ronnie scrunched her lips slightly in embarrassment. "Sure, you got his attention in not the best way, but it worked out right?"
Ronnie chortled. "It did, though sometimes I wondered if time travel was possible so I could go back and tell myself what to do to win him over without all the pranks." She frowned once more. "If I had known what his life was like at home, I wouldn't have given him hell at school..."
"Ron-Ron, that was the old you." Sid patted her bestie's head. "The new you cares a lot more about things than just skateboarding or pulling pranks. I mean, no offense, but I doubt the old you would've cared if Lucy was getting bullied."
Ronalda felt a little uncomfortable thinking about it. "I wouldn't say that; even when I was the school bully, I didn't pick on little kids. I'm not a monster; but I'd definitely have gotten more bruises than I did in that fight..." She yawned again, then lightly brushed a hand on her swollen eye. "I think these meds are starting to kick in...my side feels numb..."
"Ok, saying you not caring about Lucy was a stretch." Sid shrugged. "Still girl, you got serious guts to get involved like that; that's probably why Ms. Guzman wanted to train you."
Ronnie squinted an eye, staring up at the bottom of the top bed. "You think one day, I might be able to take her place in wrestling?"
The Chang girl made a wide grin. "Totally!" She lightly pinched one of Ronnie's arms. "Might need to get more muscle though."
Ronalda made a slight groan. "I don't wanna look like those buff supermodels...yeck..."
Sid made a chortle as she looked away for a moment. "I was thinking more lean muscle, like Lynn." When she looked back at Ronnie Anne, the tomboy had her eyes closed. The energetic girl leaned over and petted Ronalda's hair. "Sweet dreams princess."
Ronalda, still having her eyes closed, gently swatted her friend's hand away. "Don't call me that..." She spoke, showing she was still aware of her surroundings.
Before Lincoln headed down the stairs, he noticed the door to Lucy and Lynn's room was open. Poking his head in, he saw both owners of the room sitting on Lucy's bed. Lucy was lying curled up on the bed with Lynn softly running her fingers through the goth's hair. As much as Lincoln had gotten used to Lynn's new attitude towards interactions with her siblings ever since she quit sports, it still surprised him how stark the contrast was between the present and the past.
"If this happened two years ago, she'd probably use this as a excuse to try and get Lucy to 'toughen up'; and by that, I mean going through her version of boot camp." Lincoln shuddered. "But here she is, putting Leni to shame by being a caring older sister."
"You there bro?" Lynn's voice cut through Lincoln's thoughts, making him fidget on the spot. "You've been staring like that for a minute."
"S-Sorry!" Lincoln answered bashfully to save face. Stepping further into the room, "How ya doin' Luce?"
Lucy turned her head slightly. "Pain fills my living body in an unpleasant way," She lied it flat on the bed once more. "But I'll live. I still worry those witches will return and cause more destruction to the graveyard..."
"Mmmm, I doubt that." Lynn replied. "RA was pretty specific about her threats. And if she did throw the hammer down, then they'd think twice about going back." The former athlete's smile turned sour. "And if they don't, I'll ask what they want their graves to read..."
Lincoln chuckled nervously. "As much as I'd agree with the sentiment, I'd rather not start a fight."
"Hah, your loss." Lynn glanced at her brother, noticing his shoes were on. "Where you headed?"
"Arcade."
Lynn made a smirk. "Don't wanna hang around and care for your girl? Some boyfriend you are."
As much as Lynn's amused tone made it obvious that she was joking, it still irked Lincoln a bit. "Hey, she said I didn't have to watch over her 24/7." He leaned on the door. "Plus, she's probably sleeping by now."
"Psssh," Lynn waved her hand. "Go have fun bro." As Lincoln turned to leave, "One more thing." Lynn suddenly called out, making him glance back. "Make sure you bring an umbrella or something. It's supposed to rain later."
Lincoln only shrugged. He headed downstairs and passed through the living room. By now, Lori was gone, he was sure his little sisters were still occupied with whatever they were doing; who knows what Lynn or Sid would do now that Lucy and Ronnie were resting. With everything in check, he had little else to worry about. Opening the front door, Lincoln stepped outside. It was still humid, adding more frustration to the already 98 degree heat; however, as the Loud shielded his eyes from the sun to look up, he didn't see any clouds besides some very small ones. Checking the time on his phone, "Is it supposed to rain like, in the evening?" He chortled, shutting the door behind him. "I'll be fine."
He walked around the back towards the garage where his siblings each kept their bikes. Going through the side door, the middle child easily spotted his hand-me-down bike against the rack with the others; all thanks to them cleaning out the garage when Dad went through his craze with Veronica, it was probably the only good thing to come out of that episode. Pulling his bike out, Lincoln dragged it through the door, strapping on his helmet. His hair felt a little uncomfortable as the moisture in the air already settled upon his dome.
"Mmm...if it does rain," Lincoln kicked the stand into place. "I hope it gets rid of this crazy heat..." The Loud began to peddle, already having a bet in place to see who would have to buy the snacks today.
"You're late, Pineapple boy." Conner announced in a half-joking manner.
"I was busy with something important, Larry the Lobster." Lincoln fired back, prodding him in the shoulder with his fist.
"Hey Lincoln!" Clyde greeted, shaking hands with Lincoln before bumping fists with him. It didn't stop there though; they did a series of arm movements whilst slapping hands in-between.
Conner formed a deadpanned look. "Do you guys need to do that every time you meet?"
Both teens turned to the Pingrey boy and said, "Yes."
Conner rolled his eyes. "Welp, don't cry about your arms being tired then." He pulled one of the front doors open and led the duo inside. "So, why were you so slow today?"
"Pfff, slow? You act like 10 minutes would kill you. " The Loud pointed out. "But FYI..." He frowned a little. "Lucy was attacked by bullies and Ronnie fought them off."
Both boys widened their eyes, Conner more so in surprise and Clyde in shock as they turned towards the Loud. "Are they ok?" The nerdy child asked.
Lincoln nodded. "Lucy's more of less herself. Ronnie got bruised up," He smiled a little. "But she's pretty feisty." He said with a chuckle. "That's one of the reasons I like her."
"Heh, not hard to see why." Conner spoke in a voice that had more adult-themed undertones. The boys decided to fill their stomachs first, and headed towards the food court. "Sooo, who had the balls to pick a fight with the Queen of Pain?"
Lincoln started to frown again. "You guys remember Taylor?..."
At the mention of her name, Conner and Clyde gave uneasy looks. Like Lincoln, they were quite familiar with the former middle school bully and the altercations they were involved in during the first few weeks of middle school. The blonde facepalmed shortly after. "Maaaaan, not her..."
"I went through so many pairs of underwear that week..." Clyde admitted, subconsciously rubbing his backside. "And I had to buy more the following week!"
"Were her boyfriends there too?" Conner muttered.
"Thankfully, no. But Taylor's two other friends were." Lincoln rubbed his arm. "I'd hate to think what'd happen if Pablo and Anderson had showed up..." He shook his head. "N-Not that I don't think Ronalda can handle herself; she clearly can. It's just that...she might come out more hurt than she already was..."
"How bad was off was she?" Clyde piped up.
"Just some bruising and a headache for the most part; Lucy is also the same with less of it, though she won't be moving around much..." Lincoln frowned. "Apparently Taylor and her cohorts used the pet cemetery as their personal spot and trashing up the place. Lucy was visiting our dead hamster and wanted them to leave since cleaning up after themselves is too hard."
Conner deadpanned. "Knowing that bitch, I can already see how that went..."
"And if Ronnie Anne hadn't been around when she was..." Lincoln made an irate glare as his hands curled into fists. Seeing his friend in this state, Clyde was reminded of such an occasion he had seen his best friend lash out when he witnessed one of his sisters being bullied. Granted, it was during a time when the Louds were having what would best described as 'family drama', and Lincoln seemed more hot-blooded than Clyde had ever seen him to be in the 6 years he had known him. Since then, and after reconciling with his family, Lincoln seemed more protective for all of his sisters; especially the younger ones. Clyde wouldn't put it past him that Taylor might meet the same fate, even if she was taller.
There was also Lynn too. As much as she became less hotheaded and more caring, understanding, kind...beautiful...wait, what? Clyde slapped his forehead upon realizing he was going a little off base with himself. What he meant to say, is that Lynn is still a very strong woman who could put a hole in a wall with ease. In fact, she wanted to intervene back when the boys were in 6th grade and being bullied on the bus by those jerks.
"I swear...I don't know what I'd do, but it wouldn't be pleasant..." Clyde snapped out of his thoughts when Lincoln spoke.
The boys arrived at the food court, with Lincoln taking a moment of silence while they were in line so as not to spill anything private. Getting an extra large pizza pie, the boys seated themselves in a table near the back end of the food court.
"Sometimes I think they pick on little kids because they're total pussies against someone their age..." Conner muttered, shoving some pizza in his mouth a second later.
"Lynn did say they were predators..." Lincoln added, pausing to bite into his slice. "Makes sense, what with how they made so much fuss over a bus seat..."
"And even when we weren't riding the bus, they picked on everyone else." Clyde paused to sip his soda. "And for...what? Just because we spilled stuff on them? It was accident!"
"Maybe they were just that shallow." Conner pointed out. "I'm surprised the bus driver didn't just kick them off the bus. I mean, isn't it illegal to be starting fights on them? They're still school property, right?"
Lincoln hummed in thought as he chewed. "Even if he did, they'd still mess with us at school. I was considering asking Lynn if she could deal with them."
Conner only had faint memories of Lynn, though he did remember she took on six teens with baseball equipment; and won. "So why didn't you? It would've been a lot easier if your strongest sister put them in their place; consequences be damned."
Lincoln had a solemn look on his face as memories from that day at the park came to the front of his mind. Even if the bus bullies were much weaker than Hank and Hawk, he didn't feel comfortable letting his sister shoulder that burden and come out in the state Ronnie Anne was currently in. More importantly, when he started sixth grade, Lynn's turmoil with her past actions were at an all time high; something that would've further impaired her judgment and probably cause her to make mistakes in a fight.
"Lincoln?" Clyde's voice brought the Loud out of his empty stare.
"You're spacing out again, dude." Conner added.
"S-Sorry. Well, to put it simply, Lynn was still going through some things...and I didn't want to her to get involved even if she wanted to. Plus, compared to the other bullies we dealt with, I figured we could've handled them on our own. We just weren't trying."
Clyde tapped his chin in thought whilst also putting a pizza slice in his mouth. He went wide-eyed as something came to mind, and he wanted to slap himself for forgetting what the group did. "And when we did try..." He chuckled.
During the first few weeks of sixth grade, the three boys and the other friends in their social circle had the misfortune of incurring the wrath of three eighth graders who seemed to think the rear of the bus was reserved specifically for them; all because of a yellow line marked on the floor that is standard on EVERY school bus in town. It wasn't Lincoln's fault the bus seats were old and prone to popping a spring. And while the Loud and his friends wanted to avoid a confrontation, it was inevitable as the three bullies had shorter tempers than Lola before she became nicer. Getting bruised up that first day, both to and FROM school, the kids opted for ways avoid the hotheaded teens. Bikes weren't an option as Rusty said he "outgrew" his from a growth spurt, and no one was willing to walk all the way to school; Conner in particular didn't have that option because his house was the furthest away; second to Liam's farm.
So, they all opted for rides from their parents; but even THAT plan had limited success.
Already, two groups of parents were out as Stella's and Conner's parents left early for work; and the remaining five were no better. Currently, the kids were sitting on the front steps of the school, which had just ended for the day. Being Friday, today was the day that Rita had driven them all to school. Truth to be told, Lincoln's mother had the most promising outcome; the family had a new van that could comfortably sit everyone, they got to school on time, and unlike the other parents, Rita wasn't carrying extra baggage for work or being overly concerned with protection.
Or stalking people because they think they might be aliens.
Keeping her road rage in check was another matter though...
"I'll just go ahead and say it: carpooling was a bust..." Zach spoke glumly, his head sinking further into his hands.
"There's gotta be another way to get to school..." Stella muttered, gently brushing the ends of her curly locks. "I think Taylor is going to rip my hair out..."
"Well," Conner folded one leg over the other. "There's still the bike option."
Rusty glared at him as soon as the word 'bike' left his mouth. "I said I can't fit mine anymore!"
Conner made a fiery stare as he got out of his relaxed position and nearly stood up. "You only grew TWO INCHES!" He held up two fingers for emphasis. "If that's too much for you, then just get a new bike!"
"Easy for you to say! My allowance is poor compared to yours!"
"I only get $50 a month!"
"Guys! Guys!" Clyde spoke. "We shouldn't be getting at each other's throats over this. We might've burned through our previous options, but it could work out if we tweak our choices a little." He ended with a hopeful attitude.
"Well, my mom would've been the best pick." Lincoln replied, propping his head up with one hand. "But I doubt it'll work now that she's gotten a ticket for her road rage..." He glanced to the side. "Annnnd I don't wanna risk Mr. Bolhofner giving me extra work..."
"Clyde's dads would've been the perfect choice if they weren't safety freaks..." Zach muttered, making Clyde duck his head in embarrassment.
"Zach, your parents believe in aliens..." Stella pointed out.
"And? They do exist." The short redhead retorted.
Conner rolled his eyes. "Personally, I'd rather risk Liam's pig puking on me that being trapped in that car with all the weird tech..."
"Sooo, no one has any other ideas?" The Loud asked, only to be met with collective groans. "Greaaaat..."
As various students passed by, the group noticed some of the kids that rode on their bus looking hesitant to get on as they lined up outside the door. Some of the group even spotted a few of the kids having what looked to be bruises; one look at the windows told them who the likely culprits were. As the kids filed in, the group watched as they saw Anderson appear to be talking with one of the shorter kids on the bus; right before said kid was promptly shoved into his seat. A brown girl with highlights in her hair said something, only grabbed by Taylor who looked as if she was giving a threat.
"Guess we WEREN'T getting targeted on purpose." Rusty stated bitterly.
"And we're next unless we put our heads together..." Liam added, resting his head on his palms.
Lincoln watched in dismay as the bus pulled away, leaving the bus bullies to harass the kids onboard. Even though he felt some elation that they weren't purposely being sought out, it irked the Loud that those bullies were running roughshod over the rest of the students who no doubt did nothing to irritate the bullies.
"Maybe they really are just a bunch of jerks..." The white-haired child mulled to himself. His hands curled into fists as a fire was lit in his chest. "Mmmmmngh...there's gotta be a way to stop this! I don't want my whole school year to be ruined by what happens on the bus!" He thought to himself, subconsciously rubbing his pants. "Annnd I'm running out of good pairs of underwear..."
The first thing that came to mind was getting Lynn involved. She may have stopped playing sports, but she was still the strong-armed person of the family; and Lincoln didn't doubt she'd blow her top at the knowledge of knowing her brother was being bullied again. In fact, she would've taken the bus with her brother since she's also in eighth grade; however, she had been feeling a little under the weather lately, and was avoiding large crowds for that reason.
Lincoln also had suspicions that she had been going through her mental gymnastics again...
The 11 year old squinted an eye. "That might just make it worse too...Lynn could mop the floor with these guys, but wouldn't that get her in trouble?..." He raised a brow. "And that doesn't say anything about what they could do to us AFTER school..."
Conner's eyes opened up slightly as an idea came to him. "Maybe we could ask-" He stopped upon realizing something. "Wait, she's in college now...and she took Mom's old car with her..."
"I don't think all of us could fit in that thing anyway." Stella surmised. "Sedans typically hold only 5 people."
Lincoln hummed to himself. On the subject of siblings, he wondered what his older sisters would do (barring Lynn). "Lori and Luna might react the same way Lynn would, and Leni might just try to talk things out with them." He mulled with a frown. "Of course, THAT didn't work..." Bringing his thoughts to his comedic sister, "Luan might launch a prank, and-" He went wide-eyed as the gears were turning in his head. "That's it!"
"What is?" Zach asked.
Lincoln smirked. "We're not gonna deal with these bullies anymore, cause I got an idea!"
The others frowned in disapproval. "No offense Lincoln, but getting rides with each of our parents didn't exactly pan out..." Stella stated.
"Wait a sec..." Clyde lifted his head up. "How about we take the city bus?"
Conner frowned. "Clyde, no one takes the city bus unless they're going into the city. Plus, it sounds overly complicated for something so simple; and I'm pretty certain the bus doesn't run through here."
"This isn't going to involve our parents, or any other modes of transport." Lincoln declared, standing up. "For I have a plan to make sure those jerks don't pick on us, or anyone else, anymore."
Liam scratched at the side of his head. "How do ya suppose we do that?"
Lincoln's smirk grew into a dark, yet smug grin. "You'll see." His tone was imitating that of a cartoon villain as he lightly rapped his fingers against each other, even throwing in a dark chuckle for added effect. One may have been expecting him to do a cheeky laugh with a lightning bolt flashing behind him.
The others looked at each other in confusion as to what the Loud was planning. The fact Lincoln didn't elaborate further before he took off for home didn't sate their curiosity at all; truth was, Lincoln himself was still trying to put the pieces together to ensure his idea didn't backfire on them. But if there was one thing he was certain about, public embarrassment will make anyone change their tune. As Lincoln walked back home, he slowed to a walk, letting his breaths even out. As he thought over his current bullies, he couldn't help but be reminded of two other brutes he had the misfortune of dealing with. The Loud shuddered as he pictured Hank and Hawk' sneering down at him before issuing a pummeling; something that almost happened twice ever since meeting them on Halloween.
Well, truth be told, he met them before that when he and Lynn swapped around football practice when his mother signed him up for it; but still...
Compared to them, Anderson and Pablo were just thin pieces of wood that only needed a well-placed chop to break; Taylor even less so. In fact, they only seemed to be targeting anyone below their grade, which was the same as Lynn's. "Maybe we could just stand up to them as a group and get them to back off." Lincoln muttered to himself as he crossed the street. "If they only pick on people smaller than them, they probably aren't that tough."
Lincoln glanced up when he heard the sound of brakes squealing. His bus from middle school had made a stop on the opposite side of the street before speeding off; from his view of the windows, it still had a few students remaining. Among them, Lincoln spotted the laughing trio that was Anderson, Pablo, and Taylor through the back window. The Loud made a frown as the bus sped off; in its absence, he noticed a boy that looked to be in his grade had his underwear stretched over his head. He watched the poor kid struggle to remove his massive wedgie for a few minutes before the kid succeeded.
Lincoln bit his quivering lower lip in simmering frustration as his fists shook at his sides. "Just standing up to them isn't going to be enough..." He muttered to himself as he continued home. "It's dumb that even the bus driver doesn't just kick them off..." Vivid flashes from the incident back in May played through his mind; the six bullies chasing him and Conner, Hank and Hawk, and even...Lynn being beaten unconscious. Lincoln stopped walking as he recalled what Lori and Carol did just moments after they had arrived on the scene. "But at the same time...I don't want to end up fighting them..." He then recalled Chandler's revenge scheme after he had beaten him down for hurting Lana. "That might just make them want to get back at us when we least expect it..." Lincoln looked up at the clouds moving slowly in the sky. "And I don't want to ask Lynn to take them on. She's still has leg pains from that incident a few months back." The Loud glanced down at the ground as he started walking again. "And she's been muttering to herself a lot more lately...she's not in the best mindset to deal with this..."
Moments later, Lincoln saw his house just a few blocks away. "Or, maybe Conner was right and we could just take our bikes to school." The Loud frowned again. "But that's just us running away from our problems-"
"WATCH OUT!"
Lincoln looked up just in time to see Luan barreling towards him on her unicycle. The boy went wide-eyed before shuffling out the way, Luan just barely having time to clear him before crashing into a nearby bush. Lincoln made a gasp as he ran over.
"You ok Luan?!" The white-headed child asked, grasping Luan's hand that stuck out from the bush as the comedian made a slight groan.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Luan stood up, brushing branches and leaves off her before pulling out her unicycle. It was then that Lincoln noticed his sister was wearing her clown suit, minus the makeup and wig. "Just got a last minute call for a birthday party that said they really need a clown since the one they hired cancelled all of a sudden." She stepped out the bush. "But I should ask, what's with the ground watching?"
"Oh, well..." Lincoln twiddled his fingers. "I'm..." He sighed. "Me and my friends are having a problem with some bullies on the bus..."
Luan went wide-eyed. "What?!" He eyes narrowed. "It's not Hank and Hawk is it?"
Lincoln huffed. "Thankfully, no; they're still in juvie. But it's 3 people named Anderson, Pablo, and Taylor." He raised a brow. "Do you know any of them?"
Luan scratched the side of her head. "No...not exactly. Who are they?"
Lincoln folded his arms in annoyance. "Some eighth graders who pick on anyone smaller than them. I sat in the back of the bus one day because there weren't any seats left, and apparently they said they "owned" that sat. Then, one thing led to another, and now they're picking on not only us, but the other kids on the bus."
Luan deadpanned. "Great, one of those people..." She muttered. "Well, guess that explains why you've been getting rides from your friends' parents all week. But have you told any of the teachers? Or even the bus driver?"
To her dismay, Lincoln shook his head. "The bus driver didn't anything to stop them, and I have doubts the teachers would." Lincoln cast a deadpanned look to the side. "Especially after I almost got sent to Canada when I just wanted to change classes."
"Huh," Luan put a hand on her hip. "Welp," She clasped her hands together and stretched her arms until her fingers popped. "Looks like April Fools has come early this year."
Lincoln went wide-eyed for a moment. "Waitwaitwait! I haven't figured out what to do about them yet."
"Well, what do you want to do? I mean, it sounds like they won't quit until someone shows them the door or makes them submit." Luan shifted her posture slightly. "Do you plan on having Lynn help you?"
Her brother sighed inwardly. "Luan, you and I both know Lynn isn't...ok, these days. Sure, she's not in the hospital anymore; but...have you noticed she's been..." Lincoln paused as he tried to summarize the best he can. "Arguing, with herself lately?"
Luan made a solemn look. "Who hasn't?...I'm not saying Lynn is acting a little "loose" like someone from the crazy place, but I think she's still being too hard on herself."
"And that's why I don't want her to take these guys on." Lincoln said in affirmation. "It's not that she won't wipe the floor with them, but more like she's not in the right mindset to handle this. So I was thinking..." He tapped his foot idly, staring at his sister from the corner of his vision. Seeing her clown getup, Lincoln went wide-eyed as the gears in his brain turned.
The answer was standing in front of him the whole time. "Actually, do you have any good pranks we could use?"
Luan made a warm smile. "I thought there'd never be a day where you'd ask me for pranking advice." She ruffled the hair on his head, making Lincoln making a wry smile as he fought to avoid laughing. As she did so, she glanced at her watch, going bug-eyed in the process. "Crud! I'm gonna be late!" She put her unicycle on the ground and sat on the seat, moving the peddles slightly to keep herself balanced. "Sorry I can't talk Link. But know this: the best prank, is often the simplest one!" Before Lincoln could ask what that meant, Luan sped off, kicking up a dirt trail behind her.
Lincoln blinked in surprise. "I can't believe she can go that fast on that thing." Turning around, he continued his walk to the house. "The best prank is the simplest one?...Hmmm..." He muttered to himself. "Well, they do seem to like that seat in the back a lot..." The boy lifted his head up, then snapped his fingers as a smile grew on his face. "And I know just what we gotta do!"
Taking his phone out, Lincoln began texting his friends of the idea that popped in his mind. The most important question he asked was: how much glue does it take to hold a person to a seat?
Conner made a chortle. "That was an odd thing to ask, but I got the gist of it after a minute." He pulled the last slice of pizza from the pan and bit into it. "Took half a bucket of Gorilla Glue for that prank to work."
Clyde and Lincoln nodded. "You think we might've used a little too much glue? The school had to uninstall that seat because the backs of their pants were firmly stuck."
Lincoln and Conner burst out laughing. "If anything, they're lucky their hands weren't stuck to the seat too!" The Loud spoke between laughs.
"Plus, they stopped bothering everyone on the bus afterwards." Conner added.
"That's because they didn't ride the bus anymore." Clyde pointed out, sipping his soda.
"Well, now they knew how we felt; along with being the laughing stocks of the school." The blonde boy added. "They never did figure out who pulled it, did they?"
"If they did, we might've had "issues" after school." Lincoln let out a burp, which Clyde and Conner rated as a 4. "Lynn wasn't happy when I told her I was being bullied after the fact, but she was happy that I resolved it on my own."
"On your own? Please." Conner rolled his eyes. "If anything, we got dragged into it. Plus, you weren't the one who brought the glue."
Lincoln gave Conner the stink-eye. "Neither did you; Zach did." The Loud started chewing on the pizza crust that remained on his plate. "The hardest part was making sure the glue didn't dry too much before they sat down."
"And cue everyone not feeling an ounce of pity once they realized they were stuck." Clyde answered between chuckles.
"And from what Ronnie said, they still don't know who glued them to the seat." Lincoln scooted out of the booth, grabbing the now empty pizza box as the other two were finished eating. Clyde and Conner got up and followed, venturing into the arcade section of the establishment.
"Something to note, what are we doing for Halloween this year?" Conner asked, throwing the other boys off at the change of subject.
"You know October is still four months away, right?" Lincoln pointed out.
"So?" Conner shrugged. "Doesn't help to plan for the future; something I thought you always did."
Lincoln scoffed. "I'm more of an 'in the moment' type of guy."
The bespectacled boy chuckled. "You? In the moment? Remember the time you tried getting the Sweet Spot in your family's old van?" Clyde reminded the Loud.
"Ok, yeah. I took a few months scoping it out." The white-haired child admitted. "Though in my defense, I wouldn't have had to do if Dad finally decided to get a new van back then." He folded his arms. "Still can't believe he wanted me to keep it when I get my license..."
"And you have like, 5 other sisters ahead of you?" The Pingrey boy stated.
"Not like any of them would keep it." Lincoln huffed. "Family heirloom or not, that van was long past its expiration date; especially since Lana was always having to tune it every week."
Conner wanted to ask what sense did it make to have a 7 year old fix a broken car; but given that Lincoln came from a weird family, it'd probably bring more questions than answers. Leaving the issue to rest, "Anyways, the school is doing a costume contest this year again, right?"
Clyde shrugged. "Probably. It's been a thing since we started sixth grade."
"Which is why we should probably start planning what theme we'll be going for; especially because last year's idea took a while to get everyone's costumes ready." The blonde pointed out with an annoyed mutter.
Lincoln rolled his eyes. "Conner, we all know you'll likely pick something that's topless, so you already got half the work done, Krieg." The Loud chuckled with a grin.
Conner shrugged. "Not my fault I can't help but show off my guns." He flexed both arms as he finished that statement.
Lincoln chortled. "What muscle?" He poked Conner's bicep. "You're as thin as me!"
"Well Cristina likes it!" Conner retorted. "It only makes sense someone as beautiful as her is with a hunk like me."
"Pretty sure it was only through circumstance." Clyde uttered with a slight grin.
"Sure, she may be cute; but she's not as hot as Ronnie Anne." The white-haired teen challenged with a smirk.
"Dude," Conner looked at Lincoln as if he were speaking to a complete dunce. "Have you seen her mom? She doesn't leave much to imagine with that yellow dress she's always wearing; and I'm can already tell Cristina inherited a good amount of her mom's genetics."
Lincoln raised a brow. "How so?"
"Not to boast," Conner thumbed at the collar of his shirt. "But the outline of her breasts are quite visible under her blouse; even more so when she's wearing just a regular shirt."
"Hah, so you can't really tell because you've never seen her with just her bra on?" Lincoln's smirk didn't drop as he laid it out as blunt as he could.
Conner made a glare as his cheeks developed a red tint. "...No..." He then pointed a finger at Lincoln's face. "But you haven't seen Ronnie's either."
Lincoln's smirk turned into the type of grin you'd see when someone was about to boast an achievement. "Hate to ruin your parade Conner, but I DID see Ronnie Anne with only a bra on; quite recently actually." Lincoln pointed out, though he tried not to show any guilt in saying that due the moment surrounding it. "Wish the circumstances were better...but it totally happened." His grin returned in force. "Annnd I can say with certainty that it's not just her bra filling out her shirt."
"Oh really. How well do you think she'd fill out her swim wear?" The Pingrey teen cocked a smirk. "Cause I'm betting that my babe would own the pool with what I'm guessing are her B-sized melons."
Lincoln burst out laughing. "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? And besides, Ronnie may not look like it, but I've noticed she's gotten bigger towards the bottom over the last two years." Lincoln folded his arms. "By the time she's 15? I have little doubt she'll be totally rocking the pool." A light blush formed on his face as he stared elsewhere as he recalled the picture he sent her. "Though I think she is already."
Conner rolled his eyes. "I doubt she'll have a sizable rack compared to what Cristina will have by then."
"Maybe not," Lincoln agreed. "But she'll definitely have more junk in the trunk." He finished with a sly grin, spacing his hands out to give a picture as to how big his girlfriend's hips might get.
What the two hadn't noticed was the flushed appearance of Clyde, who had the misfortune of hearing every word of their conversation. On one side, Clyde couldn't help but feel envious towards the two; he didn't have a girlfriend to speak of, so he felt like he was being the third wheel as he couldn't engage in these kinds of mildly inappropriate conversations. Being the growing boy he was, anyone whose known Clyde knew that he too was interested in the female anatomy; which wasn't really a big reveal due to his previous infatuation with Lori. However, the oldest sibling of his best friend wasn't what his mind gravitated towards; rather, it was the girl he had been helping cope with the guilt of her past actions for the last two years. It may surprising to anyone outside of their group that Clyde was actually pining for someone other than Lori; given that said obsession was so great that even Lincoln had to point out how unhealthy and borderline creepy it was.
Though, Clyde would deny it at first, even he would realize his crush for Lori was rather meaningless; the fact she was not only 6 years his senior but also had a boyfriend was something he couldn't ignore forever. Not only that, Lori wasn't the saint he thought she was after witnessing his best friend be cast out of his own home like a cursed object. Furthermore, he didn't expect to gain feeling towards on the very sister Lincoln previously vented his problems about. Lynn was more or less the polar opposite of Lori: she was loud, rude, brutish, a bully at times, and sometimes just really unpleasant to be around unlike Lori; she was kind, beautiful, mature, strong (well, Lynn was strong too but in the more definitive sense), and generally a decent person towards others.
However, those opinions he held about Lori, also applied to Lynn the more Clyde did amateur therapy with her.
While the bespectacled boy was initially reluctant to help Lynn with her inner turmoil, he found himself thankful that he didn't turn down the opportunity. Over the course of a few months, Clyde found that Lynn was definitely no longer the girl he believed her to be; underneath her tough exterior, she was insecure, shy, much more kinder, generous, and a great person to be with if he could sum it up in few words, which was a good thing because he had WAY more to say. Heck, the level of maturity she exhibited within a year alone would match that of her oldest sister. He'd even admit that, at 15 years old, she was growing into a beautiful woman. Her silky smooth hair...her smile that left no hint of malice...her hazel-colored eyes...her smooth skin dotted with freckles and toned muscles...
"How big do you think her butt is now?" Conner asked, piercing into Clyde's thought process.
Her toned abs and butt...wait...
"Probably enough to fill the bottom piece of a bikini quite well." Lincoln answered with a chortle.
A mental image of Lynn in a red cross-strapped bikini suddenly entered the forefront of Clyde's mind. As much as he wanted to get rid of the thought, he couldn't help but drink in the image of seeing her toned body, smooth skin, and her curved assets in their glory. Fortunately, this thought was interrupted as the nerdy teen felt a familiar burning sensation fill his nose. Clyde instinctively brought his hands to his face as blood started spilling out.
"Oh man..." Clyde panicked inwardly.
This didn't go unnoticed by the other boys. "Woah, you ok dude?" Conner asked, sidestepping slightly away from Clyde to avoid getting any blood on him.
"Y-Yeah." Clyde nodded vigorously, which sent a few blood specs flying to the floor. "I-I gotta find the restroom!" He immediately turned in the direction of the restroom and speed walked there, leaving a small trail of blood in his wake.
"Eck..." Conner grimaced as he eyed the blood on the floor. "Clyde really ought to get his nose checked. I'm surprised he hasn't suffered the side effects from blood loss."
"Ooor," Lincoln grinned. "He could try focusing the blood elsewhere." He widened his eyes for a second before they returned to their relaxed position.
Conner caught on and snorted. "Who has the dirty mouth now?"
"Still you because you brought up how good Cristina looks." The Loud began walking away. "I'm gonna go check on Clyde."
"Hurry up so you can watch me thrash your DDR score!" The Pingrey boy called after him.
"Keep telling yourself that Lobster Boy!" Lincoln called back as he disappeared around a section of arcade games.
It didn't take long for Lincoln to find the restrooms, which were seated in a corner near the food court. Stepping inside the men's room, the Loud turned the corner to find his best friend of 8 years blowing his nose, staining the white paper towel in his hands red. Lincoln glanced at the trash can, grimacing a little as he saw several bloodied paper towels inside.
"You sure you don't need to see a doctor Clyde? I mean, I'd expect to see something like this when you get punched in the nose." Lincoln stated, then rubbed his own nose. "I've been there before..."
"It usually clears up after a few minutes." Clyde answered, twisting the end of a new towel before stuffing the paper in his nose. He frowned when the whole wad turned crimson. "Though it's really hard to get it to stop..." He plucked the paper out and just stuffed another in.
Lincoln made a slight nod. "Hey, do you...feel any jealously when me and Conner talk about that sort of stuff?"
"Well..." Clyde turned as he put a second wad of paper in his nose. "It'd be nice to fit in...though at the same time, I can't help but think of..." His face grew red. "You know who..."
Lincoln smirked and patted Clyde on the back. "You don't have to be embarrassed about it Clyde. I thought we turned that page when you first told me about it."
Clyde could remember the day quite well. Even though it was almost a year ago since he told Lincoln, the feelings he had recognized had been there for much longer. So long in fact, that he didn't feel comfortable doing therapy sessions with Lynn until he had a talk with Lincoln. One calm weekend during the dying days of winter did Clyde ask Lincoln to meet him at his house.
Walking up to the McBride residence, the soon to be 12-year-old knocked on the door. He shivered a little as the wind blew past him. It opened up to reveal one of the adults. "Hello there Lincoln!" Harold greeted him. "You're here to see Clyde?"
"Yeah, he said to come over ASAP." Lincoln said with some confusion in his tone. "I don't know why, but it seemed urgent."
"Oh, the poor dear's been having panic attacks lately." Harold said with great concern in his voice. "Buuuut, it's for a good reason."
The Loud raised a brow. "Good reason?"
Harold stepped to the side as he let Lincoln walk in. "Normally me and Howie would be all over Clyde to make sure he's ok, but we picked up the usual cues that he may be into someone~!"
Lincoln formed a deadpan stare as he took his jacket and hat off. "Does that include bleeding from his nose and fawning over that someone in a weird way?" He hung his jacket on the nearby coat rack and started taking his boots off.
"Well, minus the last part." Harold clarified. "Though, he's been practicing his breathing exercises more frequently lately." He tapped his chin.
Lincoln made a curt sigh. "I'll talk to him." Sliding his boots near the wall, the Loud walked towards the young McBride's room. "It's probably about Lori again..." He muttered to himself.
Going down the hall, Lincoln saw his friend's door cracked open. "Clyde?" Lincoln poked his head in, finding his best lying on his bed in a daze as he practiced his breathing exercises through a paper bag. "You ok buddy?"
"J-Just, f-fine!" He gave a shaky thumbs up, which didn't convince the Loud in the slightest; especially after seeing his friend resume his breathing exercises.
"So uh...your dad said you were eyeing someone?" Lincoln stated, getting to the point. "I mean, if it's about Lori again, then-"
"It's not!" Clyde suddenly shouted, making Lincoln flinch. "S-Sorry. But I've..." Clyde bit his lower lip. "I've moved past her..." He turned on his bed, facing the Loud. "I even got rid of my shrine for her!..." Tears welled up in his eyes as he said this.
"Your shrine?" Lincoln asked. Clyde simply pointed to his closet. Lincoln between the closet and his friend before walking over, opening the door a moment later. All he saw in there were Clyde's clothing, which were much more neatly organized than his own closet/room. "I really gotta ask my parents if I can get a spare closet to put my stuff..." He noted to himself. It was at that point he noticed that there was a large empty space on the right side of the closet. It looked like something had been nailed into the wall, and there was a clear imprint on the surface where a large portrait had been hung, along with indentations in the carpet where a desk may have been.
Considering that Clyde said it was a shrine to his oldest sister, he couldn't help the unnerving feeling that ran up his back. "I don't think I wanna ask..." Lincoln backed out the closet and shut the door. "But, and no offense, it's a good start that you stopped going after my oldest sister. I mean," He sat on the bed next to Clyde. "Don't take it the wrong way, but I kept telling you it wasn't going to happen. She has a boyfriend already."
"Thanks for the vote of encouragement..." Clyde said bitterly, setting the bag to his side as he sat up. "But I learned she wasn't the angel I thought she was after..." He glanced at Lincoln, then the door. He put a hang to his mouth before whispering, "The Luck incident."
Hearing that made Lincoln's stomach curl a little, but it was understandable. Those who knew the full extent of that situation had a less than favorable opinion of his family; even with the efforts they made to regain Lincoln's love and respect. As an example, last Lincoln heard, things were still a little tense between Lori and Bobby. Sure, they were still dating, but they weren't all over each other like before; that actually might be a good thing, seeing as they weren't riding up the phone bills with their nonstop texts.
"Ooookaaay...but, onto more urgent matters." Lincoln leaned on one side. "Was your dad right when he said you were checking someone out?"
Clyde made a nod, his face turning slightly red. Lincoln smiled at this. "So who is it? Girl Jordan? That cookie girl? Or..." He tapped his chin. "Was it Chloe? I think that's her name?"
"N-No...it's not ANY of them." Clyde pointed out, curling into a ball. "It's...i-it's one of your sisters..."
The white-haired boy made a neutral frown. "Oh boy..." Was Lincoln's lone thought as he could only imagine who it was. "Well, if it's not Lori, is it..." He paused for thought. "Leni? I mean, I guess it makes sense since she always carries her heart on her sleeve."
Clyde shook his head, prompting Lincoln to guess again. "Hmmm...I doubt it's Luna cause she has a girlfriend, and Luan is interested in another guy..." Looking towards Clyde, "Is it Luan?"
"I still haven't gotten over the crow prank from that one April Fools..." Clyde muttered.
"Well, is it..." Lincoln made a questioning glance at his best friend. "Lucy? I'm not gonna judge, but you did dance with Haiku at the Sadie Hawkins Dance." He scratched at his head. "Kinda surprised you guys didn't hit it off then."
"She was nice and all, buuut..." Clyde shuddered. "She still creeps me out..." He then sat up straight, eyeing Lincoln with a critical stare. "And before you go further, it's not any of your younger sisters." The adopted boy folded his arms. "Look, Lana's cool, but her habits aren't something my dads would approve of. And Lola's..." He rolled a hand, then it dawned on him to check around for hidden microphones. Lifting his pillows, "She's not gonna hear any of this, r-right?" He lifted his bed sheets next before squeezing his stuffed animal to make sure nothing unusual was hiding in it.
"Don't worry buddy, say no more." Lincoln stated with a hand raised. "Lola is definitely a handful." He smiled. "It may be hard to believe, but she's been a lot less full of herself since last year. She's more like those kind and caring princesses we see on TV, and not the spoiled ones who think they everyone exists to serve them." The Loud made a quizzical stare. "It can't be Lisa either; she's way too young." Clyde made a deadpanned stare, which Lincoln caught in a moment. "Oh wait, you said it WASN'T any of my younger sisters." He chuckled nervously. "S-Sorry...but that only leaves..." Lincoln stared in bewilderment. "Lynn?!"
Clyde clenched his teeth as blood started to pour out of his nose like a faucet. He was quick to cover his nose before he stained his bedsheets; he couldn't say the same for the front of his shirt though. He grabbed the tissue box on the nightstand and started plugging his nostrils. "P-Please don't say her name..." He gasped.
"Sorry, it's just...her? I didn't think you'd go for someone of her..." Lincoln stumbled on his words. He couldn't really say "type" because Lynn definitely wasn't the same girl she was the year before. The fact she wasn't doing winter sports right now was still a bit jarring to everyone in the house as they normally wouldn't see her for much of the day.
Clyde picked up what Lincoln was trying to say. "I thought I wouldn't either...like, she was sort of more like an older brother to me when she was hotheaded and tried roping me into doing sports activity with you guys." He made a bitter frown. "And considering what she did to you last year..."
"...I'm still surprised you agreed to help her with these therapy sessions."
"Considering what she did," Clyde wiped his mouth before replacing the now red tissues with fresh ones. "Taking on Hank, Hawk, and those six other bullies to protect you. And seeing what she was like in the hospital..." Clyde shuddered. "She did WAY more than just earn your love back."
Lincoln sucked in his lower lip slightly as memories of the hospital came flooding back. "She almost..." He sucked in a breath. "She a-almost didn't make it..."
Clyde went wide-eyed upon hearing that.
"But thankfully, she's still alive and...well enough I guess." Lincoln shrugged a little. "She's less inactive and not fighting with herself as much these days; though she's gotten a little frustrated as to why you kept canceling on her."
"About that." Clyde began. "It's...it's complicated Lincoln. I mean, she's definitely not the self-centered and bullish person I thought she might come back to; in fact, that's one of the reasons why she doesn't want to go back into sports. But what I saw after talking with her over these months is a kind and sweet person whose very insecure about herself right now. The way she looks at me when she talks about her problems...the way her hair swings when she's jumpy..."
Lincoln squinted an eye. "Clyde."
"Her cute smile when she feels better after we talk..."
"Clyde..."
"The way she laughs..." A warm, dreamlike smile worked its way across his face.
Lincoln glanced at the readers for a moment before uttering, "...Lynn..."
Upon his brain registering that word, Clyde began spazzing about. "Error! Error! System corrupted!" The tissue in his nose began to be fully soaked with blood.
"Clyde," Lincoln grabbed the spazzing boy's shoulders. "Stay with me!" He shook his bestie vigorously.
"Uuuuuuh..." Clyde blinked as he regained his focus. "What happened?"
"You acted exactly how you usually did whenever someone mentioned Lori." Lincoln said with a neutral stare. "You really have it bad for her, huh?"
"That's my point! You see why I had to avoid her? It's just...it just feels weird that a doctor would be interested in their client!"
"But you aren't a doctor." Lincoln patted Clyde's shoulder, though he realized how insulting it sounded. "Well, not a licensed one at least."
Clyde brought his hands to his cheeks as a fearful gaze stared at Lincoln. "So I've been doing therapy illegally this whole time?!"
"Weeellll, it's technically just helping who-know-who vent her problems so she can get through this in her own way." Lincoln pointed out. " More importantly, when did you start feeling this way about her?"
"...A little after Thanksgiving..." Clyde admitted. "At first I thought I was just running a fever, but then the only thing I could think of was her and...then the nosebleeds started..." He pulled the used up tissue out of his nose, this time stuffing two papers in each nostril. "I tried to not think about it much, but it's gotten PRET-TY hard to focus on what she's saying when I can't help but think of seeing her as...well, how I saw Lori?"
"Hmmm..." Lincoln hummed in thought.
"I don't want to cancel our sessions altogether, but I can't be her therapist if I'm too distracted to give her advice..."
"Clyde, you've done a lot for her since you guys started doing this thing. She still doesn't want to see different psychologist, which might be for the best because..." Lincoln tapped his fingers on the bed nervously. "It might've happened almost a year ago, but we still don't want anyone else finding out what happened in April..."
Clyde looked glumly at his bedspread.
"And thanks to you, she's gotten better with her emotions and confidence. She still refuses to touch sports (and it doesn't seem like she ever will), but...lately she's started having those internal arguments again. I don't wanna put mean thoughts in your head but...part of her (the part in her head that thinks negatively) thinks you're canceling because you don't want to talk to a 'weakling' quote-unquote." Lincoln curled his fingers instinctively at this notion.
"Her? WEAK? Lynn's probably the strongest person I can think of!" Clyde spoke with fire in his chest. "She took on 8 bullies, could lift a couch, and she's not even afraid of heights like I am!"
Lincoln smirked. "You said her name without weirding out that time."
Clyde's eyes opened up more. "I did?" He double checked in his words for a moment. "Huh..."
"It's your choice buddy." He patted Clyde's back. "If not for you, at least you can face her for her sake." He frowned a little. "None of us want to see her fall back to how she was not long after coming home from the hospital. It wasn't as bad as she felt after I ran away from home; but Lori told me how she had to force Lynn to sleep once because of how it was affecting her health." He sighed. "Guilt really eats at her harder than it does to Lucy..."
Clyde mulled over options. On one hand, he could back out until he was ready to talk to Lynn without making a fool of himself; but that carried the risk of her resetting in spite of the progress they've made. And being honest with himself, Clyde wanted to see how Lynn would turn out after she fully recovered. Lynn and sports were synonymous with each other, and to see her refuse her own passion made it clear she wanted to change.
In the past, Lynn didn't quit no matter what; for better or worse. And Clyde realized that he wasn't willing to give up on her because of how awkward he felt. So, he chose the other option.
"Lynn would keep going, and so will I!" Clyde declared, pointing at his ceiling for dramatic effect. "But how can I keep acting like normal without ditzing out?..."
"Clyde Clyde Clyde," Lincoln shook his head. "You have the Man With The Plans sitting right here." He thumbed to himself.
Clyde looked at the Loud in a suspicious manner. "Don't your plans fail half the time?"
Lincoln made a faux look of hurt. "Didn't say they were idiot proof."
"And, you were right. Our next session was about her other half saying she was weak." Clyde pulled the tissues from his nose. "Took almost an hour convincing her otherwise." He frowned. "I hated having to lie about why I postponed our talks though..." He grabbed another paper towel and blew his nose. "I wish I could do more to help her...but at the same time, she needs to push through it on her own..."
"Same with you eventually telling her how you feel about her?" Lincoln asked with a coy smile.
Clyde made a slight glare as his cheeks turned red. "I-I'm working on it!" He pouted as he crossed his arms.
The Loud raised his hands defensively. "I trust you buddy, but it's been a year since you told me you had a thing for Lynn." Lincoln stated. "I don't wanna push you, like how my sisters did when they tried getting me and Ronnie Anne together when we were still friends; they meant well, but I wasn't ok with them trying to force us together when we weren't ready." The white-haired teen shoved his hands in his pockets as a glare formed on his face. "I find it more insulting that they seemed to think I didn't know what I was doing with our friendship before I decided to go further."
Clyde squinted an eye at this. "Out of curiosity, how long did you feel the way you do now about R.A. before you both made that jump?" He asked, throwing the used paper away.
Lincoln chortled. "I can tell ya it wasn't when we first met, that's for sure; those pranks weren't exactly funny." He stared at the ceiling. "If I had to guess, it started after Lori and Bobby made us all go on that double date. I know we kissed in the restaurant, but both of us didn't think much of it for a while. We kept our hang outs a secret to avoid getting teased about it; and in my case, it was to avoid my sisters trying to turn it into a real date." Lincoln smiled warmly. "But after hanging out with Ronalda over the months, ironically, I did get a crush on her like my sisters wanted; I only thought it was because they were right about her picking on me to get my attention, but the fact I couldn't stop thinking about her made me realize it was more than that." He made a neutral frown. "But I wasn't ready to tell her just yet; I didn't know how she'd take it, or if she felt the same way...well, I guess she felt a little like that since she was the one who wanted to hang out with me at first." He started tapping his foot on the floor. "Lisa once said even good things can come out of bad situations, and that whole Luck incident basically sped up what might've taken a couple more years of awkwardness."
"How so?"
"She felt pretty crummy after watching that video about us sacking Chandler and his posse because she felt like that could've been her all bruised up on the ground one day if she didn't stop with the pranks; the fact she knew what my family did made her feel worse because she believed she made my life even more hectic when I got enough of it at home, going as far to wonder how I could even be friends with someone like her. But even with that stuff in the past, I wasn't spiteful enough to stop being friends with her; plus, half the time she apologized for the pranks she did well before that moment. Soooo," Lincoln shrugged. "I felt it was time to tell her how I really felt about her." A cocky smile overtook his face. "Fast forward years later and we're still going strong. It bites that she had to move, but we're looking forward to the day distance isn't a problem." He bit his cheek. "Maybe when one of us can drive at least..."
"Mmmm." Clyde nodded. "What was the point of all this again?"
"Like I said, I'm not gonna force you and Lynn together, that's something you both will need to figure out. I'll support you, but all the ideas gotta come from you bro." Lincoln stated. "And you could at least try. And during the summer might be a good opportunity."
Clyde pursed his lips in nervousness. "W-What makes you say that?"
Lincoln smirked. "Ronnie told me she's heard Lynn muttering about her feelings a couple times. From what she heard, there's a guy floating in her head that sounds a lot like you."
Clyde went wide-eyed for a moment, but he became puzzled soon after. Looking down at himself, "Do you...do you think she'd be into a guy like me? I mean, I'm the furthest thing from a tough, sporty jock..."
Lincoln could only shrug. "Lynn's changed so much that I don't even know what type of guy she's into. Like, in February, she said a guy named Francisco asked her out. He was probably the definition of a guy she'd like: plays sports, somewhat of a meathead (less than she was though), athletic." This made Clyde's heart sink. "But she turned him down, saying 'he wasn't her type'."
Clyde was gobsmacked. "Really?!"
Lincoln nodded. "Threw everyone else off at dinner too. So, I dunno what she looks for in a guy; doesn't seem like she's looking around either."
On one hand, this made Clyde's heart swell; the thought of being the one to ask her out made him feel like an imaginary wind was making his body float. At the same time, it was being weighed down by a 100lbs weight of crushing nervousness. What if he asked her, and she didn't feel the same way? What if she thought it was weird and started avoiding him like Lori did?
Lincoln patted Clyde's shoulder to jolt him from his thoughts. "Yeah, I know it's a lot to think on, but we can talk more later." The Loud lifted his phone, showing a text message on the screen. "Conner's getting impatient about '0wning us' for five straight games."
Clyde deadpanned. "Tell him that it'll only happen in his dreams, cause he rage quits before it's even finished."
Lincoln made a short laugh. "You can tell him in person." He moved towards the door, pushing it open. "After you sir." He gestured, taking a slight bow.
"Thank you Lincolnton." Clyde bowed before walking out, Lincoln only steps behind him.
BOOM!
"Zzz-NGH!" Ronalda was jolted awake as an explosive sound shook the house. She immediately regretted waking up so suddenly as a wave of pain rushed through her head.
"Uuuuuugh...mierda..." She swore in her drowsy state, rubbing her eyes as they adjusted to the darkened room whilst keeping a hand on her head. Her left eye ached slightly as her hand brushed around the sore spots, eliciting a groan of pain. She was thankful she wasn't at the bodega; her abuela would pop her with her shoe if she heard Ronalda cursing.
Turning to her side, the raven-haired girl felt a dull ache spread through her body. "Is Lisa doing her weird experiments again?..."
Ruummmmmmble!
A more distant thunderous sound shook the house, and in spite of her hazy mind, Ronalda picked up the furious sounds of thousands of raindrops hitting the roof and window. A series of rapid flashes of light emitting from the window also clued her in that Lisa wasn't the source of her interrupted nap.
Groaning once more, Ronnie removed the now melted ice pack from her head and slowly sat herself up. She rubbed more dry skin from her eyes as she swung her feet out, using the bed as support to balance herself. "Mmmmmm..." Her bruises ached whenever she moved; but it felt more akin to someone lightly poking her unlike before where it felt like dozens of needles were being driven into her.
Drawing in a breath, Ronnie Anne heaved herself up and shuffled to the window. Another flash of light lit up the grey atmosphere for a second, making Ronnie flinch as she shut her eyes tightly. Opening them, the tomboy could see rain pouring down at an angle as the wind howled through the tree in the backyard. The wind-driven rain obscured any point of reference past the fence, which itself was barely visible.
"Wow...it's, really coming down." Ronnie noted before stepping away from the window. As she sat on the bed, she eyed the digital clock on the nightstand.
6:58
She made a loud groan, falling back onto the bed. "Been asleep for nearly 6 hours, and I still feel like shit..." She grabbed the pillow and placed it on her face. "Fucking Taylor..." Was her muffled response.
Try as she might to fall back into slumber, a knock at the door robbed her of that opportunity. Ronnie Anne didn't remove the pillow from her face as she heard the door creak open.
"Ronnie Anne? You still asleep?" Sid's voice carried into the room. The animal-friendly girl got her answer when she noticed the drastic change in position of her bestie. Walking closer, "Feeling better?"
"TodavĂa me siento como el infierno..."
Sid raised a brow. "Uuuuh...what?"
"Still..." Ronnie slowly removed the pillow from her face, showing eyes that had red veins stretching to her pupils. "Feeling like crap..."
"Oh..." Sid frowned. Distant thunder echoed for a brief moment. "I'd be surprised if you could sleep through this storm. Even Lily's cranky because her nap was ruined." She noticed the nearly flat ice bag on the bed and grabbed it. "Anything hurt?"
"No." Ronnie pulled her arms back before pushing herself to sit up. "Feel a lot more tired than I ought to though. Probably should've taken fewer painkillers..."
"Oh, and speaking of food, Mr. Loud is nearly done with dinner; if you want anything that is."
The Latina made a groan of contemplation. She didn't feel hungry yet; in fact, she felt a little nauseated just from waking up so suddenly. However, a growl that came from her stomach sent shockwaves of hunger signals to her brain. "Well, I hadn't eaten since this morning..." She muttered, stretching her legs out until her knees popped. Curling her feet upward, she made a content sigh as her quads were stretched out before bending a leg back to do the same for her hamstrings. "Mmmm..." She opened an eye, noticing that Sid had on a different shirt now. "What have you been up to?"
"Oh, Stella came by to hang. I told her you were out of it, so I went out with her for a couple hours." Sid brought her hands to her cheeks. "I didn't know she was into robotics girl! She even gave me a few ideas on how to upgrade Breakfast Bot." She glared at Ronnie Anne. "Why didn't you tell me she was into that stuff?!"
Ronnie only gave a shrug. "It wasn't any of my business. Plus, remember the last time I tried putting together a robot?"
"Oh yeah..." Sid nodded, her good mood having dropped considerably. "We're lucky it didn't blow up the science room."
"Or that I didn't get suspended." The tomboy added, planting her feet on the floor before standing up. "Ugh, Mom would've murdered me..."
BOOM!
The house vibrated from the latest blast of thunder, with the lights flickering for a few seconds. "Geez, if I knew the storms would get this bad, I'd have stayed in the city." Sid muttered, glancing out the window.
"Not like they're any better." Ronalda shuffled over to the door. "Plus, it's hotter in the city with all the glass reflecting sunlight."
"True true."
The duo walked into the hallway, spotting Lisa just coming out of her room. The young braniac perked up a little upon spotting them. "It seems the patient has had their REM cycle disrupted; though not unusual given the circumstances."
Ronnie squinted an eye. "You could try using smaller words you know."
Lisa rolled her eyes as she got to the top step. "Oh please. I know you have enough brain power to understand me." She looked Ronnie Anne up and down. "How does your optical lobe feel."
Ronnie made a huff. "At least I can keep it open fully..." As she followed the others downstairs, she noticed that most of the other siblings were lounging about in the living room.
Lynn had her hands behind her head as she stared with a bored expression at the TV, Lori was on her phone (like always), Leni was playing a game with Lily (who still loved visibly upset about something). As she got closer to the bottom steps, she saw Lucy sitting in front of the couch, her expression being unreadable from this angle. The twins were, surprisingly, playing a game of rock, paper, scissors; Lana seemed to be angry as she had a frustrated glare on her face, implying she lost more rounds.
However, there was a distinct lack of white hair missing. Raising a brow, "Where's-"
A series of rapid knocks pounded on the front door before the Hispanic girl could finish her sentence. Before any of the girls made a move to answer it, Rita popped out of the dining room. "Who could be at the door at this hour?" Everyone heard her mutter.
Upon opening the door, the Louds and city girls were surprised to find one certain Loud with white hair completely soaked from head to toe. He bore a frown on his face, but no one was able to tell if he was displeased or pissed due to his wet hair obscuring his eyes.
"Lincoln!" Rita began after getting over her shock. "I thought you would've stayed at Clyde's house until this blew over." She put her hands on her hips. "Don't tell me walked here through all this rain..."
"Of course not Mom, I ran..." Lincoln replied with a bit of snark in his tone, which made his mother make a light glare at her son. "I thought I'd make it when it looked like it was getting better..." His frustration creeped in as he grabbed the hem of his shirt and wringed it out. "Didn't expect to get caught in a second wave though..."
Lynn made a chortle. "Told ya to grab an umbrella Stinkoln."
Lincoln squeezed the hair at the front of his head, getting rid of the excess water before he sent a steely glare at Lynn. "I told you not to call me that!"
"I can't help it dude. You smell like rain water."
Rita disappeared for a moment, only to come back with a dish towel. "It's not much, but it should help." She knelt down and started drying out Lincoln's hair. The snow-haired teen grimaced a little as she would get caught up in the tangled knots of his hair every few seconds. "You should've just waited until the storm passed completely honey. It's not like we would've minded if you got back late."
"Knowing Dad, he might throw a fit about Lincoln missing 'the best meal of the day'." Lori pointed out.
"Hey! Dinner is important for a growing adult!" Lynn Sr. called from the kitchen.
Lincoln opened his mouth to reply, only to go wide-eyed as he pulled his shirt over his face and mouth before letting out a sneeze.
"Bless you." Rita said, drying off the back of his head and neck.
"Thank-" Lincoln started to say before he sneezed again, drawing in a long sniffle immediately after.
"You ok honey?" The matriarch asked, raising a brow.
"Can I have a tissue?" The middle child asked.
"Oh dear." Lisa muttered, turning to the others. "Siblings we may have a Code Red on our hands."
"CODE RED?!" The other Loud siblings gasped.
"What's a Code Red?" Sid asked, glancing at Ronnie, who was just as confused.
"Oh no..." Lincoln shook his head. "Girls, come on-!" He was interrupted before a tissue box was thrown at him. He barely caught it before it smacked his face. "Is this really necessary?" A rumbling sound was heard, and it wasn't from the thunder outside. Lincoln looked to Lisa, who was holding a remote with a button firmly pressed, and his face turned a shade a pale.
The rumbling grew intense as Ronnie and Sid turned up to the stairs, only to see a massive robot with the body of a mailbox, long tubed arms with clamps at each end, and a cylinder head with intimidating red eyes staring back at them. It rolled down the steps on tank-like treads as it scanned each person in the room.
"SCANNING!...SCANNING!..." Its voice boomed as it looked around. The screen on its eyes was reading the infection level of their bodies, most of which read zero. Upon setting its sights on Lincoln, its reading showed an infection level of 50%. "GERM ALERT! GERM ALERT! MUST QUARANTINE!" Its hands shot out, making Rita flinch as it grabbed Lincoln's waist and torso, locking his arms to his sides before lifting him up.
"Why can't just walk up the stairs?!" The irate Loud shouted.
"CANNOT RISK SUBJECT TOUCHING SURFACES UNTIL SAFELY QUARANTINED!" The massive robot stated. It glanced at Rita for a moment, detecting an infection of 10%. A hidden compartment on its chest opened up before spraying the woman with a sanitizing solution. Rita coughed uncontrollably at the smell of cleaning supplies assaulting her nose and throat as the robot then turned and carried the disgruntled teen back up the stairs.
Ronalda blinked in surprise. "What...was..."
"That was soooo coooool!" Sid gawked in astonishment, getting starry-eyed as her hands touched her cheeks. Turning to Lisa, "You didn't tell us you had another robot!"
"Mr. Reinforced Titanium Alloy Arms only comes out upon the potential carrier of a viral infection entering the house." Lisa adjusted her glasses.
Rita continued coughing as she looked at the stairs, giving a frown as tank tracks were left on the carpet. "Lisa," She turned towards the six year old, stopping to clear her throat. "I thought you said you were going to change the treads on it."
Lisa glanced at the stairs, noting the dirt marks imprinted on the floor. "Sadly, it seemed to have slipped my list priorities. I shall rectify this blunder after dinner."
Rita deadpanned, covering her mouth as she coughed again. "I would suggest doing it now as one of your priorities, before you forget."
Lisa bowed her head in defeat, giving a sigh. "Yes mother." She trudged back up the steps.
"Soooo..." Ronnie turned to the rest of the Louds, who simply went back to watching TV. "Is no one gonna talk about what just happened? I mean, how are you guys ok with this?"
"Don't worry Ron-Ron." Lori waved a hand. "This literally happens every time one of us gets sick at this point."
"And if one of us goes down, everyone goes down sooner or later. Like a domino effect." Lynn pointed out. "Happened the last time Lori fell ill." She turned to the blonde. "How'd that happen anyway?"
"I have no clue." Lori propped her head up with one hand. "I think I got it from Becky, cause she just got over a flu bug back then."
"And I got sick because she," Lola thumbed at Lana. "Sneezed on me."
"I said I was sorry!" The older twin retorted.
"So it's best not to take any chances." The oldest sibling finished. "Mom and Dad couldn't work and everyone had to make up school work."
Sid winced. "Sounds painful..."
"Oh it wasn't all bad." Rita waved a hand. "There was plenty of sick pay we were squatting on."
Lynn Sr., wearing his chef hat, poked his head into the living room. "Did someone get sick?"
"May wanna whip up one of your soups dad." Junior stated, pointing up the stairs.
