Disclaimer: I own NOTHING from the Loud House.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BE-!

THUNK!

Lincoln slapped his hand on his alarm clock before it slowly slid off the device, now hanging lazily off the side of his bed. The boy's eyes creaked open, red lines jutting towards his pupils from the tiredness he felt after having been jostled awake so abruptly.

"Mmmmm..." Lincoln groaned, pushing himself into a sitting position before rubbing some dead skin away from his eyes.

His head felt heavy as he recalled the events from yesterday; a disastrous convention followed by being labeled as a 'villain' quote-unquote while his sisters soaked up all the glory.

"Dinner may have went without anyone tearing into each other with words, but I know my sisters can hold a grudge for a while for even smaller things..." Present Lincoln stated as his past self swung his feet over the bed. "Case in point, watch what happens when I open the door."

Lincoln shuffled to the door with a drag in his step, pulling it open slowly as noise from the hall filtered in. His sisters were up to their usual antics while getting ready for school; and not paying the least bit of attention to him, which he was grateful for. He took a step into the hallway, and only then he happened to notice the small rope that lined the wall to the small ledge just above his doorway. Seconds later, Lincoln's vision went entirely dark along with the uncomfortable sensation of his PJs feeling completely wet.

"Haha! Paled it!" Luan giggled as she stepped out of her hiding place from Lisa and Lily's room. "Guess you couldn't avoid it this time mister!" She pointed at her brother.

Lincoln lifted the pale from his head just enough to let his eyes become visible; an annoyed expression was cast towards the comedian.

Luan didn't appear fazed by the glower she was getting. "Geez, tough crowd. Why the pale face?" Luan laughed at her own joke.

Lincoln rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks. I wanted to take a shower anyway..." He walked past her with more firmness in his step.

"At it wasn't a total wash. Get it?" The 14 year old continued to laugh in spite of her brother ignoring her.

As he walked past Lynn and Lucy's room, "Think fast!" He heard his sporty sister shout.

Lincoln could only turn just in time to see a soccer ball less than a few inches from his face. "GAH!" Lincoln shouted as the object impacted him on his eye.

"Pfff, nice moves Stinkoln." The jock sneered as she put a foot out to stop the ball once it came within distance. "Your reflexes suck today."

"I just woke up..." Lincoln grumbled, rubbing the area around his eye. He pulled his hand away as the pain started to subside, only to realize his eyelid wouldn't open up completely. "And did you really have to kick it at my face?!..." He shouted irritably.

Lynn only shrugged. "Not my fault you're slow this morning." She picked up the ball and started bouncing it on her head. "Usually, you would've dodged it."

Lincoln grumbled something unintelligible as he started walking away.

"Guess we know how you ended up stuck to the wall by hairballs." Lynn chuckled, speaking loud enough so he'd hear her.

Lincoln paused in his step as he heard Lynn laughing to herself. He hung his head out of embarrassment, but his face read that of irritation. If he bothered to stay longer, he would've took pleasure in seeing Lynn bounce the ball towards the wall, only for it to smack her in the face once it rebounded.

He didn't run into any problems upon walking past the remaining rooms before the bathroom, to his pleasure. Lincoln kicked the door shut as he walked towards the mirror. To his annoyance, his right eye had a slight bruise around it with the checkered pattern of the futbol imprinted around his eyebrow.

The middle child sighed. "Stupid Lynn and her dumb sports stuff..." Turning towards the tub, he reached over and started the water before stripping down.

After waiting at least twenty seconds, Lincoln stuck his hand in to test the waters, giving a frown when it felt only lukewarm. "Come on..." He muttered, deciding to wait another minute before trying again. Thirty more seconds passed before Lincoln tried again, but the water remained barely passable as warm; in fact, it felt a little colder.

"Who used up all the hot water?!" He shouted, knowing his voice would echo from the bathroom walls.

"First born, first serve Lincoln." Came Lori's response.

"So it was you who used up all the hot water?!" The boy heard Lola shout next. "This face can't become pristine if the water isn't warm enough!"

The white-haired boy rolled his eyes. "Might as well make use of what I can..." He stepped into the tub, goosebumps running up and down his body as the barely warm water touched his skin.

As he scrubbed himself, Lincoln wondered if his sisters still harbored some resentment towards him for what happened yesterday. He supposed their rage was stymied to a degree after he relinquished his place in the movie for a more humiliating role; though, like he told his parents, he was beginning to decide whether or not he should just drop out of the movie entirely. Considering all the backlash he had found online and even from his sisters, was it really worth it at this point? He may have been desperate to get in, but now he wasn't so desperate to let himself be laughed at by millions of people on the big screen.

"Maybe if they only have the camera on us while in the background, I guess it wouldn't be so bad." Lincoln stated. "But..." He his lips curled down. "If they want to film us getting pushed around by Kitty...I don't think I'd stick around for that..." He finished with a light sigh.

A chill ran up his spine as he no longer felt any warmth coming from the shower. Turning the knob to close the valve, "Mom and Dad really need to get a new water heater..."

He shook his body to get rid of some of the excess water before pulling the curtain back and stepping out of the tub. He grabbed a towel out of the lenin closet in the bathroom and started to dry himself, subconsciously hoping the rest of his day would go smoothly. Once he was sufficiently dry, he put his pants back on and made his way to the door. Unfortunately, the signs of living in a house with 12 other people chose to make him quite aware of the damage that it could entail to the internal structures; in this case, the bathroom doorknob broke off as soon as he tugged on it.

Lincoln bit his lips as he stared at the broken knob in his hand. "Dang it...uh, girls?" He shouted, putting the rounded piece on the floor. "Can you help me with the door?"

Surprisingly, no one answered. In fact, Lincoln wasn't even sure if he could hear anything from beyond the door. "Girls?...Anyone?" He knocked on the door.

A few more moments of silence would pass, with the exception of water dripping from the sink. Biting his lower lip, Lincoln knocked on the door again. "Come on girls! This isn't funny!" He kicked the door with moderate force in hopes it would make a loud enough sound to draw their attention.

And yet, there were no telltale sounds of footsteps coming from the hall.

"Ugh!" Lincoln banged on the door rapidly. "HEEEEEELP!"

He stopped upon looking up at the ceiling, focusing on the vent cover. The boy gave a disgruntled sigh. "I just showered too..." Feeling he had little options, he put the seat down on the toilet before stepping up and reaching to open the cover. Lincoln strained as the grate was just out of reach, now standing on the tips of his toes for extra reach. "Come on..." His fingers got closer. "Almost..." He pulled his arm back before shooting it forward, landing a grip on the grate. "Got it!"

Unfortunately, Lincoln underestimated how secure the grate actually was; as soon as he applied a small amount of force to pull it open, it swung down along with his hand. Being in the position he was in, Lincoln tumbled to the floor. "Aaah!" He landed on his side after sliding on the toilet. "Awww..." The boy groaned as he sat up straight.

Rubbing his ribs, Lincoln grabbed his shirt before climbing back onto the toilet and gripped the edges of the vent. With some difficulty, he pulled himself into the vent cavity, using the grate as a step for better grip. Again, he applied a little too much force on the grate, causing it to snap off and fall to the floor.

Lincoln looked down, wincing a little at the sound the grate made as it hit the tile. "Oops..."

He sat in the vent, wondering whether he should try to reattach it; but given how long he's been in the bathroom, Lincoln felt he didn't have enough time to do so. Scrambling through the vents, he found another grate that was open to the hallway, being quick to move it out the way before dropping down. Lincoln looked at his arms, noticing the amount of dust that accumulated from his passage. "Great..." He began dusting himself off. "Thanks a lot girls," He moved to his pants legs. "Why didn't anyone-" Lincoln paused upon noticing the hallway was empty. "Wait, where is everyone?"

He checked all the rooms, not finding any of the usual occupants. The middle child walked downstairs, even more surprised to find the living room empty, and not a sound was coming from the kitchen or dining room. He walked into the dining room, which was empty, and found not a soul in the kitchen. As he walked back into the living room, "Where'd they all..." He paused as he looked out the window. "Go..."

It was then the boy noticed that the family van was not on the driveway. Sometimes the kids would take the bus while the parents took the van to work, and other days the kids used the van while the parents carpooled. This was one of the latter days, as to Lincoln's understanding, Lori was gonna do her usual route of dropping everyone besides herself and his 3 oldest sisters at their respective schools before heading to the high school.

One of his eyes twitched as this fact dawned on him, with his face slowly morphing into an angry stare. "They just left me here?! Seriously?!" His shouts echoed around the house. "If this is for what happened last night, well that's not my fault! They just dragged me into Lori and Leni's room and tried to threaten me!" He spoke to no one in particular as he stomped up the stairs. "And it isn't like they can say they 'forgot' I was in the bathroom..." He turned toward his room.

He saw the pale Luan used earlier for her prank, which sat near the wet stain on the carpet in front of his door. With his aggression still high, Lincoln kicked the pale away from the door, letting it bounce down the hall before walking into his room. As he changed out of his PJs, Lincoln took a glance at his clock.

He wished he hadn't as the time read 7:30.

With his eyes opening to their max, "Oh no, I'm gonna be late!" He hurriedly threw his usual jeans and orange polo on before grabbing his backpack.

He glided down the steps, almost tripping over his own feet before he landed at the foot of the steps. Once at the door, he threw it open and made sure to shut it behind him. As he began running down the sidewalk, Lincoln couldn't help the frustration he felt towards his siblings for being so petty enough to leave him behind. But he could worry about that later; for now, he just worried about making it to class on time.

Lincoln panted as he reached the school steps, placing a hand on the railing as he fought to get air into his chest. The Loud had sweat running down his face, chest, and from his armpits; his heart pounded like a gorilla in a locked cage, so much he could hear it in his ears; and his throat felt sore due to the rapid breathing he did whilst running. And since he wasn't a gifted runner, he had to stop at least twice to catch his breath.

"Ugh...my lungs..." Lincoln put a hand to his chest. "Hurt..."

He lowered his head as his breathing began to even out, soon planting one foot at a time up the steps before making it to the front doors. Lincoln wheezed a little as he gingerly pulled them open with what little stamina he had left. Students were still walking around the halls, but in a hurried manner. The Loud took a glance at one of the clocks on the wall; three minutes til 8.

"Great..." Lincoln muttered, his eyebrows slanting down in frustration. "First Luan pranks me, then Lynn nearly takes my eye out with one of her balls..." He trudged down the hall to his locker, running a hand through his hair. He pulled it away when he felt it was still damp. "And Lori used up all the hot water..." Upon reaching his locker, Lincoln started putting in his combination. "I just hope this day doesn't get-"

SHFFFFF!

As soon as he pulled open his locker, Lincoln was cut off as an avalanche of beige-colored dirt spilled out of his locker and engulfed him completely. Various students who were nearby pointed and laughed at the Loud, whose head popped out on the side of the makeshift mountain as he spat out dirt.

"Pfff! Pfff! Eeck! What is this stuff?!" Lincoln shouted.

As he wiped his head free of the dirt, he felt a piece of plastic tangled in his hair. Raising a brow, he removed the trash, which turned out to be a label from a bag of some sort. The moment his brain registered the words, his eyelids opened up to their maximum.

Frisco's Scoopable Cat Litter, the label read.

"Cat Litter?!" Lincoln screamed before clawing his way out of the pile, to the amusement of everyone else around him. He managed to pull himself free, only to lose his footing shortly after making contact with the floor and falling to his stomach; this elicited more howls of laughter from the crowd.

Lincoln's face was red with embarrassment once he realized several students were laughing and taking pictures. His lip quivered a little in spite of the scowl on his face before he hurriedly dug his books out for class and slammed the door shut, leaving behind a laughing crowd and a mess for the janitor to clean just as the late bell rang.

The Loud noticed flakes falling out of his vision and quickly deduced some litter was still in his hair. Not only that, some particles remained on his clothes; he could even feel them stuck between the fabric and his skin. He sighed, knowing he was already late to class; but he didn't want to make a further embarrassment of himself. Spotting a nearby bathroom, Lincoln shoved the door open and walked in. He was quite thankful it was empty as he didn't want anyone else seeing him like this.

"How did someone break into my locker?..." Lincoln spoke to himself, raking wet fingers through his follicles and removing cat litter from them. "It didn't look like anyone forcefully opened it..." He closed his eyes halfway. "Last time someone got into my locker like that was Ronnie Anne..." He sighed. "But she moved, so it couldn't have been her." He rubbed some litter between his fingers. "And this is cat litter, and considering what happened yesterday..." He pulled his shirt out and dusted his chest clean. "Someone could've heard about the convention easily. So that means," He shut the water off and grabbed some paper towels. "Someone wanted to make a point based on me and Clyde getting those roles."

Lincoln dried his hair out, hoping he got most of the bathroom material off him. "But who in my class, or the school, could've did this? I doubt anyone else is that interested in Ace Savvy...no one I know of at least..." He threw the used towels away before dusting his clothes off. "And still, it could have been someone who found out online, or..." His brows knotted tightly in a glare. "One of my sisters had something to do it this. They always had a habit of breaking into my stuff..." Grabbing his books, Lincoln left the restroom and headed to class.

"I can't precisely recall who stored that kitty crap in my locker, or how whoever did it knew I was getting the role I got for the movie; I don't think I saw anyone from school at the convention." Present Lincoln stated. "But I had a feeling it was a result of my sisters posting about their upcoming 'fame' on Twitter or something. My oldest sisters liked to cheer about whatever good things were happening to them or to gloat; especially Lori and sometimes Luna if it was music-related. Leni...I can't say much about her since she didn't use apps too often; or knew HOW to. There was also a possibility it could've been Lola, knowing her spoiled attitude." A snarky laugh could be heard. "As luck would have it, I'd eventually find out who it was; but not right now. I still had the rest of a crappy day ahead of me..."

Lincoln opened the door to his first class, to the ire of his teacher. "Lincoln, you're late." Ms. Johnson said.

"I know..." Lincoln muttered with a dejected voice.

Agnes only gave a sigh. "I'll have to mark you tardy, but I hope you studied for today's lesson." She cracked her attendance book open and made a few movements with her pen.

Lincoln silently walked to his seat, where he found Clyde; his best friend bore an expression similar to his. "Someone stuffed kitty litter in your locker too?..." He quietly asked as he sat down.

Clyde raised a brow. "Actually, no." He raised one of his books, which had lines of marker drawn on them to resemble cat claws. "But someone did ruin my textbooks..." Clyde spoke in a quivering voice. "A-And they left a copy of one of our movie uniforms in my locker..." He tucked his legs into his chest. "How can people be so mean?..."

"I wish I knew..." Lincoln replied. "I'm still trying to figure out how other students knew about yesterday." Making a side glance at Clyde, "Did you see anyone from class at the convention?"

Clyde shook his head. "No? They could've heard about it online."

"I thought that too." Lincoln furrowed his brows. "Or they could've heard it from one of my sisters..."

There was a moment of silence between them as Ms. Johnson continued with her lesson plan. "...You don't really think they'd be behind all of this, do you?"

"No." Lincoln said quickly. He looked conflicted as he bit his lower lip. "Maybe...I guess?" He sputtered out. "Look, I had a bad start today." He began counting off his fingers. "Luan's pranks, Lynn throwing stuff at me, and then they purposely left me behind at the house." He sat his book on his desk. "I'm just hoping it doesn't get any worse..."

Lincoln opened his textbook, as did Clyde. However, it was at this point they noticed a rather foul smell coming from their books. Lincoln pinched his nose, wondering why he didn't notice it earlier. Out of curiosity, they flipped a couple pages to find out where the smell was coming from; once they did however, the boys had to resist the urge to puke. Whoever wanted to teach them a lesson apparently had a cruel sense of humor, seeing as they found cat feces sandwiched in-between two pages, rendering them unreadable. Both boys covered their mouths as they cheeks puffed, the skin on their faces turning green as they took in the amount of fecal matter covering the paper.

Lincoln quickly raised his hand. "M-Ms. Johnson?"

The teacher turned. "Yes Lincoln?"

"Can we go to the bathroom?" He shut his book, a chill running up his spine as the closing book made a nauseating sound. "And can we get new textbooks?..."

"So, y'all really did try to steal a cat for a contest?" Liam asked, tying his sneakers up after changing into his gym uniform.

"Yeah...and somehow, half the school already knows it." Lincoln pulled his shirt down. "I'm surprised you guys didn't hear about it yet."

"Comics aren't really my thing." Rusty waved dismissively. "No offense."

"It can't be all bad." Zach said with some optimism.

"As bad as finding cat poop in our books?" Clyde shuddered. "I don't think I can un-see that..."

"Well, ya got cats at home, so I think you'd be use to seein' that kind of cow pie." Liam pointed out. "Shoot, can't be worse than what Bessie puts down."

Lincoln shivered as he gave an audible quiver. "C-Can we talk about something else?..."

"How about this: it's just the first day." Zach started. "Sure, people are getting in on the act now. But I bet they'll forget about it in a week."

The Loud briefly thought back to the moment where he had been pranked at his locker. The fact he saw several cameras flashing meant that prank was likely spreading around on the internet by now. "No offense, but I seriously doubt it..."

"Well, gets your heads out of the clouds boys, cause we got a big task ahead of us!" Rusty declared, pointed a finger in the air.

Clyde raised a brow. "And that would be?..."

Rusty's eyes narrowed as he spoke in a serious and dreading tone. "Dodgeball..."

The other boys gave a knowing sigh, soon hearing Coach Pacowski's whistle from the gymnasium. They hurried out of the boys locker room with the rest of their class, soon joined by Stella once she got out of the girl's room.

"Alright kids, you know the drill." The coach said, holding up your standard red ball. "First team to knock out the other wins. Now, pick your sides."

As the class began to spread out, Stella turned to the boys. "Ok guys, what's the plan today? Snake, or scorpion?"

"Mmmm..." Rusty made a critical eye as he squared up the teams. As usual, Girl Jordan looked to be on the other team, along with a few others who were known to be good throwers. "I'd say we'd focus on defense with the snake formation, but Girl Jordan and Leslie are on the other team, and I doubt anyone wants to get flanked today..." He slammed a fist into an open palm. "Scorpion it is!"

"Alright fellers, brace yerselves!" Liam shouted as the class finished picking sides and started to line up across the center line.

Stella took the front whilst Liam and Lincoln took the sides (or claws in this case). Clyde, Zach, took up the center with Rusty being the stinger. Everyone was tense, fingers flexing and knees bending to get a running start to grab the balls lined up in-between the groups. Beads of sweat started to fall down a few of the boys' faces, and Girl Jordan made a faux growl as everyone waited for the coach to begin the round.

When he finally blew the whistle, the gym soon turned into a warzone.

Kids screamed as they ran forward to grab the objects that will allow them to eliminate each other team before they themselves got wiped out; but Lincoln, Clyde, Rusty, Liam, Zach, and Stella remained in their formation.

They studied the ensuing battle for any balls that were sure to come their way.

"So far, nothin comin at us on the left." Liam said, holding his hands at the ready to catch any wayward balls.

"Nothing on the right." Lincoln stated, wincing as he watched a teammate take a ball to the face.

"Jenkinson! You're out!" Pacowski thumbed to the bleachers.

Stella scanned around with narrowed eyes, only to open them up in a panic. "Girl Jordan's targeting us! Duck!"

Everyone ducked as two ball flew in their direction. Rusty attempted to catch one for a sneak attack, but it slipped through of his hands. "Dang it!" The tall redhead grimaced.

"More from the right!" Stella shouted.

"I got it!" Lincoln put his hands out and managed to catch the incoming ball.

"Ashley, you're done!" The coach yelled.

"What?! How?!"

"Caught balls means you're out." Pacowski stated as if it were obvious before pointing towards the bleachers.

As another member of the enemy team was taken out, "More on the right!" Rusty shouted fearfully.

The group saw no less than four balls screaming right towards them. Lincoln fidgeted nervously as it looked like they wouldn't be able to dodge them, and he didn't have time to throw an aimed shot at the other team. Looking down at the ball, he gripped it firmly in his hands before deflecting the first ball away, followed by the second before it could've hit Clyde. Clyde saw another coming straight towards Zach, and proceeded to lift him up as the ball bounce off the ground before striking another student on their team in the leg. Stella caught the last one and immediately threw it back to the last student who fired it, managing to nail them in the side of the head.

"Got 'em!" The Filipino girl cheered.

"Uh..." Liam took a quick look around. "Kinda runnin' out of allies here."

"Man we're gonna be sitting ducks soon..." Zach bemoaned.

"Don't worry," Stella told them, hoping to quell their fears. "If we just keep focused-ON THE RIGHT!"

"Why are they aiming at me?" The Loud shouted in frustration and fear.

Lincoln acted quickly and caught the ball again, causing another member of the enemy team to be disqualified. This time however, Lincoln felt it was time to strike. Determination flowed through him like a raging river as he scanned for any students who might be too distracted to notice what he was about to do, before settling on Girl Jordan; she conveniently had been preoccupied with looking for a different target. The Loud stuck his tongue out as he zeroed in on her; she had always been a pain their team's side every time dodgeball was the activity of the day, not to mention the numerous times she still threw a ball at him in spite of the game being over.

"Ok Lincoln, you can do this! Predict her next moves!" Lincoln squinted his eyes as he studied his adversary's movement, an evil grin began to form on his face as Lincoln believed he pinpointed the exact spot she'd be in next. "Target locked!" He raised his hand, the red ball primed and ready for launch in his grip. "Prepare to-"

BOP!

Sadly, Lincoln never got the chance to fire. While he was focused on taking Jordan out of the game, he failed to notice another ball flying towards him. Lincoln's eyes nearly burst out his skull as the red object impacted him in a very vulnerable place. He out a nearly silent scream as both hands flew to his groin, dropping his weapon in the process.

"Right claw down! Right claw down!" Rusty shouted.

It probably wasn't the best option to say it out loud, as the other team quickly took advantage of the hole in their defense. Several balls flew in their direction, impacting the group in some way. Stella took a hit to her ribs, Zach got struck in the side of the head (setting his glasses askew), Clyde took at least two to the chest and stomach, Rusty got hit in the face, and Liam was struck in the back. Lincoln, bearing the brunt of the assault, took at least three hits to his face and chest; one of the hits smashed into the same spot Lynn's soccer ball impacted him, making his eye swell up slightly as he fell onto his back while still protecting his private area.

The group of six made painful groans in the aftermath of the assault as Pacowski blew his whistle. "Loud, McBride, Spokes, Gurdle, Zhau, and uh...Hunnicutt! You're out!"

"Dang it..." The six friends said simultaneously, earning a few chuckles from the other students. As Stella, Rusty, and Zach staggered off the court, Clyde and Liam grabbed Lincoln by the sleeves of his shirt and dragged him away.

"Sorry guys...I got blindsided..." Lincoln finally said once they got to the bleachers. "I thought I had a really good shot at Girl Jordan..."

"It's fine..." Stella replied in a bummed out tone, her head resting in the palms of her hands. "She was an HVT anyways..."

Zach took a moment to reset his glasses. "Anyone catch who threw that?"

"I think it might've been Kat, or that girl who likes cookies." Rusty answered, still nursing his sore nose.

"Mmmm..." Stella groaned before sitting up straight. "We need more practice with the scorpion. It works, but we gotta get more coordinated on the flanks."

"Not that we'd have time to try it out after school." Clyde stated.

Liam's eyes lit up in surprise. "Actually, I got an idea." The rest looked at him. "Now it's a long shot, but I think I know a few who might be able to help us out."

Lincoln placed a hand on the edge of the row of seats before pulling himself to a sitting position. The pain in his lower area wasn't completely gone, but it subsided enough to allow more movement. "Who?"

"We could ask your sisters." The farm boy answered. "One of them plays sports I think, right?"

Lincoln furrowed his brows before looking away. "Hard pass..."

Liam raised a brow. "How come?"

"Look, I had a terrible day so far; and part of it is because of my sisters." Lincoln folded his arms. "And I'm less inclined to ask them for anything if they're the reason me and Clyde got cat-themed pranks today..."

Seconds later, the coach blew the whistle. Unsurprisingly, the other team won (again), and the class was prompted to clean up the gym.

Stella looked at the boys with a confused stare. "Uh, did I miss something big here?"

Before the boys could answer, a small group of their classmates walked past them. "Hope you liked the ball thrown at you, cat thief!" One of them shouted, eliciting a cackle of laugher from the trio.

Lincoln didn't get a good look at who said that, but it didn't make his mood any better as his face formed into a scowl. "See what I mean?"

Stella squinted an eye. "...I don't get it."

Clyde gave a sigh. "It's a long story..."

"As my day continued to circle the drain like my hopes of being more involved with Ace Savvy, one of my sisters apparently had a rather easy going day; pretty sure ALL of them did, but I meant as far goes as 'easy going' in Lucy's case. At some point, she told me about what she went through the day after that convention while we were at school; not that I really cared for it because whatever she did was nothing compared to the crap I went through..." Present Lincoln stated. "Whether I believed her word or not is sort of irrelevant, but this is how her day went while I was getting beaten to death in dodgeball."

Lucy stepped out of her classroom, having just gone through another bout of English with her teacher. Given her affinity for books and the English language as a whole, you'd expect this subject to be the equivalent of a math geek flying through basic algebra. And in most cases, you'd be right.

"Sigh...I can't believe we have to read a story that's basically a more lengthy version of the Three Little Pigs..." The goth bemoaned, hanging her head in disappointment. "Why couldn't it be a more sinister tale?..."

In spite of the brief stint with Princess Pony, Lucy had little interest in children's stories.

"Sigh. Might as well get it over with now; not that I ever bothered eating the terrible food here..." Lucy muttered, making her way to the library with books in tow, rather than heading toward lunch like the rest of her class.

Her movements were sluggish. Lucy was never a morning person; as much as she liked the dark, she was only human, and knew her body needed its eight hours of rest. Waking up at six in the morning wasn't on her mind though, for instead, her thoughts were directed towards her only brother. Yesterday, Lincoln seemed rather hotblooded; which was much unlike his usual, passive self. Lucy assumed it had to have been a product of being grilled by their sisters after he was done talking to their parents. The goth wanted no part of it, feeling it would only server to exacerbate growing tensions. Judging by how Lynn rambled on about how Lincoln was 'picking a fight', the goth could only shake her head.

"The sin of greed is beginning to take root." She muttered to herself, spotting the doors to the library. "And time will tell how far it takes them..." She recalled what occurred this morning, and couldn't help feeling even more disappointment towards her sisters. "And since they decided to leave Lincoln behind, with a poor excuse no less...I can only see dark times ahead..."

Pushing the doors open, she made an immediate right, passing the main foyer where all the tables were set up as well as four rows of shelves. There was a certain spot in the library where Lucy always went to if she wanted to get some work done. Secluded, quiet (at least, the quietest part of the library), and few distractions to interrupt her. Turning left around a corner, the 8 year old wasn't surprised to find Haiku sitting at the dead end between the two rows of books. The 11 year old goth was sitting on the floor, a book in her lap.

As she turned the page, "Hey." She greeted without looking up.

"Hi..." Lucy greeted back, kneeling down to set her books on the floor before taking a spot next to her.

Haiku looked up from her book, turning her head slightly to the younger girl. "You ok?"

"Yes." Lucy glanced at her through her hair. "Why?"

"You sounded more foreboding than usual."

"Sigh." Lucy clasped her hands together. "I'm a bit distracted today."

Haiku raised a brow. "In a good, or bad way?"

"...I'm not sure..." Lucy opened up her book.

"Is it family related?"

"It is." The goth affirmed as she flipped through several pages to find the story she needed to 'study'.

Haiku stayed silent for a moment. Her face remained neutral, but inside, she felt hesitant to tell Lucy some information she ought to know. Upon deducing that she can't really hide it from her, and that Lucy would find out eventually, the girl breathed in before saying, "Does it have to do with the prank Lincoln went through this morning?..."

Lucy's head shot upright in surprise before turning her head fully towards Haiku. "What prank?"

"Someone stuffed a bunch of cat litter inside his locker, causing it to pour out when he opened it."

"Cat litter?..." Lucy thought to herself. "I know Lincoln and Clyde weren't viewed favorably by those at the convention yesterday for their actions, but I didn't think it would spread around the school..." Shifting her position slightly to better face Haiku, "Did the teachers find out who did it?"

Haiku shook her head. "Not that I know of. But it's been spreading around the school for a while now."

Lucy remained silent, the movement coming from her being the opening and closing of her nostrils. "Sigh...he'll be in an even worse mood than yesterday then..."

"Why? What happened yesterday?"

"...Lincoln invited all of us to go with him to an Ace Savvy convention..."

Haiku's one visible eye opened up slightly in surprise. "Did you go? I don't believe you'd be interested in going to something like a comic con."

"I did." Haiku's eye opened up a little more at Lucy's admission. "I wasn't interested at first, but Lincoln was fairly determined on wanting us to go with him as he believed we would have a fun time. However, that wasn't enticing enough to get myself and my sisters to go with him; which wasn't surprising as none of us were interested in comics like he is." Lucy placed her hands in her lap. "When he revealed that the winners of a costume contest would star in a movie of the series however, everyone (myself included) was on board."

Haiku squinted her eye.

"I know, it sounds fishy; and I agree. The idea of appearing in a movie may have enticing at first, but before we left for the convention, I remembered the reason why Lincoln didn't go last time..."

Haiku shut her book. "The incident where your siblings almost found out about your Princess Pony book?"

Lucy nodded. "I did make a comic for Lincoln as thanks for keeping it a secret; but once we got to the convention..." Lucy gave pause to collect her thoughts. "Sigh, I began to understand what Lincoln really missed out on thanks to my carelessness. I would even go as far to say that I actually liked the experience of being at a comic con, and couldn't care less about the movie." The young goth frowned. "But it seemed Lincoln wasn't able to enjoy himself."

"Did it have anything to do with the kitty litter incident?"

"I was getting to that." Lucy stated. "The judges for the competition were very interested in mine and my sisters' characters, but I couldn't say the same about Lincoln and Clyde. I'm not sure what they did to try and get the appraisement we did, but it seemed desperation had overtaken their minds and made them think of a drastic way to get the judges' attention." Lucy paused. "They decided to let the movie actor, a black cat known as The Kitty, loose and were gonna try to 'rescue' him; and make it seem like they were heroes."

"...I'm not gonna pretend I'm an expert on the matter, but that doesn't sound heroic..." Haiku bluntly stated.

Lucy nodded. "It wasn't. To keep it short, Lincoln and Clyde were outsmart by the cat and myself and my sisters had to save them. However, their guilt wouldn't let them take the prize, so they admitted their fault and allowed us to win."

"The cost of winning isn't always worth selling your morals, and it sounds like Lincoln and Clyde realized that before it was too late." The older goth stated.

"They did..." Lucy glanced down at her book. Her mind wasn't in the right place to try and focus on that piece of junk, so she pushed it off to the side. "And that should've been the end of it; but it wasn't. I'm not sure if it was the cat itself, or the judges wanting to rub salt in their wounded pride, but the boys had received a role in the movie in spite of their misdeed. Not as heroes like myself and my sisters, but that of being Kitty's litterbox cleaners."

Haiku made a neutral frown. "I guess that explains the prank."

"The boys weren't favored much by the crowd after they revealed the truth; it was understandable, but at times it felt...excessive..." Lucy stated, staring up at the ceiling. "The website showing the events of the convention didn't help matters as it showed the two in degrading moments, and people were free to mock them openly in the void of the internet." Her frown deepened a bit. "Even worse, my sisters seemed to pile onto the suffering whenever they could on the ride back. They weren't even satisfied when Lincoln talked to our parents and explained what happened." Haiku sat her hands in her lap as she turned fully towards Lucy. "I heard what I could from the vents; he wasn't grounded, but given a light punishment. And it looks like my sisters are going to watch his every move, since they're convinced he might make up some scheme to 'switch roles' with them."

"They really care about the movie that much?" Haiku inquired, tilting her head slightly. "I thought none of you were interested in whatever Lincoln did from the beginning."

"Sigh...Greed is a powerful sin. Lola even said herself that she thought the whole convention was weird, but would only go along for a chance to be in a Hollywood movie." Lucy looked ahead, staring off into nothing in particular. "Given her personality, it's not surprising of her. Sadly," Lucy tilted her head towards the floor. "I think my sisters have that same mindset as well."

"What about you? Do you still want to be in the movie?"

"At this point..." Lucy started, seeming a bit hesitant to answer. "I mean...the idea of being a harbinger of darkness on the big screen does sound thrilling. I certainly didn't expect to like the series almost as much as Lincoln does."

At those words, she began to think about her brother again. "He was pretty excited to have us join him for something involving a hobby he liked; even if it was with strings attached. Usually, we just brush him off; and I'm guilty of that as well..." Her lips thinned into a fine line. "Stealing something just isn't in Lincoln's soul; much less something important like a movie actor. That soul-crushing, heart shattering feeling he must've had when he first found out we'd win without his help...no wonder he was in a bad mood; no thanks to my sisters in the least. And if what Haiku said about the prank was true, and specifically how it was set up?..." Her hands tightened into fists.

"I can't..." She answered verbally. "I can't take part in something knowing my brother would have his reputation further dragged into the grave than it already is...he tried very hard to earn the role he wanted in the movie; in fact, his idea for bringing us in the first place was that all of us would win together." Lucy propped her head up with her hands as she continued. "Instead, he felt as if he was being used as a stepping stone that allowed greater opportunities for his siblings, to only then to be cast aside and forgotten. It wasn't like my sisters tried to win either; everyone just automatically took interest." She looked up at the ceiling again. "And the irony of it all, is that Lincoln invented those characters for us, but it appears he received little credit. As it stands now, he may seem like he's just angry at his situation...but I think he's hurting more than anything..."

"...But your other sisters don't see it that way?..."

Lucy shook her head. "No...and I doubt they'll realize it before Lincoln reveals his true emotions." Sticking two fingers between her bangs, she scratched at an itch that had settled between her eyes. "Like I said before, no one was interested in going to the convention before Lincoln brought up the possibility of being in a movie." She put her hand down. "And he's very much aware of that. I wouldn't be surprised if Lincoln starts to think we're just that consumed by greed..."

"Do you guys have a date set on when you're supposed to be filming?" Haiku asked forebodingly.

"Not yet..." Lucy looked towards her best friend. "But by then, it'll be far too late. I've made my decision," She glanced at her book before picking it up. "But it'll be difficult to persuade my sisters to do the same."

Haiku had a concerned look in her eye. "Are you sure that's wise? From what you told me just now, it's likely they'll be unreasonable about dropping their roles too. I mean, what's to stop them from thinking Lincoln tricked you into doing it?"

Lucy didn't say anything for a moment. She knew how stubborn her siblings could get if they were dead set on achieving something; far too many times to count on hand. Just look at her roommate. "Sigh..." She stood up. "It'll be hard, there's no denying that. But I have to try..." The young goth left without another word as Haiku watched her leave.

"Again, her words, not mine." Present Lincoln stated. "Look, I'll give her credit for figuring out something was wrong with me early on, which is one of the reasons why I'll at least try to listen to what Lucy says. But even so, I still feel like she didn't do enough if she claimed she tried to help me; and I have some other, past issues with her being no different than my other sisters. Not in that stupid group mentality or whatever mind you; well, her getting wrapped up in those moments is one of my beefs with her. But more so in that I really, REALLY wondered if she even cared about anything besides her stupid bust, bats, or poems." There was a brief pause. "I'm getting a little ahead of myself here, but I'll save you some time and just tell you the rest of my day was utter crap...being at home was just barely better than being constantly teased at school..."

A/N: Honestly, school is hell for many reasons. If it's not the teachers giving you a hard time, it's the other students. I guess school is so boring the students will overhype anything that brings them excitement. It's pretty sad honestly.

But as we see here, Lucy does care about Lincoln's wellbeing, and has been since the beginning of his downward spiral. But she too is also guilty of several acts that Lincoln will be very much inclined to 'discuss' with her when the time comes.