Disclaimer: I own NOTHING from the Loud House.
"I won't go into much detail about my talk with Luna; thankfully, Luan had vacated the room a little before I entered. I wasn't ready to ask her what she thought of the movie just yet, seeing as I already ticked her off. In the end, like Lisa, she saw the movie as a "sweet gig to take part in" with her own words. I inquired about her musical ambitions, which she still intended to do, but she basically said this opportunity was too good to pass." Present Lucy stated. "I hadn't asked what she thought about Lincoln being cast in an embarrassing role; but when I think about it...maybe I could've gained another ally in hopefully preventing lasting damage."
"Lucy, who are you talking to?" Present Lincoln asked, only giving mild curiosity.
"...No one..." She replied. "I'll continue later." The goth whispered to the reader in a hushed voice.
"...Sorry about that, had to do my morning business." Present Lincoln spoke. "Where was I?...anyway, the first day at school was utter hell for me and Clyde. As you saw, being at home was marginally better...dinner was uneventful, though me and Lori passed the mean stare from time to time. Obviously, she was still pissed at me for calling her out on her crap, but wouldn't admit it. The next few days were a little bearable; it looked like everyone got their pranking done on the first day, but the jabs at being a "catnapper" kept popping up; not to mention the videos of my pranks were on the freaking internet..." The Loud huffed. "In the past, I could handle getting pointed at and being laughed upon. But over time...between dealing with my sisters egos and being embarrassed daily, it was...it was getting to be too much to handle..." A light sniffle was heard. "And to make things worse, some time later in the week, my sisters thought I was coming up with a scheme to get them to switch roles." Present Lincoln didn't bother hiding the disgust in his tone. "I already told them I wasn't bothering to; but I guess I should've expected idiots like them to not believe a word I say..."
Today was Friday; the savior of the week, the beginning of the weekend, the day where you don't have to worry about being at school for the next two days! Students were cheerful throughout the school as they discussed weekend plans, teachers were glad they were going to be catching a break; and a select few were upset they'd have to spend the weekend working on a project of some sort.
"So, what are you guys up to this weekend?" Stella asked, sitting her lunch tray on the table before sitting down.
Rusty smirked. "Heading with my dad to the city to scout out potential customers. When they see our threads, their minds are gonna be blown."
The others shook their heads with light smiles on their faces.
"Well, I'm going to be with my parents to find proof about aliens!" Zach proclaimed, raising a fist in the air.
"Again with the aliens?..." Liam stated in disbelief.
"What? They do exist!" The redheaded conspiracy theorist began. "How do you explain the strange lights in the sky moving faster than an airplane? Or why certain animals are disappearing? Heck, your cows could be next!"
Liam rolled his eyes. "Doubt that. If there was a trespasser on mah farm, Meemaw would know about it." He grimaced a little. "Wouldn't like the results though."
Stella pursed her lips for a moment. "Ooookay?" She looked towards Lincoln and Clyde. "What about you guys?"
"Well," Clyde began. "I was gonna spend time getting to know my cats more." He frowned. "Still feel a little crummy after..." The boy shrugged. "This whole week I guess..."
"Mmm..." Lincoln managed a grunt of agreement, his head resting in one hand while using the other to absently pick at his food with a plastic fork.
Stella sort of didn't want to ask the most obvious question, but she wouldn't consider herself a caring person if she didn't. "You ok Lincoln?"
The Loud glanced up from his food with a somewhat irate expression. "With how this week's been..."
A brief montage of the past few days was shown to the reader. On Tuesday, Lincoln and Clyde came prepared to take whatever pranks might've been thrown their way. The first thing they did was check their lockers for further tampering; thankfully, the perpetrator hadn't played the same trick twice. Second, they checked their books for any cat poop; the two felt relieved when it seemed like they were in the clear. However, just as they were about to leave their lockers, two balloons filled with a strange, yellow liquid smacked them in the face. This resulted in further humiliation for the duo, which was also recorded.
"Yeah...it was cat pee of all things..." Present Lincoln clarified. "Or some kind of pee; I don't remember. All I do remember is that my eyes and nose stung the whole day, and I nearly threw up a few times..."
On Wednesday, Lincoln and Clyde were being much more cautious. They checked the surrounding halls to make sure no one was spying on them or setting up a trap; they even held their books over their heads in case someone set up another bucket prank. Opening their lockers, they found nothing out of the ordinary. Calming down a little, the duo gathered their things and made their way to class. However, they accidentally 'bumped' into a couple of random students; it felt a little intentional as there was plenty of space in the hall. The students gave them pats on the back for reassurance, seeing it was an accident. On the rest of the way to class though, the boys started getting random kicks to the rear as they passed other students. As they rubbed their butts, Lincoln felt his arms run across a line of paper that seemed to be on the back of his shirt.
Raising a brow, he tried to remove it, but the paper wouldn't budge. Asking Clyde if he could read it, the McBride kid nearly cried.
The note read, "Kick Me. I'm a cat thief."
Lincoln read the same note on Clyde's back, and also noticed some sort of sticky substance on the edges of the paper. Upon trying to pull Clyde's note off, it became clear to the duo that the notes were adhered with glue. Lincoln tried once more to ripping Clyde's note prank off, but it only resulted in tearing the fabric around the area. With defeated sighs, the boys continued on to class, receiving a few kicks here and there for their troubles.
"My tail bone didn't feel right for the rest of the day..." Present Lincoln added. "And I think a few kicks were purposely aimed at my...unmentionables..." The teen cringed. "We managed to get by with marking out the words on the note, but by then the day was already halfway done..."
As of yesterday, the duo couldn't help but wonder if the week could get any worse than it already did. The whole school practically knew they were catnappers by this point, what with getting called insults from even Kindergartners; and neither child could pinpoint who let news slip of the boys' misdeeds at the convention. Lincoln continued to suspect it might've been one of his sisters, but had no leads. Clyde thought it might've been someone in the school they didn't know who told everyone; given how ambiguous that was, the boys weren't in any mood to pursue that idea.
Ironically, Thursday appeared to be more tame compared to the rest of the days. There were no pranks in the morning, or even during lunch for that matter; it almost seemed like everyone finally got all the ribbing out of their system. Unfortunately, the boys were proven wrong yet again around the time school ended. Lincoln opened his locker, only to find an agitated street cat jump out at him and claw at his face. Clyde might've gotten lucky; all he had was a heavy sack of cat food nearly crush him into the floor.
"I don't know whether that was supposed to be some kind of poetic justice, or a reminder of what I did to Kitty. But even I'm not cruel enough to lock a cat in a small, cramped locker..." Present Lincoln stated. "And with the whole week nearly done, I couldn't wait to see what Friday had in store..."
"S-Sorry..." Stella stuttered slightly. "I was just hoping that-"
"Well I'm not, ok?!..." Lincoln partially shouted, making the others flinch. Realizing what he did, the Loud sighed. "I'm sorry...it's just, been a long week..." He moved his hand from his chin to the top of his head as he rested on the table.
"Have things at home been any better?" Clyde asked.
"Been getting the cold shoulder from two of my sisters, and just ignoring the rest..." Lincoln's brows furrowed a little. "Surprised they haven't done something yet, like last time..."
"What last time?" Rusty asked.
Lincoln bit his cheek. He was half-tempted to tell his friends about the time his sisters (led by Lola) pranked him just because he blocked them out with earbuds when he just wanted to read in peace. He huffed through his nose. "Is there even a point? I can talk all day about my sisters' issues; but it isn't gonna change what happened at that convention..."
The others stared at Lincoln for a few moments, soon figuring he wasn't going to answer. Given how the two boys had been walking targets for the better part of the week, it wasn't surprising that they'd be down in the dumps; in fact, it was probably the third time something like this happened, if you count the Girl Guru incident and that time Lisa was moved into Lincoln's class. However, the boys usually got better after only a few days of teasing; Clyde was already feeling more optimistic than he had been in the past 72 hours.
Lincoln on the other hand...
No one wanted to say it aloud, but his demeanor appeared to sour with each passing day. One could guess this is probably because he got hit the worst between him and Clyde as far as pranks went, and there was little information to go by regarding his home life.
Clyde decided to bite the bullet. "I was gonna ask after school, but..." He took a moment's pause, being sure to ask the right question. "Is there something else going on Lincoln?"
"...Like what?..." The moody boy asked.
"I mean, I think we all get you're pretty bummed out about the convention and all the pranks." Clyde shuddered a little. "I never thought a bag of cat food could be so terrifying..." He redirected his attention towards his best friend. "But usually after getting pranked on for a few days, you'd normally be over it by now; or at least not let it get to you." Seeing Lincoln looking at him with what might be considered an annoyed glance, the McBride opted to wrap up his thoughts. "What I'm saying is, you're taking this harder than any of us thought, so I was wondering if...something, or someone, is keeping you down."
Lincoln blinked before staring at his food again. "At least my friends are looking out for me; plus, they didn't try to exclude themselves from me or Clyde when we told them about the convention." His frown increased slightly. "Unlike the time they blamed me for what Lisa was doing..." His gaze softened a little. "But...I guess it wouldn't hurt if I told them the same thing I told Mom and Dad." The Loud straightened himself from his laid posture. "You guys might not understand it, but do you sometimes feel like you're-"
SPLAT!
Lincoln's head was thrown forward when a wet sensation along with the weight of an object struck him in the back of his head, forcing his face down into his food. The five friends looked in shock as a bowl filled with soup, gravy, or whatever it was, struck the Loud in the head. A chorus of laughter was heard behind Lincoln as several students began to laugh at the boy's misfortune. Lincoln lifted his head up, showing a face covered with mashed potatoes and peas that were oddly arranged in the pattern of a neutral frown; the contents of the bowl slid down from the top of his head, coating his white hair a shade of brown. This made the students howl in laughter as his friends glared in the direction of whomever threw the food.
"Those things can hurt someone ya know!" Liam shouted.
"You're lucky you didn't break his head open!" Stella shouted next.
This didn't do much to quell the laughter of the nearby students. The peas on Lincoln's face moved from a neutral expression to a deep frown, shortly before the potato portion of the faux face started to boil. The Loud heatedly wiped the food off his face; his friends weren't entirely surprised to see the skin around his forehead a light shade of red with a small fire burning in his eyes.
"Just forget it..." Lincoln spoke in a barely tempered tone, casting the bowl off his head and allowing it to fall to the floor. He promptly got up and stomped his way out of the cafeteria, the laughter of several students following him along.
"Yeesh, Lincoln has a lot of patience to be dealing with all of this." Rusty stated.
Liam shook his head. "I reckon the feller is nearin' the end of his rope."
Stella turned to Clyde. "Do you have any idea what is keeping Lincoln in a bad mood?"
Clyde, sadly, shook his head. "I don't really know. I think it might have something to do with his sisters, given how he spoke to Lucy on Monday; but I can't say for certain."
Stella squinted an eye. "His sisters can't be that bad, right? I mean, wouldn't they stand up for him?"
Clyde rubbed the back of his head as he briefly thought of each of Lincoln's siblings. "I...I guess? Some would without question, but others...not so much?"
"Clyde told me about the talk they all had while I went to clean myself up, AGAIN...I know I once said you need to have a thick skin, but after everything that happened this week...can't people just learn to let stuff go? Especially if it DOESN'T INVOLVE THEM?..." Present Lincoln huffed. "And to make things worse, I also found out that same day who had spread the word about what happened at the convention."
"Can't I have just ONE day go smoothly?" Lincoln ranted to himself as he ran water through his hair. "This was my last clean shirt!" The Loud vigorously scrubbed his hair to get the brown stains out before they settled in; heaven forbid that he needed to cut his hair if it didn't work. As much as he wanted to also wash the stains out of his shirt, Lincoln figured it was already ruined anyway; last thing he wanted was his head looking like vanilla mixed with chocolate.
What's next on the menu, Ice Cream Head?
"Ugh..." Lincoln growled at the thought, teeth clenched as he scrubbed even harder; he winced a little as he felt his hair being pulled at the root.
"Aren't you a little worried about your big brother?" Lincoln paused as a young, feminine voice was heard through the door. He decided it wasn't his business and proceeded with his daunting task.
"Oh puh-leese darling. He pretty much had what was coming to him." Lincoln stopped as a second voice was heard, one he recognized immediately. "Besides, he wouldn't be a target if he didn't try to steal that cat."
The white-haired child turned the faucet off and walked over to the door, slowly pulling it open to make as little noise as possible. Through the small crack, Lincoln saw his pageant winner of a sister walking down the hall with a girl who looked to be a little skittish.
"O-Ok. But, I heard he's had a lot of pranks pulled on him over the week." The other girl rubbed her hands nervously. "When you said you and y-your sisters were gonna be movie stars, I didn't...I mean, I know your brother stole a cat, but all the pranks sound mean..."
Lincoln saw Lola shake her head. "Meli, look. It's just a form of poetic justice; or...karma. If Lincoln really wanted to be a hero, he would've solved a real crime instead of trying to cheat. I mean, I'm no hero expert, but only fakes do that." Lola hummed to herself for a moment. "Or, he could've picked a villain role if he wanted, since he already had that part down. Besides, it's not my fault other people are acting the way they are just because I was spreading good news to a few people."
"Um...you told our entire grade." The girl named Meli pointed out. "And you sent numerous pings out on your Twitter page..."
"Eh," Lola waved her hand. "Details. Not my problem if others do their history. Besides, my brother has a thick skin. If he can't handle it, he can only blame himself."
Neither girl noticed the door to the boys' room closing up. Lincoln had turned from the door, staring at nothing in particular as his face started to burn in anger. "Of course. It HAD to be Lola; the one girl in the house who would jump at the first chance she gets to gloat!" He stomped back to the sink, turning the water on again. "Aside from Lynn..." He ducked his head under the stream. "Because of her, I'm a laughingstock of the school, again. And this is almost, no. This is worse than the time she and my other so-called sisters ate all the chocolate I was gonna use for my business project!" He turned towards the reader. "I know my Girl Guru business wasn't the best idea, but you all saw the clips!" Lincoln ran his fingers through his hair, not detecting any food stuffs stuck in the white locks. He lifted his head up, with his wet hair partially obscuring his vision. "All those pranks...all that teasing..." He grabbed some paper towels and started to dry his hair. "Being made fun of day in and day out..." Lincoln spoke through clenched teeth.
"If Lincoln really wanted to be a hero, he would've solved a REAL crime instead of trying to cheat." That one sentence resonated in the boy's head.
Lincoln paused in his movements, shifting his gaze in various directions as he thought it over. "Ok, maybe I could've found a real crime to solve..." He continued rubbing his hair. "But I already tried everything I could! And it still wasn't enough!"
"Or, he could've picked a villain role if he wanted." Came Lola's next sentence.
Lincoln glanced down at the sink, his heated gaze subsiding as he pondered those words. "I...didn't actually explore the option of getting a villain role...and I didn't picture myself being one." His hands dropped to his sides. "Though...my actions weren't exactly heroic..." The Loud softly ran his hand through his still damp hair. "And everyone often roots for the heroes, which happened to be my sisters..." He glanced at the used towels in his hand, then glanced at his shirt. His mind was made up as he ran the towels under the water, making sure they were soaked enough before rubbing at the stains on his shirt. "Maybe I did deserve all this...villains usually don't win after all..." Lincoln furrowed his brows slightly. "And still...my sisters got things done without breaking a sweat, while I had to bust my butt just to be noticed." He dumped the paper and grabbed some fresh ones, repeating the process. "And we didn't even get recognition for our comic! What's with that?" He scrubbed a little harder. "I told my sisters everything they needed to know, and they knew next to nothing about Ace Savvy before that weekend. All they did was win a few silly challenges, and spend most of the time taking pictures..." Lincoln breathed in, exhaling as he rested his hands on the edge of the sink. "Yet when me and Clyde tried the same thing, it was just one huge bad streak..."
Lincoln stared at himself in the mirror. His hair was still a slight mess after being dried as much as it could get with subpar materials, and his shirt was marginally less dirty than it had been. As he studied his face, Lincoln could see the sadness in his orbs; the eyebags normally on the sides of his eyes didn't appear to be any different than usual, though he swore they seemed a little more prominent. "Then again, I haven't slept well in the last few days..." He looked away from his reflection, shifting his weight onto one arm as he stood there in thought. "My sisters went in blind and won something so easily despite me knowing more about the series than they do...and I had resorted to stealing a cat. A movie actor even..." Lincoln tapped his finger on the sink top. "Maybe...maybe my sisters are just that good?" His fingers curled inward. "Or maybe I'm not as good as I think I am?...And if my sisters can easily win an Ace Savvy contest, then...whose to say they wouldn't be easily good at video games or..." The Loud trailed off for a moment. "And what would I be considered 'good' at?..."
The Loud was pulled from his thoughts as he heard the warning bell chime throughout the hallway. Looking at his shirt, his annoyed frown returned. "It was probably just dumb luck..." He ran his fingers through his hair to fix it up right. "VERY lucky since they'll be starring in a movie..." Pulling his cowlick up, Lincoln felt he looked presentable enough. He pushed the bathroom door open and made his way to his next class.
That moment of self doubt however, didn't abate as much as the Loud would have hoped.
A saddened sigh was heard. "This is my fault...usually I'm quiet enough that my siblings wouldn't notice me very presence at any point during the day, especially if I didn't want to be around anyone. However, it was obvious I wasn't careful enough to prevent a few of the girls from raising questions about my behavior..." Present Lucy stated. "I hoped to avoid further conflict between my other sisters and my brother...but all I did was hasten the inevitable..."
"Are you sure Lucy isn't around to hear this?" Lori asked, watching as Lynn was checking the vents.
"She said something about hanging out with her creepy friends in the dead club, or whatever." Lola stated, sitting at the foot of Lori's bed next to Luna, who sat on the mattress.
"Good up here." The sporty girl thumbed in approval before dropping down onto Leni's bed, making the 16 year old bounce slightly as she had been lying down.
"No knock-knock jokes out here." Luan replied with a chuckle, closing the bedroom door.
"Alright then, let's get started." The oldest sibling leaned against her dresser. "Does anyone know why Lucy's been asking us about the movie lately?"
"Why wouldn't she? It's gonna be AWESOME!" Lana shouted, raising both fists into the air.
"True that." Luna nodded.
"I'm like, totes excited." Leni piped up.
"Yes, it's great." Lori admitted. "But what she's asking is why we want to be in the movie."
"Psssh." Lola waved dismissively. "Who wouldn't jump at the chance to get a starring role in a movie?" She frowned slightly. "Even if the series for it isn't my thing."
Lynn made a smug grin. "So you'd jump at the chance to be in a frilly girl movie?" She said with a chuckle.
Lola tilted her head towards the athlete. "Um, yes?!" She replied in a factual tone. "Especially if I'm casted as the princess or queen."
Lynn lost her grin, seeing that she didn't get the reaction she was looking for. Raising a finger, "Let me rephrase that-"
"Getting off topic here." Lori cut in. "Also, it's not like we're the lead actors in this film."
"True." Lisa agreed. "On average, those with cameo roles only get 20 seconds of screen time."
"Which is more than enough to make a name for yourself." Luan stated. "Gotta make a first impression in style!"
Lana scratched at her armpit. "I wonder if I could be in a monster movie next."
"Or a fashion movie!" Leni added, cupping her cheeks with her hands. "I would love it if I got a role in a Pitch Perfect movie."
Lori deadpanned. "That wasn't actually a fashion movie. And second," She folded her arms. "That doesn't explain why Lucy's been asking a lot of questions lately." There was a brief pause before she added, "Well, more than she rarely does."
Lynn shrugged. "I'm just looking for future openings in some sports movies." She put her hands behind her head. "I don't give much of a hoot about Ace Savvy."
"Hate to say it, but gotta agree." Luna nodded. "Believe me luvs, I tried; but comics just aren't my thing."
"I still think it's cool." Lana replied.
Luan rapped her fingers against each other. "It does have a nice air of mist-tery to it." She chuckled at her light pun. "I wonder if they have room for a prankster villain."
Leni smiled warmly. "I think the heroes are cute."
"Well, it seems our interests diverge on the matter. At the time our darkness-seeking sibling inquired about my interest in the upcoming film, I simply answered that I was waiting to see whether I would come to enjoy the fictional setting." Lisa offered her own points. "I normally find such shenanigans a waste of ones time, but I'm willing to admit when I'm wrong."
"So, if she's just asking, what's the big deal?" Lynn asked. "We all know she's more into doom and gloom more than anything; you'd probably have to pay her to read Dork Savvy." The jock looked around. "And speaking of which, why isn't Lincoln here?"
"Well for one," Lori raised a finger. "He isn't home yet. And two, I have reason to believe he might be the reason why Lucy's been so concerned about the movie."
Lana squinted an eye. "I don't get it. I mean, Link's been pretty sour lately."
"After the rash of juvenile injustices he's received over the past 72 hours, that's not surprising." Lisa pointed out. "However, I must also point out that Lucy's reasoning for the inquiries may be on a matter that doesn't necessarily involve the movie itself."
"Such as?" Lori asked.
"When I asked her for her reasons, she appeared to voice some concerns, but decided not to."
Lola narrowed her eyes. "That does sound fishy..." She rubbed her chin. "And Lincoln's been pret-ty quiet lately..."
Leni tilted her head. "What's bad about being quiet?"
"Nothing." Lola said evenly, but a light glare soon followed. "But usually when Lincoln goes dark, it means he's planning something."
Luna frowned. "So you reckon the little dude might be trying to find a way to get out of scooping cat crud?"
Lori frowned. "Seems likely, and he could've gotten to Lucy. But without proof, we're literally in the dark."
Leni raised a brow in confusion. "But I can see everything clearly."
Lisa rolled her eyes in response.
"Well then," Lola rubbed her hands together. "Why don't we go find some? It should be as easy as the time he tried to get the sweet spot in the van."
Each of the siblings remembered that incident well enough, as well as Lincoln's mannerisms beforehand. It was subtle at first; during day trips with the whole family, Lincoln would pick a different seat during each outing. No one minded at first, since it was quite common due to the generally poor condition of the seats. But what really caught everyone's attention was when he began asking if certain sisters would sit next to each other the day before a big trip. If it weren't for Leni going into Lincoln's room due to another fashion-related nightmare, they might've never discovered his carefully laid out objectives drawn out on his mattress.
Of course, it later devolved into a free-for-all over the seat, but everyone subtly blamed Lincoln for making the scheme in the first place.
"Given the similarities between the incident with Vanzilla and our forthcoming movie roles, it's possible Lincoln might have directed Lucy to ask us about our motives to gauge who could be the easiest to convince to take a different role."
"Wait..." Luan squinted her eyes in thought. "If Lucy is supposedly working with him, why wouldn't he just have her and him switch?"
Lola rubbed her chin. "An easy solution. BUT, he also could have her do the questioning so it doesn't look suspicious! AKA, a willing accomplice!"
"Either way," Lynn cracked her knuckles. "Cheating's cheating, and getting Lucy to throw her role counts as cheating."
The others made mutterings of agreement before Lori spoke. "Alright." She pushed herself off the dresser. "Let's go check around."
The girls filed out of the oldest sisters' room and headed straight for the converted linen closet turned bedroom. Lynn swiftly kicked the door open, which normally would've earned a reprimand from her brother; as noted before though, he was absent. The girls set about checking every inch of the room for clues: Lynn lifted Lincoln's bed, finding nothing but the plain, unmarked bottom of a mattress; Lola and Lana saw a large chest that lie underneath the bed, and curiously pulled it out; Lisa noted the many broken or unwanted items that lie on the floor under the bedspread, no doubt hand-me-downs from the older girls; Lori scanned his desk, noting his stack of comics, laptop, and a few action figures. Deciding that the computer might have some notable information, she sat in the chair and opened the lid.
Luna scanned the various posters Lincoln had on his wall, one of which being for SMOOCH. Giving a subtle nod of approval, she gently peeled back the poster to see if there was anything behind it, continuing the process with other posters when she only found drywall. Luan busied herself with Lincoln's dresser, pushing apart fabrics whilst resisting the urge to make a joke about how her snooping should be the "other way around".
Leni stared up at several empty hangers, which hung from a rack near the ceiling. "What was I looking for again?" She scratched her temple.
"Focus Leni!" Lola ordered, momentarily glancing at the older blonde. "There's gotta be some proof that Lincoln is up to something." She pulled out more wigs, each shaped like the hair of her sisters. "Why does he even have this?"
Luna glanced down after checking the last poster. "Ain't that the chest we used when we were covering for each other?"
Lisa pulled out a wig that matched her style. "Indeed. It had been useful during our chore day. However," She dropped it back in the chest. "It may have simply been forgotten; along with the other objects under Lincoln's bed."
Luna glanced to the side, spotting her old guitar. It remained broken at the neck with a few of the strings missing. "Dang man!" She bent down and picked it up. "I thought Lincoln would've fixed this."
Lori rolled her eyes, now searching through Lincoln's documents. "You think he had enough money to fix a guitar you broke?"
Luna bit her cheek, dropping the busted instrument shortly after.
Lynn sat the bed back down. "Nothing under there." She pulled back the covers, seeing just a wrinkled bedspread. "And nothing under here."
Lori sighed. "The only thing on here is just a bunch of school stuff and fanboy pictures."
"Ugh!" Lola groaned. "There's gotta be something in here that Lincoln wrote something down on." She eyed the stack of comics on the desk, soon stepping over and skimming through them. She tossed each comic onto the floor when she didn't find anything of interest.
"Hey guys!" Lana began in a sweet tone. "What do you think of my new hair?"
The other siblings looked towards the little plumber, who was proudly wearing a wig that was in Lola's likeness. The pageant winner wasn't impressed before promptly throwing an issue at Lana's face. The older twin didn't like the gesture and promptly threw the comic back at her roommate, who blocked it with the comic in her hand before she threw another.
As the twins started to get into an impromptu paper fight, "I found something!" Luan shouted, directing their attention towards her.
The comedian pulled out a paperback notebook from what appeared to be Lincoln's sock drawer. "I think it's his diary!"
"Actually, the correct term would be a journal." The child prodigy clarified.
Lola rolled her eyes. "Whatever. But that's definitely his; I've read through it before." The young girl noticed the disapproving glares at her. "Not recently!"
Luan held her tongue, not believing the statement. She opened the book, noting the date of some of the paragraphs before flipping more towards the center. She raised a brow. "Guess Link doesn't write in this as much."
"Does it actually SAY anything useful?" Lynn asked, rapping her fingers of the bed's surface.
"Hmmm..." Luan skimmed through a couple paragraphs, her eyes widening when something stood out to her. "Aha! There's an entry from Monday." The rest of the girls crowded around Luan as she began reading.
"The convention wasn't as fun as I thought it would be, especially after I missed the last one over something I didn't even do. But school was the absolute worst. Whether other people in my class were Ace Savvy fans, or they're just mad at me for trying to steal a cat, I don't know. And that says nothing about what to do regarding the movie. Sure, me and Clyde still get to be in it; but is it worth embarrassing ourselves in front of millions of people? Maybe it might've been better if I just skipped going this year. I'm gonna stop thinking about it for now. Hope the rest of the week is better." Luan paused for a moment, turning a page. "Annd, that's it. The rest is empty."
"Let me see that." Lori held her hand out as Luan gave her the journal. She read over the paragraph herself, beginning to become a little confused. "This doesn't sound like a plan he's making, though it does point to him thinking about something regarding the movie in one sentence."
"So he did get Lucy to be his accomplice!" Lola accused, slamming a fist into her palm.
Lisa grabbed the journal from Lori before skimming the writing. "Negative. While Lincoln's thoughts were centered around the movie, his intentions are vague. In fact, he was mostly reflecting on his actions at the convention, and how they subsequently led to his difficulties in school."
"WHY ARE YOU GUYS IN MY ROOM?!" A young, masculine voice shouted before anyone else could speak.
The girls turned to see a visibly angry Lincoln standing just outside his room, fists clenched with his bag only strapped on one shoulder.
Lola was the first to speak, appearing to take offense to Lincoln's understandably upset stance. "Just making sure you aren't trying anything fishy to get us to swap movie roles with you!" She pointed accusingly at him.
Lincoln looked down at the young girl, which seemed to make his glare grow in intensity. With the knowledge she let slip from earlier still fresh in his mind, one of his arms shook as the urge to strike her grew. Surprisingly, the middle child didn't act on this temptation as he clenched his fist a little tighter. "And what, for whatever reason, made you think I was doing that?..." Lincoln spoke as even as he could.
"Lucy's been going around asking us why we want to be in the movie, so we figured you had something to do with it." Lori answered.
Lincoln narrowed his eyes. "So, you think that just because she's curious about whatever stupid reason you wanted to be in the movie, that somehow makes me involved?" The middle child gestured to himself.
"To be fair bro, you got a rap sheet about making a lot of crazy plans." Luna stated. "I mean, what you did at the convention was-"
Lincoln's eye twitched before he shouted, "I KNOW WHAT I DID! Why does everyone have to keep reminding me?!" His screams echoed around the house. "And on that note, why didn't any of you just go and ask Lucy why she's so concerned about your 'interest' in the movie?! Or the series in general for that matter!" He sat his bag down. "I don't know what reasons you girls gave her, but I think we all know the real reason you even wanted to go to the convention in the first place." He pointed at his sisters. "You guys just want the glory of being in a movie, but don't care about where it's coming from!"
The girls didn't say anything for a few seconds. Lana opened her mouth to speak, but Lola beat her to the punch. "Well, it's not like it was that much of a secret. Plus, I told you the week before, I didn't care so long as we got into the movie." She brushed part of her hair with her hand. "Though all the photo opportunities were nice though."
"Plus, it was your idea to have us attend the convention in the first place." Luan pointed out.
"On the subject of the series, it's just simply not something most of us would commit to." Lisa added. "The convention itself proved to be enjoyable, but likely not something we'd do again in the future."
Lincoln pursed his lips as his became a light shade of red. This only lasted for a moment as he appeared to gather himself. "Sure, it was my idea to bring you guys to the convention; part of which so we'd stand out as a group so we'd get a good chance of getting into that movie. None of you even cared about going in the first place until I mentioned what the award for the contest was, which makes me think I would've been better off taking my friends instead!" He stomped his foot on the ground at the end of that sentence. "But you guys were willing, so I ran with it." Lincoln folded his arms. "And it turned out to be a huge mistake on my part, because for all the photos and popularity you girls got, I didn't get even ONE mention, despite being the guy who created your characters." He put extra emphasis on the last 3 words. "But to everyone else, EVEN MY OWN SISTERS, I'm just the boy who stole a cat, and gets pranked for it all day because someone," Lincoln glared hard at Lola, "Had to go and tell the whole school about it!" He then gestured to his other sisters. "And I can't get any rest at home because I have to come in and see that the rest of you don't even know the meaning of PRIVACY!"
The girls stared with mixed expressions at their brother, ranging from surprise to wondering if he was finished with his rant.
The middle child huffed a few times through his nose. "But you all got what you wanted: another quick shot to fame, or whatever, while I'm left behind to get the short end of the stick." His tone was a little more restrained than it had previously been. He knelt down and started picking up the comics that had been thrown to the floor. "And you don't have to worry about me 'stealing your roles', because I don't care anymore..."
Lynn raised a brow. "What do you mean?"
Lincoln stopped collecting the fallen issues as he glared at Lynn. "I mean I don't care about the dumb movie anymore! I've been humiliated enough to last THREE lifetimes just this week, and I'm not going to embarrass myself in front of millions of people as some stupid punishment!" He sat the comics he collected on his bed. "If whoever runs the film calls about your roles, tell them they can find someone else to scoop up cat poop." He pointed towards the doorway. "Now just, get out..."
None of the girls moved for a moment. "Sooooo...you didn't ask Lucy to switch roles with you?" Leni asked out of curiosity, tilting her head slightly.
Lincoln's face temporarily reddened as a small fire was visible in his eyes. His whole body shook in clear frustration as the boy took one of the comics off the bed and threw it at her; it only went halfway before falling to the floor due to its light weight. "J-JUST GET OUT OF HERE!"
The girls collectively mumbled something along the lines of "ok ok, geez..." as they exited. Lincoln slammed the door behind them when they finally vacated his space, subtly noting that the door swung back out slightly until it left a noticeable open gap between the frame and the door. Squinting his eyes, Lincoln noticed that the lock inside the door itself was partially broken at the end that was supposed to slide into the space of the doorway. The boy made a frustrated sigh before turning to examine his room. Some of his comics still lie on the floor, his chest where he kept costumes of his sisters was open (and some of the wigs were strewn about on the carpet), his bed sheets were taken out of the presentable position he left them in that morning; not to mention his mattress wasn't properly sitting on the bed frame. His computer was open with some of his old school documents still open, along with other files; all of the drawers in his dresser were pulled out, with a few of his clothing lying just over the edge of the individual drawers; one of his posters was barely sticking to the wall; and the girls found his journal, meaning he'd need to find yet another place to put it.
"After school, one of my friends decided we should go to Gus' to hang out. I wasn't in the mood for it, but I figured it was better than coming home to deal with my sisters..." Present Lincoln spoke, putting a bitter emphasis on the last word. His past self made what seemed like a sigh as he brought his hands to his head. In spite of the lack of noise, it was obvious the middle child of the family was overly stressed out by the day's events. "Honestly, I did try to have a good time. I played Zombie Crusher and DDR with Liam and Stella respectively, but...I just didn't feel like I was fully into it." Past Lincoln began cleaning up his room, starting with his dresser. "While I was still upset that it seemed Lola was the main reason behind my whole school finding out about what happened with the convention, I had to admit that...she was right on a couple things. For one, I probably could've tried to get a villain role. When it comes to movies, the hero and villain tend to get the same amount of respect due to how they're portrayed. Like say, someone's actions are increasingly heroic while the villain inspires fear towards others, or something like that. Me and Clyde were so focused on becoming listed as heroes in the movie, that we didn't really explore our options entirely...and as a result, our actions were pretty antagonistic..."
Past Lincoln shut his laptop after fixing up his dresser, then went about fixing his bedspread.
"And, we should've tried to solve a real crime instead of making up one; and I should've seen how quick that would turn against us. Real heroes don't perform crimes to solve them; and Ace in the series certainly wouldn't do that. But did we really have the time to go out and find a real crime? I mean, the best we'd probably get are some petty thefts of toys or posters." Present Lincoln drew a shaky breath. "I hate to think about it...but what me and Clyde did could've landed us in jail if we were any older..." Past Lincoln began to recollect the costume collection of his sisters. His frown increased a bit as he looked over it all, appearing to debate on what to do. Seconds later, he just tossed everything in any which way and shut the chest. "And in the end, the two of us still couldn't stand out. Well...technically we did; but for the wrong reasons. It still bothers me to no end how my sisters handily won something related to a series I spent years being invested on with only a few days worth of know-how and..." The current 13 year old sighed. "I hate going over it, but I just can't get it out of my head. Is it that my sisters are just way better at EVERYTHING?...Or am I just that bad at everything?...It just feels like there probably isn't anything I can do that they could do better; I don't have any trophies to my name, Mom and Dad will often talk about how well the girls are doing, and I don't know what their answer is if asked if they have a son...I'm getting a little ahead of myself here, but that's gonna come up later..."
Past Lincoln then decided to finish picking up the stack of comics that had been thrown about. "If it wasn't obvious by the way I kept losing all the games I played, my friends did notice the look I had on my face the whole time. We all decided it would be better if I went back home; where I hoped my sisters wouldn't make my day worse than it had been. Of course, you've seen how that didn't happen just now; the only silver lining I could say is that they helped make my decision to not spend five minutes in front of a camera with a cat throwing crap at me." There was a brief pause. "Annnd now that I remember, this was also the time I demanded that Mom and Dad get a new lock for my door; I didn't stop asking until they finally did."
As Past Lincoln was cleaning up his comics, he noticed one that wasn't affiliated with any of the series he typically browsed. Picking it up, he could tell from the cover that it dealt with the supernatural, like vampires, lycans, and such. The boy stared at the comic in confusion, but after a few seconds, recognition was visible on his features. It was the very same comic Lucy had made for him when he couldn't attend the convention last time. Annoyance became visible on the middle child's face as he stared at the cover, slowly crumpling the edge of the comic in his hand. Without a word, Lincoln sidestepped over to his waste bin and dumped the comic inside.
"And there was one person who had some SERIOUS explaining to do..."
Half an hour would pass before Lucy opened the front door of her house. She was greeted by the sight of a few of her sisters watching TV, along with the tantalizing smell of food being cooked in the kitchen. It didn't seem like her sisters noticed the door opened, which they suddenly acknowledged her presence upon hearing the heavy door shut.
"Oh, hey Lucy!" Leni greeted.
"Hi." Lucy greeted back. She turned her head towards the boob tube. "What are you watching?"
"Just a rerun of Dream Boat." Luna answered.
Lucy felt that wasn't interesting enough to stick around, so she began making her way towards the steps.
"Hey, hold on a sec." Luna stated in a tone that made it seem like something came to her. Lucy turned towards her sister, seeing that Leni and Luan were also looking at her. "What was the main reason you asked us about the movie earlier?"
Lucy felt her stomach coil in her gut as her heartbeat quickened. "Dang it...did they catch onto me?..." She maintained her neutral posture, debating whether or not she should explain. "Um..." The goth began, slowly putting her hands behind her back. "I-It's nothing important."
"You sure?" Luan asked with a brow raised. "Lincoln was pretty sore after we asked him."
The eight year old visibly flinched at the mention of their brother. "What did you guys do?..." Her voice was nearly a whisper when she asked.
Luna looked over towards the dining room entryway, then towards the master bedroom behind the couch. She motioned for Lucy to come over, which immediately let the goth know it wasn't anything good. She made a few steps over before Luna spoke, "Soooooo...we sorta dug around Lincoln's room in case we thought he was planning something. I mean, it's just that with you asking a lot about the movie, and knowing how bro gets, we thought he might've been making up a plan to get us a switch roles."
"But he wasn't." Leni added, before looking at her other sisters for confirmation. "Right? Like, he didn't exactly say no I think..." She tapped her chin. "Or did he?"
Luan rolled her eyes. "No, Leni. He wasn't. Though we did get caught with our hand in the cookie jar." She chuckled nervously.
Lucy's stomach turned as it began to fill with dread, making her normally neutral frown break as she pursed her lips a little. Firstly, it was clear she hadn't been as sneaky as she would've liked; though to be fair, it's hard to not go unnoticed if you have to talk to people. Second, she was now more worried about Lincoln. Him finding them in his room would already lead to irritation; but looking for proof he was planning something meant the other girls likely made a huge mess in the process.
The goth's nose flared out a little before she asked, "I'm guessing Mom and Dad haven't heard anything?"
The teens shook their heads. "No. Well, unless bro tells them." The musical tomboy sounded a little unsettled at that. "But for reals though, why were you asking about the movie? Was it because you were excited, or...?"
Lucy studied the faces of her sisters carefully; each of them were looking at her with a sense of honest curiosity. However, as she had to remind herself, these were also the same girls who willingly took part in violating their brother's privacy over a perceived action she could tell they had little proof of. If her eyes were visible to them, they'd see a glare beginning to form.
"Before I answer, let me ask this. Did any of you notice how the aftermath of the convention was having a negative impact on Lincoln?"
Luan folded her arms. "I tried to cheer him up on Monday, but he wasn't interested in easing up even a little..."
"Well, the dude's been pretty down due to stuff going on in school." Luna replied. "I didn't think it'd be a good idea to bother him."
"I wanted to talk to Linky, but he didn't want to be around anyone..." Leni answered with a sad tone.
Lucy tapped a finger against the top of her hand. "Ok, but do you know why all of this was happening?"
"Well, yeah. Cause they know he tried to steal a cat (movie actor really) at the convention." Luna stated. "I mean, it still was a low blow for the dude to do that."
Luan and Leni made small remarks of agreement.
"But do you still think it was a fitting punishment for him to be forced to degrade himself in front of hundreds of people despite admitting his guilt?" The goth pressed.
Luan squinted an eye. "What does that mean? And what's with all the questions?"
Luna bit her cheek. "If you're talkin' about Lincoln's role in the movie, don't worry about it." Lucy looked at Luna as if she expected an answer, with the musician saying, "He already told us he wasn't gonna take part in the movie."
Lucy's mouth fell slightly. "But you guys still are."
"Um, yeah? Why wouldn't we be?" The comedian asked.
The goth made a slight huff. "And that's why I kept asking those questions. If I told you directly, I highly doubt you'd understand." She turned back towards the steps and walked towards them. "And by the way," She stopped and turned towards her sisters. "I made my own decision to drop out of the movie on Monday." This surprised the other girls, judging by the bug-eyed stares Lucy got. "I did it because I saw something you three, and the rest of our sisters, were too blind to see..."
Without another word, Lucy turned back towards the stairs and proceeded up to the second floor. The hallway was without activity, which wasn't uncommon during this time of day. She opened the door to her room, only to be greeted by Fangs; he was flapping around in a mad frenzy.
"Fangs? What's wrong?" The goth asked, putting her arm out so the bat could sit.
The bat made a series of screeches as if it were telling Lucy something. The goth let her mouth hang open as she didn't bother hiding the look of shock on her face.
"Yes, it's obvious Fangs can't actually speak English like us humans; but I could still understand him." Present Lucy stated. "He had been watching everything from the vents, and relayed all of that information to me. I'm not one to normally strike up a conversation, and I should've been more aware that this might tip off one of my sisters. I did the best I could to not give myself away to the likes of Lori or Lola; but it still wasn't enough..." Minutes later, Past Lucy exited her room with her head hung slightly. "At that point, I knew I had to speak with him directly; lest he think I made the others go after him for little reason other than to meddle in his business. Either that, or he'd get answers from me whenever he saw fit. But it was much better to tell him now than to let Lincoln's anger fester into something else..."
Lucy stopped in front of Lincoln's door. She took a breath and readied herself for what was likely to happen, then knocked gently on the door. The goth was a little surprised to find it wasn't locked.
"Who is it?..." Came a disgruntled voice.
"...It's me." There was a bit of movement before the middle child opened the door. As Lucy expected, Lincoln was rather irritated. "I know you're expecting an answer about what happened earlier..." The eight year old stated.
"And I hope it's a good one, because the last thing I wanted to come home to was my entire room being turned into a crime scene..." Lincoln folded his arms. "Now, what the heck did you do?..."
Lucy made an actual sigh instead of verbally saying it. "It wasn't hard to notice the torment you were going through Lincoln. Yes, you committed a crime out of desperation; but the results afterward seem very unnecessary. It was probably punishing enough that you got the role you did, but all of the public slandering afterwards was..." Lucy's fingers curled inward. "It was just too much to take in. When I heard about what you went through on Monday, I decided that I didn't want to have any part in something that would serve to torment you further...so, I renounced my part in the movie."
Lincoln went wide-eyed at this revelation, though there was reluctance in his stance as it was clear he didn't entirely believe Lucy. "Then, what was with all the questions you kept asking our sisters?..."
"I wanted to figure out what their motivation was. I knew most of them probably didn't have much of an interest in the movie itself aside from being influenced by greed, so I was trying to find another ally to join me without giving myself away. I had a feeling that if they found out, they might think you were involved; but not in the way you'd think..." The goth hung her head. "Unfortunately, I wasn't careful enough..."
Lincoln glanced off to the side, his fingers tapping against his bicep. "So...you asked around, so the rest of our sisters could forget about the movie...for my sake?" He looked at his younger sister again.
"Yes. Though, I had a feeling it was unlikely that they would..."
The 11 year old's look had lost more of its edge as he contemplated over what Lucy told him. After a moment of tense silence, "Well...at least you tried..." He spoke slightly above a whisper. Lincoln unfolded his arms as he stepped back into the room. "And...thanks..." He pushed the door until it hit the stopper within the doorway.
Lucy was a little confused by Lincoln's sudden departure, but took solace in the fact he acknowledged her efforts to help him feel better. Feeling there wasn't much else to be said, the dark-haired girl turned back towards her room.
Lincoln stood with his back against the doorframe. A conflicting look was on his face as he thought over what Lucy told him. He wanted to believe everything she said, but he wasn't certain. Lucy wasn't much of a fibber, but one look at his trash can wordlessly told another point.
"As much as I wanted to take her word for it, Lucy was still the main reason I didn't make it to the convention last year. She wouldn't own up to the fact it was her that clogged the toilet in the first place, then led me on a goose chase to find the 'real' culprit when she knew it was her the entire time." Present Lincoln stated. "Sure, she was about to admit her guilt before I took the fall for her; but sometimes...sometimes I wish I just let her admit the truth..." Past Lincoln sat on his bed before lying back on the mattress. "Not only that, but like my other sisters, Lucy didn't want to go to the convention at all until I mentioned the movie; and that's not counting the many times she just stood there and let stuff happen, or the times I did stuff for her without asking for much in return, or joined in with my sisters in doing something and not even caring if it affected me personally...well, at least this was the first time she actually TRIED to help me out on her own, without needing to be coerced into doing so..." The 13 year old clarified. "And as I lied on my bed, wondering if I could trust Lucy..."
"EEEEEEEEE!" A chorus of feminine screams echoed in the house, making Lincoln jolt up from his bed.
"Girls! It's finally happening!" Lori shouted, which was soon followed by several footsteps thundering down the stairs.
"This was also the day that we finally got that call to schedule our takes for the movie..." Present Lincoln grumbled.