Disclaimer: I own NOTHING from the Loud House.

"Four weeks...that's how long we had before my family would get flown down to Hollywood for our, or should I say...THEIR...five seconds of fame in the movie. Naturally, knowing my sisters, they totally forgot about me telling them that I refused to take part in the film; totally unsurprising, since they became so obsessed with what they could do in Hollywood as we'd be there for at least a week. I asked Mom and Dad (since I didn't even want to be within 10 miles of the damn film stage) if I could just stay at home while they went to Cali. On one hand, they sort of understood my reasons; why would I waste hours of my life torturing myself with the sight of watching my sisters climb the steps to fame, when they had little appreciation for HOW they got there? On the other...apparently being 11 doesn't make me "old" enough to watch over the house." Present Lincoln grumbled.

"Have you seen the number of times the house would've fell to pieces if it weren't for me, or one of my other sisters (mostly Lori) keeping everyone else in check? And by the sound of me being rather ticked off, you can guess they still wanted to bring me along; however, I suspect part of it had to do with my plane ticket already being purchased and they just didn't want to feel bad about it going to waste. Well, I hope Dad feels happy about Mr. Grouse raiding the fridge and cabinets of everything edible..."

The slam of a locker was heard for a second as the sounds of other people filtered in.

"Gonna speed it up slightly so I can pretend to pay attention in class...while most of my sisters were preparing for their "starring roles" in the movie, there was one who...I guess saying 'pester' wouldn't be the right word. More like, checkups. True to her word, Lucy showed little interest in the movie since she announced her refusal to take part in it. I guess the other girls forgot about this too, though I swore I heard Lola say "More screen time for me then!" at some point. I didn't completely believe Lucy's word, but she seemed to be more interested in how I've been acting; to the point I was getting annoyed just being near her. Anyway, I had some important business to do with Clyde the following day, since I thought he got the same message."

Lincoln trudged his way to school, preferring to walk that morning so he could prepare himself for another week of unending pranks over some old news. A semi-permanent scowl was on his face as he reflected over the news his family got the night before. The date the family was due to fly out to California was just after school had ended for the spring; not a bad way to start summer vacation, unless you were the Loud boy himself.

"I'm sooo going to hate this dumb trip..." Lincoln mumbled to himself. "I can already see what's gonna happen: everyone praising my sisters for their 'acting' abilities while I'm forced to sit and pretend I had little to say about their characters..." His eyes squinted a little. "Might end up getting yelled at by the movie makers too..."

"Lincoln! Lincoln!" The Loud heard his name being called. Turning slightly to his right, he saw his best friend running up to him. "Did..." Clyde paused as he took a moment to catch his breath. "Did you get a call last night about the movie?"

"Yeah...I did..."

"Sooo...are you guys planning to go?"

"My sisters are going. I'm being dragged against my will to go..." Lincoln stated with a bitter voice.

"Against your will?" Clyde raised a brow as he repeated the last few words. His eyes opened up further as he remembered what Lincoln had told him earlier in the week. "You mean?..."

Lincoln nodded. "Honestly, I should thank my sisters for making my decision easier..."

Clyde had a sinking feeling in his stomach that he wasn't going to like what Lincoln was about to say. Perhaps against his better judgement, "What did they do?"

"Well to start, the better question is what did Lucy do?...And to answer that, she not-so-discretely asked my other sisters why they wanted to be in the movie; I already knew the reasons why, but she asked them to "gauge" their motivation..."

Clyde squinted an eye. "That doesn't sound like a bad thing."

"In most cases, it wouldn't." Lincoln folded his arms. "Except it made my sisters think I was somehow involved..." He sent his scowl towards the ground. "They turned my room into a crime scene because they thought I was planning something, or more specifically, trying to steal their roles. And before you ask, yes, it was because of what we did at the convention." He pulled on his cheeks. "And I'm just so tired of being reminded of it. So I decided to just ditch the movie entirely, because I'm not going to waste another moment of my life being embarrassed to death..." Lincoln glanced at Clyde through the edge of his vision. "And you should ditch it too..."

Clyde rubbed his arm. "Um..." He glanced to the side. "I'm...still on the fence about doing that..."

Lincoln stopped walking before wheeling around to face his friend. "Clyde, what do have to look forward to in the movie, other than getting kitty litter thrown at you?..."

"Well, I mean...I could still attend the cast party with all the actors?" The glasses-wearing child offered with some optimism. "I might even get a few autographs."

The Loud only shook his head, finding Clyde's reasoning to be very naive. It was also similar to the reason he put out earlier in the week when they first held this sort of talk. "Clyde...if what we've seen at the convention (and at school) is any hint, they'll just look down on you while giving all the praise to my sisters..." He turned and resumed walking. "It's not worth it..."

Clyde's posture slackened as he walked behind his friend. If he couldn't be part of the movie, he at least wanted to go visit the sandy beaches of California. One could argue even THAT would be pointless since he went to Hawaii with his dads the previous year; which was a much more fun tourist hotspot.

"...But-" Clyde started.

"I'm serious Clyde." Lincoln turned to him again. "If the judges at the convention thought so little of us, how would the rest of the cast react? Not to mention my sisters would brag about how they "saved" Kitty and just add more gas to the stink pile."

Clyde squinted an eye. "Don't you mean add fuel to the fire?"

Lincoln gave a huff before looking back in the direction they were walking. "Whatever...just take my advice and don't put yourself in the wringer..."

The bespectacled boy bit his lower lip as his gaze fell earthward. He understood the helpful advice Lincoln was trying to give, even if it carried some negative emotions. However, a part of Clyde was becoming a little frustrated with Lincoln's pessimism.

"We probably wouldn't be in this mess if you didn't think to make a crime..." Clyde muttered quietly enough so Lincoln wouldn't hear him.

The young nerd still held regrets for going along with the Loud's idea, and even more so for not speaking our against it. Lincoln was well known among their circle for thinking up schemes with great potential on the fly; although the success ratio felt more 40/60 at times. One such example was the time Lincoln wanted his friends to stall Ms. Johnson during Parent/Teacher night out of fear she had horrible things to say about him; it ended up being all for naught as she had nothing but praise for the Loud.

"Lincoln definitely makes a sound plan from time to time, but sometimes..." Clyde exhaled through his nose. "Sometimes he over thinks everything or doesn't consider all the details. The Sweet Spot, our business project (though admittedly that one wasn't his fault), that time we babysat Lily, or that time we tried getting Coach to go easy on us by setting him up with Ms. Johnson." Clyde made a short hum. "Now that I think about it, we could've just stayed in Lisa's bunker when we thought the town had been attacked by zombies." He shook his head. "Wait, the power and phones were out. And I swore I heard thunder that night." Clyde gazed up at the sky.

He didn't spent much longer on his thoughts as the boys reached the school, but Clyde couldn't shake the idea that Lincoln's plans weren't as foolproof as the white-haired child would have liked to believe; and more importantly, for more times than Clyde would like to admit, said plans had been the reason he and Lincoln often found themselves in trouble.

"A month? Sounds torturous...wish I could experience something like that." Haiku spoke as she and Lucy sat in the mostly empty library that morning, having gathered there at the younger goth's request.

"Unfortunately, it's not the kind of dread we're used to." Lucy replied as her index finger tapped against the hardwood surface of the table. A glare would've been visible from her eyes if they weren't hidden behind her bangs. "And it doesn't help my sisters acted before I was ready...but I suppose it's only natural for them to believe Lincoln was planning something..."

"You did your best." Haiku offered as a condolence.

Lucy huffed, hardly feeling any sympathy. "It wasn't enough..." Her voice was monotonous, but there was a notable break at the end as the 8 year old tried to mask her frustration. "It's not uncommon for my sisters to invade Lincoln's room (even I do it sometimes), but to do so at such a tenuous moment made them come off as even more insensitive than Lincoln would've thought." Her frown increased a little. "And it nearly made him lose trust in me..."

Haiku raised a brow. "What did they do?"

"They raided his room as if they were desecrating a grave; Fangs even told me one of them found his diary." The Loud answered in a dark tone. "It was when he came home and found what they were doing that Lincoln announced he was dropping out of the movie entirely, and I told him I intended to do so as well when I got home after we had our meeting yesterday. At least he appeared to take my word..." Her heart sank as she thought of the tightrope she now walked with her brother's trust. "At this point, Lincoln most likely holds just me and Lily on moderately good terms, but only because we weren't home when it happened."

The older goth blinked. "...Wow...they're invested that much into a movie based on a series they hold little interest in?" Lucy didn't answer, knowing the question was rhetorical. "What did your parents think?"

"Thankfully, some bad deeds don't go unpunished." Lucy leaned back in her chair. "Besides Lily, the other girls were grounded for a week and had to apologize to Lincoln for trashing his room."

Haiku's stoic face soured a little. "Judging by your tone, they were insincere?"

Lucy nodded. "It would be unfair to rope them together without a few mentions. Lana and Leni seemed genuine, including Lisa; a surprise on its own. The rest acted as if it were a necessary sacrifice for their cause; they couldn't care less..." She gazed at the table. "Still, I believe they should've apologized for violating his personal space..."

Haiku pursed her lips as a silent "hmm" emerged from her throat. "What are they doing now?"

"What you'd expect; just more laughter and boasting of what scene they'll be in for the movie. It's as if getting grounded didn't phase them..." The frown on Lucy's face grew a little more intense. "And I don't like saying this, but they might even star in a sequel if things go their way since the producer sounded..." The goth shuddered. "G-Giddy...it was sickening..."

Haiku narrowed her eyes. "I don't want to picture that...and more importantly, it seems that evil excels faster than the innocent."

"...Lincoln isn't entirely innocent; he'd tell you that firsthand. But all of this..." Lucy's hand began to clench into a shaky fist. "It's not going to do anything more than prove to him that he's right to be resentful to all of us. It's not like we wanted things to happen the way they did at the convention. If he knew the judges were going to exclude him and Clyde, why didn't he seek one of us out for help?..." She asked more towards herself than at Haiku. "I lie awake at night trying to find the answer, but I just don't know what thoughts plagued him during that time. I mean...I can say for certain that someone like Lola and maybe Lynn or Lori might not care too much; but the others and myself would've stepped in if we knew..."

"..." Haiku mulled over what Lucy told her over the past few days. Knowing Lincoln was the only male child out of 11 kids, she couldn't help but wonder if he felt...isolated, to a degree. She couldn't fathom having that many siblings; what a chore and never-ending hell that would be. In fact, now that she thought about it, there wasn't much she knew about Lincoln to start with; aside from him having a grasp of poetry.

"...Does Lincoln have any hobbies?" The 11 year old goth asked.

Lucy arched a hidden brow at her friend. "Well...he likes reading comics and playing video games; sometimes building toy models."

Haiku pursed her lips a little. All of that sounded rather average. "Does he have any...skills he excels at?"

"What do you mean?"

"Does he have something he does daily and takes to heart? Like you?"

Lucy glanced to the side as she thought it over. "...Aside from those two things...I don't think so. Lincoln has a habit of making complex plans, but..." She redirected her hidden gaze to Haiku. "He doesn't do a lot of poetry like I do. But he's pretty good at it; that's why I usually ask him for advice."

"So, he doesn't do stuff like sports or music on the regular?"

Lucy shook her head. "He's not the athletic type, and while he does like some songs, he's not writing his own like Luna." One of her eyes closed slightly as her curiosity peaked. "Why do you ask?"

"...Thinking it over, I believe a large part of Lincoln's situation may be driven by envy. I mean, what he does is what I heard to be..."normal" for someone our age." Haiku made a look as if she tasted something sour. "And given how much you complain about your sisters, it looks like each of them got something they hold onto and are pretty good at." The older goth held up an open hand. "Golfing, clothes, music, what can pass for comedy, sports." Each finger curled down as she listed each activity, then she raised her other hand and did the same. "Poetry, animals, time-wasting beauty (Pride definitely has a grip on your sister there...), and science. And I've been to your house enough times to notice that cabinet filled with trophies, so unless Lincoln has some interest in any of those, I'm willing to bet none of those are his."

Lucy could only give a curt nod. Lincoln's relationship with the family trophy case was...interesting, to say the least. Most of the time, Lincoln hardly acknowledged its existence; especially when making frequent trips do the kitchen as it sat in the dining room. Other times, like Haiku was suggesting, envy would drive Lincoln to go out and attempt to win an award; and its grip would be so powerful he would be willing to cross boundaries he normally wouldn't. After all, the last time he attempted to win an award involved him taking part in a beauty pageant of all things; not to mention the incident about the video contest for the school.

"But he did win the comic book contest some time ago." Lucy mulled to herself. "But there wasn't a trophy involved; well, specifically, a gold medal. His comic won and became an official issue." The goth began to glower. "I know Lincoln's problem has to stem deeper than just simple jealousy...if that were only the case, I have no doubts that Lincoln would try to figure out how to gain a better standing in the movie. But since he's refused to do even that...maybe Haiku is on to something?"

"...There was one trophy that belonged to Lincoln in the case. It's titled "Most Improved Brother." And I say "was" as I don't know if it's still in there." The Loud spoke.

Haiku's visible eye opened up slightly in interest. "Sounds like something that was fan-made."

"It was. We made it for Lincoln after he didn't win the video contest; we thought it was the least we could do after he purposely embarrassed himself without any reward for it." Lucy glanced at the clock on the wall; classes would start in five minutes. "Sigh. It would've been better if he just left it up there; it's not like any of us were in danger of losing our lives. As torturous the embarrassment was..." Lucy blinked as her eyes became slightly wet. Given how dark and brooding she was, she already caught some flak at school for her mannerisms. The clip of her kissing her bust of Edwin just gave her tormentors more ammo to use.

But, that was in the past, and Lincoln more than made up for the embarrassment she experienced. In turn, how had the goth repaid him for fixing his mistake? Leading him on a goose chase about a "Who done it" and then allowing him to take the blame afterwards? Letting him panic during a family outing about his day ending in disaster instead of trying to calm him? Granted, the cards never lie; but Lucy felt she could've shown a greater level of concern when Lincoln's anxiety was getting out of control. Believing he had somehow incurred the wrath of the spirits and was bestowed with bad luck? Well, to be fair, Lincoln had told her such about the last one; but Lucy felt she should've checked with them herself, especially when she heard about Lynn muttering something about Lincoln being bad luck on the way home after her disastrous game.

Lucy had no clue as to how many times she inadvertently spat on the relationship she had with her brother, but she considered herself lucky that Lincoln wasn't giving her the cold shoulder as he was with the others. "We...or at least I, should've understood how desperate Lincoln was to win something. Instead, we shunned him and that led to him embarrassing himself on our behalf." The young goth's fingers tapped against each other. "I wouldn't be surprised if he looks back on that moment and feels it was all for nothing. Embarrassing one's self for a pity trophy?..."

"Harsh..." Haiku answered.

The chime of the bell echoed throughout the library, signaling to the girls that they needed to head to their respective classes. Without another word, they left the library before going their separate ways in the hall.

"I didn't realize how on the nose Haiku was until much later when Lincoln started to go on a tirade in an attempt to win something; in each of my sisters' respective hobbies no less..." Present Lucy stated with disappointment in her tone. "I didn't know why he thought he could beat someone like Lori at golf or outdo Luna in music...well, actually, that's a lie. He wanted to get 'revenge' on us for getting drafted into the movie, or for 'beating' him in his own hobby with little effort. It wasn't a contest between anyone except those outside our family (the exception being Clyde)...ugh, I really hate how this convention made everyone turn out...the only good thing is that at least Lincoln wasn't as annoying about it like Lynn was during the time she lost ONE board game..."

The young goth reached her classroom. Turning her head to the left, she caught the fading image of her brother and his best friend walking the halls towards their classroom. Unlike the previous days, it didn't look like anyone pulled a prank on them; for the time being at least. Biting her cheek, Lucy walked into her homeroom, soon rummaging through her bag to dig out her homework.

"And surprisingly, even during that 'winning' spree, Lincoln didn't become a husk filled with resentment, hate, and despair...but it definitely came after..."

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Lincoln's day was surprisingly dull. No one bother to launch even a small prank against him or Clyde; either a switch had been flipped and everyone decided to call off their assault after a week, or word spread (from his sisters) that they finally got a date to go film for the movie. Regardless, in spite of the semi-permanent scowl on his face throughout the day, Lincoln enjoyed the reprieve all the way towards the end of the school day. He couldn't help but occasionally glare at the smiling faces of the other students however; they were smiles like they hadn't a care in the world, like they didn't just launch prank after prank on him over the last 4 days. There was probably millions of people who saw the embarrassing videos posted on the Internet by now, which added more fuel to the Loud's frustration.

"Should've asked Mom if I could be home-schooled like last time..." Lincoln thought bitterly as he began to leave the school grounds. He only bid his other friends a half-hearted "see ya" as he left.

He thought Clyde would've joined him, but his best friend said he had "other plans". Whatever; he just hoped Clyde thought harder about the talk they had this morning before he went and let himself get scrutinized to hell and back. The 11 year old knew for certain that being at home was going to be no better than being at school. During times of stress, students like himself used either the home or the school as a relief valve from their stress if either one was becoming an issue; and in Lincoln's case, he most often found school to sort of be a place he could get away from the dealings of his siblings. But after the rash of pranks, and knowing his sisters won't shut up about the movie now that they had their plane tickets arranged, Lincoln felt his hair would've turned white by now if he wasn't born with it; or at the very least, it'd fall out and he'd look like a midget old person.

And knowing how much they loved to stoke their egos, he could count on a few of his siblings to laugh at him for "chickening out" on his role in the movie; in Lynn's words at least.

Then there was Lucy...

"Since this mess started, Lucy's been the odd one out of all my sisters. Instead of acting in the way I would've expected her to (which I realize now would've been hard to tell since she always acted like she has no feelings outside of being an emo), she's played the part of 'meddling sister' at the point where I thought she'd be too engrossed with her upcoming fame to even care about me; and by 'meddle', I don't mean it in a bad way like I usually do, but...I guess something closer to how Mom always checks on us." The moody 13 year old stated in a somewhat softer tone than his usual gruffness. "Guess that's one more reason why I would take her opinion into consideration where I could just tell the others to pound sand...I think the only sisters I could speak with from the point after the dates were scheduled were Lucy and Lily; but I still wanted to keep them at arms distance..."

Past Lincoln turned his head when he heard a running engine approaching from behind. A bus from the school cruised past with a boatload of students. He spotted Stella along with Zach and Rusty next to the windows, but didn't see any of his sisters. Failing to recall whether this was one of the days where Lori would bother picking them up or if they rode the bus, Lincoln just gave an uncaring shrug; why should he care? They can all handle themselves.

"Lucy purposely led me on a goose chase when I was being blamed for clogging the toilet; just because I had a history DOESN'T mean every time the bowl breaks that I had something to do with it. I might have stuck up for her when she had a sob story about being teased; but I have some serious reservations about it. Then there's the fact she let me get all worked up over a stupid prediction, had me join her dead people club just so she could become president (should've said no when I had the chance), and lastly (and I HATE talking about it) the whole "bad luck" moment. I know Lynn was the one who started it, and I should've tried better to blow off her shitty reasons, but sometimes I wonder if Lucy had something to do with it. Not directly per se, but knowing how she's into supernatural stuff, and with how much of an idiot Lynn can be, she probably rubbed off on Lynn and made her start thinking about it by proxy." Present Lincoln's rant ended on a very bitter note as his anger appeared to be seeping in.

Instead of giving into his building rage, the troubled teen gave a sigh. "With Lily...it's...you just can't fault her for anything. She's just a baby, toddler now who can speak in full sentences most of the time, and she just goes with the flow of whatever's going on around her. She is persceptive, likely thanks to having Lisa as a roommate; makes me wonder if she experimented on Lily behind our backs. You might think it's a good idea to lean on a baby for support; but she doesn't need the crap I'm dealing with...and because she's one of the girls, I have no doubts that she'll become just as talented as my other sisters and making Mom and Dad proud...unlike me..." An empty feeling could be felt as Present Lincoln's voice became more somber and hollow. "She wasn't cursed with being a guy in this family..."

A heavy vibration was felt in Lincoln's pocket. An annoyed scowl broke out on his stoic face as he assumed one of his sisters were calling again. "I should really consider blocking their numbers..." He grumbled as he pulled the device from his pocket. "Lori practically wants to do the same to me because apparently my calls are-" He paused upon seeing the number, followed by a picture.

It wasn't anyone of his sisters, or his parents calling; it was actually Ronnie Anne. And to make things worse, the camera icon was shown as the phone buzzed to signify she wanted to start a video call.

Lincoln wasn't in such a mood to do a video chat. He knew his ticked off expression would lead to more questions; ones he didn't feel like answering. Biting his cheek, he tapped the call button and put the phone in his ear. "Hello?" The boy answered in faux optimism.

"Hey Lincoln." Ronnie greeted, giving a slight pause as there was some shuffling heard from her end. "You in the middle of something? Thought you'd have your camera on."

"Well, I would buuut..." Lincoln's gaze shifted around as he searched for an excuse. "I didn't get a chance to charge my phone earlier and it doesn't have much battery left. You know how video calls can drain it, heh." He chuckled nervously, then silently cursed himself for how unrealistic it sounded.

It seemed Ronnie hadn't noticed, and he was even more thankful they weren't video chatting. "That's cool. So, you get into anything this week?"

The Loud clenched his teeth as his scowl returned in force. "A lot of things actually, NONE of them exciting..." He ranted inwardly as a lie left his mouth. "Not really. You?"

"I know I said moving in with my extended family was probably going to be a pain in the butt, but I actually learned a little about them."

Lincoln raised a brow. "How so?"

"Turns out my Tio Carlos used to be a REALLY GOOD skateboarder. It took some convincing, but I managed to get him to teach me a few moves. He still takes up the board sometimes, but only stopped cause Tia Frida worried too much..." The Loud could picture the annoyed frown on her face.

Lincoln managed a chuckle. "Sounds cool."

"Yeah, it was; almost broke my board doing one of his moves." Ronnie gave a light huff. "Those stupid cats did it anyways..."

"The stray cats are still giving you guys trouble?"

"It's a big city Lame-O, there's gonna be TONS of strays running around." More shuffling was heard. "Being tight on cash, me and Sid started a dog-walking gig to get a new one."

Lincoln squinted an eye. "Uh...do you have experience walking dogs? I mean, you didn't have a pet when you were here."

"Hey, I've walked Lalo a couple times; that has to count for something." Lincoln remembered the big Mastiff mutt. Given the size difference between him and Ronnie Anne, Lincoln was pretty sure it was the other way around. Not that he'd say it out loud. "Anyway, let's just say it was going well; until we literally bit off more than we could chew."

A wry smile formed on the Loud's lips. "Too many dogs?"

"Yep...well, it wasn't too bad; it's just kinda hard controlling seven dogs. Heck, the stray cats might be more willing to cooperate, and they scared the poop out of the dogs." The Hispanic girl chuckled, earning one from Lincoln. "Oh, and by the way, didn't you go to an Ace Savvy convention last weekend?"

Whatever good feelings Lincoln had were turned to dust upon hearing the convention being mentioned. He pulled the phone from his face as he said, "Oh man...did she hear about it too?..." The 11 year old muttered in a nervous tone. Putting the phone to his ear, "Y-Yeah. It was...something alright." His voice didn't sound all optimistic, and there was little doubt that Ronnie noticed that.

"That it?" She chortled. "You wouldn't shut up about it over the last few weeks." The sound of a door opening and footsteps meeting stairs was heard for a brief moment. "Though it's usually not my thing, did anything happen?"

Lincoln bit his lower lip as his other hand tightened into a fist. His stomach was twisting itself into knots recalling what he might consider the most disastrous day of his life. Aside from Clyde, who experienced it with him, he only let his friends in on the damage since it was hard to keep under wraps with all the pranks going on in the school. The last thing he wanted was hearing Ronnie Anne either teasing him or berating him about his actions.

"N-Not really. It was pretty standard like every year." He lied, hoping to put the conversation to rest.

"You sure?" Ronnie asked out of genuine curiosity. "Cause I keep hearing from Bobby about how Lori said you guys were gonna be movie-"

As she talked, Lincoln felt his frustration began to mix with the nervousness in his gut. Both fought for control as the dominant emotion while the Loud shut his eyes, his whole body twitching as his fingernails began digging into his skin. When one emotion won the struggle, Lincoln's face contorted into a harsh glare.

"Nothing happened, ok?! So stop asking about it!" He shouted into the phone. His face reverted back into a nervous glance as it was clear he came out with more hostility than he intended.

Ronnie stopped just before her apartment door as she stared at her phone's screen. A mix of shock and confusion was on her face as she didn't expect such an outburst. Her gaze shifted elsewhere before putting the phone against her ear. "Lincoln, is there something wrong?" She asked in a genuine and caring voice.

Lincoln blinked with wide eyes. He expected her to lash out at him for shouting over the phone or just brush him off with a "whatever" attitude. "Guess being in the city helped her relax or get her to open up more? I mean, she made four new friends after all..." The Loud mulled internally before sighing. "S-Sorry, and...well...look, something did happen, b-but I don't wanna talk about it..."

"That's fine, it's just that...I thought you'd be all excited and stuff."

"...If things happened differently, I would be..." Lincoln pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at the time on the upper part of the screen. Not late enough to be worried, but almost near that point one of his sisters might badger him about where he was. "I-I need to go, ok? Bye..."

Ronnie pursed her lips a little. "...Ok? Bye-" She stopped upon hearing the chime of the call ending.

Staring at her home screen, the only thing Ronalda felt was a mix of worry, confusion, and some irritation thrown in; the latter being brought by the former two because she had no idea what was going on. Given how long she knew Lincoln, him and Ace Savvy were practically joined at the hip; so much so that she threatened to hang up on him a few times if he didn't shut up about it. Heck, he was pretty giddy about the upcoming convention, especially upon mentioning he didn't make it to the last one; didn't explain why either.

But what Ronnie Anne was certain about, whatever happened at the convention that made Lincoln unwilling to talk about it must've been something big, and it was obvious he wouldn't tell her directly. Ronnie may have been brash, but she wasn't stupid. Normally when Lincoln was hiding something, it just took a little teasing or hassling from her to make him talk. With this though, she got the feeling he would fight tooth and nail before even uttering about what was upsetting him; and the last thing she wanted was to end up driving a wedge in their friendship because she refused to respect his privacy.

Lincoln often ranted about how little he gets it at home.

So, Ronnie decided she'd have to ask a third party. Looking at her phone, Ronnie knew she didn't have any of Lincoln's sister's numbers, but she did have his best friend's number. Scrolling through her contacts, Ronnie furrowed her brows when she found Clyde's number. She hit the call button, tapping her foot impatiently as the dial tone rung.

"Hi, you've reached Clyde McBride. Unfortunately I'm not at-"

"Ugh..." The tomboy hung up, knowing she just got his voicemail. Putting her hands on her hips, "I don't have his sisters' numbers, and Clyde isn't answering." Her frown increased. "I don't have the other Lame-Os numbers either..." She eyed the steps leading down to the front door. "Bobby should still be in the Mercado, and it's not busy right now..." Ronnie started back down the steps. "So hopefully he can give me something..."

"That's probably one of the last few times I had spoken to Ronnie Anne. She definitely called my phone and computer on more than one occasion since that talk...but I just couldn't pick up..." Present Lincoln spoke in a dejected tone. "I didn't want her finding out what I was going through, partially because I wasn't in the mood to talk about it, and the other...well, I doubted she'd understand what it feels like living in the shadow of 9 or 10 people depending on how you look at it. I mean...Ronnie is a skateboarding pro who I'm pretty sure will have good things coming her way when she's old enough; if she hasn't already. And I doubt she'd continue hanging around someone who has little going for them besides being an assistant since birth..." The depressed teen took a brief pause to gather himself. "Anyway...I might skip the rest of this boring month next time we talk; not like anything that was important happened from what I recall..."

A/N: Sorry for the late update, been rather busy with job arrangements and whatnot. But with this done, things can hopefully pick up speed. Lincoln's self reflection has yet to fully run its course before he comes to his ultimate conclusion; and just will Lucy be doing in the meantime as she witnesses things continue to spiral downhill?