"You'll never catch me alive!"

"Get over here!"

4-year-old Lincoln and 6-year-old Lynn Jr. were playing around together in their bedroom, as roommates. It was a cute little game of chase between two little kids, brother and sister.

"I've got you!" said Lynn Jr., reaching her hand to Lincoln.

"Not even close!" said Lincoln playfully, running to stay ahead of her.

"Gotcha!" shouted Lynn Jr., making a grab with both of her hands, but Lincoln dived to her bed.

"Ha! Too slow!"

"Ooooh, you're so gonna regret that, Lincoln!" said Lynn Jr., watching her little brother climb onto her bed. He turned around and while lying on the bed stuck his foot out to stop his sister from touching him. He was giggling like mad. "Hey! That's cheating!" Lynn Jr. giggled, Lincoln's foot on her cheek. Their merry chase continued, Lincoln crawling away as Lynn Jr. got onto her bed. "You're getting better, but I'm still faster!" Her competitive side was still strong in her. "And I always get you!" Lincoln made his way to the edge of the bed, but his shoe snagged on a bedsheet. "Ha! I got you now!" said Lynn Jr., not noticing. "You can't keep-" Tripping, Lincoln fell off the bed and flat on his face. "Oh, Geez Louise..." murmured Lynn Jr., seeing her little brother get hurt. Lincoln got up on his hands and knees, looking like he was going to cry, so Lynn Jr. quickly tended to him. "Lincoln! Are you okay? Does it hurt? Let me take a look at it." She gently held his face in her hands. "Oh, it's okay, bro," she cooed. "Just a little bump. You're gonna be okay, champ." Lincoln began to shed a few tears. "Don't worry, we can take five and-" Lynn Jr. started to say.

"Lynn?" came the voice of one of the older sisters. "What's going on? We heard something." Three other voices joined in.

"Is Lincoln with you?"

"Did something happen?"

"Are you guys okay?"

"Uh-oh..." Lynn Jr. said softly, knowing that she'd likely receive another chewing out.

"What's going on here?" 10-year-old Lori entered the room along with Leni, Luna, and Luan, each sister a year younger than the next.

"H-hey guys!" said Lynn Jr., nervously trying to brush them off. "We're just playing! Nothing to worry about."

"Playing?" Lori sneered. "You sure? 'Cause that would literally imply you're both having fun."

"Hey! Linc's having fun!"

"Then why is he crying?"

"He just fell! It was an accident!"

"Aw, come here, Linky!" said Leni, tending to little Lincoln with her kindness. The other sisters weren't about to let Lynn Jr. off the hook, though.

"It's literally always an accident with you, Lynn," Lori scolded.

"Yeah, and it never happens to you," said Luan.

"You're not very careful, sis," Luna warned. "You have to play nicer." Lynn Jr. was forced to be on the receiving end of her older sister's words coming down on her, always blaming her for Lincoln getting hurt, even by accident.

"Look, we know you like playing with Linc," Lori went on. "But he's literally not like you, Lynn."

"He can't keep up with what you do," Luan added.

"You put him through so much pressure," said Luna.

"You're not very nurturing," Luan pointed out.

"Have you ever asked him what he wants to do?" questioned Lori as Lynn Jr. grew sadder and sadder.

"You need to start thinking about his feelings," Luan insisted.

"You two are very close," said Lori. "But he always ends up crying." The poor little sports-loving girl could take no more. Shoving her way past Lori and Luna, she ran out of the room. "Ouch!" cried Lori.

"Hey!" said Luna.

"Wait!" Lincoln called out. "Lynn!" But Lynn Jr. kept running to get away from her older sisters, ashamed of herself and her methods of playing with her little brother. "You guys, that was super mean!" Lincoln was angry as Leni helped him to his feet. "We were just playing tag! You didn't have to tell her all that stuff! I can take care of myself just fine!" Luna watched Lynn Jr. run off before joining her other sisters in talking to Lincoln.

"Why do you keep defending her?" asked Luan.

"Yeah, we're literally not the bad guys here, little brother," said Lori, a bit prideful, but trying to make a point.

"We just don't like seeing you get hurt all the time, you know?" Luan reasoned.

"Look, we're not saying she's doing this on purpose," Luna said rather gently, trying to put it to Lincoln delicately or tactfully. "She's just too... eager to play rough and she can't control her strength."

"I know you're a boy," said Leni. "But have you, like, tried to ask her to be a bit less rough?"

"I'm not a baby!" Lincoln shouted, facing his older sisters defiantly.

"No one's saying-" began Luna, but Lincoln swiftly cut her off to stand his ground.

"I know what you're saying!" he insisted. "You think I can't keep up with Lynn, but that's not true! I like playing with her!"

"Maybe you like it," Lori retorted. "But every time you play with her, you get hurt!"

"Not true!" Lincoln said, trying to counter the oldest sister.

"It's literally true," said Lori firmly.

"It's not! She doesn't hurt me! That's not true!" So the sisters came up with a bunch of times that Lynn Jr. hurt Lincoln or got him hurt, with Lincoln trying to counterargue at every turn.

"What about the time with the basketball?" asked Lori, remembering that Lincoln got socked in the face with the ball.

"She was just trying to teach me to dribble!" Lincoln countered.

"She made you jump from the swing on Friday and you got hit super hard," said Luna.

"She was going to catch me!" Lincoln said, a little desperate.

"And what happened?"

"I didn't make it far enough..."

"Didn't you two, like, have a fight last weekend?" asked Leni. "You were crying."

"Well... yeah, but that's different!" said Lincoln.

"I thought she totes hurt your feelings."

"She did... but she felt bad and she apologized. We never stay mad at each other."

"And that's fine," said Luan. "But if she makes you try Leni's bike without training wheels and you get hurt... that's not okay, Lincoln."

"Stop saying it like she doesn't care!" cried Lincoln. "She does! She was trying to teach me to ride a bike! You never want to teach me!"

"Because you can get hurt!"

"Stop treating me like a baby! I love playing with you too," he proceeded to say to all four of his older sisters. "But you always treat me like a kid! Like a baby! You're always busy with your acts, and music, and grownup stuff, and you never have time for me! Lynn still lets me play with her! And sometimes I trip or I don't catch the balls, but I don't care! I can take it, but you guys act like I don't! You don't wanna play with me and you don't like how Lynn plays! What am I supposed to do, then?!"

"Lincoln..." said Lori, trying to be gentle and reasonable. She knelt down to Lincoln's level, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry if we've been neglecting you. You know we love you. You're our brother. I know that she's the closest with you, and of course she cares about you. We all do. I'm just saying, she needs to take it easier so you don't get hurt, or at least not literally all the time. And it's not just you. She's like that with everyone, and if she keeps it like that, she'll push everyone away sooner or later... even you." She stood up. "Not everyone can keep up with her, and if she's not careful, she might end up on her own. We're telling her this because we love her and we want what's best for her." The four sisters began to leave the room together. "Think about it," Lori finished, leaving Lincoln to stare down at the floor sadly.

A little while later, Lincoln went around to the back of the house and found Lynn Jr., her hands wrapped around her knees and her head down. He must have thought about his sisters said, surely.

"I hoped I would find you here," said Lincoln. "Are you okay? I talked to the girls, they... They don't really mean what they said." Lynn Jr. didn't seem convinced of that. She didn't even budge an inch. "They were just worried," Lincoln assured her. "I'm sorry I cried. It didn't even hurt that much. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"..." Lynn Jr. said nothing, only bearing a frown on her sad face.

"Lynn? Lynn, please... talk to me. We can always talk here."

"..."

"They were wrong," Lincoln said, regarding his other older sister. "I do like playing with you..."

"Well, you shouldn't," Lynn Jr. suddenly said.

"Huh?"

"They were right. It always ends with you getting hurt. I don't want that."

"It's not your fault, though."

"Yes it is." Tears began to trickle down the 6-year-old sister's face. "I'm the big sister. I'm supposed to keep you safe and be a role model. Big sisters aren't supposed to hurt their little brothers. I don't want to hurt you. Maybe you should stop playing with me."

"What?! No!"

"You can play with Luna or Leni. They love you too and they won't make you cry like I do. You're gonna be better off with them."

"That's silly! I can play with all of you! Them and you too! I don't care if sometimes I mess up and get hurt," said Lincoln. "Being with you is worth the risk!"

"Maybe for you..." said Lynn Jr. "But I don't want to risk hurting you. What if something bad happens? What if you break an arm or something one day? What if I hurt you so much you end up hating me? I don't wanna risk that." Lincoln remembered that this is what his other sisters were talking about, that if she didn't ease up, she'd be alone and helpless, without a friend in the world because she pushed everyone around her away from her.

"I could never hate you!" Lincoln insisted, despite this.

"You don't know that," Lynn Jr. grumbled.

"I do," said Lincoln. "You're my roomie. We've been together forever. There's no way I'd ever hate you. My sisters are worried about me, but I'm not a baby. I know what I want and I can take care of myself. I love being with you, and I don't care about what other people say, even if they are our sisters. Don't worry about it."

"This is what I'm talking about," said Lynn Jr., showing her sad eyes at last. "You're too nice! I don't deserve it. Why am I like this?" she cried. "I just want to have fun, but it always seems that everyone else gets hurt because of me! Maybe it'd be better if I were to-"

"STOP IT!" Lincoln quickly cut her off, not wanting her to fly in whatever direction she was thinking of. "Listen! Maybe you are a bit too rough. Maybe you take games way too seriously. Maybe you're very competitive. That's true, but that's who you are! You're Lynn Loud Jr.! You're the toughest, bravest girl in the world! You're my sister! You're there for me when I need help. You're there for me when I'm scared of thunderstorms. You're there when other playground kids start picking on me. How is that bad? I know I'm not perfect. I get too scared, I cry too much, I know I sometimes make you guys upset with me, but you still love me, right? Well, I love you too! It doesn't matter if you're not perfect either." A smile was trying to form itself on Lynn Jr.'s face hearing her little brother's kind and loving words. "So please don't be too harsh on yourself," Lincoln went on. "You can always work on your manners and maybe tone it down for everyone else. Ask our mom and dad if you need help! But don't change for me, because... I like you just the way you are." Lynn Jr. smiled, tears still in her eyes. "And I know the girls think the same," continued Lincoln. "Lori said she wanted to make sure you wouldn't push your friends away. I don't think you would, but even if you did, you'll always have me." The two little children shared a loving hug, a tear sliding down Lynn Jr.'s cheek.

You're right, Lincoln, she thought. No matter what happens, we'll always be together.

Of course, as the years went on, things had sadly changed. The Loud parents, Rita and Lynn Sr., had a few more children, Lincoln got his own room and adjusted swiftly to his own private space, and of course, his relationship with his sister Lynn Jr. became conflicted and... complicated. One could say it started when Lynn Jr. dealt with her own living hell in sixth grade in the form of endless teasing and bullying, so she snapped and destroyed her own soft side, becoming the tough and aggressive girl she was more notorious for being. She never wanted to go back, not if it seemed that the only way to get by in the world is to be tough, merciless, aggressive, and even selfish, showing mercy to no one and always looking out for number one. The times she and Lincoln had as little kids, including that one bath they took together, had started to fade to a distant memory...

Lynn Jr. stirred in bed and woke up, her eyes steadily adjusting to the darkness of nighttime in her shared room with Lucy. Looking around, she felt her eyes moisten to the point where she couldn't see a thing. She rubbed her eyes, but felt more tears on the way. The tough persona she once had to be a strong and unrelenting teenager was beginning to fade into obscurity owing to recent events that now plagued her whole family. Lynn Jr. took several deep breaths to calm herself down, but her little brother was always on her mind. Her little brother... whom she nearly destroyed...

"Lynn?" Lucy had also woken up, believing she might have heard the sports fanatic softly sobbing in her sleep.

"Lucy?"

"Are you okay?" the little goth sister asked. "Were you... crying?" Lynn Jr. wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"N-nothing you haven't seen before," she stuttered.

"What's wrong?" asked Lucy. Lynn Jr. just sighed, looking down at her blanket.

"Another dream about him..."

"Rewrite the Stars" original fanfic created by user UnderratedHero