A Hellish Forever

Ch.6: Coming Together

That evening, Nifty was strolling through the lobby, which found itself deserted. Lincoln had been taken to see a movie by Charlie, with the others going along. It was a way to make Lincoln forget the events of earlier that day.

For her part, Nifty was happy. Katie had not been mean. Simply put, Lincoln had blacked out.

Nifty hummed as she dusted the coffee table. She had been invited to go, but she did not like movie theaters. She had died at one.

Her thoughts turned as she gave a soft smile. "Don't worry Lincoln. I know what's going on. Alastor tells me everything". A few minutes later, Nifty's routine got interrupted as a ring echoed from the doorbell. The adult teenybopper strided over, opening the door.

The next day was Lincoln's 12th birthday. And Nifty had a plan.

Waking up the next day feeling refreshed instead of not, Lincoln shuffled over to the window, looking outside. It was a rainy one. The forecast was a light steady rain through the day.

He smiled as he thought of the previous night. Charlie had taken him to see Black Widow, which she also enjoyed. "I'm comfortable", Lincoln concluded, suddenly jerking around as Vaggie opened the door. "Happy birthday Lincoln", she smiled. She then surprised the boy as she set a rectangular wrapped package on his bed. "Open it."

Crossing across the room to his bed, he unwrapped it to see a light blue diary. "You have a lot of thoughts right now. You need a space to vent freely."

Vaggie then yelped as Lincoln hugged her. She chuckled. If only she liked men in a romantic way.

Giggling, she led Lincoln downstairs. Things were far too quiet. By this point in the day, (9 AM), everyone was usually awake. And they were back from the theater by 9 the previous night.

Going to say something, Lincoln then heard a loveable cacophony shout:

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Lincoln blinked as he observed the scene. Charlie was holding an Ace Savvy cap in her hands with a wide smile. Alastor gestured to a load of presents on the couch. Husker was giving a genuine smile, ready to serve Lincoln a slice of German Chocolate. Nifty was taking pictures with a laugh. And Angel was sitting on the couch with 4 demons Lincoln had not met to this point.

The IMP's.

Lincoln opened his mouth and closed it. What could he say? These...they had done this for him? They only knew him for 4 days! It was all too much. Vaggie had to hold Lincoln tightly as the poor boy nearly fainted, electing a chuckle from the crowd.

"Did we lay it on too thick?", Moxie asked his wife with concern, clasping her hands. Blitz laughed. "Nah..I think he was shocked from my devilish looks." Loona could only shake her head as she stood, walking over to Vaggie. Lincoln had recovered and had stood straight, waiting for his balance to return.

"Yeah...12. That's awesome kid", Loona smiled, grinning at the kid. "Names Loona. Charlie tell you about us?"

Lincoln nodded slowly as he processed the hellhound. The previous day, Charlie had taken him aside and filled him in.

Vaggie let go of Lincoln. Lincoln for his part thought Loona was beautiful. Something about her was so pretty, but he could not put a finger on it.

Blitz observed this with a frown. "Dammit Loona! He's a kid. Calm yourself!" Blitz then took a deep breath. She was trying to make Lincoln comfortable. He pushed down the idea of Loona liking Lincoln. Not because he hated humans mind you. He had his job sure. If anything, he felt bad for him. Being away from his sisters like this. At least he had his.

By this point, Lincoln had walked over to the presents. "You guys. You didn't have to go this far."

"Nonsense", Millie finally spoke. "Ya are part of our family. And that's that."

Lincoln froze as he heard this. Family. A weird one, to be sure. But they had taken care of him. He needed to let it go. His fear and insecurities.

The group smiled widely as Lincoln sat next to the presents. Blitz walked on over, squatting in front of Lincoln. "Hey kid. Before you start, know you're welcome here. We can be assholes, but never to someone as sweet as you."

A few tears streamed down Lincolns face as he nodded. "T-thank you Blitz."

Blitz nodded. "Never fear us. What lies underneath is what's important. Not the outer shell."

It was about 45 minutes after that the presents had been unwrapped. And it was amazing. Books and clothes. A VR set from Alastor. A few DVD's. It was much more than he could have ever imagined.

He was so preoccupied in his thoughts that he did not notice Millie had sat next to him. She giggled a bit. Husker was cutting up the cake. Blitz had stepped away to discuss something with Charlie and Vaggie. Loona was outside having a Cigarette.

"Enjoying yourself?", Millie asked as she brushed his hand. Startled, Lincoln jumped a few feet, calming when he saw it was Millie. "Yeah...thank you for the shorts Millie." Millie smiled.

"No problem Lincoln", she grinned. "You know... me and my husband... we like to partner up with someone else sometimes. Have some 3-way fun. And there's someone nearby that'd make a great time."

Lincoln sweated bullets at hearing this. He was not ready for any of that. "Uhh. I..."

Millie was confused. "Are ya okay?"

Lincoln coughed. "W-why do you want me?"

A snort. A chuckle. Millie could not take it as she laughed. "Oh Lincoln... I didn't mean you! I meant Nifty", she smiled. "Though...hmm...I could possibly..."

"No aging spells", Moxie said laughing as he sat next to his wife. Millie pouted as Lincoln shook his head. What a crazy family.

As all the celebrations had died down, Lincoln was preparing to head upstairs to rest for a bit. Before he did though, Charlie walked over. "Hey Lincoln. Blitz was wondering if you would accompany him to his boyfriends for tonight."

Charlie went on to explain that he needed a good ear, as did his daughter. And Lincoln was thought of as the right man for the job.

It was time for another story to be told.

A/N: Hope you guys are enjoying this! 4 to go!