A/N: Sorry for the delay, after months of writers block and busy work schedule, I finally managed to come around the story. Next one will be the last as well as an epilogue
Days have turned into weeks as middle-child focused on his artwork. Lincoln started to find himself less bored as he received his materials. Soon as the pencil was in his hand, the boy let his creativity take over. Whatever popped into his mind, he constructed it on paper. And thanks to Rita getting him an artist kit, there was no shortage of paper. Sure, Lincoln may have had a few blocks, but did not let that stop the ambition.
Still worried about his condition, the members of the Loud household would do routine check-ups on Lincoln. At the least, they were glad that Lincoln did not was not moping around anymore, let alone attempting anything dangerous. Nevertheless, the family was far from curing his depression, yet every step had counted. So long as Lincoln focused on his productive activity, they dared not bothered him. The last thing the household wanted was to put pressure on Lincoln.
"Lincoln! Dad says dinner is ready," Lola walked in. Lincoln did not answer as his eyes focused on his artwork. "Lincoln!" Lola shouted in Lincoln's ear, breaking out of his trance.
"Oh Lola, it's you, what is it?" Lincoln inquired, just now noticing his little sister.
"Dinner is ready Lincoln, dad ordered Chinese Takeout," Lola reminded him.
"Oh I'm not hungry Lola, just a little busy, you guys can have my share," Lincoln declined, still focused on his piece.
Lola took a sigh, "I'll just tell dad to save yours for tomorrow."
"Thanks, Lola," Lincoln replied.
As Lola went to the door, the little princess found herself looking back at Lincoln with a worried expression. Lincoln could immediately sense it as he turned to face Lola. He rose from his seat touched Lola's head, giving his sister the tiniest assuring smile. "I'll be fine little sis, don't worry about me."
"Will you play with me when you are all better, Linky?" Lola asked innocently.
"Of course I will, I promised," He said making a pinky swear, which was one of the agreements he promised to his sisters.
"Are you still jealous of us Linky?" Lola held her head down, hesitating on the question.
The question was a sensitive subject as Lincoln did not answer. Lola could already read his silent expression.
"It's alright; I don't blame you, probably be the same way if I always been outshined."
With both hands on the princess's shoulders, Lincoln replied, "Don't worry about it too much Lola.."
Lincoln made it through his final week of summer school. Once again, Ms. Dimartino happily gave him a passing grade, now that all of his assignments were made up. No longer Lincoln felt left behind as he was set to move onto the next class. Lincoln's time with Ronnie Anne even started to increase, helping each other get through the school day.
"Lincoln, is your weekend free?" Ms. Dimartino inquired.
"No, it isn't, why," Lincoln curiously asked.
"I'd like you to assist me with something, as a personal favor if you don't mind," Ms. Dimartino urged Lincoln with a wink.
"Okay, sure thing."
When school came to a close, Lincoln took a detour home. He went from looking at art at the museum to checking out painted ones on the walls. Even if they weren't legal, the paintings still had very nice details. Lincoln looked with fascination at the many pieces displayed. With what Lincoln had worked on, he wondered what could be missing.
Still, whoever done the art Lincoln respected their creativity. Most of the graffiti reminded Lincoln of a story from his Ace Savvy comics where the heroes faced off with a paint villain.
As suggested by his mother, the middle-child went to visit Pop-pop, since he missed out on him coming to the house. The elderly man regular face turned into a grin, excited to see Lincoln. Too bad the feeling was not mutual on Lincoln as he still felt saddened, even in Albert's embrace.
"What? No hug from your old man," Albert said.
"Sorry Pop-pop, I guess I have not been feeling like myself lately," Lincoln sadly replied.
"Lincoln; Rita and Lynn told me about your problem," Albert reminded him. The older adult took a seat next to his grandson. "When your mom and dad decided to have a big family, I warned them about the sibling rivalries that will occur. Nevertheless, it was not something the kids could work out for themselves." Lincoln still held his head down. "Like your parents, I never played favorites even with your sister's many achievements."
Lincoln looked at his artwork; he drew as Albert did the same. "Would this be my achievement?" Lincoln asked with uncertainty.
"I don't know kiddo; you'd be surprised how many people's art makes it into an industry of some sort."
"You think so?"
"I know so kiddo. There is no such thing as a person without skills. Just because your sisters found their passions, does not mean you can. And so long as you have time on your side, it will bloom eventually."
"I don't know Pop-pop."
Albert handed Lincoln's artwork back. "This is only the start of what you are capable of, so go from there. Work hard at that passion, not just for your family, but yourself."
Lincoln gave a small smile to his grandpa. It may not have been a big happy face, yet it was a start. The boy leaned onto his grandfather's chest as Albert held him close. Then soon, Lincoln embraced his Pop-pop back, feeling emotional comfort.
"No matter what you win or don't win, I'll always be proud of my grandchildren," Albert told Lincoln. "And don't forget to make up with your sisters when this is all over."
"Yeah, I got it," Lincoln knew.
Lincoln took his destination somewhere else. Along his travels, the boy accidentally crashed into someone. While both on the ground, the loud child helped the person back on her feet.
"I'm so sorry," He said, helping up the person, then discovered a familiar face.
"It's alright," the emo individual brushed off herself. The person was the girl Luan had known. Upon recognition, she asked, "Hey, aren't you that idiot that nearly ruin my part with your stupid clown acts?"
Lincoln did not want an unfortunate reminder. "Unfortunately," he said in a sad tone. Immediately, Lincoln brushed off the comment and proceeded to pick up his drawing paper.
Usually, she did not care for predicaments like this, but Lincoln sad expression was enough to pull her heartstrings, assisting Lincoln. Lincoln's emo face was enough to put her face to shame. Like everyone else, Maggie became impressed with the artistic skills.
"Did you draw all of this?" Maggie asks Lincoln.
Lincoln received the papers from Maggie. "Yeah, what about it?"
"They are quite nice," Maggie stammered for a compliment as she was usually not the happy type.
"Uh, thanks, I guess," Lincoln replied with surprise that Maggie said something kind to him. At the least, he was expecting another insult.
"Maybe you should consider this," Maggie gave Lincoln a flyer for an art contest. "I'm sure you'll be a shoo-in. Art can express many things."
Those words echoed through Lincoln's head. The same words told by Frida Casagrande. Hesitant as he was at first, figured it could not hurt, considering how many people praise his art. Lincoln envisioned having a trophy to call his own. Thus he would not feel like the less talented one. It's an opportunity calling to his door in hopes to get him out of this funk.
When the afternoon came to a close, Lincoln returned home. The first place, he arrived was the fridge, grabbing a drink. Before the middle-child turned his back, the emo sister appeared behind, once again causing Lincoln shrieked.
"For crying out loud Lucy, can't you appear in front of people for a change?" Lincoln complained.
"Sorry, Lincoln, but I need a word that rhymes with love," Lucy suggested.
"Working on your poems again, huh?" Lincoln suspected. "How about above?"
"Thanks; and it's for something else, but don't worry, it's not for a contest."
"Whatever you say Lucy, good luck on whatever you are doing," Lincoln said casually walking away. Like Lola, Lucy could sense bitterness and sadness in her brother. They had to do something.
Saturday noon, Lincoln went to his destination. As instructed, travels took him to Royal Woods Homeless Shelter. He wondered what the personal favor was. It indeed showed from all the homeless people lined up. It was like lining up for a concert.
"Lincoln, over here," The substitute teacher called out. Lincoln walked over to the teacher. "There is work to be done," She said, handing out an apron and hairnet.
As told, Lincoln got a clear idea of what was going on. Right by Ms. Dimartino, he assisted in soup, serving for the unfortunate. From each expression, it reminded the boy of the man and him being homeless.
"Once in a while, I like to volunteer my time to help the unfortunate," Ms. Dimartino told Lincoln. "My grandfather was also homeless."
Lincoln watched as the substitute gave a hopeful smile to the homeless she served. If only Lincoln could be like that. Still, he did do his best to be optimistic. At least, Lincoln barely saw his homeless self in these people. There were a large group of homeless men and women. All of them once had something, but now have nothing.
In the meantime, while Lincoln was busy doing his own thing, the loud sisters occupied themselves at the nearby mall. Each of them did their part in keeping Lincoln in suspense as he thought that his sisters were weird again. Still, the only boy did not bother to pry.
Outside the trip to the mall, Lana caught a whiff of ascent. The tomboy curiosity grew as she spotted Lincoln. Soon the girls followed wondering about the middle-child. They hope Lincoln was not up to anything harmful.
"Here you go sir," Lincoln said, serving the plate for the man. When Lincoln gave a hopeful smile, the homeless smiled back.
"That man will be in my prayers," Ms. Dimartino hoped.
"How can a university professor like him be homeless?" Lincoln asked curiously looking at the man.
"Sometimes unfortunate things just happen with no rhyme or reason Lincoln," Ms. Dimartino answered in a sympathetic tone.
"Lincoln!" The loud girls cried, seeing their brother.
"Hey, guys, what are you doing here?" He inquired. "Don't you have that discount sale at the mall?"
"Yeah we did, but unfortunately Leni got soon mixed up with noon and soon," Lori had told.
"I thought they were the same word," Leni said, causing the sisters to slap their foreheads at Leni's cluelessness.
"I see, that's too bad."
"So what are you doing?"
Ms. Dimartino placed her hand on Lincoln's shoulder. "Oh my little helper is just assisting me for today, no strings attached."
"Sweet, can we help?" Luna asked.
"Of course, the more, the merrier," Ms. Dimartino invited.
"Ugh, feeding dirty people is not how I want to spend my Saturday." Lola groaned in disgust.
Lincoln nudged Lola and handed her an apron. "Hey be nice Lola, not a lot of them are here because of bad choices, like it or not homeless people are still people."
"Lincoln's right Lola, and it's our job to give them help so they can get back on their feet," Lori put on her apron and hair nodding in agreement.
The sisters joined Lincoln and Ms. Dimartino, the people in need. For boredom and Lincoln's sake, the girls helped Lincoln from giving them donated clothes and blankets to assist in the kitchen. Like Lincoln, they are providing their best optimistic attitudes they could. With the adverse circumstances that surrounded them, the unfortunate was going to need all the faith they could.
Also, Lincoln had to keep track of his sisters from doing anything foolish. That list would include him and the girls stopping Lana a few times from eating the soup made for the poor, as well as preventing Lisa from doing crazy experiments, or Lola and Leni critiquing their dirty clothes. Then again, perhaps Lincoln was overthinking, surely his sisters could not be insensitive. They have done some charity work before
After the job was complete, Lincoln told the girls to go home without as needing to make one last stop. He decided to revisit the homeless man, only to find him not at his usual spot. Lincoln hoped nothing terrible happened to the poor guy. Instead, Lincoln saw the man across the street. Didn't know how long the homeless man was there as he kept staring at the tech store. By the time Lincoln caught up, the Lincoln had noticed the homeless man had a different appearance.
Rather than the old raggedy clothes, the homeless man dressed in casual wear of a dress shirt and Khaki's pants. He also been shaved and got a nice clean haircut. Lincoln almost confused him for someone else by how clean the male looked.
"Hey; it's you," He greeted Lincoln.
"You're looking nice today," Lincoln complimented the man.
"Thanks, this was given to me by goodwill. It took a while, but I finally got a place to stay at temporary."
"That's great to hear Mr…" Lincoln tried to guess the name.
"Blendstone, Marcus Blendstone," He introduced offering a handshake. "I guess we are late with the introductions aren't we?"
"Lincoln Loud," Lincoln shook Marcus hand back.
"I thought a lot about what you said the other day and your right. Nothing is more important than family, which is why I'm planning on seeing my family, even if chances are they moved on without me. But I don't blame them if they did."
"I'm sure they will be happy to see you no matter what," Lincoln assured the man.
"Thanks, kid, I hope so too, it's been a long time," Marcus said. "Outside from that, I'm also getting myself back on my feet with job opportunities lined up for me, by starting somewhere and working my way up." Marcus looked at Lincoln. "You gave me hope kid, and for that I thank you."
Marcus offered Lincoln a fist bump, and Lincoln responded. "Don't live your life in misery, kid; you still got years ahead of you." As Marcus left, Lincoln looked back on the homeless man. By the way, the sun shines brightly upon him; it became clear the future was ahead of him. But like Lincoln, he just took it a few steps at a time.
When the white-haired child made it to his room, the first task was his art, but not before answering a phone call.
"Hey, Lincoln," Clyde greeted.
"Hey Clyde, what's up?" Lincoln said back.
"I know it's been a while, but I thought I'd come to check-in. How are you holding up, buddy?"
"I had a few bumps on the road, but other than that I'm fine," Lincoln replied, not wanting to be reminded of Rita's harsh actions. "I found something productive, and I saw a therapist. I met with Dr. Lopez."
"Really?" Clyde answered with surprise. "You met Dr. Lopez?"
"Yup, she is what you described, intelligent and wise. Now I can see why you and your family talk about her so much."
"Well I'm glad to hear your getting better Lincoln," Clyde responded. "Either way, I'll catch you later."
"Alright, talk to you again soon Clyde," Lincoln hung up the phone.
With the competition on his mind, he started to expand on the art. Whatever his thoughts popped up, Lincoln began to construct it on paper. It went from minutes to hours as he worked by himself with no interruptions from his sisters.
Throughout the day, the rockstar took in everything her best friend said about her faults. The reminders made Luna feel worse about herself. Nevertheless, it did not seem hopeless. As she told her brother, it was never too late for change, so perhaps it was time to follow her advice as she attended a meeting.
"Thank you for sharing with us Waldo, so who would like to go next?" The counselor announced.
Luna lifts her hand as she got permitted to stand. "Hello everyone, my name is Luna Loud," Luna stuttered a bit.
"Hi, Luna!" Everyone greeted in unison.
She cleared her throat. "I'm here today because I have a problem. It is a problem that caused a strain to my friends and family. Honestly, I don't know how to fix that problem, but I'm willing to start somewhere, and that is why I came here."
"Well you came to the right place, Luna, we're here to help each other in everyone's time of need," The counselor gave encouraging words. "And the first step among the process is admitting the problem, which is always the hardest step."
Like a good student, Luna stood around for the classes. The rockstar watched as each person had their own story to tell about addition. Some came of their own free will, others like Luna we're court-ordered. Never did Luna imagine that she would ever fall into that trap.
Luna could remember the day witnessing the disappointment on her son's face. She even had lashed out on Mickey which the rocker had regret. Fearing that her son would hate her, Luna kept her distance for a while. Where to begin on the list as she pondered with some coffee.
"It's good to see you here, mate," A voice came from behind. Luna turned around to see her old roadie, now older. The grey hairs were a clear sign. Luna spared no expense embracing Chuck as he hugged back.
"How are you feeling?" Luna asked.
"I'm on chemotherapy, but feeling hopeful," Chuck happily replied. "I'm not going down without a fight on this one."
Luna placed her hand on her roadie shoulder. "I'm glad to hear you're doing okay dude, I was worried."
"I'm more worried about you given your circumstances."
"That reminds me, thanks for bailing me out of jail again," Luna thanked.
Chunk nudge Luna's shoulder. "If you want to make it up to me, start by getting your act together, mate." Chunk lectured Luna, which she did not like, but endured it. "I meant what I said before. If I get another call about you in jail again, then you are on your own, got it?"
Luna nodded silently.
"You should give your son a call as well as Sam," Chunk concluded.
Luna had much to think about; from helping her brother to making amends with her best friend. She was fortunate to have Chunk. Even if Chunk was no longer her roadie, he was still a loyal friend.
Luna's next task was visiting her brother as each day she was happy that Lincoln's condition did not worsen. As she made it to the hospital room, Luna took a quick breath. When entered, Lincoln was wide awake. Funny how Luna thought he'd be asleep by this time.
Upon first glance, Luna greeted Lincoln. "Hey."
"Hey," Lincoln said back.
Luna took a seat on the bed. "How are you feeling bro?"
"Doctor says I should get discharged in a week, so nothing too serious," Lincoln sat up. "Aside from that, I never thought the dumpster food would taste better than hospital grub, and everything is so sugar-free like they think I'm a diabetic."
Luna gave a slight chuckle. "Well, lucky for you bro, I managed to smuggle you in a nice Burp-N-Burger," Luna pulled a wrapped burger from her jacket pocket.
"Thanks, sis, your the best. It's nice to know that you still have my back."
"Bro, we are family, I'll always have your back no matter what," Luna promise, covering Lincoln's hand.
As they exchanged smiles, there was a moment of silence. When a subject came to mind, Lincoln started. "So how is your son like?"
"Like you, Mick is creative and ambitious. He has quite the imagination like you had when you were little," Luna explained. "He's so adorable. I think about snuggling him in my sleep."
"You two must be close," Lincoln thought.
"We sure are," Luna's happy face started to transform into a frown. "At least for a while."
"What do you mean?"
Luna took a sad sigh. "Bro; I made some mistakes."
"Luna I'm sure whatever it is can't amount to my many misfortunes."
Luna shook her head. "You don't understand bro. I messed up big time on my friends and family, my son," Luna cried.
Now the homeless loud started to feel empathy for his sister. Lincoln covered his hand over Luna's. Suddenly, Lincoln felt like his problem was small compared to Luna. Then again, it has been years since contact with his sister or his family. Luna snorted as she wipes the tears from her eyes.
"Like you told me Luna; it's never too late to start over," Lincoln reminded. The same advice she gave him before.
"Yeah, it's not," Luna sobbed a bit. "I got my things to work out, but I'll come to revisit you. Stay strong little bro," Luna gave Lincoln a peck on the forehead as she left.
For the next few hours, Luna occupied the television in her room. After that, she spent another hour talking on the phone with her son. Just hearing Mick's voice was enough to put a smile on Luna's face. Luna only wished that happiness was also on the inside.
Over time spent, Luna sent Sam a text asking to meet up. There was no immediate response. The rocker gave it a few more minutes, still nothing. Luna knew there was conflict between them, not that she could not blame her.
Luna gave up around midnight. She fell into slumberland, hoping the next day will be better. Before a dream could occur, there were knocks on the door. The beats grew louder by every non-response. It was disturbing her sleep.
"Damnit! Who the hell is knocking on my damn door at this hour?" Luna got annoyed. She was ready to give the visitor a piece of her mind.
Upon opening, Luna froze on sight as Sam was revealed to be at the door.
"Sam," Luna said with surprise.
"Hey Lunes, long time," Sam greeted awkwardly.
The two rockin females looked the opposite direction thinking where to start with this encounter. Since it had been years, the awkwardness only increased. The first couple of seconds went from stuttering to silence.
Luna swallow spits nervously. "So how is everything?" Luna asked with hesitation as her mouth went dry.
"Pretty good, I suppose," Sam answered back also tense.
The girls rotated their heads towards each other. As their eyes met, the barrier got broken. "I see you got your haircut, pretty cool," Luna paid a compliment.
"Thanks, although keeping the blue streak was a tall order," Sam twirled her hair strands. "So how is your son?"
"He's good, he's with his aunt and grandparents, but we will see each other soon. I've been missing that little dude," Luna puffed out smoke.
"I'm sure he's been missing you too Lunes," Sam encouraged with a hand on Luna's back. "Unlike his father, you're the only person in his life."
"Speaking of which, how about you found anyone special?" Luna asked.
"Yeah, he's from the band, you remember George?" Sam answered.
"Really? You two are dating?" Luna inquired with surprise.
"Yep, we have been for years, sorry Lunes."
Luna shook her head, don't apologize, I'm happy for you," Luna said with both happiness and disappointment. Luna blew out more smoke from her vape pen. Sam noticed the fruity smoking.
"So, what is that?" Sam wondered.
"Oh this is a Vape Pen, it's similar to smoking but quite different," Luna continued to blow out smoke. "From what I experienced, it certainly hassles and stress-free as normal cigarettes."
"Really?"
"You want to give it a try?" Luna inquired offering her Vape Pen.
Sam was a big fan of cigarettes as she looked at the pen cautiously. Still, if Luna was able to put up with vaping, so shall Sam. Sam grasps the vape pen. As she inhaled the juice, Sam felt her throat tickle. The stuff caused her to cough out the smoke. Luna laughed as this was natural for any new smokers. To Sam, it seems harmless.
After the last cough, Sam caught her breath. "Sorry Lunes, I guess Vaping is…"
"Not one of your things," Luna assumed.
"Well yeah," Sam blush with embarrassment.
"Just like old times," Luna reminisced.
When the old memory came into Sam's head, she laughed. Whether it was the irony or the reunion, Luna and Sam could not stop laughing. Even after all these years, that part of them did not change. Throughout the day, the conversation continued. The two talked about the old times, ranging from high school to college. Each reminder would lead to laughter and groans. They were like a dynamic duo. With them together, Luna and Sam felt that they could tackle any obstacle.
Even if Sam had found someone else, Luna would not take her eyes off the blue streak blonde. No matter how much of those feelings were there, things were not the way they were anymore. Nevertheless, with Sam here, Luna felt a bright light shined upon her. Then again, maybe it could have been the streetlight above them.
While realizing her current situation, Luna's smile disappeared. "Sam," Luna called, causing the blonde to turn to Luna. "I'm sorry." Sam lifted a curious eyebrow. "I know it may not mean much now, but I am trying to change. It's just with my homeless brother and all; it's taking some time."
Sam placed her hands on Luna's hands. "I know Lunes, and the fact that you are making an effort makes me happy."
"I just want us to be friends again."
"I will always be your friend Lunes, despite our differences," Sam guaranteed. "Look, I know it's going to be a tough sell, but I will try to convince the others to let you back in. The band is not the same without you."
Luna gave a tearful smile.
"I gotta get back," Sam checked her watch. "But it was good to see you again, Lunes. And I hope your brother gets better."
"Thanks, Sam," Luna wiped away the tears. As they faced each other, Luna and Sam gave a farewell hug.
"I'll be waiting for you, Lunes," Sam said among the embrace.
The loudest child watched as Sam left her, serving as a hopeful reminder of what she needed. As she clenched her fist, Luna's path became very clear. Sure it was going to take some time but was not going to let that stop her. When she fell back into her room, Lunes gave her son a call.
After resting a bit, Lincoln resumed his work. Now that the contest was on his mind, it gave him a reason to work hard. The boy did not stop, nor could he with the number of ideas in his head. As Lincoln figured out that he was out of the water, he stepped out to get some. On his travels, Lincoln did not see that the twins were by his door, doing their routine check-up. By how Lincoln paid no attention to the twins, it seems like the boy was getting healthy.
Little did Lincoln know one of the sisters peeked through the crack door. Once again, doing their check-up on the middle-child. While Lucy saw Lincoln occupied, she took off. As the emo met up with the sisters, she gave her status report.
When reported back to the other sisters, their task became apparent.
"Is the project ready? Lori inquired.
"Affirmative eldest sibling, it is good to go," Lisa ensured.
"Excellent, then this will help Lincoln," Lori stated.