A/N: I want to thank everyone who had reviewed so far. You guys made me write faster. Next chapter will get hotter…I promise. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: The Loud House belongs to Nickelodeon and I do not make any money writing this fic.
Summary: It all began with an innocent look that soared the sporty girl and the man with the plan down a path not meant for them to take together, searing their hearts under siege. LynnColn
A Siege of Hearts
Chapter 9.
The Storm.
Time had seemed to stop to a crawl between Lincoln and Lynn.
Lori was speaking and saying things that he abstinently answered with a smile and tightening his hug around his older sister. It took some time to make Lori to stop trying crushing him to death as he pecked her cheek with a quick smile that receded into a small grin as the tanned girl came closer to his vision.
"Ronnie!" He advanced towards her, hugging her tightly, unaware of the screech that Lynn threw, like a rabid dog about to attack, without realizing it racking her nails into her palms, mouth opening and closing in a display of jealous fury.
Unaware that they were being observed, the Latina sighed blissfully hugging the boy. As they separated she was the first time to take into his appearance.
"You look like hell Lincoln." She sighed, her fingertips tracing the sutures into his flesh, the boy unconsciously flinching, not from the pain, but because he remembered that Lynn was just touching him just this morning; the mere thought of another girl touching him did not sit right well with him, especially with their past story. He quickly dislodged away from her when he felt that the contact had been enough past the limit of friendliness. The separation made the tanned beauty to frown but her expression went away quickly into a friendly grin.
Lori sighed as Bobby comforted her, her hands digging into his to help herself relax.
"We've missed you so much little brother, well NOT so little…"She chuckled. "I am glad that you guys are sound and safe…where's Lynn? And the others?"
The boy blinked as he looked upstairs; through the railing gap he could see Lynn, an enraged and twitching expression on her face. Confusedly, he looked back with a lifted eyebrow, worried. The sportsgirl finally sighed, about to come downstairs herself and get it over with until she felt a hand to wrap around her mouth, the other gripping her right hand, smashing it against her back and pulling it upwards effectively pinning her. She felt her body being tugged down and starting to be dragged backwards.
"Shhhhhhhhhh." Lucy brought her down to her level, putting her head on her shoulders easily achievable with the lowered height between them. "It's just, ah, me." She let go of her, though Lynn was surprised and a little bit enraged as she straightened and turned to face her, she was also extremely impressed. She had never been grappled and pinned down so easily in her life, by such a small person no less and it was perhaps through that slight shred of respect that she would listen to her sister before she crushed her and make her cry uncle.
Lucy made a motion to follow her and she did, back into their room, the sudden opening of the door caused Fangs to screech forcing the Goth to placate its fury by waving at it; rumblings his wings in annoyance the bat perched at the tallest place on the ceiling as Lynn watched in disdain. The Goth sighed sitting on her bed, exposing one of her amethyst eyes, a feature that she had been doing so lately when she wanted to be deadly serious.
"Talk" She demanded.
Lynn's eye twitched. "You cannot just MAKE me talk to whatever thing is on my mind at any moment like if you could fix it."
"No" Lucy admitted. "But it's a start…I saw you."
"What else is new?" Lynn growled looking aside and crossing her arms, shaking. "All you do is behave like a complete creep and as a stalker. Like if you loved sidling around like a dirty snake."
Lucy's eyes widened and it was then when Lynn wished she couldn't see her expression as she was doing at that very same moment. The Sports girl lamented her words immediately, burying her face into her hands with a deep sigh.
"Look…I…I am so-". She almost gurgled in murderous rage at peeling so easily. "I'm jealous alright?" She cringed at how detached her words sounded like, throwing her hands in the air. "I have never felt like this for anybody and then...I…I" She choked on her own words growling in displeasure, not knowing how to express herself and demonstrate what she wanted to do with Ronnie Anne's face.
Lucy nodded, easing some of the hurt she felt deeply inside and understanding that she did not mean it.
"His old flame comes back into the picture. You think that something you just won over is about to be taken away when it was so difficult for you to obtain it…as it's Lincoln's returned affections."
Lynn's eye widened, looking around nervously.
"How…We…I…ugh…". The brunette stammered, struggling to form a coherent answer.
"There are things that you perceive when you observe the world around you; you get to see things that others often failed to catch." She covered her right eye once more. "Sigh….Lynn…this is the first time isn't it? The first time you've been in love?"
Lynn couldn't deny it. It was like she was against the wall and she hated it. It left her feeling caged and trapped and now Lucy was berating her, like a zoo keeper trying to make a trapped animal to feel more comfortable…but no…no…it was just her anger. She was so furious and Lucy was trying to lend a helping hand for a situation that she didn't ask to know and even promising to keep her secret without knowing how she even felt about it. She sighed deeply, breathing hard and fast, controlling her breathing and exhaling, feeling her body to relax.
"Yes." She admitted it finally. "We're in love."
Through the quick feeling of disgust and shame came over her, the Goth controlled her emotions; this was not time to be judgmental, this was a very serious predicament.
"So he returned your affections after all?"
Lynn nodded.
The Goth hummed in response.
"I just don't know what to do." And Lynn wished she didn't say the following words but she needed guidance through unknown waters. "I'm scared." Lynn admitted in quick and rare display of weakness, hating how honest she was being, like if the walls she had built around her were tearing in chunks.
It surprised the Goth; Lynn had always been an over achiever, a good a doer without an ounce of regret and proud of who she was. Her sister was passionate, raw and completely literal in every sense of the world, with an intense and wild streak of attributes. Lucy was no stranger to see that her unique personality and behavior often failed to attract company into her life. So when Lynn said that, it almost made Lucy to fall off the bed in shock. Lynn never displayed any weaknesses, in her prideful attitude; a weakness was seen as something to an obstacle, something in her way that could be easily be jumped over, often mixed with a fiercely independent and violently assertive nature and while that didn't make her a loner, not many wanted to mix openly with her and some, with open reservation did, always warily of what she could do. Lynn also tended to let her judgment be run by her emotions, instinct and base her actions upon her feelings, which gave the impression of being…a butch and a jockhead with no intelligence whatsoever, which could be further from the truth; Lynn was smart, but not dedicated to her studies and always so reckless. But this was something else entirely; out of her element…no wonder that she looked so terrified, given the situation at hand. Has she misjudged her? Perhaps her sister wasn't as simple as she seemed to be to the naked eye. There was an emotion behind her expression that she wished she didn't have, that maybe this was just two teenagers doing idiotic things but the way her eyes glazed over, blinking and enraged at her own weakness told her everything she needed to know…Lynn was in love…
…and then there was Lincoln. Her brother, her source of comfort, a person that he could confide in, she could tell him what worries she might have in her mind, her light beacon in the darkness. Lynn wouldn't have to pretend and the too tough for life kind of girl mask would fall off, revealing the frightened and sensitive girl that she was, beneath all that gloating and burst of competitive aggression. The Goth turned around from her, thinking…she was just a child with nine years in this world, but her love for knowledge advanced her mind far beyond her age.
"Ok…" The Goth started. "It is quite obvious that you must work around your issues to not shake the bee hive."
Lynn growled, left eye twitching. "Are you saying that I got anger issues?"
The Goth tilted her head, crossing her arms, though she couldn't look at her eyes, the Sportsgirl could see the deadpan expression.
"Ok…fine. When things don't get my way, I get angry, alright? And the whole thing already feels like going off my chain already" She crossed her arms stubbornly.
"Sigh…it just began and you're already about to charge Ronnie Anne? Have you felt with her about other girls who have shown interest in Lincoln?"
"N-no?" She crossed her arms, looking away.
If she wasn't admitting truth then something else had happened, but it mattered less than what she was about to ask her.
"Do you feel you must protect Lincoln?"
The question immediately took her off-guard, by the way Lucy joined her hands, resting on her lap, she was testing waters but Lynn wasn't ready to cave in to pressure and instead rolled her eyes, if only to present some of her more normal behavior.
"I am not here to play the one hundred questions with you." She growled. "But yeah…I feel like now that I have him, I need to protect what we have. She's getting in the way."
"Being jealously possessive not only it will bring you pain, paranoia, it will also influence negatively the relationship that you're trying to build and you will only push him away. I've read it and seen it in my flesh; you mustn't let your own crippling insecurities to dominate you…see it as an…obstacle in a game."
Lynn lifted an eyebrow, listening intently.
"The game is to be coherent, stop thinking with this." She motioned to her heart. "And more with this." She pointed at her head. Lynn snarled, slapping her digit away.
"I can be serious when I want to be, damn it." She growled, her fingers clenching the bed comforter and squeezing it beneath her shaking hands.
"Are you?" Lucy crossed her arms again.
Lynn sighed, conflicted.
"What can I do?" She asked defeated.
Lucy shrugged her shoulders.
"If you love a flower, don't pick it up, because if you pick it up it dies…and it ceases to be what you love. So if you love a flower, let it be. Love is not about possession Lynn, Love is about appreciation, respect, acceptance and tact…I know we're so young and I have barely known love myself…even though I wish I did. Relax and let things happen. Understand that you cannot control everything, especially him and never him. If you really want this to work and kept hidden…you must understand that Lincoln does not belong to you, or anybody else for the matter; he is not a possession or a prize to win. He is his own person and will decide what does he wants to do with you, if you let the relation to follow it course with mutual respect, understanding and act, everything else will click into place. Plus you two have an extra challenge to the 'game'…you're related, you're family and we want to keep this under wraps. Remember what I asked you, have you thought about the future?"
Lynn closed her eyes, her expression was neutral and her body was relaxed, it showed.
"I'll relax and let things happen and fit naturally. Worry about those issues as they come…we're still young"
Approvingly nodding, Lucy approved of her answer, tiny smile gracing her lips.
"Good girl."
Lynn scowled. "I am not a dog dorkula…say, how do you know so much about romance?"
If only, Lucy's little smile got a little wider.
"You'll be surprised what you can find in books."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sulking, Lori was the first to admit that something had felt wrong as Lincoln separated from her and even Bobbi felt something shift in the air.
"Where's Lynn? I mean, we didn't drive all the way up here not to see how she's fairing." Lori tapped her feet with little patience left. Bobbi quickly put a hand on her shoulder earning a sigh from the blonde.
"Easy there babe, they'll turn soon enough, though this is the Loud House residence, but missing the 'loud' here bro. What gives?"
And it was true, the house felt strangely…silent. As on cue, the excited screams coming from outside guided their attention to the kitchen, observing from the window into the backyard.
Outside, Lynn Sr. animated arms swirled in the open air, an amused expression on his face, imitating what could look like...an animal.
"It's a duck!" Leni scream was grouped by an excited smile, Charles looking at her oddly sitting on his haunches next to her.
Their dad moaned in displeasure, gyrating his head into a negative motion. Charade food picking was a fun game that the family often played to try to guess what food they were going to eat and it was done out of fun. Rita laughed at her husband antics.
"Pork Butts and Taters!" Lana screeched, holding Cleo with Hops on its hamster ball, both animals trembling with fear at the bouncy source of untold energy.
He negated it again.
"Awwwwww." The mudslinger moaned in displeasure.
"Gross." Lola grimaced. "It's obviously something big! And juicy! Ribs!"
Lynn Sr. said no again making the pageant girl to growl as the man emphasized horns with his fingers.
"Ischh obvioushly from the Bovidae family, given our progenitor'sh tad crazzshy motionzh and the wave of his fingersh."
Leni arched an eyebrow.
"Boviwhaaaa? Bobi? Like in Bobby's? Is here here?! WHERE? AND HE WOULD NEVER BE HERE WITHOUT LORI" The blonde looked frantically around; what was more confusing is that Lynn Sr. looked suddenly quite nervous and in another display of hyper awareness, even if accidental, hit the nail right on the head. Rita, who had watched with an amused expression on her face suddenly disappeared, looking in the direction of the house spotting the people in the kitchen who were currently watching them. Rita's sighed, swelling with love for her husband but ooooh, how sneaky! Her husband was many things, but keeping a secret, even small was not an easy feat for him. She wondered for long they would stand there watching before joining up.
Flickering her hair in the direction of the window, Lori sighed rolling her eyes but smiling nonetheless.
"Is that really the best that dad can do to disguise the surprise?"
Ronnie Anne grinned. "If you mean charading his way to boredom, he wins the prize."
"Hey!" Lori and Lincoln protested, coming immediately to the defense of their father.
"C'mon Ron-Ron…behave dude, you're a guess. We should all say greetings, c'mon!" Bobby added, keeping an eye on his sister as he walked to the backyard door.
"Right behind you Boo-Boo Bear!" The blonde followed after with the teens gagging in disgust; the door opened with Lori and Bobby making their presence known, screams of joy resounding through the backyard with every Loud sister rushing to meet him, trampling their father under dozens of footsteps, Rita rushing to help him.
"I'm unhurt! I think!" He made a comment before he fainted on Rita's arms.
The teens looked at each other and laughed.
"Some things never change!" Lincoln added.
"YEAH! You're lucky you don't live with them, you gotta here all the new ones and the...uh…uncomfortably thin walls in that apartment." At that the Latina blushed.
Lincoln blushed awkwardly caressing his arm.
"Right…so, I'll get that list later."
Ronnie Anne nodded. "I guess, c'mon, I'm starving Lame-O and it was long trip, let's just force your dad to spill the beans and I am hoping that it isn't the former…I'm sick of beans."
If Lincoln linked that comment with her Mexican ancestry he ignored it, instead politely pointing at the opened door.
"Ladies first." Lincoln smiled, doing an exaggerated curtsy.
"Right this way madam!" Ronnie Anne laughed, soaking him on the shoulder roughly with enough strength to take his body toppling into the spotlight of the reunion, not falling but certainly it wasn't an easy feat. Glaring at her, the Louds quickly gathered in a circle showering the new comers with care, though Lincoln immediately searched for his girlfriend and Lucy among the crowd but they were oddly missing. Sighing he wondered why now she was hiding from everyone; could it be possible that she was jealous and was trying to compose herself? His thoughts went back to Polly Pain and how she was about to jump the skater girl…if Francisco hadn't been there it would've possible that things took a different outcome, ending in bloodshed. This new side of Lynn scared him and now that they were together, even for a day made him think, was all he was to her was just a prize to be won? And now he would be polished around and displayed for all to see; those thoughts scared him and made his insecurity to come forward. He would have to talk to her face to face and made this come into the light; he wasn't going to be with someone who would jump at the slightest provocation with a jealous streak and that was one of the reasons why he swiftly broke it off with Ronnie Anne after she left the city.
The Latina was sweet, with a strong willed perseverance and will that Lincoln was always so fascinated with. Her sense of justice and rough but lovable personality hooked him but unfortunately Ronnie was so…possessive and jealous and now Lynn was walking the same path and that worried him. Not only it was rude of her not to meet Lori and company out of cooling her anger before coming down herself and he could just imagine the furtive glimpses barely holding herself back and he wondered if suddenly getting these two mixed together would bring catastrophic results.
"Lincoln?"
Rita's voice cut through his musings, arching an eyebrow at his mother.
"Lori and the others did not come here as a surprise visit just for not having the whole crew, fetch Lynn and Lucy…I just hope that Lucy isn't again making a nest in the vents." Her hands at her hips, she threw a furtive look at the floor upstairs.
"Eh, sure, right away ma'am!" He gave her a two finger salute turning tail in the direction of the house but was stopped by a hand wrapping around his arm.
"Hey, I'll come with you and look at Lynn's shiner personally." Ronnie Anne grin told him everything that he needed to know.
"It'll be okay, I'll go and fetch 'em. Be right back!" Lincoln rolled his arm off her grip throwing her a smooth double pistol salute before marching inside the Loud residence, missing the unhappy frown that invaded the Latina's face; Leni watched from the sidelines, a worried look as her eyes flickered from Lori and Bobby to an upset Ronnie Anne and her brother walking away. It seemed that just now a storm was brewing, ready to rain in the parade of their happiness.
Upstairs Lynn finally came off her pillow fort, hands circling around her shoulders, breath coming off and on, hands stretched in a fighting stance, throwing jabs at the empty air around her.
"C'mon champ, you can do it. Go in there and let the temple of perdition in ruins with fury." Lucy droned.
"Yes coach!" Lynn screamed like boxer and her trainer, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to do, throwing another jab in the air, covering her flanks and then changing angles at impressive speeds, the Goth barely managing to stay on her back, her feet almost knocking a few things off her dresser. A knock on the door interrupted them, Lynn arching an eyebrow at how polite that knock came…not strong and decisive but firm enough for her to hear.
"Uh-oh." Suddenly her bravado hopped into a cab, disappearing in the sunrise. Lucy groaned behind her observing the unfortunate display in front of her; but perhaps this was an opportunity unto itself…
Before Lynn could react and stop her, Lucy had already got off her back and opened the door, stopping Lincoln who was in the middle of a knock, his eyes traveling from the deadpanned expression on Lucy's face and the horror that seemed to be itched on Lynn's face.
Two hands wretched Lincoln from his spot, launching him with enough force to topple Lynn, knocking them both to her bed. Both teens incorporated on the bed next to each other growling as the pain of their wounds flared up.
So much for being considerate…Lucy also shared the same trait as his girlfriend and sister. Annoyingly he threw Lucy a dirty look that was accompanied with arms shaking from rage.
"What's with people today throwing me around like a ball? Do you know you got a working mouth and you can ask to sit on Lynn's bed?"
The sportsgirl was impressed at how venom was dripping from his words. She didn't knew what happened, only that now Lincoln had drastically changed since the incident at the field and was not afraid to let his displeasure to be heard…it excited her. But this was not the time to show her attraction at her tasty looking brother; if he came here, it was for a reason.
From her part, Lucy said nothing, drinking the sight of the face of the pissed off Lincoln equally as surprised as Lynn but she had a trump card up her sleeve and it would be enough to crush his armor and knock him down a peg.
"I know everything."
As expected, her words disarmed him immediately, eyeing the door in a sign of escapism, though Lynn's eyes implored at him to stay, sighing, he went to the door and closed it, locking it for good measure and sitting back on the bed, Lynn's hands circling his hips bringing him closer. Lincoln looked at Lucy expecting her to wretch in disgust but once more she stayed silent, the only apparent reason that showed she was a living human being was as her chest rose and fell, her breathing composed with no signs of alteration.
"As I was saying, I know everything Lincoln. " She turned around, walking towards the window, observing the family down below as they laughed and talked, ignorant that they were being observed. "And it would be better to keep this under wraps. "She half turned around, pointing a thumb in the direction of the window. "They cannot know any of this."
With the cat out of the bag, Lincoln panicked immediately. It was like being thrown off a place without a parachute, but before he could choke on his own fear, he felt the warm lips of Lynn against his cheek, easing his concerns.
"Easy Romeo, she's here to help. Aren't ya Luce?"
"Correct. I am here as a mediator and your own personal therapist in this dilemma that I like to call…the unholy union."
Lincoln growled not liking her tone, especially not calling what he had with Lynn 'unholy'. The brunette fingers brushed against his sides, calming him enough to relax once more; her fingers guided his hand to her silky brown hair and he couldn't help but to run his fingers through them, his breathing normalizing once more, looking at Lynn with nothing else but love.
The Goth hummed, trying her hardest to ignore the display of affection that crossed their faces.
"I am here to help Lincoln. Having someone with a cold head to guide you into this…relationship and everything that comes with it, it's better than having nothing. Now that we have a mutual understanding, it is best that we bring the issues present to light…shall I place the cards on the table, or do you want to go first Lynn?"
The sportsgirl sighed, turning to face the worried expression that came to Lincoln's face.
"I am jealous."
Not surprised, he was impressed by how open she was being, thinking that this wouldn't have been possible without Lucy's coaching. It seemed that the sisters and roommates shared far more secrets than he would've liked to hear but he felt relief, in more ways than one.
"Well…I kinda knew that already." Lincoln was deadly serious and did not even tried to crack a joke, riding through the tension. "If I must be honest, it is disheartening that you're being so possessive."
Lynn looked aside, not expecting such a low opinion of her.
"Do you know why I broke it off with Ronnie Anne?" Lincoln asked, throwing a thumb at the window. "It wasn't just because there would be a good distance between then, it was because she was so territorial…and even though it was short and sweet at times, the more the relationship continued, the more disheartened I got." He sighed remembering their times in school and after. "She didn't really show it around others and she didn't hit me, but after we hooked up she was always holding unto me, asking for whoever was in contact with me and took most of our time together to enforce her position as my girlfriend…it was frankly nerve breaking but I didn't have the heart to tell her to stop or perhaps, I didn't have the courage to confront her about it…and after she told me that she was leaving with her family to Portland, we mutually decided to break it off but secretly I was glad it was over and that made me fill like crap for thinking like that, because I wanted us to be friends, good friends. " He turned deadly serious then, taking hold of her hands. "So I want to ask you Lynn…I am just a trophy to be won?"
Lynn eyes jumped off her sockets before her expression turned enraged, her hands balling on his shirt, propelling him forward earning a surprised gasp from her brother.
"You fucking kidding me? You think that lowly of me?"
"Lynn! Language, Lucy is right here." He was ignored, Lynn growling on his face, shaking him back and forth.
Lucy cleared her mouth easing Lynn into letting him go, crossing her arms and looking aside.
"Of course not doofus…You don't know what I went through these two years…you don't know what you mean to me. It's so goddamn hard to express myself." Lynn looked aside, trying her hardest how as Lincoln fingers traced her shoulders to stop shivering in pleasure and the warmth that spread through her body, almost feeling the smile that drove her mad.
"Heh…so why don't you show me?" His fingers slowly traced her shoulders to her arms, her cheeks exploding in red at how forward he was being.
"Not now…we got company."
Lincoln blinked separating from her; he was so lost for the love for his sister that he completely forgot that they were not alone. Slowly he turned to Lucy who was half turned to the window, a frown on her face but before he could ask her, she was speaking.
"Someone is coming." She droned. "And not just someone. Mom is coming."
Both teens panicked, immediately standing up from the bed and rushing off the door, Lynn completely forgotten about Lucy, coming inside the room for her, dragging her roughly to the hallway before they heard the unmistakable and enraged voice of Rita Loud.
"Lynn! Lincoln and Lucy! Come down this instant! Lori, Bobby and Ronnie Anne didn't come all this way for nothing! And no buts!"
"COMING!" Lincoln answered, sighing; he squeezed Lynn's hand with confidence radiating from his warm smile. "Ready?"
"As much as I can be." Lynn grinned.
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The reunion downstairs, if it could be ever be called that exasperated everyone. They loved their dad intently but as he once recuperated from the stampede of the sisters, he tried once more to integrate into his roll of charades; having enough Luan drew her whoopee cushion, squeezing it with all her might. The sound could wake the death, the cushion giving everyone it got for over half a minute before finishing in a little fart.
"Enough!" Luan sighed, placating the shocked expressions of everyone with a nervous smile. "This situation is as gassy as it gets and we're reeeeeeeeeeally hungry, enough to eat an elephant. Now please…dad, reveal your secret. I DON'T BITE." She chuckled, throwing him a finger salute, the man rolling his eyes at the gesture. There were murmurs of agreements and it only took Luna lifting a fist on the air to get things going.
"Down with the man and his secretive meals! Tell us!"
"Yeah! TELL US!" Lola agreed, looking especially grouchy now that her appetite had been awakened. Her twin took two chunks of mud in a threatening manner. The siblings ganged on their dad, hands pressing his body from all directions; without Rita's assistance his confidence shattered, lowering his head in defeat.
Lori laughed at their antics. While in the past she would've been the very first to jump to put complete order to this situation, she couldn't help but to be amused by their childish behavior, partially agreeing that her father fascinations with puzzles and charades were always nerve breaking to the point of annoyance, barely able to hold it together because of her mom's insistence. Still he needed a break from her siblings who had ganged up on him. Assuming a firm position, she brought her hands to her mouth whistling loudly grinding the attention of everyone, even poor Charles screeched and started to howl for the pain that invaded his ear canals, the family cat screeching and jumping from the tree branch he was lazing on, escaping immediately.
Smirking, Ronnie Anne saw her in action and suddenly it was just like last year, where things were different. Where everything was how it was meant to be and that was exactly why she was here in the first place; it surprised her how so much had changed in just the spawn of a single year and Lincoln…he didn't knew but before they went their separate ways today, they would be again together, it was just meant to be. They were still young and that 'see you later' was right now. Ronnie Anne looked at her brother and chuckled as he dug through his ears with his finger to ease his discomfort; the display was plain disgust and she demonstrated it by punching him on the shoulder, the young man immediately nursed the affected area with a rub of his palm and a glare sent in her direction.
"Okay!" Lori's voice ran heavy with authority. "Dad obviously surprised all of us with our visit and now he's trying to surprise us again and this is how we repay him?"
Luan sighed. "The thing is…I'm on a sea diet. I see food, I eat it! Get it?"
The older Loud growled, throwing her hands on the air.
"This is the time to be serious…it isn't fair and now as a family we will now all happily and EAGERLY wait for what dad has to say. Right dad?"
Lynn Sr. was forced to nod.
"It's wild hog quarters and ribs." He crossed his arms. "Mr. Sergei gave me some."
"Oing me as surprised." Luan added with a saucy move of her eyebrows. Before Lori could strangulate her, the back door opened, Rita Loud exited in tow with Lucy, Lynn and Lincoln, completely fuming at their tardiness and disregard for the surprise they had just received.
Lori immediately perked up at looking at the reason for her visit immediately approaching the two siblings, looking now with far more detail at their wounds. Lincoln was healing up nicely, though the nasty looking wound over his right eye was horrendous to look at, that and the shiner he was sporting did not do him any justice. Besides the bruises and cuts around his cheeks and possible scaring, he looked the worse of both, taking the brunt of punishment with his knuckles still bandaged, though now slightly. Lynn now that she was looking at her since the incident had seemed to have it less, no wonder thanks to him. Deep lacerations were completely marking around her neck as if someone had been choking her, pelts around her cheeks and arms that will heal with time.
Slowly, her stern expression melted at the sight of them, almost breaking in tears again. With everyone watching, she approached the siblings. Her arms came forward, hugging them and bringing her close, the teens barely processing that they were being hugged and when they did, they hugged back, embarrassingly averting their eyes at the 'Awwwwwww' that echoed around the backyard, not liking suddenly being the center of attention.
"Thank you Lincoln." She pecked his forehead. "For being the best brother than a sister could have. Mom was right; you're the glue of this family." She smiled.
"I mean…well, I don't know…I just did what anybody could've done." He muttered, Lynn warming up once more to him.
"We whooped their big fat butts with them Lori. You should have seen Lincoln!" Lynn animatedly pointed at him. "He rushed them and did not relent and chuck 'em hard."
"The situation called for it." Lori smiled. "Way to goo dweeb." If only, her words flustered her brother.
"Way to go dweeb." Ronnie Anne screamed cupping her hands around her mouth and suddenly everyone was laughing.
"Dweeb! Dweeb! Dweeb!"
Lori let it continue for a while before she put her foot down.
"Enough!" She sighed. "Now…let's set up a table…snacks! Salad making! Help dad in whatever he needs! Drinks! On the double! move, move, move!"
Most scattered to her orders, her parents laughing amused, Lynn. Sr looked especially smug after his children were put in their place, walking back to the kitchen with the Matriarch of the family shaking her head at her family antics. It was good to know that even gone, Lori still governed with an iron fist, even if she was hundreds of miles away. Her eyes centered to a smirking Ronnie Anne, crossing her arms.
"I don't see you walking."
That got her to stop smirking, tsking and looking aside.
"You ain't my boss."
Now it was Lori's turn to smirk.
"I pay your room…don't like? Get packing." Her eyebrow rose in challenge.
Bobby blinked looking between his sister and his girlfriend not knowing to react.
"Bobby?" Hey, she can't do that."
The older man didn't have neither the heart nor the courage to go against her, cringing and sweating bullets, he increased her fury by taking a step back. Growling at her brother indecisive behavior, she gnarled her teeth throwing her hands on the air completely exasperated.
"Oooh! And we're thirsty, be a dear and have some refreshments for Bobby and me." Lori grinned jokingly.
Ronnie Anne snarled more than ready to let go of her fury but this time Bobby put his foot down, crossing his arms and lifting an eyebrow. The message was clear…behave. Hissing and with her fists balled up she got into the house and had to fight with herself not to slam the door close.
Bobby sighed.
"Sorry about that…she still needs to work on her behavior…" The man sighed, passing a hand through his slicked hair. "But you didn't have to push her buttons Lori…you know she's still dealing with moving and…losing Lincoln."
Lori hummed.
"If only, that did her good. You see…Lincoln was almost honest about me about what happened between them, let's just say that the distance between them was there even before we moved to Portland…and it wasn't a good thing."
"What do you mean?" He uncrossed his arms, putting a hand on her shoulders which she crawled between her hands with a small smile.
"Lincoln is many things but he's extremely honest, the day they spend their last moments together…well…we had a reunion after and he looked just…fine." She crunched her eyebrows together. "As if he was more relieved than anything else instead of sad."
Bobby's eyes widened.
"You mean as he…didn't want to continue with her? Why? They were always so happy together. She was…pushy but they were happy"
The older Loud sighed. "I know you haven't wanted to touch the subject but perhaps that's your perspective…but from where I am standing, Lincoln was comfortable at first; it was young love, sweet and meaningful. But the further they got, the further he got away from all of us. He wasn't the only one though…" Lori closed her eyes, reminded of the way Lynn's harsh behavior over the last two years. Now she looked happy, just like the way she used to be, it wouldn't be as a surprise to her if Lincoln had to do something with it. They have always been the closest of the siblings and most likely healed together. Ah…and she remembered how. The school dance…she remembered how Lynn was so sad and angry, nobody ever gave her invitation to it, nobody ever glimpsed at her. Lincoln, who already had Ronnie Anne as his date(Though he would have loved to stay home and play video games), took it upon himself to give her the best dance than he could ever have. It was so sweet and touching…she was almost tearing up again from remembering. Leni retrofitted one of her dresses; she remembered it was red as her jersey with white linings. Her hair had been braiding at one side and straightened up by Leni herself, but Lori ended up shifting it into an elegant bun with just a tad little bit of makeup to accent her features, though Lori wanted much more, she wasn't ready to push her sister to uncharted territory.
Lynn looked so lost that day, her confusion elating as Leni worked on her, without protest, watching as she transformed from the win it all sportsgirl, blossoming into a beautiful young woman. It took hours but the sisters were so happy with her work.
Do…do you think I would pretty to Lincoln?
That was the question that made Lori to pause. It was innocent of course, it had to be since Lincoln would be her date and he was her brother; she had to look presentable to him and boy…was he impressed? It was barely audible, but when he was waiting downstairs for her, the word beautiful slipped through his lips and when Lynn smiled widely, eyes sparkling with happiness, it was then that Lynn got back to how she used to be and it showed when they came back.
Lincoln was certainly something else. The very best brother than his handful of sisters could ever ask for and the kind of man that a woman wanted.
"I just hope that Ron-Ron didn't come here with other motives." Bobby groaned, remembering the phone call this week. "She hadn't wanted to talk to me since it happened. She had always been so private but now, she gets like this out of nowhere. She's lucky that mom let her go. And you know that she has summer classes tomorrow."
Lori nodded. "Hopefully she won't try anything…"
Bobby next to her shrugged, maintaining a neutral expression, but inside, he worried.
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Chaos.
That's how Ronnie Anne could describe the scene she had entered to…she had almost miss it…almost. The chaos was almost akin to her mom side of the family, the Casagrandes but as always the Loud family made honor to their name.
The twins were fighting over a bag of lettuce, yelling that they would cut it with the Loud Matriarch barely holding them together with Lily on her arms, sighing as she was dealing with an incoming headache, the baby amusedly blew saliva bubbles amused by the screaming. Luna had set up on the far corner of the counter, using the knife to roman tomatoes, the cuts imitating a rock sound in her head as she was playing drums with it, at her side was Luan occasionally fidgeting and poking the mushrooms she was supposed to cut with her fingers, nervously twirling the knife on her hands not thinking of using it but of a proper pun for the situation. The Goth was sighing at the pile of red onions that she was facing, groaning with intense annoyance at it. Leni was humming a song to herself, cutting the Swiss cheese and bacon into strips.
Only Lincoln and Lynn were moving effectively around the kitchen. Lynn peeled the carrots occasionally throwing the peels at her brother laughing as he chuckled cutting them swiftly in perfect squares with precision and moved around to a next ingredient for the house salad of the Loud family, boiling eggs on the stove.
"Step up your game Loud, you're too slow." The brunette grinned, taking two carrots and two peelers finishing them up with precision and accuracy, falling back on the cutting board. "Lynn Loud, peeler champion." She claimed annoying Lincoln, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Feel my expertise."
The sportsgirl bumped her butt against his hips almost making him lose his footing.
"Lynn c'mon." He sighed, but there was a shadow of an amused expression on his face, throwing a peel of carrot at her hair, getting stuck in her locks
"Hey!"
He grinned. "Hey, it' part of your peeler trophy." He laughed dodging a piece of cut carrot that stuck Leni on the hair; the blonde gasped taking the offending vegetable from her hair.
"It is raining carrots? That would make cooking this faster, thank you mother nature!" She expectedly looked to the ceiling to catch more carrots.
Ronnie approached the snickering siblings, smiled warmly at Lincoln.
"Hey! Need a hand?" She offered.
Lincoln and Lynn looked at each other, the sportsgirl throwing her an indifferent look at the Latina who she caught and felt confused by it, feeling an odd tension in the air. Lincoln mentally prepared for the confrontation that was about to occur but was relieved when Lynn finally turned around and shrugged.
"I guess." She said strangely in a quiet tone, making space in between them. Lincoln handed her a knife and large cloves of garlic.
"We need this cut." Was the only thing that he said before he got back to his duties, checking the boiling eggs as he went.
Ronnie Anne got to cutting; occasionally her eyes flickered between Lincoln and Lynn, her eyebrows crunching in deep thought as she started cutting garlic. Lynn Loud was an odd girl, ever since she put a foot on this house, Lynn had a very overprotective streak against her, as was expected when she was picking on Lincoln and craving his attention. But she always felt her eyes boring into her, calculating, judging and waiting for her to slip so she could move in for the kill. No doubt in a fight, she would destroy her; she had seen her boxing and that extreme force applied to that punching bag with every one of her jabs made her feel pity for that poor bag, almost swinging halfway, colossal impacts echoing in the garage, a death war cry accompanying every hit.
The Latina knew that she did not have friends due the intensity of her personality; she only had a couple of acquaintances, not even scratching the surface of being called friends. For a long time she took into consideration to befriend her to at least ease the violence that was brewing inside of her soul and to show Lincoln that she was at least trying. Their short encounters were nothing pleasant, with Lynn barely saying anything to her, instead drilling her eyes and tensing for a fight. She had never liked her personally, finding her too volatile to deal with but as the closest sibling to Lincoln, it was an obstacle that she could overcome and she felt that she could have before her hand had been forced to cut things with Lincoln, to her great regret.
It was impossible to stay away from Lincoln now. After being separated for so long, just talking and webcaming in AIM, having him in front of her, Ronnie Anne could barely contain herself to just take his hand and drag him to closet to talk and do…things, terrible, terrible things to him. A small grin was tugged at the corner of her mouth as she finished mincing the garlic in small pieces.
"What's so funny?" Lynn lifted an eyebrow, eyeing her up, her right hand squeezing the peeler, plastic almost cracking from the force of her clenched hand.
"Uh…"She looked extremely wicked, losing her tongue for a few seconds before she shook her head. "Nothing really." She accentuated peace, smiling slightly at her.
The sportsgirl said nothing, finishing up her task, suddenly wishing that Ronnie Anne packed her bags and left already.
Lincoln fished the boiled eggs from the boiling water, setting them aside to crack the shell, unaware that a storm was brewing around them; from her corner, Lucy observed, stopping to cut her share of the work to contemplate Lynn's actions, just waiting if whatever they had talked was about to thrown down a window, unaware that Leni had felt the same, the tension drawing her attention when the rain of carrots did not come. Fortunately before things could escalade there was a chorus of voices at the fridge. They all looked at Lynn Sr. who had swoop the wild hog legs and ribs from the refrigerator in steel pans. The pinkish meat had been precooked prior for storage and perfectly cleaned; their dad glazed the meat with mesquite barbecue, pieces of cilantro, onion and red bell peppers with the meat sitting on a bed of asparagus. It was like if an angel chorus had overcame the kitchen at the sheer deliciousness of it.
"Its…it's beautiful." Lana cried letting go of the lettuce bag.
And mouthwatering. Lynn was salivating at the tender meat, dying for a good taste; it looked almost as delicious as her brother…almost.
"Wonderful isn't it?" Lynn Sr. grinned widely at the reaction of everyone. "Sergei was kind enough to give me this after hunting hog. What better meal to celebrate our family and friends than this delicious meal?" He said as he rotated the meat, getting 'Oooooooooh' from everyone. With the oven preheated at 400 degrees, he deposited the meat slowly, taking his cooking gloves off.
With all the main ingredients finished, Leni and Rita pooled all ingredients in a big bowl to start on the salad.
"Lunch will be done in a couple of hours. Why don't you kids have fun?" Rita offered. "You too Lincoln." She added as the white haired boy lifted a hand, ready to offer help, always thoughtful; she smiled at him motioning with her head pointed to the outside world.
Nobody could wait, finally freed of their duties, scattering to their own discretion. All but Lynn, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne, who walked off the kitchen in tow, the white haired boy contemplating to call his best friend and parents to the meal and speak about it; with all that had happened, there hadn't been any time to do so.
Gathering her courage, Ronnie Anne took him by the arm.
"Hey, you think we can take a walk to catch up?" She smiled warmly; stopping the boy amid step and making him open his mouth in surprise.
Lynn alarms were blaring in her head that she was about to try something from her man and brother, her eyes glaring the back of Ronnie Anne's head before she stopped. No…this was exactly what Lucy was talking about. She couldn't be his shadow, overanalyzing everything he said and judging it to be a threat to what they had. She wasn't going to give in and give Ronnie Anne the satisfaction of losing her cool in front of her love toy and most of all…she trusted him, with her life and after what happened, more than ever. With great effort, she smiled as the worried gaze of Lincoln met hers but he was surprised at her encouraging smile.
"Go for it Linc." Lynn pushed at him playfully. "Walking will do ya good, 'sides, it's not like you could handle my type of fun while we wait for the meal, plushy muscles. I'll see ya soon!" She cut the distance between them, slightly brushing her shoulder against the Latina to peck at his cheek, from the angle Ronnie Anne not catching how dangerously close it had been at the corner of his mouth, her lips lingering for a few seconds, heat immediately exploding on his cheeks before she separated laughing sadistically at the embarrassment of her boyfriend and the electricity that surged through her spine at the forbidden act in front of somebody else.
Lynn, took her football off the closet, running out of the house with the football raised over her head, spotting Lana.
"Lana catch!" She laughed playfully chasing after the muddy girl.
Lincoln watched her ago, taking some time to compose himself, trembling from both shame and excitement cursing through him, almost forgetting that Ronnie Anne was right there, observing and waiting for an answer.
"Lincoln?" Her voice brought him back to reality, sighing as the little display affection from his girlfriend still burned on his cheek.
"Sure!" He spoke louder than he wished, cringing on the inside. "For old time sake?" He offered.
Ronnie Anne sighed with relief, internally calming the wild beaten of her heart.
"Shall we?" She placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Sure" He nodded walking before her, brushing her hand off with a motion of his shoulders.
Ronnie Anne stood there, a pang of anger resonating through her psyche but as the boy walked away, she swallowed her pang of fury following after him and closing the door behind her, already putting her plans into motion, smiling wickedly behind the back of the white haired boy.
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A/N: It seems that the challenger is stepping up her game! This was a fun chapter to write about and I feel like I need more family moments in my story since they're so close. Well! I am off! Thank you once more.
D4rK