A/N: Sorry for the long wait but so many things had happened since last year. Finally, I got my grove back to crack up another chapter! 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
Siege of Hearts
Chapter 18
White heat, Red Hot.
Lincoln awoke to the sound of his window closing. He begrudgingly opened his crusted eyes with a moan of discomfort as he stood there, waiting for things to make sense. The first thing he realized was that he was fully clothed on his orange Pj's and the sheets had been changed. Looking at his Bull Winkle alarm, he saw it was close to seven in the morning. Absently he touched the spot where Lynn laid the night before and slowly, his lips twisted into a small smile as the memories of the night came to him, his heart jumping to higher levels, bringing alertness to his whole body. What they shared had burned into his memory and rather than leaving him to his jaded feelings, Lynn had instead embraced him and welcomed him with open arms, claiming that she belonged with him.
Sighing, he stood up, cracking his back with a grunt, opening his door to take a shower. His relief at the lack of a line made his smile, finally admitting that waking up early did saved him a lot of trouble at the end, notching another point to Lynn. After his shower, a quick dress up and new bandages he went downstairs, his nose not smelling the usual Loud matriarch manning her battle station for the horde of the Loud family. Frowning and getting furious out of nowhere, in childish disappointment he shrugged, with a red mist of a passing storm of anger and poured himself a bowl of cereal, easing his early grumpiness, blaming it on the early hours of the day.
The sound of someone opening the door alerted him to the presence of his father, who appeared quite exhausted and oddly dressed lightly for the day. His mind decided to made itself alight to the fact that it was a Sunday, which he had to work at the restaurant at mid-day. Lynn Sr. looked at him wide eyed while cleaning his hands up with a rag.
"…Lincoln did you just stayed overnight playing video games?" His father asked with the edge of a threating tone.
The white-haired boy shook his head slowly, rather than his usual alertness and energetic mannerism, quickly worrying his father that motioned at him to sit down, looking worryingly at him as he sat down.
"Are you alright champ?"
The things with Lynn were hitting off and he didn't feel like revealing the tryst with his sister…to his own father, like never, but the fight…the sudden impulses of anger that were coming out of nowhere was worrisome. When he almost gave into his most sadistic impulses to just smash Ronnie Ann face against the wood fence over and over again, he knew that there was something very wrong with him. Something was born on that day, on the day where him and Lynn had to fight for their lives. There was this uncontrolled anger that seemed to take possession of him, like Jekyll and Hyde. It made him think things that his young mind could not comprehend…the day before he thought about smashing Clyde's face in and almost punched Rusty…he looked terrified of him.
With a slight move of his lips, Lincoln looked straight at his dad which was expectant of an answer.
"I'm angry."
His words, while muttered in a low volume voice were more than enough to get the message across, even someone as clumsy as his father understood the meaning behind his words very well.
Lynn Sr. eyes softened, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"I don't know, as a father how could I ever make you forget about that day…you did the right thing Lincoln."
His words did not reach him in the slightest and he didn't knew how to explain to him what he was feeling; his old man would think he was insane and prior to attacking people out of nowhere and he would get locked up, away from his family, friends and Lynn, so instead he faked a smile and nodded.
"Thanks dad."
"Anytime, son…now, if you excuse me, I'll keep working in the van."
Lincoln eyes widened slightly. Usually there were two plain reasons why his father would be working in Vanzilla. One, the entire family was preparing for another infamous trip across the country or he was preparing for another van exhibition across town. The first thing he did was to look over the slightly ajar job to see his dad humming, calmly working in the engine compartment, which meant the later…family trip.
Grunting to himself with a massive roll of his eyes, displeasured enough to think about his time with Lynn would be cut short, but that dad and mom would drag the family through another insane session halfway across the country. Not that it could be any worse than the last, it was the thing that he told himself and perhaps he could finally step up and suggest that they put to vote where their new location it could be rather than leaving the entire planning to his parents which usually brainstormed the entire thing without telling anyone but until it was too late and no matter how many cries of displeasure the family would voice, they would make them haul ass.
Lynn went through the front door completely soaked in sweat, panting slightly as she drank greedily from her bottle, droplets of water fell into the crevice of her shirt and Lincoln couldn't help himself but to stare at her lustfully, enough to feel his pajamas to feel tighter, almost licking his lips, wanting nothing more than to taste her skin. As soon as she saw him, he smirked at the look that he was displaying, compelling him to back up from his bedroom eyes in full display in their home rather than their privacy which he almost couldn't obey.
"Morning Lynn." He finally said after some seconds of silence. "Any problems, yesterday?"He asked with an amused quirk of his eyebrows.
"Morning Stinklon." She smirked as his smile slipped off his face, not being able to resist teasing him. "Nope, everything was just peachy. I lifted something very heavy early in the morning and just got back from my morning job." She jabbed at him further, this time earning back his smile, that was until Lynn saw that their father was working in Vanzilla through the crack in the door, looking back at Lincoln with a stupefied expression.
"Oh man…no."
Lincoln, always the sarcastic idealism, shrugged with an air of finality.
"What's the worse that can happen?" He laughed at the annoyed look of his sister, almost knocking his cereal bowl to the floor, wiping his eyes out as their mother entered the kitchen in tug with Leni holding a saliva bubbling Lily.
Unusually the Matriarch frowned, seeing his son so early in the morning, blinking confusedly.
"Why, good morning Lincoln, it is highly unusual to see you so early in the morning…did you spend the entire night playing video games? Or maybe someone didn't let you sleep?"
The last part made Lincoln and Lynn to almost bob their mouths in surprise, scared beyond comprehension.
"Oh mommy, don't be silly." Leni pitched in. "Lincoln has been going to bed very early lately! He's growing up to be a such a good young man."
This seemed to please Rita, humming her approval.
"I have actually noticed the change…I am proud of you son."
The praise made him smile slightly, his smile widening at he looked at Lynn who cleared her throat, a slight blush covering her cheeks, going to the fridge to refill on some OJ so nobody could look at her embarrassed expression to hide the fact that they had gone to bed early for a good reason. Tearing his gaze from her was the hardest thing he had to ever do in the entire weekend besides controlling his new violent impulses.
Unbeknownst to them, Leni was smirking in the inside, turning with a slight wave of her face to attend Lily who had started to chew on her golden locks.
Soon, the smell of breakfast filled the house. Coffee was prepared with the smell of dark roast whiffing in the kitchen, mixed with the batter of pancakes, waffles and the fragrance of breath. The smell must seemed to revive the household from their lethargic sleep as suddenly the ground opened up with dozens of footsteps stampeding downstairs, the utensils and plates clanking loudly on the table and just as the first family members entered the kitchen, the Matriarch like a seasoned platoon leader was just serving the first waffles, with the pets entering later, mouths watering at the smell.
"Morning mom!" The twins, always eager to shovel food down their throats were the firsts to enter, fighting with each other who was going to get the first waffle, quickly remedied by a snapping Rita, serving them two waffles each.
"HEEEEELOOOOOOOOOOOOO LOUD FAMILY." The Rock Diva claimed, sat down while imitating the sounds of thousands of people chanting her name in a rock concert, quickly accompanied by Lincoln doing a guitar solo that seemed to put her into better spirits.
The self-made comedian approached at her seat muttering a quick good morning; after checking that the cost was clear she sat down with her hands folded in front of her plate just as several eyes turned to her with an inching suspicion that she was planning something just as she hummed innocently.
Lucy was the last to approach the table, slowly turning to the gathered family, moving her lips with a faint morning before she sat down on the opposite side of the matriarch, facing Lincoln and Lynn who were next to each other. For a second Lincoln swore he saw her violet eye staring them at them intently, throwing her a smile that she didn't return as she was served black coffee, toast and scrambled eggs.
Rita looked over her family, her smile turned bigger as her husband walked in a little more presentable after changing but then she frowned, going to the counter and pressing a button to the intercom.
"Darling, the whole family is here, would you mind coming down to eat with us?"
Static cracked to life.
"In a while, mother." The voice of Lisa sounded strained and there was some hesitation from Rita's part at scolding her, knowing all to well of the perils of leaving her experiments halfway done.
"Alright dear, there's going to be some pancakes in the microwave for you." She didn't receive an answer, shrugging, she finally sat down to eat her share after halfway of her work was done, the other half was to take care of the family as they ate. The breakfast continued on without a fuss, which was an oddity in the family, perhaps that was what hunger and family unity would do, yet the Matriarch smiled as she drank a sip from her coffee. Under the table, Lynn and Lincoln were playing footsies, secretly smiling as Cliff pawned as their shoes make contact with each other.
The phone rang, interrupting the tranquility of the moment. Sighing, Lynn Sr. offered to stand up for her but she dismissed it with a wave of her head, eyeing the called ID attached to the phone identifying it as…from the school. Worry immediately etched at her heart if her children had done something to be called in the middle of the summer vacation.
"Loud Residence, how may I help you?"
"Ah…Miss Rita." The voice of Principal Huggings came from the end of the receiver. "I hope your morning is as nice as today?"
"Well, yes." She said as she eyed her family who were looking at her with odd expressions. Yet never one to beat around the bush, she hummed. "May I ask what is the purpose of this phonecall Mr. Huggings?"
The mention of his name had the Loud siblings snapping their faces intently, even stopping eating.
"Well…it isn't for me to say this but…it is about the incident that occurred in school grounds."
There was a deep silence from the end of the line. Slowly, Rita's mind snapped to the fact that he made mention of the most danger her children had ever gone through.
"…what is it that needs to be discussed?" She slowly released a breath, her anger barely restrained, the phone almost snapping under the pressure. Recognizing the gesture of pure indignation, Lynn Sr. started shaking in fear, understanding the seriousness of the phone call and the family felt it too, the room was cold with thick tension.
The Principle sighed. "This is not easy for me to say, after the unfortunate circumstances and the results of such untold levels of savagery in school grounds that ended up with two of your children being hurt and two landing in jail, my condolences about th-"
"Mr. Huggins, please get to the point." Rita muttered coldly, the eyes of the family widening.
He cleared his throat. "It is unfortunate for me to say this but…I had been informed by the school board that the best interest of our school is that Lynn Loud is expelled from any contact sport that might riddle the rest of the students in violence, to avoid further accidents in the future."
Silence.
"Your son, well, he is not in trouble as he was seen from the Board that his actions avoided a terrible calamity." The Principal continued on, understanding her silence by understanding.
Rita Loud exploded.
"What do you mean by that idiocy?!" She slammed her hands down on the floor cabinet making everyone to jump. "Do you have any idea the trauma that my children went through?! You should be ashamed of yourself for even calling me about this…we've been going to the same district for years, we've collaborated with every single activity and charity that the school had asked for and my daughter has provided that school with more trophies that you have hair on your head Principal Huggins and this is the treatment that we got in exchange?"
Everyone was in disbelief. You could hear a pin drop as Rita breathed in and out harshly, squeezing her eyes in rage.
After a minute of silence, the voice at the other side of the line cleared his throat.
"Perhaps…it would be best if we talked this in person in my office, today, at 3 o'clock if that's a suitable time for you Miss Loud."
"It is. Oh yes, we will talk about this alright, we'll see you later Mr. Huggins."
"Until that time then, farewell."
Rita slammed the phone down, crawling a palm on her face and sighing, trying her best to calm down. Facing the stunned family, she locked eyes with Lincoln, Lynn and her husband and immediately Lincoln felt the hairs in his neck stand up.
"Mom…did…we did something?" The white haired muttered slowly, slowly exchanging a look with Lynn who took his hand in her grasp. The face of their mother broke in sadness, shaking her head violently.
"You two did right thing, don't ever tell you otherwise."
Lincoln smiled.
The Matriarch gazed at her husband and then to Lynn.
Lynn Sr. sighed, knowing that a storm was just brewing in the distance. Taking a deep breath, she joined her hands against her lap, her eyes filling with deep sadness.
"Lincoln…Lynn, we need to talk."
The family looked at the siblings with some worriedness, the twins looking perplexed at the situation, not yet understanding.
"Be a dear and finish eating with the kids love."
Smiling at her, he nodded just as she walked away. Looking at each other, the sportsgirl and the snow-covered haired boy stood up, following after her upstairs and into her room. All three sat down, Rita took a deep breath, doing her hardest not to break down right there and there, finding that this had been the most horrible thing that she had to talk about. Already she was envisioning how her son would react…as the most compassionate of the two, he would blame himself and he would undecisive in what could've been the right course of action, knowing too well that Lynn was her daughter who loved sports and was all about contact sports. Lynn was about to suffer one of the most soul crushing experiences after the incident when her innocence was almost stolen from her. This was not going to be easy at all.
Mentally preparing for what was to come, Rita put her hands soothingly against her children's.
"I don't know how to even begin." She took a deep breath just as her children eyes widened, hearts beating wildly. "The school principal called today to inform us that after the incident at school, Lynn should be banned from ever playing a contact sport for…riddling and baiting students into doing violent acts."
The results were something that would live down in Rita's mind until the day she died.
Time came to a stand still and even without Lynn expressing her outrage in the matter, Lincoln stood up snarling and displaying a violence that she had never seen in her son.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAID?!"
Lincoln snarled, stomping his right foot in an aggressive show of rage that the stupefied Matriarch. His expression was like a beast, teeth peeled back, cringing and trembling in unsuppressed fury, fists enclosed and shaking so madly as if he was barely controlling the impulses to tear the room apart. Rita was too stunned to even scold her son from openly cussing in front of her, her eyes were widened and she felt…afraid of her own son, even if it lasted for a moment.
"NOOOOO. THIS IS BULLSHIT! THEY ATTACKED US! I DEFENDED LYNN! HOW DARE THEY!? HOW DARE THEY BLAME US!"
His anger scaled to another level, silent tears of anguish felt down his cheek, shaking violently, his fists clenching and unclenching, wishing that they were around Victor's neck once more, the need to tear him down limb by limb and having his blood impacting on his skin.
"LINCOLN! CALM DOWN! THAT'S ENOUGH OF YOU!" Rita stood up, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him. The moment she touched him, something snapped in him and if it hadn't been for Lynn quick reflexes, he would've punched her on the face. Hissing in her own anger, Lynn pushed Lincoln away, holding his fists in her hands, immediately clamping down with her entire strength, barely being able to control him as he hissed, struggling in her hold.
"Lincoln please!" Lynn cried and finally he awoke to the fact that he was scaring his mother and his sports girl to death. Breathing hard, his eyes were pulsing and widened, shaking without control as his body released his adrenaline in burst of disbelief, realizing where he was just as the red in his vision disappeared. He had lost the complete control of his brain. Looking past Lynn, his mother face was contorted in horror, tears were streaming down her cheeks. Slowly, he slid down the wall behind him slowly just as Lynn released his hands, crawling his hands against his face in disbelief at his actions, shaking violently, even as he felt Lynn hands caressing his shoulders and propelling him into a hug, finally he couldn't take it anymore and he broke down crying, ashamed of his own actions and lack of control.
All the while the mind of Rita was in turmoil at what just transpired across of her. The sound of someone coming upstairs hard and fast snapped their eyes to the front door as it opened, Lynn Sr. eyes widening at the display in the room.
"What were those screams?" His eyes stabbed into Lincoln, switching between him and his wife.
Sighing, Rita sat down.
"We have a meeting with Principal Huggins…to discuss the situation." Her eyes wandered to Lincoln and Lynn as they huddled on the floor, the sportsgirl hands caressing his back soothingly. "At 3…please Lynn…be a dear and tend to your brother, your father and I have things to talk about."
Lynn slowly locked her sad eyes to hers and then back to Lincoln who hugged her tighter.
"Okay." She said finally, slowly helping the love of her live to his feet, walking him slowly to the hallway and to his room, as Rita closed the door behind them.
He never resisted, too mentally drained to even react. She slowly laid him back into his bed, kicking off her soccer cleats, spooning him from behind, her hands tracing his shoulders and placing a feathered kiss on the back of his neck, lying her head on his shoulder. Lincoln eyes curled into himself, lying in a fetal position, his eyes opened staring at the wall, his hands slowly were crawled to his chest as Lynn sighed behind his neck, sending goosebumps down his system but he immediately clenched down that feeling.
"I screwed up Lynn." He finally said, his voice cracking in agony and it took her entire willpower not to break down crying behind him as she heard his words coated by deep pain.
Slowly, Lincoln flipped himself around to face hers. His eyes were deep red from crying, lips trembling with hesitation.
"I…I am so…so angry."
She traced a thumb a tear that had escaped from his eyes.
"I know love." She sighed as she finally displayed her emotions on the matter. "I hate it…but you know me my prince. This is just an obstacle, and what do we with obstacles?"
Lincoln blinked and then his lips broke into a small smile.
"We jump them."
They shared a peck, immediately his worries and his anger disappeared in seconds. Sighing as they hugged together, it wasn't difficult for them to cuddle, Lincoln found a nice spot for his head and he fell asleep immediately, too tired after his outburst. Lynn from her part, just sat there, thinking.
Lincoln was right in one thing, it was not fair at all, though she wished that he didn't reacted like that…it scared her for what he could do to himself and others around him, that was kind of her department per-se, without going to extremes. Where their roles reserved? Where she was impulsive and thoughtless, often doing things out of instinct without a care in the world and now Lincoln was going ballistic in the blink of an eye. She had seen that side of him before, but never like this, to see him about to strike his own mother without control was something that immediately sent her system into shock. Perhaps they needed to sit down and talk proper without any other interference or perhaps she needed her roommate and the person where she could confide in this, Lucy. Just as a first option, though after what happened, she wasn't surprised that her mother was just seeing in for the first time.
Her second worry was about the results of that unruly school decision. Those football practices had served her well and augmented her fame to untold levels. While she didn't seek anyone's approval but of her family and him, she couldn't find it in her heart to understand why would someone do that to her? It broke her heart that someone was just responsible to ban her from contact sports, such as martial arts, boxing or wrestling because Lincoln and her had fought for their very lives after those two monsters have tried to do untold disgusting things with her. No wonder how Lincoln exploded in that regard, to think that someone had done that was cruelty but she was a big girl and Lincoln needs to understand that she can deal with her own problems on her own.
Today at 3, her parents, her and Lincoln would go to that meeting and hopefully, such an unjust decision could be reversed.
Sighing, she laid her head against the love of her life and fell asleep.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Downstairs, the situation had turned into pure madness.
The moment the two parents came to their children, the poor Lily was crying without control into Leni's face, staining her blouse completely with tears, the twins immediately latched to Rita's legs almost making her lose her balance while Luan and Luna screamed at their father.
"What the bloody hell is going on?!" Luna hissed at her father as he cleaned her spit with a disgusted huff.
"Momma, tell us!" The twins cried.
Only Lucy and Leni had stayed silent in their whole ordeal, looking at each other with concern and the wellbeing of their siblings.
"Th-that's enough!" Lynn Sr had it. "Everyone please, just sit down and let us explain."
The family looked between each other and sighed, obeying their father for once. Once the short order had been stablished, Rita looked at the assembled family, sighing.
"The Principal called today to inform us that the board of education had decided to expel Lynn from any contact sport that the school offers, which she is enrolled for…thinking that to avoid further fights she needed to stop participating because her presence…incites violence."
The entire table was too stunned to even know how to react. Only the older siblings with the exception of Lucy were too stupefied as the reality of what she had just said.
"That'sshhh highly logical." The voice of Lisa said as she frowned cleaning her hands with a rag. "Isshh there'ssgh going to be an interview with the schhkool sysshtem about theish, mother?"
"Of course." Rita immediately answered, silently thanking Lisa to avoid the outrage that was just about to occur. "We have a meeting with Principal Huggins later in the day to discuss this matter."
Lucy revealed her amethyst eye to her family, stunning everyone into silence.
"Is Lincoln okay?" She spoke for the second time in that day. "He didn't take it kindly, I presume?"
The parents looked between each other, with a sigh, Lynn Sr. shook his head but it was Rita who answered.
"He's very angry, the angriest I have ever seen him."
Lana hummed. "How angry?"
"Angry as if burning all his comic books together?" Luan asked.
"Worse than that I am afraid." Rita folded her hands together, lowering her head in sadness.
The whole family gasped, looking at the ceiling.
"Owwww, my poor brother." Luan said, cleaning a tear from her eye. "Linky doesn't feel that this is his fault, right?"
Rita's eyes scrunched in anger.
"There will never be a day where I think that what he did was wrong…we've always taught you that we stick together as a family. We never let ANYONE to hurt any one of us, so no, he is not in trouble but he is going through some tough times and he's very prone to anger right now, so please, do not provoke your brother."
"That's a complete bummer." Luna sighed, crossing her arms. "And Lynn? Sports are a part of her life, these dudes are cuckoo in the head for even suggesting such a thing!" She threw her hands up in disbelief.
"YEAH!" The chorus of everyone resonated through the kitchen.
"That might be, but we're Louds." Rita put her hand around her husband's left shoulder, kissing his cheek. "We'll get through this."
Excited smiles reached her gaze and Rita believed that everything was going to be just fine. Only Lucy remained away from the reunion, keeping her distance. She only thought, under what circumstances, he had shifted to be an anger seeker?
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Awakening had been difficult and the silence in lunch time was more than difficult but the hour had arrived and the family had stayed with them, wishing them the best as Lynn Sr. drove them in Rita's car as his was still being worked on. The drive was tedious for Lincoln, clenching and unclenching his fists, his eyes looking at anything but the road, inside he was full of turmoil, even as he felt Lynn's hands sneaking around his arm, it did not quench his anger. As if sensing the tension, Rita put on some music to relax the atmosphere, even to a notch was better than what she was feeling as well, pondering in her son…perhaps bringing him was a mistake, yet she felt ashamed at the thought, quickly finding the hand of her husband who clenched her trembling hand into his, holding tight.
The school finally came into their sights, Lynn Sr. finding a spot not far from the entrance. Of all the school visits, this one felt the worse for the parents, not even imagining in a million years that something like this would've happened to them but this was the reality and they had to sober up for it.
Slowly, Lynn Sr. turned to Rita who nodded at him. They were going to face this as family, just as they always had, no matter the circumstances and nothing would change that.
Their kids got out slowly, their parents holding hands for a moment before turning to face the music.
Non surprisingly, the staff was minimum as they were in the middle of summer vacations, the very first day of August and just shy of a month for classes to renew once more. Cheryl was there to receive them, her usual bubbly smile was gone and her eyes were sympathetic towards them.
Pressing the intercom, she cleared her throat.
"Principal Huggins, the Loud family is here to see you."
"Why thank you Miss Griffin, send them in."
With a wave of her hand, the family opened the door and let themselves in.
The principal was standing right there at the door to receive them, offering them their most welcomed smile, they didn't return it. Slowly, Mr. Huggins was awakening to the fact that this was going to be the hardest decision of his entire career, just motioning to the family to sit down. Once the family did as told only then he sat down in his chair, folding his hands in front of the desk.
Someone had to start and before the Principal could gather his courage not surprisingly, the Matriarch seized the principal up with disdain.
"When the school told me that they needed help with the making of hundreds of cookies for budgeting one of the failed school programs, me and dozens of parents sacrificed our time and money to help, because we know that the education is everything. Because we know that their future is shaped by keeping their minds enriched and to know that we helped made a difference."
The Principal internally sighed, already not liking where this was going.
"My kids have been enrolled in this school for decades, starting from Lori to our youngest, with Lily following up when she's of age. I've known you for a very long time Mr. Huggins, but I guess is that…I don't you know well enough after today's phone call."
The eyes of Lincoln gleamed with a calculated fury, following every twitch of the man expression, hands laced in front of him, like calculating the best way to dispatch of him without anyone else noticing, too focused on the adam's apple of the principal as he struggled to dismiss her claims, for the first time he was in the loop in the next course of action.
"The board of education…" He started but was yet interrupted by Rita holding out her hand.
"The board of education does not dictate the education of my children, even if they think they do and frankly, I question your experience as the principal of this school if you do. What do you think it has to be done Principal Huggins?" The tone was the one that caught with the sportsgirl. Her mother was saying a slightly politely worded You're a dumb fuck, now what?
Lynn eyes were gleaming with nothing more than admiration for her mother, she was her hero and she was a prime example why you do not screw up with a mother and their children.
Finally, the Principal sighed, nodding.
"Alright."
Sighing, he went to the front door and locked it, turning around swiftly to face the family.
"My hands have been tied by the board…they think that by removing the assailants, or the remaining ones from that incident from school grounds is more susceptible to maintain the normalcy before it can escalate further and bring a bad reputation to the school."
Lynn Sr scoffed.
"That is an outrageous claim. Why would they punish our children, especially Lynn, where she's the victim of this crime!" His easy-going attitude was gone, replacing by complete indignation. "Do they think because it happened in school grounds it gives them the rights to commit such an atrocious action?"
Mr. Huggins sighed.
"And you have my most sincere apologies that it has come to this…believe me, I share your sentiments in this matter wholeheartedly." He turned his swivel chair to face his vast collection of awards and mementos spawning over a long career of thirty years of service to his community. "I wish I could help you, but it entirely out of my hands. If I do not do as I am told, I could lose my job and I have almost a thousand students to take care of."
The Matriarch hugged her face with his hands, looking at her own daughter with an apologetic shake of her head as Lynn placed her hand around hers and squeezing, looking downcast.
All this time, Lincoln had sat down, ignoring everyone, simmering in his own rage, his hands shook again and his teeth cringed against each other painfully in his throat.
"How typical of you." He snarled, speaking for the first time.
The Principal flipped his chair around in surprise, looking at the expression that Lincoln was displaying.
"Typical? Son, I just said that it wasn't my call to made."
Even before Rita could scold stop her son, she saw with her very own eyes how he transformed into a rabid animal, his eyes bulging and burning with a hatred that she wished she could forget after seeing for the first time this very morning. Lynn Sr neck hair stood up, looking at the face of his own son. It was like looking to a completely different person…said person stood up with an air of fury, stomping his feet loudly in his office, a hand slowly but firmly pointing at the face of the astonished Principal.
"You got no shame? This isn't what Ace Savvy would do…he would do what is right and just. But you? You rather see my sister get thrown under the bus when we had to fight for our very lives?" He snarled removing the bandage from his forehead, showing him the healing, traveling upwards. "You're a filthy coward!" He pointed between his eyes, slamming his other palm on the Principal's desks, making everyone to jump in shock. Lynn from her part stood there open mouthed, dazed and confused at the display of fury from her love. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit…it was the only logical thought in her head at this very moment.
"Lincoln!" Lynn Sr. stood up, placing his hand around his son shoulder. "You need to calm down young man!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He screamed with a ferocity that stunned Lynn Sr. to take a step back, petrified to even blink at his son. "THIS IS BULLSHIT!" He screamed, the ears of everyone ringing with that declaration. "I HAD TO PRY THOSE BRUTES FROM MY SISTER WHILE THEY HAD THEIR PANTS DOWN AND TRYING TO TAKE HER CLOTHES OUT TO RAPE HER! I FOUGHT TOOTH AND NAIL FOR HER AND YOU'RE TELLING US THAT WE'RE TO BLAME?! YOU BASTARD!"
He saw red.
If Lynn thought it couldn't get worse, it did when Lincoln snarled, hugging the Principal possessions and with a mighty roar, he shoved his possessions off his desk, smashing his computer screen against the wall. Rita's eyes were filled with terror, immediately screaming and holding him back but she couldn't hold him enough, the hand of Lincoln clenching the Principal by the necktie, bringing him closer to ram his fist to his face and he would've succeeded if Lynn hadn't reacted quick for a second time and with a surprising amount of ease, twisted his elbow against his back, pulling upwards. The result was instantaneous, Lincoln writhing in pain, letting go of the horrified Mr. Huggins as he kicked his chair back and stood up, wishing he could curl into the wall, breathing heavily.
Even as Lincoln cried and screamed, trying to get to the principal with murderous rage, he would never be able to outdo Lynn who quickly put his head into a head lock, holding him tight against her just as the door starting pounding from behind.
"What's going on there?! Principal Huggins?!" Cheryl screamed, rotating the door knob in desperation.
"Lincoln!" Rita screamed in anguish, holding him for dear life, her daughter barely holding on, even if her expertise in martial arts and older than Lincoln, the brutality that he was displaying to their shocked eyes was a sight to behold. Finally, it took the effort of all three to grab Lincoln just as Lynn Sr, palmed the door while holding Lincoln with the other, opening the door just as Cheryl was pulling on the door knob, sending her screaming, slipping and falling to the side, the family coming down and almost toppling, all the while Lincoln screamed bloody murder. The things that he said sent the family into a deeper turmoil of disbelief but finally, Lynn had enough of him, her fist catapulting and giving him a well deserved right hook that knocked him on his ass, breaking his nose on impact and another one as he tried to rush her as he hissed and rubbed at the blood that seeped through his busted skin, his eyes widening in astonishment and disbelief.
When Lincoln came to be, he was on the floor, the face of Lynn was torn into deep agony, her chest heaving up and down in exhaustion, tears at the corner of her eyes. Slowly, Lincoln blinked slowly his gaze traversed to his parents who were openly crying, choking down as the situation crashed around him. His blood-stained hands shook as he rotated them, staring at them with astonishment, once more his mind relaying the trauma of that day as if he had been burned into his retinas. Gradually, he lowered his hands, supporting his shaking body from behind, his eyes exploding in silent tears, mouth shaking without even knowing what to say or do.
"Oh my God, oh my God." Crystal with some effort had stood up to check on the Principal and then at them the family. "Sit tight Mr. Huggins! I am going to call the police!"
The Loud parents finally snapped from their stupor at the declaration, looking through blurred eyes at the office.
"No! Please…don't do it Crystal. I have this under control…give me some privacy." Mr. Huggins surprised the parents as soon as those words left his mouth, stunning the secretary into silence.
Slowly, her eyes traveled from his to the family outside in the hallway, lowering the receiver with some hesitation.
"But Principal…"
His smile shown through, even if his eyes didn't display the same.
"I am…alright, please." He made a soothing motion with his hands and finally she relented, walking down the hallway, never even meeting the shaking form of Lincoln. As her heels clicked away, the Principal finally sighed, slamming back into his chair, looking at the remnants of his office.
Mr. Huggins cleared his throat, doing the best that he could to steady his heart, facing the Loud parents once more.
"I…trust we could still talk in private about this?"
Rita looked at Lynn.
"Are you going to be fine?"
Lynn held her catatonic brother against her, running her hands down his back.
"Just go." She told her without even turning around. The parents looked at each other with worry, before slipping once more in the trashed principal office, closing the door behind them.
The sportsgirl swallowed the lump down her throat.
"You really did it this time love."
Lincoln didn't even react, keeping his eyes glued to the floor, his mind in a different world, shaking so hard like if he had a bad fever.
"I know that you want to fight for me, but I am a grown ass girl Linc. You don't have to get beat up about me…I can take care of myself. I am not made out of glass."
Her words were lost completely to him, only that the feeling behind them were layered thickly with anger and sadness.
"I…" His blood red eyes focused on her. "I am scared"
He stunned her again with just three words. For the longest time, Lynn did not know what to do or say to even counter it. Wanting nothing more than to kiss him right there and to chase his demons away, but this couldn't be resolved with kicks and punches. Now she came to the realization that something had come out that day, clutching Lincoln in its clutches and she didn't even know how to even fight something like that. She started to feel completely pathetic, pinning this on her…if she hadn't been so headstrong and competitive, constantly reminding the failures of everyone, none of this would've happened…they were completely right about her.
"Why I am so angry?" His voice was so small, lips shaking as sobs cracked. Immediately she crushed him against her, finding his needs more important than her own conflicting emotions.
"You did nothing wrong…I…did this to you. If I hadn't rubbed the team of how much they suck, nothing of this would be happening…you should hate me for it…screw sports. What's the point of enjoying it? If nobody is going to be there to supporting me"
Lincoln took control of his sadness, shaking his head slowly.
"I have always cheered you." The white-haired boy said, wanting nothing more than to kiss her. "They were…just…bad people." He sniffed. "Don't feel bad…they don't ever deserve your pity after what they did to us. Even if I reacting like this, out of my control, I don't regret kicking their asses."
The sibling-lovers smiled weakly at each other; the door opening interrupted them as their parents aimed a worried look at them. Sighing, Lynn Sr walked to his son.
"I trust you're calm enough to talk to Mr. Huggins without destroying half the school?"
Rita sent a deathly glare at how insensitive that had sounded but Lincoln stood up with conviction, slowly separating from Lynn.
"Yes." The way he said it with such emptiness brought a gut-wrenching agony to Lynn who sent her heart out to him.
His father aimed his palm towards the office.
"The principal wants to speak with you Lincoln, alone. If I just learn that you try to attack him once more, God help me in what I will do to you." He stabbed an angry gaze at his son and Rita had to hold from running her mouth, hating how he had just reacted, even if it was a completely understanding reaction to what just happened.
Sighing, the boy rubbed the ears from his eyes and entered the office of the Principal once more as he closed the door behind them. He hadn't even made a motion to beginning to clean up, yet his eyes were completely focused on him. Would he be expelled now? He was completely at his mercy now and with good reason. His parents would have to have a fortune aside just to repair the damage that he did to his office. He was going to get locked up in a cell for the mentally insane.
"Not long ago we were just having a good time to bound little one but you and I are going to have a talk to see what makes you tick." He cleared his throat at the lack of reaction from the boy. "You see Lincoln…my PH.D was in psychology, years behind my time and I dare to say that I know what is the cause of your anger…and believe me, I will do whatever is in my power to reverse this situation, but you must help me as well to make it happen."
Lincoln blinked.
"By doing what?"
Mr. Huggins smiled.
"How about you talk to me? Man to man, that's something that the Savvy would do"
For the next twenty minutes, they talked. Outside, Lynn sighed for the eleventh time, fighting with her own impulsive nature to not rush into that office and complete the job that her lover had started when the door slowly opened. Lincoln and Mr. Huggins came aside to the expectant Loud parents. Rita worryingly spared the principal and then to her son.
"Well? How was everything?"
The white-haired boy looked at the principal and he nodded.
Sighing, Lincoln armed himself with valor and faced Lynn and his parents.
"I have PTSD."
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A/N: For the longest time, I have reeled the cause of his random burst of anger steered from the event that brought them together, yet, would that be the obstacle that puts a wrench in their relationship? We shall see about that.
D4rK