A/N: This is one of a pair of twin-focused two-shots - this one mainly focused on Lola; the other is a Lana-focused story entitled Green With Envy. Personally, I think this is the better one of the two, and I have a feeling you, dear readers, may agree (of course, that's up to your judgement).

September. The beginning of autumn. The greenery of the foliage had already taken on a sun-kissed look with highlights of yellow atop the trees and bushes through-out the town of Royal Woods, Michigan - it would only be a matter of time before it all would be giving way to an explosion of color. The swirl of red, orange, yellow, and brown leaves were not the only things that were on the horizon for the area - the time was also going to be coming up for the next annual Little Miss Maple Leaf pageant. It was a pageant that the beauty queen of Royal Woods herself, Lola Loud, had yet to actually enroll in, but one that had been on her checklist for quite a while... and she not only hoped to cross it off of that list soon, but also hoped to be awarded the coveted Little Miss Maple Leaf crown. After looking over all of the boring paper work that she could have actually cared less about, her mother and manager, Rita, had everything signed and ready: Lola Loud was officially enrolled in the Little Miss Maple Leaf pageant as a contender, much to her delight. The pageant itself would be taking place in mid-October, when peak fall color season was projected to take place in the region, and Lola was intending to be completely prepared for when the big day finally arrives.

One Saturday afternoon, Rita was at the Royal Woods Mall, with most of her children in tow. Although one of the main purposes of this outing was to help Lola shop for a new dress for the upcoming pageant, the other siblings had their own agendas of what they would rather be doing instead: Lincoln was wanting to head over to the comics shop to snag the latest issue of Ace Savvy, Luna was wanting to head over to the music store to browse through the new shipments of records, Luan was wanting to head over to the magic shop to browse their inventory of comedy props, Lana was wanting to go over to the food court for soft pretzels, and Lisa was wanting to visit the book store before it closes its doors for good later this year. Rita allowed the more responsible older children, as well as Lisa, to run along to wherever they wanted to go, but given Lana's mischievous streak, she felt it was better she stick with her and Lola while they browsed through the dresses at Reininger's. Of course, the tomboy twin was not at all pleased about this: she was ready to sink her teeth into the warm, doughy, and salty goodness of those soft pretzels, drenched in however many different dipping sauces she could get tiny her hands on - Lola could be looking at dresses for HOURS.

Indeed, Lola was taking an incredibly long time looking around the department store, because there was nothing that seemed to be grabbing her interest... but as it turned out, this was one of those Saturdays where Leni was working in the store, and when she spotted her mother and little twins sisters among the customers, she wasted no time in approaching them. "Hey, guys!" The pretty, bubbly, blonde fashionista greeted the three members of her family. "What are you doing here?"

"We're trying to help Lola find a new dress for the upcoming Little Miss Maple Leaf pageant," explained Rita.

"Yeah, and, it's taking FOREVER!" Lana complained.

"Ooh! See anything you like?" Leni asked the pink-clad tyke.

"No, I don't, I can't find anything!" Lola whined.

"Aww, that's too bad! Hey, I know, why don't I help you find something?" Leni offered.

"Yeah!" Lana agreed, as she began tugging on Rita's hand. "Leni can help Lola, and we can go over to the food court and get those soft pretzels!"

"Well, I suppose that would be okay..." said Rita, as Lana began dragging her away.

"Alright! Come on, let's go, Mom!" Lana exclaimed, pulling her mother out of the store with incredible speed.

"We'll be back in about ten minutes," Rita called out to the other two.

"Okay, see you in ten!" Leni waved to her mother and one of her little twin sisters. "Come on, Lols, I'll help you find something..."

Leni took the little princess by the hand, as they went deeper into the store, browsing through the sizeable girl's department. To Lola's amazement, there were so many sweaters, jackets, parkas, and overcoats being displayed. The very few dresses that they did have hardly seemed suitable for fall, with so many of them being various different shades of blues, greens, purples, and other cool colors.

"Uh, Leni?" Lola spoke up. "Why does everything here look more like stuff for Frozen cosplays?"

"Oh, that's something I learned ever since I started working in retail, Lols," Leni began to explain. "They always stay one season ahead when it comes to big sales and moving merchandise."

It was true; just about everything being sold in the store as far as clothing and apparel was concerned was clearly for the upcoming winter season. Lola moaned, "None of this will work for a fall pageant..."

"Yeah, if you wanted something for fall, you should've come in back when it was summer," said Leni, with a shrug.

"I didn't even know about the pageant back when it was summer," said Lola, as she let out another one of her overly dramatic wails, and dropped to the floor. "Now what am I going to do? The Little Miss Maple Leaf pageant is coming up soon, and I don't have a thing to wear for it!"

Seeing her little sister frustrated over her need for a special new dress for one of her upcoming pageants, a lightbulb suddenly popped over Leni's head: a 20-watt bulb that was not even lighting up; the ditzy blonde reached up to flick the bulb with her fingers, causing it to turn into a glowing 60-watt bulb. "Hey, I've got an idea Lols... how about I make a dress for you?"

"Make a dress for me?" Lola asked, as she looked up at her big sister.

"Yeah!" Leni exclaimed, kneeling down next to the little pink princess. "I'm sure if we bounced around some ideas, we could def come up with something totes special for your pageant!"

Lola began releasing a large, gap-toothed grin over what Leni was proposing, "Yeah... that's a great idea! Why should Lola Loud settle for something off the rack, when she could have a one-of-a-kind original?"

It was settled then. Later that evening, after the day's errands had been completed, and the family had their fill of another delicious Lynn-tastic dinner, Lola sat atop Leni's bed with her older sister, who had a notepad and pencil in hand, ready to jot down notes for what Lola would like for her new original Little Miss Maple Leaf dress.

"Since it's a fall pageant, your dress should probably be a fall color," suggested Leni.

"You're right!" Lola squealed.

"What color do you have in mind?" Leni asked. "Oak? Ash? Beech? Elm?"

"Uhh, since this is the Little Miss MAPLE Leaf pageant, it should probably be MAPLE leaf colored!" Lola muttered.

"Ooh, that's a good idea!" Leni exclaimed, as she began taking notes.

"No brown; brown does not go at all..." said Lola about one of her least favorite colors. "Yellow goes great with my beautiful blonde hair, but I wore yellow for the Little Miss Sunbeam pageant, and Lola Loud does NOT wear the same thing twice... Orange? Eeeehhhhh... I'm not really sure if orange is me... Buuut... red is a really good color... it's like the universal, 'Everyone-looks-good-in-color'..."

"You would look totes radiant in red!" Leni said, as she continued taking notes.

Lola giggled, as she fiddled with her hair, "I would, wouldn't I?"

"Oh, and how about we add some maple leaves to your dress?" Leni suggested.

"Wouldn't they turn all brown and crinkly before the pageant?" Lola asked while furrowing her brow.

"I mean like little FAU-X maple leaves," said Leni. "I could stitch them around the hems, which would help accent your dress a little."

Lola's little face began lighting up, "That is a fabulous idea, Leni!"

Leni went back to taking notes about their creation.

"Now, if there was something we could do to add a little extra sparkle and flash to the dress," mused Lola. "Something that says, 'LOOK AT ME!' But, without looking too conspicuous..."

Leni was blown away by Lola's ability to use such a big word in a sentence correctly, but began to ponder on her little sister's theory. How do leaves sparkle and flash? They really don't... unless they are wet... but, how can a dress be wet? The rusted cogs and gears in Leni's cavernous mind were slowly turning, until she realized that leaves could sparkle in a way without being completely wet: when they have dew drops on them. It was as if another dim lightbulb had popped up over her head, "Oh, I know! How about we add some clear-colored sequins to your dress? You know, like little dew drops on a leaf? That could give you the sparkle and flash you want."

Lola's little face lit up even brighter over the suggestion, "Leni! You are a genius!"

Leni gasped in offense, "I am NOT! Wait... what's a genius?"

"Never mind," muttered Lola. "This is going to be the most spectacular, wondrous dress in the whole wide world! And it will all original, nobody else will have anything like it! That Little Miss Maple Leaf crown is as good as mine!"

Leni still had more notes to take. Lola gave her some more specifics in regards to what she would like in terms of the style of the dress, and how she wanted all of the coordinates to look. Afterwards, Leni retrieved her tape measure to take her little sister's measurements, essentially ensuring that the dress will be tailor-made to suit Lola's custom fit. When that was finished, Leni wrote on another sheet of paper, 'SHOOPING LIST,' with a list of specific materials she would need to buy in order to make the dress.

The following day was Sunday, one of the days of the week that Leni did not have to work. With her, 'SHOOPING LIST,' tucked away in her purse, she and Lola made a trip over to the hobby store. Their first stop was in the fabric department, where they browsed through a number of bolts of red fabric, before Lola decided on crepe for both its appearance and feel (and also for Leni's budget). After having a few yards of the red fabric cut for them, their next stop was over into the seasonal decor department, where they found packages of faux fall leaves that Leni could stitch to the hems of the dress; she managed to talk Lola into a pack of multi-colored leaves, just to add a little extra splash of color to the dress so that it would not all be monotone in color. Lastly, they stepped over into the arts and crafts department, where they found exactly what Leni was looking for: packages of colorless sequins that would be perfect for simulating the appearance of dew drops. Lola could hardly contain her excitement over knowing her big sister -who, while not entirely bright about most things, is an expert in fashion designing- would be making an original dress just for her; now she was looking forward to the Little Miss Maple Leaf pageant more than ever. After all of the necessary purchases had been made, the two sisters had returned home, with Lola being so anxious for Leni to get started... which, she actually did not, at first. Leni did spend much of the rest of the afternoon making even more notes, and making sketches of what the dress would look like (in spite of her claims of being a terrible artist), but that was where she had left off.

In addition to attending school on a daily basis, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays were days in which Leni worked after school part-time at Reininger's; during what little time the resident fashionista would be at home, Lola never did see any visual indications that her big sister was working on her dress. Come Thursday evening, the beauty queen trekked down the hallway into the room occupied by her two oldest sisters, where she found the two sitting atop their respective beds, doing their homework.

"Uh, Leni?" Lola asked.

The two older girls broke away from their homework to see the little pink princess having stepped into the room. "What's up, Lols?" Leni asked.

"Have you forgotten something?" Lola asked, sounding a trifle irked.

Leni began rubbing her chin, trying to figure out if there really was anything that she may have forgotten - that in and of itself being a difficult task, as Leni often forgets a LOT of things, and very easily. Finally, something did spring into the ditzy blonde's usually empty mind, "Oh, I forgot it was my turn to change Lily's diaper, didn't I?"

Lori chimed in, "You're good, Leni; it was actually my turn, and I've already taken care of it."

"Oh, okay!" Leni exclaimed. "Well, then... no, I can't think of anything I may have forgotten..."

"I was talking about MY DRESS," pressed Lola. "You were GOING to make me a dress for the Little Miss Maple Leaf pageant, remember?"

"Oh, I remember, Lols," insisted Leni.

"You sure about that?" Lola snarled. "Because, I haven't seen you working on it or anything."

Lori furrowed her brow; it certainly was not un-common for Lola to have a smart mouth, and an attitude to boot, but this was clearly uncalled for.

"I haven't really had much time to work on it," explained Leni. "I thought I'd have some free time tonight, but me and Lori have all this homework we gotta finish before tomorrow."

"Yeah, SOME of us in this house have to do homework after school," added Lori. "We don't ALL have the luxury of being in first grade."

"What does any of THAT have to do with with MY dress?" Lola asked, not picking up on Lori's sarcasm.

"Whenever I have some extra free time, I'll work on your dress for you, okay?" Leni asked Lola.

Lola emitted a loud, dramatic sigh, but had to suppose this offer was as good as any, "Alright, fine... when will you have free time?"

"Well, we could have more of it if we could finish our homework in peace, and not be interrupted by outside disturbances," griped Lori.

"I am going to pretend you did NOT just call Lola Loud a disturbance," barked Lola, placing her fists onto her hips. "But fine, fine; carry on with your so-called, 'Homework.' I'll just go about my own business..."

Lola drove her snooty little nose up into the air, turned, and stepped out the room, keeping her fists on her hips, to serve as a visual indication to her oldest sisters that she is not entirely pleased with this arrangement.

Lori rolled her eyes, "Honestly, sometimes that girl can get a little too big for her panties."

"Oh, well, maybe she should start wearing big girl underwear, then!" Leni suggested.

"Just let it go, Len," muttered Lori, as she resumed her homework, while Leni did the same.

Given her busy schedule, it was not until later Saturday afternoon when Leni finally some extra free time. When the fashionista returned home from Reininger's that afternoon, she ascended the stairs up to the second floor, stepped down to her right, and poked her head into the bedroom occupied by the twins, where she saw the girlier twin having a tea party with her dolls and stuffed animals, while the tomboy twin re-organizing her toolbox.

"Good news, Lols!" Leni exclaimed. "I've got the rest of the afternoon off, so I can get started on your new dress!"

"Well, it's about time!" Lola snapped from her little tea party table. "I've only been waiting since... since... however long it's been since we went shopping for materials!"

Leni recoiled ever so slightly from her little sister snapping at her, "Well, anyway, I'm just gonna go ahead and get started on it for you... 'kay?"

"Good!" Lola barked, while Leni slipped out of the room; the princess then returned her attention to her party guests. "I apologize for that interruption, dear friends. Now, Mr. Sprinkles, how many sugars did you ask for?"

"Whoa, Lols," said Lana, looking up from her toolbox. "Kinda harsh with Leni there, weren't ya?"

"I'm sorry, did I ask for your opinion?" Lola asked.

"No," mumbled Lana.

"Then, please, kindly do not interrupt my tea party," ordered Lola. "My guests are becoming quite upset."

"Pfft. Whatevs." Lana muttered, going back to her tools.

Once returning to the room she shares with Lori, Leni began looking over all of her notes: the measurements she took of Lola, and her sketches, to figure out exactly how to design the patterns, which she then proceeded to sketch and cut out from large sheets of parchment paper. After that, she pinned the patterns to the backside of the cherry red crepe, and began to cut the pieces out to prepare for sewing... that was the extent of the work she had gotten done before it was time for dinner. While the family was enjoying the dinner of some spicy Luna-casserole that Lynn, Sr. had prepared for them, Lola already began inquiring Leni of her progress.

"So, Leni; have you started working on my new dress yet?" Lola asked.

"I have!" Leni exclaimed. "I made the patterns, and cut them out, and then I pinned them to the fabric so I can pattern and cut them out."

"Oh, good!" Lola squealed in satisfaction. "So, my new dress should be finished soon?"

"I'm sure Leni will finish your new dress as soon as she can, Lola," Rita interjected. "Now, eat your dinner."

Lola did as her mother instructed, but knowing Leni had finally begun working on her dress made her far too excited to finish any of the food that was on her plate in front of her.

Sundays were usually not a day that Leni had to work, and as such, had nearly an entire day of free time, much to Lola's delight. Leni resumed working on Lola's dress after breakfast had been finished; retrieving a small-sized dressmaker's dummy from her closet, the blonde teen gradually began draping certain pieces of fabric around the dummy to help her get a feel for how the dress should properly fit onto someone as small and petite as Princess Loud, of which she proceeded to carefully pin the pieces together, and pretty soon, the pieces of fabric had taken on the basic shape of a dress. That was as far as Leni had gotten during the day, before hearing a notification tone on her mobile phone, which she pulled out from her purse by her bed; it was from one of her friends and co-workers, Fiona:

Me n Miguel going to movies, u in?

Leni happily replied:

I'M ALL IN!

With that, Leni dropped everything else that she had been doing, slipped her phone back into her purse, and left the house to meet up with her two friends over at the small theater in the Royal Woods Mall to see a movie for the afternoon. Such a recreational break for the teen would not sit very well with the little princess, who was not at all happy with her older sister when she returned home from the impromptu outing with her friends; when Leni stepped into the house a couple of hours later, Lola was already at the bottom of the stairs, with her arms crossed, and looking incredibly annoyed.

"Where have you been?!" Lola demanded to know.

"Oh, me, Fiona, and Miguel just saw a totes romantic movie," purred Leni. "See, there was this guy who was married to his high school sweetheart, but he was in the Army, so they sent him over to wherever they're having a war, and they keep writing love letters to each other while he's over there, but then he gets really hurt and they try to send back home, while at the same time, his sweetheart finds out about it, and she actually tries going over there to see him before he dies, and..."

Lola was in no mood for hearing about a sappy wartime romance; she had more pressing matters to discuss, "What about my dress?! You said you were going to work on my dress today!"

"And, I have!" Leni insisted. "I've got it all pinned together and everything, now I just gotta sew it up, and work on all the other little details, and it'll be done!"

The little princess's soured faced sweetened a little, "Oh... so... it... should be done really soon then, shouldn't it?"

"Totes!" Leni exclaimed. "I think the other little details will take the most time, but the rest of the dress shouldn't take too long at all."

"Oh... well, okay, I guess," said Lola; at least she was satisfied knowing the dress should not take much longer to finish.

The time it would take for Leni to actually finish the dress would really not be much longer... the problem was Leni actually finding the time to work on finishing the dress. With the new week underway, other obligations were consuming much of the teen's time, such as the following Monday, in which she had to juggle school, and working a shift at Reininger's afterwards. Naturally, Lola was not at all happy about this - in her little mind, it was as if Leni cared nothing about her having a new dress for the upcoming Little Miss Maple Leaf pageant - something she made known at the end of the day, when the Loud siblings were, as per usual, lined up in the hallway to brush their teeth, or take care of other pressing engagements in the bathroom, before bedtime.

"Leni, you didn't even work on my dress today!" Lola whined.

"I know, Lols," said Leni sympathetically. "I had to work today, I just didn't have the time..."

Lola merely folded her arms, pursed her lips, and began pouting, which had the perfect guilt-tripping effect on her big-hearted big sister.

"I don't have to work tomorrow, so I can get back to your dress when I get home from school, okay?" Leni re-assured her little sister.

"Good!" Was Lola's blunt response, though her attitude was garnering more than a few eye rolls from others lined in the hallway; standing in line waiting to brush, poop, or pee was enough of an annoyance for the siblings without the little princess's rotten attitude having to be another contributing factor.

Yes, I am aware Leni actually knows what a genius is, just let me have this one.