Light poured into the room, illuminating it in a light orange glow. It crawled onto the face of two 11 year old Louds. One sleeping soundly, not a care in the world as she snuggled with the other who lay sprawled lazily on his bed, his eyes wide awake and clearly tired.
Lincoln hadn't slept much that night… In fact he hadn't slept at all. Too many thoughts kept him awake dragging him from the sweet embrace of sleep every time he closed his eyes. But finally, it was morning, the daytime sun pushing away his thoughts as he felt sleep finally beginning to claim him.
But…. No, he couldn't go back to sleep. Morning meant time to wake up and start the day.
With much more effort than normally necessary, he pushed his feet off the bed, onto the floor, and with a tired yawn, he grabbed his daily outfit and dragged himself out of the room.
The sun was even brighter outside his room, and he squinted his eyes to avoid the glare that shone into them. Though his windows were closed, he wondered how the sun was even brighter here. He pulled himself to the back of the morning line and stood behind a boy with snow white hair, and glowing green eye... wait a minute. He blinked rapidly and rubbed his face with his hands, before he realized he was actually standing behind Luna. Maybe a mid-night movie marathon wasn't the best idea.
The aforementioned musician turned as Lincoln let out a rather loud tired yawn. "Whoa there dude, you trying to swallow a whale with that thing."
Lincoln chuckled as his eyelids began to shut. "No… just… didn't…" the sound of a door close somewhere ahead of him snapped him back to life. He looked to see the line had shortened and deduced that someone else must have entered the bath. He smacked his lips, becoming tired of that morning taste in his mouth, before continuing. "Just didn't sleep right last night."
Luna chuckled and ruffled his hair, much to the man with a plan's chagrin. "Sorry bro, you gotta get your beauty rest or you'll look… like this I guess."
Another door shut and he snapped out of another sleep trance that he entered while Luna was talking. But he didn't last long as his eyes began to close and his body began to slant. He knew what would happen and simply stiffed up, realizing he would soon hit the floor… but it never came. Instead his head landed on a soft warm cushiony surface which he easily sank into. He smiled as he nuzzled against it, using his hands to soften it, and marveled at how soft and malleable it already was… then he froze as a realization struck him.
There was no soft malleable cushion in the hallway.
He squeaked as he opened his eyes and trailed the cushion with slender legs up to a curved waist and even higher to its face. Her face… Leni's face!
He jumped back in a mixture of fear and confusion as a fury of giggles erupted around him. Leni stared at him for a second, a little startled before chuckling. Lincoln practically bowed in apology. "Sorry Leni, I was tired and I didn't know you were there and… and…"
Leni simply sent him a warm smile that melted his tension. "Its totes ok Lincy. I know you're tired." She pulled him in for a side hug and his blush intensified as his hand brushed her ass once again in the process. She didn't seem to notice though as she released him and continued on her merry way. Lincoln stood, before sending another "I'm sorry" her way.
He wiped his brow and turned back to the front of the line, but suddenly felt a shiver run up his spine. He whirled around abruptly and caught Lucy glaring daggers at Leni, while the latter simply waved at her, either blissfully unaware, or leaving the matter for another time. Lucy sighed as Leni's bobbing head disappeared down the stairs, before turning to back to the front with folded arms, but froze as she noticed Lincoln staring. Stoic as ever, she stared him down, her ever shielded eyes piercing into his very soul.
Now that the shock from earlier had instilled more life in him, Lincoln had the strength to not yield, instead, moved closer and placed a hand on her shoulder, and calmly said "Hey Lucy, what was that about?"
Lucy blushed, the dark red a striking contrast from the pale gray of her skin
She shrugged his arm away, and shifted away, her gaze turned away. "It's nothing, I just…" She trailed off.
"What is it Luce?" Lincoln asked, getting very concerned.
Lucy turned back to him, her glare returned, though her blush darkened. "I…" she started, but was interrupted when Lori exited her room.
"You guys better hurry up." The eldest Loud child called. "Don't wanna be late." Lincoln turned back to Lucy, but could only blink as he realized she was gone. She must have slipped away the moment he was distracted by Lori.
"Has anyone seen Lisa today?" Lori asked as Lincoln sighed, his worry for Lucy increasing
"Nope, she's been cooped up like a chicken all morning. Get it?" Ok, that was enough to pull his attention as he joined the rest of his siblings to groan in annoyance.
Lori rolled her eyes, and he watched her knock on Lisa's door. The child genius answered and even from where he stood, Lincoln could make out the bags under her eyes and the exhaustion written clearly on her face. They conversed for a little bit, Lori speaking calmly as Lisa provided her limited answers. Before long, the door was slammed in her face and Lori simply stared at it for a few seconds, before –to their eternal surprise- she turned and walked away moving down the stairs without another word. They all looked to each other confused and bemused at the lack of yelling, before shrugging and going back to waiting for their turn in the shower.
"Linc, get your butt down here already!" Lynn yelled from downstairs
Lincoln groaned as he descended the stairs. "Hold your horses!" He yelled back as he reached the bottom. "Yeesh it's not like I'm going to school or…" He paused as he noticed the spread. "What's… all this?"
Leni stood, her smile threatening to tear her face in half. She walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's for you, from me and Lori." 'Lori and I' He thought but made no move to correct her, as he glanced to Lori, who waved back.
"All of it?!" Lincoln exclaimed, excited, the concept of eating all those pancakes just….
"No ya dink." Luna called as she pointed at an empty seat. "This."
Lincoln stepped closer and once he noticed the plate set for him, he squealed girlishly, before coughing and letting out a more manly, "Yay. Thanks guys." But still smiled proudly and said, "You're the best."
Set before him was a high stack of pancakes lovingly decorated with syrup and popcorn. It was so tall he wondered if it would fall when he took a bite. Though… it did remind him of something similarly made on this TV show he used to watch… Steven something… maybe about the universe… Never mind. He could reminisce later, right now he was ready to pounce on it. Though before he could hop onto his seat, Leni pulled him in for a hug. It was a simple hug in the eyes of others, but with him having his hands in front of him as they hugged, his palms pressed firmly against her breasts. It probably wasn't obvious, and Leni didn't seem to mind, but to him, it was the most amazing feeling he could say he had ever felt.
Though it was short lived as she pushed him to his seat. "Now eat, and tell me what you think."
He sat down and picked up a fork. His mouth watering as he got ready to dig in.
Lynn looked to Leni desperately, as she sat back down. "Now?!" Lincoln looked to her a bit confused.
Leni, who had finally completed her goal, picked up a fork and looked at her plate hungrily. "Dig in."
No one needed anymore motivation, as each pounced on their food, some not even using cutlery. Lincoln watched in awe as they practically inhaled their meal, before laughing and eating his own, considerable slower than the rest.
"What'd she say Luna?" Lincoln asked as Luna descended the stairs.
"She's totally hooked dudes." Luna said as she reached the bottom and grabbed her backpack. "She just swiped the bloody pancakes and slammed the door in my face."
Lori sighed. "Let's leave her to work, we all know why."
"Speaking of which." Lola asked, looking around. "Where's Lily?" Lincoln froze at the question, his brain going into overdrive as he started thinking of an excuse. Everyone made sounds of concurrence as they looked around for the aforementioned one year old.
All eyes fell on Lincoln and he shrank back at their collective gaze. "S-she's still sleeping. I guess… she didn't get much sleep last night?" He said more as a question than a statement.
They all nodded, accepting his answer, all except Lucy, who simply stared at him without moving. Lincoln looked to her worriedly.
"Alright then, everyone set?" Lori called out and all her siblings nodded as Lincoln helped the twins with their back packs. "Then file out!"
In a less than organized manner, they moved out of the house, one by one into Vanzilla. After the last few heads were accounted for, Lori bade one last look at the stairs, before turning to leave, but a call stopped her.
"Wait." Lisa called, as she hopped down the stairs, empty plate in hand. She handed the plate to Lincoln who smiled at her. "I hope I'm not too late."
Lori smiled. "If you were late, I wouldn't be here." They made their way together towards Vanzilla and Lincoln closed the door behind them. "Well that turned out well." He made his way to the kitchen and washed her plate, and then returned to the living room but froze upon realizing who was in there.
"L-lucy?" He asked bewildered as he looked out the window and noticed Vanzilla was gone. "What are you doing here, you should be with them… I thought I saw you leave."
"It's rather easy for me to move unnoticed." She replied.
You can say that again. "Well what are you doing here?" He repeated as he began to fear for her lateness to school
"To give you a simple warning… in the form of a poem." She looked him right in the eyes and drew near to him.
Lincoln my dear, I tell you beware, the events that will follow are those that you fear.
Three that you know shall love you so pure, but not in the way that you are quite sure.
One that you rest with is lusting for you, but lives unaware of the things she may do.
One is corrupted, her mind is breaking, and she would do anything for you to be taken.
Three oh so young, have you in their hearts, their feelings for you can top all the charts.
Finally two have nothing for you, but rest not peasant, for you have no clue,
The troubles that lie ahead my dear brother, of this my short poem you should be bothered.
Without another word, she walked out the door leaving Lincoln staring at the wall in complete disbelief. "Ooookey…" He said and turned around, feeling his usual amount of uneasiness at Lucy's strange mannerisms.
He made his way to the couch and propped down, turning on the TV and sinking into the comfy material. Suddenly he froze as a door opened upstairs. The sound of footsteps reached his ears as a pair of feet descended the stairs.
"Mmm… pancakes." A soft voice spoke behind him. He didn't even need to turn around to know who it was. The steps faded as she entered the kitchen, then returned as she came back toward the couch. She must have moved behind it, because the next thing he knew, the couch beside him depressed. "Morning Lincoln." She said to him, her voice clearly cheerful, which surprised Lincoln.
After what he did yesterday, practically drugging her, he expected her to be furious or at least a little miffed, not happily munching on pancakes. He sighed, feeling ashamed of himself, but knew he had to talk to her eventually. Knowing her, if he didn't respond, she would force him to acknowledge her.
He turned to her, putting on his best smile and ready to begin their daily banter but froze dead as his eyes finally fell on her. There she sat, completely butt naked, from head to toe, the only thing protecting her dignity, being the large plate of pancakes that sat on her lap. She used a fork and stabbed the top stack, taking it to her mouth as syrup dripped down unto her chest and coated her breasts in a glistening slick goo.
Lincoln drew the line there and hastily stood up. "Lily, why are you naked?!"
Lily paused to look herself over. "I'm always like this…" Lincoln paused. This was eerily similar to the first time he had seen her naked. Especially with the innocent look she had in her eyes.
Could it be? "Well, you haven't had to go naked for the past few days, what changed?"
Lily shrugged as she flicked some syrup off her nipple and licked it, further driving the poor boy to madness. "I don't know, I just feel different. In a weird way I feel more care free."
Maybe the serum worked. She's back to her child-like playful self. He was ecstatic, but as he watched her try to lick more syrup off her breasts, he thought of what this could mean. Lisa might almost be done with the cure.
"Well, ok then… We are the only people at home, and I practically have a mental image of you nude glued in here anyway so…" He plopped down beside her, and took the remote.
"Lincoln… why do you hate me?" Lincoln choked on his spit at the sudden bluntness of the question.
"What?" The white haired boy asked in shock. "Where did that come from?"
"Why don't you like hanging out with me." She asked, her voice sounding a little too calm as she munched on another pancake, the stack half gone.
"I don't hate you… I can never hate you. Why in the world would you think…"
"Then go on a date with me." She interrupted him, as Lincoln looked to her still confused.
"Where's this coming from all of a sudden?" He asked again.
Lily finally looked to him. "Because you don't like spending time with me. If not for you having to babysit me every day, you probably wouldn't want to even be close to me right?" She looked to tear up but strangely her features still remained calm.
"Lily, I… I don't hate you ok, and I never will. I'm just not used to this new you."
"Then let's go on a date. You and me. We can get to know each other then, right?"
She stared at him with her eyes wide and her lips quivering. Her secret weapon, her trump card. The puppy dog eyes.
Lincoln couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright. I'll take you out, but not as a date… just two siblings hanging out." Her eyes widened as she squealed, pushing the now empty plate away as she stood, grabbed his hand and made for the door.
Lincoln pulled her back. He looked her over, noticing even her platinum blond hair was coated in syrup. "Wow… hey there. Your still covered in syrup and naked. Go take a bath young lady."
Lily froze, the general concept of taking a bath to her, as with all children, not too appealing. "No, I don't wanna." She whined.
Lincoln gave her a stern look. "Take a bath or we're not going anywhere."
She slouched. "And then we go out?"
Lincoln smiled. "Then we go out."
She instantly perked up with a happy "Yay!" before skipping up the stairs chanting "We're going on a date, we're going on a date."
"It's not a date!" Lincoln called after her, but as he watched her ass merrily bounce up the stairs, he sighed and fell onto the couch. "Why do I have a feeling, this is a bad idea."
About an hour later, the sound of feet descending the stairs turned his attention away from the TV screen. Lily made her way down dressed in an outfit he was sure he hadn't seen before. She wore a light black button up long sleeved shirt beneath a violet sweater vest. She also wore a dark purple frilly skirt that reached just above her knees, on her feet were black sneakers with purple ankle high socks. She had some of her hair tied up in a with a purple rubber band and her shiny platinum locks were pointed upward like a mock imitation of his cowlick and the rest fell just above her back, neatly combed.
She sent him a shy look, as she put her hands behind her back swaying side to side as she shuffled her feet nervously. His heart skipped a beat at how cute she looked. "So…" she asked reprehensive, "How do I look?"
How did she look? How did she look?! Lincoln who had stood up from the couch to have a better look at her simply smiled as only one thought came to mind. She looked beautiful. That and… she liked purple… A lot.
"You look awesome Lily." The blonde's shy expression changed to that of unbridled joy in nanoseconds as she skipped toward him and hooked her arm around his.
"Thanks Lincy. Now let's get this date started."
Lincoln shot her a deadpan look. "It's not a date."
They left the house and after a few minutes of walking, Lily finally realized something. "Hey where are we going anyway?"
"Somewhere where we can get some nice peace and quiet." he said as they turned the corner, and he stopped, causing her to stop too. In front of her was a neatly cleaned field with several trees sticking out in a clearly defined pattern, linearly following a concrete path around to the different benches and booths, before twirling around the large fountain in the middle. Within, few walked around, chatting idly with someone close by or doing something particular that took their time.
Lily recognized this place, mommy took her here all the time. This is the "Royal Woods Central Park." Lincoln said, beating her to it.
Lily bounced on the spot in glee. "Yeah!" Suddenly she went wide eyed. "Is this where we're going for our date?!"
Lincoln couldn't help but cringe at how loud she was. "It's not a…" he paused and sighed. "Yeah, it is."
A blinding smile broke out on her face and she suddenly seized his hand, startling him as she forcefully tugged him forward. He rolled his eyes playfully, though not regretting the idea… yet.
On first glance, the two looked like a normal pair of young kids going out for a little fun in the town. Enjoying the morning breeze on a lone park bench. Though the scowl on the boy's face and the massive ice cream cone in the hand of the girl spoke about a little unsolicited spending, they still looked happy together.
Lily leaned against her brother as they watched people stroll by. Kids were in school and most adults were at work, so just a hand full of people were scattered around the park. Though the few older adults that were there did give them a passing glance.
Now that Lincoln thought about it, two kids in the park alone, while everyone else was in school does seem a bit conspicuous, but luckily for them no one seemed to do anything big, just curious looks and stares so far.
A tiny belch sounded beside him and Lily hiccupped in satisfaction, cone gone and remains of ice cream covering her mouth. He looked glanced down at his melting ice pop and back at her as she too stared at it longingly. He smiled and held it up to her, but instead of taking it, she encased the whole tip in her mouth. Lincoln watched in awe as she slowly began bobbing her head on it, licking as her head reached the top, then diving down presumably trying to see how deep she could shove it in her mouth.
It began to melt around the sides and she moaned in delight as the tip melted off in her mouth, and she took more of the pop stick in to avoid spilling.
He glanced around and could clearly make out more than a comfortable number of people watching them. He looked at her and realized what this might have seemed like. In a haste, he tugged it out of her mouth with enough force that it sent droplets of the white vanilla pop stick raining on them. She paused and used her index finger to pick a drop off her cheek, which felt surprisingly sticky all of a sudden. She popped her finger into her mouth and moaned again as she liked her finger clean.
Mouths hit the floor at the display, while others seemed to wither in fury. This was their cue to get out of there. Without a second thought, he took her hand and pulled her off the bench, rushing off to find somewhere they could clean up –and maybe somewhere to hide- then they would leave the park, before anyone thought to call the cops.
A few steps away was a public rest room, and they're should definitely be a tap in there. He pulled a shaken Lily towards it and opened the door, practically flinging her inside. She stumbled a little, but managed to regain her balance and prevent a fall, before whirling around on the spot to glare daggers at him. "What the fudge Lincoln?"
Lincoln took a second to stare at her a little. "What the fudge… what is fudge is you going all anime girl on that lollipop! What was that?"
Lily's face contorted a bit in confusion, "Anime… girl?" she shook her head and continued glaring. "Never mind… anyway, that's how I always ate ice cream mommy and daddy bought for me. It's how I like eating it, and I'm not changing it." She turned with a 'hmph' and stamped her foot on the ground, puffing out her cheeks –maybe in an attempt to look more intimidating- and cried. "And you can't make me change!"
To Lincoln, she looked like she was on the verge of an epic temper tantrum. What's with her all of a sudden? She's acting like such a baby. He opened his mouth to retort, but closed it as something that previously eluded him came to mind.
"Well, I have a base prototype of the cure, but it only reverts her personality back to normal, but it won't revert her to her normal age." He remembered Lisa saying.
"Reverts her personality back to normal?" he whispered out loud as he watched Lily begrudgingly wipe off the ice cream stains with a towel and some water from the tap, sneaking a few licks of her finger from time to time. By that had she meant she would act like a baby again? Innocent, carefree, naïve?
Now he thought about it from her perspective. A one and a half year old girl, stuck in an eleven year old's body, being forced to change the way she has known to act and feel throughout her whole life, in a short period of time. It must have been scary for her. Is that why she stays with me the most? Because she knows I wouldn't force her to change who she is? That softened his resolve a little bit. "Gosh darn it Lily." He said with a smile.
Hearing her name being called, she sharply turned her head to him, with an accusing "What?"
"Fine, if that's what you really want, I won't force you to change." Her scowl lessened into a far less damning frown. "You're still you, and changing that just because your body is different would be wrong, wouldn't it."
Her beaming smile was back in seconds, and she dropped the towel and rushed him, practically tackling him to the ground, and stealing a quick peck on his lips. "This right here Lincy is why I love you." She said, snuggling onto his chest.
He couldn't help the smile that overtook as he ruffled her hair. "Yeah, love you too Lily." He said with a small laugh.
Maybe this wasn't going to be such a bad date after all.
Though neither noticed the quiet rustle of the bushes behind them, or the silent flash of light.
The park wasn't such a bad place, but maybe it would be best if they avoided it for now. But it was still quite early, why not one more stop. Even Lily conceded to that.
He took her hand and led her out of the park -taking a different route away from where they had been of course- and onto the streets and he's still holding my hand!
Lily's gaze moved down to their entwined fingers and she withheld a squeal as she noticed that they were still holding hands. She unintentionally tightened her grip, and was a bit surprised when he didn't pull away.
"Are you hungry?" He asked suddenly and she paused her runaway train of thought.
Lily snapped out of her daze. "Well uh… I guess I could eat." Not that the massive buffet of pancakes along with two cones of ice cream weren't filling. She really just wanted to spend more time out with Lincoln.
"Cool, because I'm thinking of stopping by a new fast food place across town. One we haven't been banned from… yet." Lincoln added the last part sheepishly.
That sounded nice. A quiet romantic dinner –or in this case breakfast… or brunch?- that she had always seen in those movies Lori and Leni liked to watch.
This was not what she expected at all. The loud music, and the small spacing between seats she could tolerate. But what got to her were the kids. So many kids everywhere.
They sat by the windows, in front of the restaurant. The perfect vantage point where she could see all that unfolded in the room, and how not romantic it all was.
"Lincoln." She gave him a cold glare.
"Yes?" He responded as he took a bite out of his burger.
"This is a kid's restaurant." She added.
"So?" He dropped his half eaten burger and reached for his milkshake, but she grabbed his hand.
"Lincoln, this is not where I expected us to come."
"It's a fast food place that mostly caters to kids, so what? At least they serve food." He wriggled his arm free and grabbed his milkshake. "What did you expect us to go to one of those fancy five-star restaurants?" He glanced at her and her lowered gaze told him what he needed to know. "Wait you actually did?" She shyly looked up at him and nodded yes.
"Lily, those places serve food the size of peas for prices that can probably rent a small house. I barely had money to afford this place not to talk of some fancy pants restaurant." He glanced outside at the school bus, then back inside at the chaos of kids running around, and employees trying to dish out as many orders as possible. "And sure we were ill-timed to come the day some kindergarteners decide to have a field trip, but I find it calming."
Lily finally looked at him at that. "Really? You find a bunch of kids running amok and causing chaos to be calming."
"Is it any different than back at home?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
That got a smile out of her. "Good point." She finally picked up her burger and took a bite. "And the food isn't too bad either.
"If you call greasy bags of meat not bad, then no problem." He picked up the ketchup bottle and turned it over, but nothing came out. "Stupid little…" he slapped the end of the bottle, and finally a huge blob squeezed out, landing on the plate with a nice splat. "There we go."
Lily coughed beside him and he turned to her, but froze as he noticed the huge smudge of ketchup on her cheek. He smiled sheepishly, and placed a finger on her cheek, rubbing some off and wiping it off on his plate. She simply stared at him as he raised his finger to pick off more, before latching her mouth onto it, and biting down. He yelped as Lily giggled, struggling to pull his hand free.
She let his finger go with a triumphant grin, and Lincoln glared at her, before placing his fingers on his plate and flicking a considerable amount of ketchup back on her cheek. She let out a low growl, before pouncing on him.
They were both going home dirty today.
Though they didn't notice the suspicious looking individual across the street, pointing her phone directly at them.
School is out at last! Maybe if she hurried home, she could get in some skateboarding time at the park, before doing her homework.
Ronnie Ann Santiago expertly maneuvered her way through the crowd of students that flooded past her, each just as eager to get out of school as she was. She reached her locker and dialed in the combination, tugging it open as soon as she heard the click. Her phone beeped in her pocket and she paused to answer it, but stopped as she heard the sounds of other people's phones beeping simultaneously. Mass Text. Probably some sort of gossip she didn't have time for.
A group of girls gathered beside her locker pulled out their phones and checked it. "Isn't that? I thought she was home sick." She heard one girl ask.
"Yeah, maybe she went out for some fresh air or something." Another answered
"Ugh it doesn't matter, just open the message already."
"OMGosh! Is that? It can't be." Ronnie Ann rolled her eyes, closed her locker and prepared to walk off.
"Lincoln Loud?" That caused her to halt in her tracks. Gossip she didn't have time for. Lincoln related gossip she could take a glance at.
"Who is that chick? She's kind of cute. Not as cute as you of course Tammy, but still cute."
"Duh, of course she's not as cute as me. But how did a dork like Lincoln score someone like her?" Ronnie Ann didn't need to hear anymore, she took off toward the school door, pulling out her phone as she did so.
It can't be. She rushed out the doors, turning and standing beside the school stairs. He wouldn't. She scrolled up, put in her password, and opened the message. And just like that, her fears were confirmed. She felt tears prickling her eyes as she stared at the multitudes of pictures sent to her. Lincoln and that… girl. I thought it was Lily. That… that asshole lied to me.
She forced the tears back in and highlighted the most incriminating of all the photos, sending it to the one person she knew she could turn to. Big brother Bobby.
They were a bit worse for wear, but they managed to leave the place without getting too many stains on themselves. They were holding hands again. Oh God this felt great.
Lincoln laughed as they turned the corner and came into their street. "No way, I definitely won."
Lily shook her head exaggeratedly "Excuse me, but who had the ketchup bottle pointed at his neck. I was one spurt away from painting you red."
Lincoln sighed. "But you hesitated young one. That was your mistake." He said in a mock sage voice.
"So you managed to kick it out of my hand, big whoop. Let it go, I could have ended you right there."
Lincoln laughed as they climbed the porch up to their front door. "Denial is a bad habit Lily." He opened the door and they both walked in, but were shocked to find Lori sitting on the couch, her hair frazzled, and her eyes looking tired. Upon noticing them, she turned off the TV and stood. "Welcome home." She said. Her voice was nice and leveled, but the glare she gave them spoke volumes. Especially him. "We need to talk."
Something was wrong. Very very wrong.
Author's Note: Next chapter out. Took a bit longer than usual but I finally made it. My next chapter would be out soon.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!