Back in the present timeline, while they found it cute, Ronnie Anne and Sid couldn't help but tease Lincoln about his bond with Lucy.
"Aw, such a caring big brother," Ronnie Anne said. "Getting all nice and cuddly with his little sister."
"Were there any lullabies involved?" Sid joked.
"I swear I can't tell you girls anything," Lincoln complained. "So I love my sister, what's the big deal!?"
"Girls, be nice," Stella playfully scolded. "This was my goal after all, I wanted Lincoln to grow closer to his sisters, so I'm very relieved it worked out so well."
"Yeah, you're right Stella," Ronnie Anne said. "Lincoln, you know by now I like to mess with you. It's great how much you love your sisters, especially Lucy."
"Yeah, I mean I can't imagine myself being that cuddly with Adelaide, but if you're cool with it then I won't judge," Sid said.
"Careful, Stella might make you do with your sister what she had me do with mine," Lincoln joked.
"Ha, as if," Sid said. "So I take it this is when Lucy told you about what she heard from Lynn?"
"Yeah, she gave me the run down that night, before we went to bed," Lincoln said. "Since that day Lucy's been much closer to me, it's like she can never leave my side."
"I'll admit, she might have gotten too attached," Stella said. "I guess the moment she realized she can latch onto you for emotional support, she took it."
"Lucy's always been a bit of a mystery to me," Ronnie Anne said.
"She's a mystery to even us sometimes," Lincoln said.
"Alright, so we've established that you and Lucy are tight knit, and the same with your sisters," Sid said. "But what about your friends, how'd they handle it?"
"It was a bit weird at first," Lincoln explained.
Flashback to Royal Woods Elementary Cafeteria where Lincoln and Stella had just revealed their relationship to Clyde, Rusty, Liam and Zach.
"Wait, so you two are officially dating!?" Liam asked, rather loudly.
"Can you keep your voice down please," Lincoln said. "I don't need the whole cafeteria to know about me and Stella."
"Sorry, I'm just surprised, I knew the two of you were getting much more chummy with each other but this!" Liam stated. "Sure didn't expect you two to be official!"
"Well I had a feeling this could happen," Clyde said. "Especially with how his sisters were all conspiring against each other to have Lincoln either date Stella or Ronnie Anne. Not one of Lori's finest moments, that's for sure."
"Well congrats Lincoln, you won the girl," Zach said.
"It wasn't a competition Zach," Lincoln said, before thinking about it. "Alright so it almost was but Stella chose me so if anything she won."
"The only winners are you and me Lincoln," Stella said. "Try thinking of it that way."
"Sounds good to me," Lincoln said.
"Alright, but explain one thing then," Rusty said. "When Stella first moved here and after our advances, she told us she wasn't interested in having a boyfriend, so what happened between then and now that she suddenly got into you Lincoln? Were you cheating!?"
"Cheating how?" Lincoln asked. "I didn't ask Stella out, she asked me. I didn't even expect her to return my feelings!"
"Aha! So you still had feelings for her!" Rusty accused.
"Well duh, she's a really cute girl, who wouldn't want to be her boyfriend?" Lincoln asked, getting a blush from the star shirt girl. "I just kept my feelings to myself because Stella wasn't ready."
"Truthfully it was the encouragement I got from his sisters that helped me realize that I did like Lincoln that way, and Ronnie Anne's motivation that gave me the courage to ask him to be my boyfriend," Stella said.
"Well isn't that nice?" Rusty sarcastically said. "Sure wish I had ten sisters and an ex-girlfriend who would go through lengths to help me."
"Ronnie Anne was never my girlfriend," Lincoln said.
"Hey I know you kissed her, or does the idea of you having had a girlfriend previously make Stella jealous?" Rusty asked. "Hiding things from your new girlfriend isn't proper Lincoln, you two should break up."
"Not gonna happen," Lincoln said.
"And I don't really care if Lincoln did have a girlfriend before me," Stella said. "Besides I like Ronnie Anne, so I have no grudge against her."
"Still, why Lincoln!? Why not me! I'm much more charismatic!" Rusty said, earning a glare from his friends.
"Dude, not cool," Clyde said.
"Yeah, I mean I'm bummed out too but you gotta slow your roll," Zach said.
"They're our friends, we gotta respect their relationship," Liam said. "Plus there are plenty of fish in the sea, seeing a couple with us at all times might give us some extra pointers."
"I'd be happy to give you guys tips, as long as it's nothing too personal to me and Stella," Lincoln said.
"Same here, you guys are still my friends, so you still have the benefit of having a girl help you with girl problems," Stella said.
"Speaking of girl troubles," Clyde said. "What is Lori's current relationship status?"
"She's still dating Bobby Clyde," Lincoln confirmed. "Come on Clyde, you gotta move on, there are a lot of other girls to pick from."
"I'm with Lincoln, Lori might be too old for you right now, aren't there any girls from our class that you like?" Stella asked.
"None that I can think of right now," Clyde said.
"What about Penelope?" Lincoln asked. "That girl you had to work with on that Egg project."
"Penelope huh?" Clyde said. "Well she is nice and she already makes for a good mother..."
"Thinking too far ahead there buddy," Lincoln said. "But she's nice, that's a good start."
"When you get a chance, you should try talking to her more, get to know her and see for yourself if she's the one for you," Stella said.
"I talked to a girl once, she turned me down and later hooked up with my friend," Rusty bitterly said.
Lincoln furrowed his brow at the freckle faced boy, "Rusty, you're starting to get on my nerves a bit. I'm sorry things didn't work out but you really gotta move past that."
"Hey you're the one who broke the code," Rusty said.
"What code!?" Lincoln asked. "I never set a code!"
"The 'No more asking out Stella' code," Rusty said.
"But she asked me to be her boyfriend, not the other way around," Lincoln said.
"You really seem to like boasting that fact," Rusty replied, getting a growl from Lincoln.
"Because you keep pestering me about something I didn't do!" Lincoln said. "What was I suppose to turn Stella down?"
"That would have helped, yes," Rusty said.
"Ugh, I can't deal with this anymore, I'll see you guys later," Lincoln said, grabbing his lunch and leaving the table.
"I should go too," Stella said, picking her tray up. "I'll catch up with you guys later."
As the two left, Clyde, Liam and Zach casted one angry glare at Rusty. "What is it?"
"Don't act clueless Rusty," Clyde said.
"Yeah, you know you crossed the line there," Liam said.
"Way to make things awkward dude," Zach said.
"Come on, we were all thinking the exact same thing," Rusty said. "Lincoln pulled a dirty move."
"I hardly see it that way," Clyde said. "I have full confidence that this happened naturally, Stella has been spending all week at Lincoln's house, so it's not hard to imagine that she feel for him."
"Yeah, it could have happened to any of us," Zach said. "If Stella spent as much time with us as she did with Lincoln, something definitely could have sparked."
"So you're saying if Stella spent that much time with me, then it could have been me and her instead of her and Lincoln," Rusty said, a plan forming in his head.
"Hey, what are you up to?" Clyde asked, suspicious of his friend.
"Nothing, nothing at all," Rusty said. "I'll drop it for now."
"Good, not another word about it," Liam said. "Yer gonna have to give Lincoln and Stella an apology next time you see them."
"Fine, I'll do just that," Rusty said. "I wouldn't want to upset Stella after all."
Clyde suspiciously narrowed his eyes at Rusty, making a mental note to keep tabs on him. He won't let anything affect Lincoln and Stella's relationship. Lincoln's his best friend after all, and Clincoln McCloud always sticks together, plus Stella is just as much his friend too.
Meanwhile Lincoln and Stella were searching for another table to sit at.
"Maybe we can find one of your sisters," Stella said.
"Might be tough, they have their own friends after all," Lincoln said. "Plus you definitely don't wanna sit with Lisa, her classmates are very rowdy, plus her friend Darcy keeps giving me some weird look."
Stella looked around for any empty tables, "Well unless we find some other place, I don't think we'll-"
"Hi Lincoln!" A feminine voice unintentionally interrupted. "Hi Stella!"
Both of them turned to see a familiar classmate of theirs.
"Hey Girl Jordan," Lincoln greeted.
"Hi Jordan," Stella said.
"Surprised to see you two walking this way, don't you have your normal table you eat at?" Girl Jordan asked.
"We kind of needed a break from there," Stella said.
"Well if you're looking for a different view, you can come sit here," Girl Jordan said, patting the empty seats besides her. "My friends won't mind, though they're taking a 'bathroom' break."
"By bathroom do you mean applying make-up?" Lincoln asked.
"Oh yeah," Girl Jordan confirmed. "I don't get Mollie sometimes. She and the other girls just wanna look cool for some reason."
"Well that's school life for you," Lincoln said, taking a seat. "Everyone wants to find some way to fit in or stand out."
"Seems like what anyone in life would want to do," Stella said, taking a seat by Lincoln.
"So, interesting seeing you two together," Girl Jordan said. "I heard you've been spending a lot of time with each other."
"Yeah, we have," Stella said. "Lincoln invited me to his house a week ago and we've been hanging out everyday since."
"You actually went to his house!?" Girl Jordan asked in surprise. "Wow, most kids wouldn't go to the Loud House...er no offense Lincoln."
"I'm used to it," Lincoln said.
"Well I liked it there, Lincoln's sisters are really nice," Stella said. "Most of them at least."
"So, at his house everyday huh? Any reason?" Girl Jordan asked.
"Just that we had a lot of fun together, me and Lincoln really started to bond, and I even made friends with some of his sisters," Stella said. "Especially two of his older sisters, Luna and Luan."
"Luna? She's the one who has a rock band right?" Girl Jordan asked.
"Yeah, her along with her friends Mazzy, Sully and Luna's girlfriend, Sam Sharp," Lincoln said.
"And Luan's the comedian right?" Girl Jordan asked. "The one who steams the web show Luan Out Loud."
"That's her," Stella said. "She's so much funnier in person."
"That's good to hear, I think she's funny as well, it must be nice seeing her often," Girl Jordan said. "So you two were just hanging out with each other and the Loud sisters, nothing more?"
"More how?" Lincoln asked.
"Like...are you dating?" Girl Jordan asked. "It's not just me asking, I hear talk from other students, especially since Chandler mentioned running into the two of you at Gus's Game n Grubs."
"Wait, now we're the center of a rumor?" Lincoln asked. "Why am I just hearing about this now?"
"It wasn't a big rumor, besides most kids figured even if you two were dating, it wouldn't last long, they expected your sisters to drive Stella away," Girl Jordan said.
"It amazes me what reputation my sisters have," Lincoln said. "Doesn't matter, Stella's here to stay."
"And I like Lincoln's sisters, or at least most of them," Stella said.
"Still, it's great that you two are dating, I think you make a cute couple," Girl Jordan said. "It's also great to see Lincoln fully recover from that whole Christina ordeal."
"Huh? Christina?" Stella asked. "Who's Christina?"
"Oh Lincoln never told you about one of his earlier crushes?" Girl Jordan asked. "I guess that makes sense, might be weird to talk about old crushes."
"Christina was another girl I had a crush on, then she switched classes when she found out," Lincoln said.
"That's a bit extreme," Stella said. "I mean, it's one thing to not be ready for a relationship but to go that far?"
"Well it's how she found out," Girl Jordan said. "You wanna tell her Lincoln? Or do you want me to?"
"Honestly, I would have rather neither of us told her, but since it's out in the open then I guess I'll just say it," Lincoln began, then turned to Stella. "What happened was I put out a video of my most embarrassing moments, and one of them involved me making out with a picture of Christina, she was pretty weirded out, I don't blame her. It was really cringe-worthy of me to do."
"Wait you put your embarrassing moments up?" Stella asked. "What possessed you to do that?"
"He was trying to win a contest," Girl Jordan said. "Weird though, he already had another popular video, then he took it down."
"Yeah, that video was me having taped embarrassing moments of my sisters," Lincoln explained. "But they got mad at me for uploading a video of them without their consent, especially something so embarrassing. So to make up for it I uploaded all my embarrassing moments so we'd be even."
"Aw, that's sweet of you," Stella said. "Even if it was wrong of you to have recorded their embarrassing moments, at least you made up for it, assuming they still weren't mad after that."
"They forgave me, since my moments were apparently more embarrassing," Lincoln said. "Plus they knew I just really wanted a trophy, at the time I didn't have any trophies at all, while my sisters got trophies and awards for just about everything, even Lily. So they chipped in and got me a trophy that said 'Most Improved Brother', which really meant a lot to me. I finally had achieved something."
"Seems like a pity prize to me," Girl Jordan commented, getting a glare from Lincoln and Stella. "Just being honest, plus the way it sounds it's almost like they thought you were lousy before and are now just getting better."
"Thanks for the input, Jordan," Lincoln said, still somewhat ticked. "Regardless of what the trophy said or if it felt like a pity prize, I still appreciate my sisters' gesture, I know they did it out of love."
"Plus improving yourself doesn't mean you weren't great in the first place, it just means you're only getting better," Stella said.
"And I did, I finally got a trophy in the case, thanks to my prize winning Ace Savvy comic," Lincoln said.
"Oh yeah, I remember that comic," Girl Jordan said. "I knew you'd win that contest."
"It was a great looking comic, you're really talented at drawing and story telling Lincoln, you should do that more often," Stella said.
"Huh, you really think so?" Lincoln asked.
"I agree with Stella on that, you'd totally be great at being a comic book artist," Girl Jordan said.
"Huh, that sounds like a good idea," Lincoln said. "Maybe I'll try getting into that, I'll start with some fan comics and maybe I'll become Bill Buck's apprentice!"
"That's a great goal Lincoln, I'll support you 100 percent on it," Stella said.
"Aw, what a good girlfriend," Girl Jordan said.
"Remember, try not to tell anyone just yet, we don't want to be at the center of anymore gossip," Lincoln said.
"Well after the Ronnie Anne debacle, I don't blame you," Girl Jordan said. "Wait does Stella know about Ronnie Anne?"
"I've met her, she's the one who convinced me to ask out Lincoln," Stella said.
"She what!?" Girl Jordan shouted, Lincoln frantically shushing her.
"Not so loud!" Lincoln loudly whispered, looking around to see that some students had stopped to state a moment before going back to their normal business.
"Sorry, I'm just surprised," Girl Jordan said. "There were plenty of rumors about Ronnie Anne too, some say you liked her, some say she liked you, especially after that day in the restaurant."
"Wow you're quite a target for gossip Lincoln," Stella said. "Ronnie Anne already told me she liked Lincoln only as a friend so that's why she encouraged me to ask him out. It's thanks to her that Lincoln's my boyfriend and on top of that, Ronnie Anne is now my friend."
"I gotta say, she's much friendlier than I thought," Girl Jordan said. "Back when she lived here she was tough as nails and didn't let anyone cross her."
"Well she's still pretty tough," Stella said. "She's just working on expressing her emotions better. She's really a nice girl, I can see that she has a good heart."
"Must be your presence, you're very pleasant to be around Stella," Girl Jordan said, getting a blush from the taller girl.
"Aw, thanks," Stella said.
"Oh, here comes Mollie," Girl Jordan said. "So your relationship is under wraps, right?"
"Yeah, the only ones in this school who know are you, my sisters, Clyde, Liam and Zach," Lincoln said. "And that's how it's gonna stay."
In the present.
"That did not last long," Lincoln said.
"It sure didn't," Stella added.
In the past.
"Here comes the bride, here comes the groom!" a group of students sang as Lincoln and Stella walked down the halls, both looking really annoyed and somewhat embarrassed.
"How did it spread so fast!?" Lincoln asked.
"I wish I knew, why is it such a big deal? So we're dating, it's normal for people to date," Stella said.
"Kids our age can be so immature," Lincoln said. "Well it won't last long, hopefully. But considering how annoying kids were when they thought I was dating Ronnie Anne, imagine now that they know I'm dating you."
"Well now, if it isn't the happy couple," They heard. The two turned to see Chandler leaning against a locker.
"So you know too Chandler?" Lincoln asked.
"Of course, the whole school seems to know," Chandler said. "The question is, how long has this been a thing? Like were you two dating back when I saw you both as Gus's Game and Grubs?"
"Not yet, we didn't become official until the weekend," Lincoln said.
"Man, you really work fast Lincoln," Chandler said, surprising the boy that he actually remembered his name. "But I gotta be honest, this is a total bummer."
"Huh? How?" Lincoln asked.
"Because I really thought that friend of yours was gonna be single long enough to make it to my party without a date," Chandler said. "I mean, I did take a liking to you Stella, part of the reason I tried being so nice to you two, guess that was time wasted."
"Well, sorry to hear that," Stella said, not sure what to make of his answer. "Well I bet there's someone else for you at least."
"Yeah, someone else," Chandler said. "Back to the search, and just when I thought I had something."
"Um, are we still coming to your party?" Lincoln asked, somewhat hopeful.
"Eh, I'll think about it," Chandler said, slamming his locker and walking off, leaving Lincoln feeling somewhat annoyed.
"Well so much for the popular party," Lincoln said. "Sorry Stella, guess plans are gonna change."
"I don't really care that much," Stella said. "Seems like he was just mainly trying to win me over, could have handled it better though."
"I just hope he lightens up, I really don't want to have two jealous guys to contend with," Lincoln said.
"Linky!" Lola was heard calling. She along with Lana, Lucy and Lisa had made their way over to the couple. "Hey, you two are the talk of the whole school right now."
"We know Lola, kids won't stop teasing us about our relationship," Lincoln said.
"Teasing you? Some kids are envious of you Lincoln," Lana said.
"Yeah, you're dating one of the prettiest girls in school, of course kids are gonna be curious," Lola said.
"You're too nice Lola," Stella said, blushing a bit. "But come on now, I'm not that pretty."
"Oh don't try to downplay it honey, embrace your looks, works for me all the time," Lola said.
"Just don't become too much like Lola," Lana joked, earning ire from her twin.
"Oh you wish you were as pretty as me Lana," Lola retorted.
"Why do you keep saying that? We're identical twins!" Lana shouted. "I could look like you in an instant, in fact I have once! I know you remember that pageant I took your place in!"
"We all remember, but that isn't the point here," Lisa said. "While I agree our brother's partner of romance is visually appealing to the eye, the real issue here is the endless amount of negative attention they've been receiving."
"But I'm trying to tell Linky there's also a positive," Lola said. "He's the envy of a lot of boys, even a few girls."
"I'd rather have no attention, it's so embarrassing," Lincoln said. "I can only imagine how Lori handled it with Bobby, assuming she didn't keep it a secret."
"Well Lori is a bragger and dating in High School seems to be a norm since most kids have grown out of their thinking the opposite gender is 'icky' as they would say," Lisa explained. "If anything having a significant other is more likely to make you popular for the majority rather than an even split."
"Who told everyone though?" Lucy asked.
"It was either Girl Jordan's friend Mollie since she screamed it out in surprise and ran to tell some other girl..." Stella theorized.
"Or it might have been Rusty, knowing him he probably started angrily muttering about it a lot and might have even blabbed it out to the first person who would listen," Lincoln said.
"Hey Loud! Nice girl, don't tell Ronnie Anne!" a random boy shouted.
"Ugh, seriously, that's one of the kids who used to tease me about liking Ronnie Anne, doesn't he have anything better to do?" Lincoln asked.
"Allow me to deal with him big brother," Lola said, cracking her knuckles as she marched toward the kid. "Hey you!"
"Hey, what are you...ah! Someone help! This little girl is picking on me!" the boy shouted.
"This'll teach you to mess with my big brother!" Lola shouted from the distance as sounds of pummeling was heard.
Lincoln sighed in annoyance, "Lana, please go break that up before Lola really hurts the kid. Annoying as he is I don't want her getting to carried away and getting in trouble because of me."
"On it bro," Lana said, making her way to Lola.
"I have to say, Lola's pretty strong for a six year old girl," Stella commented. "I really gotta stay on her good side."
"We'll do our best to quell the rumors as well," Lucy said. "I'll ask Haiku for assistance."
"I can do my part too, though I should warn you Stella, my friend Darcy isn't too pleased by what she's been hearing, so I would keep an eye out for her," Lisa warned.
"How long has she had a crush on me exactly?" Lincoln asked.
"Since she met you, sometime after the Friend Card incident, she commented to me how funny it was seeing you get freaked out by us and how cute it looked, since then she's become enamored with you and vows to make you her boyfriend," Lisa said.
Stella giggled a bit, "That's so cute."
"Sure, cute," Lincoln said, then heard the bell. "Dang it, we're gonna be late, come on Stella, let's just get the day over with already."
"See you later girls," Stella said as she rushed to class.
"We should get back to class as well," Lisa said. "Hopefully this dies down soon, it can be just as bad for us, kids are gonna get curious."
"No one really talks to me anyway, they think I'm creepy and weird," Lucy said.
"Oh, my condolences, most children tend to avoid me as well, since I tend to use big words they do not understand," Lisa said.
"Hm, seems we're both outcasts," Lucy said. "Not that it bothers me, I have friends who understand me."
"Same, though not literally," Lisa said. "Well, see you at home later Lucy."
"Bye Lisa," Lucy said, the two parting way.
Later in the day as school ended, Lincoln and Stella opted to walk to the Loud House, not unusual for them since they've done this before, but especially now since they don't want to put up with the teasing from the other kids. One difference is that Lincoln's sisters had also opted to join them on their walk home.
"Hope you don't mind us joining you Linc, after today we figured you could use some company," Lana said.
"It's fine, we're all going the same direction anyway," Lincoln said.
"You'll be happy to know that I helped quench even more rumors," Lola said. "I just had to use my charm."
"She threatened to break someone's arm...with a paperclip," Lana said.
"Huh? A paperclip? How would that work?" Stella asked.
"I'm just very convincing," Lola said. "I don't let anyone mess with my family."
"Wow, you're so menacing Lola, yet adorable," Stella said. "Menacingly adorable."
"Ooh, I like that, almost as much as that little accent you pronounce my name with," Lola said.
"I have noticed that as well, Lola seems to be the only one you address with an accent," Lisa said. "Is there a particular reason?"
"Uh, nothing to major, it just sounds like a word I know," Stella explained. "A word used for a wise woman."
"Sweet, my name makes me wise, it's so fitting," Lola said. "Makes it that much easier to become a Princess."
"Great, like her head wasn't big enough," Lana commented.
"Don't be jealous, peasant," Lola said.
"Or what? You gonna break my arm with a paperclip?" Lana asked.
"You wanna find out!?" Lola shouted, shaking her fist at her twin.
"Hey, no fighting, be nice to each other," Lincoln said. "Lana don't mind Lola's bragging and Lola don't rub it in, a good Princess should treat her subjects with a little more class."
"Yes, you're right Linky," Lola said. "I have an example to set after all."
As they walked home, they heard Clyde calling out to them, "Lincoln! Wait up!"
"Clyde?" Lincoln and the others turned to meet the boy.
"Lincoln, glad I caught you, oh and you too Stella," Clyde said. "Man, lots of gossip going on all around the school huh?"
"Yeah, it's kind of annoying," Lincoln said. "I take it you don't really know much about how it started."
"Well I have an idea," Clyde said. "I mean, aside from Mollie, I did hear Rusty telling a few kids, saying how you basically snuck in and snuck away with his girl."
"Since when am I Rusty's girl?" Stella asked, getting a bit annoyed.
"Yeah that's such a bogus thing to say!" Lola shouted, her sisters sharing the sentiment.
"Hey his words, not mine," Clyde said. "I guess he's still kind of miffed about you two dating."
"That's too bad, I'm not breaking up with Stella because Rusty's jealous, besides she made the choice to date me, I didn't sneak her away," Lincoln said.
"Well just be forewarned, some kids do believe him and think you're kind of a jerk for doing that," Lincoln said.
Lincoln groaned in annoyance, "Stupid Rusty, he's gonna get a serious talking to later."
"Talk? You should clock him for what he said!" Lola said.
"Yeah, show him what for!" Lana encouraged, throwing some fists.
"I don't want to fight, I prefer to solve my problems with words," Lincoln said.
"We should let him," Lisa insisted. "We didn't let him last time when Ronnie Anne was picking on him, I say we trust our elder brother."
"I'm with Lisa, I know Rusty is being insensitive but maybe Lincoln can snap him out of it," Lucy said. "Though the damage may have already been done."
"I'm not worried about the 'damage' that much, I just want to talk sense into Rusty," Lincoln said.
"And don't worry, because me, Liam and Zach are staying by your side," Clyde said. "We're happy for you and Stella, and we don't condone what Rusty's doing."
"Thanks Clyde, good to have my best buddy watching my back," Lincoln said, fist bumping the other boy.
"Well it looks like you're taking Stella home again...how many days in a row is that?" Clyde asked.
Lincoln counted with his fingers, "Uh...thirteen days straight I think. Think that's overdoing it?"
"Actually she didn't come over on Saturday, we met her at Dairy Land," Lisa said. "But what does it matter? Clyde came over almost every day as well."
"Kind of miss having you around Clyde, you're fun to hang out with," Lana said.
"Should Clyde join us?" Stella asked.
"I don't mind, been a while since we hung out after all," Clyde said. "Not counting Dairy Land."
"Sweet, Clincoln McCloud returns...with Stella!" Lincoln said, trying to think. "Gotta think of a way to incorporate your name into that."
"We'll think of something," Stella said. "Let's hurry over."
The group continued to make their way home, stepping into the Loud House upon arrival. The younger sisters quickly made their way to their rooms, Lincoln settling down in the living room with Clyde and Stella.
"Hey Stella, what do you think of Lincoln's sisters after all this time?" Clyde asked. "You mentioned you liked most of them, have any favorites?"
"I hate to pick favorites, but I do like spending time with Luna and Luan, like I mentioned earlier they've become good friends to have," Stella said. "But all the sisters have their charms, like the younger sisters are all adorable in their own way, Leni is a sweetheart, Lori...she took me a while but I can see that she's really kind and a caring sister to her siblings."
"Lori is amazing," Clyde said, fantasizing about her. "Too bad she's with Bobby, but if him moving away hasn't changed her feelings, nothing will. Guess I gotta try moving on again."
"Hey you did try moving on to me," Stella said. "Am I really the only other girl though?"
"Um, I sort of liked Lucy's friend Haiku, but that didn't last long," Clyde said. "I was still hung over Lori."
"You'll find someone buddy," Lincoln said.
"Yeah, I'll put in a good word for you with the other girls," Stella said.
"Appreciate the help there pals," Clyde said. "Hm, you mentioned the other girls, but what about Lynn? She really seemed interested in you two dating."
"Lynn..." Stella thought her answer over carefully. "Lynn has a bunch of issues to work out first before I can consider her a friend."
"Yeah Lynn's quite a handful," Clyde said. "The key to getting used to her is being somewhat athletically inclined, good thing I knew how to use a hackisack."
"If that's the case, maybe I can take her on in dodgeball, I think that's something we can do as a group," Stella said.
"Hey that's actually a good idea, how come I never thought of that?" Lincoln wondered out loud.
"We'll put that on our to do list for the future," Clyde said, then grabbed some controllers. "For now, how about a little Kart racing?"
"I call the Dump Truck Kart," Lincoln said, grabbing his controller.
"I pick the level," Stella said, grabbing hers.
"Good old fashion gaming, just what we need, some friendly competition among friends," Clyde said.
"We'll see how friendly it stays when I crush you boys," Stella playfully taunted.
"Oh it's on!" Lincoln and Clyde simultaneously said, the three getting right into their game.
Some time passed before the trio of Lori, Luna and Luan got home, the sisters happily talking amongst themselves when they noticed the three kids in the living room.
"Hey bro, got some company again?" Luna asked.
"Oh, hi girls, yeah Stella and Clyde came over," Lincoln said.
"You're home kind of late," Stella said. "I figured your school would have let you out by now."
"We all had to attend some club meetings," Lori explained. "Lay out some plans for the next few months."
"We got some exciting stuff coming soon," Luna said. "Me and the band are gonna rock some gigs, along with everyone else in the Music Club."
"Our Theater Club is working to set up a big play soon, maybe we'll even get to perform at royal Woods Theater," Luan said.
"My Varsity Golf team is working towards the big playoffs, so we made plans to meet up and practice as much as we can," Lori said. "Of course all our Sports Teams are gonna try their hardest too."
"Lori's an excellent golfer, she's competed in many Tournaments, and even if she doesn't win them, she comes really close," Clyde said.
"Sounds like Lynn isn't the only athlete in the family then," Stella said.
"Of course, even Lynn can't match my golfing techniques," Lori said. "Plus she's way too energetic, golf requires precision. Lynn's good with other sports but even she has trouble concentrating when she needs to."
"Well when you girls have something set up, be sure to let me know, I'd love to see all of your performances," Stella said.
"I'll keep you updated," Lori said. "In fact, if you give me your number, I can text you."
"That sounds great," Stella said, pulling out her phone.
"Careful Stella, once you're on Lori's contacts, you might get like a million text messages a day," Lincoln joked.
"Oh hush twerp, I'm not gonna bombard Stella with everything," Lori said, pulling out her phone as well, the two exchanging their numbers. "It's only for my golfing gigs, or if she needs some girl advice."
"Thanks Lori, we'll text soon," Stella said. "Right now, I gotta crush these boys in kart racing, they're tougher than I thought."
"Oh that game, hold on," Lori said, texting something to Stella, the young girl reading and grinning mischievously.
"Thanks for the tip," Stella said, putting her phone away and grabbing the controller.
"Wait, what did she send you?" Lincoln asked. "Lori, what did you send her!?"
"Race!" Stella shouted, starting up something new. Lincoln wasn't sure what happened, but suddenly Stella was doing so much better than before, both boys desperately curious as to what Lori had told her.
As she went upstairs, Luna took the moment to question Lori, "Uh, what did you send her?"
"A list of shortcuts, I've played this game with Lincoln a couple of times, he soon found out that I had more skills than he expected, and I simply passed down a few tidbits on knowledge to his girlfriend to give her a better chance," Lori said. "We girls gotta watch out for each other after all."
"Wow, that's so sneaky," Luna said. "Sounds like you're starting to like Stella."
"Well she's really nice, cute too," Lori said. "I always thought she was a great girl, maybe I just got distracted by the stuff Carlota kept telling me. But I'm still gonna try to find ways to make it up to her, if Lincoln loves her then we all should. I wouldn't be happy if any of you were mean to Bobby, and I know you two wouldn't take too kindly to Sam or Benny getting teased or mistreated by one of us."
"You got that right," Luan said. "Glad you're coming around and seeing just how Stellar she is."
"Alright that joke's getting overused, think of something else would ya?" Luna said.
"Well she is Stellar, it's not just a pun, it's how I feel, I don't know what it is about her but she's just so great to be around," Luan said.
"Not wrong there," Luna said. "Well I gotta catch up with my band, a gig's coming this week, and we're gonna Rock and Roll all Night."
"I gotta check with Benny myself, with enough preparation we can make quite a scene at Royal Woods Theater," Luan said. "We really gotta act on that opportunity. Can't play around with this."
"Alright, I get it," Lori said. "I'm going to my room, I gotta make some plans of my own."
Time passed, Stella and Clyde went home after a while and Lincoln had gone upstairs. He was happy to spend some time with his best friend, and glad that he could still do so despite having a girlfriend. Of course Stella is Clyde's friend too, she's friends with almost all his sisters.
But he can't stop thinking about what Rusty did, Lincoln felt kind of betrayed. He figured the best thing to do would be to talk to someone about this, and who better than the one who's dated the longest.
Lincoln made his way to the shared bedroom or Lori and Leni, knocking on the door and awaiting an answer.
"Come in," He heard Lori say. He opened up to see Lori applying nail polish to her toes and Leni reading a magazine. He felt tempted to tell her it was upside down but she'll figure it out sooner or later. "Hey little bro, what's up?"
"Lori, I'm having some trouble at school," Lincoln said.
"Trouble? What trouble?" Lori asked, Leni piping up as well. "Is someone picking on you? I'll tell Lola to-"
"It's not that, well not exactly," Lincoln said. "You know my friend Rusty?"
"Yeah, the red haired boy with all the freckles," Lori said.
"The one who's brother Lucy had a crush on," Leni said. "Or am I thinking of the one with the funny accent?"
"No you were right Leni," Lincoln said. "Here's the thing, me and the guys, when we first met Stella, we actually fought over her."
"Wait, you and your friends fought over a girl?" Lori asked. "Lincoln, you should know better than that."
Lincoln sheepishly rubbed his head, "Yeah, I should have, but we couldn't help it, she's so-"
"Wait, did that include Clyde?" Lori asked.
"Uh, yeah, why?" Lincoln asked.
"No reason," Lori said, somewhat pleased that Clyde seems to be transitioning out of his crush on her, taking it a little better than last time. "Go on."
"Well after we fought, Stella told us she didn't want a boyfriend, she just wanted friends," Lincoln said. "Which is why I stressed up and down that she wasn't my girlfriend at first. So we agreed to only be friends with her."
"Alright, sounds fair, but where is this going?" Lori asked.
"Well today I told the guys that Stella was my girlfriend now, and Rusty took it pretty bad, he said he felt betrayed because I 'broke the rules' as he said," Lincoln explained. "So he started spreading rumors about me and Stella, saying I snuck in and basically seduced her into becoming my girlfriend."
"Your friend's spreading rumors!?" Lori asked.
"Ooh, I heard about that, when I went to check on the twins, I heard Lola saying she wanted to get back at a boy for saying something mean about Linky," Leni said. "I wanted to ask him but he was playing with Stella and Clyde and I didn't wanna bother them about it."
"We appreciate that," Lincoln said. "But now my friend's spreading rumors and it's gonna make things uncomfortable for us, what should we do?"
"First off, try to ignore the other kids, it's annoying but your relationship with Stella is more important than their opinions," Lori said. "Second, you're gonna have to try and talk things out with your friend. But you already knew that, that's how you wanted to handle the Ronnie Anne situation when she was picking on you."
"Yeah, I want to, but I'm just so annoyed he would do that, Stella choose to date me, I didn't make her," Lincoln said.
"Well it just sounds like he's jealous, though if I'm being honest, there's no way I could see Stella picking him over you, because you know girls better than he does," Lori said.
"Huh? I thought I wasn't an expert on girls?" Lincoln said. "Isn't that why my Girl Guru plan failed?"
"I'm not saying you're an expert, but you know about girls a little better than most boys," Lori said. "It helps being surrounded by so many girls, because now you can think like one. I don't mean to say you're girly, you're not, you just show a feminine side more. That's nothing to be ashamed of, Bobby's not too different, that's why I fell in love with him, because I could tell he had a better idea of what a girl wanted than most other boys."
"Have any of your friends been jealous because you're dating Bobby?" Lincoln asked.
"Of course, Bobby's so cute and attractive, so my friends were jealous at first, but we never let that ruin our friendship," Lori said. "Rusty's a bit immature, so that's probably why he's being petty. What's done is done, right now is a test of your commitment to Stella, if you can get past all the teasing, you'll know she's the one for you."
"And if you need any more help, come to us," Leni said. "Jealousy is a part of love after all."
"Exactly," Lori said. "We'll let you handle it for now, you're the Man with a Plan after all."
"Thanks Lori, you too Leni," Lincoln said.
Lori then surprisingly kissed Lincoln on the head, "Any time little brother."
"Yeah, any time," Leni said, leaning in to kiss Lincoln on the cheek.
This felt weird for the boy, but it seems to be the aftermath of his brotherly affection yesterday. "See you later girls."
Lincoln quickly left the room, making his way to his own room, not noticing that Lynn was hiding behind Lori's door, and had made sure to stay out of sight once Lincoln left the room.
"Sounds like my little brother's gonna need help," Lynn said. "Alright Lynn, time to remind Lincoln why you're his favorite sister, and that means cleaning up the Rust...ugh, that sounded like one of Luan's lame jokes. Point is I'm gonna make Rusty regret messing with my bro."
Lynn was now on a mission, what that meant for Lincoln was up in the air.