Back in the present, Ronnie Anne looked like she was in a pretty foul mood. Hearing what trouble Rusty caused for his friends did not sit well with her.
"I can't believe your friend actually pulled that crap," Ronnie Anne stated. "Talk about sore loser."
"Yeah, I bet he wishes he had an ounce of your attractiveness Linc," Sid said. "Only a sexy stud like you can pull in a smokin' hot girl like Stella."
Lincoln and Stella each blushed at Sid's compliment, Ronnie Anne staring in surprise at her friend's bold words.
"Weird, I mean I heard that you and your friends had a spat but you never did go into detail," Ronnie Anne said.
"It was not a pleasant story to talk about at the time," Lincoln said. "Especially since it got so much worse. As usual, there are no secrets in my house, so sooner or later all my sisters were going to find out, one in particular about to take matters into her own hands, give you one guess who it was."
"Little Miss 'Chicken Dinner' herself?" Ronnie Anne stated.
"And we have a winner," Lincoln said. "Lynn means well, but she is so clueless most of the time, she has yet to realize that sometimes, less is more, the less she involves herself in my issues, the more I can get things done."
"So, tell us what happened!" Sid eagerly said. "I wanna hear if someone got their ass kicked
Ronnie Anne glared slightly at her friend, "Seriously Sid?"
"Well there was an...ass kicking as Sid would put it," Lincoln said.
It was the past timeline at Royal Woods Elementary School, the school bus had let out the kids, including one Rusty Spokes. The boy had caused quite a bit of drama for both Lincoln and Stella, out of his own frustrations of not having had the chance to date the girl.
However, karma was about to come full force at the freckle face boy. As he walked toward the school, he heard his name called out by a brash feminine tone. "Hey Spokes!"
Rusty turned to the voice, recognizing it after a second, "Lynn?"
Approaching the boy was an unhappy Lynn Loud, who looked like she was ready for an altercation. "I heard you've been talking BS about my brother, care to explain?"
Rusty nervously started backing up, wanting nothing to do with Lynn, "Uh, I don't know what you heard, but I'm fairly certain this is all a big misunderstanding."
"Don't even try talking your way out of this one," Lynn said, cracking her knuckles. "I'm gonna teach you a lesson they don't teach you in school, don't mess with the Louds!"
"Wait! Don't!" Rusty pleaded. It was for naught as Lynn jumped to attack.
Lincoln had arrived at the school with his sisters, who offered to walk with him, Lincoln happily obliging and finding it nice to have the company. They were of course curious when several students were seen surrounding an area, looking on and murmuring to each other.
"What's going on?" Lincoln asked.
"Hey! Lincoln!" Clyde called out. "Over here!"
Lincoln and his sisters went to meet with Clyde, the boy not being alone as Liam and Zach were also there.
"Clyde, what's going on?" Lincoln asked.
"That," Clyde said, pointing to Lynn as she stood triumphantly over a beaten up Rusty.
"That's for messing with my family! Team Loud for the win! Woot! Woot!" Lynn cheered.
Lincoln and his sisters were horrified by what they just saw, it looks like their sisters has once again caused a catastrophe. There was no way this could get any worse for them.
"What is going on out here!?" The loud booming voice of Principal Wilbur shouted. All the students quickly dispersed, leaving only Lynn, Rusty and Lincoln with his friends and sisters. Also in the area was Stella, who had just arrived and wanted to see the commotion.
Seeing Rusty down on the ground, looking like a truck rammed into him, she figured that Lynn must have beat him up really good. She quickly approached Lincoln, "Did Lynn beat up Rusty?"
"Looks like it, and boy does Principal Wilbur look mad," Lincoln said.
Wilbur walked toward Lynn, the jock quickly quieting down on her cheering. "Lynn Loud Junior, I thought I saw the last of you when you graduated."
"Hey Wilbur, how's it hanging?" Lynn asked, trying to play it cool.
"That's Principal Wilbur to you Loud," the older man corrected.
"Well, to be fair, you're not my Principal anymore, so..." Lynn could tell that the older man was losing his patience. "But for old time's sake, Principal works fine."
"Speaking of old time's sake, to my office!" Principal Wilbur said.
"Uh, can you do that?" Lynn asked.
"Now!" Wilbur said.
Lynn shrugged, then turned to Lincoln, "Don't worry bro, this is still a win!"
"What do you mean 'win'?" Lincoln asked.
"Oh a family effort huh?" Wibur said.
"Wait, I swear I had nothing to do with this!" Lincoln said.
"I'll be the judge of that, to my office, and bring your sisters with you," Wilbur said, turning into the school, expecting the kids to follow.
"Dang it," The Loud Siblings sans Lynn said.
In Principal Wilbur's office, the Loud Siblings are sitting and waiting as Wilbur goes through some files. Lynn wasn't too concerned, given that she's no longer a student at this school, so it's not like she can get detention or anything.
Lincoln however was much more nervous, as was his sisters, worried what this might mean for the lot of them. Lola did not want this affecting her pageants, nor Lisa and her academics.
"This must be a record for me," Wilbur began. "To have six of the Louds in my office. I never thought I'd see the day. Nor did I expect to see one after they had already graduated from my Elementary School."
"Principal Wilbur, I can promise you that me and my little sisters had nothing to do with what Lynn did to Rusty," Lincoln explained.
"Yeah, it was all Lynn! She did it by herself!" Lola shouted, the other sisters chiming in.
"Alright, settle down now," Wilbur said, then turned to Lynn. "Tell me what happened, and I want the truth young lady."
"That Rusty kid was talking smack about my brother and his girlfriend, so I kicked his ass for the honor of their love and romance," Lynn explained.
"First of all, watch your language young lady, just because you are no longer a student does not mean you can speak so freely," Wilbur said. "Secondly that does not justify fighting, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to call your parents."
"Seriously? I'm a Middle School student now, shouldn't' that be their call?" Lynn asked.
"And how do you think they will react to knowing you skipped our on your classes to pick a fight with one of my students?" Wilbur questioned.
"Hey I had every intention of going to my classes, I was just gonna be a little late," Lynn said.
Wilbur shook his head in disappointment, "You are something else young lady. So athletically gifted, yet so stubborn minded. I know in your eyes, you did the right thing, I mean you believed this boy was bothering your brother." Wilbur turned to Lincoln. "Is that part true young man?"
"Well, sort of, Rusty was being a pain," Lincoln admitted.
"I know you wanted to help but this was not the way to go," Wilbur said, checking his watch. "Now I must speak with your brother and sisters, I suggest you scurry along to your own school. If you need a ride-"
"Not necessary," Lynn said. "I could go for a good jog, get my mind pumping."
"Very well then," Wilbur said. "Now get going, I'll call your school and let them know you'll be in."
"So we're done?" Lynn said, getting off her chair. "Alright, see you around Wilbur." Lynn turned to Lincoln, "See you around bro, remember, I got your back."
"Yay..." Lincoln half-heartedly cheered as Lynn made her way out the room.
"That girl is a piece of work," Wilbur said, then turned to the others. "As for all of you..."
"Please don't give us detention over something Lynn did!" Lola begged.
"And please don't let this go on my permanent record!" Lisa pleaded.
"We can't control Lynn's actions," Lucy added.
"Settle down, seems like none of you were directly involved with this, so you're all free to go," Wilbur said, getting a sigh of relief. "Not Lincoln though, there is something he and I need to discuss."
"With me!?" Lincoln asked.
"Go on girls," Wilbur said. "I'll give you passes, if your teachers ask why you're late, just tell them you were with me and I'll excuse your tardiness."
As Wilbur handed each sister a pass, Lucy was the first to voice her concerns. "Lincoln's not in trouble is he?"
"Not necessarily," Wilbur said. "But there is something I need to address with him. Now get to class."
"We'll see you at lunchtime Linky," Lola said.
"Stay strong elder brother," Lisa said.
The sisters each left to class while Wilbur sat back on his desk. "Now Lincoln, like I told your sisters, you are not in trouble, but there is something I do need to warn you about."
"I'll try to keep Lynn under control, but I can't make any promises," Lincoln said, figuring it was still about Lynn.
"This isn't about your older sister, rather it's about you and your newfound romance," Wilbur said. "Now I have nothing against young love, I think it's great that you already found someone, and with any luck, it can continue to blossom into adulthood. Stella is a remarkable young girl, she gets good grades and her teachers love having her around. I can see success in her future, and yours too Lincoln, you two do compliment each other."
"Uh, thank you sir," Lincoln said.
"But your romance is quite a bothersome talking point in this school right now, so I'm hoping you're keeping your displays of affection to a minimum, last thing we want is for our school to turn into a central station for drama," Wilbur said.
"I'm fully aware, I didn't want my relationship with Stella to be public knowledge, it's really embarrassing," Lincoln said. "But between my friend Rusty spreading the word and some other girls..."
"Yes, I'm aware, rest assure the teachers are doing what they can to stomp in, but make sure you continue to do your part," Wilbur said. "Thankfully the students tend to forget things once something else pops up. But I also want you to know, if any student gives you trouble over this, come see me. I'd rather there not be any more fights, I did hear a rumor that your sister Lola threatened to break a boy's arm with a paperclip."
"Silly huh? Like that's possible," Lincoln nervously said.
"Well I'd rather not have two Loud girls to deal with," Wilbur said. "I won't say anything to Lola about that, but make sure she stays out of trouble, otherwise I can't make any promises. That goes for all your sisters, from my experience, they can be a pretty spiteful and protective bunch, no offense."
"None taken, I live with that every single day," Lincoln said.
"Well that's all I wanted to say, I trust you'll stay out of trouble," Wilbur said.
"You got it Principal Wilbur," Lincoln said, getting up from his seat. "I'll try to prevent Lynn or any of my sisters from doing something so silly again."
"I appreciate it, and if there's any more trouble, come to me or one of your teachers," Wilbur said.
Lincoln made his way out of the Principal's office, feeling a huge relief lifted off his shoulders, happy that things didn't get too awkward in there. The boy made his way back to his classroom, getting the attention of the other students.
"Here comes Stella's groom to be!" a kid shouted, getting a round of laughter, much to the annoyance of Lincoln, Stella, their friends and the teacher.
"Alright class, quiet down now, you have some math equations to finish," Mrs. Johnson said, the class somewhat settling down.
Lincoln took a seat near his friends, Clyde being the first to speak up, "So, what happened?"
"You didn't take the blame for your sister did you?" Zach asked.
"No, everything's fine, Lynn's the only one who got in trouble," Lincoln said. "Uh, where's Rusty?"
"Nurse's office, obviously," Liam said. "Yer sister really went to town on him."
"I almost feel sorry for him, but he was being a bit of a jerk yesterday," Lincoln said.
"But now thanks to Lynn, he's probably going to be even more bitter about this," Stella said.
"Well on the bright side, he likely won't try messing with you again," Zach said.
"But we can't leave this at that, Rusty's still our friend, we should try making peace if we can," Stella said.
"Ahem," Mrs. Johnson said, getting the attention of the five kids. "Whatever you're going on about can wait until after class, or would you like to explain to class how to multiply all these formulas by Pi?"
"Sorry Mrs. Johnson," the five said, getting back to their work.
They day went on per normal, though there was a huge talk among the school about the big fight that happened outside, plus Lincoln and his friends continued to get a few more glances from other students, constant murmuring being heard.
Lunchtime was also different, with no Rusty but Girl Jordan instead sitting at the table with Lincoln and Co, and they themselves were joined by Lincoln's sisters, who kept an eye and ear out for anymore gossip. No sign of Rusty anywhere, they weren't sure if he was able to go home or if he was just trying to avoid them. They figured it was the latter, he already got beat up by one of Lincoln's sisters, he won't be around the rest if he could help it.
The school day ended and the kids made their way home, Lincoln walking with his sisters in addition to Stella and their friends.
"So your friend didn't show up at all?" Lola asked. "Not after getting beaten up?"
"He never came to class," Lincoln said. "I mean did Lynn beat him up that badly or did he switch out?"
"There's no way he could have switched out that fast," Clyde said. "Plus why would he? Lynn doesn't attend our school so it's not like he would have seen her in class."
"I still can't believe Lynn actually beat him up like that," Stella said. "Has she done this before?"
"She did rough up a kid once when she thought he was picking on me," Lincoln said. "I never met the kid really, she just grabbed the first boy that looked like a bully to her."
"Oh yeah, we almost put gum in his hair," Lana said. "I'm still amazed that gum still had flavor when I plucked it from Lincoln's hair."
Stella, Zach and Liam stopped to stare awkwardly at the little mechanic girl. "Huh?"
"Lincoln, you let Lana chew the gum that Ronnie Anne stuck in your hair?" Clyde asked.
"I didn't let her, but I was swarmed by my others sisters," Lincoln said.
Back to the present.
"Lana seriously started chewing the gum I left in your hair?" Ronnie Anne asked. "I almost feel bad now."
"Wait, you only feel bad because my sister chewed the gum that was in your mouth and not from putting the gum on my head in the first place?" Lincoln asked. "You know how much of a pain it was to get the gum out of my hair?"
"Dude all you needed was scissors or something," Ronnie Anne said.
"It was still annoying, and it's the reason my other sisters found out about you bullying me, if that hadn't happened, I wouldn't have had to kiss you," Lincoln said.
"Yeah, I guess I was the real victim there," Ronnie Anne joked, getting a giggle from Sid and Stella.
"Gee you sure liked my kiss at Jean-Juan's, really swept you off your feet," Lincoln boasted.
"You know your girlfriend's sitting right next to you," Ronnie Anne said, pointing to Stella who put on a false annoyed face.
"Tell me more about how you kissed Ronnie Anne, boyfriend," Stella playfully teased.
"Wait, I just realized, Lincoln got to kiss both of you!" Sid exclaimed. "Both of you girls got to kiss Lincoln!"
"Uh, yeah?" Ronnie Anne said. "Where are you going with this?"
"Well now I feel kind of left out," Sid said, getting an awkward silence from the others.
"So...Lana likes used gum," Ronnie Anne said, attempting to continue the conversation.
"Things that bother us don't really bother Lana, except for Peanut Butter and Sauerkraut, it's the one thing she won't eat," Lincoln said.
"Well yeah, who would?" Ronnie Anne asked, much to Lincoln's annoyance.
"Hey people are allowed to like whatever they want!" Lincoln said. "I would never judge anyone for what they eat."
"I wouldn't either," Stella said. "You're still not allowed to kiss me right after eating something like that though."
"Your loss," Lincoln said.
"I would still kiss you," Sid said, grinning at Lincoln, who started feeling quite awkward.
"Uh, Sid, I think it's sweet that you seem to have a crush on my boyfriend and I'm all for light hearted humor about it, but he's still my boyfriend so please consider what you say before you say it," Stella said.
"If it makes you feel any better, I would totally kiss you too," Sid said, getting a huge blush from Stella. "I'll kiss anyone that's attractive enough."
"She would," Ronnie Anne said. "I've experienced that personally."
"You know you liked it," Sid said.
"I'll punch you," Ronnie Anne warned, Sid playfully surrendering. "So what happened after that day in school?"
"Stella and the guys stayed for a bit and went home when it started getting dark, just in time for Lynn to get an earful from my parents," Lincoln said.
Back to the past.
"Lynn, you really crossed a line today," Rita began, scolding her daughter with her husband standing by with an equally disappointed look. "I can't believe you got sent to the Principal's office, at a school you don't even go to!"
"For beating up some kid? One of Lincoln's friends?" Lynn Sr said.
"Hey he was spreading rumors about Lincoln, someone had to honor the Loud Family name," Lynn Jr said.
"Lynn, I know you want to help Lincoln in your own way..." Rita said. "But you know how we feel about unneeded violence, bad enough you kids always fight with each other, but to beat up another kid is just uncalled for."
"You know we're gonna have to punish you for this Junior," Lynn Sr said.
"Are you sure about?" Lynn Jr said, hoping to smooth talk her parents out of it. "I mean my school already gave me like a week's worth of detention."
"Sorry, but that won't be all," Rita said. "Now you have an extra piling of chores, starting with trash duty at the end of the week."
"Isn't that Lincoln's chore though?" Lynn asked.
"Consider this your way to make it up to your brother for your recklessness," Lynn Sr said. "And that's not even all of it."
"We're adding a second month of no sports," Rita said.
"Huh? Bit harsh, don't you think?" Lynn Jr asked.
"Be happy we're not taking it away completely," Rita said. "You're a talented girl Lynn and we hate to have to take away something you love, but if you continue this behavior, we're gonna be left with no choice."
"If you really want to help Lincoln, then try a less extreme approach," Lynn Sr said. "Think about what your brother wants, try to see things from his perspective."
"I try to but the biggest problem is that he's a bit of a wimp, I'm just trying to set a better example," Lynn Jr said.
"Lynn, being aggressive like you are is not a good example," Rita said. "And don't call your brother a 'wimp'."
"Come on mom, Lincoln's a total push-over, I'm trying to make him less soft," Lynn Jr said. "I'm making him more of a proper guy, it's not easy growing up with a bunch of girls, he needs a tougher role model."
"Lynn...being a boy doesn't mean he needs to act like some sort of stereotype," Rita said. "Your father does things many guys wouldn't be expected to do, how many families do you know where the father cooks most of the meals? And you love your father's cooking."
"Well, yeah I do," Lynn Jr admitted.
"Don't worry about Lincoln's masculinity, if you ask me he has plenty of it, I mean Stella must like him for a reason, all good ones I bet," Lynn Sr said.
"Stella..." Lynn Jr wondered. "Yeah, you're right, thanks for the advice dad."
"No problem..." Lynn Sr said, then though about it. "Wait what advice?"
"No time to explain, I gotta talk to Stella," Lynn Jr said, about to leave her room.
"Uh, Lynn honey, Stella went home, you can ask her tomorrow, if she comes over that is," Rita said.
"She's been here pretty much every day, she's basically like Clyde now, she'll be here mostly likely," Lynn Jr said.
"Well it's late, you should wash up for dinner, then get ready for bed," Rita said. "Your father made spaghetti."
"Sure thing mom," Lynn Jr said. "Also I gotta know, is Lucy coming back? She didn't come back last night, which I found weird."
"Uh...Lucy might not be coming back," Rita said. "Actually she is but..."
"We've thought about switching your rooms around," Lynn Sr said. "You're gonna stay in Lincoln's room while he and Lucy come stay in this one."
"Excuse me!? You can't be serious!" Lynn Jr said. "So I'm gonna be the only one without a roommate now?"
"Just for now," Lynn Sr said. "Look we were gonna make Lucy move back, but she seems really happy with Lincoln."
"Plus with Lori leaving to college soon, you won't be along forever, you can stay with Leni," Rita said. "You two did briefly share a room and you got along well."
"That was only for like a couple of hours though," Lynn Jr said. "Is Lucy seriously that upset about the things I said to her? Is she that upset about me revealing her secret!?"
"Well it certainly didn't help," Lynn Sr said. "Alright, we'll try another deal, if you can be on your best behavior, instead of you staying in Lincoln's room, you can bunk with him and Lucy, it'll be the three of you."
"But only if you show us that you can co-exist without any drama, deal?" Rita asked.
Lynn Jr thought about it, and having two roommates would be pretty cool, and they both work. Lincoln is a bit more fun to be around than Lucy but Lucy she can at least relate to sometimes, plus while she hates to admit it, she would miss Lucy's poetry.
"Alright, I'll do my best," Lynn Jr said.
"If we like your progress we'll even shorten your punishment, all we want is what's best for you, alright honey?" Lynn Sr said.
"You got it pops, I'll be a real model kid," Lynn Jr insisted.
"Good to hear," Rita said, opening the door to find the twins and Luan falling face first to the floor, the other siblings on the other side. "Seriously!?"
"Uh...this isn't my room," Lori said, hoping to sway the blame.
"Looks like we all made the same mistake at the same time," Luna added, her acting obviously fake.
"Boy don't we feel foolish," Lana added, getting off the floor.
"Wait, I thought were trying to eavesdrop on mom and dad's conversation with Lynn?" Leni asked, getting a groan and facepalm from the others.
"I don't know who's intelligence is lacking the most," Lisa said. "Leni for not catching on to our plan, or us for expecting her to play along without trouble."
"How about all of you for eavesdropping, you should know better," Rita said.
"It's my fault mom," Lincoln admitted. "I wanted to know what was gonna happen, then well I guess the others became interested to because they saw me leaning against the door."
"Don't take all the blame Lincoln, we probably would have done that anyway," Lori said.
"Yeah, this could affect Stella, me and Luan got worried," Luna said.
"You don't need to worry about Stella, not like she told Junior to beat up that boy," Lynn Sr said.
"She was just as concerned," Lincoln said. "But about what you said about me and Lucy permanently bunking together."
"Well we were gonna wait until after dinner but you heard right Lincoln, you and Lucy can stay in this room while Lynn stays in your own room for the time being," Rita said.
"Oh cool, that means I get a bigger room," Lincoln said. "More room for my stuff."
"We'll talk more about it later, right now everyone get ready for dinner," Rita said, the kids doing just that. Lucy of course was elated to know she would be permanently bunking with her brother, and she was happy to be back in her own bed. She didn't mind Lincoln's and she definitely didn't mind sleeping next to him, in fact she felt quite comfortable. But she missed her bed and wanted to be back in it.
Of course, she could always bunk with him now and then, she has all the opportunities she could need.
Dinner time came for the Louds, everyone of course enjoying Lynn Sr's meal. Many of them had a lot on their minds, Lincoln and Lucy on sharing a room, Luna and Luan worried about Stella and what stupid thing Lynn might do next, Lori about what she heard her parents saying about her eventually moving, Leni about how it'll be like when Lori moves and Lynn stays with her, and Lynn Jr trying to come up with plans of her own on how to properly fix and improve the situation she found herself in.
That night, Lincoln and Lucy sat in bed together, thinking over what it will be like when they move into their new shared room.
"I never thought I'd be in your room Lucy, I mean I never minded living in the Linen closest but to have a bit more leg room seems more ideal," Lincoln said. "The closest I came to sleeping in another room was during our sibling sleepovers."
"It's nothing that special, truth be told I kind of like how much smaller this room is, has that isolated feeling," Lucy said, then realized her words. "Uh, no offense, I don't consider you isolated from me or anything."
"It's fine, I know what you mean," Lincoln assured. "Still, I can't wait to put out more stuff, it's gonna be awesome. I do feel a little sorry for Lynn, but I guess she brought this on herself."
"Lynn is a troubled soul, maybe she could use this alone time to think about her own actions and hopefully mold into a better person from it," Lucy said.
"There's gotta be something I can do to help Lynn, I mean you don't think she's that bad, do you?" Lincoln asked.
"Lynn is my sister, and I do love her, but honestly she is that bad right now," Lucy said. "She is going through puberty, maybe it's messing with her head. I shudder to think how my hormones will behave when that time comes." Lucy turned to Lincoln, "If I start acting like Lynn, please don't hesitate to tell me, if we're gonna be roommates, I want us to be honest with each other, let's try to have as little secrets as possible."
"Hey I don't want you turning out like Lynn either, but you've always been in control of your emotions, I don't think puberty is going to change that," Lincoln said. "I mean even Leni was still as nice then as she is now, and she was even nicer before, far as I can rememeber. Lynn's just ultra competitive, so her hormones make it worse."
"...How do you think you'll be when you hit puberty?" Lucy asked.
"Well I feel like I'm already in the early phases, might be too soon to tell though," Lincoln said. "But I promise I won't be like Lynn, if I do start to show signs, feel free to tell me."
"I'm gonna like sharing a room with you," Lucy said. "We should do something to commemorate this occasion, to signify the bond we share, and the love we show each other."
"Uh...that sounds almost like marriage Lucy," Lincoln said, slightly weirded out.
"We'll call it something else," Lucy said. "Don't worry, it's not like we're going to do an actual wedding, just something similar."
"If you want to, then sure," Lincoln said, still feeling awkward about this.
"I'm sorry if this sounds strange and sudden, but the more I think about it, the more I realize how much you've been there for me, and the way you hugged me and kissed me the other day, in addition to telling me how much you love me, it just made me all happy inside," Lucy said. "I usually hate emotions, but when it comes to you, I just don't feel that way. It's hard being a goth around you because you're so full of light and positive energy that you make me feel the same way. You warm my cold heart with your radiant smile, your bright features bring lights into my shadowy despair, I feel like you're my other half, my soul given form, my heart in motion, living proof that opposites attract."
"I gotta admit, that was poetic," Lincoln said. "I'm so flattered you feel that way, you're a great sister Lucy, and you mean everything to me. I love all of you equally, but if I had to pick a sister to spend most of my time with, you're the best choice."
Lucy placed her hand over her heart, looking to her brother with complete admiration. In a rare show of display, she slightly moved her hair out of her left eye, giving her brother a nice view, surprising him. "I love you so much Lincoln, thank you for being there for me."
"Anytime little sister," Lincoln said, leaning in to kiss her cheek as he crawled into bed. Lucy placed her hand where he kissed, blushing madly. For the first time she actually envied Stella, and almost wished she and Lincoln weren't already related by blood. She crawled in bed right next to him, drifting off peacefully to sleep.
Back in the future, Lincoln braced for the upcoming teasing, but none came. He slowly opened his left eye to the two girls, only to see admiration on their faces.
"Relax, we're done teasing you about this," Ronnie Anne assured. "You're a sweet guy Lincoln, don't be ashamed about that."
"Yeah, if I had a brother like you, I'd totally make out with you," Sid said, getting an awkward look from the others.
"Uh...Sid, if you want to make out with him, then why compare him to a brother?" Ronnie asked.
"That's how awesome he is, I'd totally not care if we were related," Sid said.
Stella turned to Ronnie Anne, mouthing to her if Sid's being serious, to which Ronnie Anne shrugged. She turned back to Sid, "Well, that's nice I guess."
"So...anything else you want to share?" Ronnie Anne asked. Before Lincoln could answer, they heard a knock on the door. "Come in!"
Entering the room was the four year old Lily Loud, "Linky, can we go to the park?"
"Why do you need me to take you? Where's mom?" Lincoln asked.
"She's busy helping out at the Mercury," Lily said.
"Mercury?" Lincoln asked.
"You know, the store Ronnie Anne's family owns," Lily said.
"I think she means the Mercado," Ronnie Anne theorized. "Anyway there's a park nearby we can go to if you'd like, Sid takes her sister there sometimes."
"Oh, can she come too?" Lily asked. "I want to play with someone until Lana and Lola come."
"Uh I can ask," Sid said. "Really don't want to have to babysit her though."
"Might as well bring her, Adelaide would be pretty ticked off if she found out she wasn't invited to the park, especially if Lola and Lana are gonna be there," Ronnie Anne said.
"Those three make quite the trio," Lincoln said. "Adelaide is one of the only kids I know that has something in common with both Lana and Lola."
"Alright, let's go get her then," Sid said.
"Hurray! Come on Linky!" Lily said, grabbing her brother by the hand, dragging him off.
"Hey slow down Lily," Lincoln said, being dragged off with Sid following.
"You coming you two?" Sid asked.
Ronnie Anne nodded, "Yeah we'll-"
"Uh, mind waiting a second?" Stella asked. "There's something I need to tell Ronnie Anne about, it's a bit personal." She turned to Ronnie Anne, "You don't mind right?"
"No, of course not," Ronnie Anne said, concerned for her friend.
Stella turned to Sid, "Mind waiting up for us at the park?"
"Stella, I can wait for you forever," Sid said with a flashy smirk, then walked off, leaving Stella confused.
"Alright, does she have a crush on me, Lincoln or you? Because I'm very confused right now," Stella said.
"Knowing her, if she had the chance she'd probably try to have all three of us," Ronnie Anne said. "I like Sid a lot but she can be really strange." Ronnie Anne shook her head, "Never mind that, what's on your mind?"
"It's about Lynn, and some stuff that's happened between us, it's something I wanted to tell Lincoln but I never got the chance to, plus I don't really know how to say it, it's confusing yet...I'm just more worried about how Lincoln will react," Stella explained.
"Lynn? What did she do?" Ronnie Anne asked. "Has...has she been bullying you?"
"Honestly, I think so, sit down a moment, I'll explain everything," Stella said, the two sitting down for one more talking session.