In the hang-out room, Sid was showing off her robot to Stella, the star shirt girl marveling at the sight.
"Wow, you built this?" Stella asked.
"Yeah, me and Ronnie Anne tried taking a robotics club at school," Sid said. "She couldn't figure out how to build a robot though, but I like building them, they're fun."
"Yeah, working with tech is fun," Stella said.
"I'm almost done putting the final touches on this one, it's cleaning robot, it can do chores I don't want to do, like clean windows," Sid said. "But when I tested it out, it scrubbed too hard and broke a window."
"Oh, your parents probably weren't too happy about that," Stella said.
"Oh not at my house, it happened at Sameer's house," Sid explained. "But he did offer, too bad the cost of fixing it came out both our allowances."
"Harsh," Stella said.
"Luckily Ronnie Anne spotted me some cash, I can always depend on my BFF," Sid said, opening up the back of the robot.
"She is really nice, anyway I'll take a look at the robot if you don't mind," Stella said.
"Sure, let's do it together," Sid said, the two getting to work on the little machine. It was a nice moment for Stella to be able to work her skills with a friend, closest was helping Lana with some home improvement stuff back at the Loud House.
Sid also enjoyed being able to make just a robot with a friend, Ronnie Anne wasn't the best partner for that, but robotics is pretty tough and not everyone can do it, thankfully she still found a way to share her love of robotics with Ronnie Anne's love of Lucha Libre. All that mattered to Sid was being with the girl she cared about the most, the girl who was her best friend, but secretly, someone she wanted more from.
"Hey Stella, mind if I ask you something?" Sid asked, getting a nod from Stella. "You and Lincoln were friends before you dated right?"
"Yeah," Stella confirmed.
"Was it easy to transition from friend to girlfriend?" Sid asked.
"Uh, sort of," Stella said. "I mean, since we were already friends, we pretty much knew a lot about each other, honestly dating Lincoln wasn't too different than just hanging out with him, we just added kissing to our list of activities."
"Were you ever worried that it wouldn't work out, and that it could affect your friendship?" Sid asked.
"Of course I was, but thankfully I had Ronnie Anne there to give me some motivation," Stella said. "So I took a chance and now I'm still dating the boy I got together with three years ago, and we've been happy ever since."
"I've always thought you two were one of the most sweetest couples I knew," Sid said. "I wish I could have what you have, I just need to be as bold as you were."
"Is there someone that you like Sid?" Stella asked. "Someone that isn't my boyfriend?"
"Can you keep it between us for now?" Sid asked.
"Totally," Stella said.
"Well...I kind of like Ronnie Anne the way you like Lincoln, I'm just not sure if I can work up the nerve to tell her how I feel," Sid confessed.
"Aw, you have a crush on Ronnie Anne," Stella said, though had sudden suspicions, "Wait, it is a real crush right? Not just some random physical attraction?"
"It's for real, I swear!" Sid said. "I mean, yeah, Ronnie's super cute and her butt's amazing, but I like her for much more than that! She's a kind, sweet and amazing girl, plus she's one of the few who could put up with my energetic personality. This might sound hard to believe, but people think I'm a bit weird and crazy."
"Well, you are quite energetic, that I can agree on," Stella said. "And it's great that Ronnie Anne can see past that, and it's sweet that you feel that way about her."
"Yeah, but honestly, she seems out of my league," Sid lamented.
"Come on, don't give me that," Stella said. "You won't know unless you try. Sometimes the risk is worth taking."
"What if she doesn't feel the same way?" Sid asked. "Then things will be awkward between us."
"Didn't you kiss her once?" Stella asked. "Ronnie Anne went into more detail about that, she said you straight up pulled her into a kiss."
"Yeah but that was on a dare, and that was basically my cover," Sid said. "Plus she punched me in the stomach right afterwards, I'm kind of afraid she'll do worse if I actually ask her out."
"You worry too much, look if you speak honestly to her, and not as some love crazed teenager, then you'll be fine," Stella said. "Just speak from the heart, and do not talk about her butt, that might make her think you only like her for her body." Stella once again had her suspicions, "You're confident that's not why you like her right?"
"I swear, I like her for her personality," Sid said. "Look I know I've been a bit, forward, when it comes to physical attraction, but I honestly like Ronnie Anne for what's on the inside more than the outside."
"As long as that's the honest truth," Stella said. "There's nothing wrong with physical attraction, just try to be a little less obvious with it."
"I always try to be not so obvious, I mean that's how I got to get sneak peek of your...I mean, why I try to not really annoy anyone with my attractions, hehe..." Sid nervously rubbed her head.
Stella seemed suspicious of the somewhat perverted girl, "Remember to mind boundaries too, otherwise you'll get more than a punch on the gut."
"Right, totally gonna do that," Sid said, hoping she can fulfil her own promise.
Outside the Mercado, Lynn and Lincoln were standing together, taking sips out of some soda cans that Bobby got for them, before the older boy was called by Lori for a meeting of sorts. Carlota peeked her head outside, eyeing the boy with a curious grin.
She made her way over, getting his attention, "Hey Linky, haven't seen you in a while. Wow you've gotten so handsome."
"Thanks Carlota," Lincoln said, blushing a bit.
"And you've gotten taller too, bet the girls back home are just lining up for a chance with you," Carlota said, Lynn curiously glancing at the older girl.
"Well I have a few admirers, but I'm happy with Stella, so if anything it's more her gain than theirs," Lincoln said.
"Aw, how sweet, you and your girlfriend are still pretty tight, aren't you?" Carlota asked, in a somewhat teasing tone.
"Yeah, me and Stella are still very close, we've been really happy together these last three years," Lincoln said.
"That's nice, I just hope she feels the same way, some girls tend to get bored after a while and just go through the motions, I sure hope Stella isn't like that," Carlota said.
"She isn't, she's been very faithful and loyal, she's stood by me through a lot of events, both good and bad," Lincoln said.
"No secrets right?" Carlota asked. "Secrets tend to be a bad thing in relationships."
Lynn curiously glanced at Carlota, wondering what the older girl was up to. "Uh, you're awfully curious."
"Well Lincoln is Lori's sister, and Lori is dating my cousin Bobby, he's also really close to Ronnie Anne, so I see him almost like family," Carlota said. "I just want to make sure my family is happy." She turned to the jock beside Lincoln, "You can relate, can't you Lynn? He is your little brother after all."
"Of course I can, I care about my little brother's happiness," Lynn said.
"That's sweet, I bet that's why you were so insistent on Stella dating Lincoln, looks like you won out in the end," Carlota said.
"I guess, I'll give her some credit, she's really nice to my brother, that's all I care about," Lynn said.
"And that's all a boy wants in a girl, and it's something Lincoln deserves," Carlota said.
Lynn was not too trusting of Carlota's tone, she was actually getting a little annoyed by the older girl, "Hey Lincoln, I gotta talk to Carlota about something, wait for me inside?"
"Uh sure," Lincoln said., making his way inside the store. Something told him things might get a little hairy soon.
"Alright Carlota, what's with the sudden interest in Lincoln's relationship with Stella?" Lynn asked. "Last I heard, you were still hoping he'd dump her for Ronnie Anne."
"Hey I never said anything like that," Carlota insisted.
"Well that's not the vibe you gave Bobby since he's the one who told Lori about it, and she told Leni, which I overheard," Lynn said.
"Wow, word really gets around in your house," Carlota said. "But I myself have heard that you are not particularly fond of Stella, and that there's been some conflict between the two of you."
"Yeah, what of it?" Lynn asked.
"So if you don't like the girl, why put up with her?" Carlota asked. "Why not just get those ties cut?"
"First off, Lincoln would never forgive me if I split them up," Lynn said. "Second my sisters would absolutely thrash me, third Stella is way to loyal to Lincoln to break up with him."
"So you want your brother dating a girl you don't like?" Carlota asked. "You're fine with that?"
"The only reason you want them to break up is so that Lincoln could date Ronnie Anne, and honestly I don't really like her all that much either, so one way or another it seems like he's gonna end up with a lousy girlfriend," Lynn said.
"Come on, you and Ronnie Anne aren't even that different," Carlota said. "I think you two could be good friends."
"I don't befriend bullies," Lynn said. "Still haven't forgotten that black eye she gave Lincoln, honestly the only reason I didn't go after her is because Lori talked me out of it. At first I thought it was out of pity because she knew I'd wreck the girl, then I found out it was because she was Bobby's little sister. Just so you know, Lori's relationship with Bobby has been a bother for all of us at least once."
"You really know how to hold a grudge, don't you?" Carlota pointed out. "I mean what could Bobby have done to upset you?"
"It wasn't Bobby himself, it was more Lori flaunting her boyfriend status, obsessively texting him, talking about him non-stop, plus the one time we thought he was cheating on her, we go to make sure her heart isn't broken, and she threatens to beat us all up," Lynn said. "Do you have any idea what she can do with a loaf of bread? That shit's terrifying."
"I think you're overreacting," Carlota said.
"Well the point is that I'm not helping break Lincoln up with Stella just for him to end up with Ronnie Anne, or worse, Sid," Lynn said.
"Well can you at least tell me if Stella has been the best girlfriend?" Carlota asked. "I mean if Ronnie Anne's gonna miss out, I'd rather she miss out to someone who at least earned it."
"Stella's slightly better than Ronnie Anne if that makes you feel better, she never bullied him," Lynn said.
"Look, whatever this 'bullying' Ronnie Anne did was just her showing Lincoln she likes him," Carlota said.
"I thought so too...until she punched him in the eye!" Lynn shouted. "I don't like seeing someone hurt my brother."
"Well by that logic, you seemed to upset your brother a lot during that Dairy Land incident, so in a way, you're no better than Ronnie Anne was," Carlota pointed out.
"Don't you have some silly make-up stream to attend to?" Lynn asked.
"Hey, I get high viewing on my streams, honestly maybe you should check them out, might help you find a guy of your own, or girl if that's your style," Carlota said.
"I'm an athlete, if I want someone I can get them," Lynn said, showing off her muscles. "Guys like strong girls, no make-up needed."
"So, you got a boyfriend then?" Carlota asked.
"I'm single by choice!" Lynn angrily insisted. "Look if you want to split Lincoln and Stella up, be my guest, just don't involve me in your schemes, I don't want my sisters coming after me for revenge."
"Fine, guess I'm on my own," Carlota said, making her way back into the store.
Lynn scoffed at the notions of the older girl, "Talk about determination. Whatever not my problem." Lynn however started to feel a shred of guilt, something she hated, wondering what she had to feel guilty about, not like she's about to do anything bad directly. "Ugh, why should I even care? It's not my problem if Lincoln and Stella split up. I mean yeah she makes Lincoln happy, but any girl can do that. Then again if they split up that means Ronnie Anne might move in, or Sid." Lynn brushed it off, "But they live here, Lincoln can't do long distance, he's too used to having a girl nearby, he doesn't have Lori's resolve to put up with not seeing his girlfriend everyday. But then again, if they split up, Lincoln would just be mopey and depressed." Lynn thought some more, "Maybe he'll get past it, though Luna and Luan like Stella too and they might make things dramatic..." Lynn groaned in annoyance, "Dang it! I gotta do the right thing, don't I? Ugh, why does it have to be for Stella though?"
Lynn made up her mind, much as she doesn't like Stella, she didn't want to chance seeing Lincoln get heart-broken. She made her way inside, ready to make things right.
Inside the store, Lori had gathered the sisters together, with the exception of Lynn and Lily. "Alright, we all know what we have to do right?"
"Uh..." Leni looked very confused at the moment, not that Lori was too surprised.
Face palming at her sister's simple nature, she began to explain the plan, "We're going to tell Lincoln about the photos we found on Lynn's phone years ago."
"Right...which ones?" Leni asked.
"The ones of Stella in her underwear," Luna said.
"And the other one," Lola said, slightly glaring at Luan.
Leni pieced it all together, letting out a loud gasp, "I thought we weren't going to tell Linky, he'll be so mad!"
"Thinking about it, I'm not too thrilled about this myself," Luan said. "I don't want Lincoln to hate me or think that I tried stealing his girlfriend, I never even told Benny about this."
"You kept this a secret from Benny?" Lana said. "Hope he never finds out then."
"He won't if no one says anything," Luan firmly said.
"Hey if he does find out, you'll be the one who tells him," Lori said. "We're doing this for Lincoln right now, you just have to have faith he'll be understanding."
"Hey if he could forgive us for the Sister Fight Protocol and the Bad Luck Incident, I think he'll forgive this," Lola said.
"That doesn't make me feel better, honestly the fact that he forgave us for that just feels lucky, and our luck's gonna run out," Luan said.
"Yeah, what if he still holds a grudge for stealing his spotlight at the comic convention?" Lana asked.
"Lana, we've already resolved that, Lincoln doesn't blame us, he's actually proud of us," Lori said. "Plus Stella already had a word with him about that, point is he's not mad about that, he's moved past that. Let's face it, Lincoln moves on from things a lot better than we can, it's his best quality."
"But even he might have his limitations," Luna pointed out. "I'm with Luan, maybe we should forget this."
"Lincoln deserves to know so we can properly figure out this Lynn situation too, because it sounds like you all pretty much hate her, when in the end, Lincoln's the one who should have that choice, but I believe he'll make the right one," Lori said.
"I do concur with our eldest sibling," Lisa said. "If Lincoln finds out through other means about this ordeal, both the blackmailing and the fact that we knew, he would likely have a harder time forgiving us than if we were honest. He'll be mad, but the blow will be somewhat softened."
Lola turned to Lucy, "You've been awful quiet, more so than usual. You're probably closer to Lincoln than the rest of us, even me, got anything to add?"
"Hard to say," Lucy stated. "While I do agree he has a right to know, I fear the repercussions. Lincoln is a kind and forgiving person, but I know all to well the limitations of his forgiveness. Being his roommate, Lincoln does confide a lot of things with me. I won't go into any specifics, but I will say this, while Lincoln does love us and he knows we love him, sometimes he just doesn't feel appreciated and more often than not, he feels like he's not taken seriously as a family member. He's felt pain through our actions, so if we do go through with this, it must be done with the utmost caution."
"Right, Lincoln might handle things better but that doesn't mean he still can't be hurt by this," Lori said. "Alright, I say we just tell Lincoln now and get this over with."
"Or after the concert so this doesn't dampen his mood," Luna suggested.
"Before works, the concert can lighten his spirits," Lola said.
Ronnie Anne steppe forward, getting their attention, "Better do it sooner than later, otherwise he might find out in another way."
"Ronnie Anne!?" the sisters said in surprise.
"The one and only," Ronnie Anne said. "Hate to tell you all, but Carlota has an idea of what's going on, and she's already on the move, pretty determined to find out what this big secret is."
"Wait, how could Carlota know, I never even told Bobby this," Lori said.
"She overheard it, not gonna rat anyone out, but someone here wasn't careful with their words," Ronnie Anne said, somewhat eyeing the second oldest sibling.
Leni nervously began looking around, knowing that Ronnie Anne was alluding to her conversation with Carlota a moment ago.
"Is she still hoping for you and Linc to hook up?" Luna asked.
"My whole family is, which is really sad," Ronnie Anne said. "Only Bobby and my mom don't seem be pushing that idea, mainly since they both actually like Stella."
"Maybe we could get the rest of your family to like Stella," Leni suggested. "She's a really nice girl, hard not to like. Unless you're Lynn."
"Wait, Ronnie Anne, do you even know what's happening?" Lola asked.
"Stella briefed me about it," Ronnie Anne said. "She sounded really guilty too."
"That works since you know, you can help us break it to Lincoln," Lori said. "You're close with both Lincoln and Stella, and he could use a non-family member to help out."
"You bet, Lincoln and Stella are my best friends, I'll do what I can to make sure they stay happy and together after all this," Ronnie Anne said. "Bring Lincoln, Stella and Lynn to my room in about ten minutes."
"Will do," Lori said, then turned to her sisters. "Let's get to it."
As the Loud sisters dispersed, Ronnie Anne turned her attention to Lori. "Hey, how exactly did everyone else find out about the pictures?"
"It's quite the story," Lori said.
"Hey I spent all day listening to Lincoln and Stella talking about the stuff they went through a few years ago, I have time for at least one more story," Ronnie Anne said.
"Alright, I'll try to make it quick," Lori said, going upstairs with the young girl.
Two years prior was a day that started as typical as any day in the Loud House. Complete chaos, many fights over remotes, snacks, the only difference was that Lori wasn't around to reign in the chaos, or add to it.
Speaking of Lori though, it was the weekend that she would be coming home. Of course Lori came home quite frequently, usually coming back every other weekend to spend time with her family, and to help keep things in order. Part of her missed the chaos of her house, so whether the family was getting along peacefully, which was rare, or causing trouble, which was common, she was just happy to be home.
But this is an event where things went a bit too far, starting with Lynn Loud. The girl was not in the best mood at the moment, having recently lost a baseball game the day prior, one that would have placed her in the Pennant for her team.
She sat on the couch, channel surfing, looking for something to take her mind off the stress. As she did so, Lola and Lana had made their way over, spotting their older sister with the remote and tv.
"Hey Lynn, if you can't find anything to watch, mind handing the remote over to me and Lana?" Lola asked. "We have cartoons to watch."
"Buzz off, I'm busy," Lynn snapped.
"Uh, you don't look busy, you don't even seem to know what you want to watch," Lola said.
"I'll find something, now take a hike," Lynn demanded.
Lola looked rather offended by that statement, "Ugh, are you still moping about that stupid game? You lost, deal with it. Even I don't get this moody when I lose a pageant."
"Yeah, you can't win them all Lynn," Lana said.
"What are you saying? I'm not good enough!?" Lynn asked, glaring at the twins.
"No, just that it wasn't your game," Lola said. "You did your best, the other team was just better."
"More like they probably cheated, no one plays better than Lynn Loud Junior!" the brash athlete said. "Look I'm busy, so go away already."
"Ugh, just wait until Lori gets home and sees just how bratty you're being," Lola said, walking off with her twin.
"Ugh, annoying Lola, comparing her dumbass pageants to my games, baseball takes a whole lot more skill than posing like some fashion obsessed harpy," Lynn said.
Not much longer later, Lincoln came downstairs, with Luna and Luan right behind him. Lynn could smell cologne and perfume and turned to see her three siblings, each of them looking a bit fancy. Lincoln was wearing a tie on his polo shirt and his khaki pants. Luan had a nice yellow dress with a bow in place of her scrunchie. Luna was wearing a purple dress with long black leggings.
"What are you three going to the opera or something?" Lynn asked.
"No way, we're going on a date," Lincoln said.
Lynn chuckled a little, "Uh, so what's weirder here? That you got two girls or that they're both your sisters."
"Real funny Lynn," Lincoln said, somewhat annoyed, an expression Luna and Luan shared. "We're going on a quadruple date. Lori's coming over with Bobby, so she's taking us along with Benny, Sam and Stella to Jean-Juan's French-Mex buffet."
"So, a quadruple date?" Lynn asked. "Sounds geeky."
"Oh don't be jealous just because you can't get a date," Luan said.
"Hey, I can so get a date, I'm just not interested right now," Lynn insisted.
"Well if you don't clean up your bratty attitude, no guy will be interested in you," Luna pointed out. "You got the looks, but that will only get you so far."
"She's right Lynn," Lincoln stated. "You have what it takes to be a good girlfriend, you just need to work a bit on your...grace."
"I have plenty of grace," Lynn said, belching immediately afterwards.
"I gas you do," Luan said, chuckling a bit.
"Don't you dork-wads have dates to get ready for?" Lynn asked.
Luna groaned in annoyance, "Fine, be that way. Let's go everyone."
Suddenly there was an explosion upstairs, followed by the call of Lisa's voice, "I'm alright!"
Lincoln rolled his eyes as he walked toward the stairs, "I'll go check on her, make sure she and Lily are alright."
"Try not to do anything that will get your clothes dirty," Luna said. "You look really nice, and I think Stella will appreciate seeing her Sharp Dressed Man."
"I'll take caution," Lincoln said, making his way upstairs.
Lynn groaned in annoyance, "Stella, can't believe she's actually lasted this long."
"That's a good thing," Luan said. "Stella's a great girlfriend for Lincoln, it's cute to see them still so into each other."
"With any luck, they'll last until their adult years, imagine those two getting married," Luna said.
"Too bad I can't pick my in-laws," Lynn said, changing the channel again.
"You know, I'll never understand why you don't like Stella, she's a great girl, everyone else likes her," Luan said. "Even Lisa likes her, at least as much as Lisa is capable of liking someone."
"It's ironic considering how you were so into the idea of Lincoln and Stella dating that you plotted against Lori's desires to set Lincoln up with Ronnie Anne," Luna said.
"Yeah, what made you change your mind on Stella?" Luan asked.
"Let me clarify a few things," Lynn began. "First off, I only helped Lincoln get with Stella because he desperately needed a girlfriend, and she was just at the right place at the right time. Two, I really did not want Lincoln with Ronnie Anne because I find her even more annoying than Stella. Third I didn't want Lori thinking she could control who we fall in love with, especially if it's with Bobby's family. It starts with Lincoln, then Lily with his baby cousin, Lana or Lola with that cousin with the goofy hair and me with the pirate dork."
"Being kind of harsh, Bobby's cousins are nice," Luna said.
"Except Carlota," Luan mused, then focused back on Lynn. "I just wish you'd actually try to befriend Stella. She's a nice girl, very sweet..." Luan started reminiscing. "She's got really lovely eyes too, and has such a soothing voice, she's a very charming girl."
"Easy sis, you're suppose to be in love with Benny, not Stella," Luna joked.
"Hey after the stuff I've seen I wouldn't be surprised if she really was in love with Stella," Lynn commented.
"Pfft, what stuff? Me being friendly with Stella?" Luan asked.
"Seemed more than just 'friendly' to me, unless that's how you hang out with all your friends," Lynn said.
Luan started to feel worried, wondering what Lynn knows. "What's that suppose to mean?"
Before Lynn could explain, Lincoln called from the stairs, "Hey! Luan or Luna, can one of you come help me pry Lisa off the wall!"
"I didn't realize I used my leftover super glue in place of one of my chemicals, silly me!" Lisa called.
"Luna, you go help Lincoln, I have some questions for Lynn," Luan said, glaring at the jock.
"Try not to get into a fight, don't want to ruin that dress of yours," Luna said, making her way upstairs, leaving Luan downstairs with Lynn.
"Mind telling me what you're going on about?" Luan asked. "And how I'm In love' with Stella?"
"Oh it's nothing really, just me speaking from memory," Lynn said.
"Memory?" Luan asked, starting to feel nervous. "What memory?"
"Oh it's such an old thing that happened, why dwell on it?" Lynn teased, a manner that made Luan too nervous to think of this as some simple joke.
"Lynn, I'm not messing around!" Luan warned. "Tell me what you're talking about!"
"Look it's nothing, really," Lynn said, focusing back on the tv. "Now why don't you just-"
Luan knocked the remote from Lynn's hands, glaring at the jock. "I'm not going to ask you again Lynn, tell me what you're talking about!"
"You're getting on my nerves Luan, better back off before anything regretful happens," Lynn warned.
"Tell me or I'll give you something to regret," Luan said. "Keep in mind, I have videos, lots of them, with plenty of embarrassing moments. If you thought Lincoln's first attempt at that video contest over a year ago was embarrassing for you, just wait til you see what I got."
"Or, how about I show you what I have," Lynn said, pulling out her phone. "You should be grateful, with this type of dirt, I could have gotten a lot of leverage over you."
"What could you possibly have had over..." Luan's mood completely changed when Lynn showed her the picture she was referring to. The picture of Luan's kiss with Stella the year prior when they were rehearsing for a birthday party, when the two got carried away in their emotions and went beyond just a friendship.
"Don't worry, no one else knows," Lynn said, putting the phone away. "And I know you don't want anyone finding out about this, so I'm being nice and not saying anything, though this was great leverage over Stella, got her to do so many things for me because of this."
"You...you did what!?" Luan asked, her patience essentially non-existent right now.
"To be fair, Stella was being a pain in the ass, so I considered that payment for weeks and months of annoyance, though I did pare you all that," Lynn said, then tapped her chin. "But thinking about it, this is quite a big secret and I am doing you a huge favor by keeping it, plus after your little threat, I think a few favors are in order."
That was the last straw for Luan, the comedian lunged herself at Lynn before the jock could react, resulting in a scuffle between the two. This brought the attention of the rest of the family, with Leni and Lucy peeking out from the kitchen, the twins and Luna peeking from upstairs.
"Dang it, I told her not to get into a fight!" Luna said, then turned to Lincoln. "Bro, keep trying to pry Lisa off, I'm gonna to break up Lynn and Luan."
"Will do," Lincoln said, pulling harder on his sister. "Ugh, I really should work out more."
"It is high powered glue, don't feel ashamed," Lisa reassured.
Luna ran downstairs with the twins to help break up the fight, one that Lucy and Leni were already trying to separate. Lucy got knocked back in the scuffle, falling on her backside.
"Ow..." Lucy stood up, rubbing the ache when she noticed Lynn's phone on the floor, a picture already loaded. "Huh? Is this what the fight was about?"
"Cut it out you two!" Leni said, pulling Luan off.
"Now's not the time for fighting!" Luna shouted, pulling Lynn away.
"She started it!" Lynn shouted.
"She did something awful!" Luan stated.
"I did nothing, you have no proof!" Lynn said, immediately checking her pocket for her phone. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have it. "Wait, where's my phone."
"GASP!" Came Lucy's voice. Everyone turned to the goth girl, who was staring wide eyed at the phone, or assumingly wide eyed given her bangs.
"Lucy...please hand my phone over, nice and easy," Lynn said, cautiously approaching the girl.
Lucy however, held the phone back with a hiss, before turning to Luan, "I want you to explain the contents of this picture!"
"It's not what it looks like, I swear!" Luan said.
"Lucy, what's on the phone?" Luna asked.
Lucy immediately showed it to all the sisters, each of them having a look of shock, surprise and disappointment. Lynn groaned in annoyance, so much for her leverage. Luan however, felt utterly ashamed for all the sisters to have witnessed this.
Luna took the phone and showed it to Luan, "Care to explain?"
"We were rehearsing something, that's all," Luan said. "It wasn't a real kiss!"
"Girls, I need a little privacy with Luan, mind clearing out for a bit?" Luna asked.
"Uh, sure thing Luna," Leni said, then turned to her sisters. "Come on, give them some privacy."
Not wanting to argue, Lucy and the twins followed Leni upstairs, though not without some dirty glances toward Luan.
Lynn cautiously approached Luna, "So...can I have my phone back?"
Luna glared at Lynn, causing the jock to back up. "How long have you had this picture? And why is it on your phone?"
"Uh, a year, and just to kind of get back at Stella, not Luan, since she's our sister, our family, and we would never turn against family," Lynn said.
"Says the girl who called her brother bad luck," Luna said.
"You're all just as guilty about that as I am, stop using that against me!" Lynn shouted. "For real though, it was two nights! We've gone camping longer than that! He was in our backyard, he was safe!"
"Sure, keep making excuses, see if you feel better after that," Luna said, checking the phone. "Better not have anything else or I'm gonna...ok now I'm really ticked off."
"Hey, are you looking through my phone?" Lynn asked. "That's a total invasion of privacy you know!"
Luna shoved the phone in Lynn's face, showing the picture of Stella in her underwear, "More invasive that this!?"
"Oh right, almost forgot about that," Lynn said.
Luna shoved the phone back into Lynn's hands, "I'll kick your ass later, right now I got some questions for our sister."
"Wait, what did she have?" Luan asked.
"Nothing for you to worry about, see ya," Lynn said, rushing upstairs.
Luna turned her attention back to her sister, "You know what you and Stella have in common?"
"You love us both and know that neither of us meant any harm?" Luan nervously said.
"You both have boyfriends!" Luna sternly said. "You have Benny, Stella has Lincoln, our brother, who looks up to us, who loves us, who would do anything for us no matter how cruel we are to him! Honestly I ain't sugarcoating this, we can be real bitches to our only brother, which sucks because he's always quick to make things right with us yet I can probably count on one hand how many favors we did for him."
"Well we're family, and Lincoln really cares about us and we care about him, and each other, I know we don't always act like it but you believe that to be true, don't you?" Luan said. "That being said, maybe let's not tell Lincoln about this because I don't want him to get the wrong idea."
"Why are you kissing his girlfriend though? That's like the second time you and Stella kissed!" Luna said.
"I told you, we were practicing for a birthday party gig, she was a knight and I was a Princess," Luan said. "But maybe we got carried away and started kissing, which was my fault I'll admit, I kissed her and I guess she just went along with it."
"I can understand a practice kiss, but that picture didn't look like practice," Luna said. "Luan, have you and Stella been fooling around with each other?"
"No, I swear we haven't!" Luan said, her eyes getting very teary. "I would never do that to Benny, and more importantly I wouldn't do that to Lincoln. I love him, he's my little brother, I would never hurt him that way!"
"I'd like to believe that, but we all know we're capable of doing terrible things to him," Luna said.
"Come on, I know I prank him a lot and maybe I can be a little mean to him but I wouldn't break his heart!" Luan tearfully said. "Please, you're my sister Luna, you know me better than anyone. You probably know me better than all our other sisters, we share a room, we share secrets, we look out for each other. Please, I would never in a million years do something this cruel to Lincoln. I would never want to risk throwing away the bond we share."
Luan wiped away her tears, having felt such worry and stress, her hidden secret being exposed in such a terrible manner, and her closest sister doubting her integrity. Luna had to admit, Luan didn't seem to be deceitful right now, she seemed very genuine in her words.
"Luan, I want to believe you, I really do," Luna said. "I don't want to think the worst of you, but you still did something you shouldn't have, and you kept it a secret."
"Well what was I suppose to do!?" Luan tearfully asked, her eyes turning red. "If I told Lincoln he would hate me! He probably would have even broken up with Stella, and then Benny would find out and break up with me! I didn't want to ruin everything over a mistake! I don't want to lose Benny, or Stella, and I don't want Lincoln to hate me!"
Luan started sobbing, feeling highly guilty over this whole thing. Luna pitied her sister, she really did seem regretful over this, maybe it's not fair to judge her, she made a mistake. Luna did the only thing she could do, and that was bring her sister in for a hug, "Easy sis, I got you."
Luan returned the hug, starting to feel a bit better, but still guilty, "So, are you gonna tell Lincoln?"
"...No, not yet at least," Luna said. "We're going to have to one day, but for now, we'll keep this under wraps." Luna broke the hug, glaring right at her sister, "But do not pull a stunt like this again."
"I promise!" Luan immediately said. "And, if you do need to speak with Stella, please go easy on her, this was mostly my fault."
"Well she shouldn't have gone along with it," Luna said. "But it's fine, I won't be too hard on her. I will need to ask her about this myself."
"Right...but how are going to explain this to our sisters?" Luan asked. "They all know, except for Lisa, but everyone else, what if they hate me?"
"We'll get Lori to help us with that," Luna said.
"Lori!? But what if she tears me apart!?" Luan asked, dreading the wrath of her older sister.
"She won't, I'll make sure of it, but she'll need to help us with the other sisters, plus we gotta tell her about Lynn," Luna said.
"Ugh, Lynn, I can't believe she pulled a stunt like this!" Luan said, angrily clenching her fist. "I hate her so much!"
"Hate's a strong word Luan, let's not throw it around," Luna said. "But I know how you feel."
Suddenly there was a loud thump upstairs, "Yes! I'm free!"
"Now you're stuck to me though!" Lincoln said.
Luna and Luan rolled their eyes and made their way upstairs to help out anyway they could.
In the room of the little scientist, Lincoln stood up with his little sister stuck on him, "Great, I have a date with Stella, hard to get into the romantic mood with my little sister stuck on me."
"Don't worry, I have some anti-adhesive that will separate us," Lisa said.
"Wait, you have anti-adhesive!?" Lincoln asked in disbelief. "Why didn't you tell me sooner! I could have gotten you off the wall easier!"
"Because it's very precise, only I know the right amount, and since I now have better use of my hands, it will be much simpler to do," Lisa said.
"Ugh, fine, where is it?" Lincoln asked, looking around the room.
"Check the drawer," Lisa said, pointing to her desk.
A bit later on, Lori finally arrived, having already picked up Bobby, Stella, Sam and Benny. "Alright, let me just grab the rest of the dates and we're off on a romantic evening."
"This is pretty exciting, our first quadruple date," Bobby said. "Really feels like we're all forming a nice bond with each other.
"Oh yeah," Benny agreed.
"Right on Bob," Sam added.
"You got it," Stella said.
"I'll be right back," Lori said, stepping out of the car and walking toward the house. "It's good to be home." She unlocked the door, peaking inside, "I'm home!"
"We're upstairs!" Luna called.
Lori made her way upstairs, having followed Luna's voice into the shared room of Lisa and Lily. She peeked inside and found a curious sight. "Uh, why are Lisa and Lincoln stuck together?"
"Long story," Lisa said as Luan pulled at her with Luna being an anchor for Lincoln. "Do not fret, soon I will be unstuck and the four of you may go on your quadruple date."
"Pull harder sis!" Luna ordered.
"I'm doing the best I can," Luan said. "I'm not really one for muscles you know!"
"Just keep pulling!" Luna ordered, doing her part by pulling on Lincoln. Within seconds, the two siblings were finally separated, Luna crashing against the wall and Luan tripping over herself.
"Luna, are you alright?" Lincoln asked, checking on his sister.
"I'm good," Luna said, smiling at her brother.
"Are you injured fourth eldest sister?" Lisa asked, checking on Luan.
"I'm fine, not too banged up at least," Luan said.
"I'm glad everyone's alright," Lori said. "But your clothes are a little dirty. Especially yours Luan."
Lisa had gotten off Luan, taking note of her clothes, "Yes, they do look a little rough, was this about the scuffle I heard earlier?"
"Scuffle?" Lori asked, then turned to Luan. "Care to explain?"
"Uh...Lynn kind of got on my nerves," Luan said.
"Huh? What did Lynn do?" Lori asked.
"It's complicated," Luna said, then approached her older sister with a whisper. "We gotta talk, it's about Stella."
Lori looked a bit concerned, she brought out her phone and sent a quick call, "Bobby, give me a few minutes, got some big sister duties to attend to."
"That's cool babe," Bobby said. "Do what you gotta do."
"Get Stella, we gotta get some answers from her," Luna said.
Lori nodded and turned back her phone, "Bobby, could you get Stella for me?"
"Uh sure," Bobby said, then turned to the young girl. "Hey Stella, Lori needs you inside."
"Uh, alright?" Stella said, making her way out of the vehicle, "Be back in a jiffy."
"Think everything's alright in there?" Benny asked.
"Eh, if I know them, it's just a minor issue, they'll resolve it quick," Sam said.
"Uh, with all due respect to the Loud Family, I don't think there's such a thing as a 'minor' issue," Benny said.
Sam and Bobby glanced briefly at each other, feeling a bit worried, knowing full well that some issues in the Loud Family can be quite exaggerated.
Stella made her way inside, "Lori!?"
"Upstairs Stella!" Lori said, awaiting the arrival the young girl.
Stella made her way upstairs, Lori waiting outside the room, "Hey Lori, what's wrong?"
"Not too sure," Lori said. "But apparently there was a scuffle earlier, and you may have been the main reason."
"Huh? How?" Stella asked.
"Stella," Luna said, stepping out the room. Usually the rocker girl would greet Stella with a warm smile, but that wasn't the situation now. Luna looked serious and Stella could sense a little disappointment in her voice.
"Uh, Luna, is anything wrong?" Stella asked.
Luan also stepped out the room, looking a bit nervous, "Something's come up, something really bad."
"Hey, what's going on?" Lincoln asked.
"Lincoln, me and the girls need to have a word with Stella," Lori said. "Mind going outside and telling Bobby we're just about done?"
"Uh, alright," Lincoln said, making his way downstairs as Lori brought Stella to the shared room of Luna and Luan, the room owners following.
"So, what's happening?" Stella asked.
"I'd like to know myself," Lori said, turning to Luna.
"I'll get straight to the point then," Luna said, turning to Stella. "I know you kissed Luan."
Stella's eyes widened in shock, unable to process her thoughts into words. Lori was just very confused, "Stella? Kissing Luan?"
"Tell her Luan," Luna said, focusing on her sister.
Luan reluctantly nodded, "It's true, Stella and I kissed. This was about a year ago."
Lori turned her attention to Stella, "Care to explain? What is Luan talking about?"
Stella looked very nervous, she hoped this would never come to light. But it looks like the secret's out for everyone to know.
"Stella, start talking," Luna ordered.
The young girl buckled under the pressure she was in, "Yes, I'll admit to it. I did kiss Luan."
To say Lori was surprised would be an understatement, she was beyond surprised, in fact she really couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Stella, what do you mean you kissed Luan? Like, was it on the cheek? Because that's fine, no problems there."
"Lori they looked like they were making out," Luna said. "Lynn has a picture of it, go ask her."
In that moment, Lori stormed out the room, ready to make her way toward Lynn's room.
"Uh, suppose Lynn erased the pictures?" Luan asked.
"Shit, she better not have," Luna said, thinking about her evidence. "Then again our sisters know so there's that."
"Think Lynn will even give her the phone?" Luan asked.
Suddenly they could hear Lynn's voice coming from her shared room with Leni, "H-Hey! Lori! What are you doing! Let go on my phone!"
Some scuffling was heard, leaving the sisters and Stella confused. Within moments they could hear a shocked scream from Lori, Luna figuring she saw at least one of the pictures.
"Think it was the underwear pic or..." Luan wondered.
"HOW MANY PICTURES DID YOU TAKE LYNN!?" Lori shouted.
"To be fair, I didn't show anyone," Lynn was heard saying.
"I'll get you later!" Lori shouted, the sounds of marching making it's way back to the room of Luna and Luan, the oldest sister barging through the door, a look of fury on her face as she showed off the picture of Stella and Luan kissing. "One of you, explain, now!"
Stella was pretty frightened, she's hardly seen Lori this angry, last time was at Dairy Land, and even then it didn't seem as bad as this, she was just not happy and looked like she was seconds from hurting someone. She's heard Lincoln mention Lori's threats of a human pretzel, at this moment, Stella hoped that was just a major exaggeration.
"It's my fault," Luan said. "I kissed her first, we were rehearsing a skit and I got carried away. Please, if you're gonna be mad at someone, it's me!"
"No Luan, I was just as guilty," Stella said. "I went along with it as well."
"Stella just let me take the fall," Luan said. "I can handle Lori's wrath better."
"But I was just as involved," Stella said.
"Stella, I kissed you first, it was my desire," Luan said, then turned to Lori. "Please, don't be mad at Stella, my curiosity got the better of me."
Lori looked very disappointed, "This wasn't a recurring thing was it?"
"No, it was one time only," Luan said. "I felt too guilty after kissing Stella to even entertain the idea of doing something like that again, not only did I cheat on my boyfriend, I did it with my brother's girlfriend, and I don't even like girls that way."
"Same, I'm more into boys, I guess I just wanted to know what it was like to kiss a girl," Stella said.
"So it was an experimental thing," Lori theorized.
"I guess so," Luan said. "But I really do love Benny, that's why he can't find out about this, I vowed never to do anything like that again, and I've kept that bow."
"Same here, I would never want to do anything like that again to your brother," Stella said. "I hope you can believe me when I say that I really do love him."
Lori still looked unsure, then turned to Luna, "What do you think?"
"My opinion," Luna started, glancing at the two. "I know for sure that Luan really does care about Benny, she did seem much closer to him this past year. I can at least understand why she suddenly became clingily."
"Come to think of it, Stella you've been pretty clingily to Lincoln as well," Lori said.
"I guess I have," Stella bashfully admitted.
"I think Stella and Luan regret their decision, so I don't think we should hold this over them," Luna said. "I mean, these things happen, curiosity can get the better of us, we've all made mistakes at some point."
"I guess you're right," Lori said. "I still remember Hugh after all."
"We all remember Hugh," Luna said.
"Who's Hugh?" Stella asked, getting a slight chuckle out of Luan.
"Sorry that just sounds kind of funny," Luan said.
"Don't worry about it," Lori said. "Alright, since you girls really do seem regretful and it was a one time thing, we'll just mark this as a simple accident."
"Oh good, thanks Lori," Luan said.
"Just remember this," Lori began. "Luan, as a girlfriend, you have a responsibility to your boyfriend, I expect better behavior from you. No sister of mine is going to cheat on someone they care about, romance is special, and Benny is a great kid, don't blow it, otherwise you'll miss out."
"Sure thing Lori," Luan said.
"And Stella..." Lori looked the girl right in the eyes. "I'm forgiving this just this once, because I know you're a nice girl and I'd like to think you really do care about my brother, plus you forgave me after how cruel I was to you, so now we're even. But if you do something like this again, with anyone, not only will I not forgive you, I will tell Lincoln and you two are over."
Stella trembled in place, "Yes Lori..."
"Please make sure you fully understand, you and Lincoln are a cute couple, I know you're better than this," Lori said. "But I guess I shouldn't worry too much, I mean this was a while ago, and if you haven't done anything since then I guess I do have nothing to worry about."
"You won't, I do love Lincoln, I'll do anything I have to so I can prove it to you," Stella said.
"You can start tonight," Lori said. "Come on, it's date time girls." Lori opened the door, to reveal the group of Loud sisters, minus Lynn. "Are you serious right now?"
"Hey this involves Lincoln and Luan, we have a right to know!" Lola said.
"It's resolved," Lori said.
"Well, good," Lola said. "So this won't happen again?"
"Stella and Luan made the promise not to do something like that to their boyfriends," Lori said.
"We're not worried about Benny, we're more worried about Lincoln," Lana said.
"Girls, I promise, what happened between me and Luan won't happen again," Stella said.
"Good, it better not!" Lola shouted, marching in close to Stella, looking her right in the eyes. "If you kiss anyone else, boy or girl, sister or non-sister, there will be HELL to pay!"
The other sisters muttered in agreement, many of them glaring at Stella, the girl feeling apprehensive. So many angry sisters, she's so used to their warm receptions, seeing their cold glares was very unpleasant and pretty foreign to her. "I promise, I won't do anything like that again."
"Ease up everyone, she's already apologized, for Lincoln's sake, let's give her a chance," Luna said.
Stella still felt some guilt, knowing she had to work to regain their trust. Over the years she has started to get back into their good graces, but it hasn't felt the same since. She knows deep down there might be some resentment from the sisters, after all, one thing she's learned from her time in the Loud House, they can really hold onto a grudge.