She didn't know when it was that she'd first fallen for him, but she'd been harboring these feelings for quite some time. There was just something magnetic about him that she couldn't resist. Maybe it was his charisma and the way he could draw people to him like a magnet. Maybe it was his leadership skills and the way he always seemed able to take hold over any given situation. Perhaps it was his bold determination on the face of adversity and his "never say die" attitude, no matter what life threw at him. No matter what the case was, it was reaching a point where she could no longer keep these emotions in check. She knew that a relationship between them would be considered taboo, but it the time had come for her to say "to hell with the norms" and claim him once and for all. This wasn't a case where she simply wanted to have him, no. This was a case where she needed to have him and she was determined to achieve her endgame and have him as her own by any means necessary; and to anyone who tried getting in her way… they'd better have their affairs in order because she wasn't letting anyone stop her.
There were some days where Lincoln didn't know what to expect when it came to Luan. Some days, he'd be able to wake up normally without having to deal with one of her early morning practical jokes and puns; other days, he'd have to put up with something Iike two cymbals crashing next to his ears to stir him from a wonderful slumber. This was one of those days and it was days like this that Lincoln wondered whether or not Luan had been dropped on her head as a baby. At the very least, he was thankful that his impressionable brother wasn't joining in on her antics like he usually would.
"Sorry to startle you, Linc," Luan said, "but I was hoping that I could present you with a cymbal of our friendship."
"Not now, Luan," Lincoln muttered, shaking his head clear after being startled, "it's like, 7 in the morning, can't you let me sleep?"
"Sorry Linc," Luan genuinely apologized, "I have a busy day ahead of me and was wondering if you could maybe help me out."
That somewhat explained why Luan seemed so hyper and excited. His brother had first pointed out to him, but Lincoln noticed that Luan's genki girl traits really amped up whenever she had a show or performance ahead of her. She became more hyperactive and energetic and told a lot more jokes when she had a performance scheduled.
"Help with what?" Lincoln asked as he groggily sat up.
"I've got two parties I'm clowning at today and I've got my own set at the Chortle Portal tonight," Luan informed him, "I was wondering if I could count on my number one assistant to give me a hand when it comes to the parties?"
Lincoln yawned and stretched, saying "I don't know if I'll be able to make it today, I've gotta meet up with Stella to work on our science project." Lincoln then asked "Why didn't you ask Lio?"
"I did," Luan said, "but he's accompanying Kat and her family to visit her dad"
"Oh," Lincoln said as he got out of bed, "well I'm sorry again, but I don't think I can help you today?"
"That's alright," Luan shrugged, "I just hope you and Stella have great chemistry together."
"Oh brother," Lincoln sighed as Luan laughed at her joke before leaving.
Part of him wanted to help Luan out and accompany her to her parties, but he had his own affairs to worry about right now. Speaking of which, he was scheduled to meet up with Stella in just a couple of hours so it'd probably be in his best interests to start getting ready. First thing first was taking a shower and getting dressed. There was already a line starting to form outside the bathroom so he might wanna get on with that. Meanwhile, Luan returned to her room to get ready for the rest of her day. Admittedly, she was somewhat disappointed in Lincoln turning her down as it seemed like the two of them were growing more and more distant. She understood his reasoning and that he had his own problems to deal with, but she just wished that the two of them could be as close as they once were. Luan tried not to let this fact bother her as she packed her bag with her usual props and what not for the parties ahead of her. Who knew, maybe she could talk to Lincoln about this when she got back home.
After much waiting in line, Lincoln finally got around to taking his shower and getting dressed. The man with a plan took a moment to admire himself in the mirror before getting a move on. As he walked downstairs towards the kitchen, Lincoln noticed that he'd received a text message. He expected the text to be from his partner, Stella, but instead found that it was from his good friend, Ronnie Anne, reading "Sorry to leave you hanging, got a little sidetracked helping my family run the bodega, but anyway's forget it, what's been up lame-o?". It had been a couple weeks since he'd last spoken to her so it was always good to hear from her. Lincoln quickly checked to make sure that none of his sisters were around to peer over his shoulder before answering Ronnie Anne's text.
"Oh, nothing much," Lincoln texted her, "mostly the same old stuff that I'm used to, hbu?"
Ronnie Anne texted back "Pretty much the same old stuff for me too. What about your sisters? Have they been driving you crazy?"
"Does the Earth revolve around the sun?" Lincoln replied.
"LOL," Ronnie Anne texted, "hang in there, Linc. If I can survive, so can you."
"Thanks," Lincoln texted back, "although…"
"Although what?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"You remember my sister, Luan, right?" Lincoln asked.
"How could I forget her?" Ronnie Anne asked, "Once you get past her awful puns, she's actually pretty funny… and she showed me a few of your embarrassing baby pictures."
"She did WHAT‽" Lincoln texted, feeling slightly embarrassed at that revelation.
"Hey, you look pretty good wearing makeup," Ronnie Anne teased, "you make for a pretty girl."
"You know, now I don't feel so bad about telling her no," Lincoln replied.
"Telling her no to what?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"She asked me if I could be her clowning assistant today," Lincoln explained, "but I had to work on a science project with Stella so I had to turn her down."
"I don't understand why she's upset," Ronnie Anne said, "I mean, you have your own life you have to live."
"She's not upset," Lincoln clarified, "at least, she didn't seem upset."
"Then why do you feel bad?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"I don't know," Lincoln replied, "maybe it's because I feel like we're growing apart. It's like, with my other siblings, I can somewhat relate with their interests, but with Luan and her comedy… it just feels off for me. Like, I can't really fully connect with her on that."
"Well have you tried talking to her about this?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"Not really," Lincoln replied, "I just don't know how to approach her about it, you know?"
"You know, I had a similar issue with Carlotta a few months ago," Ronnie Anne told him.
"How did you get past it?" Lincoln asked. "How did you grow closer?"
"We played a bunch of pranks on my brother and younger cousins," Ronnie Anne replied, "and seeing as your sister has a thing for pranks, maybe you too could bond that way."
"I would, but I don't know if my other sisters would ever forgive me," Lincoln said, "besides, while I do enjoy the occasional prank, Luan typically goes a little too far with hers."
"I guess that's out of the question then," Ronnie Anne said, "I'm sure that you can find some way to grow closer to her."
"Yeah," Lincoln said, "I know that there's got to be some way to make up for lost time, but I just don't know what it is."
"Maybe you can volunteer to assist her at her next few parties if you're not busy then," Ronnie Anne suggested. "You two could rekindle your relationship that way."
"Maybe so," Lincoln took the suggestion into consideration. "I guess that would be worth a shot, but then again what do we do outside of that? We'd only be bonding through something that she finds interesting and would essentially be like a job."
"You make a good point," Ronnie Anne admitted, "Well it's not like you two are that distant from each other, are you?"
"I don't know," Lincoln admitted, "I'd like to think that we're closer than we appear to be."
"Well you're the man with a plan so I'm sure you'll come up with some solution," Ronnie Anne told him.
"I sure hope so," Lincoln said.
"So I've got some good news," Ronnie Anne told him.
"What?"
"I'm visiting Royal Woods in a few weeks!" Ronnie revealed, "My brother has a date with your sister so I asked if I could tag along with him."
"That's great!" Lincoln replied, "I can't wait to see you again, plus I'd love to catch you up on all the crazy stuff that's been going on in my Royal neck of the Woods."
"Did you just make a pun?" Ronnie Anne asked. "Maybe you and Luan have more in common than you realize."
"Either that or she's rubbing off on me more and more," Lincoln proposed.
"Just try not to make too many puns when I see you in a few," Ronnie Anne told him.
"I'll do my best," Lincoln promised her, "but I can't make any promises… especially if I follow your advice and accompany Luan to more parties."
"Oops, I've gotta go," Ronnie Anne told him, "Sid and I have our own book report we've got to get done. We literally waited until the last day before reading the book and now we've gotta scramble to get it done before Monday."
"I've been there before," Lincoln told her.
"Good luck with your project with Stella!" Ronnie Anne wished him luck.
"And good luck to you and Sid!" Lincoln said in return.
"Thanks," Ronnie Anne said, ending their conversation with a "Talk to you later!"
After ending his conversation with Ronnie Anne, Lincoln reported to the kitchen to grab some breakfast. He still had a few hours left before he had to meet up with Stella so he took his time eating. As he was eating, Lincoln couldn't help but notice that Luan wasn't present at the table. He started to wonder if perhaps she was upset over him turning her down. Nah, she was probably just going over everything and making sure she had all the materials she needed for her performance. That reminded Lincoln that he himself needed to double check his own belongings to make sure that he didn't forget anything before he left to meet Stella.
A couple of hours later, it is time for Lincoln to head off to meet with his partner. He has all the materials he needs for the project in his backpack, but still makes sure to check for a third time to be on the safe side. As Lincoln makes his way out the door, he runs into Luan, who happens to be leaving at the exact same time that he is.
"Oh hey Linc, what's up?" Luan asks as she hoists her bag over her shoulder. "About to head out to meet with Stella?"
"Yeah," Lincoln said, "I'm sorry that I couldn't come with you to your party…"
"Eh, don't worry about it," Luan assured him, "it's fine." She then asked "So, what are you and Ronnie Anne going to do when she visits?"
"How did you-?" Lincoln asked.
"You talk out loud when you're excited," Luan reminded him.
"Dangit, I've really gotta work on that," Lincoln muttered to himself as Luan giggled.
"So are you and Ronnie official yet or are you still "just friends"?" Luan teased him.
"We're just friends!" Lincoln insisted, blushing bright red.
"Are you sure?" Luan continued to tease. "Last I checked, friends don't hand knit hoodies of their friend's favourite band for them."
"Don't you have a party to be at?" Lincoln retorted.
"Sheesh, tough crowd," Luan giggled before leaving, "have fun with Stella!"
"Good luck at your gigs!" Lincoln shouted after her before he himself left the house. The two of them may have been more distant in his eyes, but at least Lincoln could count on her to tease him over his (not so) secret crush. If he were a bit more quick witted, Lincoln could've countered Luan's teasing by making a remark about her "harem". Maybe next time.
Lincoln wasted little time when he arrived at Stella's place, getting straight to business when it came to their project. That's not to say that the two of them didn't share a couple of laughs though, talking at length about Ace Savvy, Muscle Fish, and even bringing up an upcoming tabletop tournament. When it came to the project itself, Lincoln made sure he pulled his weight, even though he wasn't the best when it came to science. For Lincoln and Stella, time seemed to fly by as before either of them knew it, it was time for Lincoln to head back home. Fortunately, in the many hours that they'd spent together, they'd managed to get 90% of their project finished. The two made plans to meet up again soon to finish their work before saying their goodbyes and parting ways.
When Lincoln arrived home, he found that he was late for dinner, with most of his family gathered at the dinner table, all except one that is. There had been plenty of times where Luan had to work multiple parties in one day, but she somehow still always found a way to make it home on time for supper, which made her absence rather noticeable.
"A little late, aren't you son?" Lynn Sr asked in a lighthearted tone, "I take it your work session with Stella ran a little longer than expected."
"Yeah," Lincoln said as he nodded his head, "we started going over the periodic table and time just got away from us"
"Well, just try to be a little bit more mindful of the time next time," Rita advised him, "we don't wanna have to worry about where you might be."
"Hey, I'm not the only one who's late," Lincoln defended himself, "I mean, where's Luan anyway?"
"You know how it goes sometimes," Lori said, "she gets caught up with her parties and stays a little longer than expected."
"Plus she had that opening gig at the Chortle Portal," Luna reminded him, "apparently she's opening for a real big comedian and doesn't wanna miss her chance to blow."
"I'm just saying," Lincoln said, "I'm not the only one who's late."
"I'm sure Luan will be here soon," Rita told him, "right now, just focus on eating your dinner."
"Yes mom," Lincoln obeyed, eating every morsel on his plate.
As time went on, there was still no sign of Luan. Even though it was likely that she was still at one of her gigs, Lincoln had a feeling that that wasn't the case. Lincoln didn't know what was keeping her tied up, but he suspected that it wasn't a typical run of the mill comedy routine. Lincoln tried not to think too much about it, not wanting to jump to conclusions or start thinking up some outlandish fantasy. It was bit hard to keep his imagination in check when bedtime rolled around and Luan was still nowhere to be seen.
"Calm down, Lincoln," he told himself as he drifted off to sleep, "maybe she just stopped by Benny's or Maggie's place before coming home, it's probably no big deal."
It was a few hours later when Lincoln heard a noise downstairs that awoke him from his slumber. The noise sounded like someone unlocking the front door with a set of keys. Lincoln looked over at his clock to see that it was 2 in the morning. Who could possibly be at the door at this hour? Against his better judgment, Lincoln armed himself with one of his brother's 14 inch figurines and made his way down the stairs. Lincoln didn't know what to expect when he saw a shadowy figure entering through the front door; he was prepared to take a swing at the figure until he saw that it was his sister.
"Luan?" Lincoln asked, stopping in his tracks mid swing. "What are you doing back so late?"
"Lincoln?" Luan seemed unsure of how to respond. Taking a closer look, Lincoln could see that her hair and clothes were a bit disheveled, almost as if she'd been in a scuffle of some sort. Lincoln just assumed that that was a result of how busy she'd been the previous day. Not only that, but her voice sounded slightly different than what he was used to hearing. Lincoln chalked that up to her voice possibly giving out due to multiple performances in the same day. "Um… I…"
"Did your act at the Chortle Portal really take that long?" Lincoln asked.
Luan sighed and said "You have no idea. Maybe it would've been better if I just gave up the act!"
"What happened to your bag?" Lincoln asked.
"My what?" Luan asked.
"Your bag," Lincoln said, "you know, the one that you keep all your props and stuff in. What happened to it?"
"Oh, I-," Luan tried to explain to no avail.
"And are you seriously just now getting home?" Lincoln asked. "I know I sound like a broken record, but why are you back so late?"
"Because that's life, Linky," Luan replied, catching Lincoln off guard. Luan was never one to use that nickname to refer to him as she knew how much he hated it. "Trust me, I wish I could've been here sooner. I really missed you."
"You did?" Lincoln asked.
"Well of course I did," Luan said, "How could I not miss my cute little brother?"
"Um… thanks," Lincoln said, "Sorry for getting on your case, I just got worried about you."
"Thanks Lincoln," Luan said, kneeling down and giving him a hug, "but there's nothing to worry about, I'm fine."
"Leave it to me to get carried away with my imagination," Lincoln chuckled. "So what are you going to do now?"
"I think we both know the answer to that question," Luan said, "I'm turning in for the night." Luan then apologized for frightening Lincoln, saying "Sorry if I scared you. Feel free to sleep in my bed with me tonight if you'd like."
To say that Lincoln was taken aback by the offer would be an understatement. Initially he didn't even know what to make of Luan's offer. It wasn't an unusual offer as there were plenty of times in Lincoln's younger years where either he or his brother slept with their older sisters after being too scared to sleep in their own beds, but this wasn't exactly a situation that necessitated Lincoln sleeping alongside her.
"I'm going to have to decline," Lincoln replied.
"Alright," Luan said before giving Lincoln a goodnight kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight Lincoln." She said as she ascended the stairs.
"Now that was freaking weird," Lincoln said to himself, not knowing what to make of what had just happened. If only he knew just how much weirder things were about to get.