The whistle blew, and the game began. Ten students on one side of the gymnasium, ten students on the other, all rushing towards the centre line where the five dodgeballs laid in waiting. Those who were unlucky to be unable to grab one of them ended up crashing to the ground, but everyone was quick to return to the back wall on their sides. Among the boys in one of the teams was Lincoln Loud, the white haired child turning to his friends, a determined look in his eye. "You guys ready?"
"Let's do it, Lincoln!" Stella replied.
"SCORPION FORMATION!" Soon, the group of friends lined up, with Rusty- the one who made the call- at the front. Clyde stood behind Rusty, with Lincoln behind him. Stella stood behind him, Zach stood behind her, and Liam stood at the back, while slightly to the side, acting as the tail of the scorpion. As the group moved side to side, maintaining formation with Liam moving to the opposite side of whichever way they were moving, they avoided the oncoming projectiles from the other team. "Keep it tight back there!"
"Easy for you to say, you're our eyes!" Zach retorted.
"What's the current position on Girl Jordan?" Liam asked, switching sides as they changed directions.
"Gimme a sec. Okay, she's currently over to the-" He was cut off by a dodgeball connecting with the side of his face, knocking him to the side. "Left…"
"LEADER DOWN! DISPERSE!" Everyone followed Lincoln's lead, breaking formation and spreading around, trying to avoid getting hit. As he ducked a ball from one of the other opposing players, he saw Girl Jordan lock her sights on him, a ball in her hand. "Uh oh." She instantly threw the ball, making him scream as he ran to the side to narrowly avoid it. Feeling someone bump into his shoulder, he turned and saw that it was Clyde. "What do we do now?"
"I don't know! Just run and pray, I guess?"
"Yeah, that sounds like a- look out!" Heeding his best friend's warning, he turned around at the exact moment that a dodgeball beaned him in the gut, sending him backward and onto his butt. "Sorry, Clyde." While his friend groaned, trying to tell him he was okay, Lincoln saw the ball that had connected with Clyde roll towards him. This gave him an idea, so he picked the ball up and turned to face Girl Jordan. "Face vengeance!"
He arched his arm back and threw the ball at her with all his might, but she simply smirked and reached out to collect it, juggling it a little. "Maybe don't announce it next time, Loud!" She taunted.
'Yeah, that was stupid,' Lincoln thought to himself, walking off the playing area as the gym coach announced his elimination. He stopped next to his friends, all looking despondent as they decided to simply watch the game resume. "I don't get how she's so good at this game."
"I know," Liam agreed with a nod. "She throws tougher than my uncle Ernie when he's tossing hay bales in his truck."
"It's like she's had some sort of secret ninja training," Rusty suggested.
"You always say that," Zach argued, rolling his eyes at his tall friend's statement.
"Not true," Clyde corrected. "Sometimes it's spies, aliens or other mighty beings."
"Well, Stella seems to be doing okay." The others turned to see what Lincoln was talking about, watching as the Filipino blocked one shot with the ball in her hands, then use it to eliminate one of the opposing players, leaving just her and Girl Jordan in play. "You can do it, Stella!"
She turned around and smiled at her friend's encouragement, but when she returned her attention to her opponent, she gasped at seeing Jordan throw a ball at rocket sees towards her. She was fortunate enough to duck it in time, but one look behind her told her that her friend wasn't as lucky, because the ball intended for her instead hit Lincoln and smashed his head into the brick wall behind him, causing him to raise a hand to the point of impact in pain. "Lincoln! Are you okay?" He looked at the girl for a few seconds, raising his hand and opening his mouth to speak… only for his eyes to roll to the back of his head before he collapsed to the ground.
The school bell rang, signalling the beginning of lunch. As kids left their classrooms and began heading towards the lunchroom, Nurse Patti sat at her desk in the infirmary, the dark haired woman opening a small Tupperware container that withheld her lunch. She first pulled out half of her brown bread sandwich that contained lettuce, tomato and pastrami, removing the cling film that kept it fresh. Giving a little lick of her lips, she was about to start eating it, when she heard a slight groaning behind her, and a swivel round in her chair revealed to her that the white haired boy resting on the infirmary bed was starting to awaken, his eyes gently fluttering open. Though she was disappointed her lunch had to be postponed slightly, duty called, so she put the sandwich back in the container and closed it, then put her full attention on the fifth grader. "I see you're finally awake," she told him, gaining his attention.
"Nurse Patti?" He asked, confused as to why he was there. As he started to sit up, however, he felt a bit of a pain in the back of his head, wincing as he lifted his hand to the bandaging. "Ow…"
"Take it easy, Lincoln." She got up and helped him into a seated position, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. "Do you remember what happened before you got here?"
"Um, let me see… oh, yeah. I was playing dodgeball in gym, when I banged my head on the wall after getting hit by a ball."
"That's right. Now, do you remember what day it is?"
"It's Wednesday 12th, right?"
She nodded, before grabbing a pen and a clipboard with a sheet attached, which she began to write on. "Student is not experiencing memory loss. Some pain to the back of the head, which is to be expected." She put the pen and clipboard back down, then grabbed a small torch from her coat pocket. "Now, I want you to follow the light as I move it. Okay, Lincoln?"
He gave a modest nod, sending a slight twinge of pain to his wounded area but not enough to concern him. She turned on the torch and pointed it at the boy, moving it side to side and up and down in front of his left eye, then repeated the process with his right eye, before turning the light off and putting it back in her pocket. "Your vision seems fine, so I don't believe that you're concussed, but I need to check a couple of other things first. Would you mind standing up?"
"Sure."
He pushed off of the bed with his hands as he got to his feet, standing fully with little issue. "Do you feel dizzy at all?"
"Not really. Only the kind you get when you've just woken up, I guess."
She gave a chuckle. "I see. Any nausea, or a ringing in your ears?" He shook his head. "What about tiredness?"
"Nope." Just then, his stomach growled, making him give a sheepish smile as his cheeks turned pink. "Heh… guess I am hungry, though."
"Well, it is lunchtime. I think you're okay, Lincoln, it was probably just the shock of the impact that caused you to black out. You don't appear to have a concussion, so I'll let you go to lunch, but if you feel nauseous at all, please return here. I can also provide you with an ice pack, if your head hurts too much or feels warm, and Principal Huggins said you don't have to change back into your regular clothes if you don't want to. Your friend Clyde has your bags."
"Alright. Thank you, Nurse Patti."
"You're welcome. Take care now."
"I will." He then gave a small bow, which might have seemed odd, but he paid it no mind. He left the infirmary and made his way to his locker, walking with something of a stride. When he got to his locker, he opened it and pulled out his packed lunch, then closed his locker and continued to stride towards the lunchroom, which was already packed with students. One quick glance around showed him that his friends were sat at their usual table, so he made his way over to them. "Hey, guys."
They all turned to look at him and smiled happily as the white haired child took his seat. "You're awake!" Stella was first to say, relief in her voice.
"How're you feeling?" Liam asked.
"Not bad. My head hurts a bit, but Nurse Patti says I'm not concussed, so I should be okay."
"Well, that's good to hear, buddy," Clyde told him. "We were worried it was going to be something serious."
Lincoln then began to laugh, his friends finding it odd in that it was somewhat more… boisterous than usual. "Oh, Clyde, you crack me up. I appreciate the concern, really, but living with my ten sisters means it'll take more than that to keep me down." His friends looked at each other and shrugged. "Now, then, are we going to be making any trades today, or what?"
They all began to open up their packed lunches and show off what they had, readying to make any offers, but before they could, they heard someone clear their throat nearby. Turning, they saw Girl Jordan stood with her lunch tray in her hands, but more importantly, her facial expression was one of someone who was very nervous and quite guilty. "Uh… hey."
"What do you want?" Zach asked, a slight bit of resentment in his voice.
"Zach, don't be rude," Stella scorned, before giving the ponytailed girl a smile. "What's up?"
"Well, I saw that Lincoln was here, so I thought that it would be best if… if I came over to apologise."
Lincoln raised an eyebrow at her. "Apologise?"
"Yeah. Lincoln, I'm really sorry about what happened earlier. I didn't mean for that dodgeball to hit you, ESPECIALLY not in the way it did. Honestly, it was… kind of scary, seeing you go down like that. I was worried that I had… well, that I had really hurt you."
She started to ramble a bit, some of her words not coming through, but as he listened to her talk, he simply smiled. It was another fifteen seconds or so before he did anything, raising his hand to get her to stop talking. "Jordan… would you mind sitting here?" Though she couldn't tell what he was going to say when she did, she put her tray on the table and sat next to him, facing the boy. She was then taken by surprise when he reached out and took her hand in his own, holding it between them and gently stroking the back of it with his thumb. "It's okay. What happened was an accident, and I know you would never do something like that intentionally. Would you?"
"No…" Her voice sounded like she was in a kind of trance, her eyes looking directly into his, before she realised how it sounded and shook her head. "I mean, no! Of course not, I would never try to hurt you like that!"
He gave a bit of a chuckle. "It's okay, like I said, I know you wouldn't. So, yes, Jordan. I forgive you."
"B-but I didn't even ask."
"You didn't need to. I would have forgiven you regardless."
"R-really?" When he nodded, she exhaled. "Won't lie, that's a relief. Still, sorry I hurt you, and… I'm glad you're okay."
"Thank you." She nodded and started to get up, but before she could leave, he reached for her hand again. "Before you go, there's something I'd like to ask you."
She raised an eyebrow, as he got to his feet. "What is it?"
"Well, since Friday is Valentine's Day, I was wondering if you had a date… and if not, would you like to go on a date with me?"
Things seemed to go silent for them, save for the clattering of some dropped cutlery from Lincoln's table. While Lincoln still bore his smile, Jordan went wide eyed and her lips parted. "A… a-a date? Wow… this is… kind of sudden."
"My apologies for that. If you already have plans, then I understand."
"No, it's not that, it's just… well, why me?"
Lincoln gave a bit of a laugh, almost astounded by the notion. "Jordan Rosato, there is no one I would rather spend the day of romance with. A rosato is a rose, and no name is more fitting for you- graceful, beautiful, and sweet."
Jordan's cheeks turned a bright magenta, her hand raising to cup one of them as her lips curled into a somewhat shy smile. "Wow… I don't know what to say…"
"So, Jordan… will you be my Valentine this Friday?"
She thought for a couple of seconds, before nodding. "Sure. It sounds great."
Lincoln's smile practically doubled in size. "Excellent! I'll be there to pick you up at five. I look forward to it already."
"Yeah, me too. I need to go, my friends are waiting, so I guess I'll see you around."
"Of course, my sweet rose." She couldn't resist giving a giggle, her cheeks glowing even brighter as she walked away. Lincoln gave a small wave as she left, before sitting down. As he lifted his sandwich, he then realised that his friends were all staring at him, slack jawed and wide eyed. "What?"
"Teach me, oh wise one!" Rusty said, bowing to Lincoln like he was a religious figure, to which Stella rolled her eyes.
"What he means, Lincoln… is what the heck was that?!"
"What can I say? I didn't want to miss my chance. Now, are you going to trade that pudding cup, or what?"
Though his friends were astounded by what Lincoln had done, it somehow didn't spread any further than their friend circle and Jordan's, so the day went on as normal for Lincoln, albeit with his newfound confidence meaning that he never let his smile drop. Even when he got back home, and his sisters were asking him to do things, like play Princess and Dragons with the twins and listen to what new song Luna had come up with, he did so with a smile on his face. When they asked him about his injury, which his parents had been told about by Nurse Patti, he assured them that he was fine, and that it would at most be a bump. He had also been questioned a couple of times about his chipper attitude, he simply told them it was a good day. Of course, they eventually figured it out when Luan overheard Lincoln booking a reservation at Giovanni Chang's, and inevitably this led to her blabbing to the others, but he was able to keep them at bay for the rest of the day.
When morning came, however, he awoke with a start, his breathing somewhat rapid, as if he had awoken from a nightmare. He took a few moments to look around, before feeling a mild pain in the back of his head. "Ow… what… how did I get here?"
He felt confused, but he figured that his sisters might be able to help clear things up. He threw off the covers and got out of bed, then headed into the hallway, which was surprisingly empty for once. Not only that, but the bathroom door was wide open, meaning it was empty. While he was wondering what was going on, he knew not to let an opportunity like this pass, so he made his way into the bathroom before that could happen. Shutting the door behind him, he saw a note on the mirror with his name at the top, and after reading it, he removed the small bandage that was on his head, revealing the bump that had formed. Though it was slightly sore, it seemed to have healed up, so he decided that he would be okay having a shower. He brushed his teeth, then quickly got undressed and got into the shower, letting the running water clean him. When he was done five minutes later, he got a towel and began to dry himself off, wrapping it around his waist and returning to his bedroom.
Once he was fully changed and ready for the day, he headed downstairs, and was surprised when he saw all of his sisters sat at the dining room table, smiling in a way that made him worry something was up. "About time you woke up," Lori told the boy.
"Uh… good morning?" He replied as he passed through, heading to grab some cereal. When he got to the kitchen, however, he was surprised to see everything set out for him- a bowl, a spoon, a box of cereal and some milk. "Were you guys waiting for me?"
"Yeah, now hurry up, Stinkoln!" He heard Lynn yell, making him roll his eyes. He poured the cereal into the bowl, then poured the milk on top before putting it in the fridge. Placing the spoon in the bowl, he picked it up and made his way back to the dining table, sitting between Lucy and Luan. "About time."
"Whatever." He ate his first spoonful of cereal, then realised that they were all still looking at him. "Um, what's going on?"
"Are we going to address the elephant in the room?" The pageant princess asked. Instinctively, Lisa turned to Leni, who was looking around the room.
"Elder sister, there is no elephant in the room," she bluntly explained. "It's a metaphor."
This disappointed the fashionista, a melancholy "oh" escaping her lips.
"Girls, what are you talking about?"
Luna looked her brother dead in the eye and said, "we're talking about what happened yesterday."
Lincoln's face paled a little, his forehead beginning to sweat. "Uh… y-yesterday? I don't… I don't remember what happened yesterday, but whatever it was, I'm sorry."
The girls all looked confused. "Why are you sorry?" Lucy asked. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"I didn't?" Seeing the girls shake their heads made him relieved, but also more confused. "Then, what did I do?"
"You don't remember?" Lana asked.
"No. Last thing I remember before waking up was playing dodgeball, and hitting my head on the wall."
"Interesting," Lisa mused. "While most occipital injuries might cause retrograde amnesia, yours has given you anterograde amnesia instead." The blank stares that the four-year-old PhD received made her sigh. "Basically, rather than losing pre-existing memories, you are unable to recall anything that happened after the injury. I might run an MRI scan on you later to see if there is any damage to your hippocampus."
"Uh… thanks, I guess. So, what did I do after I woke up yesterday?"
This brought a smile back to the girls' faces, with Lola deciding to answer him before anyone else could. "You only went and asked out the most popular girl in school for Valentine's Day!"
"Wait, what?!"
"You sure did, Linc!" Luan spoke up. "You promised her the Valen-time of her life!" She gave her signature chuckle, followed by a "get it?" Of course, everyone groaned at the pun, but she paid it no mind. "Seriously, you made a reservation at Giovanni Chang's, and you were talking so confidently about it."
"B-but, why would I do that?! And who did I-" He stopped when, all of a sudden, he remembered everything that happened the day before, particularly the moment he asked a Jordan on a date. "It was Jordan… I asked Jordan out!"
"Seems the MRI will be unnecessary," Lisa notes to herself, but it went unheard.
"Oh, no… no, no, no, no, no!"
The girls all watched as their brother got up from his chair and started pacing back and forth between the dining room and living room. "Um… this is weird, right?" Leni asked, to which Lori nodded.
"Very weird." She got up from her chair and walked over to the boy, placing her hands to stop his frantic pacing. She saw his eyes were wide and slightly panicked. "Lincoln, what's going on? Why are you acting so scared about this?"
"Why?! Because I asked out the most popular girl in school without even meaning to!"
"So, you asked out someone you don't even like?"
"Yes- I mean, no! I mean… I don't know!" He moved away, his hands gripping at his hair. "Why, the one time I ask a girl out, it has to be something I don't even mean to do!"
"Dude, take it easy," Luna called from the table. "Come on, you don't wanna go breaking her heart, are you?"
"No, of course not! I just…" His hands dropped to his sides, and his eyes went to the floor with a despondent sigh. "I don't know what to do. Of all the girls, why did it have to be Jordan?"
"Why?" Lori lowered herself to Lincoln's height, looking the boy in the eyes with a gentle gaze. "What's wrong with Jordan?"
"N-nothing's wrong with her. It's just…"
It didn't take someone of Lisa's intelligence to figure out what he was trying to say, especially with how his cheeks were turning pink. "Lincoln? Do you have a crush on Jordan?" Though he felt his cheeks heat up even further, he looked up at Lori with a modest smile and nodded. The collective cooing that came from his sisters only made his blush grow, but he got over the embarrassment when Lori pulled him into a hug. "Lincoln, if she means as much to you as I think she does, then you'll figure this out."
"But, how? The second she sees me at school, she's gonna realise that I have no idea what I'm doing."
Lori was going to argue that point, but she didn't need to when the door to their parents' bedroom opened, the mother of the family appearing with her handbag hanging from her shoulder. "Kids, I got emails from the elementary and high schools, saying that they were having boiler problems, so school is closed today." Just then, her phone made an alert sound, and when she pulled it out of her bag and read the message she got, she sighed. "And now, the middle school is too. Well, looks like you all get to spend the day at home. Lori, you're in charge, alright?"
"You got it, mom." Rita nodded as she made her way out of the house, and once the front door shut behind her, Lori turned to her brother and smirked. "Looks like it's your lucky day, Romeo."
"Ouch! Careful, Leni!"
"Sorry, Linky," the fashionista told her brother. She was currently in her room with Lincoln, Lori and Lola, the boy of the family stood on a pedestal while Leni made him a new outfit for his date, being careful but occasionally pricking him with the needle. "I'll try not to do it again, just try not to move, okay?"
"Alright."
"Okay, Lincoln," Lori spoke, her hands cupped together in front of her. "Let's go over some basic scenarios. You arrive at the restaurant. What do you do?"
"I hold the door open so that she can enter first. When we are escorted to the table, I pull out her chair and push her up to the table."
"That's easy stuff," Lola said with a roll of her eyes, before leaning forward and narrowing her eyes at her brother. "Let's say, you're walking down the street, and there's a large puddle."
"I already checked the weather, and it should be dry tomorrow."
"Yes, but there are other ways a puddle can form. The point is, there's a puddle. What do you do?"
"Well… I would try and step over the puddle, then hold my hand out and help her to cross over."
"And why not use your coat for her to walk on?"
"Well, because then I wouldn't be able to offer her my coat if she gets cold."
Lola gave a small clap. "Very impressive, dear brother. You might just be ready, after all."
"Honestly, I hope so. I don't want this to go wrong."
Lori's smile grew just a little at this. "That means you care, which is good, because it means you're taking this seriously. Just make sure that you don't let those worries get to you."
"I won't."
"Alright!" Leni announced. "I think I have enough to work with, so you can step down for now."
"Okay." He got off the pedestal and removed the dress shirt, handing it to Leni. "Here you go."
"Thanks, Linky. You can put your polo back on now."
He nodded, then grabbed his polo shirt from the nearby bed and put it back on. As his head poked out again through the top of it, the door opened as Luna poked her head through. "Hey, bruhs," she greeted. "Mind if we borrow the little dude for a bit?"
"Sure, I think Lincoln's figured out what he needs to do tomorrow," Lori replied. "I think he's ready for his next lesson."
"Thanks, dudette!" She walked in and put a hand on the white-haired child's shoulder. "Let's go, Link." He didn't even get a chance to respond before he was led out of the bedroom and into the one opposite it, where he saw Lucy and Luan sat waiting on the bottom bunk bed. "Go and take a seat, man."
"Sure, I guess." He walked over to the desk chair and took a seat so that he was facing the three girls. "So, what are you going to 'teach' me?"
"Welcome to your edu-date-ion!" Luan punned, to which both Lucy and Luna groaned. "Ah, come on! That was a good one."
"Sigh. No it wasn't."
Luna nodded, fully agreeing with her gothic sister, before turning her attention back to the fifth grader. "Basically, dude, if you want tomorrow to go well, you need to walk like a man, and talk like a man. That's where we come in." She walked over to where a whiteboard stood, with a few sheets of paper hanging over it. Grabbing the front sheet, she flipped it over to reveal writing on the sheet behind it, which read THREE KEYS TO TALKING ON A DATE. "You've got three things to remember, bro." She flipped the paper over again. "First thing is, keep to the point. A girl's gonna lose interest if you start to ramble on, because she'll think you don't want to hear what she has to say, so if she asks you something, show interest when you answer, but don't lose focus on her either."
Lincoln nodded. "That makes sense."
As Luna flipped the paper again, Luan stood up from the bottom bunk and walked over to the board, standing on the other side of it and facing her brother. "The second thing is, don't interrupt her. It's like when I'm doing an improv session- you need to hear what they have to say or do, so I know what to say or do. If you cut her off, not only is it rude, but you might say the wrong thing, because she might not have been about to say what you thought."
"Interesting. I hadn't thought of it quite like that."
Luan simply smirked and told him, "that's why we're here."
The comedienne nodded to the rocker, and as they pulled back the next sheet, Lucy stood up and walked over to her brother. "This last one is the most important of all- speak from the heart. If there is one thing that every girl wants to hear from a boy they like, it's how they truly feel about them. If you truly like Jordan, you need to find that feeling in your heart, focus on it and use that to tell her how you feel. If you do that, then the words will come to you."
"She's right, dude," Luna agreed. "It's gotta come from the heart, if you want it to work."
"And that's no joke." Luan then decided to ask, "so, Lincoln… when you think of Jordan, what is your heart telling you?"
"Well… it's telling me…" He took a second to really focus on the feeling he had. "It's telling me… that I hope this goes well… and that I'm looking forward to seeing her."
The here girls instantly turned to each other, each letting out an "aww" at how romantic that sounded, then turning back to the boy. "I think he's got it down," Luna declared with a proud smile, making Lincoln look hopeful.
"You think so?"
"Are you kidding? She's gonna think you're a 'talk' glass of water!" While she laughed and her sisters groaned, Luan noticed that Lincoln gave a modest chuckle, which only made her beam more. "Now you can talk the talk, you need to walk the walk." She gave Luna a bit of a sly glance, before looking at the young goth. "Lucy, you're up."
"What?"
Rather than answer immediately, Luan gently pushed her sister forward. "Lincoln, stand up." Confused, the boy obliged, standing up so he was now pretty much next to his next youngest sister. "Now, Lucy here is going to act as Jordan."
"Wait, what? I didn't agree to this!"
"Well, Lynn's gone somewhere, and you're the closest to Lincoln in size, so it has to be you."
"But, you-"
"C'mon, Luce Change," Luna insisted. "You want Linc's date to go well, don't you?"
Though she didn't say anything, Lincoln heard a low growl come from the eight-year-old, and seeing her clench her fist told him that she was really unhappy over this, so he put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Lucy," he assured her, before looking at the high schoolers. "Girls, I really appreciate all of the help, but it's okay. We don't have to do this, especially if Lucy doesn't want to. I think I can take it from here."
Luna and Luan turned to each other, smiled wide grins, then turned back to their brother and applauded him. "Well done, dude. You passed the test."
Lincoln didn't get it, merely giving a blink. "The test?"
"Never make a lady do something she doesn't want to do," Luan explained. "It's the golden rule of dating, and you've shown that you're considerate enough to not do that."
"Oh. Well, glad I passed, I guess."
"You sure did, bro," Luna affirmed. "Now, go on. I think we've covered everything, so you can relax for a bit."
Lincoln smiled and nodded, before leaving the bedroom the rocker and comedienne shared. As he turned to head to his room, however, he heard a voice call from downstairs. "Hey, Lincoln! Get down here!"
'So much for relaxing,' he mentally sighed, making his way down to the living room, where Lynn was stood with an apple in her hand. "Let me guess, my next lesson on how to treat a lady."
Lynn scoffed. "Yeah, that's not really my department, bro. I could try, but I'll probably tell you the wrong thing, so pass on that."
"Oh. So, this isn't a lesson?"
"Oh, it's a lesson, alright!" She roughly wrapped her arm around his back. "I'm gonna teach you some defence techniques! After all, you've gotta protect your lady if anything happens. Now, let's go!"
"Oh, boy," was all he could say as he was led outside, knowing that his day was far from over.
After his sisters continued to test him throughout Thursday over things like dinner etiquette, compliments and chivalry, and helping him make last minute preparations at the mall on Friday (since school was still closed), it was time for his date. About a minute before 5PM, Vanzilla turned up outside of the Rosato household, and after thanking his sisters for wishing him luck, he stepped out of the van, now donned in the new outfit his sister had made for him- a black dress shirt with orange flower embroidery on the chest pocket, black dress pants and shoes, an orange dress tie and a black blazer. His hair was gelled back, and in his hands were a small plush bear and a bouquet of white, yellow and pink roses.
"Alright, Lincoln," Lori told the boy. "Have fun tonight, give me a call if you need a ride later, and you'd better tell us everything when you get back."
He gave a small chuckle before responding, "thank you, I'll keep that in mind, and I will. I'll see you at home."
They all shouted their goodbyes, some adding in "good luck" and "make sure to kiss her" as the van drove away. Once they were out of sight, he turned to the house, took a deep breath and walked up to the front door. Ringing the bell, he waited patiently for it to eventually be opened by a woman about his mother's age, wearing a white blouse, brown pants and pink slippers. She had long brown hair, the same colour as his date's but not in the ponytail the girl he was here to see normally wore. When she saw the boy, she smiled.
"Well, hello, young man!" She greeted happily. "You must be Lincoln."
"That's right," he replied. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Why, thank you! It's a pleasure to meet you, too. Do come inside." He thanked her as he entered the house, the woman waiting until he was firmly in the hallway before closing the door. "Jordan's getting ready, she should be finished any minute. Would you like anything to drink while you wait?"
"Thank you, but I'm okay."
"It's probably for the best, don't want to ruin your appetite before you get to the restaurant. Come, let's go into the living room."
"Okay."
He followed her into the adjacent room, where he sat on one of the two white couches, while Mrs Rosato sat on the other. "So, where are you taking her?"
"To Giovanni Chang's."
"Ooh, sounds romantic!" His cheeks blushed a bit. "Now, forgive me if this is a bit too forward, but I have to ask you something. My daughter told me that, when you asked her on a date, it happened quite suddenly. Are you truly looking to have a good time with my daughter, or is this just so that you won't be alone on Valentine's Day?"
Lincoln was taken aback by the question, especially with how quickly her tone changed, but he was willing to answer it. "I understand your concern, but this isn't like that. I assure you, I wouldn't ask Jordan on a date if I didn't want to go out with her. I like her a lot, and I really want her to have a good time tonight."
The smile returned to the adult's face. "That's good to hear. You can imagine how important my daughter is to me, so I wouldn't want her to be given any wrong messages. Do you understand?" He nodded affirmatively. "Very good." She then got up and walked toward the hallway, stopping just by the stairs. "Jordan! Your date is ready!"
Lincoln stood up as he heard someone make their way downstairs, but he wasn't ready for what he would see. As the woman stepped aside, Lincoln watched as time seemed to slow down, while Jordan entered the living room. The girl was wearing a white long sleeved blouse, a yellow skirt that reached down past her knees, and white Mary Janes. Her hair had no bow and no ponytail, instead hanging down past her shoulders with a stray strand coming in front of her ear. She had a blue handbag hanging from her shoulder, a light amount of eyeliner on, and a little bit of blush on her cheeks, but no more than that, and Lincoln could only be enamoured by her appearance.
When Jordan entered the room, she noticed how Lincoln was dressed, and she could feel her cheeks heat up. "Hey, Lincoln," she greeted. "You, uh… you look quite handsome."
"Hey, Jordan," he replied, the amazement clear in his voice. "You look… you look beautiful."
She lifted her hand to her cheek as her blush grew. "Thank you, Lincoln." She then noticed what was in his hands. "Are those… for me?"
This brought Lincoln out of his trance, allowing him to approach and present the gifts. "Yeah. I wasn't sure which colour rose you would like best, so I asked if I could get a mix instead. I thought of getting chocolates, but I didn't want to risk my sisters eating them."
She giggled as she accepted the gifts. "Don't worry, these are great. This bear is really cute, and these roses are beautiful." She took a sniff of their scent, her smile growing. "Wow… they're so fragrant!"
"Would you like me to find somewhere to put them?" Her mother asked, to which she nodded. "Alright, I'll find somewhere for them to go."
"Thank you." She handed them to the woman, then turned back to the boy, reaching into her bag and pulling out a small black case. "This is for you."
"For real?" She nodded, so he accepted it. "Wow! I don't know what to say!"
"Well, go on. Open it."
He did just that, and when he saw what was inside the case, he gasped as he pulled out the necklace, seeing the spade shaped pendant with a stylised 'A' in the middle. "Where did you find this?"
"Well, I remembered that you liked Ace Savvy, and when I was at the mall yesterday, I happened to see it at the comic book store. So, do you like it?"
He gave her a big smile and told her, "I love it! Thank you so much!" She couldn't help but giggle at how cute he was acting over it, even going as far as to put it on, while placing the case in his trouser pocket. "This is really cool."
"I'm glad you like it."
"Alright, kids! Let's get a picture!" Mrs Rosato announced, holding up her phone. As the two kids stood side by side, they smiled as she took a couple of pictures, smiling when she was happy with the result and putting her phone away. "Alright. Now, Lincoln, I expect my daughter back here no later than eight o'clock, so I'm trusting you to keep her safe tonight."
"I promise."
She nodded to the boy, then turned to her daughter and added, "have fun tonight, sweetie."
"Thanks, mom."
"So," Lincoln asked, extending a hand to her, "shall we?"
She placed her hand in his, locking fingers and saying, "let's go."
After saying goodbye to Mrs Rosato, the two took off to town, enjoying walking hand-in-hand down the somewhat quiet streets, the sky a faint orange as the sun was starting to set. They chatted as they walked, talking about things like how they were glad school had been closed for a couple of days, what life was like for Lincoln with ten sisters, what Jordan liked to do outside of school, and Jordan trying to get Lincoln to tell her where they were going, with him insisting on keeping it a secret. She would playfully pout whenever he wouldn't tell her, but it only lasted a second before that smile which made Lincoln's heart beat faster returned to her face.
Eventually, they arrived at their destination- Giovanni Chang's, an Italian-Chinese fusion restaurant. The LED sign had Italian and Chinese fonts for the logo, with Chinese lanterns hanging over the windows, a red, white and green awning over the front door, Chinese lion statues either side of the entrance and flower beds spread across the front. There wasn't a queue outside, but looking through the windows showed that it seemed pretty full.
"We're here," Lincoln announced as they walked towards the entrance. He approached the front door and opened it. "After you, Madame."
She gave a giggle. "Why, thank you, sir," she jokingly replied as she entered the restaurant, Lincoln following behind her. Looking inside, she smiled at what she saw- wooden tables were covered with red and white checkered table cloths with candles in the centre, placed in front of green booth seats. There were Chinese lanterns and Italian flags hanging from the ceiling, and small bonsai trees placed between the booths.
While pretty much every table was full, there was no one else waiting to be seated, so they approached the receptionist, a woman with a black ponytail, wearing a white dress shirt, grey dress pants and shoes, and a red apron around her waist. She smiled as the two kids walked up to her, thinking they seemed adorable together. "Bonjourno, kids! Welcome to Giovanni Chang's! Do you have a reservation?"
"Yes, we have a reservation for six o'clock. Under the name, 'Lincoln Loud'," the boy explained.
Checking the clipboard that contained the list of reservations, she tapped her pen when she found it. "Ah! There you are!" Looking back at the children, she told them, "we should have a table for you any minute, as I think one couple is almost done with their meal."
"Okay. Thank you." The two children stepped back from the reception desk, and as he looked up, Lincoln saw what time was on the clock. "Guess we are a little early. Sorry that we have to wait."
"Lincoln, it's okay," his date assured him with a smile. "I don't mind waiting for a table. Besides, this place is really beautiful."
"Well, I'm glad I picked somewhere you would like."
She raised her eyebrow slightly. "You really wanted this to go well, didn't you?" Though his cheeks turned pink, he gave a timid nod. She could see how he felt about this, so she took hold of his hand. "Hey. Don't worry so much. I'm glad you asked me out."
"You are?"
"Yeah. So, let's have a good time tonight."
His smile came back fully, and he nodded. "Sure."
Eventually, they saw an older couple walk past them, heading out of the door, and a moment later, the woman from reception approached them, a pair of menus in hand. "Okay, kids! We're just clearing the table for you, so if you'll follow me, we'll get you seated."
They both followed the waitress to a booth, where Lincoln let Jordan be seated first before sitting opposite her, each with a glass and some cutlery in front of them. She placed the menus in front of the two kids, which they both started to browse, then pulled a pencil and notepad out of her apron pocket. "Alright, my name is Stephanie, and I will be your waitress today. What can I get you for starters?"
"I think I'll have the house salad," Jordan spoke first.
"Can I get the caprese salad?" Lincoln then asked.
"No problem. What, then, would you like for your main course?"
"Can I-" They both tried to speak at the same time, but stopped and laughed a bit when they realised what had happened, with Lincoln saying, "you can go first."
"Okay. Could I get the spaghetti bolognese with meatballs?"
Lincoln gave another chuckle, then said, "I was about to order the same thing."
Stephanie smiled at the two kids, finding it cute how they interacted. "Well, then, can I interest you in the Valentine's special? Instead of two separate plates, we make one large plate for you to share. It's a little cheaper, and a lot more romantic."
Though both kids blushed a little at the idea, Lincoln told Jordan, "I'm okay with it if you are."
"Uh… sure, why not?"
"Alright. Will you be having dessert later?" She watched as the two kids looked at each other seeming uncertain, so she quickly added, "that's okay. I'll come by later and check then. What will you be drinking tonight?"
"I think I'll be fine with just water," Jordan answered first, with Lincoln nodding.
"Alright. I'll take this through to the kitchen, and bring your starters out when they're ready. I hope you have a good evening."
"Thank you." She nodded to her customers, then left them alone to talk. "This place is really something, Lincoln. How did you think of it?"
"Well, I remembered that my sister had her anniversary date with her boyfriend here, and I thought… well, I thought that it would be a good place for us to go."
"I can see you put a lot of thought into this. No wonder people call you 'the man with the plan'." She saw that he gave a bashful smile as his cheeks turned pink once more, making her stifle a giggle. "How did you get so good at planning things?"
"Well, I wouldn't say my plans are perfect. There's been more than a few that have kind of blown up in my face."
"No one's perfect, Lincoln. You at least put the thought into things. Remember the time you tried to set Coach Pacowski up with Mrs Johnson? Sure, it didn't work as you planned, but you did what you thought would work, and in the end, he and Nurse Patti got together. I've heard they still go out sometimes."
"Yeah, I heard that too. I guess, living with my sisters, I've just always had a need to plan things out if I want things to work."
"Well, it sounds like you do a lot to help them out. I've got to say, you're a pretty great guy, Lincoln."
His smile faltered a little his hand reaching to rub his arm. "I don't know about that."
"But, you are. You might not see it, but you're pretty cool, and a lot of fun to hang out with. It's like I said- no one's perfect, but I think you're pretty cool."
Hearing it come from Jordan, it was like his doubts just faded away, so his smile came back in full. "Thanks. You're really cool, too."
"I know."
They both shared a laugh at her cheeky joke, before he stood up and grabbed the pitcher of ice water. "Would you like me to pour for you?"
"Why, thank you, Lincoln."
"It's my pleasure." He poured into Jordan's glass, then repeated with his own glass before setting the pitcher back down. He sat back on the booth, but leaned forward with his glass in his hand. "Here's to a wonderful Valentine's Day."
She raised her own glass, said "here's to us", then clinked her glass with his.
This was the start to a wonderful dinner that the two would share. As their starters arrive, they began to dine while they spoke, enjoying the delicious cuisine almost as much as they enjoyed each other's company. They got to learn things about each other that they previously hadn't known, such as their tastes in music, film and TV, and while they didn't always have the same tastes, they had a good few things in common, and they were more interested in getting to know the other person. Then, when the main course came, things got interesting. They had to shuffle closer together in the booth so they could both eat from the plate without leaning over the table. They both found the spaghetti and meatballs to be perfectly cooked, tasty and well seasoned, though as they ate, they didn't notice as they tried to eat from the same strand of spaghetti, and before they knew it, the spaghetti brought them together into a sudden kiss- one they didn't pull away from for a few seconds out of shock, but when they did, they were both in a slight daze, looking away to hide their bright red, blushing cheeks. Though neither had expected it, it felt nice, and though there were a couple of moments of awkwardness, Lincoln eventually fixed it by using his fork to move a meatball from his side of the plate to hers, getting her to look at him and share a laugh from the cute moment, before things returned to normal.
Once they were done with their main course, a busser came and cleared the table before Stephanie returned, carrying a couple of bowls of gelato, placing one in front of each of them with a spoon each. "Now, I know you two said you weren't sure if you would have dessert, but this is on me, because you two are possibly the cutest thing I've seen here tonight."
"Wow," Lincoln spoke, both him and Jordan blushing for the umpteenth time that night at the compliment. "I don't know what to say."
"Don't say anything. Just let me know when you're ready for your check, and I'll bring it over. Enjoy."
"Thank you," Jordan told her as she walked away, before her and her date tucked into the frozen treat. "Mmm… oh, that is delicious!"
"It really is," Lincoln agreed, "it's as if they just made it."
She gave a chuckle as she enjoyed another spoonful, before meeting Lincoln's gaze. "So… can I ask you something?" When he nodded, she took a second to think about how to word it before going ahead with it. "Why me?"
He had to blink, somewhat confused by the question. "What do you mean?"
"Well… why is it, off all the girls in our school, you chose to ask me out? I mean, I wouldn't have thought you'd go for a girl like me. You're so interesting, and I'm… well, not, I guess. Don't get me wrong, I'm really glad you asked me out." Her smile perked up as her cheeks turned slightly pink. "When you were telling me that you thought I was beautiful, calling me your beautiful rose… it made me feel really special. More special than I thought anyone could make me feel, and the fact it came from you just… it just made me feel even more special."
Lincoln was stunned to hear all this, but then he remembered what his sisters had told him the day before, and found that feeling in his heart before gently placing his hand on top of hers, meeting her gaze once more. "Jordan… you are special. You are beautiful, more than I can even describe, and you are interesting. Sometimes, when I would see you, I would think, 'wow. How is someone that amazing?' And then, I would realise that you are that amazing. You're so cool, I could never imagine being that cool… and I can't imagine being here with anyone else right now."
Jordan's gaze didn't leave his eyes as he spoke, finding her admiration for him grow as he spoke so confidently and so admiringly of her. "Woah… I never knew you felt that way."
"That's partly my fault. Before Wednesday, I didn't feel confident enough to tell you, because… well, I didn't think you'd feel the same about me."
She put her other hand on top of his. "Linc… I never would have thought that you would feel like that about me, because… well, that's kind of how I felt about you. You have a way of making me laugh, and… well, you're the cutest guy I know."
His cheeks lit up like a firework. "Y-you think I'm cute?"
"I really do. Even though you have gelato on your face." He furrowed his brow, using his free hand to try and find where it was, and when he turned to her, she booped him on the nose, leaving a little bit of gelato on the tip of it. "There it is."
He was able to laugh it off, and after finishing their gelato, it was time to pay and leave. They split the bill, under Jordan's insistence, and thanked Stephanie for serving them, before leaving the restaurant. They had an hour until Jordan's mother was expecting her back, so they took their time walking back, holding their hands and looking in wonder at the starry sky. After a few minutes, a sudden breeze made Jordan shiver from cold, so Lincoln gave her his jacket, and when she noticed him shivering, she wrapped her arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. Rather than blush this time, he held her closer as they walked the rest of the way.
Eventually, they reached the Rosato household, and once they reached the front door, they let go of each other and stood face to face. "Thank you for an amazing night, Lincoln," Jordan told the boy. "I really enjoyed it."
"Me too, Jordan," he replied. "I'm really glad we did this."
"I should probably give you your jacket, so you don't get cold."
He thanked her as she handed him his jacket back, slipping it back on over his shirt. "So… um…"
She noticed how nervous he got, and a small blush came to her face as she figured out. "Lincoln… would you… like to kiss me?"
His cheeks also began to blush. "Y… Yes? I-I mean, if you don't want to, then we don't have to."
"Well… I-I wouldn't mind. I-If you're sure."
"Well… okay then." He stepped towards her, moving his head slowly closer, and placed a hand against her cheek, something she mirrored. However, when her finger brushed against the bump on the back of his head, she pulled away, making Lincoln confused. "What's wrong?"
"I… I guess I still feel guilty about… well, knocking you out before. It could have ended a lot worse, and… I don't know what I would have done if that was the case."
Understanding where she was coming from, he gave a soft smile, cupped his hand over her cheek again, and looked her in the eyes. "Don't worry about it. It didn't turn out like that, I'm okay. Besides, if that hadn't happened, I might not have ended up asking you out… and this night wouldn't have been as magical without you to share it with." She smiled, realising that he was right, before they both moved in and locked their lips together, eyes closed as they enjoyed the experience. Though it lasted no more than ten seconds, it was truly incredible, their hearts racing as if fireworks were going off in their minds. When they eventually parted, their eyes were still locked, though this time with an extra twinkle in their eyes. "Woah…"
"That was… wow…"
Neither knew quite what to say, but they didn't have to, as they were both caught by surprise when the front door opened, quickly turning to see Mrs Rosato with a smile on her face. "I thought I heard you two," she greeted.
"Hey, mom," Jordan greeted back.
"Hello, Mrs Rosato," Lincoln spoke next. "I hope we're not too late getting back."
"Not at all, you're right on time. Thank you for bringing my daughter back safely." She then turned to Jordan and asked, "how was your date?"
"It was amazing." She turned to her date and told him, "thank you."
He gave a soft shake of his head. "It was my pleasure."
"Do you need a lift home?" Mrs Rosato asked, to which he shook his head. "Well, be safe getting home."
"I'll call you in the morning," Jordan told the boy.
"I look forward to it. Goodnight… you beautiful rose."
This brought Jordan into a fit of giggles at how cute he seemed, especially with how he goofily smiled when she kissed him on the cheek. "Goodnight, you charmer."
He bid one final goodnight to the two Rosato's, before heading on his way, and once he heard the door shut and was far enough away, he practically jumped and cheered from joy, before practically dancing the whole way home. For he had never had a better time, than on this night of Valentine.
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!