I'm Here

by Zacatecas

An encounter in the dead of night leaves Lincoln with supernatural abilities, unnatural cravings, and a society hidden within his own. As he learns to adapt, a time will come when he must choose to either attempt to return to his old life, or continue on this new one. All the while, Royal Woods is about to become the epicenter of something grand.

4. Forgiveness?

All was quiet in the Loud house, which in itself was a rarity. However, given the circumstance, it wasn't so surprising. Of course, at the moment all Louds, save for the single male sibling, were downstairs. Accompanying them were the two visitors, one with an unyielding glare, and the other was as stoic as ever. The only sounds were the exhales of the present parties below. The atmosphere was unsettling to say the least, with Sam's sudden announcement to taking Lincoln with her; all of those present were currently on edge. From the initial backlash the sisters showed, the increasing concern the parents where showing upon learning that their son had told these visitors what occurred. Of course, it went completely south when the teen announced she'd be taking the boy with her. Had the parents not intervened, the situation would've turned violent quickly. The eldest of the Loud siblings, save for the second eldest blonde and rocker, were glaring daggers at the newcomers.

It wasn't until the post decided to speak up that the tension began to heave in balance. "So, as I'm sure you're well aware; Lincoln told us what occurred up until now." She began, earning slightly worried glances from the parents. "From the moment he encouraged the idea that he was bad luck, to the point that he was...removed from the premises."

"Kicked out." Sam muttered, earning an elbow to her ribs.

"But that isn't what's bothering me...well, not entirely." All eyes widened, even her fellow Ghoul. Was the fact that the boy was kicked out truly not bothersome to her? Before the family could ask, she continued. A few flinched when the poet's eyebrows and eyes narrowed. "Before anything, I'd like to know, for how long was he made to sleep outside the home?" The Loud family hesitated, each kept their heads down upon being reminded how they so easily kicked their family out for a stupid superstition.

"Five days." The answer came, surprisingly, from the meek voice of Leni, whom did not raise her head, but rather, answered the question with her head hung low.

"I see." Haiku muttered. "In that case, what I want to know is; why is his room empty?" Upon asking, Sam's glare had ceased, replaced by a moment of ponder, soon after regaining its animosity, though, this time with much vigor. The siblings themselves were tight lipped, as were the parents. It seemed as if none of them wanted to answer this question. "It's not a secret that Lincoln is a fan of comics, and no doubt I expected to see at least one poster or memorabilia of his interests. And yet I found nothing. There was but his bed and an almost empty drawer. So am I to believe he was removed from the house for five days and missing for an entire week, and in that timespan you thought it best to remove his memory from this household?"

"That's not it!" This time, it was Lynn who spoke up, unwilling to stay quiet any longer, especially with the predicated implications.

Noticing Sam prepared to argue back, Haiku quickly responded. "Okay. Then, explain to me what happened to his belongings."

"We don't have to explain anything to you; this isn't any of your business. You're not family." She remarked, earning a growing glare from Sam, but again, before she could respond, Haiku voiced first.

"Well...I suppose you're right about that. We aren't family." She commented, earning what seemed like a betrayed look from her 'cousin', and a smug expression from the jock. "But, can you really say the same?" The room had become silent once more; none of the Loud family could say anything. The jock in particular was without words, she had nothing to say, no response, at least, nothing that she could say without being scolded by her parents. "Piecing together what he's told us, what I've seen upstairs, coupled with what I've noticed myself over time; I don't think you see him as your family."

Parents be damned, she went off on this girl. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" She growled.

The Loud patriarch and matriarch were not at all pleased to hear their child speak in such a way, especially towards a guest. "Lynn!" Her father was prepared to scold her, though; his daughter quickly went into a tangent, ignoring him completely.

"No, what the hell gives her the right to just come in here and judge us?!" The jock yelled out, caring little of the repercussion of her outburst. "She's never even talked to Lincoln before all of this, so what gives her the right to just come in here and act like she knows him?!"

In response, or rather lack thereof, Haiku's expression remained the same, though, she shifted ever so slightly, adjusting herself. Her eyes wandered about the room, as if searching for something. After taking a moment to think of a response, she reverted her eyes back to Lynn. There was no glare or hostility shown, but the jock could feel the animosity. It wasn't too threatening, but it was enough to have her and her siblings feel uneasy. "You're right, I shouldn't care what happens in your family, but from what I've seen..." her eyes narrowed as her pupils changed color, if only ever so slightly. Only a few noticed, even fewer chose to question this. "Somebody has to." And with that, she closed her eyes and arose from her seat. "Well, I believe at this point we really have overstayed our welcome. Sam, we're leaving." As soon as the rocker rose up, Haiku was quick to insert. "Lincoln stays."

"But-" before getting a chance to argue, Haiku was quick to glare her down.

"You've caused enough trouble. Uncle is on his way, you'd best behave yourself once he's here." The way the two of them spoke was almost got hat between siblings, which didn't seem to strange considering their relation. Although, the oddity remained with how the two were addressing one another. As the two stood and were about to walk towards the door, a thought came across the Matriarch's mind.

Remembering why it was the two were allowed in, Rita was quick to interrogate the two before they were to leave her home. "Umm, before you go, has Lincoln said anything to the two of you?" Getting a sense that she wouldn't get a response from the blond rocker, she kept her focus on the younger poet.

For a moment, Haiku stopped, taking a moment to ponder what exactly she'd say. Granted, what was discussed with Lincoln wasn't something she could tell the matriarch in its entirety, but she could say something, anything to ease the woman's worries over her son. The question was; what would she say? Taking only a moment to think on it, the poet turned her sole attention to the Loud matriarch. "Well, he told us..."

Before getting a chance to speak further, Sam spoke up, her anger directed towards the large family. "He was chased into that forest." Though she kept a calm tone, she didn't turn to face them, nor did she intend to contain her malice. "He didn't know who or what chased him in, and when he felt so close to death...when he felt like he had died, all he could think of was his family. Even with all the shit you put him through, he was still worried about you lot. Think on that the next time you decide to kick him out." She muttered that last bit with every ounce of venom she could muster. The weight of her words fell heavily on the family, the very notion that their Lincoln, even with all they've put him through, still cared about them. Even when he felt like he had…and then that sentence settled in; when he felt like he had died. Something in that forest pushed him to the point that he went through such a state, the guilt weighed even heavier on the family. Wasting no time she reached for the door, upon opening it she took a couple steps back. She'd flinched when she saw who was waiting at the door; his arrival came as a momentary surprise for Sam, but not for Haiku. The man was tanned, somewhat muscular, dark brown hair, a mole under his right eye, brown eyes, perhaps at the same height as the Loud parents. The man was dressed in an officer's uniform, his demeanor demanded authority, and yet the feminine features also gave a calm like feeling to those who gazed at him.

"Hello, uncle Marco." Haiku was the first to break the silence, instantly bringing all eyes first to her, then to the man standing at the doorway, who, while not admitted openly, was making a few of the older Loud sisters, as well as the wife mildly blush.

"Sobrina, good to see you again." His accent wasn't too thick to understand, but the tone of his voice was indeed one befitting a Spanish soap opera actor, not particularly for an officer. The man then turned to the blond rocker in front of him. His expression softened, if only for a moment. "Sam." He greeted, to which the two ghouls were now waiting to see if she'd play along with their charade.

Sam turned her gaze away, lowering her head ever so whilst hooking her left hand to her right arm. "Hey dad." She muttered nervously, wondering why it was she was supposed to play the part as this Ghoul's kid. Granted, she and Haiku used the whole cousin routine, but she wasn't exactly too fond of Taurus. For a few this was actually quite a surprise, particularly for Luna, who had never seen Sam's parents before despite the many times the two hung out. And now, seeing in what profession the blond rocker's father worked in, it made the situation all the more worrying if she told him anything. As for the rest of the siblings, while never really knowing Sam all that well, were still surprised to see who her father was. If any openly admitted, he was not what they were expecting.

There was an uncomfortable silence following Taurus' reveal and arrival, what broke the tension was the sound of light footsteps coming down the stairs. All eyes turned to the ashen haired boy slowly descending down. He stopped only when midway down; his eyes were focused solely on the newcomer. His nose twitched, ever so. Lincoln knew who this was, but as to what to say, he was at a loss, what he wanted to speak about with Taurus was something his family couldn't hear.

Instead, it was Taurus who took the lead. "Hey there. You must be Lincoln." he approached the ashen-haired boy; he extended his arm for a formal greeting. Lincoln accepted, albeit hesitantly. "I'm relieved to see you up and about. How are you feeling, son?"

The white-haired Loud's eyes drifted away from Taurus'. "Better."

The officer's eyes widened, fairly shortly, before his expression softened. "Well, good to hear. If I may say, I'm amazed you survived for so long on your own out there. But I have to ask; what enticed you to go into the forest so late at night?" The temperature in the room seemingly rose at an exponential rate as the Loud family was waiting to see what their ashen-haired kin would say. The sisters began fearing that their brother would be taken away if he told of what happened, as would their parents. The idea of losing their only brother began weighing on the siblings, alongside the fact that if this were to go public they'd be torn apart by social services, with their parents possibly serving time due to criminal charges.

For the two ghouls, their reactions to this differed; on the one hand, Sam was nervous as to how Taurus would react, given his temper around humans. With other ghouls, the man was calm, hell, even understanding to no fault. But, when it came to humans, he wasn't exactly the patient kind of person. Haiku was planning out how to play this out, at the moment Sam had killed their chances of being able to return to the Loud house too see the ashen-haired boy, limiting their interactions with him to school or the occasional hangouts. Still, if acted on accordingly, she thought of salvaging her own access into the house, allowing her to ease Lincoln into the realm of ghouls without him being pressured or taken by a blond rocker.

Lincoln thought on it for a moment before answering. "I snuck out." he answered, genuinely surprising Sam. Though, Taurus' expression furrowed slightly.

"You snuck out?" He asked, "Whatever for?"

"I was mad at my sister…" Breaths hitched as Lincoln answered the man's question. "…for something petty. I can't even remember what it was about." Taurus stared at the boy with a puzzled look, He knew the boy was lying, but he couldn't understand why he was protecting his family. Surely, the whole ordeal he went through would've been enough to have him feel out of place in this human household. And yet…

"I see…well, aside from a mountain of questions my peers and I have for you, I'm choosing to instead let you rest for now. But, you and I will have a bit more words to exchange in the future, alright?" When Lincoln nodded, a faint grin returned to his face as he stood up and walked towards the door, gesturing the other ghouls to follow with. "Alright girls, time to go home." Haiku followed closely behind, Sam on the other hand took her time. Instead, she walked over to Lincoln and leaned over to him.

"If you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be there little dude." What followed was a sight that, although surprising, left little impact on the rocker's 'father'. Sam kissed the ashen-haired boy on the cheek, leaving the home soon after without taking a glance at the rest of the Loud family, in particular, avoiding the glance of her fellow rocker. Taurus, after taking one last look at the Loud family, bowed his head ever so, quickly thanked them for watching his girls, and then left. Leaving the family to take in all that just transpired.

Though, as the door closed, and Lincoln could feel their scent grow faint, he retreated back to his room. Or at least tried to, as his sisters were quick to try and talk to him again, only for the boy to completely ignore them. Although, as he was climbing up the stairs, a certain voice stopped him.

"Lincoln!" The one sister he had always believed to be his closest sibling, one he held unwavering trust and admiration for. He turned his head halfway, his eyes landing on Luna, whom was clenching a fist to her chest. "I know what we did was wrong, we should've believed you, and we never should've kicked you out. You have every right to be angry with us, but…we really do love you Link. All of us. I know it's gonna take a while for us earn your trust back, but I think I speak for the family when I say we're willing to do whatever it takes to show you how much you mean to us." Tears had begun to form near the corner of her eyes, as did most of the family. Though, a Lincoln's expression remained the same; stoic. What brought him to react, albeit mildly, was when Luna approached him, seemingly hoping to embrace him.

But, as she took a step towards him, he took a step back. His expression had shifted into a faint glare. His rejection of her affection was clear enough that his feelings towards her and the family was that of, not hostility, but caution.

"I wish I could believe you…" he mumbled loud enough for all to hear. Lincoln then turned and walked back to his room, leaving his siblings and parents to their own devices as he quickly walked to his room. His intention was to lock himself in and ignore the rest of the world for the rest of the day. Of course, that was what he intended. As if reacting to his surroundings, his nose caught the scent of someone he almost never could detect unless she wanted to be noticed. He stopped midway from closing his door, turned to where the scent originated, and came face to face with his gothic sibling.

She appeared visibly surprised that he noticed her, even more so that he was able to pinpoint exactly where she was standing. How Lucy was able to move about was still a mystery to the ashen-haired boy. Although, he had little interest at the moment, considering the fact that he felt a pulsing irritation the longer he looked at her.

"Lucy, I'm really not in the mood right now." He muttered, not bitterly, but with visible irritation. "Leave." He demanded.

His tone came as a surprise to her, she'd seen her brother force people out of his room, but not in the way he was going about. The way he acted almost indicated some form of ill feelings towards her. More along the lines, she felt intimidated by his mild glare, almost eerily similar to the way she felt when Haiku was glaring at her family.

"I-i-I was hoping we could talk…" She mumbled nervously. She'd hope he would allow her to speak with him, if only for a few minutes.

"I won't say it gain Lucy." His threat got through, dejected, she walked out with her head hung low. While having some measure of guilt towards kicking his baby sister out of his room, Lincoln was in no mood to talk to his family. So instead, he lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling. Not exactly a boy his age would normally do to pass the time. But, to his defense, there really wasn't much else for him to do.

-Meanwhile-

After leaving the Loud house, the three ghouls went about towards their next destination via car, a bored Haiku sitting quietly in the back, whilst an annoyed Taurus drove and a nervous Sam sat beside him in the passenger seat. It didn't take long for the elder ghoul to be informed of what occurred earlier. To say he was infuriated with Sam for being reckless would be overselling it, he understood where her anger came from, but for her to want to take the boy in front of his family, in broad daylight no less.

"You would've done the same." Sam muttered, beating Taurus to whatever scolding he had thought up.

While not surprised, Taurus kept his eyes forward while responding to his comrade. "I know I would've. But see, that there is where the problem lies; neither of us can make that mistake."

"What mistake? Helping out a fellow brother?" Sam countered, her tone rose ever so. She'd challenge him before, on many things, but this was something he wouldn't back down from.

"Drawing attention to ourselves!" Taurus' tone rose, startling the girls. "We can't afford that risk, Sam. Not again."

For a while, the car was silent, neither had a word to say. Sam wasn't too surprised to hear him raise his voice, he'd done it before, it was this moment that she felt guilty for her actions. That being, had she actually taken Lincoln with her, it would've raised more fires then they could put out.

Still, Haiku intervened, so there wasn't a problem thus far. At least, not for the poet, although not entirely ending in a positive note with the Loud sisters, she was better off than where Sam ended up; at the top of their watch list.

Regardless, the blonde rocker quickly retrieved her earphones from her pockets and was about to drown out the world with music. That was, until a voice called to her from the backseat.

"Sam?" The blonde turned her head to Haiku, who wasn't looking at her, but rather gazing outwards. "When are we going to see what color your eyes really are?" Her question, if momentarily, caught the rocker by surprise.

"What brought this up?" she asked.

"Just curious…" Her eyes lazily glanced to Sam. "Yesterday they were violet, today baby blue. I may not have been a ghoul long, but I know you, and your illusions. What is it you don't want us to see?" her question, albeit with mild curiosity, wasn't too demanding or pushy. But rather, to break away from their current topic and ease the tension between the two.

"Still not the time, sweetie." She mumbled, putting on her earphones and losing herself in her own world. Though, before fully doing so, she searched for a specific contact, after finding it, she sent a message she felt he needed. As well as letting him know she had his number, and left him a little gift.

-Loud residence-

As Lincoln continued to stare aimlessly at the ceiling, his eyes slowly drifting, snapping open when he heard a small ding. He turned his head towards what appeared to be a mobile phone on top of his drawer. Funny, he never noticed, nor did he ever remember having a phone to begin with. Was it a gift from his family? Was this one of their ways to try and make amends? He reached out for the device and glanced at the screen.

'Hey sweetie, left you a little something. A gift, from us. Well, from me mostly. To help you keep in touch, just in case you need someone to talk to. And '

Not knowing why, Lincoln felt a grin form on his lips. He'd ask how she got her hands on a phone later, right now, it seemed like he had a way to keep in touch with his fellow ghouls. Or, one of them it seems. The only number registered on the device was Sam's. Before getting a chance to respond, another message came in.

'Before I forget, check the first playlist, Linky, something to keep your mind at ease. It helped me; maybe it'll help you too.' He didn't know how to feel about her using the nickname his sisters called him by, but out of curiosity he did as she said and played the only playlist on the small device. The first song began with a soft guitar tune.

Under the surface,

You don't know what you'll find

Hmm, until it's your time

No second chances but

all we can do is try

hmm, I made up my mind

The tone and rhythm was peaceful and soothing. And in a weird way, he could see why Sam sent it to him. Lincoln took a glance around his room; the emptiness reminded him of how expendable he was to his family. He felt an aching feeling in his chest as he held quite possibly the only item that hadn't been thrown away by his family.

I can't see you

But I hear your call

Baby, hold on now

We're going home

If we make it or we don't,

We won't be alone

With a faint smile, Lincoln placed the phone on the drawer and laid back down, the song played in the background as his eyes slowly drifted off to sleep. In his mind he pictured what it would be like to see more like him. The idea of seeing more like him, no longer being an outcast.

He couldn't deny that seeing a whole new world, hidden from the rest of the world around him, it was exciting. But, it also came at a price. A new message dinged as he was lost in thought. He glanced towards the phone. The message read. 'BTW, leave your window open tonight; I'll be stopping by with some food.'

His smile growing just a bit wider, Lincoln walked over and unlocked his window. Although, as he was settling back on his bed, his nose twitched, his brow furrowed as he recognized the scent to be two of his siblings. He glanced up and noticed the sheet he placed in the vent had been shifted a bit. He stood on his bed and with swift move; he removed the sheet, opened the vent and out fell his two siblings. The two shrieks that followed were that of Lynn and Luan. Lynn had fallen out completely, but was caught by her brother with relative ease. Luan was hanging upside down, her skirt having been caught by the vent. They'd been caught, though; the quickness of it was what startled the two Louds.

"H-hey Linc, fancy seeing you here." Lynn tried to play it off. Though, the ever present mild glare from their brother proved how little her persuasion was working. It wasn't until she noticed where she was currently that a small blush formed on her cheeks, only for it to disappear as her brother placed her down.

"What're you two doing?" He asked, somewhat irritated that the girls had found a way to remove the sheet. This would make keeping his secret all the more difficult.

"Oh, you know, just hanging around." Luan answered, earning no laugh, but neither a pleasant reaction from her siblings. While Lynn groaned, Lincoln got on his bed and helped his sister down, again with relative ease. The two older louds were surprised to see their brother with the amount of strength he was currently displaying. Granted, neither was assuming they were heavy, by any means. But that their brother was so easily carrying them around, without so much as breaking a sweat.

Taking a moment, to look around his room, Lynn was quick to take notice of the phone atop the boy's drawer. She was confused as to why he had a cellular device, though; it was the soothing music playing that made her think of Luna.

After gently placing his sister down, Lincoln walked over to his door and opened it, on the other side was Luna and Leni, both seemingly waiting by the vent, their heads turning to the door with widened eyes. Piecing things together, Lincoln pinched the bridge of his nose for a second before gesturing Lynn and Luan to leave his room. Though, Lynn stood her ground, crossing her arms and glaring at her little brother, almost daring him to try and remove her. To everyone's surprise, Lincoln didn't flinch at her glare, nor did his expression waiver as he walked up to Lynn, reached over and picked her up from the back of her shirt. Again, with little problem other than the jock's flailing arms.

"What're you doing Linc?!" She asked, trying to reach for him only for him to shift around and evade her grasp. As the two had reached the outside of his room, she shouted again after being in view of most of her siblings, who came out to see what was going on. "Put me down!"

"Gladly." He responded, letting her drop with a loud thud. After which he turned to Luan, who jumped a little when his attention fell on her. She laughed sheepishly right before dashing out of Lincoln's room. At this point he was genuinely growing irritated with his siblings and their antics. But, seeing as how now he was able to detect them much quicker, he'd be able to easily avoid them should he need to. As he was closing his door, he was once again stopped by the call by his eldest sister.

"Lincoln." he didn't face Lori, not out of fear or intimidation, but mostly out of not having the strength or patience to deal with his sisters at the moment. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, please." Having never heard that particular word from his sister before, Lincoln was genuinely surprised, but, not so much that he'd look at her though. Realizing he wasn't going to look at her, Lori continued. "Linc, we know we messed up, and you have no idea how hard it was when you went missing. None of us slept, mom and dad were searching everywhere, day and night. We cried…" She admitted as tears had begun growing at the corner of her eyes. "We cried because we thought we'd lost you…" for a moment she had broken down in small sobs, recollecting the things she felt when Lincoln had gone missing. The guilt, the shame, the self-hatred; all of it accumulated and ate away at her. Once she regained her composure, she continued. "And when they called us and said you'd been found, the first thing we did was rush to you. I know we don't show it, but you're important to this family Lincoln. We love you. I love you."

Hoping for a least a response, Lori got it, but not how she wanted. Lincoln turned to her, his expression unchanging, he muttered clearly. "Could've fooled me." Right before attempting to close the door. Only to have a foot wedged right as it was going to close. For this, the ashen-haired boy glanced to the foot's owner, unsurprisingly belonging to Lynn. The jock was glaring at him, nothing too hostile, but clearly having had enough of his attitude. "Do you mind?"

"YES!" she shouted, she was trying to push the door open, to no avail. "What do you want from us?! We said we're sorry."

At this, Lincoln's brow furrowed as a glare begun to form. Lynn had stopped trying to push the door open as a chill ran up her spine. Before, a glare from Lincoln was nothing more than something for her challenge, but now, as she glanced upon his eyes, she took notice of a black smudge growing near the corner of his eyes.

"You think that's enough?" His tone had chills run up everyone's spine. "You think an 'I'm sorry' is going to make everything better?" Lincoln opened his door fully, catching the jock by surprise as she lost her balance for a second, right before being caught by the grip of her little brother. He kept her at a distance, but remained with an iron hold on her jersey. "It's not enough, Lynn, not this time." While she was trying to pull away, Lincoln released his hold on her shirt, causing her to tumble backwards. While Luan and Lucy helped the jock up, their brother spoke up. "When I needed all of you, where were you?" all eyes fell on Lincoln, though, none answered his question. "You were here, in your beds, sleeping peacefully knowing my 'bad luck' couldn't reach you. Well…guess I got the short end of my luck too." Before getting a chance to ask, Lyn quickly added in.

"Oh please, what happened, you scrapped your knee?" she taunted, having remembered the doctor telling her folks of how there were only scratches and bruises found on Lincoln, though, considering his check-up was done by ghouls under guise, he felt maybe there were some things overlooked. Lincoln's hand brushed against his chest, a place he was sure he'd find his little gift given to him by the ghoul that tried to off him. It only took a moment for him to find what he wanted, even less for him to think of what he was going to do next.

Rather than respond, Lincoln instead chose to walk back into his room and shut the door. Ignoring his sisters for the better part of the day whilst listening to music left on his new phone. In the time he had alone, Lincoln looked around, hoping to find something, if anything, that his family didn't remove discard. There was nothing, no comics, few cloths, no action figures, his gaming systems; all of it gone. Why he was still here he didn't know. The ghouls offered him a place amongst them, a place where he could call home. In fact, why didn't he just walk out? He could easily just run off and disappear. And yet, he still felt some tether holding him to this house, to this family. With only the phone as his possession, he messaged the only person he could at the moment.

'hey'

…

'hey, sweetie. You ok?'

'yea…no…can we talk?'

And that's the end of that we apologize for the long wait kiddos, it's been a rough start of the year, and with other stories to work on, it's been hard keeping up with the monthly system we originally had in mind. But, nonetheless, here's the next chapter, we hope you all like it, and stay tuned for the next installment. Ciao!