Day 2 continued
Lincoln sat there a few minutes debating if this were a good idea. It seemed so at the time.
he reread the text conversation.
Me: "Dood, partay in park?"
?: "Who dis?"
Me: "srry, new fone, it's K"
?: "broke anuther 1! dood, ur mom pisst? wut park?"
Me: "Ya, hoo cairs, snuk out. Duh! only got 1 in dis lame town"
?: "sure!"
Lincoln felt his phone buzz. he looked at the text.
?: "I'm here, wear u at?"
lincoln hit dial and listened for the ring.
he was pretty confident with how he had been training with Lynn that he could handle himself.
he saw a typical wanna-be-gangsta type answer. he heard the voice on his end. "Come on dude, answer me, this ain't funny!"
Lincoln hung up. then, he took a breath and walked over. "Hey!"
"Get lost kid." the older teen said dismissively.
"No, you're going to listen. Keep harassing my sister Luan, i'm going to rearange your face!"
The guy laughed and pushed lincoln. he managed to keep from falling over.
"Look, that dog sister of yours ha..."
Lincoln punched him as hard as he could. the guy spun and ended up facing Lincoln again. Lincoln hit him with his left and the guy went down.
The Loud son remembered overhearing one of his dad's friends talking. 'Don't let them up until you're ready!' Lincoln jumped on the older teen and started hitting him fast and hard. LincoIn got hit a few times, but obviously had the upper hand. when the older teen stopped fighting back, Lincoln hit him a few more times for good measure. then he made the guy look at him.
"Everything you said about my sister, say anything like it again, and it's a trip to the hospital!"
The humiliated teen nodded.
"I want to hear it!" Lincoln demanded.
"I won't say anything any more!"
Lincoln stood up and baacked away. He wasn't turning his back on this jerk. "Remember today, and don't say a word to Luan about this either! My sister worries." the older teen nodded.
Lincoln did stop at Clyde's on the way back.
"Holy Shit! Lincoln!?" Clyde hugged his friend.
"I don't like fighting, Clyde!" Lincoln shook his head sadly and rubbed his cheek.
"Lincoln, are you okay?" Clyde had his arm around Lincoln's shoulders as they walked into the McBride home.
"I'm fine. The other guy, not so much. He could barely talk, face was all bloody. I did that!"
"You got attacked? I'm call..."
"No, Clyde!" Lincoln straightened himself up. "He had been bullying Luan. For a while now. Mean comments. Texting them to her. The older texts were from last year!" Lincoln felt the anger rise again. "I got his number off her phone and got him to go to the park. I told him to stop and he pushed me, he called Luan a dog and i hit him, and hit him, and hit him." Lincoln looked at his hand. "I need a good excuse. Bike riding, jump gone wrong?"
"I think you can tell that is a bruise from a fist." Clyde pointed to Lincoln's jaw. "And there is part of a tooth in your hand."
Lincoln felt sick as he picked the yellow piece out from his knuckle.
"I'll get the first aid kit."
"You think i can stay here a few days? Violet is over anyway."
"Luan crashing with you again?" Lincoln nodded. "Yeah. I'm thirteen now, my dads think i can take care of myself, as long as i call in once a day." Clyde smiled proudly. "They won't go all overly protective on you either, because they aren't here right now." he added.
"Thanks, Bro!"
After a few hours Lincoln had to answer his phone. "Hey, Leni! No, just going to hang with Clyde a few days while his dads are out. How's Lori?"
"Is Lori okay!?" Lincoln had to push Clyde aside.
"Still bummed. Yeah, i think it's that new girl too. Bobby and Lori were so good together."
"Hey, Lincoln, can we go stay at your place?" Clyde asked a bit excited from what he had heard.
"Hold on a sec, Leni." Lincoln covered the reciever. "How about you give her a little time to grieve, Clyde. She just found out she was being cheated on and then got dumped."
"But Linc, i can't get a girl. Look at me!" Clyde motioned to himself.
Lincoln looked him over. "I dunno, Clyde, You look like less of a dork than i do. Plus, You've been getting lessons from Lynn, too. Hell, you got on the track team!"
"Only because i'm good at running from bullies!"
"Clyde, you've got to face your fears. I think you'll do fine!" Lincoln saw his friend smile.
He waved lincoln off and went back to watching Arrgh.
"How's Luan?" A smile spread across his face. he almost let it slip that it was him who beat up Jackson Pile. then he paled. "Who's looking for the guy?"
"You okay, Lincoln?" Clyde asked as Lincoln hung up.
"I think i'm coming down with a cold." Clyde put his hand to Lincoln's head.
"Clyde, i'm fine. Just need a way to stay home until that idiot's big brother stops looking for me."
"What about facing your fears?" Clyde asked.
"The guy i beat up was Jackson Pile, Jason "Bone Breaker" Pile's younger brother."
"Oh. Sorry, man." Clyde clapped a hand on lincoln's back. "Can i have your radio and how long should i wait to ask Lori out after your funeral?"
"Radio, yes, after my funeral, about a year. I doubt she'll accept, so be prepaired."
"Thank's for being honest."
they both laughed and Lincoln tried to settle down, but his gut continued tp churn.
Back at the Loud residence. "Where's Lincoln?" Luan called.
Nearly everyone shrugged. "Like, he asked how you were. Lori, too." The two mentioned sisters smiled. "He's at Clyde's while his dads are out." Leni informed.
"Probably scored a skin mag from that Rusty kid." Luna said matter of factly.
"Those magazines sometimes make me want a tattoo!" Everyone looked at Leni. "Oh my gosh! Are Clyde and Lincoln getting tattoos! They're too young!"
"No, Leni, they aren't getting tattoos. they're... just... admiring the artwork." Violet said while patting Luna's back. The comments of the innocent blonde having made the rocker choke on her milk and cookies.
"Oh, good!" Leni smiled.
"I got it!" Lynn rushed to the suddenly ringing phone. She had been expecting the results for her archery trials. This was going to be the big state wide team competition.
it was quiet a moment. "This isn't funny, dude!" Lynn growled. Then quiet. "No. it can't be true! You got the wrong number!"
When Lynn didn't come back for a while, everyone got up and went to find her. She was on her knees in front of the phone, reciever still in hand, crying.
"Hey, Sis!" Luna knelt down to hug Lynn. "There'll be other competitions."
"No." Lynn said sadly.
"Yeah there will!" Luan and the others all started encouraging her.
"No! You don't understand!" Lynn choked out. "There was an accident."
Everyone asked about Lincoln and Lynn shook her head no. "Mom and Dad."
Back at Clyde's lincoln groaned as his phone rang. "This was just getting good, i mean, extoplasm!" He looked at the screen. "It's Lori." Lincoln moved out of the room to take the call.