2 Hours Later...

Like most of the Loud house that night, Lori and Leni were asleep in their beds. That is, at least, until Leni heard something hit her window again… and again… and again...

"Ugh…. What is it this time?" she thought as another loud rap came to her window. "nother bird? I guess they don't know I need my beauty sleep..."

She opened the window and looked into the distance. Outside was nothing but darkness.

"That's weird. I thought I heard-OW!" she yelped as a small stone hit her square in the eye.

From the black below, a rather loud whisper called out.

"Leni? Is that you?"

"I think so," she said, rubbing her eye. "I forgot. That rock distracted me."

"Oh… sorry!" The voice said, sounding worried. "I have my ladder with me! I'm gonna climb up!"

"Uh, who exactly are you?" Leni asked, confused at the dark figure who was talking to her.

"Ha! You always crack me up, Leni… especially at night time!"

"I know! But still, who are you?"

"Uh, Heath? From Math class?" The disembodied voice said quizzically.

"Heath from math class… Nope, doesn't ring a bell."

"Uh, Heath? The guy who's been climbing a ladder to your room for the past month?"

"What? I can't hear you!"

"-sigh- I SAID, IT'S THE GUY WHO'S BEEN CLIMBING A LA- Oops. I think someone heard me!"

Sure enough, a light in the next house over turned on. Heath managed to jump into a bush just as an old man stuck his head out the window.

"Huh. Those darn raccoons got into the garbage again, I bet..."

The old man stuck his head back into his house. A few seconds later, Heath got out of the bushes, set up the ladder next to the house, and climbed up to the window and into the light for the first time. He was about Leni's height, with hazel eyes and short, blond hair. On his chin, he wore a medium sized goatee.

"Uh, who was that guy?" He asked.

"Oh, Mr. Grouse? He's a nice man. He's just really cranky a lot."

"I can tell... so, how's life been?"

"Fine, I guess. I'm going to the mall tomorrow to get a manicure!"

"Really? Cool! I've never got a manicure before. Or... any sort of 'cure,' for that matter…"

He looked down at his nails, which were jagged and rough. He just so happened to be a nail biter...

"OMG, you should totes come with me tomorrow! We could have matching nails!"

"Uh, I'm not sure that your parents would like that," he said, his face growing more serious. "You told me that they have to know me before we do anything."

"I did? Well, I guess you'll just have to meet them, then!"

"Are you crazy?!" He said, almost falling off the ladder. "I'm not ready for that!"

"Well, I don't think I'm crazy. And I'm sure that they'd love you, Harold!"

"It's Heath, first off, and second, I just don't really feel comfortable with it, you know? It's just, uh..."

"Scary?"

"Yeah, yeah! I don't want to get too involved, yet, you know? Nothing against you, or anything..."

"No offense taken! And I guess that I can understand that, too. But think about it."

"Oh, I've thought of it. A lot. And I don't want to."

"Hugo, do you want to talk to me like this for the rest of high school?"

"Heath, and I don't mind this. I guess..." he said as he glanced down at the ladder he was perched upon. "It's not so bad, once I got used to it."

"Well, I think my Mom and Dad would love to meet you. And I bet you'd love them, too."

"Oh, you can't be so sure, Leni. You can NEVER be so sure... So, anything else?"

"Hmm...oh, yeah! My sister Lori got asked to Prom!"

Heath did a double take, his eyes widening.

"Wait, your SISTER is going to Prom?!"

"Yeah! She has a boyfriend, silly!"

Heayh stared off into the sky, a look of both anger and dissapointment on his face.

"Oh, you can't be serious!"

"Keith, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing..."

"You know, Heath, I may not be the smartest, but I can tell when something is wrong."

"First off, thanks for getting the name right," he said, feebly smiling. "But second, you're kinda right."

"Of course I am! Even I know I'm not smart..."

"No, no, not that! You're smart when you want to be, Leni!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! How do you think you got this far in school? Being a junior is no small feat, you know!"

"I guess I just got lucky enough, then..."

"Well, if you say so..." he said in response.

There was an awkward silence for a minute, until Heath spoke up.

"Well, uh, I better get going now. I have to get home before my dad gets suspicious."

"Ok, then. See you later, Heath."

"Bye, Leni," he said as he began to climb down the ladder.

Before he reached the bottom, though, he heard Leni's voice again.

"Heath?"

"Yeah?!" He panted after scrambling up the ladder in under two seconds.

"I just wanted to tell you good night."

"Oh," he said with a small frown. "Ok, good night."

"And another thing."

"-sigh- Look, I've already told you, Leni, I'm not named after the toffee company."

"No, not that! I was just wondering why you were upset about Lori."

A look of panic spread over his face.

"O-Oh! Yeah, that. I don't know, I guess it's just-"

"You were mad that she's going to Prom. Why?"

"Well… that's just, uhh… you see…"

Heath shut his mouth before getting a word out. He took a deep breath, and closing his eyes, began to talk.

"Look, Leni, we've known each other since kindergarten, haven't we?"

"I think so... That was the year you got that crayon stuck in your nose, right?"

"-sigh- Yes, and don't remind me of that. I've still got Magenta colored snot... But, this past year, I've gotten to know you REALLY well. With the science project we did together, and when I spilled my lunch on you… and every other little thing... I don't know, I guess I just…"

"Just what?" She asked, leaning out the window.

"Um..." he said, before stopping and looking away.

"Why did you stop?"

"Uhh… look, Leni, the past year have been pretty damn sweet, ok? We've gotten closer than ever!"

He pulled something small out of his back pocket.

"And, uh, I have something for you here, actually…"

"What is it?"

He held a small box out, and opening it, revealed a small ring. It was encrusted with a single small diamond in the center.

"Well, I was going through my mom's old jewelry and all last week, and I found this. She said that I could keep it, so, well, here you go. Just a gift."

He took her hand into his and put the ring on her finger delicately. A perfect fit.

She stepped back to look at it in the moonlight, a mixture of shock and awe. After a minute, she spoke.

"Heath... you didn't have to do that for me."

Heaths goofy grin quickly turned upside down, and he threw his head down on the windowsill.

"Oh, I knew it was too much!" He said, starting to panic. "I should've just stuck with the Prom invi-"

He shut his mouth and quickly turned away. Too late. Leni was already looking back at him.

"What?"

"Nothing! I, uh, didn't say-"

"I heard Prom," she said, beginning to smile. She may not have been bright, but she knew social queues to a tee.

"Oh, you must've been mistaking! Prom? What is that? I've never heard of-"

"Heath, were you-"

"What? NOOOO!" He unconvincingly said. "I just was...uh, well, uh... Oh, shit. I dug myself a hole, didn't I?"

She walked back to the window.

"Is there something you want to ask me, Heath?"

He deeply sighed, then opened his eyes.

"Well, I guess you probably know now, don't you? Leni, uh, there's a dance in a few weeks, and, uh, I was just wondering if, maybe, possibly, you would maybe want to, well, GO with me? Just as friends, though! And I'm not going to force you-"

Leni stopped him before he could keep going.

"I would LOVE too!"

The smile that crossed his face was massive.

"Really?"

"Uh, yes?! That's the nicest thing I've ever been asked! And I've been asked by someone if a really cute dress fit them!"

"Uh, I don't know what that means, so I'm just gonna say thank you, Leni."

"Thanks for what?"

"Well, for saying yes! What else?"

"Uh, not throwing you off the ladder like she should have?"

"AHH!" Heath yelped as he lost his grip. He began to fall, but luckily his feet got stuck 3 rungs down.

"Who said that?!" He said as he hung upside down in terror.

"Uh, me? Leni's sister?"

He looked to his left to see a thin outline of a head in the moonlight.

"Wait, which one, though?" Leni asked, confused.

"I'll give you a hint. It starts with an L and ends with "uan."

"Lynn?"

"-sigh- no, Leni, it's Luan."

"Oh, yeah! LUAN!" Leni said, suddenly mad. "What are you doing?"

"Uh, listening to you two lovebirds talk?"

"Ok, first off, we aren't LOVEBIRDS," Heath said as he tried to pull himself up. "We're just friends!"

"Yeah, JUST FRIENDS. That's the biggest joke I've heard all month, and I'm a comedian!"

"What are you even doing UP so late? It's like 1 A.M!"

"And WHY are you listening to us?!" Leni chimed in.

"First off, if you want a private conversation, don't bother in this house. Someone is bound to hear it. And second, I was just getting a drink when I heard talking."

Leni sighed. She knew they'd been caught.

"Ok, Luan, you caught us. But we arent, like, dating or anything! We're just friends!"

"Yeah, like "friends" speak out of their houses and talk through windows to each other."

"Wait, how long were you listening to our conversation for?" Heath asked.

"Just something about Leni liking a dress someone was in. Then I heard you and I got suspicious."

"Well, Leni is right," he said, relieved that she didn't know about the Prom invite. "We're just friends."

"Oh, really? How about you text like NORMAL people?"

"Well, my phone is broke, for one, and Leni didn't know how to use the phone app."

"It's hard, OK? There's a lot of numbers!"

"Look, 'Luan,'" Heath began, finally managing to pull his body up. "We can ALL always go back to bed and forget this ever happened, can't we? I mean, you don't even know who I am!"

"Oh, I know who you are, Heath. I was at your sisters birthday party the other day."

"Really?! And I didn't see you?" He asked, his heart sinking. "Were you the clown or something?"

"As a matter of fact, I was. And Leni, you know what Mom and Dad say about boys..."

"Oh, come on, now, we don't need to bring your parents into this, do we?" Heath said desperately.

"Can it, Heath Bar," Luan snapped at him. "But anyway, have you told either of them about him?"

"Well, no. But I was planning to! Eventually..."

"You were?!" Heath asked, but shut his mouth after another death glare from Luan.

"Ok, I'm willing to be reasonable here, you two. I mean, I'm not just gonna rat you both out to my parents."

"Alright, then. Anything to make sure they don't know."

"Yeah! We don't want your parents knowing!"

"Leni, they're YOUR parents, too."

"Oh, yeah! I forgot."

"-sigh- Anyway, here's the deal. Heath, you stop coming at night to visit Leni."

"What? Why?!"

"Uh, because not only does it look suspicious, it's also really, REALLY weird."

"What? No it isn't! It's romantic!"

"Whatever, Toffee. Can I call you that? I'm gonna call you that, now."

"Look, I don't really care at this point. What's the rest of the deal, though?"

"Hmmm... when do you get a new phone?"

"Umm, in about a week, I think… Galaxy S8, newest edition! Waterproof, too!"

"Ok, I didnt ask for details. How about I teach Leni how to use the phone app? So you two can call each other?"

"Well, we could always text, too, but if it means you won't tell…"

"Alright, then. I'm going to bed. Leni, good night. Toffee, get off our property."

With that, Luan put her head back through the window and went to bed.

"Ok, why did I let her call me that? I really don't like it as much now..."

"It doesn't matter right now, Keith. I guess you have to leave now, though."

"I guess so. I'll talk to you later, OK? And next week I'll text you! how do you feel about that?"

"Yeah, I'd like that," she said, smiling.

"Alright! I better get this ladder back, now."

"Wait, what?"

"Well, let's just say that Mr. Grouse over there should lock his garage. Good night, Leni."

"Good night, Heath..."

With those words, Heath climbed down the ladder, and after carefully placing it back in the neighbors garage, began to walk home, humming an old doo wop tune to himself as he did.