The time of Lincoln's birthday party finally came. Everyone arrived, ranging from the Loud family members to some of Lincoln's school friends to the friends of the Loud sisters. Out in the backyard while everyone is having fun, Lincoln is sitting under the tree eating a hot dog. His best friend Clyde takes note of this and goes over to talk to him. "Hey Lincoln. How's it going?"

"Oh hey Clyde."

"Aren't you having fun?"

"Oh yeah. It's a real…...blast."

"You still thinking about earlier?"

"Yeah, I was kinda hoping I'd see something exciting, but this is just one of those things that can happen any day."

"Well, what exactly are you expecting to see? Wish granting fairies? Friendly fire breathing dragons? Talking vegetables to sing songs and tell stories?"

"Are you just referencing animated tv shows again?"

"Kinda. They're actually pretty good shows. But you get my point. Sometimes the things you see aren't exactly the things you wish to see, but it's not always a bad thing. In fact, sometimes it's even better."

"I guess."

"Look, I know you're bummed out at the moment, but you should at least try to have some fun. It's your birthday, so just relax and enjoy yourself."

"You're right Clyde. Let's go."

"That's the spirit."

All throughout the day, Clyde takes Lincoln to have a fun time, which includes eating, hanging out with his sisters and friends, and enjoying Luna and Luan's performances on stage.

Many hours pass and everybody leaves. Back in the house, Lincoln is opening his presents in the dining room until Lynn and Rita come in with the cake. As soon as they set it on the table, Lincoln blew out the candles and took a slice.

"So, bro," Luna asked. "What did you wish for?"

"Sorry," Lincoln answered. "Can't tell you."

"Come on, Lincoln," Lana begged.

"Nope! My lips are sealed."

"Lincoln, please!" Lola pleaded.

"No sir. I ain't telling you. It's bad luck. I'll gladly let it out if everyone wants to risk it."

"Come on, honey, would you just tell us?" Rita persuaded. "What harm could it do."

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you." Lincoln takes a deep breath. "I wished I could go….. to the outside world!"

"WHAT?!"

As soon as Lincoln says his wish, Lynn Jr. falls back in her chair, Lana spits out her drink which gets Lola all wet, infuriating her, while everyone else just gave him a shocked look. "Told you it was unlucky."

"The outside world?" Lynn shouts as she climbed back into her chair. "Why on earth would you ever want to do that?"

"Everyone else gets to go," Lincoln answers. "So why can't I?"

"Because those people are crazier than coconuts! Why would you want to leave Royal Woods anyway? This is your home!"

"I just wanna be able to expand my horizon. I mean, no offense but things around here have gotten….a little boring."

"Are you saying we bore you?" Lola asked furiously. "Is that it?!"

"What?! No! That's not it at all! I love hanging out with you guys! I just think things have gotten a little stale. There's barely anything for us left to do in Royal Woods anymore. I want to meet new people, go to new places, try new things."

"Little bro," Luna said. "I understand how you feel, but you wouldn't last one day in the outside world."

"I could so!"

"That is highly unlikely," Lisa claimed. "According to my calculations, you would have a slight 25.9567% chance of survival."

"Lisa's right Lincoln," Luan confirms. "The outside world can be pretty in-tents. Get it? But seriously, you'd never survive on your own."

"But what if I didn't go alone? You guys could come with me. It'll be a family bonding experience. I mean after all, I'm a part of the family, therefore I should have a say in it."

"Lincoln," His father chimes in. "Being a part of a family means being here with the family. I don't want you to make the same mistake that others have made. Those people who go out and get themselves lost and what's even more is that they end up dead."

"But we'd all be with each other. We could look out for another."

"I'm sorry son. No can do. It's just too dangerous."

"It's not fair!" Lincoln complains. "It's never about what I want to do! Everything always has to be about you guys and what you want me to do!"

"Lincoln," Lori says. "You have to understand. We're only being hard on you because we care about you. You're our only brother and if something happened to you because of us, we'd never forgive ourselves."

"Not to mention that there's a ton of strangers out there who don't know the first thing about safety or responsibilities," Rita said.

"Or fashion," Leni adds.

"Or music."

"Or humor."

"Or sports."

"Or poetry."

"Or mechanics."

"Or beauty."

"Or science."

"But guys!" Lincoln begged. "Don't you ever stop to think that there's more to life than just the things you like?" The girls paused for a minute. "Look, all I'm saying is that there's so much that this world has to offer. And I want to be able to see at least some of it."

"Sorry bro," Luna comforted. "But you have to understand. We're responsible for you. We're just looking for what's best for you, even if you don't like it."

"Oh, by the way," Lana added. "You got some frosting on your chin."

Lincoln wiped his face off with a napkin. "Thanks guys. Thanks for the party. It was a….real treat." Lincoln gets out of his chair and walks towards the stairs, dragging his feet along the way.

"Where are you going?" Lola asked.

"I'm just really tired right now. I think I'm gonna rest in my room."

"Aren't you gonna finish your cake?" Lana wonders.

"No, it's okay. You can just save it in the fridge for me. Goodnight guys." Lincoln climbed upstairs with a sad kind of look.

"Sheesh!" Lynn jr. groaned. "What's bugging him?"

"Sweetie," their mother stepped in. "I think your brother just needs some time to be with his thoughts. It's best just to leave him alone for a while and we'll have a talk with him later."

"Yeah, you're right." Lola still spots Lincoln's slice of cake. "You think he'll want to finish that?"

Lincoln approached his room and shut the door. He then opens his laptop and decided to call a certain Santiago girl on video chat. "What's up, Lame-o?"

"Hey Ronnie Anne. Listen, is it cool if I talk to you?"

"About what?"

"Oh nothing. Just something I needed to get off my chest."

"Okay I'm listening."

"Well it's just that…...do you ever get the feeling that maybe the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence?"

"Okay, when you say grass, do you mean that literally or metaphorically?"

"You know what I mean. Do you ever get that feeling?"

"Lincoln, what's this all about?"

"Okay, okay. You caught me. I've kinda had a rough birthday."

"Really? Cuz you don't look a day over eleven."

"Yeah I know."

"Hey, did you manage to get that package with the pie in it?"

"That was you?!"

"Yep! Totally worth it! Plus I made it your favorite."

"Well I gotta say. It almost feels like you're here."

"So anyway, how come your birthdays been rough? Did things not work out for you?"

"No, the party is fine. I mean I appreciate that they went out of their way to make me happy, but everything else that's been going on here is just the same old thing. I wake up, go to school, wait in numerous lines to the bathroom, break up fights between the twins, help Lucy with her poems and Lynn with her sports, become a mannequin for Leni's dresses, and we all have to fight over the television remote, and then finally I have to go to bed just so I can wake up and do it all over again the next day. I'm so tired of it! I wanted my life to be exciting, not repetitive. I just need a little change."

"Yeah I feel you. Sometimes I feel like I need a break from the chaos in my family. I just wish I could get a lock for my door."

"Same here."

"Look, Lincoln, I get it. But this is just the way things are. You can't control how the universe works. The only thing you can do is just accept the things that happen."

"Why do you have to be right this time," Lincoln muttered.

"Hey! I heard that! Look, I gotta go. It's almost time for bed. Smell you later Lame-o." Ronnie Anne hangs up.

"Goodnight Ronnie Anne," Lincoln sighed.

Meanwhile, the girls were in the hallway figuring out what to do. "Okay," Lori announced. "What are we literally going to do about Lincoln?"

"You should probably go talk to with him," Lynn suggested.

"What? Me? Why me?"

"Because you're the most mature out of all of us."

"Well if anyone should talk to him, it should be Lucy."

"I'm only good at writing down thing rather than saying them," Lucy responded. "Why can't Luna do it?"

"Hey, I already gave him a music performance," Luna answered. "How can I top that?"

"Well, why don't we all go talk with him?" Leni suggested.

"Leni," Luan answered. "Have you forgotten how nervous he gets whenever we confront him together?"

"Oh right."

"Might as well face it," Lola sighed. "We're failures as smooth talkers."

"No kidding," Lana agrees. "I mean, Lola can't control him, he shouldn't be taking advice from Lynn, and we don't always need Mom and Dad to tell us what to do!"

"And the fact that he tends to bottle up his heavy emotions," Lisa adds.

"Come on, Lori," Lynn begged. "If you won't do it for us and you won't do it for you, then do it for Lincoln. He'll break down to his knees if we all confront him. But if you talk to him alone, he might feel more comfortable. So just go over, and give him a little pep talk, and maybe he might feel better. You do this one time and that's it. You're done. You won't have to do it anymore, but right now, he could really use someone to talk to."

"Fine!" Lori finally gives in. "I'll do it."

Lincoln was about to close his laptop, but he heard a knock at his door. He then shuts his laptop immediately and opens the door and sees that Lori is in front of the doorway. "Hey little bro. Whatcha doing?"

"Oh nothing. I was just...talking with a friend."

"Who?"

"Oh nothing really you'd understand."

"Whatever. Look I came to talk to you."

"About what?"

Lori and Lincoln both take a seat on the bed. "Look, I know you're bummed out, but you can't always focus on the bad side of everything, or else you'd never be able to enjoy anything."

"Lori, look at me! My childhood is halfway over, and everyday is the same old thing!"

"Well you still have your comics."

"I already read them all, three times!"

"What about your video games?"

"They're all beat."

"You could always go to the arcade."

"Face it Lori! I've done everything remotely amusing! There's nothing new for me to do! What's the point of living life if there's no fun in it? I just want some excitement in my life."

"Lincoln, you can't always focus on what's going wrong. There's always a way to turn things around."

"I tried to wish for things to change and look where that got me!"

"Lincoln, the outside world is not what you think it is. It's actually pretty cruel. Not every place you go to is going to be all rainbows and sunshine."

"They always say the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, but they don't really mean it. How come we're not able to look beyond the fence?"

"Even if we wanted to, we'd never have the money for it. You know how things get in a family as big as ours."

"I know."

"How about you get some sleep? We'll figure out what to do tomorrow."

"Alright, I guess."

"Good. Night little bro."

"Goodnight Lori."

Lori walks out of the room and Lincoln hops into bed. Meanwhile, Lincoln's parents appear to have heard everything from downstairs. "You still thinking about Lincoln?" Rita asked her husband.

"Yep."

"Yeah, me too."

"I just wish there was something we could do for him. I mean, what if he's right? What if everything around here is boring?"

"Lynn, I'm sure Lincoln was just having a bad day. But even if we wanted to do something for him, we don't have the budget for it. Don't you remember how much it costs to raise eleven kids?"

"I know. But still."

"Look, we'll talk about this in the morning. For now, let's just go to sleep." Rita goes back to bed, but her husband lies wide awake.

"Maybe she's right. It's not like we can just send the kids on a vacation of their own at no charge." Lynn then spots a pamphlet on the nightstand and gets an idea. "Or can we?"

And there you have it. hope you enjoyed the chapter. So Long Everybody!