Introduction: Okay, this is my first ever Loud House fic. I can't begin to explain how much joy reading fics from some of the great writers of the Loud House ff community have given me. Consider this my first tiny down payment on giving something back to the fandom. Reviews are appreciated as I value feedback. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1
When you wear a sleep mask returning from dreamland is not a sudden process. The light from the dawn does not aggressively pierce your eyes, like an over enthusiastic chief on a deadline stabbing into an onion with a knife. Instead images in your mind take shape, pulling from your memories, in response to the sounds around you.
There is the alarm of course, welcoming you home as a lighthouse guides a ship to harbor. The light sound of traffic perhaps depending on your location and happy and not so happy bachelors aside, the noise from other members of the household.
At seven years old, the daily shenanigans of her noisy siblings during the day was no longer a problem for Lola. She's not taken a nap since she was five and while, as was to be expected, her bedtime was earlier than her older siblings, she was more or less on a nighttime sleeping pattern.
As Lola stirred moments from a half remembered dream slipped from her mind like sand through her fingers. She was left with only a vague impression of a voice yelling at her to wait and a strange feeling that she had forgotten something important.
Lola felt refreshed, energized even. The sensation was strange, out of place, it did not belong. For as long as she could remember Lola had never gotten as full and deep a sleep as she wanted. She knew the reason why, her twin sister, Lana.
Lana's snores were a cross between the sound of a chainsaw and the bass air vibrations from one of Luna's over sized speakers. While that would be enough on it's own to guarantee that until she got her own room she was doomed to endure partial and broken sleep, this was compounded by Lana's personal reptile house of pets. The snakes would hiss, Hops her frog would croak, the lizards would scratch in the sand, was it really any wonder she woke up nearly every morning in a foul mood?
This morning was different though, while the noise of her siblings in their rooms and the hallway drifted faintly to her ears though the walls, her and Lana's room was silent.
Sure, it's not like Lana had never woken up before her and it was even conceivable that she, for some reason, took all her pets with her. Yet, to feel as rested as she did, as though she had slept deeply though the whole night was nagging at her, something felt off.
Sitting up in bed, Lola pulled her sleeping mask off and took in the sight of her and Lana's bedroom. Huh? She thought, blinking a couple of times on instinct to see if it fixed the image like playing around with the focus on a camera.
It was not simply the absence of Lana or her pets, this she had expected, but everything of Lana's was gone. Her bed, gone, the various tanks she kept her animal friends in, gone, her various toys she would leave scattered around the floor, much to Lola's annoyance, again gone. Even Lana's posters were missing, replaced with others she did not recognize but could tell were to her taste.
For a moment the blond girl just sat there, confused. She remembered saying goodnight to Lana when they went to bed, they even had plans this morning to go to the park, it being a Saturday. The idea that all Lana's stuff could have been removed during the night, especially the bed, just made no sense to her, she would have woken up, surly?
Lola was about to start panicking, a cold sweat starting to form on the surface of her skin, when it hit her, Luan.
Of course! She sighed in relief, this was some elaborate prank from her wanna be comedian sister. Her other sisters that shared a room probably had the same thing happen to them, she reasoned. Maybe Lana was going to wake up in the basement or the back yard. She'd like that, Lola thought, being closer to nature.
Sure nature could be pretty, Lola mused as she got out of bed, there were flowers, sunny beaches, rainbows, seriously who doesn't love a rainbow? But nature could also be really gross. Mud, yuck, bugs, double yuck and all the poop! So...much...poop! There was Cliff and Charles poop in the backyard, bird poop on Vanzilla oh and don't even get her started on when they went out to the countryside. There were entire fields covered in poop and you could smell it from miles away!
Heading out the bedroom door Lola realized she must have slept in pretty late. The dreaded line for the bathroom was gone and she was instead greeted with the typical mayhem that was part of her everyday life.
Lynn had her brother in some kind of headlock on the floor. He was begging for mercy as she laughed maniacally, slowly pushing a pair of her disgusting sweaty socks into his face. Lola pulled a face of disgust, her nose turning up. Even from a few feet away she could tell the rancid things smelled worse than Lynn's farts and that was an incredible achievement. Hard pass, she thought and hurried past them.
Lisa was observing the two with stoic contemplation. While keeping her distance of course. In her hand was some kind of scanner that looked straight out of Star Trek. "Lynn!" Lisa cried out in alarm after consulting some reading on the device. Lola was glad Lisa had finally dropped the whole parental unit and sibling unit crap. At two it has been cute, at three it had become annoying while at four it was downright insufferable. "According to my bio-molecular scanner, your socks violate sixteen United Nations resolutions condemning the manufacturer, storage and use of chemical weapons! Please let me sanitize the offending garment, least our family be branded as a terrorist cell!"
Lola smirked and continued on her way, her destination, Lori and Leni's room. It took the family by surprise when, in contrast to her plans, Lori announced she was going to take a year out before moving onto University. She'd said something about her family needing her for a bit longer. Lola thought she was being overly dramatic, she was sure they'd have got on just fine without Lori bossing them around for another year.
Seeing the door was left wide open she didn't need to knock, not that she ever did, she was Lola Loud, self appointed Princess of Royal Woods, and one of her siblings should be honored she chose to grace them with her presence.
Looking through the doorway Lola was greeted with the most expected thing in the Loud house, Lori texting on her bed. An image flashed in her mind of Lisa finally going too far and really blowing up the house. As the smoke cleared, there would be Lori, her face black and her hair singed like a character from an old Looney Tunes cartoon while she continued to text away, utterly oblivious.
Lola saw that the furniture of both sisters was accounted for. Strange, she thought, she could not think of a reason why Luan would single her and Lana out, maybe it was just she didn't want to risk Lori's wrath? Lola did not consider herself a push over by any means but everyone was a little scared of Lori when she went into berserk mode.
Continuing down the hallway Lola reached Lynn and Lucy's room. The door was ever so slightly ajar and Lola peeked through the gap.
Lucy was present, sitting on her bed reading a book. "Oh Star Dimples," Lucy sighed, "How can you frolic with such carefree innocence in the face of the meaningless toil of social conformity we call life?"
"Star Dimples?" Lola quizzed, stepping into the room, cursing an embarrassed flush to appear on her sister's cheeks as her face snapped up to look at her.
"Um...they're a vampire...called Star Dimples," Lucy mumbled. "See, vampire book," she added, holding up the book in her hands. The black cover did indeed show a pair of teen looking vampires embracing one another although Lola did notice a thin line of bright pastel colours poking out the bottom, as though there was another cover hidden behind it.
"Whatever," Lola huffed, seeing that Lynn and Lucy's stuff was also untouched and headed back into the hallway, she did not have time for this.
Approaching the door to Luna and Luan's room a slight frown crossed Lola's face. This was not the typical look of fairly irritation and barley suppressed rage she wore when things didn't go exactly her way. That feeling of concern she'd felt in her bedroom was starting to creep back.
Hearing Luna's ear bleeding death metal coming from inside, Lola threw the door open and just like the previous two rooms, both her sister's beds and various personal items were all there. In the middle of the room Luna was headbanging so hard it looked like her neck was about to snap off.
Pushing her ever increasing discomfort to the back of her mind, Lola ground her teeth together and stormed off towards the stairs, walking with purpose.
As the young pageant girl turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs she spotted her prey in the kitchen. "Luan," she hissed and marched towards her with murderous intent past her parents who were sitting on the couch watching TV.
In the kitchen Luan was blissfully unaware of the approaching storm that was Lola Loud as she leaned causally against the counter with a mug of hot chocolate in her hand that contained an obsene amount of marshmallows.
The jokester of the family was chatting away to Leni about adapting her more traditional clown look to relate better to a modern audience. While in Luan's mind a big red rubber nose and giant shoes would always have a place, as Bob Dylan once said, "The times they are a changin."
Luan had noticed that among the late pre-tween children she entertained her classic clown get up created an unnecessary barrier to some of them. Oh they were happy and eager to laugh at her jokes and various prop comedy antics once she got going, but early on some of the children were resistant, seeing clowns as too babyish. Leni's knowledge of fashion was just the feedback she needed if she was going to get this new look right.
"LUAN!" Lola screamed at her sister on entering the kitchen, cutting into her and Leni's conversation. "You think you're so FUNNY don't you? Well I'm not laughing, what you did was just creepy!"
"What are you talking about?" Luan said, utterly startled by Lola's outburst.
"Save it sister, I'm not going along with your dumb prank, just tell me, WHERE'S LANA!?"
Time stood still, Luan's eyes widened as shock overwhelmed her. The mug of hot chocolate fell from her hand, shattering on the floor. Leni meanwhile gasped, covering her mouth. Lola was taken back, her rage defused like letting the air out of a balloon and she looked back and forth between her two sisters.
Luan's breathing was ragged but she took a deep breath and centered herself. She knelt down to Lola's eye level, the dropped hot chocolate absent for her mind, placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke to her sister slowly. "Lola, did you ask me where Lana is?"
"Y-Yes," Lola stuttered, this was not the reaction Luan should be giving her to being called out, where was her terrible pun followed by her irritating laugh?
"And you're sure she's not with you...right now?" Luan asked, her voice eerily calm.
Lola spun around hoping that Lana was standing there, that this was just some elaborate set up Luan and Lana had planned out together. There was no one there, she turned back to Luan, fear in her eyes. "What's going on? Where's Lana?" Lola asked again and she noticed Luan wince.
"I'm gonna get Mum and Dad," Leni said, sounding just as scared as Lola felt as she left the kitchen.
"Lola" Luan said again, "Tell me what happened."
"I woke up," Lola started, feeling the intensity of her sister's eyes on her. "And Lana was gone, along with her pets, her toys, even her bed, you moved it all didn't you? This is one of your pranks right?"
"So your saying you don't see Lana's things anymore?" Luan asked, her eyes scanning Lola's face for a reaction.
The young girl was confused, "What do you mean, I don't see them anymore? I didn't see them because they weren't there!" Lola was raising her voice again as tears started to well up in her eyes, she didn't like this at all.
"Lola honey!" Rita exclaimed as she ran into the kitchen with Lynn Sr close behind, bending down and scoping her daughter into a hug.
"Mum, Dad what's going on?" Lola wailed as her mother held her, tears pouring down her cheeks. "Luan and Leni are acting weird and where's Lana? Why won't anyone tell me where Lana is?!"
Lola felt her mother stiffen while Lynn Sr exclaimed, "My God, it's finally happened."
"She told me she doesn't see Lana's stuff in her room either," Luan interjected.
"It's okay Lola," Rita cooed affectionately as she rubbed Lola's back while she continued to cry. Picking Lola up Rita addressed Luan and Leni who had been hanging back in the doorway. "I'll take it from here girls. You know we all talked about this and what to do. Let the rest of the family know it's happened. Me and your father are going to talk to her, explain what's happening."
"Should I go get Lincoln?" Luan asked.
Lynn Sr and Rita exchanged a look between each other and nodded in confirmation. "Yes Luan," Lynn Sr replied, "I think that's a good idea. Tell him to come to our bedroom right away."
"On it," Luan said briskly and dashed past Leni and up the stairs to fetch her brother.
In her parents bedroom Rita sat Lola down on the bed and took a seat next to her while Lynn Sr fetched some tissues from the night stand. As an overly sentinel man Lynn Sr would often bawl his eyes out when him and Rita watched sappy movies on their old second hand laptop in bed so he always made sure to have them on hand.
Handing the tissues to Rita, she dabbed her daughters eyes who had already started to calm down, although still very confused.
"Mum, what's-" Lola started but Rita cut her off with a gentle shush and stroked her head.
"Just wait a minute for Lincoln to get here and I province I'll tell you what this is all about. Is that okay?" Lola nodded and Rita kissed her forehead while Lynn Sr sat down on her other side taking her hand.
Feelings of anxiety bubbled beneath the surface of Lola's mind like a witch's cauldron. With her parents comforting her though, she had something to hold on to, she felt safe and loved.
Presently the door to the bedroom opened and Lincoln stepped though, anguish written all over his face. No words were spoken, none were needed, her brother simply walked up to her, fell to his knees and embraced her in a tight hug.
Basking in the moment Lola closed her eyes and finally began to relax under the blanket of love she was enveloped in. Her thought process began to return as various theories came fourth. She tried to settle on the idea that something had happened to Lana during the night, her family had rushed her to hospital. It explained a lot but didn't quite add up, if that were true why take Lana's pets, bed and all her stuff and why was everyone acting like normal rather than at the hospital? It just didn't make any sense.
Eventually Lincoln pulled back and as Lola opened her eyes she saw Lincoln was struggling to smile, trying to hold himself together, for her sake. She reached towards him with her free hand and Lincoln took it in his.
"Lola, sweetie" Rita began, "I know you're very confused right now and you want to know where Lana is." Reaching behind Lola's back Rita took Lynn's Sr's free hand in her's. "What we're about to tell you is going to sound very strange and I know you might not believe us."
"But that's okay," Lynn Sr continued. "None of us are going to be mad or upset if you don't believe us right away and we won't try and force you to either. You can take all the time you need and know we all love you."
"You see Lola, Lana's not," Rita broke off, tears were forming in her own eyes now and her gaze fell on the white haired boy in front of her. "Lincoln," Rita said, her eyes communicating to him her request.
She was conflicted, as a mother she didn't want to place such a burden on her 11-year old son, but she also knew that hearing this from Lincoln would be better. Luan had been right to suggest fetching him, Rita reasoned to herself. Lincoln shared a special bond with his younger sisters, so eager to be the best big brother he could to them as he struggled to define himself as the young man he was on his way to becoming.
Lola fixed her attention on Lincoln, her breath hitching in her throat as she waited for him to tell her.
"Lola," Lincoln began, squeezing her hand tighter, his eyes never leaving her's. "Lana, she's not real."
"What?" Lola uttered blankly, too stunned for any emotion to come though.
"She never existed Lola, except in your head. You never had a twin Lola, you've been sick. Seeing things that aren't there, Lana and her stuff in your room. You'd put on a voice, when you talked to us, thinking it was Lana talking."
"No, no, no, no, no," Lola said, snatching her hands from her brother and father and clutching her head. "Lana is real, she's my twin!" Lola shouted desperately, the room was spinning and she felt like she was going to throw up.
"It's okay Lola," Rita said, moving to hug her daughter.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Lola screamed, tearing herself off the bed from her parents and Lincoln and backing away towards the door. "YOUR CRAZY!" Lola shouted hysterically. "LANA IS REAL!"
Pulling the door open Lola and ignoring the pleas from her family she ran into the living room and was greeted with seven pairs of eyes from the rest of her sisters, minis Lily, looking at her with concern and worry. "Not you too?" She said in desperation, clutching her head again. Her thoughts became muddled as the reality of her whole family believing something that she knew with every fiber of her being to be wrong overwhelmed her.
Some of her sisters were approaching her, holding out their arms, saying her name. In her paranoia she thought they were coming to hurt her and in a way they were. They were trying to take Lana away from her, convince her that she's not real, make her believe a lie. At the back of her mind her fathers words came back to her, 'None of us are going to be mad or upset if you don't believe us right away and we won't try and force you to either. You can take all the time you need and know we all love you.'
"Please, just stay back," Lola sobbed and to her relief her sisters did just that, even if Leni had to be grabbed by Lori who was struggling to understand why they could not just go and comfort her.
Lola looked around the room, her family's faces were awash with worry but also a loving tenderness, her parents and Lincoln having come out the bedroom by now. She did not know what to do and then she saw it out of the corner of her eye, the enlarged family photo Lincoln had taken of them all last year and their mother had decided to hang on the wall.
Lana was not in the photo.
Black terror assaulted Lola's psyche as her whole body began to shake uncontrollably. Remembering the single family member photo portraits of her and her siblings that lined the staircase, Lola turned to them and Lana was absent from those as well.
Her heart was pounding so hard it hurt and her chest tightened. "Lana...no," Lola uttered while clawing at her chest over her heart before her mind finally gave out and she fainted.