Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

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Chapter nine: Surprising Rivalry

Bobby Santiago was looking up into the night sky in his hometown of Royal Woods one early night as he sat, cross-legged and on the patio in his family's backyard; the stars had just started coming out, the air was cool…just inhaling through his nose gave the Santiago teen a sense that he was alive. Bobby opened his eyes after inhaling and exhaling, and as he looked up into the starry night sky once again, he had to wonder…would he have been able to enjoy nights such as this if he, his mother and his little sister Ronnie Anne did move in with their relatives in the next state over?

Don't get Bobby wrong; he loves his family dearly. In fact, his questioning about the possible move had nothing to do with his family; the city in which the Casagrandes lived was far noisier than Royal Woods, which meant that Bobby wouldn't have been able to enjoy the quiet that came with such a beautiful night. Also, the home city of the Casagrandes was rather dangerous, what with the local violent youth gang and that Broken Mirror person who has been going around, killing any and all members of that gang that he could find.

Granted, neither the gang or Broken Mirror have done anything in a while, so a relative peace had settled in the city. But that doesn't change the fact that a violent and lethal vigilante is still technically operating in that city. Furthermore, Bobby overheard his mother talk to her brother (Bobby's uncle) on the phone yesterday about some rather troubling developments in the city as of late; the city's citizens of Hispanic heritage are on the receiving end of some less-than-stellar treatment from other racial groups, mostly just African Americans and Caucasians using race as an excuse to vent their frustrations with how the city's being run.

Although the bulk of the city's danger seems to have faded, there is still that underlying hint of danger to address. And now there's racial tension? Gently shaking his head, Bobby looked up into the sky once again let out a sigh. Given what was currently going on in the city where the Casagrandes lived, what with violent youth gangs running amok, dangerous vigilantes who took things to their logical extreme, and now racial tension, the Hispanic teen was glad that his adorable little sister (Ronnie Anne is adorable no matter how many times she tries to deny it) was not growing up in such a hostile environment. Bobby feared that, with the environment being such a toxic influence in that city, that Ronnie Anne might develop something of a mean streak or, worse yet, become a bully.

Yes, Bobby decided with a gentle nod in the affirmative to himself, the choice to stay in Royal Woods was a good one, as it was a far less toxic place. …But it still had its troubles, Bobby realized. With a regretful sigh, Bobby reflected upon what happened with the Louds, the family that Bobby's beloved girlfriend Lori belongs to.

Roughly two months or so prior to Bobby's family deciding not to move after all, Lori's younger slash only brother, Lincoln, ran away from home due to being mistreated by four of his sisters. It was to Bobby's great relief that Lori was not one of those four. However, Lori and the rest of the family were duped by the four sisters who Lincoln had named at Bobby's request into thinking that their mistreating of Lincoln was merely some sort of game. As such, the family members that were duped still feel guilty for what had happened.

From what Lori had told Bobby, her family is in the process of trying to earn Lincoln's forgiveness, in the hopes that they could all be a family again. The last time that Bobby heard about any of that, Lincoln had so far forgiven three of his sisters. Bobby hoped for the Louds' sake that they will all make up for what they had done to Lincoln, and that the bro would be able to let go of what had happened and be at peace with himself. It's going to be a slow and steady process for the Louds, but with three sisters forgiven so far, the Hispanic teen is liking the odds.

And one of the three sisters that's been forgiven is one of the four who was directly responsible for driving Lincoln to running away in the first place; that has got to be a good sign.

"Are you okay, Bobby?" a young female voice said from behind Bobby, making him turn and see his little sister Ronnie Anne standing there, her form standing out against the open sliding glass door that led into the Santiago house's kitchen.

"It's nothing, Nie-Nie," Bobby replied. Turning back around, Bobby looked up into the starry night sky once again. "It's just…" Bobby went on, "…It's just that it sucks how much of a raw deal the bro got, what with him running away and why."

"Yeah, I still wanna give each of Lincoln's responsible sisters a bloody nose," Ronnie Anne remarked in a mildly huffy tone as she sat down on the patio next to her older brother. With a chuckle, the Hispanic girl added, "While we're on the subject, I heard that Lincoln's older sister who is into fashion gave Lynn a black eye."

"Oh, I think the sister who likes fashion is Leni," Bobby remarked, "I'm not entirely sure myself, though. I'll ask Lori later if I remember." After that, the two Santiago siblings, older brother and younger sister, looked up into Royal Wood's beautiful starry night sky for a few moments before any of them said anything else.

"…Is he going to be okay, Bobby?" Ronnie Anne asked, more than a hint of concern in her tone, "You know, Lincoln."

"Can't say for certain right now, Nie-Nie," Bobby replied in a gentle, understanding tone, "But if what Lori's been telling me is correct, and I've never had any reason to doubt her, then the bro is on the right track to recovering."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Ronnie Anne said with an annoyed look on her face, "I still can't believe that Lame-o let that bratty little princess off the hook."

With an understanding sigh, Bobby said, "Sis, this is Lincoln's deal that he has to work with. If he feels that one of his family members who wronged him has done enough to make up for their part in what happened, then that's his decision."

"…" Ronnie Anne looked to the ground on her left, contemplating what her older brother had just said. Looking up from the ground and over to where Bobby sat, Ronnie Anne said, "…I still don't like what happened to Lincoln, though."

"Heh," Bobby chuckled in a mildly amused tone, "You really do like the bro, don't you?" As Ronnie Anne's face started to redden a bit out of embarrassment, Bobby went on in the same amused tone, "You know, Nie-Nie, there's this thing known as double in-laws, which essentially says that even if Lori and I tie the knot, you and Lincoln can still-"

"BOBBY!" Ronnie Anne exclaimed, both her face and her tone clearly conveying that she was very much embarrassed. Turning around to see the look on his little sister's face, Bobby could not help but let out a laugh, which made Ronnie Anne blush with embarrassment even more than she already was.


The following day, Lincoln was at the local park, sitting on one of the benches and trying to relax. Lincoln's little sisters Lucy, Lola and Lana went with their white-haired older brother to the park, the twins so they could play and Lucy because she wanted to sit under the shade of a tree and work on her poetry. Seeing his little sisters having fun, each in their own way, made Lincoln feel at peace. He let out a sigh; it was not content or resigned, but rather somewhere in between those two feelings.

As Lincoln relaxed, he heard some kids from over a way talking. Taking a look, Lincoln saw that it was two kids approximately his age; one was an African American girl, and the other was a Hispanic boy. The first words Lincoln was able to hear from that conversation was when the girl said, "…He leave Astrid alone already? I'm pretty sure that she made it clear that she doesn't like him."

"It takes forever for things to get through the thick skulls of jerks like Chandler," the boy replied to his friend, his tone showing that he was agreeing with the African American girl.

Leaning back a bit more in his seat on the bench, Lincoln turned his head to face the direction his younger sisters were in more directly. "Oh," Lincoln thought to himself, "They're talking about Chandler and how he gives Astrid the creeps." News like that was nothing new to the white-haired boy, so he was going to get back to relaxing. However, something he heard the African American girl say caught his attention.

"Since we're on the subject of that creep Chandler," the girl said to her friend, "Did you know that Chandler's dad and Francisco's dad are competing with each other for that head supervisor spot at the local sewage treatment plant where my mom works?"

With a confused look on his face, the boy said, "Remind me again who Francisco is?"

"He belongs to that baseball team that was discovered to have committed multiple instances of cheating a short while ago," the girl explained, "From what I heard, Francisco himself didn't take part in any of the cheating." With a nod, the girl added, "I was at that game myself, since my older brother belonged to the team that opposed Francisco's team in that game. My brother was mildly annoyed that his team won because his team was given the win due to the cheating of Francisco's team."

"Oh!" the boy said in a tone of realization, "Now I know who you're talking about! Yeah, I'm not so sure if Francisco was telling the truth, to be honest." With a gentle shake of his head, the boy continued, "So I'm guessing that things are going to develop into a Francisco vs. Chandler kind-of deal?"

With a nod in the affirmative, the girl said, "From what I'm hearing about it, Chandler and Francisco are already at it, trying to one-up each other." With a gentle shake of her head, the girl said, "If either of them do something good or bad, it will reflect on their family. Their respective dads, to be particular."

"Yeah, I'm going to stay clear away from that messy business, thank you very much," the boy remarked, "If the two of them end up ruining each other, I want no part of it." The girl nodded in agreement as she and her friend walked off to somewhere else. When the two kids were gone, Lincoln let out a sigh that clearly sounded like he was pondering what was going on.

Chandler's dad and Francisco's dad were competing with each other at work to get a new position, and that competition was trickling down to their sons? If this meant that Chandler would leave him alone, then Lincoln welcomed it. The only concerns on the matter that the white-haired boy had was how this might affect Lynn; granted, Lincoln was still upset with his athletic ex-sister, but this deal with Chandler was going to involve Lynn's ex-crush. How will Lynn react when she hears that her ex-crush is going to have something of a rivalry with the one boy at Lincoln's school who routinely made life for him a living hell?

Knowing Lynn, she'd probably offer to pummel Chandler for Lincoln, and all he had to do was ask. She might even throw pummeling Francisco in pro bono.

Shaking his head gently to rid his mind of that thought, Lincoln took his phone out to check the time. Seeing the time, Lincoln got up off of the bench. "Hey Lucy! Lola! Lana!" Lincoln called out, "It's getting a bit late! We ought to be heading back!"


That evening at the Loud family residence, Lincoln was sitting in Lori and Leni's room, as Lori had assembled all of the Loud kids for a meeting. "Okay everyone, this is literally the deal that we're working with right now," Lori said as she began the meeting, "My friends on the varsity golf team and I are still trying to convince Allison to join our team. Although only Leni, Luna and I go to Royal Woods High, thus putting us in the same school as Allison, if any of you have any ideas that can help, that would literally be awesome."

"Why exactly do you want Allison to join the varsity golf team again?" Luan asked, a mildly confused look on her face as she raised a hand.

"Whenever the girls on the team and I can convince Allison to play a round with us, Allison literally scores nothing but holes in one," Lori explained, "I'm not sure if that's just skill or an obscene amount of luck, but if the team had a player like Allison, then there's literally no way that we'd ever lose to another school's team."

"…Isn't Allison the girl you borrowed a specific golf club from a short while ago?" Lincoln asked, a curious look with a mild hint of suspicion on his face.

"Yes, that's her alright," Lori replied with a nod in the affirmative.

"And isn't she also the older sister of me and Ronnie Anne's friend Astrid?" Lincoln continued.

"That's correct," Lori replied.

"…Maybe if Allison sees some of us getting along with her siblings," Lincoln began to explain, "Then she may be less opposed to joining the team. I mean, I'm friends with Astrid, Lucy is friends with Argent thanks to Rocky, and I think that Lola and Lana are friends with Anna."

"Hmm," Lori began as she considered what Lincoln said, "That's literally not a bad idea at all, Lincoln. Thanks."

"And while we're on the subject of Allison and her siblings," Lincoln said, "I think that we might have to inform Allison about how this one boy at my school keeps flirting with Astrid, and that the flirting gives Astrid the creeps, and that regardless of what she tries, Astrid can't get the boy to leave her alone."

"Wait, I thought you said that Astrid has a crush on either Clyde or Zach," Luan remarked in a mildly confused tone.

"I'm not talking about either Clyde or Zach," Lincoln explained, "The boy that I'm talking about is that jerk Chandler."

After making an annoyed sounding grunt, Lori said, "You mean that annoying little twerp with the reddish-brown hair?" Lincoln nodded in the affirmative to Lori's question. "Hmm," Lori continued, "I'm pretty sure that Allison would have said something about some boy bothering one of her little sisters if she knew that it was happening." Pulling out her smartphone, Lori said, "I need you all to literally give me a minute. I'm going to call Allison."

Everyone watch as Lori dialed up a number, then as the call tried to go through, Lori held the phone to the right side of her head. "…Allison?" Lori said into her phone, "Yeah, it's me, Lori. …No, I'm not calling you in an attempt to get you to join the varsity golf team. The reason that I'm calling you is that I've just been informed by one of my siblings that a boy at Royal Woods Elementary School by the name of Chandler is bothering your younger sister Astrid with flirting that she isn't comfortable with. Are you aware of this, yes or-"

Lori was cut off, and she had to hold her phone as far away as possible, as angry shouting erupted from the phone. The shouting clearly sounded female, and from a person roughly the same age as Lori. It also sounded like it came from a mighty and powerful warrior woman with very strong Viking-like undertones to it. When the shouting died down, Lori held the phone back to the right side of her head. "…We can tackle this tomorrow, Allison," Lori remarked, "It's a bit late in the evening to do anything about it. …Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

After Lori ended the call, she slipped the phone back into her pocket then turned to face Lincoln. "…I'm guessing that Allison didn't know," Lori remarked.

"Well Astrid did tell me that she was having trouble getting the point across to someone who can help her," Lincoln said, "Although I think she said that she hadn't told her older siblings yet."

"Well then," Lori remarked to the Loud kids as a whole, "Now that we got that part out of the way, I believe that we need to go onto the next topic of this meeting…"


After the sibling meeting was ended, everyone filed out of the room aside from Lori and Leni, because the meeting took place in their room. As everyone left, Lincoln was met up by Lucy and the twins. "I think I remember hearing Argent say something about a boy in your grade bothering his older sister Astrid," Lucy said to her older brother, "I'm guessing that what he was saying is true, then."

"Yeah," Lincoln remarked with a nod in the affirmative.

"If a boy was bothering any of us the way that one boy is bothering Anna's older sister," Lana began, "Would you do anything about it?"

"Provided that I knew that it was going on, yes," Lincoln replied, then to Lucy and the twins as a whole added, "What Chandler is doing is not something that I'd ever wish on any of you. Or any of your sisters, for that matter. However, I have to know that it's happening, so if something like that pops up, let me know right away, alright?"

"Of course, Lincoln," Lola said, "This Chandler jerk you're talking about sounds like a total creep. Unlike Winston, of course, because he's a perfect gentleman."

"Didn't you say something about Winston's older sister Samantha using his shampoo and conditioner without his permission?" Lana asked.

"Yeah, and I understand how he feels," Lola remarked, "I mean, Luna pulls the same stunt on me all the time." Giving her hair a gentle bounce with her right hand, Lola added, "I've got to keep my hair in top pageant condition, after all, and Luna using my shampoo and conditioner without me knowing about it makes keeping up my hair's condition a bit difficult."

As Lincoln, Lucy and the twins made their way down the hallway, they bumped into Lynn, who had just come out of the bathroom. Upon seeing Lynn, Lincoln remembered another part of what he had heard at the park earlier that day. A part that he was not quite sure how Lynn would react upon hearing. Well, there was only one way to check to see how his athletic ex-sister would react to the news.

"Hey, Lynn," Lincoln said, getting Lynn's attention.

"What's up, Lincoln?" Lynn asked, sounding a bit surprised that Lincoln was willingly talking to her, seemingly out of the blue.

"You remember what I brought up during the sibling meeting a few minutes ago?" Lincoln began, "You know, about that Chandler guy at my school."

"You want me to pummel him for you?" Lynn asked.

"No, no," Lincoln replied, "That's not it." With a bit of a resigned sigh, Lincoln said, "When I was at the park earlier, I overheard two kids saying that Chandler is going to be getting into something of a rivalry with, well…him."

Gasping in a shocked tone that carried a hint of worry, Lynn said, "That little snot is going to try to mess with Ulfric?"

"No, no, not Ulfric," Lincoln replied with a gentle shake of his head, "I mean the guy before Ulfric."

Lynn's expression turned from one of worry to one of indifference. "…Oh," the sporty Loud girl said in a neutral tone, "You mean Francisco." With a gentle shake of her head, Lynn asked, "Well why didn't you just say so, Lincoln?"

"Given the last time Lori said his name out loud…" Lincoln remarked in a knowing tone.

"Oh, that," Lynn replied, "Well…I was in a really bad mood that day because of what had happened. I'm over what that cheating enabler did, as well as the jerk himself. Besides, I've got someone else to focus on now." Giving Lincoln a curious look, Lynn asked, "Why would you worry so much about me when it comes to this bit of news, Lincoln?"

"Since this involves your previous crush, I'm worried that it might have had some sort of an impact on you," Lincoln replied, "I don't want to see you suffer again like you did the day you came back from that one game where you played against his team."

Lincoln's words made Lynn feel a bit guilty, given that Lincoln still hasn't forgiven her yet for her part in driving him away. Even so, they also touched Lynn's heart, while also giving her just a bit of confidence that Lincoln will one day acknowledge her as his sister again. With a small but appreciative smile, Lynn said, "Thanks, Lincoln."

The white-haired boy didn't say anything, but he did nod in acknowledgement of Lynn's response. After that, Lynn and Lucy went off to their bedroom to go to bed. Wen they were gone, Lincoln turned to the twins. "We ought to get to bed as well," Lincoln said to the twins, "Come on. I'll walk you both to your room."

Lola and Lana both nodded in the affirmative, happy that their older brother was looking out for them. With his little sisters following him, Lincoln made his way to the other end of the hall, and once he got Lola and Lana to their room, Lincoln went into his own room, were he got dressed in a sleep outfit, crawled into bed, then went to sleep.

END, RESTORED IMAGE CHAPTER NINE

Author's Notes:

I was considering trying to fit in Lincoln forgiving another sibling in this chapter, but I decided against the idea for two reasons. One, having siblings being forgiven multiple chapters in a row might make things a bit rushed, and two, I couldn't think of enough of a plot for such a chapter. Besides, I think that a breather chapter such as this might be called for, especially since I was able to throw in the part about Chandler squaring off against Francisco, or at least he is preparing to do so. That was something that I've been wanting to do for the world-building of this story's setting.