Writer's Note; Thanks for the reviews shoutout to JamesSunderlandPillow should have said before but was inspired to write this by there own Lynn/Paula fic.
"You like me?" Lynn asked again unsure she'd heard Paula correctly, "like, like-like me?"
Ugh, I'm channeling my inner Leni, Lynn thought wanting to kick herself.
That was when she noticed that Paula was turning a deep shade of red, Lynn wanted to cut the tension but was sure she'd just make things worse.
"I'm sorry," Paula said apologizing, "I shouldn't have said anything, this whole plan was dumb from the start."
"Plan?" Lynn asked confused, "What plan?"
Paula had taken on the look of a linebacker with no defense surrounded by a rival offense.
Feeling her blood begin to boil she looked around suspiciously, "Is this some sort of prank? Did my sister Luan put you up to this?" Lynn asked a note of anger in her voice.
"No!", Paula said quick to defend herself, "it's not like that."
"Then explain it to me," Lynn countered looking around for hidden cameras still not convinced Luan wasn't about to jump out and yell gotcha.
The other girl sighed deeply, reminiscent of Lucy, "My plan to meet you and ask you out," Paula said fidgeting with one of her crutches.
Her suspicion fading Lynn gestured for Paula to keep going.
"I've had a crush on you for awhile but I didn't know how to get your attention," it was clear Paula couldn't be more embarrassed at this point.
"Why didn't you try talking to me," Lynn asked realizing as she said it how painful it can be talking to someone you like and immediately regret it.
"Are you kidding me?" Paula asked almost smiling, "You're Lynn Loud, your captain of every team or at least MVP."
"Who am I," Paula said with a sad laugh, "I'm just a new kid with a broken leg."
"I wanted to join the school team but this held me back," Paula explained gesturing to her leg, "Then I heard about the community league I thought I had a chance."
"Dang," Lynn said quietly, "But what if we hadn't ended up on the same team?"
Paula looked down a bit ashamed, "I may have gotten my friends to pool our babysitting money to bribe Flip into picking you."
Lynn didn't know what to say, she was used to guys hitting on her and Polly P was a notorious flirt as well but no one had ever gone to so much trouble just for her.
"I'm sorry I cost you your b, if you want to forget about this I won't bother you," Lynn could hear a twinge pain in Paula's voice, "I'll make sure the other girls let it go as well."
Watching Paula start to struggle to her feet, Lynn reached out and grabbed her arm maybe a little too hard.
The other girl flinched and for a brief moment Lynn thought she saw a flicker of fear, "Sorry," she apologized immediately loosening her grip, "I don't want to forget about you."
"You don't?" Paula asked nervously but hopeful.
"No, I don't," Lynn said smiling, "Do you want maybe go to Bob's Batting Cages and Bumper Cars next Saturday?"
"Like on a date?" Paula asked Lynn could see she was shaking a little.
"Yeah," Lynn answered trying to sound confident but also casual, "I mean you know if you want."
It was then they were interrupted by the blast of a car horn.
There was a blue SUV in the parking lot and a blonde woman was waving at them.
Paula groaned and pulled herself up onto her crutches, "Sorry that's my ride, text me about Saturday okay?"
"You know it," Lynn said waving goodbye.
It wasn't until Paula's car was pulling out of sight that the gravity of what had just happened began to weigh on Lynn.
I have a date Saturday, Lynn thought to herself, with another girl.
"What have I gotten myself into?" Lynn asked herself, suddenly unsure of what had just transpired.
It was Friday afternoon and Lynn had spent the entire week avoiding what was coming Saturday.
But now sitting alone in her Lynn was bouncing a ball off the wall finally giving into thought.
It wasn't that she was nervous about the date, not that she had been on many herself.
And it wasn't about her feelings for Paula either the opposite in fact and her lack thereof.
Lynn liked Paula just fine, even with the leg she was a great ball player, she had amazing leadership skills and she was pretty enough.
It was just that if she was being honest with herself she'd never like liked anyone.
She loved her family and her friends of course but as her friends and teammates eventually started developing crushes she just didn't.
She had learned long ago not to talk about it, she didn't want to be labeled the weird girl.
Recently when a secret love letter arrived at the house and all her siblings had claimed it must be for them her competitive spirit had kicked in and she'd invented a crush with another athlete at her school.
Oh Francisco, she thought; she'd tried going out with him to see if it jump-started something in her but found there was no change.
His whining about her lucky jockstrap, just because the incident had been caught on video and had gone viral, had been as good as any reason to break up with him.
Normally her lack of attraction didn't bother her, after seeing how it affected her siblings and teammates first hand she didn't feel like she was missing out on anything special.
Crushes, and boys, and girls for that matter just seemed to get in the way of important things like sports and her FBBLIR.
Now, however, she had stepped in it and was putting a friends feelings at risk.
As the ball thudded against the wall for the one thousandth three hundred and twenty-fifth time, not that she was keeping track, she wondered not for the first time why she had to be so impulsive.
A loud creak made her drop her ball, whirling her head around she watched as Lucy rose from her coffin.
"I predict nothing but misery for you," Lucy announced ominously, "If you don't stop tossing that infernal ball!"
"Sorry Lucy," Lynn said shrugging, "I didn't know you were in here."
Sighing Lucy said, "Somethings obviously bothering you, you should find someone to talk to about it."
"Not me obviously," Lucy added letting out another sigh, "I already have the weight of the world on my shoulders."
Making a face Lynn left Lucy to her silence but not before slamming the door.
Lucy's suggestion, however, wasn't a completely terrible idea.
Lynn had thought about approaching one of her sisters for some time, the sister she secretly admired most because they shared her fiery determination to accomplish their dreams.
Opening the door to her sisters' bedroom she found Maggie in the middle of giving Luan a neo-noir makeover.
Looking up Maggie glared at her and asked, "Don't you knock?"
Brushing off her girlfriend's comment Luan looked at Lynn expecting a reaction, "Do you goth something to ask me?"
Ignoring the pun Lynn swallowed and asked, "Yeah I was hoping you could tell me where Luna is?"
