Ok, so I know the timing here on this chapter is a bit off, but hey! We only have to wait about another 6 months for this to be relevant. Whoopee!

And BTW, happy 4th of July to all my fellow American readers! I know our country may not be as good as we want it, but… we're not doing all that bad now, are we? We're still the greatest country on earth! The last stand of freedom! So I suggest that we all put politics aside here, crack open some cold ones today, and celebrate the greatest damn country in the world! MERICA!

Enjoy!

Snow fell on Royal Woods, Michigan, as the Loud family prepared their house for Christmas. Tinsel was hung, Mistletoe placed beneath the doorway, and the stockings were put up on the fireplace. It seemed that the Louds were all in that holiday spirit.

The only thing missing, in fact, was the tree. And that was the one thing that Mr and Mrs Loud went to go get.

"Now, we'll only be gone for a couple of hours. We'll be back in time to set up the tree and decorate it, so until then, just chill I out here."

"Well, I think I'd better go with you guys," Lori said from behind the group of kids. "I mean, like, what of you pick the wrong tree?"

Soon, the entire family was saying that they wanted to tag along, too. Pretty soon, the only ones left were Lincoln and Colin Gomez, who was still sleeping in his room, the basement.

"Ok Lincoln, if you don't want to come, make sure to go wake Colin up. I don't want him sleeping the whole day. And whatever you do, dont trash the house! Please!"

"Don't worry, mom! I'm make sure everything is the way it was when you get home, believe me!"

As soon as his parents and sisters left, Lincoln went inside, towards the basement steps.

"COLIN! WAKE UP!" he yelled down the stairs, waking Colin up with a start.

"Ugh...what time is it?" he asked himself before rolling over and looking at his alarm clock.

"1:00?! Holy crap, I slept through a lot of the day!" He said as he quickly got dressed and ran upstairs.

"Woah..." he said as he looked around the now Christmas-fied living room.

"Well, what do you think? Did we decorate ok?"

"Dude...it looks like someone puked lights and tinsel over the house."

"Well, that's what you do during Christmas, right? I mean, you DID celebrate Christmas in your old world, didn't you, Colin?"

"Well, yeah...but not like THIS," he said as he went over to the sit on the couch. "We didn't have a lot of money to spend, you know. It's usually a small tree in the corner, chocolate chip cookies, and clothes under the tree. But no tinsel, or stockings, or whatever THIS is," he said as he flicked the mistletoe.

"Well, that's mistletoe. When someone stands under it, they kiss. But that's not important! Right now, we need to enjoy the alone time we have. And I know JUST who needs to help us do it!"

He rushed upstairs to get his walkie talkie. Finally getting it, he spoke to a familiar friend.

"This is Cadet Lincoln to Cadet Clyde, do you read me?"

"I read you loud and clear, Linc. What do you need?"

"Clyde, my mom and dad took my sisters out to get the Christmas tree, and she left me and Colin here alone. Want to come over and hang out?"

"Gee, I wish I could, Lincoln, but my dads and I are going Christmas caroling with Dr Lopez and her family tonight. We leave in an hour."

"Oh, well, that's too bad. Now what am I supposed to do?"

"Hmmm... I got it! Why don't you invite Ronnie-"

"SHHHHHHHH!" Lincoln shushed Clyde as he glared at Colin. In a low whisper, he began to lecture his best friend.

"Clyde, I thought we agreed to NOT talk about you-know-what in front of you-know-who!"

"Oh, Colins in there? Hi, Colin!"

"Sup, Chico? Lincoln, who's this "Ronnie" person?"

"Ugh, I gotta go, Clyde. Talk to you later," he said as he put the walkie talkie down.

Turning to face Colin, he began to explain.

"Look, it's none of your business who it is. She doesn't know you, and-"

"Wait a minute," he said, an evil smile creeping onto his face. "This Ronnie person is a...girl?"

"-sigh- FINE, I'll tell you. First off, her names Ronnie Ann, not just Ronnie. And second, she is NOT my girlfriend! Got it?"

"Oh, I got it alright, Chico," Colin said with a wink as Lincoln went into the kitchen, presumably to call Ronnie Ann.

About 15 minutes later, the two heard a knock on the door.

"Oooh, I wonder who that could be?" Colin said with a stupid grin.

"Oh, shut up! Just answer the door!"

He walked over and opened the door to find a girl about Lincolns age, with a scowl on her face and wearing a purple hoodie jacket.

"You must be Ronnie Ann. Lincoln told me about you."

"Where's that Lame-O at? I have to beat him up for asking me if I wanted to "hang out."

"Umm, ok?" He said as Lincoln came to the door. After he invited her in, Colin leaned down and whispered to his brother.

"She seems nice, dude. A bit improper if you ask me, but overall..."

"Would you be quiet?!" He hissed, but as soon as he saw Ronnie Ann, his whole demeanor changed.

"Hey, Ronnie Ann. Glad you could - OW!" he yelped as the girl punched him in the arm.

"THAT'S what you get when you ask me to "hang out" with you, Lincoln! As if I'd ever do that! We're not even dating!"

She gave a small scowl of anger as she began to walk towards the door.

"Aw, c'mon, Ronnie Anne! You just got here!" Lincoln said as she turned the doorknob. "Why don't you stay a while?"

"Yeah, Chica, why don't you stay here? I mean, you don't want to walk home in, uh, whatever that white stuff is, do you? I mean, it's REALLY cold, you know?"

She opened the door, but stopped before walking out. She turned around and glared at Colin.

"Have I ever seen you before?"

"Not that I can recall...but if I must introduce myself to you, I'm Colin."

"Why are you here? Where did you come from?"

"Well, it's a long story, Chica. You see, I..."

"Hold it! You're trying to tell me you fell through a TV and landed HERE?!"

"Indeed I am, Ronnie. Lincoln can testify to that. He saw me fall out of the portal!"

"And WHY didn't you tell ME about him, Lincoln?" She asked as she turned to face him, making him flinch.

"Well, I mean, I didn't think you would care or anything!"

"Not care about you having a brother?! Please!"

"WAAAIT A MINUTE, Wait a minute, wait a minute! We aren't actually "brothers," you know. I'm technically just a homeless dude who took their last name."

"But still, you live in the same house, have the same last name, and have the same sisters!"

"Look, chica, if a guy invites a homeless dude who he just met to stay with him for a while, does that mean the homeless guy is his brother?"

"Well, no...but still!"

"-sigh- Look, I think we should do something else for a while. How about, umm, let's see..."

"How about video games?" Lincoln said. "I know I could beat both of you head on head!"

"Oh, try me, Lame-O! I'll take you DOWN!"

"I've never played video games, so I'm probably going DOWN!"

They set up the video game system, popped in a game, and settled in for the next few hours.

A Few Hours Later...

"Woo hoo! I beat your sorry face, Lincoln!" Ronnie Ann said triumphantly.

"Hey, I beat you at least 6 times, anyway!"

"It doesn't matter, because I beat BOTH your sorry asses at this game! I AM A VIDEO GAME GOD!"

It was about then that the clock struck 7. It was already almost dark out.

"Well, it looks like I should go, now," Ronnie Ann said as she glanced at the clock.

She got up to go put her coat on, but as she did, she unknowingly stepped under the mistletoe.

Colin saw this and turned to Lincoln, who was turning the TV to watch his show.

"Dude, look where Ronnie Anns standing!" He whispered.

He took one glance and immediately shook his head.

"No. No way."

"Aw, c'mon, Chico! Just do it! I'm sure it won't be that bad! You DO like her, don't you?"

"Well… yeah, but..."

"But what? You're too much of a wuss? Just do it, dude. It won't even be that painful."

"Oh, um, ok..."

He got up and walked over to Ronnie Ann. Colin couldn't hear what they were saying, but Lincoln pointed towards the mistletoe. When she looked up, he quickly went to give her a peck on the cheek.

But, unfortunately for him, she brought her head down as soon as Lincoln went in. All Colin saw was Lincoln giving Ronnie Ann the whole package deal, then Ronnie Anns expression change from curiosity, shock, and anger as she balled her fists up.

WHAM!

He saw Lincoln grab his eye, shouting in pain, and Ronnie Ann hurriedly walking away.

"Uhhh, Yo, Chico! You need an ice pack or something?" He said, but Lincoln just gave Colin a death stare and bolted upstairs to his room.

Colin heard the door to his room slam, a vase somewhere upstairs falling.

"Oh, boy..." he said just as the car was pulling into the driveway.

"Look, Lincoln, you can't stay mad at me forever, you know! I was giving you some good advice there! And besides, I saw her! She was getting into it!"

"Leave me alone!"

"Chico, come on. It's not that bad. I could tell just by looking at her she throws a mean hook. She could beat Paquiao if she tried, and we BOTH know it!"

"She probably hates me now!"

"Dude, no she does not. That kiss lasted for at least 4 seconds! She liked it! Besides, it was an accident. You were going to kiss her on the cheek."

Lincoln opened the door, revealing the black eye that Ronnie Ann had given him.

"And how exactly do I explain THIS to mom and dad?!"

"Hmmm… leave that one to me, bud..."

"Ok, ok, just give me the gist of that whole spiel again," Lynn Sr said, holding his head in confusion.

"Lincoln was walking down the stairs when he accidentally stepped on Geos hamster ball. He fell down the stairs, confusingly groped his way around, tripped, and hit his eye off the Virgin Mary nativity figurine," Colin explained, trying to come up with a good story on the dot.

"Well, um, Lincoln, watch where you step before you go anywhere."

"OK, dad," Lincoln said as the door rang.

"I got it!" Colin said as he opened the door to find... nobody.

Looking down, though, he saw a small present, wrapped in yellow wrapping paper with a red bow. The tag said, "To: Lincoln. From: Ronnie Ann."

"Hey, Chico, it's for you," he said as he handed the gift to Lincoln. He eyed it suspiciously before ripping off the wrapping paper and the bow.

"Huh?" He said as he pulled out a piece of paper. He read the writing on it ain't a low voice so only he and Colin could hear.

"Hey, Lame-O, thanks for today. I'm sorry I punched you in the face. Do it again next week? From, Ronnie Ann. P.S: tell Colin that I think he's pretty cool."

"Well, thanks," He said as Lincoln turned to him.

"Thanks, Colin. I owe you."

"For what? I didn't really do anything."

"You helped me get Ronnie to like me even more! And I didn't even want you to meet her!"

"Ok, but you don't-"

They were interrupted by another knock at the door. This time, Lincoln opened it, revealing Clyde, his dads, and a couple other people.

"Hey, Lincoln! I thought we'd stop by and sing a little! Got any song requests?"

"Hmmm..." he thought, but Colin barged by him to the carolers.

"Can you sing "Feliz Navidad," by chance?"

"You heard the man! Sing!" Someone said, and the carolers burst into song as snow fell on Royal Woods.