And we're back to more of this... weird novel. :D

Lincoln laid down, still trying to make sense of everything. He's known Sam all his life, and now it seems he's about to know Sam in a different way. A way he had no interest of at any point in his life, until recent events are the judge of it.

As he laid down, and tried to read his comics, he knew he'd be unable to focus at all. All of the guilt was eating away at him, even though he kept reminding himself "what is there to be guilty of?"

After the 6th time trying to read the comic, he finally had enough, and rolled out of bed to call Clyde on his radio.

"Cadet Clyde! Do you copy?"

After a few seconds of silence, Lincoln was just about to walk away, when he heard panting, followed by "Cadet Lincoln! This is cadet Clyde, ready and reporting!"

"Clyde, buddy. We've got a code violet."

This lead to Clyde frantically replying with stumbles. "Y-you and Bobby are in a relationship?!" but the worry soon died down. "That means- Lori and me can finally be together!"

Lincoln rolled his eyes, at the sweet, innocent but dimwitted Clyde. "Yeah, sure. If you wanna kiss a rattlesnake right now."

Oddly enough, it seems Clyde had finally let bygones be with the altercation from earlier, or simply he forgot under the spell of attraction for Lori.

This took Clyde back a bit. "What?"

That was all he could say. Lincoln left out a unenthusiastic 'sigh' and replied.

"Clyde, I'm gonna meet you at your house."

This was followed by a small, but slightly upbeat "alright" and with that, Lincoln set off.

He stuffed his walkie-talkie in his bag, and threw on a jacket, not wasting any time, and silently opened up his window. Lincoln knew for a fact, he didn't wanna encounter Lori again, especially not Luna.

So, with a gulp of courage, he wrapped his RIP Hardcore adventure rope around his bedframe, and dangled it out the window. "Hoooo boy..."

After a deep breath, Lincoln rappled down, miraculously not falling to a severe injury. Upon landing, he made a strong jog towards the McBride residence.

As he left the yard, a shoulder of humor hit him. Seems like just a minute ago, he was running to Luna's school, and it got him in trouble. Now, he was sneaking out of the house to see his friend, which also could be trouble, if he got caught by his sisters.

Despite this, he finally reached the McBride residence, with little to no sweat showing up.

As he knocked on the door, he turned his head to the street, potentially expecting his sisters to show up, only for the the door to open, revealing Clyde.

"Hey hey, buddy!"

Lincoln cracked a small smile, before walking in. "Are your dad's home?"

Clyde shook his head. "No, they left about an hour ago, to attend some baking contest."

Lincoln responded by jumping in the air, thrusting his elbow downward in a cheer, much to the confusion of Clyde.

"Uhm. You okay buddy?"

Lincoln grabbed Clyde's shoulders. "We need to talk, and it's private."

As the two soon made their way to the couch, Lincoln cleared his throat.

"You remember Sam? Luna's crush from earlier?"

Clyde seemed to have forgotten already, as he shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Clyde, focus." Lincoln grew impatient. "The fight from earlier? Luna was angrier than AngryGrandpaShow? The girl who beat Luna up over me?"

Now it seemed to come back to him. "Ohhh yeah! The blonde girl with the teal streak in her hair?"

Lincoln clapped his hands once. "Yes! That girl. And I have news for you."

Clyde looked at him with even more confusion.

"I think she's in love with me."

Now, Clyde was filled with shock, and a face of disapproval.

"Uh, isn't she too old for you buddy?"

Sam is only 15, about four years older than Lincoln. But at the same time, Lincoln is more intellectually advanced and mature than a majority his age.

"That's not important, Clyde." This was all Lincoln could say, as he stroked his forehead. "Sam fell in love with me. I had no intentions of starting a relationship with her!"

Clyde squinted his eyes, not understanding what was really going on, as all of this had happened way too fast, unexpectedly and nothing made sense anymore.

Then, Lincoln took this as a sign of skeptic. "You believe me? Right...?"

Of course, Clyde believed him. "Yeah. I just... I don't know what's going on anymore bro."

Lincoln looked down at the ground. "Me either bro."

"When did this... How did all of this start?" Clyde asked, as he adjusted his glasses, as if a therapist about to listen to an open-up.

This prompted Lincoln to begin speaking about everything.

From the moment Lincoln found Luna's lost paper, realizing it was a love-letter for her crush, Sam, to rushing all the way to the school to deliver it for her, so Luna wouldn't be bummed out, to the misconception that Lincoln was actually the one flirting, to the moment now.

And after that long discussion, Clyde was speechless. Or, so he was, until he broke an awkward, 12 second silence.

"Do you like her back?"

This now began another moment of awkward silence. Lincoln really couldn't think of any other reason why Sam wouldn't be for him.

They were both heavily interested in the same stuff, Sam was (in his secretive eyes) hot, a tomboy, and both loved RIP Hardcore and Ace Savvy. She'd been around since he was real young, and Sam was almost like another member of the Loud Siblings, just like Bobby and Clyde. (Though Clyde wasn't involved in any relationship)

But at the same time, was she really right for him? With the age, the drama surrounding them now, and the fact he had absolutely no feelings for her previously, and the idea of being together never crossed his mind, everything now was just sudden thought. Of course, he always thought she was pretty cute, but that's the only string.

So Lincoln then thought about his answer, and finally spoke up. "I don't know."

Those words seemed obvious, but Lincoln truly in his mind couldn't judge his feelings for Sam. She was just a hurt child, confused herself, and everything with Luna has just been pushing everyone to think of answers, and rethink their loyalties.

But Lincoln knew that if it came down to it, it'd have to be family before all else. He knew Luna would eventually calm down and forgive him again, stuff like this is rare, but it happens.

Not at similarity, but the siblings have done worse and patched up. Luna just needs time to cool off. And if Lincoln continues to prance around with Sam, there's no telling how much the forgiveness will be slowed and botched.

But happiness is all anyone ever chooses, doesn't it? Whether it's morals or the right thing, the decision really narrows down if you're good or bad, you'll most likely pick what makes you happiest, with little thought into what other options there are.

And Lincoln knew, things with his family were not making him happy right now. And Sam was being severely mistreated for something that was not her fault, and Luna was being way out of line.

"What are you gonna do now buddy? I got your back, Clincoln McLoud to the end!"

Lincoln looked at the carpet, then back up at Clyde. "I have no clue. Just... See what comes my way, and whatever happens, we'll cross that bridge together. If it- if things get out of hand, don't be afraid to back out."

Clyde shook his head. "No no Lincoln. This is us both, but do you have any plans to fix this? You can't stay like this forever, Dr. Lopez says-"

Lincoln quickly interrupted him. "Yeah yeah, Lopez said Lopez did. Clyde, focus. I got a plan, and I need your help."

"You can count on me, Ace!" Clyde smiled, standing up and performing a salute.

Lincoln spoke up again. "Things back home are a mess. But if I can get Lori on my side, that's the biggest leverage I'll get at fixing this mess."

Of course, Clyde began to freeze up, and began zoning out at the mention of 'Lori'.

Nevertheless, Lincoln continued. "With me being able to get through to Lori, she can use her catchet as oldest, most powerful and authority figure to mend justice my way, and convince everyone to listen to me."

"And after that. They'll all understand everything, and that none of this is my fault, or Sam's, and we'll all be on our way with no bad blood on either side."

Despite what Lincoln said, Clyde wasn't fully convinced. "But Lincoln, you saw how mad Lori got. How are you even sure she'll listen to you, and that this will work?"

"Because Clyde..." Lincoln started with enthusiasm. "I have no clue." The enthusiasm crumbled.

He then looked at Clyde again.

"But, we have to do try. My family wants to sue Sam's, and Luna might go to juvenile for assault. If I don't try, this is only gonna get messy, and I'm not sure risking it by letting this cool down is a good idea."

Clyde nodded. "We're gonna save your family, and the Sam girl!"

Then, Lincoln grew a smile, something that finally reassured him, because now, he had a plan.

Thank you all for being patient. I'm still working on this novel, and have no plans to abandon it at all. I only hope this novel continues to grow, and gain support because your support means everything to me, it is the passion and process of motivating me to keep going, and reminds me that I'm pleasing others with my work of art. :)