I never thought I'd do this at all but, I decided that I'll be responding to reviews I get so readers will know that they're acknowledged.

Onto the reviews now:

wollyworld: Thank you for acknowledging my story for over a year by now. The story will continue on as it should.

Now, onto the story!

(Ransom Residence, 7:40 PM)

Awkward. That's the only emotion Micah is filled with right now as he sits at the family table with his parents, sister, Lincoln, and Harry. He already apologized to his co-workers for inadvertently cooking dinner, yet he still feels embarrassed despite them forgiving him. After finishing the burgers, Lincoln and Harry put all burgers into several round glass serving plates and carried them to the dining hall.

Even though Micah's family is a typical family of four, Lincoln was surprised to see his family's dining hall to be pretty decent. It takes up half of the backyard wall as well as the wall adjacent to it. The color was made up of all Gentian Blue with the outer walls having a window that views the backyard. The rectangular dining table is wooden and smooth that can have a maximum of six people sitting in it. The lamp hanging from above is a Kichler Lighting Lacey 4 Light Inverted Drum Shade Pendant. The doorway that led to the living room also has the door that leads to the backyard as well. To top it off, there was a family portrait of the Ransoms that was them five years ago that was set up on the left side of the window displaying most of the backyard outside.

Soon enough, the burgers and table were set up (napkins included) and everyone took a seat. The arrangement consists of Micah sitting on the table end that is closest to the backyard window, Lincoln and Harry sat down on Micah's left side, his father and sister on the other, and his mother sat across from him. Once everyone was settled, they wasted no time eating their first burger from the bunch. After that, they then got started with seconds but were really enjoying the savor from the abundance of American food.

And that was when Micah broke the sound of chewing.

"So," Micah was unsure on how to initially start. "How's dinner?" Micah's heart had a sudden stop from what he just said. "Dang it! That was only meant for family!"

"The burgers are good." Lincoln answered.

Harry took a gulp from chewing his burger. "Agreed. It's too bad there's no french fries available."

"There wouldn't have been any." Hannah moved her shoulders in circles after being in the same position for a while before wiping her mouth with a napkin. "We never bought any from the store."

"She's right Harry." Micah's father looked at the bit-older boy across from him. "It's part of our budget that we're trying to maintain." Harry shrugged in response.

"So," Micah tried to revert the subject back to what it was. "How about you Mom?" His Mother looked at him from across the table. "Do the burgers suffice?" His mother responded by swallowing what she had in her mouth.

"Son," Micah's mother gave her a concerning look, knowing something was up. "Are you still nervous about the big day tomorrow? You're crushing your burger." She was right. Micah's burger was getting crushed to the point that most of the burger sauce dripped down to his plate.

Micah sighed as everyone looked at him. While Lincoln and Harry kind of get it since mothers know what their sons were feeling, Micah's family completely understood him. Micah would sometimes get nervous in practically any typical situations common people experience and would almost mess it up. One time, at a gas station, he almost fueled their car with the wrong type of gas. Luckily, his sister was there to help him.

"Micah, you should be chill." Harry took another bite out of his burger and swallowed it. "The equipment I'll be bringing will surely expand the capacity of customers we can let in, or out."

"That's not why I'm nervous." Micah used his arm to wipe some sweat from his hair. "I'm the main reason Burpin' Burger has a new menu item that we'll be used against St-"

"Let me stop you right there." Harry interrupted. "Didn't you already lament over this during work hours?"

(Flashback)

While Stella was wiping a table booth that was recently used by the Fox Quintuplets in the last few minutes, Lincoln and Harry were at their peaks trying to finish cooking about probably 14 patties on each stove. Lincoln was struggling to cook his patties to their finest and was trying not to burn them as his face started to turn red in exhaustion. Just as his hand with the spatula started to cramp a little, Micah came up to him leaning on the assembly station where Liam was currently occupying.

"Hey Lincoln." Micah put his hands into his pockets. "Say uh . . .have you ever eaten butterflies before?"

Lincoln heard him but didn't bother turning his head to him. "What? No." He has no idea what Micah is saying? "That's probably what Lana would do." He flipped a patty in the front of the stove over. "Are you saying you're nervous right now?"

Micah looked straight ahead at where Sasha was mopping the floor. "Yeah, probably."

"Probably?" Lincoln flipped a few more patties over. "Why?"

"Because I don't know how I feel right."

Lincoln felt a little irritated as he sprinkled salt onto some of his patties. "Well why even bother asking."

"It's because tomorrow's the day my product will make its grand opening." Micah failed to hear Lincoln get burnt a little from oil splattering. "I wonder if it's going to bring customers back to us."

Lincoln felt some more oil splatter on his shirt. "It's a big gamble Micah." He transferred six patties across Micah over to Liam. "You just need to have high hopes for tomorrow to see the results."

"True," Micah still wasn't so sure about himself. "I just can't help but feel worried."

When Lincoln finally turned to give him an annoyed face, a burger patty immediately went on fire. Lincoln panicked as he also saw that his stove was on high and quickly lowered its heat. "Dang it! Why did I even put it on high at all?!" On instinct, he used his spatula to remove the fire patty from the bunch. He remembered a trash can near Rusty's area, so without thinking at all, he launched the fire projectile like a catapult would. Flying over Caleb's head, the patty landed into the trash can which led up the second it landed.

Rusty wasn't aware of what happened since he was dealing with a drive through order. Because his back was facing the hot trash can, the knots were starting to turn black. "Alright mam, your order will be $14-" He started to sniff some smoke, so when we turned around, he realized why his back was really hot. "GAAAAHHHHH! Apron on fire! Apron on fire!" He started running in panic for a few seconds before remembering the Stop, Drop, and Roll fire safety technique and immediately started rolling only to roll out through the fast food entry doors.

As for the trash can on fire, Zach got a fire extinguisher that was class k and squeezed the handle for only for nothing to come out. "Huh? What the heck?!" He pointed the hose to his face only for it to work then and spray his entire face for him to see.

"Give me that!" yelled Sasha as she swiped the fire extinguisher and sprayed the fire until nothing was left of it. Of course, the trash can itself crumbled to pieces due to the fire being put out several seconds later. Just as she was calming down, she stiffened up as she felt an angry aura a few feet away.

"Sasha Brorha." Sasha turned around hugging the fire extinguisher and looked into Mr. Croystin's eyes who was obviously not happy. Her veins become visibly solid while her co-workers can only watch what will go down. Lincoln and Harry were also watching but still kept their attention to the patties in front of them. "Why didn't the sprinklers go off?!"

Sasha was at a loss of words. "Huh?"

"You heard me! Why didn't the sprinklers go off?!" Although still pissed, his aura started to fade. Thus calming Sasha to an intimidated mood. "Really. I can fire anyone anytime, my concern right now is the fact that the sprinklers didn't go off when a heavy fire went-" He failed to finish because one sprinkler under 'Fry' activated, making the manager twitch both his eyes. "Seriously, it's as if calamity is a deity who wants to piss off the people he victimizes. " He turned towards the sprinkler that went off and sighed. "Hopefully things will turn out better tomorrow cause I can't stand this place with lack of customers." He then returned to his office to work on his computer again.

(End Flashback)

Lincoln wasn't in the slightest at that memory. "That was really embarrassing for me, Micah."

"How? You didn't get fired."

"No. I ALMOST got fired." He took a bite from his burger and chewed it down before saying. "After you left to get your kitchen ready, I was called into Mr. Croystin's office and reprimanded by him for projecting a hazardous culinary product. I was lucky I was given a warning to never do that again, otherwise I won't finish paying my debt anymore."

Micah's father gave him a stern look and said, "Micah, why is this being brought up now." He took a huge bite out of his burger.

"I . . .uh," he said quietly. "Well."

"Speak louder." his father demanded.

"I . . .just thought . . .it wasn't really that necessary to know." Micah's father looked disappointed in his answer.

"A fiery patty, launched across the kitchen manhandled, landed into a trash can that caught on fire and almost severely injured a co-worker while the sprinklers were broken." He drank some water before saying, "IS that something really unnecessary to know?! What were you even thinking?!"

"Daniel, tone it down will you." Micah's mother wasn't having it with her husband, Daniel George Ransom, at the family table. "Especially when you have guests across from you." she said, referring to Lincoln and Harry.

"I know this isn't the right time to scold, Patracia." Daniel said, still facing his son. "I will not let this slide in the slightest." He heard his only daughter snicker a little. "What?"

"Sorry Dad," Hannah apologized. "I couldn't help but find it funny with your word choice. It gets me everytime."

"Uh . . .Mr. Ransom?" Lincoln interrupted. "With all due respect, Micah's not to blame for a beef patty going on fire, that part is my fault since it's my responsibility to handle the stove."

"He's got a point there, sir." Harry said, defending Micah's behalf as well,

Daniel thought about it and sighed. Even though what the two boys said were true, he would still wish for his son to tell him what was going on. "If you say so, I'll let it be." He looked to his son who was now relieved. "However, son, that doesn't mean you're out of hot water. For now on, I want you to tell the family what you did over work in complete detail. Do you understand?" Micah looked at his third remaining piece of burger and nodded. "Good."

After that was solved, Micah's mother, Patricia, wanted to switch to a lighter topic to talk about. "So Lincoln." The white haired boy looked at the woman across the long table from him. "What happened to your friend on fire?"

"Oh, Rusty?" Lincoln asked, getting a nod in confirmation. "Well, after rolling out of Burpin' Burger. I asked my friend, Zach, to go check on him. Thankfully, he was able to get Rusty back safely after his apron was no longer able to be used." He took what was left of his burger and finished it. "With a bonus, co-worker Caleb was able to fill in for the drive thru and the order was successful."

"Oh lovely," Patricia chewed the last of her burger and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Glad it worked out in the end."

Harry too finished his burger. "It's only a matter of time before Burpin' Burger can withhold its position against Stun Burger. You shouldn't worry so much about it tomorrow." Lincoln nodded in agreement.

Micah let the words sink into him a bit. "Well, yeah . . .it's ju-" Hannah cut him off before he had a chance to feel depressed.

"Just listen to them bro." She wasn't going to have it seeing her big brother get stuck on feeling down. "You won't resolve anything if you're just going to sulk to your feet."

It may be a bit harsh of what she's saying, but she had to if she was going to fix her brother's attitude. She really does care for him unlike the typical younger sisters that usually pick on or bully their older siblings. She loves her older brother and would ever change that.

Micah was starting to feel content with the supportive words he's receiving. Hearing them made him realize that he's not acting like his position said he was appointed to be. He's the supervisor of Lincoln and his friends to ensure that they can pay off their debt before summer's over and he's currently grieving about his recipe not going to work. He was ashamed yet felt anew with the resolve to let his second thoughts get the best of him.

"Thanks," he smiled. "I kinda needed that." He grabbed his water cup and drank it all the way down. "With that settled, is anyone going to get any more burgers? 'Cause I think we're probably done eating."

There were only nine burgers left on the platter and everyone was practically at their limits. That was until Lincoln raised his hand. "I'm not that full yet, so I'll just take one more." He proceeded to grab one more burger.

Micah eyed him. "Are you sure about it? You might regret eating it." That caught the attention of everyone else.

"It's already in my hands so-" He heard his phone ringing so he paused to clean his hands with his provided napkin before looking at his phone. "Oh it's just my sister, Lynn. She told me that she finished putting up fliers and already several people were looking at them. High hopes for tomorrow then."

He put his phone away and resumed what he was saying. "Anyway, I'm just gonna go ahead and eat it."

"Lincoln NO DON'T!" Hannah's words failed to reach him as he already took a bite. "Take a bite." Her parents had annoyed faces while Harry smirked at Lincoln.

"Huh? Why? It's only a-" He felt his face turning really red and sweating. His tongue was getting a bit numb. His throat also heated up a little and started coughing. "What the heck is . . .this?" He looked at Micah who had his hair covering his eyes and was grinning so mischievously.

"I tried to warn you," he laughed. "Unfortunately, your urges got the best of you and became unlucky." He looked at him with pupils that are now a bit smaller than usual. He placed his hands on the table and stood from his position. "How do you feel now, Lincoln?!"

Lincoln coughed in confusion, "What's he saying Hannah?" He got out of his chair and ran to the kitchen.

Hannah sighed as she followed him and saw him desperately pouring water into his cup. "It's an unfortunate tradition that we, Ransoms, do to people every now and then."

Lincoln took a gulp of water hoping to cool off his mouth. "Doesn't look that way to me!" Hannah looked back at Micah's parents who were scolding Micah while Harry watched in amusement. "And what do you mean by tradition?!"

"It doesn't seem like it but trust me." She gave him a sly grin that betrayed her previous annoyance. "We sometimes enjoy it."

"What?!"

She opened a nearby window to let the air flow in. "We would sometimes prank people by offering them some food that was secretly spicy to see their reactions to them." She handed him some ice to put in his second cup.

"Why though?!" he cried, drinking his cold water.

"Well for fun, of course. We're not the kind of people who are supposed to be complete role models for other families." she winked. "Everyone has a flaw inside them."

Lincoln completely understood her logic. He lives with flawed people everyday. His sisters all have a kink inside them that made them different, but that's what makes them who they are. But that doesn't mean that his throat got a little cooler. "Point made, but how come Harry's so chill about it."

"He got used to playing victim for some time." That only caused Lincoln to roll his eyes.

As everyone else entered the kitchen with Micah turning up the AC, the latter smirked, "So, how do you feel?"

Lincoln glared right into his co-worker's eyes. "You want to know?!" He took a deep breath before yelling out, "IT'S SPICY!"

Several people from neighboring houses woke up from the yell.

(Royal Woods Mall)

After catching Chloe and Emma eavesdropping on them, Girl Jordan and Christina wanted to have a full explanation from them. Christina made the purchase of Girl Jordan's dress quick and wrapped in wrap to keep it from getting wrinkled. Afterwards, all four of them went to the food court and bought themselves spaghetti and meatballs to settle down a bit and clear their minds.

After finishing their food, Chloe and Emma proceeded to explain that they recently followed them because they first thought it was odd how Girl Jordan started to hang out with Christina more since their sleepover despite them not really being friends with each other. Then, while looking for them, they came to the prediction that Christina was helping Girl Jordan look for clothes to wear because the latter might have a crush on Lincoln. Finally, when they were about to leave, Chloe slipped and fell out of her hiding spot pulling Emma down with her.

"And that was pretty much it." Chloe said.

Emma looked away with guilt in her eyes. "We're sorry for stalking you guys, we kinda just should've let you be." Much to their surprise, instead of being upset, Girl Jordan's face was a bit red and had her hands in her face like she just messed up in a presentation. "Is she alright?"

While Christina patted the brown-haired girl's back and said, "She's fine, she's just embarrassed that you two had figured out who Girl Jordan's secret admirer is so accurately."

Chloe was shocked by the revelation. "So it's really true then?!"

Girl Jordan sighs, knowing that some of her friends would find out eventually. "Yes. It all is. I have a crush on Lincoln Loud."

Chloe and Emma stared in shock for a moment before processing what they just heard. Emma put her hand in the back of her head and said, "You know, Girl Jordan. Assuming that you have a crush on the white-haired boy was already stunning, but knowing that you do have a crush on him is wildly bizarre." Chloe nodded in agreement.

Girl Jordan raised an eyebrow like she's unimpressed with the people in front of her. "What? Got a problem with that?"

"Not at all." Emma raised her hands up in defense, not wanting to get on her bad side. "I don't think there's anything wrong with liking that boy."

"That's right," Chloe added. "If you really want to pursue a relationship with him, then go for it. Who's going to tell you that you can't?"

"Well," Girl Jordan struggled, unable to find the words to say before answering with one name. "Rachel."

"Your best friend?" Emma didn't quite understand Girl Jordan's answer.

"Isn't that kind of ironic?" Chloe asked.

"You can say that, but there are times when girls have different tastes on who they like." Girl Jordan then decided to take things a little personal to demonstrate an example. "Take you for example, you like Lincoln's best friend, Clyde." Her statement caused Chloe's cheeks to turn light pink. "Why that?"

"Well, it's just," she mumbled. "I think he's a decent guy with a kind heart. Does that satisfy you?"

Girl Jordan smiled and said, "Fair enough. I won't go further, so how about let's get back to Rachel part." Chloe and Emma were all ears while Christina just drank some water. "She just doesn't think anything about Lincoln is great. She would think this since she never knew Lincoln back when he was in elementary school. Plus, the only thing she knows about Lincoln is that he was part of the action news team and nothing more."

Cristina decided to get into the conversation. "Didn't you ever tell her what he was like back in elementary?" Chloe and Emma agreed with what she said.

"Of course, I did," she rolled her eyes like no one even heard her. "But every time I tried, she just wasn't interested and yawned when I tried talking about his good traits."

"I can see where you're getting at." Christina said, getting the other girls' attention. "I predict another reason is that she doesn't know him very well like we do." The others didn't quite understand her reasoning. "It's like this, all four of us attended Royal Woods Elementary School alongside him. I hate him, you like him, Chloe's acquainted with him, and Emma doesn't have any relationship with Lincoln at all."

The others understood what she meant "You have a point there actually," said Emma. "Because Rachel, on the other hand, didn't attend the same school."

"Exactly," Christina pointed out. "And middle school is when kids' attitudes and personalities alter since it's a new chapter in their lives. So Rachel wouldn't have been all joyful like she used to be."

"With that out of the way," Girl Jordan looked at the girl across from her. "Can you guys keep this a secret because I don't want her finding out about that? I plan to ask him out tomorrow."

"Sure, no prob-" Chloe paused for a moment before saying "You're asking him out tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"No offense Girl Jordan," Emma said. "But maybe you should wait a few days."

"Why? Tomorrow is-"

"The first day of a co-worker's new food product for Burpin' Burger." Emma finished. "Think about it, there will be too many people around there and Lincoln might be busy inside the hot kitchen."

Girl Jordan could only slap her face in annoyance. "You have a point. I was really hoping I can ask him tomorrow. The stress is killing." Christina comforted her by patting her back.

"That's alright, that just means you have a few more days of preparing for your moment. Just stop moping already."

"Fine," Girl Jordan groaned. "I can live with that." She then felt her stomach growl. "Guess I'm still hungry, you girls want to go get some spaghetti on sticks."

Chloe gasped, "Sure! I love that menu item!"

"Count me in!" Emma added.

Christina shrugged before getting Girl Jordan's dress. "I wouldn't mind some more food."

"Great! Let's go!" Girl Jordan exclaimed.

As the four went and ordered more food, a certain teenager, who just finished her business hours, heard the entire conversation of the four girls a few tables away and was overly ecstatic from what she heard.

"O. M. GOSH! A girl totes has a crush on Lincoln! I have to tell the others soon!" She proceeded to leave the food court with a huge grin on her face.

The next chapter will finally be the time Micah's recipe will make its debut. Unfortunately, Girl Jordan has to wait a bit before she asks Lincoln to go out with her, but she can endure. No one's stopping her from being with her crush, not even her best friend.

Get ready for Burpin' Burger's comeback!