AN: I had planned on getting this chapter out a lot sooner. But I'm still adjusting to my new schedule, and I'm still figuring out when I'm going to be able to get my own writing done, not just school stuff. Also, we had a hurricane here in California. Which was weird. Note super noteworthy in the end, but it was really distractign while it was going on. And also, also, this chapter ended up being longer than I'd anticipated it'd be. Normally I would have cut it partway through, but the remainder didn't feel like it'd make for a good chapter on its own, so I sucked it up and just wrote a longer chapter than I'd normally write. Not sure what I'm going to be working on next, but it'll definitely be something.
Guest: Thank you. As evidenced by the company I keep, I do enjoy writing Lynncoln. But its nice to know that other people are enjoying it too, especially since it tends to feature pretty heavily in my stories, hehe.
Strlo: I thought I had clarified this before, but I've gotten a few comments like this since the last chapter. So just so everyone's on the same page, I decided a while back that this was going to be a full-blown AU, rather than a prequel. And I think I changed the description of the story accordingly. Some things will still play out in accordance with the main story, but mostly I just didn't want to be shackled to what I've established happens to the Louds in Stupor proper. In Stupor, everything falls apart before Lincoln and Stella have a chance to meet as they do in canon. Here, that hasn't happened, so this is their first meeting, and events will just continue from here. There isn't going to be any kind of status quo reset to make things line up with the main story.
Mr. Haziq: Pretty much everyone is intended to have the same powers. Unless I come up with something I like better, and/or that makes for a better story. But as far as powers go, at the moment they're all the same.
ReadersCantRead: I already talked to you about this, but for the benefit of any other readers who aren't playing it, I'm recommending checking out The Lewdist House, which is a fun, fan-made TLH visual novel. I'm finding the story so far to be extremely enjoyable. A few people have told me that it feels like something I'd write, which I take as a huge compliment because Catspeaker, an author I've recommended in the past, provides writing for the game, and he's a fantastic writer. So yeah, definitely check it out if you haven't already and are inclined to do so.
And also, enjoy this chapter. Unless you don't want to. Then enjoy it anyway.
Those scant, only minimally supervised minutes that constituted a break between school subjects demanded a pragmatic and economical approach as to how they should best be spent. Sleeping, snacking, and shooting the breeze with one's friends were always popular options for relieving a bit of the drudgery of the school day, but on this particular occasion, Lincoln chose to spend his getting a drink of water. The dry, recycled classroom air had parched his throat, and curing that condition was essential for Lincoln to be able to survive the remaining hours of class.
There in the hallway he stood, hunched over the water fountain, allowing the cool-ish liquid to quench his thirst as he tried to avoid thinking about the almost certainly non-zero number of children who had tainted the experience by placing their mouths on the fountain itself, rather than on the water spray as protocol dictated when a shadow fell upon him. Recognizing the sign that someone else wished to use the fountain, and not wanting to make the day unnecessarily difficult for a fellow student, he cut the flow of water, straightened himself, and, prepared to formally relinquish his claim on the fountain so that they might partake themselves, looked up at the new arrival.
...and continued to crane his head upward until at last, he met their gaze.
It was the new girl. Stella, was what he was reasonably certain was her name. And while he'd gotten a good look at her during her introduction to the class, he now found it to be a bit more intimidating to be directly in her presence. She was, after all, quite pretty, with her tanned, freckled skin, offset by a beautiful shade of jet-black hair. Her style of dress was simple, a white t-shirt and black skirt, but the former was molded to her already blossoming frame in a way that was already becoming distracting, while the latter showed off her lovely legs. Which, from his vantage, Lincoln had an excellent view of, on account of the fact that Stella was quite—
"Tall."
That was intended to have been a thought. A silent observation made about the new girl, one that was meant to have been made within the privacy of his own mind. But the telltale sensation of his lips flapping, as well as the surprised widening of the girl's eyes, clued Lincoln in far, far too late, that he had stupidly spoken his thought aloud instead. He flushed with embarrassment and prepared to explain the apparent non sequitur…
"W-WHAT!?"
Only to pause, puzzled, as Stella immediately, and frantically began patting herself down, looking herself over with the same intensity as one might possess while searching for something especially distressing and invasive, like leeches, or ticks.
"S-sorry," Lincoln said, letting out an embarrassed cough. "I just noticed that you're...well, tall, and I guess my mouth kind of got away from me."
Immediately she froze in place, one hand atop her head, while the other was flattened against her stomach.
"But...within the acceptable range for normal people…" She said, almost as if pleading. "Right?"
That...was not the response he was expecting. Lincoln himself stood about four feet tall, eeking out an extra couple of inches if he could successfully fight off his natural inclination to slouch. He was a bit on the short side, but not exceptionally so, given his age. Stella easily had a foot on him, and likely a little more, his quick mental math figuring her to be about as tall as Luan or Luna. Definitely tall for their age group, like Rusty, and a bit more exceptional than his red-headed friend, given that she was a girl, but he wouldn't classify her as abnormally tall. Especially since, post-metamorphosis, Lynn was likely the tallest 13-year old on the planet, and was still growing.
"Yyyyyyyeah," He said, nodding slowly. "Totally within the, uh...normal...range."
"Oh good," Stella replied, her whole body visibly sagging with relief, only to stiffen again mere moments later.
"I just...made...things...super awkward," She said, softly. "Didn't I?"
"No no no!" Lincoln protested, shaking his head emphatically. "I was the one who made it awkward. That was one hundred percent my fault."
"Do...you think we could just...pretend none of that happened, and start over?"
"Y...yeah, definitely," Said Lincoln, laughing with relief. Then he straightened up, and held out his hand. "Hi there. I'm Lincoln Loud."
"I'm Stella. Stella Zhau," She replied, taking his hand in her own, and favoring him with a warm smile. "And it's nice to meet you, Lincoln Loud."
Hours later, school let out, and Lincoln found himself standing at the curb that served as the school's pick-up area, in very literal terms uncertain as to where he went from here. In the morning he'd been preoccupied with simply getting himself to school, and upon his arrival, he'd quickly been swept up into the daily academic routine. So it wasn't until now, having finally been freed of his scholastic obligations for the day, that he'd realized that he'd never gotten around to making arrangements to get home. Which was problematic, to say the least.
Fortunately, his worries were unfounded. The sound of squealing tires filled the air, and only moments later he saw the familiar form of Vanzilla rounding the bend. The fact that the vehicle was tipped on its side, with only a single row of tires propelling it forward, should have produced an entirely new set of worries. But by Lincoln's estimation, this was only the...fifth, strangest thing he'd seen all week, so he forced himself to smile fearlessly at the oncoming van.
He was still smiling when the van screeched to an abrupt halt, and violently resumed the four-wheeled position, with the airborne side audibly slamming to the ground mere inches away from his soft, all too human flesh, at which point let out what he'd hoped was a small, and most important of all, discrete sigh of relief.
...hopefully, no one would notice the white-knuckled grip he was currently maintaining on his backpack.
"LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINCOLN!"
Now the boy in question started in surprise, as a predatory howl pierced the air and the passenger side door flew open with such force, that it would have sent him flying, had his body not instinctively thrown itself backward.
Lori was behind the wheel. With the way things had played out, he'd half expected it to be Leni. The presence of his eldest sister should have been a comforting sight, but Lincoln found himself incapable of untensing. It certainly looked like Lori, sounded like her too. But her smile was a bit too wide. Her eyes, just a tad too unfocused. And why was she twitching?
As Lincoln began to seriously consider the merits of running after the bus, and hopefully being able to flag it down, Lori leaned across the compartment and grabbed Lincoln by the shirt. An instant later, Lincoln found himself crammed into the passenger seat, backpack and all.
"Lori?" He squeaked inquiringly, as the too-tightly wound seatbelt crushed the air from his lungs.
"No time!" She shouted, slamming her foot down as she mightily jerked the steering wheel to the side. "We've gotta GO GO GO!"
And with that, Vanzilla peeled out of its parking spot, making a mockery of physics as it nimbly leaped across the street and tore off down the road.
"I-is everything okay, Lori?" Lincoln asked, trying not to look like he was clinging to his seat for dear life, not but feeling like he was pulling it off.
"Why would you say that, little bro?" Lori asked as she sharply turned the wheel, sending Vanzilla careening past a red light, a "No U-turn" sign, and a stop sign in fairly short succession.
"B-because you're...shaking? A-nd it's a-lso m-making the c-car shake! A lot!"
"Yeeeeeah," Lori said with a slight giggle, the tires screeching as she attempted to right the family van. "I guess I am a little wired. HA! WIRED! THAT'S A PUN!"
"...I'm guessing that means Luan was involved?" Lincoln asked, trying very hard to focus on his sister, and not the numerous traffic violations that were going on just outside the window behind her.
"I told her she could stop!" Lori replied. "Told her I was fine, but she just kept on zapping me, and now...I'm...like...THIS!"
Another twist of the wheel sent Vanzilla drifting into a tight turn. Still, even with g-forces crushing Lincoln into his seat, it was hard not to marvel at the way the older girl masterfully manipulated the van with short, practiced motions. The fact that the only consequence of her impromptu stunt driving was a chorus of angry honks and the odd, muffled insult seemed to be a testament to her driving skill.
"I'm sure she was just trying to help," Squeaked Lincoln, as he tried to dislodge himself from the Lincoln-shaped groove that was starting to form in the back of his seat.
"Oh, I know," said Lori, her giggling pitching downward into something slightly more sinister towards the end. "And I made sure to thank her for her...help…"
Luna emerged from the sanctuary that was her room, not entirely certain what time of day it was. So thoroughly engrossed had she been in her musical experimentation that the day had sort of just slipped away from her. But her stomach was demanding sustenance, and that seemed like as good of an excuse as any to take a break, feed her need, and maybe let her family know she was still alive while she was at it.
She was not expecting for Luan's face to be the first thing she saw upon her emergence. But less so that it was Luan specifically (it was a small house, relative to the size of their family), and more because her sister's face was upside down and suspended in mid-air.
"...Wha?" Luna articulated eloquently, blinking in a befuddled stupor.
"Just hanging around," Responded the younger brunette to the unasked question. "Get it? But also...uh, would you mind helping me down?"
Tilting her head upwards, Luna could see that Luan's current state was the result of the comedienne having been wedged into a hole in the ceiling that hadn't previously been there, giving her the appearance of a mole popping out of a molehill, only in reverse.
"...Did you tick off Lori, or Lynn this time?" She asked, making the judgment call of narrowing down the list of suspects to the more physically inclined Louds, for the sake of expediency.
"Lori," Said Luan, chuckling in beusement. "And it was totally worth it. Buuuut…"
"Nope," Luna cut her off with a shake of her head. "I'm not gonna get involved. There's a pack of pudding in the fridge that's singing my name, and I'm gonna answer the call. Later sis."
"Aw come on, Luna!" Luan protested and the family rocker pivoted around and started walking away. "Be a pal!"
"Can't hear ya, sis!" Luna paradoxically called back as she began descending the stairs.
"Then...then at least bring me back some pudding!"
"Why did that sound so ominous?" Lincoln asked. "And also, why are we going in the exact opposite direction of home?"
"Because this is the direction that Gus' is in," Chirped Lori. "Which is also where we're going."
"Wow, really!?" Exclaimed Lincoln. Then his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Waaaaait. Why are we going to my favorite restaurant?"
"Does there have to be a reason?" Lori asked, glancing at Lincoln out of the corner of her eye.
"I guess there doesn't have to be," Lincoln admitted. "It just feels like...if you had bad news to tell me, that'd be the place to do it. Like, if you were going to tell me that the house had blown up or something."
"...Please tell me that the house didn't blow up. Or something." He added a moment later.
"Nothing blew up!" Lori snapped at him, her manic demeanor subsiding as an annoyed scowl made its way onto her face. "I mean, I don't know what's happened since I left, but that's not why I'm taking you, alright?"
"Then why are we going?"
Lori's features softened. "I felt bad, alright?" She said, softly. "You were depending on me to get you to school on time, and I literally screwed everything up by getting wrapped up in my own drama. So, I thought maybe this might help make it up to you."
"...You don't...I mean, it's fine, Lori." Said Lincoln, shuffling awkwardly in his seat. "You had a lot to deal with. And it all worked out, right? Lynn got me to school just fine, so it's cool."
"Other people shouldn't have to fix my mistakes," Lori replied sternly. "Especially Lynn of all people. Which...just FYI, Mom and Dad aren't too happy about it. It sounds like she wasn't super careful on her way home, and there was some...light, property damage."
Lincoln winced. "Please tell me nobody got hurt."
"Not as far as I know," Lori said with a shrug. "But she's grounded for the rest of the day. So, maybe next time…"
She favored him with a soft smile.
"Maybe you should just stick with me, alright?" She reached out and gently squeezed Lincoln's shoulder. "I know I've been kind of a mess since the camping trip, but...don't give up on me yet."
"I-I wasn't...I mean, I'd never!" Lincoln sputtered in protest, flailing his arms frantically before abruptly stopping.
"I didn't mean it to come off like that, Lori." He said, sheepishly. "Honest."
"...And, uh…" He coughed embarrassedly. "I also didn't think Luan was going to take things that far."
"You didn't think, or you'd hoped she wouldn't?" Lori asked, one eyebrow raised in disbelief.
"I...hoped, she wouldn't," Lincoln admitted, feeling heat rush into his cheeks. "But it seemed like a good plan at the time. And I was pretty desperate."
"Which, I get. You took a gamble. I just wished you hadn't gambled with me." Lori's smirk took some of the sting out of her words, but looking back, roping Lori into allowing herself to get zapped by Luan didn't seem all that nice. Or smart, if he was honest.
"I'm sorry—" He began, only to be cut off by Lori's upraised hand.
"How about we not get into this apology contest, alright?" She said, kindly. "You Lincoln'd things up like usual…"
"Hey!"
"But," She continued. "I'm the one who put you in the position where you had to make that judgment call in the first place. So how about you just let me buy my favorite little brother some pizza, and play some video games with me, and we'll call it even, alright?"
"I'm...your..only little brother," Lincoln pointed out. Feeling embarrassed, but this time...pleasantly so.
"Doesn't mean you aren't the best, Linky," Said Lori, reaching out in a manner that Lincoln knew meant that she was going to tousle his hair. But in spite of the fact that it normally annoyed him to no end when she did that, Lincoln found himself sitting up straighter, anticipating his older sister's touch…
SCREEEEEECH
Only to find himself thrown off balance as Vanzilla suddenly skidded to a halt. The momentary sensation of vertigo that followed left Lincoln feeling grateful that he'd been wearing his seat belt.
"HEY! WHAT'S THE HOLDUP!?"
Flinching at the sudden assault on his senses, Lincoln realized that the perpetrator of the sonic assault was Lori, who had stuck her head out the window and was now—"
"HURRY IT UP! I'M TRYING TO BE A GOOD SISTER HERE!"
...yelling. He shook his now slightly aching head, once again impressed by the lungs that gave meaning to his family's surname. Lori was yelling at...someone, presumably.
Lincoln tried to peer over the mass of van that lay between him and the subject of his sister's ire. From his vantage, he couldn't see much, but he could make out a familiar-looking green, flower-adorned hat poking out from the front of the car. One which put him in mind of…
"Oh, I'm sooooo sorry," Came a harsh, grating, and naisily voice, dripping with bemusement and sarcasm.
Lincoln sighed, shaking his head in annoyance. It would be Scoots, of all people. Loosening his seatbelt enough that he was able to wriggle upward for a better view, Lincoln could see that the senior citizen in question, mounted upon the mobility scooter from which she drew her moniker, had apparently been in the process of crossing the street. "Had", was the operative word, because at the moment she seemed content to simply sit there in the middle of the street, relegating her mobility scooter to being a misnomer scooter.
"Well hurry it up!" Lori shouted back. "I've got places to be!"
"Sure thing hon," Scoots called back, her mouth twisting into an unpleasant smirk. "I'll just crank up the speed a little, and...WHOOPS!"
The scooter did indeed begin to move. But at a snail's pace. And...in the wrong direction.
"Silly me!" The old woman cackled. "Seems I've forgotten how this thing works! Don't worry, I'll figure it out eventually!"
Lincoln's heart leaped into his throat as a flicker of light flashed in the corner of his eye.
"Lori?" He said worriedly, turning toward the driver's side of the van. "Maybe you should just...oh."
Lori's seat was now empty, her door open and swinging freely. One didn't need to be a genius of Lisa's caliber to figure out where his sister might have gotten off to.
"H-HEY!"
Lincoln's lips flattened into a thin line as he turned his attention back to the front of the car. There he saw Lori, standing behind the scooter. She reached down, grabbed hold of the scooter with both hands and lifted it up over her head as if it was weightless.
"Put me down!" Scoots sputtered indignantly. "Whaddya think you're doin!?"
"I'm just doing my civic duty," Lori said with a smirk. "And helping an old lady CROSS THE STREET!"
Swinging her load behind her in a low arc, in a motion not too dissimilar to how one might throw a bowling ball, Lori rolled the scooter along the ground—
"WHAAAAAAA!"
And sent the assist vehicle careening across the street and then some, the mobility from her throw sending the scooter and its similarly named occupant rocketing off into the distance until it disappeared from view. With an extremely self-satisfied smirk now on her face, Lori dusted off her hands, then made her way to the driver's side of the van.
"So…" She said, climbing back into her seat, putting on her seat belt, and favoring Lincoln with a warm smile. "How about that pizza?"
"Pizza sounds good," Lincoln said quickly, discretely checking to make sure his own seat belt was secure.
Vanzilla hummed to life, and the siblings continued on to their destination.
Gus' Games and Grub had been everything promised and more. Gus himself had been there, and both the games and the grub had been in abundance. However, more than anything, it had just been nice to spend some time alone with Lori. The two of them hung out all the time, of course, but in a house as packed as the Louds', that almost always necessitated being part of a larger group, usually with their siblings. And with Lori's life outside the house generally being consumed by school, her golf club (the team, not the stick she whacked golf balls with), and her boyfriend, there wasn't a lot left to go around.
Lincoln had enjoyed being able to spend some alone time with his big sister. And while he felt terrible for even thinking this...he couldn't help but feel hopeful that now that Lori had ended things with the biggest time vampire of the bunch, maybe occasions like this wouldn't stay so...occasional.
Regardless, all good things had to come to an end. Lori and Lincoln's afternoon had started pleasantly enough, but soon enough the Loud family's penchant for getting roped into hijinx caught up with the pair. First Lori had shorted out an arcade cabinet by inadvertently absorbing all the electricity currently running through it, as well as a good chunk of what had been coming out of the outlet it had been plugged into. Lincoln's suggestion that they switch to something a little more analog, like skee-ball, had come far too late, as juiced up as she was, Lori wasn't able to adjust to her new power level before accidentally sending a ball crashing through the machine itself. And the wall behind it. And from the sound of things, at least one car in the parking lot beyond. Needless to say, the duo had been asked to leave in short order.
Still, as they pulled into their family driveway, the sun slowly setting at their backs, Lincoln couldn't deny that it had been a pretty great way to cap off a fairly hectic day.
"Sorry about the end there, Linc," Lori said apologetically as Lincoln exited Vanzilla and slipped around to her side.
"It's fine, really." He reassured her, extending what he realized was a completely unnecessary hand to help her out of the van. "The pizza was great. And...I had a lot of fun."
"I'm glad," Said Lori, giggling softly as she took his hand and allowed him to help her down. "Maybe we could...do this again, sometime?"
Before Lincoln could reply, Lori leaned down, pulled him into a side hug, and gave Lincoln a peck on his freckled cheek.
"I'd...like that," Lincoln replied, blinking somewhat dazedly, wondering why his head was spinning all of a sudden. Seemingly satisfied with his answer, Lori gave him a quick squeeze, then released him from her hold.
"Awesome. Later, Linky!" She called back as she made her way towards the front door.
Now alone in the driveway, Lincoln closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, waiting until the various irregularities going on with his cardiovascular system ceased before opening his eyes once more.
It was at that point that he realized he wasn't quite as alone as he thought he'd been. For there, jutting out of his front lawn, was a pair of legs clad in baggy blue pants.
Lincoln frowned as he cautiously approached the phenomenon that was...actually fairly unusual, even by his current standards. Mercifully, he was able to readily determine that there wasn't some horrific portal, or teleportation accident at play (Lisa had sworn that she would stop those experiments. Or failing that, at least do a better job of hiding the results from the rest of the family). It appeared that someone had simply been driven into the ground, much like a tent stake. The question that remained, however, was whom. Referring of course to the person stuck in the ground, not whoever had placed them there. The latter was a pretty short list, by Lincoln's reckoning, especially with Lori having spent the afternoon with him.
The wayward extremities certainly looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place why. A quick run-through of his mental checklist was sufficient to determine that they didn't belong to any of his sisters, as they were most definitely not feminine legs. And they were far too short to belong to his dad. And he, of course, was out of the question. Which left him with a fairly perplexing—
"Is someone there!?" Called out a muffled, but all too familiar voice, as the legs began to flail in place, and Lincoln sighed as the last few pieces of the puzzle fell into place.
"I swear I heard something!" Came the muffled voice of Rusty Spokes. "Help a bro out, please?"
Finding a way to free his friend from his confinement would have been the right thing to do. But...Lincoln wasn't feeling particularly inclined towards that side of the moral axis at this time. Especially since he had a pretty good idea as to why Rusty was there. So, silently promising himself that he'd probably come back, once he'd cleared things up, Lincoln deftly stepped around the still-flailing legs and made his way into the house.
A chorus of giggles greeted Lincoln as he entered the house, and the source wasn't hard to find. There in the living room, Lola and Lana sat on the couch, seemingly having the time of their lives. Not because of anything on television, however. Rather, because Lynn had squeezed herself into the easy chair situated off to the side. The elder girl had gripped the couch from the bottom with one powerful hand, and periodically she'd lift it up with just enough force to send the younger girls flying up into the air, after which they'd tumble back down to the couch cushions, happily screaming for more. Lincoln allowed himself a few moments to enjoy the heartwarming sight, before clearing his throat just loudly enough to be heard.
"Lincoln!" Shouted the twins in unison, finally noticing their brother.
"Come play with us, Linky!" Lola shouted, patting the empty couch cushion next to her.
"Yeah!" Lana exclaimed in agreement. "Lincoln can join us, right Lynn?"
"It's fine by me," said the brunette, smiling at him over her shoulder. "Hop on, little bro!"
"Maybe next time, guys," Lincoln said with an apologetic smile. "I'd actually like to talk to Lynn for a bit."
Three pairs of eyes stared back at him expectantly.
"Alone, I mean," He clarified.
"Aww!" Groaned the twins. Out came the pouts and puppy eyes, and Lincoln had to immediately squeeze his eyes shut to avoid being compelled by their awesome, adorable power. One which had nothing to do with cosmic radiation.
"Please, guys?" He pleaded. "Give me a few minutes with Lynn, and I'll come up and join you in your room. Promise."
"Ugh. Fine," Lola grumbled, allowing her eyes to return to their normal state. "You owe me a tea party anyway. And I intend to collect, mister!"
Raising her fingers to her lips, Lola let out a shrill, ear-drum-piercing whistle, and moments later a small herd of her stuffed animals rushed down the stairs and assembled in front of her. Lola leaped off the couch and landed in the waiting arms of her subjects, who spread out to form a makeshift litter for her.
"Tea time's in ten, Linky," She admonished him. "And not a moment later. Back to the room, boys!"
At Lola's command, the animated animals rushed her back up the stairs. Shrugging, Lana hopped into the air and began flapping her arms until she began to hover in place.
"See you in a bit, big bro!" She called out, before lazily looping around and floating after her twin, leaving Lincoln alone with his big sister.
"What's up, Linc?" Lynn asked as she lifted her legs up and planted her feet on the coffee table. Lincoln nimbly navigated around her chair and deposited himself on the couch cushion closest to her.
"I, uh…" He began, as he took his seat. "I couldn't help but notice the new addition to our lawn. Out front, I mean."
"Oooh!" Lynn's eyes lit up in realization. "That. Yeah, I got in the mood to do some gardening earlier, so I planted myself a moron tree. Just wait till spring, it's gonna look amazing."
Lincoln snorted in amusement, taking a moment to compose himself before he turned his attention back to Lynn.
"I'm not saying he didn't deserve it," He said. "I'm just curious why that happened."
"He's Rusty," Lynn deadpanned. "Do I need a better reason?"
"...Honestly, no," Lincoln admitted. "But that doesn't explain why he was here."
"Ugh," Lynn groaned, rolling her eyes and leaning back in her chair. "The dork showed up looking for me, if you can believe it. And get this, he brought flowers!"
She gestured towards the front door. Looking where she'd indicated, Lincoln was surprised to see that he'd failed to notice the small pile of bouquets dropped unceremoniously by the door. Upended, and with petals scattered about, it was likely that they had been simply dropped there and subsequently ignored.
"And then, he started yelling poetry at me!" Lynn continued. "At least, I think it was poetry. He might have been trying to rap. It was honestly pretty hard to tell."
"Uh huh," Lincoln said, noncommittally.
"I...think…" Lynn's face scrunched up in confusion. Or possibly mild revulsion. "I think he might have been trying to ask me out. Can you believe that?"
"So...what did you say?" Lincoln said as diplomatically as possible.
"Lincoln, I pile-drived the guy into the ground," Lynn replied, obviously bewildered. "What the heck do you think I said?"
A tightness in Lincoln's chest, that he hadn't realized had been there until just now, finally loosened its grip on him.
"Good," He muttered, sinking a little deeper into his seat. "Just...uh, just...checking."
"...Is there something you're not telling me, Linc?" Lynn asked, looking concerned.
"Well…" Lincoln tried to fish for words that would make his thought process sound at least a little sane. "Rusty...kind of told us...earlier, that he was planning on...asking you out. He just didn't say he was going to do it so soon."
He'd chosen to extend a small courtesy to his friend, and not relay what Rusty had actually said word for word. Because he was reasonably sure that if he had, Lynn would go outside and put the rest of him underground.
"And you were...worried about me?" Lynn asked, perplexed. She flexed one arm, bringing her powerful, superhuman bicep to bear. "You know that even when I was normal, I could have done the exact same thing to him, right? Plus, Rusty's a creep, but...he's a pretty harmless one."
"I know that," Lincoln sputtered. "I know you can handle yourself, honest! I just...err, I just…"
Preoccupied as he was with his hemming and hawing, Lincoln failed to notice that Lynn was drifting closer to him until her face was inches away from his.
"...Lincoln?" She asked, softly. "Were you...worried, that I'd say...yes?"
It sounded magnitudes more stupid with her saying it aloud. But to his surprise, there wasn't any mockery in Lynn's voice. It was simply a question, one she presumably wanted an answer to.
"I...didn't think you would," He said, trying to choose his words carefully. "But I was worried that you...might?"
Lynn snorted derisively. But she lingered, her face only inches from his own.
"You were worried about me," She said, a smile slowly blooming onto her face. Lincoln's heart leaped up into his throat, as he was suddenly very, very aware of just how little distance there was between them.
"A-and...yeah, that was...so dumb of me," He stammered, beginning to pull away. "But like you said, it's Rusty. But...uh, yeah, just wanted to clear that up. Sorry for...for taking your time, like that, I'm just gonna head out and—WOAH!"
Lincoln began to stand up, intending to make a hasty exit before completely and fully dying of embarrassment on his mom's good carpet, the world spun around him. When everything righted itself, he found that he was sitting once more. A pair of strong arms were wrapped around his waist, and he realized he was sitting in Lynn's lap.
"Not so fast," She said, gently, sinking back into her chair and pulling him with her. She pulled him close, and soon the warmth of her body began to suffuse his own. It was...comfortable, being held like this. Blissfully so, in fact.
"You've still got some time before you've gotta meet Lola, right?" Lynn asked, resting her head atop his own.
"I...honestly don't know," Lincoln replied. Time seemed like a foreign concept to him at this moment. Particularly as his face was now sinking deeper into Lynn's cleavage, and the older girl had seemingly no intention of putting a stop to that.
"Well...let's just say you do." She murmured, nuzzling her face into his hair. "Come on. I haven't seen you since this morning. Tell me a little about your day, and then you can run off to princess sparkle butt."
"...And then you'll dig out Rusty?"
"We'll see," She muttered, tightening her grip on him into an affectionate squeeze. "Now come on. Talk to me."
"...Alright, Lynn," He said, closing his eyes and surrendering to his older sister's affections. "So, Rusty had this really stupid idea..."
