Chapter 11: A Well-Needed Break
As planned, Ronnie Anne headed over to the Royal Woods Park around noon to meet Lincoln for the date. As she approached the fountain, her ears picked up the faint sound of the goggles rattling around in her backpack; she cringed, hoping that she wasn't damaging them in any way.
She did her best to put last night's adventure out of her mind, since she arranged this date as a way of giving herself a break from the alternate timeline, and letting the timeline dominate her conversation with Lincoln would sort of defeat the purpose. Even so, that was easier said than done, given that said adventure involved a pink lion and a killer robot.
Upon seeing Lincoln standing by the fountain, she rushed over, forcing him to the forefront of her mind. Just focus on Lincoln, she thought. This day's about him, not Steven.
The two of them greeted each other with a hug, and proceeded to scout out a spot on the grass for their picnic lunch. As they looked around, Ronnie Anne took a deep breath in, savoring the crisp autumn air. She found the park's temperate, breezy environment to be a welcome change of pace from the hot, sandy climate of Beach City.
Before long, they found a comfortable spot underneath the shade of an elm tree, and laid out their blanket, ready to dig in. Ronnie Anne had brought a few tinfoil-wrapped tamales with some guacamole on the side, courtesy of her mother, while Lincoln had brought a peanut butter and sauerkraut sandwich, courtesy of... himself.
"Seriously?" asked Ronnie Anne, squirming in disgust. "You complain about the school lunch, and that's what you decide to eat when you have a choice?"
Lincoln shrugged. "Well, peanut butter's a healthy fat, and sauerkraut has a lot of vitamins in it. Plus, I always use whole wheat bread."
"I didn't say it wasn't healthy, Lame-O. I said it was gross."
"To each their own," he said, capping off his statement by taking a sip of water with his pinky outstretched. "So how are things with Bobby?"
"Bobby? He's... uh..."
Ronnie Anne took another bite of her tamale to give herself some time to think. It occurred to her that her interactions with Bobby had been pretty limited over the past week - thanks in no small part to the goggles.
"...he's good," she said after swallowing. "Looking for colleges, staying up all night on the phone with Lori. That sort of thing."
Lincoln chuckled. "They're just precious, aren't they?"
"To die for," Ronnie Anne said, in a playful imitation of the Queen's English. "Real talk, though: if I'm ever that cute, smother me in my sleep."
The two of them rambled on for a while more, but after a while, Ronnie Anne's attention started to drift back towards Lincoln's sandwich, and her feelings of disgust overwhelmed her.
"I'm sorry, I just can't sit by and watch you eat that," she said, handing him one of her tamales. "Here. This is what real food tastes like."
"Oh, uh, thanks," said Lincoln, as he took the tamale from her and took a bite. A smile broke out across his face soon after he swallowed.
"Oh, hey! This is actually pretty goo..."
But Lincoln couldn't even finish his sentence before his smile started to falter, and beads of sweat started to accumulate on his brow. Ronnie Anne gave him a worried look.
"Lincoln, are you okay?"
A tinge of read spread across Lincoln's cheeks, and spread out across the rest of his face, as his breathing accelerated. Ronnie Anne had failed to mention that Maria liked to spice up her tamales with an extra kick - or two or three. She and Bobby were used to that sort of flavor; Lincoln, on the other hand...
"I... I... uh..."
Before he could even manage to formulate a response, he grabbed his bottle of water and started chugging it, splattering his face with water in the process. He downed half the bottle before finally setting it back down, panting and gasping and wiping residue off his lips. Ronnie Anne just giggled and rolled her eyes.
"White people..." she muttered under her breath.
After Lincoln cooled down and the two of them finished their lunch, they decided to take out Ronnie Anne's frisbee and toss it around for a little while. Lincoln was surprisingly adept at catching, no doubt a product of his home environment; it wasn't easy to get by in the Loud House if you didn't have good reflexes. His throws, on the other hand, left a lot to be desired, as Ronnie Anne found out when his first attempt wobbled a bit in the air before dropping to the ground a good three feet from where Ronnie Anne was standing.
"Been a while, hasn't it, Lame-O?" Ronnie Anne asked with a giggle. "Here, let me help you."
She walked towards Lincoln, picked up the frisbee and handed it off to him. She then repositioned herself next to him and grabbed hold of his right hand, pushing his fingers into the proper throwing position.
"You're gonna want to keep your four fingers under the disc, and your thumb on top," she said. Lincoln nodded and slid the frisbee into his right hand, gripping it tight.
"Then you wind up, swing your arm forward, and flick the wrist. Like thi..."
"And then, to throw it, you just sort of whip your wrist forward. Like this!"
Ronnie Anne's heart fluttered as she suddenly flashed back to her fateful meeting with Steven on the beach.
"Uh... uh... buh..."
The flashback sent her into a trance-like state, disallowing her from finishing her sentence and bemusing Lincoln.
"You okay, Ronnie Anne?" he asked.
She shook her head back and forth, snapping herself out of her daze. "I-I'm fine," she said. "Just throw."
He did - and while the frisbee wobbled a bit mid-flight, it was a considerable improvement over the last time he tried. As the afternoon went on, Lincoln's form steadily got better. Ronnie Anne, on the other hand, saw a bit of a dip in her performance. After the flashback, her thoughts kept on getting hijacked by Steven - the meeting on the beach, the introduction to the Gems, the feeling of having her arms wrapped around him while they rode Lion - causing her to miss catches that she should have pulled off effortlessly. After about an hour, Lincoln decided to speak up again.
"Are you sure you're feeling all right?" he asked. "You seem a little distracted."
"It's nothing, I promise," said Ronnie Anne, as she drifted back towards the shade of the tree. "This is getting kinda boring, though. Let's take a rest."
Lincoln decided not to press the issue further, and complied, following her back towards the tree and picking a spot on the grass to lie down on. Still, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Ronnie Anne's behavior. His suspicion was piqued even further after he lied down; a moment after he took a spot near Ronnie Anne, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him in, spooning him.
"H-hey! What's all this about?!"
Ronnie Anne took her sweet time coming up with a response. After taking a few seconds to tighten her squeeze and rest her cheek against his shoulder, she said the following:
"I'm tired and you're comfy."
Can't argue with that, I guess, Lincoln thought as he wriggled into a more comfortable position. As odd as he found her behavior, he couldn't complain, since he rather enjoyed the feeling of having her arms wrapped snug around his middle. He spent a good long while resting in her warm clutches, letting her soft breath caress the nape of his neck. He dared not ask any questions, out of fear that he'd kill the moment.
By the time the clock struck three, though, he started to get a little antsy.
"Hey, Ronnie Anne? I think we oughta be getting home."
He started to get up, only for her to clamp a hand over his arm and force him back down.
"Wait, wait, wait!" she said. "Don't get up. I wanna try something."
Lincoln was a bit befuddled, but honored her request and stayed put. He waited patiently as she picked herself up off the ground and gathered up all of their belongings. Then, he felt her slip her hands underneath his back and legs, and his heart skipped a beat as he felt himself getting hoisted into the air.
"Whoa!" he yelped, flailing about in her grip for a second or two. After the shock wore off and he caught his breath, he looked up to see Ronnie Anne smirking at him as she held him aloft. If she was having any trouble holding him, she didn't show it.
"Gosh, you're strong," he said with a nervous giggle.
"Nah, you're just light," she said. "Now, come on. Let's get you home."
Gee, I can't even remember the last time someone carried me like this, he thought. It feels nice, though. Really nice...
In fact, as they exited the park, Lincoln felt so warm and comfortable in her arms that he started to drift off to sleep. With every step, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and the vibrant scenery around him started to fade. Just before he fell under, the last thing he felt was her lips pressed up against his cheek.
He woke up some indeterminate amount of time later in a lovesick daze, laid out on his bed with the goggles on his nightstand next to him. He intended to use them that night, but for now he was content to sit back and let the feeling of satisfaction wash over him.
What a day, he thought. What a girl.
