Chapter 3: Under the Full Moon


Reviews:

zdforrest: Thank you and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

killertyger26: Lincoln will slowly start getting back to knowing his sisters, and slowly, Lily and Lincoln won't feel like strangers anymore. While it is terrible that Lynn was drunk driving, while she's depressed about Lincoln, there's a lot more to it than that, and her reaction is gonna be something you won't expect. As for Nikki and Lincoln's relationship growing, trust me, it's gonna take a while, and we'll get there, but it won't be easy.

Mr. Haziq: Believe it or not, the other driver will appear and is a character we know.

The Keeper of Worlds: Trust me, I'm working hard on trying to pull this off and I hope I do it well, because I really want this story to work, and thank you for reading!


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It was much later in the day and after his talk with Nikki and Luna, he simply tried to enjoy the rest of the day, yet, he couldn't, not when the rest of his sisters arrived and he finally saw them and just how much they changed.

Almost everyone was gathered inside the house, and Lincoln looked at them all and talked with them.

Lori looked older, her appearance much different. Gone were the shorts and the blue tank top, now she wore black dress shoes, a brown skirt that one of those office ladies would wear, a blue dress shirt that was the same color as her old tank top, and over it was a grey dress jacket, her hair was in a ponytail, and a gold ring was on her finger. She wasn't as controlling as before, and while still stern, not as she used to be.

He was glad to hear how happy she was with her career and seemed excited.

Bobby also looked different as well, he had grown a very thick black beard and he wore a green dress shirt with a black tie and a pair of jeans and brown boots. Turns out he took over Flip's and with the help of his dad, the food had gotten better and the place was booming far more than before. Bobby was very happy to see Lincoln awake, he almost cried, and Lincoln could tell he was trying to stay strong. Lincoln couldn't blame him, he and Bobby were close, like brothers.

Then there was Leni, who had gotten slightly taller and much more beautiful than before. She had filled out much more in her hips and seemed to still be rather slender in certain areas. Her hair was longer and poofy, she wore a lime green long-sleeved shirt and a pair of tight skinny jeans. She hasn't dated anyone in a long time, but Lori did mention that she and Chaz have been hanging out a lot recently. She wasn't as... well airheaded as she used to be but still was clueless about a few things.

Sam arrived and joined Luna, Sam had changed as well, her hair was in a ponytail and her blue streak was a lot bigger, she now wore a long-sleeved white shirt with a teal-colored vest, and she still wore burgundy pants but more ripped around the legs, and black boots. Like Bobby, Sam wanted to cry but she stayed strong and gave him the biggest hug she could. Much like how Bobby was like his brother, Sam was like his unofficial 12th sister and she missed him just as much as Bobby did.

Luan couldn't make it, it was four hours from her college and she still had lots to do but she promised to either video call him or see him when fall break happened, which wasn't that far off.

Of course, Lynn wasn't able to come, and her face not being seen amongst the family made him sad, and he began to wonder why Lynn would do something so stupid.

Then there was Lucy who kind of had a major change, she wasn't a goth any longer, and her black hair was back to its natural color, Brunette. Her eyes are still very much hidden, but her clothes are different, she wears a black sweater with grey leggings and black dress shoes, and oddly enough, there is a cross necklace hanging around her neck. Apparently, Lucy had found religion but wasn't overzealous and never went too far with it, but still, it was jarring for Lincoln to see his sister be so... not dark.

After Lucy, there were the twins.

Lola still looked a little bit of the same, she wore a pink long-sleeved shirt with a knee-high dark pink skirt, long white socks, and a pair of white dress shoes. However, the biggest change in her is her personality. despite looking like a preppy and snobbish girl from "Heathers" she was a lot less bratty, she still had that sharp wit of hers but was a bit more laid back and not always concerned with her appearance, she didn't mind a little stain or a few gross things as she did back then.

Lana also seemed to look like she used to, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, a pair of red suspenders, a grey sweater tied around her waist, grease-stained navy pants, and a pair of brown boots. She still very much was a tomboy which didn't bother Lincoln at all, but she did care about her appearance just a little bit than she did a long time ago, which was a little weird but Lincoln just assumed she was finally noticing boys.

Then there was Lisa, who seemed to be the same both personality-wise and physically, She wore a long-sleeved dark green sweater, over that was a white lab coat, a pair of burgundy pants, and dark brown shoes.

Lincoln couldn't help but feel out of place amongst all of them, they had all changed, some by a little, some by a lot.

"Hey! Lincoln!"

Hearing that voice, Lincoln turned around and that's when he saw Clyde, Stella, and Liam.

Clyde's hair had grown out and his afro was larger than before. He wore a short-sleeved yellow shirt with a blue stripe, blue jeans, and a pair of white sneakers.

Stella's hair was longer and tied into a ponytail, she wore a white shirt with a red star, a white and red varsity jacket, a pair of blue jeans, and black shoes.

And finally, there was Liam, his hair was pretty much the same, though he did have a small scar around his cheek, and he wore a dark bluish-green shirt with white sleeves, a pair of blue sweatpants, and a pair of greenish-blue sneakers.

Lincoln was about to greet his friends but they nearly dogpiled him as they brought him into a group hug and Lincoln smiled softly and hugged them back.

The hug eventually broke and Clyde looked at his best friend with tears in his eyes but a smile on his face. "It's... It's good to see you, Linc," He said with a sniffle.

Lincoln smiled back at his best friend, feeling good to see him, "It's good to see you too, Clyde," He said.

Stella looked at him next with a smile, "It's good to have you back, Lincoln," Stella said.

Lincoln gave her a nod, still smiling, "Thanks, means a lot to hear you say that," He told her that.

Liam chuckled, "We really missed ya Linc," He told him, "We all did," he said.

Lincoln nodded, seemingly agreeing with the statement, however, in reality, he didn't miss them as much as they did him, simply because to him, it only felt like a day had passed, not four years.

However, Lincoln talked with them and caught up on everything that he had missed. Apparently, Clyde and Stella were dating which Lincoln was happy to hear since they both seemed really in love, Liam himself was also dating, and it turned out he was dating Polly Pain, which Liam says is going great, and Lincoln also couldn't help but feel happy for him.

Eventually, Nikki joined them and she seemed to fit in right with the group, however, they began to talk about things and events that Lincoln had no idea what they were or what happened. He began to feel out of place, it felt as if he was among a sea of strangers, who talked about things he didn't know nor understood.

Everything had changed.

Everything had moved on.

It was only him, that had been stuck in the past, that hadn't changed with the times.

Lincoln felt alone in a place he had once felt so safe and around people whom he so dearly cared about.

Without anyone noticing, Lincoln slipped away and went out to the front porch where he sat on one of the steps and took in some deep breaths. It was dark, and he felt the cold night air around him and saw his breath in the air as he breathed, as he sat, he couldn't help but feel out of place, it was as if he was meeting these people for the first time, even though he has known these people for most of his life.

He heard the door open and turned around only to see Nikki walk out and join him out on the porch. She sat next to him and looked up at the sky, and Lincoln joined her in looking up at the night sky, and there they saw the moon, it was full once again.

Nikki smiled, "It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked.

Lincoln nodded, "Yeah," He replied.

Nikki let out a sigh, "Ya know, no matter how much the places and people change, there are things that never will," Nikki told him.

Lincoln looked at her with a raised brow and a small smile, "Like the moon?" he asked.

Nikki nodded, "Yeah," She replied, "Like the moon,"

Both looked at the bright full moon and looking at it, he felt less uneasy, less... alone.

"I noticed you left the party and came out here," Nikkie told him. "I may not know what you're going through but I do know what it feels like to feel alone,"

Lincoln looked at her with wide eyes, shocked that she was able to read him.

Nikki looked back at him with a smile, "You've been daydreaming all day, Cottontop, and I know that look on your face," Nikki said, "It's the same face I used to make when I felt alone when I felt so different while the world around me changed and moved on after my parents died, it felt I was alone,"

"I'm sorry," Lincoln said.

"It's alright," Nikki said with a shrug, "I just wanted to tell you that you're not alone, you might think that, but you're not, not unless you make yourself alone, and don't do that, don't isolate yourself, it's just gonna make everything worse," she finished.

After she finished, she turned to look at the boy and saw that he was back in his own head and no doubt thinking heavily on her words, and she wasn't surprised but she didn't like that he was in his own head, but she had a great idea to take him out of his head.

"Hey, Snow White," She called to him.

Lincoln turned to Nikki only to feel her lips crash into his and his eyes widened with shock, he slowly melted into the kiss, but the kiss came to an end, and he looked at Nikki with a dumbfounded look as he felt his whole body grow with heat, heat that made his heart beat to strong, it felt like it was going to burst from his chest, he didn't know why, but he didn't want to stop the kiss, he didn't even want to just stop at the kiss, his eyes wandered to Nikki's breasts and he felt a strong urge to touch them, to kiss her while feeling those globes of flesh.

Nikki noticed him looking at her boobs and smiled, finding it cute that he found her attractive, "How was the kiss, sleeping beauty?" she asked.

Lincoln was taken out of his lustful gaze which made him feel like crap, but he looked up at her with a blush on his cheeks, "It was... it was great," He admitted absentmindedly.

Nikki chuckled, "Good to hear, but that was just to wake you up," She told him, "Now, let's head inside before they notice we're gone," she said.

Lincoln nodded and he got up with her and walked to the front door, but before they walked back inside, Nikki looked at him with a smile.

"Ya know, if you're serious about living a selfish life... I don't mind if you want to be selfish with me," She teased.

Lincoln was shocked by what she said, but she just smirked at him and went back inside to join the party. Lincoln was shocked by what she said and what she was possibly implying but he went back inside to join the party.

Tomorrow, his new life would begin, his selfish one.

He would finally live for himself...


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The next day, everyone else left for school, all except for Lincoln. He went with his mother to get him registered for school, pick him some new clothes, and get him that therapist the Doctor recommended.

Of course, they went to the school first and when they arrived, Rita spoke with the principal and they got him registered for high school, however, Lincoln was going to have to do a lot of catching up, but he himself was sure he could get through it with a little help from Lisa possibly. When they left, the other students were switching classes and as they walked down the hall, Lincoln noticed some familiar faces who stared at him with shock, no doubt surprised that he was awake or alive.

After that, they headed to the mall, where they went to the store that Leni managed and she was once again very happy to see her brother, she gave him a rather bone-crunching hug, and he began to wonder if Leni was always this strong or if she had been working out.

After that, she helped them pick out a few clothes for Lincoln, and he also learned that Miguel still worked there, managing the store with Leni, he also heard that Fiona had left the store when she left for college, though they heard she was doing good with a job in the city.

After finding and trying a few clothes, they found the perfect set for him. Lincoln had bought a blue polo shirt that he would wear under an orange zip-up hoodie, with white laces in the hood, a pair of grey slacks, and a pair of red shoes.

After that, they seemed to buy a lot of the same type of clothes he liked, that was one of the odd things that hadn't changed, people kept wearing the same change of clothes every day.

After that, Rita took Lincoln to a therapist's office and went to the front desk where Rita said they were there for an appointment with a very familiar Doctor whom Lincoln had heard many times leaving Clyde's mouth.

Turned out the therapist he was going to see was none other than Dr. Lopez, Clyde's old therapist, and eventually it was time to see Dr. Lopez and apparently, she wanted to evaluate him by himself, which he was fine with. He was led to her office and that's when he opened the door he came face to face with the woman who had helped his friend in the past.

Dr. Lopez was a Spanish woman, she had long black hair that reached her back and she wore a pair of black glasses, a yellow ascot around her neck, a light pink shirt under a forest green coat, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of dark brown Chelsea shoes.

She sat in a swivel chair and looked at Lincoln as he entered the office. "Hello, Lincoln," She greeted, "My name is Dr. Hannah Lopez, it's nice to finally meet you," she told him.

Lincoln nodded as he felt nervous, "Uh... yeah, same here," Lincoln replied.

Dr. Lopez smiled and pointed at the small couch across from her, and Lincoln closed the door behind him and sat on the couch, now facing the doctor.

Dr. Lopez grabbed a notepad and pen and looked at Lincoln with a small smile, "So, tell me a bit about yourself, Lincoln, nothing too big, just some small things," She told him.

Lincoln nodded, "Well, I'm 12- I mean 16 now, and I am the only boy among 12 children, I love comics and drawing, I love my friends and my family, and well... I think the only major thing in my life, is that I recently woke up from a coma," he told her.

She nodded, as she wrote down what he had just told her before she stopped and looked back up at Lincoln, still with a soft smile. "Right, now tell me Lincoln, how are you feeling after waking up from your coma?" She asked.

'How do I feel?' Lincoln asked himself. It should've taken moments for him to figure out his feelings but it didn't. Lincoln instantly knew what he felt.

"I feel like this is all one bad dream, I feel like I'm about to wake up and end up back in my bed and everything will be back to normal! I feel scared, I feel afraid, terrified, out of place, I feel-!" Lincoln answered quickly before he stopped and he could feel the emotions rising up inside of him, "I feel... Alone,"

Dr. Lopez could see that sadness in the young boy's expression and she felt sorry for the young boy. "I'm sorry that you feel that way Lincoln," She told him. "If you can, please expand on why you feel those emotions," She told him.

Lincoln wiped away his tears before they could fall, "I'm scared how much has changed around me, I feel like everything around me isn't real, I can't even remember how I ended up in a coma! I fall into a coma at 12 and wake up as a sixteen-year-old, I wake up and find out one of my sisters is in jail for drunk driving! And another sister doesn't even remember who I am!" Lincoln cried. "Everyone around me has... changed! I feel like I don't even know them anymore! I feel so out of place among them, so many things have happened while I was asleep that I don't even know what they're talking about... god..." Lincoln said as he began to tear up again and sniffled.

Dr. Lopez handed Lincoln a tissue and the white-haired boy took it, he blew his nose, and he balled up the tissue before he wiped his tears away.

"Lincoln," Dr. Lopez called out to him, "I'm sorry for what you're going through right now, I don't know how exactly you feel, but I am here to talk to you about them, help you understand why you feel like that, and eventually, get you to a place where you'll feel better," She said.

Lincoln looked at her with a sad expression, "Will I ever go back to feeling normal?" He asked.

Dr. Lopez looked at him and let out a sigh, "I'm going to be honest with you Lincoln, you can't ever go back to feeling how you did before your coma, and nothing in your life is going back to how you remember it," She told him. "Therapy isn't something that will help you go back to normal or fix whatever emotional problems you may have, what therapy is, is a practice to help bring you to a place where you can understand and deal with these emotions in a healthy and safe way then you may have before... there is no going back to Normal," She finished with a sad look.

Hearing that hit the young boy hard, being told that there was no going back to how things once were was so hard to hear, and yet, Lincoln accepted the hard truth. No, it wasn't just that he accepted there was no going back... it was that he had already known, deep down inside of him, that there was no going back to Normal.

Dr. Lopez let out a long sigh, "I'm sorry, Lincoln, I know that it has to be to hear, but-"

"No," Lincoln cut her off, "I... I think that I already knew, that there was no getting back to Normal, I think I knew that the moment I got home, maybe even the moment I knew what had happened, but thank you, for telling me the truth, Dr. Lopez," Lincoln told her.

Dr. Lopez smiled at him softly and gave him a nod, "You're handling the truth very well, Lincoln," She said.

Lincoln shrugged, "Like I said, I think I already knew there was no going back," He said.

She nodded, "Right," She said, "Now tell me Lincoln, If you're not expecting to go back to Normal, like some, then what do you expect to happen in these sessions, what do you want out of all of this?" Dr. Lopez asked him.

Lincoln looked at the ground for a moment, thinking about what he wanted out of these sessions.

"I think, what I want out of this... is some sort of peace," He told her. "I want to live the life I want to live, I want to get to a place where I don't feel so alone, where I feel better than I do now, I just want... peace,"

Dr. Lopez nodded slowly, "I think that's something new, Lincoln," She told him. "Know that what you want, isn't easy, what you want, may take a long time, are you willing to work with me, so that we can hopefully get you, what you want?" She asked.

Lincoln looked at Dr. Lopez and nodded, "I am," He told her.

Dr. Lopez nodded and she looked at him, "Then I'll be happy to help you," She told him. "Our sessions will be on Saturdays is that ok?" She asked.

Lincoln nodded.

"Good," Dr. Lopez said. "I'm glad that I'll be seeing you, Lincoln, Clyde has told me a lot about you and I'll be happy to help you as much as I can, but you have to remember, this only works if you're willing to work with it, no secrets, no hiding how you feel, you have to be open and honest, understand?" she asked him.

Lincoln nodded, still looking at Dr. Lopez.

She gave him a nod back, "Good," Dr. Lopez told him before they resumed the rest of the evaluation...