I'm back! At this rate I'll be able to make one chapter per week constituently. For reference, there is a 6 week jump in the story for this chapter. Enjoy The Backyard Chapter four: April Fool's Eve!

Lincoln walked out of the house and onto the sidewalk with more energetic movement than he had had for some time. He was back on his own two feet again. He had the casts removed yesterday and the crutch returned. He was grateful for it as Lola and Lana had taken a liking to doodling on it while he wasn't looking. He still had to keep his rib splint on for another two weeks though.

The bus pulled up to the sidewalk and Lincoln stepped on, followed by the rest of his sisters. He walked down the alley and sat next to Clyde.

"Hey Lincoln. You finally out of your casts?" He asked

"Yup. I'm really happy about it, I couldn't stand walking around in them with Lola's unicorns painted on it."

"What about the Blarney ones? I liked those."

"I have the casts at home if you'd like them. But don't come tomorrow, it's April Fool's Day."

Lincoln and the rest of his family, except for Luan obviously, had been on edge. She had promised "not to overdo it," this year, though they had seen how that had turned out in the past. He kept expecting a pie in the face at every corner which made him somewhat forgetful and kept him on his toes.

The bus came to a stop in front of the middle school. Lincoln and Clyde stepped off the bus and walked over to where Zach, Liam, Rusty and Stella were waiting.

"Hey you guys," Stella greeted. "Are you all good now?" She asked Lincoln.

"Almost. I still have to wear this splint for another two weeks."

"Shoot, I'm almost sad, I really liked those Blarney drawings," Rusty joked.

"Ha ha, real funny. I'm going to enjoy finally sending dodge balls back at Chandler."

"Well good for you, we have P.E. today before lunch," Liam said. "I got us some apple cider as a little victory treat for when we beat the other team." He opened the zipper of his backpack and showed off a small jug of juice.

"Does that have any pulp in it?" Clyde asked.

"Nope. Strained it thoroughly." Liam responded.

The school bell pierced through the air and Lincoln and his friends walked through the double doors of the school.

Lincoln stood in the locker room putting on his red P.E. shirt and shorts. School had gone noticeably smoother than before thanks to the fully restored use of both hands. He placed his orange polo, jeans and bottle of Diazepam in his locker before shutting it. He exited the locker room and walked out into the gym where the rest of friends were waiting.

"You guys ready?" he asked them.

"No, not really. Chandler's side is overpowered," Zach said. Lincoln looked over to the other side of the court and saw Chandler flanked by four other kids easily a head taller than Rusty.

"Hey Larry! Get ready to be put back in a cast!" Chandler yelled from across the gym. The others on his team guffawed.

Lincoln swallowed nervously before turning back to his friend to try and say something encouraging. "Well, uh… just give it your best shot."

"Get to the half line!" Coach Keck yelled out. They reluctantly closed the distance between them and the other team. One of Chandler's teammates was cracking his knuckles and Lincoln could hear each pop. Coach Keck placed three red rubber dodge balls on the line and stepped away. She put her whistle to her lips and blew.

Shreee!

Lincoln lunged for the leftmost dodgeball and jumped away. A dodgeball was thrown his way and he rolled to the side, irritating his ribs. He wheezed a bit as he stood up and quickly glanced around. Clyde had been unfortunately hit, but now all the balls were on their side of the court. Stella picked up the ball Lincoln had dodged and they both simultaneously threw their balls.

Stella scored a hit on one of them but the one Lincoln had been gunning for catched it. Lincoln sighed in defeat and walked over to where Clyde was and sat down next to him.

"Don't worry, we have plenty of time after this game to make up for it," Clyde reassured him. Lincoln watched the rest of the match play out. Stella, Rusty and Zach were picked off one by one and only managed to get one of the other team's members.

Lincoln and Clyde stood back up and took their places at the half line and waited for the match to begin again.

Shreee!

Lincoln, Stella and Liam all lunged at the dodgeballs. They grabbed them and quickly rushed back, leaving Chandler's team with nothing. They all threw their dodgeballs low to the ground, hitting three of them in the shins.

Chandler looked somewhat annoyed with this change of fortune. He grabbed two of the dodgeballs and chucked them at Lincoln. He dodged the first one but caught the second with his face causing him to stumble.

"Like the taste of rubber Larry?" Chandler taunted before he got struck out with a dodgeball. Lincoln walked off the court and back onto the bleachers rubbing his now throbbing face. The rest of his friends made quick work of the last opponent and Lincoln stood back up for the last match.

"We got this guys," he said in encouragement.

"We'll see about that Larry," Chandler said.

Shreee!

Lincoln jumped away from the half line as almost the entirety of both teams lunged for the dodgeballs. In less than twenty seconds they had cut each other down until there was only Lincoln and Chandler left standing.

"Well, it's just you and me," Lincoln said as he rolled around a dodgeball in his hand.

"I'm going to enjoy this," Chandler said in reply. "You're going to be feeling this tomorrow." He threw his ball at Lincoln. Lincoln quickly threw his ball at Chandler, caught the ball Chandler had thrown and sent it back to him as the first ball hit Chandler in the face. The second ball also hit him in the face before he could bring his hands up to defend it.

Lincoln's friends rushed back out onto the court hooting and cheering. They high fived each other and congratulated themselves on their performance. They were especially satisfied when they saw Chandler's face turn a deep rosy red from the impact of the balls.

"Get changed!" Coach Keck yelled out. Lincoln, Clyde, Zach, Liam and Rusty all headed for the boys locker room. Lincoln held to the door open for his friends as he smirked at Chandler. When all his friends had passed through he shut the door on Chandler.

He walked back to his locker and changed out of his P.E. uniform and back into his orange polo and jeans. He straightened out his collar as he walked into the hall and to the cafeteria for lunch.

His friends had already sat down around the circular table. He sat down between Zach and Rusty and pulled out his turkey sandwich. Liam was pouring his apple cider into little plastic cups and passing them around the table. He raised his cup and said, "Here's to winning at dodgeball, and knocking Chandler down a peg or two."

"Hear hear!" They all said in return, tapping their cups against one another. Lincoln took a sip from his cup. The cider tasted both sweet and sour at the same time. He began to place it back down on the table but almost dropped it on the floor.

"Uh oh," Lincoln said to himself. He needed one of his pills. He checked his pockets but found nothing. He bent down and rifled through his backpack but still couldn't find the pills. He must have left them in his P.E. locker.

He stood up from the table. "I forgot something in my locker, I'll be back." He walked out of the cafeteria and into the empty hallways. After a few turns he entered the locker room. The door closed behind him as he walked down a row of lockers looking for his own. He turned the corn-

Lincoln got sucker punched in the face. He recoiled and retreated a few steps clutching his face. He moved some of his fingers and saw it was Chandler.

"What the hell!?" Lincoln said.

Chandler punched him in the gut, doubling Lincoln over. "You think you can make me look like a dumbass in front of everybody and just walk away?"

Lincoln looked up at Chandler and said, "Yeah," earning him a punch in the ribs. "Don't like that, huh?" Chandler said. He grabbed Lincoln's shoulder with one hand and kept him standing as he repeatedly struck him where his ribs were bruised.

He let Lincoln fall to the floor, groaning in pain. "Weak," Chandler muttered. He leaned over and squinted at Lincoln's face. "You know, I just noticed your tooth isn't broken anymore. I think I'll fix that." He raised his white sneaker over Lincoln's face.

"No, n-" Lincoln pleaded as Chandler thrust his foot down on his face, knocking him out. There was a sickening crunch of dislocating cartilage and Lincoln's tooth popped out of his mouth. Chandler laughed to himself a bit before having to deal with the fact he now had a body on his hands. He looked over to a trash can in the corner of the locker room and the sinks on the other end. Chandler walked over to the sink and began to grab a wad of paper towels.

Thin trickles of blood were running down Lincoln's face and onto the floor. The blood began to pool on the floor, wetting the fallen tooth. The growth of the pool slowed and stopped. And then it began to shrink. The blood began to pour back into Lincoln and the tooth floated back into its proper place. His nose cracked back into shape and his bones creaked as they fully grew back.

Lincoln's eyes opened. He breathed lightly as he reached for his face, feeling his nose and teeth. His head snapped in the direction of Chandler as he heard his chuckling. The laughter filled him with a sort of anger and rage he had never known before.

He pulled off his orange polo and placed it on one of the blue benches next to the lockers. He then took off his white and red sports shoes and placed them next to the legs of the bench. He then turned the bend and walked up to Chandler who was too busy grabbing paper towels to notice him walking up behind him, the socks muffling his footfalls. It was only at the last second Chandler's eyes flickered to the mirror in front of the sink.

"Wh-" was all he said before Lincoln slammed his head face first into the mirror, forming spider web cracks. Chandler yelled as he stood back from the sink and tried to throw a punch at Lincoln. He side stepped his attack and grabbed his arm. With superhuman strength he threw Chandler across the locker room. He crashed against the uppermost lockers and fell down on a bench, yelling in pain.

Lincoln walked over to where Chandler was and opened the door of a vacant locker. He moved the bench and shoved Chandler's head into the locker. Sensing what he was about to do Chandler yelled, "Wait, wait, w-"

"Hurrgh!" Lincoln yelled as he slammed the locker door on Chandler's face.

"Harrgh!" Crunch! Blood splattered on his socks.

"Aargh!" Kur-runch! Blood splattered on his undershirt.

Lincoln looked at Chandler's gory and disheveled face before pulling him out of the locker and heaving him into the trash can. He picked up the pile of paper towels and wiped the blood off his hands. He then threw the pile onto Chandler, making sure that there was no blood to be seen.

Lincoln walked back over to his bench and put on his orange polo and shoes. Now, to make sure that there really wasn't any blood on his hands…

"Why am I washing my hands?" Lincoln thought to himself. He suddenly came around to washing his hands as if he had blanked off. He continued scrubbing as he tried to remember why he was back in the locker room. Had he forgotten something?

Ah yes, the Diazepam. He had forgotten it in his locker. He walked over to his locker and opened it up. He put the blue container into his pocket as he shut his locker door. He walked over to the exit, dropping his paper towels into the unusually full trash can as he thought of how he would wash down his pill today with Liam's apple cider.

He walked back through the hallways and back into the cafeteria. As he was sitting back down at the table Rusty asked, "What took you so long?"

"I don't know. I kind of forgot what I was doing and went on autopilot until I could remember. Could someone pass me my cider?"

Zack passed Lincoln his cup. "Thanks," he said. He unscrewed the lid and removed a single pill. He swallowed it, downed the cup in one go and placed it back on the table upside down.

"Thanks for the apple cider Liam," Lincoln said.

"Your welcome Lincoln. I can make some more at home if you guys ever want some again."

The school bell rang, signaling the second half of school. They all stood up from the table, threw away their cups and walked off to their next class.

"Cut," Zach said from behind the news camera. Lincoln stepped out from behind the host desk. "Great work you guys," Stella said.

It had been a good day. He had sped through all his classes and the Action News Team had just covered an interesting piece on the schools renewable energy drive. And best of all? He had not received any retribution from Chandler regarding dodgeball. In fact he hadn't seen him since then, not that he was complaining, of course.

They walked out of the Newsroom and went outside. They stopped at the sidewalk and waited for the school bus to pull in. Lincoln saw Billy, Marvin and Jessica a short distance away and averted his gaze lest it bring about the payback Billy had threatened.

"Hey Lincoln," Lynn said. Lincoln turned around and saw she had just appeared.

"Hey Lynn. Where did you come from?"

"Track. Do you have any water?"

Lincoln pulled his canteen out from the pouch on the side of his backpack and handed it over to Lynn. "Here you go." Lynn flipped open the lid with her thumb and chugged the whole thing before handing it back to Lincoln. "Thanks."

The bus pulled up to the curb and Lincoln stepped onto the bus. He took a seat near the front as he had been doing recently and Clyde sat down next to him. After a short while the doors closed and the bus drove away to the elementary school.

"So what are you going to do tomorrow?" Clyde asked Lincoln.

"Hiding from Luan in Lisa's bunker. You?"

"I'll be visiting Nana Gayle. Why don't you guys just go and ride it out at Sunset Canyon?"

"Luan will have thought of that. Most likely when we turn the ignition key all the airbags go off. And running away during April Fools didn't work so well last time." He shuddered, thinking of his less than pleasant experience at the Buttz Motel.

The school bus slowed down and then came to a stop in front of the elementary school. Lincoln watched the kids pass by his seat, seeing Lucy, the twins and Lisa walk by. The bus started moving again, bringing Lincoln closer to home.

After a short while the bus came to a stop at Franklin Avenue. The Loud siblings got off the seats and walked down the aisle.

"Good luck tomorrow," Clyde said to Lincoln as he stood up.

"Thanks, I'm going to need it," Lincoln replied. He got off the bus and walked up to his house. He nudged the front door open and saw Luan sitting on the couch reading her joke book. He kept close to the walls and walked upstairs as fast as possible, trying to get to his room. He turned the corner and ran right into Lisa, knocking her glasses slightly off balance.

"Sorry Lisa," Lincoln apologized.

"It's alright," Lisa assured him as she reset her glasses. "I think it should be me apologizing."

"Uh, why?"

"I ran into your healing ribs. Didn't you feel it?"

"No I didn't."

"Curious." She raised up her right hand. "May I?"

"Go ahead," Lincoln said. Lisa put her hand on the upper left of his shirt and pressed on it. "Are you feeling any pain?"

"No."

"Could you come to my room?"

"Uh, yeah." Lincoln followed Lisa into her room. She walked over to the closet and threw open the doors. She wheeled out a large rectangular device, a black screen coated in metal. She gestured for Lincoln to stand in front of the machine. He walked in front of it and waited for Lisa to do whatever she was planning. She adjusted a knob and pressed a button on the side of the machine. It made a noise similar to a camera shutter and began to print out a sheet of paper.

Lisa pulled out the piece of paper and examined it. "It appears that your ribs have healed two weeks ahead of schedule."

"Really?" Lincoln asked. He walked up next to Lisa and looked down at the x-ray picture she was holding.

"Yes, you have made a complete recovery in record time. Your rib splint is now obsolete."

"Today can't get better than this," Lincoln thought to himself. He thanked Lisa for the quick check up and entered his room. He tossed his backpack to the side and grabbed a comic from off his desk. He sat down on the bed and removed his splint, throwing it down next to his backpack. He then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on his bed.

Dinner had been a mostly quiet affair. It had just been too tense to talk about anything. They had eaten their spaghetti slowly and cast quick glances at Luan. She had been acting pretty calm and not the maniacal prankster they had come to fear. But better safe than sorry, of course, especially when it came to Luan.

Lincoln walked into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He closed the door behind him and walked over to the sink. He pulled out his toothbrush and the tube of toothpaste. He tested it to make sure it was actually toothpaste before applying it on his toothbrush. He scrubbed his teeth throughly before spitting the green foam into the basin.

He turned the tap and smiled at himself in the mirror. The reflection wasn't smiling. Lincoln's grin slipped off his face immediately. Was this one of those optical illusion surface mirrors? The reflections hand shot out of the mirror and actually grabbed his throat. He started choking and straining to get out the reflections grasp, but to no avail.

` The reflection, as if he had enough, pulled hard and brought Lincoln's head against the mirror. He fell back to the ground gasping for air and messaging his throat. He slowly stood back up. He looked at the mirror again and waved his hand around. The mirror copied him.

Lincoln walked out of the bathroom and into his room. He turned off the light but left the lamp on his desk on. He crawled into bed and hoped that he would catch enough shut eye before April Fools began.