Disclaimer: I don't own The Loud House, the brand, as well as all of its characters and settings belong to Chris Savino and Nickelodeon, all rights reserved.

Chapter 16: Deal.

- … Lola? Are you still here with us? – Lana exclaimed with a tone of concern while exchanging looks with hops, who was being held in a pouch on Lana's chest, then back at her twin, her blushing face completely replaced with a questioning look, whatever she had said to her had resonated deep within the aspiring princess, somehow, the notion that she might have a crush on Liam had been translated to second plane as now, it was her twin who had the spotlight.

- … ah, uh, Well, duh! Don't you remember that dreamy hunk English teacher that Lincoln brought a few months ago? – Lola simply spurted out an answer, making it look as convincing as possible with her sassy tone, but her twitching eyes, and the sweat coming out of her forehead were telling Lana a completely different thing.

She was hiding something, and Lana was determined to find out.

- sis you know what I mean, like, a boy, not a man, I get it, that dude had a really cool air to him but it was just a first impression thing – Lana pointed out with a boring look, sending a clear message to her twin, who, by the looks of it, was starting to show clear signs of panic.

- W-well, I… - Lola began holding her hands tight in her little chest while looking away to the sight of Mr. Sprinkles, the teddy bear, making Lana raise an eyebrow, expecting a clear answer.

- … Yes, I do - Lola finally got it out, after a very long day of struggling with her internal realization, followed by a streak of guilt for putting Lana at the spot for shaming her taste, her blushing face could rival the color of a passion red Dolce & Rabanna purse, but her eyes were resolute while looking straight at Lana's, half as a sign of daring for her to go further, but also pleading her to drop the conversation entirely.

That is as far as she was willing to go with the truth.

- Well, it's good to know I'm not really alone with this! – Lana said happily at Lola's admission, reassuring her that what she was feeling for Liam wasn't a complete weirdo thing, after all, ms. Perfect here was also guilty of that.

- Oh, so you do have a crush on Liam ~ - Crisis averted, now it was Lola's turn to tease the heck out of her twin, her insufferable poop-eating grin doing most of the work for her.

Had it been the old Lola, Lana was sure that she was going to use this as blackmail material, fortunately, this wasn't the case anymore… or so she hoped.

- Ok, let's say I do – The tomboy begrudgingly admitted, crossing her arms while looking to the side with a slight blush, her pet frog imitating her posture, making Lola's grin double in size.

Quietly, Lana took a deep breath, her shyness showing again with an increased intensity as well as her blush, it was now or never, her sister was a known female target that could get almost any little boy her age to bend the knee for her, which could be attributed to the fact that, unlike her, she actually took care of her appearance, but whenever it came to love advice, she was almost as clueless as the other Loud sisters, her "success stories" being mostly made up fairy-tales or just side consequences of her previous manipulative side, no real love involved.

But this time, it was different, Lana was not going to ask the diva Lola Loud to give her egocentric advise, she was going to ask her sister Lola Loud about her experience with having a crush on a boy older than her, a situation eerily similar to what she was experiencing.

- Lols, could you help me with this? – Lana said in a sincere tone, from twin to twin – I want to know how things with this boy are going for you, I know you have more experience with this stuff. – Lana then made the trademark™ Loud puppy eyes – Pleeeease! –

- Ohhh come on not fair Lans! – Lola realized the weight that the puppy eyes could impact even a master of the craft such as herself when practiced by a newbie of the Loud family, seeing no other option but to comply to the slightly older twin's request. - …fine I'll tell you – she finally agreed unceremoniously.

Lana began to immediately give small hops of excitement, while having her eyes lit up in a rare moment of girlish emotion, for her at least.

- but, to be completely honest with you… I just realized that I felt that way for him not long ago – Lola then began to pick a very careful selection of words next, avoiding any and all references to the Loud family – I guess I haven't tried any moves on him yet and probably won't do it for a long time (… if at all), but we have certainly known each other for a long time and have become even closer over time, he's a really sweet, smart and attentive prince so I'm sure we won't grow distant any time soon! – Lola finished her brief description with excitement and heartfelt happiness in her voice.

But Lana's disappointed face quickly brought that spike back to normal levels.

-… That's it? – Lana said while looking with a bored expression to her twin's tale – I mean, I thought by now you would have already found a way to get him – she then tested Lola's patience with her nonchalant, dignified reply – although, I guess it kinda makes sense, we're still too young for that, I guess I should just keep making mudballs and not worry about romance stuff – the tomboy concluded while thinking out Loud for her own situation.

- Look Lans, I can't really speak for my situation, but you definitely should not give up on the boy you like, I know that right now I cannot give you much advice, but maybe we can talk about this later on and keep us updated! – Despite the thrill of competition that Lana had ignited in her due to her comments about her situation, Lola decided to remain composed and drop some encouraging words at Lana to not let her situation translate to her sister's, because unlike her, the tomboy actually had a chance, she was sure of it.

- Tell you what? Let's do a Deal – Lana declared while getting ready to state her terms – You seem to talk a lot with Lincoln, so if you can get me some useful stuff about Liam with him I'll make sure to help you in any way I can with your crush! – she proudly stated while spitting saliva in her hands and attempting to do the dirty handshake with the disgusted princess.

- …Help? How can anybody help me with this, she can't even know about my crush, nobody can! – Lola thought sadly to herself while eyeing Lana's saliva filled hand, her temptation to actually seal the deal rising.

- No, I'm sorry Lana – Lola finally raised her eyes with determination and confronted the disappointed face of her twin, who was starting to lower her arms. – However, I will do the part where I help you with Liam – She then gave a hopeful smile to Lana – You don't need to do anything in return, don't worry!

- Woah, who are you and what did you do to Lola? – Lana said, half-joking, half-serious, while raising an eyebrow at her twin's insanely selfless conviction.

- I'm serious Lans, just take it as a way of me apologizing for mocking your taste again – Lola quickly averted her gaze to the side while crossing her arms, finding the best excuse she could to explain her "selfless" action.

- Ok, but give me a few months to get used to this new you, it's still weird! – Lana said with her eyebrow still raised, but with a genuine smile, earning a small giggle of the redeemed princess.

After the exchange, the twins gave each other a quick good night and went to their beds respectively, Lola slept easily, wearing a proud, almost, victorious face.

She had given Lana a reason to talk to Lincoln more without her suspecting anything.

Lana, on the other hand, had bigger things in mind that the simple idea of sleeping, because a new objective had risen to the top of her priorities.

She was going to find who was Lola's Crush.