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 19: Trauma.

Lincoln's P.O.V:

The sun was shining bright, the birds were chirping happily, the neighbors were coming one by one, greeting me with excitement as I passed them on my way through the town that I had grew up on my whole life.

My destination? The McBride house, of course.

Today was Saturday, not only that, for the first time in this entire mess of a week, I felt relaxed and confident, I could finally spend some much owed quality time with my best bud!

Plus, to be honest with myself, and you guys… I really didn't interact much with him through this entire week, rather…

I chose Stella over him, I felt kind of guilty about that, he was my best friend, but I chose her to tell the things that were bothering me.

And he noticed, I am sure of that, going at the end of lunch, he always asked me to help him pick up his stuff in the lockers before returning to class, and I rejected his offer, 3 times now, surely by now, he must have watched me go the other way around, with Stella.

But today is different, we are going to make up for that lost time, here I bring with me the ultimate fighting game, Mickelodeon All-Star Melee, I had been saving up for a while, honestly was thinking of spending it somewhere else as of lately, but knowing us, this should be enough of an apology!

I stand firmly on the door and ring the bell.

Mr. Harold McBride opens the door.

- Oh, Hi Lincoln! – He greets me politely. – Please come over, Clyde should be cleaning his room – He then steps aside and grants me access.

- Thank you Mr. McBride! – I quickly thank him on his politeness as I enter the room and head towards my buddy's room.

- Well if it isn't my best bud in the whole world! – I open the door and Clyde greets me excitedly, having just finished making his bed for the looks of it.

- The one and only – I say confidently as we proceed to do the Clincoln McCloud™ greeting!

- Woah, so it seems Mr. Gloomy is nowhere in town anymore – Clyde instantly notices my improved mood.

- Yeah, I'm really sorry for that bud, I hadn't really been myself lately… - I lower my eyes and admit guilt over my behavior.

- Oh don't worry Cassanova, I see that Stella has done a good job ~ lifting your spirits ~ -

Shots fired.

- Ohh, ok, so you saw that – The questioning was going to me merciless, I conclude, I only scratch the back of my head while ignoring eye contact.

- Come on, surely you wouldn't think that your best bud doesn't know what's going on ~- He says with the biggest grin he could possibly muster, his purpose to clearly tease me to heck and back.

- Ok dude, I know what you're thinking, it's not that ok? – I finally snap in defense of my situation. – She just helped me get through a tough spot that I was in at the moment, like a friend. – I do my best to clear any and all misconceptions.

- A thing that you could not tell to your best bud? – He raises an eyebrow as he looks at me with a painfully unamused face. – You know Lincoln, I can sort of get when you don't want me to know some stuff, I myself cannot tell you everything, that's what I have Dr. Lopez for, but don't pretend that you would just tell that kind of things to any other friend. – He finally releases what I could only detect as days of pent-up frustration.

… And he had a point, a really good point.

- You know bud… - He continued his speech. – There was once a time where I was kind of jealous of the idea of you forming more intimate relationships with anyone else, I was kind of insecure of someone stealing my best bud from me – He continued with no shame whatsoever in his voice – But I think Stella is a really good person, if there's any girl in this world that you can connect with, it could be her, call me judgmental, but I never really thought that your thing with Ronnie Anne was particularly… Healthy -

He just kept dropping bomb after bomb.

- And also… - He kept on – I kind of realize what it looks like when someone is possessive of you – He didn't need to elaborate, I knew who he was referring to – So don't worry, if you feel like getting closer to her, you can go ahead, surely the group doesn't mind… well, not anymore hehe – He finished while blushing a little, remembering the "incident" that happened when she first approached our group.

- Well bud, thanks for your support… – I scratched my head while thinking what else to say to this awkward situation – But really, it's not that I see Stella that way, I'm not sure what is it, I guess I just needed someone to vent after a really stressful week and she just happened to be the first person to offer me that – I then proceeded to justify the situation, not to him mind you, but rather, to myself.

But what if it's true? I do think that Stella and I share a lot in common, I do like her calm, patient attitude, well I mean, I did find her kind of cute when she first introduced herself to the group…

- Well if that's the case, surely you have no problem telling me too right? – Clyde them replied with a curious look.

… He got me.

So I did it, I told him everything, The dream, the storybook, Lola's sudden distance, how I too, was avoiding her, the conversations that Stella and I had, I needed to finally take the guilt of my chest, if anyone else needed to know why I was being a downer lately, it was Clyde.

- I see – Clyde said while listening with almost the same professionalism as Dr. Lopez herself – You definitely seemed to have a twisted idea of the story you were making with your sister, so your conscious mind made an effort to reduce the traumatic effect of the implications in your mind by shoving it down to your subconscious mind, which is where dreams are made – he continued while carefully analyzing my situation – But I think what Stella told you is right! – He said in a more uplifting mood – You were just trying to take things out of context, don't worry bud, as long as you keep it clear that is a story of fiction with fictional characters, you don't have anything to fear – He finished with confidence in his voice, sealing for once and for all the insecurities I might have had about it.

How silly of me to not trust my best friend with this, a giant weight had just been lifted.

Which means…

The entire evening went on with pure bliss, as I almost had to assist Clyde with tranquilizers after showing him the game I had gotten for us, we played for what felt like just a few moments, the illumination in the room being our only indicator of the passage of time, which led me to conclude it was almost night time.

But fear not, the fun was not over, as Clyde then reminded me of our traditional Movie Saturday, which meant that he was coming along with me back to my house, we weren't just going to miss the ultimate 3 hour-long special of the best of ARGGH! After all.

The night was coming over us faster than expected, so we decided to quickly head back to my house, no longer were the same people that I passed by earlier in the says sporting happy smiles, busy from a full work routine, I imagined most of them were just coming back to their houses to rest, it was only to be expected.

People who have to work on Saturdays are probably not very happy individuals.

We arrive at the house, expecting rampant chaos as soon as I open the door.

Instead, everything is in place, and the Loud family was just sitting in the table, having dinner in a calm and controlled fashion.

- Hi Lincoln, Hi Clyde! – I see my dad initiate the greeting ritual, acknowledging the presence of my friend as soon as we pass through the door.

- Hi dad, Hi mom, hi everyone! – I reply back politely, expecting to not engage much.

- Have you guys eaten already? – My dad replies, looking to invite us to the table.

- Oh don't worry dad, we kind of brought our own stuff – I tell him while pulling out some fries and soda from Clyde's backpack, Movie Saturday was a very carefully planned event, nothing went uncalculated.

- Son, you know what your mom and I think of fries and soda – My dad replied in as serious tone, he wasn't letting us go that easy.

- Yes I know that, but still, I didn't tell you guys that Clyde was coming, I am sure the rations are counted, wouldn't want to disrupt that – I bring out my best gun to convince him, pure logic, and I'm sure Clyde would have to agree.

- Oh don't worry, Clyde you're welcome to sit with us, you can eat Lana's ration, here, I even have two seats free – Mom finally took the upperhand of the discussion, indeed, Lana was not anywhere to be seen, and there were two empty seats right to each other.

I guess I had become a little too predictable with my routines.

Regardless, I guess I had to spend some family time first, Clyde and I take a seat where we were directed to and begin eating and talking to everyone.

The talk was enjoyable, everyone had made perfect peace at the moment that Clyde was basically another member of the family at this point, but I couldn't shake the fact that there was someone in the table that wasn't enjoying the environment.

- Thanks for the food dad, It was great, but you know I have to take care of my figure! – Lola then interrupts the flow of one of Leni's shop customer stories as she decides to bring the half-full dish in her hand back to the kitchen.

- Uh, ok sweetie – My dad says while exchanging a quick sideways glance with mom.

I turn back to look as she leaves, curiosity filled in my eyes at her sudden interruption, sensing that something was wrong.

Then she stops, turns around, and looks at me in the eyes, I see it now.

Disappointment, and sadness, a LOT of sadness, I wonder why… Oh.

Dang it!