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 20: Movie Saturday.

- Buddy, is everything ok? – Clyde acknowledges the disoriented face of his best friend, as he remains on the table, present in body, but visibly absent elsewhere.

- … y-yeah, I'm fine – Lincoln barely looks at him through the corner of his eye, as he proceeds to mechanically chew on the otherwise delicious dish that his father had prepared.

- I can't tell Clyde to leave, we already had a plan, surely she has to understand that… - The white haired boy thinks to himself as he tries his hardest to pay attention to his friend, ultimately failing as eating the food was already taking a lot of mental effort to his already absent mind.

- I couldn't know that Lana wasn't gonna be here today… – He continues, brazing for the incoming battleground that was his mind at the moment.

- I wanted to enjoy Movie Saturday, she has to know this is not an exchangeable date… - His own mind throwing quick images of Lola's expression as he continues to delude himself with justifications.

- But… I promised her – He quickly comes to a realization.

- I've been distant to her the entire week, we even fought this morning, I didn't fix things up, I let Lana do it. – His resolve fading as his mind continues to drop quick flashes of her saddened expression.

- But she's not here anymore – Now it was becoming unbearable, Lincoln knew that one more moment on that table could be enough to break him, he proceeded to eat faster.

At the same time, Clyde was beginning to understand the basic signs of Lincoln's mood worsening by the second, he accelerated his eating rate, he began producing sweat in his forehead, he became even more absorbed in his own mind.

…He was entering panic mode.

Clyde saw his dish, still only half eaten, but he knew what he had to do.

- Thank you very much for the meal today Mr. Loud, it was really good! – The afro-descendant nerd politely complimented Lynn Sr.'s cooking, grabbing his friend's arm in the meantime – But we kind of already had some snacks in our way home so we're really full – Clyde then rubbed his stomach while closing his eyes, keeping a forced smile while doing his best to act as if he was actually full – So… see you soon! – Clyde then nervously gave a quick and forced goodbye to every one of the table and picked up the pace as he dragged the panicking friend upstairs as quick as he could.

The rest of the family just watched in silence as the entire exchange happened.

- Man, what's up with those dudes? – Lynn Jr. commented, following everyone's sentiment to the latest event.

- Yeah like, I saw Linky acting very weird, hopefully he has already recovered from his sickness – Leni then followed, coming to the conclusion at her own… unique… pace, making at least some of the sisters facepalm.

- Yeah, the little dudette was also acting really out there – Luna then gave a piece of her mind, this time regarding Lola's exit.

The topic came and went after a few exchanges, but was overall swiped under the rug once Luan intervened with one of her jokes, returning the conversation to its natural course.

To all except to a certain black haired maiden, who up to this point, had made an effort to provide as little interaction as possible.

- Something is happening to those two, and I'll find out what it is. – She thought to herself, looking for one last time at the empty stairs that lead to the hall, then focusing back on her meal.

- Ok buddy, it's ok, you can tell me now, what's going on? – Clyde grabs Lincoln's shoulders as he begins shaking his friend a little, hoping to elicit a reaction to get him from his trance.

- Woah, ok you can stop now! – Lincoln then gained consciousness as he recoiled in annoyance to his friend's desperate attempt to make him snap out of it.

- Oh thank god! I thought I lost you there – Clyde then retracts happily as he becomes entirely focused on his friend to find out about his newest mental blockage.

- Ok, I'm sorry bud, I guess I thought of something while I was in the table and just wouldn't let go – Lincoln says apologetically as he rubs his shoulder with his free hand – I promise I'll tell you later – He then proceeds to make a forced smile in an attempt to switch pages – but for now, we should tune in, the special is about to begin! – He reminds his still concerned friend as he stands back up from his bed to head to the TV in the family couch, and internal agreement in the house allowing him to gain free access to it whenever he announces a Movie Saturday.

He then leaves his room, approaches the stairs and…

*sniff*

- No, please for the love of god, don't tell me that she's… - He suddenly stops, then approaches Lana and Lola's room and places his ear on the door.

*sniff*

- … yes, she is –

His plans, demolished, his ability to think, gone, the entire world had apparently been turned into a black void, everything else, irrelevant.

His little princess was crying.

- Uhhh, buddy? – A certain voice manages to tear through the void, he recognizes that voice, it was Clyde's, he remembers something, they have a plan.

More like, they had a plan.

- Sorry bud, could we maybe do this another day? – Lincoln replies, but he doesn't even look back at him, Clyde finds offense with that, he readies to argue.

*Sniff*

The ebony friend immediately recognizes the sound, he looks back at his friend, then he realizes.

Lincoln has more important stuff to do right now.

- It's ok buddy, you go there, we can do this any other day – He touches his friend's shoulder in support, then, without exchanging any other word, goes back downstairs.

Now comes the awkward part.

Hoping he doesn't get caught, he proceeds to check the surroundings of the first floor, it seems that the area is still clear, then, learning every undercover trick from the Ace Savvy strips, he proceeds to make a stealth approach to the front door, avoiding any and all noise in the way.

Success.

Surely, Lincoln will come up with an excuse as to why he left early, right now, he didn't want the ball to fall on him like that, the night sky was pretty dim, but the streets were lit up well enough to allow him to safely go back to his house, right now, his main priority is to create an excuse to his parents.

He quietly closes the front door from the loud residence, victory.

- Clyde – A shadowy figure appears right behind the nerd as he was preparing to begin the long walk back to his house, startling him to the point of making him fall to a nearby bush.

He knew the source of that voice: Lucy Loud.

- Uhh, H-hi Lucy! – Clyde manages to speak the name of the shadow behind him, allowing her to reveal herself.

It was over, he had been caught, sorry… Lincoln.

- I will not tell anyone that you're leaving – Lucy says while maintaining her serious expression, reassuring Clyde that she means business.

- However – Lucy prepares her next step as she raises a hand to help him stand back up.

What she said next, made Clyde actually wish that everyone else had caught him instead.

- I want some information –