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 84: Number 1.
The Loud residence - 12 years ago.
*SMACK*
A very angry 11 year old sporty girl had just bursted into the house, she saw the twin toddlers watching their stupid froggy song on the tv, she had no patience for that, as she simply made her way upstairs, hopefully getting some deserved rest in her and Lucy's room.
But as soon as she was turning to her resting place, she heard someone approaching her.
- Lynn! How was your day? - The excited voice of her little 9-year old brother was heard, who was apparently playing with an Ace Savvy action figure in the hall before she walked in.
Normally, Lynn Jr. was always excited to hear him excitedly calling for her name, she knew that as his closest sister and role model, she had to always be available for him.
Not now though, she wasn't in the mood for it.
- We'll talk later Linc, I need to be alone - Lynn tried to discourage him gently, as she tried to enter her room again.
- Wait, why? Is there anything wrong sis? - Lincoln wasn't having it, his favorite sister looked troubled and he wanted to find out what it was.
- Really, Lincoln, I mean it, please leave me alone - Lynn was aware of her brother's need to help everyone in the house, that had always been his best attribute, but again, she had no time for this, she wanted to be alone.
- No, we can talk it out, I don't want you to be upset, you're way too awesome for that! - Lincoln insisted, getting in from of her and putting himself in the way to her room, he was going to find out what was bothering his dear big sister.
- Lincoln, I'm warning you, stay, aside - Lynn was beginning to grind her teeth, losing her patience.
- Come on Lynn, let's go to my room and play our game, what do you say eh? Strong suit? - He said excitedly, recalling the mighty super heroine that he had crafted out of Lynn, the first alter-ego that he ever crafted as he was still coming up with a design for the other sisters, with him being the all-mighty Ace Savvy himself and his best friend, Clyde McBride, being the inseparable sidekick: One-Eyed Jack, against the nefarious "Wild Card Willy".
And Lynn had had it.
- Ugh, stay aside Lincoln, I don't want to play your stupid superhero games! - She saw the figure of the boy becoming disillusioned, but she couldn't give a damn, this clingy brother of hers had to learn a lesson - I'm NOT a hero you doofus, I'm not someone that you should look up to, sometimes I just want to be alone, and no, I don't need your stinkin' help to get better either - She spoke a little to harshly while shoving him away to enter her room.
- Wait, Lynn! - Lincoln tried one last time, clinging to the edge of the door - Please, you know you can tell me anything, come on, you're the best sister ever, you're number 1, you always defend me against the bad guys in our school, I just want to help you back! - Lincoln begged, trying to place his hand on his sister's shoulder.
- Gah! Fine you wanna know what happened, I'll tell you what happened! - Lynn snapped, forcing his shoulder a little too harsh and making the little boy in question fall to the ground - What happened is that I'm not good enough ok? - She shouted, making the boy flinch a little - There are people that are way stronger than me alright? There are games that I can't win capiche? There are times were I just want to be left alone, you can't fix everything just by pretending you're some stupid hero and I can't always help you either Lincoln, hear this from me: Sometimes life will just bring you down and there is NOTHING you can do to help that, the best thing you can do is to rely on yourself and ONLY yourself, now piss off, Stinkoln! - She finished her rant, panting heavily without even realizing it.
She did however realize the tears coming from the little boy's eyes, a look of betrayal and disappointment that she had never seen before.
But at that moment, she just couldn't care, she enclosed herself on her room, not even caring if Lucy was there or no, and began to hit a wall.
Accepting a "friendly" match with the girls from middle school was a terrible idea, but her team was so eager, so energetic, so confident that her abilities alone were going to give them a chance against them…
Welcome to reality.
She suffered the worst, most heart crushing defeat in her life, she didn't even know that a 25-0 in a soccer match was possible, but it wasn't just that, those girls… those bitches, they ridiculed her in front of everyone, and she couldn't even do anything about it, going to the lockers later on was a nightmare, without her confidence, even asking for indications was too much, everyone in that school just kept looking down at her, laughing at her and her team, many just couldn't stand it and just ran away crying hysterically without looking back.
She had lost the respect from those girls too, she knew, building back that trust was not going to be easy, but as her violence receded, she bounced back off with a new determination.
She would climb herself back to be number 1, she would show those bitches what it feels like to rub it in their faces once she crushes them, she was going to dedicate more time to sports, at improving for herself, at becoming better at everything, and to become stronger, without the need of anyone.
And she was going to teach that same lesson to her brother as well, she couldn't allow this defeatist side of her show up again, she would be the toughest girl to ever live, she was going to show that brother of her what a bully is and how to deal with one.
No more sweet "Linc", he is just a wimp right now, "Stinkoln", more like it.
Good bye, nice sister Lynn.
Someday, Lincoln will thank her for this.
Lincoln just laid there, watching his sister storm in that room, shocked beyond comprehension at what had just transpired.
After a while, re recomposed and placed his head on the door slowly, hearing her hitting the wall relentlessly, and felt an immense need to open the door to be there for her, but then her words came rushing back to him.
"I'm NOT a hero you doofus, I'm not someone that you should look up to"
"There are times were I just want to be left alone, you can't fix everything just by pretending you're some stupid hero"
He kept thinking about those words, as Lynn continued trashing the walls, he revisited his thoughts on her.
She was number 1, his favorite sister, whom he had shared so many things, the one that always saved him from bullies in school, the one that always had such a radiant, strong attitude, that he admired so much…
Here she was, suffering alone, she wouldn't let anyone in, she had dared to insult his own heroism, the reason why he followed Ace so much, because she was acting as such a… sore loser.
She wanted him to leave her alone… fine, he would teach her a lesson, he would show her he could be someone else's hero, if she couldn't to him, or he couldn't to her.
He heard an altercate downstairs, little girl screams to be more precise.
He rushed in to his first heroic adventure without Lynn!
He saw his dad comforting the twins, his little sisters, they needed help!
He got closer to the scene to investigate the situation.
- She said I don't be froggy 1! - He heard the older one, Lana, say, typical, a little girl problem, they were probably arguing about that dumb froggy song.
- Well she said that Linky likes her more! - Lola's words, however, caught his attention, not having the required context of why his name would even be mentioned
- Lana, is that true? - His dad said with some degree of authority.
- Well yeah, he said I'm sweeter and nicer! - Lana crossed her arms confidently, he was starting to see why they were fighting.
Well, it was time for him to fix everything and save the day, Ace Savvy is always ready to lend a "hand"!
- Uh girls? - Lincoln appeared behind his dad, paying attention to Lola and Lana, who immediately retired their faces of discomfort.
- Linky! - His little sisters exclaimed affectionally, rushing in to give him a warm hug.
Already a better response than Lynn.
He then saw his dad look at him warmly before retiring to the kitchen, he would always wonder why he did that the moment he was there for his sisters?
First thing first, he wanted to know what exactly was this "froggy 1" thing, so he spoke to Lana first.
- Ok, why so blue Lans? What happened? - He asked in his kindest tone yet, always got to release the tension first!
- Lola said I don't be froggy 1 'cause I'm not numbuh 1! Tell her Linky, I'm your favorite right? - Lana pointed to Lola with some degree of anger.
- Not true right Linky? I'm your favorite! - Lola was looking expectantly at him for a positive answer.
Number 1, not everyone can be that, he would need to call Lola out for that by addressing Lana first.
- Lana, you're a kind and compassionate girl, you should know better than to let yourself go with the idea of being number 1, remember, it doesn't really matter, as long as you're doing what you love, you should always be happy with who you are and what you're doing! - Those words would certainly do it, not a surprise at all to see Lola getting that idea into the more noble twin, he simply knelt to Lana's height to emphasize his point.
When he finished his speech, he saw Lola glaring at him while impatiently stomping her feet on the floor, he knew that the other twin had a stronger attitude than Lana and was a little bit on the selfish side, always trying to upstage her twin in their birthdays and such, at the same time, it was quite a surprise to see so much strength coming from such a tiny girl, she could make for a good sidekick!
Like Lynn… But she was out, the strong suit could not be a leader, merely a side character, and he couldn't feel entirely comfortable while looking at Lola either, she was trying to minimize her sister, and that wouldn't fly by a hero like himself!
- And Lola, you're a really talented girl and I know how hard you dedicate yourself to achieving your goals, but remember what I have always told you in those little princess tales, a true princess is not the one that boasts about her things or her worth to others, but the one who can make the people around her look up to her for her interior qualities - Hitting her from the "princess" angle always seemed to do the trick, the little girl was known to be a big fan of fairytales, and when his dad couldn't, he always had to be the one to read some of those stories for her, he simply rubbed the top of her head with his hand to cheer her up.
Now for the elephant on the room.
- Girls, I don't have a favorite sister, you don't need to fight for being number one at anything, you both have your own special qualities, so why not share them instead of competing? - It was true, he had no favorites anymore, he simply saw Lana's look of gratefulness and Lola's…. frown?
His job was done though, the arguing had stopped and they would now think of what they've done, Ace Savvy had saved the day!
Now, to undress and read his own comics in peace, taking a look at the characteristic red costume from Ace, which reminded him to maybe contact Clyde with their own Walkie-talkie for a hang out in the park, he wanted to help as many people as he could.
'Cause he was the hero that this town needs.
He was number 1 now.
Author's Notes: Surprise flashback chapter! I'm going to be filling in a little bit of context before we re-introduce Lynn to the story, next chapter will take a little longer so please bear with me!