I do NOT own the Loud House. All rights belong to their respective owners. Also, I would like to thank Rose the Changeling for beta reading this story. Thanks a lot and I really apricate it. Now on to the story
In the downtown of the big city, Vanzilla was parked outside of an apartment building with Lynn Sr and Lincoln Loud pulling out boxes. After years of living with his family, Lincoln was ready to spread his wings at the age of twenty-five. Lynn Sr. had volunteered to help his son move into his apartment but also have a man to man talk with his son. As they moved boxes, Lynn would talk about the importance of staying on top of his rent above all and some money saving meal recipes causing Lincoln to roll his eyes and chuckle. As the two dropped the last few boxes, Lynn stared at his son with a sense of pride washing over him before he hugged Lincoln.
"I'm so proud of you son," Lynn said between sobs, "I know you'll be okay but never hesitate to call your mother or I if you ever need any help." Lincoln assured his father that he has everything he needs for now but they are the first two he'll keep in mind. After one last hug, Lynn got back into Vanzilla and made the trip back home; leaving Lincoln alone with a lot of unboxing to do. Without wasting time, Lincoln began to unpack some boxes, starting with his clothes, toiletries and bedding.
After an hour, Lincoln had got through more boxes than he thought he could get through with the only few boxes he had was a box full of his game and his art supplies. Lincoln was about to finish when he got a text from his mom starting with an apology for texting so soon after he just moved out.
Rita: Sorry to bother you so soon sweetheart but I have a favor to ask you.
Lincoln: It's alright mom. What's up?
Rita: If you're not too busy, can you come back home over the weekend? Your father and I wanted to clean out the attic and we could use your help.
Lincoln: Sure thing! I'll be there by around 10 am
Rita: Thanks sweetie. See you then xoxo
As the weekends began, Lincoln called a cab to bring him back home to help out. Upon entering the house, he was immediately tackled by his sisters, except Lucy. His sisters began to bombard Lincoln with over a dozen questions within the span of thirty seconds. Thankfully, Lynn Sr and Rita were there to pull off their kids from Lincoln who had got up and dusted himself off. The parents had tasked most of the kids to go to the store for groceries before heading up to the attic with Lincoln and Lynn Jr. in tow to get the job down faster. The four began to move some old, dusty boxes to various locations around the house until LJ began to chuckle.
The chuckling caught the attention of the group before LJ turned around making Lincoln's face turn red in embarrassment. In LJ's hands was a blue dress but not just any dress; it was the one Lincoln wore to go to "take your daughter to work" day which failed. LJ continued to laugh but Lincoln quickly rushed over to grab the dress only to be struck in the face by the notorious loose floorboard. A few moments later, Lincoln awoke on the couch with an ice pack on his head with Rita by his side. Lincoln was now sporting a black eye from the floorboard as his mother told him to take it easy. It wouldn't be long before Lynn Sr would come in to check on Lincoln followed by LJ.
"Hey Stincoln," LJ began while leaning over the couch, "How ya feeling?" Lincoln just flipped off his sister as he rested the ice pack back onto his eye. Before a fight could break out, Lynn Sr got between the two and told LJ to go to her room since she still lives under his roof. LJ grumbled before stopping off to her room Lincoln got up slowly saying he's ready to go back to his apartment. His parents understood as Lynn began to drive him back to his apartment.
It was an eerily silent ride home as Lincoln rested his head on the window while Lynn drove along the road. Lincoln was deep in thought about the whole ordeal until his thoughts returned to that day all those years ago. He remembers gathering some of Leni's old dresses the night before picking out the right one. Having Clyde's help finding the right wig that, in Clyde's words, would make his eyes pop. He even liked practicing wearing wedge shoes which was a lot more difficult to walk in than he thought. As those members rushed back to his head, the van stopped and found himself back at his apartment building.
Lincoln handed back the ice pack to Lynn before he stepped out of the van. However, Lynn would stop him to give him a bit of advice. "Hey Lincoln, before you go I just wanna say, LJ didn' mean it. She's still… maturing, ya know. I'm sure she'll apologize for it but in the meantime, I'll apologize for her." Lincoln gave his father a hug along with a thanks dad before heading up to his apartment. As Lincoln searched for his keys, he would run into his neighbor Dante.
Dante was only a year older than Lincoln but had lived in the apartment complex since he was a kid. He stood around 5'09" had a few piercings on his left ear and one on his eyebrow. He was currently wearing a plaid button up shirt with black jeans and matching sneakers. He had helped Lincoln with a few small things such as finding a good store to shop for and knowing which shops to avoid for one reason or another. The two had become friends over Lincoln's first week and exchanged numbers in case either of them needed help. When Dante saw Lincoln's new black eye, a sense of concern washed over him.
"Hey Linc, you got into a fight or something?" Dante asked while checking out the shiner. Lincoln explained what had happened causing Dante to get an idea. "Give me a minute and I'll have something for that black eye." Dante ran into his apartment as Lincoln entered his before sitting down on his couch. It wouldn't be long until Dante walked inside with a makeup kit in hand. "Now sit up and let me work my magic."
Lincoln did as Dante requested before his neighbor began to apply and blend makeup over the shiner. Dante would take his time and be careful around the tender area around the eye but eventually finished up. Dante would pull out a mirror to let Lincoln see that the black eye was practically gone cosmetically. He was taken aback by how well hidden the black eye was despite it was still painful. Dante began to pack up his supplies but Lincoln would stop him. "Wait. Hold on. How did you get to be so good at applying makeup? You're just as good as my sisters."
"Oh, my weekend hobby helps me when it comes to this. If you're free next Saturday, I can take you with me to The Pearl." Lincoln had never heard of The Pearl but before he could get an answer, Dante's phone began to ring. "Hello… yes… wait what!? Oh Dulce Dios! I'm on my way! Sorry Linc but I need to run! Text me if you're interested!" And with that, Dante was out the door and making a mad dash to somewhere.
Lincoln would head to the bathroom and just continue to check out the cover up in the mirror; still finding it hard to believe how good it was. As he kept looking at this, multiple things went through his mind; what was Dante's hobby, how did he get so good and why does it look so good? Lincoln decided to do some research on The Pearl however when he went to search it online, nothing came up. He would try a few more search engines but once again, nothing came up which only left more questions to flood his mind.
After hours of trying to find any information about The Pearl, he would check time to discover it was eleven at night. Knowing he had work, he decided to pause his search for now and try to continue the next day. As Lincoln got ready for bed, he remembered what Dante had said about being interested and soon found himself texting Dante.
Lincoln: Dante. Everything good?
Dante: Linc! Yea everything is fine. What's up?
Lincoln: Well, I thought about it and I'm down to go to The Pearl
Dante: Excelente! You won't be disappointed. Meet me in front of the apartment, Saturday at around 5 pm.
Lincoln: Alright! See you then!
The two would continue to text for a bit before Lincoln signed off for the night. Lincoln would try to sleep but his mind was filled with a million thoughts surrounding where Dante could possibly take him. During the week, Lincoln's mind bounced between focusing on his job and what Dante had planned for the weekend. When Lincoln went on his coffee breaks, he would ask his coworkers about The Pearl, causing some of them to look at the snow haired boy in confusion and curiosity. However, none of them had, or possibly withheld, any information about The Pearl. With no information from his coworkers and Dante being secretive about it, Lincoln was getting both excited and nervous about what he had gotten himself into.
Saturday soon rolled around and Lincoln made his way to the apartment lobby while texting Dante. But before Lincoln could press send, Dante was already waiting for him with a duffle bag over his shoulder. Dante turned to Lincoln with a smile on his face. "Lincoln, glad you didn't back out," Dante said as he reached for his keys and headed for his car. "Yea, though I'll admit, I'm a bit nervous. What is The Pearl anyway?" The two got into the car before Dante answered. "It's a… club." Lincoln picked up the hesitation but before he could confront that, Dante sped off towards the club.
It wouldn't take long before the neighborly duo found themselves in front of a barbershop, which confused Lincoln. "Wait, what about The Pearl?" Lincoln asked as Dante hopped out the car while grabbing his bag. "Yea. We're here." Lincoln stepped out of the car and followed Dante into the barbershop as Dante greeted the guys inside. The two walked through the shop until they were face to face with an older man with gray hair and glasses. "Dante Bruno," Dante began, "How's the golden moon?" The man named Bruno looked up at Dante before drifting his glaze to Lincoln. "A new moon to possibly bloom," Dante added, making the old man nod before he opened a door leading to a set of stairs.
Dante ushered Lincoln down the stairs as Lincoln could help but question everything. "Dante, dude, what is going on? We barely know each other, you invite me to a "club", there's weird sentences and now we're going down some stairs that only you know about? Are you gonna kill me?" Dante chuckled at Lincoln's question before they approached a door with The Pearl written on it. "Está bien, Lincoln. Behind this door, is a part of my life very little people know. I trust you enough to show you however I will not force you to see. You can turn back now and we'll forget this ever happened. Your choice, amigo."
Lincoln looked between the door and the stairs weighing his options. A part of him wanted to just turn back and forget but his curiosity was too peaked to turn away. Lincoln had asked coworkers, researched and spent sleepless nights for this moment. So, after a deep breath, Lincoln turned to Dante and spoke just three words. "Let's do this!" Dante smiled and nodded before opening the door to The Pearl. Lincoln was soon blinded by the light inside to the point he had to shield his face from how bright it was. Dante grabbed Lincoln before pulling him into the club as the door shut behind them.