Disclaimer: I do not own The Loud House, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
A big family gets even bigger
Chapter Nine: Gloomy Glutton
It was recess over at Royal Woods Elementary School, and Lola was playing with a few other girls in her grade. Lana wasn't with them, she was getting dirty with some boys in the dirt. But Lola was joined by the youngest Ace sibling, Anna Ace who's around the same age as Lola and Lana.
Anna was as tall as them, but had brown hair of chin length. She wore a long sleeved purple shirt with a white bunny face on it, a purple skirt that reached her knees, light purple socks, purple shoes, and oddly enough a yellow hat worn by some young school children in Japan.
As the young girls were playing, Anna looked over. "Ooh, there's Lana's sister who goes to school here. Hey Lola, isn't your dad marrying Lana's mom?"
Lola looked over to where Anna was pointing and saw she was pointing out Lucy, who was sitting on a bench. The plus sized goth girl wasn't being made to sit in time out which is why kids would normally sit on those benches, she looked to merely be resting. "Oh yeah, my daddy is going to be marrying the mom of Lana and her siblings, like Lucy who's the girl sitting on that bench."
The young girls saw it as a few boys in Lucy's grade came up to where Lucy sat. To the surprise of Lola and her play mates, the boys all gave various snacks to Lucy, who accepted all of them. "Why are the boys actually giving that fatty some snacks?" one of the girls playing with Lola asked, "They do realize that snacks are the last thing she needs, right?"
"I got it that the boys in Lucy's grade here at school are actually rather fond of her, believe it or not," Lola said, "It's common for boys to wanna dote on girls that they are fond of. I think that the only boy in Lucy's grade here at school who doesn't have a crush on her is one of Anna's older brothers."
Nodding once in the affirmative, Anna said, "Yeah, Argent doesn't have a crush on anyone period. But he is trying to help his best friend Rocky Spokes with getting Lucy Alverson as a girlfriend." Perking up a bit, Anna said, "Ooh, Argent and Rocky are approaching Lucy right now." Lola and the other girls looked over and saw Rocky Spokes walk up to where Lucy sat. With Rocky was a fair skinned boy as tall as him, this boy being Anna's older brother Argent.
Fair skinned as previously stated, Argent had scruffy chin length brown hair, wore glasses with black frames, a maroon colored long sleeved shirt with the wrist ends hanging loosely about the wrists rather than cling tightly to them, a lime green baggy t-shirt over the maroon colored long sleeved shirt, a pair of baggy cargo shorts held up with a belt and the cargo shorts were also maroon colored, white socks and black shoes.
Lola and her playmates saw it as Rocky offered some snack to Lucy, and Lola was able to tell that the gothic glutton was a bit surprised by Rocky bringing her a snack. Lucy still accepted the offered snack cake from Rocky, but Lola could tell that Lucy was a lot more bashful around Rocky than she was around any of the other boys who brought her snacks.
Lola could not be fooled in matters involving romance; her soon to be step-sister Lucy had the hots for Rocky Spokes. Lola decided that the other Loud sisters had to help Lucy get her guy. Girls gotta look out for each other and help each other out, after all.
Later that afternoon at the Loud family residence after school was out for the day, Lola gathered as many of her biological sisters as possible, but it was just Luan and Lynn as Lori was out with Leni doing checking around for the stuff they need for their high school party, and Lisa was actually in the garage watching and listening as Luna and her band mates were practicing their music.
"Okay girls, looks like it's just us," Lola said, "Now, we're here for a very important reason, and that reason is helping Lucy score her dream guy Rocky Spokes."
"I think that Lincoln mentioned something about that Rocky kid," Lynn remarked, "Let's go ask him for some details."
With Luan leading the way due to being the oldest of the three Loud sisters on the mission, the three Loud sisters made their way over to Lincoln's room. Surprisingly, he was working on some sort of art thing when Luan, Lynn, and Lola came in. "Yo Lincoln, the girls here and I need to ask you about something real quick," Luan said.
Putting his art to the side, Lincoln asked, "What's up?"
"You mentioned a kid by the name of Rocky Spokes before," Lynn began, "Can you refresh us about what all you know about him?"
Lincoln arched a wry eyebrow. "What brought this on?"
"Lucy has a crush on Rocky and the girls here and I wanna help her get with him," Lola replied.
Letting out a sigh, Lincoln said, "I see. And I don't suppose I can convince you girls to let others handle it?"
Lynn looked confused. "You don't want Lucy to get her guy?"
"I never said that," Lincoln began, "In fact I think it'd be cute if Lucy and Rocky were to start dating. It's just that other people are already trying to figure out how to bring Lucy and Rocky together, and you three jumping in might disrupt things."
"Other people, huh?" Luan began, sounding a bit suspicious, "Like who?"
Gesturing to the girls, Lincoln said, "Well for starters, Astrid Ace's little brother Argent, who is best friends with Rocky, is acting as his wingman. Additionally, both myself and my friend Rusty are also trying to arrange for Lucy and Rocky to get together."
"You and Rusty?" Lola replied, looking confused and mildly surprised.
Lincoln nodded once in the affirmative. "Rusty is Rocky's older brother, like how I'm Lucy's older brother. We're trying to wait for the right moment, which unfortunately hasn't cropped up yet."
Clapping her hands together, Lynn said, "I got an idea! First, you have at least all of your male friends come over for video games. Ronnie Anne and the girls can also come over, but they aren't strictly necessary as this part requires the boys, Rusty specifically."
Nodding once, Lincoln said while sounding like he wasn't exactly sure where this was going, "Okay. What next?"
"Second," Lynn went on, "Make sure that Rusty brings Rocky over. If necessary, you and Rusty can tempt Rocky by telling him about the robot servant that Lisa made for you. I bet a kid like Rocky will totally wanna see an awesome robot."
"Rusty did say that he told Rocky about Jarvis," Lincoln remarked, "After telling Rocky about Jarvis, Rusty told me that Rocky is very much interested in seeing him."
Nodding once, Lynn replied, "Good. Now, with Rusty bringing Rocky over, we'll need to make sure that Lucy is available as she and Rocky will be in the house together. We'll try to get the two of them alone and wait for Lucy to confess to Rocky that she likes him."
"As well as Rocky confessing to Lucy that he likes her," Lincoln said, "The crush is mutual."
"Eee!" Lola cheered, "That's perfect! Lucy's dream boy likes her back! This is gonna be so easy!"
Arching a wry eyebrow again, Lincoln said, "Just try not to force it, girls. You could potentially crush not just Lucy's hopes but Rocky's as well."
Gesturing to herself as well as Lynn and Lola, Luan said, "Relax, Lincoln. We got this. Girls know more about romance than boys, after all."
Lincoln sighed and figured there was no stopping Luan, Lynn, and Lola. The best he could do is play along and hopefully minimize damage. He just hoped that the Loud sisters won't do TOO much damage in their bid to try and help Lucy get together with Rocky. Their hearts are in the right place, Lincoln will admit to that. But the road to doom is often said to be paved with good intentions.
That Saturday, Lincoln had all of the guys in his friend group over. When Luan, Lynn, and Lola saw this as they watched from the doorway that led into the dining room, they saw that step one was complete. Seeing that Rusty brought Rocky meant that step two had also been finished. Now all that was necessary was for step three, which was getting Lucy and Rocky to hang together.
"So why couldn't the girls make it?" Clyde asked.
"According to Ronnie Anne when I spoke to her on the phone," Lincoln began as he spoke with his friends, "Her family is having a bit of a crisis. Ronnie Anne also sounded like she was upset. Stella, Sid, and Astrid are all seeing to Ronnie Anne to help make her feel better and be there for her. And before you ask, no I do not yet know what happened with Ronnie Anne's family."
"Well she's one of the toughest girls I know," Rusty said, "She'll pound whatever is making her upset into a viscous red paste, and then be the same ol' tough Ronnie Anne we all know her as."
"Yeah, Ronnie Anne is one tough cookie," Liam said, "You do NOT wanna get on her bad side."
"Didn't Ronnie Anne flatten a kid roughly half her age because the kid did something to tick her off?" Zach asked, looking curious.
"You're thinking of when Ronnie Anne tackled Lola to the floor for getting rough with me," Lincoln said.
Over where the three Loud sisters were watching the boys, Lola shuddered. "Yeah, Ronnie Anne almost turned me into a princess pancake," Lola said, "Being flattened will NOT help me with my pageant career at all."
"Her tackling is good," Lynn remarked, "Could be used for football."
"Girls, you're losing track of the goal here," Luan said, "Getting Rocky alone with-"
"What are you three doing?" Lucy's voice spoke up, making the three Loud sisters jump a bit in alarm before they turned to face Lucy, who was carrying a book, a bag of chips, and a bottle of soda.
Gesturing to Lucy, Lola asked, "With all due respect, how can someone of your size sneak up on others like that so easily?"
"I wasn't trying to sneak up on you," Lucy replied, "You three were just focused on whatever is in the living room."
Shrugging, Luan said, "Fair enough. And as for what's in the living room, Lincoln has the boys he's friends with over. Lincoln's friend Rusty Spokes brought his little brother Rocky along as well."
An air of surprise came from Lucy as she waddled over to look into the living room. Sure enough, the plus sized goth girl saw the boy she has a crush on, standing right there although Rocky as well as Rusty, Lincoln, and Clyde were distracted by Liam and Zach having an argument about some sort of issue the girls were too far away to have heard clearly.
"Gasp!" Lucy said, clearly surprised, before she moved to hide as quickly as her considerable self could allow behind the wall facing into the dining room on the end closer to the kitchen.
"You okay, Luce?" Lynn asked as she, Luan, and Lola confronted her.
"What's Rocky doing here?" Lucy asked, "I can't believe that he's here! I'm not ready for this! What if he sees me and I'm not presentable enough? It's bad enough he sees me like that at school, but here where I live?"
"Lucy, Lucy, relax," Lynn said, getting Lucy to calm down, "I think that Rusty brought Rocky along due to kind of having to as per their parents' word, also Rocky from what I heard wanted to see the cool robot that Lisa made for Lincoln."
The four girls peeked back out and saw that, while Liam and Zach were still arguing, Lincoln was leading Rusty and Clyde in showing Jarvis to Rocky, who was very clearly impressed. "Ah, so he's probably not aware that I'm here yet," Lucy said, "Good, I can finish calming down and then go about trying to make myself look better for Rocky and-"
Lucy stopped short when she and the three Loud sisters with her saw a mildly concerned looking Lori walk into the living room. Seeing that one of his soon to be step-sisters looked concerned, Lincoln asked, "Hey Lori, are you alright?"
"I just got a text from Bobby telling me that he and his family are going to be busy for the next few days, but he won't say why," Lori said, concern clear in her tone, "Only that it's literally bad news."
"Yeah, I got something similar from Ronnie Anne," Lincoln remarked, "We just need to trust that they will be fine, Lori."
Lori nodded once in understanding, then settled down a bit. She then noticed that Rocky was standing there next to Rusty. "Uhh, who's the little kid next to Rusty and what is he doing here?" Lori asked as she pointed to Rocky.
"That's my little brother Rocky," Rusty explained, "He wanted to see the robot Lincoln said one of his soon to be step-sisters made." The Loud sisters hiding nearby were relieved that Rusty didn't reveal that they specifically asked for Rocky to come over, as part of the plan.
Seeing that it was Rocky she was asking about, Lori lit up in surprise. "This is Rocky?" Lori asked, "Eee, this is literally the cutest thing ever! So this is the boy that Lucy has a crush on!"
"Wait, what?!" Rocky exclaimed, "Lucy has a crush on me?!"
"Lori, what the heck?!" Luan cried out, making everyone turn to see Luan as well as Lynn and Lola come walking out to the living room from the dining room, "Why did you just up and reveal Lucy's crush on Rocky like that?! We were gonna try to ease things into letting Lucy confess on her own!"
Lori at least had the decency to look embarrassed and a bit ashamed. "Oops," Lori said, "I'm literally sorry about that."
Sighing, Lincoln said, "Yeah, this is gonna require some clean up."
Eventually, the Loud sisters, minus Lisa who was still busy, sat down Lincoln, his male friends, Rocky, and Lucy in the living room. Lucy was very clearly uncomfortable given that not only does Rocky now know about her crush on him, but that it was carelessly revealed by Lori who wasn't thinking about it even. "So lemme see if I have this straight," Lori began, "Luan, Lynn, and Lola got Lincoln to bring his friends over while having Rusty bring Rocky."
"Yes," Luan answered.
"Then you girls were planning on trying to get Rocky to hang out with Lucy," Lori went on.
"Exactly," Lynn affirmed.
"And you were hoping that with Lucy alone with Rocky," Lori finished, "She'd be able to confess how she feels about him to him."
"That was the game plan," Lola confirmed.
Shrugging, Rusty spoke up, "At least none of you revealed that Rocky has a crush on Lucy in return."
"RUSTY!" Rocky exclaimed in clear embarrassment.
Realizing what he had just said, Rusty with an embarrassed expression said, "Oops."
Lucy looked surprised to have heard what Rusty had just blurted out. "Wait," Lucy said, "Rocky, you... you actually like me back?"
Realizing that the cat was out of the bag, Rocky admitted, "Yeah, Lucy, I actually do like you. I mean, honestly I'm surprised that you're surprised about it. You do know that pretty much every boy in our grade at school likes you, don't you?"
"Wait, what?" Lucy said, sounding like she was stammering.
Shrugging, Rocky said, "Why else do you think the boys usually bring you snacks and tell off the other girls who try being mean to you? You're the cutest girl in our grade. Not to mention how I feel that you're pretty cool, what with all of that gothic and scary stuff you mess with. Like that fake blood recipe I saw you talking about that one time."
Shuddering, Rusty said, "Don't remind me about that stuff! It scares the pants off of me!"
Lucy scrunched up a bit, holding clenched fists under her chin as she looked down. "So... so would you be... be willing..." Lucy began, "...be willing to go out with me?"
"Of course," Rocky replied, "Heck, I'll probably be making the other guys at school jealous when they hear you asked me."
Clapping her hands together, Lori said, "Eee! This is literally the cutest thing ever! I can't wait to hear about their first date!"
"Which you will be paying for," Luan said firmly to Lori.
Stopping short, Lori said to Luan, "I'm sorry, but why am I going to be paying for it?"
"Actually it'll be a joint effort between you and Rusty," Lynn said, "Because you guys just HAD to spill the beans rather than let Lucy and Rocky confess to each other naturally."
"I have to pay too?!" Rusty exclaimed.
Looking at Lori and Rusty, Lola said, "It's your guys' fault that things were spoiled! So it'll be up to you to foot the bill for at least Lucy's first date with Rocky."
Lori looked like she was about to object, but stopped short as a look of understanding spread across her face. "You girls... literally have a point," Lori said, "The fault is on me and one of Lincoln's friends, so I guess said friend and I will have to foot the bill like you said."
"Let's keep it cheap at least," Rusty advised, "I only got twenty dollars to contribute."
Shrugging, Lucy said, "I was actually hoping that if I ever got Rocky to agree to go out with me, he'd be fine for our first date being to Gus's Game n' Grub. Their pizza is all you can eat for nine ninety-five a person on Fridays, and sodas are free refills."
"Ooh, I've been wanting to take a crack at the claw machine there ever since it got fixed," Rocky said.
Lori shrugged as she said, "At least it won't be too pricy." And so, with a game plan in mind, the Loud girls began to gush about how Lucy's date with Rocky will go. As for Lucy and Rocky themselves, the both of them were a bit embarrassed, but they knew that the older kids and the teens, as well as the one kid younger than them, all meant well.
That Friday after school was out for the weekend, Lori drove the Spokes brothers and Lucy over to Gus's Game n' Grub for the date of Lucy and Rocky. "It doesn't surprise me that Lucy would want a dinner date where food is all you can eat for a set price regardless of how much you end up eating," Rusty whispered to Lori, "Lincoln and Ronnie Anne did the exact same thing on their first date, and Lincoln is Lucy's older brother. Big appetites must run in their family."
Lori nodded in agreement, having seen first hand how the Alverson siblings are all big eaters. Lori found it odd that she was teaming up with, of all people, Lincoln's friend Rusty. But they do both have a shared goal here. And it was literally sweet how Lucy and Rocky were having their first date. Lori and Rusty saw it as Lucy and Rocky found a table to sit at, although Lucy when she sat down had to suck in her gut a bit to squeeze into the booth.
Soon the date of Lucy and Rocky kicked off, with the both of them enjoying pizza and soda although Lucy consumed at least twice as much of both as Rocky did. They also took a break so that they could try some of the games; Rocky had proven to be either incredibly skilled, incredibly lucky, or an even mix of both at the claw machine game as he won a number of items with comparatively few quarters spent in the process of claiming his prizes.
One such prize was a black plastic cuff bangle with a white spider web pattern on it; Rocky offered it to Lucy, figuring that it would appeal to her. Appeal to Lucy it did, and she tried it on right away. The plus sized goth girl hugged Rocky's right arm as she pulled him close, making Rocky blush a bit in surprise. As Lori and Rusty watched, they couldn't help but feel that the date between Lucy and Rocky was going to be nothing but smooth sailing.
...Of course, Rusty perked up when he saw Chandler McCann and his goons walk over to where Lucy and Rocky were sitting. "Uh oh, it's Chandler and his goons," Rusty said.
"Who's Chandler again?" Lori asked.
Pointing at Chandler, Rusty said, "That cocky looking jerk with the reddish hair. And now he's gonna bother Rocky and Lucy on their date!"
Over at where Rocky and Lucy sat, Rocky arched a wry eyebrow at the older boys. "Uhh, can we help you?" Rocky asked.
"Dude, we heard that some girl sitting at this table reportedly ate almost an entire pizza's worth of slices," Chandler's goon in the red hoodie said, "We just wanted to see if it's true, because that has got to be a record for Gus's here!"
"Umm, well I was hungry," Lucy said, sounding a bit embarrassed.
"Dude, don't be so embarrassed," said Chandler's heavy set goon, "Setting records like that is amazing! Not even I can manage that much pizza in one sitting! That ought to get your picture in the Hall of Fame here at Gus's!"
"Gus's has a Hall of Fame for customers?" Rocky asked, looking curious and mildly confused.
Gently shaking his head, Chandler replied, "Not for eating, just for scoring well on the games. But they should add a category for setting records when it comes to eating. I bet that this super fat white boy and super fat Hispanic girl I know at my school would totally set the record for eating here at Gus's."
"That sounds familiar," Lucy said, "But I can't quite put my finger on it." Luckily for Rusty and Lori, Chandler and his goons left peacefully, with Chandler even wishing Lucy luck in trying to set a record for eating pizza at Gus's.
Looking mildly curious, Lori said, "That was Chandler? He literally didn't seem anywhere near as bad as what you were implying, Rusty."
"Trust me, he's scheming up something," Rusty replied, "There's never a time where Chandler is nice to others without having an ulterior motive." The most worrisome blip in Rocky's date with Lucy was when Chandler and his goons showed up, but ultimately they meant and did no harm and even left peacefully. The rest of the date went picture perfect.
Especially as it brought Lucy closer together with her crush.
That evening at the Loud family residence, Lori and Rusty reported back to the others about what all went down at the date of Lucy and Rocky. "Wait, Chandler showed up randomly but didn't do any harm?" Lincoln asked, looking surprised.
Shrugging, Rusty said, "I guess he and his goons were just hanging out at Gus's randomly and heard about how much Lucy was eating. They thought she was setting a record for eating pizza at Gus's and wanted to see if it was true. They wished her luck in setting a record and left peacefully."
Looking unsure, Lincoln said, "Well so long as Chandler didn't do anything, I guess we can breathe easy. But I'm still unsure about Chandler having interacted with Lucy."
"I wanted to march over and tell Chandler off, but I didn't wanna intrude on Rocky's date," Rusty said, "Although I would have if Chandler and or his goons acted up."
"Yeah, I literally would have gone over as well if those little brats decided to try and spoil Lucy's first date," Lori said firmly, "No-one messes with my younger siblings, biological or otherwise."
As Lori and Rusty continued to report about the date between Lucy and Rocky earlier, Lucy and Rocky themselves came walking out into the living room from the kitchen. "What are you guys all talking about?" Rocky asked.
Pointing to Lori, Lincoln said, "Lori was just gushing over how cute she thinks it is that you and Lucy had a date." Lincoln didn't want Lucy to be freaked out by realizing that she had an encounter with Chandler, a decision the others knew of and respected.
Looking mildly embarrassed, Rocky said, "Yeah, I bet that me and Rusty's parents will be all excited over it as well. Also I'm willing to bet good money on it that dad will tease Rusty over how he failed to get a date before I did."
Sighing, Rusty said, "Yeah, yeah dad will do that."
"So Lucy, did you have fun?" Lincoln asked.
Smiling a bit, Lucy said, "Oh yeah. Everything was perfect, although I was surprised when some boys came up to me and Rocky because they thought I was trying to set a record for eating pizza."
Shrugging, Lincoln said, "Some employees at Gus's thought the exact same thing when Ronnie Anne and I had a Friday dinner date at Gus's this one time."
"You and Ronnie Anne do both have big appetites, dude," Rusty said.
Snapping her fingers, Lori said, "That's what I was forgetting! My Boo-Boo Bear and his family is having some sort of emergency right now!"
"Boo-Boo Bear?" Rusty said questioningly, clearly looking and sounding confused.
"That's Lori's nickname for Ronnie Anne's older brother Bobby," Lincoln explained, "You remember how Lori and Bobby are dating, right?"
Looking upset, Lori said, "I have literally no idea what Bobby and his family are going through right now, and I can't help but worry that something bad happened."
Lincoln walked up to Lori and patted her on the side of her arm. "Lori, relax," Lincoln said, "Bobby and Ronnie Anne and the rest of their family will be fine. At minimum, they'll be back before when you, Leni, Luna, and Luan plan to have that big party."
"Your sisters are gonna throw a party?" Rusty asked, looking surprised.
"Oh yeah, the high school party," Lori said, "Yeah, the last one we went to... went really south really fast. I'd give details, but everyone here is too young."
"Sigh, sounds dark," Lucy said, "And not the kind of dark that I like."
"Ooh, and while we're talking about the party," Lori said, "Lincoln, I'm going to be needing to borrow your Servantbot for it. I wanna have him plus Leni's and Luna's work at the party by bringing around trays of little snacks like at high end parties."
Nodding once, Lincoln replied, "Fair enough. I'll probably just chill out in my room during the party. I'm pretty sure that Luan is the youngest among the eleven of us you plan to allow to the party, you won't even let Lynn come."
Lori nodded in the affirmative. "Yes, that is it exactly. I still need to figure out how to manage the others i don't want at the party."
Holding up a hand, Rocky said, "If you can get me the specific date of the party, I can ask my mom and dad if I can have Lucy over for the night that night." Lucy looked like she was blushing out of embarrassment at the idea of her crush inviting her over to his place for the night. But she did really like the idea of being with Rusty.
Tapping a fist into her hand, Lori said, "Alright, Lucy being over at the Spokes house the night of the party is a tentative idea. We also have Lincoln just staying in his room. Now we need to figure out Lynn, Lola, Lana, Lisa, and Lily."
"Can't we just put Lily down to sleep for the night when the party starts?" Lincoln asked, "I mean, she is slightly younger than Ronnie Anne's little cousin Carlitos, and he's still well within baby to toddler range. It shouldn't be too difficult to get Lily to sleep."
"That's literally a good idea, actually," Lori replied, "And Lisa did soundproof the bedroom she and Lily shares, so I doubt noise from outside of the room will get through into the room and wake Lily."
"Wait a minute," Lincoln began, "Lisa soundproofed her room?"
"She did so long before you, your sisters, and your mom moved in," Lori said, "Ooh, I also gotta warn you all about how Luan can go a bit far when it comes to pranks..."
END, CHAPTER NINE
Author's notes;
This chapter sees Luan, Lynn, and Lola work together to try to bring Lucy together with Rocky, although things get a bit spoiled when Lori and to a lesser extent Rusty reveal everything without even thinking. Even so, Lucy and Rocky are able to have a first date, and all goes well, even though Chandler and his goons make a brief appearance.
Afterwards, everyone meets back at the Loud family residence, where they go over how the date went. Lori expresses worry over how Bobby and his family are going through a crisis right now and Lori can't contact him, but Lincoln reassures her that Bobby will be fine, and that both he and Ronnie Anne will be back before the high school party Lori is planning.
That gets Lori talking, mainly how to manage the Loud and Alverson siblings too young to be allowed to the party. But it does take her mind off of worrying about her Boo-Boo Bear, also Rusty learns of the nickname Lori has for Bobby and he may or may not make use of it in the future. There are no promises being made there either way.
Anyway, the next chapter will see another romance themed chapter where the Louds help the Alversons, but it'll see Lola help Lana appeal to Skippy. Until then, take care.