Lincoln, Ronnie Anne and Sid were stood at the back of a line of kids from their class as they were lined up to get onto the school bus. Lincoln was practically bouncing in excitement. "This field trip's gonna be awesome!"
"I've never been to a rock quarry before." Sid remarked. "What's it like?"
"It's the best!" Lincoln exclaimed. "You can dig for rocks, kick rocks and even throw rocks at other rocks!"
Ronnie Anne and Sid were silent for a moment before Sid smiled. "Neat!"
Lincoln then took out his phone as his expression shifted into confusion. "I wonder where Clyde is?" The three then heard a car horn as the McBride's SUV pulled up behind the bus.
Clyde grunted as he hopped out of it. "Sorry I'm late. Negotiations with my dads went down to the wire. They finally agreed to let me come, but only if I wear this." Clyde then pulled a string on his shirt, causing his friends to gasp as it inflated like a balloon. He then started to float off. "Guys?"
"I got you, Clyde." Ronnie Anne said as she grabbed the string and pulled Clyde back down to Earth.
"How great is it that Mrs. Salter is chaperoning?" Clyde asked as the four moved forward with the line. "She's the best."
Ronnie Anne sighed. "Sucks that we have to deal with Mr. Goldenfold too, though."
The four glanced over at Mr. Goldenfold, who was tapping his feet impatiently. "Man, how the hell long does it take for a buncha kids to sit down, huh?"
Ronnie Anne shot him a grossed out look while he wasn't looking. "He's such a creep. Have you guys heard the rumours about him? I heard he might be an escaped convict."
"I heard he went crazy because the mold in his house got into his brain." Clyde remarked. "People call him 'Mr. Moldenfold'."
"I heard...well..." Sid started to look uncomfortable. "It's kinda gross so..." Sid then whispered something into Ronnie Anne's ear.
Ronnie Anne then backed away in revulsion. "Sid! That's disgusting!"
Sid nodded. "I know, right?"
Lincoln could almost believe some of the rumours circulating about Mr. Goldenfold. It was pretty clear to most of the class than he didn't exactly seem mentally stable. It made Lincoln wonder how in the world he got hired in the first place. Then again, even Principal Ramirez could be pretty out there at times so maybe it was an issue with the school in general.
As he was thinking, Mrs. Salter approached the few remaining students in the line. "So, some bad news...looks like the wrong bus was reserved. We're not gonna have enough seats." She turned to Mr. Goldenfold. "Mr. Goldenfold, would you mind driving anyone left with the school van?"
Mr. Goldenfold smiled. "Ain't no problem, Mrs. S. School van's got room for plenty of bodies. You know, live ones. I-I don't know why I phrased it like that."
Lincoln and his friends shuddered. Their eyes then widened as they realised the other students had run onto the bus, filling it up and leaving the four of them unable to get on.
Mr. Goldenfold approached the quartet. "Well, looks like you kids are riding with me." The four groaned in response, causing Mr. Goldenfold to become enraged. "YEAH, YOU KNOW WHAT? AWW, TOO BAD! TOUGH!" He shouted, causing them to flinch. "Now stay here a moment, I need to get my crowbar."
As Mr. Goldenfold walked off, Clyde's shirt deflated. "We're so dead." Clyde remarked.
"We might even be deader than dead." Sid added.
"Guys relax." Lincoln assured them. "All things considered, I think I'd know by now if Mr. Goldenfold was really some kinda psychopath."
This calmed Clyde and Sid down. "Yeah, you're probably right." Clyde said.
"He can't really be that bad, right?" Sid added.
Mrs. Salter then stuck her head out of the window as she looked around before shouting to the bus driver. "Go! Before Goldenfold gets back!"
The bus then zoomed off, leaving Clyde and Sid still feeling rather uneasy.
...
The four approached Mr. Goldenfold, who was using the crowbar to try and open the door to the school van. Once it seemed that wasn't working, he dropped the crowbar and began kicking the door instead. "Motherfucker!" Eventually, this worked as the door opened up. Mr. Goldenfold instantly calmed down. "Ah, there we go." He got into the driver's seat. "Alright, kids, hop in!"
"I call not shotgun." Ronnie Anne said, putting a finger on her nose.
"Dibs not!" Sid shouted, doing the same thing.
"Dibs not!" Lincoln barely managed to follow up before Clyde spoke.
Clyde slumped in defeat. "Aw, man."
After Clyde got into the front seat while Lincoln, Ronnie Anne and Sid got into the back, Mr. Goldenfold spoke. "I should probably mention that if you happen to smell anything weird, don't worry about it."
Ronnie Anne frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means, don't worry about it." Mr. Goldenfold replied slowly with a hint of anger in his voice.
As the van set off, Lincoln couldn't help but let his thoughts wonder to his sister, Lori, wondering how she was doing at that Lori college. He also wondered if she was dealing with any situations weirder than this.
...
Lori was in an auditorium, currenlty attending a class on the field of engineering. She knew this was a college designed specifically for Loris but it still kinda shocked her how much she was able to follow this class as the Rick in charge of this class lectured on about how to build various machinery. Especially since she never did that amazingly in science or math. Though she supposed she never really applied herself that hard.
She glanced over to the Lori identical to her to her right. The Lori that had become her new roommate. She still remembered the day she joined this college and met her roommate for the first time.
...
A somewhat nervous Lori was sat at a desk in the office of the Lori College's chancellor. The Chancellor Rick was currently checking out Lori's education history. Not to see what she was qualified for but to get a read of what kind of Lori she was. She knew this college worked very differently from the kinds back home but she still couldn't help but feel nervous about potentially being rejected. Eventually, the Chancellor Rick faced her with a rather bored expression. "Well, you seem like a pretty average Lori. I'm guessing you'll be wanting to take a course on golf or business?"
Average? Lori couldn't help but frown at that description. Also, why business again? Was that a popular career choice with other Loris or something? "Actually, I was hoping to take a course on science." She replied.
This seemed to get Chancellor Rick's interest. "Oh, an adventurous Lori, huh? Well go ahead, take your pick." He then handed her a list of courses dedicated solely to science. Pretty much every field of science had it's own course. Lori eventually decided to take courses on chemistry, biology, astronomy and engineering. She also decided to take a course on golf as something to fall back on in case science doesn't work out.
...
Now that she had applied to the college, Chancellor Rick then led her to the dorm rooms where she would be staying. "And this is your room." He opened the door to a dorm room where one other Lori was currently living in. "I'll let you two get aquianted." Chancellor Rick then left.
Lori entered the room, put down her luggage and gave the other Lori a small wave. "Uh, hey."
"Hi." The other Lori gave a friendly greeting as she walked up to Lori. "Welcome to Lori College. I'm Lori. Or Lori FNA-03. Personally, I'd just prefer Lori."
"I'm Lori L-137. I'd also just prefer Lori." Lori grinned awkwardly.
The other Lori chuckled. "I'm guessing you're new to the citadel. Did you move here recently."
"Pretty much."
"Is it just you or..."
Lori sighed. "My family's still in my universe. I only came here to study here."
"Oh, so you're literally just like me then. Though I've been living in the citadel for a few months now. So this is your first time living alone, huh?"
Lori sighed. "Yeah..."
The other Lori placed a hand on her shoulder. "You'll get used to it. I mean, you can literally visit your family any time, right."
"Well, yeah. Do you see your family much?"
"I did. Though I've been kinda busy with college work lately." The other Lori let out a sigh of nostalgia. "I actually kinda miss that twerp."
Lori raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I'm talking about Lincoln." Lori FNA-03 clarified. "Back home, I literally called him twerp so many times, it basically became my nickname for him."
This baffled Lori somewhat. This other Lori was so similar to her but she didn't recall calling Lincoln a twerp any more than once or twice. This probably didn't mean anything but it did stick in her mind somewhat.
...
Lori looked around at her fellow students. Particularly the ones that seemed indentical to her. She'd gotten to know a few of them since that day. Not that there was much to know since a lot of them were so similar to her. And yet there was always these little differences that always just threw her off.
It was hard to describe. It was like reading a fanfiction where the author just about wrote a character close to how they were in canon but there were these little details that the author may have got wrong resulting in the character being slightly off from their canon self.
Not that Lori read that much fanfiction or anything like that.
...
There was an awkward silence as Mr. Goldenfold drove the van down the road until Clyde decided to start a conversation. "So, Mr. Goldenfold, what do you like to do for fun?"
Mr. Goldenfold shrugged. "I like to watch The Days and Nights of Mrs. Pancakes." A sleazy look appeared on his face. "Mmm, if only Mrs. Pancakes could keep me company now. She'd certainly be better company than you brats."
"Ouch." Sid remarked.
Neither Lincoln or Ronnie Anne were paying attention to this as they were both distracted by their own thoughts. "Hey, Lincoln." Ronnie Anne suddenly said, snapping him out of it. "How's that 'thing' your grandpa said he was working on?"
"Huh? Oh!" Lincoln suddenly realised what she was talking about. "I think it's going well. Last time I checked, Rick was busy removing some 'stuff' from 'the thing'.
Ronnie Anne sighed. "Well that's good at least."
Lincoln frowned. Throughout the ride, he couldn't help but sometimes glance at the girl sat right next to him. He recalled what Ronnie Anne said the other day. About being a couple. Ever since they 'got together', they've mostly been treating eachother like friends. And they were fine with that. They didn't want to be all weird and gross like Lori and Bobby were. At least that's how Lincoln felt at the time. Recently though, he'd been having some rather strange thoughts. He was starting to realise he wanted to do more than just act like friends. As embarrasing as it was to think about. He was worried about how Ronnie Anne might react if he brought this up with her. He supposed there was no point in hiding something like this. He did want to be more honest with her after all. Maybe he'll bring it up next time they were alone.
Suddenly, the van came to a screeching halt as Mr. Goldenfold hit the brakes, causing red fluid to splatter all over the windshield. "What's happening?!" Sid panicked.
"Aw, what the hell is this?" Mr. Goldenfold complained. Down the road, a delivery truck full of flippees had tipped over, spilling flippee syrup everywhere.
"That is a lot of flippee syrup." Ronnie Anne remarked. "That's probably not getting cleaned up any time soon."
"Maybe we should just head back to school?" Sid suggested.
Mr. Goldenfold let out a chuckle, making Clyde and Sid feel uneasy. "Oh, don't you kids worry. I know a shortcut." The kids yelped as Mr. Goldenfold suddenly reversed and did a U-turn. He then took a sudden right, taking them down a forest path.
The speed that Mr. Goldenfold was going at along with the rough road made for a bumpy ride. "Uh, Mr. Golden fold? Ack! Are you sure you-OW-know where you're going?" Sid asked as she was getting bumped about.
"Course I know! This is where my secret place is!" Mr. Goldenfold replied.
"Your secret what now?" A concerned Ronnie Anne asked.
Clyde suddenly started to retch. "I think we should pull over."
Mr. Goldenfold did just that. "Man, you ain't got the stomach for anything, do you?" He complained.
Clyde quickly ran out and went to puke behind a tree with his friends following after him. "Do you think it's too late to run?" Sid asked.
Lincoln was started to get frustrated. "Guys, get a grip. Sure, Mr. Goldenfold's being acting really weird but he's always weird. It doesn't mean anything!"
"Not all of us have your endless optimism, Lincoln." Clyde groaned, having finished throwing up. Sid then yelped as Mr. Goldenfold approached the quartet. She inflated Clyde's shirt and went to hide behind him.
"Just got a text from Mrs. Salter. Bus is stuck in three feet of flippee syrup so the field's trip's cancelled. That's my afternoon wasted. I'll be taking you kids back to school now.
Clyde and Sid let out a sigh of relief as Clyde's shirt deflated. "See?" Lincoln said. "Didn't I say we'd be fine?"
The four got back into the van with Mr. Goldenfold. As he started up the van, it suddenly came to a sudden stop. A deadpan expression appeared on Mr. Goldenfold's face. "That was one of the tyres, wasn't it?"
Lincoln opened the door to checked. He sighed. "It's popped."
Mr. Goldenfold threw his hands up. "Great! We don't have a spare tyre, no one can find us out here and now, I'm gonna miss my show! It's already getting dark!"
Sid looked to see that Mr. Goldenfold was right. The sun was setting. "C-Can't we just call for help?"
"You can try. There ain't no reception out here." Mr. Goldenfold explained.
Sid's eyes widened after she checked her phone, seeing that she had no reception whatsoever. "Oh no."
"Wait, then how did you get that text?" Lincoln asked.
"I got it earlier. Must've missed it." Mr. Goldenfold replied. "Now stop questioning me! We're going to have to go to my secret place."
"We're so dead..." Clyde bemoaned.
...
The four followed Mr. Goldenfold through the forest. "Do you think you could tell us what exactly this 'secret place' is?" Ronnie Anne asked, somewhat annoyed. She wasn't exactly scared of Mr. Goldenfold. After all, what could he do to her? Though she still found his behaviour questionable.
"What I tell you about questioning me?!" Mr. Goldenfold snapped. "It's just an abandoned cabin I found a while ago. Ain't nothing weird about that! There's a landline there so we can call your parents."
"We're totally hiking to our own graves." Sid bemoaned.
"Finally, we're here." Mr. Goldenfold announced. The fours kids looked at the old, abandoned cabin with boarded up windows which wouldn't have looked out of place in a horror movie. Clyde and Sid both gulped.
...
Mr. Goldenfold opened the door and turned on the lights. The four kids peeked inside to see Mr. Goldenfold trying to use a rotary dial phone. "What is that?" Sid asked. "Is that some kind of ancient torture device?"
The phone started beeping. "Son of a bitch, the phone's out." Mr. Goldenfold cursed. "Well, looks like we're staying here for the night." Clyde and Sid began to shiver in fear. "Anyone wanna go get some firewood?"
"I can go get some." Ronnie Anne volunteered.
"I'll help too." Lincoln added, seeing this as an opportunity to talk to Ronnie Anne alone.
Clyde and Sid looked utterly betrayed. "You're leaving us here with him?" Clyde asked.
"Guys, it's fine." Lincoln assured them. "You'll be fine. I promise."
The two then left, leaving Clyde and Sid to stare at the door. "I can't believe my own best friend would do this to me." Clyde remarked in disbelief.
A thought then occured to Mr. Goldenfold. "Wait, ain't there supposed to be bears out there?"
"Wait, what?!" Both Clyde and Sid exclaimed.
Mr. Goldenfold waved his hand dismissively. "Ah, they'll probably be fine. Don't Lincoln have some crazy scientist grandpa? Bet he's got a laser gun on him or something.
...
Lori walked out onto the college's extensive golfing terrain. It wasn't the first time she saw it but the sheer size of it still amazed her. She soon spotted her roommate who was currently practicising her swings. She was about to make a swing until she noticed Lori approaching and waved to her. "Oh, hey Lori, you here to practise too?"
"Yeah." Lori said as she put down her golf bag. "Don't want to lose my touch, you know?"
"How are you adjusting, by the way?" Lori FNA-03 asked. "I know you're still relatively new here so..."
Lori sighed. "It's been a little weird literally talking to myself all the time but I think I'm adjusting alright. I'm still kind of amazed that the lectures are so easy to follow."
"I know right?" Lori FNA-03 chuckled. "You know, we never would have had this if wasn't for President Lincoln. Before he was in charge, the only purpose of this place was to teach Loris to be subserviant to Ricks."
Lori frowned at that. "Oh..." It was still crazy to her that a Lincoln was running this whole citadel.
"Found any time to see your family recently?" Lori FNA-03 suddenly asked.
"Huh? Oh, no, not recently." Lori sheepishly answered.
"I've been feeling kinda homesick so I might give them a visit sometime." Lori FNA-03 hummed in thought. "I wonder if Leni's dating anyone new?"
Lori raised an eyebrow. "Isn't your Leni dating Chaz?"
"She did at some point but they broke up. She's been hopping from boyfriend to boyfriend ever since. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason." Lori replied. It still sounded weird to her though. The Leni she knew wasn't the type to go from boyfriend to boyfriend like that.
With the conversation seemingly over, Lori FNA-03 finally took a swing. Unfortunately, her ball ended up landing in the rough. "Ah shit."
This took Lori aback. She wasn't the type to casually swear like that. Sure, she'd sworn in the past but only when she's really enraged or really distressed.
It seemed like Lori FNA-03 noticed her reaction and gave her a confused look. "What?" It suddenly hit her. "Oh, your from one of 'those' Royal Woods', aren't you?"
"Those Royal Woods'?" Lori repeated.
"You know, the kinds that are really squeaky clean. No one ever really swears. You never see anyone drink or smoke. That kind of Royal Woods. Am I right?" Lori FNA-03 then noticed Lori's baffled expression. "Not that there's anything wrong with that or anything."
"...uh huh..."
Lori FNA-03 gave Lori a sympathetic look. "Guess you're not totally adjusted to living here yet, huh?"
Lori rubbed her arm. "Guess not."
"You wanna talk about it next time we both have a break?"
Lori thought about it for a moment. "Sure."
...
Lincoln followed Ronnie Anne through the forest as she looked around for firewood. She turned back to Lincoln. "Are you sure leaving those two with Mr. Goldenfold was a good idea?"
"If Mr. Goldenfold was really a psychopath, my grandpa would've probably found out about now. I'm pretty sure he's fine." Lincoln assured her. Truth be told, he probably could've called Rick to get them out of here but this seemed like a good opportunity to talk to Ronnie Anne alone.
"If you say so...". Ronnie Anne said, not entirely convinced Lincoln was right as she went back to searching for firewood.
Lincoln then took a deep breath, unsure of how this might turn out. "Hey, Ronnie Anne?"
"Yeah?"
"We're uh...we're still a couple right?" Lincoln asked anxiously.
Ronnie Anne paused at this and turned to face Lincoln. "Y-Yeah? What of it?"
Lincoln scratched the back of his head. "I was just thinking...we don't really do stuff that other couples do."
Ronnie Anne gave Lincoln a suspicious look. "...like what?"
Lincoln was blushing. "Y-You know, like...going out on dates and, um...k-kissing?"
Ronnie Anne's eyes widened before she let out a snort, trying to laugh it off. "W-What are you saying? You don't really want us to do stuff like Bobby and Lori, right?"
"Um...kinda?" Lincoln answered awkwardly.
Ronnie Anne put on a teasing grin as she went over to poke Lincoln's side. "You're saying you wanna start going on cheesy, romantic dates? You want to start making out in public? Want me to call you Linky poo?"
Lincoln frowned. "What if I did?"
Ronnie Anne's smile dropped as her face went red. She looked away. "C-Come on, Lame-o. You know I'm not into that kinda junk. Just forget about it. Ok?"
Lincoln let out a disappointed sigh. "Ok."
The two then continued searching for firewood. However, unbeknownst to Lincoln, Ronnie Anne's mind was in turmoil.
...
Mr. Goldenfold was pacing back and forth, mumbling something about Mrs. Pancakes. He was completely unaware of how utterly terrified Clyde and Sid were. "I can't believe this is how it ends!" Clyde bemoaned.
"I never even got to meet Yoon Kwan in person!" Sid lamented. She glanced at the door. "You think we could make a run for it?"
"What if Mr. Goldenfold chases after us?"
"Ok, ok, lemme think, uh..." Sid looked around the room until she spotted a small entrance to the cabin cellar. "I think I have an idea."
...
"Man, how long does it take to find firewood in a forest?" Mr. Goldenfold muttered to himself. "They better not be dead. I will be so mad if they died!"
He then noticed Clyde approach him with a nervous smile. "Hey there, Mr. Goldenfold. You know, recently, I've taken a real keen interest in cellars."
Mr. Goldenfold shrugged. "Well that sounds like a dangerous hobby for a kid like you to get into but who am I to judge?"
Clyde chuckled nervously. "Yeah. Uh, do you think I could check out this cabin's cellar?"
"I guess so. Wait, hold up, lemme check to see I haven't left anything 'important' down there first." Mr. Goldenfold then went over to open the cellar doors. Clyde then took the opportunity to shove Mr. Goldenfold, causing him to fall into the cellar. "Whoa, whoa!" Clyde quickly closed the door as Sid ran up to it to barricade it with some wood and rope she found. "What the hell do you brats think you're doing? Lemme out of here!" Mr. Goldenfold began banging his fists on the door.
It suddenly dawned on Clyde and Sid what they had just done. "I can't believe we just did that." Clyde remarked in shock at himself.
...
Lori arrived at the break area, where it seemed like the majority of Loris were spending their break texting on their phones. To her surprise, their were a couple Bobbys around, one playing guitar for a group of Loris. She couldn't help but feel a slight pang of pain in her chest at seeing a Bobby before she tried to ignore it. She soon spotted her roommate who was currently sat next to another Lori. She couldn't hear what they were talking about but whatever her roommate said had gotten a laugh out of the other Lori. As Lori approached the two, she heard Lori FNA-03 say to the other Lori. "I'll talk to you later." Before the other Lori got up and left.
Once Lori took a seat, Lori FNA-03 asked. "So, what's wrong?"
Lori sighed. "I don't know. It's just...seeing other versions of me do things I wouldn't do just feels really weird. I know this sounds crazy but it kinda makes me feel out of place."
Lori FNA-03 chuckled. "You're surrounded by yourself and you still feel out of place? It's fine though. That's how a lot of Loris feel when they come here for the first time. It's not that strange."
"I know but...did I ever tell you why I came here." Lori FNA-03 shook her head. "It's because I wanted to see more of the universe. To maybe see things through my grandpa's eyes." That wasn't the whole truth but Lori tried to ignore that other reason. "But I'm already struggling with the idea of other Loris being so different from me."
"I think you just need to open your mind more. There's infinite universes out there. And things don't always work the same for every universe."
"You're probably right. Maybe I'm just overthinking things."
"Remember, you're not in high school any more. You don't have to think about fitting in. Just focus on what you can do."
Lori stood up. "Thanks. I really needed this talk." She then began to make her way to her next class. Her roommate was right. Maybe she was being too judgemental. She wasn't in highschool any more. She needed to get out of that mindset.
Though she wondered how easy that would be.
...
"I can't believe I got punked by the two biggest nerds in my class." Mr. Goldenfold grumbled before shouting as he banged his fists on the cellar doors. "You hear me! When I get outta here, you two are gon' get it! I'm talking detention for life!"
Clyde was completely frozen in fear. "Clyde, I really think we should get out of here now!" Sid pleaded as she was practically running in place.
"B-But what if Lincoln was right?" Clyde stammered. "If he was right then we're in so much trouble! My dads are gonna be so disappointed!"
"But if he's wrong then Mr. Goldenfold is definitely gonna kill us if he gets out of there!" Sid reasoned.
"Uhh..." Clyde was struggling to decide what to do.
The two then heard Mr. Goldenfold chuckle. "Oh ho ho, you two are in BIG trouble now. Because guess who just found his shotgun!" This was followed by a large bang on the cellar doors.
Clyde and Sid both screamed in response. "Never mind! Let's get out of here!" Clyde shouted before he and Sid made a run for it.
...
After searching around the forest for a bit, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne came across a shallow river with a log of a toppled over tree hanging over it. The pale moonlight shone down through the parted trees, making the river water glisten. Ronnie Anne sighed as she turned back to Lincoln. "Hey, do you think we could talk for a bit?"
...
Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were now currently sat atop the log. "What's wrong?" Lincoln asked.
Ronnie Anne blushed. "It's about what you said earlier. It's just...well..." She was struggling to find the words, causing her to grunt in frustration. "Ugh, this isn't easy to say."
Lincoln gave her a comforting smile. "You can tell me anything, Ronnie Anne. You said we should be more honest with each other, right?"
Ronnie Anne took a deep sigh. "Yeah, you're right. Look, to be honest, it's...not like I've never thought about any of that stuff. It's just kind of..."
"Embarrasing?" Lincoln offered.
Ronnie Anne shook her head. "No, that's not it. It's just that I'm kinda...scared. I'm just not sure if I can be...vulnerable like that. I don't want to mess up what we have now."
Lincoln placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Ronnie Anne, you're one of the strongest people I know. And I don't just mean physically. Especially considering how much you've put up with Rick. And considering we're still together after what happened recently, I don't think going on a real date or something like that could really hurt it."
Ronnie Anne huffed. "It's not like what your grandpa does is your fault but I guess you have a point." She sighed. "Ok. I guess I could try going on real dates...and maybe that other stuff."
"You mean like...kissing?" Lincoln suggested.
Ronnie Anne's face went bright red as she made a slow nod.
Lincoln blushed. "D-Do you wanna try that now?"
Ronnie Anne's eyes widened. She deliberated this for a moment before taking a deep breath and steeling herself. "Alright." She then closed her eyes, puckered her lips and began to inch towards Lincoln.
Lincoln stared at Ronnie Anne in surprise for a moment before he steeled himself and moved in. Their lips met for a brief moment for a chaste kiss before separating. The two then stared into each other's eyes for a moment, almost in shock at what they had just done.
"S-So how was that?" A nervous Lincoln asked after snapping out of it.
Ronnie Anne found herself looking away, unable to hide the goofy grin on her face. "It...it was nice." She then tried to put on a serious face. "I'm still not doing those dumb nicknames though."
Lincoln couldn't resist putting on a teasing smirk. "Whatever you say...Ronniepoo."
"Stop it!" Ronnie Anne yelped as she pretended to swipe at the chuckling Lincoln. Despite trying to look mad, she was struggling to hide the smile on her face.
The moment was then interrupted as the two then heard screaming. "Aaahhh!"
"Clyde?" Lincoln asked.
"Sid?" Ronnie Anne added.
"We'd better go find them!" Lincoln stated as he stood up.
...
Clyde and Sid ran through the forest as fast as they could. "We're so done for!" Sid wailed.
"OOF." Both of then crashed into Lincoln and Ronnie Anne as the four found themselves in a pile. "What happened?" Ronnie Anne asked as she stood back up.
Sid grinned nervously. "We...may have tried to lock Mr. Goldenfold in the cellar."
"You what?!" Lincoln exclaimed.
"And he might have used a shotgun to escape. "Clyde added.
"I got you now you little shits!" Mr. Goldenfold suddenly shouted. The four looked over to see and extremely angry Mr. Goldenfold standing nearby and holding a shotgun. A shotgun he was currently aiming at them.
"AAAAAHHH!" The four kids screamed before Mr. Goldenfold fired.
The four then heard something collapse behind them. The four turned around in confusion before staring at shock at the dead bear behind them. "You two better have a good explanation for pulling that shit with me!" Mr. Goldenfold then shouted at Clyde and Sid.
"Y-You saved us?" Clyde stammered.
Mr. Goldenfold raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I? I mean apart from the whole locking me up in the cellar thing."
"We thought you were going to kill us." Sid admitted.
"Kill you?" Mr. Goldenfold exclaimed in shock before frowning. "Oh, I get it! This is because of those dumb rumours making me out to be some kinda psychopath. You know I got feelings too, right?!"
Clyde looked down in shame. "I'm sorry. I feel awful about what we did."
"Me too." Sid added. "We really shouldn't have believed everything we heard."
Mr. Goldenfold nodded. "Damn straight! I guarantee you most of those rumours are just plain untrue!"
"Yeah we-" Sid then gave Mr. Goldenfold an odd look. "Wait, what do you mean 'most'?"
Mr. Goldenfold ignored that question as his expression softened. "Anyhow, it seems like you two learned your lesson so I'm willing to forget about the whole locking me in a cellar thing as long as you kids don't bring up how I let two of you go into the forest alone to anyone at school. Deal?"
Clyde thought about it for a moment. "Deal."
Mr. Goldenfold nodded. "Good. Now let's head back to the cabin. I just remembered that I had a spare tyre in the shed. Kinda wish I remembered earlier so we could've avoided all this but oh well!"
As Mr. Goldenfold walked off, Lincoln let out an annoyed sigh. "Sometimes I miss elementary school."
...
It was currently evening as Lori headed back to her dorm room after spending the afternoon studying. She was about to enter her room when she heard something odd, causing her to hesitate. She listened for a moment. It almost sounded like giggling. She shrugged, figuring she was overthinking this, before she opened the door.
She was not prepared for what she saw next.
She saw her roommate on the couch along with that Lori she saw her talking with earlier. They were also cuddling with each other. "Oh! Lori!" Lori FNA-03 exclaimed before standing up. "I wasn't expecting you back so soon."
Lori stared at her wide eyed. "What's...going on here?"
Lori FNA-03 sighed before turning to the other Lori. "I'll come to your room later." The other Lori nodded before getting up to leave, giving Lori an annoyed look on the way out.
Once she left, Lori spoke again. "What were you two doing?"
Lori FNA-03 pinched the bridge of her nose. "Listen, I know you're new here but-"
"What. Were you. Doing?" Lori asked more sternly, praying this wasn't what she thought this was.
"We're dating. Ok?" Lori's irritated roommate admitted. "There, I said it."
Lori took a step back in shock. "What the hell is wrong with you?! That is literally yourself."
Lori FNA-03 shrugged, not particularly bothered by this. "Who else knows me better than another Lori?"
Lori scowled in disgust. "Why are you acting so casual over this? This is sick and wrong!"
"Who says? You?"
"Most normal people would!"
"And who made you the authority on morality? Do you think morality's consistent across all universes?"
"W-Well..." Lori stammered.
"Is morality consistent in your own universe? Does every country there have the same laws? Hell, does every state in your America have the same laws?"
"Stop trying to spin this!" Lori snapped. "You should know this is wrong! You're literally me! There's no way I would do something like this in any universe!"
Lori FNA-03 smirked. "You say that like there aren't versions of you that have done worse. Even ones here in the citadel."
A horrified Lori covered her ears. "STOP! I don't want to hear it!" The idea of her doing what her roommate was insinuating made her sick to her stomach.
Lori FNA-03 sighed as she folded her arms. "Listen to me, Lori. Something important my Rick taught me was that morality is nothing more than an artificial construct. It's not real. You said you wanted to see the universe from your grandpa's eyes? Then you need to drop whatever your idea of morality is. Remember, this isn't your universe any more. All morality does is get in the way of science. If you really want to broaden your horizons, you'll remember that." She then made her way out of the dorm room, leaving behind a speechless Lori.
...
Lori found herself alone in the bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror. She hated to admit it but she couldn't help but wonder if her roommate had a point. Maybe she wasn't opening her mind enough.
She would never do something as gross or weird like date an alternate version of herself. That was way too far in her mind. But she still wondered if her current mindset might be holding her back.
After all, who was she to talk about morality? It's not like she could really call herself a good person. All the secrets she had been hiding from her family and Bobby. What right did she have to call out other people?
She continued staring at the person in the mirror. All throughout her teenage years, she had worked so hard to fit in with everyone else. If she wanted to open her mind, maybe it was time to let go of the idea of fitting in. And of the idea that she needed to be like other Loris.
She opened up a drawer and got out a pair of glasses. She hadn't worn glasses since middle school, during her awkward phase. She mostly needed them for reading though with how geeky they made her look, she eventually switched to contact lenses. Admittedly though, using glasses was probably easier than applying contact lenses every day. Of course, she wasn't thinking about what was easier for her when she switched. For the first time in years, Lori put the glasses back on.
...
President Lincoln was in his office, staring out of the window at the city below him, a glass of brandy in his hand.
A guard Lincoln suddenly barged in. "Sir! You know that family you've been keeping an eye on?"
"Yes?" President Lincoln replied without even moving.
"Well, the Lori of that family recently applied at the Lori College."
"I'm aware."
This caught the guard Lincoln off guard. "Oh. Uh, should we take her in?"
"No. I want her to be left alone."
"Sir?"
"That will be all. And no need to inform Tammy of this either." President Lincoln ordered. The guard Lincoln saluted before taking his leave. It would be easy for him to bait that Rick using that Lori. But President Lincoln was a paitient man. He didn't need to rush this.
Why settle for that Lori when he could do better?