Students filtered in and out of the corridors, milling about with excitement. Wearing their new clothes and sporting new school supplies.
It was almost silly, they were only starting the seventh grade. It wasn't as if they were in high-school yet.
Despite thinking this way, Cristina Redwood was no exception. Her curly brown hair was pulled back by a yellow headband with a white flower, along with a blue plaid skirt with a sleeveless blouse(that her mom picked out).
She opted to watch from the sidelines with a ping of jealousy, last year Cristina had to be hospitalized after having her tonsils removed. While everything had initially gone well, she ended up getting terribly ill soon after.
What was supposed to take a week or two to heal turned into almost three months in the hospital, with a terrible infection.
Almost reflexively Cristina touched her throat as a rush of anxiety hit her. She hardly knew anyone, this new school year and it made her feel out of place.
Before Cristina had a small group of friends. However due to moves and school changes, almost all of her friends seemed to have disbursed.
Moving around the crowd, Cristina thought back to last year. Everything was so easy, she had Pamela and Tanya to hang out with.
While she appeared cool and collected, Cristina was shy and she had a difficult time making and maintaining friendships….
She was so lost in thought that Cristina hadn't even noticed the time. The brunette looked around the suddenly empty corridor and made a dash for her first period class.
Today was just not her day…
Lincoln leaned back in his chair, enjoying the free time before the first bell. While he wasn't in the same class with his regular group of friends, Lincoln recognized some familiar faces and settled down.
Almost a year ago he would have thrown a fit, and probably cooked up some convoluted scheme on how to get into his friend's classroom.
However Lincoln was turning over a new leaf, no more spazz Lincoln Loud. He needed to be cool, calm and collected. Just like Gary Cooper, the original strong and silent type.
Lincoln grinned as he smoothed down his cowlick and straightened out his polo. The teacher entered the room, and soon they began announcements.
There was a minor commotion at the door and Lincoln looked over, just as a girl frantically rushed into the classroom just in time for the pledge of allegiance.
Lincoln's eyes widened as he took in Cristina, her cheeks were flushed and her hair was fluffed up. While he hadn't seen her since last year, Cristina was just as cute as Lincoln remembered.
Her body was petite with rounded hips and a small waist, due to their overall development Cristina now sported a small pair of perky breasts.
A wave of second hand embarrassment cut through Lincoln, in a desperate attempt to win a contest he secretly recorded his sisters' most embarrassing moments and posted them online.
After the fallout of his actions, Lincoln deleted the embarrassing video and sought to make amends. Luan helped him splice together his very own embarrassing video, that would equally humiliate and humble Lincoln.
In one of the shots he was walking around in his bedroom flexing, before flirting with Lucy's bust of Edwin with a picture of Cristina over its face…
While most of the notoriety from the video died down, pretty quickly Lincoln couldn't get over Cristina switching classes. It was as if she completely disappeared for the last half of the school year.
The teacher, Mrs Wilson chided Cristina as soon as the announcements were over" Ms Redwood, late on the first day of class?! You're lucky, the door was still open. Come to class late tomorrow, and you will need to check in with the office."
This year's home room teacher was new to Royal woods, she was a squat older woman with frizzy red hair that she pulled back in a messy bun. Her face was locked in a constant look of disgust and irritation.
As if to punctuate her point, Mrs Wilson turned to glare at the classroom, while brandishing the syllabus " Punctuality! Read through You're Syllabus for the class, I will not tolerate people coming and going as they please"...
The whole class, including Lincoln, sat through another minute of the teacher's tirade before she allowed Cristina to finally take a seat.
The brunette's face was downcast, and her cheeks were wet from tears. Lincoln felt his heart soften, Cristina looked so sad…
Moving quickly Cristina took the only seat open, she felt absolutely humiliated. Normally, she was punctual.
She took out her note book and attempted to distract herself with work. The teacher was lecturing, something that Cristina was certain would happen often in class.
Sighing softly, Cristina continued to take notes for the next half hour. The teacher's voice droned on in an almost endless litany of verbal diarrhea.
There was slight movement to the side as the boy sitting next to her turned the page in his notebook.
Cristina turned her head and her eyes widened, as soon as she realized who was sitting next to her.
Lincoln Loud.
The white haired boy was taking his own notes, completely oblivious to Cristina's scrutiny.
Finally she had a lifeline, someone she recognized from the previous year. While in class together, Cristina had never really spoken to or worked with Lincoln. However there was an incident from last year's viral video contest….
Cristina's cheeks filled with heat, and her hands suddenly felt too warm. One of the videos Lincoln uploaded, had him flexing in his bedroom while flirting with a picture of her.
Lincoln's snow colored hair was now long enough to touch his shirt collar. The boyish planes of Lincoln's face were harder and his jaw was more defined.
While she was initially embarrassed and speechless, the hype from the video died down with little impact on Cristina.
While he was sitting down, Cristina noticed the way Lincoln filled out his polo. His body was lean with a decent amount of muscle visible.
Cristina couldn't help but acknowledge how handsome Lincoln had grown, the last year had definitely helped him fill out
She could only imagine how embarrassing it was for Lincoln to post something like that video…But the Louds were known for being a little extra…
She caught Lincoln's eye and the albino's face turned scarlet and he immediately averted his gaze.
And that's how they sat at a stand still, with Cristina trying to get Lincoln's attention while he awkwardly avoids interacting with her.
By the time the bell rang, Cristina turned to speak to Lincoln only to find his seat empty and the boy in question long gone…
NEXT WEEK…
While she acclimated to the new school year, Cristina attempted to start several conversations with Lincoln Loud.
Since they shared the same first period, and sat next to each other, Cristina thought it would be easy…But Lincoln seemed to be avoiding her at all costs and it was seriously starting to bother her.
He started sitting as far away from her as possible, and whenever she tried to speak with him Lincoln always seemed to slip away or someone would intercept them.
It was infuriating for Cristina, all she wanted was someone to talk to. Lincoln was obviously still upset about the video…Did he think she was upset with him? She wasn't, but Lincoln wasn't giving her a chance to prove it.
However Cristina was determined to get Lincoln alone, she needed to figure out his issues with her.
Meanwhile…
" So Rusty asked Ms Figaro if she was single and she ended up giving him lunch detention" Clyde's voice droned on in the background.
Normally Lincoln would have been more active in the conversation, however he was on high alert. He scanned the cafeteria, on the lookout for curly brown hair and a yellow skirt.
Currently Lincoln was sitting at the lunch table closest to the bathroom, he was wearing a red baseball cap with a green jacket and sunglasses.
He looked absolutely ridiculous…
Clyde let out a tired sigh as he turned to Lincoln" come on man, Cristina isn't here".
Lincoln apologized" I'm sorry man, I just don't want to risk running into her. No matter where I go, we just keep running into each other"...
" How do you know she's still upset about the Video Lincoln? I mean Cristina hasn't exactly said anything about it" Clyde shrugged.
As Clyde's words sunk in Lincoln, thought over the situation. He looked down at his disguise with embarrassment.
"LINCOLN"!
"LINCOLN"!
Lincoln's head snapped up and his heart skipped, Cristina was across the cafeteria practically running over to their table.
In a mad dash Lincoln spun on his heels while Clyde and Cristina both yelled for him to stop. Lincoln took off down the hallway, tossing off his jacket and baseball cap.
The loose garments fluttered to the floor as Lincoln proceeded to panic, he wasn't even sure why he was running…
His heart was racing and there were beads of sweat gathering at his brow, abruptly Lincoln stopped to catch his breath. He leaned back against a locker, as his oxygen deprived lungs burned.
Cristina stumbled down the hallway, her face was flushed and her curls swirled wildly around her face. Her eyes were wild and she stared at Lincoln with reproach.
She was actively out of breath, taking a deep shuddering breath before she tore into Lincoln.
" What is your problem with me! I've never done anything to you, Lincoln Loud and I'm sick and tired of you avoiding me"! Cristina exclaimed.
" So what you posted an embarrassing video last year, people move on. It doesn't matter Lincoln, I was a little embarrassed initially but I got over it"...
Cristina's words surprised Lincoln, however there were still some questions he wanted answered.
" Why did you switch classes mid year? After I posted that stupid video, you dropped off the face of the earth" Lincoln asked.
Cristina's eyes roamed Lincoln's face for a minute before answering " I developed a nasty infection after having my tonsils removed, I spent the latter half of the year in the hospital and then recovering."
An awkward silence passed between the two adolescents before Lincoln spoke up " I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions…I'm kinda bad about that".
Cristina breathed a sigh of relief " It's understandable, but I'm glad that everything is cleared up…
A dark shadow loomed over both Lincoln and Cristina, when they turned around Mrs Wilson was standing in the hallway with a sour expression on her face.
Without saying anything the older woman grabbed both Lincoln and Cristina by their ears and dragged them back into her classroom.
Mrs Wilson marched the duo over towards an empty table " Sit, now" she demanded.
Lincoln and Cristina sank down into their chairs while Mrs Wilson walked back over to her desk.
" It's not even past the first month, and I can even eat in peace! Don't think I haven't noticed how the two of you have been acting, in class" the teacher growled.
Lincoln winced while Cristina's face turned bright red " Look Mrs Wilson…I think there was some sort of misunderstanding"...
The older woman waved Lincoln off with a look of disgust " was I asking you a question Mr Loud? I think not, now if you are done interrupting me…I will be assigning you a joint project in social studies"...
" I expect you to work past whatever issues you may have, and to give a concise presentation on our current topic" Mrs Wilson continued speaking.
Lincoln made eye contact with Cristina as the information set in. They were currently discussing the nature and limitations of Neanderthal culture, as well as the various theories about what enabled early humans to supersede the Neanderthals.
Cristina gave Lincoln a half smile as she spoke to Mrs Wilson" it shouldn't be an issue Mrs Wilson, when will we be presenting this project?"
The redhead sneered" The presentation will count as your end of the month class project, so I expect something worthwhile"...
When she was done Mrs Wilson gave Lincoln and Cristina the outline for their project before shoving them out of her classroom.
The older woman gave the duo one last distasteful glance before she slammed her classroom door shut and returned to her lunch.
Lincoln stuck his tongue out at the door while Cristina rubbed her swollen earlobe " What a nice lady, it's good to know that we're stuck with her for the rest of the year"...
The albino grimaced, " It's not your fault, it's just the 'Loud effect' . I was just surprised that she didn't give us detention"...
Cristina winced, she was the one who raised her voice after all " I'm sorry Lincoln…I was really frustrated when I finally caught you in the hall"...
Lincoln and Cristina continued walking down the hallway chatting freely," I feel like a total dweeb now, worrying about you being mad at me" laughed Lincoln.
It was now Cristina's turn to giggle as she thought back to Lincoln's disguise, " it was funny….but you did look kinda cute.
As soon as the words left her lips, Cristina felt her heart stop and she noticed the way Lincoln's face and ears turned red.
Lincoln rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous smile " I'll just have to take your words into consideration".
Internally Lincoln was screaming at himself for his inability to stay calm. It was probably a friendly comment, to make the situation less awkward.
However Lincoln noticed that Cristina was now blushing as well, when she looked up their eyes met and Lincoln's heart skipped a beat.
With a hint of shyness Cristina mused " So…Do you want to meet up after School to work on the project"?
Cristina felt herself suddenly anxious about Lincoln's answer, she was curious about him and hoped to get to know Lincoln Loud better…
" O..Ofcourse Cristina, I'd love too ... .but my house can be kinda chaotic" Lincoln stammered.
" We can do it at my house…Give me your phone number and I'll text you my address" Cristina said, pulling out her cellphone.
Fumbling for his phone Lincoln gave Cristina his number and she quickly texted him. Lincoln looked at the new number in his phone incredulously, was this really happening to him.
The bell rang and Cristina reluctantly moved away from Lincoln " I'll text you after school"...
Cristina turned to walk to her new class while Lincoln watched her leave with a grin, he couldn't believe his luck.
As if summoned by Lincoln's wandering eyes, Cristina suddenly looked back and caught Lincoln's gaze.
Lincoln held his breath for a minute while Cristina blushed furiously, before rushing off to her next class.
Things were just starting to get interesting…
AFTER SCHOOL
Lincoln and Clyde made their way through the crowded halls, with Lincoln telling Clyde about what happened earlier with Cristina.
Clyde clapped Lincoln on the shoulder with a proud grin " I knew you could do it buddy, I'd be happy to be the best man at your wedding".
" It's just a study date for now, I'm not really sure what to make of her… Cristina is really nice and I'm worried I might screw this up" Lincoln fretted.
Now that he was overthinking Lincoln was imagining every worst case scenario, beads of sweat gathering at his brow and it took a pinch from Clyde to bring Lincoln back to reality.
"Ouch, sorry Clyde" Lincoln apologized.
Clyde waved off Lincoln's apology " Let's think about this strategically, now Lincoln what are you most worried about"?
Lincoln mused " What if I manage to creep her out?"
Clyde looked thoughtful " just be yourself Lincoln, you're a great guy and if Cristina is half as decent as you say, you'll be fine".
Completely unaware, Clyde yelped when Lynn Jr suddenly threw her arm around his shoulder.
Despite the year in age difference, Clyde had a considerable growth spurt that put him around the same height as Lynn Jr, nearly a foot taller than Lincoln himself.
Clyde was tall and lanky, his body not having enough time to catch up with how much he was growing.
The coco skinned teen was wearing a yellow sweater with a pair of black jeans. Due to his astigmatism Clyde still wore glasses, but opted for a more subtle frame.
" Lynn!? What are you doing here?" Lincoln exclaimed.
The sporty Loud was wearing her Royal woods high-school issue jersey and shorts, Lynn jr was slender with prominent muscles in her legs. She had high cheekbones with a dusting of freckles across the bridge of her upturned nose.
Lynn's mouth fell open dramatically " What? Can't a sweet older sister come and visit her favorite brother"?
With a roll of his eyes Lincoln motioned towards Clyde" Get off of him Lynn…Clyde obviously isn't comfortable"
Clyde's face filled with heat, Lynn's small breasts were rubbing against his shoulder. However the athlete made no effort to move.
To the contrary Lynn Jr seemingly pressed her body, flush against Clyde's. Her very body heat almost startled him.
" Clyde doesn't seem to mind…to be honest, I really do miss seeing you two dorks around " Lynn grinned.
Lincoln eyed Clyde and Lynn wearily, despite what she said…Lincoln knew his older sister better than that, Lynn had her own motivation…
" You should listen to Clyde, he's not wrong about you being a good guy. If Cristina is messing with you, I'll have the girls lacrosse team do a seige outside her house" Lynn Jr urged.
Lincoln thought back on his older sister and best friend's words, if Lynn and Clyde both believed in him. Lincoln supposed that he could believe in himself.
Lynn Jr's eyes twinkled with mischief, she snuggled her face next to Clyde's " For extra assurance, Clyde and I will be tagging along. While you and Cristina work, me and Clyde will hide out in the tree in front of Cristina's house".
Clyde's mouth fell open" How did you know my plan? I didn't even get a chance to show Lincoln my new walkie-talkies "!
Lincoln shook his head" I …don't know about that..guys…"
Completely oblivious to Lincoln's displeasure, Clyde and Lynn continued speaking " So we'll follow Stinkoln, and Cristina back to her house on our bikes?"
Clyde's face fell, " I'll have to walk, Lincoln and I didn't bring our bikes to school today"...
Throwing his hands up Lincoln interjected " Hey guys…"
Lynn waved Lincoln off without turning around " It's fine Clyde, I brought my bike so you can ride bitch".
Clyde grinned " this is why I've always liked older women, they're so dominating"...
Lincoln gagged while Lynn's face burned, she wrapped her arm around Clyde's neck and ruffled his hair " So it's settled, Come on Clyde let's go get ready"...
Without pausing Lynn Jr grabbed Clyde's hand and flashed Lincoln a grin before sprinting down the hallway.
" Guys!! No guys, I didn't agree to this", Lincoln called out.
Lynn's receding voice echoed throughout the hall " Can't hear you Lincoln! Too far away!"
CRISTINA'S HOUSE
At the Redwoods residents, Cristina was pacing back and forth. She peeked out the window anxiously awaiting Lincoln's arrival.
Cristina's mother passed her in the hallway, the older woman was wearing a green blouse with a brown skirt.
Cynthia Redwoods gave her daughter a soft smile " Don't worry sweetheart, he'll be here soon".
Realizing how she must have looked, Cristina immediately tried to explain to herself " Its….its not like that mom, I told you Lincoln is coming over to work on a project"!
Cynthia chuckled" Oh dear, I remember when you're father and I were first dating…you don't have to be shy about your boyfriend"!
The older woman's eyes sparkled with mirth while Cristina's mouth fell open.
Embarrassment prominently covered her cheeks, Cristina reminded herself that this meeting was for the project.
Nothing more, nothing less…
" Mom! Please, Lincoln isn't my boyfriend…we're just working together" Cristina pleaded.
Cynthia's eyelashes fluttered" this is the same Lincoln you've been going on about since school started…I think you doth protest too much my dear".
There was a soft knock on the door that sent both women running towards the door, Cristina moved to grab the door knob only to have her mother literally push her out of the way.
Cristina yelped " MOM"!
Ignoring Cristina, her mother threw open the door and called out in a cheerful voice " come on in Lincoln"!
Lincoln stood with a wide grin stretched across his lips, he felt like a total dweeb. In the tree behind him, Lynn Jr and Clyde were both watching him.
On the way inside Clyde gave him a thumbs up from the tree outside Cristina's house while Lynn Jr messed with their walkie-talkie.
The walkie-talkie in his pocket crackled loudly prompting Lincoln to cough to cover up the noise, " uhghh, Sorry Mrs Redwoods"...
Her mother was beautiful, like Cristina she had curly brown hair, however the older woman wore her hair down to her hips. And her eyes were a light green instead of Cristina's brown.
Lincoln was instantly tongue tied, Cristina moved to push her mother from the door with a huff " Thank you for getting the door mother…however I can take it from here"...
Cynthia giggled" Of Course Cristina…it just makes me so happy to know my baby is finally dating"!
Lincoln croaked, while Cristina shrieked " MOM"!
Cynthia waved off her daughter" I'm leaving, I'm leaving…just remember that bedroom door stays open the whole time Lincoln is here…you know the rules"...
With that said Cynthia floated out of the room, leaving just Lincoln and Cristina.
Cristina's cheeks filled with heat and her heart was racing, she gave Lincoln an apologetic smile" I'm so sorry about her Lincoln…she's not normally this embarrassing".
Lincoln smiled sheepishly and shrugged" Don't feel too bad, my sisters do the exact same thing".
"Watch what you say Stinkoln…unless you want to get really embarrassed" Lynn's voice crackled from the walkie-talkie.
Lincoln coughed exaggeratedly, " Hey…could I use your bathroom real quick"...
The brunette motioned towards a door, right off from the living room " When you're done just head upstairs we'll be studying in my bedroom"...
Just the thought of being alone with Cristina upstairs, had Lincoln's stomach tightening and his imagination coming to life.
Shaking those thoughts away, Lincoln rushed off to the bathroom, where he spoke into the walkie-talkie " Are you two serious! I knew taking this walkie-talkie with me was a bad idea, Lynn almost got me caught"!
There was some static accompanied by Lynn shouting something that wasn't discernable. Clyde's voice responded.
"I'm sorry Lincoln, we'll try to be quiet…LYNN! PLEASE DON'T GRAB THAT"!!
Lincoln winced " Please don't say anything…if I need any help I'll tell you".
Lincoln took a moment to smooth his hair back in front of the bathroom mirror, as the walkie-talkie crackled once more.
"Don't fuck this up Lincoln"...
" Thanks for the vote of confidence Lynn", Lincoln snorted.
Meanwhile Cristina sat on her bed next to a stack of notebooks and the textbook. She was still waiting on Lincoln to meet her upstairs and she was starting to get worried.
What was taking him so long?
She nibbled her bottom lip nervously, hopefully her mom didn't scare off Lincoln.
The doorknob turned and Lincoln poked his head into the room with a shy smile " I'm sorry, it took me so long to get here"
Lincoln walked into the room, taking a hesitant seat next to Cristina. Her soft smell invaded his senses while the girl in question made his stomach flutter.
Soon they were surrounded by a clutter of notebooks and stray loose leaf papers. Lincoln read through the course information while Cristina took notes and expanded on ideas.
The duo worked together in comfortable silence for almost an hour before Cristina broke the silence.
The brunette nibbled her bottom lip nervously as she eyed Lincoln subtly, his eyes were focused on the textbook he was reading from. His voice was light and had a playful note in it.
Without fully thinking Cristina opened her mouth " Hey Lincoln?...If you don't mind me asking, how long did you and Ronnie Ann date"?
Lincoln's head shot up and he started laughing almost hysterically " Ahhhahh, We never dated ... .Ronalda is a good friend and her brother is in love with Lori"!
Cristina's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, Lincoln laughter subsided and he turned to Cristina.
" Since I answered your question, how about one of my own? Were you and Chandler ever a thing? He's bragged about the two of you being an item"?
It was now Cristina's turn to giggle, " Seriously? Is that what he's telling people, Chandler is my first cousin Lincoln! He tried to ask me out and got mad when I said no"!
The duo laughed uproariously with Cristina unconsciously throwing an arm around Lincoln's shoulders.
Their eyes met and what Cristina saw in Lincoln's gaze made her heart flutter, she leaned in and Lincoln craned his head.
His lips met hers halfway, Lincoln brushed his lips against Cristina's tentatively while the brunette cupped his cheek.
Cristina moved her lips against Lincoln's tenderly as their kiss intensified, her soft and pliant lips working alongside Lincoln's.
There was a soft chuckle and both teens looked up to find Mrs Redwoods watching them with a cheeky smile.
At the older woman's feet as a basket filled with folded laundry, in the heat of things Cristina had forgotten her mother's mandate that the door stayed open.
Cynthia chuckled " I knew he was your boyfriend"!
Cristina's face turned scarlet and she turned to find Lincoln, looking just as embarrassed. To her surprise Lincoln grasped her hand, and he squeezed it tenderly. And that was the beginning of Lincoln and Cristina's love story…
Meanwhile Clyde and Lynn Jr were trapped in a tender embrace of their own outside the Redwoods residents.
Lynn Jr pinned Clyde against the tree, while she captured his lips in a deep kiss. Clyde allowed the walkie-talkie to fall to the floor in the heat of the moment.
All thoughts of Lincoln and Cristina were gone and the only thing left was the passion between the lovers…