Friends from Loud places

by Tanalbi

As Lincoln tries to get used to middle school, he meets someone who, without realizing it, would change his (And his friends, family and acquaintances) life in a special kind of way, incluiding how to deal with the fact that a special someone is more special than he could ever realize, and the adventures they may have coming in. Rated T for some language. I DON'T DO REQUESTS.

2. Operation: Always Have a Plan B

A/N: I truly appreciate the reviews, thank you very much! Both you and my knack for having ideas motivate me to continue.

Also, gotta warn you: This one in particular is gonna be long, I REALLY let myself carried away, if you are the TL: DR kind of guy, please do not read.

That said, thanks for the support once again, and enjoy, and leave a review if you wish.

Again, The Loud House and its characters belong to their respective creators (Forgot to mention what I think about Chris Savino in the previous chapter, so… yeah.).

So, with nothing else to say… enjoy!

CHAPTER 2: Operation: Always Have a Plan B.

The next day at the same hour as the start of the first chapter, everyone was on Royal Woods Middle school. Lincoln was on his locker, placing some books on his mentioned storage container, when he closed it, then turned around and saw Rod walking by "Oh, Rod!"

Rod was gonna walk towards his locker when he heard the white-haired boy's characteristic voice, then turned around "A?"

"What's with yesterday? You missed the pizza and videogames!" Lincoln questioned him as he walked towards him.

"Wasn't hungry" Rod replied "Nor bored" he joked-ish.

"What do you mean?"

Rod then rose his eyebrows "Nevermind, I just had to be home early yesterday" he lied.

"Oh!" Lincoln believed him, even though Rod never considered himself as a psychological liar, at least not now "Well, I was wondering, would you like to hang out again after school? I might introduce you to Ronnie Anne like I said I would yesterday"

"Do I have any choice?" Rod gave a laugh while shrugging "I mean, yeah, it's always nice… to meet girls, but…"

"But?" Lincoln rose an eyebrow, slightly frowning.

"Is she taken or something?"

"What?"

If there was a time to blush for Lincoln, instead of when he's with Ronnie Anne, it happened to happen at that moment "W-What do you mean by that?"

"Personal experiences" Rod muttered "Back in Argentina, met a girl, asked her out, brought flowers, gave them to her, and before I could ever realize… her boyfriend almost beat me into a pulp out of jealousy" he sighed "I just didn't know!" he shrugged.

Lincoln tried to assimilate what his new friend just said. Did he said he was gonna… make a move on her?

"You OK?"

"Huh?" Lincoln finally snapped out after hearing that and seeing Rod's blunt expression on his face "Y-Yeah, I just…"

"Yeah?"

"You gave flowers to that girl?"

"Not saying I am gonna do the same with… what was her name again?"

Lincoln sighed of relief, but on his mind, upon hearing that "Ronalda, but she goes by Ronnie Anne"

"Nice name" Rod nodded, stupidly forgetting Ronnie Anne's name as Lincoln literally told him already the previous chapter "But I doubt I am her kind of boy?"

"Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Be my guest"

"Why is it necessary for you, upon meeting a girl, to make such a move like that with her?"

"You mean… flowers?"

"Yeah"

"Well…" Rod rubbed the back of his head sheepishly "I am not saying I do that with every girl per se…" per se, Rod's favorite words in English "What I am saying is that that moment was a one-time moment, that moment where I learned I shouldn't do it again, I just wanted to be romantic, that's all"

"Oh, do believe me, Ronnie Anne dislikes romantic stuff" Lincoln chuckled.

"Really?"

"Yeah, ever since before meeting her, I've heard that her brother Bobby, who by the way is my sister Lori's boyfriend, took her on her dates with Lori, and she tried to not to gag in disgust by Lori and Bobby's so much romance" Lincoln explained with a laugh.

"Can't blame her" Rod commented "I was 4 when my sister Lucía and her boyfriend, now ex-boyfriend, Diego, took me to the cinema, I swore I'd never be like that ever again, glad to know I changed"

"You… never talked about your family" Lincoln pointed out that topic in general "Or your life on Argentina pretty much" he added "Why is that?"

Rod was about to say his forbidden English word, 'what's it to ya?', also remembering how could it be such an offensive word, but he didn't "I… don't like to drag out that, because it is in the past"

"Your life?"

"Kinda" Rod sighed.

"A'ight, excuse me if I pried too much"

"No prob!" Rod muttered as he walked towards his locker, who was already said it was nearby Lincoln's, put the combination and opened it "Yes, I would kinda like to meet Ronalda, as long as she is taken already" he said as he started to transfer his stuff from his backpack to the locker.

"Why taken?" Lincoln's curiosity piqued once again.

"Let's just say that I don't wanna take risks" Rod replied as he got up "Got me?"

"Gotcha!"

"Good"

As Rod crouched down to continue with what he was doing, he suddenly felt a bang, and upon getting up, he saw his locker suddenly closed and a familiar chuckle on the distance. Getting up, he saw that Chandler was a few steps away from him, walking away from the two "Son of a…" he growled.

"Ah, that's Chandler, he always wants to prank the new kids" Lincoln tried to calm down his new friend.

"One of these days…" Rod growled to himself as he put the combination once again to open his locker.

"Same old Chandler" Lincoln rolled his eyes "Never changes"

"Darn son of a…"

The bell soon rang.

"Oh, better go to class soon, teachers in here are zero tolerant towards delays!" Lincoln advised him.

"Gotcha" Rod replied as he finished up his business with his locker and the two soon went into class.

MEANWHILE…

"It's good to be back home, cannot wait to see Lori again!"

Bobby was happily humming as he was driving the Casagrandes mercado vehicle he was allowed to borrow from their abuelo, as Ronnie Anne was sitting on the passenger seat next to him, looking at the window.

"Something wrong, Nini?"

"H-Huh?"

Ronnie Anne quickly shook her head and quickly snapped as she looked at her brother "N-No no, everything's okay, Bobby"

Bobby, alternatively focusing on the road, looked at her for a moment to give her a smug smirk "Ronnie Anne, admit it, you will be surely happy to see Lincoln again, isn't that right?"

"W-What are you saying, Bobby?!" the Latina girl snarled "I am happy, yes, but nothing else!"

"You suuuure?"

"Enough! Focus on the road!"

And then she looked away, pouting. As she looked through the car's window, gazing at a sign that said 'WELCOME TO ROYAL WOODS'. As she was looking, she was pondering at a decision she took long time ago when Lincoln once visited her at Great Lakes City. Was she taking the right decision? It was her heart… or her mind?

Bobby looked at her sister's expression on her face "Something wrong, sis?"

Ronnie Anne quickly moved her sight away from the window and back at his brother "H-Huh? Y-Yeah, I am fine" she muttered "It's just that…"

"Yes?"

"Seeing Lincoln when I go to visit HIM… it just feels… different?"

Bobby, still driving responsibly, looked at his sister with a smile "I get ya"

"No, you don't" Ronnie Anne quickly went into defensive again.

"Nini…" Bobby smiled "I am older than you, you know that? And I am also in a relationship, I felt a long time ago what you are you're feeling right now"

"I didn't know you were a psychic" his sister rolled her eyes.

"I don't need to read minds to know what's into you" Bobby replied "You think you wanna be friends with him, but you're still coping with that decision"

"And how exactly do you know that?"

"Because you felt something for him a long time ago when you bullied him"

Touché, Ronnie Anne. As she heard that, her eyes widened and she started to blush, then looked away with a glare "Keep driving, will ya? I think that a lot of time without seeing your babe has been making you delusional"

"Believe whatever you want to believe" Bobby smiled "But deep down, you know it is true"

Those last words from his brother echoed on her mind. He was right. Totally right. She felt a lot for Lincoln when she made those pranks to him, to get his attention, to try and make him love (Or in that case, like) him the same way she did. They were currently reaching the residential area of Royal Woods. Ronnie Anne remembered very well where she used to live, and where Lincoln used to live. She just wiped those thoughts away and dug her face on her arms, who were crossed and on the windshield.

BACK AT ROYAL WOODS MIDDLE SCHOOL.

The bell rang, and it was lunch time.

"My favorite part of school!"

Dio you ever need to guess who uttered that?

As the gang was sit on their table, Rod was walking around with his tray, looking for a table. Chandler's one was a totally 'no', and he felt that where Cristina, Paige and Girl Jordan were sitting wasn't an option too. Wait, why Girl Jordan would sit separately to Chandler if…?

Rod then brushed off that thought off his mind as he quickly saw Lincoln, who, upon seeing him, rose up a hand at him.

"Here, Rod!" he exclaimed.

"Pa' uno más?" he muttered in his native language, sighed and then resignedly walked towards their table. Upon arriving, he sat next to Lincoln, where he was patting to sit on.

"Can't believe I answered 'Isenhover' when asked when was signed The Declaration of Independence" Rusty chuckled as he was chewing on his sandwich as Liam laughed along.

"Isenhover was… a president" Rod muttered.

"Well DUH!" Rusty rolled his eyes "Thanks for stating the obvious!"

"Anyone else… would not know it"

"What's with the accent? And why you speak so slow?" Rusty questioned him while still grasping onto his sandwich.

"Give him a rest, Rusty, he's from other country, he even didn't know you knew Isenhover was a US president" Stella nagged him.

"Well, how stupid of him" Rusty shrugged, to which Rod turned away his sight from him, making Lincoln frown.

"So, Lincoln…" Stella quickly changed the subject.

"Huh?" Lincoln turned away his attention from Rod to Stella.

"That Ronnie Anne girl you told us she's coming today… is she a nice person?" Stella inquired.

"Well…" Lincoln rubbed the back of his head sheepishly "What to say…?"

"She's practically a bully!"

"RUSTY!" Lincoln growled.

"A… bully?" Stella frowned, probably changing her opinion on meeting her.

"B-But… he isn't anymore!" Lincoln quickly defended her "I mean yeah, in the past, she picked on me, but it was because it was an instinct on her"

"Instinct?"

"Yeah, she… she liked me" Lincoln confessed as he hung his head.

"Well, what a wrong way to show it" Rusty furrowed her eyebrows "If I were to like any of you, I'd be nice to you, not THAT"

"Don't worry, Stella" Clyde smiled as he was eating his French fries "As Lincoln said, she changed for good"

"Yeah, she liked me and now wants to be friends with me" Lincoln sighed, then his eyes widened as he realized what he said "Not… that I am regretting it, I mean, being friends with her is good, it's for the best!" he quickly added, nervous.

"Oh, I see" Rusty smirked coyly at him "Someone's back in love with her!" he sang

"Rusty, first Tyler and the others now you?!" Lincoln growled.

"Face it, Lincoln" Rusty smirked "Ever since you two kissed, your love for her never died" he laughed as he prepared to take another bit, but Lincoln quickly snatched the sandwich away from him "Hey!" he growled, but his eyes widened as he witnessed how Lincoln crushed it with his hands and tossed it away in retaliation "That was tuna!" he frowned.

"Serves you right" Stella looked at Rusty sternly, followed by a nod from Zach

"If you can't tune a piano, you can't tuna fish" Rod grumbled.

Everyone, except Rusty, paused for a moment then let out a laugh.

"Hah hah!" Zach cackled "Good one"

"Say… Rod" Clyde looked at the Argentine boy "Why'd you had to leave so soon yesterday?" he asked out "It wasn't even really late!"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, your phone rang, and you said you had to go"

"Oh well, uh… curfew!" Rod stammered nervously.

"Curfew? But, you're on the student exchange program?" Clyde rose an eyebrow "Your mother come with you or something?"

"No"

"Then curfew what? You live in apartment, I assume?"

"Yes"

"Alone?"

"Yes"

"Then why curfew then?" Clyde didn't get him "You have no parents to tell you how long you can be off home, I don't get it"

"Uh…"

"And besides, curfew at almost four o'clock?"

"Clyde… you shouldn't pry" Lincoln quickly got into the probably conflictive conversation.

After a brief moment, his best friend shrugged "You're right, he probably had his reasons" then focused on his lunch.

Rod got close to Lincoln's ear quickly "Thank you" he whispered as he got back into his position.

"So… does anyone wanna do something this Saturday?" Liam quickly changed the topic again.

"Sorry Liam, but I have plans" Rusty sighed "I am gonna date…"

"RIIIIIIIIIGHT" both Lincoln, Stella, Clyde, Zach and Liam echoed with coy smirks. Rod just looked at them, confused.

"What? It's true!" Rusty insisted "I've met yer yesterday"

"And I am the king of Scotland" Lincoln chuckled while taking a sip of his cola.

"But… you were the Duke of Loch Loud, remember?" Clyde pointed out.

"True" Lincoln nodded as he remembered, then realized that said something dumb.

"See?" Rusty used that "Then she's real!"

"Rusty, you cannot expect us to buy that, dude" Liam laughed "You tried to hit on Paige just yesterday right after Girl Jordan commented to the whole class that Rod has about the same big nose as of you"

"That's extra credit" Rusty retorted" Paige said she needed to do something important this Saturday, more important than dating 'The girl guru'" he vainly pointed at himself.

"Uh-huh" surprisingly, Rod also joined the others as they muttered that in unison.

"Whatever, I don't need to listen to you!" Rusty growled as he crossed his arms "I'll be busy with my date, and that's that!"

"Yeah, and I'll be busy with Ronnie Anne these days" Lincoln pointed out "And my guess is that Rod will like to come with me too?" he asked as he gave Rod a side glance, to which he nodded.

"Well, I wanna be there then, too" Stella declared "I wanna meet this… Ronnie Anne and check if she's a so good girl that changed like you said"

"Not believing me, yet, Stella?" Lincoln asked in disbelief with a frown.

"Sorry Lincoln, but I am allergic to bullies, I just wanna check if she's good" Stella shook her head.

"Well, you'll see" Lincoln smiled "People can change, Stella, and BOY she changed!"

"I'll be the judge of that" Stella eyed him suspiciously.

"Wait" Rod looked at Lincoln "You're telling me… she bullied you and yet you are best friends as of now?"

"Yeah" Lincoln nodded "That was his way to tell me that she liked me"

"Gotcha"

"What about you, Rod?" Clyde turned to the Latino "Got something to do this Saturday?"

"I'll be extraordinarily busy finding a church on this city and attending it"

Everyone's eyes widened; Liam spat out his drink on Rusty's face.

"You pig!"

"Wait, are you… Christian?" Lincoln asked.

"Roman Catholic Apostolic" Rod corrected him.

"You cannot expect us to believe that you actually believe in God!" Zach chuckled.

"Respect my beliefs… and I will respect yours, Zach" Rod muttered. He barely knew him, but he found out about his extraterrestrial life beliefs "I believe in aliens too"

Zach's eyes widened even more. How did he know that? "How did you know…?"

"I have my sources"

"Gods, aliens? Not digging it" Rusty muttered with a shrug-

"Think whatever you wanna think, you may not change my beliefs" Rod muttered "There is a God, there are aliens on this vast universe, end of story, that's final, period"

"Yeah, you're right"

"Fine by me"

"Yeah"

And everyone resumed their lunch.

Moments later, they were at the classroom, it was math.

"Alright children…" Mrs. Salter was leading the class, writing on the chalkboard "Today, we will learn about fractions additions and subtractions, can anyone tell me what to do when you have an addition between two fractions with different denominators?" she then turned to the class as she wrote a math problem, 2/3 plus 4/6.

Rod then rose up his hand to speak as everyone looked at him "First, you gotta multiply the two denominators and the result is the denominator, and as for the numerator, you gotta cross-multiply and sum the result" he recited "I think"

"That's… correct!" Mrs. Salter was in awe. She thought Rod wouldn't have learned it yet, but ignored the fact that maybe, when he was in Argentina, could have learned it. Heck, he was even a school dropout, so that's against him "Then you may delight us and do this calculation on the chalkboard, Rodolfo?"

"Rodrigo"

"Yeah, that" Mrs. Salter couldn't just get it right, huh? Rod then walked towards the chalkboard as the teacher handed him the piece of chalk.

"Heh, what a nerd" Chandler chuckled in low voice to Tyler, who was next to him.

The class looked in awe as Rod flawlessly started to write on the chalkboard the correct result of the addition, 24/18. Rod finished by drawing a straight finishing line under the result.

"That's correct!" Mrs. Salter gaped in awe "Wow, you have quite a gifted mind, Rod"

"And Math isn't even my forte" Rod chuckled as he then walked back to his seat, with everyone, except Chandler, applauding to him.

"Okay, that's enough, kids" Mrs. Salter chuckled "Now let's get back to it, shall we?" she then started writing on the chalkboard again.

"Wow, nice shot, dude!" Zach whispered to him as he leaned closer to him.

"Thanks" Rod chuckled "Learned it about three years ago actually"

Sometime later, after the class finished, the group of friends were all exiting the schools with their backpacks.

"Hey Lincoln, wanna go to Gus with us?" Clyde offered to his best friend.

"Actually Clyde, I gotta get home early today" Stella sighed as Clyde frowned

"Sorry Clyde, but you cannot count me either" Lincoln added As I said, I have plans for today" he sighed "Ronnie Anne is coming, remember?"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it will be a special day today, I have everything on schedule"

"Another of your… plans, Man with the Plan?" Clyde chuckled as he playfully elbowed his shoulder.

"Man with the Plan?" Rod rose an eyebrow.

"Yeah" Rusty chuckled "Haven't heard? Lincoln comes up with a plan almost every time"

"But that's… speculation!"

"So?"

"You can't just plan something!" Rod retorted "Not everything comes out as planned, you know?" he looked at the white-haired boy.

"Don't remind me" Lincoln sighed "But most of my plans work!"

"NOT" everyone echoed.

"What's that?" Lincoln chuckled.

"Ehh, I am sorry Lincoln but… Rod is right" Stella had to agree with the newcomer "You say you have everything planned on what to do with Ronnie Anne, but…"

"But?"

"What if there's an emergency at your house? What if you're asked to stay for something? Haven't you ever thought about it?"

Deep down, he felt Stella was right, but the albino-haired boy won't give up "No" he shook his head stubbornly "This will be perfect, and nothing, I repeat, NOTHING will ruin it!" he declared.

"You may believe that" Stella couldn't believe his stubbornness "But think about it, not everything goes as planned, it's Murphy's Law" were her last words before she left.

"Yeah, think about it pretty well, bud" Clyde agreed with her "See ya tomorrow!" he echoed as he, Rusty, Liam and Zach left too.

Lincoln just stood there. That was the first time they ever doubted about his planification skills, and all that why? Because of someone they barely knew. Some different insight would be useful at some point, but he still believed on his judgement.

As Lincoln stood there, thoughtful, Rod suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder, making him snap out of it and look at him" But don't listen to me either, fella" he smiled "No one holds the truth, I may be mistaken and everyone would go according to your plans" he never was like that with someone when he was on his home country, it was like a big step for him.

"You really think so?" Lincoln slowly formed a smile.

"Not only that" Rod nodded "I would like to learn about your entire plan" he smiled

"Oh, you will like it!" Lincoln cheered "It is fool-proof, let's go to my house and I'll show you"

"I'm following ya"

A quarter of minutes later, they were at Lincoln's room.

"Wow" Rod looked around "I don't get it" he muttered as he was walking inside.

"What?" Lincoln asked as he rose an eyebrow.

"How come your sisters' room are big… and this is barely a room?!"

"Well…" Lincoln sighed "It's kind of crowded, I gotta admit, but truth it… it was a closet before I was born"

"How unfair!" Rod protested.

"I know, I know, but I'll manage" Lincoln was always optimistic "Perhaps when Lori and Leni move out, I'd have their room!"

"I'll hold you to that" Rod sighed "So… what's your plan, strage-o?"

"Ha ha, good one!" Lincoln laughed as he drew out his classic planning chalkboard with stuff written on it, labeled 'OPERATION RONNIE ANNE'

"Operation Ronnie Anne?" Rod gave a chuckle "Literally HER name? Just that"

"Yeah, I gotta work out very well the title ideas" Lincoln sighed "But hear me out!" he then began to explain his plan.

MEANWHILE…

"Here we are!"

As the Casagrandes mercado truck stopped, Ronnie Anne finally took a glance at where they were "Where… are we?" she asked "This is not Lincoln's house" she muttered. They were at a hotel. The sign said 'Horizon Hotel' and had two stars on it.

"Oh, forgot to mention, Nini, we aren't staying at the Loud residence this time, so mom helped me out to schedule a reservation for a hotel we're staying for a week" Bobby told his sister as he got out of the car with his luggage.

Ronnie Anne sighed as she followed suit "At least can we go see Linc… I mean, everyone at the Loud house?"

"Of course we will, sis!" Bobby smiled as they were walking out of the car "I'm dying to see Lori once again!"

Ronnie Anne just shook her head at that commentary. When would these two lovebirds stop being so corny? Universe's mysteries. Ronnie Anne then took a look at the hotel's sign; it said it was two-star only. If she were Lola… and luckily, she was not… she'd protest, but Ronnie Anne was a make-do girl, she wouldn't like luxuries either.

As they both entered the hotel, who was pretty fair and comfortable despite that Ronnie Anne saw it was two-star only, it looked pretty nice compared to one back at homme. They walked towards the concierge "Hello, yeah, we have a reservation, Roberto and Ronalda Santiago" he told him.

"Let me check" the concierge, an elderly man, nodded as he started typing on his computer "Ah, yes, paid in advance" he then handed Bobby the registry book "Please sign here" he smiled as he handed Bobby a pen, to which he complied and did so. The concierge walked towards the key rack and grabbed a key labeled 46 "Room 46" he handed the key to Bobby "Want the bellboy to carry your luggage?"

"No need to, sit" Bobby smiled, then looked at Ronnie Anne "Let's go, Nini"

Ronnie Anne and Bobby then walked towards the elevator "This place is so classy!" she remarked "How come there's nothing like this on Great Lakes City?"

"My guess is as good as yours, sis" Bobby shrugged.

Moments later, they arrived at their room door. As Bobby unlocked the door and they entered, they were amazed on it. It was a very spacey room, complete with a kitchen, bathroom, and two separated bedrooms for each person.

"Whoah…" Ronnie Anne looked around in awe "How could… mom afford this?"

"Dunno exactly" Bobby replied as he placed his luggage on a nearby couch.

Ronnie Anne shook her head with a sarcastic look on her face as she, with her luggage in hand, walked towards one of the rooms, it was also spacey and with a bed. She then placed her luggage in the bed "I better call Lincoln and tell him that I am here in RW" she muttered to herself as she grabbed her phone from her pocket.

MEANWHILE…

"…And complete the day with a horror movie at the cinema and then that's that!" Lincoln finished pointing out the last part of his plan on the chalkboard "Any questions?" he looked at Rod.

"Yeah, one" Rod nodded "Why did you included me on it?"

"Well…" Lincoln rubbed the back of his head "You're… the Plan B"

"Plan B?"

"Yeah, in the unfortunate and VERY UNLIKELY even I don't… get to proceed with the plan… I am gonna task you with carrying it on!" Lincoln smiled "BUT… the chances of that happening are one in a million, so let's just say I am having you as an option"

"You sure?"

"Totally, but as I said, it is unlikely!"

Just then, Lincoln's phone rang. As he drew it out of his pocket and looked that it was Ronnie Anne, he smiled at Rod "Speak of the devil"

"Showtime, fella" the Latino chuckled as Lincoln answered the call.

"Hey Ronnie Anne! Que pasa?"

"Hey Linc, just wanted to tell you that I arrived already at the hotel"

"Hotel?" Lincoln rose an eyebrow "I thought you two were gonna stay at my house, I mean, mom wouldn't mind at all"

"Don't get me started with that, Bobby woulda wished that (too)" Ronnie Anne sighed.

Lincoln then looked at Rod and placed a hand on the speaker to silence it "Time for Operation Ronnie Anne to begin" then looked back at his phone "Say Ronnie, I was wondering if…"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to go out with me? I was planning to do a lot of things today"

Ronnie Anne's eyes then widened. Was he… asking her out? It certainly would be a dream come true "Lincoln, that's a wonderful idea!" she cheered "Of course I'd love to!"

"Great" Lincoln nodded "So… should I pick you up or something?"

"You got it" Ronnie Anne smiled "I'll text you the address of the hotel, it is not far away from your house, y'know?"

"Great" Lincoln smiled "I'll see you there in about half an hour then!"

"Okay" she was about to hung up.

"Oh, and one more thing!"

"Yeah?" she stopped in her tracks.

"Remember I told you about that guy I've met?"

"El Argentino, I suppose?" Ronnie Anne's Spanish would have been very rusty, yet she still manages.

"Yeah" Lincoln replied "I hope you don't mind, but I wanna bring him too, so you can know each other, I am sure you'd be good friends, he is a nice person, and smart!"

Ronnie Anne then stood in silence. A third? What kind of idea Lincoln had with that? She thought it was just gonna be only the two, so why add someone else to the equation.

"Hello?"

Ronnie Anne then snapped out of it, remembering she was still on a phone call "O-Oh yeah, yeah sure, you can bring him in, I wouldn't mind!"

"See ya there then!"

"Okay, smell you later" she chuckled nervously, then ended the call as she took a deep breath.

"How was it?"

The Latina then turned around to see that Bobby was there, with a smile and her arms crossed "How long you've been in here?" she furrowed and eyebrow at him.

"The enough time" he chuckled "El Argentino, eh?" he smirked teasingly.

"Don't… push it"

Back with Lincoln and Rod…

"Lemme… ask you something"

"Hmm?"

Lincoln was busy packing up the tuxedo suit he used previously during that time on Great Lakes City when he noticed Rod, and looked at him.

"About… Ronalda" Rod looked at him "Do you… like her?" he questioned "As in… you know? LIKE like"

Lincoln then blushed and looked away "Can't you just leave it be?"

"I'm sorry" Rod sighed "It is just that… what if… Plan B results and I go out with her?"

"Relax, that won't happen, I already told you" Lincoln assured him as he zipped his backpack "And besides, if that unlikely event happens, just be yourself, friendly with her, and she will be the same with you, absolutely NO ROMANCE" he added as he hung the backpack up his shoulder with a smile.

"You like her"

"Rod, really!" Lincoln snapped "Stop it!" he glared at him "Ronnie Anne and I are just friends, just that!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, our past has nothing to see with this, I may have kissed her and all, but what's with that?" Rod kept on looking at him inquisitively "She's the same cute girl as always, her smile, her eyes, her beauty, EVERYTHING!" Rod slowly formed a smirk "How awesome she is, the way she cares about her friends, all the moments I've spent with her, I wouldn't trade it for the world!"

"I believe… she feels the same way"

"You do?!" Lincoln's eyes widened, but suddenly realized his reaction "I mean, don't say that, you don't know her entirely yet"

"The way you describe all that, really sounds familiar" Rod held up his hand on his chin thoughtfully "So familiar…"

"Can we just go?" Lincoln groaned "Let's not make her wait"

"Right behind ya"

The two then exited the room and consequently, the house, heading for the place. Lincoln checked on his phone a text message Ronnie Anne sent to him, the address to the hotel they were staying "Okay, got the place"

After some minutes, they were on their way there "Believe me, it will be PERFECT" Lincoln expressed his happiness to the Latino.

"Don't you think you're over-speculating?" Rod asked "What about if something happens all of a sudden?"

"Again with that?" Lincoln brushed him off "It will happen, trust me"

"I find it hard to trust when someone says 'trust me'" Rod confessed with a sigh.

"Really?" Rod then nodded "Well, I suppose you still have a lot to catch on, I am not known as The Man With The Plan just for nothing, you know?"

"I find that hard to believe" Rod mumbled "But you're right, I got a lot to learn about you yet"

They arrived at the place.

"Hotel 'Horizon', 2-stars?" Lincoln read the sign "This is the address, so it must be…"

"Whew, only two stars?" Rod chuckled "Guess that's make-do" he commented with a shrug.

As they got inside, they got greeted by the elderly concierge "Hello, gentlemen, how can I help you?" he smiled "Maybe a room? We still have some, but you gotta…"

"Actually, sir…" Lincoln interrupted "We're here because we have a… ahem… friend who's a guest here, we arranged to hang out" he explained "Do you know which room is she? She's Ron-"

"Well, I am sorry, sir, but I run a strict security measure and I am afraid I cannot give you such info" the concierge interrupted.

"But sir…" Lincoln pouted "It is strictly important we…"

"Lincoln!"

The two, or rather, the three, turned around to the stairway to see Ronnie Anne there. She was wearing her 'special' attire she uses whenever she's with Lincoln, her purple dress with white buttons and white boots.

"Ronnie Anne!"

The two then ran towards to each other and embraced in a big hug "Missed ya, bud" she whispered.

"Yeah, me too"

As they broke up from the hug, Lincoln looked at her "You look cute with that dress!"

Ronnie Anne then blushed as she looked away "Thanks…"

"Hey there, Lincoln"

Lincoln then looked back at the stairway, Bobby was there "Hey-o, bro!" he cheered with a smile as he walked towards them.

"Hey Bobby" Lincoln smiled as he then went onto their classic-long handshake.

"Okay okay, enough of that you two" Ronnie Anne laughed, then smiled at Lincoln "I am so glad you are, here, i…"

"First, let me… introduce you to someone" Lincoln then walked towards Rod "Rod, this is…"

"Ronnie Anne" Rod smiled.

"Yeah!" Lincoln nodded, then looked at her best female friend "Ronnie Anne, this is Rod, his full name is Rodrigo, but he goes by Rod"

"Rodrigo, eh?" Ronnie Anne smirked coyly at Rod as she walked towards him, then examined h him up and down. For a Latino, he didn't look like he had dark-toned skin, something she was amazed of. Upon a brief hesitation, she looked at him on the eyes "Pleasure to meet you, any friend of Lincoln is my friend" she then extended a hand.

Rod was nervous at first as he eyed Ronnie Anne 'Que bonita' echoed through his mind.

"Uh…"

But Rod quickly snapped out of it by hastily shaking his head as he realized that, taking too long, Ronnie Anne looked at him curiously "Oh… sorry" he then held her hand "El gusto es mío, señorita" he flirted as he softly grasped her hand and shook it.

"Whoah, just like Ronnie Anne told me, bro" Bobby chuckled at Lincoln "Good old Spanish"

Just as Rod let go of her hand, Ronnie Anne quickly turned to Lincoln "Linc, there is something…"

"Hold on, Ronnie Anne, first let me tell you that yesterday, upon receiving your call, I have made a reservation for us two at the Saint François Bistró Maitre'd restaurant"

"Royal Woods' second most expensive and fancy restaurant?!" Ronnie Anne gasped.

"None other" Lincoln smiled with his arms crossed "And after that, we'll go watch a movie" he added "Feeling like watching 'Glorpus 3: The Return of the Alien Queen from Outer Space'?"

Ronnie Anne's eyes widened more as she put her hands on her slightly blushing cheeks "I always wanted to see that movie, Sid was too scaredy to do that and I didn't want to watch it alone!" she squealed.

"Well, surprised now, eh?" Lincoln smirked.

"Gotta admit it, Linc" Ronnie Anne smirked back as she playfully (And softly punched his shoulder) "After all, you ARE The Man With The Plan"

"When did you had ALL THAT TIME to do that?" Rod questioned him in awe "You received a call from her just yesterday!"

"The movie tickets were originally to go with Clyde, and the reservation, well, I did it an hour after Clyde left yesterday" Lincoln replied "And plus, it wasn't THAT little time I had left, you left earlier, like early afternoon, y'know?" he pointed out "So I decided to look for a place, and I was lucky I got the last available table at that restaurant"

"Oh, genius" Rod nodded.

"Yes, and there is absolutely NOTHING…"

RING!

"Huh?"

Phone ringing, an alarm for his ears on this silence called happiness. Little did know, was that the call Lincoln was about to answer, would just simply change it all "Hello?"

"Lincoln! Thank God you answered!" the voice of Rita, his mother, echoed as it could be heard some soft skidding, car horns and pain scream sounds on the other end.

"Hey mom, what's the matter?" Lincoln quickly noticed the sounds "Is everyone alright?"

"Your father nearly chopped off his entire thumb in an accident with a new slicer he got at his restaurant, I am currently driving as fast as I could to the hospital while tending to his wound, he's endlessly bleeding!" Rita explained as the pain screams were now recognized as his father's, Lynn Sr.

"Curse that turkey!" could be heard from Lynn Sr. "I'll never make chicken ever again!"

"Honey, chicken and turkey are different"

"They are both birds! You get me, dear!"

"Oh God, I hope he's alright"

"Me too, sweetie" Rita sighed "Listen, I called you because Lori's at college, Leni, Luna and Luan at high school, and it is complete chaos, because Lynn doesn't answer my calls and it looks like she is nowhere to be found too and I NEED someone to return home and look after Lily and the twins!"

Lincoln's heartbeat dropped upon hearing that, as much as he also nearly dropped his phone. Despite the fact that he could tell his mom that Lisa, 4-year-old but a mature kid, could handle it, that would be terribly selfish of his part, as she was still a minor? But… what about Lucy? She's a few years younger than him but still able. No, he couldn't. Guess his friends were right, not everything goes as planned.

"Lincoln, sweetie? You there?"

Lincoln quickly shook his head and placed his phone back on his ear "Wha… uh… yeah, I'm here!"

"Listen, I know you had some hard plans with Ronnie Anne today, but PLEASE, I need you to be at home ASAP, your grandfather luckily is there because I called him but he can't be there for long, he needs to be back at Sunset Canyon and I don't wanna leave the house without any care and I have no one else, could you please do me that favor, sweetie? Again, I am SO sorry, but if it weren't important, I wouldn't ask you"

"Mom, this is SO important for me, VERY important, can't someone else just really do it? Please, I implore you" as Lincoln was talking and Rod and Ronnie Anne watching with surprise, his voice was slowly trailing off into desperation. Ronnie Anne never heard him THAT exalted.

"I'm SO sorry Lincoln, but I already made calls and NO ONE could" Rita sighed as she could be heard moving the driving like crazy "Please, son, I really need this"

That did it, the first plan that ever failed on his life. Well, top five. One of the most important moments on his young life… ruined. All down to trash for one teeny tiny mishap. Lincoln gulped and took a deep breath before answering "Okay mom, I'll be there as soon as I can"

"Oh thanks, sweetie, I promise I'll make it up to you!"

"That wasn't a bone!"

"Lynn! Stop panicking or else the bleeding won't stop! And keep your finger up!"

"It's alright, mom, no problem" Lincoln, with a big frown, sighed.

"Pop-Pop will give you the details once you are home, okay? Thank you, I love you"

"Love you too, mom, bye" and with that, Lincoln finally hung up.

Both Ronnie Anne and Rod looked at him during the entire phone call. Ronnie had a disillusioned expression on his face as Rod tried to understand the situation.

Plan B.

Lincoln, totally defeated, walked towards Ronnie Anne "I am sorry Ronnie, but I gotta go home ASAP"

"But… what about our date?" Ronnie Anne couldn't believe she called it 'date'.

"It's alright, I have a backup plan" Lincoln didn't stop being sad for a moment, then looked at Rod "Rod, would you…?"

"If… I don't have any other choice" Rod sighed in resignation.

"Wha…?" Ronnie Anne was confused.

"Ronnie, Rod will go in my place, you two have fun, will ya?"

At that moment, a symbolical platter crashing to the ground and soundly breaking into pieces could describe how much Ronnie Anne took that bomb. Go out with another person? Other than Lincoln? Lincoln Loud? His Lame-O? It couldn't be.

"B-but Lincoln…" Ronnie Anne's voiced trailed off

"I know…" Lincoln sighed and walked towards her "I'm sure you'll do fine, he's friendly and you are too, you'll get along" he assured her with a weak smile.

"But I don't wanna go out with anyone else!"

"Have fun, PLEASE do" Lincoln sighed.

Lincoln drew out a set of papers out of his pocket and handed them to Rod "The reservation sheets and the tickets for the movies"

"Gotcha" Rod nodded as he received them.

"But Linc…" Ronnie Anne was nearly about to form tears on her eyes as she saw her albino-haired best friend slowly walk away towards the door.

Lincoln then stopped to look at his back "Guess you and Stella were right, gotta hand it to you" he told Rod "Not everything goes as planned"

"I am afraid so" Rod sighed "Just… be alright, fella, okay?" he then looked at Ronnie Anne "I'll… take good care of her, she will be fine with me"

"I'm trusting you with it" Lincoln briefly formed a smile before turning around, walking away and finally leaving the scene.

Rod tried to not to look at Ronnie Anne as much as he could. He could be apathetic, but he felt the entire situation and how it felt like for Lincoln, most importantly… to Ronalda.

As Bobby watched the entire scene, he walked towards his sister and gave her a comforting hand on her shoulder "I'm sorry, Nini" he sighed "These things happen"

"It's… alright, Bobby" could be heard from Ronnie Anne in low voice.

"I'll be in my room if you need me, Lori's not out from Fairway yet" and with that said, he walked upstairs and left, leaving an unnerved Rod alone with Ronnie Anne, whom the latter looked at him briefly.

"Eh…"

But Ronnie Anne just turned away from him, shedding her newly-formed tears.

"Ah…"

If he kept silent, he could hear she was silently sobbing. That sobbing stroke right into his poorly emotional-recognizing mind. But still, he dealt with these kinds of situations before in Argentina. So this was what Lincoln was talking about, Plan B. If that same circumstance would happen and he weren't on the equation… he'd just leave her there, heartbroken because no one else would be there to take her.

Rodrigo took a deep breath before realizing… he had to do the right thing. He didn't felt he'd like it, nor he wanted to, but for his standards, hearing a girl (As in… a woman) cry… was so shocking and heartbreaking, and he had a past experience with it.

"Ronalda…"

Rod slowly walked towards Ronnie Anne and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, making her turn her attention to him, surprised.

"I may be not… a Lincoln Loud, but… would you like to go out with me, at least just for today? I promise you I'll make you feel better" Rod offered with a smile "I believe I understand how are you feeling right now, but… how about if we make the best out of this? What do you say?" he offered "You may know me for a little time, but trust me when I say this: I am willing to do ANYTHING to make up for Lincoln's mishap"

Ronnie Anne stopped tearing as she shed her final tears. She slowly formed a smile as she peered into his eyes, his Hazelnut brown pupils. He knew him for only… what? 5 minutes? And by looking at him, she felt he was someone she could trust. After all, Lincoln declared he is his friend and he treated her like a lady for a few moments, and he even knows fluent Spanish!

"Okay" she smiled "I guess we can go out, just as friends"

"Yes" Rod nodded with a smile. As he said this, he looked behind her. Bobby was surprisingly there, having witnessed everything. Didn't he leave? "Uh… hi" he sheepishly smiled at him.

"Well Ronnie, it looks like you have a date after all" Bobby smirked at the two.

"Bobby!" Ronnie Anne quickly glared at him with a blush.

"And you are…?" Rod asked.

"Roberto, but I go by Bobby" he introduced himself "Have fun you two" he smiled.

"Okay"

"One more thing" Bobby added as Rod was about to turn around, but stopped and looked at him "Take care of my sister, very well, got it?" he gave Rod a small warning glare as he said that slowly.

Rod didn't liked threats from anyone, and this was certainly a threat, given the solid cold tone of voice it was uttered with. Nonetheless, he let it go "Alright"

"Okay, have fun you two" Bobby smiled "Don't be late" and with that said, he turned around and walked upstairs.

"Hah…" Rod gave out a chuckle, but still felt unnerved by that ultimatum.

"Oh, same old Bobby, always looking after her little sis" Ronnie Anne giggled "Don't listen to him, he won't do you anything" he looked at him "So… shall we go?"

The Argentine almost-teenager still felt unsure about all of this, not because something can go wrong, but that… dating another girl who he thinks must belong with someone else is just… plain wrong. Rod finally replied by taking a deep breath, changing his expression from disillusioned to happy, and looked at her. He then opened his arm in an akimbo-way at her, expecting her to grasp onto it in a holding hands-esque way, making her look at him, confused. After realizing this, he quickly got his arm back into his position "Oh, sorry, had no idea…"

Ronnie Anne stared at him blankly for a moment, then gave out a laugh "Oh, you wanted to…?" she grinned "Why didn't you say so?" she then lend out a hand.

Rod then nodded, opened his arm again, and witnessed with shock (And a possible blush) how the Latina wrapped her arm around his and grasped onto it. Rod first felt nervous, then quickly smiled at her, and they both slowly started walking towards the exit, all being witnessed by certain nosy concierge.

"Young love" he smiled.

"Just one thing" Rod stopped walking.

"What?" Ronnie Anne asked, intrigued by the reaction.

"I clearly have no idea where the place is, and you?"

Ronnie Anne then laughed again "Yeah, let ME lead you then"

"Gotcha"

30 MINUTES LATER…

As they were walking through Royal Woods commercial zone, the Argentine boy was amazed at how many possibilities the city had. 30 minutes and he saw a lot of places who were glooming in harmony, compared to what he saw when he was at Argentina.

"Here we are!"

As Rod then popped back his attention to his date, he looked at her "Huh?"

"The place?"

Rod then looked at his side, they were certainly there. 'Saint François Bistró Maitre'd' in a neon sign that was currently off because it wasn't night yet. It had a big line with an usher, for people who didn't made reservations.

"Just like any other French-themed place back in 'tina" Rod chuckled as he appreciated the fanciness.

"Tina?" Ronnie Anne rose an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I mean… Argentina" Rod quickly corrected himself "Sorry, abbreviation" he rubbed the back of his head.

"You're funny" Ronnie Anne giggled "Let's go inside, shall we?"

The two walked towards the usher "Hello, we…"

"Not one single step" the usher, a man dressed in a tuxedo, stopped him "No reservations, get in line, monsieur"

"But we have a reservation" Rod grabbed the reservation sheet from his pocket and presented it to him "See?"

The usher grabbed it and looked at it, then back at Rod with a smile "Ah, pardonne moi, monsieur" he corrected himself "Please enter, the waiter will lead you to the table"

"Merci beaucoup" Rod uttered in French with a smile as he, still arm-wrapped with Ronnie Anne, entered the place.

"Enjoy your stay with ze mademoiselle" the usher told Rod before getting his attention back at the line.

"Will do" and the two walked towards inside.

"What's with the French?" Ronnie Anne was amazed at the few fluent words she heard from him.

"Long story, I also know a little of Italian and German" Rod laughed sheepishly "Only a little"

As the two entered the restaurant, they were amazed at how big it was. Heck, they even got amazed on how lucky Lincoln was to get a reservation at the last minute given that we're talking about the second most fancy French-themed restaurant at Royal Woods.

"Wow, No. Way" Ronnie Anne gaped in shock as her jaw dropped.

"Like the place, huh?" Rod chuckled.

As the two looked around, a waited approached them, and to get their attention, cleared his throat, making the couple look at him "Excuse moi, monsieur and mademoiselle, reservation?"

Rod remembered the usher gave him the reservation sheet back, feeling that he'd still need it, an drew it out from his pocket back again "Here"

The waiter grabbed it and examined it carefully "Hmm, Mr. Loud and Mrs. Santiago, I assume?" he looked at the two.

"Uh…" Rod wouldn't like to lie about his identity, but this drastic measure called for it "Yeah, we are!"

"No offense, but how did you managed to dye your hair?" he asked suspiciously "Yesterday I heard a white-haired boy made THIS exact reservation, but his hair was white"

"Long story" Rod replied, expecting him to buy it. How did he know and why did he care?

"Very well, no matter, you wouldn't have this document in hand if you weren't lying" he replied, then looked at Ronnie Anne "Ronalda Santiago, yes, she looks Latina as her name suggests it" then looked back at both "Over here, if you may, please" he then walked further into the tables, expecting the two to follow him, which they did.

"Yeah, I don't feel comfy with someone reminding me constantly of my ethnicity" Ronnie Anne whispered to Rod.

"Well, they are Americans, give them credit, they do not know" Rod whispered back.

"But… aren't they French?" Ronnie Anne rose an eyebrow.

"That's just a façade" Rod laughed "He's not even Parisian"

"And… here we are!" the waiter declared as they reached the table, who was like the others, with a mantle covering the table, cutlery, handkerchiefs and a flower in a thin vase on it to complete the fanciness "Table 23, enjoy it, I will be right back to take your orders, excuse me, monsieur and mademoiselle" and with nothing left to say, the waiter left the two to their table.

Rod hastily walked towards a chair and opened it for Ronnie Anne to sit on it. Ronnie Anne appreciated Rods chivalrous attitude and complied. She remembered Lincoln did it once with her, but rejected it rudely, so she decided to change. After all, everyone learns from his/her mistakes.

Rod then walked towards his seat an sat on it, then was welcomed by a menu that was casually and premeditatedly placed on each side of the table. As the two grabbed their respective menus, they started to inspect them.

"Hmm, Vichyssoise, Ratatouille…" Ronnie Anne started reading "Escargot?" she looked at it awkwardly "Aren't they… snails?"

"Boiled" Rod nodded.

"Yuck!" she then put down her menu on the table "I'll ask whatever you ask"

Rod then smiled at her "No, you can ask whatever you want, don't worry, expensive is not…"

"It's not about prices" Ronnie Anne interrupted him with a sigh "It is just that… I don't feel to eat exotic yet, I mean, one of my dreams is to become a chef, but I am too young to taste new stuff"

"Well…" Rod nodded as he put down his menu "In that case, how about Vichyssoise?" he offered with a grin "It's a stew-like soup that can be served either cold or hot"

"I already know what It is" Ronnie Anne pointed out with a smile "Yes, I'd like that"

"Gotcha" Rod then looked at his back, where a waiter was, and rose up his hand "Eh, excuse, monsieur? We're ready to order" he told him in a slightly louder tone of voice.

The waiter, who had a notepad in hand, realized this and, available, walked towards them "And what will ze gentleman and lady would like, may I ask?"

"We'd both like a Vichyssoise" Rod replied, then gave Ronnie Anne a side look "Both hot, right?"

"Yeah, but not SO hot, I wanna eat it, not burn my tongue" Ronnie Anne wisecracked.

"Yeah, me too" Rod nodded as he put his attention back at the waiter.

"And for the drinks?" the waiter started writing.

"I'd like… a Coke" Rod replied. Cola drinks was his second platonic love, symbolically, of course.

"Me too" Ronnie Anne seconded.

"Okay, order right away!"

And finishing writing, the waiter walked towards the kitchen with the order taken.

"So…" Ronnie Anne looked at him "What's your story?"

"Huh?" Rod looked back at his date.

"Which part of Argentina are you from?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"Buenos Aires, the best province of the country" Rod replied.

"Province"

"Yeah, we're a federal country" Rod proudly stated "Non-unitary, that means we're divided in 24 of what we call 'Provincias', which are kinda like the 50 states in here"

Ronnie Anne then caught it "Oh, 24 states?"

"Provinces"

"Yeah, that!"

"That is right"

"And… how are you finding America so far, may I ask?"

Again, that question, Rod gave out a small, unnoticed chuckle as he prepared his wisecrack "With a map, of course"

He got her. Ronnie Anne, a second after hearing his, burst out into laughter "Oh, that is a good one, better than Luan's, if I must say" she was kinda tearing in laughter.

"Yeah" Rod chuckled "But seriously, I've been here for a few days and I say… I actually like it"

"Actually?"

"Yeah" Rod nodded "At first, I thought I wouldn't fit in, but I had the luck to run in with Lincoln" he explained "He's a good guy, and his family and friends are nice too!" as Rod said that, he wondered why he didn't add that meeting her was the best thing that happened to him today, but brushed quickly it off.

"Well, yeah, Lincoln is totally a keeper" Ronnie commented as she rested her chin on her hand, whose arm was on the table, and had a smitten look on her face as she mentioned certain white-haired boy's name.

"You like him?"

"H-Huh?!" Ronnie Anne gasped as she placed her hands back.

That caught the Latina by surprise. He totally blew it!

"I mean!" Rod quickly held out his hands in defense "Sorry, I just saw that you two…"

Ronnie Anne glared at him before letting out a sigh "You're… not far from wrong"

"Que?" Rod was expecting, on a lesser extent, a slap on his face, so it was no surprise he was shocked.

"Listen, you're… the first person who hears this, but…" Ronnie Anne rubbed her arm sheepishly "I like him. More than anything" she finally confessed "First time I've met him, I bullied him mercilessly because, like you at these current moments, was an outsider" she then began to explain "My family and I moved to this country when I was so young, we had to accommodate to the natives and forcefully learn English, we were kinda poor so mom had to work more than one shift, and when Bobby reached teenagehood, he took too many jobs, and I remember that my classmates always picked on me for being, uh… well…"

"Mexican"

"Yes" Ronnie Anne nodded "They wouldn't just leave me alone, so I took two decisions" she said with a stern look on her face "One, that I won't ever be emotional with no one outside my family"

"Oh…" Rod nodded "And… two?"

"If that's what they want…" she then took a deep breath "I will give them war, I will be a reckless bully and be above them so they will NEVER EVER tease me again!"

"And that's… when you met Lincoln and focused on him" Rod pointed out.

"Yeah" Ronnie replied with a nod "But one day, he surprisingly kissed me on the lips in front of some people outdoors" she added "Naturally, because of my pride, I gave him a black-eye, but then sent him secret messages, that's when things started to change a little"

"That's when the love was born" he guessed it right.

The waiter then returned with a tray with two platters of soup and a small Coke bottle for the two. As the two kept talking, he served their meals "Here you go, enjoy your meals!" and with that said, he walked away.

'Quick service' Rod thought.

"… And that's when I decided to give him a chance" Ronnie Anne continued as she grabbed her spoon and began to eat "But then, one day, he trash-talked about me and made me do something I thought I never do, but in private, with Bobby at my side"

"Which was…?" Rod also grabbed his spoon.

Ronnie Anne then sighed "He made me cry"

"Oh…"

"I dunno how, but before I could even react, I saw myself going into a double-date with him, Bobby and his sister, which, by the way and you may already know, is dating him"

"Yeah, I've been told" Rod mentioned as he started to eat his meal.

"I was hostile at first because he hated me, but later found out he actually liked me too, when…" Ronnie Anne then stopped eating and put her spoon down as she looked down in disbelief.

"Then?" Rod was about to put another spoonful of soup on his mouth when he suddenly stopped.

"He… kissed me again, that time in front of his teasing friends to prove to them that I am really worth much to him, and that… was the day I felt it, I felt so much for him, but kept it secret, I felt it was killing me" Ronnie Anne replied as she rose up to look at him "I kept on seeing him, being friends, calling him names like 'Lame-O' and 'dork', all while loving him in secret but never showing it, until…"

"Until?"

"I gotta also clarify that during and before that… my parents argued a lot and… got divorced"

"Oh"

"Yeah" Ronnie Anne nodded "They got divorced, and shortly, my mom took the decision to live with my abuela, her mother, at Great Lakes City"

"That wasn't too far, right?"

"Are you kidding me?" Ronnie Anne looked at him with a raised eyebrow "Rod, this is Royal Woods, Michigan, and Great Lakes City is located in Illinois!"

It didn't take Rod too long to figure out how far that was, since he had extended knowledge of geography. Maybe not so well with American geography, but… knowing that detail, for him, was the ABC of geography… American one.

"Damn, Ronalda, i… I didn't know!"

"Yeah, living hundreds of miles away from your crush… made you change and rethink about your life" Ronnie Anne continued "As a final detail to this story, I matured a little, valued my family more, met my other best friend, and last but not least… dissolved my crush on Lincoln and wanted to be friends with him" she then took another spoonful of soup "That… until a few days ago when I finally realized how much valuable he is for my life, and took the decision to make a big step with him"

"Which was gonna be tell him about your feelings" Rod figured it out "Before… it happened"

"You're far from wrong" Ronnie Anne giggled.

They kept chatting and eating for so long… they didn't realize it. Rod never felt like doing this… at least… not again.

"So… your mother is a nurse?"

"Yeah" Ronnie Anne smiled "But, enough of me, what about you?" she smiled "Tell me: Family? Friends? Love?"

As Ronnie Anne said this, Rod was taking another spoonful, and he nearly choked upon hearing the 'Love' part 'Oh God, please don't pry any further with the last one' he thought as he coughed up a little.

"You okay?!" Ronnie Anne suddenly gasped as she was prepared to get up to tend him, but between coughs, Rod rose up a hand on the air.

"Yeh, I'mok, I'mok!" Rod gasped for air as he was panting, then finally took a breath and regained his stance, to which Ronnie Anne slowly and suspiciously returned to her seat "Family: I am the youngest of four, son of an entrepreneur and a loving mother, we're upper middle-class, Friends: I have two best friends back in Argentina, one is too busy to talk to me but we're still friends, and the other one went to live back at his motherland, Perú"

"Peru?" Ronnie Anne's eyes widened "That's were dad went to work when he and mom got divorced!"

"Huh" Rod chuckled "Such a small world" he recited that popular phrase.

"Yeah, totally" Ronnie Anne replied as Rod kept on eating his last spoonful of soup "And… love?" she asked asked as she was at the same with her meal.

Rod didn't reply at that. He just instinctively tried to brush it off by grabbing his Coke bottle, opening and pouring it on his glass "Want?" he offered as he prepared to fill her glass.

Ronnie Anne rose an eyebrow as she stared at him, thoughtful "Oh!" she then held her glass "Yes, please"

Rod then poured the other half of remaining Coke on her glass, then placed the empty bottle aside.

"Thanks!"

Rod smiled as he then grasped onto his glass and rose it up "Cheers!"

"Yeah… cheers" Ronnie Anne was still uneasy at the fact that he evaded her question, but rose up her glass and they shared a toast.

Rod then drank his glass of Coke, feeling the flavor party on his mouth as he took a sip "Ahhh…" he said as he finished "That's the stuff!"

"No kidding" Ronnie Anne chuckled as she also finished drinking hers.

Rod then noticed that they were finished "Want something more?"

"Nah, I'm pretty full" Ronnie Anne chuckled "Not quite, at least, wanna save something for the popcorn at the movies"

"Gotcha" Rod then looked at his side as he rose up his hand "Check please!"

Luckily, the same waiter that attended him walked up towards them "Table 23, right?"

"Yes"

"Cash or credit or debit card?"

"Partner, do we look like we are old enough to own cards?" Rod wisecracked.

"You're right, monsieur, my mistake" the waiter then drew out a paper from his pocket, their bill "Here you go" he said as he placed it on the table.

Before Ronnie Anne could ever take a glance at how many they have spent, Rod hastily grabbed the bill, looked at it, then at the waiter "That is okay"

Ronnie Anne, amazed, witnessed as how her date drew out a wallet from his pocket, opened it, and drew out some dollar bills, grabbing the correct quantity, or even more, and handing it to the waiter "This enough?"

The waiter accepted the money and counted it "If there's more, you can keep the change" he heard from Rod before finishing counting "Tres bien, monsieur, merci beaucoup" he then stored the money on his pocket "Thanks for choosing us, have a great day"

"De rien"

As the waiter walked away, Rod got up from his chair and stretched out his arms with a groan "Ahhhh, I forgot how much uncomfortable was sitting for too long" he mentioned as Ronnie Anne also got up, still eyeing him in awe "Back at Argentina, I spent HOURS on the computer, sitting on a chair" he chuckled, but noticed how she was looking at him "You okay?"

Ronnie Anne instantly snapped out of it "Huh, wha…?"

"You… okay?"

"Yeah, it's just…"

"Just…?" Rod rose an eyebrow.

"That meal could have been expensive, and you deliberately paid for it, ALL OF IT!" Ronnie Anne replied while rubbing her arm.

"Well, that's what you do for a woman, please her" Rod chuckled "Come on, we still have the movie to watch"

Ronnie Anne looked at him in disbelief. This was, literally, the first time someone ever gave her a moment like this. Sure, it could have been with Lincoln too, but she felt that… somehow… it was different with him. Maybe… better than Lincoln? No, it couldn't be.

"Rona"

As Ronnie Anne was buried on her thoughts, she came back to reality and looked that Rod was next to him, with his arm near him "You coming?" he smiled.

Ronnie Anne then smiled as she wrapped her arm around his and grasped onto it ´This guy is great, but I just cannot keep thinking about Lincoln' she thought.

"Again, please lead the way, since I have no idea where the cinema is" Rod wisecracked-

"Gotcha" Ronnie Anne laughed.

With that said, the two left the place.

MEANWHILE…

Lincoln was already back home, and as his mother said, his grandfather Pop-Pop gave him instructions about the house's status before hastily having to leave back to his retirement home. He was sitting on the couch watching TV with a blunt expression on his face as he was zapping through the channels with the remote control. Lily was nearby, playing with some toy letter blocks. Curiously, she was putting five cubes together, 'LLXRA', they said. Lincoln was ignoring that, still sad about the turn of events, not saying a single word.

Walking downstairs was Lisa, who was checking some experiment results on her notepad, muttering scientific stuff when he noticed his brother. She then rose an eyebrow and walked towards him "Fraternal unit number 6, weren't you supposed to be engaging on a romantic activity with Ronnie Anne?" she asked wither her classic lisp and saliva-spitting.

Lincoln slightly turned his head to look at her "Oh. Hi Lis" he muttered "No, i… I couldn't"

"You were bragging all the entire time during dinner yesterday that you were gonna give her the most special moment in her life" Lisa pointed out "What's the matter, Lincoln?" she squinted her eyes at him "Don't lie to me, remember…"

"Yeah yeah, your lying stuff is wrong, whatever" Lincoln sighed "Look, I am okay right now, you know dad nearly chopped off one finger so I gotta be here and that, so that's why I couldn't go"

"And… may I ask… you left her alone after that?"

"No" Lincoln sighed "I went with Rod and tasked him to be the Plan B for if something like that happens" he explained as he let go of the remote.

"And are you telling me that while you are here at your leisure, someone else is having a romantic moment with 'the girl of your dreams', as you said so?"

"Right on" Lincoln deadpanned.

"You clearly have no willpower, Lincoln" Lisa pointed out "Or as popular language says… guts" she added "You cannot leave someone else take the girl you love from you!"

"Look" Lincoln huffed as he got up and stomped his foot, making the cubes Lily was playing with briefly shake "It's not my fault my Man with the Plan persona doesn't always work, okay?" he growled "You were right, not everything goes as accorded, I give you that, but I trust Rod, he won't do anything I don't want with Ronnie Anne, they are just going out AS FRIENDS, nothing more!"

"Are you sure?" Lisa asked "According to my calculations, there is a 74 percent of possibility that that single date would end up in unfavorable results for you"

"Ronnie Anne and I have been best friends FOR MORE THAN A YEAR!" Lincoln snapped "Some random guy she just met today may enamor her THAT easily?" he growled as he was starting to concern her baby sister.

"No need to put on defensive, Lincoln"

"I am not being on defensive!" Lincoln snarled "Just… leave it be, okay?" he huffed as he sat down on the couch again and fetched the remote control "As I heard, she'll stay for a week, so when I see her tomorrow, I will ask her out again and luckily AND JUST LUCKILY, that time will be it"

Lisa just sighed as she then walked towards the stairway "I just hope everything turns out well for you, I hate seeing you like this, and this isn't the only time you suffered this kind of stuff, remember Cristina?"

"Yeah"

"Well Lincoln, for what is worth for it, I wish you luck, and I may be not a devout Christian, but I pray everything goes well for you" were her last words before walking upstairs.

'Me too'

Lincoln kept on watching TV as Lily looked at him, concerned. She may be a toddler, but she knew how Lincoln felt at that moment. Maybe… Plan B was a bad idea, but… what else could he possibly think about? She then had an idea. She got up and started climbing the stairs.

2 HOURS LATER…

The movie was pretty good for Ronnie Anne's standards… but not for Rod's. Rod never liked horror movies, especially those one with jumpscares. Last time he had a jumpscare, he let out a swear in Spanish. As for Ronnie Anne, she was used to it, but at one jumpscare scene, she screamed in terror and held Rod's arm tightly before realizing what she did, and quickly moved away, blushing.

As they exited the cinema, both in laughter, they were both arm-wrapped together again.

"No idea you were so scaredy" Ronnie Anne giggled.

"Not quite so" Rod laughed.

"Oh, puh-please!" she replied teasingly "You almost wet your pants!"

"I don't wet my pants since I was 5"

"Yeah, sure!"

"Really" Rod laughed "I…"

BEEP!

"What was that?" Ronnie Anne's smile stopped. Another beep.

Rod then drew out his phone and checked two things: One, it was around 9 o'clock already. He couldn't believe how time could fly by so long, especially when with a girl, and considering it wasn't near evening when they first left the hotel. The second, was the same message as yesterday, to take his night pill. Weird, yesterday he received the message at afternoon, why it was pretty accurate today? Who knows?

"What is it?" Ronnie Anne asked.

Rod then looked above. The first stars of the night were blighting as the moon shined like crazy "Damn, we stood up for so long, it is nearly bed time!" he exclaimed.

"No kidding!" Ronnie Anne checked her phone's clock "Bobby will surely kill me, if not…"

Suddenly, Ronnie Anne's phone rang, the called ID was Bobby "Oh!" she then looked at Rod "Excuse me, gotta get this one" but as she was about to answer the call, she looked around suspiciously, as she saw people around the two.

"What?"

"I need… privacy"

"We're alone?"

"Not quite so" she sighed "Come on, let's get into the alley" Ronnie Anne then held his hand and walked towards the alleyway that was adjacent to the cinema, pulling him.

"Uh, Rona… I don't think this place is safe" Rod felt uneasy about the ambient of the place they were currently on.

"Relax, Rodrigo, this is not Argentina, this is safe" Ronnie Anne then answered the call "Hello, Bobby?"

"Ronalda Anne Santiago, I already told you to not to be late!"

"Yeah, I know, and I am sorry, time flew on pretty quickly" Ronnie Anne sighed "Gosh, Bobby, you sound like mom!"

"It is because when mom is not here, I am the one who has to take care of you, and I want you to return here RIGHT NOW"

"Okay, sorry, I'll be there ASAP, sorry"

"Alright, and please be careful, love ya"

"Love ya too" and with that, Ronnie Anne ended the call.

"We should probably get out" Rod looked around "Right now"

"Relax, Rod, it's not like…"

But suddenly, a crash could be heard as a trashcan nearby soundly tipped into the ground, and a cat meow screech could be heard. The couple immediately looked at that direction.

"What was that?"

"Oh, it was just a ca…"

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

But the two then turned around, and to Rod's surprise, and caught off guard, found himself quickly knocked into the ground. As for Ronnie Anne, she was swiftly pinned to the wall with a grunt by something… or… someone. As Rod grunted in pain and could slowly get up, he saw two figures.

"Well well well, fresh meat, if I may!"

As Rod's vision clarified, he saw that the two figures were two teenagers, or at least one of them was a teenager. One, skinny and with a pink mohawk, was wearing a shredded yellow sleeveless shirt with a white skull on it, torn jeans and broken sneakers, he was carrying a knife whose grip seemingly had something written on it, as Rod saw he was twirling it like if he were a professional while grinning evilly. The second one, who was revealed to been holding Ronnie Anne still to the wall, was a bulky, adult, balding thug-like nearly obese man who was wearing a sports jersey, sports shorts and shoes similar to Lynn's, but without laces. He had a tattoo of a swastika on his left shoulder.

"Romeo and Juliet, if I may" the teenager joked, but then realized Rod was slowly getting up "DOWN I SAY!" he yelled as he then kicked him on the side, keeping him down.

"ROD!" Ronnie Anne shrieked as she was struggling to be let free, but even for her, a nearly athlete, she couldn't oppose against the brute force of a man who was presumably on his early twenties and was muscular "Let go of me, you fat fiend!" she grunted as she struggled even more.

"Keep it down, lady!" he adult growled.

"Well…" the teenager then crouched down and looked at Rod "What would it be, pana, the money? The girl? Or your life?" his ultimatum was as harsh as the tone of voice he put on.

Grunting in pain, Rod slowly glared at him "I'd rather have a baby through my anus than complying to the demands of the deformed offspring of a man and a peacock like you!" he growled, then smirked "Oh, I'm sorry, forgot to mention I meant that your father screwed a peacock, and had you?"

The adult who was holding Ronnie Anne, who was looking at Rod, then burst into laughter "HA! HA! Good one, buddy!" he couldn't resist but to be on Rod's side… at least on that one.

"Shut up, Ethan!" the teenager growled, then looked at Rod with a death glare "That's the worst comeback I've ever heard"

"Not as worse as the time your hairdresser decided to cut your hair like a deformed flamingo" Rod kept his smirk.

The adult, now identified as Ethan, couldn't help but laugh again "Turn down for what, Larry" he chuckled "He got you again" he chuckled, ignoring the fact that Ronnie Anne, who was still struggling, had something in mind and was waiting for the exact moment.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" the youngster, Larry, yelled at him, then looked back at Rod "As a final joke, I will end your miserable life" and said that, the stepped above him, flung his knife with both arms, and hurled it at Rod.

Rod quickly reacted by moving his arms and blocking him before he could stab him. The two then began to struggle. Rod seemed to have the upper hand as the two kept on fighting between grunts, but Larry was slowly winning, as the knife was getting closer and closer to his face. But what can you expect in an unfair fight? Rod hastily, using his legs, delivered a swift kick on Larry's groin.

Larry then let out a grunt, standing frozen, slowly letting go of his knife "Ah… my… narfs!" he groaned as he held his crotch in pain.

This gave Rod the opportunity to quickly get up, back up a little from the punk, and, having advantage, swiftly delivering a haymaker at his face. Larry then fell to the ground on his back.

"Gotdammit Larry!" Ethen growled as he still kept distracted and not focusing on Ronnie Anne, who, taking advantage of the situation, quickly slung her knee forward and, almost as the same as Rod, delivered a strong knee on the groin at the thug, who then let go of her, backed away, and fell onto his back, also holding his crotch in pain "Daughter of a…"

Ronnie Anne fell to the ground on her bottom in mid-exhaustion. Rod, panting, quickly rushed towards Ronnie Anne and crouched down to her "You okay, did he do anything to you?" he, with his hands shaking, gently caressed her cheek.

"I'm OK, Rod, I'm OK" Ronnie Anne was also panting. At this point, she looked disheveled and shaken "It is just…" but before she could finish her sentence, she looked at Rod's behind "LOOK OUT!"

Rod quickly turned around to his back, but it was too late.

It took a split second, and Rod felt a piercing sensation on his shoulder, accompanied by pain. Larry, quickly recovered, took advantage of the surprise, retrieved his knife, and caught Rod for surprise by flinging his knife at him and stabbing him on the shoulder, near the section of his clavicle. Rod let out a immense scream of pain as he quickly held his wound.

"JUEPUTA!" Rod screamed as he pushed Larry away, then gave him a final punch that put him out of commission and knocking him to the ground out cold, but the sharp knife limited his movements. He fell to his knees, grasping onto his painful shoulder.

"ROD!" Ronnie Anne shrieked as she rushed to his side and crouched down "Oh God, oh God no!" with her hands shaking too, she slowly reached out towards the knife incrusted on his shoulder, and grasped onto it, starting to take it off.

"No…" Rod quickly placed a hand on hers to stop her.

Ronnie Anne was surprised at that action "But…"

"Let it… there…" Rod could barely talk in English after all this commotion "The hemorrhage won't stop… leave it there, it is not… as deep as you think" he muttered "He didn't reach too far, only flesh"

"What the heck are you talking about?!" she shrieked, almost in tears.

"Let's just… get out of here"

"We need to get you to the hospital!" she then reach out her phone "I'll call 9-1-"

But she was suddenly stopped by Ethan, who, also recovering (Such a good stamina those punks have, huh?), surprised her by behind, grabbing her by her ponytail "AH!"

"You better shut the fuck up before I kill you!" he grasped onto the Latina's hair firmly, making her scream in pain.

Rod couldn't believe the whole situation as he was there, on his knees, witnessing how her date was being wronged in a terrible way. But… he won't stand for it.

With his abundant remaining strength, he slowly got up and started to walk-limp towards Ethan while still holding onto his shoulder, who was facing his back at him. Crazy he was, he slowly grasped onto the knife's grip, and, gritting his teeth, began to take it off.

Ethan, still dominating Ronnie Anne, could hear the grunt of pain of Rod and quickly turned around, but again, it was too late.

"DEJALA EN PAZ!" in Spanish, he yelled as he quickly drew out the now-bloody knife from his shoulder, making him briefly grunt in pain. Within a millisecond, and not caring about whether he'd come alive of it or not as he felt that blood was slowly spilling from the wound, Rod hastily stabbed Ethan on his pelvic area with the knife, this time deeper than, as he felt, Larry did on his shoulder.

Ethan let out a big scream of pain as he fell to his knees just as Rod did. Rod finished him of by, backing up a little, using his prominent strength of his legs and deliver a strong kick to his jaw, with enough force to knock him to the ground, unconscious.

Ronnie Anne, as Ethan let him go, was on the ground before realizing there was no more danger and got up, then rushed towards Rod "Oh Dios Mío, Rodri!" she shrieked as she saw the continuous bleeding with Rod feeling dazed already. She, steadfastly and quick-thinking, then tore off a small part of her dress' skirt and used it, a la bandage, to cover the hemorrhage before it could bleed more.

"I think I can…"

"No… SIT!" Ronnie Anne noticed that Rod was gonna move, but stopped him and made him sit on the ground. Rod complied, sat on the ground as she crouched beside him, and took a deep breath.

"Yeah, I think… I'd stay for a little" Rod let out a chuckle, then changed his expression into a serious one "You OK?" he could utter as he grasped onto Ronnie Anne's hand, who was with the piece of cloth covering Rod's wound, then pressed it firmly to stop the wound more, but being careful enough to not to crush her hand or anything.

"Yeah, it was just… nothing, just a small bruise" Ronnie Anne rubbed the back of her head, as she still felt a little of the pain from the hair-pulling "We should probably call for ambulance"

"No… let it… be" Rod sighed, but upon taking a glance at Ronnie Anne, she noticed something: Her ponytail… was let loose! As Rod looked at her natural, non-combed hair, he felt like he saw the picture of beauty in front of her. Reminded her… of someone "I never… realized how pretty you look… like…" he then pointed at her hair.

"What?" Ronnie Anne then realized it too "Oh, yeah, it's not my style to be natural, so I always use a ponytail, I like it that way" she briefly caressed her disheveled hair, trying to accomodate it.

"Let me tell you something: Lincoln LOVES your hair let loose"

Ronnie Anne then blushed "R-Really?"

"Oh… totally" Rod smiled as he kept on grasping onto the girl's hand who was with the piece of cloth. At this point, with all this yelling, he was surprised no one from the nearby sidewalk would ever even peek and check out what was happening there.

"Why don't you want any help? We can get medical attention in the blink…"

"And get in a debt?" Rod interrupted him "Rona, I've been here for a few days, but I already know how this is: If you don't have a medical insurance, you get charged for medical attention, and It. Is. Not. Cheap"

Ronnie Anne just frowned. He had a point, especially because he wasn't precisely an American citizen. She also knew, how Latinos see the United States, and it was pretty different than how she did, as she lived almost most of her childhood until now there. She just kept on grasping onto the wound, hoping it'll coagulate soon.

"Look, I am not saying I don't want help, it is just that I don't need it, I'll manage"

"Oh, get out, Jon Rambou!" Ronnie Anne tsked "You aren't precisely immortal, you know that?" he glared at him.

"I know…" Rod laughed, but coughed twice "But this shoulder stab… is the least of my pains as of right now" he sighed.

Love…

He kept on thinking about that question he evaded to her, as he was starting to have flashbacks of his previous life in Argentina.

Pain…

Taking a deep breath, he slowly stood up, surprising Ronnie Anne "Enough reminiscence" he mumbled "Let's get out of here, I'll take you back at Horizon" he declared as he moved away her hand from him shoulder while still holding the piece of cloth on it.

"No way" Ronnie Anne looked at him sternly "You need medical he-"

"We already talked about it!" he interrupted her "I have a medkit at my apartment, I'll tend to my wound there, but first, let's get you to safety"

"Rodrigo…"

"No!" Rod snarled "Not Rodrigo, no!" he yelled, hating it when he was called that way, but then realized she was just staring at him, shocked. He then sighed as he brushed his eyebrows exasperatedly "Sorry, I just…"

"No, it's… okay" Ronnie Anne frowned "I get it, you don't wanna be near me" he then turned away from him.

"I didn't say that"

"Huh?"

She felt something from behind, and upon turning around, he saw that he had his hand on her shoulder, smiling at her "Your wound!"

"For what it is worth, spending time with your is so far the best moment that happened to me" he smiled.

Ronnie Anne blushed as she gave out a small grin. Right now, her feelings were like crazy. She started to rekindle her love for Lincoln, but for some sort of reason, she felt that this new guy was onto something.

"Let's get outta here before more problems come"

"Y-Yes…"

And with that said, and leaving the two unconscious muggers to their luck, left the alleyway.

Half an hour passed, and they were riding onto a cab Rod could call despite his current state. As Rod was resting his head on the windshield, tired, he softly turned around to see that Ronnie Anne was resting her chin on her hand, staring at the outside, with a blunt expression on her face. 'How much did she had to suffer?' 'She clearly didn't deserved this', 'Screw Plan B!', amongst others, were his thoughts as he then looked back at outside as he saw cars passing by, at this night, a long night for him. They were like that for a long while.

"Here we are, Hotel Horizon!"

The two suddenly snapped back into reality as they realized the car stopped. Unfastening their seatbelts, the two got out, as Rod walked towards the driver "Can you… please stay here for a moment? I'll leave the girl here and then I need you to take me to another place, I'll pay you extra" he requested.

"Oki Doki No Problemo!"

Having settled that, Rod then accompanied Ronnie Anne back to the hotel.

As they entered, they were received by Bobby, who was pacing around back and forth in the lobby, checking his phone constantly.

"Bobby!"

Bobby quickly stopped onto his tracks and quickly caught a glance of his sister "NINI!" he screamed as he then ran towards her and gave her a big hug "Oh Dios Mío, I thought something real bad happened to you!" he smiled at her in nearly tears, but his smile soon turned into a stern glare "What the heck happened that took you so long?!"

"We had… a setback" Ronnie Anne sighed.

Bobby, examining her, noticed that she had both her hair set loose, disheveled clothes and hair, and part of her skirt torn apart as she previously used it as a bandage "Oh my God, Ronalda!" he hugged her tightly.

"I'm OK, Bobby, I'm OK"

Bobby then looked at her back, seeing that Rod was there, then clenched his fists, marched walked towards him, and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck shirt with a death glare, as Rod slightly flinched in pain "What the hell happened?!"

"Bobby, let him go!" Ronnie Anne gasped as she walked towards the two and tried to separate them. Rod was just looking at Bobby with a blank expression on his face as he kept holding him by the neck of his shirt.

"What did you do to her?!" he growled "I swear, if you tried to have your way with her, i…"

"BOBBY, BASTA!" Ronnie Anne snarled in Spanish as she, with her strength, quickly separated the two "Rod had nothing to do with this!" she explained "If anything, you should thank him, because we nearly got killed, and if it weren't for him, we'd be done for!"

"Ronnie Anne…"

"Relax, Bobby!" Ronnie Anne spat "I'm 12 as of now remember?" she huffed "And instead of wasting your time blaming him, you should be compassionate with him, because he saved me from getting killed!" she reprimanded his older brother "And he also got hurt!"

Bobby, still angry, took a deep breath before calming himself up. He then looked at Rod with a frown "Is that true?"

Rod simply replied by lifting the shoulder part of his shirt it to reveal his stab wound, who had stopped bleeding by those moments and was now out of danger. As Bobby saw this, he softly let him go.

Bobby took another deep breath "Well, i… I am sorry for being so harsh with you, I guess I was wrong after all" he sighed "I thought going out with someone else than Lincoln would end badly, but you… you just hurt yourself for her, and i… wanna thank you for it, Nini is one of the most important persons in my life, surely more than Lori, and i…"

"No need to" Rod interrupted "And don't worry, I won't tell her you said that, or else Mucho Problema" he joked.

"Yeah" Bobby laughed "Please" he knew what would happen if her babe realized she said such thing "Well Nini, it's getting late, we should probably go to bed" he turned at Ronnie Anne.

"You go first, I'll catch you upstairs, I gotta do something first"

"Okay Nini, but… don't take too long" and with that said, and relieved, Bobby turned around and walked towards the stairs. He then briefly looked at Rod "Eh, again… thank you so much and… good night… I guess" he told him, then walked upstairs and left.

Ronnie Anne then turned back at Rod, walked closer to him and smiled at him. Not a friendly smile, but rather a… smitten… one?

Rod looked at her, confused "Are you…?"

But Ronnie Anne interrupted him by hugging him tightly, ignoring the fact that such force could touch his wound and… well, you know it.

The hug lasted for a minute, as Rod slowly moved his hurt-shoulder arm around her and wrapped an arm behind her back, his eyes twitching by the pain still on it.

"Thanks for the night, Rodri, it was surely a blast"

Rodri, that's how he liked to be called. At least on Argentina.

"Maybe I just…"

But before Rod could finish that word, the unthinkable happened: In a matter of nearly a millisecond, Ronnie Anne rose up her head, slowly moved it towards his, and pressed her lips against his, engaging in a romantic kiss.

No…

Rod was no stranger to these situations, the ones where you kiss a girl, but for some reason… he didn't feel it good that time. Sure, she wanted to, but…

After some more minutes, the two broke up from the kiss, as a small trail of saliva was connecting each others' mouths for a brief second.

"What was… that?" Rod couldn't still believe it.

"My other way of saying 'thanks'" Ronnie Anne giggled with a blush "But don't tell anyone" she looked at him with a glare.

Rod then sighed as he tried to assimilate the situation. Wasn't she… in love with someone else? That someone else was his friend and long-time crush… for a long time? Why that sudden change of mind? Deep on his mind, he wanted to ask her all those questions, but… he didn't want to. He didn't know why, but either way, he felt that he was just the Plan B all from the beginning, nothing more.

"Well then, I have to go" Rod regained his stance.

"You'll be okay?"

"I've been worse in other moments back in 'Tina, Rona" Rod chuckled "Don't worry, I'll be fine, I can take care of myself"

"By the way…" Rod was about to turn around but stopped upon hearing her "I never had the chance to ask., but… how old are you?"

"Why do you ask?" he chuckled.

"Just… curiosity"

"I'm 14" Rod laughed.

"Oh!" Ronnie Anne giggled "Good thing you aren't 16!"

"Yeah, totally" Rod nodded "Well, see ya later"

"More like… smell ya later" she liked that one "In my book, I mean"

"Yeah, smell ya later then!"

Rod then turned around and started to walk away, as Ronnie Anne was just there, still looking at him, with a fond smile. As Rod then stopped for a moment and took a brief side look at her, she then waved at him. Waving back, he then gave her a side smirk before turning around… and leaving the place.

Ronnie Anne then gave out a big, enormous sigh with still her smitten smile, as she then turned around and walked towards the stairs to also finally leave the room.

As the time was passing and Rod was back at the taxi, travelling towards his destination, he rested his chin on his hand while looking at outside thoughtfully, still trying to assimilate what did happened moments ago. She… kissed him, but for some reason… he didn't feel any lucky or anything. He… didn't wanted her to kiss him, but he didn't tell her so either. Probably because he didn't want her to feel bad about it or anything, but… there was something about him she didn't know, the question he evaded. He felt like she wasn't ready to know, but that kiss… just made him think he should hasten up and tell her. Yeah, that was right. Tomorrow, if he sees her again, he was gonna tell her, no more secrets.

After all… she trusts him, and he won't defy her trust, so if she talked to him about her life… he will so too.

But there is something the two must not forget.

Lincoln.

"You okay, amigo?"

"Huh?"

Rod forgot the driver was there. Well, driving, yeah, but still a person, but never imagined he'd talk to him.

"Why the long face?"

Rod identified something important on the driver's accent. He was… Latino too, maybe?

"Tell me something" Rod then started to shine on his Spanish "Where are you from?"

The driver then chuckled "You are one of us too" he replied in their native language "Puerto Rico, jefe"

"Pleasure to meet you, I am from Argentina"

"Can we… please talk back in English?"

"Why?"

"Well, I am trying to forget"

Rod then took a deep breath "Story of my life" he muttered "In fact, we ALL are trying to forget"

The two then surprisingly stood in silence during the whole ride.

Forget, that was a characteristic Rod had to face. After all, that was the whole reason of why he came to this country. Too bad his memory was nearly photographic and remembered things that he doesn't wants to remember anymore. He felt like he was in a whirlpool of pain every day, a ride you just cannot get out.

Half an hour later, back at his apartment, Rod was already with his wound treated, alcohol applied and properly sealed with medical bandage. He was sitting on his bed, thoughtful of the entire day's events. After a brief sigh, he reached out under his bed, there was a suitcase, his luggage. Opening and rummaging through it, he reached out something: an insulated bag, that was containing… a pink puffy scarf? After getting the scarf out, he gently stroked it, before pressing it to his face and sniffing it "Prune Moi…" he muttered as he then placed the scarf on his legs.

'How much you're needed right now, bomboncito'

Whew, that was REALLY LONG, I can say, even to my standards! I think Ronnie Anne was OOC at the ENTIRE chapter, but can you blame her? Probably the first written time that these kind of situation happened to her! Anyways, here's another chapter. Thanks for reading this far, there will be more to come, and don't get any wrong ideas, please. Again, thanks for reading, and please leave a review on how am I doing if you can't. See ya in the next chapter!