A Loud Family and Loud Times
By: TDTRondas
https/u/1243933/Rondas
https/s/12334182/1/A-Loud-family-and-Loud-times
re-written by plane-theory
Chapter 1 - Presenting the Family
A/N:
Normally, I put the A/N at the end, but I think I should put it at the front for this chapter, at least.
So I read this story originally a couple of years ago, and I enjoyed it, but I really disliked the script-like style of the story, so I took it upon myself to rewrite the story somewhat, fixing small grammar mistakes and converting the story into a more narrative format, instead of a script. I tried to stay true to the original ideas of the story.
All credit goes to Rondas for writing the original story, he seems inactive, so I did not ask for permission on rewriting this story, but if he/she asks me to take it down, I will. Give the original story a follow!
Link above or in my Favorites(FF net)
It was a brisk evening in the suburbs of Michigan. The streets were cold and quiet as night fell, save for a certain white-haired man wearing a suit.
Lincoln Loud got out of his used car, sighing. He brushed off his suit jacket, adjusting the rumpled clothing, and put a smile on his face before walking into his house.
"Girls! I'm home!" Lincoln announced as he opened the door.
He heard fast footsteps, and upon opening the door, he saw a 10 year old girl, with silvery-blond hair barrel towards him, stopping at the doorway. Her hair covered one of her eyes, and she was wearing a light blue dress.
Lincoln extended his arms for a hug, which the girl quickly accepted. "Lindsey!" He said happily, holding her in his arms.
"Hi Dad," his daughter replied.
The two stayed in the embrace for a bit, but Lincoln could sense that something was off. "Where's your mother and sister?" he asked Lindsey.
Lindsey shifted slightly. "A man from the school came, and he began asking questions, and…"
Lincoln facepalmed and sighed. "Great," he muttered, "The inspector came." He straightened up, voice returning, "How is mom dealing with him?"
Lindsey shifted again. "... She isn't. Liberty is."
Lincoln pinched the bridge of his nose. "Dang it. I'll deal with it; are they in the dining room?"
Lindsey nodded, grabbing his arm and leading him to the dining room.
Reaching the dining room, Lincoln's eyes narrowed as he saw a man in a dark suit sat at the table. His other daughter, Liberty, was fiercely arguing with the man, with him retorting at times.
"I will repeat myself once again, I'm not going anywhere until…" The man argued, cutting himself off as Lincoln entered the room. "Mister Loud?" He asked.
"Mister Loud makes me feel old, please call me Lincoln. Do you need something from us? Is something wrong?" Lincoln replied.
The inspector fiddled with his notepad for a second before replying. "Well Lincoln, I just need to ask you a few questions, if that's alright?"
"Yes, of course." Lincoln readily responded.
The inspector paused. "You certainly are more… cheerful than your wife." Lincoln's lips pursed slightly at the slight, but the man continued. "This may take a while, and the questions may be a tad… personal, so I would prefer to conduct this questioning privately."
Lincoln nodded. "Lindsey, take Liberty up to your rooms while I answer these questions, please."
Lindsey nodded, and left the room, dragging the angry-looking 8 year old with her. As Liberty's white hair and orange shirt rounded the corner to the other room, the inspector spoke again.
"I would prefer to have this conversation with only you, Lincoln."
Lincoln's face contorted in confusion. "But…" he started, before realization struck him. "She's behind me, isn't she?" he asked rhetorically.
A pair of slim arms snaked around his midsection. Lincoln turned around to embrace his wife. "Hi dear," he said, planting a kiss on her forehead, through her bangs. Lucy was still wearing her customary black outfit, and her bangs still covered her eyes, the only thing that had really changed about her was her height, and well, her curves.
"Hi," Lucy replied, burying her head into his chest. "I'll wait for you in our room, when you finish this absurd thing." She spat the last two words like poison.
Lincoln stroked her back. "I won't take long dear," he said as he withdrew from the embrace. Lincoln could see a small smile on her face as she left the room. Sighing, he turned back towards the inspector.
"So she can talk," The inspector quipped.
"She just doesn't like to talk with other people, she's a little shy." Lincoln said defensively.
The inspector held his hands up in a placating gesture, and took a seat at the table, gesturing for Lincoln to do the same. Once Lincoln sat down, the inspector took out a notepad and cleared his throat. "Okay, in accordance with what was said during the last parent-teacher conferences, I do have to check into the mental health of the parents, do you remember that?"
"Yes, I remember," Lincoln said, rubbing his forehead. "The thing about knowing the parent's mental health state and history to see if the kids need certain meds in school…" Lincoln's blood ran cold. "Please tell me you don't think my wife needs…"
"Don't focus on that please," the inspector said, tone softening slightly. "Just answer some questions and we'll inform you in a week or so."
Lincoln shook his head to refresh himself. "Alright, but I will say my wife is just shy, not crazy like you are insinuating."
The inspector ignored that comment, and readied his notepad and pen. "First question, a spider is on your shoulder, what do you do?"
After about 50 questions, Lincoln was beginning to feel slightly fatigued, and it showed on his face. He massaged his temples, prompting the inspector to interrupt his writing and speak once more. "Alright, final set of questions for you, these are not for psychological analysis, but for more information about you."
"Okay," Lincoln responded with a sigh.
"How did you meet your wife?" the inspector asked, readying his pen.
Lincoln narrowed his eyes slightly. "What? I thought these questions were just about me."
The inspector smiled somewhat sheepishly. "Your wife is… hard to deal with and it's an essential part of the report, if you could…"
Lincoln sighed again. He quite disliked bringing up the past. "You could say we kind of…" he hesitated. "Grew up together."
The inspector took a note. "I see, meaning you met in elementary school?"
"Even before that." Lincoln elaborated.
The inspector nodded and revised his note. "And you guys are the same age, right?"
"Yes," Lincoln answered.
The inspector looked up from his notepad. "Do you guys have arguments often?"
Lincoln frowned. "No, the last time we argued was when we decided to have Liberty… almost 9 years ago now."
Another scribble. "In general, how is your relationship with each of your family members? Beginning with your wife, please."
Lincoln paused, thinking about what to say. "Well… I love Lucy and she loves me, and the rest of our family. If I had to say something about her though, it's that she is slightly adverse to making her own decisions, but we are both working on that."
The inspector pursed his lips and nodded a second time. "I see… Do you know what she does when she's not with you?"
Lincoln shrugged. "Well, she does the chores of the house, takes care of the kids, and writes her poems."
The inspector leaned forwards. "Write poems? What kind?"
Lincoln shot him a look. "If you read her latest book, you would know the answer to that question."
The inspector, nonplussed by Lincoln's tone, wrote another note. "Of eternity in the void, right? By Silent Darkness?" he asked, receiving a nod in response. " Do you also like gothic stuff?"
Lincoln shifted, slightly bashful. "I like whatever my wife likes, even if I am not super into gothic culture…"
The inspector smiled slightly. "I see, now tell me about your children. Lindsey, how is she?"
Lincoln thought for a second. "Well, she's mostly the opposite of her mother, she takes more after one of her aunts, she loves animals and is always looking to find the bright side to anything. She's a great kid, really, helps with the chores and…"
The inspector cut off Lincoln's rambling. "Well, as far as I saw, she wasn't… very enthused to be here with her mother and I earlier."
Lincoln shook his head slightly. "That's because she can't really stand gothic stuff, so she tends to… avoid her mother at times."
The inspector had a slight frown on his face. "How about her relationship with her sister?"
Lincoln smiled. "They are best friends, of course, they might fight every now and then, but that's just sibling relationships, right?"
The inspector wrote another short note before taking a moment to think, chewing on the back of his pen. "And what about your youngest child?"
Lincoln's expression became more complicated. "Liberty… reminds me a lot of myself when I was a kid. She's hotheaded, and sometimes childish, but she tries to act like she is more mature than she really is. She's also very… overprotective of us, her family, and she's gotten into fights on Lindsey's behalf." Lincoln paused and sighed before continuing. "I wish she was more… tolerant of the differences between her mother and most other people."
The inspector hummed in acknowledgement. "You don't seem very… proud, even if she is a lot like you."
Lincoln's eyes widened in slight surprise. "No, of course I'm proud of her! She's my daughter after all, I just get a little anxious about her fighting and hotheadedness, kids can be cruel and unpredictable at times." After his exclamation, Lincoln sighed once more. "I also want her to get along better with her mother…"
As Lincoln's voice trailed off, the inspector asked the unspoken question. "Are they on bad terms?"
Lincoln was regretting spilling so much to the inspector, but it would be suspicious to start withholding details now, so he elaborated. "No, but lately Liberty has been getting teased in school for how Lucy is, and getting into trouble, and recently Liberty had been asking her to… tone down her personality."
The inspector saw the disapproving look on Lincoln's face. "You don't approve of that."
Lincoln shook his head. "I grew up in a house with many sisters, each one with a wildly different personality. If I learned anything from that, it is that everybody deserves to be themselves, to express their own personality and ideas."
The inspector nodded in agreement. "You mentioned your family, how much contact do you have with them?"
Lincoln winced. "None. No contact." he responded plainly.
The inspector tilted his head in slight confusion. "Could you tell me why?" he asked.
Lincoln stayed silent, his eyes downcast.
"A fight?" the inspector guessed.
Lincoln nodded miserably. "Do I have to elaborate? I don't like remembering those events."
The inspector adopted a sympathetic tone. "Yes, if it is possible. It would help in completing the report about your family, and having an incomplete report would raise some questions with the school. I just need a general sort of statement, if that makes you feel better, the details won't make it into the full report."
Lincoln nodded shakily, exhaling a held breath. "I-I see. Well when we were about to go to college, we… had an accident."
The inspector made a motion for Lincoln to continue. "What kind of accident?"
Lincoln let out a nervous laugh. "The one that gave us Lindsey."
The inspector didn't really seem surprised. "Was she not wanted?"
"No!" Lincoln exclaimed. "We love our daughter! But at the time… let's just say that we didn't plan that, and our families didn't expect it either."
"Were your guy's respective families on bad terms with each other?" The inspector lightly prodded.
"No, not before that, they just… didn't want Lucy and I to be together, and that's why they exploded when Lindsey was on the way." Lincoln rubbed the back of his neck.
The inspector nodded understandingly, and the two sat in silence for a minute as they each collected their thoughts.
"Yeah, we had a hard time," Lincoln said sadly. "If it weren't for our friends I'm not totally sure we would have made it out of the streets alive."
Another nod from the inspector. "Are you guys still in contact with your friends?"
Despite the heavy thoughts clouding his mind, Lincoln managed a smile. "Yes, Clyde and his wife Haiku…"
The inspector interrupted. "Haiku? That's an odd name."
Lincoln shrugged. "I think Lucy mentioned that she changed her name to that when she was young… for as long as I can remember, her name was always Haiku."
The inspector raised an eyebrow. "Japanese culture obsessed girl?"
"No, just Lucy's old gothic friend." Lincoln got up from the chair, stretching as the inspector wrote down a few more notes.
Finishing his writing, the inspector sighed. "Alright, last question, have you tried to commit suicide?"
Lincoln, who was slowly pacing around the room, looked at him with surprise. "What? Of course I haven't!"
The inspector studied Lincoln's face, concluding that he was telling the truth, then continued. "... has your wife?"
Lincoln froze. "I don't want to answer that. No comment."
The inspector sighed and his voice took a more professional tone. "Your answer will be confidential, Mr. Loud, and remember that this background check of sorts is for your kid's sake, with you somewhat negative reaction, I will have to assume that she did, and if you do not provide context, she may be labeled as suicidal. Now, I'm going to give you another chance to answer, Lincoln, has your wife tried to -"
"She tried once." Lincoln said, cutting off the inspector. "When our families learned that Lindsey was on the way, they turned their backs on Lucy and kicked her out of the house."
"What about your family?" the inspector asked.
Lincoln shook his head once again. "They were like that too… they made me make a decision, between staying with my family, to go live with… someone else and go to college, or go with Lucy who had been kicked out."
"And judging by… this," the inspector said, gesturing around him. "You chose to stay with Lucy, how did that lead to the suicide attempt?"
"Lucy didn't think that I would choose her instead of… my family, so she was alone with nobody to turn to, with nobody to help her, and when I found her… she had a knife held up to her wrist… thankfully, I found her before she went through with it." Lincoln said, shuddering.
The inspector wrote down a few more things, then stood up. "Well, that's all. Thank you for your time, Lincoln, and thanks for also answering for your wife."
The inspector moved to leave, but Lincoln suddenly grabbed his arm as he passed by. "Wait, will that report include…"
The inspector gave him a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, there are extenuating circumstances for this situation, and it really isn't all that uncommon for things like this to happen, unfortunately, so this will be properly reported, but from what you have told me, you guys seem like a fairly normal family."
Lincoln nodded, a relieved expression on his face, and the inspector left.
Once the other man had left, Lincoln deflated like a balloon. Moving to the living room, he flopped onto the couch, feeling the stress and tiredness sweeping through his body. Lincoln allowed himself to sink into the sofa for a minute, reliving the past hour or so of questioning.
He felt his eyes flutter shut for a second.
The next thing he knew he was awoken by a white haired girl climbing onto him. Instinctively, he reached his arms out, embracing the girl, hearing a yelp.
Opening his eyes, he saw Liberty in his arms, her surprised expression turning pouty, and saw Lindsey standing in the doorway, watching them with a smile.
"Is your father awake yet?" A voice came from the dining room.
"Yeah!" two girly voices sounded from the living room.
Turning, Lindsey addressed the duo on the couch, "Dinner's ready," the girl said, before hurrying into the dining room.
Liberty started to move as well, but Lincoln lightly tightened his grip on her, planting a kiss on her forehead. The girl made another noise of surprise before burying her face into her fathers chest, a light red dusting her cheeks.
The two sat in the embrace for a while, before Lincoln got up and carried her to the dining room, plopping her down onto one of the chairs, and the family began to eat.
During dinner, as per usual, the family of four held conversations between them. Well, to be more accurate, the two children talked, mostly about their day, while their father listened.
Once dinner was finished, the family still sat at the table, now free to continue their conversation.
"How was the interview dad?" Lindsey was the first to broach the unspoken topic of the night.
Lincoln chucked slightly. "Tiring. I don't know why we had to answer those questions right at this moment, an afternoon or morning would have been more convenient. I think he wanted it to be a surprise, for whatever reason."
"I agree!" Liberty added, "If we knew in advance that he was coming, we could have prepared mom to not scare him."
"I didn't scare him," Lucy said, crossing her arms.
"You did!" Liberty countered, "And he didn't understand that you weren't going to answer his questions."
"He just couldn't get, or understand you, mom" Lindsey interrupted.
"That's what I'm saying! All he did was ask all these 'What ifs,' but mom didn't react to anything!" Liberty continued.
Lincoln looked at his wife in concern. "Lucy, did you remember to breathe?"
Lucy let out one of her trademark sighs. "I did. Liberty interfering helped me take it easy between questions, so I didn't have to say anything I didn't want to."
Lincoln nodded, concern momentarily averted, when Liberty cut in again. "Mom! You didn't say a single word!"
And his concerned face was back. Lincoln was about to speak again, when Lindsey decided to talk. "Better to be the owner of your silence, than be the slave to your words."
Liberty groaned as Lincoln and Lucy smiled. "Lindsey, this isn't the time! That guy probably thinks mom is crazy!" Liberty shouted, beginning to get agitated.
Lincoln held up his arms in a placating gesture. "Come on girls," he said. "I know that guy coming here has all of us on edge somewhat, but we should all calm down and hope for the best, don't you guys think? I mean, I think I did pretty well answering the questions."
"The larger the hope, the harder the fall into despair is…" Lucy said, in a practiced monotone. "I agree, though," she said in her normal voice, with a smile on her face.
Liberty rolled her eyes. "Fine, you all are depressing. Time for me to immerse myself in Lindsey's non-depressing books."
Lindsey's eyes widened as Liberty got up to leave the table. "My princess pony books? Don't! The last time you did that you threw up reading them!"
Liberty rolled her eyes again. "I didn't mean those-" she was cut off by Lindsey ushering her out of the dining room. "Hey! Don't push me!" Lincoln and Lucy could hear their youngest daughter's protests as the two returned to their rooms.
Now alone in the dining room, the two parents relaxed somewhat. Lucy let out another sigh, dropping her smile.
"Hey, at least they finished their dinner before starting their roughhousing again," Lincoln joked, his smile waning as Lucy's expression became more downcast.
"They are more like you than me, in almost every aspect," Lucy said sadly. "If I wasn't the one pregnant with them, I would have asked you if they were mine."
"Hey," Lincoln said softly, "Lindsey is more like you than you realize, just less- inclined- towards the darkness. She loves writing, and your wordplay."
Lucy stayed silent, but her expression brightened slightly, and Lincoln counted that as a win.
Lincoln decided to address the elephant in the room. "So… did he ask you something that made you anxious?"
Lucy stayed silent for a while before finally speaking. "The question was… If I had trouble with a person that I loved, what would I do?"
Lincoln grimaced, that question hit a little too close to home for him, and it would be doubly more hurtful to Lucy. "I-I see… sorry" he said after a brief pause.
"Don't be." Lucy waved it off. "It's not your fault."
Lincoln got up, stepping closer to Lucy. "It's not your fault either."
Lucy got up as well, with another sigh. "Talking about us… did he suspect anything?"
Lincoln lowered his voice. "He somehow knew you tried to commit suicide, so he asked me about that, but outside of that, I don't think he had any suspicions or doubts of the sort."
Lucy turned away from him anxiously. "Do you think they won't find out?" she fretted.
Lincoln put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "They would need to take some blood samples and do a specialized study to find out, and that goes a little too far for a routine questioning."
Comforted by his logic, Lucy relaxed. "I see," she said, sighing in relief. "But I can't shake this feeling that something big is going to happen soon."
Lincoln frowned slightly, though Lucy couldn't see it. Lucy's predictions seemed to come true for the most part, and Lincoln was worried that something would, in fact, happen soon. He shook those thoughts from his head, spinning Lucy around and embracing her.
She gladly returned the embrace, and Lincoln started to speak. "Lucy, even if they found out, even if that would mean hell for us again, I won't ever leave your side."
Lincoln could hear the smile in Lucy's voice as she responded. "You love to remind me why I fell in love with you, don't you?"
Lincoln pulled away slightly to plant a kiss on her lips. "You do that too, dear."
The two lovebirds embraced for another minute, before returning to the real world. Disengaging the hug, Lucy spoke once again. "I'll go check on the girls real quick and prepare our room for bed, could you do the dishes?"
Lincoln rolled his eyes jokingly. "Man, you gave me the hard job, huh?" he said in mock indignation.
Lucy raised an eyebrow, unamused.
"Of course I will, dear," Lincoln chuckled, beginning to gather the plates that still adorned the table.
A/N 2:
So if you read the original story, you may have noticed that I added more fluff and extra scenes and details, this was just my kind of interpretation of the actions taken outside of the scriptlike-original.
I didn't want this to just be me putting things before dialogue, I wanted to add more life, more detail to the story, so it's not just some blatant copy.
I will keep the same overarching plot, and overarching plot points, however.
Now onto other things, it's almost final exam season, so I have less time than ever to write, and in addition, I'm having some writer's block regarding Repressed Memories, update hopefully soon, but no promises.
I would also like to announce Daily Upload December, where I will try to upload something every single day in December. (to somewhat celebrate myself becoming free) I have a couple chapters of this rewrite in the works, as long as some other projects, so stay tuned for that.
(if I miss an upload oops xd)
And lastly, go give some love to the original story - A Loud family and Loud times by Rondas
u/1243933/Rondas
s/12334182/1/A-Loud-family-and-Loud-times