"Thanks for helping me to get better Link, but…don't you think you spend way too much time in the hospital?" Lynn asked. "You can go home, if that's what you want."

"Are you sure, Lynn? I mean, you'll stay here for quite some time, alone. Won't you miss my charismatic presence?" the white haired boy asked, which made her sister chuckle.

Had Lynn be completely honest, she'd say yes; she'd miss his nervous but genuine smile, his attentions, his occasional stupid but cute jokes…but she couldn't let him know that. Instead, she answered: "Ha! You wish, dork. But seriously, you should go and rest. I have the feeling the other girls don't like not having you around."

Lincoln looked at her hesitantly, like expecting her to change her mind. But her words were true; he always comes here to see her after school, since he's still a minor, he has to come with an adult, so dad takes him there, spends time with his daughter, and then goes to chip chat with a friend of his that works at the hospital. Lincoln doesn't have much free time, with all his activities outside school, he barely makes it home by night.

Come to think of it, he hasn't spent time with any of his sisters outside Lynn. Maybe she's right and he needs to rest a little bit.

"Alright, but if you ever need something you can give me a call," he said.

"Sure will. Now, go." Lynn replied, and so he left the hospital.

He now had free range to do whatever he wanted. There were thousands of things he could do with this extra time, like… you know… that thing…

Ok, he couldn't come with something. Though he didn't like having to go to the hospital, he was willing to do it to see his sister. But now that he had time to do something, his mind was blank.

"Oh, screw it, I'm gonna tell dad to drop me home." he said, walking up towards his father, who seemed to be having a good laugh with his friend.

Upon arriving at the street, he got off Vanzilla, said goodbye to his dad and watched him drive off heading back to the restaurant. He walked and got inside the house, which was surprisingly silent. It was unusual for her sisters not to make noise, so they probably were out. 'Whatever' he thought as he walked towards the kitchen.

Luckily he still had some sweets that Luan gave him, so he ate some and took some upstairs with him. He started to eat, until an idea crossed his mind.

"Wait a minute, I'm a teen, the house's alone and my family probably won't be here till later… What am I doing?" he said. Having the home alone for himself was probably the dream of every teen boy, and he wouldn't waste it. "You get what I mean?"

About five minutes later, he was sitting in the living room eating sweets, playing with the samurai figure Lola gave him and hearing Luna's concert playing on the TV. Yup, this is life.

He was so immersed in his fantasy that he almost fell off the sofa the moment the door burst open, giving him a good old scare. He recovered quickly and glanced at the stairs, just to see a shadow running towards the second floor. After the initial shock faded, he rushed and walked upstairs. At first, he didn't know where to go, until the sound of a quiet, yet audible voice led him to Lynn and Lucy's room; it sounded like someone praying, Lucy probably was doing a seance or something.

But if that's the case, why did she slam the door? Something obviously was happening to her. Approaching carefully, he walked towards the door and softly knocked.

"Luce, are you…" he started, but ultimately stopped, realizing it was a stupid question. She obviously wasn't okay. "May I come in? You wanna talk?"

No answer came, which he took as a green light to proceed. The first thing he saw was his little sister with her face buried on her pillow. Soon he realized that the noises he heard weren't of her praying, but her crying.

Lincoln knew very well that it had to be something REALLY bad to make Lucy cry (excluding that time when he had to make that stupid ecological project to save the baby seals). Like most of the time, he felt the responsibility of cheering her up, even when sometimes it doesn't end as he expected.

He walked to the bed and sat beside her. He began to stroke her hair, and realizing she didn't do anything to stop him, he continued.

This lasted for some minutes, enough to see the sun setting in the horizon. Lucy finally calmed herself and sat on the bed with her brother.

"Would you like to talk about it, Lucy?" he asked. Lucy nodded, still sobbing a little.

"I…I was hanging out with Rocky…and you know I kind of have a crush on him…I really wanted to be with him so I invited him to go to the park…" she let out a couple of sobs before continuing. "Only a few times have I…I felt this way…he makes me happy and I wanted to know a little bit more about him…"

Lincoln put his hand around her shoulder and drew her closer to him. "I wanted to know what it is like to be with that person that makes you feel special…we were alone, and…I felt my heart drumming inside my chest and…I kissed him!"

This last phrase came out with a little bit of excitement, like it was something she has been wanting to do for a long time. Honestly Lincoln felt good to hear his sister was in love, as he himself knew what it is like. "And what happened next?" he asked.

"When I broke the kiss…I looked him in the eyes, expecting to see that he felt just like I did…but instead I saw anger! He pushed me and told me that he never wanted to see me again! And the only reason he was with me was because of the gifts I gave him!" She hugged him and buried her face on his chest, crying harder than before. "HE USED ME! I've never felt this…this stupid!"

That's where she broke down. Lincoln hugged her tightly, caressing her hair and recomforting her. His words came calm and soft as always, but his face…man, he wanted to go straight to Rusty's house, break in and give his piece of shit of a little brother a piece of his mind.

But that could wait. Right now, Lucy needs her big brother. He was the first to break the hug, taking his hands to her face and lifting her bangs to reveal her beautiful eyes; they were big, purple and were sore from crying. He used his thumbs to wipe the tears, and looked at her directly, with the sweetest smile he could come up with.

"I'm sorry things happened that way, Lucy. But do you know what he lost? He had the opportunity to be with one of the most beautiful girls in the city, and wasted it." He patted her on the head. "I know what it feels to be rejected, but thanks to that…I learned some things to make it better next time."

"But…this was the first time I've ever done something like that…and it went bad…" she closed her eyes and buried her face on his chest again. "That's why I like darkness, it's warm, lonely, soothing…I don't ever want to fall in love again!"

Lincoln could feel perfectly what she was transmitting; she was falling inside a pit of sadness where she could barely make it out. She needed someone more than ever, and luckily, that someone was there with her.

"Your heart's been aching, but you're too shy to say it." He started. "Thanks for trusting me; I'll never give you up, never let you down, never gonna run around and desert you."

Lucy looked up to meet his eyes.

"Sorry, it's an old song." Lincoln said. "But I want you to know that you're not alone, here's your family to support you, and I'm here to support you." He embraced her again.

"I know love may hurt, but that is one of the things that makes it so beautiful. You think mom and dad have never had difficulties? More than once they've fought and argued, but still they love each other. It's not like the perfect person is going to appear out of nowhere, they'll appear when you choose someone, and that'll be because that person has something that makes you happy. That person's gotta have to accept your virtues and your defects, and you'll have to accept theirs. And that isn't something that will happen in one day, you'll fall in love one day, and the other and so for the rest of your lives."

A warm sensation emerged from her chest.

"You think I can get over this, Lincoln?" she asked.

"I'm damn sure. I know one day you'll find someone that you will love, and that person will love you back. That day may not come yet, but until then, you're my little ghoul." He playfully poked her nose, which made her giggle.

The sadness clinging to her heart disappeared, being replaced by a beam of light that illuminated and healed her heart.

"Thanks Lincoln, and…if someone ever comes to my life…I hope it's like you."

Lincoln didn't say anything, instead he hugged her again. Lucy began to cry, but this time these were tears of happiness, feeling her soul getting in synchrony with his. She tightened the hug, not letting go of that person who won a special spot in her heart.

She never forgot that day, the day she started to feel towards her brother a feeling that she knew was wrong, but impossible to deny. The day where a person made her feel…whole again.

Without realizing it, and just as Lincoln said, that person appeared.