The whole family was worried after finding out that Lily, the smallest of the sisters, was lost in a place just a bit smaller than a soccer stadium with thousands of people roaming around. Ultimately they all felt relieved when Lincoln, the only brother in the family, had found her safe and unharmed. There was, however, one sister who couldn't stop blaming herself for the incident.

Leni felt really bad with herself; she had practically left her sister on her own while she was too busy comparing which dress matched the best with the shoes she just bought.

What would've happened if Linky didn't find her? Where would she be now? Lost? Kidnapped? She would probably have gone inside a closet just to end up in a fantastic world ruled by a lion, or crossed the wall and get transported to a secret train station that leads to a school of wizardry and magic. She would've been captured and had her memory erased just to end up locked away in a labyrinth. She could've gone anywhere, and everything because of her...

She lay on the bed, cursing herself for not being careful enough, and not satisfied with that, she remembered all the times she acted so careless, naive or clumsy; she made the life of those around her difficult, and even if she wanted to change that, well, it was complicated...

"What will happen with me if I don't change?" she asked. She was not a bad person; she loved her family dearly and tried her best to demonstrate her appreciation. But again, her mistakes overshadowed her good intentions.

She desperately wanted to make it up for her fuck up; dad wasn't mad with her when they arrived at home, he didn't scold her or grounded her, hell he even talked to her as always, as if she hasn't done anything wrong! That made her mad, because that was a reminder of the concept in which the family, both her siblings and parents had her:

Retarded.

It was an open secret, the elephant in the room that nobody but her wanted to address, but again, nobody would listen. Her family thought she was stupid enough not to realize what they all talked behind her back. She knew, she knew very well because they didn't even made an effort to hide it.

She might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but it didn't take a genius to know why they acted too kind and patient when she screwed up.

Leni knew about the secret sibling meetings they had when she was AROUND the fucking house; she knew about the secret chat they had in which she was not included. She knew that they secretly fixed their mistakes when she wasn't around because they didn't want her to get in trouble with mom and dad. She DID try to explain that there was no need for that, but guess what? They didn't listen.

She wanted to demonstrate them that she was not a baby they had to constantly watch over 24/7, she wanted to show them that she was a grown adult who could take care of herself, she wanted to prove them that she could take responsibility for her actions, were they good or bad.

She sat on the edge of the bed and tried to think in something; there had to be a thing she could do to prove that she was not the stereotypical stupid blonde!

As if God was done playing with her for the sake of his entertainment, the answer she so desperately wanted arrived in the form of the sweet smell of dad's dinner; just like you see in cartoons, it flew right to her nose and caught her attention. That's it! She knows how to bake sweets, helping dad make dinner couldn't be any different!

She went downstairs and walked to the kitchen. There she spotted her good ol' father stirring something in a pot. If her memory didn't fail, it was his famous goulash.

"Hey dad," she greeted. "Hmm, that smells good!"

"Thanks, pumpkin, it's been a while since I spoiled you with my delicious goulash." Lynn Sr. replied, scooping a little bit of gravy and tasting it. The flavour was, just as he expected, pretty good, but still needed a liiiittle bit of pepper.

"That's, like, cool!" Leni said. "Do you need any help with that?"

Leni utilized her most powerful tool: a beautiful smile so bright it could illuminate even the darkest of nights. It had worked many before when she wanted to get away with hers, like the time when she convinced a store clerk to give her a discount in a makeup set she so much wanted; the boy ended up making a 50% discount. You get how useful it is.

Lynn Sr. made a huge effort not to look at her; he knew she had good intentions, but again, she was Leni. He didn't want to risk her to get burned or even burning someone else.

"Uhm...not right now, honey, I'm good." he replied.

"Come on, dad, I'm sure there's something I can do!"

Trying to get rid of her was turning quite difficult. "Don't you worry about a thing, Leni." He said. "I can finish this myself, don't worry. But thanks for asking."

She knew what this was all about; dad didn't want her around and compromise the dinner he so much worked on. Why did she think it would be different with him?

"Oh, ok, then." she replied, and with a look of deception in her eyes she walked away.

Lynn Sr. immediately felt guilty; while he still had to protect the dinner, he never intended to hurt his daughter's feelings.

"If I ever need something I'll let you know, ok?" He reassured in an effort to make her feel better. But it seemed that she didn't listen. Lynn watched as his second born daughter left the room with her head down and almost dragging her feet. The pinch of guilt he felt in his chest only grew stronger. I'll make sure to make it up to her later. He thought.

Now in the living room, Leni tried to get rid of the dark thoughts that tormented her. Yeah, maybe asking dad wasn't the best idea. She thought about asking her siblings, but again, the result would be the same.

She went upstairs and got inside her room. There she met with her only elder sister sitting indian style on her bed; she was decorating a box with gift wrap. "Hey Lori."

"What's up, Len-Len" Lori replied without taking her sight out of her work. Perhaps she was being a little too positive, but maybe this was the opportunity she's been waiting for; after all, who else to prove that she could do things without screwing up than Lori?

Leni sat on her bed at Lori's side, looking carefully as her big sister wrapped the box with a beautiful green paper with square patterns. That was one of Lori's talents; she had a pretty good hand when it came to decorating something: Interiors, notebooks, food, you name it.

It kind of discouraged Leni, it was obvious that she didn't need help.

Well, it was worth trying.

"Looks totes cute!" Leni said. "Do you need help with something?"

Lori opened her eyes with surprise. There was never an easy way to get rid of Leni, let alone find the correct words not to hurt her feelings. Lori and Leni have been roomies almost their entire life (at least until their parents decided to gave them a bunch of siblings), and Lori knew that her sister would do her hardest to help though she usually tends to screw things up. "Thank you, Leni, but I'm done with the present." She replied, faking confidence and hoping that her sister had bought that excuse.

Leni actually understood, the box was wrapped nicely and look really good. Well, maybe asking Lori if she needed help wasn't the best idea; she, being the eldest, knew how to do a lot of things that Leni, along with the rest of her siblings, didn't.

The blonde got out of her and Lori's room feeling a little bit let down. She let out a heavy sigh and began to walk, but the sound of glass clashing coming from the stairs caught her attention. It was Lisa, who carried several test tubes, beakers and other glassy thingies scientist use to, well, do science. Maybe this was the chance she's been waiting for!

"Hey, Lisa. You, like, need help with that?"

Lisa startled a little bit before regaining her composure. Right now her mind was busy trying to solve that formula that has been keeping her from finding the perfect mouth spray; full protection to your mouth without the damn burning sensation!

There were a few prototypes she tested on herself: one painted her mouth blue and another made her speak funny (even more than she already does) for three days.

"Thank you, elder fraternal unit, but I'll have to decline your offer. I, however, appreciate that you asked..."

One of the test tubes fell to the floor as she spoke. Leni crouched and tried to reach for it, but thanks to Lisa's short height (after the years she still was kind of short), she picked it first. "I must insist; your help, though very welcome, it's not necessary." Lisa said before getting inside her room. Leni stood there, watching at the door as a feeling of impotence arose in her. She just wanted to help, to fucking help. Did they believed she was stupid enough to fuck up every single thing she did? Did they really believed she was that retarded?

Did everybody had that little faith in her?

Feeling like a burden to the whole family, and seeing that none of their siblings would accept her well intentioned help she decided to do something, anything around the house, whatever that kept her busy so she didn't think about how everyone in the house believed she was useless.

Dad probably had finished making dinner. She remembered seeing a bunch of plates accumulated in the sink; maybe washing them would be a perfect distraction.

A few minutes later she was almost done. She honestly was surprised that no accident had happened yet; for once in her life (as far a she remember) she was doing something good, she was being useful.

"And if you think we can't, We'll always find a way, That's why the people in this world..."

Feeling the song inside of her Leni rose her arms. This, however, resulted in a plate smashing against the floor and shattering in a bunch of pieces. Ok, no big deal, just a broken plate. I'll just pick it up and...

"What was that!" Lynn Sr. entered the kitchen as soon as he heard the sound of a plate breaking. He spotted his daughter Leni trying to pick the pieces. This did nothing but increase his worry; what if she gets cut with the edges?! "Leni! Are you ok?!"

"Yeah, dad, it's just..."

"Don't worry, Pumpkin, why don't you go to the living room or something? I'll pick this up" her father said as he approached and began to pick the remains of the plate up. Leni felt wounded once more but decided not to argue. She obeyed and went outside, where she sat in the hanging tire feeling like the biggest failure in the world.

There was no point in trying. It didn't matter what she did, It didn't matter how hard she tried, she was useless. Her sisters thought that, her parents thought that, even she thought that. Dad didn't even let her pick up a plate, a single plate that fell to the floor. That showed how low he thought of her.

She tried to think about the good things in her. She knew what her siblings liked, she knew what his parents loved, she liked to bake cookies that her siblings enjoyed, she was the first one in offering her help when they were in need, she had a good taste in fashion (even if she said so herself). Then why bother in helping if nobody thought that was useful? She was just the dumb sister who fucks everything up, she was the sister who ends up making things worse instead of helping. She was the sister who no matter how hard she tried to be good, none of the people she trusts the most would give her a chance.

You know what, maybe she deserved it for losing Lily; she lost her youngest sister because she was too busy looking at clothes, damn clothes! She had one fucking job and she screwed it!

Tears began to form in her eyes; she wanted to be strong, but this was just too much to take.

"Leni?" She heard someone call her name. It was her only brother, Lincoln. "There you are, I've been looking for you all over the house!"

"You've been looking for me?" She asked, surprised that she was required for something. "Why would you look for me?"

"I need your help to find the perfect gift for dad; his birthday is near, remember? I'd like you to help me with some ideas."

"Yeah I remember, but why would you ask me?" she asked, her voice sounded cracked, as if she was about to cry. "You probably have some better options, I'm probably gonna ruin everything."

Lincoln looked at her, understanding how she felt. "Who told you such a thing?"

"Nobody, at least not directly" she replied. "But even I can see it. Nobody want my help; they believe either I don't know how what I'm doing or that I'm gonna screw things up! I'm clumsy, careless, useless..."

She couldn't hold it anymore. Her tears flowed freely on her face as she made an effort to muffle her sobs. She couldn't help but feel useless in everything that was not related to fashion. That was true, outside of clothes she didn't know how to do anything; she was not good with numbers, not good with crafts, not good at doing something productive...

"Aren't you in charge of that store at the mall?" he asked. "I've never seen that store better before you arrived."

Leni wiped her tears. "I-I guess..."

"Who's the one who always offers a smile no matter how bad the situation might be?

"I guess I am..."

"Leni, you might get distracted easily, but when it comes to help people, there's no better person that you. I believe if you put all your effort into something you're gonna ace it!"

"And if you feel guilty because I got lost, I want you to know that I don't blame you." A voice spoke behind them. "It was me who left your side." Lily smiled warmly, putting a hand on her big sister's shoulder. "If it makes you feel better, I think it was the best for me; now I'm no longer scared to go out by myself. I know I gotta be careful where I go, but I'm no longer afraid of doing things by my own."

"Y-You really mean it?" Leni asked, feeling a little bit better.

"Totally." Lily replied. "You know, people often say that I'm similar to you, and I can't feel more honoured; that means that people see me as someone with a big heart and a kind soul. Though I might be easier to angry." She playfully showed her tongue.

"It is good that you're trying to be better, Leni," Lincoln added. "but don't ever let that change who you are, because that's just how we love you.

The sadness she felt before was soon washed away as a bright sunshine surged from her heart.

"I've seen what you've been doing through the day, Leni" Lily said. "I've seen you trying to be a better version of yourself. But you might want to take things slow, ok? Take all the time you need."

Lily embraced her sister, letting her know what she felt, that she really meant what she said. Leni understood and hugged her back.

Lincoln joined them. "If I'm asking your help it's because I know what you're capable of. There's no one better than you, and we'll love you no matter what, ok?"

This was what Leni needed; she thought she was good for nothing, that she was just there to screw up and spoil things up. Thanks to her siblings, she understood that no matter how bad things seemed to be, it all it's in her head.

"Thanks guys," Leni said, wiping the tears away. "I really needed that. I love you..."

"And we love you too." Lily replied.

They shared a hug for a little more, sharing as well the fraternal love they felt for each other. After some moments, Leni broke the hug.

"Lincoln, you said you wanted help choosing a gift for dad, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I've been thinking but I can't come up with something. Any ideas?"

Leni took her hand to her chin and started to think. After a while, she had the perfect choice. "I think I have an idea..."

"Happy birthday!"

Mr. Loud opened up his eyes, meeting with the sight of a table filled with presents, a cake and several delicious treats; though it wasn't a surprise since he knew what they planed from days prior, he pretended to be astonished so their hard work wasn't in vain.

When the moment for the gift opening came, the Loud children made a line according to their ages, with the only exception being Leni, Lincoln and Lily, who were at the very end: Lori, being the eldest was the first, she have him a new set of kitchen knives; she heard him complaining that the ones he had were already worn out and couldn't even cut a slice of butter. Luna gave him a shirt; it had the logo of one of the bands he liked and was signed by all four members. Luan handed him a pair of tickets for the opera so he and mom could have a good time alone. Lynn Jr.'s gift was a pair of tickets for that boxing match he wanted to see; it would take place in the Ford Field Stadium and was the most expected match of the year. Of course dad would want to go.

Lucy handed him a copy of a recipe book signed by Gordon Ramsay; she had to do a lot to had it signed, but in the end it was worth it. Lana gave him a pair of snake boots and belt she made herself; a couple months ago she found a giant snake dead in the park, and believing it was a waste to just get rid of it she took it home and took the skin. At firs she wanted to make a rug, but seeing that dad's birthday was approaching and she had enough time she made a complete set. Lola gave him a beautiful formal suit; she heard mom complaining that he no longer had clothes to wear at formal events since he...kinda went a few sizes up. That's why she looked for the perfect suit that he (and specially she) would love. Lisa handed him a bottle of cologne, she didn't make it or anything, she bought it at the mall. Rita gave him a brand new tie she knew he would love since she hated it, and said she had something special prepared for later. The kids, from Lori to Lucy knew what she was talking about, and just hoped it didn't end up with the family growing up. The girls from Lana to Lily just wondered what she was talking about.

Lynn Sr. was pleased to pass the time with his family; he barely had time since he was busy with the restaurant.

When they all handed their gifts, it was time for Leni, Lincoln and Lily to present theirs. As he saw what it was, his eyes opened wide and his jaw dropped. It was a painting of the whole family gazing at the setting sun at the horizon; trees shedding autumn leaves at the sides while the whole family was in the middle; they all held hands while he was at the center with his wife resting her head on his shoulder.

"Y-You did this, Leni? Lynn Sr. asked, not looking away from such a beautiful piece.

"I just gave the concept, Lincoln did the sketch and Lily added the colours." Leni replied.

Lynn Sr. couldn't hold his tears; considering he cried when he saw the hands of his children printed in the wall, this was by far more special. He glanced at his second born daughter with pride. "Thanks a lot, Leni, I really appreciate it."

"Thank you all, kids, this is the best birthday ever!" Lynn Sr. said, calming himself a little bit.

For Leni, nothing felt better than his fathers approval. Lincoln and Lily looked at their sister, happy that the plan went as expected.

The rest of the day went pretty smooth; they took dozens of photos and ate the cake. Lynn Sr. felt like the luckiest man alive; he had a big family that loved and supported him.

While they all were getting ready to go out and have dinner at a restaurant, Leni managed to stop Lincoln before he got out of the house; she hugged him from behind, letting him know that she felt very grateful.

"Thanks a lot, Linky, if you hadn't gone and talk with me I don't know where I'd be now. You trusted in me like nobody ever did before, you believed in me when no one else did, you saw the potential in me even when I didn't"

Lincoln broke the hug and turned to see his sister in the eye; he saw the sentiment in them, he saw all the suffering they all have put her through with their words and actions. He swore to himself to never let that happen again, he'd make sure to protect that beautiful smile of hers. And with that , he hugged her. "You can do everything you want, Leni. I believe in you, never forget that.

Leni felt a warmness she had never felt before; his arms made her feel safe and loved, and his words gave her the confidence she needed to carry on.

"I know it now thanks to you...I love you"

As they shared their love, several pairs of eyes watched them with a feeling that had become quite normal in that house.

Jealousy.