Important people, loved ones, work, needs, it all can be a valid reason to end a relationship. But for Lori...

Lori, the eldest sister, the one to rule them all when they were still kids and their parents had to go out. She was the pillar of order inside the house; without her authority, the house would turn into a disaster in a matter of hours (they knew it first hand).

Right now, the first born Loud returned from work looking like a disaster. She entered the house without uttering a single word, which was odd in her; she usually goes straight to the fridge and grab a can of soda, then she heads for the sofa and tunes the Drama Channel to watch 'The Dream Boat' along with her sisters. That night, though, she walked straight towards the stairs and locked herself in her and Leni's room. When she locked the door, they all knew it was bad.

Tonight was the night. She had a something special planned for her and Bobby, a night that he would never forget, a night that would remain burned in his memory as the best night ever. Nothing could go wrong, she had planned everything with clockwork precision.

Then, how did everything go wrong?

The whole family was already at her door making fruitless efforts to get her to open the door. It was rare to see her in such a mess; she usually was the one who comforted her sisters when they went through a rough time with their relationships. It had to be something really bad to turn her into this crying mess.

"Lori? What's wrong?" Leni asked.

"Sweetie, please let us in." Rita begged.

"What could've happened?" Lola thought.

"FBI, OPEN UP" Lynn yelled while knocking at the door. This earned her an elbow from Luna and an angry look from the rest of the family.

Lincoln just came from the stairs with a can of soda in his right hand and a comic rolled under his left arm; his plan for the night was reading the new Ace Savvy reboot in his underwear, and then maybe post a hate filled critic on social media about how bad it was since the creators took out all the violence from the series because It could hurt younger audiences' feelings, and how they ruined the Ace Savvy essence.

As soon as he reached the second floor, he spotted a mass of people (well, sisters) gathered outside Lori and Leni's room. "What's happening?" he asked.

"That's what we want to know" Luna lamented. "Lori locked herself in her room and won't come out."

This rang a bell inside Lincoln's head; he quickly left his stuff on the floor and made his way through the horde of blonde and brown (with a pitch of black) hair and reached the door. He knocked, he called her name, he tried to force the goddamn door but, much as the efforts the rest of the family made, it was fruitless. All he could do was hear the sobs coming from the other side. If he knew Lori as much as he thought, he was aware that she'd never let anything or anyone enter the room for a while; his sister had the knowledge and experience to help her sisters when it came to love related problems, but at the same time she had that habit of not letting anyone help her, not even Leni, who was the closest sister to her, her first little sister.

While his sisters and mother still tried to convince her to open the door and let them in (it was useless, he knew she wasn't doing it), he put to work that brain of his that would always come up with a plan to solve problems. In his young days, his plans would usually fail and get someone against him. But as time passes, one grows, matures and gets wiser. He might still like some of the same stuff as when he was young, but he also had experience when it came with dealing with his sisters.

It was there when the idea he so much needed hit him like a brick thrown by a kid from the roof of a building right at the face of a burglar. If she wouldn't let them in, then he would wait for her to come out.

The rest of the girls kept trying to open that damn door knowing that nothing would ever work. Lily, the smallest in the family in age but also the smallest in size, attempted to reach to her through the vent ducts. Lori, however, was so determined to be alone that she blocked every pathway that may work as an entrance to her room; from the windows to the vents, she was totally determined to be isolated from the outer world.

Lori sat on her bed, hugging her knees and letting the mascara mixed with tears run through her cheeks and fall on her blouse. It was no secret that she and Bobby had some issues going on between them. The blonde had some problems with some of his traits, such as arriving late at some of their dates. And the latino had some problems with her controlling attitude. They would usually take some time before talking to each other and fixing things, but after what happened that night she knew all hope was gone.

The family eventually gave up and decided to give her some space. Trying to reach to her in this state was no resulting, maybe she'd be a little better tomorrow. Since Lori refused to let anyone in, Leni had to look for a place to sleep. Luckily for her, Luan and Luna offered their room.

For Lori, the time passed slow as her sadness only grew more. She had been crying for hours now, not letting her eyes rest from the continuous flow of tears. She knew she had screw up big this time and couldn't do anything to fix it; her very first relationship, her only boyfriend, the one she thought would be her life partner left her after all these years. In just a few minutes everything she did, all she had worked for was destroyed by a wrecking ball that she knew she had set it herself. She honestly didn't blame Bobby for leaving her, she gave him more than enough reasons.

But as much as she was grieving, she felt a need that wouldn't leave her alone until it was satisfied.

Hunger.

She's been crying for hours now, it was only natural that her body wanted nutrients to replenish the ones she had spent.

At 01:00 AM she remained awake for one more hour just to make sure that she was the only awake soul inside the house. Lori opened the door of her room and walked as quiet as she could to the first floor, there she made her way towards the kitchen; there was plenty of food there, but to be honest, she didn't find what was in sight that appealing. Fruit? Nah. Bread? Not right now. Sweets? I'll pass. Looking for the last place where she knew there would be food she assaulted the fridge, finding a cold piece of pizza that was left from dinner two days ago; she didn't care if it was cold, she didn't care if it was tasteless, she was hungry and only wanted to return to the safety of her room. Standing in front of the

"It tastes way better if you heat it up, you know?"

The blonde didn't seem to care that she was caught. She was so sad and had so little energy that her mind wasn't working at full capacity; a bomb could've exploded right in her face and she wouldn't notice it.

"I don't wanna wake up the others. Besides I don't feel like heating it up, or doing anything for the matter." she replied with a weak voice. "But thanks anyway."

After putting the crust back in the plate and closing the fridge she made her way back to her room, dragging her feet on the stairs and weakly grabbing the banister.

As she went up step by step, something snapped inside her brain; she just talked with someone.

"What are you..."

"Shhh" he replied. "I don't want to wake up the other either. Come with me, please."

Lori didn't know why she obeyed his words; maybe it was that her brain was too tired to comprehend the situation, or maybe deep down inside, and despite what the voice in her mind told her, she knew she needed to vent what she was feeling, take it all out of her chest.

Taking a better look at her brother, she noticed he was wearing his sleeping clothes, which consisted in a white t-shirt and orange sweatpants. His face denoted that he had just wake up.

The blonde sat on the sofa right next to her little brother, they just sat there for a couple of minutes, not talking, not doing anything; Lori was just trying to comprehend how could have she wake him up if she had made sure to be as quiet as a cat. Lincoln just sat there, trying to find the right words to find out why Lori has been crying so much lately.

"How did you find out that I was here?" she broke the silence.

"I supposed that, after crying for hours, you'd eventually get hungry. That's why I slept in the sofa; if you ever opened the fridge the light would be enough to wake me up" he replied, rubbing his eyes.

Lori smiled, it was actually a good plan. "Well done, bro, but you're losing your time." She said, getting on her feet and starting to walk towards the stairs again. "I'm out."

One thing that the sisters didn't see coming was that Lincoln, being a healthy man, had become really strong as time passed; he had gained some muscle definition and his once round face became sharper. Needless to say, he was handsome.

Using his strength at his advantage, and adding to the mix that Lori was too weak from the recent events, Lincoln managed to stop her and forced her to sit on the sofa again. With little time to waste, he threw his arms around her in a hug.

Lori didn't react for a few moments, then she felt her eyes getting watery until she began to cry again. She eventually returned the hug, burying her face on her brother's shoulder. They remained like this for a couple of minutes, Lori letting everything out over his t-shirt as Lincoln stroke her hair, combing her golden locks with his fingers, filling his nose with the delicious smell of her shampoo. The warmness her brother's love and care was the only thing that prevented her from breaking down again.

"Lori," he talked softly. "Would you like to tell me what's wrong?"

Lori hesitated for a moment; the last thing she wanted was to replay the events of this day again. But keeping all this pain to herself was starting to take a toll on her. Maybe telling this to somebody would make her feel better.

"I asked Bobby out today since it was his free day." She started. "I-I thought we were happy, I loved him and he loved me; if we had problems we always found a way to solve them...we always talked, we trusted each other everything, but..." the sadness she managed to suppress was starting to come out again. "The last few months we have been fighting more than the usual, though nothing serious. It was hard, but we came to an arrangement. I thought that maybe today was perfect to amend things; he rarely came to visit, so I was really excited to see him again after so much. I wanted this night to be perfect..."

She had to stop for a moment to contain herself from turning into a sea of tears again. This gave Lincoln enough time to picture what could've happened.

"I-I didn't want to hurt him...but as things got out of my control I started to get angry. At first it wasn't that bad, but when an ice cream ball fell right on my blouse, I exploded."

Her voice was becoming quite loud. Lincoln signalled her to keep it low.

"I yelled at him...I insulted him...I even slapped him in the face! When I looked at him in the eyes I knew I had lost him forever." Lori eventually calmed down. "We had fights before...but nothing that bad. I spent the rest of the day trying to fix things, but it wasn't until he yelled to me that I gave up. We had a strong argument after that..."

Lori buried her face on his chest and cried bitterly once more. Lincoln just returned the hug, kissing her head in an effort to calm her down.

"I was hurting him, it wasn't a healthy relationship; we hurt each other constantly, and even when everything was good at the start...now nothing it's the same. I may talk to him any other day, but it'll be just as friends...it's over...we're done!"

The pain was just too much for her to bear. She let her body fall upon her brother, who took her with love and concern. He gave her the only support he could offer right now: Silence. He knew Lori was too hurt to even talk right now, so maybe not saying anything would be the best to lend her a little bit of soothe.

As minutes passed, Lori eventually calmed down. She took her face away from her brother's shoulder, allowing him to see the redness and the pain in her eyes. She knew she was a mess right now, but no longer cared. Lincoln sighed in relief, mentally of course; he was more than happy to help his sister, but the weight of her body over his for a long time kind of left him sore.

He didn't care, though; he'd be like this for a thousand years just to help his sisters to get better.

"When we both said what needed to be said we remained silent, we...just sat there in awkward silence. After a moment we hugged each other and started to cry." She wiped a tear with her hand. "He said that this wasn't working, I was being way too controlling and he was too busy to come visit and then leave again. He...he said he needed space and some time; we needed to leave it there and walk our own way." She leaned against his shoulder, and Lincoln put his arm around her.

"At first I didn't understand what he meant, then he stood up and prepared to leave...but before he began to walk, he said that if the day arrives when I find a man better than him, a man who complements me and loves me for who I am...there wouldn't be someone happier that I found my true love than him."

Lincoln put his other arm around her and hugged her, letting his sister cry again on his shoulder, letting all out while he rubbed her back.

"Lori..." he started. "There are no words to describe how much I'm sorry to hear that. I know you loved him, I know you had a whole future planned by his side. But seeing how all that crumbled down like that...I'm really sorry."

While she knew her brother had the best of intentions, he didn't know how to chose the right words; she didn't need to be reminded of what she just had lost. Lori was about to tell him to fuck off, but Lincoln talked first.

"But there's something that I'm certain about, and that is that you'll be able to get over it." He replied. Lori wasn't sure about that, but decided to hear what he had to say. "I'm not saying that it'll be fast or easy, but if there's something for which I admire you, it's your determination; I know how strong you are, I know that life can hit you with its hardest but you will prevail."

His words this time had a good effect on the blonde. She didn't know someone could think of her that way; not even she thought that way about herself. And while this was just what she needed, the best was yet to come.

"You are an incredible woman, and a beautiful sister."

His previous words were the light that pushed away the darkness within her heart and assured her that there was hope. This time, his words were the flame that spread warmness throughout her body. Her heart was beating fast, her whole body was getting hot. She didn't know what was taking over her body, but neither would she fight it.

"I know that a love like the one you both shared can never be forgotten, but you have several people who love you and will support you whenever you need it. There's mom, dad, our sisters who love and admire you...and you have me, your dumb little brother who loves you with all his heart."

Lori looked away from her brother as more tears started to come out of her eyes. She wasn't sad anymore, those were tears of happiness.

"It'll be hard, it'll be difficult, but it doesn't matter what happens, I'm always with you. Whenever you feel that you're going through too much, come to me and I'll move mountains, I'll spread the seas, I'll fly to the moon and back just to make you happy"

"I will make you happy"

Lori found the solace she so much needed in his words. She always thought that Bobby was the man of her life, her soulmate, the man she'd form a life with. But that was in the past now, and even when it would hut, thanks to a certain dumb white haired guy she had a newfound strength. Who was there for her even when he didn't fully comprehend the situation? Who swore to help her, to do the impossible for her? Who loved his family unconditionally? Who would give everything just to see his family happy?

Him, her brother Lincoln.

The events of the day, plus the fact that she hadn't eaten anything good did take a toll on her. She felt her eyes getting heavy with every second. Maybe it was better to rest.

"Brother," she said as a yawn escaped her mouth. "I'm tired."

"Let's go," he replied. "Your bed is waiting for you."

He carried her on his arms and started to walk up the stairs, it did cost her a little bit; even though he was strong, he was still tired and needed to sleep.

Lori opened her eyes just to see the one who bothered in take her to her room, the one who helped her even though when she foolishly refused. He made her realise how lucky she was for having a big family that supported her; yeah, her plans for the future had changed, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Once in the room, Lincoln carefully placed on the bed, covering her body with the blanket and kissing her forehead. "Sleep."

He caressed her golden hair until quiet snores came from her sleeping body; her soft breathing had a calming effect that he thought would make the most energetic kid fall asleep as a log. She looked so beautiful, so peaceful, she gave him such a peace of mind he started to feel drowsy himself. After Lincoln left she slept peacefully, knowing that her brother's presence was accompanying her even in her dreams.

A torrent of sorrow, a hurricane of problems tormented her mind, but luckily a knight in shining armor and white hair attended to her rescue; he faced the adversity and came out with his head up high triumphant. Lori felt as the love she had for him grew stronger, not caring that it was forbidden, not caring that he was her brother.

She had finally found the person that would make her happy.

The blonde woke up the next morning in a good mood, feeling like a burden had been lifted from her shoulders, as if the ropes that tied her to the past were finally cut. She was rested, fresh and ready for a new day, because even when it was in her dreams, she still could feel that warmness that filled the emptiness within her heart: her brother's love was still with her.

Everyone in the house opened their eyes with surprise as they saw her coming down from the stairs; she looked so good, so refreshed, some even dared to think she looked a couple of years young. Lori smiled, cutting the tension in the room and relaxing everyone. She apologized for the way she behaved yesterday, saying that while she wasn't feeling good, she knew they only wanted to help and it was her fault for pushing them away. They all understood, and hugged her with love and care.

Rita gave her the motherly advices that helped to get over her painful breakup faster, while Lynn Sr. prepared an abundant breakfast that helped with the emptiness in her stomach. The sisters promised her to do everything they could to help her, and while she was thankful with them, she was even more with him, her brother Lincoln. The one who helped her were heading out for school or work. Lori was the last one, taking her time to talk with her brother. She stopped him right before he crossed the door, hugging him tightly with all her love. Lincoln returned the hug.

"Thank you very much, Lincoln," she said. "What did we do to deserve you?"

"Be the best sisters in the world."

Lori broke the hug to look him in the eyes, feeling her heart racing and her cheeks getting warm. She was embarrassed to be exposed in such state but didn't care; after all, it was her brother. "You're the best, bro; you always help us and you're always there for us. And you're right, it'll take me some time to recover, but with you by my side I know I'll make it fast. Thank you, Lincoln. I love you."

Lori's voice sounded sad, but he knew her words were sincere. She had her family with her, and they would do everything to help her with her problems.

From outside, certain girl with brown hair watched them through the window with spite; Lynn had a bad feeling when she noticed that neither Lincoln nor Lori had gotten out of the house yet; it already happened with Lisa, and she was dead sure it would happen with Lori too.

"You're at it again, Lynn?"

It wasn't a surprise anymore for Lucy that her sister was acting this way whenever some girl was with Lincoln, even their own sisters.

"We already talked about this, Lucy, what's between Lincoln and me..."

"Between Lincoln and you?" she replied. "You're talking as if you didn't want me to interfere. What is it, you love him?" Lucy hissed. "Why are you talking about him as if you..."

"Why do you care so much?!" Lynn spat, tired of her little sister peeking her nose in her business. "You've been following him close too, doesn't that mean that you're the one who love him?"

This touched a sensitive fiber in the gothic. She knew if she said something else this would turn into an argument that wouldn't end soon; she learned that not only from that one time when she caught her spying on Lincoln, but from all the other times where she called her out for doing something wrong. Lynn's attitude could sometimes be a pain in the ass to deal with.

But her heart did not allowed her to be silent. "So what if that's true? You have a problem with that?"

This totally caught Lynn off guard. Lucy, her little sister, the one who was known for hating romance and stuff, had just confessed to her that she loved her brother. They stared at each other for what felt like ages; Lucy stared at Lynn expectant, wanting to hear her that she also loved her brother the same way she did, defying her to confess the feeling she so much tried to hide from her.

Lynn stared at Lucy with anger. Her little sister not just had admitted her feelings, but she fell in love with the same man as her. She didn't care if that man was her brother, she would fight for him even if it meant to risk her relationship with her sisters. Hot rage started to boil inside her blood as she realised that Lucy had pierced through her defenses and had her in siege.

"Girls?...why do you talk about Lincoln that way?..."

A voice very well known to them broke the silence. They both felt their hearts drop to their feet as a shiver ran down their spines. Lucy, for the first time in years, got startled in a way that almost made her fall. Lynn, on the other hand, felt as her anger had gone cold and turned into fear.

Unbeknownst to them, Leni has been hearing this whole conversation since they started. Both Lynn and Lucy turned and watched their elder sister staring at them with a look that reflected one feeling: Jealousy.

Lisa and Lily were right behind her, looking astonished at their big sisters' confessions.