A/N: DANGIT! I am way all behind schedule! But that won't stop me! Not even having to also finish the script I mentioned before, that hasn't a current due date yet. I'll do it! I'LL DO IT ALL!
I DO NOT wanna switch this from monthly to bi-monthly, especially when I also have the Spanish translation in the way… besides also the script that is BARELY halfway done yet. But if this happens again, PLEASE be patient, I will NEVER intend to abandon this story!
Damn, so complicated, I hope I do so well for LH standards.
The Loud House and all of its characters belong to Nickelodeon, Viacom, and Chris Savino IF HE WEREN'T SUCH A HACK!
CHAPTER 8: F-eight-ful hit
RONALDA
It was an interesting week indeed for both Ronnie Anne and Bobby, but more interestingly for the former. It was Ronnie Anne's final day before she returns to her home in Illinois, not that she liked that idea, since that circumstances changed and she now saw herself living her dream, or at least ONE of them, of being romantically involved with the guy she fell in love since… kindergarten? The day of tomorrow, she'll have to ask her brother for tips on how to cope with Lincoln's physical absence and talk to each other through a smartphone or computer. Again, not that she wanted to, since she wouldn't like to have him nosing around her business. Then again, her whole family would erupt into screaming joy the minute she throws that bomb on them, we're talking about a party for a couple of days, again… not that she'd like it. Her initial idea was to keep it secret, but gossip is one word that lives in the Casagrande household. One single word and even Lalo the dog knows it. But thinking about it, she'd consider it something cute, as her family, nosy as it is, concerns about her.
Ronnie Anne was on her hotel room's bathroom, taking a shower. As she felt the warm nearly-hot water on her skin, liberating her pores, she was facing up, with her eyes closed and a smile formed on her face. She then took a deep breath before looking forward, opening her eyes and then turning off the water. That done, she stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel next to her that she placed there previously and started to dry herself up. It took her a couple of dozen seconds to finish before wrapping the towel around her body, tightening it, and then exiting the room. As she entered the bedroom, she, to her relief, noticed her brother was out. Good thing, as she wanted her privacy. She then walked towards the bed and drew out a luggage case from under it, opening it, and taking out some clothes from them. Picking up her classic purple hoodie, she glanced it for some seconds, thoughtful, before placing it back on the briefcase "Nah".
She then, rummaging through the briefcase, took off some purple socks, her classic blue shorts, white sleeveless shirt and curiously, she found her yellow hoodie with the Royal Woods initials on them. Glancing at them, for a second, she remembered how much she loved it, not the hoodie itself, but the intention her boyfriend, then friend at that time, that he put in such a lovely gift "Haven't… worn this in a while" she muttered with a smile as she then finished picking up her clothes and closing the luggage case.
After some minutes, she was fully dressed with all of her classic attire, except for that yellow RW hoodie, worn proudly to honor her boyfriend. Fresh and happy, she prepared herself for the day, intending to spend it as much as he can with his white-haired boyfriend. But before doing that, she walked back towards the bathroom, stared herself at the mirror, then picked up a brush before brushing her hair a couple of times while looking at herself on the mirror. After finishing, she placed the brush back on the table and exited the bathroom.
As she walked down the stairs, she spotted Bobby talking to the elderly concierge "Hey Bobby, what's up?" she joyfully asked as she approached both. But her smile erased from her face as she, by getting closer, saw that not only Bobby was glaring at him, but that the talk was an argument.
"This bill must be incorrect, sir, we didn't order room service at all!" Bobby spat as he pointed at a piece of paper that was laying on the desk, his bill "And plus, we've paid in advance for the whole service, not even one single dime more than that!"
"I am sorry sir but here at 'Hotel Horizon', we NEVER commit mistakes, it says here you ordered a milkshake past Thursday, altering the current fee!" the concierge spat back.
"I repeat: WE DIDN'T ORDER ANYTHING. AT. ALL!"
"Bobby, what is going on?"
The two then turned to face a Ronnie Anne, now frowning. Bobby then chuckled as he smiled nervously while rubbing the back of his head "Oh, it's nothing, Niní, I am just solving a discrepancy here"
"Sir, I assure you, there is NO discrepancy, I registered that you opened the fridge past Thursday to get a milkshake, computer doesn't lie!"
"Tell your damn computer to suck a lemon then!" Bobby snarled as he slammed his hands on the table, making it shake for a moment.
"Sir, if you refuse to pay that extra charge, then I am in the need of calling the police and press charges against you" the concierge gave him a death glare.
Bobby was at the verge of a breakdown, but, taking his hand off the desk and backing away a little, took a deep breath, then looked at the concierge "Fine, but you're lucky my sister is here, or else we'd be in a trouble" he glared at him "5,80, right?"
"That is correct, sir" the concierge, victorious but not smiling, though, nodded.
Bobby then drew out some dollar bills from his pocket and slammed them on the table, six in total "Keep the change as an 'excuse' for tip, not that you do actually deserve it" he sneered at him.
"Not expected, but accepted" the concierge then grabbed the money from the table and started to stash it on the cashier he had nearby.
"Rhyming bozo…" Bobby muttered inaudibly as he turned away from him. He then quickly noticed his sister was still there "Oh, Niní, what's…?" he then noticed a detail: Her hoodie, it wasn't the purple one "Well I'll be!" he smiled "Somebody's wearing the gift from his boyfriend!" he slightly-teasingly smirked.
"Yeah yeah, I know" she just sighed "Well, see ya later, I am gonna, just for today, accompany Lincoln on his school day" she declared as she then walked towards the exit door.
Knowing school rules, she may have a chance she'll get allowed to enter the school. Not the classroom, but if it's for Lincoln, she'll probably be allowed even though she's not a student there.
LINCOLN
The opposite pole. Previously, we were talking about the girlfriend, and now it's the boyfriend's turn. For Lincoln, the idea of soon having a girlfriend he'll only see through a computer or smartphone screen… was pretty new for him. He might regret asking some tips from Lori, as he… not that he'd like it, face scrutiny by all of his nosy sisters, something that was (And still is) with his whole life. But The Man with The Plan still had cards to play on the table, and he wouldn't allow distance to become an obstacle on his love for Ronnie Anne.
Besides, it's not like he doesn't know that also, he'll have to, previously mentioned, deal with his sisters' constant nosiness, as he'll have them 24/7 asking, as he had the previous 6 days, where he'd been with her, what did he do, what this, what that, etc. Not that he didn't like it, because that means his family finally cared about him, given… ahem… all the calamities his sisters gave him. Bad luck, sister fight protocol, you pick.
Lincoln was exiting his room, backpack on his shoulder, as he was through the hallway. The first sister to interrupt his course was Lola herself, who quickly stepped out of her room upon noticing his brother's 'pheromones' and immediately reacting "Lincoln!"
Just as Lincoln heard that, his smile erased from his face, then turned around to look at the direction of such cry "Mind if I ask you something?"
Lincoln then rolled his eyes "Is it about Ronnie Anne… right?" he asked almost sardonically.
Lola went from smiling to glaring at him while raising an eyebrow "What makes you…?"
"Agh, it's always about that!" Lincoln interrupted with a scoff "Every single day you try to meddle into my business, just because I am with Ronnie Anne now!" he sneered at her as her eyes then widened "Lincoln , what did you do with Ronnie Anne today, Lincoln, Ronnie Anne this, Ronnie Anne that!" he growled "Can't I have my space here?!"
"Well…" Lola went to glare at him again "A: Anything related to you and Ronnie Anne is important to us, like… very" she replied "And B: I actually wanted to ask you about your friend" she added as she put an akimbo.
Lincoln then looked at her inquisitively "Oh, about Rod?" he then rubbed his arm nervously "For a moment, I thought…"
"Just because we snuck into your business with Ronnie Anne since…"
"The very first day?" Lincoln pointed out
"Yeah" Lola nodded as she was still glaring at him "Just because we get into your business with Ronnie Anne, it doesn't mean you can actually prematurely accuse us and thinking that the world spins around you two, you know?"
"Well, I am sorry, but you really do!"
"That isn't true!" Lola scoffed "Tell us one single day…"
"You spied on us yesterday while we were in our room"
"That isn't true!"
"How about Wednesday?"
"What's with that?"
"The first day we started dating, you went bananas, like… real crazy!"
"You're exaggerating, we…"
"Lola, tell me a SINGLE time I ever snuck into Lori, Leni, Luna or Luan's relationship business and annoyed you girls so hard!"
Checkmate, Lola. She didn't know what to reply, just stand there, with a finger raised as she tried to come up with something, to no avail, as he was right, Lincoln never sniffed into her sisters' romantic matters, not that he'd want to.
Lincoln then sighed "That's what I thought" and said that, he turned around and prepared to leave.
"Lincoln, wait!"
Lincoln then stopped and turned around to look at his sister with an aloof expression on his face "Yes?"
"What I wanted to ask you is… what's the deal with your friend, er… Roderick, was it?"
Lincoln then chuckled "Rodrigo, but goes by Rod"
"Yeah, that" Lola nodded "What's the deal with him?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, ever since I've met him, he still had that expression on his face, and when I saw him yesterday, it was completely identical as the one he put when we first met past Monday, as if… something's going on with him?"
Lincoln then sighed again before replying "Lola, sis, there are some questions you don't wanna hear the answer" he told her "Want my advice? Don't dig any further, you might not wanna know the reality that concerns him, but at least at this early age of yours"
"Hey! I am not a baby!" Lola clenched her fists in rage as she glared daggers.
"You're seven?"
"So what?"
"You're too young to learn the whole truth about Rod, really, just be patient and you'll know the answer"
Lola just kept on glaring at him. Who did he think he was to tell that to her? Sure, he was right as he was her older brother, but she was quite fed up with always with the 'You'll know it when you grow up' deal everyone (Her parents and sisters) went with her "I'll know it one way or another!" she gave him an ultimatum.
"And when you do, and feel bad about it, don't come to me for comfort"
"Won't be intending to!" and with a huff, she turned around and went back to her room, closing the door behind him.
"Lola…" Lincoln sighed while rolling his eyes as he then turned around, grasping onto his backpack, and walked down the stairs.
Minutes later, Lincoln exited the house as he closed the door behind him, then started to walk his way towards the middle school, pondering what was next for him on the start of this week.
RODRIGO
First week and a lot had been going out through Rodrigo's life… not that he liked it. But it was interesting so far, despite attracting some… romantic… matters. But he didn't like it. His memory of his dead girlfriend was something sacred to him, he would NEVER betray her in any way. Unhealthy or not, it was his decision, and everyone who was near him had to respect him, and by everyone, he also meant the potential girls that MIGHT be onto him.
Sporting a red, black and white-striped jersey, Rod was on his apartment room, ready for another day of school. Even through, he wasn't eager to do so, as anything… interesting… could happen. After all, this is Royal Woods, Michigan, the city of "wonders". Reminiscing the past days, he felt that things like this happened everyday where Lincoln lived.
Rod then walked towards the bathroom with his bag on his shoulder, and looked at himself at the mirror, upon first contact, noticed something unusual. Squinting his eyes and looking at himself deeper, he saw at himself a little… blurry "Damn…" he muttered as he then walked out of the room, went towards the luggage case under his bed, and drew out a small rectangular plastic case from it. Upon opening it, he was a pair of rectangular-frame-shaped glasses. Picking them up and opening them, he put them on, then looked around. As much as he hated it, he sometimes had to wear glasses to correct his vision, another… 'quirk' of his. But the last thing he'd want was to be called a nerd, not that he minds being called like that because he actually didn't care at all. He then closed the case, placed it in the luggage and put everything back under the bed. He took a deep breath before wrapping the backpack bad on his shoulder and exiting his room.
Upon reaching the living room, he quickly met Sonia's presence, who was sitting on the table, having some coffee and toasted bread as breakfast while reading a magazine. Upon seeing him, she then lowered her magazine and addressed him "Rodrigo?"
Rod then turned around Rod then turned around "Yeah?" he missed talking in Spanish.
"I see with enjoyment that, as you promised, you didn't arrive here too late yesterday, and I wanted to thank you for serving my trust" Sonia smiled "And also, I forgot how good you look with those glasses, they make you look smarter"
"Least I can do" Rod muttered "Anyways, how's medication, if I may ask?" he inquired "Most important, how the heck do we even get free medicaments here? I always wondered that"
"As a part of the student exchange program, and additionally with your disability, the US government agreed to pay for every medical expense, including your pills"
That rang on Rod's head like Philadelphia's Liberty Bell "Wait, you mean that if I get hurt or something…?"
Sonia then nodded "You're so lucky and privileged, not every kid with your… disability, would have all of these benefits, seeing as how US medical system works"
Rod then gawked in awe "REALLY?!"
Sonia then eyed him curiously "Rodrigo, is… something wrong?"
"No no, it is just that I could have…" he then remembered what happened past Tuesday. His scar was still there, but he didn't want to concern his chaperone/legal guardian with that. But what if that knife could have been…? No, better not talk about it "Ah… nevermind!" he quickly brushed it off as Sonia rose an eyebrow and expressed concern with it "Anyways, I am off, have a good day, see ya later"
"Yeah… see ya" Sonia was still unsure, and also ignorant about the cut incident. Rod never told her the full details of it, lying and telling her that it was a slash cut, not a stab. It would be selflessness or pure selfishness, both of them are still amoral in any way.
As Rod was then walking through the streets, he started to think what happened on his first week: He met people, got kissed, got stabbed, got punched, got wrongfully arrested, got into trouble with a girl's boyfriend, went to church and also got annoyed by that new friend's family. All in one week. None of that ever happened when he was at his home country, but then again… did he like it… or not?
As Rodrigo was walking through the streets with both hands grasping onto his backpacks handles, he stared around as he was reminiscing how many times he did the same way to reach school "What's in it for me today?" he mused in his home language as he let out a sigh.
"Rod!"
That familiar voice.
Rod then turned around, and in less rutinary time than he expected, he already saw Lincoln who was on his way to school with him, but this time, he was accompanied. Guess by who?
Rod gave out a small smirk as he then lowered down his pace to allow Lincoln and Ronnie Anne catch up with him "Hey bud, what's up?" he smiled
"You know, the usual…"
Lincoln then noticed something he never saw on him: His glasses "You… actually wear glasses?" he asked inquisitively as he pointed at his mentioned glasses.
"Sometimes, yeah"
"Sometimes?" Ronnie Anne pointed out.
Rod then stopped "I was… diagnosed with Strabismus, I have my pupils non-aligned correctly, so I started wearing glasses when I was four, and stopped when Gabriela died" he mentioned, then took off his glasses "Since then… I used it on-and-off, every time I have blurry vision" he added as he pointed at his eyes and turned around at Lincoln to allow him to take a look at them.
Lincoln took a look at Rod's eyes. He was right, and not rare in someone regarding his… condition. One pupil was misaligned from the other, as in… they were looking at different ways "Dang, Rod…" he rose an eyebrow "And didn't you get…?"
"Bullied?" Rod then put on his glasses and looked forward.
"Y…Yeah" Lincoln knew that mentioning the B word with him was… taboo.
"During childhood at least" Rod sighed "But I didn't care, I had Gabriela at my side for support" he mused "And besides, two years later I was already self-sufficient, my father was an athlete, and I asked him to train me, and I learned to defend myself" he explained with a shrug.
That rang on Ronnie Anne's head for a minute, as her eyes widened. She remembered that during her younger days… she went through the same. Bullying, reclusion and all sort of negative things. She remembered that she also had to learn to defend, but all by herself, no external help needed "Didn't…" she finally spoke after thinking as she rose a finger to point it at him "Got suspended sometimes?" she stammered.
"Ronnie Anne?" Lincoln turned around to look at his girlfriend.
"A couple of times, I think" Rod sighed "No big deal, that wasn't added to my permanent record because it was lately proven to be all under provocation" he chuckled "If that record bullshit ever existed when I was at school in Argentina, I mean" his smile turned into a frown.
"I…" Ronnie Anne was out of words as she gott crestfallen, she never imagined that somebody else suffered the same as her. Lincoln looked at her worriedly, as if some old bad memories of her reawakened.
Before she could continue her sentence, she felt something on her shoulder. Looking up again, she faced Lincoln, who was with his classic Lincoln Loud smile "Ronnie, let's not think about the past, okay?" he smiled "The past is yesterday, and, tomorrow is a mystery"
"And today is a gift, it's why it's called 'present'" Rod finished the sentence "Saw… that movie too"
"Right!" Lincoln nodded "You see? You cannot let yourself go by the past you had; on how many jerks you've sent to the hospital or anything" he smiled at her.
"Yeah, thanks for reminding me that" she sighed dejectedly with a slightly angry tone of voice as her head hung down again.
"Perhaps a wrong choice of words?"
"Ronnie…" Lincoln slowly and tenderly lifted her head up "I don't care about your past or what you've done, you're what you're now, a different person, a loving girlfriend!"
"A good friend" Rod pointed out.
"Yeah!" Lincoln nodded "That too, no matter how bad you think you were in the future, you don't just have to trip over the same rock, you need to focus on the future, OUR future!" he reminded her of the promise he made to her.
Ronnie, thoughtful for a second and starting at him inquisitively, slowly formed a smile "How is it that I became so lucky of having such a good and handsome boyfriend like you?" she stared at him dreamily.
"Luck's not relevant on this" Lincoln chuckled as he scratched the back of his head shyly.
"Awww, come here!"
And the two then embraced each other and, puckering their lips, got into a kissing session. Rod just turned around to not to look at them, not just because of privacy, but… personal reasons.
After a couple of dozen seconds, he decided to intervene "Get a room, lovebirds" he chuckled as he kept his static look away from them.
The two, realizing they were still in the open, as in, next to Rod, quickly backed away and blushed, giggling "S-Sorry Rod, couldn't… resist" Ronnie Anne sheepishly rubbed the back of her head as Lincoln did quite the same.
"No prob" Rod laughed "But seriously, don't tell me that for today, you're gonna come with us to school?" he pointed a finger at her as his smile turned into a frown.
"Well, ever since it'll be one of my last days here, and surely the principal wouldn't mind…"
"Yeah, she will allow her!" Lincoln cheered.
"As long as you keep your lips away from each other in public?" Rod snickered with a shrug.
"Y-Yeah" Lincoln and his girlfriend blushed again.
"Just keep it low, a'ight?"
"Gotcha!"
10 minutes later, they were all arriving. Walking forward and steadily looking at his back every 10 seconds to look at Lincoln and Ronnie Anne behind him, he noticed there wasn't even a single second they weren't holding hands "Can't keep your hands each other for a sec, eh?" he chuckled. Lincoln, upon realizing that, blushed and moved his hand away "Just try to keep it low in front of everyone, will ya?" he told them "They ought to make fun of you every second, I think"
"They won't if they know what's best for them" Ronnie Anne smirked confidently while slamming his fist as her classic, bully persona from her past emerged.
"That's the Ronnie Anne I love" Lincoln chuckled "Y'know, it's the first time in a long time you were like this, you know? When…"
"I bullied you in the wrong way of telling you I liked you?" Ronnie Anne then frowned as she remembered that too.
"Hey" Lincoln laughed as he wrapped an arm around her "It's not your fault, it never was"
"You sure?" the Latina frowned as she was nearly into tears "I smacked a Sloppy Joe into your pants, pantsed you for how so many times, pushed you, mercilessly also bullied Clyde…"
"Okay, okay, I get it" Lincoln interrupted her while still smiling "But Ronnie… nobody's perfect, you might have had your little 'flaws' in the past, but you acted like any girl who was going through parents' divorce" he gave her a reassuring smile.
"Yeah, and besides you were discriminated for being Mexican" Rod added "For less than that, back in Argentina I broke someone's nose!" he let out another bit of his past story there.
Ronnie Anne went front frowning to giving a smile weak smile as she then wiped her eye, having a little tear "Thanks you guys, you two are the best person I've ever known in your life"
"What about Sid? She's your bestie?" Lincoln pointed out.
"Yeah but she didn't give me that emotional support you two just gave to me" Ronnie Anne retorted with a sigh "I mean, yes, she's my BFF and all, but…"
"She's your BFF; end of story" Rod smiled "Best friends also count"
Ronnie Anne then smiled again "I knew what I was doing when I chose you as my other best friend as Lincoln is my boyfriend" she then took Lincoln's hand, making him blush "Shall we enter?" she chirped with a smile at Rod
Lincoln then leaned closer to her "Whenever you want, pookie" he whispered, then gave her a small peck on the cheek, making her giggle.
After brief seconds, the two the nodded at each other and then, looking forward and followed by Rod, finally entered the school. It didn't even take a split second for the three, or rather… only Lincoln and Ronnie Anne, to be the center of attention and have everyone's eyes onto them.
Rod, fearing something really bad, stood up in front "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the pairing of the century, let's all applaud them, Lincoln finally gave in and declared her love for Ronnie Anne!" he announced as he pointed at the two, as they both looked at him confusedly. He didn't want for everyone to make fun of him or anything, as he had that feeling ever since they were on the street.
Before chattering amongst each other, the other students gave in and started applauding and cheering.
Lincoln and Ronnie Anne, first confused, smiled as they, along with Rod, walked through the hallways showered with applauses "Thank you, thank you very much!" Lincoln cheered "Yeah, I am lucky to have her, woo!" he then pointed his two fingers at Clyde "Thank you bro, thank you!"
"Linky, stop it!" his girlfriend giggled as she elbowed on his chest softly "No need to be a showoff"
"Lincoln then chuckled as he looked at her "Enjoy it all you can, Ronnie, not every day we have the whole school supporting us like this" he told her "Heck, I don't even know if there's a first time we only were cheered, but also not made fun of!" he recalled the first time there was a hint where the two were a couple, the Sloppy Joe incident, Tyler and the others, even Clyde made fun of him, but this was Middle School, they've grown that already, and plus, being Lincoln, that was totally better.
But not everyone celebrated this. As soon as the cheers went off, SOMEONE from a certain place started giving slow, sarcastic applauses. Both Lincoln, Ronnie Anne and Rod turned around to look at the source, with Rod furrowing his eyebrows as he saw Chandler there, standing on his locker doing the mentioned action. He was wearing a band-aid on the bridge of his nose and had a smug expression on his face, complete with a smile and a sarcastic-like look on his eyes "Bravo, Larry, bra-vo" he muttered while still clapping.
Soon after, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne glared at him "Oh, it had to be you, right?" the Latina growled as she clenched her fist.
"Excuse me negrita, but was I talking to you?" Chandler stopped clapping and held his hands on the air "No?" he then lowered his hands "Then make like a door and shut it!"
"Hey!" Lincoln growled as he then walked forward and stood in front "Don't talk to Ronnie Anne like that!"
"Look who has the word now, eh?" Chandler was still with his expression "Really Lincoln Lame, out of ALL girls in the word, you had to be with the worst one" he chuckled evilly "I almost feel pity for you, almost"
By that point, everyone on the hallways was obviously at the trio's side, as some glared at Chandler and others just tried to ignore him "Wow…" Lincoln and Ronnie Anne surprisingly looked at their backs, Rod was there, with a coy smile as he walked forward "You REALLY are talkative, eh?" he smirked "More like Rust-eze, I see"
"Rust-eze…?" Rusty, who was witnessing the entire scene standing next to his locker, frowned and rose an eyebrow at that comment. Stella, on the other hand, who was a couple of steps back next to her locker, couldn't help but give a small giggle.
"Oh, what do we have here?" Chandler smirked back "The guy that stole my girl"
"She isn't yours, for starters" Rod countered "She never was, in fact, she was with you just because of mere curiosity"
"Curiosity, or… I earned her heart?"
"I'd say… the former" Rod replied "And now she knows what's best for her, to stay away from you, just like everyone in here should do" he remarked "Really, Chandler, all of your friends you say they are your friends, AREN'T your friends, and your goons, I dunno why the hell they follow you, but they shouldn't respect you!" he kept his smirk.
"I EARNED their respect!"
"Or bought it?" Rod retorted "Or maybe you FORCED them to follow you?"
"Don't you lecture me about respect, will ya?" Chandler brushed him off "You know no jack about respect!"
By this point, the two were close to each other enough to start a fight, as they walked a step every sentence they exchange. Rod then noticed the band-aid on his nose and the pointed at it "Doctor gave you that?" he snickered "Don't tell me I broke your nasal septum or anything"
Chandler then placed his hand on the bandaged bridge of his nose "This'll heal" he growled "But if you keep yankin' my chain, the retaliation I give to you WON'T heal not even for a year"
"Oooooh, lookie here who's threatening me" Rod sneered "I'm flattered!"
"You SHOULD fear me, alright?" Chandler smirked "I'm gonna be… your worst enemy, and BELIEVE ME when I tell you, no one wants to be Chandler McCann's enemy"
"Probably friend either" Rod shrugged, making everyone laugh.
"You guys…" Lincoln finally took initiative of the matters and, seeing that the two were getting closer, stood in between them "Don't resort to violence, this isn't you!" he then turned to glare at Chandler "Well, at least, this isn't Rod, because EVERYTHING can be expected from you, McCann"
"Don't worry, Larry, I won't hit him" Chandler smirked "Here, at least, but just you wait when the ring bells, you are dead meat"
"I wanna see you try" Rod snarled "Now, if you're gonna annoy you, let me give you ONCE piece of advice: Don't" he told him as he pointed at him with a death glare "Stay away from Lincoln, be nice and try to change for the better, cuz do believe me, I am a devout Catholic and I believe ANYONE has salvation and/or redemption, even YOU!" he sank his index finger on his chest before moving it away "Now, if you don't have ANYTHING better to do than annoy us, then make like a toilet… AND PISS OFF!" he yelled as he pointed at the opposite direction of the hallways.
Chandler, first looking at him sarcastically, then gave him a small smirk, then looked at Lincoln "Larry…" he gave a brief chuckle "You DO have some friends in here, so I'd suggest you stick with them as close as you can, because one day, you're gonna lose them, and don't come crying in here when you do, because you're a skinny loser, and NOTHING will change that!" said that, the bully turned around and started to walk away the direction Rod pointed
Ronnie Anne, fed up, stomped a few steps forward and, with a glare, watched him leave "In my book, YOU are the loser, McCann, do you hear me?!" she shrieked. Chandler replied by simply just walking, not turning around, and move his hand at his back to give Ronalda the middle finger gesture, making her growl "You son of a…!" she was about to run after him, but felt something tugging her from her hoodie. Turning around, her glare disappeared when she looked that Lincoln was looking at her, shaking his head with a concerned look on his face. Giving a huff, she started to calm down "You're right, Lincoln, he isn't worth it"
"He never was, for starters" Rod sighed "Really, do you have to deal with him EVERY WEEK?" he asked Lincoln.
"And sometimes… weekends" Lincoln sighed dejectedly "But let's not talk pretty much about it, shall we?" he then gave a smile "Let's enjoy the day!"
"Make like a toilet and piss?" Ronnie Anne giggled as she elbowed Rod's shoulder, making him chuckle "You're quite a handful, eh?"
"What can I say? My wit is as sharp as a sword! Rod smirked as he took a proud pose.
"Yeah, sure!" Ronnie Anne laughed as she rolled her eyes, then wrapped an arm around his boyfriend, then an idea popped her head "Oh! Linc, how about we have a selfie?"
"Selfie?" Lincoln got dumbfounded at what he has just heard "But isn't that too much… Lori and Bobby?" he frowned.
"Ah, who cares?" she giggled as she hugged him close to her "And besides, that was before"
"Before what?"
"Before I realized how much you are worth in my life, before I said love was for suckers, before I got the epiphany that love isn't strange to me and to you, before EVERYTHING!" she replied as Lincoln then blushed with a nervous smile "C'mon Linky!"
"Well…" Lincoln chuckled "I guess we can…"
Rod then let out a chuckle as he was about to turn around "Rodri!" he stopped as he heard the Latina's voice, then turned around to see that she was smiling at hum "You too!"
Rod then pointed at himself "Me?" his eyes widened "But… isn't it a you and Lincoln thingy?"
"Yeah well…" Ronnie Anne chuckled "You're special to me too, I would love to have a pic with you too!"
Rod then thought it for a moment, being included in a selfie? No one ever asked him for that, so his decision was clear "Nah, I'll pass" he sighed "Sorry, it's just that… it's only you two and nothing else" he muttered.
"Ah come on, Rod!" Rod got surprised at who said that: It was Lincoln, who was also smiling "A selfie of us three won't hurt, we're friends after all, right?" he offered.
Rod then took a deep breath "Oka…"
"Then say no more!" and right in an instant, Ronnie Anne walked towards Rod and pulled him towards the two. As the three were 'stuck' together, Ronnie Anne drew out her phone and aimed it for a selfie, lifting up at the air as Lincoln smiled "Say cheese!" she smiled. Rod, defeated, just looked away and gave his classic side smirk as Ronnie Anne pressed the button and took the selfie with a small flash. Luckily, none of the three blinked. Upon separating and looking at it, Ronnie Anne rose an eyebrow "Wow Rodri, you didn't…" she remarked as Lincoln also looked at it and frowned.
"Yeah…" Rod sighed "Sorry, I am not quite photogenic, so I just gave out my numb stare and such" he said apologetically.
"Well…" Ronnie Anne then smiled "It's not that bad anyways"
"Yeah!" Lincoln chuckled "You came out well, you're not ugly or anything"
"Yeah, sure" Rod laughed "Shouldn't we be in class, or something?" he quickly changed the topic.
"The bell didn't ring yet, so…"
"HEY BUSTER!"
The three, besides feeling a chill in their spine, got surprise at the sudden exclamation, with Rod being the least fazed of the trio. Upon turning around, the three immediately took a glance that Lynn Jr. was there, with her backpack and a soccer ball under her arm "Yo talkin' to me?" Rod pointed at himself while asking such stupid question.
"No, to your mother" Lynn rolled his eyes "Of course you!"
"What do you want now, Linda?" Rod sighed as he facepalmed.
"We have a score to set…" Lynn, suddenly realizing something, stopped on her tracks "Wait, how did you just call me?"
"Linda?" Rod looked at her "A good way to call you, given that your name is…"
"Whatever" Lynn huffed "We still have a score to settle, I am yet to beat you at penalties"
"Aw, come on, Linda, we played for at least more than forty shootouts and…"
"STOP… calling me Linda!" Lynn growled as she uneducatedly interrupted him.
Rod, giving a death glare, slowly walked towards Lynn. The athletic girl started to feel unnerved at each step Rod gives towards her direction as Lincoln, Ronnie Anne and any other bystander felt that too. Upon reaching her and being face to face with her, he rose a finger at her chest level "Don't you ever interrupt me again" he growled while glaring daggers at her, then poked her chest "Got it?"
Lynn then groaned as she slapped his finger away "Ah, who do you think you are to touch me that way, you…"
"SHUT UP!" Rod suddenly exclaimed nearly at the top of his lungs as there was felt a sudden aura that jettisoned everyone one step backwards, even Lunatic Lynn "Wanna know something… Linda?" Rod continued "You are the most ego-based person I've EVER met!" he snarled "You just cannot cope with the fact that there are better athletes in the world than you, you just want to win, but newsflash: YOU DON'T WIN ALWAYS!" he yelled nearly at the top of his lungs again as Lynn got fazed more and more with each word "No matter how good you are, there will ALWAYS be someone better than you, and if you don't wanna learn that, just… stop playing sports and dedicate your time to something else, or else go when and cry to your house just because of the fact that a Latino beat you in a sport, as if that were a big deal AT ALL!" by the time Rod finished, Lynn was almost totally 'white in fear' and slightly shaking. Rod, realizing that he was being looked at in shock by everyone, as in, looking around at his sides, took a deep breath "Listen…" he finally calmed himself down "If we play and you beat me, will you stop annoying me?" he grumbled.
It was the first time someone treated her that way, since she was the strongest girl in school, and because of that since Ronnie Anne was no longer on these lands, she was considered the toughest girl in school. But Rod just broke that hegemony she had over being an 'apex predator', the biggest bully, if that can be said. As she finally regained composure, she took her turn to speak as she then glared at him "Talk to me like that again, and I'll…"
"You what?" Rod growled as he regained control of the conversation again "You're gonna take advantage of your position of hall monitor?" he spat "Or you're gonna hit me?" he gave a smirk at that "I dunno if you know, but we have the same strength, and since I am a man and you a woman, I'll have no struggle in grabbing you and twisting an arm on you, so if you dare to TRY to hit me, so help me… I am gonna dislocate your arm so hard, you'll retire from baseball or whatever THE FUCK sport you play, capisce?!" during that speech, Rod poked her chest with his index finger again, this time with enough strength to make her take a few steps back
Lynn got again fazed again. This was curiously the first time she ever met her match. No one could believe what they watched: The new kid just finally stood against Lynn loud Jr., FUCKING LYNN LOUD JR.! No one ever on his or her life dared to antagonize her that way, and doing that was too much considering that she could either beat someone to a pulp or turn him or her into a human pretzel just as Lori always threatened to do but literally couldn't. Upon calming herself down again, she gave another glare "YOU'RE AWFUL!" she shrieked at him, and then turned his back at him and walked away.
"Ya ya ya, fuck you too!" Rod growled as she saw her walk away from him after she ended the conversation in a classic, Lynn style. Everyone around was terribly shocked at what they saw. Did the just saw what they saw? Someone actually insulted Lynn and got away from it without having a broken bone or a missing teeth just like anybody else's case? Not even Lincoln could understand it, and he knows his sister like the palm of his hand, as she's the closest sister to him of all ten.
Lincoln then walked towards Rod, who was still fuming in anger and his fists clenched. The albino-haired boy then placed a hand on his shoulder to which Rod, feeling that, slowly turned around to look at him "Whoah Rod, in my entire life I never ever saw someone trash-talk to Lynn like that and not go get a retaliation, you surprise me!"
"Yeah!" the two then realized that Ronnie Anne was there too, walking towards them "Lynn was always a hot-headed ego-maniacal, it was about time someone taught her a lesson!"
Rod, calming himself down one step at a time, took a HUGE breath before answering "SOMEBODY had to do it, if she's like that every time, she souled learn she's not above anybody else, neither academically nor athletically" he explained as he then turned around to face the two "I'm sorry you had to see me do that, Lincoln, but…"
"No no!" Lincoln smiled "What you did wasn't wrong AT ALL" he assured him with a smile "But next time, treat her A LITTLE more decently" he told him "I'd say… 20% more" he added.
"Not… promising you anything" Rod sighed.
"At least try?"
"I guess I can" Rod sighed dejectedly as he frowned and rubbed his arm in despondency.
"Well, I'd be very thankful if you do, wouldn't want to you end up hating my sisters and my sisters hating you" Lincoln told him.
"Yeah… right" Rod nodded, still unsure.
Fast-forwarding from Mrs. Salter's class to lunch...
The Action News gang (Yeah, that's how I like to call it) plus Rod was sitting and eating happily on their table. Lincoln was eating his classic sauerkraut sandwich, Clyde was with some homemade sandwiches his fathers made for him, Liam was with a SPAM-like canned food, Zach was eating some boiled egg, alien-themed, Rusty was with Mac and Cheese, and Stella was sipping onto her milk carton with a straw. Rod, on the other hand, was eating a burger "So…" after a long silence of eating, Rusty began the conversation "Guys, there's a friend, who…"
"Aw Rusty, not again with that!" Zach chuckled as he was eating his eggs with a fork "Third time in the month!" he pointed out "Who's the 'lucky' girl now, eh?" he coyly smirked and elbowed his shoulder.
"Aw, what's it to ya anyways?" Rusty scoffed "Really, I would love some tips for this one, a'ight? Don't wanna mess it… well… top five!"
Lincoln finished his sandwich as he cleaned himself with a paper napkin "Besides just being yourself?" he commented "Oh wait, that didn't work either, Polly Pain SURELY loved nerdy Rusty"
"Hey!" Rusty frowned.
"How about a look change? That haircut and freckles might have to go" Clyde commented.
"Nah, he tried that the second girl, didn't either" Lincoln laughed, but noticed that Rod was in silence, eating his burger "How about you, Rod?"
Rod stopped munching "Ah?"
"Got any tips for Rusty and his new 'lucky girl'?" Zach elbowed Rusty again as he looked at Rod.
"SERIOUSLY!" Rusty growled "I never shoulda had to ask you for help!" he spat "And also, why would I love to receive love tips from someone whose girlfriend DIED?!"
Break point.
Everyone on the table gasped with their eyes widened as they looked at Rusty and his so bad comment. Those looks took at least 5 seconds from being shock to death glares "Rusty… NOT. COOL" Lincoln growled.
What was Rod's reaction? Well, besides utter silence and perfect concealment of feelings broken, Rod just simply stood up, grabbed his lunch bag and burger, turned around, and silently walked away as the others still glared 'death daggers' at Rusty "Rusty, I can't just believe you sometimes!" Stella finally spoke with a snarl as she then stood up and grabbed her lunch tray "You're a terrible person!" and after saying that, got off her bench and walked away from the table with her tray. This was followed by Liam, who threw another insult, then Zach, Clyde, and finally… Lincoln. Rusty then sat there, on the table, totally alone as he rested his arms on the table and buried his face on them.
"Gotdammit…"
Rod luckily found, out of many others, a perfect spot to sit, an empty table that was far away from any other person's table. Ronnie Anne, who was not permitted to have lunch from the school but was allowed to stay, saw that the gang was separating, each one going to different tables. The Latina then walked towards his boyfriend "Lincoln, what happened? Wha…?"
"Why don't you ask Rusty 'Mouthful' Spokes?" Lincoln grumbled as he sighed and tried to regain contempt to respond to his girlfriend kindly "Or shall I call him… 'Loose lips'?"
"Oh, what the heck did Rusty said this time?" Ronnie Anne growled as she slammed her fist on her palm firmly "Just wait until I get him, i…"
"No… Ronnie… no" Lincoln sighed "I believe that having a timeout from us and alienate him for the rest of the day is enough punishment, no need for violence or anything" he told her. Timeout, they implemented this new rule: Each time somebody, most occasionally Rusty, says something harmful to any friend, this case Rod, the gang alienates him for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, Rod didn't know that rule yet.
"Timeout? What the…?"
"Ronnie… trust me" Lincoln rose a hand "Just don't talk to Rusty 'til tomorrow just as we're not gonna do so, okay?"
Ronnie Anne, still fuming in anger and shaking her fists softly, then took a deep breath and exhaled deeply "Okay, but if he did say something bad about Rod, I'll…"
"So what if he did?" Lincoln interrupted as that sparked a flare in the Latina's fire anger "Beating him up wouldn't be the solution, Ronnie, trust me" Lincoln sighed "Just let it flow, and don't waste your last days here just because some mouthful comments from a jerk like Rusty as if you don't know already how he is always!" he told her "And besides, if anything, Rod should take retaliatory actions, not you"
"You…" Ronnie Anne then sighed again "Are right, Rod should kick his ass!"
"But he won't, knowing how he is" Lincoln then sat on an empty table that was closer to others, with Ronnie following suit.
"Rusty is surely lucky to mess with someone who has a golden patience, then" Ronnie Anne commented.
"I wouldn't say… golden, but yeah, Rod took worse insults than that one he just got from Rusty"
"What did he ever tell HIM offensive?"
"You don't wanna know, next topic please"
"Linky…"
Ronnie Anne then tugged into Lincoln's polo shirt arm, making him turn around. The Latina was sporting something new: Some cute puppy eyes with a small frown, accompanied by a soft whimpering "Please?"
"Puppy eyes, really?!" Lincoln gulped as his eyes widened, to which Ronnie Anne, not stopping with the stare and whimper, nodded "Not that, Ronnie, please, I can't tell you!" he tried to resist, to no avail "Oh, alright, but stop it already!" he finally gave up, to which she obeyed "It seems that Rusty is after another girl, and…"
"What a way to waste time, eh?" Ronnie chuckled "Seriously, who would EVER date that weirdo?"
"… And when we suggested Rod could give him some tips…"
Meanwhile, Rod was on his table, with his burger, almost finishing it, munching with a numb expression on his face, as he got a surprise: Stella, who was the first to walk away from his abrasive friend. Rod looked in visually silent shock as Stella, with her tray, placed it on the table and sat next to Rod "Hi…" she muttered "Sorry, I should've asked first, can i…?" she was about to stand up again.
"It's a free country" Rod was still munching his hamburger "I hope" his reassuring words, the first ones, not the last ones, made Stella smile and sit down comfortingly next to Rod.
"Sorry, it's just that I had something on my chest and I wanted to get it off and tell someone, and it seems that you're more trustworthy than…"
"Why not Zach, Liam, Clyde, or…?"
"Lincoln?" Stella interrupted as she knew what he was gonna say "No, Lincoln is the least person I could tell"
"Why?"
"Can i… keep it to myself?" Rod then rose an eyebrow and, still munching, simply pointed his finger at a table next to him, signaling her to get out. Stella just let out a big sigh of nearly exasperation "Okay, okay…" she furrowed her eyebrows "I liked Lincoln ever since a long time and I wanted to seize the perfect moment to tell him, and just when I was about to make a move, I got checkmated by Ronnie Anne!" she explained "Dumb me, I shoulda had taken the chance while I could!"
"Wouldn't… have worked, tho"
"Huh?" Stella then looked at Rod confusedly "What's that?"
"Lincoln liked Rona ever since a long time, since when they went to elementary school" Rod explained as he swallowed the last of his lunch burger and cleaned himself with a napkin.
"I find that hard to believe" Stella sighed as she shook her head "One time when I was the new girl, the entire gang went onto me, and I felt overwhelmed so I chose none, and we ultimately became the friends group you see now" she told him, remembering that… incident "And if that was true, and I give faith that it is, then Lincoln may have had a crush on me at least at some point"
"True that" Rod nodded "But what are the chances that when you settled it all… he didn't remember his love for Rona, didn't you ever think that?"
"And when he was crushing on me along with the other boys?" she still pointed out that fact "You're telling me it was an hybrid? That she fell in love with me and was still loving Ronnie Anne all at the same time?"
"Stella…" Rod sighed "Us men… are quite hard to understand" he told her "We DO NOT know what we want, and mind can easily play tricks on us" he slowly wiped his hand on his nose as a tic he had "What am I saying is… yeah, maybe Lincoln HAD a crush on you, but… that was at a time where he and Rona were friends, what if it actually took YOU rejecting him in order to realize that his true soulmate is Rona?"
"But…"
"And plus, you rejected him, so you're telling me you like him? How come you don't like Liam, or Zach, or even Clyde?"
"Well, uh… those three are kind and gentle, but…" Stella then sighed "Lincoln has a special something that makes him unique" she then opened her eyes wide "Wait, how the heck do you know ALL of that?" she gaped in awe. "Last thing I remember, you didn't know no jack about Lincoln's life"
"When you earn Lincoln Loud's trust, he tells you EVERYTHING"
"Well, anyways…" Stella sighed "That doesn't solve the problem" she rested her arms on the table and rested her chin on them "Thing is… I still have a thing for Lincoln, but knowing that I'll never have him, well…"
Rod suddenly and slowly interrupted her by placing a hand on her shoulder, making her raise up her head to look at him "It's part of life, believe me, there's plenty other fish on the sea"
"But no one will be Lincoln"
"And I cannot argue that cuz I am still mourning for Gabriela and always think the same when a girl chance appears in my life" Rod sighed with a nod "But anyways, try to enjoy the most with him as friends, don't let the love demons annoy you and see him only as a friend, because he sees you as that, a good friend" he assured him "And the least likely probability, worst case scenario, for them… the might break up and you may have a chance, but I DO NOT endorse that chance by ANY way" he told her "Just… try to enjoy him as a friend as much as you can"
"It will be hard, but I guess I can try" Stella then smiled as she then turned to look at Rod, and placed a hand on his lap "I knew you were the ideal person to tell you this" she stared at his eyes "Thanks for the advice, Rod" she smiled.
"Anytime" Rod muttered.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! CRAZY BITCH!"
"Ronnie, don't!"
That loud shriek echoed through the entire cafeteria as everyone then turned their attention to the source: It was Rusty, who was being pinned onto the ground by Ronnie Anne, who had one foot stomping onto his sternum, laying on his back. He also had a blackeye "Who the hell you just think you are saying THAT to Rodri?!"
"Leave me alone, dawg! I didn't mean to!"
"Oh really? Well, I don't mean THIS then!" and raising a foot, she prepared to give a stomp that would probably break Rusty's sternum and rib cage.
"RONA!"
But she was stopped in her tracks when she heard that familiar voice, that familiar, friendly and recomforting voice, his best friend's voice: Rod. But it was an exclamation. Ronnie Anne then turned her head to look at Rod, who was near them, staring at her sternly "R-Rodri?"
"That's enough, Rona" Rod snarled "He suffered enough!"
"But he disrespected your dead girlfriend, he…"
"It takes more than that to make him deserve a beating, Rona" Rod sighed "Let. Him. Go"
Ronnie Anne reached an impasse with Rod, so she just complied, sighing deeply and moving herself away from Rusty, who was groaning in pain and holding his eye in said pain.
"What the blazes is going on in here?!"
That voice came from Principal Ramírez. She was casually passing by when Rusty's yelp of pain rang as an alarm on her ears, so she decided to investigate "Young lady, what did you do to Spokes?" she pointed her finger at Ronnie Anne while glaring at her.
"She insulted Rod, so…"
"So? Is THAT even a reason to act violently?" the headmistress growled as she then walked towards a battered Rusty, crouched down and inspected him "Spokes, you okay?"
"Of course I am not effin' okay, principal, she just punched me just because I mentioned Rod's dead girlfriend!" Rusty growled as he was being helped up by Ramírez.
The headmistress, realizing Rod was near her, looked at him "Is that true, Damiani?"
"Totally" Rod sighed "Bu that wasn't reason for so much violence, I mean, yeah, Rusty can be a slick son of a…"
"ENOUGH!" Principal Ramírez exclaimed as she then got up, then looked at Ronnie Anne "I knew I shoulda had to trust my judgement and say no when Loud asked me if you could pay us a visit in these installations just because you're his girlfriend!"
"Principal Ramírez, i…"
"No…" she interrupted him by raising his hand at her "I don't want any more explanations, you are to leave this establishment and not to come back, am I clear?" she growled.
"But…"
"AM. I. CLEAR?" she snarled.
Ronnie Anne, crestfallen, then let out a deep breath "Yes, ma'am…" and with that said, and with slightly noticeable tears on her eyes and still with her head hung low, she started to walk away from the cafeteria.
"Ronnie…!" Lincoln stopped her as she stood in front of her "Don't…"
"No, Lincoln… no" Ronnie Anne sighed "I'll see you outside when classes end for today" Ronnie Anne murmured nearly inaudibly, but his boyfriend luckily heard him "I'm sorry, I never shoulda had… I did let myself got for my former bully persona" her years on her eyes were easily noticeable by the naked eye at that moment "Just… we'll talk later, okay?"
"Ronnie…"
"PLEASE, LINCOLN!" she whimpered as she rose a hand. With that said, she then continued her way towards the exit of the cafeteria until she finally left the room and most surely, the building.
Rod, as he witnessed the entire scene, then turned around to glare at Rusty, who was sitting there, still with his black eye and slight pain on the chest "Damiani…" he then looked at the headmistress upon hearing that stern tone of voice "Mind if I ask you to take Spokes to the infirmary?"
"Why me?"
"Just… do it"
Rod then sighed as he walked towards Rusty, crouched down, grabbed him by his arm and lifted him, helping him up "I should finish what Rona was doing to you for all of this you caused, but here I am, saving your sorry ass from becoming even worse" he muttered inaudibly to Principal Ramírez, but clearly hearable for Rusty.
"Noted, no more mention of your girlfriend from now on"
"All I ask"
Rod then, holding hm by the arm wrapped onto his neck, started to escort Rusty out of the room, towards the infirmary.
"What a jerk…" Girl Jordan, silent through the ENTIRE ordeal, saw how Rod was taking his wounded 'friend' all the way towards of the door, with her arms closed and a glare.
"Yeah… totally" Stella seconded with a nod.
"Thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four…!" voices echoed through the gymnasium.
"Sorry i am late, class, i had..." Coach Keck, entering the gymnasium, saw that her students, all fitted with their P.E. class uniforms, all congregated in a small crowd. Upon seeing this, she glared at them "What the heck is going on? Class! To your positions!" she stomped her foot, but none of them were listening, they were just counting and counting "This'll better be important!" the coach then walked towards the crowd, and squeezing through, she got into the center "What the heck is go…?" but suddenly stopped, eyes widened as she saw the source of the commotion.
Rod was, implicitly on his P.E. uniform, doing keep-ups with a soccer ball, a classic white with black spots. Kicking it to the air smoothly, he was having such a precious ball control as he was giving slow kicks with his foot's instep, tip, and also with his tights and legs occasionally, all while everyone was still counting, and Clyde was curiously filming him with his phone. With a slight head move, he turned to look at Coach Keck "Oh, sorry coach, I just… saw a ball, and I thought… I could do some tricks!" he said between intervals. For an autistic person, multitasking in precisely those kind of things was pretty hard. Imagine trying to do keep-ups while maintaining a conversation with someone.
"Well I'll be!" Coach Keck, with a smirk, put on an akimbo "Never thought you were into football, sport!"
"It's just… a hobby!"
All while everyone was still counting "Sixty-three, sixty-four, sixty-five!"
"Just on the sixties? Heck, that didn't get near Loud's record!" Coach Keck chuckled.
"What's… her record?"
"Two hundred and sixty-nine"
"He's already in three hundred and seventy, coach!" Stella, still smiling, looked at the coach.
"WHAT?!" she gasped.
"We've been filming him for almost ten minutes straight before you arrived, he pulverized Lynn's record already!" Clyde still aimed his phone at Rod while looking at the now shocked teacher.
"Are you telling me…?!" Coach Keck pointed at Rod "That this fella already broke Lynn Loud's record of 269?!" she exclaimed at the top of her lungs.
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"
I bet you may know from who did that came from. Lynn quickly stormed in the scene after hearing such daringly bold words from the coach "Have I heard right?! SOMEBODY BROKE MY KEEP-UPS RECORD?!"
"Loud, calm down, it's no…"
"No, Coach, NO!" Lynn shrieked "There's only ONE person who can beat my own record, and I see it every time I comb my hair at the mirror every morning!"
"Loud, it's not a big deal, you can…"
"WHO IS IT?" Coach Keck's words weren't important. As Lynn growled that, everyone moved away to reveal Rod still doing the keep ups all while Clyde was still filming even through he was already scared by Lynn "You…!" she started to stomp towards him.
"Don't interrupt him, Lynn, he's going for the four hundred!" let's not forget the fact that they were still counting, or at least… Jordan was. She was still looking and counting "FOUR HUNDRED!" she suddenly cried in joy.
Upon hearing that, Rod, reaching the 400, did a foot maneuver, holding the ball with his instep, then kicked it away forwards at the air.
"AWWWWWW!" everyone echoed in disappointment.
"Bro, you coulda had gone for more" Clyde pouted as he lowered his phone and prepared to press the squared stop recording button on it.
Rod, seeing that, placed a hand on the African-American boy and held it up "Wait for it…" he aimed his phone camera at their right and pointed at it with his finger.
Everyone, looking at the direction that Rod was pointing, went from disappointment to surprise when they saw that the ball was flying above the basketball pitch all the way around to the hoop far away "Oh my goodness!"
"No waaaay!"
"Is he gonna…?"
Their suspicions were true when the ball casually landed and entered the hoop on a nearly perfect score "OOOOOOOOOOOH!" they all echoed as the ball then landed on the ground, bouncing a few times before stopinc static. Lynn felt frozen at that, like… totally. Did somebody not only break her record, but pull something like that?
"That has to be more than three points, man!" Liam chuckled.
Everyone then applauded at such stunt. Everyone… except Lynn, as she was glaring at Rod while he chuckled nervously as he didn't want to be the center of attention. Amidst the glare, she then gave a smirk as she then started to clap in a slow, sarcastic way "Bravo, braaaavo" he sneered. The applauses then ended as they heard those two words delivered in such tone of voice. Everybody turned around to look at Lynn, who was still clapping "Really, Rod, such a big trick you pulled!"
"What can I say? I love spo…"
"But I can do better than that!" she interrupted, snarling.
Rod then let out a huff "Not again, Linda, haven't you lear…?"
"DON'T CALL ME LINDA!" she shrieked "What makes you think you can come here and believe you're better than me, huh?!"
"Lynn…" his brother, fazed by his sister's reaction, walked in between the two "Really, Rod wasn't trying"
"Oh, don't you lie to me, Stinkoln!" she growled "He's stealing the spotlight from me, I was considered the best before he appeared with his goalkeeper abilities OR THIS!"
"Ah can't you just get over that?" Rod growled "I am not trying to prove anything, even less to you!" he spat "I don't wanna be better than anyone in here, I just felt I could kick a ball, that is all!"
Lynn then smirked "If that's the case, then allow me to prove that you're no match for me"
"Oh, dah dah!" Rod huffed as he rolled his eyes.
"No, I am gonna show you something that even YOU cannot surpass!" Lynn then rose her hand and snapped her finger. Seconds passed, and silence was in the room, Lynn, angered, snapped her finger again. Again, nothing happened as she started to fume out in anger "BALL!" she shrieked.
"Lynn, what do…?"
"I SAID PASS ME A GODDARNED BALL!" she exclaimed. Her status as Royal Woods Middle School's best athlete gave her some… privileges, such as getting someone fetch a ball for her just with snapping her fingers.
"Fetch one for yourself!"
Everyone gasped as they looked at Rod, who was the one who said that. By that time, Lynn's forehead's vein was already bloating as she was starting to get enraged with her fists clenched at such daring response "N-No need to anger, Lynn, h-here!" Lynn looked at her side to see that Clyde was next to her, with a basketball on his hands, the handed it to her
"Thank you Clyde, you REALLY are a gentleman" Lynn smiled as she glared at Rod at teh REALLY part, then grabbed the ball from Clyde's hands "Now watch this, feller!" she, still glaring at him, then walked towards the middle of the basketball pitch.
"Give me a break" Rod rolled his eyes.
"Loud, what are you…?"
"Look at this, coach, EVERYONE!" upon getting at the center of the pitch, she turned around to make her back face the hoop, then closed her eyes. She was at half court from the hoop, around a dozen meters from it-
"Oooooh, she's gonna do it!" Clyde hastily grabbed his phone, opened the camera app and aimed it at Lynn, starting to film her.
"Do what?"
Lynn, taking a deep breath, moved her arms upwards with the basketball on her hands, then blindly tossed it at her back with an unmeasurable strength. Rod rose an eyebrow as he saw that the ball's arc trajectory was directly gonna reach the hoop. The ball accurately got into the hoop and entered in another clean score "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!" everyone went crazy as Lynn, hearing that and then opening her eyes to look at the basketball reaching the ground and bouncing a few times before stopping, then smirked as she looked at everyone, who went from applauding Rod… to applaud her, filled with pride.
"Nice shot Loud that was one in a million!" even Coach Keck was applauding.
"Thank you, thank you, Lynn Loud Jr. for you, thank you so much" as Lynn walked forwards towards them, she smirked at Rod "Try and top that" she laughed.
Rod just shook his head, then spoke "You're are one competitive bitch, I cannot measure how big your ego is, I highly doubt you'll have a boyfriend and marry him in the future" he sighed "Really, what the hell is YOUR problem?!"
"You're just jealous of my skills" she cackled.
"No, I am not!" Rod growled "Look, for all I care, I'll just stop doing those tricks so you won't whine like a baby and try to prove something that DOESN'T needs to be proven!" he held his hands.
"That's right, remember who's the champion in here and you'll do well in these lands" Lynn victoriously gave a final smirk before walking confidently towards the exit of the gymnasium.
"Okay class, show's over!" Coach Keck, who was still there, both astounded by Lynn's shot but still compromised to her job, interrupted everything "Let's just focus on the class now, okay?" she then gave out a few claps "Okay people, let's start with the warm up, I want you to do small jogs around the pitch, I want 20 laps all around the pitch, alright?" she ordered "Come on, move!"
Everyone then obeyed their teacher's order as the crowd dissolved and they went on to do as ordered, starting to jog "Dude, really" Rod, who was next to Lincoln, sighed "What the FUCK is your sister's problem?" he growled.
"Ah, classic Lynn, she cannot stand someone being better, she just wants to be the best"
Those words were the last exchanged between the two before the exercise session commenced and the two both started to jog all as ordered.
Several minutes later, as classes finished for the day, Rod was on his locker, saving up his stuff in his backpack before closing it and wrapping his backpack on his back. Upon hearing his locker's door close sound, he had an uneasy feeling, as if… something was missing. He then opened the locker door, implicitly putting the combination first, then closed it. He repeated that action a few times before, catching the attention of Lincoln who was on his locker in front, stopped "What's the matter, Rod?" he mused as he walked towards him.
"I believe… something's missing"
"What do you mean?"
"Well… I dunno, but… as in something that happened every day, as a routine… didn't happen today" Rod replied. Lincoln was thoughtful for a moment.
"Ah, we'll probably remember later" he suddenly brushed it off "Come one, let's go, I wanna see Ronnie Anne"
Rod then frowned upon hearing Ronnie Anne's name. He felt indirectly responsible for her getting banned from that school, as he thought that every minute she passed without his boyfriend Lincoln… was critical "Yeah, let's" he nodded with a sigh.
As the two were walking through the hallways, Lincoln noticed Rod's frown as they went on "Something wrong, Rod?"
"Wha, huh?" Rod realized that his friend noticed his preoccupated expression on his face, then smiled "No, it's nothing, really" he chuckled "Come on, let's go!"
But Lincoln still had that uneasy expression on his face as he knew that THERE WAS something going on with his new friend.
Upon reaching the school's exit, it didn't even take a second for the two to spot Ronnie Anne, who was sitting at the school's stairway "Ronnie Anne!"
Hearing that peculiar white-haired boy's exclamation, Ronnie Anne went from sad to giving an ear-to-ear smile as she then got up "Hi Linky" the two then walked towards each other and went into a hug "D'ya miss me?" she whispered
"Like you can't ever imagine" Lincoln whispered back as he hugged her tightly.
"Listen…" Ronnie Anne then broke out from the hug "I am sorry for that thing I pulled, I guess if I didn't force you to tell me that, i…"
"Don't blame yourself" Lincoln interrupted her as she raised an eyebrow at him "You were just trying to defend your friend, I woulda had done the same for you if you were in a situation like that" he smiled at her.
"Really?" Ronnie Anne's mouth gaped in awe.
"Yes" Lincoln nodded "And I know I am a noodle-armed non-violent guy, but even I can have my limits"
"Well, I am yet to see that" Ronnie Anne giggled as she playfully punched his arm, an iconic interaction between the two.
Rod looked at the two together with a smile, remembering how he was when he was at their age (A/N: He's 14 and they're 12, remember?). As he was about to take a few steps down, he felt something in his head that knocked him a few steps forward. Losing his balance, he fell to the ground with a yelp "AH!"
As Lincoln and Ronnie Anne surprisingly turned around as their moment was interrupted, they saw Rod on the ground, face down "Rodri!" Ronnie Anne yelped as she and Lincoln immediately rushed towards their fallen friend "Rodri, are you okay?!" she nearly shrieked as she and Lincoln slowl7 started to help him up.
"Been… worse" Rod grumbled as he, with the help of his arms, and his two friends, slowly got up, grunting in pain.
"What did…?" Ronnie Anne, looking at Rod's back, then furrowed her eyebrows to see certain someone at the top of the stairway, with an akimbo and an evil smirk "Chandler…" she growled as she instantly recognized the 'felon' and clenched her fists in anger.
"Toldja I was gonna beat you down after school!" Chandler cackled as he saw that Rod was turning around to also glare at him, rubbing his face in and still grumbling n pain, the fall and landing on his face.
"How brave you are" Rod muttered "Attacking from the back, that's low, McCann, even for you!"
"All's fair in war and love" Chandler still laughed with a shrug.
"Oh, do believe me…" Rod took a step forward "If we were in a war, you'd really, REALLY be sorry right now"
"Blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda" Chandler made the 'blah blah blah' gesture with his hand "Why don't you come here and say that to my face, eh?"
"I nearly broke your nose AND took your girlfriend away from you all in a single day, why don't you go annoy someone else?" that comment from the Latino erased Chandler's smirk on his face as he then glared at him "Oh, what's the matter, did I made you cry by reminding you the fact that your girlfriend likes me much more than yourself?" he snarled.
"Don't you get Jordan in this!" he clenched his fists, trembling in rage.
"And for the record, I kissed her when you weren't looking" he cackled "Sweet lips, mwah" he made a 'blow a kiss' gesture with his hand.
"You son of a…!" Chandler immediately dashed towards him; his fist raised on the air prepared to take a punch on him.
"Yes, come to papa…" Rod prepared his fist.
"ENOUGH!"
As Chandler was gonna reach Rod, Lincoln, who was stunned at the entire scene but regained focus upon seeing Chandler's reaction, stood in between the two, one hand restraining Chandler from advancing, the other stopping Rod to get close to Chandler "Don't fight" he then looked at Rod "Rod, you're better than this jerk, you shouldn't wast…"
"Let him try, Lincoln, he will lose two teeth this time" Rod had his fist steady to be used.
"Yeah, Larry!" Chandler scoffed "Feel lucky I wouldn't fight YOU, because it was that case, you'd be paste in some seconds, so make like a ball and bounce!" he growled.
Lincoln turned around to look at Chandler with a warning glare "Chandler, don't…"
"Your girlfriend's right, you cannot snap even a toothpick, Loud" Chandler smirked.
"Don't…"
"Come on, Larry, you can come up with a better…"
"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UUUUUP!"
"Huh?"
Chandler soon felt grabbed from behind. It was Ronnie Anne, who, running and fed up already, yanked Chandler by his neck and pulled him backwards towards her "I am gonna break you in two" she sneered at him as Chandler struggled to be set free.
"Leave… me… ALONE!" between gags and coughs, Chandler, with his free hands, strongly pushed Ronnie Anne away from him. Releasing him, Ronnie Anne gave a yelp as she then fell backwards and to the ground, landing on her butt and giving a small yelp of pain.
Lincoln, eyes widened as he saw that, it was the last straw "OH NO, YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO ME, BUT I'LL NEVER EVER LET ANYONE LAY A SINGLE HAND ON RONNIE ANNE, ESPECIALLY YOU!"
Chandler, chuckling evilly as he then turned around at Lincoln, smirked, walking towards him "And what are you gonna do, eh? You lo…"
BAM!
Even Rod got surprised as both he and Ronnie Anne, who was getting up, saw how Lincoln, his concealed hand slowly formed a fist, suddenly stroke Chandler on a direct hit on his face. Chandler, giving a small grunt and a tooth flying away from his mouth, felt his pupils move a little upwards before slowly taking a few steps back from t he hit, then losing consciousness and falling to the ground. That hit made Lincoln's hand tremble in nearly-extreme pain as he looked at it, shaking. Grunting in pain and closing it, he placed his other hand on it as he held it in pain "Lincoln!" his girlfriend, who saw him and reacted, dashed towards him as he still had pain on his hand "Lincoln…?"
Lincoln, grunting in pain and his hand still trembling, slowly rose up his head to meet eye contact with the Latina "Are you… okay?" he asked between grunts, additionally gasping as the amount of strength he had to put in order to do that punch, combined by his anger of seeing his girl being antagonized, left him without air somehow.
"Lincoln. You…" Ronnie Anne, still shocked, pointed a finger at her "You knocked out Chandler…?"
"I have to see it to believe it" Rod nodded as he joined the conversation, walking towards the two "Nice shot, that was one on a million!" he emulated what Coach Keck remarked earlier.
"Dang…" Lincoln grunted in pain as he then crouched down in one knee to the ground.
Ronnie Anne, seeing this, did the same to check on his boyfriend "Lincoln, are you okay?!"
Nonetheless, the albino-haired boy sported a smirk as he chuckled "I guess I won't play videogames for a while" he cracked a joke "At least I knocked off some sense on that jerk"
"I think… you did more than that" Rod laughed as he saw Chandler, unconscious on the ground "Do I see blood coming out of his nose?"
Lincoln then took a deep breath "Sorry Ronnie, lost control for a while, shouldn't…"
"No, you did what you must, Linc" Lincoln was interrupted as he looked up, to face Rod, who offered a hand to him. Lincoln, smiling, accepted the hand and then, with his help, got up again "First time I see you stand up to him" he smiled "Even through he is a poser and he has nothing on both you or me, he just has a big mouth, all bark and no bite"
"Darn, Linc…" Ronnie Anne sighed "We better go to your house and check on that hand, if it hurts a lot I fear it got injured or worse, knowing you"
"Knowing me?" Lincoln chuckled.
"Yeah, NOODLE, knowing you!" Ronnie Anne didn't want, but chuckled while responding.
"Yeah well, at least I gave that jerk a comeuppance" Lincoln laughed "Come on, I feel like eating a sandwich" he smiled as he, with his non-injured hand, took Ronnie Anne by her hand.
"Eh, this is where we part ways for the day" Rod told the two "I've got some business to attend, guys so… see ya tomorrow, I guess" he then turned around.
"Rod, wait!" Rod then turned back to look at the two "Don't you wanna… hang out or something?" Lincoln asked.
Rod then chuckled "Nah, you two enjoy the day, I am done with socializing for now" he told them "Y'know? Asperger stuff?" he chuckled "But don't worry, I promise I'll be with you two guys tomorrow when you go back to Great Lakes City to say my goodbyes" he assured her "I mean, not goodbye goodbye as in forever, but… well… you know it already" he chuckled.
"Okay then , I'll take your word" Ronnie Anne smiled "Smell ya later, Rodri"
"Not If i…"
"Smell you first" Lincoln interrupted, completing the phrase.
"Yeah, well…" Rod then rose a hand to salute them "Peace" and those were his final words before turned his back at them and walked away from the scene.
Ronnie Anne then turned to look at his boyfriend "Now come on, let's heal up this wound"
"Pookie, I already told you, it's not such a big deal" Lincoln chuckled "And besides, since when you do know medicine?"
"Really?" Ronnie Anne deadpanned with a cold expression on his face "My mother's a nurse? My father's a doctor? Ring a bell?"
"Guess you're right" Lincoln chuckled.
Ronnie Anne, laughing, shook her head "Lame-o, you're sometimes dumb, do you know that?" she rolled her eyes.
"But I am YOUR dumb!"
True that. The two then shared a laugh before walking away from the scene, leaving a still unconscious Chandler, who at that point was still 'seeing stars'.
Rod was walking through the streets, thoughtful. Another day, another weird stuff that happened. Royal Woods was indeed a nice place to be, if by nice you mean that it was a place where ANYTHING could ever happen. He was pondering what would ever happen in the forthcoming days, all in utter uncertainty.
Aaaaaaaand… here we finish ANOTHER chapter. Again, I am sorry that this one took two months, but as I said, life and other projects 'grabbed me by the balls', and I am still not done with that pending script I am writing, as of now, January 21st. But I'll try to not to be slow on the next one. See you guys on the next chapter!