Archive of Our Own ^beta

It’s a beautiful day in Royal Woods as the citizens are going their merry way, enjoying the nice mild summer breeze as kids are either playing in the park or in the arcades, some families are hosting barbecues, and old Flip is trying to scam his customers with a knock-off product.

“HEY!!!”

But among the many happy citizens and families enjoying their day, one specific neighborhood in Royal Woods, there was one infamous family known for being huge and LOUD that are currently not having the same opportunity to enjoy the day as most of them are still recovering or grounded from their disastrous beach resort trip.

“Alright, girls! Up, front and center!” Rita shouts from downstairs.

After a few seconds of being summoned by their mother, all nine of the Loud Sisters made their way downstairs as Lori, Leni, Lynn Jr., and Lola made their way down with ease, but looking visibly upset. However, the same can’t be said for the rest of the girls as Luna, Luan, Lucy, Lana, and Lisa as they made their way downstairs awkwardly and slowly as some were still either painfully sore from their injuries or still wearing casts.

“Ugh… yes, mom?” Lori asks in a defeated tone.

“Just thought that I’d remind you girls that tomorrow, your father and I will be waking you all up extra early tomorrow to drop you off at Aunt Ruth’s house since you’re all still grounded… well, except for you, Luna.” Rita answers as Luna gives her a thumbs-up.

“Oh, come on, mom! It’s been two and a half weeks since we got in trouble back at the beach! Why do we still have to be punished and why does Luna get off easy!?” Lola yells in anger.

“Got off easy!? I ran into a metal pole at full force, all because I didn’t keep my eye on broody, filthy, and big brain! I’m concussed, I’m still feeling dizzy, and I have serious short-term memory loss… and I have serious short-term memory loss!” Luna responds.

All the Loud Sisters and Rita wince as for the past two weeks since their return from the beach, Luna’s concussion indeed caused her to have some severe memory loss to the point where it has led to some very uncomfortable moments when any of them try to make conversation with her, nor did it help that during one stay at Aunt Ruth’s, the concussion and memory loss was made even worse when Aunt Ruth ordered Leni to kill a bee with a frying pan, but she missed and struck Luna. Since then, Luna doesn’t have to stay at Aunt Ruth’s anymore, but is not allowed to play any instrument for the foreseeable future.

“I’m not gonna bother with that second question, but you girls should know that you are grounded until summer vacation’s over. You all should have never done what you all did at the resort.” Rita says with an authoritative tone.

“Mother unit, while I do agree that we are to be punished severely, don’t you think that Luan, Lana, Lucy, and myself should just be grounded here at home since we are still showing the wounds of our battles?” Lisa asks as she points at Lucy, who no longer has casts on her arms, but her hands are still severely bandaged.

Then she points to Lana, who still has some burn marks from the explosion and most of her hair has yet to grow back. Then to herself as she now just has a cast on her left foot. And finally to Luan, who just had all of her lower cast removed, thus allowing her to walk on her own, but still has the rest of her cast on her upper-body.

“Yeah, mom. Do you know how awkward it is to walk around a body cast where I constantly fall down, or can’t flip over like a turtle? I’m like a shell of my former self. Ha, ha, ha! *Cough!* *Cough!* *Cough* Get it…? *Cough!* It still hurts to laugh.” Luan says as she takes easy breathes.

“Hmm… you two have a point. I’ll have a long discussion today with your father about it. But I’m not guaranteeing anything.” Rita pauses as she turns to Lori, Leni, Lynn, and Lola. “But you four! You are all definitely going to be spending your weekend at Aunt Ruth’s!” she says.

“Ugh…” all of them groan in unison as Lori speaks up.

“Come on, mom! It’s bad enough you took away my phone, preventing me from speaking to my Bobby Boo-Boo Bear, to remind him of all the anniversaries that we’re supposed to be celebrating! Also, I really miss speaking to all my friends at the same time and I’m supposed to be helping Carol with the perfect picture that will take us trending all over Photogram!” She pleads.

“Yeah! And I totes hate that you took away every single one of my dresses and all of my fashion kits! I haven’t made a dress in years!” Leni cries out as she falls to her knees in tears.

“Leni, honey, it’s just been barely three weeks.” Rita says, trying to calm her down a bit.

“Barely three weeks!? Do you know how much of a buzzkill it is to not play with a single ball!? I had to resort to playing with a pebble to get any enjoyment out of this punishment!” Lynn shouts in an annoyed voice.

“AND I HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO PRACTICE MY BEAUTY PAGEANTS DUE TO YOU RESTRICTING MY BATONS AND DRESSES!!! I HAD TO USE A COUPLE OF LANA’S SMELLY ANIMALS TO PUT TOGETHER A ROUTINE!!! AND I NEARLY GOT EATEN ALIVE!!!” Lola screams in anger as she jumps and grips onto her mother’s shirt, shoving her forehead against hers.

Rita would just calmly grab the back of Lola’s dress and put her down before continuing to speak.

“I’m sorry, girls, but you four reaped what you sowed when you all violently attacked Luan and destroyed property, and you Jr., threatened to hurt Lincoln when he did nothing wrong, is getting extremely frustrating that you would love to hurt him and love blaming it on your competitive side as an excuse. So I expect you four to be ready by early tomorrow morning and I don’t want to hear any complaints when we get inside Vanzilla. Am I clear?” Rita asks in an assertive tone.

“Clear…” the girls answer in glum unison.

Turning to the recovering girls, sans Luna, Rita says with a stern tone,

“And as for you four, once again, I will talk with your father about maybe having your stays at Ruth changed to being grounded and heavily supervised here at home. But like I said, no promises and so I expect you to have a backpack or suitcase ready.”

“Yes, mom…” the injured girls respond in glum unison as well.

“Now, any questions?” Rita asks.

Luna raises her hand.

“Yes, Luna?” Rita asks.

“After we serve our punishment, when do we start preparing to head to the beach for our vacation?” Luna asks as everybody looks at her with concern.

“Luna, honey, we went there almost three weeks ago, remember? You ran face-first into a pole?” Rita responds in a concerned tone.

Luna thinks about it for a moment before she says,

“Ah… right. Forgot. Short-term memory.”

Everybody around her looks uncomfortable as everyone is filled with awkward silence as they hope for any kind of distraction to make the awkwardness go away.

Just then, the sound of running footsteps could be heard from upstairs as they heard a Whoo!, everyone turns to see Lincoln grinding down the rail Sonic-style from the second story to the first story and perfectly nails a front-flip.

“Lincoln, how many times have I told you not to slide down the rail like that?” Rita lightly chides.

“Uh… none? Pretty sure I’ve been doing this in front of everyone since I was eight.” Lincoln answers.

“Really? I never once told you not to do that?” Rita asks in a confused tone.

“Uh… yeah. Pretty sure, I think. I always seem to get away with it.” Lincoln answers, just as confused as her.

“Well, anyways, what’s got you so happy today?” Rita asks.

“Oh, right! I’m heading out to the mall. I’m gonna meet up with Clyde, Stella, and everybody else for a long, overdue hangout.” Lincoln answers in a happy tone.

“Oh, that’s right! You told me and your father yesterday about it. Do you need me to give you a ride? Or need some extra cash to spend it with your friends?” Rita asks.

“No need, mom. Clyde’s dads will be dropping all of us off and I still got plenty of my allowance, so I’m all good.” Lincoln answers.

“Alright. Well, have fun with them and please, come back home in one piece, sweetie. I don’t wanna see you coming back home limping.” Rita says.

Lincoln runs over and gives her a quick hug before responding,

“Oh, don’t worry, mom. For once, I’ll be coming home limp-free and that’s a promise. I’ll call you when I’m at the mall, so I’ll see you later, mom. Bye, girls!”

With that, he runs out the door as Rita and Luna both wave goodbye with the latter speaking up and saying,

“Bye, little dude… who was he, by the way?”

All the girls just look at her uncomfortably as Rita bends down to Lisa and whispers,

“If you can do a head examination on her to see what we can do with that concussion… you get to stay here grounded-free.”

Lisa just simply nods her head before giving a salute and grabbing Luna as she says,

“Come with me, musical sibling. I would like your help with one of my machines.”

“You have a machine in this house? For what?” Luna asks.

“Let’s just say that I think you’re overdue for another exam.” Lisa answers as she drags her upstairs.

As Rita watches them head upstairs, she notices by the side of her eyes, Lori sneaking to the door and calls out,

“LORI!!! JUST WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING, YOUNG LADY!?!?!? DID YOU FORGET THAT YOU’RE GROUND UNTIL SUMMER IS OVER!?!?!?”

“Oh come on mom! This is my chance to go catch Lincoln in the act! You know, as well as I do that for months he’s been ditching us and hiding something every time he leaves the house or we’re at Aunt Ruth’s! I just need to-”

“I don’t want to hear it! You have been trying to meddle with your brother’s private life for a long time now and I’ve had it up to here with these accusations you’re making about him! You always claim these things about him and you either come back with nothing to prove or with you and your sisters at the hospital!” Rita shouts.

“But, mom-!”

“Enough , young lady. I will hear none of it. You’re going back upstairs to your room and wait until dinner is ready, and if for one second, you even think about trying to sneak out and harass your brother, I’ll triple your punishment as well as any of your sisters that tries to help you.” Rita warns.

“But mom, what about all the times when Lincoln is coming home limping and-!?”

“SHUT UP, LORI!!!” the girls scream at her in angry unison.

After looking back and forth for a brief moment in surprise, Rita says,

“Anyway, upstairs, girls. I’ll call you later for dinner.”

“Yes, mom…” the girls groan in unison as they head upstairs with the exception of Lori.

“Mom, would you just-!?”

“UPSTAIRS!!!” Rita screams, scaring her eldest daughter into running upstairs.

As she arrives, she notices all of her sisters go into their respective rooms except Leni as she is going into Luna’s and Luan’s room. Lori pulls out a whistle from her pocket and she blows on it, stopping all of the sisters from closing their doors as they look in her direction.

“Emergency sister meeting! Now!” Lori shouts as she walks into her room and sits on her bed, ready to begin the meeting. However, after a few seconds, none of her sisters would enter the room as she suddenly heard multiple doors slam in the hallway, startling Lori as she ran out to see that they all went into their rooms. Lori, annoyed and angry that they ignored the Sister Meeting, first heads to Luan’s room and bangs on the door.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

“Luan! Leni! I called upon a Sister Meeting!” Lori shouts as she continues to bang upon the door.

After a few more seconds of her banging on the door, it suddenly swings open to reveal an angry Leni throwing a pie at Lori’s face before slamming the door in her face.

“What the heck, Leni!? Get your butt in our room now!” Lori shouts before waiting a few seconds to taste the pie. “Blegh! I hate coconut!” Lori shouts in a disgusted tone as she spits and wipes the pie off her face.

“We are so totes not participating in any meetings that involve you or Lincoln! Plus, Luan asked me to keep an eye on her and decorate her bodycast!” Leni shouts from behind the door.

“The pie has been cast, Lori! You’re on your own from here! Ha, ha *Cough!* *Cough!* Get… *Cough!* …it? It still hurts.” Luan says in a painful manner after making her pun.

“You two will regret this!” Lori shouts before moving to the next door.

Standing in front of Lynn’s and Lucy’s room, Lori bangs on the door once more.

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*

“Lynn! Lucy! Get your butts inside my bedroom right now!” Lori shouts in a demanding tone.

On the other side of the door, Lori could hear both of them mumbling about something before the sounds of chirping can be heard as Lynn opens the door and hands Lori a box before saying,

“Lucy and I will NOT be attending the meeting with you, Lori. But… Lucy wanted me to give you this.”

On that note, Lynn closes the door and Lori proceeds to look into the box that her jock sister gave her. She shrugs and opens it to find Fang the Bat pop right out, screeching as it starts attacking her face.

“AH!!! AH!!! AAHHHH!!!!!! GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!!!! GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU WINGED RODENT!!!!!!!” Lori screams as she tries to get away from the bat Lynn gave her.

The attack lasted for ten seconds before Fang flew away, leaving Lori with her hair messed up and her face covered in scratches and bites. With anger in her eyes, she kicks at the door and yells,

“When I get my hands on you, Lynn, I will turn your legs into pretzels! And Lucy, you better hope I don’t catch Fang! Because when I do, it will be curtains for that rat!”

With that, Lori heads to the Twins’s bedroom and tries to force her way into their bedroom.

“Girls! Get in that room for the meeting! We are discussing what to do with Lincoln and we’re doing it NOW!!!” Lori shouts as she starts slamming her shoulder into the door.

But just then, the door swings open and Lori stumbles into the Twins’s bedroom.

“Ah! Finally, I get into one room! Now you two better get into my room or else-!”

Before Lori could finish her threat, the Twins latch onto her legs and proceed to bite them really hard. “AH!!!!! LET GO OF ME!!!!!! LET GO OF ME, YOU SICK ANIMALS!!!!!! I AM NOT A PIECE OF MEAT!!!!! I AM YOUR SISTER AND I DEMAND THAT YOU-!!!!!!”

*CHOMP!!!* *CHOMP!!!* *CHOMP!!!*

At this point, Lori was screaming as she stumbled and fell right back into the hallway. The Twins stop biting and let go of her legs as they run back to their room. But before they could slam the door, they look at her as Lola speaks up first.

“We are not helping and participating in ANYTHING involving Lincoln! You heard what mom said! If we get involved in your business with Lincoln, it’s triple the punishment and I am NOT spending another three months without my BEAUTY PAGEANTS!!!!!!!”

“Yeah! And I have a chance to not be spending any weekends at Aunt Ruth’s place anymore! And I’m not about to let you RUIN IT!!!” Lana shouts as she reaches into her pockets and throws a mudpie at Lori before they finally slam the door on her.

Sitting in defeat, Lori was more angry than ever before as she wiped the mudpie off her face. Getting up, she heads over to Lisa’s door. As she prepares to kick it down, it opens and she is greeted by one of Lisa’s robots, Mr. Reinforced Alloy Titanium Arms, and he simply says,

“My creator does not wish to be disturbed at this time. Leave now or be obliterated.”

Lori, intimidated, slowly backs away as the robot continues to watch her until she walks all the way back into her room and quietly closes her door.

“Something wrong, Alloy Arms?” Lisa asks as she examines Luna’s head through an X-Ray machine.

“Worry not, Creator. It was a problem that was completely dealt with.” Alloy Arms answers as he returns to her room.

With Lori back in her room, she finally unleashes her pent-up anger as she screams into her pillow before proceeding to punch it repeatedly.

“AAAAAUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY ARE THEY ALL SO BLIND!?!?!? FOR MONTHS, I KNOW LINCOLN IS HIDING SOMETHING AND THIS IS PROBABLY MY ONLY CHANCE TO CATCH HIM IN THE ACT AND BUST HIM!!!!!!!!!”

After a few more punches, she grabs the pillow and rips it in half with little resistance as she breathes angrily. After a few seconds to compose herself, she lets out a deep breath as she rubs her temples, pacing back and forth.

“Ah! Alright, Lori! Think! Think! Mom and Dad aren’t listening! Your sisters aren’t listening and aren’t sacrificing themselves for the good of our family! And Lincoln is off, doing who-knows-what with who-knows-who. And I’m forced to stay with that darned aunt of ours as a sick joke!” Lori says to herself.

After pacing back and forth for a few more seconds, an idea pops into Lori’s head as she goes into her closet and rummages through her clothes.

“Ugh! Come one! Where is it!? Desperate times call for desperate measures! Gah! Why did I bury it all the way in-!? Ah-ha! Found it!” Lori exclaims as she pulls out a briefcase, which she immediately opens and grabs six out of twenty files.

After taking a quick peek at each file, Lori then runs to the lightswitch in the room and removes it from the wall as she sticks her hand into the hole and after a few seconds of rummaging through it, she pulls out an old flipphone. Flipping it open, Lori proceeds to start dialing the first number.

“Alright, Bobby. I know you’re there. Pick up. Pick up.” Lori says as she waits for him.

Tapping her foot rapidly as she waits for him impatiently to pick up as it continues to ring and finally on the fifth ring, he finally picks up.

“Hello? Babe? This is you… right? This is the secret emergency phone number you told me about before, right…? This isn’t a scammer, or a prank call from some radio station, right…?” Bobby asks in an unsure tone.

“Yes, it’s me, my Bobby Boo-Boo-Bear. Thank God you remembered this number.” Lori says with a sigh of relief and glee.

“Ah, babe! You have no idea how long I missed hearing your voice and I missed you!” Bobby says in a euphoric tone.

“Oh, how I long to be back in your arms as we spend our time at the mall! Those churros you bought for the both of us were everything to die for! I want to go back to that moment! When we weren’t separated from each other by my parents!” Lori exclaims in a romantic, yet sad tone.

“Oh, babe, my heart soars a hundred miles per hour when I hear your voice and our situation is like Romeo and Juliet… actually, wait a minute. Before we continue with our long overdue love-talk, are you still grounded?” Bobby asks in a curious tone.

“Ugh, yeah. Don’t remind me. There’s a reason why I’m calling you on this old, secret phone that I’ve been hiding for months.” Lori says.

“Because you miss me and you’re willing to get in trouble, just to hear my voice again…?” Bobby asks, almost afraid to know her answer.

“No, my sweet, lovable Bobby Boo-Boo Bear. I need you to get over to my house as fast as you can and be my getaway driver.” Lori answers in a serious tone.

“Getaway driver!? Wait! You want me to bust you out!?” Bobby asks in a shocked tone.

“Yes! My brother is sneaking off again and I know! I just know that he’s not hanging out with his friends and I’m going to bust him! So I need you to meet me in front of my house as quickly as you can!” Lori answers, getting straight to the point.

“B-B-But babe… I-I can’t just pull up to the front of your house.” Bobby says in a nervous tone.

“Yes, you can. I was eavesdropping on Lincoln’s talk with Ronnie Anne the other day, and apparently, you are visiting family on the other side of Royal Woods with your mom and uncle. So you can totally get here, no problem.” Lori says in a devious tone.

“But babe, your mom called my folks to tell me not to visit you while you’re grounded and I don’t wanna get you in more trouble than you already are! I’m sure that if little Linc is indeed hiding something from you guys, faith is gonna come back and get him in trouble for you!” Bobby responds in a whiny tone.

“Bobby, for months, he has been hiding things from us, completely ignoring me and my sisters, avoiding most of our family time, and has come back either exhausted or limping or sometimes both! I’ve had it with faith not doing its job and instead punishing me and my sisters. So you are coming over here to get me and we’re gonna head to that one coffee shop we used to go to. I’m gonna call my friends and we’re gonna be meeting up there. And if I don’t see you at the front of the house and no phone calls, you and I are THROUGH!!! GOT IT!?” Lori threatens.

As soon as Lori finishes her threat, she suddenly receives a text message on the phone with a photo attachment of a crying Bobby in front of the house as the text reads,

“I’m here.”

Lori looks completely stunned at how fast he hung up and arrived in front of the house, but also guilty at the photo Bobby took and she knew that she was a little too harsh with him as she says to herself,

“Oh, Bobby… I’ll make it up to you with the biggest kiss that I will ever give you.”

Lori quickly types in I’ll be right out! As she puts her flipphone in her pocket and puts the six files in a backpack as she quickly makes her towards her window.

“Okay, I just gotta quietly open the window, jump out, rush to Bobby, give him a big kiss, get that little twerp, and BUST HIM FOR- Uh, oh…”

Before Lori could finish her throat, she notices that in the backyard, her mother is playing with Lily in the kiddy pool. As Lori quickly shuts her window and panics a bit,

“Ugh, I can’t sneak out that way or else, Mom will catch me! C’mon, Lori! Think! Think! Think! Can’t go out the front door, it’s too obvious! Dad might catch me!” Lori says as she paces a bit before an idea pops into her head. “I got it! I’ll just sneak out through Lincoln’s room! Heh, heh, it’s perfect.” Lori says in a sinister voice.

With that, she exits her room and rushes down the hall and into Lincoln’s room and quickly opens the window. As she looks outside to check if the coast is clear, Lori sees Bobby’s truck waiting in front of the house. With a loving and excited look on her face, Lori looks at the garage and decides that will be the perfect place to land as she climbs onto the window frame and prepares to jump.

“Okay, Lori! You got this! Remember! You’re doing this because that twerp is planning something and your Bobby Boo-Boo-Bear is waiting for you! Ah…” Lori says as she lets out a dreamy sigh.

Quickly snapping out of it, Lori takes a leap of faith and jumps from the window and on the roof of the garage. But as soon as she lands on the roof, she goes right through the garage. Bobby, who witnessed the incident, winces in pain as the garage door opens and Lori, scratched up and bruised, limps her way to the car.

“Babe…? Are you okay…?” Bobby asks as Lori enters the car and without muttering a word, she just simply gives him a kiss on the cheek and mutters the word,

“Drive.”

With that, Bobby, concerned for his girlfriend, but not wanting to anger or upset her, simply drives off.

. . .

A couple minutes later, Lori and Bobby are at a cafe waiting for their orders as well as some company that Lori phoned along the way. As they wait, Lori is going over the files that she grabbed and she has this sinister look on her face, which has Bobby concerned and unsettled.

“So, um… Lori? Babe? As great as it is to see you in person again, you, um… mind telling me what is up with those files you brought with you?” Bobby asks.

“Oh, nothing for you to be all too concerned about, my Bobby Boo-Boo Bear. These are just some… oh, how should I put this? A motivation for our friends to help us with our cause in case they say no.” Lori answers in a devious tone.

“Babe, I’m not even gonna ask what you mean by that, but… as for this cause you speak of… no offense, babe… but from everything you told me on the way here… sure, maybe I do agree that Lincoln may be hiding something… but that’s just your little bro growing up. I mean, Ronnie-Anne is starting to do things without telling me and the family ever since we moved to Great Lakes and as worried and annoyed at the shenanigans she does behind our backs until she gets caught, we’ve all learned to accept that she’s just growing up and we need to learn to give her her privacy for the most part. Don’t you think you should be doing the same thing with Lincoln?” Bobby questions.

“Oh, my sweet, deluded Bobby Boo-Boo Bear… the only reason why Ronnie-Anne is like this is because she’s her own strong, independent woman who can defend herself and those around her. And that’s where Lincoln falls apart in that category.” Lori answers in a condescending tone.

“Huh?” Bobby asks, almost feeling offended.

“Every time Lincoln is by himself, disaster always strikes and he is constantly the victim of every mishap that he is involved in. God, it’s a wonder how he is even still breathing. It’s like he’s constantly clinging to his sisters for help.” Lori answers, getting even more condescending.

“Um, babe…? Not sure if you’re okay after crashing into the garage… but from what I heard from Ronnie in the last couple of months… it’s you and your sisters who have been clingy to Lincoln, who is getting more independent. And every time you try to butt in or get in his business, disaster has always struck you.” Bobby points out.

“Grgh! That’s because he’s deliberately getting us in trouble, so that he can go off and do God-knows-what! Ever since that day he came home limping, it’s been nonstop secrecy and he’s constantly getting us in trouble! So we’re gonna catch him, bust him, and everyone will see that I was right all along!” Lori shouts as she leans into Bobby’s personal space, almost causing him to fall backwards.

Bobby is starting to feel afraid of his girlfriend as sweat drips from his face like bullets. Before Lori could continue any further with her rant, they hear the bell from the door ring as they look to see Becky and her boyfriend, Tad, followed by Whitney, Teri, Ellie, Dana, and surprisingly, Leni’s three ex-boyfriends; Chaz, Scott, and Gavin finally arrive at the cafe and they look concerned, but are smiling to see Lori again.

“Yo, Lori! It’s been a while since Tad and I have seen ya. Are you finally done serving your sentence?” Becky greets as she and Tad let out a chuckle.

Sharply inhaling to keep her cool, Lori chooses to ignore it as Dana speaks up next.

“Oh, my God! I haven’t seen you and Leni in so long. I was a little surprised when you texted us out of the blue, but it’s great to see you again. Any chance I’ll be able to see Leni again soon, too?” Dana greets as she and everyone starts to sit down.

“Yeah, Lori. What gives? Your parents used to order so many pizzas almost every week. Now my boss is afraid that he’ll go bankrupt with the lack of pizzas that you guys have been ordering for a month. Heck, me and Ellie are looking into other jobs, just in case.” Teri says as Ellie nods her head in agreement.

“Now the most pizza that you order is for your parents and your little siblings. It’s really driving our boss up the wall. I’m amazed that he hasn’t lost his marbles yet.” Ellie says in a worried tone.

“Ugh… look, I really don’t care about your boss and as much as I wish this is one of our get-togethers, the reason I finally texted you guys isn’t because we could together, talk, and laugh at my expense. It’s about my brother.” Lori answers.

“Lincoln? What about him? Is there something wrong? Did something happen to my little White Russian!?” Becky asks in a panicked tone.

“Wha-? White Russian? What are you-? No! Nothing’s happened to him. It’s him that’s why I called you here.” Lori answers after stumbling her words.

“What do you mean?” Chaz asks with a raised eyebrow.

“So long story short, for the past couple of months - Lori believes that her little brother has been hiding something behind the family’s back since almost every single day, he either comes home very tired or limping and has been spending less time at home. And every time Lori thinks she has a lead that Lincoln is doing something, it either leads to nothing and she and her sisters get in trouble or they get severely injured.” Bobby answers in an exhausted tone.

“Oh, that explains why you were either radio silent on social media, or when you post something on Photogram, you’re always either in the hospital or you have a lot of bandages on you. Now that I think about it, it’s the same thing with Leni too.” Whitney notes.

“That’s only because my phone is taken away as part of my punishment and parents sometimes forget to take it away when I’m recovering. But that’s not the point! The point is Lincoln has been hiding something from all of us and today’s the day that I’m gonna bust him! Now before he left, he said that he’s gonna be at the mall today, but I know that’s a bunch of baloney. So that’s why I called you all here, so that you can help me catch him in whatever he’s been doing in these last couple of months, and finally bust him, so that I can finally be free from my wrongful sentencing!” Lori proclaims as she stands onto the table with her fist in the air.

As Lori remained on the table as onlookers stared at her with confusion and bewilderment, Bobby and her friends, however, looked at one another awkwardly before Dana speaks up,

“Um… yeah. I don’t think I’m gonna waste my time spying on your little bro.”

“Huh!?” Lori exclaims.

“Yeah, Lori. No offense, but it seems to me like that you just can’t accept the fact that my little White Russian is starting to become more independent and is more comfortable being around his friends more than you and his sisters.” Becky says as Tad nods in agreement.

“Yeah. I mean, when I turned twelve, that’s when I slowly started getting away from my family to have fun with my friends and wanting more alone time. So I sympathize with him not wanting to be near you or your sisters anymore.” Scott agreed.

“Plus, why should we help you? Your little brother just wants to have fun without you butting into his life twenty-four seven. We have nothing to gain from spying on him.” Gavin speaks up.

“Yeah, sorry, Lori. Your little brother’s a sweet kid. I doubt whatever he’s doing is malicious or wrong. He’s just growing up and learning how to have a fun time on his own with friends. I think you should just let it go and head home.” Ellie says.

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea for all of us too. I’m gonna head out. I’ll talk to you guys later and say hi to Leni for me, Lori.” Chaz says as he and everybody else decide to make their way out of the cafe, but not before Lori speaks up once more.

“Oh? So you just wanna leave without helping me? That’s a shame because for you three boys, I was gonna tell you that I know a way for you to have a chance to be with Leni again.” Lori with a sly tone in a smirk as Chaz, Scott, and Gavin stop in their tracks to turn to her.

“W-W-What do you mean?” Gavin asks.

“Oh, come on, Gavin. I know that ever since Leni broke up with all three of you, it stung really hard since you all thought that you were perfect for her.” Lori pauses as she looks at all three of the depressed looks on Leni’s exes. “I mean, you guys did nothing wrong with your relationships, yet in your texts, she said that she was all through with you. But… if you help me spy on my brother and catch him in whatever dirty deed he has been hiding… I promise to help you get Leni to break up with that new boyfriend, so you all have the chance to be with her again.” Lori proposes as she smiles like a headless, purple cat.

“Lori, you can’t be serious! Leni is in a great relationship with that new guy and you should be ashamed that you are even suggesting to ruin her relationship, just so that you can fulfill your obsession with your own brother! Besides, they got over the breakup and moved on from Leni! Right, guys? Guys…?” Dana asks before she looks to see that all three of them are actually in deep thought.

“I mean… I do miss her cuddles…” Chaz says.

“And… I do miss that flowery scent she has when she hugs me…” Scott says.

“And I do miss her kisses…” Gavin says.

After a few seconds of thinking it over, the three exes look at each other before nodding their heads as they all say in unison,

“We’re in!”

“Wow, guys… just, wow.” Dana says in a shocked voice.

“Well, while these three heartbreak losers help you, we’re not. We’re not outta here.” Whitney says before attempting to leave in a huff as the rest follow suit.

“Oh, that’s a shame, Whitney. But I can respect that. By the way… have your parents met that boyfriend that you’ve been dating behind their backs?” Lori asks in a saccharine tone.

Whitney stops in her tracks as she turns around with a fearful look in her eyes.

“W-W-What…?”

“You know… he’s that ex-football player from our school who got expelled for injuring two teammates and the referee for a foul that he didn’t like. He’s been getting into a lot of trouble lately with trying to get into a new school every time because of his attitude and likes to ride that unlicensed motorcycle that you hopped on for a joyride or two. What was his name again…? Palumbo…? Or was it… Galloway…?”

Lori pulls out a picture of Whitney kissing a boy taller than her and definitely gives off bad-boy vibes.

“H-H-How did you know-!?”

“It would be a real shame if I were to send off this copy to your parents and they saw you in a relationship with a dangerous delinquent.” Lori finishes.

As Whitney shakes in fear as she starts to sweat profusely, Becky gets right into Lori’s face.

“Lori, that is not cool at all. Regardless if Whitney is in a relationship with someone that’s a delinquent or not… sorry, Whitney… that is her privacy and what you are doing is ten times worse than whatever you’re trying to accuse your brother of.”

“Oh, what I’m doing is ten times worse…? Then what you and Tad have been doing will most certainly land the two of you into juvie or worse… behind actual cell bars if I decide to show the principal these copied photos of the two of you having fun with Mary Jane in the library and underneath the bleachers on the football field.” Lori says with a wicked smile as she holds a couple photos of Becky and Tad smoking on school premises.

Becky and Tad are shocked and horrified to see clear photos of them violating both school and state rules as the former grabs the copies and rips them to shreds, only for Lori to chuckle as she pulls out two more copies.

“Heh. Go ahead and rip these two if you want. I got plenty more copies where that came from.” Lori chuckles as she then looks towards Teri, Ellie, and Dana, who are stunned and horrified at what Lori is doing.

“As for you three, don’t even think for one second that I don’t have any dirt on you because Teri and Ellie, I have clear pictures of the two of you stealing boxes of pizzas from your jobs to give away for free to your other friends, and Dana, I have photos of you exploiting a loophole to give yourself and your other friends ninety-percent discount behind your boss’s back. It would be a real shame if these pictures ended up on your employer’s desk.”

As the three of them are horrified and speechless, Bobby, who the whole time was watching in horror and stunned by his girlfriend’s actions, as much as he loves Lori, is frightened by the girl that she has become as he slowly backs away and tries to find an opening to run off… however…

“And Bobby Boo-Boo Bear… I will break up with you if you do not help me.”

Bobby wanted to say something, but he sadly relents and lets out a desponded and resigned sigh. Taking that as a yes, she gives him a kiss on the cheek, she looks back as she looks at the rest of her friends and asks,

“So… what about you guys? You in?”

As she waves her blackmail in front of them, her friends either had angry or worried expressions on their faces as they looked at her and they had no other choice but to comply with her plot to expose Lincoln.

. . .

Now that they were at the mall, the group were in their respective vehicles and the three exes were excited while the others were either fuming or looking miserable as they followed Lori, who was wearing a trench coat and fedora hat into the mall.

“Okay, guys, so remember; you help me catch Lincoln and whatever secret that he’s hiding, I promise to erase all the copies and the original photos of your deep dark secrets as well as get you boys a chance to be with Leni again. So here are the groups; it’s me and Bobby and we will be checking out the east side of the mall. Chaz, Scott, and Gavin, you three are a trio and you will check the west side. Becky and Tad, you are obviously together and you will go to the north-west. Teri and Ellie, you two are a team, you will check out the entire food court district and that leaves Dana and Whitney. I want you guys to go check out the south-east area of the mall. Any questions?” Lori says as she gives out orders

“Yeah, I got one; what’s with the trench coat and the fedora? This isn’t a fifties movie.” Whitney asks, noticing the masquerade.

“Oh, well, um… yeah, let’s just say that I, and some of my sisters, might still be banned from the mall after last time.” Lori answers in a sheepish tone.

“Oh, yeah, that’s right. The chaos that you and your sisters did was all over the internet. It was actually quite funny, looking back at some of those posts that day.” Dana chuckles.

Hearing this, Lori gets mad and asks as she turns red,

“Any other questions…?”

“Yeah, so what exactly either of us are supposed to do if we catch him doing whatever evil deed that he’s supposedly doing? Do we just go up to him and say Hey, Linc. We were just told by Lori to spy on you and to reveal whatever secret you’re hiding, so Lori can bust ya and take you back home.” Becky asks sarcastically with her arms crossed.

“No. If either of you spot him before I do, then follow him. And as soon as he’s done something completely out of the ordinary or something that would definitely get him in trouble if he was caught, one of you starts recording him and contacts me on his location. Any other questions?” Lori explains.

“Yeah, what’s stopping us from finding the nearest Paul Fahrt and ratting your banned butt out for being on mall premises?” Teri asks in a hostile tone.

“Go ahead and try. As soon as some security tries to come for me, I know my Bobby Boo-Boo Bear will protect me and I will just leak your dark secrets out for the whole internet to see.” Lori answers as she hugs Bobby, who actually has an uncomfortable look on his face.

Teri inhales and exhales to keep herself from tearing Lori apart and bringing her to justice, consequences be damned. Seeing that everyone has no more questions, Lori says,

“Alright, time to split up. We are out for Lincoln, so go, go, go!”

So with that, they split apart as Lori drags Bobby away by the back of his collar while everybody else, except Leni’s exes, reluctantly make their way to their designated areas in search of Lincoln.

“Babe… as much as I would do anything to make you happy and keep our relationship strong and healthy, did you really have to threaten your friends like that…?” Bobby asks, still being dragged by the back of his collar.

“Oh, Bobby… after months of being injured, getting punished, losing my privileges, and NEARLY LOSING MY HEAD… desperate times call for desperate measures. And besides… I’m a lady of my word. So once they help me bust Lincoln, all those things I have on record will be long gone.” Lori answers in a nonchalant manner.

“But babe, aren’t going a little too far with your mission to bust Lincoln…? And even if you do catch him in the act, do you really think that your mom will just let what you did slide? She’s just gonna add more onto your sentence until you’re graduated!” Bobby says, trying to reason with his psychotic girlfriend.

“Oh, Bobby, what if she sees that I was right all along? Me and my sisters will be forgiven for everything that we have done in the last couple of months and Lincoln will finally get what’s coming to him!” Lori responds in a dismissive tone.

“Is this what it’s about, babe…? Ruining your brother’s day just because he has more freedom than you…?” Bobby asks, starting to grow suspicious.

Upon hearing this, Lori quickly lifts him up and gets right into his face and shouts,

“WHAT HE IS DOING ISN’T FREEDOM OR BEING MORE INDEPENDENT FROM US, HE HAS BEEN HIDING SOMETHING FOR MONTHS AND I HAD IT UP TO HERE THAT I CAN’T CATCH HIM IN THE ACT, OR EXPOSE THE LIES, THE SECRECY, AND I’M TIRED OF COMING UP SHORTHANDED!!! SO WHETHER IT’S MY SISTERS, MY FRIENDS, AND WHOEVER I HAVE TO USE TO BUST HIM, I WILL DO IT!!! AND DON’T FORGET IT THAT I CAN END THIS RIGHT NOW IF YOU DON’T HELP ME!!!!!! GOT IT?!?!?!”

Scared, frightened, and shaken to the core by his girlfriend’s wrath that he just nods his head in agreement really fast.

“Good. Glad to have you on my side, babe. Now come on. Let’s see if we can find Lincoln at that one comic book shop down here.” Lori says all casually as if nothing bad had happened.

As they make their way towards the comic shop, all Bobby could think in his head is,

“Lincoln, little dude… I hope you do have some weird secret that you’re hiding. So that way, Lori can catch you and make her go back to normal. Because if not, then it’s gonna be one long, awkward ride home after this…”

. . .

Going to the north-west side of the mall, Becky and Tad were searching all over for Lincoln, but they could barely find much of a trace on him.

“Ugh! I can’t believe that darned Lori! How could she blackmail us and threaten us to get us in trouble with school and maybe the police all because she just can’t accept that my little White Russian is growing up and wants to do things by himself without being suffocated by his sisters!” Becky shouts in anger.

“Eh… yeah. Um, as evil and messed up as Lori is to do that to us, I gotta ask; why do you have to keep calling him that? It’s kinda weird that you call a kid that nickname like he’s a special someone to ya.” Tad asks, all weirded out.

Becky just looks at him with her left eyebrow raised as she puts her hands on her hips.

“Tad, really? We’ve discussed this over in the past. I call him that because he snuck into Lori’s party as a Russian Exchange Student. And he was very entertaining and very cute when he did it. Besides, while he is my White Russian, you are my boyfriend and I wouldn’t exchange that for anything.” Becky says as she hugs his left arm.

“Ah, thanks, babe. Although I do feel a little weird whenever you call him that whenever you stop by his house or whenever you see him at the arcade. I just can’t help but feel a little jealous. Which is silly, I know, but… it’s been a long time since you’ve given me a cute nickname, you know?” Tad says as he looks at his girlfriend.

“Babe, we stopped giving each other nicknames when we saw Lori and Bobby giving each other overbearing nicknames. Remember when she called him her Bobby Boo-Boo Bear for the first time?” Becky pauses as she and her boyfriend stare off into the distance before shuddering.

“Eh, good point. At least your nickname with Lincoln is more bearable. Sigh… should we check any of the stores around here?” Tad asks as he looks around.

“Pfft! Screw that. I don’t even know why Lori sent us over here. She forgot that this area is mostly for women who want jewels, perfume, and all of that girly stuff that I’m not into.” Becky answers in a dismissive tone.

“So, what? You wanna go to the arcade?” Tad asks, starting to show a smile.

“You read my mind. Plus, if we do find Lincoln over there, maybe we can warn him.” Becky answers, smiling as well.

As they both leave and make their way towards the other side of the mall, they pass by a perfume shop for young women, only for Lincoln to walk right out and head into the opposite direction with a gift box in his arms.

. . .

“Ooh, I wonder when this dress is gonna go on sale? I’m so gonna buy this and save it for that house party I was invited to next week. I wonder if I can find some shoes here to match?” Dana says with glee as she’s holding a purple frilly sundress with a half-off tag on it.

Upon arriving on their side of the mall to search for Lincoln, Dana immediately headed inside one of her favorite dress shops and immediately browsed the inventory for new dresses on sale as Whitney looked on behind her with a worried look.

“Ugh, Dana! We shouldn’t be here shopping! We’re supposed to be finding Lori’s brother, or else, she’ll expose our secrets! How can you be shopping and not worried about potentially losing your job!?” Whitney asks in a panicked tone.

“Well, it’s Lori’s fault for forgetting that this side of the mall is where me and Leni do our shopping together for our girl’s day out. And plus, I’m just trying to take my mind off what Lori is doing to us. I can’t do a job all stressed out and shopping relieves my stress. In fact, here!” Dana says as she hands Whitney a long, red evening gown with a forty-five percent tag off on it. “This dress will be perfect for when you take that bad boy of yours out to town for his birthday.”

“Ooh. You know, I’ve been needing a new dress for a while. Plus-! WHOA, WAIT A MINUTE!!! DANA!!! Please! I can’t think about him right now! Especially if there’s a chance that I will never get to see him again if you don’t go find Lincoln right!” Whitney shouts as she grabs Dana by the back of her collar and drags her out the store.

“No, wait! There’s also a pink sundress that’s half-off that I need! Whitney! NO!!!!” Dana shouts as she tries to pull away from her grasp to no avail.

“If we’re lucky, we’ll find Lincoln and tell Lori, then we can go back and buy all the half-off dresses that you want! But right now, my relationship is on the line and I’m not gonna lose it because of Lori’s blackmail or your shopping!” Whitney shouts as Dana pulls hard enough to cause Whitney to lose her grip on her collar, only for Whitney to grab her by her legs and pull her out of the store.

“AUGH!!! DANG IT!!!! I SWEAR, WHITNEY, IF THOSE DRESSES ARE GONE, WHEN WE COME BACK, YOU OWE ME THREE PETICURE!!!!!” Dana shouts as she tries to grip the floor with her nails, only to leave scratch marks on them.

. . .

Down at the food court area, Ellie and Teri were having lunch, stuffing their faces with pepperoni pizza, cheese bread, and large smoothies.

“Ah… you know, I know we’re being blackmailed and we could lose our jobs if Lori catches us slacking, but nothing takes the mind off of your best friend betraying your trust with some good old-fashioned mall food.” Teri says in a relaxed tone.

“Yeah, I guess, but… shouldn’t we just take this to go and search every food stand and every single restaurant in here instead of just staying in front of the pizza shop here?” Ellie asks in a nervous tone.

“And what? Drop my pizza or spill my smoothie? Look, I hate that Lori is literally threatening our jobs just because she’s become all wacky-cuckoo over her little brother having a life outside her supervision. Besides, I skipped breakfast, so I actually want to enjoy my meal before we go on a wild goose-chase where it ends up being nothing.” Teri answers in an angry tone.

“I guess you’re right, but… I just feel like… something bad is just going to happen regardless if we find Lincoln or not.” Ellie says as she takes a small bite of her cheese bread.

“Pfft! Like what? All of us are gonna get some sort of instant karma if we get too close to Lincoln, even if he’s here at all? And every single one of us either ends up either getting extremely hurt or put in the hospital?” Teri questions with skepticism.

“Uh… um… kinda?” Ellie answers as she sinks into her chair.

“Girl, you need to stop reading darned horoscopes and just lighten up. They’ve been doing nothing but fill your head with nonsense and paranoia. Just enjoy your meal, enjoy the absence of Lori, and just relax.” Teri says before taking another bite of her pizza.

“Uh… okay. I am pretty hungry.” Ellie says as she takes another bite of her pizza.

“Attagirl, Ellie.” Teri says as they get back to enjoying their lunch together.

As the two girls were enjoying their meal, they both failed to notice that Lincoln walked right past them with several bags full of burgers and fries, heading towards his friends, who were in front of the gaming store.

. . .

Sniffing around the mall like hound dogs, the three exes were searching every corner of the west side as they looked around for Lincoln. Chaz was searching through the fountain, Gavin was looking through every person with white hair that he came across, much to their chagrin, and Scott was randomly popping his head out of trash cans, potted plants, and behind the counters of kiosks. However, they couldn’t find any signs of Lincoln and they regrouped.

“Anything on your end?” Chaz asks.

“No. I searched through everything from A to backwards Z and nothing. What about you?” Scott asks as he turns to Gavin.

“I tried finding Lincoln, but all I kept finding were old people. God, why is it so hard to find a kid with white hair!? It’s so insulting!” Gavin exclaims in frustration.

“Calm down, bro. Look, it’s not his fault that he was born to be an albino. Okay, we searched everywhere, but we haven’t searched every store. I wonder if there are comic shops or gaming stores that Lincoln goes to…?” Scott wonders.

“No, I think that’s on the other side of the store where Lori and Bobby were headed already…? No, I think that’s Dana’s and Whitney’s side.” Chaz says while trying to make sense of the situation.

“How do you not know which side has stores that Lincoln would like? Don’t you come here often?” Gavin asks with a raised eyebrow.

“I haven’t really… ugh… been here a lot since… Leni dumped me.” Chaz answers in a depressed tone.

“Yeah, me too. Being here reminds me so much of Leni.” Scott says as he looks around the area.

“God… I miss her hugs.” Chaz says.

“I miss her kisses.” Gavin says.

“And I miss her smile that brightens up the room.” Scott says as they all start to get teary-eyed.

Starting to feel sad and nostalgic about their time spent with Leni, the three exes hug each other and cry as the onlookers pass by them, weirded out by their sorrow. They spent five minutes crying with each other before pulling themselves together and getting their war faces on. And once they finished unifying with each other, Chaz says,

“Alright, guys, after letting some tears out, I feel motivated and in charge! I feel like I can take on the whole world for the sake of love! We’re gonna turn the whole mall upside down! We’re gonna find Lincoln, bring him to Lori, and then I’m finally gonna get Leni back! Are you with me!?”

“YEAH… oh, what?” Scott and Gavin ask in unison.

“Well, yeah. I mean… I mean, I was Leni’s first boyfriend, so… no offense, but I get first dibs on dating her again.” Chaz says.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy there, round boy. No offense, but I went on quite a few dates more than you ever did. So if anyone’s getting first dibs on having Leni again, it’s me.” Gavin says.

“No way, lads! I didn’t fly all the way from my homeland and move here for nothing! When I came here many months ago, I did everything I could to save my relationship! Therefore, that makes me more qualified to have Leni back since I sacrificed everything to get here!” Scott shouts.

“Oh, please! All that moving from Scotland to here didn’t do you anything good since she was with me! So maybe you should consider flying back and finding a girl over from where you came from!” Gavin shouts back.

“Pfft! Yeah, well, you ain’t with her now! So maybe you should find a different girl to be with! Out of all the boys that Leni could’ve picked, she chose me for my great personality and always being a great friend to her!” Chaz shouts as the boys start butting heads.

“A lot of good your great personality did! Because I’m pretty sure she got bored of you real quick when she realized you didn’t have the best shape for modeling clothes! Ain’t that right, round boy!?” Gavin asks in a demeaning voice.

“Are you saying that my weight is the problem!? Because I have no problem showing you that I had real love and chemistry with Leni than you, you miserable excuse of a guitar player!” Chaz shouts with anger.

“It’s a bard, you big ignoramus!” Gavin shouts as he shoves Chaz away.

“Ach! Who cares what that blasted thing is called!? And who cares about your great personality!? I deserve to be with Leni again!” Scott shouts as he shoves Gavin away.

“No, me!” Chaz and Gavin shout in unison.

At this point, they were glaring at each other as sparks clashed in the middle with their fists clenching in the tension. Each of them are glancing at one another as if looking away for too long would give them a chance to attack each other. After a few minutes of intense staring, Chaz speaks up,

“You know what!? This is what I’m gonna declare right now! The first one to find Lincoln and personally deliver him to Lori, gets to be with Leni! Deal!?”

“Deal!” Gavin and Scott shout in unison.

After the deal was made, the three exes ran off in different directions as they began their aggressive search to find Lincoln in the name of love.

. . .

Back in the east side of the mall, Bobby is walking on eggshells as he watches Lori acting like a rabid dog on the loose as she has been relentless on her search for Lincoln as she searched various stores that Lincoln would like as well as interrogating every person with white hair or threaten any kids that might be associated with him.

“Grgh! We’ve been here for at least an hour now and absolutely NOTHING!!! How in the heck did we, or anyone else, have not found him yet!? I told you, Bobby Boo-Boo! He’s clearly not here, which once again, proves that he is hiding something from us! I bet he never actually came to the mall or with his friends! He probably lied to mom, just so he can get away to do who-knows-what!” Lori shouts as she continues her search for her little brother.

Keeping his distance as he watches his girlfriend go into another random store and witnesses from the entrance, Lori grabs the cashier by the scruff of their neck about seeing anyone fitting Lincoln’s description. Gulping in fear as he watches the situation unfold, Bobby thinks in his head,

“Oh, Lord… Lori… my sweet, sweet Lori… has become too obsessive and out of her mind when it comes to her little bro. As much as I love her… I think that just for my sake… I better wait for an opportunity to bail as soon as I can. Maybe I can come up with a lie and tell Lori that Lincoln’s at the parking lot or something. That’ll be the right moment.”

Walking out of the store, Lori is seething and frothing at the mouth as she speaks up and says,

“Grgh! Wasn’t in there either! Come on, Bobby! Maybe we can find him at that toy store near here!”

“Um… yeah. Sure, babe… um… maybe, first… we can take a break, maybe…? You know… relax… release some stress… head over to the food court… maybe buy you your favorite food? You know what they say… you’re better with a full stomach, you know…?” Bobby asks in a frightened voice.

“Take a break…? TAKE A BREAK!?!?!? I AM TRYING TO UNCOVER THE MYSTERY OF LINCOLN’S STRANGE BEHAVIOR AND YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO TELL ME TO TAKE A BREAK!?!?!? I SPEND ALL MY TIME TRYING TO KEEP MY SISTERS AND THAT LITTLE TWERP IN ORDER, DAY IN AND DAY OUT, AND NOW THAT HE HAS GOTTEN HIS INDEPENDENCE, HE THINKS THAT HE CAN AVOID ME LIKE THE PLAGUE!?!?!? OH, NO, HE IS NOT HOPPING OFF THIS TRAIN!!!!! BECAUSE WHEN I BRING HIM BACK HOME, I AM GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT HE NEVER LEAVES OUR HOUSE EVER AGAIN!!!!!!!” Lori screams, losing all sense of reason.

Bobby shakes in fear upon hearing that and he has no idea how to respond to her deranged reasoning. Having realized that he was pushed to his full limit, Bobby decides to pull out his trump card.

“Maybe he’s in the parking lot!? He could be leaving right now!” Bobby shouts, pointing towards the exit.

Turning towards the exit, Lori notices a short boy with an orange shirt and white hair making his way towards said exit. Growling as she watches her little brother preparing to leave the mall, she proceeds to rush towards him, pushing through the passersby and shoving through the shoppers as she makes her way towards Lincoln. Getting closer to him, she tackles the boy and shouts,

“HA!!! YOU THOUGHT THAT YOU COULD GET AWAY FROM ME, BUT YOU WILL NEVER ESCAPE THE WRATH OF YOUR SISTER, LORI LOUD!!!”

But when she flips him over, Lori is shocked to discover that it was a harmless old man who happened to have the same white hair and orange t-shirt as Lincoln. Upon realizing what she has done, Lori gets off him and stutters,

“I-I-I’m sorry! I thought you were my little brother and-!”

“Oh, my God! That girl just assaulted that old man!” one woman shouts.

“Someone call security or the cops! A man shouts.

“That girl needs to be put in jail!” a child shouts.

“Hey! I think I recognize her! Isn’t she one of those Loud kids that wrecked the mall?” a woman asks.

Looking around as the pedestrians started taking pictures and recording her, all Lori could do was stand in fear as she realized what was coming next as mall security showed up.

“What seems to be the pro-!? Wait a minute… you’re one of those Loud kids that we had banned from the mall. Why are you here?” a security guard asks with his arms crossed.

“Well, you see, I-! Ugh! Well-!” Lori stammers.

“She tackled an old man!” An onlooker shouts as the old man was being helped by other onlookers.

“I think… I think I heard a cracked rib.” the old man says, clearly in pain.

Lori, with a feared expression on her face, tries to approach the old man to apologize again, only for security to slap the handcuffs on her and begin to drag her away.

“N-No! No, no, no! Wait! I was trying to find my little brother and my boyfriend-!”

“Quiet, young lady. You and your sisters caused a lot of damage while you’re here. And now you’re here attacking innocent shoppers. I think it’s best if you come to our office and explain yourself to my friends with badges.” the security guard says in a stern voice.

Bobby, who witnessed the entire thing, was horrified at what he just witnessed and most of all, felt extremely guilty for his actions as he says to himself,

“Oh, God… I just pointed to the exit, hoping that I could escape. I didn’t mean for that old man to get hurt or for Lori to be put in handcuffs. Oh, God, I’m a stupid, stupid, stupid, dummy!”

Bobby hits himself on the head a few times out of guilt as he rushes to try catching up to Lori and the security guard.

“SIR, WAIT!!! MY BABE IS INNOCENT!!!! I CAUSED HER TO ATTACK THE OLD MAN!!!! SHE DIDN’T MEAN IT!!!! IT WAS MY FAULT!!!! MY FAULT!!!!! LORI!!!!!” Bobby screams as he tries stopping the security guard.

“BOBBY!!!!” Lori shouts in a tearful voice.

“Ugh… teenagers.” the security guard groans as he takes her away.

. . .

Looking around the mall in search of Lincoln for the past hour, Whitney has been frantically searching and ransacking various stores and locations with no luck all the while, Dana was just dragging her feet along, looking bored, tired, and annoyed as she let out a loud sigh.

“Ugh… Whitney, can’t we stop and take a break? We have not found a single trace of little Linc anywhere and it’s getting quite annoying, watching you run back and forth between stores without buying anything. Also, I’m getting hungry. Can’t we head to the food court and join Teri and Ellie, so that we can get a bite to eat?” Dana groans.

“Dana, no! We were told to stay on this side of the mall to see if we can find Lincoln, so that’s where we’re gonna be! My relationship is on the line! We can’t just bail and do whatever we want! Besides, if we don’t find them on this floor, we’ll just head to the second floor and check the stores up there!” Whitney shouts.

“Oh, my God! Will you shut up about your relationship nonsense!? Lori is not going to rat us out because if there is a small hint that if she is intending on blackmailing us, I’m gonna beat her up and send her back to Mommy on a stretcher! So please, Whitney, let me go and get something to eat! OR SO HELP ME, GOD, I WILL RAT YOU OUT MYSELF!!!!!!” Dana shouts.

Whitney stood there in shock at Dana’s outburst as she watched her take a couple of deep breaths before taking out her cellphone and started texting.

“Uh… Dana? Who… are you texting?” Whitney asks in a nervous tone.

“I’m gonna text Lori that we found Lincoln at one of those edgelord stores. Heat Topic, it’s called, I think…?” Dana says as she continues to text.

“What!? But-!? We didn’t even find him while we were there! Especially when I had to drag you out of there when you were trying to buy that hoodie of that dog-girl from that Hell show that you watch!” Whitney whines.

“Duh, I know that! Plus, I hate you for dragging me out of another store, by the way! I’m just lying to her that he’s over there, so that when she gets over there, there will be plenty of time for us to bail! Consequences be damned!” Dana explains, having accepted her fate.

“B-B-But my relationship-!”

“I know your house number! Do you want me to call it and tell your mom and dad right here, right now about this secret relationship you have with that delinquent boy-toy of yours!?” Dana threatens as Whitney zips her mouth. “Thought so.”

With that, Dana hits the send button and says,

“Alright, message sent. Then we sit down and wait for a response. Given how crazy Lori is, she’ll respond about… now!”

Dana holds her phone into Whitney’s face as if a response was sent. However, there was no instant response as they sat there awkwardly for a few seconds before Dana looks at her phone, confused.

“Uh… huh. I, um… I thought she would, um… respond by now.” Dana says as she looks at her phone.

“You don’t think that she found him, do you…?” Whitney asks in a confused tone.

“If she did, we would’ve gotten an instant text from her. Something feels off.” Dana answers while looking at her phone for a response.

“Well, she didn’t exactly say she would tell us if she found Lincoln. Maybe she’s just in the bathroom or something…?” Whitney questions.

“I’m pretty sure she can text while doing her business. But now that you mention it… do you wanna get something to eat?” Dana asks.

“Eh, fine. But the second Lori finally responds back, we better come up with something else to lie about. Because I doubt Lincoln will still be at the Edgelord store.” Whitney says as she joins after Dana.

However, before they could take two steps, they are both grabbed by their shoulders and turned around to be confronted by a deranged Gavin as he is breathing heavily like a madman.

“Huh!? Gavin!? What’re you doing here!? You’re supposed to-!” Whitney asks before Gavin gets right into her face.

“You two just said that Lincoln was at that Edgelord store!? Heat Topic!?” Gavin asks in a crazed and demanding tone.

“Yes! I mean, no! I mean, I was just trying to-!” Dana tries to explain before suddenly, Gavin grabs her and Whitney and tosses them into a nearby photobooth and then, without warning, Gavin tips it over, trapping both girls inside.

“Grgh! Grgh! Mgh! Hrlp!” the girls shout in muffled unison as they try to call for help.

“Sorry, ladies! But me and the boys are in a competition for Leni’s heart and I’m not gonna LET ANYTHING GET IN MY WAY!!!!!! SAYONARA!!!!!!” Gavin shouts before jumping off the photobooth and running towards his destination, completely unaware of the truth.

As Gavin makes his way to his destination, he starts daydreaming about Leni, completely distracted from noticing a janitor mopping the floor, where he accidentally slips on the wet floor, where he proceeds to pick up speed as he slides across the floor.

“Whoa! Whoa! WHOA!!!!! CURSE THESE FLAT SHOES!!!!!! WHOA!!!!! WHOA THERE!!!!! WATCH OUT!!!!!!” Gavin shouts as he’s bumping and knocking over other shoppers, unable to stop himself.

Looking up ahead, Gavin notices a Sporting Goods store and he notices that he is about to crash into the bowling section. Realizing this, he tries to stop himself from crashing. But it was too little, too late as he slid into the Sporting Goods store before crashing into the fall. Falling on the ground, Gavin tries to get up, but gets hit on the head multiple times by bowling balls falling down on him. And when he tries to get up, the final bowling ball lands on his head and a lump grows out of it.

“Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Oh, Leni, oh…” Gavin laughs through the pain before passing out.

Just outside the Sporting Goods store, Lincoln and his friends walk past the store as they’re chatting and talking amongst themselves, completely unaware of the disaster inside the store or the disasters that are about to follow as they make their way towards the exit.

. . .

Back at the food court, Ellie and Teri finally finish their lunch as they finally begin their search for Lincoln, Teri is scouting the crowds and looking through windows at the stores lazily, not really committed to the search while Ellie has a concerned look as she glances at her phone.

“Oh, man… this is kinda strange.” Ellie says with a worried tone.

“Um… what? The fact that you and I haven’t bailed on this wild goose chase or the fact that Lori has gone whoopedy cuckoo these past few months!?” Teri responds in a mocking tone.

“No. Um… well, kinda on the second one. But… for the past twenty minutes, I’ve been texting Bobby and Lori about the whereabouts of Lincoln. But neither one of them have been responding.” Ellie answers with concern.

“Oh, well, Lori did say to us to text her if we see or find Lincoln. So it makes sense that she would ignore us, but I’m surprised that Bobby hasn’t responded.” Teri points out.

“Yeah, and plus, I really wanna know how long we have to keep up this search. Because I wanna go home and come up with a credible excuse for us bailing out if Lori decides to send out those photos of us handing out free food from behind our boss’s back.” Ellie says with a sheepish tone.

“You know what? I’m almost tempted to let her do it. In today’s economy, every company is desperate for part-timers. So I have no problem job-hunting.” Teri responds in a defiant tone.

“Eh, I’d rather keep my job at the pizzeria until I’m done with high school. ‘Cuz always starting a new job in the middle of senior year is gonna be awkward for me.” Ellie says in a hesitant tone.

“Augh! Regardless, I dunno about you, but I’m just gonna head home, blackmail be damned.” Teri says, rolling her eyes as she pulls out her phone to start texting.

“B-B-But, whaddayamean just head home!? And who’re you texting!?” Ellie asks in a panicked tone.

“I’m texting Lori with a very outlandish lie that we spotted Lincoln over there at that music shop.” Teri points to a store called Music Fiesta. “You and I saw him walk in there with a very gorgeous woman, Lori will see the text, she will rush in to see that no one’s there, and you and I will be long-gone, enjoying the rest of our day.” Teri answers with a satisfied smirk.

“But Lori hasn’t been responding to my texts before! You think she will look at yours and just believe it!?” Ellie asks in a hesitant tone.

“Pfft! Who cares? As long as Lori sees it and believes that Lincoln is at that music shop, it’s no skin off my bones.” Teri responds back as she finishes the text.

However, before she could hit send, her phone is suddenly taken from her and thrown to the ground, startling both girls as they look to see Scott in front of them with a crazed look on his face.

“Scott! What the heck was that for!?” Teri yells in an outraged voice.

“You two lasses said that he was in that music shop, right!? Lincoln is there!? Right!? That’s what you said!?” Scott asks in a crazed tone.

“W-W-Wha-!? No! You see, Teri was going to make an excuse and we-!”

Ellie tries to explain, but without warning, Scott cuts her off by picking up both her and Teri over his shoulders and tosses them into a trash bin.

“Sorry, lasses! But I need to find Lincoln first, so that I can get back with Leni again and I won’t let either of you ruin it!” he shouts as he picks the garbage bin and throws them into the nearest maintenance closet and pushes a bench to barricade the door.

After blocking the girls from leaving, Scott proceeds to rush towards the music shop where he proceeds to push the customers and tear through the music shop aside in his attempts to find Lincoln and bring him to Lori. In his insane search, Scott could barely make out who was Lincoln and who was Leni and he was growing more and more psychotic.

“Where are you, Lincoln!? Where!? WHERE!?” Scott shouts as he tears through the music shop.

But as he was looking, he didn't know that there were a set of extension cords, to which he trips over them in the process.

“Wha-!? Whoa! Whoa! WHOA!!! WHOA!!!!!” Scott yells as he begins to lose his balance, doing everything he can to stop himself from falling.

In his attempts to prevent himself from falling into an amp in front of him, he grabs an electric guitar by the neck, hoping to slow him down, only to yank it off the display, which accidentally shoves it right through the amp and proceeds to electrocute him, causing the electricity inside the entire store to flicker on and off as the outline of his skeleton.

After twenty long painful seconds, the electrocution stops as Scott was standing there all burnt to a crisp with his hair all static-fuzzed. As sparks of electricity travel from head to toe, Scott coughs out smoke as he speaks with a loopy tone and says,

“I… I… Leni… forgot your kisses, heh… heh… had sparks of life in them…”

With that, Scott passes out as mall security shows up.

“Heh. Would you look at that? Another teenager knocks himself out after wrecking a store.” one of the security guards says.

“Yup. This day gets more and more interesting. Alright. Let’s get him to the medical center.” the second security guard says as they grab him by his legs and drag him out.

. . .

“I got three raptors on my right! You get the ones on your left! Wha-!? No, not my left! Your left!” Becky yells as she and Tad were blasting dinosaurs in the game they were playing.

“Sorry, sorry! But they keep moving! It’s not my fault that these suckers like to jump!” Tad shouts as he is frantically shooting at the screen, trying to make his shots.

For the past hour, Becky and Tad have been playing all sorts of games at the arcade rather than looking for Lincoln, from Air Hockey to Basketball Hoop games to Skeetball and various arcade games before doing their best to survive in their current run on Cretaceous Park.

“Come on, Tad! Make your shots count! This is our fifth run and we can barely make it to the T-Rex!” Becky shouts while continuing to shoot.

“I’m sorry, but if it’s not the raptors that are rushing at us, it’s the pterodactyls that divebomb at us or those little green dinosaurs that pop out of nowhere that make me panic-shoot!” Tad shouts back as he frantically shoots at the screen like a madman.

After a few more seconds of shooting the dinosaurs and being overwhelmed, their health bars finally hit zero with the game over sign flashing.

“Ugh, come one! We were finally close to making it to the T-Rex!” Becky groans as she checks her pockets with more coins, only to come up empty. “You got any more change on ya?”

“Uh… not unless you want me to waste our last twenty on more quarters instead of for our ride home.” Tad answers.

“Eh, dang it. Well, I guess I had my fun then. We definitely gotta come back next time with more quarters. I really wanna beat this old arcade game. Especially since I hadn't seen the movie when I was a kid.” Becky says as she stretches her arms.

“Yeah. A long time ago. You and me both, babe. So… should we really go to see if we can find little Linc anywhere, or maybe grab a bite to eat?” Tad asks with a shrug.

“Eh, honestly, the fact that nobody has bothered to check in to see if they had spotted Lincoln, I would rather just use this opportunity to bail.” Becky answers in a tired voice.

“Normally, I would say that would be a good idea, but what about Lori? She does have those photos of us with her, that would get us in trouble with our folks and with our school, especially.” Tad asks in a worried tone.

Becky thinks to herself for a moment, pondering any ideas or scenarios, regarding the blackmail Lori has on them before snapping her fingers and looks to Tad with a mischievous look.

“I got it! Here’s the plan; I’m gonna text Lori and tell her that my little White Russian that he is here in the arcade. When she gets here, I’ll have you hold her down, I’ll grab the photos off her, and then we’ll trap her in that party ticket booth machine, and then we’ll bail!” Becky explains.

“Ah, nice, babe! That’s an awesome idea! She’s too crazy and unhinged to ignore that, plus it would be kinda funny that we could shove Bobby in there and-!”

“HEY, HAVE YOU SEEN A KID WITH WHITE HAIR!? YOU BETTER NOT BE LYING AND TELL ME NOW!!!”

Becky and Tad are startled by the loud voice as they go over to the next row of arcades to see Chaz interrogate some middle-schoolers.

“Chaz!? The heck are you doing here and why are you yelling at those kids!?” Becky asks with a raised voice.

Chaz, seeing Becky and Tad, decides to leave the middle-schoolers alone and responds,

“Oh, hey, Becks! Tad! I was just widening my search and all that for Lincoln, you know…? I’m guessing you guys are in search of him, too?”

“No, we gave up on our search after five minutes or so. We’ve been here for an hour and neither him nor his friends have walked in here.” Becky answers.

“Oh, well… I mean, it couldn’t hurt if I looked around and talked to the other kids, maybe the other staff, just to see if he was still around, because I would really like to find him first.” Chaz says.

“Trust me, dude, he has not been here at all and technically, this is a group-effort thing. So if he was here, we would’ve said something. Besides, me and Tad here are thinking about ambushing Lori to get those photos off her. Wanna help us out, so that we can all go home?” Becky asks.

“What!? No! I need to find Lincoln before Scott and Gavin do! Otherwise, I’ll never get Leni back!” Chaz shouts.

“Bro, you already know that she’s in a relationship with that summer camp guy. You really should accept it and just move on with your life. Isn’t that what’s important?” Tad asks, trying to reason with him.

Chaz gets right into his face with a crazed look in his eyes and screams,

“LENI WAS THE LIGHT OF MY LIFE AND WHEN SHE BROKE UP WITH ME, MY WHOLE WORLD FELL APART!!!!! NOW THAT LORI HAS HANDED ME THE GOLDEN TICKET, I AM NOT GONNA WASTE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO BRING LINCOLN TO HER, SO THAT I CAN FINALLY GET BACK WITH LENI AGAIN!!!!!!”

Becky pushes him off of Tad and shouts,

“Hey! I don’t appreciate you screaming at my man like that and I don’t like this crazy attitude that you have right now! Leni has moved on from the three of you and if you think for one second I’m gonna let anywhere close to my little White Russian, you've got another thing coming!”

“Oh, yeah!? And what’re you gonna do about it, huh!? You’re gonna fight me over a little twerp!?” Chaz asks in an aggressive voice.

“To keep him safe from you? Yeah!” Becky responds as she cracks her knuckles.

“Oh, yeah!? Well, come on! Bring it on!” Chaz shouts as he takes off his shirt as he puts his hands up. “You and me! Right here! Right now! Let’s go! Come on! COME ON!!!!!”

Becky, with an unimpressed look, gives him the softest slap to the face, which instantly stuns him before proceeding to fall to the ground as tears fill his eyes.

“AAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!! HAH!!!! HAH!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Chaz cries on the ground.

Becky and Tad give each other unamused looks on their faces as they leave the arcade.

“You know, I kinda wish I knocked him out to spare him the embarrassment.” Becky says, still hearing the crying.

“Eh, what’s done is done, babe. Are we still gonna text Lori that we found Lincoln, so that we can ambush her?” Tad asks.

“Nah, screw it. Let’s just grab a pizza and find our way home.” Becky answers.

“Cool.” Tad responds as they both head to the food court while mall security drags a crying Chaz out of the arcade.

. . .

Three hours later…

Lori is sitting quietly with her head down in shame and fear as she looks to her right to see the amount of anger and frustration building inside of her mother who is currently focused on the road as if the smallest distraction or sound could set her off.

During Lori’s imprisonment, in the security offices, Lori faced harsh lectures from the mall security and the eventual officers that arrived to document the report of Lori’s actions while Bobby was doing his best to take the blame to no avail as he was escorted out of the mall and given a year ban. Upon confirming Lori’s identity in their records, Lori’s current ban was extended substantially to the point where she could only come back as if they tore it down and built a new one. While waiting for the police to determine if she will be facing any charges for attacking the old man, other security would bring in Gavin and Scott, who had suffered some extended injuries, and then a crying, shirtless Chaz who was locked into a soundproof room. Their punishments were simple; Scott and Gavin were banned from the mall as well as fined in repairs for the stores while Chaz was banned for terrorizing middle-schoolers at the arcade.

Upon learning that the old man that Lori had attacked would not be pressing any charges, Lori had let out a sigh of relief before being informed that her mother was called about her actions and to come pick her up. Fast forward to now as the quiet ride back home is just as more intense and terrifying for poor Lori than the possibility of jail time.

With her focus being completely on her mom out of fear, her secret backup phone vibrated loudly, which startled her as she quickly pulled it out to see several messages from her possibly-now ex-friends.

Becky: Me and Tad heard that you were sent to the holding center, so we snuck in and destroyed the blackmail that they confiscated from ya. Good luck framing us now.

Whitney: Decided to tell my parents about my secret relationship with my rebel boyfriend and threatened to run away from him if they tried to break us up. Now you have no dirt on me.

Teri: Me and Ellie just called our boss and told him we quit our jobs, so good luck getting us in trouble now.

Dana: Same with my job. Plus, it was getting too tacky there anyways. So no consequences for me. *Tongue-face!*

Ellie: I’m getting a restraining order on you and on Scott.

Then Lori sees a message from Bobby.

Bobby: So, babe, don’t freak out, but… my folks somehow found out about what happened and now I’m forbidden from speaking to you until after college… I’ll cherish what we had in our dreams.

Panic and heartbreak fills Lori’s mind as she quickly tries to message Bobby, only for her mom to snatch it out of her hands as she takes a quick glance at the messages before shattering it in her hand, frightening Lori.

“Lori…” Rita says in a quiet, but threatening tone.

“Y-Yes, Mommy…?” Lori asks in a frightened tone.

“One year…” Rita mumbles.

“Huh?” Lori asks.

“ONE YEAR!!!!! ONE YEAR WITH AUNT RUTH ALL BECAUSE YOU ARE OBSESSED WITH YOUR LITTLE BROTHER!!!!!! EVEN AFTER EVERYTHING I TOLD YOU ABOUT YOUR PUNISHMENT, YOU GO BEHIND MY BACK AND TRY TO SEARCH FOR LINCOLN, BLACKMAILING BOBBY AND YOUR FRIENDS IN YOUR SELF-DELUDED PURSUITS OF TRYING TO MAINTAIN AUTHORITY OVER HIM!!!!!!! YOU’RE LUCKY YOU’RE NOT FACING JAIL TIME FOR WHAT YOU DID, OTHERWISE I WOULD HAVE TO GO IN THERE AND PUNISH YOU MYSELF!!!!!!!!!” Rita screams while maintaining her focus on the road.

“B-B-Bu-Bu-But he was hiding something! I wasn’t actually trying to blackmail my friends! I was lying to them! I was only trying to get them into working with me, so that I can finally prove to you that he is hiding some dirty secret from us! I wasn’t trying to maintain authority, I just wanted him to come out clean with whatever he’s been hiding from us! I know for a fact that he was not out with his friends! He definitely was doing something behind our backs! Like always!” Lori shouts, trying to present her case.

“Oh, really!? He wasn’t with his friends!? Then why is he and his friends right now having a pizza party after coming back home!?” Rita asks before showing a picture of her son and his friends together, smiling with each other.

Lori just looks at the photo in shock as Rita finally pulls into the driveway of the Loud residence. Lori just goes,

“H-H-H-He was with them the entire time and I-I-I-!?”

“You know, the reason why he was at the mall wasn’t just to hang out with his friends. It was also because he bought me a nice perfume as a gift for your father and I’s big date next week.” Rita explains.

“Bu-Bu-But I-I sent B-Becky and Tad in that area, h-h-how-!” Lori says before getting her ear pulled as she gets dragged out of the car. “Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Mom! I’m sorry!”

“Now, Lori… this is what you’re gonna do; first, you’re going to destroy every remaining blackmail on your friends and even on your siblings if you even have any, and I mean everything! Second, you’re gonna write a genuine, heartfelt apology to that old gentleman that you attacked! And finally, you are to never, EVER STICK YOUR NOSE INTO LINCOLN’S PRIVATE LIFE AGAIN!!!!!!” Rita orders.

“But-! But-! But-!”

“NO BUTS!!!!! IN THE HOUSE AND UPSTAIRS!!!!!!” Rita orders as she points to the door.

Letting out a sigh of defeat, Lori just hangs her head down in shame as she enters home and walks back upstairs, passing Lincoln and his friends playing games on the TV. Lincoln, who was holding Lily while watching Stella whip Clyde’s butt in Plumber Kart 8, notices Lori head upstairs as Rita enters the living room.

“Hey, Mom. Is everything alright with Lori…?” Lincoln asks, completely unaware that his own sister followed him to the mall.

“Oh, she’s just thinking about the consequences of her actions for sneaking out. Thanks for keeping an eye on Lily.” Rita says as she grabs her from Lincoln.

“No problem. So are the girls going to be in trouble because of Lori’s actions too? Or…?” Lincoln asks.

“Oh, don’t worry about the rest of your sisters, sweetie. They learned to accept their consequences, unlike your older sister. Which reminds me; I need to go speak with them.” Rita answers before heading to the stairs. “Oh, and before I forget, your friends can sleep over tonight, but they have to be gone by after breakfast.” Rita adds.

“No worry, Mrs. L! My Dads already know to come pick me up in the morning and-! AGH!!!! Stella, really!? Red Shell!?” Clyde shouts in defeated anger.

“Should’ve focused, Clyde. And don’t worry, Mrs. Loud. I can walk home after breakfast tomorrow.” Stella says after beating Clyde.

“Oh! My turn to play! And don’t worry, madam! My Mee-Maw will be coming to pick me up tomorrow! And she will be giving Zach and Rusty a ride too!” Liam says as he grabs the controller.

“As long as she doesn’t bring that darned tractor again. It always has that weird smell.” Rusty says in an annoyed tone.

“As long as you have a ride home, Rusty. That’s what matters. Enjoy the rest of your night!” Rita says before walking upstairs.

As soon as she reaches upstairs, Rita shouts,

“Girls, minus Lori! Come here, please!”

Immediately, the girls, except for Lori, come out of their rooms.

“Ugh, what did we do this time?” Lynn asks in an annoyed manner.

“No, no. None of you are in trouble for anything. I just want to let you know that starting tomorrow, all of you will be serving the rest of your punishment here.” Rita answers.

“Here…? Did Dad get you something nice or something…?” Leni asks in a confused manner.

“No. No, Leni. After your sister snuck out and went after your brother, I decided that it’s best that she serves her punishment with Aunt Ruth all by herself while all of you remain grounded here.” Rita explains.

“Well, that’s good. But tell us this - what did Lori do to receive all that punishment?” Lana asks, now curious.

“I just said that she snuck out and went after your brother.” Rita answers.

“Yeah, I know that, but what did she do…?” Lana reiterates.

“Do you want me to change my mind and have you all spend a weekend at Aunt Ruth’s?” Rita asks.

“No! No! No! No! No! We don’t need to know! We don’t wanna know! Right, girls…?” Lana asks as she turns to her sisters.

“Yeah, no, no! We don’t wanna know! We’re fine! Lori deserves it! Lincoln deserves his privacy! We don’t wanna butt in!” all of the girls respond in unison.

“Good. Now keep in mind that you’re all still grounded. So no TV, no loud music, no video games, no hobbies, just chores, tasks, and whatever I ask you to do. Got it?” Rita asks.

“Got it…” the girls groan in unison once more.

“Okay. Back to your rooms.” Rita says as one by one, the girls return to their rooms, except for Leni, who enters Luna’s and Luan’s room.

Speaking of Luna, she remained outside the hallway, looking at Rita.

“Um… yes, Luna?” Rita asks.

“Yeah, quick question - which one’s my room again?” Luna asks as Rita gives her a worried look.

But before Rita could answer, Lisa comes back out and grabs Luna by the hand before she says,

“Sorry, mother. I am still not done examining her brain. She should be better tomorrow… Hopefully.”

With that, Lisa pulls Luna back into her room as she puts up a sign that says Do Not Disturb before closing the door.

“Oh, boy… the sooner Lisa cures Luna of her concussions, the better. Come on, Lily. Let’s go make sure that Lori is destroying that blackmail that she’s hiding in her room.” Rita says as she heads over to Lori’s room.

. . .

Lincoln is watching Zack and Rusty trying to race each other while waiting for his turn when he feels his phone vibrate. He pulls it out of his pocket to see who it is, and upon seeing the name pop up, his face forms a small blush and says,

“Be right back, guys. I’m gonna use the restroom.”

Lincoln hops off the couch as he runs upstairs to the bathroom and proceeds to lock himself inside as he starts to read the text.

Quinlan: Hey, honeybunny~. I hope you had a great time, spending the day with your friends~.Personally, I wish you chose me over them, but I know how much you missed hanging out with them before I came along~.

Lincoln: Had a great time with them at the mall. We had some pizza for dinner and we’re gonna be having a sleepover tonight.

Quinlan: Ooh, fun~. But I wish you spent a sleepover with me instead~.

Lincoln: A little bit. By the way, I overheard my mom talking to the rest of my sisters upstairs. Apparently, all but one of them will now be serving their punishments at home. So no more sneaking over to my house for quick rounds of fun for a while.

Quinlan: That’s quite alright, honeybunny~. Because in a few weeks, I have the surprise of a lifetime for you~.

Lincoln gets a picture sent to him and it contains three see-through bras and panties on her bed. Lincoln has a goofy smile on his face as he responds back.

“Can’t wait to see you soon.”

Quinlan: Oh, you’ll be seeing more than just me~. Tootles~. *Wink Emoji~!*

Lincoln just texts her back Good night as he makes his way back downstairs to enjoy the rest of his night with his friends for a long, overdue sleepover.