16. Silver Lake

Mandatory apologies: I was absolutely certain that "True Colors" was an original song from Phil Collins. I didn't know it was a cover. Anyway, it's one of his classic songs (he always plays it live), so I don't think it matters to the story. But I didn't know this, so I'm admitting this blooper anyway, hahaha.

Alright, this chapter is a little oasis. We'll cool it off a little here, we'll take a break from the feels. I have a very visual imagination when I'm writing and picturing the scenes in my head, and the second half of this chapter makes a little more sense in a cinematographic way than in a novel/fanfic way, hahaha. I believe it serves its purpose, though. Anyone who wants to exchange opinions on this matter, feel free to send me a message here or in Tumblr.

In this chapter I have one paragraph talking about Michigan. Since I live in the other side of the continent and I've never traveled to North America, I did a very light research on Wikipedia and I filled the rest with my imagination. So, sorry if there's someone from Michigan reading this and I screwed up.

Thanks a lot to endevor-NeverEnding once again for pointing out several grammatical mistakes and typos in the last chapter. And also to:

Boris Yeltsin, Exotos135 (I don't really agree, but that's just my opinion, hahaha), Omega Ultra, Insane Master Writer Studio, Guest#1 (thank you for pointing it out that it was a Cyndi Lauper song. I didn't know that), Emmaelise401, Dread (we still have quite a road to go before the end!), MikeTheHuman113 (their spotlight is coming soon!), That Guy That Likes Stuff, FanficFan920, Angel Star Ninja, oOoWoLfwrIT3roOo (thank you for giving this story a chance, I'm glad you like it so far), YamiKonamiSalamiNation, HftLover, D-Structs, Guest#2 (yeah, I was talking about 'Living Louder', amazing song), Guest#3, Codymitchell1, Hopeful Man (hope is the last thing we lost, Hopeful Man!), celrock, shadowprove97, BoukenDutch (I don't know, man. Lately it's taking me longer to translate than to write the damn chapter, hahaha. I can't tell how long it'll take me to update), Emperor of Performances (well, you're right! when I planned out the story I wanted each sister to represent a different way to deal with the pain), STR2D3PO, The Critik, venomsdragon14 (I fucking love Tarzan too), Chuglife, Dead heart 9, I M Rally, TheAwesomCoolJay, ExMarkSpot, ImpossibleJedi4, erica-phoenix16 (yes, they are the same songs in the spanish version :D), LoudSin(I think that quote might be "Things aren't beautiful because they last", right? When he's with Ultron at the end?), TheCarpetCrawler, Starshine89, ElectricLoud, Guest#4, FrofeeTrush, piotyr-wysocki, Tsukimine12, Samtastic 3-0, Jazz (I answered your first 4 questions in my Tumblr!), DeepDishes, Hatoralo, Grim-XIII, E, jack-leighton-712, Secret life of writing (well, no, Luna isn't cured. Neither are Luan or Lynn), Mini-Crushies.

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Chapter 16: Silver Lake.

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From the very moment he woke up, Lincoln knew he was sleeping on the tent he and Leni had set up in their house backyard. The sound of the wind blowing against the tent and the semi darkness didn't confuse him nor scared him. He didn't also find strange that his feet were cold, since they'd been out of the blanket for the most part of the night, and even though judging by the light that was filtering from the outside the day was promising to have a nice weather, the tent didn't offer much protection against the night cold. Only his feet had that problem, though. All his upper body was comfortable and warm. It wasn't only because that part was indeed covered by the blankets, it was also because he was literally laying on top of his sister Luna, with his head resting on her chest and his sister's arms embracing him over his shoulders.

It had been a long night. They had cried a lot. They had expressed all the feelings they'd hidden deep inside of them. According to his watch, they had stayed awake until three in the morning, which meant they had cried all their fears, all their sadness, all their pain for almost five hours. When the weariness consumed all their energies and they ran out of tears, Luna lay down. Her arms didn't let go of her little brother, so she dragged him along, letting him rest atop her. Ten days ago Lincoln might have found that situation a little awkward, but right then he could only feel grateful for having sisters that loved him so much. The position reminded him of previous years, when he was a kid, a young little kid, and some of his older sisters would decide to have a nap with him.

"Luna, do you remember that song you used to sing me when I was a kid?" He had asked.

"Yeah" she answered, stroking little locks of his hair.

"Do you think…? Could you…?"

He was afraid it would sound stupid, that it would make him look childish. He couldn't finish the question, but Luna understood him anyway, and it didn't even crossed her mind to make fun of him. She simply started to sing him the same old song she'd sang him so many times before. She sang it, feeling Lincoln's chest moving with each breath, until the movement was slow and steady. Only when her brother fell asleep, she allowed herself to surrender to her tiredness.

They had both unburden all they had been keeping inside. And even if Lincoln's idea had been to help his sister, the truth is that he needed it too. He hadn't realized how much he needed to be able to cry openly, to be able to mourn with anyone else for what was happening to him. For him, that night had also lifted a weight off his shoulders.

He thought he heard the sound of some voices from very far away, so he carefully sat up next to his sister. She also started o move a little and mumble something. After yawning and stretching his arms, Lincoln checked the time on his wrist watch, Adrien's watch. It was nine o'clock on Sunday morning. The rest of his sisters were probably having breakfast right now.

"Luna" he called her, gently shaking her shoulder.

His sister finally reacted, opening up her eyes. She did seemed to be a little confused for an instant, but her eyes quickly focused on Lincoln. She also sat up and stretched her arms, trying to fully wake herself.

"Morning, bro" she said, getting close enough to give him a kiss on his cheek.

"Sorry for waking you up."

"No, it's okay" she assured him, flinching a little and taking a hand to her lower back. "Ouch. I guess you're not as lightweight as you used to. I think I know why I stopped taking naps with you."

Lincoln couldn't stop his cheeks from blushing, to his sister's amusement.

"Don't worry, Linky" she said, giggling. "What time is it, anyway?"

"Nine in the morning. We should go and have some breakfast."

He started to get up, but Luna grabbed him by his sleeve. He looked back to see what she wanted, but before he could react, his sister gave him yet another kiss on his right cheek.

"Let's go, sweet child o' mine" she whispered, smiling at him as she stood up and opened the tent's entry.

Hearing her speaking in lyrics was enough to plant a big smile on Lincoln's face. Luna stepped out of the tent, and he stood up to follow her, but at the last second he remembered that he'd left his bedroom's key inside Luna's guitar case, to avoid losing it. After so many years without any kind of privacy, he was still having trouble getting used to having to carry a key. Once he took it and put it in one of his pockets, he walked out of the tent as well.

The day, as he'd supposed, was incredibly nice. Only little strokes of white interrupted the radiant blue sky. There was a small breeze that, with them being in their pajamas only, was a little uncomfortable, but it wasn't that much of a problem. They crossed the backyard heading to the kitchen's backdoor, regretting not having their shoes and walking barefoot on the wet grass. As he walked along his sister, Lincoln realized he felt different. He felt like he was having more energy, he noticed he was more optimist, he felt more… alive. It was more than the sensation of knowing his sister was a bit better. It was more than feeling a great weight off his shoulders. It mas more than just an emotional state. It was like his body had rested several weeks overnight.

He thought such a dramatic change after only one night was really strange, but he was not going to complain. It had been a long time since he felt so good.

"Have you thought what we're gonna tell Lucy, Lola, Lana and Lisa if they wonder what were we doing?" Asked Luna, as they got nearer the kitchen.

"Um… No, actually" he said, moving a hand to his nape. "I guess we can, I don't know, improvise something?"

Luna turned around to flash him a smile.

"We'll figure something out. Although… "she said, and her smile hesitated, "when are you planning on telling them girls? You got four of your sisters in the dark, Lincoln. I still believe they have the right to know the truth."

"Lisa knows" he simply said. He was walking right behind his sister, so he bumped into her when she suddenly stopped.

"Lisa?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. "But… when…?"

"She figured it out on her own" he answered.

Luna seemed to be utterly surprised by that revelation. She remained in silence for several seconds, with her gaze lost.

"Wow… I guess I should've seen that coming. But… How did she took it?" She asked, biting her lower lip.

Lincoln sighed. Was it worth it telling Luna that their younger sister was looking for a cure for his disease? No. He couldn't do that to her. He couldn't give his older sisters any kind of hope. What if Lisa didn't make it? His older sisters were already suffering like they never had so far in their lives. He felt and saw their pain, the burden of the situation, the agony of the resignation. They were just suffering so much as if to give them the hope that it all might be avoided. If he gave them that hope and then took it from them, he would be causing them twice the tremendous pain. He himself preferred to pretend that Lisa wasn't working on anything, because not even he dared to believe there was a chance that it might all turn out okay. It was too good to be true. He couldn't let himself be that naive.

"She's dealing this in her own way" he answered, avoiding Luna's eyes, fearing that his sister might see that he wasn't being totally honest with her. "I'll try to speak with her, but for now I think she needs some time on her own. I'll talk with them all, soon. I… I know I can't keep them away from this much longer. I promise you I'll tell them."

If she noticed anything weird in Lincoln, Luna didn't let on. She simply nodded, took a look at the kitchen's door to make sure that there was no one looking at them, and she gave him a tight hug.

"It's okay, bro. Take… Just do it when you're ready. You know you can count with the rest of us for whatever you need, right?"

"Of course" he assured her, hugging her too. "And you know that anytime you want to talk, play or just be with me you just got to ask, right?"

"Yes" she said with a smile, breaking off from the hug. It was clear that she didn't want to get too emotional and cry before breakfast. "I know. Let's get inside, dude."

They climbed those little steps before the kitchen's backdoor and Luna opened it up, going inside followed close by her brother. Unfortunately, all their sisters were there already, so Lincoln knew they would have to come up with an excuse about why he'd slept in a tent with Luna. Luckily, though, some small arguments were taking place right now between Lucy and Lynn, and the twins. Maybe, if they were quiet enough, they could…

"I con!"

Lily crawled her way to her brother, babbling until she reached his legs, tugging his pajama bottoms to get his attention. She did not only got Lincoln's attention, but also alerted the other eight girls that Lincoln and Luna had just entered the kitchen, in their pajamas, from the backyard. The fights ended abruptly. The few seconds of silence were everlasting for Lincoln, whom just waited for the surprise to pass and for his sisters to start their assault on him. And just as he predicted, three seconds after Lily caught everyone's attention and ruined Lincoln's chances of tiptoeing his way out, the twins, Lucy, Lynn and Luan gathered around him and Luna, all of them speaking at the same time. Luan seemed barely worried, mostly interested in knowing where had they been. Lynn did looked kind of worried about Lincoln, but he couldn't take her worry seriously because he was focusing more on the fact that she was wearing an apron and kitchen gloves. Lucy was asking with suspicion, while the twins had left their differences aside to complain about not having been invited to a secret party.

Lincoln sighed, as his sisters kept throwing him questions. He had enough experience with this kind of chaos, so he simply decided to stop trying to focus on what they were saying, and just ignored them until they settled down. He ducked and lifted Lily from the ground. She wasn't asking him where he'd been, she didn't demand to know where had he spend the night or why she wasn't invited. She was just happy to see him again, and she showed it by grabbing some locks of his hair and playfully pulling them, causing him some pain. He let her play with his hair, until his baby sister threatened to tear his scalp. He quickly gave her a little kiss on the tip of her nose, making her laugh and releasing her grip.

"Lincoln, we're talking to you!" Complained Lana and Lola, getting their brother's attention.

"Alright" he finally said, resigned, cradling his baby sister so she wouldn't be pulling his hair. "What were you saying?"

"We want to know where have you been!" Asked Lana, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And what was Luna doing with you!" Added Lola, putting her hands on her hips.

"Oh, yeah, right", he started to say, trying to earn some time to come up with an excuse. "Well… You see..."

He came up with many excuses in his head, each one more improbable and less credible than the last. His younger sisters were innocent and easily manipulable for someone as sharp and perceptive as Lincoln. But they were no fools, and when they were angry, not even the best excuse could convince them. They might even reject the truth. Fortunately, Luna save him the trouble.

"Guys, it was my fault" she said, stepping forward. "I was really pissed off last night, so I sneaked out and made up dad's tent in the backyard. I wanted to be alone. But Lincoln heard me and decided to bunk with me to cheer me up."

The girls, with the exception of Lori, Leni, Lisa and Lily, looked worried at Luna. The memory of what she'd done two nights prior was still fresh in their minds. Luan and Lynn, however, stared at Luna and Lincoln respectively, and with a simple exchange of looks they understood that there was more on that story than they could say in front of their younger siblings. Their faces relaxed a bit.

"But why did you let him in if you wanted to be alone?" Asked Lola.

Luna smiled and put an arm over his shoulders.

"He can be very convincing" she said in a whisper, closing her eyes and embracing him a little tighter.

Lincoln saw his older sisters staring at them with an impossible mixture of sadness and joy. Sympathy and resignation. And he also saw his younger sisters raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, Lynn, what gives with that apron?" He asked, in an obvious and poor attempt to change the subject.

"Oh" she said, and Lincoln saw her freckled cheeks gaining color. "Yeah, about that..."

"She decided to cook you a special breakfast" answered Lucy in her place, crossing her arms, like she was reproaching her something.

He couldn't remember ever seeing Lynn so flustered. She was staring at the floor and nervously playing with her fingers, not daring to look at him. The twins weren't particularly interested in that topic, so they sat at the kiddie table, where their breakfasts were already served. As soon as they sat, they started to fight once again. Lincoln didn't know what to say to his sister. He looked at the countertop and saw a plate with what seemed to be a couple of a little burned hotcakes.

"Are those for me?" Asked Lincoln, gently breaking away from Luna's hug and walking to the countertop.

"I… Yeah. Yes, they… they're for you" said Lynn, ashamed. "But I think I left them on the fire for too long and they ended up a little burned. You can give them to Charles if you want."

She pointed at the dog that was eating on his plate on the floor. The animal turned around his head for a second after hearing his name, but then he jumped right back at his food.

"I'm sure they'll be delicious" he assured her.

"That's, like, super cute, Lynn" said Leni, smiling the way only she could, spreading joy.

The compliments only served to embarrass Lynn even more, although behind her blush, there was a shy smile hidden.

"But, why did you decide to make him a breakfast?" Asked Lucy, still with her arms crossed over her chest. "You've never cooked before."

Lincoln, who had grabbed the plate and a glass of milk with the intention of going to the kiddie table to sit down and start to eat, stopped. Lynn was staring at Lucy, and she didn't seem to be ashamed or shy anymore. She looked just like when someone insinuated that she wasn't that good at some sport, or when she was losing in Monopoly.

"There's always a first time, right?"

"And why did you only cooked for Lincoln? You didn't even make hotcakes for yourself."

"Well… That's because..."

"Yes?"

It was hard to tell since she was still wearing her kitchen gloves, but Lincoln was pretty sure that Lynn was clenching her fist. She looked like she was about to scream, but oddly enough, his older sister just sighed, and her face earned a playful look.

"Do you really think I'd test my cooking abilities on my own food?No way. That's why I have my little test dummy here, who will try them even if they give him a stomach ache later."

As she made fun of him, she closed her arm around his neck, trapping him in a classic wrestling grab. But that time, Lynn wasn't squeezing his neck trying to keep him from breathing. Slyly, to not raise suspicions, she was gently grabbing him closer, in some kind of tender hug.

"A minute ago you said he could give them to Charles just because they're a little burned" Lucy remarked, "but now you're implying that you don't really care whether Lincoln enjoys them or not. What's the truth, Lynn?"

Lincoln felt Lynn's arm muscles tensing around his neck.

"I'd love to have someone trying them so they can tell me the truth about how did I did it, and I know Lincoln's the only one who would agree to do it" she softly explained, sounding too calm for Lincoln's taste. "It's the first time I ever did this, so I'm a bit nervous, and I don't really want to make him eat something he doesn't want. Does my explanation satisfies your curiosity, Luce?"

"But why—?"

"That's enough, Lucy" said Lori, finally intervening, putting a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Does it bother you that Lynn cooked Lincoln's breakfast?"

"No, but—"

"Does it affect you somehow?"

"No..."

"Then let them be, Lucy" she said with a smile.

The little goth let out a big sigh, grabbed her breakfast and went straight to the kiddie table, sitting along Lisa, Lily and the twins. Lincoln also was about to follow her, but Leni stopped him.

"Hey, Linky… Would you like to go with us to the other table?" She asked with a smile.

The rest of his older sisters were staring at him expectantly, holding their breaths as they waited for his answer. Leni, however, was looking at him very calmly, with a smile that was just too sincere. Leni was still a mystery for Lincoln. How much did she understand of what was going on? Was she conscious of what was actually going to happen? He thought he would need to ask Lori for her opinion on the subject, to know what was really going on with his second oldest sister. It was a mystery, but in the end, Lincoln couldn't really complain.

He took a look at the kiddie table. Lucy and Lisa where starting a food war between them. Lily was peacefully eating, making noise with her spoon. The twins were still arguing. It was clearly not the quietest environment.

"What do you say?" Leni insisted.

"I, uh… Yeah, why not?" He finally said, smiling at her.

Judging by their faces, one could've believed that Lincoln's older sisters had just found out Christmas was coming earlier this year. They walked with him to the grown up table in the living room with the most sincere smiles he remembered seeing in them in a long time. When he sat down, he noticed that Lynn immediately sat down right next to him, and Leni was occupying the seat on the other side of him. Luna and Luan sat together, still very close, and Lori chose to be right in front of Lincoln, on the other side of the table.

"You know, you really don't have to eat them if you don't want to" said Lynn, distrusting her own hotcakes.

"Are you kidding? They look delicious!" He said. He quickly cut a piece and tried his first mouthful of the day. They were a little crispy, yes, but they actually tasted better than he'd expected. "Lynn, these are really good!"

His sister's face warmed up.

"Really? You don't have to lie to me, you know..."

"No, seriously, these are great. Is this really the first time you cooked this?"

"I… Yes. Yeah, it's my first try" she answered, quickly blushing.

"Kudos, then. They are really good."

Lynn grabbed her cup of coffee and took it to her mouth. It wasn't easy to drink with a smile from ear to ear, but she managed to avoid spilling anything.

"Lincoln, you didn't brush your hair, did you?" Asked Leni, frowning at his hair.

"No, I didn't go to the bathroom yet" Lincoln answered.

"Don't worry, I got this" she said with a smile.

He thought she would take a comb out of her dress —he'd seen his sisters taking stranger things out of their clothes—, but Leni simply started to use his fingers to comb his hair. She started to accommodate his white locks without tugging or pulling and without causing him any pain. Lincoln actually found himself enjoying that sort of massage, those soft and tender caresses with which his sister was combing his hair.

"So, dad's tent?" Asked Luan, staring at Luna.

"Yeah. Although, you know" she said, lowering her voice to a whisper so she couldn't be heard from the kitchen, "it was all Lincoln's idea."

"I figured so" she added, smiling a little. "And… did you talk things out?"

"Yeah, we had a talk" Luna said, sadly looking at her cup of coffee. "I really needed one."

Luan put a hand over Luna's, gently stroking it.

"Lincoln knows how to give good talks" she simply said, and they both turned their heads to look at their brother.

They were giving him looks full of sadness and nostalgic, which made him feel a little uncomfortable. He tried to smile to relieve the tension, but he forgot he was eating his hotcakes, so when he parted his lips a bit of the mass fell from his mouth over his pajama. All his sisters started to laugh after seeing that. Lincoln thought that an embarrassing act was worth seeing all his sisters laughing, even if they were laughing at him.

"Well, I sure hope Lincoln's talk helped you unders-tent that we all love you, Luna" she said, laughing at the end. "Get it?"

Lincoln, Lynn and Lori let out some groans, but the smile on their faces showed that they were happy to hear their sister's puns once again. Luna did let out a small chuckle, looking fondly at his younger sister. And then she turned her head to look at Lori, this time looking at her with much regret.

"Lori… I'm sorry. Sorry for all those things I said. I was—"

"It's okay, Luna" Lori interrupted her. "I was wrong too."

"No, it was all my fault. I did… I made some terrible decisions" Luna said, getting ready to cry at any moment.

Lori made sure that none of their younger siblings were interested in what was going on in the dining room, stood up and got closer to Luna. She didn't waste a second in standing up too and throwing herself at her older sister's arms. They embraced each other, Lori gently stroking his little sister's back.

"Luna, it's okay, I forgive you" she told her. "Really. I was just worried sick."

"I promise I won't do that again."

"At least until you're eighteen" added Lori, breaking away from her sister. Luna laughed a little, and after wiping her eyes with the back of his hand, she sat once again next to Luan, while Lori got back to her seat and asked Lincoln about his hotcakes, earning a rough warning from Lynn to avoid making fun of her cooking abilities.

Lincoln felt extremely happy. All his older sisters were in the table with him, and they were all smiling. Luna and Luan were having a nice, joyful chat, holding hands the entire time. Lori was smiling as she teased Lynn, asking her if she was planning on joining the Middle School Cooking Team, and the sports girl aggressively snapped back that if she wanted, she could totally win the Cooking Super Bowl, that no gold was beyond her if she really tried. Meanwhile, Leni was still stroking Lincoln's hair, even though he was pretty sure that he didn't need to be combed anymore. She was still playing with locks of his hair, humming a random melody.

In his eleven years of life, he'd never payed much attention to breakfast. He was usually pretty drowsy in the mornings, and having breakfast was just another thing in the routine, like brushing his teeth, something he didn't stop to think about it. That morning, though, he dedicated a lot of time to just see his sisters having breakfast on the table. To see them laugh, to see them playfully teasing each other, to enjoy the contact between them. To enjoy the shared time.

As he finished his second hotcake, Lincoln wished he had learned to enjoy his breakfast along his sisters before.

The noise coming from the kitchen, where the kiddie table was, had been gradually increasing since the older siblings had walked to the dining room. It wasn't until they heard the sound of shattered glass that they were forced to intervene. They all stood up and went right into the kitchen. Lisa, Lucy and Lily were staring open mouthed at the twins, who were facing each other separated only by a few inches, screaming right into each other's faces. There was a broken glass of milk in the floor.

"You always ruin everything!"

"Everything always has to go the way you want it to!"

"Would it kill you to have some class?!"

"Is it so hard for you to share?!"

"I'm telling mom you broke a glass!"

"Well, I'll tell her YOU broke a glass!"

"Enough!" Yelled Lori, while Lynn and Luna separated the twins. "What happened?"

"I grabbed the milk carton first!" Said both girls at the same time, looking at each other with hatred and mistrust.

"Oh my God… Did you literally fight over who was getting a glass of milk first?"

"It's her fault!" They both yelled.

"Come on, you guys, you can't fight for everything" tenderly said Leni, crouching down.

She tried to make them look at each other, but Lana broke free from Luna's arms.

"That's it! I'm not having breakfast with her!"

Before even Lynn could react, which was quite a feat, Lana ran through her siblings legs, straight to the first floor. They were all stunned for a few seconds. Then, like it was usual, Lori reacted first.

"Lynn, Luna, come with me. Let's go talk with her. Leni, Luan, you stay here with Lola."

"Should we raise the threat level to Thunder Storm?" Asked Lisa, referring to the sister fight's protocol.

"Negative. This is not going protocol level, we'll end this before it gets there" said Lori, finally marching off with the two designated sisters to speak with Lana.

The tension on the air could be cut with a butter knife. Lola was sitting in her chair, arms folded, apparently having lost her appetite. Lucy and Lisa were having turns at looking at each other and staring at the young blonde, whom simply had her eyes fixed on her plate. Lincoln couldn't help but feel guilty. If he told his sisters that, they would all surely try to tell him that he shouldn't blame himself, that it wasn't his fault at all. But Lincoln was convinced that he had part of the guilt. Lana and Lola were always fighting, like you could expect from twins with such different personalities. However, those fights were always in a somewhat playful way. They'd never had so serious fights in such a short time. Lincoln was pretty sure that this sudden animosity between them wasn't casual. It was clear for him that it had started ever since Lincoln had been taken to the hospital, exactly one week ago. It wasn't the first time that the girls acted different because of a general grieving air in the house. In other occasions, like when their father had had a hernia operation, or when Lynn had broken one of her elbows, the twins responded to the general grief by having more and more fights. It was their way of relieving the tension. Evidently, they felt something was off in the house, but they were too young and innocent to realize what.

Feeling responsible for what was happening, Lincoln was determined to fix things between his younger sisters. Leni was kneeling besides Lola, trying to talk some sense into her, but the younger one didn't want to listen to her. Luan had brought a mop and was cleaning the mess on the floor. Dodging her, Lincoln went next to Lola.

"Hey" he called her, kneeling on the floor to be eye level with her.

Lola was still crossing her arms, not looking at him.

"Lola, look at me" he softly asked her.

She was extremely authoritarian. She wasn't just as pretty as a princess, she also lived like she would have to take the kingdom's throne one day, constantly practicing her air of superiority and bossy attitude. She didn't like receiving orders from anyone, and let only a few members of the family to give them orders. She obeyed her parents because she had to, and because deep down she knew they only wanted the best for her. She obeyed Lori because she respected her leadership.

And finally, she obeyed Lincoln because she loved him, and because she trusted him. He was more than just her big brother, he was someone she actually looked up to. She would never admit it out loud, but even though he had the gross habit of reading comics in his underwear around the house, Lola really admired him in more than one way.

Thus, when he asked ever so gently to look at him, she did.

"You're on her side, aren't you?" She asked, putting and frowning at the same time.

"What?"

"You think It's all my fault, and you're with Lana, don't you?" She repeated.

Lincoln was confused.

"Lola, what are you talking about?" He asked, not believing what he was hearing.

"What you heard! Two days ago you went to plant trees with Lana and you left me alone! And now that we're fighting again you come here to nag me and tell me it was all my fault! Because you love her more!"

Lincoln's brain finally understood what was going on: his little sister was jealous.

"Lola, you know that's not true" intervened Luan.

"Lincoln doesn't love Lana more than you, he doesn't have a favorite sister" added Leni with a smile, although it hesitated for a second as she looked back at Lincoln. "Right?"

He couldn't help but smile.

"Of course I don't. You're all special to me, and I love you all the same. You, for example" he said, poking her nose with his index finger, "you are my special little princess. And you'll always be, Lola. Always."

The tough expression on the girl softened after those words. She was having problems looking Lincoln in the eye, and she suddenly seemed to be interested in the kitchen's floor.

"Now, what do you say if we go so you can apologize with Lana, alright?" Lincoln suggested.

"But it wasn't entirely my fault" she replied, lacking conviction.

"I'm not saying it was. I'm not blaming you, I'm pretty sure you were both equally responsible. You just apologize for your part, and I'll make sure she apologizes for hers. I'll go with you. Do you agree?"

He offered her his hand. She looked at it, then at his eyes, and then at his hand again. Her lips insinuated the smallest smile, but Lincoln detected it right away. She put her hand over his, let him grab it, and allowed Lincoln to help her standing up. Not being able to resist the impulse, she hugged Lincoln's leg, as he gently stroked her hair. Lucy and Lisa were watching the scene with interest, Lily was just drooling on her food, and Luan and Leni wanted to smile and cry at the same time.

Lincoln and Lola, holding hands, walked straight to the twin's bedroom, but they stopped in the dining room when they saw Lori coming down from the stairs, with Lana by her hand. Luna and Lynn appeared behind them. The oldest and the only boy in the family exchanged a smile. Seeing their twin getting closer, they both hid behind their older sibling's legs. But when they were just four feet away from each other, there was no point in trying to hide themselves.

"I think you both have something to say" Lori said.

Lana looked at Lori, and Lola looked at Lincoln. He nodded and tightened his grip on her hand. The twins sighed and, staring at the floor, they said at the same time:

"I'm sorry."

They didn't seem to be really sorry, actually, but they were at least trying to make things up between them, and the other nine siblings smiled at the scene.

"Oh, great, you're all here!"

Mr Lynn walked from the living room to the dining. He was smiling from ear to ear, and they all noticed that he wasn't wearing his usual green sweater and brown pants. Instead, he was wearing some shorts that showed his hairy legs and an aquamarine short sleeve shirt. It was a nice morning, no doubts about that, but it was weird to see him dressed like that.

"How are ya kids, had breakfast yet?" He asked in a really good mood.

His eleven children remained silence.

"I'll take that as a yes. Well, Lincoln, you better go to your room and dress up."

"Why?"

"We're going to the Museum of Natural Sciences. You like coins, don't you? I read there's an exposition of old drachmas and obols, from the Ancient Greek. It'll be fun!"

Collecting coins was a wonderful hobby. The story of coins was a story as interesting as any Ace Savvy issue. Everytime Lincoln shared his passion for coins, people would stare at him, judging him without knowing. He hadn't cared, he enjoyed doing what he loved. Any other time, he would've been delighted to be able to go with his father to a museum and see coins over twenty five hundred years old.

But, was it worth it to lose an afternoon with his sisters? Just to see some stupid coins? What good did it have to appreciate the texture, size and inscriptions on a metal from millennia ago? His bucket list had nothing related to his coin collection, and it was actually cramped with a lot of unmarked boxes about things related to his sisters, family and friends. His priorities had suddenly changed. Now, he would give all his hobbies away for just one more breakfast with his family.

"Dad, I don't know if it's a good id—"

"Son, go change your clothes, will you?"

His father's smile didn't hesitate at all, but Lincoln felt the change of tone. It was clear that there was no other option.

"I… Okay."

Defeated, he climbed the stairs all the way to his room. With his mind somewhere else, he bumped his face against the door when he tried to open it and it didn't move. Annoyed, he looked inside his pocket and grabbed the key.

He still wasn't used to having a key.

Once inside, the first thing he did was cross the Saturday off. And with that, the first of the two weeks he had left had already ended. He started to shiver when he saw how many days there were left. One week. Seven days. Only seven days.

He didn't want to think about that. He took his pajama off and dressed up as fast as he could. He wanted to get away from there, to go and get distracted with his dad. He practically ran away from his room, closing the door with a bang as he dashed downstairs. The entry door was opened, and he heard the sound of one of Vanzilla's door being closed. As he walked to the door, he looked at both sides of the hall. At his left, Lori and Leni were still finishing their breakfast at the table. His younger sisters seemed to be in the kitchen, eating too. At his right, Luna, Luan and Lynn were sitting on the couch, with the TV turned on, although none of them looked specially interested in what was going on.

Closing the entry door behind him, Lincoln felt a little bummed out about his sister's sudden change of mood.

He got in the van on the passenger seat, put on his seat belt, and waited for his father to turn on the engine.

"Are we really going to the museum?" He asked him. He didn't doubt his father would thought that would cheer him up, but it was really hard to imagine him deciding that was the perfect way to spend what could be his last Sunday.

"Of course not" answered Mr Lynn, finally turning on the van. "I said that so none of the girls would like to come with us."

"Uh?" Said Lincoln, completely surprised. "Where are we going, then?"

Vanzilla left the driveway and headed down the street, away from the museum.

"We're going fishing, son."

The fifty minutes drive to Silver Lake, the most famous lake in Royal Woods, passed incredibly fast for Lincoln. At first, neither he nor his father spoke a lot, with the latter asking him trivial questions about breakfast, traffic, and even reaching the awkward point of talking about weather. Lincoln answered the best he could, but he was having trouble feeling comfortable.

It wasn't easy to talk when they both knew there was a more important and evident conversation that neither one wanted to start.

Luckily, his father changed the radio station and there was a song singing, one they both immediately recognized, although their opinions about it where polar opposites.

"Oh, Dear God, what have they done?" Indignantly complained Lynn Sr. "How dare they profane this way Life is a Highway, Tom Cochrane's best song? This song had a soul, you know, how dare they turn it into some pop record just like that!"

"I like this song" said Lincoln with a smile. "It's on Cars, when Lightning McQueen is with his truck buddy in the road and they're driving the interstate highway."

"Of course you like it, it's a great song, but if you knew the original, then you'd prefer it."

"Even so, this one's really good" he said, turning up the volume. "A couple of years ago Luna found me listening to it in my room, and when I told her I really liked it, she learned it in like half an hour on her guitar. We went to the garage and spend the whole afternoon singing it."

His father smiled at his son's enthusiasm, whom had started to move his head to the rhythm. Lynn had his own motives to always prefer Tom Cochrane, but deep down he had to give it to Lincoln: it was an awesome cover. Before any of the two could realize it, they were both singing the chorus out loud.

"Life is a highway, I wanna ride it all night long! If you're going my way, I wanna drive it all night long!"

They both knew the lyrics, so they had fun taking turns to sing each verse. When the song ended, father and son were laughing out loud in the front seat of the van.

"Well, it wasn't that bad after all, huh?" Said Lincoln.

"I gotta admit, it was pretty good" conceded Lynn. "No one can top Tom Cochrane, though."

"Who's that guy, anyway?"

His father gave him a look of fake disgust.

"These kids nowadays… They don't know the legends… A great musician, that's it! For your information, your sister Lynn is named after him."

"What?" Asked Lincoln, staring at him without understanding, believing that it was maybe another one of his dumb jokes. "How could she be named after a guy named Tom?"

"He was born in Lynn Lake, a Canadian city" hearing no response from his son, Lynn Sr turned to look at him, finding a surprised and shocked face. "What? I'm serious! Why did you think she was named like that?"

"Oh, I don't know" said Lincoln, the sarcasm in his words painfully evident. "I had this crazy idea that she was named after her own father."

Lynn Sr let out a chuckle.

"Oh, Lincoln, do you think your mother would've let me named her like that if it wasn't because she was also a big fan of good ol' Tom? It wasn't that hard to make her mind, specially since… Oh, wait, this is another great song!"

The station put a classic eighties song that Mr Loud had danced in his younger years and that Lincoln knew thanks to Luna. They started to sing once again. And then they sang the next song. And then the next one.

Michigan is known as the Great Lakes State. It limits with four of North America's five great lakes, which makes him one of the most beautiful states in the US, a wonderful place to visit and appreciate the nature. Lincoln, in theory, knew these things. They'd taught him that in school, he'd heard it from his parents and he'd seen images in internet and movies. He knew that he lived in a state with nature wonders, like Gran Venture Cannon. But it wasn't until he stood in the bank of the Silver Lake that he was fully conscious of that fact.

His father had driven by the highway until he reached a small, signless road that led inside a forest. He drove for a few more minutes, until the trees were opening up and they finally reached the lake. It was enormous. Standing near the bank, Lincoln calculated there had to be at least two hundred and fifty yards to the other shore. Not only could he see the beautiful image of the water reflecting all the trees surrounding it and the blue sky, he could also appreciate the silhouette of the mountains standing proud in the horizon.

Lincoln just stood there contemplating the view. Had he known something so beautiful like what he was seeing existed so close to his house, he would have made an objective for his bucket list to visit it. The lake was so beautiful, so mirrored… He couldn't resist the temptation. He grabbed the the flattest stone he found and threw it with all his strength. It skipped five times on the water's surface before it finally sank. Lincoln closed his fist in the air, satisfied with his throwing skills. Lynn would've been completely jealous.

"Lincoln! Are you trying to scare all the fishes away? Get here and help me unload the van!"

Lincoln did as his father told him. In the backseat, covered by a blanket so the girls wouldn't accidentally spot it, Lincoln found all the fishing stuff he'd seen in the garage the previous afternoon. His father grabbed the fishing rods, a bag with some clothes and a cooler filled with baits and their lunches. Lincoln, meanwhile, took the two folding chairs that were there, and with some difficulty, carried them near the bank.

"Actually, Lincoln" his father suggested, putting things in the ground, "why don't you put the chairs in the water? There's nothing like fishing with the feeling of the lake on your ankles."

Smiling at the idea, Lincoln took out his shoes, his socks, folded up his jeans and did as he was told. The water was cold, but it felt nice to step on the wet clay. His father handed him a hat to protect his face from the sun, and a fishing vest just for the sake of aesthetics. Then they both grabbed a fishing rod, and only a few minutes after getting to the lake, father and son were casting their lines as far as they could.

"So, now what?" Asked Lincoln with a smile.

"Now, we wait."

Lincoln nodded. He knew there wasn't much to do now that the bait was on the lake. Fishing was the sport of patience.

"Hey, dad?"

"Yes?"

"Was is true that thing you said about Lynn? Did you really named her like that because it was the city where that singer was born?"

"Absolutely" answered Lynn Sr, as he made a little movement with his rod to adjust the line tension. "I mean, obviously there was also the fact that she would be named after me. But, you see, he's not just a favorite singer of your mother and me, it was also his music that was playing when..."

Lynn cleared his throat and wasted some time needlessly adjusting some bait ornaments on his hat.

"Well, let's just say that he was very involved in Lynn Jr's… conception."

"Dad!" Complained as he laughed, moving his foot to sprinkle his father. "TMI!"

"Well, you asked me!"

They started to laugh. A real fisherman would've been indignant with all the noise they were making, but neither Loud was actually worried about it.

"And how did you all choose out names? I mean, why do all our names start with 'L'?" Lincoln asked, curiously.

Why they all had the same initials was a mystery between the Loud children, and they'd never dared to asked their parents about it.

"That's a really good question, son. It's in your right not to believe me, but the truth is, it's not something we did on purpose. We had our own reasons to name you all the way we did. Some of those reasons may have more sense than others, some are more important, but we always had a motive to name you like we did."

"And what were they?"

"Alright, let's start from the beginning. Lori is the name of an old friend of mine, who gave me the twelfth best gift I've received in my whole life."

"The twelfth?" Asked Lincoln, raising an eyebrow.

"She introduced me to your mother" he simply answered. "She moved away to another state some years after introducing us, and eventually we stopped being in touch with her. But, well… Your mother and I were together for about three and a half years, and then we had a fight. A very serious fight."

Lincoln's smile left his face.

"You and mom had a fight?" He asked.

"Yes. It was nonsense, really, I can't even remember what we fought about in the first place. But we were young and susceptible and… And I decided to break up with her" he sadly said, his eyes lost in the reflection of the mountains on the surface of the lake.

Lincoln gasped.

"You broke up with her? But… How…? How did you two made up?"

"Lori."

"She came back from the other state?"

"No, no… Lori, your sister" he explained. "Your mother was pregnant. When she found out, she didn't want to tell me at first. But we finally met up for a talk and she told me. And… Well, we weren't in the best terms, you know? But it was our child, it wasn't just about us anymore. We had to think what was best for our child. So we put aside our differences and we tried to form a family once again. By the time our daughter was born, Rita and I were back in love. And we realized that we were back together thanks to the baby. She had brought us together again, and we decided to name her after the old friend who'd presented us in the first place, so we could all remember that it was thanks to her that we were happy together."

"Wow" said Lincoln, raising his eyebrows and letting out a small whistle. "I don't… I'd never had guessed that you had been that close of breaking up."

"But destiny wanted us to make a family" he said, calming him down. "And boy, did we comply."

The boy with the orange polo chuckled.

"What about the rest? Why 'Leni'?"

"Oh, that's one story we don't like to tell" he answered, shaking his head. "See, Lincoln, she had… troubles during pregnancy."

"Troubles?"

"Leni was born a month ahead of schedule. It wasn't really that bad, the hospital was very well prepared. But we were still new parents, Lori was born less than a year prior, and to see out little girl in an incubator… It wasn't easy. We were really scared. And then, during out second night in the hospital after the birth, a nurse came to see us. She looked like a prison cook, Lincoln, I swear. Her arms were bigger than my legs. At first I thought she was going to hit me. But she didn't. She sat with us for hours, letting us know that it was all going to be okay, soothing Rita, she even cradled little Lori to sleep. We were really scared, and that wonderful nurse helped us."

He made a small pause, during which his smile came back, and he turned around to see Lincoln.

"Can you guess how was that beautiful lady called?"

"Leni" said Lincoln, suddenly understanding.

His dad nodded, and they both smiled in silence for a few seconds.

"The rest of the names don't have such sad stories" he assured him. "When your mother was pregnant of our third daughter, there was a night where we went for a walk in the park, taking Lori and Leni in their double carriage. We were just thinking how to call this new girl, when we stopped to stare at the sky. The stars were sparkling that night, and there was a full moon. It was beautiful, the most amazing view we'd had in a long time. Then we started to think about a name that could be as pretty as that image. We thought about Star, Pearl, but in the end we decided to call her Luna, which means 'moon' in spanish."

"What about Luan?" Asked Lincoln, fascinated for being able to discover such interesting information about his family's past. "Why did you choose that name?"

"Now that's a funny story" said Lynn Sr, giggling a little. "Which is ironic. So, when your mom was going through our fourth daughter, Lori was about to turn three years old. We were trying to teach her how to pronounce all the family names, but there was no way we could make her say 'Luna' properly. She kept saying 'Luan' for some reason. Don't ask me why, she just did. And then..."

He had to stop for a few seconds so he could laugh.

"Ok, so hear this: I thought it'd be HILARIOUS if we called our new baby Luan, just to confuse little Lori a bit more. And boy, not only Lori: all of you had always had trouble learning to distinguish between Luna and Luan."

Lincoln shook his head, smiling from ear to ear.

"You're lying."

"No, I'm serious, son."

"And mom agreed to this?"

"Turns out she also has a sense of humor after all."

"Alright… Let's just say that, for now, I believe you" said Lincoln, with a smile and a tone that hinted that he wasn't really buying that story. "You already told me why you chose Lynn's name. And then..."

"Of course you were waiting for this moment. Well, as you know, after Lynn Jr's birth, it was a while before we decided to have you."

"You said that like it was a big deal, but I think it's normal for any family to—"

"The thing is" his father interrupted him, "that we decided to have another baby. And when the doctor told us it was a boy… Look, the truth is I had actually lost any hope of ever having a boy in the family by now. I'm not complaining! I love all my little girls, you guys are the best eleven gifts life has given me. And you will always be. But when I knew I'd be having a boy, I decided I couldn't name him lightly. I always knew you were going to be an extraordinary kid, I knew it right from the start. That's why I decided that you would be called after the best man this wonderful country has given to humanity, after the United States greatest president."

"Oh. So I am named after Abraham Lincoln after all" he said, slightly disappointed.

His friends had always had that theory about his name. And it's not like he was bother by it. But after such interesting stories around the election of his sister's names, Lincoln was expecting something a bit more… interesting.

"Lincoln… I'm really sorry if you don't like your name" said his father, downhearted. "These are risk every parent must take. We never know if our kids will like the names we impose on them. But you need to know that I named you that way because ever since I saw you on our first ultrasound, I knew you were destined to big things. Maybe… Maybe you won't be president, and maybe you won't change the whole world. But… But you've changed our family forever."

Lynn stopped his explanation saying something had taken the bait. He stood up and started to move his fishing rod, but Lincoln knew that no fish had been even close to touch the bait. He didn't complain, though, since the pause also help him to keep his emotions under control.

"Dang it, I think it escaped" said Lynn, lacking conviction, as he cast his line again.

"So… what about the other names?"

Skipping any discussion about Lincoln, his dad told him the origin of the younger siblings. He told him that Lucy was named after the famous song that put her in the sky with some diamonds around her, a song that was playing on the radio on a night during Rita's seventh pregnancy, and that Luna had taught to the rest of her siblings, so the whole family could sing it along. Mr Loud also told him that Lola had been the nickname with which everyone knew Lincoln's paternal grandmother, and that Lana had been his maternal grandmother, Pop-Pop's wife. Lisa had been named after one of Rita's old friends, who had helped her getting into college. And finally, Lily was named after Harry Potter's mom.

"Since when do you like Harry Potter?" Asked Lincoln between chuckles, not believing what he'd just heard.

"Son, you were just a baby, so you don't remember this, but I spent twenty hours in a line dressed as Sirius Black to get my signed copy of The Deathly Hallows on its release day. I was really into naming our eleventh kid Emma, after the actress, but… Well, remember when I told you that we hadn't chose all your names starting with L on purpose? Well, I think we ended up choosing Lily because it certainly fitted with the rest of you."

"Wow. It's… It's amazing. I can't believe I didn't know anything about this."

"None of you ever came to ask about it" simply said Mr Loud. "I'm not judging you. It's just that we all live so rushed nowadays, we have so many things to do that we just don't stop to… simply talk, you know? I mean, what was the last time we had a true father and son bonding moment, eh?"

"I think that… Yeah, when you taught me to prepare your special linguine."

"Oh, you mean my Lynn-guine" he said, laughing the same way Luan did after one of her puns.

Lincoln, in response, let out a frustrated groan just like he always did with Luan.

"Son..." His father started, with his faze lost in the horizon. "I know I'm your father, and that my job is to take care of you, teach you all I know and make sure you don't set the house on fire. But, just for today, do you think we could be just friends?"

"What do you mean?" Asked Lincoln, a bit distracted by a flock of birds that started to fly away from the tree tops on the other side of the lake.

"I mean that… I want to know you, son."

Lincoln completely forgot about the birds, and focused his attention on his father.

"Dad..."

"I just want to know more about you. What's your favorite color? What's your favorite band? Was there any sport you would've liked to practice and you didn't tell us, or you tell us and we didn't let you? What's the deal with that Ace Savvy you like so much? I want… I just want to know you better. I want to know more about my little champ" he resignedly said.

Lincoln thought about the talk he had had with his sister Lynn just two days ago. She was one of the siblings he spend the most time with, and yet there were a lot of things he didn't know about her. Living under the same roof made them family, made them close, but that wasn't enough to really know someone.

"Orange" said Lincoln, as he slowly moved his bare feet on the water.

His father stared at him.

"My favorite color is orange" he explained him. "I think it's always been like that. And SMOOCH is my favorite band, Luna was always showing me their songs, and I think they are the best band ever.

"Tell me more" asked Lynn, so focused on his son that he didn't realized that there was something in the lake pulling his bait.

His father asked him to tell him more, and Lincoln complied. He told him about all his likes and hobbies. About how Bobby had made him love Monster Trucks rallies. He told him about his favorite novels. He also took a whole hour to explain his father the main arcs from Ace Savvy, including Crisis on Infinite Decks, the Card of Owls and his historic clash against Captain Yahtzee, the most powerful superhero from Casino Comics. After that, his father decided that it was probably a good moment to have some lunch, so they left their rods aside and grabbed some sandwiches from the cooler.

While they ate, his dad asked him if there was any girl he liked. A little flustered, Lincoln told him about how much he'd like Christina at first, and then he told him that right now, all his interested in the opposite genre was centered in Ronnie Anne. He told his dad how their relationship had evolved, from their first and failed kiss, to their double date in Jean Juan's. He took his time to explain in detail all the things he felt when he was with her, about that sensation of feeling like he could be his true self without being judged.

"Wow, son. I would've never guessed you could have such deep thoughts at such a young age" said his father, fully impressed. "When I was your age I wasn't interested in girls yet, I still thought of them as weird things of nature."

"It's not something I usually talk about" Lincoln admitted. "I haven't even told Clyde this things yet. I never thought I'd be discussing this with my dad."

"I get it. I didn't talk much about my life with your grandpa. My father was… Well, he had been raised in a different time. Things were different back then. He was a very strict man, with very clear values. He was dedicated to his work, and family usually came after that."

"He didn't love you?" Asked a worried Lincoln.

"Of course he did. My father loved me. It's just that he wasn't very fond of showing it, you know? He never liked my jokes, or that I loved dancing so much. He wasn't the kind of father that read me stories to fall asleep at night, or went to see me at my school plays."

"That's… That's not right" said Lincoln, frowning. "Dads are supposed to be there with their kids. They need to show them their love. Just like you and mom do with us."

"Lincoln, I don't want you to have a bad image of your grandfather. He woke up everyday at six in the morning and got back home at eight in the evening. He had to drop school when he was only ten so he could go to the factory to work with his father, my grandpa. He worked his entire life to make sure that we would have food in our plates everyday, and so I could finish my studies and not repeat his steps."

Lynn closed his eyes and let out a shy smile, reminiscing about prior times.

"When I finished high school, he asked for a day off at work so he could attend my graduation. He hadn't told me he would, he simply appeared there. I'd never been so happy in my life, and neither had him. That was the same day that he gave me my first car. He told me I'd earned it. And when your mother and I moved together, out house was unfinished, it needed a lot of work to be done. Your grandfather spent his life savings so we could buy everything we needed to finish it."

"Really?"

"Yes. It's a pity he died so soon. Luan wasn't even born yet. I know that he would have loved to meet the rest of you. And he would've loved to be here with us right now. He always brought me here for fishing. I loved spending those afternoons with him..."

Lincoln felt a void in his chest. He'd never been this close, this personal with his father, and there were so many things we would have liked to ask him. So many things he wanted to know. But… primarily, there was a question he didn't dare ask. He didn't want to ruin the moment, he didn't want that nice talk to turn in an awkward or sad moment. Still, Lincoln wanted so much to ask him if, so many years after his father's death, after losing a loved one… if he still found himself thinking about him. If he still missed him. He wanted to know if someone could ever completely move on over such a loss.

He wanted to ask him that, but he couldn't gather enough courage.

"You really loved him, then?" He asked instead.

"Of course, Lincoln. He was always there when I needed him, he was the best father he could manage to be. And God knows I didn't make it any easier for him. I wasn't exactly an angel."

Those words reminded Lincoln of an item on his Objectives Lists.

"Dad?"

"Tell me."

"There's something I need to tell you..."

"What is it?"

"I… Well..." Lincoln took a deep breath, prepared himself, and finally said it. "I broke your disco ball. I was playing with my remote control plane and I couldn't dodge it and… and it blew into a million pieces. I… I should've told you. But I was afraid of being punished, and then Lola took the blame because she wanted to earn our trust, and I—"

"Son" he stopped him, "take it easy."

"No, dad, I lied. I didn't tell you the truth, and then I let you guys ground her for things she hadn't even done."

"Lincoln, it doesn't matter."

"But—"

"Do you really think I can be angry with you right now just because you broke a stupid award?"

"I… I guess not."

"Of course not. It doesn't matter anymore, son. I appreciate you telling me the truth, though."

Lincoln wasn't fully convinced about his father's words. He still felt bad.

"Speaking of breaking stuff" said Lynn Sr, "what happened today at breakfast?"

"Oh, yeah, that."

He summarized the best he could the morning incident. The twins fighting, the broken glass, what he had told Lola, how he and Lori had spoken with each twin to cool them off. His father listened every word, smiling after hearing what his son had said to Lola.

"Lincoln, I'm so proud of you. Your mother and me regret not having told you this sooner, but we really appreciate everything you do for your sisters. You always help us taking care of the younger ones, and you make sure your older sisters don't run out of control."

"You don't have to thank me" he said, shrugging it off. "They're my sisters. It's my job to love them and take care of them."

"Yes, but you do more than that. Son… I don't think you realize it, but even without you knowing it, you've taken a responsibility that doesn't belong to you. You're the middle child, you're the only boy in a family full of girls. You could've been an irresponsible, selfish kid trying to survive in this chaotic family, you could've let Lori, Leni or Luna try to keep everything under control. But instead, you chose to live trying to make everything easier for everyone else. And that… Lincoln, you're the son every father would wish to have. And I can't… I can't stop feeling lucky for having had the chance of being your father."

"D-Dad..."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I don't want to cry neither, but I got to say it. You were born in a family different from the rest, in a big family, and… and I love you all so much, and I just want to give you the best. And sometimes I wonder… sometimes I wonder if I haven't failed in that."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I couldn't give you the life you deserve!" He said, raising his voice and throwing his rod to the water, scaring away all the fishes in the lake. "After Lucy's birth, your mother had to find a new job, because my wage wasn't enough. And even so, we barely have enough money. The house is falling to pieces, the car is falling to pieces—"

"Dad!" Said Lincoln, stopping him, leaving his rod aside too and leaning on his chair to be closer to his father. "Don't say that. We're… We're not poor. You guys always buy the things we need."

"Those are always second-hand stuff, Lincoln. You… You sleep in a closet."

"I like my room."

"It's more than that. I… I'll spend the rest of my life regretting all the things I couldn't give you" he mourned, and the pain in his voice caused a chill to run down Lincoln's spine. "I couldn't take you traveling to another country. I couldn't take you to those expensive conventions you always liked. A year ago, you asked me to start going to a comic book drawing course, and I didn't have the money to sign you up. I told you 'no'. And now you won't be able to learn it..."

"I don't care" he said, and he was being completely honest. "Dad, I mean it, I don't care. I'm happy with what I have. Specially… Specially for having you guys with me."

There was no need to keep pretending to be strong anymore. His father stood up and lifted him up in his arms just like when Lincoln was a little boy. The white haired kid embraced his dad's neck with his arms, and they both let the minutes just pass in the bank of the wonderful and not so silent anymore Silver Lake. In just a few hours of shared time with his father, Lincoln had learned a lot of things from him. He'd learned about the story behind his sister's names, about critical moments in his parent's marriage, about his paternal grandfather. And also, unfortunately, he had the possibility to learn something else. He had the opportunity of seeing, feeling and listening to the pain of a grown up man losing the most important thing in his world, in his life.

Lincoln found out how does a man who lost his son sounds.

It wasn't like crying with his sisters. It was different than crying with Luan or Lynn. It was even different than crying with Luna, even though they both had cried their hearts out the night before. It was simply a different intensity, impossible to compare, impossible to ignore.

A lot of time passed until they both could control themselves, grab their rods again and sit on the chair. It took them even more time for one of them to break the silence.

"Lincoln, there's something you need to know."

"What is it?"

"Last Friday, after Lynn ran away from school… Your mother had to go to school to talk with the principal. And she had to tell him everything."

Lincoln let out a sigh that extended for more than five seconds. He had not wanted to think about it, but he'd assumed something like this might have happened.

"I understand."

"They would've expelled her" his dad explained, like he needed to justify what they'd done. "We talked with that kid's family and the principal and… They understood. When they realized what was going on, some classmates confirmed that this Ryan kid had said the wrong things at the wrong time. They only suspended Lynn for three weeks."

Lincoln nodded.

"They understood why you didn't go to school this past week. And we… we also told the principal that the rest of your sisters won't be attending school for a while neither."

"No one?"

"No. Your mother and I believe they deserve the chance of spending as much time as possible with their brother. The principal said not to worry, they will be able to reinsert themselves in school whenever they feel ready. Do you understand what this means?"

"I… I think so."

They said nothing else, while Lincoln started to think in how this changed everything.

"I'm sorry son, but it's about time you talk with your younger sisters. We can't… You can't keep waiting."

"I know. I know. I… I'll tell them tomorrow. Is that okay?"

"Of course. Do you want us to help you?"

"Thanks, but no. I want to… tell them personally. It has to be me."

"Okay."

After ten more minutes of silence, Lynn Sr stood up.

"Want to go back home?"

"But we didn't catch any fish..."

"I know, that was a disaster. That's why I hate fishing" added Mr Loud in a low voice, while he grabbed his chair and carried out of water.

"You hate fishing? But, didn't you say you loved fishing with your dad?"

"Lincoln..."

As he started to put away the baits and hooks, Lynn smiled at his son.

"...when you take your son out for fishing, you don't really do it because you want to fish."

Vanzilla parked in the driveway at half past four in the afternoon. Lincoln and his father carried down all the fishing equipment and stored it where it belong. Lincoln received the pleasant surprise of seeing that most of Luna's instruments and amps were no longer in the garage, which meant that she had taken them back to her room. He wanted to think that their talk last night had helped her realize music was not the problem. If she understood that now, he could focus more on trying to ease the pain.

His hyperactive mind started to come up with different courses of action about how to proceed with each one of his sisters, and he was so distracted in his train of thoughts that before he realized it, his father and him had finished putting everything in place.

"Alright, son, I won't bother you any more today" said Mr Loud, closing the garage door.

"Dad, don't say that" replied Lincoln, hugging his father. "I really loved this little trip with you. Thank you."

"No, Lincoln" said Lynn Sr, kneeling so he could fully embrace his son. "Thank you. Now go and have fun doing whatever you want, okay?"

"Alright."

They broke away from the hug, and Lincoln started to walk to the house entry, when his father called him one more time.

"Oh, and Lincoln… Anything you need, anything you want to do, you just have to ask me. Anything that's in my power to do… take it for granted."

Lincoln just nodded and smiled.

"Thanks."

He went inside his house and was received by the classical Loud House chaotic noise. He heard a lot of movement upstairs, which was probably Lynn's doings. He also heard music, some drums, which could only be thanks to Luna. It seemed that things were slowly going back to normal. The question was how long would that little peace last. How longer could he keep it until the storm came down on them with all its wrath.

"Lincoln!"

Luan, who was sitting in the couch, quickly got up and walked closer. She hugged him, almost lifting him from the ground, but released him right away. She took half a step back and her right hand almost unconsciously went straight to her brother's left cheek, gently stroking it, like she was just trying to make sure that she could touch him, that he was still there.

"Is everything okay? Did you have fun at the museum?" She asked, and she wasn't trying to mess with him, she was asking with full honesty.

"I'm okay, Luan" he said, putting one hand over his sister's. "I had an awesome time."

"I'm glad to hear that."

He wanted to go to his room, at least sit down a bit so he could process the long talk he had just had with his father, but he could see Luan struggling to come up with some way to start a conversation, to have an excuse to talk with him. So he silently waited for her to break the ice.

"So, uh, I was thinking… about that little project we're working on" she said, almost in a whisper.

Lincoln knew what she was talking about. Luan was helping him prepare something that was one of the priorities on his bucket list, barely less important than those objectives that were directly focused on helping his sisters and make them feel better. It was, in a way, one of the most important things he was going to be able to do before he died, and it was all possible only thanks to Luan.

"Yeah, what about it?" He asked with interest.

"Well… I know you probably had a lot of things to do, but if you want, we could all keep making progresses today" she suggested, speaking in a kinda shy and embarrassed way.

"I do have a lot of things to do, yes, but I would love to advance a little more with that, Luan" he said, making her smile. "Just let me go to my room to check somethings I need for it, alright?"

"Yes, definitely! I'll get everything ready!"

Luan ran all the way upstairs and into her room. Lincoln slowly climbed up each step. He stopped in front of his door, and he remembered the bump he had given to himself that same morning just because he hadn't unlocked the door. Smiling, he moved his hand to his pants, looking for the…

His smile faded away in an instant. He checked his other pocket, finding nothing but air and dust, and then he started to think.

That morning… His dad had send him upstairs to change his clothes… He'd hit his head… He'd quickly dressed up, and then…

"Oh, no..."

He put a shaky hand on the doorknob and turned it. To his utter horror, it was unlocked.

Any kind of dread he was feeling, however, was multiplied by ten when he opened up his door more and saw, standing in front of his calendar and with his objective list in her hands, his little sister Lucy.

.

Hello darkness, my old friend.

This chapter was a very needed break. I don't say it didn't have any sentimental or deep part (the most important about Lincoln/Lynn Sr 's talk was that which was not said), but it certainly wasn't the same as other previous chapters. For the second half, I wanted to try something different, a scene driven completely by dialogues. No external factors, no alien elements. Just two characters, their ideas, their feelings, their hearts. The things they said and the things they didn't dare speak out loud.

But anyway, this story needs to start its way to the end. There's a lot come yet, don't worry, but Lincoln is running out of time, and he needs to start closing wounds, to try to fix everything. Some may not like the pacing, but I find it truly poetic. I don't want to elaborate on that, though.

The thing is: Lucy knows. She knows, goddammit. And if you have some humanity in you, then you're afraid for her as much as I am.

I'll see you sometime soon, I hope.