21. Ch 21- Truth

Silence had filled the open room of the McBride household. The moment that Clyde had asked that question, the smiles on everyone's faces had dropped, leaving a thick tension between them. 'I knew I shouldn't have asked it,' he regretfully thought, almost instantaneously.

"Wow, uh… didn't expect that," Lincoln admitted. "How come you, uh… you want to ask that?"

Clyde was silent for a couple of seconds, but replied eventually, knowing that he couldn't go back now. "You… you've spent a lot of time with her recently. More than you did before."

A small laugh escaped Lincoln's lips. "Well, yeah, she's the one who told me about-"

"I'm not… talking about dodgeball practice." Lincoln shut his mouth, curious to see where this was going, not noticing how the other boys were all looking away from the conversation. "I mean, sitting with her at lunch, going to the mall. You never did that with her before." Lincoln nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. "I, I shouldn't have asked. It was stupid-"

"No, no, it's okay." He took a drink from his glass, before setting it down and speaking again. "Well, it was Girl Jordan who asked me to sit with her and the others at lunch, and the same for going to the mall last Saturday. I guess, since I've started going to dodgeball, I've gotten to know her a little better."

"… is that why you asked her if she wanted to join us at the arcade?"

Lincoln turned his head towards Rusty, surprised by the redhead's words, and what sounded like bitterness behind them. "Where did that come from?" When he didn't respond or even look at him, the white haired boy looked at the others and noticed that something was up. "Okay, guys, what's going on?"

Stella, who had silently put it together in her mind, gave an angry look at the boys. "Is this what you guys were talking about when we were heading to the arcade?" She inquired, and though they didn't speak in response, the slight shift in their expressions told her all she needed to know. "I can't believe you guys! I thought you were over this!"

The Loud boy turned to the girl. "Wait, do you know what this is about?"

"It's nothing, Lincoln," Zach muttered, causing Stella to glare at him.

"Oh, cut it, Zach."

"Stella, it's really not worth all this," Liam insisted.

"Guys, please!" Lincoln pleaded. "Just tell me what's going on."

"They're jealous!" Stella finally snapped. "They think that you'd rather hang out with Girl Jordan than with us!"

Lincoln's eyes couldn't have widened more if he tried, the sheer absurdity and shock of the notion catching him completely off guard. "That… That has to be a joke! Right, guys?" When he didn't get a response, he turned to the others, the deathly silence worrying him as he observed the grimaces on their faces, and with this he knew that something was wrong. "… okay, guys, seriously… what's going on here?"

Clyde looked down, twiddling his thumbs. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that question," he muttered.

"Clyde, guys, please, it's okay. You can talk to me, just… tell me. What's going on?"

Clyde, though he didn't want to make things anymore awkward, could tell that things were going to be awkward either way, and seeing the look in Lincoln's eyes, he felt his resolve weakening. Looking towards the others, Zach and Rusty didn't react, but Liam saw Clyde pleading to him, and the farm boy gave in with a little nod, before turning to Lincoln. "Thing is, Lincoln," he began to explain, "we're rather surprised you've been spending so much time with them. We didn't mind the first time you sat with them at lunch, since you'd just started going to dodgeball, but then there was the second lunch that you sat with them for, not to mention the mall trip. It was starting to bother us a bit, which was why we were really looking forward to today."

"Yeah, Linc," Zach spoke up. "This is the first time we've hung out outside of school since you've been going to dodgeball. And yeah, you only hung out with them for two lunchtimes, but you always seemed to be laughing more with them."

"That's why," Rusty added, "when you asked Jordan if she wanted to join us at the arcade, it just… it felt like you'd rather hang out with her than with us."

If Lincoln hadn't been shocked before, he absolutely was now. His friends had given off no sign to him that they felt this way, until just moments ago, so either he hadn't been paying attention or they had been hiding it so that he wouldn't feel bad like he did right then. Before he could say anything to his friends, however, Stella had something to say.

"What is wrong with you guys?!" She yelled, her arms raised. "He's your best friend! Do you really think he's going to just cast you aside like that?! Just because he's found something new, doesn't mean he's going to just forget about you, and-"

"That's okay, Stella," Lincoln insisted, holding a hand up to his friend. "I appreciate it, but I can handle this."

Taking a deep breath, she nodded and said, "sorry", before leaning back in her chair.

"It's okay." He then turned to his friends. "Stella's right, guys. I know it's a bit of a change, but you guys are my best friends. I wasn't going to forget you like that." He could see them looking away regretfully as he said this. "But… I'm sorry I made you think that I was." Everyone looked at him once again, not expecting to hear these words come from him. The Loud boy was now gazing at his hands on the table. "I never meant to make you think that I didn't want to hang out with you guys. I wasn't expecting to hang out with Jordan as much as I had, but then she asked me to join her and the others at lunch, and at the mall. I have enjoyed hanging out with them, but it's not the same as hanging out with you guys. I promise."

A few seconds further of silence allowed everyone to reflect- on what they had thought before, on what had been said just then, on everything that led up to this. While Lincoln was still staring at his hands, the other boys were feeling guilty for how they had acted, none more so than Clyde. He and Lincoln had been best friends for most of their lives, and had been through a lot together, yet he had failed to trust in their friendship, and this had let to this… implosion within their friend group.

"Lincoln… I'm so-"

"I need to tell you guys something," Lincoln interrupted, finally averting his gaze from his hands. Clyde opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off again. "I know, but I really need to say this first, because… I've been lying to you guys."

Stella blinked, just as surprised as the others. "Lincoln, what do you-"

"I haven't really been going to dodgeball training. I've been going to gymnastics training instead. I haven't told you guys until now because I don't want my sisters to know the truth yet, and this is the first time I could tell you without risking any of them hearing… but that's not an excuse. I'm sorry I've been such a bad friend recently." Looking at his friends, he saw that they didn't have an immediate response, so he stood up and told them, "I'm gonna go get some air," then walked off towards the front door, stepping outside and shutting it behind him. The others, still caught off guard by the confession, were silent as Harold reappeared from downstairs.

"Everything okay up here?" He asked out of concern. "I thought I heard shouting a moment ago."

"Y-Yeah, dad," Clyde replied, clearing his throat. "We, uh… were just really into our card game."

"Oh, I see. And, where did Lincoln go?"

"He wanted some air," Stella explained, "so he just stepped outside for a second."

"Oh! Oh, okay. I'll just leave you to it then."

"Thanks, dad," Clyde told him as he walked away, then turned his head in time just to see Stella getting up. "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna see if Lincoln is okay," she responded, making her way to the front door. After opening it, she saw Lincoln was sat on the front step, so she shut the door and sat down next to him. "You okay?" He nodded, keeping his gaze towards the street ahead. "So… gymnastics, huh? How'd that happen?"

"Well, I didn't lie about Girl Jordan telling me about it," he answered. "Really, the only lie was saying it was dodgeball instead of gymnastics."

"I see. So, how come you don't want your sisters to know yet?"

He rubbed the back of his neck as a frown appeared on his face. "I'm… not sure how they'll take it. Some I'm less worried about than others, but… all ten of them… it's gonna be tough to handle."

"How so?"

"Well, for starters, they have a tendency to laugh at some of my other hobbies. It's not too bad sometimes, but… other times, they don't get how they're going too far. You know what I mean?"

"Kind of. I mean, I don't have siblings, but I can imagine what you mean. So, what about your parents? Do they know?"

"I mean, they didn't at first, but I told them earlier this week after my mom found out. Only reason I didn't tell them straight away was because it's impossible to hide something in our house, especially with my younger sisters. Lisa's scientific curiosity, as she calls it, means she doesn't fully get privacy, Lola is the biggest snitch there is, and Lucy can pop up absolutely anywhere."

"Geez… that sounds… hectic." With a soft shake of her head, she looked back at Lincoln. "What about your older sisters?"

"They're not much better. It's already bad enough that they think I'm going out with Girl Jordan, just because she's a girl. Seriously, anything involving me and a girl, they reach the same conclusion, no matter who the girl is or if they're seeing anyone or not."

She raised a skeptical eyebrow at this. "Seriously? Were they like that with me?"

"Yep, and Girl Jordan, and Mollie, and Ronnie Anne, and Cristina, and pretty much any girl who goes or used to go to our school." A sigh escaped his lips as his head tilted down towards his feet. "Still… I don't know when or how I'm going to tell them the truth. I know I will have to, but… I don't know when or even if I'll be ready to."

From her angle, Stella thought the boy looked dejected. His body posture and facial expression showed how heavily this weighed on him, so she gave him a slight nudge on the shoulder to get his attention. "Hey," she told him with a slight smile, "don't worry so much. They're your family, so they'll care more that you've found something you enjoy, right?"

Lincoln gave a small chuckle. "You're sounding like my dad when I told him."

She simply smiled more and said, "then you know I'm right."

He smiled for a second, but it then faded. "You all make it sound so easy… I mean, on paper, sure. I could just get my sisters together, tell them the truth and everything be okay. They might be happy for me, and even want to see me practice. But in practice… it's so much harder to do. I have to face them head on, find a way to pluck up the courage to tell them and do it. There's so much that can go wrong, and that's without even thinking about how they'll react, but if they do laugh, and they react in the way I think they will… things just won't be the same."

Stella nodded. "You're right, maybe they will laugh, and maybe they'll be horrible to you… or maybe they'll be incredibly supportive, and it'll bring you guys closer together." She could tell from his face that he was considering that possibility, but didn't fully believe it. "But, hey. Whatever happens, I know you'll find a way to tell them."

Finally, he smiled again. "Thanks, Stella."

"No problem, Lincoln. Now, come on, it's getting cold out here." He gave a small laugh as the two stood back up. Heading inside and shutting the door, they saw the guys were waiting for them, deep frowns on their faces. "Uh, what's going on?"

"We've been talking, and… we owe you an apology, Linc," Rusty spoke up.

"We shouldn't have acted like that," Zach added, "and we should've known you weren't going to forget about us."

"Honestly, it just kind of surprised us," Clyde told him next. "One week, you never hang out with them, and the next, you do. You know?"

"Don't worry, guys," Lincoln replied. "I get it. I can't honestly say I wouldn't have reacted the same way if it was the other way around, and one of you guys had started hanging out with someone new."

"Really?" Stella asked with a raised eyebrow, to which Lincoln just shrugged.

"So, Lincoln," Liam asked, rubbing his elbow, "we, uh, we cool?"

The Loud child gave a nod as he approached the guys, holding out a fist. "We're cool."

The guys all smiled, before giving Lincoln a bro fist each. "So," Clyde spoke up, "there's still a bit of time before I planned to put the film on, so why don't we play cards for a bit longer?"

"Sounds good to me," Stella replied, with the others nodding.

"What film did you get?" Liam asked.

"I was at a charity shop and I found a DVD of the Ace Savvy movie from the sixties."

"No way!" Lincoln said in shock. "That's, like, super rare!"

"I know, right?! Now, come on. Let's play for a bit more, and we'll watch it after."

Everyone agreed and returned to their game of blackjack, happy that the tensions between them had been overcome.