27. Ch 27- Halloween pt 1

"AAAAAAH!" All eleven Loud kids looked out of their bedrooms to see their father rush down the ladder to the attic, then run down stairs screaming, "I HATE HALLOWEEN!"

As they all rolled their eyes and returned to their rooms, Lincoln turned to the viewer. "Yep. It's another Halloween in the Loud House, which means that whilst everyone else is working on finishing their costumes or helping to decorate, dad will be hiding in his and mom's bedroom, trying to figure a way out of our younger sisters trick or treating, since myself and my older sisters will each be heading to a different party, and Lucy isn't really old enough to take the others trick or treating." He then frowned slightly. "Plus, after what happened last year, mom won't want them going out by themselves." After a small shake of his head in remembrance of what happened with those bullies, he continued. "Still, I'm looking forward to tonight- it might not be trick or treating, but it'll be my first Halloween party, and I'm looking forward to hanging out with the guys, and with Girl Jordan and the others."

"Nosebleeder to Icecap, come in, Icecap," he heard his walkie go off, so he grabbed it from his task and held it up to his face.

"This is Icecap, come in, Nosebleeder,"he replied.

"Hey, Lincoln!"

The Loud boy had to take it away from his ear because of how enthusiastically Clyde spoke. "Easy there, Clyde. So, are you guys still coming to the Halloween party?"

"Yep! I've got my costume ready, and I'm meeting the guys so we can walk there."

"Great! I'd walk with you, but because there are so many of my sisters going to different parties, Lori is gonna carpool us in Vanzilla, but I'll still see you guys there."

"Okay, sounds good. I need to go, my dad's are calling me."

"Okay, Clyde. See you at the party." He hung up the walkie and put it back on his desk. "Right. Guess I should go see if Lola needs any help before we head for her pageant."

He walked out to the landing, where he could see his sisters up to their usual activities- Luna working on her latest guitar song, Lori texting with Bobby, Lucy working on her poetry, Luan practicing her ventriloquism with Mr Coconuts. While his family were big fans of Halloween (his father excluded, off course), it usually wasn't until later when they really showed it, when they were costumes and ready to go out.

As he approached the twins' bedroom, Lincoln saw it burst open when Lana rushed out and ran away, with Lola popping her head out and yelling, "I TOLD YOU TO KEEP YOUR PETS AWAY FROM MY MAKEUP KIT!" When she saw Lincoln, however, her scowl Of fury was replaced with a smile. "Hi, Linky!"

He couldn't help but chuckle at her switch from angry to 'sweet'. "Hey, Lola," he greeted. "I came to see if you needed any help before we go to your pageant."

"Actually, I do! I need to get my emergency makeup kit, since Lana's dumb snake wriggled its way into my regular one. I keep it in a secret place, so can you do me a favour and fetch my pageant outfit from Leni while I get it? She should have placed it in my bag for me."

"No problem. I'll go get it, and we'll go when you're ready."

"Great! Thanks, Linky!"

He nodded, then made his way towards the fashionista's room. On the way, he heard Lucy ask, "Hey, Lincoln? I need a rhyme for 'scream'."

"How about 'extreme'?"

She checked her poem, then replied, "thanks, Lincoln."

He smiled at her as she returned to her room, only for Lynn to come out straight after, twirling a basketball on her finger. "Hey, Linc, you got time for some one on one?"

"Sorry, Lynn, but I'm helping Lola prepare for her pageant, then going to watch her perform. If I get the chance later, sure."

"Fair enough."

After she headed downstairs, Lincoln continued towards the furthest bedroom on the left, thankful to not have any further sisterly interruptions as he made his way in, seeing Leni sat at her sewing desk, working on her costume. With a knock on the door, he got her attention and she smiled at him. "Hey, Linky!"

"Hey, Leni. Lola asked me to come get her pageant costume?"

"Oh, totes! Hang on, I'll get it for you."

"Thanks, Leni." As she got up and approached the closet, he asked, "so, are you looking forward to your party tonight?"

"You bet! It'll be so much fun! I bet you're looking forward to your party too."

"Yeah, I am, actually. As much as I enjoy trick or treating, it'll be nice to do something different this year."

"I know what you mean. Oh, before I forget, your costume is ready for you tonight. I might need to make a couple of adjustments, but you'll need to put it on for that."

"Okay." She then pulled down a pink duffel bag and handed it to her brother. "Thanks, Leni."

"No probs, Linky. Wish Lola luck for me."

"Will do."

So, after Lola gathered all of her necessary things, Lincoln let their parents know that they were off, and the two of them made their way to the pageant. As they walked under the sunny sky, the two of them talked about how Lola was feeling about her pageant- which, as always, she was feeling confident- as well as how much they were looking forward to later on. While Lola was surprised that Lincoln wouldn't be trick or treating this year, she didn't pass up on the opportunity to tease her brother by suggesting that he might have a romantic dance with Girl Jordan at the party, much to his chagrin.

Eventually, they reached the performance centre, a dark red building with a large car park behind it. Above the main entrance was a black sign with orange cobweb patterns and orange spooky writing that read, Royal Woods Lil' Bewitcher Pageant. Making their way inside, Lola led the way to the reception desk, where she saw a fair skinned man in a grey tuxedo with a black bow tie, with red framed, yellow tinted sunglasses and black and white hair. As she approached, he smiled at her. "Ah, Miss Loud!" He greeted. "I was wondering when you would arrive!"

"Pardon my tardiness, Mr Dufresne," she replied. "Halloween's can be quite hectic in my home."

"Of course, Miss Loud." He then turned his gaze to Lincoln. "And I see that your coach is with you again. It's lovely to see you again."

"Uh, thanks," Lincoln told him, before muttering, "I think."

"Well, I'm certain you will want to prepare, so by all means, head on through."

"Thank you." Lola then turned to Lincoln. "Let's go."

He nodded and followed his sister through, till they reached the stage, with the red velvet curtains on either side coming into view. Lincoln walked past the red cushioned chairs as the two of them walked up to the door on the left. "Okay, Lola, you ready for this?"

She gave him a confident smirk and said, "aren't I always?" She gave a posh laugh and prepared to say more, but instead donned a serious look as a girl with ginger long hair wearing a grilled teal dress and bow approached. "Lindsay…"

"Lola…" she shot back, sticking her nose back up. "I see you're here to take second place."

Lola scoffed. "I couldn't do that. Otherwise, what would you take?"

The ginger girl rolled her eyes. "We'll see. After all, talent is where I will shine most. I'd say I'll see you up there, but it's more likely that you'll see me instead."

Without waiting for a response, she strutted off, leaving Lola to growl. "Hey, Lola, look at me," Lincoln told her, getting her attention. "Don't focus on her. Focus on what you're going to do instead, and I know you'll crush it."

Her smirk returned as she told him, "don't worry, Lincoln. I'm a professional."

He smiled. "There we go. Do you want me to be backstage?"

"No thanks, Lincoln. I'd rather you be watching from the front row. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a pageant to win."

About half an hour later, Lincoln watched from the front row as Donnie appeared on stage with a microphone. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, parents and family members, friends and neighbours, to a Spooktacle, the likes of which you have never seen- the Royal Woods Lil' Bewitcher Pageant!" The audience clapped the introduction, before he spoke once again. "Now, as much as I love the spotlight, it is not for me- prepare yourselves, as these little misses will cast you under their spell should you do them wrong. The stars of the show… the mistresses of magic… this year's contestants!"

With that, music began to play, and one by one, the different pageant contestants made their way onto the stage as Donnie introduced them, to show off their witch costumes, with the judges making notes on the way they walked, posed and smiled, while the audience clapped. "Next up, with her bewitching ribbon dance, she can wrap you round her little finger… Lola Loud!"

'You have no idea,' Lincoln thought with a chuckle as Lola made her way to the front of the stage in her costume, moving in time with the music before tipping her hat to the judges and giving a curtsy, then making her way to the back of the stage, where she stood next to the other contestants.

"And lastly, she may be sweet by name, but don't take her lightly… give it up for Lindsay Sweetwater!" Lincoln noticed as Lola gave a small scowl as her pageant rival made her way onto the stage in a witch's outfit that matched her usual dress, with glittery make up, and a tiara rather than a witch's hat. She pranced to the stage and gave a little twirl, then waved her wand as she curtsied, before making her way back to the line.

'Alright, Lola… you've got this.'

"Now, as always, there are two components," Donnie explained. "There's the talent component, where our little witches show off their skills in a performance of their choosing, but first, we have the interviews! Each contestant will get a different question to answer, and this time round, they have a magical theme. How do we decide who gets what question?" He walked down the stairs towards the judges. "Why, isn't it obvious? We choose…" He then held up a brown witch's hat, and exclaimed, "from a hat!" The audience gave a collective chuckle at his joke as he made his way up the stairs. "Now, first up, we have Roxanne. Let's see what question we have for you!"

So, one by one, the girls would step forward, and Donnie would pull out a question for them to answer, which they would before stepping back. After most of the other contestants did this, it was Lola's turn. "Okay, Lola," he told her as he pulled a sheet of paper out of her hat. "Your question is… 'do you believe that magic exists in our world'?"

Lola gave a confident smile and spoke into the mic, "that's an easy one. Magic does exist in our world, of course, but the kind of magic we experience isn't like that you see in movies or read in books. Put quite simply, the fact that we continue to grow and change, adapt and learn, take our experiences and use them to become better and smarter people… sometimes, that's all the magic that you need."

It was clear by Donnie's widened eyes that her answer impressed him. "Now, THAT is a great answer! Don't you agree, folks?" The audience was already clapping in response to her answer as the judges wrote down their thoughts, before Lola curtsied once more and made her way back to the line. "Now, last but not least, we have Lindsay. Come on up!" She walked forward with a smile while he picked out the final question. "Your question is this: 'if granted with magical abilities, what would be the first thing you changed about the world'?"

He held the mic down for her to speak into. "Well, I would have to say that the one thing about our Earth that needs changing, is that there is too much negativity. If I possessed magical powers, I would want everyone to be happy, nothing more, nothing less."

The crowd gave out an "aww" as they applauded her answer, except for Lincoln, who clapped along to be polite, while thinking, 'that was a good answer too. I can see why Lola considers her to be her rival.'

"Well, folks, that ends the interview component! We're going to take a five minute break while we prepare for the talent performances, so feel free to grab a drink at the back."

As the audience got to their feet, Lincoln decided to check on how Lola was doing. Walking through the door he saw Lola go before, and saw his sister stood stretching. "Psst! Lola!" Hearing her brother, she walked over to him. "You're doing great so far!"

"Thanks, Linky! As much as I hate to admit, especially with her," she stared daggers at the Sweetwater girl, before looking back at her brother, "it's going to be close."

"Well, don't worry. I know you'll kill it with your ribbon dance."

"I hope so. Honestly, I'm a little nervous about the finale."

He knelt down so he could put a hand on her shoulder, allowing her to see his warm, caring eyes. "Hey… I know you can do this. Now, go out there, knock the judges dead, and win this thing!"

Feeling inspired, she smiled and nodded. "Okay."

"Alright, give it up for Cindy!" Donnie announced as a girl in a yellow witch costume bowed to the clapping audience, before walking back to the line with her flute. "Two more contestants yet to go, and it's anyone's competition! Up next, with a ribbon dance choreographed to the song, I Put A Spell On You, give it up… for miss Lola Loud!"

The audience applauded as Lola took to the stage once more, ribbon stick made to look like a wand in hand. As the applause died down, she took her position centre stage, and waited for the music to hit. 'Go on, Lola,' Lincoln willed. 'You've got this.'

As the opening line of the song echoed from the speakers, her routine began, and she tossed her hat to the side, landing offstage on a hatstand. She raised up her 'wand', producing the ribbon tied to it and an "ooh" from the audience. From there, every movement she made was to perfection, both in time with the music and exactly as she had rehearsed it. Every twirl, circle, snake, flick and throw she made with her ribbon was elegant and flowing, one to the next, not a single error in her steps or knot to be seen. As the song neared its end, Lincoln watched on intensely, awaiting for the big finale. He crossed his fingers and watched her sister continue, only to stop as the beat dropped. She set her sights, threw her ribbon stick into the air, rushed forward to perform the walkover as time seemed to slow down…

… and landed it perfectly, the stick landing in her hand with ease as she twirled it around, the ribbon surrounding her as the music neared the final note, then performing one final flick to signpost her performance. Immediately after the music stopped, Lincoln leapt to his feet and applauded his sister, with the audience joining him straight after. Lola saw the huge smile her brother wore on his face made her feel good, a sign that it had gone better than she hoped. As she looked to the judges and saw that she had received a perfect score, she gave a curtsy to the audience while Donnie returned to the stage. "Wasn't that marvellous?" He announced. "Give it up one more time to Lola Loud!"

Fifteen minutes later, Lola and Lincoln made their way out of the pageant hall, the latter carrying the former's bag on his shoulder while giving her a piggy back. Lola's face was beaming with glee, her head now adorned with a shiny silver tiara with a spiderweb pattern. "And another win for the unbeatable Lola Loud!" Lincoln cheered, his imitation of Donnie making Lola giggle.

"I couldn't have done it without you, Linky," she replied. "I know I probably don't say it enough, but I really appreciate everything you do to help me. I love you, Linky."

His heart swelled with pride. "I love you too, Lola." He then got a smirk. "Now, hold on tight."

Before she could say anything, he took off in a run, the two laughing all the way back home.