39. Gift From the Heart

It was the day at last, Luna's Birthday. It was a good thing she wasn't really there at the house, for the other siblings were putting up decorations and food for her big birthday party. Lincoln was waiting anxiously near the front door for Lori to come outside and get the van started for their big search Mick Swagger's new album, Lincoln's ultimate present for her sixteenth birthday. Lily was in Lincoln's arm, for she was coming with him and Lori.

making a small growl, Lincoln called out "Hurry it up, Lori! I need to get that CD!"

"Don't rush me, Lincoln!" Lori called back to him. "We literally got plenty of time to find that album before Luna comes back!" Then she finally came downstairs, texting on her phone as usual. "Okay, let's go."

"Finally." Lincoln muttered. "Look would it kill you to put your phone down and stop talking to Bobby for five minutes?"

"Sure I can." The eldest sister defended herself. Just then, the sound of her text ring went off, and looked at it again. "Oh boo boo bear." She giggled.

"Let's go." Lincoln had to push Lori to the driver's seat. "We got more important things to do right now."

Lori groaned and said "Alright, Alright. Hop in, Lincoln."

"Poo Poo!" Lily exclaimed happily. Lori started Vanzilla, and they went off to find any record store for "French Dogs"

while sitting, Lincoln was hoping that there would be any store that would have the CD even if there was only one left, for it is one of the best-selling albums right now. He was feeling a little nervous, he began biting his fingernails.

Lori looked at the mirror above her and noticed Lincoln doing that bad habit. "Eww, Gross!" She exclaimed in a disgusting face, "Lincoln, what are you doing?"

"Nothing."

She groaned and said "Don't literally bite your nails, it's disgusting!"

Lincoln looked at his fingers, which were still close to his mouth, slightly covered in saliva, he immediately put his hands down and cleaned them off with a rag. Signing, He Said "Sorry, Lori. I'm just anxious. What if we don't get the album, what if they're sold out?"

"Oh Lincoln, Relax." Lori said. "We'll find it. That's why we're going to every record store that has the CD, remember?"

"I know, I know. I just want to make Luna the happiest person in the world with her birthday present. I want her to be grateful and let her know how much I love her for being very supportive to me over the years."

"Ah, she literally knows how much she loves you." Lori said. "Even if we don't find the CD, there will be other ideas that we can give to Luna."

"Yes, but this is Mick Swagger we're talking about. You know how much Luna loves him. She even compares him as her god."

"True, But don't panic. Everything will be fine. I'm sure we'll find that record soon."

"Goo goo!" Lily said while clapping her hands and giggling adorably.

"What She Said."

Realizing that he was worrying too much, Lincoln took a couple breaths and decided to relax and think things over. "Okay. You're right. I'm just a little anxious is all. I know how much Luna loves Mick and I want her to be happy and show how much I love her."

"Well, I'm sure you don't need an album to show you love her."

"Still, I can't kill for trying."

Then Lori found the Rock Lobster music store, and Lincoln promptly went inside to look for the new Micm Swagger CD. He found the section where his albums would be and didn't see any sign of French Dogs anywhere. Curious, he went up to the counter.

"Excuse me, sir, do you have a copy of French Dogs by Mick Swagger?"

In a Brooklyn accent, the vendor replied "Ooh, the new album? Kid, that one is a masterpiece. Anyway, sorry, but we're already sold out. It's selling out like wildfire."

"Oh. Are you sure you're sold out?"

"Yep. You should have seen how many people crowded around the albums when they when they were still here."

"I see your point. Thanks anyway."

"No problem. Do come again."

Heading back inside Vanzilla, back on the shotgun seat, Lincoln sighed and said "They're sold out."

"No prob. There's other stores that might have them." Lori got another text from her boyfriend and giggled in joy. "Oh I am literally totes giving him a heart emoji." Lincoln cleared his throat at her, and she immediately remembered "Oh, right sorry. Gotta focus."

Then she drove him to another record store called One Love CDs, and asked the vendor for any French Dogs CDs anywhere. However, the vendor said the same thing and it was sold out today. "Dang it." Lincoln kicked the floor I'm frustration, but he tried to calm down by taking deep breaths. "It's okay. It's okay." He thought. "There are other stores." And he went back to the car.

And so the driving and searching continued on and on for about a few hours. Lincoln was becoming a little more stressed when all these stores were fresh out of Mick Swagger's new cd. The more stores he went to, the more stressed he was.

Making a small growl of frustration, he said "Well, I guess it just leads to the mall now. I highly doubt there will be French Dogs in the mall music store anyway."

"Lincoln, calm down." Lori said, putting a hand on his own. "I'm pretty sure we'll find it at the mall."

"Ah, I really hope so. Gingers crossed. Lily tried to cross her own fingers for good luck, but of course, being a baby, she was having trouble doing it.

"Ah poo poo!" She said in defeat.

At last, they have reached the mall, and this time, Lori and Lily went with him inside, considering how big this place was. "Okay, so there should be a Guns N' CDs store here." Lori looked around. Being a teenage girl, she knew the stores in the mall, and she knew them well, with or without Leni.

It was a rather long walk considering how big it was, but eventually, they found the music store and looked for the new Mick Swagger album and hoped that this store wasn't fresh out of them too, for this is te last place Lincoln didn't look for.

"See anything?"

"Nope." And they both continued looking through the shelves for any luck, but to no avail. It was just then there was a cardboard shelf that had the cover for French Dogs on it. Lincoln made a smile of joy, and suddenly realized that there was only one copy left on the bottom right.

Cautiously looking around for anyone who would try to steal it. He was about to get his hand on it, but then it was at the same time Flip, the cheapskate owner of his little convinience store with his own name, suddenly got his hand on it, too.

"Flip?! What are yoy doing here?!"

"Getting the new Mick Swagger CD to listen to, what do you think i'm doing? Taking a mud bath?"

"I saw it first. This is Luna's Birthday present." Lincoln argued.

"No I saw it first, Loud. Finders keepers, losers weepers."

"Like heck you are!" Lincoln said. "Can you ever think with your heart?"

"I can." Flip said. "I just choose not to."

Lori suddenly came to Lincoln's aid, looking quite stern. "You literally give my little bro the CD, or i'm gonna turn you into a human pretzel." And she gave the miserly store owner a scary look with her teeth looking sharp.

Flip made a gulp of fear, but he had a rather sly idea. He had an evil smile on his face and in a girlish voice, he shouted: "Aaahhhh! I'm being attacked by mean kids! Help me! Help me!"

And after a little while, Lincoln and Lori had been given the boot, literally and figuratively. "And stay out!" Said the store manager before slamming the door and going back to his shop.

"How dare they literally treat a girl like this?!" Lori said in anger.

"Boo!" Lily agreed.

"When I get my hands on that Flip, i- i-" she immediately stopped her anger and notice Lincoln shedding a few tears from his eyes. "Lincoln, you okay?" She asked in a softer tone of voice

"No." Lincoln sighed. "I had one chance to give Luna the ultimate birthday present, but now my luck just ran out." And he bowed his head in shame. "So much for being the best brother ever. Come on." He immediately got back on his feet. "Let's go home." And he glumly walked to the van with Lori following behind him.

"Lincoln, come on, it's not the end of the world."

"Yes it is." He said flatly. I was going to give her the best gift ever but now I can't give it to her."

"Well you can always get it online."

"Yeah, but they take days to get to our house." Lincoln said. "I would use the instant delivery, but I don't have enough money for it. You guys all have gifts for Luna we I don't. Besides I wanna give her a gift today."

"You want something to eat?"

"Nah. Let's just go home." Lincoln said with another said sigh. "I just gotta face the facts, Luna will be hurt that I didn't get a present for her in time."

"She'll understand. Anyway, when does Luna come back?"

"In about... one hour and fifteen minutes." She looked at the clock of her smartphone. "I'm pretty sure if yoy just explain to her what happened, she won't be mad. At least you tried getting the album for her."

"I guess so."

Lily felt sympathy for Lincoln as well and said "Lincoln."

"Oh thanks Lily." Lincoln said gratefully. "But you can give me a kiss when we get home."

The baby sibling made a small frown on her face and had the puppy dog eyes.

Lincoln glumly went back inside the household and went up to his room, not really care about the surroundings around him. While putting up the decorations with Luan. Leni was standing on a ladder, putting up the "Happy 16th Birthday, Luna!" banner on top of the sofa. She noticed Lincoln gloomily walking upstairs. "What's wrong, Linky?" she asked him in a worried and caring voice.

"Oh Leni. I lptried looking for that album Luna would love, but they were all sold out in the stores."

"Lincoln was about to get the last one at the mall, but the Flip came and took it from us, and got us kicked out of Gun's N' CDs." Lori added.

"What? That tipwad." Luan Said in anger. "We should give him a record scratch tomthe eye! Hahahaha! Get it?"

"Not now, Luan." Said Lincoln. "It was rightfully mine, and now I have no gift for Luna now. I don't even know if I can call myself the best brother ever."

"Oh, don't say that." Leni reassured. "It's not the end of the world."

"Why not?! Why shouldn't I say that?!" Lincoln snapped in frustration. "You Guys All have gifts for her and I don't! I'll unintentionally hurt Luna by not giving her a present."

"Hey Hey, Calm down. Bro." Lynn said.

"I am perfectly calm!" Lincoln replied. He began laughing hysterically into insanity. "Hoo hoo hoo, I never felt so calm in my life." Then he felt himself being slapped in the face by Lynn.

"Lincoln!" She shouted. "Snap out of it, Lincoln! Pull yourself together!" She even began shaking him by the arms

Realizing how cuckoo he sounded back there, he took a breath "I- I- I- I'm sorry. Toy guys are right. Who am I kidding?"

"It's okay." Said Lori. "We literally understand how you feel."

It was just then the parents came back home from work. "We're back!" Lynn Sr sang. "Oh my gosh, look at how you all set up the party just for Luna."

"Yes, everything looks so..." she noticed Lincoln moping in defeat with a hand over his eyes in shame. "Oh, what's the matter, Lincoln? Did something happen?"

"No, I was trying to look for the perfect gift for Luna, but i couldn't find it."

"Oh champ, we're sorry." Said the father sympathetically. "What was the present?"

"The new Mick Swagger album." Lola said.

"French Dogs." Lana added.

"Apparently, a lot of people don't have musical taste buying that piece of rock n' roll." Lisa said. "It saddens me a little."

"Oh nobody asked you!" Said Lucy."

"Watch it, little miss doom and gloom." Lisa warned.

"Girls, Girls!" Rita intervened. "This doesn't solve anything." Then she turned back to Lincoln. "Now, sweetie, It's not the end of the world."

"That's what everyone said." Lincoln Said. "But now, i'm the one who sells 't have a cool gift for Luna." He went back upstairs and went to his room. He was worried that he would hurt Luna's feelings for not presenting a gift to her for her birthday, for that album was the best thing he could think of for her.

Looking at his guitar, Lincoln suddenly remembered the time he sung that so g to Ronnie Anne, and instantly came up with an idea. He began brainstorming ideas for the song he wanted to sing to Luna. If he can't give her Mick Swagger's new CD, he figured he should give her the next best thing.

Later That Day

Everyone was in position for Luna to come back home with Lincoln. All of her close friends from High School were there, along wit her music teacher.

"Ok, places everyone." Lynn Sr Said, And they all hid behind many things such as the couch, chair, and in the kitchen.

Footsteps weee heard outside, and Lincoln said. "So How was practice?"

"It was awesome as always, dude. Sam said she needed to do something for my family after we were done. I wonder why."

"Yeah, me too." Lincoln lied. He opened the door and when they both saw the darkness inside, the lights suddenly came back on, and everyone came out from their hiding places shouted "SURPRISE!" with enthusiasm

Luna gasped and smiled gratefully. "Sweet Mick Swagger." She Said in awe. "What's all this?"

"It's your birthday party, Luna." Sam remarked. "Don't tell us you forgot your own birthday."

"To the greatest musician ever." Lori said.

"Aww, Thanks Guys."

"Happy Birthday, Luna." Said Lincoln.

"Thanks, Linc."

And they all went to eat some cake and mingled with one another. It was chocolate ice cream cake with mousse in it, and had burgers and hot dogs for dinner. The presents were all given to her, but then she noticed Lincoln did 't really get her anything.

"Luna?"

"Yeah, bro?"

"I do have a present for you, but it's from my heart." Lincoln remarked. "I hope you will like it."

Luna felt even more touched that her brother would come up with a song for her. "Aww, that's really sweet of you." She Said. "I can't wait to hear it when we're done."

The very last present by Quintus, one of her friends in high school, was given to her, and it revealed to be a Mick Swagger T-shirt. Everyone gave their speeches about Luna and how great and awesome she was, and Lincoln was the last one to speak.

Luna, you are the greatest sister any brother can ask for. I'll love you with every beat of my heart. I swear." Then a toast was called by him, and raised their glasses of soda to honor her.

"Thank you all, dudes." Said the rocker girl. "So, wanna show me what song you have got for me, buddy?"

"Yeah, let me go get my guitar. And I think it's best if we do it in the backyard."

"Excellent idea." Said Sam.

After Lincoln went to get his instrument, they all went to the back and Lincoln plugged his guitar in. "Okay, So I hope you will love it, Luna."

Here For You by Ozzy Osbourne plays

I Remember all the good times. Sometimes I wonder would it last.

I used to dream about the future. But now the future is the past

I don't wanna live in yesterday. Cross my heart until I die.

Don't wanna know what tomorrow may bring, because today has just begun, no matter whatever else I've done, I'm Here for You.

So now I sit here and I wonder: What ever happened to my friends.

Too many bought a one way ticket. But I'll be He with you till the end.

(Repeat chorus.)

You're my religion, you're my reason to live.

You are the heaven in my hell.

We've been together for a long, long time, and I just can't live without you, no matter what you do, i'm Here for you.

(Guitar Solo)

(Chorus repeats for final time.)

The sound of applause was heard and they all praised Lincoln for his playing. Luna never felt so Touched to hear such a sweet and thoughtful song about her. "Oh Lincoln. This is so sweet of you." And she ran up to him. "Come here and give your big sister a hug,"

Lincoln smiled proudly, and hugged her back. "Thanks Luna. I'm glad you like it."

"Like it? I love it, dude! You out in a lot of effort to write song like this for me."

"I did. Well, I was going to get you the new Mick Swagger album, but every store was sold out of them.

"Aww, dude." Said Luna. "It's okay. It makes me happy you would try and do that all for me. And I love you."

"I love you too, Luna." Then they hugged again.

"Aww." Said everyone.

"You did do a good job, sport." Said the father."

"Yeah honey." Rita agreed.

"It was a nice gift for her." Sam added, gently ruffing his white head.

"Oh you guys." He flustered.

"There's still more cake." Said Lynn Sr. "Come on everyone, and let's celebrate some more." They all went back inside to have some more of the cake saved in the freezer.