AUTHORS NOTE (11/6/2018): I'm really, really, sorry about the super late update! Please re-read chapter 2 since it's been edited. Enough talk! Enjoy the new chapter!

"Is she out sick today?", "Did she run late?", "Was there a family emergency?" were questions Lincoln Loud kept asking himself. "I really hope I didn't mess things up this badly. What if she never wants to see me again?!" Lincoln panicked in his head.

Lincoln was sitting at his desk in his homeroom class. Only thing was Lincoln was too distracted to be listening to whatever Ms. Johnson was teaching. After being dropped off to school by his sister Lori, the first thing he did was run all the way to Ronnie Anne's locker, waiting for her to show up. But alas, Ronnie Anne never came. Lincoln Loud was now lost deep into his thoughts, thinking about his ex-girlfriend.

"Hey bro, how are you feeling?" Clyde whispered, breaking Lincoln out of his trance.

"To be honest buddy, not too well," Lincoln replied.

"Still bummed out about the Ronnie Anne break-up situation, huh? It's okay to be sad Lincoln, Dr. Lopez has always told me it's okay to let your feelings out during sad emotional experiences. I just want you to know I am here for you and have your back through this tough time," Clyde reassured.

"Thanks for your support buddy, you know I always appreciate it. But right now, I'm more scared and anxious than sad," Lincoln nervously said.

"Why? Oh no! Do you think she's going to beat you up and bully you for the rest of your life because of the break up?! I know you and I can't take her but maybe with the help of Rusty, Liam, and Zach she'll get too tired to beat us up that badly," Clyde uttered.

"No, no, no, it's nothing like that," Lincoln reassured his best friend. "It's that, well, this morning I was waiting for Ronnie Anne at her locker," the white-haired boy admitted.

"What? Why?" Clyde asked.

"Well you see…" Lincoln explained. Lincoln told everything that unfolded this past weekend, from Lori's comfort that day he broke up with Ronnie Anne to Lucy's surprising support that same morning. Clyde just gawked and listened to Lincoln's emotional rollercoaster of a weekend. Clyde finally understood why Lincoln was waiting at Ronnie Anne's locker this morning.

"Wow Lincoln, sounds like you had it tough these past few days. Well buddy, whatever you decide to do just know I have your back one hundred percent," Clyde empathically encouraged.

"Thanks pal, I know I can always count on you," Lincoln sincerely said.

"Alright class!" Ms. Johnson announced, gaining every student's attention. "It's time to discuss the history project you all will be working on. As you all know, this is a group project and I, your smart, beautiful teacher…" The whole class groaned loudly. "Oh, hush all of you!" Ms. Johnson angrily spat. "Anyways, I will be the one to pick your partners for this project," she explained. Again, the whole class groaned loudly. "Now, now students. I promise you it will not be as bad as you think it is," Ms. Johnson reassured the class. "Now for this project, I want you all to write a five-page essay on a U.S. president of your choosing," the red-haired teacher elaborated. Once again, all the students groaned loudly. "If any one of you groans again, I'll make this a ten-paged essay," Ms. Johnson threatened. The classroom was now dead silent. "Good! Now then, these are your partners for this project," Ms. Johnson announced.

"Geez Lincoln, I really hope we are paired up. I don't think I can work with anyone else besides you! I especially cannot work with Girl Jordan!" Clyde bitterly whispered.

"I hope we are paired up too, buddy. But like Ms. Johnson said, even if we aren't working together, it won't be as bad as we think," Lincoln reassured his best friend.

"Clyde McBride," Ms. Johnson announced. Clyde was sweating bullets and his heart was racing. "You are partnered up with Rusty Spokes," Ms. Johnson finished.

"Thank heavens," Clyde exhaustingly uttered. "I can work with Rusty, I know he pulls his weight in group projects," Clyde reassured himself.

"See Clyde, Ms. Johnson was right. It wouldn't be as bad as we think. I worked with Rusty before, he's a great person to work with," Lincoln boasted.

"Lincoln Loud," Ms. Johnson exclaimed, gaining the white-haired boy's attention. "You will be working with Christina," the teacher yelled.

"Oh no," was all that could escape Lincoln's mouth. Lincoln and Cristina did not have the best relationship with each other. Every encounter they had always ended up making both the adolescents feel awkward and uncomfortable. Lincoln had always done his best to avoid Cristina but somehow fate had something else in mind.

"Alright class, now that everyone has been partnered up, you may now go sit with your partner and work on the project until the bell for lunch rings," Ms. Johnson announced.

"Ouch, Lincoln," Clyde said while patting Lincoln on the back.

"I know, Clyde. Looks like this project is going to be really bad for me," Lincoln sighed.

"Good luck, bro. I'll be praying for you. Who knows? Maybe she has forgotten all about you," Clyde reassured his best friend, trying to make him feel better.

"I doubt that," Lincoln responded frankly. "Oh well, there's no way escaping this. Looks like I have to face this head on," Lincoln tried to encourage himself, making his way to where Cristina was sitting.

"H-h-hey Cristina," Lincoln nervously, introduced himself.

"Hey Lincoln," Cristina responded back with the same nervous aura.

There was a long, awkward silence between the two adolescents.

"Listen," Lincoln broke the silence. "I'm sorry about the whole video incident where I humiliated myself in front of the whole school. You gotta believe me when I say I didn't show that video just to make myself look like a complete fool. I realized that I didn't embarrass just myself, I embarrassed you as well," Lincoln confessed. "I'm also sorry about what happened at the mall when you were waiting in line to get tickets to go see SMOOCH. My sister Luna just wanted to make my first concert experience more memorable," Lincoln added. The white-haired boy just kept going on and on about how sorry he was for making his project partner uncomfortable and awkward every time they saw each other.

"Lincoln," Cristina interrupted, finally tired of hearing the freckled boy's never-ending apology.

"I just want to let you know I am really sorry…" Lincoln continued.

"Lincoln!" Cristina exclaimed, stopping Lincoln's rambling. "It's okay, Lincoln! I get it, you are truly sorry about what you did. I forgive you, okay," the brown-haired girl admitted, trying to stop Lincoln from feeling bad.

"What? You are just going to forgive me that easily?" Lincoln asked.

"Well yeah," Cristina plainly answered. "I'm not gonna lie Lincoln, all those times you made me unconformable, and I mean really, really uncomfortable," she added. Lincoln just rubbed the back of his head and avoided her gaze. "I still have it in my heart to forgive you," Christina finished. Lincoln let out a sigh of relief. "I know we don't talk or hang out much, but I can tell you're honest, sweet, and nice. Honestly, that's the only reason I can forgive you. You are a good natured, genuine person," Cristina admitted.

"Wow, you really think so?", Lincoln questioned, already red in the face.

"Yes, I really think so," Cristina giggled. "But I have one question for you. You have to answer it and answer it truthfully," she proposed in a serious tone.

"Sure, what's the question?" Lincoln gulped, anticipating what the question would be.

"Do you still like me? And I mean like like me," she asked the white-haired boy with a soul piercing glare.

Lincoln was taken aback by the sudden question. Although he was surprised, Lincoln Loud was still able to keep his composure. "The answer is no, Cristina," Lincoln replied truthfully. "I do not like like you or have a crush on you," he honestly admitted.

"Good," Cristina sighed in relief. "Now I know this whole project won't be awkward or uncomfortable like all the times we meet," she added happily.

"For sure! I promise you things will not be awkward or uncomfortable anymore. I actually hope we can become good friends now," Lincoln sincerely proposed.

"We'll see. Just no more humiliating videos or meddling sisters," Cristina jokingly added.

"Well I can promise no more videos, but I cannot promise no meddling sisters," Lincoln laughed. "I have ten sisters, one of them if not all of them meddle in my life every single day," he added.

"Ten sisters! That's crazy Lincoln! I've always heard you had a bunch of sisters, but I didn't know you had that many," Cristina shockingly responded. "How do you manage to live in a house with that many siblings?" the brown-haired girl asked, interested in Lincoln's family.

"Well you see, it's not so easy," Lincoln answered. "But it sure is rewarding," he added happily, thinking about his loving sisters.

Lincoln and Cristina spent the whole class time getting to know each other. Talking about their families, hobbies, interests, hopes, and dreams. They kept talking and talking until the bell for lunch had rang.

*BRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG*

"Did we really just spend the whole class time talking about our lives instead of the project?" Cristina groaned.

"Hey, it's okay, we still have three weeks until the essay is due. We got plenty of time!" Lincoln reassured her.

"Yeah I guess you're right. Still, I feel bad for not even talking about the essay or at least picking a president to do the essay on," Cristina sighed. "Is it alright if we spend lunch today together in the library?" Cristina asked. "We should at least do some of the project today, even if it's very little," the brown-haired girl added.

"Well I don't know," Lincoln replied. All Lincoln wanted to do right now was see Ronnie Anne and apologize for his harsh outburst that previous Friday. The last thing he wanted to do was work on the dumb project.

"C'mon Lincoln, just one lunch without your friends wouldn't kill you," Cristina pressured. "The last thing I want to do is work on this dumb project, but I don't want to end up doing it last minute because of procrastination," she added.

"Ugh fine," Lincoln admitted defeat. "She didn't show up this morning, maybe she really is not here in school today," Lincoln thought to himself. "Even if she is here, I can try to find her after school and talk to her then," he concluded in his mind.

"Great! See, you are already a better project partner than Girl Jordan," Cristina joked.

"Anyone is a better project partner than Girl Jordan," Lincoln added. Both kids laughed in unison and exited out classroom, making their way to the library.

*MEANWHILE AT THE CAFETERIA*

Ronnie Anne was in a bad mood today. She woke up super late this morning because she somehow managed to sleep through her alarm clock that she set the night before. Most likely because she stayed up late thinking about Lincoln and could not sleep properly. Not only that but on her way rushing to school, she accidentally fell off her skateboard and landed in a puddle of mud, ruining her favorite purple hoodie. Her bad luck didn't end there. Today she had a math test in which she forgot to study for over the weekend. Ronnie Anne was barely passing math with a C and failing this math test was certainly not going to make her grade look good on her report card. Certainly, Ronnie Anne's day could not get any worse, right? Usually when Ronnie Anne is having a bad day, she tells Lincoln all about it. Talking to Lincoln about her daily problems always made her feel better. But her and Lincoln are not together anymore. She has no one else she feels comfortable with to complain to, which put her in an even more down mood. She looked around the cafeteria in search of her ex-boyfriend, but he was nowhere to be seen. She saw his usual group of friends, but the white-haired boy was not with them.

"Where is he?" Ronnie Anne thought to herself sadly.

The slam of a lunch tray suddenly scared Ronnie and broke her out of her depressing trance. "Yuck! I hate meatloaf Mondays," Molly complained, taking a seat next to Ronnie Anne at their usual lunch table.

"Me too! Every time I poke it with a fork, I swear it moves a little like it's alive," Girl Jordan added taking a seat across of Ronnie Anne.

Even though Ronnie Anne was feared by most students in school, she somehow managed to make friends that were "somewhat" bullies like her. "Somewhat" meaning unlike her physical bullying routine, her friends enjoyed bullying people verbally. Although Ronnie Anne hated "all talk, no bite" bullies, she made an exception just for them. They enjoy Ronnie Anne's company and are genuinely nice and cool with her. At first, she thought they were using her as some bodyguard in case some brave student finally decided to stand up to them. It turns out that was not the case. They all have hung out many times in and out of school. They go to the mall together, they eat at the Burpin' Burger together, they even have sleepovers together. Next to Lincoln, she would consider them her closest friends. Even though she considers them close friends, she was still embarrassed to ever tell them her relationship with Lincoln, let alone anything that pertained to her love life.

"Hey Ronnie Anne, are you going to eat your chocolate pudding cup?" Molly asked. Molly was a dark brown-haired girl with buckteeth. She always wore a pink shirt, purple blazer, red skirt in a checkered pattern, purple stockings and brown boots.

"I thought you were trying to stay away from sweets, Molly. You said you were counting your calories now," Girl Jordan interjected. Girl Jordan was a girl with light blonde-hair, which she had tied into a braid. Her accessories consisted of a blue bow on her head and small pearl earrings. She always wore a yellow T-shirt, blue skirt, and sandals with socks. Unlike Ronnie Annie and Molly, she was in a different class. At one point she did share the same classroom as her friends, but the teacher had to switch her out because she would not stop talking to Ronnie Anne and Molly. She ended up being switched to Lincoln's classroom.

"Today is my cheat day, Jordan. So, it's okay," Molly defended herself.

"I thought you were had your cheat day yesterday when ordered a milkshake at the Burpin' Burger. Sounds like you're having a cheat week," Girl Jordan teased.

"Shut up! I actually deserve this pudding cup for doing good on my math test today," Molly boasted.

"If you call getting a C minus a good grade," Girl Jordan laughed.

"Hey, a C minus is still a passing grade," Molly replied, inserting a spoonful of chocolate pudding into her mouth.

"You're right," Girl Jordan admitted. "I would be so happy with a C minus in this group project my teacher has me doing. But my partner is such a nerd and wants to get an A on it," the blonde-haired girl sighed.

"Who's your partner?" Molly asked with a mouth full of pudding.

"That new girl, I think her name is Stella. She's that girl that hangs out with Lincoln Loud and his group of losers," Girl Jordan answered.

Hearing Lincoln's name immediately got Ronnie Anne's attention. "So, he is here today," Ronnie Anne thought to herself.

"Is she that tall girl with black hair, freckles, and tan skin?" Molly questioned.

"Yeah that's her," Girl Jordan plainly replied.

"I wonder why she hangs out with those losers. She can find a better group of friends than that lame gang, right Ronnie Anne?" Molly asked, looking at Ronnie Anne.

"Yeah, who would want to hang out with that group of outcasts?" Ronnie Anne nervously chuckled.

"Well don't judge a book by its cover," Girl Jordan interjected. "She might not look like a loser like them on the outside, but she sure is a loser like them on the inside," she added. "All she wanted to do was talk about the project and get started on the stupid essay! We have three weeks to finish the project!" Girl Jordan exclaimed.

"Yikes, she does sound like a nerd like those other dweebs," Molly replied.

"She is!" Girl Jordan shouted. "I kept telling her we should just slack off until the lunch bell rings. But being the nerd that she is, she just wanted to talk about the dumb project. I even told her to look at Cristina and Lincoln who were sitting in front of us. They weren't talking about the project. They were just giggling and laughing at each other like some couple," Girl Jordan said while rolling her eyes.

"LINCOLN IS PARTNERS WITH CRISTINA?!" Ronnie Anne shouted, jumping out of her seat.

"Geez Ronnie Anne, are you trying to make me deaf?" Molly remarked, digging her finger in her ear.

"Uhh… yeah, Lincoln and Cristina are partners," Girl Jordan replied awkwardly. "Why do you care?" the blonde-haired girl asked.

Ronnie Anne was sweating bullets while thinking up a lie to tell her friends. "It just seems unfair!" she exclaimed. "Cristina and Lincoln are like the smartest kids in their class and it seems unfair to the other students! The teacher should have paired them up with students who are having a tough time in history," Ronnie Anne lied, hoping her two friends would believe her.

"Yeah I guess you're right," Girl Jordan admitted. "I should have been partnered up with Lincoln or Cristina! They could have been doing the whole project for me while I did nothing!" the blonde-haired girl shouted.

Molly just giggled at Girl Jordan's comment. "It doesn't matter who your partner is, you're still not going to do the project," Molly joked. Both girls were now laughing at each other's comments.

Ronnie Anne sighed in relief. "I'm so lucky to have dumb friends," she thought to herself.

"But still I'm surprised," Girl Jordan spoke, gaining the attention of Molly and Ronnie Anne. "Even though Cristina and Lincoln are the smartest kids in class, they did not talk about the project at all today in class," she uttered.

"How do you know they weren't talking about the project?", Ronnie Anne asked.

"Well I wasn't talking about the project with my partner in class. Stella just ignored me the whole time and decided to start the project by herself. All I did in class was just eavesdrop on everyone's conversations," Girl Jordan plainly admitted.

"What were they talking about?" Molly questioned.

"Mostly just personal stuff. You know, like hobbies, interests, and stuff like that," Girl Jordan answered. "I'm not going to lie, I wish I had a boy to talk to that was interested in me just like Lincoln was interested in Cristina," she sighed disappointingly.

"Wait, so were they like flirting with each other too?" Ronnie Anne asked with a hint of hurt and anger in her voice.

"No nothing like that. They were just so interested in each other. Like, they were happy and enjoyed being in each other's company," Girl Jordan replied.

"That does sound romantic," Molly added. "The idea of them becoming a couple isn't that farfetched," the brown-haired girl suggested.

Ronnie Anne was feeling extremely furious. Hearing about her ex-boyfriend talking to his old crush felt unbearable. Not only talking to her but being "friendly" with her. Her friends talking about them hooking up together was only fanning the flames that were burning inside of her. "He couldn't actually be hitting on her, right?" Ronnie Anne thought to herself. "Lincoln is not that type of person. We were together for six months! He wouldn't forget me or what we had just like that," She reassured herself. "I don't know, what you did was really messed up. It shouldn't be that surprising he would move on that quickly," she doubted in the back of her mind. Back and forth, she had wild thoughts on the whole situation. Her heart felt like it was going to burst, and she felt she was going to tear up any moment. She felt like she had to go somewhere private and scream her lungs out.

"Yeah apparently class time wasn't enough for them," Girl Jordan hinted. "I overhead them saying they were going to eat together at the library," the blonde-haired girl winked.

"Yeah right! More like make out," Molly mocked making kissing noises. Both Molly and Girl Jordan were now laughing uncontrollably.

"They're eating lunch together…", Ronnie Anne whispered to herself, feeling her heart drop. "Hey guys, I have to go to the bathroom! I gotta see if I can get some of this mud off my jacket before the stains start to settle in," the black-haired girl lied, rushing out of the cafeteria immediately.

"Jordan doesn't know what she's saying, I doubt they are hanging out together right now," Ronnie Anne tried to reassure herself. "And so what if they are hanging out together? It doesn't mean anything," she tried to keep herself calm. "Lincoln and I have something special. He makes me really happy, I make him really happy. We're meant for each other," Ronnie Anne kept repeating to herself. But no amount of self-encouragement prepared herself for what she saw right in front of her. Her heart shattered by witnessing what was right through that library window. That was enough proof letting Ronnie Anne know that things were finally over between her and Lincoln. Cristina and Lincoln were laughing and smiling at each other. Not just normal laughing and smiling, but same the way Lincoln and her would laugh and smile when they were together. The way they looked right now was the way her and Lincoln used to look like when they were a couple.

"He really did move on," Ronnie Anne cried softly, tears running down her face.

Ending Note (11/6/2018): Again, I am super sorry about the late update. I am not going to go into much detail, but life has been crazy for me since my last update. I just want you all to know I am alive, and I have not forgotten about this story. I really appreciate everyone's patience. Thank you all for the favs and reviews, I did not predict this story would be loved by so many people. I promise you I will finish this story. I cannot promise you if updates will be consistent. I also cannot give you time frames when I will post updates since I'm still trying to balance work and social life. I'll try to make sure my next update won't take as long as my last one.

I also want to point out, since my last update, A LOT has happened in the show. This story takes place in an alternate universe where Ronnie Anne and her family did not move out of Royal Woods. They're may be other inconsistencies in the story, but I'll try to minimize them as best as I can. Also, the show did not portray Ronnie Anne having that many friends on screen, so I gave her some. Girl Jordan and Molly are actual characters in the show, you can look in the Loud House Wiki for proof. Incase you did not read the authors not in the beginning, please re-read chapter 2 since I switched out the OC with Chandler.

Thanks again for taking the time to read, fav, and review this story. I deeply appreciate it and I appreciate every one of my readers!