A/N: As my pen name implies, I love me a good villain. And I suppose if you want to label her as one, Lola Loud is quite an enjoyable "villain". There's just not enough love out there for this adorable little ball of laughs so with that in mind, I present you all with part one of this two-shot that presents who might be the funniest character of the entire show.

The weekends were a haven for a certain pageant extraordinaire to unwind and enjoy the gaiety of approximately forty-eight hours of free time all to herself. Even perfect little princesses like her needed to take a break from being so gloriously radiant all the time, basking the commoners in her brilliance and improving their lives simply by being loosely associated with them.

That wasn't the case for Lola Loud on this Sunday afternoon, however. Today, she had a goal in mind and whether she wanted to admit it or not, it would require her to put her best foot forward and engage in a task that would whisk her away from the pleasure of goofing off with the rest of her siblings.

Tomorrow was yet another pageant that she planned on dominating. Normally, the prim and precise nature of pageantry would be a breeze for the six-year-old pageant prodigy but unlike the ordinary hum-drum of these extravagant events, this upcoming one emphasized the talent aspect more than any of the other category and the scores would count twice as much as they ordinarily would.

At first, Lola paid no heed to the atypical stipulation since she always came out on top with either singing or her dazzling ribbon dance and planned to do the same again. But as the big day came crawling ever closer, her attitude changed when she thought of one person that would attempt to seize the first-place trophy for herself with this opportunity.

Lindsey Sweetwater. Unlike the other pageant participants that Lola looked down on, Lindsey was somewhat capable. She was at least competent enough to eat the most of her dust by always coming in second place of her. In Lola's mind, her shortcomings molded her into a sad, desperate creature, bred from the experiences of humiliation and frustration of always coming within an inch of usurping her rival from atop of her perch. There was no doubt in Lola's mind that she'd try and pull off something ornate and glitzy in the talent portion to shove her out of the spotlight.

And Lola wasn't about to let that happen. She could no longer rest on her laurels. She'd have to rely on something a little bit out of her comfort zone to ensure that she'd add yet another pageant win to her resume but then again, Irish step-dancing couldn't be that hard. Surely, she could at least have the basics down in one day.

Right?

"Gown?"

Lola peered down and smirked at the lime green gown that she was wearing, finding satisfaction in the overall appearance of the outfit.

"Check."

Being the brilliant girl that she was, she had a gown for practically every color of the rainbow stocked up in her closet, ready to be worn for any occasion and of course, what was an Irish-step dance without some green?

It took a lot of puppy dog eyed stares, begging, and blackmailing on her end but after about a few days, Leni had finally weaved all the gowns that Lola had requested from her seamstress of a sister.

"Mirror?"

As if she needed to wonder if it was still in her bedroom or not. With a turn of her head to her left, there "she" was, peering back at her through the reflection of one of her most prized possessions as it roosted next to her closet. "She" waved back at Lola and grinned at the resplendent figure that gave her the utmost gratification.

Truly, a mirror's reflection, and one that disclosed her beauty in all its glory, was one of life's greatest treasures.

"Check."

Only one last item on the checklist. With an extra pep in her step, even with the accustomed sight that she was about to behold, Lola shuffled over to the front of her closet and grabbed the knobs of the doors.

"Daily reminder of your past accomplishments and the tears of agony shed from your enemies as their self-esteem shatters and crumbles under the weight of your magnificence and ever-growing collection of first place trophies and ribbons?"

She flung the doors wide open and smirked smugly at what she saw. An entire stack of gleaming, golden trophies stacked on the top shelf and an assortment of ribbons decked the inside of the doors; a testament to her prowess that could only be harnessed by a goddess in human form.

"Check."

She inspected her prizes on last time before she shut her closet off. Her mind focused back on the choreography that she was sure to master in two, maybe three hours tops. She could just taste the exhilaration of her forthcoming victory on her tongue, like the sweetest, fluffiest piece of cotton candy ever spun.

Gleefully, she clenched her fist and raised it high as she loudly declared, "Look out, pageant world, because Lola's comin' to take the gold once again!"

'Okay, so maybe Irish step dancing is a teensy bit more difficult than my usual routines.'

Wearily, Lola pushed herself off the floor, ignoring the sharp pain in her legs from the exhaustion of her efforts. That had been the…twenty-third(?) time she had fallen on her butt after tripping over her own two feet. For the past two hours, her dexterity failed her as try and she might, she couldn't get through thirty seconds of dancing without stumbling over her limbs after tripping herself up.

But now, many "owies", frustrated grunts, and pillow-muffled shrieks later, Lola had enough. She was clearly lacking some much-needed guidance and had one person in mind who was sure to help her out of this bind.

'Whatever. I'll just get Mom to spot me as I practice,' she thought.

From what she recalled from her father, she took up ballet in high school and even carried on dancing to this day along with her father in various evening dance classes. Of course, since she never did anything like, say, accidentally fling her dance partners into rose bushes, Lola figured that only her mother could be relied on.

But then again, maybe Lana would have a different opinion than her. It wouldn't be a bad idea to consult her to see if she could…hold on…wait a second.

'Now that I notice, I haven't seen anyone all day.'

That wasn't entirely true. She had seen them around breakfast and of course, Lana couldn't help but barge in on her this morning to drop off some flies that she had caught for Izzy and Hops but other than that…nothing.

It finally dawned on Lola that she had about two hours of solitude to herself, a rarity for anyone in her large family. Lola began pondering on what could've occupied her family's attention. Sure, it was more than likely that they all had their own plans but still…that inevitability wasn't pleasant to her.

She frowned and folded her arms, contempt slowly but surely simmering in her blood.

'And they all know that my next pageant is tomorrow! What could be more important than watching me practice before the big show?!'

Sure, she had proven a long time ago that she was more than capable of managing her pageant preparations all on her own but still, did that mean that they had the right to just flat out ignore her?

Heck no! She was going to get to the bottom of this and say her piece about being forgotten so easily!

With that, Lola stormed out of her room, not forgetting to slam the door behind her to emphasize her rage. She figured that that would alert someone's attention to her but when that failed, she growled lowly and stomped down the stairs, not minding how the obnoxious clacking of her shoes against the wood pounded in her ears. Before she could get any further than a quarter of the way down, however, a sound made her pause.

Was that…? Yes, it most definitely was.

Giggling. But not just any giggling, the kind that gave away that the giggler was looking at something cute. And what made this revelation all the more vexing was that it wasn't just one person giggling affectionately. Even though she couldn't see them, she knew it was coming from her family, who were apparently all standing around in the living room all at once.

Lola grit her teeth as hot breath snorted out of her nostrils. What could possibly be cuter than her?! What could garner their attention so badly that could just forget that she existed?!

Lola raced down the stairs faster, not stopping until she made it all the way down. She turned to her right and sure enough, there were the culprits, standing together in a huddle and looking down at something that was in the middle of their circle.

As she moved in on them, intent on figuring out what was causing all of this, the group's collective sigh of, "Aaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwww!" threw her for a loop. Whatever this thing was really must've had them enchanted.

'Not if I have anything to say about it!'

Finally, she made to the huddle and without warning, shoved past a jungle of sturdy legs, squeezing through and weaving past disgruntled family members that she had roughly dug into. At last, she made it into the center and found, to her absolute befuddlement…

Lily? But not just Lily, it was some doll that she was clearly finding amusement in as she lightly tossed it in the air before squeezing it tightly in a hug before repeating the cycle. The doll, as far as Lola could tell, was supposed to have a clown motif to it; the large red nose, the painted face, the wacky blue hair, the giant clown shoes…it all screamed clown.

But now that everything was coming together for Lola, her indignation gave way to confusion.

"Seriously? This is what's been getting everyone's attention all this time? It's just Lily playing with some dumb clown doll. What's the big deal?" she asked out loud.

"I'll have you know that Miss Molly is not a 'dumb clown doll'."

Lola gulped. She knew that voice and the tone of it suggested that her father wasn't happy about Lily's favorite new toy being called dumb. She turned around and saw him looking down at her, as if he was daring her to comment with more disparaging remarks. To both Lola's bewilderment and slight disgust, the rest of her family had gone back to being smitten zombies as they fawned over she knew were Lily's antics.

"Miss Molly?" Lola asked nervously, attempting to restore goodwill despite her prior insult.

The ploy worked to her advantage as a smile, veiling pride and nostalgia, ventured across Lynn Sr.'s face.

"It was a line of toy dolls that I grew up with when I was a child. My parents got her for me for my seventh birthday and I've had her ever since. Thing is, I haven't been able to find her until today when I was cleaning out the attic. Once I did, I decided to give her to Lily and well, as they say…"

He quickly cast a look down at his baby girl, who was now tugging at Miss Molly's hair, and chuckled before giving his attention back to Lola.

"The rest is history."

Lola's face scrunched up as her father's statement registered in her brain.

"Wait, you wanted a girl's toy when you were a kid?" she asked incredulously.

"What?" her father countered defensively as he shrugged. "The cartoon that the toy was based on was funny. And besides, her rubber nose makes a funny squeaky sound when you honk it."

On cue, Lily's grubby fingers squeezed the nose of the doll, eliciting a sharp squeaking sound that made her audience go, "Aaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwww!" once more.

"See?"

Lola groused at the affectionate response but shoved her slightly hurt feelings to the side. She needed her mother and standing around and seething wasn't going to help her out…

But hold on…where was her mother? Her sisters, her only brother, and her father were present but her mother? Nowhere in sight.

"Dad, where's Mom?" Lola asked. "I need her for something super-duper important."

Instinctively, Lynn Sr. rubbed the back of his neck and looked off to the side. Lola's heart sank. That was never a good sign.

Before she could ask him again, Lynn Sr. knelt on one knee and grabbed her by both her shoulders. The sinking feeling in her chest only grew and festered, burning her belly with a bad premonition on the horizon.

"Sorry, sweetie, you'll have to wait for her to get back from the electronics store. We need more memory for Luan's video camera so we can film more footage of Lily."

Lola's entire body shivered and shook as her face bloomed with a deep crimson.

"Are you serious?! My pageant's tomorrow! I need Mom so she can help me with-"

"Lola, I'm sure whatever you need can wait until she comes back," Lynn Sr. sternly replied. "Until then, you'll just have to be patient."

Lola's temper quickly gave way to desperation. Her shoulders slouched and her eyes began to water.

"But I-"

"Aaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwww!"

At that, Lynn Sr. excitedly looked past Lola towards Lily.

"Oh, oh, what'd she do this time?!" he cried, getting off the floor and gently nudging Lola off to the side.

Lola just stared off into space blankly, stunned at how easily she had been brushed aside. Of course, she knew that Lily was adorable in her own right and that as a baby, she needed the most attention when it came to being taken care of.

But Lily didn't need to be fed. She didn't need to be burped. She didn't need her diaper changed. She was just tossing around some old toy and apparently, that was all it took to get her entire family's focus on her. Meanwhile, she couldn't get the time of day in her moment of need

Lola felt one tear slide down her cheek before she mentally slapped herself and rubbed her eyes furiously. She could be tougher than this! She could survive without mommy for a few more hours! And if it came down to it, she could survive without her help!

Looking back at Lily and snorting scornfully, she made her way past her siblings and headed for her room, determined not to let a minor setback get in her way and her divine right to rule the pageant scene!

One hour later…

Great. Just great. This was exactly what Lola needed right now. She had no idea how she had managed to accidentally step on a corner of her gown mid-dance and make a noticeable tear but she had. What made it all worse for her was that unlike her pink gowns, her green one was one of a kind, meaning that in order to replace what was ruined, she'd either have to get a new one just like it or ask for Leni to patch up the tear herself.

Lola was a bit deliberate of seeking out her less than averagely intelligent sister, given how she might still be occupied with giving Lily her undivided attention, though she quickly battered down her worries. Surely, she had grown tired of Lily's shenanigans by now. Besides, with less than twenty-four hours before the pageant, what choice did she have?

Finding the matter settled, Lola shuffled out of her room, looking around the hallway for any signs of Leni. She sighed wearily when she couldn't spot her so what else could she do but search for her more actively?

She was about to do just that by checking downstairs but an open door, and the only one she could see at that, caught her attention. She knew it was Lynn and Lucy's room, and Leni was most likely not there, but peeking her head through the doorway was worth the minimal effort.

And so, she did just that, finding everything that she would expect; some vampire novels scattered on the floor, Lynn's gym clothes piled in one heap in the middle of the room, Leni sprawled out on Lynn's bed while flipping through a fashion magazine, Fangs hanging upside down while he slept, a baseball bat leaning against Lynn's dresser, a few of…wait…what?

"Leni?"

Lola couldn't believe her eyes or her good fortune. To her delight, Leni was right where she needed her! Sure, she was in an odd place but she wasn't about to complain.

Leni peered up over her magazine and smiled at her little sister.

"Hi, Lola. What's up?"

It only took half a second for that smile to crumble and give way to an expression of sheer horror as Leni dropped the magazine and shielded her sunglasses protectively.

"Wait, don't tell me you're here to break my sunglasses again!" she wailed.

Lola shrugged. "Why would I do that?"

"Because I accidentally flushed one of your tiaras down the toilet and never confessed until just now!"

Bile nearly streamed out of Lola's ears at the confession as she placed her hands on her hips and shouted, "You did what?!"

Leni sunk further into the bed, trembling.

"I thought it was a bookmark and I was using it for one of my fashion magazines!"

Lola took a deep, relaxing breath before she completely flipped her lid and lashed out against who she hoped would be her benefactor. Revenge wouldn't get her gown fixed.

"Look," Lola sighed, "forget it. I'll let that slide as long as you…"

Before she could continue, her curiosity of Leni's choice of reading places took over.

"Wait, why are you in Lynn and Lucy's room anyways?" she asked while scratching her head

Leni scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Lola, don't be silly. This isn't…"

In quite a rare moment of clarity, Leni stopped herself before she looked around and realized…

"Woah. This is Lynn and Lucy's room." She took a light whiff of the air before she cringed. "No wonder it smells like sweaty gym socks in here."

Flopping off Lynn's bed, Leni met her sister out in the hallway.

"So, like, do you need me for something, Lola?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Lola replied before she pointed at her problem. "I need you to fix this tear in my gown. I'll be needing it for my pageant tomorrow and I have to look my best."

Leni bent down to scrutinize the tear at a better angle. She mumbled to herself while studiously glancing from top to bottom. Finally, she straightened up, grinning confidently.

"Oh, I can totes patch that up. I'll have it nice and spiffy before the big show," Leni assured.

Lola squealed and rushed forward to latch herself onto Leni's leg in a big hug.

"Thanks, Leni! You're the best!" she cried.

Finally, she had gotten a break after having what she was sure would be the worst Sunday of her life by the time today was said and done.. Now, all that was left to do was let her reliable big sister work her magic and get her-

"Aaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwww!"

Lola's eyes widened. 'Oh no.'

Leni hopped up and down gleefully, inadvertently shaking Lola off her in the process.

"Lily must've done something cute again!" she shouted before running downstairs to where that loud "Aaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwww!" had come from.

"Leniiiiiiii!" Lola cried as she watched Leni disappeared from her sight.

Pure resentment sparked from within and with mighty swings, Lola pounded the floor repeatedly in a full-fledged tantrum.

"Oh, come on! Again?!"

Later that evening…

Laid out on the living room couch, Lola flipped through channel after channel with the remote, not finding anything enticing about the assortment of commercials and shows that flashed by. By all means, Lola should've, and would've, been thrilled about having the TV all to herself for a change but of course, today was anything but a regular day for her. She was far too distracted by everything wrong that had happened today to enjoy herself.

Her gown was still ruined. Her Irish step-dancing routine had barely made any progress. Her mother was still nowhere to be found. And of course, everyone was still giving Lily all of their attention, as if they had nothing better to do than show slavish devotion to a baby and some creepy looking toy from the attic.

Whatever. Fine by her. She didn't care. Couldn't care less, as a matter of fact. She didn't feel utterly helpless and betrayed. Nope, nope, nope. She was just peachy. In fact, her mother could walk through that door right now and she wouldn't even give her a passing glance. Who needed her, anyways? If she wanted to gush over Lily, she could do that all night for all she ca-

Lola perked up when she heard the lock of the front door unlock. Without thinking, she slid off the couch and stood by the front door, waiting for it to open and reveal none other than…

"Mom!"

Rita stepped inside, closing the door behind her. She gave her enlivened daughter a little pat on the head, taking care not to drop the black plastic bag that she had in her other hand.

"Hi, Lola. How's my favorite princess in the whole wide world?"

Lola beamed. "Great!"

Finally, someone in her family that didn't seem to be inconvenienced just by her existing. But she couldn't revel in this attention for much longer, though. There was a reason she needed her mother and with just a couple of hours before bedtime, her window of opportunity was shrinking.

"But you know what'll make me feel even better?" Lola asked while batting her eyes and grinning as widely as possible.

"Actually, Lola, could you hold that thought?" Rita told her. "I need to look for your father."

Lola's mood soured on the spot. But before she could object to being looked over, she heard heavy footsteps barreling towards them from upstairs. It stopped when the perpetrator, her father, came into view as he stood in front of his wife.

"Rita! Oh, thank heavens, you're here!" Lynn Sr. said. "Did you get the memory?"

"I did you one better!" Rita reported as she rummaged into her plastic bag and pulled out a box that had a picture of a fancy video camera plastered on it. "I kept driving around and going from store to store until I could find the best video camera in town! Not only does it have the best specs but it even comes built in with 4K resolution!"

She stored it back inside before facing Lynn Sr. again.

"I was going to get something like this for Luan's birthday present but I'm sure she'll understand if I give it to her now, given the circumstances. So, anyways, what'd I miss?"

"About five hours' worth of footage," Lynn Sr. replied. "Not to worry, though. Luan compiled it all onto one tape. We're watching it in her room right now if you want to look."

"Sounds terrific! Let's get going!" Rita cried delightfully.

"Wait!"

Before the couple could speed off, their daughter, the one whom they had forgotten was standing right beside them, called them to a halt. They looked over as a clearly distressed Lola walked up to her mother, her eyes full of imploration.

"Mom, I really need your help with my pageant. I need you to watch me practice my dancing so you can-"

"Dancing? Lola, you don't need my help with that! You're a great dancer!" Rita insisted.

Lola frowned at how much it looked like her mother was trying to do everything in her power not to help her when she needed her.

"Well, yeah, but I'm trying something a little different for my pageant and I'm not used the steps. Can't you at least give me a few pointers?"

Rita shook her head. "Honey, as much as I'd love to, right now, I've got a baby and her dolly to gush over. Maybe later, okay?"

"But, Mom, can't you-"

"Aaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwww!"

'And of course, that has to happen. Just great.'

Lola just sighed, knowing that it was hopeless to even try to plead her case any further. She watched as her parents raced off to Luan's room to do what they had been doing expertly for the entire day; ignoring her.

Apparently, all it took was a new toy and her baby sister to make her feelings, her goals, and her needs insignificant.

Apparently, she'd need to continue down the path of a loner not out of a desire but out of having no other option left.

Apparently, she'd have to prove herself wrong by going back to her room and mastering the art of Irish-step dancing by herself without her mother's help and get her gown made good as new on her own.

And that suited her just fine. Her pride had been taken down several notches already and if she could win the pageant all on her own, she'd have the bragging rights to throw in the faces of her family, her supposed loved ones who were supposed to help each other no matter what. After all the injustices she had faced already, what would be a sweeter victory than that?

Lola punched her open hand and smirked. She had work to do and she just knew that it would all pay off.

The next day...

"Well, we're almost there, sweetie. How're you feeling?"

Lola grumbled under her breath at the question as she stared out the window closet to her passenger seat. She had a feeling that her mother's curiosity wasn't genuine.

Why would it? After all, she didn't act the least bit apologetic about leaving her to practice alone in her bedroom all night yesterday after suggesting that she could give her a little help later.

'Oh, so now you care how I feel, huh?'

"Fine," Lola answered unenthusiastically and slouched in her seat. "Just fine."

If anything, Lola was more apprehensive than "just fine". Even though she had dedicated herself to winning the gold on her own, ultimately, she had stubbornly chosen to go at it with the incomplete Irish step dancing and tattered gown (that she had to manually stitch up with some staples), wanting the satisfaction of winning at a disadvantage that her family had failed to unburden her from.

"I'm sure you'll come out on top," Lynn Sr. said from the driver's seat. "You usually do."

"Sure," Lola replied listlessly, continuing to watch the busy streets and buildings flash by.

They'd be there in about ten minutes. Only ten minutes until rubber met the road and Lola was left to either race towards the finish or crash and burn before she had a choice in the matter.

But one thing was for certain; she wasn't going to run away from the challenge and she was going to win.

Silence blanketed over Vanzilla like a dense fog. The elephant in the van beckoned for either Lynn Sr. or Rita to speak out but neither had the courage to do it, especially knowing what Lola had just been through.

The pageant, by all means, wasn't too much of a disaster for Lola. Yes, while she didn't win, she had at least managed to get in the winner's circle and come out in third place. Most girls would be thankful to be ranked so highly out of ten contestants but if anyone knew about Lola's temperament when it came to not ranking ahead of the pack, it was her parents.

Finally, Lynn Sr. had enough and looked back at Lola, who was folding her arms and glaring out the window as she small, bronze third place trophy rested in her lap. He hated seeing his daughter so down on herself and wanted to assure her that she had nothing to be ashamed of.

"Now, Lola, I know that third place wasn't exactly what you were aiming for but…"

He paused to collect his thoughts, trying to maneuver his way through this conversation without setting his daughter off.

"I mean, you can't win 'em all, y'know? I'm sure you'll do better next time."

"Next time?" Lola growled.

Missing out on the obvious cue that she wasn't happy, Lynn Sr. continued as if nothing was amiss.

"Why, of course. There'll be more pageants in the future. You can't get hung up ov-"

"NEXT TIME?!"

Vanzilla nearly veered onto the sidewalk as the outburst knocked Lynn Sr. off his stride for a second before he could gain control.

"I did not practice by butt off all day yesterday for third place! Lola Loud does not finish behind anyone! Anyone! Especially to Lindsey Sweetwater, who, might I add, has my first-place trophy!"

Like Lola expected Sweetwater, her rival went all in with the talent segment and managed to get the highest score after impressing the judges with her unicycle riding act. Meanwhile, because of her adherence to an art form that she only had less than a day at practice at, her sloppy, uncoordinated movements only ranked her fifth overall place with the talent segment. Thankfully, she ranked first in every other category but still…

She had failed. That was the most important thing right now and her parents had the audacity to pretend like they were on her side.

"And that's not even the worst of it!" Lola ranted further. "It's bad enough that I lose to her, of all people, but that one girl, Natasha Petrov, comes in and takes second place! She's not even a seasoned veteran and she ranked higher than me!"

"Hey, c'mon, Lola. That Natasha girl was very talented. You can't blame the judges for being impressed," Rita nervously attempted at pacification.

"Talented?! She armpit-farted the Russian anthem! I lost to armpit-farting! Do you not understand how humiliating that is?!"

"Hey, it's not easy as you think," Lynn Sr. interjected. "Why, I'll have you know that I can only get through one-third of 'I've Been Working on the Railroad'. Watch."

He was just about to take his hands off the steering wheel to show off his proficiency but thankfully, Rita quickly grasped his hands and placed them back where they belonged.

"Um, Lynn, why don't you show Lola your little symphony when you're not driving a vehicle with two passengers in it?"

Lynn Sr. shrunk back at his wife's understandably dirty look.

"Oh, right. Whoops," he chuckled sheepishly.

"Okay, does no one care about me at all?!" Lola shrieked, shoving her trophy out of her lap.

Rita sighed. "Of course, we care, Lola. We just think that you ought to stop getting bothered over not finishing in first place. Like your father said, you can't win them all."

"But that's not the point!" Lola countered, feeling herself feeling more irritated by the second.

"Oh?" Rita challenged. "Then what is the point?"

"The fact that this," Lola said as she picked up her fallen trophy and waved it in the air, "isn't my fault!"

Just before her father could say anything, Lola cut him off. She was tired of everyone being left in the dark about something that she felt she was a victim for and was no longer going to hold back.

"If everyone hadn't blown me off over some doll and my baby sister, I could've gotten enough help to win! I had to pay for my entire family acting like drooling monkeys over a stupid toy and a stupid baby that can't go five minutes with playing with it!"

"And that's where I draw the line!" Lynn Sr. barked.

Lola spluttered. "What?!"

"You heard me, Lola!"

"But that's not fair! I'm not the one who-"

"Not another word!"

Though her pride urged her to fight back, she knew better than to retort any further now that she had landed herself into a big heap of trouble. So, instead of talking back, Lola just frowned further to show off how defiantly peeved she was.

Her father was looking at her through the rear-view mirror with a glare of his own now.

"Lola, if this is the way you're going to act about pageants, then I promise you that you'll never enter another one ever again!"

He simmered down and addressed her again.

"Now, I want to hear an apology."

Lola sulked. Apologizing for being neglected was entirely unfair but if she was going to redeem herself in the future, she needed to get in her parents' good graces once more.

"I'm sorry," she muttered just loud enough for her father to hear.

She didn't mean a word of it, though, but as luck would have it, he didn't seem to notice.

"For what?" he urged.

"For getting out of line and blaming everyone else for coming in third place."

Even though it was true.

"And?"

"For calling my family a bunch of drooling monkeys."

Even though that was true, too.

"What else?"

Lola frowned, knowing what her father wanted her to say. Ironically, even though she knew she should feel bad about that bit of her rant, it was the most difficult to utter.

"I shouldn't have called Lily a 'stupid baby'," she spat out reluctantly.

Satisfied, Lynn Sr. directed his eyes back on the road while his wife stepped in.

"Good. I hope I never hear you say anything like that ever again. Are we clear?" Rita demanded sternly.

Lola stopped herself from rolling her eyes before she answered her. "Yes, Mom."

Finally, Vanzilla came to a stop at the Loud house driveway. Immediately, Lola unbuckled herself and stepped out of the van, holding onto her humble trophy with one hand as she calmly shut the door with the other. It took a lot of effort not to bemoan her misery after her parents had effectively shut her up but it wasn't like she had a say in the matter anymore.

All she wanted now was the dignity of a quiet afternoon to finish her homework in peace so she could push everything that had transpired in the past twenty-four hours behind her. It wouldn't do her any good to stew about her loss when it seemed like no one cared about her point of view, anyways.

Her parents followed her close behind as they approached the front door through the walkway. Once they got there, Lynn Sr. was just about to open the door with his keys but it flung open before he could get the chance.

There, standing in front of them, was Lori, who was all smiles and seemed to be chomping at the bit to tell them something important. Lola noticed that behind her were her siblings who were once again, surrounding who she was sure was Lily and her favorite plaything.

Typical.

"Mom, Dad, Lola, you have to come see!" Lori said.

"See what?" Rita replied.

"Lily's playing peekaboo with Miss Molly!"

"Seriously?!" Lynn Sr. cried.

"I'm literally dead serious! Hurry!"

With that, Rita and Lynn Sr. hurried to join in the conglomerate of admirers who just couldn't help but take their eyes off of the youngest Loud.

Lola, on the other hand, just stared at them from afar, shocked. Clearly, they had been occupied with Lily this while time, meaning that none of them even bothered to watch her performance on the Princess Channel. Sure, it was less than ideal for them to have them witness her sloppy showing but at least it would show that they cared about her, something that she felt less and less sure about every time she had the displeasure of walking in on her family paying mind to Lily above everything else.

The writing was on the wall now, as clear as day. She didn't need a bigger hint to know that not only had she not come first in the pageant, she finished behind Lily, a baby who could command everyone's attention with but a few gestures while she could work herself to the bone and not have anyone bat an eye.

But something else became as clear as day to her, too. She had told her parents as much herself; she didn't finish behind anyone and that included her own baby sister.

And if no one was going to recognize that, then there was only one thing left to do.

Baby or not, Lily was going to pay.

A/N: I currently have the next part of this story in the works, so you should expect it done in a week. I promise you all that. This was going to be a one-shot that you'd have to read all the way through but meh, I figured that there's nothing wrong with a good cliffhanger every now and then.

That and I just love making all of you squirm in anticipation. ;)