Hey guys, thanks for checking what is the first Paula/Lynn (Paulynn;D) story. For those of you familiar with my work, know that I took a different approach with this story. Instead of being all artsy fartsy with my narrative text, I just get straight to the point and focused on dialogue. I wanted this to come across like an actual episode of the show, so that's why I did this.
Also, I reference both "Net Gains" and a couple other episodes in this story. If you haven't watched these episodes, I can't help you.
Please enjoy!
Ketcham Park, daylight.
Lynn Loud Jr. arrives at the basketball court with a ball tucked under her arm, and a white towel draped over her shoulder.
She looks around, and doesn't see any of her fellow Turkey Jerkies teammates.
She pulls out her phone, and checks to see that it's 3:45 on the money.
"Dang. Where is everybody?" she wonders aloud.
…
When she looks up from her phone screen, she hears the familiar sound of a crutch moving on and off the pavement.
Sure enough, it's Paula, and she's steadily making her way over with a smile on her face.
…
"Hey, Lynn," she greets.
"Yo, Paula! How's it going?" Lynn excitedly greets back, meeting her in the middle of the court.
"I'm okay. Armpit's a little sore from the walking, but 'no pain, no gain,' right?" she says back.
"That's the spirit," Lynn replies, spinning her ball in her hands.
…
"Where is everybody? I thought we all agreed on a quarter-til?" Lynn follows up.
Paula winces. "Well, I guess Amy forgot she had a dentist appointment, and Diane had to leave school early to tend to her cat?" she tells her.
"Her cat?" Lynn responds.
"Yeah. I guess it has worms…"
Lynn cringes. "Eww, gross!"
"Yeah, trust me, be glad I'm telling you and not her. She went into a lot more detail than I needed."
"Uhm, okay, yeah, thanks," Lynn responds. "And Maya?"
…
They both just look at one another.
"Sleeping," they both say in unison.
…
They share a laugh at that, then smile at one another.
"Well, it's up to you, Paula. We can practice one-on-one, or just take a rain check," Lynn suggests.
Paula sneers. "Rain check? So we can sit around and get rusty?..." She jokingly says. "I thought you had another 'B' in that 'FLIBBR?"
Lynn smiles back. "Alright then… But don't think I'm gonna go easy on ya."
She gets into position, and so does Paula.
"Why? Because of my leg? You should be more worried about how short you are," the taller girl wisecracks.
…
"Oh, it's on," Lynn proclaims, and with that, they play ball.
After their practice, the girls sit on a bench and cool off with some cold drinks.
"Phew," Lynn sighs as she wipes sweat from her brow. "Good game, dude. I won't lie, you had me worried there for a minute that I might be getting slow."
Paula smiles. "Shyeah, just wait until my leg's all healed up. I'll be wiping the floor with you," she jokes.
"Whatever," Lynn simply says back, playfully nudging her.
And they share another laugh.
…
"For real, this was a lot of fun. Good practice too," Lynn expresses.
"It really was," Paula happily agrees.
…
"So, what are you gonna get into tonight?" Paula asks Lynn now as they stand up from the bench.
"Ehh, not sure yet. I've been meaning to clean out my side of the room, and I don't want my sister's bat to get guano on anything-"
"Your sister has a bat?" Paula interrupts.
"Lucy, yeah. She's more into bats with fangs than baseball bats," Lynn quips, earning a laugh from the other girl.
"Heh heh heh… That was cute," she chuckles.
"My other sister must be running off on me. She likes to tell bad jokes," Lynn explains.
"Just how many sisters do you have?" Paula asks, raising a brow.
"Nine. And a brother. Although, sometimes I wonder about him," she jokes with a smile, earning another laugh from Paula, who blushes.
Later on, they're walking home side by side.
"...So we had to go in what we we wearing, and I ended up having to go to the batting cage dressed up as Lisa!" Lynn says to finish her story, and Paula hardily laughs.
"Ha ha! Oh man! That's rich," she comments.
"Yeah, that's nowhere near as bad as what happened to Lincoln though," Lynn adds.
…
Paula winces in pain as she keeps hobbling along on her crutch.
"Ugh, I can't wait to be off this stupid thing," she curses.
"Are you alright?" Lynn sincerely asks, disregarding the rest of her story.
"I'm fine, trust me," Paula insists with a little smile.
…
Lynn apprehensively glances at her before returning her eyes forward.
"Hey, don't take any offense; but why didn't you just wait until your leg heals to play? I mean, it's not like there won't be a season next year," she inquires.
…
They briefly look to one another, then Paula responds.
"Well, I get what you mean. I just, I really love playing. I honestly got into sports because I'm tall, but, I love having fun and making friends. I didn't wanna miss out," she explains.
"Yeah, I hear ya," Lynn simply says. "I mean, well- you saw how much winning means to me; but at the end of the day, the best part of being on a team... is actually being part of the team," she says with a warm smile.
…
Paula smiles back, but has to turn away when she finds herself blushing again.
…
They come to the end of Franklin Avenue, just a few houses away from Lynn's house.
"Well, this is me," Lynn says as they come to it. "Thanks again for a great game, Paula."
…
"Hey, wait," Paula tells her, her demeanor changing.
Lynn notices her anxiety, and changes herself.
…
Paula nervously rubs her arm, clearly steeling herself before saying what's on her mind.
"I want to ask you something, but I'm kind of afraid to…" she admits, not looking Lynn directly in the eyes.
…
"Hey, it's cool! You can ask me anything. What are teammates for?" Lynn assures her.
…
Paula timidly smiles another little smile before becoming nervous again.
"Okay, well…"
…
…
"Do you like me?" she asks, now looking directly into Lynn's eyes with obvious trepidation.
…
Lynn raises her brow, but then smiles again.
"Of course I do! I wouldn't be walking with you right now if I didn't!" Lynn responds.
…
Paula looks to her with disbelief.
"What? I mean- you do?"
…
"Heh heh, is it so hard to believe?" Lynn elaborates. "You're super nice, and a lot of fun to be around. And you're not just a really great teammate... You're a great friend."
…
Paula gets beat red as she sweetly smiles.
"Wow, Lynn… I… I don't know what to say…"
Lynn just laughs. "Heh heh! It's cool, dude. Really."
…
Paula thinks to herself another moment, letting her eyes wander in all directions before setting them on Lynn again.
"Okay… Uhm, can I ask you another question?"
…
"Sure thing," Lynn simply says with another smile.
…
"Well… Would you like to maybe go see a movie with me tomorrow night? I mean, if you don't want to or have plans or whatever, I don't mind… I just thought, well… You know…" Paula asks her.
And Lynn just keeps smiling. "Hey, the sounds fun! I'd love to!"
"Okay, sweet!" Paula says with a wide smile back. "I guess I'll just text you tomorrow and we can go from there."
…
"Alright. Sounds like a plan," Lynn says, and she extends her hand for a shake.
But Paula doesn't take it.
…
...
In fact, after just a little hesitation, she leans in, and kisses Lynn on the cheek.
…
Paula just sweetly smiles after the kiss. "Bye! See you tomorrow!" she tells her as she makes her leave.
Lynn, on the other hand, just stands there all dumbfounded as she realizes what just happened, and just what Paula meant when she asked if she likes her.
…
"Uh oh…" she utters as she rubs her cheek.
…
And she doesn't even realize Lola Loud watching on from her window.
"Alright, Lola. I'm here," Luna Loud says to her little sister as she enters the twins' room.
She sees Lola with her face pressed against the window, and raises a brow. "Uh, dude?" she simply says to get her attention.
…
Lola turns back. "Huh?" she utters, before realizing what Luna's here for. "Oh. Yay!" she says with a big grin as she paces over to her tea party table and takes a seat. Luna does the same, and even smiles herself as Lola begins pouring the pretend tea.
...
"So, you ready to get this tea party rockin'?" Luna asks as she pulls her guitar out from behind her with a big smile.
Lola frowns and places her hands to her hips, making it obvious she's unimpressed.
So, Luna puts it away, and sulkingly deflates as she frowns too.
…
Lola smiles wide now. "Okay! So, Miss Swagger…" she slyly says.
"Come on, dude. Really?" Luna bemoans.
"You come on! Just play along!" Lola argues.
"Fine… But why do I always have to be married to Mick? There are other people I could pretend to be married to," she alludes to with blush and a smile.
"Uhh!" Lola scoffs. "You have to be married to Mick because that's how I met John Stamos! It's part of the game!... Isn't that right, Joooohn?" Lola says as she sweetly smiles to the John Stamos cut-out sat down at the tea party table.
…
"Oy…" Luna utters as she rubs the bridge of her nose.
…
Then, Lynn makes her way upstairs, still retaining the look of shock on her face from before. She makes her way into her room, and…
"Dang it, Fangs!" she yells, catching Luna and Lola by surprise.
...
"Woah, where's the fire?" Luna remarks, standing up to go check on the commotion.
"Hey! Are we still playing?!" Lola whines.
"Yeah, just- hold on," she answers, making her way to the door.
…
Lola gets up to follow her out, but stops midway to give her pretend cardboard husband a kiss on the cheek.
Luna watches this with a grimace on her face, and Lola rushes over to her wearing a smile.
…
"That was a little much, wasn't it?" Luna snidely quips.
"What?! Lynn and her girlfriend do it!" Lola asserts.
To which Luna promptly becomes flabbergasted.
"What?!"
…
Lola points out the window. "Look!"
…
Luna does just that, and watches as Paula hobbles her way down Franklin Avenue.
…
Luna just stands there for a minute, and has to rub her eyes to make sure she's actually seeing it.
"Okay, so the drama," Luna comments, and she makes her way out to the hall. Lola dutifully follows her.
…
They make their way into Lynn and Lucy's room, where they find the former standing with her face tucked in her shirt- because the room is covered in bat guano.
Fangs the bat flies his way out of the room, and the girls just watch on with all sorts of confusion.
Lynn turns to see her sisters, and meets them with indifference. "Uhh… You guys know where Lana is? I might need some help with this…"
…
"Uhh, Lynn, can we talk I talk to you for a minute?" Luna asks with a concerned expression.
"Can we go back to my room? It stinks in here!" Lola cries.
…
Lynn follows Luna and Lola into the twins' room, and cardboard John Stamos just sits there.
"Hey, Jesse," Lynn quips. Lola scowls at her for that, then goes to sit at the table by "him."
…
Lynn turns to face Luna. "What's up?" she somberly asks.
Luna steels herself a bit as she rubs the back of her neck.
"Uhm… So… How've you been? Anything new in your life going on? Seeing someone special?..." she rambles on with a nervous smile.
"What?" Lynn simply rebuts with a confused expression.
…
"Oh, for crying out loud…" Lola interrupts. "Just ask her about her girlfriend already!"
"Girlfriend?! What are you talking about?!" Lynn retorts.
"The girl you kissed! I saw her!" Lola hollers.
"Dude! Shut up!" Lynn tells her with desperation in her voice, like she doesn't want anyone to hear Lola shouting that.
…
"Okay, time out…" Luna interjects. "Lola, you've got a booger hanging out of your nose," she tells her.
"What?! EWW!" the tot cries, rushing over to her vanity.
…
"She didn't have a booger hanging out of her-?... Ohhhh…" Lynn says, picking up on Luna's play.
…
The teens just look each other for a moment, Lynn wearing this timid gait, Luna wearing a look of concern.
"Okay, dude… What the heck is going on?" Luna asks.
…
Lynn dejectedly sighs. "Alright… I was at practice with my friend, Paula, and she's the only one who showed up! We had a good game, talked a little bit, and she walked me home… Then… she kissed me on the cheek…"
Luna raises a brow. "She just kissed you? That's kind of weird…"
"...Well, I mean, no… It's not…" Lynn reasons. "See, she asked me if I like her, and I said yes! I just didn't realize she meant, you know… 'like like'..."
…
"Hey! I didn't have a booger!..." Lola whines as she makes her way over.
The others disregard her petulance.
…
"Oh man… That's pretty heavy…" Luna says.
...
"I don't know what to do… I do like her… Just… Ugh..." Lynn starts, but she doesn't finish, instead just groaning as she buries her face in her hands.
"You just… don't like her like her?" Luna speculates.
…
Lynn uncovers her face, and dons the most distressed of faces. "Oh man!... I'm going to the movies with her tomorrow night!... How the heck am I supposed to do that after what just happened?!" she worries.
...
Luna places a hand on her shoulder. "Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy, Lynn."
"In English?" Lola barks.
Luna just ignores her to focus on her other sister. "Listen, if I were in Paula's shoes… Or, cast, I guess…"
"No… We have enough comedians in this house," Lola interrupts again.
"Will you chill?!" Lynn hollers at her, to which she makes a mocking face at her.
…
"As I was saying… If I were Paula, I would want you to be honest with me. I think, maybe you should tell her how you really feel…" Luna says.
Lynn doesn't say anything back, she just listens.
…
Luna smiles at her, and removes her had from her shoulder.
"So, bad news," she tells Lynn now.
"No…" Lynn sullenly responds.
"Yeah… You're gonna have you wait for Lana to help with the bat poop. She's busy helping Luan clean my room."
"Huh? Why?"
"Gary had too much birthday cake…"
"Bluck…" Lynn and Lola both groan.
…
"Thanks, Luna. I guess I have a lot to think about before my date tomorrow night, heh heh," she says somewhat jokingly.
Luna and Lola just smile at each other upon hearing this.
…
"Speaking of dates… We still have a tea party to attend Miss Swagger…" Lola reminds Luna.
Luna winces at Lynn.
"You could always help me clean bat poop?" Lynn quips.
…
Luna shrugs.
"Neh, I'll hang here with Jesse's girl."
The Next Night…
…
Lynn arrives at the cinema, and makes her way into the theater to meet Paula. She looks all around the dark room, scanning for her until she finds where she is seated.
Paula looks up and sees her, and softly smiles as she waves to her.
Lynn gulps.
"Alright, I can do this," she says to herself.
…
She makes her way over to Paula. To her visible surprise, she sees that she was able to get popcorn, candy, and drinks all by herself- even with her handicap.
…
"Hey," Paula sweetly says to her "date."
"Hey, sorry I took a bit," Lynn apologizes.
"It's okay. I hope you don't mind that I went ahead and got you this stuff… I wasn't sure what you liked, so I just took a guess…" Paula skittishly explains.
"It's fine. Thanks," Lynn simply responds as she forces a little smile.
…
She nervously rubs the back of her neck before speaking any further.
"So… Uhm… You got all this stuff by yourself? You didn't have any help?"
…
Paula raises a brow. "Huh? Oh, yeah… Why wouldn't I?" she says with a nervous little smile.
"Uhm, nothing! I didn't mean anything by it! You're fine- fine! Heh heh… Thanks again…" Lynn stammers.
…
"Come on, Lynn… Remember what Luna said. You've gotta say something to her!" Lynn thinks to herself.
…
She takes a deep breath, and prepares to speak her mind.
"Paula, I gotta tell you something…"
Paula again raises a brow, this time with a bit of a worried expression. "Is everything okay?" she asks.
"Well…" Lynn starts, but she's interrupted by a couple squeezing their way through the aisle.
"Scuse us. Sorry," one of them says as they make way.
…
Lynn sees the discomfort on Paula's face, and grows concerned. "Are you alright?" she worriedly asks.
"Yeah, I'm fine… Uhm… What- what were you gonna tell me?"
…
"Oh, uhm… I was gonna say… Well, this isn't easy. Uhm…" Lynn stammers some more, still rubbing the back of her neck. She stops, but accidentally knocks Paula's drink down as she lowers her hand, spilling it all over the floor.
"Shoot!" she curses.
…
She looks to Paula, who winces.
"I'm sorry! Did I get any on you? What about your cast?" she neurotically asks as she stands to check on the damage.
...
"I'm fine, it's not a big deal," Paula tells her, not getting excited.
"Are you sure?... Oh… Dang it. Here, let me go get you another one…"
"Lynn…"
"Just wait here, and I'll just be a sec!"
"Lynn!" Paula repeats, now getting a little excited.
…
Lynn just looks to her with a fretful expression, but Paula just sighs.
...
"Lynn, will you please stop worrying about my leg? I know you mean well, but please… I'm okay. I just want to enjoy tonight, okay?"
Lynn just guiltily looks at her before letting her eyes meet the floor. But Paula stands herself up with her crutch, and places her free hand on her shoulder.
"Why don't you help me get some towels to clean this up, and you can buy me another drink?" she says with a smile.
…
Lynn looks back to her, and softly smiles back. "Alright. Sorry to be a spaz."
...
Paula says nothing more, she just smiles as she begins hobbling her way through the aisle, much to the chagrin of everyone else this inconveniences.
"Sorry, sorry, excuse us, sorry…" her and Lynn both keep saying as they make their way out.
They get out into the hall.
"I'm gonna go get some paper towels out of the bathroom. Why don't you go pick yourself out something?" Lynn tells Paula, extending a five dollar bill out to her.
Paula reaches out, but uses her hand to close Lynn's fist.
"I'll go get the towels… You go pick me out something," she insists.
…
Lynn meets her with a dumb look. "Well… I don't know what you like?"
Paula just grins. "Take a guess," she says with a wink.
…
With that, she turns and makes her way to the restroom.
Lynn just stands there for a moment, stunned. But she shakes it off, and heads the other way for the concessions stand.
…
"Man… I have got to chill out! Paula was right… We're supposed to be having fun tonight!..." Lynn thinks aloud.
"Wait a minute… No! I need to tell her that this isn't a date! I don't like her like that!..."
"At least… I don't think I do?..."
…
She visualizes her smiling, freckled face. She remembers the way she was able to play so well at the championship game, or on the court yesterday morning- all with one good leg.
And then there was the kiss on the cheek…
...
"Huh…" she thoughtfully utters as she enters the lobby.
…
She makes her way to the stand, and is met by a slouching short gentleman with bushy red hair and glasses.
"May I help you?" he says with typical clerk enthusiasm.
"Just a cherry soda, please," Lynn requests.
…
The guy prepares the beverage… Very slowly...
…
Lynn grows impatient. "Hurry up, man! I gotta get back to my date!... I mean, it's not a date, or, well…"
"Whatever… Please don't try to tell me about your life. I really don't care…" ginger tells her as he finishes up, and he hands the drink over.
She just frowns as she accepts it.
…
She makes her way back to the hall, and hears some snide laughter.
She perks up, and picks up the pace until she sees Paula and two skeevy girls standing together.
The two girls are laughing, but Paula is sourly frowning.
…
"Really, Paula? You expect us to believe you're actually on a date?" one of the girls sharply states.
"Yeah, who would be stupid enough to go on a date with you?" the other adds.
"Maybe he's blind," the first continues, and then they share a snarky laugh.
...
"I don't really care if you believe me or not. Why don't you guys just leave me alone?" Paula retorts with a scowl.
…
"Oh, come on… We wanna see your date!" Skeevy girl one says.
"Yeah… Where is your little boyfwiend?" Skeevy girls two adds.
…
"My date is actually a girl… Not that it's any of your business," Paula defiantly tells them, holding her chin high.
…
The other girls get wide-eyed, then just laugh at her.
"Figures! I always knew you were a freak!" Skeevy girl two insults.
"Oh man!... I can only imagine what kind of weirdo would go on a date with you! She's probably an even bigger loser then you are!" Skeevy girl one adds.
…
Paula tries to stay strong, but their words are starting to hurt, and she lets it show as she lets her head hang low.
And Lynn isn't going to stand by and watch anymore.
…
She puffs her chest, and proudly makes her way over to Paula to join her side.
"Hey Paula… Are these two skunkbags giving you a hard time?" she brazenly says.
…
The other girls frown. "Who are you calling skunkbags, shrimp?" the one rebuts.
"Hey! I'm average height!" Lynn argues.
…
The two girls just look to one another with indifference before returning their attention to the other girls.
"Wow, Paula. Robbing the cradle much?"
"Yeah, what is she, ten?"
The two skeevy girls laugh at their witticisms.
…
Lynn growls, and rolls one of her sleeves up.
"If you two are looking for a fight-"
…
The skeevy girls place their hands to their hips and clench their fists, gritting their teeth back.
"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do, shorty?"
...
Paula sticks her free arm out in front of Lynn, and meets her with a look of restraint. Lynn just looks back with a conflicted expression.
…
Paula surly looks to the girls.
"Actually, we're gonna go back to watching our movie. We get that you guys are insecure and have nothing better to do than bother other people, but we don't need that negativity in our lives."
Lynn dubiously looks at Paula, then anxiously waits for the girls' response.
…
They keep gritting their teeth, but eventually ease up. "Whatever… You losers aren't worth it," one of them comments as they turn around.
"Yeah, have fun on your date, weirdos!"
…
Lynn looks to Paula, who sadly hangs her head once more.
…
She frowns too, but then smiles.
"Don't worry… We will!" Lynn proudly shouts to the girls.
…
…
The other girls glance back, but wave them off and keep going until they're out of sight and out of mind.
Then, Lynn looks back to Paula, and Paula looks back to her.
They both smile.
…
"I uh… I got your soda… I hope you like cherry," Lynn says, her cheeks reddening a little.
"Heh heh… It's my favorite," Paula says, accepting the drink. She blushes too.
The girls have returned to their seats in the theater. They sit there quietly as they wait for their feature to begin, sort of glancing at one another here and there.
The awkward silence gets to Lynn, though, and she decides to do something about it.
"Are you okay? I mean, about what happened back there with those skeevy chicks?" she asks.
Paula just shrugs with a smile on her face. "It bothered me at first, but I can handle it… Besides… I'm not nearly as worried about what they think of me as… Well, some people…"
…
The way Paula smiles at her… Lynn can't help but smile back.
But… Then she remembers what she has to do.
…
…
"Paula… I- I have to tell you something…"
…
Even with the trepidation on Lynn's part, Paula keeps smiling.
"Sure, Lynn. Anything for you."
…
…
Lynn realizes with this statement, that, she's probably telling the truth. Paula has gone out of her way to make tonight, and the day before, as meaningful as possible. She's that kind of person: the kind that stays true to the people she cares about, even when faced with the opposition of a broken leg and skeevy girls.
Heck, she was actually brave enough to steal that kiss.
…
…
"Do you… like me? Like, like like me?" Lynn asks her.
…
And Paula just smiles.
"Well, I would think that was obvious," she says. "I mean, you're smart, fun, an awesome teammate… And… You're really pretty…"
…
Lynn can't help but smile back, and blush.
"Wow…" she simply says.
…
…
Then, very carefully, Paula takes her hand, slides it into Lynn's, and interlocks her fingers.
Lynn just watches, practically frozen.
…
But it's a good frozen. Her heart is fluttering, her nerves are tingling…
And she can't stop smiling.
…
She looks back into Paula's eyes, and she hasn't stopped smiling either.
…
…
Without looking away, without moving her hand, Lynn simply tells her with the same smile…
"Okay."
Hey guys, thanks again for checking this out. Comments/reviews are appreciated by the way;)
...
Now, I know what you're thinking: am I really shipping another Loud sister with a girl character? Yup. I is. After I saw "Net Gains," the cringey Yuri writer in me was compelled to get to work on this bad boy, and well, here we are. Hopefully I can make some waves with this pairing, or at the very least, that you enjoyed this story.
The John Stamos thing may seem random, but it was actually a parallel to my real life. My ten year old sister loves Full House (and John Stamos lol), and we play tea party. Tough guys play tea party.
Gotta throw a shout out to my boy Heitomos. He beta reads my stuff, and he's just an all around baller. His suggestions are invaluable.
I also wanna give love to everyone who made suggestions for this story. I tried to work them all in to a certain degree, and know that I love you guys:)
…
Anyway, thanks again for reading, and please stay tuned for more Pillowy goodness:)