One thing Lincoln noted when he entered through the door was that everyone he had gotten to know over the past few days was in there, no absentees. His eyes scanned across the large room, and the first person he saw was Lisa, sitting alone by the side of the wall as she scratched her pen across a small yellow notepad, occasionally glancing up to look at the other occupants of the room.

Besides her were the twins, Lola and Lana, who were engaged in a small tug of war over a… was that some kind of girl scout badge? Lincoln couldn't tell; to him, it was a small blur of cloth that each girl held onto as they pushed and pulled it towards themselves, moving too fast between them for the naked eye to tell.

"Give it to me, it's mine," Lola said, as she yanked it towards herself.

"Nuh uh. I did more work to earn it," Lana argued, snatching it back. Lincoln noted that Lisa would occasionally glare in their direction in annoyance, but would say nothing, simply going back to her notes and scribbling down words.

Next to them, Lynn watched with interest, contradictorily cheering on both sides of the small tug of war. "Come on, Lana, use those tool working arms. Lola, you got the drive to win, don't let it down."

Standing besides Lynn was Luna, trying to break the two twins up. "Come on, dudes, knock it off," Luna said as she tried to reach into their fight, but pulled her arm back quickly as Lana growled and attempted to sink her teeth into it. Judging from the rocker girl's terrified expression, she was not going to be trying again, and all she could do was voice verbal concerns.

Standing off in the far end of the room, behind one of the small sofas, was Luan, holding a small video camera in her hands as she filmed the two twins, plus Luna and Lynn, loudly tussle and argue with each other. "If this doesn't get me on Funniest Home Videos, it'll at least do well online," Luan chuckled slightly to herself.

"Luan, keep it down, I'm on the phone," said the young blonde woman on the couch that Lincoln was sure was Lori. As Luan made the 'zip the mouth and throw away the key' gesture, Lori happily returned to talking on her mobile. "And so I was literally crying when that creepy vampire guy pushed Blake off the… oh, spoiler alert? It's literally been out for about 3 months, so it's not my fault you haven't seen it…"

"AHHHHHHH!" Lola screamed as Lana finally pulled her prize away from her twin, with a victorious yell of "YES! IN YOUR FACE!" She enjoyed her celebration for about three more seconds before Lola snarled like a vicious lioness, and tackled her tomboyish twin, a thick cloud of dust enveloping the two as they began to fight, while Lynn, Lisa and Luna looked on in awe and shock at this brawl in the family.

"Hold on Beatrix, I'll literally call you back," Lori said, gnashing her teeth angrily as she ended the call with her friend. She glared aggressively at the other side of the room, at the two young girls kicking and screaming over some petty issue, and the two older girls loudly reacting to what was happening before them.

"LANA, LOLA, STOP FIGHTING! LUNA, LYNN, SHUT UP RIGHT NOW!" she screeched like a banshee, causing everyone in the room to tense up in their places. Even the dust bowl that was Lola and Lana stopped, revealing Lola pulling her sister's hair while the tomboy had her foot in Lola's stomach. Looks of fear and shock were evident on their faces, and perhaps it was that shock that made Lana accidentally slip out;

"Don't tell us what to do. You're not our mom or our sister or anything."

…

…

…

Lori's nostrils flared. "Lana, I swear, if you actually were my sister, I would…"

"No, Lori. Not in front of the baby," Leni cried out, as everyone in the room turned their heads back to the door, and finally spied the guests of honor. Lincoln simply stood there, mouth wide open in shock at the entire scene, and was only brought out of his stunned state when the baby in his arms started pointing at Lori and giggling. "Ed Ed," she said before she laughed excitedly at her own joke.

"Linky, what did she just say?" Leni asked.

"Well, she usually says that when she sees the color red, and… oh…" he said as he looked back to Lori, noticing that her face boiling red from anger. Of course, she seemed to realize that as well, and suddenly her face turned into a softer shade of red, from embarrassment rather than anger, forcing Lincoln and some of the others to stifle giggles and laughs.

"Well… um… that's literally enough about me. I guess you two are the new kids, right?" Lori asked.

Before Lincoln could answer, Lola immediately spoke up.

"Yes, Lori, the boy that looks like an old man is named Linc…"

"Thank you, Lola, but I think he can introduce himself and his sister."

"Whatever you say, Lori," Lola said, pure admiration in her eyes for the eldest girl. Lana was right, Lincoln thought, she really does like Lori.

Lola maintained her admiring smile as long as Lori kept her eyes on her, but as they both turned back to the ones standing at the door, Lola met the gaze of Leni. Leni smiled kindly at the six year old, and within a few seconds, Lola's smile quickly turned upside down. Guess Lana was right about that too.

Well, time to introduce himself to the last person he hadn't met.

"My name is Lincoln," the young boy said as he pointed to himself, "and this is my baby sister Lily," he said as he shifted his finger in the direction of the infant girl in his arms, who immediately grabbed the pointer with her tiny hands and started shaking it.

"Um, I think I could tell without you pointing. Did you think I needed the assist or something?" Lori said as she walked over to the young man. She stared down at him, looking him up and down with a neutral look on her face, almost like she were an older Lisa, studying and looking over an interesting specimen. Lincoln did his best not to shy away from her intense gaze, and kept his eyes on hers.

But when she looked over to Lily, Lincoln noticed an immediate change in her expression. Though she did her best to maintain the same look on her face, the moment she locked on to the adorable baby, any glare in her eyes was replaced by a softer look. The edges of her mouth twitched once… twice…

"D'awwww, she's so cute," Lori burst out in spite of herself, as a kind and warm look overtook her features. She immediately covered her eyes, and gently whispered to Lily "Where's Lori?" and when the baby seemed somewhat confused, Lori revealed herself behind the curtain of her hands "Peek a boo," she said, as the baby squealed with joy, causing the entire room to break out into nine different "D'awwwws."

"D'awwww," came a rather monotone voice from behind Lori, startling her as she jumped into the air from fright. "Lucy, stop sneaking up on us. And where were you this whole time?"

Lucy pointed at the ceiling, and Lori decided then and there that she would rather not know.

"By the way, didn't know you were such a baby person, Lori," Lucy said in a voice that somehow managed to be both drab and teasing.

Lori immediately straightened herself upright, and cleared her throat. "That was… a temporary slip up. I'm still the same fearsome Lori that I ever was…"

She noticed everyone eyeing her with that 'Oh really?' look on her face.

"What? She's a cute baby. Can't I play with a cute baby every once in a while? I… like babies, I guess…" Lori said, her flustered cheeks going a little red.

"Poo poo," Lily said with a satisfied nod, approvingly.

"Well, now that we're all here, we can reveal the secret to our new friend," Lynn said, addressing Lincoln, "You see, Linc… we're actually not what we appear to be. This entire apartment… is just a base for international mafias, and we're all…"

"Knock it off, Lynn. If we wanted to hear bad jokes, we'd ask L-" Lori said, cutting herself off before she slipped the name, though her staring at Luan gave it away. The jokester girl frowned angrily, and crossed her arms.

"Everyone's a critic," she muttered, as Luna patted her comfortingly on the shoulder.

"So… what are we all supposed to do in here?" Lincoln suddenly asked the girls, "I mean, what's the point of us all sitting around in here?"

"Well, the point is that while the adults are getting to know each other, we're supposed to meet and greet you," Lori explained, before frowning slightly, "But I guess you already got to know everyone here by now, so…"

"I think Lana would like to get to know Linky a little better~" Lola said cruelly, giving her sister an evil smile, causing the young tomboy's face to redden faintly. She looked up at Lincoln, before giving a small yelp and turning away. Lola laughed at the misfortune of her twin, but a sharp look from some of the others promptly made her quiet down.

"So, we can move on to Stage Two of these things; just… just do whatever you want. As long as nobody bothers me and you're all quiet while I'm on the phone, you can all literally trash the place as far as I'm concerned…"

"Hey, what about the pizza?" Luna asked, "I recall us getting pizza at the last one of these. Where are our pies, dude?"

"Don't worry, we did order pizza, but unfortunately the delivery guy is an incompetent moron who can't use the Maps app, it's going to take a while," Lori said in frustration. However, her expression suddenly changed, as she almost instantly went from annoyed and frustrated to gooey and romantic, "Of course, the man I've been talking to would never be an incompetent delivery boy. It's one of his many jobs, and he's great at all of them. Delivery boy, lifeguard, clerk, tour guide…"

Hmm, that guy sounds a lot like Bobby. He had a million jobs, and I'm pretty sure he had those four, Lincoln thought to himself, but before he could verbalize his thoughts on the matter, Luan spoke first.

"How about as a detective?" Luan asked with a small smirk on her face. Lori looked with puzzlement in her eyes. "Detective?"

"Um… how about you think about a synonym for detective. Then you'll get it," Luan said, her cheeks starting to puff from her amusement, as she bit her lip to keep from revealing the punch line. Everyone started thinking about every word that also meant detective…

"Wait, I get it," Lynn said with an amused chuckle, "Good one, Luan."

It appeared Lori got it as well, but before she could say anything too hostile to the brunette comedienne, Leni interjected with "I don't get it; what does cinnamon have to do with detective work?"

"Synonym, Leni, not cinnamon," Lisa corrected.

"You know, Leni, they say eating a lot cinnamon powder as fast as you can is a great way to keep your hair nice and silky," Lola said with her usual evil and toothy smile.

"Don't do that, Leni. She's lying to you," Lincoln said, glaring at Lola, who promptly stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry at the young boy. Lily giggled at that, and blew a raspberry of her own. And of course, being a baby, Lily ended up dribbling a lot wet spit and saliva down her face, which quickly ran down to her chin and dripped on Lincoln's hand and arm.

"Wow, I didn't think there was that much spit in the world, much less in one baby," Lola noted, and despite her prim and proper personality, she was impressed with the quantity, much to Lincoln's own chagrin.

"Ugh, gross Lily," Lincoln complained, but his annoyance and disgust quickly faded at the sound of Lily's laughter and clapping. He couldn't stay mad at the cheery infant.

"There's a small bathroom across the hall, to clean yourselves up," Lana said, "And don't worry, Lynn hasn't gotten to it yet."

"You know he'd have something to worry about if I did," Lynn said with a perverse pride, high fiving the young plumber girl. Lincoln nodded at her with gratitude, and turned away from the others to exit the room and enter the bathroom.

"Alright, let's find some tissues or paper towels," Lincoln said to himself, setting Lily down on the long sink counter, glancing along the stretch of marble for any sign of a tissue box or roll. He sighed audibly when he saw none. "Maybe some toilet paper next to the toilet," he said, looking over in that direction, and disappointedly sighed again when there was none to be found.

"Jeez, sighbaby. Sighing that much is literally not good for your health," Lincoln heard from behind him. He quickly spun around, and saw Lori standing in the open doorway, holding a box of tissues.

"L-Lori, why did you follow me into the bathroom?" Lincoln stutteringly asked as he felt his face go bright red and his cheeks and ears start to burn painfully. Lori just rolled her eyes.

"I came here to give you these. To clean yourselves off with," Lori said as she handed the awkward young man the box of Kleenex, "I came in here earlier, and I remembered that they were out of tissues, and I would hate for wittle Wiwy to go all dirty," she said in a cutesy voice as she looked at Lily. She noticed Lincoln staring at her with a blank expression, and she quickly returned to her usual form. "If you tell anyone I said 'wittle Wiwy' I will turn you into a human pretzel. Since you may not know that what is yet, it's when I…"

"I can imagine," Lincoln said, taking the small box from her hands, pulling out sheets of tissue and starting to wipe off his sister's face, much to the baby's displeasure, "Still, thanks for bringing me this. Though you should have knocked…"

"Why? You literally left the door open."

"It's a courtesy," Lincoln complained, as Lori rolled her eyes again.

"Listen, twerp, the reason that I came out here wasn't just to hand you a box of wipes. I would've just had Lola do that. That girl would do anything I say, from some reason…"

"Then why…"

"Because I want to talk to you specifically. As the newcomer, I'd like to say a few things to you."

Now Lincoln was confused. From what he had seen so far from the young adult, she seemed… more disinterested in everyone else's affairs, despite the fact that she's been with them all for a long while. Why would she have something to say to him? It was that question that swiftly converted Lincoln's confusion into curiosity, and he simply looked at the girl with eyes full of interest.

Lori took a deep breath, before she started;

"Lincoln, before I start, I want to ask you; do you know who the newcomer was before you?"

Lincoln shook his head, and Lori gave him a crafty smile. "Well, she's standing right in front of you."

"You? You were the newbie before me?"

"Ugh. I hate that word. But yes, I was the 'newbie' before you and your sister showed up. Granted, that was literally months ago, and I've come to fit in pretty well in this place, but…" Lori's tone suddenly softened, and there was almost a hint of what Lincoln could only describe as sisterly affection, despite her not being his sister, "I know what it feels like, is what I'm saying. Let me ask you; has it been overwhelming since you showed up?"

Lincoln nodded.

"Do you really miss the place where you originally came from?"

Lincoln nodded again, a bit more sadly.

"Are you worried that somehow, you're never going to fit in because of the way you are?"

Lincoln nodded, but found himself asking, "Why were you worried that you wouldn't fit in?"

Lori smiled gently. "Lincoln, out of all the teenagers here, I'm the oldest. Being the oldest in age and youngest in experience was a bit contradictory and overwhelming, and honestly, it was a bit awkward. If it weren't for Leni, I… I honestly don't know…"

"Don't you have any friends at school?"

Lori actually snorted. "Senior girls at a high school… make friends with the new kid? Get real…

"But the point is, Lincoln… as much as I worried about my age, everyone accepted me pretty well. Now I'm friends with Leni, sometimes friends with Luna and Luan, and… while I'm not entirely fond of her, I do appreciate some of Lynn's qualities. So, I just want to say… don't worry about a thing, Lincoln. You'll fit in fine. As much as we like to fight and argue and hate on each other, we're almost like a big family, in a sense."

"Yeah, I know. I don't even think it's been a week, and I've already made some friends and gotten to know everyone, and even though there were some... less sparkly moments, I'm still having a good time," Lincoln admitted, before he softly sighed, "But still, despite that... I really miss my old friends, from back home. I know I shouldn't think about it..."

"Lincoln, it's normal to think about your old life. You're still adapting to all this, it's okay to look back fondly. And you know you can just talk to them over the phone, right?" Lori suggested.

"It's not that easy. Me and my best friend Clyde..."

For some reason, Lori felt a creeping chill go down her spine at the mention of that name.

"... we used to talk to each other all the time on our walkie talkies. But, you know, they don't really work over long distances..."

"Well, if only there were a genius who could rewire and fix up your walkie talkie toy so that you could talk with your friend. Too bad we don't have one of those lying around, taking notes and waiting for something to do," Lori said sarcastically.

"Ok, ok, I got it," Lincoln said, before it really struck him what he could now do.

I... I can talk to Clyde again. And maybe I can also talk to everyone else. Like Paige and Zach and Liam and both of the Jordans and Ronn...

Then he remembered what happened between him and Ronnie Anne. He sighed, a bit downtrodden by the memory of how the terms they left off on, and his visible discomfort was evident to both Lori and Lily. Lily, for her part, simply latched onto her older brother's arm, hugging it tightly. He looked down at her, and she looked up at him with wide eyes, and said "Linky?" Lincoln gave her a brotherly smile, causing the baby to relax her grip and beam back.

"You have something troubling you back home?" Lori asked. Lincoln nodded, and reached into his pocket, pulling out the small crumpled photo he often kept with him. He showed it Lori, and pointed his finger right at Ronnie Anne. Lori frowned slightly when she saw the young Hispanic girl.

Hmm... haven't I seen that girl before?

"She's this girl I know from back home," Lincoln said, pulling Lori out of her thoughts and memories, "And I... kinda had troubles with her... towards the end. I guess I just... can't stop thinking about it. I can't stop thinking about her."

"Ah, girl troubles," Lori said, putting on a bit of a perverted smile. One might even say it was a... shipping smile ("Everyone ships Ronniecoln. Why wouldn't they? It's the best ship," the author remarked, completely aware of the irony).

"It... it's not like that..." Lincoln said, now flustered again, "I mean, I sometimes thought of her like that... and we did kiss and it was nice to kiss her and... and..."

"Lincoln, you're rambling," Lori said teasingly, and Lincoln quickly quieted down, "Look, I don't know anything about that girl, or what happened between you and that girl, but, and this is me speaking as a member of the same sex... the word 'sorry' really goes a long way," Lori advised him.

"I would apologize if I could, but I don't I'll ever be able to talk to her again."

"If you ever do... you now know the magic word, thanks to the most wonderful and literally sage person in this whole place; moi" she said, pointing to herself.

"Are you sure you don't like Lynn? You sound a lot like her when you talk about yourself," Lincoln responded. But before she could answer, a shrill noise rang through the entire apartment room, and Lori immediately starting walking out of Lincoln's sight. "About time that jackass showed up," she muttered under her breath, before giving one last look at Lincoln.

"One last thing; I may have been a little nice and soft to you right now, because I know I would've liked a little direction on my first week, but after this, you're just another twerp in my eyes, and you'll speak to me with nothing but reverence and respect. And if you ever compare me to Lynn again..."

"I know, I know. Human pretzel and everything."

"You're already getting it. Good, I like a fast learner," Lori said in a tone that was both cruel and playful, "Now you should probably get back to everyone else. Lily looks pretty cleaned up."

"Poo poo," the baby agreed. Lori smiled sweetly at the infant before finally rushing over to the front door to get the pizza boxes, her footsteps echoing throughout the enclosed space. Lincoln grabbed his sister and placed her comfortably in his arms, and went back to the other room.

"So, you took a while," Lynn said as Lincoln entered the room again.

"Yeah, Lori wanted to talk to me a little about some stuff..."

"Oh, Lincoln, you don't have to hide what really happened. I can take a guess."

"What do you think happened?"

"I think... that you took Lily to the bathroom, but before you went in, Lori pushed you aside and went herself, and I know she could take a while. Man, if I had her farts... my Dutch Ovens would be legendary..." Lynn said dreamily, ending with a bit of a nasty laugh, but she quickly stopped when she noticed Lincoln seemed a bit dazed, "Hey, Linc, you alright?"

Lincoln took a moment before he answered. He thought carefully about everything; Ronnie Anne, Royal Woods, the apartment in the city... and then he looked around the room, at everyone else in the room with him. Lily in his arms, Lisa with her notes, Lola looking at a mirror, Lana observing the broken hatch of the window, Lucy sighing on the couch, Lynn impatiently waiting for him to answer her, Luan cracking jokes, Luna groaning and rolling her eyes at the jokes, Leni walking into a wall by accident, and Lori barging in and shouting "Pizza's here!"

For a moment, the boy felt that this, that the eleven of them gathered together, was... somehow what it was always meant to be. That even though he had only known them for about a week (It's been a long week. Felt more like 51 days, he thought to himself) he still felt that he had always known them, and was connected to them in ways he could never fully understand...

Of course, Lincoln shrugged the weird feeling off, and looked back to the sporty girl.

"Yeah, Lynn," he said, "I'm alright."

Lynn smiled softly at him, and gave him an affectionate punch on his arm, this one a lot weaker and softer than her usual ones. "I bet I can eat more pizza slices than you," she said competitively.

Lincoln grinned. "You're on."

I find Lori and Lincoln to have an interesting relationship in the show, due to the fact that they are both 'order keepers' and share a lot of the same traits. So I'm a little more interested in delving into their dynamic in the future.

And that finally brings us to the end of the intros. Full disclosure, I kinda had to rush this chapter because a trip me and my family were going on got bumped up a few days, so I'm sorry if I made a few mistakes or some things didn't make sense. Of course, feel free to point them out if you notice them. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

But now that we're done with the intro, the story can finally go in any direction I feel like. The possibilities, the storylines, the...

…

…

I have no idea what I'm doing.

Anyways, thanks for reading.