A/N* Hey guys, Happy 4th of July! It's about time for me to upload another chapter of my first story. I would like to apologize for keeping y'all waiting. 5 chapters have now been written down, and now it's time for the 6th. So previously on the last chapter, Lincoln was having a miserable day in school because of the kids finding out that he's gay. Stella had told him that some kid had record and posted their conversation on Instagram, causing Lincoln to become a target of homophobic bullying.
With the truth revealed to the school, Lincoln had no choice but to come out to male friends; Liam, Rusty, and Zach, and luckily they gladly accepted him for who he is and gave him comfort. The friends decided to team up and find out who was responsible for exposing Lincoln's secret. But who could it be? And why didn't Clyde come to school? And what will Lincoln's sisters think of him when they find out?
Okay enough with those questions, the story continues now! Warning: This chapter will involve homophobic slurs.
Chapter 6 - Going to the hospital.
...
(*Lincoln's P.O.V*)
A couple of hours later school had just ended. Me and my friends both left out the front of the school as they waved at me.
"See you tomorrow." I said to Stella as she got in her mom's car.
"Cya Lincoln, and good luck." Stella responded, and then they drove off.
By now Lynn was jogging up to me, holding a basketball on her hand. "Phew, just broken the record of catching up to you in 20 seconds instead of 21." She said, making all this a game for her to break a record.
I rolled my eyes before I greeted her, "Hey Lynn, how was your day going?" I asked her.
"Oh it was awesome. And I gotta say bro, that was some tough practice there, but I was able to finally nail them suckers." She said with a proud smile.
"Really, well I'm glad that you did it." I said.
"I know, and only one more month left until the start of the ultimate soccer game of this season!" Lynn replied. "By the way, have you heard about some kid who is... I don't know; gay?"
My eyes went wide with fear. She knows...
"W-what do you mean, Lynn?" I asked her, trying to act normal like nothing has happened.
"Well, I heard some kids making fun of some kid with white hair just because he's a homo. Heh, I bet that poor sucker is having the worse time."
"Oh-uhh... white hair you say?!" I stuttered, feeling sweaty as my heart was pounding with fear. The way she spoke didn't sound remorseful, and I was worried that she'll figured out it was me.
"Well whoever that kid is, I hope it better not be you, Lincoln... is it?" Her face reaches closer to mine as she squinted her eyes suspiciously.
I chuckled nervously. "Uh... n-no, Lynn uh~" I replied, trying to come up with the best lie. Of course there are a few white haired kids in here. "I'm pretty sure it's another kid with white hair... not me. I-I'm not gay, Lynn... you know me. I've been having going out with girls, remember?"
She looks at me for a minute as I was praying to myself that she'll believe me. Lynn then inches her face away with a smile and nodded. "Okay, good. You're right bro, there are a few white haired kids in this school. I'm so glad it wasn't one of my teammates, because if it is I'll be kicking her right out of the team."
Her? I thought. I assume that she didn't know gender of the one who's being bullied... which is her own brother who lied to her.
I knew my relief isn't gonna last longer because I'm worried that when we return to school tomorrow she'll figure out it was me. I can imagine the angry look on her face and that she'll tell my family, and I'll be kicked out of my house for good.
But now... now there's an asshole who caused me to have a bad day out there somewhere. He thinks it's real mature to ruin my life, huh? Well I hope me and my friends will catch that monster soon... whoever it is I wanna make that kid pay!
"Where are the others, they should usually be here by now." Lynn replied. Our family van haven't arrived yet.
"I think we should wait for a moment." I told her.
A little while later my Lori and the others got here. "Sorry I was late, guys. I had to fill up this van with gas." She told us.
"Aaaand, we also got hungry and wanted to get some snacks." Lola added, munching on her Grab-and-Go bag of potato chips.
"We also saved you dudes some." Luna said, showing us two more snack bags.
"Sweet, toss me some Luna." Lynn said, holding up her hand. Luna throws the bag and Lynn catches it.
"Touchdown!" She shouted.
"Lincoln, you want some too?" Leni asked me.
"Um, no thanks..." I said to her. I wasn't feeling hungry right now because of the fear I'm having. My sisters noticed a distressing look on my face.
"Lincoln, is there something wrong?" Lana asked.
I quickly fixed my face when I said; "No, nothing's wrong".
"Well, the look you literally had on your face a second ago said otherwise. Now tell us what's up?" Lori said. The other sisters all looked at me. I gulped in fear, trying to come up with the best way to lie. I know my sisters for a long time, and they were always like that whenever I'm facing trouble. I was always force to tell them something, but THIS one I can't let them know! Why can't they just stay out of my personal business?
"Urm... I-I actually I got a detention at school today."
"For what?" Lola asked, raising an eyebrow.
"For... uh, for skipping out on my history test today. Yeah..." I said.
"So you got detention just for skipping out on your test, huh?" Lori said, getting suspicious.
"Y-yes Lori," I nodded.
Before Lori can ask again, Luan cuts her off. "Um, sorry to interrupt Lori, but can we please move now. I promise the parents that I have to attend their kid's birthday party which starts another hour." She said, pointing at her watch.
Lori sighed, rolling her eyes. I can tell she still wants to get more out of me. "Whatever, just get in you two." She said to me and Lynn.
We got inside the van before we drove off.
(*Stella's P.O.V.*)
It's been two days, and still Clyde hasn't come to school today. I wonder why.
All a while we were protecting Lincoln from the bullies and would stand up for him... still the bullying wouldn't stop. We would tell the teachers about this in hopes that they would help, but unfortunately none would prevail to do so. Some of them would kindly say that it'll all the over soon, others say that we're saying all of this just to get attention, and one of them rudely would say that Lincoln had probably deserved the treatment.
THAT was something we did not appreciate with what she had told us. What happened to the 'No Bullying' policy?! Teachers are supposed to help students when they need them... but all we get from them is a scolding, which was actually no help at all.
Maybe it's because they're having a miserable life? I thought to myself with a sigh. I was now sitting on the desk in my room waiting for one of my female friends Paige to come here so we can do our science project together that's due next week. Girl Jordan was originally gonna be paired up with me, but she was sick with a fever and had to stay home, so the teacher decided to have me paired up with Paige instead.
We were working on making lava lamps, in case you want to know. I have half the objects I need, Paige is bringing the other ones. I was wondering why Paige would want to break up with Lincoln, I am aware of their relationship fading fast... still I don't know the reason. They didn't tell anybody what went wrong, but I decided that it should be none of my business. Besides, I knew that Lincoln being gay was the reason why he didn't seem interested in her.
"Could that be the reason why they want to break up?" I absentmindedly said to myself. I then shook my head, deciding to focus back on Clyde. Did I forgot to mention that he didn't even call or text us? Yeah, Clyde has been ignoring all of that when we wanted to know if he's doing alright or when he'll be coming back to school. It's not like him to not answer us.
Before I could do anything else, my mom called from downstairs. "Stella honey, your friend Paige is here!"
"Okay mom, I'm coming." I walked out of my room and invited my female friend, who's carrying three other objects for our project, inside the house.
"Thanks for letting me in, Stella."
"You're welcome. Do you have half the objects we need for our lava lamp project?"
"Yep. I have vegetable oil, water, and food coloring."
We soon went upstairs and entered my room to get started on our project. I placed the flask on the table before Paige starts to fill the flask most of the way with vegetable oil.
The next thing I did was fill the rest of the flask with water. The water had sink to the bottom under the oil and look like little, clear blobs.
As we were working on the next step I then asked her, "Do you know why Clyde did not show up to school today?"
"No why?" Paige asked.
"Well, he hasn't shown up at school today." I answered.
"Well, he might be sick or something." Paige simply replied.
"Are you sure." I asked her.
"Positive. Why are you concerned for him?"
"Well... I rather not say," I didn't want to tell her the reason why I wanted to know about Clyde... unless if she knew the truth that has spread around our school.
"Say that reminds me, speaking of Clyde, did you heard the rumors that Lincoln has a crush on him?"
... And there it is.
"Yes..." I nodded in defeat. I know there's no hiding it now. "Why? Are you disgusted by it?" I frowned at her.
"What... Oh no, no, no. I was just concerned, that's all." She quickly stated, shaking her head.
"Yes, Lincoln does like Clyde. He's been hiding it for a long time because he didn't want anybody to find out about him, not even Clyde because he's afraid that Clyde will reject him. But I doubt that Clyde would never reject him." I explained.
"So... how did everyone in school know that Lincoln likes Clyde?" Paige asked.
"Some punk recorded me and Lincoln talking about his feelings for Clyde at the park on Saturday and posted it on Instagram." I mumbled, feeling angry at some asshole who exposed Lincoln's secrets.
"Oh, no... that's horrible!" Paige gasped, covering her mouth in shock. "Who would do this to Lincoln?"
I shrugged. "We don't know who did it but we're gonna find out! Whoever this person is must be after Lincoln and Clyde... I'm very worried for both of them. Lincoln was having a bad day in school. He's very worried about his family finding out about his sexuality."
"Poor Lincoln... I feel bad for him now." Paige said blankly like it's the easiest thing to say. I'd just ignored it.
"I know, that's why we need to find someone who recorded us." I said. "Say, do you still have Clyde's phone number?"
She grabbed her phone off the bed next to her and asked, "Yeah, why?"
"Try calling him. I just need to make sure if he's okay since he didn't show up today." I said, worried about the same person who exposed Lincoln might have done something with Clyde. I know I'm being over dramatic... but I just wanted to make sure.
"Okay, I'm going to try calling him." Paige dialed his number.
I just nodded, in the meantime I texted Lincoln to see if Clyde ever responded.
"He didn't answer." Paige told me.
I checked my phone again, "Lincoln says that Clyde still has not responded back to his text."
A few questions came buzzing to my head all of the sudden.
Is Clyde sick?
Or did he get injured?
"Alright P, I'm going to get to the bottom of this,"
"Where are you going?"
"To Clyde's house to see if he is okay." I told Paige.
"But we need to do our project—"
"The project can wait!" I said to her before I left and went outside.
About an hour later, I finally arrived at Clyde's house. Before I could even knock, the door swung open, and in the doorway stood Clyde's dads. They looked worried, I wonder why.
They were startled when they saw me. I guess they didn't noticed.
I decided to ask them. "Excuse me Mr. and Mr. McBride, I was wondering where Clyde is at? Is everything okay?" I inquired polity as possible.
"No dear, everything isn't okay! My baby boy is... is..." Howard then started to cry before Harold comforted him.
I was starting to get worried, I can tell that this had something to do with Clyde. I was afraid to ask them why, but I did anyways. "W-what happened to Clyde?"
"He has been at the hospital for a couple of days now. In fact we're heading there now." Harold explained.
"Oh no. What happened?" I gasped.
"He passed out from a spiral attack and hit his head hard, now he is in a comma."
A spiral attack? I didn't know Clyde had anxiety...
"May I please come with you?"
"Yes, of course you can come with me to see him."
While we drove to the hospital I texted my mom, telling her what I was doing and I decided to call Lincoln and explain what's happening. He respond back to me that he wants to come with us. And I asked Clyde's dads if we can pick him up and they agreed.
Clyde please be okay, Lincoln would be crushed if you don't recover...
(*Lincoln's P.O.V.*)
Stella just called me a minute ago... it was about Clyde. She told me that Clyde was at the hospital. When she asked me if I wanted to come, I told her yes and now she and Clyde's dads are on their way to pick me up.
A chill went up my spine when I got worried. Why is my best friend of 12 years of my life at the hospital? Wait, could this be the reason why Clyde didn't show up at school today?
I quickly grabbed my jacket, went downstairs, and told my parents that I'm gonna be picked up by Clyde's dads to go over to the hospital to check in on Clyde.
"Wait? Clyde is at the hospital?" Lana asked with a shocked expression.
"Yes, Lana." I nodded.
"What did he got himself into now?" Lori sighed.
"I don't know, but I-I think this could be why I didn't see him at school today." I said to my mom. "Please, Clyde is my friend. I need to see him." I really wanted to see my best friend who I have a crush on so badly. I really wanted to know if he'll be alright. If he isn't... I just don't know what I'll do.
"Do you want us to come with you, Linky?" Leni asked me.
"Well alright, but be back before dinner, okay?" She asked me.
"Okay mom. I'll see you guys later." I then quickly exited the house, not bothering to look back.
As I walked to the hospital, my heart beat was speeding up as I can feel my arms trembling a bit. This... this is all my fault. I said to myself. Now everybody knows I'm gay, and the kids at school know I like Clyde. If I don't tell Clyde I like him myself someone else will. Well... that is if he wakes up.
"I'm glad that you decided to come with us, Lincoln" Stella said to me.
I responded, "Why wouldn't I come?"
"Lincoln come on, don't be like that-" I cut her off.
"Why not? What if it'll be possible that Clyde, the love of my life, might be gone forever." I snapped at her.
"He will probably wake up sometime within this week," She stated.
"How do you know that?" I questioned.
"I... I don't," She said defeated.
"Let's go." Harold said. As we followed him and Howard down the hallways I was silent until we got into his room. My legs started trembling as I saw Clyde laying there, since this might be the last time I will ever see him.
Oh no... poor Clyde. He doesn't even know how much I love him, and he will probably never know. If only I didn't kept on ignoring him this wouldn't have happen in the first place. I thought to myself with sadness and guilt. Can this day get any worse? All he wanted was to help me, but I just behaved like a bad friend towards him.
Before the nurse left Howard tearfully asked, "H-how likely is it... t-that he will rec-cover?" He stuttered in a broken voice.
The nurse checked a clipboard of papers and said, "Well, from the severity of his head injury, I would say he should be awake before this Saturday."
I calmed down greatly after hearing that. Me and Stella watched respectfully as Clyde's dads approached his bed. Howard started to cry. "Oh Clyde honey..., we're so sorry. Why didn't you tell us what you were going through? If only you would tell us what's going on-".
He was abruptly interrupted by sirens from firetrucks and ambulances that sped on by. The sound grew quieter and quieter, but it did not go silent. I tried looking out the window to see where they were at but, the window was on the wrong side of the room.
Clyde's dads sat down and Stella walked up next and said, "Clyde, please don't leave us. I'm not sure if you know this but we need you here with us".
I found this a lot more upsetting because I couldn't agree more. Stella gave me a look like she was telling me to say something, but I just shook my head no.
"Alright, we're going back home. It's getting late. Please don't worry about Clyde, he'll be fine... I think," Harold said.
"You think...?!" Howard snapped at him before crying. I was about to burst out into tears. How am I not suppose to worry? It's my fault I caused this... Clyde's worry for me must've overwhelmed him because I refuse to talk to him when he's concerned of me.
"Come on Lincoln, let's get outta here."
"Can I stay a little longer in case he wakes up?"
"Sure." Stella said back to me, then leaving quickly to catch up with Clyde's dads so they can take her back home.
It was just me and Clyde left in the room. I walked over to him and examined his body closely. His head was definitely bruised, but he still looked adorable and perfect like an angel. I put his hand on top of mine, and the tears started falling down. I whisper to him "Clyde, buddy, please wake up. I need you." I swear he twitched his nose, but that was just my cruel mind playing tricks on me in my time of despair.
When Clyde wakes up I will tell him that I love him. And like Stella said; I'll never know unless I try! I thought to myself, I am finally ready. I now know who I am.
I am Lincoln Loud! I am no longer ashamed to be gay, since this is who I really am and it makes me happy. I hid in fear for too long. If I could go back in time I would change it, that way I would not be in this mess with Clyde being in a comma. I can live my life how I want, the Lincoln way. Things will only get better from here on out.
Suddenly it was time for me to go back home.
I hesitated before leaving the hospital thinking to myself, What if Clyde wakes up after I leave?
But soon, I felt my phone buzz. I pulled it out and turned on the screen, noticing a text message I just received from Lori. My eyes went wide and my heart dropped once I read the text.
Lori: "Lincoln, you need to come home right now! Something terrible has happened to Mom and Dad!" :'(
A/N* Oh, dear... what do you guys think is happening with the Loud parents? I hope you guys are enjoying this... it's hard typing a large chapter on my Apple iPhone. I'm at North Carolina right now with my family for Independence Day, but we won't be seeing any fireworks because of COVID-19. I was a bit disappointed, but at least I'm able to see my family again. Of course we do have to go back home tomorrow.
Hang tight my lovelies! Chapter 7 will be coming soon. I apologize to those who think this chapter is so crappy. Please forgive me. In the meantime my fans and readers, if you see any mistakes I've made such as grammar errors and stuff, then please point them out and I'll be right there to fix them in a jiffy.
- Rainbow.