"All I Ever Wanted Was To Fit In"

Louie trekked across the rocky terrain underneath his feet, "When will we be there yet? This place has no Wi-Fi!" He complained, staring at his bright phone screen that had the words, "No signal" in bold letters on it.

"Louie, how many times do I have to tell you: NO PHONES!" Della snatched Louie's phone out of his grasp, and the 11 year-old boy pouted, "You can have it back when we are done adventuring."

Louie lowered his gaze to the ground, bristling. Before Della was here, he could do basically anything he wanted. Now, he had to worry about what he could and could not do.

He flexed his fingers, which were urging to fidget with something.

Dewey was ahead of the group, "Uncle Scrooge! Uncle Donald! Mom! I see the castle!" Dewey pointed his index finger at the big castle overhead.

"The Castle Of The Crimson Crystal! A castle that was left abandoned for centuries; a castle so heavily booby-trapped that it has claimed the lives of all the adventurers who ever set foot in here!" Huey breathed.

"Pfft, we can do better than those quitters!" Scrooge said.

"There's a difference between quitting and dying." Louie tried, "Hey, why don't we, I dunno, go someplace less deadly?!"

"Come on, Louie! We've had a ton of adventures; this is the same!" Webby spoke.

"But….well….okay." Louie sighed. He knew what was going to happen though. Every time he went on an adventure with Della, she would always blame Louie for "having his eye on the gold" and "activating the traps on purpose."

Whatever that meant.

"Breathe in the fresh smell of adventure!" Della grinned when they made it inside the castle.

"I don't need to! Adventure is already in my blood!" Dewey said, and Della hugged him. Louie envied how well they got along.

Why couldn't he be like that?

Huey joined the hug.

"Oh, you two are my favorite-" Della broke of as soon as she saw Louie, "Uh, I mean, you three are my favorite boys!"

Louie knew that wasn't what Della was going to say though. A lump formed in his throat and he pulled his hood over his head.

"Sweetie, that's not what I-"

"I don't want to hear it." Louie stormed ahead and he accidentally stepped on a rectangular button on the floor. A boulder fell from the ceiling, and he barely dodged it at the right time.

"Louie! Look what you did!" Della hissed.

"I'm sorry!" Louie whimpered.

No.

Not this again.

And in front of everybody too!

Dewey.

Huey.

Webby.

Launchpad.

Scrooge.

Beakley.

Donald….what would he think of him now?!

"I told you! No more goofing around! No schemes, no treasure, no phone, no Louie Incorporated! If you want to be a part of this family-"

"…I need to stop. I know. You've said that so many times!" Louie added, "All I try to do is fit in! It was an accident!"

"Your last quote unquote 'accident' made you take treasures from the past, which almost destroyed time and your family!"

"That was different!"

"It's not any different than the conversation we are having now!" Della raised her voice.

Louie felt his body burning with shame, blood rushing to his head, "I wish you just DIED so I wouldn't have to deal with a mother like you."

Della gasped.

"Hey! You have no right to say that!" Dewey scolded his younger brother.

"Oh look, the Mommy's Boy is back!" Louie snorted.

"Both of you stop it! Louie, apologize at once!" Huey glared at Louie.

"Why should I? Who are you to stop me?"

"Louie that is it! We are going back to the Cloudslayer and you are grounded for two weeks' time!" Beakley took matters into her own hands, seeing that Della wasn't reacting.

Louie crossed his arms, "Fine! But remember that you can't ground me forever! You can't push me away and lock me up in a room forever! You're going to have to talk to me at one point. And if you think I'm learning anything from being locked up in that stupid room, well NO! The only thing I'm learning is the fact that Della hates me!" The words flew out of Louie's mouth before he could stop them.

The words he had been keeping back for a long time.

Beakley's gaze softened, "Llewellyn dear…"

Louie's eyes filled with tears and he ran out of the castle.

- At Home, In Louie's Room -

Louie sat on his bed with his hood pulled over his head, staring at the floor.

If you want to be a part of this family, you've gotta stop.

He started to cry.

No. Not this time.

What? But I said I'm sorry! We hugged and everything!

I watched your brothers blink out of existence because you wanted a shortcut to riches!

I said I was sorry!

You took off in that contraption without thinking about the consequences or the people you would hurt!

Wonder where I got that from.

Yeah.

Wonder where he got that from.

Louie clenched his hands into fists.

It wasn't fair.

None of this was fair!

What about Moonvasion? They sang and everything!

All Louie ever wanted was for Della to love him.

I guess this just goes to show how two-faced Della really is: Sweet and gentle at first, and then harsh and cruel the next! Louie thought bitterly.

"Hey….Louie…..I wanted to talk to you." Della opened the door.

"What do you want? To scream at me again?!"

"I'm…..sorry for what happened back there. That's not what I meant."

Louie cried, "Yes it is! No matter how much I try to impress you, no matter how much I try to get you to love me, you don't!"

Della started to sing, "Face each new sun with eyes clear and true.."

"No." Louie turned over.

Della sighed, "Louie, what more do you want? I spend my time with you, we go on amazing adventures, I sang to you, saved you from a giant mechanical monster, I hug you….."

"I want you to stop favoring Dewey!"

"I don't favor Dewey!"

"Yeah you do!"

"No I don't."

"Then why do you keep on punishing me and not do anything to them?! Dewey destroyed the Doomsday Vault for a stupid seed, Huey nearly KILLED Violet because he wanted to earn his Senior Junior Woodchuck badge, and Webby destroys practically everything she touches!"

Della stifled a sigh, "Oh Louie…..come here." She pulled Louie into a hug, but he pulled away.

"Stop it."

"I'm not going to yell at you, if that's what you're afraid of. I wanted to check if you were okay."

"But you-"

"No, Louie. I'm not going to do anything to you. I love you. You're my son."

Louie hugged Della, and cried into her arms.

"Shhhhh." Della ran a finger through her son's hair.

"Louie. About what I said-"

"It's okay mom."

"It is?"

"I'm sorry too."

"Louie, you have nothing to be sorry for. I didn't know how much I was hurting your feelings. I promise that from now on, I'll be more careful."

"You promise?"

Della ruffled Louie's hair, "I promise."