Chapter 1: A Normal Day...

"When you have a family as big as ours, privacy can be hard to come by. Some days, it's near impossible to have some time to yourself. And if you do manage to get some peace and quiet, you're guaranteed to have it interrupted just as soon as you get comfy.

Weirdly enough, though, sometimes the opposite is true. You can be surround by family, but when everyone is busy with their own things, you can find yourself a little… lost. A little… lonely."

Lincoln let out another sigh. Today was one of the rare occurrences where despite being a Saturday afternoon with sunlight to burn, he had nothing to do. So, in utter boredom, he just laid on his bed, hoping for something to happen.

His eyes drifted away from the ceiling and around his small room, looking for something to pique his interest.

Comic books… read them all. Hand-held video game… beat them all. TV… nothing on. Regular books… boring… and read them all.

His eyes skimmed across the floor, landing on his backpack.

Homework. A shiver went up his spine. Ugh… I'm not really that desperate, am I?

…

… dang it.

With a huff and a groan, Lincoln pulled himself off his bed. He gave his backpack a dirty look, before lugging it onto his desk with some effort. He reluctantly took a seat, pulling books and papers out of his back back.

History… boring. English… boring. Math… bleugh. Health… hm, the Workings of the Lower Intestines… gross.

He flipped through a few more loose papers, all of which held little interest to him. Then he paused.

Huh… Music homework… 'Write a short song about something important to you.' Huh, I actually started on this already… oh, geez! This is due on Monday!

Lincoln's eyes widened in worry. He'd been given two weeks to write a song and had completely forgotten about it. He looked over the paper and calmed slightly once he saw what he'd done already.

Okay, I got a good chunk of a song here, but… Augh, I don't know what to do from here!

He could practically feel the light bulb turn on in his head.

I'll ask Luna! She could help… maybe help a little too much, but it's worth a shot!

Lincoln smiled, his day brightening a bit now that he had something to do. He carefully peaked out of his room. Thankfully, there was very little destruction, as his more rambunctious sisters were all outside enjoying a sunny Saturday… though the smell of burning chemicals coming from Lisa's room was a tad concerning.

As he made his way down the hall, homework in hand, he started to hear the soft strums of an acoustic guitar. This made him a little worried. Luna only broke out the acoustic when she was working on her own music.

Sure enough, as he leaned across the doorway to her room, he saw his rocker sister sitting on her bed, hard at work. A simple, slightly scuffed guitar sat in her lap as she picked at it, pausing every few seconds to scribble something in the notebook sitting next to her.

Feeling a little nervous, Lincoln stepped into the room. "Hey, Luna. You busy?"

Luna glanced at him briefly, before turning her attention back to the guitar. "Kinda. What's up, bro?"

"Well, I'm suppose to write a song for music class, and I have a bit written already, but I was hoping you might be able to help me?"

Luna paused mid-chord, giving Lincoln her full attention. To Lincoln's disappointment, she gave him apologetic smile. "Aw, that actually sounds like it would be kinda fun. Sorry, bro, but I don't got the time. There's a big rock contest next week, and a me and my friends want to enter."

Lincoln frowned, tilting his head. "Well, cool, but what's that have to do with helping me right now?"

Luna frowned with him, huffing in frustration. "Well, my friends want to start practicing tonight, but I'm still trying to get the songs just right." She glared down at the notebook, which Lincoln could see was full of music notes, large sections of which having been X'd out. "It's driving me a little nuts."

"Oh," Lincoln said, feeling his bright day start to dim. "Sorry for bothering you, I guess."

Luna watched as Lincoln slumped a bit where he stood, a seed of guilt worming it's way into her gut. "Hey," She called before he left the room. He looked back at her. Luna half-smiled at him. "I have some free time later tonight. Ask me again after dinner, and we can make you something rockin'!"

Lincoln smiled back at her. "Thanks, Luna."

"Anytime, bro. Now, what the heck rhymes with 'gasoline'...?"

Lincoln left Luna muttering to herself as he went back to his room. With a sigh, he tossed his homework back on his desk, before flopping back on his bed.

Well, that was a bust. Figures that the one time I ask Luna to help with music is the one time she's too busy. Hmm… I guess I can see what my other sisters are up too… It'll give me something to do at least. Hmm… Lynn and Lana are at the park… Mom took Lily and Lola, with her to the store… well, that leaves five other sisters that might have something to do.

Lincoln poked his head into the darkened room, the blinds pulled shut for maximum darkness. Still, the hall gave off enough light for him to make out his dreary sister on her bed, notebook in hand. "Hey, Lucy. Whatcha doing?"

Lucy looked at him. (Or at least, he thought she did. Hard to tell with the way her bangs always covered her eyes.) "I am working on a poem about solitude and the death of the soul." She dropped out in her usual monotone.

Lincoln blinked. Cheery as always, he thought sarcastically. "Need any help?"

Lucy turned away from him and back at her notebook. "No. Today, I will look inwards on my own blackened soul, and pull from the darkest thoughts that I have buried even from myself."

Lincoln slumped. "Oh. Well, if you do need help, you know where to find me."

"Noted," Lucy said, writing in her notebook. She paused for a moment. "Thank you." She added, sounding like an afterthought.

Lincoln smiled a little as he left the room. Lucy might creep me out a little, but she's always polite to me… at least when I'm on her good side.

Lincoln nearly ran into Luan as he neared her door. The comedy-hopeful jumped back once she saw him in her way. "Whoops. Sorry, Lincoln. Crashing into you might have wrecked your day. Haha!"

Lincoln just managed to avoid rolling his eyes. "It's okay, Luan. You heading somewhere?" He asked, just noticing what looked like a suitcase in her hand.

Luan beamed a braces-filled smile. "Yep. I'm taking my weekly trip to the old folks home around the block. Give the old people there something to smile about, and test some new material."

Lincoln perked up. "Oh! Well, think I could come with you and help?"

His heart sunk as she frowned. "Oh, sorry Lincoln. I already planned out a whole one-woman routine. Maybe next time."

As she walked past him, Lincoln gave a halfhearted wave. "Yeah… maybe next time."

"Hey, Lisa! Need any help?"

The brainiest Loud sister kept her eyes on the bubbling chemicals of her lab. "As a matter of fact, yes. I have been experimenting with a serum that can potentially heal wounds at an accelerated rate. It's untested as of yet, so if you would be willing to…" She looked up from her test tubes, syringe in hand, only to find the doorway empty.

Lisa huffed in annoyance. "Why does no one ever want to be my test subject? It's not like it would kill them. This experiment is meant to help people!"

In her frustration she placed her hands on her hips, accidentally squeezing out a drop of the serum onto the floor. A sizzling sound made her look down.

"Ohh…" Her eyebrows reached her hairline as she stared at the tiny hole that had burned through the floor. She eyed the syringe warily. "Maybe I used too much phosphate."

Lincoln very carefully edged his way into Lori and Leni's room. Entering the oldest Loud sister's room was a very bad idea, at least when Lori was there, but as he hadn't seen Lori since breakfast, and hadn't seen Leni at all yet, he thought Lincoln thought he was safe.

Though, strangely, the first thing he saw entering the room was a pair of legs wiggling from underneath Leni's bed. Muffled worried mumbling could be heard as well.

"Leni?" Lincoln asked, perplexed.

The legs stiffened, before Leni backed her way out from under the bed. As she straightened up and turned around, Lincoln took a step back.

"Whoa, what happened to you?"

Leni looked utterly exhausted, dark circles under her red eyes. She gave a huge yawn as she tried to focus on Lincoln. "Lori was up all night talking to Bobby. I didn't sleep at all. I was hoping to take a nap, but I can't find my sleeping mask anywhere!"

Lincoln looked at her for a moment. He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Leni?" He deadpanned.

"Yeah?" She asked sleepily.

"Can you put your hand on your head real quick, like this?" He put his right hand on top of his head, right above his forehead.

Leni mimicked him, her head tilted in confusion as she did. Her eyes widened when, instead of hair, she felt soft fabric. Feeling around, she realized what it was. "Oh… I left it in the same place as my sunglasses. Thanks Lincoln!" With that, Leni placed her mask over her eyes, and immediately flopped onto her bed, snoring.

Lincoln sighed as he watched her sleep. Drat. that just leaves… Lori.

Lincoln already knew how that conversation would go before it even began. Still, desperate times...

Not finding Lori upstairs, Lincoln made his way down the stairs. He was nearly at the bottom when...

"Dad! I'm taking the van to the mall!"

Lori just walked into the living room, keys in hand.

"Okay, sweetie!" Mr. Loud's voice came from the den. "Be careful on the road!"

"Always am!" As the eldest Loud sister went to the front door, she noticed Lincoln at the foot of the stairs. "What are you looking so sad about, twerp?" She asked, looking more annoyed than anything.

Lincoln looked at her, defeated. "Nothing, just bored. You heading to the mall with Bobby?"

Lori sighed dramatically. "Unfortunately, no. Bobby got a new job at the gas station across town and is working today. I'm just going to do some browsing."

Lincoln perked up instantly. "Oh! Could I come?"

Lori pretended to think about it for a moment. "Um… no. I'm going to the mall to have some fun, not babysit."

Lincoln's frustration started to boil over. "Come on, please. I'll be good! I'm going nuts around here with nothing to do!"

Lori rolled her eyes. "Why don't you just go play with your creepy friend Clyde?"

Lincoln huffed sadly. "He and his dads took a trip to visit his aunt down south. He's going to be gone for two weeks. I've got nothing to do here. I've read all my comics, there's nothing on TV; I'm about ready to try and do my homework. You hear that? I'm about ready to do my homework out of boredom! Homework!"

Lori actually blinked in shock. "Can't you find something to do with one of our sisters?"

"I tried that already. Everyone's busy."

Lori's eyes softened a little at that. She was quiet for a moment, before letting out a long-suffering sigh. She turned towards the den, calling out. "Dad, I'm taking Lincoln with me!"

"Okay, honey! You keep an eye on him!"

"I will!" She turned back to Lincoln, who was staring up at her in relief. She leaned over him, glaring. "Look, we get there, you go where I go, you do what I say, and if I give you the look, you stop talking. Got it?"

Lincoln gulped nervously. "Got it."

"Good. Let's go."

Lincoln followed her out the door, a smile on his face. Well, it's not what I expected, but it's better than doing homework.

I should have just done my homework.

Apparently, when Lori said 'do what I say', she had already had a plan in mind. Lincoln grunted as he tried to balance what felt like dozens of bags in his arms. It was a miracle he could still see where he was going. The crowd apparently took pity on him, because, despite the usual Saturday rush of people, he didn't run into anyone.

"Keep up, Lincoln! I want to get to the car, these bags are heavy!"

Lincoln sent a glare he knew Lori wouldn't see at the two bags in Lori's hand, the other one holding, what else, her cell phone. He'd be impressed with how she could walk through the crowd while never looking up from her phone if he wasn't so utterly annoyed.

Where does she even get the money for all this stuff anyway?

As they neared the mall exit, a he caught certain storefront out the corner of his eye. He lit up as an idea hit him. "Hey, Lori! Can we stop a sec?"

Lori huffed in annoyance. "What?"

Lincoln shifted the bags just enough that he could point towards the store. "Can we stop in the comic shop real quick."

Lori took one look at the comic book shop, the windows plastered with comic posters and superhero cutouts, and gagged. "Ew. No." She turned around to keep walking.

"Wait!" Lincoln just managed to get in front of her, the mountain of bags wobbling. "Please? I won't take long."

"Lincoln, no. I will not be caught dead going into nerd central."

"Come on! I'll carry your other bags for you! Just five minutes, please!"

Lori glared at him for a full minute. Normally, she would have stuck to her guns, but… she knew he hadn't had the best day… and he'd just be bored again once they got home.

She groaned. "Finnnne. Just five minutes."

Lincoln beamed. "Thanks Lori." He ran off towards the store, bags still in arm.

Lori followed slowly calling after him. "I'm not paying for anything!"

Lincoln got lucky, someone was leaving right when he got to the door, so he didn't have to deal with opening it with his arms full. Wasting none of his limited time, he ran right up to the counter. "Hey, Jen!"

Behind the counter, a young woman with short red hair looked up from the comic in front of her. Green eyes squinted through her squared glasses, looking the mountain of shopping bags before her up and down. "Okay, since when did shopping bags start talking, and how do they know my name?"

Lincoln laughed as he shifted the bags around, turning so she could see him. "Jen, it's me!"

The girl, Jen, blinked, then smiled. "Hey, Lincoln! Been a while! Didn't recognized you behind all the…" She paused, eyebrow raising as she looked at one of the bag labels. "Valerie's Secret bags?" She smirked down at Lincoln. "You trying to tell me something, man?"

Lincoln's face went beat red. "Wha-No! No no no, these aren't mine! I'm carrying them for my sister Lori!"

Jen hummed. "Ahh, I get ya. Got you playing pack mule, huh?"

Lincoln scowled. "Yep."

Jen chuckled at his misfortune. "I feel for ya, man. My sister's pulled the same thing on me when I was your age. Let's see, Lori… which one is that?"

"Oldest. Uh…" Lincoln glanced back at the front of the store, bobbing his head. "That's her."

Jen turned towards where he'd indicated, seeing a girl with thick, blonde hair tapping away on her phone, ignoring everything around her. The girl suddenly looked up, not a Jen, but at a rather heavy set, pimple faced teen looking at her from across a rack of comics. Her eyes narrowed, her lips moving, and while Jen couldn't hear what she said, whatever it was made the teen jump and sent him scrurring towards the back of the store. The girl went back to her phone like nothing happened.

"That's your sister?" When Lincoln nodded, Jen gave the girl a quick onceover. "Not bad," she stated, an interested look in her eyes.

Lincoln rolled his eyes. "Don't bother, Jen. She already has a boyfriend."

Jen raised an eyebrow at him. "They serious?"

"Considering that she can't go twenty minutes without hearing from him, and she never, ever, shuts up about him…

"Ugh. Lovie-Dovies. Enough said. So," Jen switched gears, clapping her hands. "If your sister is anything like mine, I'm betting you don't have a lot of time. What are you looking for?"

Lincoln looked around the store, a little lost. "I didn't really come in here with anything in mind. Got anything good?"

Jen thought for a moment. "Hmm… Ah!" She snapped her fingers, then pulled a stack of comics from underneath the counter. She flipped through a few of them, grabbing one in particular. She turned the cover towards Lincoln. "Here we go. Newest from Awe Comics."

Lincoln looked at the comic. "The Revengers?"

Jen nodded. "Yep. A whole crew of Superheroes, kicking butt and taking names. A new favorite of mine."

Lincoln lit up. "Awesome! That's perfect!" He fidgeted awkwardly for a few seconds, before realizing that he couldn't reach his pockets with all the bags in his arms.

Jen chuckled. "Need help?"

Lincoln nodded sheepishly, sticking out his hip. "Front left pocket."

Jen smirked as she leaned over the counter, pulling a few crumpled bills from his pocket. "Four bucks. Lucky, that's just how much need. By the way, we have a deal going right now. Buy any first issue and you get issue two free." She bagged both comics, placing them carefully on top of the mass of bags.

Lincoln beamed. "Really? Awesome! Thanks, Jen."

"Anytime, man." Jen waved as Lincoln walked away. "Don't be a stranger!"

Lincoln walked back to Lori. "Okay, we can go now."

"Ugh, finally." She huffed, dumping her two bags on top of what Lincoln was already holding. Lincoln grunted in annoyance, but didn't say anything. I guess I did say I'd carry them…

The two made their way out of the mall and started across the parking lot. "So who was that you were talking to?" Lori suddenly asked.

Lincoln blinked, not expecting Lori to actually ask him something. "Oh, that was Jen. She works there on weekends, and she always knows what are the best comics."

Lori hummed in response, but didn't say anything else as they made it to the van. Lori clicked the door unlock, opening the rear door. "Put everything in the back seat, and be careful not to put the heavy bags on top of- Oh!" Lori cut herself off as her cell phone started to ring. In an instant, she had it pressed to her ear. "Hello? Bobby! Hey, I- Bobby? Bobby are you there? I- oh…" She glared at her phone. "Stupid dead zone. Bobby? Hey give me one… oh come on…"

Lincoln watched annoyed as Lori walked away from the van in search of a cell signal, then looked helplessly at the bags in his arms. "Don't put the heavy bags on top of what?" After a second, he shrugged, starting to place bags in the van. When he placed the seventh bag on top of another one, he winced when he heard something shatter. He glanced quickly at Lori, who was still searching for a signal in the center of the car aisle. He looked franticly between the bags in the van and the ones still in his arms, trying to figure out what he'd just done.

His thoughts were broken by the sound of squealing tires.

His head turned in surprise at the sudden sound, looking further up the parking lot.

Lincoln dropped the bags, his stomach dropping with them.

"Lori!"

"Bobby? Are you still there?" Lori glared at her phone again. "Come on, I just bought this thing. Bobby, can-"

"Lori!"

Lori's head snapped around at Lincoln's panicked yell. She looked up just in time…

To see the car speeding towards her.

Time slowed. Lori's brain screamed at her to move, but her body wouldn't listen. She just stared wide-eyed at the mass of heavy metal and screaming rubber headed for her.

Something hit her from behind. The next thing Lori knew, her face hit the pavement. Then…

THU-THUNK! THUNK! Thud.

The dull sound of metal hitting something soft, then something hitting the ground. Tires screeched, then only eerie silence.

Lori, her breathing heavy, shakily pushed herself to her knees. She dimly realized that she was still alive. But that didn't make sense. She didn't move. She froze. She wouldn't even have noticed the car unless Lincoln...

Her breath hitched.

No.

Lincoln… Something… someone hit her… someone pushed her…

Lori's head snapped around, and she instantly felt her soul shatter.

On the ground, just a few feet away, a small form was sprawled out on the pavement. A small form wearing an orange shirt, and that had a head of white hair.

White and red.

"No… no, no… Lincoln!" Lori screamed, pushing and stumbling to her feet, before crashing to her knees next to her brother. "Lincoln?" She whispered, disbelievingly.

Oh god.. his leg's not suppose to bend that way… wait, is he breathing? Wha-What do I do? What am I supposed to…

Franticly, Lori looked across the ground. Thankfully, mercifully, her phone lay within arms reach. She grabbed it, not even noticing that she hung up on her still going call, and hit three numbers.

"C'mon, C'mon… Yes, my brother's been hit by a car! I need help… The Westside Mall parking lot… please, please hurry… I… I don't think..."

A groan.

Lori dropped the phone, looking down. Pained black eyes looked up at her.

"L-Lori…?"

"Lincoln!" Lori yelled. She took his hand, squeezing. "I'm right here. Help is coming, just hold on."

Lincoln blinked wearily. "A-Are...are you… okay?"

Lori blinked. Her mouth moved as she tried to say something. She somehow managed a smile, brushing a strand of hair out of his face, doing everything she could to ignore the red stickiness that came off on her fingers. "Just hang on, little brother. You're going to be just…"

The slam of a car door. Squealing tires.

Lori looked up to see taillights. The scent of burned rubber filled the air as a blue car hurried away from them, disappearing around the corner.

Before Lori could dwell on that, the sound of sirens started to near.

"You hear that, Lincoln. They're almost here. You're going to be fine. You…" Lori looked back down at him, her heart stopping.

Lincoln's chest had stopped moving. A puddle of red was forming under him.

"Lincoln? Lincoln, wake up. Lincoln? LINCOLN!"

A/n: Well… this is a thing.

This story just kind of hit me when I watched the show and realized just how much the Loud sisters depend on Lincoln on a daily basis, and I started to wonder how they could deal without him being there. Should be intresting if nothing else.

Please let me know how I did. Early reviews are the most important, because they let me know how I did, what worked, what didn't, and what I need to keep in mind for the future. I really hope I did the Loud Family justice, since I love them all so much.

This isn't the only story I have going at the moment, so I'm not sure how often updates will be. I hope not too long. See you all then!