Okay, before we begin I just want to say that I am deeply sorry for the very long wait. After vacation, things sort of got a bit jarring in my life. Work got really hectic as the Christmas season proved to be busier than usual and we started it a bit early this year. Not to mention there were some things that happened while on vacation and the results have seeped into my personal life and have required a lot of attention. To make a long story short, my little sister's getting married.

Also I ran into a block while writing what was supposed to be the second half of this chapter. Suffice it to say, I didn't plan it plan it out very well and as a result I ran into a ton of aggravation. Because of that, there were times where I didn't come back in here to work for a couple of days at a time. So I decided to split into two different chapters and we'll see how I can do from there.

And as for those who are bothered by Luan's behavior in this story, I really don't blame ya. Just please bear with it until we get to the day that the girls are looking after Lincoln, because I have a special scene planned for that day.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Loud House

While Lincoln sat back at the dentist's office, the older girls of the family were going about their regular school day as best as they could. For Lori, it was simpler than the rest. She had told the rest of her friends the day before about what had happened to Lincoln. They had all been stunned by the news of course and they were all offering Lori their emotional support. For the most part, Lori had been feeling fine. After she had had her talk with Lincoln the day before, she had felt a great weight lifting from her shoulders. Although she still carried quite a bit of worry on her.

Despite the reassurances that she offered towards her friends, they still couldn't help but worry for the boy and still gave their apologies to Lori and even asked her to give Lincoln their best wishes. Something that Lori gratefully agreed to do.

Throughout the day, they secretly texted her or passed her notes when their teachers weren't looking. It made her happy to know that her friends cared so much about her and her family. She and her family had had their problems in the past, but hardly anything as serious as this in the past. She had stood with them when they had had family problems as well, so it was nice to see them return the gesture.

In the meantime, Leni was taking her own classes as best as she could. Due to her limited intelligence (for lack of better words), some of her peers were constantly trying to put the instructor's words into phrases that were easier for her to understand. It wasn't just because of her mental issues today that had them more concerned than ever, but it was also the constant look of worry that plagued her normally cheerful face that made them a bit more attentive. They had asked her about it, but she had refused to tell them and promised to explain everything to them later on at lunch.

Judging by the looks she was frequently making, they feared that any explaination she'd give would be sure to make her cry. And despite her ditziness, Leni had enough comprehension to know that crying would be a bad thing to do right in the middle of class.

Luan, whom was usually the class clown type, took many of her friends and classmates by surprise by not telling any of her infamous puns or pulling any of her usual small pranks that she pulled on them on a daily basis. In fact, she wasn't even breaking eye contact with her books or the notes she was constantly scribbling down. She wasn't even smiling... at all. Some of them had heard about her issues at home due to her older sisters and THEIR friends and were able to sympathize. As for the ones who didn't though, some had genuine concern while others were relieved to be free of pranks today. They had tried asking her about it, but she would always brush them off and say that she was fine. And they just left it at that.

Lunchtime came around and that was the one time of the day that most of the sisters saw each other. Luna, Luan and Leni had lunch around the same time, while Lori was still in class. Leni sat off on one side of the cafeteria and was in the middle of confessing to her friends about the problems at home while Luan sat by herself a few tables away and merely frowned and silently ate her lunch as she heard Leni cry her story out.

In the meantime in the middle of the cafeteria, Luna sat at a seperate table, also by herself. Normally she'd be hanging out with some of the other school musicians, one of them a fellow rock girl named Sam, and Luna would most likely be strumming on her acoustic guitar and they would try to jam along with her. She had brought her guitar with her today, but yet she just didn't feel the urge or energy to play right now. Right now it sat propped against the leg of the table, neglected and ignored by it's owner and even that got to Luna. To her, it was a reminder as to how she had tried to treat her brother the day before and it shamed her. Her gaze turned back to where Leni was sitting and watched as she and her friends hugged it out as she cried. And then her gaze fell on Luan, still as emotionless as earlier and the day before. Luna could feel her blood begin to boil as she looked at her comedian sister and her anger would just continue to rise. All she could do was turn away from Luan and maybe look towards the exit. What she didn't realize was that someone else was standing right near her as she violently turned about.

"Whoa Luna! You trying to knock me over or something?" came the voice of the blond haired girl standing right beside her.

Luna jumped and then froze as she clutched her chest as she let out a yelp. This was followed by Luna taking some deep heaving breaths. Why did this particular girl need to here? Why now? Luna could only hope that her heart rate would slow down.

"Jeez Sam! What are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?" Luna gasped out as her heart began to calm down. In her mind she hollered to herself, 'Subtle Luns!'

Sam merely laughed and said, "Call it payback for nearly knocking me over a second ago. I was just about to tap on your shoulder."

Luna couldn't help but smile and laugh at Sam's witty comeback and at the way that Sam's laugh sounded to her. As Luna's laugh's began to subside, Sam took a seat in the chair next to Luna and even leaned back a bit in it when she was sure that no teachers or school administrators were nearby and could see her.

"So what's up with you today? Why aren't you jamming with me and the others like always? And what's up with your other sisters too? They all look a little mopey today," Sam asked as she settled into her seat and pointed out a still upset Leni and Luan.

Luna took a sharp inhale and held her breath after Sam had asked her question. Luna hadn't yet told any of her friends about what had happened to her brother and wasn't sure how. She was sure that word would get back to them eventually through either Lori or Leni. Given Luan's mood the past day and a half, Luna was sure that the first of her younger sisters wouldn't be very talkative with them. So she was now a little caught in something that she knew that she wouldn't be able to hide.

So what else could she do?

Luna began to rub the back of her neck and said, "Well there's kind of been some trouble at home for the past day or so."

Sam's smile began to fade a bit as Luna stated those words. Intrigued, she began to sit up straight in her chair again and then leaned in to hear some more.

"Really? What's going on?" Sam asked.

This time Luna was no longer rubbing the back of her head. She was now beginning to rub her shoulder as she took another sharp inhale and pondered how she was going to explain this. She knew the best way would to just tell her the straight truth, but she had no idea how to begin her explanation.

"Well?" Sam asked a little more forcefully.

Now that she knew that she couldn't delay this any further, Luna decided to just say how it all began.

She exhaled sharply and said, "Well it all began the other night when our furnace went out in the middle of the night and Lincoln, my little bro, accidently startled us all awake from the cold. Suffice it to say, almost everyone was upset about being woken up."

Luna spent the next ten minutes or so explaining the events of that night and the next day as well. She even went as far as to explain that she had initially tried to ignore Lincoln earlier that day. She even explained the events of this morning as well and even went into detail with Luan's behavior and that she herself had had to spend the night on the living room couch.

Sam sat and listened to everything little detail that Luna had to explain. As she heard, she had begun to understand the behavior of Leni and Lori a bit more. Even Luan's crabby personality right now was a bit more understandable to her. But yet, she was still a bit shocked when Luna told her that she had originally tried to ignore her brother, her LITTLE and ONLY brother at that.

"Wow. You really tried to do that to your brother when he needed you? Luna why would you... how could you do that to him?" Sam asked.

Luna cringed, rubbed her shoulder some more and said, "I know I know and I'm not proud about it either. If anything, I feel like beating myself over it."

Luna buried her eyes into the palms of her hands and said, "I'm such an idiot."

Sam sighed and shook her head as she grabbed Luna's wrists and pulled Luna's hands away from her eyes.

"Hey, you don't need to worry about it. We all do stupid things and at least you're learning from what you did. There are worse things you could have done and from you told me, it sounds like Lincoln understands," Sam stated.

Luna nodded and then turned her attention back to where Luan was sitting.

"Tell me about it. Luan over there began yelling at him last night after some party and has been ignoring him ever since. I had to sleep on the couch last night because of her lousy attitude. It's like she doesn't even care what's going or how it affects the rest of us?" Luna explained.

Sam looked in Luan's direction and began glaring at the comedian girl as well.

"That little brat. Luna, you just give me the word and I'll make her sorry right now," Sam offered to her.

Luna was tempted by the offer. The way Luan had been carrying on was really beginning to get to her and the rest of the family. The way she just ignores all the issues going on at home, the way she's been treating the rest of them, the way she'd been treating their brother was grounds for some much deserved retribution. But at the same time, Luna had some strong feelings that there was more going on with Luan than what she had perceived. And she wanted to get to the bottom of it before she took any action.

Instead, Luna just shook her head and said, "I love the offer, I really do, but I'm going to decline it for now. I want to see if I can get through to her first and make her explain. If it looks like things aren't going well, I might take you up on it."

Sam shrugged and said, "Okay, but if you ever need me for anything, don't be afraid to ask."

Luna began to sweat a little by that notion, but still just nodded and said, "Thanks Sam, you're one of the few people in this school who gets me."

Sam smiled and asked, "You really mean that?"

Luna nodded again and said, "Around here, there's No One Like You."

Sam nodded in response and said, "Well that's good to know."

Just as the girls had finished, the school bell began to ring, signalling that the lunch period had now come to an end.

Luna groaned and said, "Darn that bell. Why does it have to kill the mood?"

Sam sighed and said, "Well it looks like we go back to class. Say, if your brother needs some aid I can help."

"You can?" Luna asked.

Sam nodded and said, "I can tell you about it later after school if you wish."

Luna nodded and said, "Whatever helps my little bro."

Sam nodded and walked off to join the rush of students that were leaving the school cafeteria. Luna couldn't help but watch the blonde haired girl as she walked away, being careful to stifle her real thoughts about Sam, but inside of her she couldn't hide it.

'I just want to be loved by you,' she said in her head as she stood to leave the cafeteria.

So as I stated above, there was supposed to be a longer chapter here, but I got so aggravated with it that I think I'll just make that part it's own chapter as well. Sorry that this one was so short, but I was tired of making everyone wait so I figured that a short chapter would be better than no chapter at all. I promise that the next one will be longer.

Luna's song reference in this chapter is the song No One Like You by The Scorpions.