It's the final countdown! *Trumpet sounds*

Yup everybody, we're at the final chapter of Conflicted Feelings, and don't worry, I'll make sure we come out with a bang! Or at least try to!

Now, why am I posting this now instead of a Saturday, like the original schedule, as far as I remember? Well, I figured it was time to finally put this story to a rest. And besides, I'm not so sure I'll be able to post anything tomorrow, so... yeah... XD

I bet most of you want me to keep talking to stall the inevitable. Well, too bad! We're heading right in!

It's been weeks since Paige and I resumed our relationship. We've hung out, enjoyed time together, and managed to keep Paige's secret from the world at large.

But that all changed one day, by the actions of a certain girl...

It was a calm day at Royal Woods' school, where Lincoln and Paige walked together to the entrance, seemingly oblivious to the looks they were getting from everybody.

"You know what, Lincoln?" Paige asked, getting the boy's attention. "I'm really happy weekend decided to resume our relationship. These past weeks were a blast."

"Yeah, I agree," Lincoln nodded. "Although, I can't help but feel like something's going on."

Paige frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, it feels as if nearly everybody didn't like the idea," Lincoln took a look at his surroundings. "And now that I see it, everybody's looking at us funny."

And then they heard somebody calling for them: Clyde, who waved at them to come to him. The duo obliged, and then Clyde took them somewhere more private, checking his left and right just to be sure they were alone.

"Did something happen, Clyde?" Lincoln asked.

"Yes, something terrible!" Clyde exclaimed before showing the duo a document. "These pictures were at the school's billboard this morning!"

Lincoln took the document and opened it, discovering, to his and Paige's shock, that the pictures were about their "dates" in question, both the one in the park and the one in Gus- Games and Grub.

"What were these pictures doing there?!" Paige exclaimed, trying to keep his girly voice intact. "Who even took them?!"

"And that's not the worst part!" Clyde added. "You see-"

"Clyde!"

The trio turned around and saw Chandler running towards them, holding several pictures.

"Chandler!?" Lincoln snapped as the redhead went to Clyde. "What do you-!?"

"Here, I found more pictures around the gym and the cafeteria!" Chandler said as he handed the pictures yo the dark-skinned boy. "I already told Rusty Spokes, Liam, and Zach to check the rest of the school, but they haven't come back."

"Thanks for the help, Chandler," Clyde said as he saved the pictures in the document.

"Clyde... And Chandler... Working together?" Lincoln slowly said, trying to process what that meant. "Is the situation that bad?!"

"I'm afraid it is," Chandler nodded, seemingly oblivious to what Lincoln implied. "And the worst part is that there's also a rumor floating around."

"A rumor?"

"Yeah, it started spreading this morning," Clyde added. "Apparently, the rumor is about Paige actually being a guy."

It took a couple seconds before the boys registered what this meant.

Meanwhile, at the Loud House...

"How, like, could you!?"

The sisters stood in front of their parents, Rita and Lynn Sr., who were sitting on the couch, looking rather regretful.

"Lincoln's got a wonderful thing, and you're trying to ruin it!" Luan snapped. "Why would you collaborate with Paige's sister to make his romance crash and burn!?"

"Why would you lie to yourselves?" Rita casually asked.

The sisters fell silent.

"Listen, while we're happy that Lincoln has this new thing with this Paige guy, we can't help but feel this may not work out," Lynn Sr. remarked. "And besides, we find it suspicious that you girls just chose to go along with it instantly."

Rita turned to her oldest daughter. "Especially you, Lori."

The eldest sister flinched. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, It's just an idea, but we were told that you were working on Gus' Games and Grub when Lincoln and Paige went there for a date, and knowing you girls, or at least Lori, there was no way you wouldn't get involved to make things go somewhere," Lynn Sr. revealed, causing the young woman to wince. "Perhaps, that has something to do with why you're so protective and supportive of the pairing."

Lori immediately got angry. "I was literally supportive of them together before they broke up!"

"That doesn't change the fact that they broke up while you were working," Rita retorted. "And while we have no reason to believe the rest of you are doing this out of guilt, girls, you still did become more supportive of the two when they got back together."

"Well, even if that was true, how would that, like, explain you being against the pairing?!" Leni snapped. "Lincoln and Paige are totes cute together?"

The parents remained unfazed as they stood up and stared at the girls with conflicted looks.

"Girls, you know about Clyde's parents, Harold and Howard, right?" Lynn Sr. asked, earning nods from his daughters. "Well, they faced a lot of hardships: Discrimination, violence, threats, all that kind of stuff."

"They did?" Luan asked. "Poor guys."

"And you know why they faced those hardships? Because, like Lincoln and Paige, they were a gay couple," Rita sighed. "The people in their original homeland detested the idea that a gay couple was among them, so... Well, we just told you what they did."

The sisters frowned.

"We want Lincoln to be happy. We want all of you to be happy," Rita added somberly. "But we also don't want you to face those same hardships Clyde's parents did, if possible."

With that said and done, the Loud parents stood up and went off to do their stuff, leaving their daughters to think about what they said.

Back at the School...

Lincoln, Paige, Clyde, and Chandler sat at the cafeteria, with the former two trying to process what was just revealed them.

"I just can't believe this: Barely a week ago, this thing between us seemed to be going well, and it was perfectly private," Lincoln put a hand on his cheek. "Now, everybody has their eyes on us, and Paige's secret is in danger!"

"Clyde, when did the rumors start?" Paige inquired.

"A couple days ago, but it was only today that they started gaining track all across the school," Clyde somberly answered. "Students, teachers, everybody seems to know about them."

"Though luckily, the teachers are at least smart enough to keep their thoughts to themselves," Chandler added, shaking his head in disapproval. "If only your classmates knew better."

"Say, now that you talked, why are you helping us, Chandler?" Lincoln inquired. "Last time we met, you tricked me into tricking my sister into letting you freeload at her job!"

"I may be a freeloader, but I draw the line at trying to sabotage both somebody's relationship and their reputation," the redhead answered, putting his hands behind his head. "Besides, I saw you two in your date once, and I'm not someone to judge, but you did seem like a decent couple at the time."

Then, Clyde hummed, "You know, there's something I haven't thought about: Who could've started the rumors?"

"I did."

The boys turned around and saw Girl Jordan approaching them, while sporting a stern look. The guys returned the stern glare, with Chandler even standing up before Clyde gestured him to stand down.

"Y-You what!?" Paige snapped, standing up as his sister walked towards him. "How could you!?"

"How could you keep dating the biggest jinx in the whole school, despite knowing the clnsequences,Girl huh!?" Jordan stomped the ground. "Ending this little thing you two have is for your own good, Paige!"

"If it really was for my own good, Jordan, you would be thinking about my feelings! But you've never even done that once, have you?!" Paige snarled, leaning closer to his sister as he added, "You've done all of this for your own good! You don't actually care who I go out with, just as long as they aren't Lincoln, right!?"

Girl Jordan refused to answer, folding her arms and walking away as she said:

"You don't have time to waste, guys. You either break up in public, or face society's wrath. And trust me, if you really care for each other, you will break up, no questions asked!"

And then the bell rang. "And you better do it at lunch time. Or else... well, let's just say somebody will have to change schools."

Girl Jordan left, leaving not only a bad taste in the boys' mouths, but also a great deal of fear in Lincoln and Paige's part.

Road to the School...

The sisters were walking down the street, all heading towards the Royal Woods' School, even the ones who went to different schools like the older ones.

"Dude, this sucks," Luna stated.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Lisa remarked, adjusting her glasses. "We all skipped a perfectly productive day at school to try and see how Lincoln's thing with Paige developed, and all we got in return was to find out both our family and Paige's sister were trying to ruin it!"

"That's not what I meant! Although, that's pretty bad too," "

"One thing's for certain, though," Lynn cracked her knuckles. "We can't stand still and do nothing."

"Yeah, there has to be something we can, like, do," Leni scratched her chin. "But what?"

Just then, Lori stopped as she got an idea, with the rest of the sisters taking a moment to notice before they stopped as well. The eldest sister then smiled and took out her phone, saying:

"I think have an idea."

The cafeteria... again...

Lincoln and Paige entered the cafeteria holding hands, instantly getting everybody's attention, including a glaring Girl Jordan. Shortly after, Paige got a message on his phone, and when he checked it, he saw it was from his sister:

"Time is running out, Lincoln. End this nonsense right here, right now."

The boy hung up, and exchanged concerned looks with Lincoln before they nodded in agreement, bringing a smile to Girl Jordan's face.

"So, you guys have probably heard some stuff for a while," Lincoln said, lowering his head. "I don't know how long you've been hearing about it, but what matters is that you have heard it in the first place."

Paige lowered his head as the boy continued:

"There have been some rumors: That Paige and I are dating, and that Paige is a boy. I don't know which rumor came first, but both of them have left me and Paige rather worried. So, what I'm trying to say is-"

"I love Lincoln!"

The whole room went silent as Lincoln turned to and faced Paige, who was blushing with a stern look.

"And yes, I'm a guy," he added, this time with his real voice, as he took off his fake eyelashes. "I've been acting like a girl all this time because no matter how hard I tried before, everybody thought I was a girl, so I gave up and decided to play along."

"So that's why it always felt awkward whenever she, I mean he, went to the girl's bathroom," Katz remarked, shaking her head. "Everything makes sense now."

"And hey, he made a convincing act," Joy said before giving the boy a thumbs up. "Good work with that!"

"This... this isn't how they're supposed to react!" Girl Jordan thought, narrowing her eyes. "They find out a boy's been going to the girl's bathroom, and they don't want to beat him up for it?! Don't they feel stupid for not finding out about it sooner?!"

"Though, when you think about it, we do look quite stupid for not figuring it out sooner," Katz said, scratching the back of her head.

"That's just proof of how good Paige acted!" Joy chirped.

"No, it's proof of how dumb you are!" Girl Jordan thought, frazzling her hair. "Come on, don't tell me they're just going to accept it like it's no big deal! It is a big deal!"

"I... wasn't expecting you to react like this," Lincoln remarked. "Do you... really don't have a problem with either me and Paige dating, or Paige being a boy?"

"Dude, it's the 21st Century," said one of the guys, while everybody else nodded in agreement. "That stuff is nothing new."

"Your best friend has two fathers, right?" "If they can be together, I'm sure you and Paige can too!"

"Heck, my Mom draws Guy-On-Guy stuff for a living, so I've grown used to that!" Guy Jordan exclaimed. "I know it sounds weird, but it's true!"

"What's going on!?" Girl Jordan shivered. "Even my fellow similarly-named-kid betrays me!"

Lincoln and Paige exchanged looks as the kids started changing "Kiss, him!" repeatedly, with the boys slowly smiling as they realized what this meant, and finally kissed. On the lips.

And then everybody but Girl Jordan rejoiced.

Later, at the Hallway...

Lincoln and Paige walked down the hallway towards a relieved Chandler and Clyde, all while getting some comments from their classmates:

"Good work, you two!"

"Happy relationship!"

"Lincaige forever!"

"I'm still not a big fan of people joining our names together to make our "pairing name," Lincoln remarked as he and Paige reached the guys. "What's that all about, anyway?"

"It's just something people do for fun, and to try and make the pairing some more like a thing," Clyde explained. "For example, I once tried to combine my name and Lori's name, and came up with "Loryde."

"Luckily, it didn't catch on," Chandler quipped.

"Well, I guess that's not important right now," Lincoln said. "What matters is that both the weights Paige and I had have been removed, and everybody was okay with it!"

Paige scratched his chin. "Something about it didn't feel real, though."

"Dude, I'm pretty sure that in reality, people would've either not cared at all and done nothing, or would've thrown a riot at your direction," Chandler remarked. "Compared to everybody supporting and cheering for you, I think we don't need to worry about realism today."

"I guess..." Paige frowned. "But, there's still something that worries me-"

"Lincoln!"

Girl Jordan came out of nowhere and kicked Lincoln straight in the gut, sending him flying into the lockers as Chandler and Clyde, who tried to stop her, were simply pushed away. The girl then ran up to Lincoln and lifted him as the boy tried to recover.

"You ruined everything!" the girl snapped at the boy before releasing him. "You and Paige were supposed to put this thing to rest, and you just solidified it into an actual thing! Do you know the horrors Paige will have to go through now that you two kissed?! Or even worse, started dating!?"

"Why are you blaming me for everything?!" Lincoln snapped back as he stood up. "If anything, you're the one at fault!"

Girl Jordan narrowed her eyes. "What did you say?"

"You were the one who decided to try and end the thing I had with Paige! You were the one who went to Clyde's house and tried to convince his parents to join your side, despite know what they've gone through! And yes, I know, because they told me!" Lincoln stated. "And most importantly, you did all of this without thinking about Paige's feelings!"

Girl Jordan gritted her teeth as Lincoln finished with some hard questions:

"Did you ever ask him if he was okay with this? If he was having doubts about it?"

Stunned by the questions, Girl Jordan paused for a moment... then hissed as she clenched her fist:

"You dirty, good-for-nothing, brother corrupter!"

Just as she swung her hand, however, Paige pushed Lincoln away and took the slap for him.

A slap so hard, it made him spin and land on his knees, mind you.

Shocked at the turn of events, Girl Jordan glanced at her hand before running away, only to be cornered by an angry crowd composed of the teachers, and Principal Huggins.

"So, you were the one who started the rumors?" the principal sternly asked.

"I-I can explain!" Girl Jordan cried.

Mrs. Johnson grabbed Girl Jordan by the ear and dragged her with her as she replied, "You can explain all you want in detention, young lady, alright?"

The girl, realizing she had nowhere to run, lowered her head and nodded before she was taken to detention by the teachers, while Lincoln, Chandler, and Clyde ran to Paige's side.

"Paige... why did you do that?" Lincoln asked as he helped the boy get up.

"Lincoln, you're always taking a slap in the face, whether literally or figuratively," Paige answered as he caressed his slapped cheek. "I think it was about time someone else took it."

"Phew, literally at the nick of time!"

The boys turned around and saw the sisters walking to them, with Lori wiping some sweat off her forehead.

"Girls? What are you doing here?" Lincoln asked. "I thought you all went to different school. And that Lola, Lana, and Lucy were already here."

"We kinda-sorta skipped school today, hoping to help you, if just a little bit," Lucy explained. "You see, Mom and Dad helped Girl Jordan with her plan to ruin your and Paige's thing. Willingly."

"We had to do something against Girl Jordan's plan to end Lincaige before it even started," Luan answered. "Which is when Lori remembered the one person a student will always dread: A teacher."

"And considering what other things the teachers found about her," Lynn smirked. "She's not going to bother you, or anybody else for that matter, for a long time."

Lincoln and Paige exchanged smiles as Clyde said, "Come on, let's go to the nurse's office and see if Paige's fine. I've heard that Girl Jordan never measures her strength when she gets angry."

"And you better do it fast, before any mob of crazy or jealous girls or guys run towards you," Chandler remarked. "Although, if that does happen, I'm pretty sure your sisters, Clyde, and I can keep them at bay."

The boys nodded, and Lincoln and Paige held hands as they walked to the nurse's office, feeling satisfied that they no longer had such heavy burden in their shoulders.

And that's the end of our story. The end of how Lincoln and I slowly got closer, and eventually started dating.

And to think this all started with a confession in the boys bathroom.

Not a love confession, but an important confession nonetheless.

And don't get us wrong, we still had our problems and challenges growing up.

But with Lincoln's family's support, we managed to deal with them, and move ahead.

As for our feelings? Well, it should be obvious, but...

They're no longer conflicted. They're at peace. And so are we.