Brave New World

"Breathe in." Loan took a deep breath.

"Breathe out." Loan let it all out.

Loan tried hard to get a grip on her anxiety. She was unsure how she ended up in the front passenger seat, but there she was, sitting right of Lena in the front of her vehicle. She turned to look behind her, in the middle two seats were Lyra and Sal both listening to music. The former listening to their music through earphones on her smartphone while the latter played their music loudly through their speakers, filling the inside of the SUV with an old synth-pop song.

In the very back sat the trio of Liby, Lacy, and Lupa. Liby was flipping through the banknotes she extorted from Lincoln with a grin on her face while occasionally glancing up at Loan, making the older girl flinch a little. Lacy seemed to be throwing something and catching it again seconds later, Loan was confused at first but then she noticed that Lacy was wearing a VR headset and glove. Lupa was writing away in a book she had, and Loan couldn't recall if she had that with her as they left the house or not. Then again, she wasn't really paying much attention to her or anyone aside from Lena who was dragging her to the car in the first place.

Loan looked over at Lena. She was texting on her phone. Both hands off the wheel.

"What are you doing!" Loan suddenly yelped, surprising Lena.

Lena looked over at Loan, phone still in her hands, "Oh, I'm texting my friends to let them know I'm bringing my cousins."

"You don't have your hands on the steering wheel! You-" Loan then realized that they hadn't crashed yet and that Lena hadn't had her hands on the steering wheel ever since they got on the road.

"Um...you do know I have it on autopilot, right?" Lena gave her a concerned look, "Haven't you ever driven a car? Almost all of them have autopilot these days."

"And with Lena driving, we're a lot safer on autopilot!" Came a shout from the far back.

Loan sank into the passenger seat, clutching herself, "N-no, I've never driven a car. My mom told me I wouldn't have to."

Lena had pity in her eyes, "Aw, that's no fun. You wanna try driving on the way back?"

Loan shook her head, "No, I'm good..."

Lena gave her a smile and a pat on the thigh, "Okay! Just let me know if you change your mind!" she then went back to her texting.

"Well, she has no sense of personal space..." Loan laid her head back and looked out the windshield, watching the countryside pass them by. Her eyelids felt heavy, and she slowly closed them.

…

"Lincoln, send that...thing back to wherever it came from!" Lynn shouted.

Lincoln was used to arguments.

Leni frowned at Lynn, "Don't call her that! Linky honey, you let that poor girl stay there as long as she needs to!"

He was used to his sisters trying to talk over one another.

Luan slapped her forehead, "This is serious you guys! How the hell did she even find our house?"

He was used to being the one to resolve them, he took a deep breath, "Okay, quiet!" he commanded. His volume and tone worked wonders on many people, but especially his lovers who all quieted down and waited for him to continue. "I already decided to let her stay with us. Lynn, Luan, I knew you two would take issue with it, but unless you think you can convince me to throw my daughter out, you'll just have to deal."

"Daughter, right, as if she qualifies as one." Lynn scoffed.

Luan narrowed her eyes, "What's Lacy then?"

Lynn forced both hands on the table she sat at, "You leave her out of this!"

"Okay, enough!" Lincoln got the two of them to settle down, "I'm sure you're all wondering how she got here."

"Does that really matter?" Leni asked.

"Of course it does!" Luan answered, "We worked hard to keep our home a secret!"

"Well...it seems that Lisa sent her here." Lincoln revealed. For a moment, everything was quiet as the words sat in the room like the elephant that it was.

"Lisa? Are you fucking serious?" Lynn asked.

"Language Lynn!" Leni chastised, "But wow, Lisa found out where we live? Why didn't she send a card?"

Luan seemed to shake a little, "That's...not good, what does she want from us?"

Lincoln faced away from the webcam, "I got no idea. It's been over ten years, and I doubt mom and dad have forgiven me for...well, everything..." he sighed and reached under the desk, pulling up a water bottle that he drank from before speaking again, "She just showed up last night with Lupa and-"

"Oh, of fucking course Lupa is part of this!" Lynn snarled, "That girl's been nothing but trouble since the day she was born!"

"Lynn!" Leni and Luan shouted in unison.

Lincoln was still.

Lynn started to panic, "Oh shit, I'm sorry Linc, I just-"

"Lynn." Lincoln began, his voice was even.

"I'm sor-"

"If you want to blame someone for what happened to Lucy, blame me."

Lynn looked down, she shut her eyes, "I'm sorry, I just...I miss her."

Leni looked down, "We all miss her, Lynn."

Luan nodded.

Lincoln drank from the water bottle again, not turning back, "...sometimes it feels like she's just hiding out of the corner of my eye. That she's just waiting to jump out and say 'boo' or 'hey Lincoln' or something that'll scare the heck out of me. But...she never does."

The four were quiet for a moment, Lincoln finished his bottle and threw it behind him, not caring whether it landed in the wastebasket near the door or not.

"...I love you Lincoln." Luan suddenly said.

Lincoln nodded, "I know."

"I love you too!" Lynn chimed in, Lincoln could see the tears she was trying to hide.

Lincoln nodded, "I know."

"We all love you Linky...do you want us to stay awhile?"

Lincoln shook his head, "Nah...I took up enough of your time. I'll be okay."

"Wait, what about Loan?" Luan asked, trying to steer the thought process back to the main point.

"You all just let me worry about her...she's my responsibility." Lincoln told them.

Leni looked up, "Uh oh, I gotta go. It looks like I've been found." she giggled, then blew a kiss at the camera, "Have a great day Linky! Love you!"

Leni's feed went out.

Lynn rubbed her eyes, "I'd better get off too, need to uh...shower again before practice."

Lynn's feed went out.

Luan smiled at the camera, eyebrows up, "So...we alone now?"

Lincoln sighed, "Luan, please, I'm not in the mood for camsex right now."

Luan nodded, her smirk sank into a frown, "Okay...but hey Linc? What are we gonna do about Lisa?"

Lincoln shrugged, "Hell if I know. If she can get Loan away from...you know who, and then bring her here, she could've had me locked up by now without breaking a sweat."

Luan frowned more, "...Lori is still at the top of my list."

Lincoln nodded, "I know...I just want to forget her. I had that nightmare again."

Luan gritted her teeth, "Lincoln, I swear, if I ever see her again-"

"It won't do any good Luan. Just...let's just try to avoid any confrontation with her." Lincoln looked back at the screen, back to the invite he sent out.

"...is she still not answering?"

Lincoln nodded.

Luan's angry frown turned more bitter, "...Luna better not have OD'd again."

Lincoln shrugged, "At this point, I wouldn't be surprised."

Luan sighed, "Well...at least you're taking good care of Lyra."

Lincoln nodded, "Sal too, they're great kids."

Luan smiled, "You working today, Linc?"

Lincoln nodded, "I am, actually. Probably should now that I got the kids out of the house...it can get awkward if they walk in on me...working."

Luan laughed, "Yeah, I remember when Liby and Lacy walked in on you that one time and they saw their first naked man."

Lincoln snickered, "I can't help it! It's so much easier to sketch and write when I'm...natural."

"I could watch you work all day...but I bet you want your privacy."

Lincoln nodded, "If you don't mind."

Luan nodded and waved, "Good luck Lincoln! Make us the big bucks!"

Luan's feed went out.

Lincoln exited the messenger and stood up. He pulled his shirt off over his head, throwing it onto the futon. He started unbuckling his jeans but suddenly stopped. Lincoln looked around his studio, seeing it empty. He shrugged, and went back to his stripping.

"I could've sworn I saw something..."

…

"We're here!" Lena loudly cheered.

Loan groggily opened up her eyes to see that they were pulling into a parking lot, and that Lena's hands were on the wheel. They had arrived at a large building with a big sign above the doors, displaying the name Woodland Crossings. Lena brought the vehicle to a halt, and turned around, "Okay! Everyone out and partner up!"

The rear doors opened up and the five in the back quickly exited the SUV. Lena shut off the engine and got out herself. Loan stayed in her seat and took a deep breath, "Alright, let's do this." Loan opened the door and got out of the vehicle, seeing Lyra, Sal, Lacy, and Lupa gathered together. Loan soon felt an arm linking around her's, and got pulled into a side hug.

"I'll be with Loan since it's her first time here!" Lena announced.

Loan squirmed out of the hug, "Please stop doing that!" she told her.

Lyra sighed, "Lena, I believe our newly met cousine isn't too accepting of your...touching."

Lena giggled, "Sorry! I can't help it!"

"You sure we should be splitting up today?" Sal asked, "I thought we were all spending time with Loan?"

Lena nodded, "We are! I just think we should spend time with her in shifts. We don't want Loan to get too overwhelmed!"

Loan rolled her eyes, "I'm right here you know...wait." she finally realized they were missing someone, "Where's uh..."

"Liby ran off ahead." Lacy told her, arms behind her head, "It happens, she'll find us when she feels like it."

Lupa went up to Sal, and threw her arms up, "Sally, up."

Sal grinned, "Aren't you too old for that, sis?"

Lupa shook her head, "Up."

Sal helped Lupa up and she latched on Sal's back, riding piggyback.

Loan raised an eyebrow at Sal, "She's your sister?"

Sal smiled, "Half-sister, but she's still the cutest little sister ever!"

Loan looked up to see Lupa's poker face looking back at her. With a shrug she asked, "So, uncle Lincoln is your dad too?"

"Ding-ding girl! Right now, my mom's away on tour with Lyra's mom. They play in a band together!"

"Wow, really?" Loan asked Lyra who was looking away with her face in a scowl.

"Sure, whatever." Lyra had dropped the accent, she grabbed onto Lacy's hand, "We're going to the arcade. See ya."

"Bye guys!" Lacy waved with her free hand as Lyra pulled her towards the doors.

Loan was taken aback from the sudden action the classy Lyra displayed, "What was that about?" She asked.

"Lyra hates her mom." Lupa flatly said.

"Lupa, she doesn't hate her." Sal retorted, "She's just upset with her...a lot."

"Her burning every bit of merchandise aunt Luna sends seems like hate to me..."

Lena clapped her hands, "Okay then! Enough of the negative stuff! Let's go have fun!" Lena went for Loan's arm again but the older girl instinctively pulled her arm away, Lena kept her smile and clapped her hands again, "Follow me Loan! Try to keep up!" Lena headed for the entrance.

Loan shrugged and followed. "Guess I'm stuck on this ride." she lamented.

Sal looked up towards Lupa, "GameGo?"

Lupa pointed forward, "GameGo."

...

Loan followed her cousin into the mall, trying to keep a good pace. There weren't many people around, much to the anxious girl's relief. Lena was bouncing ahead, and Loan noticed a few shoppers stopping and giving her double takes.

Lena soon enough turned around, and waved. "Come on Loan! I know a place that'll find you a dress with matching panties!"

Loan could see people looking towards her, she kept her head down and hurried to catch up. Lena smirked as she lead the way up an escalator. "Where exactly are we going?" Loan asked.

"The best place to find something that fits just right!" Lena cheered, "I go there all the time with my girlfriends!"

Loan rolled her eyes, "Right, okay..." When the two reached the second level of the mall, Loan looked ahead and spotted a very tall, dark-haired, handsome young man wearing visor sunglasses, "Whoa, he's a cutie..." she started feeling a bit flustered.

Lena broke away into a run and jumped towards the young man, arms out. "Gary!"

The young man caught Lena, and reciprocated her hug. He chuckled a bit when she started kissing his face, "Hey Lena!" He then kissed her back.

Loan sighed, "Of course he's her boyfriend..."

"Oh, and this is Loan!" Lena bounced back onto the floor and backed up to Loan's side.

Gary offered Loan a hand, "Hi there, I'm Garrett Saphir."

Loan blankly stared at his hand.

"Uh...Loan doesn't do hand stuff." Lena told him.

Gary brought back his hand, stroking his afro, "Oh, like Perry. Got it."

"Perry?" Loan asked.

Lena smiled, "Oh, he's another one of my boyfriends!"

Loan was still for a moment, she then turned aside and shrugged.

"Hey, where's Perry?" Lena asked, "Where's everyone? Weren't you all gonna meet me here?"

Gary shrugged, "Sorry Lena, Perry dragged Steve to GameGo. Also, Meryl and Amy started shopping without you."

Lena giggled, "Poor Steve." she turned towards her cousin, "Come on Loan, we should hurry before Amy grabs the best stuff!"

Loan shrugged, "Alright. How much further are we going?"

"Oh, it's right there!" Lena pointed to a nearby storefront of a clothes store with a sign displaying the name One Size Fits Most. A few mannequins were on display, one wearing a sweater that only seemed to cover the chest and waist leaving the midriff exposed while its companion wore a dress made entirely out of multicolored beads.

"...people wear this stuff?" Loan wondered as she was whisked away into the boutique. Inside the store, the clerk at the counter turned and smiled.

"Welcome back Lena!"

Lena waved, "Hey Chloe!"

The clerk eyed Loan, "New friend?"

"Better than that! She's my cousin!"

Loan gave a meek wave, "Um, hi."

Chloe walked around the counter, "Oh em gosh! You are so adorable!"

"Eh?" Loan blushed a bit.

"Oh yes! Just look at those cute blue eyes! That milky skin! That nice and slender figure! Oh, but why are you wearing such baggy clothes to hide it all?"

Loan started to shake a little and tried to focus her attention away from the approaching clerk.

"Oh, Chloe, anything new from my mom this month?" Lena asked.

Chloe stopped, "Oh totes yes! They're only on display right now though."

"Your mom?" Loan asked.

The clerk's mouth dropped open, "Don't you know Leni Loud? She's a fashion genius! Oh em gosh, you must try some of her clothing line!"

Loan felt sweat on the back of her neck, "Uh, I don't really-"

"Sounds great Chloe!" Lena interrupted, " Go grab some and meet us in the changing room, 'kay?"

"Okie dokie!" the clerk finally went away.

Lena turned towards Loan with a meek smile, "Sorry, Chloe is kinda...pushy."

"You're one to talk." Loan thought to herself, she watched Chloe as she bounced towards the back of the store and felt a pat on her shoulder.

"Come on, let's go find an open room." Lena was all smiles.

Loan put her hand up a bit, "Lena, I don't really want any new clothes."

"You don't have to get any new clothes, but it's fun to try them on at least!" Lena headed towards a doorway that had the label Changing Rooms.

Loan turned around to see Gary just outside the store, though he was on his phone. Loan figured it was either going along with this or being alone and nervous around one of the guys her cousin was dating. After taking a breath, she choose the former. Loan walked to the doorway to see Lena being hugged and kissed by short and plump girl with long lilac hair.

"Girl! Where've you been!" she asked boisterously.

Lena giggled, "Sorry Amy! Uncle Linky asked me to bring my cousins along. Made me a little bit late."

"Ha! Don't blame ya, I dunno how you handle five kids! I can hardly watch one little squirt when my mom's out!"

Loan stood in the doorway, a bit dumbfounded.

Amy took notice of her, "What, you got a problem or something?"

Loan took a few steps back.

Lena patted the plump girl's shoulder, "Ah! Amy wait, this is Loan!"

Amy turned her head, "Who?"

"Didn't you get my text?"

Amy stood there a moment, then she shrugged with a sheepish grin.

Lena sighed, she went to Loan, "Sorry, Amy can be a bit...defensive..."

Loan had a few questions on her mind, "...uh, so she's uh-"

Lena smiled, "She's my girlfriend!"

"...don't you already have a few boyfriends?"

"Yep!"

Loan looked over at Amy who was pushing her fingers through her hair, "Her other girlfriend is here too."

Loan was at a loss for words.

"Ooh! What's Meryl trying on?" Lena asked.

Amy grinned, "Why don't you see for yourself?" she asked as she opened the door to a dressing room. Inside was a tall and lean girl with short peach hair in negligee who turned from a mirror to the opening door, hastily covering herself.

"Amy! What are you doing!" she yelled, blushing a little.

Lena giggled at the sight, "Oh my Meryl! Is that see-through?"

"Lena! No! Don't look!" the nearly naked girl approached the door.

"But it looks good on you!"

"Really? Ah! No! Don't look!" she then slammed the door shut.

Amy laughed at the scene, Lena giggled, "Poor Meryl! I'm sorry sweetie, but you do look adorable in that!"

A few moments later and the door swung open again, the thin girl having put on something more socially acceptable. She approached the laughing Amy and gave her a slap, "I told you to never do that again!"

Amy rubbed her cheek, still laughing, "Sorry girl, but you were driving me crazy saying how Lena wouldn't notice you wearing something so sexy!"

"Aw, is that what this was all about?" Lena gave Meryl a hug, "Of course I'd notice silly! I love you!"

Meryl blushed and "Oh...thank you Le-"

Loan simply stood there, rubbing her arm and trying not to look at the scene.

"...excuse me a moment." Meryl slipped out of Lena's hug and went back inside the changing room, shut the door, then reopened it a few seconds later and walked out. She gave a small wave to Loan, "Hello there, you must be Loan!"

Loan looked down at the floor, "Um...yeah, that's me."

Meryl folded her hands together, "Uh, sorry you had to see that, I'm not normally so violent..."

"Liar."

"You're lucky we're not alone." Meryl grumbled,

"Girls, we have a problem." announced Gary, walking into the changing room area.

Meryl squealed, "You're not supposed to be in here!"

"Chill Meryl, it's not like he hasn't seen you naked before. What's up, big guy?"

"Steve called, we got a Perry Problem."

Lena covered her mouth, "Oh no, is he arguing with the store clerk again?"

"Worse, he's threatening to destroy a display case."

Amy started cackling, "Oh man, that idiot!"

Meryl sighed, "Well, if he gets arrested, that's his fault."

Lena pulled a bit on her hair, "Oh no! Perry can't get arrested! He has to help me study for a test this week!"

Gary patted Lena's cheek, "Don't worry Lena, I'll take care of it." with that, he headed out of the store.

"Uh, yeah, me too!" Meryl claimed before following after Gary.

Amy pulled out her phone before walking out, "This'll be hilarious. Catch ya later Lena, and Lena's cousin or whatever."

Lena and Loan were left alone, Lena took a deep breath before turning to Loan with a frown, "I'm sorry for all of that Loan."

"Huh?" Loan was taken aback by the sudden shift in demeanor.

Lena pulled on her hair again, "I said earlier that I didn't want you to get too overwhelmed with meeting all of us at once, and here I go screwing all that up by showing you off to my girlfriends and one of my boyfriends. I'm so sorry that I didn't think any of that through, I can't imagine how uncomfortable you may feel."

Loan didn't know what to say, so far Lena had been all smiles and simplicity. Loan cleared her throat, "Uh, that's um...I'm fine Lena."

Lena suddenly perked up, "Really?"

Loan rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah... I mean, It might've been a bit too much all at once, but that sort of thing happened this morning too."

Lena blushed, "Yeah, and we shared a shower."

"Please don't remind me..." a light flicked on in Loan's head, "Wait, so you like girls?"

Lena nodded, "Boys too. Well, I kinda like who I like." She inched a bit closer to Loan, a grin growing on her face, "I'm starting to like you too..."

Loan backed up, raising her hands in front of her, "Uh, I'm flattered, but uh, I prefer men."

Lena's grin faded a bit, "Oh. Well, that's okay! We can still be friends!"

"Uh, plus I'm your cousin, remember?"

Lena's face then scrunched up in confusion, "Why would that be a problem?"

Loan felt her blood chill upon hearing that question. A lot about it didn't sound right. Even for a sexually liberated girl like Lena, she surely isn't being serious about... "Because...it's wrong?" Loan finally answered.

Lena raised an eyebrow, "Says who?"

…

Loan was cornered. Her mother was furious with her, but she couldn't for the life of her understand why.

"You're disgusting!" Loan heard her hiss.

"Mom, I was just-"

"Just what? Peeking at your father while he was in the shower?"

"No! I was just getting my-"

Loan's mother jabbed a finger into her chest, "Stop making excuses! Listen to me you little freak, whatever you're feeling? It's wrong. Just sick and wrong!"

"But-"

"Go to your room! And you can forget about dinner!"

…

"Loan, are you okay?" Lena asked, snapping Loan out of her thoughts, "Does your chest hurt?"

Loan was subconsciously rubbing her chest a little, then shook her head, "I'm fine...I'm just...I dunno, forget what I was saying."

"Loan?"

Loan folded her arms and looked away, "Just forget it."

Lena slowly opened her arms, "...Loan, I'm going to hug you, okay?"

"...okay."

Loan felt the light embrace of this girl she barely knew, this girl who may as well have been her polar opposite. She was held close, but not too close to be uncomfortable. "...she's really warm...can't really remember when I was last hugged like this. It feels nice..."

Lena gently let go, "Feel better?"

Loan let her arms fall to her sides, "I dunno, a bit better...I think."

Lena smiled, "That's good...so, you ready to try on some new clothes?'

"Huh?"

"Lena! Loan!" Loan turned to see Chloe approaching with a clothing rack filled with outfits, "I got you two some things that are in for spring!"

"Wait, weren't two of those from the window? And the others, they're just as skimpy!"

Lena went right up to the rack and pulled off a few outfits, "Oooh! Mom's clothes are just the cutest! C'mon Loan, let's try some!"

"...I don't have a choice, do I?" Loan lamented.

…

Inside GameGo, Lupa was pulling on the sleeve of her older half-sibling, "Sally, look. There's a guy jumping up and down at the register."

Sal didn't bother to look, "Hey uh...let's go to the bookstore instead, I heard they got the new volume of ViVi's Strange Journey..."