Welcome everyone to the newest version of the first chapter of One Magical Weekend. Not much has changed with this update be spelling and grammar corrections and some minor tweaks like more descriptions of what the characters are doing and a few other minor changes.

It would be best to read Pre-Order Bonus first so you know what's going on and who some of these characters are. For the reader's convince I'm including ages and birthdays.

Lori - February 15th, 1999 current age 18

Leni - November 15th, 2000 current age 16

Luna - July 18th, 2001 current age 15

Luan - April 22nd, 2002 ((Twelve weeks Premature)) current age 15

Lynn - March 23rd, 2003 current age 14

Lincoln - May 14th, 2005 current age 12

Lucy - October 13th, 2008 current age 8

Lana - June 8th, 2010 current age 7

Lola - June 8th, 2010 current age 7

Lisa - September 10th, 2012 current age 4

Lily - January 18th, 2015 current age 2

~Skyla and Kat~

Three hours had passed since Skyla and Kat had dropped off their gift for Lincoln. Three hours of waiting on a bed of nails with baited breath. When they returned to Skyla's home at Temple-Shrine Grove, a large property hosting a Shinto Shrine, Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian temples and even a Neo-Polytheist temple. The young Asian girl had excused herself to the bathroom for a quick shower and change of clothes. Kat had spent those few minutes pacing the room, walking back and forth like a nervous father awaiting news on his newborn child.

Skyla returned, dressed in a pair of red basketball shorts and a plain white t-shirt. Her hair was still a bit damp and hung limply over her left shoulder, while a towel draped across her other shoulder.

"No word yet?" Skyla asked, tossing the towel into a hamper near her closet.

Kat sighed and shook her head as she climbed into the window seat closest to the door in Skyla's room, Kat always loved these wonderful for reading or just lounging, she leaned against the glass watching the summer storm that had rolled in. The weather was funny like that, one minute they were walking with the sun smiling down on them, the next thing they knew, dark clouds had begun to gather and tease rain. While Skyla was in the shower, a few drops had fallen, splashing the window to the bedroom. Now it had picked up to become a light drizzle. Kat thought it was a hell of a coincidence, how the weather suddenly matched her mood.

"Patience sweetie, just breathe," Skyla gave her friend a reassuring smile as she placed a hand on her shoulder, "he may not have gotten the package yet."

"I know, it's just ... well, I can't help but be nervous. I mean he is the first guy I've liked since Chandler," Kat pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head between them.

"It's okay to feel a little nervous," Skyla rubbed her friends back, "just try not to let it make you a mess. Remember the breathing exercises I taught you."

Kat nodded and went over one of them, in on a count of four, hold for a count of four, our for a count o four, hold for a count of four. "The Four fours" was how she remembered the exercise for reasons she once thought she'd never have to explain, but then one girl in her class named Jennifer never seemed to get it just giving them a blank look. The pair wondered how that girl ever made it to fifth grade, no less constantly made honor student. Finally calming herself, she looked up at Skyla "What did you think of his sisters?" Kat asked.

Skyla crossed her arms and closed her eyes thinking back to just a few short hours ago, knocking on the door and meeting a blonde woman dressed in teal, a white pair of sunglasses perched on her head like a crown. She smiled with an innocence unlike most normal teenagers and politely told them that she and her family weren't interested in purchasing any Girl Scout cookies. After the initial shock had worn off, Skyla realized that she had just experienced Leni Loud. Lincoln had not gone into much detail about his older sisters; But Skyla knew Leni, much like the rest of Royal Woods, by reputation. A lot of the town knew her as the dumb blonde, following her adventures on the likes of YouTube, most under titles such as "dumb blonde drives into a pool" or "dumb blonde tries to walk into a painted mural." All of those videos taken by people witness to Leni's misadventures.

There were also those that happened to know of Leni because of her kind heart, often dropping off homemade clothes to homeless shelters, like one that Skyla's father and brother Alex volunteered at, along with smoothies and some of her father's leftovers. The girl had a reputation for doing whatever she could to help those around her, never turning anyone away. Skyla had wondered if that was where Lincoln got it from.

Once they recovered from the shock of having the door shut in their faces, and the shared laughter of Leni's reaction to them, Kat and Skyla tried again. This time they yelled through the door, telling those just beyond the barrier that they were looking for Lincoln. Next thing they knew they heard what sounded like a herd of wild buffalo on a stampede towards the door, which whipped open with such force that Skyla thought for sure it would come off its hinges. They were snatched up and brought inside to the couch where they were interrogated like they were the second gunman on the grassy knoll.

"They were," Skyla took a second to search her feelings and find the right words, "interesting..." she opened her eyes.

"Yeah, I peed a little as well," Kat said.

Skyla slowly turned to her friend, a mild look of disgust on her face. " ... maybe, maybe you should take a shower."

"I was just kidding," Kat said, a smile slowly creeping across her face.

Skyla studied Kat's facial expression and sniffed the air around her, making sure it was, in fact, a joke.

"Can you imagine having to deal with that EVERY day," Kat said, trying to change the subject.

"Now we have some idea as to what is troubling him." Skyla thought back to the grins the girls gave them as they pumped them for information.

Four of the younger girls Skyla knew because of school and their reputations. Lisa was the genius who had nearly blown up the school on several occasions. She was also familiar with her do to her brother, Reo, being a college professor, and Lisa had done some lectures that he attended. She was a bit taken off guard, and quite disturbed by her requests for stool samples and brainwave readings.

Lucy was interesting if more than a bit creepy. She had started off by frightening Kat, appearing like a ghost out of nowhere, and telling the girl how she liked Kat's jacket, as it reminded her of blood. She continued to inquire about any other macabre interests that Kat might have, which appeared to unsettle her friend deeply; though the girl did show a hint of delight in the fact that someone was interested in her brother.

Aside from Lisa, the most troubling one of the bunch was Lynn, which Skyla had known of from her talk with Lincoln, and the fact that her sports legend still echoed through the hallowed halls of Royal Woods Elementary. Horror stories were still told about her deadly arm in dodgeball.

The sporty Loud had spent the whole time glaring at them with a false and creepy smile. It was clear to Skyla that she was sizing them up as if mulling over in her mind if they were good enough for Lincoln or not. Upon seeing her, Skyla smiled, deciding she would make sure to convince Lincoln to train with her father, who had already agreed to teach Lincoln a few things, as well as contact a friend of his to help get Lincoln serious about training. She wanted her new friend to put the family bully in her place and wanted to be there when it happened.

The eldest sister, Lori, cared more about conducting her own interrogation into just how interested they were in Lincoln. Skyla made a point to make them aware that Kat was the one with the romantic interest, she was just there as a friend and because she liked Lincoln in a purely platonic way. She also made sure to avoid a few other topics, no sense in raising any red flags with her polyamory, hypnosis skills or religious training right off the bat.

Lori seemed ok to Skyla if not a bit stressed and overwhelmed. Being the oldest of ten siblings, nine of them being girls, Skyla assumed that Lori probably had her hands full, making it difficult to balance her family, school, and personal lives. Through a job into the mix and Skyla could see the poor girl turning to the bottle at some point.

The youngest sister, Lily, was a pure gem, shining with a sparkly personality and manners that had long since died out in most kids even older than her. She fetched them drinks and snacks as the others went through their line of questioning. Here and there Lily would speak up on just how much her "dearest" brother had meant to her. The whole "dearest" thing was a lovely touch that made Kat and her really connect. Kat had even joked about taking the little girl and adopting her as her own sister, which had gotten a few laughs from most of the sisters. Luna, who again Skyla knew of through her reputation, remarked that Lincoln would fight them for her, as the two had become quite close. This brought on a sudden and brief shift in the atmosphere, with the sisters all sharing a momentary look of sadness. Skyla sensed there was more to this family then the faces they braved for the world and each other. Deep down there were layers that would eventually get peeled back.

Though Skyla had taken a shine to Lily, the high light of the meeting to her was Luan. She knew Lincoln Loud had a sister named Luan, but she never made the connection that she was THE Luan Loud. Star of the YouTube channel L.O.L. Skyla had assumed it was just a stage name. Kat, of course, liked Luan as well, and the two shared in a feel laughs that made Luan break from the formation and sit on the couch with the two of them. She draped her arm over Kat and told her that she was happy a girl with a sense of humor was interested in her brother, as she felt he really needed to loosen up and smile more often.

After the momentary feeling of jealousy had faded. Seriously, Skyla thought to herself, why did Kat get to be all chummy with Luan and not the girl who had seen all of her videos? The sisters all shared their feelings of growing concern for Lincoln. They told Skyla how he appeared tired and distracted, acting out of character from the boy they knew. They all assumed that he was just down in the dumps over a girl or a fight with a friend. Skyla had a feeling it was something a little closer to home, though she kept those thoughts to herself.

"Skyla I..." before Kat could finish her thought music started to play a gentle acoustic guitar accompanied by Japanese Lyrics,

taiyou ga sasu

tozashita mabuta no
uragawa ni

akai zanzou
kawa no kaban ni Note to Pen wo
saa arukidasou

The song was Hello Shooting Star by Moumoon, Skyla's ringtone, she walked over to her desk that sat between the windows of her room and looked down at the phone seeing that it was Lincoln calling, the sisters had given them his number so they'd know it was him calling.

"That him?" Kat asked unfolding from her ball and getting to her feet her face illuminated with excitement.

"It is," Skyla smirked, "should I answer it?" She teased.

"You want to live to see your next birthday?" Kat glared at Skyla

"There is a lot of anger in you Kitten," Skyla crossed her arms and shook her head.

"Answer the damn phone," Kat commanded taking a step towards Skyla.

Skyla did as she was told, because she wanted to and not out of fear. At least that was what she would keep telling herself.

"Uh hey ... Is this Skyla?" Lincoln said on the other end.

"The one and only Little One," Skyla said, winking to Kat.

"Little One? I got a good foot or so on you; you're like as tall as my sister Lucy. Why Little One?" Lincoln asked.

"What can I say? You bring out a nurturing instinct in me, so it has become your nickname. Accept it." Skyla explained, sitting on the edge of her bed, she skipped the part about how she thought it was cute and knew it would annoy him. After all just because she was nurturing didn't mean she wouldn't tease him.

"Uh huh ... what? Oh yeah sure. Hey, Lily wants to say hi," Lincoln said. Skyla could hear the phone being handed over.

"Hello Skyla, Lincoln simply adored his gift," Lily said. "I hope to see you and Kathrine again soon."

"Thank you, Lily, I look forward to seeing you again to you little cutie pie," Skyla said, hearing the little girl giggle through the phone. She could hear Lincoln taking the phone back again. "You know Kat wants to keep her now."

"Not going to happen, she is my emotional support sister. My Lily, all mine, no share!" Lincoln joked making Skyla almost drop her phone from laughing, after a few minutes she composed herself.

"So, is Kat there now?" Lincoln sounded hopeful.

Skyla looked over at Kat who was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The poor girl was sweating and biting her nails, which were freshly done the other day. Skyla motioned for Kat to take the phone, but she shook her head no. She wanted to, but the nerves were getting to her, and she did not want to make a fool of herself. Skyla sighed and shook her head, continuing her conversation.

"I'm afraid she isn't, I just got off the phone with her earlier she said she was going to bed early," other than the phone part it wasn't a total like Kat was going to bed early, Skyla would see to it, worked up as she was the girl needed to rest.

"Oh, okay," There was an unmistakable undertone of disappointment in his voice.

"But she will be here tomorrow. You should come over and hang out with us. Bring Lily with you," Skyla laid on her bed patting beside her for Kat to join her.

"Re .. uh ok," Lincoln said. "What time should I come over?"

"Let's make it around noon. Another lunch date," Skyla took Kat's hand in hers as the girl laid beside her, giving her best friend a reassuring squeeze.

"Sounds good, we will be there, just uhh, just text me the address, so I know where to go."

"I will. Well, you have a wonderful night Little One." Skyla said.

"Uh huh, you too," Lincoln said, that cute tone of annoyance in his voice.

Skyla hung up and rolled onto her side looking at Kat. "You get all of that?" Kat nodded a grin on her face but a bit of panic in her eyes.

Kat was both excited and nervous as hell. Why was she nervous? They had fun last time, and things went pretty damn smoothly. She laughed, he laughed, Sky laughed. What could go wrong? That was the thousand-dollar question that loomed over her like a dark cloud, bringing in a storm of terrible what ifs. The problem with a budding romance was that, no matter how exciting it was with the mysterious aspect, there was always the off chance that something could come along and nip it in the bud. Just ask Don Knotts, he knew all about nipping things in the bud, he used to say it all time. Damn, Skyla was right, maybe she should step out of the past and join the present a little more. Who makes Andy Griffith Show references anymore?

"You okay with this idea?" Skyla asked.

"Groovy," Kat said.

"Cool beans," Skyla shot back, getting a smile from her friend. "You know what we have to do next right?"

"Call Jordan, Amy, and Amber?" Kat said, letting out a small squee.

"Was gonna suggest you hit the showers, and then we get an early bedtime, but yeah we can do that too."

Kat playfully slapped at her friend, "fine it is getting late a shower then bed, we can call tomorrow."

After Kat left Skyla laid on her bed looking at the ceiling and the glow in the dark sticker she had up there, a simple circle she used for self-hypnosis or when putting someone, well Kat really, under. She wondered if things would work out, she'd always crushed on Kat, and now Lincoln was there a chance she'd be able to make things work out the way she wanted? A poly relationship?

She got up walked over to the far side of her room and pulled out a small stepping stool and opened a minifridge she had removing a bottle of water and a few grapes, she claimed the stepping stool and placed the items on her Kamidana, a small home shrine, as an offering. She turned on two electric candles pushed the step ladder in took three steps back then clapped twice bowed twice and clapped once more as she'd been taught and prayer all went well the next day.

~Lincoln and Lily~

Lincoln sat on the edge of his bed with Lily to his right and a phone in his hand. He took a couple of deep breaths, trying to process what had just happened. I have a date. Skyla did call it a date, right? Wait, is it a date with Kat? Skyla? Both of them? Skyla said she was into that sort of thing. Well, either way, I'm going over to her house tomorrow to hang out with them. A date. Heh, way to go Lincoln.

He turned to look at Lily who was grinning at up at him. "Well little lady, I got a date, and you are coming along," Lincoln kissed her forehead.

"Me?" She cocked her head in mock surprise, "Why on Earth would they want me to join you dearest brother?" There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice as if she knew they would ask her to come alone.

"Seems you made a heck of an impression on them," He furrowed his brow and studied her response. He often got the feeling that a lot of the girls either in his life or entering it, were much smarter than he was, always a few moves ahead of him in a game he didn't even realize he was playing. He would have to change that.

"I would assume you would want some time alone with Kathrine, or is it Skyla you fancy?" Lily gave the same smile her older sisters had when it came to romance. Still, she was just a little puzzled that she was going. Lily knew that she and Lincoln had grown closer, but this was the first time he had invited her to join him with his friends. Not just a hang out she was coming along on a date; most perplexing as Lisa would probably say.

"I can still have alone time with them while you're there, just go to another room," He smiled and pulled his baby sister into his arms, "not sure which girl I'd want to date, and it's a bit soon for that. Besides, Skyla insisted, can't go disappointing my new lady friends already, can I?"

Lily nuzzled into her brother's arms as a thought slowly crept its way into the back of her mind. She wondered if Kathrine and Skyla would be able to help her brother work through the troubles that were currently weighing on him. Even when he smiled there was a faint glow of sadness that sat behind it. This troubled her that someone so kind hearted would be dealing with whatever pain he hid behind that mask wore around his friends and family.

"So, how do we go about preventing the others from meddling?" Lily asked.

She was right of course; the others would stick their noses in where they weren't welcome. They had done it so often that it had started to be known as pulling a Loud; mainly because the meddling would backfire.

A small and devious smile spread across Lincoln's face, "I think I have an idea." He said, he went and grabbed his laptop and sat Lily back into his lap. Soon Lincoln was online and was longing onto a small, little known, messaging system he and his friends used and sent a connection request to his friend Liam.

***WELCOME TO CHATCOM***

***LOG IN USER: SnowAce***

***CONNECTING TO USER: BullSpitMcGee***

SnowAce: Hey man, Lily and I need a favor.

BullSpitMcGee: Shoot.

SnowAce: I'm going to meet a couple of people tomorrow, and my sisters might try to pull a Loud. Do you mind covering for us?

BullSpitMcGee: These people happen to be ladies?

SnowAce: ...maybe...

BullSpitMcGee: Hells yeah partner, you go and lasso up that little filly's heart.

SnowAce: So you'll cover?

BullSpitMcGee: Does a bull kick when you grab its nuts?

SnowAce: So you'll cover then?

BullSpitMcGee: I just said I would. Don't you understand English?

SnowAce: Of course. Do you ever speak it? :)

BullSpitMcGee: Funny boy huh? You're like a school in summer boy, no class. So why come to me and not Clyde? You two are like a pig and mud, always rolling about.

SnowAce: Two names. Lori and Lynn.

BullSpitMcGee: I see your point, Clyde cave with just a wink, then Lynn would probably beat him up for being a wuss or something. So, what do you want me to do if they come a knocking and I don't answer?

SnowAce: If they show up and Lynn gets violent, go ahead do what you gotta do.

BullSpitMcGee: Yeehaw! I'll get my rope handy.

SnowAce: I owe you, one man. You might even get some of my dad's lasagna.

BullSpitMcGee: This is why we are friends. Best of luck to ya buddy!

***CONNECTION: TERMINATED***

***CHAT LOGS: DELETED***

***LOGGING OUT***

***THANK YOU FOR USING CHATCOM***

Lily may have been two but thanks to rooming with Lisa she could read at a college level as such she followed the entire conversation, "What can Liam do to keep Lori and Lynn from getting physical?"

"Well Liam lives on a farm, and though he is not what you would call a sports buff, he does like to compete in the rodeo. He is pretty good at bull roping like Lana is at wrestling alligators, Liam even has a trophy for it." Lincoln explains. "I suspect that he would be able to handle himself with Lori and Lynn. If he really wants to mess with them he can always lure them into the pen with the goats and chickens; those things can get nasty."

Lily began to laugh at the thought of Lynn being chased around a barn by a mean old rooster.

"One other question. Why BullSpitMcGee?" Lily asked.

"Heh, yeah ..." Lincoln began to stammer. "See it wasn't supposed to be Bull Spit, it was supposed to be something else, but his parents came in when he was making up the name and had to improvise."

Lily thought about it for a second trying to figure out what Liam had originally intended for his name, a smile spreading across her face as she had put it all together. Low brow humor was not always her things, but as a famous comedian once said, "I don't care who you are, that's funny right there."

~The Loud Sisters~

It may have been both Lori and Leni's room, but it was often just referred to as Lori's room. She was the oldest and supposed to be the one in charge, though she had been slipping in her leadership duties as of late. The stress of the day to day family drama, and of course missing Bobby, had taken a toll on her. This was a woman who was working overtime for very little pay.

Still, she was looked at by the others as the leader, and this was still HER room, which was often the place where they would hold sibling meetings.

All of the girls were there minus Lily, who had been missing more than a few meetings as of late. Lori assumed it was because of the bond she had developed with her big brother. Lori was standing by her dresser, behind Leni's sewing desk. Lucy, Luna, and Leni sat on the fashionista's bed while Luan sat with the twins on Lori's bed. Lisa sat on the floor by herself with a textbook in her lap. Lynn paced back and forth, like a tiger looking to escape its cage.

"I don't know what you guys are talking about, Lincoln seems fine to me, he just needs to toughen up," Lynn punched her fist into her palm.

"That is literally your answer to everything," Lori said pinching her nose bridge.

"It's rare to see him really happy these days..." Lana said.

"What are you talking about? I see him smile all the time!" Lynn yelled, flaring her arms.

"If it's one thing I know, it's smiles, and that is as fake a smile as I have ever seen," Luan told her sister.

Lori wondered what Lincoln was hiding, and why he didn't come to one of them. Had they done something wrong? Did they hurt his feelings? Things seemed normal to her, they acted how they always acted around each other, except Lynn, who appeared to have had something crawl up her ass and make her a raging bitch more often. Lori wondered if she should talk to their parents about having her tested for steroids, she was running out of ideas for what Lynn's problem was.

"I'm telling you he just needs to exercise. Let me take him out and run him around, maybe show him some new kicks I learned, or a few boxing techniques." Lynn told them.

"That's code for let me beat him up some more," Luna said to Luan.

"What did you say?" Lynn asked, her nostrils flaring as he face turns red.

"You heard me, dude, you just want someone to toss around like a rag doll," Luna said.

"At least I trust him enough to not keep secrets," Lynn shot back.

"What the hell does that mean dude?" Luna could feel the grip on her anger beginning to loosen.

"Sam!" Leni yelled, making Luna whip her head around towards Leni. Of course, the ditzy blonde was just shouting the name because she was playing along, thinking it was like a guessing game or something. Still, Luna was taken off guard by her older sister blurting out her girlfriend's name.

"Uh huh, Sam." Lynn stated, "You were so worried that we'd all hate or judge you that you kept your relationship with Sam a secret," Luna could hear the venom dripping from each word that Lynn spat, "his best friend has two dads who are dear friends of this family and Lincoln looks up to them. Hell, even our dad talked to Lincoln, telling him it was okay if he was gay because hell we all thought he was before Ronnie Anne came into his life, then he went after Paige. Shit even with this new girl I still think he might be bisexual. Yet, you hid your little girlfriend."

"One more word Junior and I will smack the bitch out of you," Luna warned rising to her feet.

"ALRIGHT!" Lori yelled, snapping everyone back to attention. "I have had it with this shit! Lynn, I have no clue what the hell is up with you lately, but stop being such a damn bitch. Exercise and beating Lincoln up is not going to help."

Lynn muttered something under her breath that Lori knew was at least four letters and should probably not be repeated around the little ones, even though she had just said shit and called her sister a bitch.

"I don't understand the whole exercise thing anyways," Luan pointed out. "I mean why do mom and dad get on him about it all the time? He actually gets out more than they do. He's more active then Leni, myself, Lucy, Lola or Lisa and you don't see mom or dad getting all crazy on us."

Lori knew that Luan was right, their parents tended to be more strict with Lincoln and had even gone a little harder on him with punishments, like when the girls got the family banned from that grocery store, Lincoln was punished and they got off the hook. Not that the girls were much better it took months and before Lynn's poor sportsmen ship and years of Luan's excessive April fools pranks where addressed, however, if Lincoln put a toe out of line the sisters would punish him that same day, like with the earplugs. She wouldn't have been surprised if Lincoln thought that they looked at him as less than his sisters. Something else she would have to try and figure out, why they acted the way they did, maybe have a chat with him.

"He's a boy, it's different," Lynn said folding her arms across her chest, "boy's should be more athletic!" With her tone, one would be forgiven for thinking Lynn was preaching some sort of gospel.

"So does that mean that you should act more girlish?" Leni asked her face breaking into a smile, "if so, I have some great dresses." Leni's mind filled with possibilities of different designs.

"That's different! It's okay for a girl to be a tomboy." Lynn replied her voice quivering a little.

"Why is it different? Why can't Lincoln go outside of gender norms just like you?" Leni asked her stunning the girls with that statement. They knew Leni had hidden depths to her, still was a surprise whenever they came out.

Lynn went to respond but was cut off by Lori who shot the athlete a look that told her to swallow that insult on the tip of her tongue. She would not have another meeting ending with Leni balling her eyes out because Lynn shot her mouth off again.

"Our male sibling's behavioral patterns are indeed troubling," Lisa said. "They resemble the common behavior patterns and mood swings of a person who is bipolar or suffering from depression."

"It's true, Lincoln comes in with that fake smile, but I went into the vents, and as soon as he entered his room it went off, I almost got involved, but then Lily beat me to it. I figured she'd be better at getting a smile from him than me. Sigh," Lucy told them in her monotone.

"He looks like he is going to cry some days, for no reason," Lola added, ringing her hands and looking at her that dangled over the edge of the bed.

"Might I add that both myself and Lucy have shown concern for his mental and emotional health," Lisa said. "Which should add to the state of concern in this room as the two people with the least amount of emotional dealings are worried about him."

Lori sighed. They had done little more than go around in circles, placing blame, asking questions, and yet still they found themselves nowhere closer to finding an answer to why Lincoln was behaving the way that he was. She wondered if it might help to look at it from a different angle, instead of asking why maybe try to figure out how to help him. Suddenly a thought had blinked on her head like a light bulb turning on.

"What if we try to include him more?" Lori asked. "I mean aside from Lynn always beating up on him when have we last really spent time with Lincoln?"

The girls all looked to Lori, then to each other, all except Lynn who sat in the chair and fumed at Lori's jab at her. The other girls tried to think of a time where they really had spent time with their brother, and nothing recent had come to mind. Perhaps Lori was on to something.

"Hey! Me and Lincoln spend plenty of time doing funny business," Luan started but then stopped her smile falling off her face, "or we use to till I started mentoring Lucy in the performing arts and working with Giggles… I never actually fired Lincoln, he was doing great I just sort of told him one day I'll let him know when I need him again. I um sorta wasn't sure how to explain I just didn't need him anymore because Giggles is so good at this and I wanted to mentor her and Lucy more..."

"Luna, I know you and Sam had been trying to do some two on one time with the other sisters, maybe let Lincoln have a turn?" Lori said.

"Well, we were going to do that ... eventually ... I think." Luna looked at her feet, avoiding eye contact with the other girls around her. She suddenly felt ashamed as she had not really thought about doing something with Lincoln. She was sure she would, but it was never actually planned like it was with the other girls. She wondered if it had something to do with the fact that she was hurt by the fact that Lincoln seemed to choose Lily as his favorite. The rocker always thought she and Lincoln shared a special bond, after all, she took him to his first concert and was the only one who didn't say that she ruined it. She wondered if things would have been different if she asked to room with Lincoln when the swap was brought up again. She was not proud of the fact that she would sometimes find herself jealous of a two-year-old, but like the song says, "that's just the way it is."

Of course, it didn't help that Sam shared her brother's love for pretty much all things geek culture. From video game to comics, to even anime & manga, the lovely rocker who owned her heart also had a lot of things in common with her brother. She was afraid. Afraid that the two would bond and she would find herself being a third wheel, kind of like when Lincoln and Bobby bonded, and Lori found herself pushed out for a few days. Was it stupid? Yeah, of course, it was, but she was a teenager, she was allowed to be stupid. Still, it made her feel like a horrible sister.

"Hey Lori, why did you talk about Lincoln in like he wasn't one of us?" Leni asked her brow furrowed like it was whenever she was trying to focus her mental faculties on an issue.

"Huh?" Lori was confused by Leni's question. She didn't remember saying Lincoln wasn't one them he's family after all they did so much together.

"When you asked Luna about spending time with the sisters. You said, "other sisters" then asked her to give Lincoln a turn. Sounded like you were referring to him as a friend, not family. I mean Lincoln's our bother, but you make it sound like Luna was only going to spend time letting the sister's bond with Sam." Leni said.

Lori thought back and realized she did sort of do that, making her wonder how often they all did that. Did they really just treat him as an outsider? She knew that he would often join them in their girly activities, but they never thought to ask if he really wanted to do any of that stuff he seemed to enjoy it, however, was it only because he wanted to spend time with his beloved sisters? Now to think of it they rarely if ever offered to join him with whatever he wanted to do. Did he really feel like an outsider in his own family?

"I ... I never really thought it," Lori's mouth was slightly open her eyes wide as she pondered this, "h... how many times?"

"By my calculations, one hundred and seven times, or about twice a week on average," Lisa stated. "And that is just in the past couple of years. I cannot keep track of what I was not around, or too young to be aware of.

"Damn dude, that's a lot," Luna was shocked by that number there was no way.

"Wait we do this four or more times a week every week? That doesn't sound right..." Lola was a bit confused that didn't seem right.

Lori smiled at Lola, "No Lola, it's just a way to visualize it, it doesn't mean we literally do that."

"Correct and remember the majority of those times have been in recent months," Lisa replied.

"We do treat him like one of us!" Lucy said her voice breaking it's normal monotone, "how often does Lori call him one of the girls?"

"You know we were ready to kill Francisco for calling Lynn one of the boys." Luan mused thinking over recent events, "I wonder how Lincoln feels about that. It's like we think being a boy is a bad thing. Not to mention how often we rant about males with him right there."

Francisco was a boy Lynn had fallen for when he got her letter he told her that while he was touched he considered Lynn like a brother, a best friend, and didn't see her that way but hoped she found someone. The girls had wanted his head ever since.

Silence came over the room as the girls wondered over this bit of information Lynn finally spoke up, voice something she'd wondered about for years "You know acting the way, he does, I'm surprised he doesn't get picked on more often."

"Maybe he does," Lori said her mind filling with images of her brother being beaten.

"But if he did, wouldn't Lucy, Lisa, and the twins know?" Luan asked looking at the younger girls.

"Alas, that is information that is beyond my knowledge," Lisa said beginning to pace the room her eyes closed hands behind her back as if giving a lecture, "for you see, once you had left grade school, the school board had made some changes in the way things were done. They have separated us into different sections of the building. Even our lunches and breaks are coordinated to keep the younger children from, the older children. It is possible that he is meeting with repeated physical altercations and intimidation on a daily basis. Street Name: Bullying. One a positive note this school year Lucy will be in the same section as Lincoln and do you not have friends that are in Lincoln's grade we can ask? Cassie, Pollyanna, Kimberly and Tabatha?" Lisa was, of course, talking about Lucy's best friend Cassie Pearson or as she preferred to be called Haiku. Pollyanna Winchester or Polly Pain to use her roller derby name a kid Lynn knew and had bonded with. The final two girls were Kimberly Valentine or Giggles to use her clown name and Tabatha Cortez also known as Tabby, Luan and Luna mentored these two young ladies.

Lori knew that they had to have a talk with Lincoln, try to get him to open up to them. She thought about going to talk to him now, but she wasn't sure if it was the right time or not. No, that was bullshit, she was scared, and she damn well knew it. She was not an idiot, despite what the college rejection letters had said. She was afraid of what she would learn. What if they were the cause for all the sadness? What if he had taken to cutting himself? They already suspected Lucy of doing so. Her mind was filled with possible answers that each looked too grim and bleak for her to deal with. Yeah, she knew she had to at some point, but she was so tired and didn't know if she had the strength to do it.

"Lets ... let's talk to him tomorrow. Around lunch or so." Lori said.

"Why wait? We can go down there right now," Leni replied the sooner this was done, the better in her opinion.

"So, we can prepare, go over what we want to say to him. I want to present a united front, all of us there for him," Lori looked at Lynn. "and no going on about how he needs to toughen up."

Lynn huffed like a bull being told it was not welcome in a china shop. She was pissed but then she always pissed lately, so no one really took notice. It was just dismissed as Lynn being Lynn.

The girls all agreed to talk to Lincoln the next day, hoping that maybe they could get him to open up to them. Each of them left and went back to their rooms, yet all of their minds remained on the topic discussed in Lori's room. They were worried and little by little, they started to let fear settle in. Not just fear of what was going on or could happen to Lincoln, but fear of what part they may have played in the drama.

Down the hall, Lincoln slept with Lily curled up beside him the littlest Loud clutching Bun-Bun in her arms while her brother held her tight whimpering as he suffered yet another nightmare.

Here we go, folks, what waits for Lincoln when he goes to see his ladies and will the sister's figure out what's wrong with their only brother?