Author's Note: It's been long awaited, but I'm finally back with Chapter 17! Look, I know it's been really long since I've updated this story, and I apologize. I thought that since summer break arrived, I'd finally be able to update regularly again due to more free time. It's mostly true, but I did unfortunately spend most of that time on other things...and I had a pretty bad case of writer's block. But, I have not given up on this story and I know you all haven't either. I am back on the grind, even if it won't be often! Now, it's time to let ya'll read. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 17 - Dinner Storytime
As Lincoln followed the twins into the living room area, he looked back to check on his older sisters in Leni and Lynn. The two were close together, as if they were telling each other something they didn't want the rest of the Louds to know. The albino did become somewhat suspicious of his sisters, but quickly brushed it off.
Besides, Lincoln knew that he could trust both Lynn and Leni. They both have successfully kept his secret of him dating Jordan (oh, what you don't know Linc) along with Lori and Luna. His beliefs were added to when Lynn gave him a look that said, "we'll be right there." Lincoln nodded at both of his sisters before bringing his attention back to the twins.
Immediately, Lincoln noticed two things: First, Lori and Luan were there. Lori was on her phone, whilst Luan was actually watching the performance on it. Second, that performance was still his own and the twins were also watching it now.
"Looks like the Bunny's performance was your favorite once again," Lincoln said with a smug look.
"Well of course it's Lana's favorite. She even has bias with her having a love for bunnies." Lori said sarcastically, now looking up from her phone.
"Says the one who cried to Bunny's last performance!" Lana fired back, resulting in everyone in the living room looking at Lori (including the returning Lynn and Leni).
"That...never happened!" Lori exclaimed in frustration, which failed to change anyone's mind.
"Don't worry sis, I cried too. Remember?" Leni asked, taking her place next to the older teen. Lori didn't respond, but handed Lily to Leni in a salty manner.
"She's right, you so cried to it." Lynn said smugly.
"You can't blame her for it, since Bunny just makes you all fuzzy inside!" Luan said, showing slight emotion in her own eyes, while also cracking a joke. Whilst nobody laughed, nobody could blame her for that small bit of emotion.
"Luan right, Bunny's just been that good. Plus, he is my favorite." Lana admitted. "But it's not because of that!"
"Either way, I can't really blame you, Lana." Lincoln replied, causing a smile in the messy sister. "Bunny's still my favorite, too." Lincoln added.
"Yeah, just like the rest of us." Lola added, leading to a nod of agreement from Lynn, Leni, and Luan. Lori also agreed, but she refused to comment in fear of being exposed again. "I liked the group performance as well; it was really cool!"
"That one was cool too," Lincoln agreed. He wasn't lying either, as he did in fact see that live as well as the whole show. The rest of the sisters just nodded in agreement, including Lori this time.
"Alright, alright. Let Bunny's performance finish now!" Lola exclaimed, annoyed. Lana would've said something in agreement, but she was too busy enjoying her favorite mask...with the boy behind that mask unknowingly next to her.
Sometime Later...:
It was now dinner time, and the Louds were having the typical Lynn-prepared meal. This evening meal was of traditional Loud meals; there were the usual talking of days (like anyone else) and then there were the occasional arguments, mainly between the twins. Nothing seemed really out of the ordinary when it came to the Loud's actions and sayings. Well, that was until Lori decided to break the ice and melt it...(hehe)
"Say...Linc...Luna..." Lori started awkwardly.
Lincoln looked up from his dinner, being met with the gaze of Lori and some of his other sisters. He knew that his sister was struggling to speak her mind out, and he even had a feeling as to what it was. 'It's gonna be about the contest,' Lincoln thought. The boy sighed mentally and ignored his thought, deciding to help Lori out instead.
"What is it, Lori?" Lincoln asked, attempting and succeeding in sounding sincere.
"Well, there's something I forgot to ask about yesterday...which was about the competition! How was it?" Lori asked, excited to find out what happened the previous day. The rest of the Loud siblings (minus Leni, Lynn, and Lucy) looked at Lincoln and Luna, confused about what Lori was talking about. The three exempted siblings also wanted to know how it went, but knew about the competition like Rita and Lynn Sr. did.
"I feel like we missed out on a lot of stuff," Lana commented solemnly.
"Ehh, it was nothing. It was only a simple karaoke contest." Luna answered casually. If the Loud sisters weren't surprised before (which 4 of them weren't, and still had to give fake reactions), they definitely were now.
"What? Luna, you got Lincoln to enter a karaoke contest?" Lola asked in shock at this new resolution.
"That's quite the surprise," Lisa said modestly.
"How'd you get him to do it?" Lynn asked, clearly acting in character to avoid suspicions. Luna just glanced over to Lincoln, clearly showing she'd prefer him answer instead of herself.
"Well, I didn't really have much to do, so I tagged along. Plus, I got five of these!" Lincoln said, pulling out his leftover Dairyland ticket.
"I'm pretty sure that's only one, Linc." Lynn replied, sounding pretty disrespectful but in character still.
"Yeah, what happened to the other four?" Leni asked, obviously confused.
"Wait, guys. This is a Dairyland ticket!" Lana exclaimed, looking thoroughly at the ticket. A gasp came from everyone in the room, minus Lincoln and Luna.
"If this is a Dairyland ticket, and you've claimed to have had five of them...what happened to the rest of them?" Lisa asked in an accusing manner.
"And why haven't you said anything to us?" Lola asked, showing a mix of sincerity and curiosity.
"That just doesn't cut it. I'm gonna have to give you a TICKET for this!" Luan exclaimed, pulling out a notepad and writing a fake ticket like she was a police officer. Obviously, nobody laughed at Luna's joke and Lincoln just rolled his eyes at the fake ticket.
"Ignoring Luan's horrible joke, I'm just going to say it; Lincoln gave the other four to his friends." Lori claimed, only looking up to say what she had to.
"Hey!" Luan fired, obviously a little offended by Lori's comment. She didn't act on this, however, as she knew that the beef wouldn't be worth all the pain in the rump (haha, cow joke). Plus, it obviously would be difficult to deal with since everyone was still at the dinner table.
"Well, you guys all got me. Obviously I don't need all five tickets, so I gave them to my friends. I hope you all don't mind that." Lincoln admitted, unsure of how his sisters would react. I hope everyone doesn't get mad at me, the white-haired thought.
Much to Lincoln's surprise, none of the Loud sisters showed any sense of anger in their reactions. Instead they all said things that were similar to, "oh cool," "alright," "it's fine," or "knew it."
Surprised, Lincoln just had to ask, "You guys really don't mind?"
"Look Lincoln," Lucy started, followed by a small sigh. "I'm not sure what everyone else thinks, but I think we should let you go with your friends. Besides, I'm sure everyone here will be busy Saturday anyway...right guys?" The goth pondered.
"I just straight up have work," Lori announced blandly. Obviously, she didn't have the best feelings for that fact but had no motivation to share them out loud.
"I have a party gig that day," Luan said.
"Softball game," Lynn said straight.
"Lana and I are entering a twin pageant!" Lola announced, flashing a huge smile on her face. This was for both being able to actually convince Lana to do it and still getting to be with her twin.
"Good for you guys!" Lincoln replied.
"Show them that the Loud twins will win!" Lori added, surprisingly into the conversation.
"Show them no mercy!" Lynn said evilly, much to the surprise of everyone. That's quite out of character, Lincoln thought. Lola only gave a smug smile, whilst Lana's was one more of concern and worry.
Ignoring Lynn's comment, Leni continued on in her normal, enthusiastic way.
"Okay then. I'll just continue on...I'll be with Jen to work on our fashion!" Leni said.
"Wait, who's Jen?" Luan asked in a confused tone.
"Isn't she that one brunette friend of yours with freckles and glasses?" Luna asked, feeling like she recognized Leni's friend.
"Yup, and she also happens to be the sister of Lincoln's friend, Jordan!" Leni replied, unintentionally adding some spice with that last part.
"You never told me that about Jen!" Lori exclaimed, now with her phone down and her fully engaged.
Unlike Lori, Lola had a completely different reaction to this. The princess twin raised her eyebrows toward Lincoln, which was obvious to the boy.
"You mean his girlfriend?" Lola asked, causing all eyes to dart to Lincoln. The albino-haired sighed and shook his head.
"I already told you guys that she's not my girlfriend!" Lincoln replied calmly.
"I think I gotta side with Lola on this one," Lana started. "Besides, didn't Jordan go to that contest with you?"
"Yeah-" Lincoln replied back, giving his sisters (that didn't know already) little hope. "But Luna brought Sam and I also brought the Squad with me," he added, killing those hopes.
"The Squad?" Lana asked.
"Yeah, they're the ones that saved me Tuesday."
"So those five boys came with you guys and sang? I don't believe it," Lola scoffed.
"No, because there's more members in the Squad that didn't show up in the video. Those also were the girls in Alex, Jade, and Charli," Lincoln explained.
"So all eight of them sang?" Luan asked in confusion.
"No, Jade and Drake didn't and recorded from the crowd. Plus, Light just watched."
"Is there a video from all of your performances?" Lana asked, eager to see them.
"Hey, don't distract Lincoln from the fact that he still probably sang with his girlfriend Jordan!" Lola argued to her twin.
"There actually is video of all of our performances that I can show you guys after dinner, and I did sing with Jordan. But before you guys say it, I had to." Lincoln replied.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lola asked, obviously suspicious of Lincoln.
Before Lincoln could explain herself, there was an interruption.
"That makes sense," a voice that quickly became obvious that was Lucy's said.
"What?" The twins asked simultaneously.
"Well, from what Luna told me about these contests, she said there's usually some sort of theme or rules to them. Maybe it has something to do with that," Lucy explained.
Everyone (minus Lincoln) looked to Luna for confirmation. It was clear that if anyone were to truly explain this without lying in this situation would be Luna. Oh how they didn't know...
"Yup, there were three rules: First, you don't pick the song, but it was chosen by other competitors. Second, you can't sing alone. Not only that, but that song had to be easy to sing with multiple people. It's kinda like duets, but with more people." Luna lied out of instinct.
Funny thing is, Lincoln didn't say or even signal anything to his rocker sister to do that. Another funny thing was that Luna didn't sound like she was lying, but sounded perfectly truthful. Not only that, but the rules sounded so reasonable that nobody even flashed a sign of questioning for the legitimacy of Luna's explanation.
"M-Maybe it was a love song?" Lola asked, stammering.
"It was, but most of the people chose love songs anyway."
"I'm still surprised that you and Sam didn't get one," Lincoln said, going along with Luna's lie. The rocker shrugged in the eyes of her family who were looking at her.
"Okay, we definitely need to see these after dinner." Lori stated, much to the agreement of her sisters around her.
"In that case, I actually need to ask for those videos." Lincoln explained, now pulling out his phone. He went into his messages, avoiding Jordan's contact (which was still just her name - what, I haven't come up with a new contact yet!, Lincoln thought) and found the one he was looking for.
Jade
Lincoln: Hey Jade, can you do me a favor?
Jade: Hey Lincoln! What's the favor?
Lincoln: Do you still have the videos from the contest we performed in?
Jade: Of course I do! It's honestly the best memory I have ever since moving here!
Lincoln: Glad to hear you had fun, Jade! Anyway, can you send me them? My sisters all want to see them.
Jade: Really? Yeah, give us a couple of minutes.
Lincoln: Us?
Jade: Oh nothing...just hold on.
After sending that text, Jade didn't send another. Lincoln put his phone down in confusion. 'What's Jade talking about?' Lincoln thought.
And that's Chapter 17! I truly do hope you guys liked it, even if it really wasn't worth the wait. I hate to say this, but there are unfortunately no references for this chapter, besides callbacks to earlier events in this story...
So it gives me the perfect opportunity to tell you guys that Chapter 1 of The Secret Note has finally come out! Like I mentioned, this story will line up EXACTLY with this one in terms of time. For a reference, chapter 1 and 2 of The Secret Note will take place on the SAME day as chapter 1 of this story. The Secret Note is a Phineas and Ferb fanfic, therefore confirming that one of the members of the P&F Gang *cough cough Phineas* is one of the competitors in The Masked Singer Jr.
Even though I already confirmed this, there's still lots of stuff you can get from that story! These are:
1. More info on the Squad (for non Squad fans)
2. You might find out if any other Squad members will appear
3. The story will be around Phineas and Ferb's school life
4. You'll see how Phineas got into The Masked Singer Jr.
5. Find out how these stories will REALLY cross over