Above is a picture of what the Squad looks like (minus Levi, for you non-Squad viewers). This isn't the look they'll always have (small spoiler for things to come, InquisitorMaster fans know), but it should give you an idea what the Squad all look like. I'll probably add a Lincoln character in the next chapter to show how he compares to them in terms of looks.
Author's Note: I just want to make it VERY clear that I do know that Zalex (Zach + Alex) has been CONFIRMED to be over with Zach cheating on Alex. With that being revealed, I will no longer add Zalex to this story but I will not remove Zach's character. Trust me, I have already found a way to write off their ship and it will NOT be a problem.
The reason I will NOT write off Zach is similar to the reason why I'm still a fan of his and his channel. I am disappointed and mad at him for cheating on Alex, but I can't just suddenly stop being a fan of someone who entertains me and makes me smile every day like Zach does.
To add, I will insert a YouTube comment I made MYSELF for reasoning:
"I hate to say this (because nobody will probably care or still immediately send hate to Zach), but I really do think there's something wrong with him. Zach has said in the past that he has/had problems with overthinking. As a person who's studied cases of overthinking (and as one myself, sometimes), I know that people can be consumed by the overthinking and do very bad (irrational, wrong) things. I do think that Zach really did love Alex, it's just that his own mental problems caused harm in their relationship."
In case you didn't get it, I truly don't think Zach is okay. He clearly has problems that have caused him to damage his own relationship with Alex and even some of his friends. While I am fully on the side of Alex and will continue to support her, I won't hide the fact that Zach needs HELP. Plus, I just couldn't come up (and it was too hard) to completely find a way to write Zach COMPLETELY OFF in a way that makes sense. I will promise that Zalex will no LONGER be in this story, and I can say that I have basically hinted to y'all about how I'm going to write the ship off with just this Author's Note. Heck, I even ended up unintentionally hinting to you guys something that's part of my character (Brad) that could affect things in this story.
In the case that you weren't a InquisitorMaster/The Squad fan (which, you probably weren't), this probably didn't really matter to you. But if you did read this anyway, I thank you for doing so and hope that you understand. The rest of the Squad will most likely not be affected (minus Drake and Jade/Gaby).
If you are in the little chance a InquisitorMaster/Squad fan, I hope this shows you that I will listen to everyone and not write Zalex into this story anymore. I also hope that you do still stick around, since I do have high plans for the rest of the Squad that I'd hope and love for you to see. However, I did really enjoy writing Zalex (and probably had plans for them) but I will not continue to write the ship unless y'all are okay with this or they in the VERY UNLIKELY CHANCE that this was all fake and they never broke up.
Now, let us commence Chapter 18!
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Chapter 18 - A Self-Jade Plan
Lincoln just sat with his phone in hand, just in silent shock and confusion about the text. This was so deep that the albino failed to notice the questioning he was getting from his sisters in the real world (outside his mind). It wasn't until he felt both Luna and Lori (from either side of him) nudging him that he finally got out of his thoughts.
"Lincoln!" Both Luna and Lori said at the same time.
"W-what?" Lincoln said, still recovering from the sudden shift back to reality.
"Everyone was just trying to ask if the videos were sent yet," Luna said.
"Yeah, were you even listening, Linc?" Lori asked, showing slight concern.
"O-of course I was!" Lincoln replied nervously.
"Well?" Lynn asked rudely, much to the agreement of everyone else (minus Luna, who knew).
"My friend Jade said that it's sending, but it'll take a couple of minutes." Lincoln explained.
"The same one from Tuesday?"
"Yup!"
"Well, I'm glad you earned yourself some free tickets to those events, Lincoln and Luna," Lynn Sr. addressed the siblings involved.
"But-" Rita started, kind of adding a bit of confusion to the situation. "You did hear Lincoln, so I suggest all of you guys finish your dinner and watch the videos after when they are sent." The Loud matriarch explained, clearing the confusion.
"Well, hopefully the videos send soon, Linc." Lynn said. "I'm actually interested in how it turned out."
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Small Author's Note: The Squad's "Clubhouse" really isn't a clubhouse in this story. This is because the SquadHouse is actually the size of a normal house, but isn't separately owned. What do I mean? Can't say now, since that'll be explained eventually.
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When This All Was Happening:
*Meaning from the beginning of this chapter*
Location: The SquadHouse
We now see Jade in her room, which is obviously green to match with her favorite and theme color. Still in her normal, everyday outfit, she was only laying down when she had sent Lincoln that last text.
'I know this'll be sudden for the others, but we did want to meet Lincoln's sisters...plus this'd make a great time to hangout!' Jade thought excitedly.
The green-themed girl excitedly ran into her personal bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Jade knew she still had her normal outfit on, but wanted to check her hair. Fortunately, she had only little messups in her hair, which could easily be fixed with small adjustments with her hand. With her hair fixed, Jade went out of her room to inform her cross-roommates Drake and Zach about her plan.
This was interrupted with Jade seeing someone else in the hall; Charli, the always enthusiastic and resident "simp" of the Squad, had made her way into the hall where the rooms of Jade and the twins' (Zach and Drake's) were. Jade was a little confused, as Charli's room was not only upstairs, but it'd always be assumed that she'd be hanging out with Light. Unlike Jade, Charli had changed out of her normal school attire and was now wearing an orange hoodie with a purple heart in the middle (the reason for the color is obvious here).
"Charli? What are you doing here?" Jade asked, showing her confusion.
"Oh, I was just wondering where Light is," Charli inquired to her friend.
"Wait, you're telling me that you, the simp, doesn't know where Light is?"
"I'm not a simp!"
"Oh, Charli, you know I'm just joking," Jade explained, being sincere. "Anyway, I don't know where he is."
"Oh," Charli said, showing a slight bit of sadness in her tone and face. It quickly shifted back to her normal happiness when she need to speak again. "So Jade, what are you doing? You look really excited for something."
"Well, Lincoln just texted me and asked if I could send him the videos from the karaoke contest."
"That's weird, he asked you instead of Girl Jordan."
"I thought the same thing, but he said his sisters wanted to see them. You know how he has 11 sisters, so he probably wasn't alone when he texted me. Plus, they probably don't know he's dating Girl Jordan, so he didn't want them to know."
"That makes sense," Charli agreed. "So, did you send him the videos yet?"
"That's where my excitement comes in, because I just had a great idea!"
"Well, what is it, Jade?"
"Instead of sending Lincoln the videos, why don't we just bring them to him?"
"That's a great idea, Jade! I mean, I think we all want to meet Lincoln's sisters." Charli exclaimed excitedly.
"So, we heading to Lincoln's, huh? Sounds fun! Right, brother?" A voice said from behind them.
"Heck yeah!" Another voice replied. Jade and Charli both looked over to suddenly see the two twins that had spoke; it was obviously Drake and Zach, the latter being the last to speak.
The girls weren't too surprised to see that of all people, the twins were the ones to overhear their conversation. First off, Zach and Drake's shared room wasn't very far from Jade's...in fact, it was just across it. When the Squad's clubhouse was made into how it is now, there ended up only being enough space to have nine rooms.
Due to that fact, the whole Squad knew that somebody would have to share a room. And if you thought that was bad, there was also the fact that Sora and Luca were soon to move into the SquadHouse. Sora mainly wears blue like Drake, but with a lighter tone of blue. He occasionally cracks puns like Luan does, which goes as well with the Squad members as Luan's go with the Louds (not very good).
Sora had been in the Squad for a while, arriving slightly before Brad's debut to the Squad...which was around the same time as Jaxx's return to the Squad (more on that later). Luca, however, is more of a wildcard and unpredictable member of the Squad. He wears white, and has the type of personality of a good, kind, kid that occasionally does pretty bad stuff (but overall still good).
Luca was actually the newest member of the Squad, well before Levi came along. The former had actually only been a Squad member for a couple of years weeks before the latter joined the Squad, which also made the fact that Levi moved in before Luca stranger. At least everyone knew Sora had yet to move in due to some "problems" with stuff, but nobody knew why Luca hadn't moved in...except Levi, who isn't the type to give out his secrets to anyone.
Anyway, Drake and Zach still ended up as roommates simply due to the fact that they both volunteered to do so. Sora made it clear that he wanted his own room, as well as Levi. Luca's situation is a little bit more foggy, as there isn't a clear answer as to who's room he's moving into yet (also will be addressed later). Besides, it was much easier since Drake and Zach are siblings who grew up and still are close.
Drake's also close to Jade, as they're obviously dating. This is also why Jade's room is across from the twins', which unfortunately separates Zach and Alex. It kinda was made a little more convenient since Alex wanted the largest closet, which was upstairs. Second off, there was really nobody else in the vicinity that could've heard Charli and Jade's conversation besides the twins.
Outside the hallway that lead to the two rooms were the kitchen and dining rooms, which were empty due to dinner been eaten some time ago. Outside of those rooms was Jaxx and Brad's rooms, which were quite the distance away.
"So you guys are down to go with us?" Jade asked the boys in front of her and Charli.
"Of course," Drake said, reaching out to hold Jade's hand. The girl took her boyfriend's hand and held it back. "Have you guys told the rest of the Squad yet?"
"No, we haven't actually. We were just about to do it."
"Well, that shouldn't be a problem for you Jade. But for you Charli, I'm not sure...you don't even know where Light is!" Zach inquired.
"Speaking of that, do you guys happen to know where he is?" Charli asked.
"I think he's with Jaxx and Brad towards their rooms. I mean, he's been hanging out with them more after he ran off on Tuesday." Drake replied.
"That's true," Zach agreed. "I do wonder why Light ran off that day..."
"I guess we won't find out anytime soon...but do you still need help getting the rest of the Squad?" Drake asked his girlfriend in front of him.
"It's alright, Charli and I can handle this!" Jade replied with a smile, assuring Drake. "You and Zach can just stay here and get ready if you need to."
"I mean, we are fairly ready," Zach commented, which he wasn't wrong. The twins were for the most part still in their normal clothes, but just lacking their usual sweaters. Instead, they both simply had T-shirts on in the colors their associated with.
"True," Jade said, referring to Zach. "Alright. Charli, you get Light and the boys down here, I got Alex and Levi upstairs. Got it?"
"Yup!" Charli replied enthusiastically. With that, both girls both set out to do their tasks. The twins were both left alone, standing in front of their own room. They both quickly went inside and put on their sweaters, which didn't take long at all.
Now that they were truly ready now, the twins could go back to what they were doing before they heard Jade and Charli talking. This wasn't much, as both were playing together in a game called Gang Beasts on their PlayStation 4.
"Hey Drake, now that we're ready...want to go back playing Gang Beasts?" Zach asked, smirking.
"You know I'm so down," his brother replied. "Maybe we can play this for a video sometime."
"That'd be pretty cool, we'd just have to ask Alex."
"Yeah," Drake replied as both twins picked up their controllers (custom colored to their color themes, respectfully), continuing their gaming.
...
"Lincoln, I would like to remind you that your foot injury will be completely healed tomorrow...meaning you can walk normally again."
"Man, I'm so pumped for that!" Lincoln excitedly told Lisa. "Thank you for everything, Lis!"
"No problem, male sibling unit."
"I'm glad to see you'll be back on your feet...well, your literal feet." Lynn said.
"Honestly, I didn't even notice." Lana commented, prompting a nod of agreement from her twin.
Looking at everyone's meals, it was obvious that there had been little progress made in completing the meal. This was despite the fact that everyone wanted to finish to see Lincoln and the Squad's videos from the karaoke contest. During Lincoln's whole story (and I mean whole - from the reveal and showing of the Dairyland tickets to the telling about the videos...essentially the whole thing), all of the Loud sisters stopped eating to listen in on the whole story.
Plus, all the other conversations that really occurred on the table beforehand had also slowed everyone's dinnertime meal.
"Wow, that's awesome news. I'm surprised you all can STAND it!" Luan joked, getting little to no laughter. If it was important, Lynn and Lincoln laughed a little due to how snarky the joke was. Everyone else gave the normal reaction to Luan's puns.
"Anyway, did anything else happen when Sam and I left?" Luna asked.
...
Jade slowly made her way up the stairs, contemplating who she'd tasked herself to call and tell about the plan to go to Lincoln's house. I know Charli is downstairs...so all I have to deal with calling is Alex, Levi, and Light if he's up here now.
The one name that stuck out in Jade's mind was actually...Levi. Her and the "goth" boy were not exactly the best of friends, but they weren't enemies either. They were more like frenemies, with a love-hate relationship. It honestly would've been pretty hard to have true hate when they'll have to see each other often, due to both being best friends with Alex and living in the same house. But the love part also isn't what it seems, with neither having those type of feelings for the other. Jade not only was already dating Drake, but Levi didn't have the desire to date at all...he was just fine being single and alone (maybe not that second one).
Neither could deny that they were in fact friends, along with the fact that the other really isn't that bad. Both of the two were kinder than what they portrayed in videos, just not showing it as much. Jade actually would show this a good amount of the time, not without the occasional bullying of Light or Charli. Levi, however, tends to only show kindness to his fellow Squad members and friends.
Jade wasn't worried about Alex for obvious reasons, and Light wouldn't be much of a problem either...if she'd even find him up here. Light is a kind soul, and not the type to not show it to people he knows and cares about. In fact, the bullying Jade gives towards Light in videos is far from a real-life occurrence, along with the other cases of bullying in the Squad. Sure, there's some real teasing from time to time, but not really real bullying.
"I guess I'll tell Alex first, since she is our Squad leader," Jade thought, as she reached the top of the stairs. She knew the order of her fellow Squad members she would tell after Alex: it'd be Levi, followed by Light (if he was upstairs). Jade wanted the guaranteed option first, so Levi would be next. She turned left and approached the closed door of Alex's room and knocked on it.
"Come in," Alex said from inside the room. Jade opened the door, and immediately she was hit with the view of posters of Alex's favorite anime characters, from Levi Ackerman to Shoto Todoroki. She looked over and noticed Alex on her PC setup, which was all pink. The room was like this itself, but having pink and white stripes all over. Not too far from this office type area was her bed, which was obviously a queen size.
"Hey Alex, whatcha up to?"
"Oh, I just finished editing our latest video. Do you need something, Jade?"
On Alex's PC screen was in fact their latest video, titled "The Squad Gets Exposed In A Q&A!" From the looks of it, the video was in fact edited due to the adding of all the Squad's sprites being added.
"Yeah, I do actually," Jade said, before explaining the whole situation again. "Charli, Zach, and Drake are already in...so do you want to come?"
"Actually, that sounds really fun! We have been wanting to meet Lincoln's sisters and hang out again after everything that happened yesterday!"
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Flashback to the Day Before:
Timestamp: Right after the end of Chapter 9
Location: Royal Woods Mall
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Small Author's Note (Again): The timeline for this story has been very confusing and short. So far, in the span of 18 chapters (including this one), we've been through only FOUR days of time. Insane, right? In case you need a little help tracking that, I have a timeline for you below:
Sunday: Chapter 1
Monday: Chapters 2-4
Tuesday: Chapters 5-9
Wednesday: Chapters 10-TBD (Should end by chapter 20)
My pacing for this story has been quite slow, due to me wanting a little more description in my writing. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about this, feel free to let me know. I am open to hearing how you feel.
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Alex POV:
From the very moment of entering the arcade, our large group just kinda split into pairs. It was Zach and Drake who split first, leaving after they both noticed a pair of machines that had the same racing game for player vs player gameplay. All those twins had to do was look at one another and they left. Man, I guess the twins really are that connected. But then again, Lincoln and Girl Jordan could've left first as well since they kind of just split away from us immediately. I'm glad that their relationship is healthy...like mine with...Zach...
Then went Light and Charli. I'm not sure Light wanted to pair with Charli, since he seemed to eye something and walked off...with Charli following suit. Finally came Jaxx and Brad, who were best friends in their own right.
"Hey, Brad." Jaxx said. "There's basketball hoops there in the back!"
"Oh, we so gotta play." Brad commented. "I'm so gonna beat your bart right now!"
"You probably will."
"Oh come on, I'm just kidding. Besides, we're here to have fun!"
"You said it, bud."
Before those boys left, Brad and Jaxx looked towards Jade and I.
"You girls mind if we-" Brad started.
"Don't worry about it!" I interrupted. "I know I'm your Squad leader, but you don't always have to ask me for permission!"
"I know that, I'm just saying-"
"Trust me, you said it yourself. We're here to have fun! You two go enjoy yourselves!"
"Yeah, we'll be fine!" Jade added. Jaxx and Brad left us alone after that. We eventually settled on a Call of Duty: Zombies machine. Not only were Jade and I pretty good at the game, but it was lots of fun. Every so often I'd look over to the rest of my friends playing and see how they were doing. I'd see how competitive the twins got, Light and Charli spending time together, and Brad really beat Jaxx's bart in shooting.
Lincoln and Girl Jordan were also pretty cute whenever I'd see them together, even when they competed against each other. I mean, our pairs didn't just play or hang out between the two. There'd be times we play with others or play all together, like when we all played Skeeball. I think the best time came when we had pizza, all together as one big group.
We all agreed to have two large pizzas, all pepperoni. It was a peaceful meal, seeing how we all were enjoying the games and hanging out. Honestly, it kinda felt like Lincoln and Girl Jordan were Squad members. Thinking about it, that wouldn't be too bad of an idea...but we do have plenty of members. Sora's still sick, and Luca is about to move in soon...at least we wouldn't really have to move Lincoln and Girl Jordan into the clubhouse if they did join. Plus, there are other issues and things in our way at the moment...
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Back To Current Times:
Location: The Loud House
This was quite ironic, since Lincoln had chosen to tell the exact same story from the day previous (obviously in his view). He had also taken the precaution to leave out the parts he and Jordan done or said something that would've made them look like a couple. Lincoln really emphasized the fact that Jordan wasn't the only person he played with, and that he also hung out with the other Squad members.
Lincoln thought about everything as he told the story; He thought about how pretty Jordan looked the whole time, his suspicions seeing Charli and Light together, and the overall competitiveness during any game someone played against another. The Loud looked down at his phone, still seeing nothing back from Jade.
'Well, Jade, I really do hope you send those videos soon. I ran more time telling the story of yesterday, so you should be fine by now.' Lincoln thought, still not knowing what was to come.
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That was Chapter 18! Now, I just want to say that if you haven't already...make sure to check out The Secret Note. I haven't really established a real following on that story yet like this story has, and I want to change that. Even if you don't like Phineas and Ferb, I would appreciate it if you at least read it to go in-depth into one of the competitors in The Masked Singer Jr. through their perspective. Besides, seeing my current following here and hearing your thoughts on this story has really been great to see. Getting to read all your comments, suggestions, and opinions (whether good or bad) has been able to help me improve this story while continuously inspiring me.
Anyway, here's some references for this chapter (some are more like explanations):
* Charli is in fact known as a simp in the Squad, not my words. A couple weeks ago, she had dropped most of this behavior due to some sort of relationship with Jade (with Drake gone irl). As of the past couple videos, these feelings have once again returned towards Light (this time not as extreme, and Light returning those feelings as well)
* Gang Beasts is an actual video game in real life, one that both me and my brother actually enjoy playing. In this past week alone, we've played the game quite a bit. This actually was the inspiration for that part of the scene.
* Levi can at times seem to be a goth through his design and the way he acts.
* Alex having a Queen bed is a reference to the fact the she is often referred to as "our Queen" in videos.
* The Squad uses the word "bart" at times, usually as a substitute for the word "butt"
* The title is a pun on Jade's name and how her plan was self-made.