Lori looked at the cup of frozen yogurt that the girls got for her. The park was not as busy it could be on a Saturday afternoon but people still walked around. Lori sat in between, her friends, Becky and Carol while Dana sat further down the bench next to Becky. They occupied the entirety of a four person bench and each had their individual frozen treat.
"So Lori…" Carol finally started, "Do you really think Lincoln has been tricked?"
"Of course he has!" Her arms flared out causing Becky who sat to her left to become concerned about a possible flying yogurt pot. "How does an eleven year old comic book nerd end up with a sixteen year old head turner!"
Becky wrestled the cup of yogurt from Lori's grasp and handed it to Dana.
"C'mon Lori, your brother is pretty cute." Lori glared at her red headed friend but Becky didn't seem to care. "I bet he has a bunch of girls in his class vying for him."
She leaned back onto the bench some giving a disgruntled groan. The eldest sister of the Loud family began thinking. She hadn't ever really pried into his love life unless he approached her for some advice. The only exception had been with Ronnie Anne and once she thought they had been together she let things go naturally between them.
"I don't know…" Lori leaned forward again and rested her chin on both of her palms. "He hasn't really been coming to me to tell him what to do recently."
"Is he supposed to?" Dana spoke up from the end holding both hers and Lori's frozen yogurt.
"Huh?" The blonde teen sat up, "What do you mean?"
"I think what Dana means," Carol brought the attention to her. "Does Lincoln really need permission when it comes to his love life?"
"What?!" Lori became defensive. "Of course he doesn't!"
"Really?" Carol continued, "Because it doesn't sound like it."
Lori was about to speak but before answering closed her mouth again. Had it really sounded like she wanted him to seek her approval. Becky took another spoonful of yogurt.
"Okay imagine this Lori," The party girl waved her spoon a bit. "What if I was dating Lincoln?"
Carol looked past Lori and glared at Becky.
"Why do you get to be the one dating Lincoln?" She asked accusingly.
"Because I'm his Tigress."
"But I'm his Care Bear."
"Girls!" Lori broke up the small disagreement. "What is the point of this?"
"Oh fine." Becky restarted her anecdote, "Imagine Dana was dating Lincoln."
"Wait why am I dating Lincoln now?" They ignored Dana's cries.
"You know her. You are friends. She's a good person." Becky looked towards Lori's unsure face, "Are you as mad at her as you are at Quinn?"
Lori stuttered a bit while trying to think of an answer. Dana was a good person and someone she trusted. If she found out that she was dating Lincoln would she be as mad? She was a good person, she doubt she would try and hurt Lincoln.
"Well…" Lori glanced up and looked towards Dana, who was still a bit flustered by the situation. "No… but why would a 16 year old be dating my brother."
"Lori, Lori, Lori." Becky shook her head while placing her hand, "Like we've been saying. Lincoln just has something that makes the girls go wild."
Carol nodded along with the statement. "Look, Lori, your brother is a good guy and some girls are going to find him attractive for either his personality or looks. I find his gentlemanly charm very admirable."
"And I find his white hair adorable." Becky continued.
Both girls looked towards Dana. She looked back at them unsure what they wanted.
"Oh! I think he'd be a uhh...gentle lover." Lori looked up at Dana. "I'm sorry it's the first thing I could think of."
"Regardless," Carol interrupted, "Are you upset because he's dating a 16 year old or are you upset that he's not dating someone you choose?"
"No!" Lori turned to Carol, "It's because she's 16, not because it's not Ronnie Anne."
"I didn't say Ronnie Anne."
Lori froze, did she care that he wasn't dating Bobby's little sister? She had tried so hard to set them up but had she really been too interfering with his love life? The Loud girl's stomach turned in on itself. Ronnie Anne had been perfect for him. Rough around the edges but kind at heart, just like her Bobby. Lincoln didn't have to date her, but she could at least see if he was interested.
"I-i don't know…"
"Lori…" Carol placed a hand on her back, "we aren't saying you have an unhealthy interest in his relationship status but perhaps you built up a fantasy that he just couldn't live up to. I know it's hard to accept but he will go wherever his little heart takes him."
"But I mean…" Lori was trying to grasp at a reason and to her credit she still had one foothold. "Isn't it still creepy that a high schooler is dating a elementary schooler?"
Her friends shift uncomfortably accepting what she was saying.
"A person with any reasonable conscious would let him down gently. He's too young for a serious relationship with an adult woman." Lori realized maybe she was too into who Lincoln had been dating but that didn't excuse the situation at hand. Quinlan was almost an adult and Lincoln was still her baby brother. "If it had been a guy dating one of my little sisters my Dad would have shot him on the spot."
The group could feel the pang of the double standard coming into play. Lori's reasoning wasn't wrong and while they actually enjoyed seeing the pair, there was something hard to defend about it.
"Remember Lori," Becky tried to argue but felt the fruitlessness of it as she spoke, "what if it was Dana, Carol, any of us, would you feel the same way?"
"I-i, NO!" Lori shouted, "That's not the same situation. You've known Lincoln for years as my younger brother, even if your interactions with him were small you knew him. Quinlan showed up out of nowhere. A complete stranger. I have no ideas about her motives and if she is just using him, I have a duty as his big sister to protect him!"
She was panting out of breath, emotions on the brink. A tear ran down her cheek. Lori began to cry in the middle of the park. People looked over but did not approach. Carol and Becky moved in closer, putting arms around the crying teen.
"I'm just trying to protect him. Why can't the rest of my family see that?" Lori choked out between sobs.
Her friends were at a loss. Sure things seemed fine and playful between the couple but perhaps they were too trusting of the situation. None of them really knew Quinlan all too much and either knew her in passing or someone from a class at school. It's not something that readily seems like an okay relationship to start or encourage but still something inside them wanted to see it succeed. Perhaps it was the happiness on Lincoln's face and the love they could sense between them. Lori was just trying to be a good big sister, they could not fault her for that.
"Lori…" Carol spoke up, "I don't really know what to say. I'm an older sister and I don't know how I'd react in the same situation. Perhaps I'd be right where you are now or perhaps I'd have punched the person on the spot."
"But here is what I do know." Lori looked up to her formal rival.
"Your brother is madly in love with her. When Becky and I got our pet names he came up with them on the spot based on a feeling but when he was giving Quinn hers...he stopped...he struggled...he thought about how she made him felt, who she was, and how he could accurately show her his love for her…" Carol let her voice be heard and let the message reach the girl.
"Before you do something you will regret… just talk to Lincoln. Not with a barrage of questions but an actual conversation. You don't know… perhaps they haven't done anything and all your fears are just that. Fears."
"We are here to support you." Becky spoke up. "And if this girl really is hurting Lincoln I expected to be notified right away. I'll be there by your side to kick the hoe to the curb."
Lori giggled some. She felt the reassurance coming from her friends and this talk had put her thoughts back in order. A slightly melted pot of frozen yogurt came into her vision. Dana was squatting in front of her and placed the desert back into her lap.
"Lori, we love you and we are sure Lincoln does too. Just show him how much you care and I'm sure everything will all work out."
Lori smiled at the girl. She took her yogurt in hand and took a spoonful. She still preferred ice cream but this was also good. Her mind recalled a baby picture in which she fed Lincoln a scoop of ice cream. Oh how times have changed.
"Thank you girls, this means a lot to me." She thanked the girls.
"No problem girl." Becky leaned back and placed her feet on top of Dana's shoulders. Dana was not amused but let it go for the moment. "If things don't work out between her and Lincoln give me a call."
"I think she means, just let us know." Carol corrected the red head.
"Nope. I just meant me." Carol glared at Becky, "As his Tigress, I'll be there in a heartbeat for my white russian."
"I think what he would need is a hug from his Care Bear." Carol argued.
"Uh girls I think-"
"Can it, Bunny Ears!" The pair shouted in unison.
Lori rolled her eyes as she let the argument continue. She hoped the girls were not too serious about this.
Carol's Prius rolled up to the Loud house. Lori looked around and noticed QT's black 73 Impala in the driveway with its hood up. Lana slid in and out from underneath it as she worked on whatever problem she thought needed it. She did not notice the other car pull up. Lori looked back to her girls who gave weak smiles back to try and reinsure her.
"Thank you for everything girls… I'm not sure what I would've done without you."
A myriad of 'call us if something happens', 'you got this girl', and other words of concern or comfort came from them as they waved her off. Lori walked to the door and unlocked it. The quiet sound of the Prius' engine could be heard as the door opened.
Lori looked at the small cushion fort with confusion then with fear. To her surprise Lana, Lisa, and Lucy did not pop out for a second round of fighting.
"Well, maybe they were playing house." Lori was talking aloud as she began heading upstairs. "Okay, Lori, be calm."
She took each step slowly trying to get her mind in the right place.
"Lincoln is a smart kid and wouldn't be tricked… he might get easily seduced though…" She stopped on the third stair. "Bad thought...Lincoln is good...He knows what he is doing…"
Another step.
"Quinlan is a stranger...but you may have misjudged her…"
She continued upstairs.
"Like Carol said...my fears...could be just that...fears…"
Lori's foot pushed her upwards and she now stood on the second floor of the family's abode. She looked to the end of the hallway to Lincoln's door. She took a deep breath and approached. Her hand found the door knob and turned it.
"Hey, Linc would you mind if we-"
The door opened inwards and slowly revealed the couple. Lori's eyes widened and her heart raced. Quinlan's dressed was hiked up and she straddled her little brother's waist. They were sweaty and heaved out breaths but what got to her most was the thing in her hand. Lincoln's mouth was lulled open and a bit of fluid dripped out of it as used condom hovered slightly above his face. Lori's blood began to boil. What has this woman done to her baby brother?!
"YOU WHORE!"