A key turned the lock to the door of the Timber home. QT used her hip to push the door open more with her hands occupied with her coat. Her keys spun around a finger as she kicked the door close with her heel.
"Where were you?!" Cristina came out of the hallway. The young girl came out in her pjs even though it was only noon. For her it was a lazy day. "Seriously, one text saying 'things happened won't be home'! What happened?!"
"Everything happened Sis." QT threw her coat on the couch and she spun to lock the door. "Lincoln's eldest sister, Lori, kind of blew up on me."
"Geez, I thought you said they weren't going to be there." Cristina sat on the couch next to her sister's jacket.
"She wasn't supposed to be, she followed us."
"Nosey much?"
"They were just concerned for Lincoln." Quinlan plopped next to Cristina. "I might punch your boyfriend if he was my age."
"She punched you?!"
"No!" QT waved her hands to deny the accusation. "Well she did kick and shoulder barged me."
"That's worse!"
"Yeah it kind of is… it's all worked out through." QT looked to her sister. "Mrs. Loud gave me her permission to date Lincoln. Now we don't have to hide it from them anymore."
"Isn't his sister still angry at you?" Cristina asked.
"Uhh...I don't know. She's been grounded so I didn't see her today."
"Is she your age?"
"Lori's 17, Leni's the one my age."
"So you'll see her at school tomorrow?"
Cristina's question caused QT to freeze. In the past she had seen Leni around as she had a class with her. If she was at the school that means so was Lori. The last time Quinlan saw her, she seemed like she wanted to make up but… Would they really be able to get along.
"Sis. Sis?!" Cristina's voice snapped QT out of her thoughts. "C'mon sis, are you sure you're okay?"
The bewildered teen took a moment to respond. "I think I am. I'm just worried about how they might respond to me now that they know is all."
"You think they'll try and fight you?"
"Nah, I think they'll just give me a stink eye or butt heads with me socially. If they really tried to fight me, without Lincoln there, I wouldn't mind throwing a few punches. Finally put all that LA boxing to use." She leaned back in the couch, "But if they are anything like Lincoln, I don't think they'll do any of that."
"Well I hope it works out… but one thing sis…"
"What is it, Cristina?"
"You stink. Go take a shower."
QT sat up straight and lifted up an arm. Taking a light sniff she did smell. Her last shower was yesterday morning, and through the roller coaster that was the drama, she had built quite a sweat. It wasn't awful but it was noticeable.
"Perhaps I just smell like Lincoln." QT stood blowing a raspberry and lowering an eyelid at her sister.
"Well then he stinks and how would he get it all over you anyways?"
"Uhh…" QT averted her eyes from the girl allowing Cristina to realize something was up.
"No. You didn't!"
"It's not what you're thinking." Quinlan retreated into the hallway. Cristina chased after her.
"Details woman! I demand details!"
So Sunday came to a close at both homes. Lori had returned from Aunt Ruth's desiring a hot shower but other than that she accepted her punishment. With her phone taken she was left to lay about until she went to sleep. The eldest daughter made no effort to confront Lincoln that night, deeming it too soon. Instead she thought on how she should treat the couple and how she must change her mindset to be more accepting. It was a long road ahead but a necessary one.
Lincoln opted to walk to school the next morning. His motives had been a mix of avoiding Lori, which saddened his oldest sister, and a want for fresh air. The morning breeze allowed him to think. Things were looking up but it was still a lot to process. His family finally knew the truth, and he was okay with that. With no more sneaking around he could invite QT over more, bum rides to her house, and finally get that advice he desperately needed about women.
All in all, a bright future was on his horizon.
"Hey Linc wait up!"
Lincoln turned to see his best friend running towards him. His glasses bounced up and down on his nose as his light jog made it hard for his ears to hold them still. Clyde McBride screeched to a halt just in front of Lincoln narrowly avoiding the collision.
"Morning, Clyde what's up?" The Loud boy asked.
"What's up? Dude, my Dads told me they saw QT this weekend!" The young boy went into panic mode. His arms flailed about wildly and he had a face that only be described with urgency.
"Whoa! Chill out Clyde." Lincoln grabbed the boy's striped shirt and shook him. "My entire family found out this weekend."
Clyde's face showed disbelief but he took his best friend's words for the truth. Shaking it off he looked him back in the eyes through the panels of his glasses.
"Dang, really?"
"Yeah, really."
"How'd they react?" The curly haired boy asked.
"Well," Lincoln started. "At first they kind of chased me around because they thought I was cheating on Ronnie Anne."
"But you weren't even dating her?" Clyde's eyebrows quirked up unsure how they came to that conclusion.
"I know right! Anyways, to make a long story short, they acted really poorly at first but now I think most of my family is cool with it." Lincoln turned his body but kept his eyes on his friend as he walked. Clyde followed suit.
"So they're all just cool with it?"
"Not exac-"
"I told you had nothing to worry about." Clyde jumped ahead and walked backwards. "Now that they are accepting how about we go on a double date: you, me, QT and"
The young boy clasped his hand together and looked towards the sky. A dreamy sigh left his lips and he pictured the girl in question.
"Lori~" Clyde's mention of his eldest sister made Lincoln uncomfortable. "You know us." The boy's arm reached around his bucked tooth friend's shoulder.
"We're just two guys who love the older ladies." His other arm, that wasn't wrapped around, pointed outwards and panned from left to right as if writing it in the sky.
"Yeah, well you see Clyde…"
A young girl in a blue dress was making her way to school. Her sister had offered to drop her off but she felt like walking. As Cristina rounded a turn she heard a yell.
"LORI WANTS YOU TO BREAK UP WITH QT?!" Cristina back peddled to be behind a bush. Peeking out she saw the two boys. The white one was obviously Lincoln and the black one was… Cloud? No, Clyde. That was it. She saw Lincoln's hand cover his friend's pie hole as he looked around for onlookers. He failed to notice Cristina.
"Seriously Clyde?! Do you want the whole school to know?" His friend's head shook no. The hand left his face. "Now I never said she wants us to break up. I said she wanted us to break up. Past tense. She's trying to accept it but… it's complicated."
"Sounds like a rough weekend." Lincoln's best friend tried to comfort him.
"It was a bit...but a lot of good came out of it. I don't have to hide it anymore so maybe things like going on dates will be easier." The lad gave a small smile.
"Wouldn't know about that." The nerdy friend let out a sigh, "Lori, still has yet to respond to my advances."
"She's still dating Bobby, Clyde."
"I know, I know. An uphill battle but I'm determined to finish it." The boy held a fist of determination to his striped shirt. Lincoln rolled his eyes but gave his friend a smirk.
"Well I wish you the best of luck. You'll need it."
The friends departed leaving Cristina to waggle free of the underbrush. From afar she watched on. Seriously, Lori still didn't trust her sister? What a jerk! If she got a chance she'd give that girl a piece of her mind.
Morning passes and the teens at the local high school are getting ready for lunch. Clutching her bag Lori Loud heads towards the cafeteria. The hallways are full of the usual suspects, some nameless some not, either way she didn't pay much mind to them.
The blonde teen stops at her locker. Turning the dial she inputs the combination to allow her access. The door swings opens and she places her materials within. Lori pauses as she examines her locker. To always brighten her day she had taped a photo of her and her boyfriend, Bobby, along the inside wall of the door. The smile she gave it let it know it still served its purpose.
"*Crrrk* Tigress to Lori. Tigress to Lori. Do you copy, over?" The blonde teen quirked an eyebrow and closed her locker. On the other side of the metal stood a redhead in a dark and light green striped tank top. Her hands were cupped around her mouth as if talking into a receiver.
"Oh hey Becky." Lori tried her best to give a cheery reply.
"Sup girl," The redhead dropped her hands to speak normally. "How'd everything go Saturday? You went silent on us."
"Us?" Lori peeked around her friend to see her other friends. Both Carol and Dana stood behind Becky, they gave Lori a small wave which she returned. Leaning back against her locker the eldest Loud lamented. "It literally couldn't have gone worst."
The three friends looked at one another with concern. Moving into place Becky and Carol flanked the blonde's sides while Dana stood in front. Carol choose to speak first.
"How bad was it?"
"I called her a pedo and kicked her in the stomach." All three of her friends grimaced to one another. "Yeah that bad."
"But we thought you were going to talk about it? What changed?" Carol continued her inquiry.
"I walked in on them and -"
"Oh god, Lincoln's a stud…" The group looked at Dana in disbelief partially for what she said, another because now was not the time for it.
"Anyways," Lori continued. "It was a misunderstanding. She was straddling Lincoln with a used condom in her hand…" Shock painted most of their faces.
"They were doing it?" Carol asked with concern in her voice.
"No… it turned out she had just pulled it out of his throat. Lincoln thought they were candies or something and nearly swallowed one." Lori brushed her hair behind her ear.
"He thought they were candy?" Becky asked.
"Okay, I know. It all sounds so weird. It turned out Luna gave him them and she never told him what they were for. He thought they were gum and she found it too awkward to correct him…" She looked down to her shoes. "Everything was just working against me."
Two hands found their way to Lori's shoulders. Peeking from under her bangs she could see Becky and Carol attempts to comfort her, it was appreciated.
"But things are looking up." Lori tried to put a face of confidence of on, but it was shaky. "We talked it out and I think Quinlan's willing to try to be friends...I just don't know where to start."
"Well how about over there?" Carol pointed off down the hall. It's strange. It's like when a child plays a game to spot a certain car on the road to hit their sibling. You wouldn't notice a certain car from the day to day but if you were looking for it, it's suddenly everywhere. In this case, Carol could see Lincoln's brown eyed girl walking towards them.
Quinlan had just finished her class and was eager to get to lunch. With a packed salad and a protein bar it wasn't exactly her favorite but the break allowed her to text her boyfriend a bit. She was walking with two of her class friends.
Her first friend name was Rachel. A tanned girl with strawberry blonde hair that reached her shoulder. She was an active gym goer and mostly stuck to machines. The exercise had made her relatively fit but like QT her body shape was very curvy just not to the extent of herself. Right now she wore slim jeans and a school t-shirt but it was more likely to see her in workout gear.
QT's second friend went by Winter. QT didn't know her real name but for convenience she went by Winter because it was the translation of her name from Korean. Due to her heritage she had a slim figure and a shorter stature that made it easier to keep fit. Her favorite activity was yoga and zumba which her yoga pants allowed her to be ready for at anytime.
There wasn't anything that made Rachel and Winter super special to her but the company was nice to have around. The major thing they did connect about was fitness and eating healthy. Work out buddies, diet gals, generally just active girls that shared similar hobbies. Today though they weren't talking about any of that.
"I already got my dress all picked out for prom next month." Rachel told her two friends.
"Really? So your boyfriend finally asked you?" Winter asked the excited girl.
"Yeah he did this really cute thing where he-"
QT stopped listening not out of boredom in fact she was quite interested in all things prom. She'd love to go but… it's unlikely she'd be able to. Not in the sense that she couldn't physically be there but Lincoln wouldn't be there. They didn't need that attention fest to get in the way of their peaceful relationship and she knew it. Still it made her a bit sad.
"Quinn, what about your boyfriend?" QT snapped back to reality. Winter looked back to her trailing friend lost in thought. "He has asked you, right?"
There was no need to lie, she shook her head no.
"He hasn't?!" Rachel piped up. "But he will right?"
QT shook her head in denial again.
"He what?! Girl what's up with that? Tell that boy to get on it!" Winter exclaimed but Quinlan just gave her a shrug. "Seriously Quinn you need to-"
"*Crrrk* Tigress to Honey Bee. Tigress to Honey Bee. Do you copy over?"
Quinlan stopped in her tracks hearing Lincoln's name for her. Her head jerked back and over her shoulder she saw a cheeky redhead giving her a wave. QT recognized the girl from the salad bar, she was one of Lori's friends. The thought prompted her to look behind the teen. Lori sunk into herself when she noticed QT looking over to her. The brunette turned her attention back to Becky aka Tigress.
"Sup Honey Bee! Lori, Care Bear, and Bunny Ears wanted to see if you wanted to join us for lunch." Becky's words surprised the young bombshell. She gave her a questioning look. "Is that a yes? I don't have Dana to interpret."
Quinlan looked back to behind Becky at Lori. The blonde in question would only give her shy glances. Was this her olive branch? QT turned back to her friends who looked as confused as her.
"Rachel, Winter, I'm going to have lunch with them today. You can join if you want but it might be a bit awkward." This was the first time today the two heard Quinlan's voice as she was not too talkative today, like most days. For Becky, it was the first time she ever heard QT's voice.
"It's okay," Winter backed up. "I was going to talk to my boyfriend about prom stuff, c'mon Rachel."
"Oh yeah sure," The girl turned to be with her friend. "See you later Quinn." The two made their way down the hall.
QT nodded to Becky notifying her about her decision. The redhead immediately turned around giving the group a big thumbs up and a wink. Dana just groaned at the display already having overheard everything and approached. Carol gave one last comforting pat to Lori before following. The Loud girl was the last to move and it was hesitantly at that. Eventually she joined the group to go find a place to enjoy their lunches.
Just a short drive away at the local elementary, Lincoln examined his lunch. In a new determination to stick to his diet he had bought the school's vegetarian option. He looked at the sparse platter with a single grape pie entree and sighed. Vegetarians sure had it rough. His eyes looked up and saw his friend group preparing to enjoy their more flavorful meals. God, even that tuna looked good right now. The light clack of more formal shoes approached from behind them.
"Hey Lincoln could I talk to you?" The group looked up from their food to the sweet voice that called for their friend. It was Cristina, curly hair and all. Lincoln didn't see which of his friends did a spit take but he sure felt it. He did his best to ignore it.
"Yeah sure, one sec." Lincoln reached to grab one of Clyde's many napkins. He dried himself a bit while Cristina waited patiently. His friends gawking a bit too much for her taste but it was somewhat expected. This table wasn't usually visited by a pretty girl often. Grabbing his tray he got off the table's bench. "Alright where to?"
Cristina's head jerked to point to a far off empty table. The white hair lad followed behind as the blue dress wandered off. The young girl could feel the eyes of her classmates watching the proceedings, without a doubt in her mind they were reading too much into it. She was not into him. Lincoln on the other hand just saw Cristina as QT's sister at the moment. Any glares from jealous male classmates went unnoticed.
Reaching the table they sat down opposite from one another at the end of the table. Lincoln kept a smile on his face, blissfully unaware of the situation at hand. Cristina on the other hand wished he'd stop his goofy, yet charming grin. She started the conversation.
"Alright Lincoln," she tried to look into his eyes but failed. "Um, how was your date with Sis this weekend."
"Oh…" The sole boy of the Loud house rubbed the back of his neck. "Did QT talk to you about it?"
"A bit but she left out A LOT of details." She wanted to emphasize the fact she needed to know everything. "I was hoping you could fill me in."
"Sure, what do you want to know?" The boy shrugged.
"Which sister got into a fight with her?" Lincoln's eyes slightly widened at the first question. Cristina was worried and wanted to get to the meat of the problem.
"T-that was my eldest sister Lori. She kind of walked in on us and misunderstood what we doing."
"And what were you two doing?"
"Karaoke."
"You seriously listened to my Sis sing? You poor love struck fool."
"Hey! We had a lot a fun."
"So Lori heard my sister singing and thought she was torturing you?"
"No," The boy rolled his eyes. "But she was kind of sitting on my lap in a weird way."
"How weird?"
"Well imagine that you were sitting on my lap facing towards me," Cristina's eyes dilated some as Lincoln adjusted his position to face outwards. He leant back and his arms began fictitiously rubbed the girls back to illustrate where QT, or Cristina, would have been. "And your head would be right about here as we looked into each other eyes."
Cristina watched the display with wide eyes. Jesus Christ, what was her sister doing?! She placed her bare elbows on the table and lent her mouth against her lips. This was all in order to hide a blush she didn't want to be noticed.
"I-i see, and then what happened?" The girl asked more softly than before.
"That's when Lori came in." Oh yeah Lori! Cristina forgot about that part. "She saw us like that and assumed that we were doing something… err, naughty." Yeah I bet she did.
"They got into a fight over it and let's just say some very bad things were said. Both of them started crying and I had to comfort QT. My parents eventually intervened and now they are okay with us dating, Lori is grounded, and we can meet up more. So things are looking up. But... ya know." Lincoln gave a shrug.
Cristina looked at him a bit more. She took in his words and recalled her sister's as well. The general picture was there. She could see now how much trouble her Sis had gone through, all for Lincoln. Was he really that great? He was nice, smart, and respectful but why did she try so hard for it all. She let out a sigh.
"As long as things got sorted out, I guess." The little sister relaxed a bit. "I think Lori's still being a bit of a jerk though."
"She's trying to understand it all, she wants to get to know QT a bit more before she passes judgement...again." Lincoln at some point, the girl had not realized, began eating his lunch. She looked at the platter before him.
"Sis got you on a diet, right?" Her slender finger pointed at the mixed vegetables.
"Huh?" Lincoln looked up from his food. "Oh yeah, I elected to do it but I'm kind having trouble sticking to it. We went to a salad bar during our date."
"The one with the 'Vegans welcomed' sign?"
"You know it?"
"Yeah…" She had a slight grimace on her face. "Sis takes us there for lunch and stuff."
"I get it's healthy," Lincoln waved his fork around a bit. "But dang it's so bland."
"I know right! Everything in our house is healthy this, low carb that, it's so gross." Cristina's armed waved about and pointed to nonexistent cabinets in the cafeteria. "I have to sneak in a bunch of stuff! Check this out."
Reaching into her backpack she produced a small lunch box. Emptying the contents out fell: Celery and hummus, a multigrain sandwich, a carton of tea, and a bag of nacho flavored chips.
"Take a guess on what I brought." The girl slammed her palms on the table in annoyance. Lincoln looked at the meal.
"She gave you a sandwich? How'd you pull that?" Cristina looked at him with disbelief.
"Pfft." She let out a hearty chuckle before wiping a tear from her eye. "Seriously? What kind of diet does she have you on?"
"She said I need to" He raised his fingers for air quotes. "Get back on track."
"Well that explains it. Let me give you some advice." She lent across the table and beckoned him closer with a finger. Lincoln lent in turning his head to listen in this super secret advice. "If you ever need a break from the diet my Sis has one food she's really crazy for. You want to know what it is?"
Lincoln nodded.
"Spam."
"Spam?"
"Spam."
"The meat in a tin can?"
"The very same."
Lincoln returned to his sitting position.
"There's no way." The white hair lad visibly showed his disbelief in Cristina's true.
"I'm being serious." The girl also returned to her seat. "A long time ago she found this recipe after learning how to make sushi. Sushi is expensive with all the fish so she wanted to learn. One of the first recipes she found was for this thing called 'Spam Musubi'. It looks like sushi but it uses a huge slice of spam."
"I don't believe you."
"No really! She loves it. It's basically rice, seaweed, and cooked spam. It's from Hawaii or something but there was a time when she would make it every other day. It's so unhealthy but really good. I mention I'd like to have some when we've been on a huge health overload." Cristina was looking him straight in the eye with a fire burning. She knew her sister and this was that health nut's weakness. "She even does this little dance while cooking it."
"The one where she shakes her butt and chachas from side to side?"
"Yeah the one that makes her look like a dog wagging her tail."
"I think it looks more like a bee shaking off pollen."
"Is that why you call her Honey Bee?"
"What?!" Lincoln looked away with a blush. "No. Maybe a bit. She's also really sweet."
"Uh huh." Cristina gave him a cheeky grin. "I bet she is."
"Still," He crossed his arms and shook his head. "There's no way she'd eat that."
"Seriously, Lincoln, text her if you don't believe me."
"I will." Took out his phone and saw a flashing light of a notification. Pressing the lock button caused his screen to light up. Across the screen was a bar that said 'New message: Honey Bee' with an icon that indicated there was an attached image. "Look at that." He pointed the phone in her direction.
"We text during lunch a lot and it seems I missed hers." He turned his phone back to himself and unlocked it. He suddenly found Cristina's face squished against his as she looped around wanting to see the message as well.
"Well go on then!" Lincoln sighed and opened the message. "Whoa? Who are they?"
Lincoln looked at the image. QT was at the forefront of the image smiling and posing, he tried to ignore the cleavage she was exposing. Behind her was several girls giving the peace sign. He saw his sister Lori giving a weak smile but he could tell she was at least happier. The other girls had faces ranging from awkward, normal, and wild. Becky was the most enthusiastic about the pic and pulled the girls in the background into a hug. Carol gave a smile fit for her own selfies while Dana probably wasn't prepared for the picture. In all it was a nice group photo taken from QT's position at a lunch table.
The message read:
Hey sweetie! Things are going great over here. Tigress, Care Bear, Bunny Ears, and Lori say hi. They can't wait to see you this weekend!
This weekend? What was happening on the weekend?