Mrs. Timber and Quinlan stood under the porch light at the entrance to their home. They watched as Lincoln finished buckling his seat belt before turning to them. The mother and daughter waved to their guests. The white haired boy smiled at them and waved back. Soon Lori started the van allowing them to roll into the night. Quinlan wished she could have also rode away with her white knight.
"*Sigh*, well…" Mrs. Timber interrupted the orchestra of crickets filling the night. "I'm tired. Time for bed don't you think?"
"Yeah…" Quinlan moved one of her many curls behind her ear. "Craziest day of my life, honestly."
"Mmmhmm, I bet it was." The mother nodded to her daughter's statement. "But before you end it, please go forgive Cristina."
"Forgive her?" The teen perked up a brow. "She's done nothing wrong. She's even the one who calmed me enough to call Lori."
"It's not that she's done anything wrong, she thinks she's done something wrong."
"What could she have done?"
"She has a crush on Lincoln." The woman told Quinlan bluntly.
"Oh… that." QT almost chuckled at the silliness of it.
"You knew?"
"She couldn't have been any more obvious." She had a big grin on her face. "It was really cute. I knew I'd have to talk to her about it sooner or later but I thought I'd let it go for awhile. Hehe. Maybe it's my fault for teasing her about passing Lincoln up… A bit of irony and all."
"I guess it's not that unusual for a little sister to have crushes on their older sister's boyfriends." Mrs. Timber admitted. "Most of the time they'd be their sister's age, not theirs."
"I'm going to hear a lot more jokes like that aren't I?"
"A few here and there… I'll try to be around more."
"It's okay Mom… we know how busy you two are."
"Your a good kid, sweetie."
"Thanks Mom."
This is where the two of them parted ways. Mrs. Timber went back to her room for a well deserve rest. Quinlan took a moment to check herself in the mirror before heading into Cristina's.
Cristina's door was unlocked and, upon entering, QT could see the young girl sat curled up in her bed. Her eyes were tinged with red only causing the older sister to feel a pain in her chest. As the door clicked behind her, the youngest Timber looked up.
"Oh... hey Sis." Cristina's hand quickly swiped underneath her nose. "D-did everything go well?"
"Yeah, it did." Quinlan moved to sit on the side of her little sister's bed. "It did... because of you."
"You mean because of Lori." The Timber girl gave a rebuttal.
"No." QT shook her head. "Because of you, sis."
"No you don't," the girl curled up more.
"I sure do." the teen moved in and pulled the pitiful girl into a hug. "I was a wreck when Mom told me to go to my room... If you didn't come and sort me out, I could have lost everything... so it's because of you that everything is okay now."
"You wouldn't be saying that if you knew-"
"That you have a crush on Lincoln?" Cristina's head darted up and looked her sister.
"You knew?!"
"Of course, I did silly." The teen smirked, "I could see the puppy-dog eyes a mile away."
"I'm sorry Sis." the small girl placed her face into her sister's breast. QT could feel small droplets of water dotting her top.
"Don't be." Quinlan's hand wrapped around and rubbed Cristina's back. "I'd never blame you for something so cute..." The older sister allowed her hand to sweep up and down the curly haired girl's back. "Lincoln's pretty awesome isn't he?"
"The awesomest." Cristina's hands curled into her sister's shirt, a deep welling building up in her gut.
"It's okay, Sis..." Quinlan's voice was soft, caring. "Let it go."
"It's okay. *sniff* I'm not- I'm n-not... *Waaaah*!" Finally given permission, Cristina gave an unrestrained cry of heartbreak.
Quinlan would later feel bad for not nipping Cristina's crush in the butt after making her cry for the second time that night. Of course she could never blame her sis for it, Lincoln was just that great a guy. It was too bad that he was already taken. If Cristina ever met someone half the gentleman Lincoln was, she'd be there to support her. Sadly, she couldn't support this one. That sole Loud boy was the keeper QT had waited sixteen years for. She wasn't going to let him go for anything.
*Ding dong*
After a few seconds the white haired boy heard footsteps approaching the door. The Loud boy made sure to look as presentable as possible for the approaching girl. The deadbolt unlocked and a curly haired, blonde teen peeked out. She looked side to side, making sure her neighbors did not witness the boy's arrival.
"Hello, thank you for ordering me." Lincoln greeted her with a smile.
"*Shh*, keep it down will you." The teen shushed the boy. "This is super embarrassing and I'm only doing this because I had a rough week."
"It's okay, I understand."
"It's just I broke up with my boyfriend and I just really need it right now." The girl lamented to him.
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of you." The blonde girl double checked her surroundings
"Yeah, I know," the door opened more. He could now see his client, a blonde teen in a purple dress about Lori's age. "Dana highly recommended you."
"She's my most frequent customer." The chipped tooth boy nodded.
"She couldn't praise you enough." The teen looked the boy over.
"Aw shucks," Lincoln began blushing, averting his gaze downwards. "I'm not that good."
"*Pfft*, shucks? Really?" His general shyness lessened her reluctance. "You're sooo old fashion."
"I hear that a lot." The boy picked up his supplies. "Whenever you're ready miss Whitney."
"Come on in." The blonde teen allowed him access to her home. The white haired boy enter gladly.
One moanful hour later…
"Wow," Whitney sat up covering herself with a towel. "Dana wasn't kidding, you are good."
"Hehe, you're going to make me blush." The boy waved off her compliment.
"It's just, just, I mean WOW!" The girl swooned.
"Alright, well I've got other customers today so I gotta get going." Lincoln gathered his stuff.
"Wait!" Whitney quickly wrapped herself in a towel and reached for her purse. "Here." She held out a few dollar bills.
"You already paid miss."
"It's a tip and uhh…" The teen shied away a bit. "C-could I call on you again?"
"Of course you can." He took the money from her. "Just let Carol know and we can set up another time together."
"Thank you Lincoln… umm could you let yourself out? My legs are still wobbly." The curly haired blonde shifted embarrassingly.
"Eeyup," Lincoln was already exiting her room. He gave her a nod as he disappeared. "Have a nice day miss"
"You too!" Whitney shouted after him. She heard her front door close shortly after. Finally alone, she sighed and fell back onto her bed with a satisfied smile.
She was scared at first for sure but his calm words slowly eased her into it. Oh she felt like such a fool with how vocal she became during it. Hopefully, he didn't think she was weird because of it. It was just the way he moved, the constant pressure, the warmth of his hands. Ooo~
It was the best massage she ever had.
"Hey Care Bear." Lincoln jumped into the his friend's Prius.
"Hey Cub," the teen nudged her sunglasses down to look him in the eyes. "How did it go?"
"Great," the white haired boy smiled back at her. "She was stiff at first but after awhile she really got into it."
"Another Dana?"
"Oh no," he shook his head. "She wasn't that bad. More like a Teri."
"Ohh...So you'll have a repeat gig."
"Yeah, you girls are really helping me out here. I'm really close to my goal. Thanks for thinking this idea up by the way."
"Oh, don't thank me." Carol told him as she began driving. "Thank those golden fingers of yours."
"Hehe, seriously though." The boy looked towards the road. "Getting the word out, the rides, I really couldn't have done this without you girls."
"Well, I wouldn't say we aren't getting our fair share of rewards." Signalling, Carol made a right hand turn. "By the way, your next stop is Becky."
"Oh."
"Don't worry, I warned her this time." She glanced to see Lincoln's blush. "Plus she also wants to talk about a proposition."
"A proposition?"
"Yeah, it might even lower your goal significantly."
"Well that would be nice," the sole Loud boy admitted. "I'm so close, Care… so close."
"You'll get there cub." The drive was quick and, as they pulled up to their destination, they could see a certain redhead waiting for them.
"There's my White Russian!" Becky waved to him happily. Not waiting for Carol to stop the engine, she opened the door for the boy to jump out. "C'mon I got you for two hours today!"
"T-two hours?"
"Becky, remember what I told you." Carol glared at the party girl.
"Yeah, yeah I got it." Becky didn't even bother looking at the girl. "We got a lot to talk about, Linc. You're going to love my idea."
"*Gulp*, alright let's go…" The white haired boy was dragged away by the wild Tigress, the Care Bear was helpless to stop it.
Over the course of her suspension, QT had become rather bored. Sure she had more time for the gym but that's all she could do. On top of that, Lincoln was busy, like really busy. How could an elementary schooler be so dang busy?!
Didn't this he have time for his sexy, older girlfriend?!
Okay… that didn't sound right.
Still, it was slightly annoying.
During the day, QT was left to her own devices. Her initial week was used dealing with her harassment case. Her mother had voiced her worry about proceeding with the case as she thought her relationship may surface. The teen understood her worry but insisted at least calling the lawyer. If only to thank her vice-principal for going out of her way to give her the number.
The call was simple, as vice-principal Farrin's friend was expecting buxom brunette was surprised by the fact it turned out to have been a personal number. Instead of getting a secretary, the woman herself picked up the phone. The lawyer was already well informed of the situation. Mrs. Farrin had already called that weekend apparently expecting this outcome. She was nice enough and decided to clarify things. While there wasn't enough evidence for a sexual harassment lawsuit, there was enough to garner a very powerful piece of paper.
A restraining order.
Commonly issued directly after similar situations, you can still petition for one regardless of time passed. The lawyer tried to explain it as another tool that can and should be used for such cases. She likened it to divorce, back in the day when it first became affordable and accessible for woman, there was an astronomical increase of them. Now you could look at this as the dissolve of the holy matrimony that is marriage, or you could look at is as several thousands of people being freed from destructive relationships. Now of days, divorce is used in nearly half of all marriages. People realized that it's not a death sentence and they used it.
Why couldn't a restraining order be the same? It's often one of those misunderstood pieces of law that is hard to understand. Even as the lawyer explained it, Quinlan also found herself overwhelmed. The logistics of temporary or permanent. How she would have to testify, luckily without the abuser present. Or that it was fine if no one was ever charged with a crime.
But there were things she did like the sound of.
Not only would it protect her but it would help her family and, to an extent, close friends.
In the end she decided, even with her mother's reluctance, to go through with it.
And it worked out.
Like Mrs. Farrin had predicted the basketball ace's parents, the Loms, had folded relatively easily. It was in part due to Quinlan's lawyer's name but also the shear evidence presented. Oddly, regardless of the attempted kiss and possible harassment in class, the big deal breaker was him wrapping an arm around Quinlan's waist. As her lawyer argued to her judge, it prevented her from escaping making her physical retaliation necessary. The coincidental falling down the stairs was due to a misstep and her client had ample to fear from the jocks as evident from the attack at school. While the other side did argue, it turned out the Lom's lawyer decided not to tarnish some of his reputation by calling a minor out on provocative clothing.
Whether you believe he deserved it or not, the basketball ace was given an order to stay away. The judge had been somewhat lenient and made it a temporary order. It would last until fall of the next year when the ace was expected to already be leaving the state for college. He could then remove it from his record there after. In the meantime, the restraint would protect Quinlan throughout her time at high school. If the ace ever decided to return, and confront QT though, a much harsher fate was sure to befall him.
This was enough to scare him, who would risk their entire division 2 college career for this?
And so the weeks went on.
During her suspension she'd go to the Loud House and wait for Lincoln. She'd play with the girls: she got her measurements taken by Leni, she went through her favorite music with Luna, and at the end of it all, she cozied up with an, oddly, tired Lincoln. He would always be so tired, leaving them little time for actual dates. He did manage to come over for some dinners but he always seemed out of it. So after some time the brunette decided to do simple low energy stuff with him. She was a bit miffed but they had weathered a massive storm. This little downtime was probably to be expected and helpful for gaining her mother's approval.
Eventually, the Timber girl returned to school. The so dubbed 'Lincoln's Angels' welcomed her gladly into their group, although she was surprised by the presence of a few more girls past the trio. She chatted with Lori and Leni a lot with some appearances of Luna and Luan between classes. The brunette was also happy to find her science class void of any basketball aces. But the big disappointment was, while she did see them around, QT found it hard to approach Winter and Rachel. In several long winded texts, Rachel had revealed she knew of the plan and was sorry for not stopping it. Winter had apologized as well but they were still hard to talk with.
Some other minor details that apparently were caused by her were some rejections. She had no idea how she was the cause of them but apparently she was. This according to a few girls who claimed she gave them the courage to say no. Honestly, Quinlan thought this was all unearned. All she did was punch a guy she didn't want to go to prom with. Regardless of what spectacle or a fool he was going to make himself, there was no way she was going with him.
The weeks went by and she had settled back into life.
Still…
She was missing her Linc time!
But that was all about to change.
After weeks of tiredness, Lincoln was finally energetic again. So much so that instead of prom, of which she was already banned from attending, they were going to have an ultra movie night! The little man had told her to free her schedule because they were going to 'stream and chill' all night long. She was so glad Lincoln was still naive boy sometimes. It always helped to get a little chuckle here and there.
"Alright everyone!" Lincoln shouted to his troops. He adjusted the bow tie of his tuxedo. "Honey Bee is going to be here in ten minutes! Final checks!" He pointed to a dangling tomboy.
"Lana!"
"Disco Balls all set up!" The handy-woman gave a thumbs up, which sadly was a thumbs down from everyone else's perspective.
"Luna!"
"Got the tunes all sorted, dude!" The musician hit a key on her DJ booth causing a bass to rock the house.
"Keep it down until she gets here! This is a surprise remember?!"
"Sorry, dude!"
"Leni!"
"We're tote's good up here~!" Shouted the fashionista
"Is she here yet, Linky?!" Lola asked with a hint of excitement.
"Not yet!" He looked back at his list. "Luan!" A pie flew like a saucer before landing among several other deserts.
"Chill Linc, all this stressing will 'bake' you crazy! Haha, get it?!"
"Sigh," Lucy decided not to wait her turn. "The punch is ready as well."
"Great!" Lincoln rushed down his checklist.
"Lori, Bobby, Lynn"
"Literally got everything up; Good here bro; Got it!"
"Lisa!"
"Shush it with the incessant yelling already!" The voice could be heard upstairs. "We still need to get Lily asleep before putting her in the bubble of silence!"
"Chaperones?" Lincoln turned back with a much quieter voice. In the dining room, he saw his father readying a camera while his mother sipped some coffee.
"Just waiting for them to get here, dear." Rita told her amazing little man.
"Mmmhmm, mmmhmm. Check, check, check, anddddd check." The white haired boy tossed his notepad to the side.
"What about you Lincoln?" His oldest sister, and biggest supporter, Lori stepped off a small ladder she was using to hang decorations. "Are you ready?"
The boy took a deep breath.
"H-how's my hair?" He gave a shy grin.
"Literally perfect."
"Then I'm ready." A single hand pressed against a small, square box he was keeping in his breast pocket.
"Good." Lana flipped off the ceiling. "Cause she's here."
In the distance, the sound of the throaty roar of an 73' Impala could be heard. The people inside began to panic as they looked around. Did they hide? This was a surprise but not like a surprise birthday party. The only one to keep their cool was the man of the hour.
He simply stopped and listened from inside the house. He could hear the clicks of her all too familiar boots. This was the woman he loved. So much had happened and it had boiled all down to this.
It was not an age gap.
It was not their families.
The only thing separating them now was a wooden door.
Breath in.
Breath out.
Lincoln opened the door.
"Welcome to Loud Prom!"