Lincoln Loud was halfway through his Saturday morning routine — cereal in one hand, Ace Savvy comic in the other — when he heard it.
The deep rumble of a moving truck.
Normally, new neighbors weren't a big deal. But in the Loud House, even a squirrel sneezing outside was considered breaking news. Within thirty seconds, five sisters had already crowded the front window.
"New meat!" Lynn Jr. grinned, bouncing a football in her hand like she was already planning a tackle.
"New friends, Lynn," Leni corrected, her breath fogging up the glass. "Or, like, new sweater models. Ooh! What if they're, like, a family of mannequins?"
Luna strummed her guitar lazily, pretending not to care — but her eyes stayed glued to the driveway as a tall figure stepped out of the truck.
Lincoln tilted his head. Whoever the new kid was, he wasn't just another neighbor. He was tall. Like, really tall. Almost as tall as Lori. He carried a heavy box with one hand like it was nothing, setting it down on the sidewalk with ease. His skin was a warm shade of brown, his black curls cut short and neat, and when he stretched his back, his hoodie pulled just enough to show lean muscles underneath.
"Whoa," Leni whispered. "He's like… if a snack turned into a person."
"Leni!" Lori hissed, shoving her away from the glass.
Lincoln squinted. New kid looked older — high school, maybe? — but not too much older. Definitely not the kind of guy Lincoln wanted all eleven sisters noticing at once.
"Called it," Lynn muttered, already sprinting for the door. "I'm challenging him to one-on-one before he even unpacks!"
"Not if I get his autograph first!" Luan joked, darting after her.
"Guys, come on," Lincoln groaned. "Let's not swarm him like—"
Too late. The stampede had begun.
Dante Ramirez barely had time to wipe sweat off his forehead before he was surrounded. Eleven kids poured out of the house next door like clowns from a tiny car, all yelling, all different, all… loud.
"HI! I'M LYNN JR. WANNA PLAY BASEBALL? OR FOOTBALL? OR ARM-WRESTLE? OR—"
"Don't mind her, she just thinks everything is a competition," Lori cut in, flipping her blonde hair. "I'm Lori. Oldest, most mature, and clearly the only sane one here."
"Except me!" Leni chirped. "I'm, like, the fashionable one. Nice hoodie! Ooh, does it come in pastel pink?"
"Don't listen to them," Luna said, stepping forward with a half-smile. "Name's Luna. You like music?"
Dante blinked, shoulders stiff at first… then relaxed. His lips tugged into an amused smile. "Uh, yeah. A little bit."
That one smile was enough to make Luna's cheeks warm. She strummed her guitar string a little too hard, wincing at the sour note.
Lincoln finally pushed through the crowd, waving his arms. "Sorry about my sisters! They're kinda… a lot."
Dante chuckled. "Yeah, I can tell. I'm Dante. Just moved here from Detroit."
Lincoln grinned nervously. "Cool! I'm Lincoln. The, uh… only boy in there."
Dante's eyebrows lifted. "Seriously? With that many sisters?"
"Yup." Lincoln sighed. "Welcome to my personal nightmare."
Dante laughed — a real, warm laugh that made even Lori glance sideways. "Guess that makes me your backup, huh?"
Lincoln froze for a second, then grinned. "Yeah. Backup sounds good."
By the time the movers left, Dante had met the whole squad:
Lucy silently handed him a poem about "the new shadow across the street."
Lola tried to sit on his lap and declare him her "Prince Charming" until Rita dragged her away.
Lana asked if he could help her fix her bike chain, which he did in less than two minutes.
Lisa muttered something about "a fascinating athletic specimen" and tried to measure his arm muscles.
Lily just yelled "Dah-tee!" and clung to his leg.
Through it all, Dante stayed calm, polite, and just amused enough to roll with the chaos.
By sunset, Lincoln and Dante sat on the Louds' porch steps, watching the sky turn pink.
"So," Dante said, leaning back on his hands. "Is it always this crazy around here?"
Lincoln gave a tired laugh. "Crazy? This was nothing. Wait until Luan's April Fool's week."
"Noted." Dante smirked. "Still… doesn't seem so bad. Better than being bored, right?"
Lincoln nodded slowly. For the first time in forever, he didn't feel like the only guy in the world full of sisters.
"Yeah," Lincoln said with a grin. "Way better."
From the upstairs window, Luna strummed a soft chord, watching the two boys laugh. She felt her stomach twist — a little fear, a little excitement. Nobody else noticed, not yet. But for Luna Loud, the new kid across the street wasn't just "better than bored."
He might change everything