Royal Woods Middle School buzzed with excitement. Posters for the upcoming school dance plastered the hallways, and kids whispered about dates and outfits.
Lincoln sighed as he opened his locker. "Middle school dances — basically a chance to embarrass yourself in front of the entire school."
"Or a chance to have fun," Dante said, leaning casually against the lockers.
Lincoln rolled his eyes. "Easy for you to say. Girls actually like you."
Dante smirked. It was true — he'd already turned down two dance invites this week. Not because he was arrogant, but because he wasn't looking for anything serious. Still, the whispers followed him everywhere.
"Think he's going with Marisol?" one kid whispered.
"No way, Lori Loud likes him," another replied.
Lincoln groaned. "See? You're a walking rumor mill."
That afternoon, Lori stormed down the Loud House stairs, phone in hand. "Unbelievable! Bobby can't come to the dance because of family stuff. Now I'm date-less!"
The sisters gasped dramatically, like someone had canceled Christmas.
"You could always go with Dante," Leni suggested innocently.
Lori's face turned crimson. "WHAT?! That's… no… I mean… ugh!"
Before she could argue, the sisters were already scheming. Within an hour, Lori and Dante were "volunteered" for a practice double date, with Lincoln and Clyde as their chaperones.
The four of them ended up at Jean Juan's French-Mex Buffet. From the moment they sat down, it was chaos:
Clyde fainted every time Lori glanced at him.
Lincoln spilled salsa on his shirt — twice.
Lori tried to act overly sophisticated, ordering "the fanciest water you have."
Dante calmly ate his enchiladas, amused by the disaster unfolding.
When the mariachi band started playing, Lori awkwardly asked Dante to dance. He smiled politely and stood. "Relax. It's just a dance. You don't need to prove anything."
For the first time that night, Lori actually smiled — a real one, not her usual "I'm in control" smirk.
Of course, disaster struck: Clyde fainted face-first into the guacamole, Lincoln tripped over a chair, and Lori stormed off in embarrassment.
But as they walked home, Lori glanced sideways at Dante. "Thanks… for not making me feel like a total loser."
He shrugged. "Anytime. Friends look out for each other."
She blushed faintly but kept walking, secretly wishing it could be more.