Matchmaking

It was another school day as Leni stepped out of class, gathering her things from her locker. She walked out the school and met up with Luna and Luan, who were waiting for Lori.

"Hi guys!"

"Oh hey Leni, what's up?" Said Luna, waving to her.

"Lori isn't here yet?"

"No, she's still probably with Bobby." Both Luan and Luna seemed annoyed. Their vexation was somewhat justified however, as Lori was notorious for taking too long to leave.

It wasn't soon after though that Lori appeared, with Bobby in tow. They walked together, holding hands with Lori leaning up against him. As they approached, Bobby waved hello to the three sisters while Lori still seemed too infatuated to even notice them.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Said Bobby.

"Hey Bobby, we're just waiting for HER to let go and drive us home." Said Luna, pointing to Lori who finally looked their way.

"Sheesh calm down, we'll go as soon as I say bye." Said Lori with her usual attitude.

She looked toward Bobby with eyes of longing, not wishing to be separated from her beloved. Bobby's eyes told the same story and both of them escaped into their own world. Meanwhile, the three other Loud sisters had to watch as they threw playful banter back and forth for almost 5 minutes straight. Their goodbye was interrupted by Luan, who coughed loudly and tapped her foot. Breaking eye contact with Bobby, she looked towards Luna and Luan, who seemed rather perturbed.

Lori scoffed, "Alright fine, you don't have to get all mad." She looked back to Bobby, "Okay I gotta' go babe, love you!" She kissed him then turned around, her expression changing from a look of euphoria to near apathy.

"Okay let's go."

Lori unlocked the van, stepping in and starting it up. Luan and Luna hopped in the back while Leni took the seat next to Lori. Though Luna and Luan looked irked, Leni had a different look. While it was annoying that Lori always took forever to leave because of Bobby, Leni felt almost a bit envious; she sat and wondered what it would be like if she had someone like Bobby. The problem though was that she had no idea how to get a boyfriend. She had never tried before and looking back, whenever there was a boy that liked her, she always ended up doing or saying something stupid. She looked out the window sadly as the car drove, thinking that there wouldn't be anyone that could like a ditz like her. Even if she looked fabulous, it wouldn't mean anything if she just kept messing everything up.

"You okay Leni?" said Lori who had noticed Leni's rather gloomy expression.

"Oh yeah, I'm great!" said Leni, giving a weak smile.

As they continued on and picked up the rest of the kids from their respective schools, Leni began to fidget.

"Hey Lori?"

"Yeah?"

"What's it like?"

"What's what like?"

"You know, having a boyfriend..."

Lori was surprised; this was the first time that Leni had really taken an interest in anything regarding love. She was always seemed too carefree to even consider the possibility of romance; in fact, Lori wondered if she even had the capacity to keep her love focused on one person. She knew she had to sell the idea perfectly to Leni in case she was thinking about getting a boyfriend.

"It's amazing! That feeling when you want to see him so bad; and then you do! You send him texts telling him how much you love him, he texts you back, it's great!"

Lori then looked at Leni slyly. "Why? Are you interested?"

"What?? Oh I'd never do that to you!"

"I didn't ask if you were interested in Bobby! I asked if you were interested in a boyfriend!"

"Ohhhh... Well, maybe just a little..." Said Leni sheepishly as she looked away and held her arm.

Lori squealed to herself, barely able to contain her excitement. Lori knew that boys had confessed to Leni before, only to have her say or do something to completely screw it up. Still, if Leni wanted a boyfriend, Lori would help her get one.

"Okay once we get home I'll teach you how to get a boyfriend!" Said Lori.

Leni's face lit up with excitement; if Lori was teaching her, then she was sure to get a boyfriend!


At the house...


Both Lori and Leni walked into their room, putting their backpacks away. Lori rummaged through her things and pulled out her whip that she'd use when she was in charge while Leni sat on her bed. Lori turned to her sister who was staring at her with her usual carefree smile.

"Okay Leni, it's time for 'Boyfriends 101.'"

Leni raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"Are there going to be tests?"

"Yes, there will be-"

"But I'm bad at tests!"

"It's okay Leni, the test aren't hard-"

"But what if Mom and Dad see my grades?"

Lori closed her eyes and sighed; she was going to have her work cut out for her.

"Let's just move on, shall we?"

Leni was a little lost already, but she nodded.

"Let's start with some simple openers. Making sure to say the right thing is essential to giving a good impression. Now, let's say you're at the mall and-"

"Ooh ooh!" Leni raised her hand excitedly.

Lori knew that she'd regret letting her ask a question but decided to let her do it anyways.

"Yes Leni?" Said Lori in a somewhat annoyed tone,

"Are we also doing some shopping while we're there? I can't go to the mall without shopping!"

"It was just an example; you're not ACTUALLY at the mall-"

"Then where am I?"

"You're here!"

"There's a cute boy in the house??"

Lori gave out another exasperated sigh as she placed her palm against her forehead; this was definitely going to be an uphill battle.

"Okay Leni, we're gonna PRETEND that you're at the mall, okay?"

"Ohhhhh okay!"

"Alright, now you're at the mall and you see a cute boy."

"Where?"

Lori's eye twitched; how in the hell was she going to do this? There had to be something that she could do to get through to this girl. She pondered for a bit before coming up with the perfect solution. Lori knew that unless there was an actual boy in front of her, this lesson would not go anywhere. Meanwhile Leni looked dejected; she wasn't trying to screw up the lesson, it was just her being her.

"Sorry Lori, we don't have to do this..."

"What?"

"I'm just making things hard again; maybe I'll never be able to get a boyfriend..."

"Don't be like that Leni! I told you that we're going to get you a boyfriend and by God we will! Now wait right here, I've got an idea."

Lori left the room and down the hallway. There was only one person that she could use to remedy her problem, and that one person was Lincoln. True to the Loud house, she didn't knock before entering Lincoln's room, who was on his bed, reading comics in his underwear.

"Gah! Lori, haven't I told you to knock?!" Said Lincoln, startled by Lori's sudden appearance.

"Come to my room, I need you for something."

"What do you need ME for?"

"Just put on pants and come to my room!"

"But why-"

"Because I said so!" Lori slammed the door and waited next to it.

Lincoln grumbled as he put on his pants and muttering to himself about Lori's abuse of power in the house. Lincoln walked out of his room and looked at his sister with an annoyed expression.

"What?"

"I need your help with something, come to my room."

Lincoln sighed as he complied with Lori's request, following her into her room. When he entered he saw Leni sitting on her bed, looking at Lori with confusion.

"Lincoln, you're going to be helping Leni."

"With what?"

"You're going to be her pretend boyfriend."

"What?!" Exclaimed Lincoln, dumbfounded at this revelation.

"I'm trying to teach Leni how to get a boyfriend and we need a pretend boyfriend."

Lincoln was still trying to wrap his head around what was happening at the moment.

"But why me??"

"Well duh, you're the only boy in the house besides Dad and we sure aren't going to ask HIM to be Leni's boyfriend."

Now aware of the situation that he was forced into, Lincoln sighed. It wasn't the first time that Lincoln was pulled into his sisters' various hijinks, but pretending to be their boyfriend was new. He wanted to say no and leave, but then he saw the look on Leni's face; he saw a face that was just about ready to give up. She looked at him with eyes that said "Please, you're my last hope" and those eyes forced him to stay.

"Alright fine... What do I have to do?" Said Lincoln.

As he agreed, Leni's face lit up in excitement; maybe she had a chance!

"Oh thank you Lincoln!" Said Leni.

"I knew you'd come around." Said Lori.

While obviously resistant at first, he realized that the favor that he was being asked of wasn't simply a whim of Lori, but something to ensure the happiness of one of his sisters; something that he'd always do. When he looked at it from that perspective, maybe it wouldn't be that bad.

"Okay Lincoln, just stand over there for a second." Said Lori, pointing away from where Leni was sitting.

"Uh, okay."

Lincoln walked over to where Lori pointed and stood around, waiting for something to happen. What was he supposed to do or say? He shrugged and just thought that he'd wait for Lori's next command. Lori then turned to Leni, ready to start the lesson again.

"Okay Leni; now, PRETEND you're at the mall and you see a cute boy." Lori then pointed to Lincoln, who ran his hand through his hair and tried to look stylish.

"But his clothes are so plain! They're not very cute at all!" Said Leni. To a person who had never met Leni before, it would seem as if she was doing everything she could to obstruct the lesson.

"Okay just pretend he has cute clothes on!"

"No wait!" Leni jumped up and ran to her closet, rummaging through it. After looking around for a bit she pulled out set of very fashionable boy's clothes. Both Lori and Lincoln leaned back, confused as to why Leni would have such a set of clothes in her possession.

"Um Leni? Why do you have clothes for boys in the closet?" Said Lori awkwardly.

"Oh these? Yeah I made them for Lincoln! I always make super fashionable clothes for everyone! I think he would look SO cute in these, right?"

Lincoln eyed the clothes that Leni had made for him; they did look very nice. It was then though that he realized the troubles Lori might have gone through before bringing him on. Just like Lori, he figured that this was not going to be easy. He looked at her, who gave him a stare that said "You know what you have to do." Giving another sigh he walked over to Leni and took the clothes from her hands. He stood around for a while and looked around, both of them staring at him.

"Can I get some privacy?"

"You expect me to leave MY room?" Said Lori. "Just change in the closet, there's a light in there so you won't be changing in the dark."

"Fine." Said Lincoln, growing more and more irritated.

He turned the closet light on and shut the doors, changing out of his usual attire. It didn't take him too long to change, and he stepped out of the closet, looking rather dapper.

"There, you look MUCH cuter." Said Leni.

"Just put your clothes on Leni's bed for now." Said Lori.

"Okay, now what?" Said Lincoln.

"Wait!"

"Oh what is it now!?" Said Lori, finally losing her temper.

"Well he's wearing cute clothes, so I need to wear cute clothes too!" Said Leni as she dashed into the closet and shut the door behind her.

While Lincoln looked annoyed, Lori look as if she was about to have an aneurysm. While she and Lincoln frequently butted heads over things, he couldn't help but feel a little bad for her. After a short bit, Leni walked out, looking as fashionable as can be.

"Okay, NOW I'm ready!"

"Okay... NOW, let's pretend you see a cute boy." Lori pointed at Lincoln again. "What do you do?"

Leni stood and thought for a second, as if she was trying to solve a math problem.

"...Talk to him?"

"Correct! Now go up and talk to him."

Leni walked over to Lincoln, both of them looking each other in the eye.

"Hi Lincoln!" Said Leni as she waved her hand.

"No no! That's not Lincoln!" Said Lori as she stepped between the two.

"What?" Said Leni.

"HE'S not Lincoln."

"Then who is he?"

"He's just some cute random boy."

"Well then who am I?"

"You're Len-"

"Can I be Lady Gaga??"

"No! Wait why?"

"She's fashionable."

"YOU'RE LENI!" Both Lincoln and Lori shouted this to her.

"Okay okay! So I'm Leni and he's a cute random boy right?"

"Right!" Said Lori.

Lori's patience was near its end; she wanted to give up so badly, but she promised Leni that she'd help her. Leni could see the look of frustration on Lori's face and frowned; thinking to herself that she couldn't do anything right. Lincoln, determined to help Leni, tried to offer words of encouragement.

"Don't worry Leni, we're not going to give up, you just gotta' try really hard!"

"But I am trying!" Said Leni in protest.

"I know you are, you just gotta' KEEP trying though, don't give up!" Said Lori. "Now then, you know what we're doing right?"

"I'm Leni, Lincoln's some cute boy, and we're pretending to be at the mall right?"

"Good! Now then, let's try some opening lines. What would you say to a boy you liked but never met before?" Said Lori, relieved now that the lesson was actually progressing.

Leni thought a while, then a little while longer, and a little longer than that. Annoyed at how long she was taking, Lincoln sarcastically looked at his wrist, as if he was looking at an invisible watch. After too much time passed, Leni finally decided on her first words.

"Okay I got it!"

Leni walked away then walked back to Lincoln, mimicking a situation in which she would walk up to a person.

"Hi! I'm Leni! I like you!"

As soon as she finished her sentence, Lori blew her whistle, startling both Lincoln and Leni.

"Wrong! You can't start off with telling him that you like him! You have to be subtle about it."

Leni gave a blank stare.

"Try it again, but don't tell him you like him."

Leni looked conflicted; what was she supposed to say?

"Um... Hi, I'm Leni! ...Is that okay?"

Lori didn't blow her whistle but did give her a rather dissatisfied look.

"You have to say more than just 'Hi I'm Leni.' Lincoln, if a girl came up to you and said 'Hi, I'm... whatever, Mary’ what would you think?"

"Well I think I'd probably say 'Hi' back and then leave."

"See? Just saying hello won't be enough, you need to catch his attention." Said Lori as she looked back to Leni.

"But what do I say??"

"I don't know! Something like, 'Do you shop here often?'"

Leni looked distressed; she didn't realize that getting a boyfriend would be so tough! Still, if she wanted one, she'd have to work for it.

"Okay I'll try..."

"Alright, now let's try again. You're shopping at the mall and you see a cute boy who had just done some shopping. What do you say?"

"Um... Hi, do you shop here often?"

Lori then turned to Lincoln, expecting him to reply, much to his surprise.

"Huh?"

"Well, what do you say back??" Said Lori, now becoming annoyed with Lincoln.

"Oh! Uh... Yeah? I mean sometimes..." Said Lincoln, trying to figure out how to reply like someone who might be interested in Leni would reply.

Lori now watched the two much like a referee would watch a sports match, whistle in her mouth and all. Her eyes shifted to Leni, who could feel their gaze. Lincoln could see Leni struggling, so he thought that maybe another visual aid might help. He looked around and found a bag from a clothing store that Leni loved to shop at. He ran over to it and picked it up, then running back to where he was originally standing. Leni saw the bag, and then made the connection that the boy must have been shopping at her favorite store.

"Oh you shop at Wernstrom's too?? I love that place!"

"Uh, yeah! I really like their... Clothes?"

"Oh my god, their fall selection is like, the most awesome thing ever!"

Lori looked at Lincoln and smiled approvingly. She was impressed; Lincoln knew that Leni was having trouble without having some anchor in reality and found the perfect item to use. She was also happy to see Leni finally making conversation naturally. Maybe this wouldn't be that hard after all. However, Lincoln was starting to get overwhelmed by how fast Leni was speaking.

"I'm like, a HUGE fashion fan! Have you SEEN the latest clothes that "Faddy" is calling 'The in Clothes.'??”

"Leni..." Said Lincoln.

"Talk about a fashion nightmare! Who thinks that PASTEL STRIPES is fashionable?? Not me!"

"Leni..." Said Lincoln, though this time with a bit more urgency.

"If you ask me, pastels are like so, last year. If anything they should go retro!"

"LENI!!"

Leni was too busy talking about fashion that she didn't notice that Lincoln had already left the conversation. She was only stopped when both Lori and Lincoln yelled at her.

"Leni, you have to talk SLOWER. If you were actually at the mall talking with some boy, he probably would have left! Right Lincoln?"

Lincoln gave a simple nod.

"Still, that wasn't too bad. We just have to work on a few things, and then we can set you up on a pretend date."

"A pretend date? With who?" Said Leni.

"Duh, Lincoln!"

"Wait what?? I have to go on a DATE with Leni??"

"Come on Lincoln it's for Leni's sake. You wouldn't want to disappoint her would you?" Said Lori in a sly tone, trapping him by using his desire to help his sister as leverage.

Lincoln wanted to protest, but then he saw Leni's face, once again looking at him with puppy-dog eyes. He shook his hands in anger, inhaling sharply before calming down.

"Fine! I'll go on a date with Leni..."


The weekend...


It was a Saturday afternoon as Lori, Lincoln, and Lori walked into the mall, all looking fashionable. Lincoln was uncomfortable for multiple reasons; he was not wearing usual orange polo and jeans, and also the more pressing fact that he was on a date with his sister. Even if it was only a pretend date, it was still weird. He pulled at his collar, the shirt too tight for his tastes; in fact, everything was too tight! His legs felt locked by the skinny jeans he was wearing, unable to walk at a normal stride and was resigned to what he felt was waddling. Leni was wearing a cute floral pattern sundress along with black heels. To anyone besides her brother, she looked positively radiant.

Lori, while not dressed sloppily, was not nearly as dressed up as Leni was.

"Okay, so now you're going go to go on your first date. I've already come up with a route for you to take and already told Lincoln where to go. I'm going to be tailing along and watching how you do, though I'm going to try to keep myself from interfering. Are you guys ready?"

Both of them gave a nod, though Lincoln's was not nearly as enthusiastic as Leni's.

"Good. I'll let you take it from here Lincoln." said Lori.

Now that the spotlight had been thrown on him, he felt awkward; how the hell was he supposed to go on a date with his sister?? He himself had never been on a date before, so he was unsure of what to say. The two walked in silence for a while with both of them looking around, struggling to say something. The first item on the list was a movie; Lori had already purchased the tickets and had given them to both Lincoln and Leni. The movie was a romantic comedy, perfect for a first date movie; it wasn't too heavy on the romance to make the date awkward, yet it wasn't a kid's movie.

As both of them walked to the theater, Leni finally broke the ice.

"Thanks for doing this Lincoln, I know this is weird for you."

"Of course, you're my sister and I'll always help you. Even if I have to do stuff like this..."

"Hey it's weird for me too, I mean, I'm going on a date with my little brother!"

"Yeah, I've never even been on a date before, so what do I even say?"

Hearing this made Leni feel a little guilty. She felt bad that a precious milestone for anyone, the first date, was spoiled because of her selfishness. She knew though that even if she tried to apologize, Lincoln would just brush it off and say it's no big deal; that's just the kind of person he was.

"Well neither have I, so I'm like, the same way! I mean like, what are you even supposed to talk about on dates?" Said Leni.

"I don't know; maybe ask about what you like or something?"

"Well I guess we could like, try that."

"Alright I'll start then, what do you like to do?"

"Making clothes is like, my most favorite thing ever! I even made this dress myself!"

"It is a really pretty dress Leni and it uh, looks good on you." Said Lincoln, struggling to make romantic conversation.

"Thanks! My turn! So like, what do you like to do?"

"Well I-"

Right as Lincoln was about to reply, they had walked in front of a Wernstrom's. Attracted to the clothes like a moth attracted to a flame, Leni dashed into the store.

"Leni? Leni!" Said Lincoln, giving chase.

By the time Lincoln had made his way into the store, Leni had already vanished into the sea of people browsing around. The awkward, yet possibly romantic air had all but vanished, now replaced with the familiar feeling of trying to keep his sister out of trouble. Lincoln was making his way through the crowds, his pace slowed even further by the damn skinny jeans he was wearing!  By luck he stumbled up her near the dressing room, holding multiple dresses.

"Oh hey Lincoln!" Said Leni, waving to him.

"Leni what are you doing?? The movie is going to start in 15 minutes!"

"Oh but Lincoln! These clothes look so pretty right??"

Lincoln was quickly losing control of the situation; where the hell was Lori!?


Meanwhile...


Lori herself had wandered off, on the phone Bobby as usual.

"Okay Hun, I gotta go; the movie that Lincoln and Leni are going to watch going to start soon so I got to tail them. Love you!"

Lori hung up the phone and casually walked to the theater, unaware of what was happening in Wernstrom's. By the time she arrived at the theater, Leni and Lincoln were nowhere to be seen.

"Uh-oh..."


Back at Wernstrom's...


Realizing that there was no way that they were going to make it to the movie; Lincoln sat on a bench near the dressing rooms, waiting for Leni. He was conflicted; on the one hand, always having to deal with his sisters' escapades felt like a never-ending trial, but on the other hand, did he really want to go back to that really weird atmosphere of trying to go on a date?

"So how does this one look?" Said Leni excitedly, wearing a very nice looking dress.

"It looks good, can we go?" Said Lincoln, trying to pull her away from the store.

"Lemme' just try a few more on!"

Lincoln merely sighed as Leni walked back into a dressing room.

"How about now?" Leni walked out wearing a short jean skirt, a tight black shirt, and boots.

Even as a brother, he couldn't help but admit to himself that she looked rather attractive in that. So much so that it was embarrassing him.

"Y-Yeah it looks good. Can you just change out of that?"

Leni was confused; if she looked good, then why did Lincoln want her to change out of it so badly? She thought that Lincoln was just being kind when he said he liked it, and that she didn't actually wear it well at all.

"If you don't think it looks good, just tell me!" Said Leni.

"It does!" Lincoln turned his head away, his cheeks somewhat flushed.

"If it does then why are you looking away??"

Lincoln knew that the only way to get her to see was to spell it out.

"Y-Your shirt."

"What about it?"

"It's uh... It's too tight..." Lincoln turned his head away, trying not to stare at his sister's obviously curvy body.

Leni blinked a few times, trying to figure out exactly what Lincoln was trying to say it. After a few seconds though, her mind made the connection and her entire face turned red.

"EWW!" Leni then dashed back into the dressing room, sending the rather sexy clothes flying.

Leni stepped back out, wearing her original clothes and holding the multitude of clothes that she tried on. Her face was still slightly flushed from Lincoln's words and she moved past him without a word to put the clothes back. Lincoln wanted to say something, but he couldn't really find the right words to say. Instead, he just followed her out, also blushing a little bit from the rather embarrassing moment that happened in the changing room.

Stepping out of the store, the two siblings were at a loss of what to do; the movie they were supposed to see was over and Lori was nowhere to be found. Both of them were looking in opposite directions; their inability to make conversation now hindered even more. The awkward silence was finally broken by both of their stomachs growling and speaking for both of them.

"So uh, wanna' go get some food?" Said Lincoln.

"Sure, sounds good."

As the two walked to the food court, Leni's phone rang; it was Lori.

"Oh it's Lori." Said Leni.

"Here, I'll answer it; she's probably really mad." Said Lincoln, reaching his hand out for the phone.

"Hello?" Said Lincoln as he answered.

"WHY AREN'T YOU GUYS AT THE MOVIES??" Yelled Lori.

"Leni went into Wernstrom's to try on a bunch of clothes and pulled me in with her. Into the store! She pulled me into the store!"

Lincoln looked up at Leni, who averted her gaze after making eye contact.

"...You okay Lincoln?" Said Lori.

"What? Oh yeah I'm fine!"

"Alright so are you guys still at Wernstrom's?"

"No we uh, left; we're actually heading to the food court to get something to eat."

"Okay then I'll meet you guys there. Later."

"Bye."

Lincoln hung up the phone, handing it back to Leni. As he handed her the phone, their hands touched and both of them pulled back in what seemed to be fear, almost dropping the phone. After exchanging the phone, Lincoln put both of his hands in his pockets and Leni put hers behind her back, seemingly afraid of what their hands were capable of. The two continued to walk to the court in silence yet again.

"So..." Said Leni.

"So..."

"Did I actually look good?"

"What?"

"When I was wearing...you know. Did I actually look good or did you just say that make me change?"

"Oh, uh... Yeah, you looked really good."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you did."

The conversation died shortly after and the two walked again without saying anything.

"...So if I wasn't your sister..." Said Leni.


"Can we uh, just pretend it never happened?" Said Lincoln, not wanting to dwell on the fact that he was able to see his sister as more than just a sister.

Silence ensued yet again.

"...This is like, the worst date ever huh?" Said Leni.

"Yeah it kind of is." Said Lincoln with a chuckle, lightening the mood.

"Seriously, like, neither of us is good at dating!"

"I know! I mean, what are we supposed to do?"

"I guess like, hold hands or something?"

Both of them blushed as Leni made her suggestion; now aware that Lincoln was subconsciously able to look at Leni like a girl instead of a sister, both were hesitant about opening that door any wider. They had stopped walking; both of their minds racing at what might happened if things went too far. Sure holding hands seemed like no big deal, but the fluttering in their hearts and the shame they felt at the thought said otherwise. Leni turned her head away and extended her hand out, almost as if she couldn't bear to look at what she was doing. Lincoln looked at Leni, then her hand; stunned at her offer.

Lincoln felt strange; it was a simple matter of holding her hand, yet the romantic implications of it caused such conflicted feelings in him. He wondered on what Leni's feelings were about the whole situation; she was obviously embarrassed at the fact that he had the ability to be attracted to her, so why was she willing to do something to blur the line between sibling and girlfriend? Amidst the tempestuous feelings at the situation at hand, he wanted to push that envelope; he wanted to blur that line. Deciding to follow what he really wanted to do, he took his sister's hand; and it felt okay.

As Lincoln took her hand, Leni turned around to look at him blushing in shame, yet giving a shy smile.

"Okay this is like, major embarrassing." Said Leni as the two began to walk again.

"Yeah... Hey Leni?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you at Wernstrom's."

"It's okay I didn't like; know that you looked at me like that; I mean you were obviously looking at my chest right?"

"Well I uh..."

"You were weren't you??" Said Leni, covering her chest with her arm.

"I couldn't help it, they were right there! And the shirt was so tight, how could I not look??"

"Well I guess you couldn't help it, so I can't be like, too mad right? I mean you don't get mad when I see you in your underwear."

"Wait, do you mean YOU get embarrassed when you see me in my underwear??"

"Well yeah, duh. Especially in the morning."

Lincoln couldn't help but blush when he made the connection.

After a bit more walking and conversing, the two made it to the foot court, where Lori was waiting with an irritated look on her face. Her expression changed however when she saw Leni and Lincoln holding hands.

"Uh why are you two holding hands?" Said Lori, looking at both of them strangely.

"Well you hold hands on a date right?" Said Leni.

"Well I guess that's true; it's still weird. Do you wanna' just cancel the whole thing today?"

Both Lincoln and Leni looked at each other; they knew that what they were feeling was weird and should stop, but they didn't really want to. Knowing that suspicions might arise if things went any farther, he let go of her hand, both of them looking crestfallen.

"Okay..." Said Leni.


Back at home...


The three Loud siblings unbuckled their seatbelts as they pulled up to the house. Lori looked annoyed; her entire plan had gone to waste because Leni was too much of an airhead to follow a plan as simple as 'go to the theater.' She regretted putting the burden of watching over Leni on Lincoln, the day served only as reinforcement of her notion that she was the only one really capable of managing her sister. Meanwhile Lincoln and Leni looked a bit somber; even as ditzy as Leni was, she knew as well as Lincoln that their feelings weren't right or normal. Both knew now though that they looked at each not as brother and sister, but as a boy and a girl; something that would definitely change their relationship, regardless of feelings. Lincoln had to live with the fact that every time that he would walk around in his underwear, Leni would take notice of him; the same went for Leni and swimsuits. But as they thought about it, they didn't really mind it; in fact, it almost excited them.

The three stepped out of the car and walked to up to the door. Lori unlocked it and walked inside with the other two following behind her. As they walked to their respective rooms, Leni made a quick detour and followed Lincoln into his room.

"Hey Lincoln?"

"Huh? Oh, what's up Leni?"

"I just wanna' say... Thanks; for today. I had fun!"

"Me too, I'm just sorry that the whole practice date thing fell through."

"What are you talking about? I had a great date."

"What?-"

As Lincoln was about to retort, Leni leaned in and gave him a simple butterfly kiss on the lips, avoiding anything intense for fear of being caught.

"Also, keep walking around in your underwear; I'll get those clothes sometime to make it even."

"Wait what?"

"K' bye!" Said Leni as she closed Lincoln's door.

"Well that was a total bust." Said Lori as Leni walked into their room.

"Well maybe not a total bust..." Said Leni playfully.