Game Changer III: The Final Conflict

>"Living with ten siblings, you learn a few things about sharing.
>You have to share a room, you have to share your food, you have to share your clothes...
>And me and my brother are sharing a girlfriend. He just doesn't know it yet."
>Lynn Loud Jr, beloved tomboyish girl and sportsball player extraordinaire, was indulging in her favorite non-sports pastime: talking to herself.
>Bad habit, sure. But as far as she knew everybody in her family did it.
>"That's why I'm here on a Sunday and not out playing roller-basketball. Right here, right now, I'm gonna walk into Lincoln's room and tell him about me and Ronnie Anne.
>I've got a whole speech prepared, and I'm pretty sure that after I give it to him he'll have no choice but to forgive me. There's some Pulitzer-worthy material in here.
>So all I have to do is go through the door..."
>The door at the end of the hall was closed. He was guaranteed to be in there reading his stupid comics. Just walk right in and settle this!
>"...after I get something to eat. It's lunchtime, ya know, and I'm trying to grow a few inches in time for basketball season."
>And so Lynn rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen, far away from any possible confrontations.

>"Most of the girls have something to do on the weekends, so the house isn't as crazy at this time of day. I'd be surprised if I had to deal with more than two of them."
>She poked her big bean head into the kitchen to see if she'd be spending her lunchtime with anybody else.
>Yep, she had company. Looks like Leni couldn't find anybody to go shopping with. And in the other chair-
>That's kind of interesting.
>Lori's usually out of the house on weekends. Why was she home?
>Usually she'd be out with 'Boo-boo bear' doing, you know, adult stuff. Like golfing.
>Well, she was still glued to the ever-reliable phone. so whatever doppleganger replaced Lori was doing at least an OKAY job of imitating her behavior.
>"Heyyy, Lu - no - La - Lynn! Isn't it sunny outside?"
>Leni took a while to find the right name sometimes.
>"Yeah, I've already been out there! This weather is unbelievable. If I just had a few more people I could get a killer game of frisbee football going..."
>She briefly entertained the thought of trying to get her older sisters in on that idea, but after seeing Lori's complete lack of interest and Leni's... unfocus, she decided not to press it further.
>Anyway, frisbee can wait. She still had to talk to Linco-
>What she meant was, she still had to finish that leftover sub in the fridge. It was practically calling out to her!
>She was indulging herself with these subs more than usual lately, but she was working off the calories with Ronnie Anne, so it wasn't that big of a deal, right?
>She had to cultivate that lean muscle. Protein, protein, protein!
>Lynn fished out the bloody red culinary treasure and bit off half in a single, sharklike bite.
>"So Wowri, wha's gowig on wif Bobby?"
>Lynn's pressing questions couldn't wait for her to finish off the clump of sub that was already in her mouth.
>Lori sighed.
>"He's got a job, Lynn. He's got twelve jobs. It's not like we're joined at the hip or anything."

>Lynn swallowed what was still in her mouth and was just about to polish off the rest of the sammich when something occurred to her.
>"How's Ronnie Anne doing?"
>Lori actually looked up from the phone for a second.
>"Since when do you care about her?"
>"We play soccer together. I haven't seen her in a while, so I was wondering how she was doing."
>"She's got a fever or something. Nothing serious, but she's holed up in bed for a while.
>Bobby's all choked up about it. He's so compassionate!"
>"Bobby's nice," Leni mumbled, taking a sip of whatever dietary smoothie she's gotten suckered by lately.
>"And that's why we get along, Leni. We've got a lot in common." Lori smirked as she put the finishing touches on her text message. "Speaking of, Leni, do you think thirty-six heart emojis are enough? I really want to punctuate the enormity of these emotions I'm feeling here.
>Leni?"
>Leni was in deep concentration. The cobwebbed gears turned in her head as she puzzled over the recent dialogue between her sisters.
>"Ronnie Anne..."
>"Uh, earth to Leni? Hello! Emojis!"
>"Ronnie Anne is Lincoln's girlfriend?"
>Leni was playing with the straw in her smoothie, spinning it counterclockwise while she formulated her thoughts.
>"Leni, I said ten seconds ago -"
>Leni snapped her fingers. The wide smile returned to her face.
>"Oh, Ronnie Anne! I thought that she was Lynn's girlfriend now."
>Lynn instantly died. Unfortunately, her body didn't get the message and continued living without her.
>"I literally have no idea what you're talking about."
>"Well I was in the Park on like Wednesday or Thursday or one of those days-"
>Okay, Lynn Loud, focus. You have a way out of this. Focus all your mental energy on Leni and try to psychically communicate with her.
>"-and I looked over that way and I saw Lynn and Ronnie and I waved at her but she didn't see me-"
>'LENI. STOP. TALKING.'
>"-and they were doing that thing that Lana does when Lola takes her gum and won't share with her-"

>Okay, the psychic communication approach didn't work. Let's try Plan B.
>"Leni," Lynn croaked out, "I think you're getting some acne on your forehead-"
>"-and then Lynn took Ronnie's jacket off but she got cold again so Lynn started hugging her to keep her warm-"
>No way. It was like Leni didn't even hear her.
>She was a force of nature. Cain Marko could take pointers from this girl.
>"-so then I think Ronnie fell asleep on top of her and then Lynn fell asleep and then Holly from school walked over-"
>Lynn finally dared to look at Lori's face and was chilled right down to the bone marrow.
>Her expression was totally placid. A calm that looked almost medically induced.
>Her breathing was measured and her eyes looked almost glassy.
>"-and then Holly was like, like, 'oh my god Len is that a new dress?' and I said 'oh it's just the same thing I always wear' and then SHE said-"
>"Leni," Lori said, her words careful and clear, "you are literally sick in the head."
>oh mercy it looks like Lori thinks this is all a big misunderstanding
>at least that got Leni to snap out of whatever trance she was in. "What?"
>"I can't believe," Lori continued, "that you could say something like that to me when me and Lynn are sitting right here."
>Leni frowned. "But it really happened. I saw it. Lynn?"
>Lynn turned her eyes away from Leni's.
>"I don't get that joke, Leni," she lied.
>Lynn was feeling sick as a dog. And it wasn't just the seventeen meatball subs rotting in her digestive system.
>First Lynn seduces Lincoln's girlfriend, then she gaslights Leni and convinces Lori that she's a sick pervert.
>Leni!
>The purest girl on God's green earth.
>Butter would not melt in her mouth.
>She was ashamed.
>Leni's lip quivered. "I - I thought that-"
>"Ugh, Leni-"
>"I don't know why you're ganging up on me!"
>"Leni!"
>Leni ditched her barely-touched smoothie and bolted upstairs. Lori chased after her.
>Lynn sat at the table, alone. The sub was still in her hands.

>She could hear the shouting from all the way in the kitchen
>The audio picture was so clear she might as well have had front row seats.
>"Leni!"
>"Go away!"
>that sound was Leni running down the hall, past her room
>that sound was her slamming the bathroom door
>"Leni, get out of there, I swear to-"
>That was the bathroom door again- you could always force the lock on that thing easy as unscrewing a lightbulb
>"Leni, get out of there!"
>"Get off of me!"
>Lynn couldn't finish her grinder. She let it sit on the table.
>Lynn decided that this wasn't her fault.
>"No! You need to calm the hell down, Leni!"
>The situation may have been EXACERBATED by her lie, but when you think about it, it was Leni's fault for bringing it up in the first place, right?
>"I hate you! I hate you, Lori!"
>Maybe it was Luna's fault for telling her to confess to Lincoln. Maybe it was all Ronnie Anne's fault for bewitching her that day under the oak trees.
>"I- I, like, wish you weren't even my sister!"
>"LENI!"
>Lynn was starting to think that she should find somewhere to be for a while. Somewhere that wasn't the house.
>Things were getting too loud around here lately.

>Lynn escaped the house before any of her sisters could start killing each other.
>Man, and it was such a nice day out, too.
>Her weekend was just one fuckup after another.
>Maybe she should go and see Luna again-
>Wait, where was Luna, anyway?
>She was probably at a concert or something. Lynn thought she heard Luna raving about some revival tour that was hitting Ann Arbor today-
>Holy hell, that's right out. Lynn didn't even have money for the bus.
>Well, Luan also knows about the Ronnie Anne thing, so Lynn could go see her at...
>Lynn realized that she had no idea where Luan might go on a Sunday. Did she even have any friends?
>Lana had a pretty strong connection with Lynn, so maybe she could go see her at the park-
>the PARK. Lynn didn't want to go back to the park any time soon.
>Well, looks like she's gonna have to go with her fourth choice.
>The fourth batter in the lineup is always the power hitter, just in case the team needs to pull off a grand slam home run.
>Lynn knew this little tidbit because she was always the fourth batter up in little league
>She knew right where her sister would be, too.
>She's roomed with her long enough to know her usual haunts.
>Ha ha, 'haunts'.
>"Well," she muttered, "looks like I'm heading to the goth club...
>...once I remember where it is."
>Lynn was starting to realize she didn't know a lot about her sisters.
>Well, she could ask around.
>Lynn picked up the pace and jogged down the sidewalk, out of the neighborhood, and headed downtown.

>Well, she found it.
>After she'd walked by it about fifteen times, she found it.
>The place didn't draw much more attention than Lucy herself: a small building tucked into a strip mall next to a sex shop and a Discount Shoes.
>Black velvet covered the windows aside from a white piece of paper, on which was printed:
>BLACK HEAVEN
>OPEN MIC POETRY SUNDAYS
>(we accept minors)
>What the hell kind of place is this?
>Should an eight year old really be hanging around a goth dive with covered windows?
>Would Lynn's safety be guaranteed?
>Well, she knew what kind of guys Lucy was into.
>Swishy, wannabe vampire doofuses with white hair and tragic pasts
>if anybody tried anything, she could take 'em on. That red-black belt in Tae Kwon Do wasn't for show!
>Honestly, now she was kind of hoping for some conflict. She was in kind of a mean mood with everything that'd happened.
>Some stress relief would be nice.
>Lynn prepared herself for whatever she'd see on the other side of the door and made her way inside.

>Dark.
>This place was D A R K.
>Aside from a few blacklights hanging from the ceiling, the whole place was void.
>Lynn Loud decided to rely on her other senses, like Daredevil.
>Something was playing on the radio. Some soft piano piece.
>She breathed in through her nose and smelled cigarette smoke and some chemical cleaner
>She could taste-
>"Do you mind?"
>Lynn jumped. She had just poked some dude she didn't know and could barely see with her tongue.
>Going in was a mistake. If Lucy wasn't here, she swore to God...
>"S-sorry," she stammered.
>The mysterious figure let out a long, drawling sigh. "Are you lost or something?"
>"I wanted to know if there was a, um, Lucy Loud here today? Little girl, black hair, white skin?"
>She could sense the stranger's mood lift at those words. He immediately restrained himself and returned to his previous disaffection.
>"The little vampiress, eh? Yeahhh, I think she's here. Lemme check the sheet..."
>The man - at this point Lynn had to assume he was some kind of emo receptionist - shuffled some papers, occasionally making some odd hiss or annoyed grunt.
>"Today's your lucky day. At least, as lucky as it will ever be, with the inevitable death of all living things and all. Lucy's in the back."
>"Good, I'll just be going in there-"
>She felt a firm hand on her shoulder. It took incredible restraint not to break out those tae kwon do moves right then and there.
>"Hold on there, kid. I'm gonna need a name to put down... just for the books, ya know."
>Now she was really starting to feel uncomfortable. What was this guy's deal?
>She was SERIOUSLY gonna have to talk with Lucy about the people she hung out with.

>Well, more lying couldn't hurt at this point.
>"Ronnie Anne," she said.
>She could practically hear the smirk on his face. "Nice name, kid."
>"Can I go now?"
>"Sure, sure. No hurry, you know. Not like you're gonna die any sooner."
>Lynn's blood froze. He had wrapped his arm around her waist.
>"Open mic's in the back," he breathed.
>Oh god, his face was right next to her cheek. His words were hot on Lynn's face.
>Lucy was going to owe her big time for this.
>Alright Lynn Loud, be firm but fair. This guy knew Lucy, after all - oh my God, he knew Lucy! What if he was putting moves on her?
>"I think I can make it there myself"
>"Cool, cool. You know the way. Hey, Ronnie, if you ever want to stop by again..."
>Oh fuck.
>His hand was right on her ass.
>Not even hiding it any more.
>He gave a light squeeze. "My name's Alec. Ask for me any time... I'll be there."
>Lynn had some choice words prepared for this guy, but strangely enough they weren't coming out of her mouth at the moment.
>She scurried away in the the general direction she'd been pointed in, for the first and hopefully only time.
>Lucy begged her to come to these little poetry readings all the time. Well, screw her.
>Lynn Loud Jr. just got molested by some 198-pound goth dude in an emo club.
>Why did this have to happen to her?
>Why couldn't it have been Leni or Lola or something? They were prettier.
>Two and a half seconds of contact and she felt like damaged goods. If she had to deal with any more of that...
>Let's just hope Lucy's actually in here.

>The back room wasn't much brighter than the front room, but at least you could sort of see things.
>A few scattered tables and a stage against one wall. A spotlight revealed a younger girl behind a microphone stand -
>Hey, she kinda recognized her! From the Sadie Hawkins dance, that girl with the poetry name.
>What was her name? Maybe Lucy would know... if she could find her.
>Usually around this time Lucy would sneak up behind her and-
>"Didn't expect to see you here."
>Lynn stifled a shriek.
>Yep, the Lucy Loud Experience. Like the swallows returning to Capistrano.
>"Luce, I've got kind of a big problem and I need to get out of here. Are you busy?"
>"But Morgan's up next and his poems really speak to my necrotic heart-"
>"I'll make it up to you, really. Please, let's just get out of here. There was this guy at the front desk and he was creepy in a really, you know, bad way-"
>"Did he say his name was Alec?"
>"You know him?"
>"I've heard about him. He likes girls a little older than me, though."
>"Why. Didn't. You. Warn. Me?"
>"Why would I tell you about him? He leaves me alone and you never come over here."
>"Can we please leave? I'll make it up to you, really. I just need somebody to talk to."
>"You look troubled, sister."
>"Oh, you're only the fifteenth person to tell me that. Let's just go!"
>"Sigh. A mere pawn in the gale winds of life..."
>Lynn grabbed her spooky sister by the forearm and dragged her out of the shady establishment and into the sun.
>Lucy shielded her eyes.
>"We're walking home. I can tell you about everything on the way-"
>"But I brought the bike here."
>Lucy pointed to a nearby bike rack; there was chained a lonely, familiar bicycle.
>"It's not a two-seater, Luce."
>"I can sit behind you and hold on."
>"That works."

>Lynn spilled her guts
>The whole way home, Lynn explained everything.
>From the first soccer game with Ronnie Anne to the conversation with Luna to the fight with Leni and the present.
>"Sounds like you're in an inconvenient situation," Lucy said.
>Lucy Loud: she mopes all the time, she appears out of nowhere, she dresses like a depressed Pac-man ghost in striped stockings
>and she states the glaringly obvious. That's a new one.
>"What do I do? It feels like every time I try to do something about it it just makes things worse!"
>"You haven't told Lincoln yet."
>"I didn't have the time to. I thought I went over this."
>"You could make time."
>"Jesus, Luce, I thought you would understand what I was going through."
>"It's not too difficult to understand. You know, Belladonna-"
>Lynn groaned. It always went back to the vampires and the werewolves and shit!
>"-had to choose between Edwin and Jacobo, and she didn't know who she really loved.
>The whole series is about her finding herself, but in the end she realizes that Edwin was the only one she cared about, and it would have saved her a lot of grief if she'd gone with him at the beginning.
>Sorry for the spoilers."
>"How's that even relevant? I'm not in love with Lincoln."
>"I'm asking whether you care about Lincoln or Ronnie Anne more."
>Lynn stopped pedaling. So that's what this was about.
>Ronnie Anne was small and smug and cute and made Lynn feel weird, exciting feelings.
>Lincoln was dependable and honest and optimistic and could usually be goaded into being a second player in her parkour games.
>She hated to admit it, but she could go either way on this one.

>Maybe she needed a second opinion. Third opinion? Whatever. She started riding again.
>"This isn't the way home," Lucy said, hugging Lynn tighter.
>"I've got a different destination in mind. Won't be too long."
>She pedaled like a bat out of hell down the streets of Royal Woods. After a few twists and turns, she finally arrived where she wanted to be.
>"Wait outside for me, Luce. This shouldn't take long."
>"Don't worry. You're not keeping me away from anything interesting."
>Lynn dropped the bike off on the front lawn and headed up to the front door of the house.
>She rang the doorbell once and waited.
>and waited.
>She had to be home, right?
>Before too long, the door unlocked and swung inward.
>Lynn looked down and met the gaze of the one person she wanted to see the most and least at the same time.
>"How's it hanging, Loud? Couldn't get enough of me last time, huh?" Ronnie Anne asked.

>Lynn's hung out with a lot of kids and been in a lot of their houses before, but it never stops being novel
>The place is so... quiet!
>The only noise was the ambient sound of the TV in the other room.
>And clean! This place was clean!
>No weird smells, no mysterious stains.
>Tasteful art on the walls.
>You could walk right in, snap a few pics, and slap 'em on the cover of Good Housekeeping and nobody would notice.
>Lynn looked down at the little girl before her.
>A whole two years younger, but somehow in Lynn's mind it felt like Ronnie had more stature.
>"Lori said you were sick," Lynn said at last, "and I thought I'd stop by just to check up on you."
>Ronnie groaned, then coughed. "Yeah, some bug going around. It sucks.
>Did you see how nice it is outside? I've been waiting the whole week to grind those planters by Flip's Food and Fuel and now I can't even get out of the house."
>"I thought Flip didn't like people skating on those planters. Last time I tried that he chased me with a broom."
>Ronnie grinned her smug Ronnie grin. "What's he gonna do, arrest me?"
>That juvenile delinquent little shit.
>Lynn was starting to remember why she fell in love in the first place.

>"So," *cough*, "you want to watch TV or something?"
>Lynn wasn't really a big TV watcher save for the sports, but she allowed Ronnie to drag her into the den anyway.
>A smallish room with a largeish TV. Soft carpet, wooden bookshelves with respectable-looking tomes lining them.
>There, slumped over the armrest of the couch, was a man so old Lynn would have pegged him as dead if not for his snoring.
>"Mi abuelo." Ronnie said, audible disdain in her voice. "Bobby and the 'rents are all out at work, so they got him to come and 'watch' me."
>Ronnie hopped down onto the couch next to him and snatched the remote out of his hands.
>"Don't worry," she said, gesturing to a half-full whiskey decanter on the coffee table. "he isn't gonna wake up. He always-" *cough* "-does this to himself."
>Lynn couldn't say why she felt hesitant about this.
>"Come on, do I need to give you a written invitation? Geez, you really are just like your brother."
>Her face flushed. Lynn wasn't some nerd who didn't know how to talk to girls!
>She hopped right over the table onto the couch
>knocking the decanter to the floor in the process
>fuck
>The bitter smell of alcohol fills the room.
>Ronnie seems unperturbed.
>"Don't worry about that," Ronnie reassures her. "once he wakes up, it'll be Abuelo's problem.
>Come on, let's watch World's Dumbest Rollerblading Accidents. I got it recorded."
>Lynn didn't come over here to watch TV
>She wanted to tell Ronnie about how frustrated all this was making her
>She wanted to tell Ronnie about what a shit day she was having
>But she didn't feel like it right now.
>As Ronnie flipped through the recorded programs, Lynn worked up the courage to wrap her arm around her shoulders.
>Somehow, just being there with Ronnie calmed her down.
>Somehow-
>"Didn't say you could touch me, lame-o."
>Ah. There it was.

>Twenty minutes into the episode
>Ronnie and Lynn watched, sharing an appreciative chuckle or empathetic wince when appropriate
>Ronnie with the occasional cough or sniffle just to remind Lynn that she was sick.
>But Lynn couldn't really get into it.
>She was just delaying the inevitable.
>Lynn mentally readied herself.
>"So, uh, Ronnie-"
>"Why'd you REALLY come over, Loud?"
>Huh. Ronnie was already doing it for her.
>"I knew that you didn't come over here to check up on me. What's actually going on?"
>Lynn's mouth was really dry all of a sudden. Why was that happening?
>"I just wanted to talk about where our relationship is going..."
>Ronnie snorted. "'Relationship'? Are we getting married or something?"
>"Let me finish, Ronnie Anne. I mean our relationship as it relates to, uh, Lincoln."
>She quirked an eyebrow. "You breaking up with me for him?"
>"That's gross, Ronnie. He's my brother."
>"Miss Dutch Oven Queen calling other people gross is pretty rich."
>"Oh, shut up.
>... do people really call me that?"
>"I've heard it around before."
>"Heh, sweet."
>"Anyway," *cough* "what are you actually getting at?"
>Lynn sighed and pulled her knees close to her chest.
>"I don't know, it's just... Lincoln's my brother and you're supposed to be his girlfriend. It was really fun the first few times, but we kept going and I started feeling...
>...bad.
>I don't think I can do it anymore. I want to call it off."
>"Alright."
>"Look, I know that this is gonna be hard to-"
>Wait, what was that?
>'alright'?
>"I liked you because you were exciting, lame-o. If you're gonna be a wet blanket, I have Linc for that stuff."
>God damn it.
>Lynn came in here to feel better and somehow she ended up feeling worse than when she started.
>Well, at least it's over. She'll be sad to see Ronnie go, but at least it's over.
>Ronnie hopped off the couch and headed back up to her room.
>"Alright, fine then. I'll just go back and tell Lincoln and then it'll be over."
>Ronnie stopped moving.

>"What's that?"
>"I mean, what'd you expect? That I wasn't gonna tell him? That's what was making me guilty in the first place, keeping secrets from him."
>Ronnie power-walked right back over to the couch.
>"What's the big f- what's the big deal anyway? You ever hear the phrase 'what you don't know won't hurt you', Loud?"
>"I have, but it's not true. It's not fair to Lincoln for us to be like this. If I was dating you and Linc was seeing you behind MY back, I'd be crushed.
>This is the only way I can finally put all of this behind me. Sorry."
>"Or...?"
>"There's no 'or', Ronnie, it's done."
>"Or we share."
>"Share what?"
>Ronnie held out her hands. "Think about it. Linc's such a pushover he'd do anything I told him. I just hang around for a while, put the seed of the idea in his head, and wait.
>He'll think he came up with it himself. Then I'll spring it on him. Just suggest that you get in on the relationship.
>Then there won't be any issue. We all get what we want, we can be open about it. How's that for a solution?"
>It definitely was a hell of a solution.
>Lynn wouldn't have to worry about her brother. She and Ronnie Anne could still be like they were before.
>Laughing, playing, joking, kissing.
>By all rights she should accept this outright.
>And yet.
>And yet she just couldn't.
>It wouldn't be 'right'.
>She'd still have that guilt.
>"Sorry, Ronnie. I think you're great, really. But I just can't."
>"Suit yourself. Hey, lame-o, one more thing-"
>Before Lynn could react, Ronnie got up in her face and forced her tongue down her throat.

>Felt like a long time.
>Didn't feel like long enough.
>Lynn laid back and allowed Ronnie Anne to vent her aggresions on her.
>She was just as good as ever.
>After that brief eternity on the couch, next to Ronnie's drunk grandpa, with the TV blaring, she mercifully pulled away from her.
>"That's to let you know what you're gonna be missing," she said at last.
>"O- OK," Lynn stammered, still a little dazed.
>"Anyway," Ronnie said, starting out the door, "I'll be heading out. See ya."
>Lynn was a bit confused by this. Wasn't this her house?
>"Where are you going?"
>"To Lincoln's. You're only gonna tell him what's going on if you get there first. Then I can't be with you and I can't be with him either.
>But if I show up at his door and tell him that his big sister's trying to force herself on me, well, what are you gonna do then?
>Sorry Lynn! You snooze, you lose!"
>No way.
>No way was Lynn gonna get outplayed by an 11-year-old.
>She dashed out the door at relativistic speeds.
>She was pretty confident that she could outrun a girl like Ronnie...
>...until she saw Lucy lying on the sidewalk outside the house.
>And Ronnie racing away on their bike.
>"Luce! What happened?" Lynn couldn't help reaching out for her sister, even while Ronnie disappeared in the distance.
>Well, it was pretty obvious what happened, wasn't it?
>Lynn gave Lucy a quick check over. Left knee looked skinned, pretty bad. A few bruises too. Looks like she didn't want to give up the bike too easily.
>Ronnie's gonna pay for this.
>Hopefully.
>If she can get to the house in time.
>Which she probably won't.
>So that's it for Lynn Loud.
>Her life is over.
>Ronnie Anne's gonna ride right over to Lincoln's house and ruin her.
>Nothing to do but to lie down and just give up.
>She was finished.

>No.
>Not happening.
>Lynn Loud won't give up, no matter how dire things get.
>Not a chance in hell.
>Time for the game changer.

>Ronnie Anne on a bike was way faster than Lynn Loud on foot, but she had one huge disadvantage:
>She had to follow the road.
>Lynn didn't.
>Ronnie Anne had to take the roundabout path down the streets of Royal Woods.
>Lynn could take the straightest path home.
>Right through everybody's backyards.
>"Stay right there, Lucy! I'll come back for ya."
>All those days of parkour practice;
>All those days of crashing through crowded halls, dodging girls like ping pong balls;
>It was finally gonna pay off.
>"Banzai!"
>Lynn jumped the fence into the Santiago backyard. The first hurdle was easy. Manicured lawn with a swingset and a patio.
>Keep up the pace, Lynn!
>Focus on speed when you start the race.
>Focus on long strides as you near the finish line.
>Over the next fence, into new territory.
>Hey, they had a swimming pool-
>*SPLASH*
>Alright, not what Lynn wanted, but still worked.
>She'd won medals for her freestyle! Now she was gonna prove it.
>Efficient, measured strokes brought her from one end of the pool to the other in less than no time at all.
>Probably broke a record. Not to brag, of course.
>Lynn dragged her soaking self over the next hurdle into a new courtyard
>Looked like some kind of party. Birthday, maybe?
>Lot of kids around. Most of them gawking.
>She can care about that later! She dove under a table, rolled out onto the grass and ran on all fours towards her destination.
>"Lynn?!"
>She turned her head towards the source of the shout. Luan Loud, party clown extraordinaire. A half-deflated balloon animal was clenched in her fist.
>Lynn waved. Luan buried her head in her hands.
>Lynn clambered up the next fence and onto the next terrace.
>It's so close now!
>You're almost there!
>You can do it, Lynn!

>Running through rose bushes, shoving past relaxing homeowners, leaping over BBQ grills!
>Weaving her way through the suburban jungle!
>Almost there!
>"NICE MOVES, LOUD!" Mr. Grouse laughs
>"You too!" Lynn yells back.
>With one final, incredible leap, she vaults the final barricade and ends up-
>Yes!
>Her house!
>She doesn't stick the landing. She feels her ankle turn the wrong way as she touches the ground.
>No, not now! Not when she's so close!
>Not at her moment of triumph!
>It's bad.
>She can't run like this.
>Staggering forward, dragging herself along with her hands, towards the back door.
>Lynn makes it to the porch and grabs the railing to steady herself
>The thing snaps like matchwood. This house is a piece of garbage.
>Lynn stumbles and falls. Her head connects with the steps and she sees stars.
>Fight it, Lynn! Fight through this!
>She can taste blood. Oh, God, did she loosen a tooth?
>Her hands grope for the doorknob. The door swings open and she lunges into the house.
>lincoln
>Lincoln!
>"LINCOLN!"
>He's right god damn there.
>Right in the foyer.
>He turns on his heels, a little irritated at first, eyes widening when he sees the state his sister's in.
>"Whoa, Lynn, what the heck happened?"
>"Don't-"
>The doorbell rang. Lincoln was distracted.
>"Hold on Lynn, I should get this."
>No!
>No! She was right there!
>Bloody, soaking, and ragged, but she was still alive!
>"Don't open the door!"
>"Lynn, what's going on? What kind of game were you playing out there?"
>His hand is on the doorknob.
>He's gonna open it.
>He's gonna open it!
>Stop him!
>You have to stop him. You have to.
>One last thing left to say.
>Only thing that's gonna stop him in place.
>The thing that you should have told him in the first place.
>"Lincoln! I - I kissed Ronnie Anne!"
>Now his hand stops.
>Guess it's all over with now.
>"What?" he asks, voice cracking in surprise.
>"I did it," she said.
>"I did it!"
>And she passed out right onto the floor.

>Afterward.
>After her wounds were dressed and her clothes were changed, Lynn explained everything. To everybody.
>She apologized to the family. Lincoln, for abusing his trust. Leni and Lori, for playing them against each other.
>They were angry at first - furious, even.
>But after coming out in such an embarrassing way, the Louds mutually agreed that Lynn could get cut some slack.
>Lori and Bobby ended up breaking up - Bobby heard Ronnie's side of the story first. The first few days of that were rough for everybody.
>Still, Lynn salvaged her relationship with the family. She'd gotten through it all and kept her life intact.
>She weathered it all and got out scot-free.
>Mostly.
>Turns out Ronnie was a bit sicker than she thought.
>And that little saliva exchange with her on the couch at her house had given Lynn mono.
>No sports for a month and a half until she was feeling better.
>Lynn grumbled and rolled over in bed. She felt like she'd just finished gargling with steel wool.
>How could Ronnie Anne run around like that with this in her system? That girl couldn't have been human.
>With great effort, Lynn sat up in bed, and turned towards the wall.
>"In the Loud House," she croaked, "you learn pretty quick that siblings aren't always gonna be nice to you.
>I can't name one of my sisters that hasn't done something awful to me. Or one I haven't done something awful to.
>Still, you always manage to move on. You always make it through, you always work it out, and when you're finished, you're closer to each other than when you started.
>Just like a broken bone. It hurts when it cracks, sure, but once it heals it heals even stronger than before.
>So my first love ended in disaster. I hear that's how it goes for a lot of people.
>At least it could have been worse. And in the end, there are plenty of girls out there.
>But the most important relationships are the ones you can't replace. Those are the ones you always have to keep close.
>That'll never change."