A Rose by Any Other Name (Lucy Puberty fic)

>Today was a special day for Lincoln Loud, for today, was Friday. School was out for the weekend, his sisters were all busy doing their own things, the house was silent, he had a brand new and comfy pair of undies and a brand new copy of Ace Savvy that was just released this week.
>Or, at least, it would have been if his Lucy hadn't just entered his room and stared him down for a solid 30 seconds before speaking. >"Lincoln?"
>“Lucy?” He asked, looking up from the comic he had just started reading. “Did you need something?”
>“Lincoln, I require your advice.” She said, unmoving and stoic as usual but somehow seeming nervous.
>He sighed and closed his brand new copy of Ace Savvy. Hopefully this doesn’t take too long, Lincoln thought. He’d been looking forward to this issue for months, ever since the “Reborn” event had first been announced over half a year ago.
>“On what?”
>“On boys,” she answered, her skin somehow even paler than usual.
>“O-on boys?” he stammered. “Why would you ask ME that?”
>“Because you’re the only boy besides Dad in the house. And the dark depths of my shame wouldn’t allow me to ask Dad about this.”
>“Right.” Sometimes it’s not easy being the only boy in a house with 10 sisters, Lincoln thought.
>Lincoln stared at his sister with an unmistakeable sense of dread as he put his clothes back on and patted for her to come sit next to him on his bed. “What do you want to know?”
>“How do I make one notice me?” she asked.
>“Notice one? As in like you?”
>“Yes.” Lucy replied, unblinking. “He may be a mere mortal, but I still wish for his everlasting love.”
>“Well, for starters, you’ll probably never want to say that to him.” Lincoln replied, not knowing exactly what she wanted from him. “I’m not really sure how I’m supposed to help you, Lucy. I’ve never even been in a relationship.”
>“You’ve been in love before, haven’t you?” she asked.
>Fuck, does she know?
>“Y-yeah,” he answered. “But why would that matter?”
>“What made you like the person you liked? My black heart thirsts for answers.” Lucy was growing tired of not getting any actual answers out of her brother, and he was getting progressively more nervous as this conversation went on.
>Lincoln guessed it was time to finally let it all out, since Lucy obviously knew the secret he tried so hard to shield his family from.
>“Oh well,” he sighed, “I guess I’d have been found out eventually. It’s just the way she looks in her soccer outfit and her ponytail makes it so hard to control myself, especially since she spent the night in my room.”
>His voice became deeper and more strained as he continued.
>“What?”
>“What?”
>After what seemed like hours of complete silence, Lucy finally spoke.
>“I think I’m just gonna go ask somebody else. This is getting too creepy, even for me.”
>“Probably for the best,” Lincoln responded.
>Once he was sure the coast was clear he reached under his bed for the old football he sneaked from the living room earlier and held it close to his chest. With a deep sigh, he reopened his comic, and stripped back down to his undies. Nearly naked and holding the football with his lover’s scent on it, he was finally allowed a moment of silence to read his comic.
>“Nobody understands our love.”
>“Hi Lucy!” Leni exclaimed as she noticed her little sister walk into her room.
>“Leni, I have a question for you.” Lucy said, staring intently at her sister as she was doing her nails. For the fifth time today.
>“For Me? That’s, like, awesome! Nobody ever asks me anything!
>“How do I get a boy to like me?” The dark-haired girl asked, not missing a beat.
>At that, Leni let loose a blood-curdling squeal, the likes of which Lucy had only ever heard in her darkest nightmares.
>“Oh my god, Lucy! That’s, like, so adorable! You have a little boyfriend! I’m so happy for you!”
>Lost in her own world, Leni hadn’t noticed that Lucy was staring at her, unspeaking.
>“I don’t have a boyfriend. I require advice on how to get a boyfriend. He doesn’t even know I exist, just like everyone else.”
>“Oh, that’s easy! If you want someone to notice you, you just need to talk to them! I talk to people all the time and everyone knows me!” Leni offered, looking at her sister with a wide smile.
>“I can’t just speak to him. I would actually die if I did.” Lucy said.
>Surely, Leni had better advice than that nonsense.
>Her sister deflated at the rejection. “Oh, right. Don’t talk to him, that’s a terrible idea. Oh! I know! I have this totally cute top you could wear, that’s sure to get his attention,” she said, her face inches away from Lucy’s.
>Suddenly, Leni jumped up from the bed she was sitting on. For nearly half a minute she rummaged through her closet, before picking out a light pink tank top.
>“Here!” She exclaimed as she threw the top at Lucy. “With this on, he won’t be able to look away!”
>“No offense Leni, but looking at that top makes me want to gouge my eyes out. It’s more hideous than the deepest depths of Hell.” Lucy said, staring into Leni’s eyes.
>“Oh. Well I tried telling you to talk and to wear cute clothes. Sorry,” she shrugged. “I got nothing, then.”
>Discouraged by the results, or lack thereof, when asking Lincoln and Leni for advice, Lucy wandered aimlessly around the Loud house.
>Maybe she should give up on asking her siblings for advice?
>She figured Lincoln would know something, being a boy.
>All asking him brought to her, though, was disturbing imagery of him and Lynn.
>Leni had always been popular with boys, so she figured her sister’s experience would come in handy.
>Turns out she was wrong.
>She could ask Lori?
>She did have a boyfriend that she was constantly texting.
>That could work. Decided on her next plan of action, Lucy made her way back to Leni and Lori’s room, when a sudden thought struck her.
>Lincoln had shown he was pretty smitten with Lynn. Maybe she could help?
>Surely, she could get Lynn to tell her how she got her brother to fall for her so easily.
>Or at least mess with her.
>Entering her room, Lucy noticed her roommate laying down, kicking her football in the air repeatedly, looking bored, as usual.
>“Hey Lynn?” Lucy asked, interrupting her sister.
>Realizing her roommate had just addressed her, Lynn sat down her football. “Yo. What’s up?”
>She looked at Lynn deadpan and asked that dreaded question.
> “Lynn, how do I get boys to like me?”
>Lynn choked and nearly fell off her bed. “Boys? Like, Lincoln?”
>“No, not Lincoln. He’s our brother, Lynn. Incest is disgusting. And illegal. Boys in general. My soul yearns for affection and love.”
>“Oh,” Lynn said, grinning and rubbing the back of her head. “Of course, yeah. That’s totally gross.”
>“Well,” she continued, “if you wanna know about boys you came to the right sister.”
>Sitting up, Lynn faced her sister and began. “You see, Lucy, boys are idiots. All you gotta do is sink ‘em in,” she motioned as if she was swinging a fishing pole before she continued. “And then you mess with their heads until you’re all they can think about.”
>“That sounds manipulative,” Lucy replied.
>“It’s not manipulative! It’s just making people do what you want by acting a certain way.” Lynn said, kicking her feet back and forward.
>“That’s what manipulative means. Has that ever actually worked for you?”
>“That,” Lynn paused, looking to her left, “remains to be seen. Anyways, so what? If it works, it works am I right?”
>“Sigh,” Lucy said, sitting down on her bed. “Yeah, I guess. How has no one I’ve asked given me any real answers to this? I just want Jacob to notice me, but he never does. No one notices me.”
>Lynn flipped over on her bed to face her little sister before sighing and looking at her sadly. “I know how you feel. Look, if you want him to notice you, just be yourself, okay? If he still doesn’t, I’ll kick him in the nads.”
>Nodding, Lucy made her way out of the room in search of more advice.
>Lucy decided next she would hit the room next to her own, Luna’s, before going to Lori for advice.
>Walking into the room, she noticed Luna alone on her bed, strumming a few notes on her guitar.
>Strange, it seemed Luan was out at the moment. Luna had her fair share of boyfriends, and was a generally agreeable person.
>Maybe she could finally make this whole endeavor worth something?
>“Luna,” Lucy greeted her sister as she sat on Luan’s bed in order to face the guitarist.
>“Lucy, yo. What’s up?” She said, setting her guitar down, seeming unimpressed with the sounds it was making.
>“I have a question for you. I’ve already asked basically everyone, but their answers were useless,” she said, staring at her sister.
>“Shoot, kiddo. I’m bored and could do with some good conversation.” Luna answered, sitting up to get a better look at her younger sister.
>“How do I get a boy to notice me,” she said.
>“Notice you or like you?” Luna offered. “There’s a very big difference. Getting one to notice you is one thing, but it’s totally different getting him to actually like you.”
>“There is?’ Lucy asked, tilting her head to the side.
>“Well yeah. Getting a guy to notice you just requires you to do something, anything. Getting him to like you, though, that means you have to do something for him specifically. Stupid stuff like manipulation will just end up not working and totally messing up any chance you had.”
>“Oh,” Lucy said, looking down at the floor. “So Lynn was wrong?”
>“Of course,” Luna scoffed. “I love Lynn. I really do. She means well, but she’s a little overbearing. Some guys get creeped out by that.”
>“And Leni’s advice on wearing girly clothes?” Lucy asked.
>“Total crap.” Luna answered.
>“Guys’ tastes in clothes are as different as your’s or Leni’s. She doesn’t know his style, but you do. Chances are, though, you shouldn’t change your style for his. That’d be pretty lame and fake.”
>“So,”  Lucy began, “what should I do, then?”
>“That depends on him and on you.” Luna answered. “I don’t know him, so I can’t tell you what to do, sis. But I can tell you thing - talk to him and be yourself. See where it goes from there.”
>“Thank you, Luna. I think I know what I need to do now.”