Trouble in Paradise (ChipFic)

>Lina and Lemy sat next to each other at a lunch table, Gordon sat across from them
>Lemy reached into his backpack and pulled out a Tupperware container with balls of tinfoil inside
>"Whatcha got there Lem’?" Gordon asked nodding towards his friends mysterious lunch
>"Mac and cheese bites, managed to slip these puppies from dinner last night" Lemy grinned
>"Okay, but what with the tinfoil?" Lina questioned
>Lemy frowned "Lulu has a bit of taste for them so I tried to cover my tracks. It worked a little."
>"A little?" Gordon raised an eyebrow
>"She probably got x-ray vision or something because she got the drop on me before I got out the door. Had to throw two pieces into the den so she wouldn’t eat me with em’."
>Lina laughed, she knew that was a fact. The last time she was at dinner they fed Lulu raw meat. Her mouth was like a blender. "Sounds like Lulu alright"
>"Back in a bit, gotta heat these up." Lemy got up and walked off towards the vending machines where they kept the microwaves.
> “Take the tinfoil off before you put them in.” Gordon yelled.
> “Yes, Mom.” Lemy mocked back.
> “Speaking of family, hows life at the loudest of houses?”
> “What you getting at Gordo?”
> “C’mon you're dating a dude with 9 sisters, you cant tell me none of them are giving you some looks at least?” Gordon was doing that thing again, that little nosy thing he does.
> “For your information, They love me. Lizy adores me, Lacy thinks I’m cool, Liby likes to talk, Loan recommends games to me, Even Liena and Lulu got a fondness for me.”
> “Uh huh, cover most of those tracks. But about the big two.”
> “C’mon Liena isn’t that fat.”
> “I’m talking about Lupa and Lyra. Next to Lac’ and Liz’, they're the closes to him.”
> “Well Lupa’s fine. Were copacetic.
> “Do ya’ even know what that word means.”
> “It means were cool. she’s a bitch, I’m a bitch. We bitch friends.”
> “That a thing?”

> “No, its our thing.”
> “Uh huh, and how about Sister Act?”
> Lyra, she was a different story. “Well she’s not a fan of me making out with her little brother. But she knows I’m cool. Maybe not the ideal girlfriend, but hey, I’m better then most.”
> “My advice, just be respectful and she’ll come around.”
> “Got it, be classy.” Lina sipped from her juice box and let out a burp, making Gordon react with disgust
> "Very lady like."
> “The ladiest." she laughed
>The boy's phone buzzed and he swiped it open, reading a text
>"Seriously. I'll be back in a few minutes, my sister forgot her lunch, watch my stuff alright?"
>Lina nodded and waved him off, pulling out her phone to browse as Gordon walked off
>Band Tours, Bad news, Worse news, Movie stuff, nothing worth staring at her phone to kill time. So she scanned the lunchroom with bored eyes, spotting Gloom sitting with Lyle across the room
>The younger girl met her eyes and she waved excitedly, Lina smiled and gave a more reserve wave back
>This was mind numbing, at this point she’d take anything over this crap
>"Hey Lina, how've you been?" Oh please no.
>Lina slowly turned her head to face the source of the voice, Nathan, her ex-bandmate
>And ex-boyfriend
>"Oh hey Nathan, What the fuck do you want?" she glared at him
>The boy shifted his feet and averted his eyes, he'd expected a frosty reception
>"I see your cast is off. So its cool you doing better.” Nathan was clearly trying his best to clear the air. “Sooo… Heard you're dating Lemy now. I’m happy for you!" he smiled warmly
>"I can be happy for myself." she spoke through gritted teeth "While were talking about my shit, hows the band?"
>Nathan took a breath, not letting her attitude get to him. "Bands doing fine. In fact, I wanted to tell you that we got our first gig."
>Lina's eye twitched, she was the lead of the band for 6 months and they never managed to get to the point where they could play in public

>"Oh well that just fan-fucking-tastic! I’m so happy for youuuuu." she drew out the last word with a sarcastic drawl
> “Alright, I get it, you're pissed. But we still want you to see the show. So here.” Nathan handed her two tickets to their show. “For you and Lem. What do you say?”
> “I say you take those ticket and shove it up your-
>"Sup Nate" Lemy finally returned, and took a seat next to Lina, smiling as he munched on one of his bites. “What with the tickets?”
>Nathan smiled at the friendly reception "I was just gonna offer you and Lina some tickets to our show." Lina turned to Lemy knowing he’d support her.
> “Aw sick! I’d love to go.” That wasn’t the kind of support she was expecting. Lemy took the tickets and admired the little drawings on the tickets. "Thanks man, Hey you want one of Cheese Bits?" he offered his Tupperware
>Nathan shook his head “I already ate. But thanks dude. I’ll see you guys at the show. Hopefully.” Nathan turned to leave but turned back around. “Oh and I’m happy for you, You're lucky to have her.” Nathan waved off.
> Lemy waved back and looked back at the tickets.
> “Sweet underground music, Saturdays gonna be sick. Hey Lina, check out the shitty little dragon on the tickets, kinda looks like trogdor.”
> Only now did he noticed the incredulous look on Lina’s face
> "Uh, Whats up babe?"
>Lina's look of disbelief turned to anger "What the fuck was that?!"
>Lemy jumped a little. “I just said it was dragon, though I guess it looks like elephant if you squint at it.
>"Not the tickets! I’m talking about Nathan, why didn’t you tell him to piss off?"
>Lemy didn’t know how to respond to the sudden anger, nervously eating one of his Mac Bits "I don’t know. I mean, yeah he’s kind of an ass for kicking you out the band."
> “He didn’t kick me out of the band, Lemy, he kicked me out of my own band.”

> “Lina, I get it, its bullshit they did that to you but it was their vote. It wasn’t just Nathan.”
> “But he was the cunt who gave them the idea! Before I met him, he barely knew two fucking notes, I built that band from the ground up!"
>The bandana clad boy held his hands up "Lina...chill"
>"FUCK THAT!" she grit her teeth "You were supposed to be on my side just now, but instead you offered to give him one of your stupid bites!"
> “What sides! They're their own band now and besides you're more talented then all of them, you could make a new band." he touched her shoulder
>The girl scoffed and slapped his hand away "Yeah Lemy, with who? You? You cant even play any instruments."
> “Hey I’m getting better.”
> “Really? The last time I heard you play, it sounded like you were choking an old cat.”
> “Oh yeah, well what are you gonna do go solo? Its gonna be pretty hard when you don't know how to write your own lyrics.”
> “I don't need a lecture on a lyrics from a metal fan.”
> “Because Alternative rock is so unique.
> “Said Mr. starved for attention. Why don't you and your snaggle tooth sister do another dumb stunt.”
> “Our stunts are awesome, we know more tricks then you do skater girl.”
> “Yeah you should show me how its done, maybe I’ll learn to eat shit without trying.”
> “Try what, you wouldn't know a thing about trying anything, because everything has to come easy with you doesn’t it?”
> “Your the definition of Easy Lemy, one straddle you're already full mass.”
> “With the way you throw yourself at me, doesn’t leave a lot of time for foreplay.”
> *If you don't like it, why dont you go ask one of your sisters? I know Lyra has a brother complex, how about you go ride her ass!"
> “That's my family you're talking about. But hey, what would know about sisters? You don't have any!"

> “Well at least I got a mom around.” Lina waited for the comeback but got nothing. But saw Lemy freeze at the comment. The reality hit her hard and she jumbled with her word "Lemy, I… I didn’t… Whatever, I’m outta here." Standing up and gathering her things, Lina looked over sadly at the upset boy, she hesitated for a moment before turning to leave, walking past a confused Gordon as she stared at the floor, not noticing his presence
>(That's right, run away as soon as something gets difficult, typical you)
>Gordon walked up the table and took his seat. Looking over at his crestfallen friend, the basketball player frowned with concern
> "The hell did I miss?"
>With the school day over, Lemy found himself sitting on a bench with his concerned brother Bobby.
>Gordon was there trying to comfort his friend. Noticing Lyle was off comforting Gloom who had witnessed the whole fight first hand. Lyle gave Gloom a comforting hug and told her to leave Lemy to him.
>"So, How bad is it?" Lyle asked Gordon nodding towards his despondent brother.
>Gordon sighed "From what I could get from him, It wasn't pretty. They got in a fight over something. Bad enough that I didn't even catch Lina before she left."
>Lyle grimaced "Do you think they...?"
>The basketball player shook his head "No! nah nah nah, they're not gonna split over something like a spat. They just gotta cool off." Gordon put hand on Lemy's limp shoulder "Hey man, if you wanna hang out and chill I can dip out of practice"
>The rocker weakly shook his head "No dude, I'll be fine..."
>Gordon looked unconvinced "Look man, You know Lina's a bit of a hothead. So just hangout with your bros and let her cool down. It'll work itself out" He turned to leave "I'll text you later."
>Lemy held a hand up to weakly wave, and let it fall limply to his side.
>Bobby patted his brother's back. "C'mon, lets go home."

>Lemy let out a long exhale through his nose, and stood up. He began to shuffle down the sidewalk. Bobby and Lyle exchanged worried glances and ran up to flank either side of their older brother.
>20 minutes later, the younger Loud boys finally managed to get Lemy through the front door. His zombie-like gait making the trip take twice as long. The sad boy walked over and flopped down at the couch, zoning out until it was time for dinner.
>Lemy spent most of it pushing around a meatball with his fork. Trying to find some answer in his plate.  He let a heavy sigh when it revealed nothing "Can I be excused?" he asked.
>Lincoln had been eying his oldest son with concern the whole time, and motioned to ask what was wrong before noticing both Bobby and Lyle shaking their heads. The Loud patriarch pressed his lips together, getting the hint "Alright son" he nodded.
>Lemy dragged his feet as he put his plate away, and made his way back to the couch, falling to see the point of the climbing the stairs.  He tried to find something on TV to distract him, stopping a monster movie he liked.
>But his mind returned to the fight that day, wondering where he went wrong and how he could have done better.
>(Yep, another failure for Lemy loud. Failure as a friend, and now failure as a boyfriend)
>He could have told Nathan to leave, or not escalate after the first insult. He could have avoided it all if he was smarter. If he was better. But he wasn't. What else was new?
>"You look like Loan"
>Lemy turned his head just enough to peek out from the couch pillow, spotting Lizy standing in front of him, a naive worried look on her face.
>"Yeah, I'm getting there"
>Lizy shifted on her feet and held her stuffed dinosaur tighter to her chest "Why are you sad?"
>Lemy looked away from her and at the floor "...Its been a long day."

>Lizy pulled herself onto the couch, walking behind her big brother and giving a small rub on his back. So unsure of what to do, looking to her sullen brother. He was her favorite brother, Always there for her and willing to play. Her goofy cool brother, now depressingly molding into the couch.
>Not wanting Lemy to see her tears, she hugged her crest fallen hero. "Please be happy." she mumbled into his back, and Lemy forced a small smile just to try and lighten her hopes.
>"C'mere you." Lemy shifted to his side and pulled Lizy into a comforting hug, she moved her hat to snuggled closer, clutching onto his purple shirt. Lemy just tousled her hair, earning a small giggle in return, as he set the hat aside.
>Lemy got himself comfortable as he as he grabbed and the remote to turn Lizy's attention to the monster flick. She struggle to hug him and watch the movie, but he helped her by placing her in front of him as they watched the movie together. "Thanks Lizy."
>The girl hugged his arm close to her. "Yo' Elcome."
>An hour into the movie Lemy had noticed Lizy slowly fall asleep in his arms. He didn't move, not wanting to ruin Lizy's slumber. He wondered how someone like her saw so much good in him, how Lina saw anything in him. Pondering on the thought, he let sleep take him away to as he was watched the monster on screen destroy a city.

>Lina laid on the couch watching a building being stepped on by some monster on TV. She wasn't paying attention to it however as she replayed the day's events in her mind over and over.
>(Really Lina. You had to say shit about his mom? Why not salt that knife before you twist it?)
>Sam watched idly from the kitchen. Despite how Lina acted and looked, Sam knew something had happened, the foggy look in her daughters eyes was enough to give her a hint.
>"Hey Bluebird, how was school?" Sam prodded.
>Lina didn't even turn to speak. "It was fine. Another day of book learnin'"
>Sam frowned, running through possible causes for her sullen voice, until ending on the obvious.
>"And how's Lemy?"
>The girl paused for a moment and for a brief second her eyes narrowed slightly, bingo.
>"He's... fine." Lina smiled "He brought some of these Mac and Cheese bites to lunch, said he almost gotten eaten by one of his sisters over it" she laughed reminiscing on a happier moment.
>Sam was hesitant, but determined to tear down the wall she was building. "Did... anything else happen?"
>Lina wanted to make a small story but found no inspiration to cover her tracks. "Not really."
>She felt a hand on her shoulder as she met her mother gaze kneeling next to her on the couch. She moved the hairs from her eyes, seeing the stains of tears. "Lina.." she cupped her face, rubbing her hand along Lina's hair. "What happened?"

>The skater girl held back tears as she tried to hide her face in shame into the couch cushion. "I messed up mom, I really messed up." her voice was quivering.
>Sam frowned, feeling her concern intensify. She gave the girl's shoulder a reassuring squeeze "Tell me everything."
>Lina was silent for a few moments, as she put the words together in her mind "I yelled at him. Called him a loser and a wimp. Said he was an ass for not being mad at Nathan like I was. We just started staying stupid shit and before you know I made some crack about his mom... God I'm an cunt."
>"No you're not."
>"Of course I am. What kind of idiot says shit like that to her boyfriend. I wanted to hurt him like how I felt."
> "Well did you mean it?"
>"No..."
>"Well then you just need to tell him that. I know you're mad. But throwing it at others never helps. It only hurts."
>"I cant talk to him, I can never talk to him."
>"Don't be like that. I know you think what you said hurt him, But if he knows you, he'll know you didn't mean it."
>"I'm scared. I'm scared that I pushed him away."
>"Lina." She turned to her mother. "Do you love him."
>"Yeah. I do."
>"Then just apologize and do better."
>Lina buried her face into her pillow a little more "What if he doesn't accept my apology?"
>"Well, then that's it. He leaves you." The girl's tears began to well up again "But, something tells me he just wants to hear your voice again. The longer you wait to apologize the lower your odds of getting him back."
>Lina thought for a moment before nodding slowly "First thing tomorrow, I'll go over and do it in person"
>Sam smiled "That's my girl"

>Lincoln frowned with concern as he looked over at his oldest boy, He hadn't moved from his spot on the couch since yesterday.
>After a bit of talking He got the full story from Bobby and Lyle, and was about to go have a seat next to the sullen boy before he noticed Lupa walk up to him, looking less amused then usual.
>"Sup couch boy, hows the depression going?"
>Lemy flicked his eyes over to his sister before returning them to the TV "Go away Lupa"
>"What? You should be happy, you got experience now. Besides I think we both know one of you was gonna fuck up eventually."
>Lemy winced and looked down, saying nothing
>"So what was it? You have a spat over favorite bands? Did she call you tattoos stupid? C'mon she's an ex, no need to be kind, diss! Unless you fucked up? Did you fuck up? I mean you have a good track record so I wouldn't be surprised if it was your fault."
>Lemy grit his teeth and glared
>"What? Wound still fresh? Well maybe if you did more then nothing, it wouldn't be like that." Lupa smacked Lemy on the leg getting him jump.
>"OW! What the fuck Lupa?"
>"Just making sure you had the feeling in your legs. So how about using those legs to go see your girlfriend and patch it up."
>"No, she needs her space." He tried to turn toward the TV back into his spot but Lupa grabbed him by the collar. Pulling him up and looking dead in the eye.
>"What she needs, what she wants, I'm sorry, you're supposed to be pissed at her. So what the hell do you care what she thinks?" Lemy just looked Away from her but he heard her scoff.

>"Here's a theory, because you give a shit about her and unless she's self-centered bitch. I bet good money she gives a shit about you."  Lupa tugged on his ear to get his attention. "You know how I know that? Because she came on to you, remember that. You put her on a pedestal but for some reason she thinks you're cool too. There's no accounting for taste, but she likes the taste of you and that means something."
>"You right." Lemy suddenly felt a spark in his chest.
>"Of course I'm right. I'm me. Now get off your ass." She pulled him off the couch and sat in his spot and kicked him toward the door. "And while you're at it, quit shitting on yourself. Its less fun when you do it."
>Lemy Was about to run out the door but came back hugged a surprised Lupa.
>"Thanks Lu'."
>"Get off me ya sentimental little prick and go hug your girlfriend." She said but let him break off the hug.
>He made for the door and opened it suddenly, freezing at the sight of Lina standing there mid-knock
>"Nice timing Lina." Lupa said from the living room.
>They stood there for a second, Lina didn't have the nerve to say anything but Lemy did. Walking up to her and giving her a passionate kiss.
>"So uh, guess we should talk." He said as she simply nodded in response.
>"Take it outside Lovebirds." They took the advice from Lupa and walked out.
>Lincoln smiled at the two as they walked down the street, chatting away. He turned his attention to his daughter, now reclining in the previously occupied spot.
>"That was very considerate sweetie. I'm proud of you."
>Lupa laughed "Considerate? Fuck no, I just didn't want him moping on my couch spot all day."
>Well, it was the thought that counted.