Cheer Challenge

Lincoln woke up that Saturday in a good mood. No, it wasn't because a new comic he'd been waiting for was being released today, nor was it because today was the day he got his allowance—even though it was. Today was going to be a good day because he was going to spend the day with Ronnie Anne at Ketchum park. They'd gone to the arcade a couple of times already, and after getting their initials on almost every high score leaderboard at the game and grub, they both felt they should hang out somewhere else for a change.

Lincoln hopped out of bed and looked at himself in his mirror. The young boy before him in the reflection flexed his meager muscles in his underwear, striking a number of poses, all while talking to himself as though Ronnie Anne were present.

"Me? Yeah, I have been hitting the gym lately," he said nonchalantly. "These?" he asked his reflection, flexing the small lumps that were his biceps. "Well, you know me, suns out, guns out."

Before he could strike another pose or utter another line, his door burst open. "Hey Linc, I heard you were—" Lynn stopped in the doorway as they both locked eyes. Both cheeks flushed red before Lynn couldn't hold back her uproarious laughter at her little brother frozen in his best Mr. Universe pose.

"Lynn! Don't you ever knock?!" Lincoln shouted angrily, covering himself with his hands, as though Lynn hadn't seen him in his underwear a thousand times before.

Once she had regained her composure and wiped the tears from her eyes, she finished her sentence. "Relax, I just wanted to know if I could get a ride to the park. My bike's got a flat and the bike shop is closed," she said, a hint of a smile still tugging at the corners of her lips.

Lincoln sighed. She did give him her bike after all. Plus, she usually went to the park for a pickup game of soccer, so it wasn't like she'd be bothering him and Ronnie.

"Okay, just let me get dressed..."

Lynn couldn't help but chuckle again as she turned to head downstairs.

"Yeah, good idea."

Lincoln quickly threw on his clothes and headed downstairs where Lynn and her soccer bag were waiting. He found his sister with her legs dangling off the arm of the couch, watching tv. She glanced up at him as he descended the stairs.

"Ready Ahnuld?" she mocked, unable to hide her smile as she sat up from the couch.

Lincoln rolled his eyes. "Yeah, let's go. But don't bother me and Ronnie Anne once we get to the park."

Lynn hopped off the couch, a even wider grin plastered across her face. "You didn't tell me little Linky had a date!" She pinched his cheek and had her hand quickly smacked away.

"Lynn, knock it off!" he insisted.

"Chill out, nerd, I'm not gonna embarrass you. I'm there for the soccer, not to watch you two go all Lori and Bobby on each other," Lynn reminded him as she started towards the door.

Lincoln reluctantly followed her to the garage where he pulled out his bike. He threw a leg across it and turned to wait for her to get on behind him.

"You think I'm riding on the back of my old bike?" she laughed.

"Lynn, c'mon!" Lincoln complained. "I can't let Ronnie Anne see me on the back of my own bike!"

She sighed. It would be pretty embarrassing, and he was doing her a favor by giving her a lift in the first place. "Okay, fine." She threw her leg over the back part of the seat and rested her cleats on the rear pegs. "But I would have gotten us there faster," she mumbled.

With that, Lincoln set off towards the park. About halfway there, he regretted not letting Lynn take the lead. The hills leading up to Ketchum park were exceptionally more difficult with another person weighing him down. Finally, Lincoln made it. He coasted to the bike rack on worn out legs as he skidded to a halt. He could see Ronnie Anne's outline sitting beneath a tree waiting on him. Knowing she was there made the grueling ride worth it as he locked his bike, took off his helmet, and tried desperately to fix his matted helmet-hair.

Lynn slung her bag over her shoulder, poised to head out onto the fields when she noticed her little brother trying desperately to fix his hair in the tiny rear-view mirrors of his bike.

"Linc, come here for a second," she said, dropping her bag and producing a water bottle and towel. He looked up from the mirror in time to see Lynn squirting water onto his head.

"Hey! What the heck, Lynn?!" he protested angrily. Was it not enough that he just worked his tail off to get her here, and now she was continuing to mess with him?

"Just shut up for a second, will ya?" Lynn said, putting down the bottle and then throwing the towel over his head. "I'm trying to fix this mess."

He felt her hands ravaging his hair as flashes of the park peeked in between the layers of towel. In no time, Lynn removed the towel and flung it over her shoulder. Quickly, she roughly styled his hair with her hands, restoring it the way he always wore it, ever-present cowlick and all.

"There," She said stepping back, admiring her work.

Lincoln looked back into the mirror, expecting to see a tragedy, but instead, saw his normal do.

"Wha... how did, where did you learn to—"

"Leni went through a hairdressing phase a few years back. She practiced on me, even though Mom told her not to."

Lincoln thought back for a moment. He did vaguely remember a lot of his older sisters having radical colors in their hair for a while before their Mom banned hair dye from the house. Everyone's hair eventually returned to its natural state. Well, everyone's except for Lucy.

"Oh yeah..." Lincoln replied.

"Yeah, I picked up a thing or two. Besides, I can't have my little brother show up to his date with his first girlfriend all sweaty and gross because he's too out of shape to take his sister to the park on the back of his bike!" she teased, socking him in the arm for good measure. "Now come on and introduce me to your girlfriend."

Lincoln swallowed nervously and began towards Ronnie.

'Please don't embarrass me, please don't embarrass me,' he chanted in his mind as he drew closer. Ronnie heard his footsteps and turned around to greet them.

"Hey, Lincoln," she said, before turning her attention to Lynn. "And who's this?" Ronnie asked incredulously.

"Ronnie Anne, this is my—"

"Girlfriend. Who the heck are you?" Lynn replied with an angry glare.

Both Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were speechless before Lynn burst into laughter.

"I'm just yankin ya," She chuckled. "I'm his sister Lynn. I've heard a lot about you."

Ronnie laughed nervously as she shook Lynn's hand. "Good one," she mumbled. Ronnie looked this new girl up and down before noticing her soccer gear. "You out here to play?" Ronnie asked.

"You bet. Why?" Lynn asked, unzipping her bag and removing her shin guards, and a ball. "Do you?"

Ronnie Anne smiled. "Actually, yeah. I invited Lincoln out here to teach him a thing or two."

Lincoln and Lynn both answered in surprised unison. "You did?"

"Yeah!" Ronnie turned to Lincoln. "C'mon, you didn't think we were just gonna sit around at the park all day, did you?"

Truth be told, that was exactly what Lincoln was looking forward to. "Uh, well... kinda."

"No way! C'mon, Lincoln, soccer is fun!" Ronnie replied.

"Well, I mean, I've never really played it, and I'm not really dressed for it—"

"Nonsense, Linc! You can be the goalie!" Lynn chimed in. "He's the only guy that can use his hands, and all you have to do is keep the ball from getting past you."

Lincoln was not an athlete by any means, and he thought Ronnie Anne knew that. Lynn knew it for sure, but apparently didn't care. But, it looked like he couldn't chicken out of this one. Not in front of Ronnie Anne, anyway.

"Okay," Lincoln relented. The girls suited up and Lincoln was given a pair of goalie gloves and assigned a goal.

There wasn't much action on his end, but he did end up on Ronnie's team, which was a plus in his mind. However, every time he saw Lynn coming, she would seem to drill it directly at his head. Some he managed to block, and sometimes he was not so lucky. From what he could see down the field, the two shining stars were his sister and his girlfriend, seeming to be in a constant battle for control of the ball.

Mercifully, the game was only to five, and unfortunately Lynn zipped the final scoring goal right over his head and into the net.

"Ha! Oh yeah, MVP Lynn Loud does it again!" Lynn shouted, pumping her fist in the air. After a victory lap and high-fiving her teammates, she joined an exhausted Lincoln and a sweaty but still not as tired Ronnie Anne. "You aren't bad," she said to Ronnie Anne "For a kid."

She took exception to that. "Kid? You're only two years older than me! Besides, we were down a goalie!"

"Hey!" Lincoln protested.

"No offense," Ronnie apologized quickly before turning back to face Lynn.

"Please, just because you lost is no reason to make excuses."

Ronnie took a step closer. "I'll take you on at any sport and whoop you, grandma!"

A smile crept across Lynn's lips. A smile Lincoln recognized and instantly detested seeing.

"Is that right? Well, there's a lot of sports we could play in the park," Lynn replied threateningly. "Why don't we start with basketball?"

Lincoln sighed. It appeared as though his dream of a relaxing day at the park would remain just that.

Lincoln could do nothing but watch as his sister and his girlfriend went head to head in every conceivable sport one could play at a park. Some events Ronnie Anne came out ahead, and in others, Lynn was the victor. The poor boy was relegated to carrying equipment, refereeing sports he knew absolutely nothing about, and generally running behind two females in his life he didn't have a chance of keeping up with. By the time the day was drawing to a close, a dead tired Lincoln found Lynn and Ronnie Anne drinking water beneath the same tree where his reluctant journey into the world of sports had begun. He collapsed into a sweaty heap before the two of them, neither of them paying the exhausted boy any attention.

"Well, looks like we're in a dead heat," Lynn panted, taking a long swig from her water bottle. "We've played every sport in the park."

Ronnie Anne nodded in agreement as she sipped her water. "Now what?" She asked. "I can't think of any other sports—" Ronnie stopped mid sentence as a brightly colored poster caught her eye from a nearby telephone pole. She moved with a purpose past Lynn and snatched the bright pink paper off the pole.

"What?" Lincoln heard Lynn call out. He managed the strength to lift his head, dreading that his girlfriend had found some other terrible sport to play against his sister.

"This!" Ronnie Anne called out before walking back towards the brother and sister. Lincoln managed to force himself to his knees and squinted at the pink paper that Lynn now held. He watched as Lynn's eyes grew ever wider the further she read down the page.

"No, no way!" Lynn replied defiantly. "I'm not doing this, it isn't even a sport!"

Now Lincoln was curious. He forced himself to his feet to read over Lynn's shoulder. He could hardly believe his eyes.

ALL-CITY CHEERLEADING VACANCY, AGES 11-13, ONE SPOT ONLY! TRYOUTS NEXT SATURDAY AT 3PM IN THE MUNICIPAL GYM!

"What's the matter? Scared you'll lose, grandma?" Ronnie Anne mocked.

Lincoln knew better than to challenge Lynn, but apparently he never got around to passing that knowledge along to Ronnie Anne. Lynn's face turned a fire engine red. "What did you just say?"

Ronnie Anne smirked. It never ceased to amaze Lincoln how incredibly smug she could be when she wanted to. "Hey, if you're too chicken, you can just admit I'm better than you right now and save yourself the trouble." Lincoln could see what was coming from a mile away. The last thing he needed was his sister in direct conflict with his girlfriend. No matter who won, he lost.

"C'mon, guys, you don't have to prove who's better than who—"

Lynn stuffed the paper into his mouth in one swift motion. "Shush, Lincoln! If your little 'Ronnie Boo Boo Bear' wants to fell the Lynnsanity, then she's more than welcome to step up to the plate!" Lynn growled, coming face to face with her new rival. "I will see you next Saturday and mop the floor with you!"

Ronnie Anne simply held her cocky grin in the face of Lynn's contorted glare. "Then I'll see you next Saturday. C'mon, Lincoln, you can help me practice." Ronnie Anne said, grabbing Lincoln's hand and beginning to tug him away.

"I don't think so, he's my brother, he's gonna help ME practice!" Lynn shot back, grabbing Lincoln's other hand.

"Well he's my..." Ronnie Anne began. Lincoln noticed her smug grin shatter, her cheeks turning the same shade of red that Lynn's had earlier. Technically, neither Lincoln or Ronnie Anne had ever used the term 'boyfriend' or 'girlfriend'. They had spent so much time around Lori and Bobby that almost every mushy, conventional dating activity had been ruined for them. To them, they were just hanging out and having fun, although neither could deny that there was something there that went past friendship. Neither of them could put their finger on it, but they knew it was there.

Lynn raised an eyebrow, it being her turn to don a smug smile. "He's your what?" Unfortunately, neither Lincoln nor Ronnie Anne were ready to admit it to each other.

Ronnie Anne let go of Lincoln's hand. "It's getting late," said, a tinge of defeat in her voice. "Don't think this is over." Before Lincoln could think of anything to say to stop her, Ronnie had hopped on her bike and taken off back towards her house. Lynn let go of Lincoln's hand and placed both hands on her hips in triumph. Even a small victory was a victory to be celebrated. Her win was certainly short-lived as Lincoln brought her back to reality.

"LYNN!" he shouted angrily. Lincoln could see her high slowly begin to come down. "What the heck is wrong with you?!" He had one condition to give her a ride to the park, and not only had she violated his only rule, she did it in the most egregious was possible.

"What?" She asked genuinely. The fact that she didn't even realize what she'd done just made him ever more irate.

"What?!" Lincoln parroted back. "All I asked you to do was leave me and Ronnie Anne alone, and now look what you did!"

"What I did?" Lynn fired back. She wasn't about to let her little brother talk to her that way. "The cheerleading thing was her idea in the first place!"

"But you didn't have to take her up on it!" the angry and exasperated young man shouted.

"Were you here just now? You heard the way she was talking to me!" Lynn had one thing in life that she cared about besides her family, and that was winning, no matter if it was a sport, a board game, tag, hide-and-seek, it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was the W.

"Ugh, I don't know why I thought you would be able to keep your crazy competitiveness on a leash for once!" Lincoln said, running his fingers through his white locks in frustration. He tossed his helmet at her as hard as he could manage, which admittedly was not very hard at all. Lynn easily caught it. "Take the bike back, I'll get Lori to come pick me up," Lincoln said, pulling his phone from his pocket and dialing his eldest sister as he walked away.

Lynn was left alone with her gear and her brother's helmet in her hands. She sighed as she looked down at her feet. Never before had she gone from riding the high horse of victory to falling off flat on her back in defeat. It was not a feeling she was familiar with as she began to realize how upset she'd made her little brother, unintentional though it may have been.

She slung her duffle bag over her shoulder and tucked his helmet beneath her arm.

"Dangit, Lynn..."