Redpilling Lincoln

>Lincoln was sitting on his bed at night.
>It had been one hell of a day, with their annual garage sales going extremely wrong.
>They had literally sold all their stuff.
>Everything. From the garage itself to their homework.
>Getting it all back had been a titanic effort, but they'd made it.
>They were all grounded to the house for a month, but Lincoln didn't care.
>He had his comics, he had internet, he had his videogames.
>He actually had a good excuse to not go out and play sports like his mother wanted him to.
>So there he was, lying in his underwear on his bed, getting ready to a good session of Ace Savvy.
>"Alright, Ace. Time to deal out some justice!" He said, excitingly turning the cover.
>"Lincoln."
>Lincoln was frozen in place.
>He looked behind him, but there was no one there, not even Lucy.
>He sat up and started to look around his room.
>His window was closed, his laptop wasn't on.
>He scratched his head. He'd swear he'd heard a voice.
>"Must've been my imagination" he said out loud.
>"It wasn't" said the voice.
>Lincoln jumped in his place.
>The voice was definitely inside his room.
>It sounded like a guy in his twenties.
>'A burglar' he thought, gritting his teeth.
>The only place he could think of where the burglar might be hidding was under his bed.
>He had to run, he had to get out, but there was no way he would get to his door without the burglar grabbing his foot.
>"Lincoln, don't be afraid" said the voice, scaring the shit out of him. "I'm here for you. I've always been."
>His heart started beating faster, as his eyes focused on the other side of his bed.
>He had recognized the source of the sound.
>"Bun-Bun?" He said, staring at his stuffed animal.
>Lincoln thought he was going insane.
>There was no fucking way a stuffed animal was talking.
>He had inhaled some of Lisa's chemicals, though.
>Probably he was having some sort of secondary effect.
>He tried to ignore it. He laid down on his bed once again and tried to focus on the first panel of his comic.
>"Lincoln, please, don't ignore me" said Bun-Bun, once again giving him the creeps.
>"Calm down, Lincoln Loud" he said to himself, closing his eyes and trying to keep a steady breathing. "You're just imaginating things, this isn't real."
>"Am I not?" Said Bun-Bun's voice. "Although you could be right. It wouldn't be the first time you have an imaginary friend. Remember Erik, the friend you used to play with when you were three?"
>Lincoln dropped his comic and crawled back, hitting his head against the dry wall.
>He had forgotten about Erik. It had been just a phase he'd went through.
>Before starting school he didn't have actual friends, he just played with his sisters, which he had plenty.
>He had created an imaginary friend for himself, someone outside the family to play with.
>He had wrote about him somewhere in his diary, some years ago, but it was a memory that by no means was fresh in his mind.
>Why was his mind playing those tricks on him?
>"You can't be real" he said, staring at his beloved stuffed animal.
>"Don't you want me to be real?" It calmly asked back.
>"No. Yes. I mean... It's not possible."
>"Alright, then. I thought you were ready for me" sadly said Bun-Bun. "Don't worry. I'll never try to talk with you again. I'm sorry for bothering you. It won't happen again."
>Lincoln, still trying to keep his heart from beating its way out of his chest, remained in silence.
>Looking at Bun-Bun's button eyes. Waiting for something to happen.
>"A-Are you real?" He asked.
>"Now that's an interesting question" playfully said Bun-Bun. "Am I real? I can't be, can't I? I'm just a stuffed animal."
>"But you're talking" replied Lincoln.
>"Yes, but that doesn't mean anything now, does it? It could be you imaginating things."
>"So you're not real."
>"As a talking rabbit? I'm probably not. But I'm talking and you're listening. I have memories, I believe I'm real. Even if I'm a product of your imagination, some sort of manifestation of your conciousness, I'm self aware. In the end, isn't that what makes us real?"
>"I don't... I don't understand..."
>"You don't have to. Don't overthink it. I'm here right now, and that's all that matters" he calmly said.
>"But if... If this isn't real..."
>"I thought we'd agreed that—"
>"...then why's my mind doing this?"
>Lincoln heard his stuffed animal sigh.
>It was unnerving to hear him so clearly, but to also see him petrified, without moving a single milimiter.
>"I don't know. Even if your mind created me, I'm not your conciousness. I'm just your best friend."
>Lincoln, still uneasy about all of this, sat down to a more comfortable position.
>"Alright. So let's pretend you're real, that you're actually Bun-Bun."
>"Perfect!"
>"What do you want?"
>"That's an easy question. You're my best friend. I just want you to be happy."
>Lincoln smiled at the friendly tone his stuffed animal had used.
>"You do sound like Bun-Bun. I mean, how I imagined Bun-Bun would sound if... you know."
>"I'm glad to hear that. And you know that I only want the best for you, don't you?"
>"Yeah, I get that" Lincoln said, still smiling.
>"That's why I'm concerned about how you've been treated here, lately."
>Lincoln's smile faded in an instant.
>"What do you mean?" He asked, worried.
>"You know what I mean. You're a smart kid. I know, I've been here the whole time, watching you grow up."
>"And I've seen the way your sisters treat you."
>"My sisters?" Asked Lincoln, taken aback. "What do you mean?"
>"Well, they aren't being really fair with you, you know?"
>Lincoln shook his head. This had to be some sort of hallucination.
>He would never think of anything bad about his sisters.
>Well... Maybe once in a while.
>He had been mistreated a couple of times, but that was something that happened to everyone,
>Although... It probably happened with him more often than with any of his sisters.
>They were always blaming him for everything.
>He always needed to be apologizing for everything.
>Even when it wasn't even his fault in the first place!
>"That's not true" he said to Bun-Bun, though. "We have our issues every once in a while, but that's normal in a big family."
>"Lincoln, I'm just trying to protect you. I've been watching over you since you were a baby, and it hurts me to see how they all think of you just as some kind of servant."
>Lincoln clenched his fist.
>"That's not true. They love me."
>"Do they?" Asked Bun-Bun, his tranquil eyes fixed on Lincoln.
>"Of course they do."
>"Alright, then. What's the last time they agreed to do something you like?"
>Lincoln quickly opened his mouth to reply, but he couldn't come up with anything.
>"And yet you're always helping Luna with her jamming, being Lynn's sparring, testing Luan's aweful jokes, modeling for Leni, polishing Lori's nails—"
>"Alright, I get it" he interrupted his stuffed animal. "So yeah, they don't like reading comics or haunting ghost. That doesn't mean they don't love me."
>"Fine. Then how about this: when was the last time one of your sisters talked to you without asking for a favour?"
>Lincoln wanted to answer right away.
>He wanted to make him eat his words.
>But he couldn't.
>Lincoln looked away from his doll.
>He was trying to remember something like that, just a casual conversation with one of his sisters.
>Just one of them asking him about how his day had been.
>He had ten sisters, for crying out loud!
>At least ONE of them had had to be concerned about him at some point recently.
>"You can't think of anything, can you?"
>Lincoln looked back. He was glaring at his stuffed animal. He hated him for making him think this way about his sisters.
>"You don't know what you're talking about" he told Bun-Bun, crawling closer to him. "You may be my best friend, but you know nothing about my sisters."
>"I know enough, Lincoln" he said, in a hard whisper, like he was afraid the walls could hear him. "I know you, you're a nice kid. You have a good heart. You don't deserve to be treated like this."
>"Shut up" he said, covering his ears with his hands.
>"You should teach them a lesson" Bun-Bun said, with clear excitement in his whispering. "They need to realize that they can't take you for granted."
>"Why are you doing this?"
>"Because I love you. And I can't stand the way they treat you."
>"You're insane."
>"You can say whatever you want about me, but I'm YOU. This is what you really think those girls."
>"Shut up!" Lincoln yelled, and he kicked Bun-Bun off his bed. "Don't talk to me ever again!"
>It landed on the floor, and it remained there, without moving or saying anything else for the rest of the night.
>Lincoln couldn't read his comic anymore.
>He couldn't concentrate on anything, actually.
>He decided to call it a day.
>He turned off the lights, laid his head down on his pillow and tried to have some rest.
>His troubled mind would keep him awake for hours before finally giving up to exhaustion.
>He fell asleep thinking about all the injustices he had had to face lately.



>Lincoln woke up that morning feeling extremely tired
>He didn’t know why at first, but he didn’t think much of it
>He thought he might have slept in an uncomfortable position, or maybe he had had nightmares
>It could also be something related with his sleep cycles
>Lisa had told him about them, but he didn’t quite understand it
>He yawned and stretched his arms
>He sat on his bed and was about to get up when he noticed something on the floor
>It was laying down on its side, with its puffy ears all tangled
>And its eyes were fixed on Lincoln, like it had been waiting for him to wake up
>Usually, seeing Bun-Bun on the floor would’ve caused Lincoln to quickly pick him up and cleaning the dust off him
>But the boy remembered everything that had happened the night before, and he was suddenly scared
>’It was probably a dream’ he thought
>Maybe that’s why he felt so tired
>He had had a horrible nightmare about his stuffed animal being alive, talking with him and saying bad things about his sisters
>It made sense
>He wanted it to make sense, to find a rational answer to it all
>But he somehow knew that it hadn’t been a nightmare
>It had been all real
>He knew it
>And it scared him
>He stood up, avoided at all cost touching that dreadful animal, and opened his door
>He ran all the way to the bathroom door, needing a cold shower right away
>Luan was in the middle of the hall and tried to tell him something, but he didn’t listen to her
>His mind was somewhere else
>Was he going insane?
>It had to be his imagination, right?
>But why was his mind telling him bad things about his sisters?
>He KNEW they loved him
>He opened the bathroom door, and stepped inside.
>He closed the door behind him
>And then he realized someone was already there
>It was Leni
>Apparently, she had been taking a shower just minutes ago
>She was obviously in the middle of drying off
>It’s not that it was particularly hard to figure that out, she had a towel in her hand and she was soaking wet
>Basic math, really
>But Lincoln’s brain needed a minute to understand what was going on
>All circuits were fried the moment he saw her naked for the first time in *so* many years
>Even though most of his friends constantly teased him about having so many hot older sisters, there was a consensus about Leni being the most beautiful
>Maybe she wasn’t the hottest
>Lori had more cleavage and a more prominous booty
>Luna had the attitude, she was a bigger tease
>But Leni was simply perfect
>She looked like she was out of a Botticelli painting
>Like Michelangelo and Bernini had decided to mold the most perfect woman in the planet out of marble, or clay
>However, it was one thing to see her in her swim suit, and another completely different thing to see her completely naked, only three feet away from him
>Her perfect sized breast
>Those beautiful areolas, so round, so pink
>Her amazing nipples, standing erect due to the cold water
>There was even a drop of water on her right nipple’s tip
>He was left out of breath, and so much blood was transferred from his head to his quickly growing member that he almost fainted
>He then looked down
>Her legs were slightly spread, and he could see it
>Her hairless pubic mound
>Her open lips
>Her pink and moist insides
>He was transfixed by that amazing sight
>Somewhere deep down in his mind, he knew that he should’ve looked away
>He should’ve apologized, left the bathroom and tried to forget that this had ever happened
>His body didn’t know how to react, tho’
>His palms were sweaty
>Knees weak, arms were heavy
>Leni’s spaghetti
>Leni…
>Lincoln looked up
>His sister was just standing there, with her arms up drying her hair with the towel
>She was looking at him with surprised eyes
>For a second, no one said anything
>And then she screamed
>Leni’s scream pierced both his eardrums
>He was so scared that he started screaming too
>They were both just looking at each other’s eyes, screaming their lungs out
>When she ran out of air, Leni breathed in (unknowingly showing more of her breasts to a still astonished Lincoln), and then started to scream again
>”I’M SORRY, I’M SORRY!” Said Lincoln, finally realizing that staring at her breasts wasn’t helping any of them
>Leni, with her eyes closed, tried to cover herself with her towel to the best of her ability
>She also started to throw everything that was at hand at him
>Toothbrushes, combs, shampoo bottles
>He tried to dodge them, but she was at point blank distance
>A frightened Leni was a dangerous Leni
>He had just received a full bottle of shampoo to the head when the door was violently opened behind him
>The impact threw him directly into the tub, getting him all wrapped up with the curtains
>He was still recovering from the fall when he opened his eyes and saw the rest of his sisters getting inside the bathroom, alternating looks between Leni (who was now crying) and Lincoln
>It was at that precise moment, when nine pairs of eyebrows changed from a surprised look to a glare, that Lincoln knew he’d fucked up big time
>”LINCOLN WHAT THE HELL?”
>It was impossible to know whom had asked him that
>He thought it had been Lori, Lynn and Lana at the same time
>It probably had been all of them at the same time
>”You guys, I’m sorry” he started to say, noticing how they were all shivering with anger
>”Oh, you will be!” Said Lola, quickly stepping out of the bathroom
>They all heard the high pitched “DAAAAAAD!” that followed soon
>Lori finished helping Leni wrapping the towel around herself, and held her as she cried
>She then glared at Lincoln with such hate and force that he thought she would disintegrate him
>”Lincoln, you have LITERALLY five seconds to try to justify yourself before we pulverize you” she told him with spite
>”Yeah, dude, or we’ll be giving you a Justified Black Eye” added Luna, looking at him like he was the most horrendous thing on earth
>”Come on, it was an accident!” He said, feeling his whole body trembling with fear “I didn’t know Leni was here!”
>”Of course you did!” Replied Luan “I had just told you that the bathroom was occupied when you walked past me!”
>That certainly didn’t help to appease his sisters
>And then Lynn let out a shriek of disgust
>”Lincoln, you fucking pervert!” She said, looking away form him
>”EEEW!” Added Lori, also looking away from him “LYNN, LUAN, TAKE LUCY, LANA AND LISA OUT!”
>As the two brunettes did as they were told, Lincoln looked down to his pants
>His tent was obscenely obviously
>He felt his face blushing as he tried to cover himself with the curtains
>”I-I d-don’t… It doesn’t mean… I...” he stammered out
>”Just shut up!” Yelled his elder sister “I just… Lincoln, I literally can’t express how disappointed I am at you right now”
>”Lori, please” he said, at the verge of tears
>”You disgust me” she said
>And it hurt him
>It hurt him like a blade cutting right through his heart
>It hurt him because he realized that she wasn’t just saying it to make him feel bad
>She was being completely honest
>”Don’t say that” he pleaded, doing his best effort to stand up in the tub while still hiding his erection
>”C’mon, Leni, let’s get out of here” Lori said, ignoring his words and dedicating him one last glare before taking the crying Leni to their room
>Now there was only Luna
>She was staring at him with fire in her eyes
>She was mad, obviously
>Maybe even justly
>But she was a cool sister
>She wasn’t as stern as Lori, or temperamental as Lynn
>She never rat on her siblings
>She would always avoid getting in fights that didn’t involved her
>She actually seemed to enjoy being with him
>Sometimes he didn’t have to be helping her with her instruments or actively listening to her jams
>Sometimes she just took her axe to wherever he was, sat next to him and then she would start to improvise something
>Lincoln wasn’t bothered by it
>He actually liked the way his sister played
>So he would sit down, continue to read his comic, and maybe even lay down against her shoulder as she kept playing
>They wouldn’t say anything to each other, because they didn’t need to
>And when they were over, they would thank each other at the same time
>They would smile, maybe even share a hug
>Because they truly loved each other
>That’s why he knew she would trust him
>She would understand that it had been all a misunderstanding
>Because she loved him
>”Luna… It was an accident… You know… You know I would never do something like this on purpose” he said
>He stood there, looking at her
>Waiting to hear her reassuring words
>Waiting to see her softening her expression
>But nothing happened
>She kept glaring at him
>”Luna… Please” he said, feeling the first tear coming out from the corner of his eye
>He took a step forward
>She took a step back
>She looked at him and snorted
>She just snorted
>And then she left the bathroom
>She didn’t say anything to him, because she didn’t need to
>Her actions spoke louder than words
>Lincoln was left alone in the bathroom
>Not for long, though, since his dad came storming just a minute later
>He lectured him about privacy, knocking the door and being more careful
>He didn’t sound particularly angry
>It was clear that he was slightly annoyed at best
>He was probably just lecturing him to please his daughter’s demands
>He send Lincoln to his room and told him to stay there until lunch
>Lincoln didn’t care
>The punishment or the disappointment in his father’s voice didn’t mean anything to him
>His heart was already dead by the time his dad came in
>He didn’t even cry
>He thought he would
>He’d shed a tear already
>But after the last sister left him abandoned in the bathroom, he couldn’t find it in himself to cry
>Not there, at least
>He obediently walked to his bedroom when his father dismissed him
>He walked with his head down, just staring at the carpet
>Some doors were open
>Some whispers were heard
>The sudden silences were also painfully eloquent
>He opened his bedroom door, closed it behind him, and rested his back against it
>He slide all the way down, until he was sitting on the floor
>He embraced his knees against his chest and rested his forehead atop them
>He couldn’t cry, but he wanted to do it so bad
>It was like an invisible force was squeezing his heart
>He felt so…
>So alone
>Abandoned
>So mistreated
>His sisters should’ve listened to him
>It had clearly been an accident
>And yet they acted like he was a monster
>They should’ve known better
>They should’ve believed him
>But they didn’t
>And now he was alone in his room, with no one to take care of him
>No one to talk to
>No one except…
>He looked up
>He was still there, laying on its side
>Lincoln picked him up
>”Bun-Bun?” He softly asked
>A part of him wanted the stuffed animal to remain inert
>The rational part of him wanted it all to be a nightmare
>The other part, though…
>The biggest part…
>...wanted it to be alive
>”Are you there?” He hopefully asked, looking straight into the stuffed animal’s eyes
>The seconds passed
>He felt his heart beating fast as he expected something to happen
>Anything to happen
>He let out all the air in his lungs when he heard the calm, happy voice
>”I told you they were bad, Lincoln.”




>”Lincoln” Said Lynn Sr, knocking on his son’s bedroom door “Are you there, son?”
>He heard some mumbling, like his son was having a whispering conversation
>He was probably calling Clyde, Lynn Sr thought
>Poor kid
>Not only they were all grounded to the house, he was now also grounded to his own room
>And it wasn’t even that spacious
>Must have been hard for Lincoln to deal with that
>Specially since all his sisters were so angry at him
>Lynn knew that his daughters had been pretty rough on their brother
>It had been a simple accident
>They should’ve cut him some slack
>But well, they were ten girls
>They always overreacted
>Four hours had passed since the bathroom incident, they should be over it by now, now that the dust had settled
>Lunch was ready, and Lincoln was the only one who hadn’t answered his dad’s call
>”Son?” He said, knocking once again, but the whispering didn’t subsided
>He respected his son’s privacy by knocking
>But he asserted his authority as his father coming in anyway
>He opened his door and looked inside Lincoln’s room
>He didn’t have his lamp turned on, and even though enough light entered from the small window on the wall, the room looked a little dark
>Lincoln was sitting on the floor, with his back turned against his father
>Lynn frowned when he realized both Lincoln’s phone and walkie-talkie were on his desk
>Whom was he talking to just a second ago?
>He wasn’t reading a comic, he wasn’t playing with his action figures
>He was just sitting there in the floor
>The only thing that looked kinda out of place was Bun-Bun
>The stuffed animal was placed against the other wall, directly in front of Lincoln
>It was weird, because Lincoln would normally freak out if Bun-Bun was on the dirty floor
>Lynn cleared his throat, but his son didn’t turned to look at him
>”Hey, kiddo” he cheerfully said “The food’s ready. We’re having my Lynn-sagna!”
>His laughter quickly died when he realized Lincoln was as motionless as when he first popped his head in his room
>”Listen, son” he said, in a more serious tone, fully opening the door and taking a step inside his son’s room, “I’m sorry for grounding you, okay?”
>Lincoln said nothing
>”You didn’t deserve that. Your sisters were all pretty freaked out, and I thought that would settle them down. It was unfair, and I should’ve known better. You’re no longer grounded to your room”
>He waited for an answer, but he didn’t get any
>Lynn Sr felt really guilty
>Lincoln had all the right to be mad at him
>”Alright, I get it” he told him “Just don’t take too long, or you’ll eat cold lasagna”
>He started to leave, but decided to stop at the last second
>He looked back at Lincoln one more time
>”I love you, son” he told him
>And then he closed the door behind him, leaving Lincoln alone in his room
>Alone, with his thoughts
>With his mind
>With Bun-Bun
>”See?” Lincoln said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder, behind him, to where his father had just been “He’s worried about me. He feels bad for punishing me. He says he loves me.”
>”I don’t doubt that both your parents love you, Lincoln” said the voice inside his head, the voice that was so clearly coming out from the stuffed animal sitting against the wall right in front of him
>”Yes, you did. You told me that no one in my family cared about me. But you were wrong. You don’t know anything” Lincoln defyingly said
>”Your parents love you. They would probably give their life for you. But even though their intentions are good, the weight of having to deal with eleven kids is too much for them. He just told you: he decided to punish you to please your sisters. He’d rather have you suffering than being bothered by them all”
>For the last hours, Bun-Bun had been telling him mean things like that
>Bad things about his sisters
>Telling him how no one really cared about him
>How no one really loved him
>Bun-Bun made a recap of the last year, with every situation where his sisters had caused him pain, in one way or another
>How they all took advantage of him
>How they all used him to their benefit
>Lincoln had argued
>He knew that Bun-Bun was exaggerating
>The stupid animal was just selecting only the memories that served his arguments
>He was ignoring all the heartwarming moments Lincoln and his sisters had lived
>All the fun times they always have
>Lincoln was convinced that Bun-Bun was just trying to confuse him
>So he did his best to defend his sisters
>He had replied to every single argument Bun-Bun had made
>But little did Lincoln know that Bun-Bun wasn’t trying to fully convince him
>He wasn’t trying to change his mind in a single conversation
>Bun-Bun had just planted the seed of distrust
>It was there now, even if Lincoln didn’t know it
>”You’re just making this up” Lincoln told Bun-Bun, standing up
>”You’re grabbing little details and you make such a big deal out of them” he said, carefully grabbing Bun-Bun by his left arm and putting him on his bed “But I don’t care what you say. I know that they all love me, and that’s all that matters”
>He quickly opened his door, waiting for a comeback from his stuffed animal, but it never came
>Before he knew it, he was already climbing down the last step of the stairs
>He stopped in the entry hall, and took a deep breath before finally getting to the dining room
>His older sisters and his parents were all in the grown up table
>”Oh, you’re here already” said Lynn Sr when he noticed Lincoln on the corner of his eye, turning around to smile at him “Great. Your food’s on the kiddie table”
>His father’s words alerted the rest of his sisters about his presence
>Lincoln took a moment to see how they all individually reacted
>Lynn looked at him and gave him a little smug grin
>He couldn’t really tell if it was a friendly gesture, or if she was somehow making fun of him
>He could already hear Bun-Bun telling him it was the latter
>Leni immediately blushed and tried to hide her face behind her glass of water
>Lori just frowned at him for a second before concentrating once again on her food
>Luan looked a little nervous at him for a second, and then a big stupid grin appeared on her face
>She have a quick look at her parents and then looked down at her plate
>Lincoln was one hundred percent sure that she had just came up with a pun, probably a dirty one, so she wasn’t going to say it in front of their parents
>But the look she gave him told him that he was eventually going to hear it
>And finally, Luna
>She didn’t look away from him
>She kept staring at him
>And he could see how disappointed she seemed to be
>He ignored them
>He walked to the kitchen and sat on his place at the kiddie table
>He was greeted by a general “Hey, Lincoln”
>At least his little sisters didn’t seem to be mad at him
>Right then, they were all having a food fight
>Lincoln looked at his lasagna; it seemed to be still warm
>He tried to grab his fork, but he realized it wasn’t anywhere near his plate
>”Hey guys, have you seen my fork?” He said, but none of his sisters seemed to pay any kind of attention at him
>He frowned
>”Guys, I need my fork to eat” he said, a little louder
>”Just use your hands” said Lana, who dodged a meatball from Lucy at the last second “it tastes better like that anyway”
>Lincoln let out a big sigh
>He then looked at Lola, and saw what she was holding
>”Lola, that’s my fork!” He complained
>”Oh, yeah, I needed another one to throw two meatballs at once” she said, proving her point by using two forks to attack Lisa and Lucy at the same time
>”But I need to eat!” Said Lincoln, getting slightly pissed off
>All his younger sisters stopped their little food war and looked at him
>They simply stared at him
>He just looked them back, confused at first
>And then, when small grins started to appear on their faces, he became worried
>”Oh, you want food then?” Said Lola, with a smile that would’ve scared the devil itself
>”Ask and you shall receive!” Added Lana
>And with that, they all attacked him at the same time
>Meatballs, sauce, pieces of pasta
>They got him everywhere
>His clothes, his hair, his face
>There was no way he could’ve taken cover
>No escaping
>He tried to get up, but a piece of lasagna went directly into his right eye
>He let out a cry of pain and crouched, covering his eyes with his hand, feeling the hot sauce burning his eye
>When he became a mess, they finally stopped
>And then they all started to laugh
>He tried to catch a napkin or something to wipe his eye, but he couldn’t find anything
>He opened his left eye and saw how they were all practically rolling on the floor with laughter
>Even Lucy
>He felt his other eye starting to itch
>But it wasn’t because of the lasagna
>He finally stood up and stormed his way out of the kitchen
>He walked as fast as he could, and luckily, everyone in the grown up table was laughing at something
>It was certainly not one of Luan’s jokes
>Unless she’d make a joke about him
>That would’ve definitely made them all laugh
>No one noticed him as he walked into the stair, up to the bathroom in the first floor
>He washed his face the best he could
>He actually needed a shower, but he didn’t feel like having one right then
>Someone would go barging in the bathroom and would kick him out
>And he needed some peace
>To be alone
>To think
>Once his face and hair were clean enough, he went back to his own room
>He closed the door behind him and changed his clothes
>He saw how dirty they were
>They were probably ruined
>Lincoln groaned and fell flat on his bed
>He grabbed his pillow and pressed it against his face
>Why was he having such a horrible day?
>How much bad luck could he have?
>His morning had been a disaster
>”You’re angry”
>Lincoln removed his pillow from his face and looked at his right
>Bun-Bun was right there, looking at him right in the eye
>”You’re sad” he added
>”Shut up” said Lincoln, deciding to stare at his ceiling
>”It’s okay. You have every right to be mad at them” added the happy rabbit
>”I’m not… Look, this happens everyday, okay? I’m used to food fights”
>”Naturalizing such violence and abuse towards you is not healthy, Lincoln”
>”Abuse?!” He exclaimed, sitting up and glaring at his stuffed animal “That was just a game”
>”Oh, yes, you were having so much fun” Bun-Bun ironically said
>”I don’t get it” said Lincoln, closing his eyes and putting his palms over them “Why do you want to make me feel so bad? Why are you trying to make me sad?”
>”Lincoln, that’s not true at all” said Bun-Bun, sounding honestly hurt by those words “I told you, I’m just best friend. I’m just trying to save you. I’m telling you all these things to help you realize that you’re letting yourself be mistreated”
>”No, no, no!” Said Lincoln “Shut up!”
>”If you’d just listen to me, then you’d realize just how right I am”
>”Oh, I listened to everything you had to say, for hours! You’re just trying to put me against my sisters, but that’s not going to happen! They LOVE me!”
>He screamed that last part directly into the stuffed animal face
>Bun-Bun didn’t say anything else
>He just had his eyes fixed on Lincoln, who was staring back at him
>Lincoln looked at him, and he found himself waiting for an answer
>An answer that never came
>He bit his lip and looked elsewhere
>”They… T-They do love me… R-Right?” He asked, now looking unsure at his animal
>”I don’t know, Lincoln. Do they?”
>”I mean… Yeah… They… They have to”
>”Just because you’re siblings? Just because you love them back?” Asked Bun-Bun and if the stuffed animal had a mouth, Lincoln could’ve seen the growing smile on it
>”B-But… I know they love me… I… All this time...”
>”You thought they loved you, yes. But Lincoln, let’s be honest here, your definition of love is pretty unaccurate”
>Lincoln glared at Bun-Bun
>”What’s that supposed to mean?”
>”You can’t tell the difference between love and violence. You think that by pushing and shoving you’re showing your love for your siblings. You fell in love with the girl that gave you a black eye. You were perfectly fine being Chandler’s slave just to be invited to his birthday party”
>With every word Bun-Bun said Lincoln’s heart sank a little bit deeper
>”Just face it, Lincoln. You can’t tell love from abuse”
>Lincoln wanted to say that he was wrong
>He wanted to tell Bun-Bun that he was a monster, that he was just trying to mess him up
>But he couldn’t
>Lincoln simply couldn’t find it in him to tell him that he was wrong
>Because, honestly, he was starting to feel like he wasn’t
>Maybe he was right
>But it couldn’t be
>He loved them… And he… he knew that they loved him back
>”I know what you’re thinking” Bun-Bun reassured him “If it makes you feel better, I don’t think they hate you”
>”Then why…? What do they feel towards me?”
>”I’m pretty sure that they like you, but all these years, you acted in a way that made them think that they could mistreat you and get away with it”
>Lincoln felt his eyes itching, like he was about to cry
>”You’ve taught them to love you in the wrong way. It’s your fault that they see you as their personal slave. All your so called friends, all your sisters… You’ve showed them the weakest version of yourself”
>”I’ve shown them my true self” said Lincoln, as he started to shed some tears “I’m… This is what I am… There’s nothing more in me”
>As he started to sob, Lincoln heard Bun-Bun clicking his tongue
>”Now, now, Lincoln, that’s not true. There are more layers about you than what you think. I know. That’s where I come from”
>Lincoln, with teary eyes, looked up into Bun-Bun’s eyes
>”What do you mean?”
>”There’s a stronger version of yourself. A Lincoln that’s been asleep all this time, waiting for its time to awake”
>Lincoln felt a chill running down his spine
>”He can make you braver. Stronger. He can earn your sister’s true love. I can help you reach it...”
>He made a dramatic pause, and it was almost like Lincoln could see the smile on his stuffed animal’s face
>”...but you need to let me do it”
>Lincoln stared at Bun-Bun and wiped the tears from his eyes
>”Show me.”
.
.
.
.
.
.
>As the week went on, no one seemed to notice any change in Lincoln’s behavior
>They were probably so busy with their things that they didn’t realize that he was more absent
>He spend most of the time inside his own room
>The only times when he got out of it was on the meals, and for showering
>Oddly enough, that week turned out to be one where none of his sisters had any need for him
>Somehow, no one found the need to ask him for help
>Therefore, no one even tried to talk with him, to see how he was, to ask him about his day or anything
>They were happy with their lives and they didn’t need him, so they forgot about him
>But he didn’t forget
>He was suddenly remembering it all
>Everything that they had put him through throughout the years
>Everything that he had done for them
>All the energy he’d invested in his sisters
>All the love he’d selflessly given
>Bun-Bun kept telling him all about it
>That little stuffed animal had a perfect memory, recalling events Lincoln had long since forgotten
>And he was also very convincing
>”You just have to grant me control, Lincoln” he told him one day. “And then I’ll make sure that the best of you comes afloat.”
>”I know how you think” Lincoln stammered, sitting on his bedroom floor as he stared at the happy rabbit face “You want to hurt them.”
>”It’s not that I want to hurt them. I just want to save you.”
>”By hurting them.”
>”By teaching them a lesson.”
>”That’s not okay” the boy said, with tears rolling down his cheeks “I-I… I can’t let you”
>”You don’t want to be free from them?”
>”No. Yes. I just… I won’t let you take me. You’d hurt them”
>Bun-Bun said nothing more, and Lincoln was scared
>He hated when it didn’t talk, because he couldn’t know what was it thinking
>”Fine” Bun-Bun finally said, with a happy tone “I understand. How about this: just let me open your eyes, okay?”
>”What?”
>”And then you’ll see.”
.
.
.
>It was well into the afternoon when Lincoln left his room
>He closed the door behind him and stared at the hall
>It was a big mess, like it always was
>Disgusting
>He wasn’t the cleanest guy, but he had standards
>He kept his mess to himself, contained within his own room
>His sisters couldn’t even do that
>It was easier for them to be a mess, to left their toys, clothes and unfinished snacks on the floor
>It was his chore to take out the garbage, after all
>He calmly walked downstairs, ignoring all the noise and commotion
>Lola, Lucy and Lisa were fighting over the TV remote control
>They were screaming, pulling each others hair and trading kicks and blows like they were fighting for their lives
>He would’ve normally backed away
>He usually tried his best to stay out of fights
>But there was a new episode of ARGGH
>And he wasn’t about to miss it
>He slowly walked straight into the fighting and picked up the remote control, which in the turmoil had been left alone on the floor
>He then sat down on the middle seat of the couch and put his show on
>The sudden change alerted his sisters
>”Hey!” The three of them said, immediately ending their fight to glare at him
>”What do you think you’re doing?!” Asked an angry Lola
>Lincoln didn’t answer at first, he just kept staring at his show with an unenthusiastic expression on his face
>”My vampire show is about to start” said Lucy
>”There’s a very interesting documentary about supernovas that I’d like to analyze” added Lisa
>”Yeah, and my cartoons are about to start!” Complained the young wannabe princess “So you better give me my…!”
>They all started to rant on about how each one of them deserved to have the TV for themselves
>Lincoln was tempted to just tell them that they could all watch something together
>Maybe a Blarney movie on the cable channels
>He almost told them that
>He opened his mouth with the intention of ending the conflict
>But other words left his mouth
>”Shut up!”
>His younger sisters stopped talking and looked at him with wide eyes
>Lucy and Lisa looked taken aback, but the blonde girl seemed to be offended
>”Excuse me?” Said Lola, frowning and pursing her lips until they were a just a thin line
>”I said. Shut. Up.” He calmly repeated, slowly turning his head from the TV to look at his little sister’s eyes
>Lola kept glaring at him, like she was trying to melt him down with her gaze
>She looked completely menacing, and all their siblings knew that they should always avoid making Lola mad
>But now Lincoln knew better
>He could see behind her false bravado
>It was all so clear now, like he had been looking at the world through a frosted glass, getting the general picture, but unable to appreciate the small details
>He saw his little sister, afraid of losing her leadership
>A girl who had tried so hard to build herself a reputation by tormenting her siblings
>”She’s not a sweet, slightly temperamental princess, Lincoln” Bun-Bun had told him “She’s a tyrant. Will you let her continue treating you all like slaves? Always ratting on you? Always threatening you to get her needs satisfied?”
>He wouldn’t
>”I’ve been waiting all week to see my show, today’s a very special episode, and I can’t miss it” he told her in a sweet yet menacing way
>”Well, tough luck” she said, “but I’ve ALSO been waiting for today’s cartoons, so I will watch them!”
>Lincoln stared at her
>She was waiting, looking at him with her chin up and her lips still pursed
>She was expecting him to sigh and give her the remote
>To comply to her demands
>”No” he told her, instead
>And then he looked back at the screen
>She grunted and then jumped onto her big brother, getting ready for a fist fight
>But when she was in the middle of the air, Lincoln extended his arm, and Lola’s face crashed against his open palm
>Lucy and Lisa gasped, and took a step back
>Lincoln was motionless
>On the outside, his face seemed imperturbable, but on the inside, he was screaming
>He hadn’t moved his hand
>On the ground, Lola let out a small groan of pain
>Lincoln, whom for an outsider observer looked uninterested, with half lidded eyes and a raised eyebrow, looked at his little sister
>Lola slowly stood up, with both her hands grabbing her nose, which seem to be a little sore
>She was letting out little shrieks of pain, and she was breathing sharp, like she was trying to contain her tears back
>She had her eyes closed, but finally opened them and looked at Lincoln
>She didn’t look offended or angry anymore
>She looked like she was feeling a mixture of surprise and fear
>”Y-You… You hit me in the face” she said, almost astonished
>Lincoln tried to apologize
>”You hit yourself” he said instead, unimpressed
>Her eyes started to shine with the tears that were forming on its corner, and she pouted her lips
>”Why are you being so mean?” She asked
>”Oh, I’m being mean?” He said, letting out a short, sarcastic chuckle “Lola, you’re the one who tried to jump on me to hit me. I’m sorry, guys, but I’m the oldest here, and I got the remote. Good luck next time.”
>Lola continued to look at him like she was about to cry, but she then recomposed herself, clenched her fist and gave him a glare
>”Fine! You can keep the dumb TV! I don’t want it anymore! I’ll go have a tea party with my dolls, and you won’t be invited anymore!” She yelled
>Lincoln looked at her, and the corner of her mouth lifted up to form a half smile
>”I’ll hold you to it”
>Her lips started to tremble, and she stomped her way out of the living room right away
>She didn’t want him to see her cry
>Lincoln then looked at Lucy and Lisa
>”Does any of you have a problem?”
>They didn’t answer
>They simply turned around and slowly walked away, taking one last look at their brother
>The show was good, entertaining, but it ended without Lincoln really noticing anything about it
>He was just sitting there, staring at the screen
>Meanwhile, his mind was fighting a battle that was proving to be pointless
>Only when it ended he could stand up and go back into his own room
>He walked like an automaton, without caring about anything that happened around him
>He ignored Luan’s joke as they met on the stair, and he ignored Luna’s guitar playing on the hall
>The only thing he managed to do was giving a single look at Luna and Lana’s room
>The door was closed
>He got inside his own room
>As soon as he closed the door behind him, his left hand ever so slowly went into the back pocket of his jeans
>The moment his hand closed itself around Bun-Bun’s head, Lincoln regained full control of his actions
>He almost fell forward, letting out all the air he had in his lungs, like he’d been holding his breath for ages
>And then he threw Bun-Bun against the opposite wall with all his strength
>The rabbit just bounced against it and ended up face down on the floor
>Lincoln was about to explode with anger
>His arms were shivering trying to contain his nerves
>”You lied to me!” He said, running to grab Bun-Bun by its ears
>”You told me that you wouldn’t hurt anyone! You told me that you wouldn’t use me!” He said, before giving a punch right into the stuffed animal’s belly
>”She was about to hurt you” Bun-Bun said, like he couldn’t see what was wrong with what he’d done “I just tried to protect you.”
>”She’s only six years old!” Lincoln replied “Are you crazy?! You almost made her cry!”
>”I just showed her how unfair she was being.”
>”No. No, don’t you try to sweet talk me into it” Lincoln warned him, pointing a finger at his face “I’m not stupid. I know what you were doing there. I swear to you, if you ever touch one of my sisters again, I’ll-”
>A soft knocking on his door interrupted him
>Lincoln quickly threw Bun-Bun on top of his bed
>He checked himself on his mirror to make sure that he didn’t look as disturbed as he was feeling
>His eyes were clearly terrified, and he had to wipe some sweat from his forehead, but other than that he looked pretty much his usual self
>Taking a deep breath, he opened his bedroom door
>Lola was standing outside
>She was looking at the floor, nervously playing with her fingers
>Lincoln gulped and tried his best to stay casual
>He was having troubles keeping a steady breathing
>He wanted to apologize so much, but he didn’t know how to do it
>Luckily, he didn’t have to say it
>”I’m sorry, Linky” Lola said, sounding extremely regretful “I shouldn’t have tried to hit you”
>He didn’t know what to say
>It was him who should be apologizing
>Unfortunately, she misinterpreted his silence
>”And I’m sorry for yelling at you, and for… And for telling you that you were not invited to my tea parties. I’m… I’m sorry”
>He couldn’t stand it anymore
>”It’s okay, Lola, I...”
>He wanted to apologize too
>But he heard Bun-Bun whispering into his ear
>”I’m glad you realized how unfair you were being”
>Lola looked up at him
>She had puppy eyes
>A very sad, mistreated puppy
>”I.. I know” she say, looking away from him “I didn’t mean to do it..”
>”It’s okay, Lola” he said, finally having enough will power to smile at her
>He also patted her head, as tenderly as he couldn’t
>”Do you.. Do you want to come to a tea party? Y-You don’t have to be the butler, you can be the honorary guest!” She quickly added
>He was about to tell her yes, that he would love to do it
>But he felt a chilling sensation on his back
>He looked back at his bed, and saw Bun-Bun’s eyes fixed on him
>”I-I’m sorry, Lola. Maybe.. Maybe later, alright?” He nervously said
>She seemed to be a little disappointed
>Lola nodded and walked back to his room, dragging his feet all the way there
>Lincoln quickly closed the door
>He leaned against it and closed his eyes
>”Do you see it now?” Bun-Bun said
>”What?” He asked
>”She came here asking for your forgiveness”
>”Yeah, she was so afraid of me she came here to apologize for nothing. Are you proud?”
>”You’re not getting it” the rabbit said, with clear disappointment in its voice
>”What are you talking about?!” Lincoln impatiently asked
>”She came to apologize to you because she realized she’s been treating you in a way she shouldn’t have. Just by planting yourself, just by having your convictions defended, you made her realize how unfair she was being to you.
>”You’re mad” Lincoln said “You hurt her and now she’s afraid”
>”No, Lincoln. You showed her that you won’t be taking her shit any more” he said and Lincoln shivered when he heard his stuffed animal cursing “and now she respects you.”
>”Respect? Is that what you call respect?”
>Lincoln shook his head
>He knew that this was wrong
>He knew that his little sister was scared
>But his mind didn’t want to give him the reason
>All his brain could process was the fact that he had watched his show
>None of his little sisters had bothered him
>He’d won the TV
>”Yes” excitingly said Bun-Bun “You’re getting it now. You showed them your strength and they left you alone. Do you understand it now? This is the path, Lincoln.”
>”The path to where?” He asked, closing his eyes
>”Why the path to your freedom, of course.”
>He wanted to cry
>This was all too much for him
>He didn’t know what to do
>Should he listen to his heart?
>Or should he listen to Bun-Bun?
>He didn’t have time for deciding it
>The door was suddenly kicked open, throwing him to the floor in the process
>He fell face first into the hardwood, and the impact on his back left him sore and in pain
>He didn’t need to look back to know who it was
>”Hey, bro” Lynn said, with a smug smile