Loud House: Orphan Lincoln (Sample)

Plastic thumped against fabric, as Lincoln lazily rolled his cheap dice across the floor. As they bounced, the group of boys, surrounding Lincoln, clenched their fists and gritted their teeth in anticipation. Finally, when the dice stopped, they did so with the numbers two and five facing up. "Seven." Lincoln said in a disinterested tone, seemingly not caring that he'd won the match. The crowd, however, lost their mind, some shouted "that didn't count" and others slammed their fists against the floor. Lincoln's voice was barely heard above the racket.
"Yeah, I agree, let's not count that one." The boys were instantly stunned into silence, which gave Lincoln ample time to fetch his dice. When he picked them up, the threw them again and, as they rolled, he explained himself. "They're loaded dice, see, they always come up seven." The boys comically looked at Lincoln, switched to the dice, looked back at Lincoln again, and then finally switched back to see that the dice had landed on three and four.

The boys looked puzzled, one boy, though it might have been due to lice, even scratched his head. "Basically, Lincoln was cheating." Said an old voice, as the matron entered the room. "Lincoln, I am beyond fed up with you and your gambling." She muttered, as she bent down to pick up the dice. Storing them in her jacket pocket. Her hands were old and weathered, years of looking after an orphanage had done that to her, but her mind was still sharp. Making her the only person in the orphanage that Lincoln listened to. "Come on, it's your turn." She declared and stuck her hand out, waiting for Lincoln to accept it.
"I'm not a baby." The boy said, but he gripped her jacket regardless.

As the matron and the boy travelled through the orphanage, they did so in silence, save for the sound of the matron's boots against the wooden floor. The matron was by no means a cold woman. Yet, she could sometimes fall into silence, as being a chatter box simply wasn't in her nature. Nevertheless, as looked down at the stone-faced boy that walked beside her. She realised that she wanted to, or perhaps even needed to, console him. "Lincoln, you know that I only want what's best for you, right? Every child needs a family; but I try so hard, because you've got it through your head that you're all alone and I want to show you that it doesn't have to be that way." She struggled with words, but the matron did her best to connect with Lincoln. From the heart. Lincoln, however, wasn't interested.
"I can take care of myself." He said, without even looking at the old woman. Whose jacket he was still holding onto.
"By cheating and swindling?" The matron asked coldly.
"I don't see the problem with that. Life is one huge gamble and this orphanage may as well be a casino. I'm just swinging the odds in my favour." Lincoln retorted. The matron gave an audible sigh, unsure of what she could do with the boy and secretly wondering if he was heading down a dark path.

Eventually, they reached a room with a heavy wooden door that was the final remnant of when the orphanage was first built. Lincoln briefly wondered if the orphanage would still be the same orphanage, if the door was replaced; as the matron dusted him down with a small tissue. "Alright, best behaviour, I don't want a repeat of last time, understood?" The matron said sternly, to which Lincoln nodded. Though he rolled his eyes once the matron wasn't looking. With that, they both entered the room.

Inside, sat a middle-aged couple on the better side of forty and, as the matron closed the door, the two parties took in everything about each other. The man was African-American, with short fuzzy hair that had receded to the centre of his head. He had a small soul patch, likely to give some illusion to youth, and wore a green sweater with tanned trousers. Giving him that classic dad look. He wasn't overly fat. But Lincoln could tell that he wasn't going to be jumping through tires, anytime soon. His wife was of the same race and had a classic mom look going for her. With long wavy hair, noticeable earrings, a pink sweater, with the sleeves pulled up, and dark brown stretch pants. She was much plumper than her husband and seemed just a little bit uncomfortable, from having sat down in her chair for what was presumably hours. Similarly, the couple took in the sight of Lincoln. His white hair, lanky frame, chipped tooth, that he was habitually pressing his tongue against, and orange top and jeans. He was certainly a striking character.

Once, she had closed the door, the matron went to sit in her chair. Whereas the couple stood up to introduce themselves. "Lynn Loud senior. Father, loving husband and entrepreneur." The man said in a quirky, comical tone, as he excitedly shook Lincoln by the hand.
"Seems like you already have your gravestone figured out." Lincoln stated drily, earning a glare from the matron. But, Lynn gave a joyful chuckle.
"Oh, a comedian, our daughter, Luan, will just love you." He said, as he stepped aside to let his wife introduce herself.
"Call me Rita, sweetie, and don't the buffoon put you off. He means well." Rita said, as she gently shook Lincoln by the hand. The two then sat back down in their chairs, though they seemed to be keen to get out of them. "Have a seat, sport." Lynn said, as he gestured towards the chair in between the matron and himself. Lincoln accepted. Sitting down, on the chair, with his legs crossed and his hands in his lap. Rita smiled sweetly, when he glanced at the couple. But, he wasn't interested and ignored her. "Well then, since he's not yet given his name, allow me to introduce Lincoln." The matron declared, only for Lynn to interrupt her.
"Ah, an L." He said, jovially. Earning a flick to the wrist from Rita. The matron, who had been with the couple for hours, paid no mind and continued her introduction of Lincoln. "Lincoln is a very capable boy, quiet, though not shy, good with numbers and I can't help but notice that you've already seen his humour." The matron blinked, her tell-tale sign that she was bullshitting, she didn't think Lincoln was the least bit funny, but she worked with what she got. In reality; capable meant swindler, quiet, though not shy, meant solemn, good with numbers tied into his swindling habits and Lincoln had a dry humour that could be considered rude. Lincoln had often been turned down before, such was the nature of an orphanage, but the matron worked hard, for Lincoln's sake.

Twenty minutes later, Lincoln's time had finished and, as he was the last boy, that meant the couple would have to make a decision. Lynn and Rita stood up, seeming stiff and uncomfortable as they rose, and thanked the matron. "Thank you, Mrs. Clark, we clearly have a lot to discuss with our daughters." Clearly, Rita wore the pants as Lynn seemed happy to let her do the talking.
"That's nice." Mrs. Clark said, very much agitated. "Lincoln, it would be polite if you gave Mister Loud his wallet back." Lynn was shocked, he felt for his wallet and found that it wasn't where it should be. Instead, it was in Lincoln's hand, waiting to be taken back or, more appropriately, rescued from Lincoln. "Well, I see now what she meant by capable." Lynn chuckled as he took his wallet back. But the matron wasn't pleased in the slightest, she seemed ready to boil, as she gave a sharp cough. Lincoln looked away from Lynn, as he fished out a folded twenty dollar note, from up his sleeve, and handed it to Lynn. "Oh, ho ho. Clever, the wallet wasn't the real prize. That was just the distraction, you were aiming for only a small cut of the money." Lynn said, raising one eyebrow and giving Lincoln a wry smile. The couple shared a look, then they turned and whispered at one another. Lynn absentmindedly put his wallet in his back pocket, which Lincoln reached for. But, his hand retreated back to his side, when he felt the matron's eyes burning a hole into the back of his head. They turned and faced Mrs. Clark and with a wide smile and a hearty gesture, Lynn exclaimed. "We'll take him!" To which both the matron and Lincoln stared dumbfounded at the happy couple, they could suddenly start to glow and it wouldn't be any more of a surprise. The matron, however, clamped down hard on the opportunity. "Very well then, I'll get the paper work sorted." Matron declared as she composed herself. Meanwhile, Lincoln was still aghast at the situation and looked like a deer in headlights. Lynn simply winked at the boy and Rita beamed.

Two hours later, Mrs. Clark and Lincoln were watching the setting sun as it painted the sky a myriad of warm colours. "Fitting." Began Mrs. Clark, as she spoke to Lincoln. "When the sun next rises, you'll have a new life. With a family that loves you."
"I'll be back in a week." Lincoln said, trying to convince himself that life doesn't change so quickly nor so easily.
"No, you won't." The matron argued. "You changed your own fate. They probably wouldn't have picked you, if you hadn't had done such a stupid thing, so you stuck yourself in their mind and now you're Lincoln Loud." Lincoln Loud, the white haired boy rolled that name across his mindscape as he pondered what a new name meant. The sound of a car boot being slammed disturbed Lincoln and his train of thought. "Looks like they're ready for you." The matron said and pointed Lincoln to his new parents. Lincoln nodded in response, unsure of how to say goodbye, he simply said. "Goodbye, Mrs. Clark." The matron laughed and said.
"I'm not a matron to you anymore, just a friend. Call me Maggie." Maggie then knelt down and hugged Lincoln, who became stiff as a board. Only to slowly melt and then warmly hug his friend. The two separated and Lincoln, with a nod, turned on his heels and went forth into his new life. "Goodbye, Lincoln Loud." Maggie called out. She watched until the car was out of sight and then headed back inside the orphanage.

Lincoln slept through the car ride home, likely exhausted from shock and other emotions that he couldn't quite explain. It was night once the car had reached the house, Lincoln had to be woken up by Lynn after he and Rita had gotten out of the car. "Where are we?" Asked Lincoln, his mind groggy. "Your new home! It's in a kind of Suburbia called Royal Woods." Lynn explained, only for Rita to call out from behind him.
"Not kind of, honey, it is a suburbia." She opened up the boot and struggled with Lincoln's suitcase, which housed his belongings. "Can you help me with this Lynn?" She asked.
"Sure thing, Rita. You go on in son, we'll be with you in a moment." Lynn, after having said, then proceeded to join Rita in struggling with the suitcase. Lincoln got out of the car, hearing. "Just what the heck did he put in this thing." From behind as he stood in front of his new home. Seizing the day, he stepped inside.

The inside of the house immediately greeted Lincoln with a scene of chaos. Girls shouted, ran in all directions, played games and generally made a huge ruckus. So absorbed, were they, in their own explosive world, they didn't even notice Lincoln as he stood in the doorway nor did they notice him as he took tentative steps into the house. In fact, it took one of the younger girls, running into his leg, for the boy to be noticed. After she fell on her backside, she looked up at Lincoln and screamed. Lincoln simply looked down at the girl. After she readjusted her her cap, she ran to another sister and started shouting. "Lori! Lori! Lori!" She cried out insistently. Lori, who was on her mobile phone, simply gestured for the shouting kid to go somewhere else. Suddenly, from his side, another girl, one taller than him, had appeared, holding a wooden puppet. "You're so wooden, you could be my new puppet." She declared with a small and then gave a short bust of chuckles. "But, seriously, what are you doing here?" She demanded to know, once she had finished laughing. "I heard there was an audition for life-size puppets." Lincoln answered drily.
"You know it, buster." She laughed again and then asked. "Do you get it?"
"Well, if you don't know if I get the job, then we're both in a sorry state." Lincoln retorted, to which the girl laugh, causing her large cloud of black hair to bounce, as she forgot all about asking why Lincoln was in the house.

Thankfully, Lynn and Rita entered the house, Lynn dragging the suit case behind him. "Girls, there's someone I want you to meet." Rita called out and all of the noise stopped, as if a mute button had been pressed, only for nine pairs of eyes to fall on Lincoln. "We have someone we'd like to introduce you to." Lynn said, as he pulled Lincoln towards him, so that both he and Rita could put their hands on his shoulders. Presenting him, almost, to the rest of their family. "This is Lincoln Loud. He's your new brother." Rita explained, only to receive no response as the girls looked at Lincoln with open mouths. The joker, that he had been talking previously, was the first to break the silence. "Well, that explains that." She said with a laugh and then stated. "I like him." After that, one by one, the sisters began to talk.
"See, Lori." The girl that had bumped into earlier cried out. "He was the one I was telling you about."
"Aha, I figured, sorry Lana." Lori said, putting her phone away. Then, one of the girls screamed.
"We had a brother and the whole time we didn't even know!? But, wait, you always told me I only had sisters." Lincoln looked at the girl you was making all the noise and saw a tall with sunglasses and wavy dark hair. She stared back at Lincoln and started shaking once she realised that he was also looking at her. "Clearly, he'sth adopted, Leni." Came a quiet lisp, the owner of said lisp was a small girl, barely a toddler, who seemed to be writing on a notepad. A strange sight, but it didn't register how strange, with Lincoln, as the whole day had been strange for him. "Lisa's right kids." Lynn said, as he readied a spiel. Lisa managed to slip in an ego boost beforehand. "As usual." She stated, only for Lynn to ignore her.
"Your mother and I have always wanted sons and daughters; but at the tenth child, we realised that it just wasn't happening." Lisa interrupted him to induce more snark. "Here I thought it wasth because you were told there was a prizthe, when you made it to ten." At this there a giggle, its source obvious, but Lynn continued regardless. "So, we decided to adopt a boy of our own. Like I said earlier, this is Lincoln your new brother, why don't you introduce yourself while we carry your suitcase upstairs." Once he had finished speaking, he dragged the suitcase upstairs, with Rita pushing from behind.

The joker was the first to introduce herself. "I'm Luan, I'll help you out if you ever need a source of comedy." She stretched out her hand, but Lincoln noticed that their was a buzzer attached to her palm. So, he took a handkerchief and used it as a barrier as he shook her hand. He still felt the shock, but it was bearable. "Noticed that did ya? You catch on quick." She said with a bright smile. As he shook her hand, he took in the sight of her. She wore a white shirt, fake flower and yellow tartan trousers. Her hair was swept back and bunched up with a scrunchie, making her hair look like a large black cloud. She had a widow's peak and braces on her teeth. She was a little bit taller than Lincoln, so he guessed her to be a few years older. Next, the girl who had screamed leapt in front of Lincoln. Ready and eager to introduce herself, clearly having gotten over her surprise from earlier. The girl had a one-track mind. "I'm Leni." She said sweetly, as she readied her hand to be shook. Once Lincoln took a hold of her hand, only for her to scream and yank her arm back. Revealing that Lincoln had somehow managed to swipe the buzzer from Luan in the time they had been shaking. To this, Luan laughed. "I really like him." Luan declared, between laughter.
"Not funny, Luan." Leni said, with just a hint of scathing. Leni was an unforgettable individual. Along with the sunglasses, atop her wavy hair, she had a cerulean green sleeveless shirt, that stopped at her midriff, accompanied by jeans. The unforgettable part was the hyper lips and large hips that were backed by a prominent behind. She was also slim and much taller than Lincoln, making her possibly half a decade older than him.

Another girl, Lori, stood up. "Alright, if we're going like this, we'll be here until midnight." She said, as she walked into the centre of the room. "From oldest to youngest, Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn, Lucy, twins Lana and Lola, Lisa and the baby Lily, who's asleep right now." This hadn't helped in the slightest and Lincoln had now forgotten the names of the two who had just introduced themselves, as a result. "Like that helped." A morbid voice said, from behind Lincoln, causing him to jump into the air. He spun round and saw a girl, ten inches smaller than him, dressed in black. With a single eye peaking out from long thick curtains of hair. He waited for the girl to introduce herself, but she just stared, silently and very much eerily. Luckily, a call from Lynn Loud Sr. saved him from the situation. "Lincoln, can you come up here!?" Lincoln began to follow the voice, but stopped at the foot of the stairs, unsure of himself. "I'll show you up, in more ways than one, follow me." Luan said, as she passed by him, laughing as she gestured at Lincoln, for him to follow her up.

On the second floor, they located Lynn Sr. and Rita in what looked to be a small closet that had been changed into a makeshift bedroom. Luan, with a push, guided Lincoln inside. "Well, this will be your bedroom, treat it likes yours, because it is yours." Lynn said with a huff, clearly out of breath.
"Your suitcase is on the bed, but I'm really curious to know what's inside. It was just so heavy!" Rita exclaimed, herself also out of breath. Lincoln marched over to the suitcase, opened it up, and revealed multiple copies one his t-shirt and jeans combo. "That's it!? Clothes?" Lynn cried out, shocked at the revelation. Lincoln nodded silently. Lynn and Rita squeezed past Lincoln, with Luan getting out of their way, so that they could get past. "Well, if you need us, just give us a holler." Lynn said, with a smile as he recomposed himself. "I know this all has to be confusing and unnatural and perhaps even scary. But, we're here for you and we want to do the best we can for you." Rita explained as she tried to open up to Lincoln. She received a simple mutter of thanks for her efforts. Lincoln's new parents then made their way downstairs. "Be real with me, here, what's really in the trunk?" Luan asked, as she stepped into the room.
"Stuff I've collected over the years, secret stuff that I've hidden inside the clothes." Lincoln answered as he closed the trunk and carefully guided it to the floor. "Oouu, funny and mysterious. I like it." Luan replied with her characteristic smile. "Don't be so nervous about being the only boy or being white, we don't care; family's what's important." She added to which Lincoln nodded. Still very much on guard. "Don't mind Lori either, she's a crab apple, but she means well and she's not aggressive."
"Which one was Lori?" Lincoln asked.
"The girl who decided, let's spoil everybody's fun by ruining the introductions. That one was Lori." Luan answered. Then a light-bulb appeared above her head, as she was struck with an idea. "Hey, why don't we all play a game? That's the way to really get to know somebody, I say." Luan suggested, giving Lincoln an idea of his own. "Okay, I have a deck of old cards, why don't we play old maid?"
"Yeah, that's a great idea! I hope you've got a good poker face." Luan practically sprang out of the room, as she raced downstairs. Lincoln pulled out his deck of cards from one of the orange tops.

Before long, nine Louds, plus Lincoln, were sitting around a table with five cards each. "This worked out well, we only have two cards spare." One of the girls said, a girl who was slightly taller than Luan, with dreadlocks. "We'll go in order of age, that way you can remember it better." Lori declared and went first, reaching over to pull a card from Lincoln. "Hold on." Lincoln said, Lori pausing mid-reach.
"Go on." She said, a little annoyed.
"There's no stakes to this." Lincoln declared.
"What, you actually want to gamble?" The girl with dreadlocks asked.
"It's not fun if we don't. So, how about this, if someone gets a pair, then that person can ask a question of the person who helped make that pair." Lincoln explained, with Luan chiming in. "That's a great idea!" Luan exclaimed with a big Cheshire cat grin. What she didn't know was, Lincoln was going to cheat. He had the opportunity to ask a maximum of twenty questions, as he couldn't completely control the game, giving him at least one question per sister. The girls gave their mutual agreement to the idea. "Alright, fine, that is a good idea, Lincoln." Lori said, she then took a card from Lincoln. "Drat." She muttered, realising that she had taken an unwanted card.

When they arrived at Lincoln, only one pair had been taken. With the order they went in, Lincoln had learned that there were five sisters who were older than him. Lori, the eldest, a bossy girl with dark brown hair that was medium length and just reached her shoulders. Leni, who had already introduced herself. The girl with dreadlocks, who wore a purple shirt with a skull printed on it, along with a studded leather choker. Luan, who he currently knew the best out of the sisters, and a sporty looking girl with swept back hair that was done up in a lower ponytail; though not even half as bushy as Luan and more wavy in nature. This also meant that the other five girls were all younger than him. Lincoln decided which girl he wanted to ask a question of, then took a card from Lori without hesitation. He made a pair and then set them down. Then, he asked his question. "What are your interests?"
"My boyfriend-Bobbie, friends, family and communications." Lori answered, a little on-guard herself. A common thread that Lori and Lincoln shared was that they were suspicious of strangers. Nevertheless, Lincoln had learned that Lori was a high-school socialite.

Afterwards, the spooky girl, that had scared Lincoln, went next, the twins did rock-paper-scissors for their turns and the girl with the lisp, who Lincoln now noted as wearing thick-rimmed glasses, went last. The turn then circled back to Lori. Again, only one pair was made and it wasn't from Lincoln. The girls seemed to be avoiding taking cards from Lincoln; probably realising that if they all did that, then he'd win in one round. So, it was better that none of them took his cards. When it was Lincoln's turn again, he decided to ask a question of one of the girls who hadn't yet spoken to him and took the card of the twin that hadn't bumped into him. She had a tiara above her long wavy hair and wore a pink sash over her pink dress. It was obvious what kind of things she was into. So, when Lincoln took one of her cards, and made a pair, he decided to ask her a different question. "What do you think of me?" He asked.
"Wha-? Well, you're different, I'll give you that." The little pink twin answered. Despite her pink, pretty exterior, the girl was blunt. Lincoln gathered that, she might be the one who'd happily point out his wrongdoings.

With only one card left, Lincoln spent a few rounds purposefully drawing duds; so as to build up his hand again. Giving the added bonus of making his cheating look more natural. Four pairs had been made, in that time, but the cards had mostly been shuffled around. One girl, the sporty girl, only had only one card left. So, to avoid losing his opportunity to ask her a question, he took hers. When he did so, she fist pumped and shouted out. "Yeah! First to have an empty hand." Clearly she was the competitive type. Maybe even the type to be easily goaded. If he was tricky, he might be able to get more than one question out of her and have it all count as only one. "Okay, my question, hmm. Let's see. Oh, I got one, are you a crybaby?" Jaws dropped, but the girl in question was the first to react. By exploding.
"Excuse me? Do I like a crybaby to you!?" She shouted, slamming her fist onto the table.
"Honestly, yes." Was Lincoln's reply, which was what truly set her off. She reached over the table, grabbing Lincoln by the collar and shaking him.
"I am lunatic Lynn Loud and I eat chumps like you for breakfast! You wanna have a go at me? Well then let's you and me duke it out in the ring!" Leni tried to calm Lynn Jr. as the lunatic continued her tirade, regardless, Lincoln had decided it was time to backpedal. "Sorry, I just didn't know what to ask you, so I thought it might be funny if I just wasted my turn." He lied, though it was a lie that Lynn accepted as she threw Lincoln back into his seat.
"Whatever. Later, loser." She growled as she left the table.
"Well done, Lincoln." Lori added, once the jock had left the room. Lincoln however, had all he needed to know about lunatic Lynn Loud. She was a hot-headed, easily provoked, jock called Lynn.

There were no pairs until the next time it was Lincoln's turn. He picked dreadlocks for a question, but she wasn't so keen. "Hey, little man, us musicians are good at math and I count that you've got four tenths of the pairs drawn. Pretty lucky, don't you think?" Dreadlocks was clearly suspicious, but Lincoln only had four girls to go, after her, so he wasn't too worried. "Don't be a sore loser, just answer my question, dreadlocks." Lincoln told the girl who was crying foul.
"Name's Luna." Dreadlocks spat.
"Okay, Luna, sorry, I would have asked, but then that'd be my question. Now, then, what to ask you, Luna Loud? Oh, I know, can I listen to a mix-tape of your music, sometime?" Lincoln asked this hoping to sweeten the relationship between him and the girl that was most likely to call him out on his cheating, but he also wanted to know how involved she was with her music. "Seriously? Of course, man, any time you want, just come and ask for one. I'm always churning out songs."

Next, he drew a pair for the girl that had ran into him. "What do you think of boys?" He asked the girl with a cap and twin-tails, knowing that she was an obvious tomboy. "Boys are fun, they're always up for playing in the mud and wrestling. Name's Lana, by the way." The tomboy answered. She was most like the boys back at the orphanage, Lincoln thought to himself. He then waited until he could ask the girl with a glasses a question. "What is the circumference of the sun?" He asked, jokingly, considering it a throw-away question, as he had no idea what question to ask a three-year old. But, she answered. "Lisa Loud and that's a pedestrian question. The answer is 4.3 million kilometres." Lincoln was gobsmacked, she was clearly cleverer than him. In an academic sense. But, he had still played the Loud sisters.

Regardless, there was only two people he hadn't asked a question of, Luan Loud and Leni Loud. He went for Luan first. But she called him out, before he could even ask a question. "You really are cheating." She said, sullenly.
"What makes you say that?" He asked. Knowing the game was up, but not wanting to just throw his hands up immediately.
"It's kind of obvious at this point." Lori said, not even bothering to hide her card anymore.
"Cheating leaves a bad taste, bro." Luna added, as the girls turned on Lincoln.
"My only question is how? Not even I could figure it out and I'm the smartest one at this table." Lisa's inquiry immediately received an explanation from Lincoln. "Well, that's because you're not the smartest person at the table. I am. This is my deck of cards and I've used it so often that I remember each and every single scratch, blemish and tarnish on each and every single card." The girls stared at Lincoln, unsure of what to say to that, but it was Leni who broke the silence.
"That's so sad." She said.
"What?" Lincoln asked, confused as to why Leni found driving the game, the way he wanted, to be a sad thing.
"You just played with that one deck of cards, by yourself, for hours on end? That's really sad." Leni explained, striking a nerve for Lincoln.
"Why do you assume I played alone, I was in an orphanage; I had a big family, bigger than this one." Lincoln argued.
"Again, it's kind of obvious." Lori interjected. "You have all the cards, probably know how each and every card got each and every scratch, that wouldn't be possible; if you regularly played with a group of boys."
"You can't prove that!" Lincoln shouted, losing his temper.
"We don't need to." Luna said, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow. "The way you're acting right now, says it loud and clear." Lincoln gritted his teeth and fled the room, running to his new room. The girls were emotionally drained, Leni seemed to be near tears. Lynn Sr. then entered the room, oblivious to the atmosphere. "Who wants dinner!" He cried out. Only then to notice that he was one Loud short. "Where's Lincoln?" He asked. However, he didn't receive an answer. Luan looked at the cards on the table and saw that he only needed one of her own and Leni's to win the game.

In his room, Lincoln opened his suitcase and, from within another orange top, he pulled out a small stuffed bunny. The doll was the only thing that his parents, his blood parents, had left him. As such, over time, it had fallen apart and had even been stolen a couple of time. The ears had been sewn back on, time after time, the ears had come off and had been patched back on and much of the doll was simply patches. It wouldn't be long until so much had been replaced that it wasn't even the same doll. Taking it into his arms, he closed his bedroom door, sat against it, and cuddled his bunny. There was then a knock at the door. "Lincoln." Rita called out. "I know you're there." Lincoln ignored her. She persisted and so did he. "Lincoln, sweetie, it's okay if you don't get along with everybody immediately." She told him. "There's going to be growing pains, but we're your family and we're here for you. No matter what. That was the decision we made, for you." Lincoln ignored her, instead focusing on his bunny; as he cuddled it. "You can come down whenever you like, we aren't mad. I promise." Then, the sound of footsteps signalled that Rita was going back downstairs. Lincoln closed his eyes and tightly held his most precious possession.

Back downstairs, the girls were discussing what had happened. "He was just asking questions, he probably just wanted to know more about us." Leni suggested, trying to soothe the flared tension within the room. Lynn junior, who had been filled in, wasn't having any of it. "Yeah, but he didn't want any to be asked in return. He wanted to be untouchable." She growled. Then Luan stepped up.
"So? What's wrong with that? Counting Lily, there's ten of us. Can you imagine how overwhelmed he felt? A big new family that he has absolutely nothing in common with? When he's spent his entire life alone? This was his coping mechanism." Once she finished speaking, she rubbed her jaw. Her braces making it so that prolonged speeches could be a pain. "Luan's right, guys. Now, I know it'll take time for everybody, including me, to think of Lincoln as a member of this family, but the documents say that he is. He has nowhere else to go and no-one else in the world, save for us. So, we need to start being there for him, else we're denying his chance to be a part of this family." Lori backed up Luan; being the eldest she often had to step in as mediator. This time was no different. "I'm glad you've come together on this one, girls." Lynn senior said, as he entered the room. "What Lincoln needs most of all is time, patience and affection and you're the only ones that can do that. Lincoln won't ever feel like a part of this family, if he's always against his sisters. No matter what your mom and I do." He made sure to add. Luan then walked over to the stairs.
"I'm going to speak to him for a bit." She said and then made her way to Lincoln's room.

Lincoln Loud was disturbed by a solitary bang against the door, a voice then spoke out. "I'd tell you a chemistry joke, but I know I wouldn't get a reaction." As predicted, Lincoln didn't react. From what he could tell, Luan had sat down against his bedroom door and now the two were only separated by a bit of wood. Luan told a second joke. "You should join in on my bird puns, after all, toucan play at that game." Lincoln didn't respond. "What do you-" Lincoln interrupted her third joke.
"A bad pun."
"I wasn't even finished!" Luan cried out.
"Am I wrong?" Lincoln asked.
"Spoiled milk." Luan said.
"Huh."
"Spoiled milk, that was the answer."
"That doesn't even make sense." Lincoln gripped.
"You should have listened to the whole joke, then." Was Luan's retort. She then proceeded to keep telling puns. Lincoln didn't laugh, he didn't respond from that point onward. But, he didn't tell her to stop or even move from the spot he was sat at.
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That's it for pastebin. If I continue this story, it will be on fanfiction.net, allowing me to separate ongoing stories from one-shots. Thank you for reading this sample.