Chapter 68: 68. Ch 68- Work Hard
(A/N: hey, everyone! I just want to thank you all again for the support you guys are showing! This story has now hit two hundred followers and favourites, and each time I see that my story has reached one of these milestones, I find that I'm more and more amazed at just how much you guys have supported my work. I never imagined anything I published would get to that point, and I'm truly grateful to all of you for making that the case.
Thank you all for reading, and enjoy!)
The alarm on Lincoln's phone went off, waking him once again. He rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn, then looked down and saw that Lana was still sleeping, making him remember that the two had made up the night before, but also that it was still an hour earlier than when the animal lover typically woke up. 'Better turn my alarm off,' he thought. 'No point in waking her up early.' He carefully lifted her arms from around him and got out of the bed, heading over to his desk and turning off his alarm. He then took a pen and some paper and wrote a note, telling Lana that he had gotten up early and that he would see her at school. Before he could leave the room, though, he heard stirring from behind him, and a look over his shoulder let him see that Lana was grabbing at the air. He didn't want her to wake, so he did some quick thinking before seeing his plush rabbit toy under his pillow. He took the rabbit from under the pillow and held it out so Lana could grab it, holding it against her chest and smiling as she slept easy again. 'Look after her, buddy.'
Satisfied that his work as a big brother was done, he grabbed some clothes, left the room and went over to the bathroom so he could do his typical morning routine. As he began brushing his teeth, he couldn't help but smile as he thought back to the talk he had with his younger sister the night before. It was a sign to the boy that things were going to be better, as long as he didn't rush things. He had faith that his other sisters would try and make up with him, and that everything would work out as it was supposed to. He just had to be patient, and if things didn't work out that way, he remembered what his mother told him. 'I don't want Mom to intervene. She already has enough to do, looking after all of us, she doesn't need more to do.'
He didn't spend any more time than he had to in the bathroom, knowing that even though they were still asleep, any of his sisters could wake up early and need the bathroom too. Once he was done, he changed into his normal attire, then left the bathroom and went downstairs. He could hear a loud yawn coming from his parents' bedroom, one he figured belonged to his father. Knowing what came next, Lincoln went int the kitchen and pulled out an apron, putting it on and tying it, then washed his hands and dried them off, just as he saw Lynn Sr enter. "Morning, Dad."
"Morning, kiddo," the chef greeted. "You don't need to keep helping me, you know?"
"I know, but I want to. Besides, it's not as if I have much else to do before school."
Lynn chuckled as he walked over and grabbed his apron, putting it on over his clothes. "You're not wrong. While I wash up, would you mind grabbing some flour and a carton of eggs? We're gonna be making a lot, so I think we'll need twenty four eggs."
"Sure thing." Lincoln searched the cupboards for the required ingredients, pulling out a 2kg box of flour and two dozen eggs, setting them on the counter next to the weighing scale. "Okay. So, what are we making?"
"We, Lincoln, are gonna make pasta dough." He pulled out a food processor. "Have you ever used one of these before?" When his son shook his head, he nodded. "This is a food processor. What we're gonna do is put 200 grams of flour in, then you can add two eggs and I'll turn it on."
"Sounds simple. Let's do it." Lincoln took a small bowl and put it on the weighing scales, then filled it with the required amount of flour, which he then put in the processor. He grabbed two eggs and cracked them into the flour, making sure to remove any shell that got in, before his father started to mix them together with the processor. "So, how do you know when it's done?"
"It usually takes a minute, but it should basically look like bread crumbs when it's done." Lincoln nodded and watched as the processor combined the dough together, eventually reaching the consistency that Lynn Sr desired, so he turned it off. "Now we've got it to this point, we need to knead it together into a ball. You want to give it a crack?"
"Okay." Lincoln took the dough and put it onto the counter, forming it together so that it began to resemble a ball. He worked it for about another minute before he turned to his dad and asked, "is this enough?"
"Let me see." He took the dough and checked it, kneading it for another couple of seconds. "Yeah, that'll do. I'm gonna wrap this up and put it in the fridge, can you get started on the next batch?"
Lincoln nodded, and this began the routine that lasted the next twenty minutes. Lincoln would add the ingredients, his father would process it, Lincoln would knead it together and Lynn Sr would put it in the fridge. By the time they were done, they had prepared twelve balls of pasta dough, more or less of equal size.
"That was some good work, kiddo," Lynn commended, patting Lincoln on the back. "You've got some good skills. Might be able to have you work with me in the summer if you need a part time job."
"Thanks, Dad," Lincoln replied. "So, what do we do with the dough now?"
"Well, that's all we can really do for now. When I get to the restaurant, I can turn it into a noodle soup or a pasta dish, but it's better if I do that there. Why don't you go see if there's anything on TV before you go to school, and I'll whip you up some breakfast?"
"Sure thing." As he took off his apron and turned around, he saw that Luna enter through the dining room, her school bag already on her back. "Morning, Luna."
"Hey, bro," she greeted, somewhat distantly as she walked past him to get to the fridge. "Morning, Pops."
"Hey there, Rockstar. I was just gonna get some breakfast for Lincoln. You want some?"
"Thanks, but I'm getting some at school. Just grabbing some water for the road." She pulled a water bottle out of the fridge and closed it, then gave her father a "see ya" as she headed out the back door. While Lynn Sr assumed that she was just in a hurry to get to school, and had something to do there, Lincoln couldn't help but wonder what had just happened.
Lincoln left for school on foot after he had breakfast, and the school day pretty much blurred past for him. Other than Rusty failing with his latest chat up lines and a brief glare from Markus, it was just a typical day for the boy. The final bell eventually rang, and after gathering his things from his locker, he met up with Jordan so they could walk towards her house. It wasn't a particularly cold day, so they were just dressed in their usual attires, chatting as they neared the Rosato house, with Lincoln updating her about how he and Lana made up.
"Aww!" she cooed. "That sounds so sweet!"
"Well, I didn't want to just leave her," he confessed. "I figured it was best to let her know that everything was okay, and that I wasn't trying to avoid her."
"I get it. Though, you know you've just admitted you sleep with a bunny toy, right?"
He blushed a bright red and smiled meekly. "Y-Yeah, probably shouldn't have mentioned that."
She giggled at his sudden shyness. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna tell anyone. Plus, there's something kind of cute about that."
"C-cute?!" His blush only intensified at hearing that and how his voice went high, causing him to look away and fail to realise the slight blush that had appeared on her cheeks. "Uh, th-thanks."
"D-don't mention it." In her mind, she was asking herself, 'why did I say that?!', but she shook her head and thought of something else to say, in order to avoid an awkward silence settling between them. "Still, it's a good thing that you and your sister have made up. You must be pretty happy about that."
"Yeah, I am. I know I still have five more sisters to make up with, but I think things will work out now."
"Of course it will." She put a hand on his shoulder, getting him to look at her again. "They still care about you, Lincoln. Don't forget that."
He smiled again as he nodded. "Thanks."
"No problem." As they continued walking, they neared their house just as they saw a light blue convertible car pull up next to them. They saw Jen sat in the shotgun seat, with Jessie in the driver's seat. "Hey, Jen."
"Hey, you two," she greeted, getting out of the car and closing the door. "Thanks for the ride, Jessie."
"No problem," she replied, then turned to the two younger kids. "Nice to see you again, Jordan! You too, Lincoln!"
"Hi," they both said with a wave.
"Are either of you going to be at the next fashion show? You two made great models before."
They both blushed at the memories of the last fashion show, looking to each other as they tried to block out the somewhat withheld laughter from Jen. "I don't think so."
Jessie couldn't help but giggle at how they spoke at the same time again, but decided not to tease them further. "Anyway, I'd better go before my folks wonder where I am. Jen, I'll see you at the mall tomorrow."
"See you later, Jess." As her friend drove away, Jen turned to the bashful preteens. "So, you two still working on your project?"
"Yeah, we're presenting it on Monday," Jordan explained. "We're almost done, but we just need to finish a few things for it."
"Okay." They began walking the rest of the way to the house, which was just a few doors away now. "So, Mom texted me and said she's gonna be late home, so it's just gonna be the three of us until she or Dad gets home. I've got the spare key, so we can get in, but I need to do some stuff upstairs, so you'll be on your own. I'm sure you won't mind, since you won't want me bothering you the whole time."
"Pretty much." Lincoln chuckled at Jordan's blunt response, while Jen rolled her eyes. "But, yeah, we'll be alright."
"Alright, fine. I'll leave you two alone." They eventually got to the house, and after unlocking the door, Jen let herself and the two younger kids inside, shutting the door behind her. "If either of you two need anything, you can come get me."
"Thanks, sis." So, whilst Jen went upstairs, the two elementary schoolers entered the living room, putting their bags on the sofa. "I'll go grab my laptop, then."
"No problem. I'll start getting my notes out." She nodded before walking away, heading upstairs to get her things. As Lincoln took his things out of his bag, he heard familiar light footsteps coming toward him, a smirk coming to his face as he turned around and began to pet Ajax, the dog panting happily at the affection he was receiving. "Yeah, it's nice to see you too, Ajax. Did you miss me?" Ajax gave an affirmative bark, making the boy chuckle. "I missed you too, boy."
He was then surprised when he heard the front door open and closed. Looking towards the entranceway, he saw was a strong looking man of nearly six foot with light brown hair, wearing a white button shirt with a brown tie, grey trousers and black shoes. He had a brown shoulder bag on his left shoulder and a newspaper in his right hand. As he entered the living room, he caught sight of the boy and looked at him with mild surprise. "Oh! I wasn't expecting anyone here apart from my daughters."
Lincoln stood up straight and faced the man. "Uh, hi there, sir. You must be Jordan's dad."
"Yeah, that's right. The name's Brad, but you can call me Mr Rosato. I'm assuming, then, that you're a friend of my younger daughter's."
"I am. My name's Lincoln, Lincoln Loud."
"Lincoln, huh? So you're the boy I've heard my family talk about."
"They've talked about me?"
"They have. All good things, I promise." This relieved Lincoln a little. "Take a seat, kid."
"Oh, uh, okay. Thank you."
He sat down on the couch, and Brad sat down after him, keeping a space between them. "So, apparently, you've been hanging out with my daughter quite a bit over the past… how long now, two months?"
"That's right."
"So, how come you only started hanging out with her at that point?"
Lincoln gulped, feeling a bit pressured now by the man. "I mean, me and Jordan have been friends for a few years now, but our main friend groups didn't really… overlap much, if that makes sense. She hung out with her friends, I hung out with mine, but we still talked at school and stuff. Then, a couple of months ago, my parents wanted me to take up sport, and after I tried a few other things that I didn't take to, Jordan recommended I try gymnastics… well, actually, she didn't say that's what I was trying until I got there."
"So, you went and you had no idea what you were doing?" The adult of the two couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Bet that was awkward."
"A little, but it turned out that I enjoyed it, so I've been doing it since then. We also started hanging out apart from school and gymnastics as well, and… yeah, we've become closer friends since."
"I see. So, be honest with me, Lincoln: are you two just friends, or are you looking for something more from her?" He heard the sigh that Lincoln made and smirked. "I take it I'm not the first one to bring that up."
"I'm afraid not. Look, Mr Rosato, I do think highly of Jordan. She's smart, she's fun to hang out with, and she's considerate. She's been a great friend to me, but I don't want to make things awkward between us. I'm happy with how things are between us right now."
The muscular man took his time considering what the boy said and how he said it. He didn't say anything for a good few second after he was done, making the white haired child nervous, until he eventually gave a smile. "You can relax, kid. I appreciate the honesty, and I'm glad to hear that you two have been getting along. As long as you don't do anything to hurt my daughter, physically or emotionally, then we don't have a problem."
"I won't. Thank you, sir."
"Don't mention it."
"Dad?" They looked behind them and saw that Jordan had returned with her laptop. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd still be at work."
"What can I say? I got some good news at work, and I got the rest of the day off. Now, come here." He got up from the couch and walked over so he could hug his daughter, the girl hugging him back with one arm so she didn't drop her laptop. "So, what are you two up to?"
"We're finishing our geography project for Monday. We have to create a travel presentation about Italy."
"Italy, huh? Well, I'll let you two work on that. Is your sister home as well?" Jordan nodded. "Okay. I'll let her know I'm here, and I'll be in my study if you need anything."
"Okay, Dad. Jen also said Mom was gonna be home late."
"Alright, good to know." He gave a look to the boy and told him "nice to meet you, Lincoln."
"You too, Mr Rosato."
Once the man walked away, Jordan turned to her friend. "My dad wasn't too hard on you, was he? He's usually kind of tough when he meets my friends for the first time. Well, if they're boys, he is."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. My sisters are kind of overbearing if I have a female friend around. Still, he was pretty cool, actually. Not too harsh at all."
She gave a relieved sigh as she sat down next to him, placing the laptop on the table. "That's good. So, shall we get on with this?"
"Sounds like a plan."
The two spent the next hour or so finishing off their powerpoint for Monday, fact checking their information and checking that it was organised in the best way possible. They also wrote a script so they knew what to say when they gave their presentations, and made sure that everything was correct, since they wouldn't have another proper chance to work on it before geography class. Eventually, they decided that they were happy with what they had, and since they finished earlier than they had expected, Jordan offered for them to hang out for a while, which they did. Ajax had also come to play with them again, so they went into the backyard and played with the Australian Shepherd with his rope toy and his ball. At one point, Lincoln threw a bad ball, causing Ajax to jump in the pool and splash Jordan. She was shocked at first, but when Lincoln started laughing, she couldn't resist laughing along with him.
Once Ajax had calmed down enough, they returned to the couch and watched TV for a while, until they heard a knock at the door. "Are you expecting anyone?" Lincoln asked as the girl got up.
"Yeah, Mollie and the girls are coming round for a sleepover." She walked over to the front door and opened it, but went wide eyed when she saw who it was. "Though, I'm pretty certain I didn't invite your sister!"
Overhearing this, Lincoln raised an eyebrow and stood up just as Lynn Jr entered the room. "Lynn? What are you doing here?"
"I figured I'd meet you here so we can do parkour training," the sporty Loud told her brother. "Plus, Lori took over the living room for her video chat with her 'Boo Boo Bear'," she had to resist wretching as she said this, "and I can only take so much of that cheesy stuff."
"Yeah, I hear you. I'm coming." He then looked to his friend. "Guess I'd better get going."
"Sure. I've got the powerpoint on my memory stick, so I'll bring it to school on Monday."
"Sounds like a plan. Guess I'll see you on Sunday at practice."
"I'll see you then."
He grabbed his bag and prepared to leave with Lynn, but Jordan stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder. "Hey. I know we talked earlier, but… don't worry about the rest of your sisters. You'll work things out, I know it."
"Thanks, Jordan." He smiled, patting her hand. "I appreciate that."
"Hey, Stinkoln!" Lynn interrupted, stood near the front door. "Either kiss her or let's go!"
Both Jordan and Lincoln turned bright red at Lynn's outburst, causing them to let go of each other's hand and step apart. "I really hate my sisters sometimes," he muttered, shaking his head before looking at Jordan. "S-Sorry about her. I'll get her out of your hair." Turning to his sister, he gave her an angry look and yelled, "you'd better start running, Lynn!" This got his sister to smirk and run out of the house. "I'll see you later, Jordan."
"See you later," she replied as he took off as well. She watched the boy run off after Lynn and was going to shut the door after him when she saw Mollie approaching, carrying an overnight bag. "Hey, Mollie."
"Hey, Jordan," she greeted back. "So, how come I saw Lincoln running past like he was trying to kill his sister?" Seeing her friend give an angry groan and that her cheeks were flushed, she smirked. "Something happened, didn't it?"
"Let's just say that, whenever you and the girls teased me about Lincoln, I'm glad you weren't as bad as his sisters." Mollie didn't even try not to laugh at this, causing Jordan to roll her eyes. "Whatever. The others aren't here yet, so we might as well head inside and wait for them."
"Actually, I can see the girls now."
Jordan turned the other way and saw Joy, Sadie and Kat walking towards them, each carrying their own overnight bags with them. "Hey, girls," Jordan greeted.
"What are we doing out here?" Kat asked.
"Oh, nothing, just talking about Jordan's latest encounter with her boyfriend's family."
Jordan gave her bestie a stink eye. "First off, not boyfriend. Second, I was wrong. You are as bad as his sisters when it comes to teasing me."
"What are friends for?"
Jordan wasn't too annoyed by this as her friends started laughing. "Whatever. We're just waiting for Stella now, so let's head inside." The girls all agreed and began to enter the house. Being the last to do so, Jordan was going to close the door until she saw a grey car pull up in front of the house. She watched as Stella stepped out with her stuff and waved to Jordan, then closed the door and waved as who the Rosato girl assumed to be her mother drove off. When Stella started to walk towards her, Jordan smiled. "Glad you could come."
"Yeah, thanks for inviting me," Stella replied. "Hope I'm not holding everything up."
"Not at all, the others just got here a few seconds ago. Come on in." The Filipina thanked her then entered the house, allowing her host to close the door at last. They headed into the living room, joining the girls on the couch. "So, figured we'd start with the movie. Mom said she'd order pizza for us once the movie was over. What do you girls wanna watch? Horror, comedy or action?"
"Not horror, please," Sadie spoke first with a frown. "Not after last time."
"Well, then, I wouldn't recommend any horrors from my home country," Stella offered. "They make American horror flicks look lame."
While Sadie shuddered at that thought, Jordan intervened before the girl could become more unsettled. "Well, in that case, looks like it's action or comedy. What are you feeling? Who wants action?" She saw Mollie and Kat raise their hands. "Who wants comedy?" Stella, Joy and Sadie all raises their hands. "Comedy it is. You girls pick something, and I'll go grab some popcorn."
"Beat you to it, sis," she heard Jen say as she leapt over the couch and landed on it with a big bowl full of popcorn, causing the younger girls to jump slightly. "Hope you don't mind me joining, not gonna turn down a free movie."
"Fine, but please don't be annoying."
"You know I can't promise this." She laughed as Jordan rolled her eyes, hoping she wouldn't regret this as their night of fun began.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone