Bab 89: 89. Ch 89- Ready To Go
(A/N: hey, everyone! Few quick things. Firstly, sorry that is slightly late again, and sorry for the weak chapter title. I had a bit of a creative block with this chapter, so I chose to take an extra day to make sure it worked. Also, I don't know if anyone else has experience this, but I think there might have been a slight issue with the site recently, so I wanted to ask if everyone who has followed my page or this story if they have noticed anything. I might be imagining it, but I wanted to make sure.
That's all for now. Thank you all for reading, and enjoy!)
The two days since then were rather uneventful for the sole boy in the family of thirteen. Other than his sisters' usual antics and an online gaming session with his friends, there hadn't really been much that stood out to the boy. The one thing that he had been doing since Boxing Day that he remembered well was that he had been thinking about what he and Lynn had discussed. He had kept an eye out to see if any of his sisters had found out, but to his relief, there was nothing to suggest that his secret had been spilled, and she had made no effort to ask him about when or how he planned to tell Jordan how he felt. Truth be told, he still felt in two minds about telling her. The potential of being rejected by Jordan and their friendship subsequently falling apart felt like a ghost haunting him, threatening to drag him down into some dark portal for all eternity. That was the last time he stayed up reading scary stories with Lucy.
At the same time, though, every time he thought about it, a smile would inevitably spread across his face as the two main reasons he felt it would work came back to him— the first being that, even if she did turn him down, he wasn't fully convinced things would fall apart between them, given how often she had said that she appreciated their friendship; and the second being the hope that seemed to grow in his heart that maybe, just maybe, she would say yes to him. Of course, he always calmed himself down enough to realise that he shouldn't get ahead of himself, but that didn't stop him from thinking about it. Coming to terms with how he felt, and saying it out loud— even if just to Lynn— had almost put a permanent smile on his face.
Hence, when Sunday came around, he was feeling eager to get to gymnastics practice. He had his lunch at noon, then went to his room to read some comics for a bit, until the time reached half past one. When it did, he grabbed his phone and his sports bag, double checking to make sure he had packed his new leotard and gymnastics pants, which he had done the day before. He then left his room and began to head towards the staircase, only for Lola to emerge from her room.
"Linky! There you are!" she greeted, flashing a toothy smile at her older brother. "Just who I was looking for?"
"Oh, uh, hey, Lola," he greeted back. "What's up?"
"I was hoping you could help me with my reading. I want to read one of the new books you got me, and I'm not sure which one to start with."
"I see. Is there any chance we can do this later? I need to get going to practice."
"Please, Linky?"
"Sorry, Lola, but I'm going to be late." He saw her disappointment as she bowed her head so he kneeled down and put a hand on her shoulder. "I promise you, after dinner tonight, I'll help you with your reading."
She looked up, seeing the warm smile he gave her, so she gave a small one of her own. "Okay." His smile grew, and he was about to leave, but she quickly shouted, "hold it!" The boy froze as Lola walked around him, looking him up and down as she realised that, rather than his regular clothes, he was wearing the western epaulet shirt and jeans that he wore for Leni's fashion show. "Did you change clothes?"
He felt a small shiver down his neck, his smile now slightly more nervous. "Ah, uh, yeah, about that. See, I was reading comics earlier, and I kind of spilled my drink on myself, so I thought it would be better to change than for Jordan and the others to see me with a massive stain on my pants, you know?"
The six year old would have been fine with that, had she not noticed her brother's unusual expression. "Why are you acting weird?"
"M-Me? I'm not acting weird!"
"Dude, did you change your duds?" Luna asked as she emerged from downstairs.
"Why are you girls so fascinated with my clothes right now?!"
Luna quickly became as curious as Lola was. "Lincoln, you okay? You're acting kinda funky, monkey."
"I'm fine, but I do need to get going, so—"
He heard another door open, but fortunately for him, it was Lynn. The jock had a sports bag over her shoulder, her red roller skates in her hands. "Bro, you're still here?" she asked. "I thought you would have gone by now."
"I was just leaving, but I got stopped by these two."
"Well, come on. I'll walk with you to your friend's house, I need to head to roller derby."
"Sure." So, the two went downstairs and headed out the front door, Lynn closing it as she stepped outside. While Lincoln stepped off the porch, he looked back to see Lynn had sat down to put on her skates. "So, how come you're heading with me to Jordan's house?"
"I'll tell you in a second, bro," she informed him, tying her laces. When she was done, she stood up effortlessly onto her skates and began to skate at full speed, passing the boy. "Catch up, bro!"
"Wait, what?! Hang on!" He took off on foot after his sister, the jock getting further ahead of him after he stopped to let a car pass before crossing the road. "Slow down!" He could hear her laughing as she refused to do so, the sound quite faint due to the lead she had built over her brother. He ran for another three blocks before he saw that she had stopped a block ahead, so he slowed to a jog and began to catch up. When he did, he stopped next to her to catch his breath. "Why… did you... do that?"
"What? I figured you'd want to get away from the house."
He looked at her incredulously, while she had a knowing smirk. "Why?"
"So we can talk about your big plan." She put a hand on her hip. "Come on, you've been smiling all day, you're wearing different clothes… you're gonna tell her, aren't you?"
Initially widening after realising he had been rumbled, his eyes averted from the jock as his cheeks heated up, a hand reaching up to scratch his cheek. "W-was it that obvious?"
"I'm pretty sure the others don't know, but that's because they don't know what you told me yet." She put an arm around his shoulders and led him away, so they could continue walking towards Jordan's house. "So, do you know how you're going to do it?"
"S-sort of. I'm gonna wait until after practice to tell her, but I think I know what to say. I just…"
Lynn sensed her brother's hesitation. "Still worried about her rejecting you?"
"… a little." He could feel her hand move down slightly to rub his upper arm comfortingly. "I'm not as worried anymore that things will fall apart after, but… I don't want to make things tense between us. That's why I want to make sure that I handle it right, you know? So that, if she doesn't feel the same way, we can move on without any problems."
"That's sweet, bro. Shows you're serious about this, and that you want this to work. Just don't let it get to you too much, okay?"
He looked at her with a smirk and asked, "since when were you the relationship expert, huh? I don't remember you ever having a boyfriend."
"Please. Growing up in our family, it doesn't take a boyfriend to know how to ask someone out."
He laughed. "Good point."
The two of them talked and walked over the next twenty minutes, mostly about what they would be doing at their respective practice sessions. Despite the excitement that came to her with the knowledge that her brother might be about to get a girlfriend, Lynn chose not to bring it up too much. She trusted him to know what he was doing and didn't want to get in his head. It didn't take too long to reach the Rosato house, the two Louds heading to the front door.
"So, you're heading to roller derby now, right?" Lincoln asked.
"Yeah," she told him. "It'll take me a bit longer to get there from here than it normally takes me to get there from home, but that won't stop me. It would take a freaking hurricane for me to be late." Lincoln laughed a little as he knocked on the door, not having to wait too long before the youngest Rosato answered it. "What's up, Jordan?"
"Hey, Lynn!" she greeted. "I didn't realise you were coming."
"Well, I have roller derby practice today, and I figured I'd drop by and say hi on the way." She looked to her brother and told him, "I'm gonna go, so have fun and I'll see you at home, bro."
"Okay. I'll see you later."
She nodded to the boy and gave a quick "see you, Jordan" to his friend, before skating off down the sidewalk, disappearing behind the nearby bush.
"Is she feeling okay?" Jordan asked, once the older girl was out of earshot.
"Lynn? Yeah, she's fine, why?"
"I'm not sure, but she seemed to be acting kind of funny."
"Oh, uh, I hadn't noticed myself. I'm sure she's fine, though. She did say it takes longer to get to the rink from here, so maybe she just doesn't want to be late."
"I guess that makes sense. Well, come on in. The girls aren't here yet, so we can just chill for a bit."
"Cool."
So, they headed into the living room, where they saw Jen was sat on the couch. The high schooler looked over at the two and grinned. "Well, well, sis. You didn't tell me you had a cowboy coming over."
"What?" It was only when she looked at her friend properly that she realised what he was wearing. "Oh! Honestly, with what Lynn was saying, I didn't notice. Sorry."
"Don't worry about it," Lincoln assured her.
"Well, it still looks good on you, kid." Feeling a bit mischievous, she nudged her younger sister and teased, "doesn't he look good?"
Jordan blushed, but she did give a shy, "y-yeah." Lincoln also blushed at this, but didn't say anything before they heard a familiar barking, and Jordan looked behind her to see that Ajax was stood by the couch with a pillow in his mouth. "Ajax, no! Put that down!" She began to approach the dog, but he ran off. "Ajax! Get back here!"
She ran off after Ajax, leaving Jen alone with the Loud boy. "I'm starting to think he's just constantly hyper."
"Wouldn't surprise me," Lincoln agreed. "Did you have to tease Jordan like that?"
"Come on, I'm her older sister, it's my job... but, I think it's sweet that you asked that."
"Thanks, I guess. And, uh…" He looked to see if Jordan would return, and when she didn't, he added, "thanks for helping me out before."
"Not a problem. It was totally worth it, especially seeing how adorable she got when she opened it." Her grin only grew as she asked, "speaking of gifts… did you bring yours?"
He nodded, patting his bag. "Yep. Right here."
"Well, if you get the chance, send me a picture of you in it. Jordan didn't let me see what she got you until your sister sent me the video."
He blushed again, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, that wasn't awkward at all."
Jen chuckled, patting the boy on the shoulder. "Don't worry. Jordan was thrilled to see that you loved it so much."
"I get it. I was glad to see that she liked her present too."
"I'll bet." They then heard a knock at the door. "You mind getting that? I need to go handle something."
"Sure. It was nice seeing you, Jen."
"You too, Lincoln."
So, while Jen left the room and began to head upstairs, Lincoln went to the front door and opened it, seeing that Mollie and Kat had arrived. "Hey, girls."
"Hey, Loud," Mollie greeted, while Kat gave a wave. "Didn't know you moved in here."
His expression deadpanned. "Har, har. Jen asked me to get the door." The two girls giggled, to which he rolled his eyes. "Come on in." He stepped aside, allowing them to enter the house before closing the door. "So, are Joy and Sadie on their way?"
"They should be," Kat explained. "They would have said in the group chat if they couldn't make it."
"So, Lincoln," Mollie spoke, turning to the boy with a smirk. "Jordan told us about what you got her for Christmas."
"Oh, uh… she did?" He scratched his cheek, his blush returning once more. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised."
"Hey, don't act all weird about it. It was cool of you to do."
"Yeah, and that plushie was so cute!" Kat added. "She absolutely loved it!"
"D-don't worry, I heard that from her."
"Oh, you did, huh? Then, I'm sure you told her how much you loved what she got you, huh?"
"Girls, leave him alone," Jordan ordered, returning to the room with the pillow Ajax had dragged away. It wasn't ruptured, but it was clear where he had gotten his teeth around it, a little bit of slobber dripping from the corner. "You don't need to get up in his face about it."
"Oh, yeah?" Mollie argued. "Well, we still don't know what you got him, so he's the only way we're going to find out."
"Well, I'm sure he'll tell you later, so just back off him for now, okay?" The girls agreed, though not without sharing a couple of smug grins to each other. "Seriously, I've already had to deal with Ajax, I don't need you two being a problem."
"What was up with him?" Lincoln asked, making her sigh.
"I have no idea, but he let go pretty easily." She gave a bit of a sneer at the dribble. "That's going to be annoying to clean." She put the pillow back down on the couch, just as the front door opened again, Sadie and Joy making their way into the living room. "There you are."
"Hey, we're not late," Joy defended.
"Yeah, but you're the last one here."
"Again," Lincoln pointed out, which got everyone but the black haired girl laughing.
"Oh, very funny. You've been doing this with us for, what, three months now?"
"And yet, I'm never as late as you seem to be."
"He's… he's got you there, Joy," Jordan managed to say through hysteric giggling, which brought tears to her eyes.
Joy merely crossed her arms and grumbled, "whatever."
Jordan eventually calmed down, after her friends had already done the same. "Well, if we're all here now, we might as well set off."
"Aww, but I was going to ask Lincoln what you got him for Christmas!" Sadie replied.
"We already tried," Mollie told her, "but they didn't tell us."
"Look, I know you're all interested, but can I tell you during practice instead?" Hearing the boy's compromise, the girls all nodded in agreement. "In that case, shall we get going?"
"Lead the way," Jordan responded. "I need to grab my bag." Lincoln nodded, and while he and the others made their way back out through the front door, Jordan went into the neighbouring room and grabbed her sports bag. She headed towards the front door, yelling a quick "we're headed to practice", before shutting the door behind her and catching up with her friends.
Elsewhere, Lynn was skating at a leisurely pace. While it was true when she said it took her longer to get to roller derby from Jordan's house than it would from her own house, she wasn't in any sort of hurry to get there, knowing that the others likely wouldn't be there until she got there herself. The only reason she pretended that she was, was that her brother wouldn't want her to spill the beans on his intentions, and though she wouldn't just come out and say it, Lynn was the type of girl to wear her heart on her sleeve. All it would take was a simple grin for her to reveal that she knew something, and that would probably make Jordan suspicious and ask her brother if he knew anything.
'He doesn't need me messing it up,' she thought to herself. 'Besides, he knows he won't be able to hide it from me when he gets back.'
So, she simply skated through town, minding her own business with a smile on her face, until she saw the roller derby arena. Entering through the front door, her eyes immediately adjusted to the change in lighting, from the bright sunlight that lit the world outside to the darker purple fluorescent lights that lit up the inside of the arena. It illuminated the varnished wooden floors of the rink and the red and white barricades around it, covered in posters from various sponsors. The seats behind the barricades were pretty much cast in darkness by comparison, but that didn't hinder the view when the action was getting good.
Lynn heard footsteps next to her, so she turned and saw that Margo had also just arrived, wearing her usual attire of a yellow t-shirt, blue jeans and teal slip on shoes, with a red sports bag over her shoulders. "Wow, you must have got here really early," she commented. "You've already finished your pre-warmup warmup?"
The Loud girl laughed to herself. "Nah, I only just got here myself," she explained, shocking her best friend.
"What?! But you're always the first one here, ten minutes early! I'm only just early myself!"
"What can I say, sometimes, plans change. Though, I might still be the first one here. I haven't seen the others yet."
"There you are!" They heard a voice call from nearer the rink, putting that idea to rest when they saw three girls approach. One was a light skinned girl with golden brown hair, wearing a pink t-shirt with black stripes, a light blue skirt, black flats and light blue eyeshadow; one was a tan skinned girl with dark hair in pigtails, wearing a turquoise, long sleeved shirt with black stripes, light blue shorts and magenta sneakers with knee length white socks; the other, the one who spoke, was a freckled, ginger haired girl with black glasses, wearing a light pink t-shirt, a blue overall dress and brown shoes with knee length white socks. "We were getting worried, Lynn!"
"Yeah, we were wondering where you were," the dark haired girl, Nadia, added. "I haven't gotten here before you once since I joined the team."
Lynn chuckled again. "Guys, relax, I'm fine," she insisted, holding up her hands. "I just took a different route to get here, that's all. Besides, I skated here, so unlike you lot, I'm all ready to practice."
"But, you always take the same route," Lainey, the other girl, argued. "You've said before that you stick to your routine like glue."
"Yeah, you have said that before," Margo realised, now looking at Lynn with a more interrogative gaze. "You've also said that about soccer, and ice hockey, and—"
"Woah, woah, woah!" Lynn shook her head vigorously. "I've said that about game day, yeah! Not about practice."
"But, you always say that you treat practice like it is a big game," the ginger girl chipped in.
"Yeah, I know, Maddie, but I'm not gonna get into as much of a fuss on a practice day. If I do my good luck stuff every time I practice, it won't work on game day."
Margo looked to the others and asked, "do you believe her?" The three girls simultaneously shook their heads. "Yeah, I don't either, Lynn. Something's up. Also, you seemed happier than usual when I got here. Almost… excited even."
Lainey gasped. "You've met someone!"
While her friends all sounded excited, Lynn groaned. "I told you before, I'm not into all that lovey dovey stuff."
"Yeah, but if you met the right guy, you would," Nadia suggested, to which Lynn looked at her with a serious look on her face.
"Girls, I'm being a hundred with you right now. I have not met anyone."
Maddie noticed the slight inflection in her voice with that sentence. "But… someone else has?"
Looking to her bestie once more, Margo spotted the slight widening of Lynn's eyes, suggesting she had been found out. "From what you've told me, all your older sisters have boyfriends, apart from Luna, who has a girlfriend. If it's not you, then…" She quickly realised what that meant and she gasped. "Your brother has a girlfriend?!"
Everyone looked at their team captain, but all she could do was let her jaw drop and rack her brain for a lie. "… uh…"
Taking it as admission, her friends all squealed happily. "Is that why you were late? You were walking with him to his first date?" Lainey asked giddily.
"First of all, I'm not late. Second, I was walking with my bro to his friend's house, since he has practice today. And he doesn't have a girlfriend… well, at least not right now."
"So, he's asking someone out?" When Lynn nodded, she cupped her hands together against her cheek. "Aww, that sounds so sweet!"
"Well, tell us about it!" Nadia insisted. "Like, who is it? And how does he know her? And—"
"Okay, I'm gonna stop you right there," Lynn interrupted, crossing her arms. "I'm not gonna gossip on my bro when he hasn't even asked her yet, okay? He doesn't need me jinxing him." Her friends all whined in displeasure, to which she rolled her eyes. "… ugh, look, if he lets me, I'll tell you about it next week, okay?" This cheered up her friends, who quickly realised that they needed to get changed before practice started, leaving Lynn on her own. 'Good luck, bro,' she thought to herself, before heading to the rink.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone