章節 91: 91. Ch 91- New Year, New Resolve
It was New Year's Eve, and Lincoln found himself at Gus' Games and Grub once more. After a series of texts sent back and forth between him and his friends about where they could meet to catch up before the next term of school started, Clyde suggested that they should head to the arcade, which always had a special half price offer on New Year's Eve. After everyone agreed, Lincoln let his parents know he was heading out and went on his way. It was about lunchtime when Lincoln turned up, being the first to do so. He was first met by his bestie Clyde, then Liam, Stella and Zach, with Rusty being last as expected. Because it was lunchtime, they decided to eat first and play games after. Lincoln, Clyde and Rusty each got their own individual pizza, Liam settled for a basket of curly fries, while Stella and Zach both got a basket of cheesy nachos. When the food eventually arrived, they began to talk amongst each other while they ate.
"I know I've not known you guys for that long, but I missed hanging out with you!" Stella confessed, her friends smiling back.
"It's been weird not seeing you guys in… well, a week and a half!" Clyde agreed.
"Has it been that long?" Zach pondered. "It feels like it's been shorter than that".
"It has for Clyde," Lincoln reminded. "He wasn't at Luna's show, remember?"
"Yeah, the cats were going through a bit of a winter bug," he clarified. "They're feeling better now, though."
"Well, we're all here now," Liam acknowledged, "and it's good to have the gang back together."
Everyone agreed, raising their sodas and clinking them together to the mini toast. "So, what did you guys score for Christmas?" Rusty asked. "I did pretty sweet. Got some new games, my dad got me a new suit and I've got some sweet new cologne. The ladies are gonna love it."
"Ten bucks says they don't," Zach whispered to Clyde.
"No way. That bet's too easy."
Stella rolled her eyes at her friends' little wager. "Well, I didn't get anything too fancy, but I loved it all. I think my favourite was that my granny made me a traditional Manila shawl. It's such a beautiful fabric, and I would have worn it here, but I didn't want to lose it."
"I know what you mean," Liam told her. "My memaw got me my own farmer's jacket for whenever I help out on a rainy day, or if we head to market. It's a little big on me, but she said I'll grow into it, and I think it makes me look pretty darn good, too. She said that my pa had one just like it at my age."
"Aww, that sounds so sweet! It's like a family tradition."
The farm boy chucked. "Something like that, yeah." He turned to the other short redhead and asked, "what about you, Zach?"
"I mostly just got some video games and a couple of documentaries on spotting aliens," he answered, as if it was nothing. His friends thought otherwise, giving odd looks to each other, but he either didn't notice or ignored them. "I did get a cool new telescope, though. If you connect your phone to it, you can capture photos of the stars and planets. I just need to find somewhere without too much light pollution to use it."
"We get a great view of the stars on the farm. Why don't you come over one night?"
"That sounds fun. I'll ask my parents to see what they think, and I'll let you know."
"Sure thing."
"What about you, Clyde?" Rusty asked. "Get anything sweet?"
"You bet! Not only did I get a few new games and some great antiques, but Chloe even got me some Operation Dessert Storm cooking stuff!"
"I didn't know you two exchanged gifts! That sounds so sweet!" Stella commended, which made Clyde blush a little. "So, what did you get her?"
"Uh … actually, I got her a CD by a band she really likes. I remembered her telling me about it, and it was one of the first albums they released."
"I bet she loved it!" Clyde nodded, before she turned her attention to Lincoln. "So, what about you, Lincoln? Did you get anything cool?"
"Yeah, actually," he admitted. "I got some good gifts from my sisters and my family, but I think it was Jordan's present that was best."
"You two exchanged gifts too, huh?" Liam asked smugly, with him, Zach and Rusty all grinning. "What did you get her, huh?"
"First of all, I know what you're suggesting, and it wasn't like that. Anyway, have you seen that Inspector Shuozhi film?"
Stella's eyes lit up. "I saw that at Jordan's sleepover! Honestly, that little mouse is so adorable!"
"Yeah, I heard she showed you that, which was why I got her an Inspector Shuozhi plush toy."
"Aww!"
"And he wonders why we think he likes her," Zach said to Rusty, who nodded.
"Guys, leave him alone," Clyde chided, before returning his attention to the white haired boy. "So, what did she get you?"
"She got me a… a leotard for gymnastics… and a pair of gymnastics pants to go with it."
Stella took notice of how he paused, and a look at his face alerted her to his almost melancholic expression. "What's wrong? That sounds like a really nice gift that she got you."
"It is, really. I just… it kind of hit me that I might not get that many chances to use it."
"What are you talking about?" Zach asked.
"Yeah," Rusty added, "you go there three times a week."
"I do now, but…" Eventually, Lincoln sighed. "They're planning to end gymnastics practice at the sports centre in a month."
"You're kidding!" Stella exclaimed, a sad look of surprise on her face.
"Afraid not," he replied, seeing similar expressions on the other's faces. "Chris told us on Sunday that it was the decision of the managers to end it. We don't know the reason for it, but we have a session on Thursday, another on Sunday, and then three weeks worth after that."
"But, you love doing gymnastics!"
"Yeah, every time you talk about it, it's clear that you've taken to it like a pig to mud," Liam agreed, the other guys nodding as well. "Sorry to hear it, buddy."
"Thanks, although, it's not necessarily final yet. After Chris told us, I suggested that we should do a showcase to change their minds, and that we could use it as a fundraiser for the sports centre. We don't know when it is yet, but we think it'll be on the day of our final session."
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Clyde asked.
"I don't know at the moment, buddy. We don't even know how the showcase is going to work yet, so I can't really think of anything."
"Well, when you more about what's happening, make sure you let us know, okay?" Stella told him, giving a comforting smile. "If there's anything at all we can do, we want to help, whatever you need."
"Really?"
"She's right, man," Rusty confirmed. "And you can bet we'll be there to support you."
"You sure you're not just going to see if there's any girls there?" Zach questioned, to which Rusty stuck his nose up.
"Of course not! The Bro Code means I support my bros, so if he's gonna be in that showcase, then you can bet I'll be there to support him."
Zach blinked at the taller boy, stating, "you have never once brought up bro code before." A second passed before he turned to Lincoln and continued, "but he's right. We want to support you."
Lincoln looked to Liam and Clyde, who both nodded as well, making his smile grow a little. "Wow… I don't know what to say. I know wasn't honest with you about this at the start, but… I really appreciate this, guys. Thanks."
"It's no problem, buddy," Clyde responded, patting his best friend on the back.
Lincoln nodded before finishing his last slice and washing it down with the last of his soda, putting the empty can back down on the plate. A quick look across the table showed that the rest of his friends had also finished eating. "Alright, that's enough down talk. Are we gonna play some games, or what?"
With a collective "YEAH", the group of friends got out of the booth and began to walk towards the different games, with Lincoln and Rusty going over to the racing sim in the corner of the arcade. As they added their quarters and started to choose their cars, Rusty leaned over to Lincoln.
"Hey, I know Zach was just joking earlier, but… are there any cute girls at gymnastics?"
With a roll of his eyes, Lincoln answered him. "Other than Jordan and her friends, the others are all a few years younger than me."
"Oh… never mind, then. Not gonna try and steal your girlfriend from you."
He gave a chuckle as he returned his attention to the screen, ignorant not only to Lincoln rolling his eyes once more and shaking his head, but also the slight blush that came to his cheeks. 'If only they knew… one thing at a time, Lincoln.'
Together, Lincoln and his friends spent a good hour or so at the arcade, playing the various games available, before they called it a day and went their separate ways. Lincoln walked with Clyde, saying hi to the McBride's when they reached their house, before returning home. He spent the rest of the day either relaxing in his room or doing various activities with his sisters, until later that evening. He and his sisters gathered on the couch at ten o'clock to watch the New Year's celebrations on TV. The only ones that weren't with them were Lily, who was obviously way too young and would be cranky in the morning if she stayed up that late; Lisa, who had no particular interest in the celebrations; and Lola, who was more concerned with maintaining her beauty sleep.
The minutes were fading away, the new year on the horizon, and the crowd gathered at Times Square in New York were clearly getting excited for the ball to drop. Lincoln looked to his sisters and saw that they were all looking eager for the big moment to arrive as well, apart from Lucy and Lana. The former was showing her typically stoic lack of expression, but Lana was quite clearly struggling to keep herself awake. Her head had begun dipping and snapping back up, showing her fatigue. With a smirk, he got off the couch and kneeled down next to her.
"Lana, you can go to bed if you want," he told her softly. "If you're tired, it's okay."
"N-n-nuh uh…" she tried to argue, though it didn't have much effort behind it. She rubbed at her eyes to try and wake herself up, though she could barely hold them open. "'m fine..."
"You're what?" She tried again to speak, but her resolve wore out and she collapsed into him, a soft snoring emanating from the young girl. He gave a soft chuckle, as did his sisters. "Guess it's time you went to bed, huh?" Not waiting for a response, he scooped her into his arms and stood up, turning to the others. "I'll be back in a minute."
"Hang on, bro," Lynn replied, before turning to Lucy and giving a couple of pokes to her younger roommate's cheek. "You still awake?"
"Yes," the goth growled. "Please stop that."
Lincoln chuckled again, leaving his sisters to continue watching the TV as he took Lana upstairs to her room. He gently opened the door, minimising the creaking as the light filtered in. He quietly stepped over to Lana's bed, making sure not to wake Lola as he put Lana down and tucked her in. He removed the hat from her head, hung it on the bedpost and placed a brotherly peck on her head, making a sleepy smile form on her face. "Night, Lana," he whispered, then tiptoed out and closed the door behind him. He would have headed back downstairs and rejoined the others, had it not been for the ringing he heard coming from his room. Curious, he went in and saw the light coming from the screen of his phone, displaying a familiar caller ID. His smile grew as he picked the phone up and answered it. "Hey, Jordan."
"Hey, Lincoln," she greeted on the other end. "I didn't wake you, did I?"
"Not at all. I was waiting for the ball to drop with my sisters. What about you?"
"Same. I was with my dad and Jen, but I needed to ask you something."
His interest piqued, he sat down in his desk chair. "Go ahead, what is it?"
"Well, I was talking with Mollie earlier about… well, about the showcase." He noticed the hint of sadness in her voice, but chose not to interrupt her, curious to know what she wanted to ask. "We were just thinking about it, and we thought it would be a good idea if we met to talk about how we can help to promote it. If we want it to work, we'll need to ask people to come."
He nodded. "That makes sense, yeah."
"So, I know tomorrow is New Year's Day, and you'll be spending it with your family. Could you come over the next day? I know practice is on that day anyway, but we were thinking of meeting at mine an hour before that."
"Sure, no problem at all. I'll be there."
He could hear a relieved sigh on the other end of the call. "Thanks, Linc. I really appreciate this."
"Hey, we're in this together, right?"
"Yeah, of course, but I don't just mean the meeting. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have even thought to do a showcase, and… well… you know."
He nodded, his smile turning into a sad one. "Yeah, I know. But, hey, don't worry about it. We're going to do whatever we can to make this work."
"I know we are… I'm just not fully sure if we can."
"Don't talk like that, please. We need to just have some faith, right? At the very least, it's going to be fun, and that's why we do gymnastics to begin with. We might as well make this showcase be something that we can enjoy."
He heard a soft giggling from his friend. "You always know how to make me cheer up again."
He gave a chuckle of his own, his cheeks turning pink. "I don't know about that."
"Don't be so modest. You're a really sweet guy, Linc."
"Th-Thanks."
She giggled again, making him thankful that she couldn't see his blush grow. "Oh, Jen's calling for me. I'd better go. I'll see you on Thursday, then?"
"Sure thing. Happy New Year, Jordan."
"Happy New Year, Lincoln."
He heard the call end, so he put his phone back down on his desk. He sat there for a few seconds, a smile on his face but a slightly conflicted look in his eyes, before he got up and left his room. Heading back downstairs to rejoin the girls, Lynn looked to him when he sat down beside her. "What took you so long?"
"Sorry, I got a phone call."
"From who?" He didn't answer her immediately, but with the light from the tv illuminating their faces, she could see the flush in his cheeks, so she smirked. "It was Jordan, wasn't it?"
As he could have expected, Lincoln noticed how the others also became interested in the conversation upon hearing this. "Yes, it was Jordan. She wants me to head to her place on Thursday."
"Ooh, just the two of you, huh?" Lori teased. "Maybe she wants to tell you something."
"Not likely, since it won't just be us. Her friends are going to be there as well, so we can talk about the showcase." He could see their giddiness deflate slightly, making him shake his head. "Why is it always so interesting to you, what I get up to with a friend?"
"In all fairness, dude, she's more than just a friend to you now," Luna pointed out. "You've got nowhere left to hide, bro. It looks like love has found you."
If the TV hadn't been on, Lincoln felt like he could have lit up the room by himself, with how warm his cheeks felt. "Sh-shut up. I-I-It's not like I'm gonna tell her anytime soon, anyway."
Leni tilted her head and asked, "what do you mean? You were going to tell her on Sunday, weren't you?"
"Well, yeah, but… but that was before everything changed. Now, we have the showcase to think about, and I don't want to make that anymore difficult to deal with. She already told me that she's worried it won't work. I don't want to add to her worries."
"Lincoln, that's literally so sweet of you to think," Lori commended, "but why would that make her worry more? Surely, if anything, that would make her feel better about everything."
"What do you mean?"
She gave a dry scoff. "Lincoln, if there's one thing that I would say all girls love, it's to hear that there's someone out there who likes them. Sure, they won't feel that way if they're a creep, but you are anything but a creep. You care for her, and she means a lot to you, so she'll know that it comes straight from your heart."
"I… I hope so, yeah. Still, with everything that's going on at the moment, it doesn't feel like the right time."
"He has a point," Lucy agreed, spooking her sisters. "It's better if he tells her how he feels when she can truly focus on it, and not be conflicted by other happenings."
"Well, then, let me ask you this, Lincoln," Luan spoke up, looking her brother in the eye. "If, for whatever reason, this showcase doesn't work, and you lose gymnastics… are you gonna let that stop you?"
He blinked, taken aback. "Oh… I, uh… I hadn't thought of that… it's true that it's when we hang out most, and things would be… well, for lack of a better word, different." His gaze had begun drifting down to his lap as he spoke, the uncertainty in his voice becoming more and more clear. A brief silence filled the room, before he lifted his head once more. "But I don't want to stop hanging out with her if that does happen. She's become more than just a friend to me, and she's pretty much part of my life now."
Lynn grinned, an air of satisfaction in her smile. "Well, then, bro, you have your resolution." His eyes squinted in confusion, prompting her to point back to the TV, which was counting down the final minute of the year. "It's New Year's Eve, bro. Make it your New Year's resolution to let Jordan know how you feel, no matter what happens."
He didn't look away for a few seconds, her conviction refusing to waver, and when he did look away, he saw it on his other sister's faces too. "Yeah… yeah, you're right. When this is all over, I'll tell her."
"When the time comes, you'll be ready," Lori assured him, the others giving nods to back her up.
"Thanks, girls." So, as the countdown to the new year neared its end, and they watched the ball drop in Times Square, Lincoln couldn't help but feel like, somehow, it would all work out.
每周推薦票狀態
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