A/N Finally, we're here! Welcome to the final chapter of this story! I thank you guys for joining me along this journey! I hope you guys enjoy this!
R&R!
Chapter Thirty: Beauty is Very, Very, Loud
In the sleepy town of Royal Woods, time always seemed to fly by. Life always seemed like a blur, like if you blinked, you'd find almost a whole year had passed right under your nose.
And like many of the residents that had come before, that sensation filled Lana's mind. "I can't believe it's been nine months since the accident…" She stepped forward, pushing her foot into the soft mud of the backyard. A part of her wanted to take off her shoes and go for a short swim. Yet, she relented. "Now's not the time for it."
"Hey Lana, wanna help out with this act?" Luan looked up while trying to juggle several apples, a bowling ball and an egg, while riding on a unicycle. "I need you to throw a knife at me too!"
Lana chuckled at the idea, before shaking her head. "No thanks, I don't wanna accidently send you to the hospital today."
"What about another game of tag?" Lynn readied her legs. "You wanna try and keep up with your big sis again?!"
"Or wanna do some poem writing?" Lucy then appeared at her side, holding a pen and paper, ready for what was to come.
Yet, she simply shook her head and stood up straight, her voice heating up with the warmth of solemnity. "Guys, I wanna visit Lola today."
Time seemed to slow down for the Louds after that. Though the drive over wasn't too long, it seemed to take longer than usual. Their first stop along was to pick up two certain people for Lana's sake.
"Thanks for coming you guys," She went, taking Lindsey's hands in her own. "I'm sorry for the short notice… I just thought… well, it was time to go."
Yet, the orange-haired girl simply waved her off. "No problem. I wanna be there for you and her, no matter what."
Skippy then shrugged. "Hey, I've been helpin' you out a lot. I wanna see ya through too!"
Then, they headed off, towards their final goal.
When one lives in the Loud Family, silence is the rarest commodity you could find. For them, noise was their bread and butter. Whether accidently or intentionally, they would always bring the sounds of their lives where ever they went. A fact that they had wholeheartedly embraced as their own. It was what made them unique in the sea of people that filled their home town.
And yet, as they drove along, warm air filled the cabin, lulling the family to rest. There wasn't much for them to do besides wait after all. Lana couldn't help, but glance at the malfunctioning air conditioning unit as she made herself comfortable. "Man, I really need to remember to fix that old thing…" Before she raised her head and watched as the world seemed to pass by at her side. "I wonder if Lola would remember any of this…" Her mind jumped at the idea, imagining her grabbing her twin's hand and pulling her along. Of course, she'd struggle to walk while in recovery, but she doubted that'd stop her. "She's the one who taught me how to walk…"
"We're here," Lynn Sr. glanced back at his family, the children all seemingly preoccupied on whatever tasks they had decided to bring along with them. "Chivalry Hospital."
Lana gulped as she turned to hop out of the van, only for her father to grab her arm. "Lana…"
She turned in surprise.
"You sure you wanna do this?" He whispered.
"Yeah…" Rita looked up at the hospital. "This place is… depressing to say the least," before refocusing her gaze on her daughter. "We're all here, why don't we go out to get some food instead?"
Yet, the young girl took a breath and shook her head. "No, I have to do this," She gave a determined glance at her parents and siblings. "Please, I need to," before she hopped out and stepped forward, leading the way into the building.
The interior of the building had not changed much since their last visit. Though the Christmas decorations that had filled it before had now been removed, leaving it more generic than before. Yet, the same forced warmth permeated the air, trying to make a place full of death seem more inviting than it should've been. And unlike before, Lana bowed her head and let it envelope her. "I'm coming Lola."
After that, the family signed in and made their way up to the room that they had hoped to push away from their minds. Door C-137.
"So… what do you wanna do?" Lori placed a hand on her sister's shoulder. "You wanted to come here."
In reply she took a breath. "I wanna visit her… you mind giving me a minute?"
Lincoln nodded. "Sure. But don't take too long, ok?" He spoke with a soft voice. "We wanna see her too."
With that, she nodded and refocused her gaze. "I can do this… I can do this…" She took a breath, and motioned forward. Yet… her body didn't respond. She couldn't move. "I… what if…" Her eyes went wide. "What if she's worse than before… what if-"
"Hey," Skippy took hold of her hand. "Don't worry about it."
Lana instantly looked to him in surprise. "W-what?"
"We're here for you, Lana," Lindsey took hold of her other hand. "I promised you that I'd help you and make it up to her," She softened her gaze, looking into Lana's eyes. "I'm not gonna forget it."
The blonde girl smiled softly and nodded. "Thanks," Before stepping forward and entering the room.
From what she could see, it was relatively unchanged, aside from the leftover medical supplies left on the table, no doubt to make administering them easier. It still had the same hotel-like atmosphere trying to make it seem more warm and welcoming than a normal hospital room.
But then again, there's not much you could do to make it welcoming when there's a hospital bed sitting aside for the occupant.
Still, aside from those, Lana almost mistook it for a normal place to stay, so much so that one of her thoughts had her wanna hop on the couch and watch some TV. "But that couch is too uncomfortable… not good…" She relented the thought. "I'm here for one reason only…" She focused her gaze at the unconscious occupant. "Her."
And so, with friends in tow, she approached. "Hi Lola," She softened her gaze at her sister. "I know it's been a while… but I…" She held her tongue. "I… it's just hard seeing you like this, ya know?" She tried to laugh it off a bit, only to regain her solemn composure. "But don't worry… I made sure to do what I had to do before I came here." She glanced at her sides. "I'm friends with Skippy and Lindsey now, and our family is doing all right without you…" She glanced at the door, allowing the visage of one of the siblings to come into view. "We all miss you… but we're gonna be all right for now, ok?"
She then let out a breath, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. "Lola… a few months ago, I didn't understand what happened… but, I think I get it now. A while back, I was kicking myself because you got hurt and because I thought it was all my fault. I thought that had I not ruined your dress… that I would've somehow been able to stop it… but I don't know that now."
She gripped her friends tighter. "But… the accident doesn't matter now. I tried to pretend like you were gonna wake up soon, I got angry and thought maybe if I won, it'd somehow bring you back," She shook her head. "But… I get it now. There isn't much I can do besides wait and hope you wake up one day," She softened her gaze, as soft tears began to make their way down her cheeks. "But don't worry, I made sure everyone's gonna be happy, with or without you. I know it's not easy being knocked out like this, but hey, nothing ever is. In the meantime, I'll make sure to keep your seat warm," She chuckled and put her thumb to her chest. "And as for me? I'll be all right. At first I got lonely being alone in our room, but I grew to be ok with it. Don't worry, I made sure to keep your side clean, just the way you liked it."
She then nudged Lindsey. "As for her, I know you had your differences, but Lindsey's sorry she fought with you. She wants to be your friend when you wake up, all right?"
Still no response, not that any of them had expected any.
And so, she let out one more breath. "Last thing left to do," She broke her grip on her friends, before stepping to the side of the bed. "Thanks for the memories, Lola," she reached back, carefully undoing the knot that held her hair up, causing it to fall down. "Heh… I look like she used to…"
She then slowly reached over. "And when you get back, don't you worry. Everyone's gonna make sure you get back on your feet! You're the regional pageant champ after all! You've gotta defend your title next September!" With a soft touch, she wrapped one end of the ribbon around her twin's hand, while she gripped the other. "A few months ago, we made a promise with this, to never stop loving each other, no matter what," She paused, the words alluding her. "I know life without you will be hard, but no matter what happens, I know you're there for me. I promise I'll never stop loving you, and though I thought I wouldn't be able to keep that promise, I know I can now." With that, she let go and raised her head. "Count on it."
For a moment, she let the soft sights of the distant town fill her mind. "Home…" Her mind jumped to the image of two girls playing on a warm springtime day, their laughter filling the air with joy before they returned home to rest. She watched as time flew by, their lives and choices intertwined, before finally, they were forced to separate to live their own lives.
"One of these days… but not now. Not like this," she thought, her mind continued, one day showing the duo meeting up and hugging, their families playing together too while they caught up, finally. "But that's the future, our future." She nodded. "One you're gonna have to get started on."
With that she looked at her sister once more. "See ya later, Lola, ok? I promise…" She paused, as her eyes fell upon her twin's face one final time, she couldn't help, but notice something odd…
She was smiling.
Her eyes went wide in surprise as the thought crossed her mind. "Thank you, Lana." In the next moment she turned and shouted. "Lisa!"
"What is it?" Toddler pushed her way into the room. "What's going on?"
With tears of joy filling her eyes, she repeated. "Lola's smiling!"
In an instant, the Loud family stormed the Hospice bedroom, the members rushing to the side of their injured member, crowding around the bed to catch just a small peek at the young girl.
Then, silence.
"She's… she's smiling," Lincoln stumbled back in surprise, before he leaned forward. "She's… she's actually smiling!"
"What's it mean?!" Leni asked. "Don't people smile?!"
"Yes, of course," Lisa climbed onto the bed and sat on her knees before her older sister. "But when someone's in a vegetative state they aren't aware of their surroundings."
"Does this mean…" Lana turned to the scientist.
"I don't know, but…" In reply, she softened her gaze. "Lola, if you can hear me, please, return to us! If you do, I promise I'll give you a break from all of my experiments! For a while!"
"I'll do my best to not scare you by appearing randomly," Lucy added, while Luna ran her hand through her hair. "And I'll let you rest."
"Remember the times we had together?" Lori added. "I remember when we got that pageant judge fired for giving you a bad score," She couldn't help, but chuckle at the idea.
"Aww, and don't you remember the dresses you used to wear? They were so cute!" Leni gushed at the thought.
Lynn punched her palm. "And if you wake up, we're gonna make sure you're ready for next winter's regionals! Cause I know you can do it!"
"Don't forget, I'm gonna make sure my pranks help you instead of hurt!" Luan raised a finger.
"And we're gonna make sure that nothing bad happens to you again," Lynn hugged his wife, while she nodded. "And we'll make sure your story is great."
"I'm sorry for hurting you," Lindsey let go of Lana and held Skippy.
"And I'll make sure to help you too!" The boy added.
Lincoln took hold of her left hand. "Please, come back to us."
And in response, Lana gripped the ribbon and bowed her head. "Please."
Silence filled the room with that. The soft warmth of hope surging around the young girl.
"Please," Lana focused on the ribbon, the promise they had made all those months ago. "I made a promise I thought I couldn't keep. But I will keep it, for you!"
Then, she felt the ribbon pull against her.
She looked up, Lola's hand was gripping the other end. "Come on…" She raised her head. "Please Lola!"
With that she stirred, her eyes slowly opening.
The room fell silent with that.
"Hi guys?" She whispered. Her voice was raspy and tired, yet warm, as if the past few months had been nothing but a dream for her, while she struggled to grip the ribbon.
In the next moment, she was swarmed, Lana being the first to wrap her arms around her twin. Though the path ahead would be difficult, she didn't care. So, she nuzzled her cheek, causing the girl to giggle, though it seemed difficult for her.
"Man, my head hurts… How long have I been out?" She asked.
Lana simply smiled. "A while sis, but it doesn't matter. You're back, and I love you."
With that, the Loud crowded and came in for a massive hug, while Lindsey and Skippy stood aside and smiled at the scene.
No more words had to be said, nor promises to be made.
After all, her beautiful sister was back.
And her beauty was louder than any word she could say.
20-8-15-21-7-8 18-5-3-15-22-5-18-25 23-9-12-12 2-5 4-9-6-6-9-3-21-12-20, 12-1-14-1 23-9-12-12 1-12-23-1-25-19 2-5 20-8-5-18-5 7-15-18 8-5-18 19-9-19-20-5-18. 1-7-20-5-18 1-12-12, 20-8-5 2-5-1-2120-25 9-7 20-8-5-9-18 12-15-22-5 9-19 12-15-21-4. 22-5-18-25 20-5-18-25 12-15-21-4 9-15-4-5-5-4.
The End
A/N And there we go! With that, Beauty Is Loud has finally come to an end. Man, I've been putting off saying this, but as I was going towards the end, this story really started to become difficult to write. I just… I lost my desire to write ya know? But I made a promise a while back that I'd never leave a story hanging, so I did my best to finish this! I hope you guys enjoyed the story! For now, I take my bow, I need a break.
Heads up to guest reviewers, given the fact this story's done, I won't be able to reply anymore. Please, make an account and PM me if you wish to talk further, or join the TLH wiki discord.
For those wondering, next story on my list will be the Bun Bun story. I can't wait to finish that. It's been way too long.
Review Replies (C29, Final):
DreadedCandiru2: Yep!
Kirby: Heh cool. You should write this story.
SuperParkerBros: I hope you enjoyed!
Gamemod: Thanks!
Tristen: I hope it was worth the wait!