Today is the three year anniversary of the day that I published this story on Fanfiction. It's been three years since I decided to share with the world this crazy idea that I had for a story. It's been three years since my life changed forever. Never before had I written a project that was so passionate to me, that would have me scratching my head and hitting myself in the forehead for months trying to figure out the right words to share these scenes that lived in my mind.

This story has been my baby. During those long months of problems during which I couldn't write, this story was always in the back of my mind, as a chore in my to-do list that life wouldn't let me finish. But it was always present in my heart, and today's the day on which I bring closure to it.

Many people think this story is overrated. Many believe this story is shit. Many think is good. I'll be honest, sometimes I wish I could go back to my pre-Loud House days with my old account, where I would post stories that would only get two or three reviews. I miss the simpleness of only having to pass my self-set bar. Reading your literally hundreds of words of support, and your fantastic praises have been super motivational, but it also made me feel like there's a really high bar set for me in terms of quality, one that I've never felt ready to reach.

This finale won't please everyone. I think that at this point it would be impossible to make everyone happy. Some people may hate me after this, and they might think "Wow, three years for this?" Well, I sincerely apologize in case I fail you, but with the exception of a single new character that I decided to include in this because of how much I love them and that I put to replace an OC that I was going to create to fulfill this role in the story, this is the ending that I've imagined ever since day zero, before starting to write the story. Are there little details that I didn't know back then? Some characters that are here now and they weren't there back when I began? Yes! Of course! I mean, life happens, and the plan gets corrected and fixed as time goes on, and some details change. But when it comes to the essence of it, this is the ending that sprouted the whole story.

I'm not adding any author notes at the end, so just let me use this preamble to also let you know that you can all follow me on Twitter to be caught up with my drawings and shit like that, and you can also just tag me there and ask me anything, I love interacting with other Loud House fans, and people from other fandoms as well, and also talk a little about what's to come. I have many ideas for future stories, but my big project will be what I like to call "the Heroverse". Basically, I'm aiming to replicate what Marvel has done on the big screen, but with the Loud House characters living in an AU where they're superheroes. You can find the concept art of this idea on my Twitter account, and be ready, cause the first entry of the Heroverse may come any time soon!

With nothing else to add, I thank your infinite patience, your ever-present kindness, and I leave you guys with the end of this long three-years journey. I love you.

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Chapter 26:
A smile at the twilight of life.

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Lincoln's placid sleep ended abruptly when he received a blow in the middle of his face.

He was laying on his right side, with his cheek pressed flat against the pillow, which was catching all the drool coming out of his open mouth, the clear sign of deep, rejuvenating sleep. The sudden blow startled him, putting all his body on defense mode as his brain was starting to recalibrate and comprehend his surroundings. He tried to open his eyes, but he still felt them sticky. Confused, he tried to turn a little on his bed, but as he attempted to take his hands to his face to rub his eyes and wake up, something punched him right on the nose.

"Ouch!" He yelped, using his blanket to protect himself from the unexpected assault on his physical integrity.

He felt a weight on his face and a sharp, punctual pressure on his ribs, which he immediately identified as a heel or a knee trying to use his body as a climbing wall to sit on his chest.

"Inkin!"

The little sharp pitch of the voice was the last push the engines on his mind needed to start making sense of what was going on. With a mental picture a little clearer, he was able to imagine Lily's tiny body, using her hands to try to uncover her brother's face. With an exhausted sigh sneaking out of the shy smile peeking on his face, Lincoln pulled the blanket off his body, finally opening his eyes to look at his baby sister.

Lily had probably been awake for just a little while since she was still wearing her lilac onesie and the warm slippers her parents usually dressed her up with at the mornings. The baby usually would stand wearing clothes for one or two hours before going out of her way to take the clothes off and stay in only her diapers. He didn't blame her. If reading comics had taught him anything besides moral lessons and universal truths on the nature of mankind, it was that wearing nothing but underwear felt soooo much better than being fully dressed.

"How are you, Lily?" He said, using his elbows as support to slowly sit up.

The child chortled, babbling a fanfare of gleeful sounds, taking her small hands to Lincoln's face, rubbing it all across in an almost painful fashion, with her tiny, sharp nails digging deep into his cheeks. He laughed as well, and began giving soft, quick pecks on her fingers, making her laugh louder and louder.

"Does the little baby want to play with her brother? Huh? You wanna play, Lily?" He said, using his I'm talking with a baby voice as he laid down on his back and picked Lily up by her armpits, lifting her horizontally in the air above him. "Oh, look, Lily's a plane!"

The baby laughed as he slowly rocked her in the air, blowing air into her face and making engine and wind sounds. As he entertained her, Lincoln wondered what kind of person would her little sister grow up to be. She was barely fifteen months old, it was impossible to guess. If he had to base his assumptions on the present, he might assume that she would turn into an artist —she loved picking up paint and splatter it all across the walls—, or maybe into a fan of humanoid foxes that sang hellish melodies. He wished with all his heart that it wasn't the latter.

He also wondered if maybe one day she'd be interested in stuff like comic books, or video games, or chess. She might find her older brother's belongings one day and decide to follow his steps. Or maybe she'd live her whole life knowing nothing about Lincoln. Maybe she would never be interested in learning anything about him. She'd live a happy life of ignorance, not knowing what she'd lost.

The baby complaints brought him back to reality, realizing that he was no longer moving her around in the air, so lost in his thoughts. She was waving her arms and legs, trying to motivate him to keep playing. Lincoln sighed and sat up, bringing her close against his chest and embracing her tight, rubbing his cheek against her head. Lily tried to push him away, laughing nonetheless at the caressings her brother was giving her.

"I'll make sure that everyone lets you know how much I loved you," he assured her, still conscious about the fact that she wouldn't understand nor remember his words.

When she finally freed herself from his grip, Lily stood on Lincoln's lap and reached her hands to grab on the disheveled, chestnut locks of her brother's hair, pulling them roughly.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, careful there!" He complained, smiling.

He allowed her to hurt him for a minute or two, until Lucy walked down the stairs, whispering Lily's name as she looked for her everywhere. When her eyes met Lincoln's —with heavy, dark bangs standing in the way—, she gasped, quickly skipping towards the boy and the baby. He stared at his sister, with her black dress shaking with the movement, and her long, striped stockings and black shoes trying their best not to step on the mattresses-infested floor.

He blinked, confused, and averted his gaze towards the window. The living room blinds were down shut, but sunlight filtered through the slits, teasing what seemed to be a relatively sunny morning, at least compared to the previous day. That wasn't Lincoln's biggest worry, however, since he was now starting to realize there was something odd about the situation around him.

"Sigh. I'm sorry, Lincoln," Lucy apologized, kneeling to his right, her hands resting on her lap. "I was supposed to watch over her and make sure that she wouldn't wake you up. I got distracted for a second and she was gone… sigh."

"Heh, no worries, Luce," he assured her. "What time is it?"

"A quarter past ten. Ish."

He let out an impressed whistle. No wonder there was no one else sleeping next to him.

"And where's everyone?"

Lucy stared at him with an unperturbed face, taking a few seconds before answering.

"Most went out to do stuff. Lily and I are here, evidently. Leni's in the shower. Lynn's on the kitchen with dad."

"Do what type of stuff?"

"No idea," she said, way too quickly this time.

"They didn't tell you?"

"I didn't ask. I was busy taking care of Lily."

"And where's mom?"

"She went out with Lana and Lola."

He noticed something weird on his sister. He couldn't really pick up on what it was exactly, but his sixth sense was telling him that a veil of tension had suddenly covered the conversation, in what should have been, by all means, a rather relaxed talk between two siblings at the start of the day. Or in the middle of the morning, in Lucy's case. He decided to let her be, though. At this point in his life, there was no reason to worry about little things.

His growling stomach was worth worrying, however, so he carefully took Lily out of his lap, finally pushing the blankets off of him and standing up. He stretched, and he could hear the bones of his spine making a cracking noise.

"How did you sleep?" He asked his little sister.

"It was… relaxing, for a change. I slept the whole night through."

"Good to hear. I also had a good night. You guys didn't snore as terribly as I was dreading," he joked.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. That's funny," Lucy said, her laugh sounding extremely similar to how Google Translate would read it.

Lincoln loved hearing her laugh so sincerely.

"Well, I don't know you, but I'm starving. Have you had breakfast yet?"

"Yes," she replied, standing up and picking Lily, seemingly not caring about how violently the baby was pulling on her hair, laughing with the way the black bangs moved. "Lynn cooked breakfast for everyone again. It wasn't the best… but she remembered how I like my eggs."

He smiled and dropped his arm around his sister's shoulders, pulling her into a little side hug. Some time ago, she would have resisted, pretending that she didn't like it or that touching a mortal burned her skin, even if deep inside her little heart was beating faster. On this occasion, however, she didn't pretend at all. Her lips curled into the unmistakable shape of a smile, and she even got closer to him, accepting the embrace. If she wasn't carrying Lily, she would have probably hugged him back.

It was so weird to see her being so open with her emotions… but it was a more than welcomed changed.

Moving through the mattresses, the three of them soon reached the kitchen, where their dad was with his back against them, crouching down to organize the interior of the fridge. Next to him, Lynn Jr was sitting on the countertop, still wearing her pajamas, with her legs swinging in the air as little, powerful pendulums. She was seemingly sharing her sports calendar for the rest of the season. Her head was slightly tilted to the right, and her bright hazel eyes were fixed on the ceiling. One of her hands was serendipitously stroking her long, loose hair, and Lincoln stopped where he was in silence, not wanting to interrupt the moment.

"...Margo, 'cause I'm sure she and Paula can take care of the team for me. They know I'll be missing practice for a while, and they say they'll work twice as hard to compensate for my absence," she was explaining in a soft voice. "The girls from my lacrosse team also know I'm not gonna be around, but we haven't talked too much lately. I also need to go talk to Polly and the roller derby girls, but that's not a prior-"

Her eyes detected Lincoln, Lucy and Lily's presence, and she stopped in the middle of her explanation. Her face blushed deep pink, and she quickly took her hand away from her hair, making it swing in the air.

"Mornin', Stinkoln!" She greeted him, jumping down from the countertop, still embarrassed by her display of girly attitudes. "You sure slept like a sloth, huh?"

"Yeah, actually," he said, walking closer to her.

Their dad turned around and smiled at his son, leaning forward to kiss him on the forehead and greet him with a hug.

"Well, I mean, what's the point of waking up early if there's nothing to do? How are you, champ?"

"Starving."

"That can be fixed! LJ made breakfast today for the whole family!"

"And no one liked it," she said, crossing her arms over her chest, feeling offended.

"Practice makes perfection," Lincoln retorted. "I'm sure that whatever it is you did, it'll be delicious. Plus, I'm so hungry I could eat a newspaper."

Charles ran into the kitchen, excited to finally have someone to eat a newspaper with. Lincoln kneeled down to scratch his loyal friend behind his ears, and Charles didn't waste any time in licking his hands and all over his face. From the window, a jealous Walt threw Lincoln a piercing glare before flying off to the backyard.

"Well, uh… thanks," Lynn said, happily grinning. "It's a little stressful to make so many different eggs, but it's also fun. Kinda like a game."

"Cooking is great!" Their dad intervened, sounding excited. "I can't believe one of my daughters finally wants to learn the secrets of cooking! I've been waiting for this moment for seventeen years! And who'd have thought Junior would be the first! I can already picture ourselves as the two main chefs of the restaurant. We could call it… Lynn's Table!"

The four kids and the dog exchanged worried looks.

"I mean… there's gonna be a lot of time to pick a good name, there's no hurry," said Lincoln with a nervous smile, while the rest of his sisters and Charles nodded in agreement. "I'm sure you'll find the perfect name for your restaurant, dad."

"You're right, we need to make a market study. Kotaro specializes in that, I'm sure he'll help me in exchange for a couple of Lynnsagnas," he commented with a hopeful tone before shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I'm spiraling. I'll warm you some of Lynn's breakfasts!"

As his dad got the kitchen ready, Lincoln turned to look at his older sister.

"Hey, do you know where everyone went? Lucy says they had stuff to do."

Both roommates exchanged a look, and they had a silent conversation with their eyes only, and it was a conversation that not even Lincoln, with his infinite knowledge and wisdom, could decipher.

"Weeeell, you know how it is… Lori was meeting up with Bobby, because they haven't seen each other in a while, Luna grabbed her amps and went who knows where… maybe with Sam… Luan, uh, she, well, you know… I-I mean, you know how Luan is, she never tells us where she's going," the athlete explained, laughing anxiously. "Uh, Lana and Lola went somewhere with Mom… and I've no idea where Lisa is. I was, uh, taking a shower when she left."

"You had a shower and changed into your pajama again?"

"Hey, I didn't work out in the morning this time. My clothes aren't sweaty."

Part of him wanted to push on. Lynn wasn't the best at lying, at least not with him. He thought he knew her enough to be able to insist until she would tell him the truth. But Lucy was happy, his dad seemed excited to give him his breakfast, Lynn was nice and friendly… Maybe the girls just needed to take a morning for themselves and, after looking at him sleeping soundly, they decided to let him stay there with their dad and some siblings. Lynn was right, for example, when she pointed out how little Lori and Bobby had been with each other these past few days. Maybe they had been talking on the phone, but Lincoln couldn't remember any instance since they had become a couple that a whole week had gone by without them seeing each other. Maybe… maybe they all deserved a little rest from him. A little peace and quiet, going back into their regular routines.

Forcing a smile, he invited his sisters to sit next to him at the kiddie table, right there in the kitchen, talking to each other and playing with Charles —and Cliff, the jealous cat that came into the kitchen looking for love— until his breakfast came and his stomach growled impatiently.

Half an hour later, with his tummy full and happy, he excused himself from the table to go to his room to change.

"Yeah, I'll go change too. I'm going out later," Lynn said, walking him towards the first floor.

On their way there, they walked past the trophy case, still covered with a blanket.

"Were you in a lot of trouble when you broke the glass?" He asked as they turned to climb up the stairs.

"What glass?"

"The case's."

"Ooooooh. Uh, not really. They didn't like it, but… well, it wasn't worth a scandal either."

"Hmm… I see."

Once they reached the first floor, each one went to their own room. As soon as the door closed behind him, the soft sound of a distant conversation coming from the kitchen dried out, and Lincoln was isolated from the rest of the world. In the loneliness of his own room, perhaps the last sanctuary of privacy that he had left, he sighed. Without his mattress or his blankets, the room looked more than ever like the old linen closet that it used to be before they ran out of rooms for him and they had to improvise. Beneath the wood planks that supported his bed, Lincoln could see his old trunk, where he stored, amongst many things, wigs and old clothes of his sisters, in case he ever needed to cover for them or anything.

He smiled, reminiscing about the day where he had to cover all of them. It had been such a wonderful disaster. But his smile didn't last, because soon his eyes rested on the calendar that he had created to keep track of his last days, the same one that he'd stored under his bed after realizing that not even his room was completely safe from intruders to his privacy, as that fateful afternoon where Lucy had figured out his secret had proved.

He decided to pick it up and take a look at it. It was Thursday already. Today's box, plus the ones for Friday, Saturday and Sunday were the last ones that were painted white. After that, his two weeks would be over. The rest of the days were painted red.

Four days. Four days that he couldn't even take for granted. It was possible that he had just had his last breakfast. It really put everything in perspective. He felt a little bad for even thinking of pushing Lynn into telling him what he wanted to know. What did it matter if his sisters had decided to take one morning for themselves? They clearly deserved it. For eleven days, he had done nothing but worrying them. He should have felt happy for them. Lucy was more affectionate, Lynn was embracing her feminine looks and her passion for cooking. He had to just learn to enjoy the little moments and stop worrying over being in control of everything. To let it go. To let things be spontaneous.

He grabbed a marker and struck through the Thursday box.

"A new day, a new gift. A new opportunity," he repeated to himself like a mantra, before dressing up with his usual clothes, plus the little detail of Adrien's mechanical wristwatch, the reminder that every single second counted.

With the idea of making every second count, Lincoln also grabbed his now hidden objective list of his Operation Farewell. All things considered, he had managed to fulfill an impressive amount of objectives. Giving his comics away to Clyde, teach him all the finishing moves in their favorite video game, planting a tree, spending an afternoon with his dad, tell him the truth about who had broken his disco trophy… There were also a lot of little objectives centered around his sisters that he had managed to complete. Singing with Luna, playing with Lynn, reading Lucy a poem…

There was, however, a lot of things to do, and there were even some objectives that he knew he wouldn't be able to fully finish, but that he could advance as much as possible in the time that he had left. Writing a book with his mom was one of them, and the other one was the secret project that Luan was so kindly helping him with.

Hmm. Yeah, he felt inspired to work on that one.

He left his room and fortune smiled at him, allowing him to cross paths with Lynn, who was also walking out of her room, already dressed in her everyday clothes.

"Hey, Lynn, I need to ask you a favor," he called her, and his sister stopped dead on her tracks before making a huge leap towards him, gracefully stopping in front of him fixing her hair so it wouldn't hit her in the face.

"Sure! What is it?"

"I need to be alone in Luan's room for a while. Could you tell Leni and the others to please not interrupt me?"

She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you need to be alone in Luna and Luan's room?"

Lincoln cleared his throat, suddenly nervous.

"It's… a secret. I'm sorry," he apologized, offering her a guilty, dismayed look. "But could you do that for me?"

He expected her to insist, or to be apprehensive to his intentions. Lynn, however, simply relaxed and slowly nodded.

"Sure, bro. I'll make sure no one bothers you."

He let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks, Lynn. You're the best."

He began walking towards the room at the end of the hall, but as soon as he walked past his sister, a hand closed itself around his wrist.

"Hey, Lincoln…"

"Yeah?" He asked, stopping.

She was staring at the floor, and her lips were sealed tight, but she quickly looked up to meet his eyes.

"I just… wanted to remind you that I… love you," she admitted, her whole face as red as her jersey.

Lincoln felt a warm feeling spreading across his chest, and a goofy smile appeared on his face.

"I love you too, Lynn," he said back, opening his arms, inviting her into a hug that she was soon to accept. It lasted more than what he was used to sharing with Lynn, but it still seemed to end all too quickly when she stepped away from him, assuring him that no one would interrupt him, and then retreated to the kitchen.

Lincoln watched her as she went with a smile on his face before stepping into their older sisters' room. Once inside, he walked straight towards the closet where Luan stored all her equipment. Already familiar with the procedure, he wasted no time in getting the chair ready against the improvised stage on which Luan and Luna prepared their routines. He also placed the tripod, the camera and the mics where they needed to be, making sure that everything was set and ready to go.

He took a couple of minutes to think his words through, although not too much because he liked these videos to be spontaneous and authentic. He mentally prepared himself, made sure that his hair was combed, and he began recording, sitting on the same chair that he had been sitting for hours and hours in the past week.

"Hey, Luan," he said, waving at the camera, doing his best effort to smile and be as positive and cheerful as possible. "How are you doing? I hope you're doing fine. I don't know how long it's been since we've last talked, or since you've last watched one of the recordings, but I'd love to hear you and see how you're doing. I don't know if you're still that pretty fourteen-years old girl that I remember, of if you're older now. Maybe you're an adult! I hope that whatever you're doing in your life is going great. Buuut, if you're watching this recording, then you're not feeling that good. I don't know if you're sad, or confused, or if you just need a few words to cheer you up. I also don't know what's everything like for you right now. But I do know one thing: the Luan I know doesn't give up on stuff, and she's smart enough to find a solution to whatever problem she's facing. Things may not look so bright right now, but I know you'll find a way to figure this out!"

Now that he was in a motivational mood, and with the experience of having already recorded dozens of these motivational speeches, birthday wishes and supportive messages, he had no problem in keep talking for ten long minutes, continuing to offer moral support to his future sister, hoping that he would manage to be there for her, somehow, whenever she needed him the most.

Whenever any of them needed him.

When he finally got out of the room, having saved the video files, naming them and leaving them ready for Luan to import into the cloud and make a physical copy of them, Lincoln felt motivated. The recording sessions usually left him a bit tired and drained, but for some reason, he now felt ready to keep up with a productive day. He had so many things to do. A lot of sisters to spend time with, of course, but he also wanted to spend some time with his parents, be a good boyfriend and call Ronnie Anne, but most importantly, he needed to fix things with Clyde and the rest of the gang.

He'd thought about it quite a lot. He already had a plan, as usual. He would just show up at Clyde's house, unannounced, and apologize to him first. He'd apologize for everything that he'd done, and he would let him know that few people had supported him as he had during this crisis. Many considered Clyde to be a weakling, but his moral compass and his fortitude to be there for Lincoln, making him feel that he wasn't alone, was absolutely commendable. He doubted that any other person would have been able to be there for him the way his best friend had. He owed him a lot.

After making amends with his best friend, he would make sure to call Rusty, Liam, and the rest of his friends. He owed an apology to them all. And he would also try to make sure to visit Cristina and apologize in person to her. He'd treated her particularly bad, and it hadn't been her fault at all. If his parents or sisters knew that he'd yelled at a girl until he made her cry… he had trouble forgiving himself. There were no excuses for his behavior. He had been a jerk, and he deserved to be punished for it.

He had his whole afternoon planned to details, but as it usually happened in that household, his plans were immediately discarded and shredded to pieces because of the intervention of his sisters. This time, it was because of the least expected of them.

"Hi, Linky!" Leni greeted him, walking out of her room with her arms up as a tiny, cute t-rex.

"Hey, Leni. Good morning. How are you?" He asked, stopping to talk to her.

"Wonderful! You won't believe what happened. I was looking for my shoes, and when I checked in my purse, I found this little bag with money inside!" She said, proudly showing the wallet that her parents had bought her not too long ago.

"Oh… wow, that's, uh, great! I'm happy for you," he congratulated her, forcing a smile and giving her a double thumbs up.

"Thanks! And I know what to do with this money: makeover!"

The joy that radiated from Leni's happy face was contagious, and it was impossible for him to resist a smile. Even with a wardrobe literally bigger than the room where he slept, his sister still found great happiness in being able to go to the mall and acquire new clothes. She loved trying new combinations, creating new looks, play with colors to create positive sensations. Fashion was her greatest passion, and it made her happy in a way that Lincoln loved to see.

"That sounds awesome, Leni. I can't wait to see what you come up with next!"

"Neither can I! So, are you ready?"

He tilted his head. "For what?"

"To go shopping, dummy!" She replied as if it was evident. "We're going for a new look for you!"

"Wait, what?" Lincoln said, startled. "You want to give me a makeover?"

"Duh!"

"But… Leni, I don't need new clothes, the ones I have are okay," he explained, as he added to his insides that he wouldn't be able to give new clothes much use anyway.

"I mean, it's like, your look is fine and all," she said, making a rectangle with her fingers and biting her tongue for a second, like a movie director trying to frame a shot, "but it looked better when your hair was white. Now that it's brown, I think you could use some tweaks to make your eyes pop and show your new colors."

"Ok… I mean, I'm not gonna argue with that I guess, but I kinda already had some plans…? Wouldn't it be better for you to buy clothes for yourself? It's your money, after all!"

Part of him felt a little bad for denying his sister a trip to the mall, but in his mind, he was doing her a favor. The clothes would benefit her much more than it would benefit him. Considering how many polo shirts, jeans, and underwear he had in his wardrobe, it was possible that he wouldn't even need to make a trip to the laundry anymore…

That little part of himself, tinted with guilt, ended up consuming him and turning into an unbearable pain inside his chest when his sister's smile faded, her lower lip pouted forward, and her puppy eyes glimmered beneath the hall lights. He cursed. Maybe that's where Lynn and the twins had learned the trick. And as old and basic as that trick was, it was still as effective as always, rusting his iron will and leaving him at his sister's mercy.

"Pretty please?" She asked, taking her hands to her cheeks, making them look even more adorable and irresistible.

He sighed and closed his eyes. Sometimes it was even kind of dangerous how easily he could be manipulated by his sisters. Even if they weren't doing it with machiavellian purposes. It's not like he didn't want to spend some time with Leni… he probably owed her that much, since they hadn't had many moments for themselves lately. It's just that he wasn't all that enthusiastic about having to make new plans for his afternoon and his friends. But hey, maybe he didn't have to go personally to Cristina's house. Maybe he could just give her a call.

Whatever his plans with his friends were, he would worry about them later. Right then, he needed to put on his best face and try to enjoy this trip to the mall along with his adorable older sister.

"Alright, let's do this. Just let me grab a coat or something," he said, and his sister's face lightened up once again.

"Yay! We're gonna make you look super pretty!" She said, turning towards her room before stopping and looking back at him over her shoulder. "But, like, that doesn't mean you're not pretty now. You are!"

He chuckled, but he couldn't help to blush at those words.

He walked into his room, taking a quick look at the circular window he had in there. He saw a lot of white clouds, but also some light. He decided against putting gloves and a scarf, but he still grabbed the red jacket he usually put on during snow days. He checked his watch. It was a little past eleven, so he had basically lost a whole morning, one that he wouldn't get back. He shook his head, trying to drift those intrusive thoughts away and focus on spending an excellent afternoon with his sister.

He moved a few papers around his desk looking for his phone until he remembered that he didn't have it. He'd left it at his friend's house. A mix of a sigh and an irritated groan escaped his throat before he forced a new smile to get out to the hall.

Leni was waiting for him next to the stairs, wearing her regular clothes, with nothing to protect her from low temperatures but a pink scarf around her neck.

"Are you ready, Linky?"

"I am, but shouldn't you put on something else to go out?"

"It's not so bad. We were outside with the girls in the morning and it was okay, don't worry," she assured him, walking down the stairs.

Shrugging his shoulders and deciding that there was no point in arguing, he followed her downstairs. Lucy and Lynn were in the living room, helping Lily play with some blocks, making funny faces and doing ridiculous noises to make the baby laugh. He was surprised to see Lucy poking out her tongue. It wasn't anything extraordinary, but it showed a certain intention of the goth girl to emote, which was a nice development.

For a moment, Lincoln was worried about their reactions when he told them that he was going to the mall with Leni. They would probably insist on joining them, which would make their trip much longer than he wanted. And when the rest of his sisters would come back from… wherever they were, he had no doubt that some (if not all of them) would get jealous because he hadn't spent time with them.

His worries were proved invalid when Leni told them where they were going, and they barely turned around to acknowledge them and wish them luck before going back to playing with the baby. Huh. Maybe they were having fun and enjoying that fraternal moment that they were sharing with Lily. He was not about to complain if that was the case.

Lincoln and Leni left the house and began walking on the sidewalk. The day was certainly far from being a summer day, but compared to yesterday, it was paradise city. The first thing he noticed was that his sister was right when she said that maybe his jacket wasn't needed. It wasn't warm or anything outside, but it was certainly tolerable. The grass was filled with mud, and some puddles were still next to the concrete curbs of the street, not fully drained yet. White, foamy clouds covered most of the sky, much nicer and pleasant to look at than the dangerous storm-clouds of the day before. There were, however, several holes and porosities in these clouds, letting the sunlight pierce through, bathing the city with a serene, calm yellow glow. Or at least that's how Lincoln perceived it, trained now in the art of enjoying life's little moments.

"Such a pretty day, isn't it?" Leni asked as if she was reading his mind.

"Yeah… it is, actually."

"I like going out for a walk after it rains. Plants shine more with the little drops of water on their flowers and petals," she admitted, pointing out with a finger towards the flowers that Mr. Grouse had in his garden. Now that she said it… yeah, the subtle light of the sun shone a little brighter on the petals. He'd never noticed.

"You're right. It does look prettier," he recognized, impressed. "I didn't know you liked the rain."

"Well, it's not like I like it, because when it rains I need to stay home or wait for Lori to drive me anywhere, but rain is good for everyone else."

"Whom?"

"Everyone else!" She said, spreading her arms wide like she wanted to hug the world. "Little animals need rain to bath and drink from puddles, and plants are waiting for rain so they can grow big and strong."

"Oh… wow, that's true, actually. I'd never… I never thought about it that way," he admitted, moving a hand to scratch his chin as he processed this new information, this new angle, and change of perspective that he had never considered before. "I usually complain when it's raining, but I guess we do need it every once in a while. It's a nice way to look at it."

"Besides, if it never rained, we wouldn't need umbrellas, and I could never use my pink Doppler that I bought last autumn. Can you imagine having such a pretty umbrella and not being able to use it?!"

He laughed out loud.

"Yeah, I guess that'd be a tragedy," he said with a big smile on his face, putting his hands inside his jacket as he walked next to his dear sister.

The mall had a special place in Lincoln's heart. For a kid like him, in a relatively small town, as Royal Woods was, the monumental building was some sort of stronghold of fun and entertainment. Gus' Games and Grubs would always have a place in his heart, but the mall was simply the best thing that the town had to offer to its young population looking for something fun to do.

This time, however, he and Leni were there to spend an afternoon together, having some one-on-one moments, and he intended this to be as personal and meaningful as she would allow him.

"So where do you wanna go first?" Asked Leni, stopping next to the fountain in the middle of the great hall of the building

And to think that right on that fountain, just a few days ago, he had kissed Ronnie Anne…

"Hello? Earth to Lincoln? Are you there?" Leni called, waving a hand over Lincoln's ears. "Did you fall asleep standing up with your eyes open?"

"No, sorry, I was just thinking… Uh, well, I don't know, what do you think I need?" He asked, spreading his arms and legs so she would have a look at his full body.

Leni squinted her eyes, examining him from head to toes as she walked around him. After five spins, she finally stopped in front of him.

"Ok, so, I think the jeans are ok. Everyone knows jeans combines with everything, and it's the perfect mix of stylish and casual. Your shoes… well, it's not like they're ugly or anything. Besides, you're a kid, we can't expect more of you."

"Uh, thanks, I guess?"

"You're welcome! So I think we need to work on replacing your polo shirt. That orange is too bright and it distracts from your hair and eyes."

"But you always said the orange accentuated my eyes."

"That was when you had white hair, silly!" She said, bopping her little brother's nose with her index finger, smiling warmly at him. "Colors work in context, Linky, so the same color can be warm or cold depending on what's around it and the exact measure of colors intervening, and their proportion to the total."

He blinked a couple of times, raising his eyebrows, with his eyes almost popping out of his skull.

"Wow, Leni, that, uh, that sounded almost like Lisa," he said, absolutely impressed. His sister, however, suddenly looked very worried.

"Oh, no! Was I lisping? Mom shaid it washn't contagioush! Oh, no, there it ish! Oh, no, I did it again!"

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that," he said, trying to calm her, "you're okay, it's not contagious."

"Isn't it?"

"No, see? You didn't lisp. You're okay."

Leni let out a sigh of relief before hugging him tightly.

"You're the best, Linky, you cured my lisp!" She thanked him, seemingly fascinated by her brother's healing properties. "You always make everything better!"

"If you say so…"

"Seriously!" Leni said, pulling away from the hug, grabbing his wrist and dragging him towards the boutique on the first floor. "The girls and I always say how impressed we are with the way you fix stuff. We almost always talk about you on the secret sister meetings that we don't invite you to!"

"Oh," he said, frowning at this new revelation. "I didn't know you guys had those."

"Of course you didn't, that's why they're secret, duh."

They went up to the mechanical stairs and, after turning to the right, Leni walked into her favorite store. Lincoln had been there with her dozens of times, and he knew his sister was easily capable of spending hours in just picking up a single item of clothing. He was getting ready to go through a similar process, but he was also looking at making the best out of the experience. He'd be making Leni happy, he told himself, and that was enough for him.

His sister stopped in the middle of the entry, her head moving side to side at breakneck speeds, like a sentry meerkat, until her eyes found what they were looking for, and with a smile from ear to ear, she rocketed towards the counter, almost ripping off poor Lincoln's arm, who tried his best to keep up with her.

"Hiiiiiiiii!" She said on a high pitch, stopping abruptly and causing Lincoln to crash into her back.

As he tried to regain his senses, he heard two voices happily squealing.

"Leni! So good to see ya! We haven't seen you in, like, two weeks! That's such a nice scarf!" A feminine voice said.

"How are you, darling? Muak, muak!" He heard, this time from a masculine voice that seemed to be kissing his sister on the cheek.

"Hi Miguel, hi Fiona! Have you guys met Lincoln? He's my little brother!" She told them, showing the results of her training with King Kai by lifting Lincoln in the air with a single hand and placing him in front of her friends.

Lincoln didn't remember seeing them before. They were both working at the boutique, as their name tags showed, but maybe they had begun working only recently. Miguel was a young Latino boy, with a perfectly combed, styled, gelled up hair, and he was wearing a simple white t-shirt and bright blue jeans. Fiona had seemingly put a little more thought into her wardrobe, with her voluminous hair ending up in a long ponytail, a yellow choker con her neck, light blue jeans, and a pink sweater. They were both staring at him, probably checking his attire, until Miguel beamed at him and crouched down to be at eye level with the little kid.

"Morning! It's an honor to finally meet the great Lincoln Loud," he said, offering a hand. "Leni's told us so many good things about you."

"Has she?" He asked, shaking Miguel's hand and looking at his sister, who cheerfully nodded.

"Yeah, she's always talking about this fabulous little brother that she has. One would think she was talking about a superhero with the way she refers to you!"

"Oh… I, uh, had no idea," he said, feeling his cheeks blushing.

"Hey, didn't you say his hair was white?" Fiona asked.

"We dyed it the other day, so we came here to choose a new look that matches the brown," Leni explained, walking closer to Lincoln and taking out his red jacket, leaving him with his classic polo.

The two teenagers put a hand on their waists and the other one under their chins, letting out a stretched out "Ooooh".

"Oh, I see," Miguel said, scanning the young preteen boy. "Orange and blue are complementary colors and are perfectly proportionate…"

"...but the chestnut unbalances it," Fiona added, and the three teenagers nodded at the same time.

"We need to find the perfect color for Linky. You know what that means?"

The three exchanged excited looks and jumped into the air with their arms wide open, like children on Christmas Eve, yelling: "FASHION SHOW!"

"Oh, no," said a terrified Lincoln.

Apparently, not many people were looking to buy new clothes on that store, since no one bothered them as they got three chairs ready in front of one of the dressers, they pushed Lincoln into it, and they passed him all sorts of clothes. Lincoln had never been a fan of modeling for his sisters, and to do it in front of two teens that he barely knew wasn't helping at all. He wasn't happy either with all the shirts, t-shirts, tank tops, sweaters, hoodies and jackets that they were starting to pile up outside of the dresser.

Hoping that this wouldn't take as long as he feared, he began with the first of the items, a basketball tank top with the number ninety-nine on the chest and the back. He looked at himself in the mirror. Lynn would probably give him a ten out of ten. He walked out, however, and after walking in front of the jury, the three shook their heads, giving him a thumbs down. He sighed and went back into the dresser, trying this time a teal Hawaiian shirt with pink flowers. He looked at himself in the mirror and… huh, well, that wasn't so bad. He went out again, this time walking a little more enthusiastic. Fiona gave him a thumbs up, but Leni and Miguel didn't give the green light to his look, which kinda bummed him out since he liked the shirt. But he decided to try luck with the next item.

The process repeated itself over and over, and the more he did it, the more fun it became to Lincoln. He took it as a game, trying to change clothes at the maximum speed possible, and his attitude was reflected in the way he walked, every time more goofy and relaxed, trying to imitate a real fashion show. Miguel noticed it, so he placed his phone on the floor, putting on some electronic music with an upbeat and catchy rhythm that the young boy tried to follow with his steps. He even lifted his chin and clenched his tushie, as Lola had taught him.

It was slightly frustrating to change his look so often, but he ended up getting used to it, and even though no look seemed to be perfect for the three teens, he never lost his hope. He kept up with the game until he finally found a shirt that he fell in love with, and he decided to put his foot down.

"Linky, Fiona and I gave you a thumbs down, that means you need to change," Leni explained to him.

"But I like it!" He said, twirling around for them.

"I like it too, what's wrong with it?" Asked Miguel.

"It's such a saturated color, it's too distracting," Fiona pointed out.

"Ok, fine, but he obviously likes it. What do you suggest so he can use the t-shirt without it being so disruptive?"

The two ladies thought about it for a while before exchanging a crafty look, and Fiona stood up to get a new item, returning with it a minute later and offering it to Lincoln. He stared at it, interested and surprised by how promising it looked before he went back into the dresser with it. He put it on and checked himself in the mirror.

It was a hoodie with a zipper in the middle, in an orange very similar to his polo shirt, and black sleeves. He tried it on, closed, but then he pulled the zipper down to show the bright red t-shirt with the Ace Savvy logo in the middle of the chest. He looked at himself on different angles, and he liked what he saw. Leni was right: it fit his hair better. When he walked outside and paraded in front of the juries, the three teens gave him a thumbs up, looking happy with his choice.

"I'm taking these," he said with a smile, before attempting to go back into the dresser.

"Don't take them off," Leni said, standing up and leaning closer while Miguel and Fiona picked up the dozens of clothes scattered around the floor.

"Wouldn't it be better to go back home and change there?"

"When you have a makeover, you need to wear it right from the first moment! You can't let the people at the mall look at you in your old clothes. Why do you think we always come out super stylish from the hairdressers?"

"That…" He was about to explain the very clear difference between both situations, but he ultimately decided that it wasn't worth it. The clothes were pretty comfy anyway. "You're right. I think I'm good like this."

"So what are you guys doing now?" Fiona asked, folding Lincoln's polo and red jacket into a gift bag and getting it ready for Leni while Miguel charged her.

"Going to a new store to buy more clothes, duh!" She happily answered.

Lincoln wasn't a total fan of the idea. They had already been trying clothes for, what, an hour and a half? Were they really gonna go through the same process all over again?

"Do you really think I need anything more?" He asked. "You said my jeans and shoes were alright."

"Yeah, but what about your underwear?"

"I'm n-not gonna try underwear!"

"Oh… Ok, so, let's not do that, then," Leni said, thoughtful. "What can we do?"

"I mean… I don't know about you, but I'm kinda hungry," he admitted, rubbing his belly.

"Oh, ok! We can go to eat, then! See ya, guys!"

"Goodbye Leni, see ya later!" Fiona said with a smile.

"See ya! Nice to meet you Lincoln, I hope we meet again!" Miguel told him.

He waved goodbye to both, telling himself that he would also love to be able to meet them again. He followed Leni as they walked next to the empty space that led to the hall and the mall entry.

"Aren't Miguel and Fiona the best?" His sister asked, with a smile on her face. "They're super nice, and the other day they told me that they would love it if I could join them to go eat after they finish their shifts."

"Yeah, they seem nice," he admitted. "I think I know why you like this store so much, ha."

"Yeah! Plus, they get paid more for each thing they sell to their names. So the more I buy from them, the more I'm helping them. Everyone wins! Except for dad, I guess. But if my friends are happy, then I'm happy, and if I'm happy, dad is happy! Yay!"

It was impossible not to be touched by the immense joy that Leni spread everywhere she went. She was a beacon of light and happiness, pointing out the way and guiding the lost souls in the ferocious sea of life. Her simplicity and innocence in her way of looking at and understanding the world were refreshing, and they helped Lincoln feel much better. As they approached the food court, with all the fast-food franchise branches, he stopped to look at his sister. Not just to see her, but to pay attention to what his eyes could perceive.

His sister was really pretty. Beautiful, even, and he wasn't ashamed to say it. Her hair was impeccable, much more blonde and taken care of than her mother's or even her sisters, Lola included. Her make-up, with Lori's help, would hide any little imperfection that her face may have. Her magnetic grin attracted all looks, and it was easy to just stay with that image and think of how happy she was. Lincoln knew her better than most people, however, so he was sure that he would be able to detect all the little signs of the deep sorrow and angst that she was going through. Little glimpses of sadness in her eyes, the tense muscles of her forced smile, her tired sighs… Those little details that would change his perception of her mood, and that he was sure he would find.

And yet, no matter how hard he studied her… Leni just looked happy. Honestly happy. And he didn't know how to feel about that.

"What do you want to eat?" Leni asked once they reached the food court.

"I don't know. I ate at the Burpin' Burger the other day. What if we order a wonton pizza at Giovanni Chang's Italian Chinese Bistro?"

"That sounds super cool! Let's go!"

They sat at one of the tables outside the counter of that peculiar fusion restaurant, waiting for someone to take their orders.

"It's been a while since I've last eaten here," Lincoln reminisced, looking around him. "I think that last time was at the main restaurant when we thought Bobby was cheating on Lori with his coworkers, neighbors and dance teacher. Heh. I can't believe we thought he was actually cheating on her, right?"

"Mmm… well, to be honest, he never, like, explained the dog thing. But yeah, Bobby's super great for Lori. She's so much happier and relaxed ever since she's with him, and that makes me super happy too."

"Ok, I can see that she's happier, that's really evident, but what do you mean by 'relaxed'?"

"Haven't you noticed?" She asked, looking honestly surprised as if Lincoln had just realized that the sky was blue, or that the word breakfast means to literally break the fasting of the night. "Before they became a couple, Lori used to be really bossy and would yell at us to listen to her and make sure that we didn't do anything bad. But ever since they started dating, she slowly became more chill, and she's not so stressed out over keeping us in line."

Lincoln tried to remember. He understood exactly what Leni meant by calling Lori bossy. He still remembered that night where they had to tie her up in her room, naming him King of Yes in a night of chaos that had to be rectified by their eldest sister's authority. But that memory seemed so far away. He tried to think of a closer time… some occasion where she had acted super bossy, angry or authoritarian… but no recent example came to mind.

"Huh, you know what? I think you're right. She has chilled out since she met Bobby."

"She's never told me this, but I think that, like, being in a relationship with another person made her understand that she can't always be in charge, that not everything is up to her, and that sometimes you just gotta trust that others will do what's right on their own," she told him, checking her phone and texting someone.

Lincoln didn't feel offended for the way she used her phone in front of him. He was too stunned by the great degree of perception and insight that Leni was showing once again in such a short period of time.

She had told them all once that there was more than air inside her head, and he found himself wondering pretty often about exactly what was in there. He knew that his sister was a little more clumsy than the rest of them. When he was little, he had asked his mom about it, and Rita assured him that there was nothing wrong with Leni, but that she looked at things in a different way. Sometimes they needed to be careful in the way they phrased things for her because what someone might consider obvious could go over her head, or she could interpret it in a different way. It was easy to get used to it, but even at eleven years old, Lincoln found himself wondering exactly what was his sister's potential. Every once in awhile she seemed to need instructions to find the kitchen, but then she also had moments like what they had just shared, where she offered a deep analysis of their sister's personality, proving how much she understood her, even more than Lincoln.

She wasn't particularly expert in common sense or academic knowledge, but her skills in empathy and reading people were much more superior than those of the rest of the mortals that walked the surface of the Earth. She could truly understand other people. Realize what was going on with them, what made them sad, what motivated them, what they loved. She was the best in the family at organizing birthday parties because she was the only one that took the time to talk to everyone and know what they loved the most. The whole family was always pleasantly surprised to learn how much Leni knew about certain topics.

He wondered, then, how much she understood about his situation. She'd cried at the hospital. She'd cried the night before, during their sleepover. She'd cried along with the rest of the family when Lori brought him home sound and safe. He assumed that she was aware that her little brother had a terminal disease, but sometimes it was hard to tell. How many times during these past two weeks had she talked to him like there was nothing wrong? Always with an honest smile. And he knew that it was honest because he had enough experience with fake smiles to recognize an authentic one when he saw it. And Leni never had to force a smile for him. She always treated him ever so delicately, so calmly, like things were okay. Like right then, as they were waiting for a waiter to notice them, and she was absent-mindedly staring at her right like there was no rush.

He didn't like the idea of ruining the moment… but he needed to know.

"Hey… I'm sorry if this is sudden, but, uh, you do know that I'm…? Leni? Leni, do you hear me?"

His sister was certainly distracted from the conversation, but only because her attention lied somewhere else. Lincoln turned to follow her eyes and see what was so intriguing to her. She seemed to be looking at another table, where two customers were staring with superciliousness at a young Asian girl that looked to be around Lincoln's age, her head barely taller than the table, standing straight and acting formally. She was wearing some common sneakers, black bike shorts and a blue blouse that exposed her shoulders.

"Welcome to Giovanni Chang's," she said, with an exaggerated deep voice, like she was trying to sound older, before taking out a notepad and a green crayon. "Have you decided on your orders, gentleman, and gentlewoman?"

The two adults exchanged a look.

"Uh, do you even work here?"

"Absolutely! I have, like, fifteen years of experience."

They didn't seem to buy her explanation, and luckily for them, a waiter dressed in their work outfit quickly went there.

"Sid! What did I tell you about bothering clients?"

"But uncle, I'm not bothering them! I'm taking their orders! See? I even have something to write them down so I don't forget this time!"

Sid's uncle shook his head, before taking the piece of paper and the crayon from the girl and making him a gesture to go away.

"But there's a lot of people, you need help to take orders!"

"Sid. Just go to the arcade," he said, sounding more resigned than angry.

The young girl sighed in defeat and walked away, her feet dragging on the floor, and looking quite sad. Her uncle proceeded to apologize to the clients and take their orders. Lincoln witnessed the whole sequence with curiosity. The girl seemed to be trying to help. He didn't think there was anything wrong with that.

Apparently, neither did Leni, who waited until the girl dragged her depressed body near them to raise her hand and catch her attention.

"Hi!" She said, making the girl stop dead on her tracks. "I heard you work here. Would you mind taking our orders?"

"Uh, Leni, I don't think she…"

Lincoln couldn't finish his phrase because the young girl's face changed drastically, with stars popping out of her eyes. She let out an excited squeal before running to stand next to their table, trying to look professional and under control, even if the goofy smile on her face betrayed her.

"Of course, Your Honor! Have you decided on your orders?"

"We had, but before that… O… M… GOSH! That's such a cute blouse!"

The girl seemed surprised at first, but she quickly blushed, and her grin became even wider.

"Aw, thank you so much! Your scarf is beautiful too! It matches your earrings!"

"Thanks!"

"And your shirt and hoodie perfectly match your hair and make your eyes pop out!" The girl told Lincoln, resting her elbows on the table and leaning over him, completely forgetting her manners as a waitress.

"I told you, Lincoln!" Leni said, clapping super happy. "I knew this new look was perfect for you!"

"Totally, Lincoln!" The girl added, before offering her right hand. "My name's Sid, by the way, Sid Chang. My grandfather's Giovanni Chang, the owner of the franchise."

"Lincoln Loud," he told her, shaking this odd, hyperactive, yet charismatic girl's hand.

"And I'm Leni."

"You're really pretty, Leni!"

"You're pretty too, Sid!"

The two girls were too busy smiling at each other, so Lincoln, after taking a quick look to make sure that Sid's uncle wasn't looking at them, decided to speed up the process.

"So, uh, can we make our order now?"

"Oh, yeah, sure! Pfft, I'm so dumb," she said, giving herself a light tap of her forehead and crossing her eyes, "I almost forgot. Ask whatever you want!"

"I want a raspberry smoothie, please!"

"Raspberry smoothie got it!" Sid said, closing her eyes shut and pressing her index fingers against her temples like she was writing the information down in her mind. "What else?"

"I want a soda. And we'll take a wonton pizza."

"Oooooh, hohoho, that's my favorite!"

"Shut up, it's my favorite too!" Leni celebrated, and Sid looked at her like she was in the presence of a superstar.

"Ok! A smoothie, a soda, my favorite pizza! I got this! I'll bring your orders as soon as they're ready! I won't fail you! This is my first order in, like, forever! Am I wasting a lot of time?! I think I'm wasting a lot of time! Be right back!"

The youngling sprinted towards the counter, giving little, excited jumps on her way there, and she quickly wrote the order down on a piece of paper that she took to the kitchen. She stood outside of the kitchen door, waiting patiently, and when she realized that Lincoln was still looking at her, she waved her hand and smiled in his direction.

"Wow. She's really excited," he said, waving back.

"Super excited!" Added Leni before leaning across the table to give him an intense look. "Did you hear what she said about your clothes? I knew we'd found the perfect combination!"

For a couple of minutes, both siblings talked about Lincoln's new look, wondering what would their siblings, parents, and friends think of it. They both agreed that Lola would probably be mad that she didn't get to participate in the fashion show, but even she would like it. They kept talking like that until Sid returned with their pizza and their drinks.

"Here it is!" She said in a sing-song tone. "Here's your wonton pizza! And your soda! Aaaand the strawberry smoothie for my friend Leni! I hope you like them!"

Lincoln stared at Leni's smoothie, frowning.

"Uh, I think-"

"Wow! This pizza looks delicious!" Leni interrupted him, looking amazed at the combination of pizza and traditional Chinese meal. She then grabbed her long glass with a straw and a little umbrella and took a long sip. "Mmm! And this smoothie is delicious! Sid, this is amazing!"

The young girl's eyes lighted up, and her hands were shaking with excitement, smiling at Leni and Lincoln like they were the best thing to ever happen in her life. It was impossible to say no to that face.

"I hope you like them! Bon appetit!"

"Oh, Mexican food, my favorite!" Leni added.

"Let me know if you need anything else! See ya, bye!" She said before skipping back to the counter, her joy radiating with every step she took.

Once she was far away enough, Lincoln felt safe enough to talk.

"You know, you could've told her that you asked for a raspberry smoothie. That's your favorite. She would have changed it for you."

"But I like strawberry too."

"But it's not what you ordered."

"No, I guess not… But, like, I'm sure she didn't do it on purpose," she said, taking a new sip from her drink. "And her parents or uncle would've been mad at her if we told them that she had made a mistake. Plus, didn't you see how happy Sid was for taking our order? I didn't want to ruin her moment. I mean, it would've been nice to drink my favorite smoothie, but I think it was better to see her so happy."

Leni's philosophy stayed with Lincoln throughout lunch, making him reflect on what it meant to be a good person. He liked to think that deep down he was a good boy, but his sister's words left him thinking about this notion. Maybe being a good person went beyond what he thought. It seemed so simple, and yet so hard to implement.

The delicious taste of the pizza, his complex thoughts and the fact that Leni wouldn't stop texting people made that lunch a very quiet and relaxed one, with time passing by and pizza slices disappearing off without him noticing.

Several hours had passed since they left the house, and the two Louds were still at the mall, looking around and talking about all the things they would love to buy if they had infinite money. Purses for her, comics for him. Dresses for her, video games for him. Boots for her, models for him. They went to gift stores, looking at all the small, frankly useless things that they would love to buy anyway, if only just out of curiosity.

Lincoln was having an awesome time, to be honest. It had been such a long time since he last had such nice moments next to Leni. She generally preferred Lori or Luan's company. She seemed much closer to them than the rest of the family. Yeah, she loved taking care of Lily just as much as everyone else, and even Lola, with her infinite knowledge on fashion and beauty, would spend time with the fashionista to plan out her dresses and hairstyles. Lincoln, though? He didn't have much in common with Leni. Their interests didn't gravitate towards each other, and thus their interactions weren't much more than that of a typical sibling relationship while living under a common roof, with the occasional favor or advice that one would ask of the other.

This experience of just hanging around the mall with no worries was relatively alien to him, but he was having such a good time that he didn't realize how long they had been doing it until she brought it up.

"Ok, Linky, I think it's, like, getting late," she commented, giving a gentle bite to the cereal bar that she'd bought before sitting down in one of the mall's benches.

Lincoln, on the other hand, had no subtlety, and he was chewing on the chocolate bar his sister got him, spreading chocolate all over his lips and cheeks. He looked up to her and noticed she was staring intensely at her phone. She'd been using it all day long. It was a little rude that she would be so focused on her phone rather than him, but he wasn't really annoyed by it.

Leni was a very popular girl, after all. She was probably texting her friends.

"Whut timsh ish it?"

"Eew, don't speak with a full mouth! And it's one six two two."

Lincoln almost choked on his snack. The sad irony of time was that it seemed to drag at a snail's pace through the bad times, and it faded away all too soon when one was having a good time. Just like how this past week had been eternally slow —and yet, looking back, it was scary to see how fast his last few days had gone by to never return—, this afternoon with Leni at the mall had been gone too soon. His face darkened, and the weight of his actions' consequences was now on his shoulders and back, like a heavy bag that was waiting to be carried uphill towards the peak of a mountain. He had spent a fantastic afternoon with his sister, and by doing so, he'd lost his chance to apologize to his friends and being with the rest of his family.

Leni must have noticed his worries because she quickly stood in front of him.

"I'm sorry Linky, it's just that we were having so much fun!" She celebrated with a smile, lifting a foot from the ground just like girls used to do when kissing a boy, and with her exciting fists closed and shaking in the air.

"Yeah, I know, don't worry," he said, adding to himself that it was pretty much his own fault for not looking at his wristwatch. "It was amazing, Leni, I had a lot of fun."

"Me too! So, do we go back?" She asked, offering a hand to help him stand.

He took her hand and stood up, but once he did, Leni didn't let go, but she instead kept walking towards the exit, holding him delicately, guiding him in the presumed way back home. At first, he felt a little uncomfortable. Walking hand in hand with the twins or Lucy was one thing. To let Lynn hold his hand and not let go after her little emotional breakdown was also understandable. Letting himself be carried around by his older sister's hand in such a public place was a whole different thing.

The first few minutes, his eyes were fiercely moving around, looking at the faces of all the other customers that walked past them. Luckily for him, no one seemed to care about two kids walking hand in hand by the mall. Everyone had their own problems and things to worry about. No one cared if Lincoln was eleven years old, or too old to do that.

He wondered how many other insignificant things he used to worry about.

They quickly got out of the mall. The temperature was still as relatively enjoyable as it was when they left their home, but his new hoodie wasn't as warm as his winter jacket, so the cold breeze seemed to reach his bones. The good news was that looking up, he saw the wind dragging all the clouds towards Hazeltucky, freeing the view to a bright blue sky.

Leni stopped once they were out and grabbed her phone, quickly dialing a number before taking it to her ear. A few seconds later, someone picked up on the other side.

"Hi, Lori!" She cheerfully said. "I'm good! I'm at the mall with Linky. Can you, like, pick us up? Ok. Ok!"

She offered her phone to her brother.

"Lori says she wants to talk to you."

He curiously grabbed her phone. "Lori?"

"Lincoln, how are you?" She asked from the other side.

He heard some background noise, like lots of conversations and people ordering each other around. He also seemed to hear some music, like some drums.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Leni took me here to buy me some clothes."

"Did she let you choose?"

"She did, actually! I really like them."

"Heh, I can't wait to see you," she said, just when some voices around them started shooing everyone else. "Anyway, listen, I had to take Lynn here at the club so she could talk to her coach. Why don't you guys walk over here and then I'll drive you all home?"

It was a pretty long walk from the mall to Royal Woods Athletic Club, but it was shorter than the distance between the mall and their house, so it still seemed convenient.

"Yeah, sure. I'll tell her and we'll be on our way."

"Great. We're at the small gymnasium, do you know how to get there?"

He'd been there before, sure, whenever Lynn's teams had to have a celebration party for a new tournament. It was like his school's gym, with a lot of open space to put chairs and tables, but also a somewhat small scenario where they usually had the players stand for an ovation, and where adults would have a karaoke competition once the alcohol had started to affect them.

"We enter through the soccer field, right?" He asked, remembering the last time that Lynn had completed her FLIBBR.

"Yeah, the blue gates. I'll wait for you guys here."

They said their goodbyes to each other before she hung up. Lincoln gave Leni her phone back and told her what Lori said.

"Ok! Let's go!"

They began their march towards the sports center of the town, still holding hands. Leni was talking about how she was planning to replicate one of the dresses she'd seen at the mall. She explained which old clothes she could recycle to create those same cuts, and the different techniques that she could put into practice to imitate the floral details that had so powerfully caught her attention.

He didn't really understand what she was talking about, but he loved hearing her being so passionate about things she loved, so he didn't interrupt her.

Coming from the mall, it was easier to reach the gymnasium if they entered from the soccer field rather than walking around the block to walk through the main entrance to the club. The court was desert with the exception of Phillip, the old janitor of the club that slowly carried a bucket of lime to paint the lines over the grass. He saw them walking next to the wood bleachers on the side of the field, moving towards the big building which gates opened to the field. He waved a hand towards them, and Lincoln waved him back. They weren't friends or anything, but he'd been to the club to support Lynn enough for him to be familiar with Phillip.

On the other side of the soccer field was the club's parking lot, which was surprisingly full. What were so many people doing there on a Thursday afternoon? If he wasn't in his current situation, he would very much rather stay at home playing video games. Although, if he was honest with himself, he would probably choose to stay at home to play videogames over pretty much anything else, even if it was a sunny Sunday afternoon.

"We're almost there," Leni said, sounding excited.

They were indeed reaching the end of the bleachers, walking past the restrooms and watching the blue gates of the gymnasium getting closer and closer. Lincoln noticed that all curtains seemed closed.

"Do you think they're in there?"

"Of course they are, Linky."

"Maybe Lynn already talked to her coach and they had to go somewhere else."

"Why don't we go first to the place where Lori told us to go, and if they're not there, then we look somewhere else?"

Leni's logic was irrefutable. He shrugged and kept walking towards the gate. He relaxed and became much more comfortable once that, while walking past the blinded windows, he heard some whispers coming from inside. It sounded like people moving and talking amongst each other. He wondered if Lynn was talking to her coach and teammates about her whole… situation, just like he heard her telling their dad earlier that morning. He and Lynn had had a talk about it a few days ago, and his sister had decided that she would put her sports on hold for the time being. She wanted to spend as much time as possible with him, without sports or games to monopolize her time. As he reached the door, lost in his train of thoughts, he didn't notice Leni letting go of his hand and slowing her pace, leaving him alone. He was too busy thinking of the state they would find Lynn, if she had to explain her coaches and teammates the reason why she wouldn't be showing up for practice for a while. He was worried about her, and his worries distracted him and took the wheel of his senses and mind as he placed his hand on the door and slowly pushed it open.

As soon as the door was open enough to reveal his face, he was greeted by what he could only describe as a sonic boom, as if a jet had just broken the sound barrier right on his face, and if it weren't for the surprise and the scare that had left him petrified where he stood, he would have probably fallen on his butt. His heart tumbled inside his chest, not only because of the thunderous tsunami of dozens of voices cheering out loud but also because of the sound of drums, bass, and guitars that began reverberating inside the concrete walls, with an acoustic similar to what Lincoln could hear when he sang in the shower.

All his eyes could see was the multitude standing in front of him, cheering and roaring for him, with big, shining smiles on their faces. For a split second, he thought he might have entered through the wrong door and he had just ruined someone's surprise birthday party, but those thoughts vanished away as soon as he moved past the initial scare and he recognized, on the front line, all his classmates. They were being of course led by his closest friends, with Clyde, Ronnie Anne, Rusty, Zach, Liam, Stella and Jordan being the loudest of the bunch.

He blinked a couple of times to make sure that this was real, and then he quickly scanned the rest of the room. His classmates weren't the only people there. Behind them, he saw tons of kids from his school, some of which he knew, some of which he'd only occasionally seen at the cafeteria. And mixed with them, a lot of kids from Middle and High School. He saw some of Lynn's teammates like Margo and Paula, members of Lucy's Morticians Club like Haiku, Lori's friends, Leni's friends, Lynn Sr's co-workers, Dr Feinstein, his neighbors the Yates, Mr Grouse, Flip, even some of the little kids that Lola competed against at the beauty pageants. They were all there under the same roof, staring at him with big smiles on their faces, acclaiming his name. Orange balloons filled the walls, and stripes of serpentine hanged from the ceiling. The multitude was crowded in front of him, but they slowly parted open like the Red Sea, leaving a clear path for him to walk through to reach his family, who were all clapping along and cheering, with big smiles and emotion-filled eyes, looking so intensely at him that he was almost intimidated by it. Behind them, there was the stage, on which a band was playing the music. With Chunk at the drums, Tabby with an electric guitar, Sam with the bass guitar and, of course, Luna, rocking a guitar he'd never seen before as she sang to the mic.

Too alarming now to talk about
Take your pictures down and shake it out
Truth or consequence, say it aloud
Use that evidence, race it around

It was as if a storm was brewing inside Lincoln. He could feel the strong winds stirring his stomach, the frozen rain causing chills down his spine, and the glaring lightning and thunder that sparkled with every beat of his heart. It was a sensorial overexposure that he wasn't used to experiencing, and he felt absolutely overwhelmed by the huge amount of emotions that this was making him feel.

Luckily for him, a hand softly squeezed his shoulder, anchoring him back to reality.

"Come on, Linky," Leni told him, miraculously making herself be heard above the music and the vocal hecatomb a few feet away from them. "They're waiting for you."

Gently pushing him forward, she managed to send the message to the stunned young man. Lincoln's legs began moving forward due to inertia as he was still trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

There goes my hero
Watch him as he goes
There goes my hero
He's ordinary

Moving slowly, he first reached his best friends and classmates. Once he was close enough to them, Clyde and Ronnie Anne pulled him into a hug, one at each side of him, wrapping him in a cocoon of love and friendship. He was too overwhelmed to react, and soon more arms joined those of his friends. Everyone was trying to hug him, to pat his back, holding his forearms, stroking his hair, quickly holding his hand. All the voices around him were telling him just how much they loved him and how cool he was.

"What's going on?" He asked Clyde, hoping that his best friend would give him some answers to the many questions he had.

Clyde smiled at him. He smiled as if they were still brothers like Clincoln McLoud had never had any problem at all, like Lincoln hadn't just acted like a big jerk the day before, like it was all in the past.

"We're celebrating you," he cryptically said, moving away from him to let him keep moving forward.

The rest of his friends did the same. All of them except Ronnie Anne, who decided to hold hands with him. He looked at her, a bit surprised, but she gave him the prettiest, kindest smile he'd ever witnessed.

"Let everyone know," she simply said, squeezing his hand. He smiled at her, and seeing that his friends seemed to want to escort him to his family as he walked through the sea of people, he moved on.

Don't the best of them bleed it out
While the rest of them peter out
Truth or consequence, say it aloud
Use that evidence and race it around

On his way there, he was finally starting to realize just how many people were there. Practically all his friends and everyone he knew, and dozens of people close to his family. Not even at Chandler's birthday parties, he had seen so many people in the same place. He didn't understand what was going on. As he kept advancing, everyone he walked past would applaud, cheer his name, stretching his hands to give him a quick hug or stroke his back. They would give him words of encouragement, tell him that he was the best, that they loved him.

He felt like he was floating, that it was the people around him with their soft pushes and warm, sweet words what were carrying him, lifting him up and the air and dragging him closer to his family. For some long seconds, he actually wondered if he wasn't dying. If all of this was nothing but a vision, a mirage product of his mind trying to comprehend paradise. Maybe his family was the light at the end of the tunnel, maybe this was his Heaven. He would have been okay with it. He could accept that. But the beating of his excited, confused heart was too real.

There goes my hero
Watch him as he goes
There goes my hero
He's ordinary

When he finally got to his family, a strange feeling turned his heart inside out. He didn't know why. He still had no clue what was going on, but finding himself surrounded by his loved ones, the people he loved the most in the world, all of them waiting for him with open arms and painful smiles on their faces… He felt his eyes itching, and he blinked, trying to keep himself together. Ronnie Anne eased the grip on his hand, and that's all the invitation he needed. He walked into his family and hugged his sisters, his parents, his grandparents, Bobby, and he even felt Ronnie Anne embracing him from behind. Luna was the only one missing the moment, but her raspy, emotion-filled voice still wrapped itself around him, managing to hug him from a distance.

Kudos my hero leaving all the best
You know my hero, the one that's on
There goes my hero
Watch him as he goes
There goes my hero
He's ordinary

The whole gym celebrated the family reunion, and Lincoln remained there, enjoying this raging storm inside of him. The song kept playing for a while, repeating the chorus until it slowly faded away. He took the chance to break the hug, finding himself standing next to all his loved ones.

He would've loved to share some deep, important, meaningful words worthy of being recorded on the pages of history.

"Uh… what's going on?" Was all he could say, though.

His family exchanged sly looks and, instead of answering him, they allowed Lynn Sr to grab him, lift him up in the air and put him on the stage. He was now totally exposed, raised from the floor so a gym filled with basically all the people he had ever met in his life could look at him. So many faces, so many smiles, so many people… It was intimidating, to be honest. He turned around to look at his sister and her band. Luna was smiling at him, with her eyes shining brighter than he had ever seen them before. Sam was next to her, and she also gave him a kind smile. Tabby winked at him and did the metal horns sign with her right hand while Chunk, Luna's mastodonic friend, able to lift a piano, was gently wiping a tear from his eyes with a white hanky, nodding politely back at him.

The whole room shut silent, and Lincoln turned back to face the crowd. His family slowly walked away, and he saw many people in the audience crouching, looking for something. The confusion distracted him, and he didn't notice Clyde coming from his right. He thought he saw some golden glimmers amongst the people, but only for a fraction of a second before the lights went out, hiding everything in shadows except for the stage and the big bulb of light that was aimed directly at Lincoln.

He covered his eyes with his hand. He wanted to ask what was happening, but Luna pressed one of her pedals and she began playing some soft notes with a delay that echoed in the gym. It was a magic sound, ethereal, sounding like it was coming from far away, super quiet and relaxing.

The biggest surprise was, however, when he saw Clyde walking towards him, carrying a mic and a stand, and some papers on his hand. He seemed to be close to crying, but even stranger was the way he was walking with a hand behind his back like he was dragging something. He stopped a few feet away from Lincoln, grabbed his inhaler, took a couple of breaths, and he stared at him with total seriousness.

"I don't think I need to be your best friend to realize that you're confused," he said to the mic, and the whole room laughed a little, which visibly helped his friend feel more relaxed. "Lincoln. Lincoln Loud… my friend. Every one of us in here has come with broken hearts, with a pain that we know will leave a scar that will never heal."

The silence was only broken by Luna's notes, which were soon joined by the bass guitar and Sam's angelic vocals.

"But it's not sadness or pain what has brought us here together today," Clyde continued, changing the card he was reading. "What gathered us here today is a feeling much stronger than that. A feeling so powerful that it can move mountains and walk through seas. We're here together through the power of love. A love that deserves to be shown and celebrated. A love that will forever bond us, through difficult times, through time and distance. We're here for you, Lincoln."

The rums and the second guitar started playing over the long arpeggio intro that Luna was playing, and the low notes vibrated inside Lincoln's heavy heart, who felt like he was about to pass out. Yeah, sure, he had assumed that this probably had something to do with him… but even then, hearing it first hand from his best friend's mouth was very emotional for him.

Clyde, meanwhile, cleared his throat and changed cards once again.

"In life, there are many achievements and rewards. People study to get a diploma. Athletes get trophies and medals. The heroes of our history are remembered with statues and monuments. However, no matter how much gold is spent to make them, the value of these trophies doesn't reside on the objects themselves, but on what they stand for. Having won something, having achieved something, doing something so important and meaningful that deserves to be celebrated and remembered, forever treasured in our memory. And that's why we're all here, at the Royal Woods Athletic Club award gym to give the highest honors and praises to someone who clearly deserves them: you, Lincoln."

The whole crowd erupted in cheers and roars. Lincoln tried to look at them, but the lightning contrast wouldn't let him see past the first few rows of people. He saw some glints here and there, but his mind was too busy trying to process his friend's words to get a sense of what was around him. Honors? Praises? He didn't understand. He had never won anything in his life. His trophy case was empty, with the exception of that fake trophy that his sisters had done for him forever ago. What was Clyde talking about?

Clyde changed cards one more time, and he couldn't keep the mic from catching on a sob.

"Lincoln, in only eleven years you've done more things than what most of us wish we could accomplish in life. You're such an exemplary person. A hero without a cape that's always trying to do the right thing. A kid that has always spread your energy, your joy, your happiness, and your motivation. You've always been there to inspire others and show us the way to be happy and follow our dreams. Not even I can say that you were perfect, or that there weren't some bumps on the road, but being a good person isn't about not making mistakes. It's about looking beyond them and always aim for the best. Knowing to forgive, when to admit you were wrong, when to put our selfishness aside to help others. And you, Lincoln Loud, are the perfect example of this, and that's what we're trying to show you here today. And I'll be the first one because I'm already on the stage," he said, and everyone chuckled again.

Clyde put his cards on his pocket and, flashing a warm smile to his best friend, he grabbed from behind him a big golden trophy, going from the floor up to his chest, and he held it so Lincoln and everyone in the gym could take a good look at it.

Lincoln recognized it immediately. It was the Academic Decathlon trophy that Clyde had won last year. It was his biggest treasure, and he had been showcasing it in his room ever since. The band decided that it was a good moment to move past the intro, and Luna began singing the new song.

If today's the day I die
Lay me down under the lights

"Lincoln," his friend said, looking at his eyes as he spoke to the mic for everyone to hear, "never in my life have I met someone as cool as you are. Ever since we became best friends when we were kids, I've never felt alone. You're always been there for me in the good moments, but more importantly, you've been there through the bad stuff too. You helped me be more open and slowly move over my shyness. With you by my side, I've never felt like I'm an only child. You're the brother life gave me, and that's… T-That's why I now give you the trophy to the Best Friend That I've Ever Had."

The whole room erupted in cheers and applauses again as Clyde carried the trophy to give it to Lincoln. The prizewinner was stunned. Was he really going to give his trophy away? That was his biggest pride! Even so, maybe due to how surprised he was or the pressure of the moment, his hands moved to receive it when Clyde offered it to him. He looked at it, not believing what he was seeing. It was then when his eyes saw the silver plaque that used to have his friend's name and the school's name on it. Well, the plaque had been replaced for a new one that read "Lincoln Loud - The Best Friend That Life Has Ever Given To Me". The words seemed to be laser cut, and even though he had no other clues, Lincoln could very clearly sense Lisa's doing in this.

"Clyde…" he said, unable to find the words. "You didn't-"

"Don't say anything," Clyde interrupted him, taking a step back, his eyes filled with tears. "No one deserves this more than you do."

With his emotions threatening to win him over, he put the trophy behind him and went straight to hug his best friend, his brother. Clyde hugged him as tight as he could, and the room kept clapping. Lincoln felt on cloud nine. He had never received a trophy, and even though he hadn't really realized what this truly meant, and even if he wasn't sure this counted as a real trophy, it sure felt like one. He felt like a hero, an Olympic winner, like Luke Skywalker at the end of Star Wars, getting his medal in front of all the Rebels.

The overwhelming feelings didn't leave him not even when Clyde broke away from the hug and, with a smile on this face furrowed by rivers of tears, raised a fist for them to make their special greeting, right there in front of everybody. Once they were done, Clyde walked to the other end of the stage, and Lincoln was about to follow him with his eyes, but it was then when he noticed someone else coming from the right.

Let me fall in love
Let me save a life

It was Ronnie Anne, holding in her hands a silver cup, a one-foot tall trophy that Lincoln had previously seen in her room, but that he never knew what it was for. His girlfriend walked next to him, slowly and looking seemingly anxious, casting side glances at the crowd that she would be speaking in front of. She gulped, and Lincoln noticed her fear. Regardless of her tough act, Ronnie Anne suffered some deep stage fright.

"L-Lincoln… lame-o," she said, causing some giggles. "I didn't have friends at school. I was just the bully that pushed everyone away… a bully that… that was too scared to make new friendships. And yet, you were there to show me that I could open my heart for others. That I didn't have anything to be afraid of. You looked past my toughness, and because of you, I figured out the meaning of friendship… a-and love."

A general "aaaaw" mixed with applauses sounded louder than the music, and Ronnie Anne's cheeks were filled with a violent scarlet color.

"So that's why this trophy is for you," she rushed to say, taking the cup to Lincoln.

A new round of applause and cheers followed as the boy accepted the trophy his girlfriend was giving him. Their fingers touched as he grabbed the metal, and he felt an arc of lightning going up to his arm. Written over whatever the original meaning of the trophy was, now it read "First Place To The Lame-O That Won Me Over". Leaving the cup aside next to Clyde's trophy, Lincoln opened his arms to invite his girlfriend into a hug, and she wasted no time in burying her face in the space between his neck and his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her back, tightly, feeling that he never wanted to let her go. He would've stayed there for the rest of eternity, but she seemed much more aware than him of the people waiting in line for their turn on the stage, so she eventually broke the hug. Ronnie Anne then proceeded to surprise him and the whole audience by grabbing his shoulders and pulling him in for a quick but heartfelt kiss before running away from the stage.

Feeling comfortably numb, it took him a couple of seconds to see that Rusty was approaching him next to Rocky, who was carrying a gold medal with a blue ribbon. The little boy had a trembling lower lip and some sad, puppy eyes.

"M-Many of you might already know this, b-but I haven't been the best friend to Lincoln," Rusty said, doing his best effort to keep himself from crying. "I u-used to make fun of him, and I've d-disappointed him many times, p-pushing him away or treating him poorly. And yet, h-he always forgave me, over and over and over again. T-That's why we the Spokes want to give Lincoln the "Medal to the Grudgelss Heart", a p-prize that not many can say they truly deserve."

Giving a little pat on the back to his little brother, he invited him to go with Lincoln. Rocky moved at a slow pace, carrying the medal with him. Lincoln had to lower himself down for the small child to put the medal on his neck, and while doing so, his ear was closer to Rocky's mouth.

"I'm so sorry, Lincoln," Rocky whispered. "You're super nice, and Lucy loves you a lot."

His heartstrings were tugged, and after thanking him, Lincoln stood up, with the medal hanging from his neck, and hugged both siblings.

And let me lose my voice
Singing all my favorite songs
Let me stare up at the stars
Cause it's where we all belong

For the next couple of minutes, in what felt like almost half an hour, more and more people got to the stage, standing in front of the mic and giving him a trophy, or a medal, or something to thank him for anything he'd done for them. The first ones were his friends from school, starting with the rest of his gang.

Liam gave him a metal medal that said: "For loving your friends regardless of how much money they have". The young farmer wasn't someone known to let his emotions take the best of him or for crying easily, which made it all the more impactful to see him breaking down into a bawling mess as he embraced him tightly. Zach, on the other hand, managed to stay calm even as he gave a speech on how everyone always treated him as the ugly weirdo of the school, until a certain boy sat next to him at the cafeteria and offered one of his sandwiches in exchange to the tuna kit that he always took to school, and that was the first step into becoming one of his first friends. Apparently, it had been something important enough to make him worthy of the trophy to "A Friend With No Prejudices", similar in name to Liam's, but with the shape of a very antique trophy that had what it looked like a tennis player at the top. Stella walked into the stage after him, surprised everyone when she explained how nervous she was the first few days at Royal Woods Elementary School, and how no one seemed to want to talk to her. She told everyone how self-conscious she was about herself, thinking that everyone might be scared of talking to her because she was too tall, or because everyone might think of her as "the new Filipina girl". And then, one day Lincoln talked to her on the bus, and she explained how much it meant to her being able to make a friend so soon. With teary eyes but with a big smile on her face, she gave him a little aluminum cup with a compass and a set square, and a little golden metal plaque with the legend: "Lincoln Loud - First place in becoming my new friend".

My heart like a firework in my chest
My only regret is having regrets
Traveled the world, I loved every step
And all I know is:
No one, no one lives forever
We will be remembered
For what we do right now

After Stella, Girl Jordan, Mollie, and Cristina walked onto the stage, the three of them carrying an impressive bronze trophy inside which Lily would have enough room to take a nap.

"This trophy is a shared one that all three of us agreed that you deserve. You've been our Best Boy Friend for different reasons, but mostly for just being you" Jordan explained, with a smile that seemed to hug him. "For being the best science partner and dodgeball foe."

"For being the undefeated champion of cannonball contests in reglementary pools," Mollie continued.

"And… for being the first boy that has ever made me feel pretty," Cristina admitted with shyness, making everyone cheer as the three girls put the trophy aside and proceeded to embrace their friend.

He was, of course, used to big group hugs with girls, but it was special and a little embarrassing to have one with his classmates. Even so, he gave in, wrapping his arms around them to let them know how much he appreciated them as well. Of course, he wasn't ready at all for Jordan and Mollie to simultaneously kiss both of his cheeks, and he was absolutely unprepared for Cristina to cover his mouth with her hand before kissing the back of it. The crowd went louder than ever, and he only wished that Ronnie Anne wouldn't kill him for that indirect kiss.

And baby I'm living Louder
And dreaming longer, tonight
(We're living Louder, we're living Louder)
And baby I'm fighting harder
And loving stronger tonight
(We're loving stronger, we're loving stronger)

Luna and her band repeated the song over and over, but Lincoln could barely pay any sort of attention to what his sister was singing, since, apparently, all his classmates had something to award him. Medals, trophies, plaques, even some of those commemorative plates that Lincoln sometimes saw at tennis tournaments with Lynn. Some of these awards, the least of them, seemed to be brand new. Most of them were pretty worn-out, or they clearly were meant to be trophies for something else, like sports competitions or academic achievements. All of them, however, had metal plaques with laser-printed legends. "Medal to my best chemistry partner", "Trophy to the best fighting games player", "Plaque for introducing me to Ace Savvy", "Recognition for never telling the principal that I broke the window", and many, many others. Some friends paired up together with others to give him a group award, but most of them had taken the time and effort to buy or recycle a trophy just to give him an individual recognition.

He was surprised to see that this wasn't just his close friends, like Artie, Chad or Boy Jordan, but also people that he barely even talked to, like Andrew or Lance. And after all his classmates passed, then other kids from school started taking turns doing the same. Haiku surprised him by reading a poem dedicated to him before handing him a hand-embroidered ribbon that recognized him as Royal Woods' "Most charming non-vampire".

And not everyone walked up onto the stage to give him a trophy, but he could see the rest of them right next to the stage, cheering along with the crowd. He saw, somehow standing out from the rest of the school people, his old dates for the Sadie Hawkins dance, Giggles and Polly, and so many other people that he'd seen before but whose name he didn't know. There were some flashes of light, and Lincoln turned around to see Dana, Chaz, Whitney and other friends of his older sisters filming and taking pictures of the whole event.

He would have liked to feel embarrassed, but the truth is that the emotions running through his veins were drowning any sense of shame or humbleness. He felt like the king of the world, and it was such a euphoric sensation of a caliber that he had never experienced before.

'Cause we're all just kids
Who grew up way too fast
Yeah the good die young
But the great will always last
We're growing older
But we're all soldiers tonight

But the surprises didn't end there, no, they had barely begun. After every kid he knew had their turn, the next person to get on the stage carrying a gold medal was none other than his teacher Miss Johnson.

"As a teacher, our students are more than just students," she explained to the mic, looking at him with a smile that failed to conceal the sadness she kept within. "They grow right in front of our eyes, and they become sort of family as well. And it's not us who one-sidedly teach them. There's always feedback where the teacher also learns from their students. There are many, many things that you've taught me, Lincoln, and that's why you deserve the Medal of inspiration, because it's thanks to kids like you that I can wake up every day knowing that my job is worth something."

Touched by Miss Johnson's words, he let her add a new medal to the collection that he was hanging from his neck, and that was starting to weigh more than what was comfortable. He didn't care, though. It was a weight that he'd never get tired of carrying. His teacher knelt down to hug him, and it was then when he realized she was using the orange hair clip he'd given to her long ago.

After her, Principal Huggins stepped up, carrying a wood plaque that showcased a little golden, metallic rectangle. "ACADEMY EXCELLENCE - HONORIS CAUSA - LINCOLN L LOUD", it read.

"The job of an educational institution isn't to generate machines that can read books and write essays," he said, trying his best to muffle his incipient crying. "The job of a school is to form good citizens and people with values and moral qualities. It's our pride when we can look back and say that we've formed a truly admirable person! And if there's something that this reunion proves us all, it's that you're a wonderful individual capable of moving crowds for you. I-If Ace Savvy was real, h-he would be proud of you!"

And with those words, after which Becky, Renne, and Clyde roared above the rest, Principal Huggins handed him the award and a heartfelt hug.

If today's the day I go
Gonna drink with all my friends
Gonna laugh until we cry
As we talk and reminisce

More adults decided to step up and present their respects, their trophies, their congratulations. Coach Pacowski gave him a trophy in the shape of a golden whistle for being part of "The best yearbook staff ever". The whole Yates family went up carrying a trophy that was literally taller than Lincoln, and Mr. Yates gave a very eloquent yet genuine speech about how Lincoln (and his family) had taught them all the value of fun. "For teaching us life lessons", the plaque said, and even though Lincoln couldn't really say that he deserved all the credit for that, he decided to not argue against it and just accept the gigantic trophy and every member of the Yates family's hug. Mr. Grouse also had something to give him, a trophy that seemed to be older than Rita, at least. An award to his "charming neighbor", who had managed to "Reunite an old man with his family". A trophy that moved him, almost as much as the one that the old seniors from Sunset Canyon, Scoots, Bernie and Seymour, gave with for "Reminding old people that youth is just an attitude".

And let me kiss a stranger
And rob the local bank
Let me become real rich
So I can give it all away

Lincoln, who if it wasn't for the weight of the medals that he carried would probably be floating on the roof due to his happiness and emotion-filled heart, thought nothing could surprise him anymore. But he was certainly not ready to see Carol Pringrey and Bobby coming onto the stage together, carrying a big trophy in the shape of a golf ball. The old plaque that said "First Place - Amateur Regional Golf Tournament" had been replaced for a new one that said, "The little brother we never had". As the two took turns to share anecdotes of why Lincoln was so important to them, he remembered what Carol had told him the previous afternoon, when he was in her car during the storm. Did she already know about this? How long had this secret been kept from him?

'Cause no one, no one lives forever
But we will be remembered
For what we do right now

Even though the joy, surprise, and just raw emotions that he felt had been keeping him serene enough as to avoid crying, he had to admit that Carol and Bobby's hug was dangerously close of breaking him down. Especially because they both embraced him in a way that they had never done so before, and the feeling of familiarity and fraternity that he could feel pouring out of them reminded him of his own family, and he finally realized that, indeed, at some point in his early life Carol had been some kind of older sister figure to him, and Bobby had been, along with Clyde, the closest he ever was to have a brother.

And baby I'm living louder
And dreaming longer, tonight
(We're living louder, we're living louder)
And baby I'm fighting harder
And loving stronger tonight
(We're loving stronger, we're loving stronger)

This improvised ceremony had become, without a single ounce of a doubt, the singular most spectacular moment in Lincoln's short life. Never before had he felt so appreciated, so validated and important. The spotlights felt as if the Sun was smiling down at him, embracing him and lifting him up in the air. He felt like baby Simba being presented to the whole African continent. He felt loved. He felt like he'd finally accomplished something.

He was also just feeling proud for being able to keep himself from breaking down into a sobbing mess with each friend or acquaintance that went to congratulate him and make him feel like he'd done something useful with his life. He seemed to be dealing with the situation extremely well, and with the exception of a tiny little tear here and there, he had managed to stay serene and smiling. The situation was about to change, and it all started when he saw Albert walking the steps to the stage.

'Cause we're all just kids
Who grew up way too fast

Pop-Pop walked ever so slowly to the center of the stage, and his thick mustache was shaking like there was a phone hidden underneath it and someone would just not stop calling him. He walked carrying two things: on one hand, a small book, so old and worn out that the pages looked almost yellow, and the cover was unrecognizable. On his other hand, he carried what Lincoln immediately recognized as the Medal of Honor that his grandfather was awarded after coming back from Vietnam for risking his life to save his troop from an ambush. It was one of the many medals Albert had showcased in his room at the retirement house, and it was beyond a doubt the biggest award he had ever received.

He got next to the mic and cleared his throat, taking a big breath and letting it out in a long, stretched out, painful sigh.

"What I have in my hands is the United States' Medal of Honor," he declared, earning respectful applause of admiration from the audience. "I've carried this medal proudly for several decades. It's awarded to recognize people that do brave acts beyond the call of duty. Those who do something good not out of obligation, but because they feel the moral need to do what's right. And whenever I think of that, I always remember a quote from a little book that I used to read back when I was a young kid: The Little White Bird."

Carefully, he put on his glasses, and clearing his throat once again, he opened the book at a marked page and started to read out loud.

"«Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight: always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary?»" He read, before putting the small book away in one of his pockets, and staring at his grandson with admiration and a hint of pain. "Kinder than necessary. We all have the option of being nice, but most of the time we just limit ourselves to be nice or kind whenever we have to. Whenever we feel that it's our duty to do so. I'm an old man that has been through a lot, and I've seen how people tend to think of kindness and manners as an obligation. But then, every once in a blue moon, I find people like my grandson, people that just don't settle with being nice. They go far above and beyond, trying to make sure that everyone around them is happy. So much so, that they're able to walk into a retirement home and convince a group of old people that it's not too late to have fun. My grandson… my little white bird. For your infinite kindness beyond what's necessary, I give you the Medal of Honor."

The raging crowd muffled the sound of the band. Lincoln, feeling his eyes itching, leaned forward so his grandfather could put his medal over the rest of them, but this one was by far the heaviest of the bunch. His neck was starting to hurt a little due to all the metal hanging from it, but little did he care. Just like he didn't care when Pop-Pop lifted him in the air, squishing him against his chest, almost leaving him out of breath.

"I love you, son," he told to his ear, and Lincoln felt his heart drop at the sound of those words.

"I love you too, Pop-Pop," he told him, pressing his face against the old man's shirt, leaving some small, invisible teardrops on it.

Yeah the good die young
But the great will always last

Once Pop-Pop put him back on his feet and moved away, to a side of the stage, the real test to Lincoln's spirit began. The first ones to move up were Lisa and Lily. The little genius was dragging a little trolley behind her, where a very impressive, 3D printed trophy, seemingly out of aluminum, showed what seemed to be the figure of Lincoln carrying the weight of the world, as a parody of a classical Atlas statue. The biggest change was, however, that the weight of the world wasn't represented by the literal Earth, but was instead a little model of their home. Her other hand was making sure that the baby followed suit. Lily, with a pacifier in her mouth, had decided to let her parents dress her up, and she firmly walked next to Lisa, wearing her little shoes, her purple pants, and her lilac t-shirt with a yellow flower in the middle.

The sight was adorable, but looking at the customized trophy and Lisa pulling the mic down to her height, Lincoln couldn't avoid feeling that a cold liquid had replaced his blood.

Lisa hadn't even said anything yet, but he could already feel himself close to crying.

"We've all gathered here to celebrate the achievements of my family unit, my older brother Lincoln," she announced, repeating what everyone already knew. "Lincoln, in an effort to acquire validation and the recognition of his peers, has tried countless times to obtain what he considered a reward for his efforts. His above-average academic performance, however, did not seem to pay off. A curious instance of the Pygmalion Effect was then reached, where his lack of faith in himself caused him to fail on many of the self-imposed objectives in pursuit of his subjective vision of success and conformity."

Lincoln was now struggling to keep up with what she was saying, and with the exception of Principal Huggins and many of her scientists' colleagues, the rest of the crowd seemed to be confused as well.

"But I consider that there are many small victories that we conquer day by day, and unfortunately they lack certified and approved validity. As he has taught me, not everything in life is about our academic successes or our research," she continued, staring into his eyes. "He taught me the importance of loving our siblings. Our friends. Ourselves. You taught me things that not even the best universities in the world are prepared to teach... and that is why I give you this award."

She stopped for a second, blinking fast and biting her lower lip. Lily moved closer to her, hugging her waist.

"Because even having to bear many times with the responsibility of taking care of all of us, you never gave in, and you have always been an example of inspiration to all of us. To your older sisters... and also to us, your younger sisters. Who will always see in our brother a role model... and a hero."

Pushing the mic aside before she could surrender to her crying, she carried the trolley in his direction, taking the trophy and Lily to her brother's arms, and he knelt down to hug them both. Lily asked him to pick her up, and he did so with his right arm, making sure that the medals wouldn't hit her face, as Lisa just clung onto his chest, not caring that the metal was hitting her glasses. Now that the trophy was closer to him, he was able to read the little plaque.

"Trophy to the one carrying our family. My hero. Lincoln L Loud".

As the cheers rained upon them and the song kept playing on a loop, he kissed both of his youngest sisters on their foreheads. Lisa was now openly crying, but she managed to spare a smile for her dear brother. He tried to wipe his own tears with the back of his hand, but Lily grabbed him thumb, catching his attention. To the surprise and delight of everyone at the gym, the baby took her pacifier off her mouth and offered it to her brother.

"Incon!" She happily said, and as a generalized "aaaw" flooded the room, Lincoln felt his heart falling apart for his baby sister. He kissed the top of her head one more time, accepting the pacifier, and letting Lisa take the baby to where their grandfather was waiting.

We're growing older
But we're all soldiers tonight

The next one to step up was Lola, holding in her hands a big, silver cup with pink ribbons tied at the handles. It was from the regional pageant that she'd won last year, the biggest one she had attended yet, and one where she had absolutely destroyed the competition. Lincoln couldn't believe that she would actually be considering giving away this trophy to him. Not knowing how to react, he took a hand to his mouth, anxiously rubbing his lips, trying to remain calm.

"My brother Lincoln is the bestest brother in the whole wide world!" Was firmly announced by the princess, who oddly enough wasn't wearing her tiara. "He's the nicest, kindest, smartest, prettiest boy ever, and you can't tell me otherwise!"

Everyone laughed, but they knew very well that to even insinuate the opposite would mean a trip to the hospital. After taking a few deep breaths, however, Lola's face relaxed, and his furrowed brow gave away to some arched brows that were struggling to stay under control.

"And not only is he the best person ever. He's also my coach. He's super patient a-and super attentive, and he tells me h-how to improve my routines… and he listens to me when I'm complaining… and he's nice even when I'm mad… a-and he taught me how to read faster," she admitted, fidgeting with her fingers. "And that's… that's why he deserves the trophy to my Role Model, because I wish I could be more like him so people would love me as I love him."

By now, Lincoln couldn't understand how his heart had managed to avoid blowing up in a thousand pieces like a hydrogen bomb as he dropped dead on the stage, with a smile on his face for the rest of eternity. He couldn't even wait for his little sister to come closer to give him the trophy. It was him who went up to her and hugged her in front of everyone, feeling her little arms wrapping strongly around his neck. When they broke the hug away, they both saw lights reflected in each other's eyes, and Lola took a second to comb Lincoln's hair with her hand, making sure that it was as perfect as it could be. As he deserved.

When you've got your breath inside your head
Every day's a second chance

Once the youngest twin finished her turn, it was now time for Lana to appear on the scene, carrying a much more modest and smaller trophy than his sisters', which seemed to make her feel slightly intimidated. She walked ever so slightly, and when she grabbed the phone and moved it around, there was a slight interference, making that hellish, awful sharp sound that made everyone cover their ears for a second. Lana blushed, and her feet moved uncomfortably on the stage.

"Uuuuh… I… I j-just… Lincoln's my brother, and… and I love him a lot. And he's super nice… and he takes care of all of us…"

She looked pale, and Lincoln noticed that the poor little girl was getting self-conscious about all the people staring at her. He then moved a little for her to notice him, and with a hand gesture, he asked her to only focus on him.

It seemed to help her relax a little, and she kept going with her speech in a more casual way, her eyes fixed on her older brother.

"And he's not only just a great brother, but he's also really nice and caring with animals. When I explained to him why frogs are so important to me, he did all that he could to help me save a whole bunch of them from being dissected. And… and that's why, in the name of my friends, I give him the trophy to the Honorary Member of the Amphibian Family, for being super smart and super brave and super considerate with the frogs of the world!"

When people gave her a round of applause, Lana seemed to gain confidence, and she ran all the way towards Lincoln, jumping in the air for her brother to catch her up and hold her tight. The little grease monkey rubbed her cheeks against Lincoln's head like a puppy, enjoying as he softly stroked her back.

After he let her go and she gave him the trophy, Lincoln was surprised by Hops appearing from right under her red cap, croaking and extending his tongue to give him a friendly kiss on the cheek. It was slightly gross, but Hops was like another member of the family, and Lincoln laughed along with the audience as he put the new trophy next to the others and Lana joined her twin and the rest of the family.

If I wake up with a beating heart
Will I stand or will I fall?

Lucy got near at a slow pace, maybe fearing that she would scare him if she appeared suddenly like she used to do. On her hands, she carried both a plaque, that Lincoln thought he recognized and a sheet of paper. She stood next to the mic, looking at her brother almost sideways, and to the surprise of Lincoln and everyone else that knew her, she managed to give him a tiny smile for a few seconds, before a cold, emotionless mask took over her facial expressions. She gently cleared her throat, and in slow, solemn flow, she recited a new poem.

Today we have all gathered
to celebrate my brother's life
while a pain as sharp as a knife
sinks in and my heart shatters.

'Tis not my thing to show emotions
but my feelings I can not hide.
This mask I must leave aside;
give in to my heart's flowing motions

So allow me to make the endeavor
of sharing with you this poem,
to let you know that this home
will love you now and forever.

Lincoln, my brother, my muse.
You guided me whenever I've been lost.
You helped me when I needed you the most.
To ever forget you, I refuse.

So accept my trophy, mister
to award you "For lending an ear
to always a new poem hear"
from your goth little sister.

Lucy had written hundreds of poems throughout the years, and Lincoln had heard many that had left him surprised or full of wonder. And even then, this poem she had just read to him was easily in his top five. His sister had become quite the poet, and the pride that made him feel added to the emotional impact her words had in him were enough for his eyes to water as she embraced him.

The little goth clung onto him and judging by the way her back was shaking, she seemed to be crying as much as he was.

"Gosh, Lucy… That was beautiful," he whispered in her ear, hoping that his whisper would be heard amongst all the noise.

"You deserve it more than anyone. I love you, brother."

"Love you too."

And after giving him the plaque she had received for becoming the youngest performer at Royal Woods' Theater, she bid farewell of him with a kiss on the cheek.

I'm living louder
Dreaming longer tonight

After her roommate joined the rest of the family, Lynn jumped into the stage carrying the biggest, most impressive trophy she had been able to find in her ample collection. It was the trophy for getting the first place at the interstate tennis tournament, one that had literally cost her physical effort, blood, sweat, and tears to get. It wasn't as big as the one that the Yates had given him, but it was still absolutely impressive.

The whole stage seemed to shake when she put it between them, and after a small pause in which she fidgeted with her hair, she sighed and grabbed hold of the mic.

"This trophy means a lot to me," she began, her hand touching the golden surface with all the care in the world, and her eyes scanned it with nostalgia. "Ever since I've got it, I always look at it thinking of when I'm going to win something more important. Something bigger. My next great thing! The next big competition!"

Her lips formed a smile, but her eyes darted from the cold metal right into her brother's warm irises, and her hazel orbs shone brighter.

"But not even the first place at the world's biggest championship would make me as proud as I am of being your sister," she admitted, roughly shaking her head to get rid of the tears. "I know that usually I'm the athlete and you're the one cheering me from the bleachers, but… When it's not about sports… when it comes to, just, life, and being a good person… Well, uh, then I'm your fan, Lincoln."

She then shrugged and raised her index finger with an ironic smile on her face.

"Your number one fan, of course."

Everyone chuckled, but seeing how the young girl's laugh quickly turned into crying, silence took over the atmosphere once again.

"Y-You're the best person I've ever met, and… and… and you're my Lil' bro… I-I should be y-your role model, but the truth is… the truth is that you're mine. A-And that's why this is to show you that you're Your Big Sis' Hero. Y-You're the real walking trophy."

Correctly guessing that he wouldn't be able to carry such an impressive trophy on his own, she was the one to place it along with the others before pulling him into a surprisingly soft and tender hug. Lincoln gave in to the love she was giving him, stroking with one of his hands Lynn's hair, trying to let her know just how much she meant to him. Their cheeks were squished together, their freckles pressing against each other.

It was right then when he finally realized how many different teams Lynn had invited to the ceremony. Dozens of people began raising their fist in the air to the sound of "Loud! Loud! Loud! Loud!", spreading through the crowd until the word was chanted like a warcry.

"Is this how it always feels?" He asked her, moving to look at her in the eye. "To have people cheering for you?"

She smiled as she rubbed her forearm against her eyes.

"It never gets old."

An idea seemed to cross her mind, and with a sudden, fast movement that gave Lincoln no time to react, she grabbed one of his wrists and raised his arm high in the air, like he had just won a boxing match. People cheered for him, and Lincoln rejoiced on the moment, enjoying the attention, feeling, for the first time in forever, that he was worth something.

Baby, I'm fighting harder
And loving stronger tonight

When it was Luan's turn, she came in carrying a framed, hand-made diploma. Her huge success in the entertainment industry was seldom reflected with material trophies. Her YouTube channel had over fifty thousand subscribers, but that wasn't enough to get her the Silver Play Button. And her Funny Business Inc didn't give her any medal, but who could be foolish enough to deny its success?

"Lincoln was the first person to teach me how to make others laugh," she began, giving him a smile as warm as the morning sun. "It's thanks to him that I'm the person that I am today. He is, and will always be my best audience, the reason why I smile when I need it the most. His laugh changed my life for the best, and that's why he deserves the diploma to The World's Most Contagious Smile."

Knowing all that he knew, and with what he'd learned from her that night just a week ago, Lincoln felt touched by what his sister had just said. As annoying as her pranks could get every once in a while, and as crazy as April Fools days were with her, Luan was truly the greatest representation of joy and fun in the family. Always having a pun ready to make others smile whenever they were feeling down.

With how much he knew her, he probably should have seen it coming. Such a serious speech, such a calm smile… It should have been obvious, knowing Luan, that the moment he would lean in to receive her award, the fake flower on her shirt would squirt water directly at his face. He should have seen it coming, but he didn't, and the water hit him right on his eyes. Everyone laughed, and not even he could keep the chuckle from getting to him as they hugged. He couldn't find it in himself to be mad at her.

Plus, the water helped dissimulate his tears.

And baby I'm living louder
And dreaming longer tonight
(We're living louder, we're living louder)

Being the smart boy that he was, he had already picked up on the order his sisters were coming onto the stage, so instead of waiting for someone else to appear on his right, he turned around to look at the band playing behind him. Luna smiled at him and nodded, letting him know that it was indeed her turn. She made a motion with her head and the pop song they were playing suddenly stopped. Luna put the guitar to a side and after a few seconds of silence during which she went to pick up her trophy from behind the drums set, an eighties melody started to sound, much more relaxed and chill.

Now holding up the silver, musical-note-shaped trophy that she had received after winning the last edition of America's Next Hitmaker, Luna took the mic and walked towards Lincoln, smiling and singing at him the lyrics of this new melody.

I could runaway
But I'd rather stay
In the warmth of your smile lighting up my day
The one that makes me say
'Cause you're the best thing that ever happened
To me or my world
You're the best thing that ever happened...

She sang with her heart, and for a moment it didn't sound like a cover, but more like she had written those words herself, thinking specifically about him. Luna had always had that special quality, being able to make any song sound like it belonged to her, giving it her own unique twists to make them part of herself, transforming them into something new, something better. He loved to see her recover the spark that she had seemingly lost for the past few days.

"You're the voice I hear inside my head, dude, the reason that I'm singing," she told him. "You're a harmony to the melody that's echoing inside my head. A single voice above the noise; you are the music in me. You are my everything, Lincoln, and that's why this is for you."

She handed him the trophy, and upon receiving it, Lincoln finally realized that she was giving him one of her most precious possessions. That trophy was her biggest pride, her first and last participation on national television, showing her music to millions of people. And even then, she had covered her name on it with a plaque that said: "To my Wonderwall".

The eighties ballad stopped as brother and sister held each other, but it soon went back to the previous song, and Sam did a perfect job of covering for Luna until she was in conditions to returning to the mic.

And baby I'm fighting harder
And loving stronger tonight
(We're loving stronger, we're loving stronger)

As she placed Luna's trophy next to the several others that he had received, Lincoln saw his sister Leni approaching, her hands flexed like an adorable t-rex, and her smile as warm and shining as usual. She had a little bronze trophy that seemed to have the inscription right in the middle of the cup.

She stood in front of the mic and waved at the people below.

"Hi! Thanks for coming!" She lovely said before turning towards her brother. "Linky, you're my favorite brother, but even if you weren't my brother, I would still love you just as much! That's why I'm giving you a trophy to My favorite brother!"

And without further ado, she went straight to the point and handed him the cup. He did it, laughing to his insides. He wouldn't trade Leni for the world, and he hoped that she would never change. That she would stay the same forever, as innocent as kind as she was now. She stroke one of his arms and ruffled his hair before giving him a tender smile and leaving him to go to her family.

'Cause we're all just kids
Who grew up way too fast

Finally, and slowly stepping onto the stage, the oldest of the Loud siblings joined her brother under the spotlight. She looked much more nervous than Luna or Leni, but not as distraught as Lola or Lynn. Just like Carol, she was also giving away her biggest golf trophy for Lincoln. And even though he should've been used to it by now, he couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. A pang of guilt that, however, did not manage to eclipse the absolute joy inside his heart.

If everyone was willing to give away their most cherished trophies, that could only mean that they loved him even more than that, right? He wasn't sure, but it was a nice thought, and he clung onto it as much as he could.

When Lori was getting ready to start, dozens of flashes and lights sparkled from right under the stage, where all of her friends were now recording and taking pictures with their phones.

"Honestly, there's not much that I can add," she apologized, letting out a nervous chuckle. "Everyone has said what I think already. You're literally the best person I've ever met. And… well, judging by how many people came here today just to show you how much we care, I can't be the only one. Everything that you've always done for us will stay with us forever, and your memory will live in our hearts. Lincoln, this is why this trophy is for you. I'm the one giving it to you, but it really comes from all of us."

And just like that, he became the owner of the beautiful trophy that now read "First Place To The Boy That I Will Literally Never Forget - ".

Well, this clearly confirmed it, this whole ceremony had had very short notice. He had shared his fear of being forgotten just the night before. Had she really set this whole thing up in a day? How was it even possible?

Whatever it was, with or without prep time, they had succeeded in making him feel special. And when she knelt to kiss his forehead in a motherly way, he hugged her, trying to let her know how much he appreciated it all. The fact that she was always there for him. That she had organized this surprise party. That she had found him the day before. That she had taken him back home, sound and safe.

Yeah the good die young
But the great will always last

Had it been for him, he would have never ended that hug. He would have asked the rest of his sisters to join. Maybe Clyde and Ronnie Anne as well. And he could have stayed there with them, not worrying about the watching crowd. How much time he had left, anyway? A week? An hour? He would've stayed with them right there, for the rest of his time, without any sort of doubt or regret. That's why, when Lori stood up, he almost wanted to ask her not to. At least until he realized that she wasn't the last person to have anything to say, and his heart suddenly felt as heavy as a bowling ball.

Rita and Lynn Sr were now getting closer, leaving a trail of tears behind them on the surface of the stage. They were the first ones to get up there without carrying any award, but Lincoln certainly didn't mind. He saw their eyes, struggling to shine, and their smiles, which were trying their best to be authentic and transmit the happiness that they undoubtedly felt somewhere inside their hearts, but that seemed to be drowned by the antinatural anguish and pain of a parent having to say goodbye to their kin.

They both picked him up in their arms, holding him, touching his hair, messing up all the medals he was carrying and making him turn into a sobbing mess in front of how many people? Eighty? A hundred? More? They didn't seem to care, and with all honesty, neither did Lincoln. That was but a tiny thought at the back of his mind, an annoying voice trying to tell him that he should be ashamed, but that right then had no power over him.

After spending some long, stretched out seconds with his wife and son, Lynn Sr was the one to stand up, grab the mic, and clear his throat to address the audience.

"Wow… I've been thinking on what to say for a long while, but I'm here and I still have no idea what to say," he admitted, making some people laugh, and earning some support from others. "I just… In the name of the Loud family… I just want to thank you all for coming. This is something that I'll never be able to repay to you, so just… thank you."

Rita and all of Lincoln's sisters nodded from the side of the stage, thanking with their eyes to all their friends and acquaintances.

"Lincoln… He's my little boy… And… And he's my pride. He and my girls are. And I haven't been the best father, I've made more mistakes than I can even count, and I still make them even after having eleven children. But even if I wasn't the best example for him, my kid Lincoln has turned out to be such an exemplary person. Even though he's only eleven he's someone that we all, me and my wife included, look for advice. He's the son that I've always thought I'd have… And… A-And it means a lot to us that you've all come here to support us, and especially to help us show him how special he really is. How much we love him. E-Everything that he's done for us… Thank you. Thank you all. And I'm gonna bother you one last time just to ask for a big round of applause to the one that brought us all here together: my boy Lincoln."

Anyone walking outside of the gymnasium would have thought that a bomb had detonated inside. A roaring, deafening, standing ovation occurred, with everyone under that roof clamoring as if their lives depending on it, cheering, calling his name. A tsunami of euphoria and validation that hit him straight on his feelings.

His mom ended up releasing him to join in the applauses, taking a few steps behind to join her husband and daughters, who had all formed a semicircle with him at the center of the stage, receiving the acclaim of all the people he had ever helped, or that he had ever shared experiences with during his eleven years of life. The light from the reflectors bounced off the collection of medals of all sizes and colors that were hanging from his neck, and on the pyramid of trophies that had accumulated to his left, and the glowing golden light threatened to blind him.

The oniric situation had him confused. He didn't know how to react, nor how he was supposed to be feeling. It was like watching a movie where someone else was playing the part of Lincoln Loud. So many people congregated to congratulate him, to celebrate his life, to thank him for everything he'd done for them, for all the memories shared. It was hard to believe that this was really happening to him.

For the first time in his life, he felt like a true winner. A conqueror. Important. He didn't care if the only reason why he was getting all of this was because of his condition. He didn't care if they were watching him cry. He didn't care if he was looking weak in front of so many people.

As Luna and her band decided to finally end the song, Lincoln forgot about everything else, even his heart and the tumors on his head, for some glorious minutes, he allowed himself to feel like the king of the world.

We're growing older
But we're all soldiers tonight

The award ceremony had been outright wonderful, but the hours that followed were just as, if not more satisfying.

Apparently, it was hard to gather literal dozens of people under the same roof and just expect them to leave from one moment to the other once it was over. Flip brought his food card, promising to lower the prices (although no one noted any discount), and between him and what the club's buffet had to offer, there was enough food for everyone. Being a sports club, there were many balls of different disciplines available, and several kids and teenagers decided to open the gates and go to the field right next to it and have fun together. It really looked like a birthday party, and that's how Lincoln felt it.

He didn't even have time to properly thank his parents and family for everything that they had done. As soon as the award ceremony was over, Katherine Mulligan, from the local news report, came to interview him, leading him to a window to have more natural light and with all his new trophies and medals showcased behind him. She interviewed him for just a few minutes, asking about his overall feelings after experiencing such a spectacular and wide show of solidarity from the community. He was still feeling numb from the feelings, and words wouldn't come out easily from his sore throat, but his tears and his humbleness to explain that he didn't really deserve this was enough to make Katherine tear up as well, giving him a quick hug before she went on to interview his family and friends.

As soon as she left him alone, more people surrounded him to have a little talk. Pretty much everyone that had assisted and couldn't get a trophy for him made sure to let him know how sorry they were about the whole thing, and how much they appreciated him. They would remember anecdotes or stories from when Lincoln had helped them with anything, and if they didn't personally know him, they would let him know all the wonderful things that his family would say about him all the time. That's how he found out how much his sisters talked about him with their friends, and how much his dad bragged about him at work. His classmates, kids from school, neighbors, and adults came to talk to him, making him feel like a celebrity, asking for a picture to upload on social media or to keep as a memory. Some reunions were sad, and several tears were shed during these quick, heartfelt conversations and congratulations, but for the most part, they only fueled Lincoln's great mood and made him feel special.

After a little over an hour, however, Lincoln began to miss his sisters and friends. He wanted to be with his loved ones and thank them for everything that they'd done. There was also one sister in particular that he wanted to thank first because of a hunch, and he didn't want to forget about it. As he walked through the hall and people stopped to thank him, remind him how cool he was, and tell him how much they liked his new look, he began scanning his surroundings, and he soon found his loved ones.

Clyde was the first one that he found. He and the rest of their classmates were all hanging out together at a corner, where he seemed to be telling a story since everyone was paying a lot of attention to what he was saying. Or maybe he was telling them a joke, because after he put on a thoughtful look and took a hand to rub his chin, everyone started to laugh, getting him to do it as well. Liam, Rusty, and Zach were by his side, and Lincoln knew he had nothing to worry about. His best friend would be with good company.

A company almost as good as the one the twins had, at least from what Lincoln could tell when he stared through the window into the playground to the other side of the gym. Almost all kids were busy playing at the swings, which only left one for the twins and Lucy to use. He saw Lola being swung by the goth, as Lana cheered for her from the other side, waiting for her with her arms wide open. After counting down from three, Lola jumped from the swing at its highest point. Just like a few days ago, her fall wasn't perfect. Unlike that time, however, she didn't fall on the mud, but on her twin's soft arms, who didn't manage to fully catch her, but she did soften her fall so when they both rolled on the ground, they were laughing. The three of them, actually, since Lucy laughed with them as well, and when the twins insisted on her trying the swing too, she made no effort to hide her happiness and all the fun she was having as her two little sisters made a team effort to push her.

Lincoln felt very proud of him, but he felt even more proud when he realized he wasn't the only one watching over the young girls. Near the door that went to the playground, Lynn was leaning against a wall, keeping an eye on her sisters, silently watching over them with no rush to go there and join in on their fun. Of course, she might have not had any hurries because she wasn't alone. She was surrounded by her volleyball teammates, and she kept an arm around Ronnie Anne's shoulders, who seemed to be answering a lot of questions from the other girls. Judging by their gestures, Lynn's attitude and the confident yet slightly embarrassed grin on his girlfriend, Lincoln assumed he was witnessing the presentation of a new member of the team. A presentation that was interrupted when a boy dressed in light blue and white clothes walked in front of the team captain, stopping just a few feet away from her. The rest of the girls excused themselves, leaving Lynn alone with whom Lincoln decided to assume was Francisco. It's not like he was a great detective, but the moment his sister blushed and a finger played with a lock of her hair, he decided that he was probably right.

Turning his eyes back inside the gym, he found Lisa sitting alone at a table, with several notes, a pen and a weird electronic device next to her. Her brow was sweating, she was blinking fast, and her lips were almost painfully pursed. She looked completely oblivious to all the talks and fun going around her. He was about to put his little search aside to go talk to her, but a young girl wearing a cyan blouse with a pink flower in the middle of it came running, standing right next to Lisa, holding her hand, and apparently inviting her to play. Lisa looked at her, confused for a few seconds, before she sighed, put on a smile, squeezed the girl's hand, and decided to follow her wherever fun would take them.

They walked to another one of the doors, this one closer to the main gate, and the two young girls ran right in front of Luna and her group of punks. Chunk, Tabby, Sam, and other boys and girls wearing heavy metal clothes, but there was also Carol in there, impressing everyone by grabbing an acoustic guitar and playing a simple rhythm. She didn't look like a rock star at all. She was holding the guitar and strumming with the finesse of a violinist, but everyone was pleasantly surprised, and Sam and Luna were looking at each other, raising their eyebrows and with a special beam in their eyes that Lincoln didn't know how to interpret.

He went to the main gate, trying to stay invisible, with no one else to interrupt him. He passed next to Luan, and he almost stopped for a second to talk with her, but a boy with curly hair and a polo shirt with white and blue stripes had him covered, sounding serious and nervously rubbing his arm. Luan wasn't laughing, she looked slightly depressed, but under the sadness of her face he could see the unmistakable pinkish blush of her cheeks, and her eyes were glowing with the intensity of two lamps in the dark, focused solely on the boy right in front of her.

He walked outside, paying no mind to all the kids playing on the field beneath the red and orange sky, and he soon found the big group of teenagers that he was looking for. Sitting at the base of a tree, Dana, Becky, Whitney, Chaz, and Joey were all chatting amongst themselves and with the inseparable couple of Bobby and Lori, holding hands, with the girl resting against her boyfriend, her head comfortably placed on his shoulder. Lincoln didn't want to interrupt the moment, but he also didn't want to wait until they were done.

Besides, he kinda was the protagonist of the afternoon. He couldn't imagine them complaining that he wanted to talk to his sister for a second.

So he walked towards them, trying to look confident, but failing miserably at it as he couldn't figure out what to do with his hands. Leave them hanging to the side? Close his fists? Put them inside the pockets of his new jacket? And that's how the teenagers saw him, walking closer to them with his hands on a completely unnatural position in the air as he tried to figure out what to do with them.

"Lincoln!" Becky called him, with some slight sadness ringing in her voice, but trying to smile and politely wave at him.

Naturally, everyone turned around to look at him, but no one faster than Lori, who almost lost her neck with how fast she moved.

"Is everything okay, Lincoln?" She asked him, quickly standing on her feet and smiling at him, nervously fixing his sleeves and the neck of his jacket.

"Eh, yeah, yeah I'm alright," he said, very conscious of the fact that all those cool, mature teenagers had their eyes fixed on him.

"Do you need anything? How are you feeling? Do you want a glass of water? Or something to eat, or…?"

"No, I'm okay, I just…"

He shot a quick glance at the other kids.

"I just wanted to, uh… Well, thank you for organizing this. When I said… what I said last night, I never thought you'd take it to heart like this to organize this whole thing just to make me feel better. Thank you," he said before giving her a hug.

He clearly heard Dana and Becky letting out some "aaaw's", and he was willing to bet that Chaz, Bobby, and Whitney were tearing up at the sight. Lori hugged him back, squeezing him tight, but she quickly broke away from it, looking gently at him.

"Lincoln… It's not me who you should thank," she tenderly explained.

"Eh? But… how…? Then who…?"

His shocked face must have been really funny since she giggled.

"This wasn't organized today. We've been getting this ready for a couple of days. Why do you think the trophy case at home was covered with a blanket? We did it so we could take our trophies out without you noticing."

The revelation hit Lincoln like a fake boxing glove under his pillow on April Fools.

"Oh," he said, feeling like a fool for not realizing this sooner. "But… then whose idea was it?"

Lori's smile grew even bigger, and she pointed to his left with her eyes and eyebrows. He looked in that direction, and what he saw left him astonished. He looked back at Lori, and she simply nodded.

"I think you should thank her. She's gonna be really happy if you do. Come on, go."

And after saying goodbye with a kind look, Lincoln finally walked to thank the mastermind behind the most awesome, emotional afternoon of his entire life.

Said mastermind was standing next to the bleachers, right in front of the soccer field where all the kids were playing. She had her head resting on her forearms, admiring a beautiful, dreamlike butterfly with iridescent blue wings that was standing quiet on the wood seats that the Louds had sat upon so many times before when they were cheering for Lynn.

Lincoln walked near her, trying to think of the best way to approach this. In the end, he decided that there was no point in delaying it, so after taking a deep breath, he spoke.

"Leni?" He softly called her, not wanting to scare the butterfly away.

His sister turned around to look at him, with a beautiful and sincere smile glistening on her immaculate face.

"Hey, Linky! Wanna take a look at this pretty butterfly with me?"

He stood next to her.

"Hey, uh… Lori told me that you…"

"Yeah?"

"That you organized his whole thing."

"Oh, right! That was me!"

"So it's true? This was your idea?"

"Yup!"

"Wow… and how did you come up with it?"

Leni darted her eyes away from the innocent butterfly, flashing him a warm smile.

"It was the other day, when we were about to play Monopoly in my room with Ronnie Anne," she explained. "I went down to look for you because you were taking too long, and I saw you looking really sad a the trophy case. And I was thinking, why would you be sad for our trophies? At first, I thought that maybe you didn't like it when we win stuff, but I realized that couldn't be true because you're a really nice person and you always congratulate us and give us a hug when we win stuff."

She closed her eyes and let out a dreamy sigh, perhaps reminiscing about a certain hug he had given to her once.

"And then I was like: maybe it's like when I go to the mall to buy a dress and someone else took the last one of it. And it's not like I'm sad because the other person has it, but it makes me feel kinda bad because I can't buy it for myself. And I remembered that time when you posted our embarrassing videos because you didn't have any trophy of your own, and then I thought Oh, so maybe the one we did for him is too small and it doesn't shine as much! And that made me feel super bad because you deserve to have many many big and shiny trophies, because you really are a very kind and very pretty and very nice person. So while mom took you to see Pop-Pop, I told the girls that we should organize a surprise party for you where everyone would give you trophies for all the nice things you do every day. I mean, I know that there aren't, like, Good People tournaments, or trophies for being nice, but I totes think there should be because sometimes being nice to others is just as hard as making the perfect dress, you know? And when the girls said it was an excellent idea, I started to call everyone I know and everyone the girls know, asking if they could bring a trophy for the good things you do, and everyone said they wanted to! I mean, some said they didn't have trophies, or that they didn't have money to buy one, but I told them that was okay, because the important thing was to let you know that we love you and that we do care about everything you do for us. You know what I'm saying? Honestly, I only wanted you to know that even if you didn't have trophies in your case, you were still just as nice as the rest of us. But now you have more trophies than all of us put together! And yours are much bigger and shiny! Yay!"

The more he listened to Leni's explanation, the more her words reached his heart, and in an afternoon where he'd heard a thousand nice things being said about him as a person, the absolute honesty and contagious joy of the fashionista managed to give him one more reason to be happy. Small, shining tears formed in his eyes, falling down his cheeks with the softness of the dew of a spring morning on a rose petal.

"Leni, I… Wow… Thanks. I d-don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. I just wanted to see you smile."

"And Leni… Sorry for asking this but… You do know what's going to happen to me… right?"

Leni's smile quickly faded away, and her eyes moved down to the ground. The butterfly decided it was a good moment to leave, taking flight, the blue wings losing themselves on the infinite firmament.

"Yes," she simply said, her voice sounding muffled and distant. "I know."

"Then why haven't you said anything?" He asked, feeling guilty for ruining his sister's good mood. "All these days, I've been so confused… Sometimes you look sad, but most of the time it's like… like… like there's nothing wrong."

She looked up back again, her green eyes fixing themselves on her brother's brown irises.

"Lincoln… I'm… I'm really, really sad, okay? Sometimes… Almost every night I cry with Lori," she admitted, a tear joining her brother's on the ground. "And sometimes I cry in the bathroom. And sometimes I cry when I'm alone in my room. And I cried a couple of times in the garage. I always ask how could this happen to us… But every time I cry, I think of you. And I know you don't like seeing us crying. And I know… I mean, I know this is really bad for you too, ok? And well… I don't know…"

Tears were now flowing unrestricted, but she still found the strength to give him a new smile.

"I, like, don't know if this makes any sense, but… I know I'll have my whole life to miss you and cry. But the ugly doctor with the cane told us that we didn't have much time left with you. And when I remember that, it's like I think… Why crying when I'm with you if we can instead do stuff to make us smile? If we don't have much time left, why don't we make the best out of it and turn this into the best moments ever?"

With how long the award ceremony had taken, and all the time that had elapsed since then, the Sun was already getting low, running and running to hide behind the horizon. Lincoln had heard at some point about the concept of the "golden hour" in photography, that magical moment right before sunset where the warm tones of light would reflect stronger, and that all photographs would always try to capture in their work, when possible.

Well, the Sun was hiding behind his back, and the golden light was bathing his sister, making her look more beautiful than ever, and even though their tears were also shining brighter with the sunlight, he could only think of how happy both of them were at that moment where there was only him and her, where nothing else mattered.

Without any need for words, they shared a hug, sharing the moment, enjoying the apparent isolation, understanding each other on a level that Lincoln could have never guessed from her. He felt like a fool for underestimating her, but his heart was beating faster and stronger than ever.

They only broke away when they heard a sob behind them. Lincoln turned around and found his best friend crying happy tears while his girlfriend tried to comfort him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin the moment," Clyde apologized.

"No, it's ok," Lincoln said, rubbing his eyes with his sleeve. "Clyde… Ronnie Anne, I, uh…"

"Don't say a word, Lame-O," his girlfriend interrupted him, walking in closer to hold his hand. "There's no need for words."

"Yeah, ok, but I wanted to apologize for-"

"She's right," this time, Clyde interrupted him. "Lincoln, I don't wanna hear it. Just… Just shut up and take the damn compliments for once."

The other three kids blinked, surprised for the words of the usually calm and educated Clyde. After a few seconds, however, the four of them began laughing, and it helped Lincoln greatly to be able to laugh his stress, anxiousness, and sadness away, along with the awful feeling of his chest sinking in frozen waters. They laughed more than they had to, more than it was objectively right to laugh about such a pointless thing.

They cherished every second of it.

"By the way, I've got this for you," Clyde said, handing Lincoln his cell phone.

The brown-haired boy grabbed it, lost in his thoughts.

"I'm gonna have to apologize to the guys," he said.

"Yeah. Yeah, you'll have to. But not now," Ronnie Anne offered, pressing herself against him and wrapping an arm around his waist. "Now's just to relax. What do you want to do?"

He considered it for a few seconds. It would have taken him less, but the sunset light made her eyes look so beautiful, and her lips so inviting…

"I always wanted to just… just sit down and watch a sunset," he said, thinking back to one of the many objectives on his list that he had yet to complete.

"Well… there are some bleachers with our name on them," Clyde pointed out, and soon the four kids went there, going to the highest seats.

Lincoln sat with his best friend and his girlfriend at each side, with Leni right behind him. He was trying to get comfortable, when a few voices called his name from down below. He turned around and was happy to see the rest of his sisters and his parents climbing up the bleachers, lead by the twins.

"Coming through!" Yelled Lana, getting herself comfortable between Clyde and Lincoln.

"Don't even think about it, Ronnie Anne, he might be your boyfriend but he's still my prince!" Lola threatened, standing between her brother and his girlfriend.

Everyone laughed at the young girl's jealousy, and after asking what they were doing and having Lincoln explaining it, they all took their seats. Lynn sat next to Ronnie Anne, with Lucy following her close. Lisa went to Clyde's right, leaving Lily on Lincoln's lap on her way there. Luan, Lori, and their parents join Leni, sitting all behind Lincoln, and Luna sat at the edge, so she could keep Sam's guitar comfortably beside her without bothering anyone.

As they were all getting into position and talked amongst themselves, with Ronnie Anne offering Lola to sit on her lap so both girls could be at the same distance of Lincoln, Lisa explaining to Clyde the phenomenon that caused the bright colors at sunset, and the rest of the family was simply admiring the view, Lincoln turned to look at Luna.

"Hey, sis?" He called her with a smile.

"Sup, dude?"

"Play a song, will ya?"

He smiled at him, grabbing her pick and getting in position. "Sure! What do you want, bro?"

"Anything you want. Just whatever you're feeling right now."

She slowly nodded, her head bobbing up and down and her eyes looking away while she thought. Finally, she smiled, and her fingers began playing a fast, upbeat melody as an intro before she strummed down heavy, more paused chords, with her vocals perfectly going with the in crescendo melody.

You're my backbone, you're my cornerstone
You're my crutch when my legs stop moving
You're my headstart, you're my rugged heart
You're the pokes that I've always needed
Like a drum baby don't stop beating
Like a drum baby don't stop beating
Like a drum baby don't stop beating

With the music in the background, Lincoln took one last look around. Smiling faces, happy, relaxed, all of them enjoying the moment and the beauty of twilight. Thankful for having each other. Wringing the moment, enjoying an instant that they wished they could stretch out to last forever. At least that's how he felt, as he held his breathing to enjoy the cold afternoon breeze inside his lungs, trying to capture this moment for eternity. His family, his friends, his monuments.

Like a drum, my heart never stops beating
For you, for you
Baby, I'm not moving on
I love you long after you're gone
For you, for you
You would never sleep alone
I'll love you long after you're gone
And long after you're gone, gone, gone.

With a big, honest smile, he stared at the horizon, watching the sun slowly sinking in, disappearing only to return the next day in the endless circle of life and nature. He focused on every single one of the colors that he saw in the clouds and the buildings from the city far away. He focused on Lily's little movements. On Ronnie Anne's strong yet gentle grip on his hand. On Lola and Lana both pressing their heads at each side of his chest. On Luna's soft notes, on Leni's shy laugh and Luan's familiar Get it?.

Lincoln Loud stopped for a second to just appreciate his situation, his family, his place in the world. A powerful smile spread on his face, as he closed his eyes and let out a sigh, enjoying the warm light bathing his face, his body, and everyone around him.

Perhaps Lisa would ignore his advice, and she would find a miraculous cure for his disease, but being completely honest, right then he felt that immortality was overrated.

Why worry so much about the destination, when the journey offered such beautiful looks?