70. Ch 70- Open Air, Open Mind, Open Heart

(A/N: hey everyone! Sorry that this upload came so late! This was partly because I wasn't sure how to write different parts of this chapter, and also because I've been trying to figure out where the story is going after the next ten chapters or so. However, the main reason is that I finally finished my dissertation for university, meaning that I have now finished my education. It's been a big three years, and I feel like I finally know what I want to do with my life now. Whether or not that actually comes true, only time will tell, but I'm gonna try my best to keep active on here whatever happens. For the rest of this month, I should hopefully be reasonably regular with uploads, but in July I'm gonna start working on something that I may let you guys know about if anything comes of it.

Also, I want to thank Mojimifan Low-Ki and cabgrant for their honesty in their reviews. I appreciate every review I get, but I also want you guys to be honest with me about this story. I want it to be something we all enjoy, so if you have any constructive criticism, then please let me know. No flaming, of course, but do let me know if there's any issue that you think needs fixing, and I will take it into consideration.

Thank you all for reading, and enjoy!)

For Lincoln, Saturday was once again spent at home. The girls had made other plans, meaning that they wouldn't be going to the mall, and the sole boy of the family had no qualms with that whatsoever. He didn't need anything for himself, he was saving his money for his Christmas shopping and he didn't particularly want to spend the start of his weekend looking after Lily while his sisters went looking at clothes, accessories and whatever else in their own directions. Instead, he got to relax in his room as he played his newest game, read his comics and altogether just took it easy.

After he finished his peanut butter, jelly and sauerkraut sandwiches and washed his dishes, he made his way to the couch and decided to watch some television for a while. He noticed that, of his sisters that were still in the house- those being Lynn, the twins, Lisa and Lily- he hadn't encountered any of them for at least a good hour. Sure, he could hear them from the upper floor, but the house was somewhat quiet for once, in a way that made the boy feel serene. At one point, however, he felt as though someone was watching, so he looked over his shoulder towards the staircase. Though he thought he saw someone, whoever it might have been moved out of his line of sight too quickly for him to be sure. He shrugged it off and returned to watching the TV, not wanting to let it bother him.

It was a few minutes later that he heard footsteps coming down the stairs, so he glanced again in order to see that it was the eldest of the twins. "Hey, Lana."

"Hey, Lincoln," she greeted back. "Is Mom in her room?"

"I think I saw her in the kitchen with Lily."

"Thanks."

Once the girl had disappeared into the kitchen, Lincoln resumed watching his show. Part of him wondered what his little sister was up to, but he knew that it wasn't his business, so he didn't think any further about it. He simply sat back and watched the cartoon play out, ignoring the footsteps that Lana made as she went back upstairs. It wasn't until someone else entered the room that he moved again.

"Lincoln?" He heard his mother ask, causing him to sit up and turn his body so he could see her with Lily in her arms, the infant now asleep. "Could you do me a favour?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Lana and Lola want to go to the park for a bit. Your father's currently at work, I need to look after Lily, and Lana asked Lynn, but she's busy working on her schoolwork. I told her that if she fails her next test, she won't be able to go to roller derby practice."

"Whatever gets her motivated, I guess," he joked, though no smile came to his face, a fact his mother quickly picked up on. She sat down next to him, putting Lily safely on her lap and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Lincoln, I know I'm asking you a lot, but please. Do it for me. You don't have to play with them if you don't want to, just make sure they're safe while they're there and bring them home. Can you do that for me?"

As much as the boy wanted to say no, he knew that it would be wrong for him to say no to his mother's request. He also didn't want to upset Lana, especially after they had made up the other night. Giving a sigh, he turned the tv off and placed the remote on the coffee table. "What time should I bring them back?"

Rita smiled, pecking a kiss on her son's head. "Thank you, Lincoln. Just let them play until they get tired or want to come home, and then bring them home. Lana said she was going to take Charles for a walk while they were out, and that she would handle any of his business. Just make sure they have their coats, and you have yours. It's going to be cold out."

"Okay, Mom."

She smiled as she stood up. "I'll think of something nice to make this up to you, sweetie."

He let her walk away to put Lily down for her nap, then got up from the couch with a slight groan. 'Might as well get this over with.' He grabbed his coat from the coat hanger near the front door and put it on, then made his way upstairs. He quickly popped into his room, grabbing his earphones and putting them in his coat pocket with his phone, then walked over to the twins' bedroom door. Giving a knock, he waited until he heard Lana call out to him.

"Come in!" Once he opened the door, Lincoln saw the animal lover knelt down on the floor, scratching Charles' belly, whilst Lola was simply sat on her bed. "Hey, Lincoln! What's up?"

"Mom said you two wanted to go to the park, so I'm gonna take you."

Lana's smile grew. "Thanks, Lincoln!"

"Don't mention it. If you want to go, we should leave soon, so grab your coats. Lana, make sure you get Charles' leash and his poop bags in case he does his business while we're out. Lola… just make sure you have anything you need. When you're ready, meet me downstairs."

"Okay!"

He nodded to the girls, then went downstairs and waited by the door. Taking them out of his pocket, he plugged his earphones into his phone and put them in his ears. He started to scroll through his music, trying to decide what to listen to when they left. He only had to wait a minute for his sisters to come down the stairs, Lana holding onto Charles by his leash and holding a tennis ball in her other hand.

"Alright, grab your coats, and we'll go." As his sisters obeyed him, he looked and saw his mother coming down the stairs. "We're heading out."

She smiled at them. "Alright, have fun and be safe!" she told her kids before they walked out the front door, the boy closing the door behind him. 'I hope everything goes alright.'

The girls and Lincoln walked for about fifteen minutes to get to the park. While Lana was as talkative as ever, both Lincoln and Lola were relatively quiet, only really speaking if Lana said something to them or they noticed something. Lincoln wasn't really talking because he didn't particularly want to be there. He loved his sisters, and nothing could make him question that, but he had been hoping for a quiet Saturday. Lola, on the other hand, he wasn't sure why she was being quiet, but he didn't put too much thought into it and simply assumed she was saving her energy for when she got to the park.

Eventually, they reached their destination, which was relatively empty for a Saturday. There were the odd groups of people walking through, like a young adult couple walking arm in arm, a small family feeding the ducks at the pond and a couple of high schoolers tossing a football back and forth, but it was quite peaceful for once. The air was cool, the breeze was faint and the sky was cloudy, the weather serving as a sign that winter was beginning to take over their town.

"Alright, girls, we're here," Lincoln told them as they entered through the gate. "I'm gonna sit down on that bench over there, so try and stay in my sight and let me know if you need anything. You okay with that?"

"Yes, Lincoln!" both girls replied, with Lana adding, "why don't you play with us?"

"Nah, you girls are okay, I'm just gonna sit and listen to some music for a while."

"Okay." So, while Lincoln sat down at the nearby bench, Lana and Lola walked onto the grass with Charles. The former of the two turned to her twin. "So, what gives?"

"What do you mean?"

"Loles, the whole reason we're here was so I could walk Charles and so you could speak to Lincoln. Don't you want him to know you're sorry?"

"Of course, I do! I just…" The younger twin looked down, feeling doubt fill her mind. "I don't know how to do it. Besides, he didn't exactly sound like he wanted to speak to me."

"He will. You'll be fine, just talk to him."

"You're sure? I'm starting to think this was a mistake."

The tomboy could hear her sister's worry as she spoke, and as much as she wanted to tell her that everything would be alright, she knew she had felt the same way as she did when she tried to speak to her brother. She also knew that she had somewhat different reasons for wanting to make up for her mistakes, and that Lola couldn't just say the same things she had said.

Still, she knew that her twin needed reassuring, so she decided to be honest with her. "Lola, trust me. I know you're worried he's gonna yell at you, but he won't. Just tell him you're sorry, be honest with him and you'll be fine." Lola gave a small nod, but Lana could tell that she wasn't fully assured. As she thought about what else she could tell her, she looked down and saw Charles moving around, which gave her an idea. "Come here."

Lola stepped towards her twin, who whispered something into her ear. When she was done, Lola looked her in the eyes and asked, "are you sure?"

"Trust me on this."

Though still feeling some doubt in her mind, she nodded. Lana then began to lead Charles towards some trees, while Lola walked over to the bench where Lincoln was sat. Seeing the girl approach him, Lincoln took his earphones out. "I thought you two were playing together," he spoke. "Where's Lana?"

"Charles needed to… do his business," she explained, sitting down next to her brother. "She said she would be a minute or two."

"Oh, okay."

Before he could put his earphones back in, Lola cut in. "Um, Linky? Could… could we talk?"

His eyes widened at the request, his hands returning to his pockets as he gave her his full attention. "Sure, Lola. What's up?"

"W-well…" She tried to think about how to start talking, but the words kept catching in her throat. 'Dang it, why is this so hard?' she thought. 'There's gotta be some way I can tell him, right?'

Lincoln could see the conflicted expression on her face. "Is everything okay?"

"Uh, y-yeah, just… trying to figure out what to say."

"Well, just take it easy, alright? No rush."

She nodded, taking a second to think. "Well… do you remember… the True Sweetie Pageant?"

He put a hand to his chin, trying to recall what she was talking about. "Um… was that the one you tried to enter when you had toothache?"

"No, that was the Little Gumdrop Pageant. The True Sweetie Pageant was the third pageant I ever entered. It was my first win, and the first one I entered after I started school." As he remembered, the boy nodded along, not looking away from his sister. "Well, do you remember how, on my second day of school, you found me… crying?"

The last word cleared up the memory for her big brother, his eyes softening at it. "Oh, yeah. You said that some kids in your class had picked on you."

She nodded, trying not to get too emotional at the thought of it. "Yeah… I had said that I did pageants, and I heard some of them say that I was too ugly for pageants."

"And when you weren't there with the others when dad arrived with the van, I went to go find you. You were in the playground by yourself."

"Do you remember what you told me, to cheer me up?"

"Um… it was something along the lines of… um…"

She could see he was struggling, so she decided to help him out. "You told me that I was beautiful inside and out, and as long I enjoyed myself in my pageants, then everyone would see that." She looked down as she then added, "I hadn't thought about that day in a long time… until recently."

Lincoln was going to say something, but whatever he originally had in mind went unsaid as he thought of something else. "Lola… is this about… what happened on Sunday?"

She sadly nodded, not wanting to meet his gaze in fear of what his expression might be. "Had you not spoken to me that day, I might have quit pageanting, but you reminded me that I do pageanting because I enjoy it. Not just to win, and not because of what other people think… but, when you told us that you did gymnastics, I was no better than those… stupid, smelly, dumb girls who said I was too ugly for pageanting." Her voice was beginning to waver slightly, her breathing now shaky as her eyes began to water. "N-no wonder you didn't tell us when you first started. W-we weren't fair, we were- were horrible! We laughed, a-and laughed, a-and we…"

Lincoln could hear her getting more upset by the second, and he didn't want his sister to have a panic attack over this, so he did what any good brother would do. He wrapped his arm around her, pulled her close and used his other hand to hold her head against his chest, allowing her to hold him as she began to cry. She began apologising to him, saying over and over that she was sorry and shaking her head.

"Shhh… it's okay, it's okay," he whispered to her, lifting her slightly so she could sit on his lap and he could hold her closer. "It's okay." He began to stroke her hair as he continued to gently shush her, assuring her that she was okay as she continued to cry, not caring about her tears on his coat. She was his priority in that moment, and making sure she was okay was all that was on his mind. He eventually felt her stop shaking her head, her sobs subsiding as well. When he was sure that she had stopped, he loosened the hug so she could look up at him. "You okay?"

She sniffled out a "yeah", wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. "But, I don't get it. Why aren't you mad at me?"

"Lola, don't get me wrong. I was mad at you girls when it happened, but I haven't been mad since then. What matters is that you're sorry, and I can tell you mean it."

"I do, Linky."

"I know you do. That's why I can say this: I forgive you, Lola."

She gave a small gasp. "You forgive me?" When he nodded, she couldn't hide the smile that grew on her lips, and she reached her arms up to wrap around his neck in a gentle hug that he was happy to return. "Thank you, Linky."

"It's okay, Lola."

The two continued to hug it out, neither noticing that Lana was watching from by the trees with a smile on her face. 'There you go, Lola,' she thought to herself, then looked down to Charles. "Come on, boy." They walked over to the two Louds on the bench, who took notice of this. "Charles just needed to take a leak, so we can continue playing now."

"Okay," Lola told her, then turned to Lincoln. "You sure you don't want to play with us?"

"Well…" He saw the way that she was smiling at him, and it wasn't with the usual puppy dog eyes she would use if she wanted someone to do something for her. Instead, she simply looked hopeful, and he couldn't help but smile. "Alright, I'll play." Both girls cheered as Lola jumped off of her brother and followed after her twin and their dog, leaving Lincoln to chuckle as he got to his feet and went after them as well. 'I can listen to music later.'

So, they spent a good hour at the park, playing games together and enjoying their time outside. Though Lincoln hadn't originally been happy when his mother asked him to accompany the twins to the park, he couldn't complain about it after having fun with them, and more importantly, after he and Lola had made up. He smiled the entire walk back, even after Lola asked if she could ride on his shoulders and Lana took a piggyback ride at the same time.

"Hey, Lincoln?" he heard Lola ask as they neared home.

"Yeah, Lola?" he replied.

"Do you think that, maybe sometime, you could show me some of your gymnastics moves?"

"Really? I thought you said that your kind of gymnastics was superior to mine?"

She rolled her eyes, knowing from his tone that he was joking. "I never said it was superior, but yeah. Ribbon dancing is different to vaults and beams, and I thought it might be kinda cool to see some of your moves."

Lincoln smiled at the idea. "That sounds like fun. I'd say you could show me some of your moves, though I think I've seen most of them in your pageants."

"Probably," they heard Lana cut in, causing Lola to roll her eyes before joining her brother and sister in chuckling. Eventually, they reached the porch, so Lincoln bent his knees to allow the twins to jump down. "Thanks for taking us to the park, Linky."

"Yeah, thanks for that, Linky."

He smiled, patting both of them on the head. "No problem, girls. Now, come on, let's get inside before it gets any colder."

They both agreed, following the boy in through the front door. After they took off their coats, Lincoln went upstairs to his room, while the twins decided to take advantage of the fact that the couch was free and put some TV on. "So, what are we watching?"

"You choose," Lola insisted. "I don't mind?"

The grease monkey raised an eyebrow. "Really? You're not gonna insist we watch your show?"

"Nah. Besides, you helped me get over myself today, and I now know that Linky's not mad at me. I'd probably have been too scared to talk to him if you hadn't come up with the idea to go to the park."

"What, Lincoln's the only one who can think of a plan?" She chuckled for herself, before putting a hand on her twin's shoulder. "But, yeah, I knew how scared it was when I tried to apologise, and I wanted to help you."

Lola smiled, both twins moving at once into a hug. "Thanks, Lana."

"Anytime, Lola."