100. Ch 100- Pitching In

(A/N: hey everyone! A few things before this chapter starts. Firstly, I mentioned a while ago that I was working on a project, and that I would let you know when I knew more. What that project was, is I was applying for the Nickelodeon Writing Program, a yearly programme that hires a few people from within the US and one person from outside of the US. Unfortunately, that did not work out, and I did not make the list of semi finalists. However, from what I've heard, no one made the list from outside the US, supposedly due to the current situation, so while I'm gutted it didn't happen, I can still look forward to other opportunities.

Now, as you know, this is the hundredth chapter of this story, and I am mind blown by this. Originally, I didn't imagine this being more than forty chapters, and here we are at more than double that, with more yet to come! This has been such a joy to work on, and that's mostly down to how supportive you all have been. Whether you reviewed, favourited or followed, or even if you've just been reading it, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Last thing is, some of you have been wondering if this story would end at chapter 100. Without giving anything away, this is NOT the final chapter, but we are in the home stretch. I still need to figure out one or two chapters, but the end is in sight, and I mostly know where to go. For now, thank you all for reading, and enjoy!)

The next day, Lincoln was sat in his room, having just finished his lunch. He still had time before he was planning to set off and head to Jordan's for gymnastics, so he was choosing to simply lay back on his bed and relax with a comic or two. Usually, he would help his sisters, but they had been unusually quiet for once. Not in a way that worried him, of course— he didn't feel like they were hiding anything from him, or that they didn't want to be around him, which was a relief to the boy. Instead, it seemed like they were all either busy with their own things or doing like he was doing, and taking the opportunity to relax, meaning he was able to have time to himself.

As was usually the case, that time to himself was ended when he heard a knock at his door, prompting him to lower his comic. "It's open," he called out, and a moment later, the door was opened by none other than Lynn.

"Hey, bro," she greeted, before a look of mild surprise mixed with amusement crossed her face. "Not reading in your duds?"

"Nah, I kind of stopped doing that. Not sure why, just did."

She gave a quick chuckle. "If you say so, bro. So, you ready to go?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know, head to Jordan's, go to gymnastics, prepare for the showcase. What, you didn't forget, did you?"

The white haired boy rolled his eyes, closing the comic and sitting up. "Of course I didn't forget. I wasn't planning to leave for another ten minutes, but if you really can't wait, then fine."

She smirked, watching as he stood up and deposited his comic on the pile of others, then grabbed his gymnastics bag. "Let's go, slowpoke! Last one there's gotta change Lily's diapers for a week!"

She then began to run away, leaving her brother to chuckle. "Get back here!" he yelled, before chasing after her. He took care as he turned onto the staircase, and slowed his pace to a walk when halfway down, as he saw that Lori was waiting in front of the stairs, as if she was expecting him.

"Lincoln," she spoke to the boy, "Lynn said you were headed out, right?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"I'm heading to the mall, and I'm dropping Leni off at her friend's house. You want a lift?"

"Wait, really? Just like that, no favours, no questions asked."

"Well, I still owe you a ride, so why not?"

Lincoln thought for a second, trying to remember when he had last earned a ride from his eldest sister, before realising he shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, so he smiled. "Thanks, Lori."

She smirked, ruffling his hair. "No problem, twerp."

As he took a moment to correct his hair, he saw Lynn appear from the dining room. "I thought you left?"

"Had to grab us some water," she replied, holding up two water bottles in her hands, one of which she tossed to the boy. "Come on."

"Actually, I've offered to drop him off," Lori explained, making the brunette grin.

"Sweet! I call shotgun!"

"Hold on, Lynn. I didn't say I was giving you a ride."

The jock's grin instantly fell. "Seriously? I need to head with him so I can coach. Come on, help me out."

"Lynn, you literally—"

"Please, Lori?" Lincoln asked, making the eldest girl turn to see his hopeful smile.

She resisted for a couple of seconds, before sighing. "Just this once."

"Woohoo! Nice one, Lincoln!" Lynn cheered, making her brother chuckle while her sister rolled her eyes.

"Don't push your luck." She then turned to the stairs and called out, "Leni, I'm leaving in two minutes, with or without you!"

"Hang on!" Much to Lori's surprise, it wasn't Leni who answered her but Luna, the rocker coming downstairs with her guitar on her back. "Mind if I catch a ride to Sam's house? I forgot I'm supposed to be practicing at her place, and I've got no time to lose."

"Why do you all suddenly need a ride?! This isn't a bus service, you know."

"Come on, dudette! You know I'll pay you back for it, I just need one ticket to ride from you, that's all!"

The blonde squeezed her eyes shut, pinching the bridge of her nose as she suppressed a groan. "Alright, fine! But you owe me." Luna pumped her fist in the air, walking over to Lynn while Lori walked up the first couple of steps. "Leni, I'm literally about to leave! Get down here, now!"

"Coming!" the fashionista shouted back from upstairs, appearing at the top of the stairs and making her way down towards the others, clutching her bag which hung from her shoulder. "Sorry, I had to find my phone."

"Leni, you were on it for five minutes before. How could you lose it?"

"I had to put it down while I checked I had everything, but I forgot where I put it."

The rest of her siblings all shared a laugh at her Leniism, while Lori simply sighed and rolled her eyes. "Okay, you have it now, so we can all leave. I'm going to drop Lincoln and Lynn off first, then I'll drop you two off, and I'll pick you all up after. I don't want any of you to start fighting, or I'll make you walk. Am I understood?" They all nodded. "Good. I'll go grab the keys, and we'll leave."

Whilst Lori went to do that, Luna turned to her brother. "So, bro, how's practice going?"

"It's going okay," he admitted. "The routine we have to do is a bit tough, but I'm starting to figure it out… I just hope I have enough time."

"What do you mean?" Leni asked, noticing how her brother was starting to frown.

"Well… Artie was supposed to be doing this, and he's been doing this for nearly a year more than me. I don't have that kind of experience, and the routine was kind of made for him and the others, not me. I don't want to screw it up."

The two older girls gave sympathetic smiles, both bending down to his height so they could each put a hand on his shoulders. "Linc, you don't need to worry. I know you feel like the weight's all on your shoulders, and you're waiting for a hammer to fall on you, but that's not it at all."

"Luna's totes right," Leni agreed. "You're not doing this alone. You've got all of us sisters supporting you, and you've got all of your friends at gymnastics to rely on."

"Exactly, bro," Lynn asserted, giving a reassuring smile. "The routine is a team thing, so the responsibility is shared. Don't put too much on yourself, or it's going to get to you. It's not going to happen over a couple of hours, but that's okay. Better to get it over time than to rush it and fail to learn anything at all."

Lincoln let the words sink in for a few seconds, before a cheeky smirk spread across his face. "Who are you, and what have you done with the real Lynn?" Rather than be offended, the girl in question laughed, as did her brother and her other sisters, for a good few seconds. "Thanks, girls. I appreciate this."

"It's what we're here for." She then heard the door to their parents' bedroom open, with Lori walking out of it, carrying the keys to Vanzilla. "Took you long enough!"

Lori raised an eyebrow, unamused. "Do you want a ride, or not?" She waited for a response, but her mild threat was enough to silence the brunette. "Thought as much. Everyone, let's go."

So, the five of them all got into Vanzilla, with Lori and Leni up front, whilst Lincoln sat between Lynn and Luna in the seats behind them. Other than some mild traffic, the ride was a smooth one from their house to Jordan's, where Lincoln and Lynn both left the van. They quickly went into the house and chatted with Jordan while they waited for the others to arrive, and once they did, they all set off to the sports centre. However, as they neared their destination, Jordan noticed that Lincoln was slightly behind and had a look of thought on his face, as if he was trying to figure something out but couldn't. Deciding to investigate, she slowed dowm and dropped back just enough to walk alongside the boy.

"What's on your mind?" she asked, keeping her voice just low enough to ensure only he heard her.

"Lynn's been acting… strange," he told her, matching her volume.

"Strange how?"

"That's the thing. I can't put my finger on it. For the most part, she hasn't been acting any different to normal, but something about her is… off."

Jordan looked away from her friend, focusing her attention on his sister. She couldn't particularly notice anything about her that seemed different, nor did she notice anything when they were talking with each other back at her house or along the walk so far… yet, she couldn't deny that the more she looked, there was something that didn't seem quite right. "So… you think she's up to something?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure, though." He gave a small sigh. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid."

"Lincoln, don't be so hard on yourself. You're just being observant, that's all."

"Yeah, but—"

"No buts." She reached out and grabbed hold of his hand, giving him a small smile. "Besides, knowing you, you're probably onto something."

He cracked a smile. "Thanks."

"You know, if you don't want people to think you're dating, maybe don't act like you are!" Mollie blurted out, making the others laugh as they noticed what she had seen. Looking down at their hands, Jordan and Lincoln's eyes then met as they blushed heavily, looking away before letting go. They both walked up to rejoin the group thereafter, letting conversation resume as they continued on their way. "So, what was that all about, huh? Something you want to share?"

"Nope," Jordan bluntly grumbled, crossing her arms.

"Hey, you were the ones holding hands. You can't have expected us not to react, you know?"

"Whatever, Mollie. Can we drop it now?"

"Sure, I've had my fun."

"Thanks." She resumed talking with her friends for the next couple of minutes, until they eventually reached the sports centre. When it came into sight, Jordan spotted something. "Hey, Lincoln?"

"Yeah?"

"Does that van look familiar to you?"

He looked to Jordan, who simply pointed ahead. Following her point, he looked and saw a toffee brown van, one with familiar decal on the doors. "Yeah, that's Chunk's van." He turned to his sister, a look of suspicion in his eyes. "Lynn, why is Chunk here?"

"Hey, why you asking me?" the middle schooler defended. "He's Luna's pal, not mine. Now, come on. You've got practice to do, so move it!"

She then jogged on ahead, heading straight inside. Whilst the others all followed after her, Jordan and Lincoln both hung back, looking at the roadie's van. "You know how I said you're probably right?" she told him. "Make that definitely right."

"No doubt," he agreed. "And if he's here, then Luna probably is too. The question is, why?"

"Only one way to find out."

With a nod, Lincoln followed after her. They both went into the sports centre and made their way to the gymnasium with a sense of urgency. As soon as he got there, Lincoln began to look around, but didn't have to look for long. He quickly spotted Luna and the rest of her band in one corner of the gymnasium, checking on their instruments and amps. He could also see Lynn chatting with Chris, but what surprised him was that he also saw Leni and Jen, who were measuring the younger kids in their gymnastics group. He had to blink to tell himself that this was real, before he walked over to the band.

Sam was the first to spot the white haired boy walking over. "Hey, Luna," she said, getting the brunette's attention.

"What's up?" she asked, to which Sam nodded her head in Lincoln's direction. Turning to her brother, she smiled. "Hey, bro."

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Well, we knew that your showcase needed to be big, so we offered to provide the music for it. We've already pretty much learned the song for your routine, too."

"Wait, really?" The brunette nodded, as did the rest of her band. He then heard footsteps approaching him from behind, which he quickly saw came from Leni. "So, how come you're here?"

"Me and Jen were just getting measurements, so we could make leotards."

"You're… you're making leotards?"

"Uh huh! We thought it would make the showcase look great if you had, like, a uniform of sorts."

He didn't say anything, taking the time to process this, until he saw Lynn approaching. "You knew they were going to be here, didn't you?"

She smirked, crossing her arms confidently. "Of course I knew, who else do you think planned all this?"

The van pulled to a stop outside of Jordan's house. "You head on in, bro," Lynn told her brother. "Don't keep your girlfriend waiting."

He gave her a deadened look. "Lynn, you know she's not my girlfriend."

"Yeah, but that's just because you haven't told her how you feel yet. Hey, if you want, I can wait here while you—"

"Okay, you know what? I'm going in, just so I don't have to hear this."

Lynn chuckled as her brother got out of the van, shutting the door behind him and walking away. The jock waited until he was far out of earshot, before turning to her sisters. "Okay, you all know the plan, right?"

"No sweat, dudette," Luna assured her. "Chunk's picking up Sam and the others. By the time we get there, we'll have about an hour to practice and let that Chris dude hear what we've got."

"Okay, good. What about you, Leni?"

"Jen's gonna bring her designs, and I've got mine here," she answered, holding up her handbag. "We think we know which one to go with, but we'll ask the instructors what they think."

"Good, good. Lori, you got somewhere to be for two hours?"

The eldest sister rolled her eyes. "Lynn, I'll probably just drop by the mall, and I'll pick you all up later. Don't worry, it'll be fine. Now, get in there before our brother realises something's up."

"You're right. I'll see you there."

So, Lynn got out, leaving the other three girls in the van as Lori began to drive off. "Lincoln's literally going to love what you're doing."

"I hope so," Leni admitted. "He deserves it."

"He sure does, dude," Luna agreed. "So let's go and show him that."

Lincoln's lips parted, feeling disbelief that they were doing all this for him. "So, that's why you were acting off," he uttered, making Lynn titter.

"Guess I can't get anything past you, bro," she replied. "Still, it was their ideas to do this, and they were more than happy to do it, too."

"We told you that we were gonna support you," Luna reminded him, "and we meant it. We just wanted to do a little more to help you."

"Linky, we just want to help you make this a success," Leni added. "This is, like, really important to you, which means it's important to us."

His lips began to form a smile at hearing this, tears starting to form in his eyes. "You mean it?"

"Of course we do."

He sniffled as a tear dropped down his face, using the back of his hand to wipe it away. "Girls… that's really sweet of you." He then moved forward, pulling both older girls into a hug that they instantly returned. "Thank you."

"You're so welcome, Linky," Leni told the boy.

"What she said," Luna then told him.

When they let go about ten seconds later, they heard Lynn clear her throat, bringing their attention to her. "As nice of a moment this is, you've still got practice, Linc."

"Right, right. I, uh, I'd better get changed. I'll see you all in a moment."

"No worries, bro." The boy ran off to get changed, leaving the three sisters alone. "So, you two set?"

"Almost," Leni answered. "Me and Jen just need to measure Jordan's friends, and then we'll leave to get the materials."

"We're all set, just making sure everything's tuned," Luna then told her younger sister. "Don't worry, we're ready to rock."

"Just remember not to rock too hard. The music's there to accompany the performance, not the other way around."

The girl with the pixie cut rolled her eyes. "We won't, 'Coach'."

Lynn's grin only grew. 'Why does Lincoln find it so hard to call me that?'

True to her words, Leni waited until she and Jen were able to get measurements for Kat, Sadie, Joy and Mollie before leaving, though not without saying goodbye to their little siblings first. Once they were gone, practice went pretty smoothly. Though Lincoln still found himself struggling with the floor routine, he found that the live music was more effective in helping him to concentrate on the performance than the recorded version, so any time he fell down, stepped out of place or couldn't remember what to do, he shook it off and carried on, making sure to take note of what went wrong. When the two hours were eventually up, all of the kids returned to the changing rooms to get changed and go home. Luna stuck around after her band had packed up and gone, waiting with Lynn in the reception area for their brother and his friend to come out, and for Lori to text them that she had arrived.

As they waited, Chris came out of the gymnasium and walked up to the two of them. "Hey, you two," he greeted. "Thanks for your help with everything. I could tell that the kids are starting to feel more excited about the showcase now. I think that some of them are starting to forget about why we're doing it to begin with."

"Isn't that a bad thing?" Luna asked.

"No, quite the opposite. It's better that they're doing this for themselves, because that puts less pressure on them, and it allows them to have fun." He then looked more directly at Lynn. "You know, you've done pretty good as a coach this past week. It's kind of a shame you won't be around after the showcase."

Lynn raised her eyebrow and replied, "only kind of?" The gymnastics instructor gave a big laugh, which only made her smile. "Nah, but seriously, I've enjoyed doing this, but you're not gonna need me when this is over."

"We might not need you, but you're welcome to come by and help out if you want to."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Good to hear. I'll see you on Tuesday."

He then walked off towards the offices, leaving the sisters alone. "So," Lynn asked to Luna, "are you coming to practice on Tuesday?"

"Can't, we've got music club. We'll be there on Thursday, though."

"Okay." Before she could ask something else, she saw Lincoln and Jordan appear, both back in their normal clothes. "You two ready?"

"Yep," Lincoln answered. "Is Lori here?"

"On her way."

"Okay."

"Hey, Luna?" Jordan spoke, getting the elder girl's attention.

"What's up, Dudette?"

"I wanted to say thank you for doing this. You and your band don't know how much it means to all of us."

"Hey, don't just be thanking me. If anything, you should be thanking Lincoln."

The boy looked to her, utterly perplexed. "Luna, what are you talking about? I didn't ask you to do this."

"Nah, but if you weren't doing gymnastics to begin with, we probably wouldn't have thought about doing this. Plus, you helped him to find his hobby, and it's made him so much happier. We owe you for that."

"Well, while I guess you're right about that, and…" Her cheeks began to heat up again. "While I do have a fair bit to thank Lincoln for…" The boy also began to blush, but didn't interrupt her. "I have to agree with him. I should be thanking you for doing this. I can see why he says you're such great sisters."

Luna gave a bit of a laugh. "Well, if we're great sisters, it's because he's such a great brother." Seeing an opportunity, she grinned. "You know, he says you're pretty great, too. I can see why."

"Th-Thanks."

Luna could see that the younger kids' blushes had grown, so she didn't dare to tease them further. She also didn't say anything else, because she heard her phone go off, which she saw was because of a text. "That's Lori, she's here."

"Then, let's go," Lincoln declared. The others all nodded, and so they left the sports centre, ready to go home.