43. Ch 43- Is Good For The Brother

Friday came, and with it came the end of the school day, but more importantly, the end of the school week. Before Mrs Johnson could even dismiss her class after the final bell had rung, they were out of their seats and making their way toward the exit, eager to begin their weekend. Probably the only person in no rush to leave was Lincoln, who could already picture his sporty sister waiting impatiently for him at the front steps, while the rest of the sisters would drive off in Vanzilla. Still, he didn't particularly want to stay in school any longer either, so he got up from his seat and headed out of the classroom, where he saw his friends stood by their lockers. While normally he would head to his locker and talk with them, someone else spoke to him first.

"Hey, Lincoln," he heard, turning to see Jordan, her backpack on her back. "So, is your mom dropping you off tomorrow?"

"Yeah, mom is gonna drive me and Leni there," he replied. "There'll probably be at least one or two of my other sisters too, since we all tend to show up at each other's events when we can."

"That's sweet. So, guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sure thing." So, she waved at him and started to walk away, which would have allowed Lincoln to turn around and walk up to his locker, if his friends weren't all stood right behind him. "Gah! What are you guys doing?"

"Just wondering how you were doing with asking Jordan out," Rusty blurted our with a cocky grin, only to feel a whack on his shoulder. "Hey!"

"Shut up, Rusty," Stella scolded, before turning to Lincoln again. "We weren't spying on you, we just happened to see you talking. All we heard was 'see you tomorrow'."

"Yeah, that's because we're helping at my sister's fashion show this weekend." He could see the look of surprise on their faces, so before they could ask him more, he interjected. "Though I think I already mentioned this, I'll tell you more on Monday, but right now, Lynn's waiting for me, so I better go. If I'm late to our training session, she'll probably go drill sergeant on me. Enjoy your weekend, guys."

They all offered the same to him as he walked away, heading towards the front exit. He didn't need to go to his locker since he had everything in his bag already, so he was able to head right outside, where he saw that his prediction was correct- Lynn was stood waiting for him, back rested against a parked Vanzilla, her eyes immediately locking on his.

"About time, Stinkoln!" She let out in an exasperated sigh. "What, were you too busy talking nerd stuff?"

With a shake of his head, he simply told her, "something like that, Lynn. So, are we heading to the park then?"

"Yep! Keep up!"

And just like that, Lynn took off running, leaving Lincoln a second to realise what was happening before shouting, "HEY!", and running after her. It didn't take him long to catch up to her, as she had stopped and waited for him a couple of blocks away, the boy panting as he slowed to a stop before her. "Seriously?"

"Had to get your butt moving somehow," she said smugly, before ditching her grin for a more serious look. "Anyway, let's walk for a bit."

As soon as he heard that, he straightened his posture and his eyes went alert, knowing that this meant she wanted to talk- Lynn never 'walked', unless she had just finished practice or she wanted to talk, and they hadn't even started their training session. Walking alongside his sister, he looked at her and asked, "so, what's up?"

"Well, I wanted to ask you about something, but first I wanted to check. Do you remember what Lana told us yesterday?"

"Yeah. She said that she told the teacher on what Lacey did, and that when Skippy heard about it, he checked up on her." It was true- the plumber, mechanic and animal lover had quite the smile on her face after school the day before, wasting no time in telling the others about how her crush had told her that he thought she was pretty cool for doing the stuff that she did, and invited her to his uncle's engineering company. While it wasn't a date by any means, it definitely helped Lana to put this situation behind her. "I'm glad things worked out for her."

"I'm sure you are, bro. Especially after what you told her."

He blinked, stopping for a second before catching up with her. "What do you mean?"

"I kind of overheard what you told her on Wednesday- about not letting that snob tell her what she should like and shouldn't like, and all that." She stopped walking, turning to him so he would stop as well and so she could face him. "You did the right thing telling her that."

"Well, of course I was gonna tell her that, she's my little sister."

"Hey, I get it, and I respect it. That is why I'm telling you- as your older sister- to take your own advice."

As he realised what she was getting at, he developed a small frown. "Oh…"

"I mean, I get that you want it to go down well, but what's really the difference here?"

"Well… I-I mean, Y'know… you guys are my sisters, not some snob who has a problem with me. I'm always gonna care what you think."

She crossed her arms. "So, if the girls tell you that you shouldn't go to practice when you tell them, are you gonna stop?"

"N-no, of course not… but I don't want them to laugh at me for it either." He stepped away to sit down on a bench, the brunette following suit and resting her arm on his shoulder as he looked down at his hands. "I know what you're trying to say here… but I don't know how to tell them. It's not like…" He took a moment to try and figure out what he was trying to say, the sporty Loud sister being patient and allowing him to figure things out. "It's not like with Lana. It wasn't a case of her trying to tell someone that she cares for that she likes doing what she does. She's always known what she likes, and she hasn't had that… that anxiety about how people would react, especially you girls."

"Well, let me ask you this- do you think they're going to laugh?"

A heavy sigh escaped his lips. "I don't know… that's what makes it hard."

Letting out a sigh of her own, she pulled her brother into a side hug. "Look, Linc… I'm not trying to make this tougher for you, you know that, right? I might not be as good as you when it comes to people and planning and stuff, but I still want to help you. You trusted me to let me into your secret, and I'm grateful for that… and I know the others will be too. I can't promise they'll react the exact same way I did, or that they'll just immediately act like they knew all along... but I know they care about you, and they'll at least be considerate, as long as you give them a chance to. Don't take too long to make that play."

"I was wondering when you would make a sports analogy," he joked, getting a small chuckle from his sister before they smiled at each other. "Thanks for talking to me, Lynn. I know I don't have this all figured out yet, but I'm glad you have my back."

"Any time, bro. Don't worry, you'll figure this out." Giving him a quick pat on the back, she leapt off the bench. "Now, come on. Less mushy stuff, more fitness. Come on!"

Unfazed by his sister's switch in mood, he got up and nodded to her. "Let's do this."

So, after their talk, the day resumed like normal for Lincoln- he completed his parkour session with Lynn, then headed home to relax a bit before joining his family for dinner. After that, however, while he was working on his homework, his mind drifted back to that talk, and to how he should go about letting the rest of his sisters know the truth about his extracurricular activities. Taking a spare sheet out of his notebook, he started to jot down some thoughts, but this ended up turning into scrawling out a mess of thoughts that just confused him. 'I can't tell her first, because she'll just spill it to the others… but if I tell her first, then she might… and if I tell her, then…' Letting out a frustrated grumble, he scrunched up the paper into a ball and threw it into his bin. 'Dang it… why is it so hard to figure this out?'

His thoughts were disturbed by the sound of his door opening, prompting him to look and see Leni stood there. "Hey, Linky," she greeted. "Are you free at the moment?"

"Hey, Leni," he greeted back. "I was doing some homework, but I could use a break. What's up?"

"Well, since it's the fashion show tomorrow, I was hoping that we could get any alterations done tonight, so that we don't have to do them in the morning. Is that okay?"

"Sure, that makes sense. Yeah, we can do that now, if it helps."

Her face lit up, her hands coming together as she giddily exclaimed, "yay! Alright, let's head into my room- Lori's at a sleepover at Whitney's, so we have it all to ourselves." With a nod, he followed the fashionista out of his room and into hers, where he saw the mirrors and pedestal already waiting for him. She walked "Alright, just change into these, step on, and we'll get right to it."

"Okay." He took a minute or so changing into the clothes that Leni had designed for him to model- a brown western epaulet shirt, with dark grey jeans and black Chelsea boots- before stepping onto the pedestal. Leni looked once he did, and couldn't help but squeal again. "You look totes cute, Linky! If we had the right hat, you'd be like a little cowboy!"

He blushed at his sister's excited reaction. "Uh… thanks."

"But, of course, we didn't think that the hat would be a good idea, since we've been wanting our designs to look more casual, although now that I think about it, it would probably work if we were in Texas." She was going to say more, but as she looked back at her brother, she saw that there was an almost lost look on his face, staring through the mirror rather than at his reflection. "Linky? Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Snapping out of his thoughts, he looked back at his sister. "Yeah, I'm… I'm fine."

She merely frowned, giving a soft shake of her head. "Linky, I might not be that smart, but I can tell you're thinking about something."

"Well…" Knowing that she was going to ask until he told her, he started to consider telling her, but he decided that it wasn't the time to talk about that, and came up with something else to tell her. "I'm just… kind of nervous about tomorrow." It wasn't a complete lie- while it wasn't what was on his mind specifically, he'd be lying if he claimed he was feeling ready for the fashion show either. He had helped her by modelling while she designed clothes, sure, but he had never worn them for a showcase.

"Aww, Linky…" She pulled her brother off the pedestal, wrapping him in a warm hug. "You don't have to be nervous, you're going to be totes amazing!"

"I don't know… are you sure you picked the right person for this? I'm not exactly a model, you know. Not the kind that walks the runway and all that jazz."

She loosened the hug, holding him at arms length and looking him in the eye. "Linky, there's no one else I would want modelling my clothes. Sure, you aren't the only one that will be modelling for me, but having you model one of my outfits means a lot to me, because you're my brother."

"I know, but-"

"But, nothing. Linky, you need to give yourself more credit. You're a really good model, and all of your coaching for Lola is really gonna help you tomorrow." A grin appeared on her face as she reached over to grab her phone. "And it's not just gonna help you."

Seeing his sister type away at her device made Lincoln curious. "What are you doing?"

"Bear with… bear with… ah, got it!"

She handed her phone over to her little brother, whose eyes immediately fell upon the texts that were on the screen. He opened his mouth, ready to ask her if she was showing him the wrong thing, when he found a particular series of texts that made him realise why she was showing him them:

Jen: Is Lincoln ready for tomorrow's show?

Leni: Totes! How's Jordan getting on?

Jen: She's really been practicing the stuff your brother taught her. I swear, she's been walking back and forth for half an hour now!

'She's been practicing what I taught her?' He thought, a small blush appearing on his cheeks at this. 'Woah…' Again, he was about to say something, but he saw what he next text read:

Jen: I'd tell her to stop, but it's pretty adorable. See for yourself

The next thing sent below that was a video, which Lincoln figured was of Jordan rehearsing. While there was a slight bit of him that wanted to watch, his thumb only hovered over the play button before he handed the phone back to Leni. "Don't you want to see the video?" She asked.

He shook his head, telling her, "I don't need to. Besides, I'll be able to see tomorrow."

Like a lightbulb going off in her head, her face lit up. "You're so right. Plus, I need to finish these alterations before mom calls for bedtime." Putting a hand back on his shoulder, she looked him in the eye once more and reminded him, "no matter what happens tomorrow, Linky, I'm gonna be right there. You could never let me down, and you won't screw up. I believe in you."

Touched by her assurance, he hugged her again, wrapping his arms around her neck. "Thanks, Leni."

After a good night's rest and a hearty breakfast, Lincoln found himself sat in the second row of Vanzilla, with a Reininger's bag containing what he would be modelling on his left and his second oldest sister on his right. While their mother drove them towards their destination, the fashionista felt a tap on her shoulder, turning around to see that it was Lynn who had done so, the athlete being the only Loud sister carpooling with them since she had practice at the same time as the fashion show. The others were either making their own way there or too busy to go.

"So, you two ready for this?" She asked.

"Totally!" Leni replied, smiling as always. "They're going to, like, fall in love with our designs. Me and Jen know exactly what to say, and with Linky and Jordan, we've got the perfect models for it."

Lincoln gave a small blush from this, muttering back, "I don't think I'm perfect for it."

"Eh, you'll be fine, Link," Lynn told the snowcapped boy. "I mean, I don't really care for fashion stuff, you know that, but isn't the point of this the clothes?"

"It's not that simple, Lynn," Leni argued, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The job of the model isn't just to wear the clothes, but to display them. They're there to make the audience want to wear the clothes." Looking over, she saw that Lincoln looked a bit down, making her realise her mistake. "But, more importantly, they're there to have fun, so as long as you have fun, Linky, then everything will be great."

He knew that she was trying to make him feel better about this, so he gave her a smile and leaned over to hug her. "Don't worry, Leni. I'll do my best."

"I know you will."

Not long later, they saw their destination appear, the van pulling up in the parking lot to the Royal Woods High School convention centre. "Alright, you two," Rita told her kids. "Once I've dropped Lynn off at practice, I'll come back and watch the show. Have fun, okay?"

"Okay!" They both replied, before getting out of the car with their respective bags. Once they'd shut the doors to Vanzilla, they waved as their mother and the fifth eldest Loud sister drove away.

"Alright, Linky, let's head inside." Her brother nodded before following the blonde high school junior into the building. Once inside, Lincoln took a good look around, and couldn't help but feel slightly overwhelmed by it all. Though only a few teachers were currently sat in the audience seats, there looked to be enough for a good few hundred people. The catwalk stretched right down the middle of the room, the two curtains at the stage end showing him where the models would appear from. The lights were down with purple and blue spotlights currently cast over the room, and a typical club hit was playing over the sound system. He was going to say something about it, but the words didn't seem to come. "We need to head backstage so we can debrief, so follow me."

Lincoln was content to do just that, following after his sister as she led him through the door to the left of the stage, which led him to a smaller room which was still big, and this one was full of people. He surmised that most of these were high school students, with a few of them likely being middle schoolers too, as well as a few teachers. This only made Lincoln feel less confident, knowing that he was likely the youngest one back there, but he didn't say anything, knowing that it would make Leni fret over him, and she probably didn't need it at the moment.

"So… should I go change?" He asked her, to which she nodded.

"Let me find Miguel, and he'll lead you to the boy's changing rooms." She placed a hand over her eyes and scanned the room, before eventually finding her work friend. "Miguel! Over here!"

A boy with light tan skin and dark styled hair, dressed in a simple white t-shirt, blue jeans and red sneakers, made his way through the sea of high schoolers and beamed when he saw his work friend. "Leni! You made it!" He greeted, approaching her so they could cheek kiss like she had learned from some French rom-com. "We were wondering when you were going to get here! Jackie has been waiting desperately for you!"

"Sorry, there was a bit of traffic on the way here," she explained, before putting a hand on her brother's back. "Miguel, this is my little brother Lincoln. He's modelling for me and Jen today, so could you help him find the boys dressing room?"

"No problem, girl friend!"

"Thanks, Miguel!" Turning to her brother, she told him, "okay, Linky, you can trust Miguel. I'll come see how you're doing in a bit, but Jordan should be around somewhere, so you two can chat while you wait, okay?"

With a nod, he hugged his sister back when she embraced him, before turning to the Latino as she walked away. "So, do you go to school with Leni too?"

"No, I know Leni from Reininger's," he explained, to which the Loud boy nodded in understanding. "You know, she talks a lot about you, more than any of your other sisters."

"She does?"

"Uh huh. I know she probably won't say it, but I'd argue you're her favourite." The added wink he gave made the sixth grader blush, though he couldn't deny that he liked the idea of being Leni's favourite. "Now, the changing rooms are back this way, but before I take you, are you okay with makeup?" Lincoln tilted his head, curious as to why he asked this. "Nothing too professional, just a bit of eyeliner to make your eyes stand out for the photographers."

"Oh. Well, if that's all it is, then I guess I'm okay with that."

Miguel flashed him a thumbs up. "Perfect. Now, come with me- changing rooms are this way." Lincoln stuck close to the teen as they went towards the back of the room, where he could see a row of makeshift curtained changing stalls. "Now, since you're Leni's brother, I'll wait for you to make sure everything's okay. Give me a shout when you're ready."

"Okay. Thanks, Miguel." With that, Lincoln stepped into an open stall and closed the curtain behind him, placing his bag on the bench. 'Alright, Lincoln. Let's do this, I guess.'