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72. Ch 72- A Reason To Change

The final bell rang, a sound that brought relief to all of the students in Mrs Johnson's class. "Alright, everyone, that is all for today!" the brunette declared. "Well done with your geography projects, they were well prepared all round. Enjoy the rest of your day, and I will see you in the morning."

Not needing to be told twice, the sixth graders all began to leave. Lincoln and Jordan headed towards their lockers so that they could get their stuff together. "So, what are you going to be doing now?" the boy asked, putting his coat on.

"Well, no doubt Ajax will want someone to walk him," Jordan explained. "Mom'll be making dinner, dad's probably still at work and Jen's hanging out with friends, so it'll probably have to be me. Not that I mind, of course." Lincoln chuckled, agreeing fully. "What about you?"

"Well, Lynn and I have our yoga session, but after that, probably just play video games. I don't really have any homework at the moment, so I'll be able to relax a bit." A thought came to his mind. "Actually, do you mind if I walk home with you again? If my sisters realise I made pizza, they're gonna be all over me."

"I thought you said they were like that when it came to chocolate?"

"It's the same with pizza. And ice cream. And other candies and snack foods. The list goes on, really."

She rolled her eyes, giving a soft laugh. "Yeah, sure, but you don't have to keep asking me, you know. I like walking with you." His smile grew, making her laugh again. "Now, come on, before your sisters smell mozzarella on you." This time, they both laughed, closing the doors to their lockers. They headed out through the front doors, but before they could take off, she caught sight of something. "Hey, I think that girl's waving at you."

"Huh?" She pointed, and he followed it to see who she was referring to. The girl in question was a few years older than him, and had blonde hair with a blue streak. She wore a white t-shirt with a circular logo on the chest under a light blue leather jacket, purplish brown ripped jeans, dark purple boots, a black studded belt and two piercings on either ear. He gave a small wave back. "I wonder what she's doing here?"

He didn't have to wait long, as the blonde walked over to them. "Hey there, Lincoln," she greeted.

"Hey, Sam," he greeted back, somewhat awkwardly.

"Who's you're friend?"

"Oh, right. Sam, this is my friend Jordan. Jordan, this is Sam, Luna's girlfriend."

"Nice to meet you, dude."

"Nice to meet you too, Sam," Jordan replied.

"Not that it's not nice to see you," Lincoln cut in, "but what are you doing here?"

"Oh, right! Your 'rents asked me to walk you home. They had to take the van from Lori, and your other sisters are getting rides back, so I offered to make sure you get home okay."

"Oh. What about my younger sisters?"

"Apparently, your other sister's walking them home, the sporty one. What's her name again, Lynn?" She saw Lincoln nod, though he didn't look fully convinced. "Anywho, I figured it would be a chance for us to get to know each other better. Come on, we'll swing by Flip's on the way."

"Well, I was gonna walk home with Jordan."

"Lincoln, don't worry about it," his friend assured him. "Besides, we'll be heading to practice together tomorrow."

"You sure?" She nodded. "Alright, I guess. So, I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"See you tomorrow."

The two waved as Jordan walked away, before Lincoln turned to the high schooler. "So, should we get going?"

"Let's do it, dude!" The two began walking the other way. "So, what've you been up to today?"

"Not much, apart from my geography project."

"You're in sixth grade, right? Which would make that... the travel presentation, right?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Ugh, I remember having to do that back when I was in sixth grade. Didn't mind the topic, but I got partnered with this guy who was completely useless, ended up doing pretty poor. Not enough to flunk, but my 'rents weren't pleased."

"Yeah, I think there were a couple like that in my class. Guess I got lucky I was paired with Jordan."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, we did pretty well in the end, and it was fun working with her."

"That's cool. She seems pretty cool, too. You two been friends for long?"

"We've known each other since kindergarten, but we've only been real friends for like a year, and we've been hanging out more recently. She's pretty cool, yeah."

She smiled, hearing how positively he talked about his friend. "Sounds pretty sweet. What do you two do together?"

"Well, we've also hung out at the arcade and the mall a couple of times, but we mostly just hang out at school and at practice."

"Oh, yeah! Gymnastics, right?"

"Y… yeah. Did Luna… tell you about that?"

"Yeah, she told me about it last week. She told me that..." She realised that the boy was no longer beside her, turning around to see that he was stood still, looking at the pavement. "Lincoln?"

"… Sam, be honest with me. Did Luna ask you to take me to her?"

She didn't answer him straight away, giving a brief exhale through her nose before a sad smile appeared on her face. "She always said you were a smart kid." She saw him sigh, so she walked up to him and kneeled down to his height. "Luna did ask me if I could walk you to her. She told me about what's happened between you and your sisters."

His head tilted slightly, perplexed. "She did?"

"Yeah. She texted me Thursday night to ask if I could meet her early at school, and she told me all about it there. Obviously, I wasn't thrilled to hear it."

Sam sat opposite Luna in the band room, staring at her lap in disbelief and disappointment. "Wow… I just… that's a lot to take in." She looked up at Luna, who had a guilty expression on her face as she looked at the floor. "Why would you do that, Luna?"

"I don't even know anymore, dude." The brunette's voice was low and drained, her eyes tired and unable to even try and look at Sam. "All I know was that Luan thought it was a joke, and then all of a sudden, we're all laughing. I can't think what kinda joke it could have been, but I was too… stupid to think it through."

"I don't get it. You always told me that you and your bro were close. Couldn't you just talk to him about this?"

"I've tried, bruh! Every day since, I've wanted to talk to him, to apologise and ask him to forgive me, but I can never find the words and I freeze up and I bail. You know that there's a number of things I hate, but the one thing that I really hate is knowing that I made my bro mad at me, and that he has every right to be mad. I screwed up, worse than I've ever screwed up before."

Though Sam felt pity for her girlfriend, she knew she had to be honest if she wanted to help her. "I hate to say it, but… you kinda did." Luna gave a sad nod, shrinking slightly in her seat. "That doesn't mean that you can't fix this." For the first time since she started to listen to her explanation, Sam saw Luna's eyes meet hers. "Luna, you've told me that you share a close bond with your siblings, and of all of them, you've always been more talkative when it comes to Lincoln. I can tell this is eating away at you, and I know that you love your family. You'll figure this out."

"I hope so, dude. I tried writing a song to tell him how I feel, but I just can't sing about this and play guitar at the same time. My mind won't let me."

"Well, do you want me to help?"

Luna's eyes widened. "You… you'd do that for me? Why?"

"Because I know that, if it was me in your situation, I'd do whatever it took to make it up to my bro, even if I needed help to do so."

The Loud rocker was silent for a few seconds, her eyes getting misty as she let it sink in, before she gave a sniffle. "I don't deserve you, Sam."

The blonde gave a small chuckle as she embraced her girlfriend. "Of course you do, Luna."

Sam's eyes got a little misty as she recalled the talk she had with Luna, not noticing the concerned look that appeared on Lincoln's face. "Sam? You okay?"

She snapped out of her state, giving a small shake of her head before smiling at the boy. "Yeah, I'm cool, dude. Where was I?"

"You were saying how you weren't thrilled."

"Right, right. Yeah, I was disappointed that she had done that, but more importantly, I saw how much it hurt her that she had that weighing over her. I don't know if you know, but I have a little brother. His name's Simon, he's in the second grade, and he's pretty much the most important person in my life. If I ever hurt him, I wouldn't be able to live with myself until I made it right. That's why I told Luna I'd bring you to her. She figured it would be easier for her to talk to you if it was just you and her." He nodded, but didn't say anything, so she put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, I know things have been tense, but… do you think you can give her a chance?"

He didn't have to think too hard about it, giving a small smile as he nodded again. "Yeah. I can do that."

She smiled back. "You're a cool dude, Link. Now, come on, let's not keep your big sis waiting."

The two continued on their way, getting to know each other by talking about stuff like music, video games and their families, with Lincoln finding Sam to be pretty cool and Sam finding that it was mutual. Eventually, they reached Royal Woods High School, where Sam led the boy inside. They went through the halls until they reached the music room, where Lincoln found his sister waiting for them, an acoustic guitar in her hands. She saw the door open, butterflies forming in her stomach when she saw her brother enter. Sam could see this as she closed the door behind her, so she went over to her girlfriend.

"You've got this," she whispered to her as she took the guitar from her. "Just speak from your heart."

"Thanks, Sam." Once the girl had walked off slightly, sitting down on a stool, Luna turned to her quiet brother. "Hey, bro."

"Hey."

She could tell he wasn't going to say anything else, so she took a deep breath to steady herself for what was to come. "I know that what I'm about to tell you and what I'm about to do is way overdue. I've been trying to find the right words and the right moment… but I know those are just excuses. Sorry was never gonna be enough to make up for what we… what I did, and the longer it's taken me to figure this out, the more I've come to regret what I did." Her frown deepened as her emotions began to well up, but she fought to keep her composure. "I should have known you were telling the truth, and that it wasn't some joke... especially since I was in the same position as you were." His eyes went wide as his mind went back. "I can see you know what I mean. When I first found my calling at that Mick Swagger concert, there were kids in my class who would laugh at me for being into rock music, but I knew that I had my fam to support me."

She gave a small smile at the memories. "Heck, you've pretty much been my biggest fan this whole time, and I wouldn't have come this far if not for you." That smile quickly faded back into a frown. "Which makes it so much worse, knowing that when you needed us to support you for your new hobby, we didn't show it. If I could go back, I would've given you the biggest hug, told you that I was happy for you, and that I love you no matter what… but that's not how life works." She took another deep breath, this one a little shakier. "Like I said, sometimes, sorry just ain't enough… but maybe this could be a start." She gave a nod to Sam, who nodded back. She then began to play the guitar, causing Lincoln to wonder what was happening, but when he saw Luna patting gently on her thigh, he knew not to interrupt as she began to sing.

"I'm not a perfect personThere's many things I wish I didn't doBut I continue learningI never meant to do those things to youAnd so I have to say before I goThat I just want you to know

I've found a reason for meTo change who I used to beA reason to start over newAnd the reason is you

I'm sorry that I hurt youIt's something I must live with everydayAnd all the pain I put you throughI wish that I could take it all awayAnd be the one who catches all your tearsThat's why I need you to hear

I've found a reason for meTo change who I used to beA reason to start over new

And the reason is you!And the reason is you!And the reason is you!And the reason is you!"

As the song progressed, Lincoln could see the tears begin to stream down her cheeks, the passion and pain in her heart radiating with every word she sang. He felt tears welling in his eyes as well, his sister's song resonating with him and his own mistakes.

"I'm not a perfect person…"

Sam played a little more, but noticed that Luna had stopped singing, her hands now covering her eyes as she cried into them with shaky breath. She put down the guitar so she could comfort her, but Lincoln beat her to it. Luna heard his footsteps, and when she lowered her hands, she looked through teary eyes to see teary eyes staring back at her, just before the boy wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm sorry, Luna," he told her. "I didn't want it to come to this, I swear."

Despite her disbelief at his words, she pulled him closer to her body, her head resting and nuzzling against his. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Linky. I'm the one who should be sorry, not you. I'm the one that laughed at you."

"And I'm the one that hid it from you girls! It's my fault all this happened."

"STOP IT!" He gasped lightly, loosening the hug so they could look each other in the eyes again. "Stop saying you're sorry when you have no reason to be sorry. Baby bro, if there's one thing that this whole situation has made me see, it's that I don't care anymore that it took you two months to tell us, or that you hid it from us. I care that you came clean, and more importantly, I care that you're happy. If you love gymnastics, then don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. From here on, I'm gonna do what I should've done from the start and support you, because you're my bro and I love you. I just hope you can forgive me."

"Of course I forgive you, Luna. I love you too, sis."

"Not as much as I love you, bro."

Sam watched on as they tightened their hug again, wiping a tear from her own eye. 'I'm gonna give them some space,' she thought to herself, putting her guitar on her back and quietly leaving the music room. That didn't stop her from looking through the window at the adorable embrace between brother and sister. 'I knew you could do it, Luna.'

The two Louds eventually let go of one another, and after meeting up with Sam again, they began to walk home together, with Sam walking with them the majority of the way, until they reached a junction. "Well, gotta split," she told the two Loud siblings. "After what just happened, I'm gonna go home, give my bro a big ol' hug and hang out with the little dude."

"I think we're gonna be doing the same," Luna replied. "Thanks for everything, babe. I couldn't have managed this without you."

"Don't be silly, Luna. You two are so close, you would've done so without my help. I just gave you a push."

"You gave me more than that dude."

Sam couldn't resist a giggle. "Come here, you." She wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's neck, allowing her to hug her for a good few seconds while she kissed her on the head. When they eventually let go, she turned to Lincoln. "Good seeing you again, Lincoln. Maybe we can hang out some time."

"That sounds fun," he told her. "It was nice seeing you too."

"Alright, I better go or I'm gonna be talking to you all day. See you at school, Luna."

"You too, Sam." They waved to the blonde as she crossed over the road and headed on her way, before they continued to head towards their house. "So, Linc… can I ask you something?"

He raised an eyebrow, curious. "Sure, what is it?"

"Well… last weekend, back before the twins got all aggro and the protocol went down, you were gonna talk to me about something. Were you… were you gonna tell me about… y'know?"

"Oh… right. To tell you the truth, I was. I figured since we weren't busy, maybe we could have talked, and I could have told you the truth. Guess things didn't work out that way, huh?" She gave a small nod. "Can I ask you something? When I told you guys the truth… were you mad that I hid for so long?"

He heard a low sigh from his sister, who stopped walking for a second, so he turned to face her. "I'll be honest, bro. While I wasn't mad, I was upset about it. It made me think that… maybe we weren't as close as I thought we were."

"Oh…"

She saw him duck his head, a telltale sign that he felt guilty. "Hold on, bro. Look at me." He lifted his head, being met with a tender smile. "That was what I thought at first, but once I saw how you reacted, and after Lynn explained what you told her, I knew that it wasn't personal on your part, and that you weren't doing it to hurt us. You were just scared, and I totally get that. Basically, what I'm saying is, it ain't your fault that things happened like they did. We were wrong to react how we did, and while I can't speak for them, I'm confident the rest of our sibs will let you know that too."

This brought a smile back to his face, so he moved forward and hugged her again, a gesture she happily returned. "Thanks, Luna."

"Anytime, bro." When they released the hug, they walked side by side with her arm around her brother's shoulders. "Listen, I know Lynn's gonna be wanting to work out with you when we get back, but how about we hang out after dinner? Maybe we can play a video game or something."

"Really? I'd like that."

"Me too, bro."

It was another minute or so before they reached the house. After entering through the front door, they saw Lynn sat on the couch by herself, the young jock looking at them when she heard them enter. "There you are, man!" she greeted. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, Lynn," the boy apologised. "I just had to take a detour."

He shot a wink to Luna, who winked back. "I'll leave you two alone," she told them, before making her way upstairs. Once she was gone, Lincoln turned to Lynn, who had a grin on her face.

"So, you two make up?"

"Yeah, everything's good now between us. I'm glad, too."

"I can see. You're smiling like me when I get that first goal in a big soccer game." He rolled her eyes, which made her chuckle. "Anyway, you're here now, so we can get started with some yoga before Lori demands the tv."

"Sure thing, Lynn. Just give me a minute to put my stuff away and-"

"LINCOLN!" he heard a certain voice yell, turning around to see Lola stomping down the steps towards him. "YOU MADE PIZZA, AND YOU DIDN'T GIVE US ANY?!"

He heard a collective what from upstairs before the rest of his sisters all began to make their way into the living room, and all he could do was sigh. 'Today was going too smoothly, huh?'

(A/N: the song used is "The Reason" by Hoobastank.)