chapter 23

It was the middle of the cold winter night, as a figure tossed and turned on her bed. Sleep kept alluding her as thoughts from the previous weeks played out in her mind. Since living in the big city, Ronnie Anne could not find herself settled quite yet. Somehow, her thoughts returned to a familiar location from her previous life in Royal Woods. No. there was many that were significant to the Latina. And each one bore the same audience that brought her entertainment.

Thinking about it, somehow her amusement over the matter reached new heights. And now that it was gone, she became deprived of that pleasure. The city had more to offer, that was pretty clear. More events, stores, arcades, parks etc. However, it didn't have what Royal Woods became for the girl. A forlorn feeling resided deep within that resurfaced at night. When all the distractions disappeared, it left nothing to prevent the dreaded feeling as she stared at the blank ceiling.

She grabbed her mobile phone and went through her contact list. Her top favorites were as followed:

Sid

Mom

Bobby

Dad

When she arrived further down to the letter L section, she paused. His name appeared before her. Originally under the alias of Lame-o, it later shifted to Lincoln. Staring at her to see what she would do next. Her finger hovered over her screen, debating on whether to call or not. Ronnie Anne inhaled and exhaled as she then left her list of contacts to browse her photo gallery. She quickly accelerated towards her older images. Photographs of when she still lived in Royal Woods. The ones she admired right now, were with her friend. To think, someone like him became special to her. Mind you, they weren't in the same group of friends.

Ronnie Anne was a lone wolf. Her friends were her phone and skateboard that she had on at all times when outside. She preferred to handle everything on her own. Though she was alone, she wasn't exactly a taciturn child at all. When provoked, she brought out her fangs along with her fist. Somehow, she would spew out gold that would drop onto her target's noggin. Leaving them dazed long enough for her to bring them down. She could easily see how small they were on the ground.

But Lincoln was different. His reaction felt off to the bully of Royal Woods Elementary School. It brought out a different feeling. Instead of satisfaction, Ronnie Anne giggled. She laughed, remembering the look on his face. Soon Ronnie Anne kept at it as Lincoln Loud became her designated victim.

He would sometime reach out to her, almost to get back at her. However, it was to talk it out and maybe offer his assistance. And she would grin with much excitement. At first, she thought it was because she found her favorite loser to mess around with. No, she found something way more. Someone special by how he held her hand.

No anger or malice as she could easily escape his grasp. She, instead, allowed his touch to linger a second or two longer. He was treating her as a girl; a first for her.

As she eventually would find out, Lincoln Loud had ten sisters. A loner in his own rights, he understood what it felt like dealing with a chaotic world. Every day was maddening to the boy. He would joke around that his hair turned white by how insane his life was living with so many girls.

Unlike the other boys, Lincoln was a precocious individual that treated every girl with tender care and respect. So approaching her with those two in each hand, Ronnie Anne became struck. The blow penetrated through her defenses, reaching her heart.

Contrary to most beliefs, it wasn't love at first sight. Nothing superficial like looks and attitude. No. It what resided deep inside that took time to nurture and grow. To be acquainted with before realizing how it changed her. And although she should have, she didn't say a thing to the source of her affection. They became very close friends later on in their tales of adventure but that was it. No one should be made aware as they remained at peace and seclusion.

That is until now. Her thought returned to what she had back at Royal Woods. Now completely deprived of the thrills and fun that she could only get from messing with Lincoln, the truth came out. She loved Linco- No.

She was in love with him.

Right now, as she laid on her mattress bed, she could only think about the boy in the orange polo shirt. If those tears were any indication of what she felt, then it would be this:

It bothered her that she was no longer a part of his life.

Ronnie Anne knew sleep would continue to elude her if she didn't do something about it. But it brought fear, presenting her heart in such a manner. If rejected, she didn't think she would recover. But if he did say yes... Oh, God... If he said yes, that would impact her even more. She didn't know how she would react to that.

Not sure how to handle this, she decided a compromise. A wellness check to see how things were without her. The ringing persisted for a few times before someone picked up.

"Hello, Ronnie Anne?" their voice were indeed tired. Most likely woken up by her call.

She nearly dropped her phone. He actually picked up the call for her. It was already past eleven, yet he still answered.

"Hey, Lame-o... I hope I didn't call you at a bad time..."

Try as she might, she began to lose her fortitude. Her voice was trembling by how anxious she felt.

"No, it's fine. Is something the matter?"

"What! No... Why would you ask something ridiculous as that?"

He was no fool. The drowsiness quickly dissipated as all his attention was on his friend. With a gentle care, he asked her to tell him the truth.

"Nothing wrong. Do I need a reason to call my best friend? I'm sure you're doing so much better without me ruining your life. I mean, what kind of friend would dump sloppy jo's down their friend's pants, stick gum in their hair, tie their shoe laces together...give them a black eye... What kind of friend would I be? What kind of f-friend..." Each word that came out of her lips lifted the tender feelings up from the abyss until finally they resurfaced. Free-falling tears and no sign of ceasing, she cried.

Her phone vibrated, it was a call for a video chat followed by a text.

"Please pick up"

She did, but kept her face concealed with her arm.

"Ronnie Anne, I want to see your face... Please."

She tried once more to return to her former self; not weak nor soft. "I'm fine Lincoln...really..." But then he interrupted her and spoke.

"If you don't, I'm going to see you now. I'm serious, Ronnie Anne. I'm going to, even if I have to wake up the entire Loud House."

She conceded, displaying her hideous appearance on camera for him to see. His eyes dropped as he softly spoke. "Talk to me... I'm all ears..."

"You're such a Lame-o...you know that?"

"Your one and only, now what's wrong?"

He did. Somehow, he got her to spill everything that dwell inside her. Her insecurities as well as her feelings. She scared, because she feels like everyone was moving on. And when it came down to it, he was the one person she could not allow herself to forget. For him to forget her. She always thought of him. The one she pleaded to save her from the forgotten and never ever let her go.

"B-Because...because..." It felt like a noose around her throat, tightening even further to silence what should not be spoken. "I Love you. I really do... I can't imagine my life without you, Lame-o. I don't want to." She felt surprisingly lift and tired.

"Then you don't have to."

"Huh?"

"I'm saying, I love you too. Honestly, I was going to wait until we were older but now is better than any time to say this: would you be the keeper of my heart?

Ronnie Anne could only chuckle. Couldn't believe this was happening to her now. "Only if you be mine."

"Then it settled..."

No one said a word after that. Only the empty silence of their respective rooms kept them company.

"I really want to see you."

"Me too..."

"How about a trip around the city. You could show me around."

"I'll be more than happy too. And then we could plan a trip to all our favorite spots in Royal Woods."

"I'm sure my sisters will have a field day with that." The boy nervously chuckled.

"True, but so what?"

"Well, we should go to sleep. A lot to do tomorrow."

"Lincoln...could we leave the video chat on? Right now, I just want you next to me as I sleep."

"Sure."

"Night, Lam-Lincoln."

"Night, Ronnie Anne."

Closing her eyes, she began to drift into a relaxing dream. Lincoln's breathing became a lullaby to the girl. The next day he told his family that he was going to Great Lakes city to stay with his girlfriend Ronnie Anne for a month they said ok Lily asked if she could go with he said yes go get some clothes and we will Leave in an hour he got on his motorcycle and sidecar