(Lincoln's POV)
Luna and I hopped into Chuck's van. He's a friend of hers and a really chill guy—seems pretty cool. As soon as we got in, he and Luna started chatting about the new sound equipment they'd picked up. But every now and then, I caught Luna sneaking glances at me.
"Hey, little dude," Chuck said suddenly, "Thanks for offering to help set up the equipment. It's not just some new speakers—it's a pretty complicated sound system. You helping out means a lot."
"It's fine. I didn't have any plans today, so helping you guys gives me something to do," I replied with a smile.
"Ha! Luna always talks about how helpful you are," Chuck chuckled. "You were right, love—he is a good brother," he told Luna, his British accent slipping through.
Luna smiled, relaxing a bit, but I still caught her glancing at me when she thought I wasn't looking.
Soon we arrived at the home of Sam Sharp—Luna's bandmate, best friend, and, well, her crush. Sam's a thin girl with light skin, shoulder-length blonde hair with a teal streak, and four pairs of eyelashes. She has two helix piercings in each ear and wears pink eyeshadow.
Her outfit? A short teal leather jacket with a crimson patch bearing a white skull on the back, a white T-shirt with a logo on the front, deep burgundy jeans with rips at the knees, a black studded belt, and dark purple boots.
Through the open garage door, we saw Sam talking with Sully and Mazzy—Luna's other bandmates. Sully's a teen guy with short brown hair, white circular earrings, an iron chain necklace with a padlock, a light purple shirt, black leather jacket, blue jeans, and dark purple boots.
Mazzy's a thin girl with dark reddish-brown hair that covers her eyes and purple lipstick. She wears a black and white striped shirt, a light sea-foam jacket, a dark gray skirt, white stockings, and dark teal sneakers.
"Hey guys, glad you made it! I can't wait to set this baby up," Sully said excitedly. Then he noticed me. "Hey, what's with the kid? You guys babysitting or something?"
"No, Sully, that's Luna's little brother—Lincoln," Sam corrected. We'd met a few times before.
"Yeah, Link here offered to give us a hand," Luna added.
"Really?" Mazzy asked. "That's great, because Chuck dropped all this off before he left to get you, and we can't figure it out."
"No worries! With the whole band working on it, we'll get it done in no time," Luna said, full of confidence. Then she turned to me. "Hey Link, you can just chill on the couch—we'll holler if we need help, okay?"
I shrugged and sat down.
"Okay, gang—let's do this!" Luna said, hyping everyone up.
Two Hours Later
(No POV)
The Moon Goats slumped onto the couch, looking defeated.
"Okay, this is way harder than I thought," Luna admitted. "Let's take a break and try again later."
The others nodded, tired and frustrated.
"Mind if I give it a try?" Lincoln asked. They had completely forgotten he was there.
"Go ahead, little Loud," Sully said. "But if five of us couldn't figure it out, what makes you think you can?"
"Just give me five minutes," Lincoln said calmly as he got up and got to work.
The Moon Goats watched in awe as he sorted the speaker pieces, assembling them like he'd done it before. Then he untangled the cords with nimble fingers and expertly hooked everything up to their new soundboard. When he finished, he turned to the stunned teens.
"See? Five minutes," he said, trying not to laugh.
"Bro, how did you do that? We've been at it for hours!" Luna asked in disbelief.
"Well… there was a little trick to it," Lincoln said.
"And what trick would that be?" Sully asked.
Lincoln held up a thin booklet. "I just read the manual."
The band stared in silence for a full minute—then Chuck burst out laughing, and the rest followed.
"Hahaha! Oh man, this one's on us," Chuck laughed. "Thanks, little Loud—we couldn't have done it without you."
"No problem," Lincoln said, just before his stomach gave a loud growl. He gave a small, sheepish smile.
"Bro, with how much you ate this morning, you're still that hungry?" Luna asked.
"Hey, I've got an appetite."
"You know what? Let's go to the Burpin' Burger," Mazzy suggested. "I worked up an appetite."
Everyone agreed, piling into Chuck's van. Sully called shotgun, Luna took a window seat, which left Lincoln between Sam and Mazzy.
"So, Lincoln," Mazzy said, "how'd you convince your parents to let you bleach your hair like that?"
Luna, Sam, and Chuck all burst out laughing.
"I didn't have to," Lincoln answered. "My hair's naturally this color."
"Really?" Mazzy reached over to check the roots. "Whoa, that's cool—and your hair's so soft!" She started running her fingers through it, making Lincoln blush.
"Let me feel," Sam said, joining in. "Wow, you're right—it's super soft and silky. Luna, you have to feel this."
Luna rolled her eyes—she'd rubbed his head before—but reached over anyway. Her eyes widened.
"Bro, your hair was never this soft before. What's your secret?"
"Is it really that soft?" Lincoln asked. "I never thought about it. I guess it's all natural?"
"There are women who would kill for hair like yours," Sam said, shaking her head.
For the rest of the car ride, Lincoln's head was the main attraction.
Burpin' Burger
Once they arrived and ordered their food, the Moon Goats sat down at a booth—until they realized someone was missing.
"Hey, has anyone seen Lincoln?" Luna asked.
"I think he's still getting his food," Sully replied.
Just then, Lincoln approached with a tray piled high with dozens of burgers, several large chili cheese fries with jalapeños, and four jumbo lemonades.
"Little dude, how and why did you buy all this?" Sully asked, eyes nearly falling out of his head.
"I've been saving my allowance, though this did take a big chunk of it. And I've just been really hungry lately," Lincoln said, starting to dig in.
"My sister Lisa thinks he's going through a growth spurt," Luna explained. "That might explain the appetite."
"Must be one heck of a growth spurt," Sam muttered, watching him eat in awe.
Minutes later, Lincoln's tray was a pile of wrappers and empty cups. He leaned back and let out a loud, satisfied burp.
"Okay, I'm serious," Sam said. "If you don't go through a major growth spurt, I'm going to be jealous you can eat like that and not gain a pound."
Then the restaurant manager made an announcement. "Attention, everyone! Today, thanks to a generous donation, we're giving away a guitar to the person who's eaten the most today. But there's a catch—you have to perform a love song to win it."
The manager walked over and placed a guitar case in front of Lincoln.
Eyebrows raised, Lincoln opened it to reveal a black guitar that looked like it was carved from the night sky. The strings shimmered like woven starlight. He strummed once—the tone was perfect.
"No way," Luna gasped. "Bro, that's an Acoustasonic guitar—electric and acoustic. But that one is one of a kind. Nobody knows who made it. It's worth a fortune."
Lincoln stared at the guitar. For a brief moment, he heard a faint whisper: "Hope you like it."
He smiled. He knew exactly who had sent it.
"Well, young man, are you ready to perform?" the manager asked.
Lincoln nodded, held the guitar properly, took a breath, and began to play.
("There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" by Shawn Mendes)
Lincoln's voice surprised everyone. It was smooth—emotional. Not what anyone expected from an 11-year-old. Women blushed. Teens stared.
I wanna follow where she goes…
I think about her and she knows it…
And when he finished, the room was silent—then erupted in applause.
"That was amazing!"
"Rockin' performance, little dude!"
"So cool!"
Lincoln blushed deeply. Mazzy leaned in with a smirk.
"I didn't know you could make your voice sound so sexy."
Everyone looked at her.
"What? We were all thinking it," she shrugged. No one argued.
"Well, young man," the manager said, "that guitar is yours. Congrats!"
"Thank you so much," Lincoln said.
As they were heading out, Luna pulled him aside. "Bro, why didn't you ever tell me you could play like that? And what song was that?"
Lincoln grinned. "I didn't have a reason until now. And the song? I wrote it—like most of my songs."
"You wrote that?" Sam asked in shock. "What genre do you write?"
"Love, sad, metal, rock, classic, rap… even some suggestive songs," Lincoln said, blushing.
The band blushed too. Luna narrowed her eyes.
"Before you ask," Lincoln said quickly, "a friend dared me to. And no—you don't know them."
Back in the van, everyone was quiet, still processing what they just saw. When Chuck finally dropped them off, Sam, Mazzy, and Sully all told Luna she had to bring Lincoln around more often.
As soon as they walked inside, Lincoln yawned. "I'm feeling tired, Luna. I'll just take a nap. Call me for dinner."
"Sure, bro. See you later," Luna said.
As soon as his door closed, Luna turned and bolted to Lori and Leni's room.
"Luna! I am literally in the middle of a very important phone call," Lori snapped.
"We need a sister meeting. Now. It's about Lincoln."
Lori hung up immediately. "Gather the others. Meet me back here in five."