Two men were fighting inside of a squared circle in the middle of a saloon, surrounded by a lively crowd as they cheered watching the young wrestlers putting on one hell of a show. This match was settled between a young wrestler named Javier Martinez and a heavyweight named Big Bang.
The one with blue trunks was trying to knock out Javier with a headlock. It seems like the young one was about to suffocate as he tried to claw the Big Bang's arms in vain. But before the crowd would think the match was now coming to an end, the young wrestler elbowed the big guy to the ribs, making him gasp in pain.
He elbowed once more, this time in the face that forced his opponent to release his grasp, and before he could recover, Javier jumped and launched an overhead kick to the side of the head. As Big Bang was stunned by the kick, Javier got on his feet before pushing him to the ropes.
Grabbing the hand, the young man sent his opponent running to the other side with an Irish Whip, but Big Bang didn't let him go of his hand before sending Javier running instead. As the young man turned around before being propelled by the ropes and ran towards the opponent, Big Bang was about to launch a Clothesline, but Javier ducked the attack before using the ropes again. When Big Bang turned around, Javier hit him with a Flying Shoulder and both men fell down.
Javier then kicked up to his feet and shouted to the crowd as they erupted into cheers, which means he was ready to finish the match once and for all. So he turned back to Big Bang and pulled him to his feet. Turning around with his arm hooking around the neck of his dazed opponent, Javier aimed to the corner and made a run to deliver the finishing move.
The crowd was on the edge of their seats when Javier began to run up the turnbuckles and was about to perform a backflip. But the moment he jumped off the corner, Javier was unable to drive the opponent to the floor, since Big Bang stumbled back while carrying Javier on his shoulder, and before the young wrestler could do something, Big Bang dropped him and his face hit on the top turnbuckle.
Now completely stunned, Javier stumbled around and inadvertently approached Big Bang, who took the chance to lift him up across his shoulders, and then spun around before throwing Javier's face down to the mat, performing an F-5.
Big Bang didn't waste any more second as he rolled Javier up and pinned him down before the referee rushed to make the count.
"1… 2… 3!" The referee finished the counting before announcing the end of the match, followed by the ring of the bell.
Javier Martinez just lost one more match.
An envelope was thrown on Javier's lap before he picked it up. "Thanks." He said nonchalantly as he thumbed through the bills and counted the money, only to sigh and hold up the envelope to the guy who gave it to him, meaning the payment was lower than he anticipated.
"I'm sorry, but they said there are some problems with the budget so they were forced to cut our salary." Big Bang, or his real name was Charles, said apologetically.
"I'm aware of that, but it's not even enough to pay my rent!" Javier argued while waving the envelope in his hand. "The landlord is gonna kick me out when I go back and I don't have anywhere else to go!" His tone began to grow desperate.
"Hey, calm down. You'll get the rest of the payment next week, I'm sure he wouldn't mind waiting for one more week." Charles reassured the young man with a pat on his shoulder. "Don't you know someone who can give you a roof? A friend maybe?"
"No… I don't." Javier muttered while shaking his head.
Charles tried to give him another idea, only to stay silent when he couldn't think of anything else that could help the young man. Letting out a sigh, he finally responded. "Listen son, whatever happens, no matter what, you must keep moving on. I know this is not the best time of your life, but as long as you don't give up, you'll be awarded. I assure you."
"I hope you're right." Javier replied with a resigned sigh before he stood up and shook Charle's hand. "See you next week man, and thank you for the match."
"Don't mention it kid, just keep doing your best and I promise you'll get to the top." Big Bang said with a smile.
After changing himself, Javier exited the locker room with his backpack, bid farewell to his friends and other people on his way before walking out of the building. The cold breeze at night time made him snuggle into his jacket as he began to walk to the end of the street.
He stood on the sidewalk until moments later, a bus parked and he took the ride. After taking a seat, he looked out the window while dwelling on his thoughts about what's next. Right now he was worried about going back to his apartment, talking to the landlord and convincing him that he could take the first half of the rent and by next week he'll get the other half.
Life wasn't going easy on him lately ever since he started wrestling. Sure, he wasn't expecting to be successful in just a matter of days, but because of his financial issues, he's at the very risk of becoming homeless. He wouldn't last long in the streets with the upcoming Winter and he doesn't have anyone else who can ask for help.
He would try contacting his family, but he doubted they would wanna talk to him.
When the bus arrived at his stop, Javier got out of the transport and found himself standing in front of a small building with weathered bricks. Without spending any second pondering, Javier climbed up the staircase and opened the main door. Once inside the building, he started climbing up the stairs to the upper floors but at a slow pace. His body still aches after his recent match, so the next thing he wanted to do once he got to his apartment was lay on his bed and have a good rest.
After reaching the third floor, Javier walked to the end of the hall and reached the door of his apartment. Letting out a tired sigh, he reached out with his hand to the doorknob and turned it.
It didn't budge.
"What the?" Javier blinked before trying to turn the handle again, but again it didn't do anything. "Come on you stupid thing, why aren't you opening!"
He looked up and at that moment he stopped struggling when he just saw a paper stuck on the door, but as he started reading it, his heart just sank.
This was an eviction note.
"No! No, no, no, this can't be right!" Javier uttered in disbelief as he ripped the paper off the door and read it, thinking he must have read it wrong. But after reading it over and over again, it said exactly as he feared.
His shock suddenly turned into a pure rage all over his face once he realized who left that note and locked his apartment. Gripping the paper in his hand, Javier stomped his way back to the ground floor and went down the hall where there was a door at the end. This was where the landlord lives, the bane of Javier's existence.
Now standing in front of the door, Javier didn't hesitate and began to pound the door with his fist. "Hey, open the door!" He shouted, without even caring if he was making a lot of noise in the building.
However, there was no response.
"Open the fucking door! I know you're in there!" The young man shouted angrily before punching the door.
Suddenly, the door was opened and a baldy old man wearing a stained shirt and ragged pants didn't look pleased.
"What the hell do you want?!" He spat.
"What is the meaning of this!" Javier seethed as he held up the eviction note in his clenched fist. "It's not even rent day and you kick me out, just like that?!"
"Maybe I wouldn't have done it if you have paid the goddamn rent months ago!" The landlord answered with a hint of arrogance.
"Couldn't you just wait until I returned? You lock me out without giving me a chance to pack my stuff!" Javier snapped as he stepped forward.
"Well, that's not my problem." The landlord retorted smugly. "Now get out of here or I'll call the cops! You're making a lot of noise here!" And then he slammed the door before Javier could answer.
"Now I see why the neighbors want you to rot in Hell, asshole!" Javier shouted to the door. He crumpled the paper angrily and threw it to the floor before he turned around and walked away.
He went back to the third floor until he was back to his former apartment. If the landlord thinks he will leave the apartment with empty hands, then the old man's mistaken. After enduring his constant "Where's my rent!" yelling, having to watch the old man hiring hookers with his money, and treating him like shit, Javier had enough.
Raising his foot, he kicked the door open! It snapped in half by the force of the kick before slamming into the wall, no doubt the noise have awakened the neighbors already.
As he got inside the apartment, Javier started to take out all of his clothes from the closet and the drawers before throwing them to the bed, then he got the duffel bags and began packing his stuff, still fuming in anger to consider the fact that he just lost his apartment. As a matter of fact, he's happy that he's going to leave this dump after all this time.
After packing up, he carried the bags on his shoulders all before walking out, without paying attention to the neighbors who peeked out of their doors to watch the commotion. Once he went downstairs to the ground floor, he made his way to the exit, only to stop his tracks before turning over his shoulder and his eyes glared at the door where the landlord's apartment was.
He can see the smugly face the old man was wearing after kicking out one of his tenants, and just thinking about it made his blood boil. At that moment, he wouldn't leave until he gave that bastard his last message.
Dropping the bags to the floor, Javier walked back to the landlord's apartment before pounding the door with his fist. He took a step back and waited until the door was opened.
"How many times do I have to tell you to get the fuck out of-"
WHACK!
The landlord couldn't finish the sentence when Javier launched a Superkick to his chin and knocked him out!
"I always wanted to do this for a long time." He said while looking at the unconscious old man and spat on him before he went back to pick up his luggage and finally left the building.
Javier was walking aimlessly through the streets for almost two hours, finding a new place where he could settle in, or at least just to clear his mind. A part of him felt like he's now at peace at the fact that he no longer has to worry about paying the rent and not dealing with that grumpy old man anymore. But on the other hand, he just became depressed after realizing that not only he just lost his apartment, but also his fear of becoming homeless came true.
For a couple of days, he went to every hotel nearby to rent a room, but they were either all taken or just too expensive to afford for only one day and he had no choice but to sleep in the park. At this point, Javier wasn't even sure if he can continue with his wrestling career like this.
Maybe his father was right about him…
Casting a glance to his side, Javier stopped his tracks when he looked inside by the window and saw some sort of bar. The place seemed empty though, yet he spotted the bartender idling in his spot.
He thought it would be better if he could just walk away instead of drowning his sorrows in alcohol, but in view of the recent events, he had nothing to lose anymore.
"I guess I could use a drink…" Javier sighed before he entered the establishment. As he dropped his bags next to him, he sat on the stool. "Hey, good evening. A shot of tequila, please."
The bartender looked at him in puzzle, but once he noticed Javier didn't look that young as he thought, he nodded before starting to serve a drink while the young man paid him in advance with the money he earned from his match.
Suddenly, the door was opened and a busty young woman with blond hair tied in a ponytail entered the place. She wore a navy blue off-the-shoulder top, a pair of dark scrunchy, tight pants, and matching high heels. As the door closed behind her, she made her way to the counter where Javier was sitting.
"Hey, Dave! I'm back!" The woman said cheerfully as she took a seat at the corner, a little away from the young man who didn't react at her arrival at all.
"Oh, hey there miss. Good to see you again." The bartender said with a smile as he poured the tequila into the glass. "What would you like for tonight?"
"A green margarita with no salt would be nice, thanks!" She responded, without glancing at the guy who was sitting a few feet away from her.
"Alright, coming right up." The bartender said and after serving Javier a drink, he proceeded to serve the drink for the lady.
Javier seemed very distracted in his thoughts to notice the beautiful woman next to him, the only thing that stuck in his mind was taking a shot of his tequila. So he grabbed the glass and drank it down. But what he forgot was that he didn't drink alcohol for years, so what happens when you drink alcohol for the first time since then? You'd feel like your throat is burning, which is not an exception for Javier.
The moment he gulped down the shot of his drink, he started to cough as if he was choking on something.
"Oh my God! Are you alright?" The young woman stood up from her seat and approached Javier with a look of concern.
"Y-Yeah! *COUGH* It's just- *COUGH* The tequila, dammit! *COUGH*" Javier responded while waving his hand to gesture it's not a life-threatening situation, though it didn't help his throat was still burning like crazy.
"Dave, can you give us a glass of water?" The woman asked.
The bartender didn't need to say anything as he complied, handing a glass full of water to Javier before the young man drank it.
"Whoa, go easy, go easy." The blondie said as she patted Javier's back. However, an intriguing expression spread across her face when she was starting to feel like she had seen this guy before.
"Aaahh, oh man. Thank you so much, I think that worked." Javier nodded in thanks to the bartender, who just nodded back and continued to prepare the drink for the lady. He then turned back to the woman. "Thank you for your…" And then he went speechless once he met face to face with her.
Javier and the woman remained to stare deeply at each other as if they're looking into a mirror, but as they took a long moment to recognize every facial feature on their faces, they both exchanged a stunned look before their memories took them to the moment where they met before.
"Lori?" Javier muttered.
"Javier?" She gasped with her mouth covered.
"Lori Loud from Royal Woods Highschool?" The young man repeated with his finger pointing at her.
"YES!" Lori exclaimed before she lunged and hugged Javier. "Oh my God! I can't believe it's literally you, Javier!"
"I-I can't believe it's really you either!" Javier replied in a mix of surprise and joy as he returned the hug, though he couldn't hide the blush on his face when he felt Lori's breasts pressing against his chest.
"How long has it been since we've seen each other? Ten years, I think? Dude, you sure have changed a lot." Lori said as she broke the hug and sat next to him.
"Heh, I could tell you the same thing." Javier chuckled nervously as he glanced down at her incredible voluptuous figure. Her breasts have grown like melons, the leggings hugged around her curvy waist that accentuated her meaty thighs and her sinuous legs, he even caught a glimpse of her buttocks while she was sitting on the stool.
"Where have you been after all this time? One day you never came back to high school, and the last thing I heard about you was that you ran away from home and you… You were never seen again..." Lori lowered her head in sadness. "I even tried to ask your family about you, but they didn't even want to talk about it…"
There were so many questions that Javier couldn't answer all of them, especially when Lori just mentioned his family. It still hurts just to remember what happened between him and his parents, no matter how much he tried to move on.
"It's complicated… I rather not talk about it." Javier muttered as he rested his arms against the counter dejectedly.
Lori only looked at him in confusion as she wasn't satisfied with the answer, but when she noticed the pained look on his face, it was more than enough for her to find out that whatever happened was the reason why he ran away. She was asking though, why? Did he have a fight with his parents? Was he forced to get out? All these questions were killing her, but she knew pressuring him to get more answers won't help at all.
Reaching out with her left hand slowly, Lori patted on his arm gently as Javier turned to her. She didn't speak, but she was giving him a softened look to try to comfort him. Moreover, she was telling him how happy she was to see him again and she wanted to spend some time with her friend after a long time.
This of course helped Javier to make feel a little better, but also convinced him that he could at least try to tell Lori his story. She's been a good friend to him in highschool, so maybe she deserves to at least know where he's been after all these years.
"Let's just say me and my parents had some differences about my future." Javier continued with a sigh. "After I ran away from home, I left Royal Woods with some friends and started pursuing my dream of becoming a wrestler. I started going to the gym seven days per week and met some professional wrestlers who could give me a chance to enter a promotion. It wasn't an easy task, but in the end, I managed to get into the independent circuit. I made a few appearances on some shows, but I had some decent matches with some big guys, though at that time I was still looking for an identity for my gimmick, so right now I'm just a jobber."
"Quite an adventure you had." Lori said with a chuckle as she sipped her margarita the bartender just handed it to her.
"Yeah, but not anymore. I just got kicked out of my apartment because the landlord was a pain in the ass." Javier seethed with his hands clenching into fists.
Lori's smile disappeared before feeling she just ruined the atmosphere. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be, maybe I deserved it if I stayed in Royal Woods, maybe I wouldn't be here if I didn't drop out of the highschool." Javier said with a depressed sigh.
"Don't belittle yourself, Javier. I'm actually glad you decided to follow your dreams, no matter what." Lori responded with a soft smile, placing her hand on his back to provide comfort.
"Thanks Lori, that means a lot." Javier smiled back to her, feeling a little better. "By the way, what are you doing in Great Lakes city?"
"Oh, well… We live here..." Lori said with a forced chuckle.
"Really? Since when?" Javier inquired in surprise.
"A couple of years ago. It wasn't the easiest decision, but so far we're doing well."
"I see…" The young man nodded with his head. "So how you've been after you moved in this city?"
"Oh, doing great! Not only I graduated the Fairway University, but I also worked for a prestigious spa hotel. Started as an intern, but I worked on my way up and bam! You're looking at the owner!" Lori gestured herself out of pride.
"Wow, that's amazing! And how's Bobby doing? I can assume you're both happy now that you live here"
Lori's eyes suddenly shot wide open as her smile faded, like that question was too much of a shock for her. She lowered her gaze to look at the ground while biting her lower lip. "He's… He's fine, but we… We've moved on."
The grave tone of her answer took him aback and for a good reason. Last time he remembered, Lori and Bobby used to be together and even though Bobby had to live away from Royal Woods, they did their best to keep the relationship. "Damn, I'm really sorry." He replied solemnly.
"No, it's okay. It's hard to talk about it, but you deserve to know." Lori said with a sad, yet comprehensive smile.
"How did that happen? I mean, as far as I know, you were so happy together." Javier inquired. While he didn't want to pressure Lori to give more details, he needed to know what lead to their breakup.
Lori sighed as she swirled her drink in the glass. "We were. I mean, after I moved here, I went to see Bobby in his store where he works, and yeah, we thought our relationship was back to normal and even thought about living together. But… When I got a job at the hotel and since Bobby was focusing on his own business, our careers were taking more and more of our time that we rarely see each other. Then we had some arguments, but then we realized that… It wasn't going anywhere as we hoped, so… We decided to split up and look after ourselves." She finished as she set her glass on the counter.
"I'm sorry, Lori. I can't imagine how much it hurt you." Javier said while placing his hand on hers for comfort.
"I know, but don't worry. Me and Bobby are still on good terms, sometimes I stop by his store whenever I need to do groceries. So yeah, that happened like 6 months ago, but we're doing fine on our own." Lori sighed once more, a little relief that she got this out of her system.
Javier smiled at her to know she's doing well despite the blows she got. "Well, it was nice to see you again, but I need to go." He took a few dollar bills out of his pocket and left them on the counter
"Wait, are you serious? We just finally met after ten years and now you wanna leave?" Lori said, a little upset that the reunion didn't last long as she was expecting.
"I'm sorry Lori, but right now I'm in a dire situation. I need to find a roof or else I'm going to spend the rest of my life living in a dumpster until the cold gets me." He jumped off the stool and started carrying all his luggage.
Suddenly, Lori just got an idea. "Wait, what if you could come to my place?"
"What?" Javier was taken aback, but he wanted to know more details.
"Yeah, we live in an apartment. It's not actually big, but there's a spot you could take!"
"I… I don't know what to say. But are you really okay with that, I don't wanna be a burden for you." Javier responded with a hesitant look, only to earn a shocking reaction from Lori.
"Are you kidding me? Take a look at yourself, you literally look worse than the last time I saw you!" The beautiful blondie argued as she pointed to the winter clothing Javier was wearing, but also the stubble he grew in the last few days, he actually almost looked like a homeless person without even knowing it. "There's no way I'm gonna let you freeze to death outside. Besides, I'm sure you'd love to meet my family. You might have heard rumors about them and some of them are true." Lori shivered just to remember how chaotic the family was, especially her sister's antics. "But that shouldn't be a problem for you, so what do you say?"
Javier still wanted to politely refuse her offer, but at this point, he had no other options left. Furthermore, he was now interested to meet Lori's family.
"Hmm, I guess you have a point." Javier said while nodding his head. "Alright, let's go to your place."
A wide grin spread across Lori's face that she felt like she was gonna explode with joy. "Wonderful! Then let's not wait much longer." She then finished her margarita with one last shot and left a couple of dollar bills on the counter. "Thank you for the drink, Dave! See you next time!" She bid farewell to the bartender before she and Javier left the bar.
"So where's your new home?" Javier asked as he opened the door for Lori.
"Oh, it's not too far from here, but we can use my car." She pointed to a silver Mercedes just in front of them. And before Javier would ask, she took out her keys and with a push of a button, the car flickered the lights while unlocking.
"Seriously, what else did I miss?" He said with a dumbfounded expression after witnessing the expensive-looking car.
After a little ride, Javier looked out the window and spotted a five-story red-brick building standing at the corner of the street, with fire escapes on the sides and a white rooftop.
"Wow, your whole family lives there?" Javier asked in wonder at the size of the building.
"Yeah, we literally own each apartment inside, only there's one remaining and no one has used it for a purpose." Lori said as she drove to a detached garage and parked in there before turning the engines off. "Come on, let's go to meet my mother on the upper floor so she could give you the keys. For now, just leave your stuff here."
Javier nodded with no hesitation as he and Lori got out of the car and made their way into the building.
"Just curious, at what point did you make the decision to live here?" He asked as he and Lori walked across the hall.
"Before I graduated the college, my sisters began to move out of our home. They found many opportunities outside Royal Woods that they could make good use of their gifts. But when we found out our house was getting bigger for my young sisters, my mom remembered this apartment that once belonged to my grandpa. One day, she gathered us together and told us we'll be living in this place. At first, we weren't sure about that change, but we knew mom was trying to keep the family from breaking apart." Lori responded with a sad smile as they both started to use the stairs.
"And did it work?" Javier inquired with a sympathetic look as they were reaching the second floor. However, he tried to not pay attention to Lori's butt swaying when he was behind her.
"Oh, of course! Probably better than we expected!" Lori beamed. "Although, we feel like this apartment needs a makeover. It's not like it's crumbling apart, but it feels like we're living in the '80s. The bad news is that we don't have enough money for the makeover, but my sisters and I are planning to save some of our cash for when the time comes."
"Wow, that sounds like a good idea. By the way, what do you do for-"
"Look out!" Suddenly, Lori lunged at him and they both fell to the floor before a soccer ball flew over their heads.
"Heads up!" A female voice sounded down the hall.
"Lynn, what the hell!" Lori shouted angrily as she looked up. "How many times did we say not to kick balls in the hallways?!"
"Um, Lori?"
The blondie blinked before looking down and her eyes widened after noticing Javier was lying on the floor, but what astounded him her was that she was on top of him while sitting on his groin, she could even feel something poking her behind.
"S-Sorry!" Lori yelped as she jumped to her feet with a heavy blush on her face.
"I-I'm sorry too!" Javier blurted out as he stood up, also wearing a blush.
"Hey, who's this bum?"
Javier blinked and felt a little annoyed at that nickname some girl just called him, and when he turned around to confront the joker, his mouth gaped open before he could say a single word. It was a tomboyish girl who looked slightly shorter than him, with straight brown bob-cut hair that reaches down to her shoulders and freckles on her cheeks. And she wore a red sports jacket with a grey tank top underneath and dark leggings.
However, what caught Javier's attention was her athletic, thick figure. Her modestly sized breasts stuck out of her chest that he could clearly see the outlines of her nipples. The leggings she was wearing accentuated her wide hips and her toned legs. This girl was a good example of how beautiful amazonian would look like.
"Whoa…" He couldn't help but be amazed at her beauty.
Lynn only raised an eyebrow at the dumb look on the guy's face, before turning to Lori in disbelief. "Is this your boyfriend? Seriously, I thought you already move on."
"What? He's not my boyfriend, Lynn! H-He's a friend of mine from highschool!" Lori snapped, yet she couldn't take the blush off her face. But when she noticed Javier was ogling at her sister, she nudged him on his side. "Come on, say something!" She hissed.
Javier was brought to his senses before realizing what he was doing just now and what Lynn just said, which made him feel more embarrassed. "Y-Yeah, it's true! I'm Javier, nice to meet you." He raised his hand to Lynn for a handshake.
Lynn glanced at his hand, but instead of accepting the gesture, she just shrugged. "Whatever, I don't have time for the introduction. I was just doing a warm-up before I go, I have a soccer team to train. See you later, sister!" She picked up the soccer ball that rolled to her feet and then made a run downstairs, leaving Lori and Javier alone.
"Well… That was something." Javier spoke without any particular thought to react.
"That's Lynn, she's quite a sports jock if you ask me, and I thought that was just her phase." Lori replied with a sigh. "I'm sorry if my sister's behavior was a bad first impression for you."
"It's okay, I actually met some people like her." Javier reassured with an understanding look. "So are there any more sisters I should meet?"
"Uh, I think it would be better if we hurry before we bump into more of them." Lori said with a nervous chuckle.
"I'm right here…"
"AAAHHHH!/QUE CARAJOS?" Lori and Javier shouted, turning around as they jumped back and to their surprise there was a pale-skinned gothic young woman standing behind them. She had a waist-length raven black hair with long bangs covering her eyes and wore a black mini dress that tightly hugs her plump figure with striped sleeves and stockings.
"H-How long were you standing there?" Lori said with her hand clutching her chest, almost feeling like she had a heart attack.
"Just now when I was hearing all that commotion and I wanted to find out why." The gothic girl responded with a stoic tone.
"How did you even do that without hearing you coming?" Javier asked, also recovering from his fright.
"I don't know, it's some sort of trick she has, but nobody knows how she does it." Lori sighed with her arms folded. "And aren't you supposed to be in your spooky store, Lucy?"
"Actually, I have a tarot reading appointment. But I asked Haiku to take care of my store." Lucy said before noticing Javier, or at least it seemed since her eyes were covered. "And why did you bring a bum here?"
"Oh come on! Seriously?" Javier complained.
"Okay, first of all, you should stop sneaking up on us like that. I'm starting to consider putting a bell on you. Second, if you didn't hear our conversation, this is my highschool friend!" Lori suddenly held his arm, much to Javier's surprise. "He's looking for a place to stay, so I'm helping him out because he needs it!"
Lucy remained silent as she turned to the young man with mild interest before she began to approach him as Javier grew a little nervous.
"H-Hey, name's Javier." He decided to try to introduce himself once more as he reached out with his hand.
Lucy looked at his hand without accepting the gesture, which made Javier feel uncomfortable. But before he would give up, the gothic girl grabbed his hand gently that made him gasp, as she looked over his palm meticulously.
"Hmm… From what I can see, you have a lot of insecurities." Lucy stated as she traced the lines of his hand with her index finger. "You're feeling like you're all alone in this world. That you're looking for something endearing you've been missing… You need… Love."
"W-What?" Javier replied as his eyes widened, staring at the gothic girl with shock written all over his face.
"That's enough Lucy, you're creeping him out!" Lori suddenly interjected and pushed Lucy away from Javier. "Look, we're just gonna be on our way and meet our mom." She took Javier's hand and before he could make a comment, she led him upstairs to the next floor, as Lucy only watched them leave in confusion before she returned to her apartment.
"W-Wait, I want to know what she meant by that!" Javier said as he almost stumbled while using the stairs.
"You can ask her later after mom settles you in." Lori replied curtly as they were going up to the next floor. "I know you wanna meet each one of my sisters, but that can wait!"
"Hang on, hang on. Are you embarrassed to introduce me to your sisters?" Javier stated with a realization in his eyes.
Lori's eyes widened before stopping her tracks and then turned around with a nervous expression. "N-No! Of course not! Why would I ever feel embarrassed?"
Before Javier would call her out for lying, there was an explosion that almost shook the entire floor.
"What the hell was that?!" Javier shouted as he looked around to find out where that explosion came from.
"Ugh, it must be Lisa…" Lori groaned while rubbing her forehead with her fingers.
At the end of the hall to the right, a door was opened before a cloud of smoke was coming out. The coughing sounds brought Javier and Lori's attention as they turned around and spotted a silhouette emerging out of the smoke.
It was a geeky-looking young woman with short bob-cut brown hair, who looked a little bit shorter than Lynn, but also well-stacked judging by her plump thighs and her bountiful breasts! She wore a green turtleneck under a lab coat that hides her figure along with a pair of brown pants and black shoes.
"Lisa… I know at this point that it no longer matters, but may I ask what the hell are you doing this time?"
The geek woman was cleaning the dust off her glasses before putting them on and noticed Lori and Javier. Clearing her throat, she answered. "My apologies, my elder sister. There was an error with the mix I was creating and a large dose of one ingredient triggered an explosion."
"I'm just going to pretend that I understood every word you said." Lori said with an unamused look. "And what part of `no more of your crazy experiments that could potentially destroy our apartment´ didn't you get it?"
"I did get your message, as a matter of fact. But let me remind you that I'm incapable of keeping that word whenever inspiration strikes me, you know how much the progress of science means a lot to me." Lisa replied as she adjusted her glasses.
"Whatever, just… Try not to do that again, please." Lori retorted as she rubbed her temples.
"Wait, are you some sort of scientist?" Javier asked the girl with the glasses.
Lisa then turned her gaze towards the young man with an eyebrow raised. "I am many things actually. Engineer, chemist, geneticist, botanist, astronomer. But generally speaking, yes, I am." She responded with a hint of self-pride in her tone. "And who might you be, vagabond?"
Javier was about to take offense to that until Lisa addressed him something other than calling him "bum". "Huh, that was less insulting."
"He's Javier, a friend of mine. Tell me Lisa, is mom here?" Lori said to get to the point.
"She's in her apartment, and I can assume this has something to do with the stranger here." Lisa gazed at Javier with a hint of curiosity, but then she shook her head. "Nevertheless, I must return to my apartment and continue my research."
"You make another explosion and I swear to God I will literally report you to the government!" Lori made a warning before Lisa closed the door.
After that, she turned around and noticed Javier staring at her with his arms crossed. "Is this why you don't want me to meet your sisters?" He asked while tilting his head amusingly.
Lori flinched at his claim before she let out a sigh. "You think I'm embarrassed because of that, isn't it? Don't get me wrong, my sisters are not as chaotic as they used to be, it's just… Well, you know what they say, old habits die hard. I'm just afraid you might change your mind about staying here because of them."
Javier's face softened up before approaching her. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm actually having fun meeting your family. In fact, they kinda remind me of my own." He responded with a sad smile, earning a surprised reaction from his friend. "I mean, I didn't have many brothers and sisters like yours, but I knew cousins who are pretty much like the girls I just met."
"Dude, you barely met half of them." Lori said as she burst out laughing.
"Wait, how many sisters do you have?"
"Hmm… Ten." She replied nonchalantly, though she couldn't stop herself from giggling.
Javier's eyes widened as he counted with his fingers the girls he just met, only to realize that so far he met three of Lori's sisters. "Jesus, no wonder people in Royal Woods talked a lot about you girls."
"They don't call us the Loud family for no reason." They both shared a laugh as Lori was now feeling calm to know Javier was actually okay with her family's reputation. "Jokes aside, we should keep moving, I'm sure you're gonna love to meet my mom."
"Now that you mention it, I never met your mother before, what can you tell me about her?" Javier asked as he and Lori proceeded to go up to the last floor.
"Oh, she's a very hardworking woman. She did so much to raise us well."
"And your father?" Javier said with genuine curiosity.
Suddenly, Lori stopped halfway through that he almost bumped into her. Since he was behind Lori, he couldn't see her reaction to the question, but when Lori turned slightly over her shoulder, he could see a frown on her lips.
"We… We shouldn't talk about it at this moment, please." She muttered.
Javier could swear she sounded hurt judging by the tone, but it didn't take too long for him to realize what did she mean. While he's not completely aware of what exactly happened between Lori's parents, it was very obvious to him that he's not living with them anymore. That could only explain why she never mentioned her father lately.
"I'm sorry." Javier responded with regret in his voice.
"Don't be, we're actually doing fine, it would take time to cope with it though." Lori said with a small smile. "Let's go, mom's apartment is right here on this floor."
Once they reached the fifth floor, Lori led Javier down the hall until they stopped at the door at the end of it, this was where the matriarch of the Loud Family lives in. While taking a deep breath, Lori turned around and approached Javier.
"Alright, before we go in, I wanna make sure you look decent. I wouldn't want her to think you look like…" She trailed off as hesitated to finish the last sentence.
"I know, I know, like a bum. Honestly, this stopped being funny five minutes ago…" Javier sighed as he took off his beanie hat and tried to fix his hair. "You sure your mother is in this apartment right now?"
"Of course, she should be back from work by now. And don't worry, my mom is very kind, I'm sure she would love to meet a new face, especially one who's friends with her daughter. Now show me some confidence! Shoulders back, raise your chin, and stick your chest out!"
Holding his breath, Javier followed her instructions before she turned around and knocked on the door.
"Coming!" A female youthful voice said behind the door before it was opened by a young woman with long pale-blond hair and wore a seafoam green tube tope underneath her black jacket and matching jeans. She also wore a pair of red earrings and a pair of cat-eyed white sunglasses on top of her head. Her face brightened up once she saw it was Lori who was calling at the door. "Lori, you're back! I thought you would never come back!" She exclaimed before hugging her sister.
However, Javier was shocked the moment he just recognized Leni, how could've forgotten about her? Leni also attended the same highschool as Lori and he had a few interactions with her. As far as he knew, she was the sweetest and kind girl he ever met, and boy not only did she grow a lot, she even looked more beautiful that could make Lori jealous.
"I was at work Leni, you should have known that." Lori only giggled as she hugged her back. "Is mom inside?"
"Oh yeah. Like, I'm helping her make the dinner for tonight! Would you like to spend some time with us?" Leni asked while shaking her hands excitedly.
Lori grew thoughtful for a minute before a smile grew on her face. "Sure, why not? But is it okay if I bring a guest inside?"
"Oh my gosh! Did you bring Becky? Or it's Carol? Wait, don't tell me! Did you bring Bobby?"
Lori sighed when she was getting a little irritated by Leni's guesses, yet she maintained her composure and answered. "No Leni, I brought an old friend." She then sidestepped and revealed Javier standing behind.
The moment Leni looked at the young man, her excitement was replaced with a look of confusion and puzzle. But also she grew a little nervous since he looked more like a stranger to her. She then turned back to Lori, who gave her a nod and an encouraging smile to convince her that she can trust him.
"Hey…" Javier only chuckled nervously while waving his hand. At that moment he was worried that Lenit won't even recognize him, taking into account that they didn't see each other for many years and she had forgotten about him.
Leni blinked after hearing his voice before turning back to him as if she had heard that before. Feeling more intrigued, she approached him while staring at him with her narrowed eyes that only made Javier feel awkward by her scrutiny. But after five seconds, Leni's eyes widened before covering her mouth.
"Oh my God… Javier?" She gasped.
Javier blinked in surprise, not expecting that kind of twist. A soft smile spread across his cheeks. "Long time no see, Leni…" He said softly.
What Javier didn't expect was to see the tears welling up in her eyes and before he realized it, Leni lunged at him and hugged him.
"Javier! I can't believe it's you! I thought you were gone forever!" Leni exclaimed while crying.
Javier was stunned by the sudden outburst from Leni, but then his smile widened as he returned the affection. Lori meanwhile was watching the emotional display with a smile as she let them have a meaningful moment. This lasted for a few minutes before Leni broke the hug.
"Oh my gosh, this is gonna be an amazing night! I should tell mom we have a guest, I'm sure she would like to meet you!" And so Leni went back to her apartment, leaving the door open so Javier and Lori could enter.
"Well, that went better than I expected." Javier said while turning to Lori amusingly.
"Yeah, I forgot to mention that since you kinda vanished, Leni was asking everyone in high school if they haven't seen you." Lori said with a sad look as she started to remember that time. "You probably didn't realize, but you were a very good friend to her. So she didn't take it well that you disappeared out of nowhere and it took like a year until she moved on. Honestly, I'm surprised she didn't forget about you as I expected."
"I really shouldn't have left Royal Woods without saying goodbye." Javier sighed while shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket.
"Don't beat yourself up, Javier. What matters is that we're happy to see you again." Lori comforted him by placing her hand on his shoulder. "Now come on, let's see what mom made for dinner."
Lori and Javier entered the apartment. While he took off his jacket and hung it onto the coat racket, walked across the living room with white walls, a tiled floor with a single couch in front of the wide-screen TV, and a few pictures hanging onto the walls. Javier had to admit that this place looked comfy than his old apartment.
"Here he is, mom!" Leni came out of the kitchen while looking behind, as she approached Javier to give him a hug once more, as Javier chuckled just to see how happy she was.
"Coming!" A voice came from the kitchen before the tenant made an appearance.
Javier looked up to see someone else coming out of the kitchen, but the first thing his eyes caught on was a pair of large mounds protruding out of a woman's chest with the nipples being visibly outlined through the fabric of the pink sweater. He could hardly guess what the size of those tits was, but they seemed slightly bigger than Lori's.
"Eyes up!"
An elbow hit him in his ribs as Javier gasped in pain and looked up to see Lori was growling at him when she noticed he was ogling at someone else's breasts.
Javier looked forward again and this time he met the matriarch of the family face to face. She's a middle-aged woman with medium blond hair and white earrings. In addition to the pink sweater with a white shirt underneath, she also wore a pair of dark mauve brown pants that looked tight, showing off her voluptuous, thick thighs and slender legs.
This woman was the true definition of a top-tier MILF.
"Oh, are you Lori's friend? I think we have never met before, did we?" The mother said with a smile on her face.
Javier tried to hold back the blush threatening to spill onto his cheeks as he stepped forward. "N-No, we didn't. my name's Javier. Me and Lori used to be friends in highschool before we parted ways, until now." He raised his hand to her for a handshake, which she accepted kindly.
"Rita Loud, it's nice to meet another friend of my daughter, though she didn't tell me she would bring a guest here." Rita said before looking at her eldest daughter, silently asking her for an explanation.
"Oh, well… We actually bumped into each other while I stopped by the bar, and he kinda needs some help." Lori responded while rubbing the back of her head. "We can talk about it later, for now I was wondering if he could stay here and have some dinner with us?"
"Yes! Please, mom! It's been a long time since we've seen him and this could be a heartwarming reunion!" Leni begged with her hands clasped.
Rita blinked before smiling. "Of course! There's enough food for you, me and my daughters. Please, take a seat in the dining room. Leni, would you help me with the plates?"
"Sure mom!" Leni said before turning back to Javier. "Make yourself at home!" She winked at him and then went to the kitchen.
"Huh, that went pretty well." Javier said with a relieved smile.
"You were looking at my mom's chest…" Lori retorted while giving him a cold-stare glare that made him flinch before looking away shamefully and apologizing. Then she let out a sigh. "Alright, I'm going to let this slide, but PLEASE, try to behave yourself."
"I promise." Javier nodded.
"Good, now come on, there's someone else I'd like you to meet."
Lori led him to the table that was on the far side of the living room. There Javier spotted a young woman sitting there while playing a handheld videogame console. She appeared to be almost 20's, with short blond hair with a purple clip on her side, wearing a purple sweater on a white shirt and a dark purple pencil skirt.
"This is Lily, the youngest of our family." Lori introduced the young woman.
"Hey! Name's Javier!" He waved at Lily with a friendly smile.
"Hey…" Lily responded stoically without taking her eyes away from the videogame console.
Javier lowered his hand as his smile just disappeared, wondering what just happened.
"Don't mind her, she doesn't talk to anyone but her family. Usually, she just likes to play videogames all the time, but the truth is she's an introvert." Lori explained with a soft smile, although Javier could see the hint of sadness on her face.
"I see…" He nodded in understanding, deciding to not pressure her for more answers.
He took a seat on the other side of the table with Lori next to him, and after that he noticed Leni coming out of the kitchen while carrying the plates in her hands, as Rita followed while holding a tray with meatloaf.
"I hope you like some meatloaf for tonight." The mother said as she placed the dinner on the table.
"Oh, I'm sure I will, this looks yummy." Javier beamed at the sight of the homemade food he didn't have for days. After Leni gave a slice of the meatloaf to him, he took a bite. "Mmmm, wow, this is good!"
"Thanks, that's actually my fifteenth attempt to make a good meatloaf." Rita giggled as she sat at the end of the table next to Lori and Lily. However, when she noticed Lily was still playing her videogame, she decided to step in. "Lily put down that console, the dinner is ready."
Lily perked up with a blink before complying and she began to serve her own slice of meatloaf, but then she noticed Javier sitting across before the confusion grew on her face. "Um, who's this guy?" She asked meekly.
"Oh. My Gosh! We never told you about Javier?" Leni responded with a gasp.
"Let your sisters tell you about him." Rita said with a laugh as she looked at Lori since she's the only one who can give more details..
Lori sighed as her fork hit on the plate. "Well, it's kind of a long story…"
After the dinner, Leni and Lily helped to pick up the plates and clean them while Lori, Rita and Javier were still sitting on the table as the eldest daughter finished telling her mother not only about how long they've known each other, but also the situation he's in right now. Javier also had to explain how he got kicked out of his old apartment.
"My God, I can't imagine what you must be going through." Rita said with a solemn look.
"Yeah, and probably I would've been at my lowest point if it weren't for Lori." Javier gave Lori a warm smile as the beautiful blondie smiled back at him, before looking back at Rita. "Anyway, she brought me here because I need a place to stay. I hope it is not asking too much, Mrs. Loud., but this is the only option I have left."
"Are you kidding? Of course it's not too much trouble! You're welcome to stay here as long as you want!" Rita replied cheerfully.
"For real? Thank you so much, Mrs. Loud!" Javier said with his voice full of joy, but then he just remembered something he almost forgot as he took the envelope out of the pocket of his pants and handed it to Rita. "By the way, um… This is all the money I have for the rent. I kinda spent it on food, but I hope this will be enough."
Rita looked at the envelope in disbelief, before gazing back at the young man. "Javier… You don't have to do this." She said softly as she gently pushed the envelope away.
"What?" He said out of confusion and surprise.
"You don't owe us anything!" Lori added as she stood up with her determined eyes. "We own this apartment, but we would NEVER make your life a living hell like that old fart! You're going to live with us, free of charge!"
"I… I don't know what to say…" Javier muttered as the tears started welling up in his eyes. For the first time in a long time, he never felt so happy. Suddenly, someone handed him a napkin before he looked up and saw it was Leni, smiling kindly at him. Smiling her back, Javier took the napkin and dried the tears. "You're all very kind, y'all. But I still feel like I should return the favor, there must be something I can do."
"We can work this out another time, but for now let's take you to your new apartment, shall we?" Rita stood up and went to pick up the available apartment keys before she, along with Lori, Leni and Javier exited the apartment. "I'll be back, Lily! I'm gonna show our new neighbor his apartment!"
"Okay." Lily replied while she went back to playing her videogame.
So the girls led the young man across the hallway to find his new one. "Let me tell you, we've always wanted to have a neighbor in this building, so I'm sure my other daughters would love to meet you. Speaking of which, have you met some of them?"
"Yeah, Lynn almost hit me in the face with a soccer ball, Lucy gave us a fright when she sneaked upon us, and we saw Lisa almost blowing up her apartment with one of her experiments." Javier responded as he and both women shared a laugh. "But Lori told me I still have to meet the rest of the family."
"That's right, Luan is on her comedy stand and Luna is playing with a band, but they'll be back soon. Linka just called me to let me know she's gonna stay at a friend's house. As for Lana and Lola, they're on the third floor, but you'll meet them at any moment. Lori told you a little more about us, didn't she?"
"Oh yeah, I actually heard about you back in Royal Woods. And I gotta say, this is gonna be an interesting experience living with all of you." Javier let out a nervous chuckle, which didn't go unnoticed by Rita.
"Oh you don't have to worry about that. My daughters are actually great after you get to know them. Alright, we're here."
They stood in front of the second door to the right, as Rita unlocked it and opened the door before everyone entered. The place was completely empty, but what amazed Javier was that the apartment looked spacious and had a great view of the city's street by the window.
"Wow… This is cool." Javier said with a smile as he strolled across his new apartment, looking around like he's in the middle of a palace.
"We're sorry there's no furniture here, but luckily we can lend you an air mattress so you don't have to sleep on the floor." Lori said.
"That would be great, and don't worry about the furniture, I just have to get some more money from my matches and I'll be able to buy stuff for this." Javier replied as he placed his hand on the wall, but then he felt something odd the moment he touched it. Retrieving his hand, he looked over his palm and it was now covered with dust, before looking back at the wall where the outline of his hand was imprinted on it. "Um… Question, when was the last time you cleaned here?"
"Umm... When did we clean here?" Rita asked her daughters with an unsure look.
"Uuuuuhhhh…" Lori and Leni definitely didn't know how to answer.
It has become clear that this apartment really needs some dusting, and this was a huge embarrassment to help a new tenant settle in.
"We're so sorry, Javier. We never thought about checking the other apartment because we didn't expect someone would ever come to stay here, and if they did, well… We could scare them off." Rita said after she, Lori, Leni and Javier walked out before closing the door. "Tell you what, we're gonna start cleaning there by tomorrow and we'll make sure everything is spotless."
"It's okay, Mrs. Loud. I appreciate how much you want to do this for me." Javier reassured her with a smile. "Although, if I can't stay there, then where am I going to sleep in?" He inquired.
"Hmm, I'm not sure if you could stay at my place, Lily wouldn't like that idea. So I guess you could stay in one of my daughter's place." Rita said while scrubbing her chin thoughtfully.
"Oh! He can stay in my apartment!/Oh! He can stay in my apartment!" Lori and Leni responded with their hands raised, but then they exchanged a glance when they were surprised that they both said the same thing at the same time.
"Oh, I thought you would never ask him." Leni said while rubbing the back of her head awkwardly.
"I could tell you the same." Lori agreed, also feeling uncomfortable about it. "Um… If you want, he can-"
"No, no, no. He can totes stay with you! I don't mind." Leni insisted reassuringly with a smile, but if someone would've looked closer to her, they would've noticed the hint of jealousy behind her smile.
Lori was about to insist he should stay with her, but she's aware Leni's well-known for putting others' needs before her own, so at some point she shouldn't refuse her generosity. With a resigned shrug, she turned to Javier. "As I was saying, you should stay at my place tonight."
"Are you sure?" Javier asked with honest hesitation on his face.
"Well duh, there's no way I'm gonna let you sleep in the hallway, what kind of friend would I be?" Lori replied sternly with her arms crossed.
"She's got a point Javier, it's best you take that offer and it's only for one night." Rita nodded in agreement.
Javier already knew there's no point to refuse the generosity Lori and Rita were giving him, but the truth was he was anxious at the idea of staying one night with Lori. It's not the first time he had a roommate, but with a childhood friend who's also a blond-haired bombshell was a different story. Though on the other hand, it would be nice to spend some time with a long-time friend and maybe make up for not being with her for ten years.
"Alright, that's a deal." He finally gave the answer with determination.
"Awesome!" Lori exclaimed with her hands shaking in excitement. She then dug her hand into her pocket before taking out her car keys. "You can go back to the parking lot and get your stuff from my car, I'll be waiting for you at my apartment, it's on the third floor, first door to the left."
"Got it, thank you Lori." Javier smiled at her as he headed to the stairs.
"Oh, let me help you with your luggage! Like, you could need an extra pair of hands!"
"You know, I've never seen you so happy in a while." Rita stated, earning a surprised reaction from her eldest daughter.
"Oh, well, you know, we were friends in highschool, that's not much of a big deal." Lori replied as she let out a nervous laugh.
The answer didn't convince Rita as her smile disappeared and was replaced with a suspicious look. "Is that so? I mean, I understand he's your friend, but I've never seen you so excited to have him around you."
"Oh please, there's literally nothing special between us. We're just gonna have some sort of sleepover and that's that. Anyway, I have to go, Javier must be getting his luggage by now and I have to be in my apartment. Good night, mom!" And so Lori bid farewell before going downstairs, leaving her mother unimpressed by her claim.
"That's funny, when you said there's "literally" nothing special about you and Javier, makes me think there is." Rita said with an amused smirk, but she shook her head and headed back to her apartment.
