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A Woman After My Own Heart	By : AberrantScript Category: +G through L > The Loud House Views: 3876 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own The Loud House and make no money off this work of fiction.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Author's Notes:
I've chickened out saying this each time I post a chapter... but this story draws a ton of its inspiration from real life me. And that is very apparent in this chapter particularly. You see, in real life I'm an electrician. And I finally found a good opportunity to use my work experience in fanfiction! So, here's a first time ever done electrician!Luan~
It's almost unreal how much Flagg helped me with this chapter. Thank you so much~
Reader be advised: Even though it'll ruin the surprise, I'll be upfront. Luan rationalizes the pros and cons of becoming a prostitute. While I am trying to make this angsty... the scarier part is that this is realistic. And that was disturbing for me as a writer.
More notes at the bottom. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: The Loud House Copyright Nickelodeon (2017)
Chapter 7: Tranquility
It was Thursday. Luan only had five more days to get the money she needed to pay rent. At three-hundred dollars, it wasn't impossible to get the money… if she looked in the right areas.
She borrowed Bobby's newspaper this morning sometime after Lori's jealous eyes were nowhere to be seen.
Handing a newspaper to another girl was the first step toward adultery, Lori's mother had always warned her.
Anyway, Luan had flicked through it during her lunchbreak and she'd came up empty. Nearly everyone wanted experience or degrees, both of which she wouldn't have.
Toward the back, however, she'd caught sight of a really small ad.
"Escorts needed."
And they accepted anyone with no previous experience whatsoever.
They were even kind enough to list a single toll-free phone number!
At first she was slightly confused about the job, but Bobby had set her straight in such graphic terms that Francisco once again had to leave before he began thinking about two women instead of just the one.
And while her stomach was genuinely sick and twisted at the very thought, her mind went back to her trip to the gas station… to her sister at school… to that image literally burnt into her living eyes of her parents' hands scraping against a boiling window, and sliding down into the pit of Hell…
She could take Mr. Grouse up on his offer, but there was no guarantee how much was gonna be enough to pay him off. And if he caught wind of little Bugle, there was no telling to what depths she'd have to fall just to please him. Condoms might even become a liability he was no longer willing to tolerate…
She retched in her mouth at that thought, but managed to swallow it back down; burning her throat and stomach.
The sad reality was that until Lana turned eighteen, Luan would have to continually prove to the state that she had what it took to protect her "child" as her "guardian." It didn't matter how, as long as she still had a job, an apartment, food, and clothes… then all was right in the eyes of the CPS.
Even if Luan had to whore off her body to get it done… it didn't matter; just as long as Lana was safe.
So, when facing such a mountainous task, Luan was no fool and considered all her options.
But, be realistic… where could a twenty-year-old female with average looks, little education, and no experience get that kind of money in just five days?
The fact that she was a virgin would likely even make it easier.
Instead of a half dozen men and women heaving over top of her, using her like she was a dirty washrag or a broken toy, and throwing her aside for the next person to show up with some cash… she might reduce that number if she advertised her inexperience and virginity.
Highly-fuckable amateur, never been ridden before, won't even know you took the condom off – fifty bucks a go!
She could probably make a decent try at that. Of course, that was unrealistic. Many people only paid out a twenty for each visit… and that could go on and on until they were bored of her.
Prostitution was only a single step above rape as long as the woman consented… and in the dark alleyways, dank hotel rooms, and dirty backseats of limos, consent usually depended on the honor of the man or woman paying for the services.
Let's be honest… how honorable are people that buy a person's body like it was a burger from a joint? Just chew it up and spit it back out into a trash can, roll up the window, and leave.
And they… and Luan… would be a broken, naked mess on a rat-filled street, grime, bruises, and cum caked onto her body, especially her thighs, while she prays to God that the condom didn't fail, that she didn't catch a disease, that the money wasn't fake…
God, she couldn't do it.
She can't do that to herself!
But… she couldn't risk Mr. Grouse extorting her out of her control. At least being an escort would allow her the option of refusing (and getting fired). With her landlord, refusing would simply mean losing Lana in the long run. Being an escort would give her time and a fair chance with less (though still great) risks.
With her mind made up and her stomach so knotted she was unable to eat her lunch, which sat alone on the table in front of her, she picked up her phone and started to enter the number.
Her thumb was quivering violently at the same time that a light overhead began to flicker…
Her thumb pressed the call button and she picked the phone up to her ear…
And suddenly the light went out and a thick, burning smell filled the air, and Luan covered her nose to keep from gagging.
"Hello?"
She hung up by accident as she locked her phone and ran from the room.
Bobby and Francisco were already at the door, wondering where the smell was coming form.
Luan turned and beheld as an old bay light, one of those rectangular fixtures that laid in a grid-tiled ceiling, was trying to spark and reignite the bulbs, but constantly failing as the smell only intensified.
She walked over to a switch and flicked it off.
There. That should stop the inevitable fire.
Beside her, Bobby was scratching the back of his neck and looking around like a helpless bystander watching a car flip twenty-eight times, set fire, and explode. Well… maybe not that dramatic, but he literally had no idea what was wrong or what could be done.
Luan did, though.
"Stupid old ballasts. Things go bad, and BAM you have yourself a bonfire."
Bobby turned to her in surprise.
"Wait… you know what happened to it?"
He was thinking of only two things at that moment.
"Well, I'd have to actually take a closer look at it, but that's a good guess, I think."
The outrageously high union costs he'd have to pay a state-licensed company to come and fix one little light (since he knew of no one else)…
"And we still have dad's tools he'd left in the shed, so I should have everything I'd need-"
And that Luan needed the money far more than anyone else at the moment.
He cut her off, "Can you fix it today?"
She paused, turning to look at the slightly smoky fixture with a pensive frown. She tilted her head to one side and hummed; then tilted to the other side and hummed again, in that funny way her dad used to do when he was overthinking a prospective job.
She turned to Bobby with a smile. "Yep!"
He let loose a sigh of relief. "Do… do you think you could fix that one light out in the seating area that keeps flickering?"
Her smile was turning into an ear-to-ear grin. She enjoyed the prospect of using the knowledge her dad had given her. "Oh yeah!"
"Good." He shook his head and sighed, then gave her a smile. "I know you need the money, so leave and get your stuff and come back. You're still on the clock and I'll throw in a fifty. That's at least half of what I'd need to pay a professional… uh, no offense."
Luan threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Thank you so much, Bobby! You don't know how much I needed this!"
As she pulled away and looked at him with twinkling eyes and a warm smile… he tried his best not to imagine her with shattered, crying eyes, a lamenting frown, torn clothes, and bloody thighs… but he couldn't stop the unbidden image.
He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "I know, Luan." And he did. He knew all too well how much she needed it because he came pretty close to that same spot a few years ago… but then his uncle had died and left him with this coffee shop.
Luan, tears falling down her cheek, leaned up and kissed his cheek before turning around and darting for the door.
Francisco sniffed obnoxiously as she left the building, not even bothering to look at Bobby as the man came up beside him.
"So, you're really gonna trust a girl to not burn down the shop?"
Bobby frowned and really considered smacking that boy over the head… but to be fair anyone can have their own little opinions and prejudices…
Just the same as Bobby can have audio-visual camera footage of everything that goes on inside his shop.
Bobby sniffed. "Bet Lynn would love to hear you say that."
The boy froze stiff as his face turned pale.
"Christmas is in a few months. I should giftwrap it and sign your name on the tag." He turned toward Ortega with a wide grin. "Maybe you really should try on a jockstrap. I get the feeling that Lynn… is the sadistic type~"
Hmm.
Old people's music (Surfin' Bird by the Trashmen) was playing through a worn speaker. A checkerboard was setup on a foldout table. Four glasses of sweet tea sat on coasters.
Hmm.
Carol had been planning out everything four moves in advance and every time without fail her grandpa would throw a curveball that she wasn't ready for. She looked up at him; a little overweight in body, but thin in his legs and arms. His head had white hair around the sides and back, which left the top stylishly bald (as Leni fondly reassured him). He had in a pair of dentures that he thoroughly enjoyed pulling out and talking with using his hand. He really needed to wear glasses but he insisted they bothered his temples, so he went without. And the guy was always sneaking off into places he shouldn't be.
When Carol and Leni showed up that morning, he had his nose stuck in the laundry room door way (opened just a crack), and when Carol peeked over his head, she got a good glimpse of a buxom nurse bent over (her butt obviously facing the door) as she loaded up a dryer.
She'd sighed and scolded him for being a pervert.
He'd gasped in offense, claiming he was only admiring the perfect beauty of an angel from heaven.
Carol deadpanned and reminded him that he was married and his wife wouldn't appreciate knowing he was spying on other women.
But when they got back to Mr. and Mrs. Bennett's room, they caught grandma staring unashamedly at the young man she'd called over to fix the TV for the third time that week. His butt was wiggling in her direction as he kept fiddling with buttons and cables.
Apparently, their TV got broken often.
They were mildly shocked when grandpa sat down beside grandma, took her hand in his, and openly admired the show with her.
"This is my favorite channel, ma."
"Mine, too, pa."
That boy stood up fast, turned around and blushed when he saw four people staring at him.
Carol sighed as he fled the room. "Really?"
Both grandparents merely shrugged.
She shrugged, too. She guessed that's where she got her pervy side from.
It took her less than a minute to find the small cut in the TV cable, and a simple glance toward grandma and seeing her swiftly hide her scissors in her dress with an unconvincing whistle revealed to her the culprit.
They really were something else.
And now, Carol was trying her best to outsmart her grandpa, to teach him a painful lesson.
But he was simply unpredictable.
Every move she made should have prompted a small set of responses, but he'd just grab whatever piece was in front of him and move it wherever he wanted.
Occasionally, he'd grab one of hers. Sometimes, he'd move into an illegal space. And very few times he'd start shaking in the hands and need to take a few minutes to relax before he could properly use them again.
The longer it went on, the more she had to work to keep from frowning.
Her grandpa had Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
She suspected that what might be a mastermind's carefully thought out plan to outwit her by driving her insane… was actually the randomness of a brain that struggled to plan ahead and coordinate itself.
Sometimes, like right then, she'd look into her grandpa's eyes and they'd change slightly… like he couldn't recognize her.
One time a couple weeks ago, he asked Leni for her name.
"Silly Pop-pop, I'm Leni! You're favorite granddaughter, remember? Little Leni with a cherry on top!"
Leni had smiled widely as she knelt down and kissed her grandpa's aging cheek and walked him down memory lane for several heartwarming hours.
Which Carol was thankful for because she knew what was happening, and it was making these visits hard.
She'd tried to explain the diseases to Leni with minimal success, but Carol knew Leni was aware of the situation. She might not know what was happening inside her grandpa's body, but she knew it was bad.
And grandma…
While Carol played checkers, Leni was sitting beside their grandma, her hands in the woman's thin (partially-fallen out) hair, and trying to give her a new style. She wanted to pull it together like a really short ponytail and tie it off, but it was so thin it wouldn't stay put… or what she grabbed would just fall out. And that was a shame for Leni because her grandma's hair was silvery-white and practically glistened like snow when sunlight fell on it.
So, she gave up and pulled out one of grandma's baskets, and picked out two balls of yarn, and handed a set of needles to her grandma while she grabbed a set for herself. And the two chatted away as they worked to make a pair of socks for grandpa (his feet were getting cold, bless his heart).
Grandma had lung cancer and COPD, and couldn't go anywhere without her inhalers and oxygen tank.
The nurses had trained Carol in how to use them and switch out tanks; just in case something happened and no one was nearby.
Leni was able to help with inhalers, too, and with a childlike joy she'd fetch whatever medicine her grandparents asked of her.
The two girls visited at least once a week, and did everything they could to make them comfortable.
The one thing that Carol and Leni both knew was that Mr. and Mrs. Bennett were hospice patients.
As much as it weighed down on Carol to see her grandpa slowly lose his recognition of her face…
As much as it bothered Leni when she had to stop knitting to get grandma a cup of water and tilt a fan in her direction for fresh, cool air as the older woman went into a harsh coughing fit…
The announcement that they only had a couple (unguaranteed) months left to live struck the girls the hardest.
Sometimes Carol would lay down on her bed and cry because, apart from her sister, they had no one else who loved them just the way they were… and they were going to die soon.
Sometimes Leni wished that mom and dad would forgive Carol for being a bike? …kite? …mite? …a something, and let the girls come back home because they really needed support.
That was why they could only visit on Wednesdays. It was the only day that their parents were both busy in the mornings. It was the only time when Carol could walk into the building and not get screamed at… or have a plate crash against the wall right beside her head… or get escorted out by security (for her own safety) as another guard tries to calm her mother down.
Carol had suffered confusing feelings, weird dreams, and strange reactions in her body whenever she saw attractive girls all through adolescence. She was always told that she'd grow up to marry a boy, but she'd never found one quite to her taste. But she could find a woman though. A lot of women were attractive to her. Especially the ones in Jane Austen's books~
When she was eighteen, she came out to her parents with her twin sister holding her hand for support. (She'd confided everything in Leni since they first learnt how to speak.) And her father had coldly told her she was old enough to no longer be their responsibility, and sent her away. Her mother was more physical about it than she was verbal.
It was when Leni stood between her parents and Carol, with fierce eyes, a growling sneer, and (surprisingly) angry words toward her mother… that both sisters were promptly deposited onto the streets.
Nearly broke and having no place to go, Carol used up the remaining battery life on her phone to call their grandparents and ask for a place to stay temporarily.
Now, here they were. Five years later. The girls had their own apartment and two reasonably-stable jobs.
And they came to visit every opportunity they could and paid no expense to make their precious grandma and grandpa comfortable as the two slowly passed away.
When they learned that their healthcare was maxed out and couldn't cover the extra things they needed, Carol and Leni made a silent agreement to take on more shifts to provide the necessary income as well as they could. Carol knew from talking to the Nurse Manager that their parents weren't helping at all, and she could only walk over to a window and look outside and cry in response.
Once Grandpa's eyes returned to normal and his face was smiling and he reached out a quivering hand above the checkerboard to touch Carol's cheek… "I know you, Carol." …and grandma's hacking fit was temporarily over and Leni no longer needed to be on high alert like a spooked fox… Carol decided it was time to sit down and watch a movie together, just like they had done that very first night they took the girls in.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennett sat in their comfy chairs, moved side by side, and Carol and Leni sat at their grandparents' feet, leaning against each other as a blanket covered their arms and legs.
On the screen, the opening to The Secret World of Arrietty began playing (the same movie they'd watched on that night; her grandma's favorite film). They watched as a tiny girl ran for her life from a vicious, hungry cat, slipping through a vent for safety... their grandma had told the girls that she'd always wanted to be adventurous like that, but now she couldn't be.
Grandpa had, in his own morbidly charming way, told her that when they died together, they could hold hands and run from cats in a much-too-big world as much as she wanted!
Carol and Leni's hands found each other and squeezed as tears formed in their eyes.
They were just thankful to have had one more week with the best people to have ever been in their lives.
Luan's eyes casually glanced over to the entrance of an alleyway where a woman was standing in leggings and a hoodie. As she crossed an intersection her heart fell into her stomach as she saw a car pull up and the woman stepped inside.
Her eyes turned to the sidewalk and she forced herself to march back toward the coffee shop. A backpack was slung over her shoulders so she could carry her tools but not look like a valuable target.
She wiped away her tears and tried to focus on where she was walking, but she couldn't. The look in that girl's eyes, that she saw for one horrifying second, was broken and full of despair… just like Luan's were that morning. That girl had given up all hope and surrendered everything she had… to any willing bidder that bought the rights to her body for the next few hours.
She turned a corner and saw the coffee shop right up ahead.
In minutes, she was in the bathroom and changing her shirt.
For those who are not aware, old ballasts sometimes leak out this disgusting black tar-like stuff that stains just about anything it touches, and Luan was not interested in getting that anywhere on her good work clothes. So, she put on a worn and torn pair of jeans and a ratty button up with long sleeves. She took off her employee cap and put on a cheap baseball hat. Satisfied with her "uniform," she stepped out of the bathroom and headed over to the light.
Thankfully, Bobby had a ladder in the back, so she set that up.
Then, she knelt down by her backpack and took out a pair of gloves. She put those on and clenched her fists to feel how snug they were. Nodding to herself, she pulled out a small pouch. She'd also brought a belt, and she undid her belt to slip that pouch onto her right side before doing it up again.
She looked up at that light and then down at her bag and nodded once again. She grabbed a six-in-one, putting the screwdriver in her pouch, and then a pair of wire strippers, and finally some electric tape. Then, she pulled out a meter and stood up.
Bobby was staring at her nervously. "You sure you know what you're doing?"
Luan looked from the meter in her hands over to her boss. "Of course! Just make sure you don't touch me…"
He watched as she climbed the ladder. "Why's that?"
She turned and winked at him. "So, that way, if something happens, only one of us dies!"
As she laughed, he frowned. "That wasn't funny."
She grinned as she flipped the clips down and rolled the cover out of the way. "I find your lack of amusement… shocking~"
He sighed. "Are you done yet?"
She hummed. "Yeah." She took out the four bulbs and handed them one at a time to Bobby. Then, she took down the metal piece covering the ballasts.
And, wow, that smell was awful!
"Do you know what the problem is?"
Uh, yeah, considering they're bloated like corpses I'd say they're dead. "Yep, but let me check something to be safe."
"Hold on a second, then."
She paused, turning to look at Bobby as he stepped to the counter and called Francisco over.
Ortega walked through the door and blinked stupidly when he saw Luan dressed like a ragged construction worker and leaning on a ladder.
"Watch closely, Ortega. This girl is going to teach you how to troubleshoot a light."
Luan blinked. "Ok? Well, I was only checking a few other issues?"
Bobby nodded. "Yep." He turned to the boy. "So, sit down and pay attention or your butt is fired. Have fun~" He walked out to the counter to start wiping it down for the hundredth time that week.
Luan shrugged and turned to her meter. She put in the leads and turned the knob to VAC. "Ok, how much do you know about electricity?"
He shrugged. "Flip a switch; light comes on."
Luan smiled. "That's a great start! Do you know why the light comes on?"
He shrugged again. "Guess the switch lets power get to the light or whatever." Who cares? It's not boating or Lynn, so…
Luan nodded as she removed the wire nuts from two specific wires. "That's basically it. Power comes through your hot wire and returns through the neutral wire. A switch blocks that path through one of those wires. I'm going to figure out which wire they switched."
Ortega frowned. "Why is that important?"
Luan was smirking as she held her leads back up to the wires. "Because finding out they switched the neutral wire would be an electrifying experience~"
An hour later, Luan was working on the light out in the seating area. Her face had a little bit of grime on it from where she'd gotten itchy and rubbed her cheek with her tar-covered gloves. Dust and dead-insect-particles were on her face, shirt, and ponytail. Her calves were a bit strained from having to hold herself steady and at the perfect height, her shoulders were sore from being used in a way they weren't familiar with, and her shins were stinging from rubbing against the metal rungs. But a smile was on her face.
Carol and Leni had walked in, during the afternoon, and sat down to watch her work. Carol was watching attentively with a gentle smile on her face. Leni, however, was gasping and fretting over every little thing.
She'd been shocked as a little girl when she touched a socket, and it was a terrifying experience for her.
"Oh my gosh, Luan, be careful!"
Luan sighed. "I am, Leni, I'll be just fine."
Leni shrieked and Luan nearly fell off the ladder. "Is that a spider!? …no, wait, that's just some wires. Oops, my bad~"
Luan sighed once again.
When she finished, she placed the cover back on and gave Bobby a thumbs up. A second later, the lights came on, and Leni ooo-ed and ahh-ed as Carol clapped.
Luan came off the ladder and bowed with a proud smile on her face.
Her father would have been- was proud of her.
Carol hummed as Luan placed her stuff in her backpack. "Our landlady's been looking for someone to do odd and end things for her. Replacing lights, adding plugins… do you think you could do it?"
Her wide, beaming smile was all the answer Carol needed. "Heck, yes!"
Then, as Luan started toward the bathroom to clean up and change, the door opened.
And Luan froze in shock as Maggie stood there with an expression-less mouth.
She was suddenly very aware of all the ick and filth caked in her hair and clothes, not to mention the disgusting dirt on her face.
It was honestly surprising how dirty a person could get in such a short amount of time. Heh.
Before she knew what was happening, her mouth was flapping.
"Oh, gosh, I didn't want you to see me like this!"
Maggie blinked, taken aback.
Luan's cheeks burnt with fire. Did she really just blurt that out… to Maggie!?
Ms. Tall, Gloomy, and Beautiful looked Luan up and down. "So, what were you doing?" If you don't mind me asking? She never said that addendum because, for some reason, it felt too formal for their relationship.
Luan rubbed the back of her neck as she looked anywhere but at Maggie's face. "U-um, fixing the lights."
Maggie hummed thoughtfully. That one light in the corner wasn't flickering anymore. She was impressed. "I didn't know you were an electrician."
Luan smiled a little, very proud of the answer she would give. "I'm not. But my dad was, and he taught me a few things."
Both girls were thinking the same thing right then. That was the longest two-sided conversation they'd had to date, and it was going much easier than they'd anticipated.
Maggie's lips quirked into a faint smile. "Well, I hope you're still a barista because I really want a caramel mocha, large, with-" She bit her lip and turned away, but it was no use. She was an utter idiot… again. And her cheeks were burning. She literally couldn't believe she made the same mistake two times in the same week.
Luan smiled as she looked at her nervous patron. "Don't worry, Maggie-"
Maggie felt a faint tremor as that heavenly voice said her preferred name.
"-I won't forget your sticky-note."
Luan gave her a wink and had a little extra bounce in her step as she headed for the bathroom; Maggie's eyes enjoying the way her butt looked in faded, rugged jeans.
When Maggie's coffee arrived, she was able to touch Luan's hand for three whole freaking seconds as they looked into each other's eyes.
Her sticky-note featured some sloppily-drawn lightning bolt hitting a swirly-ponytailed girl, and read in cursive, "Your presence is jolting in a good way~"
And for the first time, Maggie got to meet Bugle.
She was putting the cup to her lips when she heard a whine at her feet. She looked down and saw a pair of wide, pleading eyes, and she smiled gently at the puppy.
Encouraged, he put his front paws on the seat but didn't have the height to climb up beside her.
Maggie tenderly picked him up and sat him down beside her, and Bugle promptly laid his head on her thigh and closed his eyes.
This girl had the scent of home on her and that's all that mattered to him.
Maggie had on a slight smile as she sipped from her coffee and drew out a doodle for her barista (of an accurately-depicted, filthy Luan in surprisingly-attractive worn clothes, and a totally embarrassed, and also attractive, face).
And Luan, watching the scene from overtop the counter, smiled warmly as Maggie caressed Bugle's sleeping head.
Luan closed her eyes and all she could feel was tranquility.
Fun Facts:
This one is an educational tid-bit that better explains Luan's electrifying joke, haha. Normally, people switch the hot wire, so that way when working on a light there's no chance of getting shocked. I've learnt the hard way that not everyone is that smart.
How did Luan get that dirty while doing so little? I ask myself that every day, haha!
I'll admit that Carol and Leni's scene was kinda irrelevant (maybe?) to the story, but I had to write it. I adore their characters in this and I want to use them more. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett are actually based on two very important people that were in my life for a long time. Carol and Leni's pain is all too real for me, like it is for many people.
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A Woman After My Own Heart