Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Schroeder Felton was surely a fascinating person. The teenager had such talent and ease to play complex symphonies that he could turn his living room into Carnegie Hall, while anyone who had the luck to witness it in real time would shower him with praise and compliments during every brief break he took. Yet, to Lucy Van Pelt, it was an average Thursday.

"I can't believe there's only 4 days to go until the start of the school year!" She said as the final notes of a melody faded away.

"I believe you could; you have counted down every day since the beginning of summer vacation."

"Don't tell me you are not even slightly nervous, Schroeder. It's freshman year of high school. Who knows what to expect?"

"I'm sure it won't be as bad as you are portraying it. Besides, I'm actually pretty excited to play in the school. Did you notice the music room in the tour they gave us? Wow, I can't believe I will—"

"Oh, shut up. You really only care about your stupid piano, don't you? What about new classmates? New teachers? We will be the youngest kids there! What if I can't get into any club? What if you can't make it to the school orchestra?"

Schroeder went quiet for a bit. He, of course, was fully confident in the fact that he would be the best pianist that school has ever seen, but Lucy was right. Even though he was trying to ignore it the whole summer, his whole routine was going to completely change, and he was going to be forced to adjust himself to so many new things. For Schroeder, this was bad, really bad.

"So, aren't you going to say anything?" Lucy said, followed by a brief pause, changing her iconic complaining tone to a more worried one. "Are you alright, Schroeder?"

Schroeder finally came back to his senses: "Sorry, Lucy. I have to go lie down for a bit. See you tomorrow, alright?"

Lucy knew, after so many years spending time together, that it was best to respect her friend's wish, despite wanting to stay the whole afternoon as she so many times does. So she got up and went to the door, opening it.

"See you tomorrow." Schroeder heard it, followed by the sound of the door gently closing.

Yet he was completely out of focus, looking at the piano keys lost in thought. He always knew going from middle school to high school would be a big change, yet he never truly acknowledged it, immersing himself in the first Beethoven work that came to mind whenever the thought crossed his mind. But this time he realized that the vacation was coming to a close end, and he was going to face that change, whether he wanted to or not.

His head fell on the keys below, making a striking noise that would, in normal circumstances, make him toss and turn. But he didn't move, only managing to let out a groan, not even being able to organize his own thoughts. And there he stayed for a few minutes, until he got the strength to get up and, step after step, drag his legs to his bed. His mind started to wander, and he tried to string together at least one brief explanation of what he was feeling to himself. Yet, as so many times happened throughout his life, he was unsuccessful. Until he heard a familiar voice.

"Schroeder, honey, dinner's ready!"

"Already? When did she even get home?" He thought to himself, "I'm coming," he managed to say, not moving an inch.

5 minutes passed, and he heard a knock on the door. He sees his door open and his mom in the doorway.

"Schroeder, c'mon, dinner's going to get cold. I made your mac and cheese just the way you like it. Hurry!"

The left corner of his mouth went slightly up. His mom was the only one who could manage to make him feel better without even knowing he wasn't alright. So he followed her until he got to the kitchen and noticed the clock. 4 hours have passed since Lucy left. He looked at himself in a mirror and sighed.

Schroeder was woken up to the sound of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, as he always was for the past 7 years. He made it to the bathroom and was about to hop in his morning bath until his mind reminded him of the up-and-coming start of high school. 

"Ugh" - he let out while looking at himself in the mirror.

He continued his morning routine, although feeling worse than normal. Not as much as the day before, but the uncertainty of the events that would follow the next week still very much plagued his mind.

After breakfast, Schroeder fully immersed himself in the only thing that could somewhat clear his mind. His piano. So there he was, playing pieces and pieces from Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and the list goes on and on. He was in the middle of a Chopin Nocturne when he heard his door opening and the familiar voice of Lucy Van Pelt.

"Oh, Schroeder!" She said from the entrance hall, following the sound from his piano, who kept on playing. "There you are, who could've thought?"

"Hi to you too, Lucy." He responded to her sarcasm, still focused on the complex piece he was playing.

Schroeder considered Lucy one of, if not, his closest friend. Something that younger Schroeder would have never imagined. But since Lucy stopped openly expressing her love for him and consequently talking about marriage and calling him cheesy nicknames, he started to actually enjoy her company instead of just tolerating it.

Lucy didn't respond, opting to go and lie down on the sofa where she usually sat while Schroeder played, behind his piano, and started to read a magazine she brought with her.

"This is nice, you know that, Schroeder?"

"What is?"

"Hanging out with you, listening to you play."

Schroeder responded by looking back at her with a smile, a rare occasion.

"I mean it too, then when you are a famous musician, I can proudly say I was your first fan!"

"I guess you could," he said with a smile.

A moment of comfortable silence ensued between the two of them, filled by the melody of a Chopin Nocturne and the occasional turn of a page from Lucy's magazine. And there they stayed for a few hours, as they so many times did throughout the years, talking about topics ranging from Charlie Brown's problems (which Lucy knew all about because she was the one who Charlie Brown went to to talk about his problems, even after closing down her old psychiatric boot) to Beethoven's lost 10th symphony (despite being a bit of a one-sided conversation, Lucy liked when Schroeder talked about his interests, and Schroeder liked that she actually paid attention to him and didn't try to change the topic). Yet most of the time the only sound in the room came from Schroeder's piano. This was until they heard a knock at the door. Schroeder, who had just finished the movement he was playing, stood up and went to answer the door.

"Linus, hey! How are you doing?" He said after seeing the 12-year-old on the other side of the door.

"Hey, Schroeder, fine, thanks. Is my sister here?"

"Yeah, she is. Want to come in?"

"I'm fine, thanks; just tell her that our parents asked for her to come home and start packing."

"Alright then, bye Linus."

"Have a good one, Schroeder."

Schroeder returned to the living room, and Lucy asked, "Who was there?"

"Your brother, he told me your parents are asking you to go home and start packing."

"Ah yes, I almost forgot; we're going on a weekend trip."

"That's cool. Going somewhere nice?"

"I don't really know; Linus is the one who knows all about it. Anyways, I must get going. See you Monday on our walk to school!"

"Bye Lucy, see you Monday."

The house fell into silence as she left, and Schroeder went back to his piano, playing some more of Rachmaninoff before dinner with his mom and finally going to bed. As he lay, he realized that the last 2 days of summer vacation will be spent alone or listening to Charlie Brown vent about his problems. He very much liked his friend, no doubt about that, but listening to him going on and on about a red-haired girl with whom he had talked maybe 1 or 2 times while trying to play the piano is an exhausting task. But he fell asleep more comfortably than the night before, knowing that even with the changes that come with high school, some things in life, like having Lucy, a friend who actually cares about his interests and is enjoyable company while he plays the piano, may never change.

Or at least he hoped.

Chapter Text

Schroeder was woken up to the sound of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, as he always was for the past 7 years. It was Saturday, and only Sunday separated him and a completely new chapter in life. Schroeder was aware but tried to follow his normal routine the best he could. After his morning shower and breakfast, he sat at his piano, picked some "easy" pieces to warm up (although they could be considered advanced for someone with less than years worth of practice), and started to play. His mind was free from worry as his long fingers danced around the white and black keys. He knew that today he could not count on Lucy's company. But he didn't worry, as she would be back just in time for the start of school.

Minutes turned into hours as those already advanced pieces turned into complex symphonies. Vivaldi, Franz Liszt, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, and especially Beethoven could be heard in the vicinity of his house, just another normal day in the neighborhood. In the middle of Erik Satie's "Je te veux," he heard a knock on the door. He got confused for a second, as it wasn't Lucy (not that she ever knocked on the door, rather just let herself in the house as she always did since kids), nor her little brother Linus. But realization soon followed that it was probably his old friend Charlie Brown, and after finishing the section he was playing, he went to meet him at the door.

"Hey, Schroeder. Mind if I come in?"

"You know I don't; I don't even know why you don't let yourself in."

"Then where would my manners be?"

The two laughed it off and went back to the living room, as Schroeder sat down on the piano bench and Charlie Brown occupied the sofa where Lucy usually sat, lying down and throwing and catching the old baseball into the air. Schroeder resumed playing; he knew his friend had something he wanted to share, and even if it was just another rant about some red-haired girl, how could he not at least help him vent his frustrations? A few minutes passed until Charlie Brown finally spoke.

"Hey Schroeder, do you know Heather, that Little Red-Haired Girl?

"No, I don't think you ever mentioned her, Charlie Brown." A brief silence ensued until he sighed, laughing to himself as he spoke again, "Of course I do; what about her?"

"Well, I finally had the nerve to ask her out on a date!"

Schroeder's fingers came to a fast stop, as well as the melody he was playing, as he jerked his head around to look at his old friend, the last notes played still lingering in the air.

"You did?"

"Yes, and she accepted! We are going down to that new diner this evening!"

"She did?"

There was silence for a few seconds. Schroeder Felton never truly understood what Charlie Brown saw in his almost lifelong crush, but he also never really understood what Lucy saw in him when they were younger, or what Sally saw in Linus, or anything about love except the literal word definition. But he sure was happy for his old friend, finally having the courage to do what he couldn't for so many years. Schroeder spoke again.

"Finally, Charlie Brown! Wow! How did you manage that? You have been obsessed with her since you were 8 years old!"

"Well, I figured that because we are all going to a bigger school, and we are all going to meet new people and form new relationships, this was the last real chance I had to really introduce myself to her before dozens of other guys did the same thing."

"What about it?"

"What about what?"

"What is wrong about other guys introducing themselves to her?"

"Then there would be the chance that she starts going out with one of them and not me, you blockhead." He said with a slight annoyance in his voice, "I swear you're so smart for some things yet so dumb for others."

"I guess it makes sense." Schroeder responded, contemplative, "But if she liked you, she would keep on wanting to hang out with you even after she met other people, right?"

"Of course, that is why I asked her out on a date today, before school starts."

"I mean as a friend. What if she was already a good friend before school started and then she met other people? Would she still keep hanging out with you?"

"Well, I don't really know. I wasn't really her friend before—are you sure we are talking about me and Heather?"

A long silence became present, broken only by Charlie Brown's resumed speech.

"I mean, if the friend you are talking about is a boy, I don't see a reason for him to stop hanging out with you because of meeting new people. Look at me, I'm going to start going out with Heather, and I'm still going to be your best friend."

Schroeder didn't respond right away but was glad to know that, even though he didn't have the chance to come up with that possibility. But his mind backtracked.

"Girl." He said abruptly.

"What?"

"What if the friend is a girl?"

"Well then I guess it could be different. Just look at Patty; she doesn't hang around as much with us since she started dating Pig-Pen, if that's what you mean. And he is from our friend group; imagine if it was some boy we didn't know; we'd probably never see Patty again!"

Schroeder stopped paying any attention to Charlie Brown, who was still speaking.

"Don't get me wrong, I really like Patty as a friend, but man, I swear I haven't seen her more than 5 times this summer!" Charlie Brown stopped talking as he realized his friend wasn't listening.

"Are you alright, Schroeder?" He didn't respond right away, so Charlie Brown kept going. "You want to go throw the baseball around outside? It does wonders for me when I'm down, and I heard—

"Yes, please. I'm going to grab my glove." 

"Well, okay then." Charlie Brown said, getting up with a smile.

Schroeder went up to his room and grabbed his glove from his closet, sitting on the bed while putting it on, his mind racing with thoughts. He didn't want to lose Lucy; he liked, hell, he loved hanging out with her. She was the only one who could stand him rambling on and on about Beethoven and Tchaikovsky and Pachelbel's tragic story. She respected his silence when he asked for it and didn't seem annoyed when he wished to be alone, and most important of all, she had been a frequent presence in his life since birth. He couldn't stand it. He just couldn't stand it. He let out a loud groan.

"Are you alright, pal?" Charlie Brown asked from downstairs.

"Yeah... I hit my pinky on the bed... I'm fine."

Schroeder got up and went to meet his friend in the garden, where they proceeded to throw the baseball. Schroeder could only hope that the ball would hit his head and knock him out, and when he woke up, he was 10 years old again.

After Charlie Brown left to meet Heather (he swore he never saw the boy look so happy in his life), Schroeder retreated to his piano.

"At least I can't lose you." He thought to himself as his fingers started to press keys while his eyes jumped in between the keyboard and the sheet in front of him. The rest of the evening went as expected. Piano, dinner, and bed. Falling asleep was easier said than done, but he managed after an hour of looking up at his ceiling.

He was woken up to Beethoven's 5th Symphony, as always. He got up, ready for what seemed like the last day before the world ends.

Morning bath, breakfast, piano. Only in the middle of a piece did he realize the only people he had seen in the last few days were his mom, Charlie Brown, Lucy, and her brother. Although he enjoyed his own company, he was not close to being antisocial and figured going to meet his friends at the old ballpark could help him cheer up a bit. 

Arriving there, he saw the familiar faces: Charlie Brown, a red-haired girl on the stands, which he figured was Heather, Sally, Shermy, Violet, Frieda, old Snoop, and surprisingly Patty, who was sitting on the stands being consoled by her closest friend.

"Schroeder! I thought I wouldn't see you here this weekend; what happened?" Shermy asked the blonde.

"You know, piano and stuff." 

"Glad to know everything's alright; we need a catcher, c'mon!"

It was a relaxing afternoon; Shermy, Frieda, Violet, and Sally were just taking turns batting while Charlie Brown pitched and Schroeder served as a catcher, but he enjoyed it as always. Sally even managed to hit the ball close to the fence, not bad for the 11-year-old.

As the shadows became bigger and bigger, people began to go home to prepare for the start of the school year, leaving only Schroder, Charlie Brown, his sister Sally, old Snoop, and the Little Red-Haired Girl still on the stands scribbling away on a notebook.

"Wow, Sally I can't believe you are actually getting better! One day you may be able to hit a home run!" Charlie said.

"Not one day, soon big brother. I got Linus to pitch for me this vacation, and I plan to meet with him sometimes to practice."

"Linus pitching, that's one thing I'd rather not see."

"He actually got better these past few weeks!"

Schroeder was hearing the conversation, amused, when he noticed Patty in the stands, alone with her knees against her chest and her head buried in her arms. He went to talk to her.

"Hey, Patty." He said, with a worried voice.

"Oh hi, Schroeder, I haven't seen you in a while." When she raised her head to reply, it was obvious she had been crying.

"Yeah, that's true. Ever since you started dating Pig-Pen, you—" Patty buried her head deep back in and groaned loudly.

Schroeder quickly realized why she was crying.

"Oh, I see. What happened?"

"He left me, Schroeder! He left me and said we should meet other people and that going to high school means we would eventually grow apart! He left me, Schroeder!" She replied, still with her head down.

"Oh, I—" Schroeder was never good at comforting people, especially about anything love-related. "But I thought you loved each other?"

"So did I, Schroeder! So did I!" She said finally, looking at him. He noticed the hurt in her eyes.

"Well, if there is any way I can help, let... uh... let me know." He said while awkwardly tapping her back.

"Oh, Schroeder I know you; how can you be so unfazed by this whole love thing? Have you ever even liked someone in your entire life?"

He scratched his head and gave it a good thought—"Now that you mention it..."

"So how can you even help?" She responded angrily.

"Jeez, I'm sorry, Patty, I—"

"No, I'm sorry, Schroeder, you're trying. I'm such a mess right now; I just want to go home."

"I will keep you company; at least I can help you with that."

"Oh, thank you, Schroeder, you're a good man."

So they went, walking too slowly for Schroeder's comfort, but he managed to not mention it. Patty spent the whole trip going on and on about how she had her heart broken and how Violet always advised her to not ask out Pig-Pen, while Schroeder went the whole trip wondering how someone could be so blinded by love, to the point he really felt pity for the girl, finally dropping her off at her house and waving goodbye.

Schroeder walked back to the field, realizing how lucky he was to never have been in love, as it seemed it always ended badly, just like with his parents, yet he hoped that would be different for his old friend Charlie Brown and her red-haired companion. When he got back, Charlie Brown, Sally, and Heather were packing up.

"Where have you been?" Charlie Brown asked.

"Patty wasn't feeling well, so I accompanied her home."

Sally looked at him with a smirk. 

"It's not like that, Sally, and you know that."

"Of course I know Schroeder; you would never do that to Lucy!" She said, still with a smirk on her face while Schroeder rolled his eyes. Sally Brown was always the youngest in the group and was always the one pairing people together without consent, who often made people uncomfortable. That could've been the case, but Schroeder knew her for most of his life.

"Yeah, I forgot to tell you today, Pig-Pen broke up with her; it was kind of a mess." Charlie Brown intervened.

"I heard all about it; don't worry." He said, ending the topic of conversation.

Charlie Brown and Heather held hands as the boy spoke up.

"Well, we're going. Have a nice evening and see you tomorrow, Schroeder. Sally, tell Mom I'm not going home to dinner." And so the couple started walking.

"I swear I have never seen my brother happier."

"Neither have I; good for him."

"Well, I'm going to go home; good luck in the big kids school, Schroeder!" Sally said, skipping away, leaving the blonde boy alone in the field.

The rest of the evening was a blur, and when Schroeder noticed it, he was lying in his bed, tossing and turning, trying to get some sleep, but to no avail. He once again tried to string together his own thoughts as to formulate a way to deal with them, but as so often happened, it was unsuccessful. Only if dealing with his feelings was as easy as mathematics to him. Not only was his entire routine going to change, but there was also a possibility Lucy, the only one who truly cared to listen to his problems and worries, was going to meet another guy to find fascinating and would leave Schroeder in the past. That tought kept him awake for hours before the boy was knocked out by pure exhaustion.

Chapter Text

Schroeder was woken up to the sound of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, as he always was for the past 7 years. But today he didn't have the time to stay in bed enjoying his idol's work, as it was the first day of school.

The blonde got up and proceeded with his morning bath and breakfast, this time more hurriedly than the past few months.

Although it was the day he had been fearing consciously since last Thursday, he had no time to let his mind wander on what could go wrong. And as if his mind had fast-forwarded, he was already ready to leave the house and meet up with his good friend Lucy Van Pelt, whom he had not seen since Friday.

As he opened the front door, he saw her on his porch, ready to knock. 

"Just in time, huh?" - She said, giggling to herself.

"Yeah, perfect timing." He said, smiling.

"C'mon, Schroeder, no time to lose; I don't want to be late on the first day of school!"

And so they started walking, the negative thoughts inside his head silent as Lucy talked on and on about the hotel she stayed at and how the breakfast was the best she's ever eaten. 

"I even think you would like it better than your mac and cheese!"

"I doubt that."

"You're something else, you know that, Schroeder?" She said smiling while looking into his brown eyes, before quickly changing to her iconic, almost ironic tone. "In a good way, of course, or else I wouldn't be talking to you." 

"Well, thanks, Lucy, I guess." 

She giggled and kept on rambling, this time about all the clubs she was going to join and how she was going to decorate her locker. That was until they finally reached the school, just in time for their first class. As they entered the building, both realized they needed to separate to head to their respective classrooms.

"Well, I'll see you at lunch, Schroeder! Have fun and try not to run home if any girls come flirt with you!" She knew about his distaste for shows of affection, especially if it came from someone he didn't really recognize as a close friend.

"I'll try; see you at lunch." He responded with a smile.

And just like that, he was alone, surrounded by what seemed like thousands of students flowing through the halls. He managed to pull himself together as he saw Charlie Brown in the distance, navigating the corridors the best he could, and so Schroeder followed him to their classroom, separated by a dozen students.

"Hey Charlie Brown!" He said as he finally managed to reach the classroom, seconds after his friend, sitting at an empty table next to him.

"Schroeder, good to see you!" Charlie managed to say, visibly tired. "Do you believe I thought we were put in classroom 14 instead of 41? I think I saw the whole school already."

"Surprisingly, I do."

Good thing we're not completely alone in our first class."

"Yeah, Shermy didn't have the same luck as us."

"Damn, but he'll be fine; that is, if he doesn't try to flirt with the first girl that looks his way."

"Yeah, I guess." Schroeder said, while both the boys laughed.

The teacher entered the room as the bell rang, and what proceeded was a long class of presentations and telling fun facts about themselves. He couldn't help but catch a blonde girl staring at him a couple of times, and when he did, it was followed by giggles coming from her and her friends. Schroder didn't think much of it, except for making sure his hair wasn't messy and he didn't have something in his face or on his shirt.

As soon as class ended and he said his quick goodbyes to Charlie Brown, who's next class was on the other side of the school, he was approached by the same blonde girl.

"Hey, Schroeder, right?"

"That's right, Schroeder Felton. And you are Sophie, correct?"

"Yeah!" She said, giggling. "You said you play the piano?"

"I do, yes." He said proudly.

"Are you any good?" She asked quickly.

"Well, people say I am." He said, trying to be humble.

"That seems good enough. Are you going to try out for the school orchestra?"

"Yes, in fact I will. Do you also play the piano?"

"Oh no, no, I play the violin!"

"That's nice, so I suppose you are also going to try out?"

"Yup. I'm pretty good; there's no doubt I'll make it."

"Well, confidence sure is important." Schroeder replied, smiling.

"It sure is. I have to go now; see you around, Schroeder Felton!" She said, giggling, while leaving.

"She seems nice," he thought to himself as he left the classroom. Her energetic personality reminding him of some of his girl best friends.

The rest of the morning was like a loop of the same things. Presentations and saying fun facts about himself. He dreaded it, but it could be worse, he always had at least one friend in every one of his classes , except music theory, the last class before lunch.

As he got there, he was pleased to find Sophia, smiling at him. "At least a face I know." He tought to himself, as he sat next to her. The class itself was more of the same, time passing somewhat quickly until the bell rang.

Leaving the classroom, the pair walked together to the door, talking comfortably like they didn't meet just a few hours ago.

"This is an easy A if I ever saw one, to be honest." Sophie said.

"How are you so sure?" Her confidence reminded him of Lucy.

"Well, I'm just that good. If you ever need answers, talk to me. I might just let you cheat off me!"

"I doubt I'll need to; besides, I'm not much of a cheater, thank you." He said while laughing.

"When times are tough, drastic measures need to be taken."

"I guess you're right."

"Of course I am! Oh, I'm going to go eat lunch with my friends, Schroeder; if you want, you can join us!"

"Ah, you reminded me; I need to go meet with my friends. I appreciate it, but I need to go."

"Well, ok then, bye, Schroeder Felton!"

"See you, Sophie."

And with that, Schroeder turned to go, ready to walk alone the long journey between his classroom and the cafeteria. But, surprisingly, he found a familiar face right in front of him, looking at him with unsure dark blue eyes that matched her earrings.

"Sophie, huh? She's cute." She said it before he could react.

"Oh hi, Lucy! Didn't see you there." She didn't reply, so he proceeded. "I guess, but most importantly, she plays the violin and is going to try out for the school orchestra, just like me."

"Ain't that just great!" She replied with a sarcastic tone most would detect, but Schroeder didn't.

"And she says she is pretty good; maybe I'll finally have a partner to play Beethoven's Spring Sonata!"

"Two musicians, how nice of a couple." This time the sarcasm was obvious, even to Schroeder.

"You know me, Lucy; it's not like that." His face became serious for a moment.

A brief silence became present before Schroeder spoke again.

"C'mon, let's meet with the rest of the guys and have lunch. I'm hungry!"

The two walked side by side, Schroeder sometimes taking a quick glance at the girl, who seemed to be completely focused on something, or unable to focus on anything at all.

They finally got to the cafeteria and met up with their friends, which turned into everyone sharing their first-day experiences. The ambiance relaxed as they slowly settled and familiarized themselves with what would become the core of their routines for the next 4 years. Yet as the friend group filled a table, Lucy's loud voice couldn't be heard nearly as much as someone would expect on a day like this.

"Are you alright, Lucy? I noticed you're quieter than usual." Charlie Brown said.

"I'm fine." She said in a pensive tone, looking down at her food, before switching to her usual tone, quickly changing the topic. "Besides, don't you have your own things to worry about, you blockhead? Like having the courage to talk to the Little Red-Haired Girl? I swear you're only going to be able to talk to her when she's about to leave for college."

"I was worried you were not the Lucy I knew for a second there." He said with a smile. "And for your information, I already did."

"Did what?"

"I talked to that Little Red-Haired girl, Heather, Friday afternoon."

"Am I dreaming?" 

"And we went on a couple of dates together already."

"I'm definitely dreaming."

"I like her, and I think she likes me. I think I'll ask her to be my girlfriend one of these days."

Lucy didn't respond right away, needing some long seconds to process it. When they were 8 years old, Charlie Brown couldn't go 2 days without going up to her psychiatric booth to talk her head off about some red-haired girl he sometimes saw at school. Tradition that would stand until she closed the old booth, and then he would come around her own house. She would always give the same advice, yet all these years Charlie Brown refused to take it, until, apparently, last Friday.

"As surprised as I am, I must admit I'm happy for you, Charlie Brown. Who could've thought?"

"I appreciate it, Lucy."

Lucy managed to keep a real, happy smile for a few seconds, until she lay back in her chair, pensive.

"Even wishy-washy Charlie Brown." She thought to herself, sighing.

The group started to lose members as people started to go to their respective classrooms, leaving only Lucy and Schroeder, who had a class together. 

"We better get going; don't want to be late, do we?" Schroeder said to Lucy, who was seemingly examining the table in front of her, her eyes motionless.

"Uh, I mean sure, let's go." She responded, getting up.

"Are you okay? You seem quiet." He said with a worried tone. "Well, not quiet, but definitely not like you usually are."

"I'm fine, Schroeder; don't worry about me." 

"Of course I do; you're one of my best friends!"

8-year-old Lucy would have jumped and screamed upon hearing this, probably letting out tears of joy. And while Schroeder expected, at least, a smile on the face of his friend, he watched her sigh as soon as he finished his sentence. She simply replied:

"Thanks, Schroeder, let's just go now."

The afternoon mirrored the morning, and while the blonde boy had the misfortune to get a class without any of his friends, there were no remarkable events, for his own delight.

Finally, the last bell of the day rang, and Schroeder, after a quick visit to his new locker, exited the school through the front entrance, looking for Lucy to start walking home with. He stood there a few minutes and actually started wondering if she went on without him. "That wouldn't be like her at all." He argued with himself, as he heard a voice approaching him.

"There you are!" Lucy said with a smile. "I knew I could spot that blond head from miles away."

"Hey, Lucy! You sure look happy." Schroeder responded, matching her smile.

"You noticed?"

"How couldn't I? What happened?" He said still smiling.

"Can't I just be happy for no reason?"

"You could, but knowing you, I guess something has had to happen after our class together; you sure were in a bad mood."

"Well, if you insist so much, Jonas from the soccer team just asked me out!" She said it with no intention to hide that information from him, the same way she would tell him about how her brother burnt her toasts the other day or how she was watching a new TV show.

Schroeder remembered his talk with Charlie Brown. In fact, Schroeder remembered every thought he had that day, as they all came rushing back to him. How it was possible that Lucy was going to find some guy to devote all her attention to and would leave Schroeder without her company and her ability to listen to him and care for him like no one else could. He was not jealous by word definition, nor particularly envious of the Jonas guy, but he hated the idea of losing his closest friend's frequent company.

At least that's what he thought.

"I said yes, for your information." She said, her smile expanding.

"That's... nice, Lucy." He managed to finally respond.

"It sure is; he's a sophomore, and I heard he's already one of the best on the team! He has this curly brown hair; he's strong—stronger than you now that I mention it... Also—

Schroeder stopped paying attention. He could barely bear to listen to her talk on and on about her new date, only replying when Lucy said his name to ask him a direct question. Yet it seemed as if Lucy was trying extra hard to keep him involved in the conversation. They finally got to Schroeder's home after what seemed like hours, and Schroeder opened his door and went inside, expecting Lucy to follow him in, but she stood still at the door.

"Oh, how silly of me." She shook her head, smiling. "I forgot to tell you that the date is tonight!" 

Schroeder could only managed to turn back and look into her blue eyes with a look no one could quite decipher before she continued.

"Isn't that so manly, Schroeder?" She waited a second. "He asked me out on a date taking place on the same day! He sure knows how to make a girl happy." 

"It sure is, Lucy... I guess." He replied.

I need to go now; take care, Schroeder, my good friend!" And just like that, she turned around and went down the steps, turning on the sidewalk and practically skipping her way home, but not before taking one last quick glance at the blonde boy.

"Bye... Lucy." He managed to let out, to no reaction from the girl.

He closed the door, still looking ahead, trying to process what happened in the last 10 minutes, as well as Lucy's unusual behavior.

His worst-case scenario happened on the very first day of school. Yet unlike what he would expect of himself, he didn't have a reaction. His mind was completely blank, and everything was silent in the Felton's residence as he proceeded with his evening routine. But when the boy sat on his piano bench and lifted his fingers with unfamiliar uncertainty, he couldn't bring himself to press the keys. After a quick breath, he was able to, but he made a mistake on the fifth chord. It was a Beethoven piece he played time and time again, and he was sure he could play it blindfolded. He tried again, this time making a mistake in the third. He grew irritated, and the blank mind he had seconds ago started to show some color. He tried once more, this time not even managing to get the first one right, and he finally broke.

He made his right hand into a fist and punched it into the keys below, repeatedly, letting out a loud groan every time. That was until he got up and kicked his bench, hitting his shin in the process. It hurt like hell, yet he kept going. He started walking in the direction of his room, groaning and screaming as he made his way, punching what he could, his steps capable of being heard in the whole house until he managed to get to his destination. He threw the clothes he had neatly folded the same morning across the room and started beating his own bed, punching and kicking until he was too exhausted to do both, his body finally collapsing on what he was moments ago trying to destroy. He started to cry without stopping. Sobbing uncontrollably for what felt like an eternity, beating his own head with his fist until the pain was too much to handle, his mind racing with thoughts he could not process.

He did not know the actual reason he was crying, nor was he capable of explaining it to himself, that fact only serving for his frustration to grow even more. And in his bed he stayed, not going down to eat dinner, hoping that he somehow wouldn't wake up the next day, or that everything would come back to normal when he inevitably did. Until, someway, he managed to fall asleep.

Chapter Text

Schroder woke up, able to enjoy the few seconds he had before being reminded of the events of the day before.

Yet, something was off, apart from the hangover of emotions he had from the night before. It took some time before he realized he wasn't hearing the notes from Beethoven's 5th Symphony as he would every time he woke up, something that became so engraved in his morning routine over the years that he almost didn't consciously acknowledge it. His state of confusion mixed with morning daze was cut short as he looked at his clock. He slept through his alarm.

Quickly, the blonde boy jumped out of bed and, without time to think, rushed to the bathroom. He turned on the water in the shower before telling himself there was not enough time. He quickly changed his clothes, looked in the mirror while fixing his hair, and ran to school without taking the time to enjoy the usual breakfast, hoping to not be late.

As he reached the school entrance and checked that there were still a couple of minutes until the bell rang, he finally let out a relieved sigh. He took a moment to fix his messy hair caused by the wind before calmly starting the walk to his classroom.

Finally having a moment to think, he again got reminded of last afternoon's talk with Lucy and his emotional response, which he was starting to realize was a bit of an overreaction. Not like he didn't know that in the moment, he knew that there was actually not a good enough reason to lash out like that. Yet, since he was a kid, that was just something that sometimes happened and he couldn't help it. Despite there being no witnesses to his somewhat childish demeanor, he was still embarrassed of himself.

Finally, he reached the classroom. As he walked in, he waved to his friend Shophie, who sat at the back, and sat at the desk he had claimed the day before, next to his old friend Charlie Brown.

"Hey, Schroeder, you don't look so good."

"Hello, Charlie Brown, I know."

"You didn't get much sleep, did you? Did something happen?"

Charlie Brown, like no other, was able to identify the signs when someone was going through a difficult time. Perhaps because he went through so many of them at a young age.

"Nah..." Schroeder said while thinking of something to explain his evident lack of rest. "I started to learn this new Bach piece and got a bit carried away, went to bed late." 

"Ah, that makes sense."

Schroeder let out a quiet sigh of relief after finding the perfect excuse. And with that, the bell rang and the teacher walked in.

As it was the second day of classes, meaning they were starting the first subject. The class went as well as you would expect after maybe 4 hours of sleep, barely managing to pay attention yet able to write down some disorganized notes. It was the middle of class when he realized he didn't even see Lucy today. They were supposed to walk together to school.

"She probably stopped by the house and knocked, right?" He started to think.

"And because I didn't answer the door, she must think I ignored her or was mad at her. She knows I never wake up late."

"Oh god."

After the realization, he made sure he was going to talk to Lucy and explain the situation to her, apologizing for letting her walk alone to school, and hoped she wasn't mad at him. But that would have to wait until lunch, when the whole group would meet.

The rest of the morning went as expected. Schroeder couldn't pay much attention because of his lack of sleep, which deeply annoyed him. He was used to being a good student who would get good grades without having to put a lot of effort, and he didn't want to start the year on a bad foot because of the episode from last night.

Finally, he managed to make it to the last class of the morning, music class, where he could relax a little. The teacher started explaining the basics of music theory he taught himself as a child. At the adjacent desk sat Sophie, the energetic girl he met that day before with whom he already formed a bond based on their mutual love for music. She, like him, already knew everything that the teacher was explaining and probably everything they were going to learn that year.

And so the class was spent talking about everything related to their shared interest, including concepts the rest of their classmates (and maybe even the teacher) never heard about. It was nice, the conversation managing to keep Schroeder's mind from thinking about the whole Lucy situation. That was until Schroeder made a joke about people who consider piano a percussion instrument, which resulted in Sophie laughing quite louder than expected.

"Mr. Felton and Ms. Miller, stop talking now or you'll both get detention!" 

"Sorry, Miss." They both said, while the rest of his classmates let out a teasing "oooh" to Schroeder's annoyance. Sophie shot him a last glance while giggling and turned. He had no idea as to why their classmate's reaction didn't annoy her as it annoyed him.

The rest of the class was as monotonous as he expected from freshman year music theory.

Finally the bell rang, and after waving goodbye to Sophie, Schroeder headed to the cafeteria. This time Lucy wasn't waiting for him, adding to his anxiety. He wasn't only worried about the fact that she would trade his company for some guy named Jonas, but was also worried that she may think he is mad at her and had ignored her that morning. A misunderstanding like that was the last thing he needed.

After a few minutes of overthinking he finally managed to make his way to the cafeteria, meeting with his friends, and consequently, with Lucy.

As he walked up to the seat next to hers, he thought of ways to apologize while simultaneously being annoyed that she spent last evening on a date with a random guy named Jonas instead of making him the company he enjoyed, worrying that it could be a recurring situation. He somewhat relaxed as he approached and noticed her laughing casually and making jokes. 

Before he could even sit down, Lucy turned and greeted him with a smile, "Schroeder! Hi!"

"Hey, Lucy." She wasn't mad; that was good.

He sat down and spent a moment pondering before speaking again:

"I'm sorry, I slept through and woke up late."

"Ok? So what? It happens to the best of us, Schroeder." She said, giggling. "Welcome to the real world!"

"No, I mean, I'm sorry for letting you walk alone to school." He waited for a few seconds before adding: "I don't want you thinking that I didn't want to come with you, or that I ignored you or something like that." Truthfully, he was puzzled as to why she didn't already mention the fact that she went unaccompanied to school. The Lucy Van Pelt he knew would treat it as serious offense to their friendship.

She stayed in silence for a few seconds before a smile appeared on her face.

"Ah, don't worry! I didn't go up to your house today." She said with an expression happier than someone would expect in this situation.

"You didn't? What happened?" He said, starting to worry.

"Jonas offered to drive me to school; I found out he lives just a couple streets over from us!" She was giggling, waiting for his reaction.

Schroeder's face went blank as he realized he didn't need to worry about being replaced by someone else, as he already was. In less than 24 hours.

"Ah, ok then. That's nice of him." He managed to respond, keeping his expression. Lucy frowned.

The truth is, Schroeder Felton always froze when he received any information that could be considered somewhat shocking or unexpected. To someone else, Schroeder seemed to always be able to keep his cool, but that couldn't be further from the truth. His mind was simply not capable of processing these types of information instantly; it always took him some time alone with his thoughts to be able to actually realize what happened to its full extent. And many times, in those moments, he would overreact to things most people would have already forgotten about.

He turned and started to eat his food, without a single thought in his mind, his face blank.

"Well, don't you want to know how my date went with him last night?" Lucy asked in a more irritated tone.

"Not really." Schroeder responded on complete autopilot, staring at his food.

Lucy scoffed loudly and stood up, leaving the table and taking her food tray while every one of their friends, who were focused on their own conversations, looked at her.

Then, after a couple of seconds of silence Shermy, who was on the other side of the table, asked:

"What the hell happened?"

"No idea." Patty responded.

"Schroeder!" Violet said loudly, snapping back to reality the boy who was still looking perplexed at Lucy as she walked away.

He realized everyone was looking at him.

"I have no idea, really." He said.

"You don't?" Charlie Brown asked.

"No, I wasn't even paying attention."

A brief silence ensued; looks were shared from everyone at the table, the tense ambient turning into a confused one, until Patty spoke.

"Wow. I haven't seen her like that since we were 10."

The people at the table slowly got back to their own conversations, most still trying to figure out what happened to their friend. Schroeder stayed in silence, finally starting to process what had happened.

Lucy had already replaced him with a guy she met the day before. She would never go back to his house to listen to him play. She would never listen to him talk about how Bortkiewicz was criminally underrated or any of his rants about music. The only friend he had that truly understood him and cared for him left him for some guy named Jonas. And worse, she was acting completely unlike her since the evening before. And to finish it off, he managed to make her mad without even paying attention to what he was saying.

"Are you ok, Schroeder?" ..."Schroeder?"

Schroeder realized Patty was talking to him. "What?"

"Are you okay, Schroeder?" 

"Yeah. I am. Don't worry."

"If you say so..." She said, turning away, with a suspicious look on her face.

Schroeder turned back to his plate, realizing that he almost hadn't touched his food. He decided he was neither hungry nor wanted to be surrounded by people. So he got up and announced he was leaving.

"So soon? Class is in 30 minutes, Schroeder." Charlie Brown said.

"Are you sure everything's alright?" Patty asked.

"I'm fine, don't worry; see you guys later." He then started to make his way to the only place he thought could be empty at this time, the music room. He wasn't exactly familiar with the new school, but he knew where it was located and was told by Sophie that it was quiet and had a really good acoustic piano.

To his relief, it was exactly like that. A room with plenty of space and a piano in somewhat good condition next to the wall, and even better, he had the space all for himself.

He sat at the piano bench and looked at the keys. Anyone would have expected him to start playing one of the many pieces he had memorized, but only he knew that he couldn't even manage to play the simplest one at the moment. He let out a sigh and kept staring.

This time, he didn't feel the urge to lash out. He felt like all his energy had been drained from him. He slowly placed his elbows on the knees, so carefully that the keys touched barely made any noise, and burrowed his head in his hands. He stayed in that position until the bell rang.

The rest of the afternoon was a blur; it seemed as if his consciousness was fast-forwarding through classes as a combination of lack of sleep and his reaction to the unexpected lunch interaction with Lucy. And before even realizing it, he was already unlocking the front door of his home, ready to go lay on his bed. This time he had no energy or will to rage or cry, or to show any kind of strong emotion; he just wanted to rest, he was mentally and physically tired, so he did just that. He lay atop his bed, not minding to change his clothes or actually get in it, and fell asleep.

He was woken up hours later, sweating and dizzy, to a loud series of thuds on his door. He was pretty sure that he was hearing things before snapping to reality.

He drowsily yet afraidly made his way downstairs, and only when he was almost at the door did the thumping finally stop.

Before he touched the door handle, he glanced at the clock and noticed it was already 8PM; his mother came home around that time when she went to buy groceries. Has she forgotten her key? 

He finally opened the door, ready to apologize for how long he took.

"That's probably why she was knocking so hard."

But instead of his mother, he saw a young girl in beautiful attire. She was wearing a blue dress that matched with her earrings and was starting to walk down the steps of his porch. A complete contrast to the hard thuds he was hearing moments ago. He couldn't help but stare at the unusual sight. Was he dreaming all of this?

With the sound of the door opening, the girl turned, and Schroeder noticed her blue eyes filled with anger as tears and makeup streamed down her face.

"Lucy?"

Chapter Text

"Lucy? What happened?"

The boy was still dizzy from his long nap; his hair was a mess, and he wasn't fully certain that this wasn't a dream.
Lucy Van Pelt, Schroeder's closest friend, was standing on his front porch. It was evident that she had been crying. He had no idea what was going on.
Then, after a couple of seconds of silent staring, Lucy replied:

"I can't stand it, Schroeder!" She said while starting to cry again, covering her face with her hands.

Her loud and shaky voice made Schroeder aware of the unexpected gravity of the situation. He was still confused and was not sure how to act.

"Uh—come in… Lucy, what the hell is going on?"

Lucy, after mumbling something incomprehensible to Schroeder, made her way into his home, her face still buried in her palms.

Schroeder stood still for a moment, speechless, before closing his front door and following her in.

Lucy sat down on the sofa, face covered, before Schroeder asked again:

"Lucy, can you explain to me what's going on?"

Lucy again mumbled something Schroeder couldn't understand, only this time managing to catch the word "Jonas.".

"Jonas? What did he do?"

Lucy finally looked up and at Schroeder, who was standing in front of her, before looking at the floor. She wiped her tears and tried to take a deep breath before saying something, but it was shaky and loud. 
Finally, she said slowly and quietly:

"Jonas and I went on a date to the movies after school."

There was a quick pause, but Schroeder felt like he shouldn't interrupt the monologue.

"He drove me there, and we watched the movie. It was a romance; I really liked it."

Lucy took another breath, tears starting to fill her eyes once again.

"Then, after the movies, he took me to the mall and went with me to all the shops I said I wanted to check out."

She looked up at Schroeder before continuing.

"And finally, he drove me back home and gave me this before saying he really enjoyed spending time with me."

She took one hand and reached in the purse she was carrying, now at her side. She then took out 2 pictures of her and Jonas, taken at the photo booth. To Schroeder's eyes, they seemed to be enjoying the moment.
Just as quickly, she stuffed the photos back in and started to cry harder than before.

Schroeder opened his mouth to speak but closed it and stood confused. He was convinced that he missed something or was just unable to understand girls at all. After a moment, he finally said:

"Well? What did he do wrong?"

Lucy looked up at Schroeder. The tears she cried had forged a noticeable red pathway in her face.

"Nothing, Schroeder! He did nothing wrong!"

Schroeder was only able to make a confused expression before she kept going.

"He was so sweet to me... like no one ever was." Her eyes drifted from Schroeder back to the floor.

She wiped her tears again, yet they kept escaping from her blue eyes.

"It's the first time someone has ever done something like that for me."

She burrowed her face in her palms once again, giving Schroeder his turn to speak.

"Lucy... It looks like you had a great time. I really am not seeing what the problem is here..."

Lucy quickly shot her head up and locked eyes with him.

"The problem, Schroeder… The problem is that I don't feel a thing for him!"

"What do you mean you don't feel a thing for him?" Schroeder rapidly replied.

"I just don't like him like that… Hell, I met him yesterday, Schroeder! And I didn't even reciprocate his interest the first time he asked me out!"

Schroeder once again fell silent and even more confused than before, still making eye contact.

"I feel terrible. I'm a terrible person. He is such a sweet boy, and I'm just leading him on to nothing. I don't deserve anything, I—"

Finally, Schroeder managed to ask the question present in his mind.

"Lucy… then why did you even go out—"

But before he could even finish his question, Lucy's head shot up, her eyes meeting his.

"Because of you, you idiot!"

A brief silence ensued, broken by Schroeder's stuttering.

"I—I don't—I really don't understand..."

Lucy once again tried to take a deep breath before responding. This time it was even shakier and noisier.

"And I don't understand how you can be so fucking oblivious, Schroeder Felton!" "I went out with him because I was—hell, I am jealous about you and that blonde girlfriend of yours—"

"She's not my girlfriend—"

"Shut up, Schroeder. Please. Please pay attention to me for once in your life."

Schroeder thought of replying but figured it was best to stay quiet.
Lucy kept going while unsuccessfully fighting the tears starting to rain faster and faster from her blue eyes.

"It's just—Charlie Brown tells me that this cute blond girl was staring at you all class. Then—then I see you being so nice and talkative to her in the halls, unlike you ever were to me."

sniff

"And then someone tells me that you got caught talking and laughing with her during class! Oh, Schroeder, you wouldn't even reply to my notes back when we were younger!"

sniff

"Wha—what is that she has that I don't, Schroeder?" sniff  "W-why are you like this with someone you met yesterday yet never with me? Why—"

She's forced to stop talking by her own tears that became too much to handle. She once again burrows her face in her hands, sobbing, and slides down the sofa onto the floor, her knees up to her chest.

Schroeder is still incredulous. "Lucy, I—Why—Where is this coming from?"

Lucy doesn't answer as she keeps sobbing on the floor.

"Why didn't you just talk to me? Why are you even feeling this way, Lucy? I—I don't understand..."

After a quick moment and struggle, Lucy managed to lift her head just enough to look at Schroeder and say quietly, still fighting tears:

"Because I never stopped loving you."

"...What?" Schroeder wasn't sure of what he heard.

"Because..." Lucy gets up, legs shaking from crying so much, and stands in front of him, making eye contact. It makes him take a step back. He notices how red her face and eyes are.

"Because I never stopped loving you, you blockhead!" she practically screams.

Schroeder is unable to speak. He's unable to process what is going on. They stand there without speaking for what felt like hours, never breaking eye contact. Finally, Schroeder manages to let out:

"I thought—Lucy I thought that was just something from when we were kids..."

Lucy didn't speak but kept staring into his brown eyes.

"Lucy, I—I don't know what to say... I had no idea; since you stopped talking about stuff like marriage and calling me nicknames years ago, I thought—

"I stopped because that was the only way you would let me come to your house and—and talk to you!"

"Lucy, I—"

"I just wanted to be with you, Schroeder! I tried everything for you to at least pay attention to me. I wanted you to, just once, be sweet to me, Schroeder. I always dreamed of you doing a fraction of what Jonas did today. I always dreamed of you taking me out on a date. I dreamed of watching a cheesy romance movie with you. I dreamed of you taking silly photos with me. I dreamed of you holding my hand while walking together. Yet you never did. You never did any of that. And the worst of it all is that I still love you. I love you, Schroeder Felton, and I wish I didn't."

Tears were already streaming down her face, and her voice was cracking as she finished speaking. Quickly, she turned and headed quickly for the door, sobbing uncontrollably.
Schroeder was in shock; he didn't know how to react; he hadn't had the time to process what she had said. Lucy loved him? How did he never realize? How did he get so carried away talking about his musical interests that Lucy actually thought he felt something for Sophie? Why did he never show how much Lucy meant to him?

"Lucy, wait! Lucy!" Schroeder finally came to his senses as Lucy was opening the front door.

She opened the door and speedwalked out of his house onto the sidewalk.

"No! Lucy, wait! Come back!" He screamed as he stood in the doorway.

Lucy looked back at him yet sped up to her house down the street. Schroeder could only watch as she got in and closed the door behind her.

At that moment, processing what had just happened while still looking onto the street, Schroeder realized. He realized why he valued Lucy's company more than anyone else's. He realized why he found her quirks funny while others thought of them as annoying. He realized how beautiful she was wearing that blue dress and earrings. He realized he could not imagine a future without Lucy in it.

Schroeder finally realized why he was so afraid to lose Lucy all this time.

"Lucy, I love you too."

The words left his mouth, but there was no one there to hear.

Chapter Text

Time seemed to move quickly to Schroeder Felton as the first few weeks of high school managed to occupy most of his free time.

It had been 3 weeks since the day that Lucy Van Pelt showed up to his house during the night, angrily professing her love for him before completely avoiding him since. Schroeder, understandably, is left in confusion as he relives that evening over and over again in his mind, something that he does almost every night. Today wasn't an exception, and as the blonde tossed and turned in his bed, Lucy's words just kept repeating in his head.

And the worst of it all is that I still love you. I love you, Schroeder Felton, and I wish I didn't.

I love you, Schroeder Felton.

And I wish I didn't.

I wish I didn't.

"Ughhh," Schroeder let out as he burrowed his head in his pillow.

It wasn't the first time Lucy confessed her love for him; she had done it many times when they were kids, of course, but that was many years ago. This was a completely different situation, and he knew it. He had never even seen Lucy crying, much less having what seemed like a complete nervous breakdown.

Schroeder had no idea how to react, much less if he should talk to Lucy or what he would say to her. The day after that fateful night, Lucy didn't show up to walk to school with him, as he anticipated, but to his surprise, she didn't go to school altogether. At lunch, Charlie Brown, who had met his younger friend Linus before school started, told the whole friend group that she said she was feeling sick.

"Lucy Van Pelt, sick? Maybe the world is really coming to an end." Violet spoke.

"Hm, she definitely didn't look all that well yesterday at lunch." Patty said.

"She didn't even say a word during her math class." Shermy intervened.

"That is unusual to say the least." Charlie Brown concluded. "What about you, Schroeder? Do you know something?"

"I have no idea," Schroeder replied. 

He, of course, was lying, as he knew the most probable cause of Lucy's absence. Seeing Lucy in the state she was in the night before bothered Schroeder. Yet her absence managed to hurt him even more. At least he felt some form of relief that none of his friends found out about the whole situation. He hated being the center of negative attention. 

The next day Lucy was back in school, carrying herself the same confident way she always did. Everyone who interacted with her mentioned that she was looking just fine. Schroeder anxiously waited to lunch, where he would meet her for the first time since that night.

"What should I say?"

"Should I even say something?"

"Should I wait for her to explain what she meant?"

These thoughts stayed with him until he finally sat down at the lunch table, where Charlie Brown and Patty were already present. It didn't take long before the rest of the group made their way to the table. First Shermy, followed by Violet and Frieda. Schroeder was already afraid Lucy wasn't going to show up before Violet spoke.

"Lucy!"

Everyone who wasn't facing her turned to look, including Schroeder.

"Hey guys! Sorry, I had to stay to talk to the teacher about yesterday's absence."

Violet and Patty made space for her friend to sit in between them, in the complete opposite spot from where Schroeder was sitting. As the tables were circular, they were directly facing each other. As she sat down, she was bombarded with questions, mainly from her girl friends.

"What happened?"

"Were you really sick?"

"You won't believe what happened yesterday!"

Schroeder stopped hearing anything being said as he focused completely on Lucy. He was quite noticeably staring, waiting for her to finally look at him. Waiting for a sign that anything had even happened in between them and he hadn't just imagined it all. Lucy, on the other hand, was focused on her friends, talking and laughing. How could she? How could she act like she didn't pour her heart out less than 48 hours ago?

Schroeder kept staring at her blue eyes.

Look at me. You know I'm here. Just look at me.

After Lucy was all caught up on the events of the day before, people started to actually eat the food in front of them. Schroeder didn't; he just kept on staring at Lucy's eyes, yet she just stared down at her plate. As all their friends ate their food and exchanged a few words, they were the only ones unmoving, stuck in time. Schroeder noticed. Did she? Long seconds passed before she finally looked up, making eye contact with the boy whom she told she loved. Schroeder's world stopped moving as his gaze met Lucy's. Both their faces were obviously apprehensive, yet it was impossible to pinpoint exactly what she was feeling.

But just as quickly as their eyes met, Lucy looked back down at her plate and started eating. Schroeder soon followed, realizing that soon other people would catch him staring, still focused on deciphering what that look meant. What did she mean? What did she think he meant?

The lunch went by quickly, and people started to leave the table. First Shermy and Charlie Brown, followed by Patty and Frieda. And as Violet got up, Lucy followed, not even acknowledging Schroeder's presence.

Schroeder realized he needed to talk to her. It was the only way. He hated that look. He hated seeing Lucy like that. He knew that she wasn't going to talk to him, and following that fateful night's realization, he just couldn't let her go. He decided he was going to ask her to meet him after school and walk home together, as they always had done.

She was already making her way out of the cafeteria, so Schroeder got up and quickly walked to catch her; he just couldn't let her go after what she said. As the blonde boy reached the raven-haired girl, he grabbed her wrist without thinking. Startled, Lucy looked back, looking directly into Schroeder's brown eyes. Lucy's piercing blue eyes made Schroeder unable to speak, making him forget what he was going to say for a moment. After seconds that seemed like hours, the boy finally opened his mouth.

"Lucy—"

He couldn't get another word out before the girl pulled her arm from his grasp. Lucy still looked at him for a few seconds before she turned and walked away without looking back. Schroeder stood, incredulous.

That was the last interaction they had. The last time their eyes met and the last words they shared were only to each other in the last 3 weeks. Since then, Lucy never showed up at his house to walk to school or to spend time after school, sharing her adventures and interests while Schroeder played the piano. The boy missed it.

She does too, right? She has too. She told me she loved me. She told me she always had. Why does she ignore me? Why did she tell me in the first place?

What the hell was I supposed to do?

Finally, the boy fell asleep, ready for another uneventful weekend.

Schroeder was woken up to the sound of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, ready to make the best of the Saturday, and that meant playing his piano as much as he could. It always had been a way to escape from life's problems. The boy proceeded with his morning routine. Morning bath, breakfast, and sitting at his piano bench, before letting time fly as his fingers danced on the keyboard of the piano.

Today's playing was going impressively well as Schroeder practiced Beethoven's Hammerklavier 1st movement. A piece his younger self could only dream of playing. That was until he was rudely interrupted by a knock on his door.

Schroeder tried to dismiss the hope that on the other side of the door he was going to find the girl who kept him awake at night. He didn't need to, as he opened the door to find his old friend Charlie Brown, baseball glove in hand, accompanied by his younger sister Sally.

"Hey, Schroeder! Come down to the old field with us. Linus and the rest of the guys are already there."

Schroeder looked at his piano for a second before realizing that it wasn't every day that the whole group got together to hang out.

"Fine, fine. Let me just get ready."

Schroeder ran up the stairs to find his glove and gear as fast as he could. As he was putting on his shoes, he started to hear dissonant notes coming from his piano.

"Sally, don't touch his piano!" He heard coming from downstairs.

"But big brother! You should know I am quite musically inclined!"

"It sure doesn't seem so."

A smile appeared on Schroeder, something rare in the past few weeks, and he finished lacing his shoes and made his way downstairs to meet with the two.

"Don't listen to your brother; I'm sure you have plenty of musical talent." 

"Did you hear that, big brother? I told you! Schroeder knows what he's talking about!"

"Whatever, let's just go." Charlie Brown, said with a smile on his face.

Schroeder learned to regret his comment, as the entire walk to the field consisted of Sally trying to decide on an instrument to start playing with her newfound musical talent.

"Are you proud of what you've done? Now she thinks she's the next Beethoven." Charlie Brown mumbled to Schroeder.

The blonde boy only laughed as his friend's sister kept going on and on about the pros and cons of different instruments.

Finally, they reached the field and met with the rest of the guys and Heather, of course. Turns out Charlie Brown really managed to start dating her, so she would sometimes come hang out with the gang and was already starting to develop a friendship with some of the girls, including Lucy, who was sitting beside her.

Schroeder knew that Lucy might be here, but that didn't make him want to stay home; in contrast, that only motivated him to come. He wanted to be next to her, even if they didn't interact. He hoped that maybe she would make her way to him and apologize for ignoring him. Maybe she would just pretend nothing ever happened and go back to how their friendship used to be. Maybe.

The day was spent playing ball, as usual. People would take turns batting, with 3 tries each, in semblance of a real game, while Charlie Brown pitched and Schroeder served as the catcher.

It was Sally's turn to bat, and after 2 strikes, she managed to strike the ball with such force it flew out of the field. Sure, it wasn't a professional-sized field, much smaller in fact. But it was a surprise to everyone watching, including the young girl.

"I hit a home run! I hit a home run! Big brother, you saw it!"

Everyone cheered for the girl and quickly went up to celebrate the feat. It was already a rare occurrence when one of the boys managed to hit the ball out of the field, and it was definitely the first time Sally had managed to. As the celebration died down, Sally went and hugged Linus.

"I'm so happy! I couldn't have done it without your help, Linus! It's only because of our practice!"

Lucy's younger brother stood still, blushing as he usually did when Sally did such things.

"Maybe someday you are going to be able to pitch a decent fastball!" She said, still hugging him, laughing.

Linus tried to frown but couldn't, instead returning the hug, still blushing, which resulted in many teasing "ohhhs" from the friends, except from Charlie Brown, who quickly tried to resume the game after telling his little sister to stop hugging the black-haired boy.

It was finally time for the next batter, and to Schroeder's shock, Lucy decided she was finally going to play. She made her way to the plate, standing directly in front of Schroeder.

"Ready?" Charlie Brown asked.

Lucy nodded, and Schroeder gave a thumbs up, so Charlie got ready to pitch.

"Sssstrike one." Schroeder mumbled as the ball made contact with his glove. Lucy mumbled something inaudible.

The next pitch came, and, despite looking like Lucy was going to manage to hit it, she missed.

"Sssstrike two." Schroeder said this time louder than a mumble. Lucy let out an irritated groan.

They got ready for the last ball, the last chance for Lucy to hit. Charlie got ready to pitch and released a nasty fastball, straight into Schroeder's glove. Lucy had no chance.

"Strike three. You're out— Schroeder said, getting up.

"I request a different catcher, Charlie Brown." Lucy interrupted, not looking at the one behind her. Schroeder looked puzzled.

"What do you mean you want a different catcher? How does the catcher affect your batting?" Charlie Brown made his way closer to them.

"Well, I can't focus with the current one, so I need another." 

"What? Is the catcher too cute? Grow up, Lucy."

"That's not it."

Schroeder finally spoke: "So what is it? I didn't do anything. You can't blame me if I didn't do anything!"

Lucy turned around to face him, her cheeks turning red. "Maybe the problem is that you didn't do anything." 

Ah. He realized. "Maybe I didn't have the chance to do anything, don't you think?"

"You are not stupid; you could've realized sooner and done something then."

"How could I? You were literally with another, uh, catcher!"

"You know very well why! And I don't mean anything grand! Just something that made me feel like you wanted me to, uh, keep batting! And you liked so much to be with that other batter!"

"I never preferred any other batter over you, and you know it."

"Then why did you make me feel you did?"

"You could've just let me know!"

"I did!"

"And you ignored me ever since!"

"It didn't feel like it; you never even made an effort."

"I didn't?! What about that day in the cafeteria?!"

"It had just happened, Schroeder! I needed some time to think about what I had said! Ugh!"

"Yet I never found what you really meant! Or what was I supposed to do!"

"I meant what I said, and you do what you want. Ugh."

And with that, Lucy dropped her bat and left the field after loudly telling Linus, who was distracted sitting with Sally, that she was going home.

"I never know what's going on." Charlie Brown let out with a sigh, looking at a distraught Schroeder.

Chapter Text

Schroeder was woken up to the sound of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, ready for the last day of the weekend. Saturday’s afternoon passed by quickly since his interaction with Lucy, wich still kept replaying in his mind, despite the best efforts to ignore it.

Maybe the problem is that you didn't do anything.

You never even made an effort.

I needed some time to think about what I had said!

I meant what I said, and you do what you want.

“Girls sure are a confusing bunch.” He tought to himself, fully aware that he was just as confused about his own feelings for the raven-haired girl.

The blonde boy then got up and proceeded with his morning routine. Bath, breakfast, and sitting down at his piano, ready to resume the practice from the day before. Yet today he didn’t feel like practicing the difficult piece, and chose instead to play the ones he had already memorized over the years. Without thinking, he started playing different works in a random order from composers ranging from, of course, Beethoven to Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, Chopin and many others.

Schroeder spent most of his morning that way, playing any piece that came to mind, and he was having a great time doing so. While playing Waltz in A Minor from Chopin, he heard a knock on the door.

What does Charlie Brown want today?

His suspicion proved itself true as he opened the door to see his old friend standing with a characteristic shaky smile in his face.

“Hey Schroeder! Mind if I come in?”

“No, not at all.”

The two boys made their way into the living room, where Schroeder promptly sat on his piano bench and resumed playing while Charlie Brown laid down in the sofa.

After a few seconds of playing Schroeder asked:

“What brings you here Charlie Brown? Why are you not at the Van Pelt’s house, or practicing your pitching… Wait, how come you’re not hanging with your girlfriend?”

“It’s not because she’s my girlfriend that I have to spend every second with her!”

Schroeder simply looked back at his friend, somehow managing to keep playing.

“Fine. She’s out with her family.” Charlie Brown said with a frown, his tone a complete contrast of what it was seconds ago. Schroeder giggled while turning back to his piano.

“What’s so funny?”

“The fact that you’re so head over heels for the girl you’ve been dating for weeks now.”

“At least I’m not head over heels for a girl I’m not even dating, Schroeder.” Charlie Brown replied with a mischievous grin.

Schroeder’s fingers managed to mess up the chord he was playing so bad that he didn’t play any of the correct notes, before he held them frozen in the air.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh but you do, see, I was just at Lucy’s house-”

“What did she say?”

“Calm down Schroeder, damn.” He said giggling about his friend’s reaction. “I was at her house you see, until I mentioned the little fight you guys had yesterday, and said that you looked like an old couple fighting. I swear I never saw Lucy that red.”

Charlie Brown let out a laugh before concluding.

“Then she called me a blockhead and kicked me out, oh well.” 

He took a breath before continuing talking. 

“So, you either managed to make Lucy so mad that she gets irritated at the mere mention of your name, wich I find very unlikely, or you’re in some sort of lover’s quarrel.”

Schroeder sighed before finally speaking. “It’s not that.”

“Then what happened between you two? I don't know a person that hasn't noticed that you two haven’t even talk to eachother in the past few weeks.”

“Why do you care?” Schroeder asked mumbling, still facing his piano.

“Maybe because you’re both some of my closest friends or maybe because I’m just bored on a sunday morning.”

“Ugh. Fine.” Schroeder said finally getting up from his piano bench and turning around. Charlie Brown noticed how red his face was. The blonde boy made his way to the sofa where Charlie Brown quickly retracted his legs to make space for him. 

Schroeder sat, avoiding eye contact, while Charlie Brown kept his back against the arm rest, looking directly at his friend.

It took some seconds before the pianist finally started speaking.

“Remember that soccer player Lucy was seeing right at the start of the school year?”

“Schroeder Felton, don’t tell me you got jealous-”

“No, it’s not that, just listen. And don’t you dare tell anything that I’m about to say to anyone. Especially to Lucy.”

Charlie Brown made a gesture as if zipping his mouth shut.

“One night she showed up at my house after a date with the guy. She was wearing this long blue dress that matched her deep blue eyes-” He stopped talking as he noticed his friend trying not to laugh. His face got even redder as he punched his arm.

“Stop laughing you blockhead!” 

“Sorry, sorry, it’s just the way you describe her-”

Charlie Brown stopped talking as he noticed his friend stare and  took a deep breath to calm himself down, before gesturing for Schroeder to continue.

“As I was saying, she showed up at my house and she was crying, and had for a while by the looks of it.”

Charlie Brown expression changed to a worried one and he nodded, signaling for the blonde boy to continue.

“And it wasn’t because something had happened in between them, no! She said her date had gone very well and she had a great time.”

Charlie Brown now looked more puzzled than anything.

Schroeder breathed deeply and diverted his gaze to the ground before continuing.

“She said that she didn’t like the guy, and felt terrible about leading him on and making him waste his time.”

“Then why was she even going out with him?” Charlie Brown asked.

“That’s the thing. She said it was because she wanted to, uh, make me… jealous.”

"Oh."

“Yeah… but there’s more.”

Schroeder took another deep breath, still looking at the floor, and kept going.

“She said she herself was jealous about me and a girl from some of my classes, Sophie.”

“I know her, that blonde she sure has one big crush on you.”

“She does? Why didn’t you ever mention it?”

“Because I know you, Schroeder. I know you don’t like that kind of attention, especially from girls you hardly know… I tought Lucy knew that too. You seemed happy to have someone to talk about your nerdy music stuff, I didn’t want to ruin it.”

“I appreciate it Charlie Brown, I really do. But I already had someone with whom I could talk about that stuff.”

“Lucy? When did she get any good at music?”

“She didn’t, that’s not it. It’s just that… she listens to me, she really does… I mean did. And not just about music, about anything.”

Charlie Brown didn’t respond, noticing Schroeder’s face, who had managed to return to it’s regular pale color turn red again, this time even more intensely.

“Anyway, back to what matters. I explained that I didn’t like Sophie like that, of course, and then she told me she dreamed of me taking her out like Jonas, the soccer guy, did. She dreamed of me holding her hand and taking her to the movies and doing all those lovey dovey things.”

Charlie Brown just blinked.

“And to top it all off, before storming out of my house, she said she loved me, Charlie Brown. Lucy told me she never stopped loving me and she wished she didn’t! What does that even mean?” He said loudly while practically on the edge of his seat, before letting himself fall back with a loud groan and covering his face with his hands.

“Schroeder… Wow. I was not expecting that.” His friend finally reacted.

“Neither was I, so I didn’t say anything!”

“That was what, four or five weeks ago?”

“Three.”

“And you never tried talking to her since?”

“I did! Two days later, at the cafeteria, I stopped her while leaving and tried to talk to her, but she just turned her back on me!”

A brief silence ensued before Charlie Brown planted the palm of his hand in his forehead.

“So that’s what you guys meant as “that day in the cafeteria”. Schroeder, she is right. She was still probably scared and confused! You mean to tell me you never tried to speak to her again after that?”

“Well, yeah-”

“You’re so dumb, you know that?”

“How was I supposed to know what to do?!”

Charlie Brown let a long sigh leave him before speaking again.

“Let’s get something clear, Schroeder. You like her.”

“I’m not sure, you see, I-”

“I’m telling you, you do. Just the way you talk about her, the way your face gets red when you’re reminiscing about her, your reaction when I mentioned her name. You like Lucy.”

Schroeder stood in silence for a minute, the red in his face confirming his friend’s words, yet he was still unsure.

"But I don't know. Like- I'm just not sure.."

"Imagine you're, uh, playing the piano and Lucy's listening like usual. Now imagine you finish a hard piece and as you stand up she goes and congratulates you with a hug!"

Schroeder smiled unconsciously.

"I think I might be cracking up." The blonde boy said before breathing a deep breath. “I guess- maybe you’re right.”

“Then do something about it! Don’t just sit here in your sad little home hoping she comes to talk to you while playing love songs from 400 years ago-”

“Waltz in A Minor is not a love song, it’s in a minor key. Also, it was composed only-”

“I. Don’t. Care. Lucy might tho, go after her! Show her that you care! Show that you like her! She sure as hell likes you!”

Schroeder groaned and covered his face once again.

“I just… don’t know how to do that… or if I should. What if she started hating me after that night?”

“You surely are something else Schroeder Felton. Every single sign shows that you’re both madly in love with eachother and you just refuse to see them! I’m telling you, you like her and she likes you.”

“Alright, okay, cool, but what should I say to her?”

“I can’t help you with that, only you know why you like that girl. Go up to her and just speak your mind, show her that you care more about her than any other girl.”

“Yeah… I guess you’re right.”

“And do it quickly, Violet says she thinks you’re secretly dating Sophie and Lucy knows. People start making up things.”

“Ugh." He let out with a disgusted face. "Alright then.”

“I’ll leave now, to give you the time to think about that.” Charlie Brown said as he got up from the sofa.

“Ok, thanks Charlie Brown, I appreciate your help.”

The two boys walked to the Felton’s front door and Charlie Brown stepped outside.

“Remember, not a word about this to anyone, ever.” Schroeder said with a serious expression.

“I promise. Have a good day Schroeder.” Charlie Brown said, starting to walk away from the house. “Hell, I should be the one to open a psychiatry booth.” He added.

A flustered Schroeder quietly closed the door before leaning against it, reflecting on his friend’s advice. He really did like Lucy. She was definitely the only girl that ever made him feel anything like what he was feeling and whose idea of going on dates or being a couple didn't repulse him.

He definitely had to do something about it.

Chapter Text

Schroeder was woken up to the sound of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, looking at a monday ahead of him. Quickly, the boy got out of bed and proceeded with his mourning routine. Bath, breakfast and off to school.

Of course, the path that was once shared with Lucy was now taken alone, and as he walked he reminded himself of Charlie Brown’s advice.

Every single sign shows that you’re both madly in love with eachother and you just refuse to see them!

Show her that you care! Show that you like her! She sure as hell likes you!

And do it quickly, Violet says she thinks you’re secretly dating Sophie.

This last tought made him shake his head in repulse and snap back to reality.

“I definitely have to do something.” He tought to himself.

Eventually the boy reached the school, just in time to meet Charlie Brown at the entrance, so they headed for their first class together.

“How are you today Schroeder?”

“Fine, I guess.”

“Still thinking about yesterday?”

Schroeder rolled his eyes.

Charlie Brown sighed.

“Go ahead, ignore my advice, but don’t you be surprised when in the future you start thinking about what could’ve been.”

“I didn’t say that, I’m going to do something… I just need to figure out what I’m going to do first.”

“Sometimes the best way to do it is without thinking. When I asked Heather out I sure as hell didn’t think about it, if I did it would probably have ended like any of those other times when we were younger.”

Schroeder chuckled at the memories of when his friend’s wasn’t even to even look the girl in the eyes.

“Hey don’t laugh!” Charlie Brown said smiling as he gave him a friendly punch in his arm. “You’re almost worse than I was.”

“I refuse to think it’s even remotely similar, Charlie Brown.”

“You’re right, you’re definitely worse.”

And with that, they reached their classroom and sat in their usual desks, side by side, and talked about some big game from the day before. There were still a few minutes until class actually started, wich meant that the vast majority of his classmates haven’t yet arrived.

“Schroeder! Wow, you’re here earlier than me!”

Schroeder, who was facing his friend, turned to see a blonde girl enter the classroom.

“Hey Sophie, I sure am.” He replies.

She practically skips over to his desk and stands in front of him, before acknowledging his friend with a friendly wave.

“Good morning Charlie Brown!”

“Good morning to you too Sophie.”

The energetic girl seemed to always have a certain happy energy wich propagated in any room she was in. That and the fact that she was cute and had obviously taken an interest in the blonde pianist made Charlie Brown sometimes wonder why his friend would prefer their childhood friend Lucy Van Pelt over her, but he kept it to himself.

The girl looked back at Schroeder.

“Remember when you mentioned that you found Sergei Bortkiewich works super underrated?” The girl asked.

“I sure do!”

“And how it’s almost impossible to find anything from him in the shops?”

Schroeder nodded without breaking eye contact, confused.

“Well just look at what I found!”

The girl proceeded to take a record cover from her backpack in what seemed like great condition, and placed it on his desk. Despite being covered with information, the name Sergei Bortkiewicz instantly highlighted itself in Schroder’s eyes.

“Piano Concerto No. 1…” He read to himself, mumbling.

The boy, incredulous, looked back at the girl in front of him.

“Sophie, oh my god! WHere did you find this?! This is amazing!”

The girl’s face got a little red and she held her hands together, diverting her eye contact to the floor and spoke in a soft tone.

“Well… I was out of town with my parents and came across a record store, and I found it! When I saw it I remembered our conversation… so I bought it.” 

Schroeder looked back down at the record, examining it.

“This is great! Sorry for asking but, when you don’t need it… or when you want, if you want… Could I borrow it? Please?” He didn’t give a chance for the girl to answer before adding “Only if you don’t mind of course.”

The girl giggled and her face got a little redder.

“Schroeder, actually… I wanted to give you this… as a gift!”

Schroeder looked back up at the girl.

“Are you serious- Sophie! I can’t accept this! This was probably expensive and I just know you’d like to have it just as much as me!”

The girl giggled once again.

“It’s yours Schroeder, nothing you can do about it... Do you like it?”

“Do I like it? I love it! Thank you so much! What did I do to deserve this?!”

Sophie didn’t respond right away, but she noticed the classroom getting crowded, wich meant the teacher was coming. 

“You’re the kindest boy I’ve met in this school, also, you’re the only person that doesn’t find my interests weird or boring, I just want to show you my appreciation, Schroeder.” And with that, the blonde girl leaned in and gave the boy a kiss on the cheek, before rapidly making her way to her seat on the back of the class, blushing visibly hard.

Schroeder didn’t react, instead just looking at where once stood the blond girl, still processing what happened in the last few seconds.

Almost immediately the teacher walked in, which broke the boy’s trance. He looked at the album in front of him before looking at his friend Charlie Brown, who was visibly staring, wide-eyed. He couldn’t get a word out before the teacher started talking, which prompted both of them to turn forward and pay attention for the remainder of class.

As the teacher explained the subject Schroeder was stuck replaying the moment in his head, while also remembering Charlie Brown’s words and the whole Lucy situation. He liked Lucy, no doubt about that, yet he still valued Sophie as a friend and fellow classical music lover, and this put him in quite the conundrum.

Finally, the bell rang and people started packing up. Sophie was one of the first students to leave the classroom, not before shooting Schroeder a blushing smile, wich the boy responded by shakily smiling back.

“What the hell is going on?!”

The blonde boy turned his head and saw his friend staring at him.

“What?”

“What was that, Schroeder? Yesterday you told me you felt nothing for the girl. She is cute, sure, but like… what?”

“No no no, I don’t like her, I don’t… I just-”

“Well, a kiss on the cheek in the middle of class and blushing smiles aren’t normal between friends from where I come from.”

“Yeah. I’m fully aware, thank you Charlie Brown.”

“You really got to do something Schroeder, I don’t doubt that people are going to be thinking that you’re actually dating after this.”

Schroeder groaned and got up, packing his material carefully to not damage the record in his bag as he got ready to leave the classroom.

“I can’t stand it, I just can’t stand it.” He sighed.

The rest of the morning classes were a blur, except, of course, the last one. Music theory. In this specific class he sat right next to the blonde girl who had just given him one of the best gifts he could’ve asked for, and at the same time, put him in a really awkward situation.

Schroeder knew he had to step in before things escalated, he had to tell the girl that he was in no way interested romantically in her, no matter how uncomfortable it might be. That was the right thing to do. 

The truth is that the blonde boy was not completely unaccustomed to rejecting girls over the years. Under no circumstances could he have been considered a player or a heartbreaker, as he never craved the attention of a girl having a crush on him. He just always firmly, and some would even consider rudely, rejected their advances. This time it couldn’t be different, it didn’t matter if the girl in question was a fellow classical music lover and a good friend.

Finally, the boy reached the classroom, early as usual, and sat down at his usual desk, next to the already present blonde girl.

She was noticeably quiter than usual, as one would be after the morning situation, yet still gave Schroeder a warm smile as he sat besides her.

Normally he wouldn’t care a bit for a girl’s feelings, but seeing her so shy and flustered gave Schroeder a bad feeling in the stomach, so he couldn’t help as to shoot back a silent smile.

Don’t make this harder, just talk to her.

With a deep breath, the boy turned to look at her.

“Sophie.”

The girl, who was scribbling something on her notebook, turned.

“Yes, Schroeder?” She replied quietly.

“First I want to thank you again for the record, I really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome.” She said blushing, dodging the eye contact.

After a few seconds of silence, Schroeder spoke again.

“Sophie, I need to talk to you.”

“You can always talk to me.”

Schroeder took a deep breath before asking. “Do you… do you like me?”

Sophie blushed hard, still looking at the ground, and was unable to respond instantly, just letting out a sweet smile. Schroeder realized what he had just done. 

“I’m so sorry, that’s not what I meant, fuck.”

“No no- Schroder, it’s okay, actually, I really do-”

“You don’t get it, I DON’T like you, Sophie!” He cut her off.

The girl who was blushing and looking at the ground suddenly stared wide-eyed into Schroeder’s brown eyes, the color in her face disappearing.

“Wha-what?” she weezed out.

Schroeder noticed the water in her eyes, and he felt like someone had just shot him in the stomach.

“It’s just- you’re an amazing person, really. I just don’t have the feelings for you that you have for me.”

The girl once again needed some seconds to respond, her gaze lowering again onto the floor, and her usual smile and positive attitude were replaced by a sad expression that made Schroeder feel even worse.

“But… I don’t understand… I tought- I really tought you liked me back.”

“I’m so sorry, I should’ve realized sooner that you liked me. I really didn’t want to make you feel like that, I really didn’t.”

The girl looked back at Schroeder, and he noticed a single tear running down her face. 

“This is my fault… I’ve only known you for a month, I’m so sorry Schroeder. I should’ve known better.”

Schroeder couldn’t reply before the girl ripped away a page in her notebook, ans as she did the boy noticed that it was a note with him as the destinatary, covered with handmade decorations. Sophie quickly crumpled it and got up to leave the classroom, throwing the piece of paper in the trash as she left.

I’m a terrible person. He mumbled to himself, burrowing his face in his palms.

Surely, Sophie returned before the class started. Her usual happy radiance she emitted just wasn’t there, and she didn’t dare look at Schroeder’s direction for the whole class.

When the bell to signal the end of the class finally rang, she packed up and left as quickly as possible.

I had to do it one way or the other. 

Schroeder sighed.

It was the only way. 

It was now lunchtime, and Schroeder was fully convinced that he was going to sort things out with Lucy. Everything that Charlie Brown said repeated in his mind as he approached the table.

Lucy sat alone, the rest of the group, because of a Charlie Brown’s distraction, were late to lunch, which meant that they would have to wait in line long enough.

As he got closer, his legs and hands started to shake just a little, an evidence of his nervousness.

Pull yourself together, she literally told she liked you less than a month ago. Charlie Brown’s right.

Schroeder sat at her side, leaving just enough space to not make it weird. The girl, who was tired of sitting alone, turned his head to look at who finally came. But when she realized that it was Schroeder, her half opened mouth closed, and she looked back at her food.

She’s obviously not happy after saturday, calm down, you’re going to fix this.

“Lucy, I need to talk to you.”

The girl let out a sigh and looked at the boy next to her.

“Really, Schroeder?”

“Yeah, uhm, I wanted to say that-”

“You lied, Schroeder. You lied to me.”

“What?”

“I’m not stupid, Schroeder, everyone already knows.”

“Lucy, what are you talking about?”

“I knew that she has pretty eyes and a cute nose, but-”

Schroeder noticed Lucy’s eyes getting red as she kept on talking.

“But did you really have to lie to me, Schroeder? After what I told you that night? Did you have to lie?”

“Lucy… What the hell are you talking about?”

“You could have just told me, Schroeder! It would have made things a lot easier to me, you know!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” The boy practically screamed.

“The- the girl, the blonde one, Sophie! Why did you lie about liking her?! How did you have the nerve to look me in the eye and say that you preferred me over anyone else just two days ago?!”

“Because I don’t like her, Lucy! Where the hell is this coming from?!”

“You’re an idiot, Schroeder Felton, you’re a terrible person. I can’t understand why you would do something like this! Do you just like seeing me get hurt over you time and time again?! Is this some sort of game to you?!”

Despite Schroeder’s efforts to keep the discussion not that loud, it was getting the attention of some adjacent tables.

“Lucy, let me explain-”

“I don’t care Schroeder, I’m tired of this.” And with that, the blue eyed girl got up to leave, turning her back on the boy.

Quickly, the blonde jumped from the bench and grabbed her wrist. The girl looked back at him. Schroeder expected her to, once again, try to break free from his grasp, but this time it didn’t happen, so he continued speaking.

“I don’t like her, Lucy, I really don’t.”

“Oh yeah? Where I come from it’s not normal for people who don’t like eachother to kiss in class!”

Faint “ohhh’s” where heard from nearby tables, Schroeder paid no attention.

“She kissed me! On the cheek! It meant nothing!”

“It sure did, Schroeder! It did for her at least! She was telling her friends the whole story in the P.E. locker room!”

Schroeder didn’t manage to respond quickly enough, so the girl took a step closer to him, irritated.

“I kissed him in the cheek today in class.” 

She said, trying unsuccessfully to imitate the blonde girl’s voice.

“Yes, the cute blonde one who plays the piano.”

“And when I did, he got so flustered!”

“I really think he likes me back!”

Finally, she returned to her normal voice.

“How do you think that makes me feel, Schroeder?! Me, the girl who spent her whole childhood after some guy who never ever showed any sign of reciprocity! Hearing about how a girl who met you just weeks ago say that she thinks you like her?! How do you think that makes me feel?!”

“I don’t, Lucy! Fuck, listen to me! I told her I don't have feelings for her just before lunch! I like you, you blockhead! You!”

Lucy seemed to try to respond, unsuccessfully, before just staring at the boy, wide-eyed. So the boy kept going.

“Maybe I never showed you how much, maybe. But that’s just because I always tought you would always be there! That’s what I was going to talk to you about! I’ve missed you Lucy! I’ve missed your company while playing the piano! I’ve missed looking at your blue eyes! I’ve missed hearing you talk on and on about your stupid interests as much as I’ve missed talking to you about my own stupid interests!”

The girl tried to reply, but was unable for some seconds, before finally able to let out what she was thinking.

“Then prove it! Prove you’re not lying! Prove that you actually care about me and you’re not just going to hurt me again god damnit!”

Schroeder let out a sigh.

She was opening her mouth to speak again before being interrupted by the boy’s hand on her face, which quickly navigated to the back of her head and gently pulled it close to his.

“W-what are you doing.” She mumbled, looking directly at Schroeder’s focused brown eyes.

But Schroeder didn’t reply, looking deep into her watery blue eyes. Instead, he closed the distance between their lips, and kissed her. 

The rest of the cafeteria, who was quietly watching the situation, let out various audible reactions.

“Well I’ll be damned.” Violet said, without deflecting her look. The rest of the friend group, who were walking to the table, just watched silently.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity yet so quick at the same time, their lips separated, the boy still holding the girl’s head while they looked into each other's eyes. 

Lucy opened her mout, but no sound came out. Everyone could see how red her face was.

Schroeder, on the other hand, stayed put, waiting for a reaction.

After seconds of absolute silent staring, Lucy threw her arms around the blonde boy, embracing him tightly, her head on his shoulder. He, of course, hugged her back.

She looked at him again, and Schroeder could swear he never saw her that pretty.

“Just promise me, Schroeder. Promise to never hurt me again.”

Looking into her pleading blue eyes, he couldn’t resist but to let out a smile.

“I promise.”

They stood there, looking at eachother, before Lucy smirked.

“Blockhead.” She scoffed, before giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m going to wait for you after school.” Then, the girl turned and left the cafeteria.

Schroeder stayed put for a few more seconds, processing everything that had just happened. Finally, he noticed how almost everyone in the room was looking at him, and that was enough to make him blush and quickly sit back down.

His friends quickly sat at the same table. They had watched everything, to Schroeder’s dismay. The boy quickly burrowed his face in his palms in an attempt to hide how red his face was.

No one dared to be the first to speak before Violet asked:

“So… when’s the wedding?”

The last bell rang and the boy could finally leave school. So much things happened that day that he couldn’t wait to meet Lucy and head home. He hadn’t talked to her since lunch, as she was very busy talking and giggling with her friends at the back of the only class they shared. He knew they were talking about what had happened. He had preferred that it had happened somewhere no one else saw, but that just wasn’t the Lucy Van Pelt way, so he couldn’t help but smile.

Finally, he left the building, and after some seconds of search, he noticed the raven-haired girl standing in the sidewalk, with a usual mischievous smile on her face.

“Lucy.” He said as he approached her.

“Schroeder.” She giggled. “Or should I say, sweetie?”

Schroeder couldn’t help but blush and look away. Lucy was definitely back.

“I prefer the first one, thanks.”

“That’s oddly non romantical for the guy who kissed me infront of the whole school.” She said grinning.

Schroeder only blushed more and grabbed her wrist, pulling her away from the school.

“Let’s just go home.” He said.

Lucy gently pulled away from his grasp before interlocking their fingers. “Way better.”

The walk back was uneventful, filled with the comfortable silence of a normalcy restored. That was until they reached Schroeder’s front door, where the boy proceeded to take the keys out of his pockets, yet he froze before opening the door.

“What’s going on?” Lucy asked.

Schroeder tought for a moment before answering her question.

“You know what? I feel like going to the movies, I heard that some cheesy romance movie released.”

Lucy tried to contain her excitement. “Oh my! Since when does Schroeder Felton enjoy cheesy romances?”

Schroeder replied looking into her eyes.

“He doesn’t, but his girlfriend sure does.”

Lucy blushed hard and stood still, before giving him a kiss on the lips, longer than the one at the cafeteria, and this it was more passionate, more private, this time no one else was there to witness, it was just them.

Finally, their lips separated, yet their faces stayed close, breathing in the same air. They both looked at one another before Lucy started giggling, and that caused the blonde boy to smile.

“What?” He asked.

The raven-haired girl didn’t reply, instead choosing to attack his face with quick kisses all over while laughing hysterically.

The boy pulled away, his face completely red, watching the girl giggle to herself. He grabbed her hand and started to walk down the steps of his porch.

“Let’s just go, before I change my mind.” He said, the sarcasm evident in his tone.

“You won’t, I’m your girlfriend after all!”