Sweet Dreams Gone Bitter

A Peanuts Fanfiction

By LivingOnLaughs

"Peppermint Patty, this is the best sleepover I've EVER been to" exclaimed Charlie Brown, scarfing down handfuls of popcorn.

"I know, Charlie Brown!" Linus added, sipping a can of soda happily. "I can't believe she hasn't invited us sooner"

"Me neither" Franklin responded as Schroeder nodded.

"Agreed" Schroeder nodded happily again as he looked over at Lucy, exhausted and leaning on his shoulder.

"Mm…Schroeder, you're so soft" muttered a drowsy Lucy Van Pelt.

"Who wants to hear a horror story?" questioned Peppermint Patty, the sleepover hostess.

"We do!" nearly all the kids answered, the only exception being Charlie Brown.

"Well…this is the story of the boogeyman!" exclaimed the tomboy. "They say he lives in the closet. People who've seen him say he has messy hair; yellow teeth; deep, sunken, red eyes; he likes to grab children by the ankles and most of all, he loves giving them nightmares based on their pet peeves! Mwahahahahahahaha!" thunder clapped as Patty cackled manically.

"There's no such thing" repeated Charlie Brown to himself, looking over at the tomboy.

"Sir, that wasn't real, was it?" asked Marcie, hugging Franklin (and a teddy bear) in fear.

"Of course not, Marcie…and stop calling me 'Sir'!" the freckled tomboy replied.

"Besides, we'll all protect each other if he's real" reassured Franklin, kissing his girlfriend's cheek.

"Hold me, Linus!" begged Sally to her Sweet Babboo as he reluctantly stroked her curls.

Lucy immediately jerked awake. "Schroeder, the boogeyman isn't real, Patricia said so, so there's absolutely nothing to be afraid of" she reassured, trembling in fear.

Schroeder could only sigh. "Beethoven was never afraid of the boogeyman" he told himself, clinging onto his toy piano nervously.

"Goodnight guys! Sleep tight, don't let the boogeyman bite" explained Peppermint Patty, turning off the light as she nuzzled in her bed, the others huddled together in their sleeping bags.

"Linus, I'm too scared to sleep" whispered Charlie Brown to his blanket carrying friend.

"Same here, Charlie Brown" replied Linus to the blockhead.

Franklin nodded in agreement, hugging Marcie. "I just hope Patty was only kidding" he prayed.

"She said it wasn't real" growled the fussbudget to the African-American boy.

"I know…but it seemed so real" the bespectacled girl told the kids. "Maybe we should barricade the closet just in ca-" she suggested as the kids stared blankly.

"No way, Marcie!" shouted Lucy bitterly. "The boogeyman isn't real! You have nothing to worry about!"

"Keep it down, guys" muttered Peppermint Patty sleepily. If anything, she despised when her friends wouldn't let her sleep. "I need my beauty sleep, you know"

"How long will THAT be, Patricia?" teased the black haired girl in the light blue, sleeveless nightgown.

Patty groaned at that comment as she walked towards her friends. "Very droll, Lucille" she sighed. "Marce, Lucille's right…it's just an old, stupid wives tail anyways" she added, beeping her feared friend on the nose.

"My grandpa says that some wives tails can traumatize a kid for life" Franklin announced, alarming the kids.

"Well guys, let's turn in" Patty suggested, climbing back into her bed.

"Say, Patty…can you sleep with us please?" asked Linus, hugging his blanket anxiously.

"Sure thing" sighed the freckled girl, grabbing her pillow and a peppermint printed blanket. "Besides, if any of you have a nightmare, I'm your go-to gal" she added.


A few minutes later though, Patty found herself stranded on a desert island, cold, hungry and desperate to play sports. "Hey kid, where can I sign up for baseball?" she asked a small boy in a leaf skirt.

"Girl with big nose no play baseball. Baseball boy only sport" the boy explained, alarming Patty as she screamed in disbelief.


"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" she screamed.

"Sir? Sir? Sir, wake up!" shouted Marcie, grabbing onto her friend's collar and shaking her.

"Marce, what's wrong?" the tomboy asked, awaking in a cold sweat.

"You were having a nightmare" explained Sally.

"And you woke us up" added Schroeder in annoyance.

"It must've been really scary" agreed Franklin.

"What happened?" asked Lucy.

"Because it seemed horrible" continued Charlie Brown

"Did it involve queen snakes or gully cats?" questioned Linus.

"LINUS!" the kids called out as he blushed a vivid pink.

"What? Those things give me nightmares" the blanket carrying boy confessed.

"You know what? I don't think any of us are gonna get any sleep at all" Marcie announced before (ironically) zonking out, using Franklin as a pillow.

Patty could only sigh and remove her friend's glasses from her face. "She wears them to see what she dreams of…that HAS to be disturbing at times" she suggested.

"That's why I use a nightlight" Schroeder admitted, pulling out a music note shaped nightlight from his pillowcase.

"Nice" whispered Franklin, placing his sleeping girlfriend in her sleeping bag and tucking her in.

"Thanks…it helps me sleep when I have nightmares" the blonde boy responded, plugging in the nightlight into a light socket. A luminescent, cozy glow filled the room.

"Warm too" complimented Peppermint Patty as a dark blue shadow filled the room, trapping them all in its embrace.