Disclaimer: I own nothing. I wish I owned something, but I do not have a million dollars, nor am I best friends with the people who do. Otherwise, I would own it. All other notes to be made at the end of the story. Thank you.
Charles Brown was miserable. He'd been miserable for a long, long time. Of course, this could be blamed on a beagle named Snoopy, who had left him one summer when Charlie was about eight, and never came back once, not even for a visit. Charlie Brown had loved Snoopy, even if he didn't show it, and had been heartbroken ever since.
To show it, he had yet to actually come outside overly much since he was ten and had run into the owners of the she-beagle Snoopy had nearly killed himself trying to impress, walking said beagle. Seeing them, or rather, the she-dog, had brought back memories of Snoopy, still sharp two years later, and he had hid inside. He had refused to leave ever since, not willing to risk seeing the she-beagle, the cat next door or any number of other things that would lead him straight back to thinking about Snoopy.
His friends understood at the time. They had all been heartbroken when Snoopy left, and even Lucy, the most hardened of them all, had sobbed for several days straight after the beagle had left—and she had maintained all that time that Snoopy was nothing to her but a "Stupid Beagle." Of course, at the time, they were only ten years old.
Now they were nearly adults, 17 years old, and while they could sympathize, they couldn't really understand. Well, they probably could, but they didn't want to. They wanted to make Charlie Brown come back outside again.
Of course, they didn't know that they had a distinct advantage that Charlie would never have—their sorrow and the memory of the heartbreak caused by Snoopy's leaving had dulled and faded over the course of time. For Charlie, it never had, and never would. Snoopy, and anything that could even distantly relate to Snoopy, was just as painfully sharp now as it had been when he was eight years old, and watching his best friend walk away into the distance, little blue suitcase in one paw, and his pink water dish on top his head like some sort of hat.
When he was eleven, he was joined by the only other creature who could possibly understand—Snoopy's former best friend, Woodstock the bird. Woodstock never got over Snoopy either, and he never could find him to visit him. Woodstock still lived on today, sadly sitting in the nest just outside the window Charlie Brown would sit at everyday after school. Woodstock he had gotten used to, and it was rare that Snoopy would come up in regards to the bird, even though dog and bird were always hanging out together.
"Come on Charlie Brown, come outside. It's very nice out today, and I was thinking we could throw the ball around, for old times sakes, you know?" Linus tried to convince his best friend to come out. Charlie's sister, Sally, stood next to her boyfriend—Linus had finally caved in 9th grade to being Sally's soul mate, and they'd been going strong ever since—watching her older brother in concern. She hadn't minded it when he was ten—she'd been eight—and had refused to go out anymore, but now this had her very upset and worried.
"Go on, Big Brother. It'll be so much fun!!" she tried to help.
"No thanks. I don't feel like playing ball." He refused to think of his shortstop when he'd managed the little league team.
"How about we head over to Schroeder's and have him give us a concert in his backyard? He can use that toy piano he has yet to give up…" Linus tried again.
"Going to Schroeder's involves walking over, and I don't feel like meeting anyone." Or their dogs; no! Don't think about it!
Outside, Woodstock let off a mournful chirp, like he could read his thoughts.
Linus and Sally exchanged glances, and sighed. Turning around, they headed back outside to the Brown's backyard, where the others were waiting hopefully. Their faces fell at the miserable looks on the couple's faces, and the missing Charlie Brown.
"Nothing works. We tried baseball, and even Schroeder giving us a backyard concert on his toy piano, but he shot us down." cried Linus.
"Why is he doing this? Why does he refuse to come outside?" asked Marcie, looking confused and unhappy.
"Snoopy's why, I have no doubt. Remember when he started, after seeing that she-beagle Snoopy was always trying to impress?" asked Lucy.
"You think Chuck is still hurting that badly from Snoopy's leaving us?" asked "Peppermint" Patty.
"More then likely. When we tried the concert thing, he told us that he didn't feel up to meeting anyone else during the walk from the house." replied Sally.
"Meeting anyone else, or meeting their dogs?" questioned Franklin, somewhat darkly.
Linus stared sadly at the empty doghouse they had, rather unconsciously, gathered in front of. Memories, long since faded by the passage of time, sprung to mind once more, the most prominent among them the heartbreaking farewell party they had thrown the beagle that had once occupied the place.
Snoopy typing up his "Great American Novel", pretending to be a WWI Flying Ace after the Red Baron, just generally sleeping on top, or ordering Woodstock to type letters for him. Following these memories, others; Snoopy's game of taking his old security blanket and tossing him, playing second base and watching Shortstop Snoopy go after the ball like only a dog can and more.
A sudden memory popped out—Charlie Brown and Snoopy at Snoopy's farewell party. He had invited Charlie Brown, as former owner, up to the make-shift podium to say a few words about the guest of honor, but Charlie Brown had said nothing whatsoever. Linus, sitting directly next to the podium, had no trouble seeing the other boy's real tears, even though Charlie Brown had his face down to hide them from the others, Snoopy included.
Snoopy's heartbroken howl when Charlie Brown had finally done something—had given Snoopy a present, wrapped in simple white paper with a thin green ribbon, actually—echoed rather painfully in his mind, as did the equally heartbroken wail Charlie Brown had released in response.
"Why is Charles still not over Snoopy?"
"Snoopy was a best friend to all of us, even if it didn't look like it. For Charlie Brown, he was more then a simple best friend. Almost like a brother, perhaps. We were all heartbroken when he left, but no one was more so then Charlie Brown—save perhaps Snoopy himself." Linus found himself answering.
Everyone stared at him.
"How do you figure?" asked Patty.
"Remember the party? When I had Charlie Brown come up to say a few words? His head was bowed and remained so nearly the entire time he was up there."
"Yeah, I remember. It only moved after he had finally given Snoopy his present—Snoopy began howling and he looked up and began wailing." said Lucy.
"Charlie never got over him, and we let him stew. It was only when we were in middle school that we tried to get him to come outside, and only now that we really face the issue at hand. Man, but we are so stupid." Sally ranted, more to herself then the others.
"But do we do now? We know the issue, but there's little we can do to solve it, from the looks of it. The only way to solve the issue now is to bring Snoopy back. And we can't. Not even Woodstock found him again, and we all know he tried." Patty said.
"I don't know." And there seemed nothing more to say to that.
A few months later, when the gang had tried everything they could think of to revive Charlie Brown, call him back from the heartbroken depression Snoopy left him in for years, something even more stunning and unexpected happened. This something blew every single member of the gang out of the water.
It appeared innocently enough. Sally had just gotten the Brown family's mail, and was looking through it to see if anything had come for her. Nothing had, but she did come across an interesting letter addressed to her brother. It came, according to the return address, from the most unusual of places—the Army.
"Why would the Army be writing to you?" she asked as she handed over the letter. Charlie Brown, newly 18 since last month, smiled a mysterious smile that held no happiness in it.
"Because I sent them a letter."
"A letter? Who do you know in the Military?"
"No one. I was writing for myself."
He proceeded to ignore the gawking look his baby sister gave him as he read over the letter. He inwardly winced at his placement within the troops, but decided not to care. He would go, and it would get him away from his friends and his memories. Nothing else to it.
"What's it say?" Sally couldn't decide of she really wanted to know or not.
"I'm to report to training in a week. The camp is somewhere in Arkansas."
Sally Brown was horrified.
No one could understand why they were standing in front of Snoopy's old dog house. They were all surprised, as they had all been called, but no one could figure out why or who had called the meeting. They could only guess it had to do with Charlie Brown.
Sally was the last to join the group, and she immediately moved them into Snoopy's doghouse, which was rather bigger then it looked. They fit comfortably enough, especially since they had renovated and made it a makeshift tree-house. Once settled, Sally took the head.
"I have called this meeting to discuss something very important I have just learned this afternoon. My brother, Charlie Brown, has asked and been accepted to join the Army."
"The ARMY?!" cried Linus in alarm. Considering the war brewing in Europe, and the fact that the States could well get involved if they decide to, he probably had good reason.
"They sent a letter of acceptance back today. Charlie Brown has to go to training somewhere in Arkansas in a week. At least, according to him."
"You know otherwise?" asked Marcie.
"No. I just don't trust his word, is all."
"And we didn't know this until now? How could this have passed us?"
"He asked Mom to mail the letter for him, but I didn't see the need to report it, because I just thought it was a simple letter. Maybe he was writing to find out what happened to Lila and her family, or maybe he found another pen pal or something. I never saw its addressee."
"Wonderful. We lose Snoopy, now, ten years later, we lose Charlie Brown. Whose next? Linus? Patty? Marcie, maybe?" Lucy sounded close to tears—something she hadn't been since Snoopy left.
"I don't know. We may not lose Charlie Brown anyway. There's no guarantee that he'll be sent into service. We haven't actually entered the conflict yet. Maybe he'll just do some training and get some college money and nothing else will happen." Schroeder pointed out.
"Let us pray that's the case. If we lose Charlie Brown, so help me but I will never recover." said Patty.
The others agreed.
The farewell party the group threw for Charlie Brown was like none others they ever threw before, the exception being the farewell party held ten years earlier for a certain black and white beagle. Charlie got a few different gifts, rather then the bones everyone had gotten for Snoopy, but that was okay. The tears shed were no different for dog or boy.
So it was that things were set in motion for an interesting time for one Charles Brown. He left the next day for the camp in Arkansas, and his friends came to see him off. They waved goodbye till the plane was no longer visible, and they prayed that the only things the boy they once called "Good 'ol Wishy-Washy Charlie Brown" would receive is a few self-defense moves and some college money.
Unfortunately, their prayers weren't answered. In 1941, the Browns would receive a letter that said their son was to be sent over to Europe. Mrs. Brown would be near inconsolable. Mr. Brown would spend the next several hours in deep prayer.
Sally Brown would call another emergency meeting of the gang, and spread the word. After they were told, the gang would end up sitting in shock for a couple of hours, before they silently made their ways home. Some of them would take the path traveled by Mrs. Brown. Some of them would follow Mr. Brown's footsteps. And others would take a route not yet traveled.
But they would all stay behind at home, hoping, praying, wishing that their friend, brother and family member would come back to them, and not in a coffin.
None of them would know of what would really happen, first at a military camp in Arkansas, and then on the frontlines of war. But two independent and heartbroken souls would, and they would find each other very early on. And they would depend on each other to help themselves survive.
The only question now remains, would it be enough?
I have no idea what I am doing. Nada, zilch, zero. I got that best friends song from "Snoopy Come Home" stuck in my head, and watched the movie to get it OUT. Unfortunately, I have also become slightly obsessed lately over the Holocaust, and this has led to several very odd little stories. Concurrently, I am tempted to place a Holocaust themed Harry Potter fic up, but I'll wait.
To make matters worse, I had a little "What if" thought that pop into my head after the movie, wherein that "No dogs allowed" sign did not exist and Snoopy stuck with Lila. So now we have a Snoopy who didn't go home and a WWII plotline running rampant in my head.
This is the result.
And so I give you my very first Peanuts fic ever. I hope you liked the Prologue, and I can hardly wait to plot out Charlie Brown's reunion with Snoopy.
And yes, I'm well aware of several liberties I'm taking here. But I do not remember the comics mentioning a specific time period, I've forgotten which war Grandfather Brown fought in—I'm going to pretend it was the first world war—and if Shultz can not have them age anymore, then I can keep Snoopy from aging so that he isn't that old.
That said, I'm going to leave now, and hope you leave a review. Till next chapter!!!
Werewolf of Suburbia.