Charlie Brown's Regret
A Peanuts Fanfiction
Warning: Mature themes! Proceed with caution
You have been warned.
Chapter 1
It happened so quickly
It had been an exciting day as Charlie Brown and Marcie slept tranquilly in the backseat of the Brown family car. The day had begun happily with a movie and a few arcade games, finishing it off with a romantic date at a restaurant.
Charlie's hazel eyes opened to the music his dad was blasting on the radio: AC DC. "Good grief, dad" the lovable loser sighed, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Sorry kiddo, go back to sleep" Mr. Brown called back to the round headed kid.
"I'll try" Charlie Brown answered, his glance falling upon Marcie. The bespectacled girl had zonked out next to him, her cheek touching the window as she smiled softly; he then realized it.
"Uh oh, she didn't buckle herself in" he told himself, grabbing ahold of the seatbelt. He was about to click it into the buckle when the car swerved to the right, the girl collapsing into his lap as her plush bunny fell on the ground.
Mr. Brown began a road rage whilst Charlie Brown sat there in silent awe. "It's okay shortstop, just some road hog trying to push us off the road" Charlie's dad answered.
"Dad, were we gonna die?" the lovable loser asked as his dad stepped on the brakes.
"Charlie, we weren't going to die, why'd you ask?" his dad questioned, turning to the backseat.
"Well, I was wondering…if we got into a major crash, what would've happened?" the round headed kid wondered, picking up the toy bunny.
"Then I guess we would've crashed into that tree over there" Mr. Brown responded, sending shivers down his son's spine.
"Oh, okay" Charlie answered his father as he got his friend's seatbelt on.
"Thanks for asking though" Charlie's dad smiled, starting the car again.
About a few minutes later, Charlie Brown was resting his head on Marcie's lap. Sure it was uncomfortable with the leather strap; but it was better than having a death wish waiting to be answered.
Charlie's eyes were about to flutter shut when he heard a loud crunch from behind him. "Marcie? Marcie, did you hear that?" he asked, nudging his friend without an answer. "Dad?"
"Yeah, Charlie; I heard it too…are you two alright?" Mr. Brown asked without an answer.
"Just scared" the lovable loser thought, trembling violently. "Yeah, I'm fine" he explained.
"And your girlfriend?" Mr. Brown teased worriedly.
Marcie! Charlie Brown had nearly forgotten that she could've been hurt. He quickly glanced at her to realize that she was still asleep, unharmed too.
"Yeah, she's good too" he answered.
"Well let's check the damage" Charlie's dad sighed, getting out of the car, accidentally putting it on 'Forward' with the kids in the car.
"Dad! Please help us!" Charlie Brown yelled as the car rolled down the road and straight into another car. That was all he saw before he blacked out.
The lovable loser awoke in the hospital, attached to a machine, yet seeing some familiar faces.
"Chuck, are you okay?" a freckled girl asked as she sat by his bedside.
"Yeah Big Brother…Mom got us here as soon as she heard" Sally Brown announced, hugging her brother.
"What bones did I break?" Charlie asked.
"You just have a mild concussion, a broken ankle and a dislocated shoulder; nothing serious though," a blonde boy, answered.
"Well that's good to hear…is Marcie okay?" the round headed kid then questioned, causing the room to go silent.
"Chuck, when you two crashed into the car…" Peppermint Patty began, holding back tears as she looked at the shattered shards of opaque glass, "well, she…let's just say that…"
"Let's just say what?" Charlie Brown asked in confusion.
"Listen Chuck, this may be hard to process but when you two crashed into that car; she kind of…" the tomboy repeated, still in tears.
"You mean?" he asked, expecting the worse.
"Afraid so" Schroeder explained with a sigh. "The crash impact left her in a coma" he added, causing Charlie Brown to sigh in relief.
"At least I didn't kill her," the round headed kid reminded his friends.
"You didn't let me finish…she's in a critical condition and might not make it through the night and has a low chance of survival without life support" the blonde-haired pianist finished as Charlie's mouth dropped.
"She can't die, Schroeder! She's my friend!" the round headed kid whimpered, catching his friends' drift.
"Try telling that to the doctors, Chuck, they don't believe she'll make it" Patty sniffled.
"Well I know Marcie and she'd never die on me!" the lovable loser shouted.