A/N: Schroeder walked up to Charlie Brown. In the distance, a young authoress watched out of the corner of her eye as the two boys interacted. They sat, oblivious to the young woman watching their movements.
"Fanfiction is horrible," Schroeder stated. "It is very manipulative and is usually not very in-line with our personalities. Don't you agree Charlie Brown?"
Charlie looked up at the sky. "Oh I don't know…" he hummed. "I think fanfiction is pretty neat. I think we're lucky to have people who care so much about us that they write fanfiction. I think having fanfiction around has made this a better world."
Faster than anyone could blink, the girl had the young boy in a tight hug.
"Oh good grief," he muttered.
He turned to the readers. "xXWiseGirlIamnotXx does not own me, Peppermint Patty, Peanuts, or anything else she may mention. We all belong to Charles M. Schulz."
With a heavy sigh, he walked away, dragging the still-clinging girl along with him.
"Anyone here like fanfiction authors?" he called. "Anyone at all?"
His voice faded into the distance.
Confessional Anxieties
Charlie sighed, gazing longingly across the playground at his object of infatuation, the Little Red Haired girl. Oh how he wished she would only turn her head and glance at him; just a tiny glimpse. But he knew she wouldn't, because she was a something and he was a nothing. It was the way the world worked.
"She doesn't deserve you."
"Huh?" Charlie Brown said, whipping his head around to stare at the speaker, Peppermint Patty.
"That girl doesn't deserve you. If she can't notice what a great guy you are, then the Little Red Haired Girl doesn't deserve you," she stated.
"You think I'm great?"
"Of course I do you Blockhead," she said gruffly. "I mean sure, you're not perfect and I can still kick your butt in sports, but you're still good in your own right."
"Thanks," He sighed. "It's funny, when you like someone and you know they don't like you back. Have you ever felt that way Patty?"
She turned pink. "Erm…Uh NO! Pshh, of course not! Why would I ever-" she cut herself off and sighed. "Yes I do."
"I'm sorry," he frowned. He wondered who he was.
They sat in silence for a while, before Charlie Brown said, "He'd be lucky to have you Patty, you're a wonderful person."
"Thanks Chuck." She huffed a little, wondering how obvious she'd have to be. "There are girls out there that'd probably be better for you than her."
He let out a laugh that was a little too dark for his age. "Who'd take me? I'm only dull Whishy-Washy Charlie Brown. No one in their right mind would ever love me! Remember?"
She flinched, remembering the disastrous game of Ha Ha Herman. He sighed mournfully. She scowled. "You're wrong Chuck, someone does love you!" She clamped a hand over her mouth. She hadn't meant to say that out loud.
He turned his head towards her so fast he cricked his neck. Rubbing it softly, he looked at her excitedly. "Who is she? Do I know her? Is she insane!?"
A flush crept up her neck. She hoped he wouldn't notice. "You do know her," she mumbled. "She isn't insane and she's a bit angry that you still haven't noticed any of her hints. I'm not saying who she is." She turned up her head, begging the flush to go away. No such luck, her cheeks still felt burnt.
"Hints?"
And suddenly something inside her snapped. She was tired of everything. Tired of him never noticing her; tired of the way he always took her hints as platonic; and especially tired of that stupid undeserving Red Hair Girl he was continuously whining about! She stood up angrily. This was it!
"YOU BLOCKHEAD! TAKE A CLUE, WHY DON'T YOU?" she yelled, causing him to look up at her in deep surprise. Many of the inhabitants of the playground turned to look at them.
"IT'S ME, OKAY?! I LIKE YOU! I'VE BEEN DROPPING A MILLION AND FOUR HINTS THAT YOU'VE MISSED OBLIVIOUSLY!"
And despite his frantic callings to her, she ran off, leaving behind a shocked playground, a confused Charlie Brown, and a mess of emotions in his brains.
"She likes me?" he whispered, in awe. How could anyone like him?
"Well I don't think anyone saw that coming," Linus commented.
"I did," Marcie added her two cents in quietly. "I always knew she was in love with Charles." She didn't mention that she too was in love with him.
Charlie Brown choked slightly. L-love?!
"Oh, good grief Charlie Brown," Lucy said shaking her head. "Don't you know anything? She wants you to go after her."
Shaking his head to clear his mind, Charlie Brown rose and slowly made his way in the direction she had ran off, still thinking. Hadn't she been the one who had said no one could ever love him? He had never felt this muddled and confused before.
~oOo~
Meanwhile, Peppermint Patty sat sulking under her favorite tree. What was wrong with her? Chuck probably hated her now. Or worse! He was laughing at her.
"Get ahold of yourself Patricia," she mumbled to herself. "Chuck would never do something like that."
"I'd never do something like what?"
Peppermint Patty jumped a foot in the air. Turning around she faced Chuck, who had somehow snuck up on her. "Don't do that!"
"Sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. She turned her back on him.
"Come to gloat at my misfortune?"
He frowned. "You know I'd never. And why would I? I'm actually flattered, if not a bit confused, that you like me. I mean, why me?"
She blushed, something of a rare sight for Charlie Brown. He didn't comment on it.
"I'm not sure really," she contemplated, rubbing her chin. "It just sorta…happened, ya know? One day you were just that kid I could strike out in three straight pitches, and then…boom! I've fallen for you."
She sighed, leaning against the tree she'd dubbed as Theirs. Charlie Brown did not speak for a long while.
"I've thought about it before," he said finally. "Like when you'd say something really confusing, or when you ask me about love. I'd think, why would she say something like that? Does she like me? Of course I'd always talk myself out of it. I didn't know it was possible for someone to love someone like me."
"That's depressing," she said.
"That's life," he sighed.
"It's untrue, you know," she told him. "As you've finally come to realize, I lo-like you."
"I know. It's just, after such a long time without anyone seeming to care about me; it's a little hard to understand."
They sat in dejected silence for a while.
"I wasn't always this way," he said finally, "depressed."
"Really?"
"Yeah," he nodded a rather sad grin on his face. "In fact, if you can believe it, I was a bit of a prankster when I was younger."
She tried to imagine it and found she couldn't. She gazed at him intently. He eyed her oddly.
"What?" he asked.
"I'm waiting for you to tell me about it," she told him exasperatedly.
He thought about it hard.
"Well I can't remember much before I was four…Hmmm, well one time…."
Over the next four hours, Charlie gave detailed explanations on every prank he could remember doing, grinning the entire time. She listened with interest; both were oblivious to the rest of the world around them. Lucy, Linus, Schroder and Marcie watch this scene unfold with curiosity.
"He…looks so…happy," Lucy said, watching as Charlie Brown laughed at something his companion said.
"It's a bit hard to imagine sometimes, isn't it?" Linus said softly. "Him being cheerful like this."
"Yeah…"
"I think we should leave them be, for now," Marcie said, the barest color of sadness in her voice.
The other three nodded and they crept silently away, leaving the couple to talk.
That's it. So, what did you think? Please review! Also I hope all of you got the big reference I made in the author's note at the top:)