Charlie Brown and Heather watched the scene in front of them with warm grins on their faces, and Heather had her hands clasped together close to her chest. It truly warmed Heather's heart to see how close Linus and Janice clearly were, despite having now spent several years apart (according to what Linus told her).
Not everyone looked too thrilled though to see Linus and Janice in their current state. Sally had her eyes narrowed specifically at Janice, and with each second of Linus and Janice still hugging, the green-eyed monster was manifesting itself more and more inside of Sally. Why had Linus never hugged her like this? In fact, she couldn't remember the last time Linus had hugged her at all. Had he ever?
Finally, Janice and Linus broke from their hug and the two of them faced the rest of the group.
"Janice, you remember Charlie Brown, right? My best guy friend?" Linus then asked Janice. "And his sister, Sally?"
"Oh, yes. How could I forget them?" Janice replied, smiling. "It's nice to see you both again as well."
"Thank you," Charlie Brown said.
Sally said nothing, but gave a curt nod. The smile on Janice's face faltered a bit at Sally's current behavior. She thought that Sally would be at least a little more enthusiastic to see an old friend than that.
Janice shrugged it off though and turned at last to the pretty redhead that was with the group.
"Hello. I don't think I've ever met you before," Janice said. "I love your hair bow by the way."
"Awww, thank you. And I love your dress. I think that color looks really pretty on you," Heather replied.
"Thank you. I just got it a few weeks ago," Janice replied with a smile.
"By the way, my name is Heather Wold. I'm a good friend of Charlie Brown's," Heather then told Janice before glancing at Charlie Brown with a smile.
"It's nice to meet you," Janice said. "I think I remember once or twice Charlie Brown, or was it Linus, mentioning your name."
Janice though was not about to mention to Heather that Charlie Brown, when they were younger, still often referred to Heather as "The Little Red-Haired Girl". It had always sounded kind of odd to Janice to hear him refer to Heather like that.
Seconds later, the group heard a voice calling out to Janice. They all looked and saw that it was the same girl whom the group saw just moments ago. She was running up towards everyone.
"Sorry, guys, I gotta get back and finish..." Janice said, but she got interrupted by the other girl.
"No, no, Janice. I was actually just talking to Mom," the girl said, now having reached the group. Linus immediately recognized her as Janice's older sister. "She said that you and Linus can go and spend a little time together."
"Are you sure about that? She's really okay with it?" Janice asked.
"Yep! You just leave everything to the rest of us for the time being. Go and take a little time to catch up with your friend," the girl said.
She then gave Janice a sly smile and a wink, causing Janice's face to go slightly red.
"Well... okay. If she really said it was okay," Janice then said.
The girl nodded before making her way back to the house. Janice then turned to Linus, who now had a hopeful look on his face.
"Well, Linus, Mom apparently said we can go and hang out for a little while," Janice said to him before fondly smiling at him.
"And you don't even need to ask me. Of course I'm willing to spend some time with you," Linus told her, returning her smile. He then turned to the others. "If it's alright with you guys, could Janice and I have this time just to ourselves?"
"Sure, Linus," Charlie Brown agreed.
"Of course. We don't mind at all," Heather replied.
Linus smiled, satisfied with their responses. Then, with a nod to the group, he and Janice then began walking away together.
The rest of the group watched Linus and Janice until they turned a corner and were out of sight.
"Okay. I think I've been out here long enough. Can we go home now?" Sally asked, unable to suppress the irritation that was in her voice.
"Um... sure, Sally," Charlie Brown answered, not sure what to make of Sally's mood.
Likewise, Heather was also quite curious as to why Sally was currently acting this way. But by this point, she was beginning to have an idea.
I think Sally might be jealous of Linus' and Janice's relationship... she thought.
Together, Linus and Janice were currently walking down a sidewalk that to Linus, was particularly familiar. Linus had an idea as to where Janice wanted to visit first, but he decided to keep silent for now until he was sure.
Sure enough, a couple of minutes later, the two of them arrived at the playground. They stopped short though when Janice saw that the swings were no longer up.
"Oh..." she said, slightly saddened by this.
"I'm sorry, Janice, but they just put them away for the winter after our first snowstorm," Linus told her apologetically. "I know. I would've loved to be able to push you on the swings again, just like old days."
Seconds later, Janice shook her head and gave a small smile. "No, it's alright, Linus. I think I'm starting to get a little old now anyway for us to be doing that."
Linus nodded, though he wasn't really sure if he agreed with Janice here. He wasn't sure he cared about their age in respect to the swings. The fact that he still didn't intend on completely giving up his blanket was evidence that he didn't really care if he was "too old" for something.
"What do you want to do instead?" Janice asked Linus. "If you need a suggestion, I'm kinda hungry. The move in so far has been a lot of work."
"Me too in fact. I've got an idea. There's this new restaurant here now that had just opened a few months ago. I went there once with some friends; the food there is really good," Linus suggested.
"Sure. I have nothing against that," Janice agreed.
And so the two of them began making their way to Nelson's Nourishments to grab a quick bite to eat. A little while later, the two of them were seated at a small table that was located not far from where the heating system was.
After placing their orders, the two of them were silent for a moment as Janice took in her surroundings. The place was pretty nice for being what she thought was a relatively casual restaurant. She noticed though that a lot of the patrons here today appeared to be young and/or married couples, and a thought ran through her head.
Wow, Linus and I are all on our own here. And with all these couples here, it almost feels as though... we're out on a date!
Janice's face went red after this thought went through her mind and she began to fidget. Linus took notice of this.
"Janice? Is everything okay?" he asked, looking confused. "And why is your face now red?"
This caused Janice's face to go redder as she quickly tried to think up an excuse.
"I... sorry. I think I think I'm just getting hot," she said nervously. She then proceeded to take her coat off, hoping that by doing this, she would make it more likely that Linus would believe her.
If Linus didn't believe her, he wasn't showing it and he merely gave a nod in response.
"You're right. It is a little toasty in here," he agreed as he began taking off his own coat.
Janice inwardly gave a great sigh of relief. That could've turned out really awkward!
"So... do tell me, how was it that you and your family were able to move back to Sparkyville?" Linus asked Janice after a moment.
Janice grinned. "I knew from day one that when Dad said that we were moving that we wouldn't be gone forever. He had planned everything out from the beginning. The quick version is: we were going to move to rural Texas for a few years, where Dad could run his business with fewer government regulations and lower operating costs. And then once he could fetch a high enough price for it, he would sell the business and we would move back here."
Linus was fairly impressed. "I have to say, it must have sold for a lot then, because that's a really nice house you guys are moving into," he remarked.
"It was definitely enough money for Dad to achieve his goals as planned," Janice said.
"So, what's he going to do for work now, now that he has sold this business of his?" Linus asked curiously.
"Well, for now, I think he's just going to unwind for a while to get used to living in the suburbs again," Janice replied. "After that, I think he might see if any bars or something are hiring."
"It sounds like everything went very well for you guys," Linus said.
"I knew that when Dad said that we were going to be moving that it wouldn't be forever. He himself said that we would be back here someday, and I promised you before I left that we would be reunited one day," Janice said with a bright smile. "Dad loves it here in Sparkyville and so do the rest of us. This is our home, and it's where my friends are. Especially you Linus. I'm so glad to be with you again."
Linus returned Janice's smile and even found himself going a bit red. Linus really liked and admired her optimism. And at this point, he had come to realize that it was pretty evident that Janice had adopted this part of her personality from her dad.
"I'm glad to be with you again as well, Janice," Linus said fondly. "I hope and pray that we'll remain together forever."
Janice blinked and felt herself going red again. That was actually quite a strong statement that had just come from Linus. Was he even aware of how that might have really sounded?
It seemed as though that he just might have as he stuttered while uttering out his next words.
"I-I... what I meant was... I hope and pray that w-we don't have to be separated again. That nothing will get in the way of our friendship."
Janice had to work hard to hold in her giggles at how flustered Linus suddenly was now.
Finally, to Linus' relief, the waitress had now arrived with their food. Perfect timing too. The situation by this point was really starting to get awkward!
For the next half hour, Linus and Janice continued to eat and chat, and overall just enjoy each other's company. No more awkward moments crept up between them, which was a relief to both of them.
A little while later, Linus and Janice came out of Nelson's.
"I think I should be getting back to the house now," Janice said. "I know that my parents are going to want me to have my room as fully set up as I can before bedtime tonight."
"Already?" Linus said, giving a small pout.
"Oh, silly Linus. We now have the rest of who knows how much time to hang out together," Janice assured him. "I'm back in Sparkyville, and for good this time."
Linus felt better upon hearing this and he smiled up at her. "Would you like me to walk home with you?"
Janice gently shook her head. "No, that's okay. I think I'll take this trip back alone to help myself get my footing around here again. But thanks anyway."
"Oh, okay," Linus said. "I'll see you again soon."
"Very soon," Janice told him with a warm grin. She then gave Linus another hug before beginning to walk away.
Linus kept his eyes on her as she walked in the direction of her house. A bright smile remained on his face as he looked forward to a future with Janice back in his friend circle. He eagerly looked forward to whatever it was that they might start doing together.
Author's note: And that's one more done. Sorry, I think I promised that the next phase in the Lucy plot would kick off this chapter. Super sorry that didn't happen. I don't like making my chapters too too long and I felt that this chapter would stand better as strictly a Linus and Janice one.
When we do get to the Lucy stuff though, it will surely be an interesting dynamic to write as it's going to feature a Heather and Lucy matchup. How's Lucy going to fare with this new program I'm going to be having both her and Heather be participating in. Can Heather, who will act as a sort of coaching figure to Lucy, help to soften her heart and help her become a better person? Find out soon!