A/N: You guys have all probably been screaming at me for the last couple of weeks... But anyway, several writer's block-induced headaches later, here's Chapter 7. I hope you'll like it!
"Well, Miss Brown, where are you going, all fancy?"
Sally was too busy perfecting the blending of her eyeshadow to go into very much detail in her answer to her brother. "To a party."
"A party already?" he questioned as he walked into her room. "It's barely the first week of school!"
"Violet always throws a party on the first Friday of school."
A scoff of surprise came from Charlie Brown. "Oh, and don't tell me you've been invited to a famous 'Gray Party'?"
"Sure," said Sally as she doused herself with setting spray.
"Right," he laughed. "So where are you really going? You're not gonna watch the game with me and Linus, are you?"
"Of course not. I already told you where I'm going."
"What, you mean you're actually going to a party at Violet's?"
"That's what I said," replied Sally as she coated her lips with Fenty gloss.
"You can't go to one of those!" exclaimed Charlie, concern rising in his voice.
"Why not? I'm a cheerleader now, remember?"
"That's not the— Sally, it's Violet Gray. Hasn't it ever occurred to you that her parties may not be entirely… you know… tasteful?"
"You exaggerate. Besides, I already cleared it with Mom and Dad."
"How? By lying?"
Sally looked genuinely hurt at this response. "Don't be disappointing, big brother. Of course I didn't lie."
"Then what?"
"I gave them testimonials."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, Schroeder and Lucy go to those parties all the time. And Mom and Dad know they're both goody-goodies, so the parties can't be that bad, can they?"
"That was your argument?" asked Charlie incredulously.
"Yeah," she replied, at which Charlie raised a skeptical eyebrow, and she added, "Big brother, Violet gets Schroeder to play piano at her parties. Can you really picture a 'wild party' with live Beethoven music playing in the corner?"
The mental picture made Charlie snort with laughter. "Very funny. All right, if you say so. But if things get suspicious…"
"Don't worry, I can take care of myself. I am 15, after all."
"Oh, yes, I'm sorry," he answered with sarcasm. "You're the fount of wisdom."
Sally frowned and gave her brother a light punch on the arm as she walked out of her room and toward the front door.
"Besides," added Sally with a hand on the doorknob, "Mom and Dad made Lucy promise to keep an eye on me at the party, if that's what worries you."
"Lucy's your babysitter? Yeah, that makes me feel much better," he replied with an eye roll.
"I prefer the term chaperone," she said, and Charlie simply chuckled as he grabbed his jacket from the coat rack in the living room and followed her out.
Lucy had pulled out all the stops while getting ready for Violet's party. She had left her hair down and curled it a bit. She had sprayed herself with perfume to such a degree that even Linus and Matty could smell it in their rooms. And now she twirled in the mirror and admired the pretty yellow dress she'd bought last week, which flowed beautifully — perfect for dancing with Schroeder if he should happen to tear himself away from the piano at some point during the evening.
On which subject, her optimism was soaring. If Schroeder had actually been willing to talk to her for a bit this morning, that was an excellent sign that things might improve starting tonight. So Lucy had been willing to go all out with her makeup for the occasion — she wore her favorite red lip gloss, a touch of cream blush, and some mascara she borrowed from her mother.
(Yes, for Lucy this was "going all out," as she had always been a firm believer in minimal makeup. "Heavy makeup is for girls who have something to hide," she'd always said. Girls like Violet Gray, she mentally added.)
The mascara wasn't waterproof, but it didn't matter. She hadn't the slightest intention of crying tonight — it should all be joy.
At 7:00 she walked out of her house, feeling extremely confident. (Even Linus had told her she looked pretty, which she considered a definite good sign.) Sally was coming out of her own house across the street, and Lucy excitedly waved her over.
Sally, equally enthusiastic, ran to the Van Pelt driveway, careful not to stumble in her high heels. "Oh, Lucy, you look gorgeous!" she said, then spun around and asked Lucy's opinion on her outfit.
The two girls took a few minutes to fawn over each other's clothes while Charlie went inside the house to meet up with Linus and Matty. After a while, the boys came out of the house, laughing over a joke Matty had told, and they all squeezed into the car Lucy and Linus shared.
The fifteen minutes it usually took Lucy to walk to Schroeder's house was shortened to about two when traveling by car. When they arrived, Lucy and Sally got out of the vehicle, and Linus moved into the driver's seat to transport himself, Charlie, and Matty to Patty's house, where they'd agreed to meet up and watch a baseball game; Lucy and Sally would walk with Schroeder to Vi's, about ten minutes from his house.
Linus was about to drive off when Sally urgently knocked on the car window. "Linus, wait!"
The window was rolled down and Linus asked what was the matter.
"I left my phone at home!" she whined.
"Oh, good grief, Sal," muttered Charlie. "Do you really need it?"
"Yes, I do! Can you drive me back to grab it real quick, Linus?"
Linus exchanged a hesitant look with Charlie Brown, but Sally's insistent "pleeeeeeeze" was too much for them to ignore.
"Fine," he sighed. "So, Luce, we'll drop Sally off at Violet's and you and Schroeder can meet her there."
Lucy nodded as Sally slipped back into the car. "All right."
And so the car made a U-turn and headed back in the direction of the Brown residence. Lucy turned around and rang Schroeder's doorbell, but heard nothing. She tried once again, but still didn't hear the bell ringing — it was probably broken, she reasoned, so she knocked on the door instead.
Nothing. She could, however, vaguely make out the sound of piano music being played within the house.
"Oh, he's too wrapped up in his playing to hear me knock," she muttered as she went around to the back door. A subtle dance of her fingers into the flower pot by the door produced the key, and she inserted it into the lock and opened the door, allowing the tune of "Linus and Lucy" to expand into the cool, gray night air outside.
Lucy took a deep breath and adorned herself with the most cheerful, charming smile she could before stepping into the house, but it was a couple of seconds before she truly looked up.
The beginnings of the "Hey" that Lucy had planned to say drowned in her throat as she took in the sight before her: Schroeder playing a song — her song — on the piano, a girl she'd never seen before lying there, feet kicked up as she watched him perform. She didn't react immediately; for a moment she simply stood there, frozen in place, the ability to breathe and speak temporarily abandoning her.
But the next few seconds saw an angry flash of heat running through Lucy, turning her painted pink cheeks to vivid scarlet and bringing out an unearthly yell.
"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" rang through the air, causing the piano notes to come to a jarring halt, and both Schroeder and his… friend to jump.
"Lucy! H— hi…" stuttered Schroeder, and it was just then that it could be seen in his expression that he became aware of the time. "Oh, good grief. We have a date, don't we?"
An inflamed Lucy crossed her arms. "Well, that was what I thought. Pardon me for not realizing you were —" she glared menacingly at the intruder — "previously engaged."
"Uh—" Schroeder looked at Nancy, then back at Lucy, and sighed before trying to explain: "Okay, wait. No— This is Nancy. She's in Calculus with us, and she asked for help with some homework."
"I see," answered Lucy coldly, giving him a look that could've killed. "Math homework that involves piano playing? What will they think of next?"
"No, it wasn't math, it was a—"
"Ahem," cut in Nancy politely, "sorry, but can I ask who you are?"
To Lucy this question was almost like a blow to the stomach, and for a moment she could only look at the younger girl in disbelief. It felt like someone had poked a hole in her, and all her rage — and energy — had whooshed out, leaving her drained and vulnerable. Her voice cracked slightly as she answered, "I'm Schroeder's girlfriend."
The look of guilt-tainted surprise on Nancy's face told her all she needed to know, and in the painful silence that began to fill the room Lucy looked down and nodded slowly. "Oh," she whispered. "I see how it is."
"Lucy…" Schroeder began, approaching her carefully. "You've got the wrong idea."
"Do I?" she questioned, slightly louder this time. "Because it all seems pretty clear."
"No, look—"
Lucy held up a silencing hand as her vision began to blur. "Save it. I'm not in the mood to hear it right now."
"Lucy!" called Schroeder as she ducked out the door. "Wait, please!" And he began to run after her, leaving a stunned Nancy standing awkwardly in the middle of the living room.
He caught up to her on the sidewalk in front of the house next door and made a desperate grab for her arm. "Lucy, please let me explain!"
She turned around abruptly, revealing black-stained tears running down her face. "Explain what?! I saw what I saw!"
"No, but please— look, she asked for some help with a book report. I told her she could come over, and we did the report — and talked Beethoven and Jane Austen."
Lucy scoffed tearily. "Well, that's not what it looked like when I walked in."
"I was just—"
"You were just hanging out with a pretty girl who is obviously smitten with you, a-and…" She took a deep breath to calm her trembling voice — "and you conveniently forgot to mention that you have a girlfriend."
"But I'm not—" Schroeder groaned in frustration as words eluded him, at which point Lucy continued:
"Did you or did you not," she asked pointedly, "tell her you had a girlfriend?"
Schroeder sighed helplessly. He wanted nothing more than to lie now, but he knew he had to tell the truth. How could he do otherwise to Lucy? "No, I didn't."
She scoffed again, this time in a way that conveyed resignation. "So there it is. First you don't call me for over a month, and then this…" She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, so she simply shook her head and took another trembling breath. "Look, it doesn't matter. I have to go."
"Lucy…"
He wanted to call after her, to run after her, but all he could do was eke out a feeble whisper and stand stock still as she darted up the street in the general direction of her house.
Too soon she was out of sight, and Schroeder buried his face in his hands and groaned loudly.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid Schroeder!" he repeated softly, angrily, as he dragged himself back inside. As much as he wanted to run after Lucy, he still had to wait until Nancy's mom came to pick her up before he could go anywhere.
Guilt, confusion, regret plagued him. How on Earth could he have messed things up so badly in so short a time?
"Patty! You're finally here! Do you know how late it is?"
"I'm sorry," answered the blonde in a hurried tone as she stepped into Violet's already crowded house. "But when I tell you why I'm late, trust me, you'll forgive me."
"Oh?"
"Yes," said Patty, grabbing Violet's wrist and leading her away. "Come with me."
Violet's mind immediately began to race with possibilities, mostly worrying ones, as her best friend dragged her to the end of the hallway and asked Frieda to follow them as well. Soon enough they were gathered in a tight circle in the hall, eyes adjusting to the dim light coming from the kitchen.
"Frieda," Patty began, "are you ready for the biggest scoop in the history of your gossip column?"
Frieda and Vi exchanged a surprised glance, after which the girl with the naturally curly hair turned back to Patty and nodded. "Always."
"Okay. For the headline —" Patty took a small step back and used her hands to imitate a newspaper headline — "I'm thinking, 'Schulz High's Most Eligible Hottie Changes His Relationship Status.'"
The other two looked at her in wonder for a moment before Violet asked who Patty was referring to. Patty looked at her in disbelief. "Oh, honestly, Vi. Who is the one guy whose breakup you've been waiting for for the last two years?"
"Wha— you don't mean Schroeder?" questioned Violet.
Frieda very nearly spit out the soda she had just taken a sip of. "You mean Schroeder and Lucy broke up?"
"Well, I can only tell you what I saw," the blonde girl replied. "Today after school, Schroeder came home with a girl who was definitely not Lucy. She had light brown hair and was skinny — skinny but pretty. And she stayed there until almost 7:00, and that was when Lucy came in, all dressed up for the party — I think her brother had dropped her off there — and she was only inside the house for about a minute before she ran out, and Schroeder ran after her, and they had a big fight on the sidewalk — right in front of my place! — and Lucy was crying, and then she ran away and left Schroeder standing there, and then he went back inside and stayed with that other girl about fifteen more minutes before she left."
Violet and Frieda only gaped and listened to their friend's story. Finally Vi managed to answer, "Well, that sounds like a breakup to me."
"Or at least an 'it's complicated,'" added Frieda, thinking quickly. "And you know what? I think I know who that other girl is."
This time Patty was the one who was surprised. "You do? Who is it?"
"Nancy O'Donnell," she stated matter-of-factly. "She's in Calc with us. You know who I mean, right, Vi?"
"You mean that smart-alecky chick who sits in the front row?"
"Yeah. She's basically the smartest girl in the class," explained Frieda to Patty. "Like, she could give Marcie a run for her money, at least in math."
"Really? And how do you know it's her?" asked Patty.
"Because," she answered with a sly smile, "Schroeder called me on Tuesday morning and asked if I could send him Nancy's number."
"Are you serious?" gasped Violet, but before she could continue or Frieda could answer, the doorbell rang, and she was forced to walk away to open the door.
There stood Lucy herself, accompanied by Sally Brown, both girls clearly having been whispering together until Vi opened the door; but as soon as she did, the two snapped into attention and greeted Violet with an air of almost rehearsed nonchalance.
This was when Violet Gray sensed that the conversation she had just been having really did have truth in it. Suddenly, more than making the party a success, and more than putting on a show of pleasantness to Sally, Violet intended to find out the validity of Patty and Frieda's statements. She wouldn't be able to sleep otherwise.
Lucy had run back to her house in such a tearing rush that her beautiful dress had been completely sweated through. She was, at least, glad to find that her parents still hadn't left for the movie they had planned to go see, and hiding her mascara-streaked face and citing the excuse of a "wardrobe malfunction," she asked for them to drop her off at Violet's as soon as she could get changed.
A just-in-time phone call to Sally got her to wait outside of Violet's house until Lucy could arrive, and in minutes they were both at the party. Lucy, however, was forcing a smile and internally clamoring for an excuse to leave, and Sally's excitement had in turn diminished when she saw that Lucy was upset about what she could only assume was a problem with Schroeder.
Lucy truly didn't know why she even bothered with these silly "Gray Parties" anymore. It certainly wasn't out of loyalty to Violet — Vi may have once been a close friend, but nowadays, she was nothing more to Lucy than a political ally. Violet was only nice to Miss Van Pelt because she needed the student council vote for Homecoming Queen — the council was a sort of electoral college for such matters — and Lucy was only nice to Miss Gray because, as the cheerleading captain, she controlled a large part of the popular vote Lucy needed to win class president.
The conclusion, therefore, was that Gray Parties were just a way for Lucy to network, nothing more.
Unbelievable, she groaned internally, brooding in a corner over a numbingly cold Pepsi. She remembered the simplicity of a time when she hung out with people because she liked them, when she didn't have to be nice to shameless flirts just so she could get elected to an office she really only wanted in order to impress the scholarship committee at Stanford University — and when, if she walked in on some other girl hanging out on Schroeder's piano (no specifics, but her name started with "Frieda" and ended with "Rich") she could slug it out with her without batting an eyelash.
And now, everything was so complicated. All these manners and rules and high school politics, and on top of it all, her boyfriend was…
Lucy bit her lip to stifle a sob at the thought of Schroeder's exhibition earlier. How could he? How could he be so shamelessly oblivious to Nancy's attentions? There was only one possible explanation, and it sickened her to think of it.
It was late. Extremely late. Schroeder had had to sit with Nancy for fifteen painfully awkward minutes before she had left his house, and when she finally had and he had resolved to leave, his parents had gotten home, and Dana asked Schroeder's help putting away some groceries she'd brought.
One thing had led to another, and it was now 8:30 as Schroeder rang Violet's doorbell. He really hoped Lucy was here and not back at her own house.
"Schroeder! Hi!"
He managed a half smile. "Hi, Violet."
"We've been expecting you," she continued as she ushered him into the house and took his jacket. "Lucy's already here…"
"She is?" he asked, remembering a bit late not to sound too desperate.
Violet gave him a slightly strange glance and nodded slowly. "Yes. I saw her around here somewhere… Ah! There she is by the piano!"
And with these words Violet sent Schroeder off to meet Lucy, and ran off to get her friends, for tonight was to be a night of careful observation.
Schroeder slowly approached the piano bench, where Lucy was seated, wondering what he'd say to her. He decided to start simple: "Hey."
Lucy looked up, startled, nearly dropping her can of soda. "Good grief! You scared me!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he frantically apologized as she put down her drink and smoothed out her dress. Finally, after a few seconds, he continued, "Lucy, can we please talk—"
"No!" she firmly interrupted, making a grab for her drink once again.
"Oh, but— Weren't you waiting for me?"
She looked almost insulted. "Certainly not!"
"Then what were you doing sitting on the piano bench?"
"I was sitting there because it's comfortable and out of the way," Lucy explained impatiently. "But apparently not as out of the way as I'd like. Excuse me." She pushed past him and disappeared into the crowd of kids, reemerging again in the kitchen a moment later.
Schroeder stood there in shock as Lucy left. Wasn't she ever going to let him explain?
She had sort of been willing to listen earlier, but he'd been unable to explain anything well. Schroeder groaned and gave the piano bench a kick before collapsing onto it and beginning to play the music Violet had laid out for him.
Seeing him start to play, Violet, who was stealthily watching from the shadows in the hallway, faded out the music on her speaker, and allowed the sound of Schroeder's jazz to fill the room instead. The partygoers stopped a moment as the music changed pace, but soon they were normally dancing along to the new genre.
Once the first song ended, Sally left the dance floor and came up next to Lucy.
"So, what's going on with you and Schroeder?"
Lucy glanced up with an innocent look on her face. "What makes you think there's anything going on?" At Sally's cocked-eyebrow expression, she crossed her arms almost protectively. "All right, so we had a little issue. It's no big deal."
"No big deal?" prodded Sally, inching closer.
"Good grief, Sally, I don't wanna talk about it now, okay?"
"Aww, come on, you—"
"I'm serious, Brown," said Lucy with a withering look. "Don't ask."
"Ughh. Fine," sighed the younger girl, plopping down next to her onto a kitchen stool. "If that's the situation, then I won't say another word all night. I'll just sit here and hate myself."
Lucy rolled her eyes, but chuckled. "What is it, Sal? Gray Parties haven't turned out to be all you expected?"
She shrugged. "I guess not. I mean, honestly, if I wanted to hear Schroeder play the piano and not get asked to dance, I could've just waited 'til the gang hung out as usual."
Lucy nodded. "There you go. You're living and learning."
"The hard way," acknowledged Sally. "Say, what time do you think the game will be over? I wanna go home."
"What, the baseball game the boys are seeing? Well, those usually end around 10-ish. So like, an hour and a half left."
"Are you for real?" whined Sally. "Ughhhh, it's gonna be a long night."
"I have never, never in my almost-eighteen years of life, been so glad to leave a party."
"Amen," groaned Sally, climbing into Linus's car behind Lucy.
"Why do you say that?" asked Charlie from the passenger seat. "Sally, did something happen? You know you were supposed to—"
"Don't worry, big brother, nothing happened. It's just that there was this all-around weird, bad vibe, and, like… I don't know. It was kinda depressing."
"Yeah," agreed Lucy, "and on top of that, this red-haired girl cornered me and Sally and started talking and talking and talking and just… Aaugh! I have a headache!"
"Well, you could've called us to pick you up," said Linus as he pulled out of the Grays' driveway. "You could've come to Patty's and taken a nap while we watched the game."
"Now he tells us," muttered Lucy amid a huge yawn. "Lord, I am so tired!"
"Me too," Sally said sleepily, resting her head on Lucy's shoulder. "I think I'm gonna sleep 'til noon."
The girl's respective brothers chuckled as their sisters dozed off. "They just had to go to a party, didn't they?" pointed out Charlie with a smile.
A few minutes later, Sally awakened with a start as the car came to a stop. "Are we home?" she yawned.
"No, we're at Patty's," explained her brother. "I forgot my phone. You must be contagious, Sal. First you forget yours and then I do."
Sally rolled her eyes as Charlie got out of the car and headed up the driveway. She was about to proceed with her nap when suddenly she had a better idea.
"Okay, Lucy," she said, giving her friend a slap on the arm, "now spill. What happened with Schroeder?"
On hearing this, Linus turned to face the girls. "Yeah, Luce, what happened? Did you guys kiss and make up?"
Lucy, barely coming out of a snooze of her own, crossed her arms in defiance. "That's none of your business."
"Besides, Linus, you're behind on your news. Lucy and Schroeder had a new fight."
"No kidding! Aww, come on, sis, tell us what happened."
"Wha— no! Like I said, none of your business."
"You're my sister," pointed out Linus. "That makes it my business."
"Well, I don't wanna talk about it." At this Sally and Linus began to insist and tease harder, as all the while Lucy shook her head adamantly. "No. No, Linus, I'm ser— Oh, shut up, Linus!— I will slug you. I swear I will— Sally, you tell your 'sweet babboo' that if he doesn't butt out—"
"He's not my sweet babboo!" Sally cried out, cheeks reddening.
"All right, fine," replied Lucy without missing a beat. "You and your sour babboo better put a sock in it if you know what's good for you."
"Okay," chuckled Sally, then turning to Linus, said, "You heard her, 'sour babboo.' We'd both better zip it if we don't wanna get knifed in a dark alley."
At this not only Linus, but also Matty, who was presumed by the others to be asleep, began cracking up, and Lucy, still in defensive mode, turned to the younger of the two in indignation. "Oh, so you're awake, are you?!"
"Yes, I'm awake," he laughed, "and that was great, you two. Like, neither of you missed a single beat, and it was hilarious."
"Well, thank you, Matt," answered Sally. "At least one person in this car appreciates my sense of humor, huh, Lucy?"
"Oh, be quiet," huffed the 17-year-old, sinking into her seat.
"Jeez, Luce, you're no fun," returned Linus, glancing at his watch. "Where is that Charlie Brown? All he had to do was grab his phone."
"And anyway," continued Lucy, ignoring her brother, "Sally, if you wanna gossip, why don't we talk about Heather and how you didn't tell me she was back until she was literally headed in my direction?"
Linus turned to face Lucy again, this time in shock. "Wait, Heather? Heather Wold?"
"Yes! And Sally here has known she was back since Tuesday, and she didn't think to tell any of us."
"Not true! I told Patty, and—"
"I'm sorry, you're saying Heather Wold — the Heather Wold — has moved back here?"
"Yes, Linus," sighed Lucy. "Keep up."
"Oh, I was right!" he exclaimed, startling the others. "I saw this redhead from afar at lunch a couple of times, and I could've sworn it was her, but I wasn't sure! Aww, no kidding! That's so crazy!"
"Is Heather that little red-haired girl Charlie Brown used to be in love with?" inquired Matty.
"Yeah, that's her," Lucy answered.
"And does he know she's back in town?"
"No, he doesn't!" hissed Sally, almost climbing over Lucy to make her point. "And he's not going to!"
"What do you mean, he's not going to? He has to find out sometime."
"Yes, but not from us," said Lucy.
"Why? What's the big deal?"
"Look, it's too difficult to explain unless you were actually there, but suffice to say, when Charlie Brown finds out, he'll—"
"He'll probably have a Caesar," finished Sally for Linus.
"You mean seizure," corrected Lucy.
"Yeah, whatever."
"Look, here comes Charlie Brown now," whispered Linus urgently. "Everyone act natural!"
"All right," said Lucy. "Now, Matty, not a word about Heather to Charlie Brown or I'll slug you too, okay?"
"Fine," grumbled the boy.
"Hey, guys. Sorry I took so long, but Patty asked me to help her put the dirty dishes in the sink."
"Hey, Charlie Brown," answered the others, stifling giggles.
And in this manner of hurried pacts of secrecy and knowing little glances at each other at every stop sign, the Browns and the Van Pelts drove home. Lucy sighed as she finally trudged up the stairs to her room and collapsed onto her bed. Even despite the "sour babboos" and slugging threats, the car ride home had still managed to be the highlight of her evening, so much so that she managed to forget about her many worries just long enough to brush her teeth and fall asleep.