After finishing up their homework together, watching some t.v. show, Pat wanted to go to the burger joint, to see if anybody was there.
"I bet most of the gang is there, and it was so crazy at school, we barely got to see each other," Pat said.
"You just want to see if your new girlfriend is there," Franklin teased.
"Maybe," he blushed.
"Might as well, but we can't leave Marcie out," Roy agreed.
"Yeah, you know how she gets," Pat grabbed his phone.
Meanwhile back at the burger joint, Linus was ready to figure out what was going on.
"Hey Melody; this is my friend Charlie Brown I had been telling you about."
"Nice to meet you Charlie, I've heard many great things about you. I'm Melody-Melody, just Melody for short."
"So… I was told by Pig-Pen that he saw you forcefully making out with another boy at school today."
"What‽ And you believe him‽ No, that boy forced himself on me! How could you not trust me?"
"I know Pig-Pen to be fairly earnest, and Charlie said you were with a boy yesterday, and he never lies to me."
"How? I just met him today," she looked incredulous.
"Exactly, he said you were the girl he saw, that he never saw before."
"I remember that," Schroder jumped in, "we were in the music store, and he said that this boy he had seen earlier was with a girl, neither are two people he had ever seen in town before."
"Yeah, and the boy you had your lips on is somebody I never saw before today," Pig-Pen said.
"That could be anybody, this is crazy!"
"I didn't exactly see the boy too well, but I see a girl, now that I think about it was a redhead with hair just like yours… with the same bows," Schroder said.
"Hold on… I got a picture," Pig-Pen pulled out his phone.
"That's- I'm pretty sure that's the boy I saw the other day, and with Melody," Charlie pondered.
"Let me see," Schroder looked at her and the phone, "uh-huh."
"How could you, Melody," Linus looked at the phone.
"That… that could be that Frieda girl!"
"That's not Frieda, I know Frieda, and she was already in my class after that," Pig-Pen said.
"And Frieda was wearing yellow today," Lamar said.
"Fine! Yes it was me! I like what I like, he's cute and athletic, I wanted him. You're like the brains… so I like a little variety, so what," she snapped.
"That's not cool, why would you do that," Charlie asked.
"Why not?"
"Boys… I'm suddenly not hungry any more," Linus said through clenched teeth, "I'm leaving."
"What‽ That's… that's bullshit!"
"And we thought Violet and her friends were bad," Schroder said.
Lamar walked up to the counter, "Miss Melody will take care of the bill."
They all left her there, but Pig-Pen, who gave her death stares with Five, anytime they glanced in her direction.
"Hey, are you going to be okay, Linus," Charlie asked.
"I just need some time, Charlie," he grumbled.
"You know I'm here for you," he hugged his friend.
"I know you are, and I appreciate it."
"If we see that boy; We'll make sure to let him know what kinda girl Melody is, try to save somebody a bad start in a new town," Lamar said.
"That's a good idea, I'll see you guys at school," Linus went home.
"I'm still hungry," Lamar said.
"Same, there's the taco place up here," Charlie agreed.
Pat, Marcie, Franklin, and Roy walked in the burger joint a while later, they saw Melody bussing tables.
"It's that guy," Pig-Pen pointed.
"We should say something," Five suggested.
"Hey Mel, ya get a job here," Pat greeted.
"Oh Pat, honey, yes I did," she smiled. "I'm a modern woman, I can't have my boyfriend paying for all the dates."
"Wait… isn't that…" Marcie started.
"Kid! Hey Kid, c'mere," Pig-Pen waved Pat over.
"What's up Pig-Pen," Pat walked over.
He wasn't surprised he knew his nickname, his image precedes him.
"I see you met my girlfriend."
"I'll be right with you," Melody looked at the others.
"Your dating Pat, I thought you were with Linus," Marcie inquired.
"Oh noooo," Melody cringed.
Linus stormed in the house, slamming the door, ignoring Lucy and Sally, stomping up the steps.
"What's his problem," Sally wondered.
"I'm not his handler," Lucy shrugged.
They heard him scream.
"I've never seen him that mad in a long time, we should check in on him," Sally suggested.
"Why, because you love him," she glared.
"And he's your brother, as the older sibling; you have a duty to hold up."
"Fine! Let's see what's up," she stood.
They walked upstairs, heard him crying on the other side of the door, exchanging glances, Lucy walked right in, ready to duck anything he might throw, Sally followed hiding behind her, but what they saw was Linus sitting on his bed, covered in his old security blanket, crying, sucking his thumb.
"Oh… this is bad," Lucy looked at Sally, "Linus, what happened, little brother?"
He looked at both of them and lowered his head.
"Linus… tell us what happened," Sally sat next to him.
"Me-Melody… cheated," he cried and heaved.
"That nice girl," Lucy looked confused.
"She- Pig-Pen, and… and Charlie, Schroderrr… saw it… she said she did it!"
"I'm so sorry, Linus… how can we help," Sally looked up at Lucy.
"We were… we were at Joe's… and…." His voiced trailed off
Lucy was fuming, her fist were shaking, quickly, she turned and strutted right out of his room, near instantly Sally heard the front door slam. She didn't know what to do, so she climbed under the blanket with him.
"Sally… no…"
"Shhh… it's going to be okay," he rested his head on her chest, "have your cry… I told you I'm here for you."
Pig-Pen told Pat what happened just moments before they showed up, then quickly figuring out who Pat was, by who he was with, and Marcie's proclivity to calling one person, sir.
"Why would you do that to Linus, he's a great guy… and me‽ What's wrong with you," Pat growled.
"Because I could," she shrugged.
"You're a horrible person, I thought Lucy could be bad, but you take the cake, Melody," Marcie kicked her in the shin.
"Ow! That hurt!"
"I should clobber you… boy or not," Pat hissed.
Just then Lucy walked in the door with rage in her eyes.
"You're in trouble now, Linus must be devastated," Franklin stated.
"Lucy…shall I get you a menu," she feigned calmness.
"Get outside," Lucy ordered, cracking her knuckles.
Melody looked around hoping for somebody to step in.
"Right this way," Pat grabbed her arm, "alley?"
Lucy just nodded.
"I almost feel sorry for her," Franklin sighed.
"I remember what Pat did to Thibault one day," Roy said.
"I remember that," Franklin agreed.
"And then what Lucy did to Joe, when he tried to bully Rerun," Five said.
The boys shuddered.
Lucy went back home a bit more relaxed, she went upstairs to find Sally was still comforting Linus, it looked like Sally might've been crying, too.
She sat next to him, "I talked to Melody, and I know we're friends, but this isn't the time to try and score brownie points, Sal."
She looked up with a pathetic look on her face, "I don't want points, I want him happy again."
"With you?"
"I… I don't care. If he wants me to leave, I'll leave, I'll leave him alone forever if it'll put a smile back on his face. He was so happy with her."
"That family trip really did a number on you, huh? Is he… sleep?"
"Yep. I really do love your brother, I wish he would actually understand that, but I know I'm not good enough, and I get on his nerves, and I think he only tolerates me because he's Charlie's best friend. I would never do something like this," she whispered.
"No, I don't think you would," she got up to leave, "he used to, at some point, have a crush on you. I don't know what happened."
Pat, Marcie, Franklin, and Roy are leaving the restaurant, the owner made Melody stay anyway, but put her in the back, to wash dishes, to pay off the bill.
"It served her right, for what she did, now everybody is going to know how much of a… of a bitch she really is," Pat spoke.
"You're going to be okay, aren't you," Roy asked.
"I'll be fine. There are really girls out there like that, that's crazy."
"We deal with stuff like that, it's just people usually don't care about us guys," Franklin explained.
"The way Lucy barged in there, I can only fathom how Linus is taking it, she was his first real girlfriend. Poor Linus," Marcie said.
"She won't be doing it again any time soon, nobodies going to trust her," Pat said.
"And she did it to Harold of all people," Franklin said.
"I know… he's such a nice guy, what's wrong with her," Roy added.
"I bet Violet will try and pull her in to her clique, since she showed her true colors," Marcie hypothesized.
"I don't care what she does, as long as she stays away from me. She's the most selfish, narcissist person I ever met, and I'll probably even put Freddy in that list."
"As long as you're okay, we're okay, Pat," Franklin said
"Where's Chuck when you need him," he sighed.