Chapter Eight! Sorry this took so long. The rest of the chapters are planned out, so hopefully, I will get them done and posted in a timely manner. Hope y'all enjoy. Please RR.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Peanuts, just the idea.

Kisses and Confusion

Lucy Mae Vanpelt's best friend, Charles Alexander Brown, was kissing her. It wasn't a friendly type of kiss either; no it was a full-blown make-out session. When Charlie had put his hands on her hips, Lucy had wanted to bolt. She almost ran straight for the door, but Charlie's lips had stopped her. She froze for about five seconds, and then Lucy felt something in the pit of her stomach.

That feeling, one of joy and anticipation, caused her to respond. Thus deepening the kiss, which is when the actual making out started. It was pretty intense too; Lucy had participated in kisses before, but not the way Charlie Brown was kissing her. Who would have thought the awkward boy of her childhood would have turned into the man that was kissing her now? She definitely wouldn't have.

Her legs moved to go around his waist, and he still seemed like he wasn't close enough. One of his hands were clenching her shirt, while the other was on her neck, keeping her lips on his, frantic for more. She moved her hands from the back of his neck and weaved her hands into his blonde hair, giving a slight tug. The noise he made from deep in his throat only cause Lucy more excitement.

His kiss wasn't like in the kitchen, wet and hesitant. No, he knew exactly what to do. For one fleeting moment, she wondered who he had practiced with; then his hand moved from clenching her shirt to resting on her hip. Her thoughts came back to him as his fingertips lightly brushed the skin, between her jeans and shirt, that was now exposed.

After a couple more minutes he relented of her lips so that he could move to her neck. He started at her jawline and slowly worked his way down to the base of her neck. She felt the goose bumps form on her arms as new sensations sent shivers down her spine. Lucy leaned her head back slightly. He reached the bottom of her neck and worked his way back up. When he reached the pulse point in her throat, he paused in that area. The tip of his tongue touched her skin. The sensation that followed caused her to gasp.

The gasp seemed to jolt Lucy back into awareness. She remembered with absolute clarity exactly where she was. Even though she didn't want him to stop, Lucy pushed Charlie away from her body. A look of confusion crossed Charlie's face before realization replaced it, he looked down in shame. Putting his hands in his pocket, he met her eyes. They both were silent as they tried to catch their breath. Charlie cleared his throat a few times before speaking.

"It wasn't supposed to get intense." He smirked at her. " At least we know how not to be awkward."

Usually, Lucy would appreciate the fact that he was making light of the situation, but her nerve endings were still on fire from the touch of his fingertips. She repositioned her shirt and tried to get her thoughts together. Getting off his desk she just stood there, Charlie was watching her every move.

She couldn't bear the look on his face, his gaze intently on her. Lucy took a step forward; She needed to leave. She needed to go to the comfort of her room or to call Violet. She didn't need to be here with Charlie, alone in his room, a place that felt small all of a sudden. Space from him is what she needed. She took another step forward.

"Wait, don't leave," Charlie said softly.

He put his hand on her arm. It was supposed to bring comfort. Lucy jerked away from his touch, and her back hit the desk. Desire coursed through her. She needed to get out of that room. Turning her back on him, she put her hands on the desk, deep breathe in, deep breath out.

"Luce?" Charlie sounded hurt.

"You can't... We can't... This is just..." The words wouldn't come out.

Stop it. Lucy screamed at herself. Stop freaking out.

She turned back to face him. Lucy could talk to Charlie Brown about anything. Except for in that moment. Nothing should be any different, but everything was. Once she opened her mouth, she hoped the right words would come out.

"That kiss should not have gone that way; the kiss should have never happened. We can't do that again." She couldn't look him in the eye.

"You're right I got carried away. I am sorry." Charlie responded. "Unless the need arises in public I won't kiss you."

"No," Lucy said a little too quickly. "Not even in public, no kissing allowed."

The one kiss, which was supposed to be practice, had escalated quickly. She couldn't let that happen in public; she needed to keep it from happening even more in private. Kissing him could never happen again. Charlie Brown needed to keep his hands to himself. Well, he could put them anywhere but on her.

"We are teenagers, Lucy. Teenagers kiss each other in public. How are we going to explain that?"

"People need to mind their own business. Besides, everyone will think I don't like PDA or that you are too shy. Everything will be fine."

"Great, so everyone will get to think I am a prude who is too scared to touch his girlfriend?"

"Fine. We will play up our alone time, but we are not kissing anymore."

They were both getting angrier by the minute.

"Why can't we kiss?" Charlie inquired.

Lucy did not want to answer that question. She couldn't tell him the effect he had on her. She didn't even want to admit it to herself.

"Because, if I'm kissing you, Schroeder will think I am completely over him." She lied.

He looked away from her, and his look of both hurt and anger confused Lucy. The whole night was confusing her. She tried to move past him so that she could leave the room but he stopped her again.

"So that's it? You are going to set all the rules about our fake relationship, and I don't get a say?"

"Why would you get a say, Charlie? I am the one that needs a fake boyfriend. So I set the guidelines."

She went to move around him. He tried to stop her. She wouldn't let him though, and she flung open his bedroom door. It took every fiber of her being not to run from his house. She was waging war with herself. Her brain was telling her to move fast, away from the boy she needed more than anything. While another part of her, a part she didn't want to address, was pleading with her to go back into that room and apologize. She listened to her brain.

Once she was out of the house, she called Violet.

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"You what?"

Lucy had arrived at Violet Grey's house ten minutes after escaping Charlie. After grabbing Oreos from the pantry, she had set down and told Violet everything. Her friend was now looking at Lucy like she had two heads.

"You made out with your fake boyfriend?"

Violet had known the whole time about the fake relationship. That was one of the reasons that Lucy had called her. She needed a friend, who knew, right now.

"Yes. It was intense, Vi. I've never shared a kiss like that, and it confused me."

She wanted to tell Violet about the feeling that had come with every kiss that Charlie Brown gave her. Lucy wanted to talk through her emotions about the kiss, about his hands on her, about his tongue on her pulse point. She couldn't say those things though. It all felt too private, too intimate for her to share. Which just confused her more.

After pleading with Violet to take her mind off of things, she spent the night with her (second) best friend, eating Oreos, cookie dough ice cream and trying her best to not think of Charlie Brown or his fingertips.

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Lucy didn't see Charlie until the following Monday morning. He had tried to call her a few times, but she needed space. When Charlie text her Sunday night to ask if they were still pretending, she had replied with only a yes and then shut off her phone. She was afraid he would try to call. Sure enough, there were two voicemails for her when she woke up on Monday.

The first one was short, and Lucy could hear voices in the background. "Come on, Lu. Talk to me."

The second voicemail was a couple of hours later.

"Luce?" Charlie paused, a sigh came through the phone. " Can we please make up already? Both your fake boyfriend and your real best friend miss you. A lot." Another pause, "I promise to follow all of your guidelines. Please call me back... If I don't hear from you by eight tomorrow, I will assume we are riding separately."

She missed him too, but she didn't call him. They could meet at school and act like everything was okay with them. They could become friends again later.

That plan was dashed when Lucy opened her front door, and Charlie Brown was on her front lawn. After getting over being startled, she couldn't help but go over to him and wrap him in a hug.

"Hey, Luce." He let go over, and they smiled at each other.

"Hi, Char."

Just like that, in a way that was so Charlie and Lucy, all the awkwardness and angry was gone. They were the best of friends again. Charlie grabbed her school bag and her hand.

"Let's go to school and show Schroeder what he is missing out on." Charlie led her to his car.

She had missed him a lot more than she initially thought. An hour ago this would have worried her, but right now she didn't care.