SALLY'S POV

I walked over to the room Schroeder was in. I opened the door slowly. Please, please, please don't hate me Schroeder. I finally opened the door all the way to see him, right there. With a sheet of paper trying to compose music. "Schroeder?" He looked up at me and scoffed. I knew it. He hates me. "Well if you aren't gonna say anything fine! I was going to ask politely but fuck that- What the hell is your problem with me!? I've done nothing to you!"

"You're the reason Lucy hates me! Your dumb little idea that we should get together?!" I was dumbfounded, and angry, very angry. So angry. "And that's all my fault! I asked you out which you could've denied if you wanted to, then I broke up with you! You always had a choice. Don't act so forced!" He sighed. Maybe I knocked some sense into him. "Fine, whatever. It's just- every time I want to be with her she finds something new to be mad at me about."

"Did you ever think that maybe she doesn't want to commit to you?" I know Lucy loves him, but she's known to be pretty noncommittal with her partners. Schroeder and Lucy never even dated. Schroeder looked down at his sheet music. Not shocked, but definitely but a little thrown off. "I don't want to think about that. Just tell me how I can get her not so upset at me." He looked up at me this time.

Placed my hand on his shoulder. "I don't think Lucy is willing to have a passive conversation with me, although...I can talk to Linus." I smiled, he gave me a half smile back. Digging his head into his music determined to get through the 18th measure.

I walked over to the door. Before my hand reached the door Linus had opened it. A smile spread across my face, I backed up for him to leave the doorway as he walked forward. His fingertips held up my chin as his head bends down to kiss me. I kissed him back, his lips could feel the smile on my face that had remained. When our lips broke apart Linus backed the both of us up so Lucy and Charlie entered the room.

Lucy scowled looking at us. "Linus your hands are always on her! The inconsistency of your relationship is sickening. Are you with her?" I ignored the comment Lucy made, I whispered in his ear, I told him about Schroeder and how we made up and how I needed him to talk to his sister. He nodded, no words whatsoever, he just nodded.

"They are dating." Schroeder blankly stated. I looked over at him, ignoring Linus rolling his eyes next to me. "How'd you know that?" Schroeder looked up shoving his papers under the bed. "Lucky guess." He stated, again, but his tone became sarcastic. Linus kept his straight face when he looked back at Lucy raising an eyebrow.

Linus pulled me closer, his fingers pushing back the hair in my face, I turned to face him. My brother walked past Lucy to look at me. "Ok when were you two ever a thing?" Linus glared at him, when he does that I can really tell he's related to Lucy. "Maybe if you weren't so busy becoming a snobby football player you would've had time to care." Linus shrugged. My big brother rolled his eyes. I hate how they're like that, I wish there was something that could change their opinions on each other, if only things were like how they were when we were younger.

Schroeder stood up walking towards my brother. He put his hand on Charlie's shoulder. "You've missed some shit, they've been a 'thing'. And somehow nothing stops them from being obsessed with each other. Even Sally being taken." Schroeder mumbled the last part, but everyone heard him anyway.

"Sis you got two boyfriends? Who's the other guy?" I looked at the wall. Ironically the same direction Schroeder moved his glance to. "No."

Lucy nodded her head looking at my brother, the shame haunts me to this day. We all started laughing, reminiscing on all the wonderful, and traumatizing memories in our heads. Charlie started to speak again. "Ok, I'm going to need a breakdown of your relationship, this is crazy."

"You'll need to write this down." Linus said, you could hear his smirk in his tone. That was probably the first time Linus has voluntarily spoken to him somewhat kindly. It's a start. "Ok, ok we get it, Linus and Sally are stupidly head over heels for each other. Let's move on." Lucy exclaimed.

Linus whispered something in my ear as Lucy continued talking that I'd rather not mention. I punched Linus' gut, still smiling. Somehow I couldn't stop smiling, it's been awhile since I've been able to be with Linus, not just guilty kisses, but real ones.

It was as if I was in trance, when I zoned back in I listened to Lucy. "So we are going back to Minnesota tonight, all of us. This was all Mrs. Brown's decision because she wants to be in Minnesota when she...dies." No, no. I prayed that she was kidding, I hoped she was playing a gruesome prank on me. My eyes filled with horror, too sad to cry. Too scared to scream. Everything felt like it stopped, I wish it was me, anyone but my mother.

LINUS' POV

The look on Sally's face could've been printed onto a scary movie cd. Something about her was different, often times she'd cry or yell or something! I turned her waist towards me pulling her into my arms. Once she looked at me something changed, I couldn't tell if she felt worse or better. I tried not to look too closely at her, it only broke my heart to see her like that.

Lucy herself was choking thinking about the idea. I could feel Sally's tears fall onto my shirt. She buried her head into my chest, I let her. I kept her close, when her mother is gone...I need to call. When we are home I need to call. I will call. 'Let her go'. I can't watch Sally continue to be miserable like that.

The conversation left at a low note, hardly anyone could utter a word out after Lucy stopped talking. Everyone else left leaving Lucy and I. "Lucy." She raised an eyebrow glaring at me as I closed the door. "You can't hold every to big single grudge you can think of against Schroeder, you know he just wants to be with you. That's what he's been wanting." Her eyes maneuver around the room looking anywhere but at me. The guilt fell over her expression.

She spoke no words. Just feelings. "Lucy, you can't just avoid it, one day he won't be there waiting for you." She grimaced at the thought of it. "I know." Of course she does, but she doesn't understand. "And to hold a grudge against him dating Sally? You know why he did that. Maybe he would've been with you instead if you could've just committed to him from the start."

"Stop! Just stop. I know. I get it! I know he came back for me and I know I love him. And I know damn well he won't wait for me much longer."

"Then what's stopping you?"

"I don't know! I'm scared something will happen, what if it doesn't work out? Our relationship isn't like yours with Sally, if I make a mistake I don't know if he'll forgive me again. I can't mess this up." She broke down in front of me. Helpless, no, more hopeless, scared. Scared Lucy isn't ever scared. "You already are." A tear fell down her face. I left the room. I know Lucy well enough that I know she didn't want me to see her cry

Small time skip. This is a week after they come back to Minnesota. Also thx for the comments. I appreciate any kind of constructive criticism or compliment, maybe even predictions or suggestions? I'm very new with writing so forgive me if you see a typo or weak writing. Enjoy? There's not much to enjoy for the rest of this chapter (sorry).

LINUS' POV

It happened, I had to call. I did call. I didn't even try to make myself anonymous. I called. I gave them my name. I told them everything.

CHARLIE BROWN'S POV

The entire town has been so silent. The mood is blue. We all try to ignore what happened, but how? Sally and I are in our old home together now. It's been awhile since we've lived together. She isn't the same, she can't even try to act ok. She doesn't have to heart to see Linus. He's worried sick about her, she doesn't have the heart to cry in front of him. If he was any less of a good boyfriend he'd be upset. But he understands what's happening, he's living through it too.

I haven't seen him at school, what's the point to leave the house I guess. I skipped a few days myself. Sally tries not to. She can't. She can hardly even admit how things have changed. She's lost, because our mother is gone. Gone.

I wake her up, she yawns and sits up. Sleep deprived. Again. I hugged her, it was the only thing I could do. Our dad doesn't talk about it. He can't. We can't.

SALLY'S POV

"You should see him, I know you're not feeling great but he'd be grateful to just see you." My brother said. I hardly have enough energy to respond. "I- I can't"

"Try, don't stop Sally, life isn't stopping, so you can't either." He's right, it's not. "It's tomorrow." I was talking about my mother's funeral, I can't process it. I don't even know if I want to go. "It is tomorrow." Charlie sighed, he hugged me again. "Visit him, please. I'm calling in sick for you." As he left the room I smiled at him, I couldn't even try to make it look real.

Everything else looks bleak, but Charlie tries to stay consistent, I can tell it's affecting him but not the way it's affecting me. I can't even say it out loud. But he's there, more than he was before. I'm thankful for that. And I have to listen to him. My feet make contact to the ground.

I want to tell myself that I don't know the address or I'm not sure he's home or I don't think he wants to see me but I can't. I've memorized his address by heart, he's always home, and I know he's been waiting for me.

I walked over. I tried to be positive but I'm just scared. I want to see him, I just know he won't like to see me, he thinks he will, but I've seen myself, he won't. I rang the doorbell. The doorknob twisted weakly, opening the handle on the other side was Lucy. I've seen her around, she's not changing like everyone else is. She's been angrier recently, I know better than to aggravate her right now. But she didn't act the way I thought.

"Sally." She smiled. She hugged me. I can't remember the last time she's done that. Everyone's been hugging me. They think it's helping. She looked at me. She didn't have to ask, she didn't even have to look at me, "He's in his room. Go...please." I don't want to. I really don't. But I will. I'll try, just like big brother said. I didn't even think to knock. I just opened the door.

I saw him. Smoking, I hated what I saw. I hated seeing him like that. I knew I was going to. But he didn't hate to see me like I thought he would. He didn't look away like I thought he would. Instead, he threw his cigarette out the window, and put away the cigarette box. He made room for me at the ledge of his window he was sitting at, closing the window so the harsh breeze wouldn't make me cold.

I sat there. He didn't hug me like everyone else did. Instead, "Talk when you're ready, I'm not going anywhere."

And he wasn't. We sat there for 30 minutes in silence. It wasn't awkward or weird. It was calming. My big brother was right about this. I could hear him breathing. I could see him glancing at me from time to time. And when we wasn't looking at me he looked over at the drawer that he put his box of cigarettes in. His hair was messy, it's never been like that. He wore a distressed shirt. He wasn't as put together as usual. I could feel his shoulder against mine. His skin was like ice. I could tell he was happy to see me. But it wasn't enough to feel happy, for either of us.

Finally I felt ready. "Linus." I could feel his surprise to hear my voice in the air, and how it had changed. Just like everything else, but he didn't say anything about it, he never thought about it after he heard it. I tried my best to keep talking. "W-will you be there tomorrow?"

"If you want me there." I grabbed his hand that was originally at his side. I slid my fingers in the gaps of his. He looked down at our hands, then at me. "I do, I want you wherever I go now." I said as my eyes finally met his. He smiled. A real one. "I wish you came sooner." So do I.

"I should've. If I had thought it through I would've. But I didn't." I sighed with a frown deepening on my face his head turned to me. "You're here now."

"But she isn't." I avoided his eyes. His arm wrapped around me pulling me closer to him. I sat up and look at him. I've been pushing back my emotions ever since she left. I don't think I can anymore. And I think he knew that. I threw myself into his arms again. I buried my head in his chest, it was something I've always done. It was a sense of comfort which what I needed and more. I cried, for a long time.

He didn't say anything the entire time. He just held me.

My brother was right about a lot of things involving me visiting Linus. But the thing that I remember most is when he told me Linus would be grateful just seeing me. And he was. He didn't care that I was silent and distant and a total wreck. He treated me like I was the girl I've always been. Like as if he didn't notice the change. Even though he did. He didn't complain, he didn't talk about himself. He just held me.

I was grateful for that.