SALLY'S POV
"You are going to talk to her right?"
"Yes." My brother said. "And you'll apologize?" He nodded. "And you'll get a fresh start too? You'll change?"
"For gods sake yes! Try not to bring it up too much, I'll begin to second guess myself." I nodded obediently. "We wouldn't like that." He grinned." "Exactly." I sighed lifting my hands in the air, "I'm sorry, I'm worried for you! And I have to wait here in suspense till you come back from her house!"
"Well I can get you to do something. Rerun's new tutor just quit, you used to tutor him I'm sure you could do it again."
"Who's Rerun anyway? Also I'm not sure, I haven't been in school and I can hardly remember anything."
"It could help you again, Rerun is a wonderful kid."
"I don't want to."
"His full name is Rerun Van Pelt, little brother of Linus Van-"
"Tell him I'm on my way."
"That's what I thought."
My footsteps escaped the house making their way to the Van Pelt's residence, I felt like I wasn't even controlling myself. I didn't even want to go till he said it was Linus' brother. What is wrong with me? It's like I have to be wherever he is. I'm hardly going to see him anyway I'm tutoring his brother. Yet I know damn well the entire time I'm tutoring him I'm going to be looking at Linus' door hoping it'll open to see his shadow.
I've gone crazy. I have. I rung the doorbell, a very excited younger boy opened it. "Hey Sally! It's been so long since I've seen you!" He hugged me, this boy was so sweet, different than Linus, which I begin to realize is a pattern with his siblings.
Speaking of the figure I had been so eager to lay my eyes on. "I told you Rerun she won't remember you." Rerun's disappointment was easy to notice. I felt guilty, which has become a feeling I'm very familiar with. "You won't even notice, it'll be just like how it used to be. I promise you." I tried to assure him, and he tried to be grateful. But he knew it wasn't the same.
Rerun walked in leading me to his living room. Linus walked the other direction to his room. I watched him exit till the door shut. I begin to realize what was happening, I am falling in love with him, I was jealous. And I can't be, I can't love him. And I can't keep hoping, hoping for what? Not sure. But I need to stop.
I sat down next to Rerun. Trying my best to focus. Trying can only get me so far.
I was struggling to help Rerun, everything he was learning was hardly in my memory. I knew he didn't want me to feel bad about it, but he was getting upset himself. "I'm sorry Rerun. How about we try a different lesson." He nodded, his smile helped him gain hope. He flipped a few pages ahead in his textbook. I looked at the pages, they were lessons I was more used to, maybe I can do these.
He ended up on arithmetic. I gently hit his shoulder with the back of my hand quickly multiple times expressing my excitement. "I know these! Here, we'll get through this in seconds it's super easy." I saw an even larger smile emerge onto his face, I hope I never forget the look on his face.
I point at the text opening my mouth to explain it, but before I could I heard a creak from the door of Linus' bedroom. Of course. "You guys doing good?" I turned away from him. Avoid that feeling, I told myself, and if avoiding him in general is the only way to dismiss that feeling then so be it. Rerun rose his head, straightening his back to look at his older brother. "Rough start but Sally said she'll teach me this one!"
"Oh that's great! Thank you Sally." He said my name, no, no! Ugh! Shut out those stupid feelings Sally! "Uh- actually I'm so sorry Rerun I should go."
"What? You said you had two hours to spend here!"
"I'm really sorry- bye." I rushed out as fast as I humanly could. I couldn't take it. I panicked. I couldn't focus with him there. I couldn't stop thinking about him while he was there. I couldn't be there, I just couldn't.
RERUN'S POV
Linus skeptically watched as Sally abruptly rushed out. "Was it just me or was she trying to avoid me?" I shrugged. "Now I can't even finish this lesson!"
"I can help if you'd like." My big brother offered, I nodded. Better him than Lucy. "Oh arithmetic, I loved this unit."
He did his best to explain the lesson. The reason I've asked Sally to tutor me was because my brother isn't the best at explaining this kind of stuff, but he tried. As he finished I looked down at the first equation. Silence filled the entire house. Linus was looking at the door stroking his hair back. "I don't get it."
"I thought you understood this unit-"
"She was just fine with me being here when she came in! And suddenly as soon as I walk out she runs almost instantly!" He wasn't talking about the unit.
"I don't know girls are so weird, I liked this girl who sat behind me, one second she'd be so happy to talk to me, laughing at all my jokes and smiling whenever I was talking. But seconds later she won't even strike up conversation with me."
"Rerun you don't understand girls, not at this age."
I scoffed. I hate being the youngest sibling, I feel like they don't talk to me because I'm younger than them. "Rerun I don't know what to do." I scoffed again. Slamming my pencil onto the floor, closing the textbook as hard as I could. "Good grief! I can't get any work done here!" As soon as I walked off Linus began to speak again. "Sorry Rerun. I'm just kind of confused right now I guess. I don't understand what I did."
"Maybe it's not what you did." A distinct voice had spoken. My sister Lucy. She poured herself coffee, it was daily routine of hers. "Then what would it be?" I plugged my nose when I asked, I hated the smell of coffee. When I spoke my voice sounded much more nasal.
Lucy rolled her eyes when she noticed my change in voice. "I was talking to her a bit ago, I did the whole psychiatrist spiel. I think she's falling dude." She practically gulped the entire mug, consuming half of it before continuing. "When we started getting deeper into it she told me to forget and sought me out. She seems to have a hard time believing it, and also there's the whole thing about how she doesn't know you and her boyfriend at the same person, that's like opening a whole other can of worms."
"I don't know how to tell her. I'm not even supposed to."
"A wise person once told me to give it time." Schroeder, she's talking about Schroeder. I unplugged my nose to make sure the next things I say are expressed seriously. "What happened to you two? He never comes by anymore." Lucy's breathing intensified. Linus put his hand on my shoulder shaking his head, suggesting that I not mention it.
"And he never will again. It's that simple." She harshly placed her mug on the counter nearly cracking it, then left. I looked at my brother. "They got into a quarrel, she wasn't ready for a relationship and that was all he wanted. Right person. Wrong time. I've been telling her to talk to him. But you know Lucy."
I was disappointed, I really liked Schroeder. When he was around he summoned a sensation in which Lucy became not so crabby. I liked when she wasn't as crabby. But now, it's different.
LUCY'S POV
Why couldn't things have just ended differently? I wasted 11 years of my life! 11 years! That's more than half of my life! Why did it have to be like this!? Why did I have to make it like this!?
I hate him! I hate how long it took for him to realize he liked me! I hated how he didn't wait for me! I hated how he dated Frieda! I hated how he came back for me! I hated his beautiful blue eyes! I hated his permed golden blonde hair! I hated how much his piano played soothed me! I hated everything I used to adore about him! But the thing is, I don't hate any of that, I just hate myself
I hate how much of a fool I was to throw my life away for him. I hated my soft spot for him. But most of all I hated how I still love him.
CHARLIE'S POV
By the time I had gotten home Sally wasn't there. But that didn't last long. A mere 2 minutes like Sally entered in a hurry. Her face flushed red and clearly stressed. I was skeptical but decided to brush it off. She smiled when she saw me. "How'd it go?" She asked.
She was talking about my talk with Heather. "It went wonderful, she forgave me for acting different. And said she'd be at my next game to support me."
"That's so great! You two would really hit it off."
"And I was thinking, that maybe you and Linus could go together by Heather." Her face froze. "Are you sure? What about Lucy? She could go with me!" I looked at her confused. "Well I thought you'd prefer Linus' company, also Lucy doesn't come to the football games, she's got student government and a billion other clubs to attend during my games."
"I guess I'll go with him." This wasn't normal for her, she'd always be ecstatic whenever she could spend time with Linus. Something was up. "Speaking of Linus, I'm going to swing by there. Shall I tell him you said hi?"
She shook her head, making her way to her room.
Linus let me in. His house was more silent than normal. With a group of three chaotic siblings it's phenomenal that it's possible for the house to be this quiet. "What do you want Charlie Brown?" He asked, he wasn't very pleased to see me, which I saw coming.
"I'm sorry, for being a huge jerk, it was so dumb. And I promise you that jerk you once knew is no more. And I promise to not call Sally a bitch or say you don't give a shit about her or that you're a dickwad who's trying to get in bed with my sister or that my sisters a slut for you or really anything along those lines."
"I never even knew you said those things, and you are aware that half of those statements contradict each other correct?"
"I did say it was dumb."
"Well, I accept your apology. And I hope I wasn't too much of a 'dickwad' to you." I'm glad that Linus could give me another chance. "You never were a dickwad, I think I was just a little lost."
"Well if we are ok again, could you put in a good word about me to your sister? Im not sure what happened that made her want to avoid me but clearly it's something."
"Maybe you could put a good word in yourself?"
"If she'll talk to me." I stepped to the side to gesture him to walk home with me. He shrugged, walking out to stand next to me.
SALLY'S POV
I heard 3 knocks on the door. "I don't want to talk to you Linus!" I'm not sure how I knew it was him, it was just my gut talking.
"Why are you avoiding me?!" I couldn't tell him.
"Leave!"
"Not until you tell me why you're avoiding me! And open the door!"
"No." I grumbled. "Sally I will break down this door if I have to!"
"No! Frieda will hate me!"
"So open the door!" I scoffed, opening the damn door for the guy, avoiding eye contact the best I could. "Why are you avoiding me?"
"I'm not avoiding you."
"You literally just yelled at me saying you didn't want to talk to me." Fair. "Well maybe I wasn't in the mood for talking. Why'd you rush out of my house when I walked out of the room?" I sighed. "I don't know! Or- or maybe I do, but I don't want to tell you!"
"Why can't you tell me?"
"You used to tell me everything." He grumbled. I scoffed, "Now you tell me about how we used to be. What's your problem about that?"
"It's complicated, I just can't tell you." I looked over at him. And maybe I said what I said in spite of myself, or in spirit of him. "Maybe if you tell me how we used to be during the football game, I'll tell you why I was avoiding you? If you'd still like to go with me that is."
"Maybe I will."
"Maybe you could give me more than a maybe."
"Did you miss the part where I said I will?"
"Doesn't mean much when you put the maybe in front of it."
"I guess it's up for debate."
"Linus!"
"I'll go, I'll go." My eyes smiled rather than my mouth. I'm spite of me or in spirit of him, it's up for debate. But I now realize how much we will both dread that game. In hopes Charlie will at least bring home a win to enlighten the day, I guess.