"Are you ready?" Marcie asked Monday morning. She and Charles walked all the way to school without saying a single word. Each of them were bundled in their winter coats. The temperature was dropping by the day, just as Marcie had suspected.
"Yeah," Charlie sighed nervously. "I've never been in a relationship before."
"Well, this one is fake," Marcie reminded him, feeling her heart drop as she said the words.
"Right," Charlie nodded. He then gave Marcie a grin. "Then let's do this." They both reached for each other. Charles had gone for around her shoulders, while she went for his arm.
"Here," she compromised, taking his hand. "Does this work?"
"Yeah," Charlie nodded. She squeezed his hand.
"Don't be so nervous Charles," Marcie tried to soothe him. "We went over the details of our lie this weekend. No one's going to know."
"I know," Charlie nodded again. He squeezed Marcie's hand in return as they entered the school building. The students all around them immediately turned their heads to the couple as they strolled down the hallways. Students would stop to talk to Charlie, congratulating him on last week's win.
"Playoffs will be easy with you on the field," an underclassman said.
"Maybe we'll even make it to state this year!" another chimed in with glee.
Marcie kept her eyes down as they walked straight passed Heather, whose jaw had dropped at the sight of them. Part of Marcie felt victorious, the other ashamed. "Did you see her face?" Charles whispered to her with great enthusiasm. "You're absolutely brilliant, Marcie." He then kissed her cheek, which made her eyes bolt up from the floor to his grinning face.
Her heart raced as he escorted her to her first class. Her cheeks had gone beet red as she took her place next to Peppermint Patty. She was twiddling a pencil between her fingers when she cleared her throat. Her flip-flopped feet were dangling casually over the desk's edge. "Just friends I see, Marcie," she practically snarled. Marcie didn't even try to defend herself, she simply touched her skin where Charles's lips had touched.
Sure, her plan was brilliant, but at what cost? If a simple kiss on the cheek was going to drive her this mad, what would be in store for her in the future? This plan might be the best and worst thing to ever happen to Marcie. She was already in danger of her brilliance. Hopefully, she could keep up the charade long enough for Charles not to notice her real feelings for him.
"I can't believe they're actually together now," Peppermint Patty ran her fingers through her stringy hair. She had been obsessing about it ever since she sat down for lunch. Linus was just as surprised about the match, but he had bigger worries to obsess about. "What would make Chuck choose Marcie all of a sudden? What does she have that I—I mean that Heather doesn't have?"
"Well," Franklin ignored Patty's mix of words. Everyone knew of Patty's long-lasting crush on Charlie. Linus felt as if she could scream it from the rooftops and not a soul would be surprised except for Charlie himself. "Marcie has been crushing on Charlie for a long time now."
"What?" Patty appeared absolutely shocked by this bit of information. "No, she hasn't."
"Yes, she has," Sally, Franklin, Pig-Pen, and even Linus said together. Patty's mouth opened, but no words escaped her lips.
"Perhaps Charlie's finally realized he needs to give up on Heather," Pig-Pen shrugged. "She's just not for him."
"I still don't understand why she has to sit over there," Patty shook her head. "It feels like they've both been brainwashed."
"Well, all the girlfriends sit over there," Franklin pointed out. "Marcie's part of the team now."
"Whatever," Patty shook her head. "The gang's going to the dogs."
"Hey," Sally nudged Linus as the others conversed. "I thought you were walking with me this morning?"
Linus bit his lip and sighed. He had forgotten entirely. "You're right," Linus said as he finished his salad. "I'm sorry. I was running late." She gasped at the sight of his face. She tried her best to hide her horror, but it was plain in her eyes. He knew he wasn't looking his best.
"What happened to you?"
"I haven't been sleeping well," Linus admitted. It was true. All weekend he couldn't get a pure moment's rest.
"What's been going on?" Sally asked, taking his hand under the table. Her thumb brushed his, making him feel slightly more at ease.
"Nothing," Linus shook his head. "That's the problem. Lucy's been shut up in her room. I think she's been sneaking down in the middle of the night for food. I could hear her footsteps last night." He had tried to catch her, but she was too quick. Her door was shut and locked but he time he had made it. Their parents hadn't even noticed Lucy's sudden change. Their mother said something about monthly courses.
"I couldn't help but notice her absence," Sally shrugged. He had excepted her to notice. She seemed to have an eye for everything. "Did you really hurt her?" They had this same conversation the night of the dance.
"I don't know. I tried talking to her," Linus recalled knocking on her door several times. Sometimes she would yell at him, other times she said nothing at all. "I don't think it's really me she's upset about." They both looked to Schroeder, who was sitting at the end of the table, picking at his plate slowly.
The next few days were rather...strange. At least in Schroeder's world. Two of his left fingers were broken. The index and middle were bound together with a stabilizer. He had spent a long night in the hospital. Saturday was a hard time dealing with emergencies. He had sat with his mother in the waiting room for over an hour before a doctor would see him. During that time, all he could think about was Lucy.
When the night was through, however, all Schroeder could think about was his piano. The doctor had told him he couldn't play with his left hand until January. It was as if the rug had been ripped right from under his feet. He thought about his future. How could he practice for Bonn University now? Losing two months of practice was too much for Schroeder. He would only take the weekend off to clear his thoughts.
How could he be so stupid? He should've never punched Travis. Sure, he was defending Lucy, but did he have to do it through violence? He pictured himself back at the dance. Travis was holding Lucy so tight it made Schroeder sick to his stomach. Schroeder had thought himself superior when it came to Travis, a sophomore who had been scrawny most of his life. That was quickly disproven.
"I hope you don't mind if I steal your girl for a dance."
No, Schroeder didn't regret the punch. Travis deserved it. He was even suspended because of the matter. As he should. No one should be held that way. Especially Lucy. Oh, Lucy. She looked so helpless and frightened. He was frightened, but his arms were free, and his rage strong. If Lucy was indeed his girl, Travis knew what he was doing was wrong. And if Schroeder had let her go, who knows what dance was going to entail.
"What are you going to do about it?"
Schroeder looked down at his broken fingers. What an act of bravery that ended so terribly. The fear was still settling in Schroeder when they discovered Sally and Linus. He still could see Lucy's teary eyes. They were burned into his memory. He felt terrible. He had lied to her. Not directly, but he had. She was doing so well, too. It made it all the worse.
As he passed the music room on his way out of school, Schroeder wondered how she was now. He knew she was mad, but he surely thought that she would've been over it by now. She hadn't gone to school today, which made Schroeder feel even worse. He tried to ask Linus, but he said even he hadn't caught sight of Lucy since that night. It made worry fester deeper into his stomach.
Lucy lay back on her carpet. She had been counting the ceiling tiles in her room over and over again as her record player blared various songs. Right now, she was on her favorite, which brought great new meaning now in her situation. "Oh, Patsy," Lucy held the record sleeve to her chest. "You understand heartbreak better than anyone I could ever know. I'm as crazy as you are I'm afraid."
There was a knock at the door. Lucy glanced over at the clock by her bed. It would be her brother. "Go away Linus," Lucy called. "I'm busy." He knocked again, impatiently. She sat up, losing count of her current total of tiles. "It's girl stuff, Linus. Get out." Then there was a sudden jiggling at the door. "It's locked, you blockhead." The knob suddenly twisted.
Lucy got up to her feet immediately as the door opened. Schroeder stood there, with a bobby pin. Her face had gone blank. Out of all people she suspected to be there, Schroeder was the last. She was glad her eyes had been dried from her earlier breakdown. They both stood there silently, staring at each other. "What are you doing here?" she suddenly asked.
"I was going to ask you the same thing," Schroeder responded. He looked pale and tired. Much like herself. In the last three days, she had been living off one meal a day. Every time she looked into the fridge late at night, she would see herself at the diner with Schroeder. They would be laughing and eating together, and she knew she could never eat like that again, so she would grab a few cracks and go back upstairs to her room.
"I live here," Lucy folded her arms. She couldn't break. She wouldn't let him break her.
"Why didn't you come to school today?" In reality, she had forgotten today was Monday. Time passed much differently now. She wasn't looking forward for anything, she was still, and so was time.
"I wasn't feeling well," Lucy answered honestly. She eyed his hand, noting the stabilizer. "Broken?"
"Yes," Schroeder nodded. She felt guilt instantly. He broke his hand for her. One of his playing hands was broken, and he did it defending her. She would not let him play the guilt card to its full power, however. Linus and Rerun had done it too many times throughout her childhood, she had become immune to the power. It came with the perks of being an older sister.
"You still haven't told me why you're here," Lucy cut back to the point. She didn't have time for her mind to wander. Not while he was still here standing in front of her.
"I wanted to see how you're doing," Schroeder stepped inside her room. She glanced around, noting a few sweaters on the floor. In her boredom, she had cleaned up her room, and she was glad she had.
"Who let you in?" Lucy asked, knowing the answer.
"Linus," he answered. "He told me you haven't seen him."
"I don't want to see him," she retorted. "And I don't want to see you, either."
"You have to know that I was just covering for them," Schroeder pleaded.
"I don't know, actually," Lucy snapped. "Actually, I don't know what all you've been covering."
"You still don't believe me?" his voice raised.
"No, I don't," Lucy shook her head. "I knew it was all too good to be true."
"You never had a problem with it before."
"Well, I do now."
"I broke my hand for you!" Schroeder yelled, showing her his hand.
"I trusted you!" she shot back.
"I won't be able to practice for months. Months!" Was this all that he was worried about? Did he want to come here just to talk about his piano? She should've guessed. His only true love will be that keyboard.
"Maybe it'll be good for you, Schroeder," Lucy folded her arms again. "You can find another girl to swindle in the meantime."
"So that's all you have to say? It'll be good for me?"
"Then you'll know how it feels," Lucy bit her lip as her last resort. Tears were at the brim, but she would not cry. Not in front of him. She would not cry.
Schroeder's face tightened. "Then this is over?"
"It hardly started," Lucy bit her lip even harder.
"Right," Schroeder nodded. "I'll see myself out."
"Don't let the door hit you on the way," Lucy marched after him, slamming the door as he walked out into the hallway. As soon as she heard the front door close, Lucy collapsed against her wall, letting every tear fall. Her legs gave out, and fell to the floor, crying. She would stay like that for at least an hour until she could feel her strength slightly return to her.
Eating a cracker from the sleeve she had in her room, Lucy put on another record. Jazz. Schroeder would've hated it, so she cranked it up louder, hoping to drown him from her mind completely. He had no right to say the things he had. She had been so open with him, and he lied to her. He told her she was pretty, and that he would help, but he was only doing a favor for her stupid brother.
Lucy would have to address her brother sooner or later, but for now, she only had one boy to focus on.
Linus watched Schroeder drive off in a hurry from the kitchen window. He didn't even bother to say a single thing to him on the way out. Linus was just happy their mother was gone. She didn't need to listen to that fight. Not even he should've listened, but it was hard not to when his sister screamed it practically took over the house. "Linus?"
Linus's eyes widened as he saw Rerun standing there. He had forgotten his little brother was here. "Rerun," Linus faked a grin.
"What's wrong with Lucy?" he asked.
"A broken heart," Linus told him honestly. "It's best to leave her alone for a while."
"I thought she loved Schroeder," Rerun admitted.
"Me too," Linus nodded. "Sometimes it isn't enough."
"What does that mean?" Rerun asked. Linus didn't really know himself. Not many people questioned the things he had said. Even as a young child, he was assumed to be wise.
"Well," Linus thought for a moment. "Just because you love someone, doesn't mean everything's going to be perfect. There will be fights and feuds and disappointment. It's all part of the game."
Rerun shook his head then. "Sounds like a dumb game to me."
"It is, but it's the most rewarding," Linus smiled at the thought of Sally. He couldn't imagine what Lucy was feeling at the moment. If he were to lose Sally like that, he wouldn't know what he would do.
Schroeder went to school without a single shred of guilt or fear. He saw Lucy in the halls, but it only fueled his frustration. She looked normal and well-rested. She avoided him with her head high. All last night, he thought about how she had treated him. How couldn't she care about his future? Everything that he had been working for had been in his hands. And now, thanks to her, he was unsure if he even had a future at all.
Lucy should've been grateful to him. He did save her after all. If he would've known that was the outcome, perhaps he should've let Travis have her. She might've been happier with him anyway. Beethoven was a bachelor all of his life, and Schroeder wanted to be like his icon at all costs. Lucy had never been part of the plan. No woman ever had. He tried not to think of the kisses he had given her, the feel of her body pressed against him when they had danced. He simply couldn't think of it. He didn't need to think of it.
After school, Schroeder marched right into the practice room. He threw his backpack at the wall and sat down on the piano bench. He had already missed three days of practice. He wasn't going to miss anymore. He stared at the familiar black and white keys. He glanced up, seeing nothing but the wall above his piano. Good. He preferred it that way.
Closing his eyes, Schroeder tried to play a C major chord. His right hand found the correct keys perfectly and with ease. He cringed as his left hand throbbed. His fingers throbbed under the stabilizer. Schroeder winced and tried again. When his fingers didn't obey his brain, Schroeder banged on the piano. This led to him groaning, holding his hand. "Stupid!" Schroeder said through his gritted teeth.
When he opened his eyes, Schroeder saw it. A silver necklace. He hesitated, staring at it. Slowly, he picked up the jewelry. The chain dangled between his fingers as he opened his palm for closer inspection. It was a silvery pendant with a blue stone in the middle. He knew it was Lucy's. She had been wearing it for years. She played with it constantly. She would even take it off just so she could play with it more while he practiced, but she always took it with her. Never had she ever forgotten it. She wore it every day.
He wondered what he could do with it. His options were limited. He could either give it to Linus, put it in her locker, or hold onto it himself until she came looking for it. After fiddling with it for a few minutes, Schroeder put it into his left hand and rested it against his thigh. Taking a deep breath, Schroeder faced the piano again. With his right hand only, he began to play Beethoven's 5th.