Linus didn't know about Lucy until he saw Schroeder in the hospital that night. As soon as Charlie hit the ground, Sally grabbed Linus's arm. "We have to go," she said as the medics were rushing to the field. His heart sank, seeing his best friend out of the grass. To be fair, he had seen Charlie fall flat on his back hundreds of times. But this was different, everyone knew it was. The ball had not gone a couple of feet.

The Browns chose to take Charlie to the hospital themselves. Linus supposed it would be cheaper and easier to get to the hospital in their town. Sally and Linus squished with Mr. Brown in the back so Charlie could have the front seat. He looked miserable in the side-view mirror Linus had caught him in. The once-star kicker was now silent all the way back home. Linus didn't ask to be dropped off. He didn't want to leave Sally.

They sat together in the waiting room. The Browns had gone with him to the back. Sally was peeling through a magazine. He knew she wasn't really looking at it. Her eyes were empty. If she were, she would have pointed to all the pages that she liked, telling him all about how pretty that model's hair was or how she thought the color of the background was a poor choice. He never told her, but he liked it when she did that. It was nice to hear her thoughts on things he never gave thought to.

He was almost asleep when Schroeder burst into the waiting room. He hadn't come from the main door, however, he came from the back. "Mom?" Linus stood up. His mother was following Schroeder, holding his arm with a firm grip Linus had experienced before.

"You can't just burst in like that," Mrs. Van Pelt was telling him. "You'll have to wait here with me until they say it's okay to see her."

"But I need to see her," Schroeder ran his fingers through his hair. "I..." He then saw Linus and stopped. Mrs. Van Pelt was just as shocked.

"Linus? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Linus crossed to her.

"I just sent your father and brother home to wait for you," she noticed Sally in the chair not far behind him.

"Charlie broke his leg, I think," Linus answered the silent question. "He fell down before he could kick." His mother put a hand to her mouth. "Why are both of you here?" He didn't need to ask. He knew. As soon as he saw Schroeder he knew.

"Lucy fell," his mom explained. Schroeder shuffled his feet, his teary eyes pointed at the floor. "She hit her head on her dresser. Oh, it was awful Linus. A good scrape."

His heart dropped down to his chest. "Is she..."

"She's breathing," Schroeder answered, and then his face fell, all optimism from his eyes left. "She's just unconscious."

"I just don't know what could've caused a fall like that. I didn't see anything on the floor that she could have tripped on," Mrs. Van Pelt shook her head as she clutched her purse. "All we can do is pray and wait."

And wait they would.


The waiters were sent home that night. Both Charlie and Lucy would be spending the night in the hospital, as it was already past midnight. Schroeder watched as Linus hugged Sally goodnight, and Mrs. and Mr. Van Pelt kissed each other on the cheek before getting into the car. Schroeder stood at the front of his car. He didn't want to leave. He would just go home, just as distressed as he was now. Except, he would be farther away from Lucy.

And that wouldn't do.

He went back inside. The nurse at the front desk raised a brow. He gave her a small tired smile. "Mrs. Van Pelt sent me in to fetch her purse. She left it in her daughter's room."

The nurse eyed him her her sunk eyes. It was clear her shift was to be over soon since her coat and bag were ready for her on the back table. She knew he was lying, or at least suspected as much. To his surprise, she gave a small nod. "Make it quick."

Schroeder mentally skipped his way down the hall. He didn't allow himself to breathe until he was at Lucy's quiet door. With a slow hand, he turned the knob and went in. The room was very dark, spotted with dots of light from the monitors hooked up to the bed. Lucy was lying there, fast asleep. With the dim light showing through the blind, Schroeder could see the large bandage on her forehead.

He kneeled down next to her bed. He wouldn't dare wake her. She looked so peaceful the way she was. "You're still beautiful," he murmured, knowing she wouldn't hear. "I don't think anyone else could ever be as beautiful as you." He pulled her necklace from his pocket. He wanted her to know he was here when she woke up. He placed the necklace in her relaxed empty palm. He let his fingers brush against her hand, but he didn't want to take another risk in waking her up. "I'll see you soon, and explain everything."

Schroeder rose again. He was about to open the door when he heard her weak voice. "Schroeder?" His heart leaped as he turned around. Lucy's baggy brown eyes stared at him from her still place on the bed. He grinned. Her expression did not change from astonishment. "Am I still dreaming?"

"No," Schroeder shook his head. He retook his place beside the bed, kneeling again. "I'm here, and thank God you are too."

"I was sick," Lucy said rather lazily. "Then I went home after..." Her heart monitor increased its beeps.

Schroeder took her hand. "It's okay, Lucy."

"Frieda," was all she said. Schroeder turned over her palm, displaying the necklace.

"Frieda lied," Schroeder explained. "I didn't give her your necklace, she stole it from me."

She relaxed at that. "You found it? And...you kept it?"

"Yes," Schroeder plucked it slowly from her palm. He then proceeded to place it around her neck. "It looks the best on you."

She managed a small smile at that, which sent butterflies in his stomach. "I'm sorry, Lucy." He took her hand again. It was cold, so he rubbed it with his palm. "I never knew that you had come to see me."

"You mean you don't prefer Frieda over me?"

He raised a brow. "What kind of question is that?" Then he allowed himself to kiss the top of her hand. "You know the difference between Mozart and Beethoven." She glared at him, and he smiled. "I missed that cold stare and... I miss you."

"I missed you too," Lucy nodded, groaning after remembering her head injury. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, and getting upset for just keeping your word. I've been sorry for it for almost a month now, but I thought you had moved on."

"No," Schroeder shook his head. "I think my affections for you have only grown deeper since we...parted."

"Really?" she almost gasped at the question.

"Really." He felt as if a weight had been lifted off his lungs. "I want you to be with me, Lucy."

"You mean back in the piano room?"

"No, I mean...as my girlfriend," Schroeder squeezed her palm. That was a word he truly believed he would never say once in his life.

Lucy's hand squeezed his fiercely. "I never thought I would hear you ask that."

"So...I take that as a yes?" Schroeder passed her hand to his other one, shaking out of the pained fingers from her squeeze.

"Yes," she said, stopping herself from nodding. Schroeder smiled, his heart warm. He leaned forward, kissing the part of her forehead that wasn't hurt. He didn't pull back, however. He met her eye level, the tips of their noses nearly touching. Before he could ask, Lucy closed the gap between their lips. It was as if they had their first kiss all over again, for Schroeder's heart had no constant beat.

When they pulled back, they laughed quietly. Schroeder then knew that all would be well. He didn't leave her side that night. She had asked him to stay. He held her hand, bringing over a chair for his comfort. They had both fallen asleep there and in the morning, they were still holding hands as the nurses came to check on her, and then again when the Van Pelt family came back.


Charlie was at the wall. He would've sat on it, but he was lucky enough to lean upon it. He didn't want to look down at his casted foot. Sure, his pants and a large sock were covering it, but he still knew it was there. Every moment for the last week he had known it. He couldn't escape from it, not even in his sleep. There was dull pain in his leg, and a sharper one in his heart.

He had lost everything that night. He knew it as soon as he woke up in his parent's car on the way to the hospital. When he asked them about the game in the hospital the next day, they didn't say a word. Good grief. He had cost his school the chance to go to state. It was evident on his first day back in class. There were a few murmurs here and there, saying that they were glad that he was recovering, but Charlie knew his failure.

At lunch, he took it upon himself to stay clear of his usual table. He sat alone, not looking up once. Heather had come to visit him at his table yesterday. "I'm sorry, Charlie," she told him. He gave her a small nod in recognition. "You know we don't hate you, right?"

"Who?" he asked.

"The team. It wasn't your fault-"

"Of course, it's my fault," Charlie blurted. "I didn't have my head in the game I..."

"I noticed you were looking out to the crowd before the kick." Heather put a sudden hand to her heart, "I hope I wasn't the distraction."

"No," Charlie shook his head. He looked just beyond her red locks to catch a glimpse of who he was really thinking about that night. She was facing away from him, but he silently wished she would turn around, just so he could catch a glimpse of her face.

Heather followed his eye-line, and any hope of her face quickly diminished. "So that's why you haven't been sitting with us."

"I'm a failure. I put everything. All my attention into the things that I wanted, but I forgot about what I already had." He wasn't even talking about Marcie this time, but all of his friends. He was never scared to come back from a failure and sit with his friends. There was no judgment, he could just be himself. Sure, Lucy would remind him that he was a blockhead, but at least he knew she cared in her own special way.

"I see," Heather said. "You guys have quite the gang, there. Good luck to you, Charlie Brown."

It was over after that. Charlie knew he and Heather would never be together again. So, here he leaned against the wall, waiting for something Charlie was not sure of. Perhaps he was waiting for Linus to show up, just like he used to. Oh, how he missed Linus. Even when he had all the glory, he missed his wise friend and his great advice. Whether this advice was warranted or not, Charlie enjoyed his presence.

"Is that the all-star Charlie Brown?" Linus's voice came from behind. Charlie would've jumped if he could. He turned his head and sure enough, Linus was there, dressed in his winter jacket, snow dusting his black hair. "Mind if I lean?"

"No." Charlie wasn't sure if he should be filled with joy or terror. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"I've been here," Linus leaned. "I've seen you everywhere."

"Well, you won't have to deal with that anymore."

"Tell me something. Why did you fall on your back that night?"

"Because I tripped and broke my leg."

"Yes, but no," Linus shook his head. "Why did you decide to let yourself go out on an already injured ankle and let yourself fall on your back?"

There was no aggression to his question. Charlie thought for a moment. "Cause I knew if I didn't I would be a failure."

"To whom?"

Charlie bit his lip, then sighed. "To me."

Linus straightened slightly."And what do you feel like now, Charlie Brown?"

"A failure," he admitted with another deep breath. There, he had finally said it out loud. His lungs felt lighter.

There was a long silence between them. "I don't believe you are a failure."

The walls were up again as Charlie shook his head. "Yeah, right."

"I never did, and I never will," Linus snapped back instantly. Charlie was almost scared of the sharpness in Linus's tone. He never heard Linus speak like that. At least not in a very long time, and to him directly.

"Why? I failed football, I failed Heather, I failed Marcie, and I failed...you." Charlie kicked up with his broken foot, reminding himself that he failed his body too.

"You didn't fail with me," Linus shook his head. Charlie looked up with a hopeful eye. Linus managed a small smile. "Otherwise we wouldn't be on this wall, would we?" He gave Charlie an expectant look. As if Charlie should have known this all along.

"You came to all my games, didn't you?" Charlie asked. Linus gave him a nod. "Even after I-"

"Friends fight," Linus shrugged. "I knew you would come back, and that I would be able to forgive you. I didn't give up hope. You're good ol' Charlie Brown, after all."

Charlie cracked into a smile. "Yeah." He liked that sound of that. He reached forward and met Linus halfway for a hug. "I'm sorry, Linus."

"It's alright Charlie," Linus patted him on the back. "I'm just glad you're back."

"Me too." Charlie closed his eyes and for the first time in a long time, he felt a shred of peace.


Sally was at home, sitting in the living room, Snoopy's tired head on her lap. She had just gotten word from Lucy's mom that she had been doing better and that Sally could come to see her tomorrow. She was happy to hear the news, but there was still an aching pit in her stomach. She had known Lucy didn't eat very much. She never really thought twice about it, but she had noticed. Every time they would have lunch, Lucy would pick at her plate. When the gang would get something sweet to eat, she wouldn't get anything, claiming she didn't want to spend money. Sally knew. They all should have known.

When Linus told her about the fall, Sally knew. The doctors had figured out easily that Lucy had been close to starving herself. Linus seemed rather surprised by the revelation, but Sally knew. She knew, and she had done nothing about it. She never mentioned anything to Lucy. Why didn't she? It was obvious she had been losing weight uncommonly fast. But why? Maybe that's why Sally never mentioned it. She just didn't know why. Or perhaps she was too busy caught up in her and Linus' secret that she did not bother to care about Lucy's own secret. When Sally thought of it that way, she felt another pain in her stomach.

She should tell Linus. Or would that hurt him? No, he is an understanding guy. He wouldn't make her feel worse. After all, he didn't pick up on Lucy's habits, and he lived with her. Or maybe he was in a similar boat that was paddling through a sea of guilt. Maybe it would be better to face him with it rather than turn her back and refuse to express it. She needed to get used to being honest now that all these secrets had been spilling out.

Sally rose from the couch, hoping to get her coat. Before she could step into the entryway, she was stopped by the door opening. Linus stepped in without noticing her and held the door open for her big brother. He used his crutches to get through the entry, then he propped himself up against the closet to get his coat off. The two were smiling happily, finishing some kind of story with a laugh.

"Oh," Charlie noticed her first. "Hey, Sal." She was confused by the friendly greeting. Charlie had been bummed out for over a week, not saying anything at the dinner table and closing himself in his room at every chance he got. She was more surprised by the smile that fell from Linus' face when he saw her. He then helped Charlie with his coat.

"What's going on?" Sally asked, folding her arms.

"Linus and I have some catching up to do," Charlie repositioned himself back on his crutches as Linus took off his coat. "We haven't talked in a while." While she would have been glad at the friends making up, she could only focus on Linus' strange manner towards her. He was silent.

"I didn't notice," Sally said with a shrug. Linus gave her a look then, and she raised her eyebrows in challenge.

Charlie chuckled, "Yeah, I'm sure."

"See you later," Linus gave her a nod as he and Charlie went right on past her. Flustered, Sally swiftly turned back to the living room. If Linus were to look back, she would not give him the satisfaction of her gaze. Instead, she looked down at the dog on the couch. Snoopy looked up at her, an expression of concern on the dog's face. She didn't know how, but that dog was more expressive than humans at times.

"I thought that was weird, too," Sally gave the dog a small pat on the head, and the beagle wagged his tail. She proceeded to sit on the couch. "Boys are strange," she muttered and then noticed Snoopy's tail had frozen. Sally smirked, "Human boys." The tail wagged once again.

She had waited until dinner. Linus would have to acknowledge her then. Her parents knew about the relationship now. If he was friends with Charlie again, surely now would be the best time to tell him. He was no doubt the only one who didn't know at this point. He should've been one of the first, but a lot of things happened this fall that weren't supposed to happen or didn't go as planned.

When her mother called for dinner, Sally stood from the couch once again. Her steps lingered as she went down the hall, hoping to catch the boys as they came out of Charlie's room. They took too long, and Sally gave up her lingering and went to help set the table. When they did make an appearance Linus hung by the entryway. "Grab another plate, Sally," her mother ordered. "I didn't know Linus was joining us."

"I'm afraid I need to go home," Linus shook his head. "I only came in to say hello." Charlie plopped down in a chair, his crutches leaning on the one beside him.

Mrs. Brown waved the plate away in Sally's hand. "I supposed you are needed at home. Hope Lucy is recovering well."

"Oh, yes," Linus nodded. "She'll come back to school after Thanksgiving break. And I think she'll be able to attend your Thanksgiving party. Anyway, I'll see you guys at school. Have a good evening, Mrs. Brown." he glanced once at Sally before leaving.

"You too, dear," Mrs. Brown waved him off as Mr. Brown came in.

"I haven't seen Linus here in a while," Mr. Brown remarked as he took a seat.

"We're friends again," Charlie said before either parent could make a comment to Sally.

"That's nice," Mrs. Brown took her seat, but before she could say anything more on the matter, Sally clapped her hands together quickly.

"Let's pray, I'm hungry."


"Hey," Linus said quietly. It was a little late to ring Sally, but she must've been waiting by the phone because it barely rang. "Were you waiting long?"

"I figured you would call at the normal time since we're being so secretive and all." Her tone was sharp. She was not happy with him.

"I didn't know what to do," Linus started.

"I didn't know either," Sally retorted. "I didn't know you were gonna come waltzing back into the house all laughing with him."

"The conversation went a lot better than I expected," Linus shrugged. "Aren't you glad? Things can get back to normal."

"Normal?" Sally almost gasped. "What is normal for us?"

"Charlie is gonna come back into the friend group," Linus explained. "It won't be so stressful for us anymore."

"Linus," Sally whispered. "He doesn't know."

"I know that. I was waiting for the right time to tell him."

"Is that why you didn't stay for dinner?"

"No, I told my mom I would be home for dinner." Linus was actually late to dinner. They hadn't had much for a formal family dinner in some time. With Lucy's eating habits under severe watch, he supposed they would become more of a habit for the Van Pelt family.

There was a small pause. "Someone's gonna tell him."

"I don't think so," he shook his head, even though she couldn't see him. "There's only two days before break. He's barely gonna get used to it.

"So when are we planning to tell him?"

"I just got back in his good graces. I just don't think he's in the right headspace to know. He was really down on himself early today. He's gotta reconnect with us before we drop that on him."

"I suppose we can tell the gang not to say anything," Sally sighed. "We can make it through the Thanksgiving party. But we have to tell him before break is over. I don't want to keep living a lie. I just got used to us being...us."

Linus's mouth twitched up, "Me too. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Linus felt that everything was gonna be okay after that. When Sally hung up the call, he heard steps in the hall. He took the phone and stepped out of his room, putting the receiver back in its place on the small table. When he turned back around, Rerun was standing there, holding a sleeve of crackers, nearly giving Linus a heart attack. "What are you doing up?" he whispered.

His brother took a cracker and ate it. "Midnight snack." Linus was expecting a similar question from Rerun, but there were only chewing noises. "I heard your entire conversation on the downstairs phone."

"Rerun," Linus scolded. "I told you to stop listening in on my calls."

"Love is weird," Rerun commented. "It's very complicated and I don't get it."

"Then stop trying to understand and stop listening in on my calls," Linus took a cracker from the sleeve. "Go to bed, you have school tomorrow too." Rerun groaned, then finally obeyed and went back to his room at the end of the hall.