Following all the drama that had transpired throughout the first half of January, the second half went by much more smoothly.

Charlie Brown continued on with his efforts with Peppermint Patty and her crew to become ready for baseball tryouts at the start of spring. Although he was still far from being the best baseball player in the world, Charlie Brown was progressively showing more and more improvement. And at a pretty fast pace too. Of course, Heather was continuing to emotionally support him, and she has at times even come to visit him where he and the guys were training.

Peppermint Patty was quick to notice during these times when Heather visited Charlie Brown that whenever she gave him support, he was instantly able to do better. It was almost as though Heather's encouragement literally had a magic touch to it. Although Peppermint Patty still experienced some degree of jealousy over Heather, she had become much more understanding and accepting that Heather was a better match for Charlie Brown than she was.

As for Linus and Janice, a few days after Sally had undergone both her outward and inward transformations, she was ready to see Linus again. She had tearfully apologized to him, and he had accepted her apology, but not without warning her that if she ever pulled a stunt like that again, that Linus would be taking Sally straight to the police. Sally was also required to agree that she would never refer to Linus as her "Sweet Babboo" again. And strangely enough, Sally felt that doing so wasn't going to be as hard as it would've certainly been in the past. Could it be that Sally's affection towards Linus had already begun to wane?

Sally had also apologized to Janice, and although Janice also accepted her apology, it would be a long time before Janice would be comfortable with Sally being inside her house again. Janice and Sally would sit at the same table now and then during lunch, however. Overall, Sally and Janice were now on okay terms, but some time would be needed for the fractures in their relationship to fully heal.

And as for Sally herself, her life felt very much different now that she had gained a new perspective on it. She now knew that there were people who did care, and she no longer felt the need to vie for Linus' affections the way she had. And as far as the whole singing class thing went, she had successfully passed her audition, and she now was part of a class that she actually felt truly interested in. And not only that, when she would arrive to class, she would do so feeling motivated, and being committed to doing the best she could while she had this opportunity. On the days when the class met, Sally never put up much of a stink about having to go to school that day. Of course, school was still nowhere near something that Sally cared for, but pretty much everything about her was a noticeable improvement compared to how she was during the time before all the Linus and Janice drama went down.

It was now the start of the first full week of February in Sparkyville. It was the start of the school day, and Charlie Brown and Schroeder were on their way to their homeroom. Schroeder was carrying a couple of his books in his arms, but unfortunately for him, he was not aware that his shoe had come untied. Right before arriving at class, he tripped over it and fell to the ground, his books crashing into a scattered mess.

"Good Grief, Schroeder! Are you alright?" Charlie Brown cried out as several onlookers were now looking at the two of them, either in concern or to giggle at Schroeder's spill.

Schroeder sighed. "Yep."

After helping Schroeder up, Charlie Brown also helped him to gather his things. One of the things Charlie Brown noticed though was that one of the items Schroeder had dropped wasn't one of his books, but rather, a flyer. Curious, he attempted to read what was on it. Schroeder saw this though and a look of panic appeared on his face.

"Gimme that! It's nothing important!" he cried out, snatching the flyer from Charlie Brown.

"Whoa, what the heck, Schroeder?" Charlie Brown responded, shocked by his friend's behavior just now.

"We're gonna be late," Schroeder said, ignoring Charlie Brown's question and upping his pace to a jog.

Charlie Brown followed suit as he wondered what was up with Schroeder just now. What was that flyer that he was carrying? And why did he not want Charlie Brown to see what was on it?

Fortunately for Charlie Brown though, his inquiry would be answered shortly.

A short while later, the students in Charlie Brown's homeroom were gathered together, and the homeroom teacher had just finished calling the roll. After putting her clipboard away, she faced her pupils.

"Well, class, I'm sure by now that at least a good number of you have seen the flyers that were recently made available," she said.

"Flyers?" Charlie Brown instinctively whispered to himself. Meanwhile, Schroeder sank down in his seat, feeling a sense of dread.

"If you haven't seen them yet," the teacher then said, picking up a copy of the flyer before holding it up in the air, "this is what they look like."

The flyer that the teacher was holding up indeed looked identical to the flyer that Charlie Brown had tried to read before Schroeder snatched it away from him. It was printed on pink paper, and the top of the paper read "Sparkyville Junior High Valentine's Dance".

"A Valentine's Dance?" Charlie Brown muttered to himself. He then glanced over at Schroeder, who suddenly appeared very interested in examining the top of his desk. But why would Schroeder be so embarrassed over having one of these flyers. It's not like he's actually planning on asking...

But Charlie Brown then stiffened, and he suddenly felt his face turning red. He was now looking at Heather, who was paying attention to the teacher as she explained the details on what was coming. A Valentine's Dance was coming up?! But that meant a formal evening gathering at the school. With dancing and valentines decorations and everything. An event where Charlie Brown could possibly... ask Heather to be his literal date!

All of a sudden, Schroeder's embarrassment over being caught with a flyer for this event wasn't as important to Charlie Brown anymore.

During lunch, the usual five, including their relatively recent addition, Janette, were enjoying lunch at their usual table. Heather and Mary were engaged in a somewhat serious-sounding conversation. Charlie Brown was sort of just being present, though he seemed to have some thoughts on his mind. Schroeder was strangely quiet, even for him, as he seemed to focus intently on his food. As for Linus, he currently had with him a copy of the student handbook, and he was busy skimming through the pages, seemingly looking for something. Janette was watching him, curious as to what he was up to.

"Hey, Linus, are you looking for something in there?" she asked.

Linus nodded, keeping his focus on the book. "I'm trying to find out what the school's policy is on students from other schools attending one of this school's dances."

"Oooooooh," Janette said, a sly smirk appearing on her face. She knew right then what Linus' intentions were.

Linus rolled his eyes, knowing what was coming based on the inflection now in Janette's voice. "Janette, please don't."

"Looks like Linus is intent on escorting my baby sister to the Valentine's Dance. How adorable," she teased.

"Janette..." Linus sighed, his cheeks turning pink.

Suddenly, Heather and Mary both stood up.

"Please excuse us for a couple of minutes," Heather said to everyone. "Mary and I need to talk in private."

"Oh. Okay," Linus replied. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh yeah, absolutely," Mary assured him. "We'll be back momentarily."

And with that, Mary and Heather proceeded to go out into the hall. At the table now were just Charlie Brown, Linus, Janette, and Schroeder.

"So, Linus, you are going to ask Janice to go to the Valentine's dance with you?" Charlie Brown asked his bestie.

"Yep. It looks like the school will allow for it as long as I follow the correct protocol," Linus answered, showing Charlie Brown the page regarding school dance rules.

Charlie Brown read what Linus pointed to and nodded. "Looks good."

Charlie Brown then shifted his attention to Schroeder, who had just finished eating. He was still silent as he looked around at the other students while they ate and chatted. Charlie Brown cleared his throat to get his attention.

"So, Schroeder, since I know you don't really do the whole valentines or dances thing, what do you think you might do on Valentine's day?" he asked. "Though I think I can venture a pretty good guess."

For several seconds, Schroeder did not answer. But he then sighed. He knew that he wasn't going to be able to keep this under wraps for long. It was best to just come clean and get it all over with now.

"Actually Charlie Brown," he began, his voice unusually soft. "I... I am going to be going to the Valentine's dance. And not only that, I'm going to be..." Schroeder gulped. "I'm going to be going with someone."

Both Linus and Charlie Brown blinked. Were they hearing correctly? Did Schroeder just say that he not only was going to the dance, but that he even had a date?! This couldn't be real!

"Are you serious? You're joking, right?" Linus exclaimed.

Schroeder groaned and buried his now red face in his hands. Meanwhile, Janette was completely clueless as to what was unfolding in front of her right now.

"Um... what is going on here?" the redhead asked.

"No, I'm not joking. I'm going with someone," he said again, quickly becoming annoyed by everything.

Nobody could believe it. This was the boy who pretty much never showed any interest in anything that even remotely hinted at romance and girls. But here he was now, having just confessed to the group (well, who was currently here), that he was going to be attending the Valentine's dance... with his own date no less.

"Wow, Schroeder. Who would've thought that this would ever come to be," Linus said, somewhat in awe. "Incidentally, who is the girl you are going with?"

Schroeder slowly raised his head up from out of his hands and looked at the others as they awaited his answer. After a few seconds, he made the lucky girl known.

"I'm going with Mary," he told everyone.

After Charlie Brown and Linus were informed by Schroeder who he was going to the dance with, they turned their attention to the blonde-haired girl, who, with Heather, were standing just outside the cafeteria entrance. Mary appeared strangely animated and excited as she was having her little private chat with Heather. Could her going to the dance with Schroeder be was what she was currently talking to Heather about? The other boys were not unaware that Mary and Schroeder had been spending a lot more time together as of late.

But they weren't the only ones though who knew this. A certain raven-haired girl who still held a literal obsession with Schroeder, was keenly aware of this too. And she didn't like it one bit. How was she aware of Schroeder and Mary's growing bond? There have been multiple instances as of late where when Lucy would show up to Schroeder's house, she would find that he already had a girl hanging out with him. Obviously, this girl was none other than Mary.

Lucy remembered that in the not-too-distant past, Schroeder and Heather Wold had begun spending more time together. And although at first it really bothered Lucy, her attitude towards these occurrences somewhat improved once she remembered that Heather clearly only had eyes for the infamous Blockhead. So at least with Heather, she could just barely tolerate she and Schroeder hanging out together, seeing that Heather was not a love rival.

But Mary was a different story entirely. Lucy remembered that day, way back when she was seven, when Schroeder revealed to her some of the traits he would like in a girl.

"Well, I'd like her to have blonde hair... and have an even disposition... and I think that she should be fond of classical music."

This was what Schroeder had told her. And of course, Lucy didn't have the best of responses to this as she did not have any of these traits. She was pretty much a mirror opposite of this description. And it was clear what Schroeder had said about the prospect of marrying someone like Lucy.

"I don't like you, you're crabby all the time, and you're too bossy."

"I wouldn't marry you unless you were the last girl on earth!"

These were the things that Schroeder had said to her. And although nobody knew this, one of Lucy's motives for actually deciding to continue on with therapy was because she desperately wanted Schroeder to change his mind about her. After all these years she was still obsessed over the boy and was willing to try anything to finally win this war for Schroeder's heart. And it seemed to her that she might have been making some kind of progress. The more composed, less brash, and certainly less crabby Lucy that the raven-haired girl had become over the past several months was noticed by Schroeder. His attitude towards her being around him had improved. The two of them could have a normal conversation. And Schroeder, once or twice, had even commended her on her improved self.

"I'm just gonna come right out and say it, Lucy. You really seemed to have changed. And I like it. I like it a lot."

In fact, it was literally just a week prior to today that he had told her this. Lucy wanted to fly straight to the moon hen she had heard these words. She had spent that entire evening dancing around in her room.

But despite this, Lucy also knew that there was a new obstacle in her path: Mary Stewart. But Lucy, after everything she had been through, was not about to let everything suddenly crash down on her. Knowing that the Valentine's dance was coming up soon, this would be her chance to hopefully nip this obstacle in the bud right here and now. Surely with how much Lucy had changed, that Schroeder would be all too willing to escort her to the dance, right?

As he would be passing by this way, Lucy decided to wait near Schroeder's locker until lunchtime was over. Once it was, everyone was proceeding onward to their next classes. Sure enough, Schroeder could be seen walking in the direction of his locker. As he came near, Lucy put on the most charming smile she could muster.

"Oh, Schroeder?" she greeted, in a certain manner that Schroeder was all too familiar with.

Oh dear... Schroeder thought as he glanced at Lucy. "Hi, Lucy."

But Schroeder wasn't really paying much attention to Lucy, though Lucy did continue to smile at him. She giggled before speaking. "So, you have heard, right? About the Valentine's dance coming up?"

Schroeder stopped and cupped his face into his hands, muttering "Oh no".

"It sure sounds like it's going to be a great time," Lucy continued. "And... you know, I haven't asked anyone yet, nor have they asked me."

"Lucy, look," Schroeder began, already knowing what it was that she wanted. "Before you even go there, no. I cannot take you to the dance."

Lucy, for a split second, looked shocked, but she quickly composed herself.

"Oh. Of course. Because "musicians don't dance", right?" she asked. "Or because you're going to stay home to play your piano or something right?"

"That's not it. It's..."

But Lucy continued. "Or are you just not interested in going because you're too busy. If that's the reason, I can understand."

"Ugh! No, Lucy. It's... it's because I'm going with someone else," Schroeder told her. "I'm going with Mary Stewart."

Lucy found herself standing completely still, not saying a word. Meanwhile, Schroeder got out his next class's textbook from his locker. He then shut his locker and looked at Lucy again, but she just continued to stand there, appearing as though she was not aware of anything that was around her. This was quickly getting weird.

"Um... Lucy?"

But the bell then rang.

"Well... I'd better be going," Schroeder then said before quickly continuing on his way.

After walking a short distance, he turned to look back at Lucy, who continued to be rooted on the spot, not doing or saying anything. This honestly made Schroeder start to become concerned. This was most certainly not a normal way for Lucy to respond to one of his rejections. But not knowing what else to do, Schroeder simply continued onwards to his next class.

Seconds after Schroeder was out of sight, Linus appeared on the scene and was now coming Lucy's way. Lucy still hadn't moved from her current location, but she was now hanging her head. Curious, Linus walked up to her.

"Lucy?" he said.

There was no response.

"Um... Lucy? Lucy!" Linus continued, giving her a gentle shake.

Finally, Lucy was turning towards him. But he barely had the time to be able to comprehend her scream, and the expression that was now on her face before he found himself taking a monstrous blow to the head that literally knocked him to the floor unconscious!

AN: And ooooh boy, here we go! The Valentine's Dance arc is now officially underway, and some interesting things have already happened. Linus is of course going to see if he can bring Janice. And even SCHROEDER is going to be going with someone! Whoever would've thought that something like that would actually happen? Lucy didn't, and she had such an intense reaction to being told by Schroeder that he was going with Mary instead of her.

Next chapter, we will be taking a deep dive into the blossoming romance between Patty Swanson and Pig-Pen. Some sweet moments between the two, as well as some gal pal drama, are coming up. Also, Pig-Pen will be given a real name next chapter.

See you guys soon with the next chapter!

Next Chapter: Chapter 31 - Patty Swanson's Conflicting Priorities