Lucy looked almost catatonic as she was sitting on her bed. Besides going to school and doing homework, Lucy wasn't doing anything right now. Not that there was much for her to do anyway. She wasn't allowed to go out anywhere, except for school, and for continuing her therapy. She wasn't allowed to see anybody. She wasn't even allowed to go into the living room to watch television. She was essentially under a form of house arrest that took place within the confines of her bedroom. The terms of her grounding included one week in her room, and one month in the house.

The weirdest thing was that Lucy didn't even seem to be all that upset about her punishment. She wasn't really sure if she wanted to be anywhere but up in her room moping. She certainly was no longer interested in, nor would be going to the Valentine's Dance. She couldn't on her life bear to think about the sight of Schroeder dancing with that blonde-haired jezebel.

That stupid Schroeder! This was all his fault! If Schroeder had only asked her to be his date at the dance, then none of this would've happened. She wouldn't have sent Linus to the hospital due to an outburst of extreme frustration and upset. She wouldn't have lost her spot in the Candy Stripes program. And most importantly, she would be spending the night of Valentine's Day, happily with him instead of being confined to her room. But thanks to him, Lucy's world as she had known it had come to a screeching halt.

No... no. She couldn't think like that. This wasn't Schroeder's fault. This was hers for still continuing to believe that one day, she and Schroeder were going to become a thing. Lucy was completely deluded for thinking that Schroeder would one day show interest in her.

But then, if that was the case... how could she ever find the means of being able to move on from him? It had been years. Years Lucy had spend trying to get him to like her. She wasn't sure it was possible for her obsession with Schroeder to die.

Lucy laid back down and stared up at the ceiling. A single tear rolled slowly down her cheek. For the first time in her life, Lucy came to realize just how bad Charlie Brown constantly used to feel before Heather Wold had inserted herself into his life.

Experiencing such depression, and feeling like such a failure was truly one of the worst things in the world and she would not wish this on her worst enemy.

That same evening at Schroeder's house, Schroeder and Mary were trying to study together, but it wasn't turning out to be one of their smoothest sessions. It wasn't because they were arguing or anything like that. But once Schroeder had learned the scope of what his turning down (again) of Lucy led to, he seemed to get irritated by even the smallest things. And this was manifesting in the atmosphere as Schroeder and Mary were trying to work.

At one moment, Schroeder sneezed. But strangely after that, he let out a frustrated groan, causing Mary, who by now was starting to feel slightly nervous, to glance up at him. Schroeder didn't notice though and was getting back to his assignment.

Then about a minute later, Mary put her pencil down and grabbed from her backpack a small bag of veggie chips. While trying to open it though, she was having a hard time, and unfortunately for her, she wound up tearing it too far, and its contents came flying out and scattered about the area.

"Oh, come on!" Schroeder inadvertently yelled at the same time, slamming his pencil down.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to. I..." Mary quickly tried to explain, clearly very uncomfortable now.

Schroeder quickly calmed himself down. "No, no, it's alright. I'm sorry for reacting."

Schroeder than helped Mary clean up the mess that Mary had accidentally made. After they were done, Mary took a deep breath.

"I think maybe I should go," she said, not feeling comfortable being at Schroeder's place anymore right now.

"No, no. You don't have to go," Schroeder protested.

"You're really tense right now, Schroeder. You are getting rattled by everything, and I just get the feeling you need some time alone right now. Maybe we can try again on Wednesday?" Mary said.

Schroeder sighed. "I'm sorry, Mary. It's just that... well, regarding Lucy..."

"Oh, I see," Mary said, now getting the hint as to why Schroeder is acting this way. "You're bothered by what had happened earlier today."

"I don't understand her, Mary. I don't understand Lucy at all," Schroeder said, frustrated. "It's beyond ridiculous. I mean, why? Just why is she so obsessed over me? Why is it so important to her that I return her affections?"

"As much as I wish I had the answer for you, I really do not know," Mary replied sympathetically.

The two of them were silent for a short while longer before Schroeder spoke again.

"Well, if you want to go, I won't try to stop you. Clearly, I'm not very fun to be around right now. I'm sorry for behaving the way I've been," Schroeder said, sounding almost sad.

Mary took notice of the tone Schroeder's voice and felt her heart twinge. "You didn't do anything wrong, Schroeder. You're just under a lot of stress right now. On top of all the work you have, you've now got this on your shoulders. I'd be rather overwhelmed myself."

"You know, Mary, to tell you the truth, I envy you," Schroeder then told her.

This statement caught Mary by surprise. What did Schroeder mean by that?

"You envy me?" she asked, confused. "How?"

"No matter what's going on, you're always so even-tempered and composed," Schroeder said. "Compare that to me, who can get angry or stressed out quite easily."

"Oh, well..." Mary responded, feeling somewhat flattered. She wasn't really sure how to respond to this.

"I would give a lot to be able to manage stress the way you seem to be able to," Schroeder continued. "Do you have any tips you'd be willing to share?"

"Well... sure!" Mary answered. "I mean, if you think it would be of help to you, I can teach you how to do some of the things I do to help keep myself calm."

"Okay, great! I'd appreciate that," Schroeder said, smiling.

Mary smiled back. The tension that was in the air now seemed to be lifting.

"Anyway, I'm gonna head home," Mary said. "We can definitely try this again on Wednesday, and I'll even introduce you to one of the things I do that I think can help you deal with your stress."

"Sounds good. I'll see you at school tomorrow," Schroeder said.

And so Mary collected her things and proceeded to leave. Once she got to the door though, she turned back to Schroeder. "Schroeder, I do have one more thing I'd like to say before I'm gone."

"Yeah?" Schroeder asked.

A fond smile then appeared on Mary's face, and she felt her cheeks go a little red. "I just want to say that I'm really looking forward to going to the Valentine's Dance with you."

"Oh! Uh... uh..." Schroeder stammered, feeling his cheeks go red also. "I-I feel the same way. I'm looking forward to taking you."

Mary let out a giggle before finally opening the door and walking out, gently closing the door behind her.

For a short while, Schroeder just stood staring at the door, though his mind was now elsewhere. This wasn't like anything at all Schroeder was used to, and he was honestly quite doubtful on if he would ever have these kinds of feelings. But he was definitely feeling something right now. Something that made him feel really warm and fuzzy inside. And the weirdest part was that he was liking this feeling!

Was it... was it possible that Schroeder was actually falling for Mary?

Later the next afternoon up at Sparkyville Hospital, Linus was lying in a hospital bed. Charlie Brown had recently stopped by to briefly visit him and to deliver to him his homework. Linus sadly had to have his eye patched up, but he would be able to leave the hospital soon. However, he was a little afraid to see Lucy again right now.

Just what had caused Lucy to snap the way she did? He wondered. She had been making significant progress on herself. What on earth had just happened then?

Linus was pulled out from his thoughts though when a nurse came into the room. She placed a drink for Linus on the desk next to his bed.

"Thank you," Linus said to her.

"You're welcome," the nurse responded. "By the way, you have another visitor. And interestingly enough, it's actually the same girl whom I'm about to have get ready today for her first day as a Candy Striper."

"Oh?" Linus said, raising an eyebrow.

"You may come in now," the nurse said, her voice aimed in the direction of the entrance.

The girl to enter the room was an all-too-familiar blonde who once had spent a lot of time at this hospital when she had been suffering from leukemia. She was carrying over her shoulder what looked to be a Candy Striper uniform.

"Hi, Linus," she said in that preciously soft voice of hers. "How are you feeling?"

"Janice!" Linus said, a bright smile appearing on his face. "I'm doing... okay. My eye still feels a little sore, but it's getting better I think."

"Well, that's good to hear," Janice said.

Linus then regarded the uniform that Janice was carrying. "You're doing Candy Stripes now too?"

"Uh-huh," Janice replied. "I'm very excited for it. I think I would be a good fit for this program, don't you think?"

"I agree. I remember back when you were in your own hospital bed, having been dealing with leukemia. And I think I told you once a personal story about how my mother had died from breast cancer," the nurse said. "I could tell right after I had told you about this that you wanted to be able to one day do something to help out struggling cancer patients in some way."

"And I still have that same wish," Janice added. "But for now, joining the ranks as a Candy Striper will still be a good way to give back to the community. Not to mention, this means that Heather Wold and I will be able to see each other a little bit more often."

"I take it you've really taken a shine Heather Wold, eh Janice?" the nurse asked her.

"Heather is amazing," Janice said. "She's such a sweetheart, she also loves to help others, and she's really comforting to those who need it. I want to be just like her."

"Well, that's wonderful to hear. You see Heather as a good role model for you," the nurse said. "Anyway, we need to get a move on now, so let's get going."

But Janice wasn't going to be able to leave quite yet.

"Hey um... Janice?" Linus said.

"Yeah, Linus?" Janice asked.

"While I have you here, I um... was wondering," Linus began, suddenly sounding shy. "At my school, we have a Valentine's Day dance coming up. And I've already confirmed with the principal that I could bring someone not from my school, provided I follow the rules for doing so."

Janice tensed slightly. Was Linus about to...

"I was wondering... I mean, if you wanted to," Linus continued, "would you like to... b-be m-my partner for the dance?"

Oh my! the nurse then thought as she tried to suppress the wave of excitement that had just washed over her.

There was an awkward silence as Linus waited for Janice's answer. Linus clutched on nervously to his bed's blanket, hoping that Janice would say yes. After what felt like eternity, even though it was only about twenty seconds, Janice smiled at him, and she put her hand over her heart.

"Thank you for asking me that, Linus," she said fondly. "I would love to accompany you to this dance."

"Uh-uh... well, great!" Linus uttered out.

Janice let out a giggle before looking at the clock.

"Oh! I gotta get going," she said. "I'll see you again real soon, Linus."

Linus waved to Janice as she and the nurse went on about to take care of their business. After they were no longer in sight, Linus let out a deep, happy sigh as he thought about how soon, he would be at the Valentines Dance, enjoying the evening with the beautiful blonde whom he pushed on the swings, and whom he supported when she was battling leukemia.

There is no doubt about it, Linus thought. I have totally fallen head over heels for this girl.

AN: I think I'm gonna end the chapter here. The amount of content I had for this part of the story is quickly turning out to be more than I had anticipated. Plus, what I have left between now and the start of the dance arc is very Heather-and-CB-centric and I'd like that part to have its own chapter. So until then, see you guys again soon with the next chapter!

Next Chapter: Chapter 33, It's Your Chance To Ask Her, Charlie Brown!