It was now Friday, February the Eleventh, the last school day before the day of the Valentine's Dance. Most of the students who were going, by this point had either found a partner, or have decided that they didn't want one. Linus was going to the dance with Janice. Schroeder would surprisingly be going to the dance too, with Mary Stewart as his partner. Patty Swanson was going with Pig-Pen. Violet with Shermy. Even Marcie was revealed to be going, accompanied by Franklin Armstrong.
But one of the few who did want to go to the dance, but who did not yet have a partner, was Charlie Brown. It was very obvious who Charlie Brown did want to take, but he was having trouble working up the courage to ask her. Yes, over the past several months, Charlie Brown's confidence had grown, and he had found himself interacting with this girl (as well as doing other things), on a much grander scale than he would have otherwise thought possible.
But this task of asking this girl to be his dance date was a whole new ballgame for him. And he wouldn't able to ask Heather to help give him a much needed confidence boost because... well, she was the girl he wanted to ask!
So what was he going to do? The dance was on Monday. Not to mention, given how close the dance was now, surely somebody had already asked a wonderful and gorgeous girl like Heather, and that she would be going with him instead of Charlie Brown.
Ugh, how Charlie Brown hated feeling like such a chicken. This was all starting to feel like he was back in his old days by this point.
As Charlie Brown was making his way to his next class, he caught sight of Heather, who appeared to be in conversation with a good-looking boy. Charlie Brown couldn't hear them, given the hustle and bustle of the halls, but he felt a wave of dread as he noticed the boy's lovestruck face. Yep, this guy was probably asking Heather to the dance, and Heather seemed to be smiling at him.
A depressed look appeared on Charlie Brown's face, and he let out a deep sigh as he turned away from the duo and proceeded to enter his next class. Yep. It seemed like he was too late now.
If only though he would've stayed to witness the end of their interactions.
It was now lunchtime, and Heather had just come out of the little girl's room and was on her way to the cafeteria. Strangely, Heather was experiencing a few different emotions right now. One of those emotions was actually guilt.
Once again this morning, Heather had found herself having to turn down a request to be someone's partner for the Valentine's Dance, causing them to feel bummed, or even rather hurt. In this instance, the boy's name was Zachary, and he was actually a pretty sweet guy. Heather shared three classes with Zachary, and they had even engaged in in-class schoolwork together on a few occasions. He seemed rather sad when Heather had turned him down, and Heather felt some guilt pitting up in her stomach.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Good morning, Heather." A nice-looking boy walked up to, and greeted the pretty redhead.
"Good morning, Zachary. How are you doing?" Heather greeted back.
"I'm doing alright," Zachary replied. "I finished up with writing that paragraph we needed for English today."
"Oh, good. I'm happy to hear that," Heather said, smiling. "You've been a big help with this project. Thank you."
A loving look appeared on Zachary's face and his face went red.
At this point in the conversation was when Charlie Brown had noticed the two of them and a look of sadness appeared on his face as he thought that they were most likely going to be going to the dance together. But as soon as Charlie Brown had entered his next class and had disappeared from view...
"So um, Heather," Zachary said after a brief silence. He then shyly put his hand behind his head. "You know, I was wondering... you wouldn't be interested in perhaps... I mean, if no one has asked you yet..."
Heather felt her smile faltering as she knew what he was about to ask her. Not another one! This would be the seventh one now.
"W-Would you like to go to the Valentine's Dance with me?" Zachary finished.
Heather was silent for several seconds, the smile having completely vanished from her face. Inadvertently, she let out a sigh, and Zachary right away began to sense the rejection coming. His own smile faded. Heather almost appeared to be contemplating Zachary's offer, but after several tense seconds...
"I'm sorry, Zachary," Heather said apologetically. "But I cannot accept your invite."
The hurt was evident on Zachary's face pretty much that very second, and Heather felt a knot in her stomach.
"Oh..." Zachary said, shuffling about as he looked down at the ground. "Okay then."
An awkward silence came between them, as neither of them could figure out what to say next. It was Heather who had to break the silence.
"Well, I'd better be going to my next class," she said. "Again, I'm sorry I can't go with you. I'm absolutely certain though that there's someone else who would love to go with you."
And with that, Heather walked away in the direction of her next class. But not without a thought running through her mind.
Oh, Charlie Brown, I sincerely wish you would ask me. I've turned down all these other guys because I want to go with YOU, she thought longingly.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
So yeah, one of the emotions Heather felt was guilt, due to having to turn down so many guys. But she also felt a strong sense of longing. She wanted to go to the dance with one person, and one person only. Lastly, she was even feeling a bit disappointed, because this boy hasn't found it in himself to ask her yet. Had Heather lost all hope by this point (which she was starting too now) that Charlie Brown was going to ask her, she might have just accepted Zachary's request to go with him.
During lunch, Heather was unusually quiet as she poked nonchalantly at her food. A wistful sort of expression was on her face, and it had gotten the attention of her best friend, Mary. After taking a sip of her milk, Mary decided to break the silence barrier.
"Dear Heather, is everything okay?" the blonde asked.
"Huh?" Heather looked up at Mary. "Oh, everything is okay I guess."
At this point, the others in the group looked curiously at Heather.
"Are you sure?" Mary said.
"Yeah, no problem," Heather replied.
Heather tried to focus on her lunch. She made it about halfway through before putting her fork down, not feeling hungry anymore. She looked at Mary.
"Actually, Mary, could we talk privately for a moment?" she requested.
"Oh! Of course," Mary replied. She and Heather then stood up. "Excuse us, we'll be right back."
She and Heather then walked towards the cafeteria entrance, Leaving just the three boys: Charlie Brown, Linus, and Schroeder (Janette was out sick today).
"Gee, I hope Heather is okay," Linus said. He then glanced over at his own bestie, who didn't look to be in very high spirits right now either. "What about you, Charlie Brown? You've been rather mopey-looking yourself since about ten this morning."
Charlie Brown sighed. "I want to ask Heather to go to the dance, but I'm too afraid."
"I see," Schroeder said.
"And yes, I know what you're probably thinking. You're gonna say that I have nothing to be afraid of, and you'll perhaps remind me of how I've become much braver and more confident throughout the school year," Charlie Brown continued. "But this is completely new territory, Linus. This is me potentially asking the girl of my dreams to be my actual date to a dance."
Linus nodded, understanding that in this instance, the stakes were in fact a bit on the higher end. He didn't really have much advice that he felt he could give.
"Anyway, I don't want to talk much about this right now," Charlie Brown said before turning to Schroeder. "What about you, Schroeder?"
"Yeah. How are you holding up after the recent situation with Lucy?" Linus asked him.
Schroeder shrugged. "Okay, I guess."
"Is it true that Mary has agreed to begin teaching you techniques to help you calm yourself when you get stressed?" Linus asked.
"Something like that," Schroeder replied.
That's it! Why didn't I think of that before? Charlie Brown then suddenly thought.
He knew now what he might be able to do concerning Heather. Perhaps he could ask Mary for some advice. Mary was always well regarded as having a knack for giving out practical advice. Not to mention that she was Heather's best friend. Perhaps Mary could say or do something that would give Charlie Brown that push needed for him to muster up the courage to ask Heather to the dance.
"Yes, Charlie Brown. You might still have a chance," Charlie Brown inadvertently said aloud to himself, feeling a bit of hope now.
"Huh?" Linus and Schroeder both said in unison as they looked in confusion at the round-headed boy.
"Oh. Heh-heh. Sorry," Charlie Brown said sheepishly. "Pay no attention to me."
Linus and Schroeder glanced at each other, but then shrugged, deciding not to press the matter.
After lunch, Charlie Brown, in a rare instance, was alone walking the halls with Mary. Hopefully Mary would be the key that allowed Charlie Brown to overcome his fear of asking Heather to the dance.
"Thank you, Mary, for being willing to try to help me out," Charlie Brown said gratefully. "Hopefully you'll be able to help little ol' Charlie Brown out."
"Well, I'll do my best. What do you need help with?" Mary said.
"It's about Heather," Charlie Brown told her. "I want to ask her to be my date to the Valentine's Dance. I really do. But I'm too afraid to do so."
"I see," Mary said.
"Yeah," Charlie Brown said. "And I reckon by now, given that the dance is just days away, that someone had already asked her, so I'm probably too late... but anyway, I'm not sure where else to turn. For obvious reasons, I couldn't talk to Heather about this dilemma. And since I know that you're usually very good at giving advice, I figured..."
Mary thought for a moment, with Charlie Brown wondering how she was going to respond to his query.
When Mary was alone with Heather moments ago, Heather was telling her, almost ranting in fact, about how she had been asked by so many people already, but that she had turned them all down in the hopes that Charlie Brown would ask her. So, Mary knew who it was that Heather was hoping to go with, and that if Charlie Brown could manage to ask her, that she would certainly accept. With all that in mind, Mary began to think hard.
"Well, Charlie Brown, let me respond by asking you this," Mary said after a moment. "Let's say for a moment that you did ask her, and the worst case scenario happened. What would that entail exactly? And I want you to really think about that too. Don't just say that 'it would be the end of you' or something like that."
"Well," Charlie Brown said as he began to think. "Obviously I'd feel hurt that she didn't want to go with me."
"Yes, but would anything else happen?" Mary asked. "Like, if you did ask her and she said no, would that end the friendship between the two of you? Would she suddenly start hating you and never wanting to speak to you again? Or even vice versa?"
Charlie Brown was surprised by this question, but despite that, tried to give his answer. "Well... no. I don't think so. And I certainly wouldn't start hating her."
"Could you two continue to be good friends even if she turned you down?" Mary continued.
"Um... yeah. I think so," Charlie Brown said. "I know that she sees me as a good friend and as someone she cares about."
Mary nodded, appearing satisfied with how this conversation was going so far.
"So then, aside from feeling a bit hurt, even brokenhearted for a little while, not much would actually happen if Heather did not agree to be your date to the dance?" she then asked.
Charlie Brown was silent as he thought long and heart about this. After a moment, he slowly shook his head. "I guess not."
"I don't think so either," Mary said. "That said, my advice to you? Carefully weigh your two options. Either you ask her, and possibly get to experience the thrill of Heather going with you as your partner to the Valentine's Dance. Or you don't ask her, and miss out on that potential opportunity in the name of avoiding a period of heartache."
Charlie Brown was silent for a short time as he processed Mary's words. Eventually, he nodded.
"Thank you for your words of wisdom, Mary," Charlie Brown said to her.
"Anytime. I hope I was of at least some help to you," Mary said, giving Charlie Brown a friendly smile. "And if you do decide to ask her and you're feeling nervous, take a moment to think of some of the other times where you were faced with a challenging moment that you had to overcome. Remember how you managed to find the strength to get through it, and allow it to fill you up inside."
"Wow," Charlie Brown said, appearing rather awed now. "I didn't think to do that. Thanks again."
"Just one more thing," Mary then said. "Keep this just between you and me."
"Okay," Charlie Brown said.
Mary leaned in towards Charlie Brown and began whispering something in his ear. Once she was finished, Charlie Brown looked utterly shocked, and he had a hard time getting his next words out.
"Um, you... you're not pulling my leg, are you?" he asked her.
Mary shook her head and gave him a grin. She then began to walk away, leaving Charlie Brown continuing to look stunned.
It was now a little bit before one in the afternoon. Currently, Heather was at home in the kitchen, helping her mother prepare lunch and other goodies. Any minute now, Janice was going to be coming over, and she and Heather were going to be having a TV afternoon together.
After preparations were finished, Heather heard the doorbell ring.
"I'll get it," Heather said before going to go answer the door. She opened it, and saw the face of Linus' pretty blonde-haired friend. "Hello, Janice."
"Hi, Heather," Janice greeted back as she entered the house.
Heather led Janice into the kitchen, where Heather's mother was about to start washing dishes.
"Mom, I would like you to meet Janice. This is the girl I was telling you about who is now doing Candy Stripes with me," Heather said to her.
"Why hello, Janice dear. It's nice to finally meet you," Mrs. Wold greeted Janice. "You're a very pretty young one."
"Aw, thank you," Janice said, feeling quite flattered. "It's nice to meet you two."
"You two can head right into the living room, and I'll set you both up nice and cozy," Mrs. Wold said to the both of them.
And so Janice and Heather made their way to the living room, where Heather's mother set them up for their afternoon together.
For the next couple of hours, Heather and Janice enjoyed a few different shows. Janice got to pick first since she was the guest. After that show was over, Heather had introduced her to a series that she had gotten invested in, and Janice immediately fell in love with it. All in all, both girls had a good time together, and they got along with each other very well.
"Well, Heather, thank you for the good time. I had fun watching TV shows with you," Janice said, smiling.
"You're welcome. Let's do it again real soon," Heather said.
"Yeah." Janice agreed.
Janice then suddenly looked down at the ground, and she appeared to be thinking about something. Heather noticed Janice's change in demeanor.
"Is everything okay, Janice?" she asked her.
"Yeah," Janice replied. "Okay, I have to tell you something."
"What is it?" Heather asked.
"I have a small confession to make. While I definitely had fun partaking in a TV afternoon with you..." Janice began. "I... sort of had an ulterior motive for wanting to come over to visit today."
Heather raised a curious eyebrow. "Ulterior motive? What do you mean?"
"Well... you know how that there is this whole Valentine's Dance thingy coming up at your school, and that Linus had asked me to go with him to this dance, right?" Janice asked her.
"Yeah," Heather said.
"See, the thing is..." Janice began. "I'm actually really nervous, and kind of worried about it."
"Awww," Heather said, a small frown appearing on her face. "Why is that?"
Janice sighed. "I can't dance, Heather. I mean, like at all. In fact, back at the old school I used to go to when me and my family lived in Texas, we once had a spring dance. I tried to be a part in a sort of dance competition that they had, and I was so bad at it that a lot of the kids laughed at me."
"Oh," Heather said, an apologetic look appearing on her face. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"And so, I'm worried because I fear that something similar will happen at this dance," Janice continued. "And actually, I fear that it could be worse since I'm technically a fifth grader going to a dance that will be chock full of seventh and eighth graders. I don't want to embarrass myself even worse than I had that day when I was at my Texas school."
"And so..." Heather said, feeling that she knew now where this conversation was heading.
"I was hoping, if it wouldn't be of much trouble," Janice said, shyly clutching her left arm with her right hand. "Maybe you'd be willing to help teach this little girl a move or two? I mean, I know how good you are at dancing."
"Well, Janice, before I respond to your request," Heather said, "let me first help quell one of your fears by saying that there is no competition of any kind at this dance. This is strictly a for-fun event, and you would have nothing to worry about."
Janice felt a bit better upon hearing this, and she gave Heather a small smile.
"But if you really want to, I could help you out a little bit," Heather then told Janice.
"I would still really like that, yes," Janice said without hesitation. "I mean, it would be easier to dance with Linus if I could... well, actually be able to perform a few basic steps, right? Hehe."
"Oh, absolutely," Heather said in agreement. "Are you doing anything tomorrow afternoon?"
Janice thought for a moment. "I have one school assignment that I had planned on completing, but it's something I could easily do in the morning."
"Well, alright. So then, could I perhaps come over to your house... at like, maybe three o' clock?" Heather asked.
"That would be perfect actually," Janice replied.
Heather smiled. "Okay then. So, I will come over to visit you at three tomorrow."
"Wonderful," Janice said gratefully. "I'll be looking forward to your visit."
And so Heather and Janice were now set for Heather giving the younger girl a few brief lessons tomorrow before the dance began.
Soon after Janice and Heather's plans for tomorrow afternoon were set, Janice left, and was making her way back home. Heather, meanwhile, was now about to work on a math worksheet that she still needed to have complete for Monday. Mary now was also here. However, right after the two girls had sat down at the kitchen table to begin working together, they heard the doorbell ring again. This time though, it was answered by her mother.
"Hello? Oh! Hello, Charlie Brown. Why, yes, Heather is here. I think she was just about to work on some homework. Want me to get her for you? Okay. Heather? Charlie Brown is at the door, and he wants to see you."
"I'll be right there," Heather called back. "Pardon me for a minute, Mary."
"No problem," Mary replied.
Heather put her pencil down on the table before proceeding to head to the front door. There at the door waiting was a very nervous-looking Charlie Brown.
"Hi, Charlie Brown," she greeted. "What brings you here?"
"Um, h-hi, Heather," Charlie Brown uttered out. "I just..."
Charlie Brown hesitated, the nerves threatening to overcome him. He was not sure if he could do this. It was all so much. This was him about to ask Heather to, of all things, be his partner to the Valentine's Dance! He remained, silent and shaking as the seconds slowly ticked away. The battle going on in his mind was about to end up in Charlie Brown saying 'never mind', but then, he caught a glimpse of Mary peeking around the corner. She smiled at him, as if to say to him "Go for it. You can do it!"
Finally, Charlie Brown remembered what Mary had said to him yesterday, and he began to think about the recent times in the past where he had made it through a challenging moment that resulted in progress for him.
He remembered the first day of school, when Heather had told him that she was her friend, and that she cared about him. He remembered all the times when Heather had shown faith in him, assuring him that he could accomplish what he wanted to accomplish. He remembered how he was always able to talk to her about anything, and that she would listen to him without judgement or condemnation. He remembered how, through that moment before Heather's talent show act, that even Heather could at times feel insecure or nervous. He would not forget the moment they shared as a result, with Charlie Brown boldly putting his arm around he and professing his own faith in her. He remembered that he had even developed the confidence he needed to get back into his favorite sport, thanks again, to her. Charlie Brown remembered that, all in all, over the past several months, he had managed to develop a whole new person. And all of it was thanks to the care, companionship, and support from the beautiful redhead, who was currently standing in the doorway in front of him, waiting curiously for what it was that he was about to ask her.
Finally, Charlie Brown steeled his resolve. He had to do it. He had come too far for him to get cold feet now. With a gulp, and a deep breath, he opened his mouth to speak.
"Heather," he began. "I wanted to ask you... would..."
He cast another quick glance at Mary, who was still secretly watching the whole exchange.
"Would... would you like to go to the Valentine's Dance... with me?"
Charlie Brown then gasped, as if he had just gotten through holding his breath for as long as he possibly could. A couple of seconds later, he realized it. He realized that he had just asked Heather to go to the Valentine's Dance with him! He actually did it!
From inside the house, Mary's gaze was now on Heather. Even Mary had to admit that she felt just the slightest bit nervous. And as for Charlie Brown, time seemed to come to a complete standstill now as he anxiously awaited Heather's answer.
"Charlie Brown," Heather then finally said. "I..."
Yes? Charlie Brown thought, the tension too strong to bear.
The sweetest smile Charlie Brown had ever seen coming from Heather then appeared on her face.
"I would love to go to the dance with you," she said.
Charlie Brown was strangely silent as he heard these words being spoken. She said yes.
SHE SAID YES!
Charlie Brown absolutely just wanted to fly straight to the moon now. Meanwhile, Mary, who was yet still peeking on the duo from around the corner, smiled and gently clapped for Charlie Brown. She couldn't be more proud of him right at this moment.
Charlie Brown had just now reached a huge new milestone!
AN: And this chapter is done, and the time has finally come! Next couple of chapters are the actual Valentine's Dance chapters. Aside from the ending, this, for me personally, is going to be the most important part of the entire story to write. I hope you're looking forward to reading it as much as I am looking forward to writing it.
See you guys again soon!
Next Chapter: Chapter 34 - The Valentine's Dance Part 1