Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Lucy, can you promise me you won’t be crabby the entire bus ride there?” Linus asked in a pleading tone. Lucy, rushing and shoving things into her bag left and right, stopped momentarily and looked at Linus with an agitated face. “Are you a moron? Of course, I’m gonna be crabby! It’s a terrible bus ride. And not only that, but it’s the last summer before high school!” She replied, throwing her hands up in a way meant to make Linus feel like an idiot for even suggesting such a thing. “So?” He questioned. “If anything, that should inspire you to have less of a negative attitude throughout the entirety of the trip, even the bus ride.” Lucy rolled her eyes at his ‘words of wisdom.’ “Savor the last middle school experience we’ll have,” Linus warned. Lucy kept her same annoyed expression, even if she felt the urge to curl up into a ball and start screaming about how much she hated the thought of a big change.

Eighth grade had just officially ended last week, and now summer camp was coming up. Most of the kids in Linus and Lucy’s grade went, and even most of the kids in the town did. It’d become almost a tradition of some sort. Being shipped off for a couple of weeks or for built-in, forced fun. Despite that description, since camps were made to be enjoyable, they usually were. Although, each kid has a different experience. Lucy’s experience was always good. She loved the adventure, the activities, the people, the finding every excuse to boss people around as much as she could until an employee yelled at her. She loved every bit of it. However, that would all be changing after this final summer at the middle school campgrounds.

Lucy and Linus were going to high school. It felt unreal, as if just a month ago they had been little elementary schoolers coloring with crayons. As hinted at before, Lucy didn’t like the idea of high school. Going to middle school was already a big enough change for her that took some time to adjust to, and now high school? She wondered how she’d get through the first day without throwing up into her new locker. The more she focused on the fact that they’d be going there, the more she wanted to weep and ramble on and on about being depressed in a way similar to Charlie Brown. Luckily, she had something to distract her, camp. Linus was right(something she’d never admit), Lucy really did have to put in the effort to be positive and appreciate every second she had at the middle school camp. Luckily, she was in the oldest group at the camp now, meaning she could really boss kids around. That ought to ease her anxiety more than anything. She must’ve gotten lost in thought about how much she couldn’t think about high school because she had stopped packing and found herself just sitting there.

“Lucy!” Linus scolded. “The bus leaves in around twenty minutes, and I know you aren’t even close to being done packing. Get to it!” Lucy scowled at him and crossed her arms, but Linus wasn’t the least bit intimidated. He eventually got used to the constant torture from Lucy and started to stand up for himself more rather than crumbling out of fear that she’d annihilate him. “I’m still not seeing you packing.” He said with an eyebrow raised. Lucy huffed and started shoving miscellaneous items into her bag once more. Linus let out a satisfied breath at her compliance.

The siblings had piled all their items up in the living room beforehand and now were packing them together rather than doing it separately in their rooms, which was good assuming that Lucy would most likely get distracted if she was doing it unsupervised. She became somewhat of a scatterbrained mess when she was stressed or had a big worry on her plate. The two packed in silence for some time after Linus had set Lucy straight, but Lucy couldn’t stop thinking. She hated it. She wished that sometimes she could just switch her brain off and not think so much about stuff. Lucy wasn’t necessarily an overthinker, she made every choice with confidence and never second-guessed herself. Instead, she just got overly anxious about things. She knew it was normal, but she strived to be extraordinary. And in her mind, being commonly worried could stop her from achieving that title. At that moment, she just wasn’t able to get Linus telling her to savor this last experience out of her head. She wanted to throw something, feeling frustration directed at her restless feelings build up inside her

“Linus,” Lucy began. She felt like if she didn’t verbalize at least a part of her feelings, she’d explode as a result. “Do you think this summer will go by quickly?” Linus turned to her, a little surprised by her sudden chatter. “I mean, the summers usually go by pretty quickly, don’t they?” He remarked. “I suppose,” Lucy fiddled with the bottom of her skirt, the color of it resembling the shades of a deep blue ocean. “But don’t you think this one will speed by faster than all the previous ones? Cause..you know..” She trailed off, leaving an uncomfortable, anxious silence to sit in the room. Linus gave a soft smile, knowing what Lucy was hinting at. “You know what, don’t think too hard about it. Treat it like any other summer, that’ll make it the most fun.” Linus’ expression turned to a guilty one as he connected the dots of his previous statements and what feelings they might’ve induced in Lucy. “I’m sorry if what I said made you..distressed about camp and the lingering future.” Lucy scoffed and put her hands on her hips. “Me? Distressed or worried about something, especially such a thing as silly as high school? Do you hear yourself, Linus?” Lucy chuckled a bit more before turning away. Her face instantly faded into a face that showed the truth of her uneasiness. Linus sighed. He could clearly tell by Lucy’s unconvincing tone that she was lying. Even if her energy wasn’t overflowing with deceit, he would still know. Linus knew Lucy and when something was bothering her. He also knew that the topic of the future and the approaching change was particularly a sensitive topic for her. There are just some things you never bring up; religion, politics, the Great Pumpkin, and change.

The siblings seemed to finish packing simultaneously, as they both let out a breath of relief. “Geez Lucy, you’re bringing a lot to camp,” Linus commented. “Well of course! You never know what you may need. And besides, how am I supposed to pick only a dress or two?” She replied as she headed out of the living room. “Now come on, we’ve got to say our goodbyes.” Linus hurried to catch up with his sister, who was walking at the same assertive pace she always walked at. The rest of the core Van Pelt family was leisurely sitting in the dining room. Rerun reading a comic, Mr. Van Pelt reading the newspaper, and Mrs. Van Pelt writing a grocery list. The mother looked up from writing and dropped her pen, looking disappointed. “Oh, sweeties! Are you getting ready to leave?” She asked in a concerned voice. “Yes, Mom,” Linus replied awkwardly. He didn’t like it when his mom got super sappy. Rerun now focused his attention on his siblings rather than the comic book, even standing up to hug them goodbye. Once he stood, the other two family members followed. “I’m going to miss you two,” Rerun said sincerely. Rerun left for his camp a few days after his older siblings left for theirs. Linus smiled at the comment while Lucy pulled Rerun in for a big hug. “We’ll miss you too,” Linus replied on behalf of both of them.

Mr Van Pelt looked at the two with a blank expression. Their father was never that warm or emotionally connected. Of course, he was sad to see them go, but he wasn’t going to stand there and get all visibly upset about their departure. “Hope you kids have fun.” The father said with a hint of sincerity. “Lucille, don’t drive your brother insane.” Lucy frowned at the use of her full first name and the words he had spoken. Her father had never been fond of Lucy, and he never made an effort to hide it. He was always making snide comments about her in every way, shape, and form. He would often compare his children as well, and would always put Lucy as the least accomplished and ‘valuable’ of them all. Who’s the smartest? Who cares, all that would matter to him is that Lucy was at the bottom. “I won’t,” Lucy replied coldly. Her father glared at her for a moment, sensing her dislike for what he had said. He didn’t care.

“You guys are getting so old! It makes me sad.” Mrs. Van Pelt said, putting her hand on her chest. She looked at all her kids with nothing but love in her eyes. “At least I’m not as old as what my schooling reflects!” Linus mentioned in a chipper voice. Lucy rolled her eyes and turned to Linus, the whole family could tell by the look on her face that she was going to make a sassy statement. “Oh can it, Linus. You’re always bringing that up!” Linus gave an awkward ‘I’m sorry!’ smile as Rerun giggled and Mrs. Van Pelt shook her head. Linus had skipped a grade, putting him and Lucy in the same grade even though he was a year younger. While Lucy appreciated having her brother by her side in school, she also hated that it distinctly showed that Linus was smarter than her. She had always known, sure, but now it was obvious to everyone else. Anytime it would get brought up, her blood would start boiling. She regularly made an effort to replace her insecurity with anger.

“You two better get going.” Mr. Van Pelt reminded. Linus and Lucy looked at each other. Linus raised an eyebrow and Lucy sighed in response. “I suppose we shall.” The family began walking towards the door, and Linus and Lucy grabbed their stuff from the living room on the way. They were now standing on the porch of their quaint little home. Final hugs were exchanged and “I love you’s were said. Just as Lucy was going to turn away, her mother grabbed her shoulder. “Lucy,” she began. “I know you’re going to put pressure on this experience to be wondrous. Don’t do anything reckless, okay?” Lucy looked at her mother with a confused look. “What do you think I’d do?” The older woman sighed and gave a little shrug. “I’m not exactly sure...but I know you make impulse decisions when you have your mind set on something.” Lucy nodded, acting like she understood, and moved away from her mother’s hand. “Watch after each other, okay?” Mrs. Van Pelt shouted as the siblings walked down the sidewalk. Linus extended his arm and held up a thumbs up. “Mom sure was emotional this time around, huh?” Linus chuckled. Lucy stayed silent for a moment, thinking about the interaction she had just had with her ‘overly concerned’ parent. “What do you think she meant by ‘reckless’?” Lucy asked her younger brother. “It’s her nice way of telling you not to do anything stupid,” Linus replied. Lucy glared at him. “I never do anything stupid!” She protested. Linus made a face that said ‘Really?’ and Lucy huffed. “Give me some examples.” Linus shook his head. “That’s an opportunity for me to get slugged, I’m not giving examples.” He replied. A silence hung between them. Finally, Linus let out a breath and began, “Well, anything you do revolving around Schroeder is pretty stupid.” Linus spoke rather quietly, hoping that if he sounded as peaceful as possible it would save him from some of Lucy’s wrath. “You were right, I do wanna slug you,” Lucy replied sharply. She then gave Linus a little punch on the shoulder, causing him to let out a noise in response to the pain.

Schroeder. Lucy’s love interest for practically her entire life. He was this dorky, generally irritable, and quiet kid who went to school with Lucy and Linus and lived not too far from them in their neighborhood. His main defining trait–to someone who doesn’t know him as a person–was that he was obsessed with Beethoven and playing piano. Hell, even if you did know him as a person that was his personality. Not many people were close to Schroeder. He had friends and wasn’t necessarily lonely, but he wasn’t particularly social either. His closest friend was this sweet kid named Franklin Armstrong, whom he truly didn’t even know that well. Truthfully, Lucy was probably the person he hung out with the most, but not by his own choice. For years Lucy would hang around Schroeder any chance she got, specifically bothering him while he practiced his darling piano. Despite her affection being rejected year after year and there not being any sign of that changing, Lucy remained persistent. She knew one day Schroeder would realize his feelings for her..or at least she hoped he would. They didn’t have too much in common, except for the fact that they were both quick to anger. They both liked things to be exactly how they wanted them, and they didn’t let anyone push them around. They were both extremely temperamental. Perhaps that’s why Lucy was so drawn to Schroeder, he was the only person who would always shut her down and yell back at her rather than give in to her every demand. She needed someone like that to keep her in line. Linus’ comment about her being stupid when it came to Schroeder angered Lucy. It wasn’t her fault, she was in love. Lucy would do anything to get what she wanted, and she wanted Schroeder more than anything. She would try every tactic to try and win over his affection. She didn’t care how stubborn Schroeder was, one day she’d get him.

“Speaking of..” Linus said, gesturing to Schroeder who was waiting at the bus spot that the siblings were approaching. Lucy grinned and immediately began running, startling Linus and causing him to stumble backward and almost fall over. Lucy eagerly dashed over to Schroeder but was interrupted by some kid walking in her direction. “Hi, Lucy!” A boy with a round head and a pathetic face chirped. “Charlie Brown, you blockhead! Get out of the way!” Lucy hollered as she slightly shoved him. Charlie Brown frowned and turned to Linus. “Hey, Charlie Brown. Sorry about her.” Linus apologized. “You know how she gets when it comes to Schroeder.” Charlie Brown brushed off his bright yellow shirt and fluffed out his extremely blonde hair. “Do you think she’ll ever give up?” Charlie Brown asked. Linus cocked his head. ‘With Schroeder, you mean?” Charlie Brown nodded. Linus smiled and continued walking, Charlie Brown alongside him. “Nope. Lucy’s not one to give up.” Linus let out a slight chortle as Charlie Brown sighed. “How does she do it?” He asked. Charlie Brown admired Lucy’s determination and unwillingness to give in to failure. Even though she had been mean to him the entire time they’d known each other, the two were still genuine friends who cared about one another. “I wish I knew, Charlie Brown. I wish I knew.”

“Oh, Schroeder!” Lucy said in an overly loving voice. Schroeder’s expression went from blank to aggravated the second a single vibration from her vocal cords could be heard. “Lucy.” He greeted back without a tinge of enthusiasm. “How are you on this marvelous day, my sweetie?” Lucy asked. Around Schroeder, she tried to expand her vocabulary in an attempt to impress him, as well as fit in better with his way of forming sentences. “I was doing fine.” “Was?” Lucy asked, concerned. “Yes, before you started being the routinely exasperating voice in my ear. He snapped back. Schroeder and Lucy made intense and angry eye contact before Schroeder finally rolled his eyes and turned away. Lucy didn’t say anything else. Rather, she used these moments waiting at the bus stop to admire Schroeder’s appearance. His bright blonde hair was somewhat gelled but remained as fluffy as it usually appeared. His face was sprinkled with little zits and his greenish-blue eyes stared forward angrily. His expression in general displayed that he was unhappy with Lucy’s presence, but Lucy found his irritated appearance to be cute rather than upsetting. As for his clothes, he was wearing a white button-up with a blue sweater vest over top, paired with some black pants. His black shoes were whatever he found in his closet at the last moment. Schroeder was tall and skinny, as he never really did anything that would toughen out his shape. He closed his eyes in frustration, then turned to Lucy.

“I can feel you staring at me, quit it!” He demanded. “It’s not my fault you’re so handsome that I can’t help but look at you!” Lucy replied, crossing her arms. Schroeder’s cheeks were now dusted with red and pink tones. He rotated once again to escape Lucy’s gaze as much as possible, crossing his arms in the same way she did. “We haven’t even gotten on the bus, much less gotten to camp, and you guys are already bickering,” Linus said, appearing behind them. Schroeder and Lucy faced Linus, a tad bit alarmed by his abrupt remark. “Hey, Linus,” Schroeder said. His displeased energy melted into a friendly one as he and Linus began talking. Lucy still stood there, watching their interaction. Soon, Charlie Brown joined them in their conversation. Lucy decided looking longingly at Schroeder wasn’t worth having to listen to Charlie Brown ramble, and she walked away to go find somebody else. She wasn’t in the mood to talk to anybody, especially someone bitter such as Violet Gray, but she couldn’t stand alone and risk looking like a friendless loser. So, she sucked it up and went to mingle.

Once Lucy had wandered off far enough to where she couldn’t hear what the boys were saying, Linus interrupted the discussions by putting his hand up. He looked at Schroeder with a serious expression but didn’t say anything quite yet. Linus pondered whether or not he should say what he wanted to say, as if Lucy somehow found out he would be a dead man. Still, he took in a deep breath and leaned in closer. Charlie Brown had a look of worry plastered on his face, while Schroeder looked rather curious. “Schroeder, I need you to be nice to Lucy this summer.” Linus finally let the words slip out of his mouth, already regretting it. Was he really about to expose Lucy’s struggles to the two people she’d want to know the least? Linus knew it was for the greater good, so he continued onwards. A look of slight disgust, but mostly confusion spread across Schroeder’s face. “What? Why?” He spat out. Linus glanced over at Charlie Brown, then back at Schroeder. “She’s having issues with the fact that middle school ended and well..it’d be really great if you could be nice to her. Give her less to be upset about, I suppose.” Linus replied. Schroeder’s expression softened, although there was still a perplexed expression. He looked around until his eyes finally found Lucy, who was standing with Patty Swanson and Violet. He watched as Lucy began to laugh about something, her cackle being able to be faintly heard. The afternoon sun perfectly illuminated her face, and her hair swayed in the wind. “She looks pretty happy to me,” Schroeder responded. Linus whipped his figure around to get a quick look at Lucy, then turned back and shook his head. “You really think Lucy is gonna show when something is bothering her?” Linus said firmly. Schroeder thought for a moment then shoved his hands in his pockets. “I guess not.”

Schroeder knew that Lucy had feelings other than selfishness and overconfidence. He knew that she truly did deeply care about people and wasn’t as tough as she seemed. He saw her insecurities more than anyone, as his very existence tore down her strong demeanor. If anyone else fully saw how much she threw herself at him and the way she was clearly hurt by his words of rejection, they’d see her differently. However, Schroeder never tried to think about it too much. If he remembered that Lucy could actually be affected by his outright rudeness, he’d start to feel guilty. He and Lucy had a very specific dynamic that Schroeder knew was wrong, but he didn’t want to go through the overwhelming process of changing it. So, he’d push the fact that Lucy was a real person out of his mind and continue his nasty and standoffish behavior towards her. Lucky for him, Lucy made it easy to forget that she wasn’t some evil witch and was a human with vulnerable emotions. Anytime feelings of regret would creep up into Schroeder’s mind after seeing the sadness on her face, he’d simply remind himself of how she had treated people like poor Charlie Brown, who was the main subject of her cruelty. He’d constantly tell himself Lucy deserved a taste of her own medicine, which you could argue she did. But, the ongoing rejection she endured from Schroeder was a brutal thing to experience.

“How nice do I have to be?” Schroeder asked. “Nice enough that every time I walk by you two I won’t hear you arguing,” Linus responded sternly. Schroeder groaned. “But I get fed up when she’s constantly pestering me with; “Oh Schroeder! What flavor will our wedding cake be?” and other comments similar to that.” He explained, making sure to do a very dramatic but accurate impression of Lucy while quoting her. Linus took in a deep breath. “If I get her to stop all of that lovey-dovey stuff, will you avoid snapping back at her with mean-spirited remarks?” He asked. Schroeder glanced back over at Lucy, observing her gleaming, grinning face once more. He then looked back at Linus. “I’ll try my best, but no promises.” He agreed. “Don’t be surprised if I slip up.” A smile stretched across Linus’ face. “Thank you. I know she’s difficult, but she’ll be extra cheerful if you’re extra kind.” Linus said, patting Schroeder’s shoulder. Schroeder shot him a small smile. “I’ll talk to her about being less…affectionate when I get a chance.”

The three boys were startled when the crowd of kids they were in at the bus stop suddenly arose into cheers and yells. “It’s the bus! Cmon Marcie! We gotta be first on it to get the best seats!” A tall ginger girl exclaimed as she pushed through the crowd. She unknowingly shoved Schroeder, causing him to almost fall over. He scowled once he caught his balance. “Have some respect for the sweater vest!” He shouted to her over the crowd, but she didn’t turn back to acknowledge his comment. Charlie Brown and Linus quickly picked up their bags and began walking forward as Schroeder was still gathering his things. “Would you expect any other behavior from Peppermint Patty?” Charlie Brown remarked to Schroeder. Schroeder struggled to carry his bags but eventually mustered up the strength to properly walk with them. He was never that strong, the only strong part of him was the power to play piano for hours without his hands getting tired.

Kids began loading onto the bus one by one, each one of them visibly excited for the summer camp that was right in front of them. Lucy started to feel a bit queasy as she got closer and closer to stepping into the vehicle. She looked around for Linus, but couldn’t find him. She assumed he had already taken his seat, most likely next to Charlie Brown. She searched through the crowd for someone to talk to in an attempt to distract her from her unease. She hastily whipped around, bumping into a familiar tall blonde boy next to her. Schroeder dropped his bags and looked down at Lucy, narrowing his eyes with agitation. Lucy looked up at him in return, then looked at his bags that were on the ground. “I'm sorry.” She said, sounding uncharacteristically sincere and scared. Her apology reminded him of what Linus had said, and he stopped himself from snapping at her. Instead, he calmly picked up his bags and looked at her with a tender expression. “It’s okay.” He replied slowly. A smile grazed Lucy’s face as she watched Schroeder lug himself and his belongings closer to the bus. She composed herself and marched up behind him, waiting to get on. She still felt sick to her stomach, but if she did what she did best she knew she’d be okay. She saw the rare moment of kindness between her and Schroeder as a prediction of what was to come, an astounding year at camp. Lucy stepped up into the bus and looked at the kids filling up each row inside, all of them bursting with enthusiasm. This was going to be a summer she wasn’t going to forget.

Chapter Text

Schroeder was sitting next to Lucy. It was an hour's drive to camp, and therefore an hour sitting next to Lucy with no escape from it. Schroeder was one of the last people to get on the bus, so when he observed the seats there was only one vacant row left. Lucy was the final person to get on, trailing behind Schroeder. So, that singular empty row was where they had to sit. Together. Schroeder could ask someone to switch with him, but he knew there was no point in that. Everyone else was divided up into their perfect pairs already. Violet and Patty, Charlie Brown and Linus, Sally and Eudora, Peppermint Patty and Marcie, you get the point. So, he was stuck with Lucy. Linus hadn’t gotten a chance to tell her to keep her mouth shut about how positive she was that she and Schroeder would end up together forever, so Schroeder began to prepare himself for a long ride filled with irritation. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to be nice to Lucy for that long. He looked at the seats, huffed, and begrudgingly shoved his bag under his seat and plopped down. Lucy stood over him, then frowned. “I want the window seat.” She demanded. Schroeder took a breath in place of saying something rude and slid up out of the seat. A satisfied smile consumed Lucy’s face as she sat down exactly where she wanted. Schroeder sat back down and glanced at Lucy, who looked rather cheery. He hoped her happiness would stay, as her being crabby would be even worse than her stating her wedding vows to him. The bus started to move, hushing the chatter in the vehicle for a moment. It started right back up, though, and was even louder than before. Schroeder winced at the noise. He then sunk into his seat, sighing.

Schroeder didn’t want to go to camp, He never particularly enjoyed it and somewhat dreaded it each year, but this time it was a full-on feeling of hatred at the idea of going. He felt he needed this time to practice his piano rather than ‘having fun’ in the sweltering sun. Before the beginning of the school year, he had an audition with his new high school band teacher to be in the top band as a freshman. His middle school teacher had to beg the high school director to set one up and give Schroeder a chance, insisting that he was a ‘piano prodigy’ and ‘knew more about music than the two of them combined.’ The high school director reluctantly agreed, but the resistance of the teacher to let him audition worried Schroeder. He cracked his knuckles, feeling restless and eagerly wanting to play the piano. Schroeder always ended up having somewhat of a fun time at camp despite his unenthusiastic attitude about it each year, but he knew that wouldn’t end up happening this time. What he wanted more than anything was to go home. It’s not like his parents would have any reason to send him anyway. He never misbehaved and was generally distant from them. Pretty much all he would do would be playing piano, sleeping, and eating. He didn’t understand why they wanted to be rid of him so badly, and wouldn’t change their minds about him going no matter how much he pleaded. But, there was no use dwelling over it. He was actively on his way to the camp now, and he had no way of getting out of it.

“What’s that sigh for? It’s dampening my mood!” Lucy remarked, crossing her arms while radiating with sass. “I don’t wanna go to camp, that’s what it’s for,” Schroeder replied. He didn’t have a disrespectful tone, but still sounded snarky. Lucy’s expression softened. She then leaned closer to him with an understanding smile. “Nobody ever wants to go, but once you get there it’s not so bad,” Lucy replied. Schroeder didn’t have the energy, nor wanted to tell Lucy about why that wouldn’t be the case, so he mindlessly let out a grumbly “I guess.” Lucy ignored his uninterested response and kept going on. She was determined to keep a real conversation with him. “Remember when we were little and everyone would whine about going? We’ve sure improved from then. Camp seems to get better as we get older.” Her volume slightly dropped as she finished her statement. Schroeder looked over at her, catching a glimpse of her extremely short-lived expression of gloom. She quickly put a big grin back on her face and rested her head on Schroeder’s shoulder. “Brighten up, my love. Camp will be wonderful!.” Schroeder pumped his shoulder up to force her head off it. “Pet names? Good grief.” He grimaced. Lucy had a look of rejection painted across her face, a familiar face that Schroeder saw almost every time he interacted with her. Her eyebrows were pointed downwards, signaling an anger of some sort. But, although her face didn’t tell tales of disappointment, Schroeder knew that’s how she was feeling. She had revealed those feelings to him before through solemn looks and heavy sighs. Lucy turned her head, stopping her from seeing Schroeder’s unfazed mien. Though seeming to not give a single care about Lucy’s discontent with the veto of her affection, inside he went through a rollercoaster of thoughts. He wasn't a huge fan of thinking too much, though. Eventually, he concluded that he had to let go of the fact that he didn’t wanna talk to her. Sitting in uncomfortable silence that feelings of displeasure lived within was worse than just sucking it up and making her exultant by interacting with her with some sort of enthusiasm, if that’s what you wanted to call it. He wasn’t gonna be too cheerful and inviting, as he didn’t want her getting the wrong idea. Rather, it would be a civilized chat between friends. Friends that you couldn’t even truly consider friends.

“Peppermint Patty is the only one who’s always beaming at the idea of camp,” Schroeder said with a tinge of hesitance. Though Lucy was still turned away, almost pouting in a way, she visibly perked up. A giddy grin crept across her face. She knew that she had gotten Schroeder to cave in. That wasn’t something she accomplished often, but she found that as they reached their tweens it happened more and more. After years of consistent harassment, he was bound to put in less effort to dismiss her. Still, it was a rare occurrence. Lucy wasn’t aware that it wasn’t her own actions that had caused Schroeder to surrender, but Linus’ pleas for Schroeder to be kind instead. What she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. She needed the idea that she had broken Schroeder down to fuel her confidence at that moment. “She floats up to the moon at anything related to physical activity,” Lucy said happily as she adjusted the way she was sitting once again to face Schroeder similar to how she did previously. “It’s like you whenever something music is brought into conversation.” Schroeder scoffed. “No, it’s similar to you whenever there’s an opportunity to be domineering.” Lucy playfully narrowed her eyes. “Are you suggesting that I’m arrogant?” She replied, leaning in. Schroeder leaned back to combat her increasingly invading his personal space. “Yes, that is a hundred percent what I’m implying. Wouldn’t take a genius to catch on to that.” He spoke in a tone that showed that the idea of Lucy being arrogant wasn’t revolutionary. Lucy’s mouth turned into a smug smirk. “Perhaps I only figured it out because I am a genius.” Schroeder snorted. “Okay, Lucy. Sometimes I find myself admiring your confidence.” Schroeder had spoken without truly giving thought to what he was saying. His eyes widened, and Lucy had a broad smile form. He didn’t mean to say something that showed any sort of likeness towards Lucy. He internally panicked. He was never going to hear the end of this.

“You admire me?” Lucy asked excitedly. “No, not you! On rare occasions I find myself wishing I was as full of myself as you are.” Schroeder said urgently. The two sat there for a brief second, almost as if time had stopped as Schroeder was alarmed and Lucy gratified. Then, to Schroeder’s horror, Lucy suddenly rose and hung over the seat in front of the two of them. Schroeder rubbed his hands against his face in fear of who was hearing whatever Lucy was saying. It was safe to assume she was yelling out something about his little ‘admiration’ comment. His questions were answered when he heard Lucy shout, “Patty! Violet! Guess what my dear Schroeder just said to me!” Schroeder directed all his attention to listening in to the conversation between the three girls. It was hard to block out the noise of all the other kids blabbering, but if he focused he could do it. “What! What did he say?” The duo replied eagerly. “He said he admires my confidence! And considering that it’s such an immense part of my personality, he’s practically saying he admires me as a person!” Lucy exclaimed. Schroeder felt the usual feelings of irritation building up inside of him. Not only did he dislike when Lucy would make things all about her need for them to be together, but he also wasn’t too fond of Patty and Violet. He didn’t have much information on them and who they were as people, but he didn’t want to. He saw how they were, and they had similarities to Lucy. They weren’t as assertive and bossy and clearly didn’t have as much potential as Lucy did. No, they were similar to Lucy in the fact that they were callous. They weren’t as generally cruel, nor did they normally instigate mean-spirited interactions. Still, if Lucy was doing her usual torment of Charlie Brown or making fun of anyone, they’d join in. They would often pick on Pig-Pen as well. The Charlie Brown aspect is what made Schroeder’s blood boil the most. They were both snobs. But most relevant to this situation, they were blabbermouths. Schroeder stood up and looked over the seat along with Lucy, intending to put an end to Lucy twisting his words.

“None of what she’s saying is true!” Schroeder insisted. “She lives in this fantasy where I’m in love with her, and she’ll do backflips in her head to convince herself I’m in love with her in the real world!” Lucy glowered and stared at Schroeder. “Oh shut your mouth! What I’m sharing with Patty and Violet is not a stretch!” Patty and Violet looked at each other, unsure of what to do while Schroeder and Lucy bickered back and forth. Patty shrugged and Violet looked up at the pair arguing above them. “Well, Schroeder,” Violet interrupted. “Did you not say that you admired Lucy’s confidence?” She asked. Schroeder went silent and straightened his lips. “I did…but I scarcely think that! And it does anything but imply that I admire her as a whole.” He admitted, glaring over at Lucy for a moment. Violet eyed Patty and took a breath. “You’re so defensive, and for what?” She shot to Schroeder in an almost accusatory tone. “Lucy, it’s definitely not an unheard-of inference.” Violet said, looking at Schroeder with eyes that warned, ‘You’re not hiding it.’ Schroeder rolled his eyes. “You’re all hopeless!” He declared before tossing himself backward and settling back into his seat. “Wow, Lucy, you really know how to get under his skin,” Patty said, somewhat in awe of her ability to annoy Schroeder as much as she did. Pride radiated off of Lucy. “It’s an art I have perfected.” She replied. The trio all giggled over Schroeder’s irritability, which he overheard. He was valid for losing his temper, ‘how can they not see that?’ He thought to himself. Lucy said a few more words to the girls, then sat back down in her seat. Schroeder scowled at her.

“Why do you feel the need to be like that?” He interrogated. “Be like what?” Lucy was clueless. Schroeder paused. What he was going to say was going to upset Lucy. But, he decided it didn’t matter. She had upset him and never regarded his feelings, so why should he tiptoe around hurting hers? It needed to be a two-way street. “You always make everything weird. Interpreting something I said incorrectly on purpose is already stupid enough, then you have to go and tell Patty and Violet about it? Those girls will tell everyone!” Schroeder was keeping his words quiet but cold. His tone and diction was that of a knife stabbing into Lucy’s ears. “Why can’t you ever be normal about anything I do?” Lucy blankly looked at Schroeder. She couldn’t fully process his words, she didn’t want to. Schroeder’s expression was disgusted and agitated more than ever. Upon seeing Lucy’s obviously crushed mood, he felt guilty for a flash of time. On the other hand, she had ruined his mood. Maybe it was a two-way street after all. Schroeder propelled a bitter exhale out and turned to start looking around at all the other seats. Suddenly, he then got up and went up to one of the rows. Lucy snapped out of her silently somber state and frantically leaned over to see who Schroeder was walking over to. He was walking over to Charlie Brown and Lucy’s younger brother Linus.

“Linus, I need to switch with you,” Schroeder demanded, standing over them. He was careful not to let the bus driver see him out of his seat. “How come?” Linus asked. Charlie Brown’s eyes were wide with curiosity. “The person I sit next to is extremely aggravating and if I don’t move, I might scream,” Schroeder replied, looking furious. “Who’s the person?” Charlie Brown asked innocently. Linus looked at him. “Oh Charlie Brown, it’s easy to assume who the person is.” He answered. Charlie Brown looked confused for a moment before mouthing ‘Ohh’. “I told you to be nice to her.” Linus firmly reminded Schroeder. “I am being nice...somewhat-but I just can’t stand it!” Schroeder quietly snuck in somewhat in his string of words. “Besides, it’d be a good opportunity to tell her to stop with all the romance. That’s why she got on my nerves just now!” Schroeder added with pure frustration in his eyes. Linus sighed. He looked and Charlie Brown apologetically after taking a moment of consideration. He then started to gather up his things. “I understand how she is towards you, so I’ll switch with you. However, if I found out you said anything ruthless, you can expect me to be mad.” Linus stood up and shoved past Schroeder as he walked over to where Schroeder had been, which Lucy was still occupying. “What are you doing over here?” Lucy asked, visibly confused. “I’m sitting here now,” Linus replied, hastily grabbing Schroeder's stuff and bringing it back over to him. Schroeder smiled. “Thank you.” He said. Linus slipped in an insincere “No problem,’ before walking back over and placing himself next to Lucy. Lucy frowned.

“Did Schroeder ask to switch?” Lucy questioned the second Linus came back into earshot. Linus hesitated for a moment before replying. Yes…” Lucy slumped. She didn’t know why she asked, she had known the answer was yes. She shrugged. “I’ll get him one day.” She added with a hopeful tone wrapped up in a sigh. Linus deliberately ignored Lucy’s words of aspiration. “What were you doing?” Linus asked immediately “What?” “What were you doing to Schroeder that bothered him so much? The guy doesn’t just get mad over nothing.” Lucy snorted. “Oh really? He’s always getting fed up.” She replied with a giggle. “Sure, but I know you did something. Linus was getting serious now. ” What did you do?” Lucy’s chuckles faded and she looked into Linus’ eyes. “Nothing.” She replied sheepishly. Linus delivered her a doubtful stare. “Nothing!” Lucy repeated. Linus raised an eyebrow so high it could touch the clouds and continued making eye contact with Lucy. Lucy let out a guilty breath and diverted her gaze to the ground. “He said he admired my confidence at times..” Lucy finally let the words flow from her lips. “So, I told Patty and Violet—who sit in front of us—that he admired me as a person,” Lucy admitted. Linus shook his head in disapproval. “It’s not that much of a stretch! My self-assured attitude is a key part of who I am!” Lucy insisted while waving her hands around. “Your fake self-assurance,” Linus mumbled. Lucy dropped her eyebrows from those of desperate explanation to an insulted ego. Linus started piecing together a sentence before Lucy could yell at him about his little comment.

“Lucy, you’ve got to stop that kind of behavior.” Lucy kept her insulted look, although now feelings of chagrin lingered. “What do you mean?” “I mean, you have to be anything but a nagging obsessive presence in his life. He doesn’t see you as a friend, he sees you as a constant annoyance. And it’s all because you do stuff like…well stuff like that.” Lucy stayed silent, letting the words trickle into her mind. Lucy wasn’t one to self-reflect. No matter how hard people tried to get her to rethink something she did, she didn’t. She refused to change her routine behavior. But this, she actually began to ponder. This feeling of looking back on herself and her actions and what she should do differently startled her. “Doing that stuff when we were kids was different, we were all idiots who annoyed each other all the time.” Linus continued describing the faults of Lucy’s nature. Lucy clenched her jaw. “But, we’re gonna go to high school. Everyone is maturing, Lucy, eventually you have to too.” Lucy’s usual headstrong demeanor shriveled into one of heartache and failure. Similar to that of a tortoise retreating to its shell. She felt stupid. Linus was wise and right, as always. Lucy had always noted that everyone surrounding her was growing as time went on, and she never followed. Perhaps it was because she tried to firmly stick to the belief that she was already perfect. Although, she knew that was miles away from being correct. She always knew. But having Linus spit the words out, getting to hear the words hit her like Charlie Brown attempting to swing a baseball bat, made them settle into her soul. The mention of high school put it into perspective as well. What would people there think of her if she kept acting like this? Schroeder had been right all along, she wasn’t anything other than a nuisance. Lucy stayed silent, simply staring at Linus with spiritless eyes.

Linus saw how he had hurt Lucy, although he wasn’t going to apologize. It was a truth she needed to realize. Still, he considered that maybe shifting the tone to one of constructive criticism would be less detrimental to Lucy’s happiness. “You know how Sally used to call me her sweet baboo all the time?” “Yeah, but she stopped,” Lucy replied instantly, thinking back to how everyone was evolving but her. Linus subtly smiled. “Yes. And guess what? She and I are genuine friends now. In fact, I actually quite enjoy her company.” Linus’ gaze showed that his feelings towards Sally were more than he was letting on. A genuine ‘friend’? Lucy recognized that he was inferring something extra. “Do you...have feelings for her?” At first, Lucy was going to move past whatever romance Linus was referring to, but she decided trying to guide the discussion away from her troublesome conduct was the way to go. She wanted to avoid feeling worse than she already did. Pink tones fell over Linus’ cheeks. “Well…I’m not entirely sure.” He replied. He was lying. He was certain he was interested in Sally romantically. However, he felt it wasn’t the time. He also was weary that Lucy might blab to someone about it, as she does when she’s made aware of any gossip. Lucy rolled her eyes at Linus’ confusion, which she didn’t suspect was unreal. “Never mind that. The point I was attempting to make is that you could be legitimate friends with Schroeder if you quit rambling about marrying him every chance you get.” Linus resumed the discussion. Lucy shrugged. “You and Sally have always been friendly, though. And you’ve never been as cruel to her as Schroeder has been to me.” “I’m sure I would’ve if Sally tried to destroy my blanket because she saw it as her competition.” Lucy let out a heavy breath and crossed her arms in defeat, avoiding replying to the remark about Lucy seeing Schroeder’s piano as an enemy. She wasn't going to argue that it wasn’t a dumb thing, because it was. “Maybe it’s time I try to get over Schroeder.” She spoke softly. The second Lucy was fully aware of what she had said, she sprouted up. Her dismal mood turned into one of wonderous realization. She looked as if she was a dog who had just caught eye of a squirrel.

“Oh, Linus!” She blurted out. “I know how I’ll make this summer unforgettable!” If she wasn’t seated, she’d be bouncing around with excitement. “This will be the time I finally get over that dork! I’ll have an extraordinary summer fling!” Worry filled Linus’ eyes. That wasn’t what he had intended to put into Lucy’s head. All he was doing was obeying Schroeder’s orders of getting her to cool it with the true love bullshit. Which yes, he had accomplished, but he didn’t aim to have Lucy fascinated with the thought of a passionate relation with some random guy from camp. Linus shivered with dread about what boy she would select as the subject of her fixation. “Lucy, I don’t know if that’s the best-” “Shut it! Anytime I have a fabulous idea you try to knock it down! Well, not this time.” Lucy declared proudly. Her self-assured attitude had come back once again. “I always try to stop them because more often than not they’re ridiculous and end up in disaster,” Linus responded. Lucy paused for a moment, then pouted. “Linus, you know how much I’m struggling with high school being soon. Promise me you’ll help me with whoever I find. Please? Do it for your gracious older sister.” Lucy’s tone was one of obvious humor, Linus knew she wasn’t filled with anxiety about that topic at that moment. However, he also knew that she did in fact battle with a burning hatred for change in her life, a battle that he acknowledged earlier today. His acknowledgment of it was practically why he was in this mess of trying to keep both Lucy and Schroeder happy and now accidentally sparking an attraction to finding a new man to prey upon in Lucy. Making the promise to help Lucy in her quest was only going to bring on more calamity, and Linus realized that. It was normal for Linus to get involved with Lucy’s newest crusades and regret it in the end, so he figured why not do it again?

Begrudgingly, a faint “I promise…” slipped out from Linus’ tongue. A big smile enveloped Lucy’s face. “Oh, thank you, Linus! You won’t regret it!” Linus laughed to himself as Lucy’s grateful arms wrapped around him as best as they could due to their sitting position. He was well aware that he would look back on it with contrition.

The bus ride finally came to an end. The teens who filled the bus all splatted their eager faces against the glass, peering out at the forest that surrounded them. Cabins, a lake, a dining hall, and various other buildings and places of activity were in view. Schroeder leaned past Charlie Brown and observed the environment. “Hasn’t changed an ounce.” Charlie Brown commented as he looked out the window. Schroeder let out a light chuckle. “Yeah, woohoo.” The sarcasm was loud. The doors of the bus then opened, and everyone stood up and flew down the aisle, piling out as quickly as they could. Peppermint Patty shouted various words of elation as she sprinted out the quickest. “I don’t understand how someone could be that enthused,” Schroeder muttered to himself. “That’s Peppermint Patty for you.” Charlie Brown overheard Schroeder’s comment to himself. “I wish my parents would send me to music camp,” Schroeder said as he began to walk towards the door. “I’m glad you don’t because now I can hang out with you.” Charlie Brown said happily. He was oddly cheerful. It seemed like everyone was ecstatic, and Schroeder didn’t share in the feeling. He already felt left behind. He had to convince himself that all the people who surrounded him weren’t as delighted as they seemed and had secret feelings of discontent beneath the surface, which was true in a sense. And even if it wasn’t, he didn’t care. It comforted him to imagine other people absolutely hating being there. He got a glimpse of Franklin’s smiling face as he talked to Pig-pen, and used his new tactic of pretending it wasn’t real. It was twisted in a way, but once again, he didn’t care.

Once it was Schroeder’s turn to hop off the bus, he nearly held his breath. Letting the forest air flow into his lungs would make it official that he was at camp. As he stepped down the steps he carefully watched his feet, as focusing on them eased his nerves. He looked up at the trees all around and was overwhelmed. It was all too real. He felt as if so much had happened already, with drama already starting up on the bus. If he thought that was drama, he was in for a startling summer.

Chapter Text

The fresh air hit Schroeder’s senses with an intense force. The smell of the trees filled his system, which was a positive of arriving at their destination. After all, the bus had smelled like dirty teenagers, many of whom forgot to put on deodorant that morning. Faint noises of birds chirping could be heard, although the sounds of kids chattering overpowered them. Schroeder looked down at the ground, his face turning to disgust upon seeing the fact that he had stepped in mud. “Don’t worry, a little mud never hurt anyone,” Pig-Pen said as he briefly passed by. Schroeder let a polite smile spread across his lips. He squinted his eyes with forced laughter. That was the worst part of camp, the frequent socializing he was obligated to take part in. He enjoyed hanging around a particular group: Charlie Brown, Linus, Shermy, and Franklin. Anyone else felt like a little bit of a chore. With those people, he could be genuine. He didn’t have to put in extra effort to be likable or put in the effort to talk more than he usually did; he could just be him. He hoped he wouldn’t be put in the position where he had to make any new friends.

As a young child, Schroeder was decently social. He was quieter than all the other kids, but you wouldn’t consider him a loner. As he got older and hit puberty, he began to prefer solitude over being in a circle of his friends. The more he grew the more he longed for some time alone. Luckily, his parents left him to do whatever he wanted. He could sit in his room all day playing piano, and they wouldn’t urge him to go see the sun. Often, though, Schroeder’s friends would come by and beg him to come out and do something like playing baseball or going to the drive-in. Schroeder never refused. It felt wrong to shoo away his buddies who wanted to hang out with him. He also didn’t want anyone to know he liked to be alone. He already had a reputation for being a piano nerd, he didn’t want to start being referred to as the lonely, quiet piano nerd. Therefore, being in his own presence, a thing he frequently craved, was something he rarely ever got.

Schroeder found himself unwillingly becoming part of a clump. The clump consisted of Linus, Charlie Brown, Patty, Violet, Shermy, Franklin, and Lucy. Once Schroeder caught sight of Lucy, he began to prepare himself for interactions that would take more effort than he pleased. But, to his surprise, Lucy paid no attention to his existence. She didn’t even glance at him. Schroeder guessed it was due to her being preoccupied with blabbering to Violet and Patty. The three erupted into laughter, confirming his assumption. At least he thought it did. Linus tapped Schroeder’s shoulder. He whipped around and stared at the boy. Schroeder had to look down to gaze upon Linus. Linus wasn’t short, per se, but Schroeder was extremely tall. He towered over the majority of kids at school. “Hey, Linus,” Schroeder said without great amounts of enthusiasm. “I came over to tell you that I told her,” Linus replied without saying a greeting back. Schroeder raised an eyebrow before remembering his request to Linus. “How’d she take it?” Schroeder asked. Right as Linus was opening his mouth to speak, a camp counselor hollered to the crowd. “Remind me to tell you later,” Linus said sneakily as adults urged the kids to hush. Schroeder nodded.

Did Lucy take Schroeder not wanting her to be romantic as him not want her to be around him at all? He wondered if that’s how she interpreted it. Lucy's failure to even say one word to him as they got off the bus sparked that thought. He hoped it was his initial assumption, but Linus saying he'd inform him later of Lucy's reaction had placed this new idea in Schroeder’s head. It had to have been something more than a simple her being upset if Linus couldn’t just say it now. Perhaps Linus was just being polite and quiet when requesting to do so. Schroeder hoped that was the case. His extreme indignation towards Lucy had worn off, and now he was starting to feel sympathy creep in when it came to Lucy’s stresses about high school. At the moment he scolded her, he had completely forgotten about it. He understood her feelings. All he wanted was for her to stop annoying him; he didn’t wish for her gloomy mood to worsen. It was odd to view Lucy as anything besides grouchy. Schroeder’s thoughts about her didn’t last long, however, as he got swept up in his own worries.

Counselors started herding kids into the real entrance of the camp. Lucy began to nudge people around, too, already beginning her ‘leadership’. “Don’t shove me!” Violet scolded. Lucy rolled her eyes. “I didn’t.” She insisted. Violet and Lucy started bickering. It wasn’t as intense as it could’ve been, but it annoyed everyone around them. “You’re arguing over nothing!” Shermy butt in. Violet’s cheeks turned red with embarrassment. Lucy huffed and walked away from Violet, joining Linus, Charlie Brown, and Schroeder’s circle instead. “I’m glad Shermy said something; otherwise, she would’ve kept going on and on,” Lucy remarked. The three boys looked at her silently, Linus nodding his head. They wanted to avoid Lucy going on a tangent about it, like she always did if given the opportunity to. Replying essentially was inviting her to do so. “How come Shermy saying something got her to stop?” Schroeder said. Linus glared at Schroeder, and Charlie Brown sighed heavily. Schroeder knew this question was going to cause Lucy to talk nonstop. He didn’t know why he asked. He hated it when Lucy would rant uncontrollably.

Lucy was silent for a moment, not expecting Schroeder to speak up. “Well…” Lucy began with a sly grin. “You didn’t hear this from me, but Violet has a little thing for Shermy.” She lowered her voice and leaned into the group, careful to let nobody else hear. Charlie Brown raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t Patty with Shermy?” He asked. Linus stared at him with the same look he gave to Schroeder. Lucy’s big brown eyes glimmered with mischief. Her undying love for gossip was now apparent. “Not technically. It’s so obvious they like each other, but they’re both too scared to say it. Wimps.” Linus narrowed his eyes. “That’s enough of sharing people’s secrets.” He said. He always had to be the responsible one. “Don’t tell anyone,” Lucy said to the boys, hushing them. They nodded. Charlie Brown nor Schroeder cared about people’s business if it concerned stuff such as that. Plus, getting involved in drama with kids who could be as ruthless as Shermy, Patty, and Violet was something nobody wanted to do.

All of these minor events happened as the mass of tweens walked on a short path through the forest. It was a quaint lead-up to the actual campsite, filled with vegetation and string lights hanging from the trees that towered above. It was getting everyone more amped up than they already were, with some singing the camp song and others just shouting without reason. “What camp activity are you looking forward to the most?” Franklin asked the group. Good ol’ Franklin, always putting in an effort to be inviting and friendly. “Baseball. The kids at camp will be better than our team back home.” Shermy answered, shooting a disapproving look at Charlie Brown. “I like arts and crafts!” Patty said as she clapped her hands with cheer. “Me too!” Violet added. The two joined hands and shared in their excitement over the activity. “Swimming is pretty fun.” Linus chimed in. Lucy rolled her eyes. “Those are all so basic. I enjoy any competitive activity.” She said with pride. The group was all very unsurprised. “No need to be snarky, Lucy.” Linus reminded. Lucy pouted slightly, and a few snickers came from Patty and Violet. Lucy shot a couple of insults at the girls as the group broke apart more and more. Soon, Schroeder was behind all of them. He stared at the crowd of kids ahead. He was really here, again. And it was his last summer here. He sensed some somber thoughts were going to creep in as he stepped along the trail, and forced himself to zone out as they reached the camp. He couldn’t get all sappy.

________

Schroeder was assigned to cabin six, a cabin that had seven other boys in it. Lucky for him, it was six familiar boys. He knew all of them. Charlie Brown, Linus, Franklin, Shermy, Pig-Pen, and Joe Agate. They were all boys he liked well enough, too. Joe was a bit of an ass at times, but if Schroeder kept to himself, Joe wouldn’t bother him. And keeping to himself was exactly what he planned to do. He carefully unpacked all his things, arranging them all in specific places. Schroeder loved being organized. Everyone else threw their things all over their bed and paid no mind to keeping things in order. Schroeder cringed, knowing how messy the entire cabin, besides his area, would become. A call came from outside, urging kids to get ready and come outside for a meeting. The boys in the cabin all began to change into their camp shirts. Schroeder was suddenly filled to the brim with panic. How could he have forgotten about possibly the worst part of camp? That is, the lack of privacy. The boys all took their shirts off to put on their newly acquired t-shirts that had the camp name, logo, and their grade on them. Schroeder felt weird looking as they changed, but he couldn’t help it. His eyes didn’t linger due to attraction, it was due to pure insecurity.

Schroeder was skinny. It wasn’t so extreme to where he appeared to be malnourished, but he was a lot skinnier than everyone else. Even Charlie Brown had a considerable amount of meat on his bones, and Franklin and Shermy had biceps and abs forming. All while Schroeder looked like a stick. His being very skinny was already bad enough, but when you added in how he towered above everyone else, it made it a lot worse. He felt like a skyscraper or a flag pole. He didn’t want to take his shirt off in front of all of them, but it would look weird to go into the bathroom to change such a simple article of clothing. Joe would definitely give him a hard time for that. All his options were awkward, but he picked the least nerve-wracking one. He would wait and continue to set up his area, and once everyone else had filtered out, then he’d change. It’d look weird to be the last out of the cabin, but it was very preferable to feeling more insecure than he’s ever felt or to getting teased. It was strange for Schroeder to be so insecure about such a thing; he was never quite focused on his appearance. But, recently, he started to feel more and more different from everyone else. So, naturally, thinking about how he might look very different joined the insecurity party, and it was here to stay. The thought of what he’d do when he had to go swimming hadn’t hit him yet, he’d figure that out later. He was too wrapped up in the panic of the present.

After Schroeder changed, taking extra time to observe himself in the mirror and grimace over his appearance, he walked out of the cabin and joined the other eighth graders as casually as possible. The main eighth grade counselor was going over some rules on a stage, and therefore the entirety of the eighth grade group was sitting below them. Schroeder snuck a seat next to a random kid in the very back, making no noise and making himself as unnoticeable as he could, but unfortunately, he wasn’t sneaky enough. “You! Blondie in the back!” The counselor shouted. Every single teen turned their head to where the counselor was pointing. Her finger fixated on a tall, skinny blonde sitting in the back row on the left edge. Schroeder. Schroeder froze. He didn’t have any idea how to reply. He really wished the counselor hadn’t pointed at him. It would’ve left more time for everyone to murmur among themselves, eagerly trying to figure out who was getting scolded. But no, the counselor was sure to make sure everyone was looking at him. And she made it even worse when she asked the dreaded question, “What’s your name?” Schroeder felt his body quiver with fear. He glanced around, seeing everyone’s eyes on him. Some were whispering. “Cmon, answer!” The counselor shouted once more. Schroeder opened his mouth, but nothing wanted to come out. His cheeks were hot with embarrassment, he knew his pale skin was as red as Snoopy’s doghouse. He didn’t have a single clue what to do. Ask him to play any piece composed by Beethoven, and he’d instantly know and get to plucking the keys of his piano. But ask him what to do in an anxiety-inducing social interaction, and he’d fall silent.

“My name is…uh…” he stuttered. The stuttering was somehow worse than not talking at all. “..Schroeder..” he squeaked out. He had a slight voice crack as his name fell out of his mouth. Everything kept piling up to make it even more embarrassing. He heard faint giggles from the crowd. “Well, Schroeder. Try and be on time next time, alright?” The counselor talked a lot calmer than she had been before. Schroeder silently and shakily nodded. The counselor immediately resumed going over basic information about how camp worked, paying no mind to how she had just tortured Schroeder. He sank into his seat and hung his head low. He didn’t want to accidentally make eye contact with anyone. He felt the stranger next to him scoot away from him. As if he didn’t already wanna be home enough, there was now this.

After the counselor had finished the presentation, the kids had time to walk around and talk before being served an early dinner. This situation was even worse for Schroede. Everyone being free to walk around and talk? What if some kids came up to him and taunted him for his embarrassing experience? He sprang up right after the presentation and headed for his cabin, where he planned to hide before dinner. As he sped away, he heard someone running after him. He didn’t know who it was, and he didn’t care. He didn’t want to talk to them. He didn’t want their meaningless pity they would offer for what had happened. He just wanted to be alone. “Schroeder!” The person finally called. It was a girl. Her voice was extremely familiar and grating. However, an unfamiliar concern lived in her call out to him. He felt himself halt his urgent walk to the cabin, and he whipped around to see who was talking to him. Although he didn’t need to see her to know who it was.

“What do you want, Lucy?” He interrogated, his temper shortening by the second. “Are you here to tell me how embarrassing that was for me? I don’t need you to boast, I know how terrible it must’ve been to watch. And I’ll have you know that it was a lot worse to experience it firsthand!” Schroeder scowled. His face was scrunched up with anger. Lucy had a surprised look on her face and stepped back. “No? I know I have a reputation for dragging embarrassing things that happen, but I only really do that when it’s someone being unreasonably stupid. Like if Charlie Brown slipped, causing his shoe to hit a sprinkler and making it go all over everyone in the room.” Schroeder’s expression slightly softened, although he remained on edge. He let out a jittery chuckle. “I remember that...” he replied. Lucy smiled. “I came over to..to..” she stumbled. “to say sorry?” She said with extreme uncertainty. She was almost just as confused as Schroeder was. “For the counselor thing? I don’t need apologies from anyone for that.” He insisted. Lucy shook her head. “No, not for that. Although I will say that it was painful.” She giggled. “No, I want to apologize for the... bus ride over..” she trailed off. Schroeder raised an eyebrow. Lucy? Apologizing for her common outbursts of insanity towards Schroeder? He must be dreaming. She must be joking. There had to be some sort of catch. “It’s no trouble... it was just the usual stuff,” he replied carefully. He had no idea how to react to this, it was a position he’d never been in before. What does one say when someone as stubborn as Lucy Van Pelt apologizes to them? “Still. It was wrong, and I wanted to apologize. Is that a crime?” She shot back, letting her usual attitude creep into the last sentence. Schroeder shrugged. “I guess not. Thank..you?” He replied dryly. “You’re welcome.” Lucy smiled with her head high. She gave a small wave and turned away, prancing over to her usual group. It was impressive how quickly her mood shifted from sincere to her usual snarky and social persona. To Schroeder, it was impressive for her to shift to sincerity at all.

Schroeder had somewhat thought that Lucy had only made an empty promise to Linus’ proposal of leaving him alone(him, as in Schroeder) just to get Linus to shut up. It would be on character for Lucy to do such a thing. But no, she was genuinely going to leave him alone. He’d finally get the peace he’d craved for since he was a little kid. He had no idea how to feel. It was a strange feeling, this feeling of complete victory over Lucy. He never thought this day would come. At least he had one good thing happen this summer. He smiled to himself. His mood was somewhat lifted.

Lucy glanced back at Schroeder as she walked away. It pained her to do such a thing. She knew Linus probably told Schroeder about the fact that she was going to move on anyway, she didn’t know why she felt the need to apologize. Well, she did know. She wanted closure. She needed that final interaction and ‘goodbye’ of sorts before moving on to another guy. She had liked Schroeder for practically her entire life, it was a valid thing to want. She also wanted Schroeder to hear it from her, it’d let him know the idea of her leaving him alone was real. Although the interaction hadn’t been as resolving as she hoped. After all, it began with him accusing her of walking over with the sole purpose of trying to be an ass to him. She hoped one day they’d be able to be real friends, just like Linus said happened with him and Sally. She wanted that. As much as she had gotten swept up in only seeing him as her first love that would never end, whenever they had real conversations, it was nice. They shared a lot of the same opinions, and even though Lucy had of course always thought he was pleasant, it was particularly nice when he wasn’t losing his cool on her and dismissing her. The rare moments of true connection, those are why Lucy truly loved Schroeder. It was silly, though. Her frequent out-of-line behavior stopped those real moments from happening more often. It was pure self-sabotage. Lucy turned to gaze upon Schroeder one last time, sighing. As disappointed as she was, she felt ready to move on. Ready to see what other fish were in the sea. What better place to find a summer lover than a summer camp?

________

When dinner finally arrived, the exact pity Schroeder wanted nothing more than to not receive was thrown to him more than he could count. The second he sat down, Linus opened his mouth. He started spewing his wisdom, going on about how embarrassing experiences help shape who people are. How the humiliation Schroeder had endured was ‘character-building’. He knew Linus was right and that he meant well, but Schroeder was annoyed nonetheless. Would it kill Linus to for once say something along the lines of, “yeah that sucks.”? He didn’t always have to try and fix everything with his advice. Was it usually advice worth something that could help things out? Almost a hundred percent of the time. But still, Schroeder had had enough. Linus finally shut his mouth after Schroeder gave him a blatant, irritated response. “Cmon, Schroeder.” Charlie Brown chimed in. “I’ve had way worse stuff happen to me, and I’m still here.” Schroeder huffed. “Yeah, well, you’re Charlie Brown. You’re used to it. But me? I’m never the center of attention, for better or for worse. I’m just that kid who plays piano, but now I’m the fool who couldn’t even spit his name out to the counselor.” Schroeder stabbed his fork into his mashed potatoes. “I understand, buddy. It’s hard. But don’t worry, I’m sure by tomorrow no one will remember. We're fourteen, everyone’s too worried about stopping themselves from embarrassment to focus on whatever ‘thing’ you did.” Franklin added happily. Schroeder thought back to his own insecurities and how much they had enveloped him recently. “Thanks, Franklin,” Schroeder replied, shooting him a small side smile. What Franklin said had actually helped.

“Oh, and Linus…” Schroeder began carefully. It was finally time to bring up their unfinished business from earlier. “Lucy came up and... apologized to me earlier?” Shermy nearly choked on his water. “You got an apology from Lucy Van Pelt? What awful thing did she do to offer that?” He exclaimed. The whole table leaned in. It was a conversation only meant to catch the attention of Linus, but now everyone was interested. Schroeder wasn’t surprised, it seemed like such an unheard-of thing. “Calm down, Shermy. She owns up when she needs to, just you don’t hang around her much.” Linus defended. Linus then looked at Schroeder with satisfaction in his eyes. “I’m glad she did such, what did she say?” “She just apologized for what she did on the bus, and seemed weirdly genuine. What did you say to her?” Linus waved his hand. “Nothing too mean, if that’s what you were thinking. I just told her she needs to mature and start treating you like a real person.” Schroeder smiled as Linus spoke. “Hm, great,” Schroeder said happily. Linus took a carefree sip of his drink and added, “I assume she went and apologized for some sort of..closure. I don’t know. She’s planning on finding some silly summer fling. Who ever truly knows with her?”

Schroeder’s eyes widened. “Summer fling?” He repeated back. Linus nodded, swallowing some food. “Yeah. I’m guessing she wanted to give you a real apology to feel ready to move on. Take it as an apology for all the mistakes she’s made over the years.” Linus shrugged; this information didn’t seem to rattle him at all. But Schroeder was startled, lost. The thought of Lucy pining over another guy was so foreign, something from another planet. Another universe, even. She’d been doing it forever, and although she was going to stop pestering him, he still assumed she’d continue to display a likeness towards him. But not liking him at all? His mind spun. What would that be like?

“Congrats, Schroeder. You’re free now.” Shermy said with a chuckle, nudging Schroeder with his elbow as a congratulatory gesture. Schroeder gave an effortless chuckle back. “Yeah, I guess I’m free.”

Everyone continued with their usual conversation, talking about various things such as camp activities, cute girls they had spotted, and other stuff that Schroeder hadn’t bothered to listen to. He was too lost in thought, too focused on other things. He couldn’t believe Lucy didn’t like him anymore. Not that he particularly wanted her to, but it was just strange. It was a weird feeling. The feeling of knowing that he wouldn’t have to deal with her annoying him anymore was already strange enough, but that was a good feeling. But this? He didn’t know what to think. He should be happy, right? Why couldn’t he figure out what his emotions were? And another thought, what if Lucy was successful with acquiring a boy to ogle over her for the summer? Lucy could be charismatic with guys, which sounds impossible, but it was true. However, she never used it because of her undying love for Schroeder. Her old, gone love for Schroeder. Would he have to see her smooching some dude at campfires? Why did he care? Schroeder couldn’t find the words to describe how he felt, but it was strange. He’d lost the admirer he thought he’d annoyingly have forever. He had lost Lucy.