Chapter Text
It was a usual day at her university. It's officially been a week since Lucy Van Pelt's professor had assigned a project on writing a feature article involving experiments and observations, yet there she was. Every time she sat down, she found herself staring at it for hours, her psychology assignment mocking her with every click of her pen.
This wasn’t like her at all. But because of her insisting on making the project unique, she was completely stuck, zoning out in class for what felt like the third time that week.
A thud came from her table, her professor looking down on her.
“Van Pelt.”
She then realized her professor was checking everyone's progress so far, she glanced at her paper. Nothing but a few doodles she’d made while thinking. Panic washes over her and she tries to quickly think of something. And then it popped up, she thought of Sally’s rant during their call a few days ago about how Lucy’s brother Linus had dumped her almost instantly.
“Well?” her professor prompted.
“Well, sir,” Lucy said, blurting it out, “I decided to take a unique approach this time — different from my usual reports, and write about How to Lose a Guy on Purpose, showcasing habits people do to drive someone away.”
The room went silent. Lucy held her breath. Finally, her professor said, “Interesting.” And moved on. She then realized she finally has something to write about, only now she has to think about how she will find a guy who she can easily trick into falling in love with her? It’s not like she's hard to fall in love with. Over the years, Lucy has grown into a charming young woman, crabby— but charming. Her hair always beautifully curled, her eyes being unforgettable, her voice always sounding out complaints but theres always something about it that makes you dont mind it at all— you name it. But the problem is, how will she be able to do that in such a limited time?
Finally, the bell rang and she's free for the afternoon, trying to think about the whole thing while going home. Her phone rings and she gets a phone call from Violet.
“Heeyyyy, Luce!!” Violet’s voice burst through the speaker.
“Hey, Violet! How's it going?”
“Not much! But the gang’s meeting up tonight for a house party with some students from other campuses. Me and Patty thought you might wanna come. I know you’ve been struggling with your uni stuff lately, so why not loosen up? Gosh knows you need it!”
Lucy paused. Clearing her head didn’t sound so bad, and if she was lucky, she might even find a potential victim for her experiment.
“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll come!”
“Perfect! I’ll send you the address and meet you there, look good, okay?”
Lucy chuckled at her response. “Of course. See ya!”
She wore a navy top with delicate lace tracing the neckline, a low rise denim skirt, pearl earrings with a necklace that matched, and leather Mary Jane heels that clicked against the pavement. Her black hair was curled for the occasion, pulled into a half up half down style, the bangs soft against her forehead.
Lucy stepped through the doorway, the music hitting her immediately. Students from other campuses crowded the space, making it almost impossible to spot her friends. Then she saw Patty and Violet by the kitchen island, already looking at her and smiling in an instant.
They went through the crowd, approaching each other.
“You’re finally here!” Patty exclaimed, and Violet followed, laughing and both pulling her into a quick hug.
They made their way to a quieter corner, exchanging stories about their lives as if they hadn’t spoken in years. Finally, Violet asked
“So how’s your psychology assignment going? I remember you ranting to us on the phone so much, you called everyone around you a blockhead.”
Lucy rolled her eyes, a giggle coming out of her. “Yeah… I kind of blurted it out when my professor asked what I’d decided to write, now I’m stuck doing this weird experiment about the habits people use to drive their partner away.”
Patty and Violet blinked, processing. Then Patty’s eyes lit up.
“Great!.. But how are you going to test that? Don't you have to import it from actual experimentation?”
“Have you picked your victim yet?” Both of the girls holding in their laugh while Lucy stayed silent.
“This is going to be hilarious.” Violet finally said with a grin.
“You need a guy! Come on, we’ll help you find one.” Patty exclaimed.
Lucy groaned, covering her face with her hands. “this could go horribly wrong,” Lucy worriedly said.
“Exactly why it’s perfect, it's an experiment right?”
Violet scanned the room. “Okay, let’s see…” After a few whispered words between them, the girls turned back to Lucy. She pointed subtly toward the other side of the room where the rest of the gang was. Lucy’s eyes widened. There, Schroeder stood with a drink in hand, chatting with Charlie Brown and the others, who all seemed to be in the middle of a playful argument. And Lucy turned back to Violet and Patty with a look of hesitation, but her mind was already racing with ideas.
The blonde pianist was half drunk. Exhausted from a full day of playing piano and writing his own compositions, he had decided to let loose a little that night, but it had all led into this ridiculous bet.
It started when the gang was teasing Charlie Brown about his hopelessly romantic love life, and then suddenly their attention shifted to Schroeder, who was listening and laughing along.
“What about you, Schroeder? Still the Beethoven-obsessed guy who’s never thought about having a girlfriend?” Laughter came out through the group.
Schroeder's ears turned red. Sure, it was true. He loved Beethoven and his piano more than anything. But he never actually tried dating, even though a lot of girls tried to talk to him, it never actually crossed his mind.
“No way,” he said quickly. “I’m definitely capable of getting a girlfriend. I just have better things to do.”
Franklin nudged his shoulder. “Oh come on, you can’t at least try?”
“I’ll make a bet!” Shermy exclaimed. “If you could make a girl fall in love with you, a girl of our choice. Charlie Brown will gladly buy you a new piano.”
“What?!” Charlie Brown protested, he did not agree to this.
Schroeder froze. How could he get out of this? Should he run? Should he agree? His thoughts were a mess. But when he finally snapped out of the thought, they looked like they already found the perfect girl.
Shermy spoke up and nodded toward a corner of the room. “Lucy.”
Linus raised an eyebrow — “Hold on, my sister?” But he was quickly shushed by the others.
Schroeder was spiraling. Out of everyone in this room, of course they ought to choose her. His childhood friend who was madly in love with him back then but finally stopped before senior year of high school. He remembered that night vividly, the girl finally admitting that she had lost feelings. The memory still stung, even though she didn't know that. But they had left on good terms, catching up when they had the time.
And there he was, speechless. He parted his lips to protest but then shut them immediately, and gave a slow, reluctant nod.
“Watch me” He muttered.
They all cheered, though he knew this would end up badly.
Lucy was making her way towards him, pushing through the crowd, finally reaching him without even realizing how close they already were. Her breath caught when she looked up, he was wearing a purple polo shirt that hugged his frame perfectly, paired with black pants that fit just right. It was like seeing him for the first time all over again, his mesmerizing blue eyes and blonde hair, perfectly messy as always.
Her lips parted into a smile.
“Hey.”
“Hi.”
It was silent for a second, both of them looking at each other, then away, then back again.
Schroeder cleared his throat. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”
Lucy let out a small laugh. “You’re one to talk. I thought you’d be crouched over your piano as usual.”
Schroeder chuckled. “Fair enough.”
It was getting louder and more crowded by the minute, people pressing in around them, then Lucy leaned in slightly, raising her voice so he could hear her.
“You wanna take a walk outside?”
“Yeah sure.”
Lucy grinned, slipping her hand into his without thinking. “Let’s go.” She turned toward the exit, pulling him along through the crowd.
The cool air hit them the moment they stepped outside, a soft breeze brushing against their skin, lights hung above a row of food trucks and small cafe stands nearby. They ended up at a small cafe stand, ordering hot chocolates, the warmth of the cups into their hands. They just walked while talking about anything and everything, small, pointless things that somehow didn’t feel pointless at all.
“So, what? you’re into people’s emotions and things like that?”
Lucy raised an eyebrow. “Well, that depends, Schroeder. Is that what you think psychology is?”
“Yes.”
She let out a scoff, shaking her head. “Well yeah, obviously. You know I was always at that cardboard psychiatrist booth when we were kids. Either that or leaning against your piano.”
Schroeder looked at her smiling. “Do I still have to pay five cents for your amazing advice?”
“Yeah,” Lucy shot back, grinning. “And what about you? Is your piano real now or is it still that same red toy you used to pretend was a concert grand?”
Schroeder opened his mouth, then let out a quiet scoff while Lucy was laughing. “Touché.”
Their laughter slowly faded as they reached Lucy’s door. For a moment, neither of them moved. Lucy then turned to face him, and just stood there, looking at each other for what felt longer than it should’ve.
Then Lucy smiled and slowly leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek, leaving a faint mark of lipstick.
“Goodnight, maestro.”
Schroeder blinked, caught by surprise. A blush spreading across his face, blending with the lipstick stain.
“Goodnight, Lucy.”
Lucy slipped inside, the door clicking shut between them.
And on opposite sides of it, both of them paused.
Thinking the exact same thing.
This’ll be easy.