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It's making you cry every time you give your love to me this way…
Schroeder steeled his nerves, standing outside music room where he knew Lucy was waiting for him. Usually he wasn't so nervous, he enjoyed her company, her constant yapping and complaining. It's why he loved her so much… And they were going to be together! Yes. Yes. He was going to confess. Right now. And they were going to be together. Romantically. She had the most obvious crush on him, there was no way he'd get rejected! Or at least, that's what Linus told him.
Schroeder had rehearsed it in his head a million times at this point. Go in, play her the song he composed for her, stun her to silence, and then passionately declare his love for her. Then they'd go out, he'd pay for dinner, they'd kiss a little, he'd sweep her off her feet, and then be in love forever after. Easy-peasy. She'd spent so much time going on and on about how she wanted to be confessed to, that the plan was easy to come up with.
he shook his hands out. Why was he so nervous? He had this in the bag! Schroeder schooled himself back into composure and walked in. Lucy was perched atop the cedar grand, reading a book with a bored expression on her face. She raised an eyebrow "You're late?" His cheeks reddened in embarrassment as he sat down on the stool. "Yeah." He said it so curtly it sort of came off as rude. She gave him a concerned look "Are you okay? You look kinda sick-"
"I'm in love with you. Go out with me." He blurted. Ah. Shit. He kinda just yelled it at her. It sounded less like a confession and more like he was scolding her. Lucy looked offended at best. Fuck. "Excuse me?" He had a choice here. He could play it off as a joke, and make her mad, or he could double down… and probably make her mad. "I- I said I love you, and we should go out. Like, on a date. Together." He said it with a softer tone that time, but now Lucy just looked pissed.
"You can't be serious." She scowled at him. Not her normal scowl, the one she used for like, bullies, and when Rerun didn't do his chores. He nodded dumbly. She sighed "I can't believe you thought it would be that easy. You can't just shout at me to go out with you and expect me to swoon into your arms, Schroeder. That's not how this works." His confidence was nonexistent at this point, but he still didn't have a definitive answer from her.
"I thought… that you were in love with me?" He almost whispered. Lucy's cheeks flamed scarlet and she hopped off the piano. "Yeah. I am. But you're not in love with me, you think you are, but you're wrong. It's a phase, Schroeder." She said, turning towards the door. He stood up, the bench scraping harshly across the stone floor. "You're wrong!" He yelled at her back. Lucy whipped around, poking a finger at his chest. "Then prove it!" she shouted.
Schroeder rolled his eyes. This is ridiculous. He held his arms out "How? How can I prove it to you?" Lucy shrugged, and he could see her tearing up a bit. "I don't know. Figure it out, you blockhead!" She said, wiping her eyes and walking out of the room. Schroeder sat back down on the bench in defeat, hiding his face in his hands. "Prove it… I'll prove it to her…" He whispered to himself.
Schroeder sat with Charlie Brown and Linus in potions class bouncing his leg anxiously as he told them about what happened. Lucy hadn't shown up yet, and class was almost halfway through. "Well, you've been pushing her away since you were 8, I can't really blame her." Linus said. "And you did sort of yell it at her." Charlie added. Schroeder frowned, and Linus put a hand on his shoulder "But you know, once she calms down, I'm sure she'll say yes." He reassured.
"I'm almost done here, guys!" Charlie said. Against Schroeder and Linus's better judgment, Charlie insisted on trying to make liquid luck for Schroeder. Schroeder didn't say this to Charlie, but he was absolutely not drinking that. Linus took a deep breath in through his nose. "Isn't it supposed to smell sweet? All I can smell is your cologne, Charlie." He said "Really? I didn't even put any on today." "All I can smell is Lucy…" Schroeder blurted "Oh, for god's sake-" Linus mumbled.
Just then, Lucy burst into the room, walking quickly towards her chair. She tripped over Charlie's bag, falling to the floor. She bumped the table on her way down, and looked up in horror as their cauldron splashed it's contents down on top of her, the metal clanging as it made contact with her skull. "Owwwwuh-" She groaned.
Pigpen bent down beside her. "Hey, are you okay?" He said. Lucy looked up at him, her pupils dilated. "Oh… my~" She said, awestruck. She sat up. "I'm okay now that you're here~" She giggled, twirling a lock of potion-soaked hair around her finger and biting her lip. "Uh, sure…" Pigpen said. "What the fuck…?" Charlie muttered.
"What's going on here?" Professor Snape asked, walking towards where Lucy still sat, giggling like an idiot while staring at Pigpen. He picked up the cauldron on it's dry side, taking a cursory sniff. "Who just brewed amortentia in my classroom?" He asked sternly. Everyone pointed at Charlie "Oh, good grief…" He sighed. "I think you better take Miss Van Pelt to the nurse." He said to Pigpen, who nodded.
"Come on, Lucy, let's go-" "Oh my god, are we going on a date?!" She squealed, clearly not tuned into anything anyone else was saying. "Uhm, Yeah. Sure, we're going on a date…" Pigpen said uncomfortably, leading her gently out of the room. "Goodness~" Lucy sighed, a dreamy look in her eyes. Schroeder just stood at his desk, mouth agape. Not even a whole hour ago, she admitted that she was in love with him. And now… She was head over heels for someone else. Artificially.
"Mr. Brown. My office. Now." Snape barked. Charlie gulped, following Snape into his office, leaving the classroom in collective shock.
Charlie had escaped punishment by the skin of his teeth, but Lucy… was still under the effects of the potion. As it turns out, Charlie had managed to make an extremely potent version of amortentia. The antidote was quite difficult to brew, and the wiggentree root that was required would take a couple weeks to mature enough to be used. So Lucy was going to stay in love with Pigpen until the end of the month, at least.
Lucy. With Pigpen. It just felt wrong. It had always been Lucy and Schroeder, Schroeder and Lucy. Always together, a package deal. Anything else almost felt unnatural. Because it was! Schroeder had to remind himself of that every time he saw them together. Lucy was doing all the things she used to do with him, but with Pigpen. She'd bite her lip, and twirl her hair, tuck it nervously behind her ear. It was weird. It made his chest feel tight, but not in that way Lucy always said. He didn't feel like his heart was going to pop, more like it would just cease to exist.
Him and Lucy weren't talking right now. The amortentia had over corrected her existing love into hate. When she looked at him, it was almost like she was a different person. There was such disgust in her eyes, like he was at fault for merely existing in her presence. She obviously didn't show up tot he music room anymore, and Schroeder found that he couldn't play a single note to save his life.
Lucy's been gone before, and he was able to play. But this was different. Schroeder slammed the lid shut, resting his elbows against the polished wood, scrubbing his hands down his face. He just wanted everything to be fixed. He wanted her back on his piano. He wanted her to be in love with him again. He wanted her to be sure he loved her too. He wanted to prove it! He stood up, marched out of the music room and headed for the library. He was gonna find a different way to counteract this damn potion, and he would cure her. He would save her from this curse, just like the heroes in those fairytales she loved as a kid! Yes, that oughtta prove it!
Lucy had never seen Pigpen as an option, really. They weren't even very close, acquaintances at best! But for some reason, she was completely swept off her feet by him. She made her way to the gardens, where she recently found out he usually spent most of his free time. She hated dirt, but she liked to watch him do what he liked. She sat herself down on a mostly clean stool next to the bed he was working on. She fluffed out her hair and started her usual lovesick rambles.
It was funny. Ever since she started fawning over Pigpen instead of Schroeder, everyone treated her different. Like she was fragile. No one spoke up to her, Linus and Rerun were deceptively nice and attentive, and Charlie was apologizing to her for no reason. It was strange. The only person that seemed perturbed by her these days was Pigpen. He never said anything, he was always very kind to her, but she knew. He didn't want her here.
Lucy trailed off halfway through an elaborate fantasy of how their wedding would look. Pigpen looked up at her "You stopped!" He exclaimed. She could sense the hope in his voice. She stood up. It was happening again. She loved someone who wanted nothing to do with her again! And she always had this… feeling. Deep in her chest, whenever she kissed him on the cheek and wiped the dirt off her lips. None of this felt right.
Without a word, she walked out of the greenhouse. Lucy loves Pigpen, but it felt strange. She didn't know what was wrong. She needed to clear her head. As she was making her way to the room of requirement, she bumped headfirst into Schroeder's chest as he was leaving the library, falling flat on her ass.
Oh, great. This prick. "Lucy! Are you alright?" "Watch it, asshole." She snarled, smacking his hand away when he tried to help her up. He had a couple of heavy looking books tucked under his arm. She rolled her eyes, it was probably more Beethoven biography's. God, he pisses her off. She can't believe she was in love with him at one point. How embarrassing.
He looked so disheartened, almost like he was gonna cry. Good. He deserves it. Lucy thought bitterly, roughly pushing past him and continuing on her way. She saw the wall shift into a door and she smiled. The room of requirement always let her find it. She tugged open the door, walking in to find a ballet studio all set up for her. She changed into a leotard and tights, putting her hair up and donning her pointe shoes.
She stretched, making sure her muscles were properly warmed up before she started to dance. She lost herself to the role of Giselle, feeling the music move her body. She jumped, twisted and twirled around the floor, perfecting every refined movement. Lucy let her frustration and sorrow drain from her mind, her thoughts slowed and all that was left was art. She struck the final pose, panting as the music ended, her heart hammering in her chest.
Lucy thought she'd feel better after this, she always did. But not this time. Her mind felt like it was tearing in two directions. Nothing made sense anymore! Everyone treated her differently, even though there was nothing wrong with her. Then why is everyone babying her? Was there something wrong with her? Was she just too stupid to notice? "There's nothing wrong with me. There's nothing wrong with me- There's. Nothing. WRONG WITH ME!" She screamed, sitting on the ground, pulling her knees to her chest.
It felt like she was in that old ass muggle show her and Schroeder used to watch together… The Twilight Zone. She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes, and her chest ached. No! She didn't want to think about him anymore! She knew she used to be in love with him, but now she couldn't remember how that even felt. All she could feel for him was hate. Hate. Hate. Why did she hate him so much? She can't remember. This cognitive dissonance was ripping her to pieces.
Lucy shook her head, collecting her things and making her way to the prefects bathroom. She pulled on the different taps until the water was a clear, turquoise blue. As she scrubbed her skin, she tried to shake this awful feeling. God, this whole thing was depressing. This must be how Charlie brown feels… She shook her head, fully submerging herself beneath the hot water. She slowly exhaled all her air, it wasn't just a strange feeling. Something was missing. It was like there was a fundamental part of her life had vanished, though the only thing she could think of that she'd lost was… Schroeder. STOP.
She broke the surface of the water, gasping in a breath. She didn't lose that bastard, she'd left him. For good reason! Because- Because… Because he was a snob! Yeah. A stuck up piece of shit who took her for granted and treated her like a nuisance! Until he supposedly decided he either couldn't do better, or just wanted to get into her pants. Probably both, if his social skills are anything to go by… Ohhh, it burns her up. That manipulative asshole thinking he can make her fold so easy with charming words and nothing more. She continued to ruminate on this hate for Schroeder, aggressively washing her hair as she did so.
Schroeder was studying harder than he ever had in his life. It had been hours. He even had Charlie and Linus come and help. Schroeder was trying really hard not to blame or be mad at Charlie for this whole thing. He had almost had it, there was hope before, she told him she loved him. And now, whenever he looks into her eyes, there is no more of that reverent adoration and love. All that's left is hatred.
Schroeder knows it was an accident, but he's also just so frustrated with it all. He's tired and desperate and can't stand the sound of pages turning anymore. He just wants her back on his fucking piano! "Useless! This is all useless bullshit!" Schroeder yelled, slamming the heavy book he was reading shut. He hid his face in his hands, trying to control his breathing as he bounced his leg anxiously.
Linus spoke up first "It's not like she's gonna be like this forever. They're gonna give her the antidote sooner or later. Then you can just try again. It'll be okay." Schroeder shook his head "No. No. You do not understand. Nothing about this is okay! It wasn't ever supposed to be like this! I- I had a Plan! Nothing went the way it was supposed to!"
Schroeder took a couple more deep breaths. Usually, Lucy would help him calm down when something like this happened. He didn't like other people seeing one of his breakdowns. Charlie put an unsure hand on his shoulder "I think I found something that might help…" He said, shifting the book he had to face Schroeder.
Schroeder read the page once, twice, a third time. Linus leaned across the table, reading the passage upside down. "That's ridiculous." Schroeder said in utter disbelief. "I thought true love's kiss only cured things in fairytales?" Linus mumbled skeptically, adjusting his glasses and combing through the page again. "But it looks like Charlie's right." "I am?" Charlie said excitedly "It says it's a viable cure." Linus said, pushing the book back to Schroeder.
"There's not like, a spell? Or anything?" Schroeder said "Look, you wanted to find another way and this is what we found." Linus bluntly stated. Schroeder sighed "Okay. But I don't even know how to get close to Lucy without her ripping my head off, let alone kiss her!" He stressed "Didn't you say she bumped into you when you left the library earlier?" Charlie asked
"Yeah, but that was an accident." Schroeder said "Well maybe, there could just be another… accident." Charlie put air quotes around the word accident. Schroeder thought for a moment "Lucy goes to the room of requirement every Saturday morning. To dance." The trio sat in silence for a moment, a plan already forming between them. Linus looked a bit apprehensive about the whole thing, he shook his head and sighed, "Then maybe… you need the room of requirement tomorrow morning too." he said finally, collecting his things and standing to leave. Schroeder nodded.
Schroeder flexed his hands nervously at his sides as he made his way to the room of requirement. Lucy must've gotten up earlier that morning, because she'd gotten there before him. It was kind of odd for the door to still be visible, but Schroeder didn't question it. He didn't let himself overthink, he just opened the door. Lucy was warming up at the barre and she whirled around when she heard the click of the door closing.
"How did you get in here?" Lucy asked, a frown tugging at her lips. "I Uh- The door." He said. She rolled her eyes and shot him a glare "Then use the door and leave, dipshit. Can't you see I'm busy?" She said, venom dripping from her voice. Schroeder had forgotten how scary she could be sometimes. She turned back to the barre "No." He said firmly "No?" Her face reddened and she marched over to him. "Why should I leave when I was here first, huh? You have the music room, so why are you here? Is this all just some power trip for you? Making me leave just because you feel like you can? That's why you asked me out too, you didn't even ask you just yelled at me! You think you can just get everything you want because you're tall and handsome and can play the piano annoyingly well… But you're really just some- Some arrogant, selfish, prideful- Mmmph!-"
Schroeder grabbed Lucy by the shoulders and smashed his lips into hers. It definitely wasn't the most romantic kiss. Lucy hit his chest a couple times before her muscles relaxed. Schroeder pulled back, finally letting go of her shoulders. Her eyes were closed and her scowl was gone, she seemed almost blank for a moment. Then her eyelids fluttered and she smiled up at him, all the hatred and malice had vanished. Lucy, his Lucy, had returned.
"You proved it…" She whispered, placing her hands on his shoulders. He nodded, putting his hands cautiously on her waist. "I love you, Lucille… And this isn't how I planned things to go, but can I please be your boyfriend?" He asked. Lucy fixed his collar "Only if I can be your girlfriend…" Schroeder nodded again, "Yeah. I'll take you on dates and give you gifts and write songs for you…" She giggled "You don't have to convince me-" She stood up on pointe, pulling him down to kiss her again, much gentler this time. "-I love you too~" She said against his lips.