On The Crest Of A Smile
A/N: First things first, I'm glad I'm writing this while the episode is still fresh on my mind. It's 11:39 P.M. on September 16th right now, and I just watched the Season 19 premiere "Stunning and Brave" (along with the series premiere of the new Comedy Central show "Moonbeam City" which I guess I can recommend to South Park fans)
"Stunning and Brave" had a lot of great moments, but honestly, I was just a tad bit confused by the ending. Why was Randy given the credit for Cartman's plan of attacking the PC fraternity? Just what exactly did Cartman accomplish in the end? I'm guessing there will be some extended continuity like last season, but for now I'm left just trying to make sense of it all. I really thought the kids were going to let PC Principal have it in some way, and Cartman willing to follow the rules kind of reminds me of the Season 10 episode "Tsst" I did get a kick out of Jared's appearance though. (Although didn't he get blown up by the gingers at the very end of "200"?)
But enough talk and/or spoilers. This one-shot is really more just something to please Candy lovers, as Candy is my OTP. I love Stendy, but I think I like Candy just a liiiiitttttllle bit more.
Also, this is not part of my Rad Fanon South Park series. Enjoy!
Had Wendy Testaburger really sunk this low?
It was a cold as ever September afternoon in South Park. School had let out for the day, and the students were still pretty uptight about their new principal. Even Wendy couldn't stand him in one way or another.
"God just who does this asshole think he is?" Wendy thought to herself as she walked towards Hells Pass Hospital. "I thought I agreed that we do need some kind of change around here and this guy seemed…OK at first, but does that give him the right to beat up Cartman just because he didn't use a gender neutral word ending? No!"
The moment she thought that, Wendy stopped walking. Had she gone crazy? Was she really attempting to sympathize with…Cartman? Eric Cartman was the biggest, most hateful, most bigoted person she knew and yet she felt SORRY for him?
"Wait, wait, wait, wait hold on Wendy." She thought. "Why does Cartman deserve MY sympathy? Cartman finally got what was eventually coming to him, and I feel BAD for him? What's gotten into me?"
Wendy stopped walking for a bit, the hospital only another block away. It loomed in the distance, beckoning her to come in. Wendy didn't know whether she should keep going or turn back and head home. Sure the new principal might share some sort of her general morals, but she never took it to that extreme of a level when it came to making her voice heard!
"That's awfully hypocritical of me." Wendy realized. "Why should I question whether Cartman deserves to be beat up? I mean, I've done it once myself! Cartman's a dick to everything and everyone, so what am I doing here?"
Wendy turned around and began to walk away, or she tried to anyway. It took her a full five minutes just to walk another hundred or so steps, because with every step she took, she couldn't help but look at the hospital behind her once more.
"Then again…I actually had a cause to fight for when I beat him up. I beat him up because he had made fun of breast cancer…this psycho 'principal' beat him up because Cartman didn't use a non-binary word ending! I'm not THAT bad!"
Wendy turned around and stared at the hospital for a good three minutes, after which she made up her mind and walked back towards the hospital. She only hoped Cartman would be asleep or something when she got there. If he heard any of what she was about to tell him, she knew he'd never let her hear the end of it.
Wendy walked through the front door of Hells Pass Hospital and approached the receptionist's desk. The receptionist looked up and took note of her presence.
"Can I help you with something?" the receptionist asked in a kind and sweet voice.
"Um…yes I'm here to visit someone."
"Alrighty then! And who would that be?"
"Eric Theodore Cartman."
The receptionist typed the name on the computer in front of her and found his treatment records.
"Ah yes, here he is! Eric Theodore Cartman. He's up in room 201 on the second floor. I'll let them know you're coming."
Wendy thanked the receptionist and proceeded towards the nearby elevator. Normally she'd take the stairs, but she felt like she should do it for Cartman for some weird reason. She arrived on the second floor and proceeded to locate room 201. A doctor was standing outside the door when she arrived.
"Are you the visitor?"
"Um…I guess so."
"He's asleep right now, so try not to wake him. The poor thing needs all the rest he can get right now after what happened to him."
"Thank you."
The doctor opened the door for her and she stepped inside, prompting the doctor to immediately close the door slowly and quietly.
"Well…I guess there's no turning back now." She thought to herself as she was considering if she would regret this.
She slowly walked up to the hospital bed where Cartman lay. Cartman had long since fallen asleep and she hoped she wouldn't wake him up.
Wendy inched a little closer to him and began talking quietly.
"Hey Cartman…it's me…Wendy." Cartman didn't twitch in his sleep and so Wendy took it as a sign to continue.
"I know, I know…go ahead and mock me. I, Wendy Testburger, am actually sympathizing with you. But I just came here to tell you that…I'm impressed."
Still no response, so Wendy kept going.
"At first when PC principal showed up, I thought that we could all use some kind of morality change. And for a while…I kind of agreed with his general ideals. After all, you know me…I'm the activist hippie and whatnot, heh heh."
"Then I heard about what you were going to do to get rid of him. But if it really involved Butters' underwear...then I probably wouldn't want to hear that detail. It sounded…weird, to say the least."
"At first, I shrugged this off. I didn't know how much of an impact you could possibly have, and as it turns out, it didn't have any. It just landed you here in the hospital. At first, I was glad that your plan didn't work. You know us, always at each other's throats and all, so I kind of thought of this as a mini victory for myself. But then I saw what PC principal did to you…and it kind of…shook me a little in some way."
"No, I didn't go home and cry about it or anything, please this is the two of us were talking about. But it did help me realize something. You want to know what that something is Cartman?"
Still no response was given from the sleeping brown-haired boy.
"That something is the fact that you…help me in some way. Seeing you get beat up by this guy reminded me of the time I beat you up for making fun of breast cancer that one time. And as hypocritical as it may sound, I actually feel…."
Wendy gulped as she began to painfully swallow her pride in one huge lump.
"I actually feel…sorry for you. This asshole had no real logical reason to beat you up. He acted on extreme impulse if you ask me. Our fight on the other hand, actually had a logical origin. This one…didn't."
"What I'm trying to say is..."
Wendy gulped down an even bigger lump as she was sure she might regret what she was about to say.
"What I'm trying to say is…that…I want to thank you Cartman. I know, I know, it seems like I've lost touch with myself but the thing is…I think I owe you in some way."
"As bitter as our rivalry is, by the end of the day I typically come out on top. But you know what? I didn't do it alone. You actually…helped me. Seeing you get hurt this badly reminds me that when I win, I don't just win...I accomplish. You give me the motivation to keep going. Your constant attempts at trying to ruin me only make me stronger. It motivates me to keep going. Because even if one day you finally come out on top and my reputation is ruined…I'll still be happy, knowing that I didn't go down without a fight. And while you may not have been beaten up as bad as when I did it, the impact is much, much stronger.
"Seeing you get assaulted by the principal like that…makes me realize that if it wasn't for you, I may not be as strong. I don't like to go down without a fight and you…you give me that fight. And I want to thank you for that. Thank you Cartman."
Without giving a second thought, Wendy slowly leaned in and kissed Cartman on the cheek, telling him to get well soon. She took a few steps back and, much to her surprise, didn't regret anything.
The moment was suddenly interrupted by the door opening, startling her enough to almost shriek. She quickly cupped her mouth so as not to wake Cartman up. She turned around and saw that Butters had entered the room, looking quite confused.
"Wendy? You're visiting Eric?"
Wendy wasn't quite sure how to respond.
"Yes Butters, I was." She ultimately decided to give in. "You didn't…hear anything I said did you?"
"No."
Wendy breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't tell anybody I was here, alright? Especially not Stan OK?"
"Well uh…O…OK."
"Thanks Butters. I'll see you tomorrow."
Wendy felt the need to rush out of there. She had done what she had come to do and it was over now. She wanted to get out of there, especially now that she had been caught. She was positive she could trust Butters, after all Cartman always preyed upon Butters' loyalty all the time, but she still felt uncomfortable now that somebody found her visiting the one person she hated more than anything.
She wanted to get out of there as fast as she could…but she didn't. She slowly walked out of the room and when she got to the door, she couldn't help but smile back at the sleeping boy. And as she looked at him one last time, she noticed that the crest of a smile was beginning to form on Cartman's lips.
A/N: Awww…that was so precious. :)
So did you like it too? Please leave me a review with your feedback! I really hope you enjoyed it! :)