Pine Creek high school, the only high school anywhere near the small mountain town of South Park, has it's fair share of dropouts and skids. The graduation rate was certainly nothing to sneeze at. Unlike big city high schools, the humble establishment didn't have any on-location police officers to prevent crime or the spread of drugs. In fact, it was quite the place for American teenagers to run ramped with no consequences for four years. That was certainly the case for 18 year old Eric Cartman.

The stocky young man, with shaggy brunette hair and piercing green eyes, had recently begun the new semester along with his fellow grade 12 class. And really? He couldn't give two more shits. The American school system hadn't failed to drain yet another teen of any spark they might've been hanging onto before reaching adulthood. The grim future of 'working some dead end job until death' had been drilled into the kid since he'd entered the high school. Which was just fine, as the place had also catered it's students different methods of escapism, such as, a network of lame parties to get drunk at, relatively hot classmates to have unprotected sex with, and easy-to-find weed. 'What the hell am I going to do with my life after I'm out of this place?' This thought was what crept over Eric while on his commute to the school. Only to be interrupted by another, more urgent one.

'shit,' the boys hands rustled from their warm place in his jacket pockets to pat down all the other pockets on his outfit. 'Where'd I put them, goddammit…' jacket pockets, breast pocket, hoodie pocket, front of jeans, back of jeans- aha! He fished out the desired cigarette pack from the back pocket of his black jeans. Upon opening it however, Eric was reminded that only one cigarette remained in the paper box with a disgruntled sigh.

after placing the single dart between his lips, and carelessly discarding the box onto the street, he lit the stick with the bright pink lighter he'd kept in the breast pocket of his army green jacket. He would always keep it in the compartment closest to heart, it was a gift from his mother, after all. Eric inhaled the cigarette and held in the smoke in for a moment, savouring the ashy taste, and then exhaled slowly through parted lips.

The route Eric walked, took him through the designated smoking section in front of the high school. He could see it approaching and checked his phone for the time. '7:49 am. Why am I so early..?' He slowed his pace, and took another long drag. As he was exhaling, Eric stared absentmindedly at the cigarette. He could almost hear the echo of that girl's voice through his most recent memory attached to the burning object. The girls with a voice like wind chimes, both beautiful and steadily arrhythmic.

"I hope that's your last one, Cartman. Those… things are really bad for you, ya know?"

"So what? We're all going to die anyway."

"…You say that like you're looking forward to it." Eric distinctly remembered how a little crease would appear between her neatly kept eyebrows any time she'd get sentimental or sad. Though it was mostly hidden under her fringed bangs. He'd usually drop whatever topic it was before things got too elevated. But he purposely didn't on that day.

"I am."

Her frown deepened. She was upset with him. Eric assumed, it was because he wasn't acting like the boyfriend he was supposed to be. The moment that passed was deafeningly silent. It was composed of, her, trying to work up whatever courage she needed in order to retort the statement, and him, calmly strategizing his next move.

"I love you."

Her shaky little voice cuts through the silence. Eric raises an eyebrow in the way that would suggest that it's an interesting development. Perhaps she thought it would appeal to his reasons he should want to be alive, and therefore, convince him to quit smoking. Well this was sure to set her off then… Eric took a quick drag off the dart and blew a cloud right in her face.

"So?"

She coughed and sputtered. Shaking like a leaf, her frown quickly developed into a noisy sobbing. The girl wobbled as she arose from the bed and proceeded to run out of Eric's bedroom, and ultimately, the house. Damn, the plan didn't work. She didn't even slam the door.

Eric's intention was not to make her cry, but rather it was to make her angry. In the years they'd been dating, he'd never seen his girlfriend in a fit of rage. And his curiosity was getting the better of him. Finding what makes his fascinating girlfriend… 'Tic' has become like an obsession to Eric Cartman.

The image of her shimmering blue irises overflowing with tears. It was all he could picture when he closed his eyes.

"God I'm in love with you…"

"…Heidi Turner." Eric mumbled. He leaned on a fence that faced the school, and took his final pulls from his dart while his thoughts were occupied with those of Heidi. Despite the way he might mistreat his girlfriend from time to time, she still took absolute priority in Eric's life. He would certainly die for her if such a time would come. But Heidi? The fact that she still stuck around the boy said a lot itself, though her intentions could never be clear to Eric.

He blankly stared as the yellow school buses pull in front of the entrance. The students were dispersed from the vehicle in two categories: the ones excitedly chatting with their friends- Those were the freshmen, obviously. And secondly, everyone else. Either way, none of them would spare a second glance the his direction.

To anyone who knew Eric Cartman, he was a scumbag. A manipulative sociopath, and sometimes, a total spaz. Everyone he talked to either hated him, or needed something from him. That being the case, what did that say about Heidi, the only girl who chose to accompany him in his absurdist life? Did it make her crazier than him? Or did it simply make her the only person to find something- Anything desirable about the young man. Who even was she? The truth was, he has yet to thoroughly find out.

At the expense of his social life, Eric purposely, and effortlessly, angers everyone he really talks to. Not necessarily acquaintances, but rather, friends and family. It was the only way he could truly know and understand a person, look through them, and know whether they were actually worth his time. Eric took his last puff on the smoke, then flicked the spent butt onto the pavement without extinguishing it.

Heidi was different. She was the only exception because… She never got mad. Ever. She keeps a level head and responds to a situation with logic- or just becomes a mess of blubbering emotion, but never retorts with even the slightest hint of irritation or passive aggression. How? It makes him suspicious. Who the hell could be that… Nice? Was she acting a façade? Could she really be the only one immune to Eric's emotional manipulation?

Heidi Turner is nothing more than an average teenage girl to most people. She has a decent network of like-minded girl friends throughout the high school. Like most of the attendants of the school, she's lived in South Park all her life. If you ask anyone about Heidi, they'd say she's a nice, soft spoken girl with good academic potential. They might say she's pretty, not insanely gorgeous, but defiantly nice to look at.

Eric might have agreed with them if it were years ago, when he'd just started dating her. However, the longer he spent with her, trying to figure her out, talking and spending time with her- trying to unravel her- the more infatuating she became. With every soft giggle, squeeze on his hand, and fingers run down his back, the more he fell for her. Every little thing about her could occupy his mind for weeks. From her soft pink lips, the smell of vanilla strawberry shampoo in her light brown waves, to the soft dip in her waist when she lie on her side. It drove Eric crazy. That was the problem. As easy as she might be to manipulate- to an extent, of course, Heidi seemed to have sunk her claws into the boy much deeper that he'd done in her.

The school bell blared throughout the courtyard, signalling that first period will begin soon. It effectively halted Eric's train of thought. 'Tch, whatever. She's probably not talking to be for at least another couple days.' He mentally speculated, then checked the time again. '7:56… I should probably go get my locker shit.' He started the slow saunter towards the school entrance. Until- 'Oh shit.'

There she was. The angel herself, Heidi Turner. Just as Eric's thoughts on the girl were about to turn stale. There she was, briskly gliding her slender form through the crowd of adolescents towards his general direction. It was as if she'd wanted to keep herself at the front and centre of his mind at all times without even trying.

The cold autumn air that previously nipped at Eric's nose and ears seemed to cease it's existence, and warmth enveloped. His heart hammered in his chest and his legs slowed to a stop seemingly on their own. A part of Eric wanted to just stop and stare at the girl, but there was a little sense left in there. 'God dammit get a hold of yourself! It's just Heidi.' Just Heidi huh? Yeah right, it could never be just Heidi.

Eric's throat went completely dry and barren of words when he realized Heidi was approaching him. Of all people, who could more undeserving? No. This was his own girlfriend. Sure, he might be mean or cruel from time to time, but she still loved him right? That must have amounted to some truth because when her blue crystals met his green emeralds, she actually looked happy to see him. Eric was tempted to point at himself and mouth the word 'me?!' Or look behind himself to see if one of Heidi's friends were behind him and he was merely in the way of the actual happy encounter. That was, until she chimed.

"Eric!" Her voice shot him like an arrow right to his heart. Said boy had no idea why Heidi would be happy to see him, but one thing was definite, she had captured his entire focus and attention. She skipped closer until they were face to face. Eric kicked himself for forgetting to use his words. He hoped she didn't notice the blood rush to his cheeks when he finally spat out a response.

"Heidi! Erm- What's… What's up." He quickly corrected his voice to a flat, nonchalant monotone, in order to give off an 'I couldn't care less about you,' impression. Though it faltered when the girl wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him in for a tight hug. Eric's face was pressed into the crook of her neck, and it smelt amazing. He really wanted to hug her back. Embrace her tight and live in her soft fragrant chest forever. Instead, he settled for simply placing his hands on her hips.

"I've been thinking about you a lot, since, you know." Heidi's words melted like audible butter in the boy's ears. Her arms loosened and slid down to where she could place her hands on his shoulders. To his own dismay, Eric forced himself to take a small step back. Though his intention with that was to carry the conversation, all he could do was just stare at her, unable to form words yet. The fact that he was close enough to smell her strawberry lip gloss would probably explain why.

"I realized that… I haven't been there for you like I should've been. I know you're going through a hard time in your life and… you're right to be upset with me." Her hands lowered a tad and were now placed on his chest. The expression on her face read: concerned, sad, and longing. The crease between her eyebrows had formed, as little as it was, he noticed. One half of Eric worked to calculate how he should respond to this… display. 'What the hell is she trying to do?' He started his mental speculation.

There was another side of him though. The one that wasn't cold and calculating. This other half of him desperately wanted to console and comfort his lover. Tell her nothing was her fault, and that nothing could ever be her fault, because the truth was, it was all his own stupid ass's fault. That part of Eric just wanted to love this girl for who she was, the most kind, beautiful person he'd ever been so lucky to meet. Though, it was the half of himself that he kept in check, never letting it show. It was in danger of surfacing the longer their eyes were locked. He could feel his composure slipping when their faces were as close as they were.

'Think, asshole! You gotta say something! Or… do I?' For a moment, Eric weighed his options internally. Finally, he came up with a solution that would satisfy both trains of thought. He met Heidi's gaze once again and drifted his hands up from her hips to the back of her neck, underneath her hair. Eric softly tangled his fingers into her brown strands, lowered his eyelids, and leaned in real close. Once he saw Heidi flutter her eyes shut and closed the distance between their mouths, he knew she'd accepted the kiss as an adequate response to her pouring her heart out. Genius. She could also take it as an I'm sorry for being a douche if she wanted, Eric noted.

At first, Eric tried to keep his cool, stay in control of the situation. But the kiss was lasting a lot longer than he had originally planned. His resolve was wearing down. Fast. He really tried to ignore his heart hammering in his chest, and hoped to god it wasn't audible. Their warm lips, which danced upon each other less rhythmic and more desperate, were now both coated in lip gloss and a little saliva. She tasted so good. His head was spinning. Warm feelings of absolute love and desire for this human being bubbled in his chest.

Abruptly, Eric's logical thought process came rushing back to his head almost like a cold slap in the face. His eyes shot open, and he was thrown into an internal debate on how to appear in control of the situation. 'Aha! I know…' Eric raised his right hand up to Heidi's chin and gently gripped it. He ended the kiss, but held her face to face with him. Their vibrant eyes bore into each other's. With them being the same height, it was easy for one to dominate the other on a moment's notice.

"We can talk later, 'kay babe? I gotta get to class." Eric spoke low and husky, Heidi's face still in his grip. Before she could respond, Eric planted another quick kiss on her lips, and detached himself from her. Heidi only followed the boy with her gaze as Eric returned to sauntering towards the school.