A/N: OH MY GOD, YOU GUYS! I'M BAAAACK! With a brand-new story! This was actually supposed to be done around October but, you know, life and change and stuff happened. But now that things have settled down a little bit, I'm ready to get back to writing fics! By the way, this story contains flashbacks indicated by bold text. Enjoy!


It was early afternoon at South Park elementary. All the fourth grade students were seated at the front of the school's auditorium and chatted with each other as Mr. Mackey came to the front of the stage.

"M'kay, kids," Mr. Mackey drawled. The kids conversations became softer and soon quieted completely. "Now we've got less than three weeks before opening night," Mr. Mackey held up three fingers and continued, "so let's make sure we're all giving our best in rehearsals, m'kay?"

"Yes, Mr. Mackey," the kids all said in unison.

"M'kay," Mr. Mackey responded, "let's have our Seymour, Audrey, Audrey II and Orin for 'Feed Me', m'kay?"

As he called the characters' names their actors rose one by one: Butters, Cierra, Token and Stan all headed for the stage. As he walked down the aisle, Stan held his right eye with his hand but a small bit of bruised skin still showed as he passed by Cartman.

"Heh, nice shiner, dude," Cartman snickered.

Stan shot a glare in his direction and quickly flipped him off.

Cartman was taken aback by this but continued smirking at him.

As the song's recording began, Stan joined Cierra backstage while Butters began his part of the song. They both waited in the shadows for their cues. Cierra peaked through the curtains and Stan leaned against the nearby wall. Stan let his hand fall from his eye and felt it throb slightly as he did. He hissed softly in pain and Cierra turned towards him worriedly.

"Stan...are you okay?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," Stan whispered absentmindedly, "Why?"

"Umm…." she said hesitantly, "...your eye?"

Stan's eyes went slightly wide and he hid his bad eye once more. "What about it?" he said trying to play dumb.

Cierra raised an eyebrow and said in a soft, dry tone, "Well, you're either testing out a shade of eyeshadow that's seriously not working for you, or you're the not-so-proud owner of a fresh black eye."

"Oh, ha-ha," Stan whispered sarcastically as he removed his hand from his eye.

"What happened?" she asked with concern.

"Nothing," said Stan, "I just….had an accident."

"With a shiner that dark?" said Cierra, "Looks like someone showed you the business end of their fist."

Stan was taken by surprise and Cierra's statement and asked defensively, "And...how would you know?"

"My dad's a doctor, remember?" Cierra said dryly with half-lidded eyes.

"...But it's true, innit?" Token said from the stage.

"Hey," Stan whispered, "our cue's coming up."

"No!" said Butters, "I don't know anyone who deserves to get chopped up and fed to a hungry plant!"

Stan silently counted to three as Token responded.

"Mmmm, sure you do…"

"Stupid woman!" Stan cried off-stage, "Christ, what a freakin' scatterbrain!"

"I'm sorry, doctor!" said Cierra in a worried tone, responding to Stan's Orin "I'm sorry doctor!

Stan gently pushed Cierra on stage and continued, "Now get the hell in there and pick up your Goddamn sweater, you dizzy cow!"

"Yes, doctor!" Cierra nodded profusely, "Right away, doctor!" Cierra ran out to Butters and Token and picked up a white sweater on Token's desk. "Hi Seymour," she said quickly, "I left my sweater here before-"

Stan rolled his eyes at "Audrey" as he came out on stage. "Come on!" Cierra recoiled from his delivery. "Move it, you little slut!"

Cierra ran back over to him as he continued, "How do you like that stupid dame?" he asked as they slowly headed off stage. "Forgets a freakin' sweater." He sharply turned back towards her. "Christ, if your stupid head weren't screwed on-!"

At this, Stan lifted a hand and reared back preparing to slap Cierra. However, he hesitated and the recorded sound of a slap played without an impact.

"Ugh!" Mr. Mackey groaned. "Cut!" he cried in frustration, "Cut, cut, cut!"

"Again?!" a random voice in the theater groaned.

"Oh, God…." Stan groaned under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose as he saw Mr. Mackey pick up his microphone.

"Stan…." Mr. Mackey began, "...we've talked about this."

"I know, I know, Mr. Mackey," said Stan guiltily, "I….I-I missed the cue again."

"Stan, we're opening in less than three weeks," said Mr. Mackey, "m'kay? And this is still something you haven't been able to get over. In the script," Mr. Mackey pulled out his copy of the script and turned to the relevant scene, "...it says, 'Orin slaps Audrey.' This is a crucial moment in the play…."

"I know….." said Stan.

"It is a crucial moment in the play," Mr. Mackey repeated, "m'kay? And the motivation for Seymour to murder you!"

"I know! I know!" Stan put his hands up defensively, "I-I'm sorry!"

"Don't be sorry, Stan," Mr. Mackey said irritatedly, "just man up and slap your co-star!"

Stan looked away dejectedly and said nothing. Unseen by Stan, Cierra gave him another concerned look….


South Park elementary's school bell rang through its halls and the children collected their belongings from their lockers.

"Well, well, well," said Cartman. "What a surprise," he added sarcastically. "Stan choked in the clutch again."

"Up yours, Cartman," Stan said flatly.

"Heh," Cartman scoffed slamming his locker shut. "Why am I your understudy again? I gave a way better audition than you."

"Since you didn't get the part, I guess Mr. Mackey didn't think so," Kyle said snidely.

"Oh, give me a break 'Mr. Mushnik'," Cartman said sharply, "The only reason you got your part's 'cause you're Jewish!"

"What's that got to do with it?" Kyle asked angrily.

"Um, the character's name, design, mannerisms, his greed being the reason he gets eaten?" Cartman counted each reason on his fingers, "He's got 'Jew' written all over him!"

Kyle rolled his eyes at Cartman's bigotry and groaned softly.

"And you know Kyle's mom would have Mackey's balls if a non-Jew played the only Jewish character."

"Dude…." Kyle growled. Before he could respond, however, Cartman noticed Wendy near the school's bulletin board. He raised his eyebrow as he noticed her placing a large poster with a lavender ribbon on it onto the board.

"Hang on a sec," he held a hand up to Kyle and the others as he approached Wendy. "Trying another titty cancer awareness campaign, Wendy?"

Wendy turned towards him angrily. "For your information, Cartman, lavender ribbons aren't for breast cancer. They're for Domestic Abuse awareness!"

"Oh, Jesus!" Cartman groaned, "This again? Didn't we already have a bullshit assembly on this?"

"Domestic abuse is a very serious issue!" Wendy insisted. "It affects millions of people everyday-!"

"Neh, neh, neh, neh!" Cartman said mockingly, "so a bunch of whiny, pussy-ass girls are getting smacked around. Who cares?"

"Domestic abuse can happen to anyone, Cartman! Not just women!"

At this statement, Stan became uneasy and more aware of his black eye. He shifted his feet nervously.

"Oh, please!" Cartman said rolling his eyes. "A guy wouldn't be stupid enough to let a girl beat him up!"

"Abuse doesn't have to be physical either!" Wendy pointed a finger at him. "And it's that kind of victim-blaming that allows domestic abuse to be such a widespread problem!"

"Hey, all I'm saying," Cartman gestured to himself, "is that if these assholes are dumb enough to be around people who beat on them, maybe they deserve it."

"Ugh!" Wendy exclaimed in disgust and continued hanging the poster.

As she walked away, Cartman surveyed in disinterestedly.

"What a waste of space," he muttered.

"I still can't believe I got the lead," said Butters as the children approached Cartman.

"You were great Butters," said Cierra, "you totally deserved it."

"Well….I still think you gave the best audition," said Butters.

"Oh, well, heh…." Cierra said bashfully as she held her backpack straps, "I don't know about that."

"Oh, sure! Why wouldn't my cousin land the lead role?" Cartman said loudly without facing the group. "She's just like Audrey: blond, useless and unreliable. It's perfect casting!" he added bitterly.

Cierra hung her head at this comment and tightened the grip on her straps. Unseen by her, everyone cast a concern look in her direction.

"Dude!" Kyle cried towards Cartman, "the fuck is your problem?"

"What? I'm just stating a fact," Cartman said without looking towards anyone. "Audrey's useless and unreliable; someone you can't count on," he put a harsh emphasis on the last words and Cierra cringed each time. He turned to glance sideways at them and added bitterly, "Right?"

"Eric!" Cierra pleaded, "I already said I was sorry! Ten times! Please!"

Cartman turned away again and walked off, not even acknowledging his cousin.

"Jesus, what's his problem?" Kyle muttered.

Cierra sighed sadly as Butters came beside her. "Is everything ok, Cierra?"

"No…." Cierra said tearfully. "Eric's still mad at me."

"Mad at you?" Kyle's expression went from frustration to concern.

Cierra looked towards Kyle. "It's 'cause of that contest we entered," she said.

"The one you made that dress for?" asked Stan.

"Yeah," said Cierra, "I promised I would help Cartman with his entry…" she looked away as she continued, "...but I got so caught up with my entry, I didn't help him with his."

"Oh, Christ! Really?" asked Kyle annoyedly.

"He won't talk to me, either," said Cierra. "He hasn't looked me in the eye in over two weeks." Her voice began breaking at her words. Kyle noticed this and immediately moved past Stan and Kenny to face her.

"Cierra, don't worry about him," he gently insisted."Cartman's just being a spoiled, little bitch.."

"Yeah, Cierra," Butters agreed. "Eric hasn't talked to me in weeks either. And I actually walked out on him."

"At least you helped him!" Cierra cried frustratedly, "I totally left him hanging when he needed me." She added guiltily as she left the boys looking sadly at the ground.

"Cierra, c-come on…." Kyle reached out to her as she walked away but she didn't respond to him.

"You know what's funny, though?" said Butters. "I don't remember Cierra promising Eric any help."

"She probably didn't," said Kyle. "Cartman's just bitter Cierra decided not to be his lackey this time. Acting like she's the one being an asshole." He folded his arms frustratedly. "I just don't get why she let's him push her around like that."

"What do you mean 'let's him'?" asked Stan.

"Come on, Stan," said Kyle, "After the whole 'chicken fat' incident, and what you've told me about how she spends her Tuesdays, we know what Cierra's capable of." Stan looked after Cierra as she turned a corner and glazed away from Kyle as he continued. "She doesn't have to put up with Cartman's bullshit, so why doesn't she just clock him, say 'screw you!' and be done with it?"

Stan grimaced at Kyle's words and said flatly. "It….it's not that simple." He became aware of the throbbing pain on his eye and brought his hand up to cradle it again. "It's never that simple."

Kyle grew a concerned look on his face and asked. "Dude….is everything okay?"

Stan halfheartedly nodded and left the others still holding his eye…


It was a dreary day at South Park Elementary. Large, gray puffy clouds outside loomed near the windows of the school's gymnasium. The walls and windows all had lavender ribbons and streamers decorating them and all the students from kindergarten to fifth grade were seated in the bleachers and chatting to each other. Higher in the bleachers, sat Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman, who looked extremely bored as he held his jaw in his hand.

"Alright, students. Let's settle down, m'kay?" Mr. Mackey drawled into a microphone. As the students quieted down, he addressed them again. "M'kay. Now, can anybody tell me something important about the month of October?"

A third grader raised his hand and Mr. Mackey pointed to him.

"Yes, Dougie?" drawled Mr. Mackey.

"Halloween?" he said with a nasally voice.

"No, no," Mr. Mackey waved a disproving hand. "Something important."

Another student raised her hand.

"Yes?" Mr. Mackey pointed to her.

"Columbus Day?" she asked.

Mr. Mackey paused for a moment and answered with, "Um...well, yes, but...no. See, students, this month, October is important because it's Domestic Abuse Awareness Month."

Cartman let out an audible yawn that echoed through the auditorium from the top of the bleachers.

"Who cares?" he groaned throwing up his arms.

"M'kay, that's enough, Eric. This is a serious issue, m'kay?"

Cartman rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he muttered.

Mr. Mackey briefly glared at Cartman but quickly returned to his subject. "M'kay. Now, October is officially Domestic Abuse Awareness month and I wanted to make everyone aware, m'kay, because domestic abuse...uh, domestic abuse is bad, m'kay? And if you're a domestic abuser...that-that's bad."

Cartman sighed again with exasperation.

"Come on," he whispered to Stan who was sitting nearby. "I'm not the only one totally fucking bored already, am I?"

"Whatever, dude," Stan whispered back.

"The less you complain," said Kyle, who was sitting next to Stan, "the faster we can get outta here."

"Augh!" he muttered again.

"Shh!" said a random student.

"What?!" Cartman spat.

"M'kay, Eric Cartman!" said Mr. Mackey, "That's enough! M'kay?!"

"Whatever," Cartman muttered softly.

"M'kay," Mr. Mackey continued, still irritated but trying to focus. "Something a lot of people assume when you bring up the word 'abuse' is physical violence, m'kay?" he explained. "There's a misconception that in order to be abuse, extreme physical violence needs to be taking place, m'kay? But...t-this is not true," Mr. Mackey continued, "M'kay? Abuse can take many forms and occur in many types of relationships. The most publicized, m'kay, are examples involving a man abusing a woman in a romantic relationship. But abuse can happen between friends, siblings, either parent with a child and even extended family members, m'kay?"

A few students shifted in their seats and looked away nervously and as Mr. Mackey listed these examples. Among them, was Stan Marsh trying to simultaneously listen and look disinterested.

"A big obstacle to combating domestic violence," Mr. Mackey continued, "are these misconceptions, along with many victims, m'kay, not realizing they're being abused. M'kay, but it's important to be aware, m'kay, that abusive relationships develop over time. And that a healthy relationship can very well become abusive."

Unseen by Stan or the other boys, another student was also trying to listen inconspicuously. A few rows below the boys, sat Butters and Cierra. Butters had preoccupied himself with his smart phone. He hid it behind his hand so he and Cierra could watch pony videos unnoticed but Cierra seemed only half-heartedly interested in the phone...


A/N: And that's the end of chapter one! Leave a review and let me know what you think. Hope you guys like this one. I've been looking forward to writing it and it explores a relationship dynamic we haven't seen yet, so...yeah. Chapter two will be out soon. Until then, see you later!