Butters knew it was stupid to love Eric Cartman. He knew Eric was not the type of person who would ever love. Still, the little blond's heart swooned for the fat boy. His heart skipped a beat at the thought of him. That was his dark secret. That was the thing he kept caged up in his mind, away from the light. It was always hidden away from others to see.

There were two reasons no one could find out. The first one was obvious; Eric would never approve of it. The second reason was his parents. As far as they knew, the little blond was straight. They wanted him to like girls. If he didn't, he would not only be grounded but thrown into a worse punishment to rid him of such unholy thoughts. It was frightening just thinking about it.

"Butters!" Eric hollered, taking him out of his trance. As always, Butters obeyed. He always came for Eric, in more ways than one. The blond settled next to the fat boy, shifting his weight from one foot to another.

"Y-yeah, Eric?" Butters questioned, his usual grin plastered on his face.

"I've got the greatest idea ever, and you get to be a part of it!" Full of excitement, the brunette latched an arm around Butters, pulling him too close for comfort. If only he realized how aroused the little blond was. Everything Eric did turned him on, and physical contact made it worse.

"R-really?! What is it, E-Eric?" Butters chirped, flushing beat red.

Butters tried his hardest to stop himself from burning scarlet, but to no avail. However, Eric didn't seem to notice. He went on and on about his genius plan. Locking his dry lips as he spoke, Eric sent shivers down Butters' spine. The love-sick boy honestly wasn't hearing a single word Eric spat. His entire mind was elsewhere in a fanatical world where he and Eric-

"Butters!" Eric snapped, pushing the smaller boy to the ground. "Haven't yew been listening to a single word I said?!"

I-I, uh…" The blond's cheeks were still pink, his blue eyes darting back and forth.

"I thought we were friends, yew stupid little faggot!"

"W-we are! My mind was j-just on…uh…o-other things…" Butters truthfully answered, trying his hardest to defend himself.

"Such as?"

"Uh, sc-school. And, um, h-homework…" It hurt Butters to lie, but it would hurt him more to tell the truth.

"Don't be such a Jew!" The brunette ordered, taking the bait.

Butters mentally sighed in relief.

"So, are ya' gonna listen this time?" Eric question in irritation. Damn, that boy made things difficult.

Quickly, the blond nodded hid head, lifting himself off the ground. He would listen to every precious word that escaped Eric's mouth.

Butters sat in his English class, filling out his daily journal. He was so glad how secretive his teacher was about his journals. He would always pour out his love-sick emotions into them, explaining in depth everything the overweight boy did to him. He even explained how his parents wouldn't approve of it. His teacher was always supportive of him. But today he had a substitute. Who knows what horrors would come today.

"So, who would like to share their journal entry today?" the substitute asked, looking down at his clipboard. "Leopold?"

"N-no thanks, " Butters mumbled, sinking into his desk.

"Nonsense, do share!"

"But I-I don't really-"

"Share!"

Swallowing hard, Butters picked up his paper, trembling in his seat. He decided he would replace a few words in his paper as he read aloud:

Romeo and Juliet is a great play, and I'm really enjoying it so far. It reminds me of my own story, one of which you know so well, teacher. I am Juliet Romeo, in love with my Romeo Juliet. But our paths cannot cross like I wish them to be. My parents forbid me from being with him her, no matter how my heart feels. The difference between my story and their story is that my prince princess doesn't love me the same way. His Her mom parents doesn't don't care if I am with him her or not. I do hope that Romeo and Juliet will live happily ever after, unlike myself. Someone needs to stay forevermore with their true love, and I know it won't be me.

Throwing his paper on his desk, Butters flushed a rose pink. It both shocked and scared him how much of an awe he left the class. Squeezing his eyes shut, he prepared for the worst.

"I didn't know Butters had a crush one someone," Bebe whispered to Wendy.

"Since when could he write like that?" Stan uttered to Kenny.

It seemed like everyone was at a daze, unsure how to respond.

"Bravo!" the substitute finally said. "Just beautiful, Leopold. Beautiful!"

Just smiling to himself, Butters softly said, "Thank you."

The rest of the class seemed to move smoothly. Everyone left him alone, and the substitute seemed to be honored by his presence, which kind of concerned the little blond. When the bell rang, Butters grabbed his things, ready to leave. He was stopped by the girls of his class, however. Each one of them had their eyes staring down upon him, not allowing him to leave the room. Had he done something wrong? Did they read into his words earlier and figure out his dark secret?

"So," Bebe began, smirking. "You have a crush on someone in this school."

"And it's a girl," Wendy added.

"Is it one of us in this room?" Nicohle questioned, batting her eyes.

Never in his life did he think that batting of the eyes would threaten him, frighten him. It was both bewildering and scary.

"N-no," Butters truthfully answered. "A-and no one will e-ever know."

Wendy just sighed, allowing Bebe to speak.

"We just think it's adorable and want to help true love find itself," Bebe explained, swooning at the thought of a happily ever after.

"Besides, we all thought you were gay," Red admitted, kicking the ground. "So we were all kinda shocked to hear that you…"

"I-Is it that obvious?!" Butters exclaimed without thinking, immediately clamping his mouth shut. Boy, was he in for it now. Why did he have to blurt out his biggest secret like that out of panic? Did he have no self-control?

The girls just stared at him, trying to process what had just happened. Butters…lied about being straight? Butters….Leopold "Butters" Stotch…lied. Well, that was a new one, considering how much Butters hated lying.

"So…your dad won't let you date boys?" Wendy concluded, finding it the only logical explanation.

"Y-yeah, I-I'll get grounded if I did. Plus I-I don't wanna repeat o-of going to that camp…" Staring at the ground, the little blond knocked his knuckles together. It felt good to finally tell someone the truth, yet it frightened him. Rumor could spread, and there would be a guarantee his parents would find out then. It was stressful just thinking about it. "Don't tell anyone, alright?"

"Just answer us this one question, and we'll leave you alone about the whole issue," Bebe said in a soft voice.

The blond boy just nodded.

"Is it someone in this class?"

Butters shook his head silently.

"Okay. That's all we wanted to know." Bebe gave the timid boy a big hug. "Class starts in 60 seconds."

As if like lighting, the girls were gone. Then it hit Butters: 60 seconds? He needed to get to class fast, or he'd be grounded for sure!