Oh, you know... this story is just an excuse to write more Kenrietta fluff...
Disclaimer: I don't own South Park; it rightfully belongs to Trey&Matt!
Conformist Holiday
The Goths kept close together as they journeyed down the halls of South Park Elementary. All they had to was avoid the chaos and they'd be home free! Lockers and walls were covered in over-the-top hearts of mushy-gushy red, pink and white with glitter. Little paper Cupids and arrows hung from the ceiling. Nearby students were squealing, hugging, and smooching to their hearts' content.
Craig had baked cupcakes for Tweek. Clyde was in the midst of distracting Token from Nichole, but it was sure to fail. Cartman was stalking Patty Nelson. Christophe brought a wagon full of Harlequin romance novels for Rebecca Cotswolds, much to her older brother's disgust. David Rodriguez and Heidi Turner sat in front of their lockers, chewing at the opposite ends of a churro, staring into each other's eyes so lovingly that it made Stan puke his breakfast on Wendy.
Michael, the eldest of the Goth Kids, gave a solemn sigh.
"Would anyone else prefer to skip the rest of the day and watch a marathon of The Crow: Stairway to Heaven?" he asked.
Pete and Firkle shot up their hands without question, shouting "me!" in unison.
"Fantastic," said the tall Goth. "Henrietta? You coming?"
The girl was in a daze, staring off into space. She snapped out of it when she felt Pete nudge her shoulder.
"Huh? Oh! Yes," she clarified. She poked a hand into her bag, fished out the key to her house, and dropped it in her oldest friend's palm. "Here. Go on ahead of me. I've got some unfinished business that needs to be taken care of. That, and I need to see if Karen can join us later. My Roku's set up in the living room, and you can just get into my Netflix account from there."
The boys exchanged puzzled looks, but didn't bother to question her with their nosiness.
Michael practically smirked at her generosity. "Thanks, Henrietta."
"You're the best!" said Pete.
"We'll make sure to pick up a box of those extra, extra dark chocolates at J-Mart for you," added Firkle.
Henrietta nodded. "I'd appreciate that. See you then."
Her friends waved goodbye and were out of sight within seconds. With a breath of relief, Henrietta strolled around the corner. She stopped momentarily. At the edge of the hall she saw an infamous orange parka and happy smile which belonged to the one and only Kenny McCormick. And he appeared to be waiting for her near his locker with his little sister, Karen. Heart leaping in her chest, the girl kicked her feet mentally into gear.
One sight of her mentor and the little girl burst with excitement.
"Henrietta!" she squealed. She instantly rushed up to visit her halfway. "Hi!"
"Hey, Kare," Henrietta greeted. She ruffled the brunette's wavy pigtails. "I'm here to meet with your brother. I suppose he told you, too?"
Karen beamed. "Yep!"
She then was on her tiptoes and looked around for the other members of the group.
"Where are the others?"
"They left for the rest of the day," said Henrietta. "We're going to watch a Crow marathon. Would you like to join us after school?"
Karen looked as though she had flown over the moon. "I… I'd love to! Can Kenny come, too?!"
Henrietta gave a halfhearted shrug. "I guess. After all, your brother is pretty Goth…"
The boy in the orange parka blushed with modesty.
"Aww, thanks!" he said. "I'm glad you could come! I… I know you're not one to celebrate Valentine's Day, but I couldn't help but get you something…"
Henrietta's mouth dropped in astonishment. "You what? No… oh, no, no, no…"
Before she could protest any further, Kenny threw half of his body into his locker. He was out in an instant with an armful of gifts a moment later. Henrietta's eyes became the size of saucers as Kenny handed them to her, one by one. There she received a small box of dark chocolates, a one-of-a-kind Gothic spiral notebook for new poems to be written in, and to top it all off—a lavender rose.
"Oh, here," said Kenny, taking the rose back, "allow me, if you please."
Very carefully, he broke the flower from its thorny stem. Henrietta watched in awe as Kenny came forward—a little too close for her well being—and placed the lovely rose just behind her left ear. When he was finished, he stepped back and admired the beauty of it all with a sigh of satisfaction. Karen covered her mouth with both hands to lower her squealing volume.
Henrietta stood rooted to the spot. Emotions dashed throughout her body. The gushy, mushy—wholesome kind. Light, airy… like she could dance on clouds…
No one had ever made her feel this way before… no one.
"I… I got my job back at the City Wok restaurant," Kenny explained slowly, bashfully even. "Since you got me something for Christmas, I wanted to return the favor. As you know, you and your friends abhor Valentine's Day, but… I… just wanted to do something nice for you. I… I like you a whole lot, Henrietta. You're cool, smart, and sassy as all get out… you're interesting, amazing…" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I understand that it's not very Goth of me to say these words, but…"
His words were suddenly at a loss when he felt two hands cup his cheeks and caress them lovingly. Henrietta was staring deeply into his eyes with the softest grin.
"You went ahead and worked your ass off just for me?" she purred.
Cue the giant cartoony heart eyes on Kenny's part.
He gulped.
"Yeah," he admitted with a tiny blush. "Yeah, I did. And I'd do it again, too."
Henrietta's smile broadened. She playfully tugged the strings at Kenny's hood.
"I suppose that I could possibly smother you in some corny conformist love for a while," she suggested. "Would you like that?"
Kenny shuddered.
Little did they know that Karen was still with them, witnessing the whole scene. Not wanting to ruin their crowning moment, she slipped away with a precious drawing in hand, hoping to sneak it in Kyle Broflovski's locker before he returned from lunch.
Pete, Michael, and Firkle all made themselves at home. They were relaxing in the living room with bowls of snacks and ash trays, watching the latest episode of The Crow when a familiar trio of children burst through the front door.
"Hi, guys!" Karen cried. She hopped into an empty seat on the couch between Pete and Michael before reaching for a handful of pretzels.
A proud Henrietta walked into the room, complete with a wrinkled rose in her unkempt hair. She plopped into the loveseat and Kenny followed suit. There were a dozen stains of lilac lipstick across his face.
Michael stared unenthusiastically at the happy couple.
No doubt about it that Henrietta Biggle was screeching to Angel Satan on the inside.
