"Though we die, La Resistance lives on!"
As Gregory of Yardale led the group through the end of the song, Butters walked behind him, holding the La Resistance flag up high… that is, he held it high until he tripped, falling face first on the ground.
The older blonde frowned at his clumsiness; he would have to be careful to keep this one away from the battle field if possible, if they were indeed caught.
The other kids gave the clumsy boy scathing looks, some snickering at him openly. Gregory rolled his eyes and got down off the soapbox, he may be arrogant at times, but he wasn't a complete dick.
He approached the blonde, offering a hand to help him up; which the fallen boy accepted gratefully. After he was standing, he started mashing his knuckles together. "Gee whiz, thanks for helping me there, Gregory. I'm awful sorry I dropped the flag though-"
Gregory smirked slightly, waving the words away. "Think nothing of it, my good fellow. Do try to watch your steps more carefully in the future though."
He had said it casually enough, but the leader in him gave authority to his words, and Butters nodded determinedly, giving a tiny salute. "Yes sir!"
Gregory arched a brow, fully having expected a smart ass reply, but the smaller blonde didn't even seem to be remotely sarcastic. "What's your name?"
"Well, everyone around here calls me Butters."
"Butters? You mean like the condiment?"
"Well, sure!"
What an odd name for a boy. Inwardly shrugging, he turned his attention towards Butters again; giving him what he hoped was a warm smile. "Well, we are glad to have you assisting La Resistance, Butters."
Butters smiled shyly, and Gregory turned his attention towards Stan and his group, going to discuss in greater depth their part in the plan.
Around ten pm, almost everyone had cleared out, not wanting to be caught out of bed by their parents. Gregory was in the process of packing away his props, when he noticed that the boy he had spoken to earlier… Butters, he recalled, was still there, looking decidedly uncomfortable.
"Butters?" Said blonde jumped slightly, startled.
"Oh, hey there, Gregory! Gosh, I'm not in the way or nothing, am I?"
"Of course not. But shouldn't you be getting home? Your parents will notice you are missing if you stay too long, surely."
"Well, I had started heading home, but when I got real close, I heard mom and dad talking in their bedroom. Looks like I'll have to wait a bit longer til I can go home, or else they'll hear me, and- well, they might lock me out again."
"I beg your pardon?"
"It's nothing, really. Last weekend Eric wanted me to help him prank Kyle real late at night, and when my mom and dad found out I'd snuck out, well they locked me out and wouldn't open up until morning. And then I was grounded for a week too…"
Gregory gave Butters an incredulous look, surprised. The grounding was acceptable punishment, he supposed, but leaving the child out in the cold all night? That seemed rather excessive.
"It's no big deal though. I suppose this is important enough to get grounded over, boy howdy, but I'm not quite sure I want my wiener cut off…"
What? Ah yes, that line you sang earlier… He had to suppress a smile, lest he be misinterpreted as mocking the other.
"You won't really get your wiener cut off, Butters."
"Well, how about burned to death?"
"No."
"Skinned alive?"
"I doubt it."
"But I thought you said-"
"What I said was meant to motivate the others, and tell them their actions would have repercussions. It was not meant to be entirely literal."
"Oh… so you've never seen any of that done to rebel kids before?"
Gregory raised a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "No. I dare say that the worst I've ever seen happen to a child was the one that was gunned down a few years ago. At least it was a clean shot to the head. The poor girl."
"Sh- shot in the head?"
"Indeed. The only other I recall was torn apart by guard dogs. But he was mistaken for a little person rather then a child; otherwise the repercussions of willfully murdering a minor would have been forced upon the owner. I do suppose that is better then having your dick sliced into pieces though, wouldn't you agree?"
He met Butters eyes, which had widened considerably as Gregory had gone on. Backing away from him slowly, he tore open the door and ran into the night, screaming rather girlishly.
Gregory watched him go incredulously, wondering why he'd felt the need to leave all of a sudden. "Perhaps it was something I said?"
The End