I'm so sorry for the late update! I got stuck writing another story and it was hard for me to focus on both. But now it's finished and I'm ready to continue this! Please review any suggestions or corrections. But please, no harsh criticism. Thanks! Enjoy!

Chapter 2

Eric stood up from his sleeping bag and began to sneak across his sleeping friends. He wasn't sure why he could hear that voice from all the way downstairs, but he wanted to find out what it was. He knew that there was no way it was his imagination, and it was worth investigating.

The boy quietly hurried up the stairs and opened his basement door. The house was completely black inside, but Eric refused to turn on the lights, just so he wouldn't risk waking anybody up. Not that he cared if his friends got their sleep, but he didn't want anybody to know what he was up to until he found out what it was, he heard outside. Or who, for that matter.

Eric went for the front door and unlocked it. Then he quietly opened the door and creeped out to the front yard. He could hear that sound of crickets singing, and police sirens going off somewhere in the town. The boy looked in all directions to see if he could find the person who have spoked to him just minutes earlier. "Hello?" he whispered, as he took a step toward the garage.

Nobody answered, so Eric went to the left side of his house, where it was even darker than the front door. So far, he couldn't see or hear any voices. Perhaps it was all in his head. That thought agitated the boy and got him groaning. He then turned back around and started back for the front door.

"Over here," a voice said.

Eric shot his head back behind him, knowing he had heard it again. He walked into the direction of his mom's car, and saw a small figure pop out from behind it. The boy stood there and gave a content look, as the figure came closer to him. He could now get a good look at this person.

It was a young girl about his age with a short red bob-cut hair-cut. She was wearing dark blue jeans and a black hoodie, so she could blend in with the black night.

"Who are you?" Eric asked. He was very cautious of this girl, especially since she was watching him in his house. It wasn't a pleasant discovery, but there was no harm in Eric trying to get answers from this girl.

The girl gave a gloomy stare, like Craig's whenever he was bored or annoyed, and her hair blew across her face in the nice cool breeze. "My name is Sarah," she said.

"Yes?" Eric gave her a puzzled look. "And?"

"Today is your birthday, am I right?" She pulled off a backpack she was wearing and began to dig inside of it.

"Well, it was, it's after midnight, so technically my birthday is over. Wait. How did you know that? Have you been spying on me?" Eric gave her a harsh glare and tapped his foot, waiting for her to answer.

"You're wrong," she said as she pulled out a small zip-lock bag. Your birthday isn't over until after 24 hours of the exact time you were born. You do know when that is, do you?"

Eric ignored the fact that this girl he had just met was having a conversation as if he knew her his whole life. "Yes, I was born at exactly 3:02 in the afternoon." Not that it's any of your business.

Sarah handed Eric the zip lock bag she grabbed from her backpack.

Eric took it slowly and eyed it curiously. Inside was a gold colored birthday candle in the shape of the number 10. He shook the bag a bit to see if it was a trick, but the candle didn't move.

"There are instructions," Sarah said as she zipped up her backpack and put it on her back.

"I don't need this, I already had my birthday cake."

The girl stepped closer to him until they were eye to eye. "You don't get it, do you? Just do as it says." She then stepped back and left the yard, disappearing into the darkness.

Eric wasn't buying whatever that girl was up to, so he tossed the bag and headed back inside. "What a complete waste of time," he said.

After walking inside, and sneaking downstairs in the basement, Eric quietly crawled into his sleeping bag, when he heard a grunt from next to him. It wasn't Sarah, though, of course there would be no way for her to get there, but it was one of his friends sleeping next to him.

"Eric?" a familiar voice said softly, and then there was a yawn.

Eric shut his eyes, so Butters would think he was still asleep, but when he felt a tap on his shoulder, he knew that he was caught a wake. He sighed before turning on his back. "Yes, Butters," he said in an irritated tone.

"What were you doing up there?"

Eric stared at his basement ceiling, keeping to himself. The whole time he figured that everyone, even Butters, was a sleep, but that probably wasn't the case. "What?" he questioned, trying to hide the fact that he had left the basement and went outside. He wasn't going to tell Butters what had happened. But still, he wondered how he knew he even went upstairs.

"You went upstairs, and then walked outside."

Eric's eyes widened. This boy was starting to sound creepy, even creepier than that girl he had just met outside moments ago. Did Butters follow him up there? His friend was naive, so Eric could come up with any story to get him to shut up. "I heard a noise."

"A noise?" Butters was now on his stomach, and his arms crossed in front of him. He was giving Eric a very inquisitive look, waiting for more to the story.

Eric sighed, still not looking at his friend. "Yes, a noise. That's all."

"Did you find out what it was? Was it a ghost?"

"No. Shh! Butters it was just a squirrel, okay?" Butters was very annoying, but also very gullible, and that's why Eric let him hang around him. He was fun to pick on.

"Oh, well alrright, Eric." Butters turned over in the opposite direction of his friend and shut his eyes.

Eric knew there was no point in telling anyone what he really saw, because there was nothing in it for him. That girl who claimed her name was Sarah, was obviously somebody who broke out of a mental hospital. Eric left it at that and went back to sleep.

Morning came too quickly, for Eric and his friends only got a few hours of sleep. Butters and Token were the first ones to wake up and walk upstairs. Mrs. Cartman was already making breakfast, enough for her son and all his friends. "Good morning," she said to the two who had awoken first.

"Good morning," Token said.

"Is that French toast?" Butter asked full of excitement.

"It sure is," Ms. Cartman said sweetly as she flipped the bread on the frying pan.

"Oh boy! The others better wake up soon!"

That wasn't going to be a problem, because the smell of French toast went through the boys' nostrils, including the ones downstairs. That brought everyone to their feet, and lead them upstairs, one by one. Everyone, except for Eric, who was still sleeping soundly downstairs in his sleeping bag.

"Oh, is Eric still asleep?" Mrs. Cartman asked.

"Yeah," Stan said as he sat at the table, so he could receive his breakfast. "I bet he was the last one to fall asleep last night.

"No, that was Tweek," Craig said as he looked over at his boyfriend. At first Craig and Tweek were just friends, but long story short, they became a homosexual couple. Tweek was addicted to coffee since his parents owned a coffee shop, so it was no surprise that he would have been the last boy to go to sleep.

"I sure was," Tweek said. Tweek also had nervous ticks, but they haven't been as bad since he started dating Craig.

"Oh, Eric said he heard a noise outside," Butters said as he received a plate of French toast.

The rest of the boys all had their eyes on Butters, who was taking his first bite. "Mmm, yummy!"

"A noise?" Craig asked, although his face didn't give much expression. That was normal.

Butters peered over at his friends with a big smile. "Yeah, but he said it was just a squirrel. I bet he was thinking of that squirrel all night. I bet it was a cute little squirrel."

"Uh, I doubt Cartman would be focused on something like that," Stan replied, as he, too, got his own plate of French toast.

"Oh, Eric just must be having a very interesting dream," Ms. Cartman added as she continued to pass out plates to everyone. "He does that often, so I wouldn't worry."

They didn't worry, and Eric's mother left it at that and walked out into the living room, letting the boys enjoy their breakfast. She left an extra plate on the counter for Eric, so he would have something to eat when he woke up.

A couple hours passed, and Eric still hadn't woken up, so the boys decided to go home. "The party is over anyways," Clyde said as they were all leaving the house.

"You guys wanna play Cowboys and Indians?" Butters asked as they walked.

"No, I gotta get home," Kyle said as they walked down the neighborhood sidewalk., "I'm supposed to start on my chores."

"Maybe we can play later this afternoon," Clyde said, giving Butters a sensitive look.

"Oh okay," Butters says before heading home. He lived really close to Eric, so it wasn't a long walk for him. He gave a wave as he took off. "See ya."

"Later," Clyde said as he took off in the other direction. He still lived in the same neighborhood, just half a block away. Craig lived right next to him, so they walked together.

"Cowboys and Indians this afternoon, huh?" Stan asked as he turned to his best friend, Kyle. The two were two peas in a pod.

"Yeah, sounds like a good idea," Kyle said as he began to walk with him. Stan had his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets. "Maybe we can text the other guys and meet at my house."

"Sounds good to me." Stan and Kyle lived on the same street as Eric and Butters, as well as Tweek, just across from them.

Kenny, on the other hand, was going in the same direction, only he lived off ways beyond a railway road. The boys all said goodbye and went home.

Soon after, Eric woke up, and was shocked to see the time on his cellphone. "I missed breakfast!" The boy stood up and rushed up the stairs, completely ignoring that his foot slipped on the way up. He kept going till he saw his mother in the living room, cleaning up after him and his friends from the party.

Eric watched his mom silently, and then scanned the room closely. He wondered where everyone had gone, never thinking that they would leave without saying goodbye. Although, sometimes that's how their friendship worked.

"Did everyone go home?" he asked. He wasn't looking at his mother in the eyes, but he knew that she would answer him right away.

"They sure did, Sweetie," she answered as she picked up a few plates and cups from the floor. "They didn't want to wake you, so I had them eat breakfast. I saved some for you, though."

Eric stomped his right foot to the floor, and finally eyed his mom intently and angrily. "Dammit, Mom, I can't eat it now. It's only good fresh!"

Mrs. Cartman ignored his outburst and continued to clean up. In the past, she would often apologize and make a new fresh plate for him. Now, she was starting to become more aware of his manipulative attitude, and often avoided him. Sometimes she would even scold him for his behavior and coarse language. Although, there were still times where Mrs. Cartman let Eric get away with everything. It was baby steps for her.

Eric sighed deeply, and marched into the kitchen, knowing that this was one of those times where his mother was not going to make things better. He grabbed a chair and dragged it over to the cupboards, so he could reach up high for a plate.

Then he grabbed a piece of leftover birthday cake and grabbed a fork before sitting at the table. He didn't mind having dessert for breakfast. In fact, he really enjoyed it, and new his mother would let him eat, especially since it was for a special occasion. Even if the party was over.

"Twenty-four hours after" is what that girl said. To Eric, that would only make sense if the party was still going on. In fact, to him, with a longer birthday should require more gifts and more cake. The boy glanced over to what was left. There was still half of the cake there, which meant it was all his. His mom probably wouldn't eat it.

Twenty-four hours, Eric thought. It was starting to race through his mind, for having a twenty-four hour birthday party would be a dream come true.

Then, the boy suddenly felt a chill go down his spine, as his ears began to ring. Something felt off, like he wasn't alone. Like he was being watched. Mrs. Cartman was not in the kitchen at the time, and Eric knew that she was not eying him, because she had just turned on the vacuum cleaner.

Eric turned his head toward the backyard slide-glass door. For a split second, Eric saw somebody standing behind the window, staring right at him. He could not get a glimpse of who it was or any details on the figure. But once he blinked, it was gone.

He wasn't afraid, just concerned. Also, frustrated and curious. The boy wasn't sure why, but that brought him to his feet. Then he walked through the living room, past his mother, and toward the front door.

He stopped there. If it wasn't a dream, then that candle is still out there, he thought. But if he did find the candle, he wondered what it would bring him. That girl was so mysterious, and she hardly gave him any clear explanation of what it was for and why she gave it to him.

Still, Eric didn't care anymore. He wanted to know for sure. He opened the door and stepped outside. He then began to search for it. It wouldn't be so difficult if it weren't for the grass, but he didn't give up.

Eric tried to avoid the fact that he probably looked silly, squatting down with his eyes glued to the ground, practically crawling. After a few moments, still nothing.

"Hey, Eric!" a familiar voice called. That came from Butters, who was just next door, getting the mail.

Eric shut his eyes, trying to keep himself from losing his patience. Not that Butters would make fun of him, but he would begin to ask questions, and Eric just didn't want to discuss it. Especially since he wasn't even sure himself what he was getting into.

The boy kept still for a few more seconds, knowing that in time, Butters would leave, taking the silence a hint that there was nothing to discuss. In less than a minute, he was back inside his house, mail and all.

Eric opened his eyes and looked to the left. That's when he saw it a few feet ahead. A zip-lock bag with a candle and piece of paper inside. He walked over and picked it up, then he hurried back inside.

Mrs. Cartman was finished vacuuming, and now in the kitchen doing dishes. Eric took that opportunity to run upstairs and into his bedroom. After shutting the door, he came to his computer desk, and opened the bag.

The first thing he grabbed was the piece of notebook paper that had writing on it. It was a list of steps on what to do with who knows what. Eric began to read the first step. Step one: Fill up a bath with hot water.

That's when it started to chime. Eric glanced over at the old music box that sat by his bed. It still had a little left of the song to play. He knew that sometimes they could play a few notes on their own. He groaned in annoyance, then went back to the list.

"Fill up a bath? For what?" He questioned himself. It didn't make sense. He then thought if he read through the whole list, it would give the answer on what it was he was supposed to be doing.

Before he could read any longer, he got a text message on his phone. So, he looked to see that it was from Kyle. He opened his inbox and read it. Chores are done. Meet outside my house in an hour.

Eric knew that it was probably so he and the other guys could play Cowboys and Indians. He really wasn't in the mood to play that, so he didn't reply to the text message. He continued to read the list.

Step two: Get in the water with your candle. This was starting to sound ridiculous, but the boy continued to read. Step three: Light the candle. Step four: Make your wish.

Eric blinked in curiosity. Make a wish? So, whom ever this girl was he met outside that night before, wanted Eric to make a birthday wish. Why? He did not know.