Chapter 2: Birds of a Feather
Pip stood by idly as his friend was taken away by the other boys in class. He sighed, turning away to change into his sport uniform. They were the popular guys, people who wouldn't even spare a second glance at him. But it was ok because he was used to it. They were just different people. He wasn't great at sports, actually, he was terrible at them. So he actively tried to avoid them, especially Cartman who seemed to pick on him for any little thing.
The blond shuffled quietly out from their view to find his locker. He shoved his gym bag and clothes into it, taking out his water bottle. He hoped Darcy wouldn't stop being his friend after this. He liked the boy, because he wasn't rude or crude like the other boys here. He wasn't overly polite either and didn't make a huge effort for people to like him—he was just lax, and he liked that.
Pip felt a heavy shove at his shoulder, yelping in pain as his chest hit the lockers in front of him. He glanced over to be met with Damien's fiery, unyielding gaze. "W-Well hello old chap!" The blond greeted, his usual sunny voice cracking underneath the taller boy's eyes. "Fancy seeing you h-he—!" Damien cut him off, talking over him. "Making friends with the new boy, are we?" He asked in his usual low, belittling tone. "What's this I hear about you two becoming rather snug."
Looking a little deflated, Pip turned his head away. The other boys still held Darcy, and no one even pay the least bit of attention to him now. "N-No, I was just being nice." He claimed, eyes wide and full of fear. Damien scoffed, his hand resting above the area beside the Brit's head. He leaned in, their faces only a few inches apart. "Now, now. What did I tell you about making buddies?" He seethed. Pip could feel the male's breath along his neck and he shuddered.
"I.. I don't deserve friends.. I am trash." Pip whispered slowly, his eyes cast down reflecting his emotions. Damien grinned in response, it was exactly the response he trained the boy to have. "Good, now be a good little boy and break up with your boyfriend." He stared directly at Pip, lips curled into a malicious grin. The blond squirmed under his gaze, but in truth he knew he couldn't escape Damien. He had been following him all this time and—
"What's going on here?" Darcy asked, brow arched in worry mixed with curiousity. It was that Damien kid from class, he was a little weird, which Darcy had figured. He had made a deal with the other boys in his class that he would get the list if they left him alone. It was all settled and done until he found Pip against the lockers with Damien looming over him. "Hm? Oh, nothing." The black haired demon spawn smirked, pulling away from the blond boy. "I was just telling my friend Pip about how nice it was to have a new student—that's all." He claimed, although it was an obvious lie. "I'll just be on my way now. See ya."
The tall boy grinned once more at Pip before stalking away to attend to his own devices. Darcy hissed, not liking at all what just happened. "Pip, what was that about?" He asked, turning his attention to his small, British friend. "Uh, n-nothing, old chap!" He responded with feigned brightness, "Good ol' Damien just being 'imself, nothing out of the usual." Darcy frowned, but decided that it wasn't his business. No matter what it was. "Well, alright then. That guy's a weirdo, so be careful." He breathed, ruffling Pip's hatless hair gingerly.
Darcy stood awkwardly between the lot of females. Scratching the back of his neck sheepishly, he glanced around—getting looks from here and there. Why would such a seemingly average guy have all this female attention? He didn't wish it upon himself, but if he wanted to become closer to the guys in his class he'd have to bare it. Bebe knocked into his arm slightly, gaining his attention. "Are you alright, Darce?" She asked, noticing the somewhat distant look he had.
"Yeah, sorry I was just thinking about stuff." He replied, grinning. She had taken him to the mall with Wendy, Red and Lola. The others had gone somewhere to do something. He wasn't really listening. "So how are you enjoying school so far? I noticed you were hanging around that French kid a lot." Red asked absentmindedly. They were sitting at a smoothie kiosk, minding their own business. They had just finished shopping; Bebe insisted that Darcy buy new clothes because apparently his normal clothes were old and ratty. Which they were.
He ran his hand through his hair, it was still long and uncut. Something else that Bebe insisted he change. But Darcy rebutted that it was apart of his charm. She seemed to be confused and left it at that. "Yeah, Pip. What about it?" He asked, glancing towards the redhead with disinterest. She shrugged in response, sipping from her smoothie. "No, it's nothing. It's just no one has really tried being his friend before—even in third grade. I barely remember him being here." She admitted, playing with the rings on her fingers.
Wendy shook her head, "We don't mean to be rude. It's great that you're making friends. But he's the type of person who brings down your reputation." She said slowly, trying to sound understandable. "Like, no one wants to be his friend. There's a reason he's alone." She said with a soft smile. Darcy could tell she was trying hard to not be a bitch. He just sighed. "I couldn't care less about that sort of thing." He replied, sipping from an empty, styrofoam cup. "He's nice to me, and if other people don't like them then it's cool. No one likes Eric and he still has friends."
The three girls looked between each other and broke out into a giggle. "Well, that's true." Bebe said after her laugh. They sat there for another fifteen minutes, chatting idly until a particular subject arose. "Token is super cute!" Red claimed, finally a subject that forced him to listen. "Don't say that just because he's rich." Wendy replied with a light laugh. "Come on Wendy, be honest. When a guy has money it doesn't make him less attractive." The blond nudged her best friend suggestively. "Money is not as attractive as personality!" Wendy claimed, crossing her arms.
Darcy rose a brow, he expected Wendy to have that sort of answer. She looked like the type to chase boys who were smart or intellectuals. Though he couldn't think of anyone in their class who fit that description—except maybe Kyle. Everyone claimed he was the smartest kid in class. His test scores spoke for themselves. "So.." Darcy began slowly, interrupting their conversation. The girls glanced over to him, almost forgetting he was there. "If you weren't looking at personality, wealth or intelligence. Who would be the most attractive?" He asked suddenly, his first words in almost half an hour of discussion.
There was a brief silence, the only sound was people walking by and the low sipping from Darcy. "Hmm." Bebe hummed thoughtfully, looking towards her hands. "I don't know, but I think it's the general census that Craig is the hottest." She decided, pressing her fingertip to her bottom lip. "Really? I thought it was Stan." Red piped up, then offering an apologetic glance towards Wendy. "Listen, Darcy." The black haired girl said, looking towards the only male in their group. "The girls have a list of the boys from cutest to ugliest, but it's a secret! So we can't say anything. Isn't that right, girls?"
The two other females sighed in unison, and then nodded their heads. "Yeah, sorry. I guess we really can't. Don't worry Darce, we trust you and all but this is a girl thing." Bebe grinned at him, and he just nodded in understanding. Damnit, he didn't get much information just then. But that's alright. "Oh, well look at the time. I have to help out my uncle at the shop. I'll see you guys later." The male suddenly said as he stood. "Alright, we'll see you at the party, right?" Red asked, and he nodded flippantly. "Yeah, yeah I'll see ya." He waved them off as he began to leave.
"Take that, you stupid Jew!" Cartman called loudly as he mashed his calloused fingers on the Xbox controller. He grinned as he shot down Kyle's character, effectively removing him from the game. "Fuck you, fatass! Stop screen-looking!" The red-haired male hissed in reply, tossing the controller onto the couch. He would never even consider playing with Cartman if they didn't need a fourth player. Kenny laughed, but whatever he said was muffled by his parka.
Stan stood around in the other room, his cellphone held up closely to his ear. "Oh, hey Darcy." He greeted through the phone, standing in between the door frame. His eyes lazily on the TV screen where his friends were playing the newest Halo game. "How'd it go with the girls? Dig anything up?" He asked, eyes staring upwards. "Me and Craig, huh?" He murmured, keeping his voice low and hushed. "I see.. well, I guess I'll see you later man." Once the line went dead, he hung up and walked back into the living room. Flopping down onto the couch beside Kyle.
"Who was that?" His best friend asked, glancing over briefly. Stan shrugged in response, sitting up. "Just Darcy, he's going to the party tonight at Bebe's." He scoffed, knowing well that Wendy would be at that party as well. "Really? The girls sure are fawning over him." Kyle replied with a light scoff, and Cartman snorted in response. "Why are those bitches so interested in that squinty-eyed gook?" Kenny chimed in, "Just because you can't get any." Laughing, but he was curtly cut off by Cartman's insults.
Stan rolled his eyes at the two and turned back to Kyle. "Yeah, it's alright. Pretty sure Darcy is gay anyway. Judging by how much time he spends with Pip."He admitted, lazily staring towards the TV screen where Kenny and Cartman were still battling it out. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was, to be honest." The red haired boy agreed, ignoring Cartman's cries of defeat. "No straight guy could get along with the girls that well." He added, as if analysing a science experiment.
"Wait, wait." Cartman paused, abandoning his Xbox controller onto the ground. "Let me get this straight—this kid is Chinese, and he is gay?" He seemed in awe, utter surprise that a person of that description existed in his neighbourhood. "Shut the fuck up Cartman. Who cares." Kenny spoke after a long pause in the large boy's apparent discovery. He was shooting his character in the head multiple times even after he killed him. "Yeah, who cares. There's plenty of gay people in South Park, and Chinese people too." Stan said slowly, not really understanding what they were discussing. "I'm pretty sure Darcy is Korean though." Kyle added, earning an earnest shrug from his friend.
"No, no!" Cartman argued, standing up from his sitting position. "You don't understand, if we let it roam free.. it is going to attract more Chinese. We can't let the Chinese take over America, they're going to ruin our freedom!" He claimed in his usual, hateful way. "What if he turns us?! He's going to mate with our women and create more Chinese.. what will we do then?!" Cartman continued to yell and shout. Though this just earned an eyeroll from Kyle. "Dumbass, if he's gay then how is he going to mate with women?" He pointed out.
There was a pause, no one had said anything. It was just like Cartman's typical offence to anyone who wasn't white, male and straight. ".. You must be working the Chinese!" He finally said, claiming more and more lies. "I knew it! The dirty Jews and the sneaky Chinese are teaming up to kill us pure, white folk." He seethed, looking towards the two of their group. "Come on, Stan, Kenny let's not be around this dirty Jew rat!" He attempted to coax them off the couch and outside of the house. But he received no affirmative.
"Jesus Christ, Cartman." Stan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, that's fucking stupid." Kenny replied with a dull undertone. Kyle said nothing and just shook his head in annoyance. "Fine!" Cartman shouted, stalking away from the three. "Don't come to me when we are speaking Chinese and living in a fucking Communist country run by squinty eyed, money grubbing assholes!" He curtly grabbed for his things and left the Marsh home, slamming the door behind him loudly as if to make a statement.
No one spoke much after Cartman had left. There really wasn't much to say. But it just appeared to be the new flavour of the month for him. So they just left it. "Think Cartman's going to do anything weird?" Stan finally asked, picking up one of the abandoned controllers. Kyle and Kenny shrugged, mimicking his actions. "Who knows this time." Kyle said, eyes bored and uncaring.
Darcy heard a loud, unforgiving slam of a door or something similar as he made his way back from the bus stop. "I see you, sneaky Chinese!" He heard a voice, shouting at someone. At him? "Huh?" The dark haired male glanced towards the source of the voice. It was none other than Eric Cartman, sauntering towards him in aggression. "Don't you dare convert us to fudge-packing communists, because I am on to you!" He shouted, pressing his index finger into Darcy's chest. Only further confusing him.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Darcy asked slowly, not understanding why he was being reprimanded by someone he barely knew in class. "Fuck you, and your gay, squinty-eyed buddies!" Cartman shouted one last time before turning on his heel and leaving. Darcy watched on in utter bewilderment. It was almost a minute later that he continued walking on his way. "Jeez, well now I know why Kyle said to watch out." He stared on, eyes tired. ".. I wonder what a fudge packer is."
Bebe smiled to herself in accomplishment as she finished stocking the mini fridge to the brim with wine coolers and other assortments of alcohol. It was supposed to be a girls' night in, but she couldn't help herself to invite some guys to spice things up. Her parents didn't need t know about it.
"Bebe!" The voice of her best friend called from the door as she entered the Stevens' home. "Oh hey Wendy!" The blond replied, slamming the fridge shut as she went to greet the black haired girl. "Thanks for coming early to help set up!"
Wendy nodded, placing her things down onto the couch as she began to help with filling the chip bowls. "It's alright, I'm happy to. It's going to be a great party, isn't it?" She commented while doing her task quietly. Bebe nodded in agreement, sending a wink her way. "Yeah! My parents are going to be away for a few days and I invited some guys over"
Her friend arched a brow in curiosity, "Oh really, who? I thought it was just the guys from our class" The blond shook her head, taking a seat on the couch.
"I did invite the guys from our class, and a few seniors." She informed, saying the last part a bit quietly as Wendy made her way over to sit next to her. "I didn't know you knew seniors!" Wendy exclaimed, the seniors didn't take too well to the classes below them. Bebe shrugged, "Well, I was going to invite just Stan and Craig's groups.. but well, it wouldn't be much of a party if it were just kids our age." She admitted, playing with her long, plastic nails. "It'll be fun, I promise. I made sure not to put too much alcohol out." She grinned at Wendy, but her friend just sighed.
Wendy nodded passively, "That's fair." She relaxed onto the couch, hugging her knees to her chest. She appeared to be a bit sad, and Bebe picked up on it quickly. "Hey, I'm sorry. I know you and Stan aren't on great terms, but I couldn't not invite him to this party." She apologised, though Wendy just shook her head. "No, no it's alright. Water under the bridge, that's all it is." The blonde appeared to be remorseful, but they didn't speak of it afterwards.
Craig lit up another cigarette, inhaling the toxic air and passing it towards his friend, Clyde, sitting beside him in the back of Token's Lamborghini. Only their friend, the richest kid in town could afford such a vehicle and it was luck that he was apart of Craig's gang. Token rolled his eyes at the two males in the back seat, gearing down the window to let the air out. "G-Guys please!" Tweek screamed, pulling on the ends of his wild, blond hair.
"Yeah, I already told you not to smoke in my car! I'm fine with the drinking, but that smell is awful." The dark skinned boy complained. Though it was mostly for Tweek's sake, who didn't want the smell of nicotine on him. No one could really do anything once the blond went into one of his fits. "Fine, fine." Clyde breathed in another breath before flicking the spent bud out the window and into the cool air. Craig opened another can of beer, he and Clyde were already quite buzzed. They drank before the party like most people did. Tweek and Token were quite against the idea however.
Tweek, in the passenger's seat, clung to his Thermos filled to the brim with coffee. He wouldn't drink anything else, and especially would not touch the alcohol Craig brought. It was his fathers and if he was caught drinking it, the man would tear him apart. It was too much pressure!
The group were quite excited for the party, like most who were invited. Bebe usually threw the best parties in their class and she always had free alcohol. It was usually just an excuse for Craig to get drunk, for Clyde to meet girls, for Token to meet new people and for Tweek.. well, he was just dragged along despite his protests about catching a sort of disease from party-goers. But it was always a good social night, most people set aside their differences and just had fun. It was going to be on of those great Saturdays.
Token pulled up behind another car, parked a few meters from Bebe's house. The lights were on and the hum of music was emanating from it. The four boys got out of the car, closing the doors and locking it securely before they made their way up the drive through. They passed by Red, Craig's cousin, and a few of the other girls. Craig flipped them off, as of per usual, and they waltzed on inside.
The interior of the house was relatively dark, which caused Tweek to shriek in horror. But there were some lights here and there, illuminating the house to a dim lighting. It was just enough for everyone to walk around and get where they need to be. But not enough for everyone to recognise who they were talking to straight away or what they were drinking from the bottle in their hands.
Craig settled down onto the empty couch. It was a bit too early for everyone to be showing up, but it was evident that the party had begun. He dropped his six pack of beers beside him and continued to drink. Tweek groaned, taking a seat beside his friend and huddled close to him. Craig was quite tall and he was warm too, it wasn't rare to see the twitchy coffee addict at his side. "We're going to go scouting, for you know, chicks." Token claimed, sending his two friends a thumbs-up before escaping with Clyde.
"Cr-Craig, when are we g-going to leave?" Tweek asked, his voice quiet amongst the music. Craig scowled, not looking towards him and instead straight ahead. "We only just got here." He responded in his typical, dry tone. His voice became much more deep and toned once he grew older. Possibly, in his whole class Craig had grown the most. From a measly nine year old, he became a six four giant. Though he would always be that one 'glass is half empty' type of person.
Tweek groaned in response. But he was glad at least to be seated. He hated standing next to his friends. They had all grown up so much—they were all over six feet, and Tweek was standing at five and a half feet. Though it wasn't all bad. He managed to escape being friends with Stan's group. They were all too much trouble and he couldn't handle the pressure. Thankfully, he was always welcome in Craig's group.
Darcy walked in silence, his hands in his pockets as he made his way towards Bebe's party. It began almost an hour ago, maybe more than that. But no one really showed up to a party at the time it began, because that was no fun. Everyone was drunk by at least an hour in, and that was where the enjoyment was at. He himself wasn't much of a drinker, but it was always fun to see others become wasted and start doing stupid things—like make out with their friends, or grind against people they hated.
It was going to be great.
The cars began to appear as he closed in on the buzzing home. There weren't going to be many people at this party, from what he knew it would be around thirty. Maybe less than that. Though he would know at least half of the faces there. Darcy wore the clothes Bebe chose for him. He didn't particularly enjoy her fashion sense—but she was quite accurate in terms of time and what was popular. He wore a tight, white shirt with an obscure band he never heard of printed on. On top he wore his old school's varsity jacket, and black harem pants with black, laced up boots. To be quite honest, he felt like a fag.
Once he walked up to the drive through, he spotted Stan, Kyle and Cartman. They weren't all that close, but they seemed to accept him into the class. And their opinion seemed to matter a lot to everyone else. "Hey." Stan greeted once Darcy approached the group of three. "Hey man, what's going on?" He asked, making casual conversation. "Nothing much, everyone's inside though. We decided to hang out here for a bit. Just some fresh air." The taller male claimed, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm going inside." Cartman sneered, mostly at Darcy, and walked on inside.
Kyle chuckled softly, "Hey, it seems he finally found someone he hates as much as me." Darcy shot him a curious glance. "Is that so?" He questioned, hands in pockets. "What did I do?" He wasn't all that curious, but it would be good to know. He wasn't planning on changing any part of himself just so Cartman would stop harassing him. "He doesn't like Asians, or gay people." Stan answered, drinking from his beer.
There was a brief silence between them. The only sound was the music and other people chatting in the background. Darcy frowned, ".. Ok, then." He didn't think himself was homosexual, but if it was already confirmed he wouldn't say anything. Better to just stick to one image. It wasn't like it was untrue, either, but he wasn't just open to guys. "Doesn't matter." He breathed, scratching the back of his head carelessly. "Yeah, don't worry about it." Kyle assured, smiling at him warmly. How could anyone really hate this guy? Cartman had to be the only one, surely.
"Thanks, I won't." Darcy confirmed, shifting uncomfortably. "Right then, I guess I'll see you guys later." He decided, the conversation was getting to that stage where they'd run out of things to talk about. They said their goodbyes, though it would be likely they'd run into each other again. He wandered inside the house, making a sound at the the couple near the entrance making out. 'Gross.' He thought with a deep set scowl. He managed to spot Bebe's blond hair at the end of the lounge room.
But before he could even think about approaching her, he felt a heavy arm fall onto his shoulder. He was pulled into someone's chest and suddenly all he could smell was cheap deodorant and something strongly alcoholic. "Darcy!" The strong voice yelled above him. They dragged his name on in a drunken slur. Darcy wasn't even tipsy yet, but this person clearly had a bit too much. "Kenny, I think you've had enough to drink." The smaller male claimed, reaching up to pull the beer from his hands. But Kenny was too quick, he instead laughed and pulled it higher. He had at least four inches on him, after all.
Soon, Darcy gave up and left him be. But Kenny was reluctant to let go, his arm still around the asian boy's shoulder. He was holding on tight and relentless, and his breath against Darcy's ear stank of drunk. "No way, come on." The tall blond laughed, he seemed to enjoy having Darcy's tiny form rest against him. The smaller could hear his heartbeat through his chest, it was slow and relaxed. He wasn't worried or excited at all. Just content.
"Ken—!" Darcy pushed against Kenny's chest, but he still wouldn't release him. He wasn't as strong as the other and it was evident as he was pushed against the hall wall. When Darcy gasped, Kenny took the opportunity to press his chapped, dry lips against his. Kenny's tongue slithered into Darcy's mouth, kissing him slow and messily. There a second of shock before the smaller male pushed him off. Darcy breathed through his mouth, wiping the saliva that lingered on his lips. "Ugh, Kenny, gross!" He exclaimed, cheeks flustered red in embarrassment. Darcy could still taste the spice of alcohol in his mouth—he needed a drink.
Kenny rubbed the back of his neck, looking towards Darcy with hazed eyes. "Aw, come on. Don't be such a prude." He reached out but fell forward in his drunk stupor. The black haired boy took this opportunity to leave, he didn't want his classmates to see him kissing guys. Even if they already thought he was gay. The only thing worse than gay, was being a slutty gay.
Wiping his mouth, Darcy made a mental note to avoid Kenny at parties. It seemed he would hit on just about anyone—he didn't put much thought into it and made sure to approach Bebe. She was standing in a semi-circle of their classmates and a few unrecognisable faces. He didn't pay attention. "Hey, what's going on?" He asked, noticing that the half dozen people were standing in front of a closed closet. What could be so interesting over here?
"Hey Darce!" She greeted, bumping her butt against Darcy's hip. They laughed a little bit, but it was really over nothing. They had become rather close over the past week. "Oh, nothing! Just a little Seven Minutes in Heaven." Bebe broke out in giggles, she had drank quite a bit but was nowhere near becoming drunk as Kenny. "Seven Minutes in Heaven?" He repeated in question, he didn't go to many parties in San Diego, but the ones he did go to were usually just drinking and making out with strangers. Colorado party games were probably a little bit different.
The closet door opened and two people walked out—Kevin and Lola. Kevin was pretty flustered and Lola looked pretty happy, she was giggling and now talking to her friends. Kevin disappeared into the other room. Possibly to talk to his friends. "Actually, I think I get the gist of it." He said with a slight smile. "Well." She began, twirling a blond hair between her fingers.
Bebe then grinned, nudging her new friend. "How about you go next?" She asked sheepishly, "There's already someone inside. We were waiting for a volunteer—you'll have fun, come on!" She pushed him on. The others began to push him on as well, it went on for a good ten seconds before he caved in. "Fine, fine." Darcy breathed, giving in to their peer pressure. "Just seven minutes, right?" He asked, and Bebe nodded. "Just seven minutes." She confirmed.
There was a brief pause, and Darcy decided that he would do it. Even if it was just another initiation thing; he wanted to be accepted into the group. And it'd probably turn out to be just another girl like Annie or Red. Whoever it would turn out to be, he took in a breath and opened the door, sliding quickly into the blackness.
The door shut behind him.
I don't think I have any readers just yet, but if I do make yourself known by submitting even a short review or giving me a follow :) much appreciated, and once again thank you for reading!
If anyone has any pairings they like, let me know and I'll see if I can fit them into the story!