Mute: 2

Penny For Your Thoughts

A/N: Lol, lame-ass title. It's a saying (I guess in America or wherever 'penny' would be 'nickel' or whatever the fuck you use xD), if someone's thinking deeply and you ask 'a penny for your thoughts?' I have no idea what it means, symbolises or anything, but due to the fact that this chapter contains the thoughts of Pip and Damien through their POVs I decided it was somewhat creative. W/e.

I thought I'd spent ages typing this but I think in reality it's only been about two weeks, which is odd, because I've either worked it out wrong or two weeks took an oddly long time to go past. It's possible. But enjoy it, I think it's okay. I hope it's not too short or anything. Also hoping no-one's OOC, tell me if you think they are

Warnings: Swearing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Damien or Pip. The nurse near the end isn't Nurse Golem, just some randomer. South Park and its characters belong to Trey and Matt.

=X=

~::PIP::~

I waved goodbye to Damien at the school gates and we parted ways, him in one direction, and me in the other. After a few minutes of walking alone I checked around me.

No-one.

No-one ever followed me home, of which I was glad, but you never knew when one of them might decide that it was a good idea. Luckily I never took the bus with the other students, so nobody even knew the area of South Park I lived in.

It was a long walk and, as I always did, I was thinking and talking to myself, within my own head. Although my mind used to be quite a peaceful place, in the past few days it had been getting more and more crazed with thoughts.

Damien.

He was at the centre of most of my thoughts. Always, always now, everything led to Damien. Anything and everything. Always. My mind was clouded with recollections of the day, conversations we could have had, words I could have spoken, things I could have asked him. Could. I could have.

I didn't.

My voice, and I guess more specifically my accent, was what started this hell. Had I not had such a British accent, or such a high voice, if I had not had my voice, maybe I would have been left alone. Maybe. I wonder sometimes, though I know that no matter what, they'd always have found something else to torment me about. They do it enough now for me to know that.

As I approach my house, loud shouting is audible through the thin walls. I guess Mother and Father are fighting. Again. I can't remember a time when I haven't come back home to the sounds of their shouting. They scream and shout and punch, every day, every night, always fighting. Where do I come into all this?

If I'm not what they're arguing over I'm what they're shouting at. Scolding me is the only time they're united on anything.

"Is it any wonder he's become such a fucked-up kid with YOU around?" Mother screeches.

Their favourite topic. Which one of them messed me up the most.

I wonder if I can get up to my room without being screamed at.

Unlikely. But worth a shot. If I can, I'll be left alone until tea-time.

I take my bag off my shoulder in preparation for quickly dropping it by the door and making a dash. I slip in the front door, place the bag in its designated area to the side of the hallway, and sprint up the stairs, trying to make my footfalls as soft as possible. It works, and I get the whole way to my room without being noticed.

I can still hear them arguing through the floorboards; they're loud, and our house is in a pretty bad condition. No-one knows it, but my family is in a situation horribly close to that of the McCormick's; my parents are dirt poor and often drunk. Father can't keep a job and Mother doesn't even try. They don't care anyway. They get enough money for their booze and their food, and I am pretty much left to find my own. This isn't a family. This is a hole for the filth of the community.

That being me, and my parents. I am the bottom of the pile. I have no-one who cares about me. But I've learnt to live with it. The shouting, the insults, the beatings, the pain. The silence I'm forced to keep. I can live with it. I have to live with it.

Otherwise I won't be able to live at all.

~::DAMIEN::~

I'm sat on my bed, laptop open and blaring music. I'm supposed to be doing some sort of homework, but I really don't care. Instead I'm staring blankly at the screen, thinking. Now there are the things I usually think of; torturing souls, how best to avoid my dad today, the next horror movie I want to see, you know, that basic sort of thing. And then there's what I am thinking about now.

Pip.

And why? Yeah, if you know the answer to that, please tell me, cause I'm confused too.

For some reason I just can't get that mute little British boy out of my head. I have so many questions that I want to know the answers to, but can't ask.

Why are you mute? What keeps happening to you? Why do you avoid the kids at school like they have the plague? Why do they hate you? What's wrong at home? Why do you seem so surprised that I want to hang out with you?

You get the gist.

He's such a weird kid. Obviously he doesn't speak, but there are other things about him. There's something in his eyes, some emotion that I can't decipher because god-dammit why do I even care?

It's simple curiosity is all. If there's something someone doesn't want to tell you, the need to know gets greater and greater. That's all. I don't feel any stupid connection to the kid; I don't feel like 'super gay best friends' with him, Hell, I hardly even like the kid. I've known him for three days, tops, and only hung around with him solely today. He's just the most tolerable person there. Probably because he isn't spewing stupid shit from his mouth all the time, talking about him, her, what they did, who said what. He doesn't feel the need to talk to me at all, and I'm far more comfortable with a mutual silence than endless chatter.

And before you think anything, no, I am not thinking all these things to try and convince myself like those stupid fucktarded teens in your soppy ass fictions. No. I am stating it as a fact.

Fuck, I can't wait to get out of this school.

~::NO POV::~

The next day Damien sat with Kenny's gang at lunch. The hooded boy greeted him loudly, and Stan asked him why he'd hung out with Frenchie before. Damien shrugged.

"You guys can be assholes, and he's silent. I can get some quiet." Damien looked pointedly at the loudly spasticating Tweek. The blonde yelped and ran from the table in the direction of the canteen's coffee machine, followed by an exasperated Craig trying to calm him down. Damien tutted and went back to his lunch, listening to the chattering of the group.

He deliberately avoided looking over in Pip's direction. If he had, he would have seen the blonde with his head in his hands.

In form, Damien arrived a few minutes late. He looked over to the seat at the back of his English class, the same seat he sat in during English lessons, and where Pip usually sat beside him. Mr Mattson was currently absent from the classroom, and the students had pounced on this.

They'd also pounced on Pip.

"What's up Frenchie? Don't like it on your back?" Cartman jeered at the fallen boy, earning laughter from around the room.

"He's so gay." Fosse chuckled. Bill joined him with a "Yeah, super gay, heh."

Pip just lay on the floor, tears welling in his eyes, eyes flickering fearfully around the surrounding children. Clyde stepped forward and kicked him. Craig knocked off his hat, roughly grabbed a fistful of his hair, and banged his head against the floor. Stan stepped on his hand, and Kenny stomped down on his ankle; the one he'd injured the day before. All throughout this, Damien stared, expression blank as he tried to figure out what he was meant to do, and Pip curled into himself, mouth occasionally opening in a silent, pained scream.

"Hey, move it." Damien growled as he stepped forward toward the crowd.

"Damien! Glad you could make it, we've got him cornered. Maybe you could set him on fire or something." Kenny crowed, clapping Damien on the back and pushing him so he stood over Pip. The teens cheered at the thought of Pip rolling around on fire. Damien stared down at Pip, and Pip stared back up, shaking violently, eyes frightened.

"Nah. Come on, Mr. Mattson will be back soon, I don't wanna be kicked out already, my Dad'll kill me." Damien shrugged, nudging Pip with his foot. Some of the kids groaned, but as if on cue Tweek withdrew his head into the classroom and screeched 'HAMMERTIME!'.

Everyone except Damien seemed to know this meant the teacher was returning so they rushed back to their seats. Damien leisurely took his, then looked down at Pip, who was trying to recover himself on the floor.

"Well come on." he muttered, and offered a hand to help Pip up. The blonde looked at it wearily for a second, then pushed himself gently to his feet, wobbling momentarily before collapsing into his chair. Damien grunted and withdrew the rejected hand. He watched as Pip gently brushed himself off, flexed his trodden hand, wincing at the pain. He noticed a spot of red blossoming at Pip's temple.

"Pip, you're bleeding." He said calmly. Pip jolted slightly, and checked himself over.

"Your head."

Pip's fingers gently brushed over the place his head had been slammed into the floor, and when he withdrew them they were covered in red. Pip went slightly pale, but just held his hand gently on the wound. He didn't seem to be about to do anything, so Damien sighed and raised his hand.

"Sir, Pip's head is bleeding, can he go to the nurse's?" he asked. The students peered around at Pip, craning their necks to try and see how bad the damage was. Damien saw Clyde try and offer a victory high-five to Craig, who just flipped him off. Mr Mattson looked over, and when he saw Pip remove his now blood-soaked hand from his head to check how bad the cut was, immediately ushered them out.

"You go with him Damien, if he's banged his head hard enough to do that he might not be quite stable on his feet." The teacher said. Damien nodded, and pulled on Pip's arm to encourage him up. Pip looked up at him, then gestured to his injured ankle.

Oh of course, now he won't be able to walk properly and I'm going to have to support him. Damien thought. He pulled Pip to his feet, ignoring any of the children around him or Pip's silent protests. Stooping down and putting one of Pip's arms over his shoulder, he helped the blonde out of the room. They made slow progress, until, halfway down the hallway, Damien sighed.

"I can't do this the whole way, it's too slow and you're shorter than me so I can't support you all that well." Damien shook Pip's arm off him, and Pip wobbled for a moment before Damien caught him and steadied him. "Right, I'll just carry you."

Pip's eyes widened in surprise, and he tried to back away, but Damien had already scooped him up and set off. Pip's mouth opened in a cry without sound and batted weakly at Damien's chest with his free hand, wriggling and kicking, face blushing a bright red.

"Hold still, else I'll end up dropping you." Damien muttered, and Pip finally stilled, though still shaking and blushing.

~::PIP::~

If I possessed the use of my voice I would be yelling and pleading and protesting. Unfortunately, I don't, so all I can do is try and get my point across by trying to get out of his arms myself.

"Hold still, else I'll end up dropping you." Damien says, looking down at me and tightening his grip slightly. I decide that actually, being carried is better than falling from here to the floor or limping the whole way.

I must say I'm uncomfortable, not because of how I'm being held, simply the fact that I'm being held at all. This is the closest I've been to a person without violent contact for around... 10 years?

No, that's not long enough. Maybe 13? If I'm lucky.

Actually, now I think about it, I don't think I've ever been close to a person without being hit. This is most strange. A gentle touch; some friendly contact. I'm not used to it. I have no idea how to react.

I shift slightly, turning my head and avoiding his eyes to try and hide my blush. It obviously doesn't work, but I might as well try.

"How's your head?" Damien asks.

Having all this blood rush to my face probably isn't helping the bleeding. I wince to show him it's still sore. Well, of course it's sore; I've had my head bashed against the floor hard enough for it to bleed. Somehow I don't think five minutes is going to help all that much. I'm feeling slightly dizzy, whether from the bump or the sight of my own blood I'm not sure, though I've seen my own blood enough times that it shouldn't affect me anymore.

"You don't look too good." I can't hear much concern in his tone. I glare at him for a moment before closing my eyes to try and stop the throbbing. "Hey, hey, don't do that. If you've got a concussion, you've gotta try and stay awake, right?"

He was right, but right now my head was bursting with pain and I couldn't see straight. My eyes flutter slightly as I force them open, and I feel a whimper instinctively rise in my throat, though whether it actually makes a sound I'm not sure.

"It's okay Pip, we're here." I hear him say. I close my eyes.

~::DAMIEN::~

Pip's eyes flutter and he whimpers. The first sound I've ever heard from him in the however-many days I've known him and it is a pitiful, weak sound full of pain. It almost makes me... what? I have no idea what the emotion is called. I guess... well, if he's pitiful, I feel pity?

Holy fuck.

"It's okay Pip, we're here." I assure him, but I'm not completely sure he hears me because his eyes are now closed. I just hope he hasn't passed out.

"Uh, Nurse, Pip's hit his head pretty hard; he's bleeding and I'm not 100% sure he's conscious."

Pip shifts, making a face and moving his hand as a signal he can hear us.

"Kay, he seems to be conscious." I correct. "But still, it looks kinda bad."

"Let's see him then." The nurse says, gesturing for me to put him on a bed that's over one side of the room. I set him down and step back, Nurse Whatever-her-name-is taking my place. She removes his bloody hand from his hand looks closely at the wound.

"Oh dear Pip, I've never seen you with a head injury this bad." She murmurs soothingly.

...Wait, what?

"What d'you mean, this bad?" I ask. Nurse Whoever looks back at me, to Pip and waves a hand to say that she'll answer that once she's sorted Pip out.

I'm getting better at reading body-language and gestures since I've known this kid.

She carefully cleans the blood away from his head, showing a reasonable sized cut just above Pip's eyebrow. She makes a sympathetic 'tsk' sound, and carefully applies a clear plaster, obviously so as to not stick a huge, noticeable one on his forehead. Because as much as those things wish they were skin coloured, they aren't.

"Is your vision blurry? Are you dizzy?" the nurse asks Pip quietly, giving him some wipes to clean off his hand. Pip nods gently, obviously trying not to make his head any worse.

"It sounds like you might have simple concussion. I am going to have to notify your parents." From the tone in her voice she knows this isn't going to go down well with the blonde she's just treated. Sure enough, Pip shakes his hands violently (he obviously can't shake his head violently), eyes pleading. "I have to Pip, they need to keep an eye on you tonight."

Pip starts mouthing at her, still making as many negative gestures as he can.

'No! No, no you can't, I'll...' he pauses here, then stops mouthing.

"You'll what, Pip?" I ask. He flinches and looks at me, and slowly moves his head side to side.

'I can't tell you'

"Why not?"

Pip shrinks into himself, still shaking all over, physically trembling as well as his gestures.

"Okay Pip, calm down." The nurse comforts him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. She looks back over at me and gestures for me to follow her into the adjoining office.

"Did you see what happened to him?" she asks.

Should I rat them out?

Yeah. I mean, look what they've done to the kid. I'm all for torturing people, sadistic tendencies and all, and usually harming the innocent is more fun than harming the guilty, in my mind. For some reason, I feel Pip is different. Something makes me want to not hurt him, and I can help him out this once. I hate those assholes anyway.

"They all ganged up on him; I'm new, I'm no good at names, but the once that did that to his head was the one in the blue hat."

"Craig." The nurse nods. She apparently knows the guy.

"Yeah. And Kenny stamped on his ankle, which is why he couldn't walk properly when we were coming down here."

"Well, thank you..."

"Damien."

"Thank you Damien. I've been trying to get names out of Pip for years. He's regularly coming in here with injuries of all sorts, but he never tells me who did it. Not writing it down on paper, nothing. It's like he doesn't want them to get in trouble."

"They were all in on it. But they were the ones who did the worst damage." I tell her. "So, this is a common thing?"

"Pretty common, yes, though this is his worst head injury so far. He never wants me telling his parents. There's something going on that he's not telling anyone. Poor boy doesn't have many friends, if any at all. I think that if he could find someone he could trust and rely on, he'd start coming out of his shell a bit, maybe regaining the use of his voice." All throughout this she was looking at me with hopeful eyes.

Of course she wants me to be his 'best friend', the person he can 'trust and rely on'. She wants the demon boy (although she admittedly doesn't know that) to become friends with a helpless little human boy. Fucks sakes.

Do I mind trying to take on the job? No. Can I actually DO it?

Probably not.

"I'll try." I tell her, then get up and go through to see Pip. He's sat on the bed; head in his hands, looking worried and upset.

My need to know everything has become even more desperate.

What is happening with Pip?

=X=

A/N: OMG THE FUCKING PRESSURE TO GET THIS DONE

14 reviews? HOLY SHIT! I WAS EXPECTING 4 MAX! WTF?

*minor freak-out over*

Kaaaay. Finally finished, I mean Jesus Christ

I would like you warn you all that this story may be slow with updating while I figure out a complete storyline. You guys were awkward and voted for an old story I'd been writing on and off for a while, and I don't have a concrete plot :P

So sorry for that.

THANK YOU DEAR REVIEWERS OF CHAPTER 1:

, HappyNoddleGirl666, OrangeInTheSun, Mali Kollama, Deadly Sharpies, Artemisgirl91, Meso the Hanyu, ENM03, IAmYourSecondStalker, Mimi the deer, TheParanoidNerd, xRandomosityx, MyKittyIsEmo and donttouchmykyoya818!

I'm really happy to see some names I've never seen in reviews before, so I'm glad my stories are attracting a reasonable audience! Also thanks for the faves and alerts!

Remember, reviews are GREATLY appreciated. I'm gonna be ambitious and aim for 6 this time xD

Hope to see you all soon!