A/N: I neglected to include this warning in the last chapter so I figured I needed to in this chapter for the entire story. *clears throat* WARNING! This fanfiction contains verbal descriptions of absolute adorableness. If you do not possess a heart of stone or are inflicted with diabetes, please forgo reading this fanfic as it may be hazardous to your health. Enjoy chapter 2...at your own risk :P

That afternoon, Cierra found herself at South Park's local animal shelter. The first part of the inside looked like a large office space. A lone figure worked at a large desk near the front of the room and Cierra heard the sounds of muffled barking as she approached the desk. At the front desk, a middle-aged woman was clacking away at her computer. Cierra cleared her throat and the woman looked up from her computer's screen.

"May I help you?" she said nasally.

"Um...I'm Cierra Cartman…" she explained nervously, "I'm here for the….volunteering?"

"Ah, yes! The Cartman girl! Here you go, sweetheart," she handed Cierra a sign-in sheet on a clipboard. "Just sign in and we'll get started." She handed Cierra a pen and Cierra signed her name and the time.

"Very good," the woman said while taking the clipboard back. "Now just remove your jacket and hat and follow me, hon."

Cierra did as she was told and removed her pink jacket and white cap. She came beside the woman and she opened the door allowing the muffled barking sounds to become much louder.

The woman had to shout to communicate with Cierra as they walked through the kennel.

"It's so nice to have more young volunteers here at the shelter!" she shouted. "Not many kids your age come here, you know!"

"Really?!" Cierra shouted back.

"Oh, yeah! Most kids go to the pet stores when they want a new pet and only come here to get rid of the ones they've got!"

They reached the opposite end of the kennel and the woman closed the door behind them.

"See," the woman said in a softer tone, "a lot of folks buy baby animals for their kids not knowing what a real responsibility they are and the poor things end up getting dropped off here. In the best case scenarios, anyway."

They walked into another section of the shelter.

"Best case scenarios?" asked Cierra. "As opposed to what?"

"Well…" the woman hesitated but eventually said, "most of the animals around here are rescues. And….a lot of them came from homes that were...not so nice."

"Oh…" Cierra frowned and looked off into a kennel with a sleeping kitten in it. The kitten had a cast around its paw. Cierra looked to the ground sadly until the woman got her attention again.

"In fact, you'll be working with one of those animals today," she said.

"Really?"

"Yes." They came to a large room with a smaller fenced-in area. "One of our little troopers; just rescued about a week ago. You like dogs, right?"

Cierra nodded.

"Great!" She guided Cierra to a chair outside the fenced-in area. "Just wait here and I'll go get your pup and your partner for you."

Cierra felt a jolt of fear in her chest."Partner?"

"We like to have volunteers work together when it comes to puppy playtime. So neither of you gets burnt out. This little pup has a super amount of energy, so you'll be paired with our other young volunteer."

Cierra wrung her hands nervously.

"I'll be right back, hon." And with that, she was out the door, while Cierra still felt worried.

'Who else would be volunteering here?' Cierra wondered. 'Not one of Eric's friends….Oh, God!' she cringed, 'What if Eric followed me here?!...Oh, wait,' She breathed a sigh of relief. 'He still doing his afternoon classes with Mr. Heartman, duh,' she made a "derp" gesture as she gently smacked her head. 'So….who would-?'

The door then began to open and Cierra couldn't believe who she saw.

"And here's your partner for the day, Butters," the woman said.

Butters looked to her with a smile and felt his jaw drop when he saw Cierra.

"Butters?!" Cierra squealed.

"Cierra!? This is where you're volunteering!?" Butters asked in awe.

"Yeah! What are you doing here!?"

"I come here sometimes to volunteer, too! Didn't expect to see you here. Nobody else from school ever comes here."

"Well, you're both here now," said the woman volunteer, "and here…." she brought in a pet carrier and opened it. "...is your puppy playmate." A small white puppy with a black speckled coat emerged from the carrier and began yapping excitedly as it ran around the room. The woman chuckled and said, "I told you you would need a partner. This little lady's got a sugar factory's worth of energy."

"The puppy's a girl!?" Cierra asked excitedly. "Oh, she's soooo cute!"

The woman picked up the puppy and placed her in the fenced space. She opened a small gate on the fence and let Butters and Cierra in as well.

"Now, you have about two hours to wear this pup down," she explained. "Give her water if she starts panting too much and if she pees or poops, it's your responsibility to clean it up."

Butters and Cierra cringed at this but the woman didn't notice as she continued to explain. "The feeding and cleaning supplies are over there. I'll be at the front desk if you need me. Have fun, you two!" she cried and left Butters and Cierra with their new canine friend.

Cierra poured a bowl of food for the puppy while Butters played tug-of-war with her with a chew toy. The puppy managed to win the match and Butters fell flat on his face. Cierra giggled as Butters picked himself up and dusted off his face. The puppy came to get her food and ate while Cierra asked Butters, "So, why do you volunteer here, Butters? How'd you hear about it?"

"Well," Butters explained, "I got dared to go into the Ichiban Hotel across town and spray paint somebody's bedroom wall; that somebody turned out to be, well, the hotel manager." He wrung his hands nervously.

"No way!" said Cierra. "That was you?"

"You heard about it?" asked Butters.

"I live at the Ichiban Hotel; I can't believe you're the one who spray painted Mr. Lear's room," she said failing to hold in another giggle.

"Yeah, well, my dad was super mad when he found out and he grounded me for two weeks," Butters continued, "plus I had to do community service for a while. But I've already paid my debt to society. Now I come here just for fun."

The puppy finished her meal and yapped happily. Cierra smiled, knelt down to her and scratched her behind her floppy ears.

"So, how did you end up here?" Butters asked.

Cierra's smile faded slightly. "Well….I got into some trouble, too," she explained, "I'll rather spare the details, but, long story short, I got screwed over by someone too."

The puppy licked Cierra's hands as she pet her before moving up to her face.

"Hey!" Cierra laughed, "Down girl! Down! Ha, ha!"

"Ha, ha, ha!" Butters laughed. "Looks like she really likes you, Cierra."

"I like her; she's peppy," Cierra giggled as the puppy licked her again then she gasped as a realization hit her. "Butters, does this puppy have a name?"

"No, I don't think so," said Butters. "Why?"

"Do you think….I could name her?" Cierra asked.

"What would you call her?"

"Hmm….I think we should call her….Pepper."

"Pepper?" asked Butters, "Why Pepper?"

"She's got a lot of energy," Cierra explained, "plus her coat...It looks like someone shook a giant pepper shaker all over her."

"Well, what about Spot?" Butters asked.

"Nah," Cierra dismissed. "Sounds too generic….."

The puppy yapped and circled around Cierra excitedly. She sniffed at Cierra's hands which held her ball.

"Oh, you want this, girl?"

The puppy yapped and jumped. Cierra held the ball over her head and threw it again, letting the puppy chase after it vigorously. She chewed on the ball and Butters and Cierra chuckled at her antics.

"You know….I think Pepper's a great name," Butters said. "Let's tell Ms. Kay about it when she comes back." Butters whistled to Pepper, "Here, Pepper," Pepper's ears twitched and pointed upwards, "Come here, girl." Pepper wagged her tail and scurried to Butters; She circled around his legs, then moved on to Cierra and both the kids petted her as she wagged her tail happily.

"I think Pepper likes her new name," said Cierra.

"I think she likes her new friend," Butters added with a smile.

Cierra smiled back as Butters looked to her. She gave Pepper a hug as she continued smiling but then began to look more concerned than happy; She gasped silently and whispered, "Oh, no."

Butters frowned. "Everything OK?"

"Um...no. I mean-everything's fine," she stammered. She still held a frown on her face as she pet Pepper.

"Are you sure? You look like you've seen a ghost," said Butters.

"It's nothing," Cierra insisted. "It's just….it's been a long time since I've been anyone's new friend."

"Well, why?" Butters asked growing more concerned.

"I….I'd rather not talk about it…" she said softly. Pepper cuddle up closer to her and whined. "Aw, what's wrong, girl?"

Butters still had a concerned look on his face but pushed himself to smile. "Well...you have a new friend now, right?"

Pepper yipped at Butters' words and Cierra chuckled softly. "Yeah, I guess so."

Some time later, the two kids heard the door latch click and Ms. Kay reentered the room.

"Hello, kids! How was the little pup?" she asked. "She wear you out?"

"Nope," Cierra said cheerfully. "But she was a bundle of fun, huh, Butters?"

"Yep!" Butters agreed. "A real firecracker!"

"Ha, ha! Maybe we should call her Firecracker," Ms. Kay chuckled.

"Oh, no, Ms. Kay. Cierra already named her," Butter announced.

"Oh?" Ms. Kay raised her eyebrow.

"Umm…Pepper?" Cierra asked bashfully.

Pepper yipped and rubbed her head on Cierra's leg upon hearing her new name.

"Well….I think that'll do just fine, kids," said Ms. Kay. "But I think it's about time Pepper went back into her kennel."

"Already?" Cierra whined.

"It's been two hours, hon; it's time for you both to go."

"Aww!" the kids said in unison.

"Oh, you'll both see her tomorrow," Ms. Kay scooped up Pepper in her arms and into her pet carrier. "Come on, now. You'll both need to sign out." Pepper yapped in her pet carrier as Ms. Kay carried it with the two children in tow. "Head for the front desk," she instructed as she headed through a back door to the puppy kennels. Butters and Cierra walked through the hall of barking dogs and shut the door behind them. Butters grabbed his coat from a closet and Cierra snagged hers from a hook.

Butters noticed Cierra placing her hat on her head and asked, "Is that an army cap?"

"Army!?" Cierra scoffed. "Please! This is a Marine's dresscap."

"Wow…." Butters said in awe. "Where'd you get it?"

"When my mom went up in rank, she got a new dress uniform," Cierra explained. "so she gave me-"

"Wait!" Butters cried. "Your mom's a Marine?"

"Yep! She's Major Cartman now," Cierra said proudly.

"Wow! Cool!"

Cierra felt her phone vibrate in her purse and pulled it out. She touched its screen a few times and turned back to Butters. "That was my dad, he'll be here in a few minutes to pick me up."

Butters heard a horn honk outside and recognized his father's car.

"My dad's here right now," he said. He rushed for the sign in sheet and scribbled the time quickly. "Do want me to wait until your dad shows up? Hate to leave you here alone."

"I'll...be fine, Butters," Cierra took the sign in sheet from him. "Dad'll be here soon. Promise."

"Pinkie Promise?" Butters asked.

Cierra giggled and placed the clipboard on the front desk. "Cross my heart, hope to fly," she recited.

"Stick a cupcake in my eye," they said together with a laugh.

"Well, OK, then," said Butters. "I'll see you in school tomorrow."

"I'll see you, Butters," Cierra said.

Butters waved goodbye and Cierra followed suit. Butters headed outside and Cierra was left inside to wait. Cierra sat in an empty seat as she waited.

'Hmm….' she thought to herself. 'A new friend...great.' She tried to smile but felt she couldn't. She wrung her hands nervously and grimaced as she looked to the ground. 'Hope I get keep this one…"

Cierra heard a pounding on the door but saw no one. She propped the door open and looked to her left.

"Cuz!" she heard a familiar voice say from her right. "Good, you're ready."

"Yeah,"Cierra said. "I was just-"

" 'Cause you said you'd be off by six," Cartman interrupted.

"But it is six," Cierra said.

"Check your phone," Cartman held up his own smartphone which flashed the time on its screen. "It's 6:07, cuz. You're late for dinner."

"Not that late," Cierra said. "I eat dinner at around six everyday."

"We're not going to your place, cuz," Cartman said.

"We're not? " Cierra asked.

"No; See your dad's working late again tonight. So you're eating dinner at my house."

"Oh…" Cierra said.

"Now come on," he said gruffly. "You know I hate it when you're late for dinner."

Cierra dragged her feet as Cartman lead her to his mother's car.

'I hope Aunt Liane cooks actual food tonight.' Cierra thought bitterly.