A/N: Hey guys! So I uploaded this on my smartphone, and so I apologise if the format is slightly off :/
Disclaimer: I don't own South Park. The delightful Matt and Trey, do!
"So, what have you two been up to today?"
Henrietta leant her head back and exhaled, her hands behind her back supporting her as she leant back.
"Not much", Pete said, flipping through a magazine, "Just hung out."
Henrietta smirked and looked up at Firkle on the bed. "So in other words, they fucked."
Firkle snickered, whilst Michael rolled his eyes.
"Real mature."
They sat in silence, as The Cure blasted from Henriettas' speakers. They often found themselves feeling content by just being together. Some nights they'd sit like this until all four of them fell asleep.
Michaels phone buzzed, and he pulled it out of his pocket. "Fuck." he sighed as he read the text. "One of the waiters is sick, so my boss wants me to work the dinner shift."
"That suuuuucks!" Henrietta groaned.
"Yeah, well, I better go. See ya guys."
They all waved goodbye, unimpressed, as he walked out of the room.
"Soooooo," Henrietta sang, "How was your night with Michael, Pete?"
Pete looked up from the magazine and tried to hide a smile. "Aw shut up Henri, he just bought me dinner because I didn't have any money."
Firkle slid down off the bed and sat crossed legged next to Pete. "Does he know how you feel about him?"
Pete shrugged. "I think he does, but he doesn't want a relationship."
"Doesn't that, like, suck though?" Henrietta frowned. "Like, sure a nice fuck is great and all, but when there's feelings involved..."
Pete sighed. "Yeah, he's offered to stop so I won't get hurt, but I just don't want to."
Henrietta watched her friend carefully. He looked pretty down about the whole thing, and she frowned sadly.
"You love him, don't you?"
Pete looked up in shock, and Firkle turned to look at him, also in shock.
"I... I..." He stuttered.
"You do, don't you, Pete?"
Pete stared behind Henrietta in thought. He knew he had strong feelings for Michael. He knew that when Michael touched him he got goosebumps. He knew that when he was depressed he wanted Michael. Was that love?
"Y-yeah, I do."
Henrietta gasped and Firkles' mouth fell open in surprise.
"Pete, you should really tell him. He needs to know that whatever you're feeling, isn't just some crush!"
Pete lit up a cigarette and inhaled deeply. He always smoked more when he was stressed, or upset.
"I just can't, I'm afraid I'll ruin what we have."
"Yeah but Pete," Firkle said, putting his arm around his shoulder. "You really can't keep doing this with him, if it's only going to hurt you, and if the feelings you have are going to get stronger."
"That's right!" Henrietta pointed at Firkle in agreement, "That's fucking right."
Pete closed his eyes and took another drag of his cigarette. "But what if I ruin things with him completely?"
"Michael's not like that, he's a good guy." Henrietta smiled softly. "He'd understand, he wouldn't want to hurt you."
Pete sighed. "I guess you're right."
Michael groaned as he pulled up at work. He was looking forward to a night off with his friends. He liked work, the money was great, but with twelfth grade proving itself to be challenging, work was getting tough.
He walked into the restaurant, the smell of the salad bar hitting him instantly. His boss spotted him and waved him into the back.
Michael obeyed and followed his boss into the staff room.
"Hey Michael, thanks for coming in, you saved my ass. Saturday nights are usually really busy as you know, and losing just one waiter can really suck."
Michael shrugged. "No problem, sir. Hey, I wonder if I have a moment of your time before it starts getting busy?"
His boss took a seat at the staff table and smiled. "Sure, sit down."
Michael sat down and pulled on his work shirt. "I have a friend, he's a year younger than me..." He began buttoning his shirt up and looking up at his boss. "He lives in the trailer park, and often struggles just to get food in his stomach, since his Mom has trouble keeping a job."
His boss frowned. "Doesn't sound like much of a parent."
"Yeah, she has a lot of problems I won't get into." He sighed sadly. "Anyway, would you consider taking him in as a dish washer or something? He's a good guy, and has been desperate to find work. I promised I'd ask."
His boss tapped his fingers on the table and shrugged. "I'd be happy to set up an interview for him. You tell him tomorrow at 10am, okay?"
Michael beamed. "Thank you, sir! I really appreciate you giving him a chance like this."
His boss smiled warmly. "Everyone deserves a chance, besides, I trust your opinion on people."
Michael laughed. Him and his boss got along very well. It was hard for him to trust people, but they just clicked.
"Well, I better clock on. Thanks again, sir."
"Anytime, Michael."
Henrietta, Pete and Firkle decided to go to sizzler for dinner, just so they could see Michael. They ordered a salad bar each, and were waiting to be seated.
"It's fucking busy tonight." Henrietta looked around at the crowd.
"Yeah, no wonder Michael was asked to come in," Firkle agreed.
Michael had finished wiping down a booth when he was told to serve the next in line. He walked to the group and smiled, noticing it was his friends.
"Hi there, welcome to sizzler, I'm Michael. Would you follow me to your table?"
Henrietta laughed. "Hey Michael, we thought we'd come annoy you at work.
He lead them to a booth and handed them their plates and cups. "I figured that's why you were here."
Pete looked at Henrietta and bit his lip anxiously. Henrietta responded with a small smile and nodded towards Michael.
"Hey, uh Michael. Can we talk when you're on your break?"
Michael looked at Pete and nodded. "Yeah, sure. I have something to tell you anyway. Enjoy the salad bar guys."
He rushed off to the next group and Pete groaned. "I'm terrified! Is his work really the best place to tell him?"
Henrietta shrugged. "It might be less awkward in a loud environment."
Pete sighed and stood up. "Let's go get our food."
The group were beginning on their third helping of food when Michael came over and sat down. He was sweaty, and looked exhausted, which wasn't surprising considering how busy it was.
"Hey, I'm on break."
Pete felt his stomach turn, and he tried to keep himself from having a panic attack.
"Oh my god Michael, I don't care how much more weight I put on, the food here is actually really good!" Henrietta took another mouthful of pasta and moaned.
Michael smiled slightly and turned to Pete. "Hey, you wanted to talk to me?"
Firkle and Henrietta shared nervous glances and continued to eat, looking out the window.
"Y-yeah, uh. I needed to tell you something." Pete looked down at his plate and played with his food with his fork.
Michael frowned. "Well, I have something to tell you, too. May I go first?"
Pete looked up and nodded his head.
"Okay, well, I spoke to my boss, about potentially getting you a job here..."
Petes eyes widened. "And?!"
Michael smiled slightly. "I got you an interview, 10am tomorrow."
Pete gasped and covered his mouth. His eyes filled with tears. "Thank you so much!"
"It was no problem, he was more than happy to do it."
"Oh god, can I hug you, Michael?!"
Michael chuckled and stood up. "Yeah, sure, I suppose so."
Pete stood up and practically jumped on Michael. He was so grateful for this, and was so touched that Michael actually did it. He knew he would, but he didn't expect it to happen so fast.
Michael broke the hug and sat back down.
"What was it that you wanted to tell me?"
Henrietta and Firkle looked at Pete, who bit his lip. "Oh uh, never mind. It doesn't matter."
Michael shrugged and pulled out his phone. "I better get back to work. See ya when I got off."
Once he was gone, Henrietta threw a sugar packet at Pete which made him jump. "What the fuck, Hen?"
"Why didn't you tell him?" She frowned.
"I couldn't! He got me a frigging interview!"
Firkle sipped at his coffee. "You're going to have to tell him, dude."
Pete sighed. "I will. Just not yet."
