Warnings: HOLY- guys, I am sorry. When I said "later than I wanted", I meant like a month or two, not nearly six. RL struck again. It's good though, cuz I got a job! It just kinda took me this long to work something out so I could get any writing at all done on anything. But now that I have, it appears to be working just swell. ^_^ Also, the bit at the start about the laws is completely true. I've said it before, I'll say it again: prostitution. procon. org is your friend. It is wonderfully fascinating.

Oh! And I got a twitter! So, if you care to see what kind of progress I'm making, or come kick my butt when I'm not, you can now! SPFratParty

Reviews:

Scarlet Wolf: Ahahaha! No seriously, that was my initial reaction to seeing that. Don't worry about it, I'm not insulted. :) It probably sounds researched because it is, I did spend a lot of time on that. I have no idea if pimp conventions are real, I took that straight from the show. Oh, and RL = real life.

Xx8BlueMoon8xX: I have to thank you hugely for this. Not only did you review on my birthday, making it just that much more awesome, but you kind of kickstarted me back into gear on this story. Of course, then I got that job and this got pushed back again by several months, but the initial motivation to get going again came from that review. So thank you.

Sunshine-aki: Ah, god, I'm just glad people like it! Thanks!

Without further ado, have a chapter!


Not So Naïve Anymore

Chapter 4

I ended up getting up around 8am that Saturday and spent the morning researching the things on my list. They were mostly things to help me generally learn about prostitution, and the most important was for me to look up the laws on it in our state. I had known from the start that what I was getting into was illegal, but I found it useful to know just how illegal, how deep I was digging myself with this little project of mine.

Turns out it's a pretty hefty penalty for pimps.

But that didn't get me so much as the difference in sentence for pimps versus brothel owners. Most other states have them listed the same, or at least close. It's pretty much just Colorado that appears to be so much more lenient towards brothel owners. Because, really, when it comes down to it, what's the difference? Does this state think just because a brothel is run out of a house, and is considered "classier", that they're not doing the same things there as a pimp-run operation? It's still prostitution.

Whatever, I'd just have to be careful. I now have the laws printed out and taped up, among some other things, on the wall in my office to always remind myself and the girls to be careful and aware of the possible consequences. To be informed is half the battle. How can we be safe in what we do if we don't know the risks involved?

But it did give me an idea. There was no way I could start a brothel at the time, or even now really, but if I could manage to later, it would save me from the higher price on a technicality. There's a big difference between a misdemeanor and a felony on your record. I've been pretty good at avoiding either of them so far, but if I do get caught, I'd rather continue to avoid the felony.

So I stored that little piece of information away for later and continued with my research. It was around 11am when I looked up to find that my explorations of the subject had sucked me in for three hours. I put it all aside for the time being, showered, made sure I had everything I needed, and headed over to meet everyone.

My parents tried to stop me from leaving again. I recall standing in the doorway, saying something along the lines of, "That's right, I've been a bad boy, and I am grounded mister! But I have shit to do, so I'll be going now. Don't wait up, I may or may not be home tonight," before slamming the door behind me.

I got to Kenny's early – I knew it was important that I be the first there – and chatted with the other blond as we waited on his front steps for the girls to show. When all had arrived, we made our way to the clinic.

The people there were (and still are) all very kind. They more or less know us there by now, but even then they strove for confidentiality and providing a non-judgmental atmosphere. They took care of exactly what we needed without question, and in a matter of a couple of hours we were done and parting ways with our Raisins/Hooters crew, who, once again, had to leave us for their regular jobs.

The rest of us went back to Kenny's to pick back up where we had left off the night before. Then after it had gotten dark, we decided to hit the streets for some of that "researching" I had mentioned previously. When you're just getting started in any business, it's important to know the market before just jumping into it. So we drove around downtown South Park for a few hours, learning the better locations, the price ranges, the competition; anything useful we could find out from this outing.

About an hour into it, we found a good spot and dropped Kenny off so he could work some while Sally and I continued. He called us a few hours later so we could go get him, and he handed me a wad of cash. By that point, we had more or less figured out our percentage cuts (10% would go to me personally, 20% I would hold for the group as a whole, and the rest would go back to the girl who earned it), so I counted out my share and handed the rest back to Kenny.

After a full and productive Saturday evening, Sally and I ended up crashing at Kenny's. We parted ways the next morning so we could spend Sunday at home. After all, I did still have homework to do, and besides that, I figured I should probably spend at least some time with my parents. No need to get them scared thinking they've lost me to… whatever the news is saying the latest teen fad is to scare parents. 'Cause whatever it is, it's not what I'm doing. No, mom, I'm not freaking "cheesing", jeez.

So, Sunday was uneventful, but that was okay. I was more anxious for what Monday would bring. And bring it did.

The day almost started out like normal. I got up, got ready, ate breakfast, grabbed my stuff, and went to wait at the bus stop.

That's where it got different.

I had almost forgotten everything from the weekend as I stood by the sign a short distance away from the rest of the usual group (the one everyone knew as "Stan and those guys"), when Kenny broke away from them to come sidling up to me and plant a welcome kiss on my cheek.

I was briefly surprised before it all came back to me and my face melted into a knowing smile, "Mornin', Kenny."

There was a short silence, Stan and Kyle simply raised their eyebrows at us and then went back to their conversation, Cartman shouted out something homophobic while everyone else ignored him, and Kenny just winked as the bus stop settled back into relative normality.

Or so I thought. Before long, a small, dark pink Madza Miata with the top down was rolling up in front of the stop. A far-too-chipper-for-that-time-of-the-morning redhead called out to me, "Hey sweetie! Need a lift?"

Wide-eyed, Kenny and I looked at each other, then smiled. I nodded toward the car for him to come with, and we hopped into the little two-seater, me in the passenger's seat and him perched on top of the open back. Lexus leaned over from the driver's side and also greeted me with a kiss on the cheek. As we took off in the direction of the school, I tried to ignore the looks on the faces of those we had left behind. This was definitely going to spread quickly. But we would just let them come up with their own stories.

We got to school and were joined by Mercedes and Porsche on our way through the parking lot. Lastly, we picked up Sally as we passed by the bus drop where she had just gotten dropped off.

We had, of course, beaten most to the school. There was still almost half an hour before classes began, so our entrance was lost on the mostly empty hallways. Still, to the few there, it did have to look like I had suddenly and strangely grown my own posse over the weekend. While that is kind of admittedly what had happened, it definitely had to be odd to see that surrounding me. I was, after all, far from popular all through my school years.

I allowed these thoughts and the happiness of guiding my own life to where I wanted it to be to wash over me as we made our way through the halls, hit our lockers in turn, and finally settled on the floor near my own to wait out the bell. I normally hung out in the choir room before class, but the only other one allowed in there would have been Kenny, and besides, we all wanted to see how certain people would react to my apparent new posse.

We passed the time studying for a quiz in the Algebra II class most of us shared later in the morning. Soon enough, the halls filled and many of our friends quickly surrounded us after spotting us from the nearby lockers.

"Whoa," Kyle's voice was the first thing to make me look up.

Though Cartman's quickly followed, "What the fuck? What the fuck, Butters, what. The fuck."

I ignored that in favor of my usual greeting, "Well, hey there, fellas!" I exclaimed with a wave and a bright smile. "How was y'all's weekend?"

"Um, not as good as yours, apparently," Stan offered. "Uh, not to back Cartman up on anything, ever, but I gotta know this is all about," he questioned, gesturing broadly at all of us strewn about the floor.

I offered a look of complete innocence with a dash of confusion in return.

Fortunately, Kenny fielded the actual answering, "It's about, we all had a thing over the weekend and, after spending some time together there, we decided we should all hang out more."

"Oh, that's cool. Yeah, I was wondering what all that at the bus stop was about," Kyle said, adding curiously, "So, what was the thing?"

Damn it.

"Yeah, what thing?" Cartman tacked on suspiciously.

Double damn it.

While I quickly ran through my brain searching for something that might interest all of us, yet bore the other guys, Sally seemed to come up with a suitable response, "Oh, just some poppy music festival thing. Bunch of local, unheard-of singer-songwriters. Real tiny. Wasn't really advertised, I'm not really even sure how I heard about it."

"Yeah," Kenny chimed in. "Me and Butters only knew about it, and really only even went, 'cause of choir. But we all found each other and stuck together 'cause we were the only people there any of us even kind of knew, and it turned out to be a lot of fun."

"Oh, god! Freaking hippies! All of you! I'm surrounded by dirty, freaking hippies!" In case you couldn't tell who that was, that was Cartman yelling about hippies. Anyway, he ranted a little more before turning heal and storming off, shouting out as he left, "Screw you guys! I'm going home!"

Kyle stalked after him, yelling at his back, "No, you're not, asshole! Class hasn't even started yet!" And then they were gone, disappeared into the crowd.

We all looked warily after them for a moment, then Stan turned back to us, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "Aheh, I should probably, uh… go make sure they don't kill each other…" he slowly trailed off before wandering off after them.

Diversion successful.

And at least now we were all on the same page, alibi-wise. Though, we weren't out of the woods yet. Several others had witnessed the exchange, though most seemed satisfied by the answers given in said exchange and carried on with their morning routines.

Craig stepped up after the others had gone and simply raised an eyebrow at us as Tweek stood shivering next to him looking extremely worried with his wide eyes. When Craig did nothing more than acknowledge us with his middle finger before heading to class early, Tweek shrieked and chased after him. "Oh god, Craig! How can you just walk away? Aren't you, ngh, worried? This is huge! Something major must have happened! Gah! It's a conspiracy! I bet the government brainwashed them all so they could interfere with our lives! Oh god, it must have happened at that concert! Sweet Jesus, what if you're next? What if I'm next? Jesus Christ, Craig, whatever you do, don't take me to any concerts…" and that's about where his voice melted into the chatter. Though I knew he was nowhere near done, and Craig would just silently listen and let him get the whole thing out.

Next up were Wendy and Bebe. Wendy didn't actually stop, just kind of glanced our way as she passed us by. Bebe, however, was instantly distracted. She seemed highly intrigued by who I had suddenly decided to surround myself with.

"Wow, Butters, gettin' around, huh?" she said with appraising eyes.

"Hehe, yeah, I g-guess so, Bebe."

"Hey, Bebe," I heard Kenny practically purr from next to me. "Might I say, you look absolutely gorgeous today. As you do every day, of course," he added, looking her body up and down in a very obvious manner.

She giggled, of course, as is the only proper response when the subject of one Kenneth McCormick's flirtations. "Hey, Kenny. So, this is new. It looks like something fun happened and I missed out on it!" I could hear the pout. "Ooh, better yet, is it still happening, and can I get in on it?"

My eyes widened and I shared a look with Kenny. She had no idea what it was she was trying to get in on. Yet here she was, trying anyway. And if she wanted to try anyway, without knowing what it was, why not give her that shot? I shrugged, looking back at her, "Well, sure, Bebe. I mean, if you really wanna. I think we were gonna try an' get together again later this week. Like, Wednesday or somethin', right guys?"

"Yeah, Wednesday would be good. That's when our schedules come out, anyway, remember?" Porsche supplied.

"Oh, yeah. That's right. Thanks, Porsche." I turned back to Bebe, "So, yeah, Wednesday, it looks like. How 'bout we all meet over at Kenny's right after school? Or, actually, I know me an' Kenny have 6th off. Anyone else?"

"Yep, same here," said Sally.

"Yeah, we all have 6th off, too."

"That's great! Bebe?"

"Oh! Y-yeah, me too!"

"Perfect! So, we'll all just head straight over to Kenny's right after 5th on Wednesday."

"Sounds good to me," said Kenny.

"Works for us."

Sally nodded.

"Okay, sure. Sounds fun, I can't wait! I better go catch up to Wendy, but I'll see you all Wednesday!"

We watched Bebe bounce away until she was out of earshot. Without turning, I quietly made a suggestion, "Somebody wants to tell that girl what exactly it is that she just got herself into, be my guest."

"Personally, I think it'd be more fun to let her sit on it, and find out Wednesday the same way we did; when you go from Butters the Innocent to Butters the Mega-Pimp," was Kenny's input.

I shrugged, "Mm, whatever, 's your prerogative."

"I say, did you just say what I think you just said?"

My head snapped up in the direction of the accented voice to find Pip staring at, well, me with a rather curious look mixed with mild shock on his face. My eyes remained wide and unblinking as I attempted to keep my face blank, "Um, no?"

He tilted his head, "Are you quite sure? I haven't even told you what I heard."

"No, I'm pretty sure I've got a good idea of what it was."

"I suggest you go ahead and forget whatever it was you think you heard," Kenny said, making a move to stand.

But instead, Pip beat him to the punch by promptly shucking his backpack and sitting down in front of me. All this as he quickly said, "No, see, that's just it. I can't forget when it's exactly what I've been looking for." He just as quickly looked around after he said it, wary of who else might accidentally hear certain parts of this conversation. I looked with him, and fortunately nobody was too close to us anymore.

"Um, w-what do you mean, Pip?" I was really not sure what to think at this point.

"Well, you see, I haven't the money to continue my education at university, and I don't have any sort of job lined up for after high school, nor did I have any idea as to what kind of work I should do. That is, until recently. You see, yours is a profession I quite admire, actually. I find it is a livelihood that holds a certain appeal, an attraction to it that draws me in. So, given some thought, I had only just decided to seek it out, rather than push it away or try to ignore it."

"Man," Kenny said. "I think I just learned more about you in two minutes than I did in a decade of knowing you (more than I maybe wanted to know). Damnit, that's twice in one week now. That's not fair. I feel like I don't know anybody anymore."

"Aw, Kenny, you know me plenty," I gave him a shoulder hug.

"Yeah, now."

I sighed and turned back to Pip, "Um, we are on the same page here, are we not?"

"Oh, yes, I quite believe so. You are a pimp, are you not?" He didn't actually give me the chance to answer that. I think he figured I would interrupt if he was wrong, and since obviously he wasn't, obviously I didn't. "Had you perhaps approached me on the subject, or had I heard about it any other way, I might have been inclined to think it not true, or that if it was, you would surely not last. But if you already have Kenny, as well as these fine ladies, under your wing… And they are giving you praise… Well, I should imagine you are quite excellent at what you do."

"Aw, shucks. I'm only just startin' out…"

"And you are already at this point," he reminded, as though I was just further helping his case. "Anyway, I suppose I shall get to the point. I should very much appreciate the opportunity if you would have me in your crew."

I stammered for a moment, unable to form an immediate response, looking back and forth between Pip and Kenny. Finally I managed to say, "If that's what you want to do, who am I to stop you? If you're gonna do it anyway, I may as well help you. We'd love to have you on! Um, did you hear any of what we said to Bebe?"

"Oh, thank you! Ah- no, I'm afraid not."

"Okay, we're all meeting at Kenny's after school Wednesday to go over some things. Do you have 6th free?"

"I do."

"Great, just meet us around here as soon as you get out, and we can all head over there together. That good for you?"

"Yes, that would be good. Is there anything you want me to do before then?"

"Oh, hey. Here, I got that notebook," Kenny said, getting up and pulling said notebook out of his locker. "Just stick your number and address right there."

As Pip did so, I remembered something else, "Hey, Ken, you got the address for that clinic? I want him to go ahead and take care of that, too."

"Oh, yeah, it's, um…" He dug around a bit. "Ahah! Here, business card," he declared, handing it down to Pip, who just looked at it for a moment, unsure.

"It's one of two requirements I have, and the other doesn't apply to you. Go get yourself tested, make sure you're clean, and then bring me the results when you get them back. It'll take about a week, so it's best to get a jump on it."

"Ah," understanding dawned, "yes, of course. Absolutely. I shall take care of that this afternoon."

"Perfect! So, we'll see you Wednesday, then," I smiled.

"Yes! Wednesday," he smiled back. As he left, I could tell he was greatly anticipating our next meeting, and felt happy for him, as I did for all of us.