South Park belongs to T. Parker and M. Stone. Ella Tweak and Nico belong to me.
*
An icy wind whipped through the Marsh's back yard, sending spirals of crisp leaves swirling around Stan's feet and lifting his shaggy black hair. He tossed the football across to Cartman who caught it easily and tossed it back. Kyle was seated atop a weathered picnic table busily texting, his dark red ponytail caught like a banner in the wind. Kenny was seated next to Kyle, a lit cigarette tucked in the corner of his mouth. His light blue eyes were distant and his usual gentle expression bordered on morose. Cartman had spent the better part of the afternoon trying to make Kenny laugh with graphic descriptions of his homecoming date, but failed to provoke more than a weak smile from the pensive boy.
Stan caught the football and sent it back to Cartman who tucked it under his arm. Cartman stopped and watched Kenny for a moment, and then walked over to Stan.
"Why is Kenny being such a boring douche?" Cartman asked, in an unusually quiet voice. "I mean, I know he went to homecoming with Heidi and that Heidi's a bitch…"
Stan sighed. He had ended up going with Bebe Stevens. South Park had won its homecoming game. The starting quarterback sprained his knee in the second quarter, which left Stan to step in. He'd played badly for the rest of the first half, but had come out of the locker room fighting after halftime and helped carry his team to victory. After the game, Bebe had asked him to the dance. He'd been shocked she hadn't had a date already. She had only smiled and said that she liked to keep her 'options open.' He'd picked her up in his parent's car and she'd been gorgeous. Looked gorgeous. Smelled gorgeous. She'd even kissed him gorgeously when he pulled up outside her house to drop her off afterwards. Stan swore he could feel the weight of the condom he'd placed in his wallet earlier in the evening with a hopeful sigh. He thought things were going well and had just slid his hand down Bebe's neck to her bare shoulder when she brought up Ella Tweak.
At first Stan had been mildly put out by Bebe's sudden need to talk, but he found himself getting drawn in to Bebe's strange description of the girl and her empty eyes. He'd always remembered Tweek's sister as a playful, fun girl with a personality quite unlike her older brother. In fact, if the Tweaks hadn't both been short and slight, with identical little pointy noses, he'd never of guessed they'd been raised by the same parents. Ella seemed to have a soothing effect on her older brother who, Bebe pointed out, had been sick for three weeks now. Stan agreed at the time that it was all very mysterious, and was somewhat anxious to get back to the kissing. Bebe, however, had her phone out and gave him a brief kiss goodnight and insisted she needed to make some calls. Stan thought about both Bebe and her strange tale for about a week, and now was just as convinced that something was afoot at the Tweak house.
"Stan. Seriously. Now you're being a douche." Cartman said impatiently, but was still looking at Kenny who was chain smoking.
"Sorry. Uh. I don't know dude. I think he wanted to go to homecoming with Ella Tweak, but Bebe says that she's going out with this strange kid named Nico that used to live in North Park." Stan said.
"I haven't seen Miss Ella all year. I have Spanish with that kid though. He's a fag." Cartman concluded. "The girls are always like-" Cartman put on his best falsetto and swished his hips. "Oh hi Nico!" He giggled and batted his eyelashes. "Do you need help Nico? Look at my boobs Nico!" He resumed his usual, somewhat nasally, tenor. "Total. Fag."
"I dunno. Bebe said he was 'delicious'." Stan shrugged. "Anyway, you know Heidi is always Kenny's fallback girl. I think he's disappointed."
"Yeah. Heidi's a mouthy ho. She puts out though." Cartman said. "Kenny did say something about Miss Ella a few months ago."
"Yeah?" Stan said, hearing his phone chirp in his pocket. He pulled it out and checked his texts. "Kyle, you'd better not be texting me from across the yard!" he said, with mock anger.
"Not me, dude!" Kyle said, still texting.
"Yeah Kahl, you jewfag! Stan and I are having a mature conversation over here!" Cartman snapped at Kyle, missing Kyle flipping him off as he turned back to Stan. "Anyway, Kenny had been smoking under the bleachers during freshman orientation last August. He said he'd seen the Tweaks there, and that Ella was cute and-" Cartman stopped, held up both hands at about the level of Stan's chest and made the gesture that Kenny often used to express wordless admiration for a girl's physique. "Future home of double Ds, he said." Cartman shrugged.
Stan frowned. That didn't really match what Bebe told him at all. He showed his text to Cartman.
Bebe S: Ella Willies, sans boyfriend.
"Kahl! Kenneh! Pizza!" Cartman pulled out his car keys. "I'm drivin'. I don't want to be seen in Stan's dad's douchy car."
*
Whistlin' Willie's was jam-packed, even for a Saturday evening. South Park had won another football game the day before, and spirts were still high.
Bebe Stevens sipped her Coke and listened to Red and Wendy chatting about student council business. She'd noticed they included her in their chatter less, ever since the pink rose incident. Ordinarily she would have worried about this, but she had her eyes fixed on Ella Tweak who was playing Guitar Hero with Craig Tucker in the arcade. Both Craig and Ella played in silence and Bebe wondered if there was something else going on. Ella seemed to have a bit more life today. Her golden hair was drawn back into two tails of shiny, soft curls and her cheeks were pink. She still wore that oversized gray hoodie, despite the excessively warm temperature inside the restaurant. She watched as Ella and Craig parted. Craig headed back to the table with his gang, where the pizzas had just arrived. Ella went over to the DDR machine which, for once, wasn't being dominated by the creepy Asian kid.
Bebe stood, catching a look from Red who said "What did you want on the pizza Bebe?"
"Whatever's fine. No mushrooms." Bebe replied and straightened her tight red sweater. She fished some quarters out of her pocket and walked over to Ella.
"Hey!" Bebe said, smiling. "Wanna play me?"
Ella looked over at Bebe and hesitated. "Yeah. Okay."
"Maybe you should take off that jacket. You're going to die once you start dancing." Bebe suggested helpfully, feeding quarters into the machine.
Ella paused and then nodded, unzipping the hoodie. She slung it over a nearby chair.
Bebe blinked as Ella turned her attention to the game, and scrolled through the songs. Bebe stood about 5'5" without heels and Ella was probably three inches shorter. Her clingy black top and dark skinny jeans revealed a petite frame with curves. While she didn't have Red's languid beauty or Wendy's dark attractiveness, Ella was cute. She looked nothing like she had a week ago when Bebe bumped into her outside the shop. She looked serene, and her skin had a warm glow to it. Only her eyes seemed distant as she selected a song.
"So. Is there something between you and Craig Tucker, if you don't mind my asking?" Bebe said and turned her attention to the game.
"Nope." Ella said, following the steps smoothly. She seemed as though she wouldn't offer more and then finally said. "He's like a brother."
"Ahhh.." Bebe said, and the girls continued playing in comfortable silence.
*
The boys piled out of Cartman's new car and headed into Willie's. The stifling heat of the restaurant felt good after the biting wind outside. Stan Marsh pulled off his hat and coat and scanned the room for Bebe. He caught sight of her playing DDR and looking perfect with another blonde girl. A blonde girl with a hot ass. He watched the two of them play for a few seconds and realized that the hot ass belonged to Ella Tweak and looked away. Cartman had spied Millie (his raunchy homecoming date) and dragged Stan by the sleeve towards the girls table with Kyle and Kenny following behind.
Stan ignored the strange look that Wendy gave him as he sat down, and missed the even stranger look that Kyle gave Wendy. He kept glancing back over at Bebe and nodded as Cartman rattled off their order to a very tired looking waitress.
"Right Stan?" Kyle said.
"Yeah." He said, having no idea what he agreed to. When he looked back, Bebe was beckoning to him and motioning to Kenny, who was lost in the depths of his hood. Stan stood and tugged on Kenny's sleeve. "Let's go play something while we wait." Kenny stood reluctantly and mumbled something behind his scarf that could have been 'Okay' or 'Fuck you'. Stan threaded his way through the crowd, 'accidentally' bumping into Bebe.
Bebe smiled and fanned her face. She hoped she wasn't sweating or something. "Hi Stan! Ella's beating me." She nodded toward petite blonde while feeding more quarters in the machine.
Stan nodded. "Kenny's actually really good at this. I bet you five dollars he beat her."
"Prepare to lose five dollars, because Ella just got a AA score." Bebe perched on the end of the table and looked over at Stan who shoved Kenny forward.
Kenny looked at his feet as Stan and Bebe chatted but looked up at the mention of Ella and then noticed her standing just behind Bebe. His stomach flipped as she smoothed her hair. He only half heard Bebe and Stan's bet and then felt himself being shoved forward. Oh god. He unzipped his hoodie and unwound his ridiculously long orange scarf and handed them off to Stan. He suddenly wished he hadn't put on his oldest blue t-shirt, or the brown cargo pants with the hole in one knee and ripped hems. Don't be lame, he told himself. Girls are no problem. You smile, flirt and they fall in your lap. He smiled nervously at Ella and then stubbed his toe, hard. Goddammit. He looked over and just caught her lips twitching as she turned towards the game and picked a song.
Kenny was really good, but he found himself distracted by the girl beside him. She looked as though she were gliding, curls bouncing in time to the music. She hadn't missed a step. He grinned lopsidedly and 'accidentally' nudged her with his elbow.
Ella felt a nudge and wobbled a bit but still didn't miss a step. "Cheater." She said, sounding amused. "Now I really will kick your ass."
Kenny smirked and did his best to keep up and nudged her again as the song ended while they waited for their scores. Kenny raised his arms in victory as he got an "AA" and then swore as Ella's "AAA" popped up on the screen. He shrugged at Stan who seemed pretty cheerful about handing over five dollars to Bebe.
"A rematch." Kenny said. "I demand one."
Ella fed the machine and they played in silence for a while until Kenny finally broke it by asking what she was up to. Was she still doing the art thing? Yes she was. Skating? Yes. They chatted amiably while dancing and five dollars later, Kenny still hadn't beat her. He stepped off the pad and looked down at her, flipping his long, straw-colored bangs out of his eyes. Ella looked up at him, her eyes flicking from his unkempt hair, his delicate cheekbones, his long thin nose and then up to his light blue eyes.
Kenny felt a blush rising in his cheeks. She has a boyfriend, you retard. Still – you could ask her to a movie. That's safe right? It'll be extra safe if you invite Stan and Bebe along too. He finally settled his eyes on hers, which were a delicate spring green. He opened his mouth to speak and then stopped as a dark haired boy dropped an arm around her shoulder. Kenny watched the color drain from her face.
Nico gave Kenny a dangerous smile and then turned to Ella, who got no smile at all, just a cold amber-eyed stare. "There you are. Craig's sister said you'd be here. You should have called." He picked up her big gray hoodie and helped her into it. "We should go work on your biology homework." He said, in a tone that allowed no room for questions. He flashed Bebe a smile that bordered on seductive and tipped her a wink as he steered Ella towards the door.
Stan frowned deeply. "That guy's a dick." He glanced over at Bebe who was chewing on her lower lip.
"Something is definitely wrong there." She concluded. Nico might have stolen the 'hottest guy' title from Craig Tucker, but looked to be after Craig's 'biggest asshole' title as well.
Stan glanced over at Kenny who held his thin body stiffly, his eyes watching the couple as they left.
"I hate him." Kenny said simply.
