/Oh hai everyone! I'd like to thank Lovsouthpark for the very kind review! It means a lot to me.

Ah, onto the chapter I suppose!

South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone. You know the drill./

A little over a week later, I was still grounded, but Kenny and I had worked out another way to meet up. I had a free period two before lunch, so Kenny would skip out on A.P Lit every few days so we could work on The Kenneth Project. Eventually, as we chatted in the library about love, I decided to bring up Butters.

"Hey, Kenneth?" I said.

"Yeah?"

"How long has Butters' father been hitting him?" Kenny took a long pause. I could tell he was contemplating whether or not to tell me, whether or not he could trust me. Whether or not Butters would trust me. "You can tell me, Kenneth, it won't leave this table." I promised.

"The first time was about a year ago." He breathed. "The second was three months ago."

"And the third was one week ago." I finished for him.

Kenny nodded. I could tell how this worked. Most abusive parents I'd read about beat their children often, but not quite as bad each time. Butters' father, however, held long spaces in-between each beating, but each was obviously worse than the last. This was a tactic I'd never read about. The spaces seemed long enough for the wounds to have just healed, give or take a little time. So right after he had healed, the wounds would open again. Perhaps even worse. This type of beating seemed to be a perfect analogy of Butters' relationship with his parents, actually. They would out him down, make him feel like a worthless failure, then heal the emotional wounds with their love only to open them back up just a little while later.

"We have to do something about this. We have to go to the police." I said. "They have to pay for what they've done."

"Wendy, we can't get involved. This is Butters' fight." Kenny slowly protested.

"This is all of our fights, Kenneth. Butters is our friend. Have you never heard of situations like this? Someone is abused. Their friends keep quiet. It only gets worse. We have to do something."

I wasn't going to sit back and let this happen. And by God, neither was Kenny if I had anything to say about it!

"No, Wendy. We have to let him handle this on his own. I've asked him if he wanted me to do anything. I asked him to come with me to speak with the police. He told me he's going to fix this on his own. We have to let him work it out."

Well... If Butters had his own plan, I figured we couldn't help him anymore than he could help himself. He had it figured out. I sighed and gave up. I opened up my psychology book and was about to start reading from it when I heard a shaky breath escape Kenny's lips.

"Kenneth?" I glanced over at him. He had his face in his hands. He breathed shakily. I placed a comforting hand on his back. I could feel him crying. "Hey... You okay?"

Tears poured through his fingers.

"Fuck no... I want to help him. I wish I could." He whispered through his tears. "His life is fucked up and there's nothing I can do to help him."

I stood up and held my hand on his shoulder. This was it.

"You love him, don't you?"

Kenny looked up at me. His eyes were red and his cheeks were streaked with tears. He looked back down after only an instant.

"I... I think... I think I do."

And with those words, that final confession, I felt my heart break. I smiled, though, for it wasn't my own selfish feelings it broke for. It was for undying love. Not mine. But Kenny's. I knew now. It was Butters he loved.

And I was happy.

I took Kenny's hand and pulled him up out of the chair, then into my arms. As I let him cry on my shoulder, I realized that I was truly happy. Not only had he let me in, but he had let me in to one of the hardest realizations a person can express. True love.

But he wouldn't tell Butters on his own. I knew that. If I was ever going to make this work, I would have to teach him to be as open with he feelings to the world as he was to me. He would have to come out as bi curious first. And we'd need a little more work before he'd be able to do that. I counselled him on the importance of exposing your emotions. I reviewed him on what not to do before coming out. I told him to make sure he didn't distance himself from anyone, that he didn't behave coldly. Like Stan did. I practiced with him.

"Wait, you're actually going to hide inside a closet before coming out?" I asked when he told me what he planned to do.

"Yeah. It'd be funny to hide for like three hours then come out with a big sign that says I'M GAY BITCHES in rainbow letters, right?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration, like I always saw Stan do. Jesus Christ, why can't anyone in this town be at least a little bit normal?

"I think that would be a little bit stretching, Kenneth. Some people might think you're making fun of them."

"God dammit. No closet, then?" Kenny grinned and I burst out laughing. Of course he was kidding.

"You're such a dork." I said, shoving him.

"Well, duh. That's why we're friends, ya crazy bitch!" He smiled and shoved me back. "If there's no closet and there's no rainbow sign, I guess we'll go about this casually."

"Show me. You be you, I'll be the guys."

Kenny took a few steps back, then walked up again, said "Hey assholes, I'm bi curious. Deal with it." and walked away again. I laughed and gave an approving thumbs-up. It was straight to the point, not to complicated, and funny. Perfect. He was ready.

The next day was the big moment. Lunch period rolled around and I waited out by the door. Kenny was going to walk in, do his quick little routine, and come back to join me.

"Get a move on, Kenneth! You can do it!" I said, steering him through the door.

"Thanks, Wendy." He said and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

My heart lifted as I pushed him through the door. He sauntered up to the table, came clean, snapped his fingers, and started to walk away. Before he could return to the door, though, Cartman stood up.

"Have you told Wendy, yet? She's gonna be so pissed, dude." He said, loud enough so I could hear.

"Why would she be pissed?" Kenny asked, glancing back towards me. I shrugged.

"She's totally fucking in love with you, dumbass!"

No, no, no, no, FUCK! I screamed internally. Kenny turned and studied me. I could feel my face flush. It was obvious. Stan turned around in his seat, Kyle following suit. Soon the whole table was staring at me. Most girls would have run away in a situation like this. But not Wendy motherfucking Testaburger. I skipped up to the table like a cheerful schoolgirl, then up to Cartman and slapped him across the face.

"Fuck you!" I said happily. I pointed at Stan. "Fuck you!" Then at Kyle. "Fuck you!" I pointed to everyone except Butters and Kenny. "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, and fuck you!"

I stepped back, smiled, and skipped out of the lunchroom. I heard feet pounding against the floor and slowed down, expecting it to be Kenny.

I was wrong.

"I told you he'd hurt you." Craig drawled.

"Did you not hear me, Tucker? I believe I said, ah fuck you."

"You should have listened, but that's just like you, isn't it? People try to help you and you just tell them to fuck off. Because you're a bitch."

I'm not a bitch... I thought. Am I?

"You're such a downer." I said.

"And you're such a bitch. We compliment each other perfectly." Craig said sarcastically.

"I'd like to be alone right now."

I walked straight out of the school and sat on the park bench for the rest of the day. They all know. Even Kenny does. I sighed. What would Kenny think? What would he say the next day? No, I thought, it doesn't matter. What's done is done, right?

What's done is done. Fuck 'em.

/I've just realized how I tend to skip straight to lunch period, don't I? Would you guys like less lunch and more actual classroom drama? Let me know, I'd love to hear your opinions! See you guys next time, peace out!/