Ah, here we get to meet a new character. His name is Jake. Not to be confused with the Jake from the Stick of Truth plot. That was a different Jake.

The next morning was Saturday, so, luckily, Brooke did not have to wake Riley in order for her to get ready for school. Another lucky thing, was that she had a habit of sleeping in, so she wasn't to be bothered by waking up to go eat or pee only to find that Riley was still laying against her. When she did wake up, it was sometime around eleven, and Riley was also just waking up as well.

Riley groaned as he sat up. His whole body ached and his right arm was the worst for it. He went to rub his eye with his other hand and was a little surprised to find it perfectly wrapped in clean white bandages. He looked down at his right arm and the sling then looked over his body. That's right… He had panicked last night, not sure where to go, and found himself knocking on Lucy's door. He now remembered the two girls tenderly caring for him through the night.

Brooke stretched her back and shoulders, letting out a groggy moan. She stared sleepily at him for a few moments, blinking sleep from her eyes, before finally deciding to speak. "How do you feel?"

"Sore," he replied quietly. He blushed a little as he remembered her holding him. It was nice to be held and touched by someone who cared for you… He had never been treated that way by anyone, and the only family member he ever knew was his father. Yet, he imagined it as the same treatment one would get from a caring mother or a kind sibling. "Thank you…" he said.

"Hm?" she was fixing her long hair. "Yeah. But you don't have to."

The door opened and Lucy stepped inside. "Oh," she looked pleasantly surprised. "You're awake, both of you. Good. Our… 'mother' just finished making breakfast. Apparently, I'm the only one who woke up early today." She walked around to examine Riley then handed him a neatly folded shirt. "I cleaned and mended your shirt. It's good as new now. I'll help you with it."

"O-Oh! Thanks." He watched her remove the sling then allowed her to assist him with getting his arm through the shirt. She then carefully folded up the sleeve and replaced the sling.

She noticed him making quiet sounds of pain. "I'll give you something for pain," she said after. "Then, you should both go eat."

Riley looked down. "Are you two…going to tell someone?"

"Who is there to tell?" Lucy asked as she handed him a pill and a glass of water. "He's already… Well, perhaps it would be best if…it wasn't known."

He looked up at her.

"Accidental murder is still murder," she said. "So, for your sake, I think it would be best not to mention it to anyone. Still…" She looked troubled.

"What?" he asked hesitantly.

"Oh! I was just fretting over your mental health. Last night, combined with what you've been through… I think that it would be good for you to stay with us. That way, you'd not only have a safe place to stay, but you'd have Brooke and myself here for you."

He didn't bother asking how she suddenly seemed to know what had happened. He didn't really care since it was these two. Really, he was more concerned with the fact that they had just invited him to live with them. "Y-You're…serious?"

"Of course. This is a very serious matter."

Brooke smiled at him. "You can stay as long as you want, Riley. We have a few extra rooms in the house. They all have beds."

He looked over at her. "What about your…parents?"

"Don't worry about them," she told him. "I feel bad for always having to mess with their heads, but their personalities are natural. They're nice. Also, in the end, I'M the one who has say-so over everything in this house. Eh, the parents are kind of…just for appearances. It'd look suspicious without them. At least, that's the Council's reasoning behind them." She glanced away and muttered, "Sometimes they actually 'parent' me, though…"

"You do need some discipline," Lucy remarked to her.

"Anyways," Brooke shot her a small glare. "They're just gonna think you're sleeping over a lot. I mean, Kenny does that all the time too, so it won't seem very strange to them."

"Kenneth might as well live here, too," Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Your sassiness is golden, Lucy," Brooke smirked. She turned back to Riley once again. "If you're not over here, then I assume you'll be sleeping at Butters'?"

He stared at her then nodded.

"Okay. That works. Now, let's go in the house and eat breakfast before Lucy's sass kills me. After, you can pick one of the extra bedrooms for yourself."

"Uh, yeah!"

.

At some point after noon, Brooke was getting ready to take Sniper out for a walk when she thought of something. She stopped at the front door and looked over at the boy sitting on the couch. "Hey Riley," she said. "If you're not in too much pain, why don't you come with us on our walk?"

He looked over at her curiously.

Sniper wagged his tail happily at the idea. "We can stop by that thrift shop and clothing store to get some stuff for you," Brooke explained.

"You…don't have to." She only blinked at him. He got up and walked over to them. "O-Okay. Thanks."

"All right, Sniper," Brooke stretched in the sunlight. "Anyone else we should pick up along the way?"

She had meant it as a joke, but the dog eagerly darted across the lawn to the next house over and started jumping up and scratching at the door. The door opened and Mr. Stotch began fussing at the dog. "Aw, what in the world? Shoo! Stop scratching my door!" Sniper began barking and hopping from side-to-side, lowering himself playfully each time he landed. "Agh, shoo!"

Butters came to see what the commotion was. "Oh, Sniper!"

"Butters!" His dad snapped. "You know this dog?"

He flinched. "Uh, w-well, he's Brooke's dog, see? Um."

His dad looked around until he spotted Brooke, then pointed at her. "If you don't control your dog…you're grounded!"

She flinched, more out of surprise than anything. "Wha-? Psshh, whatever. Sniper! Heel!" The dog immediately ceased his behavior and ran back over to the girl to sit by her side and stare up at her adoringly. "Good dog."

Mr. Stotch blinked. "Uh, well…good! Uh, carry on." He went back inside while Butters walked over to them.

"Riley, are – are you okay?" He was looking over him worriedly.

"I am now," he told him. "Don't worry."

"Well," Brooke said. "We were just heading out for a walk and to do a little shopping. You wanna come with?"

"Can I?"

She laughed a little. "Of course, dummy. Let's go."

The two boys followed Brooke along the sidewalk while her dog trotted alongside them. Every now and again he would wander off to sniff at something then quickly catch back up with them. Brooke didn't bother slowing or stopping when he did this, since he would always hurry back to her after a few moments.

Riley noticed Butters walking closely beside him. Every now and then, Butters would glance down at Riley's hand, but he seemed too afraid to grab it after noticing that it was wrapped in bandages. After a while, Butters worked up the nerve to ask quietly, "Did he hurt you again?"

Riley was just a tad surprised by the question. He looked down at his left hand. "He tried…"

"What happened?"

"He – He's gone now."

"What? Where did he go?"

"I don't know…" He really didn't, but he had a vague idea… Or maybe it was a hope.

"Well, w-what are you gonna do now?" He started twiddling his thumbs, a nervous habit of his.

"He's staying at my house," Brooke said from the front of the group. They hadn't realized that she could hear them. "That's why we're going to the store. He needs more clothes." She glanced back at them over her shoulder and smiled.

"Oh…" Butters suddenly looked excited. "Oh, boy! Now we're neighbors, Riley!"

"Uh," he chuckled, "yeah."

They turned the corner down the main shopping street and entered one of the stores. The guy at the counter seemed like he was going to say something about the dog, but after Sniper sent him over a fierce glare, he thought better of it and kept quiet. Brooke checked the tags on Riley's shirt and pants to find his size then she and Butters started looking through clothes while Riley sat in a chair near the dressing room with Sniper at his feet.

Since it would be too much trouble and discomfort to have him try anything on, she ended up making Butters try the clothes on to test their comfort. At some point, she started messing around and dressing Butters with sunglasses and cute hats, along with oversized boas and shoes. She wasn't the only one entertained though, as Butters was clearly enjoying the game as well, and Riley would smile or laugh every time Butters stepped out of the dressing room to show him. They even found a spiked leather jacket that Brooke fitted on Sniper while Butters tied a black du-rag on the dog's head.

They stepped back to examine their work. "Hm," Brooke hummed. "I like it, but I think it needs slits for his ears."

"Yeah," Butters agreed. "It'd be cuter if his ears were poking out."

Riley laughed at them.

"Okay!" Brooke smiled and gathered the things they had decided to keep. "Let's go check out and let Sniper strut."

"Ooh!" Butters grabbed something and brought it over. "What about this? It can go on his collar."

Brooke looked down at what he was holding. It was a stainless-steel skull and crossbones with a keyring attached to the top. She blinked. "I love it."

After leaving the store, Brooke pulled out a small pocket knife and cut two slits in the du-rag then placed it back on Sniper's head and pulled his ears through the slits. She reached in the bag and took out the keychain then attached it to his collar. She smirked as she stood up straight and joined the boys to look over the dog.

"Nice," Riley smiled.

"Where are we going next?" Butters asked.

"I think I have enough clothes now," Riley looked at the bag.

"Then," Brooke thought for a moment. "Let's go to that Dairy Queen on the west edge of town. The food sucks, but I like the cookie dough blizzard."

"I don't think it's that bad," Butters said.

Once they arrived, they chose a table outside to sit at while Brooke went inside to order. Riley had already sat down and Butters sat in the chair next to him. Sniper laid himself down in the shade beneath the iron table. Butters was curiously watching an unfamiliar boy across the street who had short, curly brown hair and wore a black shirt and pants and an oversized, black, leather coat. The boy was leaning back against the side of a building and smoking a cigarette as he watched them, too. After a few minutes, he tossed the used-up cigarette aside and crossed the street to come over.

"Well," he smiled at them. "If it isn't Riley Stewart."

Sniper lifted his head a little to sniff at him, then rested his head back on his paws to nap. Riley looked surprised. "Jake? What are you doing here?"

"Do you mean, 'what am I doing in this area?' or 'what am I doing HERE, talkin' to you?' Well, I got answers for both. First of all, I was just in the area to restock my supplies, ya know? Second, I thought that was you I saw, so I came to see. And I was right! I haven't seen you in a while, so I was startin' to think that your old man finally killed you or something."

He winced a tiny bit. "N-No…but he tried."

"Mm. I usually see you at least once or twice a week comin' to buy cigarettes. But it's been a while."

"Yeah, I, uh…quit."

"Really? Wish I could do that…"

"But you can," Butters told him.

Jake looked over at him now. "Oh? And who's this?" He smiled. "Your new plaything?"

"No," Riley said rather sheepishly. "He's my friend."

"My name's Butters!" He smiled at Jake.

Jake looked stunned and stared at Butters for a long moment. "Friend?" His expression softened and he smiled again. "Heya pal. Name's Jacob. I just go by Jake, though."

"Hi! Do you wanna sit with us? Our other friend is inside getting our food, but I don't think she'd mind."

"Not one, but two, huh?" Jake glanced back over at the other side of the street. "Mm. Yeah, I guess I can hang out for a few minutes." He sat down beside Butters and across from Riley, propping his feet up on the edge of the table and crossing his legs while leaning the chair back a little. He placed his hands in his pockets then pulled out a new cigarette and lit it. "So, what's the haps, hm?"

Riley eyed the cigarette, feeling tempted, then got up from his chair. "I'm going to the bathroom." He walked inside.

"So, how do you know Riley?" Butters asked. He was already assuming that this boy was from that darker side of Riley's life that he never wanted to talk about. But Jake himself didn't seem so bad. He seemed pretty friendly, and he had a strange way of talking, a slight accent that Butters liked.

Jake turned his head to blow the smoke away from Butters. "Hm, well I met him a few years ago. He was lookin' to get some cigarettes, but they don't sell those to minors, ya know. Meanwhile, I myself am an expert in obtaining 'hard to come by' products, and I sell 'em, too. Eh, so anyways, one of my other clients introduced him to me."

"Oh. So, you're how Riley always had cigarettes?"

He nodded as he took another drag. He thought for a moment as he blew the smoke out of his mouth. "I was also the first person Riley ever had sex with."

"Oh!" Butters blushed and looked down. "W-Were you – Were you his boyfriend?"

"Huh?" He tilted his head to look over at him and smirked. "Boyfriend? Riley never had boyfriends, or girlfriends…or ANY friends. …Why? Are you jealous?" He laughed at Butters' reaction to this. "Has Riley really not done anything like that with you?"

"No." He started twiddling his thumbs. "He said that he doesn't want to do something like that to me… Oh, uh, except maybe when we're older?"

"Hm." Jake eyed him, but his expression was soft again. "Well, sorry I brought it up, I guess. If it makes you feel any better, we only ever did it once."

"Why? I-I mean, why did you guys…uh…"

"That's a loaded question, pal." He turned away and stared out across the street. "Though…I wish I didn't do that to him." He looked back at Butters to explain. "Sometimes, I feel like maybe it's my fault he got into that stuff, ya know? Riley was always secretly a nice, good person. Not like the other kids, clients, I've met. They all put themselves in the shit they're in, but Riley…he just kind of…fell."

"Do…you like him?" Butters asked timidly.

"Like him?" He smirked and huffed a little. "You really ARE jealous. Nah, not like that I mean." Despite saying this, his face was tinged with pink. "Actually, even though he refused to let anyone close to him and said he didn't have any, I always kinda thought of him as my friend. Ya know? He used to come around to my place a lot in the middle of the night for medical supplies after his dad would beat the shit out of him. Sometimes he showed up lookin' real bad, and one time, he even passed out on the floor. Those nights, I'd let him stay at my place. I mean, it's a shithole, but it's better than getting hit all the time. Pretty soon, I just kinda stopped bothering to charge him for the medical stuff."

"Oh… W-Well, you sound like you're secretly a nice, good person, too. Why don't you leave? That's what Riley did. Er, well, he said his dad left, but now Riley's staying at our friend's."

"Don't have anywhere to go." He shrugged. "Besides, I always knew Riley had a way out. Me, well I put myself here, so…"

"What do you mean?"

"I ain't got a family. My parents dumped me in the alleyway, at night, in the rain. I think I was like, um, five? Six?" He shrugged. "Could've gone to an orphanage, but I'd heard bad stuff about those places, and I figured, hey, if my parents didn't want me, then no one will, right? So, I ended up with this group of older kids, bunch of thieves that sold the stuff they stole, and they let me stay with them in exchange for work. Well, I'm not with them anymore, but old habits die hard, and it's not like I have anything else to do, so… I mean, hell, I gotta get money for food, ya know? The place I stay in doesn't even have electricity. It's just some abandoned old apartment building or whatever."

"But…that still doesn't sound like you don't have a way out."

"Trust me," he told him. "I don't. You know, you seem really good for Riley. I'm glad you guys are friends." He took a last puff of his cigarette then tossed it away. "So," he leaned over towards Butters and smiled. "Now that we're well acquainted, you wanna buy somethin'?" He opened one side of his large coat to show the many filled pockets inside.

"Wow! That's a LOT of stuff! It's like you're wearing Walmart!"

"More like a convenience store," Jake said.

"Isn't that heavy?"

"Eh, I'm used to it."

"All right," Riley walked over to them. "What the hell are you doing, Jake?"

Jake quickly leaned away from Butters and closed his coat, smiling broadly up at Riley. "Just tryin' to make a livin' here, Riles! Guy's gotta eat!"

Brooke also exited the building and placed a tray of food and drinks on the table. "Well, Jake, Riley told me you were here, so we got you something to eat, too."

"Really?" He was shocked. "Hey, that's nice! Thanks, beautiful! What's your name?"

"Brooke." She handed him a wrapped burger and a drink then sat down. "Riley also mentioned that you're a thief." She eyed him.

He happily accepted the food and drink. "Aw, only from stores. Not individuals. Come on, Riles! You gotta give more details. You're makin' me look bad!"

"You're making yourself look bad." Riley was trying not to smirk.

After their meal, Jake said his farewells to them, stopping in front of Butters to give him something. "Here. Something I didn't steal. I found it earlier on the way here. Kinda dumb, but I felt bad just leaving it there to rot. Anyways, you'll probably take better care of it than me. I was just gonna sell it, but I don't think any of my clientele would be interested in it."

It was a small, pale pink, plush bunny with floppy ears and curly faux fur. It even had a matching ribbon tied into a bow around its neck. It appeared very clean and in good condition.

"Oh, thanks, Jake!" Butters smiled and took the toy. "I'll take good care of her."

"Her?" he grinned. "Okay. I'm counting on you for that. See ya later." He nodded to them all and made his way back across the street.

On their way back home, Riley was watching Butters play with the stuffed bunny. At some point, Butters noticed him watching and got a little embarrassed. He slowed his pace to match Riley's. "Hey Riley, Jake said -"

"I know." He smiled at him. "I heard."

To be continued…

We will see more of Jake later.