Cheeks of Glitter

Chapter Seven

"Is he gonna be okay?" Heidi asked over her cellphone. She was getting ready for bed, and had just received a call from Stan, who told her about the events with Kyle and Stitch.

"Yeah," Stan replied, "He broke his left foot. My parents came and took him to the hospital. I was panicking so much it took me a while to do something." He wasn't sure why he was telling her that, but it felt good to get it out. Afterall, Heidi was a very understanding person.

"You were in shock," Heidi said as she sat on her bed after changing into her pajamas. "That's normal. Besides, you eventually went into action." The girl giggled slightly, and there was a sudden pause.

Stan felt his stomach twist, somehow finding her laugher appealing. He wondered if it was because Kyle mentioned her being a girlfriend option. Me and Heidi? He wondered.

"How's Stitch?" Heidi asked, breaking the awkward silence.

Stan, who was sitting on the couch of his living room, glanced over at Stitch. The dog was lying next to him, very content, and panting away. "He's fine now. I think he just popped his knee."

"Well, better take him to the animal shelter as soon as possible. They will still wanna look at him."

"Yeah." Stan gently petted the dog's head with a grin. "My mom is gonna take me and him after school."

"Great! I'm so glad Kyle helped you find him."

Stan nodded, even though Heidi couldn't see. The conversation ended shortly, and they both hung up. Stan spent the evening with Stitch to make sure he was okay.

Sparky made some gestures to show he was interested in him, but Stitch only dodged his nose and hid behind Stan. He was obviously cut out for a one-pet owner. The boy hoped that Stitch would get adopted soon after getting cleaned up at the shelter.

Waiting for someone at the school entrance before first period was something Heidi didn't do often; at least not for a boy, and especially someone other than Eric. When she was dating the obese boy, they would often wait to meet up and walked to classes together.

Heidi, though, was mostly eager to hear more about Stitch, so she did what she could to get an opportunity to speak with Stan. The girl, however, felt strange as she waited. The smile on her face wouldn't go away, and her stomach was doing leaps of joy.

She could have been eager to hear more about the dog she was trying to save, but the thought about seeing Stan suddenly sent her chills. Not that it was a bad thing, but it frightened her slightly.

Eric was a completely different person than he was now when he and Heidi started their relationship. They seemed to be on board with everything together, and they were always in the clouds.

"I shouldn't be thinking about Eric right now," Heidi whispered to herself. Not that it brought old feelings back, but it sent her memories. Good, and most importantly, bad. She hated the way he had treated her.

The only thing that distracted her from thinking about such a sudden topic, was Stan. Stan cared about animals just like Heidi did, he was sensitive, and he cared about his friends. There were times where Stan could be a bit oblivious, but he was easy going and had a strong passion to stand up for things he believed in and tried to make a difference in more appropriate ways than Eric ever did.

"Why am I thinking about him like this?" she whispered again as she sat down with her backpack on her lap. She held her bag close and tried to keep it together. She was starting to get scared for some unsure reason. She didn't want to think about it. "Where is he? What's taking him so long?"

It scared Heidi more that she was getting anxious. She was close to heading inside on her own, when she saw Stan get dropped off by his mother. No point in bailing now, she thought. She stood up and waited for the boy to make his way over.

When he did, Stan smiled slightly when he saw Heidi. "Hey, Stitch is good," he said before Heidi could greet him. "They are cleaning him up and are gonna put him in a good place at the shelter."

Heidi grinned. "Great!" she shouted with glee. "And Kyle?"

Stan started inside the building with Heidi on his tail. "He's gonna take the rest of the week from school to rest. I think that's a good thing. He's been really tired lately for some reason."

"Hmm."

As the two walked, Butters caught a glimpse of them from the other direction and attempted to call out to Stan and make his way over. He would do so if it weren't for Eric, who grabbed him from behind to keep him quiet and get him away from full view.

"Butters," Eric said deeply.

"Oh, hey Eric!"

"Shh! Did you see that? Stan?"

"Well, yeah!" Butters smiled like he couldn't sense his friend's troubles. "I was about to go and talk to him."

"He's been spending a lot of time with her," Eric said in a low tone and eyed the two passing them by as he ignored Butter's comment.

Butters watched them as well, then glanced over at Eric with a frown. "Gee, Eric. I thought you were over Heidi." His voice was low, and a bit harsh, which wasn't something he often did. Although, the blonde-haired boy had gone through so much hurt, that he started to get more aggressive.

"That's not the point, Butters. It' against bro code for a friend to go out with your ex."

"Well, I don't think they are going out. But—"

"This has to be stopped. Butters, I need your help with something."

After Eric explained his attempted plan to Butters, Stan and Heidi made it to class, talking the whole way. Nobody seemed to think it was odd, although Heidi's story was far over, so nobody was interested in seeing what she was up to these days.

"I might go to the shelter after school to see Stitch," Stan as he went for his desk. "Then I'm gonna go to Kyle's house. You wanna come?"

"Well, I—"

Mr. Garrison stepped into the classroom, and demanded everyone take their seats, so the girl didn't get a chance to reply to Stan's invite. "We still have a week and a half left of doing this self-esteem stuff," Mr. Garrison said as he waved his fingers to show quotations for "self-esteem". "So, let's move the desks, and make room for dancing."

Half the class groaned, and Eric glared in the teacher's direction. "Mr. Garrison, have you ever thought that maybe this is humiliating some students?"

"Are you humiliated, Eric?"

"No!"

"Then quit your whining and move your desk."

Eric obeyed in an angry gesture, then glanced over at Stan, who was moving his own desk to the wall. Eric listened to the boy hum a tune he was unfamiliar left. After putting his desk against the wall, Eric hurried over to Butters, who was already sitting in the middle of the floor, waiting for the lesson on self-esteem. "Butters," he said.

"Hm?" Butters jerked his head up at his friend, then glanced at Stan, who was taking a seat next to Kenny. He was reminded of what Eric asked him to do, so he stood up. "Do I have to?"

Eric crossed his arms. He was always making Butters do things, which made him the bait of the plan.

Butters sighed as he faced Mr. Garrison while the rest of the class sat down on the floor. "Teacher?" he started.

"What is it, Butters?" Mr. Garrison said. "You need to sit down before Mr. Mackey comes in."

"I just thought that—well—can we dance with boys? I mean, boys with boys, and girls with girls?"

Mr. Garrison felt a little angered at that question and pointed at the floor. "Stop making jokes and sit down."

"Actually, I think that's a great idea," Wendy said as she flipped her black glossy hair. It sent Butter's into awe. "I think if we danced with the same sex, it would help people come out of their shell more. Afterall, girls hang out with girls, and boys hang out with boys."

Eric sneered. He knew that somebody like Wendy would agree to that, so the plan was in motion. He watched Stan, who seemed to not be pleased with the idea, but he didn't argue. Maybe it was because he didn't want to get an awkward situation with Wendy.

Mr. Garrison groaned, and suddenly heard more of the girls back up Wendy's statement. "Fine!" he exclaimed.

It was decided, and after Mr. Mackey's speech on peer pressure, everyone began to find a partner for dancing. Eric took this opportunity to dash over to Stan so he could have a talk with him. "Stan, partners," he demanded.

"Cartman?" Stan eyed him briefly. He wasn't thrilled about that idea, and even told him so.

"What, you wanna dance with Kyle, gay wad? He's not here." Eric got so close to Stan, it made him uncomfortable. He was acting very intimidating.

"No," Stan said softly. He wasn't liking his friend's actions, because it looked like he was on to him about something bad. That wasn't good coming from Eric. Stan accepted his request and the two danced, although they weren't really into it, because it felt weird to both.

"I saw you with Heidi," Eric said to him.

Now Stan knew where this was going. He was hanging around with his ex-girlfriend and the obese boy obviously didn't like it. Stan didn't blame Eric, but he wasn't going to let him step all over him. Especially since he was doing something important with Heidi. "Look, we are just helping a dog," he said as he followed Eric's dance moves.

"Well, you're not going to enjoy it for very long. She can be very controlling."

Stan wasn't sure why, but he didn't like that his friend was saying negative things about Heidi. He glared softly as he moved with the slow music rhythm. He was pushed back harshly by Eric, who didn't let him fall but pulled him back. "Well, Heidi is nice and cares about this dog," Stan said.

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into," Eric said in a soft yet evil wait. Something about his tone was creepy, and Stan knew this was a threat. "She's not good for your soul."

"Shut up, Cartman," he said loud enough for only him to hear. "Heidi is nice, and I don't care what you went through with her. I am going to help her with Stitch." That did it. He was shoved back and fell on his bottom with a grunt.

"Eric!" That came from Mr. Garrison, who was glaring at him with a finger pointing at the door. "Pushing is not allowed. To the school counselor."

Eric huffed before stomping over to the door. "That's fine!" he exclaimed. "This whole thing is stupid, and I'm glad I'm getting out of it!" After slamming the door behind him, the rest of the class began to whisper.

"Wow, he must be really pissed off about something," Craig said.

"Stan" Heidi said softly as she helped the boy up. "Are you alright?"

When her hand touched his, Stan felt as if electricity was jolting through him. He ignored it and stepped up with the girl's help. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Heidi glanced at the door that Eric had excited and frowned. She wasn't sure what happened, but she knew that whatever was bothering Eric was going to last. She was also disappointed with his actions.

After Mr. Garrison told the students to continue to dance, Stan thanked Heidi for being kind, and then went to sit out and watch the others.

Heidi couldn't help but feel like Stan was trying to avoid something, because he seemed to be in a rush to get away from her. She wanted to talk with him more. "You're welcome," she said, but he couldn't hear her.

Eric stopped at the restroom before going to Mr. Mackey's office. He was disappointed with how things went in the classroom. He always had schemes to get what he wanted, but he felt like he had been going soft lately.

The boy faced the mirror before him and glared at his reflection. He despised Heidi for dumping him, and he wished Stan would go jump off a cliff. Eric wasn't sure if he still had feelings for Heidi or not, but he didn't want her to be with anyone else. His whole relationship with her was a waste, as far as he was concerned.

Eric felt himself shake in anger, and he began to breathe heavily. "I won't allow this," he said. "I'll make Stan wish he never spent time with her."