Chapter 16
Epilogue - Nichole
Broken.
They were broken. Shattered and stomped and crushed by a society that expected nothing but perfect perfection from them. They weren't perfect, no one was perfect. Their small, tiny mountain town crushed their souls with the expectation of perfection.
They were ruining their own children.
Nichole drifted along through the crowded school halls, eyes never staring at anyone in particular as she headed for the main doors. The school day was over and it had been weeks since she...no, the Revealer last posted and the school's atmosphere slowly returned to normal. Less anxiety, fewer worries about the Revealer's newest victims.
She wasn't the Revealer, the Revealer was someone else locked deep inside of her that she pushed away once her goal had been completed.
She was just Nichole now and life was going as good as it could for the broken.
The broken…
Everywhere she looked she saw broken people. Her friends were broken.
She was broken.
It was raining. What a fitting thing for such a time. There were students huddling in the halls as they waited to get picked up by parents that supposedly cared. Others were walking home, some with umbrellas, others without.
Morally gray. That's what this was.
It was fitting.
The sky was darkened with storm clouds, but no lightning appeared. Just a horrendous, depressing downpour that would sour any mood. Nichole stepped out into the rain, her raincoat protecting her from the worse of the weather, even though her shoes weren't spared.
Life was slowly looking up for her broken friends.
Craig Tucker was attending therapy at the behest of his friend group as well as his mother and sister. He wasn't the only one. Kenny had begged and begged until Trent Boyett agreed to talk with someone, followed by talking to Gerald Broflovski to see if any charges could be filed.
Clyde Donovan only agreed to therapy if Craig and Kenny both went. Kenny...well Kenny couldn't really afford a fancy therapist to talk to, but his friends understood and they stepped in as his pseudo-therapists and took care of him, made sure he ate...dropped extra food off for his family when his folks weren't around...
Rumor is Clyde's father is contemplating sending him out of state to a "Mental Institute" (as others are calling it) during the fast-approaching summer. Again, these are only rumors.
It is confirmed Tweek Tweak is being shipped off as soon as possible though. With the unreliable "slander" against Tweek's family coffee shop, the police have been investigating and Tweek's aunt has taken temporary custody of him. Only a month of their 11th year remained, not even. Tweek's being sent to rehab a few days before the official end of the school year. Craig wasn't taking it too well.
Kyle Broflovski has been faring better than others, despite being outed in one of the most horrific ways possible. He's been talking with his friends, speaking his mind, and voicing his emotions more than he used to. At first glance, he almost seems as normal as ever, but you can see the pain in his eyes whenever someone makes a remark that hits too close to home.
He would be okay though, they all would.
Butters Stotch….oh Butters. He's been crashing at Eric Cartman's for the past few weeks, ever since his parents….ever since they threw him out after his reveal. Whatever...he was better off without them in his life. That boy deserved better than manipulative parents that had been gaslighting him his whole life. Nichole refused to feel bad about that.
Cys had been called to Christophe DeLorne's home by multiple people, multiple times after seeing the proof of abuse online. No one really knows if they even did anything to help him, but even if he was still with his mother...at least he never came to school injured anymore. That was something, at the very least. Gregory tried to convince him, but Christophe was adamantly refusing to attend a therapy session.
Gregory Tveit...his whore status ricocheted fast around the school (and town). People blatantly came up to him and "asked for a ride". It was humiliating and degrading knowing that people thought they could just ask and he would bend over to take it. Christophe wasn't hesitating to knock a few teeth out whenever this happened. Gregory locked himself in his house for a long, long time after that started. He, too, was refusing therapy.
Pete Thelman came to school with a black eye and busted lip a few days after he was outed. No one knows if it was his parents or just a group of homophobic assholes that thought he was an easy target. Regardless, his clique seemed to grow more protective and reclusive.
Both Eric Cartman and Damien Thorne have been confirmed to have been prescribed various medications to help with their...issues, to say the least. Neither reply to any comments regarding their mental conditions, in layman's terms, just get pissed off and start fights. They both need to talk to someone as well. At least Butters and Pip are able to help them through such a trying and confusing time.
Pip Pirrup is basically on lock and key after Damien found out about his nightly activities. The antichrist has been refusing to let his close friend (maybe more?) out of his sight for more than a few seconds. Their fellow students believe Damien is even sleeping over every night just to keep an eye on him. But Pip and Damien's relationship has always been an odd one, and they both seem happy so who is anyone else to judge?
Stanley Marsh, finally, has been forced into weekly AA meetings by his family and friends. His mother has apparently been searching his room almost daily for any "contraband". Kyle looks through his bag a lot and doesn't trust Stan with any opened drinks. No one really blames him.
Broken.
Broken.
Broken.
They were all broken people that were slowly being put back piece by piece. They would never be whole again, but they would no longer be scattered across the floor in every way just waiting for people to come by and kick the pieces farther apart.
The rain seemed to pound against the pavement with a vengeance as if trying to wipe away their town. To make it nothing more than a myth, a place that never existed in the first place.
Life was dim and suffocating in South Park, filled with dull and broken people that were victims of circumstance.
Victims of a perfect society that wanted to crush any imperfections under heel...even when it broke its people.
Society was the real monster here, not her. She was just trying to help, to prove a point. Her 'accomplices' weren't going to rat her out, nor would they ever look at her the same way again. It was like they were only just now getting a glimpse of the true 'Nichole' that they've been friends with since childhood.
The world was broken, all thanks to mankind. And broken worlds create broken people that create more broken people.
What a fucking drag.
Nichole, eyes watery and a deranged smile gracing her lips, looked up at the pouring sky. She opened her mouth and let out a laugh, choking on sobs and tears falling down her face. The first round of lightning and thunder covered the evidence of her descent into madness.
She laughed and laughed and laughed.
At what? She didn't know.
Maybe it was society.
Maybe it was the cruelty of the world.
Maybe it was just easier to laugh than break down.
Nichole continued to laugh as tears fell and her sides started to ache.
She still laughed.
A/N: Finally reached the end, huh? I'm sorry that I basically abandoned this story, but I hope the epilogue makes up for it.
On another note, this is going to be a series with two more fics before it's officially over. There's going to be a sequel regarding the main couples as well as a fic for 'Side Stories'.
The side stories are just going to revolve around scenes about characters after their secrets were revealed. For example, the only side story chapter I have planned out for the moment is Pete and the goth kids facing his family. If you have a scene or idea you want me to write as a side story, let me know and I'll write it.