Cheeks of Glitter

Chapter Two

Stan did a lot of thinking throughout the day after finding the flyer in his locker and tried to think of the reason for getting it. For instance, somebody he obviously knew, had overheard his conversation with Kyle about the abused stray dog.

Kyle was the first to know, but being his best friend, he would instantly tell Stan about it, meaning it couldn't have been him. That narrowed it down to the rest of the fourth-grade class.

There was a possibility it could be Wendy since she cared about animals just as much as Stan did. Stan had hoped it would be girl, although it was possible, since they had broken up, she would not have a desire to reach out to him.

However, something was pushing Stan into hoping it was Wendy. He couldn't think of anybody else unless Clyde and Craig wanted to mess with him. Yet, they it wouldn't be like them to do something like that, unless of course Eric manipulated them into one of his schemes.

Although if it were that important to Eric, he would have mentioned it by now, and Kyle would have been ranting about how stupid and selfish he was.

It's gotta be Wendy, Stan thought to himself as he watched the girl chatter with her closest friends like Bebe Stevens and Red McArthur at afternoon recess. Wendy hadn't sent Stan any signals, but it was only a better reason for him to confront her after school.

Stan and the rest of the boys were playing Capture the Flag, with Stan guarding his team's flag. However, they mixed things up a bit with the members finding hiding spots that replaced the safe zones.

"Focus!" Eric exclaimed, acting as the leader, and took off in one direction. Token stood inches from his team's flag, being their guard, and kept the look out for anyone who tried to claim it.

Craig, who spotted Butters scattering toward Stan's flag, took a direct step forward from his standing position. "Tweek, you aren't supposed to let people get by you!"

"Sorry, I panicked!" Tweek Tweak shouted, trying to resist squirming skittishly.

"It's okay, next time." Craig's voice suddenly softened, which calmed Tweek down. The conversation, however, distracted them from noticing Butter's whereabouts.

Butters huffed as he leaped away from the "field" and crawled behind a pile of snow. Most of the ground was bare, due to Spring warming up the air, but there were still spots of snow, which some were piled or built into a fort from previous recesses. The playground resembled a tundra.

As Butters sat on his bottom, he tried to catch his breath as he peaked out from the corner to see if anyone noticed him. So far, there were no signs of that, but the sun's warmth hit the snow, making it melt slightly. The white pile sparkled, and Butters stared at in awe, but mostly because he was cautious of it falling apart slowly.

The boy backed up a bit, and it was only seconds before he noticed that somebody was with him. He gasped in surprise. "Eric," he whispered.

Eric, who was on his hands and knees, peered at him with a look of awareness. He didn't seem irritated with his friend's presence, nor did he get after him for taking his hiding spot.

In fact, according to Butter's perspective, Eric seemed calm, which was rare the obese boy. The only thing that had him alerted was the game, which went on in a decent matter.

Eric peaked up from above the snow pile to see io get an idea of what his next move would be. He hadn't realized that Butters was staring at him. After a few more seconds, Eric finally jerked his head at Butters and gave him an order to head off in a certain direction. Butters, as usual, did as he was told, and took off. Soon after, Eric did his part, and ran off in another direction.

Stan, who kept his guard up, watched Craig call out Butter's whereabouts, alerting Tweek to take off after him. So far, he hadn't seen anyone attempt to take his flag, but that didn't mean anyone could have been creeping over.

Kenny McCormick, who was also on Stan's team, was hiding behind a slide, where a few of the younger children were playing on. Because of that, Kenny was able to keep his presence hidden.

"Ugh," Kyle scoffed, which got Stan's attention. They weren't too far apart from each other, and Kyle noticed that Eric was just a few feet away from Kenny, who didn't seem to notice.

Eric was cleverly making his way passed him, making sudden movements at the back of the "field". It wasn't long before he was obviously visible behind Craig, who had his full attention on Tweek's attempt to catch Butters, who was screaming like a maniac in with arms up in the air.

Stan bit his lip when he saw Kyle's frustration. Even if it was just a game, any attempt Eric got to his own advantage angered Kyle. However, Stan knew if Kyle didn't do something soon, Eric would succeed. "Kyle?" he said in an apprehensive voice.

"Kenny, get Cartman!" Kyle called out.

Kenny turned to Eric, puzzled before jumping out and attempting to tag his friend. Eric stopped where he was and faced him with a smirk. "You think that's a good idea?" he said, trying to taunt him.

"Just get him!" Kyle exclaimed.

"Yeah, he's so fat, he can't outrun you!" Stan joined in. It was at that instant when he heard snow slushing, and he stopped at a holt. He turned behind him as bits of snow flew by and watched as Clyde made a leap forward.

It happened all so slowly, yet at the same time, too quick for Stan to react. Clyde grabbed the flag, and quickly ran across the field.

"Kyle!" Stan shouted.

Kyle instantly dashed toward Clyde and reached his arm out to tag him, but Clyde was too swift for his actions.

Eric cackled loudly and went off to hide while Kenny was distracted. His plan eventually worked out perfectly, and nobody was able to catch Clyde. Eric's team won.

Kyle groaned in anger and Stan kicked the snow in front of him. Soon after that, recess was over.

After school, Stan took the dog flyer to the gymnasium, and placed himself on the bleachers while Wendy and the cheer squad practiced. It reminded him of the times he and the girl were still dating, and he watched her practice every so often.

Somehow, it wasn't painful to think about, but Stan still missed those times. It made him think of all the times he had with Wendy. He watched as the cheer squad danced while Wendy gave the direct orders, being the cheer captain.

After a few minutes, Stan started to get bored. Half the time he was glued to his phone, which passed the hour a little bit.

Finally, Wendy told the girls to continue to cheer their best, and immediately faced Stan. She obviously noticed him a while ago, so she didn't seem surprised to see him.

Stan stood up and slowly walked over to the girl, who watched him closely. She didn't seem excited to see him, but not unhappy either. "Hey," he said.

"Hi," Wendy replied. "It's been a while since you came to watch."

Stan stared at her silently. Well, we are broken up.

"So, what did you come here for?"

Stan slowly handed her the flyer. "I was thinking of searching for it tomorrow after school. If you wanna help, I don't mind waiting for you."

"He's a stray? Poor thing. But I really don't—"

"Wait, aren't you the one that put this in my locker?"

Wendy shook her head in response. "I like it though. And I can see your serious about it."

Stan bit his lip. He felt like Wendy wasn't on the same page with him, even if she did seem to admire the issue. Still, he wanted to see how this would progress. He remembered the times he and Wendy solved issues together.

"I have other things to do," Wendy said. "You will have to do this alone."

Stan's eyes widened. "That's not like you."

Wendy cocked her head. "What's not like me?"

"Not wanting to help this dog." Stan could feel his heart pumping as mixed emotions of anger and confusion welled up inside him.

"It's not that I don't wanna help," Wendy said sternly. "It's just that I am busy. I care about the dog, but I don't have time to wander around and look for him."

"You used to have time. What happened to our adventures?"

Wendy eyed him slightly. "We are broken up, Stan. You broke up with me, and I found things to do. Why are you so angry?"

"Because you changed, that's why! Why do you think I broke up with you?"

Wendy sighed. "You're right. I have changed. And so have you." She handed the flyer back to him and turned to the side. She seemed a bit frustrated, but she was calmer than Stan. "If there is anything else, I can do to help with the dog, I'll be glad to. But I don't want to help you look for him."

"Screw this, it was a waste of time." Stan clenched the paper tightly and marched out of the gym, leaving Wendy, who refused to look back.

Stan sighed as he got back out into the hall and leaned against a set of lockers. He was extremely disappointed. But he was certain it wasn't because he wanted Wendy to help him. It was probably because she wouldn't.

Suddenly, Stan heard a sound and jerked his head to the side, before hearing somebody dodging out of the way, as if they were hiding from him. He glared. "Come out, no point in hiding."

After a few seconds of waiting, a figure slowly and awkwardly came out from the corner of the lockers.

Stan was slightly amused, but more shocked. "Heidi?"

The girl watched him softly and silently for a while. She looked just as puzzled, but Stan was sure she was putting on an act because it was obvious, she was spying on him. "Hi Stan," she said.

Stan blinked in confusion. "What are you doing?"

Heidi's reaction was a bit weird to Stan. She giggled briefly before peering up at the ceiling. Then she glanced back at the boy. "Honestly, if I answered that, you would think I'm crazy."

Stan remembered Heidi Turner as one of Wendy's friends. But most recently, she was known as Eric's ex-girlfriend. A lot had happened between her and Eric, and she ended up ending the relationship for her own benefit.

Heidi slowly leaned against the lockers, just as Stan. She let out a sigh, as if she were a bit distressed about something, but was trying to overcome it with positivity.

Stan was only half-interested in what Heidi meant, and he didn't really feel like asking. He sighed as well and looked down at the floor. "I was so sure that Wendy put this in my locker," he said, not really caring if the girl next to him was listening or not. "But I was wrong."

There was a short pause before Heidi responded. "Yeah, she didn't. I did."