Cheeks of Glitter

Chapter Four

"Oh, baby come find me," Butters sang the next morning as he went through his belongings in his school locker. "Baby be mine. I don't wanna lose this hope." After getting out the books he needed for his first class, Butters shut his locker and sighed.

Although the social development class lifted his spirits, the boy was still feeling a bit discouraged. Asking a girl to the school dance would make him feel like a man, and he really wanted to take that extra step. He especially had the urge to after noticing Wendy's new appearance.

Breaking Butters thoughts, Eric walked by, looking a little green. In fact, he wasn't sure why he hadn't stayed home so he could rest in bed. Butters noticed his dull expression, and instantly stopped him. "Eric, y-you okay?" he asked.

Eric was irritated, but too tired to yell at his friend. He let out a deep sigh and paused. He wasn't sure how he felt, besides the fact that his held was pounding and his eye lids were feeling heavy. He remembered staying up playing video games to release stress, but never caught the time on his phone when he went to sleep.

Butters waited patiently for Eric to reply. He could feel the obese boy's aura, like he was receiving a pint of his depression. Butters wasn't depressed, but he still felt the sadness as he watched his friend turn to him. He was sure that Eric wanted to vent about something, and nothing would stop Butters from listening, no matter who or what the situation as.

Eric's eyes looked red, and Butters was wondering if his friend had been crying. It never occurred to him that he would be drained. He always saw Eric as a strong-willed boy who never got tired and did everything, he could get what he wanted. What did he want this time? That was the question.

"I'm tired and hungry and pissed off," Eric replied.

"Oh, well maybe you should eat something, Eric." He suddenly wished he hadn't said that when he noticed the glare appear on his friend's face.

"My mom is so lazy; she won't go to the store to get more food." He was surprisingly calm, but he could feel the anger and frustration welling up inside him. "So, what am I gonna eat, huh?"

Butters knew exactly what to do. He opened his locker and dug for something. He could feel Eric's on him. In seconds, Butters pulled out a package of pop tarts and turned to his friend with a smile. "Here, Eric, have my last two pop tarts."

Eric was stunned, but he didn't hesitate. While eating the sweet breakfast he received, Butters walked with him to class.

"So, I guess you're not angry with me, huh, Eric?" Butters asked as they kept a study pace down the hall.

"Angry about what?" Eric replied without facing his friend. He was focused on the raspberry pop tart and didn't even think about what Butters could have been mentioning.

Butters was shocked, because he remembered how angry Eric was about the social development idea, and usually he held grudges. However, if Eric was over it and had forgotten, there was no point in bringing it back up. "Never mind," he said.

They didn't say another word for the rest of the walk to class, where half the students were already sitting at in their desks. There was just a few more minutes until the first bell rang, which gave them enough time to finish up any homework assignments they hadn't gotten done last night.

Stan could only focus on his plan with Heidi to save Stitch. Kenny hadn't shown up to class yet, so he hadn't had the chance to talk to him. He glanced over at Kyle, who was silently writing in his notebook. He decided he would tell Kyle everything once he was finished with his homework.

It only took a few more minutes before Kyle shut his notebook and placed down his pencil. He turned to Stan. "Dude, I'm exhausted," he said. "My brother came into my room last night complaining about nightmares."

"My sister did that once," Stan replied, deciding to have a nice conversation with his best friend before getting to the point. "Only instead of wanting comfort, she just hit me."

Kyle didn't show much acknowledgment, and it was probably because he had heard similar stories from Stan in the past. It wasn't any news for him because Stan's sister was continuously abusing him. Kyle sighed. "Man, I don't feel like doing anything."

Stan watched his friend closely as he rested his face in his arms in a tired gesture. He wondered if something were bothering Kyle, and it would only delay Stan's Stitch topic. However, his best friend looking down didn't stop him from prying. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yep, just tired," he muffled.

Good, Stan thought. He took the silent opportunity to tell Kyle about Stitch and Kenny and lastly, Heidi. He didn't leave out any details, and when he was finished talking, he watched for his friend's reply.

For the first five seconds, Kyle didn't move or say anything. After that, though, he slowly raised his head and looked at Stan with an odd expression. Not only did he look tired, but he also looked like he had been defeated in some competition.

Stan wondered if there was something wrong about what he had said but thinking about it only made him feel better about it. He was doing the right thing. Still, he watched his friend closely. What did I say?

"You're gonna work with Heidi?" Kyle asked softly. "What about Wendy?"

Stan cocked his head, surprised to hear Kyle suddenly sound like he was urging him into working with Wendy. He wondered what happened. "She wouldn't help. Heidi wants to help."

"Oh." Kyle dropped his face back down and didn't say another word.

Stan was confused, but it didn't look like Kyle was in any position to talk about it. So, he left it alone and watched the rest of the students join the class. That included Mr. Garrison, who was muttering under his breath about something that had angered him.

"Uh-Oh," Stan said.

"Alright, we have stupid news," Mr. Garrison said in an aggressive tone as he faced the class after the bell rang. "It seems—"

"Eric, did you enjoy the pop tart?" Butters asked, unaware that he was interrupting his teacher.

"Butters, be quiet, I am talking, and you need to pay attention."

"Oh," Butters said, now looking at Mr. Garrison. He felt a little embarrassed. Eric didn't show any signs of hearing his friend ask about his breakfast. Instead, he watched Mr. Garrison carefully, because he was certain the "stupid news" was not going to be anything good.

"It seems," Mr. Garrison continued, "that some students are losing their confidence due to dancing. Some of you can't dance, so we are going to have a little class to teach you."

Eric immediately groaned in anger. "Why the hell—"

"The principal required it," Mr. Garrison said, answering the boy's question before he could ask. "For the next three days during first period, you will all dance." He seemed just as irritated as Eric was.

Half the class were excited, but the other felt their teacher's pain. Stan, who had no interest in what was happening, glanced over at Kenny, who looked pleased. He was disappointed he didn't have time to ask him about Stitch, but perhaps the dance class would be a distraction to Mr. Garrison. Afterall, the teacher often went to sleep while the students were busy participating in something special.

After five minutes of ranting and cheering, Mr. Garrison instructed the students to push their desks against the wall and find a dancing partner. Stan didn't have to worry about that because Heidi instantly motioned him over to her.

The boy made his way over, not even thinking about how Wendy would react. He didn't turn his head to get a glimpse of what she might be doing, watching him or not.

In fact, it was Kyle who kept his eyed glued to his friend. He felt his stomach flip briefly. He knew that Stan was planning on helping Heidi with Stitch, but he never imagined him wanting to be her dance partner. Somehow, that made envy grow inside Kyle.

Stan was oblivious to his best friend's hidden emotions and faced Heidi in a casual way.

"I thought we could talk and dance," Heidi said, and instantly held out her hand with a smile. It happened right when Mr. Garrison turned on a soft tune to get the kids into the beat of things.

Stan took her hand, then her other with his left. He began to lead it as Heidi started the topic. "You haven't talked to Kenny yet, right?" she asked as she copied Stan's steps.

"Nope," Stan answered. "I guess I'll talk to him during morning recess."

Heidi nodded in agreement. "You're really good at this. Dancing, I mean."

"Really?" He spun the girl around like he was a pro, then faced her with a grin.

Heidi giggled. "Yep."

Kyle tried not to watch, and instead focused on dancing with his partner, Red, who was continuously correcting his mistakes. Every move the boy made was off rhythm, and it frustrated Red. Still, she kept her anger under control and corrected him once more in a calmly manner.

Kyle attempted to do just as Red said, but he failed every time. He was starting to get frustrated with himself, but Red did not let him quit.

Eric refused to dance and didn't even choose a partner. In fact, a few of the other boys sat in their desks along with him, feeling either discouraged or had no interest in dancing. Mr. Garrison told them that if they didn't dance, it meant they were wimps and wouldn't make it through the school dance. That pushed a couple of the boys to join in on the activity.

Butters had no problem with it. He even asked Wendy to be his dance partner, and she agreed with no hesitation. He, too, was a pro at dancing, and Wendy enjoyed herself. Every time she moved, Butters could see the sparkles of her jewelry fly off, which gave her a fairy look. The boy grinned.

Eric was too tired to notice Stan and Heidi and took that time to rest his eyes. He did his best to tune out the music, which made his eye lids feel heavier. As the violins of the song slowly faded away, the boy could feel himself floating into an endless journey into space. There were sweets and fatty foods floating around him as he glided through.

However, even though he craved the foods, he suddenly felt sick at the thought of eating. It was rare for him, but it didn't seem to concern him.

"Times up," Mr. Garrison said, waking Eric. He hadn't even realized he fell asleep and wished he could go to bed.

"What's your problem, dude?" Kyle said to Eric in a blunt tone yet looked a bit sympathetic. If Eric was tired, he knew how he felt.

"Shut up," Eric replied. It pushed Kyle away.

The class brought their desks back and started Second Period. Surprisingly, it went by quickly, and recess came before Stan realized. He quickly left the classroom and waited for Kenny to come outside after him.

Stan had no problem getting his friend attention, and immediately told him about Stitch. Kenny only seemed slightly interested in helping Stan and told him he hadn't seen any stray dogs roaming around his house.

"Just cats," Kenny said before shrugging. He glanced over to the rest of the boys, who were starting a football game, which Kenny was more interested in than talking with Stan about Stitch.

"You sure you don't know anything?"

Kenny turned back to Stan, seeing that he wasn't going to let this go. He turned back to the others, who were calling them over, than back at Stan once again. "I heard something getting into our yard at night while I was in bed," he muffled through his hood. But it could be a cat, I don't know."

Stan nodded in understanding before watching his friend walk to their friends. Although it wasn't as much as he wanted, Stan got plenty of information. There was a high chance that Stitch could have been hanging around at Kenny's house, which meant he intended on searching after school.

Peering over at the rest of the boys, Stan suddenly locked eyes with Kyle, who seemed a bit stiff at that moment. In fact, Kyle had been acting distant all morning, as far as Stan was concerned. Kyle? He tried to have a conversation with his best friend, using his eyes.

However, Kyle only turned the other way and huddled with the rest of the boys. It made Stan feel extremely curious, and even more concerned. He was acting strange before school this morning, Stan thought. He said he was tired, but it must be something else.

He didn't want to wait. Stan immediately marched over, when he suddenly heard a whisper as he was halfway across the playground. The boy turned to the side of the school, where Heidi was waving him over.

He glanced at Kyle, who was already active in the football game. So, he turned back to Heidi and made his way over to her with his hands in his pockets.

Heidi smiled softly. "I saw Stitch."

I know the story is at a slow start, but I promise it will pick up soon.