For those who have been waiting until now for a sweet Stendy moment like I promised: your prayers have finally been answered. Enjoy.


Chapter Eleven - Trust.

The sun was setting quickly now, and the sky's horizon darkened greatly. The other children were getting off the streets now and retreating back to their homes. The ground of the parking lot was a bit wet due to some snowmelt, and the water reflected the lights from the streetlamps off the surface. A cool breeze swept through the air, and a full moon shone brightly in the night.

Wendy and I were already at the parking lot of the motel at this point. There were a few cars in the parking lot completely parked. We were still in plain view of the two rooms we rented for the night. The two of us stood face-to-face underneath a street lamp, and the motel was to my left.

"So anything you wanted to say to me in particular?" Wendy's tone was rather inquisitive. Her face was soft. She wasn't angry, she seemed genuinely curious for now.

Still, this was rather nerve wracking. One slip up from me, one wrong word, and I could easily see this spiraling downhill. Wendy is a lot more emotional than people often gave her credit for; people generally only see the strong, feminist side of her. "I...I couldn't help but notice you were rather quiet today. If it was something I said or did at all...you know..."

"I mean..." Wendy looked down and put her hands in her pockets. Her face formed a slight frown, but her face remained soft. She still wasn't angry. "...you kinda did call me a whore earlier today."

I immediately cringed, clicking my teeth a little. I had a feeling this was going to get brought up. Nevertheless, this, along with the cool air, sent chills down my spine now. "W-Wendy...I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have said that." My lungs were feeling a bit heavy now

"Why?" I didn't immediately answer Wendy's question. I thought about it for a moment, but the nerve-wracking moment of this was preventing me from formulating any coherent thought. "I just want to know what was going through your mind when you said that." I remained silent, debating on whether or not I should tell her my thoughts. "Stan, please. I'd like to know what you think here."

I sighed. "This isn't the first time I saw you hit on people like this or flirt around." I held out my right palm. "And I get it, you know. You just wanted to help out however you can, and I can't say I don't appreciate it all but..."

"But what?" Wendy looked up at me and took her hands out of her pockets.

"It's like what I saw when you were with Gregory when we formed La Resistance, or you with Kyle during the egg project we did in class, or you with Bridon when school musicals were a trend at our school."

There was silence for a few more seconds. Wendy brought her hands together. "You...you were jealous then, and you're still paranoid now that I'd leave you. Even after time and time again that I'd always come back to you." She shook her head as she continued. "Let's not forget the things I did for you though. I helped you when you were suffering a depression, or when you had a hoarding problem. Hell, we even went on a journey to Sovngarde, and took down Mitch Connor for Christ's sake. I mean, it's not like you yourself are perfect either. Like when you thought you were going to make lots of cash from that website of yours and said you'd be 'dripping in bitches'. Or when you went along with the other boys and Butters flashing your dicks in school for some male political statement - yeah, it was the skankhunt42 thing."

Needless to say, that hit me hard in the heart. I had a feeling this conversation would take a sour turn, why couldn't I have just kept my mouth shut? "I'm...I'm sorry. You're too smart and pretty...maybe I don't deserve you at all." I closed my eyes and let the tears fall from my eyes.

"Is that really how you feel about yourself, Stan?" My eyes were still closed. Despite that, I could feel Wendy grab my hands.

"I'm scared, alright?" I felt those words come out louder than they should have. Therefore, I spoke more quietly. "Deep down, I'm constantly nervous...anxious even, that you wouldn't approve of me. And yeah, it's why I avoid you at times - I'm scared of disappointing you. You're too good for me, Wendy."

The tears still flowed from my eyes. However, I could feel Wendy throw my hands downwards and let me go. My heart jolted, my muscles tensed. I opened my eyes and wiped away the tears as Wendy had her arms folded and looking away slightly to the right, where the motel building was. "No. You're wrong. I'm not too good for you, Stan. You shouldn't put me so high on a damn pedestal." I remained silent, and I did not make any gestures with my hands besides wiping my eyes. But I could hear Wendy sniffle now. "I've been quiet this whole day because...I just saw the way the Middle Park kids treated each other, and I heard what the others have said to each other. Me and Bebe talk about mundane things like shoes, but I listen to her talk with Kyle earlier today..." She faced me fully now, and I could see the tears in her eyes. "I can't remember the last time she shared with me anything insightful like this. N-not since the gender war we had. Kyle? I've pretty much brushed off as a pleaser until recently. Kathy and Ellen? The only time we ever talk is when it's list-making business. Chris and Tyler? I keep forgetting they exist."

"Um..." Truth be told, I wasn't sure what Wendy was getting at.

"After hearing it all, it kinda makes sense." She wiped her eyes with her right forearm. "I'm - I think I'm a pretty toxic influence on the girls. Sure, I wasn't the one who spearheaded the gender war, but I just wanted the other girls to feel empowered and not have to rely on the boys for everything, I never once thought they'd take my words too far and end up doing what they did - the mass breakup. And what happened in Middle Park today only reminds me of all that." She gulped. "As for you...I kinda realize that all I ever do is hurt your confidence. It's why you're so anxious around me, huh? You say I'm too good for you, but in reality it's the other way around. If anything, you are the one who is too good for me. And yet you can do the stuff you do to try to impress me."

When it comes to Wendy, it's almost impossible to hide your feelings and emotions. Her social skills in this regard are excellent. Tears were still flowing from my eyes. "If you knew half the things I'd try to do to win you over..." I turned away to face myself towards the street.

I felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around my chest. Though I could hear her sniffle as well, noting that she was the one who was hugging me from my backside. "Y-you're better than this, Stan."

I shook my head. "I'm really not."

"You love me this much - even after all the things I've done to you?" Wendy asked.

I exhaled harshly. It was a bit of a struggle to do so given that Wendy had her arms around me. "It's a two-way street."

All of a sudden, her arms tightened around me, and I felt myself be squeezed even more as a result. I felt her chin rest upon my right shoulder. "I can't believe you're this loyal to me when I've flirted around several times. Fuck, I even kissed Cartman of all people in front of the whole student body last year."

That memory caused me to shudder. It was one remnant I wish I could forget. I felt genuinely shocked and angered that day. "I'm not that loyal."

"Then why else would you accept my help so easily to look for Cartman?" Wendy ask.

"Because I trust you," I spoke swiftly with no hesitation at all. My heart skipped a beat; I wasn't comfortable being this emotional, especially around Wendy. "I...you're been so helpful to me the past few weeks, and it's like as if...I don't deserve any of this at all."

I could feel Wendy lightly kiss my right cheek for just about a second. Just an average kiss in terms of physicality, but still it sent my heart aflutter. "I don't care that you think you don't deserve this, I'm not letting you go without a hug or kiss."

I slightly rotated my head over to her and smiled shyly as I could feel my cheeks suddenly burn hot. "Look, I...I'm not ready for this. Any of this."

"What do you mean?" Wendy replied.

"I mean, Kyle's seen quite a bit too, you know? And I guess you have as well. But the others? I don't think I can really lead them that well. You saw what happened earlier today." It was one of the reasons I was skeptical in bringing the others besides Kyle and Wendy along, and why I'd rather have Kenny or maybe even Butters by my side - because none of the other five are likely prepared for what's to possibly come.

"You trust me and Kyle, but not the rest of 'em?" Wendy asked.

I shook my head. "It's not that I don't trust them to do the right thing - I do, it's just that I don't think they're prepared for what we might face, and I don't...I don't think I'm capable of helping them out."

Wendy let go of me. I turned around to see her chuckle and shake her head. "Stan, I think you're plenty capable of helping them out."

"You saw what I said to them all earlier," I argued.

"Is this what this is all about?" Wendy frowned as her face softened considerably. "So you said some mean things - they already forgave you earlier today, why can't you forgive yourself for it?"

"I saw how much it hurt them, and I saw how much it hurt you. So if you want to point out my flaws, go ahead. I won't bite."

Wendy nodded. She exhaled fairly harshly. I hope she isn't mad at me, and I can't exactly tell right now. The scariest situation is when you can't even tell if a girl is mad at you or not. "I'm sure I've said this before but I'll say it again: you are quite insecure and clingy. Scared of losing me and the others." I couldn't help but stare at my shoes. She's completely right in that sense. "But I can't fix you, Stan, and even if I thought I could, it wouldn't amount to much because I'm sort of the same." Well this was a rather unexpected turn. "Sometimes I wish my parents paid a bit more attention to me."

"I'm in the same boat, really," I replied. "Guess we're not so different after all."

"Yeah, but when you did call me a whore - well not literally a whore - but it did made me realize that I've tried so hard to just...compete for attention or whatnot too. Just to have people approve of me." I could tell at that moment that Wendy wanted to cry. "And when I hear that I just...drain all the confidence out of you..."

This threw me into a panic. I wanted to make Wendy feel better, to not make her feel like shit. "Wendy please don't cry." As if by instinct, I walked up to her and began to wipe her eyes with my right sleeve.

But then she leaned into kiss my lips. We held for about six seconds before she retracted. "Stan, never ever let me go."

I nodded and smiled, feeling my cheeks burn hot. "I won't."

I tilted my head to see the others approach from behind Wendy. They all stepped out of the shadows, one-by-one. Kyle was the first to speak. "Hey, we saw everything and wanted to make sure you were okay." My heart lept. They heard everything, even the more secretive stuff? Why would they do this?

"It was all Kyle's idea." Chris pointed at Kyle, who then glared back at Chris.

Wendy and I turned to face the rest of them. "What is all this?"

"We heard you guys crying and wanted to make sure things were alright between the two of you," Bebe replied.

"Yeah, you did throw insults at us, but it doesn't mean we won't have your backs still," Kathy added.

"I think you both are doing a good job at leading," Ellen smiled.

"Makes sense, really, if they could lead the entire fourth grade, this is easy mode," Chris laughed.

"Feeling better?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah, I think I am." I smiled back. After everything that had happened today, it felt good knowing that they have our backs.

As Wendy turned to hug me again, and as she did so, Kyle started again. "I'm so glad that after everything that has happened between us all, that all of this is what comes." I couldn't help but chuckle as Kyle prepared another speech. "I'm sure we learned something today and-"

"This is not a time for a lecture, Kyle," Tyler frowned.

Kyle blinked but then conceded by nodding. "Right. Stan and Wendy both didn't feel well, and maybe we should honor that by-"

Bebe immediately shouted, "Group hug!" Suddenly, I got dogpiled on by the arms of Bebe, then Kyle, then Kathy, then Ellen in that order. Chris and Tyler of course were both graceful enough to simply put their hands on my left shoulder and Wendy's right shoulder respectively. Sure, we've had some turmoil, but we're South Parkers; turmoil will always come to us whether we like it or not, and we'll always be ready for it. With all that said, I'm ready to see what's in store for us tomorrow.


Apologies for taking a while for this. Hope you guys enjoyed this.