About them being 10 or 11, I know a bunch of you think that's too young for this kind of thing, but in the actual show they're only a year younger and you've seen the kind of things they do in the show. When I was in fifth grade I swore out loud words like fuck and stuff, and I'm pretty sure by then kids have at least a crush. Hell, kids get crushes in first grade. So once you think about it, it's about the best age.

Besides, I didn't really get to choose the age because of the way I came up with this story which you'll find out later.

I had to have been staring at myself in the mirror for at least an hour, and my eyes were still as red as they were when I walked in the bathroom. I don't know why, but I just couldn't stop crying. Christophe was long gone now… If I had just gone home with Stan like I was supposed to this wouldn't be happening. Why could I have just gone with him? Why did I—that's my new trademark; isn't it? Why couldn't I have gone with Stan, why did I have to agree to make Cartman a love potion, why did I have to be a Voodoo?

I wiped my eyes with my sleeves and left the hall bathroom and went down to the basement. I really thought last time would be my last time; but I guess I guessed wrong. I picked up my face mask from my table and put it on over my mouth. I went ahead and set up my burner and notebook like I did the two times before this and turned the burner on. While I was doing all this, my mind was jumbling around between focusing on the potion and everything regarding Christophe and what he did to me.

I don't really know him that well. I met him maybe a year ago when my mom was trying to execute Terrance and Phillip. Stan, Cartman, and I started a resistance, and that Gregory kid told us about him. I've hardly seen him since then; only every once in a while on the playground, but he never even so much at glanced at me until now.

He just… broke in my door and demanded a love potion.

I sighed while adding the boiling vanilla to the potion and watching as it turned bright white and the smell of strawberry smoothie exploded into the air and filling the room. I stared down at the little beaker of half-love-potion bleakly. One drop of this unfinished potion would kill me.

I wonder who this potion is going to. Christophe isn't Cartman, but he really isn't the nicest guy I know either. He seems like the kind of guy who if he ever were in a relationship would be screaming "Geet in ze keetchen and make me a sandweech, beetch!" then beating the shit out of her with his shovel…

The thought made me shake all over. Why wouldn't he? He might have well have just done it to me! I grabbed the beaker and swished the liquid around in my palm. Two love potions is far enough; three is too many. Cartman told Craig, and Craig told Christophe, so who would be next? By the way they're talking it up, everyone should know! What happens when there's no one left? What happens when more people come to me, and what happens when they get more violent than Christophe?

What if I just stop now?

I smiled. I smiled a big, crazy, Craig Tucker smile. I don't have to make anyone any more love potions. But… if I don't give this to Christophe… 'It'll be my head'. I stopped smiling. He can have my head. I thought. He can have whatever he wants, and so can I.

I slowly pulled down my face mask and brought the glass beaker to my mouth… when they find me here, when they find Christophe and Craig and Cartman, they'll all have realized they should never had asked me for anything. But, by then it will have been too late for them. Because right now… it's a little too late for me.

I was crying again. I don't know why, but I was. I didn't care though, because I'm going to do it. I was really going to do it. I leaned my head back and opened my mouth; it tasted like warm vanilla shake, and it slid uneasily down my throat. I don't care about Christophe, or my family, or Sta—

I jumped upon hearing my phone ringing from my beanbag chair across the room. It was Stan. It had to be. He wanted to talk to me. I threw the glass beaker down on the table spitting out the incomplete potion, and hacking up the rest into my waist basket, then picked up my phone and answered it.

"Stan?" I asked, coughing and choking down air. I felt so horrible and stupid, I mean, I know I've thought about it before, but I can't believe I tried to… god, that was so stupid! I can't believe I actually did that! Stan would have—Stan would have—

"Uh, no, dude, it's me. Are you okay?" It was Kenny. I felt tears coming back in my own stupidity. Why would it have been Stan? "Are you… crying? Kyle, what's going on, seriously!"

I put my face mask over my mouth and nose again using my left hand, I had completely forgotten about the fumes, then opened the basement window and went upstairs to I could actually talk into the phone, "No, I'm fine. I'm having… allergies."

"Kyle, that's bullshit." He said immediately. "Is it Stan? Did you guys get in a fight or something? Is he hanging out with Cartman now? Did he go back to Wendy?"

I sat on my couch in my front room trying to calm myself down. I really need to tell someone about what's happening, someone has to know about the love potions and Christophe and his threat to kill me. "Kenny, listen. I need to tell you something. It's not Stan… I—I'm making—and Christophe…" I took a deep breath. Kenny deals with death, maybe I should just tell him about what I was doing before he called. "Kenny… I… I think I might be in danger. You see, I've been having weird feelings lately… and with all the pressure I'm in…" I sighed. "I'm just going to say it. Before you called—"

"Kevin, shut up!" Kenny interrupted me. "I don't care if he's dead, I'll watch it later, I'm talking to Kyle! No, I'm serious! Just be quiet! Mom! God-fucking-dammit. Dude, you still there?" He asked me. "Sorry, what did you want to say?"

I didn't feel like telling him now. "Nothing, I'm just worried about my homework."

"But, Kyle, didn't you say you think you're in danger?" He sounded concerned. "Should I come over? You were fighting with Stan, weren't you? Are you afraid he might try to beat you up?"

"No, no, dude, I'm fine." I said. "I'll see you tomorrow at school, alright?"

His reply didn't come for a few seconds, "Well… alright. But if something serious is going on, promise you will call me immediately, alright?" He asked. "Promise me, okay?"

"Yeah, sheesh, sure!" I said, wanting to just hang up already. "I promise! You fucking happy now?"

"Alright!" He yelled back. "I'm just—" He sighed. "I'm just worried about you Kyle; everyone is."

I sat there a few seconds before saying anything. "I worry about me too sometimes."

He laughed a little over the phone, "Yeah, okay, I'll see you tomorrow at school, okay? Just don't do anything too stupid between now and then, promise?"

I rolled my eyes, "Cross my heart and hope to die." I said, while actually crossing my heart with my finger. "Bye, dude."

"Bye." Then we both hung up.

I sighed in irritation and depression of my own selfishness and stupidity earlier, then left my phone on the coffee table as I went back down to the basement with my face mask on. I dumped what was left of the potion into my waist basket and started over. It didn't take long, I've gotten kind of used to making love potions now.

It was nearly done, so I had taken off my glove and had my knife in my right hand. I cut down the same line as the first two, but I didn't go deep enough, so I couldn't get anything out of it. I really didn't want to have to keep slicing it until I started bleeding like a fountain, so I made a new cut right next to it, and eventually finished the potion that way.

Who cares who Christophe uses it on? It's not my problem, and if I do this then I know he'll never bother me again. Everyone wins. I put the finished potion in a jar then into my backpack. By then it was late late late, so I went up to my bedroom so I could finally get some sleep, even if it meant missing dinner. I don't really know why, but I just couldn't fall asleep. I told myself it would be okay, I'd give Christophe the potion, and that would be the end of it, but in the very back of my mind I kind of knew something was wrong. Just thinking about him made it hard for me to fall asleep.

What if the potion is bad? When he uses it, it kills that person, then no doubt he'd come after me! He already came after me, and he nearly cut my head off with his shovel! I tried to calm myself down again, I tried shifting in my bed to find a comfortable spot, but in the end I maybe slept an hour before waking up, then I knew I wasn't going to sleep at all.

I got up at around seven, the time I usually get up, and got dressed and the usual stuff. Down in the kitchen I got myself a poptart and drank some milk, then left with my bag. I didn't want to still be here when my dad came down for breakfast, hell knows what would happen if he started talking about Valentines Day again.

I couldn't help but take my time getting to school; I was tired, and upset, and I really didn't feel like getting there early and having to see Christophe again. But, you can only walk so slowly going from my house to the school, and I was there within thirty minutes anyway. It was still a half our before school was even supposed to start, so I was the only one walking the halls to my locker. I could literally feel the potion swishing around inside its jar within my backpack with every step I took.

I was relieved to find my locker's hallway empty and that Christophe hadn't shown up yet, but I knew he'd be here soon enough. I dropped my bag, being careful so the jar wouldn't break, and took a seat on the bench. I sat there for a long time, trying to think about nothing, and eventually I took out the jar from my backpack to stare at the potion for a while. It didn't really do anything… it just sat there and glowed.

I still really couldn't believe the size though; I know that one drop of this stuff would be enough for you to loose total control of yourself for the first person you see, but this thing was tiny. I mean minuscule. Well, not that little of an amount, but I bet if I poured it out I could hold it in my palms without it overflowing. When I learned to make potions in class, I imagined them to be tall drinks that you'd need to ingest completely for them to work.

The red glow was starting to give me a headache. I couldn't help but wonder what it tastes like, the red-tinted vision potion tastes like mangoes because mango skin is it's main ingredient, so the love potion tastes like black tea? What does black tea taste like? Then again, when I drank the unfinished one it tasted like a vanilla shake, and that was probably because of the vanilla, so I really have no idea what one would taste like.

I jumped up from the bench as out of the corner of my eye I saw someone cross the hallway all the way down at the end and disappear. It was probably Christophe; maybe he was looking for my locker, or just trying to scare me. I grabbed my backpack and ran down the hall after them. I turned the corner and saw they had stopped at their own locker, but it wasn't Christophe, it was Wendy.

I went up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder, "Wendy? Hey, can I talk to you?" I asked.

She turned around and I flinched when she smiled at me; I still hadn't gotten used to the eyes, "Hi Kyle." She said like she usually did. "How's it going?"

She sounded kind of normal—better than yesterday I mean. "Nothing, I was just wondering how you were doing."

She just went on smiling, "I'm doing great! I've never been better! Last night, I went over to Eric's house and we watched Wipeout! During a commercial he asked me to make him a turkey sandwich, but when I brought it to him I dropped it, and he called me a bitch, but that's okay! Watching him sitting on the couch distracted me and I tripped over his rug. He sure is something, isn't he?" She asked, and she looked like she meant what she said. "He's great."

I shook my head, "Dude, Wendy, you never call him Eric, and you hate Wipeout!" I protested. "Everyone knows that! You've always resented mindless, pain-based TV shows."

She looked confused, then shrugged like it was no big deal. "Yeah, but Eric likes it, so if that's what he wants to watch then I'll sit there and watch it with him."

"Wendy, he called you a bitch and told you to make him a sandwich!" I yelled at her. "And you didn't say anything?" I suddenly felt scared, guilty, and regretful. I mean, I know love potions are supposed to be powerful stuff, but I had no idea they were this powerful. Wendy's off her nut! A love potion is just supposed to change your heart; not the entire way you think. "What's gotten into you?"

She stopped smiling, "What are you talking about, Kyle? Are you—" She twitched slightly. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, Kyle, are you feeling okay?" Came another voice from down the hall; it was Cartman. He approached us and slung his arm over Wendy's shoulder. "Is there a problem, Kyle?" He looked me dead in the face knowing exactly that I knew and that I couldn't do anything about it now. "Oh, hey Wendy?" He asked, turning to her and removing his arm.
"Yeah, Eric?" She asked, squeezing his hand.

"Did you know that Kyle here is a Jew?" He asked, I could tell where he was going with this. She just shrugged. "Well, you know what we do with Jews?"

I saw Wendy twitch again and her pupils shrink, then grow unusually wide like before and she shook the twitch off, "Yeah, I know." She said, and turned to him. I watched him nod, and before I could turn back to her, she swooped forward and punched me in the face, knocking me back against the lockers with a loud crash.

Cartman just threw his head back and laughed. It didn't hurt that much, mostly because Wendy doesn't have that much upper body strength, but it still kind of hurt.

She looked back at him as she put her hands behind her back, "Was that good, Eric?" She asked.

"Perfect. Now let's go, bitch."

"Okay!" And they walked off together hand in hand.

I've created some kind of a monster. And if Wendy was that bad, I didn't even want to know how messed up Tweek was by now. This was hardly a love potion, this was more like… a zombie potion. Wendy was… completely demented, and she did what Cartman asked her to. I knew love was kind of powerful, but not that powerful. It brainwashed her, and every time I make a potion another person became one of those. They became a Zombie.

I got up off the floor then and leaned against the cold lockers in the dimly lit hallway. It was empty again once they were gone, I liked it better that way. I felt so weak and scared and anxious as I picked myself off of the floor; Christophe… and Craig… and Wendy. Who's next? I took out the potion from my backpack again and stared into the glow. I just wanted to be done with this thing, but I'll never escape it now that it's started.

I ran back to my hallway and straight toward my locker. I just wanted to hand this thing over to Christophe and go home. I wanted to crawl back into my basement and never have to see any of these fucking assholes ever again. No one was by my locker like before, I stopped and dropped my backpack like before with the potion in my hand. Why was I so afraid? I wiped my face with my sleeve; why did I feel so stupid?

"Kyle?" Another voice came from behind me, and a hand turned me around. "Jou brought eet?"

For some reason seeing Christophe all the sudden right in front of me with his dirt-caked face and muddy shovel made me so angry. I shoved the potion in his chest and ran, grabbing my backpack off the floor before he could stop me. I didn't even care if I didn't get paid, I just wanted to go home and sleep.

He called after me angrily in French for a while, but eventually his voice grew further and further away until I couldn't hear him anymore. I was almost to the exit when I accidentally knocked into someone, and we both almost fell over.

"Sorry." I said with my eyes on the ground; I didn't feel like talking to anyone.

The other person regained their balance, "Kyle? Dude, are you okay?" They asked, and I looked up, even though I knew it was Stan by the sound of his voice.

There was no point in lying to him, so I shook my head, "I was just going home." I said, then tried to get past him, but he moved in front of me so I couldn't escape.

"School hasn't even started yet, are you—" He stopped himself and grabbed my face to get a better look at me. "Whoa, dude, have you been sleeping right? You look really out of it."

I pulled away from him, "I didn't sleep very well last night."

"More like you didn't get any at all! You have dark circles under your eyes." Stan said, I touched them with my fingers; I guess I didn't notice them when I was getting ready. He turned me away from the door and put his arm around my shoulders. "Here, lean on me; you look like you might pass out any second."

"You really don't have to—" I said, feeling a little awkward, but he cut me off.

"No, dude, you've been acting really, really strange lately. I know you don't want me to worry about you, but this is too much. I'm walking you to history." I didn't fight it anymore, and to be honest; I did kind of feel like I might pass out at anytime, wouldn't that be nice?

He left me at the door of Mr. Garrison's room because he had to go get his stuff out of his locker, and after having my fill of watching him walk off and thinking he might have actually cared about me, I went back to being in a horrible mood.

In the middle of class I couldn't help but glance at him every five minutes out of the corner of my eye, then curse myself for doing so. I don't think just the people who've been given love potions are the ones changing; a week ago and I was nothing like I am right now. A week ago I was happy, carefree—almost—, and the only thing I ever had to worry about was whether or not I was going to mess things up with Stan when he'd come over that day.

At lunch our square was taken again, so we sat on the swings like yesterday; back before I was traumatized. I was staring at Christophe on the marry-go-round again. He and Gregory weren't yelling at each other for once; they looked like they were just talking. All of the sudden Gregory pulled out a thermos from his backpack and took a sip of it, and I thought that was pretty normal until Christophe grabbed his face and forced him to look at him. Yeah, I thought that was kind of weird.

Gregory spit out whatever was left of it all over him, then stood and started screaming at him in French. Christophe immediately grabbed his shovel and stood too, and they were yelling at each other like usual.

Christophe used the potion on Gregory?

I turned to Stan; he was watching them too. So was Kenny and Butters, and—looking around—everyone was looking over at them now.

I glance back over; they were on the ground now, they were actually fighting! It wasn't five seconds and everyone gathered making a tight circle around them. Stan and I jumped up and ran over too to get a better look. Christophe was on top of Gregory and trying to pin him with his shovel, but Gregory had both hands on it too and was pushing back until he pulled him off and they rolled around on the ground until Gregory got up. He was trying to take the shovel from Christophe, but ended up pulling him to his feet and they continued to fight over it; swearing at each other and yelling in French even more.

I really couldn't believe what I was seeing. I mean, I know they get into arguments a lot, but they're best friends. And why would they be fighting if Gregory drank the potion and was forced to look at Christophe?

Eventually, Christophe pulled the shovel out of Gregory's grasp, and without thinking, hit him over the head with it; knocking Gregory to the ground.

The crowd of kids gathered around grew quiet, except for one kid who screamed, "IS HE DEAD?"

Christophe fell to his knees next to him and began shaking his shoulders violently, "Gregory? Gregory? Réveilles-tu! Réveilles-tu! C'était un accident! Je suis désolé! Gregory? Réveilles-tu!"

The side of his head was bleeding; that's all I could see. It wasn't long until one of the teachers ran out, pushing through the crowd of kids, and found him lying on the ground unconscious with the bloody head wound. She called out Nurse Gollum, and everyone slowly walked off back to their own thing once they had taken Gregory inside to the Nurse's office with Christophe right behind them.

"Wow." Stan eventually said; we were the only ones still standing there staring at the door. "You think he'll be okay?"

I shook my head; "I have no idea."

Recess ended soon after that, and Stan and I said good-bye until PE. Christophe wasn't there during French class, and I could pretty much tell why. It didn't bother me too much though, without him glancing back at me all the time I was able to relax. I might have even accidentally fallen asleep during class, but I couldn't remember after class was over.

Besides before school and lunch, today was a pretty normal day, so I enjoyed it as much as I could; which wasn't very much. Eventually enough, school ended, and I headed off with Stan to Witch class. Everyone was just as surprised as yesterday that I hadn't done my homework, but—hey, I was assaulted. What did you expect me to do about it?

We were in the middle of our lesson on giving life to inanimate objects—which I thought was an actually pretty cool spell—when Christophe and Gregory showed up. They handed Mrs. Testaburger a late note and took their usual seats. Gregory had a bandage wrapped around his head and was holding an icepack to his wound as well, and they didn't say a word to each other or anyone else. Christophe didn't even look at me.

Mrs. Testaburger just continued her notes, "Depending on the characteristics of the object, it will take on characteristics of a living creature with similar qualities. As example: a paper plane may act like a flying bird, or a piece of shoelace might act like a snake. I want everyone to try an exercise now."

She handed us stuffed animals and let us choose our partners, so Stan and I were together. I didn't really care about the exercise or our stuffed penguin, I was looking over at Christophe and how he was already making his stuffed snake slither. I didn't even care when the stuffed penguin pecked me, I wanted to go home.

Class ended and Stan left to hang out by the fence of the school; I really wanted to tell him to not bother, because I don't think I should go home with him today either, but he looked like he was really looking forward to hanging out since we haven't in a couple of days, so I didn't say anything. Both Christophe and Gregory left together even though Christophe is a Witch Doctor.

There was nothing to report in Witch Doctor class. Mr. Tucker decided today was the day to buckle down and be serious for once, so everyone sat in their seats and practiced grounding ingredients to powder instead of an actual lesson. Voodoo class wasn't much better. Mrs. McGilroy was out sick so my substitute was Mr. Tucker who made me do the exact same thing as last class; just under his strict surveillance.

I ran out of that classroom once it was six, but I stopped when I saw Stan leaning against the fence like he always did. I approached him from behind, and he turned around hearing my footsteps.

"You ready to go, Kyle?" He asked, bag in hand.

"Are we going to your house?" I asked him, he nodded. "Every Wednesday?" He nodded again. "Look dude, what you said this morning; I haven't gotten any sleep lately. I didn't sleep at all last night. I think I'm just going to go home and take a nap." I said. "We'll hang out tomorrow, I swear. It's just this once."

He looked disappointed, then turned away. "You said that yesterday." Then he left.

I stood there in the snow a minute before walking home myself. I'm an idiot. I sauntered all the way home and let myself in through the front and thought about spending the afternoon watching TV and blowing off my homework again, and decided I really needed that right now.

I wasn't five minutes into my show when there was a knock at the door. Probably someone else who wants a potion. I got up from the couch to answer the door, but before I could do anything else the door was broken in and flew open. I accidentally screamed when I saw it was a very pissed off looking Christophe in the doorway with his now bloody shovel in hand, and ran into my kitchen to hide. I opened the cabinet door below the sink and crawled inside as he entered the kitchen after me.

What the hell does he want now? I gave him the potion, it didn't kill Gregory, so why is he back?

I was clinging to the pipe of the sink praying he wouldn't find me when the wall behind me broke through and a giant plumbing pipe spewing water all over the place grabbed me around my waist and wrapped around me like a giant python. It threw me out of the cabinet and I lay on the ground with it tied around me—squeezing the life out of me I might add—at Christophe's feet. He put his outstretched arm down, and the pipe released me and retracted back into the wall.

He pulled me to my feet by the collar of my shirt, "Are jou tryeeng to make fun of me?" He asked. "Is zis some kind of joke to jou?" He demanded.

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" I exclaimed, and he just looked like he was getting angrier.

His left hand flew back up and before I could turn around all the way another two pipe broke through the wall and grabbed me around my ankles and I was falling forward. They pulled back and I tried grabbing onto something—anything—but I was slammed into the wall and was hung upside down by my ankles.

Christophe approached me again, and I tried to reach up and get myself down, but I couldn't fight gravity. "I'm going to ask jou again; what did jou do to zat potion?"

I stared him in the face; "I didn't do anything! What the hell are you talking about!" I yelled, the blood was rushing to my head. "I just made the potion! I didn't do anything to it!"

He grabbed my face making me look hard at him, "Zen why deedn't it work!"

I was going to demand he let me down, but what he said shocked me into submission, "It didn't—what?" I asked loudly. "It couldn't have not worked!" I said, not caring if I used a double negative. "That's impossible!" Christophe let go of my face and rolled his eyes. "If it hadn't have worked, then Gregory would have died—"

"VAT?" He screamed, looking back at me. "Are jou trying to tell me zat potion could have killed him!"

I regretted saying anything, and was still too scared to say anything more, so I just nodded with a scared shitless expression on my face.

He dropped his shovel, "He could have died!" I was really starting to feel weird now, with the blood rushing to my head. He made a fist and I wasn't sure if he did it without thinking first or not, but he punched me in the exact same spot as Wendy had earlier today.

It hurt much worse than Wendy's had, and my left eye was throbbing, I saw through my dizziness with my right one Christophe walk out with his shovel. At least he didn't decapitate me. But between my eye, being insanely tired, and the blood in my head, I was beginning to feel really bad and I wasn't quite sure if I did or not, but I think I passed out while still hanging upside down.

I opened my eyes; it was late. Well, later. I could see out the arch in the kitchen Christophe never closed my door all the way and it was open partially and swaying with the wind. I tried to look up at the pipes still holding my chaffing ankles. If I were good at magic, I would be down by now. I tried to pull myself up again to see if I could slip my feet through, but it didn't look like I would be able to, so I just decided I'd hang there until someone found me. I had already gotten used to the blood rushing, and my eye had stopped throbbing so much.

I let myself drop when I thought I heard the front door creak on it's hinges. I looked over and saw someone standing in my doorway. I swear, if it's Christophe…

"Kyle? Kyle, is that you?" Pip left the doorway and ran to me. "Are you alright? How did you get up there?" He asked. "What happened to your eye?"

He tried touching it, but it began to throb at his touch, so I cringed and swatted his hand away, "Pip, just help me down, alright?"

"Oh, sure." He said, and jumped up onto the counter next to me and grabbed my shoe and pulled it off and that foot fit through. He took off the other for me and I fell, nearly hitting my head on the tile, and stood. It was so relieving to let the blood drain from my skull.

"Ah!" I sighed in relief. "That's so much better!" I turned around to see the damage of the wall and cringed again. My mom is going to be pissed.

"Kyle, what happened to your eye?" Pip asked again once I turned back to him.

"My eye?" I asked, touching it myself and hissing as it stung with pain. "I have no idea… maybe it happened when Christophe punched me…"

He looked concerned—just like everyone else. "Oh wow." He said, and went to my refrigerator and pulled out an ice tray the grabbed my wrist and pulled me along out of the kitchen. "Where's your loo?" He asked.

"My what?"

He looked back at me in frustration, "Your toilet."

I was still a little out of everything, so I didn't really care that he was making zero sense to me, "That door, down the hall." I said, pointing to it.

He pulled me inside with him and pulled out a sandwich bag from his lunchbox and put the ice inside, then got a washcloth from under my sink and handed both to me.

"Put it on your eye." He said, so I put the bag in the cloth and held it to my face. It kind of helped.

"Thanks…" I eventually said while we walked back out to my living room. "For finding me and this thing." I said shaking the homemade icepack. "But, dude, what are you doing here?" I asked.

He looked up at me from his backpack, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you live on the other side of town from me, and it's not like you could have know I was in danger, right?" I said. "So why'd you come to my house?"

He looked a little embarrassed now, "Well, actually, I was wondering… if you'd make me a love potion."

Should have seen that coming. "What?" I asked. "Who told you! Did Christophe tell you? Craig? Cartman?"

He looked more confused than embarrassed now, "Uh, no, no-one told me." He said simply. "I mean, I've heard it from a few people, but no one told me." He said, and noticed I didn't quite understand. "Well, everyone knows, Kyle." He said shrugging.

My jaw dropped, "Everyone?" How could everyone know after just five days? "Not everyone can know, I mean, there isn't anyone who doesn't know?"

He just shrugged, "Word spreads quickly around here. So, will you make me one?"

I couldn't believe he was asking this—okay, I believed it a little, "What? Why? Why should I make you one? Have you seen what these things do to people?" I asked. "This potion turns people into monsters! It turns victims into whole different people! And it's not just the people who drink it that are affected! Why would you want something as horrible as this! I'm done with these things! I'm never making another one!"

"Kyle," He said, "please, I understand what these do… I just really need one." I thought he was going to cry. Why the hell couldn't my life have been normal? "Do you know what it's like to be me?" Oh great. First it was begging, then I was spooked, then threatened, I guess I'm overdue for a sob story. "Do you know what it's like to be completely alone in the world? The only person who you could ever care about is way out of your league and your fighting yourself on the inside because you know there's no way for you besides this?" I turned to him and actually paid attention to what he was saying, because… it kind of made sense. "And you know it's wrong, you know it'd just be the potion, not them, but you feel like your all out of options, and if you don't do it soon; you might just give up on everything, even life. So… Kyle, could you please, please help me? Because, I don't know how much longer I can take it."

Pip was definitely not Cartman, or Craig, or Christophe. Pip was Pip, and he's made the most sense out of them. He helped me, and after all of those years of torment from us, from me, he kind of deserves it.

"Yeah." I said quietly. "Sure, I'll make you one."

He left half an hour later after thanking me just about twenty billion times and making sure my eye was okay. By then it was pretty late like yesterday, and I got up off my couch to get it over with. I had forgotten how tired I was when I stood and nearly lost my balance, but I made it down to my basement where Sammy was waiting for me and shook the bars of his cage in eagerness of my return.

I took my face mask from my beanbag and put it on, and started up the same procedure as usual. It was hard to stand, hold the icepack to my eye, and make the potion at the same time, but I had managed to get as far as shaving my lemon for zest when got really dizzy like earlier standing up.

I woke up with my upper body laid out over my potions table and Pip's potion half done next to me. I guess I passed out again. I took out my cellphone from my back pocket and checked the time; it was nearly three in the morning. Great. Five hours of sleep. I went ahead and added the lemon zest and then some cinnamon, then a whole bunch of nutmeg.

I really could care less about the scars on my wrist now, so I just cut down the new one. Once that was over with—thank god—I gave a small sample to Sammy, and he didn't die, so my work here was done. I put it in my backpack and went upstairs to the bathroom to splash some cool water in my face. I walked in and took a good look in the mirror. I know Christophe hit me hard, but this was a little extreme. My black eye was twice the size I figured it was, but I guess that's just because I was upside down when it happened.

I washed my face and brushed my teeth then crawled in bed, but I still couldn't sleep. So I pass out for five hours while making a deadly potion, but I can't fall asleep for five minutes in my own bed? Since my body wasn't going to cooperate I went downstairs and did my homework for once.

I left early again at seven so my parents wouldn't have to see my black eye. I was surprised when I found the kitchen was completely like it was yesterday before Christophe came, but knowing my mom she probably fixed it with magic.

I sat in front of my locker at school until everyone else showed up, which wasn't too long because I did my slow walk to school like yesterday. Luckily this time I didn't run into Wendy. Pip showed up ten minutes before the bell and took the potion and gave me his money, then thanked me a million times more.

"I even tested it, to make sure it works." I said, and he just gazed into it's glow. "By the way, Pip, who is this for?" I asked.

He cut his gaze from it to look at me, "Well, do I… have to tell you?" He asked.

I felt kind of bad for asking now, "No, but, it's better that I know to make sure I steer clear of them, you know, because of everything that's happened so far…"

"It's Damien." He said plainly, and I looked over at him like I didn't hear him even though I heard him perfectly. "I know," He said, blushing a little, "he's kind of… well, you know, but I do."

I smiled awkwardly, "Alright. You should probably go do whatever you want to do." I said, gesturing to the potion, and he thanked me once more before running off.

I decided I'd better get to class then. I picked up my backpack and put my icepack back to my eye because it still kind of hurt, and walked down the hallway toward history. I felt better today, I felt like I really helped someone who needed it, and I kind of needed it too.

I was about to walk through the door when someone in the hall call out my name. "Kyle!" I stopped and looked with my good eye; it was Stan running up to me. The second he saw my icepack he stopped smiling and ran faster. "Dude, Kyle, what's with the icepack?" He asked, trying to get me to put it down.

"It's nothing, Stan." I said, but he forced my hand down after giving my wrist the death grip and making me hiss with pain because of my cuts under my gloves.

"Dude! That is not nothing!" He said, seeing the black eye. "How did this happen?"

I tried to think a of a lie quickly, but nothing came to mind, so I sighed, "Christophe punched me." I said.

"That French kid?" He asked furiously, putting his hands on my shoulders. "Why! Where is he! I swear, I will—"

"Stan, stop!" I yelled at him. "It was my fault, okay, you don't have to avenge me for a black eye. It's just a black eye. Okay? What's with you?"

He let go of my shoulders, "Kyle, we need to talk." He said. "I know you've canceled the past two days, but I'm coming over. We have to talk about what's going on. I'm really, really, really worried about you."

"Don't worry about—"

"I worry about you, Kyle, okay?" Stan said forcefully. "I really, really do, and telling me not to doesn't help. At all." He paused, giving me time to think. Eventually I sighed in defeat. "Alright, I'll be waiting for you after Voodoo class like usual. Okay?"

I managed to fake a smile, "Yeah. Can't wait."

Réveilles-tu "Wake up"

C'était un accident "It was an accident"

Je suis désolé "I'm sorry"