~Butters' P.O.V~

It has been an entire month since our beloved Karen's birthday. I sadly still haven't mustered up the courage to tell Kenny anything remotely close to the words 'I love you', and our relationship is still not nearly as close or romantic as Tweek & Craig's is. But nevertheless, I'm happy, and I know Kenny is as well.

Speaking of Tweek and Craig, they're still as chirpy with each other as ever. It's difficult for me to believe that two people with such opposite personalities can be as close as they are.

As for Pip and Damien… it shocks me. Damien not only tolerates Pip; he actually seems to be patient and caring with him. Kenny told me he'd asked Damien about a week ago if he thinks of Pip in a romantic way, and he claimed that Damien actually answered 'somewhat', though hesitantly. I don't care; he said it either way. I just feel happy for my 'brother'. So these days Damien is starting to feel exactly how I felt for Kenny at the beginning. Somewhat wanting to love, but doesn't know how. I just wonder if Pip knows that - I've learnt that he's a bit of an air head, if I do say so myself. It's a wonder how Damien even put up with him from the start.

"Dear God, how I loathe this rain," I grumble, trying to shelter myself from the dreaded droplets with my hand. I don't know where such a stupid idea came from. "Two thirds of the damn year, huh?" Pip smiles weakly, walking next to me.

He tries to make me feel better about the cursed droplets of water falling on my damn head - failing miserably. "You will get used to it, you needn't worry." I narrow my eyes, continuing to keep my line of sight straight ahead.

"Yes well, we'll see." I'm in a bad mood, most likely because Kenny isn't around. He knows now that I'm not a fool, and won't get myself into any major trouble if he leaves me alone. He's correct on that; I'm not gullible the way I previously was when I was very small, but I do make foolish choices a good amount of the time. But he trusts me all the same, so he's going to work this morning. Apparently there's many people in the hospital now with pneumonia.

"We'd better hop to it." Pip says slyly, glancing at me nervously. He's afraid I'll snap at him if he dares to command me around, since I'm obviously not very happy. "Or we'll be late."

"Oh, it doesn't matter. That teacher is never going to lay a finger on you, what with how special and respected you are. People would be at his throat." I declare boredly, not particularly caring about school.

"However true that may be, what about you?" I almost let out a loud array of laughter. Instead, I give Pip an 'are you serious?' look, snickering under my breath.

"Pft, he can expel me if he wants. I have no moral goals in life." I inform him, still smiling to myself.

"You shouldn't think that way! Come, we only have three minutes now!" Pip grabs my arm and basically drags me to the school house. All the students are standing outside, trying to get shelter from the rain under surrounding trees. Our prick of a teacher refuses to let us all inside until it's time for classes. I slink over to Stan casually, who's leaning against the side of the building. He looks frustrated.

"Is Eric not here today?" I ask, slightly curious. I've noticed that Eric hasn't been present for the past few weeks. I wonder if he's poorly.

"No. He hasn't been sleeping enough, so I've made him stay home." I fight off the urge to laugh again.

"For a fortnight?" I smirk and observe Stan's movements doubtfully, trying to trace the lie in him.

"Yes." Stan answers directly, looking me in the eyes, beyond serious. My smirk doesn't falter, but I'm still appalled. Either he's lying to my face, or he's actually telling the truth of such a strange thing.

"Is he that exhausted? What brought something such as this up?"

"What do you care?" He snaps at me. "It's none of your business. I know him better than anyone else, so I deserve to know what's wrong with him more than you do."

"Fair enough." I shrug, just as I hear the teacher open the door to let us all in. All the smaller children notice first, and rush in as fast as lightning, not even having the common courtesy to greet the teacher. Us older (and more reluctant) children begrudgingly enter as well, mumbling our hellos.

"Good morning, sir." Pip greets the man, giving him a charming smile (it's very strained). Stan merely gives him a curt nod. I stick my tongue out, and he narrows his eyes. I'd normally have the largest beating in the history of teachers hitting their students, but the man has realized that no matter how much he punishes me, I'm not going to stand down.

We do a lot of chemistry for most of the morning. I don't have any trouble with it, but my Lord, Pip is absolutely hopeless at it. He doesn't understand anything, and I have to go through all of it with him countless times. He still doesn't understand, even after that. From the distressed looks he's been giving a supposedly invisible Craig, I can guess that Tweek doesn't understand much either. For the last half an hour before lunch, or fucking dinner as they call it, our teacher makes us all study a list of spelling words. I don't find any of them particularly difficult. Phillip seems to think otherwise; using the look-cover-write-check method for almost every word. The teacher sees that I'm not doing anything and frowns. I pretend to not see him, closing my eyes and relaxing.

"Alright class," He eventually says. "I'm going to call students up by random, and I will give them a word to spell on the board. First, James." The young boy stands up instantly; he was that boy at Pip's 'ceremony' that had the guts to admit he had a fairy first. "Spell 'accidentally'." James nods, takes a gentle hold of a piece of chalk, and reaches up, slowly writing out the letters. He ends up spelling the word 'accidentely'. I cannot help but feel some pity for him.

"Wrong. Diane, please spell 'necessary'." He commands a slightly older girl, about nine. She stands up and shyly walks over, taking the piece of chalk from James, who sleeks back over to his own seat, hanging his head in shame. Diane writes the word, spelling it: 'nessessary'. "Wrong. Leopold, get up here and spell 'discipline'." He's doing this deliberately, to humiliate me. He thinks I didn't study the words at all, and I need to pay for it by writing the wrong word in front of the entire class. I lazily rummage myself up and take the chalk from an embarrassed Diane, writing the word on the board with ease. I throw the chalk down onto the floor, breaking it into two, and trudge back to Pip, restoring my place next to him. I put my feet on the desk to piss the teacher off even more. He fumes at me, unimpressed.

"Nice try, sir. You didn't catch me this time." I say carelessly, smiling at the ceiling.

"What are you talking about?" He asks, glaring. Pah, as if he doesn't know!

"Hey," I flinch when I notice Ruby next to me. She's smirking, still dressed in some strange outfit from the future, I would assume. "Say 'You know what I'm talking about, you fucking cockroach.' Jus' say it, trust me." She tells me, trying not to laugh.

"…You know what I'm talking about, you fucking cockroach." I tell the teacher, unsure of what I'm even saying. Is it meant to be a famous person's quote? Ruby bursts out laughing after I say it, pounding on my desk. I glance at her, oblivious to what's going on.

"Class dismissed for dinner." The teacher says grimly. "Leopold, remain." Pip shoots me a warning look and retreats, along with the rest of the shocked class. Craig just shakes his head at Ruby and I, walking past with Tweek. The teacher comes straight up to me after everyone excluding Ruby has left, slamming his hands on the table. I stare, waiting for him to say something. "Well?"

"What is it?"

"I'm waiting for my apology." He tells me expectantly. It takes all my strength not to hit him. Is he serious? An asshole such as him deserves no apology. Just as I open my mouth to say something, Ruby suddenly changes into her human form, making me shut my mouth again.

"Ya expect him to apologize!? Piss off, you wanker! You can kiss my arse!" Ruby says in a very strong British accent (it normally sounds more American, since she supposedly spends so much time there), sticking her tongue out. The teacher looks taken aback at both her clothes and her foul attitude towards him. "Come on, Butters. You don't need this guy for education. I can get you any education you want. I would just need some fake IDs." Ruby wraps her arm around my waist, since she only reaches past that by about thirty centimeters, and guides me outside. As we pass through the doorway, I hear the teacher come out of his shock and question me on whether she's my fairy or not.

"NO!" I shout, not wanting misunderstandings to occur. Rumors in this towllage spread at the same damn pace as wildfire.

"Shit, that was the most fun I've had in a while." Ruby declares, giggling to herself. I watch her as we walk to no particular place, intrigued. She's been much nicer to me the past month. She's usually somewhat sweet, but these days she literally takes care to make me feel happy.

"Ruby?" She gives a grunt. "You've been so kind to me, why is that?"

"Huh? 'Cause I knew you. Dude, I'd seen you several times in both the past and future. The reason you don't remember from when you were little is because I always took care to erase your memories."

"Yes, but, the past month…" Ruby's eyes suddenly widen.

"Oh, that! Well, your Kenny's human right? And you've finally got some good ol' romantic feelings for him. Of course I'd be impressed with you!" I give the girl a skeptical look. She sighs at my expression. "Dude, when you die, and Kenny's gone, you're gonna be all I have left. Craig's gonna be gone too. We're going to be together for a long time, Butters. Before you too go to heaven."

"I'm not going…" I mumble the rest.

"Hmm?"

"I'm not going to heaven." I repeat to her, my voice shaking. The thought of going to hell, and being separated from Kenny, scares me more than anything. But it's my fate; I haven't been the most light person in the world.

"Ha, we'll see tomorrow." Ruby smirks to herself knowingly.

"What do you mean?" I ask, tilting my head in the midst of my confusion.

"You'll see."

"…I have another question."

"Spit it out. This old girl hasn't got all day. I wanna get to 1937, scat."

"What's wrong with Eric?" Ruby stops in mid step, the smirk vanishing from her face. She blinks ahead, nodding to herself slightly. "I'm expecting an answer," I tell her, leaning down to see her face more properly.

"You needn't worry. It isn't any of your business." She eventually answers, looking straight at me. Though I can hardly believe it, Ruby looks afraid. She tries to smile, but it comes out as a frantic half-frown thing. "I don't care. Tell me right now."

"You don't know. Stan doesn't even know."

"But he-

"He thinks he knows; but he doesn't. And you shouldn't either."

"Please, tell me?"

"…He can't sleep at night." She finally says, pulling me into a large field array of fields.

"What? Why?"

"'Cause he can't. He's got an adult life, Butters. He's different to you guys. Even a joker like me knows that. He smokes, he drinks, he does work. The only reason he comes to damn school is because Stan wants to learn."

"But why can't he do those things during the day?"

"Because he sleeps during the day."

"But why can he not sleep during the night!?" I shriek, getting impatient.

"Because he's restless. The kid has nightmares and shit, now that… something has occurred. He wouldn't wanna worry Stan and Kyle, would he? They're out and about during the day, so they aren't around when that stuff happens." Ruby stops me from walking. "What I told you is confidential, you hear me? You aren't telling anyone. Not even Kenny. Am I clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good. C'mon, there's Stan this very moment." Ruby points to him, smiling again. He's lying on the grass, looking at the clouds. "GOOD AFTERNOON, STANLEY MARSH!" She shouts loudly, making him shoot up. "Man, you don't like to be caught relaxing, do ya?"

"I-I should only relax if Cartman says so."

"Aw, you rebel!" Ruby flops down next to Stan, elbowing him playfully. He glares.

"Was there something you wanted?" He asks coldly, glancing at me. I frown at him. If he's so damn worried about Eric, then why doesn't he just go home? I voice my exact thoughts to him. "Because he told me to get out." Stan says bitterly, lying back down and turning away from us.

"Well isn't that too bad? You're so nice and loyal to him. He's just nasty to you all the time."

"You shut up about him!" Stan snaps, turning around and giving her a venomous look. I raise an eyebrow.

"Fine, jeez… ANYWAY; wanna come with Butters and I? We're going to 1937 to watch 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' in the movie theater!" I avert my frown from Stan to Ruby. When in the hell did I say I was coming?

"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?" Stan looks unsure.

"Yup! A film! I've never actually seen it when it came out in the movie theater so I want to watch it there. Don't worry; you'll understand when we get there. It's just before World War II during that time though… oh well! Just stick with me, and you'll be fine. I don't think there was much trouble then in America." My mouth drops open. World War II?

"Wait…" Ruby looks at me, smiling cunningly. "The whole world was at war? Two times!?"

"Yes, pretty much. Was a lot of chaos."

"THAT'S A LOT OF COUNTRIES!"

"Yeah well, most of 'em didn't wanna get involved, but shit happened. Anyway, never mind that horrible stuff, let's go! You guys are gonna both miss afternoon classes, though…" I shrug, still dumbfounded.

"It doesn't matter. I want to go home. I'm not coming to watch whatever you're speaking of." Stan pushes himself up and begins to walk away, but Ruby peadingly grabs his arm.

"Oh come on! You'll be so impressed with it all! You've never seen a real film!" Stan hesitates, though I'm very sure he doesn't even know what a film is.

"It had better be over with quickly. I need to get home."

"Yes, yes, it's only an hour and bit! Come on, please!"

"Fine." Stan sighs, regretting that he said yes immediately.

"YAY!" Ruby claps her hands together excitedly, acting like a true child. I brings a small smile onto my face to see her genuinely happy. It isn't a simple thing to do, but I can see that she spends most of her time pretending. I'm glad she's started to break out of her she'll and be kinder to others. Perhaps she'll be completely back to normal in only a short matter of time…

Ruby catches me watching her, and instantly snaps at me. "Whatcha looking at?"

…perhaps not.

Ruby sighs at me staring at her, shuffling uncomfortably. "You guys are just gonna need to do one little thing." We both shoot her curious looks. "Take off your waistcoats. People in the twentieth century don't really wear those. Other than that, you'll look alright." Stan and I exchange looks, before silently obeying her and shelling ourselves of our coats (it's starting to get damn cold here), jackets, and later waistcoats. We put the jackets and coats back on as quickly as possible, shivering from the cold temperatures. "We should be good now. Stan, we need to use these shackles to connect you humans to me, or else you'll be left here, in 1782."

"That would be nice…"

"Huh? Got something to say?"

"No." Stan mumbles, glaring at the ground. Ruby clamps one of the cuffs to him, eyeing us both suspiciously.

"You guys seriously need a nice disney film to light you up," She states. "Honestly, the shit you go through; you're too young for it all. Especially you, Stan." Stan eyes the ground, not saying anything.

"Can you just hurry up?"

"Pft, you'll thank me for this later." Ruby laughs to herself, finishing with the pink handcuffs. "Alright, 1937, NOW! HAHA!" The scenery around us changes from fields and nature to the middle of a futuristic city. It doesn't look as developed as in the 21st century, but damn, it's a vast improvement from what I grew up with in America. We manage to land on the street without falling on top of our faces, but it isn't soft. Stan stumbles and I almost trip, but Ruby somehow keeps her footing. "Come on, you sissies," Ruby giggles. "The movie theater's this way… I think."

"You think?" Stan looks lost for words, staring around. I'm not as impressed as I was in 2008. Still, it's vastly different from 1782.

"Ok, I know. Jesus, you try to keep track of decades and decades all over the world! You have any idea how many identities I have? THOUSANDS!" Ruby speads her arms wide, trying to prove her point. A group of girls about my age giggle at her, and she flushes. Ah, I see now. She isn't a very confident person, despite the front she puts up. "Come on! Just a few more blocks." Ruby leads us around our first corner, frowning. Stan almost walks into a pole, and dodges quickly. I laugh out loud at his actions. Who knew a person that always acts so grown up could be so clumsy?

"Come now, why are you so upset? Even I'm in a somewhat good mood." I tell Stan, as we're waiting for Ruby to find the right currency and pay for our tickets. The person at the booth looks puzzled, but I suppose Ruby has learnt to ignore it.

"I'm just worried." Stan states, folding his arms and standing up more straightly. I smile at him doubtfully.

"Oh really?"

"I've told you before, Butters; it's none of your business."

"Well, I'll tell you now. Kenny is my human, and he's very close to Kyle. I gather that gives me enough connections to at least know why you're in such a terrible mood."

"…" Stan looks taken aback at me being such a smartass. "Hmm, since you have such courage, I'll tell you. It's simple, so I don't see why you made such a fuss; he has a secret that he doesn't want to tell me. He refuses to eat, refuses to sleep at night, and both he and Kyle refuse to speak to each other now. It's worrying me."

"What kind of secret is he keeping from you?" I nudge him convincingly.

"I don't know. Something must have happened, and it's obviously affected him, but he outright refuses to tell me. He hasn't told Kyle either." My smirk disappears as I remember what Ruby said earlier.

You don't know. Stan doesn't even know.

He thinks he knows; but he doesn't. And you shouldn't either.

If even Ruby doesn't want to let out someone's secret, then it must be serious. Not to mention Eric doesn't even want to tell Stanley and Kyle, the people closest to him.

"I'm sure he has his reasons. There were… many things I didn't want to tell Kenny, about what's happened to me. It's most likely nothing at all anyway." My words are supposed to come out as reassuring and confident but instead they slowly trickle out of my mouth as nervous blabbering, sounding anxious and unsure.

"Come on, you downers. I've got the tickets!" Ruby puts her arms around our waists and guides us inside. As we travel to the big doors, there is a bored-looking man outside. He nods when Ruby shows him out tickets, and opens the door, allowing us inside. Stan looks amazed; to be completely honest, I am as well. This is my first time in a 'movie theater . My mouth drops open when I see how large the screen is. Stan hasn't even noticed it yet, he's too mesmerized by all the seats and how dark it is. "God, these seats suck, shit made of wood," Ruby mutters as she sits us down. Stan and I fidget childishly until the movie begins, at which point Stan is unable to take his eyes away from the screen. He looks astounded throughout the introduction. It intrigues me to see him so fascinated about something. Usually, he seems to not care about anything except Eric and Kyle.

"That was… impressive." Stan eventually claims, as the film's credits begin to roll on the screen. I roll my eyes and turn to Stan to give him an 'Are you serious?' look, but then I see his smile. A smile so genuine and happy that cannot be ruined. He looks at me, the smile not ceasing.

"I suppose so. You should see 'Toy Story'." I mutter, standing up and straightening my jacket. Stan ignores my statement, still grinning at the screen.

"That was amazing." He says to himself, pleasantly pleased. Honest to God, his new found attitude is making me, as Ruby would put it, 'weirded out'.

"C'mon, I'm hungry. Stan, get that dumb look off your face. You can come back another time. In fact, I'll show you the way better movie theaters." Ruby takes a hold of his arm and gently pulls him away. I quickly grab his coat, since he literally forgot all about it, and tail after them in a hurry.

Outside the building, Ruby pats her stomach, searching around (no doubt for some kind of food). "What is it, Ruby?"

"I'm hungry," She declares, blinking ahead. "I want something to eat." I frown at the tone of her voice. She sounds exactly the same as the age she appears as. Seven.

"Well, what do you want? I have no clue what they eat in these strange times."

"I want some Oreos!" She yells, happily throwing her hands up into the air. My eyes widen in bewilderment. What… in the hell… are they? Stan seems to be wondering exactly the same thing, though he looks a bit more chirpy than me at the moment.

"Where would you find them, then?"

"A general store!" Ruby exclaims, after thinking for a few short seconds. She points down the street, having spotted one in her magical radar. "There's one there!" She sprints over, leaving Stan and I standing there. "Stay!" She shouts, pointing at us threateningly. We watch her trudge into the shop, smiling. For such a young person (what people think she is), she definitely has some energy.

Ruby manages to come back in less than a minute, shocking both Stan and I, who have barely even had the time to glance around at the scenery. She flings bottles to the two of us, and we barely catch them in time to stop them smashing onto the ground. I glare at her, holding the bottle tightly.

"Be more careful." I snap at her.

"What is this?" Stan asks, eyeing his bottle doubtfully. I raise an eyebrow at mine as well. I actually haven't seen this before. 'Coca-cola'? What on Earth is that? Some kind of beverage?

"It's a drink! Come on, I got a box of Oreos too!" Ruby holds up a long box with some kind of biscuit inside it. I'm unable to open my bottle, so she does it for me, as well as Stan. I take a sip, and flinch at a strange poppy, buzzing feeling on my tongue. Ruby sees my reaction and chuckles. "It's because it's a type of soda. It's a carbonated drink." I stare at her, as Stan takes his first sip as well. He coughs.

"Why would anyone want to have carbon-dioxide floating around in their refreshments? That's completely absurd!" I shake my head, taking another sip anyway. It actually tastes very good. "It does not taste too bad, though."

"Yeah, too bad it rots your teeth." Ruby smiles sheepishly at me immediately spitting the drink out. What did she just say? Stan decides to be a good sport and continues drinking it.

"What do you mean?" I hiss, rubbing at my front teeth with the back of my hand despairingly. Ruby shrugs.

"It's not gona kill you to drink one bottle. There's just a large amount of sugar in there, that's all. Calm down; I was joking around."

"Shut up and gives me these instead," I snatch the box of 'Oreos' from her, ripping the cardboard and wrapper open. I take one of the biscuits and eat it. Whoa… THEY ARE DELICIOUS! After I get away with three more, Ruby takes them away, offering them to Stan. He only takes one.

"My God, Butters. You need to lighten up. First it was Stan in the crap mood, but now it's you. You'd better be in a good mood when you meet with Kenny, or else I'll kill you, okay?" I nod in agreement, barely understanding a word she's saying. "Good. Now both of you, finish your coke. I'm gonna scoff all these Oreos, and then we'd better get back."

~Pip's P.O.V~

Oh God, I hope Leopold wasn't punished too badly. The teacher looked even more angry than that day when he actually stood up and ran out of the building. In other words, Leopold must have had a damn good spanking, or whatever form of punishment the teacher had given him. As the teacher rings his little bell and signals everyone to come back inside for afternoon classes, I search around for Tweek and Craig. Craig insists that Tweek goes to school every day, so he can get a good job when he's older, but Tweek frequently sweet talks him into letting the former skip lessons after lunch.

"I'm here, Phillip," Tweek pats me on the shoulder, making me jump. "Craig and I had a little argument, so he's gone off to visit Kyle."

"Tweek, Phillip, if you two don't come here this very minute, you're both going to be unable to sit down for a week!" Tweek and I giggle at each other and quickly get inside, knowing that he's serious. As I sit down, I notice both Stanley and my brother aren't present. 'Where are Stanley and Leopold?' I mouth to Tweek. He peeks around the room, before shrugging and doing his work. After a few minutes of allowing us to do some mathematical problems, the teacher notices their absence and speaks up.

"Where are Stanley and Leopold?" He asks everyone, his hands on his hips. He glares at all of us intently. I notice Damien, in human form, behind the teacher, imitating him. I let out a small giggle, as much of the rest of the class does. The teacher turns around, but Damien quickly changes back into a fairy. "What are you fools laughing at? Stop being so ridiculous!" I burst out laughing as Damien imitates him again, mouthing the words in exaggeration. He doesn't look as if he's trying to make us all laugh; just as if he's actually mimicking the teacher out of irritation. It makes the entire class snort and snicker either way. "What is wrong with you all?" The teacher asks, glancing back again. Damien quickly inverts back to his normal state. The teacher looks back around, baffled.

Damien continues to do this every few minutes for the rest of the lesson, to the point where the teacher gets so irritated that he has to take a moment outside. As soon as he leaves, the entire class busts out the loud laughs that have been suppressed.

"Oy, oy," I girl across the aisle from me gestures for my attention. I give her a inquiring look. "Is he your fairy?"

"Ah," I glance at Damien, and he nods carelessly, shoving his hands into his pockets and staring out the window. "Yes, he is."

"Whoa, you're so lucky! He's very handsome!" I stare, seeing the sincerity in the girl's voice. She isn't the type to lie, that's God's honest truth. I can tell just by looking at her. "You are a half-fairy, am I correct?"

"Oh… yes." I'm unsure whether she would be impressed or mortified with my answer. To my surprise, she smiles at me approvingly.

"So do you have come kind of special skill?" She asks, genuinely curious.

"Oh, um, yes. I am able to see and manipulate emotions."

"That's impressive!"

"Well…" I've never actually thought about my gift. "It is very useful to tell whether a person is lying or not." I give her a sheepish smile.

"Ha! That must be wonderful. My name is Tammy, by the way. Tammy Warner. We've never really spoken, have we? Considering… how you were previously treated. I'm sorry I avoided you."

"It's quite alright. You would've also been an outcast if you treated me nicely."

"I suppose. I'm sorry, nevertheless." Tammy gives me a warm smile, apologetic. I wave her off.

"It's fine, it's fine. Do not worry about it."

"Is your fairy in a romantic relationship with you?"

"Um, we're getting there." Tammy's mouth drops open.

"Despite the fact that you're both boys?"

"Well, ye-

"EVERYONE, BE SILENT!" The teacher shouts, coming back inside. "Class is dismissed ten minutes early. Leave at once, all of you!" We all spring up, and run outside, to freedom. Damien suddenly appears, grabbing me under the arms and carrying me like a small child behind a tree. He lowers me down and turns me to face him, not saying anything. I smile, striking up some conversation.

"That was great, how you imitated…" I instantly forget the words about to come out of my mouth, as Damien quickly wraps his arms about me, burying his head in my shoulder. I slowly pat him on the back, puzzled. "Is everything alright?"

"Be quiet." I nod, obeying him. Damien gets this way every now and then. I don't know him well enough to know why, but I hope to find out soon. He suddenly lets go of me, beginning to walk away. "Come. You want to go to that damn library again, don't you?" I nod, happily following him.

"Are you sure you don't mind?"

"…I have nothing else to do." He states, not making eye contact. All of a sudden, he reaches out and claps my hand tightly. I slowly squeeze back, skeptical.

"Phillip! There you are! I've been searching for you!" Tammy spots me and runs over, unable to see Damien. She sees my hand and smiles.

"Are you holding your fairy's hand?"

"Yes." Tammy nods towards where Damien is standing. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Good afternoon."

Damien, manners!

Damien sighs and makes himself visible. "Likewise."

~Kenny's P.O.V~

Damn it all. My human has disappeared; I don't even see our chains anymore. Which means he has to be with Ruby, time-travelling. He could have at least informed me! After an eternity of pacing around outside the school house, I finally see Butters arrive back with Ruby and unexpectedly Stanley. "Well, well, well," I glares at Butters for frightening me. "I should have known. Ruby, dragging him off again?"

"Yes, got a problem with that?" I sigh, putting my arm around Butters and steering him away from her. I hiss in his ear.

"I've told you not to go off so much, haven't I?" Butters doesn't answer, merely staring ahead. I avert my eyes from him to what's in front of us, and also begin to stare at Eric Cartman.

"You've lost weight!" Butters blurts out before he can stop himself. I frown at him with wide eyes. How rude! Eric thankfully ignores the comment, and glares over my shoulder in Stan's direction.

"Where the fuck have you been? You were due back nearly two hours ago!" He asks him icily. Stan, instead of being a spineless coward, glowers back with a passion.

"Aren't you meant to be in damn bed!?"

"I can do whatever I want! Answer me, where have you been?" Stan shuts his mouth tightly. Eric grits his teeth and grabs his arm, beginning to pull him away from the scene. Stan snatches his arm away, furious.

"I'm not telling you anything until you explain to me what happened to you. You're acting insane!"

"I'm not! I just… want to do things my own way! If I want to stay up late, then I damn well can! You have no right to boss me around!"

"Kyle does, and yet you don't listen to him!"

"DON'T MENTION THAT ABOMINATION! HE HASN'T EVEN NOTIC…" Eric trails off, remembering that Butters, Ruby, and I are all still here. "We're going to talk about this." He warns Stan, grabbing his arm again and pulling him away. I frown at the pained expression on Stan's face. Something is definitely wrong. If Eric is suddenly acting that strangely, with such a weight loss, then he's either very ill, and refuses to admit it, or is starving himself.

I think it's a bit of both.

I glance at Butters. He's resting one of his hands on mine in order to communicate without opening his mouth.

"…Say, Butters," I speak after a few short moments, trying to act in a more lightening mood now. "You said you were meeting your mother outside that fancy place for supper. At six. Come, we only have an hour to get there."

"She isn't my mother." He declares bluntly, looking around for Ruby. It seems that she's flied off.

~Damien's P.O.V~

The 'Tammy' girl comes with us to the village, but we go our separate ways as we reach the library. She said something about tending to her family. To be honest, I was not listening, and I know Phillip wasn't either. He's too shocked at the fact that I'm willingly holding hands with him. I'm just in an extremely bad mood; it's the anniversary of my death today. "My goodness, it's hot in here." Phillip states, taking both his coat and jacket off. I don't blame him in the least. There must be about ten thousand fireplaces lit in here. I tiredly sits on one of the large tables, hanging my head back and closing my eyes. There's nobody else around, as usual. Except the elderly librarian, who's half deaf. In short terms, it allows Phillip and I to behave how we want in here, without disturbing others. "Are you alright, Damien?"

"Hmm?"

"You seem to be upset."

"…I died today. Many years ago." Of course, Phillip springs into a remorseful state in a split second.

"Oh dear, that's terrible! You should have told me! What a horrible day to remember!"

"It's doesn't matter that much." I shrug, irritated that he's exaggerating.

"Of course it does!" I grab the child's hand, pulling him down next to me.

"Stop overreacting." I order him directly, glaring into his eyes. He looks a little bit affected, making me instantly feel regretful. I pull the back of his head towards me, quickly kissing him before he can struggle. He's so shocked that all he does is hesitantly rest his hands on my shoulders, and gently respond. However, before I can go any further, Ruby separates us. FUCK!

"Alright, that's enough. Pip's a little young for the second part, huh, Damien?" She glowers at me protectively. I give her a venomous look, before getting up and walking away. On the other side of the building, near the entrance, I round a corner and nearly bump into Craig. He smirks at me.

"I thought you'd be here. Here with your 'wife'?"

"Mmm. Yes, I am. And you'd better tell your stupid sister to stop rummaging about in our business."

"…She's always been a bit like that. There's no preventing it." I sigh in aggravation folding my arms and leaning against a bookcase. "So, when you refer to him as your wife, what do you actually mean?" Craig asks slyly, trying to act as if he doesn't care.

"He is my wife in a way, is he not?"

"If you mean as if your fiancee of a sort, then yes, he is. But I'm not a fool, Damien. I know that's not what you actually mean."

"He means bitch. Are you that thick, Craig?" Ruby says loudly, her head popping out from behind a shelf. I decide to ignore her for now.

"What the hell is a bitch?"

"Damien's little servant. Though in times yet to come it s mostly sexual. But what Damien means is that he wants Phillip to be his swiveling little puppy. Something that will listen to him and won t question him. Something that is enough of a fool to care about him despite who he is. Because that's how actual wives were treated when he was human. Am I right, Damien?"

"I'm starting to not think of him in that way anymore."

"But it is what you mean by the word, correct?"

"…More or less." Craig's mouth drops open and Ruby nods her head to herself smugly. She turns to him, arms folded, tongue out.

"Papa didn't raise no fool!" She shouts in Craig's face, proud. He claps her on the head, laughing at her reaction. She holds up her middle finger to him. "You fucker! It's no wonder Tweek's pissed at you right now!" As the two start to bicker, I shake my head and start my way back towards where Phillip is. He's too engrossed in some book to notice me coming. I sit on a chair a small distance away, resting my hand on my chin and watching him. After about an hour, I notice the time on a large clock hanging near the staircase towards the second floor. I approach my human from behind.

"Phillip." I whisper in his ear, making him jump. I smirk at his reaction. He looks shocked upon seeing me amused. "You said something about meeting your mother for supper, didn't you?" Phillip's eyes widen in amazement.

"You remembered?" I ignore his question, spinning around and making my leave. Phillip quickly hurries after me, smiling.

"Listen to me, you mention to anyone about how I felt alright with embracing you, or that I tolerated holding your hand, or," I pause. "Or what happened on the table, then you're going to append for it. You understand me?"

"Yes, of course." Pip answers chirpily, not even listening to what I'm saying.