On what should have been the third day of school, Hunter had been so overwhelmed by the things going on in her personal life, she took a sick day. That was greeted by mostly negative backlash and a rather nasty insistence - led by none other than Eric Cartman himself - that the new kid on the block was hiding out because his shameful fling with Kyle became public. Obviously Kyle himself was none too pleased with all the rumors flying about, but he understood why she had taken a day for her mental health. In fact, as the day progressed, that understanding only deepened, especially during fourth period, when they had been given an unexpected free period to study amongst themselves.

Doing his utmost to block out all of the naysayers, the young ginger had turned a blind eye to the first couple of notes that bounced off the back of his head, but by the time that a small collection of crumpled papers littered the area around him like overlarge snowballs, Kyle had finally had it and turned around to confront whoever was tossing the empty globules. "Kenny?"

Ok, that admittedly changed things, since he was rather curious to hear how last night had turned out. Jehovah knows that he wasn't getting any answers from the self-imposed blackout the girl was broadcasting; sending out one mass text to the three people that had her number, all the girl said was that she would like people to respect her privacy until further notice. Such a gyp. At least Kyle knew that he could always rely on Kenny for details. Granted, the blonde often got way more graphic than need be, but Kyle coveted clarity.

Picking up his notebook as he moved to sit nearer to his friend, Kyle figured that he could just borrow some biology notes from either Token or Red. Preferably Token, but that wasn't the issue here. Taking a seat, he whispered so only his friend could hear him. "What is it?"

Kenny had meant to talk to Kyle sooner than this, since he was basically Hunter's best friend at this point, but he had slept in that morning and didn't have the chance until now. It wasn't like he had expected to stay up half the night trying to puzzle out everything that had happened betwixt himself and the absent adolescent. "What the fuck does Hunter want?"

Unable to discern what had transpired between the pair of them, Kyle had no idea how to answer Kenny, but from the aura of perplexity radiating from the other boy, Kyle gleaned that there hadn't been a lot of talking, at least not about anything of importance. "Hunter just wants to make friends."

Was that really all he wanted though? Kenny wasn't so sure. "He seems pretty fuckin' keen, if all he wants is friends."

Unless it was habit addressing Hunter as a boy, Kenny had no idea that she was a girl, which meant that they didn't get down to business. In a way, Kyle was kind of glad for that fact, because Kenny really didn't need yet another end to tie later. "He's had a pretty raw deal, from what I can make out. His mom died when he was still really young, so he had to take care of the family in her place, but it also sounds like he lashed out quite a bit. Now he's just trying to find a balance." Honestly, thinking about it, the last thing she probably needed was getting tangled up with someone like Kenny. "Hunter needs someone who can be there, not just a lay."

It sounded like Kyle cared a fair amount. "So, how's Stan?"

"Terrible. Wendy really did a number on him this time." Going over to Stan's yesterday after school, Kyle had learned that Wendy had left town, and that she had tried to break up with her boyfriend before going, which had ultimately lead to a rather nasty parting of ways that Stan believed really could have meant the end. But somehow, Kyle had the impression that that wasn't what Kenny was asking.

[South Park]

Wendy Testaburger, student body president, passionate activist, head cheerleader... What happened to that girl? That cleaver child had been part of the student government in one form or another since elementary school, had been on honor roll since she could remember, and had been in charge of bringing pep to a school that quite frankly rarely demonstrated any form of talent. Once upon a time, she had done such good for her school, and then she got older, and one by one, everything kind of fell away...

School spirit? While she had remained on the team - replaced as captain by her best friend - that had been drained away by her boyfriend. Concern for various causes? Who cared, since her boyfriend had pointed out that nothing really changed, and even if it did, it won't be in their time. It seemed like Stan had just sucked everything out of her, one way or another...

Toxic, that fatalistic view was more than half the reason she would dump him, but while he never exactly said the words out loud in a direct manner, Wendy had the distinct impression that if she were to ever be serious about it, Stan would try something stupid and borderline suicidal. But that didn't mean that there wasn't that sporadic flare of concern in his eyes. Loving him had become more like a chore, like an abysmal amusement park ride that she couldn't escape.

And then there was him...

He had always been there, pushing and pestering, booing and mocking. He was a constant thorn in her side, the fly in her soup, the eyelash in her eye, and yet, somehow, the pain he caused her was almost pleasant, almost something addictive... Fighting with him was something that gave her purpose once more, filling her up with some of that old fire she used to possess, before it had burned way, leaving nothing but the ashy echoes of a smoldering ember. He was a gluttonous ass-wipe and one of the biggest douchebags you'll ever meet, and somehow, he made her feel alive.

Cheating on Stan was never part of her plan, but it was the only way she could keep existing...

Staring at her cellphone as it laid on the couch next to her, Wendy fought the urge to reach out for it. She knew that he had the right to know, but she wasn't sure about what she was going to do herself, so telling him would only complicate matters. Besides, she already knew exactly how he was going to react to the news, and she really didn't need all that extra pressure. While Stan would probably do what was considered 'the right thing to do', Cartman would only urge her into getting an abortion. That was why she hadn't told either of them, although she had at least tried to tell Stan.

But what if it wasn't him that had contributed to the problem? The night it probably happened was so horrible, and so insanely crazy, it only stood to statistical reason that someone would get pregnant. But why did it have to be her?! Bebe was the slut between the two of them, so it should have been her in this position! And anyways, on that night in question, she had been planning on ending it with Cartman once and for all, but Stan was too busy playing video games with Kyle to even pay her any attention, so she had struck out in pure spite...

Hmph, Kyle... Speaking of that distressing evening, it was actually the same night that Wendy had figured out that he had feelings for Stan. In true party boy/wounded souls fashion, Craig and Kenny had both gotten so fucked up, they figured that they should 'share the happy with everyone', so they slipped this or that in certain people's drinks, and that met with disastrous results. Thankfully for his own sake, Stan was dosed up that he was quickly knocked out, so he didn't know, but Wendy had walked in to see Kyle trying to dry hump his best friend. He had tried to convince Wendy that it was nothing but the drugs, except she had overheard him spilling his guts to Stan's unconscious body.

The only reason that nothing came out of that incident was because not thirty minutes later, Kyle had caught Wendy coming out of the bathroom. Thank God for her, Cartman had already cleared out, but it was undeniable that she had been having sex with someone. Someone that wasn't her bulletin board for dicks, fun, swastikas, and a half-finished train. Mutually blackmailing each other, their relationship had only declined from that point on, and Stan remained blissfully ignorant to the entire thing. Stan, always left in the dark... In some ways, the part that didn't secretly despise him was rather envious...

As she continued to stare at it in indecision, Wendy's phone began to shake and vibrate as someone called her.

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
'Cause I am a champion and you're gonna hear me roar

Picking it up slowly - almost as if she were afraid of the device itself - the teen was relieved to hear Bebe's voice on the other end. "Oh my God, Wendy, why do you have to help that sick relative now?! I had to go shopping with Nicole and Annie today after school, and because of that nasty business with Clyde kissing Craig's sister behind Annie's back, things were almost unbearable! And to top it all off, Annie picked out a completely heinous orange top that looked more like barf than fake cashmere. Being heartbroken should be no excuse for lousy fashion sense. I mean, I know I should be sensitive since she was just cheated on, but come on, it's been a week already! Seriously, just get over it! We all knew that it was never going to work between them anyways."

Sometimes it was nice having such vapid and gossipy friends, since they could put you in the middle of someone else's problems for a while...

"And I know you haven't seen him yet, but do you remember that dreamy new kid I was telling you about?" After an hour and a half of detailing what she had bought on the shopping trip with Red, Heidi, and Lola, Bebe went on to talk about what had happened at school the last few days. "I heard a rumor from Jimmy, who heard it from Timmy, who saw it acted out by Butters and Cartman, that he's totally gay. Apparently, on his very first day in school, he marked out all the guys he wanted to fuck during gym, but since he wasn't sure where to start, he somehow convinced Kyle that they should sneak out of Garrison's class together to hook up in the janitor's closet yesterday. I have it on good authority that they were in there for hours..." Wendy could just see Bebe imagining that it had been her instead. "I guess now I know why he wasn't into me at first." She sounded no less determined to bang him herself. "But I think I could still convince him to go bi."

Only half listening by this point, Wendy's brain jogged back into full gear. Did she just say that the new guy had fucked Kyle?! If that was true, and Stan didn't mind that his best friend was gay, there was a very real chance that she could lose him... Stan might not have been good for her, but that didn't change the fact that he was hers...

Anyone think I totally forgot about Wendy/Stan's woes? 'Cause I didn't - I was just waiting for the opportune moment. And seriously, who doesn't want friends like Bebe and Wendy? On that note, I think that when she gets older, there is a chance that Wendy could burn herself low, and a very real chance that Stan would have a negative effect on her personality. But, that's just what I feel is possible. Maybe it's just me, but I can totally see 'Roar' being Wendy's ringtone.

I do not own South Park, that's all on Matt and Trey, but I do own Hunter and Avery!