Cheeks of Glitter

Chapter Nineteen

Stan practiced his song off and on the next day, which was Saturday. He was very confident in himself, knowing that once he would surprise Heidi at the dance, they would be reunited.

The boy thought about when Heidi first approached him about Stitch. He enjoyed his time with her helping the dog, and felt empowered after hanging out with Heidi.

As Stan got ready for the dance that evening, he thought about how much he fell for Heidi, and how happy and content he was when they shared their first kiss.

Walking away from Heidi that day after she told him the truth about Eric was a mistake. However, he would make it up to her at the dance. He no longer had to worry about what his friends thought.

After getting ready, Stan grabbed his guitar before requesting his mom drive him to the school. She didn't question him about any girl, but was very glad that he was going to have a wonderful evening with his friends.

Stan was more than glad, even if he felt a little queasy as he entered the school and heard the pop music playing.

Kyle waved Stan over to him where he stood with Jimmy and Kenny. "You guys didn't get any dates?" Stan asked.

"I wanted to focus on making people laugh," Jimmy replied. "So, basically, not leaving anyone out in the d–leaving anyone out in the d–leaving anyone out in the dark was ideal. I picked nobody."

"And I picked everyone!" Kenny cheered as he waved over at a couple girls."

Stan figured that Kyle was most likely his wing man, and there for his best friend's support. He could see Butters dancing with Wendy, and Clyde having a casual conversation with Bebe, who was staring at him in awe like he was in a movie store.

More than half the kids came solo and were either keeping to themselves or having fun with their friends. Stan, nor Kyle, could believe that even after all the constant peer pressure, only a third of the class had dates.

"Jenny!" Red called out as she ran to her friend and tapped her head before pointing in the direction of the snack table, where Eric stood eating chips and drinking soda.

"Eww, no way!" Jenny shuddered, although felt her face flush as she heard her friend giggle.

Stan still hadn't seen Heidi yet, but he was patient enough to tune his guitar and get ready to approach the entire class to play his song for Heidi.

Kyle made his way over to Eric, who looked bored. "Cartman, why are you here?" he asked. "You don't look like you're having fun."

"It really isn't that big a deal," Eric replied.

"What isn't?"

Eric took a bite out of his potato chips and peered down at the small bag. It seemed as though he was hesitating to get the right words out, but Kyle didn't have anything else to do. "Well, you know, Stan and Heidi."

Kyle was stunned to hear those words come from his obese friend.

"And Butters told me it wasn't really his fault. It is kinda funny to see him with that hippie, Wendy. I mean, think of what crazy things will happen." He chuckled to that thought, excited to see how much Butters would humiliate himself in front of WEndy trying to impress her.

Kyle scoffed, but didn't feel like arguing. In fact, he was somewhat relieved. HE felt that maybe deep down Eric, too, felt moved by Heidi's speech in class, and it gave him hope to move on. He didn't mention that to him, though, or Eric would deny it.

It wasn't long before the music came to a halt, and Stan took a hold of a mic as he faced the curious class. He had his already tuned guitar, and he couldn't help but feel excited.

"Hey, sorry guys, but I'll make this quick," he said as he peered at the curious students, who were murmuring to themselves. "It's been a rough school year, but we all learned that we shouldn't worry what people think. And we should follow your heart. So, this song I'm gonna play–"

Stan paused as he scanned the gymnasium, searching for the love of his life. He could see everyone in his class, except for Heidi. He checked more than twice just to make sure, but when he didn't spot her, Stan was disappointed.

"You're gonna play a song, Stan?" Butters said. "Woopie!" He smiled over at Wendy, who nodded in agreement.

"Umm," Stan started as he looked down with a small glare, hearing the others starting to join Butters' encouragement. "This song is for Heidi Turner."

It was still a bit quiet as Stan again looked out into the crowd, making sure that he was wrong about not seeing Heidi. However, when he didn't see her, his vision got blurry by his tears, which Stan hoped nobody could see.

Kyle knew what was going on, but he wasn't going to let his best friend embarrass himself. So, he stepped up and placed his hands over his mouth to holler. "Yeah, come on Stan, go for it! Sing the song!"

That's when the rest of the class cheered Stan on. So, in only a few seconds, Stan began his first chord on the guitar, and began to play, and sang every lyric that he wrote himself.

The entire time Stan played and sang, he wondered if it was really worth coming all the way over to just be disappointed with himself. He worked hard to surprise Heidi, and she never showed up.

Still, the boy stayed strong and sang until the song ended. It was a hit, and a big topic of conversation for the rest of the night.

Stan only stayed for another half hour, then called his mother to come pick him up. THe boy didn't try to think of any reasons why Heidi wouldn't be there, so the entire situation made him sad and disappointed the entire night.