Sorry this chapter is kinda short. If anyone prefers longer chapters or shorter chapters, tell me, and I'll do my best to make it work.

Cheeks of Glitter

Chapter Three

Stan turned to face Heidi with an astonished expression, which didn't seem to surprise Heidi at all. He waited for her to say more, and it only took a few seconds for her to continue.

She stepped closer and took a hold of the flyer in Stan's hand. Then she straightened it out and faced the front toward him. "I think this is what Craig and Clyde saw," she said seriously.

"Wait, you heard them?" Stan asked.

"Actually, I heard you talking to Kyle. And this flyer was up at the park. They must have seen it. There's a rumor going around about the reward. Killing the dog for it instead of returning it to the shelter. They must have misunderstood."

Stan watched the girl closely. It looked like she was being honest, but he wasn't sure why. "You know a lot about this dog?"

"I listen around. Not that I'm an eavesdropper." She handed the flyer back to Stan, who scanned it again. "Anyways," Heidi continued, "I can help you find Stitch, if you still want to look for him."

Stan glanced back at her. It felt weird discussing this with her because he never really had a history with her. Sure, he spoke to her quite a few times, and that was mainly because his friend went out with her for quite some time. "But why do you wanna help me?" he asked.

Heidi didn't seem offended by that questioned and took a step away from him as if she needed a second to think about what she needed to say. She examined the empty hallway where there was a bit of trash laying on the dirty floors. Everyone had gone home by now. "I care, too. Besides, I can tell you care a lot."

"Hmm."

Heidi turned to face him again with a smile and laughed. "Do you not want me to help?"

Stan stared at her, and suddenly got concerned. Thoughts of Eric screaming at him in anger and hurt rushed through his head. Was it a good idea to spend time with somebody who a friend of his use to date? Well, she's just helping me, it's not like we are hanging out.

Heidi's cute stare and smile sent random chills down the boy's spine, and it only took him a few more seconds to decide that it would be alright. Afterall, it was for Stitch's benefit.

"Alright," Stan said.

"Yay! Okay, so there's one person I think you can get information from."

"Who's that?"

"Kenny McCormick."

"Oh, he's my friend."

"I know." Heidi walked past Stan and motioned for him to follow her down the hall. After he did, she continued with her explanation. "You said that Craig mentioned that Stitch was spotted passed the railroad track."

"Right."

"Kenny lives there, right? So, he might know something."

"That's no problem, I can talk to him."

By the time they got outside the school, Stan and Heidi already had a plan set. Stan would talk to Kenny tomorrow morning about Stitch's whereabouts. Then, he and Heidi would team up after school and go on the search for the poor dog.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Heidi said before taking off.

"Yeah, see ya." It was a different feel than what it would have been like if it were Wendy helping him, but Stan was satisfied. At least he knew now that it wasn't about Wendy. It was about Stitch. He wanted to do everything he could to protect that dog.

Practicing his new songs and lyrics was the only other thing Stan had left to do that day. He got all his homework done during free period, so he had nothing but time.

Sitting on the bed of his room, Stan tried some new chords of his song, while humming what he wanted to play next. As he did that, the boy brainstormed different types of lyrics he could add. The last phrase he had written was, "New flared skirt".

Stan wanted to describe everything he noticed about Wendy. He wanted to explain all her differences and changes. She wore jeweler, new shoes, and what he most recently noticed: new flared skirt.

Not it was all about her heart. "She didn't wanna help," Stan sang softly, "does she care anymore...?" His words drifted off and he stopped completely before staring down at his lyrics to the song titled, "Changed Soul".

The boy sighed in boredom. The more he thought about Wendy's changes, the more he wanted to avoid the subject. It wasn't because it made him sad, but because his heart just wasn't in it.

Stan lay down his guitar and peered up at his ceiling. He was finally coming to terms that Wendy was not the same Wendy anymore, and he did not care.

I guess I was just testing her, he thought, to see if she really did change. I just don't care anymore.

Feeling relieved and strong, Stan grinned. "Time to move on."