Cheeks of Glitter

Chapter Sixteen

"Are you gonna beat me up, Stan?" Butters felt trapped as Stan had him in the corner of the janitor closet.

Stan had managed to get him out into the hall by telling him he needed help with something. It was very much like gullible Butters to fall for it.

"You're keeping something," Stan said, avoiding his friend's question. He still had a good grip on Butter's arm to make sure he wouldn't get away, and that only feared the blonde-haired boy even more.

"Jeez, Stan," Butters replied awkwardly, "I don't keep secrets."

Stan seemed very irritated at that statement, especially remembering he clearly saw that Butters was trying to hide something from him just moments ago.

"Stan, we are gonna be late for the last period." He loosened up when his arm was finally released, but he didn't force himself away from Stan just yet.

"Butters, if it wasn't you who thought of the social skills class, then who was it?"

Butters struggled to reply, particularly afraid of what his friend would think. "Oh…well…"

Stan pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Butters, just tell me, or I'll lock you in here."

It was enough to get Butters to answer without any hesitation. "Okay, it was Heidi."

Stan almost didn't seem surprised, but he still felt sick, as if it was something important about Heidi he didn't know. "Why?" he asked Butters firmly.

"I guess she feels like things are not right. Stan, can I go now?" Butters seemed sincere, and he was obviously not going to be able to tell his friend anything else about the situation.

Stan wondered about it through the rest of class. He wondered exactly what Heidi felt "wasn't right". He wanted to know what her plan was, and he more importantly wanted to know why she didn't tell him. Sure, it would make sense for some people to be angry with her, particularly Eric.

The boy felt as if his heart almost came to a stop when he thought of his obese friend. The guy that Heidi used to date, and the guy that was more than angry with what had been going on.

Does this have to do with Cartman? He wondered. It somehow connected because she used to date the boy, but Stan couldn't grasp exactly what was on Heidi's mind with that. Whatever it was, Stan found it threatening for her and himself, and he didn't know what to think.

Stan refused to even glance at the girl, who was probably taking notes and keeping ears on the teacher, but probably excited about her plans with the boy. He bit his lip nervously.

He didn't want to face it. He didn't want to see Heidi, because if he saw her, he would have to ask her about everything, and then he would most likely get something he didn't want to hear.

Stan hesitated to get out of the school building after the bell rang. He knew that Heidi was waiting for him outside, and he was too scared to even take a peek.

The boy could only stand against his own locker as he waited for time to skip so he could just go home and forget about everything.

"Stan?" That came from Kyle, who was now at his best friend's side. He still seemed tired, but awake enough to be alert. "I got your text."

Stan didn't make a movement or a sound. He only kept his eyes on the ground, deep in thought, wondering of what a terrible person he might be for standing Heidi up.

Kyle leaned against the lockers next to Stan and watched the students pass by, collecting their belongings to go home. He glanced back at his friend. He knew that Stan wanted to call him later, but he thought about talking to him now since nothing else was going on.

Stan felt comforted having his best friend near him, but he really didn't know where to start with him. He couldn't stop thinking about whatever it was Heidi had going on, and he certainly didn't want to bring it up to him and annoy him again with it.

"Ike has been getting bullied online," Kyle began. "He's smart for his age, so he went on a chat site and reached out to others, probably older than him. Stan, he didn't even know these kids. I don't even think they were all children.

"He's been through a lot and is too ashamed to tell our parents. He could only tell me. He's been feeling defeated. It gets worse when he comes to school because he knows some of the kids in his class witnessed some of it. They won't help him. This school is cruel and people are cruel.

"I wanna beat up the kids who are hurting him and the ones who aren't helping him. But my parents would ground me for life. And what would that teach my little brother? Becoming the bully? He isolates himself in his room, and then cries at night. I have to calm him down and explain what a wonderful kid he is and that he will grow up to be a good gentleman. But I feel like it's not helping much."

Stan finally turned to his friend after hearing every word. He had no idea that Kyle had been going through so much, and probably felt alone, especially since Stan was so focused on Heidi.

Stan remembered when Kyle first told him about Ike's nightmares. It had been going on for almost two weeks and he was just now hearing about the truth. "Did you tell anyone else?" he asked.

Kyle was quiet, but only for a few seconds as he stared down at the floor awkwardly. "No."

Stan sighed, realizing that his best friend had been alone for so long, not telling anyone about it. "I'm sorry," he replied. "I wasn't paying attention."

Kyle peered over at him with a soft expression. He didn't seem angry, and knew exactly that his best friend had been distracted. However, he also knew that Stan felt bad, and they could probably catch up and make it alright.

Stan decided to not mention Heidi at all for the rest of the night. In fact, he invited Kyle over to play video games with him until after dinner. It was a start to pay back for all the neglect he gave him.

"Are you still in pain?" Stan asked as they played a simple combat game on the Xbox. He hadn't heard Kyle complain about his foot for some time now, so it was somewhat necessary to ask.

"Nope," Kyle answered as he pressed the buttons on the controller and had his eyes glued to the game. "I don't even take pain killers anymore."

"So you're tired all the time now because of Ike? 'Cause he keeps you up?"

"Sometimes he keeps me up, but it's mostly 'because I'm so worried about him I can't sleep."

It all made sense now. Stan felt more than awful that he hadn't realized it. To make it better, he let his best friend win the game, and Kyle seemed content.

Stan was glad he could help his friend even just a little bit. In fact, he made a promise to be his slave until the school dance.

However, the boy could not go five minutes without thinking about how sad Heidi might have been. He left her out alone and didn't say why. I should have at least texted her, he thought.

Even if Stan did try to reach out to Heidi, he wasn't so sure she would answer. Afterall, for the past couple hours, Stan spent time with Kyle while checking his phone every so often.

Heidi did not once try to ask him where he was.