Any violent/threatening/offensive comments have been taken action to be removed by the admin. I strongly advise anyone to do the same. Thank you.

Also, this chapter was supposed to go in a completely different direction, before I was inspired to do something else, lol. Pretty happy I made the change because I think it had a better impact!

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A ringing rattled Stan's brain. When he lifted his head he immediately wined from the stiff jerk in his neck from his twisted sleeping position. Half his sheets were bundled in a fun swirl with the rest of his duvet when just a corner remaining covered his butt. In only his briefs, he slammed his head back down to his pillow to block out the migraine and eye sore from the sun peeking in. He opened his eyes realizing the ringing wasn't stopping and that this person was calling more than twice by now.

He tried breaking through his brain fog, looking for his phone, and discovering the treasure trove on the floor of beer cans and a cigarette pack that definitely wasn't his, but that Red got him hooked on. His throat felt like literal dirt.

"Fuck.." he swiped underneath his pillow, feeling no phone, and kicked off the tangled rope of covers. Unmuffling the ringing that blared as he growled. He grabbed the thing and answered just so he could shut it off. "Hello..?"

"Stanley, thank god, please tell me she's with you."

He rubbed his eyes groggily, trying to close the blinds behind his bed to shield him from the aching sun. "Mrs. Testaburger..?"

"Oh Jesus.." he could hear her whisper into her palm. "How could she not be with you? She was at the party, wasn't she?"

Stan held his head, trying to gain a clear mind. "No..I thought she stayed home. I..couldn't reach her.."

The mother on the other end cried, and Stan was waking up. There was something he didn't know. "Mrs. Testaburger?

She kept crying.

"Mrs. Testaburger," Stan threw his legs off the bed. "What happened..?"

"I-I don't know, Stan. Henry has been out since six." Maria continued to sob. "She never came ho-home..my girl.."

He squished his phone between his chin and shoulder, scrambling for his pair of jeans on the floor as he stepped a leg in and pulled them up. Trying to keep her talking and trying not to panic himself. "Okay..I'm going out. Are you sure she didn't call you?"

"No.."

"I'll call Bebe-"

"She doesn't know, she said she tried calling you.."

He grabbed his shirt off his desk chair, cursing himself silently. "Okay, I'm going out to find her. I'll call as soon as I hear anything."

Maria sighed shakily, deeming it enough for now. "Okay, thank you, Stan."

"Fuck," Stan hung up, tossing his phone to his bed as he shrugged his shirt on and grabbed his sweater. He already was gonna have a hard time facing his parents this morning, now he had even worse things on his agenda. "Fuck!"

He grabbed his phone again right as he was getting another call. He left his bedroom door as he answered the caller ID of his best friend. "Kyle? Hey, I can't really talk right now."

"Hey, um, Stan. Something's going on.."

He rushed down the stairs as he shrugged one sleeve of his sweater on. "Is it important?"

"It is."

Stan didn't bother to see if his parents were in the kitchen when he got downstairs, making his way to the door so he could call Red and get his car back ASAP. "Okay, well, my thing is too. Can't it wait?"

"Stan-"

"Dude, I gotta go find Wendy. She's been-"

"Stan," Kyle spoke lowly. "I got off the phone with Heidi.."

His tone was twisted and darkened, making Stan slow down to listen in the middle of the Tegridy Farms' front dirt road as he faced Credigree just across the way of the cedar wood fence.

"It's Cartman.."

The school's weekend custodian unlocked the front entrance of the main halls with a large cer-clunk on the old lock. Letting the blond teen in as he thanked him for his troubles and closed the grand door behind him.

"Why's a kid like you at school on a Saturday?"

"They messed up my grad robe measurements," Tweek tried hiding his aching head with an eye rub. He followed the janitor who led his cleaning cart down the hallway. "They're sending them in Monday morning...so I had no choice."

"Woof," the man wasn't stupid, he knew a hangover when he saw one. "So, they called you on the wrong morning."

"They told me at school yesterday," Tweek said, letting a sick burp loose in his fist. The smell of floor cleaner made him wanna vomit. "I did it to myself.."

"I hear that.." the balding man agreed. "Do me a favor, wait until you're well into your twenties to start drinking that hard. It's not worth it at your age."

Tweek mumbled a 'sure.'

"And don't throw up on my floors."

The boy scratched his hair as the man pulled his cart to a stop, pulling out his keys on a ring from his back pocket to open a classroom door. "Can't you report me technically for underage drinking?"

"Every parent, teacher, and adult in this world can. Who ever really does?"

Tweek cracked a smile at the man's humor, waiting for him to unlock the door before he could point him to the room where he needed to be. As the janitor opened the door, he stepped in and pointed sympathetic eyes at someone within. The kid he stared at scratched his black hair, trudging out with a stifled yawn, and Tweek was stupefied.

"Okay," he said, motioning the student out of the room. "I don't care how long you've been here, but now you gotta leave."

"Thanks, Ed.." Craig muttered, rubbing the sleep from his under eyes as he draped a heavy overnight bag over his shoulder. Stopping unprepared as Tweek stood there, as if he didn't just watch his boyfriend exit a make-shift classroom bedroom.

"Craig?" Tweek asked. "What the hell..?"

"Your advisor is waiting in the gym," Ed reminded, going to continue on his path. "Don't stay in my halls too long."

He left the kids who were more shocked to see each other. Less than twenty-four hours since their little public spat at Clyde's and already more important matters were clearly at hand.

"Babe, have you.." he looked at the PJs dangling from his bag. "Have you been sleeping here..?"

Craig scratched his greasy hair. "It..was my last night, anyway."

"Yes, it is. You're coming to my house."

"No, I.." Craig shook his head. "Tolkien found out, I'm gonna crash at his place for a few nights."

"Craig-"

"I need to go shower."

As he tried making his way to the gym showers, Tweek grabbed his arm. "Craig, I wanna talk to your dad."

"No, please don't.." Craig held Tweek's hand holding onto him. "Don't.."

He gave his hand a tiny stroke, before leaving him so he could freshen up before the day started. Tweek hastily looked around, looking for any reason to knock some sense into Craig and not watch him destroy himself like this. Desperation rode Tweek, as he found himself taking his phone out and scrolling way down to a text chat that he hadn't used for a matter of months now. He clicked on the contact, and called. Waiting on the raspy, familiar voice to answer. Unsurprisingly, shocked by Tweek reaching out at all.

"Tweek, hey."

His, somewhat friend, sighed. "Clyde, I need your help.."

Clyde took a second to think about it, Tweek hadn't exactly been welcoming lately. But, why would he give up now? "Okay, yeah."

"Like, more than ever.."

Kyle did want to go see Cartman despite what everyone thought. He just wasn't sure what was appropriate, so meeting with Heidi after last night seemed like the best idea. Everything had been a blur since he and Heidi dropped everything in the guest room. They sat there until Kenny came stumbling upstairs saying Red was gonna drive them and Stan home. Kyle fell asleep that night hoping everything would fall into place come morning. The phone call that woke him up with Heidi in hysterics told him that last night was only the tip of the iceberg.

Meeting at the bench where they had their first kiss may have been a little forward, but, maybe it would offer some consolence that Kyle wasn't upset about last night and was here for her. He knew Heidi would blame herself for everything they had to wake up to today, he didn't need to worsen things when they took a look at where they stood after the second-kiss in their history.

Looking up, instead of seeing leather and platforms, there was a relief in his core when he recognized the overall dress. The flower green blouse, the blue scrunchie in her hair. Someone willing to show her true self and deal with the hard stuff the way she would on her own real terms.

She approached the bench, playing with the button on one of her overall straps. "I haven't sat on this bench since the fourth grade.."

"Guess it's a little weird.."

"No," she sat next to him. "I made things weird last night, and I should've just let you be my friend like you were trying to be."

He looked at her, thinking of the first time she looked his way on this seat.

"I can't hide behind some...fake person if it's just gonna make everything on the inside worst.." Heidi admitted. "Last night proved it."

Kyle wrung his hands nervously. "Any more news?"

"He's awake, his mom said he's in pain but he's...complaining."

Well, that was certainly his regular self. But, the pain brought it down a worried notch.

"I don't know how to prepare myself for stuff like this.." Heidi admitted. "He's not my responsibility but, I can't just ice him out now...not after this."

Kyle nodded quietly. He was hoping she wouldn't feel obligated, but he too didn't know what to do. Kenny was insisting the three of them go visit Cartman for a brief check-in, but Kyle was still hesitant.

"You also have been having problems despite it.." He swallowed from a distant memory. "And..the last time we got together after you two broke up..."

Heidi's floodgate of her past broke open. Remembering every on-and-off chance she gave Eric and how one of the worst happened when she'd gotten with Kyle as kids. She couldn't keep hurting people along with hurting herself over and over. Especially not Kyle.

"I think I'd rather wear leather and get my tongue pierced.." Heidi couldn't help but chortle at herself. "Than to gain and lose twenty pounds in a matter of weeks at the age of nine. That was just..unhealthy for the extent of a nine-year-old.."

"You got your tongue pierced?"

"The swelling is still bad.."

Kyle snorted as Heidi tried to hide her smile.

"I don't forgive him for the things he's done," Kyle reminded. "Misusing love...your love, is only half of it, really."

Heidi still smiled but with a sad acceptance. "I don't know what love is, Kyle.."

Kyle watched the passing bystanders just off Main Street from their little corner of Memorial Park. For a sunny Saturday, everything was disturbingly quiet. For a close-knit town, everyone would know soon enough how one of their kids almost suffered a terrible fate last night. News traveled fast.

"Y'know, I don't think I do either.."

Heidi wiped away a tear.

"I get it, but.." Kyle said. "I guess you can learn."

She nervously wrung her wrist as she struggled to look at him. That always happened to her after kissing a guy. She just didn't want to lose a friendship this good on top of everything else.

"You think we can just..go back to the way we were before? As friends?"

Kyle turned on his seat to her, waiting until she had the confidence to look up at his smile. "Please."

She cracked a sigh and grin of relief.

"Are you gonna go see him?" He wondered.

"I will...I just need to process first."

"Yeah," Kyle said. "Kenny said he wants to go with Stan and I later. I can put a good word in."

"It's okay, I wanna do it on my own."

Heidi stood up, and her body language read that not all was settled. She turned Kyle's way as he got to his feet to meet her at her level worriedly. Before he could ask, Heidi crashed into him for a hug. Feeling her let her muscles go in relief within his arms.

"There's just a few things.." she muttered.

He shuttered quietly holding her back, old feelings died hard. "Yeah?"

"You wanna help me do damage control for what Eric wouldn't fix?" Heidi asked. "Starting with Butters?"

"Sure, what-" Kyle tried letting her go before realizing Heidi wasn't ready by her small tug on his shirt. He kept his arms around her as Heidi indulged in his hold.

"Not yet.."

The three of them kind of just stood there after the doctor initially let them in. Staring back at the patient who couldn't say he was expecting this little trio to be some of the first few to show up after family. As Kenny stood forward with a bag in delivery, Kyle and Stan awkwardly pondered behind. It was hard to look at Cartman, not for usual matters though. The bandage wrapped around his head to prevent trauma was bad enough, let alone the amount of gauze he was snowballed with to cover cut damage from the glass. His leg was in a full cast in an elevated sling and he had a neck brace around his throat. If there was any smidge of friendship left, Kyle would think it was one of Cartman's best-suited looks and give him a punch about it.

Cartman looked at the four of them as a group and scoffed at the irony. "This brings me back.."

Kenny opened the paper bag for show. "Kevin..um.. forgot to drop off your iPad. We thought we'd bring it.."

The patient opened his mouth a couple times, trying to find the right thing to say. "Thanks..he grabbed a broken toothbrush anyway.."

Kenny only assumed Cartman had to have been drunk last night. He looked at Stan. His dad had problems in the past driving under the influence, and so did Stuart for that matter. Kenny had his anger issues with it so he would be the one to take the reigns. The other two were so nervous.

"Were you drinking?"

"No.."

"You're lucky to be alive."

"You think I don't know that?" Cartman groaned, shifting with what bones weren't broken in his bed. "Shit.."

"Dude..what happened?" Stan asked.

"Wouldn't you three like to know?" Cartman said. Seeing they wouldn't let up their seriousness, he sighed. "I got rear-ended and skidded off the freeway..a branch pierced my shield.."

Stan tried not to stare at Cartman's bandages. He hated hospitals. "Fuck.."

Kyle stared at his shoes, and Cartman couldn't tell if he was sympathetic or just plain pissed.

"I'm guessing an iPad isn't why you're here."

Kyle looked up. "I know most of us have been hating you...but it doesn't mean we wanted this."

Cartman shrugged his brows, that was a nicer answer than expected.

"After everything, I always just wanted you to fuck off with your bullshit, but.." Kyle groaned inward. His history of playing nice guy with Cartman went a long way, but right now he felt it was owed a bit. "In that...I guess I wanted you to turn a new leaf at least somewhere.."

"Well, thanks.."

"We just wanted to say that," Stan interjected, trying to get their stupid point across so they could keep this brief but necessary. "We would never wish something like this for you, Cartman."

Cartman looked down, his ego was still a little too big to look them in the eyes with honesty. He muttered into his chest; "Likewise.."

Stan nodded. "I should get going...my girlfriend is still missing."

Cartman looked up with a rush of panic. "Dude-"

The nurse's knock on the door reeled their attention as he stepped in. "Eric? We need to take you in for another blood test, now."

Kyle grunted, hating that everything, everywhere, always led him to somehow lending hands to Cartman. But, whoever hit him needed to be knocked down a peg or two for the sake of every teenager on the road. "Have you met the guy who hit you? Can't we go see him?"

Cartman shifted in his sheets as medics were already set to get him out. "Actually-"

"C'mon," Kyle walked past the other two. "Who has the nerve to be hitting kids around here?"

"He probably didn't know.." Stan cautioned, following Kyle out as Kenny gave Cartman a gentle pat on the shoulder. His old friend nodded, thanking him for the little delivery as the medics came to send him for bloodwork.

As the three boys left, the nurse assisted them down the hall to the opposer's room. "I know you three are worried about your friend-"

"He's not our friend," Kyle cleared, shifting his eyes in angry thinking. "I mean...sort of, not really...I don't know."

The nurse cleared his throat awkwardly. "Okay, well, the other patient is in a lot of distress. I know you want to defend Eric, but they were in a lot of hysterics according to the investigation."

"So," Stan turned into a room by the floor's emergency check-in, coming upon the privacy curtain where a doctor talked to the mumbling patient behind. "They weren't drinking? When they hit Cartman?"

"Neither party was intoxicated. Tests proved so."

Kyle sighed as another nurse began pulling back the privacy curtain. "Okay, fine. But the rest of the town needs to be warned if some guy, sober, is willing to drive around targeting people and causing all this-"

Kenny shut Kyle up with a backhand to his chest, recognizing the head of long raven hair Stan was mostly horrified to see. The girl, with a fractured knee wrapped in a plaster cast and her elbow the same, had her leg held by an elevated sling though she kept her face down. Both from shame and the swelling bothering her brain as a bandage wrapped tightly around her cranium to prevent head trauma from the impact when she landed on the floor of the car in the crash on her elbow and knee first. Gauze and bandages similar to Cartman's occupied only enough of the many cuts and scrapes from the broken glass the front end of the car covered her with. As she lifted tired eyes to the boys, Kyle stuttered.

"Wendy, I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"Dude," Kenny nudged him again.

While Stan stepped forward, a firm hand from a nurse towering over him halted the boy like he'd be thrown out if he stepped further. Wendy definitely didn't want to be found right away, and maybe Stan instead of her parents may have been worst.

The doctor approached the girl, removing her oxygen nosepiece after proving she could breathe fine on her own.

"I didn't want you to call anyone, yet.." Wendy's reminded in a hoarse whisper.

The doctor was a little baffled. "We didn't, Wendy. It wasn't obvious they would know you and Eric, too."

Seeing as Stan was trying to catch up with his emotions by just staring at his girlfriend, Kenny stepped up again. "We can come back if it's easier."

"No, it's fine, I.." Wendy felt bombarded by all the people in her room, and truly there was only one person there she really wanted to talk to. "Can I...just talk to Stan?"

"Yeah.." Kyle agreed, following the staff out by their encouragement. He and Kenny looked back worriedly as Stan dropped his shoulders heavily, cursing himself over and over for not being there for her. Where was he last night? Drinking beer and smoking while Wendy almost flew through her own windshield?

He approached her bed, carefully taking a seat at the very end with a gentle dent. Swallowing a build-up of a scream he wanted to utter for this curse he felt like he caused upon his girlfriend.

"I should've left the party as soon as I thought something was up.."

"No.." she disagreed softly. "I was gonna go home...I didn't mean to worry anyone."

"Too late.."

"Sorry.." Wendy said, tossing a hospital pudding cup his way. "Butterscotch?"

He looked at the cup that landed on his thigh, moving it out of the way. "Wendy, what happened..?"

She licked her dry lips, not knowing where to start recapping the night before. "I told them...I'm taking a gap year. For real this time.."

Stan let his weight go in his seat, careful of shifting her fractured knee. "Oh.."

"This.." Wendy lifted unmoving fingers to the air around her glossy eyes. "This look in my dad's eyes like he was in spite of the very site of me, and just when I thought my mom would have my back...she follows that asshole, instead.."

Stan tried touching his fingers to her's and she flinched away, reliving her spiraling down the endless slide she found herself getting lost in last night. What got her trapped in a turmoil that pulled her focus from the road for just enough time to see her life flash before her eyes.

"I don't remember driving around the neighborhood...I only remember getting to the freeway. If I tell the doctor I felt like I was running away from..my parents, in my own backseat...they're gonna send me to a fucking mental hospital.."

"Wends.."

"I couldn't see with all the.." she touched her nose, swallowing easy words. "Blubbering.."

Stan retracted his hand, from the one she held back defensively.

"And I could hear...everything that got me here..my friends...f-family.."

Her boyfriend felt like a piece of rock on the other end of the mattress, wishing he could grab her by the shoulders and shake these nightmares out of her head manually. Find the off switch somewhere on her.

Wendy gasped from the chokehold of tears in her throat. "..A-And right when I realized I wasn't breathing, I almost killed the two of us.."

Stan's throat was raw from his held breath and the moistness behind his eyes, no amount of help he could offer could take her away from the standards she built her life around. He thought he could be her escape as much as his, and yet he felt as if he had become another part of the core issue.

"I've done everything right for them..." Wendy whispered. "And now I've decided to wait a few years before I apply to Harvard...and I'm the biggest disappointment."

Stan sunk in his seat, circling his foot on the floor below. "That's not fair. That's complete shit."

Wendy said nothing, haggard in her own dull defeat.

Her boyfriend couldn't very much judge her parents without considering his own part in it. "As shitty as me putting you on that same perfect scale.."

"..you had good intentions."

"Doesn't matter...I'm so sorry Wendy.."

She wanted to sink into the cotton sheets warming her other leg, shifting soarly against her pillow and swallowing down more tears. "How can I do everything right but still feel like I'm losing everything?"

"...I pushed a proposal onto you no different than your parents pushed Harvard."

"And for things that might be in an unforeseeable future of mine...I still can't make those decisions."

"Wends," Stan edged closer down the bed, not wanting to touch her when she seemed so distant and wanting of this dull space. "Don't ever do things for anyone, don't ever do things for me, if it means not looking out for you.."

She turned away from getting sucked into the hospital's empty, boring ventilating air. "Then what about you?"

"Me..?"

"Running away from Tegridy isn't any better than running away from Clyde's party.."

He wasn't gonna take the prideful stance of acting like he knew how to look out for himself better than her. Because after everything, it seemed like the one thing he'd been proven wrong over was how under control he had things with his dad. Not after yesterday.

"I punched him." He admitted withered. Wendy's face finally left its mindless defeat, her lips parted in shock. "I punched him and I just left.."

"Oh no, Stan.."

"You're right.." her boyfriend sighed shakily. "You're right...I need to do something. I...hurt him like that...I know he never would want to hurt me...and I hate myself for it.."

"It's gonna be okay," she grabbed his hands and squeezed tight. "You're gonna be okay, we can mend this. I promise..."

Stan shook frighteningly as he couldn't bear to ask. "Did you know you hit Cartman..?"

Lids closed, letting guilty tears trail down. Wendy was horrified over everything she'd caused even if Cartman weren't her favorite person. Her parents would be nothing but disappointed, if that. She didn't know if she was lucky enough. "Not until I woke up.."

Everyone had woken up differently after what happened with Cartman, and now soon as they would find out, Wendy. Something drastic as such was terrifying for all the South Park kids who were about to enter the real world. It could've happened to any one of them. Wendy and Cartman could've come out in some more horrible circumstances people didn't even want to think about.

Stan didn't wish something like that upon anyone. Not his girlfriend, and not even Cartman. But, it did make him reconsider how his life was being spent so sparingly. How getting away with certain things so quickly may just rush by moments he didn't want to miss. And why rush?

"I wanna take my time with you, Wendy.." Stan carefully scooped her cold hand into his warm, welcoming grip. Encouraging himself to shift along the bed closer to her and align their pure eyes. "I wanna enjoy what we have instead of trynna make up for change. I know that I'll be away for training after college, and eventually you'll go to Harvard...which means one day we might...we might have to.."

Wendy crossed his lips with her fingertips gently, closing her worried eyes. She didn't want to think about the potential reality right now.

Stan took the same hand, holding both. "...if things are right-"

"-it'll lead us back..."

Stan gazed into her silken orbs. "I'm sorry I tried to steal you away because I'm scared...and 'cuz I...I can't wrap my head around making things right with my dad...that's not fair to you..."

Wendy brushed the gentle leaks under her eyes away, holding the soft skin of Stan's face in her hands. "We'll always learn to do what's right, even if it's icky...I love you.."

She stole his face inward with her gentle grip for a kiss. A hard talk they always knew was impending but prolonged with a sweet moment. Right now, they had each other. They had many more moments to share as one. And even in an unknown future, there was an unbreakable bond nonetheless.

"You have no fucking idea how grateful I am that you're okay.." Stan whispered.

She smiled over his shoulder brokenly. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have avoided you just because I was scared...or thrown a ring at you. I should've taken the signs and been honest." Wendy regretted. "Guess I wasn't any better thinking you wouldn't understand either.."

Stan smiled a little, holding her hands again. "I think...you just found out you're a little more human like the rest of us."

Wendy scoffed, thumping him on the shoulder. "Yay, good for me."

Stan kissed her cheek, getting her to giggle. He then retracted with a jolt, coughing up a bitter taste violently.

"What's wrong?" Wendy asked.

"Sorry, you taste like hospital.."

To be continued...