I reread through all of Smoke on the Water and Fire in the Sky, and I totally forgot how I left off the last chapter. Good thing I reread it before I started this chapter, so I knew what was happening. It's a thing I like to do whenever it's been a while since I updated. That way I don't leave out anything or accidentally drop plot points.

Also, I've arbitrarily decided to add an extra day to the festival because.

Anyway, finally onto the next chapter.

Chapter 12 – Awake and Unafraid

Famous Last Words

Stan was nearly bowled over by Kyle and Cartman when they came running back to camp. He had to throw his arms up in order to prevent himself from being knocked over in their rush.

"Holy crap, guys! What's got you so worked up?" he asked as they looked frantically around.

"Where's Kenny?" Kyle panted, "Is he here?"

"Kenny? No, he's not here. I haven't seen him in hours," Stan replied.

"Dammit!" Cartman swore, kicking at the ground, "That bitch!"

"Guys! What is going on?" Stan exclaimed, "Why are you looking for Kenny so urgently?"

"Oh! I know! We can text him and see if he's ok!" Kyle blurted out, completely ignoring Stan.

"Good idea, Jew!" Cartman praised.

"Ok. Thanks for answering my question, you two," Stan sighed.

Again ignoring him, Kyle pulled out his phone, his fingers flying as he texted his friend.

Kyle: Kenny! Where are you?

He and Cartman both held their breath as they waited for an answer. When the reply "ding" finally sounded, it was music to their ears.

Kenny: Hangin' with Tweek and Craig. Why?

"Oh thank goodness he's ok!" Kyle sighed.

"Yeah and he's not eating food without me!" Cartman added. Kyle glared at him.

"Can you stop thinking about food for once in your God damn life?" he growled. Cartman shrugged nonchalantly.

"I could," he replied, "But I don't wanna!"

"Now will one of you tell me what's going on?" Stan pleaded, "What's wrong with Kenny?"

"Nothing," Cartman said, "Besides being poor."

Kyle smacked him in the arm before turning to Stan. "Do you remember Kenny's ex-girlfriend, Becca?" he asked.

"The one with the boobs?"

"Yeah. We ran into her a little bit ago. She was saying some threatening things about Kenny," Kyle explained, "And Cartman found she had date-rape drugs on her!"

"Oh my God!" Stan exclaimed.

"I know, right?"

"We have to warn Kenny that his psychopathic ex-girlfriend is on a warpath!" Stan decided.

"Oh! I'll text him!" Cartman volunteered. He whipped out his phone and sent a message that, a moment or two later, pinged on both Stan and Kyle's phones. "Whoops! Meant to send that to only Kenny," he mumbled.

Cartman: Kenny! Dem Boobs make you go bye-bye!

Kenny: I'm blocking your number.

"Damn it, Cartman!" Kyle growled, as he started texting his own message.

Kyle: We ran into Becca who had roofies on her so watch out.

Kenny: Oh! Thanks for warning me Kyle.

Kenny: Not you fatass.

"What? I warned him!" Cartman gasped, "Last time I do something nice!"

Stan and Kyle simply rolled their eyes at him.

…

Kenny sighed as he put his phone away. Great, like he didn't already have enough to worry about. Was he going to have to go thirsty for the rest of the festival to make sure Becca didn't slip anything into his drink? That didn't sound too appealing.

Right now he was helping Tweek and Craig find Tweek's mystery woman. Tweek wanted to prove he wasn't crazy, and although they believed him, he wanted to show them.

"So, why do think this woman is stalking you, Tweek?" he decided to ask.

"Nnngh! I don't know!" Tweek whined, "I mean, she looked a little bit familiar, but she's so dressed up in weird costume accessories that I can't tell! Like, half her face is covered!"

"Maybe if I see her I'll recognize her too," Craig offered, "If we can catch her we can get her to tell us why she's harassing you."

"Good idea," Kenny agreed, "So, what does she look like, Tweek?"

"Um, well, she was wearing a bunch of veils and scarves kind of like Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame," Tweek explained, "I think she has black hair and blue eyes." He shuddered violently.

Kenny looked around, wondering if he could spot her. As he did so, he noticed a girl, much like the one Tweek had described, ducking out of sight. He blinked in surprise.

"Call me crazy, but I think I saw her!" he exclaimed.

"Really?" Tweek exclaimed, nearly leaping out of his seat. Craig grabbed him and pushed him back down.

"Shh! Don't give yourself away!" he warned.

"AH!"

"I think she spotted me because she ducked out of sight," Kenny explained, "I'm sure it was her, though. Should I follow her?"

"Maybe all three of us should try to tail her," Craig suggested, "If we all confront her, she can't get away. Plus, three pairs of eyes is better than one."

"NN-NG! Yeah, let's do that!" Tweek agreed.

The three got up and quickly ran to where Kenny had seen the girl. She wasn't there anymore, but Kenny wasn't going to give up yet.

"Come on! She has to be around here somewhere!" he said, "We just need to find her."

"There!" Craig exclaimed, "I think I see her! She's getting away!"

He led the charge as the three sprinted after the girl. She dodged and weaved between other patrons, nearly knocking people over in her bid to escape. Luckily, Kenny, Craig, and Tweek were all fast and nimble, getting around people without bowling into them. But even still she managed to stay ahead of them.

And it looked like she was going to get away, when she suddenly tripped and fell to the ground. Before she could stand up, the three boys surrounded her. They were joined by Clyde, who stepped out from behind the tree he was leaning on and had tripped her.

"NNG! Clyde! What are you doing here?" Tweek asked, twitching.

"I was just hanging around when I saw you guys chasing this girl," Clyde explained, "So I decided to help out."

"Nice," Craig said with approval. He leaned down and grabbed the girl by her arm, forcing her to her feet. "All right, out with it, you! Why have you been harassing my boyfriend?"

The girl didn't answer, choosing instead to merely giggle. Frustrated, Craig pulled the veil off to get a better look at her.

"Wait," Clyde said, "Doesn't she look sort of familiar?"

"Yeah, I thought so too," Craig admitted, "Who are you?"

The girl giggled again. "You don't recognize me, Tweek?" she cooed, "We shared such a connection last year!"

It took a moment of thinking before Tweek exclaimed in shock. "AAAHH! She's one of those stoners!" he shouted, "You know, the ones we hung out with last year!"

Startled, Craig and Clyde looked at her again, really examining her, ("Why didn't I get to hang out with stoners last year?" Kenny wondered to himself,) before realization came over them.

"You're the girl who kept making unwanted advances on my Tweek!" Craig growled.

"And then tried to drown him!" Clyde added with a snarl.

"Whoa! That happened last year?" Kenny exclaimed, "Why didn't we know about this?"

"I didn't want to do it," the girl said, pretending to rub a tear from her eye, "But they made me! I was too scared to fight back!"

"Yeah right!" Clyde hissed, "You were just as eager to throw him in the lake as your scumbag friends!"

The girl opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by a shout from Tweek. "Cherry! That's what she called herself!" he exclaimed, "Boy, that was going to drive me crazy!"

"Cherry?" Kenny repeated, "Yeah, that's a totally real name."

"We're getting off topic here!" Craig pointed out. He took a menacing step towards the girl. "Listen, if I see you or any of your buds anywhere near my boyfriend, or any of my friends for that matter, I'll be forced to do something drastic!"

Cherry gasped with fear and clasped her hands to her face. She turned and sprinted off without even a glance backwards. Satisfied, Craig dusted his hands off and turned to the others.

"Thanks for your help, guys," he said, "Tweek and I wouldn't have caught her on our own."

"Eh, it's ok," Clyde dismissed, "I like tripping people."

"And now you guys know I'm not crazy!" Tweek said happily.

"Oh, you're crazy, Tweek," Kenny said with a grin, "Just not about this."

He didn't complain when Craig whapped him upside the head. He had it coming.

…

Token was shocked and a little afraid when he saw Wendy and Heidi coming back to the campsite with Nichole in tow. Wendy in particular looked rather annoyed.

"Oh, uh, hey girls!" he greeted nervously, "What are you up to?"

"Cut the BS, Token," Wendy snapped at him, "We're getting to the bottom of this right now!"

Token folded his arms and looked away. "I don't know what you're talking about," he muttered.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" Nichole demanded. Token whipped around and glared at her. His eyes were blazing with anger.

"Don't play high and mighty with me!" he growled, "You know damn well why I'm avoiding you! You even had your little witch friends come to tell me!"

"Bebe and Red?" Heidi said, "What exactly did they say?"

"They said Nichole didn't want to see me because she didn't want to get back together with me," Token replied, "I got the message loud and clear!"

Nichole blinked in surprise at him before stepping forward. "Token… they were lying," she said. Token stared back at her, a blank look on his face.

"They… were… lying?" he repeated stupidly. Wendy face palmed.

"How many times did any of us say you should talk to Nichole yourself?" she sighed, "I'm pretty sure I heard you snap at Craig about it!"

"Yeah, I should apologize to him for that," Token muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked up at Nichole. "I'm really sorry," he said, "I don't know why I believed those two."

"Well, I'm sorry too," Nichole admitted, "I should've known those two were up to something. They always seem to be."

Token swallowed nervously. "So, uh, does this mean we're back together?" he asked hopefully. Nichole smirked at him.

"I don't know, does it?" she replied. Before Token could reply, she leaned and kissed him on the mouth. When she pulled away, he had the happiest grin on his face.

"Well it's about time!" Craig sighed loudly, startling them all. He, Tweek, Kenny, and Clyde were just coming back into the clearing. Token gave him a sheepish grin.

"Look Craig!" he said weakly, "Nichole and I got back together!"

"Good for you," Kenny muttered as he walked past them. Token gave him a look and turned back to Craig.

"What's with him?" he wondered.

"Oh, don't mind him," Craig dismissed, "He's just upset because he doesn't have a girlfriend."

"I don't know, I'd be upset if I didn't have a girlfriend," Tweek mused.

"But in other news, we- wait, what?" Craig gave his boyfriend a confused look and Tweek simply smiled at him. He shook his head. "Anyway, we finally caught Tweek's stalker."

"Oh that's great!" Token exclaimed.

"You were being stalked?" Heidi gasped, "That's horrible!"

"Y-Yeah," Tweek muttered, "She was making me feel paranoid, cuz' she kept disappearing when I tried to point her out to people."

"So, who was it?" Nichole asked.

"Some hippy girl we met last year," Craig explained, "She didn't get the picture that Tweek doesn't like her. Or you know, that he's gay."

"AHH!" Tweek added.

"Well, at least that's solved," Token sighed, "And now maybe the rest of the festival will be fun and drama free!"

Spoilers: it's not going to be drama free.

Once again, I apologize for taking so long to update my stories. I've been sick, I've had no motivation or inspiration. There's a lot going on in my life. I'll try to write as often as I can.

Next time, we're gonna have a fun little romp before the drama begins again.