Mended Hearts.
Part II.
With August just around the corner and summer already in full swing, the heat and humidity had been prevalent as ever in Florida, which meant even more excruciatingly high temperatures and waves of humid air perusing through the city of Tampa.
And even though summer break had been in full force by now, things had been very busy for the sixteen year old Wendy Testaburger.
Ever since her parents had announced that she and her family were going to move back to South Park, the teenage girl had been quite busy with packing everything up and helping out her parents with the move as well.
Despite initially being very pissed off at her parents for making the decision about their move seemingly out of the blue, Wendy had eventually accepted the fact that there was simply no point in arguing with her family over them moving back to the small mountain town – no matter how many times she had told them to rethink everything once again and had also hopelessly tried to convince them to stay in Tampa.
But with their new house bought, Wendy's parents accepting new job offers and almost half of their things already packed up and ready to go, the teenage girl just had to come to terms with her family moving back to the town where she had lived for the first eleven years of her life.
While she had certainly been feeling sad about leaving Tampa and leaving behind all the memories she had made there over the years, the prospect of finally being reunited with some of the people she had known ever since kindergarten definitely made her buzz with pure excitement.
Her mind, unsurprisingly, had been completely swamped with many ideas and plans she had hoped to move forward with once she would get settled back in South Park – from adapting to her new high school surroundings, finding a part-time job that would help her save up for a decent car, doing some volunteer work and most importantly, to her not straying away from keeping her grades and attendance at the same level she had had in her first two years of high school.
And since the majority of Wendy's family lived in Florida, a lot of her family members decided to help out the Testaburgers move their stuff and place them all out of their soon-to-be old house, before they would get shipped off to their new home address in Colorado and hopefully not get fucked up during the transportation process.
Wendy had been certainly trying her best not to get overwhelmed with the amount of stuff she would inevitably have to move out of her bedroom and have it all be neatly packed up, but felt a lot more lax when her parents offered to help her out with the entire task.
Just the mere thought of having to pack up all those things made the teenage girl roll her chocolate brown eyes in sheer annoyance.
But much to Wendy's delight, a female voice snapped her out of those annoying thoughts rather quickly, as she hoped to deal with them once she would actually get to Colorado in about two weeks' time.
"I still can't believe you're moving back to South Park.'', a female voice admitted in a mixture of disappointment and sadness. ''You know that I'm gonna' miss you so damn much and that nothing's gonna' be the same without you here!''
Turning her head in the direction of the girl to whom the voice belonged to, Wendy smiled reassuringly at the brunette girl that was perched comfortably on her bed.
"Liz, I can't believe it too! But I'm gonna' miss you as well, that is for sure.", the raven haired girl replied, stacking yet another cardboard box on top of already packed boxes that would get ready to be shipped off to the Testaburgers' new house in a few days' time.
Elizabeth, Wendy's favorite cousin, had been her closest friend outside of South Park, and someone with whom she would spend most of her free time. So naturally, the younger of the two teenagers was probably the most upset over the prospect of her cousin moving back and not being able to see her virtually every single day anymore – as not only they lived just several houses away from each other, but they had also shared a lot of classes together in school and were both a part of the cheerleading squad.
"But can you help me pack up more things?", Wendy asked, sliding the door of her closet shut after she had finally managed to take out all of her clothes and fold them neatly down on the soft pink carpet. ''I'm getting kind of swamped in here.''
"Gladly.", Elizabeth nodded her head in response as she scooted off the bed and grabbed one of the few remaining cardboard boxes. She started placing more of her cousin's belongings into the boxes, paying full attention to what was she placing in each box and trying her best not to crush anything that could be deemed fragile or easily breakable.
The two girls continued to work in pleasant silence for a few minutes, before Elizabeth decided to strike up a further conversation with Wendy about her and her family's move back to Colorado.
''So, is anything else left for you guys to finish before moving?''
"Well, not really.'', the teenage girl admitted. ''My parents did fly out about a month ago to Colorado to finish the whole house buying process. Honestly, it would've been nice if we could move back to our old place, but I guess having a fresh start won't be so bad.''
''Also, I had to come with them when they were applying me to South Park High School.'', Wendy continued, before smiling at the memories of sitting inside the office of her former elementary school principal and soon-to-be high school principal, Principal Victoria. ''You know, the usually fun talks with Principal Victoria and a whole lot of red tape crap that I definitely don't want to go through again.''
''Oh, yeah. I do remember you telling me something about that.'', Liz replied. ''Do you at least know a few people there? I don't think your future high school will be a particularly large one, judging by everything your friends told you about it and how is it being a student there.''
''Actually, I know pretty much everyone there, since Bebe told me that their high school isn't so big and that most of my classmates are going to be people we've known for years. True, there will probably be some people I've never seen before, as that high school is the biggest one in Park County, so a lot of students from neighboring cities attend it.''
"Well, that can only be good for you, can't it?"
"Yeah, and I'm kinda' more relaxed knowing the fact that I'm not moving somewhere unfamiliar.'', Wendy smiled as she finished packing up the last few remaining boxes in her bedroom. ''South Park might be a less crappy place to live in now, but it still has that small mountain town character to it. The political stance and viewpoints on a lot of things its citizens have might clash with my very own, but I can't deny that some of the best memories of my life have been made there.''
As she neatly placed the final cardboard box on the bedroom floor, Wendy smiled and breathed a sigh of relief over the well done job she and her cousin had completed, before catching a glance of herself in the mirror.
Despite pretty much remaining the same person on the inside since moving away from South Park, Wendy couldn't deny the fact that puberty had surely done its thing and made her go through both good and bad sides of her physical and emotional development – especially everything that came with her developing less-than-pleasant skin-related issues and subsequently getting rid of them thanks to the wonders of an acne medicine.
Wendy had more-or-less kept her signature hairstyle, although her usually choppy and uneven bangs had been replaced by neater, slightly messy bangs that stood above her dark brown eyes. Her raven black hair was still super long and now reached the small of her back, although in seventh grade she had gone through a brief period of having shoulder-length hair after losing a bet to one of her then middle school friends. She also stood relatively tall at five foot seven, and had managed to keep her body in a decent shape due to both cheerleading and playing volleyball.
Snapping herself out of her sudden trance and her thoughts now focused on the date of her and her family's move getting closer than ever, Wendy was obviously feeling sad about leaving behind all the friends she had made during the years of living in Tampa, but promised to keep in touch with them irregardless.
Afterall, that was the exact same thing she had promised to her friends from South Park before her move to Florida, and Wendy thought she would be damned if she didn't do the same thing to people who had been there for her for the last six years.
But most importantly, she knew damn well how much her friends were important to her – no matter wherever in the world she was.
Two weeks later, the Testaburgers had finally packed everything up and had started their journey all the way from Florida to their old-new destination in the state of Colorado.
Honestly, they could've flown, but Wendy's dad had insisted on them driving all the way from Tampa to South Park, although both Wendy and her mother had stood firm in their notion that flying there, although a more costly way of traveling, was still significantly faster than driving nearly two thousand miles across the country.
But still, Vanessa hadn't wanted to argue with her husband, so they had chosen driving instead – with both of them and Wendy taking turns driving when one of them would need a break from sitting behind the steering wheel for an extensive period of time.
Furthermore, and much to the Testaburgers' delight, a nearly two thousand mile drive across eight states had gone without a single hitch, as well as with their belongings getting to South Park all in one piece and in what seemed to be a near perfect condition.
Surely, returning to the town where they had created some of their most cherished memories had caused both Vanessa and Sean to buzz with excitement, but Wendy had seemed to be less thrilled about moving back – although she had been really looking forward to finally reuniting with some of her closest friends and not having to rely just solely on social media and apps like FaceTime as ways of keeping in touch with her friends.
Accompanied with her trusty pair of headphones and the freshest playlist created on Spotify, the teenage girl sat in the backseat of her family's car and simply watched the world pass by as they were making their way through the states – at least when it wasn't her turn to take the wheel and allow her parents to get some well-needed rest.
Some of her favorite tunes had helped to snooze peacefully, as well as the air conditioning that had been turned on and allowed her to feel more refreshed; although Wendy had to admit that not even the air conditioning could beat the feeling of crisp air toning down the high temperatures that were an integral part of every summer break.
And after what had seemed like forever, Wendy's peaceful nap was suddenly interrupted by the excited tone in her mother's voice, signaling that they were getting relatively close to their destination.
''Wendy, wake up! We are almost in South Park.''
"What?", the dark haired girl asked, with grogginess coating her voice. She removed her headphones and allowed them to rest on her neck, before peeking out of the window and recognizing the ever-so familiar scenery of the Rocky Mountains. ''We finally made it there?''
Her mother nodded in response, not being able to contain her excitement any more. ''Not yet, but we have about a few minutes to go and we will be taking a turn towards South Park.''
Slumping her head against the headrest, Wendy let out a slight groan. She rolled her eyes, before noticing that her father took a right turn and started driving towards the road that had always been familiar to the teenage girl, slowly but surely making her heart pitter-patter with excitement she didn't want to acknowledge just yet.
And as she and her family finally passed the 'welcome to South Park' sign and effectively started a new chapter in their lives, Wendy leaned her head against the car window and sighed, smiling softly at the thought of finally moving back to one place she would always easily call home.
''Well, Wendy. I guess your life in South Park starts again.''
After settling relatively nicely into their new house over the course of the next few days, Wendy and her family had managed to set up most of the stuff and make the entire place look somewhat like their former house back in Tampa, although it was still far from being completely furnished and made to look top-notch. However, this didn't make Vanessa and Sean any less satisfied with what they had managed to do in a relatively short amount of time.
Their new house was nearly identical to the previous one they had owned in South Park, with the only differences being that their new house was olive green in color and of slightly bigger dimensions. Irregardless of that, it was still pretty much the typical two-story house with an adjacent garage and a large back garden area, just like many similar houses that could be found throughout the town's residential streets.
And of course, since this was South Park, news happened to travel incredibly fast – especially if they were about someone's former neighbors moving back to the town after six long years they had spent living way across the country.
News about the Testaburgers moving back spread almost like a wildfire, so much so that it hadn't taken long before Vanessa and Sean had gotten swamped with 'welcome back' messages from their old neighbors, invitations over to their respective houses, an invitation for a good old barbeque and a quiet beer or two.
One of the very first people to welcome Wendy's family back to South Park were Sharon and Randy Marsh, who had always been good friends with her parents and someone with who Vanessa and Sean would often hang out with, but would also more often than not indulge themselves into whatever trend or crazy thing had ravaged the small mountain town at that moment – not necessarily trying to change the fact that the adult population of South Park was sometimes nothing else but a bunch of unbridled manchildren.
So, on that particularly warm Thursday afternoon, Wendy and her mother Vanessa were invited by Sharon over to the still alive and kicking Tegridy Farms farmhouse, while Sean and Randy had decided to go over to the local Skeeter's Wine and Bar for a few beers and to catch up with their old group of friends.
"Vanessa, Wendy! Welcome back, it's so good to see both of you!", Sharon chirped happily, pulling both mother and daughter into a tight hug. She smiled warmly at the two of them, gesturing to them to come inside and take a seat in a rather spacious living room.
''Hi Mrs. Marsh, it's so nice to see you again.'', the teenage girl smiled, offering the older brunette woman a hug.
''Same! You've grown quite a bit, haven't you?'', Sharon replied as she pulled away from Wendy, examining her head to toe. ''How old are you now? Seventeen, right?''
''Nope, sixteen. I'm turning seventeen in December.''
''That's nice to hear. I know you and Stan are the same age.''
Suddenly, Wendy felt all the moisture vanish from her throat upon hearing the name of her ex-boyfriend.
Sure, she expected to run into him sooner or later, but since they hadn't seen each other in quite a while, and hadn't been exchanging text messages as much as they had before, the raven haired girl didn't really think about the fact that she would be seeing her ex-boyfriend much, much more now. The entire thought of talking with him in person certainly flew over her head; but now, and at least for the time being, she pushed that thought into the deepest part of her mind and tried forgetting about it.
And luckily for Wendy, her mother snapped her out of her thoughts once again.
''Thanks Sharon! How's it been here? I feel like we haven't seen each other in what feels like forever.", Vanessa said as she sat down in the love seat, smoothing down the wrinkles of her beige sundress. She gave her long-time friend a small smile, feeling excited about the prospect of finally catching up with Sharon and what she had been up to over the course of one year the two women hadn't seen each other in flesh.
"Well, it's been good. Lots of things have changed in the town though – a lot of new people have moved here, several new businesses opened up and the entire town now feels much better to live in. "
Just like Vanessa Testaburger, Sharon Marsh also hadn't changed that much over the years.
The brunette woman was now in her early fifties, slowly but surely showing the signs of getting older. Her hair went down to her shoulders now, but she would often keep it in a loose bun or a ponytail. And because her sight hadn't been getting any better with age, she also often wore a pair of glasses.
"How are your kids?"
"Both are doing good, actually.'', Sharon replied with a gentle smile. ''Stanley will be a Junior in high school this year, and Shelly's about to start her Sophomore year at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. She is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Financial Management."
''Well, it seems like they've both been quite busy, huh?''
''Yeah, and I honestly couldn't be prouder about their successes.'', the older of the two women said as she got up from the couch in order to get beverages for both Wendy and her mom.
''Oh, I haven't asked what you would like to drink. Coffee? Tea? Juice?''
''Coffee for me.'', the older raven haired woman said.
''Make it two.'', Wendy chimed in.
''And what about Randy? Is he still in the weed business?'', Vanessa continued, chuckling at the fact that Sharon had perhaps still been fed up with her husband's Tegridy Farms business, despite it still being extremely popular not just across the Park County region, but also the entirety of Colorado too.
''Well, yeah. He is, and he's still adamant about running it.'', Sharon admitted as she popped a coffee capsule into the coffee machine, before being suddenly cut off by the voice of the person who was making their way downstairs. ''But you know me, I can go on and on about him being an absolute jackass - ''
''Oh, hey mom. You didn't tell me that we were gonna' have guests over.''
And with those words, the sixteen year old Stan Marsh made his appearance in the living room of his house.
''I guess the rumors about you guys moving back really are true.'', the teenage boy chuckled as he made his way over to Vanessa and shook hands with her. ''Hi Mrs. Testaburger, welcome back.''
''Oh Stanley! It's good to see you as well.'', the said woman replied, reciprocating the firm handshake. ''You've surely grown quite a lot over the years as well.''
''Yeah, I get that one a lot actually.'', Stan replied, before noticing the presence of their second guest sitting on the cozy blue sofa.
Locking his blue eyes with the brown ones of his ex-girlfriend, it didn't take long for the dark haired teenager to recognize Wendy. Giving her a small smile, Stan then parted his lips to speak.
''Hi Wendy.''
Despite them breaking up before she moved, Stan and Wendy had still managed to keep things civil between them. On top of being in the loop with one another through text messages, they would be cordial whenever they would get to see each other in person, definitely noticing the effects puberty had on one another and how much both of them had been growing over the years.
Appearance-wise, Stan was now significantly taller and more physically defined, which Wendy definitely presumed was from playing football and an occasional game of baseball with the guys. His raven black hair was still slightly messy, but also a bit longer as well. He still wore his trusty old red and blue poofball hat, albeit it being more pushed back in order to allow some of the longer strands of his hair to poke through.
All in all, Wendy thought she would be damned if she didn't admit that the boy she had loved all those years ago had certainly become more attractive over the years, as well as a very handsome young man now.
And whether she wanted to admit it or not, he still had at least some kind of effect on her.
''Hi Stan.''
Hey guys!
I honestly thought that I would be able to put out the new chapter way earlier in the month, but guess what – sometimes life gets in the way of you wanting to dedicate more time towards writing fanfiction, and you simply can't do jackshit about it.
Speaking about the story, are we liking the very first interaction between Stan and Wendy? It's nothing special, but that's exactly what I aimed for their very first conversation to be! :)
This story will be more of a slow burn, so don't expect anything major to happen between Stan and Wendy in the early stages of the fanfic! Right now, they just saw each other for the first time in a while and have been able to keep things between them rather cordial/civil for a very long time.
I should definitely start posting more regular updates, instead of being the professional procrastinator I usually am, lmao.
Also, please take care of yourselves guys, and stay both healthy and safe!