Mended Hearts.
Part VIII.
Homecoming dances in South Park High School had always been one of those things that seemed to bring only the positive vibes along with them, lifting up the moods and spirits of just about everyone who would find themselves present at the dance held later that evening.
And amongst the people who were definitely looking forward to the dance after what had been quite a hectic week for her, was Wendy Testaburger.
The ravenette had never really been the kind of girl who saw the homecoming dance as an excuse to get all dolled up, but rather as an opportunity to have one heck of a good time with her closest friends and just relax after what had been a particularly busy week – work shifts in Tweek Bros. coffee shop that had been all over the place, the lack of time as a consequence of weird work shifts and the main reason for both Tweek and Wendy falling behind on their respective parts for the History group project, as well as an overall feeling of exhaustion were probably the main reasons why the teenage girl had wished the week would just get over already.
But the events of the last night's football game afterparty had made an even bigger impact on Wendy's overall mood than something like a very busy afternoon shift at her part-time job, and in turn caused three completely different emotions to simmer inside the dark haired girl – feeling glad that she and Stan could catch up and not be awkward around each other, feelings of pure annoyance after her encounter with Melissa, and most importantly, her feeling incredibly happy over the fact that David indirectly admitted that he would like for her to be his date for the homecoming dance.
And with her train of thoughts now being completely focused on the upcoming dance, Wendy had left her house a bit earlier that afternoon in order to go over to Bebe's house with Red and start getting ready for what was probably going to be one very fun evening, as well as exchanging the most recent school gossip and talking about all sorts of things with her two closest female friends.
Bebe immediately took up her role of being the resident makeup artist for her friends, while Red decided to be the one in charge of doing her friends' hair and hopefully not burning it all to a total crisp – flat ironing the blonde teen's curls until they became completely flat, and styling Wendy's hair into soft, bouncy waves.
After expertly getting her hair and makeup done by her friends, Wendy glanced at her reflection in the full-length mirror – she looked stunning in a strapless dark forest green, tight-fitting dress that had a slit on her right thigh. She complimented her homecoming dress with a pair of simple black stiletto heels and a black crossbody bag. She wore a little bit more makeup than usual, and had her long raven locks styled into simple waves that were flowing down her back like an ebony waterfall.
The teenage girl's heart began to pitter-patter at the thought of David seeing her all dressed up, as she didn't really want to admit that the reason why she had put a bit more effort into her appearance was because of him – she had grown really fond of him over the past month and a half and had actually started to develop some feelings for him, but didn't really want to do anything about them just yet.
Obviously, Wendy couldn't escape Bebe and Red's merciless teasing about her potential new love interest, so she decided to give her friends at least some bits of information regarding the status of her friendship with David and whether things between them could possibly develop into something more – all while the trio of teenage girls was bringing the excitement levels up by singing along to various songs and just having a genuinely good time before they would get to their destination.
They eventually reached the school's parking lot, which was now almost completely full and forced Bebe to circle around for a bit with her car in order to find at least one empty parking spot. And when she was successful in her quest, Bebe and both of her best friends eventually made their way inside the school gymnasium where the dance was being held.
The walls of the school gymnasium were decorated with balloons and streamers in various shades of pink and purple, with some white sprinkled in between. Some banners were hanging from the walls as well, and a disco ball was hanging right above the middle portion of the dancefloor.
A DJ booth was set up in close proximity to the main stage, while numerous tables were scattered around the gymnasium and covered with soft pink tablecloths that perfectly matched the whole girly aesthetic the décor committee had clearly wanted to achieve. There were also several tables set up for food and snacks, and one table designated for many punch bowls that would most likely get spiked throughout the evening.
Trailing right behind Bebe and Red and glancing down at her phone, a small smile spread across Wendy's lips as she re-read the text message David had sent her just minutes ago. Her heart was also beating lightly against her ribcage at the thought of meeting up with the brunette teenager in a few minutes' time.
'Waiting for you outside :)'
A smile spread across her lips and the faint blush staining her cheeks certainly didn't go unnoticed by both Bebe and Red, whose snickers instantly caught Wendy's attention and caused her to raise an eyebrow at her two friends. ''What?''
''Going to meet up with your date, hmm?'', Red said teasingly, matching the cheeky smirk that Bebe also had plastered on her face. ''Come on Wends, don't be shy.''
''A date?'', Wendy asked, locking her phone and putting it back in her purse. ''I don't have a date.''
''Well, didn't you say that you're going with David?'', Bebe asked. ''Doesn't that count as you having a date for the dance?''
''I guess it sort of counts, but we're still going strictly as friends.'', the noirette explained quickly, before turning around on the spot and making a beeline for the gym entrance. ''He texted me that he's waiting for me outside. I gotta' go meet up with him, and then we'll come to our table together, okay?''
''Sure, sure.''
And with those words, Wendy spun around on the spot and started walking towards her meeting spot with David. She also greeted some of her friends and their own dates who she had walked past, before stepping outside the school gymnasium and scanning the crowd for a certain brunette teenager who was supposed to meet up with her there.
It didn't take her that long to spot David, who was casually leaning against the wall and typing something on his phone. He was apparently too busy to notice Wendy approaching him right away, but glanced up as the clicking sound of her high heels caught his attention. His hazel eyes lit up almost immediately as the teenage girl came into his line of sight.
''Hey.'', he said, eyeing Wendy from head to toe. ''You look absolutely gorgeous.''
Instantly feeling her cheeks redden at the sweet compliment David had given her and smiling sweetly in response, Wendy tucked a strand of raven black hair behind her ear. ''Thank you. You're not too shabby either.''
David looked dashing in a combination of a black suit and dark green dress shirt, while his typically unruly honey brown locks had been combed down and made to look a bit tamer than usual. He hadn't even been aware of the dress color Wendy had chosen to wear to the dance, so the fact that they had inadvertently matched their homecoming attires made them both really surprised.
Now, Wendy normally wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of couples also matching their outfits for the dance, but the teenage girl simply couldn't make up her mind if it was pure coincidence that her ex-boyfriend and his current girlfriend had also turned up to the dance wearing outfits that were perfectly complementing each other's – Stan was dressed in a simple black suit and finished off his entire look with a burnt cherry red bowtie that flawlessly matched the color of the dress Melissa was wearing.
Not necessarily wanting them to notice that she had averted her gaze towards them, Wendy noticed that Stan's girlfriend had seemed to act probably the most normal she had ever seen her, and certainly the most normal since the two of them had initially crossed paths with each other. But more importantly, she just hoped that the confrontation the two girls had a little less than twenty four hours ago would prove to be fruitful and knock some sense back into Melissa's head in order for her to realize that the ravenette didn't even pose a threat to her relationship in the first place.
Turning her attention back to David and walking back inside the school gym alongside him, the rest of the evening went on to be just like Wendy had expected it – chatting with her best friends and having one heck of a time with them, sharing a couple of slow dances with David and genuinely feeling comfortable in his company.
But at some point during the evening, David had decided to pay his friends from the basketball team a quick visit and chat with them for a bit, leaving Wendy in the company of her closest friends and their respective dates – all while she was quietly sipping on her second cup of punch that evening and glancing around the school gym to see if anything even remotely interesting was going on at the moment.
From one corner of her brown eye, Wendy could see her ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend closely entwined with each other, which she took as a sign that things between them had seemed to be improving and had probably been changing for the better. She had already gotten used to the fact that Stan was in a long-term relationship with some other girl, and the teenage girl thought she would be damned if she didn't admit that she genuinely felt happy for her ex – even though there had definitely been times where she had found herself comparing their past relationship to his current relationship.
Although she was yet to even interact with him that evening, Wendy could've sworn that she saw Stan's blue eyes fixated on her and David as they had entered inside the gymnasium together – but regardless of that, she was truly having a blast with her potential new love interest and had secretly hoped that maybe this dance could develop things between them even further.
And for the first time in nearly six years, Wendy could truly admit that someone else other than Stan had weaseled their way inside her mind – and frankly, she was happy to think about someone new at least for once.
About thirty minutes later, David returned to his seat beside Wendy's, but didn't have too much time to strike up yet another pleasant conversation with the raven haired girl, as everyone's attention suddenly got shifted towards the stage where Principal Victoria was standing and was about to announce something to the entire crowd.
A lot of students got up from their seats and walked closer towards the main stage, eagerly awaiting for the announcement of South Park High School's principal and for her to just get the most exciting part of the evening underway.
''What's all the commotion about?'', Wendy asked, immediately catching the attention of Nichole who sat right next to her.
''They're about to announce this year's homecoming king and queen.'', she explained quickly.
''A homecoming king and queen? That's new.'', the dark haired girl chuckled. ''You guys actually have those here? We never had any of those in my old high school back in Tampa, but rather just a typical homecoming dance at the end of the homecoming week.''
''Well, that's been a relatively new tradition here. I think this is only the second year it's been held, but it's the first one for us Juniors.''
''Oh, I get that now.'', Wendy responded as she walked up to the crowd of teenagers and tried to get a peek at Principal Victoria blabbing about the homecoming dance and that she was about to announce who had been chosen as the homecoming king and queen for this year. ''I wonder who will get it. I mean, my number one guess is obviously Bebe, but I wouldn't rule out any of you guys.''
''And now, to announce this year's homecoming King and Queen...'', Principal Victoria spoke enthusiastically. ''There were a lot of candidates for the titles, but in the end, only two lucky people will be crowned the homecoming King and Queen for this year.''
''And this year's homecoming queen is...'', the older blonde woman continued as she opened the envelope to reveal which girl was about to be crowned. ''Wendy Testaburger!''
''What?'', Wendy gasped upon hearing herself being announced as the homecoming queen, brown eyes widened in total disbelief and confusion. However, most of that was overshadowed by hugs and pats on the back she was receiving from her gal pals. ''You gotta' be kidding me, right?''
''And your homecoming king is...''
I wonder who the king will be? Oh jeez, please don't let it be Clyde, 'cause I don't think I would ever want to dance with him!
''Stan Marsh!''
''Oh, you gotta' be fucking kidding me.'', the dark haired girl let out a silent groan, pinching the bridge of her nose as the thought of having to dance with her ex-boyfriend out of all people had actually become a reality – and to make things even worse, right in front of all their friends and pretty much the entire goddamned school!
Glancing over to the opposite side of the room, Wendy could clearly see that Stan also looked uneasy over the whole situation, but decided not to cause some big drama out of it and quickly made his way towards the center of the dancefloor where the ravenette had already walked up to.
''And now, the homecoming King and Queen will share their traditional dance!''
''Let's just get this thing over with.'', Wendy whispered as Stan made his way over to her, successfully masking his initial uneasiness with a rather calm facial expression, and not taking him that long to realize that his ex-girlfriend had been less than thrilled about the whole situation.
Letting out a sigh of defeat, Wendy had already realized that she wasn't really going to be able to keep much distance from Stan anyway. However, she didn't want them to look completely awkward with each other, so she then decided to go with the flow and signaled to the dark haired quarterback to get themselves into a dancing position – her right hand was placed on Stan's pectoral and the other one was clasped around his hand, while Stan placed one hand on Wendy's upper back and had his other hand interlocked with his ex-girlfriend's.
''Wendy, I know you're not the only one who doesn't feel comfortable with this. I feel the same way, mostly because of Mel and because I know she's probably going to rant about not getting chosen as the homecoming queen. It doesn't feel good doing this when I know both of our dates are watching the entire situation unfold.''
''Well, I have to agree with you on that one, especially because I'm aware of the fact that your girlfriend is watching us and is most likely losing her shit on the inside.'', Wendy admitted. ''Trust me, after what happened last night, I really don't want to have any further interactions with her and cause further drift in your relationship.''
''Hey, it's not like I wanted to be picked as the homecoming king anyway! I fully expected Clyde to get chosen as one, not myself.'', Stan replied as they continued moving together to a very slow, romantic song.
''And I expected Bebe to get chosen as the queen. I guess they were simply destined to win every single king and queen title at the school dances. I mean, they really do look like people you can expect to find on those promotional posters for prom.''
''Well, I guess that's at least one thing we can both agree on, can't we?'', the teenage girl laughed gently, as Stan spun them around once again and mirrored the smile she had on her face.
''Ditto.''
Much later that evening, and after the dance had come to its unfortunate ending, Bebe took up her role as the designated driver of the night once again and was currently driving back towards the residential area of South Park, but not without dropping off Red, Wendy and David first.
The red-haired teenager had strategically called shotgun on the passenger seat, thus allowing Wendy and David to sit together in the backseat and for them not to be directly subjected to the cheeky smirks that both Red and Bebe had on their faces.
Wendy could feel her cheeks flushing a faint shade of red whenever David's hand would brush up against her, whether it was on pure accident or completely intentional. He seemed to be in the same boat as her, flashing her a gentle smile whenever his hazel eyes got locked with her chocolate brown ones.
And once Bebe pulled up near the driveway of the Reynolds' family home, Wendy decided to follow David outside and spend at least a little bit more time with him before she would have to return to her best friend's car and come back home in due time.
''Uhm, I actually had a pretty good time with you. Thank you.'', Wendy smiled as she walked beside David to the front porch of his house, shyly tucking a strand of raven black hair behind her ear.
''No problem. I also had a really good time with you at the dance.'', David responded with a chuckle. ''Well, maybe we can repeat that some other time, if you want to?''
Widening her eyes in surprise, the teenage girl swallowed a small lump that had formed in her throat. ''You mean like going on a date or something?''
''Yeah, maybe.''
''Sure, I would actually love to.''
''So, text me when you make up your mind about it.'', the brunette teen grinned as he reached forward and gently peckly Wendy on the cheek, causing her heart to skip about a dozen beats as she felt David's lips brushing against her now even more flushed cheeks.
''Will do.'', she replied and offered her 'friend' a wave, before turning around on the spot and making a quick dash to the car, all while grinning from ear to ear and her heart thumping loudly against her ribcage due to David's action that had caught her completely off guard.
But the first time in quite a while, Wendy could actually admit that she had started to develop feelings for someone completely new and who wasn't in her usual circle of friends.
And boy oh boy, it surely did feel good.
A bit of a shorter chapter this time around, but the most important thing is that the plot has thickened yet again!
I guess I could say that we're slowly reaching the halfway point of this fanfic, and that things are about to get complicated even more, so stay tuned for that folks. I really don't want to reveal what will happen, but let's just say that the relationships of our two main protagonists will be really shaken up and put to a serious test.
I don't think I've mentioned this yet, but I just want to say a huge thanks to everyone who takes the time out of their day to read this story (and my fanfics in general), because it truly means a lot to me and motivates me to go further with this story. ❤