Mended Hearts.
Part XIII.
Mild and surprisingly pleasant winter air felt great against Wendy's skin as she drove through the streets of downtown Tampa alongside her favorite cousin Liz, singing along to some of their favorite songs and simply having a good time before the two of them were about to start their fun, spontaneous little road trip to Orlando.
And since the weather in Florida had been really nice for this time of the year, and not to mention definitely contrary to the cold and harsh weather Wendy would've experienced if she had decided to spend her school break in Colorado instead, she thought it would be absolutely ridiculous not to make the most out of yet another pleasantly sunny and warm winter day.
However, and much to her dismay, the time of her being back in Tampa for the winter break was slowly but surely coming to its unfortunate end, as she and her parents were set to fly back to Colorado in just a few days' time and return to the usual craziness of the small podunk mountain town they had been calling home again for nearly five months now.
Although Wendy couldn't deny the fact that she'd had a lot of fun when it came to catching up with her family members who lived in Tampa and spending time with old friends from both her former elementary school and high school, there had just been one teeny tiny thought almost always present in the forefront of her mind and unintentionally nagging the absolute ever-living crap out of her.
The fact that her boyfriend of nearly two months hadn't really kept up with his promise of keeping in touch with her as much as he possibly could, which often ended up with David ghosting Wendy for a straight day or two and then seemingly forgetting about the fact that he had even ghosted her in the first place.
And even though for the first week and a half of their school break Wendy and David had both managed to stay in touch by texting each other almost all the time and face-timing whenever they would get a chance to, David's messages slowly started to become more sporadic as their school break passed by – which was, obviously, much to the dark haired girl's chagrin.
Despite knowing the fact that she had never been the one to act too clingy in her relationships (and especially in her current one with David), it genuinely did aggravate the dark haired girl that this time around she had been the one putting in more effort towards keeping the conversation with her boyfriend alive and kicking, instead of David putting in the same (or at least similar) amount of effort towards that – because at the end of the day, Wendy really didn't want to swamp her boyfriend with too many text messages and face-time call requests, and genuinely wanted him to have some good quality time with his dad and step-family in Austin.
However, she still seemed to be somewhat upset over the whole ordeal, despite trying her hardest to mask it and pretend like the very same thing hadn't been bothering her for the past week or so.
Wendy sighed disappointingly as she re-read the most recent text messages between her and David, with high hopes that he would reply back to her as soon as possible. She then rolled her eyes over the fact that he had left her on read again, but decided not to fuss too much about it this time around and exited the messenger app on her phone.
''Are you okay?'', Liz suddenly asked, glancing over from the passenger seat and noticing that her cousin didn't seem to be in a particularly talkative mood today, judging by how eerily quiet she sometimes seemed to be throughout of what was supposed to be a nice little drive through the streets of Tampa before the two girls were about to start their road trip up to central Florida.
''You don't seem to be in a particularly chipper mood today. Is something bothering you?'', the brunette teenage girl inquired further, before getting a quick shake of the head and a dismissive wave from her cousin as a response.
Wendy sighed, drumming her fingertips against the steering wheel. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing, don't worry."
"Oh come on Wends, don't lie to me.", Liz snorted in slight disbelief, resting her head against the window and cocking an eyebrow at the dark haired girl sitting in the driver's seat. "You know that I know you better than most people, and that I can easily tell when something's bugging you, okay?"
Letting out a faint groan, Wendy simply shrugged her shoulders as she came to realization that she wasn't going to that easily weasel her way out of the younger girl's continuous prodding about why she hadn't been looking exactly the most chipper today – or more likely for the past several days.
"You really wanna' know what's been bugging me for the past few days?"
"Is it about David?", the younger of the two girls replied almost right away.
"Yes, exactly.", Wendy confirmed hesitantly with a roll of her chocolate brown eyes. "Look, I know he's looked forward to that trip for quite a while, and I get him not being able to text me back right away because he's most likely been busy with doing lots of things, but I really didn't expect him to go MIA that quickly. I don't usually act clingy in my relationships, but I feel like I've been checking my phone lately a lot more than usual, and that's what makes me quite annoyed. Do you think I've been acting a bit too clingy?''
''Well, you did tell me that he has a lot of friends and family back in Austin.'', Liz pondered. ''And about you being clingy, well, here's my take on it.''
''So, as long as you don't text him and try to call or facetime with him every fifteen to twenty minutes, I'm sure you're not clingy at all. You're most likely just very worried about him not responding to you in a timely manner and getting unnecessarily stressed about it. I'm sure he'll call you back eventually, so don't worry about it!'', she said further, trying her best to lift her cousin's spirits up.
''Well, when you put it that way, it does kinda' make sense.'', Wendy smiled, feeling a bit more at ease after hearing Liz's opinion on the entire ordeal that had been bugging her recently. ''To be completely honest, I reply back to him very quickly and expect him to do the same. Oh well, I guess I should've expected him to be a bit slower with responding when he told me about going to Austin and wanting to spend a lot of time with friends and family he has back there.''
''Or maybe he's been having so much fun that he just keeps on forgetting to text or call you.'', Liz said, making herself more comfortable in the passenger seat. ''Who knows?''
Even though she could already feel the daggers shooting out of Wendy's eyes due to her particular choice of words, Liz honestly knew that she simply couldn't help herself and sugar coat things.
''Seriously?'', Wendy said incredulously, gripping the steering wheel a bit harsher than she had intended too. She could've sworn that she saw her knuckles turning white from how hard she had gripped onto the steering wheel, before eventually realizing that she might've overreacted a bit and then taking a deep breath in order to calm herself down.
While David was the first somewhat serious boyfriend she had had in years, and was one person who made her fall in love in what was a rather short time period, Wendy just couldn't help herself and admit that she had rightfully been feeling anxious about her boyfriend being really far away from her – especially considering all the weird Instagram stories he had been posting recently and the fact that he hadn't been talking to her as much as she hoped he would.
''I feel like you're overthinking things way too much.''
''I guess.'', Wendy admitted. ''I hope he'll eventually te – ''
A sudden ping caught the teenage girl's attention, causing her to quickly glance over to her phone and tap on it a few times in order to light up its screen – and as she realized the source of a new notification, she couldn't help herself but let out an exciting squeal and grin to herself like an absolute goofball.
''Well, would you look at that? David finally texted me back!''
''Ooh, what did he say?'', Liz said as she leaned forward in order to get a better peek at the text message Wendy had received from her significant other.
''I dunno', can't read it – I'm driving over here!''
''Okay, then I'll read it for you.''
'Hey babe, sorry for not texting you back! I got super drunk yesterday at Adam's party and have been nursing a pretty big headache all day long'
'anyway, I just wanted to send you a quick message and let you know that I'm fine and that you don't need to worry about me..also call me whenever you can, love you❤'
''See? I told you that he would eventually text you back, and that you just had to be a bit more patient!''
Wendy let out an inner sigh of relief as she caught her cousin giving her a comforting smile. ''Yeah, you're right, I guess.''
''Duh!'', Liz rolled her eyes playfully. ''Now, shall we go on this road trip or not?''
''Oh heck yeah, let's bounce!''
And with two exceptionally fun weeks they had spent in Florida now come and gone, Wendy and her parents landed safely and soundly back to their home state of Colorado, feeling both a bit jet-lagged, but also very excited over the upcoming New Year's Eve celebrations that they had already planned out for themselves.
Sean and Vanessa, just like many of their friends and parents of Wendy's classmates, had decided to celebrate the New Years in quite a fashion at the Tegridy Farms' weed farm, with plans of getting high off whatever the new concoction Randy Marsh had come up with and drinking copious amounts of alcohol as well – and not to mention possibly causing some unwanted chaos as a result of being both intoxicated and high as fuck.
Wendy, knowing very well that her plans for celebrating the New Year's Eve with David had gone down the crapper the very second he mentioned spending a great majority of his school break in Texas, decided to look around for other options for her NYE-related festivities.
Luckily for her, Tolkien had come to her rescue and invited her over to his house to a party he was going to host, alongside a bunch of their other classmates and some other random people she knew from school.
Although she was happy to celebrate the New Year's Eve with her friends, Wendy just couldn't help herself but feel a pang of jealousy over the fact that almost all of her friends had managed to get someone to spend the crazy and fun night with.
Bebe had Clyde, Tweek had Craig, Tolkien had Nichole, Stan had Melissa, and Kenny had Butters – heck, even Kyle and Heidi had finally stopped skirting around the fact that their romantic feelings were mutual and had managed to find comfort in each other's company (but even more importantly, much to the chagrin of a certain fatass who still hadn't accepted the fact that his ex-girlfriend was now possibly dating his long-time frenemy out of all people!)
Even though she was seemingly the only one out of her closest gal pals without a date tonight, it actually turned out that both Red and Annie had also gone to the party without a date, although the ravenette knew very well that her two friends were most likely doing that on their own accord and not because they truly didn't have someone to go with.
But what also didn't help to lift Wendy's spirits up, was the fact that she had been worrying a bit too much about what her boyfriend was most likely up to tonight in Austin – even though David had been much better at communicating with her ever since she got back from Florida, and had been making up for his previous lack of effort in that department, so the teenage girl really had to give him credit where credit was due (although she still couldn't help herself but feel a bit anxious over the whole ordeal).
And that thought still seemed to have remained with her in the present time.
"You have to stop sulking so much about David. I'm sure he's missing you just as much as you're missing him.'', Bebe said as she suddenly plopped herself down onto the couch beside her best friend, smoothing down her dress and crossing one leg over the other. ''He'll wish you a happy new year's when the midnight comes around, so don't worry about it!''
''What?'', Wendy said as she took a sip of her drink, raising an eyebrow at the curly blonde girl sitting right next to her. ''I'm not sulking about David! I just don't feel like getting absolutely shit-faced tonight and then hugging the toilet afterwards, jeez.''
''Oh please Wends.'', the blonde snorted to herself. ''If that were the case, you wouldn't be sitting far away from us and drink on your own – you would've been with us throughout the entire night, and you wouldn't have gotten shit-faced because there's always someone checking up on others!''
''Okay, I guess you're right.''
''I know you have every right to be worried about David and what he's probably doing at the moment, but if he truly loves you as much as he always says he does, I'm sure he wouldn't even think about trying to do something with other girls and would be thinking about you all night long!''
''I know, but still, I can't help myself and worry about him.''
''Try not to think about those things.''
''Well, easy for you to say – your boyfriend is standing right there and my own boyfriend is nearly thousand miles away.'', Wendy said as she slumped herself further in her seat, taking another sip of her drink. ''However, I'll try to have fun tonight regardless, okay?''
Bebe flashed the opposite of her comforting smile, before getting up from the couch and walking towards the kitchen. ''Glad to hear it! Come and join us whenever you feel like it.''
And with her best friend now gone and off to a different room in the house, Wendy let out a sad sigh as she nursed what was only her second drink of the night, before shifting her gaze over to the luxurious black leather couch where her ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend were currently sitting.
''Well, at least they seem to be happy with each other again.'', the raven haired girl thought to herself in an unexpectedly bitter tone, taking the last sip of her drink and getting up from the couch in order to finally join her friends and to get herself another well-deserved drink.
On the couch opposite of the one Wendy was currently sitting on, Stan smirked against Melissa's lips as he pulled her closer to him and got their lips intertwined once again – with two teenagers only stopping their makeout session whenever they would run out of drinks and one of them had to go get more drinks for each.
Even though he was glad that his relationship with Melissa had been doing really well recently, Stan still couldn't help himself but feel an occasional uncomfortable feeling bubble in the pits of his stomach – the one that unfortunately had a lot to do with his girlfriend's supposed past tendency of allowing other dudes to slide into her DMs and then be shamelessly flirtatious with her, despite knowing that she was in what was supposed to be a very serious and committed relationship.
Stan, despite knowing the fact that he had forgotten Melissa for cheating on him a long time ago, still was on high alert at all times whenever he would suspect of her acting weird around him and skirting around the topic of potentially being unfaithful to him again – although none of it annoyed him as much as Melissa's often spats of jealous and tendency to act that way, especially if it pertained to a certain girl he used to date all the way back in elementary school.
From one corner of his blue eye, he could notice his ex-girlfriend sitting on the couch opposite of him, seemingly lost in her own thoughts and looking visibly upset over something – which Stan immediately assumed must've been about her new boyfriend, since he had accidentally found himself listening to Wendy's complaints about David and his lack of efforts for trying to communicate with her on a more frequent basis.
Stan frankly still hadn't understood what Wendy even saw in David, and thought she could do so much better than him – judging by the fact that David had inadvertently made this night out of all nights less enjoyable for Wendy, and also judging by his own interactions he had had with the brunette teenager so far.
However, if Wendy was truly that happy with David, then so was Stan for her – even if she was willing to let things like these slide and pretend like everything was just fine and dandy.
The teenage boy was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts by Kenny, who appeared right by his side and draped an arm around his shoulder, startling him for a little bit. They then exchanged playful smiles as the blonde boy got himself off of Stan and gave him a friendly pat on the back.
''Kenny, dude! You almost gave me a heart attack from appearing out of nowhere.'', Stan pointed out.
''Yeah, yeah, sure.'', Kenny smirked in his characteristically cheeky manner. ''Just wanted to remind you that it's 11:57 PM and that we have about three minutes until midnight.''
''Wait, already?'', the dark haired teenager asked as he pulled his phone from the pocket of his jeans, unlocking it and realizing that they indeed only had about three minutes before the end of this year.
Stan then walked over to Melissa, who happily interlocked her hands with his and eventually walked outside of Tolkien's house with her significant other right behind her.
''Hey everyone, can you all come outside? We only have two minutes until midnight!'', Tolkien shouted as he peeked his head inside the grandiose living room, causing the rest of the gang to quickly head outside of the Black residence and gather around in the large back garden area, eagerly awaiting for the clock to hit midnight and for the bottles of deliciously cold bubbly delight to finally get opened.
''Are fireworks ready?'', Kenny shouted over to Tolkien, who gave him a quick thumbs up as a response.
The atmosphere got even more exciting as the clock got closer to hitting midnight and announcing the arrival of yet another new year, with everyone starting to count down the time together and preparing themselves to taste the fancy, expensive champagne that had just been waiting to get downed by the party goers.
''Ten!''
''Nine!''
''Eight!''
''Seven!''
''Six!''
''Five!''
''Four!''
''Three!''
''Two!''
''One!''
''HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE EVERYONE!''
The first rays of early morning sunshine peeked through the large windows of Black family's living room, causing the teenage girl who laid on one of the couches to stir lightly in her sleep.
However, it seemed like Wendy's body thought that sleep just wasn't worth it anymore and caused her to flutter her eyes open, groaning slightly as she rubbed her temple in order to ease the headache that had suddenly formed there. She then stretched herself out, letting out a faint groan as she realized that she must've fallen asleep on the couch and had forgotten to text her parents that she would most likely just sleep over at Tolkien's house – almost earning herself a mini heart attack as she realized that her handbag and phone weren't anywhere near her.
Thankfully, her belongings were still present on the coffee table next to the black leather couch she had slept on, which made Wendy a bit more at ease as she reached for the rectangular item sitting on top of the glassy surface.
Unlocking her phone, her heart skipped a several beats as she read the celebratory messages coming from her family and friends, as well as the long-awaited replies to her texts from her boyfriend – including two missed FaceTime call requests and one regular phone call.
A giddy smile spread on her lips as she scrolled through David's several text messages.
'Hey babe, happy new year!'
'I'm so sorry for not sending you a message earlier, but I actually got so fucking drunk that I blacked out somewhere around 11pm and managed to sleep through most of the night and then woke up around 4am with a horrible fucking headache'
'I love you so much and I hope you'll call me as soon as you see this message, love you baby❤❤❤'
Wendy giggled quietly to herself as she re-read the messages her boyfriend had sent only a few hours prior, feeling a gentle blush creep across her cheeks and her heart pitter-patter with pure happiness.
Even though on the outside she seemed to be really happy about David's sweet messages and declarations of love, she couldn't help herself but feel an uncomfortable feeling form in the pits of her stomach over the fact that David had yet again had the same reason for why he had been sort of MIA throughout the past week and a half – getting so drunk to the point of almost blacking out and then having to deal with a very nasty headache the next day.
Now, Wendy wasn't all that surprised that David had decided to get a bit more loose and party with his old group of friends from Austin, but what was she worried about even more was what her boyfriend had possibly been up to whilst drunk and whether that had potentially involved some other girls – which is something that she hadn't really been willing to admit to herself ever since David told her what would be his plans for the Christmas break.
However, the teenage girl decided to push all those negative thoughts to the side for a moment and focus on something way more important at the moment – the fact that David had actually been better at communicating with her, with hopes that he would hopefully stick by his promises from now on.
Well, hopefully.
Hey guys, guess who's finally back?
I honestly would've updated the story way, waaay earlier, but my student job has been keeping me quite busy over the past couple of months and made me not have too much time to work on Mended Hearts. Also, because I'm a perfectionist and tend to spend a ridiculous amount of time fixing tiny little mistakes in the chapter until I'm satisfied with the way it looks (even though I'll admit that this chapter isn't the best one I've written so far), it sometimes greatly prolongs the time between updates.
We have a bit of a filler chapter this time around, since shit is seriously about to hit the fan in the upcoming chapters and potentially push Stan and Wendy closer to each other for the first time in years.
I'm glad to say that I will most likely be able to update the story much more frequently now and hopefully wrap it up before the end of the year. Also, the next chapter is about one-third of the way done and it should be posted by the end of the month. :)
I'll see you all guys next time, xo!