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luna-themoonie · 2 years ago

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Chapter Three

A Raven and a Bat to See the Light in One Another

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Summary: It was only meant to be a stupid game of dares, 'The King's Game.' But, of course, nothing could go Stan's way. Cartman thought it would be hilarious to get under everyone's skin with his stupid dare and he did. Now, Stan had no way of getting back with Wendy because he was stuck with this dare.

Butters didn't care too much about the dare in its entirety. Stan was a cool guy and maybe they could get closer. He didn't see anything wrong with this dare from Eric. But, oh boy, if his parents knew, he'd sure be grounded. After this dare ends, he and Stan could still be friends, right?

What was the dare?:

Stan and Butters were forced to date for two months.

~~~

as soon as you both can get together make sure you convince EVERYBODY that you and butters are buttbuddies

holding hands kissing hugging

Then the next two texts were sent a few minutes after that.

shit even fuck around in the bathroom and have someone walk in

if you dick off this dare stan ill make you tegrrt it

*regret

Stan kept on rereading the text messages Cartman had sent him yesterday with a frown. They were specifically directed to him, so he was sure Butters had received something different to make him immediately jump in and come to his house.

He wanted to be more open-minded about the situation like maybe he and Butters can have a better relationship in the end. But thinking about how Cartman wanted them to go above and beyond with holding hands and kissing each other made his stomach churn. It’s not like he didn’t want to do this because Butters was ugly. He wasn’t. He grew up to be a good-looking guy, even Stan could admit that. Though, he’d never say that aloud. All he knew now was that he couldn’t explain why he felt so nerved by this situation.

Maybe it was because he wasn’t as close to Butters as he was to his other friends. He didn’t know much about his family life either, just that his parents were dicks. Stan remembered how he had gone through a mini rebellious phase against his parents at the beginning of high school; dying his hair black, staying out late, even joining his gang to do the crazy shit they always found themselves in. He remembered how he and Kenny supported him that week. After that, Stan didn’t know what happened, Butters came back looking as he did before as if nothing happened. Stan never said anything about it, but deep inside, even now, it bothered him.

He always kept his appearance tidy yet casual now, dressing as if he was going to church every day. It was usually a sweater with a white-button up underneath. Stan would always wonder how Butters wasn’t freezing his ass off half the time. Maybe he could give him a new sweater or a jacket as an apology. Though, he wasn’t sure if that was going to fix anything.

“Stan? Stanley, did you hear what I said?”

He looked up at his mom, who was now staring at him from her spot in front of the refrigerator. He didn’t realize that she was talking to him at all. “Huh?”

“Your father has been complaining to me about you not talking to him. Can you try giving him a call?”

Stan shrugged. “I don’t really want to.”

“Why not?”

He shrugged again. “Dunno.”

She sighed, but dropped it, leaving him alone to stare back down at his phone and stab at the eggs he made.

He stood up from his seat after a moment and poured the rest of his eggs into Sparky’s bowl. He gently stroked his head as he began to eat them before leaving the kitchen.

He walked over to the couch and sat himself down next to his bag and his guitar case. He began to scroll through his phone to pass the time, liking some of his friends’ posts as he did so. Stan paused when he saw a picture of Wendy smiling with her parents. They were all seated at their dining table with their plates of breakfast, smiling at the camera. Mom surprised us with breakfast! Love you, mom!

He took another second to stare at the picture. She seemed so happy, but… was she? He wanted to know how she was fairing after their breakup, but he wasn’t sure if he should. His thumb hovered over her icon for a long moment before slowly pressing on her name to go to her account. He knew that this was a decision that he was going to wish he didn’t do, but it also satiated him for the moment. He scrolled through the pictures on her page taking note of how none of them shared any hint that she was distressed. Of course, there wouldn’t. Why would she want to share that with the world?

Even when he found out his answer, he continued to scroll through her page. After a bit, he began to notice that one factor was missing from her account; him. All the pictures of him and Wendy were gone and he felt his heart sink. She really didn’t want to get back with him. She actually meant it this time. He clenched his jaw and clicked off her account before he had gotten himself upset. He clicked on Clyde’s profile and began to scroll through his. It was still packed with pictures he had taken from the party. That made his mind wander to the dare, and the dare made him think about Butters.

His eyes wandered from the bright screen to the hand that he was using to scroll with. He thought back to yesterday and how he had held hands with Butters. He remembered how warm his hand felt in his own and he felt flushed at the memory, though he didn’t really know why he did. He’s held hands with others before, both girls and guys, but why was it so different now? He wondered if he should get his gloves to wear for the day and after a moment of consideration, he placed down his phone and decided to run back up to his room to grab them.

He made his way back down the stairs, pulling on his red gloves. He moved to pick up his phone from the couch to check the time. It was 8:03. A good time to head out. He shoved his phone in his pocket and picked up his bags and adjusted them in his hands, heading towards the front door. “Mom, I’m heading out!”

He opened the front door just in time to see Butters standing there with his hand reaching towards the doorbell. “Oh!” He retracted his hand and clutched the straps of his bag. “Good morning, Stan!”

Stan pressed his lips together in a thin line. “Butters, you��re here...” Again…

He nodded with a smile. “Sure am!” His smile fell. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did you want me to stop?”

“Nah, it’s fine. Just…” He thought over his words carefully. “I can pick you up at your house. You don’t need to keep showing up so early.”

He noticed a look of worry show on his face for a second before vanishing, but he didn’t point it out. “Okay, I can do that.”

“Cool.” He closed the door behind him and made sure to lock it. He motioned Butters towards his car as he made his way to his own side. He placed his belongings inside and settled himself in the driver’s seat. He turned on the car and waited for Butters to finish with the click of his seatbelt before starting to drive.

Just like the day before, the ride was silent aside from the CD Stan had playing, though it wasn’t as loud as he usually played it. Stan tried focusing on the drive to the school, but he was hyper-aware of his passenger. He tried ignoring him and trying to listen to the words of the song, but Butters made it difficult to do when he was humming along to it. Stan sighed and moved to turn down the radio. “Butters?”

The blonde perked up at his nickname and looked at Stan with a bright glint in his eyes. “Yeah, Stan?”

As he drove, Stan gave small glances at him. “Are you okay with this?”

“With what?”

“With pretending to date me and whatever Cartman is going to have us do. It doesn't bother you?”

“Course not, Stan.”

He gave him a side glance. “Why?”

“Well, because you’re a swell guy.” Stan gave him a look that asked ‘really?’ “Besides, we’re friends, right? Just think of it as being a little more close to your friend.”

Stan took a moment to think about what he said. “Is that how you think about it?”

Butters looked down at his lap and began to trace his knuckles. “Yeah.” There was a moment of silence from him. “Stan, I know that I might’ve crossed the line yesterday. If you’re not okay with somethin’ I do, you can tell me. I will stop, you know.”

“I’m not okay with any of this.” He saw Butters flinch at those words, so he added, “But thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

They were both silent for a moment. Stan moved to turn the song back up, but not before hearing Butters quickly telling him, “If it makes you feel any better, there’s nobody else I’d rather do this dare with but you.”

Stan felt like throwing up after hearing that, but he didn’t voice his feelings. Butters definitely had a way to make you feel bad and cut deeper with just his words. He didn’t feel the same, but he felt bad for having those feelings. It felt so nice hearing that, but he felt like he didn’t deserve it. They both left each other alone, leaving the car to go back into its silence.

Stan soon pulled into the parking lot of their school and found the same spot from yesterday. He turned off the car before moving to gather his things to get out. He pushed the door open and got himself out, adjusted his bag onto his shoulders, and held his case in his left hand, watching as Butters did the same. He made sure to lock his doors before they both started to walk towards the entrance of the school.

As they walked towards the school to get out of the cold, Stan’s mind wandered back to the situation that happened around the same time. He took a glance at Butters to see him breathing into his cupped hands before rubbing them together and letting them fall back to his side. Stan bit his lip as he hesitated before deciding to slip his gloved hand into Butters’. He told himself earlier that he wasn’t going to do this, hence the gloves, but he couldn’t help himself. He continued to look forward as they walked, but he still saw Butters look up at him with a large smile from the corner of his eye. He tried to focus on making his way inside, but he still couldn’t help the embarrassment he still felt run through him as he seemed to only think about the hand in his own.

Stan didn’t know how long they stayed hand in hand, but they reached their lockers in a short matter of time. Butters let go of his hand and kneeled down to reach his locker while Stan went to his own, swiftly unlocking it. He placed down the case next to himself and emptied his bag from his books from yesterday to begin replacing them with the ones he knew he needed for today. It wasn’t much so he was able to finish up quickly.

Stan closed his locker and turned to see if Butters was still there. Butters had his eyebrows furrowed as he was trying to fold up a set of clothes and try to shove it into his bag. Stan moved closer to him to wait for him to finish. He leaned against one of the nearby lockers and watched Butters from where he stood.

He was adjusting the books and his clothing of the day in his bag before zipping it closed and swinging it onto his shoulder. He stood up and pushed his locker closed with his foot before turning to Stan. He visibly swallowed at the sudden eye contact with ravenette. “Uh, I’ll see you.” He lowered his head and moved to walk around him.

Stan clenched his jaw. He didn’t know what came over him at that moment, but he quickly grabbed Butters’ arm to stop him from walking any further. “Huh? What’s wrong-” Butters stopped his question when he felt Stan placed his free hand on his shoulder as he placed a chaste kiss on his forehead. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing would come out.

“See you.” He felt his thumb caress his left shoulder slightly before he finally removed himself. He watched Stan turn around and walk down the hall to his own class, but Butters' whole body felt like lead. He couldn’t move. He slowly brought his hand up to his forehead, gently grazing the spot where Stan had kissed just a second ago with the tips of his fingers.

“Hey, Butters, you alright?” He turned to see Nichole standing with Annie Knitts.

“Huh?” He noticed that he was still touching his forehead and he quickly dropped it to grip the strap of his bag. “Oh, y-yeah. I’m fine, I’m great!” He smiled at her, but this only earned a look of suspicion from her.

“Okay… Well, we gotta go. The bell is gonna ring in a few minutes.”

“Right, right. Class.” His hands tighten around his bag strap. “Yeah, let’s go.” He began to walk with the two girls to their AP English class. As soon as they stepped into the class, the bell had rung and Butters quickly sat himself down and took out his notebook for the class and the discussions they had. The teacher had begun to speak, but he couldn’t focus on the words she was saying.

Butters was distracted throughout the entirety of his class. He just kept on going back to Stan. He was definitely nicer than he was yesterday and Butters really did appreciate that. He knew that Stan was trying to get by this situation the best way he can. He knew he was a bit too excited and he needed to dial it back for the time being. But if Stan was starting to go along with everything now, he didn’t know how much he could take. Every now and again, he would gently touch the spot on his forehead as the thought of Stan would pop back into his mind. He tried participating in the class discussion, but his mind was all muddled. He would mumble a made-up response whenever the teacher would call on him and hoped that she would just nod and move on, but she would constantly ask for him to speak up. Luckily, he was seated next to Nichole who would tell her the correct answer with a ‘he said…’

When the class ended, he gave a sigh of relief. He quickly packed up his things and left the classroom. He waited for Nichole across the classroom door to thank her. When she walked out he walked up to her immediately. “Nichole, I wanted to thank you.”

She smiled at him. “No problem.” They began walking together through the hall. “Are you sure you’re okay? You were really out of it.”

“Yeah, I’m just a bit distracted today.”

“Is that it?” He nodded. “Okay, I’ll believe you. But if there's something actually wrong, just know you can talk to me. I’m sure Tolkien is always open to talk too if it’s a ‘guy thing’ or something like that.”

“Aw, well, that’s mighty sweet of you. Thank you.” The door to his next class, Calculus, came into view. They both came to a stop and Butters gave her a quick hug. “I’ll see you around,” he told her before going inside the classroom, giving her a small wave.

He took a peek at the board, where the teacher of the class typically wrote down what they needed to work on for the day, as he grabbed a calculator and the class book. He sat in his designated seat, pulled out a few sheets of paper, and began to work on the assigned questions. He took his time working through the problems, circling the answers on each question he wrote down. He usually liked to keep to himself in this class. He considered himself pretty good at Calculus, but any distraction could easily mess him up.

“I heard what happened yesterday with Stan.” Speaking of distractions. He finished writing down the answer to the problem he was working on and looked up to see Wendy.

“Oh, didja?”

She nodded before pulling herself a chair to sit across from Butters. “Yeah. How are you taking this?”

He tried to focus on his work. He never exactly liked Wendy. She was a bit too needy for attention and self-centered for his taste. He forced a smile for her. “I’m fine. I know Stan is a bit uncomfortable with everything, but I think we’ll get by.”

“I don’t know about that,” she drawled. “I don’t really think you two will last with Stan’s behavior and all.” Why ask if it didn’t matter what he said? Fucking bitch. “Stan is a really honest person. Usually says what he means, you know.”

“Wow,” Butters was just trying to entertain her now, “you must really know Stan, huh?”

The smile she gave him was a proud one. “I sure do. I guess that’s what seven years does.”

Yeah, seven on-and-off years. He hummed in thought. “Oh, then I wonder what two months will do. I think we’ll get closer.”

She raised one of her eyebrows and made a face, basically asking him, ‘are you sure about that?’ “Well, I’ll wish you luck. Stan is a very difficult person; hard to manage.”

Stan isn’t a fucking dog. Butters held his tongue about his thoughts for the moment. “Thank you, Wendy. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You’re welcome!” Wendy stood up to finally leave him alone. “Okay, well, I’ll let you finish your work.” She placed the chair back. “Oh, number twenty is wrong, by the way,” she told him before walking back to her desk.

Butters was glaring at the problem. Shit, she was right.

-----

Butters was starting to get aggravated now. Throughout the entirety of his class, Wendy kept on coming up to him to start up a random conversation; each one about Stan. It was like she was trying to prove to him that she was a better fit for this dare. If she was so worried, why talk to Butters about it? He was sure if she mentioned it to Stan, he definitely wouldn’t hesitate on taking her back, just like every other time.

By the time the bell had rung for them to leave, Butters wasn’t finished with his work and he wanted to scream at her. She tried to talk to him once more when he was putting the calculator and book away, but he briskly walked by to his desk to grab his bag. He tried avoiding her as he walked to the teacher to ask if he could finish the work at home. After getting the ‘okay’ he ran out of the classroom and tried to get away from Wendy as fast as he could.

“Butters, w-wait up.”

Hearing the familiar stutter, Butters slowed down his pace for his friend to catch up. “Oh, hi, Jimmy.”

“Are you okay? You looked r-really upset.”

Butters sighed. “Wendy was just really annoying me.”

“You looked- y-you loo- It seemed like you were going to p-punch her in the face. I’m surprised she didn’t no-n-notice.”

“She has her head so far up her ass to notice. I swear she rivals Eric.”

Jimmy laughed at this. “Do-don’t let her hear that.” Butters giggled along with him. He stopped by a door and gave a nod to Butters. “This is my stop. See ya.”

“Yeah, see ya.” Butters continued to his own class, which was now Spanish. When he reached the class, he found a seat in the room and waited to see what would make his day sink further.

-----

His Spanish class wasn’t as bad as he expected, especially when he shared it with Eric Cartman. He was surprised to find him leaving him alone throughout the entirety of the lesson. He chose not to ask him why. He didn’t want to suddenly make everything ten times worse.

Though, when he went to his Auto Repair Workshop class, the last person he’d expect had made his entire day worse than it should be:

Butters, currently in the boys’ locker room, was changing out of his clothes of the day and dressing into something both comfy and that he didn’t mind getting dirty; a ‘wife-beater’ and a pair of old sweats. Once he finished, he folded his clothes and shoved them into his bag for the time being and left the locker room.

He was one of the first people to reach their assigned school’s garage for his class. It was large enough to fit eight cars in, therefore his class was small. He placed his bag down at the front before going to his teacher’s desk to grab his notebook and the key for his assigned car. He placed the notebook and key down on his rolling stool and popped open the hood of the car.

Butters began to overlook the car to refresh himself on what he already worked on. He wrote down a quick report on the vehicle and its status before doing a mental checklist of the tools he knew he needed and started to get to work on his final project for the class.

As he worked on the car, the other students slowly made their way in to join him on working on their own projects. Craig was the first of his friends to come in, settling to work on the car on his right. Then, it was Kenny, focusing on his own car on his left.

After a while, he heard someone speak up. “So, Butters?” He looked towards Kenny at the call of his name.

“Yeah, Ken?”

“You weren’t on the bus yesterday,” he reached over to grab his rag to wipe his hands, “or this morning. What happened?”

“Oh.” He turned back to his work. “Stan’s been giving me a ride.”

“Stan?”

“Yeah, Stan.”

“Why?”

He glanced over at Kenny to see his eyebrows furrowed. “Well, what do you mean ‘why?’”

“Why is Stan giving you a ride to school?”

Butters shrugged. “I came over and he let me come with him.”

“Let me take you home instead. I don’t want you going with Stan.”

“You don’t want me going with Stan,” he repeated with a frown.

“No. He isn’t even treating you right. I’m not going to have him say some shit to you that-”

“Aren’t you supposed to be worrying about how you’re going to take Tweek home?” He saw Craig perk up from behind the hood of the car he was working on at the mention of the blonde’s name.

“You can come with us.”

Butters huffed. “Why?”

“What do you mean ‘why?’ I just told you that I don’t want you going-”

“Yeah, yeah, you don’t want me going with him. What do you want me to do? Ride the bus with you? Stan could’ve said ‘no’ and left me, but he didn’t.”

“So, what if he didn’t? It doesn’t change the fact that he’s a dick that has quickly lost my trust.”

Butters rolled his eyes at his choice of words. Over the years, he’s come to learn that Kenny is always one to overreact. Butters turned to Craig who was watching them, lazily tinkering with the engine on his assigned car. “Would you do this if Tweek was with Stan?”

He shrugged. “Yeah.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“No. If Stan had said those things to him, he’d probably tweak out. No pun intended.”

“See?” Butters turned back to glare at Kenny. “I’m not the only one who’d worry.”

“Just because he shares the same selfish views as you, doesn’t make it right,” he told him, earning a ‘hey!’ from Craig.

Kenny narrowed his eyes. “Well, technically, it’s two versus one. So, I’m taking you home.”

“You aren’t my father.”

“Might as well be. Yours doesn’t even do that right.”

Butters clenched his fists when he heard Kenny say that. “Oh, really?” Butters could admit that it hurt hearing that coming from him.

“Yes. Butters, you can’t handle Stan like I can. He’s going to end up saying something stupid to you and it’ll hurt you because you’re weaker.”

Butters felt his face become warm at those words. “I am not weak!” his voice cracked as he walked over to Kenny. “I can take care of myself. You don’t need to protect me. I can handle Stan.” He snatched the wrench away from Kenny to use for himself.

“I didn’t mean- I’m just trying to look out for you.”

He snapped his head towards him. “Well, it’s annoying knowing that you think I can’t do anything!”

“Boys!” Butters jumped at the loud voice and looked at their teacher who was watching them with a frown. “Focus on your own cars or you will hurt yourselves. You can fight with each other outside of this classroom.”

“Yes, sir,” Butters mumbled. He turned back to his car and continued to work on it.

Luckily, Kenny had left him alone for the rest of their class. He was still upset at him, and at Craig for agreeing with him. He didn’t understand their worry to force someone to do what they want. He knew he could do things for himself, he knew Tweek was strong enough to do things for himself too. He wondered what Tweek would think if he knew the conversation they had and whether he would side along with him or with his boyfriend.

The final bell rang for the day and Butters sighed in relief. He grabbed his rag and began to wipe his hands, looking over everything he knew he needed to work on for next time. He began to write down his final report of the day so he kept track of his progress.

He felt someone place their hands on his shoulder. “Wait for me after showers.” The hand left him and Butters continued to stare down at the notebook he was writing in. He looked towards the door just in time to see Kenny leave the school’s garage and into the school, chatting to one of their classmates.

Butters felt himself start to become upset and he knew he needed to leave. He briskly stood up, throwing his rag on the toolbox he had to share with Kenny, and reached up to close the hood of the car. He moved to the front of the room and grabbed his bag. He placed his notebook on his teacher's desk, nodding at him. “Have a good day, sir,” he told his teacher before quickly running across the room and leaving the garage through the door that led outside.

He immediately regretted his decision when he was hit with a blast of cold air. It was worse when he was drenched in sweat after being in such a warm room for so long. He slung his bag over his shoulder and began to run towards the football field where he knew Stan had parked his car. He crossed his arms over his chest and held onto his biceps in hopes that he could keep some of his warmth. He saw the car come into view and not far away was the familiar teen wearing his red poof ball hat. He began to sprint towards the two and waving his arms. “Stan!”

He looked towards him and he saw his eyes widened. “Butters?” He saw him jog towards his car, unlocking it and quickly placing his bags inside. The engine revved on as Butters reached the car and he pulled open the door and hopped inside, placing his bag near his feet. He sighed in relief as the heater was already put on blast and was hitting his exposed skin nicely. He let his head hit the seat and he tried to catch his breath.

“Dude, what the fuck? What are you wearing? It’s freezing.”

He turned to look at Stan. His eyes were wide and he was looking down towards Butters’ torso. He looked down at the thin undershirt he wore for the class. He looked back at Stan. “I’m sorry. It’s what I wear for Auto Repair. I can take it off if you're worried that it’s gonna get your car dirty.”

“No!” Stan pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment before moving to clutch the steering wheel with both his hands. “No, it’s fine.”

“Okay.” He clicked on the seatbelt and leaned back again. He took a peek at Stan and noticed that he seemed to be a bit uncomfortable. He thought over an excuse in his mind. “I’m sorry, I usually change, but I was worried that you would leave without me.”

He saw his eyebrows twitch up in surprise and he turned to look at him. “What? Dude, no. I’m not gonna leave you behind. Unless you tell me to or something.”

Butters’ eyes widened slightly. “Really?”

“Yeah, man. I was actually just going to wait out here and send you a text. Then, I saw you and…” He drifted off. He noticed that his eyes shifted down to look at his torso again.

He looked towards the clock and checked the time, noticing that Kenny would be done with his shower at this time. He glanced over to the school, hoping that he wasn’t looking for him.

“Dude, aren’t you cold?”

He shrugged. “I’ll be fine.”

He heard rustling and small jingles coming from Stan and he turned to look at him just in time to see his signature brown coat being shoved in his face. “Here.”

He took a peek at Stan and saw that he was trying to avoid looking at him. “Aw, gee, Stan. You don’t gotta do that. Then, you’ll be cold.”

“It’s fine.” He dropped the coat onto his lap. “Just put it on.”

Butters smiled. He had his sweater in his bag that he was planning on getting, but he wasn’t going to pass this chance. He quickly pulled on the coat and almost melted at the warmth that it still held from Stan. “Thank you.”

Stan clicked on his seatbelt and prepared to leave the parking lot, mumbling, “You’re welcome.” He began to drive and Butters took this time to look out of the window.

He was watching everything pass by them. He was trying to clear his mind of everything that happened with the white snow and the flashes of people who were walking. He crossed his arms and carefully leant his head against the window, flinching at its coldness. He closed his eyes, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with fatigue.

“Hey,” he heard Stan start, “you okay?”

He sighed. “No.”

There was a moment of silence. “Do you want to talk about it?”

He shook his head. “No.” Another silence. “I just had a bit of a rough day.” And he still had his parents to deal with. “I’ll get over it.”

“Oh. Okay.” He opened his eyes and noticed that Stan had begun to pull into a driveway. He looked towards the house and noticed that it wasn’t his own. He probably pulled in front of his own house. “If you, uh…” He looked over at Stan. “If you ever need someone to talk to or to just listen, I don’t mind doing that. I mean, we’re going to be stuck together, so might as well.” Stan noticeably tensed and his eyes widened. The expression on his face made Butters bite back a laugh. “Fuck, wait, that’s not what I meant.”

He laughed lightly. “Thank you. That does make me feel a little better.”

Stan relaxed. “Sure, dude. Whatever you need, you’re my friend.”

Butters smiled fondly at him. He suddenly felt overwhelmed with mixed emotions and he couldn’t help a question from forming at his lips. “Can I…” He quickly stopped himself. He was sure Stan wouldn’t want to.

“What?”

“It’s nothing.” He leaned forward and grabbed his bag. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He gripped the handle to open the door.

“Butters, what do you want?”

He squeezed the handle. If Stan reacted badly, he could just pull and run. His house wasn’t that far, just a few houses down. He sighed before saying in a soft voice, “Can I hug you?” He was staring hard at his shoes, anticipating his response.

“A hug? Dude, is that it?” He nodded. He heard the driver door open and he snapped his head up to see Stan getting out of the car and Butters immediately felt dread fill his body. Whether Stan had just left the situation or he only got out to make Butters feel worse in a more physical way, it left him heartbroken.

The door on his side opened and Butters looked up at Stan with wide eyes. He awkwardly got out and was ready to bolt down the sidewalk. He looked at Stan and was surprised when he lifted his arms and held them open. Butters stared at him for a moment and was sure that this was a trick of some kind. Stan only gestured for him to come forward with his arms.

With a growing smile, he dropped his bag to the ground and immediately wrapped his arms around his torso, placing his hands on the back of his shoulders. Butters was only a few inches shorter than Stan, but it was enough to place his head in the right spot - the crook of his neck. He took in a deep breath, noting how Stan smelled of whatever cologne he was wearing and a hint of something Butters couldn’t pinpoint. The hug was nice and comfortable, though he could feel that Stan was tense, he still appreciated that he allowed him to do this. He pulled back a bit and looked up at Stan for a moment, relishing in the moment until it ended.

Stan moved slightly and was now looking back at him and he felt himself become embarrassed at the closeness. He was sure he had been staring at him for a little too long, but he wanted to use this opportunity to take in all of his features. His favorite feature was his eyes. They were a clear shade of a blueish grey, but that wasn’t what drew him to them. It was how much emotion he showed through them, whether it was passion, happiness, or sadness. He had dark circles under his eyes now, and Butters felt saddened at this. He knew that Stan had his days where he had trouble sleeping and he wished that he could help in any way. He was trying to look into his eyes to find what he could see right now, but it was a bit difficult looking into both with only one eye and being at such a close range. Stan had gotten really handsome over the years. Even with the fact that his appearance was the last thing he had thought about when going anywhere didn’t change that. He even had stubble growing at the moment, but his face was usually clean-shaven. He always considered Wendy to be very lucky to be with Stan. He always wondered why she broke up with him, what Stan had even seen in her.

If he was given the chance to kiss the ravenette, truly kiss him, at least once in his lifetime, Butters would definitely take it. He swallowed and tried to get rid of those thoughts for the moment as he smiled up at him. “Thank you, Stan. I really needed this.” He noticed that Stan’s body temperature was becoming very warm and he had to hold himself back from reaching up to touch his face to see if Stan was coming down with a fever.

As quick as the hug started, it ended just as fast with Stan harshly pushing him away. Butters didn’t have a chance to ask him what was wrong because Stan practically sprinted to his front door telling him that he’d see him tomorrow.

Butters looked at the door that Stan disappeared behind. “Oh… Okay, see you tomorrow,” he mumbled to himself, knowing that Stan wouldn’t hear him either way. He picked up his bag before walking towards his own house.

He groaned aloud when he saw the two cars of his parents in the driveway. They were both home early. He walked up to his doorstep and pulled his keys out from his bag before unlocking the door. With a sigh, he opened the door and walked in. “Mom, dad, I’m home.”

A response was immediate. “Butters, do you know what time it is?” His father exclaimed.

“I think it’s almost four-thirty, sir.”

“Yes! Where were you? I know you leave early on both days so you should be home at two. Two thirty at the latest. Look at your mother, she’s worried sick.”

Butters took a glance at his mother in the kitchen, not particularly upset at his 'lateness.' He didn’t dare point this out. “I’m sorry, sir. I’ve been getting a ride from one of my friends, but he can’t leave early because he has full classes. I have to wait until he’s done to get back. I’m not foolin’ around; honest.” He tried explaining to him. Then he remembered that his early days only took place on every other day. “Oh, but today I had my four classes, so I would be coming home around this time anyway.”

“Are you talking back to me?”

“No! No, sir, I’m not. It’s just my schedule’s always been that way.”

“Give me your phone and go to your room.”

“But-”

“Now!”

Butters looked defeated. “Yes, sir.” He pulled his phone out from his bag and placed it in his father’s outstretched hand. He went to the kitchen and placed a light kiss on his mother’s cheek with a, “Hi, mom.” He quickly made his way out of the kitchen and up the stairs before his father could begin yelling at him again.

When he reached his room, he placed his belongings on his desk chair. He took off his coat, deciding to take a shower before starting to work on his homework. He grabbed his clothes and went to the bathroom, hoping he wouldn’t get into even more trouble by doing so.

-----

After cleaning himself up and getting himself comfortable in his pajamas, he began to continue his work from his Calculus class. Luckily, he wrote down the questions beforehand so he wouldn’t have to rely on his phone if he had taken a picture instead.

“Butters! Dinner is ready!” He heard his mother call.

He stood from his desk to go join his parents at the table, but stopped when he heard his father say loudly for him to hear, “No! If he wants to lie and think it’s necessary to goof around, he gets no dinner!”

He sighed and sat himself back at his desk. He shouldn’t let this bother him as much as it did. He should be used to it, but no matter how many times his father would take something away, especially his dinner, it hurt his chest. His parents were supposed to love and care for him, but they’ve never done that. They usually blame him for things he knew he didn’t do, and Butters usually went along with them. As much as he knew that deep down, they didn’t truly love him, he still loved them. They were his parents. He needed to.

After finishing his Calculus work, he took a glance around his room to find something to entertain himself until he could fall asleep. He could go on his computer, but he didn’t feel like looking through any messages he had gotten, whether it came from his phone, which he had connected it to, or from Coonstagram. It was also risky if his father suddenly walked in.

Maybe he could read a book, he hasn’t done that in a while. He looked towards his dresser and saw a couple of books settled at the top of it. He stood up from his desk and over to the small pile of books he had. He picked up a random book, making sure it wasn’t a workbook of some sort and walked over to his bed to make himself comfortable.

He adjusted his blanket and went to sit down, but noticed something on it. He picked it up in his free hand and immediately recognized the item. It was Stan’s coat. He completely forgot that he was wearing it. He considered asking if he could return it to him, but he highly doubted that his parents would let him at the moment.

He bit his lip and placed down the book he was planning to read on his bedside table. He looked around his room as if he was surrounded by peering eyes before hesitantly lifting the coat to his nose and taking in a breath. It still smelled like him. He slipped on the coat and sighed. It was like Stan was hugging him again.

He crawled under his covers and curled up into his bed, watching the sun slowly setting itself. He felt tears prick at his eyes and he tried to blink them away. He was really glad Stan hugged him earlier. He's been needing one for a long time and God knows it wouldn't come from his parents. Though, he did wish that it had lasted longer. Stan was warm… He wrapped his arms around himself and tried to press himself into his pillow, pretending that he was actually being held by Stan once again. He closed his eyes and tried to force himself asleep, but it proved difficult when he felt tears begin to slowly fall. He covered his mouth, so he wouldn’t give his parents any clue about his crying, and he gave a silent sob.

He was so warm.

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