Whatever Happens |Kyman • Stenny • Creek|

Chapter 32: The Talk

"Turn away; if you could get me a drink of water; 'cause my lips are chapped and faded."

~Butters' POV~

The hours seemed to have sped by after Kyle and Eric left my front yard. There were fire trucks and police cars speeding down the street with their sirens blaring for the last two hours to put out the fire I started. They'll never figure out it was me. I didn't leave anything behind with my fingerprints on it.

My parents were downstairs watching the news in full volume. I'm still grounded for whatever reason they came up with, but I didn't care. I still did whatever I wanted regardless of my grounding. As a sixteen-year-old that's supposed to have been given more leeway and freedom, I couldn't care less what they had to say.

I sat at my desk in my room thinking of what to do. Eric and Kyle asked me to meet up with them tonight so they could "talk". They're probably going to have me hang out with Stan and Kenny too and they're going to apologize to me for being bad friends back then. Well, Kenny's not in the wrong here because he's always been like a brother to me, but as for the rest of them, they're just going to give me a half-assed apology.

Even though Kyle's going through a rough time with Sam, I'm not going to let it ruin my judgement of him. He always seemed to be the outcast of the group because he wouldn't always follow the fads everyone else was. When every boy in South Park got into the metrosexual thing a long time ago, he never felt comfortable with it. He was accepting of people who accepted gay people. Hell, he ended up coming out as gay in the eighth grade. He was just never comfortable with dressing up and focusing too much on his personal hygiene. As fourth graders, us guys never really cared for our hair, nails, clothes, or anything of that nature.

I sighed as I slammed my forehead onto the desk. Maybe I should just hang out with them tonight. Just for the hell of it. Maybe my parents will be okay with it if I ask nicely.

I dragged myself down the stairs to find my parents sitting next to each other on the couch. They're watching the news about the burning store still. "Based on the camera footage provided, someone had poured gasoline around the parking lot and onto the building, and then set it on fire. No deaths have been reported, but six to eight people have been reported injured. An investigation is being launched to figure out who is responsible for this."

Mom and dad looked up at me with blank faces. "Butters? You're supposed to be in your room. You're grounded, you know." Dad said, his face slowly getting mad. I nodded and dug my hands in my coat pockets. "I know dad. I was just, uh, wondering...if I could hang out with some friends for an hour. They want to talk to me about something." I told him hesitantly.

Dad abruptly stood up from the couch and placed his hands on his hips. Yeah, he's definitely going to yell at me now. I braced myself.

"Is it only for one hour?" He questioned, trying to make eye contact. I looked up at him and nodded. "Yes sir, just one hour is all I need. Then I'll come straight home." I promised. He thought for a minute and looked back at mom. She was nodding her head. "Just let him go. We never see him hang out with friends." She told dad, trying to encourage him to give in.

Dad faced me again and smiled slightly. "Alright Butters. Go ahead. Be home by ten." He told me.

"Ten? I thought I only had an hour." I said, confused.

"No, I'm giving you until ten. But when you get home, it's straight to bed. It's a school night." He said back.

I smiled and walked out the front door to make my way to Stan's house. That's where they're all meeting.

Stan's house wasn't far from me, so it only took a few minutes to get there. I noticed Kyle and Eric going inside as I arrived. They didn't notice me, though.