Authors Note: Once again, thank you so much for all of you who took the time to review. :) Glad everyone liked Kyle's "passion" in the last chapter. That's one of the things about him that make him so adorable.

Another week went by and Wendy finally returned to school. As expected, the talk about her had died down some within the last few days. Her friends welcomed her back upon her return. Cartman was suspicious by her absence, and who could blame him?

Wendy sat at her desk with her back straight and stiff. She had refused to look at Cartman all day, or even acknowledge any of his telltale smirks, laughter, and occasional insults. The hurt was still surpassing the anger, and she couldn't afford to let him see her tears. Stan had been her savior, providing her comfort in his smile and voice.

She glanced across the room, now returning the smile he sent her way and wishing to God she was seated next to him instead of Cartman, who occupied the desk just right of her.

Bored of listening to a teacher's lecture, Eric quietly tore a few blank pages out of his notebook. He then folded the papers over a few times and tore them into even smaller pieces. He was clearly up to something. Producing a pen from his pocket, he wrote a quick note out and discreetly passed it over toward Wendy.

She stared down at the piece of paper, unsure whether or not she actually wanted to read what he had to say. Most likely it would be something to upset her again, but being female, curiosity got the better of her, and she found herself reading the note.

Like I said last week, I love you and I'm sorry. The note began. My plan was pretty sweet. It's too bad you had to be the one I used it on.

Her eyes narrowed at the three words he seemed to toss around so casually, "I love you." She clicked her own pen open, purple in ink, and wrote a quick, angry reply.

Cartman accepted the note, read it, and replied again on another scrap of paper.

Your mom, it opened maturely. Sorry if reading this is interrupting you undressing Stan with your eyes. That's why I did it you know.

She turned the paper around, hating herself for being reeled in to communicating with him.

That's why you did what? She wrote back.

The pictures, he responded on another passed note. Now Stan knows what we did. Hell, everyone does. They all think you're a dirty skank for sleeping with the fat bastard. Stan won't touch you now, and no one else will either. You'll never love me like you do him anyway, and I find that unacceptable. So I did something about it.

You're wrong, was all she wrote back.

Cartman was the one now overtaken by curiosity. He looked at her and blinked a few times, thinking of a proper response. He finally wrote back

I doubt it, but why don't we just talk about this after class?

She sucked in a breath for courage and gave him her final answer; Leave me alone.

He smiled and penned yet another reply.

See? You know I'm right. You love Stan and it's never gonna be that way with us, so I killed it.

Unable to control herself any longer, Wendy shot up, slammed the note onto the surface of Cartman's desk and screamed for all to hear. "You're damn right it's never going to be that way with us, because you ruined it! Stop saying you love me and stop saying you're sorry because we both know damn well that neither is true! Just leave me alone!" That said, she burst out the door.

The class all turned their attention toward Cartman. He just shrugged, smirking triumphantly. "Well someone's obviously on her period. Please teacher, do go on."

---

Another week passed, and soon Kyle found himself back inside the therapists office, only this time Stan had joined them. The couple sat on the couch, Stan's arm around Kyle.

"Hey, how long do these things last?" Stan asked.

Kyle shrugged. "An hour."

"Stan," the therapist started "you're here so we can get your opinions on some things. Kyle seems to think you don't care that much about him. What do you think about that?"

Stan pondered this. "Well, sir, I think you're gay. But I also think Kyle's wrong."

Kyle tensed noticeably, wishing Stan wasn't there. He knew this would happen. Stan thought he was wrong about everything.

"Why do you feel that way?" the therapist asked, ignoring the odd insult coming from a homosexual.

"Because he's my friend. I care about him a lot."

Kyle stared down at the floor, hurt beyond words at the answer. "Friend" and "care" was his point exactly. The only relationship they carried outside of that was the bedroom. He shifted uncomfortably, wanting to shove Stan away from him.

"Kyle, do you have anything to say?" the therapist asked. "It might help if you two just talked for a bit."

Kyle twisted his fingers nervously, looking to Stan and back to the therapist. He finally shook his head.

"You're quiet" the therapist observed. "You're usually not this quiet...Stan, what have you done to show Kyle you care?"

"Well, the time he tried to kill himself I was with him the whole time. I helped him through that. And, of course we make love...I tried taking him to prom too, and I tell him I love him. What else am I supposed to do?"

"Only when I'm mad," Kyle finally spoke up, quiet and whispery as it may be.

Stan looked at his partner. "Well, that's usually the time when people need reminders...I could say it more."

"I don't want you to!" Kyle shouted, finally throwing off Stan's arm and making a break for the opposite side of the room, where he crossed his arms and glared out the window.

The therapist interrupted. "Stan, how does it make you feel when Kyle does things like that?"

Stan sighed. "Frustrated, I guess. Like I can't do anything right…"

"Oh, so now you're a liar." Kyle accused, still refusing to turn around.

"How am I a liar?" Stan asked calmly. "You get mad I don't say I love you enough, and then say you don't wanna hear it when I offer to do it more. It makes me feel like I can't do anything right. That's not a lie, that's accurate."

"It's a lie because you think everything I do is wrong. Which means you must think you're always right." Kyle explained, his anger calm though still very much in tact. "I don't want you to say it just because I want you to. I don't want to make love just because I want you to." He finally turned around. "And I don't want you around at all if you're here just because I want you to be."

The therapist made notes, letting them have at it. Stan replied. "Okay, that makes sense. But Kyle, I wouldn't do that stuff just because you want me to. I do it because I want to. And I don't think you're always wrong either."

"You have turned into such a goddamn liar, Stan, and I can't figure out if its from hanging out with Cartman all these years or just that you're too much of a pussy to admit the truth!"

Stan rolled his eyes. "So what are you saying? That any time I agree with you I'm lying, but anytime I disagree, it's because I think I'm always right?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." He hissed. "You just don't want me to try and kill myself again. That's the only reason you came back!" Angry tears welled in his eyes, but it didn't even matter. "It's the only reason you're here right now, not because you want to be with me. And that's what makes you a liar."

"Do you think that's valid?" the therapist asked, letting Kyle sob over in the corner a moment.

"Well obviously I wouldn't want him to kill himself again, but that's not the only reason I'm here. It's like I've told him before, the suicide helped me realize how much he means to me. If everybody else I knew died, I'd get over it. Kyle means too much though. I...I couldn't live without him..." He sighed. "And if I don't say that enough, it's not because I don't feel it...What time is it?"

"12:36" the therapist replied after a glance at his watch.

Stan smiled and reached into his front pocket. He produced a small box with a ribbon around it and approached Kyle. He tapped the red head on the shoulder to make him turn around. Stan held out the box.

"Happy birthday."

Kyle peered down at the box through tear blurred eyes, then up at Stan questioningly.

"It's 12:36 on May 26th," Stan explained. "It's the first actual minute of your birthday." His smile widened and he held out the box even more, wanting his lover to open it.

Kyle accepted it, bewildered he had forgotten his own birthday in the midst of all his emotional issues. He unwrapped it, a mixture of feelings consuming him.

"It's a promise ring." Stan told him, his tone softening. "I know it's not much, but I thought it looked okay. I don't really know how to shop for jewelry, so..."

"So I won't kill myself?" Kyle questioned, eyes locked on the gift as more tears fell.

"So you'll know how I feel," Stan corrected. "Promise rings are kinda like engagement rings, only for people who can't really get married yet. Or ever for us. It lets you know that my heart belongs to you, and you're the one I wanna be with no matter how much we piss each other off sometimes." Stan produced a matching ring, sliding it on his own finger in a show of solidarity.

Kyle squeezed his eyes closed as more sobs wrecked his body, and clung to Stan tightly, still clutching the gift in his hand. "I hate you," His voice quivered. "For making me love you so much that I cry more than a girl on her period."

Stan smiled at the comment and wrapped his arms lovingly around Kyle. "I love you." he reminded Kyle. "I guess you're just gonna have to get used to that." he joked, his tone still soft.

"You wanted Wendy." He cried. "You went back to her, and I ruined it for you. I'm sorry, Stan. I'm so sorry..."

"What are you talking about? You didn't ruin anything. Kyle, you helped me figure out what I wanted. You cleared up my life so much...Wendy's great, but she's not you. She's never gonna be you. I've done things with you I could never do with her, even when I had the chance."

He sniffled, holding Stan tighter. "I'm not second place?"

"He seems to feel he is," the therapist informed Stan.

"Of course not! You're not second place to her or anybody else in my life. Shit, you are my life, Kyle."

He hid his face in the crook of Stan's neck, crying so hard now he shook almost violently.

Stan just held him, enjoying the moment of peace. "I know you won't kill yourself again. You already promised me that and I believe you."

"Are you afraid of me?" He managed to calm himself enough to ask. "Because I get so mad at you?"

"I wouldn't say that...But I know you're still going through some emotional stuff. I mean, that's why you're here. Sometimes, I guess I just feel like I'd be a sucky boyfriend if you got pissed off and I argued. That'd just make it worse. So I back off until you really make me mad and I finally do something about it...I guess that's not good huh?"

"No it's not." the therapist pointed out.

Kyle pulled his face away from Stan, instead resting his chin on his lovers shoulder. "I feel like you don't want me around unless I'm happy." He blinked away more tears. "I can't be happy all the time."

"Dude I know that. I just wanna help you. That's why I'm here."

"Remember Kyle," the therapist said. "Our goal here is not to make you some emotionless zombie. We're trying to reduce your emotional issues as much as possible. Like all people you're bound to get angry or sad or whatever sometimes, and so is Stan here. And when that happens, you two should be able to deal with it appropriately."

"I can... do that." He decided around sniffles. "if Stan can stop ignoring me."

"I think that's a good idea." the therapist agreed. "Look at what you two have already accomplished just by getting your full feelings out. You were hostile before, now you're hugging. I know you're men, but you need to get into this habit."

Stan blinked. "So...So wait...You're saying if Kyle's pissing me off, and I wanna tell him to go fuck himself, I should just say it? Even if it makes him madder?"

The therapist nodded. "It's just crazy enough to work. Expressing your true feelings is better than expressing none at all. This way you both won't hold back and bottle things up, releasing it in unhealthy ways...Wouldn't you agree, Kyle?"

He nodded, finally releasing Stan. "But I'm not going to say how I'm feeling if he's only going to tell me to go fuck myself."

Stan smiled. "Hey, we're pre-engaged. I'll have to get used to us talking about our feelings and shit."

Kyle mirrored the smile. "Yeah, this gay stuff really does work after all."

Stan took Kyle's hand and turned his attention to the therapist. "Can we go now? It's his birthday and everything. We've got parties to get to."

"Sure." The therapist smiled. "I think we've made real progress today. Same time next week Kyle?"

His smiled brightened as his fingers tightened around Stan's. "Same time."

---

The sun began to set on the small town. Over at Starks Pond many frogs were playing freely in the water, some of them the frogs that Wendy and Cartman had saved from dissection.

Wendy sat on a rock, sighing as the seemingly happy animals passed by her. They were lucky; Frogs didn't have problems like humans did. Suddenly, a very large frog caught her attention. A frog that was more floating than swimming. It was the notorious Clyde Frog himself.

"Oh my God, you've got to be kidding me." She spoke to herself.

"Hi!" he said cheerfully as he floated by her, the expression on his face never changing. "Wow, I never thought I'd see you again."

"I never wanted to see you again." She spat.

"Ay! What'd I ever do to you?"

"You ruined my life!" She shot back, irritated the doll sounded so much like Cartman himself. "You're the one who talked me into giving that devious bastard a chance, and look at what he did!"

"It's still not my fault he's an asshole." The frog stopped moving to speak to her, none of his body moving as usual. "I'm sorry though."

She scoffed. "You're a liar, just like he is."

"God dammit, don't make me guilty by association. All I said was he liked you. That was true then, and it still is."

Wendy rolled her eyes. "Oh, he liked me alright. That's not exactly something boys can hide very well when you're getting it on."

"Sure that was part of it, but there was more. I know. I live with him. He still talks about you every night."

"I hardly consider random insults and gloating that I'm a 'ho' as something more. At least not anything more than proof you lied to me when you told me he 'really' likes me."

"Then I guess you won't care to know that he's hurting too. In his mind, you hurt him. That's why he got even. I don't agree with it, but it's what he does. But if you don't wanna hear about his pain, I'll go back to my workout."

She frowned at the words, and spoke out before she could tell herself not to. "How did I hurt him?"

"Whatever you do with Stan. He talks about Stan a lot at home. He's super jealous of your relationship, and he hates that he'll never be that close to you."

Wendy considered this, uneasy about believing him so quickly. "That's a stupid thing to be jealous of. Stan and I are close, but Cartman... I mean, he got as close to me as anyone possibly can, physically and emotionally. He's the one who had to go and destroy that. I guess it didn't mean as much to him as it did to me."

"But did you ever tell him that?" Clyde Frog questioned. "Or were you too busy not trusting him to open up before he acted stupid?"

"Of course I-" She cut herself off, everything from that night rushing back in a millisecond. "I... never told him I loved him." She remembered. "Not even afterward; I just- just fell asleep."

"But you still say you love Stan." Clyde Frog added. "And that's after he's broken your heart, what, two or three times?"

"It's easy to say I love Stan because he's easy to trust." She admitted. "I can say it without something like this happening. If I said it to Cartman... he would find a way to use it against me."

"Maybe he would," the frog admitted. "But you aren't gonna know because you never said it. Not to him. He liked you and you liked someone else better. That shit hurts, even with people like Eric Cartman."

"I do know, because I showed him I loved him and he used that against me." She sighed, leaning her chin in her palm. "And I didn't like Stan better. Stan is just a friend. Cartman was... my heart."

"But he didn't know that. Any of it...Besides, he couldn't have planned the whole thing. What if you didn't fall asleep?"

"I... don't know." She admitted. "But that doesn't add up. Why would he decide to humiliate me after I fell asleep? It's not like I did something there to hurt him. It had to have been planned beforehand."

"It was instinct. If you didn't fall asleep, he couldn't have taken the pictures. I'm sure he would've done something to you anyway, but I think the sex was still genuine."

"I hope that's not supposed to make me feel better." She glowered. "You said he talks about me. What does he say?"

"Lots of stuff. Today he said what happened in class. He thinks you'll never talk to him again."

"For once; he thinks right. I guess he's pretty happy with himself."

"It's a hollow victory." the frog admitted on Eric's behalf. "You're still close with Stan, and nothing he does is going to change that. He'd be happier if you told him all the stuff you're telling me."

She shook her head. "He doesn't need to be any happier. He was smiling all damn day. I'm the one who needs cheering up and it suits me just fine not talking to him."

"So what would cheer you up?" he asked curiously.

Her anger evaporated, and she was surprised at the question. "It would cheer me up if he just... stopped. No more insults, no more note passing, no more smirks. He had his fun, now I just want to be left alone. It kills me just to see him, but to hear him mocking me for loving him is just too much. I don't want to end up like Kyle."

"Maybe he would stop if he knew the person he was hurting actually cared...I have to get back to my swim. It was nice seeing you again. You're both really nice people, so whatever you do is fine with me. Either way I'd love for him to stop going on about all this so I can leave."

"So you can leave?" She parroted. "Leave where?"

"Him. You see, it's my job to bring happiness. Usually I help children, but well, Eric never got happy like most kids, so I stayed with him. Haven't you ever wondered why he carries around a doll at his age?"

"Well, because he's Cartman."

"Well, yeah...Once he's happy, he won't need me anymore."

"He seems pretty happy if you ask me." She insisted, eyes searching the water. "Thank you for... just thank you."

"You're welcome. It's what I do." He began moving again, though not on his own.

---

The next day at school the super-committed gay couple were showing off their new promise rings to anyone with vision. They truly were here and queer, minus the giant parade. They joined their usual friends at lunch, though Cartman was less than pleased to see them.

"Will you fags give it a rest already? Christ, get a room."

"We will later." Kyle assured merrily, twisting a finger across his new ring. "You wouldn't be able to shut up either, if you had a kick-ass ring from your hot as hell lover."

Stan placed an arm around Kyle. "H'yeah really…"

"That's fahn. Wear your stupid rings. It's not like they really count. You assholes can never get married, never have kids, or any of the kewl stuff real people do."

"It does so count!" Kyle argued back, never quite able to rid himself of his childish bickering. "Instead of getting a piece of paper saying we're married, I have something really cool I can have with me all the time, a reminder that Stan loves me and only me. You're one to talk anyway, fat boy, you don't even have that!"

"Yeah!" Stan agreed. "At the rate you're going, you'll never get married anyway."

Cartman glared at the black haired boy. It's true what they say; The truth hurts. "You know what Stan? Kiss my ass. You like asses. Get on your knees and kiss my ass, fag!"

"Not even a fag would wanna kiss your ass, Cartman!" Kyle was the first to retort.

"Jew, shouldn't you be off crying in a corner somewhere?"

"For your information, Kyle's doing a lot better. No thanks to you." Stan kissed his partner on the mouth, both to be randomly affectionate and hopefully disgust their fat friend.

Kyle smiled into it before deepening the kiss and smoothing his hands down Stan's back, hoping for a bonus of Cartman either leaving or puking his guts out from pure mortification.

Eric glared angrily at them. Inside he wished he could share those dumb little romantic moments sometimes, only with a girl of course. Ah hell, who was he kidding? He knew who he wanted to share those moments with. But it was probably too late now. Not wanting to watch two guys make out, he turned his attention to Kenny.

"So how are you?"

Kenny's eyes were wide with interest, not even attempting to blink as he watched the action across from him. "Damn, I'm fuckin' great right now, dude."

Cartman slammed his fist down on the table. "That does it! Screw you guys, I'm going home!"

"No you're not." Kenny shook his head. "You always say that, but you hardly ever leave. Besides, you haven't eaten yet."

"...God dammit..." Cartman reluctantly sat back down, drawing laughs from the queers across the table.

"What's wrong, you want me to get you a promise ring?" Kenny teased, coasting his hand up Cartman's sleeve.

Cartman batted the offending hand away. "You know what? I hope you all die! Just die in a fire. That'd be sweet."

"Been there, done that." Kenny shrugged it off.

"What the hell is your problem, anyway?" Kyle chimed in. "You're usually an asshole, but today you've been like, Barbara Streisand bitchy. You got sand in your vagina or something?"

"I'm fine!" Cartman responded quickly. "I'm just sick of all this love shit."

"Sick or jealous?" Stan questioned before feeding a grape to his lover.

"He's jealous." Kenny spoke up. "We're all getting screwed regularly, and he wont get laid again until at least after college."

Cartman sighed in frustration. "It's about a lot more than sex, dickhead."

Stan shrugged, continuing to share food with Kyle. "You've got no one to blame but yourself, dude. You had Wendy and you screwed it up."

"Yeah, thanks to you!"

"Cartman, look at me!! I'm not a fucking threat to you or anybody's girlfriend!"

"Yeah, Stan hasn't done anything to fuck things up for you! He's been too busy trying to deal with my bitchiness, which is your fault in the first place! So if that somehow screwed things up for you, you've still got no one to blame but yourself!" Kyle pointed out.

"Whoa, you guys should be on Jerry Springer." Kenny declared.

Cartman scoffed. "Yeah Kyle, like I'm the only reason you're a little bitch. You'll be whining about something else by tomorrow."

"No he won't." Stan answered for his mate. "As long as I'm around, I'm gonna make sure he's happy as much as possible. And I'm gonna be around a long time." Stan joined his hand with Kyle's, once again showing off the eternal symbolism of the rings.

"Maybe you're the one who needs the therapy now." Kyle recommended, unconsciously leaning into Stan. "You're pretty fucked up in the head."

Cartman stood from the table. "I've lost my appetite." He simply walked off, tired of seeing the great things he couldn't have.

---

He couldn't take it. He had to see her just one more time. It would probably be the last time. He'd already gotten what he'd expected to be their last kiss, and their first and last lovemaking memory. Now it was time to give her one last good memory before they went back to square one, or so Cartman expected. As the rain poured down on his already soaked body, he knocked at Wendy's front door.

Wendy stared at the door from her spot on the couch, not feeling up to any company at the moment. With a reluctant sigh, she uncurled herself from the blanket keeping her warm and opened the door. She felt her heart stop and then plummet at seeing Cartman there, but managed to keep a cool front.

"I told you to leave me alone, Cartman."

He looked downward, putting his hands behind his back nervously. "I know, but I have to say some stuff. Can I come in? I swear this is the last time you have to talk to me."

"I don't have to do anything." She reminded him crossly, deciding to give in anyway. "Empty your pockets. I don't want any microphones, recorders, cameras, or anything in that family in here."

Cartman sighed, doing as she requested. He couldn't blame her for not trusting him. He was clean. He spoke again, still outside her house as the rain hit him.

"I was thinking about what I did and...Well, if the guys at school keep giving you shit over it, you can tell them I drugged you if you want. They'll buy it coming from me." He frowned.

"Fortunately for me, I've only had a problem with a handful of them. Everyone thinks you're the asshole." She rolled her eyes angrily as she stepped inside. "Come inside before you get sick."

"Thanks," he said as he headed inside and removed his dripping hat. "Anyway, they're right. I am an asshole. I always have been. Heh. Come on, you know that."

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, as if to say, "I never denied it."

"So you wanna hit me?" he asked casually. "You probably hate me now. I know you wanna do something."

"What I want is to go back in time and stop myself from ever associating with you." She took his hat from him, opening the door to wring it out before handing it back to him. "Since that's impossible, I just want you to leave me alone. Okay? I don't want revenge. I would never want anyone to go through the pain you put me through; not even you. You can't break me down any more than you have. So please, find a new victim."

He pouted, tears very slowly building in his eyes. "I...I'm not trying to break you down. Please, just do something okay? Hit me. Claw my face. Do something! Please? You'll...you'll feel better..."

He turned his back to the girl, whimpering ever so slightly and trying to hide it. "I...I can't leave you alone if you don't...You have to make me hate you. I'm giving you a chance to hurt me, so just do it all right?!" The tears finally started to fall.

Her eyebrows knit in concern at his outburst. "Are you... crying?" She asked incredulously, unable to stop herself from reaching a hand out to touch his shoulder.

"I...I just have something in my eye..." he answered, obviously lying yet again. He wiped his eyes as quickly as possible, wanting to maintain some level of masculinity. "Dammit Wendy, I don't wanna love you anymore! It hurts too much. Please...I-I'm saying I'll let you hurt me...Please..." he pleaded pathetically.

Her mouth opened in surprise. Was this another trick, or was Clyde Frog telling the truth?

"I want to hurt you." She confessed. "I want to make you feel every ounce of misery you put me through." She put her head down, closing her eyes. "But as much as I want to, I don't want to. You drained me, Cartman. I don't have anything left to fight with."

Cartman sighed deeply, turning around to face her. He composed himself and spoke again.

"Well then we're screwed...Wendy, I can't stop loving you if you don't make me. If you really want me to leave you alone, you're gonna have to give me a reason...You probably just think I'm lying again, but I'm not. I can't stop this. I want to, but I can't. I can't stop thinking about you. I can't stop getting jealous...I-I just want it to end, and I can't make it by myself. I can't stop loving you and it fucking sucks! How the hell can you not hurt me anyway?! I'd hurt me! What the fuck?"

"Because you don't hurt the people you love!" She finally shouted back, the anger feeling good rushing through her blood. "When you love someone, you can't turn it off and on at will! You just love them, and why would anyone want to hurt someone they love? How the hell could you say you love me and then hurt me that way?!" She countered, her own tears beginning to sting at her eyes.

"Because you were hurting me!" he shot back. "I saw how close you were with Stan. I heard you say you loved him. I didn't want that! I didn't want you that close with anybody but me! I got jealous, I got hurt, so I did it!"

He took a moment to fight back more tears, though he could certainly tell Wendy was now crying. He removed his coat, and cautiously offered her a dry shoulder to cry on. His tone softened and he continued.

"...I don't want to hurt anymore...And...And I don't want you to hurt either...I thought if I came here that you'd kick my ass, you'd feel better, and I'd stop feeling how I do...Then we could both move on you know? ...But obviously that's not gonna happen, so I guess we're fucked."

She grit her teeth, feeling herself tense up at his words. She passed up his comforting gesture, instead grabbing the front of his shirt and shoving him violently against the wall, the tears heavier. "Is that what you want? Is this what will make you feel better?!" She screamed, cracking her palm against his cheek. "Is that better?! Did all your feelings just go away?! Do you feel fucking happy now Cartman?!" She jammed her fists into his chest several time. "Because I sure as hell don't!"

Cartman groaned, just holding still and taking the deserved abuse. He could've hit her back. In fact, in a true fight he was certain he would've beaten the hell out of her. But that wasn't going to happen. Like Wendy, he hurt too much to fight both emotionally and physically.

Sadly, she was right. He didn't feel better at all.

She gave him one last shove against the wall before breaking away. "Now you got what you wanted! So go ahead and leave! Maybe you can move on, but I can't! Go gloat about it, now you're free to move on!"

Eric clutched the back of his head, falling to the living room floor in defeat. "I don't want to move on!" he finally answered her. "That's the problem! I want to be with you, but I obviously can't have that. So what the fuck am I supposed to do?"

"You had me!" She argued, not bothering to help him up. "I was so in love with you! I let you get as close to me as physically and emotionally possible! You couldn't have wanted to be with me too badly, because you had absolutely no problem shattering not only what we had going, but my heart and my trust in you!"

Eric listened to her words. They all registered, but a few stuck out especially in his mind. He staggered to his feet, leaning against her wall for support a moment before replying.

"...You really think it was that easy for me, don't you? You think I liked giving you up? The first girl that I ever said I loved? The one who took my virginity? Oh yeah, it was lots of fun Wendy! God, it's called a front! That's what I do! People like Kyle cry like pussies, I hide it! I hide how I feel! ...Only you got me to say it. You got me to say I love you, which is more than I've said to a lot of people. It's more than you ever said to me...You know, you're gonna get over this no matter how hurt you are now. You're gonna move on and find some other guy, and it's gonna kill me to see you with him. Me? I'm gonna be lonely forever. I'm never gonna get married or have kids. I'm never even gonna have those lame ass promise rings like Stan and Kyle...And you actually think I liked giving up my only shot at being happy? Sure, believe what you want..."

He headed for the door.

"...I have nothing to lose right now. I can tell you exactly what I think and not feel bad, because I know when I leave here that's it for us...I love you, and I can't stop. That's the truth whether you believe it or not...I wanted you kept away from every other guy at school. That's how bad I wanted you...Maybe I didn't express it right, but what the hell do I know about love? ...Anyway, I'll go now...I'm sorry I hurt you... That's the truth."

"But I don't want you to go!" She protested. "I wont move on, I'll sit here and cry my eyes out like I have every other night since this happened! You don't think I'll ever stop loving Stan? Than what makes you think I could ever stop loving you?"

Cartman moved slowly away from the door. He just stared at her, both of them silent for what seemed like forever. "...Y...You really love me?"

She puffed out a breath of relief, thankful he didn't slam the door on her words. "I love you more than I'll ever love Stan; I love you in a completely different way. I thought you knew."

Cartman shook his head. "How could I? You never told me before."

"I was too afraid that you would use it against me, or even just laugh at me." She tried wiping tears away unsuccessfully. "And on prom night, I was too caught up in the moment. I was scared that night, Cartman. You were acting funny after we got to Tweek's party, like you were mad at me. I was still too afraid to tell you."

He approached her, sighing as he sorted all this out.

"I guess I can't blame you for that...I've never been a very nice guy...I really don't deserve someone like you, you know."

She reached her hand out toward his cautiously, slowly enveloping it in her own. Her eyes focused on their hands the entire time. "Were you mad at me that night?" She asked quietly. "Was this whole thing planned out?"

He sighed, also staring down at their locked hands as he spoke quietly. "I...I was mad..." he admitted. "But it wasn't like that. I swear...Wendy, I've wanted you for a while...I still do...I mean, you're hot."

A slight grin curved her lips, but died instantly. "Was it something I said, or something I did? I know why you did what you did, but I want to know when you decided to. What exactly happened that drove you to that point?"

He blinked at her a few times, and scratched his head in confusion. Why the hell did women like to talk like this? He decided to answer her though. They were both obviously on an honesty kick at the moment anyway.

"When I saw you dancing with Stan, I knew I wanted to do something...I was jealous...I didn't know what I was gonna do exactly until after you fell asleep...I found a camera and it just clicked in my head...But I did want you, and I was gonna try something anyway...It wasn't your fault, a-and I'm sorry if I like totally ruined your first time now."

She released his hand and abruptly clung to him, not even giving him a chance to reject it. "Our second time can be better." She whispered.

He grinned widely, not wanting to turn down the invitation for a number of reasons. He clung back against the girl, hugging her tightly and not wanting to stop. Tears again began to fall, but these were ones of joy. "Love is so fucked up." he commented.

"It doesn't have to be anymore." She nuzzled her nose in his neck, trying to keep her own tears from falling again. She froze suddenly, "Are you tricking me again?"

"I'm not." he said. "I promise...I love you, and I wanna be with you...Forever."

She hugged him tightly. "I love you, too." Wendy didn't make the mistake of waiting to say that again. She pulled back just enough to gaze at him, and let her lips melt against his.

Eric gladly returned the kiss, his tears already drying on his face. He liked this a lot more than fighting with Wendy. He continued to hold her close, not breaking their embrace until he was forced to breathe through his mouth again. He placed his hands on her shoulders, gently moving her down on the couch. "Think you can teach me to be less of an asshole?" he questioned as he mounted the girl.

"If you can teach me to be less of a hippie." She smiled back.

Cartman smiled and brought his lips to hers yet again. "We'll learn together."

As the couple began to kiss more heavily, a figure watched on through the window from outside Wendy's house. It was Clyde Frog.

"He's finally happy..."

For the first time the doll moved on his own, hopping away to find someone else that needed him.

---

The End.