Disclaimer: Thanks for all the reviews, guys. I really appreciate it- and this is the last time I'll be saying this. I don't own South Park (Foster's and FOP popped into my head first, lol).

Chapter Seven: Can't Break the Cycle

Leopold "Butters" Stotch wandered the streets of South Park and bypassed Kenny McCormick's house several times. The latest argument rang in his head and try as he might, he could not suppress his exhilaration at his first act of open defiance. No matter how many times he told himself it was wrong and his parents knew better, the little voice snickered and told him he was wrong. That was the same voice who told him how he really felt about his parents and not to let anyone push him around. To anyone who remembered the adolescent at age eight, the voice displayed itself prominently as Professor Chaos.

It was indeed chilly outside, but to his calloused state, it was no colder than usual. He pressed his hands into his jacket and halted, standing in front of the electronics store. Televisions blared, their synthetic lights illuminating the otherwise darkened street. None of them held his interest for longer than a second and he quickly strode away.

In the fifteen minutes he'd spent on his own, the anger had started to dissipate and was swiftly replaced by apprehension. What if his parents refused to let him back in because of what he'd done? What if they really did keep him from seeing Kenny? Stranger things had happened. What was he going to do then?

"I really screwed this one up, didn't I?" Butters inquired of his reflection and its pale blue eyes stared morosely back. He searched his face desperately but it yielded no answers. Scrutinizing it didn't even explain Kenny's interest in him. His heart sank to the bottom of his stomach and he envisioned acid tearing it apart to its basest elements. Liquid would sizzle along its outermost edge and the result would eat away at it rapidly. The mental image and sensation hardly pleased him, but Professor Chaos shut up momentarily, satisfied.

He wondered if Kenny was getting worried about him. He hadn't called him or explained where he was. Then again, Kenny probably habitually ran off. His parents never noticed if he was in the house. His parents didn't flip out over the slightest thing.

Professor Chaos piped up again, informing him his parents were too irate to fret over his safety. Butters attempted to refute him and cited the whole Casa Bonita mess when he was eight as an example, but his words rang with a dull truth. Since he was eight, his parents had started getting more and more overprotective purposelessly. He knew (though never acknowledged) that their personal situations were beyond their control and he was the only thing they could smack down.

What were they going to do if he dug in his heels and held his ground? Would they shout? Would they ground him? What good was grounding when he had Kenny to break him out? Delirium nearly choked him- he was beyond their powers. He didn't have to listen to them if he so chose. He could tell them off, get grounded, and then slip out. It was perfect.

His ramblings and wandering feet carried him to Kenny's house where the blond boy sat on his stoop. Inside, drifting through the air by a half ajar door, his parents argued. To his astonishment, no smile decorated his face. In fact, abject misery usually only experienced by Butters slammed down on his shoulders like a death notice. (And they knew he'd received enough of those before he stopped dying once a week).

"Your parents are in there," Kenny informed him coldly, tone clipped. He placed a hand on his shoulder as the other boy approached but as a pot slammed on the countertop, he thought better. Instead, he gazed at him mournfully and whispered a cryptic comment before shoving him onto the battlefield.

"I'm not allowed to touch you anymore."

…

Wendy awoke in the middle of the night with a weight against her shoulder and arms firmly wrapped around her waist. The clock read twelve thirty, its red numbers deceptive in the dark living room. Somehow, she questioned its accuracy. Everything felt older and time escaped her. Perhaps someone had accidentally tripped the circuit breaker and reset it to their convenience.

"Wendy…" a voice murmured in its sleep and she charily switched on the lamp to illuminate the scene. Childishly, Cartman had wrapped himself around her and his breathing came regular and even. A blush spread across her face and she blanked out on the last few hours. How had he gotten here in the first place? What had possessed her to let him in? Didn't she know his reputation?

"I hate you, Stan…"

The truth and reality of the situation crashed down on her and she winced, switching off the light. In the face of everything, she'd rather lie in darkness. She didn't need a visual assault on top of a mental overload. And he felt rather pleasant pressed against her…

She swallowed hard, neatly arranging the past few events. Then she frowned, listening to his dream accusations. From what she understood to be true (and that might be skewed, considering its source), he had reason to despise the raven haired boy. In the morning, when Cartman wasn't her blanket, she'd investigate further. Right now, she wanted to sleep.

Moreover, she wanted to sleep…with him like this. Her heart skipped several beats. Was she taking advantage of the situation? He was vulnerable, adorable, and dependant on her. Lamentably, he was bound to be his old, obnoxious self in a few hours, but she relished this change. Was it wrong to like him like this? Probably. Was she going to repent? Probably not.

"Dunno what I'm supposed to do…" he murmured, sleep accented. He cradled her closer and exhaled on her chest. Heat rushed to her face and she smiled weakly, grateful he was asleep. Any other time and this would be a veritable nightmare.

Unfortunately, she shared his sentiments. Come morning, she hadn't the faintest clue what she was supposed to do.

…

Ike lounged on the couch and barely blinked when Stan and Kyle came in, regardless of their clutched hands. In fact, he yawned when his older brother told him they were going upstairs and nodded, not paying the slightest attention. If someone had told him they were going to have sex, he would have shrugged. It didn't surprise him too much. As the younger genius, he had the enviable position of reading people well and figuring out their feelings, occasionally ere they had the chance to apprise themselves. He was objective…but rarely divulged. That was why he wasn't ostracized amongst Kyle's friends yet.

He sighed, aware he had no love interests of his own. Ah, well. He'd occupy himself with the Cartman/Stan/Kyle conundrum. If he knew Cartman (and he unfortunately did), he knew the boy wasn't going to take this lying down. He'd strike back eventually. Hopefully, someone would stop him beforehand but they couldn't count on that.

Rolling his eyes at his older sibling's and his friend's antics, he resumed watching TV. Compared to the crap that happened in South Park, reality TV was like a badly scripted live action show.

…

"This is bullshit," Kenny McCormick muttered and stomped off to glare at the piece of paper he'd been handed. Fury burning in his cerulean eyes, he stopped dead to crumple it into a ball and then grind it into confetti. Particles of the restraining order rained down on his orange parka. He flicked open his cigarette lighter and then torched each and every piece. They didn't last terribly long on the snow covered ground, but the scent of burning fire soothed his raging temper temporarily.

"Fucking bullshit!" he roared at the open porch door. Mrs. Stotch stepped out and he flipped her off, though the motion was lost within his mittens. He never wanted to hurt anyone so badly in his life and that included Eric Cartman. If someone ran her over with a SUV right now, he thought he'd die of laughter.

Butters stood by the doorway and his morose eyes flicked towards Kenny and then descended on the ground. His courage had failed him. The argument he'd endured had taken a lot out of the poor kid…and Kenny strongly suspected more physical means of "convincing" had occurred behind closed doors. Swallowing back his rage made him shudder and his fists balled. How dare they touch him. How dare they hurt his Butters!

"You see, Butters? You see why we don't want you to associate with him? He has a filthy mouth and a filthier mind," Mrs. Stotch hissed, wrenching Butters' arm behind his back. He yelped and Kenny stepped closer, his countenance positively terrifying. Were more light to fall upon his face, she'd have stopped certainly. Nothing short of murderous intent contorted his features.

"And he's…he's…" Yet here she fell upon a stumbling block. She hesitated to speak, as though saying it would make it irrevocable. Swallowing hard and choking noises that were incomprehensible, she grunted, shook her head, and yanked him by the arm. Butters, eyes pain filled, glanced back at Kenny and, in that instant, some of Kenny's courage escaped him. But this wasn't a bad thing- because it inexplicably entered his lover instead.

"My boyfriend?" Butters suggested impishly, the corners of his lips twisting up in a semblance of a smile. "The first person I've met in years who doesn't expect me to act like I'm told? The first person who doesn't worry when I'm out late because he knows I'll be fine. The first person who trusts me…and doesn't give a darn if I'm gay."

"You are not gay," Mrs. Stotch snapped, half pleading, half insistent. "I will not have another in the house!"

"Excuse me?" her husband retorted and, in a matter of seconds, the two adults were in the middle of a vicious argument. Kenny smirked, relishing it and then shaking his head firmly, crossed back to Butters. He wrapped his arms around him and they left, caring little for the bickering adults and rules.

…

(Two months later)

Cartman hadn't forgiven Stan and Kyle, but to the outward world, his taunts were the same. However, Wendy knew better. She also knew that Cartman wasn't liable to tell the world half of the things she heard. A week ago, he'd plucked up the balls to ask her out, she'd said yes, and they were now girlfriend and boyfriend. The healing process was finally working out.

Butters' parents always tried to undermine their son's relationship, but nothing worked. Whenever Kenny came around, Butters defied them and left swiftly. Terrified by their sudden lack of control over everything and anything, they were forced to reexamine their own lives.

And Stan and Kyle? Well, let's just say that before now, melting snow this quickly was just what salt did.

…

Fin

8/24/05-10/12/05