South Park: Dragging Me Down

Snapshots

Pip clung to Mysterion like a desperate kitten, tears streaming silently down his paling cheeks. His worried pants generated little puffs in the frigid air as he instinctively pushed himself closer to the hero, trying to soak up his warmth.

"It's okay, Pip." came the soft response.

A fresh wave of tears dribbled down Pip's face and he closed his eyes, resting his forehead on Mysterion's arm.

"I'm sorry..." Pip mouthed. "I just- D-Do you... really like me?" he murmured, needing the reassurance. Having spent his whole life being despised by practically everyone he came across it made things difficult to believe.

"I do, Pip. I really like you. Okay?"

"B-But I stress you out!" he wailed, tears pouring out faster. "I don't want to do that!"

Mysterion steadied him. "We need to get you off the streets. That will reassure me and not stress me as much." he thought for a moment. "Have you tried going to the shelter for the homeless? I know there's one near North Avenue." he asked, trying to be helpful.

Pip nodded and wiped his tears away, "They didn't want me there." he sniffed, "They refused to believe I was homeless because of my cleanliness and smart suit." he explained. "I tried to explain to them but they didn't listen..."

"Oh... So how did you end up here then, if you don't mind me asking?"

Pip hugged himself as he forced his way through the blizzard, eyes pressed shut to avoid snow blindness. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath. It was getting dark so he knew he needed to find somewhere to camp for the night or he'd end up dying of exposure. He rested on the edge of a building for a moment to try and steady his racing heart. At that moment, a rather large gust of wind pushed him over and he fell into the foot of the building alley. He let out a squeak and fell on the hard pavement, grazing his hands.

He looked down the alley and saw darkness. The ground nearest to him looked damp and sodden but not covered with snow which was a good sign. He glanced up to see that the alley was protected by the building ventilation shafts peering over the edge of the two roofs.

Forcing himself to his feet, he lamely walked the length of the alley, using the wall as support. When he reached the bottom he noticed a stack of cardboard boxes piled up against the back wall. He gently lifted the boxes to find they were empty. It wasn't ideal but he figured they'd make some sort of protection against the cold. He sat down inside the largest box and pulled up the flaps, completely covering himself. On sitting there for a few moments, the toll of the day came tumbling down and he hugged his knees with a sob, his panic starting to bubble over.

He wanted to die.

Pip forced the bitter memory to the back of his mind. "I-I just found it and it was available so it seemed perfect for me at the time. I'm kind of... adjusted to it now." he gave a weak smile.

"It's just not fair..." Mysterion muttered. "Why the fuck would your sister do something like that to you?"

Pip shivered at Mysterion's loud tone. "I don't mind living here if it makes her happy." came his calm response.

Mysterion scowled, "Are you kidding me? That's so unfair! You haven't done anything to deserve this!"

"But... I did..." Pip murmured.

Mysterion sighed, softening his voice, "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"I-It's nothing, it's not important." Pip flapped around, trying to avoid the topic altogether. "N-Nothing really happened, we just had a minor disagreement, t-that's all!"