South Park: Dragging Me Down

Demons

As Kenny hugged Pip, he felt something warm and sticky on his friend's arm which seemed to be seeping through his gown. He frowned, pulled his hand away and saw red.

"What the fuck?" Kenny withdrew from Pip's form, wiping the blood on a tissue. "Dude, you're bleeding!"

"Oh, yeah." Pip said guiltily, sitting up. "I fell over on the way here and cut my arm. I didn't think it was that bad."

"Fucking hell." Kenny jumped up and dragged Pip along with him. He took him into the kitchen and searched for a bandage. Pip inquisitively looked around, seeming oblivious to the pain in his upper arm.

"How did you manage that, exactly?" Kenny asked, looking around for a bandage.

Pip shrugged and stiffly moved his arm into his chest so Kenny could see the full extent of the damage. His arm had been sliced open and it was profusely spurting blood.

Kenny groaned. "Stand still. I'm gonna tie a bandage around it." he opened one of the cupboards and pulled out a bandage from one of the medical boxes. "You know, you should've just told me you were hurt."

"I'm sorry, I'm just used- to not doing that."

"I get it. Next time just tell me."

Pip stood as still as a statue as Kenny rolled the bandage around his arm. He watched as his friend wound it up tautly to keep the blood from flowing down his skin. "This will do for now. They can put a new one on you when you go back to the hospital." Kenny said.

"I-I... I'm not going back."

Kenny blinked and turned back to him. "What?"

"I said I'm not going back."

"Why?"

Pip blinked slowly. "I don't want to. I feel much better in myself now so I don't need to go back."

Kenny felt himself growing annoyed. "Pip, you're not fully better yet. You're just saying that because you don't want to risk seeing that woman again."

"I'm fine." Pip repeated, becoming a little annoyed himself.

"No, you're not fine." Kenny dropped a hand on his shoulder. "You're avoiding going back to hospital because she was there. You can't avoid her forever."

"I'm not avoiding her! It's just better for me to stay out of her life. I don't want to cause any more trouble for her."

"Pip, don't say that."

"I don't want to cause any more trouble for... you."

"What are you saying?" Kenny's heart skipped a beat.

"I don't need you."

"Pip, stop this, I know what you're doing."

"I don't need anyone. I'd rather be alone." Pip pushed on.

"Pip, I want to help you!" Kenny insisted.

"Kenneth, I-" Pip turned away from his friend, burying his feelings deep. "I don't need your help. I don't need you..."

"Pip..."

"I just want to be left alone."

Kenny shook his head. "And now you're pushing me away too. I know why you're doing this. I'm not stupid."

Pip trembled, feeling himself cracking. He knew he shouldn't have been pushing Kenny away but seeing the old woman again had reignited his fears of being abandoned, and his defensive mechanism was to push people away to prevent it from happening. His whole life he'd been told he was no good and that he deserved to be alone and in his heart he knew that to be true. He didn't want to corrupt anyone else with his shitty life, even if it meant losing Kenny.