NOTES:
- Another short chapter, BUT TRUST ME IT'S WORTH IT.
Heidi walks up to the goth kids who are all standing out at their normal spot behind the school. They're not doing anything much but just hanging out, smoking, as they usually do so it doesn't really seem to be a special occasion.
Pete is just leaning against the wall, smoking and looking all bored and angsty. Firkle is doing his usual thing of staring into space with a blank expression, Michael is sitting with his headphones on and Henrietta is reading a book. Heidi walks over to them and they all look up at her from her unexpected arrival.
Heidi just starts to burst into tears, leaning against a wall and sitting down. She was done holding her feelings in, the goths would understand!
"I can't fucking do this..."
All of the goth kids stare at each other in surprise. They weren't exactly known for showing empathy or emotionality and most didn't even really know her that well. They wait for a moment, unsure of what to say or do.
Henrietta, one of the only ones who were good at comfort, gets up and goes over to Heidi, looking concerned.
"Are you okay, what happened?"
"The other girls are complete assholes. What's even worse is Nichole doesn't even give a shit. And I still have yet to break up with Eric...! i haven't seen him all day!"
Heidi sniffs.
Henrietta thinks for a moment and then sits down next to her and puts her arm around her. "Well, that's a pretty bad day."
The goth boys seem surprised and slightly uncomfortable to see her showing a lot of emotion. Firkle seems puzzled. "Are you going to break up with Cartman?"
Heidi leans up next to Henrietta, hugging her tightly.
"Definitely. It's a matter if I can even find him..."
They look at Heidi expectantly but none of them say anything. She's crying and leaning against Henrietta and the other girls are too stunned to respond. After a few tense moments Bebe is the first one to speak.
Bebe lets out a sigh and pulls a tissue out of her pocket. "Come on, we don't want anyone else seeing you like this.."
Annie and Wendy nod their heads in agreement. Nichole also looks somewhat concerned, although her expression is less sympathetic than the others.
"Why the fuck do you guys care?"
Heidi just leans up to Henrietta more, looking around at Michael, Firkle, and Pete as well.
Bebe looks at her a with a little frustration. "Well we might not talk about it, but we're not completely heartless."
Wendy rolls her eyes. "Yeah, we're here for you."
Nichole looks irritated at her comment. "Whatever, we're just worried about you."
"I don't know about the other girls, but I know damn well Nichole, you couldn't care less. Same with Red, she's not even fucking here! Why the fuck do you have to be such a people pleaser Nichole?"
Heidi scowls, leaning more into Henrietta's hug.
Nichole looks hurt and tears up slightly at the accusation. "That's not true, and maybe she's just not here right now. I'm sorry about Red, if you want me to I'll go find her and convince her to come and talk to you."
"I don't fucking care about Red right now! I'm talking about you Nichole! Why do you have to be such an ass?!" Tears stream down Heidi's face.
Nichole sighs and wipes away her own tears. "Fine, I'm an ass. Happy? I don't know why I bother, you'll always be mad at me no matter what I do..."
"See! You don't care! All you want is popularity so you resort to people pleasing for it! I'm fucking sick of it!" Heidi gets up from Henrietta's grasp, looking angrily at her with tears streaming down her face.
Nichole is devastated by the sudden hostility from her friend. She looks hurt too, tears running down her face and her voice quivering. "I can see you're mad and I'm sorry! But why are you doing this? We were supposed to have each other's backs! We're suppose to be friends!"
"BECAUSE I'M FUCKING HURT! EVERY DAY I'M EITHER PUT DOWN BY YOU GUYS OR MY OWN FUCKING BOYFRIEND! I'VE BEEN MANIPULATED AND GUILT TRIPPED BY THE PEOPLE I LOVE SINCE 4TH GRADE AND I'M STARTING TO GET FUCKING SICK OF IT! WHAT DID I FUCKING DO TO DESERVE THIS? THE GOTHS ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO SEEM TO GENUINELY CARE ABOUT ME IN A WAY THAT DOESN'T INVOLVE POPULARITY AND MANIPULATION!"
Heidi's legs buckle and she crumples into a ball.
The girls look over in surprise at her outburst. Nichole's face looks shocked and she seems at a complete loss for words. She is stunned into a moment of silence by the sudden outpouring of pain she has caused by her thoughtlessness. She walks over to Heidi and starts to hug her. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea you were this hurt. I didn't even realize I was making you feel that bad. I'm so stupid!"
"Finally you acknowledge it..." Heidi hugs Nichole back.
Cartman stumbles forward, having overheard the conversation and he looks absolutely furious. "What the fuck are you saying about me?"
Shit.
