The Act of Healing: A South Park Fanfiction

Chapter Two: Boney Fingers

WARNING: This chapter contains mentions of suicide and a small amount of vulgar language. Read with caution.

There were no other cars out that morning, there never was, so Craig had the highway to himself. He took up the space, weaving back and forth across the yellow line, letting the fluid motion and the buzz of the engine rid him of the image of the scar around Kyle's neck. He did his best to stay away from the Jew, having only nightmarish back flashes when he did, but in a community so small, it was impossible to stay away completely. The town was only so big.

Within minutes he was at school, parking in his usual spot and lighting up a cigarette. He felt the stares as he strutted through the doors, but he told himself he didn't notice. A group of freshman girls giggled when he walked by. The senior boys knew better than to approach him, but they sniggered behind his back. Craig focused on the numbers above the rusty lockers doors. Locker 247...locker 247....

Abruptly he felt his shin connect with something solid and before he could stop himself he fell to the floor. The hallway erupted with the sound of scattering books and laughter. Above him a looming figure chuckled deep, familiar grunts that boiled Craig's blood. Slowly the figure bent down, breathing down Craig's neck and bringing goose bumps to his skin. With hot breath and a rough voice he whispered a single word in his ear:

"Fag."

Craig's hands balled into fists in front of him as Carman loped off down the hallway surrounded by his Posse. He waited until the laughter disappeared around a corner before he took a deep breath to compose himself and began to gather his things. He did his best to ignore the stares he knew he was getting.

He reached for a book that had slid a few feet away, his biology book it looked like, but a slender, boney hand beat him to it. Craig didn't need to look up to see who it was.

"Hey, Red," he grunted out as they stood with something close to a smile on his face. She grinned back, tucking a strand of her signature red hair behind her ear. Craig took a moment to observe her with concern. Her collar bones pressed against her pale skin like they were trying to escape. He could see her hipbones through her jeans and daylight through her thighs. Her cheeks and eyes were hollow, framed by thinning, dry hair. And she looked tired, tired as if she had never slept a moment of her life. Clearly she was getting worse, but she smiled at him nonetheless. Craig did his best to smile back.

The two headed down the hallway arm-in-arm, Red's eyebrows furrowing. "I hope you're not letting Cartman get to you," she told her Converse.

Craig shrugged. Cartman he could deal with. It was everyone else that was starting to wear at his resolve. But he figured he had enough people on his side to keep him sane until his graduation, if he ever got to have one. "Have you seen Tweek?" He asked instead.

Red shook her head. "I think his dad might have kept him home to work in the shop today."

Craig's mouth set in a grim line. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. It pissed Craig off that neither of Tweek's parents took their son's education seriously. It was if they only saw him as another employee.

Red waved as they passed a group of eager girls crowded around a blond fixing her mascara. She was very obviously engrossed in a riveting tale of her romantic boyfriend, but she paused and energetically waved back. Craig rolled his eyes at the sheer fakeness of her smile.

"Tell us more, Bebe!" One of the many girls around her squealed. The others nodded and giggled in agreement.

Bebe Stevens was very much enjoying the attention. She always did. Of course, such admiration didn't come easily. She'd worked long and hard, since third grade at least, to become the hottest, most popular girl at in her grade. She'd had plastic surgery done more than once (on the down low of course, nobody liked a Barbie). She spent every cent she could muster on the latest in fashion trends. She even put up with gross Kevin Stoley because he was one of Cartman's buddies and was good boyfriend stock.

Yes, her position of Hottest Sophomore (and now Junior) in school was well earned and she sure as hell wasn't letting it go any time soon.

"Come on Bebe, what happened next?" Heidi Turner sidled up next her with wide eyes and Bebe's stomach turned in disgust at her desperation. You'd think a girl would have some self respect, but all Heidi ever did was suck up to her.

Swallowing her temper, Bebe put on the most embarrassed face she could. "Oh come on guys, the story isn't that interesting..." She trailed off and waited the split second it took before the group jumped in on top of her with a flurry of "of course it is" and "please tell us."

"Oh, alright," she pretended to relent, much to the group's squealing delight. She paused for a dramatic effect, but before she could launch into an exaggerated story of how Kevin didn't-really-save-the-date-but-he-sort-of-did-so-he's-totally-a-knight-in-shinning-armor, she spotted a familiar dark ponytail bobbing down the hallway.

"Oh, hey, sorry gals, but I need to talk to Wendy for a sec," Bebe said almost apologetically and closed her locker with a flourish.

Heidi's face scrunched up with distaste. "What do you want with Wendy?" She spat.

"Maybe she'll tell me where you both get your god-awful shoes, Heidi," Bebe shot back with fraudulent sweetness. Pompously she turned on her heel (making sure her blond curls smacked Heidi in the face) and marched toward the locker Wendy was filling. She could hear the stunned silence behind her and could almost feel the embarrassment radiating off the brunette even from down the hall. That'll teach her to fuck with me, she thought smugly.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Any comments would be greatly appreciated, and I hope you enjoyed it. Please let me know if you did.