Archive of Our Own

It was just a regular morning at South Park Elementary, Kenny hopped out of the school bus along with the other school kids and his friends, Stan, Kyle, and Cartman. He went inside the building and headed straight for his locker, grabbing his school books needed for the day. Just then, a familiar voice came up to him.

‘Oh, h-hey Ken!’ Butters greeting him.

Kenny looked at Butters and noticed something wasn’t right about him… Butters looked very high-strung and nervous, much more than usual.

‘Hey Butters, is there something wrong?’ He asked, his voice muffled by his parka.

‘Oh, n-not much, just my parents grounding me last night, as usual…’

Kenny was well aware of the Stotches always grounding Butters, but this time something didn’t feel right about their punishment towards their son…

‘Ground you? What for?’

‘Well… For hanging out with you.’

‘Me? What did I do?!’

‘I-I don’t know, but it’s not your fault, Kenny…’

There was something about Butters’s answer that didn't sit right with him. Kenny suddenly eyed a bruise located on his shoulder and pointed at it.

‘Butters, where did you get that bruise?’

‘Oh, w-what bruise?’ Butters answered as he tried to hide it by pulling up his sweater’s collar

‘Butters, don’t hide it from me…’

‘I-It’s alright, Ken…’

‘It’s not alright. Let me see your bruises.’

‘No, Ken, you don’t need to!’

‘Butters, let me see what your parents did to you!’

‘No, Kenny! I insist!’

Kenny dragged him into the boys’ bathroom, took his sweater and shirt off and saw how much damage the Stotches did, with Butters’ back all peppered in various bruises. Kenny proceeded to wipe his face off with some tissue, revealing a black eye and various other bruises on his face that were concealed by makeup. He was completely flabbergasted at what he had witnessed in front of his eyes.

‘Butters…’

‘I’m sorry you had to see all that, Ken…’

‘No need to be sorry, Butters…’ Kenny sighed in defeat. ‘Tell you what, come stay over at my place for the night. I’ll get the cops to handle them.’

‘Oh, a-are you sure, Ken?’

‘I insist.’

Suddenly the school bell rang, indicating that they had to be in class.

‘We’ll talk more later after lunch. We better get to class.’

‘Oh, a-alright, Ken…’

Kenny helped Butters put his clothes back on and held his hand as they went into Mr Garrison’s class together to start the day.

~~~

Recess came and everyone immediately headed to the cafeteria to get their lunches. The main boys were no exception, and after they grabbed their lunch, they gathered around their usual benches and tables.

‘Hey Kenny, hey Butters.’ Stan greeted them both, who were sitting side-by-side opposite him.

‘Butters, what happened to you?’ Kyle wondered as he noticed all the bruises on his face.

‘His parents grounded him and beat him up badly.’ Kenny replied for Butters.

‘Dude, why haven’t you called the cops yet?!’

‘I-I was grounded from using the phone.’ Butters replied.

‘Wow Butters, your parents are such assholes…’ Stan commented as he took a bite from his lunch.

‘I know, Stan…’

‘Hey, does anyone know where Cartman is?’ Kyle asked as he sensed a very eerie silence from their bench.

‘Oh, he’s playing hooky today. I heard that he and his mom are in Nebraska at the moment because she has something to do there but no one can look out for him at home.’ Stan replied to his question.

‘Good, I like it that way. Can’t stand his fat antisemitic ass.’

‘We don’t either, Kyle.’

‘I’m bringing Butters back with me to my house. It’s safer for him.’ Kenny interrupted them.

‘Good thinking, Kenny.’

‘You gotta call the fucking cops on them!’ Kyle added on.

‘We will, guys. I’ll do it once we get home.’ Kenny followed up and held Butters’s hand, reassuring him that things would be ok.

~~~

After school had ended and they finished their jobs at Willy’s Ice Cream Parlor, Kenny, with Karen in tow, followed Butters back to his house and waited for him to get his stuff.

‘Hey Butters, you got what you need?’ He asked while holding onto the ladder.

‘Yeah Ken, I have it all here in my backpack.’

‘Hurry up, your parents are gonna catch us.’

‘Coming!’

Butters quickly grabbed hold of his backpack, slinging it onto his back and went down the ladder.

‘Come, let’s go.’

Kenny linked hands with Butters in one and Karen in the other, and they walked back to the McCormick residence.

‘I’ve never had a sleepover at your house, Kenny.’

‘Well, you will now. Also, if you hear Mom and Dad arguing, pay no mind to them, they’re always like that.’

‘Yeah, they’re always drinking and fighting. Kevin tried to get them to stop multiple times but they never listened.’ Karen added on.

‘Oh… That’s quite sad…’ Butters commented.

They soon cross the railroad and reach the rundown house the McCormicks live in, covered in cracks, chipped paint, and trash. Kenny and Karen walked through the door to the sight of their dad sitting on the sofa, drinking beer in front of the TV.

‘Mom! Dad! Kevin! We’re home!’ Kenny yelled at the top of his lungs, only to be muffled by his parka.

‘Ah, hi Kenny, hi Karen.’ Stuart greeted his kids and then saw Butters was with them. ‘Hey, you’re that Stotch kid…’

‘Indeed I am Mr McCormick. I’m gonna stay for the night with Kenny.’

Stuart noticed the bruises all over his body and asked Butters about it.

‘Well, what’s going on, kid? Something wrong at home?’

‘Oh, it’s nothing, Mr McCormick…’

‘Butters’s parents punished him by physically abusing him.’ Kenny spoke up about it.

‘They WHAT?!’ He shouted in shock, the sheer force of his anger crushing the beer can in his hand.

‘T-They got mad at me for hanging out with Kenny… Dad got really pissed at me, and then…’ Butters started sobbing in fear, breaking down thinking about that night.

‘Don’t cry, Butters…’ Karen tried to soothe him by rubbing his back and giving him a big hug.

‘I knew there was something fishy about that Stotch guy…’ Stuart mumbled under his breath.

‘Stuart, what’s going on?’ The Southern drawl of Carol’s voice filled the air as she and Kevin just arrived home from their jobs at the Olive Garden.

‘The Stotches are out here physically assaulting their boy so he ran to our place for shelter.’

She went up to Butters to examine him from top to bottom, noticing his face, back, and arms covered in bruises.

‘Oh sugar plum…’

‘I’m going over there to confront them about it.’

‘Stuart, don’t you fucking dare turn up to their house and beat the shit out of them. Just call the fucking cops for Christ’s sake! You’re gonna end up in jail after that!’

‘The cops here are fucking useless. This is something I need to handle myself. I grew up with Stephen and worked alongside him, I know what he’s like. The fact he dares to hurt his own fucking kid sickens me.’

‘Stuart, you come back here, you bastard!’

‘Carol, I’m sorry, but I should have done this a long time ago…’

She shook her head in wonder and turned to the children.

‘Kenny, why don’t you go make Butters feel welcome? I’m gonna report the Stotches to the police.’

Kenny nodded and proceeded to bring Butters into his room as Carol picked up the phone and dialled the police station.

‘Oh Kenny, it’s so nice of you to let me sleep over at your place.’ Butters commented as he saw Kevin and Karen enter their room. ‘Besides, it’s nice being surrounded by other people that aren’t your parents. It gets pretty lonely being trapped in your room from being grounded a lot…’

‘The pleasure is mine, Butters.’

Kenny opened the door to his room and led him to his bed.

‘Wow Kenny, you sure have a lot of obscene magazines…’ Butter commented looking around his room.

‘Those are my dad’s actually, but don’t tell him that I scoured his stash.’

‘H-Hey Ken, is it alright if I change my clothes here?’

‘Sure thing, Butters.’

Butters took off his sweater and shirt, his bruises visible in Kenny’s line of sight. He sighed in wonder at how he could tolerate that kind of violence day after day. He looked outside the window, wondering what his dad was going to do to Butters’s dad.

~~~

As the sun went down and night fell, Stuart stormed towards the Stotch household and rapped at the door.

‘Hey! Hey Stotch! Come down here you son of a bitch!’

Stephen headed downstairs and answered the door, only to be greeted by the furious look on Stuart’s face.

‘Oh Stuart, what are you doing here? Have you seen Butters?’

‘Kenny told me that you and Linda physically abused Butters last night.’

He sent a swift punch to Stephen’s jaw, bruising his cheek in the process.

‘That’s no way to reprimand your child! Your only child to boot!’

‘Says the man who drinks his body weight in alcohol.’

Stephen proceeded to punch Stuart square in his face, giving him a black eye.

‘You are a sick, sad man, Stephen… I may be a drunk bastard, but I will never lay a hand on my children in that way!’

‘Why you-!’

Stuart and Stephen get into a major fistfight, covering each other in bruises, bloody noses, and chipped teeth. The ruckus they caused caught the attention of the next-door neighbours, who all went outside to watch the fight go down.

‘How about you mind your damn business on how I raise my child, McCormick!’

‘How about you learn how to treat your own piece of flesh & blood properly?!’

‘What’s happening?’ Linda rushed out the door, only to see her husband get beaten up by Stuart. ‘STEPHEN!!!’

Stuart immediately grabbed her by the collar, confronting her about it.

‘You perpetrator! How the fuck do you live with the fact you physically and emotionally hurt your own child! A person you made yourself!’

‘Stuart… P-Please…’ She begged in mercy as he stared down at her. 

All of a sudden, the cops turn up at the driveway of the Stotches, Officer Barbrady pulling out of the car and taking out his gun.

‘Put your hands above your head where I can see them!’

Stuart let go of Linda and the three of them put their hands up. The police went up to Stephen and Linda, arresting both of them.

‘You’re going to county jail.’ He directed that statement at Stephen, then turned his attention towards Linda. ‘As for you, you’re heading to the mental house.’

‘Mr. McCormick, glad to see you.’ Detective Harris greeted him as he walked up to him, ready to take down notes from bystanders.

‘Sergeant, what’s going on?’

‘The police station received a report from your wife that the Stotches have been physically abusing their son. Now, tell me where the boy is…’

‘He’s at my house for the time being, sheltering from his parents.’

‘We’ve also received reports that both Stephen and Linda Stotch were convicted of child abandonment, attempted murder, and human trafficking.’

‘Good lord, that bad?’

‘Indeed...’ said one of the neighbours. ‘It’s been happening for quite a while, but none of the police would want to intervene. We’re really lucky your wife decided to speak up about it. Linda went insane after Butters told her that Stephen was at that gay spa.’

Another neighbour also spoke up about her.

‘Yeah, she went into a stupor where she painted the walls of her house non-stop and also tried to murder Butters.’

‘My god…’

‘Come McCormick, I’ll take you home.’

Stuart followed Detective Harris into the police car and sat in the back. As the car drove away, he could see Stephen and Linda resisting entering the police car, yelling, but were forced into it by the cops in the end.

~~~

Detective Harris soon reached the McCormick residence and pulled up in front. He, along with Stuart, went inside the house. Carol walked out of Karen and Kevin’s room after tucking her in, wondering who was at the door.

‘Good evening Mrs McCormick.’ Harris greeted her.

‘Oh, good evening Sergeant.’

‘Carol, kids, I’m home!’ Stuart followed from behind him.

‘Jesus, Stuart, what in the world happened to you?!’

‘I got into a huge fight with Stephen.’

‘Stuart, please don’t tell me you beat up Linda too.’

‘I didn’t.’

‘Well thank God.’

‘She was sent away to an asylum!’

‘You sent her to the loony house?!’

‘Yes, but she deserved it!’

‘What d’ya mean by that?’

‘I heard from their neighbours that she went crazy after Butters accidentally told her about Stephen going to The White Swallow and tried to kill him.’

‘I-It’s true…’ Butters walked towards the living room where Kenny’s parents stood. ‘She told me to stay in the car and stay strapped to the seatbelt, and then she got out of the car and walked down the pier, leaving me in the car, and the car sank into the lake.’

‘I remember that story, it went viral at school…’ Kevin added as he peeped out of his room. ‘She lied to the police and said that Butters was kidnapped by a Puerto Rican man…’

‘Oh my god, I’m so sorry that happened to you, Butters…’ Carol bent down to his eye level and hugged him.

‘Mr and Mrs McCormick, I’d like to discuss the outcome of Leopold Stotch if you don’t mind.’

‘Mom? Dad? What’s going on?’ Kenny asked as he walked out of his room, seeing the adults in the living room along with Butters.

‘Sit down, son. This is gonna be a heavy subject.’ Stuart told them as they all sat down on the sofa, ready to listen to what Detective Harris had to say.

‘As you know, Stephen & Linda Stotch have been arrested today.’

‘Mom and Dad were arrested?!’ Butters yelled in shock.

‘Yes, kid. Since you have no other legal guardians here in South Park, you’re gonna have to go to foster care. I can’t guarantee you’ll be able to find a foster parent here in South Park, but the Park County Police Force will do what we can to find you a proper home.’

‘But if I move away… I’m gonna miss school, and miss Kenny as well…’ He tightly hugged Kenny’s arm, fearing ever leaving him. Kenny stroked Butters’s arm, reassuring him that things would be ok, especially since he himself was a foster kid as well.

‘You boys can still keep in touch through texts and emails. I know it won’t be the same, but it’s better than nothing.’ Carol added as she hugged both Butters and Kenny.

‘First thing in the morning, you’ll head to the police station and we’ll let CPS handle everything else, as well as your personal records.’ Detective Harris told the McCormicks and Butters. He stood up from the chair opposite them and headed for the door. ‘I shall take my leave now. Good night McCormicks.’

‘Good night, Sergeant.’ Stuart said goodbye and closed the door, turning his attention to his sons and Butters. ‘Now you boys run along back to bed, we have a big day tomorrow.’

‘Ok, good night Dad, good night Mom.’ Kevin greeted them both as he slithered back in and closed the door.

‘Night Mr and Mrs McCormick.’ Butter greeted them both as he followed Kenny back to his room.

‘Good night, Butters.’ Carol greeted him back as she followed Stuart back to their room.

Butters closed the door to Kenny’s room and climbed into bed with him.

‘Kenny, I’m kinda scared about being in foster care…’

‘Don’t be, Butters…’

‘Will it all be ok?’

Kenny held Butters’s hand and caressed it with his thumb.

‘I’m sure it will.’

‘Hey, Ken?’

‘Yes?’

‘Could I hug you to sleep?’

‘Of course, Butters. Anything for you…’

The boys snuggled closer to each other and embraced one another in each others’ arms, keeping warm in the cool Colorado night, soaking up what could be the last time they’d ever see each other.

~~~

It’s been over two weeks since Butters was given up to the foster care system, Kenny constantly replays the memory of him and his family helping pack up Butters’ stuff from the Stotch residence, bringing it all to the station where the social worker was waiting, and the sad goodbye hug and wave he gave Butters as he was whisked away into the safe room, perhaps never to be seen again. He sighed to himself as he closed the door of his locker, Stan, Kyle, and Eric pulling up towards him just as he did.

‘Hey Kenny, still missing your little boyfriend?’ Eric taunted him.

‘You shut your fucking piehole, fatass.’ Kenny confronted him, shutting him up.

‘How are you feeling?’ Kyle asked him, feeling worried about how Kenny was doing.

‘I miss Butters a lot. I haven’t heard from him since the police station.’

‘Hey, I heard rumours that Strong Woman adopted a kid from foster care, and they’re coming to school today.’ Stan interrupted him.

‘I wonder who that would be…’ Kyle followed Stan’s statement.

All of a sudden, they all heard a very familiar voice greeting them.

‘Hey, fellas!’

Kenny looked up from behind Stan and Kyle and saw it was Butters, and all of his bruises have healed up and virtually disappeared.

‘Hey Butters, how have you been?’ Stan asked him, noticing how much more peppier he is.

‘Oh pretty well, I got tossed around several foster homes before I finally got adopted!’

‘Who adopted you?’

Out of their expectations, they saw Strong Woman walk up to Butters with a paper bag in hand, bending down to his eye level to bring it to him.

‘Here’s your lunch, Butters. Hope you have a good day!’

‘Thanks, Momma!’

‘Momma?’ Stan and Kyle looked at him in wonder.

‘Yeah, PC Principal and Vice Principal Strong Woman fought to have me in their care after they found out about my parents’ arrest, so they’re my new parents now!’

‘Wait, if PC Principal and Strong Woman adopted you, that means you have to live your whole life with the PC Babies. They cry so much!’ Eric complained.

‘They are kinda noisy, but I don’t mind them, it’s nice that I finally get to have siblings and parents that love me!’

Butters held Kenny’s hand and whispered a sweet nothing into his ear, making him blush very hard.

‘And maybe someday, when we’re older, we can have a baby of our own and be loving parents ourselves…’

‘Ooh, Kenny and Butters, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!’ Eric teased them. ‘Ha! That’s sooooo fucking gay!’

‘Shut your fucking mouth, Cartman!’ Kenny yelled at Eric, which made him laugh even harder. He pecked Butters on the cheek and helped him bring his stationary into their first class of the day.

‘I’m so happy I get to see you again, Butters, and I’m glad you now have parents that truly love and care for you…’

‘So am I, Ken. Thank you so much for saving me, you’re my guardian angel…’

Kenny, flattered that he was given the same nickname Karen gave him, put his arm around Butters’s shoulder and kissed him on the forehead.

‘You’re very welcome, Butters… Now let’s hurry up and get to class or else Mr Garrison will send us to detention.’

Kenny, hand-in-hand with Butters, went into their class together, happily embracing his better future for both of them. And so there goes another day in the small town of South Park, Colorado…

---