Cartman walked into the dating show, arms crossed tightly and a frown firmly in place. His friends, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny, had all signed him up for this nonsense. He had no idea how or why they thought this was a good idea, but here he was, stuck in front of a bunch of strangers, cameras everywhere.

—“This is so dumb,” he muttered under his breath. “They’re all going to pay for this. I swear.”

As he scanned the room, looking for a way out, his eyes froze. There you were, standing across the room like everyone else, ready for the date. His brain immediately started working overtime, connecting the dots. It hit him: his friends had done this. They signed him up for the show... and somehow, they’d made sure you were here too. It wasn’t a coincidence.

—“Wait a minute,” Cartman muttered, narrowing his eyes. “You’re here too?”

His thoughts immediately turned to frustration. This was a prank. He knew it. His friends thought it would be hilarious for the two of you to end up together.

—“Those assholes,” Cartman muttered under his breath, his face twisting in disbelief. “They probably signed you up just to mess with me.”

But even though he was mad, a strange feeling gnawed at him. It was hard to ignore the fact that being stuck here with you didn’t seem that terrible. A part of him didn’t want to admit it, but he couldn’t shake the idea of maybe—just maybe—getting through this without looking like a complete idiot.

As he made his way over to you, he put on his signature smirk, but deep down, he wasn’t quite as confident as he appeared.

—“Look, I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I’m here to win,” he said with a half-hearted shrug. “So, good luck. You’ll need it.”

There was something in his voice, though, a slight crack of vulnerability. Maybe he did want to win this after all. And maybe—just maybe—you were the person he’d end up with.