Waking up to your sister shoving a pillow in your face was never the highlight of anyone's day, but it was basically the common start to Stan Marsh's morning routine. "Hey, Turd! Did you use my toothbrush to clean the toilet, again!?" Shelly seethed through her braces before swinging the pillow down into Stan's face once more. How wonderful.
Swatting her arms away, the younger teen glanced at his alarm clock to discover that he could have slept for another five minutes. Why do siblings have to be so cruel? He groaned and sat up, knowing Shelly would not rest until she got her beloved justice. "No. I did not. Plus, last time you found out it was one of your crappy friends who did that, not me," Stan spat before pushing past her to shove his feet into the slippers his best friend Kyle got him two Christmases ago.
Stan was not really a morning person. No doubt Shelly played a heavy roll in that by finding some reason to be mad at him every morning. Yesterday his dog shat on her carpet, the day before that Kyle showed up just a tad bit too early to walk to the bus stop together, and the day before that Stan apparently ate her last yogurt cup in the fridge. There was no getting along with Shelly and Stan had long stopped trying. He still calls her a she-ogre behind her back just like he had back when he was ten.
It was no surprise that Shelly did not accept Stan's truth. "You had to! None of my friends were over yesterday and even your totally-not-boyfriend Kyle was a no show. It was just you, me, mom, and dad here all day yesterday. Therefore, it was you, Twerp," she insisted, shoving a distraught-looking toothbrush into Stan's face. The bristles were completely flattened and were stained beyond the normal white.
Trying his best to not enter one of their daily fights, Stan cautiously pushed the toothbrush away with disgust. "Shelly, I was up late last night working on my science project. I forgot to brush my own teeth, much less the toilet's teeth," he argued, running a hand through his jostled hair. She stared at him with squinted eyes for just a couple more breathes before heaving in frustration and marching out of his room. With triumph in his chest, he closed the door behind her so he could get changed for another day at school.
He got dressed and threw on the same letterman jacket he had been wearing since freshman year. Admittingly, it was sorta tight around his axials and was a tad short in length for his arms, but he loved the thing. He had considered giving it to Kyle, who stopped growing at the start of Sophomore year and actually fits the ancient jacket, but Stan was just too attached to the darn thing.
Grabbing his project and looping his right arm through one of his bookbag straps, Stan worked his way down stairs to greet his parents. His mother, Sharon Marsh, sat at one end of the table, stabbing some of their farm's lettuce with a fork. You could say despite living there for years, his mother never adjusted to farm life and even hates it. On the other end sat his father, the infamous Randy Marsh who has caused plenty of trouble for their strange town multiple times, pantless and gobbling down an entire turkey leg. He was clearly riding off a late night high, so Stan joined them silently without a word.
Breakfast was always rough. His mother was easily irritable in the morning, so she tried to be as reserved as possible to avoid any farm business, and his father typically was working off a hangover of some sort. Honestly, it did not even bother Stan at this point. He just sat, ate something to comfort his mother, and then left to meet up with Kyle at his front door.
Except Kyle was not at his doorstep today. The first anomaly in Stan's day.
He waited at his door until he could no longer, checking his phone and sending a message to Kyle. At the bus stop, his other friends Kenny and Butters, along with ex-friend, Cartman, waited. Kenny and Butters held their usual conversation where Butters went in-depth about some story, whether his own or something he heard, and Kenny patiently listened with actual interest. Cartman stood looking the opposite direction to avoid contact with them, scrolling on his cell and trying to strike up a conversation with New Kid, the one Stan never learned the name of since they only ever called them Douchebag or Buttlord.
Upon seeing Stan approaching the bus stop, Butters stopped telling a story about Pip and waved, stretching to be on his toes. The scarf around his neck shifted to reveal a warm smile on his face and Kenny quickly fixed the scarf back to its previous position to ensure Butter's stayed warm in the cold Colorado air.
When Stan actually reached the two, Kenny gave a small wave as Butters said, "Hiya, Stan!"
"'Sup Butters, Ken, how has your mornings gone?" Stan inquired, despite knowing exactly what their answers were going to be. Per the usual, Butters chirped a, 'good' in response and Kenny deadpanned with a, 'shit.' Normally, Kyle would be there to give a chivalrous chuckle and add on his own opinion about his morning. "Mine was basically the same," Stan started, "Have you heard from Ky'?"
Butters pulled out his phone to check and Kenny went ahead to point out the obvious, "No. You know if any of us is going to hear from him, it will be you." It was the answer Stan figured he would receive, but he wished he could have a definite answer to where Kyle was.
Stan then looked to Butters as he cut his phone off and pocketed it when the bus rounded the corner. The shorter shook his head. "Gee, sorry Stan, but he didn't contact me. Though, I bet he probably just worked too hard and too late on the project," the younger assured, giving Stan a little pat on the arm.
The bus pulled up, coming to a screeching stop in front of the group. Stan gave a disheartened, "Yeah," as the teens piled onto the bus one-by-one. The ride to school was bleaker than usual. Normally, it sucked, but without his Super Best Friend, it sucked just a little more when the only amusement was watching the scenery pass by as Butters told a different story about New Kid helping complete some video game Butters had been trying to beat. Frankly, Stan did not know how Kenny could put up with being regaled a thousand stories a day.
Arriving at school was both a relief and a dread.
The first thing that happened upon stepping off the bus was Cartman shoving past him and muttering, "Tall ass." It was no secret that Cartman had grown more aggressive and resentful towards the group, Stan specifically, over the years after they all unfriended him. Just like Shelly, Stan learned to ignore that moron. With little faltering, Stan continued on and fell into step with Kenny and Butters, who got off the bus first.
For once Kenny was talking. He pulled down the mask of his parka, so the two could understand him clearly. "I have Garrison today. He's such an ass." Butters gave a sympathetic look, slowly grabbing Kenny's hand to give it a comforting squeeze before letting go.
"Ah, me too. What a bitch," Stan added, scrunching up his nose in distaste. No one liked Mr. Garrison. He was rude, self-centered, and toxic.
Butters and Kenny continued the conversation, but Stan started to focus on the end of the hall where a new poster was taped up. He could not quite read what it said, and waited until the trio neared it before reading it. South Park High was hosting a play. A musical, actually. Cringing at the thought of being ridiculed for taking part in such a thing, Stan watched as Tweek finished signing his name. His boyfriend, Craig stood next to him, on his phone but holding Tweek's available hand.
Though, no one would dare make fun of Tweek because not only would he kick their ass, but so would Craig. Stan on the other hand? He was once "popular", but most of that was just attention Cartman got for his stupid ideas and pranks. Now Stan is just part of the football team, often hidden behind the other teammates' shadows like quarterback Clyde Donovan and Captain Scott Malkinson. Meaning, a perfect target for being pressed for joining a school musical.
The day was rather uneventful, but it was not until lunch that Stan finally saw Kyle. The red-headed latter approached him, wrapping an arm around Stan's neck as he bit into his sandwich. "Stan, my Super Best Friend! How's it hanging?" Kyle cheered as he assumed his seat next to Stan. His sudden arrival surprised Stan and he nearly choked on a PB&J.
"Jesus, Kyle! A warning, please," Stan joked, but a smile was formed on his lips. Though it quickly shifted to a pseudo mad expression. "And where were you this morning? I waited for ten minutes on our stupid porch. If walking all the way down to the farm is difficult, you don't have to."
Kyle gave a confused look before he shook his head, red curls swaying with each movement. "Stan, I told you I joined the Newsletter crew and we meet every Monday morning and Friday afternoon. Remember? We talked about me getting in the football games for free now," he explained, patting Stan's back. It was a habit Kyle had when he was trying to sooth or comfort Stan.
Thinking back to a conversation the pair had last week, Kyle did indeed mention that. "But why didn't you respond to my messages," Stan injected, giving the expression of a hurt puppy. He did not know why being left in the dark bothered him so much today. Sometimes they went days without talking, like over the past weekend.
Kyle laughed, a pleasing warm sound. "My phone broke Saturday at basketball practice. I hadn't gotten the chance to tell you yet." Stan just limply nodded, taking another bite of his sandwich, still somewhat dejected.
As the awesome friend he was, Kyle took notice to the reaction and changed the subject to try and lighten Stan's mood. "Did you hear Kenny asked Butters out today?" the shorter quipped, taking his juice box and stabbing the straw through the hole nonchalantly.
Stan dropped his sandwich and coughed. "Kenny did what!?" The noiret's mouth had fallen agape in shock as his neck snapped to face Kyle directly. "Kenny and Butters? Together? Like for real?" Across the table, Scott and Clyde looked at Stan with a baffled looked before resuming their own conversation.
The red head raised an eyebrow in slight amusement at Stan's reaction before catching him up to date on matters. "You really didn't know? Have you been ignoring the fact that Kenny will listen to that kid talk forever without getting bored? That he's always staring at him at lunch? Or the fact they're always holding hands? Like look," Kyle eluded, pointing at the end of their table where Kenny sat across from Butters, their hands interlocked over the table. Kenny was saying something, not breaking eye contact from Butter's face as the latter ate his lunch.
From the other side of Stan, Jimmy, a long time friend and bandmate, added, "Yeah, Stan. You're l-l-late to the party."
How did Stan not see it before. "So we have another gay couple?" Stan bemused, giving a tiny shrug before picking his sandwich up off the table and fixing its appearance. "Any other news? Maybe Clyde and Tolkien got together?" Clyde perked up at his name, giving Stan a slight glare. It was a joke, of course.
"No, but Tolkien and Wendy have been talking a lot recently. I think he and Nichol broke up again," Kyle replied after setting his juice box down. Another shock. Stan did not say anything due to his conflicting feelings.
Everyone knew Wendy and Stan used to date. They were on and off for a while, but the pair had not talked in like three years. Stan felt like he still liked her deep down and the idea of Tolkien and Wendy walking around together made him feel slightly sick.
Kyle could read Stan's face. The other gave the football player an understanding look as he rubbed his hand in circles on Stan's back. Just then, a glint of purple caught Stan's eyes across the lunch room. Another poster and sign-up sheet for the afterschool musical hung from the wall, and Wendy was signing her name.
Stan straightened with a newfound idea sliding its way into his head. "Look who's signing up for the play!" the taller cheered, a smile appearing across his face, "I'll sign up too! I can talk to Wendy, figure this Tolkien thing out and see if I still like her."
Kyle's smile faded, a frown replacing it. Stan hated when Kyle was upset. The shorter grabbed Stan's forearm to ground him before he could get up and run to sign up. "Stan, you already have football practices and mathletes afterschool. Plus, dating Wendy was not exactly the best time of your life. You two constantly had problems and broke up like eight times," Kyle reminded, noting that none of it really got through to Stan, "Plus, remember you wrote a letter freshman year to her and tore it up and flushed it because it was for the better?"
Stan knew everything his best friend was saying was logical. That he should listen to Kyle's words, but at the same time, he would not know what would happen if he did not try. Wendy was the only person he ever dated. Despite only thinking of her when he saw her, Stan thought maybe there could be something again. They are older now, more mature. Maybe this time it could work out.
So, he shook off Kyle's concerned hand and made his way to the sign up sheet. With a shaky breath, he signed his name right underneath Wendy's. From his left, he heard Cartman call out a high-pitched voice, "Gay!" His groupies laughed at the word as Heidi hit his arm.
"I like gay people," she retorted, giving Stan a reassuring smile. The fact that Heidi was still dating Cartman shocked everyone.
Stan just ignored the group and returned to his seat. Kyle still had a frown on his face, but still offered a supportive pat to Stan's arm. Grabbing ahold of that same hand, the noiret remarked, "We're not really the cool guys... Of the guys at school, we are more the one's who's left out. I just want to make a story of my own."
Kyle did not offer him a smile like he normally would. Though, Stan thought that maybe that was fine because soon he would be able to talk to Wendy for the first time in a while. He just had to believe in himself.