~Kevin P.O.V.~

It was a freezing cold December morning. We're waiting for the school bus. And by we I mean Me, Clyde, Craig, and Token. Only a few more minutes and the bus will be here. Just a little longer...

I glance over at Clyde, who was chatting with Craig about something. He looked... hesitant? About what?

Token was actually listening in; so I suddenly hear "Do it! Do it! Do it!"

'Do it?' Do what?

I would soon find out.

I heard a, "Tada!"

I shuffled closer to see Clyde with his tongue on the Bus Stop pole.

Craig and Token were laughing their asses off.

"You actually did it, haha! You might get that $10 tomorrow!" Craig said while leaning over, holding his side laughing.

"Tomorrow?! What about today?!" Clyde said with his tongue still stuck to the pole. Token turned slightly to see the bus coming our way. Clyde pulled his head from the pole but... Oh god, it wouldn't budge. He pulled with a little more force, but to no avail. His tongue was thourougly stuck on there.

"Guys! Help me!" Clyde said in panic. Craig gave a pull, but it wouldn't budge.

"Get in kids, now!" We all heard Ms. Crab tree loudly yell at us from her place in the drivers seat. Craig gave Clyde a pat on the back.

"Sorry buddy, gotta go, otherwise mom'll kill me! Good luck!" He called from the bus entrance; Token tailing behind him, leaving Clyde a short wave as the two boarded the school bus.

Clyde slumped as he made more of an effort to unstick himself from the icy pole. I glanced over to see Ms. Crabtree staring at me. "Get in kid!" She yelled.

I watched as Clyde's efforts were deemed useless. I'm the only one here so, I've got to help him. Dad might get mad but oh well, school be damned.

"I'm not going today." I say rather bravely to the haggard looking bus driver. She closes the door and drives off.

Clyde finally notices me and his eyebrows rise a bit.

"Did ya stay to help me?"

"Yeah. It doesn't seem like anyone will be coming around here for a while so it's the least I can do."

He looks at me thankfully. He's probably embarrassed though, with his tongue stuck to a pole and all. Though it is pretty hilarious.

"Pfft ha..." I quietly mutter.
He whips his eyes towards me.

"What was that?"

"Ha.. Um, nothing!"

"Oh now don't you laugh too! Come on dude!"

"Pfft hahaha why'd you even do it?"

"Well, Craig said he would give me 10 bucks if I did..."

"And you believed him?"

"Well not anymore... Argh, just help me get unstuck from this damn pole!"

"Ok ok!" I put my hands up in defense. I pull my backpack around to my front and open it. I shuffle through it looking for something that I could possibly use to pry him off the pole.

Chapstick? Nope

Old gum rapper? Nada.

Nintendo DS? Definitely not.

What's this? A math folder? Perhaps...

I pulled it out, straightening it up a bit before pressing it into the crease between Clyde's tongue and the pole. I pushed with all my might to try and loosen it up, but to no avail.

He sighed heavily, rolling his eyes in the process.

"I tried my best man."

"Can't you just use your lightsaber thing?"

"Clyde, I don't carry it everywhere I go you know."

"So.. no lightsaber then?"

"No Clyde, no lightsaber."

"Darn. Just.. just get something hot to pour on my tongue." I looked around me for something. Ah, my lunchbox!

I pulled it up to my chest, unzipping it and moving my Ham and Cheese sandwich and snack bag of Doritos out of the way to grab my thermos of hot chocolate. I glanced at him.

"You think this'll work?"

"Man I hope so."

I unscrewed the lid and poured a bit of the steaming liquid where Clyde's tongue connects to the pole.

"Ah hot!" He yelped as his tongue dispatched from the metal pole.

"Success! Success!" I chanted. Clyde leaned back and rubbed the part of his tongue that was previously stuck to the pole. I stored the thermos back in my lunchbox.

"Thank god oh my gosh. And Kevin," he turned to me, grabbing my shoulders and looking me straight in the eyes.
"Thank you, oh my god, thank you Kevin! I feel like I could hug you." He smiled in appreciation.

I shrugged my shoulders.
"No prob Bob." I smiled back.
He took his hands off my shoulders and grabbed his backpack that had been seated in the snow. He grimaced when he noticed the bottom of his bag was practically soaked.

"Uh hey Clyde, wanna come over to my house?"

"Are we not going to school?"

"Well, we can't exactly go now that the bus has left, and my house is only a few minutes from here."

"Yeah that makes sense so, sure I'd love to. I haven't seen your house since that time Cartman got us together to join his pirate crew."

"Boy did that end badly." I laughed. He laughed and shook his head. "Let's get going, it's pretty cold." I shivered. We started making our way to my house.

"Wait, won't your parents be mad that you aren't at school?"

"No, they won't know because they leave for work right after I go to the bus stop, so they aren't home!" I say happily.
'Oh' he mouths.

We arrive at my house soon after. I unlock the door with the spare key under the Welcome mat and step into my house. There's a strong scent of cinnamon in the atmosphere.

"My mom must have had a candle lit before she left."

"It smells nice." Clyde stated.

"Mom likes to keep the place smelling like 'good thoughts', or something."

"Ha, your mom sounds cheesy." We both laughed

"She really is." I look around my house to see the recently lit candle and the kitchen. "Hot chocolate?"

"Yeah sure, though I'd rather drink it rather than have it just poured on my tongue." I rolled my eyes and grabbed two mugs from the cupboard, putting water in them and heating them up in the microwave. I heard a beep and got the mugs, grabbing the hot chocolate mix.

"Put as much as you want in it."

"Ok."

We both scooped our desired amounts into the hot water and stirred. My eyes darted to the stairwell.

"Wanna come up and see my room? Though please don't spill your hot chocolate."

"Sure, sounds fun and yeah yeah I won't." He said. I nod my head and lead him upstairs to my room. I hear a gasp as we both walk in.

"Woooow, you have a lot of Star Wars posters."

"Not only Star Wars, but Star Trek too." I add. He snorts.

"You really are a dork Kevin Stoley."

"I take pride in my dorkiness." I state with a hand on my heart, placing my hot chocolate on my bedside dresser. We laugh together.

"So what do we have to do in your room?"

"Many things." I say with a mischievous grin. His eyes widen as I swear I see a slight blush on his cheeks. I chuckle.

"Just kidding, just kidding!" I turn towards my closet. "I have a Wii with," I pause, looking through my games, " Kirby Return to Dreamland." He stares blankly at me.

"Kirby? Really?"

"Hey! Kirby is boss! And plus its the only game I'm at least a little decent at..." I shrug my shoulders in slight embarrassment.

"Whatever you say, Kirby is fine with me I guess." I nod and grab the game case and pull out the disc, popping it in the Wii.

"Have you played this before?" I turn to Clyde and ask.

"No, I don't really play the Kirby series."

"Aw man you should, it's so good."

We started up the game to see the whole sequence of Kirby and his friends meeting Magolor.

"Is that a chocolate egg cat?"

"What, Magolor?"

"Yeah Macklemore."

"Oh my gosh no Clyde it's Magolor not Macklemore. But anyway... No Magolor is an alien or something."

"I think he needs to go back to Easter Island." I roll my eyes then laugh.

"Sure Clyde, sure"

We continued on playing for what seemed like hours, though we only got to the Onion Oceans, which is sadly only Level 3, of like 9. Long
story short, this game takes a while to complete.

Clyde turned to me with a wide smile on his face. "Wow Kev this has been really fun!"

"I wasn't sure if you would like it, but I'm glad you did." I say with a smile, my cheeks heating up ever so slightly. I glanced over at my clock. "Ah crap Clyde, it's almost 5:00, my mom will be home soon."

"Can I just tell her I rode home with you from school to hang out?"

"Well, she's one of those moms that has to talk to the parents of the person wanting to come over before they can can even come over. She probably won't be too happy to see you're already here without your mom's permission."

"Ah crap... And I don't think my mom will go along with this either. Should I get home? My mom gets home at 7:00 so I have enough time to run over to my house."

"Do you live fairly close?"

"Yeah, only a street or two away, it should only take me about 10-15 minutes to get to my house." I saved our game and turned the system, getting up.

"Um..." I offered a hand for a handshake. Wow I am so awkward. He took it and shook, though giving me a weird look in the process.

"Come on man, bro hug!" He said abruptly. He grabbed me. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. He gave me a squeeze. I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a squeeze. I could see out of the corner of eye his ears turning blood red, as well as his face probably, since I could feel the warmth radiating from his cheeks. He let go a little bit after, adding a fake cough and covering his face to hide the blush.

"I-I had fun, thanks for having me over Kev." He smiled a bit. I smiled as well, my own cheeks turning pink. He gave me a pat on the back. "And thanks for getting me unstuck from that pole, lets just... Not tell anyone, mkay?"

I chuckled. "Yeah, can do Clyde."

"You know Kev, you're a pretty cool dude."

"And you as well Mr. Donovan." We burst out laughing. I pushed him downstairs toward the front door. "Go, go! My mom will be here soon!"

"Ok bye Kev!" He winked and waved to me. I blushed a little darker, waving as well.