Smoke on the Water
Every summer I go to a music festival called the Great Blue Heron festival the weekend of the Fourth of July. It's a fun time with good music, great booths for shopping, tasty food, entertainment, and lots of people and an overall party vibe. So, I decided, 'Wouldn't it be fun to put the South Park gang in a situation like this?' And thus, the idea for this story was born. Music festivals can also be notorious for having stoners and hippies who like having sex in the woods, so this story is going to have references to drugs, sex, and drinking, so if that's not your thing, I have warned you. Also, I've aged them up to sixteen.
And, just for funzies, (and in the spirit of music festivals) I'm giving all the chapter titles song names, and putting a quote from the song under it. Yup. Anyway, enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own South Park or any of its properties.
Chapter 1 – "Smoke on the Water"
"Were at the best place around, but some stupid with a flare gun burned the place to the ground"
Kenny couldn't wait to get out of the house. This weekend was going to be amazing. Three days spent camping with his two best friends (and Cartman) at a huge music festival, with nothing but music and good friends to entertain him. Well that, and the fact that they had scored a sweet camping space in the woods were all the stoners hung out, so he was sure to get high this weekend. And even if it weren't so, he just needed to get away from his parents for a few days. They had been fighting even more than usual, and they had started to become physical in their fights. Kenny couldn't take it anymore. He needed to just shut off his brain and not worry for a while.
As he packed things into a suitcase, he heard a noise at the door and turned to see Karen standing in his doorway. It was early in the morning, and she shouldn't be awake yet. Kenny frowned slightly.
"Karen, you shouldn't be awake right now," he scolded her gently, "You need your sleep."
"I know, but you're leaving soon, right?" she asked, "I wanted to see you before you go."
Kenny couldn't help but smile at her. He opened his arms wide for her, and she quickly ran over to embrace him. They hugged for a minute before Kenny gave her a gentle squeeze.
"I want to go with you so badly," Karen murmured, still hugging her brother, "I don't want to stay here alone with our parents."
Kenny desperately wished he could take Karen along. He really did. But Stan's parents were the ones paying for the four of them, and he already felt guilty that he couldn't do anything to repay them. He didn't want to burden them by asking them to pay for Karen as well.
And on the other hand, they were staying in the woods, were he knew a lot of people would be smoking, and drinking, and having sex, and he didn't want to subject Karen to any of that. He knew he could take care of her, but he didn't want her to be freaked out by what went on in the woods.
"I know," Kenny said quietly, "I don't want to leave you alone here this weekend, but there's nothing I can do about it. Maybe you can stay at Ruby's place. Craig and his gang are going to the festival as well, so I'm sure she wouldn't mind the company."
"I guess so," Karen muttered, finally pulling out of the hug. She wiped off a tear that had formed in her eye. "I hope you have a great time. Bring me back something, ok?"
Kenny smiled sadly down at her. "Ok," he replied.
…
Stan didn't know if he was nervous or excited about this weekend. He was excited that he was going to get to spend time with his friends (and Cartman), but on the other hand, he knew Wendy was going to be there with her family. He didn't know if he could handle it Wendy caught him doing something really stupid.
He loved Wendy; he really did. But he could tell that her patience for him was wearing thin. He didn't mean to screw up all the time, that's just how his life worked. Sometimes Stan felt like Wendy was the only stable one he could lean on when life got a bit too crazy. Even if he could tell she was annoyed, he appreciated that he could count on her support.
But making a fool of himself in front of Wendy was the least of his worries. Her parents were going to be there, and he knew her parents didn't like him or his friends. They thought he was a no-good trouble maker, and hated that he always managed find himself in strange and unusual situations. As if he could help it.
He sighed quietly as he closed his suitcase and then there was a knock on his door. He turned around and saw his father entering.
"Hey, son!" Randy greeted, "Your friends will be here, soon! Better get down here!"
"I will dad," Stan replied, smiling. Randy left him alone at that. Stan sighed again as he hauled his suitcase downstairs. This weekend was either going to be the best weekend ever, or the worst experience of his life.
…
Kyle knew he was going to hate this weekend. Sure, he was going to be there with his best friends (and Cartman), but he didn't particularly like loud, blaring music, he had no interest in getting high or drunk, and the woods they were staying in stank like piss and drugs. He had no idea how the others thought it was the "perfect spot" when they had scouted the place earlier in the week to pitch their tent.
He also didn't know if he was annoyed or not that Craig's gang had picked a spot right next to them to camp out. He knew they only did it to compete with them over having a better set up and decorations than him and his friends. But he supposed it could be worse. At least they knew each other, and if anything went wrong they could count on Craig and his friends for support. And they could probably share a campfire between them.
While finishing packing, Kyle suddenly heard someone behind him. Sighing, he turned around and saw his younger brother, Ike, standing in the doorway. Without saying anything, Kyle already knew what he was there for.
"No, Ike, you still can't come with us," Kyle stated firmly.
"But I wanna go!" Ike whined, "It's not fair! You always get to go fun places, and I always have to stay home."
"I'm sorry, Ike," Kyle said, "Trust me, I would let you go if I was the one paying, but I'm not. Stan's parents are."
"You're just saying that because you don't want me to go!" Ike pouted.
Kyle rolled his eyes, but decided to ignore Ike as he finished packing. Ike silently followed him as he dragged his suitcase downstairs and started walking towards Stan's house. Luckily it wasn't that far, but his little brother fuming behind him made it seem a lot further than normal.
When Kyle arrived at Stan's house, he could see Cartman, Kenny, and Karen waiting outside. Karen looked downhearted and sad, and instantly Kyle knew it was because she was sad to see Kenny go, even for just a weekend. Kyle briefly wondered if Kenny's parents had been fighting again.
"It's about time you got here," Cartman muttered. Kyle was glad that he had cut back on most of his insults in the six years since they were ten years old, but the fat-ass still couldn't help but get a few jabs in every once in a while.
"Funny how we're at Stan's house, but he's still the last one to get here," Kenny noted, snickering slightly.
"That's not entirely true," Kyle pointed out, "Craig and those guys were going to meet us here in their van. They were going to follow us, remember?"
"I guess that's true," Kenny shrugged, "Anyway, why's your brother here?"
Ike had been so quiet the whole time Kyle had almost forgotten he was there. He looked down at him, then back at Kenny.
"Oh, he's mad because he can't come with us," Kyle explained. He leaned down slightly to look Ike directly in the eye. "Even though I've told him a thousand times why he can't come with!" He emphasized every word. Ike flipped him off.
"That's a shame," Kenny replied. He put a loving arm around Karen. "I wish Karen could come with us. I know what the place is like, but we never get to hang out anymore, and our parents have been fighting like crazy."
Kyle felt a lump rise in throat. He knew he was going to regret this, but he came to a decision. "I'll pay for her to come with us," he told Kenny. His friend looked at him in surprise.
"Oh, Kyle, I couldn't ask you to do that," he said.
"No, no, it's fine," Kyle insisted, "That way I can justify paying for Ike, because he really wants to come, and parents for some reason think it would be a good idea, even though I told them what this place was like, but they just said, 'oh it'll be good to spend some time with your brother,' and I- anyway, long story short, I'll pay for her and Ike."
Both Karen and Ike exclaimed with joy and hugged Kyle around the middle.
"Kiss up," Cartman muttered. Kyle gave him an annoyed look.
…
Kyle called up Craig and asked if his sister wanted to come with them. Apparently, much like Ike, Ruby had been begging nonstop to her brother to let her tag along. So, Kyle agreed to pay for her as well, and Stan brought along an extra tent for them. They decided to put the tent in between the two camps so they could keep an eye on the younger ones.
"I'll watch them over the weekend," Kyle offered to Kenny after the two groups were finally on the road.
"Are you sure?" Kenny asked, "Don't you plan on getting stoned and drunk and shit?"
"Not really," Kyle admitted, "Honestly, if Stan's parents weren't paying and you guys weren't coming with I would have no interest in this event."
"You just want to stay out of the woods, don't you Kyle?" Stan joked from where he sat at the steering wheel. Of the four friends, only he and Kyle had their driver's license. Kenny didn't have the time, money, or car to get one, and Cartman was simply too lazy and preferred for his friends to chauffer him around.
"Yes, I do!" Kyle exclaimed, tossing his hands in the air, and nearly throwing Ike off his lap, "That place smells like piss, beer, and drugs! And horny people!"
"Does it really?" Karen asked Kenny, somewhat nervously.
"Of course not!" Kenny replied at the exact same time Kyle muttered, "Yes." Kenny glared at him before addressing Karen. "Kyle's just over exaggerating. It doesn't smell at all where we're staying. We had to promise Stan's parents we would camp away from the stoners."
"Anyway, I don't mind watching after them and making sure the three of them don't get in trouble," Kyle concluded.
"Thanks, Kyle," Kenny said, smiling warmly.
"Kiss up," Cartman muttered.
This is actually one of the longest first chapters of a story I've ever written. Cool! Anyway, for those wondering, Craig, Tweek, Clyde, and Token will also play major rolls in this story as well. I actually have different story arcs planned out for almost everyone except Cartman and Token. I have no idea what's going to be going on with them yet. Anyway, next chapter will shift focus to Craig and his gang. I mostly wanted to get the original group out of the way first. Please tell me what you think so far! Peace!
