South Park

Never Always

"Do you remember when Mr. Garrison asked us what superhero we wanted to be?" Kyle asked Stan, his expression firm and without emotion.

"Yeah," Stan answered, not sensing anything wrong. "I thought it was pretty gay."

"I said I wanted to be Angel, from the X-Men," the redheaded little boy continued. "Do you know why I said that?" The raven-haired boy shrugged. "Because he has wings. Not just because he can fly, but because he has wings." Kyle's voice began to break, his expression shifting.

"So?" Stan replied, growing confused.

"Having wings means he can hide himself," the Jewish boy explained, growing angry for no apparent reason. "He can wrap himself in his wings and shut out the world. And he can take other people with him when he flies." Stan listened intently, keeping eye contact, even as Kyle's eyes drifted away. "If I had that…I could leave. I could leave all of it behind: Cartman, school, my dad, this shitty life. I could just take my mom and Ike and fly away."

"Where would you go?" the black-haired child asked, taking serious interest in his friend's plans.

"Anywhere," Kyle answered. "No, not anywhere: someplace better. The best place. We'd go there…and I could take you and Kenny, too. We'd go to someplace better and never go back. And we'd be happy, and safe, and no one would need a reason for what we did…And we'd never have to lie or fight back or cry…ever, ever again." His eyes welling with tears, Kyle hid his face with his mittens, sniffling back the pain. Suddenly, he felt Stan's mittens take hold of his and gently pull them down. Wincing, the Jewish child closed his eyes, trying to stop himself. Stan wrapped his little arms around his dear friend and held him tightly. Kyle pressed his head against Stan's shoulder and openly sobbed.

"It'll be okay, man," Stan said, keeping his voice down so only Kyle could hear. "It'll be okay. You don't need to be strong now." None of what was going on around them mattered now. "You know something, Kyle? You're my hero."

"What a coincidence," Kyle mumbled. "You're mine."