Kyle approached the Marsh residence with an armful of books excited to see his best friend who had just been discharged from the hospital after having a tonsillectomy earlier in the day.

Stan had been out sick the past couple days for somewhere around the fifth time this school year and his doctor thought taking out his tonsils would help.

Stan was naturally terrified at thought of having to undergo surgery but with reasoning and reassurance from his super best friend and a promise of a visit as soon as possible, the boy managed to gather enough courage to not flee the state of Colorado.

Kyle shifted the books in his arms: Knock. Knock. Knock

Sharon answered the door after a brief delay.

"Hi, Mrs. Marsh!" Kyle smiled, "How's Stan doing?"

"The operation was pretty rough on him but he's hanging in there."

"Oh…," Kyle's smile faded.

"Well… I have next week's homework from Mr. Garrison… Would it be alright if I took it up to him?"

Sharon smiled, "You know, he's been asking when you were going to come see him since he woke up?"

Kyle's face tinged red with embarrassment.

"Just don't be too long, alright? He needs to rest."

"I won't stay long," Kyle agreed.

Kyle quietly made his way upstairs, Stan's door was cracked open.

Kyle gently knocked on the door before he came in.

The window shades were drawn down.

The boy was nestled in his bed under a layer of blankets.

His black hair was exceptionally messy, he looked like hell.

"Hey, dude."

Stan moaned as he turned in his bed.

Kyle could see the bandages on his hand where the needles from the IV medicine must have been along with two hospital wristbands: a red one and a white one.

"Hey…," he rasped.

"How you feeling?"

Though rhetorical, Kyle asked anyway.

"Horrible…," The other boy sighed, "I feel sicker now than I did before and my throat really hurts… It hurts to talk."

"That's okay, I can talk enough to entertain both of us," Kyle joked lightheartedly.

Stan nodded slightly.

"Hey! You weren't supposed to agree with me!"

Stan responded with a simple, "Heh."

Kyle could tell he was pretty out of it.

"So… I brought you this weeks' worth of homework…," Kyle sat the books down, "The only thing that should really take you any time are a few of those math worksheets from the looks of things. Other than that there's just some reading to do and questions to answer in our Social Studies book."

"I – I thought you came here to make me feel better…," Stan nearly whispered.

"I did…," Kyle spoke a little confused.

"Then why did you bring homework…?"

"Excuse so your mom would let me come up here and see you?"

"Dick."

Kyle laughed.

"You're going to help me do it, right?" Stan looked at his friend.

"If by 'help' you mean do it for you, then no. But I would be open to working on stuff together after school sometime."

"Cool," Stan finally broke a small smile.

The two sat in silence for a few moments.

"Hey, Kyle…?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you for a favor…?"

"Sure, dude."

"Can you help me get these off?" He raised his hand with colored wristbands.

Kyle took the other boy's hand and examined the wristbands, the white one had his personal information on it while red one said: ALLERGY and attached to it was a sticker reading 'Codeine'.

"What's codeine?"

"Some drug."

Kyle tugged on the bracelets but could not break them apart.

"Geez, I might need scissors for this. I'll be right back."

Kyle went downstairs to search for a pair.

He returned a minute or two later with a pair of scissors and two glasses.

He sat the drinks down on Stan's desk and proceeded to snip the wristbands off.

"Thanks…"

"No problem, dude," Kyle sat the scissors down and grabbed the drinks.

"Your mom wants you to drink this," He handed Stan a glass.

Stan sat up a little in his bed, "What is it…?"

"It's ice-cold cherry Kool-Aid," Kyle took a drink of his, "It'll make your throat feel better."

Stan took a few sips before sitting the glass on his nightstand and slinking back down into his bed.

Kyle sat with him for a few more minutes, by this time Stan was barely able to keep his eyes open.

"I should probably go and let you sleep now…," Kyle stood up and made his way to the door.

"Kyle…?"

The boy turned back around.

"You're gonna come back tomorrow, right?"

"Of course, dude. I'll come over right after school."

"'Kay, good."

Kyle smiled to himself as he walked out the door.