A typical 14th of February. The school was bombarded with decoration upon decoration. Paper hearts and inspirational posters. Banners announcing the Valentine's Day dance. Pink and red confetti hearts scattered all over the floor, causing the occasional un-expecting kid to slip and crash hard upon the ground as though they were falling for someone. The rest of them, boys and girls alike, chatted merrily through the day, boasting about the cards they got so far, their plans for the rest of the night, their hopes for the evening and other useless nonsense to do with the day. Others snuck around, sliding their self-made cards into certain lockers and everyone else mysteriously disappeared with their potential significant others. A typical 14th of February.

Kyle Broflovski sighed to himself. There was nothing he hated more than St. Valentine's Day and not just because he was Jewish. He hated it even more than Christmas, probably because it made him feel even lonelier and all the more isolated. And at least they didn't have to go to school on Christmas. So this way, Kyle found himself caught in the downside of excitement, being constantly reminded.

'It's just one day…' he took a deep breath, trying to keep his wits about him, 'One day of every year… with a little bit of backwash the day after… and a week or two of hype during the build up… who am I kidding? This day is absolutely everything to these morons! It's like Christmas for virgins, for fuck sake!'

"Hi Kyle."

Kyle blinked, the ear achingly high pitched voice waking him up and allowing him to recover from his raging track of thought. Wendy Testaburger stood before him, waiting with a patient smile. Kyle really didn't want to see Wendy of all people, today of all days. But at least Stan wasn't with her; that would just destroy him.

"Hey Wendy."

"Have you seen Stan?"

Kyle grimaced, "No, I haven't."

"Well when you do will you tell him that I'm looking for him? We have plans and-"

"Yeah, ok."

"Alright, thanks. Well, see you later Kyle!"

Kyle glared at the pink and purple-clad girl as she skipped off to her group of friends. The pack stalked off into the corridors, mischievous as all the girls in it. All of their heads would have most definitely exploded if he had held his fierce stare for just a second longer.

"Bitch…"

"Who's a bitch?"

Kyle jumped in surprise at the sudden, stray voice that hummed into his ear. He turned around to see his best friend Stan towering over him with a fond and handsome smile.

"Don't do that!" Kyle scolded, trying his best to seem as angry as possible.

He was hot and red, but that wouldn't fool Stan. Stan laughed, shaking it off and diverting his hot headed friend from the subject.

"Was Wendy here a minute ago?" he asked, both expectantly and in curiosity.

Kyle pouted as Stan began to look up and down the halls around him.

"No… I don't think so," he lied.

"Oh alright. Well-"

"Yo Stan!"

The two turned to see Clyde running towards them. He halted before Stan and held a small piece of folded file paper out towards him.

"Wendy was here looking for you a second ago. She asked me to give this to you."

Stan reached out and took the note from him, uttering a "Thanks dude" as he began to open it. Clyde nodded before continuing on his way, back to his friend Token who had struck up a very curious conversation with Bebe.

Kyle watched in remorse as Stan's eyes scanned the note and a sentimental smile snuck across his face. Kyle frowned.

"So you were saying Wendy wasn't looking for me, then?" he smirked as he glanced up at the blushing boy.

Kyle swallowed hard against the guilty lump in his throat as Stan refolded the note and slipped it into his breast pocket.

"Come on," Stan began as he grabbed Kyle's wrist and began to pull him into their registration room, "before we get attacked by any of your admirers."

Only three classes in and the day had already proven that it wasn't going to get any better. So far each class was filled with girly gossip and the passing of note upon note. It was sickening, especially to be a part of it.

Stan and Kyle were sitting next to each other at the back of their English classroom; the worst place to sit when it came to passing notes. The desks were organised into a 'U' shape along the walls of the room, with a small square of desks huddled together in the centre of the room. To be in the 'U' shape meant you were doomed to have no choice than to be a part of the note passing, and Stan and Kyle were right smack in the middle of it.

A small yellow note was suddenly slipped onto Kyle's desk.

"Pssst! Kyle, pass this to Stan," Patty Nelson whispered blatantly with a giggle.

Kyle rolled his eyes, urged to tear the note up before Stan even saw it. He glanced towards Wendy, who was sitting almost diagonal to him. She watched Stan eagerly, gazing dreamily into his night sky blue eyes before giving Kyle a "hurry up" gesture. Kyle shot icy daggers at her with raging eyes and grabbed the note, scrunching it up slightly and slamming it down irritably onto Stan's desk. Stan glanced at him curiously for a moment, but Kyle didn't seem to notice as he had returned to his book in order to ignore the nonsense around him.

Stan opened up the note and began to read it, Wendy staring at him all the while. Something bright caught the corner of his eye and he turned to see a bright pink note sitting on Kyle's desk. Kyle's name was written on the front of it, with a plump black heart doodled neatly next to it. Stan glared over to the group of tables in the centre of the room, noting the perpetrator as a very giddy Sally, or Rebecca… Stan never really could tell the difference between the two of them, whispering to her friends about how she finally got the courage to "do it." One glance at Kyle and Stan snatched up the note with precision and speed. Kyle's lime green eyes darted up alarmingly and caught themselves upon the innocent looking Stan. He gave him a "dude, what the hell?" look, raising an eyebrow at him sceptically. Stan cringed.

"Um… just another note. F-for me," he forced out as he began to rip the note up sneakily behind his back.

Kyle returned to his book, giving Stan the chance to let out a sigh and drop the scrap pieces of paper to the floor. He didn't even start to wonder what the note had said. He didn't want to know. He was just glad to get it out of the way.

Kyle himself sighed inwardly. As if Wendy alone wasn't bad enough; Stan was constantly being pestered by his worshipping fan girls. Not to mention they had no respect for the fact that Stan already had a… girlfriend. Kyle almost shuddered at the word. Stan with a girlfriend. Story of Kyle's life, but it was still one heck of a nightmare. And the worst part was that when Stan finally realises that Wendy is a bitch, he would find a new girlfriend in no time. And it wouldn't be long until he found the right girl, and Kyle's chance would be lost for good. He already considered any chance he may have had lost anyway. Still, he could never quite seem to fight the tiny flicker of hope inside of him, even though he knew it was ultimately doomed.

The end of the day had finally come, but much to Kyle's distress that just meant the end of the school day. He still had to survive the night. Of course he wasn't going to the dance; he had absolutely no intention to. That only meant he was going to have to make it through the night alone. A Friday night. And he'd have been able to survive it too if Stan could have been there with him. But that option wasn't there.

Kyle and Stan walked side-by-side on their way home, both glad to get away from the madness. Kyle assumed that Stan wouldn't have long to thrive in salvation, however.

"I suppose you have to go get ready for the dance, then."

"Nope, I'm not going."

Kyle stopped abruptly in his tracks, "What?"

"I'm not going to the dance," Stan smiled warmly as he stepped back towards Kyle; the same smile that could make him melt any day, "I'm spending the night hangin' out with my best bud."

Kyle smiled back, blushing with flattery, and yet it was the words "best bud" that left a trace of sadness in his eyes. He shook his head and masked the smile. Stan was being ridiculous, he had a girlfriend.

"But Wendy…"

"Will understand," Stan reassured him, throwing his arm around Kyle's shoulder and leading them back on their way home, "You come first, Kyle. Always have, always will."

Kyle turned away, shielding his rose red cheeks from his companion. They had more of a dainty pink tint to them, rather than the dark crimson they would normally grow when he was angry, so the fact that it was a blush would be more than obvious to Stan.

"Besides, why would you care about whether you're stealing me from Wendy or not? If anything I always thought that you'd want to," Stan chuckled softly, glancing down at Kyle who merely smiled with a grunt of sanction.

'If only I could…'

"Done!"

Kyle slammed the empty litre bottle of Boost down onto the ground, wiping his mouth with his sleeve triumphantly. He had just completed his dare; to chug down an entire litre bottle all in the one go.

The two had been playing the trivial game for a while now. It would have been "spin the bottle," except for the fact that there was no bottle present that they were intending to spin. There wasn't really much point, or else they would end up playing with the majority of the inanimate objects scattered messily across Stan's room. The two sat on the floor, opposite each other as if there was a bottle in between them, asking each other "truth or dare?" over and over again.

"It's my turn now, so truth or dare?" Kyle beamed.

Stan thought for a moment before answering.

"Truth."

"Ok then," Kyle sat back, pondering what to ask Stan.

Stan watched with a persistent smile on his face, waiting patiently for Kyle to come up with a question for him. It was silent for a moment.

"Ummm… ok, would you rather be spending your time with Wendy right now?"

"Heck no, dude," Stan answered almost immediately.

"But dude St. Valentine's Day is all about being with the one you wanna be with."

Stan shrugged, "Maybe I don't wanna be with Wendy."

Kyle glanced up into Stan's cool blue eyes, which were still and certain. He gave him a cynical look.

"What are you saying, Stan?"

Stan pushed himself to his knees and examined Kyle for a brief moment. He thought to himself, hesitating before opening his mouth.

"I'm saying…"

Kyle watched as Stan made his way swiftly closer to him. In a second, their lips connected. Kyle's heart skipped a beat as his eyes widened in shock. However it wasn't long before they drifted shut and he found himself melting into Stan's mouth. He felt a strangely warm shiver slither up his spine like a molten snake and he was suddenly lost. And just as suddenly, Stan pulled back and their kiss parted. Kyle grunted in protest, gazing deeply into Stan's eyes with heavy lids.

Stan gazed back, "Happy Valentine's Day, Kyle."

A satisfied smile spread over Kyle's face, pleasant and yet with the slight notion of a smirk.

'I guess I was wrong about Valentine's Day…'