(A/N): Hokay, So… This is the Earth… I have a BUNCH of ideas for multi-chapter stories/one-shots for you all to enjoy oh so thoroughly and I've begun to outline this story in hopes that it won't take me as long to write, but that's a stretch. Some of the ideas I might throw out because I just can't start them, especially without a muse to push me along, which brings me to my next point.
If any of my readers, regular or no, want to request a specific story; please don't hesitate to ask me. I would consider it an honor to write a little something for someone who enjoys my stories so much!
Also, if you have reviewed one of my stories and never received a reply from me, I am truly sorry. I really do try to answer them all, but sometimes I get so mixed up with who I've responded and who I've not, that it is quite possible that I may have left one or two people out. My deepest apologies and thank you for the lovely reviews.
And another point: I know that the drive to San Diego from Denver is 17 hours and some odd minutes. That's going 60-some miles per hour. Do you honestly think teenage boys are gonna do the speed limit? No. I did the math, and if they go at least 75 mph they can make it within 14 ½ hours.
This was supposed to go out sometime earlier last week, but I was at the beach and got distracted by the sunlight and my books and now my sister had surgery and I've been running around the house like a chicken with her head chopped off… Anyhow… Ah! And thank you to everyone who has either faved, alerted, or reviewed (or all three!) one or more of my stories! It put a huge smile on my face when my email inbox exploded last week.
Enjoy!
"Explain to me again, why are we going all ze way to San Diego for senior week when everyone else eez going to Ze Springs?" Christophe inquired while gazing at the ceiling in his boyfriend's bedroom.
"You answered your own question; it's because everyone is going to The Springs that we chose to go to San Diego. We wanted to do it proper by going to a beach. Besides, most of us have never even set foot on one before. It's like a mythical location that we've only read about in books," Kyle answered.
Christophe snorted and shifted his gaze to watch Kyle organize his belongings into neat piles on the carpeted floor. At first glance, they could be considered haphazard at best, but with a sharp eye, one could discern the order from the chaos. Books organized by plot, clothes arranged by weight of cloth and type, electronics lined up by helpfulness and then by entertainment. The color of the carpet was barely visible under the items strewn across it, and the bedspread hadn't faired any better. One simple movement would disrupt the sensitive ecosystem of Kyle's belongings straight to the floor.
"Why aren't you packing? We leave tomorrow at four," Kyle asked with mild anxiety mixed into his voice as he began to start shoving his items into travel bags, checking them off a list as he went.
"I 'ave already finished my packing. Do you not remember 'aving said zat you would bring most everyzing for us to share so zat I could pack less?"
Their conversation was interrupted by a loud rap at Kyle's doorframe and both boys looked up to see Stan standing awkwardly outside of the door, trying to determine whether he could make it across the room without knocking anything over.
"Dude, you're still packing? Never mind. All my shit is in my car. Where's yours?" Stan directed his question towards Christophe who pointed to an area just to the left of the open door. Stan grabbed the straps of each of the duffle bags and hauled them over his shoulders before disappearing into the hallway once again. A few minutes passed before his reproaching footsteps sounded rhythmically off the hardwood staircase.
"So, I have all of our stuff and Cartman's bags in the back of the Journey. We should be able to fit a few more things in there if we can't fit everything in Token's ride," Stan stated and treaded carefully through the maze across Kyle's floor to sit in the open desk chair.
Kyle checked a few more items off his page long list after putting them into his bag, "I should be done soon and then we can get some sleep."
"Are you sure you don't want to pack your bed and desk, too?" Stan joked, poking Kyle on his shoulder with his sock covered toe.
Shooting a dirty glare at Stan, Kyle resumed his task, but not before muttering, "I'll remember you said that when you've forgotten something important."
"You're only packing one bag? You're fucking poor as shit, dude," Cartman laughed at Kenny's hand-me-down duffle bag stuffed just shy of tearing.
"I don't need a lot to survive because I am not a fucking fatass like you are," Kenny retorted.
"AYE! I'm not fat! I'm big-boned!" Cartman cried, pelting Kenny with a pretzel from the bag he was holding.
"Whatever you have to keep telling yourself, man."
A soft giggle followed Kenny's statement and said blond peered over at the small-framed boy seated Indian-style in the middle of his bed. Two bright, sea foam green bags flanked the teen while he clutched a large pillow against his chest, his grin widening when Kenny's gaze fixed upon him.
"We better leave soon, fellas. We still hafta drop Eric off at Kyle's before we go to Token's house," Butters said, his southern accent thick from suppressed tiredness.
"He's right, it's almost 11 and we have to leave by four tomorrow morning. Why did we agree to this again?"
Cartman pelted his best friend with another pretzel, "We agreed to it because we are two blocks from the beach and between the ten of us, it didn't cost all that much, especially with the help of Token's parents."
"Right, I forgot about that part," there's a brief pause before Kenny's head snapped back up and he whipped his head around to look at Butters, "You didn't forget to make that playlist for the car ride, right?"
"Nope! I have the playlist on both of our iPods and I burned a CD as back up." Butters smiled proudly at his preparedness and crawled off the bed to heft his bags onto the floor.
Without pausing in his stride, Kenny snatched both of the bags up in one hand and proceeded to carry all three of their bags to his truck. After tossing them into the bed of his truck, Kenny and the other two boys climb into the cab for the short ride to the Broflovski residence. Dropping Cartman off at his final destination, Kenny and Butters continued the rest of the drive in amiable silence, arriving at the Black's house within a few minutes. The tires of Kenny's beat-up truck slid smoothly across the black pavement of Token's driveway and with a short twist of his wrist, Kenny parked next to Craig's Jeep Wrangler.
"I guess Craig and Tweek are already here," said Kenny as he slammed his door closed, sidling up to Butters as they made their way up the winding path.
"It is pretty late. Gosh, I hope we don't wake them up…"
No sooner had the words left Butters' mouth than the front door swung open to reveal Token's seemingly innocent grin, Clyde's head locked between his strong arms.
"I think it's safe to say we didn't wake them, Butters."
Clyde sighed for the twenty-seventh time within a span of ten minutes. Token knew it was twenty-seven times because he was counting. The sighs were just loud enough to be heard, but just quiet enough to be only slightly irritating. Clyde sighed yet again and Token finally looked over at his friend and pegged him with the battery he was about to put into his camera.
"What the hell is your problem? You're sighing like a little girl who didn't get the Barbie doll she wanted."
"Oh. Well, you ever start texting someone and you're at a really important part of the conversation, and then all of a sudden they just stop texting you back? And you're like, 'What the shit?'"
"Yeah…"
"That's the problem! I don't want to seem obsessive if I text them again, but I really want to know the answer, ya know?"
"You are such a girl," Token snorted in amusement and ducked when Clyde threw the battery back at him.
"I'm not a fucking girl. Last I checked I have two balls and a d- finally!" Clyde cried, apparently receiving the much awaited for text message.
"Who are you texting, anyways? Shit, I bet it's Bebe, isn't it? She's got you tied around her pretty little finger, doesn't she?" Token teased, grabbing Clyde's phone and running off with it clutched in his hand.
"Give it back, you asshole! Bebe and I are just friends! Damn it, Token! Give it back!" Clyde yelled as he chased after his long-time friend.
Token had him desperately sprinting around the entire household and they zipped passed the guest room on the top floor. Clyde barely caught a glimpse of Craig and Tweek's amused facial expressions, nearly ran head-on into a wall, careened to the left to avoid it, and stumbled down the steps where Token disappeared. Their hot pursuit came to an abrupt stop on the first floor when Clyde tackled his dark-skinned friend to the floor. The brunette groaned as his phone skidded across the carpet and he crawled over Token to go after it. The rumble of an engine barely reached his ears and just as two car doors slammed shut, Token wrapped his arm under Clyde's chin and yanked him backwards to the front door, swinging it open to come face-to-face with Kenny and Butters.
"I think it's safe to say we didn't wake them, Butters," Kenny spoke as he pushed passed the two wrestling friends.
Token's baritone laugh echoed around the spacious room as Clyde struggled futilely in his grasp. Clyde's honey brown eyes watched as Kenny picked up his cell phone and flipped it open to nosey through it.
"You know, that tackle was kind of good. You should have been on the football team," said Token with a hint of mirth in his voice.
"Ohh, you have one new message from Bebe. I wonder what it says." Kenny tilted his head backwards to glance at Clyde and nearly choked on his laughter when he spotted Clyde's vicious glare.
"You guys are assholes." The teen went limp in Token's hold and both boys immediately took pity on him. Dropping Clyde to the floor, Token patted his friend gently on the top of his head and caught the phone, which Kenny tossed to him.
"Here ya go little buddy. Now, let's go to bed because we've got a long day ahead of us," Token emphasized the word 'long,' hefted his, now slightly more peppy, friend up onto his feet, and dragged him up the flight of stairs they had just raced down.
By three thirty the next morning, all ten of the teenage boys were hastily packing the last of their items into Token's and Stan's SUVs. Between loud yawns and shuffling feet, the boys managed to get every last piece of their luggage into the three vehicles by the time four o'clock rolled around. Kyle stood in the middle of all the parked cars with a check list propped against his arm, pen moving swiftly up and down the piece of paper as he called off each item.
"There should be three beach bags: two for beach towels and one for sunscreen."
"Check, check, and check," Stan called back as he located each of the named bags.
"Last but not least, does everyone have their cell phones, cell phone chargers, iPods, etc?" Kyle asked, looking at each boy in turn.
"Check," they each confirmed.
"Then let's get the fuck out of here. We've got a fourteen hour drive ahead of us." Kyle turned on his heel and followed Stan, Christophe, and Cartman to the black SUV parked diagonally across the driveway. Token climbed into the driver's seat of his Expedition, where Clyde was already fast asleep in the passenger seat, face smushed against the window. The remaining four boys clambered into Craig's Jeep, Craig and Kenny in the driver and passenger seats respectively, with Butters and Tweek giggling quietly in the back. All three engines started in quick succession, and with one last glance at the Black's massive home, the boys rolled onto the street and out of sight.
Four hours later, Clyde woke with a start, the sun blinding him and the music deafening him.
"Where the hell are we?" Clyde mumbled as he rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes.
Token quickly glanced over at him and pointed at the GPS that came with his SUV, "We're just outside of Colorado. It'll take us about 5 more hours to get through Utah. And then there's only 5 more hours left after that! Give or take. Because we have to go through Vegas. The lights might distract us. But Kyle already said that we were not stopping not matter what."
"Dude, did you chug an energy drink or something?" Clyde laughed at Token's rushed energized words and searched around the floor for evidence of his obviously caffeinated friend.
"Try three. I didn't fall asleep until 1 and I woke up at 3 and I've been driving for four fucking hours and I really have to take a piss," Token jabbed a button on the brightly lit screen and practically yelled, "Call Stan!"
A voice that was decidedly not Stan's picked up on the second ring.
"This is Stanley Marsh's phone. He is currently busy being a douche bag asshole; may I kindly take a message?" Cartman's sniggering voice asked in feigned innocence.
"I HAVE TO PEE!"
Token and Clyde heard all four of the boys on the other line burst into simultaneous laughter and Kyle's voice rang clearly through the phone next.
"We'll stop at the next rest area. I'll call Craig and let him know."
"No more energy drinks for you, Penny."
Token smacked Clyde upside the head. "What did I tell you about calling me that?"
"To do it as often as possible?" Smack! "Ow, shit!"
Five minutes later, Token threw his car into park and bolted out of the door, sprinting to the nearest restroom. Clyde, Stan, Craig, and Butters followed at a much slower pace and Token was still peeing when they entered the bathroom.
"Fucking hell, my piss is radioactive green," Token hissed at Clyde two urinals over.
"I told you not to drink that shit, man. You'll die of a heart attack…or radioactive poisoning."
As the first five boys were scrubbing their hands clean, three more strolled into the bathroom.
"I don't want to stop in Vegas, so we'll eat breakfast here and stop again when we're about to leave Utah," said Kyle and all of them voiced their agreement.
"I thought you didn't have to pee, Tweekers," Craig teased as he dried his hands off with a paper towel.
"I changed my mind. Five more hours without a bathroom made me nervous." Cartman snorted at Tweek's statement and shoved Butters over with his hip.
"Aw, Eric! There was an open sink right there," Butters pointed to the sink which was now in front of him with a pout on his face.
"Whatever, I do what I want."
When Kyle, Cartman, and Tweek left the bathroom they found their travelling companions engrossed in a spontaneous game of soccer; Craig, Clyde and Token on one team with Stan, Butters, Kenny, and Christophe on the other.
Kyle tilted his head to the side in confusion, muttering, "Where did the soccer ball come from?" And then he spotted the three or four adolescent children zigzagging between the older boys with practiced ease. One of the smaller children kicked the ball towards the opposite goal and cheered as it whizzed past Token's obviously restrained hand.
"Yeah, you scored little man!" cried Stan as he bent down to give the kid a high five. He eyed Kyle from across the stretch of grass and stood to his full height.
"Aw, it looks like we gotta go eat breakfast now. Have fun on your trip, alright?" Stan fist bumped the smaller kid and ruffled his hair as he followed the rest of his friends across the street to the closest fast-food restaurant.
It took exactly ten hours and twelve minutes for Tweek to finish his drawing. He gently blew the pencil shavings off his large sketch pad and held it in front of him to observe it from a short distance. He sighed in relief as no obvious mistakes jumped out at him from the paper.
"Wow! Did you finish already?" Butters exclaimed from beside him and Tweek smiled with a small nod of his head.
The drawing was of him, Token, Clyde, and Craig, all in mid-laughter, arms tangled around necks and waists to signify their close bond. The original photograph was taped carefully to the back of Craig's headrest and its enlarged replica spoke volumes of Tweek's artistic abilities. The picture was taken during last winter and they were bundled up in hats, coats, scarves, and gloves, covered in powdery snow. Token was flanked by Craig and Clyde, their arms slung casually around his neck, his own arms curled to his stomach in laughter. Token's shoulder-length dreadlocks were pulled into a ponytail near the top of his head, with a purple bandanna tied loosely just across his hairline. His midnight black pea coat opened to reveal the bright purple hoodie beneath it and his yellow scarf coiled elegantly around his neck. Craig had one arm around Token, while the other wrapped around Tweek's waist, pulling the blond-haired boy flush against his side. Craig was donned in his infamous chullo, strings bouncing happily against his shoulders and his bright blue scarf covered his laughing smile, which shone through his crinkled eyes. Tweek's blonde head was thrown back in laughter, and his gloved right hand was clutching Craig's shirt to keep him upright. Clyde, wearing a dull gray scarf around his neck with matching mittens, beamed at the camera in evident elation
Where Tweek's drawing lacked in color, he made up for in detail, and after he taped the original photograph to the bottom corner of his masterpiece, he scrawled 'Happy 19th Birthday, Token' across the top.
"You have perfect timing too, Tweekers. We're about to stop for some lunch," Craig informed them as he followed Stan and Token's vehicles onto an off ramp. After pulling into the parking lot of Burger King, all ten boys groaned as they stretched their cramped muscles.
"I swear to baby Jesus, tomorrow I will not sit down once," Craig heard Token say as the dark-skinned boy bended over double to touch his toes, "I will run, and play, and frolic with the sand creatures."
Kenny placed his elbow on Craig's shoulder and peered into his obviously exhausted face. "Hey, man. If you want me to drive the rest of the way so that you can get some rest, I wouldn't mind."
Seeing Craig's hesitation, Kenny gently nudged the back of Craig's head with his elbow. "You trust me with your life, Tucker. Now, trust me with your car. I'll treat her just right."
Craig just shook his head in resignation and dropped his keys into Kenny's open palm. "Don't make me regret this."
Once inside the restaurant, the boys each placed their orders and slowly began to overrun the small Burger King of St. George, Utah. Token, Tweek, Kyle, and Christophe were seated silently at a booth; Token was fast asleep with his head on the table, Tweek staring at him in mild disgust, while Kyle and Christophe passed Christophe's iPhone back and forth, not wanting to interrupt their intense game of scrabble. Stan, Craig, and Clyde sat in the table across from them; Stan and Craig were both out cold and Clyde sat singing a melody to himself as he doodled all over Craig's forearm. Cartman was in the middle of a pointless argument with Kenny (who was sitting with his arms crossed over his chest, feigning sleep to annoy the fat boy even more) in the booth behind Kyle, while Butters hummed along to the rhythm to which Kenny's fingers were tapping.
The peace was broken when a gruff, male voice called out a number and Stan shot out of his chair like a bat out of hell. From that point onward, the little restaurant was complete and utter chaos as all ten boys maneuvered around each other, grabbed random packets out of bins, and devoured their lunch. Out of the consideration of Kyle and Butters, the clan of boys left the restaurant more or less the same as when they arrived. With new, alert drivers at the wheels, the three cars took off once more, this time not stopping until they reached their final destination.
The time was well past eight in the evening by the time they arrived at the rented beach house.
"Holy shit, I didn't expect it to be so big!" Stan yelled as the rocks crunched under his weight.
"That's what she said," Kenny cried back whilst jumping out of the driver's side of Craig's Jeep.
"I'm so fucking exhausted," Token said as his feet shuffled across the gravel, "Do we have to bring in all of the bags tonight?"
"We can just bring in what we need and leave the rest out here until tomorrow morning when we're all rested," answered Kyle as he began to rummage through all of the bags in Stan's SUV.
Once everyone grabbed what was necessary for their nightly rituals, they walked up the short path to the front door, but stopped dead in their tracks when they realized they were missing one vital item: the key.
Craig sighed as he collapsed onto one of his bags and Clyde looked towards Kyle with a pained expression.
"Now what?" the brunette asked, tears beginning to brim his eyes in pure exhaustion. Craig noticed the choked tone to his friend's voice and smacked him hard on his leg to prevent him from crying.
Kyle threw up his arms in defense, "Wait, she gave me specific instructions for when this happens."
There was an awkward pause as the boys waited for Kyle to continue.
"I just can't remember what they are…"
"Aw, that's weak, dude!" Cartman shouted as he too collapsed on top of his bag.
As they were talking, they didn't notice the sound of four high-pitched beeps, a latch opening, or the distinctive noise of a key sliding into a lock. They did however notice when Christophe, the door open behind him, turned to them and smugly muttered, "Come on, beetches."
All ten boys jumped forward in haste, nearly knocking each other over to get through the door. Cartman raced forward, pushing Clyde to the side in irritation, as he bounded towards the first room with a queen sized bed. Throwing the door open, the brilliant smile fell off his face as Christophe waved mockingly from his perch on the large mattress. Cartman slammed the door closed in frustration and growled at the red-headed boy who nudged him out of the way. He rushed to the next door over and almost screamed when he saw Craig and Tweek curled in a tight ball on the last queen sized bed. Cartman stumbled down the steps as he hurried down the hallway towards the room with the bunk bed.
"No! The fuck?" Cartman half asked, half yelled at the lump lying on the last not-twin-sized bed.
Kenny rolled over and grinned like a jackal, "You know the rules, fat boy. Now go to your twin sized bed. Be gone!"
Kenny laughed hysterically as Cartman grumbled his annoyance, stomping down the hall to the last room with the three twin-sized beds cramped in it. Upon entrance, Cartman eyed Token and Clyde who were already fast asleep above their covers. He threw his bags onto the floor next to the empty bed and collapsed face first onto the mattress with a loud groan. Trying to focus on his annoyance at getting one of the smallest beds in the house, Cartman fell asleep quickly along with the rest of his comrades.
(A/N): One more thing to say! If anyone would be willing to draw the picture that Tweek drew, PM me and we'll negotiate something :)