The trip to the nurse was a rather silent one for Kenny, Stan and Cartman. Other than the usual grumblings from the latter, it was pretty quiet, and none of them dared to say a word. Kenny paused every few steps to adjust Kyle's unconscious body in his arms. Kenny wasn't as muscular as Stan, or Cartman, so carrying Kyle, even if he was a female now, wasn't exactly an easy feat.
Stan, noticing his friend's discomfort, approached him. Nothing was said between the two, and Kenny handed Kyle over to Stan, who wordlessly handed the blond boy Kyle's bag. With a little shuffle, Stan managed to have Kyle in his arms in a position that strained neither individual.
It felt really strange for Stan for carrying his best friend's unconscious form like that. Not that he didn't carry him before. The fact that Kyle had turned into a female, courtesy of Cartman, was the fact that weirded him out. He wasn't used to seeing a female version of his super best friend. Then again, who was? Stan often thought of what Kyle would look like if he were female. He didn't actually expect it to happen. Certainly not in this way, and certainly not now.
What confused Stan even more was how beautiful Kyle was. Though out cold, Stan knew, hidden beneath those shut eyes, were dazzling, emerald-green eyes, that changed shades depending on the red head's mood. He's been subjected to every one of them, so he knew what shade of green they became. Kyle's hair had been somewhat straightened out during the summer so when Kyle was subjected to the unfortunate gender change, the result was that his new hair became nice, wavy strands, that curled up at the tips.
"Stan, where the hell are you going?" Kenny's voice rang in his head. Stan snapped out of his daze and looked over at Kenny. "What?" he mumbled.
Kenny's pale-blue eyes had a look of confusion in them. "I said, where the hell are you going? The clinic is that way." he said, pointing to another hallway to his right.
Stan looked at the hallway, the back to Kenny. "Oh." He muttered stupidly. "I knew that."
"No, you did not." Kenny replied. "You were headed straight to the fucking exit. You alright, dude?"
Stan nodded his head. "Yeah. I'm fine."
Kenny had a look that plainly said he didn't believe him, but the blond decided not to push any further. "Well then, come on. We've got twenty minutes before lunch is over, and I do not want to be late to Ms. Brown's class. That witch will have my head."
Stan chuckled. "That shouldn't be a problem. You can always come back." Kenny rolled his eyes at Stan's attempt at humor and stared pointedly at him. Stan coughed, regained his composure, shuffled Kyle in his arms again, and followed Kenny silently. When they reached the school clinic, Kenny held the door open for Stan and Cartman, before slipping in himself.
The first reaction they recieved from the nurse was absolute shock. Questions were then shot their way, which were all answered with a detailed account of what happened. Kenny and Stan did all the talking, and Cartman didn't interject. He only talked when he was asked what he did, and to Stan and Kenny's surprise, Cartman told the exact thing. He didn't lie, he didn't smooth talk his way out, but gave a detailed, and exact description of what he did.
They then put Kyle on the bed, where the nurse checked all his vitals. The trio waited patiently, and the nurse finished the checkup with ten minutes to spare. She put her stethoscope around her neck and turned back to the boys who waited to hear any news at all.
"Is he-I mean she-going to be alright?" Stan asked.
The nurse nodded. "I've checked her vitals. Heartbeat is fine, blood pressure is normal, and her breathing is okay. Normal signs for a healthy, teenage girl. Now, I don't know what that formula Eric put in her drink will do to her overall health, so I'll have to have her blood checked." she said. "She'll have to go to the hospital for that."
Stan, Kenny and Cartman all simultaneously said "oh."
"I'll call an ambulance right now. You boys better head to class." the nurse said, looking at the wall clock, while dialing something on her cellphone.
The three nodded. "Thank you, ma'am." And with one last glance at Kyle, the three headed straight to their respective classes, minutes before the bell rang.
"Hey, Stan." Stan's girlfriend, Wendy Testaburger, slipped into the seat beside him. "Are you still coming over tonight?"
Stan looked up so fast that Wendy could've sworn she heard his neck crack. "Uh...what's happening tonight?"
Wendy gave a laugh. "Oh, don't tell me you forgot, Stan! It's our one year anniversary!"
Stan cursed inwardly. He totally forgot! He smiled sweetly at Wendy, who smiled back. "Oh, right! Happy anniversary, Wendy! Don't worry, babe. I'll be there at six?" he said, through clenched teeth.
Wendy arched an eyebrow. "You forgot that it's our anniversary, didn't you?" Stan winced, but Wendy continued. "Is everything okay, Stan?"
Stan sighed. "Look, I'm sorry for forgetting our anniversary, Wendy. I just had a lot of things on my mind lately, I plainly lost track of the things that are important to me."
To his surprise, Wendy didn't storm away like those drama queens in the movies who overreact just because their boyfriends forgot their anniversary. She sat there, concern painting her features. "It's alright, Stan. I'm not going to shout at you. So you missed one important date. Everyone does. What's on your mind, baby? Maybe I can help."
Stan sighed, again. He's been doing that a lot lately. "It's kind of complicated, sweetie. I can't explain in words. I'd rather show you instead."
Wendy smiled. "Alright. I'll hold you to that promise, Stanley Marsh."
Stan smiled. "Thanks. And I'm really sorry for forgetting. I haven't even bought you a gift! You must think I'm the worst boyfriend ever!"
Wendy took Stan's hand in hers. "Worst boyfriend, ever? Hell no! You're the best one I've ever had. It's alright, Stan. Don't worry about it! Things like these happen. What did you think I'd do? Shout at you, then storm off just because you forgot? I'm sure you had your reasons."
Stan smiled, leaned forward and captured Wendy's lips in his. He pulled away and smiled at his girlfriend. "Thanks for understanding, babe."
Wendy laughed. "Yeah, you're welcome."
Afternoon classes didn't go too smoothly for Stanley Marsh. His thoughts were plagued with images of Kyle, and everything that happened just hours ago. Concentrating on what they were supposed to do became hard for him. He was lucky they didn't have any pop quizzes, or he would've failed every single one of them.
School had ended at 3:30 pm. The minute the bell rang, Stan bolted out of the door, leaving a confused class behind. He ran through the hallways, dodging people, his bag thumping his side. He came to a full stop though, when Wendy and Bebe Stevens, Wendy's friend, stood in his way.
"Wendy," he breathed out. "I can't talk right now, sweetie."
"Stan, where are you running off too?" Wendy asked, putting her hands on Stan's shoulders and making him stand straight.
Stan took a few moments to catch his breath before talking. "I'm going to the hospital. Kyle's been in some sort of accident. That's what I want to show you. I also want to see if he's alright."
Wendy's eyes widened in shock. "Oh my god!"
"And you're going now?" Bebe asked, concern in her light blue eyes.
"Yeah."
"Can we come?" both girls chorused.
"Yeah, sure." Stan replied. "Now, c'mon." he said, pulling both their arms.
They went out to the school parking lot, where Stan had parked his brand new Camaro. Kenny was leaning against the hood of the car, checking his watch every so often. The blond boy looked up and gave Stan a pointed glare, that clearly said: Where the hell have you been?
"Sorry, dude. Stopped by the girlfriend, and her bestfriend." Stan said.
Kenny glanced at Wendy and Bebe. "Oh. They coming with us?"
"Oh yeah. Where the heck his Cartman?" Stan asked, looking around.
Kenny replied. "He said he'll just catch up."
"And you honestly believe that?" Stan asked his friend incredulously, while fishing his pockets for his keys.
Kenny shrugged. "Look, I really don't care if he shows up or not. For now, I'm worried about Kyle."
Stan unlocked his car, and slipped in the driver's seat. Kenny and Bebe took the entire back seat, and Wendy sat up front. Stan put the key in the ignition lock and started the engine. The pulled out of the parking lot and got onto Southpark's main avenue.
"So, what happened to Kyle?" Bebe asked.
Kenny and Stan both winced. "It's kinda hard to explain." Stan said. "You'll just have to see it for yourself."
Bebe and Wendy gasped. "Did he fall down the stairs or something?"
Stan shook his head. "No." He stopped at the red light. "He didn't. Look, Wendy, Bebe, you'll just have to see for yourself, alright?"
To his utter relief, no more questions were asked from both girls. Stan turned on the radio and the tension in between them seemed to reside, even for a while.
Stan looked ahead and saw the large sign of Southpark Community Hospital come up ahead. He parked his Camaro and they got out of the car. His only thought was that Kyle better be awake by now.