Stan lay on his bed, headphones buried deep in his ears and his feet tapping to the soothing music, eyes closed. He wasn't really listening to the lyrics, just concentrating on the tune and the steady beat. It was repetitive, unchanging, safe. A stark contrast to the reality he was escaping from.

In just a few days, he would lose everything. This wonderful sanctuary, a (temporarily) debt free life. The moment he graduated, he would have to move in with his mom, and the clock would begin ticking until he had to start paying back all his loans, meaning he would have to take any job he could get. It didn't help that Kyle never shut up about his promised internship as a software engineer at Facebook. Stan laughed bitterly. Of course, Kyle wasted so much time on that site that it was only fitting for him to work there too.

He then began to wonder if maybe he was that predictable. Maybe Kyle was laughing ironically at the thought of Stan flipping burgers, then coming home and hanging up his Wendy's uniform in the hallway of his mom's house. Maybe he was always destined for this, to end up single and working in a place with the same name as his old ex-girlfriend. Just life's way of kicking him in the balls, again.

At least he and Kyle were still friends, everyone else he had cared about had fucked off (except his mom). Fuck them, he thought, but instantly regretted it... The world didn't revolve around him, and he loathed to think that way. That was something Cartman was capable of, not him. Still, he couldn't help but feel like he had been dealt a shitty hand by God.

The music faded out, being replaced by loud and determined bangs on his dorm room door. Annoyed, he pulled out his headphones.

"What the fuck, Mark?!"

"Wow Stan, where did my cute little brother go?" It was not Mark.

"Shelly?"

"Yeah, dick, let me in." Sighing, Stan got up off his bed. Once she pushed past him in to his room, she dropped her bag. "Who the hell is Mark?"

"Boyfriend." He smirked at her expression, if the bag was still in her hand he would have been slightly worried.

"BOYFRIEND?!"

"Chill!" He laughed. "I'm kidding." His laughing stopped as she relaxed again, but there was no lingering smile there on his face. He picked up her bag and threw it in his closet, not caring about how she might react. It had taken a while, but he had eventually stopped being scared of her (almost) when her head gear got removed and she stopped physically venting her frustration on him.

"What are you doing here anyway? Nebraska not good enough for you?"

"Dick." She had also stopped calling him turd too. Unfortunately for him though, his new nickname was no better. "Nebraska's not that bad, you know. But whatever, I'm here for your graduation."

"You're two days too early."

"I thought it would take longer to drive here, so deal with it." Stan just sighed at this.

"I don't know where you're going to sleep."

"Did you forget I have an RV? Mom's going to be staying in it too, when she get's here."

"Oh great, my last few days of freedom and I have to spend it with my family."

"Shut up dick, you're starting to sound like dad." That shut him up. He lay back down on his bed and shut his eyes again. "Anyway, I'm not going to stick around your sorry ass for longer than I have to, I'm going out." He didn't answer her, but she didn't expect him to.

The door shut behind her and everything was silent. She was wrong, he was nothing like his dad. He was a childish, depressed, selfish asshole. Stan was not.

Stan was sat under a tree on campus. It was his last full day here. He knew he didn't have to stay until graduation, but he decided to drag it out a little bit longer and put off the inevitable. During his time there, he constantly complained about it, but he knew he never meant any of it.

He stood up from his spot under the tree and began his last walk around campus, knowing it would take up the rest of his day as it was so huge. He smiled faintly, unable to not link a memory to every place he looked at. They were happy memories, of course, but there was a faint hint of sadness to them now he was going to be leaving them behind. It still felt unreal to him...

Once he reached the football field, he stopped. As much as his dad had wanted him to, he never pursued a career in the sport. He loved running, he loved working out, he even loved watching sport which, now he thought about it, was probably the reason why he wouldn't play it, it would take away the shine of supporting his team if he were to play for it.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see one of his few friends here at USF, Marcie.

"Hey!" She greeted, hugging him. "Whatcha doing all the way over here?"

"Just reminiscing, I guess." He shrugged. "I didn't think I would, but I'm really going to miss this."

"Really? I'm surprised, I always thought that would be me, but I don't think I'm going to miss this place one bit... At least not for a while. Aren't you excited to go home?"

"Uh... No... I don't have a home."

"Sorry?"

"A home is where the heart is, right? I don't have a home."

"Honey, I'm not going to miss this place, but I will miss the poetic depressive shit you constantly spew out." She gave him a wink and a playful shove.

"Oh shut up." He laughed and pushed her back, starting to walk again. She walked with him.

"So, is Kyle coming for your graduation?"

"I hope so."

"I bet he will, you were there for his."

"Yeah." Stan smiled nostalgically. That was a good day, Kyle seemed really happy, so he was happy too. "He has his internship, though."

"Oh yeah..." Marcie frowned for a moment. "Well, it's going to be on a Saturday, I'm sure Facebook will give him the weekend off."

They sat down near the bull statue, sitting in silence for a while.

"Hey, Stan."

"Yeah?"

"Kyle makes you smile."

"Of course he does, he's my best..." He laughed. "Super best friend."

"Wow, I'm never going to get over how gay that sounds."

"You're just jealous."

"That I am. I wish I had a friend as close as that."

"Not Mike?"

"Mike's my boyfriend, it's different."

"Is it?"

"Yeah, we started dating not long after we became friends... If, hypothetically, you and Kyle hooked up, I'm sure nothing could tear you apart." Stan shifted uncomfortably, but she carried on. "Me and Mike, though, we might not make it."

"Sure you will, if you love each other enough..." But he knew she was right, a relationship with no foundations crumbles easier and faster.

"Maybe." She smiled up at him. "Stan, sometimes, I wish you weren't gay. I don't mean that in a homophobic way, but... Well you know what I mean." It was no secret that, in the beginning, she had settled for second best.

"Hah. Sometimes I wish I wasn't too." His laugh was strained, remembering the problems this caused for his and his dad's already damaged relationship. "Maybe then, you would have been good enough for me." He winked, she just stuck her tongue out at him.

"Ouch, you heartless bastard, gender shouldn't be an issue." She nudged him with her elbow. He knew they probably would have been almost unstoppable, their friendship was pretty strong. It still paled in comparison to his and Kyle's, but it's the closest anyone has ever got and, let's be real, nobody could ever replace Kyle in Stan's life.

"Oh come here, I'm going to miss you." She said after another moment of silence. She hugged him, and they stayed like that for a few moments before she sighed and pulled away, facing forward once more and resting her head on his shoulder. "Friends forever?"

"Friends forever."

If you were wondering, Marcie is an original character and I actually have my own original story for her haha. I was just writing this and she just decided to walk in, so it's not my fault xD she's a bit more of a bitch in my original story... Anyway, hopefully this wasn't too short :D and yes, gay!Stan is my headcanon, since I read an interview with Parker where he said if any of the kids would end up gay, it would most likely be Stan ;3 so it's pretty much canon lol.