Stan's POV
I flipped through pages in my textbook until I found the homework assignment. I stared at the problems for awhile, and then tossed the book on my bed. It wasn't like I needed to do them now, there were two weeks before I had to worry about school again. Just as I got up, there was a knock at my door. "Stanley, dinners ready dear." Dinner. I looked at the clock and realized it was already six.
"Okay mom, be down in a second." Before retreating down to the kitchen, I went over to my backpack and took out the almost-empty liquor bottle. The urge to take a sip was overwhelming, so I quickly lifted the one of many loose floorboards and set it in its usual place. Pressing my foot on the board assured it wasn't noticeable, so I ran down the stairs to dinner. The scent of meatloaf lofted through the air, as did the smell of fresh pine needles from the Christmas tree Dad had proudly pulled through the door only minute earlier. I pulled up a chair and spooned some peas onto my plate. An awkward silence filled the room, until mom chirped up.
"So, kids, how was school today? Anything exiting happen?" I opened my mouth about to speak, when Shelly quickly interrupted knowing I had nothing interesting to say.
"My boyfriend took me out for a romantic lunch as an early Christmas present. It was very special." She made very clear that we all were aware of the word boyfriend. We all continued eating without paying much attention to her statement, until she stood up in tears. "You turds don't care about me! I hate it here!" Dad rolled his eyes as she stomped up to her room where she blared an old Britany Spears song.
"Sharon, how much longer until Shelly leaves for college?" We thought he was joking, but he actually asked it quite seriously. Mom sighed and checked the calendar.
"Seven. Seven months." Dad groaned. "Randy, she's your daughter. Your only daughter. At least try to be sympathetic when she leaves, would you?" He just ignored her, and continued shoveling the meatloaf into his mouth. Seeing that no one else was eating exempt dad, she cleared the table. Silently, I walked back up to my room until I was stopped. "Stanley, can you come here for a minute?" Mom wanted to talk. This couldn't be good. I stood waiting for her to say something as she finished washing a pan. She had completely forgotten I was there until she reached for more soap. "Oh, yes. So I was wondering…how's Kyle doing?" I tilted my head, not quite understanding what she meant.
"He's…fine. Why?" She shrugged.
"I was just wondering. Mrs. Brovlowski called me while you were at school, and she said they got into a fight." This wasn't really news for me. Kyle and his mom had been fighting ever since he was in the third grade, and it wasn't about to stop anytime soon. Mom knew this too, so I wondered why she was bringing it up.
"So?" Mom reached over and turned off the faucet and dried her hands on her apron.
"Well, I suggested that Kyle come and stay with us for awhile over Christmas break-" A huge smile spread across my face.
"You mean, for like, Christmas?" She nodded.
"Shelia hasn't told him. Why don't you ask him, I'm sure he would like a change of scenery." Kyle would be static. He would be more than static, he would be overjoyed. I ran back up to my room and fell onto my bed, landing on my textbook. I flung it onto the floor, ripping the cover off.
"Shit!" I made a fist a hit my pillow. Mr. Parker would kill me, and worse, make me pay for it. But on second thought if I was dead, my parents would have to pay for it. I grabbed my phone from my black nightstand and flipped through my contacts until I found Kyle's name. Six long rings echoed through my ear before Kyle picked up.
"Hello?" He sounded exhausted.
"Hey dude, it's Stan."
"Stan! Oh hey, so what's up?" His voice cracked before he sounded like his normal self again.
"It's about Christmas." There was no answer, so I just continued. "My mom said you could come and stay with us over the break if you wanted to." There was a loud crack at the other end of the line. I assumed he dropped his phone, which made me smile.
"You're...you're kidding, right? Holy shit of course I do!" Kyle stared to laugh. "So uh, when can I come?" That didnt take much convincing.
"Now." There was a shout and then what sounded like he had just kissed his phone. If only there hadnt been a phone separating us, that would have made this day even better. "We'll be there in like an hour, okay?" Another joyous shout, and then the line went blank.
Our car idled by the snowy curb as I ran up to Kyle's house and banged on the door. There was almost no wait before it flew open for my to see Kyle standing there smiling. "Hey dude!" I smiled and grabbed one of his two suitcases and threw it in the trunk. He retreated back into the house and grabbed something which he stuck in his pocket.
"Got everything?" I asked. He shrugged.
"Could care less. Hey, Stan, thanks for letting me come. It really means alot." A small grin appeared on his face before he entangled me in a hug. I felt my face go warm, but since it was dark already, I knew he couldnt see.
The ride home was quick. Mom made me carry all of Kyle's stuff upstairs, which I made a fuss about but honestly loved to do. Kyle walked around nervously alothough he had practically lived here anyways. I blew up a matress and tossed some stuff on it. Before I went back downstairs, I looked at the bed again. I bit my lip, and ran to the bathroom to get better sheets. Very carefully, I pulled sheets on the bed, and topped it off with a freshly washed duvet. Realizing that I had spent almost half an hour making my room look presentable, I skipped downstairs where Kyle was in the living room watching T.V. "What took you so long?" I tried to think of something.
"Just making my room somewhat livable." He laughed. That was true, I guess. But I really wanted it to be perfect for Kyle. That seemed silly the more I thought about it, because his room was more of pit than mine was even before I had spent all this time cleaning. "You know, for my new roomate." He turned red, adn looked down at his feet trying to cover his embarrassment.
"Boys, it's time for bed. Stan, why don't you help Kyle get his bed all ready?" I stared at her, surprised she didnt notice my absence.
"I uh... I already made his bed." Neither of them were at all surprised.
I went upstairs and changed, then went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Kyle greeted me shortly, in his pajamas and without his hat. He looked cuter without his hat on all the time. "Dude, thanks again for letting me stay here." I spit into the sink, and washed the blue foam down the drain. "I mean, it's really nice when we get to spend time together." Those words made me blush violently. Then I noticed he was quite pink himslef.
"Yeah." That's all I could think to say. "It really is." Kyle spun around and went back to my room. I looked at myself in the mirror. Maybe I just heard that wrong. The truth being, I really hoped that I didnt.
When I went back to my room, the lights were already off. "Kyle?" An arm shot out of the thick duvet.
"Right here," Kyle was practically buried alive in all the decorative pillows and shams I had set out for him. "I give your bed making skills a ten, by the way." He said giggling.
"Thanks," I said jumping into my own bed. "Goodnight Kyle." Kyle pulled himself to the edge of the bed.
"Night dude." And with a flop, he fell back onto his fluffy pillow.
I couldnt sleep. I kept gazing down at Kyle, making sure he was still there. He looked so cute when he slept, the exact opposite of Cartman. Quietly, I slipped out of bed and clicked on the desk lamp. I turned around to make sure Kyle was still asleep, and that was assured by a small snore. I smiled. My laptop screen lit up the entire room. I logged onto facebook, and was surprised to see that I had eleven new messages. All from Wendy. I opened the first one, and read sleepily. I feel like this ended on a bad note, and I just want to apologize. Apologize for what? She hadnt done anything wrong, and I told her that on several occasions. I was the one who broke up with Wendy, having her break up with him all the other times. I knew that I only had a few more years to hope that the person I truley loved would love me back, and if that didnt happen then I really didnt know what I would do. Next message. Stan, call me okay? I'd get around to it. I read eight more messages of apology before coming to the last one. Without any effort, I began to read without really thinking about it. I went to log out when I froze. Slowly re-reading the chatted message, I covered my face with my hands. In all capitols, was Wendy's final chat before I had logged the day after we broke up. STAN WE NEED TO TALK. I KNOW ABOUT KYLE. How could she know? I hadnt told anyone that he was in love with Kyle. Why would I tell anyone? I shut my laptop with shaking hands. Now I had no choice but to talk to Wendy, even if I didnt want to. Just as I was pulling the covers over me, I noticed an open notebook on Kyle's bed. It would be rude to snoop, but he was asleep. Snatching it, I started flipping through the pages. Endless math problems crowded each line. I gently set it back in its place, but something caught my eye. In one of the cornors, there was a small dove. I pulled the page open and stared at it in shock. My fingers went up and traced the drawings of the doves and arrows, and the heart around my name.