"And though there's a grain of truth in every rumor, I've found that the worst gossip usually starts with something harmless."

― Kathleen O'Dell, The Aviary

Everyone knew that Kyle Broflovski had returned to South Park, but rumor had it he was horribly disfigured now after a horrible accident.

Rumor had it he had joined a cult that worships the devil and that he dressed like a Goth.

Rumor had it that he'd gone to live with some far off relative who was now dead and made him even richer than Token.

Rumor had it that Kyle Broflovski was now a girl.

Of course, none of this was true, but as with most rumors, things get passed around and horribly rearranged. All of these rumors did have one thing in common though: They'd all been started by Cartman. The next week found nosy people coming over to the Broflovski household to try and get a look at Kyle. Kyle, of course, was never around. He stayed away from the house, sometimes having to sneak out the window to escape.

The only people allowed in the house were Tweek, Clyde and Kenny. Cartman tried to come in too, but Kyle never seemed to be there. One day, just as Kyle was about to leave, he heard his mother call from downstairs that Stan was there. Better late than never he supposed. Mrs. Broflovski sent Stan upstairs and Kyle could tell from the noise Stan was making that he was angry. Stan slammed the door open and was stunned into silence for a moment after seeing Kyle and his new room. Both of them just stood there in the doorway awkwardly before Stan seemed to remember what he was doing.

"What the hell man?" Stan grit out, glaring at Kyle. Kyle frowned before shrugging.

"What?" he asked.

"You could have told your best friend that you were back! I live next door and yet, I was last to know? Hell you didn't even tell me you were leaving, you just left!" said Stan. Kyle could see that Stan felt slightly hurt, confused and angry, but he could care less at the moment.

"Oh so now I'm your best friend? I thought I was disgusting." Replied Kyle.

"Dude are you seriously going on about that?" asked Stan, rolling his eyes.

"Of course I am! You were supposed to be my best friend. You were supposed to be supportive of who I am, not shun me and call me disgusting!" Kyle retort back angrily.

"Well dude I felt like you were coming on to me." Said Stan. Kyle scoffed and made a face.

"Coming on to you? You make it sound like I was trying to force myself onto you. I was trying to figure things out! I was trying to make sense of who I was and all you go and do is make me feel horrible and shut me down!" Kyle yelled. Stan rubbed the back of his head; a nervous habit that Kyle used to love but now he hated.

"Just say it. I know you want to say something, so just say it." Kyle told him. Stan frowned at him and shook his head.

"I don't have anything to say." Muttered Stan, who just glanced around and avoid eye contact.

"Bullshit. I've known you since we were kids." Retort Kyle, glaring at Stan with his arms crossed.

"Dude I just think you're overreacting. I mean you didn't even think about how gay that was and how uncomfortable it would make me feel." Said Stan, which was probably the worst thing to say at the moment. The room grew silent; so silent you could hear a pin drop. Kyle had turned, facing away from Stan and trying, in vain, to control his temper, but he was slowly beginning to shake.

"Stan…. Please leave now." Was the whispered reply. Stan was confused and he frowned, reaching over to touch Kyle's shoulder. Kyle quickly turned and faced Stan, his face turning red like his hair.

"I said leave…. NOW! Get out of my house!" shouted Kyle. Stan was surprised to have Kyle shouting at him, that he couldn't do anything except leave. Kyle had had enough of Stan at the moment. Stan was an asshole. Stan never took responsibility for things he said or did, never thought of anyone but himself and never seemed to give a fuck about anyone's else's feelings. He was just about worse than Cartman at times.

Mrs. Broflovsky was surprised to see an angry Stan storm out of the house. She was about to head upstairs to talk to her son when he came downstairs, having changed into an Oscar the Grouch shirt with grey skinny jeans and green converse all-stars.

"Oh… I just saw Stan… did you two get in a fight?" she asked. Kyle sighed and crossed his arms. "I don't want to talk about it." He said. He made his way down the stairs and about to pass his mother when she suddenly grabbed his wrist and flipped his arm over to reveal the tattoo there. Kyle winced, knowing about the explosion about to happen.

"Kyle Broflovski! Just what in Heaven's name have you done? How dare you defile yourself like this! You have started down the path of evil! You devil child! I want you to march right back upstairs! You are grounded!" she yelled. Kyle knew there was no point in arguing. He just glared at her before he turned and stormed up to his room. A few minutes later, he could hear his parents arguing downstairs. There was a soft knock on his door. He didn't answer but he knew it was Ike. Ike came over and sat on his bed.

"For what it's worth… I think your tattoo is awesome." Attempted Ike, smiling. Kyle sighed and glanced at him. "Cover for me?" he asked. Ike frowned a moment, before nodding. Kyle watched and wait for his mother to leave for the PTA meeting. His dad was busy doing yard work. He smiled, before grabbing his phone and climbing out his window. He wasn't sure where he was going to go, but somehow found his way to Clyde's house. He was let in by Clyde's dad and made his way upstairs to Clyde's room.

In the room he found Clyde, Token, Tweek and Craig playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It was Tweek who first noticed Kyle. "Agh! K-Kyle! You're here!" he said. Tweek's out claim caused the others to stop playing for a moment and they looked over.

"Oh… hey Kyle man. Nice to see you…. Hey you okay?" he asked. Kyle looked slightly pissed off.

"Agh you look angry!" said Tweek. Kyle paced the room a moment, then growled angrily, causing the already twitchy Tweek to jump. He stopped pacing a moment, before he turned and stared at the group. While Craig still had his apathetic look, he was surprised by Kyle's new look… and slightly impressed. The old Kyle wouldn't even be seen in the same vicinity of these clothes and now he wore them as casually as if he had his whole life.

"Take your time man. Talk when you're ready." Said Clyde.

"Stan is an asshole!" Kyle blurted out, shocking the group. Before anyone could say anything though, he continued to yell. "I mean… I guess he always was right, but I just never noticed. I was always a pushover and I figured that I just had to deal with it because he was my best friend." Kyle mused. He sighed and kicked at the rug.

"Before I had first left, he said I was disgusting and now he got all pissed off at leaving without telling him. I lost my temper and told him it was his fault for being a horrible friend and then he gets all defensive saying it's my fault because I tried to force my gayness on him." Said Kyle. "Well I mean I confessed I was gay and might have feelings for him so he blew me off. Best friends don't do that right? As far as I'm concerned he's no longer a friend of mine unless he proves it."

After his rant, he was breathless and the other guys just stared at him in shock. They didn't really need to say anything, since Kyle just needed someone to listen.

"Um anything else the matter besides the obvious?" asked Craig, rolling his eyes. He never liked Stan, keyword hated. Of course, it may have something to do with Kyle, but whatever.

"The obvious?" asked Kyle, pausing in his tangent.

"Yeah the obvious. Ask anyone and they'll tell you he's an asshole." Stated Craig apathetically, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah I don't understand why you guys were friends for so long." Said Clyde, frowning. Kyle didn't understand it now either, now that he looked at it.

"Well you said you had a crush on him right? Maybe it was blinding you from the truth." Stated Token, the voice of reason. Kyle nodded before walking over to the bed. He sat in silence for a few minutes and when it was deemed proper, the guys returned to their game. Tweek was more than happy to give Kyle his controller and let him play for him. They were playing Super Smash Bros. After 6 games, three of which Kyle dominated, irritating and impressing Craig. Usually he won a lot of the games, but Kyle had beaten him.

"Oh yeah what was the other reason thing that pissed you off?" asked Clyde. Kyle rolled his eyes and dropped the controller on the bed, pointing to his tattoo.

"She saw the tattoo and ground me." Said Kyle. Not a moment later, he received a text from Ike. "Code red bro. Mom's coming back!" was the text. Kyle jumped up and cursed.

"My mom is on her way back home. I can't let her find out that I left or who knows what she'll do." He groaned. Craig stood up, pulling a pair of keys out of his pocket. Kyle gave him a confused look.

"My ride is right next door. I'll take you." Replied Craig. Kyle blinked, then smiled gratefully. "Thanks dude!" he said. Craig grit his teeth and glared slightly.

"Don't call me dude!" He spat before he turned and stormed out the door. Kyle frowned, wondering what he'd done to just piss Craig off since he'd rarely ever seen Craig show emotion. Craig's voice called from the hallway: "Hurry up Broflovski!" Kyle quickly followed after him, waving to the guys before heading next door to Craig's house. Kyle stopped when he saw Craig grabbing a motorcycle helmet.

"What's wrong Broflovski? Scared of riding a motorcycle?" asked Craig but Kyle could tell there was a slight teasing tone. "Or are you just surprised I have one?" It didn't surprise him that Craig had one, just that he had a Kawasaki Ninja.

"No I'm just surprised you've got a Kawasaki Ninja but you seem more like a speed guy any ways so this bike is a good match for you." Said Kyle, nodding appreciatively. Craig was once again surprised. Kyle Broflovski knew motorcycles? He stared at Kyle as Kyle grabbed a helmet.

"What? One of my friends has a similar one." He replied when he caught Craig staring. Craig shook his head and put on his helmet as well.

"So you have ridden one?" he asked, climbing on the bike. Kyle bit his lip before chuckling nervously.

"Um… no. Jamie didn't even let anyone get near her bike." He said.

"Well come on Broflovski." Said Craig. Kyle nodded and climbed on the back of the motorcycle. Craig backed it up into the street and started towards Kyle's house. Since most of the cops were lazy, Craig could drive as fast as he wanted. Kyle was surprised when the front wheel came up a moment before they sped off, burning rubber down the street. Kyle gave a gasp, one arm holding onto Craig and the other raised in the air to feel the wind rushing by. Craig would deny that having Kyle's arms around him made him blush slightly. After what would have been a 45 minute walk turned into a 15 minute ride, Craig stopped a little bit down the street from Kyle's house.

"Thanks dude... I mean Craig. Thanks Craig, you're a lifesaver." Said Kyle. He climbed off the bike and took off the helmet, passing it back to Craig. Craig gave a small smirk and nodded.

"No problem Broflovski." Said Craig.

"What do I owe you?" asked Kyle. Craig frowned and gave him a confused look. "You don't owe me anything. I'm just doing you a favor. That's what friends do right?" he replied, before he smirked and drove off.

"Yeah… friends." Said Kyle, before he smiled and head towards his house. He used his dad's garden trellis to climb up to his room. He slipped into his bed, pretending to sleep. His mother returned a short while later but didn't even come to check on him. She had assumed Kyle was still well-behaved and had done as he was told. Kyle had freaked out for nothing.

It was the first day of school and everybody was excited. They would finally get to see Kyle, who'd been eluding them since his arrival. They wanted to know if the rumors were true. Finally the moment arrived and the students gathered at the windows to stare. When Kyle stepped out, everyone was surprised but also disappointed that what they'd heard wasn't true.

Kyle followed his mother down the hall as she went to register him classes. Kyle could feel everyone's eyes on him and all he did was wink and smile at some people, causing some girls and guys alike to blush.

"Ay Jew boy! Bout time you showed your gay face around here!" said Cartman, walking over to him. As usual he had Kenny and Stan with him and surprisingly butters. Kyle wasn't surprised. Butters had grown out of his baby face, but he still dressed the same way. Butters was currently sporting a Hello Kitty t-shirt. Kyle smiled and waved at him.

"Well hey there Kyle. Glad to see you're back in South Park." Said Butters, smiling. Kyle blatantly ignored Cartman and Stan, only briefly chatting with Butters and Kenny.

"Don't ignore me Kahl!" yelled Cartman.

"See you later." Said Kyle, continuing down the hallway.

"Hey where the hell you going fag? Don't you walk away from me, I have fucking AUTHORITAH!" said Cartman. Kyle flipped him the bird before walking off, shocking the people around them, including Stan. Kenny and Butters both ended up laughing, which just made Cartman even more pissed off and caused them to quickly head to their class.

It turned out that Kyle shared his first class with Butters. He sat in the back with Butters and smiled before giving Butters his gift. It was a limited edition Hello Kitty plushy wearing an old fashioned German dirndl with knee highs and leather boots.

"H-how did you find this? These were only sold in a few places!" said Butters. His face lit up as he smiled at Kyle. Butters never told anyone but he kept a collection of Hello Kitty items hidden away.

"Think of it as an "I'm sorry." And "Let's be friends."" Said Kyle. Butters smiled and nodded.

Kyle supposed it was force of habit that made him sit with Stan and Cartman at lunch, which he did for the next couple weeks. He only tolerated it because of Butters and Kenny.

Kyle was in detention, next to Cartman. Both males were slightly beat up and Cartman's nose was bleeding. Kyle had a bruise on his cheek. Kyle had barely been back a month and already he was in detention. Really it was Cartman's fault. It had started with an argument when Cartman had called Kyle a Kike and Kyle had called him a bastard child. That had led to Cartman insulting Kyle's family and friends, which had led to Kyle snapping and punching him in the face. It was quite a short fight to be held but even though Cartman was bigger, Kyle had held his own.

Kyle had already had a short fuse because Cartman had been trying, ever since Kyle got back, to egg him on and piss him off. Well he had succeeded but he hadn't gotten the result he'd wanted. He'd hadn't been expecting the damn Jew to punch him in the face. They both received detention as punishment, which led to Kyle deciding that was the last straw and ended up sitting with Craig and the gang at lunch.

He'd tried to give them another chance but they had failed it and he gave up on them. Tweek, Craig, Clyde and Token were all more than happy to welcome him to their table. Kyle was nice to Butters and Kenny, but gave Cartman and Stan the cold shoulder.

"The hell Jew boy? Sitting with these fags? You didn't actually take me seriously did you?" asked Cartman. Kyle glanced up at him.

"Cartman I'm going to be completely honest. You're an asshole. Why the hell would I hang out with you? I hate your fucking guts. Okay and yeah I'm a fag. I always have been, always will be, so why the hell do you care who I hang out with huh? Unless you're… in the closet about something?" he asked, with a smirk. Cartman frowned, knocking over Kyle's tray before walking away.

"Oh yeah real mature." Said Clyde, rolling his eyes.

Kyle was grounded. He'd gotten in a fight with Cartman again, getting detention and a call home. Now he no longer had his phone, video games or TV. He was bored out of his mind at home. At school he slipped away to smoke a cigarette, something he didn't do very often but there were times he needed one and he was surprised to see Craig also outside and smoking one.

"Can I bum a light?" asked Kyle, surprising Craig. He stood there, surprised a moment, the offered his lighter. Kyle lit his cigarette, then leaned against the railing behind him.

"Didn't think you smoked." Said Craig nonchalantly.

"I try not to but sometimes I get the urge and now because of that damn fat-ass, I couldn't resist coming out and having one." Was the reply Kyle gave. Craig stared at him a moment before he sighed and closed his eyes.

"You changed." Craig commented noncommittally.

"Are you saying that's good or bad?" asked Kyle with disdain. Craig shrugged, giving a nearly invisible smirk.

"I think it's good, this new you. Back then you were a pushover and never spoke for yourself but now I'd pay to see anyone try and get in your way." Said Craig, huffing out a laugh.

"Well that's what unlimited freedom does to a person." Said Kyle after a moment. The fell into a companionable silence, Craig having found a new smoking buddy. They would eat together with the group, then spend the last few minutes having a smoke out back. Sometimes they would talk and sometimes they would spend it in silence.

It was Friday afternoon and since Kyle was grounded, all he could do was go home. He was kind of worn out from the day he had and had gone straight to bed. He awoke to loud voices arguing in the kitchen and frowned, going down. It appeared that his parents were arguing.

"You shouldn't be mad at Kyle. There's nothing wrong with him." Said his mother.

"Your brother is a bad example for you. He is turning into the devil's servant and needs to be taught a lesson!" said Kyle's father. "We let him have a little bit of freedom and look what it did! He's… he's out of control! He's an insult to our family! First him being gay and now this? I will not stand for our son being like this. It's all that Marsh kid's fault! He turned our son into a fag." Screamed Kyle's father. Kyle felt his heart stop and he began to feel choked up.

He stormed into the kitchen and glared at his father, trying to stop the tears from falling but already one had escaped. "Kyle…" said his mother softly. His father frowned and looked at Kyle.

"Now there's no need to angry Kyle. I didn't mean it." Reasoned his father.

"Of course you did or you wouldn't have said it. You hate that fact that I'm gay but you can't change the way I am dad so don't try to give me some bullshit lie about wanting what's best for me when you can't even stand the real me." Kyle choked out.

"Kyle…" started his mother.

"No! I hate you. I hate you so much." Said Kyle, before he turned and left the room, storming out of the house. He let the tears fall freely as he continued down the street. He didn't know where he was going but he knew that he needed to get out of there. Maybe he could go to Craig's or something. His journey stopped short when he ran into Cartman though.

"Hey Jew boy." Came the annoying voice to his left. Kyle saw Cartman unloading groceries from his mom's car and frowned before he kept walking.

"Hey… HEY!" shout Cartman, shuffling things around in his arm. Kyle turned to face him, cheeks and eyes puffy and red.

"Please Cartman… if there's any human decency left in you. Please just leave me alone." Kyle said. He turned and kept walking, but barely made a few more steps when he heard a slight crash and footsteps. He didn't have time to register what was happening before Cartman ran up next to him. When they were younger, Cartman would have been exhausted from that slight jog but now he was barely winded, being on the football team now (even though he'd been suspended for fighting).

"Hey!" said Cartman, stopping in Kyle's path. He huffed before holding out a beer he'd taken from the six pack he bought. Kyle was surprised, but gladly took the beer. He cracked it open, taking a long swig from it and sighing. He looked at Cartman, questioningly as said male shuffled around awkwardly.

"Don't give me that look Jew fag. You look like shit so I figured a beer would help." Snapped Cartman, blushing from embarrassment. Kyle looked at the beer, then chuckled bitterly and wiped his face. Cartman must have been telling the truth if even he was feeling pity.

"Thanks Cartman." Replied Kyle as he started walking again, but was stopped a few feet later by Cartman's voice again.

"Hey you… want to come inside? I don't think wandering around drinking underage will help your problem here." Said Cartman, having picked up the groceries. Kyle frowned a moment and just stood there, wondering what he should do, but finally followed Cartman inside. After Cartman put away the groceries, he hid the beer, then took one and both boys went up to Cartman's room.

"Why did you do this Cartman? We aren't friends." Stated Kyle, sitting on the floor. Cartman frowned, sitting on his bed.

"We may not be friends but I still don't like seeing my rival crying like a little baby." Said Cartman, like it was obvious.

"Rival huh?" inquired Kyle, then chuckled slightly. Is that what they were? Rivals? It wasn't far from the truth. They were always butting heads and always competing. Still, a wise man said to keep your friends close and enemies closer, so here Kyle was drinking with Eric Cartman.

"So you're parents were being assholes." Stated Cartman. Kyle just chuckled again and finished the beer he was holding.

"You could say that." He said. "My father thinks all fags should burn in hell." Cartman just hummed in response, then suddenly grabbed Kyle and held him up by his collar.

"You tell anyone what I'm about to tell you kike, and I will end your existence." Said Cartman and Kyle could see he was serious. Kyle nodded, then Cartman took a deep breath and dropped Kyle. Kyle saw that Cartman was already on his third beer… when had he gotten another one?

"I… I wish I was like you Kahl. You aren't afraid to be who you are… guess that's why I'm such an asshole to you. Guess I'm jealous. Everybody likes you Kahl… but if they found out I was like you they would hate me." Said Cartman.

Like me? Is Cartman saying he's… thought Kyle, shocked.

"It just hurts so much to see those two together and there's nothing I can do about it. I mean I kinda forgot they were together but then I saw them again and… it just hurts you know?" asked Cartman. He sighed and set down the beer. "Don't tell anyone about this okay?" he asked, his words slurred. Kyle just hummed in agreement before grabbing another beer.

He woke up on Cartman's bedroom floor, apparently having passed out there. Cartman had fallen asleep on the bed. Kyle got up quietly and groaned. He hadn't slept over at Cartman's house in a few years. He knew he may have been slightly hungover now. He made some coffee and brought a cup upstairs for Cartman with a note thanking him for being honest.

He then made the walk home, glad he only lived a couple houses down. His head was throbbing but he didn't care. He got home and there was a tense and awkward silence while his mom made breakfast and his dad was reading the paper.

"Good morning sweetie." Said his mother through strained politeness as she served the breakfast. Ike actually gave a smile and waved at Kyle. The breakfast was quiet with small comments here and there. The only conversation was Ike, talking about school. The silence was broken by the doorbell ringing. Kyle frowned before he got up and walked over to the door. He opened it and was shocked to see his friend Danny from his trip standing there.

"Hey bro. What's up?" asked Danny.