Nightfall came again, and the town of South Park came to a standstill. During the day, the town was bustling, but at night, everything froze. Even the various drug dealers all around the town – most of whom were Kenny's acquaintances – went home once the moon bathed South Park in its pale light.
Kenny, unable to get Kyle out of his head, couldn't fall asleep. He tossed about under his sheets, trying desperately to focus solely on his need for sleep. Yet Kyle's name, his face, and even his scent all kept popping up out of nowhere.

"Kyle..."

Kenny glanced at the small clock on his nightstand. It was just past 2 AM, which meant that he had to be in school in under six hours.

"I need sleep..."

Rather than try to fight his obsession, Kenny decided to try to work with it. He focused on the fact that Kyle would never see him as anything more than a friend; that he liked Stan. After a while, he began to feel drowsy and, finally, fell asleep, with Kyle still on his mind.


Kenny opened his eyes to find himself still in front of Kyle's house. He made a run for it, but, just like before, the doorway got farther and farther away from him, until he finally gave up from exhaustion.

"Dammit... Why can't I go inside? Wait, I've got an idea!"

"Kyle! Kyle, get down here!" he yelled.

For a while, there was nothing, and then Kyle showed up, looking through his bedroom window. Kenny jumped and waved his arms, trying to get his attention but Kyle didn't seem to notice him; he simply moved away from the window and went back inside.

"Kyle... Why didn't you see me?"

Suddenly, everything went black. Kenny ignored it, however, and continued to think about why Kyle hadn't seen him.

"That was so strange... This has never happened before... What went wrong?"

"Kenny! Wake up, you lazy asshole!"

"How the fuck do you always manage to bother me when I'm trying to think?"

"KENNY!"
"WHAT?!"
"GET UP!"

"Kevin..."

Kenny was about to yell back at his brother when his eyes found their way to the clock on his nightstand. His heart began to race as he realized that he was late for school, and he hadn't even gotten dressed yet.

"FUCK!"


A few minutes later, Kenny was apologizing to his teacher for the delay and listening to a long speech on punctuality. However, he only noticed that with half his mind, as he was also amazed by his own speed.

"Nothing like desperation to get the adrenaline flowing..."


Once school was over, the boys found themselves at the entrance, ready to go their own way. Stan said his goodbyes as fast as he could, and left just as quickly. Kyle, on the other hand, followed Kenny, who kept his mouth shut all the way. He didn't even care why Kyle was sticking with him and simply enjoyed the moment. However, it was over way too quickly, and the boys arrived at Kenny's house. At that moment, Kenny felt that it was time for some answers.

"So... Why did you come here? Don't get me wrong; I'm glad you did, but... Why?"
"...I need to talk to you about something."
"Stan?"
"...Kinda."
"Well, we should go inside then... C'mon."

Kenny led Kyle into his bedroom and locked the door behind them. Kyle was somewhat uncomfortable, sitting alone with Kenny in a locked room, even though he knew Kenny would never try anything.

"Dammit, why am I so nervous?"

Kyle held out his hands and realized that they were shaking. Kenny noticed it too, but dismissed it as low sugar.

"Ken, I've been thinking... What if I told Stan how I feel about him? Do you think he'd be OK with that?"

"I love it when you call me Ken."

"I-I don't know, Kyle."

"Of course... How could you? I don't know why I came here in the first place; it was a stupid idea."

"C-Could you do me a favor?"
"Sure! Anything you want." replied Kenny as quickly as he could.

To Kyle, Kenny's answer seemed just a little too eager, but he ignored it. His present concerns were far more important than Kenny's eagerness to help everyone.

"Just keep an eye on him; see if he's... you know..."

"You can't ask me to do that... But I already agreed to help you... I'll do it for you"

"Alright. But you know that's not something you just notice, right?"
"I know. I just need... I need something to hold on to. Right now I don't know what I should be thinking or feeling. I need this, Ken."

Kenny gently put his arms around Kyle and squeezed him lightly. Kissing Kyle on the forehead crossed his mind, but he simply released him after a couple of seconds, in spite of his urge to do more.

"It's OK, Kyle. I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks, Ken."

Kyle also had his urges to fight against, although his were worse than Kenny's. He didn't know what was going on in his head, only that he felt like screaming at the top of his lungs until he couldn't speak anymore.

"Calm down... Just calm down..."

Kyle shakingly waved Kenny goodbye and finally went home, leaving the blond boy alone to deal with his agreement. On one hand, Kenny didn't want Kyle to end up with Stan. He didn't think that Stan deserved him, nor did he want to spend the rest of his life wondering what it could've been. On the other hand, Kyle practically begged him to do it. It wasn't something he could just walk away from; not with his conscience screaming in his head, telling him otherwise.


Once Kyle found his way back into his room, the sun was already disappearing over the horizon. He glanced at it from his bedroom window, but didn't pay much attention to it beyond that. He was completely focused on the one question that had been bugging him for a while. However, now, more than ever, it haunted him constantly, even in his dreams.

"Hey, Kyle. What are you doing?"
"...Hey. Just... thinking."
"About what?"

Kyle's thoughts were crushed under the weight of a new dilemma. Should he tell Ike what he told Kenny? Ike had never done anything to break his trust, yet he wasn't overwhelmed with confidence. He had every reason not to doubt his brother, but he just couldn't bring himself to trust him.

"I... I'm..."
"What?"

"I can't."

Kyle tried his best to explain the situation to Ike, but, when he realized he couldn't, decided to say something else that was also bothering him.

"...Do you think it's possible to have a crush on two different people?"
"Sure. It's not like you choose your crushes. I thought you'd know that... You've always been the smart one."
"...Yeah, I guessed as much. Thanks, Ike."
"Any time, bro."

Ike knew Kyle would need some time to process everything, so he left as quietly as he could, to give Kyle some time with his thoughts. However, it wasn't Ike's answer he was focusing on. He was trying to figure out if asking Kenny to do what he should be doing was such a good idea. Like Ike, he had never done anything to deserve distrust, but it wasn't enough for Kyle. He had acted on impulse, and now he was regretting it. Kyle had always had problems trusting people, mostly due to poor self-esteem. His problems worsened over the years, to the point where he could barely trust his own brother. Kenny was one of the few people he trusted, although not completely. Nevertheless, it was done, and there was nothing he could do about it.


True to his word, and in spite of his gut telling him otherwise, Kenny spent every moment he could observing Stan's behavior. He searched for any subtle hints of Stan's sexuality, but everything told him that Stan was as straight as can be. Kyle looked at Kenny occasionally, to get an update, to which the blond boy replied by shaking his head from side to side, much to Kyle's annoyance.


Once school was over, Kyle followed Kenny to his house once again, to talk about what Kenny saw.

"So... anything?"
"Nothing. If he's gay, he's either so far in the closet he can't think straight or... Well, or he's not gay."
"...Are you sure?"
"Yup." Kenny said, saddened that he couldn't tell Kyle what he wanted to hear.
"...Thanks, Ken. And I'm sorry for dragging you into this."
"It's OK, Kyle. You're my best friend, after all. What kind of friend would I be if I said 'no'?"

Kenny's stomach twisted itself into knots after saying that. He was lying through his teeth to his best friend. He didn't want to do what Kyle had asked, nor did he think that it was OK that Kyle had asked him in the first place. The only part that was true was his relationship with Kyle. They had been best friends for quite some time now, something that put a smile on Kenny's face every time he reminded himself of it.

"Look, Ken, I-I don't want to sound ungrateful, but I have to go home now... I need some time to... to wrap my head around this."
"Of course... I'm sorry I didn't have good news to give you."
"It's not your fault."

"I shouldn't have made you do that."

Kyle pulled Kenny into a tight hug, as a way to apologize for his mistake. He didn't let go for quite some time, however, which made both of their faces turn bright red. Once he finally let go, both boys noticed the other's blushing, but neither of them said anything or payed much attention to it.

"Thanks for everything, Kenny."

Kenny smiled one last time as he watched Kyle leave his room. He lied down on his bed, still feeling Kyle's arms around himself, and giggled. However, as the thought that Kyle liked Stan made his way into his mind, his smile slowly faded away, and only sadness remained. He started to remember all the times he had lied to Kyle, which only added to his emptiness.


Meanwhile, as Kenny tried to focus on the good aspects of his friendship with Kyle, the latter was trying to process what he had just heard from Kenny. Although his gut told him otherwise, Kyle couldn't believe any of it. He desperately wanted Stan to see him as more than just a friend; a desire that had made him blind to reality.

"Maybe Kenny was wrong... It wouldn't be the first time."

By the time Kyle arrived at his house, his mother was getting ready to call him on his cellphone.

"KYLE! Where have you been!?"

"Fuck! I forgot to tell her I was going to Kenny's so we could talk."

"I was at Kenny's... I forgot to tell you. I'm sorry."

Sheila stared at her son, whose eyes never left the floor. Her first instinct was to yell at him some more, but her husband stood up for Kyle and whispered to her that it was a simple mistake, and that she shouldn't punish him for it. Although her gut told her otherwise, she reluctantly agreed to leave Kyle alone. Realizing this, Kyle made his way into his room as quickly as his tired legs allowed him, in case his mother changed her mind about letting him off the hook.
Kyle was in such a rush that he didn't notice his brother sitting on his bed, waiting for him. The reason for Kyle's question regarding multiple crushes had piqued his curiosity. Now he wanted to know who Kyle's crushes were.

"Hey, Kyle."
"Fuck!"

"That's a nice way to greet your brother..." thought Ike as he frowned.

"S-Sorry, you scared me."

Kyle was visibly disturbed by his mother's attitude, something Ike felt empathetic to. Their mother had always been able to make everyone scared of her; even her husband. She didn't care about anything except her wishes. Kyle was her opposite on that regard: almost everything he did was to help others, without any concern for himself.

"What do you wanna talk about?"
"Our last conversation got me curious... Who're the lucky ladies?"
"W-Well..."
"If you don't want to tell me, that's OK too. I was just curious."
"N-No, that's alright... I should've told you about this before anyway."
"Hm?"
"It's not... They're not..."
"What? Don't tell me you're gay."

Kyle wanted to tell Ike the truth, but the words wouldn't come out. Instead, his eyes met the floor once again, which told Ike everything he needed to know.

"O-Oh... Well, this is awkward..."
"Yeah..."
"So... Who're the lucky guys?"

Ike's reaction was the last thing Kyle expected, leading to a heavy silence in his bedroom that seemed to last forever.

"Y-You're not going to say anything?"
"Kyle, you're really letting me down! I've always bragged that my brother was the smartest person in South Park, and you're ruining that reputation. Why would I care if you're into guys or girls?"
"...I-I guess it is kinda stupid." said Kyle, relieved by his brother's words. "Thank you."
"Any time, bro."

Once Ike left Kyle's room, the latter went to bed, still thinking about what Ike had told him.

"Ike's right. It doesn't matter... I just hope Stan sees it that way."