AN: We had a HELL of a time writing this chapter. It was like we enjoyed tormenting each other. I especially enjoyed tormenting IBB. She's a slash fanatic through and through and it could be hard, yet entertaining, at times to reel her in with a, "no, not yet!" sort of mindset. At the same time she keeps me in check from letting things get TOO serious. This is SP after all and we would like to retain an essence of the show…no matter how minuscule. Anyway, thanks for the reviews everyone! You all keep reviewing and we'll keep writing like we have been! Enjoy chapter four:)

The Reformation of Kyle Broflovski

IV. The Intervention

"Howard's Garage. We'll look under your hood and test drive your body free of charge."

"Hey Ken," I say back, a little dejectedly. It's Sunday morning, and Kyle's gone. He was gone when I woke up. There's no note, but he doesn't have to leave one, I'm sure I know where he is. Where else would he be, other than with his good friend Miller?

It's already been a week, and I've successfully completed my first seven days here at JV. And when I say successfully, I mean academically. Socially, I guess I have a few people I could call friends, but Kyle and I…regardless of that talk we had last week on the roof, things haven't changed that much between us. I almost feel like they're getting worse, but it could just be my imagination.

"What are you doing right now?" I ask, lounging on my desk chair.

"This and that you know. What's up, did you need something?"

"…just wanted to talk I guess. It has been a week; you haven't called me or anything."

"I figured you'd be too busy with your best friend Kyle and your new awesome school. I didn't want to interrupt."

I rub the bridge of my nose. "Kenny, not this, not now."

"Not what?" he asks with false innocence.

"Guess I can't talk. I told you I'd call you," I admit, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, you did," he affirms. Then a pause. I wait for him to get angry with me for holding up my end of my promise. "What took you so long?" he follows with a hint of smile in his voice.

I smile back, though he can't see it. I miss his jokes--it seems like all I've got here is serious discussion after life-changing conversation from Kyle. He reads into too many things, and tries to get me to believe whatever the hell he's talking about...but he's so universal with his thoughts, I never can tell.

"I just wanted you to miss me so I could hear about how sad you are," I joke.

Kenny snorts. "Are you kidding? Without Marsh here in town, I've got TWICE the amount of hot girls that I already had! It's like I won the sex lottery or something."

"Nice, Ken," I say with mock sarcasm. "Glad to hear everything's good."

"How's Kyle doing? Better yet, how are you and Kyle doing?"

I pause, and the joyful mood I was feeling at joking with Kenny vanishes and I fall back into the pit of wallow I've been feeling the last few days.

"That good huh?" He says into the speaker after my moment of silence.

"Things…aren't what I was expecting."

"You must be jesting. The dynamic duo not getting along? Don't tell me I let Kyle have you only for you girls to be fighting the entire time?"

"He isn't the same Kenny."

"People change."

"Not like this they don't."

He hesitates, "…I see…can you hold on a second?"

"Yeah, sure," I sigh and slouch further in my chair. I wait, and listen to the background of wherever he is, and I suddenly frown when I hear the faint sound of a distant microwave.

"I'm back."

"Kenny."

"Yes Stan?"

"Are you popping popcorn?"

"I feel like you're about to tell me a dramatic story worthy of some."

"I wish you were within arm distance so I could hit you," I mutter, half-serious.

"Aw, a Stanley-brand patented love-tap. So sorry I can't be there." He takes a kernel into his mouth and chews very audibly. "Now, what's the problem?"

I sigh. Where do I begin? "The PROBLEM is that Kyle has fallen into this...this club that I'm still trying to figure out. It makes him do weird shit and disappear at random times."

Kenny pretends to gasp, but only succeeds in choking on the popcorn. I wait impatiently for him to stop wheezing before I continue.

"He snaps at me for every little thing and I feel like he'd rather hang out with other people than me," I list. I hear Kenny do his overdramatic gasp again.

"You mean to tell me he has more than just ONE friend, dear Stan?"

"He's got this weird douche bag of a friend, Miller," I say, ignoring Kenny's jabs.

"Jealous, are we?" he ventures, but I shoot that idea out of his perverted brain.

"Fuck no. He may think he's got everyone on this campus around his little finger, including Ky, but I see straight through him."

"No, you're not jealous at all," he replies, dripping with sarcasm. This treatment he's giving me is starting to piss me off.

"Kenny, I'm being SERIOUS!" I growl.

"Why are you growling at me, I assume you're being serious. But what you're telling me sounds like you're acting a bit clingy and whiny. Kyle's a bit different, so what, he's got new friends, it happens, you don't like his new friends, I expected that."

"You're making it sound like-"

"Sound like what Stan?" He finally stops chewing his damn popcorn, and I can hear his voice harden. "You call me after a week of no word to what? Vent about Kyle." He starts eating again, "and it's not even a good vent. Just a, my friend Kyle is getting sucked up by this secret society."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you! He is!"

"Yeah, okay Stan," he responds in such a matter that I can HEAR him rolling his eyes.

I growl even deeper. "He is."

"Right. And I'm president of the damn college."

"He IS, Kenny. I know it sounds crazy, and I can barely believe it myself, but this guy Austin told me its all happening before it actually happens and...I feel like I can't say too much without fear of being overheard. Who knows where Kyle went," I whisper, looking around the room suspiciously. He could be tapping this conversation right now to listen for anything I say about the HHS.

"...I think he probably went to breakfast with his other friends, Stan. It is early, after all."

"You don't believe me," I tell him, not really asking a question.

Kenny sighs, crunching one last popcorn and swallowing it. "Okay, Stan. I'll humor you. Say I believe you, and say that Kyle is really getting involved in something that is self-destructing in five minutes. What are you gonna do about it?"

"Well, I'm going to…" I trail off, realizing I don't know what I'm going to do. I hadn't thought that far ahead.

"Exactly," he answers. "You don't have a clue, lucky for you it's probably nothing."

"You're wrong," I hiss.

"How'd you jump to this conclusion anyway, just Kyle acting off?"

"No, I told you this guy Austin told me all this other stuff. He said the same thing happened with his friend, and – why the hell am I bothering to tell you if you don't believe me?" I snarl.

"Because I'm humoring you, it's the nature of the word. Continue."

A little bit reluctantly I tell him everything Austin told me, quietly though, just in case I am being overheard. So maybe Kyle might not go as far as to wire tap the room, but not even he is beyond simple eavesdropping. I finish my story and wait for Kenny's reaction.

"So this Austin guy told you all that?"

"Yeah, insane isn't it?"

"Exactly what I was thinking. Stan, he's your problem."

"Huh?" I question confused.

"You need to stop hanging around that damn Austin kid, he's completely fucked up in the head, and he seems to be fucking you up with him."

I want to cry out in aggravation. This must be what Austin has to go through every time he opens his mouth. People thinking he's out of his mind, I can't take this! Especially when, of all people, Kenny doesn't believe me.

"I'm going to prove it," I seethe out.

"How?" He questions, with a hint of boredom in his tone.

"I don't know how…yet, but when I do I'll call you back"

"I won't hold my breath," Kenny replies lazily. "Listen, man, you seem stressed. Is that school getting to you? If so, you know where you can always go..."

I take a deep breath and groan out of frustration. "I AM stressed, no, it's not the school, yes, I know where I can go, no, I'm not going to give up," I ramble off.

"Okay, just checking!" he exclaims defensively. "So when you think I can come up?"

Just then, I hear footsteps and deep laughter. I look around to see the doorknob turning. "Not sure yet, I'll let you know I gotta go, Kenny, BYE!" I manage to hide the phone just in the knick of time.

Kyle enters, dressed in something far too formal for a Sunday morning brunch. "Hey Stan!" he greets enthusiastically. He turns to the guy behind him who, for once, is not Miller. "This is the guy I'm talking about. Stan?"

My ears perk up.

"This is Jason. He's studying architecture too!"

"Oh…how nice," I smile at the guy and watch him offer a hand. "Nice to meet you," we say at the same time. Taking my hand back I shove it and my other in my pants pockets. "So what are you guys up to, where were you guys?" I ask looking them over.

"Nowhere important, just a brunch," Kyle waves it off. "You were still asleep."

I have a feeling that even if I hadn't been asleep I wouldn't have been invited to this unimportant brunch.

"So Stan," Jason takes over, almost as of he's rescuing Kyle from my questions. "What got you into architecture?"

"Buildings," I respond. I can be just as blunt and vague as Kyle can. "What about you?"

He looks at Kyle awkwardly before plastering on a smile, "when I was little my parents took me to Florence, and there I saw Brunelleschi's dome of Santa Maria del Fiore. I fell in love with architecture after that."

I try not to seem too interested. Even I, a kid from South Park, Colorado, know the importance of that dome. It's a masterpiece, and anyone involved in architecture would know that. I can easily admit that I'm a little jealous. Who knows if I'll ever get to see something like the del Fiore. Kyle looks confused, obviously he hasn't heard of it, but at the same time he seems pleased. Almost as if he's happy I finally like one of his friends.

And I do. Even though this guy has the makings of another Miller, I don't feel like challenging him with my own knowledge. So I guess that makes him tolerable, right?

"I'd like to make it overseas sometime," I casually mention, and I see Kyle smile. His arms are crossed over his chest, and he's leaning on a structural support beam on the side of our room.

"You've never been? Oh, its absolutely breathtaking!" Jason rambles on and on about the beauty and poise of the European cities. I smile and nod a lot, putting in my two cents here and there.

Just as he takes a seat in my computer desk chair, and I lean back into my bed again, Kyle's stance changes. His head turns, and he uncrosses his arms. His body language tells me someone else is coming. And sure enough, I'm right.

I stare numbly at Kyle as his grin forms a greeting, only this Jason kid is too loud--he's actually drowning Kyle's words out. Miller steps in the room and half-hugs, half-pats Kyle's back, and they begin a conversation of their own.

Jason continues with his ideas about European architecture, but I no longer have any interest in what he has to say. My eyes are glued to Kyle and Miller. Jason nudges me and I look over at him annoyed.

He smirks, "you know, it's impolite to look elsewhere when someone's talking to you."

Damn him, that makes me a feel a little bad. It's not his fault I can't stand the sight of Kyle and Miller in the same room. I reluctantly turn my attention back to him, and I honestly do try to concentrate on what he has to say, but I'm getting that annoying itch where all I want to do is glance real quick over at the other two in the room.

"You're still not listening."

Shit, well I heard that. I smile meekly at him and actually focus on what he's saying rather than just looking at him and nodding dumbly. "Sorry."

He looks over at Kyle and Miller before looking back at me, "you really don't like Mill do you?"

"No, not really," I answer bluntly.

Jason laughs, "you are one of the first. I can admire that," he grins and I start to grin back. Hell, this guy really isn't half bad. Curiously I watch him lean in and whisper, "You know, when I first met Miller, I couldn't for the life of me stand the guy. He totally rubbed me the wrong way."

I've clearly met my equal.

"Yeah?" I ask, my interest peaked, and my attention momentarily diverted.

"Well yeah. I mean, look at him!" I do, and he quickly jolts his head in my way. "He's got everything going for him; in short, he's got the perfect life. And he's almost too perfect. Those kind of guys piss me off."

I frown. "That's not why I don't like him."

Jason shakes his head and wheels my chair over to the side of the room so that I have to follow him. This also makes it so that I can't see Kyle and Miller. In the process, however, I see Kyle bend down and search for something in his desk.

"Right, I'm sure there's other reasons, Stan. I hated that he was always there."

"Exactly," I agree, mumbling.

Jason bites his lip. "But that's actually an advantage. Once you get to know the guy, you'll be in good with him for life. He's always got your back, he's-"

Oh Christ, another drone. Another brainwashed zombie here to do Miller's bidding. I feel a pang of sadness, because I could see myself liking this Jason kid. But he's just another one of them. He's an enemy. I deliberately stop listening to find out what's going on with Kyle.

"What's he doing?" I say, ignoring Jason's praises.

He suddenly blocks my line of view and I look at him surprised. What the hell is he doing? It's almost like he's purposely…I shove him aside, glaring and whip my head over to Kyle and Miller, just in time to see Kyle pass Miller something discreetly.

I'm only able to get a short look before it disappears in Millers coat. It looked like a notebook, and the two of them continue talking to each other, like there was no such movement. I look down at Jason and he at least has the fucking balls to look slightly ashamed.

Behind us, Miller clears his throat and I watch in anger as Jason rises. He avoids my eyes and retreats to Millers side. "Nice talking to you Stan, we'll have to do it again," he says quietly. "See you Kyle," he continues and I listen as Kyle makes his goodbyes before hearing the two of them leave.

"You fucker," I seethe out at Kyle and he jumps surprised.

"Wh-what the hell did I do?!"

I can't believe he still wants to act like he didn't do anything. Like nothing just happened, like that wasn't some fucking planned distraction!

"You brought in that guy, Jason," I spit out his name. "To distract me. You know what Kyle, if you didn't want me to know about that fucking notebook you should have just asked me to go get you a drink from the vending machine. Would've been less elaborate, but it sure as hell would have been less suspicious!"

"Suspicious?" he asks oh-so-innocently.

"ARGH!" I yell, throwing my hands up and retreating to my side of the room. I fall back onto my bed and stare into the ceiling.

"Stan, I think it's time that you give my friends a chance. They mean no harm, and I am rather sick of you constantly competing for my attention-"

I place my headphones on and skip to the next angry song I can find. Turning the volume up full blast, I rock out on my bed, infuriating Kyle that I just cut him off like that. I see him storm over to my bed.

He pulls the headphones out of my ear. "What the FUCK, dude? You just INTERRUPTED me!" he screams, looking like he's ready to have a seizure. Or a tantrum, I'm not really sure.

"Yeah, I did," I mutter. "Get the fuck off my bed." I grab the wires from his hands and place them in my ear once more.

He pulls them out again. "You NEVER do that to me!"

That's it. I'm not playing this game. My body springs up to a sitting position so that I'm inches away from his face. "YOU NEVER KEEP SECRETS FROM ME!" I roar.

He blinks in response, and I remain in that very position until he has the decency to explain to me what the hell is going on. Only I know he won't. I've learned that much by now. He'll only sideswipe it with some obscure comment about something random.

Much to my surprise, his eyes glaze over, crestfallen. "Y-you can't possibly understand how hard that is," he tells me, switching tactics.

"You're right. I don't, because you tell me nothing," I steal the headphones back from him and plop them back in my ears before swinging my legs over the side of my bed and standing. I think I need to be away from him for a while.

I grab my wallet, my keys to the dorm and head out the door, all the while ignoring Kyle. Not that he said anything. He stood and watched me the whole time. Closing the door I walk down the hallway, noticing that as I pass the main stairwell I can see Miller hanging beside them, talking to Jason.

Jason catches my eye and grabs Miller's attention. They both look at me and rather than any verbal conversation I merely flick them off and continue down the hallway to the back stairway. Pushing through I step to the side and rather than head downstairs, I lean against the wall and slide down, letting out a long shaky sigh.

Kyle and I don't fight like this. Not so much that I'm shaking anyway. I take out the headphones irritably and toss them beside me. All the anger I had moments ago seeps out of me, and all I'm left with is this heavy depression. I wish I could keep being angry with Kyle, but it's only starting to upset me. Not that I'm going to cry about it or anything, but I'm starting to want to. Because getting angry, and yelling and screaming at Kyle isn't helping matters, nothing is changing. I'm not sure what to do here. I'm out of my element.

"Don't you look like a pathetic mess."

I look up and see Austin looking down at me. He's carrying a few books and a notebook.

"Were you in a study room?" I say as my way of response.

"No, library. What's up?"

"Oh you know, usual. Kyle lying about shit again and doing it to my face. I even called a good friend back home and told him all about things here; he thinks I'm full of it. He thinks you're full of it."

"Ouch," he responds and leans against the wall, but remains standing. "First rule about this whole matter, you shouldn't tell people who don't aren't around to see it. It only makes you sound crazy."

"There's rules, what are we a resistance group?"

Austin snorts. "That's almost a good idea," he mutters. "Anyway, tough luck with Kyle, but if you love him, you'll keep at it. Don't let him end up like Jason."

"Jason?" I question confused. "You mean Danny?"

"Oh," Austin stops. He was about ready to head on his way. "His first name was Jason Daniel, I called him Danny to piss him off," he smiles sadly. "See you around Stan."

"Yeah," I say distractedly. "See ya."

As I observe the figure of Austin's retreating backside, I feel the fury flare up inside of me once more. So! That Jason used to be Austin's Danny. Now he's just as useless as a deaf singer. I'm SICK of this club, I'm SICK of getting shunned for not falling for it. I'm SICK of feeling this far from the truth...and it's only been a week! What the hell am I going to do for the rest of the year? How the hell will I survive?

I gather my headphones and mp3 player, heading full force back to where I saw Miller and Danny. Jeez, I can't even call him Danny anymore--it's like he's mutated into some unrecognizable creature.

"Yo Miller!" I yell, catching the guys' attention. Sure enough, they're in the very same stairway, talking about whatever it is they talk about.

He looks at me with unexpected relief. Perhaps he thought I was trying to be friendly with him? I march up him until we're about as close as what Ky and I were a few minutes before.

"I don't know what you and your mind-numbing sidekick have in store for my Ky, but you better think twice before you do it. No friend of mine is going to succumb to this shit!" I can't bring myself to call them cult activists, but that's exactly what I'm thinking.

Miller chuckles that annoying chuckle parents give to each other when their child has asked a silly question that they have to answer. He looks to Jason, who, in turn, nods and climbs the flight of stairs to shut the door above us. I watch him in awe as he then walks around us to shut the door at the bottom. I start to shake again--this time for an entirely different reason.

Miller brings his face even closer. "Stan, you have no idea who you're dealing with here."

I can't help but stutter. "I-I...I know that Kyle is better than this! And I know that he's acting different!"

"Are you afraid of change, Stan?" Jason asks.

I glare at him and narrow my eyes. "I'm not afraid of anything, Danny." Uh oh, big mistake.

His eyes narrow back slightly, before he smirks. "Danny? Well, I haven't been called that in awhile. So Kyle is right, you're talking to Austin, are you?"

"And if I am?" I challenge, finding my fighting voice. It may be two against one, and I may…be locked in a stairway with these guys, but now is not the time to cower down.

"Hasn't Kyle told you what a mixed up person he is?" Miller questions, softly eyeing me head on. "He talks a lot, and he has issues getting his facts right."

I snort, "actually it seems to me like he's the only one with his head screwed on right in this entire school. He's a good guy, and knows what he's talking about." I turn to Jason, "you should know that."

Other than blinking, he looks completely unaffected by my words. In fact he looks calm as he looks me up and down. "He's going to be such a challenge Miller," Jason suddenly says, though he's looking at me.

Looking at Miller I watch him nod, almost bored. "But he's different. I don't think I've been this amused in awhile."

What the fuck are they talking about? Are they talking about me, or Kyle? No…it's gotta be me by the way Miller is looking at me.

Miller starts walking towards me, leading me backwards until I run into a wall. But it's not a wall at all. It's Jason, who's somehow moved from the front of me to the back of me in record time. He puts his hands on my shoulders and I swivel my head to see both of their expressions at once. Jason is smiling as Miller raises his eyebrows.

"Kyle picks them well, doesn't he?" Jason smirks, hands still on me. I look into his beady eyes with such disdain. I've never hated someone more than I do right now.

Miller stretches his arms and puts a hand on Jason's. "Stay calm, Jason."

I turn to glare at Miller. "You'll never win me over, asshole. Don't think I'm going to back down."

Miller rolls his eyes. "You're lucky Kyle speaks so highly of you."

"Yeah. He's just as stubborn as you," Jason chimes in, releasing my shoulder at Miller's silent eye command.

"Let's leave him alone, Jason. We've got better things to do." And like that, they step away and leave the stairway. The door shuts behind them, and I'm left with wondering what the fuck?! Now I'm REALLY confused.

"Oh, and Stan?" Miller peeps his head back through the door and I snap my head back toward him. "If you don't want to lose Kyle to me completely, I'd stop trying to find faults in who I am."

Bastard. I clench my fists together as he leaves again. I hate it. I hate it so much because he speaks the truth. I know if I keep digging, and pestering Kyle about Miller, and about how he's acting I know he'll only push away from me. He's doing it now.

But fuck! I can't just leave things laying down like this. If anything my curiosity and determination has sparked even more. I can't possibly leave things alone. Maybe I'll back off…I snort. Make that 'I'll pretend to back off', but like Austin said, I can't lose Kyle to this.

…whatever THIS is. Shit! I don't even know what I'm up against.

-

I guess it was stupid of me to expect Kyle to be in the room when I came back earlier this morning. It's not like he stays more than the nights inside of it. I kind of needed some time to cool off anyway, so I was a bit relieved to find the room empty.

But now that it is nearing 10:00...and I haven't seen him all day except for that one instance when he was with his buddies...I'm starting to get worried. I worry because I wonder if I've already lost him. I know there's a strong possibility that I can see him through it, but they're right. He's so damn stubborn; I have to think of something drastic. I've decided to look Austin up tomorrow after school to talk it over with him. Maybe he's had some ideas that didn't work on Danny. If Kyle's still pulling for me with the HHS, then he hasn't completely forgotten who I am.

I lay on my bed, pondering all of these intense scenarios when suddenly, the door flies open and my roommate appears, looking flustered. I sit up as he looks around the room and then looks directly at me, coming over.

He sits down on the edge of my bed and stares at me, not saying anything. His eyes seem sad, but they also look hollow to me.

I say nothing in return.

I watch as he reaches out and slowly pulls on my bangs, before dropping his hand back to his side like a dead weight.

"This is all for the best," he suddenly says softly.

I still say nothing in response, even though my mind is racing with what he means by that, and looking at him now, I wonder if what he said was really even directed at me. It may have just been a thought out loud.

"Stan?" He questions and I watch as he blinks the life back into his eyes, and I can confidently think that he's now truly looking at me.

"Yeah?"

He suddenly pulls me in for a tight hug and I tense before melting slowly and hesitantly wrapping companionable arms around him. "Kyle?" I mutter quietly.

"This is all for the best," he repeats what he said earlier. "You'll see. This way we can be together forever…"

Whoa. What? I don't like the way he put that, and, against my inner voice, I push away and peel him off me. "What does that mean?" I ask.

"You'll see," he repeats, gazing at me in a manner I can't quite decode.

"Kyle, snap out of this!" I urge, placing my hands around his shoulders. That instance where I could see the true him has faded, and it is replaced with this vacant look. His eyes seem glazed over--I swear to God if those fucking assholes did anything to hurt my Kyle-

"Will you be available for dinner tomorrow evening?" he interrupts, asking about as polite as you could.

"I-I..." I stutter, unable to answer him. Part of me doesn't want to eat with him because it's like eating with a brick wall. One who says creepy things and hides your best friend away. On top of that, I was hoping to scope out the scene for Austin tomorrow. Get some more real answers. Make my own connections, and try to bring Kyle back.

"I feel terrible to leave you by yourself at dinnertime every evening. I want to make that up to you."

I know that if I say yes, it won't be just the two of us. It'll be the attack of the drones, part II. And I've had enough of that. "It's cool, I think I'm going to hang out in the room, get some work done."

Kyle shrugs out of my grip and rises from my bed. "The hell you will," he says calmly. "You'll just invite your new buddy Austin over, won't you?"

Am I that obvious?

"No," I lie. "I just think I should spend some time on my homework."

He snorts, "what does that prick say about me anyway, I know he doesn't like me."

"He's not a prick," I snap at him. "And he doesn't say anything about you."

"Right," Kyle scoffs out.

"He doesn't, because you should know I wouldn't allow it. The only one that can talk shit about you is me…and to some lesser extent, Kenny." I thought…I thought for sure he would smile then. But he doesn't, instead he only shakes his head, as if I'm making a huge mistake I'll regret.

"You and him real close now, are you?" he presses, walking to his side of the room.

I take a deep breath, balling my fists. "Kyle, he's one of the only guys who talk to me. Because even though you talk about me to so many of your friends, no one ever seems to want to get to know me!" By this time I'm standing, walking toward him.

"Maybe if you gave us a chance to show you-"

"I don't want you to show me anything!" I cry. I want my best friend back. "Austin's not the one who doesn't like you—you're the one that doesn't like anyone who's not part of that damn club!"

Kyle's nostrils flare and he pauses pretending to do something to glare daggers at me. He purses his lips together and his color turns to a dark red. I think he forgot to breath. He looks terrifyingly pissed off and intimidating.

"Including me," I add, not bowing down.

His stance remains, and I see his forearms flex. Flex with a pent-up kind of rage I always knew he had in him, but apparently South Park was keeping it healthily in check. "Who said this had anything to do with a club?" He pauses, as if containing himself. "Who told you about the HHS?" He seethes out and it's then that I want to bite my own damn tongue. How could I have forgotten that as far as Kyle knew I didn't know anything about the HHS?

Yeah, I knew of its existence, he told me, but he didn't know that I knew he was in it. Up until now he's probably thought I was completely in the dark about his whereabouts and his links to Miller and more recently, Jason. "It was Austin wasn't it?" He continues.

"No it wasn't Austin," I sigh internally that I at least don't have to lie about this. "You told me, remember? On my first day. You snapped me for thinking of it as an ordinary honor society."

I can pat myself on the back for averting that o-

Kyle cuts off my thoughts, "but who told you I was in it? I never told you I was."

I'm silent for a second as my thoughts race and I try to think of something other than the truth. I don't want to incriminate Austin even more than he already is.

"It's…obvious Kyle," I finally answer. "You must know how popular that club is, all the guys around here talk about it all the time and how they can join. It wasn't hard for me to pick up on who was a member and who wasn't. Some of you guys are practically treated like royalty here."

"That's absurd!" he cries in mock-disbelief. With both his intelligence and intuition, he has to know that he's exalted. "We're just fortunate to be a talented group of individuals unified by a single bond!"

"Yeah." I snort. "And who the hell talks like that? I know you're all-genius or whatever, but you never felt the need to show it before. Why are you acting like you're better than me?"

He cackles, over exaggerating the skepticism in his voice. "Stan, I've never acted that way."

"You're right," I agree, folding my arms and nodding. He looks satisfied before I finish. "Until now."

He looks back up at me through bored and exasperated eyes. "I'm going to bed."

"No, you're not gonna put me off like this!" I yell, walking over to him and getting up close and personal. "Tell me what's going on," I demand.

"Get out of my face," he mutters.

"Tell me you aren't falling for some fucking cult again, Kyle," I begin.

"SHUT THE HELL UP, STAN!" he screams, shoving me with his surprisingly muscular arms. I take a step backwards and am right back again.

"Do you always get this angry when you know someone is right?" I persist, his eyes narrowing to tiny slivers right before my eyes.

"You don't know what you're talking about," he bites back, grinding his teeth. "Go to bed, Stan."

I look into his eyes a few moments longer, trying to decipher the old Kyle behind the head of steam. I can't make out a trace of him anywhere, and that terrifies me. I know when to give up before things get messy. I nod tolerantly and step back to my side of the room.

Not surprisingly getting ready for bed is a silent affair. I may have let things go, but there is no way in hell that I'm at all satisfied with how that argument ended. How could I be? While Ky and I have had our fights they've never been physical. I'm not sure what our friendship would be like if we had one with how strained things are now.

As I wash my face in the bathroom, alone, ignoring the other guys around me, I stare at my wet face in the long mirror.

Kyle shoved me. That bastard pushed me. That bastard is not my friend. I don't know where he is, but frankly I'm damn tired of not knowing. I want Kyle back and I have every intention on getting him back.

say that Kyle is really getting involved in something that is self-destructing in five minutes. What are you gonna do about it?

Did I really only have that conversation with Kenny this morning? It feels like days ago. But he was right to question me. What am I going to do about it? This is getting ridiculous. The way he's acting, treating me. It can't keep going on like this; I won't allow it.

I have to think of something. I have to get my best friend back to normal. But how?

"But how, what?"

I focus on a guy that lives a few doors down from Kyle and me. Did I say that out loud?

"Oh, nothing," I shrug off and gather my things to head back to the room.

When I get back in the dorm room the lights off, and Kyle is sleeping in his bed. I put away my things and climb into my own bed only to stare at Kyle faking it in the dark.

Of course he isn't sleeping! He talked about Miller never sleeping, and joking or not, I think he really doesn't sleep. And this fucking cult has Kyle on edge too. How could anyone think this is possibly healthy? How could anyone want to be a part of something so…damaging? To your mind? Your own freedom of thought? Kyle, of all people, should be someone who'd want to keep a piece of who they are. He spent all his life fighting others about who he was, and proud to accept his heritage and nerdy-ness even when his friends bailed on him.

It doesn't make any sense to me. Ky is one of the strongest-willed people I know. He's got an amazingly sarcastic outlook on life that transfers over to his sense of humor—that's one of the things I love about him. My friend would laugh at the whole institution of this stupid 'society', and make fun of the very foundations of its principles. Fuck if I know what they do, but it can't be that spectacular.

I stuff my pillow into a ball behind my neck and lay my head into my arms. When did life get so tough? About the same time I hung up the community college sweatshirt and ventured here. To JV. Kyle's school.

Fuck this. Kyle invited me out here! And for whatever reason, I don't know, but damned if I'm going to let him FORGET that.

Eventually, the contemplation of Operation: Rescue Kyle wears me out, and I catch myself zoning in and out. This seems to go on for the better part of an hour, but I continue to jerk myself back awake. I peer at the clock, and note that is 11:47. Last Sunday, Kyle left around this time. I freeze all of my thoughts and just wait for it to happen again.

Which is why I'm not all that surprised when a few minutes later, that's exactly what occurs. I clamp my eyes shut and instruct my body to breath normally, and listen for sounds. I hear Kyle creak pull out his desk drawer and sift through papers before it creaks closed, and he exits the room. I wait a few moments to be sure he doesn't return, thinking he forgot something. When he doesn't, I toss my covers off and make a dive for my jeans. I have to hurry; if I stall too much I won't be able to follow him. Which is exactly what I plan on doing.

In order to help Kyle and get him back to who I know he is, somewhere deep in that other guy, I have to know what's going on. And since he won't fucking tell me, I'll just have to find out myself. I have to know where he sneaks off to all the time. I can put two and two together and assume it has something to do with that "honors society", but I can't for the life of me figure out what exactly.

Just what the hell do they do this late at night every Sunday?

Dumping on a sweatshirt and tying my laces faster than I thought possible, I snatch my keys from my desk and rush over to the door. I open it slowly, just in case Kyle's in the hallway. He's not. Shit!

He could have gone two possible directions. Down the main stairwell, or down the back stairwell. Since the back stairwell is creepier this time of night, I'll bet money he went down that way. I turn around to make sure the door's locked before heading down the hallway.

I pull my hood up and push away the nerves and guilt I have at choosing to follow Kyle. I wouldn't normally do something like this. Normally I trust Kyle; normally I know he'll pull through in the end…

Then again, Kyle isn't normally this out of character. He doesn't hide secrets from me, he isn't moody, and he doesn't shove me.

No. This is for Kyle's good. And if I want to deal with him, I'll have to deal with that damn club of his. It's about time I intervened with this fucking High Honors Society.

Slowly, I push open the door to the stairwell and listen for sounds of feet. Nothing! Crap. I rush down the stairs and push the door that opens to the outside, where the dark courtyard is barely illuminated by the well-designed lamps.

This makes me slam my head against the side of the building. DAMN! I took too long getting ready. Kyle is nowhere in sight. Hitting the building with a fist, I go back inside and retreat back to the dorm room.

So things didn't pan out this time. Next time. Next time I'll be ready. I'll be more prepared, have my clothes on, rather than having to take the time to change. Next time when I follow Kyle, I won't lose him.

- iBB and f G