"This is BULL CRAP!" Cartman jogged along, wheezing and trying to keep up with the other students. He'd never really liked gym class to begin with, and running laps around the track just added insult to injury. Being as big as he was, it was only natural that he'd be slower than the others. He groaned and wheezed, "W-Why does the gym t-teacher hate me s-so?"

Kyle, overhearing Cartman's bellyaching, slowed his pace to stare incredulously at the whining fat kid. "Are you kidding me right now? He doesn't hate you, fatso; he's trying to get us all in shape. Since when is that hate?"

"Shut up, Jew!"

"Make me, lard ass!"

"Guys, come on. Every day you two do this." Stan snickered and said, "You guys act like an old married couple!"

Cartman scoffed. "Oh that is such a faggy thing to say, Stan."

"Yeah dude, what the hell!"

Parker turned to Kenny, eyebrows raised. "Do they always act this way?"

"Pretty much," the blonde replied, grinning. "You have to admit, though, it is pretty entertaining."

The brunette chuckled. "I guess it is pretty funny." He looked back to see the redhead and the fat kid bickering, while the raven-haired boy next to them is looking away with a 'Fucking seriously?' look on his face. He couldn't help but laugh again and turn back to the blonde beside him. "They're not really angry at each other though, right?"

"Not enough to ruin their friendship," Kenny said, shaking his head. They jogged past a group of girls and Kenny whistled, seeing one girl's short-shorts had writing across the butt. One of the girls stuck their tongue out at him and he laughed, focusing back on the track. Parker gave him a weird look.

"Dude, not cool."

"What?" Kenny asked, shocked.

"That's not cool to whistle at girls for the slutty clothes they wear," Parker explained. "Besides," he said, looking back at the group of red-faced girls, "none of them are even all that great to look at. But then again, that's just my opinion."

Kenny smirked and elbowed the brunette lightly in the ribs. "Oh, I get it! You're still hiding in the closet, eh?" He laughed at the unamused look on his friend's face. "Don't worry, I'll keep your secret until you're ready to come out. So…is there anyone you have a crush on? It's Craig, isn't it?"

Parker snorted and rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, absolutely, Kenny. My secret passion for Craig burns with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns, and I only insult him so viciously because I secretly crave to get inside his pants."

The blonde grinned. "Wow, that's pretty gay dude."

"Fuck you," the brunette laughed.

The gym teacher blew the whistle, making everyone stop and look. "Alright everyone, good hustle! Let's do even better tomorrow! Just a quick announcement: starting next week, you will be required to bring and wear your gym uniforms. Anyone without their uniform will be marked down every day until they bring it in. Okay now, back to the gym, kids; today we'll be playing floor hockey."

The two boys sat huddled around one computer, waiting for a video to load. Kenny had been waiting all day to finally hear what this Skrillex guy's music sounded like, and the loading screen was making him all the more impatient. He bit his lip, waiting.

"You know," Parker spoke up suddenly, "a lot of people don't care for this kind of music."

"Why not?"

The brunette shrugged. "Beats me. I think it's addicting, myself. But there is one little thing about it that I can't stop thinking about…"

Kenny turned to look at him fully, perplexed. "What's that?"

"Skrillex is a clumsy kid," Parker said simply. He looked at Kenny and grinned wide. "He keeps dropping the bass."

Kenny gave him an even more confused look. "What?"

"You'll see what I mean."

At last, the video was done loading and the music started playing. It took the blonde by surprise when a little girl's voice started singing choppily, and he sent another confused look at the boy beside him. Parker shook his head and pointed at the screen, silently telling Kenny to pay attention. The girl's voice stopped and was replaced by a piano playing, then it returned, singing the same unintelligible lyrics, and suddenly a loud scream of "CALL 911!" flooded the library. Kenny's mouth fell open when indeed the bass did drop, surrounding him with an amazing love for new music. He smiled and declared, "I think I just got a boner!"

"I'm glad you liked it," Parker chuckled once the song was over. "Let's see those Disney channel kids try to pull this out their asses."

Kenny nodded in agreement. "What song was that again?"

"First Of The Year," the brunette replied, grinning. "Also known as 'Equinox'. It's one of my favorites. I like all his music, and other music like this. Dubstep rules!"

The blonde smiled. He looked up at the clock hanging on the wall: it was only a little after three. He looked out the window and saw how bright and sunny it was, thankful that the snow hadn't started falling yet. "Hey," he asked, "what are you doing this weekend?"

"Ah, I don't know actually," Parker replied, shrugging. "Most likely I'll be helping my dad finish unpacking and cleaning up the new house. Why do you ask?"

"I thought maybe we could hang out again for a while. You know, with Stan and Kyle and Cartman." He gave the brunette a lopsided grin and rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "You seem really cool, and we like having you around."

Parker was surprised to hear Kenny say something this sweet, but he was happy all the same. Smiling, he said, "I like being around you guys too. It's almost like having my old friends with me again…" He looked away, thinking. "I could…I could probably ask my dad if it'd be okay for the afternoon. But you guys would have to come meet him, so he doesn't get all overprotective of me."

"Why would he do that?" Kenny asked, cocking a brow.

"I'm his only kid, you know? After the accident with my sister, he's…well, he doesn't like to just let me go with strangers he hasn't met yet."

Kenny frowned, realizing what the brunette meant. "Oh, I'm sorry…do you wanna talk about it…?"

Parker shook his head, taking a deep breath. He was on the brink of tears. "Nah, it's…it's fine. I don't wanna bring you down about something nobody could have stopped. She's in a better place now…" He sighed and wiped away a stray tear, and turned back to face the blonde. "Sorry, I should probably get going back home. It was fun hanging out with you though." He smiled, trying to push away the sadness from moments before. "Do you have a cell phone?"

"Yeah."

"Here…" Parker ran up to a table, ripped a corner off a piece of paper, and scribbled his phone number down on it and handed it to Kenny. "Call or text anytime, I'll always answer. Just make sure you tell me it's you so I don't get all confused," he said, smiling. "I gotta get going, so I'll see you later, Kenny." He picked up his backpack and waved goodbye to the blonde, and headed out through the doors. Kenny was left standing in the middle of the room, smiling and waving back.

The week came and went rather uneventfully. Bebe and Wendy were furious at the brunette for the egg experiment incident; not like he really cared anyway. Craig still sent him death glares and the middle finger from across the cafeteria, and Parker sent them right back. He and Kenny were bonding more through Home Economics class, and even Stan, Kyle, and Cartman were hanging out with him more during gym and after school. Kenny had texted him during the week and, as promised, Parker always replied back. He'd even given his number to the others, and the five of them were quickly growing close like brothers. Cartman had even defended him one day when Craig and his group came over to start some crap. Needless to say, Parker was extremely surprised.

It was finally Friday – well, Friday afternoon, quarter after two, to be exact. The group sat idly by the gym doors, talking and laughing and waiting for the bell to ring. They were planning out what they would all do during the weekend: head down to the arcade, maybe go see the newest movie at the theater, or have a sleepover and play video games all night. As they were getting down to the last details, the teacher walked up to them and reminded them not to forget their gym clothes next week, and walked away to remind the other students.

Parker raised his eyebrows. "Gym uniforms?"

Stan nodded. "Yeah, it's no big deal. Just some black shorts and a white t-shirt, nothing special."

"We won't have to shower, will we?" the brunette asked.

Kyle shook his head. "No, not unless we want to. It's not really a rule that you have to, unless maybe you throw up on yourself or something."

"Oh, okay cool." He looked up at the clock: only five minutes of class left. He stood up with the others and waited, staring up at the time. Five…four…three…two…RING RING RING! Everyone cheered and rushed through the doors, eager to get home and get the weekend started. The five boys separated to get their things out of their lockers, and met back up at the school's entrance and headed over to Stan's house to hang out a while.

"Hey Mom, me and the guys are here," Stan called out upon entering the house. He kicked off his shoes and headed to the kitchen, while everyone else dropped their stuff and crowded the couch. Parker shifted his weight uncertainly and made himself comfortable on the floor, looking off to where Stan disappeared to. Kenny, sensing his out-of-place feeling, crawled onto the floor and sat by him to ease some of the awkwardness. The two exchanged a smile as the raven-haired teen came back into the living room with five cans of soda, and tossed one to each of his friends.

"Thanks, Stan," Parker said, cracking open the tab and knocking his can back. He hiccupped and set his drink up on the table, smiling.

"Oh Stanley, I almost forgot to…" Stan's mother walked out into the living room and noticed Parker sitting on the floor, and smiled. "Hello, young man. What's your name?"

"Hello ma'am, my name is Parker." He smiled up at Mrs. Marsh and waved. "I'm Stan's newest friend. It's nice to meet you."

She smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you too, Parker." She turned back to her son and asked, "Is this the boy you've been talking about, son?"

Stan nodded, smiling a little. "Yeah mom, he's totally cool. Do you think it would be okay if we all had a sleepover this weekend?"

"I don't see why not. Where will you be at?"

"I can most likely convince my parents to let us have it at my house," Kyle spoke up. "They're usually okay with it."

Mrs. Marsh nodded. "Alright then. You boys have fun, and don't get into any trouble."

"Okay."

She turned and walked back into the kitchen. When the coast was clear, Parker looked up at Kyle nervously. "We won't be out after dark, will we?"

"Not that I know of," Kyle replied. "Why?"

"Just wondering…"

Cartman huffed and drank his soda. "So when are we doing it?" he asked impatiently.

"How about tonight?"

"Sounds good to me," Stan answered.

"Me too," Kenny agreed.

"Okay," Cartman said.

Kyle looked at the brunette on the floor. "You in?"

Parker nodded, grinning again. "Definitely. But I have to head home and get some stuff, and you guys have to meet him before I can go. It's a dad thing."

"Okay, let's go," Kyle replied. He and the other three boys rose from their seats and followed the brunette out the door. The only thing on their minds was how strict his dad really was. They were almost afraid to find out.

Ugh, pain in the butt chapter right here. Okay, next chapter is where things start getting interesting! :D Stick around to find out, and don't forget to leave a review~