Broke The Wings Off A Little Songbird
The plane ride wasn't bad, honestly. Kenny didn't die once, which was a major achievement, and Butters could keep himself entertained with a Skymall magazine for hours. All things considered, Kyle knew he shouldn't feel this unnerved. But he did. For the first time in years, he was seeing Stan Marsh, his once-super best friend, now who knows what, the guy Kyle stubbornly remained in love with despite everything that happened between them. Kyle didn't know what wound Stan up so tightly in those last few months before the Marshes divorced. Yes, Kyle was frustrated with him, but Kyle thought it would end the way all things ended between them – the eventual making-up moment. But it never happened. Stan drifted away, then bolted.
Kyle worried he'd bolt again. Especially if he assumed Cartman wasn't far behind.
It was a bit weird, Kyle had to admit, that he and Cartman were friends at this point. Kyle couldn't begin to count the number of atrocities Cartman tried to inflict on him. The Stan situation started in a very Cartman-like way: Kyle was crushed and Cartman called him a gay Jew. But as the months wore on and Kyle remained crushed, Cartman's teasing turned into full-on concerned anger. Kyle didn't know where it came from, but suddenly Eric Cartman – genocidal, cannibal-enabling, verbally-abusing, racist, homophobic, insane Eric Cartman, in case there was any confusion – was trying to get Kyle to stop moping. And he was going to insane lengths to do it, too. Kenny was more predisposed to hang out with Cartman, anyway, but getting the mild, soothing presence of Butters in the group was a supernatural feat. And it helped, having a stable group of people to be around.
At least, until now, in the Awesometown Airport (alliteration didn't make Kyle feel any more at ease), the stability of that group threatened. Kyle wanted to think that Stan would welcome him with open arms, and he'd have been waiting to come back, and everything would fall into place. He also wanted to think that Stan would slam a door in his face and want nothing to do with him. There couldn't be any other alternative… could there?
Kenny was helping Butters take his suitcase out of the baggage claim turnstile, since it was spinning almost inhumanly fast. Kenny practically fell into the turnstile, but sustained no damage. Kyle, watching, breathed a sigh of relief, clutching his own bag. He didn't plan on staying for very long, and knew how to pack light. Plus, there had to be a Laundromat somewhere in Awesometown (the name was cringe-worthy, Kyle had to admit it, even when separated from the alliteration). Kenny and Butters came up to him, their luggage safely in their possession. Kenny was already pulling some scrawled-down directions transcribed from Google Maps out of his pants pocket. Butters leaned over to glance down at it before Kenny shoved it back in his pocket, staring directly at Kyle.
"You ready?"
Kyle blinked. Kenny looked so sure of himself… but so worried for him. So Kyle took a leaf from Cartman's book.
"Yeah."
Kyle didn't know how he could sound so sure of himself but feel so anxious. But he pulled it off. Somehow.
Stan was at home, by himself, doing the remains of his Algebra 2 homework when he heard a knock at the door. Stan didn't know why someone was knocking. If they had visitors, they were people from work that came to drink beer and shoot the shit with Randy. He let the knocking die down, but when whoever it was persisted in trying to destroy his front door, he got off of the couch and, adjusting his beanie, went to open it.
When Stan got there and pulled the door open, he saw a blonde kid he hadn't seen in five years staring at him.
Stan closed the door in shock.
Great. He was now hallucinating he was in South Park. Kenny McCormick wasn't at his front door, that couldn't be –
"Did you just fucking close the door on me?"
Yep, that was really Kenny McCormick. Stan opened the door again, noticing two other figures a bit behind Kenny. One of them was gaping at him; the other was smiling placidly. The smiling guy had to be Butters – his platinum blonde hair and aura of innocence carried over easily. So the redhead gawking –
Holy fucking shit.
Stan knew that, in that moment, he probably appeared a bit insane, eyes darting around, trying to figure out what was happening. Kenny certainly thought so, staring at him like he expected… well, something besides Stan visibly freaking out. Stan didn't know what to do. He didn't believe in fate, but clearly thinking about South Park caused some sort of Lovecraftian disturbance in his boring life. Or something.
"…Hey… guys," Stan nervously said.
"Hey," Kenny said flatly, not very amused by panicked Stan.
"Hiya Stan!" Butters greeted, just as sunshiney as he'd been five years prior.
"…hey…" Kyle echoed, voice shaking nervously as well.
Stan stood there in shocked silence for a few seconds. Kenny was boring a hole into his forehead with that intense gaze of his; Butters was… well, Butters, mild and waiting to respond to whatever Stan said; Kyle was busy taking in every inch of Stan's clothing. Stan didn't mind Kyle's open-mouthed confusion.
"…what're you guys doing here?" Stan finally spat out, walking out of the house and closing the door behind him. He was hoping, praying that Randy didn't come home anytime soon. If he did, he'd immediately take Stan and they'd be back in South Park in a day. Stan knew he didn't want that, even if he was content to let Kyle gape at him for a while longer. Yes, that was fine.
"It's a long fucking story," Kenny said. "Anywhere we can go to talk?"
Stan glanced around. "We could just go in the house." He opened the door; Kenny nodded and went inside. Butters, still placidly calm and smiling, hugged Stan, something that made him vaguely uncomfortable, before going in. Kyle lingered by Stan for a little bit.
"…This is surprising," Stan admitted. It was – they were here, and they weren't spewing shit. Kyle wasn't spewing shit.
"Hopefully it'll make more sense when we explain…" Kyle responded before going inside. Stan shut the door behind him as he followed.
The four boys made themselves comfortable on the couch in front of the television. Stan had a sneaking suspicion that this all had to do with South Park somehow, and resolved then and there to not let anyone move into this place temporarily. He had Randy to think about, after all.
Kenny didn't waste time once he got settled. "South Park's falling apart."
"…and?" Stan responded.
"Literally, it's falling apart," Kenny pressed again. "Everything is fucking insane. This is the first time in weeks I haven't died more than once a day."
Stan raised an eyebrow. "…died?"
Butters' smile slipped a bit. "…you don't remember?"
"Remember what?" Stan asked. Now he was anxious and confused. Kenny was dying? Every day? That… sounded suspiciously like bullshit. But he knew that his own cynicism would keep him from hearing something that dumb. Kenny was being sincere. Honest. Stan sank a little deeper into the couch.
Kenny glanced to Kyle, who looked disconcerted but not too worried. Kenny, steeled by this, continued. "Nothing. It… we'll talk later." Stan eyed him, baffled, as Kenny continued. "South Park is… well, things are going to hell."
"The lava bombs didn't fix themselves?" Stan asked. The pause that followed led him to explain, "It was on the news."
"You watch the news?" Kyle wondered.
"For the pictures," Stan responded. At least they were on the same wavelength.
"No, they didn't fucking fix themselves!" Kenny spat. "Why do you think we're here?"
Stan stared at Kenny, who had a fire in his eyes, a fire Stan had never seen in him before. He glanced to Butters, who also wanted to know the answer, judging from his curious pursed lips. He then glanced to Kyle, who looked as Kyle always looked in the past, just older. Stan turned back to Kenny.
"To hide?" Stan answered, honestly, cynically.
Kenny frowned. Wrong answer. "To bring you back."
"…not following."
"We were thinking," Butters interrupted, a much calmer voice than the slowly simmering Kenny, "that, since, y'know, things weren't goin' all crazy when you were around before, maybe bringing you back home might fix things."
Stan was silent for a long time. Kenny continued to stare at him from beneath some stray, thick blonde hair. Butters didn't see why his explanation was so… galling… to Stan. Galling, that's what it was. Things went wrong, so obviously, everyone had to come back and bring him home? And he called it 'home'. South Park wasn't home. Awesometown wasn't home. Stan had no emotional attachment to either place. He had an emotional attachment to Kyle, yes, but – wait. Stan turned his glare to Kyle.
"You agreed to come?" Stan asked pointedly.
Stan watched Kyle's expectations shatter. Kyle, mouth opening slightly in shock, quickly moved to stare at the floor. That was all Stan needed to see.
"…Stan –" Butters offered.
"Get out," Stan demanded.
Kenny said something, and finally, shit began to obscure what he said. Thick, spewing bullshit. Stan stood up and walked to the door, slamming it open. Thankfully, Kenny got the hint, and kept on shouting bullshit at him as he left. Butters awkwardly followed, apologizing for making Stan mad. Kyle was last to pass Stan's line of vision.
Stan would be lying if he said that the crushed look on Kyle's face didn't kill him a bit inside.
But it didn't matter. As soon as Kyle walked out the doorframe, Stan slammed the door shut. What was he, a pawn in South Park's twisted games? No. He wasn't going back. They could figure things out on their own. He tromped up the stairs and into his room, trying to forget the boys were ever in his presence.
"What do we do now?"
Kyle, Kenny, and Butters sat in a fast-food place they passed in Awesometown, Antonio's Pizza, which was crammed with teenagers and younger kids ordering food and laughing. The three boys in the corner booth were far from enjoying themselves. Butters was the only one with enough presence to even talk; Kyle was seconds from running out of the place and Kenny was throttling his Mountain Dew in anger.
Butters' question didn't go ignored, however, by either boy.
"Fucking kill him," Kenny responded. Butters was suddenly reminded of Cartman for a brief moment, feeling himself subconsciously reaching over to tap his knee under the table. Just to remind him to calm down. But Kenny wasn't Cartman, Butters recalled, and he pulled his arm back.
Kyle gawked at Kenny for a few seconds, a tear or two actually slipping down his face. Kenny immediately dialed it back, putting the soda cup down and sighing. "…I don't know."
Butters gulped before looking at Kyle, who, to be fair, got it the worst of them. He'd been called out by Stan for agreeing to the plan. Butters, who'd spent nearly two years seeing the best in the worst people, understood what had Stan tied up in knots: he held Kyle up on a pedestal, and Kyle (unknowingly) walked off of it. Of course, on the other hand, Butters spent nearly five years with Kyle, and knew that Kyle still defended Stan, and was struggling to figure out why Stan rejected the proposal – rejected him. It would be a lot easier to sort out if there wasn't five years of separation and an obvious longing on both sides…
Butters wished he could say these things without sounding like he was insulting anyone. What the three of them needed now were distractions, light things.
"Maybe we made a mistake, all going at once," Kyle offered shakily. He was breathing steadier now, calmer. That was a good sign.
Kenny nodded, taking a sip from his crushed soda cup.
"We should go by ourselves. Maybe make our cases separately. Not gang up on him," Kyle elaborated.
"I seriously doubt he wants to see any of us again," Kenny said, giving Butters a pointed glare. Butters understood why.
"He would've gotten mad if any of us actually admitted why we were there," Butters countered. "And you know what? I feel bad for doing it like that. Really, fellas." Suddenly, a spark of an idea. "Maybe I should go over first. Apologize."
Kyle's eyes widened, clearly wanting to be the first to clear the fence with Stan. "…uh?"
Butters continued. "Stan needs to come back home with us, and no offense, Kenny, but I don't think he's exactly warmed up to you."
"Was thinking the same goddamn thing," Kenny said, by way of saying 'no offense'. His eyes suggested he wasn't lying.
"And Kyle," Butters noted, "Stan, he… he'll need some time to sort things out."
Kyle didn't get it – his confusion was obvious – but he nodded anyway, the tears vanishing.
In this way, the boys outlined how to enact Plan B over the rest of their remaining four days in Awesometown.
A/N: Here we are in Awesometown. I know the last chapter was short, but it was to transition to this… thing. In case you're wondering, yes, we will get some updates on what's going on in South Park. The next chapter takes place prominently in South Park, and re-introduces you guys to a few well-loved characters. But that's all I'll say. (teases) Again, thank you everyone for reading and reviewing!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own South Park.
