A/N- Sorry this chapter has taken a while. Hope you guys like it, review and let me know what you think!

Kyle's POV

I stare at Tweek. "You've got to be kidding."

He shakes his head. "No, they're recommending that everyone stays inside."

I groan and press my fingers against me temple. Great, so now I can't even try to escape this situation. I need some time to think, some air to breathe. Neither one of those things are particularly abundant at this table. Plus, I can't calm Cartman down from here. There's a good chance he's going to end up punching Stan in the nose right now and we really can't have that. Not right now at least.

Plus, there's Kenny, who's just sitting there. In front of me. Smiling and laughing. At this table. As though no time has passed at all. I can't handle this.

And with that, I start debating how dangerous it is out there and how dangerous Cartman is in here and if I'd rather face Kenny or a thunderstorm.

"Well, I have to turn off most of the electric things," Tweek says, standing up. "Otherwise we'll all die because of a lightning strike and we'll all be fried or on fire and then my parents will go broke and-"

"Okay, we get it, bad things, very bad things," Craig interrupts, waving him off. "Go, turn things off."

Tweek nods intensely and walks quickly to the back of the store. He looks like he's being fast forwarded.

Butters turns to me, frowning, looking confused and concerned. "How bad is the storm going to be?"

I laugh a little. "Butters, how would I know that? I'm sure it'll be fine. We always get storms like this around this time."

He still looks worried but he just nods.

Craig chuckles. "It's probably just a precaution. I bet it'll be barely a bit of rain."

"Then we really don't need to stay here at all," Cartman says, his voice incredibly strained. He starts to get up but Butters reaches out a trembling hand.

"No, no, no, better safe than sorry, Eric," he says and he sounds so small and worried that of course Cartman sits back down.

He crosses his arms and shoots me a look and I shrug and try to force a smile. Apparently, my fake smile is so obvious and ridiculous, because Cartman immediately stifles a laugh and I glare at him.

"Something funny?" Kenny says with a chuckle, leaning over to Cartman.

Cartman nods. "Yeah, Kyle's crazed hillbilly smile."

Kenny glances over at me and my face gets hot. "Fuck off, dude."

"Bro, I'm just saying. The brooding pissed off look works better for you. Maybe it's best if we all try to keep you from being happy."

I toss a sugar packet at him. "You're an jackass."

He tilts his head and feigns affection. "But I'm your jackass."

"I hope not," I reply.

"You guys are awfully friendly," Stan chuckles, leaning into the table a bit. I notice Wendy's eyes still glued on him.

Evidently, so does Cartman. He immediately stiffens and turns his shoulders away from Stan. "You've been gone a while," he says in a monotone. "A lot has happened."

Kenny glances at me, maybe looking for answers as to why Cartman got suddenly hostile. Our eyes meet for a split second before I look away.

I look outside and it doesn't look too bad, and I know I really need to get Cartman out of here, at least for a few minutes. "Well, I think I'm going to step out for a cigarette," I say, starting to stand up, but Butters grabs my arm.

"But the storm!" he says, blue eyes big and worried.

I chuckle a bit. "It'll only take a couple minutes, I'm sure I'll be fine." I pull my arm away and look at the table, in Cartman's direction. "Anyone care to join me?"

Cartman's mouth is barely open before I hear Kenny's voice. "Gladly! I could use one, too." He gets up so fast that his chair squeaks against the floor and he's halfway to the door before I even know what's happening. Cartman and I exchange a glance, both apologetic and a little panicked.

I can't back out now, so I just follow Kenny out, getting increasingly tense. I can feel my heart beat in my fingertips.

We both light our cigarettes and we're quiet for a moment. Then Kenny smiles all big after a drag. "So how've you been, man?"

My fingers tighten around the cigarette and I wait a couple moments because I don't know what to say to him. "Let's not do this," I reply.

He lets out a nervous laugh. "Do what?"

"This whole small-talk, catching-up thing. I'm not interested." I take a long drag in an attempt to calm down faster.

"Kyle, come on, I-" he starts, then pauses for a bit. "Just give me a chance to explain."

"Why bother? You're just passing through, right? You're about to disappear again anyways, and then come bad in another seven years and explain this disappearance. Best to just stop the cycle before it starts, don't you think?"

"It's not like that," he says, running his hand through his hair. "I couldn't stay here anymore, I just- I panicked, you know? I needed to get out."

"So why bother coming back?" I ask, my voice sharp.

"I don't know," he replies and he almost sounds like a little kid. "I wanted to explain, and I wanted to see everyone. I wanted to see you."

"Don't give me that," I say, glaring. "Don't act like we're such good friends. You could've died and I never would've known."

"I'm sorry, Ky, I-"

"Don't call me that," I snap, and then I drop my barely started cigarette on the wet ground and smash it under my foot. I spin around and walk back inside, blood pressure higher than I'd like.