A/N: Finals. That one simple word has panic, fear, and absolute hysteria coursing through high schooler's veins around the globe.
Including mine.
Ok, I'm seriously going insane with the thought of finals. I want to kill someone. Anyone. My stress levels are at a new high, and my heart has reached a constant rate of like, 200 bpm. Ok, not really, but close enough. But the studying is killer, and probably a huge enemy of this story. It is an inspiration drainer, like a mosquito and fresh blood. A HUGE mosquito. One that will be buzzing in my ear as it perches on my neck and sucks my life out through the tiny hole. My social life, my story writing abilities, my outside-world connections. Wow, this sucks ASS.
So sorry if it takes a while to update. My finals will be over next week, but then it's summer. I will be out on the town all the time. Even though there isn't much to do here in boring ole' CT.
So the more reviews, the speedier the update! See, I got a lot so I'm updating sooner. And this chapter is a lot longer. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I love you guys!!!

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Kyle had just gone out for a walk when he decided to swing by Stark's Pond. He would often go there to be alone, and just to think. So when he saw the two figures on the far shore, he was slightly surprised. Not many people would hang out at Stark's Pond.

At first they looked like a young couple, talking quietly on the ground. But as he drew closer, he could tell they were both males, and one of them was wearing a strikingly similar hat to Craig Tucker. He could then see that it was Craig, but he couldn't tell who the other boy was. He stood under the tree, wondering what Craig was doing sitting the shore of the pond so closely to another boy. Craig Tucker isn't gay, so they can't be dating or anything. He thought as he placed a hand on the large trunk to his left.

His eyes then widened when he saw the other boy kiss Craig, right on the lips. He watched as the kiss deepened, and Craig made no move to break it. He clapped a hand over his mouth to capture the gasp, but the sound of his palm hitting his face was louder than he expected. The other boy's body froze, he could see even from across the pond. He pulled back and placed a finger on Craig's mouth, just like Stan did to Kyle in art class. Wait… Kyle thought, his mind racing, no, that can't be… no way.

But Kyle froze as he saw the other boy twist his body around to stare at him across the small body of water. Kyle's eyes widened as he found himself staring into the light, icy-blue eyes of Stan Marsh, only twenty or so feet away. He took a small step forward, and then another, his body rigid with surprise.

"St-Stan?" He choked out, his eyes then drifting to Craig. "Craig?"

"Uh…" Craig looked like a baby deer faced with a giant monster truck. "K-Kyle. What are you d-doing here?"

"I… I… I was…" Kyle stuttered, still unable to wrap his mind around the situation. Wow… Stan and Craig. Gay. Imagine that. Oh, wait. I don't need to. They already displayed it for me.

"Ok, Kyle, you don't know the whole story." Stan stood up, holding up his hands.

"Oh, I got the main gist of it." Kyle said blankly.

"Kyle, don't you dare tell anyone!" Craig sprung to his feet with the renewed anger coursing through his body, caused by the fear.

"Wait, who would I tell-" Kyle started, but Stan cut him off.

"Why would Kyle tell? He's not a gossip queen."

"No, but his girlfriend is." Craig glared at Kyle coldly. His vulnerability was making him cover up with a tough-guy mask, which was like his self-defense.

Then, Stan also looked at Kyle with a face of "don't you dare tell". "No, don't worry." Kyle mumbled, running his fingers through his short hair. "Why would I tell Bebe? I mean, she's Bebe. I wouldn't tell Bebe. Would I? No, I wouldn't…" He was now mumbling to himself, still having trouble focusing on the reality of the situation.

Then, before he knew it, Stan had appeared right next to him. He put a hand on his shoulder, and Kyle didn't even bother to push it off. He just looked into Stan's clear eyes, and asked, "You're seriously gay?"

"Well, no…" Stan said, biting his lip.

"He's bi." Craig added, appearing on Kyle's other side.

"Oh…" Kyle said, avoiding both of their gazes with raised eyebrows. "Well, that makes everything a whole lot better, huh?"

"Well, we can all still talk about hot girls together!" Stan said, throwing his arms in the air excitedly. Kyle and Craig glared at him together. "Ok, shutting up now…" He lowered his arms slowly.

Kyle then sighed. "It's just… weird. I mean, you don't seem gay. I mean Craig doesn't. Stan, he's borderline."

"Aw, thanks buddy." Stan rolled his eyes.

"I'm kidding." Kyle replied. "But really… wow…"

"Don't tell Bebe." Craig hissed. "Not even a hinting. Nothing."

"So you're staying in the closet forever?" Kyle asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Well…" Craig shifted his weight to his left. "I'm not gay. Not gay gay. I was only experimenting, I guess. That's it. I don't think I'm even bi."

"Craig…" Stan shook his head, rolling his crystal eyes. "You kissed a guy. You're bi."

Craig grimaced his reply, and then glared at Stan. "Wait, how did this all happen?" Kyle finally asked.

Craig's eyes widened, remembering Stan's previous state-of-mind, when he was quiet and reserved. He looked up to see Stan look back at him with a look of "don't you dare tell!" "Um, I don't really know." He finally settled with saying.

Kyle looked between the two of them suspiciously, before shrugging. "Fine, whatever."

"Why are you here anyways?" Stan turned the attention to Kyle.

"Because it's a place open to anyone who wants to come and think." Kyle replied. "So if you see two guys making out, it's not like you were following or stalking them. They are just idiots for deciding that would be the perfect place to go gay."

"Huh. Good point." Stan said, blinking at his own stupidity.

"You're just lucky it was me that found you, and not someone else. Like, Bebe. Or Clyde. Or Wendy."

"Another good point."

Craig sighed, and then looked at his cell phone for the time. "Shit! I'm late!" He jumped. "My sister's soccer game! Oh, god, Mom's going to kill me!"

He snapped his phone shut and started to turn to leave. But Stan grabbed his arm and spun him back quickly, before kissing him again. Kyle's eyes widened as he watched the two share a brief kiss, suddenly feeling out-of-place, awkward, and like an intruder. But it was quick, and Stan let Craig go after only a few seconds. Craig stumbled a bit, obviously not having expected that. "Sorry." Stan smiled. "But you're at least bi. That's the second time you let me kiss you."

Craig glared at him, but Kyle could tell he wasn't really mad. "I have to go. Anything else you need?" Craig asked, ready to turn and run to his house.

"Nope, I'm good." Stan said, smirking.

"Alright. I… guess I'll see you later?" Craig glanced at them both.

"Go, Craig." Stan replied. "You're going to be late."

"Right." He said, and then left. He left the hill drenched in a wave of silence as Kyle and Stan looked at the pond in silence.

"So…" Kyle broke the silence quietly. "You're bi."

"Yep."

"That's funny. Not long ago, I had a period of sexuality confusion." Kyle admitted.

"When?"

"Oh, a few months ago."

"So it's still undecided in a way?" Stan looked at Kyle with a smirk.

"Stan, I'm pretty sure I'm straight."

"Huh. Funny." Stan said thoughtfully, looking back at the water. "That's exactly what Craig said."

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Stan, I can assure you I'm not gay. Or bi. None of those."

"So if I kissed you right now, you wouldn't like it?"

Stan's question caught him off guard. "Oh, uh… Well, no! That would be like rape!"

Stan rolled his startling eyes. "I wouldn't be fucking you. I would only kiss you. God, learn the difference, Kyle."

"No, I wouldn't like it." Kyle glared at his friend.

"Ok, ok." Stan smiled. "If you say so."

"So what happened?" Kyle changed the subject. "Why did you guys kiss?"

Kyle could feel all of Stan's joyous energy suddenly disappear, replaced with a reserved and secretive feeling. "Uh, I don't remember. It all happened so fast, so. Yeah."

"Stan…" Kyle sighed, looking at his friend again. "You really expect me to believe that bullshit? Now, what happened? It can't be that bad. Did you rape him or something?"

"Wow, I love how that's the first thing that pops into your mind." Stan said, trying to reclaim some of the joking atmosphere.

"Stan, I'm being serious! What happened? You're acting so weird. One minute you're happy and carefree, and the next you're sad and quiet. You almost told me last night, but I let the conversation slip away. But not now. You have to tell me. I don't care what you think, but you can trust me. I promise."

Stan looked at him, his eyes frozen with pain and memories. He sighed, and there was a long pause of silence. "It happened a little over a year ago." He finally spoke. "My dad was at work, and it was summer, so Shelly and I were at home. My mom said that we needed to go shopping, so we went to the grocery store. But when we were leaving, some dude waving a gun around shoved us into a dark alley. In California, it's not uncommon to find muggers and stuff like that. But he started yelling at us to give him everything we had. He was obviously insane, twitching and covered in filth. But my mom told him to leave and said that we weren't giving him anything. She tossed me her purse, which had everything in it; money, phone, checkbook, credit cards, everything. So he started cussing us out, still waving the gun around. He pointed the gun at me, and told me to give him the purse. My mom told me not to let him have it, so I listened to her. She said he was only bluffing and the gun probably wasn't even loaded. But then-"

He stopped suddenly, and Kyle could see that his eyes weren't looking at the pond anymore. They were back in that alley, watching the scene unfold. Kyle put a hand on his shoulder slowly, and Stan jumped. He then blinked and looked at Kyle as if he was just waking from a dream. He then sighed and continued his story, "He shot her. Right in the chest. Shelly screamed, she wouldn't stop screaming. God, she wouldn't stop fucking screaming! If she had stopped, if only she had stopped her wailing, then maybe… maybe… No. He shot her too, because she wouldn't stop fucking screaming. And then he pointed the gun at me, beckoning for the purse. But I couldn't breathe. I just saw my mother and my sister, dead and bleeding on the ground, and I could've stopped it all sooner. If only I had given him the purse earlier.

"But some policeman heard the shots, and killed the bastard where he stood. Just as he was about to shoot me, too. But looking back, I wish he had. I wish he had shot me. Then my father wouldn't hate me. Then I wouldn't feel so guilty about my mother's death and my sister's death. Then no one would have to deal with me anymore."

He choked, stopping his words. A single tear slipped from his eye, and he fell to his knees. Kyle knelt next to him, wrapping his arm around his friend. "Stan, it's not your fault. I promise, it's not your fault. And I'm so happy that he didn't shoot you. Because then I would never be able to see my best friend again."

Stan looked at the ground, suddenly looking very tired and pained. "Now my dad beats me on a regular basis, because it is my fault. I let them die. I killed them. I should be dead, too."

"No!" Kyle said. "You should not be dead! If you should be dead, then you would be right now! But you're not, so you should be alive. And as for your dad…" He paused, unable to think of what to say.

"It's fine." Stan said, his voice freezing over in a shell of hiding. "I should probably get home anyways." He stood, his face wiped clean of any expression.

"Stan…" Kyle said, reaching out for his friend.

"I'm fine." Stan said, shying away from his friend's act of reaching out. "I'm going home now. I'll see you later, Kyle."

And with that, he left. He left Kyle standing in front of Stark's Pond, feeling lost and confused. In fact, both of them felt lost and confused.

Disclaimer: Matt Stone and Trey Parker
So you finally realize why Stan is all depressed. The big family secret. Sorry if it's not what you expected, or if it's too angsty or something. But yeah... Let's just say I know a guy who has the similar problem to Stan. So it's not a complete load of bullshit. But it's still a lot different in a way. Ugh, I'm confused now...
PLEASE REVIEW!!! :D