Stan's POV
"Thanks for helping me, Stan." Kate says as she fiddles around with the audio and lighting controls. She's asked me to help her practice setting up for BC Live, since she'll become the director when Sue graduates. Kate and I don't talk much outside of work but she's dropped her fangirl persona around me and has a more sassy personality to match her deceivingly sweet child-like look and voice.
"No problem, Kate." I respond, walking over to the boom mic and adjusting it outside of the camera shot.
"Things have been getting hectic here lately, thanks to all the bullshit and exams." She groans, "I can't wait for summer. I'm gonna go to LA and maybe get a boyfriend there, what's your plan?"
"Oh… I haven't really thought of that." I answer as I lock the boom mic in place, "Kyle and I haven't thought much with his workload and all."
Kyle and I getting together is probably the best thing that's happened to me lately, but that doesn't mean that life's gonna let me enjoy that 'drunk in love' feeling. Kyle's been busy with assignments and preparations for Finals. I've been helping Z and working with Cartman to create something for the recording agency, they want a demo tape before they'll consider signing me in. Kyle has been expectedly shy with it comes to PDA, but he does like it when I lock my fingers with his.
"Oh yeah, you already got a boyfriend to show off." Kate smiles amusingly while walking to the stage and handing me the cup of dark roast I brought with me, "Sue didn't tell me much, how're you and Kyle? How did your first date go?"
"Umm… I don't think we really had a first date."
"Serioously?" She gasps in disbelief, "You should take him out then. Every couple remembers their first date, make sure it's a good one."
"Yeah. Ok." I nod mindlessly, a little embarrassed that I actually haven't taken him out on our first date yet. Yup, definitely not gonna get best boyfriend of the year. I steer the topic and my thoughts away from my already failing love life, "So, how's working with Sue on production going?"
"Ugh, don't remind me. How she does it, I will never understand." She complains but I can hear the admiration in her voice, "She has so many things on her mind just for BC Live alone, I have no idea how she manages her school life, her personal and social life and looking for an internship. And I work as both her assistant and the makeup artist in the department."
"That's why she's the boss. And needs four cups of coffee to get through the day." I add.
"You're no better. I've seen you come in here with two cup of dark roast and you finished it in an hour."
"I haven't had a good night's sleep in months." I yawn as I recount the awful nights of sleep I've been having, "I think it's the university life and everything going on now that's stressing me out, I never remember it being this bad in high school."
"A lot easier when all you had to worry about was becoming homecoming king, huh?"
"Shut up, I was never homecoming king." I chuckle.
"Coulda fooled me, hot stuff." She winks playfully, "It's a real shame all the good guys are either taken or gay."
"Or both." I smirk with pride, "Actually, Tweek's still single."
"Yeah but I ain't even gonna try messing with Sue's lil crush. I don't understand why he isn't doing anything though. Sue doesn't seem like the girl to like the shy guys"
"Tweek's a little tough to crack, he does like Sue. I think he just needs the right motivation."
"Dating the girl you like isn't motivation enough?" She raises her brow before her eyes open and I can see a little lightbulb pop up above her head. "You know what, I got a great idea. Some of the crew and I are setting up a party to celebrate Sue's internship and her last year with us, sounds like the perfect time for him to make his move."
"Yeah, that actually sounds like a great idea. I'll let him know."
"If they get married, I better be main bridesmaid." She finishes up the bottle of water in her hand and stands up to stretch. "All right, that's all the work for today. Thanks Stan."
"No problem, see ya Kate." We say our goodbyes and split off our own ways. I walk out with what Kate said in mind, with a determined thought I take a deep breath and call him up.
"Hey, Kyle."
"Hi Stan, what's up?" I grin as I hear his slightly tired but cheerful voice.
"Nah, I just got done with helping Kate at the Communication building. You free tonight?"
"I'm not sure right now, Stan."
"Oh… Ok then. Let me know when you're free or whatever."
He hears the disappointment in my voice and sighs, "Sorry, now's not a good time. I'll see you back home."
Even though Kyle said that, I still feel myself sulk. What was I thinking? I don't even have a plan yet! What am I supposed to do for our first date? OK Stan, second chance. You've gotta come up with a plan before then.
My phone suddenly rings and I notice that it's an unknown number. Curious and a little cautious, I answer the call, "Hello?"
"Hello Stanley, this is Dr. Francine Nixon." She greets and I let out a small breath I didn't know I was holding, "I hope you don't mind, I got your number from your mom."
"Oh, it's cool. What's up?"
"I need to talk to you about Shelly. I'm sure your mom has mentioned her recent behavior."
I furrow my brows at the thought of my sister. Last time I went to visit Mom, she mentioned that Shelly hasn't been talking much, she's been in her room with a blank, emotionless stare 24/7. Mom's really worried about her but I don't know what to think about her right now. "Just because I saved her ass from jail, doesn't mean I forgave her for what she did."
"Fair enough, but I think this can help both of you." She says empathically, "What she did was inexcusable but she can't do this without you. Give her one last chance."
"What do you need from me?"
"First of all, information. I've heard bits and pieces from her and your mom but I need to know your side too. We also need to work on correcting her mindset, she seems to push everything onto your shoulders, even if it's her own fault. Lastly, we need to repair your relationship with her."
Repairing my relationship with Shelly? How can you fix over a decade's worth of pain and bullying? Dr. Nixon does sound optimistic and determined though. If it can fix Shelly and make my mom happy, what'd I got to lose? "Ok, when do we start?"
"I'll have to talk to Shelly about it, I need her to want to change before we can make any progress. For now, we'll arrange a time where you can come to my office and you can tell me about you and Shelly."
We talk some more about what she believes me and my mom can do to help Shelly and a time where both of us can properly discuss this before I end the call. I almost feel bad for Shelly, regardless of the shit she did to me, she's still my sister and Dr. Nixon truly believes that Shelly can be rehabilitated. Maybe I need to share some of that faith.
Either way, there's nothing I can do now. I redirect my thoughts onto what I should be spending time thinking about: how to impress Kyle on our first date.
Kyle's POV
I sigh as I pocket my cell phone, I know Stan's a little upset that I put him on a rain check but I've got my hands full right now. I reenter the living room where Charlie is pacing around the room, her hair is now in a short braid with bejeweled hair accessories decorating it, she's wearing a frilly pink dress and she caked her face in makeup now, I never thought I'd see Charlie like this and it scaring me how much she's letting it control her. She looks fine on the outside but I can tell by the way she's biting the purple glittery polish off her nails that she's unhinged now.
I grab her shoulder to stop her pacing, "Charlie, calm down."
"Of course you'd say that, you have a lover who dotes over you." She snaps, but quickly changes from short-tempered anger to nervous-wreaking sadness, "How can I calm down? Kenny's been so distant lately, the last time I remember him kissing me is when I dolled up that day at the arcade. But dressing up won't even work now."
"I think you're a little paranoid." I try my best to comfort her.
"I wouldn't be if I didn't hear him mentioning Bebe's name. What if I'm not good enough for him anymore?" She starts to exaggerate.
Dr. Nixon told me that Charlie's been taking hormonal pills to start her transition, but I'm not well prepared for whatever's going through her head right now and I don't think her head's ready to listen to reasoning.
"Are you kidding me? Kenny won't leave you for Bebe, she broke his heart and he cares for you too much for me to even believe that."
"But is that love? Even if it's not Bebe, who's to say he won't love any other woman? A beautiful, real woman." She sighs, "I'm incomplete, a fake. No matter how hard I try, I can't beat my own body, Kyle."
"Charlie, stop thinking for a moment. Just look and focus on my voice." I say every word with a calm asserting voice, "Now breathe. Good." I instruct as both Charlie and I take a deep breath in and out before I continue, "Listen, I can't even pretend like I know what you're going through. But you can't let that kind of thinking gnaw away at you, it's hard but you can't fall into that trap."
"It's so hard, I feel like my body and I are at war. I feel muscles where my curves are supposed to be; every time I hear my voice crack, I hate it so much because that sounds so wrong, my voice shouldn't do that. My body shouldn't be like that. No wonder Kenny would want another girl, I can't give him what he wants."
"Charlie, he's pansexual. Kenny doesn't give a fuck about gender, he loves you for you."
"Gender blind doesn't mean he doesn't have a preference, his just happens to include child bearing hips and organs."
"Listen, you're stressing yourself way too much with this. You need to turn off your brain for a bit. Let's just watch something and tune out for a few minutes. You can't think straight like this anyways." I suggest as I turn on Netflix and look for a comedy for us to watch.
After watching Chris Pratt fighting alongside a raccoon and a giant tree played by Vin Diesel to save the galaxy, I finally see Charlie smiling again. Looks like I got her mind off of that.
When it's time for her to head home, she turns to me and give me a hug, "Thanks, Kyle. I know I can be a bitch and a little needy right now-"
I cut off her and pat her back in a reassuring manner, "Don't worry about it, we can't be tough 24/7 and it's fine to be a little selfish sometimes. Just let me know how I can help you, your aunt and I really wanna help you through this."
She nods before heading to her aunt's car, she's a bit happier now but she's not out of the woods until she can beat those inner demons. I let out a sad sigh, she really doesn't need this now. She just went through a heavy trial case, faced the dismissal of her horrible family, and she's now fighting an endless battle against her own developing body.
I hear my phone ringing again, is Stan calling me again to hang out? I dig my phone out of my pocket and look at the caller ID. Oh god, it's Ma. I groan but I have to face the inevitable and I answer the call, "Hey Ma."
"Hello, bubbi. I've heard about you and Stanley. Why didn't you tell me you two were together?" She asks in an interrogative tone
Oh great, she found out. Ike or Karen must've let it slip. "Yeah, Stan and I are still a little new with the whole dating thing and-" I mumble some half-ass excuse for why I didn't tell her yet, for obvious reasons.
"I'm just happy that you've finally found someone to date. You should have him over from dinner sometime, I'd love to see Sharon again."
"Umm Ma, it's a little fast, don't you think?"
"Nonsense, you two have been together since you were in diapers and I've seen him in our house as much as Sharon saw you in theirs."
And this is why I didn't tell her yet, I love my Ma but she's so overzealous and she keeps pressuring me into these things. Knowing I can't win, I just comply mindlessly, "I'll ask him and we'll think about it."
"Ok, bye Kyle." She says cheerfully as she ends the call. I run my hand through my red curls in frustration, the minute she hears that I have a boyfriend, she makes it clear that she has to know everything about it, whether I want to share it or not. I need to get my mind off of this, I unlock my phone and call Stan.
"Hey Stan, sorry about earlier. You still wanna hang out?"
"Yeah, I'll see you this afternoon?" He replies brightly, washing away the annoyance I felt a while ago.
"Sure, see ya." I chirp as we hang up the call with a smile. Man, it feels so good to let myself feel like this. I've still got a long way to go and Ma isn't making it easier by butting into my life but it's nice to know that Stan can make me feel so relaxed. Now I have to worry about how I'm gonna tell him about my terrifying mother wants to 'talk' with him over dinner.
Stan's POV
I was hoping that I'd have a little more time to plan out our first date, turns out that little bit of time was 3 hours. I go crazy on Google, trying to find the best places to take him. Kyle may be a guy, but he can be hard to impress. I arrive back at the house with my car, parked outside and waiting for Kyle. I told him to dress up a little for tonight and keeping everything else in the dark.
I honk my car and I see Kyle hopping out of the front door, he's wear a nice grey blazer with a green gaming T-shirt beneath it, some black jeans, and his iconic green ushanka on top of his head with a few red ringlets with his fringe spilling from the front of it. I get out of the car and open the passenger side door for him, like a perfect gentleman. He raises his brow amused but plays along as he gets in and buckles up.
"So, you sounded excited. What's the plan today?" He asks.
"I've got us reservations at Ristorante Stravagante and I know you've been dying to see that new Marvel movie, so I got us tickets." I say with pride. I've learned that Kyle's grown a devotion toward the Marvel Cinematic Universe and I managed to get some tickets at the backrow, you know, the couple seat section.
"Dude, that's awesome!" Kyle chirps excitedly, "Let's go!"
I smile at his enthusiasm, it just makes me all the more determined to make this the best date he'll have. We talk more on the car, he talks about how complicated things have been for Charlie and I mention about Kate's suggestion for Tweek to impress Sue. We arrive at the restaurant and I notice Kyle's eyes widen. I guess he doesn't know much about Ristorante Stravagante and I smile proudly as I do a little happy dance on the inside. So far so good, Stan.
"Reservations for 2, Marsh." I stride confidently to the host.
"I'm sorry but all reservations have been voided." He responds with a not-so-apologetic tone, completely raining on my thunder.
"WHAT!?" I shout a little too loudly, since Kyle had to tell me to lower my voice.
"Didn't you hear? That couple over there spent ten thousand dollars to book the entire restaurant." He explains as he gestures over to a rich looking couple and their cat, who's sitting on a chair with a party hat on its head and a cake along with a 6 course meal in front of us.
I'm flabbergasted but arguing about how stupid it was for someone to spend over ten thousand dollars for a cat isn't gonna get us dinner here, and it's certainly not gonna fix this date. "Fuck…" I pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration, so much for the dress up. "Umm you up for some Casa Bonita?" I suggest off the top of my head.
"Stan, it's a 35 minute drive. We'll never make it in time for the movie if we go now." He reasons. Fuck he's right. And I doubt we're gonna get a table at some nice restaurant now without paying a shit ton.
My awful mood must've been pretty obvious, because Kyle just clings onto my arm and leans close to my side. "Let's just pick somewhere here." He says with a smile, trying to cheer me up.
Goddammit, now I've ruined the mood. I smile back, albeit a little forced but I'm gonna try and turn this date around. At the end, we just decide to skip dinner and go right to the movies and get some popcorn instead. Relax Stan, there's still a chance to redeem myself here. We're gonna be sitting in a couple seat, probably sharing a drink and a tub of popcorn. Maybe he'll put his head on my shoulder and we can cuddle, with our hands touching every time we reach for popcorn, just like all those corny 90s movies Wendy made me watch. That's romantic, right? Yeah, there's still a chance yet.
"Sorry about-" I try to apologize for my shitty planning but I get cut off by Kyle's phone ringing.
He casts me an apologetic look as he answers the call, "Hey Kenny, what's up?" He suddenly burrows his brows in confusion, "Bebe? What're you doing with Kenny's phone?" He asks, then he nods with a worried look on his face. "Ok? Text me where you guys are and we'll be there soon." He ends the call and turns to me and explains in urgent and remorseful tone, "Stan, Kenny's passed out drunk at some bar. We need to get him."
I sigh and let my shoulders drop in disappointment, so much for the movie too. I pick myself up and say, "Alright, let's go get 'im."
Kyle reads the address he gets from Bebe and I turn the car around, driving towards the bar, away from the movie theater and away any remote chance of me salvaging our first date. We soon arrive and enter the bar, immediately we see Kenny lying his head of the counter with Clyde watching over him and Bebe looking for us. She sees us and heads towards us. "Hey, thanks for coming over. Clyde's helping him as much as he can but I don't think that's saying much." She explains as we approach Kenny and Clyde
"I'm doing my best here!" Clyde whines, mildly offended by his girlfriend's words.
Kyle walks over and lightly slaps Kenny's check, letting us know that he's out cold and he probably won't be able to walk himself out the door. "Uh-huh, well we'll need get him into the car. Clyde, help me and Stan get Kenny into the car."
"Ok big boy, time to go home." We pick Kenny up from the barstool with Kenny on my back, and Clyde and Kyle supporting Kenny's limp body from each side. With his face so near mine, I can smell the booze wafting from his breath. Kenny reeks of alcohol. "Jesus, did he say why he was destroying his liver?" I ask.
"Something about disappointing Karen and being a fuck up." Bebe answers, "I can't made it out with all the mumbling and the slurring."
After a few bumps and close calls, we manage to get him into my car. I just hope Kenny doesn't vomit in it, that'll really put the icing on the shit night of a cake. "Thanks for watching over him, guys." Kyle says through the car window.
"No problem, Kyle." Bebe nods before looking remorseful at Kenny, "I am sorry how things turned out between me and Kenny but I still care for him, just make sure he doesn't keep this up."
"We won't" I promise the couple, I know firsthand how miserable that life is. She waves and we part ways.
Kyle is sitting in the back to help take care of Kenny and make sure he doesn't fall over or knock his head on something. He looks over Kenny with sad, worried eyes, "God, I haven't seen Kenny this bad since Bebe told him about the abortion."
"It's Ok, Kyle. Kenny's a tough guy, he'll be fine."
"He'll wake up with a fucking hangover, I'm not worried about him dying. I'm worried about what caused it. Kenny doesn't go this far without something tearing him apart."
I turn my focus to driving as the silence falls between us. It's not one of those blissful warm silences, it's one of the tense ones, the calm before the storm as we're trying to figure out what to do next. "Should we tell Karen?" I ask.
"Are you kidding me? Kenny can't die, but not us. And I refuse to let you die after everything we went through to get together." He answers possessively, making me crack a little smile. "Besides, what can Karen do from South Park anyways?"
"So, what should we do?"
"Interrogate him, what else? When he wakes up tomorrow, we're gonna get some answers outta him." Kyle concludes.
We make it back without Kenny throwing up onto my seats, which is a blissing on its own. We stumble as the two of us put his arms on each of us and lift him out of my car. We struggle to get Kenny in through the front door. We soon hear footsteps rushing down the staircase, and Tweek shows up looking tired, relieved that it's us at the door and not some burglar, and terrified when he notices Kenny in between us. "Oh god! W-what's wrong with K-Kenny?" He shouts as he starts twitching nervously.
"He's right, Tweek." Kyle grunts, trying desperately not to drop him, "Just a little comatosed right now."
"Help us, dude." I say forcefully.
Tweek lifts Kenny onto his back and puts him down on the couch with a little more force than Tweek expects. "Gah! S-sorry Kenny."
Kenny doesn't seem to notice, still being out cold and all. So we leave him to sleep it off. Since Kyle and I didn't have dinner nor popcorn, we opt for some instant noodles we have in the kitchen. "Well… Sorry about tonight, Stan." Kyle apologizes as he puts the water-filled pot onto the stove and turns it on.
"It's fine, Kyle. I just wish our first date turned out better."
"What?" He turns and looks at me in disbelief, "Stan, we already had our first date."
"We did?"
"Yeah, remember? You walked me home with ice cream and pizza, then we played Mario Kart until we passed out." He recounts, using his fingers to count every event, "That's our first date."
I let Kyle's words sink in and he's right, we had such a perfect night together and I didn't even consider it as that. "Yeah, I guess you're right." I smile fondly, "I was trying so hard to make tonight memorable and making it the best date you ever had."
"Seriously? That's what you were upset about earlier?"
"Yeah, I guess it was pretty stupid." I chuckled, more at myself for being such an idiot. "I just wanted to make it special for you."
"Nah, I think it's cute." He giggles, "You're such a romantic." He punctuates that with a quick peck on my cheek, giving me a rush. Kyle's not one to initiate romantic gestures like that, especially kisses. God, that makes me want to kiss him even more, but I did say I'd be patient with Kyle, so I keep myself in check and look at Kyle's emerald eyes in contract with his strawberry blush face, he's adorable.
We finish our noodles, a little slower than usual since we keep trying to snip each other's noodles as we're slurping them. We go back to our rooms with me giving Kyle a little Eskimo kiss. His face has turned red so many times, I wonder if he'll pass out from all the blood in his cheeks.
I sit in my room, strumming my guitar, trying for some inspiration. But I suddenly feel the joints of my fingers hurting, they begin to twitch and ache too much for me to keep playing. I put down my guitar and start browsing online until a traveling ad catches my eye. The gears in my head start turning as I pull up Google again to do some research. I feel myself smiling at the results, it's not cheap, but with careful planning and a month's worth of bread for meals it's not impossible. Tonight might not have gone as planned but this might finally let me show Kyle how much he means to me.
A/N: Yeah, I want to write these two being cute some more before I start going into the more drama heavy stuff. So yeah, this chapter is more fluff and set up for future chapters. Kenny and Charlie are a mess right now with their own issues to deal with, I'll give whoever can guess the reason a pixel cookie. Next time, the boys will be dealing with their own family issues along with their own.
For those who might not remember Kate, she's the makeup artist for BC Live. She was introduced in Chapter 5 along with Sue, I didn't originally plan for her to reappear but I felt the story needed someone else from the Communications Building who's a little more knowledgeable about the inner workings of the team besides Sue and Jake so she reappears once again XD
Another song to recommend when reading this chapter (especially their date scene and the talking part at the end):
Ulala Session - Love Fiction: watch?v=iMLnL3hLBH8
Thanks to all the readers who left me reviews on the last chapter, they really motivate me to keep going with this c:
Anyways, as always feel free to check out the drama this story is based on, "It's Okay That's Love" by SBS. Please let me know what you think, reviews and comments make my day.
Take care, Loves. c: