Stan's POV
This is our first Friday that my mom and I are meeting outside of her place. I enter the café to see her sipping on her mocha with a small cake, and I smile as I approach her. "Hey mom."
She puts down her cup as I take a seat. "Hi Stanley, how have you been?"
"I've been worse." Another lie, I've been lying to my mom a lot more lately. I feel like shit, tomorrow is that day Shelley comes back and I have been on edge ever since.
"Stan, I know you better than you think." Uh oh, she's getting into her 'stern mom' mode. "I know that you think she's still dangerous but I really do think she's changed. I want to see my two kids at least acting civil with each other again."
"Mom, you know I love you but please…" I'm practically begging her at this point, I don't want to think about Shelly right now. I do that enough in my nightmares. "Can we just talk about something else?"
"Ok. I'm sorry sweetie. How are you liking your new place?" Thankfully she switches to a different topic.
"It's nice, mom. It's actually much better than my old apartment in Denver."
"Well then, I better thank Eric for giving you such a nice home." She seems relieved that I'm at least liking my new home. "I heard him mentioning about other people living with you. How are they?"
Oh boy… where do I begin with that?
"Yeah, they're cool but I've been having problems with one of my housemates."
"What's the matter?"
"I've pissed him off and I want to make it up to him."
"Well, what did you do that got him upset?" Yeah, mom. Yeah I do…
"I'm not too sure but one night I blew up at him after he found one of my whiskey bottles."
"Oh, Stanley…" She sighs, I lower my head a little in shame.
"It somehow triggered my cynicism and I yelled at him for putting his nose where it doesn't belong."
"But you've been handling it so well."
"I think it's just the paranoia causing a little relapse. I'll be fine, I've done it before." I try to shrug it off but her face doesn't show the response I'm hoping for.
"I know, dear but you were so miserable back then too. I don't want to see you suffer through that phase again." She looks so grim, I hate to see her so sad.
"I'll try not to."
She takes a deep breath and says in her calmest voice, "Stan, I know you've been doing fine on your own but maybe you should see a psychiatrist too. You haven't been taking the news about Shelly well and you're looking a lot worse than next week."
Normally my stubborn self would be flat out against the idea of paying someone to listen to me bitch and trying to get me to opening myself out to them or something, but I'm tired, I'm a mess, maybe I need some help. "I'll think about it. Thanks mom."
After paying for our food, I start my drive back home when my phone starts to ring. That's weird, it's Sue.
"Hey rookie." Since my first session, she started calling me rookie. She said that putting yourself online takes guts and she respects that but now that I'm under her wing, I'm just like another other new recruit.
"Hey Sue. How was San Francisco?" I greet her.
"The film festival was awesome, family visit though, not so much. It's barely November and my parents are arguing on whether to get Christmas decorations first or Chinese New Year's decorations."
"Shit, sounds like big trouble in little China." I laugh at my own joke but I can tell Sue doesn't really appreciate it like I do, I can almost envision her eyeroll. "Anyways, what's up? I don't have a session today, right?"
"No, you don't, umm this is weird." She sounds like she's still trying to process what she's about to say. "I came back to the station today to check the schedules and there's someone here asking for Kyle but I can't reach him. I figured since you seem to know him and I can't leave her alone out in the cold."
"Uhh sure. I see what I can do, where are you at?
"At the station, try and call him and get here as fast as you can."
"All right, I'll see you in 10."
I rush back to campus and head straight to the Communications station. Sue is sitting on the arm of a bench outside the building, lying on the bench right next to her must be the person she mentioned, she looks a bit younger than me, her short black hair seems forcibly cut and uneven and her limbs are wrapped in bloody bandages made from torn rags and her pale skin covered in bruises, she looks like she's sleeping with a jacket as a cover, probably Sue's.
"Sue, is this her?" I ask as I take off my jacket and offer it to Sue. She looks like she's been sitting out in the cold, probably because she was…
"Yeah, she just showed up outside and asked for help." She accepts the jacket and drapes it over her shoulders "When I asked for a name I could call, the only thing she asked me to do was call Kyle before she passed out on me."
"I think he's out on a seminar today."
"Well shit, I can't take her to my dorm and she can't stay in the building." She then paces back and forth, contemplating on what to do before she turns to me and asks, "Stan, can she stay at your place?"
"Mine?! It's a house full of guys!" I exclaim, did she really think it's a good idea to leave a girl into a house full of dudes? Especially with one of them being Kenny? I mean I know Kenny has boundaries but still…
"Look, if you're worried about that, I'll stay there too." She just says coolly.
"Are you serious, Sue?" I look at her, hoping that she meant that sarcastically. "You called me out of nowhere because of a girl who asked for Kyle and now you want me to let you and her stay the night at my place without even asking?"
"Yeah, sounds about right." She shrugs and I just facepalm as I mumble a string of profanities, what the hell did I get myself into…
"Argh…" My thoughts of frustrations get cut off by the sound of groaning from the girl on the bench.
"Hey there, kid." Sue says in a calm, almost motherly voice. "Didn't quite get your name before you KO'd."
She looks around at her surroundings and at us. Her gaze stops at me as she looks at me intensively, like she's trying to place me.
"You're Stan Marsh." She simpers. Her voice comes out like a rough whisper, sounding raw and cracked. "I heard that song you sang for me, thank you."
"Wait, Charlotte Baxton?" Sue makes the realization just as I do, her face probably mirroring my gasped expression.
"Holy shit, you're ok." I murmur, more as a statement of fact than for confirmation. "Sue. I'll bring the car around, you get Charlotte in and we'll head back." I start running to my car.
I can't believe it, Charlotte's alive. Kyle will be so happy to see her. I pull up and help Sue lay her down in the back seat.
"How did you get here?" Sue asks as she gets into the front passenger seat.
"I ran away and I have no idea where to go. I wanted to call Kyle, he's the only one who helped me but I barely made it out with the clothes on my back, not to mention I don't know how. No address, no phone number…"
"I'll take you to him, he's living with me." I inform her.
"Thank you." She said with a sweet sincere smile, relief written all over her face.
"I'm glad you're Ok, Kyle has been pretty worried about you. From what I've seen he hasn't slept properly since you disappeared."
"Wow, Stan you make it sound like Kyle's a little too 'caring' about Charlotte." I know Sue's joking about it but it somehow just rubs me the wrong way, I don't know why.
"Huh? But Kyle's gay." Charlie says with a raised brow.
"Wait what?" Both of us practically shout, I think the driver in the car next to us is giving me a strange look.
"Yeah, he told me that the night we met."
Wait, Kyle's gay? What the fuck? I'm gonna have to ask him about this later.
We make it back and we manage to help Charlotte to the living room, it might have been better if she had a bed to sleep on but I don't know if she can make it up the stair the way she is now.
Sue lays her down on the couch while I go to the kitchen to get some water for her. I see Tweek popping his head out from the stairway, I thought the house was empty but I guess all that commotion we made must have startled him.
"S-Stan? What's ngh-going on?"
"Tweek, is it just you?" I look around and I don't see our other housemates. "Where's Kyle and Kenny?"
"Kyle should be back soon and Kenny's in his room, hungover."
"Stan! How long does it take to get a glass?" I hear Sue call from the living room, Tweek looks on edge to hear another voice in the house.
"Sorry." I holler back, getting back to my task.
"Guys, shut the fuck up. I'm trying to sleep." I hear Kenny groggily grumble as he comes up from the basement.
I was about to explain the situation to them when I see Sue's shrill yell, "STAN!"
"Coming!" I yell back. Ouch, I deal with that enough during my first few times on the job, I don't need to hear it at my home too.
The three of us make it to the living room, Tweek and Kenny stop in their track while I hand the water to Sue. The two of them sharing the same expression, shock and disbelief, except it's towards two different people.
"It's you…" They both say, Tweek's eyes on Sue while Kenny's on Charlotte.
"Wait, you guys know each other?" I look at them, their expressions still frozen on their faces.
"He helped Kyle pull me up after I almost fell." Charlie answers me, her voice sounding much better after she drank some water. She turns to Kenny and says, "I never got an introduction."
"Kenny, I did died shortly after so that's why." His tone starts a bit lax but soon becomes tense and full of regret. "I heard that you were ok until your mom kidnapped you from the hospital."
"I'm ok now." She says with a smile of relief, Kenny visibly relaxes.
"How did you get here?"
"Sue found her outside the station and we brought her back here." I explain.
"Y-Your name argh is Sue?" Tweek squeaks, nervousness and curiosity obvious in his trembling voice.
"Yeah, Tweek." I "You know her?"
"Wait a minute, silver eyes..." Kenny seems to be in thought before he looks like he discovers the cure of cancer. "Holy shit dude, this is the girl you danced with that night?! She's fucking hot!" He exclaims with a broad smile and a clear admiration in his tone.
Tweek turns red almost instantly and his face skews into a mix of embarrassment and frustration "Shut up, Kenny."
"Wait, that girl you guys have been talking about is my boss?!" I finally piece everything together.
"She's your boss?!" They both shout in shock again.
We hear her clearing her throat and all eyes are on her. "Ahem. Hey there, I'm right here." She puts her hand out for Tweek with a smile, just like the first time Sue and I met. "Sue Andrews, nice to meet you boys. As Stan just said that, he's one of our radio DJs that I am managing, so yes, I am technically his boss."
Tweek freezes before passing out. Everyone in the room is shocked, I don't really know what to do before Kenny pipes in.
"Ok… Sue, you keep tabs on Charlotte. Stan, call Kyle, his seminar should be over by now. I gotta get Tweek back to his room.
We nod as Kenny tends to Tweek. I don't know how but Kenny manages to pick Tweek up and put him on his back as Kenny piggybacks Tweek up the stairs.
I… have no idea what just happened. But Kenny told me to call Kyle and that's what I'm gonna do now.
Kyle's POV
I get a call from Stan, telling me that someone is waiting for me back at the house. I walk in, half expecting it's my mom coming to visit but I'm in shock when I realize who's on the couch.
I go over to her and give her a hug, it's real.
She's Ok.
I finally reel in the shock but it still takes me a moment or two to get my voice back. "Charlie, I'm so glad you're ok."
"I tried to come to you as soon as I got out." She apologizes with her face cradled on my shoulder, remorse laced all over her voice which still sounds raw. "I'm sorry I left."
"What happened that day?" I pull back from the hug and ask her.
"My-my mom s-said that she wants me back home and that she misses me. I really thought things might have changed but I was wrong." Poor girl, she looks like she's about to burst into tears. "I was so, so wrong. Now they've been punishing me and her for loving me."
"Shh…It's Ok now, I'm sorry I asked." I rub her back to comfort her.
"Where were you though?" Stan suddenly interjects. "The police could only find your family and no one would say where you were."
She calms down again before answering, "Word got around that the police was called and that people were looking for me so before the police found where they kept me, they hid me in some basement, it belonged to a friend of my dad's." She almost growls in disgust. "Luckily they aren't as careful as my family, I broke out a few days ago and I realized I was in the outskirts of Denver, I didn't know where to go and I didn't know who could trust so I walked to the station, I was banking on the chance that I was far away enough from anyone who had my dad's influence and that someone in there must know you."
"That's when Sue found her and called me, we brought her here." Stan once again interjects, linking the pieces together.
She nods and looks up at me. "They've been feeding me and taking care of me, Sue even changed my bandages." She shows me her arms which have in fact been dressed very professionally, but it breaks my heart knowing she needs bandages to begin with.
"I'm sorry that I couldn't stop her in time." I apologize to her, but she just smiles at me with a hint of amusement.
"You sounds like Kenny. There was nothing you could do." She says "I don't want to think about that anymore, can I sleep for now?"
"Alright but tomorrow we've gotta work out what to do next." She nods in response and she closes her eyes.
We let Charlie sleep in the living room but Sue seems insistent on staying too, so the two of them are sharing the pull-out couch, lucky investment I guess.
Stan fills me in on what I missed before I got home as we walk back upstairs. According to him, it turns out the girl Tweek's been crushing on is Sue and he passed the fuck out in front of her. Ouch… Note to self, Tweek's gonna need some help tomorrow morning. Luckily Kenny took care of him before heading out to work.
"Kyle, what do we do?" Stan asks.
"I don't know, I doubt they'll call the police now. If they do, we can get Charlie to have them arrested for abuse."
"But what if she's got nowhere else to go?" He continues asking. "We can't let her stay for long."
"I guess we'll just have to talk it through with her tomorrow, see what she wants to do." I know what he means but right now we aren't in any position to make decisions for her. "We'll discuss this in the morning, Stan."
"Ok." He heads towards his room, he suddenly turns around sharply and looks a little awkwardly at me. "Oh, umm… Charlie said something before in the car that I wanted to ask you about. She said you were gay."
"Yeah, I'm gay. So?" I shrug.
"Oh…" He seems a little taken back, probably from my bluntness. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Well you never asked and it's not like I'm hiding it." I answer nonchalantly. "I'm kinda like you, I'm pretty open about it but I'm not gonna jump to the front lines of any fucking gay pride parades."
He chuckles at the thought. "Fair enough."
With that, we head back into our rooms. I sit at my study desk, reviewing the notes from today's seminar when I hear my alarm ringing again. I get up and walk out to see Stan turning off the alarm and switching the candles.
"I saw the sign on your door, figured I'd do this for you in case you got too invested in your studies." He answers me as he puts away the blown out candle.
"Thanks."
"Don't sweat it, man."
"No, I don't just mean for this."
"Huh?" He asks in confusion and surprise.
"For taking care of Charlie too. I know we're not on the best terms right now and I've been acting like distant, but I want to thank you, Stan."
"Don't worry about it, Kyle. She's a good kid. How are you doing?"
"Me?" Now it's my turn to be shocked and confused.
"Yeah, you've been studying a lot." He explains. "I don't know how hard your classes are but I do remember you being an infamous study freak. Don't burn yourself out before mid-terms and make sure you still eat, wouldn't want another diabetic spill."
"It was just that one time and Kenny promised us dinner after his set."
"Whatever, man. Just… Remember to take care of yourself too."
"I will, thanks." I say sincerely, I never realized that even when we weren't talking he was still paying attention to me.
"Ok, you've gotten stop thanking me before you turn Canadian." He replies with a smirk.
I roll my eyes before answering, "Fine, I won't. Good night, Stan."
"Night, Kyle."
I forgot, before he turned 10 he was one of the nicest people I've ever met, Cartman and his Uncle Jimbo even called him a pussy for not wanting to hunt innocent wildlife. He was the one I could always count on, I almost forgot how nice it can feel to know someone's there for you. Kenny and Tweek are two of the coolest friends I could have but no one understood me like Stan does, no one could get me like my super best friend does, I missed that.
I've made up my mind. I'm going to help him through this, whatever's bugging him I'll stay with him till the end. I'm not running away this time.
A/N: Happy Chinese New Year's for any Chinese readers out there. Yes, in case you are wondering Sue is part Caucasian and part Chinese. Charlie and Sue have now met the rest of the boys and they will play a part in the story. Stan and Kyle are slowing getting be to the way they once were. Next week, we'll follow the boys as they talk a bit about themselves.
Whoever guessed Tweek's crush, you get a free pixel cookie. Good job cx
As always, feel free to check out the drama this story is based on, 'It's Okay That's Love' by SBS.
Take care, Loves.