Kyle had never been able to forget that night, no matter how much time had passed. Of course he had never brought it up again, but Stan had never asked either. Kyle didn't know whether he was glad for that or not. The next day, when Kyle's eyes were red-rimmed and puffy from crying, Stan had freaked out, thinking that Cartman had done something again. Kenny had come up with some sort of excuse, but Stan's concern just hurt Kyle more.

And now, after three long years, they would be graduating in just a few months and Kyle still had never told Stan his feelings. Instead, Christmas break had arrived, and with it, the one college letter Kyle had been wanting.

Stan had somehow managed to get a full scholarship to LSU for football. It had one of the best football programs in the country, and Stan had been ecstatic when he had gotten the notice. Immediately going to Kyle, he had begged his best friend to apply to LSU as well because there was no way he wanted to go without his super best friend. Sighing, Kyle had explained that he had already applied there, purposefully leaving out the real reason he'd applied, but that it all depended on what he could get in an academic scholarship.

Now the letter was finally there, and as he opened it, his heart began to race with anticipation.

Dear Mr. Broflovski,

Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that, based on your many academic accomplishments, you have been accepted into Louisiana State University! We are proud to welcome you as a part of the Tigers family!

That was nice and all, but he knew he'd get in. He quickly scanned the acceptance letter and the rest of the documents for the part he wanted and once it was located, he couldn't help a big smile from crossing his face. The first thing he did was rush to Stan's house, throwing the door open and rushing to Stan's room as he ignored the Marsh parents startled questions. He yanked the door open to Stan's bedroom- only to have the startled faces of Stan and Wendy, frozen mid kiss, staring back at him. His face quickly heated up and he slammed the door shut, yelping a quick "Sorry!" to the two. He was halfway out the front door when he felt a hand grab his wrist and he looked back to see Stan, out of breath from either rushing after him or kissing Wendy. Maybe both. Wendy appeared behind him, obviously less than thrilled to have been interrupted. She glared at Kyle, who looked back helplessly.

"What is it?" Stan asked after he had caught his breath.

"It can wait. Really. Sorry for interrupting you two." He glanced at Wendy and flinched as her glare hardened. Stan looked over his shoulder at Wendy, then back at Kyle, before sighing.

"Sorry," he said, and Kyle waited expectantly from him to tell him to come back later. However, what Stan said was, "Wendy, can we hang out another time?" The girl's big gray eyes widened in surprise before narrowing again. She walked briskly past the two boys, not hesitating to bump into Kyle.

"Sorry," she said, voice dripping with venom. "It was an accident." Almost 100% positive that it was definitely not an accident, Kyle glanced at her sheepishly as Stan pulled him back inside the house. He couldn't help but feel bad for her. It was obvious she still liked Stan, at least a little bit. More than Stan liked her anyways.

"I really could come back later," Kyle said. "I feel bad."

"There's no need to," Stan answered with a shrug. "She's sleeping with Cartman anyway."

"I know but- wait what?!" Stan gave him a funny look.

"Well yeah. Remember that party a few years ago?" Kyle stiffened at the memory. Nodding his head shakily, Stan continued. "She took Cartman back to his house and then they, well… she called and told me about it the next day, while I was with Dad. She was crying and swearing it was just the alcohol and that she doesn't actually feel anything for him and it was a mistake, but still. I was her boyfriend. And she cheated on me. With Cartman."

"Is that why you two didn't talk for a few months?"

"Yeah. We wound up getting back together though. But I still haven't forgiven her for that, not really. She's probably still doing it too. Cartman hasn't said anything, but it's pretty clear by his attitude. He never could keep a secret well." Those particular words felt like a knife to Kyle, stabbing him deeper and deeper. Wendy didn't deserve Stan- but Kyle had always known that. Besides, Kyle didn't deserve him either. Stan's hand shook him out of his stupor and he blinked to find his friend staring at him curiously. "Dude, you okay?'

"Y-yeah. Sorry. Anyway," Kyle said, digging the letter out of his pocket. "I got in!" He watched as the wheels turn in Stan's head and a huge grin broke out across the boy's face.

"No way! Really?! That's awesome!"

"I even got a partial scholarship! They'll pay for my books and living fees!"

"This is great, man! Best news I've heard in weeks! We're going to college together too now!" Kyle flinched when Stan said that, and for the first time, he wondered. How much longer could he keep hiding his emotions? They've already almost spilled over a few times, and he had no idea what Stan would do if he ever found out. Maybe going to school together wasn't the best idea after all. Maybe he couldn't do that to himself. Maybe he should've thought about that before applying without a second thought.

"I'm not sure," he said at last. "I-I mean what if I get a full scholarship somewhere else? That would be easier on my parents too. They've gotta send Ike in a few years."

"Dude, your brother's a genius, I'm sure he'll get a full-ride," Stan answered as he turned to look at Kyle strangely. "What's with you? This is the first time you've said anything like that. Do you not want to go to college with me or something?"

"It's not that, Stan, I do, I just…"

"Just what, Kyle?"

"Look, it's complicated, okay?"

"Well then tell me so I understand too! I'm supposed to be your best friend!"

"Look, I just don't know, okay?!" Kyle snapped, irritated that Stan was taking this- well, about as well as he'd expected the brunette to but still. "My dad's firm hasn't been doing great, and it's $25,000 just to get in! I'm not sure they'll pay that much! I'm not sure if I should let them!"

"You're lying!" Stan's voice raised, a scowl exploding across his face. "You've never been worried about that before; what aren't you telling me?!"

"Nothing!" Kyle yelled back, turning to leave. Before he could get through the door, Stan reached past him and slammed it shut, grabbing Kyle's wrists in the process and pinning them to the wall. Flinching at the tight grip, Kyle whimpered, "That hurts."

"It's not nothing! We're best friends! You can tell me anything, you know that! For a long time now, you've been acting weird, for years now! I tried to just it be because obviously you didn't wanna tell me, but now this?! What's with you! You used to tell me everything and now you seem more and more restrained when you're around me!" Twisting in his grip, Kyle tried to struggle out of his friend's hands, to leave, get away from Stan, go anywhere but where he is right now. Stan's words are withering to him, and he desperately wished he'd stop talking, but of course he doesn't, switching to a questioning, hurt tone as he asked, "What happened, Kyle? Why do you not want to go to college with me? What aren't you telling me? Kyle, you-"

"I said it hurts!" Kyle interrupted him, and for the first time since starting his tirade, Stan looked at him. Furious tears had appeared in the corners of his green eyes, his face a flushed mask of anger and pain. Quickly letting go, Stan stepped back, seeing the ugly red finger marks he left on his friend's wrists.

"Shit. Kyle, I-"

"It's fine," the redhead muttered hurriedly, pulling the door open. "I need to go."

"Kyle wait-" he froze when his hand was slapped away.

"Stop it, Stan. I need to be alone." And with that, Kyle slipped out the door and into the snowy landscape before him. And for a moment, Kyle was almost sure that Stan would chase after him.

He doesn't.

Stan stifled the desire to sigh for the hundredth time as Wendy continued to ramble on about some college she was interested in going to.

"Can you believe it?!" she cried, anger clear in her voice. "They rejected my request for a full scholarship! Me! They'll only give me a partial one! It's like they didn't even see my ACT scores! A 33! Do you have any idea how hard it is to even get a 30, let alone a 33?! It's completely unfair!"

Ah, yes. The ACTs. Those tests had been the bane of Stan Marsh's existence for the entire two months leading up to them. He had discovered LSU required him to get at least a 26 on them for him to be eligible for the full scholarship, so for the next four weeks, he had had Kyle tutor him in everything. Literally everything. When they had finally gotten their scores back, Stan had insisted he and Kyle open them together, butterflies filling his gut ever since the envelope had come. He knew he could've just looked online, but it seemed way more official to wait for the actual paper results. It also gave him more time before he had to actually confront his score, not that he would ever tell Kyle that part of the reason.

"I'm sure you did fine," Kyle reassured Stan as the brunette slowly ripped open the envelope. Studying the sheet to be sure he'd read it properly, he had fist pumped the air multiple times before turning to Kyle, an ecstatic grin on his face.

"27! I got a 27! I did it!"

"Awesome!" Kyle had replied, high-fiving him while Stan danced around his kitchen praising the sweet lord Jesus Christ for helping him with this. Finally he had turned to Kyle and asked how he had done on them.

"Oh, yeah," Kyle had said, "I think it's because I tutored you. Either way, I got a 34." Stan had just glared angrily at him, before pulling him into a headlock, complaining that Kyle had gotten all the good brains in South Park and that it wasn't fair as he dished out a quality noogie.

Back at City Wok, Stan snickered at the memory. Kyle had been a great tutor ever since elementary school, and Stan knew he probably wouldn't have done well enough if his friend hadn't agreed to help him. His laughter unfortunately caught Wendy's attention and she stopped mid-rant to look at him.

"What's so funny, Stan," she quipped, glaring at him. "My failures?"

"N-No, of course not," Stan replied quickly. "Nothing like that. Just remembering something, that's all."

"You weren't even listening to me, were you?" Her heather gray eyes narrowed skeptically, giving him the look that she gave that made him feel like she was seeing through him as if he was transparent.

"Of course I was, it's just…"

"Just what, Stan?" He sighed, taking a deep breath as he prepared for what he was planning on doing. It was something long overdue at this point but he felt like he was gonna puke all the same- and not in the good butterfly way.

"I just don't think this is working anymore."

"...What?"

Hoo boy.

"This," Stan tried to explain, gesturing between them. "You and me. It was great for a long time, really, but ever since high school started, we've been fighting more and more, and you're angry more often than you're happy, and I know I'm not giving you the attention you deserve, adn… and we're just together because we always have been, right?"

"...Are you breaking up with me?" Wendy's face was carefully collected, a calm facade that starkly disagreed with her tone. "Is that what this is?"

"Look, Wendy, I…" he swallowed before continuing, "I can't keep doing this. I can't keep getting back together with you over and over again. I don't want to- and you don't either, right? And there's no point in hiding it from me, I know you about you and Cartman already." Her face turned red with shock.

"What? How do you-"

"It's not that big a secret." Stan shrugged, not wanting to really say just how obvious the two made it by the way they looked at each other. "I can tell by how Cartman acts around me. You two are actually, dare I say it, good for each other. You balance each other's personalities out, and you look happy with him, even when you're both screaming at each other. You should be with him, not me."

"But I like you, Stan! Not Eric!" Calling him Eric pretty much solidified any doubt in Stan's mind, even as she continued with, "I swear, there's nothing between us! We just hang out sometimes, that's all! I'm being serious, Stan! I don't want to break up!"

"Well I do. I'm sorry, Wendy, it's not you. It's me."

"Did you seriously just say that. Did you really do that," she hissed, eyes crinkling with angry tears. Stan just looked away, trying not to worsen the situation. Maybe that wasn't the best choice of words, but wasn't it the truth? He was the one that drove her away; after all, if he'd given her more attention, maybe they wouldn't be in this situation. Then again, maybe they would.

"You know what, Stan Marsh!" she yelled at him, standing from the table and slamming her hands onto the table. "It is you! I've always made time for you! I've always made up with you! I'm always the one taking the first step in this relationship! But no matter what I do, you won't look at me! You only have eyes for one person, and as much as I hate it, it's not me!" Grabbing her glass of water from the table, she dumped the whole thing over his head, the ice bouncing off Stan's head and into his lap.

"Why don't you learn what you really want, before you hurt more people like this!" And with that, Wendy stormed out of the restaurant, leaving a shocked Stan to wipe the water from his face in vain. The other guests around him were starting to whisper amongst themselves as Mr. Kim walked over to Stan, an irritated expression on his face.

"I assume you won't be getting anything now, right sir?" he said. It's more of a statement than a question, and Stan could tell he was pissed that they'd caused such a scene in his restaurant. "If so, please get out of my restaurant before you-" he's interrupted as someone placed a hand on Stan's shoulder defensively.

"He's with us," Kenny said, gesturing to the table he and Butters occupied. "And he will be ordering something. That cool, man?" Mr. Kim looked at him for a few moments skeptically before throwing his hands up and walking away. Kenny turned back to Stan, sympathetic grin on his face.

"Damn, she got you good, bro," he said, holding back a snicker. "Sucks, but I gotta admit, that was hysterical to watch."

"Now Kenny, don't say stuff like that," Butters said, having gotten up as well at some point. Stan hadn't even known they were in the restaurant. "It's rude. C'mon Stan, you can come sit with us."

"Thank guys, but I don't want to interrupt you two or anything."

"Nonsense!" Butters replied happily, clapping his hands together. "The more the merrier, right Ken?"

"Right," the blond agreed, grinning as he slapped Stan on the back. "Come on, dude. You can sit with us and cry over your latest little heartbreak with Wendy. I, for one, am incredibly curious about what exactly happened."

Stan stared at their encouraging faces for a few moments before smiling and following them over to their table, thinking how grateful he was that his luck with friends was better than his luck with relationships.

A few days passed and Kyle and Stan still hadn't talked, and Kenny was just about getting sick of it. Sure, he knew Stan had tried, but after Kyle dismissed him the first few times, it seemed he had either finally given up or was just too stubborn to keep trying again. Maybe both. Kenny was only able to coax the redhead to leave his bedroom for something aside from school after four grueling days of trying, and now the two were back at Starks Pond, on the same bench they sat at three years ago.

"Y'know," Kenny said, leaning back to stare up at the gray sky as he rested his head against his hands. "Stan's a complete mess without you. He can't do anything right. Can't deal with Wendy, can't put up with Cartman, can't be any fun. Just the other day, fatass was whining about how his "bitch" refused to sleep with him for awhile so she could focus on her college applications - wonder who that could be - and Stan said nothing. Nothing!"

Kyle frowned a little in confusion. Even if it wasn't who they both were thinking, that still didn't make any sense. "Maybe Cartman meant someone else. You know how he normally holds back with that shit after Stan decked him that one time."

"Naw man, he's got no reason to hold back anymore. Stan and Wendy broke up three days ago." Kyle stiffened as Kenny continued. "It's true! I was at the same restaurant as those two with Butters and-"

"Kenny, what's the point in telling me this? They always break up, and they always get back together. This is just more of the same."

"Au contraire, my cute little flaming redhead, there is one very stark difference between this time and all the others."

"Oh?" Kyle didn't sound at all convinced, which made Kenny even more pleased at getting to say:

"Wendy didn't initiate the break-up. Stan did."

Two wide green eyes rounded on the blond, staring incredulously before settling into a far more skeptical, disbelieving scrutiny. "Are you sure you didn't mishear them, Kenny? Because I find that very hard to believe."

"Find it as hard as you want - heh, that's what she said - it's the truth. If you don't believe me, you can ask Butters, and you know how shit he is at lying."

Kyle opened his mouth to say something but when words failed to come out, he just closed it and shifted to stare back out at the lake again, eyes purposefully vacant. He'd put on the expression he always wore when he was avoiding anyone figuring out his emotions, and while Kenny was a little irritated he still did that with him, he recognized it as the defense mechanism it was and just sighed softly.

"...So you and Butters, huh?" Kyle said finally. "When did that happen?"

"Well," Kenny began, more than welcome to change their topic, "while you and Stan were PMSing on and off these past few years, I needed someone to talk to." Kenny shrugged and looked off into the distance awkwardly as he added, "and Butters is the type of guy who likes talking- or, listening more than talking but I wanted someone to listen so… I started hanging out with him, and one thing turned to another, and I'm pretty sure we're dating now."

"Pretty sure?" Kyle echoed in confusion.

"Well I haven't really asked him out yet, so…"

"Kenny not making a move? Color me surprised."

That had gotten a small smile to cross his face, so Kenny ignored the obvious dig in favor of saying, "Sometimes it's more about the timing."

They were silent again for a few minutes before Kyle finally murmured, "...How much have I missed getting hung up on Stan?"

Kenny wasn't sure if he was actually supposed to hear that, but he decided to answer him anyway. "Honestly? A helluva lot, man. Craig and Tweek are together-together, though that ain't surprising. They just didn't say it was official until a year or so ago- even though literally everyone already fucking knew. A fake relationship only lasts so long, anyone with half a brain coulda seen that."

"I didn't realize we weren't supposed to know."

"Well now we can know, so perfect. Anyways, Token's still dating Nichole, I'm pretty sure Red and Heidi have got some lesbian thing going on, uh… Oh, and Clyde and Bebe have a… something now. Have had a something. They're more dysfunctional than Stan and Wendy are- were, I guess."

"How'd it happen? Stan and Wendy, I mean." Kyle's voice was soft, almost too soft to be heard but there was an unmistakable hopeful tone in his voice.

"They were at City Wok for a date," Kenny explained. "I didn't really start paying attention until they got loud, but Stan said something about how it just wasn't working anymore. How he couldn't keep getting back together with her, especially after what she did with Cartman - and kept doing, for that matter. Then she got really angry at him and yelled something about him just loving someone else and not her and threw her drink at him and stormed out. You shoulda seen it, reddit would be proud.

"...wow. Wait, she thinks he's in love with someone else?"

"That's what I heard her say. And honestly? I kinda agree with her."

"Wha- you do?!" Kyle cried in shock. This was seemingly coming out of absolutely nowhere, as Kyle hadn't seen Stan shown interest in anyone except Wendy, and he hadn't shown real interest in her for years now. Still, if anyone was going to pick up on something like that, it would've been Kenny. "...I don't suppose you'll tell me who you think it is?"

"That ain't for me to say, dude," Kenny answered instantly, the knowing spark in his eyes driving Kyle mad.

"Of course it isn't," he sighed, hands falling to rest on his knees as he leaned forward to stare at the lake. "Is it bad that I wish it was me he loved?"

"Nope. Not bad at all. In fact, I'd say he loves you a lot already."

"Yeah, right; maybe a few weeks ago, sure, but he probably hates me now. I haven't talked to him in days and he's stopped trying to get me to talk at all- which I should be happy about but it just makes me more upset, and then I get more upset that I'm being irrational and it's just a fucking cycle and I just- God, I just fucking hate this. I never wanted to like him that way."

"I don't know what to tell you, man, love's love. The heart works in mysterious ways, my friend."

"The heart can go fuck itself, I just wanna live a normal life with my normal family and a normal relationship with my normal best friend who doesn't hate my guys."

"Kyle, he doesn't hate you." Kenny said firmly, scooting over to put an arm around Kyle's shoulders. "Trust me. He doesn't hate you at all."

"You don't know that."

"...Yeah, I guess I don't. But I do know that sitting here moping around is just gonna depress you more so let's go get milkshakes and throw rocks at cars from the bridge or something. You loved doing that."

"When I was like nine," Kyle grumbled but he got up and stretched all the same, smirking at Kenny's suggestion. The blond, satisfied that he'd at least somewhat managed to cheer his friend up, stood as well and they headed back down the path that led to the Stark's Pond.

As they were going, they walked past a shadowy figure who quickly ducked behind a tree just out of sight to avoid getting caught. Their footsteps grew further and further away as the boy snuck another glance at the pair, a wicked grin across his face.

"Oh hell yes, Jew rat."