Not in love
By: esmtz
For the next several minutes Stan continued to just sit there not saying anything as Kyle and Kenny continued to talk to one another. Stan hadn't been paying attention to what they were saying as he was too busy worrying about Cartman. He didn't even notice when Kyle tried to get his attention making Kenny gently shake his arm which finally made Stan turn his attention to his friends.
"…Yeah?" Stan asked.
Kyle frowned slightly.
"Dude are you okay? You haven't said anything and I noticed that you've been shaking." Kyle said looking at Stan worriedly.
Stan simply shook his head and looked away from Kyle and Kenny.
"It's nothing." Stan said making Kenny sigh.
"He's just worried about Cartman, Kyle." Kenny told him.
Kyle didn't say anything for a few seconds as he just looked at Stan worriedly.
"…Stan, it's Cartman that we're talking about. He's going to be fine just like he always is." Kyle told him.
Stan simply nodded not even bothering to look back at Kyle and Kenny. For the next few minutes all three of them were quiet as they waited for a doctor to go up to them and tell them what was happening with their friend. It didn't take long before someone called out for Cartman's mom making Stan, Kyle, Kenny, Sharon, Liane and Kyle's family look up to see a doctor with a very serious look on his face. Liane quickly stood up and made her way over to him.
"How is my son? Is he okay?!" Liane asked completely worried.
The doctor slowly shook his head as he just looked at her sadly.
"…I'm sorry to have to tell you this but your son passed away a few minutes ago." The doctor told her.
Everyone was silent as they took in what he just said. Liane immediately bursted into tears as she pleaded for him to let her see her son. Stan, Kyle and Kenny were in complete shock as they found themselves unable to say anything.
"Th-that can't be right…" Kyle started to say as the feelings of guilt and anguish started to consume him.
Kenny didn't say anything as he looked at Stan sadly as he saw that he was shaking and was on the verge of bursting into tears. Stan felt like something broke inside of him as he took in what the doctor just said.
'Th-there must be some kind of mistake. Maybe he got Cartman confused with some other kid.' Stan thought to himself as he watched the doctor motion for Liane to follow him.
Before anyone could stop him Stan immediately followed after Liane the moment she went with the doctor. He felt his heart pounding hard against his chest as he followed closely behind Liane. They only had to go past a few rooms before the doctor stopped and turned to face the entrance to one of the rooms.
"Here he is mam." The doctor told Liane.
Liane immediately went inside and the exact second that she did she let out a loud scream of anguish making Stan flinch as he slowly approached the room. Stan was not prepared for what he was about to see as he slowly entered the room and froze when he saw that it was indeed Cartman on the bed. Cartman's eyes were closed and the monitor that was right next to his bed signaled that he wasn't breathing. Stan felt like he couldn't breathe as he watched Cartman's mom cry over him. It felt like minutes passed before he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. Stan turned his head to see Kenny next to him looking at him worriedly and Kyle next to Kenny looking at Cartman in shock.
"Th-this isn't…" Kyle started to say but couldn't get the words out.
Stan was trying his hardest to not burst into tears but it was hard having to watch and listen to Cartman's mom crying. Within a matter of seconds however Stan felt his emotions start to overwhelm him and almost immediately he started to cry making Kenny immediately pull him into a hug.
"It's okay, Stan." Kenny whispered trying to comfort him.
Stan wrapped his arms around Kenny as he continued to cry. Kyle simply stood where he was at as he looked at Cartman still in complete shock unable to say or do anything. It wasn't until he felt someone's hand on his shoulder that Kyle finally turned his attention to whoever had their hand on his shoulder and saw that his family was right behind him.
"It's okay, Kyle." Gerald said trying to comfort his son.
Kyle felt tears start to form in his eyes making him shut his eyes tightly as he started to shake from being emotional. Within a matter of seconds he started to cry making his mom and dad hug him. Once Stan was done crying he let go of Kenny and turned his attention back to Cartman.
"…Cartman?" Stan softly said as he walked closer to Cartman's bed.
Kenny winced thinking that Stan might still be in denial as he watched him slowly approach the bed. Cartman's mom barely heard Stan call out for her son making her lift her head and turn to see that Stan was trying to get closer to him. Liane moved out of the way as she watched Stan approach the bed hesitantly. Stan swallowed the moment he was next to Cartman as he slowly reached out and gently touched Cartman's arm. He was too afraid to say anything for a few seconds as he just looked at Cartman's peaceful face. After a few seconds of not saying or doing anything Stan slowly and gently shook Cartman's arm.
"…Cartman?" Stan asked in a whisper as he started to feel his emotions start to overwhelm him again.
Stan hadn't noticed that Kyle and Kenny had also moved closer to Cartman's bed and were looking at him with completely hurt looks on both their faces.
"This can't be happening…" Kyle whispered as he looked at Cartman, "…I'm so sorry, Cartman."
Kenny softly started to cry making Stan shut his eyes tightly from how emotional he was starting to feel again. The next thing that he knew he suddenly found himself lying on something soft. Stan quickly opened his eyes and sat up and looked around. He was confused at first when he saw that he was in his bedroom before he realized that he had just woken up from a dream. Stan sighed as he ran a hand through his hair before getting out of bed. He quickly started to get dressed and to get ready to go to school before heading downstairs to have breakfast. He had a pained look on his face as he sat down at the table and waited for his mom to bring him his food. Stan was too busy thinking about his dream that he hadn't noticed that his mom had brought him his food.
"…Are you okay, Stan? You look like you're worried about something." Sharon said to her son looking at him worriedly.
Stan simply shook his head.
"It's nothing. I just had a bad dream that's all." Stan told her.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Sharon asked.
"Not really." Stan replied still trying to process what had happened in his dream.
"Well if you change your mind I'm here sweetie." Sharon told him before heading back into the kitchen.
As soon as he was done eating Stan quickly grabbed his backpack and just as quickly left the house without saying anything to his mom. He started heading towards the area where the school bus would pick him and his friends up to go to school all the while still thinking about the dream.
'That dream felt too real which kind of makes me wonder if that was some kind of warning or something.' Stan thought to himself, 'No that's not possible but then again…'
It didn't take Stan long to finally make it to the bus stop only to see that he was the first one there. He sighed to himself as he stood there and waited.
'Just what I need more time to think.' Stan sarcastically thought to himself.
It was at least another few minutes before his friends started to show up. The moment he saw Cartman Stan tensed up and was looking at him worriedly. Cartman, Kenny and Kyle didn't notice Stan's reaction as they started talking to each other. Stan didn't say anything as he listened to what his friends were talking about. For a second he thought that he had nothing to worry about until all of a sudden the conversation started to sound familiar. Stan's eyes went wide in horror as Cartman and Kyle started arguing just like they did in his dream.
"You guys stop!" Stan said looking at Cartman and Kyle completely horrified as everything that they were saying to each other was exactly the same as in his dream.
Both Cartman and Kyle ignored him as they kept arguing with each other. Kenny looked at Stan wondering why he was suddenly freaking out. Stan had a pained look on his face as he watched Cartman and Kyle exchange hateful words. Before things got even worse Stan quickly went up to Kyle and started trying to pull him away from Cartman.
"Stan, what are you doing? Let me go!" Kyle said looking at Stan slightly confused.
"You know what I don't have to take this! Screw you guys I'm going home." Cartman replied before turning and walking away from them.
Stan's eyes went wide in horror as he quickly let go of Kyle and ran towards Cartman.
"CARTMAN, WAIT!" Stan yelled out.
Kyle and Kenny looked at Stan completely confused as they watched him run after Cartman who was about to be right in the middle of the road. Stan saw the car appear out of the corner of his eye as he quickly reached for Cartman's arm and forcefully pulled him back closer to where Kyle and Kenny were at. Not even a few seconds later the car drove past them and was soon out of sight. Kyle and Kenny looked on in shock of what almost happened.
"…Hey guys are you alright?" Kenny asked as he looked at Cartman and Stan.
Cartman didn't respond as he was too busy shaking and was trying to calm himself down. Stan still had a tight hold on Cartman's arm as he took a deep breath in and then let it out.
"Yeah we're okay, Kenny." Stan replied as he slowly let go of Cartman's arm.
Cartman slowly turned his head to look at Stan.
"…Thanks, Stan." Cartman whispered so only Stan could hear him.
Stan smiled slightly at him.
"You're welcome, Cartman." Stan whispered back.
The End
