I guess I woke up around two in the afternoon. It took me another half hour afterwards to actually drag myself out of bed and get dressed. The hangover seemed to be more or less gone, though everything still seemed a bit hazy. I just felt a little absent, as opposed to like I was dying.

I figured I might as well go for a walk. It seemed nice enough outside, and maybe the fresh air would help me recover from last night. I decided to head to Tweek's for coffee. God knows I could use quite a bit of caffeine right now.

I heard noises in the kitchen while I was leaving, so I guess I managed to narrowly miss talking to my parents. I felt kind of bad, avoiding them like this. I did only just get home yesterday, and almost immediately after that, I left for Kenny's. I just really don't want to have my dad ask about all the girls I had in college, and I don't want my mom to be fawning over me, telling me how glad she is that I'm finally home. I haven't really been home since I left. Despite how close I was in Denver, I haven't come back very often. I barely came back for Christmas, and I wouldn't have if I could've helped it. I was only home for five days over Christmas each year. I never came home for Thanksgiving, or Spring Break, or summers. I could always find something. A program, an opportunity, and fun vacation with friends. I even went abroad one summer.

I guess my parents think that I was just so happy in college and I had made so many friends. I have met some pretty cool people, but they're far from being the reason I don't want to come home. South Park is full of ghosts, and I'm just not ready to face them yet. I should probably get ready to, though, because I'm sure I'll see them soon.

I got to the coffee shop just in time to see my ex-girlfriend, Wendy. Her eyes widened when she saw me.

"Stan, oh my god! It's been so long, how have you been?" She came over and gave me a hug. She had to stand on her tip toes because of how much taller than her I am.

"I've been good. Just graduated college, I'm back home until I figure things out," I replied. "How about you?"

"Yeah, about the same. I just got back a few days ago," she said. She looked good. Her hair was much shorter than the last time I saw her. All throughout high school, her black hair went all the way down her back. Now, it barely grazed her shoulders. She wore make up now, too, which was new.

"Yeah, I got back yesterday," I said. "It's weird being back, you know? After everything."

Her smile faded. "Yeah. I barely ever came back for breaks. I don't know how Kenny does it, just staying here. It seems like too much."

"I guess he just got used to it." I sighed. "I'm not sure I ever could."

"Me neither," she said. There was a pause, and I really didn't know what to say.

Luckily, she just told me that she needed to go and gave me another quick hug. I was pretty relieved that she didn't want to talk or hang out or anything. I guess it sounds kind of cold, but I didn't really have an interest in reconnecting with any old high school friends.

I walked inside of the coffee shop, and Tweek was behind the counter, cleaning and organizing like a maniac. I guess the lulls are hard for him, since he can barely sit still as it is.

"Hey, Tweek," I said, in the friendliest tone I could muster up.

He still jumped. I saw him close his eyes and count to ten. I recognized that tactic of calming down from when Mr. Mackey had to talk to all of us about what happened at the school. I guess Tweek hasn't quite recovered.

He turned sharply, his hands still shaking. His hair was a mess and he had coffee stains all over his shirt. "H-hey Stan… What can I get for you?" he said, his voice straining in an effort to keep it steady.

"Just a regular coffee," I replied. "How you been, man?"

He shrugged as he took the money from me. "Pretty good. Just been here."

"What about college? I thought you went to Boulder."

He got red and turned away swiftly to fill the cup. "Didn't end up working out. Do you want room for cream?"

"No, thanks, I'm good," I said. I wasn't really sure why I said that, since I always take my coffee with sugar and cream. I guess I just didn't want to request anything from Tweek. I probably would've just said no to anything he asked. Do you need the coffee in a cup? No, no, I'm good, don't go out of your way.

He handed the coffee to me and tried to smile. "Have a nice day."

I could tell he wanted me to leave. He clearly wasn't in any state to see anyone from high school. Wendy and I, we could just leave and escape all of South Park. The best bet that people like Tweek and Kenny had was to just hope any of their ghosts left and never came back.

Kenny hadn't told me that Tweek still lived here. Maybe they avoided each other, in the same way Tweek wanted me to leave. Maybe they just worked in different places, kept their heads down, didn't make eye contact. Seems like the best tactic, to be honest. I would probably do the same thing if I were in their situation.

"Yeah, you too. See you around," I said. I walked out with my coffee and cursed myself for not even adding sugar to it. I hate black coffee. But I just felt so bad being in there, like I should've avoided Tweek or something. I'll just suffer through the bitterness. It's worth it for the caffeine.

At Mr. Mackey's seminar senior year, he told us there were two ways we could deal with what had happened. Either we could bond over it, over our shared experience, and help each other get through it. We could become close, and stay in touch, and truly understand each other. He told us that since we all went through it together, we were really the only ones that understood how it felt. Or we could abandon each other and escape by ourselves, and become closed off, avoiding any reminders, including people. I guess we all chose the second one.