Chapter Fifteen - Guilty of Caring.

The bedside digital alarm clock screamed out some short, sharp buzzes at seven a.m. on the dot. Lying flat on his back with his hands crossed behind his head, Stan simply blinked at the echoing noise before he rolled over on his side to turn it off. He had been wide awake for hours by now.

Huffing to himself in annoyance, Stan pushed his black locks back from his forehead as he continued to gaze up at the ceiling of his room. There had to have been about a thousand different thoughts racing throughout his mind all night long. He had thought about his relentless efforts at pushing Kyle away, about everything he had shouted at Wendy in his car two days ago, and about the afternoon he had spent with Darcy after kissing her at school yesterday.

An overwhelming emotion of guilt churned in Stan's stomach.

Rubbing his eyes furiously, Stan groaned. The past two days had involved so many highs and lows and twists and turns that he had barely been given the time to comprehend it all. It was only until the teenage boy was lying alone in his bed in the middle of the night that the weight of all of his recent decisions had truly crashed down on him. Was Stan completely at fault? No. But had he made mistakes and done some things wrong, as well? Absolutely.

The dark haired boy cursed under his breath. For the past forty-eight hours he had been stewing in nothing but utter anger. But now that all of those impulsive feelings had slowly begun to subside, it was becoming all too clear to Stan that he was quickly pursuing a path eerily similarly to where he had been two years ago when Wendy first left. And he swore that he would never end up back there again. He was strong enough now to avoid it at any and all costs. But in saying all of that, the very last thing he felt like doing was going back to school today.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, Stan blinked at the thudding sound of a car boot slamming in the driveway. A swift realisation dawned on him as he peered out of his bedroom window down at his dad loading a couple of suitcases into the car. Randy was headed to a geological conference in Seattle that weekend, and Sharon was going along with him. Not only was Stan going to be able to relax and use the two nights alone to properly re-gather his thoughts, but he was now suddenly seeing that maybe he could escape the daunting realities of his life even sooner than that.

Reluctantly climbing out of bed and pulling on a shirt and a pair of jeans, Stan headed out of his bedroom, snatching up his red and blue beanie as he passed through the door. Plodding down the stairs, he rounded the corner into the kitchen just as his mother was rinsing out her coffee mug in the sink.

Hearing him approach from behind, Sharon turned around and smiled at Stan, "Good morning, sweetheart. Shouldn't you be getting ready for school?"

With a breath held in, Stan braced himself for how his mum could react to what he was about to say.

The teenager hadn't necessarily wanted to divulge to Sharon everything that had happened with Wendy. Any part of their argument from the name-calling, to Stan throwing her out of his car, and especially to their bizarre kiss would only give his mum the chance to tell him that she had told him so. But as much as he may have wanted to hide it, Stan had simply been far too furiously flustered when he walked through his front door that afternoon, and within a matter of moments, Sharon had been told absolutely everything.

And, of course, it had only made her deeply set paranoia explode with refreshed force.

Stan cleared his throat, "I'm gonna' stay home today, Mum. I'll drive you and Dad to the airport."

Instantly, Sharon's expression dropped. She remembered all too well what happened last time Stan started staying home from school because of Wendy, "Honey, you don't need to do that, we've booked the car in for long term parking."

"I know, I could just kinda' use the break."

Her fearful suspicions almost jumped right out of her chest, "Stanley – "

"Mum."

Sharply cutting off her apprehensive ramblings before they could even begin, Stan's appearance softened as he held the gaze with his mum. He knew he couldn't blame her for worrying about him so much. The evidence of the events from his previous absconding was as clear as day on the skin of his forearm. But no matter how down in the dumps he may have felt yesterday, Stan was still far, far past all of that.

"Look, I didn't really do myself any favours at school yesterday, okay?" he tentatively began, "On top of everything else, I'm not sure if Kyle would even be willing to talk to me today. I just need today and the weekend to distance myself from all the drama, and then I'll go right back on Monday, tackle it head-on and sort it all out."

Scanning the features of her son's face, Sharon desperately searched for even the slightest hint that he may have been lying to her. She had to admit, she was pretty damn good at picking it by now, but as much as she tried, all she could find was that Stan remained completely unmoved. He was telling the truth, though.

There were a number of things that the dark haired boy wished he could put off for a hell of a lot longer than just three days. To start off with, he had history class today. That caused enough of a problem just in itself – he hadn't even begun to think how he was ever going to manage finishing off a group assignment with Wendy. God, how had he completely forgotten about that until now? And then, of course, there was Darcy. Stan felt himself shudder. That was a whole other can of worms he wasn't quite ready to open yet.

No, he definitely just needed one extra day to be on his own.

Smiling confidently at his mother, Stan felt Sharon exchange the gesture, "I promise."

Sharon was, indeed, beaming back at the younger of her two kids. She was so unbelievably proud of Stan – he had come so far. There were times where it still felt like it was just yesterday that her baby had been living in a nightmare that she had been unable to awake him from. But now he was able to keep his demons under lock and key all by himself. He may still have stumbled every now and then – Wednesday afternoon was only clear proof of this. But Stan was finally in a place where he could properly decide what was best for himself, without all of Sharon's help.

"Okay," she conceded, "But get a move on, we're leaving in fifteen minutes."

Swapping a final, small grin with him, Sharon watched Stan quickly bound back up the stairs. It was the first time since Wendy had brought her trouble-making storm clouds looming back over South Park that Sharon felt truly satisfied. Because, quite frankly, if Stan's picture of what was best for him didn't include his lying, manipulative ex-girlfriend, then Sharon was certainly more than happy to agree.

The day didn't move onward very quickly after the morning was over.

By the late afternoon, Stan found himself exactly where he had started the day – lying in his bed. He was slumped up against the bed head, throwing a tennis ball at the wall opposite him and catching it as it bounced back. Each thud that resonated off the wall echoed the headache pounding in the front of his mind.

Amongst all of his crazy, mixed up thoughts, there were two that stood in the foreground. Two names. Darcy and Wendy.

It was almost as if he was thinking about it like he had to make a choice between the two, when Stan knew very well that it wasn't the case. Hell, he had only been home alone for three hours since dropping off his parents and he already felt a million times better. But if that did happen to turn out to be his decision – to continue being on his own – then he certainly did have a lot of explaining to do when he got back to school on Monday.

Darcy truly was a great girl. She had tagged along back home with Stan that afternoon after he kissed her in the cafeteria. There had been more kissing… much more than just kissing. But because he had been so blinded by the rage in his eyes directed at Wendy, Stan now worried that he was only going to end up having to let Darcy down as gently as he possibly could. Because no matter how pretty, funny and smart she was, the teenage boy honestly still wasn't sure whether or not she really was the girl for him.

But then, of course, there was Wendy. God, Stan was furious at Wendy. His feelings about forgiving her hadn't changed – not in the slightest. He still never wanted to speak to her ever again. He knew he was better off without her, and yet, whether it was when she first walked back into the gym at school, or when they had talked and drank together at the Homecoming after party, or when she had been placed in the same study group as him; there was always going to be a tiny, insignificant part of Stan that was drawn to Wendy.

Just as he felt like his head was about to explode, Stan's mulling daydream was rocked by a sudden knock at the front door downstairs. He frowned to himself in confusion. Who could possibly be coming over to see him? He hadn't texted Darcy all day, and he was pretty certain no-one other than her really wanted to talk to him right now, anyway. Shrugging it off, Stan soon went back to throwing his tennis ball against the wall. It was probably only someone looking for Sharon or Randy who wasn't aware that they had gone away.

Right as this logical thought crossed his mind, Stan sensed his brow furrow even deeper as his phone decided to abruptly buzz at the arrival of a text message. Reaching over to his bedside table to grab it, he unlocked the phone and entered his message bank. And soon after that, Stan groaned.

'I'm not an idiot dude. Your car's down here, I know you're home.'

Kyle. Of course it was Kyle.

Taking no notice of his friend, Stan shook his head. He wasn't in the mood for this. But naturally, before he could even place the phone down, a second message hastily shot through.

'Don't think I'm going anywhere, cause I'm not.'

Okay, Stan thought to himself, Kyle clearly wasn't giving up. But the two were best friends, after all, and they had a lot of things in common. One of these particular things just happened to be their insane stubbornness.

Daringly peaking over the ledge of his window, Stan gawked down to confirm that Kyle certainly was standing impatiently at his front door. The sight made the dark haired boy roll his eyes. His previous assumption that his best friend was too angry to even speak to him was rapidly sounding a lot better than being subjected to another attempted lecture from him. And by the looks of it, the boy in the green hat was beginning to fiddle with his phone for a third time, causing Stan to jump in surprise when this time it instead began to ring out loud over and over again.

Gritting his teeth together, Stan tried to ignore the monotonous ringing for as long as he could. But like any normal person, there was only so much he could really take. Aggressively grabbing the phone from where it sat on his bed, Stan instantly sniped into it at Kyle, "What?"

"Stop being such a goddamn pussy and come down and let me in!"

Cringing at the volume of Kyle's voice bellowing into his ear, Stan was slightly thrown back as he held the phone away from him. The throbbing of his temples was quickly beginning to take up a permanent residence in his mind as he sighed in frustration. Did he feel like seeing Kyle right now? Not particularly. But more than anything else, Stan knew his best friend like the back of his hand. And he knew that Kyle definitely wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer.

Murmuring into the phone, Stan reluctantly climbed off his bed, "Jesus Christ…"

With each step of the staircase that he descended, Stan could feel his anger bubbling up more and more. Hadn't he already been berated by Kyle enough? The dark haired teen certainly seemed to think so. But, if it was a screaming match that his friend wanted, then that's exactly what he was going to get.

And yet, as Stan opened the front door – fists clenched and tongue coiled – all he and Kyle could so was stare blankly at each other.

Stan's features softened. He hadn't been met with the condescending, arrogant expression that he was expecting from Kyle. He looked concerned, worried even. Gazing the Jewish boy up and down, Stan's eyes stopped for a moment as he noticed an orange basketball at Kyle's feet before he found his face once more and his best friend offered him a lame smile.

"Hey."

A soft sigh blew out from between Stan's lips before he returned the sentiment, "Hey."

Suddenly feeling a bit unsure of himself, Kyle shoved his phone into his pocket as he began to fiddle with the hem of his jacket, "So, no school today?"

For a quick moment, the calm smile fell from Stan's face. His best friend's demeanour was rapidly beginning to make a lot more sense. After all, it was Kyle who had discovered what Stan had been doing during his spare time purposely spent home from school.

Stan shuddered. God, he could piss himself off sometimes.

"Yeah, I took my parents to the airport. My dad's got that science association conference thing this weekend."

"Oh, yeah, in Seattle, right?" Kyle confirmed, "I remember you telling me."

"Yeah," for another second or two, Stan was quiet, "I'll be back on Monday, though."

Trying to shadow his anxious emotions, Kyle succumbed to small grin of relief as it crossed his face.

The nerve-wracking thoughts had been torturing him since the very first second that he realised Stan hadn't shown up to school that morning. His heart had just about stopped when he impulsively assumed the worst. But now seeing as that weight had been lifted from him, all Kyle wanted to do was stop tip-toeing around everything he really wanted to say. Both boys knew the kind of consequences that anything different could lead to.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't exactly have your back yesterday, man."

Shrugging his shoulders, Stan projected a much more genuine smirk, "Sorry I didn't exactly give you a reason to," he admitted, "You were right. I dragged everybody through my shit and now I've completely buried myself in it."

Offering the most sympathising look he could muster, Kyle bent down and picked up the basketball, tossing it to Stan, "Sounds like you could do with some fresh air."

As he caught it against his chest, Stan hesitated for a moment. He had been quite enjoying the solitary little dome he had created for himself, but in reality, all he was actually doing was trapping himself between four walls and driving himself utterly insane.

"Come on," Kyle encouraged him, "I won't even ask you anything about anything, I swear."

Surprising himself as he managed to force a laugh, Stan rolled his eyes. One final second of indecision drifted by before the teenage boy quickly turned on his heels and snatched up the house keys that were sitting on the table by the door.

Looking back, he matched the delight in Kyle's eyes, "Actually, I think I could kinda' do with getting some of this crap off my chest."

Bounding out the front door and leaving his little bubble of self-pity behind him, Stan joined Kyle on his way to the park.

At least that was one argument resolved, he thought to himself. And yet, despite how much more intense and vicious Stan's other recent stand-offs may have been, he knew he had just righted the most important one. It was definitely about time that it sunk in to him that people were always going to be drifting in and out of his life. Important people, in some cases.

But at the end of the day, the most important people would remain the one constant. His friends.

Especially Kyle.

Wendy felt absolutely crushed.

Squashed, broken, destroyed. Crushed.

She wasn't sure what the worst part was – that about ninety percent of her recent happenings were her own stupid fault, or that Stan hated her so much now that he didn't want to even consider resolving them with her.

As she trudged through the snow with her head down and her hands shoved in her pockets, a deep, miserable sigh escaped her. She couldn't get the image of Stan kissing Darcy out of her head. Especially not considering that only twenty-four hours before that, it had been her entwined with her ex-boyfriend. But she knew that had been a mistake.

The teenage girl couldn't believe that she had let her heart incorrectly read the signs that she should have been able to see so clearly. How many times had Stan told her that they should have just remained friends? Apparently not enough for Wendy to take any notice of it.

If she could have her time again, she never would have made such a mess of everything. Maybe she couldn't have exactly helped it that she was feeling so down and so depressed about what was following her back from Malibu, but diving so deeply into Stan's comfort and support had now only left her sprawled out on the cold, hard ground.

It was the most horrific path that their story could have ever taken, but as Wendy continued on her way walking aimlessly towards the park, something told her that this very well could be the end.

"She pushed you? Like, actually shoved you?"

The familiar voice suddenly resonating from over by the basketball court made Wendy freeze. Glancing her sad, red eyes over to where she had heard it, she quickly jumped behind a tree at the sight of Kyle and Stan shooting hoops together.

Why the hell could things never just be simple for her?

"Yep," she heard Stan answer his friend, "Then I threw her out, she called me an asshole, and I drove away."

Wendy sighed. The last thing she needed was to be reminded of something that definitely hadn't been one of her and Stan's finest moments.

"Jesus, dude," Kyle went on, "And all this right after you kissed each other?"

A nervous lump hitched in the back of the raven haired girl's throat. She wasn't sure if she exactly wanted to stick around and hear whatever else Stan had to say. She had already been told enough to last her a lifetime. But as she carefully looked around for the chance to silently sneak away, Wendy was finding that for whatever reason, she couldn't command her legs to do so.

"She kissed me," Stan argued.

"But you kissed her back."

"For the shortest three and a half seconds of my life," he scoffed, "She crossed a line, man – crossed it while thinking that she didn't even have to explain to me what the hell she's been doing for the past two years. That's what pissed me off so much."

The extreme guilt was turning Wendy's stomach inside out. She gloomily looked down at her feet, desperate to stop herself from asking 'what if'. What if she had apologised to Stan? Sincerely, genuinely apologised. Where would the two of them stand with each other now?

"Well, I mean, it sucks that it had to end like that," Kyle offered, throwing the ball to Stan, "But, I guess you can finally just try to move on, for real, right?"

Bouncing the ball on the ground in front of him while he wavered for a moment, Stan groaned softly, "I don't know if it's gonna' be that simple."

Frowning through all her nerves, Wendy gulped. She heard the echoing sound of the basketball bouncing along the court as Stan weaved his way around Kyle and jumped up, tossing it perfectly through the centre of the hoop. As his feet thudded back to the concrete ground, his emotions similarly collapsed into the pit of his stomach.

Stan meant it when he said that he could never hate Wendy. Never. And no matter how much he tried, his feelings were still actually quite the opposite.

"I still love her, dude."

Instantly, Wendy covered her mouth, trying to prevent her overwhelmed, whimpering gasp from escaping loudly into the air. She blew out a breath of heavy shock, feeling like her legs were about to turn to jelly and give way beneath her. Hastily gathering her thoughts, the teenage girl shook her head in disbelief.

It had been one thing for Stan to angrily confess that he had never stopped loving her, but for him to admit it out loud? To someone else? To his best friend? That was something totally different altogether. That was a major game changer.

"'Ya know, no matter why she left, or where she's been, or what she's done," Stan pressed on, "I just can't help it."

Suddenly bolting her head upright, Wendy didn't even stick around to hear what Kyle had to say in reply. She darted away from the park like a ninja, clawing down into her pocket to retrieve her phone. Her mind was abruptly the clearest it had been since returning to South Park, and as she dialed Bebe's phone number, she didn't give her friend the chance to even say hello once she answered.

"Hey, girl – "

"Has Kyle told you anything about what he and Stan are up to this weekend?"

Thrown into immediate surprise, Bebe stuttered over a response, "Wh-what? Uh… well, when I was texting Kyle before he just mentioned that Stan's parents had left this morning and are gone for the whole weekend."

Coming to a dead stop in her tracks, Wendy's eyes widened, "So, who's staying with him?"

"No one, I'm pretty sure he's by himself."

As a rush of realisation flashed past her, Wendy's heart stopped.

Bringing her timid voice back to life, she murmured down the phone before sharply hanging up on her best friend, "I'll talk to you later."

"Wendy! – "

Ignoring the confused cries from Bebe, Wendy put her phone away and marched in a beeline back towards her house.

Just when she had been ready to close the book. Just when she had been ready to let go of Stan, really let go of him. Thank God she had just happened to stumble upon the two friends, because Stan's words to Kyle only ensured that Wendy had now never been more wide awake to what she knew the both of them truly wanted.

And she was going to get it.

Hello wonderful readers!

Firstly, just a quick note regarding some reviews from the last chapter – Wow! I'm so happy to see that some of you feel so deeply involved with my story. But please don't feel the need to review as an anonymous guest; I love hearing what everybody has to say! Also, try not to assume that explanations and reasoning for certain events and motivations aren't on their way. Has Wendy been a promise breaking bitch? Absolutely! But she hasn't had the chance to explain herself yet. I've had this story planned from start to finish since I posted the very first chapter and completely understand what each and every character is thinking and feeling. So just try to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride guys! The story's not over till it's over… ;)

Anyway! Moving right along… this was a bit of a filler chapter, wasn't it? It's almost as if something big is about to happen...

Please feel free to leave a review! I would love to hear what you all think :)

Till next time guys,

Reneyyyyyyyyy x