Chapter 5

Stan walked through the door of his house, entirely exhausted from all of the work and boredom of school. He went into the kitchen, where he found his parents.

"So..." Randy began, "You kept your brand a secret, yes?"

"Barely!" Stan threw up his hands, almost in frustration, "Do I really have to hide it from everyone?"

"Yes, Stanley," Sharon said.

"Even from Kyle?"

"..."

"Mom?"

"Especially Kyle."

"But why?"

"Just do what your mother says, Stan," Randy cut in.

"Why? She's not even my birth mother!"

"Still, she is the closest thing you have to one."

"Whatever," Stan gave up the mini-battle, "I'm gonna crash in my room."

At that, Stan did as he said he would. Luckily, he did all of his homework in class. So he just plopped himself on his bed, ready to hit the hay.

What a day... he thought, I wonder why Mom and Dad want me to keep my brand a secret, especially from Kyle. He's my best friend, right? All the more reason to tell him!

At this point, Stan was having a multitude of brain farts. He conceded to them and slowly shut his eyes.

While dreaming, Stan saw Kyle in the dream. It was only the two, standing in a field of nothing but white snow.

Stan, what are you trying to tell me? Kyle wondered.

This, Stan put up his right hand, is my greatest secret, which I will show only you.

But just as Stan was about to pull the glove off of his right hand, he heard a really blaring shouting at his window. So blaring, in fact, that he sprung wide awake.

"What the hell do you want?" Stan scratched his back, almost like a hobo, and treaded to the window.

"Hi, Stan!" Kyle shouted gleefully.

"K-Kyle!" Stan was surprised, but not in a good way. He had taken off his gloves, and quickly put his right hand behind his back.

"What are you doing here?" Stan could barely cloak his worry.

"My parents are staying overnight at a friend's house, so can Ike and I stay here for the night?"

"Um..." Stan was at a loss for words, Crap, crap, crap. Holy mother f***ing crap. Why him?

"I'm sorry, Kyle, but stay at - huh?" Stan shouted out the window, only to find Kyle and his 9-year-old brother, Ike, gone. They now stood at the Marsh's front door.

"Eep!" Stan made haste for the front door, hoping it wasn't too late.

Meanwhile, at that portal of no return, Kyle was speaking with Randy and Sharon.

"Please, Mr. and Mrs. Marsh!" Kyle pleaded.

"We're having company over later..." Randy thought up a quick lie, "It would be too hectic for you. And considering that Ike's here, he'll be deathly bored and want to leave."

"But we have nowhere else to stay..." Kyle continued, "Besides, I'm sure Ike could play with some of Stan's old toys or with the other kids..."

"It's an all-adult dinner party!" Sharon intervened, "We donated all of Stan's old toys to charity, anyway. Isn't there somewhere else you can stay?"

"Well, no," Kyle spoke, "Kenny is having family trouble at home, Tweek's family is in somewhat of a financial trouble, my other friends are busy, and Cartman's a total douchebag. Please, we have nowhere else to stay! Our parents wanted us to come here, anyway."

"Well..." Sharon looked at her husband for an answer. But when all he did was shake his head, Sharon gave up and said, "Okay, come in."

"Oh, thank you ever so much, Mr. and Mrs. Marsh!" Kyle bowed his head in gratitude, "Let's go, Ike."

"Okay," Ike, who was about up to Kyle's waist in height, followed his older brother in the Marsh home. As soon as they were in, Kyle heard a noise similar to that of thunder.

"What's that, big brother?" Ike asked.

"I don't know," Kyle, too, wondered, then asked Randy, "Mr. Marsh, you know there's a huge-"

Kyle was stopped short when he suddenly saw Stan at the bottom of the stairs.

"Kyle!" Stan gasped, "What are you doing here?"

"Your parents said Ike and I could stay here for the night."

"But why?"

"Mom and Dad are going over to a friend's house and didn't want to bring Ike. So they left me to watch him instead. Ike, our parents, and I wanted us to stay here."

Without saying a word, Stan ran as fast as he could to the kitchen.

"Mom, Dad, I would like to have a word with you two..." Stan took on an irritated tone, "Why are the Broflovski kids here?"

"They said they had nowhere else to go," Sharon whispered to her son, "Don't worry. Just keep both of your gloves on and they won't suspect a thing."

"Okay..." Stan walked off to where Kyle and Ike were sitting on the couch, saying to Kyle, "So, uh... Do you want some food? Bread or soda, perhaps?"

"Do you think you can get some toys for Ike?" Kyle asked.

"Of course," Stan went upstairs for about 2 minutes, coming back with a few of his toys from eight years ago, "Are these good?"

"Chin Pokomon dolls!" Ike ecstatically ran up to Stan to receive the toys.

"Wait a sec..." Kyle looked at the kitchen, where Randy and Sharon still were, "Mrs. Marsh, I thought you said you donated all of Stan's toys to charity."

"Huh?" Stan was puzzled, "Mom! What did you do with my toys?"

"Oh, well..." Sharon was as helpless as her son, "All except for the Chin Pokomon dolls."

"That ain't true!" Stan interjected, "I saw a bunch of my South Park Cows dolls and whatnot in the attic up there too!"

Just then, Stan heard a voice in his head, which belonged to his mother.

Stan, just shut up, she warned.

"Hubba wha?" Stan blinked.

Your powers as the apostle allow you to read minds, Sharon explained, Anyway, just don't get us in a deeper hole, okay?

So, I did read Kyle's mind! Stan thought, Being the "apostle of Begnion" kicks ass!

"Oh, crap, it's that time already?" Kyle suddenly got up after watching four hours of nearly straight television, "All right, Ike, time for bed!"

"But big brother!" Ike wailed, "I want to play with Chin Pokomon dolls!"

"It's your bedtime, Ike," Kyle said, "Mom and Dad told me to take care of you."

"Oh, all right," Ike finally agreed. On his own, he walked up to the guest room.

"Yawn..." Kyle stretched, "I want to go to bed, too. How about you, Stan?"

"Sure!" Stan agreed as he and Kyle walked up the stairs. As they walked, Stan asked, "So, uh, has Bebe been talking to you?"

"We broke up about 8 years ago. Didn't you know?" Kyle laughed, "But were are still friends, yes. Say, Stan?"

"What is it, Kyle?"

"Can I sleep in your room?"

Stan suddenly stopped in the middle of the stairs, "W-Why?"

"We're both guys, Stan," Kyle had a hint of annoyance and silliness in his voice, "Don't act like Wendy's coming over. I'm not going to seduce you in your sleep."

"B-But during shop class, you-"

"Oh, that," Kyle felt his heart skip a beat and a blush come on his face, "I... I was just trying to help you put the wood in place, that's all, honestly. Like I said before, I'm a boy, you're a boy. I don't love you like that. Totally platonic, okay?"

As Kyle rushed into Stan's room, Kyle thought, Damn that kid.

What could he possibly mean by that? Stan contemplated, Does he hate me now? I wish he would just tell me already...

When Stan got into his room, he found Kyle sleeping in his bed.

"Hey, Kyle?" Stan woke the boy up.

"What?"

"Forgive me for asking, but... Is there something in your mind?"

"Um... er, no, not exactly. But, Stan, you sure acted like you had a secret in shop class, yourself! Tell me, why did you attempt to put on your working glove without taking off the red glove?"

At about that time, Sharon mind-spoke to Stan, Remember, keep your gloves on...

"Because..." Stan really wanted to give away his secret, but had to keep it.

"You know, I'm your best friend, man," Kyle reassured, "If you're secretly still in love with Wendy, that is fine."

"No, I'm long over her, dude," Stan answered, "I... I... I..."

"But if you don't want to tell me, that is okay, too. We all have our own secrets we want to protect from the rest of the world and us two boys are no exception."

"Okay, I'll tell you," Stan blurted out, "Where to begin... You know that rash I used to have?"

"Oh, yeah. Speaking of which, you aren't appearing to wear your bandage anymore. Why?"

That's what I'm about to tell you, you ding-dong!" Stan teased playfully, then got serious again, "Um, it got better, and-"

"It healed? Splendid!"

"Okay, Kyle, you absolutely cannot tell anyone what I'm about to tell you."

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

"It got replaced," Stan slowly lifted off the glove on his right hand, "with this."

The back of Stan's right hand was now revealed to Kyle. Upon seeing this mark, Kyle only giggled, "You replaced it with a tattoo? It looks lovely. Do your parents know about it? Is that why you didn't want to tell anyone? You thought that anyone who caught wind of it would tell your parents?"

"Oh, they know already."

"Did they... yell? Did you get in trouble?"

"No."

"Then why the big fuss?"

"It is no tattoo."

"Well, then, that rash is no ordinary one. It has shaped rather nicely, I must say."

"No, Kyle!" Stan's voice quivered with a tinge of sadness, "It is not the rash anymore, and it is certainly no tattoo. This... it is a brand. I'm one of the Branded."

"Branded?" Kyle could only raise his eyebrows, "What... on... Earth..."

"I bear blood of both a beast and a human. All sorts of blood types run through my veins, and give me powers."

"Oh, those powers?" Kyle referred to the time when Stan told him about him eavesdropping on his parents, "You know what they are?"

"For the most part. I can predict the future to some extent, feel the flow of people's emotions, and... peer into the heart."

"Peer into... the heart?" For some reason, those words planted a worry seed in Kyle's heart, "Like... you can read minds?"

"Only definite thoughts. If it's very clear and obvious that someone wants to block their thoughts from me, then I cannot see them."

"Oh, thank God..." Kyle wiped his brow in relief.

"Why? Do you not want me to know your secret? We're friends, and that means you can tell me virtually anything. You said so yourself."

"Yeah... I'm afraid this thought is so personal that I will not tell anyone, not even you."

"Fine, fine. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Well, it' getting late. Good night."

With that, Stan reached for his lamp, turned off the light, and went straight to sleep. He never did take long to fall asleep.

Oh, Stan... Kyle thought as he gradually let himself ride the Dreamland Express, Forgive me... I just don't think you'd be able to handle the truth.