Alright, guys, I have finally fixed the problem with my old computer so I don't have to share my mother's laptop!!! After three months of trying to find an error…we found…IT WAS NOT PLUGGED IN. Fail for us. Dah. Anyway, once again, thank you reviewers, I know I haven't answered many of your reviews, so I shall do so now.

livingit1025: Thank you very much!

You'veBeenJayed: Thanks! Mmm, interesting idea, but not quite. Do you mind if I use that for another fic?

medusa750: You know, I agree with you, but I honestly thought I've made Kyle too sappy. I guess you guys like him though, so thanks for telling me!

Namora-Michi-FanGirl: You're absolutely right, who knows what I could pull out of Kyle's cute green hat. :] And hey, you know, I am actually easily persuaded. I might just change the plot a little.

RandumGrrls: Thanks!! It's always nice to hear that. *hugs back*

Pocky Mistress: Hahaha. Maybe, maybe not. But Stan definitely does break up with Wendy, as shown in this chapter.

gremlin413: Lol, don't fall off your chair this time. And as for your observation about Cartman…yes, yes he is a sly dog. *add evil thunder clap and background blood curdling shriek* As stated in the last chapter, thanks for being so faithful to this story! You win a prize. *hands kyle, Kenny, and Stan plushies* Hee. Enjoy them.

Anyway, thanks all around, and read onward, my minions!!!

He hummed softly, listening partly to the song playing in one ear and partly to the voice trilling softly next to him. It was wonderful –melodic, in fact, much better than the actual vocalists- but only he could hear it. The boy was far too shy and lacking in self-esteem to sing in front of anyone. The green eyes were so distant that Kenny wondered if Kyle even knew he could faintly hear his voice. Once again, their tenth grade teacher Ms. Garrison was taking them to a planetarium by bus. By now, this little scene had become routine for the pair, with a few exceptions when Kyle sat with Stan. Kenny and Kyle would sit with each other and share ear buds that were connected to the cerulean iPod that belonged to Kyle. But some mornings, Kyle was awake enough to tolerate Stan's newfound clingy nature and opted to try and comfort the mourning boy. Sure, no one was really dead, but his parents' relationship was six feet under and never coming back. And Kyle, being the sweetheart he is, chose to bottle up his own feelings; knowing that he was Stan's only comfort at that point.

Kenny scowled at that thought. He knew being near Stan hurt Kyle, but Stan had always been too selfish and absorbed with Wendy to notice. Hell, it was Wendy's fault his parents were getting a divorce. Little punk bitch.

"Kenny…? Jeez, dude. Way to space out," the redhead joked, staring at him. Kenny grinned sheepishly, trying to recall what Kyle said. Kyle beat him to it, though.

"Like I was trying to say, what do you wanna listen to now?" The emerald eyes returned to the pixilated screen that held his music. Running a thoughtful finger over his lips, Kenny tried to think of a song that would fit the time.

"Hm…wait, your iPod has YouTube, right?" The song he thought of was perfect, but he highly doubted Kyle would listen to anything like it. When the redhead nodded, Kenny stuck out his hand for the device and started typing in the search bar. While the videos loaded, the blond gave Kyle a fair warning.

"This is a chick song, but I like it, okay? So just listen to it, it's actually really good. But it's in Japanese, too." In truth, he thought it fit them well. Kyle had problems, but if Kenny was around –and as Kyle himself put it-he could forget about everything and just let it all melt away. Kenny tapped on the screen lightly with his thumb, then turned his head to watch the pale lids slowly close, as if trying to imagine something.

Kyle was trying to decipher the words as best he could as the song played, a bass drumming in his ear as he worked in his head. Kenny was right, the music was beautiful, but Kyle couldn't help but wonder if he actually knew what the words meant. It kept saying something like 'you are my sanctuary' and 'fears and lies melt away.' The melody slowly came to a stop, and he opened his eyes to find Kenny grinning at him again. Silly boy, he didn't even know what the song meant!

"Kenny," he sighed playfully," do you even know what the words mean?" He saw the smirk falter as the blond turned his gaze before he answered softly.

"Yeah, actually. I had to look 'em up, but whatever. So how'd you like it?" Kyle quirked his brow at the reaction -it was very…shy like? - but nonetheless answered his question.

"I really liked it. It's actually pretty deep, not just some lame ass song about shoes and booty calls," laughing, he rolled his eyes as he remembered the whole town's population of girls going through their 'Kelly' phase. It was terrible. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kenny's head snap up sharply; actually looking like it might have hurt.

"You understood the words? They were in Japanese!" he shouted, a hint of panic in his voice. His face was rapidly draining of all color, and a sheer coating of sweat shimmered on his face.

"Dude, Kenny, chill…I just know Japanese…are you all right? You've been acting really funny lately…oh god, Kenny, are you on drugs again?" His voice cracked on the last part, recalling the phase Kenny went through a few years ago. When it had happened, he felt bad, but now…it choked him up a bit. He'd been way too emotional lately…oh well, Kenny didn't mind that he cried.

Kenny shook his head violently, muttering something about just being surprised. Kyle just shrugged the whole deal off, thinking maybe he'd had too much coffee from Tweak again. It was his turn to pick a song, but he just decided to put the music player on shuffle. If Kenny objected, he'd change back, but most of the time the blond never complained.

The bus ride to that stupid planetarium was supposed to be an hour, but because of bad traffic, the driver Ms. Crabtree said it'd take around two hours, maybe three. Kyle closed his eyes again, trying to take in Kenny's scent. It was the one thing he held onto when Kenny left him, the one thing that stopped him from utterly breaking down. Sometimes he wondered how Kenny put up with his constant emotion talks, how he could just sit there and watch contently, and sometimes giving advice. Maybe he had some crazy sixth sense that told him he was the only thing that kept him from falling apart. A small smile fought its way to his lips, and he blushed at how much Kenny really meant to him.

Suddenly, there was an extra weight on his shoulders, no pun intended. A literal weight now rested on him, and as he examined it, the extra bulk was identified as Kenny's head.

His friend was fast asleep, his lips parted slightly to let in the slow breaths of air needed. Stray blond locks fell into his lidded eyes, framing his handsome face. For once, Kenny looked peaceful. Kyle smiled, and leaned into the touch, resting his head atop Kenny's.

The iPod in his hand flashed, getting a reluctant Kyle to look at the blaring screen.

1 New Message

Stan Marsh

Sighing, Kyle opened it, his eyes quickly scanning the message. Stan was asking him if they could meet up after school, maybe at his house, and wondering what time would be alright for Kyle. As he had done too many times already that day, Kyle's brows rose in question. Normally, one would just announce he was coming over and no one would think any different. Now Stan was asking? Kyle had already 'persuaded' his mother into 'forgiving' Stan, thank god she went along with the act, so…Stan had no logical reason to have to ask. Frowning, his fingers zipped over the digital keyboard to reply.

Sure, dude. Anytime's fine. You know you don't have to ask, so why did you?

The message was short and candid, and hopefully Stan wouldn't 'conveniently' blow the last part off. A few rows in front of him, the Marsh boy jumped up, startled. Now things were really getting to be concerning. Stan was jumping at his texts, Kenny was freaking out because he knew song lyrics, and Cartman kissed him the other day. Who the hell gave all of them crack?!!?

..I don't know, I guess…well, a lot of things have changed, I guess I just wanted to make sure. Actually, though, Stark's Pond seems better. Say about four? Stan's reply was just a bit too quick to be normal, in Kyle's opinion. But he decided to let it go and just follow Kenny's fine example: fall asleep. He nuzzled into the soft blond hair, breathing in the unique scent, and slowly slipped into unconsciousness.

…

A frosty breeze nipped against his bare face, telling Kyle to tug his lime colored hat further down on his head. Somehow, the cold never seemed to cease in their quiet little mountain town, with the lone exception of Stark's Pond. It actually changed according to season, and since it was April, the lake was bound to have a more summer air to it. As the redhead walked, he wondered what exactly Stan wanted to talk about that he couldn't tell him at school. Maybe he couldn't leave Wendy because he knocked her up? That would totally suck ass. Seriously, if he had to stay with the total skank that broke up his parents' marriage, that would just be God acting unnecessarily cruel. Just what kind of sadistic bastard-

"Kyle!! Wake up, man!" Green eyes snapped into focus, and they found a fairly handsome face inches away from his nose. Waving a hand, Kyle brushed him off.

"Sorry, sorry, I was just thinking, I guess," he muttered, trying to recall how long ago he had stopped registering his own movement. Forgetting you were walking couldn't possibly be healthy.

"Well…um…okay then. Don't you wanna sit down?" Stan inquired, sinking onto the ground and giving a gentle pat to a spot near him. Kyle followed suit, crossing his legs.

"So, Stan, what did you want to talk about?" He whispered, hoping he wasn't pushing his friend too hard. He turned his gaze toward his best friend, seeing him swallow harshly, a nervous habit of Stan's. Why was he nervous?

"Er…um…damn, Kyle. I really don't know how to say this, but um…," his voice stopped, and burying his head in his red gloves, he exhaled sharply.

"Well, Kyle, we've been best friends for ever, right?" Stan paused, waiting for Kyle's hum of acknowledgement. "And, you've always been there for me, you always knew what to say, and I…I…think…well, Kyle…" Again, he sighed, trying to find his words. Kyle mulled over the words, feeling all the blood in his cheeks disappear. This wasn't any old 'oh hey, I'm down let's talk' chats, this was one of those conversations. Suddenly, there was a warm, sticky moisture on his lips, accompanied by a pair of lidded eyes in Kyle's line of sight. Stan was kissing him!!! At the realization, the green orbs grew wide in shock, wondering when the hell he consented to this.

….

Wait a minute, he liked Stan, didn't he? Yes, he did, so why did he feel so filthy, so uncomfortable and impure? Why did kissing Stan feel so….

Wrong?

Kyle should've been overwhelmed with joy and sappy butterfly feelings. But instead, hi s head was reeling, his heart racing, and his best friend sat happily.

"I think I've fallen for you, Ky," the boy whispered, obviously proud of himself. It wasn't until he noticed that the redhead winced at his affectionate pet name that something was wrong.

"Did…I do something wrong, Kyle?" He asked, ignoring the fact that he probably sounded incredibly stupid right about now. The Jew shook his head, furious at himself for getting into this situation in the first place.

"No, Stan…it just…I mean, this feels wrong." Not a second after he had uttered the words, Kyle instantly regretted them. Stan would definitely ask questions, and what then? Was he supposed to lie? It hurt enough to see his best friend's smile falter and crack, morphing into an expression of sadness.

"…why, Kyle? I thought….you liked me?" Stan whispered, his pitch rising in a terrible attempt to hide his newly found pain. Maybe…lying wasn't so bad if it would save a life? Kyle knew that a rejection could very well send Stan over the edge at this point, but he didn't want to be a murderer. Shit, he was either going to have to take up lying or murder. Great.

"I-I do Stan, b-but….uh…" he stammered, desperately grasping for a good excuse, "I go out with someone." Once again, the redhead winced at his choice of words. He saw the brown eyes snap back up to look at him, glimmering with anguish and curiosity. But he was silent for a few moments, just letting his broken stare bore into the green-eyed boy.

"It's Kenny, isn't it?" Stan murmured, his voice nonchalant.

"Yes," he spluttered, knowing he wouldn't be able to come up with his own answer, "It's Kenny. I'm…sorry, Stan, really." Snorting, he blew some onyx colored bangs from his face and stood, offering a hand out to Kyle.

"Nah, I should've guessed, you know? Not saying I won't fight, though. Anyway, I gotta head home, so I'll see you tomorrow, Ky." Before he disappeared into the trees, Stan swept down on the defenseless Kyle to plant a quick kiss on the boy's reddening face. Kyle stood on the edge of the pond, reminding himself of everything he and Stan just exchanged before he slapped a hand to his forehead.

What the hell had he done?

Yes, I know it's short and not very well written this time, but it's just one of those chapters that have almost no relevance but need to happen to fit the plot. You know? No? Ah well. Anyway, science fair is over, so I'll be here a little more often, I hope. Thanks for all the lovely reviews, guys!