Author's Note: So here we are with chapter 2! Playing South Park: Stick of Truth is actually what rekindled my interest in South Park and gave me the idea of this story in the first place (as far as a new kid OC goes). This OC is… nothing like the play character in the game, but that's where I got the idea. It's a great game by the way, I recommend playing it if you haven't already. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy the next chapter! Thank you to those who reviewed/favorite/followed last chapter! I really do appreciate any feedback I get, it encourages me to write more that's for sure!

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Best Friends Forever

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Chapter 2

Not One Bit

…

I awoke with a start the next morning, nearly smashing my alarm in surprise as it blared like a siren into my ears. I groaned, pushing myself out of bed, seven o'clock AM… far too early.

I was out with Wendy until at least eight last night. The double date went okay I suppose, it wasn't as horrible as I expected. We ended up going to a nice café that Wendy picked out and just stayed there just chatting for a couple hours… well, more like Wendy and Bebe chatted while Clyde and I sat in awkward silence, twiddling our thumbs. At least he wasn't smashing faces with his girlfriend the entire time.

I didn't have anything against Clyde; we just didn't know each other very well. I grew up with him, sure, but he was never really a part of my circle of friends. I just hope this double date thing doesn't become a frequent thing for Wendy. I love her, but I want to spend time with her, not her friends.

At least I was able to actually get some rest. Once that "date" was over, Wendy went straight home as she had her own homework to do. I was hoping to have her help me with the math homework I didn't understand, but she had much more difficult classes than me and likely had more work along with that, so I didn't even bother to ask. Fortunately a quick text to Kyle and he was kind enough to come over to help me out. I'll have to remember to thank him again for that today; I would have never been able to finish it without his help.

I quickly showered and dressed, making my way downstairs to get some breakfast and was readily greeted with the boring droll of the morning news. I don't think I would ever find that stuff interesting, no matter how much the anchorman exaggerated his stories.

"Mornin' son," my dad greeted, his face obscured by the newspaper he had his nose in

"Good morning Stanley," my mom also greeted with a warm smile. "Can I make you anything for breakfast?"

"Sure, can I just get some eggs and toast please?"

Even though I was going to be eighteen in a year, my mom still loved to take care of me. Not that I minded, I would probably be having cereal for every meal if I didn't have her to cook for me. Sure, the doting did get a little overbearing at times, but at least she wasn't as clingy as Kyle's mom.

"Hey, the mega millions jackpot is up to $414 million now," I heard my dad exclaim with a dangerous amount of excitement. Oh no, that's never a good thing for him. "We should get some more tickets; I have a good feeling about it this time!"

I sighed and shook my head at him. "Dad, you bought like one hundred tickets last week and you didn't even come close." I remember well, he made me help check them.

"Yeah! But I have a hunch that I'm really going to win this week, I can feel it!" He replied with enthusiasm.

"Randy, no more lotto tickets please." Mom ordered rather unenthusiastically as she flipped one of the eggs currently cooking on the stove.

"But Sharon!" He whined. "We could be millionaires! Don't you want that?"

"I said no. It was a complete waste of money last time," she ordered once again, far more sternly this time.

Dad let out a disappointed 'awww', dramatically folding up the paper and tossing it aside. Nothing new there, he was always dramatic about even the smallest things. I'm pretty certain I surpassed my dad terms of maturity a long time ago. When I was younger, his melodramatic and impulsive behavior used to really embarrass me. Well… it still does actually, but I suppose I was more used to it now.

There was no conversation amongst us for the rest of the morning. I quickly ate my breakfast before bidding goodbye to my parents for the day.

I was greeted by the biting chill of the Colorado air as excited the far warmer, welcoming house to make my way to the bus stop, the fresh, un-shoveled snow crunching beneath my feet. Winters in South Park were always rough. I wasn't necessarily interested in moving away and leaving my friends, but I sure do wish I could have been born somewhere warmer.

I was the first one to arrive, as per usual. I stood next to the worn yellow sign, huffing out a puff of breath that rapidly condensed into visible steam in the frigid air. I casually reached into my pocket and grabbed my phone, texting Wendy a quick 'good morning' text as I waited. She loved getting those. I may not be the best boyfriend, but I tried to express my love with little things like that.

"Hey dude."

I immediately recognized that voice, it was Kyle. I smiled a greeting at him. "Hey."

"Get any sleep last night?"

"Yeah, all thanks to you." I really did owe him for coming over so late to help me, he didn't have to do that. Yet, it was something it did so often without hesitation. "Thanks again for helping me. I would have been up all night trying to figure that out."

"Anytime, you know I don't mind," he said, flashing me a reassuring grin.

"Oh, I know you don't, but I do. You know your parents are going to catch you sneaking out someday," I responded, shuffling in place and absentmindedly raking my hand through my hair. "What would your mom do? I'm terrified to even think about it."

"Murder me in the most painful way possible I'm sure," Kyle replied jokingly. "Either way, I'll deal with the consequences once it happens," he shrugged. "I've gotten pretty good at the whole sneaking out thing anyways."

I chuckled. "You sure have."

This isn't the first time Kyle has snuck out at night to come see me.

Mrs. Brofloski normally refused to allow Kyle to stay out past eight, but that never stopped him from sneaking out anyways. Kyle's parents, especially his mom, always tried to keep him on such a short leash. When he was younger, he was constantly fearful of his mother's wrath, but lately he has become much more defiant. A rebellious phase I suppose. I disliked the idea of him getting in trouble, especially because of me. But at the same time, it was nice to see him try to break away from the almost suffocating hold his parents had on him.

"Oh mah god! You guys!" I heard Cartman huff out in between pants, running towards us as fast as his chubby legs could carry him. "You guys!" He exclaimed once again, stopping and taking a moment to catch his breath once he made it to the bus stop where we were standing.

"Oh god, what is it this time fatass?" Kyle replied, his tone laced with clear annoyance; likely paired with that snarky, characteristic eye roll that he always did when Cartman was acting… well, like Cartman.

"It's-" He paused for a moment, hands resting firmly on his thighs as he huffed out strained bursts of laughter in-between fatigued pants. "It's the new kid!"

"Yeah? What about him? Spit it out already," Kyle retorted irritably. No patience whatsoever for Cartman this morning on his part… not that there ever was.

Cartman suddenly burst into a cackling laughter, hands clutching his stomach as he attempted to speak in between breaths. "You guys should see him! Oh mah god, it's hilarious! He looks like a girl!"

"So what?" Kyle grumbled in a disinterested tone as he moved to tuck a loose strand of fiery red hair under his hat.

"Cartman, you've already met the new kid?" I asked. Unlike Kyle, I was genuinely curious, when did this happen?

"Nah, but Token said that they were moving in next door to his family, so I went there last night to check it out."

Ah, spying on him already. South Park was such a small town that everyone knew each other, so any news of a new family was quite a big deal. Cartman loved to stick his nose into everything, so I suppose it wasn't a surprise that he was the first one to see this new family, even if it was uninvited on their part.

"You're going to get arrested for that someday fatass," Kyle added in as a side comment, without looking up from his phone which he was currently fixated on. I found myself edging with minor curiosity on who exactly he was texting this early. Kenny maybe?

"Only if I get caught." Cartman stated in a matter of fact tone, leaning in closer to Kyle and tauntingly elbowing his arm, prompting Kyle to glare up at him in annoyance. "You aren't going to tell on me, are you Jew?"

"Nope, I'll just be there to laugh when you go to jail for it," Kyle retorted nonchalantly, tucking his phone back into his pocket.

"Not gonna happen! I'm far too sneaky for that," Cartman replied in proudly, patting himself boastfully on the chest.

Kyle simply rolled his eyes, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jacket and resigning himself to ignoring Cartman.

I wouldn't be surprised if Cartman ended up in jail… If not for trespassing, then for something else surely. With all the shit he's pulled, it's amazing he hasn't at least ended up in juvy yet. Just lucky I guess.

The loud rumble of the school bus became apparent as the large yellow vehicle turned the corner and came to a screeching halt next to us. Kenny still hasn't arrived yet, although skipping school was not an unusual thing for him, so I guess he's not coming today.

…

Our bus stop was the last one before the school, well, the last one of the two that existed in the small town of South Park. Fortunately, that meant short rides both to school and home. We made it to the school within five minutes, the driver quickly ushering us off the bus the moment it stopped.

I scanned the area for Wendy once I got off the bus as per usual. Luckily for her, she lived mere minutes away from the school and could easily walk instead of taking the bus. She typically arrived before me for that reason. I quickly spotted her chatting with Bebe at their usual spot next to the school's entrance.

"I'll talk to you guys later. I have to go see Wendy." I bided Kyle and Cartman goodbye. I typically parted ways with my friends at this point in favor of my girlfriend.

"Okay… see you Stan," Kyle responded. He sounded disappointed, which made me twinge just a little in guilt, but he should know by now that this is the routine. I did this every morning.

I glanced over at him as I was walking away and noticed that he was looking at me… almost longingly? At least, that's the only description I could give to that expression. I wonder what his deal is today? He doesn't normally act upset about this. Perhaps he doesn't want to be left alone with Cartman, which I did feel bad about. Normally at least Kenny was there to help balance things out. I saw Cartman tauntingly jab Kyle with his elbow and say something that caused Kyle to glare at him. No verbal retort from Kyle though, only a half-hearted glare… that's unusual, I wonder what Cartman said?

Oh well, just an off day for him I suppose. I trust Kyle would tell me if something was truly bugging him.

Wendy flashed me a charming smile when I approached her, coming forth and embracing me. I responded with a chaste kiss to her forehead – nothing too obscene at school. Some couples, like Bebe and Clyde, had no issue with publicly smashing faces at school. Wendy was not like that, she was very much against crude public displays of affection. She would have my head if I even tried.

Speaking of the devil, I spotted Clyde was striding towards us with a snide air of confidence encircling him, reminding me all too well of why I wasn't too fond of him. Acting as if Wendy and I were not present, he swooped in and captured a giggling Bebe's lips in a passionate kiss before eagerly grabbing her wrist and leading her around back. Bebe turned around for just a moment to wave goodbye to Wendy before happily following her boyfriend behind the school, likely for a more private make out session.

I noticed Wendy roll her eyes at them out of the corner of my eye, exhaling a disappointed sigh through her teeth. Similar to how she hated displaying affection publicly, it was the same when others performed such actions, especially when the culprits involved her best friend. Wendy was surprisingly good at refraining from the urge to gossip publicly about her friends, but she's certainly not above quietly judging them. Makes me wonder why she wanted that double date with them in the first place.

She sighed disapprovingly again before turning to face me, cerulean eyes gazing into my own. "Thank you for last night Stan."

"Why?"

"I could tell you weren't thrilled about the idea of a double date, but you still agreed to it anyways, so… thank you. I had fun," she said as if reading my mind.

"Of course Wendy, it's no problem," I grinned at her. "You know I would do anything for you."

"I was thinking that maybe… tonight… you could come over to my place. My parents are both gone for business trip right now, so I have the place to myself. Just the two of us this time," she flashed me a shy, yet alluring smile.

I could practically feel my pants tighten at the prospect – Wendy was a prude out in public, but that doesn't mean she's that way in private. "That sounds great."

How could I refuse such an offer?

She grinned in response, prompting me to swoop down and give her a light peck on her cold-chilled lips.

Oh wait… oh shit. Kyle. I did make plans with him yesterday that I would hang out with him tonight… but I couldn't turn down an opportunity like this. Wendy and I had been dating for some time, but we had only just become sexually active, and even then it was a rare occurrence due to the ever constant presence of parents. I took what opportunities I could get… Kyle would just have to understand.

I vaguely heard Wendy begin to speak again but I tuned her out, albeit unintentionally, as I took a moment to see what Kyle was up to. He was still with Cartman, but Craig and Token had also joined them. I felt my eyes narrow, an uncomfortable feeling twisting in my gut as I watched Craig talk to Kyle. I know the two are friends, and perhaps it's related to my own tentative relationship with Craig, but I really did not like the idea of Kyle hanging out with him. Kyle could make better friends than him outside of our main group, ones that are not uncaring, boring assholes with tendency for extreme apathy and bullying.

I hated it, but I tried to block out the thought. There's nothing wrong with Kyle having friends that aren't me. He should have other friends too, that's perfectly normal. It's not like he would never replace me as his best friend.

"-Stan? Stan! Are you even listening to me?! What are you staring at?" Jarred back into reality by what was right in front of me, my eyes quickly flickered back to Wendy, who sharply nudged my side as she spoke to me in an elevated voice in attempt to get my attention.

"I… sorry, I wasn't looking at anything - just thinking," I responded quickly, shuffling uncomfortably in place.

What was I supposed to tell her? That I was staring at Kyle and felt jealous because he was forming closer friendships with people who weren't me? She wouldn't take that well, she was already on the brink of jealousy on how close my friendship is why Kyle as is.

"Yes you were! I saw you! You weren't looking at some other girl were you?" She challenged, her voice edging with agitation.

"I… I was looking at Token," I lied and I saw her quirk an eyebrow at me. "Sometimes I worry that I will lose you to him again" I quickly added.

The lie almost came reflexively, it's true I didn't necessarily want her to know I was watching Kyle… but claiming to be watching Token almost seemed worse. I expected that she would be mad about me admitting to being jealous of her old flame, but instead her face softened, her hand finding and entwining itself with one of mine.

"Oh Stan, you shouldn't be worried about Token," she said, blue eyes gazing up tenderly at mine. "That was way back in Elementary School, I'm with you now. I love you, and only you. You know this."

I smiled and wrapped my arm around her shoulder, squeezing her lightly into my body. "I know, it's just hard to not worry sometimes ya know?"

Truthfully, I wasn't actually jealous of Token, never was… well, not anymore. Sure, back in the day when I found out she had first left me for him I burned with jealousy and went into a depressive state for several weeks. But I was young, and Wendy's "relationship" with Token was so short-lived it barely even counts as one. She came back to me in the end and we've been going strong ever since.

She grinned into my shoulder. "I know." She spoke, her voice slightly muffled by my jacket. "There have been times I've worried about losing you too. Lots of girls at this school find you attractive."

I snorted and responded only by hugging her tighter. So she has said before. Wendy claims to have had issues in the past with some of her female classmates treating her poorly because they were supposedly jealous of her relationship with me. I knew I wasn't bad looking, but I certainly never considered myself attractive enough to make other girls envious of my girlfriend. The very prospect still seems ridiculous. Although it's even more ridiculous that Wendy was ever worried that I would leave her for one of those girls… Wendy is the only girl I've ever been interested in.

The obnoxious blare of the school bell went off as if it was made for the sole purpose of interrupting our 'moment'. I sighed, reluctantly letting go of Wendy as she untangled herself from my arms.

"See you at lunch?" She asked, although it was toned more as a statement.

"Of course."

…

Lunch time at South Park High often reminded me of a feeding frenzy of piranhas as the students scurried in hoards from third period to the cafeteria in effort to be the first in line to get their food. I rarely packed my own lunch, and my parents had stopped doing that long ago, so I was one of those unfortunate students that scrambled for a good position in line.

Today wasn't one of my lucky days though. I grumbled slightly as I took my position near the back of the line. I perked up when I spotted the familiar green glint of Kyle's hat wading through the mass of students in the cafeteria. So he is still here. Despite coming to school this morning, Kyle was absent from the first three periods this morning. Kyle has an unfortunately poor immune system and got sick often, so it wasn't uncommon for him to be absent or leave school early. But he also didn't respond to my texts asking where he was, which was uncommon for him.

I wasn't about to leave my spot in line to go talk to him though, I'll ask him after I get my food. I watched as he disappeared amongst the crowd of people, likely heading to our usual spot in the cafeteria. Kyle never ate the cafeteria food, as alongside getting standard colds fairly easily, he also suffers from Type 1 Diabetes. In addition to eating frequently, this required him to maintain a fairly strict diet, and the cafeteria food just wasn't compatible with that. He truly did hate having to follow those restrictions - and people being aware of him having diabetes in the first place, but it is what it is... I'm just glad he has in under control and it doesn't consume his life in the same way it does to Scott Malkinson.

"Sweet. Thanks for saving me a spot in line brah." I heaved a sigh, turning towards the voice, although I didn't need to to know who it was. Cartman nudged his way in next to me in line, earning an annoyed scowl from the girl behind me. "Fucking ridiculous how long it takes to get some food around here."

Cartman has made no effort to lose weight over the past couple of years. Luckily for him, he grew rather tall as well, and much of his excess weight just made him appear as a giant mass rather than a short ball of lard. But he was still the heaviest person in the school by far, and far, far from being within a healthy weight.

"In that case, you should start packing a lunch," I responded nonchalantly with a shrug, tucking my hands in the pockets of my blue sweatshirt.

"That would be pointless; Mom doesn't have those cheesy bread things that they serve here." Cartman responded. "Anyways, have you seen the new kid yet? He's been following Kahl around like a lost puppy all day, it's hilarious!"

Oh yeah. I had almost forgotten about this supposed new student. "Is that why Kyle wasn't in class this morning?"

Cartman shrugged. "Who knows. I just know that that he was with that fuckin' new kid every time I saw him. They're probably off making out in their own little corner now."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Kyle's not like that, he's just being nice I'm sure."

Although I shouldn't be surprised that Cartman is making jokes like that. He's been making gay jokes about Kyle since we were nine, although usually they involved me… It was somewhat weird that they didn't now.

Cartman scoffed. "The little Jew hasn't had a girlfriend his entire life¸ has hasn't even shown interest in girls. Even when the hottest fucking girl in the school had a hard on for him, he didn't even bat an eye. How could you not have noticed this by now?"

"You haven't had a girlfriend your entire life, that's hardly a good argument."

"Yes I have, she was just long distance," Cartman spoke quickly. It was obvious he was lying through his teeth. "You guys just never met her."

I didn't call him out on it though. I honestly didn't care enough to. "Whatever. Kyle just hasn't found the right girl yet¸ he will eventually."

Cartman simply snorted, turning away in anticipation as we grew nearer to the front of the line. "The little kike will have to get over you first," I heard him mutter sardonically under his breath.

Ah, there are the gay jokes involving me. Okay, everything is normal.

Rumor has it that this new student is a 100% and completely out of the closet homosexual. There's nothing wrong with that, but I'm sure that he would realize that Kyle isn't like that. I'm sure Cartman is just exaggerating like always.

I watched as Cartman bought enough food to feed at least three people, none of it exactly healthy either… two slices of pizza, cheesy bread, French fries… his cholesterol must be through the roof at this point.

Upon seeing my arrival, the lunch lady immediately collected my usual lunch order: a salad and two breadsticks. I always ordered the same thing. The school had a severe lack of vegetarian options, so that was really my only choice unfortunately.

I collected my food and followed Cartman, who was already hobbling over to our usual spot in the cafeteria. Much of our group was the same group of people that I grew up with throughout elementary school… Bebe, Clyde, Token, Craig, Tweek, Red… and of course Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman. Our High School class was small, but it was still larger than our elementary school, and there were quite a few students outside of our group that I did not know. Although of our group, I really only interacted frequently with Wendy and Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman.

I seated myself across the way from Kyle next to Cartman, placing my backpack on the seat next to me to save a spot for Wendy who had not yet arrived. It was not uncommon for her to stay after class to chat with the teacher or work on homework for a bit longer, so she was often late for lunch. Kenny, who had apparently decided to show up for school, albeit late, was sitting next to Kyle, his left arm leisurely slung around Red on his other side as he picked at his food with his free hand. He smiled and winked a greeting at me as I sat down, nodding towards Red with a satisfied grin. Ah, the typical 'look at me! I got laid!' Kenny look. I'm sure I'll hear all about it later, Kenny wasn't one for sparing details.

Although my attention was quickly distracted from Kenny to the unknown male that was boldly seated next to Kyle, a bit closer than I would deem appropriate for two males… Yet, Kyle did not appear to be bothered by the apparent closeness. I guess I shouldn't be surprised though, Kyle would never appear outwardly uncomfortable if he thought it would hurt or offend someone, he's too nice for that… well, unless that person was Cartman that is.

So… I'm guessing this person is the new student everyone has been talking about

He had an interesting look about him for sure… Cartman wasn't too far off in saying that he 'looked like a girl', although he wasn't necessarily unattractive either… in many senses he was actually pretty good looking – at least as good looking as a male could regard another male. His features were fairly pointed, a subtle tan gracing his skin. He had dirty blonde hair that hung roughly an inch above his shoulders, and, as far as I could tell from a seated position, a slim body type. He eyed me pointedly with hazel eyes as I sat across from him, making no motion to speak.

"Hey Stan," Kyle greeted, flashing me a friendly smile.

"Hey dude," I replied, returning his smile. "Missed you in class this morning, where were you?" I had a feeling I already knew the answer to this, but I asked regardless.

"Oh, yeah, the Principal called me to her office early this morning and asked me to show around Adrian-"he gestured to the blonde boy next to him, who continued to eye me. "-around school and help him get acquainted to the new environment. She said it was okay to miss class to do so since I'm ahead on most of my work anyways… speaking of which, Adrian this is Stan, he's a good friend of mine and also the quarterback of the school's football team."

"Yeah, they're great friends," Cartman sniggered, which earned an annoyed scowl from Kyle.

Adrian quirked his eyebrows in response to Cartman's comment before glancing back at me with an expression I couldn't quite decipher. "A pleasure to meet you Stan," he spoke with a subtle accent – although I couldn't quite place the nationality… something European I think. "My name is Adrian Durant… I've been enjoying hanging out with your friend today, Kyle has been very welcoming."

Sometimes, there are people that just rub you the wrong way the moment you meet them, and I could already tell that this guy was one of him. I chose to be cordial regardless. "Welcome to South Park High," I took his outstretched hand, firmly shaking it.

"I'm looking so forward to getting to know you all," Adrian continued in a drawl. "America has been such a bore in comparison to France thus far,-" Ah, French, that's what his accent is. "-But I think I'm going to like South Park much better than New York City… especially if you all are as nice as Kyle here… although I'm not sure that is possible" He clasped his hand amicably on Kyle's shoulder, causing him to flinch slightly in response.

The slight tinge of pink that formed on Kyle's cheek in response to the gesture didn't go unnoticed by me. What the hell is going on here? Was Cartman actually right? No, no, it's just Cartman exaggerating as per usual. Kyle is just being nice, and blushing probably out of embarrassment of this guy's blatant flirting. Asshole. Can't he see that Kyle isn't like that?

"Uh oh Stan, looks like you got some competition." Fucking Cartman. Looks like Kyle's blush didn't go unnoticed by him either.

Kyle glared daggers at Cartman in response, opening his mouth to retort, but I beat him to it this time. "Cartman, shut the fuck up," I snapped at him, a bit more nastily than I had intended.

Typically the gay jokes Cartman would make about us didn't even make me flinch. He has been making them for so long now, and we had come to accept it as just Cartman being Cartman… but today, something about today… he just needed to shut up.

Cartman simply grinned, obviously satisfied, responding with a snide "Ooooo" before returning his attention to his food.

The table fell silent, and for a moment it felt like all eyes were on me. Kenny was lazily observing the scene, an amused look playing on his face. On the other end of the table, I saw Tweek staring curiously at us while Clyde whispered something to Token, even Craig appeared more interested in our conversation than he normally does. I felt my face heat up in minor embarrassment.

I suppose seeing me losing my temper is rather abnormal. No one would even take a second look if Kyle had said that instead of me due to his well-known short-temper, especially around Cartman. I mean, I get it, I got mad at Cartman and I don't normally do that, but god, does it really require this kind of a reaction?

"Oh I see, this is very interesting." Adrian suddenly spoke up, breaking the short, yet incredibly awkward silence. "So… are you two together then?"

Wow, wow. Seriously? Those kinds of questions already coming from him, a guy I met a mere five minutes ago? Cartman sniggered in response, but made no retort, while Kenny's amused grin widened. Ugh… thank god Wendy isn't here right now.

I was about to open my mouth up to respond, but I found myself hesitating. Of course Kyle and I aren't together, I don't like him like that, and neither does he for me. This should be a simple, quick answer... but, if I say we aren't together, then this Adrian will know Kyle is 'available'. The thought of this guy continuing to flirt with my best friend made me feel sick to my stomach.

Before I could even formulate a response, Kyle responded for me, the red tint his cheeks visibly darker now. "No… no we aren't together. Stan has a girlfriend."

"Oh I see… lucky me then," Adrian responded gleefully, mouth splitting into a grin.

I felt my eye twitch. Ugh, this guy. I really hope Kyle tells him to stop soon.

"Stan!" I didn't need to look up to know that the feminine voice belong to Wendy. She seated herself next to me, giving me a quick peck on the cheek in greeting. "Sorry I'm late, I wanted to talk to Mrs. Harris about a project she assigned us." She paused, staring at me with slight concern in her eyes. "… is everything alright Stan? You seem tense."

Is it really that noticeable? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that Wendy picked up on it though, her and Kyle can read me like a book. "Ah, no, everything is fine," I responded quickly, wrapping my arm around her shoulder in a reassuring manner.

"This is Stan's girlfriend," Kyle suddenly spoke up. "Wendy Testeburger, she's the president of the Debate Club if that's something you'd be interested in joining."

"Are you in the Debate Club too?" Adrian asked in response.

"Me? Ah… no, no I'm not." Kyle responded, obviously avoiding eye contact with Adrian, who was staring at him intently.

"Then I'm not interested."

This guy… he is coming on way too strong. I feel my irritation slowly begin to rise again due to Kyle's obvious – well it was obvious to me at least- discomfort in response to Adrian's remarks. How can he not be picking up on the fact that Kyle isn't interested?

"Why not?" Wendy suddenly piped up. "The Debate Club is an excellent way to meet new people and get adjusted to the school. There are a lot of really friendly people there -"she paused briefly to glance at Cartman. "-Well, mostly friendly people."

Wendy was truly passionate about this club. I admired that trait about her, although sometimes she just talked my ear off about this. This time though, I was quite happy that she decided to interrupt Adrian's blatantly poor attempts at flirting with a pitch about the club.

"I agree with Wendy," Kyle added in. "It's one of the better clubs offered here."

Wendy smiled. "See? Thanks Kyle," she continued. "You should really consider it. Anyways, I don't think I've actually gotten your name yet, you are the new student here right?"

I watched in silence as Wendy conversed amicably with Adrian, advertising the clubs that she thought he should join and prying out more information about his background. He appeared somewhat bored with the conversation, but acted friendly regardless.

I learned that he was originally from Lyon, France, and his family moved to New York City when he was eight years old for his father's work. Apparently his father had recently retired from his job, and his family moved to South Park for reasons of finding a quieter, more peaceful place to live. Hah… how wrong they were about thinking South Park was 'quiet' and 'peaceful'.

"South Park really is a cute little town, although I don't know where anything is right now… Maybe you could give me a tour of the town after school Kyle?" Adrian spoke in a confident tone, shifting his attention from Wendy to Kyle, who appeared mildly annoyed by this.

"Oh, well, I would, but I already have plans to hang out with Stan after school," Kyle responded, glancing in my direction as if looking for confirmation.

Shit. I forgot to tell Kyle that I wouldn't be able to hang out with him tonight. Oh no. He is not going to be happy.

A part of me wanted to just disregard my plans with Wendy and hang out with Kyle as was originally planned, if not just for the reason of keeping him away from this Adrian guy. But… I couldn't back out on her now… she would be mad, and I also didn't want to miss out on the chance to be alone with her with no parents. These were like once in a month opportunities!

"Stan? I thought you were coming over to my place after school?" Wendy interjected before I had a chance to respond.

"I, uh, yeah, I am," I responded, unintentionally stumbling over my words. There's no way to put this without making Kyle mad. "Sorry Kyle, I don't think I'll be able to today." I looked at him with sincerity, in hopes that it would quell any irritation that may arise from this.

"But…" He began to speak, but stopped and simply sighed, shaking his head. "Never mind, its fine. I hope you have fun," he spoke again with obvious disdain.

He was upset, it was obvious as the fact that dogs bark, and it made me feel bad. It always did, this isn't the first time something like this has happened, unfortunately. It was often difficult to balance my best friend and my girlfriend. Yet, this time, it bothered me even more. Mostly because…

"Oh good, then you are free to show me around town," Adrian said, grinning gleefully at Kyle.

"Yeah… I guess I am," Kyle responded somewhat dismally, staring down at his half eaten lunch.

Yeah, that's why it bothered me more.

I glanced quickly around the table, hoping that someone would save Kyle from this when I couldn't. Cartman remained silent, observing the scene with an amused expression as he inhaled the remainder of his lunch. Asshole, of course he wouldn't even lift a finger to help Kyle. Everyone at the other end of the table was too busy conversing with each other to even pay attention to what was going on – save for Craig, who was still watching us with a bored, uninterested expression as was typical of him, but he made no motion to help either. So much for him being Kyle's 'friend'. Thankfully, Kenny picked up on my somewhat obvious desperation and came to the rescue.

"Ooo, a tour of our wonderful little mountain town? I can't miss out on that!" Kenny interjected, his trademark cocky grin plastered on his face. "Kyle does know the town pretty well, but I can show you places even he's never seen before," he winked at Adrian. "Special places."

I finally exhaled the bulk of air I was holding in, breathing a sigh of relief. Thank god for Kenny. It wasn't necessarily a lie on his part either, due to his less than pleasant home life he often spends most of his time just walking around town. Not to mention all the places he claims to bring girls for some 'private time'. I'm sure he knows all the nooks and crannies by now.

"Yeah, Kenny knows the town better than any of us," Kyle added on. He was still clearly irritated, but he seemed to calm slightly at the news that Kenny would be joining him.

Adrian on the other hand appeared rather disappointed at this, something that happened to make me quite pleased. The prospect of thwarting his 'plans', whatever they were, was rather satisfying to me.

"That sounds great," he spoke through his teeth, his tone noticeably less elated than before.

Kenny simply grinned, standing up to throw the remains of what little lunch he had in the garbage. As if he was anticipating it, the bell indicating the end of lunch rang as he did so.

"Whelp, time for class, see you guys later," Kenny spoke, casually saluting a goodbye to the group before heading out of the cafeteria.

I stared down at my own lunch, which I had barely touched. Between being annoyed at Cartman, being annoyed by this Adrian and trying to juggle Kyle and Wendy, I hadn't even given myself a chance to eat. Oh well, I wasn't that hungry anyways.

"Well… See you later Stan, I hope you and Wendy have fun tonight," Kyle spoke with no real sincerity.

Apparently Kenny cheering him up by saving him from Adrian was only temporary. I guess it was too much to ask for that he wouldn't still be mad at me for ditching him for Wendy. I'm sorry Kyle, I'm really sorry...

I watched as he left the table and headed to class, a class that we happened to attend together and typically walked to together. Well shit, I guess he really is upset this time. The brief feeling of relief I had was gone as quickly as it came, an uncomfortable feeling twisting in my stomach. There wasn't much I hated more than making Kyle upset, even if it was unavoidable at times.

Adrian got up and moved to follow him, offering me a sidelong glance as he did so, the corner of his mouth quirking into a grin that almost made me want to punch him – if not just to wipe it off his face.

Aside from his blatant and obnoxious flirting with Kyle, who's not even gay, I really do not know what put me off on this guy so much. Just something about his mannerisms, his voice, the way he talked, everything… I do. Not. Like. Him. Not one bit.

Today has not been my day, between this Adrian guy and upsetting Kyle, it really has not been in my favor.

Sex with Wendy tonight had better be amazing to make up for this shit.

…

To be continued

…

A/N: Please let me know what you think! I love hearing your thoughts!