Dem edits years later…. And sorry for the short chapter. Probably should have fused it with the next. Whoops.
Disclaimer: THEY GOT ME! THOSE DAMN SKEKSES! MY EYES! MY HANDS! …okay. Maybe that's still not a good enough excuse to gain rights to South Park, but allow me the liberty of trying.
Let's begin.
Upon settling in for the night, the football team decided that a few select groups would alternate keeping watch for the night. It wasn't so much a suggestion, but a demand from Token. No one could exactly say what the reason was for keeping guard other than to somewhat soothe the nerves of the paranoid Tweek for their own benefit of sleep, but the vote was unanimous once Token brought it up: there would be teams watching, and they would start with Butters.
Butters rubbed his hands together, reluctantly conceding to his fate of keeping the first four-hour block. To follow, he would wake up Pip for the next four hours. Pip would then wake up Butters again to keep guard until all the boys rose in the daylight hours.
Really, what could anyone expect from the boys at South Park High?
The plan seemed perfect until Tweek yelled that he would stay up, not trusting Butters or Pip to keep guard. Token rubbed his hand over his forehead in a brief contemplation before Craig's hand rose. With fairly little planning, and short consultation, it was declared that Tweek and Craig would stay up for the first three hours, Butters would keep guard the second three hours, and Pip would take control for the last three hours before waking the group and, should the team wish to sleep more, they would take turns throwing their shoes at the boy and call him a "damn Frenchie."
The bulk of the team moved alongside their broken bus, grabbing what few clothes they had to use as blankets and pillows from the leaf-coated ground. Stan had barely set his things down when Cartman expressed his distaste for bunking too close to their "faggy friend." A short scuffle occurred followed by flying fists and swinging legs. Kyle pulled Stan away while Kenny, Token, and Clyde gripped onto Cartman's arms in a feeble attempt to pull him backward. It took a little mediation from Jimmy, his stuttering distracting the group long enough to calm both boys' nerves, before the order was given for Cartman to sleep on one side of the bus and Stan at the other.
"You really need to tone it down when picking a fight with Cartman," Kyle said as he faced Stan. He pressed his hands on Stan's shoulders. Submissively, Stan lowered, legs folding Indian style as Kyle stooped before him, rummaging through his backpack for a Kleenex. "I mean, I hate the fat ass probably more than you, but he plays dirty. He'd be the type to kill you in your sleep. Literally."
"I know, just-" Stan frowned, eyes falling shut as Kyle pressed the white cotton to his lower lip, blotting the few traces of brittle, dried blood, "-just… everyone was cool with it before. I mean, seriously. I have so much dirt on them—all of them. It's like they're pretending it never happened or something."
"I don't know what to tell you, Stan." Kyle folded the Kleenex over and pressed it to Stan's temple. "…you're not mad at me about the dare, are you?"
"Huh?"
"The dare. I mean, when I… you know… with Clyde-"
"Oh. That."
Silence.
Awkward shifting.
A lowered head.
"I was pissed at Cartman," he replied honestly. "Really pissed. That dare was meant for me." Upon the quirked eyebrow his best friend gave the boy, he quickly corrected himself, "I mean, it was meant to irritate me. Hurt me, whatever. God, that sounded emo."
"Ha, we always knew you were an emo kid," Kyle teased, lowering the hand with the tissue to bat at Stan's ear. Kyle then crumpled the tissue in his palm and shoved it in the smallest compartment of his backpack to accompany the other mounds of junk he acquired throughout the season—better not to litter even if it required the manifestation of mutant mold. "Seriously, though, it's okay. I mean, if you're mad at me it's fine."
"Kyle…" Stan murmured. "I just…"
"I know." Kyle smiled. "Let's get some shut eye—it might take awhile to fall asleep."
A suggestion.
Case-closed.
Diversion.
Acceptance.
It was okay.