When Clyde, Kenny, and Butters walked into the apartment, Kyle and Stan were sitting on the couch watching Family Guy. Oddly enough, Fox was one of the four channels the apartment got. As soon as the door opened, Kyle pulled his hand out of Stan's so that they wouldn't find out a thing.
Clyde was the first to walk in and see Stan and Kyle turn to look at everyone. "This is where you've been? Do you know how worried I was?"
Kyle chuckled innocently. "Sorry, he kind of surprised me."
"Hey Clyde," Stan greeted like nothing was wrong or awkward.
Kenny and Butters walked in closely behind Clyde. Kenny saw Stan and smiled widely, jumping over the back of the couch to give him a crushing hug. "Stan, you're back!"
"Hey there Stan," Butters said with a smile.
Stan had to push Kenny off of him so he could breathe. "Hey." He looked around, but didn't see the person he expected. "Where's Cartman?"
"He had to go to work for a little bit," Kenny said with a relieved tone, "so I decided to bring Butters over." He stepped over to his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around Butters' waist. "He's only been over here once after all."
Butters chuckled softly and wrapped an arm around Kenny's neck. "Well, it's because Eric doesn't like me…"
"I don't know why," Kenny nuzzled Butters' neck, "you're so adorable."
Butters turned light red and giggled. Clyde walked out of the kitchen with a full glass of Coke in his hand. He sat on the other side of Kyle and grabbed his hand. "What time is that band concert again?" He asked Butters.
"Five," Butters breathed out as Kenny reached for the button of his pants.
Stan looked at the clock. "We have a half-hour, so you two might not want to get it on."
"What took you guys so long to get here?" Kyle asked when Kenny released Butters.
"We were looking for you, babe," Clyde said a bit angrily. He took a quick drink of his Coke.
"Oops," Kyle chuckled, "sorry."
"It's actually my fault," Stan said without any regret in his voice whatsoever. He had enjoyed the time he spent with Kyle.
Clyde threw a quick glare at him. "Damn right it's your fault."
"Bastard," Stan mumbled.
"What did he say?"
"Well," Kyle said quickly, "why don't we get ready to go? I'm sure both of you have to be there early."
Kenny nodded. "Butters has to, but since I'm only doing the one thing, I can sit with you guys in the audience until then." He had agreed, against Cartman's wishes, to sing for the song Butters, Wendy, and Token had been assigned to play during the transition between the full band playing and only the stringed instruments.
"Okay, then we should probably go." Kyle stood up, pulling Clyde up with him.
"W-Wait, I have to change." Butters reached into the messenger's bag he used for a backpack and pulled out a black button up short sleeved shirt and a pair of black pants. He stepped into the bathroom for a minute and changed, stepping out changed and his hair combed back. He smelled like Kenny's cheap cologne.
Kenny smiled. "You look beautiful." He pecked Butters on the lips.
The four other guys waited as Kenny grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans to change into for when he had to go on stage. Once he had the pants in his hand, the five left to go back to the high school.
…
Ten minutes after Butters had left for the band hall, taking Kenny's pants with him, Cartman pulled up and walked over to them. He said hi to Stan like he had seen him at school earlier, he really didn't care. With a few minutes until the band began, the group went into the PAC and took some of the last empty seats near the back of the PAC.
When they were sitting, Clyde took hold onto Kyle's hand again, not realizing that when the lights went down near the back, Stan grabbed onto Kyle's left hand. He was fiddling with the engagement ring, getting close to flicking it off of his lover's finger. Cartman leaned back in the seat and crossed his arms over his chest angrily, and Kenny smiled slightly as the band walked onto the stage since he immediately found Butters.
Once the band was in place, the director - who, Stan realized with shock, was Mr. Garrison - signaled for everyone to get in the starting position. "Since when has Garrison been a band director?" Stan asked with a loud tone of confusion.
"Ever since he got fired from the elementary school after he got involved with NAMBLA shortly after you left," Kyle said with a chuckle. "I was honestly surprised they let him work at the high school."
"That is kinda surprising…"
"Shh," Kenny said, "it's starting."
The PAC was then filled the sound of the band playing songs from "The Phantom of the Opera," then "Beauty and the Beast," and then finally "Bella's Lullaby." Garrison then announced the song for the transition, while the stage was being rearranged for the string instruments to play alone. Kenny had already slipped out during "Bella's Lullaby," though Cartman didn't notice while Stan, Kyle, and Clyde all did.
The curtain closed and the lights on the stage went off for a moment. There was some shuffling coming from the stage and then a single spotlight shone on Butters.
He plucked the first few notes and then gave way to Token softly tapping the drums. Spotlights then shone on Kenny, who had changed into a white tank top and his black skinny jeans, Wendy - also playing the cello - in a purple dress, Butters, and Token, in a black suit.
"Too late – this is not the answer
I need to pack in
I can't pull your heart together with just my voice alone
One thousand shards of glass I came to meet you in
You cut the peace out of me"
Cartman's eyes narrowed in anger when he saw Kenny. He specifically told him that he wasn't allowed to do this! What the fuck was he thinking?
"And as you ripped it all apart,
That's when I turned to watch you
And as the light on you went dark
I saw you turn to shadow
If you would salvage some part of you that once new love
But I'm losing this"
Kenny looked at Butters.
"And I'm losing you"
"What the hell?" Cartman yelled in anger.
"Shut up Cartman," Clyde, Kyle, and Stan muttered at the same time.
"Oh I've gotta turn and run
From faces that you never see
Oh I've gotta save my blood
From all that you've broken
And pack up these pieces of me
It's too late now to stop the process
This was your choice – you let it in
This double life you lead is eating you up from within"
Kyle looked at the engagement ring still on his left hand with guilt. Why was he doing this to Clyde? To Stan? To himself?
"A thousand shards of glass you pushed beneath my skin"
Kenny lifted his left arm into the air and showed a score of cuts going up and down his arm to the crowd. Stan, Kyle, and Clyde's eyes widened. What had happened to Kenny's arm?
"And left me lying there to bleed
And as you showed me your scars
I only held you closer
But as the light in you went dark I saw you turn over
I wanted always to be there for you and close to you
But I'm losing this"
He looked back at Butters again.
"And I'm losing you
Oh I've gotta turn and run
From the faces that you never see
Oh I've gotta save my blood
From all that you've broken
And pack up these pieces–
Maybe without me
You'll return to all the beauty I once knew
But I can't stay to see how the sight of me brings that madness back to you…"
Butters and Wendy played a quick soli beautifully.
"Oh I've gotta turn and run
From faces that you never see
Oh I've gotta save my blood
From all that you've broken
And pack up these pieces of me"
Wendy: "(These broken pieces!)"
"And pack up these pieces of me"
Wendy: "(These broken pieces!)"
"Pack up these pieces of me…"
Cartman was up and moving for the exit of the PAC as Butters was playing one final chord of the song and the crowd erupted into applause. Stan, Kyle, and Clyde followed him to make sure he wasn't to going to do anything stupid; they knew, though, seeing as it was Cartman, he would do something stupid, hence them following him. He was taking the outside route to the band hall, where Kenny would be after the performance.
He slammed the metal door of the band hall open and stopped in the doorway, giving the others some time to catch up and see what had stopped him in his tracks. Kenny had Butters pinned against one of the instrument lockers, their arms wrapped around each other, and they were making out.
Cartman's mouth dropped open, he was, for once, unable to say anything, unable to yell or scream about what was going on. He just couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Kyle and Stan exchanged a look and managed to grab onto Cartman's arms just as he came back to reality and began to scream, "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?" He began struggling to get at Kenny and Butters when they looked over at him after hearing him scream.
"Oh shit," Kenny said as he kept his arms tight around Butters' shoulders and slowly stepped farther away from Cartman.
Clyde shoved his way past Cartman and quickly hustled Kenny and Butters out of the other door so that the enraged fat ass couldn't get them. Once they were out of sight, Stan raised one hand high and struck Cartman on the back of his neck, effectively knocking him unconscious.
Kyle and Stan both let Cartman drop to the ground. They looked at each other and realized that they both had the same question present in their eyes: What if Clyde caught them like Cartman caught Kenny and Butters?