Disclaimer: South Park and all of its respective characters are the property of Matt Stone and Trey Parker. I own only this story's plot and any original characters that may pop up from time to time. Also, I am making no profit from this story.

Warnings: This story will contain slash (boys love, yaoi, etc.) as well as violence, swearing, and, well, most of the things you would probably hear in a regular episode of South Park. The boys are intended to be between the ages of 16-18 here.

Chapter 03

Stan frowned as he glanced around the crowded hallway and, not seeing any sign of Kyle, sighed, turning to head back to his own locker. He hadn't talked to his best friend since yesterday morning and when he'd gone to look for him after school, Kyle hadn't been anywhere around. The boy hadn't even answered his phone or returned the text Stan had sent him last night, which worried the dark-haired boy. Reaching his locker, he forced the door open and began grabbing books, stuffing them into his backpack, lost in thought.

He was sure he had nothing to worry about, after all if something was wrong, then Stan was sure someone would have told him. He and Kyle had been best friends for, well, most of their life. If anything was going on, Stan thought he would be the first to hear about it; after Kyle's family, of course. Maybe Kyle had just been preoccupied last night? After all, he had been paired with Cartman for that project, and knowing that fatass, poor Kyle was probably expected to do it all by himself. So he'd probably been too busy trying to work on everything to bother with his phone.

"Stan?"

Jumping at the voice, Stan dropped his bag and cursing as it landed on his foot, spun around, ready to snap before he saw who stood there, the anger dying down. Glaring at Kenny, Stan coughed and bending down, grabbed the pack, hauling it back up as he slung it over his shoulder. The blonde was still smirking when Stan looked back at him and, if the look in his blue eyes were anything to go off, he was trying desperately not to laugh.

"Damn it Kenny, don't sneak up on people when they're lost in thought, it's fucking rude," Stan snarled as he leaned back against his locker, the glare darkening when all he received in response was laughter. "Oh yes, laugh it up, you're just lucky this thing wasn't that heavy or my foot could have been seriously hurt. Then where would the football team be huh?" If anything, this caused the blonde to laugh harder. "Shut up, Kenny."

"Sorry dude, but that was sort of funny, I almost expected you to let out a shriek." Wiping his eyes, Kenny smirked and spinning around, fell back against the lockers next to Stan, giving the other a glance. "Have you ever heard Kyle shriek like that? Man, it's priceless, I think he's better at making the sound than most girls. Hell, he does a lot of sounds better than most girls."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Stan groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head. "Dude, for one that's gross and I don't want to hear about any sort of sounds Kyle makes," he started, not about to admit he did sort of agree with the other boy; Kyle had one hell of a shriek, and even if he didn't want to admit it, Stan was pretty sure not even Wendy could match the sound. "Secondly, speaking of Kyle, have you seen him? I've been looking for him ever since I got here but I haven't seen him anywhere."

Raising an eyebrow at the question, Kenny thought for a moment before shaking his head, shrugging then. "No, I think the last place I saw Kyle was history class yesterday, when we got paired up for that lame project." Placing his hands in his pockets then, the blonde chuckled, watching as Heidi and Bebe moved past, sending them a charming smile before turning his attention back toward Stan. "Hey, good job on getting paired with Wendy on that project, what strings did you have to pull?"

"None, we just managed to get lucky." When a snicker greeted his words, Stan glared and sighing, decided not to bother trying to defend himself, knowing it was useless. "Anyway, I'm a little worried about Kyle. Knowing Cartman, the fatass is probably making Kyle do all the work and you know how he gets when it comes to schoolwork." It was true, Kyle was probably the one of the few boys in their grade who took school very seriously and there had been times before when, instead of sleeping or even eating, Kyle chose to study, always claiming he wasn't about to let all of his hard work go to waste.

"Yeah, but this is Kyle we're talking about you know? If anyone can handle Cartman, it's him and I don't think he'd deal with having to do it by himself," Kenny stated, knowing Kyle was one of the few people who could actually make Cartman do something, no matter how much the bigger boy denied it. "Have you checked the library though? I know sometimes he goes there in the morning, to catch up on his studying for whatever reason."

Staring at his friend for a long moment, Stan cursed and unable to believe he had actually forgotten about the library, shook his head, a hand moving to scratch the back of his neck. "No, I forgot all about the library. That's probably where he is! Thanks dude, I knew there was a reason why we keep you around," he teased, shoving the boy gently before pushing away from the lockers. "I'm going to find Wendy first, I kinda blew her off last night without meaning to, you wanna come?"

"Nah, I'm going to go hunt down Butters, I need to see if he picked anyone for our project yet," he claimed, as well pushing off the lockers, stretching. "Plus I know it'll just end with you two making out and as much as I'm usually up for some free porn, I think I'm going to have to pass this morning." He laughed when a shove greeted his words, smirking. "What? It's true, don't deny it Marsh, you have so hit that."

"Dude, you are so perverted." He made no effort, however, to deny the claim as he shook his head, trying to ignore the faint flush he felt creeping up. "Anyway, I'll catch you later then, and if you happen to see Kyle before I do--"

"I'll let him know his dear Stanley is looking for him." Kenny finished, laughing as he managed to successfully dodge the half-hearted punch that came his way. "Now go on and find Wendy, before she notices you haven't paid attention to her in the last five minutes and goes on a war crusade," he stated, making a slight shooing motion with his hands.

Stan merely rolled his eyes and throwing up a hand in farewell, turned, heading toward Wendy's locker, still unable to brush aside the feeling that something was up with Kyle. Still, his talk with Kenny had helped him remember one thing he'd managed to forget about; if there was anyone in the whole of South Park who could stand against Cartman and have a chance to win, it would be Kyle Broflovski.

Kyle couldn't remember ever feeling as tired as he did today, which given how prone he was to pulling all-nighters in the name of academics, said quite a bit. He was sure he had gotten only an hour's worth of sleep last night, if even that, and the red-head was beginning to regret not taking his mother up on her offer to stay home and get some much needed rest. But no, instead he had merely smiled and assured her that he would be fine, that they had a test today he just couldn't afford to miss. Which wasn't really a lie, they did have a test today; it was just that Kyle could have missed it.

Feeling another yawn work its way up his throat, Kyle quickly covered his mouth and hating how his eyes instantly watered, wiped at them, continuing his trek toward the school's library. It was his usual haven during those odd hours of school where he wasn't in class and he usually preferred spending time in the unused part of the school, thinking it provided a quiet place where he could just relax. That, and well, a little extra studying never hurt anybody.

Today, however, Kyle had no real plans to crack open a book. No, he was going to take advantage of the quiet to get in a little sleep before second period; his first class of the day was calculus and he was so far ahead in that class it wasn't even funny anymore, so he figured that skipping it wouldn't really be much of a problem. The test he'd been so adamant about not missing wasn't until third period and so long as he showed up for that, he didn't think there would be too much of a problem. At least, he hoped it wouldn't be a big deal, or more to the point, he hoped his mother wouldn't find out. He had no idea how the woman got wind of most things, but he also knew that it was something he would never figure out and could only focus on trying to make sure he didn't do anything he wouldn't want her to know.

Hearing the second warning bell ring through the school, Kyle winced and hating how loud that damn thing was, let out a small sigh, at least thankful this part of the school had cleared out after the first bell. The library was located near most of the freshmen classes and that grade-level had a habit of getting to class early. Of course, remembering most of his freshmen teachers and knowing that all of them were still here, he couldn't blame the kids. Rounding the last corner on his journey, Kyle spotted the library sign up a head and smiled, only to have the expression drop when he felt a hand wrap around his arm, yanking him sideways.

Before his brain could register just what had happened, Kyle felt himself being slammed against the wall and coughing, gasped, the hand on his arm gripping harder as another moved to his neck, effectively locking him in place. Struggling lightly against the hold, the Jewish boy finally took a moment to get a look at his attacker, somehow not at all surprised when he saw just who it was. "Cartman, let me go," he hissed, unable to speak any louder due to the hold the larger boy had on his throat.

"Well, good morning to you as well, Jew." The brunette studied the smaller boy for a moment before he glared, the expression casting a dark shadow across his entire face, sending a small shiver down Kyle's spine; he'd stood against Cartman countless times before, but even now, that look was never something he enjoyed being on the receiving end of. "But no, sorry, I don't think I can let you go right now, not until I've had a chance to talk to you about a few things."

In all honesty, Kyle couldn't say he hadn't been expecting this. He'd pretty much ran out on Cartman yesterday and, he knew better than anyone, how the other boy felt about things like that. Yet, as he stood there, fighting desperately to get out of the brunette's hold, Kyle could safely say he hadn't expected for the other boy to be this pissed-off. Angry, sure, but not looking at him with such rage that he had to wonder just what was keeping Cartman from hitting him. Or, well, worse.

"What did you do to me?"

The words came out in a low, almost animal-like, snarl and for a long moment, Kyle could only stare helplessly at the other, unable to connect the question to anything in his mind. Then, as the shock seemed to fade, it clicked and he swallowed, shaking his head, a hand moving to grab the boy's arm, taking only a brief pause to notice that his fingers couldn't quite wrap around the limb fully before he opened his mouth, grasping for something, anything, to say.

"If you're talking about what happened yesterday, then I don't know." Not the best choice of words, but at the moment, Kyle couldn't think of anything else. He'd always prided himself on being intelligent, on having the answers at all times and being able to look at things with a logical stand-point, to take a situation and break it down until it would make perfect sense. However, yesterday had stumped him, had left him utterly at a loss for an explanation and he hated it. He hoped, silently, that Cartman would see that he was just as confused, that for once, he didn't have an answer for this situation.

"Don't lie to me, you goddamn daywalker," Cartman growled, his grip tightening as he leaned closer, eyes dark with fury. "You did something to me yesterday, you and that weird power of yours, and I want to know what it was. I want to know," he paused and letting the hand around Kyle's neck drop, took a slight breath, the energy appearing in his palm, flaring wildly, "why I can do this now. It has something to do with you, and don't try to say it doesn't, I can feel you in this energy Jew. It's not that strong, but there's something of yours there and I want to know why."

Kyle stared at the orb of power resting in Cartman's hand and shaking, lifted his hand, having the sudden urge to touch it. His fingers brushed against the energy and he swore that, for just a brief moment, he saw the other shiver at the contact. He didn't know what possessed him to reach out for the power, but from the moment he touched it, he realized Cartman was right. There was something about that energy that felt familiar, and sucking in a short breath, he slowly pulled his hand back, looking toward Cartman.

"If you want to talk about this, we can, but first you're going to have to let me go," he said, trying to keep his voice calm and leveled, purposely leaving any insults out of the statement. He was tired, shaken, and so completely lost that right now, he didn't have the will to bother fighting a verbal match against Cartman, much less trying to hold his own in a physical battle. When he felt the hold on his arm loosen just a bit, he pressed on. "Cartman, let me go." Finally, after a brief pause, Kyle felt his arm being released and trying to rub some feeling back into the limb, nodded toward the library. "Come on, we can talk in there."

"No, we can talk right here." Cartman said, and though Kyle had no desire to have such a conversation in the hallway, right out in the open, he decided that arguing with the other boy would only lead to them spending more time avoiding the actual subject. Staring at the bigger boy for a few minutes, Kyle sighed before simply nodding, hoping that his willingness to go along with the other would help calm him down. He couldn't remember seeing Cartman this angry in a long time, and though he would never admit it aloud, it sort of scared him, if only because he knew that most of it was his fault. Which, in turn, only served to make him feel guilty.

Leaning back against the wall, the Jewish boy let out another long breath before sliding down into a seated position, not really caring that this left Cartman pretty much towering over him. After a moment, he saw the other boy move to his side, though he continued standing. How was he supposed to have a conversation like this with his worst enemy? Out of every single topic he'd ever imagined discussing with the boy, this had never once crossed his mind. Hugging his knees to his chest, Kyle took a deep breath and, deciding that if he really was as smart as everyone said he was, then now would be a grand time to prove it.

"I was telling the truth before, that I don't know what I did to you. To be honest, a lot of what happened yesterday is sort of a blur to me." He hoped he didn't sound as nervous as he felt, but when he heard nothing from the other boy, he swallowed, continuing. "I remember walking into some weird place, and I remember Trent attacking us, but then things start to get a little fuzzy. I know I did something, but I just – I can't remember what it was exactly.

The next thing I do remember, is that place falling apart around us and thinking we were going to die, then all of a sudden, we were back in town. Actually," he paused then and frowning, shook his head, "I don't think we left town at all. Still, I am sorry for running off yesterday but, dude, I was scared. I didn't know what was going on and there was this block in my memory that wasn't clear and, well, I ran and for that I apologize."

"You see the power I have in my hand, right?" The calm tone in which the question was asked caused Kyle to look upward, his gaze fixing on Cartman's face before he nodded, seeing the orb flicker out of the corner of his eye. "Well, the same type of power was coming from you but it was much, much stronger. Filled that entire fucking place. Sent you into some weird trance."

Eyes wide, Kyle made a small sound and looking back down, lifted a hand, staring at it as if it were some newly-grown limb. He couldn't believe that type of power could come from him, but a part of him knew it would make sense in at least one regard; after all, if unleashing that much power was indeed what he'd done, then the trance-like state Cartman mentioned would account for why his memory was so fragmented.

"Then, you said you didn't want to die and told me to fight." He felt Cartman move then and tilting his head back, watched as the boy shifted to stand in front of him before he knelt, the glare still in place. Kyle made a light noise as Cartman's hand reached out, the energy seeming to grow stronger the closer it got, before it was placed against his chest, a small gasp following the touch. "The light was coming from this spot and you put my hand here. When I pulled it back, I had my own energy, so you did something. I just want to know what it was."

Allowing the boy's words to sink in, Kyle frowned and looking down at the hand pressed against his chest, he swallowed, able to feel the power seeping into his body. It was hot, and he could almost liken it to standing just a little too close to a fire; the heat was just a tad stronger than you might want, and yet, there was something about it that wasn't completely unbearable. As he watched the energy in Cartman's hand glow brighter, the red-head found himself wondering if he could call his power forth again, without the threat of death. Was it something he could manipulate at will? Or was the power something that came only when he needed it, when it was necessary?

Only one way to find out.

He had no idea what to look for as he closed his eyes, and not having much to go on, tried reaching out to Cartman's power. The other boy had said he'd received his power only after coming into contact with Kyle's, so perhaps the reverse would work here? He tried to ignore the hand pressing against his chest and merely focused on the energy that was slowly seeping into his body. Then, he felt it, something stir within him, sparking to life and almost immediately, warmth was spreading through him, causing a soft gasp to break from his throat. Hesitantly, he opened his eyes and seeing the odd look on Cartman's face, glanced down, staring at the dim light emitting from his chest.

So, this was his power? Kyle wasn't sure what to make of it, he just knew it certainly didn't feel all that strong at this moment, though he supposed that would make sense. He wasn't in any immediate danger, so perhaps the power was simply answering his call while conserving its own energy, for when he might need it again? Frowning then, the red-head looked up and finding Cartman's gaze just a little unnerving, forced himself to speak, hoping he wouldn't sound completely stupid

"Maybe you already possessed your own power, and coming into contact with my own was just what yours needed to, uh, awaken?" It sounded ridiculous when he said it aloud, but at this point, Kyle decided it was quite possibly the only theory that made the most sense. He was beginning to have a hard time really focusing on the conversation, wondering if perhaps this was a side-affect of using his power or coming into contact with Cartman's. Lifting a hand, he placed it over the larger one covering his chest before pulling them away, trying to ignore the odd tingling sensation that was left in its place.

"As interesting as that theory sounds, that isn't what I wanted to know, Jew." The sound of the other boy's voice was enough to help clear some of the fog creeping around Kyle's mind and frowning, he sighed, letting go of Cartman's hand before leaning back against the wall, aware that with the break in contact, the light held by both seemed to weaken dramatically. "I wanted to know what you fucking did to me."

"Cartman, I don't know what else--"

"Why did I protect you?! Why the fuck did I even care about saving your sorry ass and why the fuck am I so angry?!" Cartman's voice filled the empty hallway, echoing loudly and causing Kyle to wince, his ears ringing from experiencing the noise up close. Before he could even try to respond, he felt the other pull away and watched as Cartman stood, hands clenched, his brown eyes narrowed as they bore down at the Jewish boy. Looking into those eyes, Kyle saw something just beyond the rage, something that gave the anger fuel.

He knew, then, just why the other was so furious.

"You're confused, Cartman, and that's making you angry. As for why you wanted to save me, well, I can't really answer that because honestly? I don't get it either." Placing his hands on either side of himself, Kyle stood, using the wall behind him as a prop, aware that the brunette watched his every move. "You keep trying to pin the blame on me, which isn't at all unlike you, and yet you don't seem to realize that I'm just as lost as you. What happened yesterday is something that I can't explain and I certainly didn't do anything to you on purpose. I can't apologize for something I didn't do, Cartman."

The fist came at him so quickly Kyle barely had time to register what it was before it slammed into the wall beside his head and he flinched, at least grateful that the power exploding from the larger hand seemed to taper off before reaching him. Cartman was leaning closer, stopping only when their faces were inches apart and Kyle could literally feel the heat, the energy, rolling off the larger boy. It tugged at something strange within the Jewish boy and he found himself reaching out, hands moving for Cartman's chest, unable to deny the need for some form of contact, ignoring the way any logical part of his mind screamed for him to stop.

They stood like that for a long moment, before finally, Kyle tilted his head so that he could meet Cartman's gaze, almost wishing he hadn't the moment their eyes locked. There was a look in those eyes that the red-head just could not place and not at all liking that he couldn't tell what the other boy might be thinking, he went to speak before a shrill ringing echoed through the hall, effectively breaking the spell that had fallen over the boys. Almost instantly, Cartman shoved away from Kyle, looking torn between shock and anger.

Then, he turned and without giving Kyle time to react, ran, disappearing into the oncoming crowd of freshmen. The Jewish boy stared after him for just a minute more before he swallowed and, letting out a shaky sigh, pushed away from the wall, trying to ignore the glances he received from the passing students. They were wondering, no doubt, just why the junior was standing in the middle of the hallway, looking as if he'd just seen a ghost.

Groaning loudly, Kyle lifted a hand and running it through his curly hair, turned, making his way down the opposite end of the corridor, cursing the fatass for the headache he could feel creeping up on him. He felt, if it was possible, even more confused than before and he knew that, for the rest of the day, the previous events would be the only thing on his mind.

Resting his cheek against the palm of his hand, Stan sighed and wishing there were a way to make Mr. Worden's lectures at least a little interesting, he frowned, trying to block out the man's droning voice. After giving the clock yet another quick glance, the dark-haired boy bit his lip and, turning his head ever so slightly, let his gaze wander toward Kyle who sat just a few tables back, his frown only deepening as he studied his best friend.

The other boy looked utterly exhausted, his eyes fluttering closed for brief moments only to snap open immediately after, and it was fairly obvious that he wasn't really hearing a thing the teacher was saying, seemingly more focused on trying not to pass out to actually bother taking notes. Even from the slight distance that fell between them, Stan could see just how pale the other was, which while not uncommon for the boy, just looked even worse today, as if he didn't have an ounce of color left in his skin.

He didn't know why Kyle was so tired, he'd barely had time to even say hello after the other had darted into the room, beating the final bell by only a few scant seconds. The very fact that Kyle had almost been late to class was enough to send up the first warning flag in Stan's head; he'd known the other boy since pre-school and the red-head was never late to class without a damn good reason. Now, seeing his friend not even attempting to pay attention, told Stan only one thing.

Something was wrong.

Seeing something shift in the corner of his eye, Stan twisted his head a bit further and spotting Cartman, glared, realizing that the larger boy kept stealing his own glances toward Kyle, though in the brunette's case, each look only served to make his expression darken more. Simply going off years of experience, Stan was willing to bet that both Kyle's exhaustion and Cartman's anger were connected somehow, though he couldn't fully say how, he just knew that, after seeing the two fight countless times, the signs were pretty much easy to spot a mile away.

No doubt, his earlier fear had, indeed, been ground in truth. Kyle was being forced to take on the workload of their history project by himself and he'd probably stayed up all night working on both it and his other homework, while studying for the test they had in English. Not that Kyle needed to study, Stan was pretty sure the other was doing better than anyone else in that class, but that never seemed good enough for his best friend.

"Stanley Marsh, is there something more interesting than the lesson?"

Jumping at the voice, Stan blinked and turning back around, flushed, realizing Mr. Worden's gaze was fixed solely on him. Making an odd, strangled sound, he swallowed and simply shook his head, sinking down just a little in his chair. Waiting until the man had turned back to his notes, Stan frowned and stealing yet another glance over his shoulder, saw Cartman once again staring at Kyle, who appeared to have finally given into his body's desire for sleep.

Turning back toward Mr. Worden, Stan sighed and sure now that something was very, very wrong with this entire thing, felt his frown deepen, knowing he'd have to corner Kyle later. He knew it wouldn't be an easy task; the Jewish boy hated involving Stan in any of his fights with Cartman, somehow seeing it as cheating or giving up. However, if the fatass was making Kyle lose sleep over a stupid project, then Stan would be damned if he'd just sit back and let it happen.

That's not what super best friends did, after all.