Stan's POV

I was wrong.

It had gotten worse.

It's been a month since our relationship was exposed to the school, and most people didn't like the thought of homosexuality.

Cartman had made school a living Hell for us- not only getting most students to turn against us, but he also had the balls to start a 'ANTI-LGBT' club at our school. Of course the school didn't allow it, but that didn't stop him from starting a club outside of school. Nonetheless, students of all ages taunted us every day.

I had taken most of the insults while Kyle took most of the beatings since he was weaker than me. Whenever we'd meet up at the roof, he'd have a busted lip, or maybe even a black eye- claiming that it was just a simple punch and nothing more.

I tried my best to protect Kyle, walking him to school and making sure he'd go home in one piece. When the bell sounded, I'd wait by his classroom door and walk him to his next class. We'd always hang out up on the roof, and nowhere else. How could he get beat up when I was always by his side?

He would always say the same things: "It's not a big deal" or "I'm fine", though I could tell that it bothered him a lot.

The insults that were usually aimed at me were not very severe. They were usually things like: "God hates fags" or "I bet your parents wish they never made you" and other stupid insults that are supposed to hurt me. Some of them did, but it's not like I can't handle the taunts. I also got the usual locker shove, mostly done by the football players.

The only thing that turned out good was that our parents didn't find out yet. If they did, they certainly didn't say anything about it.

We suffered like this for a month, it was the same cycle every day.

Kyle and I decided to hang out in the alley one evening after I walked him home from school.

I was running a bit late- my mom held me back to do some things around the house. I was supposed to go to Kyle's house and from there we would walk to the alley.

Kyle told me that he would walk himself to the alley- assuring me that the destination was only a few blocks away from his house. I was hesitant at first, I didn't want him to get hurt on his way there. I knew I was being a little too overprotective, but I was just worried.

I finally agreed, and he told me he'd wait for me in the alley- which made me more nervous. I hurried through my tasks and immediately started for the alleyway. I jogged through the streets, my jog eventually breaking into a sprint.

When I finally reached the alley, I looked around for Kyle, whipping my head furiously in different directions until I finally spotted the redhead.

I relaxed right away, bracing myself against the wall to catch my breath.

"Stan, are you okay?" Kyle asked me with concern.

"Yeah- I'm fine; Are you okay?" I asked, sitting down next to him.

"Yeah; You didn't have to run here, ya know. I can take care of myself." He grumbled, taking a stick and drawing random patterns in the dirt.

"If you were able to take care of yourself, you wouldn't need me to monitor you all day." I said, a bit annoyed that he didn't appreciate my effort. He didn't look so pleased.

"You don't need to monitor me all day."

"You'd get beat up too often if I didn't. Wouldn't kill to say thanks once in a while, too."

"I never asked you to escort me anywhere. You don't need to treat me like a doll. I can defend myself."

"I just want to protect you, okay?" I said, my voice slightly raising. "I'm so sick of this." He stayed quiet for a while after that.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, scooting closer and burying his face into my shoulder. "I do appreciate the things you do. I just- you stress out too much when it comes to keeping me safe."

"I know." I sighed. I gently grabbed his hand, rubbing small circles to soothe him.

"Thank you for protecting me." He said quietly. I didn't respond to that, instead focusing on a small bug that was climbing up an empty garbage can.

We sat there for a while, basking in the warmth of the light rays that shone down at us. I thought endlessly for a solution to stop all this. To stop all the suffering we had to go through in order to get an education.

Most of all, I didn't want Kyle to stress about things like this. I didn't want him constantly living in fear of being judged by his family or friends. It wasn't fair that Kyle had to go through this- he was such a great guy with great standards and a great future waiting for him. Out of all people, he should be the last one to get all this backlash for being gay.

"Maybe we should break up." I said, the words spilling out of my mouth in a monotone. I felt him tense up beside me and I immediately turned to look at him.

"W-Wha..?" His eyes were wide open.

"N-No I didn't mean it like that." I said in a hurry. "I mean, I think we should pretend to break up. So that people will leave us alone at school."

He slumped his shoulders, letting out a breath of relief. "You scared me." He said. "But pretending to break up? That wouldn't change the fact that we're gay."

"But maybe they'll realize that's there no point in really bullying us if we're not dating."

"But we're still gay." Kyle replied bluntly.

"We could pretend not to be?"

"How do we pretend not to be gay?"

"I don't know!" I said, exasperated. "Let's just try it. If it doesn't work, then we'll come up with a new solution."

"Fine." He said, a bit irritated.

"So tomorrow, we just won't hang out?"

"I suppose."

"It'll be alright- okay?" I said, and it seemed like I was trying harder to convince myself that things would turn out right. "All this will be over, and most things will return to normal."

"Okay." He murmured, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose- a habit that he often did when he was developing a headache. I gently retrieved his hand from his face, the sudden contact making his eyes flutter open. I kissed the tip of his nose gently and he smiled softly, leaning against me.

"Did you come out to your parents yet?" He asked softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Not yet." I sigh. "Every time I try, something either stops me, or I chicken out. I think they know, and are waiting for me to tell them."

"It's okay. I haven't told my parents yet either. I'm afraid of their reaction."

"You're their son, I'm sure they'll get past it and love you anyways."

"I hope so."

The cold night air was cruel against us; The snowflakes falling and drying onto our jackets. It was silent- save for the everlasting wind that made the hairs on my neck stick up.

With my hands stuffed into my pockets, I walked Kyle back home from the alley. We had been there for quite a while, talking about everything and anything we could think of. That's one of the things I loved most about Kyle; he was never boring to talk to. You could literally talk to him for days and still not get tired of the way his voice would work.

His voice.

It was unique but normal, simple yet intricate. I loved the way his voice would gradually get higher as he would talk about things he was passionate about, or the way it gets deep and steady when he was bored or in a sarcastic mood. I also loved his laugh. His laugh was the most beautiful thing you could ever experience- it's contagious and joyful. The thought of him laughing put butterflies in my stomach, and I involuntarily giggled.

"What was that?" He said, amused as he turned his head to look at me, now walking slower.

"Nothing really." I took one of my hands out of my pocket and grabbed his, squeezing it and swinging it as we walked. I grinned at him. "I was just thinking of your laugh."

"My laugh?" He chuckled, my heart instantly warming up at the sound.

"Your laugh." I confirmed, raising our entangled fingers to my lips and kissing the back of his hand. He blushed and looked at his feet.

"You're such a romantic." He told me, and I let go of his hand, only to snake my arm around his waist and pull him closer.

"But you love me." He laughed again and I melted at the sound of his voice.

"I sure do."

As we walked up the path leading up to his doorway, I removed my arm from his waist. He fished his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door. Before opening the door, he turned to me and smiled kindly. He wrapped his arms around my neck as I hugged his waist and kissed me tenderly.

As I pulled away, I saw a flash of red hair at the window and froze. Kyle must've sensed my tension because he then turned, and only had a second to spare before the door suddenly swung open. His mom stood at the door, arms crossed. After taking a minute to glare at Kyle, she simply whirled around and walked back into the kitchen.

"I'll- um, call you later." Kyle said, breaking the silence. He looked nervous and unsure- I wanted to hug him, comfort him, tell him that it would be alright- but at the moment, I wasn't sure if holding him would be the best thing to do.

"Okay," I managed to get out. "Sure."

He walked inside and closed the door, and I stayed back a moment. I stood there for the longest time, waiting for yelling and screaming- but when I didn't hear a voice, I trudged my way back home.

A/N: Well there you have it- Chapter 3! I'm sorry it took quite a while for me to update; Its just that I didn't think anyone would read past Chapter 1 ﹏

Next chapter might be partially in Kyle's POV! That is- if I do update. I'll try to write more chapters and release one every week and so on.

Review and Vote please! (*¯︶¯*)

-Stella xo