As soon as the bell ran at the end of the class, Stan ran towards the bathroom. After ensuring he was alone, he went into a stall and locked the door. Stan was holding his head, and thinking of any logical reason why he shouldn't hurt himself. After failing to think of a reason in a few seconds, he started crying as he pulled his head up, but his lip, frowning to himself.
He fished in his pocket for his knife, pulled up his sleeve to his elbow, and stabbed his wrist. His right hand holding the knife trembled, and his fingers felt numb, but that didn't bother him. He dragged the knife across his arm, closing his eyes, and banged his head against the wall. "I hate myself," he murmured.
Soon the bathroom door opened. Stan jumped, quickly opened his eyes, and covered his mouth, hoping that whoever entered would leave immediately without asking any questions. "Hello?" A voice spoke, "Who's in there?" Stan immediately recognized the voice, and he became anxious, though he tried to keep cool. "I-" Stan's voice was thick with emotion, and he cleared his throat. "I'm okay," Stan said nervously, "Just please leave me alone." "Who's in there?" Kyle asked, with his voice having concern. "Are you okay?" "I'm fine, just go!" Stan yelled. Stan really wanted to deal with the pain on his own. Wait a second," Kyle startled, pausing for a moment which caused Stan to automatically hold his breath. "Stan?" "Fuck," Stan murmured. "Get lost!" He bellowed, now starting to have sadness, anger, and anxiety mixed all into one inside of him. "Stan," Kyle said, his voice starting to shake, "please open the door." Stan could tell his voice was desperate. Stan knew Kyle was suspicious, but he figured he could make a run for it if he was lucky. "Juts give me a moment," Stan said, attempting to sound nonchalant.
Once he hidden his knife and wrist, Stan unlocked the door, and was trying to calm himself down. "Hi,"Stan said quietly, picking up his backpack, "bye." Kyle grabbed Stan's wrist tightly as he tried to walk away. "Stan, I-" Kyle began, before Stan cut him off, saying, "Let me go!" Kyle's grip slowly got tighter, and Stan yanked his arm away from his hand. However, the pain got worse, and Stan was hissing while holding his wrist. "Goddammit, that really fucking hurts!" He hadn't noticed Kyle was still there, because he was so focused on the searing pain, and as his eyes met with Kyle's, Kyle looked down at Stan's wrist before back up his face again. Stan wondered how he was going to get out of this situation. "What happened?" Kyle asked softly. "Nothing," Stan said, attempting to walk away again before being grabbed by his hand. "Stan," Kyle whispered, pulling Stan closer to him. For the first time since they parted ways, Stan allowed himself to reveal his vulnerable side; he was bawling. Kyle squeezed Stan's hand gently. "Stan, what have you done?" Kyle asked. Stan looked down at his sleeve, and Kyle released his hand. Stan, seeing no reason to lie anymore, allowed Kyle to gingerly pull up his sleeve. Kyle also began crying when he looked at Stan in his eyes after seeing the blood on his wrist, and was whispering, "No, no, no…" Kyle's arms were soon around Stan's neck, and he said, "Why, Stan?" Stan couldn't register anything other than how warm Kyle was, how much he missed it, and how much Kyle was trembling. Stan said, "I'm sorry, Kyle." He was clearly more sorry for himself than to his former friend. "I don't know what to do anymore." Stan's eyes shut, and Kyle's grip became tighter. Stan felt Kyle press a warm kiss against his neck, and Stan felt warm inside. "I'm so fucking sorry!" Kyle yelled. "This isn't your fault. I can't do this to you, Kyle. Just leave me alone, okay?" Stan released himself from Kyle's grasp, grabbed his backpack, and walked out of the bathroom. "Stan, wait!" Kyle yelled, but the door slammed shut. Kyle was thinking about what just happened. He couldn't believe his old friend would hurt himself, and he had a ton of questions. After crying, and cleaning up his face, he walked out of the bathroom.
Later, Kyle wasn't in the mood for getting food in the cafeteria. However, Kenny came over, and nudged his arm. "Where have you been, Kyle?" He asked, looking confused. "I was in the bathroom," Kyle said. "Wait a minute, have I been gone for that long?" "Yeah, dude," Kenny said. "It's nearly the end of lunch, and you just got here." "But does it really matter?" Kyle said, irritated. Kenny then said, "Have you been crying?" "Shit," Kyle murmured. "No, not at all!" He said frantically. Kenny, suspicious, crossed his arms, and deadpanned, "Kyle, I wasn't born yesterday." "I was crying." Kyle said defensively. "Why?" Kenny asked. Kyle couldn't tell him the whole truth, but he said, "I miss Stan." Kenny sighed. "I figured his would be about Stan," he said, touching Kyle's shoulder. "I know you two are through, but but I can assure you he misses you too. You two just need to talk it out. You're Kyle and Stan. Need I say more?" Kyle laughed. "You're right, he will understand. He was my closest friend, after all. We can overcome anything." Kenny smiled. "Exactly." "Thanks, Kenny," Kyle said, patting him on the shoulder before leaving. "I'll talk to him after school." Kenny said, "You're welcome, dude!" Kyle breathed in slowly, nodding to himself in determination. He wasn't going to just let Stan go, since things will be different this time, and he'll ensure it.