Stan sighed, watching the door for a few more moments before he realized Kyle wasn't coming back in, so he laid on his bed. He tried to think about what went wrong, and how he could fix it, but the longer he thought, the less he gained ideas. He tried to meditate the tears that started to fall, but he ended up crying harder, and moved to hide his face in the pillow. Confusion and frustration was pouring out of him. For a few seconds, he thought he was alone, until he heard footsteps on the hallway that made him sit up straight on his bed. The closer the footsteps got to his door, the more nervous Stan became. He wondered if it was Kyle coming back, and then if it was a thief instead. Stan grabbed his pillow, holding it to his chest, until he heard a knock on his door.
"Stan?" A familiar, muffled voice said outside the door. Stan felt relaxed when he heard the voice, and coughed into his hand, clearing his throat. "Yes?" Stan said, coughing harder. He waited patiently for a response, even holding the pillow even tighter to his body. "Can I come in?" The voice asked, and Stan muttered, "Sure." He out his pillow down in its proper place, just in time to see his sister enter his room. "Hey, nerd, you doing alright?" Stan felt like laughing at the nickname and rolled his eyes, grabbing the TV remote. "Yeah. I'm fine." He lied. "Why are you back so early?" Shelly scoffed, saying, "Mom forgot some stuff so I came back for it." She then examined her brother. "What's wrong?" She asked, "You look like you've been hit by a bus. You've been crying, haven't you? Why, Stan?" Shelly sounded concerned, and it was more than jarring coming from her. "Because I'm on my period," Stan joked, rolling his eyes, "now get me some chocolate." Shelly laughed a little, pushing Stan. "I'm being serious, dork. What's going on?" "Shelly, why do you care? Why never seemed to care before, so why now?" Stan was curious. "I was moody. I was never mad at anyone in our family. I'm sorry for treating you like shit." Shelly's voice was soft, and unusual for her, so Stan listened carefully. "I know you've been through a lot, and I should've been there instead of shutting myself away and pretending I didn't need anyone. I want you to be different. I don't want you to go through things alone and sit in your room like I did. I wish I knew how much people cared for me. Maybe if I believed it, I wouldn't have been alone. I want things to be different for you, Stan." "Shelly," Stan trailed off, immobilized past the initial disbelief at her words, "I'm so-" before he realized what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around his sister's neck. "I'm so sorry." Shelly laughed, and hugged her brother back. "It's going to be okay," Shelly said, rubbing Stan's back. Stan was sobbing. "Tell me, what happened?" Shelly asked. "Kyle and I-" Stan closed his eyes again. "We kissed, Shelly." Stan pulled back, laying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Oh, Stan," Shelly said. "I assume it didn't go very well?" Stan sighed. "It was going well at first, but then, it wasn't. It's complicated." "Tell me everything," Shelly said.
Kyle woke up with a migraine, and was instantly groaning. He fumbled to get out of bed and downstairs to the kitchen, grabbing the nearest pack of aspirin. He knew crying as much as he did wasn't going to help, but it was needed. After gulping the pain relief down with water, he sat on the kitchen table, resting his head down on it. He didn't know what to do. He knew he needed to talk to Stan, but he also knew before doing that, he needed to gather his words together to figure things out. Kyle needed to explain why he left him and freaked out, because he's worried Stan thinks he's a horrible person. Kyle didn't know how to tell Stan he was scared of being in a relationship with him. However, Kyle didn't know how to tell Stan that kissing him was one of the best moments of his life. He was worried about his relationship with Stan being ruined, and was worried about what his family would think. Kyle held himself back from vomiting. He knows his mother was excited for him to marry a girl, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembers that Jews saw homosexuality as a abomination. But that was outdated, and Kyle is worried his parents will disown him. Kyle began crying again. All he wanted was to be able to love his best friend. "What am I going to do?" He mumbled.
"That's what happened," Stan finished, turning to Shelly. "So, let me get this straight-" Shelly was interrupted by her brother, who said, "There was nothing straight about it," Stan muttered. "So, at first he was kissing you back, but then stopped and left?" Shelly snorted. "I hope he's okay. He probably hates me." Stan said. "He doesn't hate you, Stan. Hate is a strong word." Shelly reassured. "He's probably just confused right now." Stan hummed in understanding. "Should I give him space?" Shelly nodded. "Wait for him to come to you, he needs to figure things out, and that's neither yours or his fault." "You think so?" Stan asked, the hopefulness in his tone slightly sickening. "Definitely." Shelly replied. "Thanks sis," Stan turned to Shelly, grinning. "I'll give him time, I kind of need it too, if I'm being honest." Shelly nudged Stan. "Of course. You both have shit going on. But this is you and Kyle we're talking about. You two seem to be able to get through anything." "We do, don't we?" "I'm proud of you." "What?" "I'm proud of you, Stan, for telling me all of that. Come here, silly." Shelly pulled Stan into her arms. "You're proud of me?" Stan whispered. "Of course. You're still the sweet brother I grew up with!" "I try to be," Stan said. "I know," Shelly said, rubbing Stan's back. Stan never thought he'd be getting this amount of comfort. "I love you, little turd," Shelly said, making her brother laugh. "I love you too. But sis?" "Yes?" "Can we keep this between us? I'm not ready to tell anybody else yet." "Of course. Until you're ready, this stays between us." Shelly smiled, and Stan said, "Thanks, sis." He pushed his sister out of the bed, and said, "Now go back to the spa! Mom's probably worried sick about you!" "I almost forgot! You sure you'll be okay?" "I'm positive, just go." "Okay. Everything happens for a reason, remember that. It's going to be okay, I promise." "Okay, now get out of here!" "See you tomorrow. Call me or mom if you need anything." "Okay, I'll be fine." "Bye!" "By the way, I'm bisexual." Shelly stopped in her tracks, and looked at Stan. Stan was proud of himself for finally admitting it. Shelly ran back over, and kissed her brother on his forehead. "I'm so proud of you!" Shelly then left the house, and all Stan could do was laugh. He waved his sister as she drove away, going back to his bed as soon as her car was out of sight. Stan thought about what a crazy day it was for him. He kissed his best friend, realized just how much he loves him, finally came in terms with his sexuality, and became close with his sister for the first time in his life. As Stan was starting to talk asleep, he thought about Kyle, and what he was going to do next.