Kyle groaned as he woke up, staring at the celling. He didn't want to go to school today, but he didn't want to ruin his perfect attendance because of what happened yesterday. He then decided to go back to sleep, before his bedroom door opened, and his mother walked in. "It's time to get up for school!" "Shouldn't you be at work?" Kyle asked politely. "No, sweetie, it's my day off," Shelia replied. Kyle realized there was no way he was dealing with her all day. "Oh, okay." Kyle pulled himself out of bed, and was dreading the day to come. "Breakfast will be ready when you come down," Sheila said. As she left, Kyle sighed. He thought about Stan, and if he was angry. Kyle slapped himself in the face as he groaned. He was overthinking again, but for the first time, his brain was trying to convince him that it's for good reason. He figured he just needed to get ready and go to school. It's Friday, after all.
Stan woke up to his alarm clock going off, and grunted. Stan was surprised at how fast time flew by. It literally felt like he only went to sleep five minutes ago. Stan sighed as he reluctantly got out of bed, showered, and got dressed. He knew if he got back in bed, he would stay there all day. He was hoping Kyle was there, because knowing him, he'll fake being sick so he doesn't have to go, or avoid him like the plague. If he did avoid him, Stan would respect that. On his way to school, Stan thought about Kyle again, hoping he's okay.
Kyle left the house a little later than usual, because he fell asleep on the couch. He knows he'll be late for school and get detention. Running to school, Kyle soon slowed down once he spotted the school. He kept his head down, especially when entering the classroom. His face was red from embarrassment, because this was unusual for him, and he knew everyone was staring at him. "Sorry, sir. I was late." "Kyle, why are you thirty minutes late?" Mr. Garrison asked, looking down at his watch. Kyle moved to his desk, while everyone was still staring at him. "I have no excuse. I slept in late. I'm sorry." Kyle wondered why he lied, because he was going to get into detention anyway. "But you know what that means. Lunch time detention for you, Kyle. Now, pay attention! You've missed thirty minutes of class, so you need to catch up. Stanley, go help him with his schoolwork." Mr. Garrison said before turning back to the board and continuing to write on it. Stan blinked in momentary confusion. He automatically looked at Kyle, who was equally as baffled as he was. Stan knew his friend needed space, and while he could ask Mr. Garrison to have someone else help Kyle with his work, he knew the teacher would ask why. Stan wasn't going to discuss what happened yesterday.
Stan was glad his friend made it to school, because he was worried he called in sick, and he sighed in relief. Kyle wasn't happy, he looked tired and embarrassed. "Hey," Stan said, moving closer to Kyle, "I know you need space, so I won't bother you too much. But we need to get this work done. I'll leave you alone after it's done, okay?" Kyle laughed. "Stan, I do need space, but that doesn't mean I don't want to talk to you. It's not your fault what happened yesterday, okay? I've got shit going on, and I never want you to think that you upset me. I kissed back, you know." Kyle mentioning the kiss made Stan dizzy, and he pinched his own skin to make sure this was really happening. "I know, but," Stan looked around to ensure no one was eavesdropping, and when was satisfied they weren't, he said, "I thought I made you uncomfortable." Kyle pressed his finger on Stan's mouth. "I'll stop you right there. You never made me uncomfortable, alright?" Stan smiled, knowing his friend didn't hate him. "Now, listen," Kyle began, "We need to start working right now." Stan blinked, looking at his papers. Math wasn't his favorite subject, and he felt terrible for Kyle. He wondered why Mr. Garrison picked him to be Kyle's partner, especially since the teacher knew he was bad at math. Kyle, staring at Stan, said, "You have no clue what to do, do you?" "Nope," Stan replied. "Let's figure this out together. Could you go get a textbook so I can at least read about what we're doing?" Kyle asked. "Of course," Stan said, quickly getting up to get a textbook bed returning to his desk next to Kyle.
The school day soon came to a close, and Kyle was relieved it wasn't as bad as he anticipated. "See you later, dude," Kenny said, smiling at Kyle. "Yeah, see you on Monday," Kyle said, waving Kenny off, and then going to his locker. As he opened the locker, he heard a familiar, cheery voice behind him. "Hey." Kyle shrieked while jumping, because he was so focused on what he was doing, and didn't expect anyone to talk to him. He slowly turned around to see Stan smiling at him. "Sorry I startled you. I just wanted to know if you were okay." "Startled me?" Kyle said, "You scared the shit out of me! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Stan then asked, "But what about detention? How was it, Kyle?" Kyle replied, "It was fine, it was just really fucking boring." Stan smiled again. "Yeah, that's kinda the point, Ky." Kyle couldn't believe his best friend called him by his nickname again. "So, I wanted to talk to you about something," Stan said. "Can we walk and talk?" Kyle said, gesturing to the doors of the school entrance. Stan nodded, and the two boys were heading out.
"Kyle, I'm sorry for what happened yesterday." Stan said. "Goddammit!" Kyle murmured. He was hoping Stan wouldn't bring up yesterday. "Hey, it's okay." Kyle said quickly. "Are you sure?" Stan asked, looking down. "Listen," Kyle deadpanned, "What happened yesterday was neither of our faults, okay? I freaked out because I was confused and didn't know what it meant. Just when things were getting back to normal, they changed again, and I didn't know how to handle that. But I do know one thing. You didn't make me uncomfortable and you most certainly didn't make me feel weird to be around you. I'm confused right now, and while I don't know why we did that, we will figure it out together." "You're right," Stan said, nodding, "We'll figure this out." Kyle nodded back, wrapping his arms around Stan and squeezing him tight. While Kyle wanted his friend to know that their kiss meant everything to him, and to come clean about for how long he loved him, he knew now wasn't the time for that. "Ky," Stan said, "Do you want to come over to my house?" Kyle laughed as he nodded, and as the two boys reached Stan's house, Kyle was prepared for what will happen next.
When the two were in Stan's house, Stan closed the door, wincing at the loud bang that came from it, and turned to Kyle, who was sniggering. "Stop doing that!" Kyle laughed, pushing Stan's shoulder. "I don't do it on purpose, you know. It just happens. Maybe my fingers had butter on them." "You're probably shit with car doors too." "I'm fucking horrible! Dad gets pissed off at me. He thinks I'm doing it on purpose." "Well, did you apologize?" "Of course I did!" Stan laughs before following Kyle into the bedroom. "I'm gonna pick a TV show for us." Stan said. "Mkay," Kyle groaned in frustration. "Woah, imitating Mr. Mackey now, are you?" Stan asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Yeah, man," Kyle said. "But what do you want to watch?" Stan asked. "Let's watch The Last of Us on HBO!" Kyle replied with excitement. As the two boys were watching the TV, they laughed, untangling themselves from each other and sitting up. "I'm starving," Kyle said with a yawn. "I know," Stan replied with a grin, pulling his phone out of his pocket, "should we order pizza?" Kyle grinned back at his friend. "Sure, dude." After a hour passed, the two boys heard the doorbell. They opened it to find the pizza delivery man holding the box of pizza in his hands. After paying him, he gave the boys the pizza, and the two boys returned to Stan's bedroom. The two boys ate their pizza while watching The Last of Us.
Stan remembered always saying he couldn't wait to be an adult, and every time he thinks about his younger self slapping him. He really should've listened to his parents, when they told him that being a adult is rough. But in moments like the present, Stan opened his eyes to see his room, and most importantly, his best friend, Kyle. At the time, Stan didn't know it was love, as he was too young to figure it out, but now he knew. He tried to pinpoint the exact time when he fell in love with his best friend, but the reality was that he always loved him, he just didn't know he was. Stan figures that's why it felt like his whole world was falling apart. It hurt when the others left, but losing Kyle was a different type of pain. At the time, he didn't understand why he didn't understand why Kyle leaving him hurt, but he now knew why it hurt him so badly, because he loved him. Kyle smiled at Stan, and they began holding hands. Stan couldn't have asked for anyone else to fall in love with him. He was extremely grateful. Stan moved closer to Kyle, and Kyle sighed, placing his head down Stan's shoulder.
Once it was fully nighttime, Kyle yawned, nuzzling his face into his best friend's shoulder, before pulling himself back up and stretching his arms, attempting to stay awake. He soon began getting up. "It's late. I should go home now." He said with sadness, but was smiling. As he was walking away, Stan pulled him down. "Can you please stay? If you're comfortable, that is." Stan stammered. "Of course I'm comfortable being around you. You're my friend! Just let me call my mom and let her know." Kyle laughed.
After watching TV for a few more hours, the two boys brushed their teeth. After they were done, Kyle examined his best friend, staring into his beady blue eyes while in Stan's bedroom. "Can I kiss you?" Stan whispered. Kyle couldn't help but smile, as his heart was pounding harder than usual, thinking about how it would feel like kissing Stan, albeit this time, with zero fears or hesitation. Kyle was caressing Stan's cheek, observing his best friend, while his chest became warm. Strands of Stan's black hair almost shielded his blue eyes, and the smell of his cologne was expanding Kyle's comfort, into something even bigger that was dizzying after he leaned in close for the kiss. He sighed before he fully went in for the kiss, turning his head slightly and moving closer, while Stan sighed back softly. Kyle wrapped his arms around Stan's neck, while Stan wrapped his arms around Kyle's waist. As the duo were kissing, their hearts and souls were combining for the first time in their lives. The two boys pulled out from each other for air, and stared at each others eyes before diving back in, with the intensity of their kiss resuming. The two boys pulled back out for air again, and once more staring into each others eyes again. There was complete silence for a few seconds. "That was… holy shit." Stan said, making himself and Kyle laugh. "Yeah, it was. Very different from our first kiss." Kyle said, while smiling. Stan smirked, saying, "Are you going to run out on me again?" "Wouldn't dream of it. Unless if it meant nothing to you?" Kyle said with modesty. Stan chuckled. "Yeah, as if that meant nothing to me. It meant everything to me." "It meant everything to me too," Kyle said almost breathlessly. "Good," Stan said, making Kyle laugh. "Yeah," he said, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss on Stan's lips again before leaning back.