Stan sighed with relief as the bell for lunch rang and everyone evacuated the classrooms.
He and Kenny walked behind everyone else as they fought their way through the halls, their algebra quiz still fresh in their mind.
"How do you think you did?" Kenny asked. "I think I did alright."
"It actually wasn't that bad this time. Kyle helped me a lot last night." Stan explained.
"Oooh, helping you with what? A boner?" Kenny joked.
"Oh my gosh Kenny I can't deal with you sometimes." Stan groaned as he blushed.
"Too bad for you since you're stuck with me. Now all we need to do is figure out how to get Kyle stuck on you." Kenny said.
"Geez, Kenny."
"So, what does Kyle even like? Favorite food, favorite hobby, shit like that?"
"He really likes sweet things, and I know he also really likes Italian food. As for hobbies, I don't really know anything he likes to do for fun. He just.. cooks and cleans." Stan said.
"Like the perfect little house husband~."
"Shut up, Kenny." Stan sighed. "I guess he likes video games. He told me he plays them with his brother and friends. Other than that, I guess he really likes to sleep. If he's bored, he'll just nap."
"That's strange. He sounds like he's anemic." Kenny said.
"Huh?"
"Anemic. Like, he doesn't have enough iron in his blood. That could also explain how pale he is." Kenny said.
Stan's heart skipped a beat when Kenny mentioned blood. He shuttered slightly.
"Or it could just be that he's ginger." Kenny added.
"I'll ask him about it. Now that I think about it, he does sleep a lot. I'll find him almost every day when I get home from school in my bed-"
"He sleeps in your bed? Oh gosh, no wonder you're whipped for him. You never let anyone on your bed. Does he wear your clothes too?"
"...Shut up Kenny."
The two entered the lunchroom and sat down at their usual table. Their friends were already sitting down with their food.
"Good, Kenny's here. I need to talk to you guys." Cartman said.
"Great. What is it this time?" Tolkien asked impatiently.
"We're going hunting tonight. No scouting, actual hunting. We're gonna find some vampires if it's the last thing we do." Cartman said.
"That was a horrible way to put it. If you find a vampire, it will be the last thing you do." Stan added, looking at his phone.
"Shut your mouth, Stan. You're too much of a pussy to fight vampires anyway." Cartman said.
Stan bit his tongue and rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry I value my life over vengeance."
"Sorry to cut in, but going out tonight isn't going to cut it. The girls have a softball game tonight, and we have practice until five today." Tolkien said.
"I'm not excited about that." Kenny said.
Stan used to be on the baseball team, but school became harder and harder that he just couldn't juggle the pressure of being a pitcher and the never-ending schoolwork.
"Ugh, you guys suck." Cartman said and finally shut up to eat his food.
"We don't suck, we have responsibilities." Clyde said.
Stan began thinking. Tonight would be the perfect night to go out and eat with Kyle. Everyone would either be playing or watching softball. The diner in town would be perfect. Tweek and Marj could also come along.
Stan opened his text messages and opened his and Kyle's chat. He chuckled as he saw where Kyle chewed him out in the shower for acting like he did last night, but he eventually laughed it off as they went to bed.
Stan: Hey dude, you want to go eat at the diner tonight? Can Tweek and Marj come?
Kyle: Sure! That's sounds great! What time?
Stan: How about eight so the sun isn't up. The diner closes at eleven so we should have plenty of time.
Kyle: Sounds good to me I'll text the gc.
Stan put down his phone and smiled. He never thought about it before, but Kyle always knew how to make him smile. He knew for a fact he had smiled more times in the few days he's known Kyle than all those years with Wendy.
"Oooo, whatcha' smiling about, Stan?" Kenny asked, leaning over into his friend's personal bubble.
"Nothing." Stan said and tried to put on a stern face, but he couldn't hold back his smile.
"Oh, I know what it is. It's your new cruush~." Kenny grinned.
Stan couldn't even respond. He was too busy trying not to laugh.
"Oh, Stan, I forgot to ask you. Who is your new crush?" Tolkien asked, gaining the attention of every person at the table.
Stan felt dozens of pairs of eyes pinpoint him, and he blushed.
"I want to keep it a secret for now. I still haven't told them that I like them." Stan said.
"Oh but of course Kenny knows." Cartman interjected.
"I've met them. They're a cutie, too." Kenny said to the table of boys.
"Kenny! Don't say that!" Stan said, blushing harder.
"What? Are you embarrassed or something?" Kenny said playfully.
"I don't want them to know that!" Stan blurted out and immediately regretted it.
"Oh, so you're hiding a cute girl from us because you're afraid she'll catch feelings for one of us better looking dudes?" Clyde said jokingly.
"No!" Stan said a bit too loud.
"Oh jeez, calm your tits, Stan. Nobody wants your secret crush." Craig said, not looking up from his phone.
"And you! You haven't said a word today! You've been on your damn phone texting!" Clyde said to his best friend.
"I'm busy." Craig said. He looked up at Stan and winked. "Stan knows. But he isn't going to tell."
"Come on, Craig. I'm you're best friend! Please tell me!" Clyde begged, trying to sneak a look at Craig's phone.
"No I'm not because you're girlfriend is the biggest blabbermouth in the entire school and you tell her everything." Craig said, still texting.
"Stan pleeeeeaaase.." Clyde begged again.
Stan shook his head. "Sorry, dude."
Clyde groaned in frustration.
"Maybe another time, crybaby." Craig said.
"You ready to go, Kyle?" Stan asked as he grabbed his keys.
"Yeah, just let me get my shoes on." Kyle responded.
Stan stared at Kyle as he struggled to get his shoe on without untying it. That wasn't what he was looking at, though. It was Kyle wearing one of Stan's fishing shirts that hung on his body just right that made Stan admire him.
Kyle may have been two inches taller, but Stan was definitely wider and more muscular.
Kyle eventually wiggled into his shoes and the two exited the house into the warm night air.
"Thanks for letting me wear one of your shirts again. I'll do laundry when we get back." Kyle said.
"I like sharing with you." Stan said as they got into his truck. "And besides, don't my clothes cover your scent? So the vampires can find you as easily?"
"Yes, your scent overwhelms mine. If a vampire is in the area, all they would smell is my faint scent and your overpowering blood." Kyle explained.
"So, you smell like me? Like, right now?" Stan asked.
"Yeah."
"Do I smell bad?"
"Yes, you smell terrible. Just a whiff of you makes every vampire in the area scatter." Kyle sarcastically joked and they laughed.
They set off down the road.
"Do I need to pick anyone up?" Stan asked.
"No, Tweek and Marj both drive. They said they'll meet us there." Kyle explained.
Stan turned up the radio.
"Is heavy metal your favorite genre?" Kyle asked.
"Yeah it is. Do you want me to change it?" Stan responded.
"No, it's perfectly fine. I'll listen to anything. It's songs actually pretty nice."
"It's heavy metal rock music. It's the furthest thing from nice." Stan snickered.
"You know what I mean, you dork." Kyle said and smiled.
The middle of town was lit up nicely that night. The sun had just set, so the west side of the sky was still a dark shade of purple.
The diner wasn't packed tonight thanks to the softball game. There were still a lot of older couples and Stan recognized some cars from the parking lot from school.
Stan pulled into a parking spot and they both exited the vehicle.
"It's not that humid tonight. It feels great." Kyle said.
"I still don't like the warm air." Stan said and they walked around to the front of his truck.
"Hey guys!" Tweek said as he approached them. He wasn't in his work uniform, instead he wore a green flannel and some black jeans. His unruly bangs were pulled back by a hairband. Stan could now see he had a couple of piercings as well on his ears.
"Hi Tweek. Have you seen Marj?" Kyle asked.
"Don't worry, I'm here!" A tiny voice called to them across the parking lot.
Stan turned his head and saw what he first thought was a child scurrying towards them. The more she got closer, the more Stan became aware of why Kyle had told him about her being trans.
If he hadn't, he would have never known.
Marjorine was a very small and skinny person. Her body shape was very feminine except for her flat chest. Her golden hair went down to her shoulders and her bangs slightly covered her heart-shaped face. She had sparkly blue eyes and long fluffy eyelashes.
She wore an adorable blue dress with a white cardigan. A small pink purse nearly fell off her shoulder as she ran up to them.
"Kyle! Tweek! Hi fellas!" Marjorine exclaimed and hugged them. She didn't even sound like a boy either. She had a very soft and light voice with just a hint of a southern accent.
"Oh my goodness! I missed you guys! Oh! You must be Stan! Pleased to meet you." Marjorine took Stan's hand and shook it softly. Stan smiled in return.
"Thank you so much for looking after Kyle for us. I'm sorry, I feel so bad I wasn't here." She said.
"Marj, what did we tell you. Don't apologize for things that aren't your fault." Kyle said. "And stop making it seem like I'm some helpless infant. I chose to stay with Stan."
Marjorine giggled. "Sorry. Force of habit."
The four walked inside and were quickly sat at a booth. Tweek and Marj sat down together while Stan and Kyle did the same.
"So, Kyle. Does he know?" Marjorine asked quietly.
"Yeah, he knows. I promise he won't tell anyone." Kyle reassured and Stan nodded.
"Okay, just making sure before we start talking about some weird things." Tweek said and twitched.
"So, Stan! Do you go to school? What's it like?" Marj asked with a curious expression.
"I do. It's not as fun as you think it is. It's really boring and everyone is a backstabber." Stan explained.
"I've always wanted to go. Not because of the schoolwork and stuff, I've just always wanted to be a cheerleader." Marj swooned, getting lost in her imagination.
"The cheerleaders are the worst people in the school. They're really mean. I know from experience." Stan said.
"I don't understand why you and Kyle are always talking about wanting to go to public school. Everyone is mean and there's thousands of germs. It's gross." Tweek said.
"Finally, someone who makes sense in this friend group." Stan exclaimed.
"Well maybe you can get your new boyfriend to sneak you in one day so you can see all those germs for yourself." Kyle said.
"Gah! Craig's not my boyfriend!" Tweek said.
"I never said it was Craig." Kyle smirked.
"Craig couldn't put his phone down today. He's really interested in you if you can hold his attention span for that long." Stan said.
"Yeah, he kept me up all day when I was supposed to be sleeping. I don't mind though! He's really sweet." Tweek said and his face turned pink.
"Aww! That's so adorable!" Marj said. "I wish I could find a boy like that. I want him to be completely obsessed with me."
"You won't be saying that when you're locked in a dark basement because your obsessed boyfriend decided you can't be around other people." Kyle said.
"I wouldn't mind. That just means he wants to spend more time with me!" Marjorine said happily.
"Oh, Marj." Tweek sighed.
Their waiter came by and ordered their drinks and food. They returned quickly with the drinks.
"I can't wait to eat. We never get to eat out like this." Tweek said and took a sip of his drink.
"Really?" Stan asked and all three of them shook their heads.
"We just never thought it would be appropriate to show up out of nowhere and act like we've lived here for our entire lives." Marj explained.
"But you have, haven't you?" Stan asked.
"Yes, we have. My parents have run that coffee shop since before I was born." Tweek said.
"My parents have been expanding their business a long time too." Marj explained.
"Who are your parents, Marj?" Stan asked.
"Oh. Stephen and Linda Stotch." She responded.
"The Stotches? Their one of the richest families in the town!" Stan said.
"So are the Brovloskis and the Tweaks." Marj said.
"You're right. Oh great, I'm surrounded by rich kids." Stan said.
"Come on. If you've been alive for two hundred plus years and aren't rich, you're doing something wrong." Kyle whispered to the three. The two other half vampires nodded.
Stan looked around the restaurant and froze when he saw the entrance. In walked Kenny, Cartman, Craig, Tolkien, and Clyde.
"Oh shit.." Stan whispered.
"What is it?" Kyle asked.
"Kenny, Craig, and some dudes from school are here." Stan said and shrunk down in his seat.
"Craig's here?!" Tweek exclaimed and turned to look.
"Is that a problem?" Marj asked.
"I haven't really told anyone about Kyle yet besides Kenny and Craig. I don't want them to think I'm ditching them." Stan explained.
"Just pretend you didn't notice them. It'll be okay." Kyle suggested and Stan relaxed.
The four resumed their conversation and Stan instantly calmed down. He figured if his friends needed him, they could just go over to where he was. He figured Kenny would walk over eventually.
To his demise, the five boys did notice him.
"So that's who you're crushing on, Craig?" Clyde asked.
"Mm hm." Craig mumbled and continue to send glances in Tweek's direction.
"Wow... it's just I thought you were done with relationships after the whole ordeal freshman year." Tolkien said.
"Yeah... so did I." Craig said. "I still can't believe Clyde made me break down and tell you guys."
"It was worth it though! When are you going to ask him out?" Clyde asked.
"Soon." Craig said and smiled.
"I still don't understand why Stan is over there with them. I've never seen those kids before in my life." Cartman said.
"See the redhead? That's Stan's new tutor. They've become really close." Kenny explained. He hasn't been able to look away from the table ever since they saw it.
"So Stan actually found a tutor who can help him? That's a miracle. Wendy didn't do jack shit for him." Tolkien mumbled.
Craig noticed Kenny's staring problem.
"What are you looking at, McWhormick?" He asked.
"The blonde." Kenny replied without looking away.
"Back off, Kenny. He's mine." Craig threatened.
"Chill, dude. I'm not looking at your new little boyfriend. I'm looking at the cute thing sitting beside him." Kenny said. He propped his arms up on the table and held his head in his hands.
"The girl in the blue dress? She's pretty cute." Tolkien added.
Kenny was silent for a moment. He droopped his eyelids and a big, lovestruck smile spread on his face, a look his friends knew all too well.
"Uh oh, Kenny's thinking with his dick again." Cartman mocked.
"I need her number." He said.
They all saw her scoot out of her seat suddenly and begin to walk to the exit.
"Let me out. Let me out! Move, fatass!" Kenny said and crawled over Cartman and Tolkien in the booth they sat at. It was quite a shuffle.
"Kenny dammit!" Cartman yelled as he was trampled over but the blonde ignored him. Kenny sped off to the exit where the girl had already walked outside.
He threw open the doors and frantically looked around. His heart leapt when he saw her by a little red car, which was fatefully parked right beside his truck.
Marjorine opened her car door and rummaged around in her middle console.
"Come on, I know I left my money in here.." she muttered. She couldn't believe she walked in there and didn't check for her cash first. Stan offered to pay but she quickly denied before walking out.
She heard someone approaching her vehicle. She assumed it was Kyle or Tweek coming to help her.
"Hey." An unknown voice caused Marjorine to jump and looked up.
She saw a tall, skinny boy with dirty blonde hair and purple eyes. His skin was slightly tan and had a few freckles here and there on his face and arms. His hair almost touched his shoulders and looked as if someone took scissors and cut hastily down at the ends. He wore a plain black shirt that fit over him very well, baggy jeans, and adorned a couple of piercings on his ears.
Marjorine couldn't deny he had a handsome face. He wore a friendly grin. She looked up at him and smiled nervously.
"Hi." She said. His smile seemed to get wider.
"I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, but I just noticed you were sitting with Stan and the others." He said in a sweet, flirtatious voice. He had a deep southern accent that made Marjorine's stomach do backflips.
"Oh! Yes, me, Kyle and Tweek have been friends for a long time, and I just met Stan tonight. He's very nice." Marjorine explained.
"That's good. Me and Stan are childhood friends. I'm Kenny, by the way." Kenny said, brushing some of his hair out of his face.
"I just seemed to notice I've never seen you around here. Do you live out of town?" Kenny asked, inching forward.
Marjorine held her ground. "I've lived here my entire life. I was homeschooled, which is why you've probably never seen me."
Kenny stopped when they were maybe three inches apart.
"What's your name?"
"I'm Marjorine. Marjorine Stotch." She responded with a big smile.
Kenny's eyes grew big. "Stotch? Like Stephen and Linda Stotch? Are you like their daughter or something?"
Marjorine giggled. "Yep. I'm their one and only child."
"Whoa. I'm shocked. This is the second time this week I've met the child of a couple I thought didn't have any children." Kenny explained.
"They like to keep me a secret." Marjorine joked. "I'm their precious little baby."
"Well Ms. Marjorine Stotch, I have a question for you." Kenny said and stepped even closer to where Marjorine was now looking up at the boy.
"Yes?" She asked.
"Can I have your number, please?" Kenny asked with a faint blush on his face.
Kenny knew what to expect. She'd blush and turn all gooey like any other girl he's talked to. She'd be all shy about it, saying he was "too nice" and try to decline but inevitably give him her sacred number. She'd ask for something in return, wether it be a small kiss or something much more intimate. To him, girls were quite predictable.
"Oh! Sure!" Marjorine exclaimed. She didn't become flustered or flirty like Kenny was prepared for; she just took out her phone and opened up her contacts.
Kenny was taken aback by her behavior. He was a tad bit bummed out that she didn't mirror his flirtatious demeanor, but at least she didn't say no. Or even worse, ew.
Kenny pulled out his phone and quickly put in Marjorine's information, and texted her just to be safe she didn't give him a fake number.
If it were any other girl, Kenny wouldn't have cared that she gave him a fake number. Except for Marjorine. He needed her number at that point.
Her phone lit up with Kenny's simple 'hello' message on the bottom of her screen.
"There we go! Thank you, Kenny. I haven't made a new friend in years!" Marjorine exclaimed.
The word 'friend' felt like a stab to Kenny's confidence. He still smiled.
"You're welcome, Marjorine. I better head in back inside. My friends are probably wondering where I am. I'll see you later." Kenny said and slowly backed away.
Marjorine waved her hand goodbye and went back to looking in her vehicle without a second glance.
By the time she found her cash, Kenny was back inside the diner.
"So how'd it go, lover boy?" Cartman asked as Kenny walked back inside and sat on the outside of the booth instead of returning to his original seat.
"Not quite what I expected." Kenny said.
"Did she turn you down?" Clyde asked.
"It depends on what you mean by that. I asked for her number, and she just said yes without even blushing." Kenny explained. "It was a little underwhelming, but I'm glad she didn't say no."
"Oh, I'm so sorry not everyone wants to be fucked by you the second they meet you, McWhoremick." Cartman joked.
Kenny shot him a middle finger.
Meanwhile, back at the other table, Marjorine returned to her seat.
"Hey guys? I had just had a weird encounter in the parking lot." Marj said as she sat down.
"Why? What happened?" Kyle quickly asked.
"I was getting my cash out of my car, and a boy approached me. He said he knew you, Stan. His name was... Lenny?" Marj pondered.
"Kenny? Kenny McCormick came up to you and started...talking?" Stan exclaimed.
"Yeah, that's his name! He just came up to me and asked me simple questions, like what my name was, who my parents were, stuff like that. He was getting really close to me too. I don't know why." Marjorine innocently said.
Kyle's mouth was wide open at that point. Stan was shocked as well.
"He asked me for my number too. I think he wants to be my friend!" She happily said.
"Oh, Marj." Tweek said once again.
"What is it?" She asked.
"Marj, I love you to death, but you absolutely cannot take a hint, can't you." Kyle said and placed his head in his palm.
"Huh?"
"Marjorine he was trying to fu-" Stan said but his mouth was quickly covered by Kyle's hand.
"Marj, sweetheart, Kenny asked you for your number because he likes you." Kyle explained.
"What!" Marjorine jumped. "He likes me? Why didn't he just tell me?" She blushed slightly.
"I think he may have been a little shy about it." Stan said. "Which is a first.." he mumbled.
"Oh, hamburgers.." She said and bit her nail.
The tension was broke when their food arrived to their table. The four didn't realize how hungry they were until their food was in front of them.
"It's no wonder Kenny would try to make a move on Marj. He can't resist anything with a pretty face. Except... I don't think he realizes Marjorine is trans.." Stan thought in his head as they ate.
"Hey, Marsh!"
"Speak of the devil."
Kenny plopped himself down beside Stan with a happy grin.
"Hey, Kenny." Stan said with a mouthful of fries.
"What are you guys doing here?" Kenny asked and took a fry off of Stan's plate and ate it.
"Um, what are you doing stealing my food?" Stan said back.
"Listen, I'm starving and you aren't the one who has been at baseball practice all day." Kenny said and took another one.
Stan looked at Marjorine who still had a faint blush in her face.
"Hey, Kyle. Who are y'all's friends?" He asked the redhead.
"Hey, Kenny. This is Tweek Tweak, and this is-" Kyle began.
"Marjorine Stotch." Kenny finished his sentence for him. He looked over at the blonde girl and smiled.
Marjorine grinned back. "Hello again, Kenny."
Kenny stared at her for a few more seconds before turning to Tweek.
"So you're the one who's got Craig tied up in a knot." He said. Tweek jumped.
"Huh? He told everyone at school! Oh gosh!" Tweek exclaimed.
"Not everyone. Just the whole baseball team." Kenny said.
"Clyde finally got to him? That's a relief." Stan said.
He felt Kyle shift out of the booth.
"Where are you going?" Stan asked.
"To the bathroom. Want to come with me?" Kyle said with a smirk.
"Maybe another time." Stan said and winked.
He saw Tweek and Marjorine watch as Kyle walked away. Once he was out of earshot, they turned back to him.
"Alight, Stan. We have a very important question for you, and we want you to be honest." Tweek said.
Stan's heart began racing. "S-sure what it is?"
"When are you going to ask Kyle out?" Marjorine asked.