In the following afternoon, after spending some time sitting in the backyard, Shelly entered the kitchen through the backdoor. She opened the refrigerator's door and reached for an apple. At that moment, she heard two voices coming from the living room. One was Stan's. The other was of one of his friends, whose voice she didn't even bother to discern.
"Dude, that's really messed up." Stan proclaimed, certainly referring about something in the TV show they were watching.
"You tell me about it." His friend agreed.
Great, one of Stan's turd friends is here. Shelly then bit her apple and marched towards the living room. Through the doorway, she could see Stan and his friend, who was actually Kyle, sitting on the couch and watching TV. She planned to quickly go upstairs to avoid them.
"Hey, did you tell Shelly yet?" Kyle inquired. Upon hearing that, Shelly stopped short of entering the room.
"Tell her what?" Stan asked.
"You know what."
Now she was curious. She hid behind the wall and leaned her head close to the doorway to listen to their talk.
"I can't, and you know why."
"Yeah, because she'd probably get pissed."
"Not probably. For sure."
Shelly scowled. I knew that turd was hiding something! At that point, she considered barging into them and demanding them to tell her the whole story.
"But seriously, do you think her boyfriend's part of that?" Kyle asked.
"I really don't wanna think about that right now."
Shelly raised an eyebrow. My boyfriend? Part of what? Now she was determined to find out whatever that secret was. But before she could take any action, Kyle got off the couch.
"Look, man, I gotta go home." He announced. "Can't be late for dinner tonight."
"Oh, okay."
Stan turned off the TV and Kyle exited the house. Stan then got off the couch as well and walked to the stairs. He stopped at the first degree, holding on the handrail like if he was going to collapse, and hung his head in dismay.
"What the hell do I do?" He muttered, then went up.
Once he was out of sight, Shelly emerged from the kitchen and looked up the stairs, her mind processing everything she heard in the last minute. Whatever was the secret Stan and Kyle were holding, she now wanted to know.
"I'm getting to the bottom of this." She declared.
Later that evening, Shelly walked through the street she lived on. She reached one of the houses in the street and knocked at the door. After a few seconds, the door opened, with Kyle on the other side. That was the Broflovski Residence.
"S-Shelly?" Kyle exclaimed, surprised.
"Can we talk?" She requested.
"Oh, s-sure."
Kyle then cautiously left the safety of his house and walked with Shelly to the front yard. He was a bit nervous. What did Shelly want with him? With HIM?
"I heard you and Stan talking earlier today. Something about my boyfriend. I wanna know what it is."
Kyle already suspected that she was going to ask him something like that.
"Look, Shelly, you should discuss this with Stan. This isn't something I should be telling you."
"Oh, so now you're definitely telling me!"
Shelly took a step forward, and Kyle defensively took a step back, using his arms to shield himself from any possible aggression coming from her.
"Look, Stan's not fine, and we know that." She added. "Just tell me what's going on, for his own sake."
Kyle sighed in resignation. "Alright. About your boyfriend…"
"Huh."
"Turns out he has a brother, and he's one of the Eighth Graders."
Shelly scoffed in disbelief. "THAT was the problem?! Why didn't that turd just spit it out? I already knew that!"
"You did?"
"Yeah, my boyfriend told me. His little brother is one of those perverts, big deal. I'm not letting that bother me."
Kyle couldn't believe that either. Perhaps the whole situation was simpler than he and Stan thought. Perhaps a quick talk between the sibling could have ended it with no trouble.
"Okay, but… did you know about the pictures?"
"What pictures?"
"The ones that the brother has been taking of you two and showing to his pals. He's the same guy who wanted to buy pictures from you last week."
"Of course." Shelly scoffed again. "That was all? Seriously, why didn't Stan tell me something? Why to whine about this?"
"Well, because he feared that you could misunderstand it and break up with your boyfriend. He said you looked happy and didn't want to ruin your relationship."
Now Shelly was surprised that Stan showed such consideration for her.
"He… he said that?"
"Yeah, he did. But I told him that you could end up finding out by yourself, like you did just now, and get it all wrong anyway. I guess that's why he's been so down this whole time."
After finishing his sentence, Kyle looked to the inside of his home, like if someone was calling him. Probably his mother.
"I gotta go. Just talk to Stan about it, alright?"
He then entered his home and closed the door. Shelly stood still in the front yard for a few moments, pensative. Now it was all clear to her. Her brother was trying to protect her happiness, something she never though he would be willing to do.
"Stan…" She sighed. And then, with her mind set on something, she started walking back home.
Shelly returned home, and found Stan again watching TV in the living room. He already had dinner and intended to go to sleep soon. After closing the door behind her, Shelly started marching towards him. Stan didn't notice his sister until she snatched the remote off his hands and, pointing it to the TV, pressed the power button.
"Hey, I was watching!" He complained.
"We need to talk. Now." She stated, then threw the remote on the couch. Stan looked apprehensive.
"Uh, talk about what?"
"I know why you're so bummed. Your friend Kyle told me."
"What?! Damn, he wasn't supposed to!"
Stan now feared the consequences of Shelly knowing about her boyfriend and the Eighth Graders, but her response was the one he expected the least.
"But it was good that he did. Look, Stan, I already knew about my boyfriend's brother."
"You did?" His reaction mirrored Kyle's from ten minutes ago.
"Yeah. Well, I didn't know about the pictures, though. But you know what? He can take whatever pictures of me that he wants. If he's gonna show them to his friends, or use them as fap material, I don't care. I'm happy with my boyfriend, and I'm not letting that get in the way."
"Wow, that's… good to know."
Stan didn't know what he was feeling at the moment. Relief, maybe. He wasn't any more content, though. At least he could take this weight off his mind.
He got on his feet. "Well, since it's all settled, I… guess I'll go to bed already." He started walking towards the stairs, with Shelly watching.
"Stan?" She called.
"What?"
She pointed to a spot on the floor, in front of her. "Stay there and close your eyes."
"For what?" He asked, confused.
"Just do it."
Stan hesitantly complied. Immobile and with his eyes closed, he felt vulnerable. He couldn't help but wonder what would Shelly do to him now. Maybe punch him or kick him in the groin. Instead, what he got really surprised him.
He could feel her body pressing against his, and her arms around him. He opened his eyes and couldn't believe what he was seeing. Shelly was actually hugging him.
"S-Shelly?" He stammered.
"Thanks for worrying about me." Before Stan could say something, she released him. "Don't get used to this."
"Oh… okay."
Shelly then went to the kitchen to eat whatever there was left of the dinner. Stan stood in the living room, watching her leave, and satisfied with the conclusion of the matter, broke into a smile.