Somethings Change

The Truth

Stan stood awkwardly, still not sure what he was going to say. He had already walked all the way here and climbed the stairs. He was so sure of himself, but now he couldn't bring himself to knock on the white door. 'Maybe it's a mistake. Maybe he doesn't want to talk to me.' Stan tried to rationalize with himself. The other side of him reminded him once again that he's been trying to get his attention all week. Wrapped up in all his thinking, the door swung open inward causing Stan to take a step back.

"Cartman?"

"Oh hey! Ken looks like you got another guest." Cartman laughed, hauling his backpack over his shoulder. "And just when I was leaving, it's like you were trying to avoid me."

"Dude I didn't know you were back in town. What're you doing here?" Stan asked staring down at the shorter boy.

"Just paying Kenny a visit, but I gotta go. See ya!" He replied, pushing past Stan and walking down the stairs.

"Coming!" Kenny shouted running from the kitchen to the door. He grabbed it and opened it wider but stopped in his tracks when he saw Stan outside the door. "Stan."

"Hey, can I come in?" the blond stepped to the side without a word. Stan walked in, walking to the couch and taking a seat. Kenny closed the door and followed but didn't sit down.

"What're you doing here? I thought you didn't want to ever talk to me again?" He asked quietly. Bitterness shown in his voice despite trying very hard not to let it come out that way.

"I know it's weird for me to come here after avoiding you all week." Stan intertwined his fingers and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "I did want to talk to you, I just didn't know what to say. I still don't."

Kenny released a lot of the tension in his body that he hadn't realized he was holding. After a moment he took a breath and sat down next to Stan. "Well I don't really either, I just know that I don't want you to hate me."

"I don't hate you." Stan said rather rushed. "Look if there's something going on with you and Kyle its fine-"

"There isn't!" Kenny snapped back, quickly recoiling. "Look we hooked up back in middle school, after you got together with Wendy again." He admitted. Stan's expression looked hurt and betrayed.

"It's been going on that long?"

"No, it was only once. But he thought he might have developed feelings for me and I guess kissing him was my stupid way of making him realized he was wrong."

Stan thought for a moment, silence passing between them. "Does he?" Kenny shook his head and gave a reassuring smile to his friend. "Do you?"

Kenny huffed, lifting his hands to look at them. "For all the people I've been with, all the years I've been moving from one partner to another-" He looked up and stared at a picture on the coffee table of him and Butters when they had gone back to Hawaii last summer. Slowly he reached out and grabbed the picture, pulling it down to look at it. "There has only ever been one person I ever really loved."

The raven haired boy stared at Kenny, taking in the grin on his face and the light pink dusting his cheeks. There was love in his eyes, that same love he'd seen earlier between Craig and Tweek. But there was sadness too, a kind of longing that he knew very well himself. "Butters? Are you guys..."

Kenny simply shook his head, setting the picture frame back on the table. "He knows I love him, and he returns the feelings. But I won't date him."

"Why dude? If you both love each other then why not-" Stan asked, but then recalled what Kyle had told him before. "You don't want to lose him?"