More Than Friends

Grounded

Kyle

Kyle waved back at Stan through the window, smiling to himself at his friend's obvious reluctance for him to leave. He turned and walked down the driveway. When his feet hit the sidewalk, he slowed his pace, dreading the moment he walked in his front door. A big part of him wanted to turn around and run back to Stan's house and hide out there for the rest of his life. Or at least until he turned eighteen. But he couldn't do that to Ike. Without him around, his mom would turn her nagging to his little brother. He sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets, kicking at a rock in his path.
All too soon he was standing in front of his front door, steeling himself to turn the knob and go inside. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing it quietly behind him. He saw Ike on the couch watching TV. When he noticed Kyle, he held a finger to his lips and pointed towards the kitchen, indicating where their mom was. Kyle nodded and moved quietly towards the kitchen. He poked his head in and found his mom sitting at the table, staring angrily at her cup of coffee.
"Hey, mom."
She looked up at him and narrowed her eyes. "Where have you been? And don't lie to me."
Kyle sighed, looking at his feet. "I was at Stan's."
His mom made an angry noise and stood up. "We've been over this Kyle. I don't want you hanging around that family. Randy Marsh is a stain on society that ruins everything he touches. He's in jail for pete's sake!"
Kyle glared back at her, his temper rising. "That's right mom, he's in jail and Sharon divorced him. He's not even in the picture anymore! So why can't I hang out with Stan?!"
His mom snorted derisively. "Someone like Randy doesn't go away that easily. I'd be surprised if Stanley doesn't end up just like his father."
Kyle's hands clenched into fists and he started shaking. "You take that back." His voice was deadly calm as he stared back at her. "Stan is nothing like his dad!"
His mom rolled his eyes at him.
"Kyle you need to learn now what kind of people to associate with, if you want to go somewhere with your life. It's bad enough you still hang around Kenny McCormick-"
"Don't." He cut her off. "Don't you dare say anything about Kenny! He fought hard to make a better life for him and Karen."
She made a noncommittal noise and crossed her arms. "I still hear things about that boy and what kind of weirdo he is."
Kyle slammed his hand on the table, unable to control his anger anymore. "God, when did you become such a self righteous bitch!?"
"KYLE!! How dare you talk to me that way! Go to your room!" She pointed towards the stairs, face red.
"Gladly." He said flippantly, glaring at her. He spun around and marched into the living room, heading towards the staircase.
"And you're grounded until I say otherwise!" She yelled behind him. He rolled his eyes and stomped up the stairs. When he reached the top he walked into his room slamming the door behind him.
Trying to reign in his temper, he took a deep breath and leaned against the door and closed his eyes.
As he felt himself starting to calm down, the shock of how he'd lost his temper with his mom settled in. He ran his hands through his hair, knocking his hat off in the process. Picking it up absently, he walked over and flopped down on his bed. He couldn't believe he'd yelled at her like that. It was as if all the anger and sadness he'd been holding in for the last six years had just come pouring out.
And honestly he was just tired of her trying to control his life. Ever since the whole thing with his dad being the world's biggest troll, she'd become obsessed with making everyone believe they were the picture of a perfect family. Hah, as if. She's such a hypocrite. He sighed and sat up, grabbing his ear buds off his nightstand and slipping them in. He scrolled through his phone and selected a song at random. Coincidentally Dead Inside started playing. He smiled to himself as his mind wandered back to last night when they'd all been hanging out in Stan's room.
Stan had gotten really good at the guitar. And even though Kenny was definitely the best singer out of the three, Stan was a close second. He sang along to the song playing as he thought about his best friend. Having Stan back seemed to have ignited a spark in him. He felt like he could handle anything life threw at him with his best friend back at his side. God, I'm such a sap. He turned the volume up on his phone and laid back on his bed. Apparently having angry outbursts at your mom was tiring because within minutes he'd fallen asleep.