Fortune Park: A South Park AU

Chapter 7: Barbecue

  The weekend had come around, and like Kyle promised, he was throwing a neighborhood barbecue party.  He had a lot of burger meat, but nobody questioned him on how he got so much, since his only answer was that it was "homemade" and that the recipe was a secret.  

Kenny: Dude, this burger kicks ass! 

Kenny seemed to be enjoying it more than anybody else there.  Stan watched Kenny eat three or four burgers before gingerly opening his mouth to speak.

Stan: So..uh..how'd you get that much done on your own?

Kyle: It's Cartman-Burger.  We work when nobody looks, dude.

Stan: But, Cartman's been gone-

Kyle: No, he is working with me.  What, you think that I could've made him go missing or something? Ha, no way!  He is just taking a break from people, remember his "Social anxiety?" Well he still has it!

Kyle's laugh was obviously fake, and Stan ignored it.  He sighed and wondered why Cartman was not coming back to town yet, since it had been over a week at this point.  He started thinking that he wouldn't be able to see his friend again, and got upset at that thought.  Even though Cartman was a dick, Stan still cared about him.  He started wondering about Kyle hiding something nobody else knew about, since he was so aggressive about pushing the idea that Cartman was doing okay even though he hadn't even been in contact with his mom.  Nobody else seemed worried about him except for his mom, and that made Stan kind of upset.  He noticed that Kyle was looking..well.. put together "too well" today.  That unsettled him, but he tried not to say anything about it.  He thought it was either the way his eyes looked sort of dead, or it was the way he was acting.  

Stan: Erm.. thanks for having us over, though.  I appreciate being able to hang out with you again after all this time passed.

Kyle: Mhm.  It does feel nice having you around again.

Kenny: Yeah, I missed this.  It feels just like when we were little again.  It would be complete if that fatass was here though.

Kyle nodded but didn't say anything.  He tried to change the subject.

Kyle: So, remember when we played heroes?

Stan: Yeah dude, that was badass!  You were doing awesome as The Human Kite! And Mysterion was super cool too!

Kyle giggled remembering the fights they had and the adventures they went on.  Something inside him made him regret killing Cartman, and it made him feel sick.  He refused to admit what he did though.   He did end up getting rid of all the meat at the barbecue, though so there would be no way to find his remains.  Another side of him kept telling him to kill again, but he knew that would be wrong, considering that he finally got rid of that waste of space named Eric Cartman.  He noticed Stan was acting different all of a sudden, and then saw that he had his thermos with him.  He hoped Stan didn't try to sneak some liquor to the barbecue.

Kyle: Aw, dude! You're drinking..again?! What the fuck??

Stan didn't answer Kyle, but he did eventually start giggling quietly.  Kyle rolled his eyes.

Stan: Euheheheheh...you look funny Kyle.

Stan poked Kyle's face with his index finger and laughed. 

Kyle: You've gotta stop it man! Alcohol isn't good, especially for a 15 year old!

Stan: Fuck you! You can't tell me what to do!

Stan flipped him off and almost fell over while he tried to stand normally.  Kyle rolled his eyes and helped him sit down.  

Kyle: You're right, I can't force you to do anything.  But please, just try to think about your friends and family.  You see how your dad gets, don't you??

Stan: Whatever, fucking dickhead..

Kyle: Okay!  Just drink some fucking water, alright??

Stan sighed loudly.

Stan: Fine.

Kyle fetched a bottle of water out of the ice chest that the adults kept their beers in, and quickly went back to Stan, who reluctantly drank the water after it got handed to him.

Kyle: Feel better..?

Stan: I guess.

Kyle let out a sigh of relief, and Stan got up to get a Mountain Dew.  All he could do is sit there and hope his friend didn't try to sneak more alcohol by mixing it into the soda when Kyle wasn't looking.  Luckily, he didn't pull another stunt similar to that for the rest of the night.  Eventually, people started to leave because it was getting late.  Kyle said goodbye to the people leaving.

Kenny: Thanks for having me over, but I gotta go man.

Kyle: Mhm.

Kenny: But Gawd daamn, that burger was the fucking BOMB.

Kenny waved goodbye, and then walked down the sidewalk.  Kyle realized Stan was trying to leave, but he was not in the right state to walk alone.  

Kyle: Dude.. are you going to be alright?

Stan: I mean.. I guess so?

Kyle: Do you want to stay here for tonight?

Stan: Sure..?

Kyle ended up letting Stan stay the night at his place.  After a while, they were sitting on his bed.  Stan was on his phone, scrolling, and looking at something or another.  Kyle sat there and admired him.  He was glad that nobody knew about his actual feelings, or the things he'd ended up doing up until now.  He leaned into Stan, letting himself get absorbed in the way the moment was like, and how it had affected him.  He did kill Cartman to protect Stan from him, after all... didn't he?  Yeah, that's the only justifiable reason he could come up with.  It would be bad if he... slipped up, and ended up hurting Stan in some way or another.  Stan could feel Kyle's breath on his neck, the way it was a gentle, damp warm brushing against the skin on his neck occasionally.  The comfort he was currently feeling eventually caused him to drift off into being asleep, and not much later Kyle also fell asleep.