i'll hurt her back (style)

deux

Wake up.

"Huh?" Kyle mumbles, still in a dazed state as he notices what's between his arms.

His face turns crimson. Kyle's arm is laid across Stan's chest as he cuddles to his side.

Kyle is transfixed, unable to do anything except stare at Stan's sleeping face, his chest rising and falling with every breath.

Kyle lays there for what feels like hours, too happy to even think about moving.

His gaze is finally broken when Stan's eyes twitch open, his gaze foggy.

"Kyle? He asks, "Oh, you're awake."

Stan seems to have not noticed their position yet, too bothered by sleep to even care.

He yawns, "I'm still tired."

Kyle looks at him, "You seem sleepy. Do you want to go back to bed?"

"Yeah," Stan nods into the pillow, his eyes closing.

By the time Kyle assumes Stan is asleep, Kyle can barely keep his eyes open. He closes them, one at a time, huddling even closer to Stan now.

Wake up.

Kyle opens his eyes, feeling hollow. He'd rather die than leave Stan.

Wake up.

Kyle sighs and lifts himself up and out of the covers. His body turns cold now that he's not warmed up by Stan's body heat.

Stan isn't bothered by this, obviously still asleep.

Suddenly, Kyle hears a ping on the other side of the bedroom. He walks over to the other side of the bed, only to find Stan's phone left on the stand.

One new message.

One. New. Message.

Kyle grabs onto Stan's arm and shakes him awake, wanting answers immediately.

"Wha- what's wrong? Kyle?" Stan stammers, unaware of his wrongdoings.

"You got a new girlfriend?" Kyle asks, scornful. He tries to keep it out of his tone, but it's a losing battle.

"Shit," Stan says, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Kyle- it's just that- well, she didn't want you to know we were dating."

Kyle stops breathing.

"Why," he says, so quiet Stan doubts he ever said it at all.

"Well- you know what the senior girls think of you," Stan starts off, "Not that I think that! I just- I really like her."

Kyle swears under his breath. "Okay, I'm fine with it. You don't need my approval, Stan. I just thought we could trust each other here."

"I know," Stan says. "I'm just willing to go out with anyone. They all think I'm cursed or something."

Kyle can barely contain himself. He wants all of these girls to fuck off. He wants them all to know that Stan is his, and it'll stay like that for as long as they both live.

Kyle takes a deep breath, saving his strong emotions for later, when he'll need them most.

"Well. Do you have any plans today?" Kyle asks, trying to change the subject.

Stan stares at him, smiling. "You think I have plans?" He laughs, "I always keep days after sleepovers free."

Kyle blushes. It's been a running joke ever since Kenny, Stan, and him were in middle school. Kenny, being the horny bitch that he is, was messing around one night. It ended in Kenny jerking off in front of them. Stan was weirdly cool with it and decided to joke around with Kenny about how they would have sex. Kyle was so close to ...punching... Kenny right then and there. Stan said he'd cancel his plans the next day for aftercare, and the joke still continues.

"But like, really. Jokes aside, are you doing anything today?" Kyle asks.

Stan shakes his head. "Nope," he says, "You wanna watch TV today?"

Kyle can't help the smile that's forming on his lips. Watching TV with Stan meant cuddling up at his side, feeling Stan's heat, having an excuse to slip his hand under Stan's shirt when he's cold-

"I'll take that as a yes," Stan says, "Now c'mon."

Stan gets up, and Kyle loves seeing him in his pajamas. He wears red flannel pants and a Tegridy Farms shirt that used to be his dad's, way too big for him now.

Stan's parents got divorced not so long ago, and Sharron got full custody of the kids.

And ever since Shelly went to college, Stan and Kyle have had the house practically to themselves when Sharron's at work. Kyle likes this a lot.

Once they both shimmy down the stairs and flop onto the couch, Stan grabs the remote and props his feet up on Kyle.

He flicks through some channels, but suddenly pauses when channel five comes up.

Kyle rolls his eyes, ready for Stan to piss his pants about the same Nelly Figg that he dated for a day in sixth grade.

"Channel Five news here. Today we're covering some new insights that the SPPD has spotted. Apparently, the kidnapper that has so far captured three young girls is a rich black man."

Stan sighs, "So they don't have any leads. I thought the police were supposed to be helpful; not just blame every crime on rich black men. Racist fucks. Remember Mr. Jefferson?"

Kyle pats his shoulder, huddling closer to him. "Yeah... they'll catch the kidnapper, don't worry."

Stan wraps his arms around Kyle, tightly. He rests his head in the crook of his neck. "God Kyle," He tells him, "I just can't help but feel so guilty. I've dated each and every one of them- even if it was barely a thing." He's talking about Nelly.

"Stan, you can't blame yourself." Kyle says, "It's just a really unfortunate coincidence."

When Stan changes the channel to something actually interesting, they get invested, barely paying attention to what they're doing.

Kyle only notices something's wrong when Stan tenses up. Kyle supposes he shouldn't have put his hand under the back of Stan's shirt without an affirmation.

Kyle's hand is currently rubbing circles on Stan's back, so he gently comes to a stop and removes his hand. When he looks back at Stan's face, he seems to have gotten a lot sadder.

Kyle can't bear to see Stan upset.

"Stan?" He asks, "Are you okay with me doing that- or?"

Stan nods a little too quickly. "Uh, yeah. Feels nice."

Kyle smiles as he slips his hand back under the fabric, his hand wandering up to Stan's shoulders and down to his waist.

They spend hours in this position, barely aware of how much time has passed.

Stan snaps out of the trance. "Jesus Kyle. It's already ten, and it's a school night. Your parents might be worried."

"Oh- yeah," Kyle says, panicking at the fact that he has to leave Stan, but knowing he has a good reason to.

They hug and Kyle gathers up his belongings, running out the door and straight across the sidewalk to his own house.

Kyle opens the door quickly and steps inside. He looks down at the bleached carpet and sighs, returning to his room. Kyle faintly hears his mother greet him, but he doesn't answer.

Tomorrow is a school day. Tomorrow will be when he sees Stan's new girlfriend. Tomorrow he will seek revenge.

He laughs himself to sleep, wondering how exactly he'll pull this off.

NIGHT TWO:

KYLE, Stan is slipping from you. Remove the girl. She's useless. Do better for him.

You deserve a four, KYLE.

A four is not a ten.