Last Summer - South Park [Style]

ELEVEN [silver]

2019

Stan woke up in the bathroom this time, to be exact he woke up curled up in the shower. The first thing he did was checking if the hair pin was still there but of course it wasn't. It was just a dream and the hair pin with that not real. But he has to figure out how to get his sleepwalking under control. Next time he could wake up in the principal's office. Or even better, in the middle of a lake. Or on a container ship to Tanzania.
The classes were pretty uneventful. He still has problems remembering the names of his teachers and classmates but at least he has Kenny to help him out. But Stan does catch himself spacing out from time to time, reliving his dream from last night. And then he ends up staring at Kyle who in his school uniform and with the concentrated look on his face seems so different from the Kyle in his dream. Stan can't see him ever being a stripper. Maybe he should start seeing a therapist again, the nightly fantasies he's having make him feel insane. But god, the kiss.

After the last class ends Stan makes his way to the gym to talk to the football coach. Kenny had told him that he'd have good chances getting into the team and Stan misses being out on the field. The gym is quite big but empty. The warm light of the afternoon sun shines through the tall windows and illuminates the beige floor. There are sounds coming from one of the small rooms probably used for storing sports equipment. Stan walks closer and when he arrives at the door he can see a man bend over a bunch of deflated volleyballs, looking for something. "Excuse me Sir, are you coach Patrick?" The man gets up and turns around. He must be in his fourties and has short brown hair. His body seems quite muscular and he is wearing a navy blue leisure suit. "I am. How can I help?" "My name is Stan Marsh, I'm new here and I've heard that the school has a football team so I wanted to know if I there was a chance I could join." The man's face lights up. "Have you played before?" "I've been playing at my old school for five years and I was quarterback for the last two so I'd say yes." Stan lets out a nervous chuckle. He doesn't like bragging with the quarterback thing because people quickly get the wrong idea. But he is very proud of it. "I like the sound of that. We actually could really use a new strong team member. Practice starts in 30 minutes so why don't you join today and we'll see how it goes?" That was easy. "That'd be great. Thank you." "Yeah yeah. You know where the changing rooms are? And have you been to the field yet? When you leave the gym go right and through the little wood. You think you'll find it?" "Yeah no problem. I should get my clothes then." He raises his hand for a short wave and then makes his way to the exit. "Don't be late!"

After changing in his dorm Stan got Kenny to show him where the football field is. Kenny then left again, he had to study. With surprise Stan noticed that Craig is on the team as well. He didn't expect that because although he doesn't know that guy too well, the one time they met, he didn't seem like somebody who is into team sports. And then he started to notice how some of the other guys gave Craig weird looks or threw insulting things into his face, all while the coach was just watching, not interefering. Stan would've said something because Craig didn't bother defending himself, he just kept flipping people off, but nobody really likes it when the new kid speaks up. A loud whistle interrupts that current exercise. "Ten minute water break!" Everybody leaves the field and Stan jogs over to Craig who is grabbing his water bottle. "Hey what's all this about?" He doesn't bother looking at him. "What do you mean?" "The bullying. Why are some such asses?" An emotionless short laugh leaves Craig's throat. "They are too brain dead to be bullies. That's just them being homophobic Christian cunts." Stan's eyes widen. "Are you gay?" Now Craig looks up, staring at Stan. "Do you have a problem with that?" "No no no! I just...I guess it doesn't matter." Craig turns away and leans against a tree. An awkward silence developes. At least to Stan it's awkward. "I don't get why people always need to label themselves. Yes, I have a boyfriend. But I don't call myself gay. I don't call myself anything. I'm just me." "I get that." "Oh really, do you?" Stan clears his throat. Should he tell him? Fuck it, why not. "Yeah I mean it's not the exact same for me. I know that I'm gay but I still don't manage accepting that. Maybe I'm still a little bit homophobic myself." Craig looks at him for a while before replying. "Be careful with who you decide to tell that. Some people, as you've noticed yourself, are assholes. It's easy to say that you don't care what they think or talk behind your back. But in reality it still hurts." Stan painfully remembers the last school year. He already went through the bullying and losing of friends. He doesn't need that ever again. "Well you won't use it against me. I hope. And I've known Kenny for years so I'm not worried about him either. And I don't really plan on making any more friends." "You think we're friends?" Stan grins. "I mean why not? If you want to of course." Craig doesn't reply anything to that so Stan just takes his silence as a yes. "You could get together with Kyle." "W-what? Kyle?" Stan feels the blood rushing into his cheeks. "You always stare at him. And now that I know that you're gay, I with my smart brain, came to the conclusion that you have a crush on him. You're lucky that he hasn't noticed yet." Is it really that obvious? Stan should be more careful. "And...why do you think I could get together with him?" "He's closeted. Obviously. You're hot. Not my type but I'm not blind. The amount of time he sits around in the library he has to be single. So why not?" Yeah...why not? "Break is over, back onto the field!" Everyone puts their water bottle down but Craig holds Stan back. "As far as I know he's really into basketball. There's a game on Saturday and a party at some other guy's place afterwards. Kyle will probably be there. So you should be there as well." Without waiting for a response he jogs away. Stan's eyes follow him. Why is he trying to help him? "Marsh, now!"

When he enters his room, Kenny is sitting on his bed, grinning at him, as if he had been waiting for him. Stan raises both eyebrows. "What?" Kenny gets up and slowly walks closer. "Sooo is this from your ex or do you have a girlfriend you didn't tell me about?" "What do you-" Kenny raises his hand. And there it is. Between his thumb and his index finger he is holding the silver sparkly hair pin. "Hey give that to me!" "Sorry I-" Stan rips it from his hand and then closes his fist. "Where did you find that?" "It was on your bedside table. Dude I'm sorry, I didn't know...I..." "It's fine just don't touch it again, okay?" His tone is harsher than intended but he doesn't really care, his heart is beating fast. Way too fast. "Okay." What does that mean? It was a dream so how can the hair pin actually exist? Did somebody know about it and tried to prank him? Did he talk in his sleep and Kenny heard that? He turns around and walks towards his bed. Stan looks closer at the pin. It's simply plastic with fake stones. But then he sees it. A single red curly hair. His breath gets stuck in his throat. And then he feels it again. The hand caressing hair, the lips on his, the lashes brushing softly over his skin. If the hair pin is a prank...then where did the hair come from?