Last Summer - South Park [Style]

FIFTEEN [symptoms]

Thank you for all the support so far. Makes me really happy to see that people are enjoying this story. ^^

2027

Stan steps into his apartment, well, the apartment of his future self, and immediately wants to walk out again. Fuck these dreams or whatever they are. He's sick of his brain ripping him out of reality because it confuses him, it messes with his memory and it's not even just that. Every time he travels through time, if that is even what's happening, he meets Kyle. And that is the last thing he wants to do right now. Where is he? Chicago again? He hears the waddling of four soft paws and a dog appears in the doorway that apparently leads to the living room. Stan doesn't know why but a warm joy fills his body. "Toby!" The dog answers him with an excited woof and runs over. "I'm sorry I'm late bud. Are you hungry?" Stan doesn't know how these words left his lips but Toby understood and is now waggling his dark brown tail. Scary. Stan doesn't like how the intruder in his brain seems to be gaining control over him. He can already speak without Stan having a chance at stopping him. Or maybe he's just trying to guide him? Stan shakes his head, he doesn't want to think about it. After some searching he finds the bag with Toby's dog food and fills up his bowl. And then he feels how hungry he is himself. He opens the fridge to see what's inside. A lot of veggies, some chicken breast, jam, a frozen pizza and oh - leftovers! He takes a closer look at the plate. Fish with steamed potatoes? In that exact moments Stan wishes from the bottom of his heart that this is not his future, that he is not travelling through time, he hopes that it's just a weird dream. The door bell rings. Stan wants to go open it but after a few steps he stops. Should he really risk it? Whoever is on the other side of the door could be someone who knows his future self. But Stan won't know them. What if it's a friend or a neighbor? What if they ask him something he can't answer? The best would be if he acts sick and sends them away. Good idea. The door bell rings again and he takes a big breath. Stan walks to the door, grabs the handle and opens it. When he sees who's standing there he nearly throws it shut again. He freezes. "Hey." The green eyes seem nervous and wander restlessly from one point to another, avoiding Stan's face. "I don't know if you remember me. We met a week ago. During my shift. You...I thought you wanted to buy weed." Kyle looks down at his hands. Enough. Stan is sick of it. He's done with that shit. Every single fucking time. Kyle is everywhere. "I know we only met once but...I need your help." And he never seems to remember Stan. He wants to scream, shake him, punch him in the face, do something that will end this infinite cirlce of confusion and hurt feelings. But then Kyle looks up, into his face. And Stan sees the pain behind his eyes. He isn't strong enough to send him away. "Yeah I...I remember you. What do you need?" Kyle raises his right hand. He is carrying a backpack. "I need a place to stay. The guy who...you know...the one who sold me stuff so I'd sell it to others...I owe him some money. Not a lot. But he's mad. And he was at my place. He is looking for me. With his people. If they find me, they'll beat me up. Or kill me I guess. I heard them in the hallway but jumped out of the window before they saw me. I can't go back there. They are just waiting for me to come home." Stan takes a deep breath. This can't be real. The whole "oweing someone money and now they are coming to get you" is something that happens in movies or books or...dreams. But this is not a dream. This is real life. And the sooner Stan accepts it, the quicker he can start figuring out why this is happening and how he can stop it. "How do you know where I live?" Kyle looks down at his hands again, playing with the fabric of his red hoodie. "You looked familiar from the beginning but I couldn't figure out who you are. When I went home the day we met I saw the posters and realized that's you. You know the ones with 'A healthy body allows a happy mind'. And then, when they came yesterday, I went to an Internet cafe and did some research. It wasn't that hard to find your address." Stan starts to feel overwhelmed with all the information. There are posters of him hanging around in the city? And what is that slogan? Probably the dumbest one he's ever heard. And is his address really that easy to find out or should he be worried? "And why me? Don't you have any family or friends?" "No I...I don't have family. And I can't stay at any of my friends' places, they'd find me there." Stan sighs again. He has no chance, huh? If he sends Kyle away he'll either get killed or has to sleep on the street. And he can't allow that to happen. Stan steps to the side to let Kyle through. The red head's eyes widen. "Really?" "Yes and now come in before I change my mind." Kyle steps into the hallway and looks around while taking his shoes off. Stan doesn't know what to say. Luckily the awkward silence is being interrupted by four white paws waddling closer. Toby checks Kyle with his eyes and then walks over to him. "Oh you have a dog! What's their name?" Kyle kneels down to pet him. The dog doesn't seem apprehensive at all. His tail is waggling again. "Toby." "That's a cool name. Hey look, he seems to like me!" Toby puts his head onto Kyle's knees and starts to pant in excitement. "Yeah as if you guys have met before. Anyway you should take a shower. Sorry dude but you smell." Kyle rolls his eyes and gets up. "What do you think someone who slept on the street and had no clothes to change smells of? Fabric softener?" Fair enough. "I'll give you some of my clothes. Bathroom is the first door on the right. But first I'd like to set up some rules." Kyle nods. "Sure." "Okay. During the time you're here I don't want to see any kind of drugs and I don't want you to consume them either. Okay? Also obviously no stealing or murdering Toby or me in our sleep. If you break any of them, I'll call the police." Kyle looks annoyed. But he sighs in defeat. "Alright. You can search my backpack and clothes while I'm in the shower. I only have some weed with me." "Okay go flush that down the toilet." Now he looks pissed. "Seriously? But weed is harmless!" Stan doesn't answer, he just crosses his arms. "Fine." Kyle pulls out a little bag and then turns around to go to the bathroom. As soon as he has closed the door, Stan kneels down next to the backpack. Maybe this is finally his chance to find out what is happening. Or he could at least find out more about future Kyle. He opens the main compartment but to his disappointment it's almost empty. He pulls out a water bottle and a pack of cookies. There are also a phone charger and a black wallet. Stan opens it. A few dollars, an ibuprofen, a key, probably the one to Kyle's apartment, a credit card and his id card. And a piece of paper where an address has been scribbled onto. Stan's address? He looks closer at the id card. Kyle looks cute in the picture. It must have been taken a while ago. The expiration date is June of 2030. And for the first time he sees Kyle's last name. Broflovski. Sounds...Polish maybe? He puts the wallet back into the backpack. The small compartment in the front is empty. Dammit. Stan gets up and knocks against the bathroom door. He can hear the turned on shower through the wood. "Are you hungry? I mean I'll force you to eat anyway so I don't actually care about your answer. I'm just trying to be nice." It takes a second before he hears a response. "Thanks, dad." Stan rolls his eyes and then goes into the kitchen to take the fish out of the fridge. The cold of the fridge has given it a grey colour and the potatoes look a bit sad but hey, maybe future him is actually a good chef and this will taste good. And Kyle looks like he could use the vitamins. Or just food in general. But what is he going to eat himself? Stan looks around and sees a pack of toast on the kitchen counter. Jam sandwich? Not the greatest dinner but whatever. He puts the fish into the microwave and makes his sandwiches. Toby joins him and watches his movements. Hey, Stan might be a boring dietitian in the future with no friends and a junkie on his couch but at least he's got a cute dog. When the food is done he puts the plates onto the coffee table in the living room and turns on the TV. Then Stan remembers that he promised Kyle some clean clothes. His wardrobe is full of tshirts, hoodies and button ups. He pulls out a pair of sweat pants, boxers, socks and a random shirt and puts it in front of the bathroom. Then he falls onto his couch and zaps through the different channels. Stan decides to stick with the sports channel for now and starts chewing on his sandwich. Only a few minutes later he hears steps approaching. "Seriously? Red Hot Chili Peppers?" Stan turns around but before he can cringe about himself for apparently listening to that band his heart stops at the sight of Kyle wearing his clothes. He looks so small and fragile. And yet so goddamn hot. "I...uh...yeah. Why not?" Kyle chuckles and falls down next to him. He looks at the plate. "I'm...I'm not hungry." "Did you eat already?" He shakes his head. Suddenly his voice is very quiet. "I'm...I'm currently trying to get away from...cocaine. I haven't had any in two weeks. Because I have no money. And I thought that maybe it's a sign for me to stop. It's really hard but I'm trying. But yeah I'm experiencing some withdrawal symptons. I'm not hungry anymore. You know?" Stan wants to put his arm around him and pull him closer but he holds back. After all they barely know each other in Kyle's eyes. "You still need to eat. Just because you don't feel it doesn't mean your body doesn't need it." Kyle nods. "I know." He picks up the plate and sticks the fork into the fish. "Thank you." He takes a bite and Stan can feel a shiver of relief going through his body when he sees Kyle swallow it. "Yeah don't worry, just leftovers from yesterday." "No I mean thank you for everything. I still can't believe you actually said yes and give me a place to stay. You're so kind. Why are you so nice to me?" Because I love you and would never do anything that could harm you. "I don't know to be honest. We...don't know each other but you seem cool and I don't want you to die." Kyle nods. Then they sit in silence, eating while watching a random football game. Stan is happy when he sees that Kyle nearly finished his plate. When he looks over to the red head he sees that his eyes are half closed and that he has pulled his knees up to his chin. "You look tired." Kyle answers with a mmh. "You can sleep on the couch. I'll get you a blanket." Stan gets up and takes the plates into the kitchen. Then he opens the wardrobe in his kitchen and pulls out a blanket and a flat pillow. That's all he has. He goes back into the living room and hands them over to Kyle who gives him a small smile. "Thanks." Stan turns off the TV and the light on the ceiling. Toby walks over to his own bed and lies down. Kyle has to smile while looking at the dog. The intruder speaks up. "See, you even got a room mate. Let's just hope he won't fart in his sleep. He tends to do that. That is why he doesn't sleep in my room." Kyle chuckles and puts down his pillow. "I think I'll be able to handle it. Night." He takes off the sweat pants and snuggles into the blanket. "Goodnight."

At first Stan heard soft snores coming from the living room after he was done washing the plates. He felt tired but didn't want to sleep yet. He was waiting for him to jump back into the present. But after using the toilet he noticed that the snoring turned into murmuring. Is Kyle in a phone call? Or are there other people? Did he not lock the door? He slowly walks through the hallway and grabs an umbrella. No need to walk into a drug baron without any sort of protection. He grabs the door handle, pushes it down and leans against the door. It slowly opens. The street lights shine through the windows and illuminate the room. But he can't see anyone. Toby is still in his bed and Kyle is on the couch. But his sleep isn't calm at all. He throws himself from one side to the other. Kyle whimpers. Is he crying? The sounds leaving his throat sound smothered. Is he having a nightmare? Is that one of the symptoms Kyle was talking about? Should Stan wake him up? He walks closer and kneels down next to Kyle. His face is wet and he is grabbing the blanket. "Please. Please. Don't." His voice is shaking. Stan puts a hand on his shoulder and starts to shake him softly. "Kyle. Wake up. Ky." It takes a while until his eyes slowly open and a bit longer until he seems to realize where he is. "Stan?" "I'm sorry, you had a nightmare. Are you okay?" Kyle starts to sob. "P-p-please stay. I c-c-can't-" "Ssh, I'm here. I'll stay. You're safe, I promise." Kyle robs a bit away so Stan can lay down next to him. As soon as he has put the blanket over them he can feel Kyle's hands grabbing his shirt and to cry against his chest. "I'm s-s-sorry." "Ssh, don't worry. I'm here." He puts his arms around Kyle and pulls him closer. "It's going to be alright." He listens to Kyle's sobbing while slowly running his fingers through his hair. It takes a while but then the sobs become less and quieter. A bit later Kyle's breathing is deep and rhythmic again. He has fallen asleep. And then the tiredness pulls Stan's eyes shut as well.