Last Summer - South Park [Style]

TWENTY¬FIVE [pain]

2019

"Stan! God I hate you, you scared the living shit out of me!" The words press themselves through the pounding in Stan's head. He groans before slowly opening his eyes. "Ken?" "Thank god, you still know who I am. How are you? Do you need something to drink? Should I call a nurse?" "Nurse?" Stan turns his head to the right. Then to the left. He's in a hospital room. Why is he in a hospital room? "Ken what happened?" The boy sinks onto the chair next to Stan's bed. He looks tired. "I found you this morning in front of our door, you were unconscious. And you had a giant purple bruise on your forehead. Fuck, that was scary. I called an ambulance and they brought you here. Where were you? What were you up to? Who hurt you?" Slowly the images from last night reenter Stan's head. "I was...I...I was with Kyle." Kenny raises his eyebrows. "Real Kyle or future one?" "They are all real. But yes, I was in the future. And then I jumped back. But I wasn't in bed, I was in some sort of cabin somewhere in the woods, behind the school." "No you were lying in front of our door!" Stan sighs. "I was in the cabin but I was not alone. I had shackles on my feet and then this...this psychopath swung a baseball bat at my head and I was back in the future. I don't know how I managed to get back to the dormitory. Maybe the guy carried me?" "Dude..." Kenny's eyes are widened. "Are you serious?" Stan nods. Then he can see Kenny's widened eyes fill with water. "Dude are you crying?" "Fuck, you could have died! What the fuck is going on?" "I don't know, okay? I don't know. But I'm alright. I think? Did the doctor tell you anything?" Kenny nods. "He said you can come back tomorrow. The accident didn't cause any damage but you could have some headaches or feel nauseous in the next few days. But hey, let's talk about something else. I want to know everything." Thank god. So the stranger apparently didn't try to hurt him. He just wanted Stan to go back to sleep. Although his method to achieve that was very questionable. "About what?" "About your time travels, duh. And Kyle. What does your future look like? Will you become the number one football champion? And are you guys...you know...dating? But make it quick. I gotta go back to class in a few minutes." "What future do you want to hear about?" Kenny moves closer with his chair. "Are you telling me there are several ones? Is this some alternate universe stuff? Have you met my evil twin yet? What-" "Ken." Stan raises his hands. "Please. I can't handle that many questions at once. My head feels like it's about to break apart." "Oh sorry. Just start wherever you want." Stan takes a minute to sort his thoughts and figure out what information to feed Kenny first. "Okay so I don't always travel to the same time. So far I've either ended up in 2023 or 2027." "Woah." "Yeah. And no, I'm not a football star. I'm a dietitian. And Kyle...he never remembered me. First I met him in '27 where he uh...he worked at a supermarket. And he didn't remember me. And then in '23 he worked as...a... at a bar and didn't remember me either. Isn't that weird? As if something keeps deleting his memory. And we are dating but only in '23. He has a girlfriend in '27 which doesn't make sense either. So yeah. That's basically it. Oh and I have a dog." Kenny nods slowly but his eyes are filled with confusion. "Aha." "You don't believe me, right?" Kenny sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. "I'm trying. I want to believe you. But it's the weirdest thing I've ever heard. I've never believed in supernatural stuff so this is pretty hard to swallow." Stan's head sinks back into his pillow. This is hopeless. "I'm sorry dude. I believe you, okay? The information just has to...sink in first. But I gotta leave now. I'll come back after class so I can actually listen to you. Also I saw it's lasagna day in the hospital cafeteria. So you better not eat dinner before I get here so I can buy you some, eh?" Stan gives him a weak smile. "Promise." "Alright." Kenny gets up and stretches. "Get some rest, dude." He walks towards the door and waves at Stan before leaving the room.

Stan must have fallen asleep because the next thing he hears is the door being opened again. He's still in the hospital. So he didn't time travel? Even though he was asleep? Weird. Maybe naps don't count. But nonetheless it's still Kyle who now steps into the room. "Hey." Kyle's steps are slow, his eyes nervously wandering through the room, unable to stop at Stan's face. "How are you feeling?" Stan nods. "I'm alright. Got a bit of a migraine but apart from that I'm fine. What are you doing here? I didn't...I didn't think you'd visit. After everything. You can sit down by the way." Kyle looks at the chair but shakes his head. "I won't stay for long. And to be honest, I don't know what I'm doing here either. The news were pretty...worrying. I guess I just wanted to make sure you're alright." The thought of Kyle being worried and actually caring about him makes Stan smile a bit. "I thought you hate me." "Of course I don't hate you. I'm just trying to get over you because you obviously are a huge mess. I mean look at you, you're in a hospital." "Fair enough." Kyle crosses his arms. When their eyes meet, he looks away and studies the painting hanging on the opposite wall. A sunflower field. Pretty. "Listen Kyle, you have to believe me. I never wanted to hurt you and I'm extremely sorry. And I...I really like you." Kyle sighs, his face still blank. Just like Kenny he looks tired. They are all tired. "I do believe you. But it doesn't fix anything." Stan wants to say something meaningful, something that would change Kyle's mind and give him another chance. But his thoughts are numbed. And his tongue is suddenly too dry to talk. Kyle clears his throat. "I should leave now. Kenny is waiting outside I think. And you seem alright. So I guess I'll see you in class." He heads towards the door. "Kyle..." He doesn't turn around but he softly shakes his head. Then he leaves the room.

A/N
Poor Stan. I'm really not making life easy for him.