Last Summer - South Park [Style]

THIRTY¬THREE [scars]

getting very close to the finale

2023

"No Kyle, I'm not arguing with you. He will pay for what he did to you." Stan's grip on the steering wheel is so tight that his knuckles turn white. But he can't let loose, his hands are too shaky. He barely can see the street through the anger in his eyes. "I don't know. I don't want you to get hurt. And I could lose my job." "Do you seriously want to continue working for that...that demon? Don't think that I'll allow that." Kyle falls back in his seat and crosses his arms. His eyes are filled with tears. "Can't we just forget about it and act like nothing happened?" Stan bites down on his bottom lip. He feels sick in his stomach when thinking about what Kyle had told him earlier. No wonder he was acting so distant lately and seemed gloomy all the time. If it wasn't for him nagging Kyle to tell him what's wrong, he still wouldn't know what had happened. Kyle even tried to distract from himself by talking Stan into getting a dog. At least he knows now why Toby got so excited when he saw Kyle. They had met before. "No." "Stan! I get that you are upset, don't you think I'm not? And I appreciate you trying to protect me but I really don't think it's a good idea. People like him are dangerous. And I just...I just want to forget about it. Let's just continue like we did before and get married and move to Aruba and stuff. Please!" "Kyle, he RAPED you!" The boy next to him lets out a sob. Stan bites his tongue. Shit. He wants to apologize, tell him that he didn't mean to say it out loud but in that moment the club appears to their right and he quickly pulls into one of the few parking lots. He turns off the motor and unbuckles the seat belt. "Stan." Kyle softly grabs his arms. "Do you not understand? It's my decision how I want to handle the situation. Not yours." He looks into the glassy green eyes. Kyle looks like a faint ghost. The sass, confidence and positivity have been gone for a while now. This is not the boy he fell in love with but still the boy he'd risk his life for. "Dude, compared to what I've been through before, this is not the worst. Please don't make a bigger deal out of it than it actually is." His voice is quiet and shaky. "What could possibly be worse than...this?" Kyle sighs. He bites his lower lip but then swallows down whatever is holding his voice back. "Do you like my hair being this long?" Stan furrows his eyebrows. What is up with Kyle asking him weird random questions lately? "Yeah, I love your hair. But how is this related to anything?" Kyle smiles weakly and then grabs Stan's hand. "You'd know if you had looked closely enough." He pulls Stan's hand towards his head and softly presses the fingertips down somewhere above his ear. "Can you feel it?" Stan tries to hide his confusion. At first he only feels the curly strands wrapping their way around his fingers. He pushes the hair away until he reaches the skin. Stan's fingers wander around without direction until the even ground changes. His eyes widen. He quickly pulls his hands back and looks into Kyle's tearfilled eyes. "It's a scar. I have one on the other side as well. You know what that means, right?" Stan tries to nod but he can't. "The doctor's said it was a miracle that I got away with barely any lasting damage. They couldn't explain it. I only had a few problems walking for the first year. And I lost all of my memory so I don't remember what led to it. Maybe it's better that way." Stan tries his best to hold back the tears. Kyle had tried to kill himself. Twice. But it had never worked out which was both a blessing and a curse because although he always had gotten another chance, the lost memory made it impossible for him to fix things and work them through. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Kyle shrugs his shoulders. "It's not really an easy thing to talk about." Stan nods but then the shock is replaced by anger. "And now this bastard dares to hurt you, after all you've been through! He deserves death. I'm going to kill him!" The back door opens and a man steps out. Stan's head shoots around. "Is that him?" "Stan, please!" He pushes open the car door and gets out. "Hey!" The man turns around. Looking at him, Stan's stomach fills with disgust. "Can I help you?" He walks over to him and grabs the man by the collar of his shirt. "You little rat, what were you thinking? That you can touch him like that and get away with it? I don't think so." The man seems stunned at first but when he says Kyle getting out of the car, his face relaxes. He starts to smile. "Did your little boyfriend tell on me? I don't know what idea he planted in your head but I did nothing wrong." "He's my fiancé, not my boyfriend and you are going to pay for mistreating him. I'm not scared of cunts like you." A dry laugh leaves the man's throat. "You seriously want to marry that bitch? That's sad. You could do better." "Don't call him a bitch, asshole." "Stan." Kyle grabs his arm, begging him to stop but Stan pushes him away. "Why? He is one. Sleeping with old men for money, a disgusting hooker. That is what you are marrying." Stan lets go of him, trying to process the information. He turns around to Kyle. "Is that true? You're a prostitute? I thought you're just a dancer." Kyle sobs again. "I am a dancer! But sometimes I... But not anymore! I swear I wanted to tell you but I was scared you could judge me and leave me. But I stopped because of you! Please Stan, I'm so sorry. I love you." "As if a bitch like you knows what love is. All you can do is shake your ass and go down on your knees because that is the only attention you'll ever get." Stan takes a step back, forms a fist and punches the man's face, aiming for his nose. He stumbles back. "Don't you dare talk to him like that, you prick!" "Oh, you'll regret this one." Kyle's shrill look out comes too late. Someone grabs Stan's arm from behind, a third man appears, swings his leg and kicks it with full strength into his stomach. Stan can feel all air leaving his body. He sinks onto the ground, gasping desperately for oxygen. "Leave him alone!" Stan's eyes fly around the scenery. He can't get up. Did that guy break his rips? Someone pulls Kyle away, he is screaming and yelling but Stan can't understand a single word. The man appears above him, holding a gun in his hand, smiling calmly. "I don't need a dead homo in my parking lot but don't worry, I'll make sure you remember tonight. If you ever show up here again, you and your bitch are dead." He raises his gun and aims at Stan's right knee. "Thank you for visiting The Blue Lagoon." He presses down the trigger. The sound bursts through his ears while the bullet rips apart his flesh, drilling itself into the bone. The next thing Stan feels is a sharp pain and then he feels nothing. Numb. The man looks at him one more time and then turns around. Stan tries to keep his eyes from falling shut. He wants to scream, yell for help but he can't open his mouth. The next thing he sees is Kyle kneeling above him, saying things Stan can't hear because of the mixture of foaming blood, his running heart and a strange beeping noise filling his ears. Kyle's face is flooded with tears, he grabs Stan's hands with bloody fingers, pressing them against his cheek while crying, crying, crying. The last thing Stan sees before passing out is how his fiancé pulls out his phone, dialing some number. Then he can't keep his eyes open any longer.