Kyle: I doubt he'll take us in

Well at least Kyle was alive; Stan had begun to think he was ignoring him for some weird purpose.

Stan: Where are you and where's my car?

Kyle: Live there on your own. I don't want to waste anymore of your time. This is for the best. Love you

Stan dialed his boyfriend's number, waiting to hear his voice. What did he mean this is for the best?

Once again like all the other times, straight to voicemail. Great, just great.

"Look I don't know what's going on with you lately, but come back here now please. Talk to me Ky, for Christ's sake talk to me!"

Hopefully Stan's voicemail would get heard by Kyle and he'd return back to Uncle Jimbo's with Stan's car. Stan prayed he'd see Kyle's caller ID come up on his phone.

Maybe sometime soon Kyle would pull into the driveway with Stan's car. Stan carried his luggage in through the door of Uncle Jimbo's house.

"Where's Kyle?" Uncle Jimbo walked out from the kitchen with a beer in hand. "Long story, can I borrow your truck?" Stan asked.

Uncle Jimbo tossed him the keys, "Better not wreck it."

Stan nodded and raced out the door to the garage. He backed out once the garage door went up.

With a hopeful wish inside his mind, Stan hoped Find My iPhone would work its magic.

The locating process took about a minute. Stan called Kenny and kept it on speaker. Kenny answered right away, "Hey dude." "Kyle stole my car."

"He what?" Kenny asked. "I drove to my Uncle Jimbo's to see if he'd take us in and he agreed. Kyle wanted to stay in the car so I went in and explained everything to him. When I texted him that my uncle agreed he didn't text back. I went outside and him and my car were gone."

"Did you track his phone?" Kenny questioned. "Yes but it won't work well without wifi." Stan responded, still trying to drive.

Kenny spoke up, "Come over and use our wifi." "Thanks dude, on my way." Stan hung up and pressed on the gas pedal a little harder.

Stan finally got to Kenny's house. He slammed the truck door shut and hurried up the driveway. Kenny had texted him saying to just come in.

Kenny came out from his room when he heard the front door shut. The two friends sat down on Kenny's worn out sofa.

His parents were planning to get a new one but had to use the money for some of the mortgage payment instead.

"He hasn't said anything to you?" Kenny looked over Stan's shoulder at his phone. Stan was typing in the information needed to track Kyle's phone.

Stan pulled up the very few texts between him and Kyle from earlier. "This is for the best?" Kenny looked really confused.

Stan sighed and shrugged lightly. Find My iPhone had presented an address on Stan's phone. "Where is he?" Kenny asked looking at the phone screen.

"I don't know, just some address." Stan replied. "Well let's go." Kenny stood up from the couch as did Stan.

Kenny and Stan hopped into Stan's Uncle Jimbo's truck. "So we're just gonna show up at this address?" Kenny wondered.

"No Kenny we're going to hang out at the mall, yes we're just going to show up!" Stan replied sarcastically but also angrily.

Kenny sighed, understanding his friend was just frustrated with the situations that kept coming up in his life unexpectedly.

Stan never asked for this, but things in life just happen on their own at different times.

Kyle had it a little harder though, denying the situation seemed to make him a little less anxious.

Pretending his meltdowns didn't exist made everything seem fine, at least just for a little awhile.

The GPS on Stan's phone navigated them the whole way to the mysterious address, it was a a half hour ride.

Once the GPS let them know they had reached their destination they pulled up to an abandoned department store building.

They were out of South Park, not even in their town anymore. Kenny and Stan remembered when this building burned down.

A few years back some teenager who went to the high school in the town they were in. This teenager was under a lot of stress.

His parents abused him and made him feel worthless. The teenager's parents owned the department store, so he burned it down one night...with them still in the store.

That kid was never found again, he fled South Park after the incident. You couldn't call it an accident.

It simply wasn't, that's the story Stan heard at least.

Builders and constructors of the town tried to rebuild it, but a lot of damage was done. The windows were dirty and the glass was thinly cracked in several parts on each window.

The 3 floors were still stable. It seemed to be higher than three floors if one was to go up to the roof.

Well, one did go up there. Stan and Kenny jumped out of the truck.

Stan spotted his car parked diagonal in the overgrown grass.

He ran over to it in case Kyle was in there. He however was not, but his bags were.

"Kyle!" Stan called out. Him and Kenny walked up to the destructed building. One of the building numbers wasn't bolted into the outside wall, seemed like it could fall off any second. A loud crash came out of nowhere.

"Kyle, you in here?" Kenny pushed on the door, which fell off its hinges after Stan walked through the doorway.

It almost knocked him over onto the beaten-up first floor but he jumped out of the way just in time.

What made Stan and Kenny go for the unsafe-looking stairs and run up them was the yelling and hollering of a familiar voice.

"YOU WANT ME TO ACT LIKE A FUCKING DICK TO THE PEOPLE I LOVE? WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME? I'M A FUCKING MESS! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? I KNOW THIS IS NOT WHO I AM!" Kyle, could you even say that was Kyle by now?

The change in his actions and the change in the way he did brought out this terrible demon who was nowhere near the same as the old Kyle.

Stan saw Kyle standing on the roof ledge. The sight made his heart feel as if it went into his stomach. "Ky get away from there!" He yelled, frightened to his very soul.

"YOU TOOK MY LIFE! I HATE MYSELF NOW! WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO IT?" Kyle wasn't screaming at a person, only the sky. It had been getting dark quicker than normal, or it just seemed that way.

The sky was medium blue; the lake was
viewable over the huge ragged plant and weed field that stood about 6 feet high behind the wrecked department store.

"WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME? I JUST WANT MY LIFE BACK! GIVE IT BACK! GIVE IT BACK GODDAMN YOU!" Stan and Kenny took a wild guess that Kyle was yelling at God. Why else would he be screaming at the sky?

Just another scenario added to the list of unexpected. Nobody was keeping an actual list except for Stan.

He was keeping track of everything done by his boyfriend in his head. He still felt bad for him, he knew something was making him do this.

Brainwash, brainwashing, brainwashed.

Either Kyle was being brainwashed or something already brainwashed him years back and it was only now just taking effect in a terrible wrong way.

Kenny looked at Stan with worried eyes. Stan repeated them back to his friend. It was hard for each of them to not notice that the other was worried.

Kyle was panting hard now from all the angry rage he just let out through yelling. The giant lake over the field stood still, no ripples going throughout it.

Looked like nobody or no thing had gone in it for years. Kyle looked to his left than right as if he was getting ready to cross a busy street. But he wasn't.

He was preparing to jump into the lake. Did he even notice Stan and Kenny? That wasn't on his mind though. Kenny and Stan were backed away from him.

Kyle stepped back 5 steps and took off running. "KYLE NO!" Stan took off after him but it was too late. His thin body was only a few seconds away from hitting the big body of water.

Stan jumped in after him when Kyle didn't come up after 5 seconds. When Stan went under the water, from the neck up stood above water as his legs treaded the water beneath him.

His head began moving around, letting his eyes scan the lake for his boyfriend; Kyle came up with a big gasp for air.

"Kyle!" Stan swam closer to him. "No get away from me, Stan! Stop!" Kyle moved away from the boy he was deeply in love with.

Stan was hurt by this but ignored it as much as he could. He continued to move near Kyle. "Leave me! Break up with me! You don't need this-" Stan locked his lips to Kyle's. They were both still treading water.

Kyle's eyes were a centimeter from Stan's when they pulled away simultaneously. "I'm never going to leave you. Never." Stan repeated the one word.

"But I just don't-I don't-you can't-" "Shhh. C'mon, let's go home." Stan pulled Kyle toward him. "Stan you deserve-" "Stop, Ky. I want you. Never will I not want you. I'm not going to leave your side."

Stan pulled Kyle's arm to try getting him to swim to land, which was not far at all. "Please, come back with me." Stan begged.

Kyle was hesitant at first but eventually began swimming to land. Stan was right beside him. Stan saw Kenny from above on the roof.

Kenny gave him a look that told Stan he was a good person, he was.

A really good person.

He definitely made up for that mistake he made. He'd proven to Kyle he'd never leave him; that was a promise of no regret.

What made up that promise was truth, honesty, love, bravery, kindness, and loyalty most of all.

When they made it up on land, they moved the tall plants and weeds aside to get back to the ruined department building. They ended up on the side of the building.

Stan's car was up ahead in noticeable view. Kenny got off the roof from the staircase. He met up with his two friends a minute later.

"Stan I can take your car back to your Uncle Jimbo's." Kenny offered nicely. "Thank you." Stan gave Kenny a quick but meaningful hug. Kenny nodded.

Kyle grasped Stan's hand as they headed for Uncle Jimbo's dark brown truck. The ride back was a bit silent. "I-I know I need to s-see a doctor." Kyle muttered.

"I'll call that therapist I saw when I was 13. He was really helpful with my anxiety." Stan pulled up to a stop light. The green light at the bottom of the traffic light glowed brightly and Stan went on driving.

The GPS had to be used to get back to Uncle Jimbo's. It was home now. Both Stan and Kyle's home, their own room, their own little space to be free.

Uncle Jimbo was a lot more understanding than Stan had imagined. He was really lucky that it turned out differently.

After the long car ride back to South Park, the boys unpacked their stuff once Kenny got to Uncle Jimbo's with Stan's car. Stan and Kyle were safe now.

Kyle felt much better knowing he could be free and not have to feel so hidden like he did in his parents home.

He was now living with the love of his life and his uncle, who he thanked kindly when him and Stan got through the door.

Their own area of freedom; not far from their parents but far enough.

This would lower some of Kyle's anxiety for sure. As for the meltdowns, those could go in whatever direction they wanted.