Back to Kyle's POV

I was plopped down on my couch with a huge sigh before carefully stretching out. I was finally cleared to go home after nearly a week in the hospital. It was Sunday today and I was supposed to go to school tomorrow although I wasn't sure if I really would.

Fuck. Just thinking about school got my anxiety up. Of course there was another variable thrown in, which obviously was the fact I literally just told my best friend I was gay. Jesus fucking Christ I still don't know what I was thinking when I said that but now all I could do was hope he hadn't told everyone at school.

The thought followed me around like a rainstorm while I slowly enjoyed the freedom of being at home again.

In the morning I groaned while my alarm blared. I was tired as I reached over and shut it off before rolling back over to sleep some more.

"KYLE! I heard that alarm go off. Get down here because you're going to school young man!"

"Agh. Alright I guess."

I flipped back over and slowly stretched sore muscles out, then headed down the stairs in my pyjamas. I sighed as I looked at the way every curl of my fiery hair stuck out at an odd angle. I tried smoothing it out, brushing it, watering it down but nothing worked so I gave up and put on my trusty green hat.

I was lost in thought and trying to sort feelings as I ate cold cereal while my mom and Ike chittered about this and that. I was a little wary around my mom after listening in on that conversation her and my dad had about gays. I finished quickly and rushed back upstairs to put on a white shirt and green pants, throwing my orange coat on top.

I headed out the door snatching my mitts as I walked by. I didn't really want to talk at all this morning but I was already nearly going to miss the bus and all I could do was hope I didn't get there too early. I listened to music on the way there thinking it would keep me distracted. It really didn't do much.

After 20 minutes the bus sign came into sight with my friend group of Kenny, Cartman and Stan waiting, two of which I was not on the greatest terms with at the moment. When I reached them I only said 'Mornin' to Kenny before replacing the ear buds I had in. I saw a hurt look from Stan as I glanced at him. I always sneakily snuck looks at him and every time I did I could see why I loved him.

I had decided I was mostly comfortable with my sexuality, however, the thought of my mom and dad finding out terrified me. They would likely disown me and for what reason? A dude liking another dude? Fuck off that was not a good enough reason to tear a family apart.

Skip to the end of the school day. Kyle's been ignoring everybody all day, people are a little worried.

Stan's POV
Kyle ignored me all day. More specifically everybody all day and people were concerned for him by the end of the day. Of course he didn't look so good after being in the hospital for 6 days but he seemed... overly distant.

I was still going to go see him after school. I'm going to tell him what I've realized and apologize for walking away. I did feel hurt by the way he was acting though. Any time I tried to talk to him he would answer with a noncommittal answer like "Oh," or blankly nod. He was most definitely not fine and although he may push me away I won't let him.

He looked out the window for most of the bus ride and was so absorbed in thoughts he didn't even realize when I had trailed him all the way home. It was when I touched his shoulder at the end of his driveway he really snapped out of it and looked at me with scared, green eyes.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked still resting my hand on his shoulder. He pulled away and tried to throw the angriest look his could my way. He squared up and wrinkled his eyes and eyebrows. I could barely contain a laugh at how ridiculous he looked.

"No."

A single word shot through my heart like a bullet. The slight smile dropped from my face before I stuttered out "O-oh..." I looked away and felt tears come to my eyes. That made me angry for some reason that one word would have this affect which only succeeded in making more tears com forward. I stepped back and wiped my eyes quickly.

When I glanced back at Kyle I was relieved to see he look concerned. He closed the gap uncertainly and reached up a little bit. I stiffened involuntarily because I thought he was reaching for my face but midway his hand changed direction and patted my shoulder. I was taken aback by the way the touch felt. I wanted more.

"Um, well I g-guess," He looked away and I could see his blush on his cheeks "if its that important." My heart soared as I nodded and followed him to his house. He seemed pretty uneasy and I knew exactly why but his voice was steady when he called to his mom,

"Mom! Stan's gonna be here for a while!" Kyle said as we took off our boots at the door.

"That's fine! Staying for dinner?" She called back,

"Yeah." I yelled from the top of the stairs. I turned and went into Kyle's room where he was already lying on his back in his bed. I cringed when I looked at his hands and the bruises on his face.

He sat up when I entered and told me "Sorry, just tired from school. Y'know since I haven't been in a while." I nodded but didn't waste any time. I had to say it before Kyle said anything that made me lose confidence. I set on the bed about 2 feet away and started.

"So uh, Kyle, about at the hospital? Um... I'm sorry? That I just walked away?" Fucking hell that sounded way better in my head. He turned towards me a little and shook his head. A couple red curls fell out of his hat and bounced around. For once he left them hanging out. I really liked his curls.

"Yeah... I-I, I'm really sorry I shouldn't have said that because our friendship was fine the way it was and then I wrecked it and god I don't know what I was thinking!"

It all came out as one tumbling sentence but I simply nodded and asked softly, "Is it true? You're gay?"

He broke down at that. He buried his face in his hands and sobbed out "Im so sorry! Please don't think of me differently. I only ended up ignoring you and everyone else today because I was too wrapped up in my own head."

I wasn't exactly sure what to do but I scored closer and wrapped my arms around him, hoping to calm him down. At first it had to opposite effect. He cried harder and turned from having his head in his hands to grabbing my coat and pushing his head into my shoulder so hard it started to hurt. His green hat fell off when he did this but he was too upset to care. His curls rustled about as he shook his head. By now he was basically in my lap and I leaned against the wall by his bed for support.

I was so stunned I just sat there for the first minute or two with my arms around him as he told me that he only ended up fighting because his parents said gay people were going to hell and how terrible they were. He's terrified of them finding out and that made him snap when Cartman threw the word 'faggot' at him.

I rubbed his back a little and just sat there offering support. I rested my chin on his head lightly and quietly whispered "You're okay, you're okay," repeatedly. I added "I wouldn't tell anyone even if my life depended on it."

He calmed down considerably after a while. His sobs turned to sniffs and by then I built up the courage to say what I meant to say when I first came here. I lifted my chin off his head and leaned it down slightly and quickly said "I think I might be too"

His head jerked up wards to look me in the eye.

"You're fucking kidding me."

Real anger flashed in those green eyes and instantly my heart sank. I looked away but instead of him getting up like I expected he stayed put. He said something I could quite hear and when I asked "What?"

"Say it again." He whispered. He refused to look at me although he was sitting basically in my lap.

"I... think I c-could be ga-" I choked on the last word. I cleared my throat and repeated myself. "I think I might be gay."

Kyle went stiff and I pushed him off before getting up. I dusted myself off and shook my head. "I know, I know. I'm going to leave and please don't mention this again, okay? My dad will not hesitate to kill me if he finds out."

He nodded and I started to walk away. There was a rustling noise behind me and within seconds Kyle grabbed my hand. My heart skipped a beat as I turned around and looked at him pulling away while he asked, "Answer truthfully, do you like me?"

I opened my mouth to deny it but after taking one look at him I couldn't. I simply looked away though I could feel my face heat up. Kyle smiled and took a step forward, closing the distance. I held my breath as he grabbed my other hand and said "You never could keep your feelings a secret, could you?"

He leaned even closer and whispered "I like you too."