Stan's POV

Kyle and I have been together for 8 weeks and definitely still going strong. We visit each other all the time, both in school and at home, although we have to be careful still with how much contact we have in school. We go to friends houses either together or alone and it's generally been pretty good.

Tonight we're heading out to a party after school since it's Friday.

I personally kind of dislike parties but Kyle loves them, even if he tried to not drink too much (but usually fails.) He's pretty average at drinking but surprisingly I happen to be a lightweight. It only takes a couple drinks and I'm wasted.

We were both invited to the party tonight, at Token's house mainly because he was rich and could afford to buy all the drinks for everyone. Sometimes his parents were even still at home when he had them but they didn't mind. They let him use the downstairs and basement while they stayed upstairs.

I showed up at Kyle's house just before 7:30 that night and waited downstairs for him to grab his coat and hat from his bedroom. Shelia came up to me and asked,

"So you boys are heading to a party tonight I hear?" I nodded as a reply. Kyle came dashing down the stairs, still struggling to zip up his coat.

"Sure are Mom. I should be coming back home tonight." Kyle always told her that even if he wasn't actually planning to just to keep from having to answer countless questions before he was allowed to leave.

"I'm sure you know curfew is at 1:00am, but text me as early as you can if you won't be home and let me know where you're staying at and..." She kept going as Kyle shot me a pleading look. I had to contain my laughter when I shrugged and leaned up against the wall with one shoulder.

When she had finished she saw us off before Kyle and I started walking over to Token's. It took a while to get there but on the way we both just chatted about school, video games and whatever else, we joked and pushed each other around. Kyle gave me a playful shove without checking the road and almost pushed me right in front of a passing car.

Now that was quite the adrenaline spike. When I leaped back towards the redhead who almost actually stole my soul by killing me I actually let out a screech. We were both speechless for a second while the car zipped by without slowing down and continued driving. I hadn't even realized I sat down until my breathing settled and I could think again. I breathed out,

"Wow."

I looked to my left and realized Kyle had sat down as well. I watched him nod before tipping my head back to look at the sunset. He looked pretty shaken up as well but that was to be expected since he just about killed me. We sat in silence for a bit longer and both looked at the sky as it changed colours until Kyle finally looked at me and shakily told me,

"Dude, I'm so fucking sorry. I shouldn't have done something so... so stupid."

I had already known he was sorry but it was still good to hear it come directly from him. I nodded and slapped his back a couple times.

"Yeah I know. No harm done," I smiled. "Nothing like some adrenaline to remind you you're alive, hey?"

I started to get up but Kyle shook his head.

"I don't want to go quite yet. Another minute or two."

"Yeah that's cool."

I laid flat on my back halfway into the ditch and closed my eyes. Sure when I was almost hit I was scared but by now my nerves had settled and I sighed deeply. I wasn't even mad or anything either.

It wasn't too much longer before I heard a sniff from Kyle so I opened an eye and went to ask what was wrong. Kyle had his hat beside him with his face buried in his hands. I scooted so I was a little closer and put my hand on his shoulder. He didn't react at all just shook his head. This was so unlike him, I was concerned.

"You know I'm not mad or anything, right? I'm all good so I mean that's a pretty big plus."

Instead of him simply saying something to the effect of 'Yeah Okay. Let's go,' he actually turned and leaned his face against me. He hugged me tightly for a few seconds before pulling away and looking around. I was taken aback by this sudden display for a moment but I felt proud. Proud that he trusted me that much.

Kyle drew a shaky breath beside me while I sat there smiling like an idiot.

"Okay. I did almost just kill you though. And I was really scared I had lost you in that split second that I made a stupid decision without checking and I just got worried thinking about how would have happened had I actually killed you and-"

"Okay. Dude you can relax now. You didn't kill me though so we're all good. I'm happy to be alive and with you. Just take some deep breaths."

He followed my advice and quickly he had regained control. He grabbed his hat and tucked his hair underneath it before standing up. He brushed himself off while I just stared at him, fascinated by his features and the way he moved so gracefully. Most of his bruises, especially on his face were gone now which just made it that much better to look at him.

He caught me looking before I could turn away. He simply shook his head and held out his hand to pull me up and I gratefully accepted. With a grunt he leaned back and pulled me up. I did note he held my hand longer than needed which made me feel pretty great.

"Sorry about that earlier. Apparently emotions run wild when you almost murder somebody."

"Nah that's good. It was good to see that side of you considering you don't let your guard down too easily."

I watched as he rolled his eyes and started walking.

"Whatever. Let's go we've got a party we should be at by now."

I agreed and we kept heading up to Tokens house, a little more carefully now. I checked my watch and was relieved to see only 20 minutes had passed, 10 walking and 10 recovering from the near death experience.

I was still feeling a little high from earlier which only increased as I walked in the front doors. It was loud already from the combination of music going and people talking. Kyle followed and he instantly yelled,

"What's up? Let's get this party fucking raring!" Everybody cheered back. Even though I had only been here for a minute or two I was already having doubts about whether I should have actually come or not.

However the way Kyle smiled at me over his shoulder as we walked down the hallway instantly made me decide, yes, this is worth it. My heart soared while I watched him adeptly talk to others all around him. I stood just a little to the side and tried not to be too awkward.

-
That got easier after a couple beer. Quite a few actually. Maybe a shot or two or three mixed in there. We had been here for about three hours now and most people were getting really drunk. However in the few parties I have been to I learned that everybody loosened up by now so there's a lot more dancing, chattering and whatever else going on.

I hadn't seen Kyle for a while so I started to look around a bit but I think I ended up passing out for a second because next thing I knew I was on the floor. I could taste some blood in my mouth but decided it wasn't anything serious and simply got up again and kept walking around.

Sometime later I gave up and went outside onto the deck. I knew was sloshed and so when I made it to the patio chairs I was grateful to finally sit down. I was content to be somewhat out of the way and decided that this was a good enough place to stay for the rest of the party until Kyle was set to leave.