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“When you said matching costumes, I thought you had something different in mind.” Kyle mumbled from behind the driver’s seat.
“What do you mean, Kyle? We’re an iconic horror couple” Cartman replied, next to him.
“I imagined something more romantic.” The irritation was noticeable in his voice.
“...Are you saying Chucky and Tiffany aren’t romantic?”
“We’re two fucking possessed, murderous dolls!” Kyle screamed. “How is that romantic to you?!”
“Stealing your lover’s body parts and enacting a voodoo ritual to revive them is pretty damn romantic to me!” His boyfriend shot back, offended.
“Can you both shut the fuck up?!” Stan, currently on the driving wheel, intervened. Kenny giggled by his side. He was driving them to Token’s Halloween party though, at this point, he was starting to regret it. Not only was he not in the mood to party at the moment but his friends had been insufferable since they left the house. And also...
“Stan, are you still mad that Wendy’s back with Token?” Cartman inquired. “Let it go, she’s a bitch.”
“I’m not ma- Don’t call her that!” Stan furiously shouted.
“Heh...I bet Nichole is gonna pull the moves on you now.” The fat teen continued.
“Nichole?” Stan repeated.
“What are you talking about?” Kyle chimed in.
“Well, because…” Cartman explained condescendingly. “That’s what chicks do, right? They fuck each other over. So, if Wendy’s going out with Nichole’s ex, the logical step for Nichole to take is to get it with Stan and be like ‘Take that, Wendy! I’m fucking your boytoy now!’”
“I don’t think she’s like that…” The redhead commented.
“Oh, yeah? And how would you know, Kyle?!” Cartman asked with sudden aggressivity.
“Because she’s a nice girl…?”
Scoffing, Cartman shifted his body, which Stan could tell because of the way the car moved. “You don’t know anything about girls, Kyle. You never even dated one. They’re fucking snakes.”
“Oh, shut up about Heidi already.”
“Nobody said anything about that wench!”
“That’s obviously what you were getting at! Why do you even care about her anyway? We’re together now!”
“Why do you care if I care? Also, I don’t!”
“Because she’s your fucking ex?!”
“I’ll give them one thing.” Kenny leaned in towards Stan. “They definitely argue like Chucky and Tiff.”
Stan was too distracted by the possibility of Nichole hitting on him to even react to the snarky comment. She was definitely cute but he wasn’t sure he was ready for a hookup at the moment. Or in the near future, probably.
If he wasn’t the one taking his friends to the party, he would’ve turned back and gone home. Why did he offer himself to drive again? Oh, wait, he didn’t. His friends appointed him. And now he had to awkwardly interact with Token in his own fucking party. Why was Token the guy who always threw Halloween parties? Right, because he was rich.
It’s not like Stan had anything against the guy except that, if Token’s house wasn’t the epicenter of their social life, he might have punched him already. Talk about being a shitty friend. It’s true they never were too close but still. Fucking asshole.
The rest of the ride was relatively quiet until they arrived at Token's house and Cartman began making excited noises. The moment Stan parked, Cartman was practically out of the door, followed by Kyle scolding him about safety. Kenny was nicer and waited for Stan to get out.
“My handsome serial killer.” Cartman purred, walking over to hold Kyle’s hand as they headed to the door, the skirt of his white dress waving as he moved. He was wearing a black leather jacket over the dress and black fishnets underneath, combat boots giving the final touch. A golden mane cascaded down his shoulders, the usual wig he used for crossdressing perfectly styled for the occasion. Even Stan could see Cartman had gone all out.
“Stop.” Kyle blurted, his attire more on the funny side. He was wearing a blue overall with the multicolored, striped shirt and red sneakers that looked like they belonged to a clown. Stan didn’t even want to think about what Cartman had to do to convince Kyle to show off his red curls for the costume. It was the weirdest sight.
Stretching his arm, Cartman cupped Kyle’s face. “You look so good, Chucky.”
Kyle pushed the hand away with a frown. “Don’t.” He had a fake knife in his right pocket to complete the look. Well, Stan wanted to believe it was fake one.
Undeterred, Cartman batted his eyelashes at him. “You can call me Tiffany.”
The door opened, revealing Token dressed as Candyman. “Oh, it’s you guys.” He forced a smile, waving with his hook.
“Yeah, yeah, don’t be so happy to see us.” Cartman retorted with disdain as he walked inside with Kyle muttering a short “Hi.” on his way in.
“Remind me why I let him come.” Token deadpanned.
“Because you and Kyle play on the school’s basketball team.” Kenny replied from behind his mask. “And because it’s better to be on his good side.” He let out a laugh.
It only took a moment for the host to recognize him. “Michael Myers?”
“The one and only.” Kenny lifted the Halloween’s villain’s characteristic knife.
“Cool…” Token appeared to smile for the first time since the group had arrived. His eyes laid on Stan and the air became a little tense. “Marty McFly, huh...”
“Yeah.” Stan adjusted his red down vest.
Not wanting any part in the awkwardness, Kenny entered the household without any further comment, leaving the two in the middle of a staring contest.
“Are we good?” Token finally spoke.
“Sure.” The other shrugged.
Nodding because he knew it was simply a facade, the party-giver moved to the side to let Stan in. “Welcome.”
“Thanks.” The teen dryly replied as he set his foot into the chaos.
Kyle and Cartman had lost no time to get themselves a spot in one of the couches, while Kenny was checking the place around for drinks and, most likely, hotties. Stan took a glance at the place. He recognized some people from school, from his class, however there were far too many unfamiliar faces in the crowd. Then again, the red lightning made the task more difficult, not to mention all the costumes.
“Stan!” A hand touched his shoulder. He turned to see a teenager in a red suit with his face painted white and a red smear on his mouth, while his eyelids were painted blue. His short hair was dyed green. “You’re that ‘Back to the Future’ fella, aren’t you?”
“Butters?” Stan replied in confusion. “You’re the Joker?”
“Yup, Eric said I’d look great as him! I even learned his little dance!” Butters began tapping on the floor ridiculously. “See?”
“Right...I’m gonna go see everyone else…” Stan slowly walked away from his friend.
“Okay! Have fun, Stan!”
Trying to forget the disturbing sight he had just witnessed, the boy looked around the party, searching for a specific person.
And then he saw her.
Right in the middle of it all. With a white dress and wings of the same color, dressed as Juliet from that ‘96 movie, Wendy stood like an angel, blessing everyone with her presence. He was glad that Token hadn’t dressed as Romeo, until a pang in his chest reminded him that could’ve been him. In that tacky armor, he could’ve been the knight to Wendy’s angel.
Briefly, he contemplated talking to her before deciding it was best to avoid each other. And thus, he made his way to his friends. On his way, he came across Bebe and Red, who were respectively dressed as the girl from Clueless and Poison Ivy and gave him condescending looks. Of course.
When Stan finally arrived on the couch, he saw Kenny had returned too, sitting next to Kyle and Cartman,with a couple of beers in hand, while the couple smoked together. Dispiritedly, he fell with a thud next to the blond. He was handed one of the beers in quiet support and drank at least a third of it in one go.
“Stan, you need to get shit faced and fuck some loose bitch.” Cartman said, sitting on Kyle’s lap. Stan had to wonder if Kyle still felt his legs. “You’ll forget all about it after that.”
Tiredly, he turned to the fatass. “Cartman. What would you do if Kyle dumped you to date Clyde.” He pointed at Clyde, dressed as Ash from Evil Dead, entertaining a small crowd with his antics.
The fake blond gagged. “First of all, I’d kill Clyde.” He stated with complete seriousness. “And then I’d fuck Craig.”
“Why Craig?!” Kyle was visibly startled by the idea.
“Because he’s Clyde’s best friend, duh.”
“Are you stupid?!” The redhead screamed as he gripped Cartman’s waist tighter. “You’re supposed to fuck your ex’s best friend! Not the…” He trailed off as they all turned to Stan.
“Woah, woah!” Stan moved back, repulsed. “I’m not fucking Cartman!”
There was a short lived silence and then they erupted into laughter.
“Did you see his face?” Kyle addressed Cartman.
“He thought it was for real!” His lover continued, just as amused.
Kenny’s shoulders were shaking from laughing. “Kyle was so scary for a second, though.”
“R-Right?” Stan defended himself. “Jesus, Kyle! I’d never!” Not only out of loyalty to the guy, he also wasn’t the least interested in getting sexually involved with Cartman whatsoever.
“I know.” His friend gestured at Cartman and they both got up, leaving their cigarettes on the ashtray. “We’re gonna get some drinks.”
“Don’t miss us too much!” Cartman said, one of his smoked eyes winking at Stan and Kenny, blowing them a kiss with his black lips. Stan was just noticing the outlined eyebrows too. He was absolutely giving Henrietta a run for her money with this look.
The couple left, Kyle putting an arm over Cartman’s shoulders as they did. A few people peered at them. The novel of these two getting together hadn’t quite faded away yet. The most shocking part was probably seeing them be affectionate in public. Even for Stan it was a lot to take, months after they had begun going out.
Currently, though, he found himself almost jealous of their relationship. Like they were destined to each other, no matter what. He wished to have someone like that. Someone that would have eyes for him and no one else but him.
If only.
--
Kyle and Cartman never returned and Stan was kind of annoyed although not exactly surprised. If he was with Wendy he might’ve done the same, he thought with sadness. Just go to get drinks and disappear for the rest of the night...
“Let’s play a game!” Bebe clapped to get the attention of everyone in the living room. Everyone looked at her, murmurs of curiosity in the air. “Kiss, Marry, Kill but you can only say people in here.” There were sounds of disapproval and she tapped her feet. “Shut up, we’re doing this!”
Some people that were passing by took seats, drinks and snacks in hand. The moment Stan saw Token and Wendy sitting together, he had a feeling this wasn’t going to go nicely for him. It was too late to move, though. He didn’t want to look like chickenshit, even less in front of her.
“Alright.” Bebe took a glance at the place before pointing at Craig by the other side of the room. “Craig. Clyde, Annie and Token, go!”
There was a certain irony in Craig dressing as John Connor in Judgement Day when he had the emotional range of Terminator. “Kiss Annie, marry Token for the money and kill Clyde.” He didn’t hesitate in his answer.
“Dude…” Clyde sounded hurt.
“You’re not rich.” Craig shrugged then turned to his boyfriend, currently clinging onto his arm. “Tweek. Nichole, Kevin and me.” He smirked. “Choose.”
“You’re already dating, that’s cheating.” Stan interjected with annoyance.
“Says who?” Craig raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t be so bitter, Marsh.”
“I’m not-”
“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Bebe interrupted them impatiently, her hands on her chin. Of course, the girls loved this shit. Stan rolled his eyes. “Just choose, Tweek.”
“Agh!” Tweek yelped. Unlike his annoying partner, choosing Beetlejuice for his costume actually fit him. Especially the standing hair and fake eyebags. It was like staring at an alternate Tweek or something. “Kiss Kevin, marry Craig and kill Nichole! Sorry Nichole, agh! I’m gay!”
“It’s okay.” Nichole giggled while the rest of the girls cooed over what they called ‘Creek’. She was very pretty as Tiana from the Princess and the Frog. Okay, maybe Stan would consider hooking up with her if she asked.
“Uh...Kenny!” Tweek practically yelled. “That’s Kenny, right?” He asked Stan.
“Yeah.” He replied as Kenny gave a thumbs up.
“Okay!” Tweek tried to display some assertiveness. “Bebe, Red and…” His eyes landed on Stan. “Stan!”
“Pff.” Stan decided to continue his third beer. Or fourth?
As he was gulping, he heard Kenny respond nonchalantly. “Kiss Stan, marry Red and kill Bebe.”
“What?!” Bebe was flabbergasted.
“Sweet.” Red blurted.
“That’s gay.” Craig remarked with his annoying nasal voice.
Choked with his drink, Stan gawked at his friend with his eyes open wide. “Kenny?!”
It was impossible to discern the expression Kenny was making under that mask as he lifted his beer in a toast. “My turn now.” He checked around. “Heidi.”
The aforementioned, sitting quietly in a corner, raised his head. “Yeah?” She was wearing the black dress from the girl from Breakfast at Tiffany’s and totally rocking it. However, Stan couldn’t help feeling like Cartman was breathing on his neck just for thinking that.
“Scott, Lola and Wendy.”
The crowd, mainly the boys, made noises of interest. Kenny had ensured that Heidi would at least have one girl on girl action with her response. Stan spotted Wendy elbowing Token with disapproval from the corner of his eye and felt satisfied.
“Hm…” Heidi carefully reviewed her options. “I guess...kiss Lola, marry Wendy and kill Scott...sorry…” She gave the boy one apologetic look while the rest of men applauded her choice. Mostly over the idea of Heidi and Lola kissing.
“Aw…” Scott was disillusioned. Honestly, who could blame Heidi? With that stupid Superman costume he was wearing, Stan couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to hook up with him.
“Wendy?” Heidi called her friend.
Wendy stopped her chatting with Token. “Yes?”
Heidi listed the options. “Token, Bebe and...Dog Poo?”.
Seriously? What was with offering their partners as options? Stan dropped his palms on his lap in frustration.
“That’s way easy.” Wendy smiled. “Kiss Bebe…” She high fived her friend. “Marry Token and kill Dog Poo.”
Everyone cheered for the class’ most popular couple at the moment and Token made a victory gesture. What a fucking tool.
“Although…” Wendy continued as she turned towards Token. “I guess I can kiss him too.” She said, cupping his cheek and he drew closer for a kiss. Stan felt a stab of pain over the display of affection.
The crowd went “Aww…” and some even clapped, which upset him more. No one behaved like that when they were together. So sorry he was not the smart, athletic and rich boy of the fucking town! So sorry he was just a guy! And that Wendy was way happier with Token!
“Fuck it.” Stan muttered to himself and stood up. Kenny seemed to notice but he walked away before his friend could say anything.
Whatever! Whatever! Who gave a shit anyway! Not him! He just wanted to have some time alone, away from these stupid and annoying couples!
Angrily, he opened the door of one of the numerous rooms in Token’s house, looking for some privacy. What he found instead was Kyle and Cartman passionately making out on the pool table, with Kyle surreptitiously sliding his hand up Cartman’s thigh. The pair suddenly stopped to stare at Stan, who was frozen in place.
“Uh, do you fucking mind, Stan?!” Cartman snapped him out of it. Without waiting for a response, the couple resumed the kissing, as if Stan was gone already. This only infuriated him further.
“At least lock the doors, you horny assholes!” He shrieked before slamming it shut. Fuckers!
Without thinking, he climbed up to the second floor. Token’s parents were supposedly gone for the weekend so he shouldn’t find anyone upstairs.
As he thought, there was no one in the parents bedroom, so he sat in their bed after closing the door, not caring to turn the light switch on. The noise sounded so distant from there, like it was happening in another house. Stupid rich people. Their lives were so damn easy. They just had to go to another room and they were at peace. When Stan went to his room, he could still hear his parents’ arguing, no matter how loud he played his music.
While looking out the gigantic window, he drank and drank. The sky was pretty beautiful tonight, with all the stars out and everything. He began counting them to distract himself, wondering if the stars felt lonely sometimes too.
It might have been 5 minutes, 10 or 15, even when the door opened behind him. He didn’t turn to see who it was. He didn’t care.
“Stan?” He might be sort of tipsy but that was definitely Kenny’s voice. Nevertheless, he didn’t respond. The door closed and he assumed Kenny had left until the steps grew closer to him.
“I wanna be alone.” Stan mumbled, although that was a lie. He just didn’t want his friend to see him being pathetic.
“No, you don’t.” Kenny contradicted, sitting next to him in the bed.
They stayed there in silence, occasionally sipping from their respective beers. Stan wasn’t sure if the other’s presence was being helpful or not. Like, he wasn’t saying anything anyway. Then again, it’s not like Kenny was the most talkative guy in the first place. Why didn’t he stay with everyone else, in that case? He could be having fun instead of...this…
Stan was abruptly reminded of something. “Uh...Kenny? He called him reluctantly.
“Hmm?”
“Is it true what you said?”
“About?”
“That you…” Stan cleared his throat. “That you’d rather kiss me over Bebe…” He cleared his throat a second time, embarrassed to be asking.
“Oh.” Kenny snorted. “Yeah.”
He couldn’t believe how easily his friend answered that. Doing his best to sound normal, he inquired further. “...How come?”
“I kissed Bebe in 5th grade and it was nothing to write home about.”
Without realizing, Stan had begun gripping the can he was holding. “So I’d be something new?”
“Basically.”
Shocked, Stan turned to his friend. Finding the William Shatner mask staring back at him would’ve made the situation comical if he wasn’t so goddamn bewildered. Michael Myers was down to kissing him. What a concept.
“Wanna smoke?” The Halloween villain spoke, breaking the tension.
“S-Sure…” Stan let out as he watched Kenny walk to the window to open it.
“Got this one from my dad’s.” He explained, pulling a joint out of his pocket. “Probably got it from yours.”
Albeit disappointed it wasn’t a cigarette, Stan could live. A couple of years ago he would’ve refused, out of association for his dad. Right now, he was on friendly terms with the drug. “Tell me about it.” He scoffed. “He’s given me so much weed I have my own personal stash by now.”
“Maybe you should sell some.” Kenny suggested, lightning his cigarette.
“No way.” Stan rejected the idea instantly. “I don’t want to end up like him.”
A light chuckle. “Figures.” Kenny pulled off his Michael Myers mask, messy golden streaks and gentle demeanor visible once again. The contrast with his costume made Stan appreciate Kenny’s face more.
The blond inhaled deeply from the lit cigarette, his eyelids shutting as he breathed in. Once he was done, Stan thought he’d pass it to him. Instead, he gestured for the other to come closer.
“Oh…” Stan slid towards his friend, shortening the distance between them. “I thought we’d.…”
Kenny rotated his body so that he was facing him. Shortening the distance between them, he made a tight tunnel between their mouths with his hands and blew the smoke into it. Belatedly, Stan inhaled, a bit taken aback by the proximity to react properly.
“I have to admit, this shit’s pretty good…” Kenny grinned sleazily.
“It is…” Stan admitted despite his better self. “It’s a new strain from...uh, Africa or something…” He elucidated, vaguely remembering what his father told him the other day. Not that he wanted to think about him.
“Mh…” Kenny nodded, taking another hit. This time it was deeper, longer.
With certain anticipation, Stan crossed his legs, settling down so he’d be ready when Kenny was done inhaling. The moment he felt Kenny’s hands graze his cheeks, he had an urge to place his own hands over his friend’s so he did. And he could’ve sworn they were a little closer as he breathed in the smoke. Or perhaps it was the intoxication.
When they pulled away from each other, neither of them said anything, the effects of the drug reaching their brains. Wendy seemed so far away now, just like Stan’s unhappiness. He was beginning to float over it all. His heartbreak felt someone else’s, irrelevant to the current him.
“How is it going?” Kenny asked, his head bobbing back as he gazed at the ceiling.
“It sure is hitting.” Stan laughed stupidly, surprised the effects were happening so fast. Oh. wait...he was drinking...that was it. That’s why he was so damn high already. Cool.
“Ready for another one?” The blond said after 20 seconds or maybe a minute.
“You bet.” Stan mumbled, leaning in automatically.
Wow, Kenny was kinda handsome, lightning the joint like that. Head tilted and brows furrowed, like he was in deep thought. Kenny was cool. Unlike Kyle or Cartman. Or Wendy. They were lame.
Their mouths almost touched when Kenny blew the smoke yet, instead of pulling away, they stayed right where they were, too entranced to move. Kenny wasn’t even using his hands anymore, it wasn’t necessary anymore now that they were so close. The warm breath tickled Stan’s nose.
His mind was buzzing with the sensations. The comfortable, velvety feeling of being high out of his mind, of feeling baseless exhilaration. And also the unusual adrenaline pumping through his veins that he was in such physical proximity with one of his closest friends and he didn’t even care. He was enjoying it in fact. He was enjoying not knowing what was about to happen.
Without saying anything, Kenny took another drag, taking advantage of the fact that the joint was still burning. He stared deeply into Stan’s eyes as he did, the only thing in Stan’s field of vision that didn’t appear hazy. Those bright, blue eyes. Shining brightly in the dimly lit room.
The next thing he knew is that Kenny was grabbing his face and dragging towards his. Stan’s stare was glued to the faint trail of smoke coming out of Kenny’s mouth, until he couldn’t see it anymore, replaced by the sight of Kenny’s blurry eyelashes. Oh, they sure were close…
A certain softness pressed against his mouth and the inside was filled with smoke. Only mildly aware that the softness was Kenny’s lips, Stan shut his eyes as they breathed into each other’s mouths hungrily. What had begun as the most intimate form of shotgunning quickly grew into a hungry yet deliberate kiss.
Disbelief was the word. Stan couldn’t believe how right it felt to be kissing Kenny. Not to mention how good it felt too. He moved his head a little to the side to get better access and their tongues danced with each other naturally. Kenny sighed into their kiss and Stan only had to wonder how come they had never done this before.
Kenny wrapped an arm around Stan’s waist to pull him closer, as their kissing grew deeper. Their bodies were so tightly pressed to each other that Stan had to take off his dumb vest. Fucking Marty McFly costume getting in the way. His friend caressed the back of his neck and Stan gently ran his fingers through Kenny’s blond strands. No matter what, he really wanted to remember this moment. The touch of Kenny’s skin, the feeling of his lips against Stan’s, the soft noises he made…
After what seemed like enough time probing each other’s mouths, they broke it off, saying nothing as they gazed at each other intensely. Their gasps were loud enough to fill the silence and their own clouded minds.
The door was kicked open but neither of them were startled, peering at the intruders with disinterest instead.
“There you are!” Cartman pointed at them with a fat finger, wig slightly out of place.
“We’ve been looking for you everywhere.” Kyle elaborated, face covered with black spots.
“Wait, what are you doing in the dark?” The brunette raised an eyebrow.
Stan and Kenny glanced at each other and then back at their friends. “Smoking.” They said at the same time.
“Oh, you’re trashing Token’s parents’ room?” Cartman pressed the light switch on and walked in. “I want in!”
“It’s weed.” Stan specified.
Cartman frowned. “Fine, whatever. Anything to stick it to the man.”
“I really don’t think that’s what-”
“I’ll wait outside.” Kyle uttered. “I hate the smell of weed.”
“No, you won’t.” His boyfriend dragged him by the hand and closed the door behind him. “Stop being such a straight edge bitch, Kyle.”
“I’m not straight edge, I just don’t fucking like it!” The redhead protested.
“I don’t care.” Cartman sat on the bed, tapping the spot next to him. “Sit.”
Growling, Kyle flopped on the assigned seat with his arms crossed. Equally amazing and disturbing how they took turns to dominate each other.
“Good boy.” Cartman patted Kyle’s head and the latter slapped his hand away.
“You don’t really need to get stoned to taint Token’s house.” Kenny muttered, approaching the lighter to the joint in his mouth. “Your cum is all over the place already I bet.”
“Kenny!” Kyle yelled with indignation.
“Shut up, Kenny, you’re just jealous! Now pass it over!” Cartman gestured with his chubby hands.
The aforementioned snickered. “Can’t deny that.” After inhaling briefly, he handed the joint to Stan.
They smoked and talked. Joked and laughed. Making fun of everything and everyone. In their intoxicated states, they took turns to impersonate the people at the party, cracking up everytime someone nailed it. Stan felt kind of stupid for being so dramatic earlier. His friends were stupid and they sucked but he also did love them a whole lot. He really did.
How embarrassing.
--
It was fairly easy to drive everyone home, since he knew the route by heart at this point. However, he decided to drop Kenny last, despite that meaning making an unnecessary detour.
“Thanks, man.” Kenny spoke when Stan stopped by his house. “Sorry for making you-”
“Don’t even mention it.” Stan waved his hand, grinning.
They contemplated each other for a moment.
“See you around then!” Kenny opened the door and got out of the car.
Abruptly, Stan had the need to call him. “Wait, Kenny!”
Judging by the fastness with which Kenny turned, he was waiting for it as well. “Hm?” He lowered his head so that Stan could see him.
The self consciousness threatened to come afloat but Stan ignored it in favor of making his question. “Was...Was I better than Bebe?”
Kenny’s eyes went wide before he cracked into laughter, loudly into the night.
“W-What?!” Stan exclaimed, cheeks getting red. “I wanna know!”
“You…You really…” ” The blond chuckled softly before recomposing himself. “Yeah.”
“Yeah?” Stan repeated, ignoring the way his stomach dropped over the answer.
“That’s what I said.” Kenny smiled and headed to his house. Wait, wait, Stan still wanted to talk to him.
“Can we do that another time?!” He ended up yelling. Someone in the distance shushed him.
This time, his friend didn’t turn until he reached his doorstep. “If you wanna!” He yelled back, apparently highly amused by the proposal.
Satisfied, Stan hit the gas and drove away, the image of Kenny beaming at him etched into his mind. Yeah, he wanted to.