Stan Marsh had thought high school would feel different—like all the dumb drama and awkwardness of middle school would fade away the moment he stepped into the crowded hallways. But it hadn’t. Sure, he was taller now, his voice had finally settled into something less embarrassing, and he’d survived his share of awkward breakups with girls who’d decided he was too quiet, too distracted, or just not what they were looking for. Still, at the end of the day, he was the same Stan—just older, stuck navigating the mess that came with growing up in South Park.

At least one thing hadn’t changed: his friends. Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny were still there, like they always had been. Their group was messy, chaotic, sometimes frustrating as hell—but it was home. They knew each other better than anyone else ever could, with inside jokes, dumb fights, and memories of everything from fourth grade to now. High school didn’t break that. If anything, it made Stan realize how rare it was to have people who stuck around.

But sometimes, when he caught himself staring across the cafeteria at Kyle—sharp green eyes under that messy hair, the way he gestured wildly when he argued about something, or the way he smiled without realizing it—Stan felt a shift he couldn’t explain away. He’d always dated girls before, told himself that was just the way things were. And yet, there it was: this tug in his chest every time Kyle laughed at his jokes or shoved him playfully in the hallway. A crush. On his best friend.

It was stupid. Dangerous, even. Because Kyle was his anchor, the one person who had always been there when everything else fell apart. If Stan screwed that up, if he crossed some invisible line, he wasn’t sure he could come back from it. So, he did what he always did—he kept quiet. Let Cartman’s noise fill the space, laughed with Kenny about things no one else would understand, and pretended his heart didn’t skip a beat when Kyle nudged him closer during study sessions.

High school was supposed to be about finding yourself. Stan wasn’t sure what that meant yet, but he knew one thing: as confusing as it was, as much as it scared him, the one constant in his life—the thing he couldn’t shake—was Kyle. And maybe, someday, he’d figure out what to do about that.