Stan x Kyle/Style - Chance Encounter

Chapter 2

(Brief reminder that this is an AU so things will obviously be different and people will meet and have friendships in different ways to the OG show just to avoid confusion when reading! Enjoy.)

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Kyle's note-taking had been significantly sloppier in the last few days. His back was killing him, and considering he'd tried to take his weight with his right hand when he fell, that too was burning with pain. Thankfully he was ambidextrous—able to use both hands with anything—which meant that writing and studying was no issue for him, but the pain in his spine was still damn near unbearable. If he could personally have a redo of that moment, he'd just walk on the other side of the road to avoid the whole mess from actually happening in the first place.

It had been almost a week since and he was slightly concerned that the pain was still bad, he should've at least gotten used to it by now. If he didn't have painkillers to temporarily numb the ache, he probably would've lost his mind way sooner. He noticed his usual quick fix of coffee wasn't doing all that much to help either, and he'd also noticed as of late that he hadn't been getting his usual order from the shop; he'll never forget the look on Mr Tweak's face when he got something else for the first time.

He groaned, tapping his pen against the paper and desperately trying not to rub at his suddenly throbbing temple: stay focused. The cold chill from the open window wasn't helping his mood either. What kind of professor keeps the window open if the weather isn't necessarily the best? He knew it had been up and down but today, in his opinion, it was cold. Or maybe it wasn't and he was just finding every reason to complain.

Thankfully time went by fast, and before he knew it, it was lunch. He wasn't that hungry, but he definitely wanted to take down some water and Tylenol.

"Hey dude!" Kenny sidled up to him, sandwich in hand. "Okay so hear me out,"

Oh, here we go. "Whatever you're about to say, my answer is no." He flatly said, popping the cap from his bottle and chugging it like his life depended on it. Kenny made a sound in the back of his throat, probably one of annoyance, and nudged Kyle on the shoulder in a childlike manner.

"You didn't even hear what I had to ask yet." Kyle could tell he was pouting, and he rolled his eyes in response.

"Because if I know you," he then turned to face him, "which I do, then you're about to ask me something I won't like. You never start your questions with 'hear me out' unless it's going to piss me off." He replied, getting himself some Tylenol and sighing in relief—hopefully that helps.

"Well," Kenny sat, pensive for a moment, his lips pursed in thought. Kyle briefly felt the urge to laugh, but he managed to hold it back. "Okay. But just hear me out." He slowly sat upright as if in preparation, and Kyle groaned.

"Fine, you have ten seconds, go."

"Ten seconds—!?" Kenny's brows lifted in surprise, but then he quickly composed himself. "Bebe's house party this Friday-"

Kyle imitated the sound of a buzzer going off and hastily moved to stand. "I knew you were gonna say something stupid. You've asked me a million times to go to one of those stupid parties and what have I always said?" Kenny opened his mouth to respond, but Kyle cut him off before he could. "No. I've said no." He'd been turning down the offer since the start of the semester; nothing was enticing about being in someone else's house surrounded by drunk just barely adults and having to engage in conversation with people he potentially didn't know. He'd much rather go home and take a nap or something. Or study. Anything but being in a room full of sweaty drunk people he goes to college with.

"Is everything okay?" A voice suddenly came out of nowhere, and Kyle turned to see a few of his other friends Tolkien, Nichole and Clyde standing with their lunch trays in hand.