The Old New Kid

Give me a goddamn baseline

   M/n pursed his lips, surveying Tolkien's bedroom with a look devoid of judgment. Occupying himself with the posters decorating the walls while Clyde dropped their overnight bags by the air mattress next to Tolkien's queen sized bed. 

   It was sometime in the evening, the sun scraping the horizon as dusk fast approached. The looming shadows had given M/n a window of opportunity, sneaking out of the Broflovski residence and into Clyde's car unnoticed. A note taped to the basement door was his only goodbye, a courtesy he gave to very few. He knew there was no good reason to be so evasive, it isn't really 'sneaking,' if Mr and Mrs. Broflovski know where you're going and when you're coming back, but he reckoned old habits die hard.

   Clyde had announced their arrival, shouting something through the front door once he nudged it open, but either out of disinterest or inadvertence it fell on deaf ears. No one bothered to shout back, so once Clyde unpacked his phone charger he brought M/n through the house with him as he searched. After two hallways, a study, a grand staircase, the living room, and the dining room, Clyde finally found Tolkien and Jimmy in the kitchen. The marble island was a mess. Covered in packets of brownie mix, drops of batter, and used dishes piled up to make more space. Jimmy managed to avoid most of the mess, eating spoonfuls of leftover batter from the mixing bowl. While Tolkien, on the opposite side of the island, tried dusting off the powder staining the front of his shirt. A fruitless effort, only succeeding in distracting him from Clyde as he jumped on his back. 

   "Boo, what's with the special treatment?" Clyde scoffed through his nose, it turned into a small laugh as he wrapped his arms around Tolkien's chest and leaned more and more of his full weight onto his back. 

   Tolkien tried to keep his footing, but eventually slipped and brought Clyde down with him. The "Fatass," that escaped his mouth after collapsing onto the tile floor only encouraged Clyde to laugh louder, taking a second to recuperate before resurfacing from behind the counter. Amongst the commotion M/n stood a few feet from Jimmy. The two made short, knowing, eye contact with each other just as Tolkien jokingly shoved Clyde away from him. 

   "I'm being hospitable, don't be a dick." Tolken swatted Clyde's hand away from the oven with a hand towel, which earned him a deeply offended look. Rolling his eyes they eventually landed on M/n, and the unamused look on his face quickly changed into something more inviting. "I hope you're enjoying Southpark, absolutely nothing changed while you were gone." 

   M/n grinned and agreed with a nod of his head. Politely taking the batter covered whisk offered to him by Jimmy, whether or not he actually wanted to eat off it. "Other than Cartman's fa- fat ass somehow getting fa- fa- fatter." Jimmy added, lighting up when M/n let a small laugh escape him. 

   "Tweek and Craig said they'll be here in a few hours." Tolkien explained, giving up on wiping away the stain on his shirt. "Tricia's open house was today so they took her to meet her teachers."

   "Are we waiting on them for anything?" Clyde asked.

   "Nope, just to grace us with their presence." 

   Clyde grabbed a soda from the fridge, humming in thought as he opened it. Popping the small tab off the can and pocketing it. "Do you want to go change while I put on a movie?" 

   "Go for it, just put it on in my room."

   "What about the mess?" M/n pointed out setting the whisk down in the sink behind him. Tolkien blinked at him owlishly, once, then twice, realizing at some point that not responding was worse than responding obnoxiously he shook off his surprise. 

   "Oh, uh, it's fine. I'll get to it at some point." He shot Clyde a bewildered look, and it only worsened once Clyde shot back two thumbs up. With a small scoff he turned on his heel to get changed.