Texting Anonymous

My life is pretty normal.

I mean, compared to some of the other kids in South Park, I had it pretty easy. My parents are together—yeah, that's a shocker. My mom was always checking in on me, and my dad was around, but not overbearing. Then there's Shelly, my older sister, who pretty much hates my guts, but that was normal. We fight all the time, and I mostly keep my distance. I was used to it.

I had my group of friends, too. Kyle, Cartman, Kenny. We were always getting into dumb shit, mostly at school, sometimes at home. Whether it was sneaking out or getting in trouble for some stupid reason, it didn't matter. They were my people, and no matter what, I knew they had my back.

But there was one thing.

I was gay.

I hadn't told anyone, not even Kyle, and I sure as hell wasn't about to. Not yet, anyway.

I'll get into that later.

Right now, I was sitting in my car, waiting to pick up everyone for school.

First stop: Kyle's house.

I parked outside, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel. A few seconds later, the door to Kyle's house opened, and there he was. His curly hair bouncing, like it always was in the mornings, and he had that look on his face—kind of annoyed but trying to hide it.

He climbed into the car, slamming the door behind him. "Ugh, I swear, my mom's going off again about how I never help around the house. Like, I'm sixteen, I don't need to clean the whole place, right?" He let out a laugh, shaking his head like it wasn't a big deal, but I could see the frustration behind his eyes. "I told her I'd help out after school, but no, she made it sound like I was the one who left the kitchen a mess in the first place."

"Sounds like a you problem," I said with a smirk, pulling out of the driveway and heading toward school.

"Shut up," Kyle shot back, his tone playful as he leaned back in the seat. He let out a dramatic sigh, rubbing his temples like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. "She's always on me about something. At least I don't have to listen to her nagging for the next few hours."

I laughed. He always found a way to make light of whatever was bugging him. I admired that about him.

Kyle sighed, slumping into the passenger seat and crossing his arms over his chest. "God, it's cold outside," he muttered, rubbing his hands together in an attempt to warm them up. I could tell he wasn't a fan of mornings, especially not when the weather decided to be extra brutal.

I shot him a quick glance. "Yeah, it's pretty bad today." I focused on the road, the frost still clinging to the edges of the windshield.

Kyle huffed in agreement, blowing air on his hands. "Just another thing my mom's right about," he grumbled. "Told me to put on a thicker jacket. I swear, she's got a sixth sense for making me feel like I'm failing at life."

Kyle is my best friend. He always had been. Through all the stupid fights, the weird growing-up stuff, and the messes we found ourselves in, he was the one person I could count on. Even when things felt too messed up to fix, he was always there, cracking jokes, making things feel like they weren't as bad as they seemed. I couldn't imagine my life without him.

But... there was a part of me that wished I could tell him. The one thing that I hadn't even hinted at yet. I mean, we'd been through a lot together, but telling him this would be different. I wasn't sure if he'd understand, even if he was always so quick to defend me.

I glanced at him again, the way he was staring out the window now, his shoulders slumped slightly from the cold. He looked more tired than usual.

"You okay?" I asked, my voice quiet.