Ninth story. Kenny/Kyle, some romance, some angst, tons of storytelling. Same as usual.
Sorry for the delay, it was hard to get started on this story; I couldn't find the right words. Hopefully the second chapter will go a bit faster.

Kenny has known Kyle almost his whole life. And for as long as Kyle had known him, Kenny loved doing reckless things: setting things on fire, playing with guns, doing stupid dares and the "Krazy Kenny Show". Kyle loved that about Kenny; he was always happy, always willing to try something new. Kenny, in turn, admired Kyle's intelligence, levelheadedness and caring personality. When they were alone, Kenny used to talk to Kyle about his problems, and Kyle always gave him good advice. Kenny, on the other hand, was always there for Kyle when he needed someone to complain to about his family. It should have been a perfect friendship but, for the past year, they had been growing apart.
Shortly after turning 17, Kenny started living the life most of the other kids wished they could have: he had dropped out of school, he was racing in the outskirts of town almost every night, drinking, doing drugs; basically doing whatever he wanted to do whenever he wanted to do it.
Everyone thought Kenny had it easy, but he was unhappy. He didn't do these things to try and have fun, he did them because he liked Kyle a lot more than he thought he should, and it was messing him up. Initially he had dropped out of school to try and get away from Kyle, to see if that would "stop" his feelings, but it didn't work.
A few months ago, Kenny and Kyle stopped talking altogether as a last effort by Kenny to deal with his feelings. Even that didn't work.
After all the things he did failed to help, he tried a different approach. He had tried giving up drinking and drugs, but it just made him feel worse, physically and mentally. He had tried doing "heavier" drugs, meditation, massages, acupuncture, etc. Desperate, he tried to kill himself in every way he could think of – blowing himself up, botox, ritual sacrifice, electrocution, cutting his wrists, hanging himself... Nothing worked. He was unhappy with his life, unable to improve it and unable to end it. He couldn't accept that he was gay. In his mind, there was just no way.

Kyle was facing a similar problem. He was surrounded by friends (and Cartman), he had a family, he was smart, but he was still sad.
When Kenny and he started to drift apart, he started feeling sad, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. However, when they stopped talking completely, he had been feeling empty, like something had been taken away from him, something that was very important to him, but he couldn't talk to anyone about it. He knew that if anyone knew of his feelings, for another boy nonetheless, he would never hear the end of it. However, no matter what his so called "friends" could do, his parents still scared him more than anything. They would kill him if they even dreamed that he was gay.
Thankfully, Kyle was able to hide it... most of the time.

Sheila: So, Kyle, how was school?
Kyle: It was fine, mom.
Sheila: You know, I can't believe Kenny's parents just let him drop out of school. They must be the most irresponsible parents in the world!
Kyle: ...Yeah, I guess.

The mere mention of Kenny's name (or any similar name) was enough to get Kyle's heart racing and completely throw him off track. All the memories from growing up together, all the intimate moments, started flashing before his eyes.

Sheila: Oh, Kyle, I forgot to mention, we're going away for a month or so.
Kyle: What? Why?
Sheila: We're going out of town on vacation.
Kyle: Why can't we stay here?

As usual, Kyle's mom gave him a lame excuse and wouldn't discuss it further. Kyle was stuck with being away from his friends for a month, maybe more.

Meanwhile, Stan was lying down next to his phone, waiting for a call from Kyle.
Ever since Kenny dropped out of school, Stan was back to being Kyle's best friend/complaint hotline. And considering Kyle's family, it shouldn't take long before he got a call.

"That must be him."

Stan gave a long, weary sigh and picked up the phone. It's not that he didn't like that they were back to being best friends, but he also had stuff on his mind, and he couldn't complain about them to Kyle or couldn't deal with them because of the latter's constant calls.

Kyle: Stan! Dude, my mom just told me about this bullshit "vacation" we're taking for the next month, starting tomorrow!
Stan: Have you tried asking her to stay over at my house?
Kyle: No, but you know how she is... She won't discuss it anymore.
Stan: Well... that sucks for you, I guess...
Kyle: What could be worse?
Stan: Your parents being divorced.
Kyle: ...Sorry, Stan.
Stan: It's alright. I know what it's like to have a problem and forget that others have them too.
Kyle: ...I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have... Sorry...

"The more you say you're sorry the more it loses its meaning."

Stan: Don't worry about it. Listen, how are you dealing with the whole... Kenny thing? I mean, you guys haven't spoken in months and I know how much you like him...
Kyle: ...I'm fine. He said he didn't want to talk to me, so we're not talking anymore. That's all this is.
Stan: Which he told you after you told him how you felt. I know how much that hurts.
Kyle: I said I'm fine.
Stan: ...If you say so.
Kyle: Listen, my mom is calling me downstairs. I gotta go.
Stan: Alright. Bye, Kyle.
Kyle: Bye, Stan.

Kyle had to lie to his friend so he wouldn't hear his sobs. Stan had touched a sensitive point: No matter how much Kyle loved Kenny, he didn't love him back and he never would. It was the one thing Kyle tried to ignore about Kenny. Unfortunately, he wasn't always able to do it. Kyle lied down on his bed and kept on sobbing, which didn't go unnoticed by his brother. However, Ike knew there was only one thing Kyle cried about and, although it wasn't something he wanted to talk about, it was something he needed help with.

The following morning, Kyle woke up earlier than usual so he could say goodbye to Stan before leaving.

Kyle: I'm leaving in a few minutes... Just wanted to say goodbye.
Stan: Are you sure you can't convince your mom to stay over? My mom wouldn't mind.
Kyle: Yeah, I'm sure...
Sheila: Come on Kyle, we have to go!

"Just give me a second!"

Kyle gave Stan a short "goodbye" hug and got into the car with his family. He looked at Stan, who was waving him goodbye until they left.

"Poor Kyle..."

Kyle came back a month later, a few days before school started again. The first thing he did after unpacking was go to Stan's house. During his absence, he decided he was going to start talking to Kenny again, regardless of what he told him before. He was tired of Kenny acting like such a pussy.
So Kyle liked him. That didn't meant they couldn't still be friends. However, he wanted some advice on how to approach Kenny, and Stan was perfect for that.

Kyle: Hey, Stan, I'm back.
Stan: Yeah, I saw your mom drive by here. How was it?
Kyle: Boring. How was South Park?
Stan: Um... Same as ever, I guess...
Kyle: Listen, I need your advice on something...

"Please don't let it be Kenny related..."

Kyle: It's about Kenny. I decided to go talk to him. He's being such a pussy about this. So what if I like him? It's not my problem he can't deal with it.
Stan: ...I don't think you should go talk to him.
Kyle: Why not?
Stan: ...Just don't do it, trust me. Kenny's...
Kyle: ...Yes?

Stan remained quiet. He knew that if he told Kyle the truth, he wouldn't like it.

Kyle: Stan, whatever it is, I can take it.
Stan: Kenny's got a girlfriend.

Kyle wasn't expecting this. He wanted to cry, but he wouldn't do it in front of his friend. He had to be strong.

Kyle: ...That's it?
Stan: What do you mean "That's it"?
Kyle: What do you think I mean? Did you expect me to fall down like a house of cards or something? I can handle it.
Stan: I'm sorry, I didn't expect you to-
Kyle: To not act like a pussy?
Stan: ...I didn't say that.

"No need."

Kyle: So, how should I talk to Kenny?
Stan: I dunno... I guess you should just be honest with him. Tell him that you still want to be friends and that you won't take "no" for an answer. The worst that can happen is that you end up where you are now.

"Why didn't I think of that?"

Kyle: Alright, thanks. I gotta go back now, my mom doesn't know I left and she'll be back any minute now.
Stan: OK. Bye, Kyle.
Stan: Bye.

Kyle left and walked back home slowly, knowing that Stan would probably be watching him from his bedroom window, trying to see if there was anything that indicated how Kyle was feeling. However, Stan had other plans. He grabbed his phone and called the person who told him about Kyle's feelings for Kenny in the first place – Ike.

Stan: Hey, Ike. Welcome back to South Park.
Ike: Hi, Stan. Thanks. I assume my brother has already talked to you about his decision?
Stan: Yeah.
Ike: What did you tell him?
Stan: I told him the truth. Kenny has a girlfriend now.
Ike: ...How did he take it?
Stan: Pretty well, actually... It was kinda creepy.

"Right. He's probably gonna cry himself to sleep again."

Ike: Are you sure he's alright? You know how Kyle is...
Stan: He seemed fine. He told me not to worry about him, that he wasn't gonna "fall like a house of cards".
Ike: ...I really don't believe that.
Stan: Are you gonna talk to him about it or something?
Ike: ...Or something.
Stan: Don't do anything stupid.
Ike: Goodbye, Stan.
Stan: Bye.

Ike found out about his brother's feelings for Kenny by accident, but he immediately wanted to help him. However, the first time he mentioned Kenny and his feelings for him, Kyle told him not to talk about it to anyone, not even Kyle himself. Fortunately, Ike knew where Kyle hid his diary. He was violating his brother's privacy, and he knew he shouldn't, but it was the only way he could have an insight into how Kyle was doing.

Kyle arrived a few minutes after Ike and Stan finished the phone call. He went straight into his room and locked the door. He was having a hard time holding back his tears, so he started listening to music while lying down on his bed. It was very loud, but Ike was the only one home, so he didn't care.

Meanwhile Kenny was spending time with his new girlfriend, Bebe. The other girls thought she was just dating Kenny because of his looks; it was the only reason she would date someone she claimed she didn't like, but Kenny didn't care. He just wanted to prove to himself that he wasn't gay.
Bebe, on the other hand, really did like Kenny, although not as much as Kyle. He told her he loved her multiple times per day, but he didn't. To him these were just words he said to try and convince himself that he meant them. However, like everything else he had tried, it didn't work. He felt miserable and it was obvious to Bebe that he wasn't happy with her, or at least not as happy as he should've been. She didn't know why, though, so she just kept on trying to make him happy, doing everything she could think of.
Unfortunately, nothing she tried worked so she tried talking to all of Kenny's friends, but nobody knew anything. There was only one person left who should have the answer – Cartman. She (and the rest of the school) didn't like Cartman very much, but she cared about Kenny enough to go talk to him. She was going to do it tomorrow at school, and she was going to force him to tell her the truth.

Well, that's the end of the first chapter. I hope you liked it. I will start the second chapter later today, as I have some personal stuff to take care of.