Title from "Born to Die" by Lana Del Rey and "Here I Am Alive" by Yellowcard (feat. Tay Jardine)...
While I wrote I listened to those songs, I mean, why not *shrugs*
Well, happy reading~
Born to die
„Here I am alive!"
The bar.
Bottles clattered against each other; chanting filling the room.
A man.
„How dare you?"
„Kenny, it's okay. I–"
A threat.
„How'bout we goin' outside a bit."
„Ladies first."
The alley.
„What do you want to do, old geezer?"
„I'll make ya shut up, little fucker!"
A gun.
„Woah, woah, calm down."
„Now it's gettin' real and ya singin' small."
Flash–
An escape.
A scream...
Kenny fell with a blank expression and a dull noise into the snow.
Everything felt calm for a moment. He heard nothing but this cheep in his ears.
Maybe because of that shot?
He looked up to the sky. It was already really late, but the lights of the town coloured it in a mixture of orange and grey.
He saw the snow slowly falling down on the streets, the roofs of the building and finally on him.
The boy didn't know why, but it was soothing.
But when he felt heavy steps on the ground, he came back to himself, widened his eyes and gasped.
„K-kenny! Kenny!" Kyle shaking voice assailed his ears.
The blond panted and suddenly he began to panic. He realised what just happened.
„Calm down, Kenny! C-calm down." Stan was there, too.
Kenny looked around, searching, and eventually he could spot Stan in front of him. He had a helpless expression on his face.
„... K-..kyle..?", was all he managed to say for now.
„I-I'm here!"
Kenny could feel an arm being wrapped around his torso. Kyle sat behind him and pulled him on his lap, blonde hair tickling his neck. He let his left arm in place and ran with the other across his heated face.
At that moment Stan noticed the wound in his friends stomach. Overwhelmed by this situation he didn't come up with a better idea than pressing his hands on it; feeling the blood flowing past his fingers.
Kenny let out a noise of pain and squint his eyes shut.
Stan mumbled an apology and his eyes filling with tears.
„Call 911.", uttered Kyle, voiceless.
He lifted his head to make eye-contact with the black-haired boy.
„Stan!" He looked up, looking into the green, watery eyes Kyle owns. „Call 911!"
„S-sure..." He tried to get his cellphone out of his pocket and it fell to the ground due to his trembling hands. He picked it up quickly, but hesitated as he saw the blood all over him. He was near to hyperventilating.
Stan wiped his hands on his jeans and tried to type the three numbers, for what he needed two attempts. He turned away and explained the woman, who picked up, the situation.
„... Kyle..." Said boy intensified his grip around Kenny as he heard him whispering his name.
„Yeah? W-what is it?", he asked, while he stroke his hair. „Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
„I'm... fine... I like g-getting shot.", Kenny breathed. „Of course not, you... asshole!" He tensed up, but regretted it immediately as he felt the pain rushing through his whole body.
„Hush!", Kyle commanded, his hand still comforting his head.
„T-thanks!", Stan stammered, hanging up and leaving his cellphone falling on the white ground again as he saw Kenny's hand reaching for him.
He grabbed it and leaned over him, one hand resting on the other side of Kenny.
Stan directed their hands to his forehead, pressing the blondes against it.
„She–", he broke up and swallowed down tears."She told me, t-they'll be... he-here soon."
„Thank... you", acknowledged Kenny and pressured his hand, leaning further against Kyle.
They sat there for a whole time.
Together.
Holding him; being there.
Kenny gulped and coughed a few times, alarming his friends, who both looked up and tightened their grips.
„L-listen...", he addressed both. „I... I want y-you to–"
„No.", Stan replied, receiving a weird look from Kyle, a hurt one from Kenny.
„What do you mean 'No'?", questioned Kyle, tilting his head.
„No, just... N-no, Kenny. This won't be of those „If I die, I want you to..." conversations! No!", Stan ordered, too stubborn to admit the inevitable fact. „I can't..."
„Stan..."
Kenny freed his hand and stretched it to his cheek. He cupped it and wiped away one single tear, that escaped Stans eye.
„It's okay...", he smirked, what induced the other to cry out loud.
„It's n-not...", Kyle sobbed into the blondes hair.
„Don't leave us!", Stan begged, clenching Kenny's sleeve.
„I won't.", Kenny promised.
He felt how Kyle began to shudder.
The blonde closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on his breathing.
„Remem-..ber..."
Stan heard him breathing out silently, waiting for him to breathe back in, but it didn't happen.
He raised his head slowly observing him, searching for a hint that he's still alive. So grabbed his hand and put fingers on his wrist to feel a pulse, which he couldn't find.
„No..."
„What are you doing...?", Kyle asked in a low tone.
„H-he stop–... stopped breathing!", he explained, seizing with panic.
Kyle hoisted his head, looking over Kenny and noticed that Stan was right.
„K-kenny...?"
He shook him, but didn't get a response.
„KENNY!"
Stan's shout drowned by the sound of ambulance sirens
„Let me through! Let me through!"
Kyle could hear Stan yelling from the background as the tried to push the ambulance men away from the stretcher on which they carried Kenny into the car.
„Don't touch me!", Stan hissed and struggled against those who dragged him away from his friend.
Kyle watched the scenario with an empty face, but red-rimmed eyes from crying.
He wrapped the orange blanket closer around his shoulders, somehow pretending that it was Kenny's parka.
„Excuse me?"
Kyle looked up and saw into the face of a young police officer.
„Yeah?"
„May you tell me the victim's name?"
The redheaded boy nodded slowly and cleared his throat.
„K-kenneth... McCormick.", he answered with a thin voice.
„Tell me what happened."
„We... We went to the bar, when I... I had to go to the toilet and there... t-there was this old man who..." Kyle gulped. „He started to molest me and Kenny, he... He came after me and saw us. H-he went all mad and started to shout at his guy, but he–„
„It's okay, boy." The police officer laid a hand on his shoulder to calm him and Kyle took a deep breath.
„The man suggested t-to go outside... So we all – Stan, Kenny, the man and I – went outside, into that alley to prevent people from getting n-nervous... T-they started an argument and the man, he... drew a gun and pointed it at Kenny... He tried to talk good to him, but he just–"
Kyle sobbed and wiped new tears away with the back of his hand.
„H-he pulled... the trigger and Kenny fell over. We–... we stayed by his side. That's all."
„At least, he was with his friends 'till the very last second."
Kyle frowned, fighting the urge to attack him.
„The culprit, did you know him?"
He shook his head, yet pointed at the alley.
„But he ran off in this direction."
„Thank you. I'll order a colleague of mine to drive you guys home."
With these words, he turned around and said something into a walkie-talkie.
Another man, older than the one who talked to him, came with Stan towards him and told him to get into that car.
They climbed into the car and got driven home to their families.
The blonde zipped up his orange parka, pulled the hood over his head and threw his bag on his shoulders.
On his way out of the house, he walked past a dirty mirror and stopped to see his look.
He was totally fine again; he slept like a baby and yet he could still feel the wound from yesterday. The blood, that was spilling out of it – on Stans hands.
Another thing he could feel were the touched areas by his friends.
Kenny put his hood down and ran his fingers through his hair.
„Maybe they remember this time.", he wondered as he left.
„Kenny!"
Kyle waved at him as he spotted the distinctive parka.
He greeted his friends with a content „Morning".
„Well, could've worked...", Kenny thought depressed, but he didn't show his emotions.
„Ah, I nearly forgot!", Stan jumped and fumbled in his bag. Eventually he pulled a video game out and handed it Kenny.
„Eh, thanks?", was all he could reply, visibly confused.
„You have to lend a game from Stan, because you can't afford it yourself. How cute.", Cartman sneered a remark.
„Fuck off, Cartman.", the blonde demanded, then turned back to the black haired boy. „How come?"
„Well, yesterday you said 'Remember...', so I thought you meant this.", Stan answered awkwardly, rubbing his neck.
„Yeah, I know, I had to remember something, too, but I couldn't bring myself to it.", Kyle confessed. „Sorry, dude."
Kenny beamed.
„It's alright, really."
It never was a steady plan, but whatever it was, it worked.
The End