INNOCENCE

It began as something simple.

When Mr. Mackey, South Park High's newest eleventh grade history teacher sat him next to me, I'm sure he didn't realize the vast consequences it would have on my life. I'm sure he was vaguely hoping the nervous little boy would help straighten me out, get me to turn in my work on time or some shit like that. (Ha.)

He didn't realize that over the decade and a half we'd known each other, we had already been the severest of enemies, co-conspirators in adventures, and brothers in battle against all the stupid shit that this stupid shit-hole of a town had already put us through. I don't think anybody realized that a seating assignment would be the catalyst to make us fall in love.

It was completely ridiculous. I like tits. I'd loved tits since I was seven and a half. So now this tiny-boned, blonde twitch of a boy comes along, and all of a sudden I'm batting for the other team? Wish it was that simple, don't you?

"Now Mr. McCormick, your essay is a week late. This is unacceptable, mkay?"

"Well if you wanted an essay so bad, why didn't you ask?" I fished it out of my backpack, underneath the crumpled corpses of worksheets and textbook pages and gum wrappers from the last ten years.

It had been done three days, but I knew it was no good, so I hadn't bothered to turn it in, thinking I'd just re-do it right, but, well, things came up. I'm a busy man. Kinda.

His eyebrows rose a full two and a half inches, then instantly narrowed.

"This is two pages too long... and not on topic, mkay. We're studying World War One, Mr. McCormick. This is a biography on the life of Eugene Debs."

There was some muffled laughter through the classroom. One random student muttered "who the fuck?" I scowled.

"Yeah, well, thats why I didn't turn it in."

He sighed. "Mr. McCormick, if and when I find out this is plagiarized, you're gonna be in a load of trouble, mkay?"

"Got it."

His blue eyes watched Mackey set the essay down on his desk, then he whispered to me.

"Oh Kenny, you shouldn'ta done that. I don't wanna see you suspended or nothing."

It was the first thing he'd said to me since we'd been paired up.

"Shut up, Butters."

It got worse, a month later, when my grade slipped from a C+ to a D.

"Mr. McCormick, I needa see you after class, okay? Its about your essay?" There was a tittering of laughter.

"Way to go, Kenny," Craig said. I flipped the bastard off. He looked genuinely upset that I'd used his own insult on him. Butters merely sighed.

After everybody left, I purposely took five minutes packing up all my shit, then shuffled over to his desk, trying not to look embarrassed.

"Kenny," he sighed, "I read your essay a dozen times, google searched every major phrase you used, searched all the buy-an-essay sites, and didn't find anything."

"Of course its not plagiarized you fuckface."

"Kenny, please take off your hood so I can hear you, mkay?"

I sighed and ripped it off. My hair was dirty. "I didn't plagiarize it, sir."

"How much did you pay Kyle for this essay?"

I glared at him, hesitated. "Fifteen bucks. Jews are cheap."

To my horror, he smiled. "Now, the other day when I asked Mr. Broflovski which of Eugene Debs' policies he found most compelling, and he responded with, and I quote- 'Who the hell is that?'I followed that up with a question about socialism in America, mkay, but he just looked confused, said there weren't any socialists in American politics. Why'd you lie to me, Kenny?"

I scowled. "Kyle's a good liar, that's all."

"Not that good. This a damn well written paper, Kenny."

I stared at him, blank-faced.

"Unfortunately, there are certain state-mandated learning objectives, mkay, and I just can't give you full credit for this. Why'd you even pick this?"

I shrugged. "There was a photo insert about the progressive movement. Even poor people have Google, Mr. Mackey."

He was staring at me with those teacher eyes, the kind that said "I'm trying to force you to reach some sort of potential I think you have, but you're being difficult, and I pity you."

"Okay, well, being that as it is, I'm giving you 75% for this paper, okay, but I'm assigning your partner Mr. Stotch as your tutor."

My eyebrows shot up. Seventy five percent wasn't bad. But Butters, seriously? Kiss-ass was probably getting extra credit he didn't even need for it.

"But I already have to see that fuck everyday in class, and-" I didn't know why, but the thought of spending any extra time with Butters appalled me.

"Don't you fuckin' swear in front of me. And this is not an option. I expect you to pass my class, McCormick. You will graduate high school if its the last thing you do, mkay?"

"Fine."

Our first tutoring session was forced and awkward. The school librarian watched us the entire time from her desk, over her beak-like nose. Her pinched face twitched every time anybody neared her shelves, as if she was deadly scared someone might actually touch her precious books.

"So how far are you on this week's homework, Kenny?"

I stared at him blankly.

"Th- the notes, for chapter twelve?"

"Oh. Uh, haven't really read the chapter or anything."

He sighed, then ducked down under the table, emerging three seconds later with our 500 page textbook.

"Fuck dude, you carry that around all day?"

"Only cuz I knew we were doing this later. Now, you start that, and I have math to do."

"Thought you were s'posed to tutor me."

His eyes narrowed. "I am. Get to work."

There was nothing for it. Half an hour later, I was still at it. Stupid Butters wouldn't even let me go to the bathroom or give up.

"Butters," I said, exasperated, "why are you even in Mackey's class? Isn't there a smart asses history class?"

He narrowed his eyes, then forced his face into an expression of superior patience. "Since you asked so nicely, I plan to take AP history next year. I'm already taking five other AP history classes this year."

I scowled, a retort on the tip of my tongue, before we were interrupted.

"Hey Ken."

I looked up. It was Ashley, batting her eyelashes and all but flaunting her lovely boobs in my face. After a nasty breakup with Craig, she had started using my dick as rebound. Not that I was complaining.

"Hey there."

"Hard at work I see?"

I shrugged. She eyed me up and down.

"Could be harder. See you later?" She winked and flounced out of the library, her mousy friend in tow.

"Well she seemed like a nice lady," Butters said. I laughed. "Who was her friend?"

"You like her?"

He nodded, blushing slightly. It made his milky white skin look like porcelain.

"Tell you what," I said. "If I get full credit on these notes, I'll set up a double date."

I knew Ashley wouldn't want to be seen in public with me. I'd just have to do some... convincing...

He brightened, smiling. "Lets see how they're coming, then." The blonde boy grabbed my sheet of notebook paper, and almost immediately his eyebrows furrowed. "Okay, no... No, no. This is wrong."

Now my face matched his. "The fuck you mean?"

"How are you organizing these? There aren't even bullet points!" He sighed dramatically, then opened up his perfectly organized binder, flipping to the pink divider, and pulling out his own homework. "See? Section titles in purple, key terms highlighted, new bullet point for new ideas, indent for details on a main idea. And I've got little smiley face stickers next to things that might be on the test. You can't just spew random sentences on your paper. Do you know what I am saying?"

"You're shitting me, right?"

"No, I am not shitting you." He slid the paper back to me. "Now redo it."

I was furious. Nobody bossed me around. Oblivious, he went back to his math, apparently stuck on a difficult problem.

"Oh hamburgers," he muttered to himself, lightly sucking on the end of his pen. I felt a heavy tension in the pit of my stomach, and forced my eyes back to the textbook.

Oh no. No, no.

Later that night, home again after re-writing everything just how that stick of a fuck-face wanted, I stormed through my house, ignoring my screaming parents, my brother passed out drunk in front of the television, going straight to my room and slamming the door shut behind me.

Fuck this.

Why was I bothering? Why was I trying? Mackey only made me GO to the sessions... I didn't have to actually do what Butters said.

I'd had plenty of chances to watch to scrawny little boy, too many in fact, and truth be told, he was starting to get under my skin. There was something about him, a cloying innocence that I just couldn't shake out of my head. These tutoring sessions were no good. I needed less time with this kid, he was bad for me, somehow, I just knew it.

I called up Ashley, sneaking her in my window, and we fucked like rabbits. Her libido over-rode any qualms she might have about my shit-head family and shit-hole house. Besides, her family wasn't that much better off.

I watched her lazily, sprawled naked across my bed. She sat on the edge of my bed, bent forward to pick up her bra, putting it back on. There was still a hollow feeling in my stomach. There was still a void that she had never been able to fill.

"See you later?"

I smiled, kissed her one last time, and snuck her back home. It was no good.

Sure enough, a week later, Mack-a-lack gave our assignments back, and I'd gotten full credit. I was starting to dread just walking into that damn classroom.

"Well I'll be dammed Butters. Your stupid stickers did it."

He smiled. "See? Not such a f-f-fuck-face, am I?"

I felt a smile twist at my face, unbidden, at the perfect child swearing, and the effort it clearly took him.

Later that evening, we were at his house, for our second tutoring session. This time it was a diorama of World War One trenches.

"So, uh, K- Kenny?"

"Mhm?"

"Is our deal still good, or what?"

"Of course." After school, I'd eaten out Ashley in a supply closet, and she had agreed, flush-faced, to convince her friend to a double date. I looked up. He was rubbing his knuckles together. "What's wrong? Thought you wanted it?"

"Course I do. It's only that I'm nervous is all."

"Why?"

He blushed.

"Butters... You have been on dates before, right?"

"Went to a movie with Wendy and Red once," he mumbled.

"They think you're their gay friend," I said. "Doesn't count."

"Oh. Well. Then I suppose not."

I sighed. "Was the last time you kissed a girl the time you paid five bucks for it?"

He only blushed and squirmed. "It's just... never been a big deal for me..."

I felt that dark, terrible part of me uncoiling in my gut, rising up my throat, choking me. My hands, shaking slightly, gripped my knees. The internal battle raged a heartbeat more, before I gave in.

"Butters, come here." I led him over to the couch. "It's simple. You just talk to her. Compliment her. Here, lets pretend."

I looked at him, perched at the edge of the cushion, back perfectly straight, doe-like eyes watching me with only a hint of fear. His soft blonde hair was cut nearly to the scalp around the sides, but on top it fell in airy strands into his face, towards his ears.

"You have lovely eyes," I said finally. "Blue like a mountain spring."

I paused when he only blushed.

"Now you try," I prompted. "Girls love this shit."

"Oh, uh, well okay then." He swallowed nervously. Be still, my beating heart. "Kenny, you have a cute nose."

I snickered, tried to hold it in, failed, and started laughing. His face crumpled in anger. "Now Kenny that isn't very nice!"

"I'm sorry!" I gasped, wiping at my eyes, my laughter finally ending. "It's just that nobody's complimented my nose before."

"Should I not?"

"No, no. You have to be yourself. I'm sure she'd love cutesy shit like that."

This boy was so innocent. I could hardly stand it.

"Now, later on," I said, "you'll know she wants to kiss you if you see her looking at your lips." I glanced down. Since when did he have such perfect, pink little lips? "And she might lean into you slightly." The coil in my chest tightened.

"The key here," I continued, leaning into him, "is to keep your head, don't get nervous. See now? You're getting nervous." I forced my voice to stay even, though my palms were sweating and my heart seemed determined to beat its shape into my ribcage.

"All right. Wh- what then?" I almost smiled.

"You go ninety," I said, leaning in closer, "and she goes the last ten percent. You have to make her want it."

The last words were whispered and I knew he could feel my warm breath spread across his lips. Our faces were barely separated. His eyes fluttered closed, and he made a tiny noise in the back of his throat. I nearly died, then.

Finally, just as I was about to give up, he closed the distance. The soft pressure of his lips on mine, the warmth of his breath- the entire sensation was nearly enough to send me over the edge. I pressed back, daring him on, and I nearly felt my heart fall straight out of my chest when he tentatively opened his mouth, and ran his tongue along my lower lip. I grabbed my opportunity, feeling the ridge of his teeth with the tip of my own tongue, running it along the soft, warm wet length of his. He shuddered, and I felt my hands grab his hips, unbidden, when the alarms went off in my head. Jesus Christ, Kenny- you're kissing Butters!

I broke us apart, and stared at his beautiful face for a moment. We were both flushed, and panting slightly.

"See?" I finally said, voice trembling slightly, heart beating slow and loud, head fuzzy and oddly light. I felt as if I might simply float off into the sky if gravity wasn't holding me in this room with him. "You'll do fine tomorrow."

That night, I did what any sane seventeen year old would, who had just kissed a boy for the first time and liked it an awful, awful lot, and shot myself in the head. Don't worry, I timed it during the gunfire of the movie Kevin was watching- they didn't hear a thing. The pain helped, but not as much as the blissful thoughtlessness.

I woke up the next morning, groaned rolled out of bed. What the fuck was I doing? Well, for starters, not wearing the parka to our date. Sure would suck to die twice in twenty-four hours. I settled for a long sleeved white shirt underneath an orange button up and a large black scarf my sister had knitted me.

I coaxed my piece-of-shit pick up into starting, then rumbled down the road to pick up both girls and Butters, and drove all four of us to the movie theater.

"Well C-Cindy, you want me to buy your ticket?" Butters asked the mousy girl. Too precious.

Afterwards, it was hamburgers and diet cokes at Shakey's.

"What'd you think of the movie?" I asked Ashley.

She sighed. "Dammit Kenny, even when you aren't wearing that damn parka I can't understand a word you say. Take off the scarf."

I smirked. "Whatever you say, dearest slut of mine." Butters glared at me in a clear 'that wasn't very nice' face, but didn't say anything. I slowly undid the scarf halfway.

"Say, Cindy. You have lovely eyes. They're like- like..." I saw him staring at her hazel eyes, clearly trying to think up something good. "like little moss covered stones. In- uh- in a mountain creek."

"Um... Thanks. I guess." She blushed, and looked back down at her plate, so I suppose it worked. The smile on Butters' face was precious. I felt an odd lurch as the hot coil in my stomach spoke up again. I felt strangely proud of Butters, yet... possessive.

We watched the sun set over Stark Pond, and I tried to teach Ashley and Butters how to skip stones. Ashley gave up after a few minutes, and sat next to Cindy on a log to gossip.

"Aw geez Kenny. It's just not working," he said, after his latest rock plopped into the water and sank like a- well, like a rock.

Well you're holding it all wrong," I said. "Come here." I picked up another stone, digging through them for one that looked flat enough. "Now, hold it with your fingers like this, curled around as if it was a baseball." I showed him, then handed him the rock.

"Like this?"

I shook my head, stepped closer. "No, no." I stood beside him, my chest barely touching his shoulder. I placed my hand over his, and pushed his fingers where I wanted them. My heart was beating fast again, and I felt a nervous energy spreading through my body. "Now flick your wrist, follow through." I moved his arm with mine, bringing our bodies indelibly closer. "Got it."

He nodded, and I turned my head to see his cheeks were blushing. My nose was mere centimeters from his adorable face. I let go, and moved back a half step.

Sure enough, this time the stone bounced once before plopping into the water.

"Whoopee!"

He started bouncing around like an over-excited little kid, his blonde hair bouncing comically off his head.

"I did it Ken, didja see that?"

A huge smile spread across my face. "Sure did." Suddenly I wanted to kiss him again. He just looked so happy and excited- I couldn't help it.

"It's getting cold," Ashley called. "We going home, or what?"

I dropped Ashely off first, since her home was closest. "Your friend is cute," she said, "but I'm not sure he's Cindy's type. Come to think of it, not sure she has a type." We reached her doorway.

"Oh well. I think he had fun anyway."

We reached her door and she latched her face onto mine, throwing her arms around my neck. Her face was nice- warm and soft- but I found myself ... bored. She was so aggressive, desperate, needy- there was hardly any room to enjoy the kiss. I found myself thinking of Butters, and the one tiny kiss we had shared. He'd been so hesitant, unsure, yet full of want- it had been the hottest thing I'd ever felt. Her hands wormed their way up the small of my back, and a tiny part of my brain wished they were his.

Fuck fuck fuck! It was all wrong. The fuck was I doing?

I pushed her off me, unwinding our bodies forcefully, and pulling out a smile for her.

"Oh- Okay, then. See you later, right?"

I all but pushed her into her house, and ran back to the car.

Dropping off Cindy was a different situation all together. I couldn't hear what Butters was saying, as much as I wished. I craned my neck watching him from the driver's seat of my car. He was blushing, and probably stuttering, and it looked like he was trying to lean in to her space. She wasn't biting the bait. Stupid girl. After another minute, there was a slow, hesitant kiss- the coil in my chest nearly imploded- then Cindy said something, slipped into her house, and shut the door.

"Well," I asked, "how'd it go?"

He sighed. "No good, Ken. Said I was cute, but she didn't want any sort of relationship just now."

"Her loss man, trust me."

We made it all the way to his driveway, and I pulled into park.

"Well thanks for setting this up Kenny. I had a lot of fu-uungh!"

The rest of his sentence was cut off as my lips crashed into his. I couldn't help it any longer. The possessive feeling in my stomach wouldn't let me. He let out a tiny moan as my tongue slipped into his mouth, and my hands flew to his hips. I gripped his tiny waist, felt his hipbones underneath my hands.

There was no space to think, no room to stop. I brought us closer, and he wrapped his hands around my neck, running up into my hair. A tiny shudder ran down my body- this was heaven. I broke us apart, to flutter kisses down his little jaw, up across his face to his earlobe. His had the cutest, best ears I'd ever seen.

"Oh, K-Kenny..."

My stomach lurched at the sound of my name on his lips. I kissed down his neck, to the fleshy flat part of his neck where his pulse beat hot and fast. He moaned, for real this time, as I drew his skin into my mouth, sucking gently on it.

"Nuh- No, Kenny, I- I- Ahhh..."

"Mmm?" He squirmed at the vibration against his neck and I wriggled my hands up from his hips, under his shirt. I dully wondered if anyone had ever made him feel like this before. I wanted to keep going, make him feel wonderful, make him mine, steal his innocence...

"Mah- My parents! I'll be grounded for sure!" He finally broke us apart, staring at me, panting slightly, eyes shining. "I don't- I can't..." He simply stared at me, then opened the door clumsily, fell out, and scrambled into his house. I could do nothing but stare at the closed door in shock, and slowly drive home, completely numb.

I sat down beside Kevin on the couch, body feeling oddly heavy. He looked at me sideways, then turned his attention back to Arnold Schwarzenegger and his machine gun.

"Are you okay Kenny?" It was my sister. "You're all pale, like you've seen a ghost."

"Yeah, I'm fine."

It was so strange, how having that gaping hole in my chest filled for a few hours made it hurt all the worse when the bandage was ripped away again. I'd lived my entire life perfectly used to it, ignoring the ache. Hell, I took advantage of it. Enjoyed the terrible lightness of my soul, fucking off and giving zero shits about anyone, except maybe my innocent little sister. I picked at a fray in the couch, sticking my fingers into the mildewed cushion underneath. I never allowed myself to be happy, so when it was handed to me, I didn't know what to do with it.

To say the least, school the next day was prolonged torture. I picked at my lunch half-heartedly, watching Stan flirt with Wendy, and Kyle endure Eric's Jew-centric insults for all of thirty seconds before calling him a fat ass and telling him to shut up. Why we all still hung out, I had no idea. I stood up with ten minutes of lunch to go, and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Stan asked me.

I shrugged. "Gotta go take a dump." Wendy crumpled her face in disgust and Cartman began laughing hysterically.

I found Ashley exactly where I expected.

"Ash, I can't do this anymore."

"What do you mean? You know I can't be steady with you."

"Yeah. No, I mean I want to break up or whatever."

"What? Don't be stupid."

"I'm not being stupid. I'm serious."

"Why?"

I shrugged. "I guess... doesn't feel fair for you."

"I don't give a shit if you're 'cheating' on me," she said, air-quoting the word. "Go ahead."

I just shrugged again, and she laughed, throwing her head back.

"Are you saying you think you're in love with some other girl?"

I fought the angry blush. "No! God dammit, Ashley."

"What is it then?"

"I'm just done with you, okay? We're done."

Her face finally showed anger. "Fine then." I turned and walked away, and almost made it half-way down the hallway before she called me again.

"It's that little blonde boy, isn't it?"

I froze. Oh hell no.

"I have eyes, you know. Can't keep your little gay secret forever."

I turned, snarling. "Well if you don't want the entire school seeing naked photos of you, it won't leak because of you."

She rolled her eyes, smirking. "Maybe that'd work in my favor. Need a new squeeze now, don't I?" Lord she was a slut. I should really get tested.

"I still have the ones of you in my power ranger pajamas, tied up to my bedpost. And the ones that would legally declare your hair a biohazard. And-"

"Fine!" Finally, her anger and pride won over. It was my turn to smirk. "Keep your god damn boyfriend to yourself, fag."

See? All that kinky sex can come in handy, on occasion.

I felt a sinking sensation in my stomach at the ominous bell signaling the end of lunch, as I shuffled to history. Now was no time for a sexual identity crisis, but seriously. Was I gay? Just a little bit? I wasn't, was I? Maybe I just liked him... What the fuck, McCormick?

We didn't say a single word for the entirety of history. Butters usually took diligent notes, but shit- today he was writing down every word coming out of Mackey's mouth, as if he was scared missing a single one would be the death of him. Half-way through class, I dared one sideways glance at him. He had his teal jacket zipped all the way up, but I could still see it just over his collar- a less-than-tiny, distinctive little bruise. My insides glowed, and I'm pretty sure the sight of Butters' hickey is what kept me going through the week. No matter what, I'd marked him as mine. Mine, dammit.

Our third tutoring session found us in the library again, both silently working, and both a nervous mass of nerves. It had been way too long since we'd spoken to each other.

I couldn't stand it. What was he thinking? Did he hate me? Did he maybe kind of like me? Was he even, well, into guys? Maybe I had assumed too much. It was entirely possible that this tiny angel didn't know how much I wanted him, and never would, or simply wasn't interested in me.

Slowly, hardly daring to believe what I was doing, I raised my eyes to his soft face. I'd known this guy my entire life, yet here we were sitting at a library table, barely acknowledging each other, and in a fucked up way it felt like we barely knew each other. But together with our friends we'd faced a metric ton of bullshit like only Park County can serve up, faced certain death, including the time I nearly put out his eye with a ninja star, stood up to twisted moral crises and found ourselves through them, responded to the fucked up face of society with masked alter egos, kissed twice, and had some of the best times of our lives. This was stupid. I had to take a risk, for once in my life.

"I need you, Leopold."

He froze. "N- Nobody uses my real name."

"Nobody get to me like you do."

He simply stared at me with those blue eyes, mouth twitching slightly, as if he couldn't find the words.

"What are we?" he asked, finally, words barely spoken. "What am I? Why can't I stop thinking about you, Kenny? For years, now."

"I don't know. I've asked myself the same questions. I don't fucking know. And you know what? I'm starting to think it doesn't really matter. Maybe we weren't meant to figure it out just yet. All I know is I like you a lot. I guess, life is kinda like that. You stumble through, try not to get killed, and along comes somebody that fucks it all up, and that's what makes it worth it. You can only see what's right in front of you. I don't know where this is going, or what's going to happen. But I'm looking at you, and for once in my life, I feel kinda... complete."

He was crying, just slightly, tears leaking out the corners of his eyes. He wiped them away angrily, and started laughing.

"Oh fuck, Kenny. You're something, huh? I kinda love you too."

I don't remember leaving the library, but I'm pretty sure I grabbed his hand and we ran all the way home. The next thing I knew, we were tangled on his bed, in his empty house. It was better than anything I can think of, the best thing that's ever happened to me. I ripped his shirt off, then mine- then hesitated.

"Oh Ken," he said, face flushed from arousal, eyes glassy, joy written across every feature. "You have any idea how long we've both waited for this? Go for it."

I could feel his smile against mine as I kissed him, then reached down to unbutton his pants, my right leg in-between his. I pulled them all the way off with his briefs, and took his socks off while I was down there. I kissed the tops of both feet, that stupid smile still on my face, then up his short, skinny legs, kissing each knee cap, and up, up... He moaned, gripping his bed sheets in frustration, as I licked and kissed my way up his thighs. God, Butters had an incredible cock. I couldn't even explain it.

He gasped when I took him into my mouth, but I quickly realized I had no idea what I was doing. It didn't seem to matter much to Butters though. My jaw ached, and it was the strangest, dirtiest feeling in the world, having this most intimate bit of his in my mouth, but I could feel the trust between us too, and the fantastic little mewing noises coming out Butters' throat were all the satisfaction I needed.

"Nuh, no, Kenny, I'm- aughh... I don't wanna..."

My eyes flicked upwards, to his face. Sure enough. I glued my eyes to his face but kept going, greedily enjoying every second of watching Butters come. His nose crumpled, then relaxed as he opened his mouth, groaning.

I pulled off him before he exploded over his bedsheets, then hovered over him again to watch his face. His eyes blinked open, and he smiled. I smiled back in kind, happiness filling every fiber of my body at seeing Butters, sweaty, naked, and sated at my doing.

He reached for my pants, but I batted his hands away.

"There'll be plenty of time for that later," I said. "Right now... I just want to enjoy this moment." I rolled over, and pulled the still-naked Butters into my chest, wrapping my arms around his tiny frame. He fell asleep within a minute, and I swear he made the cutest little snores and whimpers in his sleep. I knew I was poking up against Butters from behind, but, well, thats just something he's going to have to get used to, isn't it?

Later that night, his parents came home, and Butters had the bright idea to introduce me to them as his boyfriend. Well, that was an interesting evening, to say the least. For the first three months of our relationship, I saw Butters only before five on weekdays and before eight thirty (and after homework, piano lessons, and chores) on the weekends, before his parents finally realized that I wasn't going away.

And thank god I didn't, because I'm pretty sure I have Butters to thank for graduating. I took make-up classes that summer, and he tutored me through all of them, pushing me to keep on actually trying. I had a 2.4 GPA, and I was leaving this school the right way, and it felt damn good.

Well, now you know most of my story. Whatever you must think of me- I can be pretty pathetic, I know- just know that this kid makes me happier than I had ever imagined being.

A year and a half later, here I am, lying in the grass, the head of my amazing, sexy, adorable, and now less-than-innocent boyfriend leaned against my stomach, which hasn't been troubling me for a while now. It's Graduation. This is it- tonight all my friends and I will walk across the stage of South Park High and receive a stupid piece of paper that somehow validates us as members of society. Then that's it, game over, we're being pushed out into the "real world." I'm not too worried about that bit. Until then, we don't have a thing to worry about.

Wendy and Token are together again, and lying together in the grass, staring into each others' eyes. Stan isn't too heartbroken about it. There's a lot of gossip and speculation, but it seems like there's another lover in his life now. Even Eric Cartman is being relatively well behaved - until he gets tired of the card game he, Stan, Kyle, and Clyde are playing, at least.

"God, Butters, why do you let Kenny do that to you?" I froze, my fingers tangled in Butters' strawberry scented hair.

"Whadya mean, Eric?" he asks.

"Kenny always does this. He parades you around like some sort of gay pet monkey to make fun of you for being such a twink. I thought it was funny watching you two be dumbasses, but now its just getting gross. Stop being such faggots. God dammit."

I said nothing. I didn't trust myself. I could hardly keep from laughing.

"Cartman? Are you seriously fucking retarded?" Kyle nearly shouted at him.

Stan was pinching the bridge of his nose. "Eric... Butters and Kenny have been actually together for about a year now."

There was a long pause. Finally: "The FUCK? KENNY?"

That was it. The laughter exploded out of my body, and pretty soon the other three joined me. Fucking Cartman...

He stood up, throwing his cards on the grass, furious. "Screw you guys, I'm going home."

I shut the fuck up and sat up when I saw Mr. Mackey walking towards us.

"Mr. McCormick?"

"Yes sir?" Shit, we were probably about to be kicked off the field for making so much noise.

"I, uh, would just like to say... good job, okay? I knew you could do it."

I blushed, speechless, but he just smiled and walked away.

"See Ken?" Butters was smiling. "I wasn't the only one that believed in you." He kissed my cheek.

"Thanks, Li." Leopold had been shortened to Leo, which sometimes just became Li. If anyone else called him that, though, they got a nice fist in the face a la Kenny's jealous rage.

"I think we really can do anything, together," he whispered in my ear, "and I really love you."

A warm, squishy feeling spread through my stomach, not for the first time. "I love you too," I said, loud enough for the others to hear, and kissed him full on the mouth.

Next fall, my Butters was headed to UC Denver on a full scholarship. Until then, we had a long, beautiful summer ahead of us. And when the fall did come, well, I was pretty sure there were a few car mechanic apprenticeship programs available in Denver, and I intended to find one.