"Kenny?" A masculine voice called from behind the camouflage clad young man. He turned to face the person who called him. "Dude, what happened to you?" Stan asked as he saw Kenny's face for the first time in years. Kenny smirked, though his eyes were dead, at the fact that the man in front of him, who now had a wife and child, had once been the boy who vomited whenever a certain girl had talked to him.
"The military does weird shit to you dude." Kenny remarked.
"Your mom said you died, she told everyone you were gone for good." Stan's voice was mournful. Kenny sighed; if only Stan knew how many times he had died trying to get top secret information, only to wake up back at the base surrounded by the grinning fiends he worked for.
"She was in denial, didn't wanna believe her little boy got picked up by some weird military fuck." Kenny shrugged as if it were nothing. Stan's wife covered their child's ears and Kenny snickered a bit. "Sorry Wendy."
"Uhm sir? Sorry to interrupt but how will you be paying?" The young girl at the register asked meekly. Kenny pulled out two bills and passed them over the counter. The young girl took them and handed Kenny his receipt and change.
"Hey, see you around right dude?" Stan asked as Kenny gathered his groceries.
"Yeah, sure man." He smiled and left the store.
Back at the small apartment he had been set up in, he put his groceries away and slumped onto the second hand couch with a sigh. His phone rang mere moments later and he groaned before answering.
"Hello?"
"Kenny? My baby is that really you?" His mom's voice was familiar even with the slight age it had to it. Kenny figured the stress of him being taken away had aged her more than she actually was.
"Yeah mom, it's me." He smiled as he heard a sniffle on the other line.
"Oh honey, I'm so glad you're back." More sniffling from the opposite end.
"I'm glad to be back too mom, hey how'd you get this number?" His eyebrows furrowed gently.
"Stan called over here and said you were back home so I got Karen to do some sleuthing." His mom chuckled through her sniffling and he gave a small laugh of his own. Stan had remembered his old number after all these years? The smile on his face stayed strong as he and his mom caught up on the time lost. Over the phone, he learned his little sister had put herself through college and was now working for some big league computing company and his brother had settled down with a nice nurse with whom he had two kids. After hanging up, Kenny wondered what else had changed in the ten years he'd been held against his will for his ability. Time dragged on as he laid on the couch, staring at the mind numbing white ceiling. He sighed and went to his room, changing out of his army garb and into an orange hoodie and jeans then he left the boring aura of his apartment and ventured deep into the mountain town.
Walking down the main strip, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his hoodie, he got caught up in the festive lights lining the shop windows and bumped into someone.
"Oh hamburgers, I'm real sor- Ken?" The blonde, blue eyed man looked shocked.
"Butters?" Kenny laughed with amusement. "You're still here?"
"Well, gee, I-I guess I am." The man lifted his hands then stopped himself and put them in his jean pockets. "I-I run a shoe store down the way." He motioned down the street. Kenny nodded with a smile.
"Well it's been nice bumping into you." He smirked slyly as the nervous blonde chuckled a bit.
"Y-yeah, it's been real great Ken." Butters replied, his smile innocent as ever. They waved and parted ways. As Kenny continued on his way, a hand stopped him in his tracks. "Hey Ken? Y-you should go see Kyle, he's r-really missed you." Kenny turned and looked at the timid blonde with a cocked brow. "O-or at least I-I think he has, I'll see you around Ken." And with that Butters continued on his way.
"Let's see who else I can bump into." He laughed to himself and continued his stroll down the strip. As if his feet were on an autopilot saved from his childhood, he ended up on the street where many of his old pals had lived. Slowly, Kenny made his way up to the door of the Broflovski house. He inhaled deeply then knocked. The door opened.
"Oh, hello Kenny." Sheila Broflovski answered with an unsurprised tone. Kenny's eyebrows shot heavenward.
"H-hey , you're the first person not shocked to see me." The young man laughed a tad nervously.
"Word spreads around in a small town, Kenny." She smiled at him. "Is there something that you needed?"
"Kyle doesn't live here still does he?" Kenny sputtered, wishing he still had his parka to muffle his voice and hide his face.
"No, he moved out a long time ago." Her voice became sullen.
"Oh, well, do you have a way I could get in touch with him?" Kenny looked up hopefully.
"I suppose you could catch him at work, he's been working nights at one of the bars here in town." Mrs. Broflovski said with a disapproving tone. Kenny nodded.
"Thank you for the help Mrs. Broflovski."
"Anytime dear." She smiled and closed the door as Kenny turned away and headed back to the main strip.
"If I were Kyle, where would I work?" He sighed with a shrug, the cool evening wind biting his ears as he walked.