I've decided to try writing speech the way most of you are used to (I'm not gonna rewrite my other stories this way, though).
Keep in mind that italicized text still indicates thoughts and that it's most likely gonna suck, since it's the first time I try it.
"I can't believe it came to this... Although I guess I should've seen it coming."
"But why not?" asked Kenny while frowning.
"I told you, I'm not like you!" replied Kyle.
"What the hell does that even mean? You came back, every single time, and you knew what would happen!"
"... I didn't expect this... And besides, you don't want me, you just want someone... I just happened to be the closest someone you had this time."
"...Is that what you think? That I'm that... shallow? After everything that I've told you; after everything that I've done for you... how can you even think that?"
"...I-I'm sorry, Ken. I-I didn't mean-"
"Get out."
"Ken..."
"Get the fuck out of my room right now, Kyle!" said Kenny while pointing towards the exit.
Kyle turned around and slowly walked out of Kenny's room. Kenny slammed and locked the door behind him, as well as the window, and started sobbing on his bed. Why did Kyle say that? After everything that happened between them...
Kyle stood on the other side of the door, listening to Kenny's sobs and regretting what he had said. He didn't know why he had said that. He didn't mean a word of it. He was just scared, and it was messing with his head.
He tried opening the door, even though he knew it was locked. He wanted Kenny to know that he was still there, waiting for him to open it. However, Kenny couldn't hear him over the sound of his own sobs and the blood pumping in his ears. After a while, Kyle took out a small object from his pocket, wrote a small note, simply saying "I'm sorry", and wrapped it around the object. Afterward, he slid them under Kenny's bedroom door and left.
Kenny didn't want to read it, but his curiosity got the best of him and he did it anyway. After he finished, he crushed the note and the object in his hand, and tossed them into a random corner.
"'Sorry', huh? It's too late for 'Sorry'. You were right about one thing, though – I don't want you, Kyle. Not anymore."
TWO MONTHS AGO
After getting bad grades for the fifth year in a row, Kenny got a job as a mechanic, per his mother's request, and dropped out. Now he spent his days drinking, smoking, doing drugs and working. Thankfully, his boss didn't care if Kenny was high or passed out most of the time, since they didn't have that many costumers anyway. If he did, Kenny wouldn't last ten minutes at his job.
Everyone knew that Kenny had dropped out, but nobody had actually seen him since he did. Many people had tried to get in touch with him, but he never picked up the phone or answered the door. His friends thought that he was just having a good time without them, but they were wrong. The truth was that he was tired of everything. He was tired of school, tired of the job his mother made him get... tired of living. He just wanted to be left alone. He didn't even try to kill himself anymore because he still hadn't found a way to get rid of his immortality, although he really wanted to. Kenny had tried giving up the drugs, for his own sake, but he couldn't handle the initial detox phase, due to the increased depression and pain, so he gave up. The many failed attempts just made him feel more worthless than ever.
Shortly after 1 PM, a costumer arrived. Kenny was asleep underneath a car, pretending to work on it, so the costumer wasn't exactly sure what to do.
"H-Hello?" said the costumer with a shaky voice.
"Great... A costumer... Well, time to get up."
"I'll be right with you. Just let me finish up here..." replied Kenny.
"Kenny?"
"Who the hell is that?"
Kenny slid from underneath the car and turned his head towards the entrance. He was blinded by the afternoon sun for a brief moment before the dark figure blocked it out. After his eyes adjusted to the contrast between the visitor and the bright blue sky behind him, Kenny was finally able to see who it was – Kyle. With the pure white clouds in the sky and the sun right behind his head, he looked just like an angel, which made Kenny's heart skip a beat.
"Hey, Kenny." said Kyle with a smile on his face. "So this is what you've been doing all this time."
"Yeah, my mom made me get a job, and this is the only thing I'm good at... What are you doing here?"
"My dad told me to come here because of his car."
"You're gonna have to be a little more specific than that, you know."
"Right, well, the truth is that he tried to explain it to me, but... I really didn't understand it." replied Kyle as he scratched his head and blushed slightly from embarrassment.
Kyle's bright red cheeks just made Kenny's heart pound harder in his chest. He knew why that was happening, but he didn't want to think about it. He had been in love with Kyle for a very long time, but it was strictly one-sided. He had tried dropping a few subtle hints every now and then (before he dropped out), but Kyle never got them.
"Well, take me to it then."
"Sure. It's right outside."
Kenny was surprised that he had managed to sleep even though Kyle's dad's car had been towed to the front of the garage.
"My dad said something about the engine, but, like I said, I didn't really understand any of it."
After a quick inspection, Kenny discovered the problem and told Kyle that it would take a while until it was working again.
"How long will it take?"
"I dunno, actually... But it shouldn't take more than a week."
"You're really smart, you know that?"
"It's nothing, really..." said Kenny as he smiled and blushed.
"...Listen... I don't mean to sound annoying, but we're all worried about you... You haven't been answering the phone, you haven't..."
Kyle gave Kenny a long speech, although the blond boy didn't pay any attention to him. He was tired of everyone always worrying about him. It was one of the few things that could still make him angry. Kyle noticed his friend's expression changing from flattered to annoyed to angry, but he just kept talking. He thought that, eventually, Kenny would listen to him.
"Kyle, I know you're trying to help, but I'm fine."
"No, you're not! You haven't been sleeping properly, your hair and your skin look like crap..."
"...So maybe I haven't been sleeping well. That doesn't mean anything."
Kenny was right – his lack of sleep was meaningless. People had periods when they didn't sleep very well for no reason. However, Kyle also knew Kenny like the back of his hand. He knew that all the signs pointed towards the same thing. He just needed to be sure before trying to help him.
"...Let me see your arms."
"My what?"
Without even replying, Kyle pulled one of Kenny's sleeves and saw very old self-inflicted scars (from when he tried to give up drugs) and some recent needle marks. Kenny got his arm away from Kyle, turned around and covered his arm once again.
Kyle was trying to figure out what Kenny had done to himself and why, and the answer was obvious. He didn't want to believe it, but the truth of Kenny's actions was impossible to ignore.
"Why didn't you talk to someone? We have rehab clinics, we have-"
"It's none of your business. Leave me alone."
"It is my business... You're my friend, Kenny. I want to help you..."
"...You can't do anything for me, and you know it."
"Come by my house later today. We can talk then."
Kenny turned around, wanting to say "No" to Kyle's face, but, once again, Kyle's face had left him in a daze.
"...S-Sure."
"Really?"
"Yeah, just don't tell anyone. My shift isn't over, so I won't be there until like... five or six hours from now. But I'll be there, I promise."
"Well, that was... easier than I thought. I must be really convincing."
"So, about the car..."
"It's fixable, right?"
"I told it was, didn't I?"
"...Right, sorry."
"Anyway, I was just gonna say that it's not gonna be expensive or anything like that."
"Thanks... Hey, do you mind if I tell my family that you're coming over?"
"You can't tell them."
"How are you supposed to go in through the door and up into my room without anyone noticing?"
"Simple. I don't go in through the door."
"Just leave that to me. Now go tell your dad about the car, but don't mention me."
"Yeah, he's gonna climb in through the window. One of these days you're gonna break something."
"...Fine. Bye, Kenny."
Kyle gave Kenny a short hug and went home, which, once again, made his heart skip a beat. Kenny stood beside Kyle's dad's car and watched his friend walk away from him for a very long time, until he decided to go back to sleep.
"Kenny, wake up. Your shift is over."
"Fucking lazy kid..."
Kenny opened his eyes and saw his boss, which made him fear for his job. Thankfully, the look on the old man's face was anything but angry.
"What time is it?"
"About 9:50"
"Crap! I gotta go; sorry."
"It's alright... Just don't be late tomorrow."
"Not that you actually do much around here anyway, but it's better than not having anyone around."
"I won't!"
"I'm late... I'm so fucking late..."
Kyle was already starting to think that Kenny wasn't gonna keep his promise. It was getting very late, and soon he would have to go to sleep. Before he could, however, he heard a strange sound coming from outside, almost as if something had crashed against the snow. Of course, the cause was obvious. It was Kenny.
Kyle rushed downstairs to help his friend, who was still twitching from the pain.
"That's the last time I try something like that..."
"Kenny!"
Kenny turned his head to find out who was talking to him and saw Kyle. The moonlight reflecting on his smooth skin and his green eyes made Kenny smile and blush, but the pain was too great for that to last. Kenny was twitching slightly from the pain, but Kyle didn't even notice it.
"Uh... Hey, Kyle. Do you mind getting me to a hospital or something?"
"My dad's car isn't working."
"W-Well, do you mind calling an ambulance? I'm not twitching because I'm cold, you know. This really hurts. I think I broke something."
"S-Sorry!"
Kyle hurriedly dialed 911 and went on the ambulance with Kenny. At the hospital, they told him that he would need to stay home for the next couple of weeks.
"I don't have weeks! I have a job, you know."
"Either you stay home for a few weeks or get yourself a permanent wheelchair."
Kyle was exaggerating, obviously, but Kenny gave in anyway. He just couldn't say no to Kyle. However, Kyle had other things in mind besides the fact that Kenny fell a few feet onto the cold snow.
"Great! Well, I'll tell my mom that I'm staying over at your place for the next couple of weeks then."
"Hang on, I didn't say an-"
"Bye, Kenny!" yelled Kyle as he left the room.
"...I can't believe he just did that."
Kenny could easily say no once Kyle showed up at his house, but he wouldn't. In the back of his mind, he knew that Kyle could and wanted to help him get through his addiction and depression. Of course, spending some time with a cute guy like him wasn't too bad either.
"I just hope that I don't say or do something stupid to him... If I do, he might not be there to help me anymore."
A few minutes later, Kyle arrived back at his house. Everyone was asleep, and that was good. He didn't want his mom to wake up the neighbors. Kenny was spending the night at the hospital just in case, so he would be OK for now. Tomorrow, however, would be an entirely different story.
"I hope Kenny won't refuse my help..."
The next day, Kyle got in a cab and picked up Kenny at the hospital. Afterward, he helped him get into his room and sat down next to him.
"So... you've probably already guessed that I'm not here because of what happened last night."
"Yeah, I know."
"I didn't bring any bags with me because I didn't want to force this on you. I think it should be your decision."
"...I need your help, Kyle. Please help me." said Kenny with tears in his eyes.
Seeing his friend, the strongest guy he had ever known, in tears made Kyle realize just how serious the problem was. He put his arms around him and carefully squeezed him.
"Of course... All you have to do is ask."
"It's now or never."
"...I love you." whispered Kenny into Kyle's ear.
"What?"
"Y-You know, a-as a friend."
"That's kind of a weird way to put it, but OK..."
"I know. You're my best friend too, Kenny."
"...I'm a coward."
I'm not exactly sure how many chapters this story will have. This chapter was supposed to end at the same time as Kenny's detox, but it was going on for too long, so I ended it where I did.
