~Sometimes Through Pain, You Find Love~

You look over at your clock. The bright red synthetic light flashes the number 3:16, burning it into your brain. The noise you woke up to, that persistent knocking on your window, got just a bit louder than before. The intruder obviously doesn't know you are awake.

Trudging over to the window, you pull back your curtain and run a pale hand through your red curly mess you call hair. Your eyes widen at the view.

Kenny McCormick. Bruised, bloody, and he had quite obviously been crying. He is just a little over 18 now, and the fights between him and his parents have gotten worse since little Karen McCormick got taken away by the Child Protective Services. They told Kenny he was too old to go with her. And now here he is.

You quickly unlock and open your window for the boy, still in shock about how horrible he looks. "Dude, Kenny. A-are you alright?" He nods, quickly brushing off your question as his dangerously skinny body slides through the small opening with ease.

"Uh, hey, do you mind if I crash here? Stan is staying with Wendy, and Cartman is an ass. But what's new?" Not even waiting for your reply, the blond boy plops down on the bed. You sigh, moving to lay down beside him.

You first met in Kindergarten, but you have always been closer to the guy you consider your best friend, Stan Marsh, than you ever are to Kenny. But you and him are always close when it matters; when he has nobody to talk to or rely on after a horrible fight with his parents, or whenever Stan was sick or too busy with his girlfriend to care about you. Laying like this with him isn't very uncommon. It was actually quite comforting.

He closes his eyes gently, and you can tell he isn't fully asleep, just thinking to himself. You wonder what he's thinking about. As if on cue, he answers your thoughts. "I don't understand what I do wrong all the time. They are always mad at me for something. And if they Aren't mad, they don't even acknowledge the fact that I'm there." He sighs, and opens his eyes to stare at you again.

"Wonder how much attention I'd get if I just killed myself." He looks anywhere but at you as your eyes widen.

"K-Kenny, don't you know that I care about you? Please don't do anything rash, I-I… I couldn't take it!" You sit up quickly, panicking.

He shakes his head, rolling his eyes at you. "I know you care…" He sits up with you, eyes burning into yours. "But that doesn't mean after just a few days of me being gone, you'll care anymore. You'd just go back to following Stan around like a lost puppy again. You'd completely forget about me." He sighs again, falling back down onto the soft comfort of the pillow.

"I came here to sleep, not about killing myself. I don't plan on it anytime soon, anyways, so don't worry too much."

You calm down, laying back down and quickly thinking to yourself. Would you go back to following Stan around again? Probably. That's really what you do on a daily basis even with Kenny alive. Except when he's with his girlfriend, because that shit just makes you feel sick. Would you worry about Kenny, even a year after he died, though? Would you even remember his death? Of course you would! He's your friend! But…

Shallow, slow breathing quickly sooths your mind, letting your thoughts dissipate. He's sleeping. You smile and run a gentle hand, as not to wake him up, through his matted, but still soft, blond hair.

You've always throught you were a bit gay, honestly. You mean, you had feelings for Stan before, but they were never as prominent as they are when you are around Kenny. Which is probably why you stayed away from the boy and just kept to Stan. It scared you. And at least with Stan, you know he has a girlfriend, so you don't have to deal with your own emotions, you can just shove them into a drawer in the back of your mind.

But the boy needs you. You can't put it off any longer. You know you need him just as much as he needs you. You stare at his sleeping form again for a long time, before wrapping your arms around him and cuddling into his side. You nod off, yourself.

Sometimes, even through all the pain in the world, you can find true love. Because true love is always there.