Hey guys. Thanks for tuning in for Chapter 2 of Halo! I've been busy the past few weeks and that's why I couldn't get the chapter done sooner but it's here now and I hope you guys enjoy!
"Kenny?!" Stan exclaimed.
"In the flesh...I think." Kenny said rubbing the back of his head.
Stan rose from the bench and approached Kenny slowly. Kenny made a face at him. "Come on dude. I'm not gonna bite." Kenny laughed. "It's just me."
Stan eyed the butterflies flutter around and resting on Kenny. He looked so other worldly, celestial almost. Stan made a face right back. I must be going crazy. he thought, slowly reaching out to see if he could physically touch him. Kenny reached out and roughly grabbed Stan's hand. Kenny's hand was really warm. Stan struggled to speak.
"Wh...what's going on with that?" Stan asked, eyeing his halo. "And...all these..." he added, watching the butterflies flutter around. The scent in the air was almost sickly sweet now.
Kenny made a face like he was thinking. "I don't know." he admitted shrugging. "When I died last time it wasn't really different from all the other times." Hearing Kenny's voice again after so long made Stan tear up. He pulled Kenny in for a tight hug that startled him at first but he eased into it and hugged Stan back.
"Ha ha, you really missed me, didn't you?" Kenny teased, grinning to himself.
"Maybe." Stan admitted, still holding tight.
Kenny pulled himself out of the hug to look at the taller kid. "You're crying dude."
Stan wiped his tears away. "Uh, yeah. I've kinda been doing that a lot lately."
Kenny's expression turned tender. "You're such a wuss." he said, playfully.
"Yeah, well, I don't remember you being such an asshole." Stan laughed.
Kenny shrugged. "Aw, come on. I always act like this." he joked.
"It's really good to see you again." Stan smiled.
"Thank you. Thank you." Kenny said, nodding. "It's always great to be back. Ah...but I suppose I should head home soon. Folks will be mad if I don't make it back before sun down." Kenny looked past Stan at the setting sun that was behind him.
"Do they even know you're back?" Stan asked.
"Probably not." Kenny said, taking a step back. "But it usually doesn't take them long for them to find out."
Stan took a step forward. "You don't have to stay with them." he blurted out.
"Huh?" Kenny exclaimed with a bewildered expression on his face.
Stan could feel himself starting to sweat. "Y-yeah! You shouldn't have to go back there if you don't want to."
"I mean-" Kenny began.
"You can come stay with me!"
Kenny just stared at Stan. His expression was hard to read. Stan searched quickly for his next words. "I mean, what will they say about the butterflies...a-and your halo!"
Kenny rubbed his arm nervously. "I don't know..."
"Come on dude." Stan said, gripping Kenny's hand. "You really don't have to go back...at least until we figure out what's going on with all this."
Kenny hesitated for a bit but he eventually nodded his head yes. Stans smile grew wide. "Cool!" he beamed. "It'll be just like a sleepover! You can just hang out in my room and I'll handle the rest."
"Kenny came back?" Kyle said, astonished into his phone. It was around 7:30 and Stan had just called him to update on what has been going on.
"Yeah kinda." Stan replied. "He like, got a weird ass halo and it won't go away. Say hi Kenny."
"Hey Kyle." Kenny greeted from across the room.
"You can physically touch him though right?" Kyle asked.
"Yeah he's pretty much exactly the same except for the halo and the butterflies. Oh and he smells really good now."
"That certainly is...odd.." Kyle declared. "Is he gonna come to school tomorrow?"
"I'll ask." Stan put his hand over the mouth piece of the phone and turned to Kenny. "Dude, Kyle wants to know if you're coming to school tomorrow."
"If I don't have to I won't." he replied.
"Come on Kenny. Everyone would be happy to see you."
Kenny just crossed his arms and stared at the floor.
"Yeah, he's not coming tomorrow." Stan sighed into the phone.
"That's fine." Kyle said. "We'll just go to your place after school tomorrow after school and see what's up."
"Alright that sounds cool." Stan agreed. "See you tomorrow man."
"Good night Stan."
Stan ended the call and went over to the bed where Kenny was sitting. "Alright, they said they're coming over tomorrow."
"Ok." Kenny said, swinging his feet.
"You're really happy about not going to school tomorrow aren't you?"
"That." Kenny admitted. "And just the fact that we get to hang out again after so long." Stan felt a weird squeezing in his chest. "Me too." he smiled. Kenny smiled right back.
Stan went to the other side of the bed and got under the covers. "Ok dude, come on it's time to go to sleep. You know I got school tomorrow."
Kenny nodded and got under the covers too. Stan leaned over to turn off the light and it went dark... except for the halo above Kenny's head. "Uh...Kenny." Stan began. "Do you know to like. Turn that off?"
"Oh yeah..." Kenny said as if he forgot it was there. "I don't think I can."
"That's fine." Stan sighed. "It's not too bright anyways..." Now that it was dark, Stan also noticed that Kenny's eyes also had a soft glow to them too.
"I'm sorry" Kenny apologized, his sad eyes looking a little sadder.
"Oh no! It's really ok!" Stan could feel himself starting to turn red. "If anything it's like a really cool nightlight!" Why am I so sweaty? Stan wondered to himself. Kenny chuckled softly to himself. "Cool. I always wanted to be a damn nightlight." Stan laughed too as he pulled the covers up to his hips. "I'm sure you did." he joked.
Kenny laid his head against his pillow and sighed. "Thanks for having me over Stan." Kenny said gratefully, looking up at Stan who was still sitting up. "Who knows. Maybe if I had went home maybe I would've been dead again already." Kenny laughed sadly. Stan could feel a weird tightness in his chest again. "Maybe I wouldn't have come back next time.."
"Hey...hey come on don't say stuff like that." Stan said, firmly gripping Kenny's shoulder, as if it was to make sure he wouldn't disappear. Kenny stared at him with wide eyes, looking almost startled. "You're safe right now."
Kenny eased into the pillow. "Yeah you're right." he smiled.
"Just get some rest for right now."
Kenny nodded. "Good night Stan." he said, closing his eyes.
"Good night Kenny." Stan said, letting go of Kenny's shoulder. Stan laid down pulled the covers up to his neck and looked over at Kenny. He seemed to be fast asleep. His halo still glowing softly. Stan could feel his face turning red again. He turned over quickly, now facing away from Kenny. What the fuck? he thought, his heart pounding. Stan doesn't remember Kenny having such a nice face and long eyelashes...Was it the halo? Stan shook his head and buried his face into his pillow.
Man, that's fucking gay. Stan thought before finally falling asleep.
And that's Chapter 2! Chapter 3 should come soon hopefully. Comments are really appreciated. Thanks so much for reading!