Later that day Kenny walked home. He heard the usual yelling outside his house. He popped in quickly to see if his brother or sister was home. After confirming that neither of them was in danger, he swiped a spare flask of whisky from his parents stash and walked to Cartman's. He often went there to avoid the tremors in his home but only once he was sure his siblings were safe. Kenny sipped the whiskey getting warm in the chilly mountain air. The comfort that spread through him reminded him of the rush of touching Butters earlier. Just forget it, he told himself, taking a few more swigs. Kenny let himself into Cartman's house and didn't bother to tuck the flask away. "Hello, Kenneth!" Ms. Cartman greeted him cheerfully. "Eric's in his room with Leopold." A lump rose in Kenny's throat. He should have known from Cartman's scheming earlier that day that Butters would be close in his sphere.

"Hello there, would you like to purchase a new cell phone plan?" Kenny heard Butters asking into a telephone as he entered the room. Butters blushed and looked away when he noticed Kenny.

Kenny sighed to himself and took a few more large swigs from the whiskey bottle. His head swam and he collapsed onto Cartman's bed. Fatass was nowhere to be seen. Kenny heard Butters murmuring. He tuned him out but couldn't help giggling to himself as he heard the timid boy say "you are breaking my balls," mechanically.

Butters hung up and noticed Kenny lounging back on Eric's bed. He had lowered his jumpsuit and his ratty wife-beater rose to show his flat stomach and the curve of his hips. His eyes were clenched tightly shut and a strong blush played at his cheeks. Butters tried not to stare, his body humming with embarrassment.

"Hi Kinny!" Cartman's voice broke through both the boy's thoughts. Kenny rose onto his elbows and nodded to the boy. "You're drunk again, aren't you!" Cartman screeched. Kenny nodded and giggled, gloss covering his eyes. "You know the rules! You have to share," Cartman whined. Kenny gladly turned over the flask. He should probably slow down anyway. A feeling of bile built up in his stomach.

"Kenny," Butters whispered. Kenny pierced him with foggy eyes. "Why do you do that? Drink, I mean."

Kenny gathered his drunken thoughts but couldn't bring words to his lips. That happened often to him, so he usually just didn't speak. It was worse when he was drunk. Cartman filled the void cackling, "Because it's FUN Butters!" He shoved the flask in Butters face. "You're gonna try some," he demanded. Kenny didn't like the edge of menace in Cartman's voice. He chose to ignore the proceedings floating into his drunken stupor.

He fell asleep, only waking occasionally to the sound of Butters and Cartman. What he heard seemed like a nightmare.

"Drink more!" Cartman screeched; Butters' shadow already slumped against the wall.

Butters face next to his. Kenny started, seeing the drool dripping from his passed out mouth plastered to the pillow.

Cartman's hulking shadow lurking above the boy and loud thumps hitting Butters' body.

Kenny woke with a headache, entwined with Butters and Cartman. Every part of him hurt from a wicked hangover and the twisted knots from sleeping in a bed with two other people. He wasn't sure how much of his memory was a dream. He noticed Butters' shirt rising and blushed, shaking off the nerves that possessed him last night. He stared for a moment. As he pried his lingering eyes away, he noticed some dark spots on Butters hips but, just as quickly, Butters stirred, his shirt shifting down over his body. Kenny must have imagined it, he thought.

As Butters sat up and rubbed his eyes, he let out a groan. Butters felt pain everywhere, stabbing him unexpectedly and concentrated in his head. Kenny went to the bathroom to grab Butters and himself some water. He sat on the bed next to Butters smiling sweetly. "Thank you, Kenny," Butters said graciously. He rested his head on Kenny's shoulder which made him tense up for a moment, before he let his own head rest onto Butters'.

Later that day at lunch, Kenny sat more stoic than usual. Cartman bragged about some girl he laid the night before and Kenny's stomach did flips. Butters looked as bad as Kenny felt. "Are you alright Butters?" He heard Kyle ask next to him.

"Yeah dude you look like you got hit by a car or something," Stan seconded his sentiments. Kenny fixated on the grimace covering Butters pale face and his sunken eyes. He hoped the alcohol was all that was affecting him.

"Well I think I might have indulged in alcohol last night," Butters admitted, his eyes flashing up to Kenny's. "And my ass hurts a little, well really, everything hurts a little." Kenny closed his eyes to press the images from the night before out of his head. He had to be imagining things, he reassured himself.

Butters stared at Kenny wondering what he remembered. Butters didn't remember much except for Eric's incessant pressure for him to drink more and the large boy pressing himself against him. Maybe Butters shouldn't have told Eric about what happened with Kenny. He thought the boy would be proud that he got a blowjob as he had insisted. Instead, Eric's face immediately darkened and he pushed Butters down roughly, "Oh really? I always knew you were a fag!" He shouted into Butters' face. Butters was used to this treatment from Eric, still he hadn't expected the reaction which shook him. Butters felt relief when Kenny showed up the night before, until the alcohol came out.

After lunch, Kenny went to the bathroom and snuck a few nips of Whiskey. He tried to stop thinking about his nightmarish memories and the bruises he noticed on Butters that morning. Kyle caught him and he braced himself for the lecture. He pulled the strings of his hoodie tighter and tried to dodge out of the bathroom but Kyle had him cornered. "What are you doing?" He asked suspiciously, a twinge of anger inflecting his voice. Kenny shrugged and moved to pass Kyle. "No!" Kyle insisted firmly. "What is going on? You give Butters a blowjob—" Kenny glared at Kyle and hushed him. Kyle lowered his voice to a growl. "All of a sudden he's drinking and you're drinking during school. What happened last night?"

Kenny sighed. He considered telling Kyle what he had seen for a moment. Ultimately, he worried that Kyle would blow up and attack Cartman. He truly didn't want to see anything bad happen to Butters, or, FUCK, Cartman for that matter, over one of his stupid dreams and some overthinking. "I honestly don't remember," he lied. His voice caught and he saw Kyle's eyes flash with knowing. "I blacked out," he tried to cover quickly. Kyle paused a moment, like he wanted to say something else, but thankfully he just backed away from the door.

"Ok, but I'm here if you remember anything," He offered. Kenny nodded and quickly ducked behind Kyle towards class.

All through class Butters shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He hurt so much from the alcohol and couldn't find any good way to cope with the random aches he felt. The most alarming pain occurred from his thighs to his butt. He figured he must have pulled something cramping himself into the bed with the other boys. He glanced at Kenny occasionally, his eyes lingering a moment longer each time. He blushed when the boy caught him staring. Despite the black hole where last night should have been, the previous afternoon appeared vividly sharp in Butters' mind. He wished he could see more of Kenny's face, but it lay enclosed tightly in his hoodie. He imagined the boy's sharp blue eyes and tousled hair. More than anything he felt the heat of Kenny's lips hovering over his own before they pulled away. He imagined the boys strong, sure hands pulling him close. "Butters—Butters!" Mr. Garrison shouted into his daydream. Butters stared dimly to the front of the room. Mr. Garrison noted his ghostly pale face and the empty look in his eyes. "Do you need to go to the nurse?" He asked. Butters simply shook his head.

Kenny slipped down into his street drunkenly. His hood shielded his concerned, focused stare towards Butters. He felt Kyle's keen eyes on him and knew that he noticed the exchange between the two of them. Cartman also seemed to smirk as Butters blushed and looked away from Kenny. Mr. Garrison looked unconvinced by Butters' response. "Kenny, walk him down to the nurses for a nap," He stated. Kenny struggled to stand stable but once he found his grounding he tugged on Butters' shirt, hoping the touch didn't draw too much attention.

It wasn't a big deal, just forget it, Kenny reminded himself as the boys walked awkwardly in silence. They glanced at each other, both too anxious to speak. Eventually Butters stopped dead. Kenny turned towards him and removed his hoodie. Butters held back a gasp as his wish to see the boy's face was fulfilled. "What's wrong?" Kenny asked. Butters noticed how soft his eyes were, emanating compassion he had always taken for granted.

Butters hesitated. His embarrassment shone from his red face. "Well… I told Eric." He whispered.

Kenny's eyes widened with surprise. "About what exactly?" he asked.

"About yesterday, you know, what you—we did." Butters looked into Kenny's blue eyes for a hint of anger that wasn't there. Instead, he found an increasingly perplexed look of concern.

Butters' confession explained a lot to Kenny. Cartman was jealous, he concluded preemptively. He shook off the notion. Best make sure before his imagination ran away again. His stomach turned as he prompted Butters. "Has anything like that ever happened with Cartman?" He tried to sound cool but anxiety laced his question with poisonous concern. He had betrayed his stoicism, yet again.

"No!" Butters exclaimed. "He pushes me around sometimes sure but he's never done anything like that." Butters blushed.

Kenny nodded and grabbed the boy's hand redirecting them to the nurse's office. He felt reassured that his shadowy thoughts were false; perhaps even a manifestation of his own guilt. He had taken Kyle's admonition to heart. That must be all.

Kenny and the nurse had an understanding. He frequently visited to sleep off his alcohol induced headaches. The problems in Kenny's family were common knowledge in the small, gossipy town of South Park. "Hi Kenneth!" The nurse said sweetly. "Who is your friend?"

"This is Butters, and he needs to lie down for a while. Well, we both do," He stated. She pointed towards the room reserved for napping students with a smile and returned to her work. Kenny loved how short and sweet their interactions were.

Kenny helped Butters settle into the bed. He grimaced with pain. He threw a grateful look to Kenny and lay down. Kenny stroked Butters' hair and held his gaze for a long moment. Butters felt the world blur at the gesture.

What was that? Kenny asked himself as he rushed to the other side of the room and lay down on the other bed. He felt that warm connection welling up in his chest again. Butters fell asleep quickly but Kenny watched the boy for a while. He noticed the peaceful look that possessed his face in sleep. The drowsy calm on his face only exacerbated the innocence that characterized his every waking moment. An innocence I tainted, Kenny thought. Yet something sharp struck him in his chest, like the drag of a cigarette. This was only the beginning, he thought. That nerve-wracking thought followed him to sleep.