"He's a jackass," Kyle stated bluntly, interrupting Stan's explanation of their heavyset friend. Kenny snorted. That was something that would never change; The Jew versus The Mastermind of All Evil.
It really wasn't fair that Kyle's title was so unimpressive, but that's just the way it goes sometimes. Kristen grabbed Kyle's hand, wrapping it around her waist. He looked down at her, the sour look on his face fading into a smile. She grinned, kissing him lightly.
"Relax Kyle. It'll be fine. If he is that horrible, why would we even be going to supper with him? Obviously you like his company in some way." He muttered under his breath as Kenny pushed the door of the restaurant open, allowing the others to pass by. He was fairly certain he heard something about 'masochistic tendencies' as the redhead passed him. He smirked, shaking his head. Cartman may be an asshole, but he was an amusing one, and it kept Kyle on his toes. There was always a surprise, when it came to those two. Kenny let the door swing shut, as he realized he'd been left behind. Jogging passed the hostess he slipped into the small conference room beside Stan and blinked in surprise as the rest of his body froze.
Kristen pulled back from the hug, grinning ear to ear. Cartman, to Kenny's eternal shock was also grinning down at the brunette.
"You are such a dirty liar Theo. Eric. Whatever your name actually is." Kristen laughed as she pulled away. Kenny glanced over at Kyle who looked like he may collapse. All three of the other men grasped onto anything to keep them standing as Cartman laughed as well.
"So sorry Kristen, I didn't realize it would come back and bite me in the ass. How the hell did you end up in South Park?"
"I should ask the same thing, except now I know Eric. I'm here to meet the last of the friends-" She ignored Kyle's stuttered protest, "-of my fiance." Caramel brown eyes widened.
"YOU are his fiance? What were you thinking Kris? The crazy little jew boy isn't anyone's idea of a good husband. I told you, you should just marry me and be done with it." A strange sound exploded from Kyle, and all four of the others turned to face the paler than normal redhead. Kristen covered her giggle with her hand, sliding back into Kyle's arms.
"Maybe I like crazy little jew boys." She kissed the ridged boy gently. She seemed even more amused by his lack of response. "They're cute when they're flustered." Cartman laughed again.
"If I had known that all it would take to completely destroy Kyle mentally was to propose to his girlfriend, I would have hunted you down years ago." Kristen pushed gently on Kyle's chin, shutting his mouth.
"Oh you never mean it, and you know it. You've got your own pretty little red head." She nuzzled her head into her fiances neck, wrapping her arms around him. He continued to stare down at her, his arms automatically wrapping around her as well.
"What. The. Hell?" Stan's voice choked from the side of the room. Cartman glanced at him, his smile melting into his normal passive expression.
"Well, we've stood about for far too long. Come on, sit. I'm starving." Kenny slid into an open chair, brushing off his surprise. There was always something. You learned to roll with the punches in this town.
"You're always starving fat ass," he commented good naturedly, opening his menu. Eric didn't even bother to reply, just rolling his eyes and finding a seat beside the thin blonde. Stan hesitantly sat on Kenny's other side, while Kristen led Kyle gently into the empty seat beside his dark haired friend. Slipping into the chair beside him, she casually glanced through her menu, humming happily to herself.
Finally after a long moment Kyle blinked once, shaking himself slightly. He turned to meet her green eyes as she looked up in amusement.
"How the hell do you know Cartman?" He asked, his voice still ladened with shock. She shrugged, flipping to the entrees section of the menu.
"We took dance lessons together in Toronto a few years back, and kept in contact. He told me his name was Theodore. Apparently that isn't the case." Eric leaned back in his chair comfortably.
"Yes it is. Theodore is my middle name. I hate giving out my full name to people when it isn't business. They always end up after me for money. Or sex. Or both." Kristen snorted.
"Right. Because obviously I'm a whore. What is it with your friends and deciding I have sex for money? I mean, you aren't rich enough to keep me on permanently if that was the case." Kyle choked, bursting into a coughing fit, while Kenny burst out laughing. Eric smiled, his eyes lit in amusement.
"Apparently I don't need to propose to you to torture Broflowsky through you. You do it all on your own. I knew there was a reason I kept in touch with you." Kristen beamed at him proudly, while absently patting her fiance on the back.
Kenny shook his head, still snickering to himself. He watched contentedly as the interactions continued, much to Kyle's dismay. Kristen and Cartman obviously got along fabulously, and this was a side of Eric that Kyle had never seen. The bigger man could be very charming when he put his mind to it. He turned to look at the silent member of their group and frowned. He slumped back in his chair, glaring at his pasta. He stabbed at it listlessly, none of it making it's way to his mouth. Kenny watched as he glanced up at the vibrant couple before redoubling his efforts to burn a hole in the table with his eyes. Stan had been off the entire afternoon, but this was taking it to a whole new level.
"Dude," he caught Stan's attention quietly. Blue eyes snapped up to meet his, the glare washing off his face. "Yeah"
"What's up with you? You look like someone killed your best friend." Stan glanced over at Kristen and Kyle again, his lips tightening. He sighed lightly before turning back to Kenny.
"No, Dude, I'm fine. Just not hungry." Kenny nodded slowly, his attention sliding back to the conversation. Apparently they had made it to the part of the evening where the insults began to fly.
Kyle and Cartman spat out insult after insult as Kristen looked on, a brilliant smile covering her face. He felt his worry melt, and the corners of his lips lifting. Her smile was...infectious.
"Well that was quite the surprise yesterday." Kristen laughed, pulling the earbud out of her ear that was closest to Kenny.
"I know. Of all the people I expected to see here, he was definitely at the bottom of my list. I can't believe that he is that Eric Cartman. It's hilarious." Kenny joined in her laughter, their pace never slowing. He grinned as he looked forward to where he could see the street lightly slowly turning off as the sun began to rise. The colors of the sky washed the houses in a pale pink light and he stretched happily.
"So, you guys met while dancing?" he asked, attempting to imagine Cartman dancing. He may have dropped the baby fat that had plagued him since childhood, but he wasn't really all that graceful.
"Yup. He had some big corporate dance thingy that he wanted to be ready for. The teacher paired us off, and we hit it off. I don't see him all that often; only when he's in town for business. But we talk a fair bit through emails and whatnot. Actually when I first told him I was engaged he told me he knew a douche of a Kyle from the town he was from." She laughed. "I guess I'm marrying that douche." Kenny laughed with her.
"So why were you taking the class?" he asked curiously. "I thought you were in music, or nursing...or something." She coughed, slowing slightly, her pace staggering.
"You okay?" he asked, concern written all over his face. She nodded, taking huge breathes of air. "You need to stop?" Her quick glare shut him up, and he remained silent as she readjusted to the pace, her breathing smoothing out.
"I'm fine, just have a bit of a cough. Anyways dance class. Um..." He glanced over at her, a gentle smile slipping onto his lips at how damn cute she was when she frowned in concentration. He growled mentally, snapping his head forward. Not Cute.
Not Attractive.
Dirt Ugly.
Ugly as dirt.
Ugly as dirt fiance of his friend.
"I guess I started because, well, I'm pretty awful at meeting people. So I figured taking some kind of group class might kinda force me to it." He looked at her incredulously.
"You? Bad at meeting people? You didn't seem all that nervous when we met." She smiled, shaking her head.
"I was fucking terrified. Especially when Stan and Kyle went off like that. I was so scared you guys would hate me." She drooped slightly. "I think I managed one out of two anyways."
"Come on, Stan doesn't hate you." The argument sounded forced in his own ears and she rolled her eyes.
"Maybe not hate, but he's definitally not my biggest fan."
"Maybe give him some more time."
"I don't think that will make a difference."
"True." Giving up defending his idiot friend he watched as the sun slipped up past the last rooftop into the blue sky. He slid quickly into his own little quiet space, the only sound the quiet music coming from Kristen's headphones. So it came as a surprise when she broke the silence again.
"It's okay. I'm kind of used to it. I've never really been part of a group. I kind of suck at people. I have a bunch of really good friends, but I get really paranoid when I'm in groups. Plus...most people are stupid." That surprised a laugh from the blonde.
"How so?"
"They are all drama drama about every little thing. It pisses me off." She rolled her eyes. Glancing over at him she tilted her head. "I think that's why me and Theo-Eric get along."
"What about you? What kinda friends do you have hanging about?" He shrugged, looking away.
"Mostly just Stan, Kyle, and Cartman. I see Leo around occasionally but not too often anymore. I'm not really a people person."
"Really?" He glanced at her again, confused by her surprise. "You seem like such a ... likable person. You're so laid back and funny." He felt a blush creeping up over his cheeks. She didn't seem to notice, jumping lightly over a small bump in the sidewalk.
"No, I've just never really...fit in." She slowed, grabbing his hand. Tingles shot up his arm, and once again the ground felt more real beneath his feet as he slowed to a stop.
"Why not?" she asked, concern written all over her face. He shrugged.
"Dunno, just didn't." He pulled his hand out of her casually, turning to run again. He stopped short as her next question filled the silence.
"It's because of the dying thing, isn't it?" His laugh was short, and sarcastic.
"Well yeah. I'm not exactly normal. Dying randomly isn't exactly a drawing category." She shrugged.
"Dying is perfectly normal. It's the coming back part that is a little odd." He rolled his eyes, his chest tightening.
"Thanks for the clarification there."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to be flippant. But...It's true. We all know our friends are going to die, but at least with you we know we get a second chance."
"Yeah and by the time I die you won't even give a shit, because you'd be so used to it. It's a nice little anti-pain mechanism. Perfect in a friend." Understanding lit up her face.
"You think no one will care when your gone. So you don't want to be friends with them because if you don't know them, you won't care if they won't care." He glared at her, spinning on his heel. He took off away from the girl, and from the truth.
"Shut up," he muttered.
"No." He jumped, stumbling over a block of ice as her voice appeared from beside him. She grabbed his arm, warm hands pulling him up. He yanked his arm away from her and continued to run silently as her apartment block came into view. She slowed, looking away.
"I'd care," she muttered. "If you died, I mean." Kenny felt his heart stop, but he continued running as she turned down her drive. He bit the inside of his cheek, fighting against the rush that came from her words.
"I really wish you wouldn't," he whispered, making his way towards his empty home.
Kenny started, dropping the plate of food when the doorbell rang. He was always jumpy lately, fighting to keep his mind in appropriate places.
He couldn't deny that he was attracted to Kristen, or that he thought she was an awesome person to hang out with. But he could deny that it had any real merit beyond any other little crushes he had had before. There was a reason he wasn't in a relationship. It wasn't that he couldn't get anyone, it was that it wasn't fair to them. It wasn't fair to keep dying in front of them.
And it wasn't fair to him to see them cringe every time he showed up, unsure of if it was moral or not to date a zombie of sorts.
But Kristen was-
"Shit!" He quickly shoved the sandwich back onto the plate, swearing to himself the entire time. He threw the plate onto the table beside the couch, sliding across the wooden floor to the door. He yanked it open, about the ream out the sales man standing on his step, when quiet green eyes met his.
"Kristen." He stated in surprise. She grinned weakly up at him.
"Hey Kenny," she greeted quietly. He moved to the side, waving her into his home wordlessly, mentally stomping down on his previous thoughts. There was no way he could let her read any of that on his face. "Sorry for bothering you. You aren't busy are you?" Her voice carried an odd tone to it, hiding under the carelessness.
"No, just having lunch. What brings you out here?" A small hand ran through her hair as she looked around the small home curiously. They had run by it before, and he had absently pointed it out, but they had never actually entered. To be honest he couldn't remember the last time any of his friends had dropped by his place. He was always the one over at Stan's, and Cartman just sent a courier. Or a plane. He quietly helped her remove her jacket, hanging it up neatly in the front closet.
"Oh, just needed to get out of the apartment for a while. I thought I'd come visit." He nodded, grabbing his destroyed sandwich off the table and heading to the kitchen. That odd tone was still there, wrapping her words in a curious kind of way. She followed him silently as he tossed the sandwich into the trash and began digging the ingredients out of the fridge.
"Are you hungry?" He saw her shake her head out of the corner of the eye. She stood quietly in the doorway, green eyes glancing around nervously. He had started noticing that every time she was stressed out, she would begin to clench and unclench her hands, as they were absently doing now. He had asked about it at one point during their now daily morning runs, and she had answered that she had never actually noticed she did it before.
He dumped the meat and cheese onto the counter grasping her wrist gently, he led her to the island in the center of the kitchen, pulling out a chair for her. "Take a seat." She did so, smiling up at him. Her body relaxed finally, and she tucked her foot under her other leg, leaning forward on his counter.
"Thanks." He stopped, leaning against the island. His brow furrowed, as she looked at him nervously.
"What's wrong?" he demanded gently, crossing his arms.
"Nothing," she muttered, glancing away. He grabbed her chin lightly, pulling her eyes back to meet his own. His breath caught as green orbs met blue and he realized how close their face truly were. He pulled his hand away sharply, swallowing.
"Obviously something is wrong. You aren't that good of a liar." She pursed her lips, glaring at the marble countertop.
"What did Kyle do now?" She laughed lightly, before sighing and putting her chin in her hands, leaning against the counter.
"Nothing really. He and Stan are just having it out in our kitchen again. I didn't want to sit around and listen to them fight about stupid shit again." He grabbed a chair, flopping into it.
"Again?" he asked curiously. He had seen the pair duel it out before, but it tended to be pretty rare.
"It seems like all they do is battle it out, every time their alone together. And typically I end up having to tip toe around the apartment to avoid getting pulled into it."
"What are they fighting about?"
"Stupid shit. It'll start out about what we're having for lunch, then end up in some stupid debate about about why Kyle won't eat pork, which of course somehow leads to arguments about how hypocritical they both are and..." she trailed off in irritation. "I thought they were good friends, but all I ever see them do, is fight." Kenny looked down at the loaf of bread in his hands.
Those two had always been inseparable. Nothing had ever been able to come between them, and if there was a fight, they would always be on the same side. If all of a sudden there was a change in 20 years of behavior, there had to be a new element. He looked up at the small brunette who was now running her hands absently through the grouting of his counter, tracing the grid. South Park had faced giant rodents, terrorists, Eric Cartman, and everything else imaginable but this girl, this one girl had somehow managed to change everything. She had become close with the psychotic megalomanic, though to be honest he wasn't quite so bad anymore. She had separated the two people Kenny had never expected to be split apart. She had survived in the elementary school for three months, and she wasn't insane yet.
That last one had been a major surprise. The school was always hunting for teachers, as the dead toll and insanity plea rate was through the roof. When a fully functional music teacher had dropped right into their laps, the school board had quickly snapped her up, giving her the position. He was pretty sure Kyle's mom had something to do with that.
He watched her in wonder, as she bit gently on a broken nail, pulling it off. She was so normal looking, but there was obviously something hidden in there. Like...South Park's kryptonite. She managed to defeat the craziness of this small town somehow. His hand slipped forward unconsciously brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. If she could defeat the craziness of the rest of the town, maybe she could - his mind screeched to a halt, and his hand froze where it was, trapped in her hair. She looked at him oddly, unsure.
"It will be fine. Obviously Stan just isn't used to not having Kyle all to himself." He patted the back of her head awkwardly and she giggled, swatting his hand away.
"Ken, you are so odd." He smiled back at her.
He was odd just like everything else in this little town - but she was amazing. He pushed those thoughts away, smiling at her again.
"So what do you want my dear? As you are here, I must feed you. Peanut butter? Ham? Chicken?" She rolled her eyes, still grinning.
"Anything but the ham, obviously. I'm not too picky." He pulled the chicken out of the fridge, tossing it on the counter.
"What, you don't like it? It's like...gods first choice of meat!" He turned to face her at her short laugh.
"Depends on which God you worship I suppose." He frowned in confusion at her raised eyebrow, before the obvious clicked.
"You're Jewish." She chuckled, nodding. "Great deduction Sherlock. You figured that one out all on your own?" He turned wordlessly back to the counter, grabbing the bread and the bread knife.
Well of course Kyle would marry a little jewish girl. He had his insane mother to placate and if he had even thought of marrying outside of the faith she would have a fit. It just wasn't something that had ever clicked when he had talked to her, and-
"Shit!" He dropped the knife, shoving his hand beneath the tap and turning to cold water on full blast. He heard the screech of a chair being shoved back, and as he continued to swear as the blood ran from his hand he heard Kristen scramble to his side. She stuck her head around his shoulder, gasping at the deep cut on his hand. She yanked it out of the water, grabbing the dish towel from the rack. She folded it briskly pressing it tightly over the cut.
"Hold that there," she told him curtly. "Do you have any first aid supplies?" He nodded. "In the bathroom down the hall." She shoved him towards a chair, and pushed him down with a glare.
"Don't you dare die." With that she spun out of the kitchen, running towards the bathroom. A small smile played on his lips as he watched her go. The last girl that had told him that, was the little girl he had fallen for in elementary school on that idiotic tour with that Gay Kid's Choir. Everyone else knew he would be back and just let him die. Not that this would kill him. If there was anything he knew, it was fatal injuries, and this was nowhere close. He winced as he shifted his hand. Not that this didn't hurt like a bitch.
He heard her swearing as there was a loud crash in the bathroom. He began to stand, calling out her name.
"Don't you DARE get up Kenneth. I will be right there." His body followed the command before his brain could connect to the motion. The girl could be vicious when she wanted to be.
"Don't call me Kenneth," he muttered to himself as she slid back into the kitchen, her hands full of gauze and bandages.
"Let me see." Her hands pulled the clothe off his wounded hand gently, in stark contrast to her hard voice. Quickly and efficiently she splashed the wound with peroxide before wiping it down gently. He watched her intent face as she placed the cotton pad over the cut, wrapping his hand in gauze tightly. "You don't need stitches. It's just in a bad spot." He could see the tension in her eyes, and body, but not once did she pull too hard on the gauze. As she ripped a piece of tape off of the roll she had brought, his painful grimace melted slowly. Her fingers were warm on his, and he could smell vanilla in the air around her. She released his hand, but he left it in hers as she stared at the stark white bandage. Her lower lip disappeared as she bit it, her breathing catching. He placed his good hand lightly on her cheek, worry flooding through him.
"Hey, hey. What's wrong?" She glared at him, her frown wobbly. He could see the tears welling up in her eyes. His eyes widened in surprise. "Hey, it's okay, I'm fine." She hiccuped lightly, a tear escaping her green eyes to splash onto the bandage. He pulled her into a hug as she fought against the tears, the occasional additional hiccup escaping despite her best efforts. "Kristen, it's fine. It was just a cut." She nodded into his shoulder, her breathing finally slowing as she relaxed into his arms.
Resting his cheek on her hair he took a deep breath. She fit into his arms comfortably, naturally. He felt her tense suddenly, pulling out of his arms. She stepped back awkwardly as he stared at her, smiling at him weakly.
"Sorry Ken," she muttered. "I just...It's weird." His heart clenched at her description. "It's still hard to get that image out of my head..." Oh. Right. When he died. He nodded absently, rubbing his cheek where her head had previously been.
"It's fine, it's natural. The way people here act is the odd way. I'm sorry I scared you." As the gauze caught slightly on the stubble on his face, he pushed back the thought of shaving and inspected the wrap. "You did a really good job with this." She smiled, turning to grab the bloody knife on the counter.
"Thanks. I took a lot of first aid courses and stuff a couple years back. I was looking to become a nurse actually." She dumped the knife in the sink, covering it in soap before running the hot water over it. His eyes followed her without his permission, watching her long limbs as she moved around his kitchen.
"Why didn't you?" She laughed slightly, as she scrubbed the serrated blade with a cloth she had found.
"I just decided that music was really what I loved. Obviously though the classes didn't go to waste."
"I guess I'll just have to keep you around all the time, in case I get hurt." She turned to face him, her eyes filled with an odd emotion he couldn't really place.
"Oh, cause that's such a hardship. You're fun to hang with." She grinned at him, her eyes melting into their normal warm contentment. "And it's not like I really know anyone else around this town except Stan. And well...I don't think he'd appreciate me wandering into his place to hang out." Kenny didn't respond, unsure of what to say. It definitely wasn't that he hadn't noticed the subtle tension - who was he kidding, there was more tension between Stan and Kristen than between Kyle and Cartman and it was definitely all one sided. Stan avoided any and all contact with the girl besides the bare minimum, and when they did talk it was stilted and painful to watch. Only a blind man couldn't see the aura of awkward that surrounded the two.
On which note, he should probably mention to Kyle to get his eyes checked. If the redhead had noticed the tension he wasn't making any move to improve it, or to acknowledge it.
"Oh well. I guess your stuck with me Kenny." He grinned at her, jumping off his chair.
"Well I suppose I can handle that. But I am going to finish making my sandwich, because I'm starving. Move over sister!" Kristen grabbed his hand as he reached toward s the knife with a pained expression on her face. His fingers tingled oddly as she squeezed it gently.
"Why don't we go out for lunch? I'll pay." He snickered, ignoring the feeling and pulling his hand away casually.
"Cool, sounds good. Now I know how to bum a free meal; slice my hand open." He continued to chuckle as she smacked him upside the back of the head and made his way to the front door.
"You suck Kenny."
"You do realize that they have knives at restaurants too, right?"
"You suck Kenny."
Another Chapter up! Woop!
So, finally it's starting to get a little interesting. I'm super excited for the next chapter, because something finally actually happens. I've just finished writing up the last chapter (I never write stories in order:P) and I'm rather liking it.
So, tell me what you think so far:) I love feedback, and I love knowing that you are actually out there, and that I'm not just typing to myself!
Miric
