III: Verve
(Energy and enthusiasm in the expression of ideas, especially in artistic performance or composition.)
"…you shouldn't have seen that, Kyle," Kenny muttered quietly, avoiding the man's glance.
"But I think it's wonderful!" protested Kyle, pointing once more to the sketchbook on the dining table. "Besides, I didn't do anything wrong!—you just left it there, Ken."
Kenny sighed, hazarding a quick glance at the sketchbook. Of all pages Kyle had to see, it had to be that one…. "You can't… you can't tell anyone about this though, okay?"
"Sure, I guess." He took a seat opposite Kenny, taking the book in his hands. "I think it looks nice, Ken."
"T-thanks…."
"When'd you start?" Kyle asked curiously, looking over its pages to find a rather red Kenny. "Dude, it's just drawing. Nothing to be ashamed about, there."
"But I…." Kenny shook his head. "I started that one in January…."
Kyle blinked. "Oh, right… no, I meant like, when'd you start drawing. Like, I never knew you could draw… really…." Well, except that one time, when Kenny drew an evil clown with glitter and glue….
"For a while," Kenny muttered. "I didn't want anyone finding out, though… I thought they'd think of it as a girl's thing, really…."
"Can I keep it?"
The words took a while to register in Kenny's mind, yet the second he realized what Kyle had just asked him, he turned an even deeper red. "What?"
Kyle chuckled, looking at the sketch. "I like it… I was wondering if I could have it… or a copy of it, even."
"Why?" Kenny asked, looking away. "It's not that great."
"But it looks exactly like me!" Kyle exclaimed, comparing it to himself. "Come on, Ken, you've barely got any enthusiasm at all for you work! This is good stuff."
Kenny grumbled under his breath, and when Kyle asked him to repeat, Kenny chose not to.
"You can have it… I guess."
"Thanks, Ken. Can I just… rip it out of the sketchbook?"
"Yeah… sure…." Kyle smiled, doing exactly as he had said, but even Kyle continued to talk about Kenny's lack of verve in his works, and even as he continued to talk about framing the picture, using it as a sign of their friendship, Kyle never noticed the blush Kenny had developed, nor the nervousness he had felt, nor even the reason he had drawn it in the first place.
