Kenny's POV

February 17th

One month today. That's when the seventeenth of every month meant something to me, and it was a day I couldn't help but steal a glance at whenever I laid eyes on a calendar. My eyes would immediately swivel across to the number 17 and I would count how many days until it would be a whole month. Kyle and I had agreed to tell everyone on our one month, so this day held anticipation and apprehension.

Every day that passed I grew more and more certain that Stan would accept this relationship, and even be supportive and enthusiastic. Kyle, however, seemed to have duped himself to believe that the opposite would happen and Stan would be inconsolable and would not speak to either of us. I thought this was a complete and utter over reaction on Kyle's part; Stan wasn't homophobic in any way shape or form and I knew that because...it was Stan.

I think the best part of this was dreaming about Kyle, to wake up in his arms, reminding me that everything I dreamed of could not possibly compare to reality. Not even my sweetest dreams could compare to him or even come close to surpassing him. I woke up as usual on the 17th, the moment consciousness seeped through slumber like light in a pitch black room, I knew the importance of today and it made the corners of my lips twitch upwards into a small smile. I stretched my limbs, feeling a little ache in between my legs and back. Not a concerning ache though...one that reminded me about how goddamn lucky I was to have a person like Kyle as my lover.

"Good morning," I said quietly, testing to see whether or not he was awake too.

"Is the day so young?" Kyle grunted, making my smile widen. He was not so much as a morning person as I was and, even though it was sometimes difficult to cope with someone who was in such a grouchy mood when they woke up, it always made me feel content because that was my Kyle.

"Well, it is 6:20am," I continued, looking at his alarm clock on the bedside next to me. "Do you want to start getting ready for school?"

"Mhmmm," Kyle yawned, rolling so his back was to me. I turned onto my side so I was facing his back; I hated it when I couldn't see his face so I began to run my index finger down his spine where he was most sensitive. He arched his back at my touch and I giggled, receiving a growl in response.

"Come on sleepy pants," I said, snuggling up to him so my chest was now pressed up against him, locking my arms around his neck and my chin resting on his fiery red hair. "You know what today is, right?"

Another yawn on Kyle's part was my answer but I didn't feel hurt that he couldn't remember right now. It usually took him until midday to even remember his name or where he was. Luckily for me, I didn't have to wait until midday for him to realise. A few minutes later he rolled back over to face me, his brown-green eyes shining in the gloominess of his bedroom.

"One month," he whispered and I nodded, confirming that he was correct. His lips twitched and I gave him a kiss that was, at first, intended to be a chaste one but instead he changed it to a long, passionate one that made me shiver. Morning breath bothered me horrendously, but for some reason I could withstand it with Kyle...though I had my limits. After a few minutes I drew back and pinched my nose.

"Mouth wash, stinky," I teased, diving off of his bed as he made to playfully push me.

I stood up in the middle of his bedroom, completely nude, but I didn't feel naked and imposed on like I usually did in front of others without clothes on. I felt like he wouldn't care if my ribs stuck out or if I had Cartman's wonder gut or if I had a third nipple or something. I felt like even if I had all of those things, he would still think I was beautiful and it was comforting that at least one person in the world thought that of me.

"Very well, let's get ready for school," Kyle sighed, rising himself and starting to gather up his dirty clothes. He wasn't as...confident as I was and always insisted on getting washed and dressed alone. Even after we'd made love he'd get up and change into pyjamas so not to sleep naked. We'd made love twice now; last night was our second time, a treat for our one month coming the next day. I figured we were going to do it tonight too, which I was very eager for.

Kyle kissed me lightly on the cheek before retreating to his bathroom, leaving me alone in his room. I got dressed as quick as I could; I pulled on a pair of jeans, my socks that let my big toe poke through and I decided to sneak on one of Kyle's shirts. He always offered me to wear his clothes, and I did sometimes just so I could smell him even though we weren't side-by-side. I rummaged through his drawers, finding a bright blue short-sleeved one that really took my fancy. It was a little baggy but I liked baggy clothes because it made me feel like I was being wrapped up in a blanket. I sniffed the sleeve to check that it carried his scent; just like his other clothes, it did.

When he returned and saw me in his shirt, he grinned. "That looks so much better on you than it does on me," he said, playfully pouting. "You might as well have all of my clothes since they make you look so much more attractive than me."

I blushed even though I knew that couldn't be true. I said this to him and he said I was just humble and should appreciate how good-looking I truly was. To prove his point, Kyle grasped my wrist and put me in front of the mirror and pointed out the things he thought were attractive about me. He noted my eyes, my nose, my lips, my hair, my cheekbones, my chin and pretty much every single tiny freckle pale that was on my nose. I retorted and said I couldn't possibly point out everything that was handsome on him because it was impossible to point out everything. He gave me a quick kiss and held me from behind as I ran his brush through my hair, his chin on my shoulder.

"Are you going to tell your mom today?" I said gently, avoiding his gaze for a moment in fear of seeing something there I didn't like. The only thing I didn't like about Kyle was that he was easily upset, but even this was adorable in its own way.

"Yeah..." he answered slowly. "And my dad. But I need to do it alone, Ken, alright? If they react badly, they'll take it out on you."

I nodded in agreement, imagining what Sheila would say; probably that I somehow corrupted her beautiful child and that I'd spoiled her chances of ever having biological grandchildren. Kyle and I had discussed me telling my family, but both of us had almost immediately agreed that this was not a good idea since I was already on the verge of getting kicked out and my redneck father and mother couldn't handle having a gay son. I knew that that was what I was; I was gay because I could only imagine myself being with Kyle and he was a guy, making me homosexual. It's like what Mr. Garrison had said to us when we left South Park elementary: "Once you have dick, that's where you'll stick".

"And what about Stan?" I pressed, stroking his fingers that sat on my stomach. "You going to tell him?"

Kyle didn't reply but he nodded and I raised my eyes to meet his. I have him a wry half smile and he returned it, kissing my cheek and leaving his lips there for a good ten minutes before parting from me, crumpling up the sleeping back Sheila had left for me on the bedroom floor to make it out like I had been sleeping there. Although he was going to tell her we were dating, he wasn't going to tell her we'd had sex. He wanted her to trust me more and that we were saving it until we'd been together for much longer. I doubted she'd let me sleep over that night knowing we were now an item; it'd probably be a while before I could be trusted to sleep over again.

000

Stan and Cartman were already waiting for us at the bus stop, talking animatedly about something on TV last night or something. I wasn't really interested; I was nervous. Kyle was going to tell Stan on the bus and I was wondering how it would go, trying to picture it in my mind. Would Kyle chicken out and only tell me he'd told Stan? But that wouldn't really work 'cos I'd obviously ask Stan if he was really okay with everything. Stan would be alright, I was certain of it. Kyle was simply overreacting and the moment he told his best friend about us, he'd be all grinning and confused about why he'd ever felt hesitant in the first place.

"Hey, Kyle, hey Kenny," Stan greeted us in turn, a shimmer of hurt flashing blatantly in his eyes. He'd assumed Kyle had invited me over again and had 'forgotten' to invite him. I seriously could not wait for Kyle to explain everything, so then Stan would understand and wouldn't have that stung look whenever he saw Kyle and me together.

"Hey, Stan," Kyle returned, raising a hand and standing beside him. He seemed really tense and nervous; I wanted to comfort him and assure him everything would go fine but I couldn't really act the part of boyfriend yet. I had to act the part of quiet friend and stand next to Cartman, pretending to be listening to him jabber on about how he'd watched a movie last night where a woman crapped on a guy's face. I felt like reminding him that his own mother had been in one of those kinds of movies before but I was too focused on Kyle and Stan.

Things were awkward until the bus came and we all scrambled on. I noticed Stan looked very shocked but pleased that Kyle was taking his old seat next to him that day, glimpsing over his shoulder to see me sitting next to Cartman two seats behind them. I remember wringing at my hands, taking my gloves off and then putting them on again just for the sake of doing something. The chatter and laughter was too loud on the bus so I couldn't catch what was going on; I couldn't even see anything because of Clyde and Butters sitting in front of us, the both of them turning round to chat to Cartman every now and then.

That was the longest bus journey I'd ever been on and when I saw South Park High standing there, I wished the trip had been extended a mile or so more. I was anxious about the result to Kyle and Stan's talk, and as everyone poured out of the bus, I couldn't even steal a glance at them over everyone's heads. When Cartman and I finally stepped off, I saw them waiting for us a little bit away from the road. Kyle was beckoning me over; an encouraging look on his face that told me things had went well. I strayed from Cartman and approached them, pinching my palms to prevent me from fidgeting and appearing hopelessly nervous.

"Kenny...Kyle told me everything," Stan said, not looking me in the eyes. "How you guys have been dating for a month now...dude, I just want you to know its all cool. Just a bit of a shock, so you have to understand if I'm not that into seeing you guys...kissing...or anything..."

Relief made my limbs feel like paper in a manic wind and I could do nothing but hug him tightly, whispering: "Thank you, Stan," in his ear.

000

That dinner time, I had to unfortunately spend it with my family because Kyle was planning on telling his parents then. If everything went well, he'd call me and if not, he'd text me. If he called, I was to go over and if he texted, I'd lie low for a while until his parents calmed down. Stan had been lovely today to Kyle and me, so it left me completely optimistic. He'd even gone as far as talking about how we found out about our feelings and asked if we'd kissed; upon our answer to this one he turned red and stuck his tongue out. Kyle had simply laughed, telling me that everything was okay.

Mom put soup before me and my heart sank; I hated soup but I couldn't tell her that. It's all we had, and complaining did nothing but offend and cause arguments. It was one of those rare occasions when the whole family was there for dinner; mom, dad, Kevin, Karen, Kurt, Kate, Kim and me. It was an awkward time for all of us since dad would go on about how damn hard the economy was for someone like him to find a job. Just excuses really, and everyone knew it but my mom would agree with him and kiss him on the cheek, whispering: "You always try so hard for us" in his ear. Yeah, he tries so hard to leave us with absolutely no money. Bastard.

"Kenny, I've heard you've been spending a lot of time with that Broflovski kid," Dad said, causing me to look up from my dinner.

"Yeah, dad, what of it?" I said, shrugging. "Kyle's..." Kyle's my boyfriend, the love of my life, the one who took my virginity... "He's like my best friend, has been since I was a baby, dad."

"Yeah but I mean like a lot of time," he insisted, slurping from his beer can. "You two have never been that close before. What the hell's gotten into you two boys? If I didn't know any better, Kenny, I'd say you were turning into a homosexual like your damn teacher, Mr. Garrison."

"Dad, Mr. Garrison hasn't been my teacher since I was like...nine."

"You got a smart mouth, Kenny," dad pointed at me. "Better watch what you say with it or else it'll be on the floor with your teeth."

I blinked and caught my mom's panicky expression, which urged me to be quiet and not talk back. I obeyed, ducking down and sipping from my soup, despising the taste that sat there like a puddle of piss on my spoon. The lack of talking was filled with the clatter of spoons on plates and teeth. I felt dad's grey eyes on me but I refused to look up, even when I'd long finished my meal. I could smell Kyle on me, the scent of his shirt wafting up to me and relaxing me; it smelt delicious and I couldn't wait to smell it again in person...that reminded me that I was supposed to be by my shitty mobile waiting for a call or text, which would tell me how the whole coming out thing went.

"Done," I muttered, rising with my plate. I crossed the small kitchen and dropped the bowl into the sink before retreating to my bedroom.

Once I'd left the room, my parents had started to argue again, dad having a go at mom for not raising me right and her at him for talking to her like a piece of garbage, to which he replied that she was and led to him being kicked out of the house. Again she'd made the mistake of not taking the money from him first, which he took advantage of and hopped into his truck to head to the bar again for a night full of tonics.

I took my phone from under my pillow and cleaned the screen with my jacket sleeve, groaning at the splitting crack on it, and looked to see if I missed any messages. Nothing. I exhaled loudly with a mixture of relief that I hadn't missed his call and disappointment that he hadn't already finished. I couldn't wait for him to let me know...I hoped that they accepted because then I could leave this place and head over his for the night and help myself to some of Mrs Broflovski's hot dinners that looked like feasts compared to the ones served at home.

It was a further twenty minutes before my phone vibrated in the ugly manner it did and I sat straight up, staring at the screen to see if it was a text or call. My heart skipped a beat. A call. From Kyle. I pressed the answer button and held the phone to my ear, gnawing on my bottom lip.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kenny," Kyle said, his voice sending waves of yearning through me, like the way you'd feel after being away from home for so long and get an invitation to return. I wanted to go back, I really did.

"How did it go?" I pushed after a drawn out pause.

"Really well," Kyle filled me in. "Mom wasn't so pleased at first and Dad was going to go round to your house and have a word with your dad. I told him not to and explained everything to them in detail, about how it was me who asked you out and that it was a serious relationship, not a fling. I told him how I was falling in love with you..." I grinned stupidly. "And Ike stood up for us too, and then they just said that they loved me no matter what I was. They want to see you again, and I suggested you come over tonight and they said not yet, but tomorrow."

My stomach twisted; I'd have to spend the night here, the first time in absolutely ages and on Kyle and I's one month. I wanted to enthuse about how great that all was but I couldn't dig up the courage to. Instead I remained silent and Kyle seemed to understand and added something that made everything alright again.

"How about we meet up though? Tonight I mean?" he proposed. "We'll meet at Stark's Pond and spend a few hours together. I know it sucks that you can't come over but I guess mom and dad need to get used to this. Let's give them tonight at least...but all the same, I want to see you. Will that be alright?"

"Fuck yes," I exclaimed, and he laughed on his end of the phone. "I'll meet you at Stark's Pond at 10:00pm. Be there or be a square!"

"I think it's: be there or be square, Ken, not be an actual square," Kyle mocked playfully. "Okay, I'll see you there. Can't wait."

000

It wasn't easy sneaking away from my mother's hawk like eye that night. She was set on grounding me for setting my dad off and she'd knocked on my door a few times, demanding for me to let her in so she could 'have a few words' with me but I'd feigned sleep and she seemed to have either gotten the message or given up. I let myself out of my window at half nine that night and managed to land without inflicting too much damage on myself. I just about crept away without being spotted; Kevin was outside smoking and when he heard a thud, he came round to check what the noise was but, even though he saw evidence of my escape, said nothing and walked away as if he hadn't seen anything.

I made it to Stark's Pond in fifteen minutes and I sat there on the freezing cold bench, hands clasped between my knees, rubbing them together feverishly to gather warmth from the friction. I hadn't really thought much about attire and just came in my shirt, jeans and trainers, forgetting to pick up my jacket that I'd discarded after jumping in the shower. I busied myself with sniffing Kyle's shirt that I'd put back on despite it not smelling so much like my boyfriend and a little more like dirt and the morning's sweat. It does get pretty hot under that jacket...

"Kenny!"

I perked up and saw Kyle jogging towards me, hands tucked into his jacket pockets and clouds bursting from his lips as his hot breath collided with the icy air. When he saw I had no jacket, he rolled his eyes and started to unzip his jacket.

"No, no, don't do that!" I protested, not wanting to take Kyle's jacket away from him because I was stupid enough to forget my own. My protests died down as I realised he wasn't taking it off at all.

He sat next to me and opened one side to me, beckoning me to snuggle up close to him. I did as I was told and he slid his arm out from the left sleeve, allowing me to put my arm in, our sleeveless arms linked and hands holding. Our teeth were chattering and we were both shivering violently but I was starting to warm up just because he was there next to me.

"I l-l-love you, Kyle," I managed through shivers.

Kyle tensed up for a moment, and I didn't know why. I figured back then it was because of the cold. I simply closed my eyes and imagined we were together in his cosy bed, Sheila making it almost too hot by putting on the central heating so we were both practically drowning in each other's body heat, the warmth provided by the sheets and the unbearably humid house. It was working too, my trembles faded and I was feeling so much happier.

"I love you too, Kenny," Kyle said even though I'd said it around ten minutes ago now. He kissed my forehead and then both of my drawn eyelids, my nose and finally my lips. His lips were a little chapped and dragged roughly against mine, but I didn't mind because I knew my lips probably weren't at their softest right now. Plus, it reminded me what he was doing for me. He could be at home right now; just pleased that everything went alright with his parents, but instead he was sitting out here with me at 10 o'clock at night, freezing his ass off.

I squeezed his hand in a mute way of thanking him, and I think he got the message for he squeezed my hand in return, our fingers intertwined. It was like his fingers were made to fit in between the spaces of mine; they were so soft and warm. Mine always got a little clammy and it was embarrassing when my hands got a slightly damp but Kyle didn't mind. I loved to hold his hand; it was as if all of our thoughts and feelings were being passed through our clasped hands, through the odd stroke of our digits. I rested my head on his shoulder and he leaned his head onto the top of mine. I still didn't open my eyes, and I drifted off to sleep, at peace sitting next to Kyle Broflovski...

Please review and I hope you've been enjoying this story. Song recommendations:

My Hands – Leona Lewis

6 Months – HEY MONDAY