(A/n: Happy Valentines day! No Southern voiced Kenny in this dark, angsty (with light humor) chapter. Also trigger warning: Mentions of 'suicide', and bad parenting...?
Summary: Kenny is new transfer student, and he just so happens to attend on Valentines day. Seeing as how he was single, and also confident in his looks, he was so certain that he would have all the chicks swooning and flocking around him to give him chocolates and whatnot. But that dream is instantly crushed when he realizes that he's in a school where not a single female student is present, and it only gets dreadfully worse when one student in particular acquires an ignited interest in him.
I will look over and edit this cuz I know there's some errors lurking -_- Please enjoy)
UPDATE: I edited it already lol
Chapter 10: Longing
"Whoa, we got a hottie in our class!"
"How convenient for him show up on Valentines day. Lucky us!" They share a high-five.
"You guys need to calm down, dude's probably not even gay."
"Pfft, he ain't gonna be straight for long."
Kenny fights to keep a straight face over the classes perverted chatter.
Earlier he was slightly excited, the fact that they had to wear uniforms had already lowered his expectations of this school, but he still smiled upon entering the building. His eyes closed, he thought of the coincidence of him transferring to a new school on one of his favorite holidays and immediately becoming eye candy to all the girls (And some males too he was sure) that laid their eyes on him.
But that fantasy started to crack once he felt an odd air surround him as he walked the halls. When he opened his eyes and slowed his pace, the crack grew larger and shattered into glass-like pieces, revealing the cause of the strange feeling. The bunch of girls he was awaiting to see turned out to be nothing but guys staring at him, the multiple pair of eyes containing different yet also similar emotions in them.
Kenny forced himself to continue on, but no matter which way he looked he could not spot not one girl anywhere. He'd even mistook one of the boys as one thanks to his short and slim figure at first glance. However what he was more concerned about was the sudden chill that coursed throughout his body, he knew it wasn't because of the staring. He is an attention whore after all, though he preferred guys to look at him with envy instead of adoration.
He was so preoccupied with finding at least one girl in this place that he failed to see a figure in front of him, leading him to bump into them. He apologized, studying the person as he did so. The teen had his back to him so Kenny couldn't see his face, he was an inch or two shorter than Kenny, slender but still well-built, and had black hair that reached the back of his pale nape.
Mysteriously, even though the hallway was already silent due to everyone marveling Kenny's handsomeness, the atmosphere all around seemed to had taken a dark dive after he'd collided into the noirette. Who was as stiff as a statue.
Ignoring the tension the best he could, Kenny went to apologize once more but paused mid-word when the boy slowly began to turn his head back. He stopped, giving Kenny a look through the corner of his eye that was enough to make the blonde's blood run cold.
Hazel met one wide sapphire eye that was peeking out under long black bangs, Kenny was too terrified to discern what emotion bore in that single orb. The boy then looked away, and walked off, probably to his classroom though he was empty handed.
After only meeting him once, Kenny never wanted to see him again.
"Alright calm your hormones you little predators." The teacher's voice brings Kenny back to present time. Also what did he just call his students? "Anyway as you can already see, we have a new student. His name is Kenneth McCormick. Treat him nicely, got it?" The students' voices mesh together in unison with lecherous comments. Kenny is told to find a vacant seat.
Maintaining his sense of calm and having already seen an empty desk in the back near the widespread row of windows, Kenny makes his way towards it. "Just gotta hold out for three months." 'SMACK' "AND protect my virginity till then. If I'd known I'd be goin' to an all-boys school, I would've gotten laid by some random chick at my other school. So much for waiting for the right one." Paying no mind to the low cheers and snickering, Kenny sets his binder down on top of his desk then plants his stinging butt down in his chair. He leans forward propping his elbow on his binder followed by his cheek against his palm, he glares at the clean white curtains blocking the outside world. Soon after, their teacher begins teaching.
All throughout the lesson, Kenny fought not to look at the person that was eying him from the opposite side of the room in the last desk. Knowing whom they are thanks to the familiarity of the uncomfortable chill.
Just his luck to meet him again in first period...
Not even half of the day has gone by, yet Kenny managed to make quite a lot of 'friends'. However majority of them only befriended him to get inside his pants while the rest had other and thankfully not sexual intentions. He will not hesitate to beat some sense into these bastards if one of them takes it too far.
When lunchtime comes around, Kenny decides to eat his homemade lunch in a place where it is peaceful. No matter how good the school food is, he will always prefer his mother's cooking. Sadly finding a tranquil spot doesn't start off easy, firstly being his lack of familiarity of the school building, and secondly being his clique not wanting to leave his side. Kenny isn't blind, he knows they basically want to show him off, to flaunt 'Cupid's Incarnate' in the eyes of so many people in the cafeteria. His been in that type of situation before, thus further pushed him into being alone. Before parting, he asks if there are any places that he can eat in peace.
"Well there is the courtyard, but-oi!"
Kenny is eagerly making his way to the courtyard, even though he has no idea where it is. He's just going with gut-feeling, plus he wants to eat already.
After wandering around for about a few minutes, Kenny concludes that he is lost. "Shit..." The hallway he's in now is very quiet since he's the sole person standing in it. So much for asking a teacher where the courtyard is. He sighs softly, and resumes his walk at a steady pace. He frowns at his lunch. "Food's probably cold now, just how big is this school?" He looks up when he feels that he's not alone, stopping apprehensively at whom he sees. "Just fucking great..." The person that is somehow able to strike absolute fear into Kenny's soul so effortlessly is idle, and is also watching him intently through the spaces of his black fringes. Something about his eyes intrigues, but mostly scares Kenny. As the silence stretches on, Kenny is the only one who seems to be effected by how strenuous it feels.
"I gotta get away from this creep." He strains a friendly smile. "H-hey um can you tell me where the courtyard is?"
The boy eyes him silently for a couple more seconds, then raises his arm and points behind him. On his right there is light presumably from the sun reflecting off the floor and the visible wall in the other hallway. Kenny nods his thanks, and briskly speeds past the noirette, not bothering to hide how freaked out he is. Once he's gone behind the corner, the boy's lips curl into a smile that will leave anyone mystified as his eyes darken. A bright blush coloring his cheeks. He continues to wherever he was going.
The bell rings five minutes later, ending lunch. Kenny was not able to savor his cold food.
It is now third period. After being introduced to the students in this class, they greet him back appropriately unlike the others in his first and second class.
But then he sees him, the 'creeper'; a name he has decided to refer to the boy as since he has yet to know his real name. Whenever the teachers did roll call, they purposely skipped the noirette's name for some reason. It left him really curious, wondering if he's a well-known skipper or something. But he honestly didn't want to be associated with the dude at all so he shoved his curiosity away.
Kenny sits in a seat in the middle row, which is unfortunately close to the creeper, who is fortunately sitting in the back. As the teaching dragged on, it became increasingly difficult to focus. How is one suppose to endure the unyielding pressure being directed at the back of your head? Kenny feels that a hole might inevitably appear in his skull the longer the obvious individual keeps this up. Not only that but the big decrease in his body temperature doubled his anxiety.
Having had enough thirty seconds later, Kenny's arm shoots upward. "Can I go the restroom?" Once he is granted permission, he hurries out of the room, giving the others the impression that he was in a tight.
"Finally." Kenny breathes out a sigh, his muscles beginning to relax. As he ambles down the hall, clueless as to where the restrooms are located, he can't help but wonder what that creeper's deal is. He doesn't hate him for bumping into him earlier, does he? Or is it something else entirely, like he's captivated by him? Well Kenny understands that no one can resist his good looks, but he got a totally different vibe from the noirette. No, rather he's unreadable, plus very creepy on top of that. Kenny shudders at a brief mental image of the boy's piercing sapphire eyes. "I don't wanna be here anymore." But then he shakes his head, taking back the thought. "No, I gotta hold out. As long as he doesn't touch me-" His train of thought is interrupted when he bumps into someone. Again.
"Shit sorry," Kenny apologizes, trying not to appear uneasy at the male's towering height. Is this guy really a student? Three boys accompanied him.
Amber orbs glare down at him in annoyance, making him feel small and a little bit intimidated. "Relax Craig, he's new," a brunette says. With a tch, the tall noirette brushes past Kenny with his group following after him, the brunette winking at Kenny and mouthing, 'You owe me'.
Blinking dubiously, Kenny glances back at the quartet, then proceeds his search for the restrooms. It's best not to ask them where they are.
"Are you lost again?"
Kenny is startled by the abrupt soft voice, stopping and looking to see who asked that. His eyes once again meet sapphire, the boy standing in the other hall of the intersection. Okay this encounter doesn't sit well with Kenny, just why is he out here anyway?
Kenny gives him a deep frown, causing the boy to do the same but in confusion. "Look I don't mean to be a dick, but could you stop bothering me? I dunno if you hate me or something for bumping into you this morning, but you're seriously startin' to freak me out now with your staring in class." Slowly, the noirette's whole demeanor changes. Being unreadable again. Kenny tenses. "If you got somethin' to say, then say it. If you want me to apologize again, I'll-"
"Excuse me?"
With a faint jolt of the shoulders, Kenny spins around to see a boy with long dark brown hair tied into a low ponytail and black eyes approaching him.
"The teacher figured you were lost so he sent me out to guide you to the restrooms," the brunette says sounding a little timid. "My name is Fenix by the way."
The shock quickly wearing down, Kenny forces up a small smile, failing to hide his embarrassment. He hopes he didn't hear their conversation. "Thanks, still don't know my way around here yet."
Fenix nods his head in understanding, then asks, "Who were you talking to just now?"
Seems he did hear what they were talking about. Even though Kenny really doesn't want to admit it, he's not going to be rude and dismiss the noirette's presence. Keeping his composure, Kenny jabs a thumb behind him at the boy in the other hall. "Him." Then turns to face him.
Fenix takes a few steps forward, peeking past the blonde to see a bare corridor. "Umm, I don't see anybody."
"..What...?" Somehow, those harmless words sends a strong wave of chills down Kenny's spine. He stares at the noirette, who he can see as plain as day. "What do you mean? He's right there."
Fenix gets a worried look across his face. "I really don't see anyone, we're the only ones in the hallway."
That can't be true, there's just no way. "No trust me, there is someone literally standing right in the other hall! He's wearing our uniform!"
"It's no use." Kenny freezes, his pupils constricting. "No one else but you can see, hear, and apparently touch me."
Immense fear renders Kenny into a numb state. The longer he stares at the black haired boy, whose lips are curling into an eerie smirk in false reality, the more he feels himself being drawn away from the world. "N-no fucking way...Is this guy..a ghost?!"
Fenix grows deeply concerned at Kenny's pale and appalled appearance. Before he can suggest taking him to the infirmary, Kenny suddenly regains his senses and starts walking. "L-let's just go."
With his innocent smile descending into a hurt frown, the ghostly white noirette watches Kenny's back for a minute then vanishes.
*After School*
Amid the shrill ringing of the school bell, Kenny gets up and taps a classmate's shoulder for his attention while the others exit the classroom, happy to finally be going home. One student, however, is far more focused on observing Kenny from the last seat in the back; they both sit in the same row.
"Hey you know who that creepy kid is in our class?" Kenny asks, keeping his voice low so the aforementioned person doesn't hear him.
The redhead looks back at him with a raised eyebrow. "Who?"
Frowning at the possibility of this boy also thinking he's gone crazy, Kenny nudges his head back, not wanting to risk another lapse in his sanity from looking at him even for a second. "He's sitting in the very back."
The redhead's brown eyes glance at the last desk, then returns them to Kenny. "There's nobody-"
"Wait," someone cuts in. "You've seen him?"
Kenny and the red haired teen look over at the newcomer, he has messy dirty blonde hair and green hysteric eyes, making Kenny and the other boy feel unnerved. "Y-yeah, ever since this morning when I bumped into him," Kenny answers.
"You actually made contact with him?" The blonde mutters, troubled by Kenny's response.
His expression causes Kenny to feel the same way. "Do you know who he is?"
Blinking his eyes back to normalcy, the blonde's lips straighten into a line. "I don't know him, but I have heard things about him from some of the students. His name was Stanley Marsh, and he's actually-"
"Do you three want to go home or not?" Their teacher interrupts, standing impatiently in the doorway.
Packing up their belongings with haste, the trio vacate the room, heading to their lockers. "What were you saying?" The redhead says, interested to know whom this creepy kid is. The hallway is gradually being cleared out of students as well as the teachers and staff, though they either go into a classroom, office or another hall.
"Kenny, the kid you've been seeing is actually dead."
Kenny stops right in his tracks, greatly shocked to hear that though he did have a deep down inkling that the boy was a ghost. The other two stop and turn to him, the redhead equally dumbfounded. "Dead?! You've gotta be joking."
The blonde shakes his head, his eyes to the floor. "Sadly I'm not. Someone killed him. This happened like a decade or so ago. One day in September the coach found Stanley's body a bloody mess in the gym storage room. No one knows why anyone would think to murder him cuz he was like the school's #1 idol. He was nice, smart, outgoing, a top star athlete, and good looking so people assumed that the killer did what they did out of immense jealousy. When the incident was reported, one of the students was acting very suspicious and the moment he caught the attention of the police he fled. Making him the prime suspect of the crime, plus some students suspected that he was the one who did it anyway. They caught him the next day, but he'd committed suicide by self-strangulation. They found him with his hands stuck tightly around his neck. The reasons as to why he killed Stanley will never be known, and I think that's why his spirit is still lingering here, because he wants answers."
There is a long beat of silence. "Holy shit..." the redhead breathes out. How the hell did he not know about this before?
The blonde looks up. "Kenny do you-" He pauses, then looks to the redhead in wonder. "Where'd he go?" He gets a shrug in response, they decide to hurry to their locker and out of the school before they miss their bus.
Elsewhere, a dazed Kenny finds himself outside on the school rooftop. Stood in front of him is a blank faced Stan, his hair and clothes unmoving even though the wind is blowing tenderly.
The beautiful weather contrasts the topic that's about to be discussed.
"Now you know the truth."
Kenny blinks a few times, snapping out of his stupor and sinking in his surroundings. When he looks into Stan's lifeless eyes, he no longer experiences the petrifying chills surging through the entirety of his body. After being informed of this boy's true identity and past, Kenny feels a large amount of sympathy and guilt for him. "I..." His brain can't formulate the proper words to say, this is still so sudden after all.
"You pity me, don't you?"
Kenny frowns, he does. "How else am I supposed to feel? I just...found out you'd been murdered..."
Stan's face darkens. "So have others who'd been told, but as time moves on they began to forget and carry on with their carefree lives."
"That's them," Kenny says shaking his head. "I'm different." Stan doesn't look convinced. Kenny averts his gaze. "I wanna apologize for being rude-"
"It's fine. Just, it's been so long since I've been seen by the human eyes again that I went overboard with my presence."
Kenny lightly bites his bottom lip. "Am..I really the only person that can see you?"
"If you weren't then I would've been noticed by the whole school long before you came here."
"..True..." Kenny admits bashfully.
A brief smile tugs at Stan's lips, he faces away from the blonde. He eyes the blue sky that would invigorate anyone who gazes up at it. "Sorry I brought you up here, you can still catch the bus if you hurry. There is another exit that leads to the parking lot close from here."
"Wait, I have another question." Stan gives Kenny a corner-eyed glance. "Why haven't you passed on yet?"
Frowning deeply in bewilderment, Stan looks away. "I...don't know. I'd thought seeking revenge on the bastard who killed me would've let me pass on, but it wasn't. I wasn't sure if it was because I didn't make him suffer enough or..." He says no more, and only shakes his head.
Kenny appears hesitant to ask his next set of questions. "Have..you ever thought of visiting your family? To see how they've been doing?"
Stan's eyes slowly widen, a fleeting flash of three silhouettes appear in his mind. "F-family...?" They appear again, this time causing him to wince at the nip of pain in his head. He drops to his knees with a hand on his head.
"Stan?!" Kenny rushes to his side, setting his binder on the ground as he gets down on Stan's level. He opts not to touch him. "Hey what's wrong?" He looks at the noirette attentively, very concerned at the tears trailing down his face. "What's happening to him?"
"..I-I-I had a mom...a dad...a-and a s-sister." The tears increase in speed at his next of set of words, his arm lowers. "They never cared about me..." His voice was barely above a whisper, but Kenny was able to hear how intense the sadness in his tone was. "Only when I did something praiseworthy would they give me attention, but it never lasted. They favored my sister more. No matter what she did, she received the love and care I never once gotten without earning it. I..I wanted my parents to do the same to me, without having to work for it..." Stan's eyes dull in color, appearing as if he's reliving his past as he spoke. "As I became older, I started to notice how unfair I was being treated. But...I wasn't brave enough to confront them about it." Anger and sadness starts to show on Stan's face. "I was such a fucking coward, I cared more about my parents' approval than my own well-being...I was so pathetic." Now only sorrow remains. "I thought school was my safe haven, I thought the friends I'd made were like a family to me. But I was so dumb to believe all that. School was just as bad - no, it was practically hell. I'd learned that even friends can be evil, they only hung out with me for their own personal gain." Hearing that hit so close to home, Kenny grits his teeth with tears building up in his eyes. "But I never let it showed that it bothered me, because...they were all that I had. Even though they were just as cruel as my family, at least they didn't..." Stan can't bring himself to finish.
Suddenly, a body presses itself against Stan causing his eyes to readjust, arms wrap themselves around his neck, greatly taking him aback. "Stop. Don't say no more...Please..."
"..." Stan doesn't know how to react, it's been far too long since he'd been hugged before. He can't recall his parents nor sister ever doing this to him whenever he did something commendable or not. But he doubts it would feel even remotely warm and comforting like this embrace, finding the strong pulse of Kenny's heart refreshing. Reminding him that he is in the arms of a living person.
"I see...so this was why..."
He closes his eyes with a genuine smile on his face, carefully wrapping his arms around Kenny's torso. All of a sudden, Stan's body begins to glow.
Sensing the quick change in temperature, Kenny's eyes fly open and he pulls back, his cheeks wet. "W-what's happening?" He wipes his eyes feverishly.
"Thank you Kenny," Stan's voice sounded hollow, like he was close but also far. "Looks like I can finally move on now."
Kenny blinks, confused. "What did I do?"
Stan opens his eyes. "You gave me what I've been longing for: Love."
A light blush blossoms on Kenny's cheeks. "But all I did was hug you."
Stan smiles. "I've never received that type of affection from anyone when I was alive. It felt really sincere from you."
Kenny's blush darkens, and he looks at the ground. "I-I see, so that's probably why I could touch you." He looks up when a frigid hand places itself on top of his, Stan is nearly transparent.
"I'm really glad you came to this school. If it hadn't of been for you, I would've been stuck here forever."
Kenny shoots him a bright grin. "Happy to hear that I was able to be of some help. Hope you can rest peacefully now up there in heaven."
Stan's smile morphs into a sad one. "I doubt it..since I killed someone..."
He closes his eyes, then his body bursts into a dozen of white particles. The gentle breeze sends half of them away. Kenny sticks out a hand to catch one, frowning faintly when it lands in his palm. It looks and feels like a tiny snowflake. Shortly after, it fades away.
Ridding away the resurfacing tears, Kenny grabs his binder, gets up, and saunters to the metal door. He doesn't mind walking home.
(A/n: Surprise, happy ending! I hope you enjoyed and the next chapter will be up soon)