South Down: Thanks for the suggestions you sent me! I'll be putting them into the story however and whenever I can, I still have to draft out like half of it.

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Stuart opened the fridge door to reach in for his beer bottle. Marking it as the last one as he cracked open the lid by the edge of the counter and went to pull out a chair at the kitchen table. He sighed heavily from the change of plans this evening. Expecting a quiet Friday night on the porch with maybe a smoke before Carol desperately ushered her husband in. Telling him it was time, again.

Kevin was at a sleepover. Karen was too young to notice. Timing was everything in this house.

It lasted a few hours this time. Which was odd, usually it was a shorter delivery. Carol had built up a tolerance by now but the drained hours exhausted her. She fell asleep afterward while Stuart put the 'delivery' in his bed, bundled in his usual orange parka for comfort. They never wanted him to wake up feeling out of place. It would make the situation worse than it already was.

Footsteps creaked at their old floorboards. He looked up as Carol approached, now in her pajamas. Puffiness surrounded her under eyes from the needed rest as she reached for the lone pack of cigarettes and lighter waiting for her on the table. She took a seat across from her husband as she lit one between her lips.

"How d'you feel?" Stuart asked quietly. It had been a while since another incident.

Carol blew smoke underneath vacant eyes. "Alive," she muttered. "It felt so different this time."

Stuart swallowed his drink, tiredly creasing his brow. "How?"

The woman scratched her bedhead "Long, an' heavy," she mumbled. Her eyes lifted to Stuart. "Maybe I'm jus' tired."

Stuart could see the exhaust in her eyes. She rolled the cigarette between her fingers tightly. Stuart shifted his chair closer to her's, touching her hand and clasping it into his. She grew weary of this curse not just on her son, but on her the more she got older. They already had to live with the real nightmare of their boy walking into death many times.

Carol had to keep alive. Because the more Kenny died, the more she had to bring him back through her.

Kenny felt warm, consumed by his jacket and sleeping in his underwear underneath the duvet. The sun beams crossed his face in gentle rows as he blinked his eyes open and snuggled against his jacket. Remembering yesterday's hit by the speeding truck. Luckily he slept pretty well afterward to make up for it. He didn't feel like moving at all this Saturday if he didn't have to.

His bedroom door boomed with urgent knocks. Striking Kenny with a nerve as he flinched underneath the blanket.

"Kenny, come on, we're gonna be late!"

Oh, please tell him he didn't mistake a Monday for a Saturday. He stepped out of bed as the sound of his friends' voices continued to call. Deciding to make themselves comfortable and enter right as Kenny slipped on his pants.

"Hey!" He snapped. The familiar three approached as Kenny found a clean shirt and put it on. "Dude, Avatar 2." Stan reminded. "You ready?"

"Yeah," Kenny reached for his jacket under the sheets and yanked it out, slipping it on clumsily as he followed his friends out. He passed by his sister's room as her door opened. Karen tiredly rubbed her eyes while still in her pink PJs, holding her doll by an arm.

"Can I come, Kenny?" She asked hopefully.

"Sorry, Karen. Older kid stuff." Kenny dismissed. "We'll hang out, later."

Kevin turned the corner and scooted past the boys walking down the hallway, shrugging his skateboard underneath his arm. "Tuh. You're gonna go see a stupid Avatar movie and call it older kid stuff? Right."

Kenny turned and launched his brown mitten to the back of his brother's head. Kevin spun around angrily. "Shit! Watch it!"

Carol came up from behind Kenny's friends. "'Aight, enough." She said. "Sharon's waitin' in the car. You boys are gon' be late."

Kevin annoyingly tossed his brother his mitten as the boys scurried past Carol's legs. Beelining through the living room and out the McCormick's front door. Carol watched from behind as Kenny was the last of the group to leave.

"Be careful, Ken."

"Yeah, mom."

Her son left, leaving Carol to pray for an accident-ridden day once again.

In the theatre's arcade, Stan and Cartman slurped down their milkshakes and watched from their table as Kyle and Kenny went powerfully finishing a round of Just Dance on the strobing video dance floor. Tapping each arrow every which way with the bottom of their feet as their eyes switched back and forth between the game's flashing lights.

"Too fast for your feet!" Cartman taunted.

"Shut up, Cartman!" Kyle kept focus. He stepped hastily as Kenny's footwork followed simultaneously. Pressing each colorful tile with great force they may as well break the machine. With a few final beats slowing down the song's finale, a flashing 'winner' went across Kenny's portion of the screen while a 'you lose' went across Kyle's.

"Woo!" Kenny screamed through his hood. "Eat my shit!"

"Alright," Kyle playfully pushed Kenny by the shoulder. They walked back to the table as Stan finished off his chocolate milkshake.

"Cartman, you and me?"

"No way, dude," he said. "I don't want a seizure."

Kyle slurped down his strawberry shake. "Or he's too lazy."

"Hey!" Cartman snapped as the others snickered. "Deaths in arcades show that-! Who the hell is that?"

The boys turned in their seats upon Cartman's distraction, seeing a familiar group of kids from school enter the theatre's front with their tickets.

"Just some fifth graders." Kyle shrugged.

"No, gingey," Cartman said, pointing further. "I'm talking about Harry Potter."

They looked further, seeing amongst the middle of the group a particular kid who stood out from the rest. Nothing about his features were off. Pale skin and a head of brown curls. Over his clothes though, he wore an above ankle-lengthed robe in pitch black with red trim along the front buttoning and bells of the sleeves. Weird nonetheless.

"Maybe he's cosplaying," Stan suggested.

"Last I checked, there's no new Star Wars movie." Kyle said.

"That's no Jedi robe," Cartman said. "Obviously."

Stan kept staring at the older kid. "Then it's what?"

Cartman slurped on his straw. "Elden Ring."

"There's no black robes in Elden Ring, fatass."

Kenny observed the group heading for the food concession. "Didn't Butters say some kid was walking around in a robe?"

"Yeah," Kyle said. "But Butters says a lot of things."

Stan played with his milkshake's straw, not caring enough to pay more attention. "Maybe it's a religion or something."

Cartman groaned loudly, falling back in his seat. "God, I hope not. Like we need another one of those."

Monday morning, Kenny stacked his weekend homework into his locker. Muffling a yawn through his coat as he didn't get much sleep the night before upon playing 'disco party' with Karen. Not his favorite activity but it certainly made his sister happy. He hung up his backpack last, proceeding to gather books for first period as a student approached his left. Noticing the black robe out of the corner of his eye, Kenny closed his locker and turned. The new kid simply smiled as Kenny blinked.

"Hi," the kid with the brown curls greeted.

Kenny's first question, of course, was different. "Why're you dressed like a Jedi?"

The kid chuckled delightfully, clutching the material of his robe. "It's ceremonial. Red is for members."

"What're you celebrating?"

"It's just seasonal stuff," he said. "I'm Braxton."

"...Kenny."

He looked around and back. "You into Playboys?"

That certainly piqued his interest as Kenny nearly dropped his books. "Fuck yes."

The kid reached into his backpack, looking around for no teacher observant as he pulled out the edition and happily held it forward.

"Newest issue?" Kenny gaped at the lady on the cover wearing rose-gold underwear.

"Yup."

It was too good to be true. Kenny looked around and carefully lowered the magazine Braxton held so no teacher noticed. "I don't have that kind of money, sorry.."

"No price," he said, urgently holding the magazine forward. "Yours."

There was no way this kid was serious. "Are you joking?"

"I have a few, I needed to get rid of one," he said, still holding it forward. "I heard you'd be interested."

"Wow," Kenny took the magazine in both hands, happily turning to his locker to turn the combination again. "Dude, thanks."

"No problem. Just keep this under the radar?"

Kenny opened his locker, slipping the magazine out of sight. "Yeah, for sure."

Braxton nodded, happily walking away though he came in contact with Stan and Butters walking in the opposite direction.

"So, are you like," Butters attempted to whisper, excitement buzzing his whole body as he grinned at the new kid. "..Part of a secret service?"

Braxton arched a brow. "No, nothing like that."

"Why're you wearing a robe?" Stan asked.

"None of your business," the kid said, pushing past Stan and continuing on his way.

"Jeez," Stan muttered, meeting up with Kenny at his locker. "What'd he want?"

Kenny closed his locker. "Like I know."

After dinner, Kenny looked through that magazine like he was wiping an investigation. Flipping every page on top of his mattress as his eyes bulged at every new photo imaginable that his developing brain could comprehend. He would've continued happily if his bedroom door hadn't bust wide open. Kevin was being a particular big-brother-ass lately while Kenny got the receiving end of it. When Kevin noticed the magazine in his hands, he took the chance to be a tattle.

"Dad, he's got another Playboy."

"What!?"

"Hey!" Kenny called after his brother. "Nag!"

Kevin left right as Stuart slid into Kenny's bedroom door. Marching up to his son who clumsily hid the magazine behind his back. "Where do you keep gettin' this stuff?!"

"I found it.."

"Boy." Stuart warned, reaching for the magazine behind his son's back and tearing it from his clutches. "Fuckin' Christ, Kenneth."

Kenny slumped back onto his mattress, blowing his lips in crushing disappointment.

"Where do you keep gettin' this stuff?"

"The library."

"At school?" Stuart questioned. "Nah."

"They have them on the magazine wrack." Kenny lied. The mention of 'wrack' on this subject took everything in him to not burst into laughter.

"Kenny, if you don't spill in three seconds-"

Kenny didn't want to know the end of that answer and quickly admitted to it. "Okay! Some kid gave it!"

"What kid is givin' out Playboys?" Stuart questioned. "Do they have any teachers at that school of yours? What kid?"

"I dunno," Kenny jumped off his mattress. "He had a black robe."

"Kenny!" Carol called. "Come do the dishes!"

Kenny walked past his father, letting him win this one before he got into any more trouble. Stuart huffed, flipping through the magazine. It was pretty tasteful, but not enough for a kid to be handing these out at school like it was some drug ring. Especially not one in a black robe.

"What kind of black robe, Ken!?" Stuart called.

"I don't know! A black one!"

Stuart rolled the magazine up and stuffed it into his back pocket. "Yeah, no shit."

To be continued...