Kenny spent the rest of the night avoiding Kevin all he could. He felt like a social outcast as he laid in bed and stared at the ceiling painfully sober as Karen and Kevin watched Family Feud in the living room. He debated going out but every time his wall of anger stopped him. There was broken glass all over his floor from the bong incident earlier in the day.

He'd been texting on and off with Wendy all evening, he worried he was sounding dry and uninterested. He couldn't break his thoughts away from Kevin though.

Maybe he was turning into his parents. He rolled over in bed and pulled the covers up over his head. He tried to drown out the sounds of Steve Harvey on the TV.

He debated going out into the living room but couldn't bring himself to do it. The only thing keeping him sane at the moment was Wendy's texts every few minutes.

He found himself looking forward to them as some kind of distraction. He hadn't told her about Kevin really, just that he was watching him and Karen until his parents were back. Wendy told him about her day at school.

He wondered what Wendy was doing right now. He picked up his phone but saw no text back from her yet. "Ugh, what am I doing?" Kenny mumbled to himself. He set his phone back down.

There was a ding, he picked it up. His heart skipped a beat.

It was just Craig. He was asking where Kenny was and telling him to come get his stuff back. Kenny texted him back. He told him he'd be right over. He needed some excuse to get out of the house.

Kenny pulled on his boots and headed out the door. His hand landed on the front doorknob when Kevin called out to him, "Where are you going?"

Kenny didn't want to deal with this right now. "I have to go pick up my things from my friend's house. I was staying with him." That's all he would offer up before pushing open the door and leaving. He hoped that was enough.

His truck took three tries to start. It was bitterly cold, the worst part of the year. He drove to Craig's house absentmindedly puffing a cigarette.

Once he got there he knocked on the door. Ruby answered. "Hey Kenny, Craig's downstairs." She let him in.

"Thanks, Ruby." Kenny smiled softly at her as he walked past her. He went downstairs and found Craig on his couch with his arm around Clyde. The two were passing a bong between them.

"Let me get in on this action." Kenny walked up and Clyde passed him the bong. He took a long hit after a painfully sober day.

After a moment he looked at them, "My brother broke my bong." He said, "He told me I'm becoming my parents because I smoke weed." Kenny flopped down on the other couch.

"That's rough man," Craig replied, the pair looked at Kenny.

"What? Do you guys think I'm becoming them?" He started to light the bong again.

"You're about the furthest thing for your parents, dude." Craig laughed. "Your brother's got something up his ass. Wasn't he a heroin addict?"

Kenny nodded as he took another hit from the bong. "Yeah, and soon I'll be too," he coughed on the exhale, "According to him." He finished as he laid his head back on the couch.

"Don't listen to him, Kenny. I know we're all just stoners. Weed is legal in tons of places now, it's only as bad as underage drinking." Clyde pointed out, taking the bong back from Kenny.

"Yeah, I don't know why my brother's such a tight ass." Kenny stood up and went looking for his backpack. He unzipped it. His bag of weed was still sitting inside. He wondered if he should risk taking it back home with him. He could always roll some joints and smoke them in his truck.

"Anyway thanks for letting me steal some weed. You two better get back to fucking, or whatever you were doing." Kenny slung his bag over his shoulder as Craig and Clyde said goodbye to him.

Kenny went back to his truck and started it up. This time it turned on flawlessly. He groaned thinking about going home. He started to drive down the street when he drove past Wendy's house he remembered to check his phone. She had finally texted him back. He wondered if she was busy.

Before he could really think he'd parked in front of her house and was calling her. She picked up fast.

"Hey, are you doing anything right now?" Kenny asked quickly, before saying anything else.

"No, why?"

"Do you wanna go for a drive. I really do not want to be home right now." Kenny tried to play it off cool. If she said no, he felt like his soul would be crushed.

"Well... my curfew is in an hour and a half..."

"Yeah but, I'm outside right now," Kenny replied. He looked up at her window. He could see her looking out down at him.

Wendy just giggled and hung up. What felt like seconds later she was in his truck. Her hair was down and wavy, he couldn't help but stare at her.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Wendy questioned, she smiled widely at him.

"I've never seen your hair like that." Kenny started driving suddenly feeling nervous. What was he doing?

"Oh yeah, I usually straighten it. I just washed it though." Wendy played with her hair. Kenny looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"You should wear it like that more often." He said, smiling.

"Oh, you think so?" Wendy questioned. Kenny could see her messing with her hair.

"It's cute." Kenny smirked, "You always look good though."

Kenny drove up towards the mountains. The roads were getting icy, but it was nothing he hadn't dealt with before. "Hey, I was thinking we could go to a lookout. You know, just kind of chill for a minute."

"That sounds nice." Wendy's voice sounded so soft and sincere.

After they'd parked at the lookout Wendy slid across the seat to get close to him. He put his arm around her almost instinctively and pulled her close to him. She smelled so good, once again he found himself worrying that he smelled of cigarettes and beer.

"Kenny, are you okay?" Wendy asked softly.

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" He sounded blank, he gazed out over the town. He thought of all the people he'd brought here to fuck. Having sex was the last thing on his mind tonight though.

"I don't know, you just seemed kind of down." She rested her head on him, nuzzling close to him.

"I guess you could say, living with Kevin isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"It's that bad?" She asked.

"He came in my room and smashed my bong and told me I was going to be a drug-addicted freak like my parents." He groaned, he wanted to escape.

"Why would he say something like that to you?"

"I don't know." Kenny looked down at her resting up against him. "Maybe... I don't know maybe it's true."

"You're a good person, Kenny." Wendy kissed him softly. Her lips felt like silk against his for a fleeting moment.

"You think so?" He looked into her eyes. She seemed sincere, but he wasn't too sure. He felt kind of sick from being so venerable.

"You don't think so?"

"I don't know." He looked away.

They sat in silence for a moment.

"Are people at school talking about me?" He asked, trying to break up the heavy silence.

"Cartman is. Everyone else has moved on now. I don't think anyone really cares."

"Good," he smiled, "I can't go back to that place and have everyone look at me sideways." He laughed.

"I think you'll be okay." She reassured him.

"Karen says everyone in the middle school won't stop talking about it."

"Fuck middle school dude. Worst years of everyone's lives." Wendy shook her head.

"I know." He agreed with her.

They looked out over the cityscape again. This time the silence was more comfortable. He felt some kind of peace. He wanted to tell Wendy how he really felt about her. The moment seemed perfect.

The stars were out and the city lights softly illuminated both of their faces. Kenny would call it romantic. He opened his mouth but no words would come out. The only feeling that surfaced after a second was fear and guilt. What was he doing? He owed it to Wendy to be completely honest with her but something inside of him made him push down his feelings.

For now, he hoped she would settle for a warm embrace from him. Though, he felt like he needed the hug more than she did. They held each other for a long time.

"You feel cold," Kenny observed after a while.

"Yeah, I chill easily." Wendy giggled and pulled away looking up at Kenny.

"Here," Kenny started to pull off his jacket. He didn't know what was making him do it. He handed the jacket over to her and draped it around her shoulders. He suddenly felt very exposed without his jacket, even more venerable than he did before.

Wendy pulled on his jacket. He thought she looked cute in it. It was oversized and hung loosely off her small frame. "You know, I really think orange is your color."

"You think so? I'm still partial to purple but I guess since it's your jacket I'll make an exception."

Kenny couldn't help but pull her in for a kiss. It started off just as passionately as it was the other night. He couldn't help running his hands all over her body and hearing her breathing change as his hands explored her body.

His phone started ringing, bringing him out of the moment again. "Goddammit," he mumbled. He picked up his phone, it was Kevin. He turned his phone on silent and threw it in his backpack.

"Anyways, no more interruptions, just you and me." He said softly, he returned to kissing her. Once again he wondered if the only thing he felt for her was lust.

•••

Wendy barely made it home in time for curfew. Kenny insisted she took his jacket with her. She didn't mind, it smiled exactly like him.

When Wendy got home her mom was in the kitchen sipping tea. She walked in and poured herself a glass, sitting down next to her.

"You and Kenny seek to be getting close." Her mom looked her up and down.

Wendy just smiled, "Yeah. I think I might be starting to fall for him. I don't know if he feels the same though."

"Hmm. That's a tough one." Her mom replied thoughtfully.

"I know." Wendy looked down at her tea. "I think I'm going to head to bed. Goodnight." She started walking up the stairs with her tea in her hands.

"Goodnight Wendy." Her mom called after her.

Once Wendy got to her room she peeled off her clothes and changed into her pajamas. She purposefully put on something light so she could sleep with Kenny's jacket on her. She wondered what possessed him to let her take his jacket. She never saw him without it.

She pulled it around her as she snuggled up under her covers. She pulled out her phone to text Kenny. She asked if he was going to be at school tomorrow.

He replied instantly, he said he wasn't sure. She let out a soft sigh, she wondered if he'd ever make it back to school. She texted him again telling him she wanted to have lunch with him when he got back to school.

It's a date (;

Wendy smiled at her phone as she set it down on her nightstand. She turned over to go to sleep. She hoped Kenny would be at school tomorrow.

•••

The next morning Wendy went to school in Kenny's jacket. She thought she'd paired it well with a skirt and a soft t-shirt. Red took her to school again, Bebe and she still hadn't really talked since the other day.

"Is that Kenny's jacket?" Red asked, excitedly as Wendy stepped into her car.

"Yeah... do you think I'm doing too much?"

She asked as she sat down, pulling her backpack into her lap.

"Hmm, no." Red grinned, "Everyone will know that's his jacket though."

"Yeah, I don't care though. Who's going to say anything about it?" Wendy questioned. Most days she just stuck with Red and Bebe.

"Yeah you're right, it looks good on you," Red smirked as she drove off. "So are you two back on again?"

"Yeah, I mean... I guess so. We hooked up last night." Wendy gazed out the window. For once There was no snow falling from the sky.

"And he gave you his jacket? He's totally into you. You never see him without that thing on."

Wendy giggled, "I know. I wonder what he's going to wear today."

"We'll find out soon," Red replied, giggling as well. The pair listened to the radio the rest of the way to school.

Wendy's day went on as normal. She texted Kenny throughout the day. He wasn't at school again. He told her that he, Craig, and Clyde were ditching school to go to the planetarium. She thought it was weird they'd ditch school to do something as mundane as the planetarium. Kenny insisted it was actually pretty cool if you were stoned.

At lunch, Bebe once again sat with Red and Wendy. They ate in silence except for Red trying to break the tension every once in a while.

After a few moments of silence Bebe turned her attention to Wendy, she crossed her fingers together and rested her head on them. "So Wendy, where'd you get that orange jacket?" She asked.

Wendy was almost surprised to hear her speak up. "Why? You have something else to say about how I dress now?" Wendy sounded bitter. She was surprised how rude it came out.

Bebe raised an eyebrow, "That wouldn't happen to belong to a certain guy named Kenny, now would it?"

"What's it to you, Bebe?" Wendy asked, "You've been such a bitch to me ever since me and Kenny started hanging out."

"I'm just trying to protect you," Bebe replied, she sounded very cool and condescending.

"Protect me from what? You don't know Kenny as well as I do." Wendy was getting angry now. Bebe was supposed to be her friend, why couldn't she just support her?

"He's only using you for the sex." Bebe shook her head, "You're naive Wendy. Kenny is a dog. His parents got arrested the other day, you really want to be dragged down into that mess?"

"Bebe shut the fuck up. You don't even know what you're talking about." Wendy shook her head. "I don't really owe you an explanation but me and him have been getting closer every day, I think things are... different."

Bebe pulled out her phone. Wendy hoped she was done talking to her now. Red was looking at Wendy, she looked worried, but also kind of lost. Wendy couldn't blame her, she assumed she just wanted her friend group back.

"Okay, Wendy, you want to know why I've been trying to protect you from Kenny." She extended her phone to Wendy. On the phone was a photo of her and Kenny, Bebe was kissing his neck in his room. Wendy grabbed the phone. It was dated just a few days ago.

There was an eerie silence at the table. Wendy could feel Red looking over her shoulder at the photo too.

"Me and Kenny are still sleeping together." Bebe said softly, "I don't want you to get hurt."

Wendy slammed Bebe's phone down on the table. "And you're still fucking the guy I have a crush on?" She asked angrily, pushing herself away from the table. She walked away, though she thought she heard Bebe still talking.

Wendy walked into the bathroom. "Goddammit, fuck." She felt tears well up in her eyes. He could she be so stupid? How could Bebe be so inconsiderate?

Her stomach dropped. She pulled off Kenny's jacket and shoved it into her backpack. She couldn't believe she actually thought that maybe they had something special. "Fuck Kenny." She cried softly. She hoped no one would come in and see her.

"Fuck Bebe too." She said aloud. She felt as if there was a knife going through her heart. She felt the pain of loss all over again, but this time she ached for her best friend and the romance that she almost had with Kenny. How could they do this to her?

Kenny had confessed he was getting feelings for her. How could he have feelings for her but continue to fuck her best friend? Was he just using Wendy for sex? Was he lying to her to get him to sleep with her? Doubts swarmed her mind. Was Bebe right? Maybe she was.

On the other hand, she wondered why Bebe continued to sleep with him even though she knew she had feelings for him. Was Bebe doing it just to make her jealous? Or was she doing it just to prove a point? Did she actually want to protect Wendy from Kenny and went about it the wrong way?

The simple answer was Wendy didn't know. She felt pissed at them both.

The bell rang signaling the end of lunch. She dried her tears and tried to pull herself together before class.

•••

Kenny arrived at his house exactly when he would've if he'd gotten out of school. He hadn't even wanted to go to school today without his jacket. He'd opted for a black sweatshirt instead, but it really didn't feel the same. He didn't feel like himself without it, but he hoped Wendy was enjoying it.

When he went inside Kevin was already waiting for him. "Where were you today?" He asked him.

"At school," Kenny replied, walking past Kevin and towards his room.

"Bullshit. The school calls me when you don't show up." Kevin shook his head, "This isn't going to work. Child protective services are gonna come take you and Karen's asses to a foster home if you don't start acting right. Is that what you want?"

"Beats being here with you." Kenny opened his door. He did feel a pang of guilt because of Karen though. He wished they'd just take him to the group home.

"CPS is coming for a home visit tomorrow and we need to get this place shipshape." Kevin barked at Kenny as he entered his room.

Kenny just groaned. He didn't feel like fighting anymore. He wished he was at work. Mr. Tweak had told him to take the next few days off, business had slowed without his parents supplying meth for the coffee shop.

Kenny was complicit in doing chores. Karen helped too. The whole time she talked to Kenny about her day at school, Kenny tried to be interested.

An hour into deep cleaning the house there was a knock on the front door. Kevin went and answered it. Kenny and Karen continued to bleach the bathroom. The yellow tile wasn't looking better no matter how much they scrubbed.

A few seconds later Kevin returned. "There's someone at the door for you Kenny, and she seems pissed."

Kenny wondered who it could be. He hoped it wasn't Bebe. He took off his cleaning gloves and headed to the front door.

He was surprised to see Wendy standing with her arms crossed on his porch. She had his jacket in her hands. Kenny suddenly felt nervous, what had he done. "Hey-"

He was cut off by Wendy, "Here's your jacket back. I won't be needing it anymore." She shoved it into his arms and started to turn around to leave.

He reached out and grabbed her arm, "Wendy, what's wrong?" He asked. His heart was beating fast. He felt like if she stepped off his porch he'd never talk to her again.

"I think you know exactly why I'm upset." She pulled her arm away from him.

"I don't know Wendy. Please, tell me what's wrong?" Kenny looked behind him. He hoped Kevin wasn't listening in. He closed the door and stepped outside.

"You told me you had feelings for me and you lied." Wendy said very plainly, "I thought we had something special going. You've been fucking Bebe this whole time."

"Fucking Bebe?" Kenny questioned, "I haven't slept with her..." he thought back. He remembered Bebe's threat to tell Wendy that they'd slept together. Had she done it?

"She showed me a picture of you two being all cozy in your bedroom. Just a few days ago. How could you?" She sounded so cold, unlike anyways she'd talked to him in the past. Kenny felt like his world was slipping away from him.

"Wendy that was the day I was drugged." Kenny pleaded with her, "We didn't do anything. She came over, I can't remember much. I was so high..." he trailed off, "I know we didn't sleep together though. Honest. God damn it..." Kenny looked down he thought of the rights words to say. Why would Wendy ever believe him now, "She wants to keep us apart."

"I know she does." Wendy suddenly softened back up again, "But how am I supposed to know that you're not just using me for sex? How do I know you haven't been lying to me?" Her voice was hard as nails again.

"Bebe says you're a dog, and so is she. If you two were fucking last week then fine, so be it. It's not like we're official or anything yet." She continued, "But all you've done with me is sleep with me. How am I supposed to know that I'm any different than Bebe? Do you think you can just lie to me to get me to have sex with you? What if you're just leading me on so you can fuck me?" She was angry, each sentence stuck in Kenny like a knife.

"Wendy you are different than her." He sounded so distant and foreign. Was Wendy different that Bebe? He felt unsure all of a sudden, waves of anxiety washing over him. He'd never felt like this before.

"How so? God, there's no difference between us. You just want to sleep with us both." She sounded so hurt. She was stepping off the porch.

Kenny felt torn. He felt her slipping through his fingers. The first time he'd actually felt someone for something and quickly after he felt like he was feeling his first heartbreak. He needed her to stay. He needed to do something drastic.

"Wendy, wait." He stepped forward, "I do have feelings for you. I don't have feelings for Bebe. I never had feelings for Bebe."

God, what was he doing?

"With you it's different. I look forward to talking to you every day."

God fucking dammit.

"I think about kissing you when you're not around. I can't get the taste of you out of my mind. I picture us running away together on a beach I-"

Kenny took a deep inhale. He couldn't let Wendy get away from him now. He felt his hands shaking, maybe he was just getting cold. Wendy was staring at him. He felt relieved she hadn't left yet.

"I want to be with you. And only you. Let's make it official. Just me and you, babygirl." The words that came out of his mouth didn't sound like him at all. He wasn't thinking anymore, he'd let his heart take the reigns and it told him to keep her close or it might shatter into a million pieces.

Wendy didn't immediately say anything, Kenny wondered if he'd fucked up. God, I'm such an idiot, what am I doing? "I mean if you want to..." Kenny added. He hated feeling this way. He felt so confident around girls but suddenly he felt knocked down a peg.

"Do you... really mean that?" Wendy asked him, "Exclusive? Just me and you?" She sounded almost excited.

"Yes." Kenny felt a flood of relief at her reaction, "Just me and you."

"Okay but one condition." Wendy said, "I'm still worried this is just for show."

Kenny's heart dropped. "What's the condition? I'll do anything."

"We have to actually be open about being in a relationship." Wendy looked up at him, "If you're serious. This shouldn't be a problem."

Kenny wondered if Wendy didn't trust him. He didn't really blame her though. He was, as Bebe said, a dog. "Of course Wendy." He pulled her in for a hug. Please don't leave me, he thought, closing his eyes tightly.

"Wendy, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I'm just kind of, well... I'm trying to figure it all out." He held her tightly in an embrace. "You already know about me and my feelings."

"I know, Kenny." She nuzzled into him.

The pair stood in silence for a moment in a tight embrace. "Do you want to come inside for a minute? Maybe have some hot chocolate. You're freezing." Kenny let her go.

She nodded, "I walked over here. That's why I'm so cold."

Kenny grabbed her hand and lead her inside. He suddenly felt very clingy but he tried to push those feelings down. He still felt like she would leave him at any moment. "You walked?"

"Yeah, it helps me clear my mind." She replied walking inside with him. Kenny just shook her head.

He led her to the kitchen. Before he had a chance to do anything Kevin was in the room. "Did you forget you were supposed to be cleaning?" He asked Kenny.

"Yeah but, my girlfriend walked all the way over here in the cold. I was going to make some hot chocolate." He stopped for a second the world girlfriend sounded weird coming out of his mouth, "Maybe you and Karen can take a break and have some too." Kenny said that mostly for Karen, he didn't give a fuck whether or not Kevin wanted hot chocolate or not. He just wanted Kevin to get off his case.

Kevin glanced between Wendy and Kenny. "Alright, I guess a break wouldn't be too bad."

Karen wandered into the kitchen as Kenny began making hot chocolate. "Hi, Wendy." She said happily. She sat down at the table next to her. Kenny looked at Kevin, Karen, and Wendy sitting at the table. They felt like a family to Kenny, but still a very broken one at that.

He made four cups of hot chocolate and sprinkled cinnamon on top of them after Karen insisted that it would be better that way. He sat down next to Wendy and sipped his hot chocolate and listened to Wendy and Karen talk.

For a moment he felt at peace.

He reached his hand towards Wendy and rested it on her thigh. He felt her hand find him and their fingers intertwined. He took a sip of hot chocolate and looked at her. Her hair was wavy. He smiled, he had no doubt she did that for him.

Kenny felt like things might be okay.