It had been the middle of June when Kyle called her. Kenny had left for home five days previously and she had been angry when he didn't call her when he said he would. She was to proud to call him and ask what was up. Now she wished she had. Then maybe all this wouldn't of happened.

"Hello?"

"Hi Kelly?"

"Yes?"

"This is Kyle Broflovski...Kenny's friend. Uh... is he still there?"

Kelly's brow furrowed in confusion, "No, he's at home."

"No he isn't."

"What?"

"He isn't here."

"... Why not?"

"That's what we're trying to find out."

Silence.

"Did Kenny mention anything before he left? Say he was going anywhere? Going to meet up with anyone...?"

"He didn't say anything," Kelly replied as she began to feel the true weight of the situation, "Is he in trouble?"

"Don't worry about it," Kyle said, "It's probably nothing."

It wasn't nothing.

For several months he remained missing. At one point Kelly was sure he was gone for good and she couldn't stand it. She poured all of her energy into her dancing. As long as she was moving, on the go, everything that had happened the last few months couldn't catch her. She didn't need to hurt anymore. But like everyday, eventually the studio had to close, and Mrs. Mendoza would usher her home telling her that she worked herself to hard. Then she would have nothing to hold onto. All the memories and regrets would flood back into her mind and she would remember that she was broken.

Kenny had been her whole life the last nine years. It had been nice having someone who wanted to be around when her parents were to busy for her, what with all the business trips they had because of work. She had never really had many friends. Most people at her elementary school had labeled her as weird because of her bad nose picking habit. Even when she stopped at the age of eleven the label stuck with her because of her ability to dress like an old woman. She had never really been as into tank tops and short skirts as all the other girls had been. Finally in high school, freshmen year, she became more comfortable with her body and began to dress normally, but by then she was socially awkward and just didn't know how to talk to anyone. So remained quiet and reserved, saving her true self for the fleeting moments she had with Kenny.

Kelly had been at a regionals waiting for her turn to preform when Kyle called her again.

"They found him."

Mrs. Mendoza had called after her as she ran down the hallway and out the door, still wearing her costume meant for her performance, only having stopped to grab her purse. An hour later she was on a bus that would take her to Central Colorado.

After the shock of seeing Kenny in such a state had worn off Kelly realized what a miracle it was that he was still with her. She remembered the first time she had seen him die. She couldn't understand why she had been the only one who cared. Even his friends treated his death like it was no big deal. They even seemed shocked at the idea of resurrecting him.

The second time she thought it was over. He had been crushed by her father's large flat screen TV. They had both been fourteen at the time. How he had managed not to die in front of her before then had been pure luck. She sat there crying for hours holding his bloody body in her arms. She had been absolutely terrified when he got up later, snapping his bones back into place, his wounds seeming to heal instantly, until it looked like it wasn't his blood that was covering both of them.

She had been afraid of him then. Every time she took a step back, he took a step forward until she found herself with her back against the wall. Looking back at herself now it seemed silly but she had squeezed her eyes shut like a little girl, pretending the monsters would go away. She honestly thought that his body had been possessed by a demon or something of the sort. Quite ironically they had been watching The Exorcist beforehand. But instead of hurting her, he pressed his lips against hers, sharing their first kiss. She would have pushed him away but she had been too frightened to. She had mixed feelings about the kiss. She was surprised and scared but at the same time... it felt so right.

After their lips parted her strength failed and she fell to her knees, burying her face in her hands sobbing. Kenny held her telling her everything would be okay and explaining what had just happened. At first she couldn't believe any of it. How could anyone? But after a while she learned to accept it. She still tensed up every time it happened though, even as the rest of the world went on their merry way. She would always drag him home depending on the condition he was in and lay him on the tarp she always had handy just inside her back door before dragging him inside and leaving him in the tub with a fresh set of clothes and a garbage bag for the soiled ones on the counter for when he awoke.

She remembered one time he had burned to death in front of her very eyes. He had been cooking something on her gas stove when suddenly his sleeve caught on fire. He had gone up in flames before she could even say Bob's your uncle. She sat at her seat at the table watching his ashes and the mess she had made trying to put him out, wondering how he would ever be able to come out of this one alive but alas, hours later the ashes had regenerated themselves into his body and he was fine once again. That summer she had her father replace their gas stove with an electric one.

Kenny had been in a coma for weeks and all the while she had stayed at the McCormick's house. She visited the hospital everyday and she spent most of her time there even opting to spend the night there sleeping on the small pull out bed that the chair turned into. Finally after two weeks, when the doctors finally told them that Kenny's condition was stable, Mr. and Mrs. McCormick convinced Kelly that she should go home and that they would call her if anything changed.

For two months Kelly's routine stayed the same. She went to school on weekdays and then she would take the bus down to Colorado and spend her weekends in South Park. Her parents didn't even notice her change in behaviour, being as oblivious as they were. The only thing that interfered with her pattern was a Concert for her choir that was held on a Saturday. Her friend Celeste convinced her afterwards to go home and rest instead of going down to see him for less then a day. Ironically that was the day that everything changed.

Carol called her at eleven o'clock pm on Sunday telling her that Kenny had been able to move his hand and was responding to their questions through this. Kelly was overjoyed. She took the next week off of school to spend it in South Park.

When she finally arrived at the hospital Kenny wouldn't respond to anything. The Nurse assured her that he was just asleep. She was upset that he had to be unconscious right when she arrived. Hadn't he had enough sleep for one lifetime? But finally when Kenny did awake she got more than she even hoped for.

Kelly had rested her head in her arms at the side of the hospital bed and was practically out cold when she heard someone groaning. She lifted her head up and what she saw made her heart sing. Kenny's eyes were slowly opening.

"Nurse!" Kelly called as Kenny's eyes slowly focused on the ceiling. She took his face in her hands and smiled down at him. She was so happy when Kenny looked at her. She placed multiple kisses on his lips, his cheeks, his nose and his forehead. Her happiness was short lived though as Kenny looked up at her in confusion.

"Who are you?"

Kelly left the room in tears.