Kenny didn't even have time to put his phone down when the response from Token arrived.

Sure! What do you have in mind?

Cringing slightly, Kenny wished Token would curve his enthusiasm a little. Who in their right minds, would be that excited about hanging out with him.

Dk. crashing the mall? he texted back, cursing himself for sounding so much like a thirteen year old girl. This time Kenny didn't even bother putting his phone away, he just stared at the broken screen, waiting for a reply. Exactly seven seconds later (he told himself he counted them to check on Token's eagerness) his screen lit up and Kenny read the message while reaching out to his nightstand for his cigarettes. He didn't usually smoke inside the house but since his parents were too preoccupied with each other to even notice, he thought he could get away without anyone storming into his room, kicking his ass for defiling their sacred home with his dirty smoke. It's not like his parents weren't smoking inside all the time. Especially pot, which was even worse. After opening his beat up window to at least direct the smoke outwards, and taking a long drag of his cancer stick, Kenny returned his attention to his cell.

In his latest text, Token was inquiring about the time.

Kenny's reply was a simple 5pm?, basically because he wanted to just stay in bed for a couple of hours, doing absolutely nothing and certainly not grinding his mind to remember the few remaining details he was missing from last night.

Token agreed almost immediately with a quick see you then dude, leaving Kenny to his thoughts.

Eventually he drifted off, while coming to terms with the fact that he was not going to eat anything for lunch before leaving.

Waking up from a nice, long nap was the worst thing for Kenny, sometimes he wished he could just sleep himself to death. He cracked his eyes open and reached for his cell phone, which he must have probably kicked off at some point cause now the wrecked thing was laying on the floor at the foot of the bed.

His phone screen informed him that it was almost 4:30 so he begrudgingly emerged from the covers, rubbing his eyes with his palms. His tousled hair was falling in front of his eyes and he could see something moving from between his finger cracks. His little sister was standing at the half opened door of his room, peeking inside to determine whether Kenny was awake.

"Hey, Karen, come here."

She tentatively stepped inside and shut the door behind her. Kenny was watching her while she made her way to his bed, sitting at the edge of it. She had just turned 13 over the summer and was quickly forming into a young woman. She was tall for her age, and Kenny was worrying that one day he might be shorter than his baby sister. Her body was shaping up, curves in the right places, although overall she looked a bit skinny, a trait all the McCormick kids were sharing due to the lack of frequent and substantial meals. She was wearing her pink sweatpants, with a few stains on them, and a black shirt. Her straight, brown hair fell graciously at the height of her shoulders. Kenny thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, though he felt a bit like a creep for checking out his own sister like that, so he rolled out of bed and pulled his pants up while searching for a decent shirt.

Finding clean and wholesome clothes in their house was a task in itself, which made Kenny sigh with relief when he found a plain orange shirt that didn't smell that badly and could actually wear it to his meeting with Token. His torn light blue jeans from the night before would have to suffice, it's not like he was going on a date, right?

Karen was still sitting silently on his bed, as he was getting dressed, looking a bit detached from the world around her. That was nothing new though. Karen was always lost in her thoughts. Kenny sat beside her, wrapping his arm around her thin shoulders, tucking her close.

"What's up, princess?" he asked affectionately. Karen was the single person in the world, for whom Kenny would give his life for on the spot in order to ensure her wellbeing. He would literally die for her. And stay dead for that matter. The same applied to some of his friends as well, like Kyle or maybe even Stan, but it was different with Karen. He felt that if he loved her even an ounce more he would burst. She was his little sister, the most pure ideal Kenny had ever held in his trainwreck of a life.

"Nothing, much," she replied with the same sad expression in her hazel eyes. "Are you going out again?"

"Yeah, I'm meeting this friend at the mall at 5. How've you been?"

"Well, you know, mom and dad were fighting again so I basically spent the whole day hiding in my room," she sighed, before continuing "they've both passed out on the couch."

Kenny didn't say anything to that. They both had come to terms, or at least they were trying to, with their shitty life, wanting nothing more than to get away from that place. Not that their parents didn't love them, they just didn't feel the need to change their whole life around in order to provide their kids with a safer, more normal environment for them to grow up in.

And it's not like they didn't love their parents back, they owned them their lives after all. They just didn't want to end up like them.

Kenny squeezed his sister harder against his side letting her head rest on his shoulder.

"Kenny?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"Will it always be like this?" she asked and Kenny felt his heart bumping hard against his chest. How was he supposed to answer that. How was he supposed to lie to a child, who had only come across the shitty part of life so far. And how was he supposed to tell the truth either, something far more cruel.

"Not always, princess," he whispered to her hair finally. "Not always."

He arrived at the mall ten minutes earlier. He was anxious to get out of that place. He almost told Karen to come with him and then, during his walk there, he was regretting that he didn't. True, he had asked Token to hang out, in order to pry some information out of him and finally understand what the hell was going on, but his sister was more important than anything. Still, it was too late now, so he just stepped inside the familiar building.

He slumped down on a bench outside of Hot Topic, watching the emo douchebags coming and going with bags on their hands. He had always hated the emo scene. And the goth one. And everything else that derived from Poe's work. Not the kids themselves, hell he had spent a lot of mornings, skipping classes to smoke with Michael and his gang at the back of their school. Henrietta even gave him a blow job once at some kind of underground cult gathering where he had gone looking for answers. He had to admit that girl was a natural. He'd have loved to do more things with her, but she got together with Michael a while after that and Kenny might have been a lot of things but a homewrecker was not one of them. Until that point, at least.

But still, he hated the whole goth ideology. I mean, he knew the world was fucked up, that nothing ever really made sense. Of course he knew that. How could he not? But still, dressing in black and whining all the time about it wasn't his idea of coping. He had read something in a comic, once, that he borrowed from the public library. We are all at the edge of that pit. But we get to choose what we do while we're here. I'm dancing. We're not going to fall in. Not yet. He had memorized it because it struck so many chords. He was constantly at the edge of the pit. And he was constantly falling in. For some the pit was dying, for others it was losing someone they loved, but for Kenny, for Kenny his whole life had been a pit too. Dancing at the edge of it was what he had been doing since he was old enough to understand things, in order to keep not only his sanity but his soul as well. So, yeah, he really didn't see eye to eye with all that goth stuff. Or the emo, which were even worse.

Musing over things like that made Kenny craving for a smoke but before he had the chance to go outside and fill his lungs with nicotine, he spotted a tall figure coming towards him with the corner of his eye. Token was dressed in beige khakis topped with a white t-shirt and a dark brown buttoned down cardigan. Damn, was he always that well-dressed? wondered Kenny, who couldn't for the life of him, picture Token at school. He had never paid much attention to what he was wearing before, hell he didn't do that with any of his friends, why was he being so conscious now?

"Hey," Token greeted him when he approached him, putting an end to his stylistic contemplation.

"Hey man," Kenny sensed the same nervousness he felt that morning around Token threatening to overwhelm him and silently chastised himself, demanding of himself to get his shit together.

To be fair, Token appeared to be in the same state of awkwardness as he conspicuously cleared his throat "I hope you haven't been waiting long."

"No, man, just a few minutes, don't worry about it."

"So, what do you want to do?" asked Token.

Kenny hadn't thought of that when he suggested hanging out at the mall. Apparently Token wasn't the type of guy that would just sit around watching other people shopping. His idea of spending time with another person involved actually doing something with them, which in turn involved, of course, money.

He wasn't completely broke, as it was the case most of the time, but still he didn't have enough money for costly recreational activities.

"Hey, I know," offered Token after a bit "the new Hunger Games movie is out. Wanna watch that?"

A movie huh? Kenny did a mental scan of his pockets and remembered he had enough money for a movie ticket. He would have to skip eating lunch at school the next day but fuck it; he could always have Kyle's leftovers.

"Yeah, sure, let's do that," he agreed.

Token's eyes lit up; clearly he was a movie buff. "Great! I checked online and there is a screening in half an hour," he informed Kenny, while he started heading towards the multiplex. Bijou theater had closed down a couple of years back; apparently that creepy ticket taker guy was involved in some kind of child molesting incident and of course that fact, apart from absolutely heinous, was also bad for business. A big cinema chain didn't waste any time, however, and set up shop inside the South Park mall. They built only four screens but still it was better than having to go through a pedophile in order to enjoy a movie.

"That's cool," confirmed Kenny.

When they were in front of the ticket counter, Token immediately took out his fancy leather wallet and Kenny assumed that he was planning to pay for both of them. He cut him off, though, by sliding next to him and dropping a few crumbled dollar bills and some coins on the counter.

The ticket lady, a middle aged woman with red butterfly glasses, raised an eyebrow at them "Are you boys paying separately?"

And before Token had a chance to reply, Kenny pushed his money on the counter towards her, "Yes please, ma'am." He had a way with the ladies; no one could deny him that. The ticket lady smiled at him as she was accepting his money and issuing him the ticket. Token waited for his turn and then paid for his own ticket, a slightly frowning expression on his face.

When they were moving away from the counter, Kenny noticed that Token's hand was fidgeting, inches away from his own, and he was silently wondering what he was going to do if Token gave in and stopped resisting his obvious urge to hold his hand.

Luckily, Token didn't actually give in and he just kept heading towards their screen. As soon as they were outside of it, though, he turned around abruptly as if he had forgotten something vital.

"Oh, man we forgot to buy popcorn!" he told Kenny, looking over his shoulder at his blonde friend.

Kenny felt himself blushing, cause he was practically broke by now and he was also too embarrassed to admit that to Token. He felt a bit annoyed at his friend as well, since him being dirt poor was no secret, in fact it was one of those unquestionable truths about South Park like how the Broflovskis were Jews and Cartman's mom was a dirty slut.

But still, since Token was heading happily towards the snack stand, oblivious to his friend's predicament, Kenny had no choice but to point out the obvious.

"Hey Token, wait," he almost yelled at his friend's departing back. Token turned around to look at him, a bit confused. "What's the matter?"

Kenny tried, he really did, to just admit his lack of further cash but in the end he realized he couldn't do it. He settled for a half ass lie instead "I'm not really in the mood for it."

Token raised an eyebrow "are you sure?"

Kenny sighed, of course Token wouldn't buy his bullshit. "Yeah, man, don't worry about it. You can get some for yourself, though."

Token appeared thoughtful for a second before replying "Nah, it's okay, I'll just get a bottle of water," he said, obviously deciding against pressing the issue further.

When Token was done buying his water, they entered the screen and went straight for the best seats, which luckily were still unoccupied. They made themselves comfortable, while waiting for the movie to begin. By the time the opening credits were rolling in, the room was packed with people, mostly fourteen year old girls but Kenny didn't really mind. He didn't even remember the previous movies but decided against asking Token to summarize their plot to him, cause he would probably analyze the directing style and the performances and other artistic crap like that. In Kenny's mind, Token was a bonafide hipster, artsy and cultured, always ready to spread his precious aesthetic understanding of the world. It annoyed and intrigued him at the same time.

After the first ten minutes, he stopped paying attention to the movie altogether. And yes, Jennifer Lawrence was hot as fuck, but he preferred her as the menacing, mutinous Mystique anyway. Instead, he just sat there, next to Token, their hands almost touching upon their respective arm rests, pondering on what the fuck was going on.

I mean, this felt so natural, watching a movie with Token, that it reached the point of being unsettling. Since when he and Token were such good buddies? Making out extensively with a guy didn't mean he automatically get to feel so comfortable around him. And so soon for that matter. Sure, their respective groups had stopped antagonizing many years ago and now, in their senior year, almost their whole class was hanging out and doing stuff together. But still, he had never been that close to Token, this was the very first time that they went someplace all by themselves. And why did it feel so like a date? Again Kenny chastised himself mentally for letting the whole situation get to him.

By the end of the movie, Kenny had almost fallen asleep three times, despite the fact that he took a nap at his house before his meeting with Token. He couldn't help it, though. Feeling nervous always made him sleepy. Token had to gently nudge his arm a couple of times, in order to rouse him.

"So, did you like it?" Token asked when they were outside the auditorium.

"Yeah. I guess so? I'm not really a fan."

"Well, the books are better, anyway." Of course Token would have read the books, acting all hipsterish about it, Kenny thought, smirking to himself.

"What do you wanna do now?" inquired his friend. Again Kenny couldn't answer. Now that he was officially broke the options were withering.

"I'm kinda hungry to be honest," Token continued "would you like to go to TGI Fridays? It's not far, just outside the mall."

Kenny almost snapped. Now Token was just being insensitive. There's no way he didn't know he couldn't afford that.

"Token, dude, I don't have any money left."

Token looked like caught in the headlights. He averted his gaze to the ground, scratching the back of his neck. "Don't..don't" he stammered, struggling to find the right words. Finally he looked at Kenny again offering "Don't worry about that, man! It's my treat. Seriously, don't even think about the money."

Kenny raised an eyebrow at that. So that's what Token was playing at. His mind went back to his own devious plan of tricking his first real girlfriend into giving him oral sex, by taking her at Friday's.

He wasn't mad though. Far from it. In fact, he should have seen that coming.

Token must have realized how his offer had sounded because he immediately added, "Hey, I just thought it would have been nice. I don't really like eating alone. If you don't want to it's okay, we could always go for a walk or something."

Damn, he looked so awkward, shuffling his feet, not really know where to put his hands, whether to keep them in his cardigan's pockets of folded over his chest. He seemed honest enough too, so Kenny throwing any caution to the wind, reluctantly accepted. A free meal at Fridays is a free meal at Fridays, no matter how you look at it.

"Sure, fine, whatever, let's go. It's been ages since I've been to that place, anyway."

Token beamed so brightly up to him that almost made Kenny sad, regretting his decision. How feeding his poor ass made Token so happy was beyond him. Maybe he had some kind of charity kink.

When they were outside the mall, Kenny immediately lit a cigarette. The walk to the restaurant was indeed really short and they had to wait outside for a few moments to finish it. Token kept talking about the movie and Kenny wasn't really paying attention, but he appreciated the distraction of the small talk.

"How long have you been smoking?" Token suddenly asked, bringing Kenny back to earth.

"Umm, I don't know, since ninth grade? I don't remember."

"Wow. That's a long time. How did you get cigarettes?"

"I stole them from my parents occasionally. Or from my brother."

Token nodded, not adding anything else on the matter and Kenny noted that there was a hint of disapproval on his expression. He probably was all for a healthy lifestyle or whatever.

Once inside, the host guided them to a table at the back and soon after that the waiter arrived to take their order. Token ordered the Jack Daniels chicken and Kenny a bacon cheeseburger. Damn! He just went through the menu and already his mouth was watering. It made sense, though, since the last time he ate was in Token's place, when he cooked breakfast for them. So that was the second time the same day that Token was feeding his sorry ass. When the waiter brought them their drinks, two homemade lemonades, Kenny couldn't keep up appearances anymore.

He took a sip out of his drink, stared Token right in his eyes and asked the question that has been on his mind since he went home that day.

"So. Is this what you meant by making my life easier? Taking me out to fancy restaurants?"

Token felt his face heating up, but he held Kenny's gaze, swallowing a bit before answering "Well, I just figured it would be nice, having dinner here, you know?"

"Yeah, but we have to talk about it, dude. Or do you want to just pretend nothing happened?" Kenny asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

"No, no, you're right, we should talk about it," replied Token before shrugging slightly "the way I see it is that we could you know…do stuff together. You see, here's the thing. My parents insist on giving me a huge allowance each month. I could never spend all that by myself. So taking a friend of mine out to dinner isn't an issue." He paused for a while but Kenny decided against cutting in on his thoughts, so he remained silent, waiting for Token to continue.

"So, if you want to as well, of course, I thought that maybe we could spend time together and see what happens. If you'd like that too, that is," he was babbling but Kenny didn't necessarily mind. Before he had a chance to reply their food arrived and at the sight of it, as instinctively, Kenny's stomach let out a loud growl. He blushed, embarrassed, but Token's mouth curled upwards in a reassuring smile "Let's dig in and finish this conversation later," he suggested. Kenny just nodded before attacking his cheeseburger.

When they left the restaurant, Token guided them to where he had parked his BMW.

"Let me drive you home, Kenny," Token said. "I won't take no for an answer."

He was trying to sound determined but Kenny thought he was mostly adorable. Which was alarming in and of itself. Plus, he wasn't in the mood of arguing further so he accepted Token's offer.

The drive back to Kenny's place was a small, mostly silent one. Token parked the car near the railroad tracks, at the opposite side of Kenny's house.

It was pretty dark and Kenny was getting all nervous again, inside Token's fancy car. Luckily they were out of sight from his place. If his folks saw him inside a BMW, they were definitely going to think he was hustling. He didn't have more time to worry about that, though, because suddenly Token was right in front of him, his face inches from his own, how the hell did he move so fast, and he was staring at him as if looking for some kind of confirmation.

Kenny didn't know what to do, which was unheard of, he always was pretty confident in those kind of situations; he was left staring back at his friend, who leaned in, displaying an uncharacteristically amount of courage and then his lips were on Kenny's. Token didn't withdraw right away, he prolonged his soft kiss, which allowed Kenny to snap out of his initial shock and kiss him back. Token sighed into his mouth, as if he was relieved that Kenny was actually responding and deepened their kiss, bringing his hand to rest at the back of Kenny's neck.

They made out for a while; Token's lips were soft and his mouth had a lingering taste of the Jack Daniels sauce he had earlier and for some reason that sent a surge of arousal rushing through Kenny's body, until they were both out of breath. Kenny pulled away first and stared at Token. He looked so content it was ridiculous. "Well, good night, I guess, thanks for dinner," Kenny said.

"Good night," Token replied before adding "see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, dude," and with that Kenny was out of the car, making his way to his house.

His family was asleep so he went straight to his room, slipped out of his clothes and collapsed on the bed.

His last thought before drifting off to sleep was, oddly enough, of his old home economics teacher, Miss Choise, something that, Kenny thought, was a bit terrifying.