Kenny couldn't have been happier. He was making a bunch of new friends at school, he lost his virginity and a dry spell was nowhere in sight, and for once in his life, Kenny felt like things were looking up. His social schedule was off the charts, and it was difficult to keep track of all of his promised engagements. In addition, Kenny decided that he, like Kyle, would find a part time job. He could earn some money, and maybe even save enough to get his own place after high school. Kenny felt that nothing could stop him. Yet he was practical enough to accept the fact that he probably wouldn't be able to go to college; at least, not right out of high school.
Despite all of the things going on in Kenny's life, he was still aware of the problems his friends were having. He knew that Stan was having a difficult time accepting Kyle's change, and was struggling with the fact that Kyle had grown much more attractive in the few months he had been away. He was also aware that Cartman had his own conflictions about Kyle's change, along with Kenny's. He knew that Cartman had been disappointed that Kenny didn't hang out with him all weekend, and had even ditched him on their usual Friday night together.
Kenny figured that since Stan and Kyle were having some necessary one-on-one time that Monday afternoon, he and Cartman could spend some time together too. Without inviting himself over, he went to Cartman's house after school. Cartman predictably complained about not letting him know that he was coming over, but Kenny knew that his friend was happy for the company.
They had put in a movie while Cartman's mom constantly fed them various snacks. Out of the blue, Kenny's phone rang. He wondered who it was. He had told his girlfriend that he was busy that afternoon, and his parents never called him. He pulled his phone from his pocket, and was surprised to see it was Kyle.
There wasn't a moment's pause after he answered the phone before he heard Kyle's weak voice. "Kenny?"
He was shocked at the broken voice on the other line. "Kyle? What happened? Where are you?" Cartman straightened up, his brows furrowed as he looked at Kenny.
"Stan's…"
"What's wrong?"
"I… Stan and I had a fight…"
"Ok, why don't you come over? I'm at Cartman's now."
Kenny half expected Kyle to complain, but he simply said, "K, I'll be over in a second."
"What's going on?" Cartman demanded when Kenny hung up the phone. Kenny could detect a hint of concern in his voice, but Cartman tried to act nonchalant. Kenny decided now was not the time to tease him about this.
"Kyle had a fight with Stan, so he's coming over. He sounds pretty upset."
"Whatever." Cartman turned his attention back to the television. Kenny rolled his eyes. Cartman always tried to pretend that he didn't care, especially when it came to Kyle. Kenny knew his best friend better than that.
When Kenny heard Kyle's wild knocking, he got up to answer the door. Cartman muttered something about it not being Kenny's house, but Kenny ignored him as he swung the door open.
"I can't believe this!" Kyle shouted practically in Kenny's face, storming past him in a fit of rage. Kenny was taken aback, expecting Kyle to be a bit more on the sad side of the upset spectrum.
"Um, hi to you too."
"Argh! What an asshole! I mean, what a complete and utter asshole!" Kyle continued, unfazed by Kenny's sarcastic comment. He paced angrily between Kenny and Cartman, the latter of which had followed Kenny halfway to the front door. "I just can't fucking believe him! He's supposed to be my best friend! He's supposed to understand! He's supposed to NOT be such a huge douche bag!"
Kenny ran his fingers through his hair, watching Kyle rage between himself and Cartman. Kenny glanced at Cartman, who was eying the angry red-head with a look of interest. Kenny sighed. It was up to him to calm Kyle down.
"Um, Kyle? Kyle. Earth to- Hey!" Kenny grabbed a hold of Kyle's shoulders, and was momentarily surprised to feel them shaking. Kyle looked up at him, his eyes filled with a mixture of anger and betrayal, his cheeks flushed. Kenny sighed, giving Kyle a long look. "Let's go sit down, calm down, and talk about what happened, ok? Come on, over here…" He gently led his friend to the couch. Kyle numbly sat down in the center, and Kenny sat down next to him. Cartman decided to hover in the background.
"Ok, so what the hell happened? Start from the top," Kenny encouraged.
Kyle swallowed, and glanced suspiciously over at Cartman. Kenny could tell that he was internally judging how much information he should provide around his enemy. Kenny waited patiently.
Suddenly, a determined look came across Kyle's face. Kenny blinked, once again surprised.
"Stan and I were hanging out. We started to play some video games, and I thought we were having fun. However, I could tell that he was distracted. He suddenly asked if I was gay."
Silence. Kenny stared at his friend, sensing the tension coming from Eric. Hell, he was tense himself.
"What did you say?" he asked softly.
"Well… I told him the truth."
More silence. Kenny held his breath.
"T-that I am."
Kenny's ears practically rang after that statement. He wasn't sure if he should be celebrating that his friend had finally come out of the closet or kicking Stan's ass for whatever the hell he did to screw this moment up.
"What did he say?" he finally questioned.
"Well… he got kind of weird, and then asked if I liked him… like that. I told him that… I didn't think of him like that, and that we were best friends! I mean, shit, this is Stan! So… he kind of started to freak out, and started asking me all these difficult questions. Finally, he asked if I thought he was attractive, and…" Kyle nervously glanced over at Cartman again before continuing. "I didn't really know what to say. I was totally unprepared for him to ask me that. I told him that he's my best friend, and dating Wendy," Kenny inwardly winced, "and I couldn't stop myself from rambling, and finally he just told me to shut up. He then said that he wished I never went to that camp, told me to leave, and ran up to his room. H-he said that he… that he couldn't look at me. He said… he said that I make him sick."
Kenny waited a moment to let Kyle's words process. He also realized that Cartman had been dead silent since Kyle had arrived. He filed that little tidbit of information away, promising himself to return to it later.
"Y-you don't hate me, do you?" Kyle asked, looking at Kenny.
"For fucks sake, Kyle, no way. Stan was just being… I don't know. Retarded. Who cares if you like guys or not? Look, Stan has been acting weird ever since you came back from camp. He doesn't react well to change. I'm sure that he'll get over it eventually, but it is going to take him longer than most."
Kyle nodded as Kenny talked. "Yeah, yeah… maybe you're right."
Kenny took this moment to glance over at Cartman. He was standing off to the side, his arms crossed over his chest and a strange look on his face. When he saw Kenny was looking at him, he quickly looked away from them, shrugging his shoulders slightly.
"What should I do when I see him tomorrow?" Kyle asked softly. Kenny looked back at his friend.
"To tell you the truth, I don't know. You're going to have to wing it. I doubt that he's going to give you the silent treatment, or completely avoid you. However, I also don't think he's going to apologize right away. I think he has a lot of things to work through. And… well, you know Stan."
"Yeah."
The three fell silent for a long time, each lost in their own thoughts. Kyle bit his lip, glancing over at Cartman.
"Nothing to say? No gay jokes?" Kyle looked genuinely surprised, keeping his gaze fixed on the larger boy.
Cartman shifted uncomfortably. "…Maybe later."
-.-.-.-.-.
The next morning, Kenny got out to the bus stop early so that he could talk to Stan a bit before the others arrived. Unfortunately, Cartman had arrived just after Stan, so their talk couldn't continue. However, Kenny vowed to himself that if Stan still had a stick up his ass tomorrow, he'd talk some sense into him or die trying.
He preferred the former over the latter, however. It had been a few weeks since his last death, and he didn't want to break his living streak.
When Kyle had attempted to greet Stan, Kenny was more than a bit worried. He knew that Stan had difficulty with confrontation, and he wasn't sure if he would be able to respond or not. He was relieved, however, when Stan offered a meek greeting.
"Hey."
It wasn't much, but Kenny could tell that it relieved Kyle. However, the moment was quickly lost as the bus screeched to a stop in front of them. Stan quickly led the way inside, obviously trying to escape the uncomfortable situation. Kenny wasn't too surprised when Stan sat next to Butters. Kyle's face flashed with betrayal, but then hardened as he quickly found his way to his regular seat. Kenny wasn't sure, but he swore he heard a low growl behind him.
-.-.-.-.-.
"Hey, guys. Have you seen Bebe?" Kenny asked, sitting down at the lunch table in his usual place. Kyle and Cartman were already there, eating in awkward silence.
Kyle nodded. "Yeah, I saw her between first and second period."
"Huh?" Cartman asked. "You know I don't pay attention to that bitch."
"She's the hottest bitch in school," Kenny pointed out. "How can you NOT pay attention to her?"
"Bitches aren't worth the effort."
"Whatever. She's, like, ten times more hot now, though. Look, here she comes!"
The lunch room was eerily quiet as Bebe walked in. She was wearing a cute plaid skirt and a tight pink shirt, chatting with her friends. Kenny tried not to drool. She looked amazing.
"What? She wanted to join your pussy club?" Cartman grumbled, watching Bebe as well.
"I guess you really started something, Kyle."
Kyle sighed. "Yeah, maybe. She looks nice."
"She looks fucking HOT. Shit, I'd hit that," Kenny muttered. He remained a bit distracted as he ate, keeping his eyes on Bebe. After a while, though, he noticed someone was missing. "Wait… where's Stan?"
Kyle shrugged, not answering. Cartman snorted. "Stan's being an ass. He walked right by us and sat down with that ugly thing he calls his girlfriend."
Kenny looked over to where Wendy always sat with her friends, and sure enough, Stan was sitting besides her, picking at his food and not looking up. Kenny scowled. "What the hell?"
"Yeah, he hasn't said a word to me all day," Kyle sighed.
"Have you tried talking to him?"
"Yeah, he just runs away." Kyle bit his lip. "I hate fighting with him."
Cartman growled. "Whatever, he's a prick."
Kyle frowned, glancing at Cartman with a strange expression, but he didn't reply.
"I'm sure he'll come around, Kyle. You guys are best friends. He's just… being Stan. Give him some time," Kenny encouraged.
"What if he never gets over it? I mean, I don't know why he freaked out. Is it because I'm gay? Or because I went to that camp? Or because I changed my clothes? I don't get it."
"He'll get over it," Kenny promised firmly. "We've all been through way too much for him to just ditch."
Kyle nodded, but he didn't look too convinced. "It doesn't bother you guys, does it? That I'm… gay."
Before Kenny could answer, Cartman quickly interjected, "Jew, I've been calling you gay since elementary. It doesn't surprise me."
"Hey!"
"Just saying. So it's no big deal. Stan needs to just get over himself and just admit he thinks you're hot."
Kyle stuttered, his cheeks turning pink. "H-he doesn't think that!"
"Why do you think he's avoiding you?"
"That's not why."
It was Kenny's turn to cut off Cartman's reply. "Kyle, we don't care that you're gay. You're our friend. I think Stan doesn't care either. It's just that he's been weird since you've come back."
"True."
"So stop worrying about it. You've got us. We've got your back, and in a pinch, Stan has yours as well. I'm sure by next week you guys will be back to how you always were."
Kenny hoped that he was right.
-.-.-.-.-.
"What the fuck, Stan?"
Kenny had finally cornered Stan in the hallway that Friday. Stan had begun to completely avoid the group, and Kenny knew that he had to try to do something about it. Kyle wasn't as confident because of it, and always looked distracted. Their group dynamic was completely off-balance. Stan was missed, and Kenny was going to try his best to get him back.
Stan closed his locker. "What?"
"You know what, Stan. What the hell, where have you been? How long are you planning on fighting with Kyle?"
"It's complicated, Kenny. Don't get involved."
"But I AM involved. You haven't sat with us all week."
"Well, maybe I should be sitting by my girlfriend anyway."
"Um, no. You always sit with us. You're just trying to avoid Kyle."
"So what if I am?"
"You know that doing that is a huge mistake."
"I can't be near him right now."
"You're acting like such a girl."
"Screw you."
"So what gives? Scared that you might be attracted to him?"
Kenny regretted it the moment he said it. Not a second after it slipped past his lips, he had been shoved back against the lockers by an angry Stan. Before anything else happened, however, Stan quickly stormed down the hallway.
Kyle, unfortunately, was walking with Cartman and they were coming down the same hall that Stan was storming up. Kenny straightened up, hearing Kyle greet Stan.
"Hey Stan…"
"Don't talk to me, fag."
Kyle looked like he had been punched in the stomach. He froze, shocked at Stan's biting words. Cartman looked just as taken aback, watching Stan storm past them down the hall. Kenny quickly ran up to them, noticing the look on both of their faces.
Cartman growled. "I'm going to kill that so-"
"Stop, not now Cartman." Kenny grabbed his arm, holding him back from following Stan down the hallway. "Shit, Kyle, are you ok? It's my fault, I confronted him. I'm sure he didn't mean it…" Kenny rambled, worried about Kyle's reaction to Stan's words.
"Save it, Kenny," Kyle muttered softly. "It… it's fine. He's… just angry. That's all." Kyle's face looked pale, but he tried to cover up his hurt by forcing a smile on his face.
"Sorry, Kyle," Kenny muttered, feeling like shit.
Kyle nodded. "I-it's cool. It's not like I've never been called that before. I'm going to head to class; otherwise, I'll be late."
"Ok… Want to hang out after school?"
"I have to work tonight, so I can't. But tomorrow I don't work until the afternoon."
"Cool. I'll call you tomorrow morning, then."
"K. See you guys later!" Kyle escaped quickly, his head lowered to watch his feet as he raced to his class.
Kenny waved at his friend as he hurried down the hallway. Kenny was angry at the way Stan was acting, and couldn't understand why he was being so distant from the group. They had all been through so much – why was he willing to throw it all away all of a sudden? Couldn't Stan see what he was doing to Kyle? The whole situation angered Kenny, and he vowed silently as he watched Kyle's retreating figure that he would somehow figure out a way to fix this mess.
The situation had become personal.