A/N
So, remember when I said I would update son? That…that didn't happen, did it? No worries though. I am back from training and finally have a laptop to use so there should be no reason why I don't update. To anyone still following, thanks. I really hope this story takes a turn that you will enjoy. Without further ado, let's get back to the story.
Summer came slowly as ever with the weather hardly doing anything to make time seem like it was passing. South Park was always cold, but it was nastier than I could remember. We had several snow days which extended the school year considerably. I had busied myself with school work and a part time job to keep my mind off of my lost friend. His parents showed little to no concern over his being missing unless they were pressed hard for money. Stan and Cartman had come to the conclusion that he had probably skipped town to become some sort of mobster like character. I was the only one who had any idea what was going on, which was pitiful considering how little I knew.
I looked at my schedule and sighed in relief. My boss had known I finished school and had been scheduling me for ungodly shifts ever since. I finally had a day off! Excitement coursed through me and I grabbed for my phone. My fingers hovered above the keys as the enthusiasm died off. Stan was out with Wendy on some summer retreat her family invited him on, and no one else really struck my interest for spending the day with. I had fallen out of contact with most of my friends- too distracted with distracting myself to want to leave and do anything. I placed the phone back on my desk and laid my head on my pillow, staring at the ceiling.
"Well, this is awesome." I rested my hands over my eyes and sighed deeply. I heard my phone chime and ignored it. I had long since given up hope that it would be anyone I wanted to hear from. I almost missed having hope it could be him. After a few minutes I checked the phone anyway. Much to my dismay, it was a picture of Stan and Wendy on some beach. Everyone had a life except for me.
I made my way downstairs after sulking a while longer and wandered into the kitchen. My parents had left for work and Ike was never home anymore. I suspected he had a girlfriend. He had been in a particularly good mood lately and was more possessive over his phone than usual. I smiled to myself and shook my head. He was always in such a rush to grow up. I hoped he would enjoy the more simple times in life a bit more before he ended up missing them. I remembered my days in middle school. Life was much more fun back then. I always thought growing up would be more of an adventure, but I was wrong.
I left the house and decided to wander around town. I used to be self conscious going out alone till I realized no one actually cared to notice the people to their left and right who obviously didn't have enough going on to be in a group. I was halfway into town when I realized I left my phone in my room. I thought about going back for it, but decided against it. If anything, all I would be accomplishing in taking it with me would be finding somewhere to sit to look up random things online. It would defeat the purpose of going out all together.
I put my ear buds in and turned on my ipod, flipping through a few songs until I decided on one I felt like I hadn't listened to a million times. I didn't pay attention to where I was going and ended up outside of town, closer to the lake we used to go by as kids. Deciding to bypass the painful throw of nostalgia that always hit going there, I walked further past it into the forested area. We never went there as kids. It was where the sixth graders would go to pick on the younger kids and make their life hell. I found a tree stump towards a more isolated part in the forest and decided to sit there. I felt a bit awkward sitting alone. Walking around was fine, but being seen as the weird kid who sat alone in the forest made me a bit self conscious. Shaking off the feeling, I leaned my head against another branch and closed my eyes, letting my mind wander.
I felt the wind blocked off for a second, but before I could open my eyes to see what was going on- something ripped the earbuds out of my ears. I jumped up in alarm and felt my heart stop.
"It took me a while to figure out you had these on." The blonde haired boy smiled to me. "I thought you just got really good at ignoring me." I opened and shut my mouth a few times, trying to grasp onto what was going on.
"Kenny?" I gasped, my thoughts racing and making it impossible to grasp the situation. He folded his arms over his chest and grinned.
"Who did you expect?" Before I could stop myself, I flung myself into his arms, holding him tight- to terrified to let go incase he might vanish again.
"Where the hell have you been?" I tried to sound mad, but the happiness was apparent. I felt him laugh and looked up. He hugged me back and put a hand on the back of my head.
"Here and there." Kenny smiled and broke our embrace to sit down where I had been. I sat down next to him and just stared. His hair had gotten longer and it looked like he had lost some weight. There was no indication that he had been in any trouble.
"I tried calling you. I looked all over for you." I said lamely. I seen a flash of guilt in Kenny's eyes. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"I know. I shouldn't have left you hanging for so long." His words sounded as lame as mine did which made me laugh. He looked confused before he started laughing too. For the first time in forever, I felt like everything was ok again. An uncomfortable silence fell between us, neither of us knowing what to say.
"What happened?" I asked the question that had been plaguing my mind since he left. I felt him tense up next to me before forcing his usual calm demeanor back on. He threw an arm around my shoulders and smiled brightly.
"It's nothing to worry about. Everything is fine now." I didn't push the conversation. Last time I did, he disappeared for months. Whatever he did, he was going to make damn sure I never found out. Irritation and worry welled up inside of me. I frowned and kicked at the ground. He sighed but kept his arm around me.
" I'm sorry, Kyle." His voice was sincere. "I promise to make it up to you. I'm all yours until you are completely satisfied." I felt the blood rush to my face and turned away from him, pretending to ignore the innuendo.
"Just don't go running off again." I said indignantly.
"Not without you." He grinned and rose to his feet, reaching his hand out to me. I shook my head and laughed, taking his hand. He pulled me up quickly so that I crashed into him. He hugged me quickly before kissing my forehead. I looked up in surprise, but he had already turned and started walking towards the mouth of the forest. My head was spinning with a million thoughts, I stumbled after him not knowing what to do or say next. He was finally back.
Kenny and I stopped at one of the cafes in town and took a seat towards the back. We both ordered off the menu quickly. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until I looked through the menu.
"So do your parents know you're back?" Kenny shook his head and leaned back in his seat.
"I'm sure it'll take them a while to realize I am back. They aren't really the observant types." He laughed a bit.
"I bet you could scare them pretty good." I smiled.
"I think I am going to convince them there is a ghost in the house. It'll be entertaining." He returned my smile. I couldn't help but laugh. Even though we hadn't spoken in so long, it felt like we had never parted.
"Holy shit!" I grimaced, hearing a familiar voice boom from the door.
"Did you get thrown out of town for being too poor?" Kenny grinned and looked up to great the asshole approaching us.
"Cartman, you've gotten even fatter since last time I seen you!" He said without missing a beat.
"Ey!" Cartman yelled, crossing his arms. "Don't think you can just waltz back into town and think you're tough shit!" Kenny laughed and smiled.
"How's your mom doing? Is she still single?" Cartman through his hands in the air, screaming a stream of obscenities before leaving all together. I was always impressed by how quickly Kenny could shut Cartman down. It was no wonder they were always able to be friends.
We ate our food with scattered conversations ranging from updates from our friends at school to what movies turned out to be a very expected let down. We left and headed back to my place. I pushed the door open and was happy that there was still no one home.
Kenny and I made our way to the couch and flipped through a few channels before settling on some stupid sitcom. I glanced over at him after a few minutes and suddenly felt very nervous. I wanted to sit closer to him but worried he would think it was weird. But he had kissed me, so maybe it wouldn't be weird? I began running through scenarios in my mind of what to do next before I felt Kenny pull me closer to where I was nearly laying on him. I looked up to see if I could gauge any sort of reaction, but he still looked ahead cooly at the tv.
After a few programs passed, Kenny sighed and leaned further into the couch, pulling me to where I could see his face.
"I don't know how long any of this is going to last." I felt panic race through me.
"What do you mean?" I blurted out quickly. The stress on Kenny's face was clear as could be.
"It isn't over yet." He was quiet for a minute before continuing. "I lied to you when I said everything was under control with those guys. They are out of town now, but they will come back. What they are up to goes deeper than I had ever thought possible." He shook his head and closed his eyes.
"That's what you've been doing? Trying to shut them down on your own?" I sighed, not surprised but still very unhappy. He nodded and looked down at me.
"More or less, but there is only so much I can do alone. They have connections here and in most of the cities around us. It goes all the way up through law enforcement to the politicians. I thought this was just a drug ring, but there has to be something else to it." I waited for him to continue, but he remained silent.
"So, what else is it then?" I asked, curious to what could be left. Kenny shook his head and shrugged.
"I never found out. No matter how many of them I got, I could never find out." Irritation was strong in his voice. I swallowed hard and looked away from him, mustering up the courage to ask the question I was terrified to hear the answer to.
"Are you going to leave again, then?" Kenny shrugged again.
"I don't think that would solve anything. If I did, I already told you I wouldn't be going without you. I need your help figuring this out." I stared at him, not knowing what to say or do. He grinned and cocked his head to the side. "Plus, I wouldn't want to go without you again. It kinda sucks."
"I'd be pretty pissed if you left." I grinned back up at him. He leaned towards me, our faces almost touching. I closed my eyes and leaned closer before hearing the door thrown open.
"Oh god!" I heard Ike yell from the doorway. We both jumped up and looked towards my little brother.
"I guess your little boyfriend is back. Now you can stop sulking around like a little girl." Ike rolled his eyes and walked to his room. Kenny and I looked to each other, speechless before bursting out laughing. He looked to the clock and sighed before standing up.
"I better head over to my place. My parents are already probably pretty fucked up. If I want to avoid conversation, now is the best time to go." I nodded and rose to my feet as well. As much as I hated to see him go, I knew I would be seeing him again. I walked him to the door and glanced outside. The sun was already setting. I couldn't believe how quickly time had passed.
"Be careful getting home." I offered, trying to keep him there as long as possible. Kenny surprised me and stepped forward, wrapping his arms around me and kissing me shortly but firmly.
"Only if you don't sulk like a little girl." He said teasingly as he turned and started his walk home. I closed the door behind me, smiling like an idiot. My thoughts wandered back to earlier when I had decided there was nothing exciting about growing up. With Kenny around, there was no chance things would ever be slow.
A/N
I am having a lot of fun with where this is going. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and hang around for the next one. I promise that will be much sooner than the last!