"Hey, Kyle, What about this one?"

Kyle turned to see Stan holding up the corner of a blanket he was looking at. "I don't know. Maybe something thick? It has to get cold in that little place."

"Yeh, you're right." Stan moved down the row of bedding until he found a thick, down-filled comforter. "Ohh. This is perfect." Stan lifted the comforter off the shelf. It was a soft blue, the same color as Kenny's eyes. "What do you think?"

Kyle walked over and felt the fabric. It was velvety soft and very heavy. He checked the price tag and winced. "Wow. Those things are expensive."

"It's okay. My mom told me to make sure I got him something he really needed. When you suggested a warm blanket she thought it was a good idea. If we tell her how small the place is and remind her that Kenny is living on a very small income and probably cant afford heat, I'm sure she will buy it. We have them on our beds so she knows how warm they are."

"Are you sure? It's perfect, even his favorite color, but its almost $100."

"I'm sure." Stan folded the bulky comforter over his arm and then stuffed it into the shopping cart. "What are you going to get him?"

"A TV. He said he was saving for one. I know how much he likes watching TV, but he can never watch unless he's at one of our houses."

"That's a good idea. What about one of those ones with a DVD player build into it? Then we can get him a couple movies, too."

"Yeh, that's a good idea. What is your mom getting?"

"She said she wanted to get him a nice set of cookware. She will probably come back with not just cookware but tableware, too. What about your mom?"

"I think she said something about towels. And plates and bowls or something. Our moms are together so they wont wind up getting him two of something."

"That's true. Let's go look at the TV's." Stan pushed the cart towards the electronics section.

It had been four days since they were at the movies. Kyle and Kenny had barely talked since. Only passing words while at school. It had been the most difficult six days of Kyle's life.

They stopped at a line of TV's. Most of them were huge, but at the end of the row there were some smaller ones that were the right size and within his price range. "I like this one. What do you think?" It was a good size, black, with a DVD player built into the base.

"Nice one. Can you afford that one?"

"Yeh I have enough allowance saved up." He took one of the TVs and added it to the cart. "Let's look at movies."

An hour later they were standing in line with their mothers at check out. Stan's mother had given her son a hug and told him he was a kind, thoughtful boy when she saw the comforter. Kyle's mother had clicker her tongue at the TV and the 12 movies in the cart. But when Kyle told her that he was paying for them himself she let it go.

"Why so many movies, Kyle?"

"Kenny has never had a TV, mom. That Christmas when we bought him one, his parents took it to the pawn shop the next day for beer money. He needs some form of entertainment in that little apartment besides his school books. I cant even imagine how lonely and boring it much get there." Kyle turned back to unloading the cart, angry with his mother for nosing in.

"Oh, Kyle. That's so sweet of you. You let me pay for those. You keep your money, you sweet boy." She kissed the top of her sons cheek and added her purchases to the line behind his.

"I can buy them, mom."

"I know. But you let me. You are absolutely right. Kenny does need something to pass the time since he is all by himself now. I just hope these gifts will make things a little easier on him."

"I'm sure they will." Kyle moved over to stand by Stan. He wasn't about to tell all of them that Kenny was likely to get angry with him for giving them the idea to buy him housewarming gifts. Kenny wasn't the type to enjoy having things handed to him.

He watched as the things they were getting for him passed over the bar code reader. Then as the items were put into bags, then into the cart. Then he was following his mom to their car. "We'll see you tomorrow. We will meet up at our house and we can all go together to Kenny's." Kyle's mother waved goodbye to Stan's mother and they all got into their own cars.

Kyle helped his mother bring the things into the house. He helped to wrap them. He stacked them on a table in the living room so they were ready to go the next day. Then he went upstairs to his room and sat on his bed. He stared at his cell phone, plugged into its charger on his nightstand. He picked it up. He pushed number 2 on his speed dial.

"Hello?"

"Hey. It's me."

"Okay."

"Sorry to call so late."

"It's only 8pm, Kyle."

"Yeh, sorry."

"Is there a reason you called?"

"Yeh. Um. Look. Don't get mad at me, okay?"

Kenny sighed. "Depends on what you did."

"I told my mom you are living on your own now. She called Stan and Cartman's moms. They all went shopping together, with me and Stan. We, um, we got you some housewarming gifts. We'll be coming by tomorrow to throw you a little party. It's supposed to be a surprise. But, well, I didn't want to surprise you."

"You mean you didn't want to come by and risk walking in on me with a cock in my ass. I dunno. Sunday's are usually busy for me. All those people getting out of church and wanting their dicks sucked."

"Damn it, Kenny. Why do you have to be so crude? I'm trying to be polite here."

"Would have been even more polite if you had kept your mouth shut."

"I didn't know you living by yourself was a secret. I know you didn't want to tell me, but our moms talk. So it would have been found out eventually. We will be there tomorrow around 6pm. Me, Stan, and Cartman with our moms. I just thought you would like a warning." Kyle hung up and tossed his phone back onto his nightstand. He laid down on the bed and curled into a ball.

What was wrong with him? Was there something damaged in him that he was so hurt by all the things Kenny had told him at the theater? Was he so hard to trust? Was that why Kenny had never told him? Did Kenny think that he wouldn't be friends with him anymore? Wouldn't like him anymore? Wouldn't think constantly of having Kenny's arms around him, his lips on his, their bodies pressed together? Because he did. Even now that he knew all the awful things Kenny had to do to survive. It only made him want his best friend even more. He wanted to be the one to fulfill Kenny's wish of having some to hold him. He wanted to be there to keep him warm.

Kyle pressed his face into his pillow and cried. He had cried himself to sleep every night since that night at the theater. He dreamt every night of the way Kenny's body had trembled under his hand. The way he had looked at him while he licked his sweet seed from his skin. The way he had cried while telling him all of his secrets. He wanted nothing more then to run to him. To hold him in his arms and promise him anything, as long as that look of deep shame left his eyes.

Most of all, he wanted to tell Kenny that he was in love with him, too.