Kenny
Dressed in a formfitting black tux topped with a bright orange tie, Kenny McCormick sat on the edge of his family's ragged, faded couch in hisliving room. Excitement and nervousness rushed through his veins; his heart fluttered dangerously against his ribcage. His palms steadily grew slicker as he began to lightly sweat from nerves.

He'd been waiting for this night since he was a child in elementary school.

Ever since he'd been a child, playing dress up and barbie dolls, he'd had this dream of being whisked off to prom by a knight in shining armor. But now, instead of knight, he gets a redheaded boy with bright green eyes in faded jeans and converse. Now that he was older and had grown out of his childish antics, he really did before the redheaded boy over the knight. And because of that fact, he was nervous as all get out.

His dream was about to become a reality and that meant that his insecurities were beginning to bother him and affect his self-esteem. He didn't know why they would decide to crop up at a time like this, but now that they had, there was no way he could deny them.

Thoughts of several different possibilities crossed mind. People could make fun of him for being gay; call him names and say awful things about him and Kyle being together. Somebody could "accidentally" trip him, causing him to humiliatingly fall into the punch bowl. The juice would seep through his rented tux and ruin the elegant clothing he had saved up months to buy. Multiple things could happen tonight that could result in complete chaos and disaster.

Palms sweaty, heart hammering, and eyes watering, Kenny worked to put a hold on his emotions, reining them in and restricting their freedom. He threw them into a cage at the back of his mind and locked it with an imaginary key. He would have a great evening. He was determined not to let anybody or anything change that. If that meant pretending everything was fine, then so be it. Nothing was going to stand in between Kyle and him tonight. They were going to have fun at this dance, and then maybe later, when Kyle brings him home, he'll steal a kiss.

Bubbling with a renewed happiness, he smiled when he heard a light tap at the door.
"I'll get it!" he called loudly, hoping the rest of the household would take it as a sign that he was leaving.

He got up and hurriedly walked to the window and peaked behind the ripped curtains. Sure enough, Kyle stood dressed in his own tux and tie on the porch. The light from the bulb outside flickered slightly when he opened the door, giving the allusion that it was about to die.

"Hey, Kenny," the redhead spoke, waving his hand absentmindedly in the air. He seemed embarrassed; a light sheen of sweat covered his forehead. His cheeks were the color of soft rose petals; dull and barely noticeable, but still there nonetheless.

"Hi, Kyle. You look cute tonight," he said as he stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind him. The porch wobbled slightly when he did this. Kyle's green eyes lit up in fear.

The night air was cool and had a summer like quality about it. The wind blew across his cheeks and ruffled his hair. Blonde strands flew lazily around on his head, causing him to have to bat the away from his eyes every so often.

He took Kyle's hand and led him away from the house and onto to the sidewalk, distancing them from potential prying eyes.

Kyle stared down at his shoes and shuffled his converse clad feet. In a low whisper, he said, "I'm really looking forward to tonight."

"I am too," he commented, smiling and stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets.

"I brought my dad's truck with me tonight. I hope you don't mind," Kyle said, blushing and turning his face away.

"No, that'll be fine. As long as it gets us there, I don't care. I'm not picky," he said.

"I'm also wearing a borrowed tux. It's my dad's too. I couldn't afford a new one on such short notice, so I had to use his. It's old," Kyle dragged on, squishing his nose in an unattractive grimace.

In the low lighting, it was difficult to see anything more than the mere outline of Kyle's silhouette. He squinted his eyes and said in a comforting tone, " I said it doesn't matter Kyle. I rented my tux. It'll be okay. The fact that you even agreed to going with me is worth more than any expensive tux ever could. Don't worry about it."

He hugged Kyle and buried his head in the redhead's comfortable chest. When Kyle had realized what was happening, he froze. But after a few moments, the redhead took a deep breath and gave in the temptation. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around his shoulders and pulled him closer. They stayed that way arms tangled around each other, for awhile until he remembered they had to leave or they would never reach prom in time.

"We need to go," he mumbled, his voice muffled.

"We should," Kyle said, "but I really don't want to."

"We can't just stand in my driveway all night," he pointed out.

"I know," Kyle sighed, pulling away only to grab his hand and lead him to the dark blue Ford truck that sat in the dusty drive. He held the passenger door open for him as he climbed inside. Once he was settled, he buckled his seat belt.

Kyle walked around the front of the vehicle and got in the driver's side behind the wheel. Putting the key in the ignition, he started the truck.

The redhead began fumbling with the dials to the radio, "Uhh..I don't know what kind of music you usually listen to, but you can pick whatever you want," he smiled, which generally caused little tiny butterflies to explode in his stomach and bounce off his insides at an uncomfortable speed and rhythm.

Kenny turned the buttons and began to surf through the different offered channels, attempting to find one worth listening to. Eventually, he settled for a rock station. The music began playing softly throughout the interior of the vehicle. It was oddly comforting for him to be sitting there with Kyle listening to music. He liked that everything seemed so easy and uncomplicated.

"I love this band," Kyle randomly commented, as he backed out of the driveway and turned onto the gravelly side road on which his house sat.

"What band is it?"

"Don't tell me you don't know who they are?" Kyle questioned, incredulous.

"I don't," Kenny said, ashamed. He switched his gaze from the side of Kyle's face and opted to watch the passing scenery instead. He was extremely embarrassed. His face began to grow warmer. He had always been the one for music, and not knowing a band kind of scared him a little.

"Hey, don't sweat it, Kenny. I was only messing with you. There's no need to feel ashamed," Kyle explained, turning down the next street. This new road was paved and the wheels rolled smoothly against the asphalt, causing a comforting motion that could put any baby to sleep. "The bands name is Bullet For My Valentine just so you know."

"Oh. It's fine, Kyle," he said, turning his face back around to look at Kyle again. "I shouldn't take words to heart. It's just a habit of mine, I guess. He smiled slightly and turned up the radio just a little bit so he could hear the words of the song that was playing. To keep his mind preoccupied, he counted the driveways as they passed them.

They eventually made it to the school and, hand in hand, they pushed open the gym doors and were ushered into the building. Maybe tonight wasn't going to turn out so bad, after all.