~Butters' P.O.V~
"Kenneth, you don't deserve to have someone such as me." Kenneth clearly looks shocked at my words, which doesn't faze me in the least. I know by now that he's way too sensitive when it comes to whatever I say. I look down at the ground and shakily continue speaking. I've never been the best person at confrontation. "We're too different. You're kind, religious, and I can tell you care about many people, and many people care about you; human or fairy. I'm different. I don't intend to love anyone but myself, nor am I sure I even can." I look up again, directly into Kenneth's eyes. "We just don't click. Not like Tweek and Craig do."
…
After a long silence, Kenneth eventually sighs, rubbing his temples. "Leopold, listen to yourself. Do you even know what you're saying? How can a boy your age not know how to love? It may be impossible for an adult, or someone like Damien, but not for you. What even made you think like that?" I flinch, recalling memories I never wanted to think of ever again.
"I don't want… to tell you." I say after a while.
"Leopold, I know you think we can't do this, but we can."
I bite my lip, before quickly letting my frustration overwhelm me. "No we goddamn can't! It's ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous what you expect of me! Tweek may be able to handle something like this, but I can't! Honestly, we're almost complete strangers!" Kenneth looks at me directly, thinking about his words before answering.
"…Weren't your parents once strangers as well?"
"Wh-What?" I'll admit it; I'm surprised by the sudden change of topic. Honestly, what do my parents have to do with anything?
"Wasn't there once a time where your parents didn't know each other that well? And yet, they fell in love, and made the wonderful human that's standing before my eyes at this very moment. My very own human, that will belong to me no matter what happens. Don't you think that even though we don't know each other very well, that we can eventually be like them?"
"…Don't assume things like that, Kenneth. My parents weren't typical at all. In fact, they were the opposite."
"What do you mean?"
"My parents never wanted me. They didn't even love each other. I was just the result of a mistake they made one night. They kidded me that we were normal, but I wasn't stupid. It didn't take me long to figure out."
"…But we're differen-
"NO WE'RE NOT! IT WILL ALL BE THE SAME, ESPECIALLY LIKE THIS! WE'RE BOTH BOYS FOR GOD'S SAKE!" Kenneth looks stricken, as if he finally understands what I mean.
"That's what this is about…? Because we're both males?" Kenneth asks quietly.
"Yes! It's unnatural! And since you're so religious, why aren't you against it!?"
"Us…" Kenneth pauses, trying to find the right words to say. He gestures between the two of us. "Us being together, not to mention romantic types, was God's choice. That must mean God isn't against homosexuality, am I right? It mustn't be very strange to him."
"It's still strange to me. Abnormal. So no matter how kind you are to me, or how much you save my life, I will not ever feel anything for you, not even friendship, so stop getting your hopes up, you pathetic thing!" Kenneth winces at being referred to as some kind of animal. I raise my trembling hand up and pull my watch out of my vest pocket, throwing it on the ground in front of Kenneth. "Just leave me alone. I cannot handle seeing or hearing from you right now." I quickly go inside, taking care not to look back. If I do, Kenneth's pained face will most likely haunt me for the rest of my life.
As I'm taking my dripping wet coat off, my 'father' appears, arms folded. "Leopold, we need to talk. In the kitchen, now." He says; a high authority in his voice. I nod at him coldly, doing as he says and going into the kitchen. Phillip is already sitting at the table, looking miserable. My 'mother' takes note of me and gestures for me to sit down. I comply.
"You two have both disappointed us greatly. Especially you, Leopold. First you hit someone as important as Eric Cartman with a textbook, and then you storm out of class the next day, and now you skip school today without a second thought, along with you, Phillip."
"It isn't my fault! I only went to protect him!" Phillip points at me critically. I roll my eyes at the childish act. "He was going off with fairies!" I stiffen, turning my head to stare at Phillip in astonishment. Does he realize what could happen to us for this? If this was the sixteenth century, we'd be burned on the stake within two minutes… even though that isn't possible.
"Fairies?"
"Yes, he's been making friends with fairies, and today he decided to go and have breakfast with them. I had no choice but to follow and make sure nothing happened to him." I agonizingly wait for my adoptive parents to start shouting at me 'sinner' and 'repent', but it doesn't happen. Instead, they both bust out laughing.
"Oh, what nonsense you can come up with, Phillip. I've always wondered what you do in your room all day. Know I know, you make up these little tales for our amusement." 'Father' comments, chuckling.
"I'm not making this up, it's true!"
"Phillip, don't be ridiculous." My 'mother' says, smirking. 'Father' stops chuckling and coughs, ready to tell us something.
"Since neither of you were there to hear the news, your class will be going on a trip in two days. You will be staying in the woods for one night."
"THE WOODS!?" Phillip shrieks.
"Phillip, you'll be traveling very far away from the village, nowhere near the woods around here. And just in case, your teacher has hired a psychic exorcist to accompany you all."
"B-But-
"No buts, we've signed the permission form for you two to go, so you're going whether you want to or not." Phillip gives up, dropping his head. I lean back in the chair leisurely, trying not to laugh at him.
~Kenny's P.O.V~
Alright, Leopold's words sure stung, but it's not like I'm being a baby about it…
"CRAIG~ WAAAAAAA! I'M SO HEARTBROKEN~!" I yell, immediately running up to Craig as soon as I catch sight of him. He must be coming back from work. He doesn't know what hit him.
"Kenny? What in God's name is wrong with you? Take your hands off me!" Craig pries my arms off of him and pushes me at arm's length away. I tearfully hold my arms out like a little child.
"Leopold was so mean to me! You're my only friend right now!"
"Oh, stop it." Craig slaps me across to face, snapping me out of my little boy phase. "So what did he say?"
"He *hiccup* … he said that it was wrong for us to be together because we're both male!"
"Huh?" Craig looks like he can't understand.
"And he called me a 'thing'! A 'thing', Craig!"
"Kenny, you're human needs to get his brain examined. His thoughts aren't logical!" Craig points to his head.
"WAAAA! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT DOING IT STEP BY STEP BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S GOING TO WORK! NOOOOO!"
"Will you be quiet? The whole forest can hear you…" Kyle says, covering his ears.
"Don't listen to him, Kenny. He just doesn't understand anyone." Craig says with his arm around me, sticking his tongue out at Kyle. Kyle rolls his eyes.
"Kenny, is it true that you helped Damien almost kill his human?" I shut my mouth tightly, turning to face Kyle.
"More or less." I tell him bluntly.
"Kenny! You shouldn't get involved in things such as that. You can get into some serious trouble. Ruby just told me community service isn't very fun."
"Kyle, I can take care of myself. And where is she now?"
"She went to do some work for the old fairy."
"At dusk?"
"She said it was urgent."
"Typical of her, trying to do everything herself." I mutter. Ruby's always been like this, ever since she was human. Trying to be a grown up. I look at Craig, who's reading something on his watch. "Craig, I'm serious. You need to patch up your relationship with her. It's been centuries, and I've had enough."
"Kenny, things like that are our business, not yours."
"Are you joking? I've known you since we were tiny children, and you're-
"You know what? Now that I've conformed the rumors about you helping Damien are true, I'm going to leave you to argue about nothing." Kyle shakes his head pitifully.
"IT ISN'T ABOUT NOTHING, YOU ASS!" I yell after him as he flies away.
"Look Kenny, I'm not completely one hundred per cent on the fact that you're human is sane, but it seems he has absolutely no intention to be your… I find it very awkward to say 'lover'. But yes, he has no intention to have that sort of relationship with you." I roll my eyes irritably.
"I know that. I'm asking you what I'm supposed to do about it." Craig looks at me indifferently.
"Then why the hell are you asking me? I sure as hell don't know about romance and all that shit." He tells me dully, though I can tell he's annoyed.
"First of all, stop cursing. And second; I've seen the relationship you have with Tweek. You cannot expect me to believe that he just went along with the flow when you met him."
"Well believe it. That's what happened. I suppose I was just fortunate, unlike you, Kenneth." I narrow my eyes at Craig. He just loves to tease me about my full name.
"You've got to be joking. I'm not a fool, Craig; I've seen Tweek before. And I can tell you, in all my years, I have never seen a more jumpy person. He's scared of everything."
"He is not! He… it's just all the coffee he drinks."
"And why does he drink so much coffee? I can see he's even got you hooked onto it now."
"I'm not hooked, I just like it. And he drinks coffee because he doesn't like to sleep."
"Why?"
"I don't know." Craig shrugs. I'm not a fool though; I can tell that Craig wants to know as much as I do about Tweek's… sleeping issues. I snicker at Craig actually showing a positive emotion.
"Heheh, if you're so desperate to know why he doesn't sleep, why don't you just ask him?"
"Because it would sound purely stupid. And Tweek would think I'm nosy."
"Aww, are we too shy, Craigy?"
"Fuck you." Craig gets up. "I've wasted my time with you long enough."
"Where are you going?"
"Have you forgotten? I was in the middle of giving my report to the authorities." I sigh. The authorities. God, I hate them. In fact, most positive fairies hate them, as well as negative ones. Authority fairies are basically fairy police, and believe me, they are absolute asses. I've been a fairy for two centuries, and I still haven't met a kind one. They don't listen to you, they don't respect you, and all they do is punish you for the slightest thing. Like this morning when Ruby was taken away to do community service for a whole day just because she travelled time for five minutes without permission. What's more, the authority fairies have made it a rule that every single fairy has to give a report to them at the end of the day, to prove that they've completed their work. I don't have give any reports today, since I had no work to do. Craig isn't so fortunate.
"Oh, sorry for keeping you."
"Whatever. Look, about the Leopold thing; just gain his trust first. Don't force him into anything romantic. Just be gentle and patient with everything."
"You act like I'm trying to approach a wild animal.
"Believe me, when I first met Tweek, these things were vital."
"But I thought you said he just went with the flow when you met him."
"Oh no, that was when I told him he was my fairy, and that we had to have a romantic relationship."
"Wait, are you saying you knew him before…?"
"Oh, yes of course. I've known him since he was about; uh… eight I think it was? Now look, I really need to give in this report, but I'll speak to you another time."
"…" I silently watch Craig fly off, my jaw hanging open. That fool! He acts like such an expert with humans, but it turns out he's known his human for so long, and that's why his human is so comfortable with him. I sigh, hanging my head miserably. It's going to take long to get Leopold to fall for me. But I might as well get started.
~Special: Craig's P.O.V~
"Finally, I made it." I mutter, clambering through Tweek's window. Tweek just about has a heart attack, since he had his back to me. He springs out of his chair and starts looking around frantically, for the exit, I suppose. I quickly grab Tweek before he runs into the wall.
"Tweek, it's just me. Calm down." Tweek looks at me shakily.
"Y-You scared me."
"I can see that. Now…" I take Tweek's hand and sit him down. "I need you to do me a favour."
"What is it?"
"You know how Leopold and Kenny don't have the ideal relationship for a paired fairy and human?"
"I've noticed. They even have a worse relationship than Eric, Kyle and Stan do."
"… You're right. But not as bad as Phillip and Damien's relationship."
"So what was the favour?"
"Oh, right. Leopold needs some… convincing to be kinder to Kenny."
"Alright. But I most likely won't be able to."
"Doesn't matter. As long as you try." I lean forward to kiss him, but unfortunately his father opens the door before Tweek even has the time to close his eyes.
"Tweek, who were you talking to?"
"N-No one." Tweek starts to fumble with his fingers. I take his hand in mine to stop him, and give him a small, reassuring smile.
"Don't lie to me, Tweek. I heard you."
"It was Craig." When Tweek first met me, I was sort of like Damien is with Phillip now. Tweek wanted to be my friend (since everyone thought he was strange), and I wanted nothing to do with him since he was a human. He kept forgetting I was a fairy, so every time he spoke to me, his parents thought he was going insane. I eventually took pity on Tweek and told him to tell his parents I was an imaginary friend. His parents still believe it.
"Tweek, I think it's time you stop having that imaginary friend of yours. You need some real friends. Honestly, you're…" Tweek's father shakes his head and sighs.
"Yes sir." Tweek replies quietly, having heard the same thing many times. Tweek's father stares at his son for a few seconds, before quietly leaving. My eyebrow twitches once I realise he's left the door open.
"Don't you hate it when people do that? Just leave the fucking door open…" I kick the door shut loudly, not caring what the hell Tweek's father thinks. I can protect Tweek from anything.
"Mmm, it's very irritating." Tweek says, sounding distant. It doesn't take the most intelligent person in the world to know he's trying not to cry. I rub his back in a circular pattern, trying to comfort him. I sigh and sit next to Tweek, who's sunk to his knees on the floor.
"Tweek, we've had this conversation. You don't need to listen to what that man says, or your mother. Or anyone for that matter."
"I know."
"Look, you're not strange. Everyone around you is strange. You're perfectly normal, understand?" Tweek nods, distraught.
"I love you. I'll never stop loving you. So you don't need any off those retards telling you how screwed up you are, because you're not. And you want to know why I love you? I love you for you, not because of your looks, or because of this," I hold our red chain up, before dropping it like useless garbage. "I love you because of your personality."
"I've been thinking… you say all these things, but do you really mean them? You say you love me for who I am, but how do you know it isn't because of… of this?" Tweek points to the red chain.
"I've loved you since you were nine, that's why, understand?" Tweek looks surprised, which makes me realise something. "God, I sound like a pedophile…"
"You're can't be a pedophile, Craig. You're aged thirteen."
"Tweek, I look thirteen. But I'm actually…" I've never been the best at mathematics. "I'm two hundred and seventeen years old!"
"But you're still… actually you do act as if you're an adult."
"That's because I am… I'm an old man!"
"You're not an old man! You're a fairy. Fairies don't age, so you're still thirteen."
"HOW DID OUR CONVERSATION EVEN GET TO THIS BULLSHIT?!"
~Butters' P.O.V~
The sun's rays wake me up, but that isn't what scares me. It's Kenneth kneeling next to the bed, really close to my face that scares me.
"JESUS! MY GOD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU ALMOST GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK!"
"YOU ALMOST GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK!" I hear Phillip scream from the other side of the room. Kenneth looks at me sheepishly
"Sorry, sorry. I'll try to be less discrete when I come tomorrow."
"Please do. My God, what a lunatic." I drop my pillow and get out of bed, trying to find some proper clothes. I need to go to school today, and I won't look like a slob apologizing to that teacher, even though he should be apologizing to me.
"Get out." I mutter to Kenneth, shooing him away. He smirks and turns around. "I said get out, not turn around. Can you not speak English?" Kenneth sighs, turns around, and steps out of them room.
"Happy?" I hear him ask from the other side of the wall.
"No." I reply loudly. "But it'll do."
As we're walking to my school, Kenneth shrieks 'oh' extremely loudly, which makes me jump and almost drop an unconscious Phillip (he fainted from fear when Kenneth greeted him).
"What is it?" I ask cautiously.
"I almost forgot. Here's your watch. You gave it to me yesterday, remember?" I look at the watch and sniff.
"I don't want it back."
"Oh, come on. It isn't that bad." Kenneth says chirpily, while attaching it to my vest. As soon as he finishes, I notice my heart feels much lighter. It must be the white chain from the watches. Kenneth straightens my jacket and gives me a genuine smile, which I don't return. I'm slightly surprised that Kenneth is treating me so nicely after what I said to him yesterday. Has he forgotten?
Phillip suddenly stirs. He looks at me, confused.
"You passed out over nothing, so mother forced me to carry you." I explain grouchily.
"Oh, um, I'm sorry."
"Just don't let it happen again." I respond, letting him down. As he is in the middle of straightening himself up, Phillip sees Kenneth.
"OH GOD! I'm sorry L-L-Leopold, but I cannot handle this. I'll be going ahead." Kenneth and I watch as Phillip disappears into the distance like a bolt of lightning.
"Let's hurry, or you'll be late." Kenneth eventually says, smiling warmly. I narrow my eyes in abhorrence and nod. I leisurely continue walking, with Kenneth sticking to my side like glue. Kenneth suddenly sighs and looks miserable.
"What is it?" I grumble, not really caring. Kenneth smiles reassuringly, wanting me not to worry. I'm not worried, so he shouldn't bother.
"I need to work soon. I'm sorry, but I'll need to take my leave."
"Do what you want." I stick my tongue out and continue walking carelessly. After a few seconds, I hesitantly turn around to see if Kenneth is still there.
He isn't.
"Say! Say Leopold!" I look over my shoulder and see Tweek, as well as Phillip. "Would you like to come to the village with us?" I sigh.
"Why? Yesterday it was Kyle asking me that, and now it's you Tweek."
"Please? You don't seem to have anything better to do."
"You have a point there. Alright, I'll come."
"Great! Let's go."
Phillip decides to leave almost straight after we arrive in the town… village, whatever it is. It's too big to be a village, but too small to be a town. Alright, it's decided, from now on I'm going to refer to it as the 'towllage'.
After Phillip suddenly leaves, Tweek turns back to face me and shrugs. "Let's go. You haven't ever been to the coffee shop, am I correct?"
"Uh… yes." I hesitantly leave with Tweek, trying to see where Phillip has gone off to. I could have sworn I saw him with a young little girl.