"You know, this is probably why we're failing geography," Craig Tucker leaned back against the brick wall at the back of the high school, his words escaping alongside little puffs of smoke. His bored, stoney gray gaze glanced towards the two sitting to his right.
The blonde beside of him shrugged, "Look at all the fucks we give," he bounced the cigarette in his fingers dismissively.
"Yeah, what does Po' boy care?" the large brunette on the end snorted. "If he graduates, he'll get a cheap ride to college at any rate since his family's so goddamn poor."
"Fuck off, Cartman," Kenny sighed. "Get some goddamn new material."
"Get some goddamn money and I will," Cartman sneered.
"Cartman, I swear to God-"
"Cool it, McCormick," Craig interrupted, groaning in quiet irritation at his now smoldering cigarette from listening to the two of them bantering. He pulled his cobalt lighter out of his pocket and shook it lightly, grimacing at the sound of limited fluid. "I go through these damn things like they grow on trees when you two talk," he stated blatantly, relighting his cancer stick with an air of boredom.
"Well no one invited you to listen, Asshole," Cartman retorted.
"Hard not to listen to the bellowing beluga and his shrimpy orange companion."
"Beluga?" Cartman repeated with a scowl. "Better than being an ass-ramming pig fucker like you, Craig."
"Well if I'm an ass-rammer and I fuck pigs, bend over and lube up, Porky."
"Fuck you!"
"Oh my god will you two shut up?" Kenny beat his head softly against the wall.
They were silent for a moment before Craig smirked softly at him. "Your morning flask finally catchin' up with ya, McCormick?"
"Shut up," Ken looked at him with hazy blue eyes. "I needed it."
Craig took another drag, looking away from him indifferently. "Dad buggin' ya again?"
"Still," he rolled his eyes. "Yellin' at me for not havin' a job and supportin' his family."
"I think he's more concerned with you supporting his habits than you guys gettin' food," Craig input quietly.
"The hell's he need Kinny for for that?" Cartman snorted, reaching into Kenny's hoodie pocket, ignoring the boy's short-lived protest. He shook the swiped cigarette pack in front of them before flipping the top and grabbing one. "They practically get these for free anyway."
"Buy your own goddamn smokes," Ken growled, snatching the Marlboros back from the glutton's hand.
"Only if you do first. And those are more my cigs than yours anyway, Po' boy. Taxpayers pay for that shit. We give you Welfare and you use it for smokes and drinks. If I was in charge, you free-loading hippies wouldn't get a dime of mah hard earned money."
The other two stared at him with raised brows. "Cartman you've never paid taxes in your life. You've never had a job," Kenny stated.
"Well who wants to hire a fatass who can't walk half a mile without crying he needs a break?" Craig asked.
Cartman sneered and flipped the both of them off. "Screw you guys. I already got my cigs so I'm outta here." He stood with his backpack and began walking away as the other two watched him.
"The door's on the other side of the school," Kenny shouted after him. "Sure you'll make it?" He turned to Craig and mouthed in-sync with the retreating brunette 'fuck you, you poor piece of shit!' The two of them chuckled quietly as Cartman disappeared around the corner. Ken shook his head softly. "Why the hell do we hang out with him anyway?"
"What's this 'we'?" Craig asked, ashing his cigarette onto the pavement. "I hang out with you. He's just somehow always here."
Kenny snorted softly, throwing his smoking butt in front of him and grinding it out with his worn tennis shoes. "I guess I keep him around out of sheer desperation for companionship."
"Well if you're lonely, my bed's free tonight," Craig elbowed him lightly.
Kenny looked at him with a crooked smirk on his lips. "Lemme think here. Go home and get beaten and screamed at by my folks or go to your place for sex, a hot shower, and raiding your fridge. Oh decisions, decisions."
"Tough one, ain't it?" Craig rolled his eyes.
"I don't know if I can choose," he teased.
"Flip a goddamn coin."
"My guess is that you're praying it lands on head," Ken smirked playfully.
"My head to your tail."
"I think I have my answer then," he chuckled, placing his hands behind his head. They sat in silence for a bit before the sound of the bell echoed out an open window above their heads. "One of us needs to learn how to drive," Kenny commented.
"Why? Just another bill to deal with."
"Yeah but then we could just leave instead of skipping and sitting out here just waiting to be caught."
"Hey, I don't mind Token driving me around in a Mercedes," Craig scoffed, flicking away his cigarette. "And you like chillin' with Broflovski, so I don't see the problem."
Kenny scooted closer towards him with a sly smile. "If we could drive, we wouldn't have to wait so long for the good stuff," he purred up by Craig's ear, nipping lightly at the skin.
"Hm," Craig mused thoughtfully before diving his head down and biting at his neck. "Maybe I like keeping you in anticipation, Asshat."
"Oh I do love your pet names," Ken scoffed, shifting his shoulder down and reclaiming Craig's lobe.
"Pet names are for girlfriends," Craig breathed against him hotly. "Not fuck toys."
"So that's all I am?" Kenny teased, trailing soft kisses on his neck. He already knew the answer, but it was always fun seeing how long it took to make Craig fight for his words. "I'm just your little fuck toy?"
"You know it," Craig murmured, his hands methodically sliding behind him, diving under his orange shirt and digging his dull nails into the small of the boy's back.
Kenny moved under his grasp and smashed their lips together ferociously. Teeth and tongue collided against each other like war. They didn't consider it passion, they never had. Just raw need for the closeness, for the illusion of something other than what they had.
Kenny's hand slid along Craig's leg as he perched up on his knees and leaned in over him, dominating the kiss. Craig's hand moved down, firmly grabbing his ass and dragging his nails over the denim-covered flesh. Kenny grinned against him, his hand sliding down the front of his jeans. Craig let out a small, breathy moan as Ken firmly grasped him, his hand slowly and precisely rubbing over his boxers. Kenny could just feel him becoming pure putty under his expert hand.
His teeth latched onto Craig's bottom lip before letting go and whispering, "Only a fuck toy?"
"No, a total whore," he licked over his teeth and squeezed Kenny's ass again, pulling him back against his mouth. Kenny moaned, grasping at Craig's growing cock and swirling his tongue around the other's.
"Hey fellas!" a voice broke through the limited air between them. They ripped their mouths apart and turned to see Butters waving at them in the distance.
"Oh look, Cockblock Stotch," Craig rolled his eyes, letting go of Ken's ass. He grabbed the blonde's wrist and ripped it out of his jeans, fixing his clothes as Butters approached the two of them rapidly.
Kenny sighed, blowing his bangs out of his face. "Hey, Butters," he greeted, getting to his feet and helping Craig up as well. Butters ran up in front of them, glancing around.
"Where's Eric?"
"Well, you can rule out the gym," Craig stated blandly.
"We don't know," Ken shrugged, "Went back in not too long ago."
"Oh. A-all righty then," he scratched his head awkwardly.
Kenny raised his brow. "Somethin' wrong? Usually ya woulda ran off by now to find 'im."
"Well," he glanced around nervously. "J-Just between us fellers, do you know if Eric and Kyle got into it again?"
"They got out of it at some point?" Craig scoffed. "Those two just need to have hate sex and get it the fuck over with."
"Whaddya mean, Butters?" Kenny sighed, shaking his head subtly at Craig's commentary.
"W-well I mean today," he clarified. "Did they argue today?"
Ken looked up thoughtfully. "Well in Chem, Cartman hit Kyle with a beaker and Kyle punched him but that's it. Nothin' weird 'bout that. Though Ky did seem abnormally pissy."
"So...it wasn't Eric," Butters looked at the ground confusedly.
"What wasn't Er-ugh, Cartman?" Craig demanded impatiently.
Butters looked at him before locking his eyes in Kenny's "Kyle seems awful sore today."
"Took one too many in the ass probably," Craig snorted.
Kenny's expression fell into concern, ignoring the raven-haired boy beside of him. "Why are ya sayin' this, Butters? Is Ky okay?"
Butters bit his lip worriedly, "Now, y-ya didn't hear this from me, but I think Stan and Kyle are fightin'."
Kenny blinked, "Whoa, what now?"
"The perfect lovey-dovey duo are at it?" Craig said disbelievingly. "Damn. Does this mean Armageddon's on the way or what?"
"Shut up a sec," Ken waved him away. "Dude, did they brawl or somethin'?" he asked Butters. "Ky didn't mention nothin' in class to me."
"W-well, no. Nothin' so bad. They just ain' talkin'," he explained. "Ya know how they always meet at Kyle's locker before third period?"
"Yeah...?" Kenny raised his brow.
"W-well Stan walked up and, and then Kyle just slammed his locker and walked away from 'im. Stan looked confused as all heck, I'll tell ya."
"Oh shit," Kenny sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Stan fucked somethin' up."
"Who cares?" Craig said. "It isn't your problem."
"Those two are my best friends, Dickhead," he snapped. "It is my problem." He started going towards the front of the school before hearing Butters shouting after him.
"Where ya goin', Ken?" he asked worriedly.
"To find Ky before he forgets he's my ride and drives off in rage," he called back, continuing to hurry around the corner. He grimaced as he weaved around people exiting the building in agitation. He couldn't help but feel completely stupid for missing that Kyle was so upset. The thought of he and Stan fighting never even crossed his mind. It seemed too far-fetched as well as they were. Well, as well as they always had been.
He pushed through the front doors, immediately finding Kyle at his locker not far down the hall. His bright hair stood a stark contrast to the murky beige metal lining the way. He breathed a small sigh of relief before it died off as he walked closer, noticing the faint crease of Kyle's brow.
He was stewing. That was bad. It was more dangerous when he was thinking than it was when he was up in your face screaming at you. It was a lesson Kenny learned when the both of them wound up spending the night in jail when the police caught Kenny with a bag of weed on him when they were out together. Kyle spent the entire night just staring at the wall in silence, not listening as Kenny frantically explained that they were going to be fine, that the amount in that bag wasn't enough to do jack shit for him so they would get out of there in no time. As soon as they were out the doors, Kyle made quick work to break his nose and then leave him to walk home. Luckily the redhead had forgiven him for that night but since then, Kenny had well learned to tread carefully with Kyle when he was in this mood.
He stepped towards him somewhat cautiously. He hadn't seen a situation where Kyle was troubled with matters of the heart. Aside from a trial run with Bebe that ended in disaster, Kyle hadn't really been very interested in pursuing a relationship. It took everyone by storm when he was the one to put the moves on Stan. It was a very rocky time in those first few days but after Stan agreed, everything just seemed to be peachy keen in their little world. The two of them in a possible argument was entirely new territory. Kenny had been there when Bebe dumped poor Kyle but that wasn't so bad. But Kyle loved Stan, the blonde could see it clear as day. Anything that upset him was bound to be cataclysmic.
"Yo," he greeted, leaning on the locker next to Kyle's.
Green eyes flickered towards his and a noticeably forced smile crossed over his face. "Hey."
"Ready t' go?"
"Just about," he replied, grabbing two textbooks out of their holding before slamming the door shut. He took a deep breath with his hand still flat against the locker.
Kenny shifted uncomfortably, a bit nervous about what he could possibly say. He wasn't willing to walk around with a busted nose again. "Uh...everythin' okay?"
"Glorious," he said, stepping back and looking at him tiredly. Kenny could see heavy bags under his bright eyes and a part of him curled. Stan fucked up enough for Kyle not to get any sleep. This could be bad. This could be very very bad. Kyle began walking towards the door and Kenny scrambled after him. They walked side-by-side in silence out into the mildly brisk spring air, Kyle keeping his focus straight ahead, his shoulders tensed and his posture unnervingly stiffened.
"So..." Ken cleared his throat. "How's Stan?" Bluntness. Always the way to see if Kyle was just mildly upset over something or if he was outright pissed.
Kyle came to a stop on the sidewalk, Kenny noticing his fists clenching and his nostrils subtly flaring. Okay. So he was outright pissed. To the point where he looked like he could probably punch a hole straight through the cement under their feet. Kenny bit his lip a bit, very cautiously touching his arm. He winced as he felt how tensive the redhead was before placing his other hand on his back, starting to lead him back towards the parking lot. His eyes flickered into Kyle's, cringing when he saw nearly nothing but that vivid green surrounding pinhead pupils of anger and adrenaline. He could feel the subtle tremors of his muscles and couldn't help but gulp.
He moved them towards Kyle's black Focus, helping him up to sit on the hood of the car. Kenny cocked his head at him as the boy threw his backpack onto the ground, falling back and resting on the windshield. Kyle could make it as a car magazine model if he wanted to, he certainly had the figure for it. Kenny blinked and shook those thoughts out of his head, knowing that right now was not the best time to be scrutinizing his friend. He hopped up on the hood beside him, placing his bag on the ground as well as he stared down at the still-shaking Jew.
"What happened?" he asked quietly.
Kyle looked at him tiredly, "Who told you something happened?"
"A little birdie," he shrugged.
"If that little birdie happens to be Leopold Stotch I need to remind him about the talk we had about minding his own damn business," he snapped.
"Whoa whoa whoa now," Kenny held up his hands defensively. "This ain't about Butters, he doesn't deserve that. He was just seein' if I knew why ya were upset. He was bein' a friend, Dude."
Kyle hesitated before letting out a long sigh. "Yeah. I know."
"Now," Kenny started up again. "What's goin on with you n' Stan?"
Kyle opened his mouth before closing it again, sitting up and letting his shoulders slump miserably. "Ken...I feel like there's something missing."
"Like...what? Money? Time in the sack? Another member in yer guys' sack because if you're looking for auditions I'll give ya a hell of a sho-"
"No," Kyle sighed out agitatedly.
"Then what?" he asked seriously. "Dude, whatever ya tell me will stay between us and you know it."
"Good because what I'm about to say makes me sound like a fucking chick," he rolled his eyes.
"Well ya usually have those moments," Kenny smirked. He placed his hand on his shoulder and shook him slightly. "Whaddya think is missin'?"
Kyle looked at him, a faint trace of embarrassment lining his narrow cheekbones. "Passion," he breathed out softly. "I've tried all night to come up with another word but goddammit that's as much as I've been able to come up with."
Kenny cocked his head a bit. "Well one, that's not really a girly thing to say. If yer lackin, yer lackin'. Two, what the hell are ya talkin' about?"
Kyle breathed out heavily, kicking his feet a bit and staring at the ground. "Do you remember after Stan and I started dating?"
"Yeah. I ain't never seen ya so happy," Kenny chuckled.
"Exactly. Remember when he put all those flowers in my locker? And I opened it up and it made a mess in the hallway?" he smirked softly, Kenny able to see his eyes misting in the slightest.
"Yeah. Ya almost beat the shit out of him for giving you flowers since yer a guy," Kenny cackled. "I honestly thought you two would have a real fight after that one. But instead I see you the next day with the same clothes on and your hair lookin' like high Hell."
Kyle chuckled, blushing a bit more before looking at Kenny sadly. "I miss that."
"You miss sex? Kyle, if he's holding out on you I'm more than willing to fulfill that end of his deal."
"No, Kenny," he glared, though Ken could easily see the sparks of laughter crossing through his eyes. In a way, the laughter hurt more than the stern look. "I miss...spontaneity," he explained. "We still have sex, we still have fun together...sort of," he shrugged.
"Sort of?" he raised his brow. "Mr. Broflovski, from what yer telling me, you two are boring. Yer in a rut of sorts."
"...Yeah," he nodded softly. "I guess we are. But I don't know if Stan sees it that way or if it's just me."
"Lemme ask you a question," Kenny said, leaning back with his hands behind his head against the windshield. "Ya don't gotta answer."
"Well...shoot," Kyle urged.
Blue eyes locked in green and a heavy beat of silence passed before Kenny asked, "How often does he tell ya he loves ya?"
Kyle's pupils shrank again and he looked down in thought. "I...I don't really think about it..."
"Ya gotta. Anyone in any relationship is gonna wonder why the L word is either said too much or not enough."
Kyle's eyes flickered around like helpless flies caught in a jar, Kenny's teeth grated his lip as he noticed Kyle's face becoming deeper and deeper in sadness. "He...after...oh shit," he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, closing his eyes and taking deep, angry breaths.
Kenny watched him for a bit before sighing quietly. "He only tells you after sex, doesn't he?"
Kyle looked at him again, his eyes swimming in a green sea of worry. "Ken...what if he doesn't love me anymore?"
"Kyle I hardly doubt that's the cas-"
"But it would explain so much," he stated frantically. "Why he's so boring, why he doesn't kiss me as often, why I only have one hickey, why I-"
"Whoa, one?" Kenny blinked. "Dude, ya used to look like a domestic abuse victim. Did he really cut down that much?"
Kyle pulled down the collar of his shirt, pointing at the faded red spot on his skin. Kenny squinted at it and looked at him sympathetically. "Hell, Dude, that looks more like a zit as miniscule as it is." Kyle's face fell deeper into hurt as he fixed his shirt up.
"Kenny, what do I do?" he begged.
"Do you want me to talk to him?" he suggested. "I mean, you just stomping around him and being pissed ain't gonna solve anything and you know it."
"I know," he said quietly. "I'm just not in the mood to talk to him right now. He's so...mundane about me anymore. It's like we're back to where we were before the dating. Except for the sex part."
"So friends with benefits," Kenny shrugged. "That thing ya wouldn't let me be," he pouted.
Kyle sighed heavily and shook his head, "Ken, are you really still bent on that?"
"Hey you pour your heart and soul out to someone and have it rejected and you tell me how you feel."
The redhead raised his brow. "And I quote, 'Kyle, your ass is damn fine. I want to plow that thing into next week.' You call that your heart and soul?"
"My heart n' soul are very vulgar," he shrugged. "And you know words ain't my strong suit."
"Isn't that the truth," he rolled his eyes before smiling at him softly. "Kenny, I love Stan. A lot. I have for...a really fucking long time."
"I know."
"I honestly don't know where to go from here, though. If he doesn't love me back...fuck, Kenny, I don't know what to do."
"Kyle, Stan loves you...just...maybe not to the extent that you love him, ya know?" he winced, noticing that hit a hell of a nerve with the Jew. "Lots of relationships start out strong but then ya start noticin' things dyin' down and ya ain't used to it, ya know?"
Kyle sighed, nodding in agreement. "I guess. But Stan's...been my best friend for so long. I didn't think things would ever start going backwards on me, even when we started dating. Everything we did was just...nothing but what I thought was love or something cheesy like that. Everything felt like fire and it was amazing...now I'm impressed when there's a spark of something."
Kenny bit his lip, rubbing Kyle's shoulder softly. "Look, you need to talk with Stan then. Don't ignore him, you know that the boy ain't that smart, look at how he fucked up with Wendy," he chuckled. Kyle sneered lightly at the name. Wendy and him hadn't gotten along very well since the boys started dating, she was hellbent on making Kyle look like shit in front of the school and was able to succeed a number of times. Ken cleared his throat and continued, "Stan needs blunt direction," he explained, "and you know that. Just take the time and tell 'im about what you want, huh?"
"Yeah...yeah I guess," Kyle sighed, scratching his fingers delicately through his wild hair. "This shouldn't be this damn complicated."
"Bro, have you listened to half the people in this school complainin' that matters of the heart are the worst things ever?" he rolled his eyes.
"Well...don't you feel that way?" he asked curiously.
"I'm not exactly in the position to make those kinds of judgements, Dude."
"Oh...but...I thought...you and Craig were-"
"Friends with benefits," Kenny interrupted. "Neither one of us can have the person we actually want so we just fell into each other, so to speak."
"What? Who does Craig want? Or you for that matter?"
"Craig wants Tweek but Tweek refuses to be in a relationship with as antsy as he is. And you know damn well who I want," he hopped off the car and stretched. Kyle watched him with a heavy expression and sighed.
"Ken you should have said something earlier," he stated, sliding off beside him and picking up his book bag. "You told me all that right before Stan and I...I'm really sorry-"
"Dude, Bro, it's fine," he laughed. "You got yer boyfriend and I got a fuck buddy. In my opinion, we all win in some small way."
"You sound bitter."
"That's just the alcohol talkin, my dear Kyle," he winked.
"Alco-...Kenny what the fuck are you into now?" he demanded.
Kenny looked around for any teachers before pulling a flask out of his jeans pocket and shaking it around, a part of him sad when he heard no swishing around in the metal containment. "Bad morning, have some whiskey, good day," he beamed.
Kyle glared at him angrily. "Kenny, you're smarter than that."
"I may be smarter but alcohol is my friend. He never lies. He only shows me the true side of myself and those around me."
Kyle opened his mouth to argue before just growling in irritation and rolling his eyes. "All right, fine. You wanna destroy your brain cells that's just fine with me. Don't come crying to me when your liver is threatening to jump out of your body, though." He pulled his car keys out and unlocked the doors and they both hopped inside, leaning against the cloth seats and sighing tiredly. Kyle started up the car and they both jumped at the sound of some rock song blaring through the small vehicle. Kenny looked out the window as Kyle backed the car up, sighing a heavy sigh of relief.
Lecture aside, getting Kyle to focus somewhere other than on pitying him for his failure to obtain a relationship was fine by Kenny. It was still a sour chord, in fact perhaps the only bad note, between the two of them. Kyle did nothing but apologize and Kenny didn't really have a response for him being sorry. Kenny couldn't be mad at him for going for the chance to be happy with Stan, but that didn't stop him for stewing in a bit of rage that Kyle never considered giving him the chance. But that was nearly a year in the past. Kenny liked to think that he'd grown since then. Masturbatory fantasies and the faint hope that Kyle would find his way to him one day didn't count as a crush in the blonde's mind. He knew that it was a load of bullshit, but it was something that kept him going day to day. He learned to live with it.
He sighed once more, leaning his head against the window and staring up at the blue sky, his eyes mindlessly following a bird as it fluttered around a tree. He vaguely heard Kyle talking to him about classes and responded thusly, his mind really not into his retorts. He couldn't help but be riddled with the idea that maybe this whole argument with Stan was going to give himself the chance to move forward with Kyle. As much as he wanted to scold himself for thinking as such it was really only natural; not to mention completely unavoidable. But Kyle said it himself: he loved Stan. So this wasn't going to put the blonde in Kyle's eyesight anytime soon.
The story of his life.
A/N: Oh Ken and Kyle, you two would totally grow up and be awesome supportive buddies /wipes tear
Also Crenny is totally a great pairing, idc what anyone says. sob
Thanks for R&Ring!