While the three were at the City Hall, sitting in the waiting room, Kevin had nudged his visibly annoyed younger brother.
"[The fuck do you want, asshole?]" Kenny responded.
"Who was that girl, at the Marsh's house?" he asked him.
"[Huh? Stan's mom? Why the fuck would you want to know that?]"
"No, dumbass, the one in pink... with the headgear..."
"[Shelly?]"
"Is that her name?"
"[Yeah, and she's a bitch. Why?]"
"Where do I recognize her from?"
"[She's in your grade. Not that you would know since you rarely pay attention in school at all, moron.]"
Kevin mockingly mouthed something in response, which Kenny couldn't quite pick up.
And then it hit Kenny.
"[Wait, you're not tellin' m-]"
And then he was cut-off by a woman telling the children the mayor was ready to speak to them now.
That night, Kevin didn't get any sleep. Every time he tried to shut off his brain and fall asleep, his mind shifted back to Shelly.
It's not like Kevin got very much sleep anyways, with all the yelling and banging coming from his parents' room, but this time it was different.
His mind was consumed by a person. Not just any person, but a girl.
A girl that he had a massive crush on.
I mean, come on, he doesn't know anything about this girl! There's no way he's fallen for her already, right? Wrong. Even if Kevin thought she was massively out of his league, as he did with most girls, it's not like there was anything he could do to stop it. You can't interfere with love, and love, he certainly had for Shelly.
Kevin was kind of afraid of this "crush." He never had any before this. Kevin knew that girls avoided him, so he just avoided them back. Not that he was mad at girls or anything - he didn't blame them for not wanting anything to do with him. He thought he was the ugliest boy in the world. Dirty clothes, a bruised face, with ugly braces and a gangly stature. And, the cherry on top, he wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed either.
"Why would anyone want me, anyways..?" he would often ask himself.
Though he would never confess to it, sometimes, these thoughts made him cry. The kid who supposedly "never cried" did just that, more often than he'd like to admit.
After being beat when he was 7 for crying in front of his father, Kevin swore to himself that he would never cry. Especially not in front of his family, or anyone, really. But when your life is as shitty as Kevin's is, you're sure to let out a few tears from time to time. Kevin hated himself for this. He hated himself a lot, but this case was especially bad. There were a few times when Kevin thought about killing himself after crying. He would never follow up on that, though. He was too much of a coward.
Or so he thought.
There was one morning in specific, not too long ago, when Kevin didn't wake up. Carol came into her son's room, to see what the issue was. Kevin usually slept in, but this was worse than usual. He had missed school by a good half an hour. Carol rolled up Kevin's sleeve to find several cuts up and down his left arm, with a pile of empty beer bottles under his bed as well. He had tried to kill himself. The only time he ever actually went through with it.
Not only did it horrify his dear mother, but it horrified him, too.
What was his problem?
He hated himself for that too. For even trying to commit suicide, and more importantly, for scaring his mother. She already had to go through enough shit everyday, he did not want to put her through anymore.
His overbearing self-deprecating tendencies sent him into a downward spiral. But you wouldn't know it by looking at him. He hid all of those wishy-washy "feelings" behind a stone, unmoving expression. He didn't want anyone to know he was like this. Especially his father, because he would kick the living shit out of him.
It was part of the reason he also never spoke, either.
He was never happy. It had become so long until he had even a sliver of joy in his body, that he had forgotten what it felt like. All he knew now was the sadness. The anger. The hatred.
And yesterday, he was happy for the first time in forever.
Seeing Shelly awoke something in Kevin. He didn't know what that thing was, or why it felt so weird, but what he did know was that that thing made him the happiest boy in the world.
But nobody could know this. Nobody would believe him, anyways. The town's local hillbilly, who never washed, who rarely ate, who was poor as shit, even thinking of having a girlfriend, let alone a friend at all? Yeah right.
But there was someone who knew, someone who definitely believed him. That someone was his younger brother, Kenny. Kenny wasn't stupid, and he knew for a fact that Kevin had fallen for Shelly. Shelly, the girl who had harassed him and his friends for years, making his life a living hell whenever he was around her, she had somehow captured his brother's heart.
Boy, was he confused.
He wasn't alone, though.
Kevin was most certainly confused too, even more so than his brother.
What was he going to do?
So many questions, so little answers.