Author's Note: Yeah, I'm probably just going back to my every Sunday update because life is suddenly getting crazy and I probably won't have the time to update twice a week. I messed up my knee again, so honestly I'm sleeping this off until I have to take my final tomorrow and will probably do nothing whatsoever with my stories. So happy reading and good night :).
Chapter title from "O, Death" by Jen Titus (and various others)
Chapter Twenty-Nine: You Run My Life Right Out of My Soul
"GUYS!" Kenny screamed as he bolted into the lunch room. Multiple people turned and stared at the boy who ran with a piece of paper in his hand and a wild grin. "GUYS YOU'RE NOT GONNA BELIEVE THIS!"
Butters turned and squeaked when it looked like his boyfriend wouldn't slow down in time. He sighed with relief when he did and then squeezed Butters from behind as he put the piece of paper in his face.
"What is it? I can't read it, it's too close." Kyle, on the other hand, recognized the page format and grinned.
"How'd you do?!" He asked excitedly as he tried to read the page through the light.
"Oh my God! Kenny!" Butters exclaimed, turning around and squeezing him in a hug. Kenny stiffened slightly but hugged him back. "That's great! I told you!"
"No." Stan blurted in monotone as Kenny turned the page around. "You did not do- God fucking damn it!" He cried, reading his ACT score. "Why did everyone in our fucking class do better than me?!"
"I got a 25!" Kenny chirruped happily, "apparently I have brains after all." Kyle grinned and high fived him as he sat down.
"That's awesome, dude!" Kyle exclaimed, "are you gonna take it again?"
"No! I'm the first person in my family to even take it and a score that high makes me a McCormick genius. Don't kill my buzz!"
"You got weed?" Cartman asked sitting down. Kenny sighed.
"Not on me." The chubby boy grimaced and sighed heavily.
"I could totally go for some right now, how's your ass?"
Silence fell over the table and Kenny cleared his throat as he looked at Cartman. Craig glanced at Kenny with a flicker in his eyes before he went back to eating his take-out Chinese food he brought for lunch; he had the chopsticks to go with it. Bebe, sitting next to Clyde, glared at Cartman, and pushed away her sandwich.
"Um... what?" Kenny asked in disbelief. The subject had hardly been brought up for six weeks; the only time it had been was when Kenny returned and there were rumors floating around. That or when Kyle, Kenny, Stan, and sometimes Butters were all hanging out. Or when he was with Kevin.
"You know what I'm talking about, welfare whore." Kenny rolled his eyes and dropped half the sandwich Kyle's mom had made for him.
"Cartman, I'm not talking about it."
"Why the hell not?"
"Talk about what?" Clyde asked in confusion. Kyle shook his head.
"Cartman's just being a dumbass," the redhead explained. Clyde nodded and went back to stirring his noodles as if Kyle's explanation was the answer to the universe.
"You can't just be all giggly and gay after getting raped dude."
The air at their table was suddenly thick with tension. Everyone seemed to freeze, and suddenly Kenny had nine pairs of eyes on him.
"What?" Clyde asked with a worried expression on his face. Butters noticed Craig visibly tensed but kept his eyes low on his food. The blonde shook his head and pulled at the crust on the sandwich.
"You want this?" He held up the sandwich for Butters, who shook his head. He then handed it to Stan, who after giving Kenny a questioning look, ate the sandwich graciously. Kenny folded the crust and nibbled at it.
"You're supposed to fuckin' talk to me, dude. We're like bros," Cartman trailed off, looking angry. Kenny sighed softly, "you can't just be normal after that." Craig huffed and stood up to throw away his Styrofoam container before walking out of the lunchroom. The dark blonde glanced after him but remained seated and squeezed Butters' hand.
"After what?" Clyde asked again, Bebe turned to her boyfriend, then Kenny.
He had told her three weeks ago, when they got high at Stark's Pond. She ended up crying until she passed out and he carried her home. Neither of them had talked about that night since it happened.
Kenny opened his mouth yet the intercom beeped and he sighed with relief.
"Kenny and Karen McCormick please report to the office. Kenny and Karen McCormick."
Kenny was used to being called to the office for one reason or another. That wasn't the issue. The fact that Karen had been called with him made dread run through his veins. He turned to his sister as she stood up; she appeared ashen-faced as she looked to him.
"What's going on?" Kyle asked, Kenny shrugged his shoulders.
"I'll let you know." He heard his friends murmur and Kyle and Cartman start to fight as he waited for Karen to catch up with him. He felt eyes on them as they walked cafeteria together; his arm looped over her right shoulder and she seemed to curl into him. Karen looked to him and as soon as the door closed she hugged his side. "You know what's up?" He asked, she shook her head.
"I'm scared though, the last time we were called to the office..."
"Yeah, I know." he didn't want to remember the last time their parents were arrested together. "It's probably nothing." She nodded yet still held tightly to him as they walked down the hall in silence.
Just like when they were younger he walked in front of her and kept a protective grip on her arm as he opened the office door. He blinked and took a step back when seeing Kevin, looking as if he hadn't slept in days.
"Your brother needs to speak with you, if you need anything I'll be in my office," the secretary said, Kenny nodded and leaned on the door. Karen relaxed and gave Kevin a wary look as she folded her arms over her chest.
"Uh... I dunno how to tell you guys this." he mumbled, running a hand through his straight dark hair. Kenny rolled his eyes.
"Is it about dad?" he asked, Kevin looked shocked at his question and shook his head, "then just spit it out."
"I just got back from Denver. My girlfriend's pregnant." Karen's jaw dropped and Kenny stared at Kevin with a raised eyebrow. "Apparently she's known for about two months,"
"Bull fucking shit."
"No, I'm not kiddin'. Jesus Christ, guys, I'm gonna be a dad." Kevin looked about ready to be sick and Karen hugged him tightly. He rested his head on her shoulder and sighed heavily. Kenny patted his back.
"You're not gonna ditch are you?" Kenny asked. His brother hesitated, then finally shook his head.
"I was gonna. But then I realized that's my kid and I can't leave it fendin' for itself like... like..."
"Us?" Karen said, causing their older brother to grimace and finally nod. "I'm proud of you." Kevin sighed heavily and locked eyes with each of his siblings.
"I was plannin' on getting us an apartment for our Christmas present. I saved it all up and I'd have enough to even rent a nice house. But..."
"But you have a baby on the way now." Kenny said, "dude, it's cool."
"I think I'm moving to Denver." Kevin said, looking paler and paler as he spoke. "No, I know I am. I have to... but I don't wanna leave you two here alone." Karen nodded and hugged Kevin tightly. She seemed to almost disappear in his arms. Kenny smiled weakly. "But I'd visit every weekend, like I always do. We can have Christmas together too. You guys can stay at my place too and it's gonna be good." Kenny nodded, his throat a little tight as he looked at Kevin.
"When are you leaving?"
"I grabbed my stuff while dad was passed out... left him a note. I'm gonna try and be a good dad but... shit, guys. This is real." Kenny nodded somberly and sighed. It was only a matter of time before this happened; Kenny was surprised it hadn't happened when he was in high school. He was kind of proud of his brother for that, actually. "You sure you're okay bout this?" They both nodded and Karen smiled at Kenny.
"As long as you don't forget about us."
"More like you don't forget about me." He mumbled as they hugged tightly. He kissed Karen's forehead and ruffled Kenny's long hair. "Lesson of the day, don't be like your older brother. Love you guys." He said with a sad smile as he walked out of the building in that oddly confident stride he always had. Karen looked to Kenny, who shook his head.
"That just happened."
"We're gonna be an aunt and uncle."
"Is it bad that I'm kind of excited?" Karen shook her head and grinned as she hugged Kenny tightly. He sighed heavily and ran a hand through her hair as they just stayed like that, the two of them, in the office for a couple of more minutes.
The secretary walked out and cleared her throat.
"Kenny, the counselor would like to speak to you. Karen, I have your progress report here but other than that I think you're free to go."
"Can I stay with-"
"Sessions are strictly confidential, I'm sorry," the secretary interrupted as she handed the folded piece of paper. Karen sighed, smiled softly at Kenny, and hurried out of the office. He watched as she jumped up and down with excitement and smiled.
The high school counselor was a young woman who actually took her job seriously yet with a grain of salt. She understood Kenny and they had a bond because he once told her he liked her laptop's background; it was the poster of "The Ring." After that they had a weird student-teacher ability to talk to each other and he didn't think she was completely awful like most of the other faculty.
He closed the door behind him and gave a wave as he sat down across her desk. She smiled and tossed him a piece of candy.
"How are you?" She asked, pinning her strawberry blonde hair in a bun.
"My brother told me I'm gonna be an uncle. So I dunno." she smiled softly and nodded as she looked through some folders. She handed Kenny two envelopes.
"Understandable, is he stepping up?" Kenny nodded, "that's great, then." She watched as Kenny read the addresses.
"Uh... what are these?" Ms. Carson grinned at him and he felt a little uneasy.
"These are letters from the Athletic Director at Boulder and University of Nebraska in Lincoln accepting you into their programs. I know you're only a junior, but Kenny, if they're already looking at you and have accepted you, as long as you get accepted into the colleges you have a full-ride scholarship."
"My leg is messed up, I don't know if I can play anymore." Ms. Carson sighed and smiled sadly at Kenny. "And I don't have the grades for that kind of stuff, I'm not-"
"Kenny, you do this all the time. When we discussed your college planning last time, I told myself to not let you go down that path again. These are some major schools, and you have the grades." Kenny sighed and flipped the candy over in his hands as he read over the letters.
"Aren't these like rival schools?" Ms. Carson laughed.
"They were but they were moved to different conferences." Kenny nodded slowly and grimaced.
"I'm not cut out for these schools, Ms. C, you know that." She rolled her eyes and opened up a file on her laptop. His file.
"Your grades have had an upturn over the past quarter, you're at an average of 3.3 which is such an improvement from first quarter, alone. You scored a 25 on your ACT and these are full-ride offers, Kenny. You deserve this and you are cut out for this." Kenny sighed heavily and shrugged his shoulders. "What are you thinking now?"
"I don't know if I wanna play football for college. I just do it for fun, and I wouldn't deserve to be so careless about it when there are serious players out there begging for a chance at this. I'd just fuck around."
"Okay, you have a point there. About you not wanting to play football, I mean. If you don't want to, then don't. But there are other scholarships to consider and apply to. What do you want to major in?"
"I don't know. Graphic design? Or something with computers. I don't even know..."
"Well, your file is full of documents and pieces to submit to any college for an art scholarship-"
"How'd you know that?!" Kenny barked, furrowing his eyebrows. Those were his private files, he had put up various folders of distraction so people wouldn't be able to find those documents.
"Kenny, teachers and faculty have full access to your account's folders."
"So you went through my stuff?"
"I wanted to see if you would actually inflict doom upon me if I clicked one more button." He gave a small chuckle as she referred to the names of the folders on his account. "Then I saw all of your work, and that is something you shouldn't be hiding. Well, most of it." Kenny grinned sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders. "But, if you don't want to do football, then don't. You can still consider these schools, and any other school. I can pull up information on any school you might be interested in and I'll even start looking in to some that have good graphic design programs. If you want."
"I guess... they really want me to play for them though, huh?" Ms. Carson nodded and smiled sweetly at him.
"You're really good, you broke a state record and you're only a junior." Kenny sighed heavily and folded the letters back into the envelopes.
"I'll consider it." He said, standing up. Yet she shook her head and pointed at the chair. He groaned in annoyance and stretched his legs out as he sat back down. He stared at her blankly as he waited for her to continue this conversation he thought was over.
"I also wanted to talk to you about your progress over the past six weeks." Kenny sighed heavily and shook his head.
"I'm fine, Ms. C. I don't even think about it."
"That's what I'm worried about." Kenny groaned loudly in annoyance and she gave him a stern look. "Suppression isn't coping, it's a form of denial."
"I don't deny the fact I got raped, okay? I just would like to move on and think about stuff like... I dunno, fun stuff, not that." She nodded and gave him a sympathetic look as she typed something. "What are you doing now?"
"I'm making a log."
"I'm not an experiment or a fucking victim or a statistic. If you wanna know how I feel I'm embarrassed. And I hate the fact I still flinch when people touch me because it's not like I don't trust them. And my friend Kyle told me I've been talking and freaking out in my sleep and I've never dreamed so I don't get why it's happening. And I keep washing my hands but I can't stop and I don't know why but I feel gross and I don't know how I can manage this so called coping when I've got school and work and now college crap and my brother's gonna be a dad." Ms. Carson peered at him curiously.
"Say again?"
"Which part?" Kenny asked in slight annoyance. "I'm stressed, I just don't care about anything because I don't have the time to care."
"No, about washing your hands."
"Well that's nothing, I've done it for a long time." Ms. Carlson typed something and Kenny glared at her. "What are you writing about now?"
"How long would you say you've repetitively washed your hands?"
"Why?" He asked warily, she sighed heavily and closed her laptop.
"OCD can be an effect of rape and other abusive and environmental situations. But you've dealt with many other traumatic moments in your life too."
"Why does everything have to be a stupid diagnosis? Everyone thought I was dyslexic before I got glasses. I just couldn't see. Maybe I just like the way soap feels on my hands."
"Is that true?" Kenny froze for a moment before he finally shook his head. "I just want to help you, there are just some things you can't deal with on your own. And I know you'd prefer to talk to your friends and family about this but I can give you professional advice." Kenny remained silent and slowly put his hands on the table. He showed her the raw and scabbed skin from constant scratching. She grimaced and cringed as he rolled up his sleeves. Fingernail scratches streaked down his arms and seemed rather deep for normal scrapes. "Kenny..."
"I said I can't stop. I just feel like there's something bad crawling in my skin and I need a skin transplant or something so I don't feel like that 'cause it's stupid. I don't need to be on fuckin' suicide watch or anything, I'm not trying to kill myself and I don't need professional help. I wouldn't go anyway. I don't need a psychologist to tell me I have some mental disorder. I already know I'm all kinds of messed up."
"Have you ever considered wanting to make it stop?"
"Uh... yeah?" Kenny answered incredulously as he bit at the skin on his fingers.
"This is what I'm here for, and I hope you know this is completely off the record. I'm not here as your guidance counselor if you don't want me to be. Call it unconventional but I know you have a unique living situation-" Kenny scoffed and she smiled a little, "and you're looking to become emancipated. I'll be treating you as an adult when you want me to and not as a student. No typing, no records, nothing. But I know there's a lot of stuff going on in that head and I want to help you the best I can."
"How?" Kenny couldn't help but ask. Ms. Carson leaned forward a little and he grimaced as his finger bled from biting too deep.
"Well, you're gonna talk to me and it's going to be just that. Talking. I will recommend you to a doctor for a prescription to help with any anxiety and various other symptoms you may be having-"
"I don't want to take medicine, I've never taken medicine for anything."
"It'll just be a sample, a trial period. To see if it helps. I want you to tell me anything and everything that's bothering you or that you're happy about. Because just talking helps."
"Off the record?" She nodded and Kenny sighed, "how much time do we have?"
"Fifteen minutes until the lunch bell rings, I can write you a pass for your next class."
Like a broken dam Kenny spilled everything. He talked about how he still blamed himself for not being able to help his mom. He told her how he had to prostitute himself to help his family get money and to protect his sister. He told her about trying to protect his sister from becoming like him and how he was proud that she had already done so much better than him. He even brought up his relationship with Butters and how it was difficult but he figured she should know a little about that to understand. He said how he hated working two jobs because he was so tired and didn't get much sleep because he had homework to do when he got home but he needed the money. He even told her he liked sleeping in the same bed as Kyle because it made him feel like something was actually normal. By the time he finished speaking she had tears in her eyes and looked ready to hug him.
His throat hurt and he felt as if someone had stretched him out and peeled off all of his skin to make him raw and bare. He didn't feel any different than he had before which slightly made him upset because he wanted that heavy weight off his shoulders and the constant pressure in his heart and mind to stop.
"And... that's off the record?" He asked, she nodded and wiped her eyes as she put on her glasses once more.
"Completely," she said reassuringly with a genuine yet sad smile. "And after all that... here you are." He nodded and scratched at his arms yet smiled softly.
"Here I am."
Kenny knocked on the door to his English classroom twice before slowly opening it. He smiled, waved an apology to Red who was giving her presentation, and stared at her Powerpoint momentarily.
"Continue," he murmured. She sighed and began speaking about the book "Robinson Crusue." Everyone watched him as he slowly crawled underneath the display board and she even turned as he was about halfway across. He smiled and he heard Stan crack up as he quickly crawled to the teacher's desk. "Sorry I'm late."
"What's your excuse this time?"
"Uh... meeting with the counselor?" He held up the written pass and set it on the desk before waving to Red again and running to his seat. She sighed heavily and began her presentation again. As he sat down Butters poked his shoulder and tilted his head.
Kevins having a baby Kenny wrote on a piece of paper and stretched his arms as he passed it to Butters. He yawned and stretched his legs, kicking Kyle's seat from the side in the process. He turned around and rolled his eyes with a small smile as he turned back around. Kenny watched as Butters' foot slid next to his and he leaned down slightly to pick up the folded notebook paper.
Uh... what? What took so long? I was starting to worry.
Kenny smiled as he quickly scrawled on the page and set it on Butters' desk. Kevins girlfriend is pregnant and hes moving to denver. Then ms c wanted to talk to me some more. He had written. He saw their teacher look in their direction and Kenny turned his attention to Red.
Moments later the paper was back on his desk and he nonchalantly unfolded it.
That's good and bad. Congratulations? I'm sure you're excited so... =]. How'd that go? I know you hate talking to her about everything but I'm sure she's only trying to help. You should be glad you missed out on the rest of lunch. Cartman stopped talking about it though so no one asked what he was talking about. I love you!
"Butters, would you please present your book next?" The bright blonde next to him stammered, blushed, and nodded as he stood up. Kenny smirked at him and tucked away the paper until he returned. There was no point in writing, anyway. He had to listen.
Originally Butters was going to show him what he found out about "The Necronomicon" yet after awhile he decided to surprise Kenny. It had been awful, watching him work on it and not be able to see the research, but Butters said he'd be happy with what he found.
He stood up and carried with him a large stack of papers and his flash drive. He opened his Powerpoint and Kenny seemed to stop breathing as he read the title. He couldn't believe this was actually happening. Butters probably had all of the answers to his questions. No, he knew he did. He could feel it.
"Death i-is a taboo topic most don't want to talk about. It's one of the wonders of life and most people are afraid of it for one reason or another. Others have an obsession with death. E-e-everyone has asked the same questions about life, death, and the afterlife yet no one has the answers. Except now. "The Necronomicon" is a book known to most as a made-up idea by author H.P. Lovecraft. Yet through m-my research I have found not only "The Necronomicon" but the scripture from the basic idea of the book from "The Book of the Dead." Today I h-hope to answer your questions." Kenny watched as he spoke with a slight stammer in front of the class. His cheeks were bright pink and his voice was a little higher than normal due to his nerves. His eyes locked on Kenny's however, and he took a deep breath as he turned the page of his printed papers.
"Nor is it to be thought, that man is either the oldest or the last of earth's masters, or that the common bulk of life and substance walks alone. The Old Ones were, the Old Ones are, and the Old Ones shall be. Not in the spaces we know, but between them, They walk serene and primal, undimensioned and to us unseen..." Butters began his presentation by quoting several parts of the book and interpreting them in his own way. Kenny was hanging on to every word and trying to make sense of it. He knew this, he had heard this from the goth kids, he had heard this from his own research. Five minutes had gone by and Kenny began to feel worried, although slightly enlightened. Perhaps Butters hadn't found out anything about him after all. He couldn't be disappointed; the information he had certainly helped him understand Cthulhu and would help him dig deeper into understanding himself.
"I feel the most popular phrase from "The Necronomicon" is 'that is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die.' I think this is the one that most of us have even heard, for one reason or another. Combined with a parallel from "The Book of the Dead" I have come to the conclusion that this quote, in a universal sense rather than from the fictional sense, means eventually death will no longer exist. Life will go on eternally.
"Which introduces my next and final topic, immortality." Kenny had stopped breathing. "As stated from "The Necronomicon" there are only two ways a person can become immortal. Some are born immortal from one of the Old Ones as a form of demi-god, if you will. The others are cursed. There are two incantations for immortality; one bestows eternal life and youth upon a person and allows them to never die or feel pain. The other allows a person to age as if they were normal, except they die ceaselessly, only to return within hours yet sometimes can take months or years. They grow old yet they do not die.
In fact, the only way an immortal can die is at the hand of another immortal, as stated in the first quote I provided. Several prominent figures in even our own superstition and lore are immortals. The most noted is Death, who is considered one of the Old Ones. It is also said that Death is never a singular person but almost like a "last man standing" kind of deal, where the person who kills Death becomes Death. It's a vicious cycle..."
Butters continued to the conclusion of his presentation. Kenny felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him as he tried to comprehend what he had just heard. He couldn't. It made so much sense that it was nearly suffocating him.
After Butters closed out of his Powerpoint, Cartman raised his hand.
"You don't actually believe in that shit, do you? Yeah, we had Cthulhu but we were like nine years old and that was stupid." Butters fumbled for words and Kenny suddenly felt extremely light-headed. He stumbled up from his seat and his leg bumped against his desk as he scrambled away. Butters watched in fear and their teacher, as well as everyone else, looked to him curiously as he ran to the door.
"Kenny, where are you-?"
"I'm gonna be sick." he barely said before running out the door and to the bathroom.
He barely made it in to the restroom and dove for the trash can by the sinks. He clutched the edge of the bucket as the acrid taste and contents of his stomach poured from his stomach and out of his mouth. Kenny felt chills run down his spine and he shivered uncontrollably as he gagged and heaved.
Finally, he spit as much of the bile from his mouth and looked into the mirror. He touched his cheeks, nearly hollow from years of starvation, to his pale, gaunt body covered by a sweatshirt, and at his hands, rubbed raw yet skeletal and always cold.
He was Death.
Kenny gasped and ran to the stalls in time to heave bile. He wiped his eyes and took deep, calm breaths as he tried to come to terms with what he had learned. He was Death. He would be the one to kill his family and his friends.
He had killed his mother. He had nearly killed his sister. It had been his choice.
The world's fate was in his hands and they shook. Tears leaked from his eyes and he sobbed silently as he tried to wipe them away. This was something he couldn't tell Ms. Carlson; he'd be locked away for sure. But he couldn't keep this to himself.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around with red-ringed eyes and saw Butters smiling at him with tears glittering in his blue pools. Kenny whimpered and wrapped his arms around him as he rested his head on his shoulder. His body wracked with sobs and all Butters could do was hush him and lie.
"Everything will be okay, Ken. I'm here, I'm always here for you." he laughed through his tears and felt Butters kiss his cheek.
"Lee, did you not hear what you said?" Butters nodded slowly and held Kenny's hands.
"I'm in love with Death. I must be one of those poor bastards who is obsessed with it, huh?" Kenny couldn't help but laugh and leaned in to Butters' gentle kiss as he massaged their lips together slowly. "So, what all did you and Ms. Carlson talk about?"
"I'm not... that's an awful deflection tactic." Butters giggled and Kenny sighed. "Um, well I got letters from the athletic director at both CSU Boulder and University of Nebraska like Stan. They said once I submit an app and a few NCAA forms I'll be on the team as a walk-on reserve." Butters stared at Kenny and shook his head.
"That's incredible, but... your leg." Kenny shrugged his shoulders.
"I told her I didn't really wanna play football seriously, but it's something to consider. And then she asked about how I'm dealing with stuff and we just talked. I mostly did it because I wanted to miss out on as much class as I possibly could..." Butters rolled his eyes, he knew the truth, and took Kenny's hands in his.
"Well, I'm glad you got to talk to her. Did she help at all?" Kenny shrugged his shoulders, then nodded. "I hope it did. And I'll give you my research and some links to anything, I just... I dunno, wanted to be the one to tell you. It's stupid and I'm sorry, I shoulda given you an idea and-" Kenny interrupted him by kissing his lips tenderly.
"I wouldn't have wanted to hear it from anyone else. You did awesome and Cartman's a dick." Butters shrugged his shoulders and hummed happily against Kenny as they hugged in the bathroom.
"Are you goin' to practice today?" Butters was referring to football. They still had their final conference game to determine if they were going to quarter finals. The theatre had gotten third at their district performance two weeks ago and didn't make it to State. They were all happy with their medals and Bebe was already working on the spring play script; the director gave her permission to write the next play.
"Uh, yeah, I'll see if he'll let me play. I mean I've gone to the practices and met with the trainer, so..."
"I'll be with Kyle waiting, okay?" He and Kyle always waited on the bleachers or in the library if it was cold. They rarely ditched the field though, they liked to watch them practice. Or more like watch Stan practice and Kenny do physical therapy and run laps. Karen and Ruby sometimes joined too but they had some club that they did so their presence at the field had definitely decreased.
"Kay, maybe I'll actually do something besides run, huh?" Kenny teased, causing Butters to blush, "but I know you like the way I look in those shorts." Butters giggled and shrugged his shoulders at Kenny, who smirked.
"Hmm..." Butters trailed off as he held Kenny's hand, "are you okay to go back to class?" Kenny nodded and lowered his eyes before he left the bathroom.
They walked hand in hand back to class and as Butters opened the door, Kenny slapped his ass lightly. Butters yelped and his flush grew darker as he felt Kenny cup his right cheek.
"Is everything okay now, Mr. McCormick?" Kenny nodded.
"Yeah, just remind me never to eat school food when I-"
"All right, all right, sit down!" Kenny smirked and Kyle rolled his eyes.
The rest of the day went by fairly fast. He and Stan were lab partners in anatomy, which resulted in them nearly getting detention when they decided they didn't want to actually participate in learning how to dissect a cow eye and ended up getting the vitreous humor all over themselves as well as the table. They also played with the lens of the eye which somehow resulted in the rest of the eye getting stuck on the ceiling. The two were proud of the Fs they received for lab that day.
After anatomy Kenny had art where he usually sat by himself. This class was an independent study so all of his projects were purely up to him. Currently, he was working on a printmaking piece and was working on making the stamp on a linoleum block. It was of the TARDIS, for Karen. He hadn't gotten very far because he had to keep reheating the linoleum so it would cut easier. Kenny had also ended up stabbing himself when the block had cooled too much and the lino tool became stuck.
Practice had been moved inside due to the fact it had begun to snow. As he entered the gym he saw Kyle and Butters sitting and doing their homework as they waited. He waved to them both and jogged slowly up to Stan who was discussing a play with their coach as well as Connor and Steven, another senior.
"Hey, coach!" Kenny said, "can I play today?" Coach Wilson looked up from his clipboard and pointed to the old stage, where the trainer was talking with one of their junior varsity players. Kenny sighed heavily and walked up to the man who smiled at him.
"Tell me I can play." Kenny said outright. The trainer shook his head.
"I can't let you, not until you've had surgery."
"I can walk, I can run, I've played already. It doesn't hurt," he was starting to feel a little like he was begging. The truth was his leg had been hurting, he had just been preoccupied with other things.
"Plus you just had another surgery, you wouldn't want to mess up that healing process. I don't feel you should play until you get surgery to repair your leg." Kenny grimaced and shrugged his shoulders.
"I'll be fine, I just..." he trailed off and ran a hand through his hair. He missed playing, he really did, and his feelings were further conflicted. Would he want to do this in college? "what if I get the surgery after this season? Can I still play for this week and the play-offs?" The school trainer sighed heavily and sucked in a low breath as he shook his head.
"I've seen it done but I would highly advise you not to do it and wait until next year." Kenny grimaced and looked at the trainer.
"Is there something I can do so I can play?"
"Tell Coach I said you're okay to practice. Then come to me once practice is over." Kenny nodded and ran up to Coach Wilson.
"Trainer says I'm good." Coach Wilson nodded and blew his whistle.
"Chris, you're out!" He said to a sophomore receiver who had practically just began his career. "We're doing a Hook and Ladder so light on your feet," he said to Kenny, who nodded and ran to the center of the gym floor. Stan grinned at him and Kenny smiled back.
He'd do it. He'd do it just to spite them.