"Kenny's flirting with a girl again."

"You might wanna rephrase that,'' Hilary scoffed and began to examine her nails. Not because she was girly, mind you, but because she was bored. "Kenny's about to get rejected by a girl again."

Tyson intently watched the shorter male from his spot at the table they had set up outside, tilting his head to the side. "Why do you think Kenny does that so much?"

"Does what?" Hilary murmured. "Acts like an idiot?"

"No," Tyson sighed before furrowing his brow and thinking, "well, maybe. I mostly meant why does he hit on girls so much?"

"Probably because he's an unstably hormonal teenage boy," Hilary commented mindlessly.

"But…Kenny's not a teenager anymore," Tyson mused.

"Then maybe he's just overcompensating," Hilary replied huffily, her eyes widening as those words left her mouth and a new thought popped into her head.

"For what?" Tyson pressed.

"Maybe Kenny is…no, it can't be," Hilary muttered, rubbing her chin in thought.

"I want to know what you're thinking!" Tyson cried, practically jumping out of his chair. "Tell me, Hilary!"

"Maybe he just flirts with girls all the time to use it as a shield," Hilary thought aloud. "A cover up."

"A cover up?" Tyson repeated. "You mean like…to hide a crime?"

Hilary sighed and shook her head. "No, Tyson. You watch too much TV. I don't think Kenny's a criminal! I think he might be…err…"

"He might be what?" Tyson queried.

"Gay," Hilary squeaked, cautiously eyeing an obviously confused Tyson.

"Is that a bad thing?" Tyson questioned.

"No, of course not. It's just an observation. It might not even be true."

Tyson stood up from his chair and walked up beside Hilary, who was still sitting in her own. He gripped the back of her chair, his fingers inadvertently touching her back and causing the girl to blush. "What makes you think that?"

"Well…who flirts with girls that much?" Hilary sighed, waving her hand towards where Kenny was currently trying to impress a bewildered blonde girl with his cool gadgets. "This happens every single day! At least five times a day, in fact!"

"I sorta' just thought Kenny was really determined, but you might have a point," Tyson noted.

"We should get it out of him," Hilary decided, slowly nodding her head.

Tyson's eyes widened at such a suggestion, and he glanced down at the brunette who was currently spewing her various theories. "How? What if he doesn't realize it?"

"Tyson, if he's covering something up, he obviously knows what," Hilary groaned. "He just doesn't want anyone else to know."

"Oh."

"But we need to show Kenny that we will accept him for who he is, no matter what!" Hilary cheered, standing up from her own seat now in order to be at eye level with Tyson, who had now grown tall enough to actually be the same height as her, if not a little taller.

"That's a great idea, Hilary!" Tyson chuckled. "Maybe you're right. Maybe Kenny is just scared or embarrassed or something, and he needs to see that we'll still be friends with him!"

"Now you're thinking!" Hilary giggled, patting Tyson's shoulder and causing his heart to race. "All we have to do now is wait for him to be rejected by that blonde girl."

Tyson peered over Hilary's shoulder and tried to choke back a guttural laugh. "Well, that's not going to be much of a wait."

Hilary turned around and caught sight of Kenny already halfway back towards them, trudging himself along with his head down and arms hanging.

"Be subtle," Hilary whispered to Tyson, who nodded in response.

They watched on as Kenny got closer and closer to them, until he was finally back at the site of their set up for lunch.

"Hey, Kenny!" Hilary greeted cheerfully. "How'd that work out for you?"

"Not good," Kenny groaned, sitting on the chair and pouting while Tyson and Hilary looked on.

"Aw, you'll…you'll get 'em next time, Kenny!" Tyson tried.

"Or…you might get someone else!" Hilary suggested brightly, earning a confused glance from Kenny. "Whatever you want, Kenny."

"Thanks, guys," Kenny sighed, standing up to help himself with a bowl of stir fry from the pot.

Tyson and Hilary looked at one another before following after Kenny, standing directly behind him and practically breathing down his neck. With one eyebrow twitching, Kenny looked over his shoulder and glared at Tyson and Hilary, who seemed unaffected by his stern gaze.

"Guys…" Kenny sighed, "What are you doing?"

"We just want to make sure you're okay!" Hilary trilled.

"You kind of get turned down by girls an awful lot," Tyson added, earning a whack in the upper back from Hilary's sharp elbow.

"But…it's okay!" Hilary continued. "Maybe you're just looking in the wrong places."

"Or at the wrong people!" Tyson blurted, earning yet another whack from Hilary.

Kenny shifted his eyes between his two taller friends, who were beaming all too brightly at him. "Seriously, guys. What are you doing?"

"We're not telling you how to live your life, Kenny," Hilary sighed, smiling encouragingly at the confused male. "And we won't judge you for it, either! Whoever you are, we'll accept you."

"Uh…thanks?"

"So what do you think of Ray or Max or even Kai?" Tyson butted in, Hilary scowling at his directness. "I mean, I think Kai's a pain in the ass, but I've also always kind of thought that his badass attitude thing was just an act."

"Um…that's pretty random, Tyson," Kenny murmured. "Kai's nice enough, I guess."

"Oh, that's good!" Tyson drawled. "I could totally set you guys up!"

Kenny furrowed his brow, and Hilary finally lost her patience, wrapping her arms around Tyson's neck and basically choking him.

"I told you to be subtle!" Hilary hissed, ignoring Tyson's gargled pleas for her to let go.

"Wait a minute…" Kenny mused, running Tyson and Hilary's various comments through his head. "YOU TWO THINK I'M-"

"Kenny, don't get so upset!" Hilary urged, taking her arms off of Tyson's neck and instead holding her hands out towards the livid male. "We still love you! You don't have to deny anything!"

"I'm not gay!" Kenny hissed, his entire face turning red. "Where would you even get that idea from?!"

"Then why do you use avocado shampoo?''

"Not now, Dizzi!'' Kenny hissed, pretty upset at the prospect of him being a believable gay.

"Well, we thought that all of the flirting you do with girls was kind of like a cover up," Tyson explained, scratching his head. "Especially with all of the rejection."

"That's not a cover up!" Kenny wailed. "I just happen to be on a bad luck streak when it comes to attracting the opposite sex, okay?!"

"How long has that streak been going on?" Hilary muttered. "Your whole life?"

"Look, guys, it's sweet of you to let me know that you accept me no matter what," Kenny sighed, not wanting to completely lash out at the two for their…good natured attempt at being respectful friends. "I appreciate it. But…I'm not gay. Trust me. All of that flirting is genuine. I'm not overcompensating for anything."

"Sorry, Kenny," Hilary apologized, smiling at the teen. "Guess we just jumped to conclusions."

"It's alright," Kenny chuckled softly. "I think you two might just be a little hungry is all. Good thing lunch is almost ready!"

"We'll go set the table for you!" Hilary cheered, grabbing Tyson by the arm and pulling him towards the table. "Come on, Tyson!"

"Well, that was a little bit awkward," Tyson muttered, grabbing a stack of plates and laying them out on the table.

"Yeah, but at least he knows we love him no matter what," Hilary sighed.

"Do you love me no matter what?" Tyson asked, causing Hilary's head to snap up and her eyes to widen as she stared him down in a stunned manner. "What's with the look? I was just-oh. Oh no. Hilary, no! I'm not gay, either! I swear!"