Chapter 3
When Kenny's alarm started going off, he groaned, sat up, and chucked his alarm clock across the room, where it hit the couch. He rolled over to see an empty spot next to him. He sat up and looked around. The bathroom door was closed, and he heard the shower running. Huh, so Leo must be in the shower, Kenny thought. That thought did not do anything for the raging morning wood he had. He winced and tucked his dick in his pants so it wasn't as noticeable. He sat at the edge of the bed and threw his shirt off into the dirty laundry. He grabbed his phone off the charger and a cigarette, got up, and walked into the kitchen to eat. When Butters was done in the shower, he had a towel around his waist. He walked out to Kenny shirtless, pouring milk into cereal and smoking a cigarette.
"Oh, good morning Kenny," Butters said quietly. He was curious to know if Kenny was a morning person.
"Morning, Leo. How did you sleep, and why were you awake so early." Kenny replied sleepily. He remembers hearing some shuffling earlier but didn't know if that was a dream or reality.
"I usually wake up at 7:30, and I don't know how far the school is from here and didn't want to be late." Butters answered while grabbing some clean clothes from his bag.
"The school is like 10 minutes from here, dude. Also, you can put your dirty clothes with mine until we get everything figured out." Kenny told him. Butters shook his head and headed to the bathroom to change. Kenny sat on the couch, turned the tv on, rolled a joint, and ate his cereal. Butters came out of the bathroom dressed in blue jeans, Nike sneakers, and a Hello Kitty sweatshirt. Kenny always thought Butters looked adorable whenever he would wear his Hello Kitty merch. Butters walked over to the couch and sat down next to Kenny. He handed Butters the joint, finished eating his cereal, and lit up a cancer stick. Kenny groaned and stood up to get dressed.
"Fuck school, dude. I don't wanna go," Kenny whined as he grabbed clothes and walked to the bathroom.
"I know, Ken, I know." Butters laughed and stood up to go get his own cereal. Kenny took a quick shower and threw on some black ripped jeans, a white t-shirt with a black and gray flannel over it, and his signature orange parka. It wasn't the same one he wore as a child but was close. He cleaned the cuts on his face again and covered them with wound closure strips; he sighed and looked at himself more closely. Goddamn, people are gonna ask what happened, and I'm gonna have to make up some excuse. Let's see, uh, how bout I fell in the woods while smoking. Ya, that'll work. Now to tell Leo.
"Hey Leo, so uh, people are going to ask what happened to my face, and I'm obviously not going to tell anyone I got hit by a plate. So I'm saying I was smoking in the woods and fell down a hill, okay?" Kenny asked. He didn't want Butters to lie for him, but if people started asking questions, he didn't want to deal with teachers finding out. Then they would have to alert the police and CPS, and that's a bunch of bullshit Kenny doesn't want to deal with or put Karen through again.
"Oh, alright, Kenny, that's fine by me," Butters replied while ashing the joint. He didn't want Kenny to have any more stress in his life, and if some made-up bullshit lie helped, then Butters would lie for him. Butters got up and went to wash his bowl as Kenny walked over to him and grabbed the joint from his lips.
"Thanks, Buttercup," Kenny froze as soon as the nickname left his mouth. He had called Butters' buttercup' in his head before but never meant to say it out loud. He kept walking over to the door to grab his black Vans and put them on, trying to ignore that and hoping that Butters would too. He did not, much to Kenny's dismay.
"B-Buttercup?" Butters repeated with his face as red as the bowl he was washing. Butters didn't know how to react to that. It was the cutest nickname ever, and Butters wanted to hear it repeatedly. He looked over at Kenny, whose face was as red as his.
"I-um, it's a nickname, like Butters but like the candy Buttercups. I'm sorry, I won't repeat it," Kenny said.
"N-no, it's okay, I um, like it. It's cute." Butters replied sheepishly. His face was still a little red as he returned to the couch to go and grab his backpack. Kenny was in shock. Butters liked the nickname Kenny gave him. Kenny snapped out of it and cleared his throat.
"It's about 8:40 now, Leo, we should get going to school," Kenny said as he walked over to the couch to grab his bag. They reached the door, walked out, and Kenny locked it. They went downstairs, out of the building, and into Kenny's truck. Kenny could tell Butters was freaked when they pulled to the school and park. He wanted to comfort him but wasn't sure how. Kenny thought, fuck it, I'm just gonna ask.
"Butters, what's wrong?" Kenny asked. Butters was freaking out. By now, his parents would know he was gone. They could come to the school, pull him out of class and send him away and he'd never see anyone from South Park again.
"My parents. They know I'm gone by now, and I don't want them to come to the school and pull me out and send me away. I'd never see you or anyone else again, and I don't want that to happen." Butters explained while tearing up a bit. His eye hurt every time he blinked, but he had to stop crying. He didn't want Kenny to think he was weak and pitiful. Kenny understood why Butters was freaking out, and knowing his parents, they would probably do something like that. Today was Friday, so they just had to get through today, and then Butters's parents could try to get him on Monday at least. Not that it would work.
"Hey Leo, look at me," Kenny said. "It's Friday, so we have the first 3 classes together, then lunch. After that, we can leave early, go get food and get you a bed n shit, okay?" Butters looked over to Kenny as the tears started leaking from his eyes. Kenny reached over with both hands and wiped the tears from Butters's face.
"Okay, Ken, that sounds good. Thank you for everything." Buttes said while a small smile appeared on his face. Kenny thought Butters looked beautiful when smiling. Their moment was interrupted when they heard a bang on Kenny's truck. Kenny quickly pulled his hands away from Butters and turned to see Stan and Kyle walking up to his window. Kenny rolled the window down and greeted them.
"Sup fuckers, how you doing on this lovely Friday morning," Kenny said with sarcasm.
"Kenny shut the fuck up. It's too early for you and your bullshit," Kyle replied while yawning. He opened his eyes and noticed Kenny's face had cuts.
"Holy shit Kenny, what happened to your face," Kyle exclaimed with surprise.
"I was in the woods smoking, and I fell down a hill and into a bunch of trees, dude," Kenny said with a look that said that's not what happened. Kyle figured something had happened with his parents but decided not to ask. If Kenny made up a lie, it was for a good reason.
"You're a dumbass," Kyle said. By now, he noticed Butters in the truck with Kenny. He was a little lost. He knew Kenny and Butters were friends but didn't know they were this close. Hmmm, Interesting, Kyle thought.
"Hey, Butters, morning," Kyle said.
"Morning, Kyle. Morning Stan." Butters said to both of them. He looked over to them and saw when Kyle and Stan had seen the bruise on his eye. He hoped neither asked what happened or why he was with Kenny, not that he was ashamed of Kenny. He was ashamed of himself for running away and making it Kenny's problem.
"Hey Butters, Hey Kenny," Stan responded. He looked at Kenny to ask why Butters was in his truck, but Kenny just shook his head and mouthed later. Stan accepted that something big must have happened, considering both of them were beaten up and, ya know, TOGETHER in Kenny's truck.
"We gotta go now, dudes, or else we'll be late," Kyle said. Kenny turned his tuck off, and they got out and started walking into school with Stan and Kyle. They were just talking about random shit when Cartman walked up behind Kyle and kicked him in the ass.
"What the actual fuck." Kyle yelled as he turned around and faced Cartman. Kyle internally groaned when he saw his stupid face. Over the years, Cartman grew into his weight, he wasn't as fit as Kyle, Stan, or Kenny, but he's under 185 and only has a little chub left. Yet "fatass" always comes out anyway.
"Fuck you, fatass," Kyle sneered and entered the school. Kenny and Butters' lockers were right next to each other, but that didn't stop girls from walking right up to Butters and Kenny and interrupting their conversation. Kenny was kind of a player, and that's being generous. Kenny was slut. If it moved, Kenny was fuck it.
"Hey, Kennyyy, what are you doing tonight?" Bebe asked with a flirty tone in her voice. She saw Kenny's face and gasped.
"Oh my god Kenny, what happened?" So Kenny went on to explain what happened. Bebe just started laughing.
"You're a dumbass, Kenny. So back to my previous question, what are you doing tonight? And if you're not doing anything," she came close to his ear and whispered, "wanna come over and have some fun?" She backed away with a giggle. Kenny rolled him and turned towards Bebe.
"I'm busy and in the middle of a conversation." He slammed his locked shut and continued, "Don't interrupt me. Come on, Butters, we better get to class." Butters closed his locker and sped up to walk next to Kenny. Bebe was shocked. Kenny NEVER rejected a night with her. She shook her head and pushed it to the back of her mind.
To everyone's surprise, Kenny is actually an Honours and AP student. He may be poor, but he is brilliant. Walking into stats was different from what Kenny would call fun. He and Butters sat at the back of the class. Kenny wanted to stay hidden from sight today. He pulled up his hood and made his hair fall all in front of his face. He pulled out his notebook and got to work on the assignment. Now Kenny and Butters have the first 2 classes with no problems. When the teacher got a phone call in the middle of chemistry, Kenny 'knew it would be Butters's Parents.
"Butters, I'm pretty sure that's your parents. I want you to leave the class when you are told to and leave the school's back door. Go the long way so you don't pass the front. I'll give you my keys, and I want you to get my truck and drive it up the road to the gas station. I will meet you there as soon as I can." Kenny said as he grabbed his keys from his pocket and put them in Butter's shaky hands. Kenny held his hand and squeezed it. A little reassurance that it's going to be okay. Butters squeezed Kenny's hand back as the teacher told Butters to go to the office. Butters grabbed his bag and walked out the door. He walked quickly to the back of the school, and as soon as he reached the doors, and ran to Kenny's truck and drove away as fast as he could.
Five minutes after Buttes left, Kenny got a text saying he got out and was at the gas station. Kenny let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Now how to get out of class, Kenny thought as he looked around. Ahhh, Nitric Acid. Perfect. Kenny rolled up his sleeve and dropped a bit on the back of his hand. He hissed when it hit his skin. He put it back and made it look like he dropped it.
"Miss Smith, I spilled some nitric acid on my hand. Can I go to the nurse?" Kenny asked.
"Yes, of course. Head there now." the teacher replied. Kenny grabbed his bag and walked out of the classroom. He did go to the nurse to get it covered first. It was quick, and then he headed to the back of the school and went to find Butters. As the gas station came into view, Kenny relaxed when he saw Butters sitting in his truck. He ran up and knocked on the window. Butters looked up, and he had tears streaming down his face. Kenny got in on the passenger side and scooted next to Butters. He turned to Kenny, buried his head in his chest, and started balling. Kenny put his arm around him, rubbing his back and whispering reassurances. When Buttes calmed down a little, he felt Kenny hesitate when he pulled away. Like he wanted to keep hugging him. Kenny grabbed Butters's face and wiped the tears streaming down his. Kenny leaned up and kissed Butters on his forehead.
"It's going to be okay, Buttercup. You'll get through this. I promise." Kenny leaned back and realized he had kissed Butter on the forehead, calling him Buttercup again. He looked over to Butters, who was as red as he was. Kenny wanted to hide in a hole and die. Not that he would stay dead, but he wanted it.
"Thank you, Ken. I don't know what I would do without you." Butters said and kissed Kenny's cheek quickly. Kenny felt like he was on fire. Butter's lips were so soft against him that he wanted to kiss him forever.
"Your welcome, Butters. I'm gonna run into the store and grab some stuff. Do you wanna go get food and then get stuff for the apartment or do you just wanna go back now and chill?" Kenny asked. He wanted Butters to just have a good rest of the day after the shit show that just happened.
"Could we go out and get the stuff? We are not working this weekend, but I want to finish everything and chill out. Is that okay?" Butters asked. He was pulling his fingers like a nervous tick.
"Ya Leo, we can do whatever you want today," Kenny said as he squeezed Butters's hand. "Alright, I'm gonna run in. Pick where you wanna eat, Leo. It'll be my treat. Also unless you're gonna be driving, move ya ass." Butters laughed and moved to the passenger seat when Kenny exited the truck. He couldn't stop thinking about how Kenny kissed his forehead. How he wanted to feel his lips all over him. Thinking back now, Butters has always loved Kenny. He loved his blonde hair and dark blue eyes that looked like the sky when the sun was rising. He dumb piercings that just made Kenny, Kenny. He was snapped out of it when he heard the truck door open. Kenny had a cigarette in his mouth as he hopped in. He passed one to Butters and lit them both.
"I thought we should head over to Walmart for stuff for the apartment. Before that, though, where do you eat?" Kenny asked.
"You pick Ken. I have no idea." Butters replied.
"Alright then, we're going to KFC," Kenny said as he pulled out of the gas station. Butters still looked very anxious about something. Kenny wasn't gonna press it until later. He reached over and grabbed Butters's hand and held it. Kenny was in love with him just as much as Butters was in love with Kenny. Even though they didn't know, they both had an inkling about each other.