More Than Friends...

For my awesome super amazing Twinny

The hallways of the local high school were virtually vacant, most of the students leaving the building to go home for winter break the moment the final bell rang. Of course, there weren't too many children even attending the school. South Park was a small town after all; the amount of children per grade tended to stay below a hundred.

And, with such a small amount of students, everyone basically knew one another, most being friends since elementary school and earlier.

So, it wasn't really a surprise that one of the last students floating about the halls was Kyle Broflovski, the only Jewish kid in the entire town and one of the more 'nerdy' boys of the grade. He'd always been just a bit more interested in studies than he had been in things normal teenage boys were interested in like sports, or video games, or, the thought farthest from his mind, girls.

Girls... That was something he hated to think about.

It wasn't that girls didn't like him or anything—especially since Bebe has sort of had her eye on him since third or fourth grade—it was just the fact that he didn't like them, or at least like that.

Was it odd that girls didn't appeal to him much? Kyle didn't really think about it, and he especially didn't think that he was automatically grouped in with Mr. Slave, Big Gay Al, and Mr. Garrison (although he didn't give the thought much consideration). After all there was that one girl he sort of liked... But that was a long time ago. So he didn't have a crush on any girls or a girlfriend like his best friend Stan; he didn't really care... Much.

"So what Stan still has Wendy?" Kyle muttered, shoving his maths text book into his green backpack, glaring at the schoolbooks he tried to fit all in his worn bag, "I don't care... I mean, who cares about girls?" All his other best friends. Well, Stan, Kenny, and then Cartman who wasn't really a friend...And that wasn't counting the rest of the grade.

After his history textbook refused to jam between his Chemistry book and his English book, Kyle let out a groan, narrowing his forest green eyes at the damned things and pushing the backpack away, slumping against the open door of his locker.

"God fucking Dammit!" Kyle exclaimed, taking the bright green cap off his head and tossing it across the deserted hall, everything seeming to just be so annoying to him. Usually, the fact that he could care less if a girl liked him didn't bother him or even faze him; but today...

Kyle took off his gloves, wanting to rub his face with his own hands instead of the green gauntlets that normally shielded his pale fingers from the Colorado cold. No one was around, so he didn't give a shit about the fact that his curly red hair was revealed for all the empty hall to see.

"I shouldn't care..." Kyle mumbled, pressing his back more and more on the locker door, his eyes drifting down to look at the glistening crushed cherry coloured floors, "It's not like anyone cares. Why should I care what other people think? There's nothing for them to think. GAH!" Why do I always have to talk to myself?

Kyle curled up a bit, bringing his legs to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs before burying his face. Frustration pecked at the redhead's skull like a fleet of woodpeckers ambushing a single redwood.

The Jew had no shame in looking like a depressed fourth grader in the middle of the halls, thinking that he was the only boy left in school.

He was wrong about that.

As Kyle was so wrapped up in his self frustration over something he didn't know why he was bothering to think of then, Kenny McCormick, one of Kyle's best friends since preschool, came walking down the hall, decked from head to toe in orange. Kenny's normally concealed face was no longer blocked by the burnt scarlet faux fur of the tightly tied hood. His greasy blond hair was a mess atop his head, uncombed and unclean.

Kenny was the poor kid of the town, living in the smallest and shabbiest house with his alcoholic family of near crazies. For his upbringing, he turned out fairly well; a perverted half-time stoner with an okay enough GPA. True, the boy would sooner read a Playboy than a book for English, but he wasn't all about titties and pussies. He wasn't completely opposed to...the other team... But only certain players.

By certain, though, that meant one. One Jew to be precise. Yes, he did have a secret affection for his friend Kyle, but not once did he let those sorts of feelings show. He'd grow out of them, right? They were just friends after all! It was nothing. And it was nothing for three years, by that point. Absolutely nothing.

That was why Kenny nearly let out a gasp when his sapphire eyes scanned the hall and he spotted him. What was Kyle still doing there? School let out half an hour ago! If Kenny hadn't been waiting for the drugs to get fully out of his system in the bathroom he would've split by then too...

"Kyle?" The blond asked, stopping in front of the boy in the orange jacket, standing tall enough to block the fluorescent lights above from reaching Kyle's lowly form, "What the hell are you still doing here?" Kenny tilted his head, concern shadowing his features, "I-is something wrong?"

At the sound of the other's voice, Kyle snapped his head up, blinking in amazement to see Kenny. What am I supposed to say? Kyle thought, biting his lip. He wasn't really about to pour his angsty complaints out to Kenny like the boy was a therapist who could barely afford the clothes he wore.

Plus, Kenny would probably think it was stupid... Kenny, the one who slept with just about anything with breasts and a hole to stick his cock in...

"Nothing's wrong Kenny," Kyle said with a sigh, running his hands through his mop of hair, "I was just having trouble fitting my books into my backpack. That's all..." The Jew could feel his cheeks warm up, embarrassed at the fact that he was caught brooding in school when he should've been home by then.

"You couldn't fit them all in your bag...? Do you want me to carry some for you?" Kenny also felt the temperature under his cheeks rise, thinking that he probably said the most cliché line in the book. 'Can I carry your books?' What the mother fuck is wrong with me?

Of course, Kyle was oblivious to the feelings the blond had towards him, and simply smiled at the offer. Even if Kenny was a stoner with a maturity level of 69, he was still a fairly good and considerate friend.
"That would be great, actually," Kyle replied, smiling a bit, "Thanks, Kenny."

"No problem!" Kenny said, laughing a bit to shake off the bit of nervousness he felt deep down. Quickly, he scrambled to get a few ton-each textbooks from the green backpack that was about ready to tear open from the stuffing overload, damning the darker shade of pink that painted his cheeks.

Kyle, meanwhile, slowly shut the door to his locker, the old metal hinges creaking as he slammed it shut, the noise echoing throughout the hallway. His emerald eyes flickered to glance at his friend out if the corner of his eye as he secured the combination lock that he wouldn't need to worry about opening for another two weeks. It was easy to tell that something was on the poor boy's mind, but Kyle wasn't sure if he wanted to ask what.

The redhead turned around as the blond twirled on his heels, holding two of Kyle's heaviest text books in one hand and handing the boy his backpack and hat with the other.

"Here Kyle..." Kenny said, attempting to sound more upbeat, "I can handle these two books. B-but could ya hurry up? My arms are gonna fucking snap if I keep holding all this crap..."

Kyle blinked, slipping on his gloves before grabbing his pack and swinging it onto his back.

"You're really helping out, Kenny..." Kyle said, his voice a bit lower as he put his hat on, most of his red hair again being hidden from view, omitting a few locks that stuck out, "We'd better start for home now, right?"

"Course," Kenny nodded, already starting to walk towards the exit, "We need to get the hell out before we get trapped by some surprise blizzard come outta the fucking blue or something." A few dry chuckles left the blond's throat as he continued to head to the exit with his friend's books.

Kyle raised a brow, sensing something funny about Kenny's behaviour (and he wasn't on anything...), wondering what was making him act like that. Or maybe he always acted like that and Kyle was just noticing...

"Comin', Kyle?" The blond called from the end of the hall, eyes fixed on the Jewish boy as he held the back exit open wide, the cold Colorado Rockies winter awaiting them.

"Hmm? Coming, Kenny!" Kyle shook off his constantly straying and wandering thoughts, and then ran to catch up with Kenny.

I'm just over analysing things... Kyle thought, I must be...Say, why do I taste strawberries?

A light sprinkle of flurries fell down on the duo as they walked down the pavement, the icy evergreen air of the Rockies nipping at their exposed skin. The boys were completely silent the entire walk, not breathing a word since they left the school building, walking next to one another with a few centimetres apart. They occasionally glanced at the other, using their White breath clouds as smoke screens to try and be sneaky and not have the other notice. A tense and faint aroma of strawberries floated in air between them, Kenny knowing more about the smell than Kyle probably did; smelling that sexual tension around the boy for years.

Kenny still had his hood down, shockingly, letting the winter breeze freeze his face, though the boy didn't give a fuck. He held Kyle's books close to his chest, arms getting worn from carrying the things for so long but determined to carry them all the way to Kyle's house. Snowflakes dotted his blond locks, getting caught between tuffs and settling on his head. Most of the time, he was glancing at Kyle, trying to think of something to say, but failing in just about every way.

Kyle, meanwhile, tried to keep focus more on the path ahead, back starting to ache from the weight of his backpack. He knew he'd just need to walk a bit longer... But his mind couldn't help but be distracted by various thoughts that swirled in the air.

Maybe I should talk about it... Kyle thought, I mean, Kenny's my best friend, right? And it's better to talk about it to him than Stan... Especially with him being with Wendy and everything... And he's been really nice to me... Though he does seem... Off... Kyle's eyes flickered to Kenny again, looking at the blond for a brief moment before focusing again on the stretch of pavement in front of him. He could see that, behind the sapphires, something was going on inside that snow-covered head of his. But what was it?

Say something! Kenny mentally scolded himself, biting his lip as he felt his nostrils tingle from the cold but to him increasingly potent scent of the fruit of sexual tension rushed in attached to every oxygen cell he breathed, Kyle's your friend anyway... You should know how to talk to the guy you've known since preschool and whose dad was your dad's friend... Kenny stole another glance at Kyle, a few thoughts that he tended to think of only doing to the chicks in porno mags flashing in his mind like traffic signals. He needed help if he was thinking of doing that to his best friend...right? If anyone knew (especially Cartman), not a soul would let him live it down...

"Hey Kenny," Kyle broke the ice between them, not looking at the blond as he spoke, "Are you gonna carry my books all the way to my house?"

Kenny turned his head to look at Kyle, not expecting to talk to him at all the way most of the walk had gone. "Y-y-yeah..." Kenny's teeth chattered as he nodded, "G-got a p-p-problem with-th it?"

"Well, I can take them home the rest of the way, you know," Kyle shrugged, "And shouldn't you put your hood up? You'll catch a cold."

"I'll be fine, Kyle," Kenny rolled his eyes, "It's not like I'll die or anything." Ha, that was a hilarious thought.

"But it's winter break, and spending it being sick is a pretty crappy way of having two weeks off." Kyle pointed out.

"I'll be FINE," Kenny snapped, "Stop acting like your my girlfriend or something." The moment those words left Kenny's chilled chapped lips, all his body heat seemed to rush to his face, his once snow white cheeks flushing.

He just had to say girlfriend.

"Hey!" Kyle growled, glowering at the blond, giving him a look sharper than daggers. The thoughts from before resurfaced, rushing to the front of Kyle's mind like water gushing from a break in a dam.

Girlfriend... Before he was worrying about how everyone cared about having a girlfriend except him; now he was thinking about what the hell that remark was supposed to mean.

It was just Kenny saying it after all... But still, did that mean he acted like a girl? Or act gay? That was something he didn't completely consider until then...

Kyle's face went a tad paler, overwhelmed by the new and slightly odd thoughts starting to fill his mind. Was this an epiphany? An overreaction? The result of being under too much stress? An answer? WHAT?

Kyle's slight distress was easy to see, Kenny picking up on it as the redhead turned into a frostbitten snowman. He knew his word choice was bad, but he didn't expect Kyle to take it so personally! Fuck, Kenny didn't even know why he said it!

"S-s-s-sorry!" Kenny choked out, stepping in front of Kyle and stopping him, letting the textbooks fall onto a patch of snow with a thud. The blond put his hands on Kyle's shoulder's, forcing him to stop waking forward and try and avoid working out the situation, "Kyle... Y-ya know I was just making a shitty joke, right? I don't really think of you as my girlfriend..." He felt the sharp pang of his heart in his chest when he spoke. And once again, fuck-for-brains Kenny McCormick says too much...

"What are you even talking about, Kenny?" Kyle didn't make the connection that Kenny was implying that when he said 'girlfriend' that meant 'Kenny's girlfriend' instead of a stereotypical girlfriend... He looked up at Kenny, green eyes half pissed off with aggravation, and half piqued with testy curiosity, waiting for an explanation.

Kenny could almost feel the mallet of stupidity slamming him on the skull, his mouth gaped open but not a word coming out. Gazing into Kyle's eyes, he couldn't seem to find the words. Was he supposed to take the moment to admit to Kyle that he'd had a secret in-denial crush—yes, he knew it was a crush—on the boy for years? Was he supposed to suggest that he would trade away any of Playboy's hottest for life just to have Kyle do the things they did for just one night? Was this the part when he poured out his feelings like the BP oil spill and hope that he didn't look like too much of a fucktard? If it was, Kenny was just a bit too afraid of the aftermath to say so.

"I... It's just... Kyle..." He stammered, growing a few shades darker with each ill attempt, feeling a quick increase in the rhythm of his heart, "Well... I meant... Y-you know... Just..."

As Kyle watched Kenny go on, his expression softened; the feelings of annoyance and anger melting away as he tried to figure out what Kenny was desperately trying to say. He's almost acting like he likes me or something...

DING! The light switched on in the Jew's head, sense suddenly being made from a sea of chaotic confusion. Of course, it was only his assumption...

"Kenny..." Kyle said softly, stopping the boy from rambling on and on while still remaining at the start of his sentence.

"Kyle... I..." He let out a sigh, his shoulders sagging as a large gust of white breath left his mouth, the blond looking away to stare at the empty street. He took his hands off Kyle's shoulders, taking a shaky step back as a strange force filled him, making him shiver more than the mere cold could. "I'm sorry..." Kenny whispered lowly, closing his eyes, expecting the worst to come from Kyle. I fucking deserve it anyway... Who was I shittin' anyway? Me? And Kyle? I was fucking trippin' all the time to think it would work out...

"You... You don't have to be..." Kyle said, a slight smile curving on his lips. His boots crunched the snow underneath as he walked the distance over to Kenny, feeling as though all those anxieties from earlier were simply melting away like snow on a spring morning. Then, without thinking twice about whether anyone was looking out their window or hiding in a bush or not, Kyle wrapped his arms around Kenny's waist and pulled him into an embrace, resting his head on the other's shoulder with a grin on his face.

Kenny gasped in silence, at first utterly stunned at Kyle's actions. Was this just a random daydream? Kenny would snap out of it the moment it started getting good like all the rest if it was...

But it couldn't be a dream. No...This was too real. Kenny could feel the warmth of Kyle's body pressed on his with every sense of reality... He could smell the clean slightly herbal with the ever so slightest hint of kosher scent that belonged only to Kyle and was finer than any cologne or perfume... He could even feel a heartbeat that nearly evened out his own beating in the other's chest...

"K...Kyle..." Kenny whispered, feeling a warm fuzzy sensation grow inside him like a Chia pet. He looked down at the redhead; blue eyes shining with hope for the desire he'd yearned for so long actually turning from a drug trip dream to a thankful reality.

Kyle looked up at Kenny, his sparkling green eyes saying it all. Who cared if he didn't have a girlfriend? Who cared if he didn't even like girls? Who cared about any of that? Kyle didn't; he just cared about being happy his own way, be it thought normal or not. But he did care about Kenny, and he knew Kenny cared about him. That was all there had to be to it, right?

Fuck what people said, that was all it took, and for Kyle and Kenny it was more important than any grades or girls or porn or games.

"T-tell me..." Kyle started, standing on his tip toes a bit to get his face closer to Kenny's, "That I'm not insane... For thinking about you the way I am..." Rouge circles began to form on the Jewish boy's cheeks, his nose nearly tapping Kenny's as he got as close as he could go.

Kenny listened to the soft words the boy spoke, every syllable a musical note that chimed in his ears. A smirk sprouted on his face, letting out a sigh and watching his cloud of breath mix and melt with Kyle's.

"You could be in a fucking asylum and I wouldn't give a shit," Kenny chuckled, "Because if you're batshit for thinking about me the way I've been thinking about you... Well... I guess I've had so many drugs it fucked my stupid little brains up so badly that I don't even care..."

Kyle's smile grew, a quiet laugh leaving his lips, nuzzling his nose against Kenny's. "At least it's not like third grade when I was a 'clinically depressed fecophiliac', right?"

Kenny let out another few chuckles, and then, on a bit of a daring whim, leaned in the rest of the way until he felt Kyle's lips on his, stealing a tender peck from the boy he'd wanted to kiss for so long. He shut his eyes, fully savouring the short moments he felt those warm lips pressing against his own and sending a sensation more relieving than a bath in a hot spring.

Kyle's eyes widened, every muscle tensing at the sudden contact. His heart skipped a beat, all the blood welling up under his cheeks, making them a finer red than his hair. But, as the moments passed, he relaxed, melting into the kiss a bit and clinging a bit to the boy in all orange.

Of course, it wasn't the longest kiss in the world, Kenny drawing back a bit quickly and refraining from trying with tongue or anything like that. Kyle sighed as Kenny drew back, wishing that their moment lasted just a bit longer, glancing down at the pavement when it was sadly done. Kenny, seeing how disappointed his daywalker flame was, lightly kissed Kyle's forehead, hoping that would cheer him up some.

The redhead looked back up at the blond, smile never fading, still clinging to him.

"I..." Kyle gazed up at sky a moment, noting how, in their travel from school to their homes, the sky had transitioned from blue to orange to yellow to red to violet, stars emerging in the nightly blanket of sky that was woven without their noticing, "I think we'd better get home now... My mom is gonna fucking kill me for being home late..." That was, if she didn't phone the police yet.

Kyle's mother... That was a slightly scary thought. She did have a habit of being an overprotective bitch who would likely murder Kenny if she found out about him and Kyle (something told him that Kyle's mom wouldn't exactly approve of him).

"Oh shit! We need to run in that case!" Kenny said, blinking away the thoughts of Mrs. Broflovski unleashing her bitchy wrath upon both him and Kyle.

I may be able to come back to life... Kenny thought, But Kyle going through my death at all would be tragic. Plus, can't die without us going all the way~ Kidding!...Kind of.

"Anyway, thanks for helping me carry my books home," Kyle said, smiling when they were on the doorstep to the Broflovski home, "And... For everything..." The blush that hadn't quite left his face darkened a shade.

Kenny smiled, leaning over and placing the slightly snow-covered textbooks in Kyle's hands.

"You're welcome," He whispered in the boy's ear, "And I changed my mind... I do think of you as my girlfriend~" Then, he discreetly kissed the redhead's cheek before doubling back, not wanting anyone to be looking out the windows to see who made Kyle late and why.

"Heeey..." Kyle attempted to be annoyed at that as he was before, but it proved to be impossible, leaving him to just playfully roll his eyes as Kenny laughed and scampered down the walkway.

"Happy Chanukah!" Kenny winked, his laughter as loud as ever as he ran off, disappearing down the street to go to his house where no one would care that he was late or why.

Kyle let out a sigh, listening until he could no longer hear the laughs and chuckles of the boy he cared for more than just a mere best friend before opening the door and walking into his house.

"KYLE!" Immediately upon entering, Sheila Broflovski was all over her son, rushing up to him and giving him a tight hug when she saw him walk through the door.

"GAH!" Kyle squirmed in his mother's death hug, "MOM!"

"Oh Kyle, where have you been?" She asked, that same overly worried tone she always had saturating her words like glaze on a donut, "I've been worried sick! I wasn't sure where you were or what happened or if you were okay or—"

"I'm fine, mom," Kyle said, flinging his backpack and textbooks into the corner, likely to get them in the morning but too tired to take them to his room after carrying them around with him most of the day, "No need to worry."

"But you could've called!" The red-haired woman went on, flailing her arms, as Kyle cruised calmly past her and towards the staircase that lead to the second story and his room, "I was close to calling the police to go looking for you! What were you doing? Your little brother Ike came home hours ago and what about you? Do you have anything to say for yourself being home this late, young man?"

"Actually, I do," Kyle said, opening the door to his room, "Why was I home late? I was with Kenny. My boyfriend."

SLAM! Kyle's door shut behind him as he retreated into the safety of his room.

There was a long pause, but, after the moments of silence ticked by, and even through the closed door, Kyle could still hear his mother clearly.

"WHAT WHAT WHAT?"

~The End~