Yay I'm back! Sorry for disappearing for a few weeks, things got really busy for me real fast. I went to a convention Labor Day weekend then the semester started and that means homework before fanfics.

Aaaaanyway, this chapter is basically an introduction for new characters and a transition into some more angsty junk with Kenny. Enjoy!

Kenny rolled over and groaned when he realized he was starting to come out of his deep sleep. It took him a while to distinguish between his dreams and reality and when he peeled open his eyes he realized he wasn't at home. For a moment he was confused when there was no screaming and fighting in the background, but then he started to recognize his surroundings as the guest room in Chiya's home. He sat up with a yawn and glanced at the clock on the night stand. It was noon. Stunned, he got a closer look to be sure he had read that right. There was no mistake, he had slept at least 10 hours. He groaned again and got out of bed to find some clothes that didn't smell like booze and sweat before checking on Chiya. She was probably enduring a major headache right now after all the drinking she did.

After finally managing to find some basket ball shorts and a t-shirt he had left here before, he walked across the hall and tapped his friend's door. When there was no answer he decided to just peek in quietly to see how she was doing. Much to his surprise, she was still out cold. Before retreating downstairs for some food, he snagged a bottle of aspirin from a bathroom cabinet and placed it next to the glass of water on her nightstand. He smiled when he caught a glimpse of her sleeping face and quietly backed out of her room closing the door, as not to disturb the sleeping girl. As he stepped off the last step of the stairs, Chiya's mom turned and flashed him a bright smile.

"Oh! Well good morning, Sunshine. Did you get enough sleep?" He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and nodded at the older brunette on the couch. He was just about to ask for food when an unfamiliar voice interrupted him.

"Cassidy! Are you holding teenage boys captive? What would Kosuke think?" The blonde looked to the source of the voice and began to feel uncomfortable. He hadn't realized they had guests.

"Oh shut up. Kenny this is my old friend Dominique, her daughter Juniper is napping in the basement. Dominique, this is the infamous Kenny McCormick." He waved awkwardly as the older woman studied him. Chiya had told him about her Aunty Nikk a few times, but this was his first time meeting her in person.

She had short, curly, bright purple hair and two little nose peircings, one in each nostril. She was wearing some shorts and an old looking sweater with flip flops, all with varying bright colors or patterns. She definitely looked… eccentric, but hell most of the people in South Park were more than a little off so who was he to judge? Without warning she hopped up from her spot next to Chiya's mom and pulled him into a hug.

"I'm so glad I finally get to meet my favorite niece's best friend! Although it's been a while since I've checked up on Cassidy and her family, so you might be Chi's boyfriend by now. I mean you obviously spent the night so something must be up." Kenny blushed at her words and shook his head back and forth.

"N-no! I, um, crashed in the guest room because I had to bring Chi home after a party a-and..!" He found that his words were coming out more frantically than he had intended and he was becoming more and more embarrassed with himself. Chiya's mom laughed from the couch.

"Dominique! You're making him nervous, now let him get some food. He's probably starving." Kenny gave her a thankful look before shuffling off to the kitchen. He hated meeting new people, it was why he used to hide under his jacket in the first place. He wished he had thought to grab it before coming in here. Quickly, he began rummaging through the fridge so he could eat and cower in the guest room until Chi woke up. Her aunt was too much for him to handle alone and without his beloved parka.

Everything was so fuzzy. Why was her head spinning so much? The brunette giggled to herself and hiccupped. Oh yeah, she had been drinking. Wait who was talking to her? It was hard for her to focus on the people around her. Well, who ever he was, he was flirting with her. She giggled again and batted her eyelashes. She thought might actually hook up with someone for once and have some fun.

However, that plan was quickly foiled when she felt an arm around her shoulder and the boy she had been talking to walked away. What was that about? She turned to the person who had scared him off and started yelling at him about something. Why was she yelling at him?

Whatever she was mad about, she instantly forgot about it when she heard music from the dance floor flooding the house. She snatched the arm of the boy she had been yelling at and pulled him into the crowd of dancing teenagers.

He had made a bold move and grabbed her hips to pull her closer to him. Any other time she would slap this guy, but right now she was all for a little dirty dancing. His body felt good against hers and she found herself wanting to get closer.

The music pulsed throughout the room and the alcohol in her veins convinced her to make a bold move of her own by pressing herself against him as they danced. He was warm and he had a familiarly intoxicating smell that made her heart flutter. Who was he? She tried to look at his face but it was just a blur.

When the song ended she felt lust vibrating through ever fiber of her being and wanted nothing more than to take this guy home with her. She couldn't explain why, but she was drawn to him. There was something about them being pressed together that just felt right, it was making her crazy.

She felt herself meet his eyes and lean in, but before she could capture his lips she heard a girlish screech rip trough the air.

Chiya shot up in her bed at the sound of someone screaming and instantly felt both a dizziness and a splitting pain in her skull. She groaned and looked for something to help relieve the pain. She sighed with relief when a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water set neatly on her nightstand came into view.

After swallowing a couple pills and downing the whole glass of water she took a moment to try and remember what she was just dreaming about. After remembering the feeling of being pressed against someone, her face reddened. She had never had a dream like that before and she had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't only a dream because she couldn't for the life of her remember how she got home or what even happened after Pete left. The dream had also felt extremely real which made her wonder who the hell that boy had been. Again, she blushed at her behavior and groaned into her hands.

"How embarrassing." Thankfully. Chiya's thoughts were interrupted when she heard laughter from downstairs. Oh right, someone had been yelling or something. She listened closely to the noise and recognized Juniper's voice nearly shouting at someone.

Chiya's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she quickly changed into some sweats and a tank top to wear around the house. Her Aunty Nikk and June weren't supposed to be here until much later. After walking downstairs she noticed a grey parka hanging by the front door and knew immediately who her pseudo cousin was talking to so excitedly.

Kenny was so preoccupied with finding the bagels that he didn't hear the basement door open behind him. A girlish shriek startled him enough to bang his head on the top of the fridge.

"Mom! Aunt Cassidy! There's a strange boy digging through the refrigerator!" He almost wanted to cry. Why did he leave his parka by the door? Stupid.

Laughter could be heard coming from the living room and Kenny's face reddened. The girl who apparently thought he was stealing food, seemed to relax when her mother and aunt burst out laughing instead for trying to chase out the 'strange boy'. She studied him much like Dominique had just moments before, it was making him nervous.

"H-hey. I'm Kenny." He waved weakly, trying to avoid her stare while he popped a bagel into the toaster. Couldn't he just make some fucking breakfast?

The girl who he now assumed was Dominique's daughter, brightened upon hearing his name. Apparently she had heard of him too, his heart swelled at the fact that Chiya found him important enough to mention to others.

"Hello! I'm Juniper Reign Hoskins, but you should just call me Reign! Chiya talks about you all the time! Why are you here? You've never come over while we were here before! Chiya's not even awake yet! Wait did you stay the night? You sure look like you did! Oh my gosh! Are you guys a couple now?! Aunt Cassidy! You didn't let him sleep in Chiya's room did you?!" His head was spinning and he was trying to answer this crazy girl, but she just wouldn't give him a chance. More laughter was heard from the living room and he knew he wasn't going to get any help from the women in the other room. The energetic girl was getting closer as she spoke and he felt backed into a corner.

"June, shut up!" Oh thank the lord for his best friend. Chiya, had apparently been woken up by the racket they were making and was now saving him from having an anxiety attack. The brunette had the younger girl by the back of her shirt and was dragging her as far away from him as possible. A mass of grey fabric was thrown his way, he sighed in relief as he caught his beloved parka and quickly put it on.

Before the girls vanished from the room he caught an apologetic look from Chiya and smiled. He felt much less anxious now that she was awake to help keep her relatives at bay. Kenny finished making his bagel and sat at the table to eat. He could hear the girls in the other room chatting away, every once in a while his name would be passed back and forth and the nervous feeling in his gut would return. Hopefully they wouldn't want to talk to him and he could just sit with his friend in peace. Meeting people was a hassle, he was too used to having known everyone all his life so an unfamiliar presence made him a little self conscious. Especially when they focused on him. He never thought he would want to fade back into the background as much as he did right now.

He stood and rinsed his plate with a sigh. Maybe he should make Chi some breakfast too, that would kill some time. With that thought in mind he opened the fridge once again so he could find food for his friend. Making her a bagel and pouring her a small cup of orange juice didn't take as long as he had hoped so now he was standing in the door way with his hood covering his face, breakfast in hand. Time to face the music.

Trying to be as invisible as possible, he walked silently over to Chiya, handed her the food and sat down beside her. His friend thanked him and smiled when she saw his hood covering his face, it had been a while since he had hidden behind his parka like that.

His plan worked for a short time, but soon Juniper's curiosity got the best of her and she began bombarding the hooded boy with questions again. Chiya noticed Kenny's discomfort and placed her hand over his own to comfort him before telling her cousin to slow down. After that Juniper and her mother would ask him a question and patiently wait for him to reply before asking another.

This went on for a couple hours before Kenny's phone began buzzing in his pocket. He politely asked to be excused and walked back to the kitchen to answer it. It was Karen calling with the phone he had gotten her over the summer.

"Hello?" There was shuffling on the other end of the line and he thought her could hear her sniffling. "Karen? Are you alright?"

"Ken? Please come home. I can't get out and dad's…" Her voice was a panicked whisper and he could tell that she was crying. He clenched his jaw in anger. His parents had become more unpredictable over the years and the abuse had increased tenfold. Kenny knew he was stronger than his dad so fighting him off wasn't so bad for him, but it was dangerous for Karen to be home with out anyone to protect her.

"Don't move. I'll be there soon." She whispered a quick okay and he hung up his phone. It was only a matter of time before Karen's hiding spot was discovered, so he had to move quickly.

When her re-entered the living room, his heavy atmosphere engulfed the room. His friends' family became visually tense after seeing his angry glare and Chiya herself knew that look all to well. She jumped up from the couch and followed him as he stormed out the front door.

"Kenny! Wait!" The blonde had taken off running in the direction of the train tracks and Chiya was having a hard time keeping up barefoot. Fortunately, she was able to get close enough to grab his parka sleeve and force him to stop. Kenny violently ripped his arm from her grasp and sneered, nearly forgetting who was following him.

"I don't have time for this! Karen's at the house alone!" Chiya flinched at the volume of his voice, it was rare for him to yell that way around her. Quickly she shook off her shock and met his glare with a determined one of her own.

"I'm coming with you." His response was immediate.

"NO! Go home! NOW!" Chiya felt tears sting her eyes, but she stubbornly willed them to stay in her head so she wouldn't loose her cool. After taking a breath to calm herself, Chiya gently grasped his hand and met his gaze once again.

"Just…Text me when you're both safe." Kenny felt guilt hit him at the sight of her tearful pain stricken eyes, but he just couldn't expose her to the hell that was his home life. He squeezed her hand softly to reassure her that her plea was heard and took off again.

Chiya watched him go with a worried expression until he was past the train tracks. She didn't care that her toes were freezing all she cared about was Kenny and Karen getting to safety soon.