Universal Inconstants

Chapter 2

Corey walked in the direction from which they came, crossing the street and making their way down the center road, before stopping to contemplate which direction they wanted to go in. They had just gotten past the photo dojo when they stopped. 

They thought for a moment. They realized that even if they got to meet all the people they wanted to meet, they would still have no way of getting home.

And knowing South Park, no matter how adamant they were about being so far from home... no one would believe it. 

Hell, no one even believed Kenny when he told them, time after time, that he couldn't die, that he was losing himself, that he wanted it to stop. So why would they believe them, a complete stranger they barely knew? That's why they whipped around. 

They knew that Kenny would believe them, because they knew he was telling the truth even if no one else still did.

But then they plowed directly into the person walking behind them. They stumbled back slightly, nearly falling, before the person they bumped into caught their wrist and tugged them back upward. Corey stabilized themself before glancing up to the person they ran into... 

Craig Tucker. 

He clearly wasn't amused at Corey's lack of attention, but he'd still caught them nonetheless. Craig's expression showed some amount of annoyance as he stated, "you should really be more careful."

Corey cleared their throat, embarrassed, as they said, "sorry, I shouldn't have turned so quickly... thanks for catching me though?" He tried.

Craig nodded, taking a sip of the coffee that he'd somehow managed not to spill, and upon closer evaluation, Corey saw that it was from the very same coffee shop they'd just come from. "Huh," they said thoughtfully. "I was just talking to Tweek."

They watched Craig's expression shift from an annoyed one to a more upset one. "... Okay? I didn't ask," he said bluntly, voice cold.

Corey blinked up at Craig. "What? But... Aren't you two dating?" They asked.

Craig frowned. "Dude, what the fuck? For one, I don't know you, so how do you fucking know that? And two, no. We broke up a few months ago," he responded, voice as monotone as ever despite the slight change in tone.

Corey was clearly disappointed as they asked, "what happened?"

Craig glared. "It's none of your fucking business," he responded, anger rising in his inflection. Corey realized that if they didn't walk away now, they might actually end up dead.

"Right, uh, I apologize," they said, before moving out of the other's way. 

Craig glared at Corey for a second before continuing to walk down the sidewalk, to wherever he was going. 

Corey stood there for a few moments, watching the taller leave before quickly turning, actually looking behind them this time, and darting down the sidewalk. They crossed the street once again and stopped at the park's entrance, staring ahead at the area before once again starting to walk. They made their way around the basketball court and toward the playground, then turned right and made their way down the stray concrete path leading to the residential area.

The path, specifically, that lead to the sidewalk connected to Kenny's house. 

The moment the path turned to sidewalk, they turned and speed walked in the direction of the rundown home that the McCormicks lived in. They reached the train rails fairly quickly, stepping over the bars and walking over to the house that stood there. 

They walked toward the house, but stopped in their tracks as they saw the front door swing open and a tall male with a bright orange parka step out, closing the door.