Halo

12- Break Down -12

"I..." Kenny muttered, vision blurring. "St-Stan.." he choked out, hugging Stan back tightly. He held back sobs, trying not to make a scene. "I-I..." Kenny trailed off. "Hey, dude, it's alright... it's okay.." Stan whispered

"Let it out." Stan told him. Kenny's breath hitched as he choked out sobs, clutching the back of Stan's shirt. Kenny whimpered as all his built up energy was finally released. Kenny unraveled completely, quivering against one of his best friends. "I hate- this.." Kenny whimpered out between sobs. It was the first time Stan had seen him so venerable. "Shhh.. Shh dude, it's gonna be alright."
"I left Karen... I failed.." 
"You didn't fail."
"I'm sorry..."
Stan flinched and pulled back, leaving Kenny to collect himself

"Sorry? Why are you..." Stan asked, trailing off. Kenny sobbed into his sleeves "I can't do this anymore... it's too hard.. I'm too fucking tired." Kenny said. Stan let out a sigh of disbelief

How did he not see it before?

It all started to add up. Kenny never ate at lunch anymore, the glances to the side when Cartman made poor jokes, holding Butters' hand all day, why Kenny was so small, why he was always beaten in fights. Kenny always joked that he was 'letting them win' because he'd destroy them if he tried his best. But... he was...

Kenny was struggling, hard, and one of his best friends failed to notice...

Kenny smiled and started laughing "Kenny..." Stan said softly. Kenny pulled his parka hood down and tugged the old coat off. "I don't know why I'm telling you this. I was supposed to keep it to myself, but I guess I failed at that too, huh?" Kenny said, tears threatening to fall again "I've had enough sad time. Now, I should go-" "Kenny. No." Stan said.

Kenny looked up. "....What?" He asked, Stan out a hand on his shoulder "I'm not letting you go home to that." He said firmly. Kenny smiled "Why not?" He asked. Stan gritted his teeth "Stop treating this like it isn't a big deal! Kenny... You don't... you don't see it, do you?" Stan said. Kenny cocked his head "Huh?"

"This is... this is serious." Stan said. Kenny smiled "Alright then." The blonde replied. Stan frowned, hugging Kenny again "Are you okay?" Stan asked "Yeah. I'm fine." Kenny replied

"Liar." Stan said. Kenny laughed, a few more tears rolled down his cheeks "I guess you're right.." he said. "So, you're not okay?" Stan asked. Kenny tightened his grip "Maaaybe?" He said. The two sat in silence for a minute or so, before Kenny spoke up.

"No. No, I'm not okay.. I-I'm really not okay...I- Oh god..." Kenny said, voice quivering. "It's okay to not be okay." Stan said, pulling away. "Y-Yeah.. I just- I just realised it. I.. oh jeez." Kenny muttered "It'll take a little while, but you'll be alright." Stan said. Kenny looked up at him. "I will?" He asked. Stan nodded.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hey Ken." Butters said as Kenny got on the bus. He had got pretty strange looks from the guys when he walked with Stan to the bus stop instead of walking alone. "Hey, Butters." Kenny replied, sitting down. Butters offered a bright smile, Kenny offering a tired one back. Butters and Kenny shared earbuds as usual and Butters laced their hands together. The bus ride felt like it took a century even though it was just a few minutes.

When they finally walked into the building, the halls were flooded with students as usual. Noise filled Kenny's head as his grip on Butters' hand grew tighter. Everything suddenly seemed louder, and louder, and louder. Kenny exhaled as he and Butters separated, Butters' expression looking hesitant. Kenny turned everything out, focusing on breathing properly. He shut his eyes. It almost sounded like somebody was saying his name. "Kenny!" Stan said.

Oh. So I wasn't imagining it.

"Uh..." Kenny said slowly. Stan, Kyle, and Butters were all in front of him. "Dude, what happened?" Kyle asked. Kenny smiled awkwardly "I dunno." He replied. The three boys in front of him glanced at each other nervously. "Ken.. we wanna talk to you." Butters said. "Meet us at the usual table at lunch." Stan said. Kenny's heart sank, he didn't even know why. Today was just like any other day. It wasn't like he was going to sit somewhere else. "Uh.. okay. See you.." he said, walking into class.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Sooo... what'd you guys want to talk about..?" Kenny asked suspiciously. Stan, Kyle, Butters, Craig, and even Tweek sat in front of him. The others were sitting at another table, although they were still watching. All eyes were on him at this moment. It was a little jarring, honestly.

"W-Well, we- Gah! We wanted to a-ask you a few things." Tweek said. Craig nodded "Yeah. Um.. We uh.. god- I'm not good at this." Craig mumbled. "We wanted to talk to you, Kenny" Stan said, picking up where Craig left off. Kyle glanced around "Truth is, we're worried about you." He said. Butters nodded. Kenny frowned "..Why? What tipped you off?" He asked. The five boys looked at each other "You know what tipped us off, Kenny." Stan eventually said. Kenny averted his eyes, shrugging "Okay? You're worried. What about it?" Craig sighed "We wanna help you with whatever you've got going on." He said.

Kenny's brow furrowed. "Huh?" He questioned. Butters moved around the table to sit next to Kenny. "We want to help you.." Butters said. Kenny frowned "I.. I don't need an intervention." He said. "That's not what this is." Kyle replied. "Sure feels like it." Kenny mumbled, slumping down and resting his face in his hand. Stan shot Kyle a look of 'we fucked up dude' and Kyle nodded. Kenny felt a little pissed off.

"Kenny-" Stan began "No." Kenny butted in. Silence plagued the table. Kenny spoke up again "No! I'm not doing this. I'm not a kid, and I don't need to be told my situation is bad. I know. I fucking get it! I'm not stupid. And I don't need a dumb intervention to tell me that you're worried about me. I don't want your sympathy. I don't need your worry. You shouldn't have to worry. I don't want you to tell me that you're worried, it isn't doing as much as you think. It's not fucking helping!" Kenny said, two tears streaming down his face. He hated being an angry crier.

"It's not... fair."

Everybody remained silent, letting Kenny cool off. "I'm sorry." Kenny said, sniffing. "It's okay. You had a right to be mad." Stan said. Kyle nodded "Were not... great at this yet. We didn't know this'd make you so angry." Kenny shook his head "It's not you... I'm sorry.. I shouldn't have blown up. I-It's not your fault." Kenny said, looking up and giving his signature grin "I appreciate the attempt." The five smiled back "You're welcome, jeez." Craig said. Kenny giggled, flipping him off. The table erupted into jokes and laughter as usual, the boys walking back to their respective tables. However this time, Craig's gang and Stan's gang were sitting next to each other. And it was just what Kenny needed.

What could possibly go wrong?

(A/N: hueheueheue how ominous (°▽°)

ty for reading)