Depths of Gloom (Stan x Kenny)

4

The next few days were just as tense between Kenny and Stan as Tuesday night. They were getting increasingly frustrated with each other, and it was blatantly obvious to everyone else by Friday morning. They were having a silent, glaring fight again after Stan caught that "look" in his eyes; Kenny didn't understand why he was getting so upset about it, the "look" had always been there. It was why he was getting angry himself, it wasn't his fault that Stan hadn't paid enough attention before.

It was a bit of a defense mechanism for Kenny, he tried to keep everyone at a distance. With all of the secrets Stan was beginning to uncover, he felt vulnerable. Kenny McCormick wasn't vulnerable, that wasn't who he was. But, anything related to Stan always seemed to contort the circumstances.

So, they glared at each other in the backseat as Kyle drove them to school. Cartman kept trying to pick a fight with the ginger, yet his efforts for entertainment were ignored. Kyle had never seen the two like this, and although he was often a little jealous they were so close, he hated that they were fighting. He couldn't remember the last time he saw either of them eminently bothered by anything.

Kenny caught the emerald eyes staring in the mirror. He softened his gaze for a moment as the guilt registered - he didn't want to make someone else worry about him. Stan didn't drop his glare though, only becoming more irritated by the fact that Kenny wasn't even paying attention to him now.

"What's that face?" He growled, arms crossed tightly over his chest.

Since he'd been able to sleep the last few days, Kenny tried to cling onto the patience it had created. Stan was successfully pushing his buttons, however: "What face?"

Stan squinted his eyes indignantly. "You know what I'm talking about!"

Honestly, at this point, Kenny really wasn't sure exactly what kind of face he was making. He dragged out a sigh: "Dude, I'm not making a face."

Snapping his head to look out of the window instead, Stan pouted dramatically. If he could've rolled his eyes into the back of his skull, Kenny swore they would've been there for days already. He didn't know why he even bothered to go to school that day, especially since he'd been having this same fight with Stan for days. It didn't help that he was staying over at his house, admittedly.

It was exhausting. Kenny just wanted him to understand.

Although it was usually his move to walk off alone, as soon as they were parked Kenny let Stan play that part. Cartman was fast to get out too, spotting Butters doing some lame breakdancing for the girls in the front yard; he'd be harassing him in two seconds, Kenny guessed. If he wasn't preoccupied with his own torment, he would've insisted that Cartman leave the nervous kid alone.

Kyle was waiting for Kenny to meet his gaze in the mirror, too. He was quick to jump at the opportunity for a rare private conversation: "What's going on with you and Stan?"

He couldn't exactly explain everything, but it was starting to bother Kenny. He knew Kyle wouldn't judge him the same way others might. "Kev is strung out on dope, and Stan's mad that I didn't tell him."

Stunned, but not as reactive as Stan, he nodded. "I see." Kyle thought for a moment, feeling a bit stuck in the seriousness of it. "Well, sounds like Stan, but why didn't you tell him?"

Should I have? With Kyle questioning his decision, Kenny felt like he had to do the same. He always considered Kyle to be the smartest person he knew, so if something didn't make sense to him, maybe it really didn't make sense.

"I don't like to tell anyone that sorta stuff."

"But, you and Stan are.. different." Kyle offered, choosing his words carefully.