Hate My Guts (Kenny x Butters) [Completed]

12

"Ken?"

Craig's voice called out a few moments after Butters left, snapping Kenny back to reality. Ignoring Kyle's questioning stare, he pulled himself under the stall door to find Craig huddling against the stall wall with his head between his knees. After knowing him for some many years, Kenny was astounded to find Craig in such a vulnerable state. There was something more going on than just the drinking.

Without being able to say a word first, Craig was using Kenny's arms to pull himself up, staggering out to the sink once he was on his feet. Kyle's mouth hung open slightly as he registered his shaking form, hunched over the sink with his hands grasped tightly around the edges. Kenny just shook his head at Kyle, begging him to not say a word.

The other door slammed open promptly as the silence filled the bathroom again, revealing a (somehow) still drunk Stan; Kyle rolled his eyes at his boyfriend's state, but couldn't help smiling as they laced their fingers together. Even though they had been together for a while, Kenny felt the happiness they shared still, and he desperately wanted the same thing. The thought of a relationship with Butters was enough to distract Kenny, as he daydreamed about the many ways he would try to make him smile.

Craig took this chance to leave the bathroom without any of them noticing; as Kenny registered the lack of running water from the sink, he spun around looking for his friend. Since Kyle and Stan had been distracted by their reunion, they only shrugged at him, offering zero help. He decided he would be annoyed with them later for that, Kenny scoffing as he ran out of the bathroom to find him.

It didn't take him long to figure out where Craig would be. He knew that if his friend was having some emotional breakdown, that he would be desperate for a cigarette; and as Kenny approached the doors leading to the courtyard, he could see that he was right. Sitting alone against the bricks of the school, Craig was viciously sucking down his cigarette as a few tears slipped down his cheeks. Now being the only one to see him cry, Kenny hesitated where he stood at the doors, wondering if he had any business invading Craig's emotions.

He couldn't stand the thought of him alone though. Kenny would be willing to take a punch right now if it helped Craig feel better, rather than watch him suffer in silence. He was still careful in his approach, standing next to the crumbled boy on the ground for a moment before he sat down too, fumbling with his own cigarette. Maybe it was the previous interaction with Butters, or maybe it was the breakdown Craig was having, that caused Kenny to shake as he flicked on his lighter. Either way, as a few minutes went by with both boys anxiously smoking their nicotine, Kenny was as lost in his own mind as Craig was.

"I thought you'd talk by now." Craig's voice rang out suddenly, causing Kenny to jump a little in his spot - Craig couldn't help to smirk at this as he threw his burnt out butt into the grass. "I've been waiting for, like, ten minutes for you to say something, dude."

Rolling his eyes at his friend's professional avoidance, Kenny ignored his friend's words as he wanted to press for information: "What's going on with you?"

The teasing smirk was now gone as Craig knew that he wasn't going to be able to hide from Kenny. For once, he decided to try to tell someone about his living situation. "We.. We've lived next to each other long enough for you to know that my parents suck." Hesitating for a moment, Craig looked to Kenny, only to find him respectfully looking at his hands. "Well, before I came over last night.. They decided that it was suddenly a good time to care about what Tricia and I do. I don't care what they do to me anymore, but I wasn't going to let them hurt her."

As the implications settled in, Kenny's stomach dropped. He knew what Craig was feeling unfortunately, and it made him seethe with anger; however, Kenny was trying not to let his emotions guide his actions, so he remained silent. There was nothing he could say to make this better.