I'm not sick but I'm not well

I wanna publish 'zines And rage against machines I wanna pierce my tongue It doesn't hurt, it feels fine The trivial sublime I'd like to turn off time And kill my mind

[troublcmakcrs]

          “Ack!” Tweek cried, as Kenny got closer to him and unbuttoned his shirt.  He looked down, watching the other’s fingers work, too shocked to do anything about it.  When Kenny was finished, the shirt did lay much more comfortably on him, and he should have been grateful, but instead, he swatted his hands away, glaring at him disdainfully.

          “Wh-what the fuck is wrong with you?” he demanded.  “You kn-know I’ve got a boyfriend.”  He flushed and tugged on the bottom hem of the shirt, still scowling.  “Don’t be weird!”

[parkacored]

Kenny's initial reaction is to flinch despite how predictable and inconsequential getting swatted at was. He recovers in a blink, like the flinching would've been missed if you weren't paying attention, and he laughs again. Kenny knows better than to just go about touching people. But he's far to comfortable in his own friend group and with his own siblings that it isn't really a second thought with Tweek. They're friends, right?

"Come on, man, it's not like that." He retorts, muffled as ever. "Your boyfriend shoulda done it for you, then. But he didn't. You're gonna get cold if you dress stupid."

[stxic]

“That’s actually exactly what you’d do,” Craig retorted. It was a little frustrating that Kenny was so committed to his innocence in the scenario, but he wasn’t concerned about it anymore. Craig’s face made the shift to a subtle head tilt and slightly narrowed eyes. “I think I’ll make it,” he answered.

He straightened, “So, was there anything else you wanted?”

[parkacored]

"It worked too. Everyone's talking about your whitey tighties." He chuckles, he can't actually tell if Craig's really bothered by all that. But it's fun chatting and playing. Kenny sees the shift in demeanor though and settles. Or at the very least decides to drop his jokes a bit. "That was just my opening move, my excuse to come talk to you. Hi, Craig, how're things for my favorite little menace? Besides the obvious." Kenny gestures to the reason he'd walked up to him to begin with.

[friendscfmine]

Butters had assumed that Kenny didn’t like his parents, either, and that was why he had proposed leaving South Park together. It never occurred to Butters that somebody might want to do this solely for his benefit, to rescue him from the house where he grew up.

It took him another few moments to catch his breath, his cheeks and nose flushed red with the effort of half-running and the frigid night air. Then, he he looked over at Kenny’s backpack and realized how small it looked. He didn’t think too much of it because Kenny was poor and therefore probably didn’t have that much worth packing in the first place. If push came to shove, he could borrow some of Butters’ clothes, which would fit close enough.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he said and unconsciously mirrored the swinging motion of Kenny’s legs as best he could with his pack in his lap. “It just feels like any time I try to do anything, I get caught out for it.” In rare circumstances, he didn’t, but that was almost worse, like when he successfully faked his death and his parents chained him in the basement for days before he was able to convince them that he was not a demon parading around in their dead son’s skin.

“It’s too bad I couldn’t bring my minions with me.” He looked down at his backpack as if there was something deeply fascinating and sad about the way the rubber handle on top reflected the few flickering street lights. “I hope my parents remember to feed them, at least.” He had spent so much time in his room with them and their food that he had never had to worry about the hamsters going hungry before.

Down the road came the flash of headlights, followed by the squeak of bus brakes, and a wave of relief washed over Butters as he watched it roll slowly towards them. He twisted his fingers around one strap of his backpack. “Well, at least the hard part’s over for now.”

[parkacored]

Kenny nods. Butters always seemed to have a similar strain of luck to him. But somehow it was worse... since he lives through all of it. The odd over protection and control Butters' parents demanded.. Even though Kenny often gets jealous of friends with more attentive parents, Butters' were really something else. He can only imagine what the fear of getting in trouble feels like for him. And how high stakes risky it is they're doing this now. Kenny's parents won't even notice he's gone. Probably. "I'm sure they'll take good care of them." Not that he has any idea how Butters' parents will react to him gone. Or if they'll even remember he has pets to care for. It must've been hard to leave them behind. But there's no way they could travel with a hamster cage.

When the bus pulls up, Kenny stands first before turning and taking Butters' hand. Once they get on this bus, everything should be smooooth sailing. The bus driver looks at them with a quirk of her eyebrow, eyes darting around to find the parents that these kids belong to. But if she actually cared otherwise, she didn't say anything. The good thing about this time of night is that the driver is probably too tired and done for the night to give them trouble.

Kenny digs into his pocket before presenting a bus pass, his dad's. "Can you do two on this?" He tapped it once and then waited until he could tap again. Then he turns to Butters. "Let's find some good seats in the back."

[stxic]

That was another thing that eluded him. Why did he find so much humor in the way Craig carried himself in? It was confusing. The corners of his lips etched up as he rolled his eyes.

"When you waited an hour to tell me? Yeah. I can tell you planned that."

[parkacored]

Is that a smile?? Craigory? Ken is going to take it, even if it isn't much of one. He's really pleased with this bout of pestering Craig, really successful.

"Hm? Oh yeah, definitely. It was my nefarious plan to leave you unawares so that EVERYONE here will think you're some kinda perverted freak tryin' to get everyone to peek at your panties." He shakes his head. "You good? You gonna recover?"

[stxic]

It was true, the blond's entire friend group had a natural propensity for trouble. Their complete lack of regard bothered him. What made Kenny unique, though, was his ability cause Craig to fluster. His words were often sly in a way that Craig couldn't quite keep up with. Still, though, he didn't have any actual distaste for Kenny himself. He didn't find him aggravating in quite the same way that he found Stan or Eric.

"Dude, Shut up."

He gently pushed Kenny's arm in rebuttal. Not out of any annoyance, but lighthearted and almost playful.

"I am not unzipping my pants."

[parkacored]

That had Kenny burst out laughing. A real deep guffaw. Craig rarely fucks with the things Kenny says and it is funny every time. Any time he gets mister stoic to warm up to him it makes Ken feel accomplished. "Yeesh," He puts his hands behind his head, "This is what I get for tryin' to help a guy out."

[troublcmakcrs]

          Craig rolled his eyes when Kenny mentioned being obsessed with him.  Thankfully, he saw it as a joke, and even if it was true, at least the guy wasn’t making it his problem like all those Asian girls had.  He tried to think about people noticing him in the background of their lives as little as possible, insulating himself in his own bubble, but it couldn’t be helped.

          “You’re a fucking freak, dude,” he said, a slightly higher inflection on ‘fucking freak’ than he would have used if it had been a legitimate insult.

          He nodded in agreement.  “Yeah, it’s why I can only handle you guys in microdoses.”  And even that was a lot sometimes.  “They’ve got the deadly combination of two hundred percent curiosity and zero percent common sense.”  Insulting Stan and company was easy, even fun.  He had never much cared for those dickbags, except for, ironically, Cartman in some instances, and that was even before he went nuclear on most of his social life.  “Combined with a general assholery that makes it not at all cute.  I always wondered why all of you guys hung out together, honestly.”

[parkacored]

He can't hold back a goofy little grin, Craig's playing with him. That means Kenny's winning, kind of. Craig puts on such a cold front but Kenny dresses pretty warm. "You're so lucky, I wish I could experience us in microdoses." Another drag of his cigarette and a pause of silence from him. Way too many of his deaths were at the hands of his friends or at the very least their stupid ideas. But things are usually fun up until then. Except when they're not. "That's like askin' why the sun rises, man. Our broship is just a fact of life. Those guys blow chunks... but! We know each other inside and out. Hard to move on from a group like that." He was about to imply Craig must understand with his own friends.... but that'd just circle back to Tweek, wouldn't it?

[stxic]

Craig felt the unmistakable warmth trickle to his ears as he got himself back in order. The one stoke of luck he came into was the flap of hat covering the offending pinkness.He shot the other a look laced with subtle exasperation.

“Sure,” he deadpanned.

“You just knew this for an hour and then happened to have some important news to tell me but coincidentally couldn’t remember what that was. Right.”

[parkacored]

"I didn't know how to tell you!" Kenny shrugs at him, smile in his eyes. "And then I, y'know, got distracted until now." He can see he's getting on Craig's nerves quickly. Though that never seemed hard to do. "Should I not've said anything? We can pretend I didn't, quick, unzip it again."

[stxic]

First his eyes were stuck transfixed on the hand placed upon his shoulder. There was nothing he trusted about this whole interaction. This was before the information dropped in front of him like a freight train.

“Shit!” Craig cursed, face contorting before checking for himself if the claim was true.

“Dude, an hour? Really?”

[parkacored]

Kenny burst out into laughter. He couldn't help himself. Craig's reaction was just too funny. And the attempt to pretend like this was some serious matter was too good.

"Not that I've been starin' for an hour or nothin'." Ken titters. "Just that I saw it earlier and well..." He gestures toward Craig's zipper. "I'm sure no one else noticed though."

[troublcmakcrs]

It is immediately clear that Kenny doesn’t intend to drop it, and Craig’s brow creases with annoyance.  Of all the people he expected not to mind their own goddamn business, Kenny had not been at the top of that list.  They guy seems lost n his own world most of the time and usually does a remarkably good job at staying in his own lane, which Craig had respected about him until now.

“Impartial… right…” he says, narrowing his eyes suspciously.  Ironically if Kenny had shown up a couple months earlier, Craig might have been more willing to talk.  At the very least, he knows he would have been able to shove Tweek at him for a while to have the day to himself.  Those two always seemed to share some weird bond or secret between them, but he never bothered asking what it was.  Now he can guess, but it’s a little late.

Anyway, he now hesitates to tell Kenny shit because of that bond, because it will either hold and make Kenny think badly of Craig, or it will shatter and make Kenny hate Tweek.  And God knows that Tweek need as many people who can tolerate him has possible.  Craig is doing… well enough on his own.

“Nobody’s really impartial about anything.  This town’s too fucking boring to not get invested in manufactured drama.”  Or real drama, in this case, he supposes, but the point stands either way.  Of course, he doesn’t really believe that Kenny is like the other vultures in South Park.  He’s just on the defensive.

He glances down at the cigs but shakes his head.  He has tried to be careful about substances ever since seeing what they did to Tweek.  Cigarettes may not make him go insane, but it’s better safe than sorry.  “Shit’s bad for you, dude,” he mutters, but it doesn’t really matter to him whether Kenny quites or not.  He doesn’t care to fight that losing battle at the moment.

“But yeah, I’m fine.  And it’s kinda fucking weird that you’ve been watching me.”  He doesn’t know how to feel about that because it warms his heart equally as much as it makes his skin crawl.  He shrugs and adds, “I’m boring as fuck.  You probably have way more going on than I do.”

[parkacored]

"Guess so, this town's full of nosy fuckers, huh?" He exhales away from Craig and lowers the carton, ignoring the warning he's heard a million times. Ken gets what he's saying. This town is way too small. And Craig and Tweek have always had to live in it like a fish bowl, not a moment of peace or privacy to themselves. Which wasn't fair, especially when half the town didn't even actually get to know any real thing about them. It must be hard, Ken's always been on the opposite end of the spectrum. No eyes on him, no one remembering if he was even there.

"Sorry for being obsessed with you." Ken laughs. Did it actually seem like he was just stalking Craig through his break up? It can't be helped he's quiet and observant. And that he liked Craig and the fact he was a quiet person too. Sometimes you get a little attached to someone and they're always on your periphery. "Promise I only do it in public spaces and won't follow you home." Another small laugh. "Dude, I wish I didn't have shit going on. My guys are always mixed up in some bullshit, it's a relief being around anything that isn't involved with them sometimes." He taps the ash off his cigarette. Maybe he'll remember not to smoke around Craig next time, he doesn't seem to like that.

[troublcmakcrs]

▸   @parkacored   ⟶   ❛  "You have forced me to do something i really don't want to do." (from the shrek prompts for whichever boy you are feeling tonight)  ❜   ╱   (  shrek 2 , accepting .  )

“What!  What!” Tweek exclaims, whirling around frantically to face Kenny.  “I’m—ngh—not m-making you do fucking anything.”  Maybe he is, though, as he has heard that a lot in his life: I wouldn’t X if you hadn’t Y’d.  There is a lot in this world that is Tweek’s fault, and some of it he is self-aware about, and others, he has no idea.

This is one of those latter times.

“Leave if you want, man!”  He throws his arm in a random direction, supposed to be toward the exit, but he has turned himself around now.  Whatever, there has to be some mode of egress over that way as they live in a three-dimensional world—and he is not going to freak himself out with the ‘or do they?’ thought right now.  “N-n-nobody’s holding you at gunpoint, jeez…”

[parkacored]

Kenny sputters and laughs. Tweek's turning and flailing is a lot, but to be expected from this specific guy so it isn't surprising. Especially not when Ken set him up to panic like that. "Nope, you definitely are, c'mere." Making him do something that is... not holding him at gunpoint. Kenny reaches out and does his best to avoid freaking Tweek out by touching him, but getting smacked for touching the twitchy kid is sort of an expected risk. He turns Tweek to face him and grabs him by the shirt. "Sorry it had to come to this, Tweek." He does his best to unbutton one of the mismatched buttons on Tweek's shirt and put it through the right hole.

[friendscfmine]

     closed starter for  ⟶  @parkacored

          Butters had shoved a few changes of clothes into his backpack, as well as the meager allowance he had saved up and a couple of snacks out of the pantry.  He was still scared that his parents would find out that he stole from them and ground him, and he was ever unsure of this idea, but he had promised Kenny that the two of them would meet up and get on a bus out of here.  He doesn’t know where exactly they’re going or what they plan to do once they get there, but he trusts that Kenny has thought about those details already.

          He walks quickly down the street with his head down, a death grip on the straps of his backpack, waiting to hear his dad’s voice splitting the night air to demand that he gets back up to his room.  He only looks up when he knows he is closer to the bus stop and sighs with relief when he sees Kenny sitting there.  He has made it with no issues, and that’s all he supposes he can ask for at present.

          When he reaches the bench, he shrugs his backpack off and sits down, holding it in his lap.  Then, he looks at Kenny with wide, terrified eyes.  “Are you really sure this is a good idea?  I mean, what if we get in trouble?”

[parkacored]

It'd come up enough, or at least Kenny had thought it enough, that leaving home like this really only seemed like a matter of time. It wasn't even his own parents that pushed him to this point, he had a duty of caring for his siblings that kept him from running away. But something about the most recent retelling of whatever bullshit Butters' dad had said and done showed Kenny he had to take care of someone else for a bit. Running away from home just felt like the logical next step. And there was no way Kenny was going to let Butters do that all by himself. He didn't pack much; Extra socks and underwear, some pajamas, his psp and charger. He has some cash at least from working for Mr. Kim. But his backpack is fairly light for someone who isn't exactly planning on going back home any time soon if possible. Traveling light is better... probably. Either way, he's sitting at the bus stop, swinging his feet, whether he has everything he should've packed or not. Butters arrives and seems frankly terrified. That does give Kenny some pause.... Maybe this ISN'T a good idea. But they made it this far already, even if "this far" is just down the block. "Um." It's probably not a good idea and they WILL get in trouble if things don't pan out. But what if everything works out and is beautiful? "Once the bus gets here, we won't have to think about that, it'll be fine." Kenny hopes his words have some air of confidence, despite how muffled they are. He pats Butters' shoulder assuredly.

[troublcmakcrs]

Anyone else might understand that Kenny is just trying to help, and they would be grateful for the attempt.  But Craig is so tired of others meddling in his business that he has been trying to keep his classmates at as far of an arm’s reach as possible.  This is exactly why he and Tweek didn’t break up for good sooner than they did, why they could never stay apart from each other, because everyone always had shit to say about it, and neither one of them wanted to deal with the fallout.

“Good,” he says.  He only has one earbud in when he hits play on The Slim Shady LP, so he hasn’t closed himself off to the conversation entirely—lucky Kenny.  “’Cause there’s nothing to talk about.”  There verifiably is because Tweek dropped out of school, and when Craig came back, he had the left side of his face covered in stitches, which have since healed into gnarly fresh scars, but he doesn’t want to give any asshole the satisfaction of hearing him complain.  The town’s gossip cycle will keep spinning, whether or not he takes the time to feed into it, but he likes being able to say he had no part, especially where Tweek is concerned.

If there’s anyone who has been through e-fucking-nough, it’s that guy.

“What are you doing here, anyway?”  He graces Kenny with another glance out of his periphery.  “I’m the last guy who’s gonna hold it against you if you don’t wanna pretend like you give a shit.”

[parkacored]

"Okay, great." Kenny shrugs, though his face has a sort of knowing look. "Nothing to talk about." But Kenny doesn't get up and leave Craig alone. It sucks feeling alienated, especially with his whole situation. "It's nice and quite over here." And his hands finally pull out of his pockets with his lighter and a carton of cigarettes. Kenny pulls one out and lights it. Then squints into the distance as he speak. "Dude if I didn't wanna be over here, I wouldn't be. Like, we don't really hang out these days but it doesn't mean I don't see you dealin' with shit." He holds the box out to Craig to offer a cig. "I'm not gonna force you to tell me a damn thing. I get dealin' with things on your own and not wantin' to talk about it. Just thought some company and an impartial ear would be somethin'."

[stxic]

❝ i want to tell you something i just need a moment to figure out the right words. ❞

Eyes narrowed back in response, doubtful what should be said or done about something so vague. Still, it only took a second for patience to wear thin before retorting.

"Well?"

[parkacored]

Craig certainly did not give Kenny enough time to mull over his words. And maybe that would normally be fine, Kenny wassn't usually one to mince words. The rare moments he DID speak, he's usually very to the point. Kenny sighed and placed a firm hand on his shoulder with some very sympathetic eye contact. "Dude, your fly's been down for like.. an hour."

[lunariiz]

‧₊˚ ⏾. ⋅ — Bebe huffs— in a way that absolutely doubles as a laugh. She lifts a hand to cover her mouth, though, as a smile finds it’s way to her lips. Plausible deniability.

‧₊˚ ⏾. ⋅ — ❝ Oh my God . ❞ She lifts one of her legs, and pushes outwards with it, to shove Kenny away. So dumb.

‧₊˚ ⏾. ⋅ — ❝ I’m sure your ability to balance is incredible , Ken . You should totally show me some time . So long as you’re prepared for me to fall head over heels for you over it . ❞

She pulls her hand from covering her mouth to rest it against her forehead with a dramatic flare, her other hand resting over her chest a la be still my beating heart. She’s fake swooning right now.

‧₊˚ ⏾. ⋅ — ❝ My favorite thing in a man is how well he knows the basics of skateboarding . ❞

[parkacored]

"Oh yeah? Look, look, watch." Kenny gestures towards himself. "You ready for this? Watch this, 'kay?" And for a few seconds Kenny just stands there before putting his hands out as if he just performed some grand feat. "Impressive, right? No need to applause." And it's obvious he can't hold back the giddy grin his own stupid jokes are causing.

Bebe's fake swoon makes laughter bubble over. She's so funny, so easy to talk to. Kenny can't help but want to keep joking and making her laugh. "Stay safe out there, Bebe. If that's what gets ya then there may be no hope."

[lunariiz]

@parkacored — "god first. skating second. hit me up on christian mingle" — (hiiii o/ for whomever you want to play with kenny)

‧₊˚ ⏾. ⋅ — ❝ You are not on Christian Mingle . ❞ Bebe shoots him a side eye at first, a seemingly judgemental little look that only lasts a brief moment before she’s unable to hold it, cracking a smile and rolling her eyes.

‧₊˚ ⏾. ⋅ — ❝ You’re so dumb . Do you even skate ? ❞ The insult carries a mildly endeared tone— she may call him dumb, but that’s not ‘annoying’ or ‘two-faced’ or ‘a raging cunt  who literally doesn’t even know when to shut up like oh my god she just kept digging herself a hole it was sooo embarrassing and also pissed me off, like, so bad, kenny,’ (That one was the rant he’d been subject to last weekend, poor soul.)

He’s dumb in a way that makes her laugh and want to shove him into a wall, and not go bitch about him afterwards.

[parkacored]

Kenny puts his hands behind his head and flashes Bebe a crooked smile, clearly very amused with himself. "I could be! They say God has a match for me, Bebs. You think I'm going to risk fumbling that?" And a chuckle slips out when he sees her eye roll.

"I skate!" Kenny scoffs, as if he's offended by the implication. Not about being called dumb, just that he couldn't skate. "I just don't know any Tony Hawk tricks. You wanna see me move forward and not fall off though? I got you." He winks at her as if the concept of not eating shit is wildly impressive.

[hey-whatsgoingon]

“Don’t bother with the drinks, they’re all pretty bad.” o/

Clyde lightly jolted at the sudden voice that managed to sneak up behind him, smacking his head on the top of the refrigerator as he turned to face none other than Kenny McCormick. He frowned.

"Is this really all that's here? Miller Extra Light and Budweiser 55?" He whined, then added to himself: At least have the audacity to buy something good if you wanna throw a party.

Clyde sighed and closed the fridge. There was no way in hell he was drinking any of that. He was a man of the highest caliber, meaning he only drank the highest quality of beer: Blue Moon.

"Man, if I knew the selection was this small I'd've brought some shit from the house."

[parkacored]

Kenny snickered at Clyde hitting his head and claps him on the shoulder. "Right? I don't even think they stocked up for the party, this is just their dad's shit." Who even hosts a dry party in this town? It's not like it's hard to get alcohol, everyone assumes you're just running errands for your parents. "Check this, I tried to see if there was any hope in the liquor pantry," Kenny takes a few steps over to where he had snooped when he'd first arrived and gestures to Clyde to look. The cabinet door swings open and Kenny points at the abysmal contents, "The only thing they got in here is peppermint schnapps. Do you think there's any hope for this thing?"

[troublcmakcrs]

▸   @parkacored   ⟶   ❛  What happened was horrible, and cruel, and unfair. You’re allowed to be angry.  ❜   ╱   (  sad , accepting .  )

Craig pauses in scrolling through his spotify to level one of his well-known coldly impassive stares at Kenny.  Not much has changed about it between then and now, except that the eyes are a bit more sunken, which he thinks is only noticeable if you’re looking for it.

“Sure, whatever,” he says, shrugging and looking down again.  “I am pissed off about a lotta things, I guess.  I’m just not rioting in the streets about it.”  Being with Tweek for so long had taught him that somebody always has it worse, and he doesn’t have room to complain without making an ass of himself.

“Everybody’s been through shit, dude.  I don’t wanna make a huge fucking deal of it.”  Translation: Leave me alone.

[parkacored]

Kenny's eyebrows knit together and he half smiles. He's gotten used to move past that look Craig gives him, gives everyone really, but the initial impact still stings. And, it's to be expected. Kenny's speaking out of line. But he can't help it sometimes... he cares about his friends.

"Yeah, but..." Kenny sits down beside him. "That doesn't mean you can't feel anything about your shit." And while Craig isn't exactly in his immediate circle, he's hung around his group enough to know better than to really be poking or prying. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want." So Kenny just sits quietly beside him, hands in his pockets, and looking off at nothing.