Chapter Text
A lot of people in town thought Kenny McCormick was... interesting. Some considered him a troubled teenager, even though he had literally done nothing wrong to the community, others saw him as a legend to be told on Halloween. The boy who survived a police raid despite being shot directly in the chest. It should be said that some children considered the blonde as a diabolical and uncontrollable spirit, his innocent minds believed that if you said his name three times in front of the mirror, he would come out to torment you.
A curse, a legend, a hero or a villain, it depends on who sees it. Kenny McCormick was simply the protagonist of a very poorly told story. However, this is not the time to give justice to his version, but rather to understand his participation in the greater imbroglio that brings us to this terrible narrative today.
"Do you smoke?" Marjorine had relaxed a little since they left the house. From the patio, he could hear the applause that were giving a warm reception to Eric's performance. How hypocritical, a few minutes ago no one even wanted to see it. Through the glass door that led to the small garden where they were, he noticed how Kenny grabbed the young man's arm and led him towards another room. Well, the plan was working.
"I do not smoke. I can't, because of the anxiolytic and attention deficit pills." Tweek responded with a smile.
The blonde took a pack of cigarettes out of his dress and lit it skillfully, and then released the smoke that was lost in the darkness of the night.
"Right, you have attention deficit. Wow... I feel like this is the first time in years we've had a conversation longer than two sentences"
"Maybe it's because it's the first time in years that we have a conversation of more than two sentences." With that little joke, they both let out the tension with some laughter that was lost in the wind.
"I'm sorry, I was never a person who was broadly interested in others. I spent my childhood as Eric's only best friend and my adolescence as Kenny's only company. I think I have been ignoring a lot of things around me by focusing solely on enjoying the moment with my loved ones... Maybe I have been ignoring too much."
"I feel the same." The girl's crystalline eyes looked at him with curiosity. "Apparently we do have things in common. All my childhood, I tried to distract myself from the fears that consumed me before going to sleep, filling my schedule with a ton of activities. Did you know I played on the football team? I didn't even like it, but I needed to escape what I felt. And then I met Craig and my life started to revolve around him."
"I don't think those are the characteristics of the healthiest gay relationship in all of South Park." Laughter accompanied the little joke.
"Well, Marjorine. Don't all love stories have a slight macabre touch? Maybe that's what makes romances so beautiful, because of the darkness they hide."
"Tweek Tweak, you're a fucking poet." How many times had they laughed that night? I mean, they were at a fucking funeral, was that right? "But, you're right. You know, my relationship with Kenny is very, very strange. In fact, despite what people think, we only started dating last year."
"I hope I'm not being indiscreet and, if you want, don't respond to this. Kenny had left town at age 11 and strangely returned to be with you at age 13. What happened?"
"Actually, I had always wanted to tell this story, but I never really trusted anyone to do it." She inhaled a little from his cigarette before continuing. "Actually I didn't look for it, it wasn't even in my head that that night I would meet him, but sometimes destiny gives you the person you need most at the right time. I had always had a crush on Kenny, I loved that despite the shit that happened in town and with his friends, he always seemed to be there, still, quiet, as if he was waiting for something to happen."
"Kenny always had the charm of measuring his words in comparison with his friends." Tweek added when remembering the little one in the orange grim reaper.
"That's true. When Eric was sent to juvenile detention, it was a very hard blow for me. That unfortunate ball of fat was the only thing that came close to a friend, even a brother. Many times we played tearoom at his house. The first time I wore a dress, I was afraid the idiot would make fun of me, but do you know what he did? He put on some of his mother's clothes and a blonde wig, and we played all afternoon." Marj's eyes were filled with nostalgia as she remembered those times. "I know that what Eric did was wrong, that is, he murdered, tortured and tricked a person into eating human flesh. But, he was the only boy who, no matter what, was with me."
"I remember that Eric made fun of you for being a coward, is that support?" The blonde asked ironically.
"Well, I'm not saying that he was the best friend in the world, just that strangely, we were each other's support for a long time. It's no secret that my parents used to beat me to death, in reality there was no reason, they only found pleasure in punishing me." Tweek vaguely remembered how Marjorine wore turtlenecks and long sleeves, now it seemed to make sense. "Eric let me stay at his house when my parents decided to leave me in the yard as a reprimand."
Tweek had nothing to add to that, so he simply got up from the small chair he was in and settled down on the grass to look at the stars. Craig had told him that these little balls of light were always watching for humans and that he should not be afraid of them, but rather that he should look for hope and comfort in them. Marjorine followed him, adjusted her dress and lay down.
"That doesn't explain how you found Kenny."
"Well, actually, Kenny found me. It was in the early hours of a Tuesday, I remember it well because it is assumed that my parents always arrived late on Mondays and went into their room to sleep immediately. I used to took advantage of those days to relax a little, with the little money I saved I bought a dress and a little makeup. I loved to dance until I was exhausted, then take a shower and pretend nothing had happened the next day. However, that time, my father heard the noise coming from my room and went out to investigate. When he saw me..." The pause that Marj made before continuing chilled his blood. "Let's just say that it was a total massacre. I don't remember it very well anymore, just the pain of being in the street with the snow accumulating around me, I felt every damn muscle in my body freeze. As I cried, I said goodbye to everything I had ever known. I thought I was going to die, I wanted to die that night."
Tweek turned his face to look at the girl, she had really changed a lot. She seemed mature and determined.
"When I had lost all hope, a stupid, dirty orange coat covered my shoulders. When I looked at him, I noticed that he was very high, but I didn't see a hint of evil in him. Kenny gave me the hand he needed that night."
"Did he ever tell you what he did during the time we didn't see him?"
"There's not much, to tell the truth. He started working since the thing with the McCormick factory happened, trying to survive and give a better quality of life to his brothers. At some point, he started using drugs, although he doesn't want to talk much about it. I helped him get out of his addictions, I took him to therapy, and he taught me how to steal from my parents' savings." Again, laughter flooded the patio. "Shortly later, when I was doing my chemistry homework, I discovered that behind that golden mane there was an exceptional brain. With that in mind, I convinced him to take the placement exam. Thank God, he was admitted back to school."
"Marjorine, that night, did you return to your parents?"
The young woman looked at him and smiled with a slight blush.
"Wow, you haven't missed any details. After we met, he walked me to the community center, so I could sleep, he stayed by my side until dawn and guided me home first thing in the morning. Not before promising to return at night. And it was like that for a while, but I was exhausted from the abuse, and he hated my parents." Tweek noticed that the blonde's blush increased.
"So?"
"Don't judge me, okay? I moved in with him when I was 14. I still live with the McCormick." Tweek looked at Marjorine in surprise, how had such juicy gossip escaped the town's tongues? Why hadn't the Stotch said anything?
"My parents didn't say anything because they were very ashamed that their only daughter had run away with a poor, drug-addicted boy. Kevin and Karen are my family now, they always supported me. When Kenny got a job at the pharmaceutical company, things were better, and we were able to move into an apartment. When he felt that he really could be stable, we started dating."
"Pharmaceutical?" That detail had set off Tweek's alarms.
"Yes, two years ago Kenny applied to a drug company where he was quickly accepted because of his knowledge. He is currently an assistant in the winery and works at night." That information was too strange as it was valuable. Did Marjorine really believe McCormick worked at a drug company late at night? Wasn't it too convenient?
"Wow, how lucky."
"Yes, thanks to his salary, Kevin was able to leave the town with greater confidence to be able to study in Denver. Karen now owns nicer things, and I was able to get a job in an ice cream shop, it's not much, but it helps with daily expenses."
"Marjorine, again, sorry if this question makes you uncomfortable. Did you hear that the police believe that they have reopen the McCormick factory?"
Marjorine got up and sat on the grass. She carefully smoothed her hair and threw away what was left of her cigarette.
"Do you think I didn't hesitate? I did, I questioned Kenny hundreds of times to find out if there was something abnormal or if he was lying to me... But everything seems to be in order, he even has the pay slips for his work. He told me that he would talk to Eric about this, we know that he collaborated in the closure of the first factory. Kenny wants, as much as I do, to leave his past behind him."
The sincerity of Marjorine's words was beyond doubt, but what about Kenny's intentions? A knock on the door alarmed them, on the other side the messy blonde hair of the aforementioned appeared.
"Hello, Tweek. What's happening here?" With a big smile, he shook the smaller blonde's hand.
"Nothing, Ken. Tweek and I were just talking, he helped me release a little of what I felt." The other's storm blue eyes made him shudder, why did his gaze seem like that of a man who had gone through a thousand lives?
"It's getting cold, let's go inside. People are starting to leave." Kenny put an arm around Marj's shoulders and they walked into the house. Eric was waiting at the door with a smile. The couple hugged the brunette and got lost in the living room. When Tweek approached, he patted his shoulder twice. The mission had been a success.
Without even saying a word, the blonde crossed the room until he met his boyfriend. Craig looked at him strangely, because he had disappeared for a long time. Tweek smiled at him and linked his hand with his. They didn't say more, they both left the house heading to their homes.
On the other hand, Eric still had something to do with that funeral. He had to get the support of the "other part" tonight no matter what, or everything would get fucked up. Carefully he searched among the few people that remained, but when he did not find any trace of him, he decided to go up to the rooms to see if he would have luck there. The brunette noticed Heidi in the hallway, she carefully pointed out the bathroom that was at the end of the path. Without making a sound and controlling her steps, he approached the handle.
He opened the door with a single blow and those inside did not have time to separate or organize his disorganized clothes.
"Oh, shit."
Inside the small guest bathroom, flushed like ripe tomatoes ready for harvest, Kyle Broflovski and Stan Marsh tried to settle between uncomfortable sounds and exclamations of "It's okay" or awkward laughter.
"When you finish dressing, you idiots, look for me in the living room. I'll be waiting for you." Eric closed the door and started laughing out loud. He held the hand of Heidi who looked at him curiously.
"Eric, what happened? What did you see?" The boy's laughter continued and became louder and louder.
"Nothing, just that I found our "other part" making out with our weapons supplier."
Down the stands, the couple gracefully descended while laughing at life's strange turns.