Chapter Text
It all happened so fast.
Walking home from school with Stan, Kyle and Kenny was a normal occurrence, filled with the usual playful banter and ranting about classes. Kyle was going on about a snide comment Eric Cartman had made towards the ginger during lunch, with Stan trying to listen (after you’ve heard the same rant almost every day it becomes hard to pay full attention). Kenny and you trailed slightly behind, walking in comfortable silence. It was as normal as normal could be.
What wasn’t normal was the eighteen-wheeler sharply turning the corner and barreling its way down the quiet residential street at full speed just as the four of you were crossing to the other side. The icy patches in the road caused the truck to swerve as the driver frantically tried to push the breaks. Stan and Kyle had made it out of harm’s way, but you and Kenny were about to be a pile of mush against the icy road.
You barely had time to think, let alone move as you braced for the impact of the massive vehicle that would surely take your life as well as Kenny’s. Closing your eyes, you were expecting your entire life to flash before you, however the movie in your head was interrupted by a harsh shove from behind that sent you tumbling out of the way of the large truck.
From your sprawled out position on the road, you couldn’t rip your eyes away from Kenny’s brilliant blue ones as the truck made contact. In the blink of an eye, the happy go lucky boy you’d become close with was flattened.
A scream tried to escape from your lips, but you found that nothing but strangled gasps were able to come out. If you weren’t already laying down you know you would’ve collapsed in shock.
“Oh my God! They killed Kenny!” Stan shouted, looking horrified.
Kyle, who’s expression matched Stan’s, responded, “You bastards!”
What came after was all such a blur, you could barely even remember what happened. You remember somehow making it home and being able to do nothing except for collapse in your bed. Once the mind-numbing shock wore off, hot, wet tears came, leaving you gasping for air as you tried to process that the boy whom you’d grown to be fond of was gone. Eventually, you cried so hard that you passed out, but your dreams were still plagued by the scene of Kenny being killed.
***
The next morning, you woke up with a feeling of confusion. You couldn’t put your finger on what was wrong, but something just felt...out of place. Like you were forgetting something, something big that happened. It left you feeling disoriented as you got ready for school, going through the motions of your morning routine but not actually focused on what you were doing, instead you were racking your brain trying to figure out what it was that wasn’t clicking in your brain.
Making your way to the bus stop that morning, you still couldn’t shake that confused feeling you woke up with. Was there a test coming up that you had forgotten about? No, that couldn’t be it, you kept pretty good track of your coursework. Did you forget to turn the stove off last night? You knew you hadn’t cooked anything last night, so that wasn’t it either.
Once you reached the bus stop, you realized the other boys hadn’t yet arrived. Something in your brain started to tingle as you pictured the four boys who waited at the same stop as you. So, it was something to do with your friends...but what?
“Hey (Y/N), you’re pretty early this morning. Usually, we’re wondering whether you’re gonna make it in time for the bus,” came Stan’s mellow voice from behind you.
You turned, taking in the four of them. Nothing looked out of the ordinary as you moved down the line of boys...until you reached Kenny. Flashes of images flew through your brain.
Walking home. Kyle ranting. The truck...Kenny…
Kenny.
Yesterday’s events were zooming through your mind as your brain finally caught up to the realization that Kenny was alive. And standing in front of you with that typical easy-going smile on his face. Your legs buckled and you knew you would’ve collapsed if Kyle hadn’t steadied you with his arms.
“(Y/N)?” the redhead questioned. “You alright?”
You couldn’t even reply, shrugging his hands off and staring at Kenny in disbelief and wonder. “Kenny...I…” struggling to form words in your shocked state.
“If I knew you were going to miss me this much overnight, I would’ve come over. I have been pretty curious about what you wear to sleep, and my imagination just isn’t cutting it anymore,” the handsome blond tells you, sending you his trademark wink and smile combo.
So there goes the idea that this person in front of you could be a clone or some figment of your imagination. Only the real Kenny McCormick would have something that sexually suggestive to say at 8 AM.
Once the shock wore off and you definitively knew that yes, Kenny was somehow back from the dead, you ran the few steps it took to be face to face with Kenny, looking up at him in shock. Tears threatened to spill out of your eyes as you wrapped your arms around him, bringing him in for a bone-crushing hug. Though the boy was clearly surprised at your sudden embrace, he eventually returned the hug, bringing his lanky arms up to your waist.
“What? How?” was all you managed to squeak out, your voice still not able to conjure up anything coherent.
“What’s up with (Y/N)? She on the rag or something?” Cartman’s voice called out.
While you usually would have come back at him with something equally snarky, you gave the larger boy no thought as you released Kenny from the hug and looked at his face once again.
Not a single scratch could be seen on his face nor anywhere on his clothed body, and the orange parka he always wore only showed signs that it had been well worn, not flattened by an eighteen-wheeler. As you inspected him, Kenny’s face became as confused as the other three boys.
“I saw you die yesterday,” you finally managed to get out. You turned slightly to gesture at Stan and Kyle and said, “We saw you die yesterday. There was a truck and…” you trail off, unable to speak of the horrific event any more. At your revelation, Kenny’s blue eyes go wide and his mouth drops open in shock.
The loud laughter from the three boys behind has you questioning whether you had been imagining everything.
“What kind of dreams did you have last night, (Y/N)?” Kyle asks, the laughter still evident in his voice.
You turned fully to face the Stan and Kyle now. “Kyle, you were standing like three feet away from Kenny when that truck came flying out of nowhere!” you tell him, the confusion you woke up with returning full force. “And Stan, you were right beside Kyle! Remember?”
“What have we told you about buying weed off of the freshman? Their shit is crap and gives people the weirdest dreams,” Stan says, mockingly shaking a finger at you.
Your confusion triples as you look at Stan and Kyle. You couldn’t believe they were joking around like this. “It wasn’t a dream! It was fucking real! Why are you guys acting like you don’t remember? Stan, you even said ‘Oh my God, they killed Kenny!’”
The bus pulls up at that moment, so all the three boys do is laugh again and warn you once more about buying weed from unreliable sources as they file onto the bus. A hand on your shoulder stops you from following the trio. Turning around to be once more face to face with Kenny, you can see his typical lazy smile has turned into a slight frown.
“Come on,” he tells you, leading you with the hand that’s still on your shoulder. “We need to talk.”
***
Once you made it inside your house, you make sure your family had left. You had a feeling that whatever conversation was going to follow the revelation you made at the bus stop shouldn’t be heard or interrupted by anyone. Settling down inside your room, a tense silence filled the air.
You were unable to take your eyes off of Kenny. I mean, he fucking died, and now he’s just...sitting on your bed beside you? What the fuck?
“Do you remember the story we told you about how we used to play superheroes as kids?” Kenny suddenly blurts out.
You nod your head before speaking. “Yeah, you said your name was Mysterion?”
“Yup. And do you remember what my power was?” he asks you carefully.
You pause for a second, trying to recall the details of their childhood game. “Kyle could fly, Stan had power over all tools, and...you couldn’t die, right?”
“Yup,” he repeats, before pausing for a long while. “Except for the other guys, it was just pretend. A game. But, it was real for me. I really can’t die.”
Turning to him, your brows furrow in confusion. “Kenny, what are you saying? The game you played as a kid gave you the gift of immortality?”
He sighs in frustration, shaking his head and causing the long blond locks to move wildly. You can’t help but wonder how soft his hair might be, despite the tense situation. “No, see I was born like this, unable to die. And it’s not a fucking gift, (Y/N), it’s a curse.”
“Okay, let’s say you’re telling the truth. So you’re unable to die, how does that explain the fact that I literally saw you get flattened by a goddamn truck?” you question. You didn’t believe him fully but at this point, even the most irrational explanation would have made sense in this insane circumstance.
“I can’t die forever, I guess is the best way to put it. No matter what happens to me, I always wake up in my bed the next day without a scratch,” he clarifies. “Yesterday was the first time I died in a while. I haven’t been run over by anything for a few years now,” he chuckles darkly. “After the hundredth time it happened, I learned to be very careful crossing the road. I only ran out there so I could push you out of the way.”
At the mention of the last part of his sentence, you gasped. How else could he have known he shoved you...unless he was there? Unless it was actually real? You’d seen enough crazy shit in this town to last you a lifetime, so you decided that there was no reason Kenny’s story wouldn’t be any less believable. Still, one thing stuck out to you.
“You...saved me,” you whispered, looking at him gratefully. “Thank you, Kenny. God, that sounds so inconsequential compared to you literally dying for me.”
“Of course I did, you mean to much to me to let anything bad happen to you,” He smiles before his face turns serious again. He turns to you and grabs your hands. “(Y/N), do you understand what this means?”
“Yeah, I’m friends with a real-life superhero,” you respond, laughing lightly.
He doesn’t return your light-hearted joking. Instead, he squeezes your hands slightly. “No, you’re the first person ever who remembers me dying. People, even my best friends, will see me get shot, eaten alive, spontaneously combust, whatever and not remember a single fucking detail the next day.”
Although he tries to hide it, you don’t miss the tears that well up in his eyes. It makes your heart break and you vow to do everything in your power to quell the loneliness and pain that Kenny’s curse must cause him.
Your gaze turns sympathetic. “Oh, Ken...that must be an awful burden to bear on your own.”
“I’m not alone anymore, (Y/N), I have you, I hope,” he says, and when you look into his eyes you see a swirl of emotions so intense it makes your heart skip.
“You’ll always have me, Kenny. No matter what,” you promise, and as if to seal your words, you wrap your arms around him and hold him.