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The sun was shining brightly through the holes of the old, rundown treehouse’s roof. A gently breeze invited the branches to a slow dance; filling the air with soft rustling and casting ever-changing shadows over the dirty wooden floor. The sound of the birds singing love songs came from the far distance.
Clyde sat there, crossed-legged, sipping on a can of beer with an aching heart. His eyes were wet from unshed tears and as he looked up the sky, the bright light illuminated his brown eyes. They looked like shimmering golden ponds; dark and mesmerizing.
He heard noises coming from below and tried to quickly wipe the signs of his sadness out of his eyes. First, he only saw the tip of a dark purple hood but soon enough a mop of blond hair appeared too. Followed by blue eyes, freckled face and pierced lips. “Hi, Kenny.” He welcomed the newcomer; the only other person besides him who hadn’t forgotten about their childhood hideout.
“Hey dude!” The blond boy said and beamed at the other once he got inside and sat down next to the brunette.
Clyde glanced at the little, black rings on the sides of other’s lower lip. He always though they looked really cool, even though they weren’t perfectly symmetrical as those were one of the first once Kenny ever did, after he decided he wanted to get some piercings. However, he didn’t have money for them, and even if he would have had, it was very unlikely that any shop would do it for a thirteen year old boy. “How come you came here?”
“I needed some fresh air.” A mischievous smile bloomed on his face as he pulled a small bag of weed and a pack of tobacco out of his hoodie’s pocket.
“Sweet.” Clyde eyes lit up and he watched the other boy’s trained fingers rolling the joint, noticing the freshly painted black nails too. “What’s with your nails?”
Kenny stopped rolling and sighed. “Karen.”
“Still in her goth phase?”
“Definitely.”
“I’m sorry dude.” Clyde shook his head and took a sip of the bitter alcohol.
“That’s fine.” Kenny replied before putting the joint between his lips. “I just wish she would have chosen a prettier color. Like pink,” he mumbled and lighted it.
Clyde furrowed, looking at the other boy with puzzled face. He could never really understand Kenneth McCormick, but probably that was the reason why he always found the dirty blond juvenile so interesting. He watched as Kenny took the first long, deep drag of the joint. “So, how did you get this anyway?” he asked when curiosity got the better of him.
A sly smile appeared on Kenny’s lips after he blew the smoke out. “I pierced your lovebird buddies’ ears today.”
“You mean Craig and Tweek?” As Clyde leaned closer, he could smell the scent of marijuana which swirled around the other.
“Yup.”
“Craig did mention something about it,” the brunette hummed, slowly nodding. “But I was sure Tweek was against it.”
“I think Craig has his own special method to convince him” Kenny smirked and brought his hand in the air and did a quick blowjob gesture.
“Dude, stop! I don’t want to imagine that!” Clyde cried out with a grimace on his face. “That’s disgusting, I’ll have nightmares because of you!”
A fit of laughter burst out from Kenny as he listened to the other. He pulled his hood down and raked his hand through his tousled mess of golden hair.
It always surprised Clyde just how soft and lustrous the other boy’s hair really was. Once, the girls asked him what kind of conditioner he used, but he just laughed back at them, and told the girls that he didn’t have money for these kinds of luxuries.
After that, a comfortable silence settled between them. Kenny was smoking his joint, while Clyde was sipping on his half empty beer. However, as he glanced at the freckled boy, it reminded him of his nearly forgotten heartache, and the bitterness returned to his eyes.
“So, why the long face?” Kenny asked, glancing at him from the corner of his eyes, but the brunette didn’t reply, just turned his head away and kept drinking. “I could clearly see that you were crying when I arrived.” Kenny sighed and inhaled the smoke.
“No, I wasn’t!” Clyde barked at him, feeling his cheeks turning red from the embarrassment.
“Clyde…”
Patient blue eyes settled on him, and Clyde couldn’t ignore Kenny anymore. He felt his heart tighten in his chest as he placed the can of beer down on the floor. “I saw Bebe with her new boyfriend,” he muttered, already knowing how the other would react.
“Dude, she broke up with you... how long, like a week ago?” Kenny grunted. “A week is a very long time in a teenager’s life.” He locked eyes with the Clyde, who anxiously nibbled on his bottom lip.
“I know, but...”
“But what?” Kenny asked, letting the joint slowly burn out between his fingers.
“They were...” Clyde tore his gaze away and casted his eyes down to the ground, looking at his worn out, red converse, “kissing,” he breathed out, feeling his heart breaking again just from the memory.
“So, what?” The blond boy shrugged, and finally remembered his ciggarette again. “That’s what couples usually do,” he muttered as he tried to relight the dead joint.
“But we never-” Clyde cried out before he realized maybe that wouldn’t be something he should share with Kenny after all.
Kenny’s blues eyes widened in surprise and he burst into coughing as he choked on the smoke he just inhaled. “Dude! You haven’t kissed her?” he asked, still trying to catch his breath.
“She didn’t want to...” Clyde whispered with a broken voice.
Kenny’s eyes softened and he gently bumped his shoulder against the brunette. “Uh, that sucks... I’m sorry, dude.”
Clyde slowly shook his head and let his body rest against the skinny blond boy’s arm. “It’s okay… I just really wanted to know what it feels like to kiss a girl too,” he sighed, gazing out from the opening which worked as the treehouse’s entrance.
“Hm,” Kenny hummed, lifting the joint to his lips before what the other just said finally sank in. “Wait, what?!” He shot his head towards the brunette, who’s face twisted with terror. “Did you really just say...?” Kenny continued. Excitement pilled up inside him, as he grabbed the other’s burning red cheeks and tried to turn him towards himself. “Who?”
Even though Clyde was quite a few pounds heavier than the blond juvenile, Kenny certainly had a very strong grip, because the brunette couldn’t escape from his hold. The blush on his face deepened even further as he tried to avoid those impatient and curious blue eyes.
“Come on dude, tell me!” Kenny demanded. “Don’t force me to pull it out from you.”
Clyde knew better then messing with any one of Stan’s crazy gang. Craig always told him to try to keep his distance from them, because they were insane, but Clyde loved hanging out with Kenny in the old treehouse. Although right now, he wished we would have listened to Craig. “Promise me you won’t tell anyone.”
“I promise!”
“Especially not Cartman!”
“Dude, chill. I won’t tell anything to that fat ass,” Kenny said and let go of the other’s face. Eagerness painted all over his unfairly handsome face.
Clyde closed his eyes. He was drowning in shame and embarrassment. “Craig,” he sputtered, and he was sure at that point, even the tips of his ears were red. “and Tweek,” he whimpered, swallowing his last bits of pride down.
Silence fell on them for a moment, which felt like an eternity, before Kenny burst into laughter. “Holy shit, dude! How did that happen?”
“They were having an argument... about which one of them is a better kisser.... and I just happened to be there, and...” the brunette mumbled, avoiding meeting Kenny’s eyes.
“And they convinced you to help them decide it?!” the blond boy kept snickering.
“Pretty much...”
“What a great friend you are, Clyde!” came Kenny’s mocking voice, still chuckling.
“Shut up!” The brunette groaned, biting down on his lip.
Suddenly the blond leaned closer and the already small space between them just got slimmer. “So, tell me… who’s better?”
“Tweek,” Clyde whispered, already feeling guilty again, for betraying his best friend.
“Fuck, I knew it!” Kenny yelled excitedly. “This is so funny! I wish I could have seen Craig’s face.” He began to snicker again, holding the joint, which died the second time that day, between his fingers. He glanced at Clyde and couldn’t help but find him very adorable as he sat there with flushing, dark red cheeks. “Although…I’m sure if I was there, I would win.”
The brunette snorted and lifted his beer up to his lips. “I’m not so sure about it,” he said and took a sip. “Tweek was really good,” he blurted, once again saying something before realizing it wasn’t something he should say. Craig was right, he really should start using his brain…
“Oh, you say so,” Kenny said, and his lips curled into an impish smile.
The smug tone of Kenny’s voice annoyed Clyde, and he felt the urgent need to stand up for his friend. “Well, I’m sure you wouldn’t have a chan-”
It happened so quickly and unexpectedly that Clyde didn’t even had a chance to really process the happenings.
Without any warning, Kenny swiftly leaned closer, invading the other’s personal space. A little eager smile crawled up to his face and his eyes lingered on the brunette’s lips before he glanced up, and met the other in the eye. There was something in the way the blond boy looked at him, that made Clyde’s stomach flip. Kenny licked his bottom lip before closing the gap between them. At first, he didn’t make any further move, just stayed there, pushing gentle pressure on the other’s lower lip. But Clyde didn’t jerk away, just looked at him with surprised, wide, warm brown eyes. That was enough sign for the blond boy to continue. With a sly smile he pushed himself just a little bit back, before leaning forwards again and playfully licking Clyde’s bottom lip before biting it. The brunette gasped in shock, but it slowly melted into a soft, barely audible moan as Kenny slipped his tongue inside the other’s mouth.
Clyde felt dizzy and for a moment he forgot how to breath. A shiver ran through his spine and goosebumps spread all over his arms and neck as Kenny’s tongue gently massaged his own. He could feel the metal rings pushing into his lips and taste of the mixture of tobacco and marijuana on the other’s tongue. He closed his eyes and let lust overtake his body. It was an utterly new sensation as Kenny circled inside his mouth, inviting him to a slow and carnal dance. Clyde’s body moved without thinking, leaning even closer as one of his hand reached towards the other, eagerly wanting to cling onto the soft, dark purple fabric. However, his fingers could only grasp the air as Kenny suddenly stopped and pushed himself away from him.
Clyde kept his eyes shut, as what just happened slowly started to sink in for him. His body felt burning hot, and his heart was racing inside his chest.
“So, who was better, me or Tweek?” came the question from the blond boy. His breathing was still a bit uneven.
Clyde opened his eyes, but still avoided looking at the other as he opened his slightly red, and puffy lips. “Y-you,” he muttered under his breath and reached for his forgotten beer. He wanted to wash the other’s taste down.
“Sweet.” Kenny cheered, pride and joy echoed in his voice as he glanced at the still blushing boy. His heart skipped a beat as his eyes finally met with the other’s. The brunette looked beautiful with his flushed cheeks and shy, warm brown eyes. “Hey, Clyde…” He placed the joint between his lips and lit it.
“Hm?”
“You are a pretty good kisser too,” Kenny confessed with a huge grin crossing over his face.
The small sip of beer from Clyde’s mouth unexpectedly shot out. Drops of saliva and booze landed on Kenny. “Dude, that’s gay!” The brunette coughed while he tried to wipe the alcohol down from his face.
Kenny burst into a fit of laughter, tears gathered in the corner of his eyes as he lifted the joint away from his lips and reached over Clyde, who just eyed at it for a moment before accepting the offer.
The brunette’s hand was shaking as he took a long, deep drag of the cigarette. He looked down at his nearly lukewarm beer and picked it up. “Kenny,” he said with a weak voice and handed over the can to his friend.
“Thanks, dude.” The blond boy grinned and took a huge sip from the drink, before leaning his head back against the treehouse’s wall and looking up at the sky, peeking through the unfinished roof, with closed eyes. His usual small but ever-present smile returned to his face as he let his body absorb every bits of sunshine.
Clyde’s eyes settled on the blond boy, who showered in the sunlight in front of him. He looked ethereal, like he never really belonged to the Earth. He slowly took in all the little details of the other’s face. Kenny looked the same as always, but somehow different than before. Clyde felt his heart aching as he noticed the fresh-looking bruise on Kenny’s jaw, which he failed to see earlier. They never talked about it, but it wasn’t a well-kept secret that the McCormick parents had a bad temper, and usually, Kenny was the one who took the brunt of their anger.
The blond boy opened his eyes, and gazed at the sky. His long lashes cast shadows over his face.
“Hey, Kenny.”
“Hm?” The boy turned his head away from the heavens and looked at the other.
Later that day, Clyde blamed the alcohol and the weed that he couldn’t stop his stupid mouth from saying out loud what he was thinking. “Your eyes are really pretty. They are the same color as the sky.”
Kenny blinked. Then blinked again, before his lips twitched and a faint blush appeared on his cheeks. He quickly turned his head away and began the giggle. “Dude, who’s the gay one now?”
Clyde couldn’t remember the last time he felt his face so red as the embarrassment washed over him, and he felt his heart throbbing in his throat. “Shut up! You’re still the one who kissed me!” he blurted out, but it just made the other laugh even harder.
“And you kissed back!”
“No, I did not” The brunette shouted, even his neck turned red by that point.
“Sure, Clyde, if you say so...” Kenny smirked and looked up at the sky again. His face too still had a faint pink undertone.
“Fuck you, Kenny!” Clyde grumbled, taking another drag of the joint and looking up. Through the hole in the roof, he could see a flat, white cloud lazily swim through the endless sky, while the gentle breeze caused the leaves to swing. They looked like shimmering emerald stones.
Suddenly, he realized he wasn’t so sad about Bebe anymore. As he put the cigarette back between his lips, he remembered the feeling of Kenny’s piercings pressing against them.
A lone butterfly awoke inside his stomach.
After that day, Clyde caught himself more and more often gazing at the sky with a soft longing swirling inside his chest. Especially on those warm, sunny, cloudless days, when the sky had exactly the same color as Kenny’s eyes.