Songs of Love: a Kenny McCormick sequel 5

Part 5

“Hey, Haddie…”

“Flint, if you broke the register again, there isn’t a force on this planet that will keep me from killing you,” you hissed at him, thoroughly annoyed with him after his last three times messing the damn thing up. Honestly! Couldn’t he see that you were busy?!

Thanksgiving saw many a feminist’s family at the restaurant, all of the women asking their husbands, “Well, why should I have to cook? I work just as many hours as you!”

You sighed. It would have been nice to be with your family today, but those sorts of things could be saved until Hanukkah. That was also a nice thing about being sort of a mixed couple: you and Kenny would hang out with your mother and the Broflovski’s for Hanukkah, then go visit his parents until the drunken fighting started on Christmas Eve, then a quick phone call to your dad to with him a Merry Christmas, and after that, the two of you could spend Christmas day alone together. That was the plan for this year, anyway.

“Um, Haddie,” Flint said, rubbing his arm, “I kinda… broke it again…”

“Ah, DAMMIT FLINT!!!”

---

You finally staggered into your apartment a little after seven o’clock, hair mussed and feet aching. The first thing you did was go into your room and change into more comfortable attire, then you went into the living room to look for your boyfriend, but he wasn’t there.

“Have a nice day?” called a voice from the kitchen, making you turn to look, even though you knew who it was.

“Ugh, it was horrible,” you mumbled, running your fingers through your tangled hair in an attempt to tame the wild strands. Then you smiled at him, just happy to be back and ready to spend some time with him.

“Have a seat,” Kenny said, gesturing toward the kitchen table, which he had cleared for this occasion. As you sat, he got up and moved to the counter, where there were a few things sitting out. He brought them to you and put them on the table.

“It’s not much,” he said humbly, “Not as good as your cooking, but I don’t think it’ll give us food poisoning, either.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at his statement, before looking at what he had prepared. There was chicken (which was the kind that came in bags, already cut up into boneless pieces), potatoes, gravy, and stuffing. You plated some up without a second thought.

“Oh, thank goodness! I’m starving!” you cried happily, shoving food into your mouth at an alarming rate.

“Careful,” he laughed, getting some food for himself, only a little more gracefully, “You just might remind me of Cartman if you keep that up.”

You growled, mouth full of food, “You wanna die, McCormick?” He only laughed some more, ignoring your threat and going back to his food.

“I visited my parents today,” he told you, still focusing on his plate.

You paused, “Really? How did that go?”

He shrugged, swallowing before he answered, “Eh, fine. They hadn’t been drinking yet, when I got there, which was a nice change. I swear, they’ve gotten worse now that they don’t have any kids to raise.” You were both quiet for a minute, until you decided to speak.

“I should call Mom,” you mused, “And maybe Dad, too… Come to think of it, I haven’t talked to Jo since last Christmas. I’ll bet he’s not doing anything, though--lazy bum.” Kenny only smirked at your assessment of your brother, having the same sort of relationship with his own brother.

You finished eating before him, and went to call your parents while you waited for him to finish. It was a little late in the evening, but you were sure that your mom was still up, and it would be morning in China, so you didn’t have to worry about your dad.

---

Kenny finished eating, but didn’t move from his place in the kitchen. He had (unintentionally) listened to your half of your conversation with your dad, which had consisted of the usual, ‘Hey, how are you? I’m fine. Happy Thanksgiving. Good luck with work. Miss you. Love you. Bye.’

Now he was hearing a less happy-sounding conversation.

“Well, I was busy working,” you defended, “I told you that I wouldn’t be able to make it.”

“I just don’t see why you feel the need to distance yourself from your family,” your mother countered, trying to guilt you, “I’ve only got two children, and the one that’s close enough to visit me is always too busy.”

Your eye twitched involuntarily, “Well, sor-ry, Mum, but I have things to do sometimes, and I always see you on the important holidays. I don’t know what more you expect from me.”

“I just wanted you to be here, Hadassah,” she said quietly, “I have something important to tell you, and I wanted to tell you in person…”

“Oh, what? You’re getting married or something?” you muttered sarcastically.

“…”

“… Mum?”

“…”

“Mama?”

“Well…”

“Ah, what the hell?!” you yelled, resisting the urge to throw the phone, “This is a joke, right?!”

“No, it’s not.”

You took a deep breath to calm your temper, “I have to go.”

There was a sigh on the other end, “Okay, I’ll talk to you later. Bye-bye, Honey.”

“Bye,” you grumbled, hanging up quickly and rushing into the kitchen. You began to clear off the table and got some Tupperware out of the cupboard.

“Something wrong?” Kenny asked, coming up behind you and wrapping his arms around your waist. He nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck while he listened to your rant.

“I can’t believe her!” you shouted, packing the different kinds of food into separate containers, “She just…! Ugh!” You spun around in his arms to face him, “What is the worst thing you could think of your mother doing?”

“Calling me more often…?”

“Getting divorced and then marrying some guy that she hasn’t even known for two years yet!”

“Your parents have been divorced for a long time, Haddie,” Kenny pointed out, patting your back.

You pouted, “Not long enough… And I can’t tell him about this! But if I don’t tell him, he’ll find out later and know that I didn’t tell him!”

He shook his head at your immaturity. You were always like this when it came to your parents, and Kenny said so.

“I know,” you whined, “But they were so perfect for each other. They were like… like…” Like me and Kenny, you thought, but instantly shook it from your head. “Like no other couple in the world,” you finished, going with a much safer alternative.

“Maybe blond men and red-headed women just don’t go together,” he teased, smirking down at you. This wasn’t the first time a joke had been made about your’s and Kenny’s similarities to both sets of parents; in fact, for some reason, people just couldn’t seem to let it go.

You laughed, reaching up to pull him down for a kiss. “That’s like a horoscope, Kenny,” you mumbled, kissing him again, “And you know I don’t believe in those things.”

---

A week passed, and you had managed to avoid speaking to both of your parents in that week. You also managed to keep your encounters with both Lilie and Flint to a minimum, and you mostly stayed out of Steve’s scope, which was cause for celebration in your book. And things with Kenny, while still not sexual, were absolutely wonderful--perhaps even borderline perfect.

It was Thursday, and true to your normal schedule, you were at the local supermarket, doing your weekly grocery shopping. A lot of times, Lilie would come with you for this particular mission, but she was busy with something else--she hadn’t elaborated on what it was, exactly, though, and you preferred not to ask.

You were standing happily in front of the dairy section, minding your own business, when there was suddenly someone standing very, very close behind you.

You could feel this person’s breath on your ear when he whispered, “Hey, Haddie.”

You instantly spun around, ready to punch the guys lights out, “Dammit, Flint!” Relaxing a little, you unclenched your fist, speaking more calmly, “What are you doing here?”

“Shopping,” he answered, grasping his hands behind his back innocently.

You blinked at him, “Uh… huh. Okay, then. Bye.” And you turned away from him, intent on ignoring him, grabbing a gallon of milk and moving away from him as fast as you could without looking like you were running from him. Oh, man, you thought, making your way for the checkout, I’ve never wished Lilie had come with me so much in my life!

---

You had just finished loading the last of your clothes into one of the big driers, when the first drier buzzed and you went to fold the load inside. You were folding one of Kenny’s shirts when a presence next to you caused you to look over at it.

“Hey,” Flint greeted you, jovially.

“Uh, hi, Flint,” you greeted back, a little weirded out. “Imagine seeing you here, too…” you muttered, feeling a lot like he was following you.

“You told me you’d be here,” he said, hopping up to sit on a washer behind you, “You do your laundry every Thursday, because that’s the only day of the week when your boyfriend works, but you don’t.”

“And I told you that?”

You could feel him smile behind you, “Well, not all at once, but I always pay attention to what you say. Oh, by the way, do you want to go get a drink with me?”

You paused in your folding, “I don’t drink.”

“Then do you want to get some dinner?”

This caused you to clutch Kenny’s orange hoodie to your chest, as if it would protect you. “Flint,” you said, turning to him, “I think you’re confused about our relationship.”

“‘Our’ as in your’s and mine, or ‘our’ as in your’s and your boyfriend’s?”

“Both!” You took a deep breath to calm yourself, “Look, it’s sweet, even a little flattering, that you’ve taken such an automatic liking to me--however stalkerish it may be. But you need to realize that I don’t like you like that. I already have a boyfriend, who I honestly can’t imagine living without, and right now, all I want from you is some space.”

You watched the emotions cross his features: first surprised, then confused, followed by anger, and then it was all gone, and he was smiling again.

“Okay, Haddie,” he said, stepping closer and putting his hands on your shoulders, making you uncomfortable, “Let’s be good friends from now on, then! I’ll see you later, bye!”

You intended to forget any of that ever happened as quickly as possible. At least it was over now.

Right?