Jered could have used the car, but he reasoned that a stroll would have helped clear his head.

And honestly, it sounded stupid. He wasn't the type to take strolls to some moody, background song anyway. But today was a bit special, and Jered figured that there was nothing wrong with taking the longer route to his friend's place. It was the only time window where he could have some peace of mind. Evelyn's pregnancy? He could handle that. Jasmine's incestuous, Shadow-mindfucked feelings for him? He needed some time to digest that shit and find a solution. Kenny's homo edginess? It was a bit too much for him.

At least his mother didn't pull some melodramatic move on him.

Eventually, Kenny's grandiose villa was within sight.

It was night, the roads deserted, and the sky full of glittering stars.

The perfect time for some in-depth conversation about love and teenage drama.

Kenny was outside, dressed in a pink hoodie and fishnets. He was sitting by the porch, knees huddled together, hands in his pockets, and a drawcord between his teeth. From afar, he looked like any other ordinary girl weathering through the worst period of their life. Alone, in a breezy night, glancing up at the stars as if they'd provide him with some comfort. Jered hesitated. He didn't want to reenact some sort of tragic love story with Kenny.

He still couldn't understand why his life had been caught up in these twisted, romance games.

"Aren't you freezing?"

Kenny looked at him, a weary smile on his delicate face, "A bit," he admitted, "But I got this to keep me warm," he lifted up a half-empty bottle of rum.

"Really? Is it that bad?" Jered sighed, taking a seat next to him—it was partially his fault if Kenny ended up like that. Maybe it would have been for the best if he never quietly sneaked into his life and became such an important element, "Where did you even get that?"

"I stole it from my father. He began to drink, again, and predictably my mom is not too happy about that," a shrug, "They are inside, screaming at each other... it's been like that ever since they came back from their anniversary night," Kenny chuckled, taking a sip, "... can you guess why?"

"This is not why you wanted me to come over, right?"

He shook his head, his shoulders trembling slightly, "You've been gone for almost a week. Oh, it's okay, I know you were probably caught up in your magical stuff. But you know... the time without you gave more of a reason to think," he proffered the bottle to Jered, "Do you want some?"

"No, thank you."

Kenny hung a knee over the other and sipped, "I've thought about many things these past few days, but mostly me and you. Usually, it's always like that right before I fall asleep. You're in my head every second of my life, from when I wake up to when I go to sleep. You realize you have it bad when you giggle to fantasies that will never come true. Is it bad that I dream of you and me, on the altar... both of us looking so perfect, so beautiful that everyone would be jealous. Of course, in my dream, you're older, and I'm a woman. But still..." he trailed off, bringing the bottle up for another mouthful of ethanol.

"Yes... it looks like I have that effect on people," Jered couldn't help but chuckle.

"Ohh, so you've charmed many other hapless maidens beside me? I'm jealous," Kenny smiled as he leaned back, his legs accidentally brushing Jered's, "Tell me, who are they? I have the right to know who my competition is."

"Yeah, I'm not telling you."

"Why not?"

"I don't kiss and tell."

Kenny deflated into a miserable pout, "Okay, I deserve that..."

"You should be happy about it," Jered said with an exaggerated roll of his eyes, "I still remember you sullying my bed by finger-fucking your ass. I don't think you'd like me to go around and make it public information."

"Ahem," he blushed, almost choking on the alcohol, "I was weak back then..."

"Last time I was here to deal with Carter, you were masturbating right before I interrupted you."

This time Kenny choked. He hovered a fist over his mouth as he burst into a fit of coughs, "How do you even know that?!"

"You were blushing, your pupils dilated, your clothes ruffled, and... there was a... weird bulge on your pants. I don't know how to explain that. The angle wasn't right. What were you up to?"

"I can show you if you want me to."

"Nice try, but no."

For a moment, they lapsed into a peaceful silence. Well, not really peaceful. He could vaguely hear Liam and Isabella's voices.

'Do you know how stressing is it for me?!' Liam yelled.

'You've been awful to him! You barely speak to him! You barely look at him! He's your son, for God's sake. Why can't you accept him for who he is?' Isabella shot back.

'Easy for you, isn't it? You've always wanted a daughter! Do you even know what my colleagues say behind my back?'

'So it's about that, huh? You care soooo much about what those dipshits at work say about us that you'd go as far as to treat Kenny like that?'

Jered ventured a glance at Kenny, who tried to take another swig of the rum, but unfortunately, it was empty.

"Fuck..." he tossed it aside, brought the hood over his head, and stared at Jered, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Is there any... spell, ritual, or magical item that could turn me into a girl?"

It was a question Jered had been expecting.

"I don't know, I can ask around though. I know someone who's very savvy about this kind of stuff. But I can't promise you anything."

Kenny nodded non-committally, "Well, this is a promising step forward, but I'm in a hurry."

"A hurry?"

"Yes. Actually, it concerns why I asked you to come over."

A gleam of grim resolution flashed in his eyes.

Jered felt the sudden shift in his friend's demeanor. Not even his drunken haze could mask that, "What's going on?"

"This is my last chance..." Kenny said with a shuddering breath, standing up. A whiff of perfume wafted into Jered's nose. He watched his friend stretch, slip the hood off, and smile at him in a way that promised lots of trouble,"... to chase after you. See? You've turned me into such an idiot for you, and you didn't even do it on purpose. It's just the way you are, I guess. Something about you... draws me in, makes me addicted to you... makes me want to my hurt myself more, because only then would you find it in yourself to look at me, to feel my determination. And I'm very determined."

"Whatever you're planning to do, I hope you know it might not change anything."

"Maybe," Kenny laughed, his chin lifted up defiantly, "But I've gotta try, at least. Oh, can you do me a teeny-weeny favor?"

The smile on his face was as earnest as it was sad.

Still, Jered nodded softly, "As long as it doesn't require me to undress or touch you in any inappropriate place, sure."

Kenny rolled his eyes above a goofy smile.

"Call me Kathryn. That's the name I want to go by from now on."

"Kathryn, huh," Jered huffed a chuckle.

"Yes. Hm. How is it? Pretty, right?"

He leaned back against the steps of the porch, "You just added a unique twist to an otherwise common name, but yes, it's very pretty. I'm curious though, why today of all days?"

"Beeeeecaaause..." Kenny's flushed cheeks couldn't hide the wild look in his eyes. He pulled his skirt down and whipped his penis out. Jered briefly thought he was about to do something nasty, such as jack off in front of him, or, in the worst case, expect him to jack him off. Oh boy, was he wrong. Under the feeble moonlight, a glint flashed by. And all of a sudden, the knife in Kenny's hands almost seemed like a lie—a premeditated one at that.

A knife was of no threat to Jered, but it wasn't aimed at him anyway.

He stared at the slender hand clutching the handle, and then at Kenny's bright, wet eyes.

"... this is how far I'm willing to go for you, Jered."

And then he swung it down.

A tail of blood soared in the air, and then a high-pitched scream.

The chopped appendage dropped to the ground, and a very pale Kenny followed it soon after, his face slamming against the grass.

Jered was surprised, but immediately shook it off and rushed towards him. He was not the only one. Liam and Isabella ran out as soon as they heard the scream. The sight of Kenny, passed out from shock, lying in a blooming pool of blood was enough to almost stop Liam's heart, "Kenny!" he leaped off the steps, and in nigh a second, he was by his son's side, his hands hovering over the spurting wound, quivering, hesitating.

A knife was next to Kenny, a line of blood coating the edge.

"W-What happened!?" Isabella shook Jered's shoulders harshly, her voice cracked, "Answer me! What did you do!?"

Of course, she was going to think he was the one to blame for that.

Who in their right mind would cut their own dick off?

The fact that Jered wasn't freaking out only added more credence to that

"I didn't do this, ma'am."

Liam would have agreed with her wife if the circumstances were different. But as he saw the bloody stump on his crotch area, only one thought swirled in his head, 'He did this by himself'. That stupid son of his finally snapped and decided to go to extremes to get what he wanted. Naturally, his infatuation with Jered was partially to blame for that, and it would have been a lie if Liam didn't resent him for that.

He quickly called 911.

Isabella ripped a chunk of her shirt and pressed it against the bleeding stump, "Oh my poor baby boy," she bit her bottom lip, tears quietly flowing down her cheeks. As soon as the call ended, Liam joined her side, following her every instruction. As a former nurse, she did have experience in first aid, but it was only that. She could make sure her son didn't get any worse, but it was a temporary fix. Whether Kenny was going to make it depended solely on how fast the ambulance came.

Jered watched them from the porch. Since Liam and Isabella were there, his presence was only going to upset them more. Granted, he didn't do anything. And deep down, they probably knew it too. It was the heat of the moment that made Isabella snap at him. Still, he kept his distance.

Fortunately, the ambulance was quick to arrive. They boarded Kenny up a cot and wheeled him into the van. One of the paramedics secured Kenny's severed penis in a clean cloth, and inserted it in a plastic bag. Liam and Isabella were practically glued to Kenny's side. Jered didn't know if he should have gotten into the vehicle with them or not. His indecision spurred him to stay still and just watch.

Eventually, the ambulance drove away.

He stared at the puddle of blood his friend was just in. What a mess. All of that shit happened in a day, practically as soon as he was back from Archiland. He was sort of expecting Kenny to do something dramatic, yes, but to chop his dick off? It had never crossed his head.

In hindsight, the signs were there. Not that he could have prevented it even if he knew. Well, Jered could have stopped him before, but tomorrow? Kenny was stubborn. Failure wouldn't stop him.